News Blog - Times Online - WBLG

Video: Oscars highlights

Marion Cotillard took the best actress Oscar for her haunting portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose, the first time a French actress has won the award in almost half a century. Watch her acceptance speech below:

Tilda Swinton beat Cate Blanchett to the best supporting actress award for her role in Michael Clayton, a film directed by George Clooney. Meanwhile Javier Bardem won best supporting actor for his portrayal of a hitman in the Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men. Watch them accept their awards here.

Finally, see all the glitz and glamour of the red carpet in this video.

Oscars: Live Coverage from LA

9.05pm. Coen brothers clean up.

No Country For Old Men wins both Best Picture and Best Director for the Coen brothers. It's been a huge night for the movie, which also took Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor. "This is an unbelievable honour and a complete surprise," says Scott Rudin, the film's producer. After taking the gong for Best Director, Joel Coen said: 'Ethan and I have been making stories with movie cameras since we were kids. What we do now doesn't feel that much different. We're really thrilled to have received it, and we've very thankful to all of you out there for letting us play in our corner of the sandbox."

So that concludes the Oscars coverage for this evening. The Academy should be pleased with itself: given the lack of writers during the preparation, the ceremony didn't drag as much as I expected it to, and Stewart turned out to be the perfect host in this election year. Of course, it also didn't harm that there were some truly excellent films up for the awards this year...

8.35pm. There Will Be An Oscar

Daniel Day-Lewis takes the Best Actor for his role as the misanthropic oilman Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood. This is win #6 for Britain (by my dubious mathematics). The method actor - his co-stars apparently have to call him by his character's name on set - makes a crytpic speech, thanking the Academy for "whacking me with the handsomest bludgeon in town" and saying that "it seems to me that this sprang like a golden sapling out of the mad, beautiful head of [the Blood director] Paul Thomas Anderson". Handsomest bludgeon? Golden sapling? The man is a lunatic, but a fine actor nevertheless. Day-Lewis concluded: "I've been thinking a lot about father and sons in the course of this, and I'd like to accept this in the memory of my grandfather, Michael Balcon, and my father, Cecil Day-Lewis, and my three fine boys."

8.30pm. Ex-stripper wins Oscar

A fully deserved Best Original Screenplay Oscar for the ex-stripper Diablo Cody, who wrote Juno. She deserves the gong simply for having the name 'Diablo', in my opinion. She cuts a slightly odd figure for a writer, what with her leopard-print dress, bright red lipstick, jet black hair, and upper arm tattoo. "What's happening?" she asks, as she takes the stage. "This is for the writers. I want to thank our incredible cast including the superhuman Ellen Page. And I want to thank my family for loving me exactly the way I am."

By this, I presume she means naked and swinging from a pole.

8.20pm. The Oscars get political

Michael Moore loses out on the Oscar for his US healthcare documentary Sicko. Instead the Best Documentary Feature award goes to Alex Gibney and Eva Orner for Taxi to the Dark Side, which chronicles the death in US custody of an Afghan taxi driver called Dilawar. "Let's hope we can turn this country around, move away from the dark side, and get back to the light," says Gibney, in the first politically charged speech of the night. Incidentally, Gibney's film has been accused of 'demoralising' US troops.

Meanwhile, the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject was introduced by Tom Hanks and some US troops on video-link from Baghdad. The winner was announced as Freeheld, which chronicles the struggle of dying lesbian policewoman to leave her pension benefits to her partner. Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth collected the gong, with Wade completely losing it at the microphone. It was revealed that the late policewoman's partner, Stacie, a car mechanic, was in the audience.

8.05pm. Blood or Old Men? The tension mounts.

Finally, There Will Be Blood wins something. Robert Elswit takes the Oscar for Cinematography. Will the film be able to beat No Country for Old Men for Best Picture? We'll find out pretty soon... And now the People Who Died This Year segment is on, and it ends with Heath Ledger. Who would have ever thought? A sad moment.

Meanwhile, Dario Marianelli wins Best Original Score for Atonement.

