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Yesterday’s UN Genreal Assembly meeting was rich in material for the papers. Let’s have a look at some of the comments on speeches made by Gaddafi, Obama and Ahmadinejad.

The Guardian: “The Colonel seized his 15 minutes of fame. 100 minutes later he sat down.”

“Swathed in black saffron robes and a black felt hat, he waved his arms around shouting, ‘Terrorism!””

Ahmadinejad tore up a copy of the UN charter, accused the Security Council of being an Al-Qaeda like terrorist body, called for George Bush and Tony Blair to be put on trial for the Iraq War and wondered whether the swine flu was a biological weapon created in a pharmaceutical laboratory. He even demanded to know who was behind the JFK assassination.

“To be fair, this was a man who was suffering from severe sleep deprivation,” the paper notes. The US state Dept, the New York City Council and Donald Trump had prevented him from laying his weary head in an air-conditioned tent in New Jersey, Central Park and Bedford respectively.

The Wall Street Journal asks if Gadaffi’s speech might be “the lowest point in the UN’s history?” That’s the label human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson put on Wednesday’s address.

At one level, he said, it was “black humour at its zenith –the world’s worst international terrorist…urging the UN to investigate all the atrocities with which he is not connected (while) Gadaffi himself has personally ordered the murders of his dissidents and the passenger airplanes he has ordered to be blown up.”

The New York Times: “What Mr. Obama Said and Didn’t Say”

“No one can argue with the importance of the issues he dwelled on – nuclear proliferation, climate change, global poverty and Middle East peace.”

However, the paper’s editorial points out one large gap in Obama’s speech - he said nothing about Afghanistan which just a month ago he called “a war of necessity”, fundamental to American security.

Yet the anxiety in Afghanistan is profound, the paper says. “Many American allies whosetroops are dying there are looking for a way out. We all need to hear a clear statement from Obama about his goals for Afghanistan and his strategy for getting there.”

The New York Daily News: “Evil leader Ahmadinejad in denial as he discusses ‘democratic’ Iran at UN.”

“The Iranian leader served up his usual fetid mix of anti-American, anti-Israeli rhetoric at the UN yesterday.”

 
“Those who stayed had to stifle laughter when Ahmadinejad heralded Iran’s recent ‘glorious and fully democratic election.”

What he never mentioned was what everyone wanted to hear about – Iran’s nuclear enrichment program.

However world leaders had their say on this, in particular Obama and Sarkozy. “To cap it all Dmitry Medvedev opened the door for the first time to tougher economic sanctions if nuclear talks scheduled for next week between Iran and six major powers bear no fruit.”

Taking the opposite view of Ahmadinejad’s speech is Iranian paper, Ettelaat; “Iran can help provide viable peace, security worldwide.”

The Washington Post provides comprehensive coverage of the G20 summit and the major issues on the table - Economics report Annys Shin conducted a webchat with readers yesterday which the paper publishes. She says the most contentious issue is, without a doubt, financial regulatory reform

Finally, take a look at this article in the UK’s Independent. Robert Fisk witnessed Sarah Palin’s first trip overseas since stepping down as Alaska Governor. She was in Hong Kong where she spoke at length about her home state. Was this an attempt to up her international profile bid for the White House in 2012? Unsurprisingly, Fisk found her deeply unconvincing. The headline says it all, “Mangling everything in its path, Typhoon Sarah blows into Asia.”