Iraq shoe thrower jailed for three years

Iraq shoe thrower jailed for three years

By James Drummond

A Baghdad court on Thursday sentenced an Iraqi reporter who hurled his shoes at former US president George W. Bush to three years in prison.

Muntazer al-Zaidi, who worked for Al-Baghdadiya television, earned instant worldwide fame when he threw his shoes at Bush at a news conference in December, calling him a dog.

”This sentence is harsh and is not in harmony with the law, and eventually the defence team will contest this in the appeals court,” said Dhiaa al-Saadi, the head of Mr Zaidi’s defence team.

Mr Zaidi’s sister Ruqaiya burst into tears, shouting ”Down with Maliki, the agent of the Americans,” referring to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Mr Zaidi’s brother, Uday, said the verdict was politically motivated.

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Gulf companies suffer 'bloodbath'

By Robin Wigglesworth in Abu Dhabi

Published: March 12 2009 02:00 | Last updated: March 12 2009 02:00

No one expected Gulf company earnings in the last three months of 2008 to make for anything but grim reading, but for some industries in particular the numbers have so far been eye-wateringly bad.

With two-thirds of results out to date, financial services earnings declined about 88 per cent in the last three months of the year, while real estate profits shrank 96 per cent from the year-earlier period, according to Markaz, a Kuwaiti investment bank.

Despite a largely positive start to 2008, full-year results showed a 20 per cent earnings drop for financial institutions and 4 per cent for real estate companies. Only telecommunications companies reported a modest year-on-year increase in profits, according to Markaz.

Overall, Gulf companies have so far reported a total loss of $5.7bn in the fourth quarter, compared to $13.3bn of net profit in the same period of 2007.

Even discounting the $8.2bn quarterly loss of Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holdings, profits contracted 81 per cent quarter on quarter and 10 per cent in the year, Mandagolathur Raghu, head of research at Markaz, said in the report.

"It was a bloodbath for some companies," says Fadi Al Said, regional head of equities at ING Investment Management. "This is something unprecedented in this region."

Investors have responded by sending the MSCI GCC Countries Index down 17 per cent already this year.

Analysts and asset managers are largely pessimistic about prospects for the rest of the year.

Many predict that further investment portfolio losses and rising non-performing loan provisions will continue to weigh on financial institutions - which make up most of the stock market capitalisation in the Gulf and act as conduits of capital to the stock market.

"Until we see liquidity in the banking system we won't see a recovery in the stock markets," says Tom Healy, chief executive of the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange.

ING forecasts that profits will contract a further 9-10 per cent across the Gulf this year as well. Fahd Iqbal, equity strategist at EFG-Hermes, the regional investment bank, says "a sustained stock market recovery accompanied by improving investor sentiment is unlikely before the fourth quarter".

Not everyone is unremittingly negative. Some analysts are predicting a recovery in the second half of this year as governments' efforts to support growth gather pace and filter into equity markets.

"Once the dust settles, given the quality of companies, the Gulf markets will benefit - it is only a matter of time," says Burkhard Varnholt, chief investment officer at Bank Sarasin.

Global efforts to stave off the credit crunch fall-out, including interest rate cuts and fiscal stimulus plans, may provide "the backdrop to a potential bottoming out process in the weeks ahead", Tarek Fadlallah, executive director at Nomura, wrote in a report this week.

Yet while the Gulf "remains relatively better positioned than other economies to weather the storm, the path to a sustainable recovery in the financial markets will be long and winding", Mr Fadlallah warned.

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Gates regains top spot in Forbes rich list

NEW YORK, March 11 - Microsoft founder Bill Gates is the richest man again, overtaking investor Warren Buffett, as the global financial meltdown wiped out $2,000bn from the net worth of the world’s billionaires, Forbes Magazine said.

The number of billionaires in the world fell by nearly a third to 793 in the past year, with large numbers dropping off the list in Russia, India and Turkey. Mr Gates regained his title as the richest man in the world, with $40bn after slipping to third last year when he was worth $58bn.

Mr Buffett, last year’s richest man, fell to second place with $37bn, down from $62bn. Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim took third place with $35bn, down from $60bn.

