US man fined in Israeli spy case

08:51 GMT, Saturday, 30 May 2009 09:51 UK
US man fined in Israeli spy case

Ben-Ami Kadish escorted from federal court in New York.

An 85-year-old former civilian employee of the US Army has been fined for passing classified documents to Israel in the 1980s.

Ben-Ami Kadish was spared jail because of his age and health, but ordered to pay $50,000 (£31,000) by a US court.

The judge said the case was "shrouded in mystery" and he was surprised it took the FBI so long to charge Kadish.

Kadish said: "I thought I was helping the state of Israel without harming the United States."

Prosecutors said that between 1980 and 1985 Kadish provided information about nuclear weapons, fighter jets and missiles to an Israeli agent, Yosef Yagur, who photographed the documents at Kadish's residence.

"Why it took the government 23 years to charge Mr Kadish is shrouded in mystery," US District Judge William Pauley said during sentencing in Manhattan federal court.

"It is clear the (US) government could have charged Mr Kadish with far more serious crimes."

'A mistake'

Kadish was arrested in April 2008 and pleaded guilty to being an unregistered agent of Israel in December.

Court documents showed that Yosef Yagur was also the main Israeli contact for Jonathan Pollard, an American sentenced to life in prison for spying for Israel in the 1980s.

The judge said he had given Kadish a lenient sentence, but that he had committed "a grave offence" and had "abused the trust" of the US.

Kadish told the court: "It was a mistake. It was a misjudgment."

Kadish was born in the US but grew up in Palestine before the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.

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殺害の資産家夫妻　不動産めぐり暴力団関係者とトラブル？　 (1/3ページ)
2009.5.29 01:30

　東京都板橋区弥生町の民家で、不動産賃貸業の瀬田英一さん（７４）と妻の千枝子さん（６９）が遺体で見つかった殺人・放火事件で、大地主だった瀬田さんが暴力団関係者との間で不動産トラブルを抱えていたことが２８日、不動産関係者らの話で分かった。一方、瀬田さんは夜の飲食以外は閉鎖的な生活を送っており、瀬田さん方には限られた人物しか出入りできなかったことから、金目当ての犯行のほか、顔見知りによる怨恨の可能性も浮上している。
　
７５００平方メートル所有

　不動産関係者らの話によると、瀬田さんは数年前、自分が所有していた自宅近くの土地について、借り主から「暴力団関係者が転売目的で買いたがっている」との話を聞き、「あんなやつらに売るか」と拒否。暴力団関係者が瀬田さんを脅すなどトラブルになった。

　瀬田さんは自宅周辺に少なくとも７５００平方メートルの土地を所有する大地主。ほかにも過去に土地をめぐってトラブルに発展したケースがあった。

　「借地権の売買をめぐり、トラブルがあるらしい」。瀬田さんと親しい知人女性は明かす。

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Belarusian pres seeks to re-orient policy away from Russia

MINSK, May 29 (Prime-Tass) -- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko criticized Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin for his recent statement about Belarus and called for re-orienting Belarus' foreign and economic policy away from Russia towards other countries.

Kudrin, who is also a deputy prime minister, said Thursday he believed Belarus was not taking sufficient steps to stabilize its economy and added Russia would only provide the final, U.S. $500 million tranche of its $2 billion loan to Belarus if such steps were taken.

Lukashenko said he believed Kudrin's statement was aimed at creating "panic" in Belarus and added that Kudrin's position coincided with that of the Belarusian president's political enemies.

He went on to say that Belarus should not beg for the $500 million tranche from Russia and should seek other partners.

"If we're not successful in (our relations with) Russia, we should not kowtow, weep and cry," he said. "We should seek success elsewhere on the planet."

"We are an independent sovereign country and will do everything in our interest," he said. "This is why you should remember that there should be no begging and mooching."

Lukashenko also said that Belarus had recently signed a contract to supply sugar to Kazakhstan and suggested that Kazakhstan was a more favorable economic partner than Russia.

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Critics Call Delaware a Tax Haven

LYNNLEY BROWNING

Published: Saturday, May 30, 2009 at 4:11 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, May 30, 2009 at 4:11 a.m.

Wall Street, Sand Hill Road, LaSalle Street: Some corporate addresses scream money. Then there is North Orange Street, which whispers it.

North Orange, a ho-hum thoroughfare in Wilmington, Del., is, on paper, home to more than 6,500 companies. Many of them are empty shells. They make nothing and sometimes employ just a lone clerk. But all are there for the same reason: to help corporations avoid paying taxes in other states.

The Obama administration has riled corporate America by cracking down on secretive offshore tax havens. But now a big onshore refuge — Delaware — is drawing scrutiny, too.

Squeezed by hard times, states are pushing to collect taxes that corporations are avoiding through Delaware shell companies. Maryland has reclaimed $267 million in such taxes, including interest and penalties, and has assessed an additional $143 million.

About 20 states have adopted laws that would effectively keep companies from using the decades-old tax loopholes in Delaware. At stake are tens of billions of dollars in annual tax receipts, funds that states say they need during this recession.

Critics of the arrangement in Delaware say it cheats state governments out of money. Delaware, these people say, has created its own onshore Cayman Islands. Even the Swiss are complaining, claiming that the United States is letting this homegrown haven flourish even as the I.R.S. pursues offshore shelters.

Defenders of the arrangement — corporate executives, tax lawyers and, unsurprisingly, Delaware officials — rebuff such criticism. Mailbox subsidiaries like the ones along North Orange Street do nothing to minimize companies’ federal tax bills, they say. Corporations must still pay Uncle Sam. Moreover, these people say, many companies are drawn to Delaware for its business-friendly laws and courts, not to save on taxes.

That is certainly the view at 1209 North Orange Street, a nondescript low-slung building at the corner of West 13th Street. This address serves as a tax minimizer for dozens of brand-name companies, among them Dillard’s, the department store chain based in Little Rock, Ark., and Kentucky Fried Chicken, which is part of Yum Brands of Louisville, Ky. All of them, and nearly two-thirds of the Fortune 500, have tax-exempt subsidiaries at this address to reduce their state tax bills.

Jerry Daniel, the vice president for government relations at the Corporation Trust Company, which runs 1209 North Orange, does not see what all the fuss is about. After all, the arrangements are legal.

“The image of Delaware as a tax haven is totally unfair,” Mr. Daniel said. “Even if you incorporate here, you still have to pay a full federal tax bill.”

That argument does not sit well with David E. Brunori. A professor at George Washington University School of Law and a specialist in state taxes, Professor Brunori said the Delaware loophole was not harmless.

