.US singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder has been awarded one of France’s top cultural honours, 30 years after he was tapped to receive it.
“I receive this honour in memory of my mother and in memory of all of those that have made it possible for me to stand here today,” said an emotional Wonder, clad in marine-blue striped suit, as he received the Commander of Arts and Letters award from French culture minister Frederic Mitterrand..
“As I was. listening to what you were saying, I had a flash in my memory, the memory of 1964, when I came to Paris, France for the first time.. His mother died in 2006. I came with my mother,” 59-year-old Wonder told Mr Mitterrand.
The accolade has been bestowed over the years to personalities ranging from South African writer Nadine Gordimer, British actor Roger Moore and Lebanese diva Fairuz.
Standing next to Mr Mitterrand was former culture minister Jack Lang, who first named Wonder for the medal.
Mr Mitterand praised Wonder as “music’s familiar genius”.
“As citizen, administrator and culture minister I just called to say we love you,” Mr Mitterrand told Wonder, mixing French and English and referring to one of Wonder’s biggest hits, which featured in the film The Woman in Red.
During the ceremony, he made a pitch for Mr Obama’s push to extend health coverage to millions of uninsured Americans.
A political activist who fought for national day to honour slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Wonder more recently backed US President Barack Obama’s run for office in 2008. “Don’t change.
“I’m very encouraged you have it here, in this country,” he said, referring the France’s close to-universal coverage.”
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.Files containing reported sightings of missing British girl Madeleine McCann and held by Portuguese police should be handed to investigators still searching for her, a family spokesperson says.
Several British newspapers are reporting that thousands of previously unseen pages of information passed to police after the case was closed had been released to them after they applied to a Portuguese court.
“Kate and Gerry [McCann] have made it clear that they were shocked to see the lack of follow-up work done by the Portuguese police since the investigation was shelved,” he said.
Family spokesperson Clarence Mitchell says the girl’s parents are very disappointed.”
The Portuguese are no longer investigating the case, but other investigators acting on the couple’s behalf are still examining for the missing girl and appealing to the public for information.
“All the information in these files must go to the private investigators as they are the only people still examining for Madeleine.
Other reported sightings crop up in Portugal, Spain, France and the United States.
Fresh leads reported by the newspapers include security camera footage in New Zealand showing a girl resembling Madeleine being led into a supermarket by a man. .
Madeleine went missing from a holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007, a few days before her fourth birthday, as her parents and their friends dined at a nearby restaurant.
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.The French government has passed a radical affirmative action plan that will force publicly-listed companies to hire more women in their boardrooms.
At the moment women hold fewer than 10 per cent of boardroom seats in publicly-listed companies, but the new laws will see that figure rise to 40 per cent.
Women hold a certain place in French society - they are famed writers, musicians and supermodels.
Avivah Wittenberg Cox, the CEO of 20-first, one of Europe’s leading gender consultancies, has welcomed the new legislation.
Men adore them in the bedroom, but not, it seems, in the boardroom.
“What we’ve had until now, I would suggest, is actually a pretty established millennium of affirmative action in favour of masculine leadership styles, networks and norms.
“I think this is the beginning of what we might actually consider true meritocracy,” she said. . It too recently introduced a similar, though voluntary, scheme.”
In Spain, women fill just 4 per cent of board seats.
According to the Norwegian government, the quota is not simply a strike for equality - it makes sound economic sense in a country that has weathered the economic storm better than most.
In 2003 Norway became the first country to pass a law requiring boards to have at least 40 per cent of seats occupied by women.
“From my perspective, in a country where 50 per cent of the population is women, where they have had 50 per cent of the students in higher education for decades, there was no reason to keep them out of the boards,” he said.
The minister of trade and industry in the Norwegian government at the time, Ansgar Gabrielsen, says the quota system ensures women are no longer disadvantaged.
“What is the reason that only 6 per cent of the members of the board are women? I have been in the business world, so I know how it works, how they elect people to the boards and how they elect friends, how they elect people from the same schools, from the same hunting or fishing club or golf club or whatever, there was no reason to go on with that.
“What is the reason that only 6 per cent of the members of the board are women? I have been in the business world, so I know how it works, how they elect people to the boards and how they elect friends, how they elect people from the same schools, from the same hunting or fishing club or golf club or whatever, there was no reason to go on with that.”
. It will change all over the world, I’m sure
.A major earthquake has hit impoverished Haiti, killing possibly thousands of people as it toppled the presidential palace and hillside shanties alike and left the Caribbean nation appealing for international help.
Following are some of the efforts by foreign governments and aid agencies to help:
- United States - The US military is sending a ground assessment team and one of its P3 aircraft has been doing aerial reconnaissance, a Pentagon spokesperson said. US Navy ships at bases along the East Coast have been told to be prepared to leave for Haiti and the US could also begin using C-130 aircraft to fly supplies to Haiti later on Wednesday.75 million) from its central emergency response fund and mobilising an emergency response team, expected to be on the ground shortly, to help coordinate aid efforts.