Collectively, the top three billionaires lost $68bn in the year to February 13, when Forbes took a snapshot of wealth around the world to compile its annual list of billionaires.

Steve Forbes, chief executive of Forbes Magazines, said that while few would shed a tear for the plight of a billionaire, it was bad for the economy when entrepreneurs were in trouble.

”Billionaires don’t have to worry about their next meal, but if their wealth is declining and you’re not creating numerous new billionaires, it means the rest of the world is not doing very well,” he told reporters. ”The typical billionaire is down at least one third on their net worth.”

The net worth of the world’s billionaires fell from $4,400bn to $2,400bn, while the number of billionaires was down to 793 from 1,125. ”It’s the first time since 2003 that we have lost billionaires, but we’ve never before lost anywhere near this number,” said Luisa Kroll, senior editor of Forbes.

”It’s really hard to find something to cheer about unless you get some perverse pleasure in realising that some of the most successful... people in the world... can’t figure out this global economic turmoil better than the rest of us.”

New York City replaced Moscow as home to the most billionaires, with 55. Russia, which saw the number of super- rich soar in recent years, suffered among the biggest shocks, with the number of billionaires down to 32 from 87.

Other developing countries that saw fast growth in previous years were hit hard as well, including Turkey, where the number of billionaires fell to 13 from 35, partly due to the collapse in the value of the lira currency, and India. Indian businessman Anil Ambani, the biggest gainer on last year’s list, was the biggest loser this time, with $32bn wiped out over the last 12 months.

Ranked sixth last year, he fell to 34 with an estimated wealth of $10.1bn. ”India took a huge whack,” Ms Kroll said, noting that last year Indians held four of the top 10 spots and now only two, and the number of Indian billionaires more than halved to 24. Of those who remained or returned to the list, 656 saw their net worth fall, 52 held even and only 44 managed to expand their wealth.

The only person in the top 20 who did not lose money was New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose net worth was revised up to $16bn from $11.5bn because of a revaluation of his media company, Bloomberg LP, Forbes said. He is now the richest man in New York, jumping from 65 in the world to 17.

Matthew Miller, Forbes senior editor, said that, in the current climate, those who lost only 20 per cent of their wealth were doing relatively well; for example members of the Walton family which founded discount retailer Wal-Mart. ”They lost $5bn each, but Wal-Mart stock hasn’t completely fallen off the cliff like everything else,” he said.

Another discount retailer riding out the storm was Japan’s Tadashi Yanai. His company Fast Retailing, known for its Uniqlo stores, helped push him from 296th last year to 76th and raised his net wealth to $6bn from $3.6bn.

Others who managed to get richer were investors George Soros and Ronald Perelman, as well as short-seller John Paulson, who has profited from the fall in financial stocks, and entertainer Oprah Winfrey who jumped to 234 from 462.

Among those conspicuous by their absence from the list was Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, one of last year’s stars when he became the youngest self-made billionaire to make the list. Also dropping out were big name casualties of the financial crisis on Wall Street – former American International Group chief executive Maurice ”Hank” Greenberg and former Citigroup chief executive Sanford Weill.

Allen Stanford, the Texan accused of an $8bn fraud by US regulators, was also booted off the list. Crime, however, did not disqualify one notable new entry to the list – Mexican drug lord Joaquin ”Shorty” Guzman, who is among the world’s most wanted men and now worth $1bn. ”He is not available for interviews,” Ms Kroll said. ”But his financial situation is doing quite well.”

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世界長者番付：金融危機の嵐、長者番付にも　ゲイツ氏が首位返り咲き－－０９年版
　◇フォーブス誌０９年版
　◇日本人トップ、「ユニクロ」柳井氏

　【ワシントン斉藤信宏】米経済誌フォーブスが１１日発表した０９年版世界長者番付によると、米マイクロソフト（ＭＳ）創業者のビル・ゲイツ氏が、昨年の３位から首位に返り咲いた。ゲイツ氏の世界一は１４回目。昨年首位となった米著名投資家ウォーレン・バフェット氏は、昨年秋以降の金融危機の影響などで２位に後退した。保有資産が１０億ドル（約９７０億円）超の億万長者数は昨年の１１２５人から３割減の７９３人となり、億万長者の保有資産も４・４兆ドルから２兆ドル（４５％）減の２・４兆ドルとなるなど、世界規模に拡大した金融危機の影響が長者番付にも表れた形だ。

