Myanmar’s Trade Ties Let Junta Ignore Democracy Calls (Update1)

Myanmar’s Trade Ties Let Junta Ignore Democracy Calls (Update1)
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By Daniel Ten Kate

June 5 (Bloomberg) -- Myanmar’s growing trade ties with Thailand and China, driven by natural-gas sales, are allowing the military to ignore international calls to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and return the country to democracy.

Myanmar’s junta has used Asia’s seventh-largest natural gas reservoir to increase foreign currency reserves four-fold to $3.6 billion, a return that will grow as daily output is forecast to double by 2015.

The sales and new trading partners are giving Myanmar a financial cushion, rendering ineffective economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and European Union designed to press the junta to introduce democratic changes and drop charges against Suu Kyi that could result in a five-year prison sentence in the country formerly known as Burma.

“Outside influence on the regime’s calculations is minimal,” said Thant Myint-U, a former United Nations official and author of “The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma.” The regime “is arguably in a stronger financial position than ever before,” mostly because of its gas sales.

Myanmar’s exports to the U.S. and European Union amounted to less than 7 percent of total trade in 2007, according to EU data. The country also receives less humanitarian aid than 38 so-called fragile states identified by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Economic Growth

The junta says Myanmar’s annual economic growth was more than 10 percent from 1999 to 2007, with gross domestic product quadrupling in U.S. dollar terms to $383.3 billion. The figures haven’t been verified by the International Monetary Fund.

Non-official estimates say the figure is about half that, the Asian Development Bank said in its 2009 outlook.

The country has capitalized on providing gas to energy- hungry neighbors Thailand and China. Exports to Thailand have more than tripled since 2003 to $3.3 billion in 2008 thanks to natural gas, which accounts for 92 percent of shipments. Thailand buys about 30 percent of its gas from Myanmar. About two-thirds of Thailand’s electricity comes from domestic gas supplies and those from its neighbor.

China plans to start construction of oil and gas pipelines through Myanmar that will allow it to access Middle Eastern crude without passing through the Malacca Straits. A group led by South Korea’s Daewoo International Corp. signed an agreement in December to sell gas from Myanmar to China National Petroleum Corp., the country’s biggest oil company, for 30 years.

On Trial

The junta last month put Suu Kyi, 63, on trial for breaching her detention order. Pro-democracy supporters say the generals are looking for a legal pretext to keep her out of elections in 2010, the first since her National League for Democracy party won a 1990 ballot that the military rejected.

The trial was adjourned today until June 12 while a higher court hears an appeal by the defense to allow three witnesses to testify, the Associated Press reported, citing Nyan Win, one of Suu Kyi’s lawyers.

Suu Kyi was charged with breaching her house arrest order after an American man swam uninvited to her house in early May. The Nobel laureate has spent 13 years in detention since the NLD won the 1990 elections.

President Barack Obama called Suu Kyi’s case a “show trial” and demanded the regime release her immediately. The United Nations Security Council called for her release and “genuine dialogue” to achieve national reconciliation.

Internal Affair

China said the trial is an internal affair. It “involves the internal judicial procedures of Myanmar, whose judicial sovereignty and independence should be respected,” Ma Zhaoxu, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, told reporters on May 26.

A prison sentence for Suu Kyi will ensure she won’t be a factor in the 2010 ballot under a new constitution that allows a multiparty system where the army retains significant powers.

Myanmar defended the trial, saying that Suu Kyi’s sheltering of the Vietnam War veteran on two occasions violated her house arrest and legal action was “taken unavoidably.”

The junta on June 2 rejected Thailand’s call for Suu Kyi’s release, saying its neighbor was “unreasonably interested” in Myanmar’s affairs. Thailand “should not impose pressure,” U Maung Myint, Myanmar’s deputy foreign minister, was cited as saying in the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

Myanmar says it released 15,315 prisoners in the past year, while the U.S. says more than 2,100 political detainees are still behind bars.

“They are still pretty comfortable as a regime, but everyone else is complaining bitterly and there’s the potential for widespread hunger by the end of the year,” said Sean Turnell, a professor at Australia’s Macquarie University who conducts research on Myanmar’s economy.

The country is recovering from Cyclone Nargis that devastated the main rice-producing region in May last year, leaving at least 138,000 people dead or missing.

“The pile of cash could even provide a false comfort,” he said. “The extent to which they feel they don’t need to make concessions and engage in dialogue could force them into error.”