7.45pm. Oscar for 98-year-old

The Not Dead Yet Oscar - otherwise known as the Honorary Oscar - goes to Robert Boyle, the 98-year-old production designer who worked on Hitchcock films as North by Northwest, The Birds, Shadow of a Doubt and Marnie. "This is the good part of getting old," he says. "I don't recommend the rest of it."

The Best Song is named as 'Falling Slowly' by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, from the movie Once. The orchestra cuts off Irglova, and the producers invite her back on stage after the break, which seems unusually accommodating of them.

As the show drags a bit, Stewart interjects with some humour.

"Whoever owns the Boeing 707 parked on La Brea Avenue, your landing lights are on," he says. John Travolta gets up from the audience (he owns a 707), and rushes for the door. As he does so, Stewart quips: "Don't worry, it's a hybrid".

7.20pm. Cotillard wins Best Actress

The French are giving the Brits a run for their money tonight. Best Actress has just gone to Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose. "Thank you so, so much," she said, in the first tearful-actress speech of the night. "Thank you life, thank you love. It is true that there are angels in this city." Hard not to feel disappointed for Ellen Page, who lost out for her great performance in Juno. Cotillard also kept the Oscar from going to Cate Blanchett, for Elizabeth, and of course Julie Christie, for her performance in Away From Her.

In case you're wondering, Sound Editing went to Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg for the Bourne Ultimatum. Sound mixing also went to the Bourne Ultimatum, which means that poor old Kevin O'Connell, who was a contender for Transformers, has now had a record 20 nominations without a win.

6.50pm. Coen brothers win screenplay Oscar

In a sign that perhaps No Country for Old Men will emerge as the big winner tonight, the Coen brothers take the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. "Our secret is that we're selective with our material," says Joel Coen. "We've only ever adapted Homer and Cormac McCarthy." Ethan Coen has nothing to say but "thank you". A refreshing change.

Another song now from Disney's Enchanted. What did we do to deserve this?

6.40pm. Tilda Swinton in Win #5 for Britain

The scary-looking Tilda Swinton wins the second big Oscar of the night - Best Supporting Actress - for her role as an evil fertiliser executive in Michael Clayton. "Oh no," she says, strangely, as she takes the stage. "Happy birthday, man," she goes on, looking at her Oscar, who turns 80 tonight. "I have an American agent who is the spitting image of this, really truly, the same shape head, and, it has to be said, the buttocks. And I'm giving this to him, because there's no way I would be in America, at all, if it wasn't for him. So Brian Swardstrom, I'm giving this to you."

I'm afraid to report that Swinton's dress really does look like a bin bag. Still, another win for Britain, can't complain.

6.35pm. Win #4 for Britain

Owen Wilson - looking a bit unwell - gives the Best Short Film gong to the French film-maker Philippe Pollet-Villard for Les Mozart Des Pickpockets. Pollet-Villard doesn't speak English, which is no bad thing. As Javiar Bardem just proved, the speeches sound a lot better when they're in a foreign language. At last, Stewart makes a joke about all the tedious video montages they keep playing. "This is what the entire writerless Oscars would have looked like," he says.

Best Animated Short Film, meanwhile, goes to Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman for Peter and the Wolf. And guess what? They're both British! This is a big night already for Britain.

6.20pm. Javier Bardem wins Best Supporting Oscar

There is justice at the Academy Awards. Javier Bardem wins Best Supporting Oscar for his absolutely terrifying performance in No Country for Old Men. When the award is announced, the Spanish actor kisses his date - his mother - and makes his way to the stage. "This is pretty amazing. Thanks to [the Coen brothers] for putting one of the most horrible haircuts in history on my head." Then he says something to his mother in Spanish, and she crys.

A perfect Oscars moment.

6.10pm. Win #3 for Britain

Best Visual Effects goes to Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood, for The Golden Compass. Ben Morris is British. I have a feeling that one of the other team members is British, but I can't be sure, and IMDB.com isn't providing the answer.

Best Art Direction goes to Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo for Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street.

6.05pm. Win #2 for Britain

Best Makeup goes to Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald (a Brit) for La Vie En Rose, about the French singer Edith Piaf. "I am really 'appy and prod [sic] to be 'ere," says Didier. The orchestra cuts-off Jan in mid-thank-you.

