French unions rage at Hollande over Mittal deal

PARIS (Reuters) – French trade unions accused President Francois Hollande of betrayal on Saturday after his government backed away from a threat to nationalize ArcelorMittal‘s Florange steelworks.

The Socialist government said on Friday it had won promises from ArcelorMittal to avoid forced redundancies and inject 180 million euros to develop the Florange plant, meaning it would no longer have to take over the site.

Hollande came to office promising to create jobs and keep open the two furnaces at the site in northern France which ArcelorMittal says are not viable in a European steel sector suffering over-capacity.

ArcelorMittal confirmed the details of the deal on Saturday, saying it would negotiate a voluntary redundancy deal with unions.

Workers are angry the furnaces will remain idled rather than reopened and expressed doubt over ArcelorMittal’s promise to offer alternative posts or early retirement packages for the 630 workers affected.

“We’re on a war footing,” Edouard Martin, head of union CFDT’s Florange chapter, told the commercial i

“We’ve seen Mr. (Lakshmi) Mittal’s pledges in the past and what has become of them – nothing – so we’re not going to let anything pass without a fight.”

Martin said the union had been a “nightmare” for former president Nicolas Sarkozy in the past over his jobs record, which analysts say was a factor in his election defeat in May, and could soon become one for Hollande.

ArcelorMittal rejects accusations it has broken promises in a country where it employs 20,000 over several sites.

The group incurred union wrath in 2009 when it shuttered the nearby Gandrange steelworks and laid off about 500 workers. Sarkozy had pledged to keep that site open.

‘EXPECTING THE WORST’

France’s prime minister defended the Florange deal.

“The prime minister will keep a close watch to ensure that promises made yesterday by the group are kept,” Jean-Marc Ayrault said in a statement.

“They are unconditional, and the government will use all legal means at its disposal in the event they are not respected.”

Unions say revamping Florange will require about 400 million euros in funding from the European Union on top of ArcelorMittal’s pledge – cash which has yet to be committed.

Threats this week by Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg of a state takeover of Florange were denounced as “scandalous” by France’s main employers group Medef, which fears it will jeopardize foreign investment in France.

Hollande has tried to cultivate a worker-friendly image but his popularity has suffered as an economic slowdown pushes unemployment above 10 percent. A survey by pollster IFOP showed 41 percent of the French back him, one of the lowest scores for a president only six months into his term.

“We complained about Nicolas Sarkozy, but Francois Hollande is not doing any better,” CGT unionist Frederic Maris told BFM television. “For the future, we’re expecting the worst.”

French officials argue that Mittal promised to keep blast furnaces running beyond 2010 when his company merged with Arcelor in 2006.

ArcelorMittal denies breaching commitments. Sources close to the group say Arcelor planned in 2003 – before its 2006 takeover by Mittal – to wind down inland blast furnaces in Europe, including the two in Florange, by 2010.

(Additional reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek in Brussels; Editing by Mark John and Janet Lawrence)

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Cargo plane crashes in Brazzaville, 3 dead

BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo (AP) — A cargo plane owned by a private company crashed Friday near the airport in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, killing at least three people, officials said.

The Soviet-made Ilyushin-76 belonged to Trans Air Congo and appeared to be transporting merchandise, not people, said an aviation official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The plane was coming from Congo‘s second-largest city, Pointe Noire, and tried to land during heavy rain, he said.

Ambulances rushed to the scene in the Makazou neighborhood, located near the airport, but emergency workers were hampered by the lack of light in this capital, which like so many in Africa has a chronic shortage of electricity.

“At the moment, my team is having a hard time searching for survivors in order to find the victims of the crash because there is no light and also because of the rain,” Congolese Red Cross head Albert Mberi said.

He said that realistically, they will only be able to launch a proper search Saturday, when the sun comes up.

Reporters at the scene fought through a wall of smoke. Despite the darkness, they could make out the smoldering remains of the plane, including what looked like the left wing of the aircraft. A little bit further on, emergency workers identified the body of the plane’s Ukrainian pilot, and covered the corpse in a blanket.

Firefighters were trying to extinguish the blaze of a part of the plane that had fallen into a ravine. They were using their truck lights to try to illuminate the scene of the crash. Although the plane was carrying merchandise, emergency workers fear that there could be more people on board.

Because of the state of the road connecting Pointe Noire to Brazzaville, many traders prefer to fly the roughly 400 kilometers (250 miles).

Africa has some of the worst air safety records in the world. In June, a commercial jetliner crashed in Lagos, Nigeria, killing 153 people, just a few days after a cargo plane clipped a bus in neighboring Ghana, killing 10.

