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GUARDIAN Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:42:14 GMT
Airline says passengers too large to fit into single seat will have to pay 75% of the fare for a second
Air passengers who are too big to fit into a single seat on board Air France-KLM flights will have to pay almost double to cover the costs of a second, the company has announced.
On top of the full price of one seat, flyers who exceed standard measurements will be required to pay 75% of the fare for another. If the plane turns out have spare seats, the passengers will be refunded the cost of the second one.
Monique Matze, a spokeswoman for the company, said the decision had been made out of concerns for safety. "We have to make sure that the backrest can move freely up and down and that all passengers are securely fastened with a safety belt," she said.
People who are too large to squeeze into a single seat – which on Air France-KLM flights are on average 43cm (17in) wide and 44cm on long-haul trips – are secured on board by having the belt of one seat stretching over another. But this informal method can lead to problems.
In November 2007, a court ordered the airline to pay damages to an obese Frenchman who had been forced to buy a second ticket from New Delhi to Paris.
The court agreed with the passenger that, as the company had not stipulated the "extra seat" policy in the small print, it and his travel agent, Go Voyages, ought to reimburse him the costs.
As of April last year, Air France-KLM has officially advised obese passengers to book a second seat.
Under the new rules, due to come into force for people booking tickets from 1 February for flights leaving after 1 April, passengers will now be assured before take-off that there are two adjoining seats for them on board, the company said.
However, if there are enough seats available, they will be given a refund on the 75% second seat charges – the full price once tax and surcharges have been deducted.
This morning the announcement was greeted with derision by many French people.
One man, writing under the name of Pierre in an internet forum, said the move was unfair. "I'm an amateur rugby player and I think that many sportsmen have already felt squeezed into these seats ... Should we pay more when the standard cost is far less than what is needed for a large-framed or overweight person?"
France
Air transport
Lizzy Davies
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GUARDIAN Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:11:31 GMT
Almost a week after the earthquake the US military has begun airdropping aid supplies amid growing frustration at the chaotic organistion of the relief effort. Follow live updates
7.34am:
The US military has begun airdropping aid supplies after previously stating that this would be too risky, the BBC reports.
More US troops are about to arrive in Haiti, amid criticism from the French government. "It's a matter of helping Haiti, not occupying Haiti," the cooperation minister Alain Joyandet said.
It looks like an invasion, Ed Pilkington reports from Port-au-Prince, but the troops he talked to insist they not coming to invade.
Meanwhile, aid agencies have warned that Haitians are dying needlessly amid "utter chaos" in the organisation of relief efforts. Time is running out for those trapped in the rubble, but survivors are still being freed.
The Australian broadcaster ABC says that US military aircraft have been given priority over planes carrying medical supplies.
Toothpaste, is especially prized in Port-au-Prince as it helps fend off the stench of decaying bodies, according to the FT.
Haiti
Natural disasters and extreme weather
International aid and development
United Nations
Matthew Weaver
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GUARDIAN Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:37:46 GMT
Aid agencies and US military continue to pull survivors from rubble five days after devastating quake hit Port-au-Prince
Rescuers continued to pull survivors from collapsed buildings in Port-au-Prince today as aid agencies and the US military raced to tackle the latest problem of the unfolding disaster: a lack of clean water that threatens dehydration and massive outbreaks of waterborne disease.
A team of British rescue workers pulled a mother alive from the rubble of her house last night, 96 hours after she was trapped by Tuesday's earthquake.
Volunteer group Rapid UK, supported by firefighters from Manchester and Leicestershire, celebrated freeing the 39-year-old after she was trapped in a tiny slither of space when her home collapsed. When she emerged from the gap between the crumpled first and second floors her arm was cut and she was very dehydrated, but she was fully conscious and happy to be alive.
"Merci Jesus! Merci Jesus!" she shouted several times as she was lifted onto a stretcher.
Her son, who was there as she was released, could only find words to berate her. "You abandoned me!" he said.
"It was brilliant," said Anthony Thompson, a decorator from Bovey Tracey in Devon who was part of the volunteer rescue team. "This is what we train so hard for."
About 1,000 rescue workers in 100 teams are now fanned out across the city working on selected collapsed buildings. On Friday, 35 people were pulled out alive and on Thursday, 25 survivors were found.
The initial response had been painfully slow as teams were turned back at Port-au-Prince airport, due to chaotic air traffic control. Heavy lifting gear to penetrate buildings took even longer to arrive – in the case of the British firefighters it came on Saturday night, five days after the disaster struck.
