Protesters set to tell G20 to put people first

Protesters set to tell G20 to put people first

THOUSANDS of protesters were converging yesterday on the French Riviera to urge the Group of 20 leading economies to focus on spreading global largesse more equitably instead of saving banks and pleasing financial markets.

Scores of French and international activist groups with a range of missions - from a tax on financial transactions to better environmental protection and fairer labor laws - are organizing protests around the summit of G-20 leaders in Cannes tomorrow and Friday.

Their biggest march was planned for yesterday in Nice, under the slogan "People First, Not Finance."

Later they will march on nearby Monaco, known for its friendly tax laws, to urge an end to tax havens.

While some of their goals overlap with that of the Occupy Wall Street movement that has spread to cities around North America and Europe, the protesters in Nice have not latched onto the Occupy name. The protesters planned their actions many months ago and are pushing agendas they have long championed.

Security concern

Security is a major concern for this week's protests. More than 12,000 police and other security officers are being deployed to maintain order,Demeco Ryans white jerseys with police speedboats stationed in front of luxury yachts in the Riviera harbors and parts of the famed Boulevard de la Croisette in Cannes closed to the public with steel fences.

"We have had a complicated year on the international level what with the death of Osama bin Laden,Sanyo Projector Lamp interventions notably in Libya with an intense and charged situation there. So the terrorist threat level is heightened to a reinforced code red," French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said.,Cheap authentic nfl jerseys,

"Even if the public and the demonstration organizers want the protest to be a peaceful one and to take place in the best possible way,,cheap adidas shoes, there is nonetheless the risk that on the margins of this demonstration there could be small groups that could infiltrate the demonstration with no other desire than to cause trouble and we're particularly wary of that," he said.

Police in France, where protests and strikes are a common form of public debate and can occasionally degenerate into violence, are well-versed in crowd control and not shy about using tear gas to disperse rowdy demonstrators.

Organizers are expecting between 5,000 and 15,000 people for the protests. Among their leading causes is a push for a small tax on all international financial transactions that would be used for development aid to poorer nations.

But the leaders at the summit are primarily focused on keeping Greece from defaulting and helping Europe overcome its debt crises, which have threatened the global recovery and rocked financial markets.

British PM under attack over gay comments

British PM under attack over gay comments

British Prime Minister David Cameron has come under a salvo of attacks over his comments that Britain would withhold aid to countries that do not reform legislation banning homosexuality.

Cameron, in a recent interview with BBC One's Andrew Marr Show, threatened to cut aid to anti-gay countries, declaring that nations receiving British aid should "adhere to proper human rights."

Cameron said he raised the issue with some of the states involved at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, Australia.

The comments received bitter criticism from Ghanaians, especially religious leaders, who said the British premier lacked understanding of Ghana's cultural values.

The Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, the Most Reverend Charles Palmer-Buckle, told a local radio that the country must stand up and uphold its values and not allow other countries to manipulate it.,hair weave,

A member of the Chief Imam's Educational Fund in Ghana, Alhassan Abdulai, also said the Islamic community was appalled by the threats of the British premier and gave indications that "if push comes to shove," the Muslim faithful in the nation would stage a demonstration against seeming plans by the British government to legitimize homosexuality in Ghana.

Minister of Trade and Industry Hannah Tetteh joined the fray on Tuesday, insisting same sex relationships were unacceptable in African cultural set-ups and that no amount of threats would make Ghana stoop to Britain's threat.

Interacting with a section of the media here, Tetteh took a swipe at the western world, saying that it had no right to force its cultural and moral orientations on Ghana and that the government would make its stance clear at the appropriate time.

"Every society has its norms and what it considers to be acceptable.discount fashion jewelry In the Western world, it is acceptable to have gay relationships and even move on to the next level to gay marriages; in our society, it is unacceptable," she stated.

A private legal practitioner, Kwame Akuffo, also condemned the British Prime Minister's comments, describing it as smacking of racism.

He urged African states to stand up against any vile or racist conduct from the West towards them, maintaining that since every country had its own peculiar beliefs and heritage, it was important to maintain one's sovereignty.

Meanwhile, the Ghanaian government said it had no position now on Cameron's comments on homosexuality until it received official correspondence from the British government.