- United Nations - is immediately releasing $US10 million ($10.
UN World Food Program head Josette Sheeran said the agency was already flying in additional food that would provide more than 500,000 emergency meals. UN aid officials expect to issue an international appeal for funds and other assistance in the next few days, once needs have been assessed. The children’s agency UNICEF is dispatching two planes and a ship laden with tents, as well as food and other supplies designed for women and children.7 million) of fast-track funding for the international effort and could pledge more in coming days, a spokeswoman said.
- European Union - The EU’s executive European Commission approved three million euros ($4.
- Japan - has pledged $US5 million in aid a foreign ministry spokeswoman said.
Countries including Belgium, Sweden and Luxembourg had offered assistance via an EU emergency assistance coordination mechanism, with offers ranging from a water purification unit to tents.
- Netherlands - The Foreign Ministry said it would send an urban search and rescue team to Haiti, consisting of 60 people as well as sniffer dogs, to help find people hidden under the rubble.
- France - is sending two planes and a field hospital as well as rescue services, said Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. It said the team is part of a coordinated international rescue action led by the UN. It said the team is part of a coordinated international rescue action led by the UN. A 20-person reconnaissance team is going to see what aid is needed, and two rescue helicopters could be sent.2 million) to help provide emergency shelter, medical services, food, relief items, water and sanitation services.
- Iceland - sent a search and rescue team of 37 specialists.
- Germany - is sending one million euros in immediate aid, said Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.
- Inter-American Development Bank - The Inter-American Development Bank said it would provide $US200,000 in immediate aid.
- Britain - a four-person field assessment team is en route to Port-au-Prince to determine priorities for urgent assistance and Britain also sending a search and rescue team of 64 people with dogs and heavy rescue equipment.
- Aid agencies -
Many aid agencies were scrambling to provide help. The World Bank planned to send a team to help assess damage and plan a recovery.
- Telecoms Sans Frontieres, a humanitarian group that helps set up communications during disasters, deployed an emergency team from Managua to provide vital support in emergency telecommunications. .
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.Eric Rohmer, a pioneer of French New Wave cinema, has died aged 89.
In a career spanning half a century, Rohmer made some 50 films, first gaining international acclaim for Ma Nuit Chez Maud (My Night At Maud’s) which was nominated for an Oscar for best screenplay in 1969.
Le Genou De Claire (Claire’s Knee) of 1970 won the San Sebastian Film Festival top honour, while L’Amour l’Apres-Midi (Love In The Afternoon) two years later secured Rohmer’s position as a master of the intense portrayal of the cerebral and the sensual.
Rohmer was born Jean-Marie Maurice Scherer in Nancy, eastern France, in 1920.
His work divided the film world - critics were quick to denounce his movies as desperately tedious, while his fans hailed him as an aesthete who laid bare the human soul.
He was later editor-in-chief of Cahiers Du Cinema - the bible of the New Wave movement, which shunned the constraints of classical cinema to create a more edgy, improvised style. .
Regarded by many as a conservative, Rohmer did not follow fashion.
“[He makes] films that deal with foibles and relationships of realistic if self-absorbed people.
“Rohmer’s films never contain any obvious attention-getting devices such as violence, unusual camera angles or even musical scores,” wrote biographer Terry Ballard.
Gene Hackman as a character in the 1975 film Night Moves says of Rohmer: “I saw one of his films once.”
His movies were not to all tastes.”
Rohmer made his first feature film, Le Signe Du Lion (The Sign Of Leo), in 1959. It was like watching paint dry.
He did not become famous for a further 10 years, but worked tirelessly during this period.
He did not become famous for a further 10 years, but worked tirelessly during this period.
“You can say that my work is closer to the novel - to a certain classic style of novel which the cinema is now taking over - than to other forms of entertainment, like the theatre.
“What I call a ‘conte moral’ is not a tale with a moral, but a story which deals less with what people do than with what is going on in their minds while they are doing it,” Rohmer wrote in 1971.
A man with a reputation for zealously guarding his privacy, Rohmer started his third series of films at the age of 70, naming them after the four seasons and beginning with Conte De Printemps (A Tale Of Springtime).”
In the 1980s, Rohmer began his second series of films under the banner Comedies And Proverbs which were supposed to be lighter in tone to the earlier “literary” movies.
Rohmer received a coveted Golden Lion for his life achievements at the Venice Film Festival in 2001.
In 1999, his Conte D’Automne (Autumn Tale) won him strong critical success at the age of 79.
