UAE ponders end of peg to dollar

UAE ponders end of peg to dollar

By James Drummond in Abu Dhabi

Published: July 7 2008 03:00 | Last updated: July 7 2008 03:00

Abu Dhabi's department of planning and economy has re-ignited speculation the United Arab Emirates may break its fixed peg to the US dollar. The UAE is one of the world's main holders of dollar-denominated assets.

The report published at the weekend said the UAE floated the idea of tracking a basket of currencies in advance of formation of a currency union in the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council.

The department is answerable to the emirate of Abu Dhabi and is not a federal policy-making body. However it reflects official thinking in the most wealthy of the seven statelets that comprise the UAE.

Inflation in the UAE runs at 11 per cent and is higher elsewhere in the Gulf. The dollar peg means Gulf central bankers have to match the interest rate moves of the US Federal Reserve and thus have only limited tools with which to curb inflation.

"Although the UAE has officially made it clear that it would not de-peg its currency from the flagging US dollar, international financial institutions as well as experts and analysts have maintained that the UAE would do well [to float] its currency as a means [of] curbing inflation," the report said.

Qatar and the UAE are usually thought to be the most likely states to quit the dollar peg. Speculation mounted last year the UAE was about to break with the dollar, after ambiguous comments by Sultan Bin Nasser Al Suwaidi, central bank governor, but the authorities acted to deny it.

Of the GCC states, only Kuwait manages a currency basket dominated by the dollar but it can decide its own interest rate policy. Inflation in Kuwait is lower than in the other GCC states.

"GCC states need to peg against a basket of world currencies, taking into account the latest trading patterns, which tend to be bent toward the eurozone and Asia," the Abu Dhabi department said.

"That the Gulf states continued to have fixed dollar exchange rates even as the dollar continues to decline, causes greater harm to the Gulf countries," it said.

Analysts did not believe a change in the UAE's currency administration was imminent, although the report clearly reflected a strand of thinking. Simon Williams, economist at HSBC in Dubai, said the report showed a preference for joint action over unilateral action.

"The case for reform of the GCC currency regimes is strong but we don't anticipate change taking place in the near term. The report may indicate that debate is ongoing but I don't take it as a sign that change is nigh," Mr Williams said.

The UAE yesterday said that it was forgiving up to $7bn (€4.5bn, £3.5bn) in principal and arrears of Iraqi debt to help Baghdad with reconstruction. The ann-ouncement coincided with a visit to Abu Dhabi by Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi prime minister, and with confirmation the UAE will send an ambassador to Baghdad, two years after one of its diplomats was kidnapped there.

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Rouble rally at impasse

By Peter Garnham and Shyamantha Asokan

Published: August 20 2008 16:26 | Last updated: August 20 2008 16:26

The conflict in Georgia has put the Russian rouble under pressure as investors question their exposure to the country’s market.

This marks a reversal for the currency, which for so long this year has been a one-way upward bet for investors.

The attractions of resource-rich Russia, a net foreign creditor with sustainable trade and fiscal surpluses and the world’s third largest foreign exchange reserves, has boosted the rouble.

Until the escalation of hostilities in Georgia on August 8, the rouble had risen over 4 per cent against the dollar since the start of the year.

Indeed, until recently, the main job of the Russian central bank, which manages the rouble to a basket weighted 55 per cent in dollars and 45 per cent in euros, has been to stem the rouble’s rise.

Prior to the conflict, traders say the central bank was deliberately vague about the size of the band within which the rouble was allowed to trade in an attempt to introduce volatility into the local currency market.

This, analysts say, was an attempt to bring an element of two-way risk into the currency market in an effort to slow the flow of speculative so-called “hot” money that contributed to pushing Russian inflation up to a 6-year high of 15.2 per cent in June.

The Russian central bank faced a delicate balancing act, however, since a rising rouble helps contain inflation.

However, the events in Georgia prompted a change of attitude towards the currency as nervous investors demanded a greater risk premium for investing in Russia, pushing the rouble down to its lowest level so far this year.

On August 11, the rouble dropped to a low of 30.10 against its euro/dollar basket, down 2.5 per cent from its level prior to the conflict.

Although not officially confirmed, traders say the Russian central bank, instead of looking to slow the rouble’s advance, intervened in the market to support the currency and damp volatility, the reverse of its previous policy.

Now, instead of low volatility enticing capital inflows into Russia, higher volatility prompted capital outflows.

“Suddenly the Central Bank of Russia’s mission has changed,” says Ulrich Leuchtmann at Commerzbank.

“It no longer has to prevent an excessive speed of appreciation, but has to stop the rouble’s depreciation. It is not adding artificial volatility to the market, but has to prove at least some degree of exchange rate stability.”

The central bank’s actions served to halt the rouble’s fall, bringing it back to stand at 29.60 against the euro/dollar basket yesterday.

However, this still leaves the rouble significantly weaker than before the military conflict, raising questions over the sustainability of its long-term uptrend.

Themos Fiotakis at Goldman Sachs says he remains bullish on the rouble, but is now more cautious on it than he was in the past.

“Lower oil prices, uncertainty about the direction of economic policy and geopolitical tensions have weakened the rouble recently,” he says. “We expect the rouble to strengthen in the near term but higher volatility has reduced its appeal.”

Mr Leuchtmann argues that with foreign exchange reserves of $550bn, the Russian central bank has plenty of ammunition to prevent further rouble devaluation.

“Nevertheless, if the crisis escalates further, the depreciation pressure on the rouble might continue,” he says. “The rouble no longer profits from an underlying appreciation trend.”

This has policy implications for Russia, which could potentially be denied an important tool - the appreciation of its currency - in its bid to tame domestic inflation.

Since the Russian financial crisis in 1998, the country’s economy has expanded quickly, mainly on the back of surging commodity prices.

However, Matthew Partridge at Lombard Street Research says the economy is currently overheating, necessitating tighter monetary policy.

He says in order for the Central Bank of Russia to bring inflation down to its short-term target of 6 to 7 per cent by the end of the year, or 5 to 6 per cent by 2010, it will have to take action.

“It will be forced to continue raising interest rates and [commercial banks’] reserve requirement ratios,” says Mr Partridge. “It will also have to let the exchange rate appreciate further.”

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US and Poland sign missile-shield deal

By Isabel Gorst in Moscow, Daniel Dombey in Washington and Reuters

Published: August 20 2008 10:58 | Last updated: August 20 2008 22:32

The United States and Poland signed a deal in Warsaw on Wednesday to station elements of a US missile defence shield on Polish soil, in a move accelerated by Moscow’s intervention in Georgia but billed as not targeting Russia.

The site in Poland hosting 10 interceptor rockets, and a giant radar in the neighbouring Czech Republic, will form the European part of a global system that Washington says it is assembling to shoot down ballistic missiles it fears could be launched by ”rogue” states such as Iran or terrorist groups.

Moscow reacted angrily to Wednesday’s move. Although Washington maintains that the interceptors would have no impact on the Russian nuclear deterrent, the Kremlin has long campaigned against the Polish base and the accompanying Czech facility.

Russia’s foreign ministry said that Moscow would “have to react” to the agreement “and not only through diplomatic protests”, according to Reuters news agency.

Some Russian politicians and generals have said Poland must be prepared for a preventive attack on the site in the future. Washington has dismissed such threats as empty rhetoric, while Poland called on the US to provide it with Patriot missiles to help counteract such a threat.

The Bush administration agreed after the outbreak of the Russian-Georgian conflict to station a Patriot missile battery in Poland full-time.

According to Wednesday’s declaration on Polish-US strategic co-operation, signed by Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, and Radoslaw Sikorski, Poland’s foreign minister, a garrison to support the Patriot missiles will be set up by 2012.

Ms Rice said of the missile-shield deal with Poland: ”This is an agreement that will establish a missile defence site here in Poland that will help us to deal with the new threats of the 21st century, of long-range missiles . . . from countries like Iran or North Korea.”

Russia sees the prospect of placing the shield in parts of central Europe that it used to control as a threat to its security. Moscow says the deal’s additional provision for US co-operation in the event of an attack on Poland by third states, and its conclusion after the intervention in Georgia, shows it is aimed at Russia.

The missile-shield deal will now need to be approved by the Polish parliament, which is seen as a formality because the government and main opposition party support it.

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The west is strategically wrong on Georgia

By Kishore Mahbubani

Published: August 20 2008 19:19 | Last updated: August 20 2008 19:19

Sometimes small events can portend great changes. The Georgian fiasco may be one such event. It heralds the end of the post cold-war era. But it does not mark the return of any new cold war. It marks an even bigger return: the return of history.

The post cold-war era began on a note of western triumphalism, symbolised by Francis Fukuyama’s book, The End of History. The title was audacious but it captured the western zeitgeist. History had ended with the triumph of western civilisation. The rest of the world had no choice but to capitulate to the advance of the west.

In Georgia, Russia has loudly declared that it will no longer capitulate to the west. After two decades of humiliation Russia has decided to snap back. Before long, other forces will do the same. As a result of its overwhelming power, the west has intruded into the geopolitical spaces of other dormant countries. They are no longer dormant, especially in Asia.

Indeed, most of the world is bemused by western moralising on Georgia. America would not tolerate Russia intruding into its geopolitical sphere in Latin America. Hence Latin Americans see American double standards clearly. So do all the Muslim commentaries that note that the US invaded Iraq illegally, too. Neither India nor China is moved to protest against Russia. It shows how isolated is the western view on Georgia: that the world should support the underdog, Georgia, against Russia. In reality, most support Russia against the bullying west. The gap between the western narrative and the rest of the world could not be greater.

It is therefore critical for the west to learn the right lessons from Georgia. It needs to think strategically about the limited options it has. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, western thinkers assumed the west would never need to make geopolitical compromises. It could dictate terms. Now it must recognise reality. The combined western population in North America, the European Union and Australasia is 700m, about 10 per cent of the world’s population. The remaining 90 per cent have gone from being objects of world history to subjects. The Financial Times headline of August 18 2008 proclaimed: “West in united front over Georgia”. It should have read: “Rest of the world faults west on Georgia”. Why? A lack of strategic thinking.