The rescue workers learnt of the woman's plight when her neighbours said they could still hear her talking. The team dug a hole above her head with hammers and picks and found her lying beside her dead daughter, still holding her child in her arms. The woman has now been taken to a field hospital at the airport.
With each passing day the likelihood of rescues diminishes, but the team has been surprised by how many healthy people they are finding. Dehydration is now the biggest enemy, as unless people were trapped with water at hand they are unlikely to live much longer.
"We are still pulling people out in fairly good condition, so this is by no means over yet," said Simon Thomasson, a telecoms engineer from Hampshire.
The latest estimates for the death toll would make it one of the 10 deadliest earthquakes in history. The body of the UN misson chief in Haiti, Hedi Annabi, was found in the rubble of his headquarters. UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon also confirmed the death of Annabi's deputy, Luiz Carlos da Costa. Annabi, a Tunisian diplomat, was "a true citizen of the world", said Ban, who called Brazilian Da Costa "a legend in UN peacekeeping operations". Nearly 100 UN staff are still unaccounted for.
The scope of the disaster prompted President Barack Obama – flanked by his predecessors, George W Bush and Bill Clinton – to pledge one of the largest relief efforts in US history and to promise that "sustained help" was on its way.
His comments came as Washington acknowledged the limits of its initial relief efforts and promised to speed delivery of water and other essential supplies. Hillary Clinton arrived in Haiti to assess the damage.
Speaking at Port-au-Prince airport alongside the Haitian president, René Préval, the US secretary of state said America would be on hand "today, tomorrow and for the time ahead".
Clinton said the US aid drive – involving thousands of soldiers, sailors and marines along with civilian aid workers – was done at Haiti's invitation and that she and Préval would issue a joint statement outlining the way forward.
As the sound of aircraft bearing relief supplies momentarily drowned out the microphone, Clinton said: "That's..
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GUARDIAN Tue, 05 Jan 2010 08:52:19 GMT
US says counterterrorism operations have addressed threat but urges citizens in Yemen to be vigilant
The US embassy in Yemen reopened today and said successful Yemeni counterterrorism operations had addressed the threat that led to the two-day closure.
It said the threat of terrorist attacks against American interests remained high and urged its citizens in Yemen to be "vigilant and take prudent security measures".
The reopening comes a day after Yemeni security forces clashed with al-Qaida fighters, killing two. Among the group was Nazeeh al-Hanaq, a senior figure on Yemen's most wanted list, who escaped.
The US and Britain closed their embassies in Yemen on Sunday, and yesterday the French and Czech embassies were closed to the public and the Spanish and German embassies limited the number of visitors.
Washington is embracing the Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, in the battle against al-Qaida's offshoot in Yemen. Saleh's government has vowed to work with the US in stamping out the estimated hundreds of al-Qaida fighters who have built up strongholds in the country's remote regions. Last month, with US help, it carried out its heaviest strikes in years against al-Qaida hideouts, claiming to have killed 30 militants.
The renewed determination brought praise yesterday from the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. "The United States commends Yemen for the recent actions it has taken to disrupt [al-Qaida] networks and we are reiterating our commitment to assist in those efforts," she said.
Observers warn that Saleh's 31-year rule is buckling under the weight of multiple crises, deep poverty and widespread corruption. The government has full control only around the capital, leaving much of the mountainous nation to heavily armed tribes, some of which have given refuge to al-Qaida fighters.
"Saleh is facing the most difficult time of his presidency," said Ali Seif Hassan, director of a Yemeni organisation that mediates government-opposition dialogue. "Now he faces the decision whether to keep going as he has, all the way to becoming a failed state, or to make the hard choices to avoid that," he said.
Over the weekend, President Barack Obama vowed that his administration has "made it a priority to strengthen our partnership with the Yemeni government – training and equipping their security forces, sharing intelligence and working with them to strike al-Qaida terrorists."
The US increased its counterterrorism aid to Saleh's government from none in 2008 to $67m last year, an amount Washington says will double in 2010. Yemen says the US and other nations must also provide economic aid to tackle deepening poverty that it says fuels support for al-Qaida among Yemen's population of 22 million.
