Two a penny

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AFP – US President Barack Obama and his French counterpart discussed Tuesday ways to bring Iran into compliance with UN resolutions on its nuclear program ahead of diplomatic talks, the White House said.

The two leaders discussed the status of diplomatic efforts to bring Iran into compliance with its international obligations on its nuclear program, a statement said after Obama spoke by telephone with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Iran maintains the program aims to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

The call came ahead of an October 1 meeting between Iran and the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany set to test Tehran’s readiness to discuss concerns over its nuclear program, which Western governments and Israel suspect is a cover to build an atomic bomb. And Washington has threatened to push for new sanctions if engagement with Iran fails.

The UN Security Council has imposed three sets of sanctions against Iran over its refusal to freeze its uranium enrichment activities.

Washington expressed disappointment with the package, saying it was not really responsive to our greatest concern — the nuclear issue — but Moscow said it offered something to dig into.

The six powers — which represent the five veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany — had called for urgent talks with Iran after it handed over proposals for talks last week. .

The upcoming meeting represents a fulfillment of Obama’s pledge to engage with the Islamic Republic despite three decades of hostility between Washington and Tehran, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

Sarkozy and Obama also discussed efforts to breathe life back into the stalled Middle East peace talks and agreed to continue working with key players in the Middle East region on setting the conditions necessary to restart Israeli-Arab peace negotiations, the White House said. It cannot be ignored, even though Tehran has so far ignored such appeals, she added.

The presidents agreed to work closely to make the Pittsburgh meeting a success and allow new decisions to be taken which ensure lasting and balanced growth, it said.

During their 30-minute telephone conversation, the two heads of state pledged to work together to ensure next week’s G20 summit in Pittsburgh is a success and prepared groundwork for the banking and finance meeting, according to Sarkozy’s office at the Elysee Palace.

The pair also discussed the need to address a broad range of regulatory reform issues, including capital and executive compensation, as well as ways to reform international institutions to make them more inclusive and effective, the White House said.

Obama has said he is opposed to a cap on bankers’ bonuses, while Sarkozy and other European leaders have backed the idea of tying bankers’ payouts to financial performance.

Barack Obama – Nicolas Sarkozy – nuclear Iran

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French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his Spanish counterpart Jos&eacute Luis Rodriguez Zapatero expressed their shared views on financial regulation and climate change at a meeting at the Elys&eacutee presidential palace in Paris.

The meeting was designed to allow the two nations to compare notes ahead of a G20 summit to take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the US on September 24 and 25.

At a joint press conference, Sarkozy declared, France and Spain are preparing for the summit in Pittsburgh with the same intention to create a new world, and we are particularly concerned with the question of financial regulation and bonuses.

climate change – financial crisis – France – G20 – Spain
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Reuters – The planned trial of French former trader Jerome Kerviel, blamed for huge losses at Societe Generale, has been blocked pending a procedural appeal, his lawyer Olivier Metzner said on Tuesday.

Kerviel, 32, has been under investigation since SocGen in January 2008 unveiled 4.9 billion euros ($7 billion) in losses which it said were caused by unauthorised deals carried out by Kerviel, then a junior trader at the bank. The trial was expected to take place within the next 12 months.

On Monday, an examining magistrate ordered Kerviel to stand trial on charges of breach of trust, fraud and manipulating SocGen’s computer system.

That, Metzner said in an interview on RTL radio, meant that Kerviel’s trial in a criminal court — which will tackle the substance of the case — was suspended until the Cour de Cassation had made a decision.

But Metzner said that the Cour de Cassation, an appeal court which does not consider the substance of a case but rather examines whether correct legal procedure was followed, had agreed to hear an appeal filed by Kerviel’s defence team.

It was not immediately clear how long that would take.

Metzner suggested that in particular, the judges had not looked closely enough at the issue of how much Kerviel’s managers at SocGen knew of his dealings.

The appeal to the Cour de Cassation, filed by Metzner in April, argues that the examining magistrates leading the probe into the SocGen affair had systematically refused to pursue avenues of investigation suggested by Kerviel. .

