Two a penny

.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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.European leaders have pledged to provide 7.2 billion euros ($11.
At a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels, the funds were pledged to assist poor countries combat rising sea levels, deforestation, water deficits and carbon emissions.5 billion) over the next three years to help developing nations adapt to climate change.
The EU’s decision is expected to prompt other industrialised nations to also pledge many more billions, but it has failed to impress delegates from developing nations.
One of the major divisions at the UN-sponsored climate talks in Copenhagen has been who will pay and how much is needed to help developing nations cope with the effects of global warming.
“The Copenhagen deal must be consistent with a maximum global warming of two degrees,” Mr Brown said. .”
However the G77 bloc of developing countries, including China, has scoffed at the proposal, denouncing it as a short-term political fix.
“Our aim is through an ambitious deal that the European Union commit to reduce its emissions by 30 per cent by 2020.
“Our view is that European leaders are acting as if they were climate sceptics.
“They (the pledged funds) are not only insignificant, they actually breed even more distrust on the intention of European leaders on climate change,” said the group’s spokesman, Lumumba Stanislaus Dia-Ping of Sudan.
The proposal calls on developed countries to cut their emissions by between 25 and 45 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020, and that global emissions must be halved by 2050.”
Meanwhile, a draft climate pact unveiled overnight has revived hopes that the talks might be able to pin down an international deal to cut global emissions.
There is still no clear path forward through the division between developed and developing countries on the issue of the legally enforceable cuts.
Analysts say the current pledges from developed nations currently sit at around 18 per cent.
Yvo de Boer, head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, said the draft text marked a “step change” in the negotiations.
The United States has said China and other rapidly industrialising nations must also sign up to binding cuts if the summit is to be a success.
Meanwhile, around 40 protesters were detained during a demonstration in Copenhagen aimed at a meeting of company executives who were discussing global warming.
“It’s time to focus on the bigger picture,” he said.
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.FIFA will hold an extraordinary meeting before next month’s World Cup draw to discuss Thierry Henry’s handball in the qualifiers and the discovery of a match-fixing ring by German police. .
“Due to recent events in the world of football, namely incidents at the play-offs for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, match control and irregularities in the football betting market, the FIFA president (Sepp Blatter) has called an extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee,” FIFA said in a statement.
FIFA has so far refused to take any action over Henry’s handball in the lead-up to France’s equaliser against Ireland.
The executive committee is already due to meet on December 3 on Robben Island to discuss the draw to be held the following day.
Ireland’s FA formally asked for a replay of the match but FIFA said it had replied saying the request could not be granted.
The goal, scored by William Gallas, gave France a 1-1 draw and a 2-1 aggregate win in the two-leg play-off.
The Irish governing body issued a statement on Monday saying: “Should we be asked to make any contribution, the FAI would be happy to do so for the improvement of the game.
Egypt recalled its ambassador in Algiers after Algeria won the play-off 1-0 to qualify and both games were marred by reports of trouble.”
The Egypt-Algeria qualifiers on November 10 in Cairo and subsequent play-off in Khartoum four days later were also surrounded by controversy.
Police in Germany, Britain, Austria and Switzerland staged simultaneous raids on Thursday, arresting 15 people in Germany and two in Switzerland.
On Friday, German police said they had dismantled a match-fixing gang with more than 200 suspected members operating in nine European leagues.
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The gang is suspected of having paid off referees, players and officials to win at least 10 million euros, with officials speculating this was the tip of the iceberg

