Two a penny

.The Eiffel Tower was transformed into a glittering jewel and fireworks lit up the London sky as millions of revellers welcomed the New Year across Europe.
A spectacular light show and fireworks display lit up the Paris sky as revellers partied in the streets below.
In the Scottish capital Edinburgh up to 80,000 people turned out in Edinburgh for the annual Hogmanay outdoor street party, some sporting furry horned tartan helmets against the bitter cold as they gathered to watch fireworks by Edinburgh Castle. .
In Russia, more than 120,000 crowded onto Moscow’s Red Square to toast 2010 as President Dmitry Medvedev thanked his nation for bearing with the economic crisis and evoked family values.
In Berlin more than 1 million revellers were expected to have thronged onto the boulevard leading to the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of German unity, with live bands and DJs cranking up the party.
“Our success in the new year depends on what each of us will do for his family and his country,” he said.
“The past year was not a very easy one for our country, and I want to thank you all for bearing up together,” a smiling Mr Medvedev said in a traditional New Year address.
But after security jitters rekindled by a Christmas Day bomb plot against a passenger jet claimed by Al Qaeda, undercover police, surveillance cameras and radiation and biological detection equipment were to monitor the crowds.
In New York, a downpour of confetti was to mark midnight at a traditional mass celebration in Times Square in the heart of Manhattan.

.Former Gold Coast Titans back Chris Walker has signed a two-year contract with French Super League side Catalans Dragons, the club said.
“This is good news for the club,” Dragons sporting director Sebastien Munoz said. .
“He will bring speed to the back line, which we have been lacking on occasion.”
Walker arrives from the Titans, having also played for Brisbane Broncos, Melbourne Storm, South Sydney Rabbitohs and Sydney Roosters.
“A new player coming in will provide great competition at the back and that can only be positive for the team.
They have also recruited Storm lock Dallas Johnson and the Roosters’ New Zealand international Setaimata Sa for the club’s fifth Super League campaign.
The Dragons are coached by Walker’s former Broncos team-mate Kevin Walters.
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.France has warmed up for their clash against New Zealand by crushing Samoa 43-5 in a one-sided rugby international at Stade de France.
Coach Marc Lievremont largely revamped the side that upset world champion South Africa 20-13 last week in Toulouse, but that did not stop France from running in seven tries, four of which were converted by scrum half Morgan Parra. I’am also happy to be spoilt for choice before naming the 23-man squad that will face the All Blacks,” he said.
“I’m very happy with our performance tonight.
“This France team will become a great team when it reaches the status of favourite against the best teams in the world and vindicates it by a series of wins. .”
Samoa, which came close to upsetting Wales last week, losing 17-13 at the Millennium Stadium, was never in contention this time, although it resisted bravely in the second half.
“I hope it will come very quickly, but we are not there yet and we know the All Blacks will put forward a very strong challenge next Saturday in Marseille.
France: 43 (F Trinh-Duc 2, D Szarzewski, V Clerc, Y Jauzion, T Dusautoir, B Fall tries; M Parra 4 conversions.
France, which was far too fast, powerful and clever for the visitors, will face a tougher task against the All Blacks next weekend in Marseille.
Samoa: 5 (I Tekori try)
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Meal and rest breaks from work will become more flexible if legislation introduced into Parliament today is passed, Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson says.

The Employment Relations (Rest Breaks and Meal Breaks) Amendment Bill was introduced today by Ms Wilkinson.

Ms Wilkinson said the new amendment would provide “greater flexibility” and give employers and employees the opportunity to develop breaks at a time best suited to individual requirements.

It seeks to alter legislation passed by the previous Labour government which set aside specific breaks and time for breastfeeding, depending on the length of a work day.”

The bill still has a requirement for breaks but allows for “compensatory measures” – such as earlier or later start times or time off in lieu, she said.

“Everyone needs to take breaks during their hours of work – but the law as it stands is too rigid and makes life difficult for a number of occupations and industries.

“These changes remove the absolutely fundamental right to minimum breaks at reasonably spaced periods during a working day.

Council of Trade Unions (CTU) president Helen Kelly said the amendment was unnecessary.

“The changes provided today will enable employers to determine whether or not a worker should have a break and then how long and when it should occur,” Ms Kelly said.”

Labour’s legislation only came into effect this year and ensured minimum requirements for workers in unorganised workplaces, she said.”

Ms Kelly said it was an example of the Government “pandering unnecessarily” to employers’ interests. .

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President Nicolas Sarkozy opened the first permanent French military base in the Gulf Tuesday in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi, giving Paris a presence in a geopolitically strategic location on a key global oil supply route.

