Teatime newslinks for Friday 23rd December 2011

DAVID CAMERON'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE TO THE FALKLANDS

• "In his message, Mr Cameron declared: ''Whatever challenges we face in the UK, the British Government's commitment to the security and prosperity of the overseas territories, including the Falklands, remains undiminished. So let me be absolutely clear. We will always maintain our commitment to you on any question of sovereignty. Your right to self-determination is the cornerstone of our policy. We will never negotiate on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands unless you, the Falkland Islanders, so wish. No democracy could ever do otherwise.''" - Daily Telegraph
• Full text of the message - Daily Mail

NICK CLEGG'S EUROPEAN ANTICS

• "Nick Clegg will step up a Liberal Democrat fightback over Europe in the new year and may even join David Cameron at the next EU summit... the Deputy Prime Minister, who was dismayed when Mr Cameron used the British veto at the last summit, aims to "set the agenda" at the next EU gathering at the end of next month. He will start by hosting a meeting of liberal-minded ministers from other European states in London on January 9 to build common ground." - Evening Standard

EUROZONE CRISIS

• "European stocks rose, extending this week’s rally, as increases in U.S. durable-goods orders and new home sales reinforced optimism that the recovery in the world’s largest economy is gathering strength." - Bloomberg
• "Use of the European Central Bank's overnight deposit facility reached a new record high for the year Thursday, suggesting recent measures by central banks and policy makers still aren't enough to restore confidence in inter-bank lending markets." - WSJ
• "The European Union president Herman Van Rompuy, who likes to write haikus in his spare time... is sending The World Book of Happiness to world leaders and urging them "to make people's happiness and well-being our political priority for 2012"." - Guardian

MIDDLE EAST UNREST

• "Two explosions rocked the Syrian capital of Damascus on Friday morning, attacks that the government and an activist group said targeted the heart of the state security administration a day after an Arab League advance mission arrived in the country under a plan to resolve Syria's spiralling crisis." - WSJ
• "Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Friday that the twin suicide bombings that targeted security service buildings in Damascus earlier in the day were “engineered” by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime." - NOW Lebanon
• "Pakistan’s army chief on Friday said that the military strongly dispelled speculation that it planned a coup, as tensions escalated after the country’s prime minister warned a conspiracy was under way to oust the civilian government." - FT (£)

OTHER POLITICAL NEWS

• "World leaders gathered in the Czech capital Friday to mourn Vaclav Havel, the dissident playwright who led his country's Velvet Revolution against communism before becoming its president and later an outspoken campaigner for global human rights." - WSJ
• "Turkey’s prime minister yesterday accused France of conducting a “merciless” genocide in Algeria as he responded furiously to a vote in the French parliament concerning the mass killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire." - Daily Telegraph