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Nearly 30 years after an Air New Zealand jet slammed into Mt Erebus in Antarctica, killing all 257 on board, the airline has apologised to families of the dead this morning. .

Hundreds gathered at Air New Zealand headquarters in Auckland today to hearthe apology.

The airline said today’s apology was to takecare of some of the “many of the gaps and failings that occurred in the days, months and years after November 28, 1979″.

He said he hoped that the way the airline dealt with the Perpignan, France, tragedy at the end of last year showed they had learned from the fallout over Erebus.

Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe acknowledged the families of those who had lost loved ones in the crash, and apologised for the way the companyhad handled the aftermath 30 years ago.

“We cannot bring them back but we can honour and remember those brave and true people and we can learn from our past,” Mr Key said.

Prime Minister John Key, at the headquarters for today’s apology,said: “Both tragedies brought shock, disbelief and mourning to our country”.

A carbon fibre sculpture was also unveiled this morning.

He said the crew of the doomed Perpignan flight died in service to the country. Called Momentum, it was designed to reflect the beauty and fragility of air travel, according to creator Phil Price.

.French President Nicolas Sarkozy says the US warrant issued for Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski on a 32-year-old sex charge was “not a good administration of justice”. .
“But I add that it is not a good administration of justice to do this 32 years after the facts when the person concerned is today 76 years old.
The Polish-French national was arrested on September 26 in Zurich, where he had gone to collect an award at the Swiss city’s film festival.”
Polanksi has been regarded as a fugitive by US authorities since he fled the country in 1978 after admitting to having sex with a 13-year-old girl.
But Mr Sarkozy says his comments were a mistake.
French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand labelled Polanski’s arrest “absolutely horrifying”.
“Frederic Mitterrand has recognised that his declaration was an error and that he regretted it.
Mr Mitterrand’s remarks turned the spotlight on himself and his 2005 autobiographical novel. I couldn’t say it any better,” Mr Sarkozy said.
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He was forced to appear on national television last week to deny having ever engaged in paedophile acts

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France Telecom announced the replacement of the group deputy head Louis-Pierre Wenes, whom labour unions claim is the man behind stress-inducing management policies blamed for a tense working climate. The French telecom company has come under fire for the alarming suicide rate among staff members, with 24 employees having taken their lives in the last 18 months alone.

French socialist and communist opposition leaders have been calling for the resignation of both Lombard and Wenes, but the group chief executive enjoys the backing of the French government.

Wenes has been replaced by Stephen Richard, a former cabinet director for French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, who joined France Telecom on September 1 and was being groomed to replace the group CEO, Didier Lombard, in 2011. According to the website of French weekly Le Point , the finance minister mentioned Richard as a possible replacement for Wenes at that meeting. Lagarde reasserted her full and unwavering support for the troubled CEO after the two met last Thursday. Wenes is symbolic: he was responsible for &lsquoterror management&rsquo tactics.

A concession to unions

News of Wenes&rsquo departure was greeted with satisfaction by employees and union members.

CFDT union member Pierre Dubois told them that Wenes&rsquo ousting was the logical consequence of his perceived insensitiveness to employee suicides. He had to leave, CFE-CGC union member Pierre Morville told AFP.

France Telecom, which had suspended forced transfers until October 31, announced on Monday that the halt was prolonged until December 31. A second sticking point was his refusal to negotiate on the policy of forced transfers, whereby France Telecom managers are required to change postings every three years.

There was never any kind of dialogue with Wenes, Dubois told them. . On September 24, Wenes had told French magazine Le Nouvel Observateur that he would consider himself the victim of a monstrous manipulation if he were to take on the responsibility of employee suicides. He never accepted to meet us, not until we published an open letter calling for his resignation on September 25.

Iin a joint press release, leftwing unions Sud and Solidaires said: The nomination of St&eacutephane Richard, a close collaborator of President Nicolas Sarkozy, has raised concern among employees about the future of France Telecom.

Deontological concerns

Although most unions are hopeful that negotiations will start afresh with Richard, some warn against hasty optimism. Dubois was also cautious: Richard remains a big question mark &ndash we don&rsquot know much about him. We hope he will rapidly shed light on his future role.

Deontological concerns surfaced immediately after Richard nomination. We hope the management style will change, and that he will bring a fresh look to the heart of the issue: restructuring France Telecom. However, it is not altogether clear how Richard is expected to do so, given that the state is one of the company main shareholders. As a former member of government, he has been authorised to join France Telecom on condition that he abstain from any contact with the cabinet of the finance until June 30, 2012 .

