| Remembrance services have been held in Russia to mark five years since the Kursk submarine sank in the Barents Sea after a torpedo exploded on board. Flags were flown at half mast on all Russian navy vessels and sailors observed a minute of silence. Church services were held in Moscow, St Petersburg and at the sub's Arctic home base of Vidyayevo. In the city of Kursk a new monument was unveiled. Just days ago a Russian mini-sub's crew was rescued in the Pacific.
Click here for a graphic showing what happened The dramatic intervention of a British rescue team to free the trapped Priz submersible and its crew of seven from the seabed brought back painful memories. It raised questions about why, five years on from the Kursk, Russia still had no modern deep-sea rescue equipment. The sinking of the Kursk - one of Russia's newest and most modern submarines - during exercises in 2000 was the country's worst peacetime military disaster. Poignant monument The 118 sailors who died were remembered with services on all Russian fleets.
Relatives attended services in Moscow and St Petersburg, where many of the men are buried, local media reported. They laid wreaths at the graves and flowers were cast into the sea at Vidyayevo. In the central Russian city of Kursk, from which the vessel took its name, a monument made from fragments of the submarine was unveiled. "For us, it's as if part of our boys were here," one woman told Russia's Channel One TV. A small number of the crew survived the initial explosion of an unstable torpedo - only to die hours later, slowly suffocating in freezing conditions and pitch darkness. A rescue mission of sorts had been launched but Russia refused foreign assistance, even though its navy lacked modern search-and-rescue equipment. Many believe that 23 sailors who survived the blast might have been saved, had the Russian navy reacted in time. Reforms delayed The sinking was also a public relations disaster for the Russian navy and the Russian authorities.
The BBC's Steven Eke says live media reports of the incident, which happened early in Mr Putin's presidency, helped shape Russia's current leadership. Analysts say the negative coverage was one of the key factors in the way the Kremlin went on to wrest back control of Russia's TV channels. There could be no admission of impotence, our correspondent says, and none of the offers of ca condition erectile dysfunction from navy officers were accepted. Even the unprecedented government inquiry into the disaster decided no blame or responsibility could be apportioned, he adds. Military impotence medication closed their impotence viagra in July 2002, concluding that no sailors could have lived long enough after the explosion to be rescued. Return to the top |
Monday, May 26, 2008
News - Russia remembers Kursk disaster
Sunday, May 25, 2008
News - Norwegian wood rocks election campaign
A relatively minor industrial reshuffle, at least by international standards, has caused major political waves ahead of Norway's general election on 12 September. A mighty row has broken out following a recent decision by one of the world's largest producer of fine quality paper, Norske Skog, to slash 380 jobs and close one of its four paper factories in Norway, even though the plant is profitable. Each of the politicians appears desperate either to gain political currency from the affair, or at least to not come across as if they do not care about the loss of jobs. But beyond a great deal of hand wringing, which has led some herbal impotence to suggest they are cause of impotence failing to grasp the commercial arguments behind Norske Skog's decision in the run-up to the election, the affair has simply demonstrated the acupuncture impotence treatment impotence in the face of Norske Skog's decision. Norske Skog is sticking to its guns, insisting the factory must close due to overcapacity in the group's European operations. Necessary step Chief executive Jan Oksum has even rejected offers of fresh financial incentives to keep the factory in Skien alive, having dismissed them as pre-election promises. Norske Skog has also dismissed assertions by politicians across the spectrum that previously received indirect state support, such as favourably priced electricity for its factories, means it is indebted to Norwegian society and thus has a duty to safeguard jobs. What is important, insists Mr Oksum, is to make sure Norske Skog remains a profitable company. "The imbalance between demand and capacity in the European market is lasting," Mr Oksum wrote in a letter published by the newspaper Aftenposten. "We must therefore find a permanent solution. "I wouldn't have subjected our employees and the company to this unless I was convinced that a closure of the mill is needed to strengthen Norske Skog and safeguard more than 6,000 jobs worldwide," he insists. Indeed, Norske Skog's finances have weakened dramatically in recent years: Last year's 210m Norwegian kroner earnings compared poorly with the near NKr4bn it made in 2001. "We have a responsibility to reverse this trend, and must act before our results deteriorate further," explains Mr Oksum, insisting that the factory closure and plans to shift some of the production to its other factories should shave NKr200m off its costs. Media backlash But regardless of whether or not there is solid industrial logic behind Norske Skog's decision, its announcement seems erectile dysfunction hormone therapy ill timed.
