「税金の無駄遣い」…国交省の漫才研修、今年限り

「税金の無駄遣い」…国交省の漫才研修、今年限り

　国土交通省が若手職員のコミュニケーション能力を高めようと、吉本興業の芸人を講師に招き「漫才研修」をしたところ、省内外から「税金の無駄遣い」「意味があるのか」と批判が相次いだ。道路特定財源でカラオケセットなどを購入したことが強く批判された経緯もあり、今年限りで取りやめになりそうだ。

　国交省の人事担当者は「笑いは発表や会議での潤滑油となり、対人能力も向上すると考え企画した。受講した職員には好評だったのだが…」と話している。

　国交省によると、今月２日、入省４年目の職員約１００人を対象にした「初級マネジメント研修」に吉本の構成作家４人と漫才コンビ３組に来てもらった。最初は「お手本」としてプロの模範を鑑賞。その後、２人１組となって、用意された台本の空白を埋める形でボケとツッコミ役をこなす体験をした。講師料は数十万円だった。

　研修の模様がテレビ番組で放映されると、批判の電話が国交省に相次いでかかったという。

　漫画家やくみつるさんは「堅物の『官』とは対局にいる吉本の芸人から、いったい何を吸収したのか。笑いを身に付けたければ、わざわざ芸人に研修費を払わなくても、テレビを見て練習すればいい」と指摘している。

ZAKZAK 2009/06/08

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「生焼けで返すぞ」悪徳ペット火葬業者トラブル急増！

施主に法外な料金を請求、断ると…

　ペットブームが続くなか、火葬炉を搭載した車でペットの「訪問火葬」を行う移動火葬業者に関するトラブルが起きている。“施主”に法外な料金を請求し、断ると「生焼けで返すぞ」などと飼い主を脅す悪質業者がいるというのだ。移動火葬業者を殺人に悪用した事件もあり、“無法状態”が問題になっている。

　訪問火葬業は「ペット専門の出張葬祭業者」として、ペット愛好家の間ではよく知られている。同業８社が加盟する業界団体「日本ペット訪問火葬協会」によると「１９８９年に初めて火葬炉を積めるように改造した移動火葬車が登場。ペットブームに伴って、ここ数年、急速に認知され始めた」という。

　ある業者のホームページを見ると、火葬料は小型犬が２万円前後、大型犬が５万円前後だが、いざ火葬する段階で法外な料金を請求する悪質業者が最近増えている。

　「払わないと生焼けで返すぞ、と脅したり、実際に火葬せず、別の動物の骨を遺骨と偽って返すヤクザまがいの悪徳業者がいる。彼らは一度悪評が立っても、看板だけすげ替えてあくどい商売を繰り返している」。関東地方で６年間、訪問火葬業を営む業者（６３）は、その実態を明かす。

　この業者によると、ペットを失った悲しみで正常な判断ができなくなった飼い主の心理につけこむのが、悪徳業者らの常套手段だという。

【過去には殺人事件で死体処理に】

　国民生活センターにも相談が相次いでいる。担当者は「移動火葬車がらみの相談は２年ほど前から目立ち始めた。広告の内容が虚偽だったり、脅迫まがいの手法で法外な料金を請求されたという相談が多い」と話す。

　業務上のトラブルではないが、２００６年に名古屋市で起きた暴力団組員のリンチ殺人事件では、死体処理に移動火葬車が使われていたことが明らかになり、業界は騒然となった。

　前出の業者は「４５０万－８００万円ほどの火葬車を購入すれば誰でも商売を始められる。しかも、火葬車はネットオークションなどに出品されていて、簡単に手に入れられる。資格や明確な法規制がないため、無法行為が野放しになっている」と指摘する。

　実際、火葬業に関する国レベルの法規制は皆無に等しく、一部の自治体で条例が設けられている程度。東京都でも、火葬場の設置に関する条例を５区市で設けているが、移動火葬業者に関しては唯一、江戸川区が要項を設けているのみだ。

　「強力な火器として使用でき、テロや犯罪行為に悪用される危険もある」と危惧するのは動物霊園を運営する長楽寺住職の久喜清外氏（６３）。久喜氏は、“無法状態”の現状を憂慮し、全国６４の動物霊園とともに法規制を求める「陳情書」を全国の自治体や官公庁に送付した。