“It is a vehicle for avoiding otherwise legitimate tax liabilities at a time when states need money badly,” Professor Brunori said.

Shirley Sicilian, the general counsel of the Multistate Tax Commission, an intergovernmental state tax agency, said that “states increasingly want to make sure that income that’s earned in their state is actually taxed in their state, particularly in a bad fiscal situation like now.”

At the center of the dispute are legal entities known as Delaware holding companies, which have been around for decades but took off in the 1990s, when accountants began pushing them aggressively. Corporations are allowed to establish these shell companies in Delaware, as well as in Nevada and Wyoming.

Typically, they then transfer to these subsidiaries ownership of things like trademarks, patents and investments. Delaware does not tax holding companies set up to own and collect income from such lucrative intangible assets.

The parent companies of these shells usually pay royalties to the Delaware subsidiaries to lease back those assets. By doing so, they can claim income tax deductions in states where they actually do business. The shells also funnel profit, tax free, back to their parents, in the form of dividends and loans.

Some corporations have abused the system. Before WorldCom collapsed in 2002, it shifted $19.4 billion in intellectual property tied to “management foresight” to a Delaware holding company.

Emboldened by recent court decisions that have challenged such arrangements, a growing number of states are moving aggressively to claim taxes that they say are rightfully theirs.

It will not be easy, tax experts say. Many corporations have found new ways to exploit the loophole, said Michael Mazerov, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The moves include creating “embedded royalty” companies, in which corporations set up Delaware holding companies that license their assets to other Delaware entities. The secondary Delaware entities buy goods or services from other parts of the company, add in the price of the royalty, and sell them back to the operating company, giving it a tax break on the royalty.

In recent months, the Delaware loophole has drawn heated criticism from the world’s leading offshore tax havens, including Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.

In April, a senior official of the Cayman Islands Financial Services Association asserted that Delaware, along with Nevada and Wyoming, promoted tax evasion and money laundering, thus qualifying the United States as a tax haven. Federal officials view the issue as a state matter and are not pushing for changes in Delaware, the home state of Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

In any case, Delaware officials dismiss the idea that their state is some sort of shady tax haven. Richard J. Geisenberger, Delaware’s assistant secretary of state, said that the loophole “is simply a state tax law.” It does not enable tax evasion, he said.

Still, the loophole — and potential for companies to abuse it — worries Peter L. Faber, a prominent lawyer specializing in state tax at McDermott Will & Emery in Washington. In some cases, a single clerk may tend dozens of shell companies. Even the paperwork associated with these companies is back at the home office.

“I’ve seen a lot of companies with solid structures, and more with not,” Mr. Faber said of the Delaware entities.

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Abdullah’s agenda

By Andrew England and Abeer Allam in Riyadh

Published: May 31 2009 20:11 | Last updated: May 31 2009 20:11

Image

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at an interfaith conference: he has sought to quell extremists. Below, youths in Riyadh

At a resort complex on the outskirts of Riyadh, an eclectic group of Saudi psychologists, religious scholars and security officers watch a video showing bearded men, some with wild manes of dark hair, disembarking from an aircraft. They are greeted by Sheikh Ahmed Gilan, an ebullient cleric who belies the stereotype of the country’s austere religious figures.

“You are being welcomed once again as sons of the kingdom,” the beaming Sheikh Ahmed says.

Interview transcript

Prince Talal bin Abdelaziz, a half-brother of King Abdullah, gives a rare interview to the Financial Times

It is no ordinary homecoming. The video traces a group of Saudi extremists returning from US detention in Guantánamo Bay 18 months ago. After a spell in Saudi jails, they were transferred to the resort turned rehabilitation centre under the care of the doctors and academics watching the video, among them Sheikh Ahmed. The programme is part of a campaign by the kingdom to tackle the militant extremism that has so darkened its name.

“Everybody [used] to say Saudi Arabia exports oil and terrorism,” says Sheikh Ahmed. “Now it exports oil and counterterrorism.”

Many Saudis hope his sentiments have taken root on a wider basis. After the September 11 2001 attacks on the US, critics at home and abroad pointed to the sermons of hardline clerics and an education system accused of fomenting intolerance. The kingdom was in dire need of an overhaul, they said, warning of the dangers inherent in growing wealth disparities and mounting social pressures.

Image

The subsequent oil boom and the accession in 2005 of a new king, Abdullah, seen as a progressive force in Saudi terms, offered an opportunity to address some of the ailments. But whether the opportunity is being grasped remains open to debate. Some see signs of gradual progress but complain about the pace; others warn of a lack of clear economic or social vision in a country run by an ageing band of royal brothers.

At stake is the future path of a nation with an unrivalled importance to international oil supplies, a leader of the Muslim world and a political and financial heavyweight in a volatile region. As Barack Obama embarks on his maiden visit to the Middle East as US president, Saudi Arabia will on Wednesday be his first stop. Washington sees the kingdom as not only important in the Middle East peace process but also able to use its influence to help stabilise Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Mr Obama has said he will discuss oil prices with the king, while another topic likely to come up is his administration’s desire for Yemeni detainees in Guantánamo to go through the kingdom’s rehabilitation programme rather than head home. Yemen, which borders Saudi Arabia, has a history of militants escaping or being released from its jails. The Riyadh resort is a temporary home for the centre while at least five permanent ones are built.

OIL DEPENDENCE BRINGS DIPLOMATIC DEFERENCE

Barack Obama experienced America’s long difficulty in grappling with Saudi Arabia at literally first hand when the president bent forward to greet King Abdullah at April’s Group of 20 meeting in London – an apparent bow the Washington Times described as a “shocking act of fealty to a foreign potentate”, writes Daniel Dombey.

The White House blustered that the stoop came because the president was offering a double-handed shake. But the argument about the appropriate level of interaction with the Saudi monarchy was far from new. Ever since Franklin D. Roosevelt met King Abdul-Aziz on the USS Quincy in 1945, the relationship has been framed by US dependence on foreign oil, a desire to make better use of each other’s clout in the Middle East, and the deep contrast between their political systems.

That bundle of factors goes some way to explaining why Mr Obama decided to call in on Saudi Arabia this week, ahead of a long-trailed speech in Cairo to the Muslim world – and why he announced the visit only at the last minute.

He has also learnt from his predecessor how encounters with Saudi leaders can be perilous. Whenever George W. Bush stopped by in his latter years in office, he seemed obliged to call on his hosts to increase oil production, with extremely limited results – a double show of impotence. Mr Obama is already behaving similarly. “I don’t think that it’s in Saudi Arabia’s interests or our interests to have a situation in which our economy . . . . is disrupted constantly by huge spikes in energy prices,” he said last week.