　ゲイツ氏の資産は、保有するマイクロソフト株の下落で昨年比１８０億ドル減の４００億ドルと、首位になったにもかかわらず大幅に減った。バフェット氏の資産は２５０億ドル減の３７０億ドル。国別に見ると、昨年まで原油価格の高騰などで潤っていたロシアの長者数が８７人から３２人に激減した。

　一方で、低価格商品を扱う量販店の創業者などの上位進出が増加。スウェーデンの家具量販店「イケア」の創業者が５位に食い込んだほか、米ウォルマート創業者が１１、１２位に入った。また、日本人のトップは７６位で、「ユニクロ」を展開するファーストリテイリング会長兼社長の柳井正氏が昨年の２９６位から上がった。日本人の長者数は昨年の２４人から１７人に減少した。

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Liechtenstein eases bank secrecy rules

Zurich, March 12 – Liechtenstein has agreed to ease its strict bank secrecy law by committing to OECD standards on tax transparency and data exchange, a fresh sign that a global crackdown on tax evasion is forcing offshore centres to open up.

The tiny principality, a financial centre wedged between Switzerland and Austria, is seeking to be removed from a black list of tax havens and will now offer bilateral tax deals for co-operating in cases of tax fraud and tax evasion. It said it had already started concrete talks with individual states.

Coming on the heels of a landmark tax co-operation deal with the US in December, the move by Liechtenstein was a fresh attempt to clean the country’s image after a damaging data theft scandal that engulfed its largest bank LGT last year.

”Our bank secrecy has always served to ensure the legitimate protection of the privacy of the citizen, which we will continue to retain,” prime minister Otmar Hasler said in a statement.

”With this declaration, however, we want to make clear that bank client confidentiality in future cannot be misused to facilitate tax crime,” Mr Hasler said.

The principality is also offering to sign agreements that go beyond the OECD standards provided that clients of its banks holding secret accounts can be allowed to bring their money onshore and meet their tax obligations in an orderly manner.

Liechtenstein’s new commitment comes just weeks before a meeting of the G20 nations on April 2 that is due to discuss the fight against tax havens among other matters and could add pressure on neighbouring Switzerland, the world’s largest offshore centre.

Liechtenstein, along with Andorra and Monaco, is still on a black list of uncooperative financial centres drafted by the OECD and has been under pressure to relinquish its bank secrecy rules.

Bank LGT, which manages the assets of Prince Max von und zu Liechtenstein alongside bank clients’ money, was last year at the centre of a data theft scandal, which saw Germany paying a former employee to access bank client information.

That scandal, exacerbated by the ongoing financial crisis and by pressure by German finance minister Peer Steinbrueck, has triggered billions of Swiss francs of outflows at LGT, prompting the country to rethink its role as a tax haven.

Europe’s fourth-smallest country agreed in December to share information on tax evasion with the US, the first step in a rehabilitation process keeping other offshore hubs on their toes and which may unnerve neighbouring Switzerland.

Switzerland is under pressure from a US tax fraud investigation into services offered by UBS to its many wealthy American clients, to make more concessions.

The Swiss government has said it would consider concessions on banking secrecy and will discuss the topic at a meeting on Friday.

Liechtenstein, whose banks manage $165bn of assets, is also already discussing more tax co-operation with the European Union.

Liechtenstein does not plan to move to automatic exchange of information. It will retain bank secrecy but be more co-operative with other tax authorities when requested.

”With today’s declaration, we are making our contribution to a joint solution that will make an effective enforcement of foreign tax claims possible and takes account of the legitimate interests of the clients of our financial centre at the same time,” Mr Hasler said.

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Sarkozy confirms plan for France's full return to Nato

By Ben Hall in Paris

Published: March 12 2009 02:00 | Last updated: March 12 2009 02:00

President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday confirmed his intention of taking France back into full participation in the Nato alliance, triggering a backlash from across the political spectrum and exposing divisions in his own centre-right party.

