Sarkozy and Netanyahu will probably not be exchanging Xmas cards then

Just when you think it couldn't get any worse for the French president it does.

Nicolas Sarkozy has been caught calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "liar" in a private conversation with President Obama overheard by journalists.

It came after the two leaders appeared together at a news conference during a G20 summit meeting in Cannes last Thursday, they retired to a room for what they thought was a private conversation.

The report on this website says that Obama chided Mr. Sarkozy for not warning him that France would vote to admit the Palestinians into UNESCO.

The two men began discussing the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I cannot stand him,” Mr. Sarkozy was quoted as saying. “He is a liar.”

Mr. Obama is reported to have replied, “You’re fed up with him, but I have to deal with him every day!”

Netanyahu's challenge for Obama

The Israeli Prime Minister,Benjamin Netanyahu lays down a challenge for Barcak Obama in an interview with Atlantic magazine.

“The Obama presidency has two great missions: fixing the economy, and preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons,”

On the second issue,he tells Jeffrey Goldberg that he Iranian nuclear challenge represents a “hinge of history” and added that “Western civilization” will have failed if Iran is allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

Interesting words and on the eve of taking office Netanyahu has clearly drawn a line in the sand over what he feels are the priorities for Israel