Amy Adams now sings 'Happy Little Working Song' from the Disney movie Enchanted. It's dreadful. Stewart, at least, is on great form tonight. "If you ever wonder what we do during the breaks, we just sit around making catty remarks about the outfits you're wearing at home," he says, after the break. "It works both ways, people."

5.55pm. Ratatouille takes Best Animated Feature

The Cloonster makes an appearance. God, the man knows how to dress. He introduces a film clip celebrating 80 years of Oscars. Again, hard to avoid the feeling that this was put together when they thought they wouldn't have any writers on the show. Anne Hathaway and Steve Carell present the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film. Brad Bird wins for Ratatouille. He thanks an unhelpful high school guidance counselor for giving him the 'perfect training for the movie business'.

5.45pm. Win #1 for Britain

The first Oscar of the night goes to a Brit. The category is costume design and the winner is Alexandra Byrne, for Elizabeth. Shame the film didn't live up to the frocks.

5.30pm. Stewart opens with Obama/Hilter joke.

Jon Stewart's opening monologue is very funny. "These past three and a half months have been very tough," he begins. "The town has been torn apart by a writer's strike. The fight is over, so tonight... welcome to the make-up sex." He goes on to mock Vanity Fair for cancelling its annual Oscars for the sake of the then still-striking writers. "Maybe next year you can invite some," he said.

Other great lines: "Before we spend the next four to five hours giving each other golden statues, let's take a moment to congratulate ourselves." And: "Away From Her is about a woman who forgets about her husband. Hilary Clinton called it 'the feelgood movie of the year'." And: "Normally when you see a black man or a woman president, an asteroid is about to hit the Statue of Liberty."

He jokes that the Democrats choosing a man called Barack Hussein Obama as their presidential nominee would be like them choosing someone called Gaydolf Titler in 1944.

Incidentally, the show opened this year with a long animated sequence. This probably has nothing at all to do with the fact that animators aren't unionised, and could therefore prepare it while the strike was still going on...

5.20pm. Page says Juno 'sincere'

Ellen Page, the 21-year-old Canadan actress up for Best Actress for her brilliant performance in Juno, is being interviewed. Asked why Juno has been such a hit, she replies: "It is unique and it's funny and mainly it's really sincere and honest, and it has a mixture of optimism and truth that we don't always see."

Less than five minutes to go before the show starts... this year's host, Jon Stewart, must be feeling the nerves.

Regis is in the auditorium now, and we get to see who gets the front-row seats: Jack Nicholson, Javier Bardem, and Johnny Depp are among them.

5.10pm. And the Oscar for Worst Hair goes to...

Now the always-charming Regis Philbin has taken over the coverage. He reveals that the red carpet is indeed longer than a football field. The French actress Marion Cotillard - from La Vie En Rose - makes a bid for the best dress of the evening. She looks like a mermaid. The award for Worst Hair, meanwhile, goes John Travolta. What did he do to it? It looks as though it was sprayed on, using a helmet as the template. Javier Bardem is arriving now. Mercifully, the insane mop-top he sported in No Country for Old Men is gone. We're big fans of Bardem here in The Times's viewing room. We hope he takes the Best Supporting Actor gong.

4.55pm. More arrivals...

Julie Christie is being interviewed on the red carpet now. She tells the man from ABC that Guantanamo Bay should be closed, and that this is a very important issue to the people of Britain. It's unclear what the man from ABC can do about this. He responds by saying that he is certain that she'll win Best Actress for Away From Her.

Michael Moore turns up. Has he lost weight? He looks slightly less blob-like than usual. "Hello international audience, please forgive us," he tells the camera, inexplicably.

4.40pm. The arrivals begin.

The red carpet outside the Kodak Theatre really is incredibly big. It's like a football pitch down there. Daniel Day Lewis and Colin Farrell have just arrived: they both look like pirates with long hair and ear-rings. Ah, and here's Tommy Lee Jones, the one man in America who looks older than John McCain. And now Tilder Swinton - co-star of Michael Clayton, and Britain's great hope for Best Supporting Actress - has been grabbed by the guy from ABC. "I'm usually doing something more useful than this," she tells him, looking slightly insane with a shock of red hair and a strangely reflective black dress. The people at ABC don't seem very impressed with this brush-off. "She wears fashion that maybe not everyone understands," interrupts the announcer, as she walks off.

