Liberation (France)

"Could he still lose?"

The looming US presidential elections are dominating the world’s press. The front page of French left wing daily Liberation shows a confident-looking Barack Obama and asks: “Could he still lose?”

Liberation says that all the evidence so far points to an easy victory for the suave senator. Of 159 national polls carried out during the past six weeks, every single one without exception puts Obama in the lead. But Liberation warns that the final day of campaigning could still throw up some surprises.

Le Figaro (France)

 "Why America continues to make us dream "

At the other end of the political spectrum, conservative French daily Le Figaro says that Barack Obama is the most exceptional presidential candidate in recent history….and faces unprecedented challenges.

But journalist Dominique Moisi says he’s in the unique position of being able to bring together Americans, as well as reconcile the US with the rest of the world.

Moisi says that Obama is a symbol of hope not just for Americans but for people around the world and could help redress the power balance between Russia and China. But he warns, with so much at stake, there is a danger of putting too much on Obama too soon…

Gulf News (UAE)

"Message to the US: rejoin the world"

United Arab Emirates newspaper Gulf News has a cartoon of soon to be ex-president George Bush standing in a corner with a dunce’s hat.

The opinion piece asserts that his presidency imploded largely because he isolated America from the rest of the international community and says his “cowboy diplomacy” turned a super power into a rogue country.

Journalist Nicholas D. Kristof asserts that the next president’s top priority must be to “rejoin the world” and suggests several ways this can be done.

1) Guantanamo should not only be closed but turned into an international centre for research on tropical diseases in poor countries, thus becoming an example of humanitarianism.

2) A non-partisan truth commission should be created to investigate torture and other abuses during the “war on terror.”

3) Middle East peace push and a commitment to begin negotiating with what the journalist describes as “odious countries.”

Le Temps (Switzerland)

"MP declares there are more than 400 secret prisons in Iraq"

Swiss newspaper Le Temps has a report featuring allegations from an Iraqi MP about the extent of human rights abuses in Iraq.

Baghdad politician Mohammed al-Dainy has been working alongside journalist Ali Wajeeh from the Al-Sharquiyya TV channel and says he has evidence to prove that more than four hundred secret detention centres exist within the country, some of which are American-run. Officially, only 27 prisons exist in the country.

Ali Wajeeh says that four of his colleagues have been assassinated in recent weeks as they tried to investigate the story. Since 2003, 461 journalists have been killed in Iraq.

The New York Times (US)

“In Congo, a little fighting brings a lot of fear that chaos is returning”

 Moving on to another troubled region now…The New York Times has a report on the recent unrest in Congo, which it says threatens the stability of the entire region.

It says that when Congo shakes, Africa trembles. Regional war was triggered when the Congolese state began to collapse in 1996….and when it imploded again two years later armies from half a dozen other African countries were dragged into the conflict.

It’s estimated the turmoil over the years has already clamed up to five million lives and is the worst related to any conflict since World War II.

The article explains that, with Congo on the brink again; the international community is rallying to try to prevent another human rights catastrophe.

The Independent (UK)

"Champion…on the final corner"

And finally, Britain’s Lewis Hamilton has roared into the history books as Formula One’s youngest champions.

He secured the title after a dramatic last lap during Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix and is Britain’s first champion since Damon Hill in 1996.