　日本ペット訪問火葬協会の藤本政光理事長も「悪質業者はまだ根絶には至っていない。法整備を国に促すとともに、正しい業者選定の方法を利用者に啓蒙していく」と語っている。

ZAKZAK 2009/06/08

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中国が世界２位の軍事大国に　国際平和研年鑑

2009年6月8日21時15分

　【ロンドン＝土佐茂生】スウェーデンのストックホルム国際平和研究所（ＳＩＰＲＩ）は８日、０８年の世界各国の軍事力に関する年鑑を発表した。軍事費では中国が初めて世界２位になった。

　０８年の世界の軍事費の総額は１兆４６４０億ドル（約１４４兆円）で、前年より実質４％伸びた。

　１位は米国で世界全体の４２％を占めた。２位は中国で８４９億ドル。以下、フランス、英国、ロシアと続いた。上位５カ国で世界全体の６割を占める。過去１０年間では特に中国とロシアの伸びが著しく、３倍近く増加している。日本は７位だった。

　年鑑は中国の軍事費拡大について、人件費の増加と、高度に情報化された現代の戦争に備えて、兵器や装備のハイテク化に力を入れているためと指摘、「経済成長にほぼ比例し、大国化への強い切望とも関係している」とした。

　一方、核兵器については、米ロ仏英中にインドとパキスタン、イスラエルを加えた８カ国が計２万３３００発以上の核弾頭を保有、うち使用可能な核弾頭は８４００発ある、と分析している。

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Troubled banks swing spotlight on to Bahrain

By Digby Lidstone

Published: June 9 2009 03:00 | Last updated: June 9 2009 03:00

When Saad Group, a troubled Saudi company, blamed its woes on a liquidity squeeze and singled out recent events affecting the Bahraini banking sector, it met with a furious response from the kingdom's regulator.

In a rapid turnround the conglomerate, owned by Maan al-Sanea, issued a fresh statement the next day that lavished praise on the central bank, saying its "prudent oversight reflects the commitment to firm governance in Bahrain".

The troubles of Mr Sanea, who has had his personal accounts frozen in Saudi Arabia, as well as those of Algosaibi group, another Saudi conglomerate, have rattled bankers and investors across the Gulf. It has also swung the spotlight on to Bahrain, which claims to have the Gulf's oldest and best regulated financial centre and has long been an offshore base for banks doing business in Saudi Arabia.

The first signs of difficulties among the Saudi entities surfaced when Bahrain-based The International Banking Corporation (TIBC), which is owned by Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Brothers Company, one of the most powerful Saudi merchant families, defaulted last month.

Then Mr Sanea's accounts were frozen on orders of the Saudi central bank. He also owns a Bahrain-based bank, Awal, and there was much market speculation that he may have been involved in TIBC. He is married to a member of the Algosaibi family, but Saad Group has denied that there are any direct business connections between the two groups.

The turn of events appear to have surprised Bahrain's central bank. It is trying to establish "how the reported liquidity position of these banks could have deteriorated so suddenly", says Rasheed al-Maraj, its governor. The most recent reports submitted by TIBC and Awal before the problems emerged had indicated that their liquidity position was normal, he adds.

He says the problems with TIBC and Awal are not part of a "general problem," and are instead "specific to those particular banks".

But as the kingdom is home to more than 400 financial institutions and is one of the region's most long-standing banking centres, Mr Maraj is aware Bahrain's reputation is again being tested.

But it is not the first time Bahrain-based banks have suffered. Gulf International Bank (GIB) is one of the Middle East financial institutions worst hit by the subprime crisis, to which most banks in the region had little or no exposure.

In March, its government shareholders bailed out the bank by buying some $4.8bn of toxic assets.

Mr Maraj says the challenge for regulators is to allow banks to function while providing enough regulation to prevent their worst excesses. "It is not an easy balance to strike, as regulators in Britain and the US have found," he says. "We believe that the best way to strike this balance is to adhere closely to international standards."

Analysts say the structure of the banking industry protects it from the specific problems of TIBC and Awal, which had assets of $3.8bn and $7.6bn respectively at the end of 2008.

Of the 124 banks licensed to operate in Bahrain, there are some 24 retail banks and 64 wholesale banks, as well as 26 Islamic banks. The division between retail and wholesale institutions broadly follows an older classification between onshore and offshore banks.

