Email: info@mashriq.co.uk

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A More Pragmatic Approach From The EU

Towards Current Trade NegotiationsNorth West MEP SajjadKarim is urging a morepragmatic approach fromthe EU towards currenttrade negotiations. TheMEP says the proposedIndian deal is the bestnew opportunity availablefor European business. Trade negotiations be-tween India and the EUwere launched in June2007 and, so far, elevennegotiating rounds havebeen held. The last EU-India Summit took placebefore Christmas 2010.Speaking in the Euro-pean Parliament, MrKarim, who is also therapporteur for the tradetalks, said, "Europe isdeeply wounded, the verysocial fabric is tearingapart and our citizens areincreasingly turning to ex-tremes. We need to lookever further outward. Thebest real opportunity wehave are the trade talks.Sadly these talks arelocked and what isneeded, and needednow, is political pragmatism from the European Commission.The longer the delay the more jobs and opportunities are lost.""Things are happeningfor the good in that partof the world.

Pakistan recently madesteps to normalise tradewith India by grantingIndia 'Most FavouredNation' status and this isa very big deal."Of immediate concern toMr Karim is the EU tradeconcession made toPakistan. The 2-yeardeal eases restrictionson Pakistani exportsearning the country mil-lions of dollars needed inthe wake of the terribleflooding. However, theWorld Trade Organisa-tion works by consensusand Bangladesh ob-jected fearing it wouldhurt its own EU exports.Sajjad is Chairman ofthe European Parliament's Friends ofPakistan and member ofthe Friends ofBangladesh.Mr Karimadded, "The best way for

Pakistan to recover afterthe floods is to allow it torebuild the economy ofprovinces like Sindh. 150countries agreed to thedeal but Bangladesh didnot."Sajjad is leading the EUinitiative to speak toBangladesh about its ob-jections having alreadyheld meetings with inter-ested parties.Mr Karim concluded, "Iam sure this can besolved quickly especiallyas Bangladesh's ownCommerce Minister hasadmitted the impact onhis country will be mini-mal. Once again weneed political pragma-tism from EU leadersand once again we needit now. It is the politicalwill versus the politicalwont."

Child Grooming And Asian Gangs

Mr. Mohammed Shafiq,Chief Executive of theRamadhan Foundationcomments:As the UK Governmentlaunches the National Ac-tion Plan on grooming theRamadhan Foundationonce again reiterates itsdisgust and abhorrence ofthese evil crimes. Thecriminals bring shame onthemselves, their familiesand our community. Wehave consistently beencampaigning againstthese crimes over the pastfive years and will continue to work activelyto eradicate from our soci-ety.There must be no hidingplace for these criminals,regardless of race orbackground in our coun-try and we must not shyaway from speaking out.The reality is that the ma-jority of child sex casesare carried out by whiteman but in areas with alarge concentration of eth-nic minorities there aresignificant number ofabusers who are Asian.We know from many recent convictions thatthese men come fromthe Pakistani and Indiancommunities,to say that ethnicity is nota factor in these crimesis a lie and abject

failure of authoritieswhose primary role is toprotect these children.We have and will con-tinue to never hide awayfrom speaking on thisissue and the positivefeedback received fromall sections of our societyshows utter disgust at thecrimes and also disgustat the authorities for theirfailure in protecting ourchildren.Sadly when a recentwhite gang were con-victed in Portsmouth ofgrooming there was verylittle coverage in themedia but when Asiangangs are convictedthere was blanket cover-age, some elements ofthe media are feeding di-vision when we should allbe uniting to ensure thatthere is no safe placefor these criminals fromany race or background.We would urge the mediato responsibly report onthese crimes and ensurethat they do not tarnish allAsian communitieswhere the overwhelmlymajority are disgusted bythese sick evil men.I have been calling for aNational strategy thatforces the Police, localcouncils, care systemsand schools to work and share information onwhere girls are

vulnerable to the evil ofgrooming. I welcome the Govern-ments and in particularTim Loughton MP, theChildren's Minister ac-tion plan and for hisleadership on this issue.There are only a handfulof local authorities havegiven these crimes theattention they requireand the longer the restthat drag their feet themore girls will be lost.The time for ill informedracial sensitivities on thisneeds has stopped andwe need immediate im-plementation of all elements of this actionplan. The RamadhanFoundation is ready towork with the Government to ensurethat this action plan actu-ally turns into action.The Ramadhan Foundation is pleased toannounce that we areplanning to host a majorconference in 2012 ongrooming and Asiangangs. This will be anational conversationwithin our community onhow we root out this evilfrom our community. Weurge interested partnersto consider joining thisinitiative.

The ELATTC Trainingcentre has opened a private room in its commercial salon forMuslim ladies. The roomwill offer the full range oftreatments in an environment sympathetic to the needsof the Muslim lady.Michelle Sapiano,founder of the ELATTCsays,We are delighted tobe able to launch a brand

new area in the salon.Our Muslim ladies are nowable to have their hairdone in privacy and awayfrom the public area of thesalon. They will also beable to take advantage ofother treatments such asmassages, manicures andpedicures all at the dis-counted prices of the mainsalon. It is a very excitingto be able to cater for all ofour local community

This non profitorganisation offersfantastic training in Hair-dressing, BeautyTherapy, Assessor andteacher training - thisoften leads to excitingemployment opportunitiesand can open many pro-gression routes for learn-ers. On offer are NVQs,IHBC, VRQs. It has anexcellent network.

London Salon Opens Private Room ForMuslim Clients

An Evening With Simon Rimmer In AidOf

Childrens Charity, BrainwaveEarle Restaurant in Haleplayed host to a specialevening of sumptuousdining and fine wines tohelp raise funds for chil-drens charity, Brainwaveand help kick-start its30th anniversary cele-brations.Guests includedCoronation Street stars,Samia Smith & WillThorp who, along withSimon Rimmer, haveagreed to support Brain-wave during its specialbirthday year in 2012.Simon said: Earle isdelighted to host this special occasion forBrainwave its a fantastic charity whichlooks after children witha variety of brain condi-tions and the North WestCentre in Warrington is a

wonderful haven for families requiring the special sup-port Brainwave can offer.The event at Earle raised 3,400 for Brainwave whichwill help support families in the NW region.

Brainwave Ambassadors, Simon Rimmer, SamiaSmith and Will Thorp.

Russian PresidentDmitry Medvedev saysRussia will aim missilesat U.S. anti-missile sitesin eastern Europe if theUnited States does notheed Russian concernsabout its missile defenseplans.Mr. Medvedev said in atelevised statementWednesday that Russiawill deploy long-rangemissiles in the southernand western parts of thecountry if it fails to agreewith the United States onits plans for an anti-mis-sile shield.The White House swiftlyresponded to Mr.Medvedev's statement,saying it will not alter inany way its plans to de-ploy a missile shield. National Security Coun-cil spokesman TommyVietor maintained theU.S. stance that the mis-sile defense shield doesnot threaten Russia'sown nuclear deterrent.He said the U.S. wantsto enhance missile de-fense cooperation withRussia in order to pro-vide security for bothcountries.He also reiterated the U.S. position that it has beenopen and transparentwith Russia about itsplans. The United States wantsto build a land- and sea-based missile defensesystem to protect NATOand its allies against apossible attack from Iranor North Korea. It insiststhe missile shield is notaimed at Russia and ispurely defensive.