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生活保護、過去最多の１１９万世帯
特集 大揺れ雇用

　全国で生活保護を受けている世帯数は今年３月時点で１１９万２７４５世帯となり、２月より１万４４７８世帯増え、過去最多を更新したことが５日、厚生労働省の集計で分かった。

　前年同月比では７万４０４世帯増。景気低迷による雇用情勢の悪化が背景にあるとみられる。生活保護の世帯数は昨年５月から毎月増加し、２００８年度の月平均は約１１４万８７００世帯。０７年度の月平均を４万世帯以上、上回った。

　３月時点で生活保護を受けている人数は１６５万４６１２人だった。

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日銀が破産酒店に解決金…「破綻懸念先」とネット流出で

　日本銀行松江支店（松江市）の内部文書が昨年３月、インターネット上に流出した問題で、文書の中で金融機関の破綻(はたん)懸念先として記載され、その後破産した松江市の酒店側が、損害賠償を求めて松江簡裁に民事調停を申し立て、日銀側が解決金数百万円を支払うことで合意したことがわかった。

　関係者によると、調停成立は４日付。同支店が作成し、職員の自宅パソコンにあったファイル交換ソフト「ウィニー」を介して流出した内部文書で、酒店は島根県内のほかの２企業とともに実名で「破綻懸念先へランクダウンした」と記載されていた。その後、取引先から取引を停止されるなど経営が悪化。風評被害を訴えて、日銀側に２０００万円の補償を求めたが、昨年１０月、約１億５０００万円の負債を抱えて破産した。

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元露鵬と元白露山が出廷　６月２９日に本人尋問

　簡易尿検査で大麻に陽性反応を示して日本相撲協会を解雇された元露鵬と元白露山のロシア出身の兄弟が、力士としての地位確認を求めた訴訟の弁論準備が５日、東京地裁で行われ、本人尋問のため兄弟とも今月２９日に出廷することが決まった。

　２人の代理人を務める塩谷安男弁護士は「本人たちが検査についてどこまで認識していたのかなどを中心に聞きたい」と話した。当日の尋問は１人ずつ行い、ロシア語の通訳も同席する。

　塩谷弁護士によると、元露鵬らは現在も日本に滞在中。既に複数のプロ格闘技団体から勧誘されているというが、同弁護士は「２人は（角界に）一途に戻りたいと考えている」と述べた。

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元露鵬＆元白露山、２９日兄弟で出廷
2009.6.6 05:00

　昨年９月の簡易尿検査で大麻に陽性反応を示して日本相撲協会を解雇された、ロシア出身の元露鵬（２９）、元白露山（２７）の兄弟が、力士としての地位確認を求めた訴訟の弁論準備が５日、東京地裁で行われ、２９日の口頭弁論に兄弟とも出廷することが決まった。２人の代理人を務める塩谷安男弁護士が明らかにした。

　解雇後、２人が公の場に姿を見せるのは、昨年９月の弁明会見以来。塩谷弁護士は「２人は本人尋問のために出廷する。尿検査の問題点などを主張することになる」と話した。ロシア語の通訳も同席するという。

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元露鵬＆白露山に格闘技団体からオファー

　大麻に関する抜き打ち尿検査で陽性反応を示し、日本相撲協会を解雇された元幕内・露鵬と同・白露山のロシア人兄弟が法廷に立つことになった。２人が地位確認を求めて起こした訴訟の弁論準備が５日、東京地裁で行われ、２９日に本人尋問のため出廷することが決まった。２人は国内に滞在中で、代理人の塩谷安男弁護士は「２人がどこまで検査を認識していたかなどが主な内容になる」と説明。同弁護士は国内外の格闘技団体からオファーを受けていることも明かし「２人は相撲界に戻りたいと考えている」と話した。

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元露鵬、元白露山が２９日に出廷へ…解雇不当裁判

　昨年９月に尿検査で大麻の陽性反応を示し日本相撲協会を解雇された元露鵬（２９）、元白露山（２７）が解雇不当で地位保全を求めた裁判の弁論準備手続きが５日、東京地裁で行われ、２人が今月２９日に本人尋問として初めて出廷することが決まった。

　代理人を務める塩谷安男弁護士（５８）は「尿検査のやり方などを話すことになります」と明かした。尋問は裁判所が用意したロシア語の通訳を介し行われる。塩谷弁護士によると２人は着物姿でまげを結った力士としての正装で法廷に立つ方針で現役続行への執念を外見でアピールする。

　現在、２人は相撲界への復帰を信じて日本でトレーニング中の一方で、３つの日本と海外の格闘技団体から参戦オファーが届いているが「相撲界に戻ることしか考えてないのでオファーには応じてません」と塩谷弁護士。また、係争中のため協会へ退職金の請求は行っていないが、仮に敗訴となれば「イタチの最後っぺじゃないけど当然要求します」と元時津風親方の山本順一被告（５９）と同様に請求する方針を示していた。