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His last movie as director, Les Amours D’Astree Et De Celadon (Romance Of Astree And Celadon), came out in 2007
.Eric Rohmer, a pioneer of French New Wave cinema, has died aged 89.
In a career spanning half a century, Rohmer made some 50 films, first gaining international acclaim for Ma Nuit Chez Maud (My Night At Maud’s) which was nominated for an Oscar for best screenplay in 1969.
Le Genou De Claire (Claire’s Knee) of 1970 won the San Sebastian Film Festival top honour, while L’Amour l’Apres-Midi (Love In The Afternoon) two years later secured Rohmer’s position as a master of the intense portrayal of the cerebral and the sensual.
Rohmer was born Jean-Marie Maurice Scherer in Nancy, eastern France, in 1920.
His work divided the film world - critics were quick to denounce his movies as desperately tedious, while his fans hailed him as an aesthete who laid bare the human soul.
He was later editor-in-chief of Cahiers Du Cinema - the bible of the New Wave movement, which shunned the constraints of classical cinema to create a more edgy, improvised style. .
Regarded by many as a conservative, Rohmer did not follow fashion.
“[He makes] films that deal with foibles and relationships of realistic if self-absorbed people.
“Rohmer’s films never contain any obvious attention-getting devices such as violence, unusual camera angles or even musical scores,” wrote biographer Terry Ballard.
Gene Hackman as a character in the 1975 film Night Moves says of Rohmer: “I saw one of his films once.”
His movies were not to all tastes.”
Rohmer made his first feature film, Le Signe Du Lion (The Sign Of Leo), in 1959. It was like watching paint dry.
He did not become famous for a further 10 years, but worked tirelessly during this period.
He did not become famous for a further 10 years, but worked tirelessly during this period.
“You can say that my work is closer to the novel - to a certain classic style of novel which the cinema is now taking over - than to other forms of entertainment, like the theatre.
“What I call a ‘conte moral’ is not a tale with a moral, but a story which deals less with what people do than with what is going on in their minds while they are doing it,” Rohmer wrote in 1971.
A man with a reputation for zealously guarding his privacy, Rohmer started his third series of films at the age of 70, naming them after the four seasons and beginning with Conte De Printemps (A Tale Of Springtime).”
In the 1980s, Rohmer began his second series of films under the banner Comedies And Proverbs which were supposed to be lighter in tone to the earlier “literary” movies.
Rohmer received a coveted Golden Lion for his life achievements at the Venice Film Festival in 2001.
In 1999, his Conte D’Automne (Autumn Tale) won him strong critical success at the age of 79.
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His last movie as director, Les Amours D’Astree Et De Celadon (Romance Of Astree And Celadon), came out in 2007
.Eurostar cancelled four trains on Wednesday due to bad weather and expects more problems just three weeks after powdery snow turned its rail link between Britain and France into a pre-Christmas undersea travel trap.
Snowstorms sweeping across southern England and northern France brought road and rail chaos, with Eurostar warning travellers of the same problems that left thousands stranded in the Channel Tunnel last month.
Management decided on Tuesday night to cancel two trains linking Paris and London and two between London and Brussels, a spokeswoman said, adding that snow prevented many passengers reaching the stations.
“Due to bad weather, certain services could be delayed or cancelled at the last minute,” Eurostar said in a statement.
A similar big chill gripped northern France in December and brought Eurostar trains to a three-day standstill, with the first breakdown leaving passengers stuck on the trains overnight for up to 16 hours.
Travellers were encouraged to swap their Wednesday bookings for another date.
It reported that the failure was caused as trains moved from cold air outside into the warmer tunnel.
Eurostar, operated by French rail company SNCF, its Belgian counterpart SNCB and British government-owned LCR, then said it was modifying its fleet to cope with powdery snow.
France’s government has said it doubted cold was the sole reason and ordered an investigation. .
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.Eurostar is suspending train services for a third day to look into a weekend break-down of trains that trapped about 2,500 passengers in the Anglo-French Channel Tunnel, while France will order a public investigation.
Eurostar, owned by the French and Belgian state railway firms and the UK, blamed bad weather for the problem that disrupted Christmas travel for thousands more passengers. .
Eurostar announced in a statement that it was launching “an independent review into the problems it has experienced over recent days”.
“We can’t believe that Eurostar trains can’t run for three days because of snow, so there must be a technical problem,” French Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau said during a visit to China with Prime Minister Francois Fillon.
Christopher Garnett, who has served as chief executive of GNER railways and commercial director of Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel, will lead the review.
It has said that moving from the cold into the warmer tunnel caused condensation that affected electrical systems.
Shares in Eurotunnel at one stage dropped 3 per cent early on Monday, making the stock among the top losers on France’s SBF120 index.
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“These events might bring one-time charges, but more importantly, the real problem here is Eurotunnel’s image,” one Paris-based trader said
.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.
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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.
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