4pm. Welcome to the Oscars

Good afternoon/morning, Oscars-followers. This is Chris Ayres, LA correspondent of The Times, and I am here to guide you through the evening. As I write this, helicopters are circling, the streets around Hollywood have all been blocked off, and you can't move for LAPD squad cars and police officers with bomb-sniffing dogs. Down on Hollywood Boulevard, a massive tent has been erected over the red carpet, to protect the celebrities' frocks from the very British weather. Still, we're all very excited here in The Times's viewing room. Which film will take the most gongs? Which actress will wear the worst dress? Which celebrity will make the longest speech? Stay tuned.

Brit Awards: live commentary

22:25: So, winners and losers? Arctic Monkeys, Take That and Foo Fighters scooped two awards each. Amy Winehouse appeared on stage twice without disgracing herself. Macca showed he's fighting fit despite spending all week in court. And losers? Leona Lewis was nominated four times without winning, and Mika only won one award, despite four nominations. Will the Osbournes be asked back to present? Somehow, I doubt it.

22:05: Wait! Get Back! Switch over to ITV2 (Macca: "where no one ever goes") for a bonus track from the Beatles legend. Whatever the City Boys paid for their dinner they're getting value for money now.

22:00: But wait, hold the ad break, scrap Sir Trevor, mute Big Ben's bong's. Sir Paul is back with a short and sweet version of Lady Madonna. "See how they run" (for the afterparty).

21:55: As if one power ballad isn't enough, Macca delivers an uptempo Hey Jude that gets Earls Court into audience participation mode, boys versus girls. The guy's certainly got tunes. Released forty years ago, in 1968, it's a memorable finish to a distinctly unmemorable night. The Sharon vs Vic spat seemed a rather desperate late attempt to inject controversy. Even four Osbourne's were no match for last year's host Russell Brand.

21:50: Sir Paul starts with a so-so Dance Tonight, before launching into an unforgettable rendition of Guns & Roses classic Live & Let Die. The man can still rock. Has Heather got anything to top that?

21:45: Ozzy gets his one chance to say anything and messes it up! He's introducing Sir Paul McCartney, winner of Outstanding Contribution to Music. Sharon regains control and introduces the "unstoppable" Kylie who will present. Kylie says a few sweet words and then Mr Wings flies on the stage.

21:40: Comedian Alan Carr is on stage apologising to the audience: "Sorry I'm a bit p*ssed... I put a straw in Amy's beehive.'' He presents the Best British Single award to Take That for Shine, introducing them by saying: "I kissed them all last year. Will they get past first base? It's Take That.'' Needless to say there's no tongues for Carr from the boys.

21:35: Finally some kerfuffle. Vic Reeves is making some kind of silent protest against the awards sponsors, failing to namecheck Mastercard while presenting Album of the Year. Sharon tells him to "p*ss off you b*stard. You're p*ssed. P*ss off you p*sshead". A bemused, and not too pissed looking Vic ignores her and manages to shout out the winners, Arctic Monkeys, before Mrs Ozzy manhandles him away from the podium. Unfazed, the Arctics thank the Brit school too. Despite schooling in Sheffield.

21:35: Amy's back on stage to give a word perfect rendition of her song Love Is A Losing Game. And she should know. She clearly mouths the words "I love you" during her performance. I guess this is directed at Blake rather than me. At the end of the song, she says to the audience: "Make some noise for my husband, my Blake". The crowd oblige. Do you think they can hear in Pentonville?

21:30: Now here's Gandalf himself, Sir Ian McKellen, waving his magic wand to present Best British Group. And to no great surprise the winners are the fabulous Arctic Monkeys. And, once they eventually make it to the stage, to no great surprise the brilliantly attired Northerners are ever so slightly sozzled. Alex Turner eventually manages a burst of his hunting horn before the Osbourne enforcers usher them off.

