Wednesday 3 Feb 2010 News
Portugal is seeking the extradition of football fan Gary Mann, 51, who was given a two year prison sentence in 2004 for his role in a violent clash between England supporters and Portuguese police during Euro 2004.
The case has gone to the European Court of Human Rights to consider whether an English football fan should be extradited to Portugal to serve a prison sentence. Mr Mann, a former fire fighter, was arrested in Albufeira following a street riot on 15 June 2004 and claims police beat him and prevented him from sleeping. He was tried and found guilty around 48 hours later and his lawyers claim he had an unfair trial because of the fast track procedure claiming that had witnesses been allowed to come forward they could have provided evidence to support his alibi but they weren’t given the opportunity to appear in court.
In addition there was also CCTV coverage from a bar that apparently proved he was not in the area where the clash with police occurred but this was allegedly destroyed according to Mann’s legal team. Portugal is seeking his extradition to serve the sentence here because he did not serve it in the UK after he was deported. The police in Portugal denied using unnecessary force or unfair means to bring about a prosecution.
Mr Mann appeared on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme saying: "It is a damning indictment of Europe's extradition system that the European court in Strasbourg has to stand in to deliver justice for a British citizen."
Renewable energy targets
A report submitted to the European Union states that Portugal will probably go beyond the 31 per cent target set for renewable energy over the next decade and may be in a position to sell the excess energy to other EU countries to help them to reach their targets.
Spain also anticipates exceeding its 20 per cent goal and expects to reach 22.7 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. Britain however may not reach its target of 15 per cent green energy within the next decade. Most of the other 27 member nations expect to meet or exceed their longer term targets but may are less confident about reaching interim goals set for the next six years which are 4 per cent renewable energy by 2012, 5.4 per cent by 2014 and 7.5 per cent by 2016.
Heavy rains caused widespread flooding and landslides on the Portuguese island of Madeira yesterday. Falling trees and walls added to the problems but there were no reports of injury. Worst affected was Santana in the north where many roads were closed due to landslides.
The airport managed to stay open and flights operated normally from Porto and Lisbon. The Institute of Meteorology issued a code red for the island due to severe rains, thunder and the intensity of the winds with gusts of up to 70 km per hour in mountainous regions.
The Municipality of Castro Marim has launched a campaign of solidarity with the children of Haiti following the earthquake on 12 January. Children from primary schools have taken to drawing and selling pictures under the banner “We design for Haiti." Each A4 picture is then sold by the child for a minimum of one euro to provide funds to help Haiti victims.
Teachers have taken responsibility for the banking and an account has been opened to generate funds. Anyone interested in finding out more should consult www.cm-castromarim.pt or telephone 281 531 701 and 961 369 307.
A community group called the Comunidade Intermunicipal (CIM) in the Algarve is fighting to save the Cork Museum in Silves that may have to close due to financial difficulties. A proposal was made by the Left Block to require government intervention to save the museum which was approved by a majority in spite of eleven abstentions from the ruling PSD political party.
The premises were opened in 1999 and houses assets belonging to the cork industry at the Fabrica Inglês site in Silves. The Left Block stressed that the facility is the richest museum in terms of the cork industry and houses a notable collection of machinery, workshops and document archives spanning 150 years. In 2001 it was recognised as the Best Industrial Museum in Europe and has been supported by both EU and local business funding.
Cadbury takeover
Cadbury chocolate manufacturer has been taken over by the US firm, Kraft Foods, after shareholders yesterday voted in favour of the bid from Kraft.
The offer of £11.6 bn was accepted after some months of wrangling and competition from another US chocolatier, Hershey. A spokesperson for Kraft said the combination of Kraft and Cadbury created a global powerhouse in snacks, confectionery and quick meals with a great deal of potential for growth.
Cadbury staff had demonstrated in London calling on the government to guarantee jobs. Unions are concerned that jobs will be axed in order to meet the costs of the purchase, pointing out that Kraft’s estimated £22 bn debt could equate to an "irresistible imperative" to reduce costs by cutting jobs. Business Secretary Lord Mandelson and shadow business secretary Ken Clarke will hold meetings with Kraft to discuss continued employment.
Madoff fraud
The Serious Fraud Office’s investigations into the Bernard Madoff multibillion dollar fraud has resulted in an announcement that no prosecutions will take place in the UK owing to insufficient evidence on Madoff’s British operation.