Yemen
United States
Al-Qaida
Global terrorism
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GUARDIAN Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:05:03 GMT
The French president has made changes across the media landscape
Nobody could accuse Nicolas Sarkozy of being camera-shy. Since he came to power in 2007 the image-conscious French head of state has taken every opportunity to maximise his own visibility and has earned himself the title of "omni-president" in doing so. Even for a country well used to state string-pulling, his two-and-a-half years in power have been remarkable for the extent of government intervention in the media. "In this area, as with all things, Sarkozy likes to get involved. He likes to get his hands dirty," says Marc Baudriller, a media specialist at Challenges magazine. "Sometimes his actions can pose problems for independence. But he has qualities nonetheless."
This year, across the media landscape, France is preparing to feel the full effect of the Sarkozy era. One of the most controversial of the president's gambits – his reform of state television, passed to howls of protest last year – will provoke fresh controversy in the summer when Patrick de Carolis, the president of France Télévisions, completes his five-year term.
Along with the removal of advertising – and its crucial revenue – from public broadcasters, the law stipulated that the prestigious appointment would in future be made by the president and his cabinet instead of an independent body. Sarkozy who at the time was denounced by his critics as a wannabe Silvio Berlusconi, is said to be aware of the incendiary nature of the decision. Elysée insiders say he is seeking a candidate who is, above all else, "politically consensual". The other cauldron of controversy threatening to bubble over is the implementation, after two years of debate, of the government's anti-internet piracy law. Backed by artists but fiercely opposed by others who denounced its heavy-handed "Big Brother" tactics, the Hadopi reform emerged toned down from parliament. But it remains controversial, and the first emailed warnings, expected in April, to those found to be downloading files illegally are unlikely to go without debate.
The rights and wrongs of state intervention are also on the agenda at Agence France-Presse, the world's third largest news agency, where the directors have outraged trade unions by announcing their intention to change the organisation's hallowed "special status". Outlined in 1957 and aimed at guaranteeing its journalists' independence, the unique legislation stipulates that AFP has no capital or shareholders.
Amid the pressures of the multimedia age, Pierre Louette, the chief executive of AFP, has decided this must be changed to turn it into a public company with state-owned capital. Frédéric Mitterrand, the culture minister, has appointed a panel of experts to come up with reform plans by the end of March, but he and Louette will have a fight on their hands.
Not all the government's interventions in the media, however, have been so unpopular. A state-subsidised scheme designed to encourage young people to buy newspapers has proved a success, with more than 150,000 18- to 24-year-olds signing up since October for a free copy of their favourite daily paper.
Another project to have won widespread approval is the injection of €750m of government funds into the digitalisation of France's cultural treasures – Sarkozy's announcement last month has been greeted as a show of national defiance in the face of attempts by Google to digitise collections for its library.
• Lizzy Davies in Paris
Newspapers & magazines
Television industry
France
Nicolas Sarkozy
Lizzy Davies
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GUARDIAN Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:05:04 GMT
The vampire look is out – a new, softer feel is in the air. And, best of all, shoes that we can walk in
When a character in Emmerdale is spotted wearing the hot fashion ticket of 2009 – a black Balmain-esque jacket with souped-up shoulders – as Charity Dingle was last month, it is safe to declare that particular look, in high-fashion terms at least, dead in the water.
Haute-rock – roughly speaking, leather leggings, studded ankle boots, a sharp-shouldered jacket and vampire-like makeup – has reached saturation point. The look was started by the editors at French Vogue, and can now be bought at New Look for less than £50. But change is coming. The era of fierce is over, and a new softer feeling in fashion is about to breeze in.
The shift won't be immediate. Sneak previews of what the high street will be offering in the early part of the year reveal that zipped leather and Marc Bolan-style feather jackets still have some mileage left in them. By February, however, the angry black look will be a lame duck. In its place will come a softer look with a more bashful palette of rose pink, vanilla, ice blue and pistachio – what were once known as pastels but which Vogue is now calling "sorbets". Already seen on an endless list of catwalks including Burberry, Preen, Roland Mouret, Chanel and Christopher Kane, come March these colours will feel just right. An April exhibition at the Victoria & Albert museum celebrating the style of Grace Kelly will only increase their momentum. Before long they will have infiltrated our wardrobes by way of Topshop and Asos.com (watch out for the latter's pale rose blazer with grey lapels).
Shapes will soften too. Ruffles and pleats will take the place of studs. But they aren't the frantic little-girl ruffles that characterised fashion five years ago when Chloé was the label to drop. A 2010 ruffle will be bold and minimal and likely to be attached to a feminine, tailored jacket.