At an opening ceremony attended by the visiting French president and UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Saif bin Zayed al-Nahayan, the flags of France and the UAE were raised at the new military base. It will include a navy base, an air base, and a training camp.

Dubbed the Peace Camp, the base will host around 500 troops stationed on three sites on the banks of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

&raquo Hormuz: safeguarding the Gulf&#039s black gold
Reporting from Abu Dhabi, Vivian Salama said that for Paris, the location of the base in the UAE – the world’s third-largest petroleum exporter – was a critical issue.

Situated between Iran to the north and the Arabian Peninsula to the south, the strait is a maritime passage for about 40% of the world seaborne oil shipments. The major oil wealth of the world is located right here on the shores of the Gulf countries.

The area has always been of major strategic importance obviously as a result of its simple geographic location, but also as a result of the oil wealth in the region, said Salama.

Eye on defence and nuclear energy contracts

The new military base also positions France to compete for lucrative defence and nuclear energy contracts in the oil-rich Gulf nation.

In a statement released at a maritime security conference, UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan said the base was an important pillar of the Gulf nation foreign policy and hailed the cooperation between the two countries.

The French delegation visiting Abu Dhabi Tuesday includes four ministers and several businessmen.

The UAE plans to build a number of nuclear reactors to meet an expected need for an extra 40,000 megawatts of electricity by 2017.

During his visit, Sarkozy is also expected to lobby on behalf of France’s Dassault Aviation, the makers of the Rafale fighter jet.

Last year, French energy giants Total and Suez, as well as state nuclear reactor maker Areva, announced that they planned to develop more than two third-generation nuclear reactors in the UAE, according to the French government.

The UAE wants to upgrade their military aviation fleet and could buy between 60 to a hundred Rafales, a contract worth more than 18 million euros, said them Aur&eacutelien Colly, reporting from Abu Dhabi. .

Iran wary of new base

While the opening of the Peace Camp has been hailed by France and Abu Dhabi, analysts say Iran is wary of a French presence in the area. But there has been no official confirmation of a deal from Paris. The Iranian government has expressed its staunch disapproval of the French coming here permanently to Abu Dhabi, saying that they refuse any foreign presence in the region.

On the other side of the strait, there is not so much fanfare, said Salama. Tehran however denies the charge and insists its nuclear programme is aimed purely at generating electricity for a growing population.

France – along with other permanent UN Security Council members such as the USA and the UK – has taken a firm stance on Iran’s nuclear drive and has warned that uranium enrichment could be a cover for efforts to build an atomic bomb.

aviation – French military – Nicolas Sarkozy – United Arab Emirates
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ByFiona CAMERON French President Nicolas Sarkozy is hoping to persuade the UAE to buy the Rafale fighter plane during his visit

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AFP – Gunmen kidnapped a French tourist in Pakistan on Saturday, snatching him from a group of compatriots, who included women and children, in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, police said.

The 41-year-old man was kidnapped in an area where ethnic Baluch separatist groups and Islamist fighters linked to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are known to operate, around 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the border with Afghanistan. .

The six tourists had left the provincial capital Quetta and were heading towards Iran, said Karar Shah, another police officer also from Dal Bandin, where the tourists alerted the Pakistani authorities to the abduction.

Six kidnappers armed with Kalashnikovs stopped the group of two men, two women and two children travelling by car close to Landi, a small town around 200 kilometres east of the Iranian border, said police officer Merrullah.

The kidnappers ordered the rest of the party to continue their journey.

The incident happened close to Landi and the French told us six men armed with kalashnikovs stopped them and then one of them was taken away at gunpoint in a vehicle and drove off, Shah told AFP.

The latest Western abduction will raise further concerns about insecurity in Pakistan, battling a wave of deadly extremist Islamist violence and where the government was criticised over the beheading of a Polish hostage in February. In recent months they had been travelling through Iran, India and Pakistan, said a senior police official on condition of anonymity.

The tourists were travelling through terrain fraught with danger.

The February 2 kidnapping of John Solecki, who headed the UN refugee agency in Quetta, was the most high-profile Western kidnapping in Pakistan since US journalist Daniel Pearl was beheaded by Al-Qaeda militants in 2002.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the abduction.

Hundreds of people have died in Baluchistan, an oil and gas-rich province since late 2004, when rebels rose up to demand political autonomy and a greater share of profits from natural resources.

A shadowy organisation claiming to hold Solecki, the Baluchistan Liberation United Front (BLUF), had threatened to kill him unless the government freed more than 1,100 prisoners but he was eventually relased unharmed on April 4.

The province has also been hit by attacks blamed on Taliban militants.

The province has also been hit by attacks blamed on Taliban militants.

al Qaeda – kidnapping – Pakistan – Taliban – unrest