Two a penny

.More than 2,000 passengers have been rescued after spending hours trapped in the undersea Channel Tunnel linking France and Britain after four trains broke down due to poor weather conditions.
Angry travellers said they had been left with no power, air conditioning, food or water.
Rail operator Eurostar said the breakdowns had resulted from technical problems caused by the temperature difference inside the tunnel and freezing conditions outside.
“Everyone is suffering from the bad weather.
“It is snowing in northern France, it’s very cold, conditions are very bad,” a spokesperson for Eurostar, operated by French rail operator SNCF, its Belgian counterpart SNCB and British government-owned LCR, said.”
He said a rescue locomotive and a shuttle train were used to move passengers out of the 51-kilometre tunnel, the longest undersea subway in the world which conveys about 40,000 people a day between Britain and continental Europe. The airports are suffering, people on the roads are suffering, and so are our Eurostar trains.
Passengers accused Eurostar of doing little to help them, with some finally reaching their destination more than 12 hours after leaving Paris.
He said passengers had been forced to get off the broken-down train themselves, had moved through the service tunnel in the dark, and then got onto a “filthy” car transport train.
“There was very, very poor communication from the staff,” said Lee Godfree, who was returning to Britain with his family from Disneyland Paris. They’ve been sick.
“We’ve had children asleep on the floor. . We had one loo (toilet). “We had people fainting on the train. “We had people fainting on the train.
Last year, the tunnel, which opened in 1994, was shut for two days after a large fire broke out on a freight train, while a blaze in 1996 fire halted freight traffic for seven months.”
Eurostar said it had cancelled all its trains on Saturday before noon (local time) because of the severe weather and said services over the weekend would be severely disrupted.
London’s Gatwick and Luton Airports were closed for many hours, while flights were cancelled at Heathrow and Stansted, the capital’s two other major airports.
Heavy snowfalls across southeastern England in recent days had already brought chaos to road, rail and air passengers.
–

.
Budget airline EasyJet said it had cancelled more flights on Saturday because of the bad weather, with forecasters at Britain’s Met Office predicting further snow showers on Saturday with temperatures falling as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius

.A French wrestling club has gone to court to defend its age-old practice of awarding a live sheep as a tournament prize.
An animal rights’ group argued that the winner should instead receive a hat, embroidered handkerchief or a packet of cigarettes, as was once the tradition in Brittany.
The champion of Gouren wrestling, a special style that dates back several centuries in Brittany, carries the sheep on their shoulders during a victory lap.
The Stephane Lamart animal rights group argued before the Brest tribunal that the awarding of the sheep violated laws that bar animal prizes other than during farm shows or agricultural fairs. .
“The animal is not mistreated.
The court will render a decision on February 8.
Lamart himself turned up at court with several bodyguards after about a dozen wrestlers showed up in their combat costume for the hearing held in a packed courtroom.
-

.European leaders have pledged to provide 7.2 billion euros ($11.
At a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels, the funds were pledged to assist poor countries combat rising sea levels, deforestation, water deficits and carbon emissions.5 billion) over the next three years to help developing nations adapt to climate change.
The EU’s decision is expected to prompt other industrialised nations to also pledge many more billions, but it has failed to impress delegates from developing nations.
One of the major divisions at the UN-sponsored climate talks in Copenhagen has been who will pay and how much is needed to help developing nations cope with the effects of global warming.
“The Copenhagen deal must be consistent with a maximum global warming of two degrees,” Mr Brown said. .”
However the G77 bloc of developing countries, including China, has scoffed at the proposal, denouncing it as a short-term political fix.
“Our aim is through an ambitious deal that the European Union commit to reduce its emissions by 30 per cent by 2020.
“Our view is that European leaders are acting as if they were climate sceptics.
“They (the pledged funds) are not only insignificant, they actually breed even more distrust on the intention of European leaders on climate change,” said the group’s spokesman, Lumumba Stanislaus Dia-Ping of Sudan.
The proposal calls on developed countries to cut their emissions by between 25 and 45 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020, and that global emissions must be halved by 2050.”
Meanwhile, a draft climate pact unveiled overnight has revived hopes that the talks might be able to pin down an international deal to cut global emissions.
There is still no clear path forward through the division between developed and developing countries on the issue of the legally enforceable cuts.
Analysts say the current pledges from developed nations currently sit at around 18 per cent.
Yvo de Boer, head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, said the draft text marked a “step change” in the negotiations.
The United States has said China and other rapidly industrialising nations must also sign up to binding cuts if the summit is to be a success.
Meanwhile, around 40 protesters were detained during a demonstration in Copenhagen aimed at a meeting of company executives who were discussing global warming.
“It’s time to focus on the bigger picture,” he said.
– ABC/