Under French law, examining magistrates are required to look at all facts of a case, both those that incriminate the suspect and those that strengthen the suspect’s defence.

Kerviel has admitted building up unauthorised trading positions, but has said his supervisors tolerated breaches in its risk controls.

The ex-financier was freed from prison in March last year after an appeal against his detention, but he has remained under formal investigation ever since.

Internal reports by SocGen into the affair show that Kerviel bypassed the bank’s control systems to start building up positions in 2005 and 2006 for small amounts.

Internal reports by SocGen into the affair show that Kerviel bypassed the bank’s control systems to start building up positions in 2005 and 2006 for small amounts.9 billion euro loss in the process which it blamed squarely on Kerviel.

SocGen swiftly unwound the positions but suffered a 4.

banking – France – Jérôme Kerviel – justice – Societe Generale

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AFP – Search teams have found the second flight data recorder of the Yemenia jet that crashed off the Comoros islands on June 30, killing 152 people, the chief investigator said Saturday.

The Cockpit Voice Recorder had been located and operations were under way to retrieve it, Ali Abdou Mohamed said.

The two flight recorders. …

The causes of the crash of the plane, which was carrying mainly passengers of Comoran origin living in France, remain unknown. will be sent in the coming days to the Investigation and Analysis Bureau in Bourget (France) where they will be studied in the presence of the investigations team members, Mohamed said in a statement.

The passengers, who were travelling from France to the Comoros, had changed planes in the Yemeni capital Sanaa and boarded the Airbus A310.

Some sources blamed the state of the plane, which did not satisfy European safety regulations, but the investigation has yet to establish this.

The sole survivor was Bahia Bakari, a 13-year-old girl who lost her mother in the crash and clung to a floating piece of debris for hours before being rescued. The plane plunged into the Indian Ocean as it was trying to land in Moroni.

The investigation team is made up of officials from the Comoros, Yemen and France and is headed by the Comoros authorities.

Airbus – Comoros crash

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AFP – President Nicolas Sarkozy confronted French bank executives over bonuses Tuesday, as he sought to position himself as a champion of greater market regulation ahead of next month’s G20 summit.

The issue of traders’ remuneration is an essential part of ensuring that the crisis we’re going through is not repeated, the French leader told a gathering of senior bankers summoned to his Elysee Palace office. I can’t accept this, he said, according to a summary of his opening remarks released by his office.

But just as we are seeing the first signs of a return to stability, we also see the bad habits resurfacing.

The problem is international and should be dealt with internationally, but France will not settle for the lowest common denominator, nor will it wait before acting, he warned.

Sarkozy told the industry chiefs that he wanted them to help draw up a new French plan to better regulate financial markets — including limits on bonuses — that he could present to the G20 summit in Pittsburgh on September 24.

Let’s discuss national measures that we can take immediately, he said. French banks should adopt exemplary behaviour.

He is totally determined, government spokesman Luc Chatel said.

The meeting was Sarkozy’s first major engagement after coming back from holiday, and his seventh banking summit in a year of fraught relations with the financial sector following last summer’s credit crunch. France is leading this fight, which is a fight for more international financial regulation, for restrictions on remuneration, he said.

He will have a strong message to take to the summit in Pittsburgh.

France’s position has been undermined, however, by news that at least one of its own banks has already set aside a vast sum for bonuses and by warnings from bankers that Paris traders’ earnings must compete with London and New York.

Following last year’s global economic crash, Sarkozy called for stricter regulation of financial markets and an end to traders’ bonus culture, which many blame for the excessive risk-taking which caused the economic collapse.

But these limitations did not prevent BNP-Paribas from setting aside around one billion euros (1.

So far, French banks have promised to abide by recommendations agreed by the G20 leaders at their last meeting in London in April, restricting guaranteed bonuses and tying pay-outs more closely to long-term performance.

The bankers refused to comment on Monday after three hours of talks with Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, but their lobby group warned that if they did not pay traders enough they could lose staff to London or New York.43 billion dollars) in bonuses for its traders, a sum which angered French voters and inspired Sarkozy to call Tuesday’s talks.