A Serious Fraud Office spokesman said inquiries into "wider aspects" of the fraud continued, as did work with overseas agencies which "may give rise to offending in the UK". But he added: "Following a thorough review of all the available evidence, it has decided to take no action against either the company or its directors, there being insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction."
Mr Madoff, 71, has been jailed for 150 years concerning the £41bn fraud in which thousands of investors had placed their funds with Mr Madoff who was in fact running a Ponzi scheme, which pays out using new investors' money rather than from any profits. Mr Madoff’s scheme was exposed when investors attempted to withdraw about $7bn, but he could not produce the money.
Newest members concerned for future
A new study on the 27 European countries relates that many people in the new member states of the EU describe their living standards as having deteriorated over the last five years.
The lowest satisfaction levels were found in Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece and Romania. Predictably, Scandinavia registered the highest feelings of satisfaction. Unemployment has scaled up in most European countries, with Latvia, Spain and Estonia experiencing the highest levels. Hungary, Latvia and Romania were all recipients of emergency international loans to assist their fragile banking sectors. Along with high unemployment, energy costs have risen at the same time across most of Europe.
Housing affordability registered deep concern in Cyprus, Bulgaria, Latvia, Spain, Hungary and Poland.
The Social Situation in the European Union 2009 report, done under the aegis of the European Commission, notes that in all countries "there is a clear majority of people who consider that the cost of living has risen over the past five years and that this will continue over the coming year". It goes on to warn that "countries with good social conditions making further progress and countries with the poorest social conditions falling even further behind".
Sexual abuse of children
The head of the Jesuit Catholic order in Germany has expressed concern that allegations of persistent sexual abuse were not investigated and has apologised.
The situation concerns two priests who were at Canisius College, a prestigious school in Berlin, where 25 cases are known and later at two other Catholic schools in Hamburg and the Black Forest where the priests had been transferred. The victims were usually 13 or 14 year old boys, but some girls were also the targets. The two teachers were active in the 1970s and 1980s and both left the Jesuit order in the 1980s. They then appear to have worked at institutions in Spain, Chile, and Mexico.
The prosecutor's office is investigating the cases but there is concern that cases may no longer be able to be prosecuted because of Germany's statute of limitations.
Rainforest dam closer to fruition
The government is pressing ahead with its plans to build a controversial hydro-electric dam in the Amazon rainforest.
Opponents of the project claim that the Belo Monte dam will devastate a large swathe of the rainforest and will also threaten indigenous groups living there. The government has responded to its critics by saying that the company which gets the contract will have to contribute $800m to protect the environment as well as meeting 40 additional key points.
An earlier project was jettisoned in the 1990s owing to a storm of protest from within the country and from abroad. The government claims that the new project has taken the criticism on board and added the conditions to counter objections.
If completed, Belo Monte would become the third largest hydro-electric dam in the world, after the Three Gorges in China and Itaipu, operated jointly by Brazil and Paraguay, and should provide electricity to 23 million Brazilian homes. With the economy in growth, more than 70 other dams are believed to be in the planning in the Amazon area.
Critics remain vocal, claiming that 40,000 people would be affected when 500 square kilometres of land is flooded, that part of the rainforest will disappear and that the dam will not be efficient.
Renewed threats to the US
China has told the US that any meeting between President Obama and the Dalai Lama will undermine China’s trust and co-operation with the US.
China entered Tibet in 1950 and since then has painted the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, as someone with separatist plans and discourages meetings between the Dalai Lama and foreign leaders. "If the US leader chooses to meet with the Dalai Lama at this time, it will certainly threaten trust and co-operation between China and the United States," said Mr Zhu, executive deputy minister of the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department. Should a meeting take place, Mr Zhu said his country would "take corresponding action to make relevant countries see their mistakes...We oppose any attempt by foreign forces to interfere in China's internal affairs using the Dalai Lama as an excuse."
Representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government have had nine negotiation meetings since 2002, but the position of both sides remains divided. According to Mr Zhu, there is no possibility of the "slightest compromise" on the issue of sovereignty in Tibet.
The spat over a potential visit with the Dalai Lama follows recent clashes between the US and China over trade, internet censorship, and arms sales to Taiwan. A spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that an arms deal with Taiwan would damage Washington’s and Beijing’s interests and "unavoidably affect China-US co-operation on important international and regional issues,” with a threat that sanctions could be imposed on US companies involved.
The island of Taiwan has been governed by a separate government from China since the end of the civil war in 1949, but China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory.
