This is our new Friday Digest! Every Friday, this weekly news round-up gives us the occasion to share with you news from various topics: politics to arts, entertainment, media, science, sports, fun and less fun news…

This digest is a list of news published this week on the Internet (Friday to Friday), selected by the Sama Team, and it is by no means exhaustive. If you want to suggest a news to be added in the next Friday Digest, contact us.

France gets down to the serious business
The party’s over and the guests have finally gone. Now, it’s time to tackle the washing up. After weeks of hosting summits in Brussels, then Cannes, designed to sort out everyone else’s problems, French President Nicolas Sarkozy returned to Paris at the weekend to tackle the economic battle on his home front. The French Cabinet will hold a belated weekly meeting on Monday and the agenda is likely to be dominated…

Former heavyweight champ Joe Frazier dies of cancer at 67
Joe Frazier, a tough, underrated heavyweight boxer from Philadelphia and one of the sport’s fiercest competitors who spent a lifetime playing second fiddle to his nemesis, Muhammad Ali, died Monday night from liver cancer. He was 67. Frazier’s death was announced in a statement by his family, who asked to be able to grieve privately. Frazier was diagnosed with cancer in late September, said his personal and…

Europe’s populist parties feed off growing sense of crisis
They distrust government and the justice system as well as Europe’s political elite. They rail against multiculturalism and believe their national identity is being swamped by immigration and their culture strangled by Islam. They are implacably hostile to “big money” — banks and other financial institutions. They are getting organized, online and off, and thriving amid Europe’s eurozone crisis…

Human rights victory for rapists and paedophiles
A Supreme Court ruling has forced the Government reluctantly to draw up new rules allowing serious sex offenders put on the register for life to have their place on the list reconsidered. The Home Office plans were opposed by child protection campaigners and Conservative MPs, who said some offenders could never be considered completely “safe”. The new rules were drawn up because the Supreme Court…

Arrest of Poet, Blogger and Media Professional Jaafar AlAlawy in Bahrain, Arab Capital of Culture 2012
Jaafar has been released this evening, after spending over 24 hours at detention. earlier today, his lawyer went to the public prosecution but was told Jaafar’s file is not there yet and he will be presented to public prosecution after the end of the legal detention period of 48 hours, which was supposed to be tomorrow morning. It’s still not clear if there will be official charges or there will be any kind of compensation…

Palestinians To Seek Upgraded Observer Status At UN
The Palestinians are resigned to defeat in their quest for full membership at the United Nations, officials said Tuesday, and have started work on their backup plan – seeking an upgraded observer status that would give them access to key international organizations. Officials said they are already lobbying foreign governments, especially in western Europe, in hopes of rallying support for this alternate strategy…

Eddie Murphy Drops Out of Oscars Telecast
Eddie Murphy is dropping out as the host of the Oscars telecast, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences said Wednesday, less than 24 hours after the show’s producer Brett Ratner stepped aside amid a storm of criticism over his use of an anti-gay slur over the weekend. The hasty departures represented an embarrassing collapse of the Academy’s plans for the Oscar presentation and left…

Is the euro tearing Europe apart?
When the euro became official tender 12 years ago, it was hailed as an economic and social savior, “the beginning of a strong European Union,” according to the EU’s top official at the time. But now, in the middle of several economic crises, its effectiveness is coming into question. “The euro was sold to Europeans by politicians as a brilliant way of integrating Europe more. The irony is that it has had exactly…

Statement by the Press Secretary on the Bombings in South Sudan
The United States strongly condemns the aerial bombardment by the Sudan Armed Forces of the town of Yida in South Sudan.  Yida is located inside South Sudan and hosts more than 20,000 refugees who have fled the ongoing conflict in the Sudanese state of Southern Kordofan.  International humanitarian workers and United Nations staff have been working to provide food and shelter for these refugees…