29.01.10 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
French ex-PM Dominique de Villepin has accused President Sarkozy of pursuing a vendetta against him, after prosecutors promised to appeal over his acquittal.
Mr de Villepin was found not guilty on Thursday of having a role in a smear campaign against Mr Sarkozy.
But the Paris state prosecutor said there was scope for an appeal as not all the facts of the case had emerged.
The ex-PM, Mr Sarkozy’s one-time rival for the presidency, said the president was acting out of “hatred”.
“This decision is a political decision and what it shows is that Nicolas Sarkozy, president of the Republic, prefers to continue in his relentlessness and hatred instead of assuming the responsibilities of his office,” he told French TV.
Minutes earlier, Paris state prosecutor Jean-Claude Marin announced the appeal, saying it was “surprising” that Mr de Villepin had been acquitted.
He told French radio: “All has not emerged in this case. There is still scope for a part of the truth to emerge.
“Whatever happens, there will be a second trial.”
Mr Marin added that the appeal could be heard later this year or early in 2011.
On Thursday Mr de Villepin was cleared of four counts of complicity to slander, to use forgeries, dealing in stolen property and breach of trust.
Mr Sarkozy had promised he would “hang from a butcher’s hook” for trying to smear his name.
Bribe allegations
In 2004, Mr Sarkozy’s name appeared on a list of top politicians and businessmen who were wrongly linked to an illegal bank account in Luxembourg.
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THE CLEARSTREAM VERDICTS
Dominique de Villepin: Former PM, 55. Acquitted on charges of complicity in slander and forgery
Jean-Louis Gergorin: Former EADS vice-president, 63. Sentenced to 15 months in jail and a fine of 40,000 euros (£34,500; $56,000) for slander and use of false documents. Admitted leaking the fake list to investigators
Imad Lahoud: Computer expert, 42. Sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined 40,000 euros for slander and use of false documents. Confessed to adding Sarkozy’s name to the list
Florian Bourges: Accountant, 31. Guilty of theft and breach of trust for obtaining the original Clearstream documents. Given a four-month suspended sentence.
Denis Robert: Journalist and author who broke the story, 41. Acquitted of dealing in stolen property and breach of trust
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It was alleged those named on the list had received bribes from international arms sales.
The list was sent to people including Mr de Villepin, who was accused of failing to stop the conspiracy.
During the investigation, Mr de Villepin admitted he knew of the documents – but the court found no evidence to prove he had known they had been faked.
At the trial, prosecutors had called for him to receive an 18-month suspended sentence and a fine of 45,000 euros (£39,000).
Three other defendants were convicted, including a former executive of the EADS aerospace group, Jean-Louis Gergorin, who admitted leaking the fake list to investigators, and Imad Lahoud, a computer specialist, who confessed to adding Mr Sarkozy’s name to the list.
Both men were fined 40,000 euros (£34,500; $56,000). Gergorin must serve 15 months in prison and Lahoud must serve 18 months.
A fifth defendant was cleared.
29.01.10 / Cricket / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
JOHANNESBURG: Corrie van Zyl, South
Africa’s new interim coach, is excited about his job and wants to instill
discipline in the side, which heads to India on Saturday for a Test and ODI
series.
“I believe in team culture. The team must look after
discipline and if they can’t then it becomes my responsibility. I will not pass
the buck on that,” Van Zyl said.
“I’m not sure if it’s going to be
stranger for the players who knew me as an assistant or for me, because they are
really going to see a different side of me. As the assistant, you do what the
head coach wants, you follow orders. As the coach, you make the rules,” he
added.
Van Zyl was appointed coach after Mickey Arthur stepped down
from the post.
Van Zyl, who had assisted Arthur in the past, singled
out Ashwell Price as one of his immediate concerns and said he would like to
talk to the opener about his role in the team.
“I really want to
talk to him (Prince) and find out what he wants to do,” said Van Zyl.
Van Zyl said he always wanted to coach the national team but never
imagined that the job would be his in such circumstances.
“After my
stint as the assistant coach, I felt that I needed to look after my own team, so
I went back to the Free State and coached the Eagles from the beginning of the
franchise system (2004-05) until last season,” said Van Zyl, who assisted three
national coaches and also won six titles while in charge of the Eagles.
“I was hoping to take over from Mickey at some stage. I would have
wanted it to do it under different circumstances and would have preferred it if
it was on Mickey’s own terms,” he added.
A former pacer, Van Zyl had
played for Free State along with Arthur during the early 1990s.
Asked if he would accept the coaching job permanently given a
chance, Van Zyl said, “Any coach that is worth his salt would want to coach at
national level. I would be foolish to turn it down.”
South Africa
will start their tour of India with a Test series beginning on February 6 in
Nagpur.
29.01.10 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
Plans to engage the Taliban in talks are gathering pace, with Afghanistan inviting members to a peace council and reports of a secret UN meeting.
At a key Afghanistan summit in London, President Hamid Karzai vowed to reach out to “disenchanted brothers”.
A UN official told news agencies special envoy Kai Eide had met Taliban members in Dubai on 8 January after they had asked for talks.