Forty-three years after President Charles de Gaulle pulled France out of Nato's integrated military command in a defiant show of independence from the US, Mr Sarkozy said it was time to resume a full role in Nato. "Our strategic thinking can't remain frozen when the world around us has completely changed," he said.

In a hard-hitting speech, Mr Sarkozy challenged the "old habits" and "selfsatisfaction" of Gaullists who defended France's semi-detachment from the Atlantic alliance. "I don't think a big power like France should stand halfway between the rest of the world because that means it is nowhere," he said.

Opposition politicians accused Mr Sarkozy of breaking a decades-long cross-party consensus over France's defence stance and of abandoning, for no obvious gain, a fundamental element of its diplomatic leverage.

François Bayrou, a former centrist presidential candidate, said France's nonmembership of the Nato command was a "mark of independence" and "one of the only cards to be something other than aligned with a western bloc whose capacity for stupidity has been demonstrated".

Martine Aubry, the socialist leader, said there was "neither an urgent nor fundamental need [for France's return], unless it is about turning Atlanticism into an ideology".

Mr Sarkozy is also facing a backlash from senior figures in his own camp. Dominique de Villepin, former prime minister and foreign minister, has called the planned reintegration "a mistake".

Alain Juppé, former prime minister and one-time member of Mr Sarkozy's government, said he "wondered about the utility" of such a move. Although guarded, criticism from the normally loyal Mr Juppé suggests scepticism about the Nato return runs deep in the governing UMP party.

The government, concerned that it could lose a vote by French parliamentarians on the Nato move on March 17, has sought to put a lid on dissent in its own ranks by turning it into a confidence motion.

Mr Sarkozy defended his plan, saying it would add momentum to French efforts to build up an autonomous European Union defence capacity because France's return would eliminate suspicions in other EU countries that it wanted to build a rival to Nato. Boosting Europe's role in defence was his "absolute priority", he said.

Gordon Brown, UK prime minister, welcomed Mr Sarkozy's decision, saying it would be "good for the defence of the world".

In return for its reintegration - which is set to be formalised at the alliance's summit in Strasbourg on April 3-4 - France will gain two senior operational Nato command positions, and posts for some 800 of its officers.

It will also play a full part in the preparation of operations, bringing to an end a situation that Bernard Kouchner, the foreign minister, described as "taking part [in missions] without really knowing, without really planning".

Most military analysts doubt whether the move will have much effect either on Nato's efficiency, Europe's influence inside the alliance, or EU efforts to acquire a credible defence policy.

Q&A

Why does France's reintegrating into Nato's military command matter? It symbolises a change in the philosophy of French foreign policy. France had previously prided itself on being able to maintain distance from the US on key foreign policy issues.

What does it mean for Nato? In military terms, not much. Since Nato was formed in 1949, France has been a part of the alliance and contributed troops.

So France will commit more troops? The move does not imply an enhanced commitment on numbers. But France will get two posts of moderate importance in the Nato command structure.

Is Nicolas Sarkozy giving up on his vision of a stronger role for the European Union in foreign and defence policy? No. As a quid pro quo for full French membership of Nato, he wants a stronger role for what he calls " l'Europe de la defense ".

Could Mr Sarkozy be destabilised by this move at home? He should survive a parliamentary debate next week. But in the long run, he may suffer from criticism that he sold out to the US.

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Credit Suisse hires US diplomat

By Francesco Guerrera in New York

Published: March 12 2009 02:00 | Last updated: March 12 2009 02:00

Credit Suisse has hired David Mulford, a veteran US banker and diplomat, to oversee its relationships with clients around the world, in a sign that the crisis is prompting financial groups to strengthen ties with governments and big companies, writes Francesco Guerrera in New Yor k .

Mr Mulford, who has been US ambassador to India for the past five years and has had a long career in the public and private sector, will also spearhead Credit Suisse's efforts to influence the debate on the future of global financial regulation.

The appointment of Mr Mulford, who worked on the US Treasury's Brady and Baker plans for reducing developing countries' debt in the 1980s, highlights the financial sector's need for political and economic expertise to deal with the current crisis.