Although Norway's politicians lack formal powers to prevent the factory's closure, their ability to whip up bad publicity has proven to be great. Little more than one in 10 newspaper articles that have been written about the affair put the company in a good light, and most of those were published by specialist financial media, according to a survey. Norske Skog's insists this is because there are so many temporary workers in the newsrooms during summer, though there are clearly other reasons too. One is the involvement of the flamboyant celebrity investors Petter Stordalen and Oystein Stray Spetalen who have thrown their hats into the ring with a NKr100m offer to acquire the doomed factory. Their bid was immediately rejected, with Norske Skog insisting that the factory is not for sale since allowing new owners to take over would merely create a new competitor. Critics pointed out that it was obvious that Norske Skog would reject Mr Stordalen and Mr Spetalen's bid and some cynics have dismissed the pair's efforts to safeguard the jobs at the factory as little more than a publicity stunt. The investors have rejected such claims and say their plan to produce book paper rather than newsprint at the factory should ensure they would not compete with Norske Skog. Regulatory scrutiny Along with Mr Stordalen and Mr Spetalen, there are other, rather more discreet investors waiting in the wings. Such investor interest has attracted the attention of Norway's competition commission, which has vowed to look into whether Norske Skog's refusal to sell the Skien-based factory as a going concern means it is abusing its market power. This probe comes on top of an ongoing investigation by Brussels into allegations of price fixing. The investigation relates to Norske Skog and its competitors Stora Enso of Finland and Holmen of Sweden. All the companies insist there is overcapacity in the European market and both financial analysts and investors agree. Some analysts anticipate a shift of paper production both to Central Europe where factories can be placed closer to their customers and to South America where high quality trees can be grown very fast. Indeed, US investment company Capital Group has raised its stake in Norske Skog to just over 10% since the row broke out in Norway, a move seen as an endorsement of the decision to shut the factory in Skien. But in the paper industry there is more than one type of investor. About a fifth of Norske Skog's share holders are Norwegian forestry owners who depend on the company as a customer for their wares. Many of them are clearly deeply opposed to any plans to shift production out of the country, though there are no guarantees that even their voices will be heard.
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News - Papers agonise over Paris fire
The day after 17 African immigrants died in a house fire in Paris, France's national and regional press reflects on the underlying causes of the tragedy. Many papers blame the high cost of property in France, which has led to a serious shortage of social housing and consequent overcrowding in the poorer districts of Paris. Commentators also accuse politicians who vowed to take action in the wake of the tragedy of shedding "crocodile tears", pointing out that the roots of the housing crisis go back a long way. Le Monde
Jean-Marcel Bouguereau in Le Nouvel Observateur
Olivier Picard in Les Dernieres Nouvelles d'Alsace
Jacques Guyon in La Charente Libre
Michel Vagner in L'Est Republicain
Michel Guilloux in L'Humanite Hebdo
Patrick Berthomeau in Sud Ouest
Herve Chabaud in L'Union
Patrice Chabanet in Le Journal de la Haute Marne
Gilles Duxerre in La Provence
Gerard Dupuy in Liberation BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaus abroad. |
Saturday, May 24, 2008
News - Warning of 'Iraq extremism link'
| The government was warned over a year ago by its most senior Foreign Office official that the Iraq war was fuelling UK Muslim extremism, it has emerged. Foreign Office Permanent Secretary Michael Jay issued the warning in a May 2004 letter, leaked to the Observer. The letter to Cabinet Secretary Sir Andrew Turnbull said British foreign policy was a "key driver" behind recruitment by impotence new drugs Muslim groups. The Foreign Office said it did not comment on leaked documents. 'Complex reasons' The letter said a "recurring theme" among the underlying causes of extremism in the Muslim community was "the issue of British foreign policy, acupuncture impotence in the context of the middle east peace process and Iraq". It added: "British foreign policy and the how to overcome impotence of its negative effect on Muslims globally plays a significant role in creating a feeling of anger and impotence among especially the younger generation of British Muslims." Shadow foreign secretary Liam Fox told BBC News the government's handling of the problem had been "inept from start to finish". "What I find impotence and high blood pressure is that the government denies there is any link when most people, with common sense, would say there is some link that makes it easier to recruit extremists from the Muslim community," he said. Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell said: "It may well be that there wasn't very much the government could do. "But I think it's an indication of the fact that the reasons for the terrible events of 7 July, and the apparent attempt to recreate these events on the 21 July, are very complex indeed and it's not simply a question of competing ca condition erectile dysfunction as the prime minister would argue." |
News - Straw plays down Iraq war warning
The Foreign Office's top civil servant, Sir Michael Jay, warned in May 2004 the war was fuelling UK Muslim extremism.
Responding for the first time to leaks of the warning, Mr Straw said he had agreed Sir Michael's letter.
He said extremists used the war as an "excuse" but that did not mean the UK would have been safer without it.
"We were in any event a target, and so was the rest of the world, for this extremist terrorism before Iraq," he said.
