Indian Students Targeted in Melbourne Attacks (Update1)

Indian Students Targeted in Melbourne Attacks (Update1)
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By Madelene Pearson and Rebecca Keenan

June 9 (Bloomberg) -- Jaya Sankar, 22, an Indian student studying in Melbourne, watched as his friend was stabbed in the head with a screwdriver, putting him in a coma. Now, Sankar’s parents want him to quit his studies and return home.

“They don’t want me to stay in Australia anymore because it’s too dangerous here for Indians,” he said outside the hospital of his friend Sravan Kumar, 24. While Sankar kept a bedside vigil, thieves ransacked his accommodation, he said.

Violent crime against Indian students, including attacks with machetes, knives, and knuckle dusters, has risen by a third in the past year in the state of Victoria. While Australia has fought racism since ending its White Australia immigration policy in 1973, the attacks have hurt the country’s reputation abroad and threaten to cut the A$15.5 billion ($12.4 billion) earnings from teaching overseas students, the third-largest source of foreign income.

“It’s not just Indians, but there does seem to be a particular problem besetting the Indian students,” said Chris Nyland, professor at the School of Business and Economics at Monash University outside Melbourne. “If we do get the reputation for being unsafe, students may not come here.”

The rise in attacks has been fuelled by a jump in the number of Indian students coming to Melbourne, police said. There were 81,520 Indians enrolled in full-fee education in Australia in April, up 38 percent from 58,917 a year earlier, and a sevenfold gain from the 11,364 students in 2002, according to data from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Almost half of those study in Victoria state, of which Melbourne is the capital.

Cricket Fans

India supplies 19 percent of all foreign students in Australia, second only to China.

In March, the government announced a A$3.5 million program “Study in Australia 2010,” to attract more overseas students and help its education industry beat the economic slump.

Indian students favor Melbourne because of sporting attractions like the Melbourne Cricket Ground, said Gautam Gupta, secretary of the Federation of Indian Students in Australia.

Assaults and robberies against Indians in Melbourne increased by a third in the year ended June 2008, to 1,447, Victoria police said. They don’t provide updated data of assaults by nationality.

“A lot of them carry items that are attractive to people that perhaps want to prey on them -- things like mobile phones, laptops, iPods,” Police Commander Trevor Carter said by phone from Footscray police station, in Melbourne’s west.

Sydney Violence

The violence is now threatening to spill over into neighboring New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state. Hundreds of men of Indian background rallied overnight in Sydney to protest a spate of attacks against students and migrants, the Sydney Morning Herald said today. The demonstration was sparked by reports that an Indian man in his 20s was attacked by a group of men of Middle Eastern appearance earlier in the night, the Herald said.

Simon Overland, chief commissioner of police in Victoria, said on June 1 that some of the attacks and robberies may be racially motivated while others are “opportunistic.”

A poll on the Indian students’ federation Web site shows 83 percent of respondents believe there has been an increase in racism in Australia. In one court case, accused youths described the attacks as “curry bashing,” Gupta said.

Reactions

“If they are using words like ‘curry bashing’ and ‘Indian hunting’ I fail to see how it is not racism,” he said. Gupta said he’s scared to use public transportation after 8 p.m.

Sujatha Singh, India’s High Commissioner to Australia, met with students in Melbourne after headlines such as “Horror Down Under” and “Hate Crimes?” ran in Indian newspapers.

“Australia will not tolerate discrimination against, or victimization of, any of our international students,” said Julia Gillard, deputy prime minister and minister for education, in a speech on May 26. Gillard represents the Melbourne suburbs where the assaults occurred.

A rally on May 31 organized by the Indian students’ federation that blocked Melbourne’s busiest intersection drew 6,000 people, the group said. Last year, 300 taxis blockaded the same street in protest after a 23-year-old Indian student was stabbed while driving a cab.

“Whenever something does have an apparent ethnic or racial element, it just does attract more attention,” said Nick Haslam, professor of psychology at the University of Melbourne. “It does lead to that soul searching about what are we like as a country.”

More than one in five of Australia’s 21.8 million population was born overseas. India was the third-biggest source of migrants in 2006, according to government statistics.

Phone Hotline

Carter says the issue is one of the “highest priorities” for Victoria police, who set up a phone hotline for students, established a community committee and sent an officer to New Delhi and Chennai in India to speak to families of students planning to study in Australia.

Foreign students pay as much as A$60,000 a year for a medical degree, according to the University of Melbourne. It costs around A$20,000 a year for a student to live in Australia, the Indian students’ federation says.

Kumar, from India’s Andhra Pradesh state, awoke from his coma last week after the attack on May 23, Sankar said.

“He’s out of the coma, but he’s not remembering anything,” Sankar said yesterday by telephone. “There isn’t much improvement.”

Sankar said he won’t leave Melbourne until he finishes his masters degree in information systems. “I am not going to leave this place,” he said. “I will fight for my rights.”

