| Sarkozy romance sparks furore
Did he really give her a pink, diamond, heart-shaped engagement ring in Egypt? Has he really set 9 February as the date? It is almost as if they were talking about a pop star or a French footballer, but the man in question is no ordinary celebrity - he is the president of France. He might view his relationship with singer and former model Carla Bruni as a Disney-style whirlwind romance, but many French people increasingly see it as impulsive, flashy, vulgar and most importantly, distracting. "We didn't elect a rock star" snaps the regional paper Nice Matin, in response to more glossy photographs of the jean-clad president and his girlfriend in Jordan. The Alsace agrees: "We don't need this glitz - we need him to give us economic results", it admonishes. An opinion poll in the newspaper Le Parisien suggests the president has suffered a seven-point drop in his approval ratings - only 48% of French people now say they have confidence in their leader, giving him his lowest score since his election last May.
Final date approaches for voter registration for upcoming Belton ...
The election will be held on Feb. 12. Voters can review their voter information online at www.andersoncountysc.org/vote or www.scvotes.org. Residents can also register at the Anderson County Voter Registration and Elections office at 107 S. Main Street, Room 101. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. A third option is to submit an application by mail. When registering by mail, applications must be postmarked by Jan. 12, 2008, in order to be eligible. Registration-by-mail forms are available for download online. .
Larry Silverstein
Silverstein properties partnered with the California State Teachers' Retirement System, and the joint venture bought the midtown tower from Paramount Group. The Observer broke the news of the deal last month. It's the third big purchase Mr. Silverstein has made with CalSTRS. .
Smart landlords learn from tenants
Young Lee, a mortgage broker with Canada Mortgage Store and real estate investor for the past three years, had a tenant who stopped paying rent after the first two months. Lee had done a credit check on the tenant and found he had no credit. But he did get what seemed like a reasonable explanation. When it came time for the eviction process, Lee hired a lawyer. While the man eventually left on his own – tenants who have made a career out of scamming often disappear right before they are evicted or ordered to pay – Lee is still out $6,000 in rent. He advocates approaching the tenant-selection process as you would hiring someone to work for your company. Get at least three references from former landlords. Call their employer to verify their salary. Do a credit check.
Come back home, India tells its players
While cricket writers try to reason out the string of bad umpiring decisions (eight in all), those polled blamed it on the umpires' bias against India. And did Harbhajan actually abuse Symonds racially? Most Indians believe he didn't. They believe him, they believe Sachin Tendulkar. And they seem to believe that the spinner didn't get a fair hearing only because he is Indian. 1. Read what our surfers say... 2. Sachin's SMS: Harbhajan is innocent 3. Timeline: How the drama unfolded .
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