.Thierry Henry is not a cheat and will get over his handball in France’s controversial World Cup play-off against Ireland, Zinedine Zidane said.
“He is not a cheat, I know him well,” the former France playmaker, who was sent off for headbutting Italy defender Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final, told French television channel Canal Plus. He made a mistake, like I made a mistake, even if I’m not making any comparisons.
“He will get over this.”
Henry, Zidane said, had apologised by admitting he had handled the ball.
“We all make mistakes.
“I’m not saying it was nothing but it was handball, that’s it.
“The fact he said there was a handball means he has apologised,” Zidane said.
The French Football Federation (FFF) has ruled out a replay, saying world governing body FIFA’s decision that the result should stand is final.”
France captain Henry handled the ball while setting up William Gallas’ extra-time equaliser in the 1-1 draw in Paris which sent France to the World Cup with a 2-1 aggregate win.
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.A marketing company that planned to throw envelopes of cash to passers-by from the top of a bus in Paris had to cancel the publicity stunt for security reasons after thousands of people turned up.
About 5,000 people gathered close to the Eiffel Tower, with groups spilling into neighbouring streets and bursting through crowd barriers before the planned handout of banknotes by the online marketing company.
“Given the serious traffic problems noted in the Champ de Mars area and significant crowd movements, the police requested the organisers not to go ahead with this distribution of money,” a police spokesman said. .
Some people had waited for hours for the cash handout, which had been heavily promoted beforehand.
“We couldn’t anticipate that there would be so many people,” Stephane Boukris, a spokesman for the organisers told France Info radio.
Police in riot gear were called in and there were about 10 arrests.
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.Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has praised his “perfect” performance after outclassing world number two Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-3 to set up a Paris Masters final against local hope Gael Monfils.
World number three Djokovic, who beat world number one Roger Federer in the Basel final last week, extended a brilliant run of form and will start favourite against Monfils, having won their three previous encounters.
Monfils, seeded 15th, thrilled the 14,000 fans packing the Bercy hall when he knocked out 13th Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in the other semi-final, which was a lot tighter and could have gone either way.
“I was hitting winners from all over the court and really trying to keep that momentum going during the whole match,” he added, summing up a spectacular performance.
“There’s not much to say about today’s performance except it was perfect, you know, exactly the way I wanted it,” Djokovic said. .
Djokovic will play his fifth final and chase a first title this year in a Masters 1000 event, while Monfils will feature in a final in the showcase series for the first time.
“I didn’t play badly but he played unbelievable,” said Nadal, who leads 14-6 against Djokovic but has now lost their last two meetings.
The 22-year-old Serb was on top throughout the match, displaying his confidence in the second set when he won the first two games to love and broke Nadal in the second with a forehand winner.
“It’s very difficult for me to beat him when he’s playing that level, especially on a fast indoor court”.
Showman Monfils then alternated amazing winners and clumsy errors before taming Stepanek in a close contest that lasted over two and a half hours.
Nadal, who won the French Open four times on the other side but never this indoor event, could not recover and Djokovic remained in charge until sealing victory with a another superb forehand on the first match point after just 76 minutes.
A third set was needed, in which the pair traded breaks before Monfils managed the telling one in the ninth game to serve for the match.
The acrobatic Frenchman had the crowd on his side but showed signs of nerves, notably when he served for the match, leading 5-4 in the second set, only to be broken.
The fans went wild when Stepanek hit a return long on the first match point.
The fans went wild when Stepanek hit a return long on the first match point. Now I have to live up to it.
“Playing a final in France is a special occasion.”
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.A French magistrate has ordered former president Jacques Chirac to stand trial on embezzlement charges dating back to his time as mayor of Paris, in an unprecedented move against a former French head of state.
A statement from Chirac’s office says he and nine others have been charged with a role in awarding 21 contracts for non-existent jobs.
The statement describes the former president as “serene”.
Mr Marin is likely to appeal the decision by Xaviere Simeoni, a magistrate whose role is to investigate cases and decide whether suspects should face trial.
The retired Chirac, 76, who was mayor from 1977 until 1995 when he was elected president, is not certain to go on trial, as Paris public prosecutor Jean-Claude Marin had previously said there was no case against him.
The charges investigated by Judge Simeoni related to 35 work contracts allegedly awarded by Paris city hall as favours to friends or associates of Mr Chirac’s political camp. .
She concluded that 21 out of the 35 were for non-existent jobs.
Judge Simeoni’s decision is a blow to Chirac, who enjoyed constitutional immunity during his 12 years as president only to be hit by a flurry of legal problems after he stepped down in 2007.
The statement from Chirac’s office says he is “determined to demonstrate to the tribunal that none of the contracts that are still in debate were for non-existent jobs”.
In retirement from political life, Chirac has gained in popularity and has devoted his time to writing his memoirs and launching a charitable foundation.
No former French head of state has faced prosecution for corruption and a trial would be a public humiliation for a man who was a central figure in French politics for four decades.
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Although he has avoided direct involvement in any trial, a number of his former allies and associates have been convicted of corruption, leaving a bitter aftertaste of “the Chirac years”

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AFP – Egypt announced on Wednesday that it has cut all cooperation with France’s Louvre Museum until it secures the return of stolen Pharaonic relics in the latest row involving the exhibits of a major European institution.

We made the decision to end any cooperation with the Louvre until they return the works, antiquities chief Zahi Hawass told AFP.

He alleged that the renowned Paris museum bought the antiquities in 1980 even though its curators knew they were stolen.

French sources said that the antiquities Egypt was demanding are decorative fragments from a tomb in the Valley of the Kings close to Luxor.

