Obviously, tries are still very much a going concern but, as the Tri-Nations demonstrated, they’re two-a-penny these days, and a haul of three won’t necessarily see off the top opponents.
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Real Info Portal » Paul Ackford: England take note as All Blacks …
They were great years, with new shops springing up two a penny .
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Wellington.scoop.co.nz » New Zealand Retail Needs The Feel Good Factor
.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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.Sweden’s top seed Robin Soderling progressed past the second round of the ATP event in Marseille with a three-set victory over Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine.
Stakhovsky won the opening set in a tiebreak (7-5) before Soderling stamped his authority to claim the remaining two sets 6-3, 6-4.
France’s third seed Gael Monfils also advanced but not without a struggle, after beating Italian Andreas Seppi 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 7-6 (7-3). .
Meanwhile, Spain’s David Ferrer won his second round match at the Buenos Aires Open.
.A probe has strongly criticised cross-Channel train operator Eurostar for failing to prepare its trains to cope with winter weather that led to breakdowns and mass disruption in December.
Eurostar also had “no plan in place” to deal with the chaos created when five trains broke down in the Channel Tunnel with more than 2,000 passengers aboard in the busy pre-Christmas period.
Passengers stuck on the trains endured overflowing toilets and darkness and stuffy conditions for hours on end, the report said, adding that “provision of information to customers was inadequate”.
The maintenance of the trains came in for particular criticism – one of the broken-down trains had no snow screens on its power cars allowing a fine form of snow to cause the electrical systems to fail.
The poor quality of information offered to passengers waiting to take cancelled or delayed trains was also highlighted.
Services were cancelled and disrupted following the breakdowns, throwing the travel plans of thousands of passengers trying to travel between London and Paris and Brussels into disarray.
“The review.
The study, by former train company boss Christopher Garnett and French civil engineer Claude Gressier, said the weather in northern France on December 18 was “extremely severe with heavy snowfall”.. .
The first train to break down in the tunnel was recovered “quickly” but “four further trains then broke down in rapid succession and passengers from two of them had to be evacuated onto Eurotunnel passenger shuttles inside the tunnel. found that Eurostar trains had not undergone sufficient winter weather preparations to withstand these conditions and that maintenance procedures should be revised,” it read.
While the evacuations of trains inside the tunnel were carried out “safely and efficiently”, the report highlighted concerns about conditions in the trains after they lost air conditioning and lighting.
“This was the first time this had happened in 15 years of operation,” the review said.
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Eurostar says it will spend more than 30 million pounds ($53 million) upgrading its infrastructure and equipment
.Mathieu Bastareaud’s rugby redemption has been completed at Murrayfield as Six Nations favourite France kicked off its campaign with an 18-9 win over Scotland.
Bastareaud was the difference between the two sides, his two first-half tries putting the French in control of an open contest and justifying coach Marc Lievremont’s decision to hand the giant centre the opportunity to resurrect a career he had done his best to destroy.
The bizarre episode quickly spiralled out of control with diplomatic relations between France and New Zealand becoming strained and Bastareaud himself, a shy 21-year-old, was hospitalised after an apparent suicide attempt on his return to France.
The 110-kilogram centre was starting his first Test since his ignominious involvement in last year’s tour of New Zealand, during which he falsely claimed to have been beaten up by All Black fans in order to cover up a drunken fall in his hotel bedroom.
Robinson, who cuts a happier figure than during his unsuccessful stint as England coach, said there were positives to be taken out of the match ahead of next week’s clash with 2008 Grand Slam winner Wales, which lost to England yesterday.
Scotland, as so often in recent seasons, was let down by its failure to convert openings and phases of pressure into tries although, in Andy Robinson’s first Six Nations match in charge, it posed the French enough problems to suggest it could yet make an impact on this tournament.
“Also we got behind the French defence several times but the French defence scrambled very well and Imanol Harinordoquy made two or three great tackles.
“We conceded two soft tries, but I thought we were in control defensively,” said Robinson, who was assistant coach when England won the 2003 World Cup final. We have a number of positives to take out of this match and I was especially pleased by the performances of Sean Lamont and Johnnie Beattie. .
“We are of course very happy to win, it was a very tough match out there,” said the 29-year-old, who was winning his 58th cap.”
Harinordoquy, who belied his nickname bestowed on him by some Anglophine commentators of ‘very ordinary’ and was named man of the match, said that he and his team-mates had never been able to let up. In the scrum we had to have a big performance and I believe we won in that area.
“We had to play till the last minute because Scotland play with all their heart.”
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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
.French climber Alain Robert, known as Spiderman for his death-defying antics, has set his sights on scaling Dubai’s Burj Khalifa tower, a report said.
The Gulf emirate of Dubai opened the glistening 828 metre concrete, glass and steel skyscraper on January 4 this year.
“I’ll have to do it …
“I know the people of Dubai, they are interested [in seeing me climb the skyscraper]. maybe between January and April 2011,” Mr Robert was quoted as saying by Malaysia’s official Bernama news agency.”
The tower, the tallest in the world, was named in honour of the Abu Dhabi leader whose billions of dollars bailed out Dubai from its financial crisis last year.
He has climbed skyscrapers including the Empire State Building, the Sears Tower and Taipei 101, according to his website.
Mr Robert, 47, was in Malaysia to receive an award for his extraordinary feats in scaling tall buildings.
“The problem in Dubai is the hot weather [of] up to 40 degrees Celsius,” he said.
He admitted that climbing the Dubai tower will be a tough mission because of the Middle Eastern heat. For me, climbing is as important as eating and breathing.
“My biggest fear is to waste my time on Earth. Climbing skyscrapers is my lifetime love and passion. .
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.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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