Russia has said thatsuch a system wouldupset its own nuclear de-terrent as well as thestrategic weapons balance in Europe.The Russian presidentalso said Wednesdaythat Moscow willconsider backing out ofthe New Start disarma-ment agreement withWashington and otherarms control dialogues ifthe two countries cannotreach an agreement. Healso ordered the deploy-ment of a radar missilewarning system in thewestern city of Kalin-ingrad.Mr. Medvedev's com-ments come a day afterthe U.S. announced it ishalting information-shar-ing with Russia on non-nuclear military forces inEurope. The announce-ment follows failed talksbetween Washingtonand Moscow on reviving a treaty thatlimits the number ofconventional weaponsthat could be stationed inEurope. Russia stoppedproviding information onits forces four years ago.The United Statesonother hand hasreiterated that itsplanned missile defensesystem for Europe,aimed at Iran, will notthreaten Russias strategic missile deter-rent. Russian PresidentDmitri Medvedev warnedthat Moscow will takecounter-measuresagainst the U.S. systembeing developed withNATO.

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Russia Warns of Response toUS Missile Shield

French Court Approves Noriega's Extradition to

Panama

A French appeals courthas approved the extra-dition of jailed formerPanamanian military dic-tator Manuel Noriega tohis native country, toserve time for embezzle-ment, corruption andmurder.Noriega ruled Panamafrom 1983 to 1989, whenhe was ousted by U.S.forces.After his overthrow, hespent two decades inprison in the U.S. ondrug trafficking, racket-eering and money laun-dering charges beforebeing extradited lastyear to France, where hewas convicted of moneylaundering and sen-tenced to seven years injail.

Noriega told the Frenchcourt Wednesday that hewants to go back toPanama to prove his in-nocence. His lawyer saidit is now up to the CentralAmerican nation to sendpolice or a military planeto carry out the extradi-tion.The United States alsogave its approval toauthorize Noriega's re-turn to Panama, wherehe is accused of murder-ing political opponents. Panamanian PresidentRicardo Martinelli saidlast week that Noriega

will go to jail when hearrives in Panama. Butthe president also ac-knowledged that theone-time U.S. ally, nowin his late 70s, could begranted house arrest bylaw because of his age.He also is reported tosuffer from health prob-lems.Noriega served 20years in prison in theUnited States for drugtrafficking, money laun-dering and racketeeringbefore being extraditedto France in 2010. Hehad been sentenced inabsentia in 1999 to 1989

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Civil servants fromacross Whitehall arebeing drafted in to workas border staff duringnext week's public sectorstrike.The civil servants havebeen approached by theUK Border Agency andasked to man facilities atports and airports whenimmigration officialsstrike over their pen-sions.Immigration staff work-ing overseas have alsobeen asked if they arewilling to return to theUK to help out on theday of industrial action.Staff working in em-bassies and high com-missions in India, SouthAfrica and Russia havebeen contacted about returning to Britain tocover for their absentcolleagues.More than two millionworkers - including asmany as 18,000 immi-gration officials -are ex-pected to strike in thebiggest outbreak of in-dustrial unrest since the1979 Winter of Discon-tent, raising the potentialfor long queues at pass-port control.A UK Border Agencyspokesman said: "Thesecurity of the UK border

remains our top priorityand we explore all op-tions to ensure we min-imise any disruptioncaused by plannedunion action."The spokesmanstressed that all staffwould be given "the necessary level of train-ing" needed for the tasksthey are given.Downing Streetconfirmed that contin-gency plans were underway to limit the impact ofthe strike, but declined todiscuss details.Prime Minister DavidCameron's officialspokesman said: "Weare considering our con-tingency plans, but weare not providing any details of those. Thepublic will expect us, asthe Government, to dowhat we can to mitigatethe effects of the strikes."If a large-scale strikegoes ahead next week,that will have an impact on people and familiesacross the country. Ifschools are shut, thatwill mean a lot of peoplewho have to stay athome to look after theirkids. Strikes are notcostless. They have animpact and we have todo what we can to miti-gate that."

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Uk Steel Town Bears Scars Of Government Cuts

MIDDLESBROUGH,England In the for-mer British industrialpowerhouse of Middles-brough, a skyline oncedominated by smoke-belching chimneys andsteel mill furnaces nowfeatures a monumentalpiece of public art andan elegant new state col-lege clad in silver andbronze.The town's harshindustrial landscape in-spired film director Rid-ley Scott, a son ofnorth-east England, inhis vision for the sciencefiction film "Blade Run-ner."But many of its factoriesclosed long ago andnearly half of the work-force now relies on thepublic sector.Like so many places inBritain that came to de-pend on public jobs afterthe decline of their oldindustries, Middles-brough faces an uncer-tain future as PrimeMinister David Camerontries to cut spending andavoid the sort of debt cri-sis that has toppled gov-ernments acrossEurope.The town of139,000 people, close towhere the River Teesmeets the windsweptnortheast coast, hasbeen described as theplace most vulnerable toBritain's cuts.Its university expandedrapidly under the last

Labour government, thehospital was rebuilt anda public art gallerysprang up in an elegantnew town square aspoliticians poured moneyinto Middlesbrough andother deprived areas.Now the tap has beenturned off and the Con-servative-led coalition istrying to wipe out abudget deficit thatpeaked at around 11percent of GDP -- amove that is expected tolead to the loss of400,000 public sectorjobs."Yes, we did have a pol-icy as a Labour govern-ment, with all of theseheavy industries going:We pushed people intothe public sector wherethey were working, get-ting a salary, payingtaxes and were part ofthe consumer society,"said Stuart Bell, thetown's Labour memberof parliament since1983.It is the north of Britainwhich was ravaged byConservative prime min-ister Margaret Thatcher'spolicy of running downuncompetitive industriesin the 1980s -- creatingBritain's notorious north-south divide. It nowfaces the brunt againgiven the drive to revivethe region with publicmoney.While Britain may be on

track to meet its deficit-cutting targets this year,the weak outlook meansfinance minister GeorgeOsborne is expected tohave to accept lowergrowth forecasts whenhe sets out his latest fis-cal plans in parliamenton November 29.Advertise | AdChoicesHis deficit plan is basedon forecasts for 1.7 per-cent growth this year.Lower growth, or even areturn to recession,would leave a starkchoice of having to cutdeeper or let the auster-ity drive falter, whichwould threaten Britain's'AAA' credit rating andraise its borrowing costs.The Labour party saysOsborne must thinkagain and find a growthstrategy. He insists thatrecord low borrowingcosts for Britain showshis path is the right oneand blames the eurozone debt crisis for theeconomy'sdownturn.The town'sharsh industrial land-scape inspired film direc-tor Ridley Scott, a son ofnorth-east England, inhis vision for the sciencefiction film "Blade Run-ner."But many of its factoriesclosed long ago andnearly half of the work-force now relies on thepublic sector.