Mr Mulford, who had a similar role at Credit Suisse between 1992 and 2003, said that the industry, government and other stakeholders would have to bridge their differences to ensure the economy and the financial sector rebound from the downturn.

"It's very important for the world at large that the financial industry does recover," he said.

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Botswana's diamonds lose their sparkle

By Tom Burgis in Gaborone

Published: March 12 2009 02:00 | Last updated: March 12 2009 02:00

As if life were not hard enough for the people of Jwaneng in southern Botswana, they will now have to do without their cobbler.

As recent word spread that the world's richest diamond mine would be mothballed after a collapse in global demand, the lone artisan who tends the shoes of the 15,000 in the mining settlement was resigned to hanging up his pliers.

"The mines have never shut before," said Edwin Phaladi, 52, who, with his wife and four children, depends on his one-room Shoe Clinic. "I came here as a boy. Now I'm going back to my village."

Even for Botswana, long the model of how a poor country can use its minerals to escape poverty, there is no escape from the financial crisis. "There is no doubt we are facing a huge challenge," said Ian Khama, Botswana's president in his first wide-ranging interview with a foreign newspaper since taking office in April.

"The main reason is because we have been very dependent on revenues from minerals, especially diamonds, ever since they were found in the 1970s."

Diamonds bring in four of every five of Botswana's foreign exchange dollars and generate about a third of gross domestic product. But the US, which accounts for up to half of diamond demand, is in recession.

Debswana, the joint venture between De Beers and Botswana that normally supplies almost a quarter of the world's rough diamonds, sold no stones in November and few in the months since.

An Oscars-style bash to promote diamonds, hosted by a former president, Festus Mogae, and a bevy of Hollywood actresses, did little to help. Debswana last month mothballed its four mines and has begun cutting its workforce of 6,300 people.

While De Beers has been reluctant to put a figure on cut in output it wants at mines that produce half its stock, Mr Khama said the aim was to reduce output by 40 per cent this year from the 32.3m carats mined in the year to December. The finance ministry predicts revenues will fall by half.

Unlike many of its neighbours, in the good times Botswana amassed reserves of $9.2bn (€7.2bn, £6.7bn), equivalent to 28 months of imports, which it can now tap. But to keep the economy afloat with public spending, the budget will swing into deficit and, Mr Khama said, the state is considering borrowing despite credit rating agencies threatening downgrades and the turmoil in capital markets.

"We are still confident that we will be able to see this thing through," the president said. He added that this depended on a recovery towards the end of the year. However, Stephen Lussier, a De Beers executive, recently said the group was preparing for poor sales until at least Christmas 2010.

The outlook for Botswana remains less bleak than that of poorer neighbours such as Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the collapse in prices for copper and other base metals is wreaking economic havoc.

Across Africa, finances are lurching into the red as commodity exports crumble. But Botswana was always aiming higher. Three years ago the government set out in search of what economists regard as the Holy Grail for resource-dependent countries: to escape from the bottom of the value chain by processing minerals at home rather than, as many African states do, exporting themin raw form. Thus it aspired to generate the extra cash required to diversify the country's economy.

So far 16 diamond-processing plants have opened. As the crisis hits, Mr Khama says, there is "no doubt that they are also going to be affected". The government refuses to give up on becoming a "diamond hub" and will intervene to "keep them afloat", he adds.

Among the new arrivals is the South African Diamond Corporation, or Safdico, which has built a state-of-the-art diamond technology park outside Gaborone.

"It is tough and everybody is feeling it," says Anthony Licht, corporate manager at Safdico Botswana.

"But we are really looking at the long-term picture. We believe in Botswana."

But in Jwaneng, belief in the power of diamonds has been shaken. "Everything will be shuttered, definitely," said Mr Phaladi. "It will be a ghost town."

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Sants signals City clampdown

By Peter Thal Larsen, Banking Editor

Published: March 12 2009 11:42 | Last updated: March 12 2009 11:42

The chief executive of the Financial Services Authority on Thursday in effect declared the death of principles-based regulation as he warned that the regulator would in future take a tougher approach to supervising financial institutions and to punishing bad behaviour.