Otherwise, the Paris marketplace runs the risk of a loss of competitivity in its business and a loss of jobs to its rivals, he insisted.

It’s essential that any new measures that could be imposed on French banks are applied equally and simultaneously at an international level, said Gerard Mestrallet of Paris Europlace, which promotes the French financial sector. .

Sarkozy hopes to convince his G20 partners to agree a tighter international system of financial regulation, including commonly agreed limits on individual bonuses, despite reticence in Washington to accept non-US rules

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AFP – French police have discovered a cache of bomb making materials following the arrest of three suspected Basque separatists on Wednesday, the Spanish government said.

Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said the three were all top members of the military apparatus of the armed Basque separatist group ETA and responsible for supplying arms, ammunition and explosives to the commandos.

We will continue to eradicate this unacceptable and intolerable stain of violence and terror, he told a news conference.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero hailed the arrests as a new demonstration of the strength and effectiveness of the fight against terrorism.

Rubalcaba identified them as Alberto Machain, Aitzol Etxaburu and Andoni Sarasola.

French anti-terror officers seized the three after storming an apartment in an Alpine ski resort of Le Corbier Villarambert in a dawn raid Wednesday. The suspects also had a van that had been reported stolen in France in June.

He said police found four revolvers, 42 detonators and about 20 plastic casings to be used for bombs at the flat.

Machain’s photograph was circulated following a deadly bomb attack on a police barracks in the resort island Majorca on July 30.

The arrests also led police to an ETA hideout in the town of Ferrieres, about 40 kilometres (60 miles) from the Spanish border, where they found 100 kilogrammes (220 pounds) of ammonium nitrate and 12 litres of nitromethane used to make bombs, the minister told a news conference.

Founded half a century ago, ETA is blamed for the deaths of 828 people in its violent campaign for an independent Basque homeland in part of northern Spain and southwest France.

But Rubalcaba said there was no evidence linking any of the three to that attack or others in recent weeks in Majorca and in the northern city of Burgos.

.The Brumbies have gone down to Bayonne earlier today in their second match of their French tour.
Bayonne defeated the Brumbies 37 to 21, scoring six tries to three.
Brumbies coach Andy Friend says it was a very physical game.
Lock Siteleki Timani suffered a shoulder injury and Nick White a corked thigh. .
“It was a really tough game of football, a lot more ball movement there, we scored three very good tries to their six tries,” he said.”

.Australian golfer Karrie Webb is three shots off the lead after the second round of the Evian Masters in France.
Webb hit a second round of six-under-par 69 to be sitting in equal 10th place.
The trio lead by one from South Korea’s Kim In Kyung (69), with France’s Karine Icher producing a fine 69 to stand in the group of five players tied for fifth place on seven under par.
There is a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard, with Japan’s Ai Miyazato, Welshwoman Becky Brewerton and defending runner-up Na Yeon Choi all at 9-under.
“It took a while but I feel quite settled now and can concentrate 100 percent on my game,” she said. . I holed from about 20 feet at the third for my first birdie and that got me going.
“Today my putting was really good. She picked up another shot at the 11th but then bogeyed the 16th and 17th.”
Brewerton, one of three first round leaders broke free of the field with three birdies and a long eagle putt at the seventh in an outward nine of 31.
“I’ve been working with a new coach, Stewart Craig, for about eight months.
“It was a pity to make a couple of bogeys, but I played really well and felt I just carried on from where I finished off yesterday,” said Brewerton, who only got into the elite 90 player field thanks to her win in Spain last week.
“I also recently spent time with a sports psychologist and I really feel that every part of my game, and my mental attitude, are coming together at the right time. He has helped both my long and short game.”
– ABC/AFP