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強盗・ひったくり14％増　09年1～5月、警察庁まとめ

　今年１～５月に全国で発生したひったくり事件は8631件で、前年同期より14.2％増えたことが10日、警察庁の犯罪統計で分かった。強盗も14.0％増。ひったくりは東京が1.5倍になるなど首都圏の増加が目立ち、強盗は愛知で６割増えた。

　同庁によると、今年１～５月に都道府県警が認知した犯罪は刑法犯全体で68万３千件余りで前年同期比5.4％減。ひったくりや強盗、乗り物盗などが増える半面、殺人や詐欺などは減った。

　ひったくりで増加が目立つのは55.7％増の東京（1149件）、78.2％増の神奈川（1169件）など。発生が1479件と全国で最多だった大阪は逆に1.0％減だった。

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日本農村情報システム協会不正支出：自己破産申請を決定

　農林水産、経済産業、総務の３省が所管する社団法人「日本農村情報システム協会」（東京都豊島区）は９日開いた総会で裁判所に自己破産申請する方針を決めた。同協会は６億円余りを不正に支出していたとして、３省から民法に基づく業務改善命令を受けているが、不正の解明がうやむやになる恐れが出てきた。負債総額は約１０億円超に上る見通し。

　３省などによると、同協会は市町村から防災無線の設計などを請け負い、大半を協会副会長が理事長を兼務していた任意団体「情報システム技術会議」に委託した。同会議は０３年ごろから、市町村との契約額を上回る費用を請求。協会は求められるまま約４億円の基本財産を取り崩すなどして支出を繰り返した。０９年３月末までに６億５６００万円の債務超過に陥り、先月２９日に不正支出が表面化すると資金繰りのめどが立たなくなった。

　同協会は現在も、約６０市町村から防災無線や気象情報配信などの業務を委託されている。今後委託をどうするか検討していくという。

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農村情報システム協会、自己破産へ　副会長らの責任追及

2009年6月10日3時56分

　社団法人・日本農村情報システム協会が任意団体との不透明な取引などで債務超過に陥っている問題で、同協会は９日、自己破産の手続きをとることを決めた。負債総額は約１４億円に上るという。協会側は記者会見で、任意団体の理事長を３月まで務めていた協会副会長（７９）らの経営責任を追及する考えを示した。

　同日の理事会で、協会が今年３月末時点で６億５千万円余の債務超過に陥り、０１年度から取り崩した約４億４千万円の基本財産の回復が必要なのに資金繰りに行き詰まっていることなどから、自己破産することを決めた。

　協会常務理事らによると、今後１、２週間で債権と債務を整理し、裁判所に自己破産を申し立てる。その後、破産管財人が協会の実態を調べ、経営陣に背任などの事実が確認できれば、刑事責任を追及するという。常務理事は「基本財産の取り崩しや、利益相反関係にある任意団体に過払いするなど、副会長の責任は大きい」と話した。

　協会は、副会長が７９年に立ち上げた任意団体「情報システム技術会議」に、０３～０８年度に業務委託費を６億４６００万円水増しして支払っていた。協会は副会長に全額を返すよう求めており、応じなければ損害賠償を求める訴訟を起こす方針。

　農水省は今月１日現在で４２１の公益法人を所管している。石破農水相はこの日の記者会見で、公益法人のあり方について「チェック態勢を見直さないといけないし、（業務が）重複するものは統合すべきだ」と述べた。

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不正支出６億円が回収不能、農村システム自己破産へ

　農林水産省などが所管する社団法人「日本農村情報システム協会」（東京都豊島区、大池裕会長）を巡る不正支出問題で、同協会は９日、都内のホテルで定例の総会を開き、東京地裁に自己破産を申し立てることを決めた。

　協会の負債総額が１０億円を超え、不正に支出した６億４６００万円の回収のめどがたたないことが理由。

　総会後に記者会見した重松宣志常務理事によると、負債から現預金などの資産を差し引いた債務超過額は６億５６００万円に上り、銀行からも借入金の返済を求められて資金繰りに行き詰まったという。

　農水省の調査では、協会は、協会副会長（７９）が理事長だった「情報システム技術会議」に昨年度までの６年間で６億４６００万円もの不正支出をしており、これについて、重松常務理事は「回収の見込みがない」と述べ、自力での再建を断念した理由に挙げた。

　重松常務理事は「副会長に責任がある」として、不正支出分６億４６００万円を返還請求したことや、２００５年度に常勤から非常勤になった際に支払った退職金５６００万円の返還も求めることも明らかにした。

　協会は１０日付で役職員約３０人全員を解雇したうえで、今月中に自己破産を申し立てる。約１７０市町村で行っている防災無線やケーブルテレビのコンサルタント事業については、重松常務理事は「個別に対応する」と述べるにとどめた。

