Two a penny

.New economic data shows several major developed economies may have reached the trough of their recessions. .
The OECD’s monthly Composite Leading Indicators (CLI) report says there are strong signs that Canada, France, the United Kingdom and Italy have reached the trough of their recessions.5 points in April, while Canada’s increased by 0.
It reports the UK’s CLI rose 0. France’s CLI rose 1.4 points.2 points and Italy had the biggest increase of 2.
But April CLI figures for all countries were lower than the same time last year.1 points.
But it says it is still too early to tell if these latest figures are the start of a more positive trend or just a temporary change.
The report also finds that the rate of economic deterioration is slowing in most OECD nations including Germany, Japan and the United States, though many other developing countries still face worsening conditions.

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AFP – The French economy is likely to contract by 3. .

The economy would then rebound and grow by 0.

In announcing budgetary measures in March, the government had said it expected the economy to contract by 1.5 percent in 2010, the source said.0 percent.5 percent this year and to recover gradually in 2010 when gross domestic product would grow by 1.

In 1975, after the first so-called oil price shock that serves as a reference point for European economies since World War II, the French economy shrank by 1.

The source said that after contraction of 1.0 percent.

The source said that economic activity should pick up at the beginning of 2010, as the effects were felt of policies by central banks and governments to support economies.2 percent in the first quarter of this year, on a quarterly basis, the phase of brutal adjustment is giving way to a period of stabilisation.

Household consumption, which is the main force behind growth of the French economy, should hold up in principle and remain steady in the next few months to show growth of 0.

This is a fairly prudent outlook, the source said.3 percent this year and 0.3 percent this year and 0.4 percent this year and then of 1.

Investment by businesses was expected to show a slump of 9.

The government expected conditions on the employment market to worsen further for a few more quarters up to some point in 2010, the source said.2 percent next year.1 percentage points, the biggest increase since 1975, to 8.

The French unemployment rate jumped in the first quarter of this year by 1.6 percent in the last quarter of last year.7 percent of the workforce from 7.

French economy – recession
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On Monday, the right-wing government under President Nicolas Sarkozy was celebrating a resoundingly strong performance in elections to the European parliament on Sunday

.Brazilian officials say debris they thought was from an Air France crash in the Atlantic was in fact sea “trash”, adding to the uncertainties surrounding the jet tragedy.
“Up to now, no material from the plane has been recovered,” Brigadier Ramon Cardoso, director of Brazilian air traffic control, told reporters in the northeastern city of Recife.
“We confirm that the pallet found is not part of the debris of the plane.
Items, including a cargo pallet and two buoys, pulled from the ocean early Thursday – which Brifadier Cardoso himself had initially said came from downed Air France flight AF 477 – actually came from another source, most certainly a ship.
The pallet was made of wood, and the Air France Airbus A330 did not have any wooden pallets on board. It’s a pallet that was in the area, but considered more to be trash,” he said.
He also said a big oil slick originally thought to come from the plane probably also came from a ship passing through the zone, 1,000 kilometres off Brazil’s north-east coast. “That’s how we can confirm that the pallet isn’t part of the remains of the aircraft,” he said.
Air force planes on Tuesday and Wednesday spotted items in the water, including a seat from a plane and a seven-metre chunk of what looked like fuselage, that Defence Minister Nelson Jobim said were beyond a doubt from the French jet.
Despite the mistake over the debris, it appeared the Brazilian navy was in the right general area where the Air France came down.
Speculation over what caused the accident has ranged from a massive, lightning-packed storm in the area at the time, to turbulence, to pilot error or a combination of factors.
Air France flight AF 477 came down early on Monday as it was transporting 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
Memorial services were held on Wednesday in Paris and Thursday in Rio for those on board the plane, though no bodies have been spotted at sea.
No mayday call was received from the plane, just a series of data transmissions signaling it had lost power and then had either broken up or gone into a fatal dive. .
Many relatives of the passengers attended, but others declined, refusing to give up hope that somehow, despite the evidence, their loved ones had survived.
Mr Jobim on Wednesday called an explosion on board the downed plane “improbable” based on the presence of slicks at the crash site, inferring that the fuel would have burned away in a blast or fire.
The point in the Atlantic where the plane came down is “immensely deep,” between 3,000 and 4,000 metres, complicating the search for the black boxes, he said.
Also, a Spanish pilot who was flying at high altitude some distance behind the doomed Air France jetliner said he saw an “intense flash of white light,” according to his airline, Air Comet.
But with the biggest of those slicks now found to be oil from a ship, that hypothesis seemed undermined.
“Suddenly, we saw in the distance a strong and intense flash of white light, which followed a descending and vertical trajectory and which broke up in six seconds,” the unidentified captain wrote.
A co-pilot and passenger also saw the bright light, according to a report initially given to Spain’s El Mundo newspaper and confirmed by AFP.
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REUTERS – French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet Iran’s foreign minister on Wednesday to discuss Tehran’s nuclear programme, in rare talks between a leader of a major power and a senior Iranian politician.