France – France Telecom – telecommunication

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AFP – German auto parts maker Continental on Monday announced a breakdown in talks with the Dubai-based MAG group on the possible takeover by MAG of a tyre making plant in France.

The discussions ended by mutual agreement, with no common ground having been found, Continental said in a statement.

MAG vice president Fawaz Sabri said his group would continue to examine the matter.

The two parties had led intensive discussions but finally agreed that it was not possible to reach common ground for further talks. The German group offered MAG additional time when the MAG response was deemed incomplete on September 30.

Continental had given MAG until September 30 to reach agreement on a letter of intent regarding the factory, located in Clairoix, northern France.

Dubai – France – Germany

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AFP – French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand was in the spotlight Saturday for standing as character reference for two rapists after a row over his admission of paying boys for sex.

Mitterrand, an urbane television personality and a nephew of former Socialist president Francois Mitterrand adopted a pugnacious tone and threatened legal action over what he said was a new orchestrated campaign of insensitive calumny.

The latest scandal emerged just after Mitterrand managed to retain his job following a fresh furore over his 2005 autobiographical novel La Mauvaise Vie (The Bad Life) in which the hero describes paying Asian boys for sex.

The minister will launch legal action against those who are complicit in the latest ignominy he has suffered, a statement read out at a news conference in the southwestern town of Bordeaux quoted Mitterrand as saying.

I absolutely condemn sexual tourism (and) I condemn paedophilia in which I have never in any way participated, and all the people who accuse me of that type of thing should be ashamed, the 62 year old told TF1 television.

Mitterrand had angrily denied having ever engaged in paedophile acts or condoning sex tourism.

The minister on Saturday said he was godfather to one of the youths, whose mother is a former make-up artist, and underlined that his letter attesting to their good moral character was a gesture of compassion and generosity to a modest family in great distress.

The latest controversy emerged after a French newspaper said Mitterrand had testified to the good character of two youths in the French overseas territory of La Reunion charged with the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl.

Is it not a shame that this letter has found its way in all the Internet networks? he said, calling it an ignominy, a shame, and manipulation.

He underlined that he had met one of the youths three times in (my) life.

The three youths were charged with rape and sentenced to between eight and 15 years in prison.

Le Quotidien de la Reunion newspaper on Friday published a letter that Mitterrand, who was then director of the Villa Medici, the French Academy in Rome, had written to the court.

The controversy over Mitterrand’s book erupted this week after his staunch defence of fugitive film-maker Roman Polanski, arrested in Switzerland on a US warrant on child sex charges. .

Frédéric Mitterrand – French politics – homosexuality – paedophilia – scandal

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An actor has blamed his battle with depression for an incident in which he ended up being shot by police after allegedly ringing to notify them of an armed, agitated man and then dressed up as the man.

Rob Mokaraka, 36, denied reports that the incident in Auckland in July resulted from a custody battle over his child or a perceived lack of work as an actor.

“My depression takes me to dark places,” he told the Herald on Sunday.”

Mokaraka, who is on bail and recuperating in Northland after leaving hospital about two weeks ago, is due back in court on Wednesday.

“I agree depression should be talked about to give others an understanding.

Mokaraka was charged after police said he rang 111 to notify them of an armed, agitated man in the Pt Chevalier area, and then dressed up as the man. .

When police arrived at the scene, he allegedly advanced on them carrying a meat cleaver and two knives, before he was shot once in the chest.

“I am not saying it has stopped, but it’s an ongoing process.

Mokaraka said he was dealing quickly with the emotional scars, “quicker than the physical wounds”.

“There is so much love coming from all over the place,” he said.”

He said he had had plenty of support from family and friends since the incident.”

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“I cannot help but be buoyed by that