　同協会を巡っては、不正支出のほかにも、気象情報の提供事業で、約１億円が使途不明になったことが明らかになっている。

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アルツハイマー病：早期診断に役立つ脳内物質を発見

　アルツハイマー病の早期診断に役立つ脳内物質を、大阪大大学院医学系研究科精神医学教室（武田雅俊教授）の大河内正康講師らのグループが発見した。欧州分子生物学機構の専門誌「モレキュラー・メディシン」の電子版に１０日、発表する。

　脳の細胞膜では、βＡＰＰというたんぱく質が分解酵素で切断され、アミロイドβ（Ａβ）という物質が作られる。Ａβのうち４２個のアミノ酸を持つＡβ４２が蓄積すると、神経細胞を死滅させ、アルツハイマー病を発症する。アルツハイマー病は発見時には症状が進行している場合が多い。Ａβ４２は発症前から蓄積していると考えられるため、Ａβ４２の量を測定できれば、早期診断に役立つが、測定方法は見つかっていない。

　大河内講師らは、脳脊髄（せきずい）液で、Ａβの場合と同じ酵素の働きでできるＡＰＬ１βという物質を発見した。アルツハイマー病の患者４３人の脳脊髄液を調べると、ＡＰＬ１βのうち２８個のアミノ酸を持つＡＰＬ１β２８の割合が、アルツハイマー病でない認知症患者より高くなっていることが分かった。また、これとは別に、採取時は症状がなく、後にアルツハイマー病と診断された患者９人を発症しなかった３４人と比べると、ＡＰＬ１β２８の割合が増加していた。

　大河内講師は「Ａβ４２の代わりにＡＰＬ１β２８の量を測定すれば、アルツハイマー病を発症前に診断できる。今後は症状が出るどれくらい前から増加しているのか調べたい」と話している。

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早大キャンパスで覚せい剤密売、暴力団幹部ら２５人逮捕

　早稲田大学のキャンパスで覚せい剤を売買したなどとして、警視庁は、東京都新宿区新宿、指定暴力団住吉会系幹部辻建治被告（４４）ら密売人や顧客計２５人を、覚せい剤取締法違反や大麻取締法違反などの容疑で逮捕したと、１０日発表した。逮捕は昨年５月～今月９日。

　同庁幹部によると、辻被告は昨年５月、無職男（３９）に販売目的で、岡山県内の女性宅に覚せい剤０・９グラム（３万円相当）を宅配便で送ろうとした疑い。「一切話さない」と黙秘している。

　辻被告らは、新宿区のマンションを拠点に、複数の密売人に覚せい剤や大麻を供給。このうち、すでに麻薬特例法違反罪で懲役７年の実刑判決が確定した同区在住の男（４５）が、０７年５月以降、インターネット上にサイトを開設し、同区の早稲田大学のキャンパス内などで、９都道府県の客に５９回の密売を行っていたという。

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「刑事の声怖かった」　菅家さんインタビュー

2009年6月10日 10時45分

　足利事件の再審請求で、１７年半ぶりに釈放された菅家利和さん（６２）が９日、本紙のインタビューに応じ、栃木県警の取り調べに対し、虚偽の「自白」をした経緯を振り返った。髪の毛を引っ張るなど暴力的な調べから自白に追い込まれたが、「やりました」と言った以上、説明しなければならないと考え、架空のストーリーを供述したという。

　【栃木県警は事件から１年以上、菅家さんを尾行。ＤＮＡ型鑑定した体液の型が一致したとして９１年１２月、逮捕した】

　朝７時ごろ起きると、玄関をどんどんたたく音がする。「警察だ。菅家いるか！」って。ドアを開けたとたん、６人のうち３人がなだれ込んできた。「おまえ、子ども殺したな」と言われ、「殺してなんていませんよ」と否定すると、座った姿勢でひじ鉄を食らわされ、後ろにどーんと倒れた。むかつきましたよ、いきなり何をするんだって。

　【その日は日曜で、結婚式に出る予定だった】

　「そんなもん、どうでもいい」と怒鳴られた。警察署に連れて行かれて「子どもを殺しただろう」「やっていない」と押し問答を繰り返した。昼をはさんで午後も同じ繰り返し。夕飯後、また繰り返す。どうしても聞き入れてくれない。頭の毛を引っ張られ、け飛ばされた。それぞれ１回。

　【夜中になり、菅家さんは「やりました」と“自白”する。刑事のひざが涙でぐっしょり濡（ぬ）れた】

　とにかく怒鳴られて怖かった。イライラして、もうどうでもいいやという気持ちになった。早く楽になりたかった。刑務所とか死刑とか、家族のことも全然頭に上らなかった。なぜそんな心境になったか分からないけど、刑事の手を握り締めた。涙が止まらなかったのは悔しかったから。認めたら、刑事の態度が穏やかになってほっとした。

　【犯人にしか分からない犯行の詳細や遺体の遺棄場所などをどうやって供述したのか】

　現場検証のとき、遺体を捨てた場所が分からない。「ここです」とでたらめを言うと、警察は「違う、もう少し先だ」と言う。「そうかもしれない」と話を合わせた。合掌して、心の中で殺された女の子に「おじさんはやってないよ」と念じた。