Mao Zedong, for all his flaws, was a great strategic thinker. He said China always had to deal with its primary contradiction and compromise with its secondary contradiction. When the Soviet Union became the primary contradiction, Mao settled with the US, even though it involved the humiliation of dealing with a power that then recognised Chiang Kai-shek as the legitimate ruler. The west must emulate Mao’s pragmatism and focus on its primary contradiction.

Russia is not even close to becoming the primary contradiction the west faces. The real strategic choice is whether its primary challenge comes from the Islamic world or China. Since September 11 2001, the west has acted as though the Islamic world is the primary challenge. Yet rather than devise a long-term strategy to win over 1.2bn Muslims, the west has jumped into the Islamic world with no strategy. Hence there are looming failures in Afghanistan and Iraq and an even more hostile environment in the Islamic world.

Many European thinkers are acutely aware of the folly of many US policies. But they are reluctant to confront the dangers of outsourcing their security to US power. In security, geography trumps culture. Because of geography, Europe has to worry about Islamic anger. Because of the Atlantic Ocean, the US has less reason to do so.

In the US, leading neo-conservative thinkers see China as their primary contradiction. Yet they also support Israel with a passion, without realising this stance is a geopolitical gift to China. It guarantees the US faces a hostile Islamic universe, distracting it from focusing on China. There is no doubt China was the bigger winner of 9/11. It has stabilised its neighbourhood, while the US has been distracted.

Western thinkers must decide where the real long-term challenge is. If it is the Islamic world, the US should stop intruding into Russia’s geopolitical space and work out a long-term engagement with China. If it is China, the US must win over Russia and the Islamic world and resolve the Israel-Palestine issue. This will enable Islamic governments to work more closely with the west in the battle against al-Qaeda.

The biggest paradox facing the west is that it is at last possible to create a safer world order. The number of countries wanting to become “responsible stakeholders” has never been higher. Most, including China and India, want to work with the US and the west. But the absence of a long-term coherent western strategy towards the world and the inability to make geopolitical compromises are the biggest obstacles to a stable world order. Western leaders say the world is becoming a more dangerous place, yet few admit that their flawed thinking is bringing this about. Georgia illustrates the results of a lack of strategic thinking.

The writer, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (National University of Singapore), has just published ‘The New Asian Hemisphere: the Irresis­tible Shift of Global Power to the East’

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Berlin foreign investors bill clears hurdle

By Bertrand Benoit in Berlin

Published: August 21 2008 03:00 | Last updated: August 21 2008 03:00

The German government yesterday braved hefty protests from business as the cabinet adopted a bill that would shield strategic German industries from unwanted foreign investors.

The mechanism, loosely modelled on the Committee on Foreign Investments in the US, will allow the government to reverse any acquisition of more than 25 per cent of a German company by a non-European investor.

Michael Glos, economics minister, dismissed fears that the bill could scare away investors. "Germany is and remains open to investors and we will continue to attract investments from around the world," he said.

Mr Glos said the bill, a reform of existing legislation, would do no more than equip Germany with an instrument the US, the UK and France have had for a long time.

He pledged that investment reviews would be "extremely rare" and that no current deal would, in his opinion, require scrutiny.

The bill is a reaction to concern in Berlin about the growing weight of statecontrolled sovereign wealth funds, the vast investment pools created to manage the currency reserves of fast-growing economies in Asia, Russia and the Middle East.

Yesterday's endorsement by the cabinet marks a significant milestone for the controversial draft, which will now move to parliament for final approval.

The decision ends almost a year of protracted work on the text to address fears that it may contravene European Union legislation on the free movement of capital.

Yet the BDI industry federation warned yesterday that the bill remained in breach of EU law and risked being overturned by the European Court of Justice, citing a legal opinion by law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Werner Schnappauf, BDI managing director, said the bill also sent "the wrong political signals for Germany as an investment location," adding that it could alienate investors who have poured €439bn ($644bn, £346bn) in foreign investments in the country and employed 2m people.

The BDI argues that the law's definition of national security and public order is too broad and says EU legislation on the free movement of capital applies equally to EU and non-European investors.

Officials involved in the drafting told the Financial Times the government had liaised closely with the European Commission.

One possible modification before its final approval would be to separate the two stages of the vetting process - the assessment of the target company's strategic relevance and the evaluation of the buyer's intentions.

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Syria looks for Russian arms deal

By Isabel Gorst in Moscow and Roula Khalaf in London

Published: August 20 2008 18:26 | Last updated: August 20 2008 18:26

Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s president, arrived on a two-day visit to Russia on Wednesday seeking new weapons and greater military co-operation and hoping to capitalise on the rising tensions between Moscow and the west.

In an interview with the Russian daily Kommersant, the Syrian leader said arms talks would top the agenda during discussions on Thursday with Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Syria is eager to revive a deal to import Russian Iskander ballistic missiles, which have better targeting systems than its existing arsenal of Scud missiles. Talks over the missiles were abandoned two years ago.

Mr Assad said Russia’s conflict with Georgia, in which Moscow claims Georgia used Israeli-supplied equipment and military training, had underlined the need for Russia and Syria to bolster their military co-operation.

Syria remains in a state of war with Israel, which has occupied the Golan Heights since 1967, although the two sides have been holding indirect peace talks through Turkish mediators.

“Everyone knows about the role Israel and its military consultants played in the Georgian crisis,” Mr Assad said, adding that Russia could no longer count on “friendliness” from Israel.

However, analysts said that Russia would hesitate to upset amicable relations with Israel cemented this year when Israel abandoned a deal to supply military tanks to Georgia at Moscow’s behest.

“Israel did us a favour so I would be surprised if Assad got what he wanted,” said Pavel Felgenhauer, a Russian defence analyst.

Moscow has a long history of military co-operation with Syria, its closest ally in the near east, and has forgiven debts for past arms supplies.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia remained a friend of Syria but it also developed ties with Israel.

Moscow’s support was crucial in restraining the international pressures that fell on Damascus in recent years over its role in Lebanon and allegations of involvement in the assassination of a former Lebanese prime minister.

Meanwhile, Russia’s navy stations maintenance and supply vessels at Syria’s Tartus naval base on the Mediterranean, its only military installation outside the CIS, but has no warships there.

Mr Assad arrived in Russia as the US and Poland finalised a controversial agreement to deploy part of a US-anti missile shield on Polish soil, in a move spurred by Moscow’s intervention in Georgia.

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Banks join for long haul in Saudi Arabia

By Andrew England

Published: August 21 2008 03:00 | Last updated: August 21 2008 03:00

Patience appears to be the key approach by investment banks doing business in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's largest economy and the world's biggest oil producing country.

Most investment banks have long had a limited presence in the kingdom but, over the past two years, many - including UBS, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan - have been granted licences to open offices as the sector has been liberalised.

There has also been recent pressure on international institutions to boost their business in emerging markets, including the Middle East, to counter slowdowns elsewhere and help offset the hits they have taken from the subprime crisis.

However, in spite of the influx of global investment banks, the extent of new business the groups have been able to attract in Saudi Arabia is questionable. While merger and acquisition activity has picked up, most deals are relatively small and margins are not great.

There has been a spate of initial public offerings, but the new entrants face stiff competition as institutions scramble for business and groups bid aggressively and offer knockdown rates, bankers say.

One banker says the market does not yet demand the sophisticated products the bigger institutions can offer, while the amount of money groups can generate from investment banking in the region is "quite small compared to what is achievable elsewhere."

That can make it tricky for Saudi-based operations to compete for groups' resources with offices doing deals in Europe or the US, bankers say.

Jamal al-Kishi, Deutsche's chief executive in the kingdom, says the group is still bullish about the market, but realised that entering Saudi Arabia requires "patience and commitment".

Since opening an office in April 2006, Deutsche has completed a couple of private placements and has two or three more it is looking at between now and mid-2009, Mr Kishi says. It has also launched more than 35 funds but has yet to be involved in an IPO. The bank does, however, have one it will be the adviser and book-runner for, although Mr Kishi did not give further details.

"I think anyone who would have expected a massive splash in the market upon entry is mistaken," he says.

"We are successful, but it's a challenge. If you talk about local peers, they don't have that challenge because their resources are only present here. We are a global player and we look at the entire world and obviously apply transaction acceptance criteria that are global in nature."

The market, he says, is becoming more sophisticated and he sees opportunities in advising other financial institutions, family-run entities and in M&A activity. There is also potential for asset management for institutions and wealthy private clients, Mr Kishi says.

Other international banks have a mixed record of attracting business.

HSBC, which began its operations in the kingdom in November 2005, has been involved in seven IPOs since 2007, four M&A transactions and acted as an adviser on a number of debt deals and project finance transactions. It also has about $6.5bn under management in mutual and discretionary funds, benefiting from its relationship with SABB Bank, a local group that provides it with a retail distribution network.

Morgan Stanley, which entered into a joint venture with Saudi house, The Capital Group, giving it the advantage of gaining immediate access to resources and local contacts, has handled two rights issues and seven IPOs, while JPMorgan was involved in the IPO of Ma'aden, the state mining company, and a follow-on transaction for Mobily, a mobile phone operator.

Both those groups started operations in Saudi Arabia in 2007. Merrill Lynch hopes to have its full licence at the end of this year.

Yorick van Slingelandt, head of corporate finance for the Middle East at JPMorgan, says the banks are betting on the long-term potential in a country with a young and growing population.

"Smaller companies, industrial companies which are offshoots of the oil companies, will start to play a bigger role and family businesses will go through a transition from a first or second generation to something that is more professional," he says.

"At some point in time these companies will realise they want some form of capital, either as finance or to bring in skills that they don't have today."

Still, he expects there to be "winners and losers" among the international banks investing in Saudi Arabia as the competition heats up.

"More than any other country, this is about relationships, real on-the-ground presence, contacts and consistency," he adds.