.A fire sparked by an “imbecilic” military exercise has threatened French suburbs and a fifth firefighter has died in Spain.
Blazes are sweeping through several areas of Europe. .
The fire erupted after troops from the 1st Foreign Legion Regiment used tracer rounds, which contain an incendiary substance to make them visible in flight, during a practice session at their base.
Though no-one was killed in France, one fireman suffered burns and four rescuers were treated for smoke inhalation as the blaze ripped through 1,300 hectares of brush and damaged homes in the suburbs of Marseille.
Local prefect Michel Sappin, the French government’s senior regional official and police chief, blasted the “imbecilic” actions of the military.
The blaze was contained by dawn on Thursday, but this did little to calm local officials, who noted that this was the second time in as many years the army had started a wildfire.
The officer who ordered the exercise – a 43-year-old from the island of Reunion – was taken into judicial custody after being suspended from his duties, according to a source close to the case.
Visiting the fire-ravaged area, Prime Minister Francois Fillon promised tough punishment for those responsible, as well as a review of French military rules on shooting exercises.
Fresh back from a tour of duty in Afghanistan, he told investigators he was not informed that tracer rounds were viewed as a fire hazard in the region and was “devastated” by the damage, said the source.
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.Spain’s Mikel Astarloza was the big winner, Cadel Evans was the big loser and Team Astana emphatically showed why they have owned this Tour, following a merciless trek through the Alps.
Today’s stage featured the highest peak (“the roof”) of this year’s Tour- the Col du Grand Saint Bernard, with an altitude of almost 2,500 metres. The peloton then descended on to Italian soil, before circumnavigating the Alps to reach the Petit-Saint Bernard. And it was where today’s stage really took shape.
The second pass may have been the little brother in both size and name but it was far steeper, precarious and packed a greater punch. Alberto Contador went with him – Lance Armstrong and Cadel Evans couldn’t.
When Andy Schleck launched a violent attack halfway up the mountain, the main peloton splintered.
For a brief moment, the Texan looked one-paced and perhaps too old for this caper. . He was almost 50 seconds off the pace and seemingly gone.
And Evans? He was several minutes off the main pack as he approached the 30-kilometre descent to the finish. The attack was aborted, the Astana trio were glued to Schleck’s wheel and Contador was safe in the lead.
It was somewhat mystifying to see his team-mate Jurgen Van Den Broeck spearheading the four-man lead group, as he probably should have been back helping the Aussie. He finished almost four minutes off the winner and is now 7:23 minutes down on Contador in 17th place. But Evans has become accustomed to limited support from his Silence Lotto team. But Evans has become accustomed to limited support from his Silence Lotto team. They withstood everything thrown them, defended perfectly and attacked at the opportune moments.
Conversely, Astana controlled today’s stage like the well-oiled machine that they are. Armstrong, Contador and co must surely be the most drug-tested athletes of all time and as usual they were asked to provide a sample this morning.
Off the bike however, it’s not all rainbows and butterflies for the Kazakh team. No incriminating evidence was found.
Furthermore, a vehicle belonging to the team was stopped and searched for several hours by customs agents at the Swiss/French border. He broke away early, descended effortlessly and was tactically superior to those around him.
The battle up front had no bearing on the General Classification, but Astarloza was a courageous and worthy winner.
Spare a thought for this year’s Lanterne Rouge, the dubious honour bestowed upon the slowest rider in the peloton. Remarkably, it was his first stage win in a professional bike race. And poor old Kenny Van Hummel of Holland is about to join the honour roll. And poor old Kenny Van Hummel of Holland is about to join the honour roll. He’s half an hour behind the next slowest rider and at the time of filing this report, he is presumably still out there.
Another rider who had a stinker was Jens Voigt, one of the cult figures of the peloton and a popular figure with the press contingent.
On a terrifying descent, poor Jens came flying off his bike at high speed and landed flat on his face.
“I OK,” he told reporters with a straight but bloodied face, en route to the close toest hospital. Looking at him close up, a trip to the dentist would be appropriate as well.
He would be well advised to stay there and put his feet up. Because if Satan concerned himself with bike course planning, tomorrow’s stage would be one of his signature efforts.
Saturday’s Mont Ventoux stage is getting all the press but the slog to Grand Bornand, with five category climbs on the cards, is the one that the riders are dreading most.