　やりましたと言った以上、どう説明しようかと考え続けた。一生懸命想像して話を作った。ムラムラとして恥ずかしいことを夢想した後、女の子の首を絞めたことにした。女の子が裸だったことも、警察で「これが別に捨ててあった衣類だ」と見せられて初めて知った。それも、後から付け加えて供述した。

　【別の女児殺害事件２件（栃木県警が再逮捕後にいずれも不起訴）についても“自白”した。このうち、１件は被害者の遺体がリュックに入れられていた】

　警察から聞いて、リュックをごみ箱から拾った話を作った。そうしないと、取り調べに答えられない。１日中調べられるから苦しくて、何でもいいから早く終わらせたくて。自分の性格は、小さいときからおとなしくて、反論ができない。人さまに「そうだろう」と言われると「はい、そうです」と言ってしまう。

　【菅家さんは裁判が始まってから、犯行を否認したり、また認めたりすることを繰り返した。これも不自然だとされた】

　やっていないと言いたかったけど、刑事が傍聴していると思うと怖くて。（第６回公判で）否認したのは、その日は傍聴席に刑事がいない気がしたから。でも、その後また「どうせ聞いてもらえない」とあきらめて、認めてしまったりした。論告求刑で検察官が「極刑にしてほしい」という女の子の両親の言葉を読んだ。初めて死刑になる可能性に気付いて、「とんでもない」と思った。

　【求刑公判の後、見知らぬ人から手紙が来た】

　その人は支援者で、１カ月後に面会に来た。私のことを「信じる」と言ってくれたんですよ。家族も言わなかったのに…。それで強くなれた。やっていないと言おう、と思えた。

　【刑務所生活は過酷を極めた。それでも菅家さんは弁護士に「不自由はない」と話していた】

　６人部屋に入ったら、同じ房に悪いやつがいて「１週間で全部覚えろ」と言う。布団のたたみ方やトイレ掃除、食器の洗い方…。うまくできず、殴られて肋骨（ろっこつ）が折れた。水を張った洗面器に顔を漬けられ、殺されると思った。急所をけられ、他人の小便や大便を食えとも言われた。医務室の先生に「やられたか」と聞かれたけど、最初は「何もされてません」と答えた。弁護士の先生には言わなかった。言ったら、殺されてしまうと思ったから。

　【獄中の１７年半を経て、これからやりたいこと】

　私が捕まったショックで父親は死んでしまったし、母親も２年前に亡くなってしまった。逮捕されるまで、交通違反も含め、一度も警察の世話になったことはない。警察は市民の味方だとずっと思っていた。

　今までの人生は返ってこないけど、これからは冤罪で困っている人たちを支援したい。自分も支援してくれる人たちがいたから、ここまでやってこられた。取り調べの録音・録画があれば、今回のようなことは起きなかったと思う。ＤＮＡ型鑑定も、逮捕の時だけ使うのではなく、冤罪だと主張する人に再鑑定する制度を法律でつくってほしい。

　　　◇◇◇

　菅家さんは現在、住まいが決まっておらず、一時的に足利事件弁護団の主任弁護人、佐藤博史弁護士の自宅に滞在している。最近はレンタルビデオ店に行き、大好きな寅（とら）さんが出ている「男はつらいよ」と、時代劇「必殺仕事人」を借りた。佐藤弁護士と本屋に行った時は、レジで店員から「菅家さんですね、おめでとうございます！」と握手を求められたという。

　今回の再鑑定で否定されたＤＮＡ型鑑定が証拠になっていることを菅家さんが知ったのは、裁判が始まってから。「取り調べで、ＤＮＡ型鑑定の決定的証拠を突きつけられて観念した」というもっともらしい話も、菅家さんの認識とは異なる。

　菅家さんは釈放後に出演したテレビ番組で、司会者に「こうして女の子の首を絞めて…」と虚偽の自白内容を説明した。佐藤弁護士は「実際は自白をさせられた場面を再現しただけだが、スタジオには『やはり真犯人か』と緊張感が漂った。弁護士も誤解しそうになるほど“完ぺきな自白”をしてしまう。だけど、ちゃんと話を聞けば誤解だと分かるんです」と話す。

　佐藤弁護士は言う。「冤罪の結果、女の子たちを殺した真犯人が逃げている。このおそろしい事実をどう考えるか」

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NATO launches another provocation against Russia
09.06.2009 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/world/europe/107742-nato_russia-0

In addition to the maneuvers in Georgia, NATO launched another event near Russia’s borders. This time the drills take place in the north, in Scandinavian countries and in the Baltic States. Over 2,000 servicemen from ten countries of the alliance (Britain, Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, the USA, France and Estonia) participate in ten-day Baltops-2009 drills which are held within the scope of NATO’s Partnership for Peace Program.