Hector Sants said the characterisation of the FSA’s approach to regulation as based on principles rather than rules was “illusory” and that the watchdog would in future judge its actions based on the outcomes they achieved.

”I continue to believe the majority of market participants are decent people. However, a principles-based approach does not work with participants who have no principles,” Mr Sants said at an event in London organised by Thomson Reuters.

His comments underscore the FSA’s continuing shift from the “light-touch” regulatory regime that helped boost London’s attractiveness as an international financial centre but has been shown to be inadequate by the global financial crisis.

Mr Sants was speaking as Lord Turner, the FSA’s chairman, is putting the finishing touches to a proposed overhaul of financial regulation that is expected to serve as a blueprint for Britain’s discussions for a new global regulatory framework that will be debated next month by the G20 group of developed and developing nations.

In his speech, which focused on the future for financial supervision and enforcement, Mr Sants also signalled that the FSA would take an increasingly muscular approach to cracking down on wrongdoing. “There is a view that people are not frightened of the FSA. I can assure you that this is a view that I am determined to correct,” he said. “People should be frightened of the FSA.”

His comments come the day after Mr Sants criticised institutional investors for not challenging the management of companies and said they had a major role to play in helping to address the issues arising from the financial crisis.

Mr Sants also criticised recent proposals by Sir James Sassoon, backed by the opposition Conservative party, for Britain to split the supervision of financial institutions from the regulation of how those institutions conduct their business - the so-called “twin peaks” approach.

“The idea that twin peaks regulation would have helped mitigate the crisis is, in my view, not supported by the facts at all,” Mr Sants said. “The twin peaks approach would create structural barriers...and would sow the seeds of the next crisis.”

However, Mr Sants sought to ease concerns that recent FSA proposals, such as its plans to overhaul the regulation of banks’ liquidity reserves, would lead Britain in a different direction from the rest of the world. “We are extremely conscious that a regulatory policy framework needs to be a global one,” he said.

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出た！「９９０円」ジーンズ、ユニクロ系列のジーユーが発売
９９０円のジーンズを発売するファーストリテイリングの柳井正会長兼社長（右）と、イメージキャラクターの真鍋かをりさん（中央）ら

　カジュアル衣料専門店「ユニクロ」を展開するファーストリテイリングは１０日、低価格ブランド「ジーユー」から９９０円のジーンズを今週中に全国で順次発売すると発表した。

　低価格が人気のユニクロのジーンズ（主力は３９００円）と比べても約４分の１の価格。節約志向を強める消費者が狙いだ。

　女性用が９種類、男性用は３種類。大量生産した中国産生地を仕入れ、人件費が安いカンボジアで縫製するなど製造原価を抑えた。年間５０万本の販売を目指す。

　ユニクロのジーンズは国産生地で中国製。主力は３９９０円で年間で約１０００万本を販売している。

　ジーユーは、ユニクロより低価格のカジュアル専門店として２００６年に１号店をオープン、全国５６店舗を展開している。今後はユニクロの半額以下の商品を投入して出店を加速させ、１３年８月期で２００店舗体制を目指す。

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年金記録の回復35％　07年度分、保険料納付立証に壁

　年金の保険料を支払った証拠がない人の年金記録の回復について、これを審査する政府の専門委員会が回復を認めた件数は、2007年度の受け付け分で約 35％にとどまることが11日、明らかになった。保険料を納付した事実の立証が難しいことが主な要因だ。政府は年金記録の訂正申し立てに対する審査を急ピッチで進めているが、救済拡大への新たな措置を迫られる可能性もある。

　年金記録のミスを発見した場合は、証拠をもとに各地の社会保険事務所で記録を修正する。一方で給与明細や領収書など保険料を支払った事実を示す明確な証拠がなければ総務省の「年金記録確認第三者委員会」に申し立てて、記録回復の可否の審査を受ける。同委員会は関係者の証言や間接的な証拠に基づいて過去の記録回復を審査する。(07:00)