Civil Servants To Man Borders

During Nov. 30 Strike

Correction

In Mashriq Britannia November 1st edition2011 in an Eid message.read the designatiion ofMr.Shaukat Ali as a potential candidate forlocal council.Where asMr.Afzal khan andNamee Ul hassan aredesignated Coumcillorsfor Cheetham Hill Manchester.

Take your children to workduring pensionsstrike, says

David CameronFirms should allow par-ents to bring their chil-dren to work during nextweek's pensions strikeby public sector workers,the Prime Minister saidas he indicated he mightbe willing to make itharder to take industrialaction. Millions of parents areexpected to struggle withchildcare as teacherstake part in a 24-hourwalkout next Wednes-day, which could seemore than two millionworkers on strike in thebiggest outbreak of in-dustrial unrest since the1979 Winter of Discon-tent. There were calls forchanges in strike lawsfrom the Tories in theCommons after ToryMP Richard Ottawaysaid strikes should bebanned.

Supporters of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, orIndian Workers Group, participate in a protestrally in New Delhi. The supporters demandedthat the government protect workers rights inthe ongoing economic reform process as wellas the financial crisis. (AP)

The bodies of fourBritish servicemen killedin Afghanistan are re-turning to the UK.They are LieutenantDavid Boyce and LanceCorporal Richard Scan-lon, both of 1st TheQueen's DragoonGuards, Private TomLake, 1st Battalion ThePrincess of Wales'sRoyal Regiment andLance Corporal PeterEustace from 2nd Battal-ion The Rifles.They were all killed inexplosions in the Nahr-eSaraj district of Helmandprovince.The repatriation is takingplace at RAF Brize Nor-ton. After a private ceremonythere, the cortege willmake its way to the JohnRadcliffe hospital in Ox-ford. With the deaths of twoother soldiers, PrivateMatthew Thornton, 4thBattalion The YorkshireRegiment , and Private MatthewHaseldin, 2nd BattalionThe Mercian Regiment ,earlier in November, thismonth could prove thebloodiest of 2011. Three hundred and eightnine British forces per-sonnel or Ministry of De-fence civilians have diedwhile serving inAfghanistan since thestart of operations in

October 2001; of these,345 were killed as a re-sult of hostile action.Only three Britons werekilled in November last year - however,four were killed in Octo-ber 2010, compared withone in October 2011.It appears that the highnumber of fatalities is, asone source described it,"a spike of bad luck".There has been nochange in the tempo ofBritish operations, norany significant increasein IED finds. The four deaths didoccur in the same district, but weregeographically distinct. There has been signifi-cant progress in much ofcentral Helmand. The summer months,

when traditionally mostfighting occurs, were qui-eter than expected, andin many areas com-merce and agricultureare thriving. Special forces opera-tions have hit the Talibanleadership hard, withsome areas now experi-encing no significant in-surgent activity.Yet November is themonth in which the na-tion mourns those lost inconflict.As the year draws to anend amidst growing con-cerns about the with-drawal of 33,000 UStroops in 2012, there willagain be those whoquestion the point of theten-year Afghan cam-paign.

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Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamus ul Hassan visits British Muslim HeritageCentre together with Consul general Ehsan ul Bhattia, former Lord mayor afzal Khan,BMHC chairman Nassar Mahmood and Farakh Zaheer.

Four Fallen British Soldiers BroughtHome

Aid ScamSees IndianChildren GoHungry

Widespread abuse ofIndia's food aid pro-gramme, which is meantto be a lifeline for thecountry's poor, has beenuncovered by an exclu-sive Sky News investiga-tion.Ration packs formillions of undernour-ished children are beingsystematically stolen andsold on the black marketas animal feed.A man we tracked down,who was supposed todeliver the aid, claimedthat villages do not wantthe food - and so he stolethe vital supplies he wassupposed to hand out tothe most needy.He also claimed officialsin the state of Maharash-tra were involved in the il-legal practice, but thepolice did nothing.The man, Nasru, told me:"It is not only us who areinvolved in this - even theofficials running theprogrammes are sellingthe food."India has one of thebiggest food aid pro-grammes in the world.The country also hasmore malnourishedchildren than sub-Saha-ran Africa, according toUnicef, and it has adevastating effect on thepopulation.

Yemen's President AliAbdullah Saleh sat downwith opposition leadersin the Saudi capitalRiyadh Wednesday tosign a long awaitedagreement to transferpower to his vice presi-dent, hold early electionsand put an end tomonths of bloodshed. Onlookers clapped asPresident Saleh andYemeni opposition lead-ers signed the deal totransfer power, a dealthat had long eludedthem. The accord was amajor victory for the GulfCooperation Council(GCC), which hadworked patiently to bro-ker it, and for Saudi Ara-bia's King Abdullah whoinvested his prestige tobring it about.King Abdullah told theYemeni politicians that anew page in their historyhas been turned, and heurged them to work to

bring peace to theirstrife-torn country.President Saleh hadpromised to sign the Gulfplan three different timesin recent months, but reneged each time. Thedeal will allow Mr. Salehto remain president inname until elections areheld in three month's

time, bringing an end tohis 33 year rule.Gulf Cooperation Coun-cil Secretary-GeneralAbdel Latif Zayani spentmany hours in Yemenduring the past sixmonths to broker thedeal. He called the sign-ing "historic."He said it is a decisive

moment in which theYemeni parties aremeeting in Saudi Arabiato achieve reconciliationand understanding. Hethanks King Abdullah forhis sponsorship of thetalks and says he isthankful the GCC mediation resulted in anagreement that will bringan end to bloodshed inYemen.President Saleh said heregrets the bloodshedthat resulted during the10-month old popularuprising to overthrowhim. He claimed the tur-moil was the result ofoutside forces that havebeen pushing their ownagenda in the Arabworld.Despite the optimismsurrounding Wednes-day's ceremony, Yemenscholar GregoryJohnsen at PrincetonUniversity says that it'sfar from clear that thesigning will put a deci-sive end to the monthsof violence in the coun-try.