Finland and Sweden, which do not hold NATO’s membership, provided their territories, army bases and troops for the drills. First priority is given to aviation, including carrier aviation: Britain’s Illustrious aircraft carrier arrived in the Baltic Sea to participate in the event. Fifty multi-mission fighters, bomber aircraft and cargo planes will be involved in the largest military drills that have ever been held on the territories of Finland and Sweden, the two neutral states.

What do Finland and Sweden want from the drills? A spokesperson for Sweden’s Defense Ministry said that the nation intended to prepare its troops for air operations. The official also said that the Baltic Sea provided a unique opportunity for the drills taking into consideration the intense freight traffic activity.

The new drills do not violate any regulations. Non-NATO members are entitled to participate in the drills, which the alliance holds.

Konstantin Sivkov, a military expert with the Academy for Geopolitical Sciences, told Pravda.Ru that the West was most likely working on the establishment of the new world order.

“The fact that two neutral states - Finland and Sweden - participate in NATO’s drills shows that there is a wider bloc being formed in the West,” he said.

“The West intends to redistribute primary resources against the background of the ongoing economic crisis. It is possible to obtain cheap raw materials militarily. The fact that right and ultra-right factions win the recent elections to the European Parliament is quite indicative. The same was taking place during the 1930s, which also coincided with the global economic crisis. A war proved to be a way out of the crisis back in those years. It looks like history repeats itself today.

“As far as Russia is concerned, the country finds itself between wind and water. NATO is holding its drills near Russia’s southern and northern borders, which is not incidental. The alliance approaches Georgia as a springboard to capture the energy resources of the Caspian Sea region. The north is attractive for the opportunity to attack Russia’s key centers,” the expert said.

Indeed, the drills are not being held within the scope of either the struggle against international terrorism or the intention to practice rescuing operations under the conditions of natural disasters. The Loyal Arrow exercise was formally announced as the event to train the cooperation of aviation units in the regulation of international armed conflicts. As a matter of fact, NATO is working on radio interception, countermeasures activity, air and sea battles. To put it in a nutshell, NATO organized the exercise to train the destruction of enemy’s operational aircraft and navy, which al-Qaida does not have, of course.

Russia was a regular member of such drills since 1993. Moscow decided to cease its participation in NATO’s maneuvers after Georgia’s aggression against South Ossetia in August 2008. Nearly a year has passed, but the relations between Russia and the alliance have not improved.

It may seem at first sight that the current drills in the Baltic Sea do not deserve a lot of attention. Western journalists say that it was Russia’s decision to pull out from the drills in which the nation participated previously. Nevertheless, the maneuvers near Russia’s borders in the north and in the south are obviously a provocative act.

Sergey Balmasov
Pravda.Ru

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Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan to seek WTO membership together

09.06.2009, 18.50

MOSCOW, June 9 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan will enter into the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a common customs space and therefore will stop separate negotiations on WTO membership, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said after the Tuesday meeting of the ruling body of the tripartite customs union.

“The prime ministers of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan will notify the WTO of their intention to start negotiations on the accession of the tripartite customs union to the organization and the end of national negotiations on WTO membership,” he said.

“The entry into the WTO is our common priority, but we want to do that as a common customs space,” he said.

“While fulfilling the order of chiefs of state to prioritize the formation of the tripartite customs union, the prime ministers confirm their adherence to the accession to the WTO but note that the accession process has been impeding integration,” says a statement of the Russian, Belarusian and Kazakh premiers posted on Tuesday.

“The three countries have a large economic potential and profound integration benefits, so they approve a common customs tariff, which will be presented to the EurAsEC summit. The tariff is due to enter into force on January 1, 2010,” the statement runs.

The prime ministers approved the schedule of forming the common customs space, with due account of the beginning operation of the customs union on January 1, 2010, and the completion of all customs union formalities before July 1, 2011.

On behalf of the tripartite customs union, Russia will ask the WTO to suspend national membership negotiations, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said. He explained the move with Russia’s presidency in the customs union this year.

Russia will intensify efforts in the development of a special relationship with the European Union, in particular, in the formation of a free trade zone, Putin said.

“However, these processes will be held in line with the tripartite customs union agreement,” he remarked.

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Russia puts its WTO entry in doubt

By Catherine Belton in Moscow and Frances Williams in Geneva

Published: June 9 2009 22:59 | Last updated: June 10 2009 07:46

Moscow threw its 16-year campaign for World Trade Organisation membership into doubt on Tuesday when Vladimir Putin said Russia would only join as part of a trade bloc with Kazakhstan and Belarus.

Mr Putin, Russia’s prime minister, said in a joint statement that negotiations for all three countries would begin anew on the basis of the customs zone.

“Our priority remains WTO entry, we confirm this, but already as a customs union and not as separate countries.”

The turnround could add another significant delay to Russia’s entry into the 153-member global trade body just as the European Union had said accession was near after more than a decade of stop-start negotiations. Russia is the largest country outside the trading body.

