News Ledes -- December 24
Guardian: "Interpol is seeking the arrest of Jean-Claude Mas, the founder of a French company whose breast implants are at the centre of a global health scare. The international police agency has issued a red notice for Mas. His firm Poly Implant Protheses (PIP), which went into administration last year, supplied implants to tens of thousands of women in Europe and South America."
** New York Times: "The Justice Department on Friday blocked a new South Carolina law that would require voters to present photo identification, saying the law would disproportionately suppress turnout among eligible minority voters." Washington Post story here.
New York Times: "Tens of thousands of protesters gathered [in Moscow] on Saturday afternoon for a second large antigovernment demonstration, as a wave of new activists struggle to convert an inchoate burst of energy into a durable political force."
New York Times: Pakistan lurched between crises on Friday with its military chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, dismissing talk of a coup and canceling a visit from a top American general, a sign that Pakistani fury at the United States over airstrikes that killed 26 soldiers is far from abating."
Al Jazeera: "Raul Castro, Cuba's president, has announced plans to pardon 2,900 prisoners, including foreign nationals, for 'humanitarian reasons'. In a speech to legislators on Friday, Castro cited an upcoming visit by Pope Benedict XVI among the reasons for the amnesty, saying the humanitarian act was 'a demonstration of the generosity and strength of the revolution'. He said 86 foreign prisoners from 25 countries would be freed, and that diplomats would be notified shortly."
Al Jazeera: "Arab League monitors are expected to meet Syria's foreign minister a day after suicide bombers killed 44 people in attacks Damascus blamed on al-Qaeda, but which the opposition said were the government's work."
New York Times: Newt Gingrich & Rick Perry failed to qualify for the Virginia Republican presidential primary ballot.
AND, Yes, Ron Paul Really Is Crazy. Reuters: "A direct-mail solicitation for Ron Paul's political and investment newsletters two decades ago warned of a 'coming race war in our big cities"' and of a 'federal-homosexual cover-up' to play down the impact of AIDS. The eight-page letter, which appears to carry Paul's signature at the end, also warns that the U.S. government's redesign of currency to include different colors - a move aimed at thwarting counterfeiters -- actually was part of a plot to allow the government to track Americans using the 'new money.'"
Guardian: "The Queen [Elizabeth] has visited the Duke of Edinburgh in hospital, where he has received treatment for a blocked coronary artery." Related, earlier story here.