Still to be seen is whether King Abdullah will be won over by the new president’s powers of persuasion – or by his impeccable manners.

The rehabilitation programme helps illustrate that some change has taken place in the kingdom since 15 Saudis were discovered to have been among the September 11 attackers. After initial denials, Saudi Arabia acknowledged the threat of home-grown al-Qaeda militants and pursued an anti-terrorism campaign. At the same time, the fruits of the recent oil boom have allowed the kingdom to switch from debtor to accumulator of about $500bn (€354bn, £309bn) in foreign reserves.

Indeed, when Gordon Brown was seeking donors able and willing to provide the International Monetary Fund with additional resources to bail out stricken countries, Saudi Arabia was an important port of call for the UK prime minister. As if to reaffirm the kingdom’s improved standing in the eyes of its western allies, Robert Gates, US defence secretary, last month described the bilateral relationship as one of “the mainstays of stability in the Middle East for the last 60 years”.

Within Saudi Arabia, two changes have recently added spice to the debate about the trajectory the nation is taking. The first was a cabinet reshuffle that saw more moderate forces replace staunch conservatives at the justice and education ministries. Both are institutions in desperate need of reform and long-time spheres of influence of the Wahabi religious establishment.

Inspired by the reshuffle, some are bold enough to suggest the influence of the more radical clerics is on the wane. “In the years following the accession of the king I think the conservative Islamists are decaying,” says Abdelaziz al-Qassim, a Saudi lawyer. “People are being drawn more to pragmatic types.”

But if some see the king as seeking to reform the religious establishment from within, others are more cautious Indeed, while the reshuffle may have been the most significant domestic change since Abdullah took over, the second move was the more controversial. It saw Prince Naif, the long-serving interior minister, appointed second prime minister, which in effect elevates him to third in line to the throne.

Succession has been a critical issue in the absolute monarchy amid speculation over the health of Crown Prince Sultan. Prince Naif’s appointment eased some of those concerns but raised others about how life will be after Abdullah, now aged 84.

For one, the promotion of the 74-year-old Naif dashed hopes that a younger generation of the family would be brought to the fore. Since the death of Abdul-Aziz, Saudi Arabia’s founding father, the throne has passed among his sons, at least 16 of whom are still alive. Much of the uncertainty about the future is linked to the notion that the kingdom could still be ruled for years by men in their 70s or 80s.

Moreover, Prince Naif is considered a conservative close to the religious hierarchy; for those hoping to see political reform, the appointment was a setback. “He will cut off the tongues of reformers,” says an activist involved in petitioning the king for political and human rights reform.

But while such reform is likely to remain on the back burner – municipal elections were this month postponed for two years – some argue it will be impossible to roll back the gradual opening up. Where general agreement does exist is on the need to prepare young Saudis better for the future, particularly through improved education, and to diversify the economy to soften the shocks of oil price swings.

STIPENDS AND STEWARDSHIP FOR THE HOUSE OF SAUD

Abdul-Aziz, founder of the Saudi kingdom in its present form in 1932, is thought to have had around 70 children by at least 21 wives, with 16 or more sons still surviving. Together they and their own sons form a group of some 200 princes who wield most of the power, write Abeer Allam and Andrew England.

Total membership of the royal family is put at 7,000-25,000. Most receive stipends from Saudi oil revenues and their opulent spending has often been a cause of criticism.

King Abdullah, 84, ascended the throne in August 2005 as the fifth son of the founder to rule. Among the more powerful members of the family are a group of Abdullah’s half-brothers who are known collectively as the Sudairi seven. They are the sons of Abdul-Aziz by one of his wives.

The late King Fahd was the eldest of this group and the six remaining sons hold key positions, including Crown Prince Sultan, whose health has been called into question following a recent operation in New York. He serves as deputy prime minister and has been minister of defence and aviation since 1962. His sons include Prince Khaled, deputy defence minister, and Prince Bandar, who grew to prominence while serving as Saudi ambassador to the US but whose current influence is open to speculation.

The next most senior royal is Prince Naif, interior minister since 1975 and credited with leading the domestic fight against al-Qaeda. Also one of the Sudairi seven, his appointment as second deputy prime minister in effect elevated him recently to third in line to the throne.

Traditionally the successors were chosen by the king, who consulted main members of the family. But in 2006 King Abdullah formed the Allegiance Council to select future crown princes and kings. It consists of 35 members who are either sons or grandsons of Abdul-Aziz and was supposed to kick in only after Prince Sultan succeeded. Still, Prince Naif’s appointment caused some to query whether the council was in danger of being bypassed.

Sceptics included Prince Talal, another of King Abdullah’s half-brothers, who is among the most outspoken advocates for reform but holds no official position. His son, Prince Alwaleed, is one of the Middle East’s most prominent global investors, with stakes in Citigroup, Four Seasons Hotels, News Corporation and Time Warner held through his Kingdom Holding Company.

In spite of boasting a quarter of the world’s known oil reserves, Saudi Arabia is one of the poorest Arab Gulf states by per capita income, with a 24m population that dwarfs its neighbours. Discussion about the need to diversify has rumbled on for years, but oil still accounts for around half of nominal gross domestic product. With more than 60 per cent of the population aged under 25 and unemployment at around 9 per cent, the fear is of a nation burdened with a pool of idle, disaffected youths.

In an effort to head off the pressures, the government has announced a $400bn five-year spending programme. Ambitious projects include the construction of four new “economic cities”. Yet concerns remain that there will still be too little trickle-down from oil revenues.

“They are filling in potholes and building bridges and roads but not yet raising significantly the real living standards of the population. They have not yet discovered that niche that will take them into the 21st century in terms of employment,” John Sfakianakis, chief economist at SABB bank, says of the leaders. “The issue is not if you have the money; the issue is management of the wealth as the country does not have the luxury of time compared to the other Gulf countries.”

But in Saudi Arabia the pace of change has traditionally been glacial, even as the trappings of modernity flourish around Riyadh. In a street that cuts a path between designer shops and fancy restaurants, youths on quad bikes roar up and down pavements and pop wheelies through the clogged traffic. “For young people there are not enough forms of entertainment,” says Ahmed al-Omran, a Saudi blogger. “They worry about the future, how they are going to meet their significant others [as women are segregated in most aspects of society] and how they are going to get jobs.”

He wants change. But if it is happening, it is occurring so slowly “nobody will ever feel it”, he says. “You would not expect old generations to push for radical change and as long as oil is flowing I don’t think people will have an incentive to push for it.”