.Thierry Henry is not a cheat and will get over his handball in France’s controversial World Cup play-off against Ireland, Zinedine Zidane said.
“He is not a cheat, I know him well,” the former France playmaker, who was sent off for headbutting Italy defender Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final, told French television channel Canal Plus. He made a mistake, like I made a mistake, even if I’m not making any comparisons.
“He will get over this.”
Henry, Zidane said, had apologised by admitting he had handled the ball.
“We all make mistakes.
“I’m not saying it was nothing but it was handball, that’s it.
“The fact he said there was a handball means he has apologised,” Zidane said.
The French Football Federation (FFF) has ruled out a replay, saying world governing body FIFA’s decision that the result should stand is final.”
France captain Henry handled the ball while setting up William Gallas’ extra-time equaliser in the 1-1 draw in Paris which sent France to the World Cup with a 2-1 aggregate win.
-

.Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has praised his “perfect” performance after outclassing world number two Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-3 to set up a Paris Masters final against local hope Gael Monfils.
World number three Djokovic, who beat world number one Roger Federer in the Basel final last week, extended a brilliant run of form and will start favourite against Monfils, having won their three previous encounters.
Monfils, seeded 15th, thrilled the 14,000 fans packing the Bercy hall when he knocked out 13th Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in the other semi-final, which was a lot tighter and could have gone either way.
“I was hitting winners from all over the court and really trying to keep that momentum going during the whole match,” he added, summing up a spectacular performance.
“There’s not much to say about today’s performance except it was perfect, you know, exactly the way I wanted it,” Djokovic said. .
Djokovic will play his fifth final and chase a first title this year in a Masters 1000 event, while Monfils will feature in a final in the showcase series for the first time.
“I didn’t play badly but he played unbelievable,” said Nadal, who leads 14-6 against Djokovic but has now lost their last two meetings.
The 22-year-old Serb was on top throughout the match, displaying his confidence in the second set when he won the first two games to love and broke Nadal in the second with a forehand winner.
“It’s very difficult for me to beat him when he’s playing that level, especially on a fast indoor court”.
Showman Monfils then alternated amazing winners and clumsy errors before taming Stepanek in a close contest that lasted over two and a half hours.
Nadal, who won the French Open four times on the other side but never this indoor event, could not recover and Djokovic remained in charge until sealing victory with a another superb forehand on the first match point after just 76 minutes.
A third set was needed, in which the pair traded breaks before Monfils managed the telling one in the ninth game to serve for the match.
The acrobatic Frenchman had the crowd on his side but showed signs of nerves, notably when he served for the match, leading 5-4 in the second set, only to be broken.
The fans went wild when Stepanek hit a return long on the first match point.
The fans went wild when Stepanek hit a return long on the first match point. Now I have to live up to it.
“Playing a final in France is a special occasion.”
-

.
REUTERS – The body of Mehdi ben Barka, an opponent of Morocco King Hassan II who was abducted in Paris in 1965, was burnt in Essonne, south of the French capital, author Georges Fleury told the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

Fleury was given secret police documents on the Mehdi ben Barka affair 25 years ago, the former marine commando told the paper in an interview to be published on Sunday.

In any case, for me, that is what happened, I believe a lot in this lead.

The person who handed over the dossier was convinced that his body was incinerated in Essonne, Fleury said.

Mehdi ben Barka, a hero for the international left, was kidnapped in broad daylight in front of the smart Lipp restaurant in the heart of Paris and his fate remains unknown. Was it looked into at the time? Can it be verified today? I ask myself the question, Fleury was quoted as saying.

The case has been a cause celebre for Moroccan advocates of greater political freedom in the kingdom, but it remains politically sensitive in Rabat, where Hassan son Mohammed succeeded him as king in 1999. French investigators believe he was tortured and killed. .