Mr Eide denied meeting on that date but refused to comment on other dates.
The one-day conference in London saw world leaders pledge $140m (£87m) to win over low-level Taliban fighters.
Delegates also said that Afghan forces could take control of security in some provinces by the end of 2010 and that the process could be complete in five years.
‘Talks about talks’
At the summit, Mr Karzai again urged the Taliban to renounce violence.
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ANALYSIS
By Lyse Doucet, BBC News
Whether or not the report of UN talks is true, it’s clear that anyone who mediates in this process would want to keep it secret. Taliban leaders who reach out face great danger. They would need to know they would be protected. The reports speak of talks about talks, underlining how this process is still at a very early, very delicate stage.
A number of military and diplomatic sources in Afghanistan say they are hearing reports that some senior Taliban are tired of fighting, and would be interested in a political solution.
But in a situation where intelligence has often proved to be dangerously faulty, it’s very hard to get the measure of what the Taliban is thinking and whether indeed this movement is divided and capable of being split from al-Qaeda and more hardline elements as Hamid Karzai and his allies want to believe.
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“We must reach out to all of our countrymen, especially our disenchanted brothers, who are not part of al-Qaeda, or other terrorist networks, who accept the Afghan constitution,” he told delegates.
He invited moderate Taliban to a peace summit.
The UN official, who would not be named, told news agencies that Mr Eide had met members of Taliban’s Quetta Shura – senior commanders known to be based in the southern Pakistani city.
“They requested a meeting to talk about talks. They want protection, to be able to come out in public,” the official was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Eide, the UN Special Representative, categorically denied any talks took place on 8 January, saying he was only in Dubai for several hours – in transit en route to Kabul.
As for other dates, Mr Eide said he never commented on reports like this, whether true or false.
Taliban spokesmen have repeatedly said they have no interest in talking to Mr Karzai’s government.
However, Reuters quoted one Taliban spokesman, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, as saying: “I cannot say a word regarding these peace talks. The Taliban leadership will soon decide whether to take part in these peace talks.”
The BBC’s Lyse Doucet says that, if true, the report of secret talks would be a significant development.
‘Corruption’
The final communique from the summit in London said it welcomed Afghanistan’s goal of taking charge of the “majority of operations in the insecure areas of Afghanistan within three years and taking responsibility for physical security within five years”.
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COMMUNIQUE’S KEY POINTS
Handover security duties in Afghan provinces starting in late 2010 or early 2011
Funds to reintegrate Taliban who cut ties with al-Qaeda
Hold a 2010 summit in Kabul to develop concrete plans for the Afghan government programme
Backs start of discussions on a new Afghan-led IMF programme
Increase share of aid delivered through the Afghan government to 50% in two years
Increase Afghan military strength to 171,600 and police numbers to 134,000 by October 2011
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UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said: “The aim of the conference was to align the military and civilian resources of every coalition partner behind a clear political strategy, to help President Karzai and his government deliver the ambitious agenda that he set out in his inaugural speech last November.
“The themes of mutual responsibility – Afghan and international – and of unity behind a clear plan came through very strongly indeed.”
The summit said the Afghan government had acknowledged that it had to tackle corruption.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said reforms planned by President Karzai, such as tackling corruption and effectively managing aid, were important and the US would be watching them carefully.
The summit said the Afghan government had made progress on economic development, and it hoped it would continue to boost agriculture, human resources and infrastructure.
The BBC’s diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus said the theme of the conference was unity and coherence, but also an acknowledgement that there was no military solution to Afghanistan’s problems.
29.01.10 / News / Author: timepasss / Comments: (0)
About 1,400 tourists have been airlifted from near the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru following floods that destroyed road and rail links.
A break in the weather allowed the government to send in helicopters, but about 800 tourists are still stranded.
Tourists’ patience has been stretched, with prices for some goods soaring.
The Machu Picchu site, which attracts more than 400,000 visitors a year, will be closed for several weeks after the heaviest rainfall for 15 years.
‘An adventure’
Tourists were stranded in the town of Aguas Calientes, at the foot of the ruins, after rainfall severed road and rail links.
They have complained at the slow pace of the rescue effort.
The flooding has heavily damaged parts of Aguas Calientes
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The BBC’s Dan Collyns in Cusco says the rescue is now hitting its stride and the tourists should be out by the weekend, although the misery will continue for the thousands of Peruvians who have lost their homes and farmland to the floods.
More than 2,500 tourists have been rescued since Monday, officials said.
The evacuation has been done by age, with the elderly and children taken first.
American Karel Schultz, 46, told Associated Press news agency: “It’s been an adventure, a bit more than we bargained for.”
Some tourists had to rely on locals for food after cash machines dried up.
A number of hotels were reported to have increased prices considerably.
The train to the city of Cuzco is the only means of transport on the last leg of the trip to the Machu Picchu ruins, and has been suspended since Saturday when it was blocked by one of 40 landslides in the area.
Five people are reported to have died, including two residents killed when their home was destroyed, and a trekker crushed while sleeping in a tent.
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