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The Kids Are All Right: How Social Media Created a Generation of Activists

This week marked the nation’s inaugural  “Giving Tuesday,” a UN sponsored initiative, which utilized social media to encourage businesses, schools, and community members to give back. The effort resulted in $ 10 million worth of donations made in a single day, a 53 percent increase over the same day last year.

Conceived as a means to promote activism and charity, the campaign’s use of social media to spread its message is most likely a large part of the initiative’s success. 

Certainly people from every age group use Twitter and Facebook, but social media activism is especially resonant with young adults. According to TBWA, people between the ages of 18-29 strongly identify as activists and count social media as their first point of engagement when they learn about a new cause.

MORE: ‘Tis Always the Season to Give: Creating a Corporate Culture That Gives Back

In fact, about half believe that activism is important to their personal identity and about a third look to it as a means of socializing and relating to one another.

But more than identifying with activism, this younger generation’s aptitude for social media can effect real change. Look at the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Earlier this year, when the organization announced it would pull its funding for breast cancer screenings from Planned Parenthood, cutting off medical access for millions of women, Twitter and Facebook lit up with vitriolic statements, claiming the organization had become a puppet of the religious right. The ensuing bad press proved to be too much and within days, the organization reversed its decision and issued a public apology.

Similarly, when Florida law enforcement officials refused to arrest George Zimmerman after he fatally shot Trayvon Martin, the case lay dormant for almost a month. But an online petition started by Martin’s parents went viral and galvanized a nation demanding justice for the boy’s death. Zimmerman was arrested and charged as a result.

For all we hear about “kids these days” and their irresponsible use of social media−posting questionable pictures of themselves doing kegstands or letting Twitter corrode their ability to hold a thought for more than a nanosecond−it turns out that most are using it to express a genuine passion for changing the world around them. And they’re succeeding.

And these trends extend well beyond the U.S. That same age group in other countries shows similar interests in contributing to larger causes. China’s young adults for instance, lead the world in online political discussions and offline they donate the most money to charities. India’s younger generation ranks the first in the world when it comes to staying informed, and they’re the most optimistic about the impact their activism has on the world around them.

It seems that our youngest generation of adults are the ones leading the charge when it comes to effectively making a difference.

Do you consider yourself an activist? Let us know in the Comments what social causes inspire you to get involved.

Related Stories on TakePart:

• Secret Santas: Profiles in Anonymous Holiday Generosity

• Rwanda Genocide Survivor Wins Grant for Giving Back

• 40 U.S. Billionaires Pledge Half of Fortunes to Charity

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A Bay Area native, Andri Antoniades previously worked as a fashion industry journalist and medical writer.  In addition to reporting the weekend news on TakePart, she volunteers as a webeditor for locally-based nonprofits and works as a freelance feature writer for TimeOutLA.com. Email Andri | @andritweets | TakePart.com

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Emmy Awards date announced by CBS

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Health officials warn of spiraling HIV in Athens

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Health officials warn that the Greek capital is seeing an alarming increase in new HIV infections, particularly among intravenous drug users, as the country struggles through a protracted financial crisis in which funding has been slashed for health care and drug treatment programs.

Officials said while there were about 10-14 new HIV infections per year among Athens drug users from 2008 to 2010, that number shot up to 206 new cases last year and 487 new cases by October this year — a 35-fold increase.

Epidemiology and preventive medicine professor Angelos Hatzakis described the situation as a “big and rapidly developing epidemic in Athens.”

Marc Sprenger, director of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, said the situation must be dealt with quickly to prevent it from spiraling further.

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Brazil’s metro areas drive economy, report shows

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A report by the Brookings Institution shows Brazil‘s 13 largest metropolitan areas are the country’s economic engines, concentrating more than half of national GDP and driving their states forward.

The study by the think-tank’s Metropolitan Policy Program was issued Friday during an international conference in Sao Paulo. The Institution analyzed for the first time economic and demographic data about Brazil’s 13 most significant cities. A quick glance shows that with 33 percent of the population, they account for 56 percent of national GDP. They also concentrate half of the country’s college graduates, and are responsible for at least 45 percent of their states’ GDP.

These metro areas also have prominence globally: they’re responsible for one-third of Brazil’s exports.

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African Union asks UN for immediate action on Mali

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — In an open letter Thursday to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the president of the African Union urged the U.N. to take immediate military action in northern Mali, which was seized by al-Qaida-linked rebels earlier this year.

Yayi Boni, the president of Benin who is also head of the African Union, said any reticence on the part of the U.N. will be interpreted as a sign of weakness by the terrorists now operating in Mali. The AU is waiting for the U.N. to sign off on a military plan to take back the occupied territory, and the Security Council is expected to discuss it in coming days.