The meeting will be an opportunity to discuss talks which the six (world powers) wish to relaunch with Iran on the question of nuclear proliferation, Sarkozy’s office said in a statement.

The Elysee said Sarkozy would see Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki at 4.

The United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain said in April they would invite Iran to talks to try to find a diplomatic solution to the nuclear row, but Tehran has so far rejected their overtures.m.30 p.

Bilateral encounters at such a senior level between Iran and one of the countries involved in the nuclear issue are highly unusual. (1430 GMT). . It will be the first time Sarkozy has met a top Iranian minister since he took office in 2007. Iran, the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter, denies the charge and says it only wants nuclear power to generate electricity.

The West accuses Iran of secretly developing atomic weapons.N.

It has ruled out freezing its work on uranium enrichment, drawing a wave of U.

Obama talks in France

Sarkozy is due to meet U. sanctions. President Barack Obama on Saturday in France and Iran is certain to be on the agenda.S. Bush’s policy of isolating Iran, and U.

Obama has rolled back George W. officials have sought out Iranian representatives at recent international meetings.S.S.

Iran’s Mottaki briefly chatted with U.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday he expected a positive outcome from six-party talks with Iran.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday he expected a positive outcome from six-party talks with Iran.

Our proposals to Iran are well-known. We expect a constructive reaction from the Iranian administration, Lavrov told a news conference following a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in Moscow.

We really have a good chance now, also taking into account the position of the new American administration to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem, he added.

Obama has offered a new beginning of diplomatic engagement with Iran if it unclenches its fist, but Washington has not ruled out military action if diplomacy fails.

The meeting between Sarkozy and Mottaki takes place nine days before Iran’s presidential election, in which the incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faces a challenge from moderates seeking a thaw in relations with the West.

Italy’s foreign minister was scheduled to visit Tehran the previous month but the trip was cancelled at the last minute after Iran launched a missile on the same day.

France – Iran – Nicolas Sarkozy – nuclear Iran

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AFP – A French climber nicknamed Spiderman scaled a landmark Sydney skyscraper Tuesday, thrilling office workers but angering police, who arrested him upon his descent. .

The 46-year-old was arrested on a platform close to the bottom of the building, earning more cheers from the crowd.

With office workers inside the building closely following his progress, the daredevil reached the top of the 41-storey structure then immediately began the climb down to ground level.

He is also no stranger to Australia, having previously scaled the Sydney Opera House.

Robert has climbed more than 80 buildings around the world in an attempt to raise awareness about climate change.

Police Superintendent Ken Finch condemned the Frenchman’s antics.

Police charged Robert with risking the safety of others by climbing a building and granted him bail to appear in court on Wednesday.

An office worker named Peta, who watched the climb from the street as she sipped her morning coffee, was more impressed.

It’s a dangerous and, in my view, an irresponsible stunt, he said.

It’s absolutely ridiculous, it’s great.

I think it’s really important for people to push the limit, I think it’s an important part of life, going out and doing crazy things, she told national news agency AAP. I love it.

Australia – Odd news

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In France, foreigners held in detention centres have the right to legal advice and assistance as they face deportation to their home country. For the past 25 years, the Paris-based non-governmental organisation Cimade has been in charge of assisting foreigners in French detention centres.

Last month, the French government criticized what it called the monopoly of the group and established a contract with six associations, including Cimade, to provide advice.

The Secretary general of the Cimade, Laurent Giovannoni, welcomed the decision. . That was the central issue, the heart of the problem.

The new measures that the government wanted to put in place would not give foreigners in retention real legal assistance, said Giovannoni.

The Cimade argued that under the new system illegal immigrants would not have had access to the same kind of legal assistance they’ve had up to now.

On Sunday, France’s immigration minister Eric Besson decided to extend the Cimade contract for another three months. The organisation feared that they might simply be informed of their legal rights rather than also getting legal assistance in contesting deportation.