The WTO said it had not received any notification from Russia or its partners of their wish to change the basis of membership talks.

There are no precedents for negotiating the simultaneous WTO accession of all members of a customs union. It would be within the rules, trade officials say, but the three countries would have to agree a common negotiating position in advance and decide who would speak for the customs union.

“The three countries referred to are at very different stages in accession negotiations. It is difficult to see how the negotiation process can be harmonised,” said one EU source. One person close to another large western WTO member said: “We are in deep shock. It looks like they are trying to brake the process.”

Mr Putin’s announcement that Russia was scrapping talks as an individual nation came days after senior EU and US trade officials held top-level talks at the St Petersburg investment forum in which Russian officials said they were committed to ironing out differences to ensure Russia’s soonest possible entry.

Catherine Ashton, EU trade commissioner, had said Russia and the EU had agreed its WTO accession should be completed by the end of the year. Russia’s accession had long been dogged by issues over EU objections to import duties on timber and cars, while talks with the US had stalled after Russia’s war with Georgia last year.

Mr Putin was speaking after the three former Soviet states agreed to create a long-planned customs zone by January 1 2010.

Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, said the creation of the customs union did not mean Russia was rejecting membership of the WTO “even though the process dragged out and in recent years was more like a feast of promises”.

Igor Shuvalov, the first deputy prime minister, said joining the WTO as a customs zone would speed the process up rather than slow it down.

The EU trade commission said the EU wanted to probe the comments before drawing conclusions, but a spokesman added that during the talks in St Petersburg “the Russian side said it was committed to WTO accession by the end of the year”.

“But should the basic parameters of these negotiations be changed this would create a new situation,” he said.

Sergei Markov, a member of the ruling United Russia party, said that Russia had grown tired of the repeated delays on accession talks which he said were being caused by politicking by Russia’s western partners.

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Israeli firms in Turkey border mine clearing bids
The winner can have the land along the Syrian border for agricultural use for 44 years.

Lior Baron and Merav Ankori2 Jun 09 12:18

Turkish paper "Sunday's Zaman" reports that leading international corporations are bidding in a tender to clear mines along the 877-kilometer Turkish Syrian border. Some of the bidders are Israeli companies. Other Turkish media reports that the tender is worth more than $500 million.

"Sunday's Zaman" adds that Turkey's Minister of Finance Mehmet Simsek declined to disclose the names of the bidders, but the paper has learned that there are 14 companies. The paper said that the minister's reticence was because the bidders include seven companies with ties to Israel, and three other companies indirect Israeli business ties.

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Turkey's Parliament is due to debate a bill on the mine clearing, which includes allocating the cleared land to the winning company for agricultural use for 44 years. This has angered Turkey's National Movement Party (MHP), and called for the bill to be suspended.

According to "Sunday's Zaman", Syria is also an issue, because it does not want Israeli companies along its northern border and "does not welcome the idea of awarding the mine clearing tender to Israeli companies."

"Sunday's Zaman" notes that Israeli companies have offered very competitive prices in the tender. "If the tender is performed according to the Public Procurement Law, it is hardly possible for any company other than the Israeli companies to win. Indeed, Israeli companies are specialized both in demining and in agriculture," says the paper.

"Sunday's Zaman" says that the tender could a major item during Turkish President Abdullah Gul's official visit to Israel and Syria, and that the government decided to postpone the mine clearing bill until after the visit.

"Sunday's Zaman" quotes MHP deputy Prof. Mehmet Gunal as saying, "We suggest that agricultural use of such a big and strategic stretch of land should not be merged with the mine clearing tender. If such merging is made, we see that Israeli companies are being described. It would be a big thing for the Turkish-Syrian border to be controlled by Israel for a period of 44 years. We have identified that out of the 14 applicants, seven have ties with Israel. Three more have indirect connections with Israel. If demining is merged with agriculture, there is no other company that can do this besides the Israeli companies."

According to "Sunday's Zaman", the Israeli bidders in the tender are Quadro Ltd., Maavarim Civil Engineering Ltd., International Explosive Ordnance Disposal Engineering Ltd. (IEOD), and a UK-Israeli firm, Red Wings Ltd. The other bidders are British firms Armtrac Ltd., Bactec International Ltd., Aardvark Clear Mine Ltd., Specialist Gurkha Inc., and MineTech International; French firm Geomines SAS; Croatian firm Doging; Ukrainian firms RYBD; a Ukraine-Danish consortium comprising Scandinavian Demining Group, Ukrabarone Exp., and Damacon Company; and Germany's Reinmetall.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 2, 2009

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【足利事件】最高検ナンバー２が菅家さんに謝罪
2009.6.10 17:48