"It requires significant staying power and I'm not sure everybody has that staying power."

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Venezuela, Vietnam set up joint oil refining venture
AFP
AFP - Thursday, August 21 02:18 am

CARACAS (AFP) - Venezuela and Vietnam have agreed to create two joint oil refining companies, Energy and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Wednesday.
(Advertisement)

"PDVSA (Petroleos de Venezuela) and Petrovietnam will work together to build the two joint companies -- one to transport oil to Vietnam and the other to refine that oil in Vietnam, at a refinery we jointly own," Ramirez, who also heads state-run PDVSA, said after a meeting with Vietnamese officials.

Vietnam and Venezuela are expected to announce on September 15 a new oil exploration agreement in the oil-rich Orinoco basin in eastern Venezuela, where Petrovietnam already has a concession.

As Latin America's top oil producer and fifth largest oil exporter to the United States, Venezuela a year ago established a joint-ownership system of its oil reserves giving PDVSA a minimum 60 percent control of any foreign venture in the field.

Venezuela says it produces some 3.3 million barrels of oil per day (bpd), 2.7 million of which are for export. The International Energy Agency, however, puts Venezuela's oil production at less than 2.5 million bpd.

Venezuela and Vietnam also plan to build a production facility to make energy-saving lightbulbs in Venezuela, Ramirez said.

"It will meet not only our needs but also those of ALBA members and countries in South America that cooperate with us, including Cuba," he added, referring to the alternative free trade market that Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez is spearheading. ALBA includes Venezuela and fellow leftist regimes in Cuba and Bolivia.

Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Commerce, Vu Huy Hoang, welcomed his government's cooperation with Venezuela, saying it offers "many advantages and great challenges to worldwide trade barriers."

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みずほコーポ、米投資銀に130億円出資

　みずほコーポレート銀行は21日、米投資銀行エバコア社に1億2000万ドル（約130億円）を出資すると発表した。日米をまたぐＭ＆Ａ（合併・買収）の提案・助言業務を強化するのが狙い。みずほコーポはエバコア社が発行する新株予約権付社債（議決権ベースで14.7％に相当）を取得。取締役も派遣する。

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燃油割増料金、海運にも浸透

　海運会社の間で燃料重油価格の変動分を運賃本体と別に徴収する「燃油割増金（サーチャージ）方式」の導入が進んでいる。国際海上コンテナ船の主力航路では顧客である荷主の8―9割が受け入れた。航空業界と同様にコスト高を容易に転嫁する狙いだ。原油価格は反落しているが、燃料への転嫁は時間差があり物流コストを押し上げる要因になる。

　大手海運会社などによると、燃油割増金方式を受け入れた顧客は昨年初めの段階では欧州向けで3割、北米向けで1―2割にとどまっていた。今年初めの段階でも欧州向けで7割、北米向けで6割程度だった。「燃料価格の高止まりが続いて荷主の理解が広がった」（商船三井）という。

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西濃運輸、健保を解散　高齢者医療制度改革で負担増

　トラック輸送大手の西濃運輸（岐阜県大垣市）の健康保険組合が今月1日付で解散していたことが21日、明らかになった。4月の高齢者医療制度改革で負担金が6割増え、事業を続けるのが難しいと判断した。加入者約5万7000人は政府管掌健康保険（政管健保）に移った。7月1日には岐阜市のカワボウも健保組合を解散した。

　2008年度は約1500の健保組合のうち、約9割が赤字に陥る見通し。厚生労働省は4月に始まった高齢者医療制度で、医療費がかさみやすい高齢者を若い世代が支えるため、65―74歳の加入割合が高い国民健康保険（国保）に支援金を出す仕組みを導入した。多額の拠出を迫られ、収支が悪化する健保が増えているようだ。

　西濃運輸健保組合はグループ企業58社のうち、31社の従業員と扶養家族の合計約5万7000人が加入する大型健保。同社によると、07年度の老人保健制度と退職者医療制度への負担金は合計35億8700万円。

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西濃運輸健保：高齢者医療で負担金増加、解散　政管に移行

　物流大手のセイノーホールディングス（岐阜県大垣市）のグループ企業３１社が加入する西濃運輸健康保険組合が、４月の高齢者医療制度改革で負担金が増えたため組合を解散し、国が運営する政府管掌健康保険（政管健保）に移っていたことが２１日、分かった。

　西濃運輸健康保険組合には従業員と扶養家族約５万７０００人が加入しており、倒産を除いて大規模な健保組合が解散するのは異例。

　医療制度改正は財政再建に向けた公費負担の軽減が目的だが、西濃運輸のようなケースが増えれば逆に公費負担が増えることになり、高齢者医療制度の抜本的な見直しを迫られる可能性もありそうだ。

　西濃運輸によると、政管健保に移ったのは今月１日から。４月からの高齢者医療制度の導入で、負担金が昨年と比べて年間で約２２億円（前年度比６２％増）増える計算になるという。健保を維持した場合、組合が赤字に転落するため、将来的に保険料率を現状の月収の８・１％から同１０％に引き上げる必要があるが、政管健保に移った場合にはほぼ現状の負担で済むという。西濃運輸の担当者は「前期高齢者（６５～７４歳）納付金の負担が大きく、政管健保と比較した場合、独自の健保を維持するメリットがないと判断した」と話した。

　健康保険組合連合会によると、約１５００の健保組合の保険料率は平均７・３９％と政管保険の同８・２％を下回る。だが、制度改正で前期高齢者の医療費負担が新たに導入されるなどで、健保組合が拠出する負担金が約５０００億円増えた。このため、赤字の健保組合は昨年度の７割から今年度は９割近くになる見通しという。【米川直己】
　◇大企業頼み、揺らぐ制度の根幹

　厚生労働省は急速な少子高齢化への対策として、老人医療費の国庫負担を抑え、高齢者医療を大企業の健康保険組合の保険料で支えるという大きな制度設計図を描き、政策の転換・拡充を進めている。西濃運輸健保の解散は他にも広がる可能性があり、そうした政府の狙いが制度の根本から揺らぎかねない恐れを示す出来事だ。

　厚労省によると、後期高齢者医療制度に対する０８年度の健保組合全体の支援金額は、前身の旧老人保健制度への拠出金（０７年度）より８・３％増の１兆２２６６億円。中小企業の会社員が入る政府管掌健康保険（１６・９％減、１兆４２９３億円）などに対し、突出して増える見通しだ。

　旧老人保健制度は、７５歳以上も既存の医療保険に加入。高齢者の割合が高かった政管健保は、老人医療費が膨らむ仕組みだった。だが、政管健保の給付費には１３％（８３００億円）の国庫負担が投入されている。

　その抑制を目指す厚労省は、後期高齢者医療制度を発足。現役加入者が多く、国庫負担が５３億円に過ぎない健保組合の支援金を増やすことで政管健保などの支出を抑え、国庫負担を減らそうとした。

　しかし、同制度発足に伴って新設された前期高齢者への納付を含め支援金の大幅増は健保組合の屋台骨を揺るがせる。健康保険組合連合会によると、０８年度は全体の９割、１３３４組合が赤字という。１４１組合は保険料を引き上げてまかなう見通しだが、解散に追い込まれ、政管健保に移る健保組合が増える可能性もある。【吉田啓志】

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

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　◇公的医療保険

　公的医療保険は、大企業の従業員が中心の健康保険組合（３０００万人）や中小企業の従業員らが入る政管健保（３５００万人）、自営業者らが加入する国民健康保険（国保、３８００万人）、公務員らの共済組合（９００万人）などがある。健保組合や共済は一部の例外を除き原則国庫負担はないが、政管健保は給付費の１３％、国保は３４％（定率分）が国費で賄われる。

　健保組合は７５歳以上には拠出金だけを支出し、０７年度までは会社員ＯＢ分を賄えば済んだが、後期高齢者医療制度（対象者１３００万人）の発足に伴い、国保加入の６５～７４歳の医療費も支援することになり、負担が膨らんだ。

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高齢者医療制度：揺らぐ制度の根幹　西濃運輸健保解散で

　厚生労働省は急速な少子高齢化への対策として、老人医療費の国庫負担を抑え、高齢者医療を大企業の健康保険組合の保険料で支えるという大きな制度設計図を描き、政策の転換・拡充を進めている。西濃運輸健保の解散は、一グループ企業のケースとはいえ、他にも広がる可能性があり、そうした政府の狙いが制度の根本から揺らぎかねない恐れを示す出来事だ。

　厚労省によると、後期高齢者医療制度に対する０８年度の健保組合全体の支援金額は、前身の旧老人保健制度への拠出金（０７年度）より８．３％増の１兆２２６６億円。中小企業の会社員が入る政府管掌健康保険（１６．９％減、１兆４２９３億円）などに対し、突出して増える見通しだ。

　旧老人保健制度は、７５歳以上も既存の医療保険に加入。高齢者の割合が高かった政管健保は、老人医療費が膨らむ仕組みだった。だが、政管健保の給付費には１３％（８３００億円）の国庫負担が投入されている。

　その抑制を目指す厚労省は、各医療保険の支援金を現役世代の加入者数に応じて決める後期高齢者医療制度を発足させた。現役の加入者が多く、国庫負担が５３億円に過ぎない健保組合からの支援金を増やすことで政管健保などの支出を抑え、国庫負担を減らそうとした。

　しかし、同制度廃止に伴って新設された前期高齢者への納付を含め支援金の大幅増は健保組合の屋台骨を揺るがせている。健康保険組合連合会によると、０８年度は全体の９割、１３３４組合が赤字になるという。

　１４１組合は保険料を引き上げてまかなう見通しだが、今後負担に耐えられず解散に追い込まれ、多額の国費負担を投入する政管健保に移る健保組合が増える可能性もある。そうなれば、国庫負担削減を目指した厚労省の方針は根底から崩れることになる。