France issued international arrest warrants on Oct.

Fleury said he had since lost contact with his source and was ready to had over the documents in his possession to prosecutors if they asked him.

France – Morocco

.Pope Benedict has canonised five new saints, including a man who dedicated his life to lepers in Hawaii and another considered one of the greatest mystics of the 20th century.
Jozef Damian de Veuster (1840-1889) of Belgium moved to Molokai in Hawaii at the end of the 19th century, where he became known as “the lepers’ apostle” for living on a colony for 16 years until he himself died of the disease.
The pope also canonised Jeanne Jugan (1792-1879) of France, who founded the order of the Little Sisters of the Poor.
De Veuster’s life “invites us to open our eyes to lepers who disfigure the humanity of our brothers,” the Pope said at a St Peter’s basilica mass attended by Belgium’s King Albert II, Polish President Lech Kaczynski and French Prime Minister Francois Fillon.
Jugan “is like a light to guide our societies which have still not rediscovered the place and unique benefits” of elderly people, the pontiff said. By the time she died, her institute had 2,500 workers looking after elderly women in 177 homes around the world.
Also canonised were Polish archbishop Zygmunt Szczesny Felinski (1822-1895) and two Spanish monks – a Dominican, Francisco Coll y Guitart (1812-1875) and a Trappist, Rafael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938). .
He died from diabetes after preferring to stay at the monastery rather than with his parents, where medical care would have been easier to come by during the upheavals of the Spanish Civil War.
Baron, considered one of the greatest mystics of the 20th century, died aged 27 while he was a member of the Cistercian Order of Strict Observance.
The fifth was Carmelite monk Nuno de Santa Maria Alvares Pereira (1360-1431) of Portugal.
In April, the Pope canonised five people, including Father Arcangelo Tadini (1846-1912), Sister Caterina Volpicelli (1839-1894), theologian Bernardo Tolomei (1272-1348) and Gertrude Caterina Comensoli, (1847-1903), all Italian.
Pope Benedict has canonised 28 new saints since becoming pontiff in April 2005.
Pope Benedict has indicated he intends to slow down the rate of canonisations and of beatifications – a step towards full sainthood – in contrast with the prolific rate of his predecessor, John Paul II.
Beatification, officially the Catholic Church’s recognition that a dead person has entered heaven and can intercede on behalf of those who pray in their name, is a key step towards sainthood. Jean-Paul II canonised 482 new saints and beatified 1,338 during his 26 years in office.
-

.
AFP – Egypt announced on Wednesday that it has cut all cooperation with France’s Louvre Museum until it secures the return of stolen Pharaonic relics in the latest row involving the exhibits of a major European institution.

We made the decision to end any cooperation with the Louvre until they return the works, antiquities chief Zahi Hawass told AFP.

He alleged that the renowned Paris museum bought the antiquities in 1980 even though its curators knew they were stolen.

French sources said that the antiquities Egypt was demanding are decorative fragments from a tomb in the Valley of the Kings close to Luxor.

The purchase of stolen steles is a sign that some museums are prepared to encourage the destruction and theft of Egyptian antiquities, he said.

Mitterrand said he has convened a meeting for Friday of a special commission that is empowered to rule on restitution, according to a culture ministry statement on Wednesday.

French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand pledged that France is ready to return the relics to Egypt if the Pharaonic antiquities at the Louvre Museum are indeed stolen.

The minister is ready, if the commission were to issue a favourable ruling, to implement provisions of the UNESCO convention and restitute the relics to the Egyptian authorities without delay, the statement said.

In order to return the works, we would need the agreement of the National Scientific Commission for the Museum Collections of France, he told on condition of anonymity.

A member of the Louvre’s executive said it is open to the idea of returning the works, which are on display in its galleries, but that the decision is not the museum’s alone. .

Egypt’s decision to suspend cooperation will affect conferences organised with the museum, as well as work carried out by the Louvre on the Pharaonic necropolis of Saqqara, south of the capital Cairo.

A number of the world’s most famous museums have collections of Egyptian antiquities, many of them acquired during British colonial rule.

A French source said the atmosphere created by Hosni’s defeat doesn’t help, but insisted that there is no real obstacle and a solution should be found soon.