21:20: Mark Ronson presents selected All Stars Adele, Daniel Merriweather and Amy Winehouse: and yes, Amy is showing. Adele's up first, delivering a rather downbeat God Put A Smile On Your Face. Just an appetiser. Then it's Daniel. Yes mate, we have heard this one before. If only we could Stop You.

Finally, Miss Winehouse makes her long awaited appearance. Dressed in tartan corset, matching red bow, skimpy leopard print skirt and monster beehive, Britain's Most Controversial Diva delivers a belting Valerie that finally gets the corporate guests interested: Earls Court goes crazy. And, thankfully, Amy doesn't.

21:10: How seriously does the rest of the world take the Brits? None of the Best International Group nominees are here. Draw your own conclusions. And the (Can't Be Bothered To Be Here) winners are... The Foo Fighters. Whoever they are. Straight on to Best British Female, won by last year's "new Lily Allen", Kate Nash. She namechecks the Brit school which as well as producing Adele, Amy and Leona, also seems to be responsible for most of the screaming audience in the pit by the sounds of things.

21:05: So we're an hour into the show and there's not one bit of controversy, beyond Mark Ronson's name checking of Old Dirty Bastard (a rap star) and Sharon's plugging of Leona Lewis (a pop star, apparently). It's all rather bland. Where's the Chumbawamba moment coming from? Where's Jarvis when you need him. What happened to rock and roll at the Brits? For heavens sake, Andrew Lloyd Webber is on stage making "jokes" about Best International Groupie.

20:55: Someone call a Doctor. Oh, here's here. Surely this is a fix? David Tennant is reunited with his Doctor Who Christmas co-star Kylie Minogue to present her with Best International Female. Hasn't Kylie been living in the UK ever since she left Ramsey Street for "Brisbane". The Aussie star thanks the Brits Academy, her label, her fans etc.

20:45: Mark Ronson deservedly wins Best British Male. He claims he "didn't think my chances were great, but I did scribble some notes" before going on to thank just about everyone he's ever met. As the remixer-par-excellence says, he's lived in New York since he was eight, but hell, he's as British as, say Lennox Lewis and Greg Rusedski, and has the transatlantic accent to prove it. Well done fella.

20:40: Live (by pre-recorded video link) Kanye West picks up Best International Male, humbly claiming there's someone more deserving: "but I can't think who they are". Course you can't Kanye. Sharon gets "all hot and bothered" mixing up the order of awards. Nope Sharon, there isn't a prize for Best International British Male. If there was, I'd be voting for Mika, I can tell you.

20:35: Yay, it's Kylie Time. Accompanied by what appears to be the remmanents of the Daft Punk Fan Club, and clad in green sequins, Kylie belts out Wow. Wow indeed. Wow, Wow, Wow. Erm, that's about the only part of the lyric I can hear. From where I'm sitting the sound is appalling, but then she's lip synching so we can't really blame the Queen of (Australian) Pop.

20:29: Sharon introduces "a man who needs a good licking" Jonathan Rhys Meyers to present British Breakthrough Act. Jonnie sensibly keeps his distance. And the winner is... Oh God, No. It's Mika. Aaaaaargh! Apparently his Mum does his costumes. You couldn't tell. Mika accepts the award with a scream, before thanking "everyone who's worked like dogs to get us here". Bless him, he's delighted. Lebanese-born Mika's music has been compared to Marmite - people either love it or hate it. No prizes for guessing which camp I'm in. Still, he seems a nice chappie.

20:25: Just when you thought Granny's favourite Will Young couldn't get any posher, he reaches new heights introducing the gorgeous Adele, winner of Critic's Award. Adele seems a bit tipsy, thanking "her manager, my beautiful Mum, Jamie T, Jack Penate, everyone who bought my album." The usual suspects then.

20:20: Awesome laser show for the Rihanna/Klaxons Umbrella collaboration. But was that really the Klaxons up there or just a load of cardboard cutouts? They didn't seem to do anything. Guess all that Nu Rave must have mashed their coordination. Or maybe they don't seem themselves as backing singers.