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Yemen's President Signs PowerTransfer Deal

Photo: AP Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh signs a documentagreeing to step down after a long-running uprising to ousthim from 33 years in power in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Nov.23, 2011

Bahrain Security Forces Clash with ProtestersBahraini security forceshave clashed with pro-testers in at least twoShi'ite towns just hoursbefore the release of anindependent report onthe sectarian violencethat engulfed the PersianGulf nation earlier thisyear.Wednesday's street bat-tles first broke out in Aali,outside the capital Man-ama, after a man diedwhen his car smashedinto a house when police

allegedly forced him off the road.It is not clear whether the dead motorist had been in-volved in protests, which take place almost daily inminority Shi'ite areas of Bahrain and are often

met with force.Bahrain commissionedthe much-anticipated re-port to investigateShi'ite-led anti-govern-ment protests and a sub-sequent governmentcrackdown featuringmass arrests and allega-tions of torture. The country's SunniMuslim authorities calledin Saudi troops in Marchto help crush theprotests they say Iranfomented through itsco-religionists on the tinyisland nation.

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High Level Saudi Arabian delegationvisit Manchester to discuss trade

Three members of theSaudi Arabian ShuraCouncil (Parliament),have visited Manchesterto explore the tradelinks, they visited Man-chester Town Hall ,where they met withDeputy Leader Council-lor Sue Murphy, Council-lor Afzal Khan,(executive member andformer Lord Mayor) andthe deputy Lord Mayor.The team then went onto visit the British Muslimheritage centre for a tourto and to learn about thework that the BMHC isdoing to strengthen rela-tions between the Mus-lim world and Europe.In the afternoon therewas a panel discussionat the University of Man-chester , chaired by DrIbrahim Abosag, Assis-tant Professor in Interna-tional Marketing andManagement. A largeaudience attended thisevent and asked manyvaried questions relating

to economic, climateand political changessweeping the MiddleEast .Councillor Afzal Khanstated that Both coun-tries have a long history

sides need to workhardtwo million Muslimsliving in the UK have animportant role to play inthis. Saudi Arabia and theUnited Kingdom havelong been close allies

of working together fortheir mutual benefit. It isimportant that in this rap-idly changing world wedo not take each otherfor granted. Both sides

focusing primarily ontrade and military mutualto strengthen our socialand trade links and the interests. Saudi Arabia isthe biggest trade partner

for the UK in the MiddleEast . The high eco-nomic growth that SaudiArabia is witnessing overthe last few years hasgenerated an enormousamount of opportunity.However, the UK astrade partner for SaudiArabia is ranked 9thonly. In recent years, therelationship between the

two countries has ex-panded to include security, education,health and other sectors.

New School building forSt Peters

St Peters RC HighSchool in Gorton welcomed guests asthey joined students andstaff in celebrating thecompletion of the 3.1m project. The ne w 513sqm timber structure building was officiallyopened by the Very Reverend CanonAnthony McBride andCouncillor Afzal KhanCBE,Executive Memberfor Childrens Services,with a plaque unveilingand blessing. The struc-ture has been named theKennedy Building after

Father James Kennedy(19442005), whoplayed a leading role inthe amalgamation of StAlbans, St Gregorysand St Vincent de Paulsschools, which led to thecreation of St Peters RCHigh School in its pres-ent home in 2003. In ad-dition to the newteaching block, new spe-cial educational needs(SEN) facilities havebeen provided in the cur-rent school .A further1.4m has been invested inthe schools ICT provision.

Saudi Arabian delegation with Cllr Afzal Khan during thier visit to Manchester

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conveyed his condolences ond

Obama Calls for Patienceon Economic Recovery

Automatic US SpendingCuts Loom

President Barack Obama delivering an address on theAmerican Jobs Act, at Central High School in Manchester,New Hampshire, November 22, 2011

President Barack Obamais asking Americans to bepatient with his efforts tospeed economic recov-ery. The president againhas attacked Republi-cans for voting down hisjobs legislation.He has again gone onthe road to campaign forsupport for his economicinitiatives, speaking at ahigh school in the north-eastern city of Manches-ter, New Hampshire.The nations unemploy-ment rate has hoveredaround nine percent forseveral months, and Mr.Obamas public approvalratings have suffered.Many political expertsthink the economy will bethe main issue that deter-mines whether the presi-dent wins re-election ayear from now.Mr. Obama told thecrowd in Manchester hisefforts on the economywill succeed, but not im-mediately.It is going to take time torebuild an economy thatrestores security for themiddle class, renews op-portunity for folks trying toreach the middle class. Itis going to take time to re-build an economy that isnot based on outsourcingor tax loopholes or riskyfinancial deals, but onethat is built to last, hesaid.The presidents appealcame one day after aspecial congressional

panel, called the super-committee, failed toagree on ways to cut thegovernments budgetdeficit.Opposition Republicansand some political ex-perts criticized Mr.Obama for not becomingmore involved in pushingthe supercommittee to-ward an agreement.But on Tuesday, the pres-ident had criticism for mi-nority Republicans in theSenate, angrily blastingthem for defeating majorparts of his $447-billionjobs legislation.They refused to evendebate it. 100 percent ofRepublicans opposed it,even though almost two-thirds of Americans sup-ported the ideas in thisbill - Democrats, Republi-cans and independentsalike. Not one Republi-can in Washington waswilling to say it was theright thing to do, not one,Obama said.Mr. Obama called onCongress to vote nextweek to extend tax cutsthat are set to expire atthe end of December.The top Republican inCongress, HouseSpeaker John Boehner,said his party is still will-ing to discuss supportingthe bill.The small state ofNew Hampshire will bethe scene of one of thefirst Republican presiden-tial voting contests of the2012 campaign,

Under current U.S. law,automatic cuts to do-mestic programs andnational defense willbegin in 2013, becausea congressional commit-tee failed to agree ontrimming Americas federal deficit. Already,many lawmakers saythey want to shield fa-vored federal programsfrom the budget ax, de-spite a veto threat fromPresident BarackObama. A budget deal earlierthis year specified therewould be $1.2 trillion inautomatic cuts, knownas a "sequester," if aspecial supercommit-tee failed to trim thedeficit by an equalamount over a 10-yearperiod.

The supercommitteesfailure leaves the se-quester in place, at leastfor now.President Obama saysausterity is on the way.One way or another, wewill be trimming thedeficit," he said. That means major cutsto a range of programs,from farm subsidies totransportation to pay-ments to medicalproviders for treating theelderly. It also meansdeep cuts for the de-fense budget.The looming sequesterangers lawmakersacross the ideological

spectrum. Many De-mocrats oppose cuts toinfrastructure and otherdomestic programs.And Republicans saysecurity will suffer if thePentagon budget isslashed. CongressmanHoward McKeon said,National defense hascontributed enough todeficit reduction.Defense Secretary LeonPanetta warned of ahollowed out U.S. mili-tary. If the sequestergoes into effect and itdoubles the number ofcuts, then it will trulydevastate our nationaldefense," he said.