In a report to the Security Council late Wednesday, Ban said the AU plan “needs to be developed further” because fundamental questions on how the force will be led, trained and equipped. Ban acknowledged that with each day, al-Qaida-linked fighters were becoming further entrenched in northern Mali, but he cautioned that a botched military operation could result in human rights abuses.

The sprawling African nation of Mali, once an example of a stable democracy, fell apart in March following a coup by junior officers. In the uncertainty that ensued, rebels including at least three groups with ties to al-Qaida, grabbed control of the nation’s distant north. The Islamists now control an area the size of France or Texas, an enormous triangle of land that includes borders with Mauritania, Algeria and Niger.

Two weeks ago, the African Union asked the U.N. to endorse a military intervention to free northern Mali, calling for 3,300 African soldiers to be deployed for one year. A U.S.-based counterterrorism official who saw the military plan said it was “amateurish” and had “huge, gaping holes.” The official insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter.

Boni, in his letter, said Africa was counting on the U.N. to take decisive action.

“I need to tell you with how much impatience the African continent is awaiting a strong message from the international community regarding the resolution of the crisis in Mali. … What we need to avoid is the impression that we are lacking in resolve in the face of these determined terrorists,” he said.

The most feared group in northern Mali is al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, al-Qaida’s North African branch, which is holding at least seven French hostages, including a 61-year-old man kidnapped last week.

On Thursday, SITE Intelligence published a transcript of a recently released interview with AQIM leader, Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, in which he urges Malians to reject any foreign intervention in their country. He warned French President Francois Hollande that he was “digging the graves” of the French hostages by pushing for an intervention.

Also on Thursday, Islamists meted out the latest Shariah punishment in northern city of Timbuktu. Six young men and women were each given 100 lashes for having talked to each other on city streets, witnesses said.

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Associated Press writer Virgile Ahissou in Cotonou, Benin and Baba Ahmed in Bamako, Mali contributed to this report.

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Study: DVRs now in half of US pay-TV homes

NEW YORK (AP) — A new survey finds that digital video recorders are now in more than half of all U.S. homes that subscribe to cable or satellite TV services.

Leichtman Research Group‘s survey of 1,300 households found that 52 percent of the ones that have pay-TV service also have a DVR. That translates to about 45 percent of all households and is up from 13.5 percent of all households surveyed five years ago by another firm, Nielsen.

The first DVRs came out in 1999, from TiVo Inc. and ReplayTV. Later, they were built into cable set-top boxes. The latest trend is “whole-home” DVRs that can distribute recorded shows to several sets.

Even with the spread of DVRs, live TV rules. Nielsen found last year that DVRs accounted for 8 percent of TV watching.

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Russian court bans “extremist” Pussy Riot video

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian court ruled on Thursday that video footage of the Pussy Riot punk group protesting against President Vladimir Putin in a church was “extremist” and should be removed from websites.

The demonstration last February offended many Russian Orthodox Christians. But Putin has been criticized by U.S. and European leaders over what they saw as disproportionate jail sentences imposed on three Pussy Riot members. Their trial was also seen by Putin’s critics as part of a clampdown on dissent.

The Moscow court said it had based its ruling on conclusions by a panel of experts who studied the video, showing band members in colorful mini-skirts and ski masks dancing in front of the altar of Moscow’s main Russian Orthodox cathedral.

Judge Marina Musimovich said the footage “has elements of extremism; in particular there are words and actions which humiliate various social groups based on their religion”. She said it also had calls for mutiny and “mass disorder”.

The verdict said that free distribution of the video could ignite racial and religious hatred.

The court’s ruling applies to other videos released by the band, including a performance in Moscow’s Red Square, where calls for mass disorder could be heard. Such calls were not made inside the church.

The websites are now likely to be included in a state register and could be blocked if the banned content is not removed.

The Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor said that once the court decision takes effect it will monitor how it is implemented.

Three members of Pussy Riot convicted in August of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred for their “punk prayer”, which the Russian Orthodox Church has cast as part of a concerted attack on the church and the faithful.

The women said the protest, in which they burst into Christ the Saviour Cathedral and called on the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of Putin, was not motivated by hatred and was meant to mock the church leadership’s support for the longtime leader.

Band members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina are serving two-year jail sentences over the protest last February. A third member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, walked free last month when her sentence was suspended on appeal.

“To me this is a clear attribute of censorship – censorship of art and censorship of culture, of the protest culture which is very important for any country, let alone for Russia,” Samutsevich told reporters outside court.

“Now of course the fact that they will be blocking all Pussy Riot videos as I understand, all photos – this is horrible. Naturally, I will lodge an appeal and I will try to do it today,” she added.

Putin, a former KGB officer who has cultivated close ties with the Orthodox church over 13 years in power, has rebuffed Western criticism about the prison terms meted out.