"It is important to distinguish between wholesale and retail banks," says Tristan Cooper, senior sovereign risk analyst at Moody's. "GIB as a wholesale bank had exposure to western toxicity that is quite rare in the Gulf. Not only did it manage to recapitalise pretty swiftly, but like other wholesale or offshore banks it is fairly well separated from the Bahraini economy in terms of systemic risk."

Capital adequacy ratios in Bahrain also remain among the highest in the region at 12 per cent. The country also has a strict loans-to-deposits ratio of 70 per cent.

Still, Gulf bankers have expressed concerns about the exposure the region's banks have to the Saad and Algosaibi groups, including Bahrain-based banks given their traditional links to Saudi Arabia.

Bahrain does not enjoy the oil wealth of its neighbours should it need to bail out any institution. The combined assets of the banking sector stood at $241.1bn at the end of April, more than 19 times Bahrain's gross domestic product of $12.6bn.

In January, Moody's downgraded its sovereign ratings outlook for the kingdom to negative from stable, citing deteriorating public finances. And some financiers say that, although Bahrain has the most stringent rules on disclosure in the Gulf, there is room for improvement.

"Transparency is a very good concept in principle, but in reality it is driven by compliance," says Sat Paul Parashar, head of banking at the Bahrain Institute for Banking & Finance. "No bank is going to admit they have skeletons in their cupboard unless they are forced to."

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Voters dash Shia group's hopes of greater legitimacy

By Roula Khalaf in London

Published: June 9 2009 03:00 | Last updated: June 9 2009 03:00

The surprise victory of the March 14 pro-western alliance in Lebanon's parliamentary elections was particularly poignant for its members.

The bloc had won the last elections in 2005, after the killing of Rafiq Hariri, the Sunni leader of the Future movement that leads the alliance, and the subsequent ousting of Syrian troops from Lebanon. But MPs have since braved a continuing campaign of political assassinations.

Politically, too, the pressure was unrelenting. The opposition, dominated by the Shia movement Hizbollah, claimed the parliamentary majority was artificial, won through an unrepresentative electoral law and outmoded alliances.

Hizbollah and its allies had paralysed parliament for over a year, blocked the election of a president, and virtually provoked civil war in May 2008, when they sent troops to overrun the mostly Sunni part of Beirut. A semblance of calm was restored only after Arab governments, led by Qatar, brokered a deal that gave the opposition veto-power in a new national unity government.

By winning 71 seats in parliament against 57 for the opposition, under a new electoral law approved by Hizbollah and its allies, the Sunni-led March 14 coalition proved that it commanded a genuine majority.

The election outcome represents a huge setback for Hizbollah - and its backers in Syria and Iran - depriving it of the greater legitimacy it was seeking through the ballot box. It marks a rare boost for pro-western Arab governments in the region, who had grown increasingly alarmed by Hizbollah's rising power.

"They were broken . . . Lebanon wins," was how Asharq Alawsat, the Saudi-owned pan-Arab daily, summed up the outcome.

The results also provide particular satisfaction to the Obama administration whose officials had warned that American support would be reconsidered if the opposition won.

Yet, in a sectarian country that remains deeply divided and easily influenced by regional events, the elections could produce greater stability - but they could also provoke a new political crisis.

As Najib Mikati, a former prime minister, argued, maintaining Lebanon's calm will require that the parliamentary majority acts with humility and the opposition shows more acceptance of democracy.

Both sides were making the right noises yesterday about the need for national reconciliation. Hizbollah's Christian allies, who did worse than they had expected, said the number of complaints about vote-buying would not radically change the overall outcome.

But the main task ahead - forming a new government - could easily trigger fresh political bickering, if Hizbollah and its allies were to demand, once again, veto-power in a new cabinet. The group had said before Sunday's poll that whoever won should give the loser the right to block government decisions.

Officials from the March 14 bloc say they were open to a national unity government but veto-power would reside not with the opposition alone but with a combination of cabinet nominees from the opposition and the president, Michel Suleiman, who is independent.

"We want the president to hold the key in any blocking minority," an official told the FT yesterday.

Initial reactions from Hizbollah put the emphasis on the party's need for guarantees that its role as a "resistance" movement against Israel would be safeguarded, as would the legitimacy of its weapons.