（2009年6月6日06時01分 スポーツ報知）

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元露鵬＆元白露山、29日に力士姿で出廷

　昨年９月に大麻を使用したとして日本相撲協会を解雇されたロシア出身の元露鵬、元白露山が解雇無効を求めている訴訟の弁論準備手続が５日、東京地裁で行われた。両元力士が２９日に出廷し、本人尋問を受けることが決まった。

　代理人弁護士は２人について「もちろん力士の正装で行きます」とし、まげを結い、羽織はかまか、着物姿で証言するという。協会側からは昨年９月の尿検査で主導的役割を担った、慶大教授の大西祥平氏が証人申請されているが、入院しており出廷は未定だ。

　同弁護士は国内の格闘技団体からオファーが届いていることを認めたが、裁判に専念するため返答を保留している。ただ、５月にＫ-１選手が大麻所持で逮捕されており“大麻色”の強い２人に興味を持つ団体は少ない。

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みずほ銀の元行員、詐欺容疑で逮捕　被害総額１２億円か

2009年6月6日16時19分

　高利回りで資産運用ができると偽り、現金１８００万円をだまし取ったとして、警視庁は、元みずほ銀行行員野邑貞男容疑者（５２）＝東京都千代田区神田美倉町９丁目＝を詐欺容疑で６日に逮捕したと発表した。同庁は、計２０人以上から総額約１２億４千万円をだまし取ったとみて調べている。

　捜査２課によると、野邑容疑者は、同行事務推進部調査役だった０３年１１月下旬ごろ、実在しない部署による資産運用を東京都台東区の会社役員の男性（６９）に持ちかけ、「マル秘運用で一般客には販売していない。元本保証で金利は年１０％」などと偽り、１８００万円をだまし取った疑いがある。

　野邑容疑者は、００年６月から０８年８月にかけ、この男性と同じ会社の人を含む２０人以上から約１２億円以上をだまし取ったと同課はみている。毎月末に利息分を支払うなどして信用させていたという。詐取した金は競馬や株投資などに使っていたという。

　被害に遭った人からの問い合わせで不正が発覚し、みずほ銀行は０８年９月に野邑容疑者を懲戒解雇した。同行広報は「業務外とはいえ、元行員が事件を起こしたことは誠に遺憾であり、再発防止に努めます」とコメントした。

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「年金消えた」会長に卵投げつけ　欧州、荒れる株主総会（1/2ページ）

2009年6月6日1時26分

写真：ロイズ・バンキング・グループの株主総会会場で、雇用確保を訴える労組のビラを受け取る株主ら＝５日、英スコットランド・グラスゴー、有田写すロイズ・バンキング・グループの株主総会会場で、雇用確保を訴える労組のビラを受け取る株主ら＝５日、英スコットランド・グラスゴー、有田写す

　【グラスゴー（英）＝有田哲文】英国など欧州の株主総会が荒れている。株価下落で資産を失った株主の怒りが経営者に向き、既に支払われた前年の報酬まで批判の的となっている。株主と経営者との関係は完全に壊れ、株主の権限を強めるなど新しい企業統治を探る動きもある。

　５日、英スコットランドのグラスゴーで開かれた英金融大手ロイズ・バンキング・グループの株主総会。個人株主からは壇上の経営陣に厳しい声が飛んだ不満の声が相次いだ。

　会場前でビラを配っていた株主の一人、トニー・ジョンソンさん（６８）は「配当も貯蓄も失った。経営者は退任してもらいたい」と述べた。

　「厳しい環境でも、株価を維持してる銀行が、ほかにあるじゃないか」「あなたたちの犯した失敗と、あなたたちの受け取った報酬、この関係をどう考えるのか」

　ロイズの株価は、０８年９月に経営難の金融大手ＨＢＯＳを買収してから下落が続き、事実上の国有化で価値が薄まった。ここにきて持ち直したとはいえ、買収当時の４分の１にすぎない。

　英・オランダ系石油大手ロイヤル・ダッチ・シェルが５月１９日にロンドンとハーグで開いた株主総会。利益は減ったのに０８年のトップの報酬が上がり、年間１０３２万ユーロ（１４億円）になった。６割が報酬報告に反対票を投じた。

　拘束力はなく、経営陣はもらったお金を戻す義務はない。だが、反対に回ったオランダの株主グループＶＥＢの副ディレクター、エロル・キーナー氏は「経営陣は株主に耳を傾けるようになってきたようだ」と手応えを感じる。