Not just the younger generation is concerned. In an interview with the Financial Times, Prince Talal, an outspoken half-brother of the king, warns that Saudi Arabia is unprepared for the challenges of the 21st century and cannot use “the same tools we have been using to rule the country a century ago”.

He is irked by suggestions that Saudi society is not ready for change. “Today, with the technological development, the internet and ease of travelling, even the Bedouin or the simple peasant are capable of understanding these issues [facing the kingdom],” says Prince Talal, 79. “Are we, as Saudi people, less sophisticated than the rest of the Gulf people, for example? I do not think so.”

Prince Talal and others point to history to suggest that resistance from the religious establishment can be overcome – citing the introduction of television in the 1960s, then satellite television and mobile phones.

If Mr Obama were to mix with Saudi society this week, he would discover that most believe King Abdullah is sincere about gradual reform, particularly in education and the judiciary, but know he is up against huge entrenched interests. While faces may change at the top, it means little if the system beneath remains untouched, say many.

“The problem is they are not thinking about the social justice problems,” says Mr Qassim, the lawyer. “It creates a very dangerous situation. I think they are working to extinguish the fire but not solve the deeper problems.”

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ＩＨＩ、海外プラント受注を10年めど再開

　ＩＨＩは2010年をめどに、海外プラントの受注活動を再開する。プラント事業は無理な受注がたたって巨額損失を計上。07年３月期決算を訂正する原因にもなった。このため受注活動を凍結し、ボイラーなど機器の単体売りに業務を縮小していた。１年かけて受注再開のための体制を整備する。

　同社のエネルギー・プラント事業は08年３月期に営業損益ベースで740億円の赤字を計上した。施工能力を超えて大量受注した結果、作業員の確保や資機材の調達が滞り、工期の遅れや欠陥工事が続出した。(07:00)

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Nomura adopts bonus culture

By Patrick Jenkins in London

Published: June 1 2009 03:00 | Last updated: June 1 2009 03:00

Nomura has persuaded half of its jobs-for-life Japanese investment bankers to give up their local contracts and adopt more volatile western deals in the mould of the Lehman Brothers operations it acquired last autumn.

In his first foreign interview, Kenichi Watanabe, Nomura's chief executive for just over a year, told the Financial Times that "more than 50 per cent" of the 1,600 investment bank staff in Japan had filled out registration forms for Lehman-style contracts that would cut their basic pay and make them easier to sack - in exchange for potentially higher performance-related bonuses.

The drive runs counter to western governments' and regulators' efforts to contain investment banks' red-blooded bonus culture, widely blamed for encouraging the excessive risk-taking that led to the global financial crisis.

But Nomura sees it as an essential step towards integrating its conservatively run Japanese operations with those of the European and Asian parts of Lehman, which it acquired after the Wall Street bank's collapse in October. Nomura spent more than $600m on retention bonuses for ex-Lehman staff last year.

Since the acquisition, Nomura has continued to expand its international operations aggressively, recruiting teams of bankers from rivals. Since January, it has taken on more than 500 people in Europe and the US.

Over the coming weeks, it will announce 14 new hirings for its prime brokerage business, including the appointment today of Jeff Zorek, Barclays' head of quantitative and equity prime brokerage.

Mr Watanabe and other Nomura bankers suggested the bank would be profitable this year, contrary to the expectations of some analysts. Last year, it made a record Y709bn ($7.3bn) loss, following heavy writedowns on toxic assets and costs associated with the Lehman deal.

"This year so far, we are managing to reach our [internal financial] objectives," Mr Watanabe said he "hoped" for profitability this year with return on equity rising to 10-15 per cent in three to five years.

Nomura's international expansion, centred on a build-up of operations in London, is a second attempt to break into the top league of global investment banks.

During its first attempt in the 1990s, it built a strong private equity business, run by Guy Hands, but its ambitions were thwarted by Asia's financial crisis and it was forced to shrink.

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Cadbury to raise India's role

By Joe Leahy in Mumbai

Published: June 1 2009 03:00 | Last updated: June 1 2009 03:00

Cadbury is looking to build on its dominant position in India's chocolate market by making the country a regional centre for cocoa production.

The UK-based producer of brands such as Cadbury's Dairy Milk and Bournville said India was proving one of its most resilient markets, with profit continuing to grow at about 20 per cent a year and sales at 30 per cent - in spite of the global recession.

"Cadbury should be in a position to sustain the growth we have had in the last three years," said Anand Kripalu, president, Asia and managing director of Cadbury India.

The challenge for Cadbury, which has been in India for 60 years, has been to change cultural habits in a country that has traditionally not eaten chocolate.

Cadbury has also been forced to become more self-sufficient in cocoa beans in India than in other countries because of a 30 per cent import duty on the commodity, mostly grown in Ghana and Ivory Coast.

The company hopes to source all of its beans domestically by 2015 rather than from the traditional overseas markets, which are also less politically stable.

Cocoa seedlings grow along side coconut palms in southern India and, therefore, do not require fresh clearing of forests for plantations.

Cadbury believes that, if it can persuade 20 per cent of Indian coconut farmers to include cocoa trees in their plantations, it could increase national output of the beans from 10,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes a year, or 3 per cent of world production, by 2020.

"As a company, we believe we want to derisk cocoa," said Mr Kripalu.

Cadbury controls more than 70 per cent of the chocolate market in India with a presence in 1.2m stores while Nestlé controls about 25 per cent.

Annual revenue is about £200m, small compared with the UK but growing rapidly.

This growth has come partly through extensive advertising campaigns, including "Celebrate with Cadbury Dairy Milk" in 2004.

This was aimed at convincing Indians to eat chocolate alongside traditional sweets, known as mithai, which are made of milk, sugar and flavouring. They are eaten by Indians to celebrate or to mark an event.

Cadbury's lighthearted ads in India show a middle-aged man who is celebrating after finally passing his final grade at school.

"Bringing a cultural context to chocolates by associating with traditional sweets & occasions" is how Cadbury describes the message of the ads.

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Saudi executive’s accounts frozen

By Abeer Allam in Riyadh and Andrew England in Abu Dhabi

Published: May 31 2009 23:51 | Last updated: May 31 2009 23:51

Saudi Arabia’s central bank has ordered the kingdom’s banks to freeze the accounts of Maan al-Sanea, a businessman and significant shareholder in HSBC, senior bankers said on Sunday.

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency issued the directive in two letters sent to banks on Thursday and Saturday, and included certain members of Mr al-Sanea’s family, bankers who have seen the letters said.