Although the elections were, in some ways, a referendum on Hizbollah's role and its determination to hold on to its weapons - this has been a big source of division in the country - the pro-western camp, even if now emboldened, will tread cautiously.

"No one has the intention of going after Hizbollah's weapons because it would mean civil war," said the March 14 official.

Hopes for avoiding a crisis also rest on the general mood in the region, where a new US administration is seeking engagement with both Syria and Iran and relations between Saudi Arabia and Syria - two key players on the Lebanese scene - are improving.

"This is happening in a climate of Syrian-Saudi detente, of American-Syrian engagement, and of European-Syrian collaboration," said the March 14 official. "No one has the inclination now to get into a new period of crisis, deadlock and civil unrest."

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Gabon’s president confirmed dead in Spain

By Matthew Green in Lagos and Christopher Thompson in Paris

Published: June 8 2009 18:39 | Last updated: June 8 2009 18:39

Omar Bongo, Gabon’s president, one of Africa’s wealthiest men and historically a linchpin of French interests on the continent, died on Monday in a Spanish hospital at the age of 73.

On Sunday night, French media reports suggested that Africa’s longest-serving ruler had died. Ending 24 hours of speculation in which Mr Bongo’s death was first reported, then denied, Jean Eyeghe Ndong, the country’s prime minister, announced the death in a written statement on Monday evening.

Mr Bongo’s passing marks the end of an era in francophone Africa, where he was a central figure in the shadowy political, commercial and intelligence networks dubbed “Francafrique”.

Run by pliant leaders protected by French troops, the network allowed France to exert great influence in its former colonies in central and west Africa in the decades after independence and ensure preferential access for its companies.

By harnessing Gabon’s oil income to project a level of diplomatic clout remarkable for his sparsely-populated homeland, Mr Bongo cultivated an extraordinary degree of influence within the French political establishment, although he also courted Chinese and Arab allies in more recent years.

However, relations with France have come under strain, and in May a French magistrate ruled that an anti-corruption investigation could proceed into whether Mr Bongo and the leaders of both Equatorial Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo had embezzled public funds to buy luxury homes and cars. The three leaders have denied wrongdoing.

An indictment against Mr Bongo seen by the Fin­ancial Times lists 39 properties, mostly in the chic 16th arrondissement of Paris, nine cars worth nearly $2m, and 70 bank accounts registered in both his name and those of family members.

William Bourdon, a French lawyer acting on behalf of anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, said the case would go ahead in spite of Mr Bongo’s death and could include members of Mr Bongo’s family.

Stories of Mr Bongo’s ­lavish lifestyle have tended to obscure his reputation as one of Africa’s most astute political operators, maintaining stability in Gabon by co-opting opponents and building coalitions among 40 ethnic groups.

The death of long-serving autocrats of his vintage has triggered chaos and even civil war in several other African countries, but analysts say the stability in Gabon could continue. They believe Mr Bongo will be succeeded by a family member, Ali Ben Bongo, his son and defence minister, being the most obvious candidate.

It is unclear how changes will affect Gabon’s relations with trading partners. US and Chinese companies seeking access to its raw materials have begun to win a foothold alongside French multinationals, although the global slowdown and disputes with Mr Bongo’s government have sapped China’s enthusiasm for its planned $4bn Bélinga iron ore project.

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Russia's Putin raps tycoons in crisis-hit town
Thu Jun 4, 2009 2:32pm EDT

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* Putin humiliates once-mighty oligarch in public

* Premier hands out tongue-lashing to Deripaska, businessmen

* Move comes as business leaders gather in St Petersburg

(Pvs MOSCOW, Adds details, spokesman's quote, background)

By Oleg Zagoruyko

PIKALYOVO, Russia, June 4 (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin publicly humiliated a top oligarch on Thursday, accusing him and other factory owners in a crisis-hit town of greed and likening them to "cockroaches".

Putin, playing on the anger of protesting workers in the town of Pikalyovo, forced Oleg Deripaska, a top metals tycoon and once Russia's richest man, to sign a contract for supplies to help idle factories restart operations.

"You have made thousands of people hostage to your ambitions, your lack of professionalism -- or maybe simply your trivial greed," Putin told Deripaska and two other businessmen who own cement and alumina factories in the town.

"Where is the social responsibility of business ?", he said in the confrontation broadcast on national television.