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世界税関機構、途上国の税関支援　保護主義の拡散防ぐ

　世界税関機構（ＷＣＯ、本部ブリュッセル）の御厨（みくりや）邦雄事務総局長は11日、日本経済新聞の取材に応じ、保護主義が広がり世界の輸出入が滞るのを防ぐため、貿易手続きの円滑化に向けた途上国支援に取り組むことを明らかにした。年内に20―30カ国の税関に対し、人員を送り込み技術的な援助をする。

　ＷＣＯは世界174カ国が加盟する国際機関。税関の手続きがスムーズになるような指針を作ったり、密輸や偽ブランド品の取り締まりなどを進めている。今年1月に日本人として初めて事務総局長になった財務省出身の御厨氏は「今後は貿易の円滑化を通じ、保護主義を防ぐような役割を考える」とした。(07: 00)

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都心５区オフィス賃料、６カ月連続下落　三鬼商事

　仲介大手の三鬼商事（東京・中央）が12日まとめた東京都心5区（千代田、中央、港、新宿、渋谷）の2月末のオフィス賃料（募集ベース）は、3.3平方メートル当たり2万1620円となり、前月比1.47％（323円）下げた。賃料の下落は6カ月連続。賃貸オフィスの需給が緩むなか、募集賃料を下げてテナントを早期に確保しようというオーナーが増えている。(19:01)

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名門凋落、地方伝統校と公立躍進…東大合格者ランク

「ゆとり教育」弊害
今年も地方の高校生が多く胴上げされた東大の合格発表＝１０日、東京都文京区本郷の東大構内（クリックで拡大）
今年も地方の高校生が多く胴上げされた東大の合格発表＝１０日、東京都文京区本郷の東大構内（クリックで拡大）

　東京大学の高校別合格者数（前期日程、速報）が１２日までに明らかになった。今年最大の話題は東大受験の超名門、開成高校の合格者数が昨年より５６人も激減したこと。同じ首都圏の名門私立中高一貫校の中には順調に合格者数を伸ばした学校もあり、明暗を分けた。その背景には“ゆとり教育”の弊害があるようだ。

　１９８２年から２８年連続で東大合格者数トップを維持している開成の座がグラリと揺れた。詳しいランキングは１２日発売の「サンデー毎日」などの週刊誌も詳報しているが、ベスト３０に入った首都圏、関西圏の名門中高一貫校の中では灘、海城、桐朋も２ケタ減となった。いずれの高校にも共通するのは２００２年度に本格スタートした「新課程」（ゆとり教育）を受け、高校からも生徒を募集し始めたという点。１学年４００人の開成の場合、高校からの“途中入校組”は１００人に上る。

　合格者数を集計した「大学通信」のゼネラルマネージャー、安田賢治氏は、「以前から進学塾関係者の間では、新課程で高校から入学した生徒たちの学力低下が問題になっていた。中学からみっちり鍛えられている生徒と、中学での勉強が不十分なまま高校に入った生徒の差は大きい」と語る。
東京大学高校別合格者ベスト３０（３／１１時点）大学通信調べ（米印は国立、青枠は公立）
東京大学高校別合格者ベスト３０（３／１１時点）大学通信調べ（米印は国立、青枠は公立）

　同じ首都圏の中高一貫校でも中学受験でしか入れない桜蔭（４位）、栄光学園（５位）が、いずれも２ケタ台で合格者を増やしたことからも、その差は歴然。安田氏は「今年の現役は、“ゆとり二期生”にあたる。中学時代の勉強不足がボディーブローのようにじわじわときているようだ」と分析。優秀な子供が中学から私立に流れてしまうのは、かつて東大合格トップを誇った日比谷や西など名門都立が伸び悩む一因でもあるという。

　一方、ラ・サールや久留米大附設など地方の伝統校、大分上野丘や札幌南などの公立校が数を伸ばしているのも目を引く。地方における東大志向の高まりはここ数年顕著だが、その理由のひとつに東大が０５年から行っている地方での学校説明会があるという。

　「東大が自ら出向き、垣根を低くすることで地方の優秀な受験生を獲得しようという戦略が奏功した。これまで、東京の中高一貫校にはかなわないと思っていたが、いざ挑戦してみたら受かったという身近な先輩を見て後輩たちも自信を深めている。ずっと地元にいるなら九州大や東北大などかつての帝大でもいいが、世界で活躍したいとなるとやっぱり東大。そういう志向が受験生に広がっている」（安田氏）