Mr al-Sanea is chairman and chief executive of Saad Group, a Saudi conglomerate that he founded in the early 1980s. He was ranked 62 in Forbes’ world’s billionaires list this year, with a net worth estimated at $7bn (€4.9bn, £4.3bn). He acquired about 3 per cent of HSBC two years ago.

The Capital Market Authority has also issued directives blocking banks from selling securities and investment portfolios related to Mr al-Sanea and Saad Trading, Contracting and Financial Services, the Saad Group’s main Saudi-based company, said a banker who had received notification.

Neither the group, the CMA nor Sama responded to requests for comment. The action, which is rare, will raise fresh questions about some of the Gulf’s family-owned businesses.

Concerns have been raised about Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Brothers, one of the oldest and most powerful family businesses in Saudi Arabia, after The International Banking Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary in Bahrain, defaulted on its debt last month.

Mr al-Sanea is married to a sister of a senior member of the Algosaibi family, but whether there is any business link between the two groups is unclear.

Saad Group has significant exposure to real estate including a UK developer, as well as stakes in foreign and local financial institutions. Included in the group’s portfolio is a Cayman Islands-based subsidiary, Saad Investment, which had assets of about $9bn at the end of last year, according to Moody’s, a Swiss-registered service company, and Bahrain-based Awal Bank.

The central bank of Bahrain said it was aware Mr al-Sanea’s accounts had been frozen in Saudi Arabia.

In a note last week, Standard & Poor’s said that in spite of net losses of about $4.4bn on financial investments, Saad Group’s overall asset base increased to $30.6bn by the end of 2008.

In 2008, Saad Group’s reported real estate holdings almost doubled, reaching $8.4bn, according to S&P.

Algosaibi said it wished to “assure the commercial community that the 76-year-old Algosaibi group remains financially solid.”

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Amnesty International Report 2009 on Syria
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
May 31, 2009
Despite its references to the oppression of the Kurmandji (not "Kurdish") ethnic minority, the Amnesty International Report 2009 on Syria does not mention either the indigenous Aramaean nation or various religious groups that have been persecuted over the past decades.

The Amnesty International Report does however expand on the governmental onslaught on Sunni Muslims, whom erroneously it presents as Islamists, thus contributing to further confusion on this country.

In this article, I republish the Amnesty International Report 2009 on Syria integrally.

Amnesty International Report 2009 – Syria

http://thereport.amnesty.org/en/regions/middle-east-north-africa/syria

Portrait

Head of state: Bashar al-Assad

Head of government:Muhammad Naji al-´Otri

Death penalty: retentionist

Population: 20.4 million

Life expectancy: 73.6 years

Under-5 mortality (m/f): 20/15 per 1,000

Adult literacy: 80.8 per cent

Amnesty International Report 2009 – Syria

The state of emergency, in force since 1963, continued to give security forces sweeping powers of arrest and detention. Freedom of expression and association remained strictly controlled. Hundreds of people were arrested and hundreds of others remained imprisoned for political reasons, including prisoners of conscience and others sentenced after unfair trials. Torture and other ill-treatment were committed with impunity; seven deaths as a result were reported.

Military Police were reported to have killed at least 17 detainees. Human rights defenders were harassed and persecuted. Members of the Kurdish minority faced discrimination; many were effectively stateless and denied equal access to social and economic rights. Women were subject to discrimination and gender-based violence. Sixteen civilians were killed in a bomb explosion which state media attributed to an armed group.

Background

Diplomatic relations with France and the EU improved, and Syria and Lebanon agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations. The government engaged in new indirect talks with Israel.

On 26 October, US forces attacked a building in al-Sukkariyah near Syria´s border with Iraq. The Syrian authorities said eight civilians were killed. A US military spokesman said an investigation was being carried out but its findings were not made public.

A report issued on 19 November by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it had not been able to establish the nature of a site in Syria destroyed by an Israeli attack in September 2007.

Political prisoners and prisoners of conscience

Hundreds of people were arrested for political reasons, including scores of prisoners of conscience. Hundreds of other political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, remained imprisoned, including at least two detainees, Ziad Ramadan and Bahaa´ Mustafa Joughel, held without trial since 2005. Scores faced trial before the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC), Criminal Court or Military Court, all of which failed to respect international standards for fair trials.

Kamal al-Labwani, a prisoner of conscience already serving a 12-year prison term, was sentenced to an additional three years by Damascus Military Court on 23 April, on charges of "broadcasting false or exaggerated news which could affect the morale of the country", on account of remarks he was alleged to have made in his prison cell.

In August, Nabil Khlioui and at least 12 other alleged Islamists, mostly from Deir al-Zour, were arrested. At least 10 of them remained in incommunicado detention without charge or trial at the end of the year.

On 15 August, Mesh´al al-Tammo was arrested because of his activities as spokesperson for the unauthorized Kurdish Future Current group. He was held incommunicado for 12 days and charged with "aiming to provoke civil war or sectarian fighting", "conspiracy" and three other charges commonly brought against Kurdish activists. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

On 29 October, the Damascus Criminal Court convicted 12 pro-democracy activists of "weakening national sentiment" and "broadcasting false or exaggerated news which could affect the morale of the country". They each received 30-month prison sentences for their involvement in the Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change, a coalition of unauthorized political parties, human rights organizations and pro-democracy activists from across the political spectrum. Dr Feda´a al-Horani, former prisoners of conscience Akram al-Bunni and Riad Seif, and nine others were arrested between 9 December 2007 and 30 January and were initially held incommunicado, during which at least eight of them were punched in the face, kicked and slapped, and forced to sign false confessions.

On 7 August, ´Aref Dalilah, a former university economist, was unexpectedly released under a presidential amnesty. He had served seven years of a 10-year prison term, much of it in solitary confinement, for his involvement in the so-called "Damascus Spring", a peaceful pro-democracy movement. He had been in increasingly poor health.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention announced in May that the detention of Mus´ab al-Hariri was arbitrary because his trial had failed substantially to meet international fair trial standards. He had been arrested when aged 15, held incommunicado for more than two years and reportedly tortured. He was then sentenced by the SSSC in June 2005 to six years in prison for belonging, despite no substantiating evidence, to the banned Muslim Brotherhood. Despite the Working Group´s finding, the authorities took no steps to remedy the situation of Mus´ab al-Hariri.