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対中輸出額、対米上回る　7月の貿易統計

　財務省が21日発表した7月の貿易統計速報（通関ベース）によると、中国向けの輸出額は前年同月比16.8％増の1兆2864億円、米国向けの輸出額は 11.5％減の1兆2763億円となった。中国向けが米国向けを戦後初めて上回り、中国が日本にとって最大の輸出相手国となった。全体の貿易黒字は 86.6％減の911億円。原材料高の影響で輸入が大幅に膨らみ、5カ月連続で黒字が縮小した。

　香港・マカオも含めた中国圏向けの輸出額は2007年5月から米国向けを上回っている。今回は香港・マカオを除く中国向けの輸出額で初めて米国向けを超えた。中国向けは38カ月連続で増え、米国向けは11カ月連続で減った。

　7月の輸出総額は8.1％増の7兆6321億円。6月の1.8％減から2カ月ぶりの増加に転じた。中国向けの伸びが全体を押し上げており、日本で精製した軽油などの鉱物性燃料、半導体などの電子部品が好調だった。中国を含むアジア向けの輸出額は12.7％増の3兆8567億円だった。

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７月の対中輸出額、戦後初めて対米を上回る

　財務省が21日発表した７月の貿易統計（速報、通関ベース）によると、輸出額から輸入額を差し引いた輸出超過額（貿易黒字）は前年同月比86.6％減の 911億円となり、５カ月連続で前年を下回った。輸入額が原油価格の上昇を背景に、18.2％増の７兆5410億円に膨らんだ。輸出額は8.1％増の７兆 6321億円。中国向け輸出が大きく伸び香港、マカオを除く対中輸出額が対米輸出額を戦後初めて上回った。

　アジア向け輸出は12.7％増の３兆8567億円と、前月に引き続き過去最高を記録。増加は2002年３月以降、77カ月連続となった。このうち中国向けは16.8％増の１兆2864億円。軽油が引き続き伸びたほか、電子部品、鉄鋼なども寄与した。

　米国向け輸出は11.5％減の１兆2763億円。大型乗用車などが落ち込んだ。ＥＵ向け輸出は4.1％増の１兆312億円。中型乗用車が回復し、電子部品なども伸びた。

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７月の貿易黒字、86.6％減の911億円

　財務省が21日朝に発表した７月の貿易統計（速報、通関ベース）によると、輸出額は前年同月比8.1％増の７兆6321億円、輸入額は同18.2％増の７兆5410億円で、輸出額から輸入額を差し引いた輸出超過額（貿易黒字）は同86.6％減の911億円となった。貿易黒字が前年同月の水準を下回ったのは５カ月連続。

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地価下落が急増　全国主要100地点、景気停滞響く

　国土交通省が20日発表した7月1日時点の全国主要100地点の地価動向で、3カ月前に比べて地価が下落したのは38地点に上り、前回調査（4月1日時点）の9地点から大幅に増えた。上昇は13地点で前回の41地点から減少。不動産市場の冷え込みが鮮明になった。景気が停滞しているうえ、米国の信用力の低い個人向け住宅融資（サブプライムローン）問題の影響で不動産投資が減退し、地価が下落しているようだ。

　国交省は四半期ごとに不動産取引が活発な全国100地点の地価を調べている。1、4、7、10月の1日時点で調査。今回が3回目の発表になる。

　地価が3％以上、下落したのは10地点に達し、前回の2地点から急増した。一方、これまで都心部などで目立っていた大幅上昇地点は急減。3％以上上昇した地点は前回の5からゼロになった。

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地価動向、不動産取引低迷で急変

　国土交通省が20日発表した7月1日時点の全国主要100地点の地価動向で、下落地点が急激に増えた。国交省は地価変調の要因について(1)景気の停滞 (2)米国の信用力の低い個人向け住宅融資（サブプライムローン）問題を受け、金融機関が不動産取引への融資を厳しくしている(3)2007年後半までの地価上昇が急激で、その反動が出ている――などと分析している。

　今年1月1日時点の地価動向は「6％以上上昇」が5地点、「3％以上6％未満上昇」が47地点あり、上昇地点の合計は87に上った。今回の上昇地点は 13にとどまり、いずれも上昇率は3％未満。不動産市場が今年に入って急速に冷え込んでいることがわかる。国交省は土地の需給調整が進んでおり、経済状況が改善しない限り、今後も地価の急上昇は見込みにくいとみている。

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三井住友海上、ベトナムに現法　合弁離脱し全額出資で

　三井住友海上火災保険は20日、2009年をめどにベトナムに全額出資の現地法人を設立する方針を固めた。ベトナムの金融当局から近く認可を得る見通し。現地の保険会社などと運営してきた合弁企業からは離脱する。全額出資会社に切り替えて経営の自由度を高め、成長するベトナムの損害保険市場を開拓する。大手損保各社のアジア戦略が加速してきた。

　設立する現地法人はＭＳＩＧインシュアランスベトナムで、資本金は3000億ベトナムドン（約19億円）。本社はハノイ市に置く。主に現地の日系企業に火災保険、海上保険などを販売、10年に保険料収入8億5000万円、利益7000万円を見込む。国内損保でベトナムに全額出資の現地法人を設立するのは初めて。

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タングステン、カザフと共同探鉱　石油天然ガス機構

　独立行政法人の石油天然ガス・金属鉱物資源機構（ＪＯＧＭＥＣ）は今秋から、中央アジアのカザフスタンで、超硬工具や特殊鋼の原材料になるタングステンの探鉱に乗り出す。タングステンは工作機械や金属加工用の部品に欠かせないレアメタル（希少金属）で、日本はほぼ全量を中国からの輸入に依存している。世界的に資源を囲い込む動きが広がる中、調達先を多様化し、国内産業の国際競争力維持につなげる考えだ。

　豊富な埋蔵量を持つとされるカザフで、ＪＯＧＭＥＣがタングステンの探鉱に乗り出すのは初めて。探鉱はカザフのエネルギー鉱物資源省地質・地下資源利用委員会と共同で、同国南東部アルマトイ州で2011年3月まで実施する。有力な埋蔵地が見つかれば、商業生産に移行し、日本企業の参加を促す。

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住金、高級鋼管を3割増産　100億円超投資

　住友金属工業は高付加価値鋼管の生産拠点である特殊管事業所（兵庫県尼崎市）で、2012年までに原子力発電などエネルギー設備に使う鋼管の生産を約3 割拡大する。投資額は100億円を超えるもよう。世界的なエネルギー需要の増加に対応する。鉄鉱石など原料価格の高騰が続く中、利益率が高い製品の比率を上げて原料コストが収益に与える影響を抑える狙いもある。

　同事業所で生産する鋼管はニッケルやクロムなどの配合比率を工夫し、耐久性を高めた製品。価格が一般の鋼管の数倍―数十倍と高い。原発や深海油田開発などに使われる。

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白物家電、一斉値上げ　原料高、家計に波及

　大手家電メーカー各社は今月末以降、冷蔵庫、洗濯機などの白物家電製品を一斉に値上げする。三菱電機が冷蔵庫の新製品価格を最大5％引き上げ、シャープは洗濯乾燥機を1割程度値上げする。松下電器産業も冷蔵庫、洗濯機、エアコンの一部製品で実施する。鋼材価格などの上昇分を製造工程のコスト削減では吸収できないためで、同業他社の追随は必至。白物家電の値上げは家計の新たな負担要因になりそうだ。

　実際の店頭での販売価格は小売業が決める。三菱電機は冷蔵庫の新製品の販売実勢価格を従来より3―5％引き上げる計画で、今後、小売業などと交渉を進める。値上げ幅は金額換算で1万円前後となる。松下は低価格モデルを中心に値上げする方針で、値上げ幅や時期を詰める。エアコンでも三菱電機など大手メーカーが値上げ方針を決めている。

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丸井、中国に現地法人　百貨店出店も視野

　丸井グループは中国で衣料品専門店を多店舗展開するため、上海市に現地法人を設立した。3月に開業した中国1号店が好調のため、今秋から江蘇省蘇州市などで出店を本格化、今後3年前後で計10店以上の展開を目指す。日本製の自主企画商品を売り物に、購買力のある20―30代女性の需要を取り込む。数年後に日本での主力事業である百貨店の現地出店も視野に入れている。

　8月上旬に丸井グループが全額出資して「丸井商貿（上海）有限公司」（資本金2000万元＝約3億円）を設立した。董事長に佐藤元彦・丸井グループ常務が就任。市場調査を担う日本人3人と経理や販売担当の中国人6人で、21日から営業を始める。丸井グループにとり初めての海外子会社となる。

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東京ガスなど３社、最大公営ガスを買収へ

　東京ガス、東北電力、石油資源開発は共同で、2010年に民営化する仙台市ガス事業の買収に乗り出す。3社が共同出資会社を設立、9月に事業継承の公募に応札する方向で最終調整している。買収金額は公営ガス買収で最大となる600億円超の見通し。東京ガスは営業地域と事業規模を拡大しコスト競争力を高める。全国に約30ある公営ガス事業者は燃料価格高騰で先行きが厳しく、今後民営化が進むとみられる。大手企業による買収で水道や交通を含む公営事業の再編に弾みがつきそうだ。

　仙台市ガスは都市ガスを提供している日本最大の公営ガス事業者で、公募・入札をへて09年3月末までに譲渡先企業を決める予定。現時点で東京ガスなど3 社以外に買収意向を示している企業はなく、最有力とみられる。地元企業が加わる可能性もあり、出資比率など詳細は今後詰める。

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セブン＆アイ、ディスカウント1号店で開業セール

　ディスカウント店への参入を決めたセブン＆アイ・ホールディングスは、29日に開業する1号店（東京・足立）でセールを実施する。新店は既存のイトーヨーカ堂より25―30％安く販売していく計画だが、開業セールでは食品を中心に、さらに安い目玉商品を用意する予定だ。

　新型店「ザ・プライス」の1号店は、ヨーカ堂の小型スーパー、西新井店を全面改装して開業する。20日には、セブン＆アイ本社（東京・千代田）で開いたヨーカ堂の店長会議で、ヨーカ堂の亀井淳社長がディスカウント店への進出計画を正式に表明した。