Putin travelled to Pikalyovo, where hungry workers blocked a motorway this week to protest over unpaid salaries, as world business leaders gathered for Russia's premier annual economic summit in St Petersburg, 270 km (170 miles) away.

He rounded on Deripaska and the two other businessmen, making a veiled threat to expropriate their property unless they sorted out the situation quickly.

"Why was everyone running around like cockroaches before my arrival? Why was no one capable of taking decisions?" Putin said as Deripaska stared blankly.

"Has Oleg Vladimirovich (Deripaska) signed? I do not see your signature. Come here and sign it," Putin said, throwing a pen dismissively onto the table.

His head hanging low, the once-mighty oligarch walked up to the premier's table, read the document covering raw material supplies to the factories and added his signature.

After the meeting, workers cheered Putin and shouted "Hurrah" as he told them the problems at the plants had been resolved. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the premier had been "quite strict".

"The signal here is simple. The crisis and other difficulties cannot serve as an indulgence from social responsibility and you cannot solve your problems without taking care of people, you cannot try to put all responsibilities on the shoulders of the state," Peskov said.

"They (businessmen) were not thinking about people at all. There was no hot water, heating, people were not working and were not getting their salaries..."

RESIDENTS IN POVERTY

Residents in Pikalyovo called on the authorities to intervene after all three factories in the town halted work and stopped paying full wages. Trade unions say about half the 23,000 inhabitants of Pikalyovo are living in poverty.

Russia is facing its worst recession in a decade and has 7.7 million unemployed, raising fears of unrest and threatening Putin's main legacy in his previous role as president, eight years of steadily rising prosperity.

Putin also told the businessmen to clear debts of 41 million roubles ($1.33 million) by the end of the day and threatened nationalisation unless the factories' owners solved the problems.

"If the owners cannot agree among themselves, then the ... complexes will be restarted anyway," Putin said. "If you cannot agree among yourselves it will be done without you."

Lawmakers from Russia's ruling party on Wednesday had introduced a bill to nationalise the three factories. It was not clear whether that legislation would go forward.

Deripaska, last year estimated by Forbes to be worth $28 billion, has lost most of his fortune in the crisis and is trying to restructure billions of dollars of loans owed by his flagship company UC Rusal to Western creditors.

UC Rusal, in which Deripaska is the largest shareholder, is the world's biggest aluminium producer.

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パート労働者「不足」に転じる　５月の労働経済動向調査

　厚生労働省は８日、５月の労働経済動向調査を発表した。パート労働者が「不足」と答えた事業所の割合から「過剰」と答えた事業所の割合を差し引いた過不足判断ＤＩが全産業で１ポイントの不足超過に転じた。製造業では過剰感が薄らぐ傾向にあり、一部に明るい兆しも出てきた。ただ正社員などの過不足ＤＩは過剰超過が続き、全体の雇用情勢は依然厳しい。

　調査は従業員30人以上の5835事業所を対象に、景気動向や労働力需給の変化について現状や見通しを聞いた。回答率は約49％。パート労働者の過不足を産業別にみると、宿泊業や医療・福祉業で不足超過になる一方で、建設業や情報通信業などは過剰超過。製造業は14ポイントの過剰超過だったが、超過幅は前回調査よりも８ポイント縮小した。

　ただパート労働者を除いた正社員などの過不足判断ＤＩは全産業で15ポイントの過剰超過だった。卸売業や小売業などで過剰感が高まっている。

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所得隠し：宗教法人が１４億円　ラブホテルを経営
出入り口に観音像が建つラブホテル＝長野市で２００９年６月９日午前９時２６分、大平明日香撮影
出入り口に観音像が建つラブホテル＝長野市で２００９年６月９日午前９時２６分、大平明日香撮影

　長野など５県でラブホテルを実質的に経営している宗教法人「宇宙真理学会」（香川県多度津町）が、関東信越国税局の税務調査を受け、０８年２月期までの７年間で約１４億円の所得隠しを指摘されていたことが分かった。宿泊料の一部を非課税の「お布施」と偽っていたという。重加算税を含めた追徴税額は約３億円に上るとみられる。

　関係者によると、同会は長野、群馬、新潟、岐阜、静岡の５県で２３軒のラブホテルを実質的に経営。客から得た宿泊料や休憩料のうち約４割を「お布施」として売り上げから除外していたという。