Also in May the Working Group announced that it had found the imprisonment of Anwar al-Bunni, Michel Kilo and Mahmoud ´Issa to be arbitrary because they were convicted for legitimately exercising their right to freedom of expression and because their trials had substantially failed to meet international fair trial standards. Lawyer Anwar al-Bunni had been sentenced to a five-year prison term in April 2007 for his legitimate work in defending human rights, while Michel Kilo and Mahmoud ´Issa had been sentenced to three years´ imprisonment in May 2007 for their involvement in the Beirut-Damascus Declaration, a petition signed by some 300 Syrian and Lebanese nationals calling for the normalization of relations between their two countries. On 15 December, the Court of Appeal overturned its earlier decision in November to release Michel Kilo and Mahmoud ´Issa.

Excerpt:

"On 14 October, security officials opened fire on unarmed people in al-Mishrefeh..."

Also in May the Working Group declared that it had found the imprisonment of seven men to be arbitrary because they were convicted in a grossly unfair trial for legitimately exercising their right to freedom of expression. Maher Isber Ibrahim and Tareq al-Ghorani were sentenced to seven years´ imprisonment and the five others to five-year prison terms in June 2007 for involvement in a youth discussion group and publishing pro-democracy articles on the internet.

Counter-terror and security

Individuals cleared of involvement in terrorist acts or who are related to individuals suspected of involvement in such acts were subjected to arbitrary and incommunicado detention.

Basel Ghalyoun, who was forcibly returned to Syria by the Spanish authorities after the Spanish Supreme Court acquitted him of involvement in the 2004 bomb attacks on trains in Madrid, was detained on arrival on 22 July. He remained held incommunicado at the end of the year.

Muhammad Zammar, a victim of suspected unlawful rendition to Syria by the US authorities, remained in prison serving a 12-year sentence imposed by the SSSC despite the UN Working Group´s announcement in June 2007 that his detention was arbitrary.



Two women, Usra al-Hussein and Bayan Saleh ´Ali, were arrested on 31 July and 4 August respectively in al-´Otayba, east of Damascus, and were still held at the end of 2008. The authorities gave no reason for their arrest but some sources suggested that it was related to their efforts to communicate with an international organization regarding the detention conditions of Usra al-Hussein´s husband, Jihad Diab, in the US military base at Guantánamo Bay.

Enforced disappearances and impunity

The fate of some 17,000 people, mostly Islamists who were victims of enforced disappearance in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and hundreds of Lebanese and Palestinians who were detained in Syria or abducted from Lebanon by Syrian forces or Lebanese and Palestinian militias, remained unknown. In August, the Lebanese and Syrian Presidents issued a joint statement pledging to examine the fate of people who disappeared in Syria and Lebanon.

In March, Milad Barakat, a Lebanese man imprisoned in Syria for 16 years, was returned to Lebanon, apparently in a traumatized state. Lebanese security officials had detained him in 1992 and handed him over to the Syrian authorities, who sentenced him to 15 years´ imprisonment for fighting against the Syrian army.

On 30 September, the government issued Legislative Decree No. 69. This conferred immunity against prosecution to political security, police and customs officials for crimes committed on duty except in cases where a warrant was issued by the general leadership of the army and military forces.

Unlawful killings

Attacks were carried out by unidentified people. On 12 February, ´Imad Mughniyah, a suspected senior Lebanese Hizbullah commander, was killed by a car bomb in Damascus. On 2 August, Brigadier General Mohammad Suleiman, a senior security officer reported to be the IAEA´s main Syrian interlocutor, was shot dead in Tartous.

A car bomb detonated on 27 September near a security forces´ building in Damascus killed 17 people, including 16 civilians. State television broadcasted "confessions" of the alleged perpetrators on 6 November. They had not been brought to trial by the end of 2008.

Amid disturbances in Sednaya Military Prison near Damascus that started on 5 July, Military Police were reported to have killed at least 17 detainees and five other people. The circumstances of the violence and the fate of all prisoners there remained unclear, as the authorities did not announce whether they had investigated the killings, gave no details of the people killed or injured, and did not permit any visits to the prison or prisoners afterwards.

On 14 October, security officials opened fire on unarmed people in al-Mishrefeh, near Homs, killing Sami Ma´touq and Joni Suleiman. The Military Prosecutor announced an investigation but its outcome had not been made public by the end of the year. Unidentified individuals were reported to have tampered with evidence at the scene of the killings on 20 October, increasing concern that any investigation would be flawed.

Freedom of expression

Freedom of expression and all forms of media remained strictly controlled by the state. Punitive laws were used against those who expressed dissent.

Tariq Biasi, a blogger, was sentenced to three years´ imprisonment by the SSSC on 11 May on charges of "weakening national sentiment" and "spreading false news". He had posted critical comments about the security services on a website. Arrested in July 2007, he was held in pre-trial detention for 10 months.

Habib Saleh, a pro-reform activist and former prisoner of conscience, was arrested in May and held incommunicado for three months, then brought to trial before the Damascus Criminal Court on charges including "weakening national sentiment" and "aiming to provoke civil war or sectarian fighting". The charges arose from articles on the internet calling for governmental reform and democracy. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Karim ´Arabji, a blogger, was being tried before the SSSC on the charge of "spreading false news". He was alleged to have moderated the internet youth forum www.akhawia.net. Following his arrest in June 2007, Karim ´Arabji was reported to have been held in prolonged incommunicado detention during which he was tortured and otherwise ill-treated.

It was reported on 8 December that Fu´ad Shurbaji, chief editor of a small private TV station, had been convicted of "slander" and "defamation" of a state media official and sentenced to three days´ imprisonment.

Torture and other ill-treatment

Detainees continued to be tortured and otherwise ill-treated. Confessions extracted under duress were used as evidence in court. Seven deaths were reported to have occurred as a possible result of abuses in custody. The authorities took no action to investigate torture allegations.

Violence and discrimination against women

At least 29 women were reportedly killed in the name of "honour" and the perpetrators of such killings, when prosecuted, continued to receive lenient sentences under the Penal Code. Women´s rights defenders campaigned for better protection from gender-based violence and for an end to legal discrimination against women. In July, the authorities said that a committee was being formed to draft an anti-trafficking law.

Discrimination – Kurds

Members of the Kurdish minority, who comprise up to 10 per cent of the population, continued to suffer from identity-based discrimination, including restrictions on the use of the Kurdish language and culture. Tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds remained effectively stateless and so were denied equal access to social and economic rights.

On 10 September, the authorities issued Legislative Decree No. 49. This further restricted housing and property rights in border areas, including the pre-dominantly Kurdish-populated north-east border areas.

Human rights defenders

Human rights NGOs remained active although they were not officially authorized. Human rights defenders continued to face harassment. Lawyers Muhannad al-Hassani and Razan Zeitouneh were among at least 20 human rights defenders prevented from travelling abroad.