　株主投票の委託を手がける英マニフェストによると、英系企業だけで１月から５月まで否決は４件にのぼる。

　アイルランドの金融大手アライド・アイリッシュ銀行の総会では会長に卵が飛んだ。投げた男性株主は悪びれもせず、英ＢＢＣ放送に語った。「私の年金が消えてなくなった。ものわかりのいい世の中じゃなかったら、経営陣は縛り首になっているところだ」

　ただ、個人株主へ助言をしている英セブン・インベストメント・マネジメントのディレクター、ジャスティン・スチュワート氏は「株主は自分たちの間違いも認めないといけない」と指摘する。「高い配当をもらい、リスクを考えずに満足していた。とくに機関投資家は、好成績がずっと続くと考え、物言わぬ株主になっていた」からだという。

　利益をあげて配当をもらえる限り、株主は経営者の高額報酬を黙認する。経営者はますます目先の利益を追う。荒れる株主総会の背景には、そんな構図への反省もある。

　経営陣の報酬を投票で決めるようにするなど、もっと株主権限を強めるべきではないか――。株主の影響力が比較的弱かったドイツでも、法整備に向けた検討が始まった。株主は企業の行動をどこまで監視すべきか、できるのか。金融危機は企業統治のあり方をめぐる議論を迫っている。

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路地裏の花で防犯効果、空き巣被害４分の１に…東京・杉並
人通りの少ない路地裏に花を植える「花咲かせ隊」のボランティア＝栗原怜里撮影

　東京都杉並区が、人通りの少ない路地裏で花を育てるなど、街を美化する取り組みを進めたところ、昨年１年間の空き巣被害が、近年では最多だった２００２年に比べ、４分の１以下に減ったことがわかった。

　地域の人たちが花の世話や観賞のために路地を行き来することによる「監視の目」が防犯に役立っているとみられ、全国の自治体から視察や問い合わせが相次いでいる。

　杉並区には狭い路地に家が密集する地域が多く、かつては空き巣多発地域として知られていた。００年に１３５３件だった空き巣被害は、０１年に１４８５件、０２年には１７１１件まで増加した。

　こうした状況に危機感を抱いた区では０３年１０月、自主防犯パトロール隊への支援策などを盛り込んだ「安全美化条例」を施行。協力が得られた住民の自宅周辺に防犯カメラを設置し、警視庁ＯＢによるパトロール隊も結成するなどした結果、０３～０５年の被害は何とか１０００件前後に抑え込んだ。

　ところが、０６年には１２０６件と増加に転じた。このため区は、なぜ被害に遭うのかを探ろうと、０５年に空き巣に入られた１００世帯を対象に調査を実施。その結果、玄関先や庭先に花を飾っている家の被害は２軒しかないことがわかった。

　そこで区は、「花咲かせ隊」を公募するなど以前から行っていた「フラワー作戦」を０６年以降、本格化させた。人通りの少ない路地裏の花壇や玄関先に草花を植えてもらおうと、年約６００万円の予算をつけて花の苗や種を地域住民に配布。花咲かせ隊は、現在では１０９団体８７２人の住民が登録するまでに増えた。昨年からは小学生などの手も借りて、区内で３０００か所ほど確認された落書きを消す活動も進めている。

　こうした取り組みもあり、一昨年の被害は過去最少の３８５件に減少。昨年も３８７件、今年は４月末までの被害が１１８件で、過去２年をさらに下回るペースになっている。

　通行人も花に関心を持つようになり、人通りがまばらだった路地裏にも人の姿が見られるようになった。同隊の活動に参加する主婦佐山朝子さん（５９）は「街の美化と防犯の一石二鳥。活動を通じて近所付き合いも前より密接になった」と話す。

　同区の取り組みに協力する警視庁の幹部は「防犯対策の基本は地域の人が外に出て人の目を増やすこと。こうした地域一体の対策は、多くの自治体で犯罪抑止の参考になる」と指摘する。実際、杉並区には昨年だけで、静岡や沖縄、福岡県などから約２０自治体の担当者が視察に訪れ、今年も視察希望が寄せられているという。

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Last update - 09:10 03/06/2009
GM as parable, and Israel's sudden choice: Obama or Kahane
By Bradley Burston
Tags: Israel News, Bradley Burston

Click here for more articles by Bradley Burston

Even in Israel, the bankruptcy of General Motors has much to teach.

In fact, it seems oddly fitting that a month which may recast the direction of the Middle East, and of the future of Israel [see below], opened with an event which until recently would have redefined the unthinkable: an African American president of the United States discussing the impact of the collapse of what was once the world's largest company, and warning that it would take "a painful toll on many Americans."

The bankruptcy of General Motors bears a number of lessons Israelis would be well advised to consider, especially in view of Barack Obama's imminent overture to the Muslims of the region.