The state-run daily newspaper, The Ghanaian Times,,Jogos Quentes Gold, quoted the Minister of Information John Tia Akologu as saying that it was not prudent for the government to comment or state a position on an issue for which no correspondence had been received.,Cheap moncler vests,

He stated further that the government was guided by the provisions of the country's constitution and would work towards preserving and protecting the rights of the people as provided for under it.

The threat to cut aid to Ghana and other countries first came to light early last month when British Daily Mail newspaper reported that Britain had taken a hard stance to cut aid to African countries which persecuted gays.

The paper quoted Andrew Michael, UK's International Development Secretary as saying that already his country had cut aid to Malawi by 19 million pounds after two gay men were sentenced to 14 years' in hard labor.

Mitchell, one of Cameron's closest allies, also threatened to impose further aid "fines" against Uganda and Ghana for their hard- line anti-gay and lesbian measures.

Again, the Mail, a private newspaper, claimed that during a visit to Ghana earlier this year, Stephen O'Brien, Mitchell's deputy, told Ghana's president John Evans Atta Mills that Britain would cut its aid unless he stopped persecuting gays.

Cameron's threat is said to apply to only one type of bilateral aid known as "general budget support," and does not to reduce the overall amount of aid to any one country.

President Hu visits Mozart residence in Austria

President Hu visits Mozart residence in Austria

Chinese President Hu Jintao continued his state visit to Austria Tuesday and toured Mozart's residence in Salzburg and a farm outside the city.Replica Rolex watches

Art can serve as a bridge for communication and a messenger of friendship between different peoples, Hu said during his visit to the birthplace of 18th-century composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on Tuesday afternoon.

Hu expressed the hope that China and Austria could strengthen cultural exchanges.

Mozart, known for his gift for music, produced more than 600 works, including symphonies, operas, concertos and quartets. His music is heard around the world today.

Earlier Tuesday, Hu toured a farm near Salzburg. Hu was informed of the operations of the farm run by the Joseph Haas family, which produces 610 tons of milk annually. Hu and his wife, Liu Yongqing,Lions jerseys authentic chatted with the Haas family.

On Tuesday evening, Hu attended a welcome dinner held in his honor by Sulzburg Governor Gabi Burgstaller and Sulzburg City Mayor Heinz Schaden.

Burgstaller said that the Sulzburg State welcomes Hu's visit and the state is willing to step up the friendly cooperation with provinces and cities of China and play an active role in enhancing the friendly relations between Austria and China.

Hu arrived in Salzburg Monday evening from Vienna, where he held talks with his Austrian counterpart, Heinz Fischer, and met Chancellor Werner Faymann and other Austrian leaders on strengthening bilateral ties.Christian Louboutin shoes

Following his trip to Austria, Hu will fly to France to attend a summit of the Group of 20, slated for Thursday and Friday in Cannes.Wholesale Monster Headphones

PCCW and Swire prepare for spin-offs

PCCW and Swire prepare for spin-offs

New listings by pure Hong Kong companies are a rarity these days when virtually all IPOs on the Hong Kong stock exchange are by companies based either in China or some other country outside its borders.Nfl bears jersreys cheap The reason, of course, is that most Hong Kong companies are already listed.

So it is interesting to see not just one, but two, major Hong Kong businesses preparing for a listing in the next few months, namely Swire Properties and HKT Trust,Nfl womens jerseys which comprises PCCW’s telecommunications business. Both are spin-offs from companies that are already listed,Human hair Full lace wigs but account for the majority of revenues and profits at their respective parent companies, making this an interesting exercise not just for the unit that is being spun off, but for the parent company and its shareholders as well.

The two listing candidates have chosen different routes towards their separate listings, however.

Swire Properties, the property development and investment unit which is currently wholly owned by Swire Pacific, said in statement at the end of last week that it has decided to list by introduction. This means that it won’t be issuing any new shares, although it will distribute about 17% of Swire Properties’ share capital to existing investors in Swire Pacific.

PCCW on the other hand is aiming to float its telecom assets on the Hong Kong stock exchange in the form of a dividend-paying trust and said over the wedigital video recordersekend that it may raise about $1.3 billion, assuming it is able to sell as much as 36.7% of the trust and based on a valuation floor that translates into a dividend yield of about 9%.