.The French military fired on pirates in the Indian Ocean on Saturday to protect two tuna fishing vessels, a spokesman for France’s armed forces said.
The operation at dawn some 350 kilometres from the Seychelles was the first time the French had repelled an attack since a plan was put in place in July for the military to protect boats in the region from Somali pirates.
French soldiers opened fire on two small launches that were trying to approach the vessels bearing the French ensign.
“There were shots .
No one was injured on the tuna ships, which are based at Concarneau, in southern Brittany, the spokesman said… it lasted half an hour and at one point they turned around,” the captain of one of the tuna vessels, Christophe Guyader, told France Bleu Breizh Izel radio.
European fleets have said Somali pirates, which have made millions of dollars from ransoms, are threatening an industry worth up to $US6 billion annually across the Indian Ocean region.
France and Spain base fleets in the Seychelles and haul nearly two thirds of the year’s catch off Somalia between August and November, experts say.
The French military said on Wednesday that one of its naval vessels had repelled a night assault by Somali pirates who apparently believed it was a cargo ship.
Pirates from the lawless Horn of Africa state hijacked a Spanish tuna fishing boat in the Indian Ocean earlier this month.
“It is still too soon to say whether this reduction is due to the actions of the international community .
French armed forces spokesman Christophe Prazuck said pirate attacks had been decreasing, with between 10 and 15 boats on average being held last year compared with four currently.. . We are coming out of the monsoon season, which is not favourable towards the pirates’ small boats,” he added. or the weather.
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.Barely three years after saying “au revoir” to the Brisbane Broncos, Casey McGuire has been named in the French squad for the Four Nations rugby league tournament.
Qualifying under the residency clause, the ex-Broncos utility joins fellow Australian-born player Clint Greenshields in the 23-man squad.
McGuire – whose six-year, 115-game Broncos stint concluded with the 2006 NRL premiership – and ex-St George Illawarra full-back Greenshields both play for France-based Catalans Dragons in the Super League.
They would have missed out by one month if the international federation had decided they could only play for France if they had been in the country for three years.
They were recently cleared by the international federation to play for France, after meeting the criteria of playing three seasons in France.
France’s Australian contingent could have been boosted to three if not for ex-Queensland Origin flyer Adam Mogg’s decision to pull out because his partner is expecting a baby. .
France – to be captained by Catalans Dragons forward Olivier Elima – kicks off its tournament against England at Doncaster on October 23.
McGuire is set to face former Broncos team-mates Darren Lockyer, Justin Hodges and Sam Thaiday when France lines up against Australia on November 7.
It then hosts New Zealand in Toulouse and Australia in Paris.
France squad: Jean-Philippe Baile, Kane Bentley, Thomas Bosc, Remi Casty, Vincent Duport, Olivier Elima (c), Jamal Fakir, David Ferriol, Mathieu Griffi, Romain Gagliazzo, Cyril Gossard, Clint Greenshields, Maxime Greseque, Casey McGuire, Sebastien Martins, Christophe Moly, Dimitri Pelo, Sebastien Raguin, Teddy Saddaoui, Cyril Stacul, Julien Touxagas, Frederic Vaccari, Constant Villegas.
France has been looking to bolster its ranks with Australian-bred players after being thrashed 66-12 by England at Paris in June in a worrying sign ahead of the Four Nations.
– AAP

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The Clearstream trial that has held France in its grip the past few weeks came to a head Wednesday as former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and General Philippe Rondot, a former top intelligence official, faced off in the courtroom. Details of the exchange are not expected until later in the evening.

&raquo Special Report on France&#039s trial of the decade
&raquo Who&#039s who in the trial
&raquo How a finance trial turned into a major political scandal
&raquo A glossary of terms in the Clearstream saga
&raquo From Ben Barka to Elf, justice turns a blind eye to political elites
De Villepin, who served as France’s interior minister between March 2004 and May 2005, stands accused of seeking to derail Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidential campaign by linking him to a corruption scandal.

On Monday, key witness General Rondot appeared in court to discuss his notes , which claim that de Villepin clearly mentioned Sarkozy — then vying for the Elys&eacutee — in connection to Clearstream at a meeting held on January 7, 2004. The trial, which began September 21, has been marked by contradictory testimony.

them correspondent Catherine Norris Trent reported that the two men were expected to stand side by side before judges aiming to iron these inconsistencies out. This, however, contradicts de Villepin statements last week, when he took the stand and flatly denied the notes were an accurate reflection of the conversation. Questions likely to be explored include when exactly de Villepin first heard Sarkozy name in connection with the affair and whether or not he said he was passing on orders from Chirac. .

The legal confrontation was called for by de Villepin lawyers, who Norris Trent says want to make sure that their client doesn&rsquot come out of this examining embarrassed because of these discrepancies between his evidence and that of General Rondot.

Clearstream trial – Dominique de Villepin – Nicolas Sarkozy
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The trial is scheduled to end on October 23 and judges are expected to take several months to render a verdict

.Swiss authorities have denied a request to release film director Roman Polanski on bail, following his arrest in September after fleeing sentencing for having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.
“In our view, there is still a very high risk that he will flee and that a release on bail or other measures after a release cannot guarantee Polanski’s presence in the extradition procedure,” Justice Ministry spokesman Folco Galli said.
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