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日清食品、家庭用冷食に本格参入　めん以外の総菜

　日清食品は20日、めん以外の家庭用冷凍食品市場に本格参入すると発表した。9月1日に揚げ物などの総菜8品目を発売し、試験販売中を含めて計10商品をスーパーなどで販売する。今後は年30品目程度を投入し、コンビニエンスストア向けも開発。2010年3月期に20億円の売り上げを目指す。

　家庭用冷食の総菜は「大人の贅沢（ぜいたく）」シリーズなど5ブランドを展開する。昭和時代の食品を再現するなど、中高年を意識した。

　同社は1986年に冷食市場に参入し、めん類や業務用を扱う。業務用では7月、中堅メーカーのニッキーフーズを買収している。

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近畿の自治体、電気バスを街の足に　環境対策狙い相次ぎ実験

　近畿の自治体の間に電気バス導入への機運が高まっている。堺市と奈良県は今秋、相次いで高性能電池を使った電気バスの走行実験に乗り出す。地球温暖化防止や観光地の渋滞緩和などが目的だ。電気バスは欧州の観光地で普及している。産業界では電気自動車の開発が進んでおり、今後技術革新やコスト減が進めば、観光地を多く抱える関西の自治体間で実用化の動きが加速しそうだ。

　堺市では産学官で組織した堺市都心地域温暖化対策地域協議会（角山栄会長）が10月15日から11月14日まで堺の観光スポットとなっている旧市街地で早稲田大学が開発した電気バスを走行させる。日野自動車のマイクロバスの車両を改造し小型バッテリーを積んだもので、動力源はナトリウム塩化ニッケル電池。定員13人。

　ディーゼル燃料のマイクロバス2台も併用し、電気バスがどれだけ二酸化炭素を減らすか計測する。

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派遣労働者の労災、急増　厚労省まとめ

　派遣労働者の労災が、製造業への派遣解禁後に急増していることが21日までに、厚生労働省調査で分かった。派遣が解禁された2004年（1、2月は未集計で10カ月分）の被災者は667人だったが、07年は5885人に上った。厚労省は現在、労働者派遣法改正の検討を進めているが、今回の調査結果が議論に影響を与える可能性もある。

　厚労省安全課は「製造業など事故に遭う可能性の高い職場に派遣労働者が増えたことが急増の背景にある」と調査結果を分析。「派遣先や派遣元には安全教育などの対策を進めてもらいたい」としている。

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仕事の集中力、ランチ後に低下　常盤薬品調べ

　常盤薬品工業が仕事をしている人を対象に実施した集中力に関する意識調査によると、集中できない時間帯（複数回答）は「午後1時から2時」が 26.8％、「午後2時から3時」が25.3％となった。他の時間帯は5―10％程度にとどまっており、ランチ後に眠くなり集中力が低下していることが浮き彫りになった。また「その時々によって異なる」との回答も27.3％に上った。

　仕事で集中力が切れる場面を複数回答で聞いたところ、「終わりのない事務作業」が64.5％でトップ。「人数の多い会議」が35.5％で続いた。3位は「上司に説教されているとき」で11.3％。

　調査は7月11―15日にかけてインターネットで実施。働く20―50代の男女400人から回答を得た。

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時短医師：雇用の医療機関に補助金　厚労省が離職防止策

　厚生労働省は２０日、残業などのない「短時間正規雇用」の医師を雇った医療機関に対し、それによってかかる経費の一部を公費で補助する新規の医師不足対策を０９年度から始める方針を固めた。勤務時間が短い医師でも正規職員として採用する例を増やし、勤務医の離職を防いだり復職を促す狙いがある。

　短時間正規雇用は、フルタイムの正社員より労働時間が短い人を正社員として雇う制度。給与は働く時間に応じて少なくなるものの、常用雇用で、社会保険や育児・介護休業の適用、昇進などは正社員と同等だ。当直明けの通常勤務など勤務医は過酷な条件で働くケースが多く、それが医師不足の一因と指摘されているが、厚労省は「労働時間の短い正規職員」なら離職を踏みとどまる医師も一定数いると判断した。

　０８年度の診療報酬改定では、短時間正規雇用の計画を立てた医療機関に対し、入院基本料を加算する仕組みができた。ただ、保険適用のない正常分娩（ぶんべん）を多く手がける病院の場合、全額患者の自己負担となり、加算分の請求は困難なのが現状だ。そこでこうした医療機関に対し、短時間正規雇用に伴う経費を補助することにした。

　厚労省は今年３月、出産・育児などで退職を迫られることが少なくない女性医師の離職を防ぐため、都道府県に短時間正規雇用を促す通知を出した。０９年度の新規事業もこの延長線上で、女性医師や医師不足が顕著な産科に限定した制度とすることを検討していたが、最終的に勤務医全般へ広げる方針に転じた。

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インド代理出産：「祖母」が世話役　インド最高裁、一部認める

　【ニューデリー共同】日本人がインド人女性に代理出産を依頼して誕生した女児が出国できない問題でインド最高裁は２０日、女児の父親である日本人医師の母（７０）が９月１６日まで女児の面倒をみることを認めた。ＰＴＩ通信が報じた。

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大麻所持：若ノ鵬解雇　間垣親方は理事辞任　臨時理事会

　日本相撲協会は２１日、臨時理事会を開き、大麻取締法違反容疑で逮捕された間垣部屋の幕内力士、若ノ鵬寿則（としのり）（ガグロエフ・ソスラン）容疑者（２０）の解雇処分を決めた。現役力士の解雇は初めて。協会員では昨年１０月、弟子を暴行死させたとして解雇された前時津風親方の山本順一被告に続いて３例目。

　また、師匠の間垣親方（元横綱・二代目若乃花）は理事職の辞任を申し出て受理された。不祥事による理事の辞任は、６８年に理事が評議員（親方）による現行の公選制になって以降初めて。

　力士の解雇では、時津風部屋の力士暴行死事件で、山本被告のほか、暴行に加わったとして今年２月に逮捕された３力士が「有罪確定時に解雇」と決まり、処分が猶予されている。しかし今回の事件は、けいこなど相撲とは無関係のうえ、違法性を知りながら法を犯したことを重視し、解雇処分を下した。

　間垣親方は、部屋の弟子に暴行を加え、今年５月に減俸処分が下されたばかり。間垣親方は「世間を騒がせた責任を取る」と話し、異例の理事辞任となった。

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“大麻力士”若ノ鵬解雇…師匠・間垣親方は理事を辞任

若ノ鵬 　日本相撲協会は２１日午後、東京・両国国技館内で緊急理事会を開き、大麻所持容疑で逮捕された大相撲の幕内若ノ鵬寿則容疑者（２０、写真右）＝本名ガグロエフ・ソスラン・アレキサンドロビッチ、ロシア出身、間垣部屋＝を同日付で解雇した。昨年１０月、新弟子死亡事件で前時津風親方（元小結双津龍）ら、親方が解雇された例はあるが、現役の幕内力士の解雇は史上初めて。

　若ノ鵬容疑者は２００５年春場所初土俵、０７年初場所新十両。同年九州場所で新入幕を果たした。今年名古屋場所の西前頭筆頭が自己最高位。６月に東京都墨田区の路上で大麻入りたばこ１本を財布の中に隠し持っていた疑いで、１８日に警視庁に逮捕された。

　また、監督責任を問われていた師匠の間垣親方（元横綱二代目若乃花）については、本人が事前に理事辞任を申し出たため、これを了承し、今後は２階級降下の平委員として生活指導部付きとした。

　間垣親方は今年５月にも弟子に暴力を振るってケガを負わせ、「悪いことをしたからヤキを入れた」と公然と言い放つなどして減俸処分を受けている。

　協会内には、昨年春場所、脳内出血を起こした影響で日常生活も不自由な上、相次ぐトラブル発生に師匠としての指導能力を疑問視する声も高く、「この際、部屋を閉じるべき」という意見もあったが、北の湖理事長は「理事を辞めると言うのは重い判断。それを重視した」と話した。協会首脳の処分もなく、またしてもトカゲのシッポ切りとの批判が起こりそうだ。

　間垣親方の話　「当然の処分。理事長をはじめ、多くの関係者に迷惑をかけ、申し訳なく思っている。若ノ鵬は稽古はよくやるし、まじめで素直だったので、まさかという思いだ。病気で部屋を留守することが多かったので、反省している」

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大相撲：若ノ鵬・大麻所持　協会、付け人から聴取「吸引具、知ってたが使途知らず」

　日本相撲協会は２０日、大麻取締法違反で逮捕された若ノ鵬（２０）が所属する間垣部屋の抜き打ち視察を行い、再発防止検討委員会の友綱（元関脇・魁輝）、秀ノ山（元関脇・長谷川）両副委員長が、若ノ鵬の付け人力士２人から事情を聴いた。付け人は、若ノ鵬が所持していた吸引具などについて「あるのは知っていたが、何に使うのか分からなかった」と話したという。

　また、間垣部屋関係者から、（１）若ノ鵬の個室は、間垣部屋の玄関など人目につく場所を通らずに入ることができるため、人の出入りは分からない（２）最近、若ノ鵬が部屋近くのマンションに住むようになり、そこに女性がいたが、師匠の間垣親方（元横綱・二代目若乃花）には言わなかった－－などと説明を受けた。

　友綱副委員長は「結局、野放し状態だったということ。（病気でリハビリ中の）今の師匠には無理。自分のことだけで精いっぱい」と話した。

　協会は２１日に緊急理事会を開き、若ノ鵬と間垣親方に対する処分を決める。若ノ鵬は解雇処分となる見通し。

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若ノ鵬解雇　素早い対応に「容疑を認めているから」と北の湖理事長　
2008.8.21 17:11
若ノ鵬容疑者（日本相撲協会提供）若ノ鵬容疑者（日本相撲協会提供）