　このうち長野市内にあるホテルでは、出入り口に観音像が建ち、「宗教法人　宇宙真理学会」という看板が掲げられている。さらに入り口左側には「喜捨をお願いします」「世界の恵まれない子供たちに手を差し伸べ、少しでも多くの幼い命を救うために」などと記されたプレートもある。

　登記簿などによると、同会は８３年設立。その後休眠状態となり、９４年に長野県千曲市にある食品会社に買収された。食品会社は６８年ごろからホテル事業に乗り出しており、宗教法人へのお布施は非課税となる税制上の優遇措置を悪用したとみられる。

　毎日新聞の取材に対し、食品会社の社長は「国税局に異議申し立てをしているが、会長が不在なので勝手にコメントできない」と話している。

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Ｋ－１元館長・石井氏「獄中」激白…格闘技復帰宣言

格闘技界への“復活”を宣言した石井氏（クリックで拡大）
格闘技界への“復活”を宣言した石井氏（クリックで拡大）

　脱税事件で逮捕、収監され、昨年８月に出所した格闘技イベント「Ｋ－１」の元プロデューサーで「正道会館」宗師（元館長）の石井和義氏（５５）が９日、夕刊フジのインタビューに応じ、格闘技界に本格復帰するプランをブチ上げた。

　「まずは皆さんにご迷惑をおかけしたことをおわびしたい」「ただ、収監前はいつ死んでもおかしくない生活をおくっていたが、一度リセットできたという意味では入って良かったですよ」

　そういって獄中生活を振り返る石井氏。たしかに収監前より血色もよく、元気はつらつといった表情だ。

　石井氏は２００３年３月、東京地検特捜部に法人税約１億７７００万円を逃がれようとした法人税法違反容疑で逮捕された。その後の調べで、石井氏が社長だった「Ｋ－１」主催会社の所得隠しは約９億円、脱税額は約３億円にもおよぶことが分かった。

　石井氏は「検察が描いた『絵』では、私を主犯とする組織ぐるみの犯行ということになっていたが、脱税したとされる金はＫ－１や私のもとには一銭も入っていない。私とともに逮捕された税理士と財務担当者が横領していたんです」と弁明する。だが逮捕前、事態を打開するために石井氏がとった行動はいただけなかった。マイク・タイソンの招請失敗を所得隠しに利用。違約金約１０億円の債務を負ったように見せかける工作を行ったのだ。

　「あれはＫ－１を助けたい一心での行動だった。けれど、ウソの契約書を作ってしまったことは間違いない。それによって、私の主張がすべてウソになってしまった」

　結局、石井氏は最高裁まで争った末、０６年１１月に懲役１年１０月の実刑が確定。０７年６月から静岡刑務所に収監された。

　「刑務所生活は、運動が自由にできない点以外は快適でした。毎日の食事はバランスのとれたものだし、規則正しい生活がおくれた」。獄中では、事務所に送られてきた手紙やファクスなどすべてに目を通し、週に１回、手紙での事務連絡も欠かさなかったという。

　こうしたことから「Ｋ－１の実権は依然として石井氏が握っている」とも言われた。だが、石井氏は「『試合のカードが出るのが遅い』とか、いくつかのアドバイスを出すことはありましたが、それだけ。（事件発覚後）６年間はＫ－１の経営には直接タッチしていない」と語る。

　Ｋ－１の“院政”は否定する石井氏だが、６月からの本格復帰を目指して、すでに始動している。１０日には自伝本を出版。動画共有サイト「ユーチューブ」での「館長チャンネル」もスタートさせる。今後Ｋ－１との関わりはどうなるのか。

　「アマチュア選手の裾野を広げる活動をしようと思っています。サッカーのＦＩＦＡのような国際連盟も作りたい。これは私でなければできないこと。裏でコソコソやるつもりはまったくない」

　カリスマプロデューサーは、停滞する格闘技界にどこまでカツを入れられるか－。

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タイ邦人殺害：浦上被告を窃盗容疑で再逮捕へ　岐阜県警

　タイ・バンコクで０８年８月、岐阜県山県市出身の棚橋貴秀さん（当時３３歳）が殺害された事件で、岐阜県警は、棚橋さん名義のカードを使って預金を引き出したとして、東京都新宿区歌舞伎町２、無職、浦上剛志被告（３０）を９日午後にも窃盗容疑で再逮捕する方針を固めた。浦上被告は警視庁に別の事件で逮捕されており、同日、県警岐阜南署に身柄を移送する。