　ソフトバンクの孫正義社長や堀江貴文元ライブドア社長らを輩出した久留米大付設の白水孝典進路指導部長も「保護者は安定志向で子供を医学部などに入れたがるが、生徒たちは関東に目が向いており、東大志向が強い。東大に行って『何かやってやるんだ』というモチベーションの高さを感じます」と話す。

　３１位で３０傑にはもれたが、昨年の６人から１３人と倍増した愛知の県立刈谷も地方の公立校パワーを見せつけた。

　昨年、同校は東大に十分受かるとみられていた生徒が多数浪人してしまった。私立大学の受験が忙しく、東大入試の勉強がおろそかになったり、早慶に受かって気が抜けてしまったことなどが原因という。

　「その反省から今年は、生徒の性格によってはあえて私立を受けないなどの指導をした。浪人生も初志を貫徹してくれて、うれしい」（神谷久・進路指導主事）

　今年は不況の影響もあり、早稲田や慶応など人気の私立大学も受験者を減らしたが、地方から東大を目指す受験生は逆に増えている状態。「東大を見るかぎり、不況の影響はない」（安田氏）といい、赤門への道はますます厳しくなっているようだ。

　■開成高校・内川章教頭の話　「不況の影響からか、今年は安定を求めて医学部系に進学する生徒が多く、東大の受験者が大幅に減った。地方の高校の躍進も（合格者減少の）要因だろう。地方の東大志向は続いており、従来の学校（名門校）が上位を独占するのは難しくなってきた」

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ハンセン病資料館：４月から運営委託先を変更

　０７年に新装オープンした国立ハンセン病資料館（東京都東村山市）の運営委託先が４月から変更される。現在運営する社会福祉法人について「再開前の展示に比べ、国の責任があいまいになった」との批判が出ていたため、厚生労働省が委託基準を見直し、法人側が事実上辞退した。

　新たな委託先は財団法人「日本科学技術振興財団」（東京都千代田区、有馬朗人会長）。４月から１年契約で、館長や学芸員は継続雇用される見通しだ。

　現在運営する社会福祉法人「ふれあい福祉協会」（渋谷区）を巡っては、旧厚生省幹部が理事長を務めていたため「隔離政策に対する国の責任が弱められた展示になった」との指摘が相次いだ。理事長が責任を取る形で昨年９月に辞任した。

　資料館は９３年に「高松宮記念ハンセン病資料館」として開館。０１年のハンセン病国賠訴訟判決を受け国が充実を表明。増設され、国の資料館として衣替えした。

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クローン牛・豚：「食品として安全」国の委員会が了承

　体細胞クローン技術で生まれた牛、豚とその子孫について、国の食品安全委員会（見上彪（たけし）委員長）は１２日、同委の専門調査会がまとめた「従来の繁殖技術による牛や豚と同様、食品として安全」とする評価書案を了承した。国民の意見を踏まえて評価書を作成、厚生労働相に答申する。

　審議では委員から「国民の不安や誤解がどこにあるのかを抽出し対応すべきだ」などの意見が出た。見上委員長は終了後、「委員会としては科学的な事実を理解してもらう以外に方法がない」と説明した。

　国内の体細胞クローン家畜は昨年９月末現在、牛５５７頭、豚３３５頭が誕生しているが、農林水産省の要請で流通していない。井出道雄農水事務次官は１２日会見し「安全だとしても、流通させるかどうかは幅広く意見を聞きながら判断する」と慎重な姿勢を示した。

　同委は４月１０日まで意見を募集する。ホームページ（ｈｔｔｐｓ：／／ｆｏｒｍ．ｃａｏ．ｇｏ．ｊｐ／ｓｈｏｋｕｈｉｎ／ｏｐｉｎｉｏｎ－０１０９．ｈｔｍｌ）から電子メールを送るか、ファクス（０３・３５９１・２２３６）や郵送も可。また意見交換会を２４日に東京、２７日に大阪で開く。