One has directly to do with a society's most fundamental and protected of sacred cows, in Israel's case the settlements and their outlaw spinoffs: Sacred does not mean immortal. Nor, in an atmosphere of moral bankruptcy, does sacred necessarily mean moral.

Another lesson is this: Choices which may have for decades seemed indefinitely far in the future, may suddenly and unavoidably become the province of the here and now.

And one more, for the settlers, especially: Do not underestimate Barack Obama. If the untouchable General Motors has been toppled, can the sacred cow of unfettered settlement be far behind?

For Israel, the choice of paths is becoming clearer by the day. There is the way being pointed by Obama, characterized by an intensive search for creative ways in which the main players in the conflict are to receive long-desired benefits in return for sacrificing certain - often self-destructive - policy platforms and practices.

The other choice, it develops, is that of Rabbi Meir Kahane, the man who first embodied what might be called the disgracist strain of hardline Israeli politics: In all things, act and speak so as to belittle, besmirch, and disgrace Israeli Arabs, Palestinian Arabs, and Muslims in general, couching all of it in the baldfacedly bogus guise of an imperative of Jewish law or in Orweillian demands for Stalin-worthy fealty to a theoretical, on-the-books reality.

In recent weeks, we have seen the hideous markers of the Kahane approach, notably in the legislative proposals highlighting Jewish insecurity over the "Jewish Zionist" future of Israel, and a we-have-much-to-hide attitude toward the circumstances of Israel's birth. Kahane's legacy is even more evident in the current eruption of violence in settler outposts, with masked Jewish youths hurling stones and other objects at passing Palestinian motorists. We have watched these "most excellent of our youth" as they fight Israeli police and soldiers who have the temerity to enforce Israeli law and are thus routinely branded as Nazis by the pro-outpost hoodlums.

Disgracism, as an ideology, extols the settler hotheads' and rabid rightist rabbis' brand of abject disloyalty to strictures imposed by the state, even as it condemns Israeli Arabs for suggesting that members of a minority should be able to simultaneously hold both citizenship and their own opinions.

In the end, the disgrace shown the Arabs does deep disgrace to the perpetrator, but, more importantly, does the deepest disgrace of all to the State of Israel.

At the same time, we have seen the indications of an effort to stem the tide of unfettered and illegal settlement in the West Bank. This, despite the blackmail of religious and right-wing politicians, who brandish the third-act pistol of coalition demolition every time they take an oath to support a new government.

The most applicable lesson of GM's fall might be gleaned from studying perhaps the most honored misquote in history. Until now, the settlers and their supporters have insisted by word and deed that what is good for settlement is good for the State of Israel.

But the original quote bears repeating. In 1953, facing a Senate hearing over his nomination for secretary of defense, then-General Motors president Charles Wilson came in for questioning over the large amounts of GM stock he owned. Given his investments, he was asked, could he make a decision as defense secretary that would hurt the company?

"I cannot conceive of one, because for years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors and vice versa. The difference did not exist. Our company is too big. It goes with the welfare of the country."

Wilson, it should be underscored, sold his shares. It is time for extremist settlers and their blind supporters to sell theirs - to be willing to make sacrifices for the good of the country, rather than expecting the country to sacrifice itself for them.

A partial calendar of a potentially fateful month:

June 2: Civil defense exercise of unprecedented scope in Israel

Scenarios include of hundreds of missiles thundering into Tel Aviv, chemical warheads striking the north of the country. News of the exercise prompts neighboring Arab armies to go on alert.

June 3: Obama visits Saudi Arabia

The president is expected to ask Riyadh as well as moderate Gulf states for preliminary steps toward normalization of ties with Israel. The measures may include granting a limited number of business and perhaps tourist visas to Israelis, anchorage rights for Israeli vessels, mutual air space rights for Israeli and Arab airliners, and opening interest offices.

June 4: Obama, in Cairo, addresses the Muslim world

The speech will be closely watched, intended as it is to quell the seething enmity between the Bush administration and Muslims around the globe.

June 7: General elections in Lebanon

The strongly pro-Iranian and Syrian-allied Hezbollah could win the crucial contest, tilting the precarious balance of power in the Mideast.

June 12: Presidential elections in Iran

If incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wins a second term, he is seen as likely to leverage the victory into more authoritarianism at home and a clear endorsement of hardline foreign policies, in particular the drive for nuclear capability and upgraded intercontinental ballistic missiles, support for, and perhaps instigation of, proxy wars on Israel's borders with Gaza and Lebanon, as well as steps to undermine the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

Throughout the month: Outpost razings and the looming indictment of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman

Two severe tests of the resolve of the Netanyahu government. If Lieberman is brought to trial on a range of money-laundering and other charges, the nation's spearhead of disgracism would be blunted if not rendered moribund.