Don't underestimate France

Rugby World Cup: Don't underestimate France - Marsh

Tony Marsh,,Nike shox shoes, the former Counties midfielder who went on to play 21 tests for France, has a grim warning for the All Blacks: "We are underestimating this French team, it's actually a very good one."

Marsh said French coach Marc Lievremont should make good use of a talent-stacked bench. "There's lots of depth on the bench and they'll all come on in the second half and up the tempo. Don't think this result will just appear,,digital scales supplier, you never know what the French can do."

Marsh, who is commentating for Maori Television during the World Cup including tomorrow's match, was surprised by the selection of Morgan Parra at first five-eighths. But he added that the French had a different idea of the playmakers' role, adding that it was typical of the French to surprise.

"The move at No 10 is a shock for some maybe in a game against the All Blacks at a World Cup, but it's not uncommon for France to do this. Frederic Michalak and Jean-Baptiste Ellisalde all moved around from 10 so they don't think of it the same way as we perhaps do here.,Air Jordan Shoes,"

Don't expect the Tricolores to lose anything with Parra at No 10.

"[Francois] Trinh-Duc is very much an individual player. Bringing Parra in could work more from a team perspective.,cheap adidas shoes,"

And don't believe the talk of a weakened lineup, said Marsh, who played for a Classic All Black side which beat France in Queenstown at the weekend.

"This is not a French B team as such. I have heard French players in the French media saying they're insulted by the way they've been labelled a B team by the media here. This is just giving them motivation and setting them up for a big one.

"We of all people should know not to take the French lightly - have we learned nothing from 2007?"

New Saturn-Like Planet Has Two Suns

New Saturn-Like Planet Has Two Suns

NASA's Kepler spacecraft uncovered the new planet, dubbed Kepler 16b, as it transited—or crossed in front of—both its parent stars, causing the brightness of each star to dim periodically.

(Related: "Darkest Planet Found: Coal-Black,digital video recorders It Reflects Almost No Light.")

Kepler data first allowed scientists to see that the stars are what's known as an eclipsing binary system—a pair of stars that orbit in such a way that they eclipse each other, causing them to dim, as seen from Earth.

Based on the eclipses,Human hair Full lace wigs the team calculates that the binary stars are just 20 percent and 69 percent the mass of our sun.

Sometimes, however, the system's overall brightness dipped even when the stars were not eclipsing each other—hinting at the presence of a third body orbiting the binary pair.

"By timing the stellar eclipses,,Moncler jackets, we could determine how much the third body was perturbing the two inner stars," said study leader Laurance Doyle, an astronomer at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California.

The extra, irregular dimming "turned out to be no stronger than a planetary gravitational pull would be."

Next: An Earthlike Planet With Two Suns?

Kepler's data suggest that the new planet is a Saturn-like gas giant without a solid surface.

Traveling on a nearly circular, 229-day orbit around both host stars, the planet lies outside the system's habitable zone—the region where liquid water, and thus life as we know it, could exist.Anime toys merchandise distributor

U.S. sees China's rise as no threat: spokeswoman

U.S. sees China's rise as no threat: spokeswoman

The United States does not see China's rise as a threat, nor does it seek to contain the Asian nation's ascent, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday.

"As you know, we welcome the rise of a prosperous, successful China that plays a growing role in world affairs, consistent with global rules, global norms and institutions, and a China that's committed to advancing a positive bilateral relationship with us," Nuland said, in response to a question about a white paper issued by China last week on its peaceful development.cheap nfl jerseys sale

"We don't see China's rise as a threat,Ed Hardy wholesale nor do we seek to contain China's rise,Roger Vivier flat shoes" she said.

She also said that any statement by China "where it elaborates its intentions geostrategically" is welcome. "But we continue to hope that we can have more military transparency," she added.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who made an official visit to China last month, wrote in The New York Times last week that he remained convinced that a successful China could make the U.S.2012 nfl super bowl jerseys more prosperous, as trade and investment have bound the two countries together, and they share "common challenges and responsibilities" on issues from global security to global economic growth and have incentives to work together.