25

26

Beijing Blasts US For Failureto Cut Debt

Chinese state media areattacking the U.S. gov-ernment for failing to re-solve what it says is the"ticking debt bomb" in theworld's largest economy.Blasting the U.S. for thecollapse of a congres-sional committee's effortto trim the country'sbudget deficit by $1.2 tril-lion over the next decade,the Xinhua news agencysaid "Washington's

political elites" need tohave the courage to de-fuse the debt issue andshow the "wisdom anddetermination not to fur-ther jeopardize the fragileglobal economic recov-ery."The news agency saidU.S. politicians "havenever shied" from lectur-ing other countries abouttheir global responsibili-ties, but that "now it ishigh time" the U.S.

"showed a sense of trueglobal leadership."The collapse of the U.S.congressional commit-tee's negotiations on cut-ting the U.S. debt had noimmediate effect on theU.S. credit rating, sincethe panel's lack of agree-ment triggers $1.2 trillionin automatic cuts startingin January 2013, half of itfor national security pro-grams. Two credit rating

agencies, Standard &Poor's and Moody's, af-firmed their rating of U.S.debt. A third agency, Fitch,said it is reviewing its U.S.rating.The failure of the 12-member committee toreach a debt-reductionagreement leaves inquestion spending andtax issues that affect vir-tually all Americans.A reduction in a payrolltax for government pen-sions for senior citizensand financial assistancefor the long-term unem-ployed are set to expire atthe end of this year andcan only be extendedwith congressional ap-proval. At the end of2012, broader tax cutsfirst approved more thana decade ago will expire.All three measures havesparked contentious de-bate between PresidentBarack Obama, a Demo-crat facing re-election in2012, his Democraticsupporters in Congressand opposition Republi-can lawmakers and pres-idential contenders

seeking to oust the pres-ident.The congressional panelof six Republicans andsix Democrats was sup-posed to come up with adeal this week, but admit-ted failure Monday. Later,Obama vowed to vetoany effort to undo the au-tomatic spending cuts.With a year before thecuts take effect, analystssay Congress and theWhite House couldstillreach an agreement ondebt cuts and tax in-creases. But that almostcertainly will be more dif-ficult as the country ap-proaches the presidentialelection a year from now.All 435 members of theHouse of Representa-tives and a third of the100-member Senate alsoface re-election.

Spain's ElectionTurns OnEconomySpaniards are votingSunday in legislativeelections that are ex-pected to return the con-servative Popular Partyto power. Initial resultsare due in the evening.Spain's Socialist PrimeMinister Jose Luis Ro-driguez Zapatero sweptto power in 2004 amidthe high drama of theMadrid terrorist attacks,unseating the ruling con-servative Popular Party.But today, the economydominates voter con-cerns. Unemployment ishigh, growth is sluggishand the country's publicdebt is growing. Those concerns pushedZapatero, who is notrunning for anotherterm, to call for earlylegislative elections.

Fifa is installing a camerasystem in the goals atRochdale FC's homeground to see whether itcan tell referees for certainwhenever the ball crossesthe line.Spotland, home to theLeague One outfit, standsto take a proud part in apotentially historic devel-opment in the game, ifGoalminder - the brain-child of two Lancashire-based businessmen -passes a series of strin-gent tests.The researchers willspend around 13 hoursputting Goalminderthrough its paces in thetown, famed more for Gra-cie Fields than for its foot-balling exploits.The Fifa test team spentTuesday at Southamp-ton's home, St Mary's,looking at Hawk-Eye, al-ready used in other sportsincluding cricket and tennis.But Goalminder is differ-ent, utilising a total of 24cameras implanted in thegoalposts, 16 of them con-centrating solely on thegoal-line.A further eight cameraslook outward, bringing thepossibility of the use offootage commercially byTV companies andcoaches at top footballclubs.Goalminder's founderssay data from the camerasis processed instanta-neously by a box behindthe goal, and a verdict onwhether the ball hascrossed the line is trans-mitted within one second to a referee's wristwatch.The strict testing regimeis being carried out be-hind closed doors, butnews of the researchers'visit to Rochdale will re-assure football fans thatthe technology is finallyon its way.The Rochdale tests arepart of the first phase oftrials of nine European-based systems.Former ManchesterUnited player Lee Sharpeis endorsing Goalminder."The technology is therenow where if the ballcrosses the line, you geta little bleep or a flashing

light or something likethat straight away then,yeah, I say bring it in," hesaid."If it's going to take a cou-ple of seconds to stopand take a look at it thenyou can't do it. I think itneeds to come in."The system's inventor,electrician Harry Barnes,patented the technology in the 1990s and haswatched it improve eversince.He told: "If you take mysystem, we have eightcameras in each post,eight cameras in thecrossbar. You get a defini-tive shot of the ball cross-ing the line, straight in linewhere the camera shouldbe, no error. (It's a) fantas-tic system."The aim - accepted nowby Fifa as long as a reli-able system can be found- is to rule out the possibil-ity that a clear goal, likeFrank Lampard's againstGermany in the last WorldCup , could be missed bythe officials.Goalminder would cost100,000 to install ingrounds.Its founders - including di-rector David Parden -have made only losses onit to date, but stand tomake millions.Mr Parden said: "All we'vedone is put money in for14 years. Me personally,and Harry, and I supposeall the others over theyears, we must have put in100,000 each."But, he added: "Over 20years, you could be mak-ing hundreds of millions."A final decision onwhether to adopt thetechnology - and, if so,which systems to go with- is expected next July,following a second roundof testing in March.

After a frenetic first halfwhich produced little, VanPersie gave his side a49th minute lead with aclinical header after finework out wide from the in-spired Alex Song, beforethe Arsenal captain dou-bled his tally from closerange four minutes fromtime.Shinji Kagawa pulled aconsolation goal back forDortmund in stoppagetime, but it was an en-tirely efficient victory forthe hosts as they sealedtheir place in the last 16of the competition by top-ping Group F.Arsene Wenger namedan unchanged startingline-up as his side at-tempted to secure theirpassage through to theknockout stages withLaurent Koscielny contin-uing at right-back while

the returning Abou Diabywas handed a spot on thesubstitutes' bench. Starlet Mario Goetze, areported 30 million tar-get for the Gunners,started for the Germans,

who needed a win to re-alistically keep alive theirslim hopes of making thesecond round, and themidfielder was at the fore-front of everything in whatwas a frantic opening.

Arsenal were forced toplay on the break formuch of the early stages,and Theo Walcott nearlypunished the visitors ashe surged through ongoal.

Fifa Trials Goal-LineTechnology In Rochdale

Champions League - Van Persiebrace sees Arsenal top group

28ATP World Tour Finals - Djokovic stunned

by sensational Ferrer

David Ferrer, the lesserknown Spaniard in theATP World Tour Finals,burst out of Rafa Nadal'sshadow to reach the lastfour with a demolition jobon world number oneNovak Djokovic at theO2 Arena.While Nadal's place inthe semi-finals is still indoubt after his thrashingat the hands of RogerFederer on Tuesday,world number five Ferrermade sure he will bearound at the weekendwith a 6-3 6-1 defeat ofthe year's outstandingplayer.In the day's other match,Czech Tomas Berdychsaved a match pointagainst Djokovic's fellowSerb Janko Tipsarevic toseal a 2-6 6-3 7-6 victorywhich means the calcu-lators may be needed todecide who finishes run-ner-up in Group A on Fri-day.