But in recent years the Egyptian authorities have been increasingly vociferous in campaigning for the return of important works.

But in recent years the Egyptian authorities have been increasingly vociferous in campaigning for the return of important works.

Egypt has also long demanded the return from Berlin of a bust of the legendary Queen Nefertiti that was discovered on the banks of the Nile by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt in December 1912.

The case prompted Egyptian authorities to bar foreign scientists from examining royal mummies.

archaeology – Egypt – France – Frédéric Mitterrand – Louvre
.

The case mirrors that of the so-called Elgin Marbles, the decorative frieze that used to adorn the Parthenon in Athens whose return by the British Museum in London Greece has long demanded

.Germany’s most popular women’s magazine has banned the use of images of professional models on its pages.
From 2010, Brigitte will only use what it calls “real life women”.
The magazine’s editors complained they were sick of having to retouch pictures of underweight models who bore no resemblance to their readers. He used three plus-size models to showcase his trademark tight knitted dresses.
At his London fashion week show, designer Mark Fast decided that big was the new black. One of his stylists resigned on the spot, refusing to dress what were referred to as bigger girls.
The decision to use size 12s and 14s instead of the standard size zero models led to a very public row between Mark Fast and his creative team.
Bigger girls to some, but at Germany’s most popular women’s magazine, they are simply referred to as normal.
“Of course a model is a real woman too but we are examining for students, DJs, actresses, whatever,” she said.
One of the fashion directors at Brigitte is so fed up with having to photoshop skinny models to make them look fatter and healthier that she has decided to stop using models altogether in favour of real women.
“We will certainly make normal, average women look glamourous,” she said.
Susie Gunlach’s Brigitte sells 700,000 copies a week and she is out to prove that normal women can be beautiful and sell magazines.”
The industry is edging closer to zero tolerance for zero-size models.
“We will have the best photographers we’re employing for this and we will not make this into a boring magazine for the housewife. From 2010 it will be a policy at Brigitte not to hire professional models at all because the current wave are considered to be too thin and too young. From 2010 it will be a policy at Brigitte not to hire professional models at all because the current wave are considered to be too thin and too young.
“It’s not allowed for a young girl or a young boy, teenage age to work in a factory . He has spent the past few days working at Paris fashion week where models are said to weigh around 25 per cent less than normal women…
“There should be kind of minimum age for the girls to start with. but in the fashion world it is allowed for a 14-year-old girl, maybe even sometimes without her parents, travelling through the whole of Europe and making all these hard castings and doing a very, very tough job,” he said. Two years ago Spain passed a law banning underweight models.”
Vogue UK editor Alexandra Shulman recently appealed to major fashion houses to end the size-zero culture. .
Perhaps this is a trend that will last

.
AFP – French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Kazakhstan Tuesday for a swing through the energy-rich state expected to yield billions of euros in space, energy and defence contracts for French firms.

The visit, the first by a French president to Astana, is being touted as the culmination of a two-year diplomatic push aimed at securing French companies a larger role in Central Asia’s largest economy.

In the largest deal the Spie Capag consortium, owned by construction giant Vinci, is expected to net a 1.75-billion-dollar) contract to build a pipeline for Kazakhstan’s massive Kashagan oil field.2-billion-euro (1.

Oil giant Total and GDF Suez are also expected to formalize a venture worth one billion dollars to develop the Khvalinskoye gas field in the Caspian Sea.

The pipeline will be part of a transport system to bring Kazakh oil to Europe, which analysts say would most likely take the form of tanker shipments across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, without transiting Russia. .

Kazakhstan is set in January to become the first former Soviet state to chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and Human Rights Watch called on Sarkozy to press them to implement promised reforms.

Although Sarkozy is expected to praise the ex-Soviet state as an island of stability in a volatile region, the trip comes at an awkward time as international criticism mounts over Kazakhstan’s spotty human rights record.

The United States and OSCE have both criticized the conduct of the trial, raising questions about its fairness and the impartiality of the judge.

Most notably, the New York-based watchdog asked him to raise the case of activist Yevgeniy Zhovtis, sentenced to four years in prison in September for a traffic accident that resulted in a man’s death.

business – France – Kazakhstan – Nicolas Sarkozy