　浦上被告は昨年８月６日、愛知県一宮市貴船、輸入卸業、森宏年被告（３１）＝窃盗罪などで公判中＝と共謀し、名古屋市内の現金自動受払機（ＡＴＭ）から２回にわたり、棚橋さん名義のカードを使って預金計１００万円を引き出したとして、指名手配されていた。

　岐阜県警は、窃盗容疑で取り調べた後、棚橋さん殺害事件についても事情を聴く方針。

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The first Chinese special industrial economic zone in Syria
The General Secretary of the Syrian- Chinese Businessmen Council Mr. Salim G. Altoun, theChairman & CEO OF Altoun Group had signed a LandDevelopment Contract with Hong Kong based investment company The Gatoson (Holdings) Limited for developing almost 7m square meters land to be the first special industrial economic zone in Hama Province.

* Syria: 4 hours, 57 minutes ago
* PRESS RELEASE



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[zoneee.jpg]
Signing Agreement.
Signing Agreement.

Gatoson is the majority investor and shareholders for the project, where Gatoson along with Altoun Group have approved the establishment of the following projects in the aforesaid land:

First: the Cement Plant of two lines of a total capacity of 1m and five hundred thousand ton per year.

Second: Power plant of total output of 400-600 Mega Watt.

Third: Refinery of an output of 8m ton per year.

And other factories and industrial facilities of
a deferent sectors.

In the signing ceremony, Gatoson Managing Director Mr. S. K. Wong stated that

'This project serves as the first Chinese invested and managed special industrial economic zone in Syria, probably shall be the first in the whole Middle East region as well'



'Gatoson and Altoun will introduce worldwide well established enterprises to establish their offices, branches and factories in this special industrial economic zone. The target enterprises are mainly from the Greater China region including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Gatoson and Altoun are ready to discuss all kind of cooperation for jointly investing in establishing new factories inside this zone.'

Altoun Group's Chairman Mr. Salim G. Altoun and Gatoson Managing Director Mr. S. K. Wong stated respectively.

The concept for developing this special industrial economic zone is to develop the land to
eight different functional districts, that's including the raw building materials, decorative building materials, petrochemical, heavy industries, food processing, information
technology and mass media, semi-conductor, and light industries zones.

By having excellent design on the infrastructure works, a power plant for supporting the project and The First Chinese Special for Hama city, the world class standard pollution control, relative low labor cost by comparing with the whole Middle East region and excellent special tax policies, the Hama special industrial economic zone is serving as the second home for international companies to develop its factories.

'Hama special industrial economic zone will be the new 21st industrial destination for worldwide enterprises, especially for China.' Mr. Altoun said in the signing ceremony.

'We study the market very well. We make the analysis on all the available industrial zones in Syria and in the (Middle East) region. We learn their strengths and notice their weakness and problems. Altoun and Gatoson will maximize the available resources to develop Hama special industrial economic zone to be the best one in the region as to attract the most investors to come.' Mr. Salim Altoun continued.

'Also, Hama special industrial economic zone will give special policies on selective brand companies and enterprises which had already established themselves in selective regional industrial economic zone. This is a very important step for the marketing issue' Mr. S. K.
Wong stated.

'By having the first Chinese special industrial economic zone established in Syria, the relationship between China and Syria will get much closer and there will have more cooperation between the two countries.' Mr. Salim Altoun continued.

The require-for-proposal (RFP) for the master plan shall be started approximately on the first week of July 2009 while Gatoson will invite local and international design and consultancy firms to take part in this RFP.

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Mine clearing on Turkish border to go ahead

ANKARA
SyriaTimes
local
4-6-2008
A Turkish source announced on Tuesday that land mines will be removed from the Syrian border area near Naseebain close Qameshli, in order to open a new border crossing between the two countries.

The operations of removing the mines will begin next week and will last for one mounth, the source said. ‏

Representatives of the companies involved in the removal are currently in Nseebain set to be briefed on the site, the source added. ‏

It is noteworthy that there are five border crossings between Syria and Turkey.