　大相撲の幕内若ノ鵬（２０）＝本名ガグロエフ・ソスラン・アレキサンドロヴィッチ、ロシア出身、間垣部屋＝が大麻取締法違反容疑で逮捕された事件で、日本相撲協会は２１日、東京・両国国技館で臨時理事会を開き、若ノ鵬を解雇した。解雇は理事会で決める処分では最も重く、現役力士に下されるのは初めて。また、師匠で理事の間垣親方（５５）＝元横綱二代目若乃花＝も理事の辞任を申し入れ、了承された。

　昨年の時津風部屋の傷害致死事件では「力士の有罪が確定した時に解雇処分」としたが、今回は早急に解雇とした理由について北の湖理事長（元横綱北の湖）は「逮捕容疑を認めている」と述べた。協会のルールブックである「寄付行為」によると「協会所属員が引退、解雇、除名、脱走した場合、再び協会に帰属できない」と定めていて、若ノ鵬は事実上の永久追放となる。

　◆伊勢ノ海生活指導部長（元関脇藤ノ川）「外国人とか日本人にこだわらず、もう一度教育していきたい。（生活指導の）マニュアル本を早く仕上げ、原点に戻って悪いことは悪いと認識させなければならない」

　◆九重広報部長（元横綱千代の富士）「大変残念です。起きてはいけないこと。二度とこういうことを起こさないように、協会全体で気を引き締めていきたい」

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北の湖理事長の一問一答 若ノ鵬解雇、協会全体として考える

　北の湖理事長は間垣親方や相撲協会幹部とともに記者会見に臨み、厳しい表情で質問に答えた。

　－理事会決定は。

　「（若ノ鵬容疑者は）本人も嫌疑の事実を認めている。本日をもって解雇する。間垣親方からは前もって、師匠として監督不行き届きで責任を痛感しており、理事を辞する申し出があった。全会一致でそれを受理した」

　－不祥事への感想。

　「やはり、あってはならないこと。若ノ鵬（容疑者）はこれからの力士だった。とても残念だ」

　－間垣親方に処分を下さなかったのは。

　「自分から理事を辞するというのは大変な決意だと思う。重く受け止めている。自らの決断なので、そういうの（処分）はない」

　－協会の体制などは。

　「間垣親方には委員として生活指導部に行ってもらう。理事の穴埋めは考えていない。前も９人でやったことがある。春場所担当部長は、今後考えていく」

　－今後の対策は。

　「今回の事件は一個人のことだが、今後はこういうことがないように、協会全体として考えていかなければならない」

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大麻所持：北の湖理事長「厳しく対処」　実名も公表
若ノ鵬逮捕の連絡を受け、会見でおわびする北の湖理事長（奥）と友綱親方＝両国国技館で２００８年８月１８日午後１０時１５分、三浦博之撮影
若ノ鵬逮捕の連絡を受け、会見でおわびする北の湖理事長（奥）と友綱親方＝両国国技館で２００８年８月１８日午後１０時１５分、三浦博之撮影

　若ノ鵬逮捕の一報を受け、日本相撲協会の北の湖理事長は、帰省先の北海道から緊急帰京し、午後１０時過ぎから両国国技館で会見した。北の湖理事長は「本人の自覚で守れること。厳しく対処する」と話し、早急に緊急理事会を開いて解雇も含めた処分を検討することを明らかにした。

　冒頭、北の湖理事長は「若ノ鵬が逮捕された」と、事件当時未成年だった若ノ鵬を、あえて実名で公表。「（事件当時）未成年であっても関取。厳しく受け止めなければならない」と話し、厳しく対処する意向を示した。【上鵜瀬浄】
　◇「あってはならない」

　北の湖理事長の一問一答は次の通り。

　本日、力士若ノ鵬が大麻取締法違反で逮捕された。一社会人、一力士としてあってはならないこと。事実を把握し厳正に対応する。申し訳ありません。

　－－処分は。

　近いうちに理事会で考えたい。間垣親方が処分対象になるかも理事会で話し合う。

　－－自身の責任は。

　二度と起こらなくするのが私の責任。

　－－時津風部屋の暴行死事件との違いは。

　今回の件は自分でだめだとはっきり分かること。自分で認識しないといけない。

　－－再発防止を検討しているさなかだが、どう感じるか。

　今後どんどん厳しくやっていくことも考えていかなくてはいけない。

　－－若ノ鵬は当時、未成年だったが、力士名を出したのは。

　幕内の関取であり、重く受けとめた。

　－－北の湖部屋にもロシア出身力士がいるが。

　電話で「ないな」と確認した。

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若ノ鵬逮捕…相次ぐ不祥事、薄い自覚

　この１年余で、相撲界では、刑事事件や暴力問題が５件も相次いだ。もはや「気の緩み」のレベルを超えている。

　若ノ鵬は土俵態度や素行に指導の必要があると指摘されていた。放置してきた師匠の間垣親方（元横綱２代目若乃花）の監督責任は重いが、親方自身も夏場所中に弟子への暴行が発覚、減俸処分となっている。指導力が問われていた中、今回の問題が起きた。

　外国出身力士は身体能力に優れ、相撲部屋にとっては即戦力。しかし、出世が早い分、日本の文化や風習の習得はおろか、日本語を十分に話せないうちに、関取になって一人前の扱いをされる。教育や指導をおろそかにしたことが増長を許し、前代未聞の事態を招いた。相撲教習所長の友綱理事（元関脇魁輝）は「今まで以上に厳しく、色々教えていかなければならない」と話す一方、他のロシア出身力士から事情聴取を始めたことを明かした。

　時津風部屋の傷害致死事件を始め、相撲界に問題が相次ぐ中、若ノ鵬に襟を正そうとする姿勢がなかったのは明白で、解雇を含めた処分は当然。一人一人に当事者としての自覚が欠けている間は、不祥事は繰り返される。

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指導法を抜本的に見直す　文科省への報告書要旨

　日本相撲協会が２１日に文部科学省へ提出した報告書の要旨は次の通り。

　一、１９日に北の湖理事長らが間垣理事から事情聴取。その後、若ノ鵬以外の間垣部屋所属力士やロシア出身力士らから事情を聴取した結果、違法薬物の所持、使用は確認されなかった。今後も警察当局の捜査に協力し、引き続き協会としても調査を進めていく。

　一、理事会で若ノ鵬を解雇、間垣理事については理事辞任の申し出を受理。時津風部屋の（力士死亡）事件では、力士３人が事実関係を否認しており、有罪が確定した場合に解雇することにしているが、今回は若ノ鵬が容疑を認めているため、本日付で解雇した。

　一、時津風部屋の事件の再発防止策に基づき、師匠会での講習会の実施、日常生活などに関する小冊子の作成等に取り組んでいるが、これらに違法薬物に関する内容を盛り込むよう検討。相撲教習所の若い力士への指導方法を抜本的に見直す。

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09:01 GMT, Thursday, 21 August 2008 10:01 UK
Gaddafi son retires from politics
Sayf al-Islam Gaddafi, son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi

The son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has announced his retirement from political life.

Sayf al-Islam Gaddafi has been a leading proponent of reform through his charity, The Gaddafi Foundation.

He said he had been obliged to intervene politically, but this was no longer necessary as Libya now had institutions and systems it had lacked.

He has previously denied reports he was being groomed to take power and said there was no rift with his father.

The Libyan leader's oldest son has no official role in government but in the past four years he has come into the limelight internationally because of his interventions.

"I intervened extensively in everything: our foreign policy, in a lot of problems, in development, in housing. Because there were no institutions or an administrative system that were able to do so," he said in an hour-long televised speech from the desert town of Sebha.

"But now the situation has changed and if I continue there will be a problem."

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Georgia' s notification about dropout from CIS received

19.08.2008, 12.16

MINSK, August 19 (Itar-Tass) -- The CIS Executive Committee has received Georgia's official notification about its decision to secede from the CIS, the press service of the CIS Executive Committee said in Minsk on Tuesday.

"There is a juridical procedure spelled out in the CIS Charter for any country seceding from the CIS," the press service said. A country - member state of the CIS, shall notify about its decision to quit the CIS 12 months before secession, it said.

Earlier, Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee Sergei Lebedev expressed regret, commenting on a statement made by the Georgian leadership about their resolution to quit the CIS. "This decision will have negative consequences, above all, for Georgia and its citizens," Lebedev said. " That country remains connected to the other CIS countries by thousands of threads in the economic and humanitarian fields. Georgia is a party to many important agreements signed in the CIS framework. I would like Tbilisi to realize a destructive character of such plans," Lebedev declared.

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Moscow, Minsk to build air def in response to US missiles in EU

20.08.2008, 18.12

MOSCOW, August 20 (Itar-Tass) -- Creation of a common air defense system of Russia and Belarus may prove the retaliatory measure the deployment of US missile defense components in Poland and the Czech Republic may entail.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Belarussian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday agreed that a treaty to this effect should be signed as early as this autumn.

Analysts see a number of reasons for the change in Minsk’s position, including this one. The latest events have shown that Moscow is determined to play the key role in the post-Soviet space, and in doing so it will care little about the opinion of the “international community”, so-called.

Lukashenko on Tuesday at last expressed his attitude to the operation in South Ossetia. In the most flattering fashion he approved of Russia’s intervention. “Everything was done excellently, very calmly, wisely and neatly. In a situation like this the West would act in a way that would cause the whole world to shudder,” he said.

“This belated approval of Russia’s actions by the Belarussian president looked so clumsy and out of place, that Dmitry Medvedev could not but at least feel regret all this happened in front of the cameras,” says the daily Vremya Novostei.

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Russia freezes all military cooperation with NATO
21.08.2008 Source: AP © URL: http://english.pravda.ru/russia/kremlin/106156-Russia_NATO-0

Russia has informed Norway of its intention to completely cut back its military cooperation with NATO. The statement was made the next day after the emergency meeting of NATO ministers on the situation in Georgia and South Ossetia. The ministers agreed not to end their ties with Russia, although the future cooperation would depend on Russia’s pullout from Georgia. NATO members did not decline their cooperation with Russia despite USA’s appeals.