France – immigration – justice

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In its latest annual report published on Thursday, UK-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International pointed to new allegations of ill treatment inflicted by French police, which, in at least one case, has had fatal consequences.

Amnesty was referring to the case of Abdelhakim Ajimi, 22, who died of suffocation in May 2008 during his detention in Grasse, in south-east France.

But its annual report — detailing abuses from China to Guantanamo Bay and from Sri Lanka to the ex-Soviet Union — said the global meltdown also offers a chance to rebuild an economic framework putting human rights at its heart.

The world is sitting on a powder keg of social unrest, which risks exploding as human rights are eroded by the global economic slowdown, Amnesty warned.

In other words: we are sitting on a powder keg of inequality, injustice and insecurity, and it is about to explode, said Amnesty chief Irene Khan.

There are growing signs of political unrest and violence, adding to the global insecurity that already exists because of deadly conflicts which the international community seems unable or unwilling to resolve.

In Asia, Amnesty noted the magnificence of the Beijing Olympic Games, but lamented that the run-up to them was marred by increased repression throughout the country as authorities tightened control over human rights defenders, religious practitioners, ethnic minorities, lawyers and journalists.

The 400-page Amnesty Report gives an overview of abuse around the world, including well-publicised human rights hotspots such as Myanmar, Sudan’s Darfur or the Palestinian territories..

In Africa there was state-sponsored political violence in Zimbabwe, while war-torn areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) saw numerous human rights abuses. committed by all the parties to the conflict..

Early promise and initial important steps to redress violations have been followed by limited action towards ensuring detentions are brought into line with the USA’s international obligations, and a lack of accountability and remedy for past human rights violations remains entrenched, it added.

The election of US President Barack Obama raised hopes for progress on closing down the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, but even after only a few months the record of the new administration has been mixed, Amnesty said.

Migrants, Roma, Jews and Muslims were among those subjected to hate crimes by individuals or extremist groups, it said.

In Europe, Amnesty highlighted problems ranging from the use of cluster munitions during the brief Georgia-Russia war, to widespread discrimination against ethnic minorities..

The Israel-Palestinian conflict stayed at the heart of Middle East tensions, where the Gaza conflict in January showed the failure of military forces. to abide by the basic requirements of.. ..

As well as national and regional problems, Amnesty also highlighted wider global problems, including food shortages which leave one billion people hungry or malnourished. international humanitarian law.

While it is too early to predict the full impact on human rights of the profligacy of recent years, it is clear that the human rights costs and consequences of the economic crisis will cast long shadows, said Khan.

While it is too early to predict the full impact on human rights of the profligacy of recent years, it is clear that the human rights costs and consequences of the economic crisis will cast long shadows, said Khan.

Billions of people are suffering from insecurity, injustice and indignity. This is a human rights crisis, she said.

In an interview with AFP, Khan called on the Group of 20 (G20) countries to remember that human rights must go hand-in-hand with stimulating economic growth.

Our message to them is: you can’t fix the economic problem without fixing the human rights problems that go along with it, she said.

But the Amnesty report’s conclusions are not all gloomy: from the wreckage of the global economy, it may be possible to rebuild something better, its authors suggest.

For the past two decades, the state has been retreating or reneging on its human rights obligations in favour of the market in the belief that economic growth would lift all boats, said the Amnesty chief.

With the tide receding and boats springing leaks, governments are radically changing their positions and talking about a new global financial architecture and international governance system in which the state plays a stronger role.

That, it said, could ultimately be good news.

That opens up an opportunity to also halt the retreat of the state from the social sphere and re-design a more human rights-friendly model… than the one that has characterized international policy-making for the past 20 years.

Amnesty International – France – human rights – police

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AFP – Madagascar’s former president Marc Ravalomanana has accused France of backing the island’s transitional leader in his ouster, a claim that drew a swift denial Wednesday from the new man.

Madagascar is currently run by a group of bandits with ill motives steered by Andry Rajoelina and backed by the French…

Their (the French) objective is to recolonise Madagascar and enslave Madagascans., Ravalomanana said in comments aired by private Radio Fahazavana Tuesday. The French do not want any progress in Madagascar, he said in the local Malagasy language.

They want to cause an ethnic war in our country. He was then sworn in as the Indian Ocean island’s transitional leader.

Rajoelina toppled his rival in March with the army’s backing after a series of anti-government protests.