If the government can survive outpost removals, perhaps by trading rightists for the centrist Kadima, the peace process and Obama's new diplomacy will have a chance.

If not, elections in Israel will have to be added to the calendar in a few months' time.

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Exclusive: Holocaust Faker Speaks Out
Movie and Book to Come Out of 13-Year Lie
By DAN HARRIS, BRIAN O'KEEFE and LEE FERRAN
Feb. 18, 2009

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Oprah Winfrey called it the "greatest love story" she'd ever had on her show.
Herman Rosenblat explains why he lied about his experiences.

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The love story was so touching, that Hollywood is even making a movie about it.

Herman Rosenblat received international attention for his tale about being a hungry little boy in a Nazi concentration camp who was thrown apples every day by a little girl named Roma, on the other side of the fence.

Years later, according to the story, Rosenblat met that same girl on a blind date in New York City and proposed to her on the spot.

The only problem was, Rosenblat's story, which he and his wife had been telling for 13 years, was a lie.

Six weeks ago Holocaust scholars proved that it was physically impossible for prisoners to approach the fence at the concentration camp where Herman was kept and that Roma's family was actually 200 miles away at the time.
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Today, for the first time, Rosenblat spoke out in an exclusive interview with "Good Morning America" to share his side of the story.

"It wasn't a lie," he told "GMA." "It was my imagination. And in my imagination, in my mind, I believed it. Even now, I believe it, that she was there and she threw the apple to me. ... In my imagination, it was true."

Rosenblat said he told the story to give people hope and to promote understanding about the Holocaust. His wife went along with the story because, as Rosenblat said, she "loved" him.

But even Rosenblat's son said his real motivation was money.

"It was always hurtful," Rosenblat's son Ken Rosenblat told The New Republic. "My father is a man who I don't know. ... I didn't agree with it. I didn't want anything to do with it."

"I can't respond to it," Rosenblat said of his son's comments. "I don't know why he said that. Maybe I'll ask him."

There certainly is money. The Rosenblats were offered both a movie and a book deal.

Before he was exposed, Rosenblat sold his memoir, "Angel at the Fence," to Berkley Books; the publishing company's deal was later canceled.

A children's book called "Angel Girl" was published in September, but was also pulled by its publishing company.

Nevertheless, a reported $25 million film version of the fictional story called "Flower of the Fence" is going to proceed.

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Egypt rejects 50,000 tons of 'inedible' Russian grain
15:5807/06/2009
CAIRO, June 7 (RIA Novosti) - Egypt's top prosecutor has ordered an import company to return a large delivery of wheat purchased from Russia and reimburse the state, the Egyptian news agency MENA reported on Sunday.

The wheat, weighing 52,500 metric tons, was bought from Russia for $9.6 million. The Prosecutor General's Office says the grain was found to be unfit for consumption.

Prosecutor General Mahmoud Abdel Maged has given instructions for a commission to be set up to oversee the return of the wheat to Russia.

Inspectors from the Egyptian Health Ministry said the grain contained admixtures, insects and heavy metals above the permissible levels. The grain was shipped in via the Safaga port without receiving a sanitary certificate, and was seized on May 13.

Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov, attending the World Grain Forum in St. Petersburg, denied Egypt's accusations of inedible grain exports.

"We export only good-quality grain," he said.

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China explores buying $50bn of IMF bonds

By Jamil Anderlini in Beijing and Charles Clover in St,Petersburg

Published: June 6 2009 03:00 | Last updated: June 6 2009 03:00

China is "actively considering" buying up to $50bn of International Monetary Fund bonds, the country's State Administration of Foreign Exchange has said.

John Lipsky, IMF first deputy managing director, confirmed the Chinese proposal, which follows one by Russia to buy $10bn (€7.1bn, £6.2bn) in IMF bonds.

Yesterday's statement by China said any investment would be made according to its usual criteria of "safety and reasonable returns" but made no mention of Beijing's wish for more power in IMF decision-making, in return for financial support.

Safe, which controls almost $2,000bn of China's foreign exchange reserves, added it was ready to help the IMF explore more ways to raise finance.

Mr Lipsky said the Chinese and Russian proposals were part of a commitment made during the London G20 summit in April to augment IMF resources by $500bn, and that the IMF "absolutely welcomes" the commitments.

The IMF expects to submit a proposal in the next few weeks that would allow it to raise money through issuing notes or bonds.

The pledges by both countries seem to have some political motivations - both China and Russia make no secret of their desire to have a greater say in how the IMF commits money.

Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister, proposed the money from Russia, for example, should be earmarked to help Ukraine pay for Russian gas, avoiding a stand-off with Kiev over the issue of gas payments which crippled supplies to Europe in January.

Mr Lipsky said it would be against IMF guidelines to get involved. "The ongoing disputes between Ukraine and Russia are commercial issues," he said.

"We wouldn't enter directly into a commercial arrangement but of course our programme contemplates the external funding needs of Ukraine. Our programme is always predicated on helping our member countries meet balance of payments needs. But we would not be involved directly in a commercial transaction."

Asked if the programme to Ukraine could be increased at all he said "never say never, but it would depend on the evolution of events".

Meanwhile, earlier this year, China's central bank governor caused a stir in global currency markets when he proposed replacing the US dollar as the world's reserve currency with Special Drawing Rights, the IMF's unit of account.

Zhou Xiaochuan also said SDRs should be based on a basket of currencies, including China's renminbi.

Chinese officials have indicated that at least some of the IMF bonds it will buy will be in SDRs, which would help to diversify its US dollar-dominated foreign exchange reserves.

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Turkey’s Genel Enerji is Heritage tie-up target

By Delphine Straussin Ankara

Published: June 5 2009 23:07 | Last updated: June 5 2009 23:07

Turkey’s Genel Enerji is the unnamed company engaged in merger talks with Heritage Oil, the London-listed company that has made big oil discoveries in Uganda and northern Iraq, a person close to the discussion said.

The identity of the potential partner has been the subject of intense speculation since Heritage announced on Wednesday June 3 that it was discussing a merger that would be treated as a reverse takeover under UK listing rules.

The person said Genel would contribute assets to the enlarged entity rather than buying shareholders out, adding that the deal, if completed, could be announced by the middle of next week.

Mehmet Sepil, Genel Enerji’s chief executive, declined to comment on the report, as did a board member at Heritage Oil.

A London-based analyst said it was impossible to assess the financial merits of a merger between the two, as Genel Enerji, owned by Turkey’s powerful Cukurova group, was unlisted and little financial information was available.

But he said there would be a strong industrial logic in merging the two companies’ operations in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Heritage said last month its west Miran oilfield in northern Iraq could yield more than 4m barrels of oil.

Analysts say the scale of its discoveries in Uganda and Northern Iraq have underlined the company’s limited ability to develop all its fields alone. Heritage’s market capitalisation was £1.5bn when its shares were suspended from trading earlier in the week.

Genel already owns a 25 per cent interest in the Miran licence, and is also in partnership with Switzerland’s Addax Petroleum in the Taq Taq oilfield that began exporting oil from Iraqi Kurdistan through Turkey last week.

The chance to gain a London listing could be a motivation for Genel, which had considered launching an initial public offering.

The start of exports from Iraq’s Kurdish region was a boost for companies that have signed contracts not recognised by Baghdad.

But ongoing disputes between Erbil and Baghdad, including over how contractors will be paid, may deter groups from investing in the region, especially if they aim to operate in the rest of Iraq.

If a merger between Genel Enerji and Heritage goes ahead, it could set a benchmark for valuing companies operating in Iraqi Kurdistan and – if Heritage’s Ugandan assets are involved – in Uganda.

● Dubai’s Emirates National Oil Company confirmed it is in talks to buy the outstanding shares it does not yet own in Dragon Oil, the UK-listed oil and gas group with operations in the Caspian Sea.

ENOC, which owns 48 per cent of the oil and gas producer, said any offer would represent a “modest” premium to the closing share price of 338¼p on June 3 before rumours of the talks leaked to the market.

Shares in Dragon Oil rose 19 per cent, or 64½p, on Thursday to close at 402½p, valuing the share capital at £2.06bn. Yesterday the shares fell 27½p, or 6.8 per cent, to 375p.

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Bookstores edited for Saudi tastes

By Abeer Allam

Published: June 4 2009 03:00 | Last updated: June 4 2009 03:00

Crowds of expatriate and Saudi shoppers mill about the door of the Jarir Bookstore in Riyadh, waiting impatiently for it to reopen after a brief closure for evening prayer.

As the lights go on and the doors are unlocked, Saudi men in traditional robes, women in abayas, and expatriates all pour in, rushing to crowded computer and electronics stations - and rows of bookshelves. Combining elements of Barnes & Noble, Staples, Michaels, and Best Buy, Jarir's slogan, "not just a bookstore", seems almost an understatement.

It is the largest listed book retailer in Saudi Arabia, with 21 stores and additional outlets in Kuwait, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. It also has nearly 50 per cent of the market for laptops in the kingdom. And Abdulkarim Alagil, chief executive, has ambitious plans to expand, with four more stores scheduled to open in Kuwait and two additional ones planned in Riyadh.