A top official spokesperson for Russia’s Defense Ministry called the Embassy of Norway in Moscow and said that Moscow was planning to freeze all military cooperation with NATO and its allies, Espen Barth Eide, state secretary with the Norwegian ministry said.

Eide told The AP that Russia would soon send a written note of its decision to Norway soon. Norwegian diplomats were going to meet their Russian counterparts Thursday to clear out the situation.

"It is our understanding that other NATO countries will receive similar notes," Eide said. The ministry said the Russian official is known to the embassy, but Norway declined to provide a name or any further identifying information.

Neither Kremlin officials, nor Russia’s ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, made any comments on the report.

US officials described Russia’s decision as unfortunate.

"If this indeed is the case, it would be unfortunate. We need to work with Russia on a range of security issues, but we are obviously very concerned about Russian behavior in Georgia," U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.

Under a 2002 agreement that set up the NATO-Russia Council, the former Cold War foes began several cooperation projects. They include occasional participation of Russian warships in NATO counterterrorism patrols in the Mediterranean Sea, sharing expertise to combat heroin trafficking out of Afghanistan and developing battlefield anti-missile technology.

Last week, Russia's ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin warned the Western alliance against cutting off cooperation, saying it would hurt both sides, the AP reports.

The military cooperation between Russia and NATO ended de-facto upon the initiative of the latter. A Russia-NATO naval exercise FRUKUS became the first on the list. The event was supposed to take place in the Pacific Ocean with the participation of the USA, Britain, France and Russia.

Afterwards, the USA barred Russia from a joint anti-terrorist operation Active Endeavor. Russia’s sea patrol ship Ladny had to return back to its base in Sevastopol.

The USA decided to cancel US-Russian anti-terrorist exercise slated to take place on August 28-30.

Moscow responded similarly. On Tuesday Moscow pulled out of Open Spirit 2008 annual exercise.

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India places two-billion-dollar order for Russian missiles
20.08.2008 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/russia/economics/106153-russian_missiles-0

Designers of the Indo-Russian supersonic cruise missile BrahMos hope to receive an order for the production of missiles for submarines of the Indian Navy, the chairman of board of directors of the joint-venture, Alexander Dergachev said.

“The missiles will be made for submarines of the Indian Navy. The nearest order is seven submarines. We do not know yet when exactly it is going to happen. I hope soon,” the official said at a press conference devoted to ten years since the establishment of the joint venture BrahMos.

Dergachev said that India would announce the tender for seven submarines in the nearest future. Submarine-makers from Russia and other countries of the world will participate in the tender. The tender stipulates BrahMos cruise missiles for the submarines.

Sivathanu Pilai, the chief executive of the Indo-Russian aerospace joint venture BrahMos, stated that India already had a contract for the production of six submarines on the base of Scorpio project (France).

India’s order to the joint enterprise is evaluate at $2 billion, Pilai said. BrahMos makes land and sea-based supersonic cruise missiles for the Indian Armed Forces.

BrahMos Aerospace is a joint Indo-Russian venture established in 1998 to design, develop, produce and market a unique supersonic cruise missile.

BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. The acronym BrahMos is perceived as the confluence of the two nations represented by two great rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. It is a joint venture between India's Defense Research and Development Organization and Russia's NPO Mashinostroeyenia who have together formed the BrahMos Corp. Propulsion is based on the Russian Yakhont missile, and guidance has been developed by BrahMos Corp. At speeds of Mach 2.5 to 2.8, is the world's fastest cruise missile. It is about three and a half times faster than the American subsonic Harpoon cruise missile.

Between late 2004 and early 2008, the missile has undergone several tests from variety of platforms including a land based test from Pokhran desert, in which the S maneuver at Mach 2.8 was demonstrated for the Indian Army and a launch in which the land attack capability from sea was demonstrated.

BrahMos claims to have the capability of attacking surface targets as low as 10 meters in altitude. It can gain a speed of Mach 2.8, and has a maximum range of 290 km. The ship-launched and land-based missiles can carry a 200 kg warhead, whereas the aircraft-launched variant (BrahMos A) can carry a 300 kg warhead. It has a two-stage propulsion system, with a solid-propellant rocket for initial acceleration and a liquid-fueled ramjet responsible for sustained supersonic cruise. Air-breathing ramjet propulsion is much more fuel-efficient than rocket propulsion, giving the BrahMos a longer range than a pure rocket-powered missile would achieve.

The high speed of the BrahMos likely gives it better target-penetration characteristics than lighter subsonic cruise-missiles such as the Tomahawk. Being twice as heavy and almost four times faster than the Tomahawk, the BrahMos has almost 32 times the initial kinetic energy of a Tomahawk missile (although it pays for this by having only 3/5 the payload and a fraction of the range despite weighting twice as much, suggesting a different tactical paradigm).

Although BrahMos is primarily an anti-ship missile, it can also engage land based targets. It can be launched either in a vertical or inclined position and is capable of covering targets over a 360 degree horizon. The BrahMos missile has an identical configuration for land, sea, and sub-sea platforms. The air-launched version has a smaller booster and additional tail fins for added stability during launch. The BrahMos is currently being configured for aerial deployment with the Su-30MKI as its carrier.

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Chinese Hegemonic Effect Overtakes USA?
20.08.2008 Source: URL: http://english.pravda.ru/business/finance/106150-Chinese_Hegemonic_Effect-0

By Larry MacDonald

“We are in the midst of a sea change in U.S. hegemonic influence in political, financial and economic spheres. American financial, economic and political power has peaked,” writes Sherry Cooper, chief economist with the BMO Financial Group. Really? Is it all that bad?

I wonder if Ms. Cooper and the growing chorus of similar voices are seeing all the warts of the beast they live close to and fewer of the blemishes on the beasts living further afield. While the U.S. certainly has its problems, so do other countries around the world — we perhaps don’t see them as much because of the distance and language barriers.

Take the economic miracle in China. It seems to me to be based in large part upon the suppression of market forces, which is not usually a lasting formula — especially for wrestling hegemony away from the U.S. Like Mother Nature, it’s not nice to fool with market forces. They release a lot of unintended consequences that grow and fester and eventually win out, undermining edifices built without regard for them.

Chinese exports are surging because appreciation in the Yuan has been held far below market levels by printing up scads of Yuan to buy up mountains of U.S. dollars. Supplementing this intervention are currency controls that restrict Yuan convertibility.

Any country can do this sort of thing and put up an impressive run for a time. Japan tried it in the 1980s and early 1990s. But most don’t do it, at least for very long, because it leads to an inflation problem — as highlighted by China’s current annual inflation rate near 8%. And again, this performance would look worse without market interventions: if oil prices in China weren’t subsidized below world levels, the inflation rate could be well into double-digit territory, closer to 15%.

Running the printing presses to suppress currency rates, oil prices, and other things is a recipe for galloping inflation and escalating wages, which, by raising the structure of domestic costs, eventually offsets the competitive edge due to artificially low exchange rates. And currency controls spawn black markets that in time defeat the intent of controls while having other negative side effects.

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Russia's richest woman sells Sberbank shares
10:38 | 20/ 08/ 2008

MOSCOW, August 20 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's richest woman Yelena Baturina and other shareholders are selling their shares in the country's largest state-owned bank Sberbank, a business daily said on Wednesday.

Sberbank's shares owned by Baturina's Continental, a closed unit investment fund, almost halved over three months, Vedomosti said, dropping from 10.8 billion rubles ($439.6 million) at the end of the first quarter of 2008 to 6.2 billion rubles ($252.3 million) by the first half of the year. Continental now holds a 0.38% stake in the bank down from 0.68%.

The fund, which earned 5.4 billion rubles ($219.8 million) from the sale, manages the businesswoman's assets in Moscow'-based construction company Inteco, Russian energy giant Gazprom, Sberbank and Russia's largest state-owned oil company Rosneft.

"Baturina is not the first large [minority] Sberbank shareholder or borrower to reduce her share in the bank since the arrival of new management," Vedomosti reported.

Former economics minister German Gref was elected Sberbank's CEO late in November 2007. Sberbank's previous chief Andrei Kazmin now heads the Russian postal service.

"Gref has refused to issue as many loans to these [minority] shareholders as the previous management," the paper quoted an unnamed top manager from a Western investment bank as saying.

Sberbank has made no comment on the shareholders' move.

Baturina, the 45-year-old second wife of Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, has amassed billions of dollars through her construction company Inteco, formed in 1991. Forbes magazine estimates her wealth at $4.2 billion.

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Musharraf resigns. What next?
17:16 | 19/ 08/ 2008

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Pyotr Goncharov) - On August 18, the president of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, announced his resignation.

He made the announcement without waiting for the parliamentary impeachment hearings. Against this background his decision could be interpreted either as capitulation or as an implicit admission of the charges against him. Yet in all likelihood it is neither.

Perhaps one should go along with Musharraf, who said that he had decided to resign "in the national interests." Indeed, he had to make a hard choice between democracy and order. He had faced the same choice repeatedly in the past and he invariably chose in favor of "order." And he has invariably been vindicated. This time around the general-president chose in favor of democracy, and apparently he has made the right choice again. Perhaps the only right choice. Here is why.

The charges against Musharraf are serious. He is charged with overthrowing the democratically elected government in 1999, which went down in Pakistan's recent history as a "bloodless military coup." He illegally dismissed Supreme Court judges on the eve of the last presidential election in 2007 and introduced a state of emergency in November 2007. Finally he is charged with combining the functions of president and commander-in-chief, an accusation levied by the West, including the United States.

Before taking off his general's uniform on the eve of his second presidential term Musharraf responded to his Western critics: It is unrealistic to expect Pakistan to copy the Western form of democracy, human rights and civil liberties. It took the West centuries to achieve what it has today, and it wants Pakistan to become the same within years. Pakistan will be democratic, but it will follow its own path.