The complications meanDjokovic could beatDavis Cup team mateTipsarevic, a stand-in forinjured Briton Andy Mur-ray, and still fail to gothrough while a defeat,providing Ferrer beatsBerdych, would see himsurvive.Whatever the maths,Djokovic said he wouldneed to play "50 percent" better in his nextmatch."I have no words to ex-plain this match," saidDjokovic, who went on a41-match winning ram-page at the start of theyear and claimed threeof the year's four Majors."Nothing was going well.I don't play at least 50per cent better than I didtonight, I don't think I'llhave any chance. Youalways hope that tomor-row will bring somethingbetter."

In front of another sell-out crowd in the 17,500-capacity arena, Djokovicbegan solidly enough asthe first six games of thematch went with serve.However, when the ter-rier-like Ferrer racedacross court on breakpoint to whip a forehanddown the line that caughthis opponent flat-footedat the net, the matchceased to become a realcontest as the 29-year-old from Valencia ranway with it.He broke the Djokovicserve again to win theopening set and heneeded nothing spectac-ular in the second set asDjokovic offered little re-sistance. The Serb'smounting unforced errortally spoke volumes."I'm embarrassed to lookat the stats," Djokovic,who made 33 unforcederrors, said.

Spot-fixing appeals dismissedEx-Test captain Butt, 27, received 30 months for his role in a plot to bowl deliber-ate no-balls in the Lord's Test against England in August 2010. Fast bowler Amir, 19, was detained for six months in a young offenders institutionafter he admitted bowling two intentional no-balls at Lord's.The duo, along with fellow team-mate Mohammad Asif, were sentenced at London's Southwark Crown Court on November 3. Butt and Amir were not present at the Court of Appeal in London for the proceed-ings before the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, and two other judges, the PressAssociation reported. A lawyer representing Butt had argued that his 30-month prison sentence was"manifestly excessive" while counsel for Amir urged the court to suspend his sen-tence. Ali Bajwa, for Butt, argued that his sentence was "out of proportion to the serious-ness of the offence that was committed". Although serious, it was at the "lowerend of the scale" of such offences, he added.Bajwa described Butt as a broken man in a state of "ruin and disgrace".He told the appeal judges: "The very fact of conviction and imprisonmentamounted to exceptional punishment for Mr Butt."Henry Blaxland, for Amir, urged the court to impose a suspended sentence of alength that would enable his immediate release.

Akmal, Misbah guide Pakistan to serieswin

Contrasting half-cen-turies from Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmalsecured a three-wicketvictory for Pakistan overSri Lanka in the fifth andfinal one-day interna-tional in Abu Dhabi.Pakistan went into thematch with the series al-ready in the bag andleft-arm pacer SohailTanvir (4-34) and hisbowling colleagues re-stricted Sri Lanka to 218for nine to lay the foun-dation of their third suc-cessive victory.Misbah (66) and Akmal(61 not out) returned tomake significant contri-butions with the bat asPakistan romped homewith 16 balls to spare tocomplete a 4-1 serieswin.Pakistan had won thepreceding three-Test se-ries 1-0.Chasing a modest vic-tory target, Pakistan lostboth the openers by thetime they had scored thefirst 51 runs before Mis-bah added 62 runs withformer captain YounisKhan (34) to steady theship.Leg-spinner JeevanMendis (3-36) injectedsome drama by remov-ing Younis and thescoreless Shoaib Malikwith successive deliver-ies but Misbah's matu-rity and Akmal'saggression took thegame away from Sri

Akmal hit a boundary toscore the winning run and remained not outafter a sparkling 60-ballknock.Earlier, Tanvir earnedPakistan an early break-through by removingopener Upul Tharanga(3) in the fourth overafter Sri Lanka captainTillakaratne Dilshan hadopted to bat first at theSheikh Zayed Stadium.Dilshan's (12) poor formcontinued, whileChamara Silva (1), re-placing the injured Ma-hela Jayawardene, couldnot make the most of theopportunity either.Kumar Sangakkara (78)found an able ally in An-gelo Mathews (61) andthey rebuilt the inningswith mature half-cen-turies.The pair were largelycontent rotating thestrike but occasionallycounter-attacked as wellwith Sangakkara hittingthree fours off a Tanvirover and Mathews strik-ing Umar Gul for twosixes.Mohammad Hafeezended Sangakkara's in-nings to break the standand Saeed Ajmal bowledMathews round the legto peg back their oppo-nents.Down the order, ThisaraPerera (25) chipped inwith an 18-ball cameo totake Sri Lanka past the200 mark.

Service to beheld for D'Oliveira

A thanksgiving service inhonour of former Eng-land cricketer Basil D'O-liveira will be held atWorcester Cathedral onJanuary 27.D'Oliveira, who died onSaturday at the age of80, spent 16 years withWorcestershire as aplayer and a decade ashead coach during whichtime the county won fivecounty championship ti-tles.But he will best beremembered for his partin bringing an end toapartheid in South Africaafter the 1968 tour of hisnative country by Eng-land was called off whenhe was included in thesquad.It was a majorfactor in South Africaeventually being isolatedfrom international sportfor more than twodecades.D'Oliveira's son Damiansaid: "The whole D'O-liveira family have beenheartened by the manytributes paid to Dad overthe last few days."Itshows the affection andhigh regard in which hewas held by cricket fol-lowers around theworld""It is hoped that theThanksgiving service willgive the opportunity for allthose who he clearlytouched over a long periodof time to show their re-spects."

Pakistan batsman Misbah-ul-Haq in action during the third ODI between West Indies andPakistan at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. Photo: AFP

SAN FRANCISCO:Facebook has allied withTaiwans HTC to build acustomized smartphonepowered by GooglesAndroid mobile operatingsystem, according totechnology blog AllThings Digital.The project, codenamed Buffy, is aimedat making a handset tai-lored for the California-based social networkingplatform, according tothe blog, which is ownedby Dow Jones, publisherof The Wall Street Journal.The device woulddeeply integrate Face-book, which has morethan 800 million mem-bers, at the core of itsbeing, All Things Digitalsaid.

A Facebook team beenworking with HTC aswell as trying to makedeals with telecomproviders for the smart-phone, which it hopes torelease within the next18 months, the blogsaid.A Facebookspokesman declined tocomment directlyon the Buffy project toThings Digital but said:Our mobile strategy issimple: We think everymobile device is better ifit is deeply social.Wereworking across the entiremobile industry; with op-erators, hardware manu-facturers, OS providers,andapplication developersto bring powerful socialexperiences to morepeople around theworld, the spokesman

saiHTC already buildsphones with dedicatedFacebook programs.