"We plan to double our size in five years and expand inside and outside Saudi Arabia," says Mr Alagil, whose father opened the first store in 1979. "The plan is to grow our sales by 10 per cent a year by adding three or four stores every year."

The group started life as a small shop selling stationery, books and school supplies on Jarir Street, Riyadh. But while many old-style stationery shops survive almost unchanged outside the elite neighbourhoods, Jarir has grown into the kingdom's largest bookseller by market value.

This year, its first-quarter sales grew 11 per cent to SR662m ($176.6m), while it posted net income of SR107m, up from SR97m in the same period the previous year.

Mr Alagil attributes Jarir's success to catering to both expatriate and Saudi professionals and their families. After studying bookstore chains in Italy, New York and the Philippines, he says he integrated the best ideas while adapting them to unique aspects of retailing in the ultra-conservative kingdom.

Censorship means books must be approved before sale by the Ministry of Information, although this has eased over the years, particularly for books in English intended for expatriates and schoolchildren.

Arabic books receive closer scrutiny from the authorities, but the shelves stock Arabic classics and religious texts as well as translations of certain English works. There are, however, slim pickings on Saudi politics or other issues that would be deemed sensitive in the kingdom.

Mr Alagil says Jarir obtains translations of New York bestsellers as soon as possible to constantly replenish options for readers in the kingdom. The stores also used to offer seasonal greeting cards at Christmas, but had to stop when religious figures frowned upon the practice.

Yet Jarir continues to broaden its offerings, expanding its video games offerings to attract the growing population of young Saudis, and pursuing the youth and expatriate market in Kuwait.

"Their main competitors now are the hypermarket chains, which have space for a massive computer section. Further increasing market share will raise costs for promotions," says Laurent-Patrick Gally, an analyst with Shuaa Capital. "With 50 per cent of the market share for laptop sales in Saudi Arabia, further growth will require significant effort and money.''

Yet Jarir has an advantage over the hypermarkets, says Mr Gally, because of its ability to offer customer service, repairs and technical support, and he adds: "If your place brings in families looking for school supplies, offering video games and consumer electronics like iPods makes sense."

Mr Alagil says flexibility is the key: "Retail is always hard, and people can cut spending on books and laptops, it is not food, but we always look ahead to find better ways to anticipate what customers might want in a one-stop shop."

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Use of debt structures may spell trouble for Kuwait bank

By Robin Wigglesworth in Abu Dhabi and Brooke Masters in,London

Published: June 5 2009 03:00 | Last updated: June 5 2009 03:00

Global Investment House, one of the best-known investment banks in the Middle East, has drawn millions of dollars of financing from an investment company subsidiary through so-called murabaha , an Islamic debt structure.

But investors have raised concerns over how the financing has been managed.

Global MENA Financial Assets, a London Stock Exchange-listed investment company owned 29.99 per cent by Global and managed by Global's private equity team, has entered into a $47.8m murabaha with its parent company and $59.1m of murabaha with two unnamed Kuwaiti companies that are also struggling to repay debts, the company said in January.

"[This] came out of the blue in January, and since then communication with shareholders has been limited," said Stephen Walker, manager of the Zenith -Multi-Manager funds, which collectively own nearly 3.25m shares in GMFA.

"We will be meeting with representatives of the company over the next month or so and corporate governance issues will certainly be high on the agenda, and we understand that other shareholders feel likewise," he added.

Global missed a debt repayment on December 15 and subsequently suffered a cross-default on most of its $2.7bn of short-term loans.

Murabaha carry a flat "profit rate" rather than an interest rate payment, but in effect amount to an open-ended financing commitment without penalties for defaults, says Emad Mostaque, a fund manager at Pictet Asset Management in London.

An independent lawyer who had seen the filings and the prospectus said the company did not appear mandated to invest in debt instruments, and murabaha are not generally considered a cash equivalent due to their illiquidity.

If that interpretation is correct, the contracts could amount to a misuse of investor funds, and in effect lending money to the parent company raises conflict of interest questions, the lawyer said.

Murabaha are typically three-month structures but Global says the contracts were entered into in August-September, long before its default. But no mention was made of the transactions to shareholders until January 16.

The Global and GMFA murabahas matured on March 31. Global defaulted on them in March, and says it is in talks with GMFA about the transfer of two assets it owns in lieu of the principal repayment.

However, the valuation of these assets could raise questions of a conflict of interest as Global executives are in effect acting on both sides of the table, lawyers said. Global says GMFA's two independent directors are in charge of the valuations and a potential recovery of the capital.