This was not just rhetoric. It was his policy, from which he did not depart under any circumstances. This was his strength and a harbinger of his inevitable defeat if a split in society was to be avoided. Now is such a time.

Musharraf has probably best summed up the current political situation in the country by describing it as a "political jungle". Officially Pakistan has three main political centers. The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) led by Asif Zardari, the husband of Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated last December; the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (ML-N) led by Nawaz Sharif, whom Musharraf deposed from the post of prime minister in 1999; and Musharraf's own Muslim League, known as the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam).

The big problem is that PPP and ML-N, unlike other political parties in Pakistan, have recently been preoccupied with internal problems and do not have serious influence on the social and political processes inside the country. Their victory in the parliamentary elections in 2008 was due to the electorate's loss of confidence in such traditional Pakistani parties as Islamic Society (Jamaat-e-Islami) and the Awami National Party.

Besides, PPP and ML-N are locked in a power struggle. In the 1980s and 1990s their fierce political battles repeatedly created serious political and social crises in Pakistan. Today their coalition against Musharraf is a forced and certainly a temporary phenomenon. They are unlikely to allow any of the two parties' leaders, Zardari or Nawaz Sharif, to become president. It is not by chance that Asif Zardari does not rule out a woman president in Pakistan. A woman would provide a temporary "neutral" figure who would be easy to replace when the circumstances warrant it.

The "female" variant has been tried before. It is thought to be a forced but justified compromise. But there are several nuances in Pakistan that must be taken into account. The new president will have to confront the problem of the North-West Frontier Province on the border with Afghanistan, which, according to the U.S. and NATO, is a haven for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.

Musharraf, much to the displeasure of the U.S. and NATO, made a peace deal with the so-called "Pakistani Taliban." He made it clear to the U.S. that as president of the country he would not allow any third country to carry out military, even if counterterrorist, operations in his country. On the other hand, he has been a fairly consistent ally of the U.S. in fighting terror, including in the North-West Frontier Province.

Finally, Pervez Musharraf has managed to extricate Pakistan from interminable political crises, which invariably led to the resignation of the government, the dissolution of parliament and a takeover of power by the military. Suffice it to say that under Musharraf, for the first time in Pakistan's history, parliament has served out its constitutional term. His motto "Pakistan above everything" was often at the expense of Western-style "democracy" but it spared Pakistani society serious social problems. What will happen now?

Pakistan has a traditional institution called the national army. If the new Pakistani president does not have Musharraf's charisma, fails to agree with the U.S. and the Pakistani Taliban in the North-West Frontier Province and fails to balance the essentially secular form of government with the claims of Islamic parties, Pakistan will be in for another social and political crisis. In such cases the army has always taken power in its hands. So far there are no other options, judging from Pakistan's history. Indeed, other options may be bad for Pakistan.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

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Damascus, Beirut give each other hope
19:43 | 18/ 08/ 2008

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti commentator Maria Appakova) - Lebanon and Syria have for the first time in history agreed to establish diplomatic relations and to begin demarcation of the border between them.

This announcement was made during the Lebanese president's visit to Damascus, the first one in three years. The decision made by the two countries is expected to alleviate the threat of a civil war in Lebanon and to lift international isolation of Syria.

The picture would be truly idyllic if it were not for a bomb that exploded a short distance from the Syrian border, in Tripoli, killing 19 soldiers and civilians, hours before Lebanese President Michel Suleiman flew to Damascus.

Did the terrorists choose this time for their attack by pure chance? Observers view the Tripoli explosion as the Fatah al-Islam terrorists' revenge for last year's defeat at the Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

It was for the first time in years that the Lebanese army led by General Michel Suleiman acted as effectively as that. However, the terrorists were not thwarted entirely, as is often the case. Later they were suspected of orchestrating a series of attacks that killed General Franñois al-Hajj and a high-ranking intelligence officer.

Michel Suleiman could be their next target - if not his life, then his reputation as a politician and a military leader. Not only is the future of the new Lebanese president in jeopardy, but also the future of the country which can turn into another Iraq or Afghanistan any moment.

It won't even take much effort to do it. It would be enough to plunge Lebanon into another civil war; and for that, the terrorists will use any means to prevent stabilization between Beirut and Damascus.

Syria has never viewed Lebanon as an independent state and made no attempt to establish diplomatic rapport with its neighbor, probably thinking that fraternal peoples like the two of them didn't need any formalities.

However, the relations between the two countries were far from brotherly. Starting from the mid-1970s, Syrians have taken part in the Lebanese civil war, consequently acting as saviors for one part of the population and invaders for the other part. Moreover, attitudes kept changing within Lebanese communities over the past decade. One day they hated Damascus and the next day they were its most faithful allies, and then back again. The close economic, cultural and family ties added to the confusion.

The year 2005 saw yet another major crisis in the two countries' relations, triggered by the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. His family and political followers accused Syria of his death. The Syrian army had to leave Lebanon in the wake of mass protests, but Damascus still exerted unfailing political influence on Lebanese developments.

The pressure exerted on Syria by the West after that only exacerbated the tension finally leading to another political crisis in Lebanon, bringing violence and awful bloodshed.

Finally, careful international mediation, especially the Arab League's efforts, brought about reconciliation in Lebanese society. It also happened due to Damascus' active involvement in the negotiation process, which culminated in the election of Michel Suleiman.

But a final consensus is still far from reached. It took over a month after the election of a new president to form the cabinet and another month to agree on a new government program. A day after it was approved in parliament, a bomb exploded in Tripoli. The fragile peace in Lebanon is threatened again.

It seems like the terrorists have overreached themselves. For the first time in a long period Lebanese politicians have shown solidarity. Not one of them tried to accuse Damascus of being behind the attack, breaking the already established tradition.

Quite on the contrary, elated by the agreement reached, Lebanese leaders see the attack as a reason to stabilize the country in the shortest possible time.

Six months without a president, and over 18 months with parliament and government paralyzed, have naturally affected the country's economy and security. These problems will keep the new government busy enough without external forces interfering with its work. They have parliamentary elections ahead, with inevitable political battles to fight. But the fact that Damascus and Beirut have found common ground will certainly bring tensions in Lebanon down.

Also, one still wonders how the restoration of diplomatic relations will affect another major problem in the region - the "resistance" put up by Hezbollah, Lebanon's Shiite Islamic movement which is close to Tehran and Damascus. The planned demarcation of the Lebanese-Syrian border will include dealing with the Shebaa Farms, a territory that borders Syria, Lebanon and Israel, and is currently invaded by Israel - a fact widely publicized by Hezbollah as the reason why Lebanon needs the "resistance."

Israel claims that the Shebaa Farms are a Syrian territory and is willing to hand it over as part of a peace treaty with Damascus. Lebanon isn't happy about that. Syria, in turn, has agreed with Lebanon up until now, but never issued any official statement.

The situation will probably change now. But will Israel make good on its promise and hand over the Shebaa Farms? Wouldn't it look like another humiliation, handing it directly to Hezbollah? The other option, living through another "resistance" campaign, is even less encouraging.

There are reasons for more conflicts to erupt in and around Lebanon today; the explosion in Tripoli could be one of them.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.

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＜相続税＞課税強化を検討　資産再配分機能低下で見直し

8月20日2時30分配信 毎日新聞

　政府・与党は１９日、０９年度税制改正で相続税の課税を強化する方向で検討に入った。基礎控除額を見直すことで課税範囲拡大を検討するほか、最高税率（現行５０％）の引き上げなどの検討を進める。

　バブル期の地価高騰を受け、相続税が支払えず、自宅を手放すケースが続出したことを受け、政府は基礎控除額の拡大や最高税率引き下げなど納税者負担の軽減を図ってきた。８８年度以降、最高税率を７５％から段階的に引き下げたほか、基礎控除の範囲も従前の２倍以上に拡大した。しかし、バブル崩壊後に地価が大幅下落したため、課税対象者は死亡者の７％前後から現在は半分近い４％程度に減少している。

　７月から税制改正の議論を始めた政府税制調査会（首相の諮問機関、香西泰会長）では「相続によって資産格差が次世代に引き継がれる可能性が増している」と課税強化を求める声が強まっている。政府税調は昨年の税制改正答申でも、「遺産相続時にその一部を社会に還元し、（社会保障の）給付と負担の調整が必要」と指摘。「大幅に緩和されてきた相続税の負担水準を放置することは適当でない」と提言した。

　一方、税制改正論議を実質的に取り仕切る自民党税調（津島雄二会長）も「時代に合わない相続税の課税水準の見直しは避けられない」（幹部）としており、今秋の税制改正に向けて相続税の課税強化策の検討を進める構えだ。

　９０年代はじめに基準年の８３年度の３倍以上に高騰した地価（三大都市圏、商業地）は、００年以降、８３年度を下回る水準に下落した。納税負担の緩和措置だけが温存された結果、遺産を引き継いでも相続税が発生しない世帯が急増している。

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韓国人の国内密航組織を摘発　宇部海上保安署など
2008.8.21 20:12

　第７管区海上保安本部（福岡県北九州市）などは２１日、韓国貨物船「ＥＶＥＲ　ＭＡＳＡＮ」（６１７トン）による韓国人の国内密航組織を摘発したと発表した。同船の船長と乗組員らが韓国人ブローカーとともに不法出入国を組織的に手がけていたとみられ、山口県警宇部署が今年５月、不法入国容疑などで韓国人の男２人を逮捕し「ＥＶＥＲ　ＭＡＳＡＮ」が入国運搬船として使われていたことが判明した。

　宇部海上保安署などは同船に乗船していた韓国人の男１人を不法出国企図などの現行犯で、船長（５５）と乗組員６人を営利目的不法入国援助容疑などで今年５月に逮捕。平成１９年９月に佐賀県唐津市の呼子港から韓国人１２人が不法出国した事件への関与も判明し、韓国人の女を不法出国で逮捕、韓国人の男１人を営利目的不法入国援助容疑で指名手配している。