Spring will see the return of the A-line skirt. Both Stella McCartney and her old colleague Phoebe Philo, now designing for Celine, showed the shape on their catwalks and both have the knack of knowing what women want to wear and when. The A-line shape fits the new mood perfectly: its simple lines have a bold femininity miles apart from the aggressive leather pencil skirts of 2009. Chances are that the denim incarnation will be the one that hits the high street with the most impact, and that Gap will get it right.
Perhaps the most welcome change that 2010 will bring is the return of shoes we can walk in. Heels have become so stupidly high, bearing such a kerfuffle of buckles and studs, that walkability has scarcely seemed a consideration. But change is afoot. The cork demi-wedges as seen at Stella McCartney might not be the sort of shoe to cause a paparazzi frenzy, but they are an easy shape for the likes of Mark & Spencer to replicate. Ditto kitten heels, which were decommissioned in the late 90s and are now set to return. In an election year, when Samantha Cameron's accessories will probably chalk up as many Grazia pages as Victoria Beckham's, the kitten heel is a vote-winner.
Fashion
Fashion designers
Imogen Fox
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GUARDIAN Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:12:11 GMT
Fifteen homeless people killed in Warsaw alone as snow and freezing temperatures cause travel chaos to much of Europe
Dozens of people are thought to have frozen to death as extreme conditions continued to affect many parts of Europe today.
Polish news channel TVN24 said 47 people, mainly homeless, had been found frozen to death since the start of December as temperatures dropped as low as -18C. Police in Warsaw said 15 people died on Saturday night.
Freezing temperatures and snow were causing travel chaos in many countries, including France, where 40% of flights from Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports in Paris were cancelled. In Spain, runways were closed at Madrid's Barajas airport after temperatures fell to -8C and high-speed AVE trains were suspended between the capital and Barcelona, Malaga and Seville.
Temperatures dropped to as low as -33C in southern parts of Germany where hundreds of road accidents have been blamed on the weather.
Düsseldorf International airport, Germany third busiest, was also forced to close. Airports in the Netherlands and Belgium were also affected.
"There is still heavy snowfall and every time we clear a runway to permit a flight, we have to shut it down again because of the heavy snowfall," said Jan Van der Cruysse, spokesman for Brussels National Airport.
Meanwhile, a clean-up operation was underway along the US eastern seaboard following record snowfalls in some areas at the weekend which combined with high winds to produce blizzard conditions. An entire winter's snowfall fell in Washington DC, making it the snowiest December on record, while more than half a metre of snow fell in parts of Virginia, New York, New Jersey and other eastern states.
The conditions at US airports led to flight delays to the UK with some aircraft arriving at Heathrow three hours late this morning, while at Manchester airport some passengers were still waiting to get on flights scheduled to have taken off yesterday afternoon.
Motorists were urged to stay off treacherous roads and several main arteries were closed. In Washington, drivers who ventured out often had to abandon their cars due to deep snow on the streets.
In eastern Europe, more than 220 villages and towns in Bulgaria were left without electricity, and toppled trees cut power in several mountainous suburbs in the capital Sofia.
An overflowing dam in the town of Zlatograd, south-east of the capital, Sofia, flooded the basements of several apartment buildings, the town's mayor told news agency Focus.
Some 50 passengers were injured early today when a train failed to stop and hit a buffer at the main Zagreb station, in the Croatian capital, police said. The accident involved a train travelling from the central town of Sisak to Zagreb. One person suffered a life-threatening injury, while some 40 people required medical assistance, hospital sources said.
Police said it was still unclear what caused the accident. Train travel in Croatia has been disrupted in recent days due to heavy snow and very low temperatures.
Four Serie-A soccer matches were postponed in Italy over the weekend due to the weather.
In France, the heavy snowfall was not expected to end until tonight at the earliest, according to weather bureau Meteo France. Minimum temperatures hovered close to record lows in some areas overnight, with the minimum reading in the Jura department of eastern France reaching -23C.
In Moscow, where temperatures fell to -26C last week, relatively warmer temperatures of -13C brought heavy snow falls in the Russian capital, blanketing Red Square and the Kremlin. Up to 9,000 snow ploughs were said to have been sent out to clear the capital city's streets.
Natural disasters and extreme weather
Germany
Poland
France
Russia
James Sturcke
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 French president Nicolas Sarkozy drunk at G8
YOUTUBE
Obviously drunk. This video was recorded during a press conference held by recently elected french president Nicolas Sarkozy during the G8 summit on june 2007. This is the translation of the...
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