　栃木県足利市で平成２年、４歳の女児が殺害された足利事件で、最高検の伊藤鉄男次長検事は１０日午後、記者会見を開き、無期懲役が確定したが、再審請求即時抗告審のＤＮＡ型再鑑定で真犯人の体液とＤＮＡ型が一致しないとする結果が出たため釈放となった菅家利和さん（６２）について、「真犯人と思われない人を起訴し、服役させたことについて大変申し訳ないと思っている」と述べ、検察当局として初めて謝罪した。再審開始決定前に最高検ナンバー２の次長検事が謝罪するのは異例。

　最高検の検証チームが調査を継続中の段階で謝罪コメントを発表したことについて、伊藤次長検事は「検察として謝罪するということ」と述べた。

　富山県氷見市の男性が平成１４年、強姦と同未遂の容疑で誤認逮捕され、約２年間服役した冤罪（えんざい）事件では、１９年１月に誤認逮捕を発表した４日後に富山地検の検察官が男性に直接謝罪の言葉を伝え、一週間後には、同地検の検事正が改めて直接謝罪している。

　菅家さんは釈放後の記者会見で「この１７年間ずっと思ってきたのは、出所したら刑事たちと検察官に絶対謝ってもらうということ」と、直接の謝罪を求めているが、伊藤次長検事は、直接の謝罪については「即時抗告審、再審公判の推移を踏まえて早急に対応したい」と述べるにとどめた。

　また最高検は同日、東京高検に対し、速やかな再審開始と早期判決のため、適切に対応するよう指示した。

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End of Kurdistan deadlock helps prompt Genel Heritage merger

By William MacNamara

Published: June 9 2009 19:20 | Last updated: June 9 2009 19:20

Until last week, the defining aspect of Iraqi Kurdistan’s oil wealth was how little of it was coming out of the ground.

For years, a political deadlock between Iraq’s central government in Baghdad and Kurdistan’s regional government in Erbil blocked the development and flow of oil in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI). The US Geological Survey estimates that the region could contain 40bn barrels of oil.

But a June 1 ceremony, attended by officials from both the Kurdistan and Baghdad governments, saw limited oil start to flow from the area. And although scepticism remains about the durability of this breakthrough, the move has prompted a round of consolidation among the region’s oil operators.

On Tuesday Heritage Oil announced a merger with Turkey’s Genel Energy to create a FTSE 100 oil company whose initial focus will be Kurdistan.

Paul Atherton, Heritage finance director, said that the merged company has ambitions to be a “new regional giant” among the small oil explorers drilling in a patchwork of licence areas in Kurdistan, which borders Iran and Turkey.

And, as revealed by the Financial Times on Tuesday, Korean National Oil Company and Addax Petroleum, two other companies with licences in Kurdistan, are in preliminary talks about a possible takeover or asset deal.

Cukurova stake

Cukurova, one of Turkey’s biggest conglomerates, will become a 50 per cent shareholder in a London-listed oil company following the merger of Genel Energy, its subsidiary, with Heritage Oil.

Heritage claims the merger will also create a new member of the FTSE 100 index.

Mehmet Emin Karamehmet, chairman of the Cukurova conglomerate, has been proposed as a non-executive director of the enlarged company, to be known as “HeritaGE”.

In his mid-60s, Mr Karamehmet avoids publicity but is regularly listed by Forbes as one of Turkey’s richest people.

Cukurova, which is not listed, controls a clutch of assets ranging from manufacturing to media. Its most valuable investment is its stake in Turkcell, the country’s dominant mobile phone operator.

Cukurova came close to collapse in 2001, when the state seized two of its banks that had made huge losses on lending to other companies within the group. But Mr Karamehmet fought to regain control of his stake in Turkcell and rebuild the group’s fortunes. Genel Energy, the group’s only energy venture, was founded in 2002.

The merger of Heritage and Genel is based on combining the former’s portfolio of undeveloped oil assets with the latter’s capital and engineering expertise.

One banker close to the deal suggested it could lay the ground for a new pipeline to be built through the centre of Kurdistan, linking fields in which either Genel or Heritage have an interest, such as Miran, Taq Taq and Tawke.

Kurdistan’s regional government says that, as of June 1, oil is flowing at a rate of 100,000 barrels per day from the Taq Taq and Tawke fields.

But there has been no agreement on how the operators of Taq Taq and Tawke – which include DNO of Norway, Addax, and Genel – will be paid.

Ashti Hawrami, Kurdistan’s oil minister, insists that these are “details” that will be solved quickly, and that focus on payment misses the bigger achievement of how the Erbil and Baghdad governments have worked out a mechanism to share Kurdistan oil revenues.

SOMO, Iraq’s state oil marketer, will market all oil exported from Kurdistan, with proceeds going to the treasury in Baghdad. The Kurdistan government will then receive 17 per cent of oil revenues, with some of that money going to the operators.

But Mr Hawrami and Hussein Shahristani, Iraq’s oil minister, have not resolved all of their differences. Mr Shahristani claims that many of Kurdistan’s oil contracts are illegal. However, Mr Hawrami claims that Mr Shahristani “does not even speak for his whole ministry”.