I am not being manipulated by anyone, neither by the French, nor by other politicians, Rajoelina told AFP.

On Wednesday, he denied any links to French state support.

Ravalomanana has been in exile in South Africa since his ouster, which was termed a coup by the international community and earned the island a suspension from the African Union and other regional groupings.

Talks to resolve the country’s political crisis have suffered several setbacks although mediators announced Saturday that the Ravalomanana and Rajoelina camps had reached a tentative deal for presidential polls.

The Transitional High Authority (HAT) blocks the return of the former president to the country.

Rajoelina said earlier Wednesday that the former president, against whom his regime has issued an arrest warrant, would not be allowed to return to the country. . The HAT will never sign an agreement regarding this, Rajoelina told reporters.

Andry Rajoelina – France – Madagascar – Marc Ravalomanana

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AFP – Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon, a chilling study of malice in a German village on the eve of World War I, took the Cannes film festival’s prestigious top prize on Sunday.

&raquo France 24/ RFI special Cannes coverage
&raquo Haneke&#039s &#039The White Ribbon&#039 takes Palme d&#039Or
The Austrian director’s austere black and white work beat stiff competition from 19 other films by heavyweight auteurs like Quentin Tarantino and Jane Campion to win the Palme d’Or at the world’s greatest cinema showcase.

Today is a moment in my life when I can say I am very happy, said Haneke, whose often harrowing films — such as Funny Ganes and Code Unknown — have surgically probed society’s sick underbelly. .

He was handed the award at a star-studded red carpet gala by the Cannes jury president, French star Isabelle Huppert, who starred in his 2001 film The Piano Teacher.

A range of other prizes were dished out on Sunday, with French director Jacques Audiard — who had been a frontrunner for the Palme — taking the Grand Prix for his bleak prison drama A Prophet.

Billed as a battle of auteur titans, it mostly lived up to expectations, with Britain’s Independent on Sunday calling it a superior vintage and France’s Journal du Dimanche declaring the return of great cinema.

Cult South Korean director Park Chan-Wook and British movie-maker Andrea Arnold jointly took the jury prize.

Austrian soap star Christoph Waltz clinched the best actor award Sunday for his role as a multilingual Nazi in Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds.

Arnold’s Fish Tank, a coming-of-age drama about a troubled teenaged girl in a grim London suburb, was given the award along with Park’s Thirst, a tale of a do-good priest turned vampire and his secret affair with a friend’s wife.

Alain Resnais, at 86 the grand old man of French cinema, was awarded a special prize for his half-century career.

France’s Charlotte Gainsbourg took the best actress award for her taboo-defying role as a woman driven insane by grief in the shock Danish thriller Antichrist by Lars Von Trier.

Penelope Cruz — a hot tip for best actress award for her role in Almodovar’s flick — was among the A-list celebrities at the 12-day annual French Riviera bash, who also included Martin Scorsese and Jim Carrey.

The onetime New Wave icon had returned to Cannes this year with the fantasy romantic comedy Wild Grass, 50 years after he raised a storm with his arthouse hit Hiroshima Mon Amour.

Tarantino’s march up the red carpet — flanked by Pitt and his wife Jolie — for the world premiere of his long-awaited Inglourious Basterds on Wednesday provided the biggest celebrity buzz of the 12-day festival.

Tarantino’s march up the red carpet — flanked by Pitt and his wife Jolie — for the world premiere of his long-awaited Inglourious Basterds on Wednesday provided the biggest celebrity buzz of the 12-day festival.

The late Heath Ledger’s unfinished stint in Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was screened out of competition, while Spider-Man director Sam Raimi returned to horror with his new flick Drag Me To Hell.

Scandal came in the form of Von Trier’s Antichrist, which provoked fainting, gasps and walk-outs and received an anti-prize for misogyny that the festival director angrily denounced as an attempt at censorship.

Cannes Film Festival – cinema

.A talking dog called Dug from Disney-Pixar’s 3D cartoon caper Up has scooped the Palm Dog – the top screen canine prize at Cannes. .
The 3D pooch beat off stiff competition from a black poodle sitting at a table with Nazis in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds.
Also this year, the jury handed out a “cone of shame” to the Filipino film Kinatay for showing a hound being hit by a car.
Rose has for the last nine years hooked up with leading British film critics at Cannes to pick the best screen mutt for the unofficial award.
“The Palm Dog is no place for pussies,” he said.
Rose, meanwhile, insists he will not give in to growing pressure to open up the award to cats.
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