29

So, while this was a terri-ble year for farmers, forMarek and his col-leagues, it was just aboutperfect. At a research sta-tion an hour north ofAmarillo, they work toprepare farmers for hot-ter, drier years ahead.Itsgoing to become moreand more important,"says Wenwei Xu, wholeads the teams maizebreeding efforts. "Be-cause, with climatechange, cold places aregetting colder, warmplaces are getting hotter.When it gets hot, you get

drought.Hot weatherand drought turn maizeplants brown. Thatmeans the end of photo-synthesis, which is howmaize plants turn sunlightinto starchy kernels.ButXus colleague, QingwuXue, identified genes thathelp some tropical maizevarieties stay greenlonger under these condi-tions.If they stay greenlonger, they can photo-synthesize longer," saysXue. "Once they photo-synthesize longer, theycan fill their grain for alonger time.

Facebook, HTC to build Androidsmartphone: report

Space Crew to Enjoy Thanksgiving Feast in

OrbitThe three crew members on the International SpaceStation plan to have their own Thanksgiving feast onThursday as they orbit 352 kilometers above theearth. The lone American on board plans to sharesome traditional holiday fare with his two Russiancrew mates.It is hard to be away from home on a hol-iday, especially if are far away in space.But Expedi-tion 30 Commander Dan Burbank still plans to enjoya Thanksgiving dinner . Let's see. Well, we are goingto have some smoked turkey, home style potatoes,cornbread dressing..., he said.Burbank will share itwith his two companions, Russian cosmonauts AntonShkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin. Veteran astronautClay Anderson says eating in orbit poses chal-lenges.If you take a package like this and we havere-hydrated the cornbread dressing, you can kind ofsee some of it is squeezing out of the top. It is verysticky and very gooey, so that it does not flake offand fly away from you, so you can actually put it onyour spoon and it will stick together and it is a lot offun to eat, Andereson saidCommander Burbank saysThanksgiving in space is more than just Thanksgiving din-ner.And people enjoying Thanksgiving on Earth.

Maize crops withered inTexas this year in a sea-son of record-breakingheat and drought. In theTexas High Plains re-gion, crops struggled tosurvive on as little asone-tenth of the normalrainfall.Matter of fact, itmay be the all-time dri-est year on record,says Thomas Marek, anirrigation expert withTexas A&M University. Experts warn that cli-mate change is likely tothreaten world food sup-plies as temperature ex-tremes cut harvests ofimportant food crops.Scientists are working todevelop new varietiesthat are adapted to achanging climate.

Scientists DevelopingDrought-Tolerant Maize forHotter Future

Italy is one of the mosteconomically dividedcountries in Europe. Thenorth - with cities likeMilan and Turin - ac-counts for a large major-ity of the country's GDP,while the south often isviewed by outsiders as aland of siestas and or-ganized crime. Some an-alysts say Italy's south,however, amounts to avast underdeveloped re-source that could pull thecountry out of its eco-nomic slump.Lasers cut the latest tiretread patterns, ready forroad testing at the Pirellifactory in Milan. It is a fu-turistic image of Italianindustry. Pirelli has justannounced strong re-sults - nine month earn-ings rose by nearly 50percent compared to2010.CEO Marco TronchettiProvera is proud of thecompanys 140-year her-itage. He said, though,the source of the profitslies outside Italy.We are a global company so we havethe head and the heartin Italy. Then more than90 percent of our prod-ucts and of our produc-tion is in the rest of theworld. Europe is slowingdown, that is a fact, saidProvera.Milan is the home ofGucci, Versace, Prada

and many other famousnames. Luxury Italiantrade group Altagammapredicts sales growth inAsia will soar by 16.5percent next year alone.The glitz belies Italyseconomic crisis.There are too many complexities in our bu-reaucracy, our justicesystem. All this is old-fashioned, we have tochange it, said Provera.Naples lies 700 kilome-ters south of Milan. GDPhere in the south of Italyis just over half that ofthe north. Analysts say the regionhas suffered fromdecades of underinvest-ment - despite the Euro-pean UnionsDevelopment Fundpumping in billions ofeuros.Giampiero Gallo, eco-nomics professor at theUniversity of Florence,said the imbalance hasdiverted attention.Somewhat the polariza-tion between the northand the south has giventhe north a sort of reassurance thatthe fault for things notgoing well was lyingsomewhere else, saidGallo.Salvatore Miele runs thefamily business, Vin-cenzo Miele Transport,from Naples portside,

shipping containersthroughout Italy andacross the world.Compared to the rest ofItaly, bureaucracy herein the south delayseverything and this isblocking growth, hesaid. The south of Italyhas been ignored bypoliticians and the rulingelite. So we move with aslower rhythm here.Southern Italy has a rep-utation for organizedcrime. Miele said heslucky not to have beenaffectedIf we give youngpeople a future, criminality will decrease SouthernItalys potential is huge,we have the great re-source of many youngpeople. We need to helpthem get into work sothey can build a future,said Miele.Naples and Milan: twocities and two sides ofthe Italian economy. Analysts say that if Italyisto return to growthand navigate out of thedebt crisis, the gulf be-tween the north and thesouth must be resolved.

30

Italy's Economic Growth Struggles to Bridge North-South

Divide

A worker inspects a jar of pasta sauce in one of Paolo Ricciulli's factories - whichemploys around 220 people at his Althea-Delfino group, Italy's biggest manufac-turer of ready-made pasta sauce, with revenues of 62 million euros and two plantsin Parma and Acerra, near Naples in Parma, November 11, 2011

Portuguese Workers to Stage GeneralStrike Thursday

Portuguese workers will stage a general strike Thursday to protest the government'stough austerity measures imposed by the European Union.The country's two largest trade unions representing more than 1 million workers planto hold more than 30 marches. The strike is expected to disrupt transport and otherpublic services, including schools and hospitals, throughout the nation. Some inter-national flights may have to be cancelled.The unions have urged workers for weeks to strike against measures that includehigher taxes and cutting civil servants' holidays and bonuses. Portugal must meet EU conditions for a $104-billion international bailout to rescueit from its worst economic crisis in decades.The centrist government of Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, which came topower in June, and the opposition Socialist Party have agreed to the bailout condi-tions. But the planned spending cuts, combined with declining living standards and highunemployment, have sparked anger in the nation of 11 million people.Portugal was the third country in the eurozone to seek a bailout, after Greece andIreland. Its economy is set to shrink about 3 percent next year.