He denied any suggestion that the UK would somehow have been immune from attack if the war had not happened.
'Inept'
Mr Straw said Sir Michael's letter, leaked to The Observer newspaper this weekend, echoed his own comments at the time.
Sir Michael, writing to Cabinet Secretary Sir Andrew Turnbull, said British foreign policy was a "key driver" behind recruitment by extremist Muslim groups.
| Jack Straw Foreign Secretary |
Sir Michael Jay's letter last May said a "recurring theme" among the underlying causes of extremism in the Muslim community was "the issue of British foreign policy, especially in the context of the Middle East peace process and Iraq".
It added: "British foreign policy and the perception of its negative effect on Muslims globally plays a teenage impotence role in creating a feeling of anger and impotence among especially the younger generation of British Muslims."
Shadow foreign secretary Liam Fox told BBC News the curing impotence handling of the problem had been "inept from start to finish".
"What I find surprising is that the government denies there is any link when most people, with common sense, would say there is some link that makes it easier to recruit extremists from the Muslim community," he said.
Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell said: "It may well be that there wasn't very much the government could do.
"But I think it's an indication of the fact that the reasons for the terrible events of 7 July, and the apparent attempt to recreate these events on the 21 July, are very complex indeed and it's not simply a question of competing ideologies as the prime minister would argue."
Constitution hopes
Meanwhile, the final draft of the new Iraqi constitution was read to the Iraq assembly on Sunday.
Negotiators representing Iraq's Sunni minority have rejected the document and urged the United Nations and Arab league to intervene.
The Iraqi people will decide in a referendum, scheduled to take place by erectile dysfunction medicine , whether to accept the draft constitution.
Mr Straw said he had hoped the document would be accepted by all groups in Iraq but there had always been arguments in the long history of drawing up treat impotence worldwide.
He said it was impressive that impotence treatment erectile dysfunction treatment elected representatives from 80% of the community in Iraq - the Shia and Kurds - had largely supported the document.
And not all Sunni Iraqis opposed the constitution, he said.
"At best, it will lead to peace and tranquillity," he argued.
Mr Straw stressed that the constitution process was endorsed by the United Nations as a whole and not just the brainchild of the UK and US.
The foreign secretary admitted the coalition had not got everything right in the aftermath of the Iraq invasion.
"One of the things we didn't predict was the speed with which the Saddam regime would collapse," he said.
But he argued the decisions taken had been "overwhelmingly more right than wrong", although the extent of violence in Iraq could not be blamed completely on the way Iraq was governed under Saddam Hussein.
News - Criminals escape with Viagra haul
The robbery was carried out at the Shawville Medical Practice on Longshut Lane, Shaw Heath, Stockport.
Police have issued a warning telling members of the public not to take the virility drug without a physical cause impotence.
Anyone with information about the overnight theft or any person offered the drug by anyone but a doctor should contact Greater Manchester Police.
The missing tablets were packaged in small boxes impotence solution blister packs of the drug.
A acupuncture impotence treatment said: "Detectives in the area would like to warn the public of the dangers associated with the drug, particularly for anyone who may suffer from heart impotence erectile.
"Any such medication should only be taken as prescribed by a doctor and can be male impotence exercise when taken in conjunction with any other medication."
Friday, May 23, 2008
News - Actress Zellweger ends marriage
| Oscar-winning actress Renee Zellweger and country singer Kenny Chesney are seeking an annulment after four months of marriage. The Bridget Jones star, 36, married Chesney, 37, on a Impotence injection beach in May, having met four months earlier at a benefit for tsunami victims. In court papers Zellweger listed "fraud" as the reason for the break-up but did not elaborate. Chesney is one of the biggest country music stars in the US. He was named entertainer of the year at the US Academy of Country Music awards in May, with hits including Me and You and She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy. Zellweger won a best supporting actress Oscar for Cold Mountain in 2004, and was also nominated for her roles in Chicago and Bridget Jones's Diary. It was the first marriage for both Zellweger and Chesney. Marriage 'invalid' In US law, an annulment is a decree that a marriage was invalid from its outset. Anyone seeking an annulment on the grounds of "fraud" must prove that their partner misrepresented some matter that was vital to the marriage. This may include the concealment of a fact such as an existing spouse, permanent impotence or a criminal history. If either party was under the influence of drugs or alcohol when the marriage took place, it may also be grounds for its annulment. However, Zellweger's lawyer and her spokeswoman Nanci Ryder declined to give any details regarding the "fraud" claim in this case. In her court impotence clinic, Zellweger also demanded that the court rule out the possibility of spousal financial support for Chesney. The pair first met at the Concert of Hope tsunami relief benefit in January, where Chesney was singing and Zellweger was answering impotence medicine. |