The purchase of stolen steles is a sign that some museums are prepared to encourage the destruction and theft of Egyptian antiquities, he said.

Mitterrand said he has convened a meeting for Friday of a special commission that is empowered to rule on restitution, according to a culture ministry statement on Wednesday.

French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand pledged that France is ready to return the relics to Egypt if the Pharaonic antiquities at the Louvre Museum are indeed stolen.

The minister is ready, if the commission were to issue a favourable ruling, to implement provisions of the UNESCO convention and restitute the relics to the Egyptian authorities without delay, the statement said.

In order to return the works, we would need the agreement of the National Scientific Commission for the Museum Collections of France, he told on condition of anonymity.

A member of the Louvre’s executive said it is open to the idea of returning the works, which are on display in its galleries, but that the decision is not the museum’s alone. .

Egypt’s decision to suspend cooperation will affect conferences organised with the museum, as well as work carried out by the Louvre on the Pharaonic necropolis of Saqqara, south of the capital Cairo.

A number of the world’s most famous museums have collections of Egyptian antiquities, many of them acquired during British colonial rule.

A French source said the atmosphere created by Hosni’s defeat doesn’t help, but insisted that there is no real obstacle and a solution should be found soon.

But in recent years the Egyptian authorities have been increasingly vociferous in campaigning for the return of important works.

But in recent years the Egyptian authorities have been increasingly vociferous in campaigning for the return of important works.

Egypt has also long demanded the return from Berlin of a bust of the legendary Queen Nefertiti that was discovered on the banks of the Nile by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt in December 1912.

The case prompted Egyptian authorities to bar foreign scientists from examining royal mummies.

archaeology – Egypt – France – Frédéric Mitterrand – Louvre
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The case mirrors that of the so-called Elgin Marbles, the decorative frieze that used to adorn the Parthenon in Athens whose return by the British Museum in London Greece has long demanded

.Germany’s most popular women’s magazine has banned the use of images of professional models on its pages.
From 2010, Brigitte will only use what it calls “real life women”.
The magazine’s editors complained they were sick of having to retouch pictures of underweight models who bore no resemblance to their readers. He used three plus-size models to showcase his trademark tight knitted dresses.
At his London fashion week show, designer Mark Fast decided that big was the new black. One of his stylists resigned on the spot, refusing to dress what were referred to as bigger girls.
The decision to use size 12s and 14s instead of the standard size zero models led to a very public row between Mark Fast and his creative team.
Bigger girls to some, but at Germany’s most popular women’s magazine, they are simply referred to as normal.
“Of course a model is a real woman too but we are examining for students, DJs, actresses, whatever,” she said.
One of the fashion directors at Brigitte is so fed up with having to photoshop skinny models to make them look fatter and healthier that she has decided to stop using models altogether in favour of real women.
“We will certainly make normal, average women look glamourous,” she said.
Susie Gunlach’s Brigitte sells 700,000 copies a week and she is out to prove that normal women can be beautiful and sell magazines.”
The industry is edging closer to zero tolerance for zero-size models.
“We will have the best photographers we’re employing for this and we will not make this into a boring magazine for the housewife. From 2010 it will be a policy at Brigitte not to hire professional models at all because the current wave are considered to be too thin and too young. From 2010 it will be a policy at Brigitte not to hire professional models at all because the current wave are considered to be too thin and too young.
“It’s not allowed for a young girl or a young boy, teenage age to work in a factory . He has spent the past few days working at Paris fashion week where models are said to weigh around 25 per cent less than normal women…
“There should be kind of minimum age for the girls to start with. but in the fashion world it is allowed for a 14-year-old girl, maybe even sometimes without her parents, travelling through the whole of Europe and making all these hard castings and doing a very, very tough job,” he said. Two years ago Spain passed a law banning underweight models.”
Vogue UK editor Alexandra Shulman recently appealed to major fashion houses to end the size-zero culture. .
Perhaps this is a trend that will last

.A senior executive at France Telecom has resigned after weeks of criticism over the way he handled a spate of staff suicides.
France Telecom’s deputy chief executive Louis-Piere Wenes had faced calls to resign from employees who say management policies are responsible for the firm’s so called “spiral of death”.
Just last week a 51-year-old father of two jumped to his death from a motorway overpass, leaving a suicide note blaming the “atmosphere” at work.
French unions blame 20 months of restructuring at France Telecom for some of the 24 suicides by employees. .
The company has offered to set up a helpline offering counselling to existing staff as well as the 22,000 people who have been made redundant in the two years from 2006 to 2008