Africa's Future, Blowing in the WindIt all began almost twodecades ago, whenWillem Dolleman got an-noyed during his LakeTurkana vacation inKenya's Great Rift Val-ley. He wanted to fishand set up his tent, butthe ever-blowing galeskept undermining his ef-forts. Despite his frustra-tion, Dolleman thought itcould be interesting toharness all of this naturalpower.Fast forward to mid-2000, when oil priceswere shooting throughthe roof. Dolleman dis-cussed his idea with col-leagues who eventuallyformed the Lake TurkanaWind Power project.With construction slatedto begin in March, it willbe sub-Saharan Africa's

largest wind-power proj-ect, expected to con-tribute up to one-fifth ofKenya's power-generat-ing capacity, one of thebiggest contributions bywind power to a nationalgrid anywhere in theworld.Lake Turkana WindPower chairman CarloVan Wageningen saysthat the wind, whenmeasured on the originalsite, had an averagespeed of 13 meters persecond, dwarfing the av-erage European windfarm speeds of about 7.5meters per second."The problem is thatthere is no wind turbineproducer in the worldthat produces a wind tur-bine that can sustainsuch high averages,

" says Van Wageningen."So we had to move a lit-tle bit from that site to tryand identify a site wherewe had less wind, be-cause we had too muchof it."The new location offersmore manageable windspeeds of around 11-and-a-half meters persecond, which, uponproject completion, willbe captured by 365 tur-bines. Slated to beginconstruction aroundMarch 2012, the fully op-erational farm will be ex-pected to provide 300megawatts to Kenyasnational grid, about 20percent of the countrysinstalled power-generat-ing capacity.Wageningencalls the site one of thebest on the continent.

Greece and Spain facednew pressure Tuesdayfrom the European debtcrisis.The European Unionbluntly told the Athensgovernment it would notreceive its next $11 bil-lion installment from lastyear's bailout unless itsfractious political leaderssign a written statementcommitting to new aus-terity measures to cutthe country's debt.Greece needs themoney to avoid a defaultnext month, but conser-vative leader AntonisSamaras says his verbalconsent to the unpopularausterity plan should besufficient and has re-fused to sign a writtenpledge.A key EU financial leader,Luxembourg Prime Minis-ter Jean-Claude Juncker,told new Greek PrimeMinister Lucas Pa-pademos that without thewritten commitment, therelease of the funds "of

course could not takeplace."Meanwhile, the prospectof a conservative gov-ernment in Spain led byPrime Minister-electMariano Rajoy failed toquell mounting financial

market pressure on theMadrid government.Spain was forced to payits highest interest ratesin 14 years on govern-ment debt. Its rate onthree-month securitiestopped 5 percent, more

than double that from amonth ago and higherthan both Greece andPortugal have had topay.As the long reach of thedebt crisis continues,European leaders are

debating the role of theEuropean Central Bank,and to what extent itshould buy the bonds ofthe 17 nations that usethe common euro currency. France wantsthe bank to be allowed tolend an unlimitedamount to the euro-zone's bailout fund. ButGermany, the continent'sleading economic power,fears that would fuelinflation and discouragedebt-ridden countriesfrom correcting their financial woes.

Greece, Spain Face New Debt

Pressures

Photo: AP Luxembourg's Prime Minister and head of the eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker, right, andGreek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos participate in a media conference in Luxembourg,November 22, 2011.

economic and politicalunity. But will that translate into more votes? Far right presidential can-didate Marine Le Pen haslong been calling forFrance to get out of theeuro currency union. And as the eurozone crisis grows and theFrench economy shrinks,Le Pen's message at rallies of herNational Front party ap-pears to be gaining newresonance among mainstream voters. A pairof recent surveys findsnearly one in five supports her. Many ofthose polled expressedconcern about the eurozone turmoil. Lessthan six months fromFrench presidentialelections, Le Pen's anti-European Union message is also gettingplenty of media attentionlike during this interview afew days ago onFrenchpublic television. Le Pensays shebelieves the euro's demise is inevitable.Franceshould get out of the euro-zone now to escape the con-sequences.

Far RightPoised to

Take Advantageof Eurozone

CrisisThe eurozone crisis isfeeding far-right, nation-alist parties in Europewhich have long criti-cized the single Euro-pean currency - and thebroader idea of a"European project" ofcloser continues.

0845 0

Turkey, FranceFind CommonGround on SyriaDespite strained diplo-macy between Franceand Turkey, the twonations have foundmostly common groundin supporting Syrian opposition.A French objection toAnkara's bid to join theEuropean Union has se-verely strained ties between the powers,which have been exacer-bated by recent policydifferences over Libya.

Italian Village toDeclare

IndependenceItaly's tough austeritydrive includes plans toforce local authorities tomerge, in a bid to rein inpublic spending. The vil-lage of Filettino facessuch a prospect - but itsmayor is fighting back.The town bidding for anautonomous principalitywith its own currency.

Turkey Officially Apologizes For1930s Mass Killing Of Kurds

Photo: Reuters Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, November 22, 2011.

Turkey's prime ministerhas for the first time offi-cially apologized for themass killing of Kurds inan uprising 80 yearsago. The statement isseen by some asgroundbreaking and thefirst step in the countryfacing up to its difficultpast, but others see it asmore to do with politics. Prime Minister RecepTayyip Erdogan ad-dressed a meeting ofsupporters holding acopy of an historicalpaper, which he saiddocuments the killing ofnearly 14,000 Kurds in arebellion in the 1930s.He then went on to dowhat no previous primeminister has done. Erdogan said if there isneed for an apology onbehalf of the state, "I willapologize and I amapologizing."The killings occurred be-tween 1936 and 1938 inDersim province. It wasrenamed Tunceli as partof the suppression of therebellion, which also sawtens of thousands Kurdsforced from their homes.The mass killings of therestive Kurdish minorityin Dersim, most of whomwere civilians, have untilrecently remained alargely taboo subject formainstream politics.

Observers say Erdogan'sgroundbreaking state-ment has as much to dowith party politics, how-ever, with the prime min-ister pointing out that themain opposition People'sRepublican Party, orCHP, was in power whenthe killings occurred. It was the leader of thatparty, Kemal Kilicdaroglu,who demanded that

Turkey acknowledge itspast actions. Kilic-daroglu, who is fromTunceli, accused Erdo-gan of seeking to under-mine the legacy of thefounder of the TurkishRepublic, Kemal Ataturk,who was in power at thetime of the mass killings. The Turkish governmentcurrently is fighting against Kurdishrebels,who are waging a

campaign for autonomyin Turkey's largely Kurdish southeast. Thefighting has killed morethan 40,000 people since1984. It is the latest ofseveral uprisings by theKurds that span morethan a century.Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party, the BDP, has questionedthe sincerity of hismove,pointing out that mass

arrests of its membersand sympathizers continue. The govern-ment maintains thearrests are part of itsfight against the Kurdishinsurgency, led by theKurdistan Workers'Party, or PKK. More than70 Kurds were detainedthis week, most of whomwere lawyers. More than1,000 Kurds have beenarrested since June.

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