20:15: First award winner is Tate That for Best Live Act, what a surprise yah? The national treasures look suitably pleased. Why does Gary still continue to hog the mike? Eventually Jason grabs it off him to say: "we're so honoured to receive this award. I've got an arthritic knee, and a slipped disk. We're bruised and battered and dead chuffed. Thanks to all the viewers. It's slightly cliched to say it, but our audiences are electric." Anyone who braved torrential thunder and lightening at the City of Manchester stadium last year during their gig will know what he's talking about. Finally, Howard thanks "the truck drivers who lug all our stuff around". He's a nice lad ain't he? Very good manners.

20:10: The entire Osbourne Family take the stage, promising "awesome collaborations" and Even-More Over-The-Topness. Is that possible? "Let's get on with it," says Sharon, as she welcomes "future son-in-law" Chris Moyles. Yes please.

20:05: And we're off. A rousing but all too brief Standing In the Way of Control (with Beth Ditto cameo) briefly brightens up Mika's overly familiar Freddy Mercury posturing. Can't we have more Beth please? Still the competition winners in the pen at the front seem to be enjoying themselves.

19:55: Five minutes to go, and a surprise Red Carpet appearance from the Arctic Monkeys who have never previously attended the Brits. The cheeky Sheffield rockers arrive in tweed plus fours, waistcoats, caps and carrying hunting horns as if out for a weekend of country pursuits. They look like they're going shooting. Watch out Mika.

19:45: Ashley Who? Girls Aloud star Cheryl Cole arrived flanked by her band-mates and showing off her tanned physique in a super-short, off-one-shoulder canary yellow dress. The singer has not been wearing her wedding ring since discovering her footballer husband Ashley's alleged infidelities and tonight it remained off while she had her hand clasped in that of her PR's.

19:30: Good evening music fans. Tonight we're at London's Earls Court for this year's Brit Awards. 8,000 industry guests are currently tucking into their free nosh and booze before Ozzy and Sharon Osborne get things rolling at 8pm. Mika is up first. And there were you thinking he was a passing 2007 fad? If only.

Despite a year in which sales of recorded music have continued to freefall, guests are all smiles. Kylie Minogue got the biggest cheer on the carpet; the 39-year-old singer arrived in a stunning, shiny, sexy black Vicky dress, a cute new blond bob, with a glittering diamond necklace and earring combo.

Shiny Happy People is the order of the evening, with Denise Van Outen clad in shiny gold and birthday gal Rhianna resplendent in shiny silver. KT Tunstall and opera singer Katherine Jenkins also sparkled in stylish sequins.

Most Outrageous Dress award goes to Beth Ditto, who crammed her beautifully voluptous frame into a firey orange ballerina-style tutu. Beth performs with Mika at the top of the show. Lets hope she stomps on him.

The 8,000 industry guests at the Earls Court show, hosted by Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, will attempt to celebrate a year in which sales of recorded music plummeted.

Castro resigns: the Web reacts

A blood-drenched tyrant to some, an anti-imperialist icon to others, Fidel Castro's announcement today that he is to resign as President of Cuba after almost half a century in office was always bound to draw mixed reactions. The news has been greeted in some quarters as a welcome first step towards democratic change, while in others, it has prompted warnings against renewed US interference in its neighbour. Meanwhile on the streets of Miami's Little Havana, responses have been most notable for their caution - in contrast to the scenes of jubilation on the when Castro first handed over power to his brother Raul in 2006. With no hint yet that Castro's retirement (or rather, retreat into a shadowy backstage role) will signal the demise of the socialist regime, it seems Cuban exiles and their supporters have yet to release their collective breath.

Here's a selection of comment from the web:

Steve Clemons, the Huffington Post:

"Of all the low cost opportunities to demonstrate a new and different US style of engagement with the world, Cuba is at the top of the list. Opening family travel -- and frankly all travel -- between Cuba and the US, and ending the economic embargo will provide new encounters, new impressions, and the kind of people-to-people diplomacy that George W. Bush, John Bolton, Richard Cheney, and Jesse Helms run scared of.