(Additional reporting Valery Stepchenkov; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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Energy Bill for ‘cleaner economy’

29 November 2012 Last updated at 10:14 ET

Energy Secretary Ed Davey says the Bill will transform the energy landscape

Energy minister Ed Davey has unveiled the government’s much-trailed Energy Bill, setting out the roadmap for the UK’s switch to “a low-carbon economy”.

Energy firms can increase the “green” levy from £3bn to £7.6bn a year by 2020, potentially increasing household bills by £100.

But big, energy-intensive companies could be exempt from the extra costs of the switch to renewable energy.

There are also proposals for financial incentives to reduce energy demand.

The “transformation” will cost the UK £110bn over ten years, Mr Davey said.

He told MPs: “Britain’s energy sector is embarking on a period of exceptional renewal and expansion.

“The scale of the investment required is huge, representing close to half the UK’s total infrastructure investment pipeline.”

The government’s plan formed the “biggest transformation of Britain’s electricity market since privatisation,” he said.

Measures proposed in the Bill and consultations include:

• Household energy bills to rise £100 on average by 2020


• “Green” levy charged by energy firms to rise from £3bn to £7.6bn


• Switch to clean energy to cost £110bn over ten years


• Bill aims to encourage investment in low-carbon power production


• Energy-intensive companies may be exempt from additional charges


• Possible financial incentives to reduce energy consumption

Mr Davey said government policy was “designed specifically to reduce consumer bills”, arguing that without a move to renewable energy, bills would be higher because of a reliance on expensive and volatile gas prices.

Continue reading the main story

The government has unveiled plans to exempt some of Britain’s biggest industries from charges for clean electricity.

The Energy Bill confirms that households will be expected to pay about £100 a year on average to get more power from nuclear and renewables.

But it looks as though energy intensive firms won’t have to pay the extra charges. It’s feared that if their energy bills rise too high, they’ll move manufacturing jobs abroad.

The move may prove controversial with consumer groups.

The Bill confirms that households would provide £7.6bn of subsidy to nuclear and renewables by 2020 to keep the lights on and to meet targets on reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.

The government says the investment will shield the UK from volatile gas prices and force down costs in the long run.

But ministers have also announced that some of biggest industrial polluters in the UK – like steel and cement – may not be asked to pay extra. These global firms threaten to take their jobs elsewhere if power bills rise.

The government has recognised that if you are trying to cut global emissions of carbon, it’s futile driving away firms to pollute somewhere else. But many households may wonder why they’re being forced to pay extra whilst big firms are not.

Follow Roger on Twitter @rogerharrabin

The Energy Bill aims to move the UK’s energy production from a dependence on fossil fuels to a more diverse mix of energy sources, such as wind, nuclear and biomass.

This is to fill the energy gap from closing a number of coal and nuclear power stations over the next two decades, and to meet the government’s carbon dioxide emissions targets.

By allowing energy companies to charge more, the government hopes they will have the confidence to invest the huge sums of money that are needed to build renewable energy infrastructure such as windfarms.

But the opposition said that investment in renewable energy had fallen under the coalition.

“The reason that’s happened is because of the uncertainty the government has created – that’s why firms have put investment on hold, or scrapped it altogether,” said shadow energy and climate change secretary Caroline Flint.

She added that the absence of a carbon cap for the energy sector for 2030 further undermined investment in renewables.

Exemptions

But in a consultation paper published alongside the Bill, Mr Davey said energy-intensive industries, such as steel and cement producers, would be exempt from additional costs arising from measures to encourage investment in new low-carbon production.

“Decarbonisation should not mean deindustrialisation”, Mr Davey said.

“The transition to the low carbon economy will depend on products made by energy intensive industries – a wind turbine for example needing steel, cement and high-tech textiles.

“This exemption will ensure the UK retains the industrial capacity to support a low carbon economy.”

Without the exemption, the government fears big companies would cut jobs and relocate abroad.

Reducing demand

The government proposals to reduce electricity demand include financial incentives for consumers and businesses alike.

Shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint says the bill will see consumers will facing higher prices

For example, firms could be paid for each kilowatt-hour they save as a result of taking energy-reduction measures, such as low-energy lighting.

Householders and businesses could be given discounts and incentives to replace old equipment with more energy-efficient versions.

The government believes a 10% reduction in electricity demand could save £4bn by 2030.

But research by management consultancy McKinsey suggests there is the potential to reduce demand by as much as 26%, equivalent to 92 terawatt-hours, or the electricity generated by nine power stations in one year.

Audrey Gallacher, director of energy at Consumer Focus, said: “The government’s commitment to reduce energy demand through incentives for consumers and businesses is welcome.

“But it will come at a cost – which again will be passed onto customers.”

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