Genel and Heritage have taken comfort from a quotation by Jalal Talabani, Iraq’s president, at the June 1 ceremony. “The oil deals signed by the KRG are legal and constitutional,” Mr Talabani said.

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Blow for Berkeley as Saad reduces stake

By David Fickling

Published: June 9 2009 12:16 | Last updated: June 9 2009 20:25

Saad Group, the Saudi Arabian investment company, has sold half its stake in Berkeley, sending shares in the UK housebuilder plunging to their lowest level since last autumn.

Berkley Homes Graphic for UK CompaniesSaad was seen as a long-term core investor and partner for Berkeley, and formerly held just under 38m shares, equivalent to 29 per cent of the total equity.

Shares in Berkeley closed at 782p, a drop of 43p, having fallen as low as 725p in early trading.

Citigroup placed 16.1m shares at 701p, but Berkeley could not confirm rumours that Credit Suisse was trying to place a further 4.4m shares at 715p.

Analysts said the sale was likely to have been prompted by a need to raise cash at Saad, which last week said that it was carrying out a debt restructuring because of a “short-term liquidity squeeze” relating to some of its banking assets in Bahrain.

Maan Abdul Wahed Al-Sanea, the Saudi group’s chairman and chief executive, had his personal and family bank accounts frozen last month by order of Saudi Arabia’s central bank.

Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s, the ratings agencies, last week withdrew their coverage of Saad, saying that they lacked adequate information to maintain the ratings.

Berkeley is considered the best-managed of the UK’s large listed builders and the only one to hold net cash at a time when most of its peers have spent the past year in debt negotiations with their banks.

End of an era

The sale of Maan Abdul Wahed Al-Sanea’s stake in Berkeley marks a reversal for an investor whose links with the group go back 20 years.

Mr Al-Sanea, who was this year ranked as the world’s 62nd-richest person by Forbes, was a relative unknown in the UK until he announced the acquisition of a 3 per cent stake in HSBC in 2007.

That revelation prompted a flurry of interest in the City in the Kuwaiti-born former fighter pilot, whose Berkeley stake had previously been his only significant UK investment.

Within days of the HSBC announcement, Andrew Buxton, a former chief executive and chairman of Barclays, was appointed to the board of Saad Investments, Mr Al-Sanea’s Cayman Islands-based overseas investment company.

In July 2007 he built up a 5 per cent stake in 3i Quoted Private Equity.

Saad Group holds large slices of Petra Diamonds, an Aim-listed miner, and Eatonfield, an Aim-listed property developer.

Mr Al-Sanea’s estimated $7bn (£4.3bn) fortune was built on local property and construction companies. But without oil wealth, Saad Group is exposed to the changing value of its core investments.

It is the only one of the UK’s housebuilders that is valued higher than the net value of its assets. Despite selling little more than 3,000 houses a year, it was until last week given a higher market capitalisation than Taylor Wimpey (which sells 20,000 houses a year) and Persimmon (which sells 10,000 houses).

Tony Pidgley, Berkeley’s managing director, is famed for correctly calling the top of the late 1980s housing bubble and then buying land from distressed sellers. Saad had an important role in that period, building up a 10 per cent stake from 1989 and participating in a series of joint ventures in the 1990s to buy land.

Chris Millington, an analyst at Numis, said that Saad’s problems would raise questions about Berkeley’s plans to launch new joint ventures with the group, which were announced in 2007.

“The whole idea was that in order for Berkeley to invest in good quality land it needs the big sites that you can keep off the balance sheet while they mature. The joint ventures were feeders for the main company,” he said.

“Longer-term they may lose out on some of those plots of land, but Berkeley’s ability to invest is still very large and in the short term it won’t have any impact.”

John Messenger, an analyst at Royal Bank of Scotland, highlighted Saad’s decision to sell a slice of its £311m Berkeley stake, rather than some of its 2 per cent share of HSBC, which is worth £1.8bn.

“You’d have thought that shipping out a few shares of HSBC would cause far fewer ripples in the market, but some of these shares may have been collateral with particular banks so it’s hard to know,” he said.

Mark Stockdale at Berkeley’s broker UBS, said the sale would mean “operationally zero” for Berkeley, which would present a “thumping capital position” at its preliminary results later this month.

Rob Perrins, Berkeley finance director, said that the sale was “very sad”.

“They’ve been a very hard but loyal shareholder, very supportive and long-term performance driven,” he said. “Hopefully Saad will work through this and work it out.”

He said that Berkeley had not known until Tuesday that Saad was planning to sell down its stake. Berkeley meets Saad about six times a year in shareholder and quarterly meetings.

At the most recent meeting, at the time of the group’s £50m share placing in February, there had been no suggestion of trouble. “[Al-Sanea] was very supportive. He took up the placement,” said Mr Perrins.

Saad said it had no comment to make on individual transactions, but was making progress with its restructuring plans.