"This is a huge potential pivot point in US-Cuba relations. Will Hillary Clinton step up to the plate -- and will Obama move beyond the somewhat timid proposals he offered previously and go to the gold standard in US-Cuba relations articulated by Senator Chris Dodd?

"And will John McCain just ignore history's offered up opportunity or will he continue to paw the dirt and blow steam at the island nation just off the Florida coast?"

Cuban Triangle:

"Cuba’s stability during Castro’s entire 19-month absence, and his exit by an orderly constitutional succession, do answer one question for Americans. Our “Cuba problem” will not go away on Sunday because, like it or not, it derives not from one man, but rather from a political system. Cuba has problems – many identified by its own government – and Cuban socialism will now sink, swim, or adapt on its own, without Fidel."

Uncommon Sense:

"Fidel's "retirement" is not a moment to celebrate. Unfortuntely, his legacy will survive his life's work, and his life. It is a historical moment to note but nothing more.

"And it means little to this son of former Cuban refugees. Maybe it would be different if this morning we were reading his obituary, but consider me underwhelmed. I won't be breaking out the champagne, and I won't be driving to Miami for the party."

Cuba Solidarity Campaign, UK:

"Now, more than ever, friends of Cuba need to be extra vigilant to the Bush administration’s reaction. President Bush has stated on numerous occasions that he will not accept a transition of power from Fidel and they will inevitably use this as another excuse to try and destabilise the country and to promote regime change to a US favoured government.

“President Bush has already held a news conference today, stating that the: “international community should work with the Cuban people to begin to build institutions that are necessary for democracy." Cuba’s sovereign institutions should be respected by the US government, which has no right to dictate who should lead their country.”

The Lede, New York Times:

"...The response so far has been muted among those who fled his rule, some of them in makeshift rafts floating over shark-infested waters. The Associated Press’s first dispatches from the Cuban-exile neighborhoods carried headlines like “Miami Quiet On News Of Fidel Resignation,” and the people quoted in the article and in another published online by The Miami Herald didn’t seem to think that this was a big deal ...

“Is the enthusiasm buried deep inside Little Havana residents, awaiting some much-needed Tuesday morning fuel from cafecitos and pastelitos? Or have they simply given up hope that real change is in the offing? "

The Economist: 

"Only five years younger than Fidel, Raúl Castro is likely to be a transitional figure. Some commentators do not discount the possibility that Carlos Lage, the de facto prime minister who runs the economy, might be named as the new president. Cuba watchers will study the new Council of State for clues as to whether the pace of reform may now accelerate. Another clue might be the calling of a long-overdue Congress of Cuba’s ruling Communist Party, of which Fidel Castro remains first secretary.

"George Bush this week repeated the United States’ call for free and fair elections in Cuba. But as long as Fidel remains alive, a move towards liberal democracy will not happen. Frail though he is, Fidel Castro will continue to exercise a veto power over the pace and direction of change in Cuba. He plans to continue writing regular articles in the official press. “I am not saying goodbye to you. I want only to fight on as a soldier of ideas,” he said in his statement. He has stepped down but he has not quite left the stage."

Manned space flights: a giant leap too far?

Launching a new space strategy today, the Government announced a review of Margaret Thatcher's 1986 decision not to spend taxpayers' money on manned space missions. An expert working group has already given their backing to the idea, despite the huge cost.

But what do you think?

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Is the Archbishop just misunderstood?

The Archbishop of Canterbury has stubbornly occupied the front pages of websites and newspapers for the past four days after his speech on Islamic law in the UK created one almighty row.

The head of the Church of England has successfully united the government, Muslim leaders and members of his own church in condemnation. A statement has since appeared on his website suggesting the whole thing was a terrible misunderstanding.

It read: "The Archbishop made no proposals for Sharia in either the lecture or the interview, and certainly did not call for its introduction as some kind of parallel jurisdiction to the civil law."

Is he sure? This is what he said, so make up your own mind:

(Excerpts from a speech at the Royal Courts of Justice and a BBC radio interview)

- "There's a place for finding what would be a constructive accommodation with some aspects of Muslim law, as we already do with some other aspects of religious law."