Death penalty

The death penalty remained in force for a wide range of offences. At least one person convicted of murder was executed and on 1 April seven others were sentenced to death for drug trafficking.

In December, Syria voted against a UN General Assembly resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions.

Refugees and asylum-seekers

Syria continued to host around 1 million Iraqi refugees. Some Iraqi refugees were arrested and forcibly returned to Iraq for having incorrect residency or work permits or for being suspected of working with international organizations. Syria also hosted around 500,000 Palestinian refugees who are long-term residents. Tens of thousands of Syrians remained internally displaced due to Israel´s continuing occupation of the Golan.

Ahwazi (Iranian Arab) asylum-seekers continued to be at risk of forcible return to Iran.

On 27 September, Ma´soumeh Ka´bi and her five children aged between four and 14 were forcibly returned to Iran, where they were immediately detained.

Amnesty International visits

An Amnesty International delegation visited Syria in February/March to look into the situation of Iraqi refugees and to gather information about human rights abuses in Iraq.

Note

Picture: Iraqi refugee children are looked after by a Syrian Arab Red Crescent Society volunteer as their families wait to be registered.

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US probes target British business

By Michael Peel, Legal Correspondent

Published: June 1 2009 03:00 | Last updated: June 1 2009 03:00

British-linked businesses are the prime foreign targets of US corporate bribery probes, according to research published today that highlights how UK companies and executives are being caught up in Washington's purge on international corporate corruption.

Companies based in the UK, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands account for 16 of the 29 ongoing investigations in Washington's fast-expanding assault on graft by overseas companies, says Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, the law firm.

The cases - which can lead to huge corporate fines and jail sentences for executives - are likely to add to international pressure on Britain to mount corruption prosecutions of its own after its much-criticised scrapping of a probe into BAE Systems' Saudi Arabian arms deals.

Bruce Yannett, partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, the US law firm, said that while there were a number of factors behind the large number of British-linked probes in the US, one was Washington's unhappiness with London's performance on tackling bribery.

He said: "If the US authorities feel there is weak enforcement, they will play the role of policeman. It's fair to say Britain's track record in this particular area has not been as aggressive as it could be."

The Freshfields figures show that while US companies comfortably top the league table of current corruption investigations - accounting for 64 out of 93 cases being pursued by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission - Britain, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands are in second, third and fourth places.

The US action on bribery, which Freshfields says has resulted in more than $1bn in fines on 43 companies over the past two years, contrasts with the single successful graft prosecution mounted in Britain against a Norwegian businessman and his Ugandan accomplice.

The US-related corruption risks facing British businesses and managers have been highlighted by cases such as the almost $200,000 (£124,000) in penalties paid by three UK oil services executives in 2006 to settle bribery allegations brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The three men, who did not admit or deny the allegations, were accused with an accomplice of lavishing $800,000 in bribes and almost $200,000 in hospitality, such as hotels and meals, on Nigerian officials to win a $180m offshore oil drilling contract.

Lawyers say other reasons why Washington focuses sharply on British-linked companies and executives are the size of the money flows through the UK and its tax havens, the cultural links these jurisdictions have with the US, and their relative willingness to co-operate compared with some other countries.

While the US investigation list includes companies from a number of other European nations and a handful from elsewhere, businesses from the expanding economic powers of China, India and Russia are notably absent.

Aaron Marcu, a US-based Freshfields partner, said many sophisticated UK-based international businesses were likely to have relationships with the US, which had the power to investigate corruption if foreign companies were US-listed or used American banks and communications to commit offences.

Mr Marcu said: "Historical relationships between the US and the UK, including the common language, will tend to cause UK-based companies to have some exposure to US markets and US regulation."

The US data raise further questions about the role of corruption conduits played by leading tax havens, many of which are British overseas territories or dependencies.

Offshore centres such as the British Virgin Islands - as well as onshore jurisdictions such as the US state of Delaware - are popular in corrupt deals because of their privacy rules.

Helen Garlick, former head of the Serious Fraud Office's anti-corruption unit and a consultant at Nardello & Co, a private investigator, said Britain's tax haven dependencies tended "to be the place where so much dirty money ends up".

She said: "Any forceful overseas corruption investigation is bound to end up there sooner or later."

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郵便不正「国会議員に依頼された」　厚労省元幹部が証言

　障害者団体向け郵便料金割引制度の悪用事件で、厚生労働省障害保健福祉部の元部長が、自称障害者団体「白山会」（東京・文京）の前身「凜（りん）の会」（同）の活動実態を裏付ける証明書発行について、大阪地検特捜部の任意の聴取に「（凜の会に対応することは）2004年２月ごろ、国会議員から依頼された」などと話していることが１日、捜査関係者などの話で分かった。

　元部長は同時期、厚生労働省係長、上村勉容疑者（39）＝虚偽有印公文書作成・同行使容疑で逮捕＝の上司だった。同容疑者は証明書偽造の関与を認める供述をしているといい、特捜部は組織的な関与があった可能性もあるとみて慎重に捜査している。(16:00)

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板橋資産家殺害：金銭目的か怨恨か　事件から１週間

　東京都板橋区で不動産賃貸業、瀬田英一さん（７４）夫妻が殺害され、自宅に放火された事件から１週間。瀬田さんは１０００平方メートル以上ある自宅の周辺に多くの不動産を所有し、長者番付にも名を連ねたことがある地元では有名な資産家だった。借地料などを巡り賃借人らとの間でトラブルを抱えていたと証言する住民もいる。警視庁板橋署捜査本部は、金銭目的とえん恨の両面で、７０人態勢で捜査を進めている。

　瀬田さんと妻千枝子さん（６９）は互いを「パパ」「ママ」と呼び合い、仲の良さが評判だった。「他人の土地を踏まずに約３キロ離れた池袋まで行ける」「飲み代は月３００万円」。近所の住民らは羽振りの良さを口にする。

　酒が好きな瀬田さんは、地元や池袋の飲食店に頻繁に顔を出していた。行きつけの居酒屋の店長（４８）は「声が大きく豪快な性格。同世代の客を見かけると全員にビールを振る舞っていた。昔の武勇伝を話すのが好きで、石原裕次郎と飲んだことがあると話していた」という。スナックの女性店長は「猫が大好きで、『飼い猫のミイちゃんと同じ墓に入りたい』というのが口癖だった」と振り返る。

　千枝子さんはパチンコが趣味で、パチンコ仲間を食事に連れて行く「姉御肌」だった。

　豪快な人柄や金遣いを強調する評判の一方で、用心深さもあった。夫婦をよく知る女性によると、瀬田さんは日中でも自宅に人を入れることはめったになく、電話にもほとんど出なかった。ファクスや手紙で連絡を取っていたという。自宅出入り口には赤外線センサーを設置、訪れる人を把握していたという。

　瀬田さんと取引があった近所の不動産業者によると、借地料や借地権の更新などを巡り借り手側と条件面で折り合いがつかず、民事調停になるケースがあったという。

　捜査幹部は「家屋が全焼し証拠集めは困難を極めているが、聞き込みや科学捜査を積み重ねれば、容疑者は浮かび上がる」と話す。

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国際離婚：急増で紛争多発、日本に「ハーグ条約締結」要請

　国際結婚した日本人が離婚後、子供を日本に連れ帰り、相手方とトラブルになるケースが急増している。米国、英国、カナダ、フランスの４カ国との間に限っても、現在把握しているだけでトラブルは１６８件に上り、２１４人の子供が紛争に巻き込まれていることが各国の大使館の調査で分かった。国際結婚を巡る紛争の解決ルールを定めた「ハーグ条約」を日本が締結していないことが原因だとして、４カ国はこのほど日本政府に早期締結を求める異例の合同記者会見を開いた。

　４カ国の大使館によると、国際結婚の破綻（はたん）に伴うトラブルの報告件数は▽米国７３件（子供１０４人）▽英国３６件（同３９人）▽カナダ３３件（同３９人）▽フランス２６件（同３２人）。この多くで解決の見通しが立っていないという。

　米国大使館などによると、米国人の父親と日本人の母親が離婚し、母親が子供とともに帰国した後、連絡が取れなくなり、父親が子供と一回も会えない事例が報告されている。外国人の父親が日本の娘に手紙を書いても、すべて返送されてしまい、連絡がつかないという訴えもある。米国では、こうした事態は「子供を奪取する犯罪行為」として非難され、ＦＢＩ（米連邦捜査局）が幼児誘拐の疑いで国際指名手配するケースもある。

　４カ国が日本を問題視するのは、ハーグ条約を締結していないため、海外に住む親が子の居場所を捜してもらうなどの協力を日本政府から得られないためだ。日本から海外に子を連れて行かれた場合も、日本人の親は日本政府を通じ子の面会請求などができない。

　４カ国の大使館公使らは５月２１日、東京都港区の米国大使館で会見を開き、「子の福祉を最優先に考えれば、両方の親と接しながら成長していくべきだ。事態が一向に解決しないのは大きな問題」と、日本側の事態改善を訴えた。

　しかし、現状のまま締結した場合、十分な自国民の保護ができるのかなどの理由から慎重論もある。外務省国際法課は「『民事不介入』が日本政府の立場。ただ、国際結婚と離婚は増えており、締結できるか検討中だ」としている。

　厚生労働省の人口動態統計によると、一方が外国人の夫妻の離婚件数は０７年で１万８２２０件（離婚総数の７．１％）。９７年の９１４９件（同４．１％）から倍近くに増えた。【工藤哲、坂本高志】
　◇ハーグ条約

　国際的な子の奪取の民事面に関する条約。１９８３年発効。離婚などから生じる子供の国境を越えた移動自体が子供の利益に反し、子どもを養育する「監護権」の手続きは移動前の国で行われるべきだとの考えに基づいて定められた国際協力のルール。子を奪われた親が返還を申し立てた場合、相手方の国の政府は迅速に子の場所を発見し、子を元の国に返還する協力義務を負う。今年５月現在、米欧を中心に８１カ国が加盟しているが、Ｇ８（主要８カ国）のうち日本とロシアは未締結。

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新日本石油：バイオガソリン大規模販売を開始…１都６県で

　新日本石油は１日、関東１都６県のガソリンスタンド（計８６１カ所）で、植物からつくるバイオエタノールを混ぜたバイオガソリンの販売を開始した。温室効果ガスの排出削減に向けた取り組みで、バイオガソリンを大規模に販売するのは同社が初めて。同社は来年度以降、全国の店舗に広げる。

　バイオエタノールから合成した化合物「バイオＥＴＢＥ」をレギュラーガソリンに１～８％混ぜたもので、走行性能や価格は従来のレギュラーと同じ。「環七堀之内サービスステーション」（東京都杉並区）では、のぼり旗やポスターで販売開始をＰＲし、ドライバーがセルフサービスで「環境にやさしい燃料」を次々に給油していた。

　石油業界では今年度中にバイオガソリンを２０万キロリットル販売する計画。同社は４．７万キロリットルの販売を目指しており、二酸化炭素（ＣＯ２）の排出量を年間約３万トン減らす効果を見込む。

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01:58 GMT, Monday, 1 June 2009 02:58 UK
Harry reveals flying self-doubt

Prince Harry has spoken of his self-doubt over whether he will ever be able to make it as an Army pilot.

The 24-year-old said he had at times questioned whether he had the mental ability to get through the "intense" flying courses he is undertaking.

In an interview marking the end of his trip to New York, he also described life at RAF Shawbury, Shropshire, where he shares digs with Prince William.

He said his brother, a trainee RAF rescue pilot, did most of the cooking.

He said he was happy to be living with his older sibling, saying: "We hardly ever see each other. And now we are living together and it's fantastic."

Giving an insight into the pair's domestic arrangements, he said:"[William] does most of the cooking. I spend time just lying around watching TV and doing my work."

"The RAF don't have to work as hard as the Army," he joked.

Trouble with maths

Prince Harry said he had been "surprised" at the intensity of his flying courses - which include training on a number of aircraft including Squirrel helicopters, a machine his brother is already familiar with.

He said: "There's times when I thought, you know, I'm really not cut out for this, mentally. I hope I've got the physical skills to fly a helicopter. But mentally, there are the exams and everything.

"I mean, I can't do maths, I gave that up when I left school, as anyone does at that age, But I've been throwing myself back in the deep end."

The prince said the trip to New York had been a "nice break" from the training.

During the two-day tour, which included his first official engagements, he visited the site of the World Trade Center and a school in Harlem before taking part in a charity polo match to help raise funds for his Lesotho charity, Sentebale.

Asked how he copes switching between the different roles, the prince said: "I think deep down inside, I'm three different people. I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. But I can - I think you have to - jump from place to place."

The prince said he had been surprised by the scale of the site of the World Trade Center where he laid a wreath.

"I never knew what to expect because I'd never even seen the site on television," he said.

On what it was like to serve in Afghanistan, he said: "I don't think anyone could really describe it.

"The guys out there will try to explain to loved-ones what it's like but unless you're there you can't really describe it.

"I think it changes every single person who has come back."