Angela Merkel will make her sharpest political U-turn since becoming German Chancellor this week when her government unveils a €50bn (£44bn) package of tax cuts and incentives to protect Europe's biggest economy from deepening recession.

The "Pact for Germany" programme contains a battery of tax cuts, health insurance reductions and special government funds designed to stimulate an economy forecast to contract by 3 per cent this year.

The measures, expected to be agreed at a crisis cabinet meeting tomorrow, will be announced only weeks after Mrs Merkel's grand coalition government heaped scorn on Britain for "tossing around billions" in its efforts to tackle the credit crunch.

An intriguing mystery was unfolding at a luxury Alpine resort this weekend after speculation started to take wing that a chalet in the upmarket Swiss skiing town of Gstaad was destroyed by a fire that was aimed at its occupant - an Eastern European leader who is at loggerheads with Vladimir Putin's regime in Moscow.

As police investigated the cause of a blaze that destroyed a holiday home in the village of Kalberhöni, rumours persisted that among eight people who fled the inferno was Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine and for the past month or so embroiled in a bitter row with Moscow over the price it pays for Russian gas. One local familiar with the chalet owned by Janos Lux said everybody in the village knew the fire had happened, but nobody knew the circumstances around it, as there had been a "diplomatic silence". "Theirs is a different world to ours," she said of Mr Lux and his paying guests.

Heat is due to start flowing back into tens of thousands of freezing homes in Europe under a deal clinched yesterday to resume gas deliveries from Russia.

The agreement marks an unexpected coup for the Czech government which, as the current holder of the EU presidency, had come under huge pressure to break the deadlock that triggered crippling energy shortages across a dozen countries in central Europe and the Balkans in a week of blisteringly cold weather.

Diplomats in Brussels had fretted that the small, former Soviet-bloc state lacked the diplomatic clout to act as a mediator in the fraught negotiations between Kiev and Moscow after the dispute over payments that began on 1 January spiralled into a full-scale international emergency. Last Wednesday, Russia's gas giant Gazprom, the EU's largest foreign provider of gas, halted all deliveries to European countries transiting through Ukraine, forcing the Czechs to step into the breach.

Workplace bullying by President Nicolas Sarkozy was the real reason why the French justice minister returned to work five days after having a baby, the former presidential candidate, Ségolène Royal, said yesterday.

Mme Royal - who has four children and was the first French minister to give birth while in office - jumped to the support of her bitter political enemy, Rachida Dati, whose rapid resumption of her duties has been criticised by women's groups.

Tony Blair, the former UK prime minister, is re-emerging as a possible choice to be the European Union's first full-time president after four momentous crises reinforced the argument for having a high-profile international personality in the job.

In one sense, the discussions are premature. The full-time president will take office next year only if the EU's Lisbon institutional reform treaty, which creates the position, is ratified by all member-states - notably, Ireland, which is expected to hold a second referendum on the treaty between September and December.

But the sheer scale of the challenges facing the EU - from last August's Russia-Georgia war and the global financial meltdown to the Gaza conflict and the shutdown of Russian gas deliveries to Europe - is redefining the debate.

Whereas last year Germany and other countries looked favourably on candidates such as Jean-Claude Juncker, the long-serving prime minister of Luxembourg, more policymakers now feel the EU presidency demands an occupant from a much bigger member-state.

Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, on Sunday took another apparent swipe at Vladimir Putin, rebuking the prime minister's government for moving too slowly to alleviate the country's economic crisis.

Mr Medvedev said only 30 per cent of the government's anti-crisis programme drafted last October had been fulfilled.

"We have to acknowledge that at the present moment planned measures are being fulfilled more slowly than expected and, most important, more slowly than the current situation demands," Mr Medvedev said at a meeting at the Salyut engine plant outside Moscow.

The Finnish Tax Administration has expressed surprise at the amount of tax paid in by businesses this month. Last January corporate taxes amounted to 535 million euros, compared to a mere 83 million euros gathered this month.

During the second half of last year, businesses already noted that their returns were much smaller than expected. Ilkka Karjalainen, Senior Inspector with the Tax Administration said that the current situation is exceptional."The gains made in 2008 have been rapidly reduced or altogether wiped out," he noted.

(i.e. will not be accepted by Slovenia)

Israeli forces yesterday pounded dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip and dropped leaflets warning of an escalation in attacks, as southern Israel came under renewed Palestinian rocket fire. Last night, as flames and smoke rose over Gaza City, speculation grew that Israel was about to launch the so-called third stage of its offensive: the forcible entry into Gaza City by thousands of troops.

In response, Hamas said that the Gaza offensive had "killed the last chance for settlement and negotiation with Israel". Earlier yesterday, Israeli aircraft attacked more than 40 targets throughout Gaza, striking 10 rocket-launching sites, weapons-storage facilities, smuggling tunnels, an anti-aircraft missile launcher and gunmen. And civilians.

As they took their leave of the Saudi Arabian supertanker, they were "full of joy" at having pulled off the biggest coup in Somalian piracy.

After sailing hundreds of miles from their pirate base, they had seized a ship the size of an aircraft carrier carrying $100m of crude oil, faced down an international fleet for two months and extracted a reported $3m ransom for the release of the Sirius Star and its crew, including two Brits.

But yesterday came the news that some of the dozens of pirates involved had, in the words of one victim, "got their comeuppance". As they celebrated the success of the audacious operation, one heavily laden boat capsized and six of the 14 on board drowned.

At least in this great country of theirs (as they like to call it) the inauguration of a president is relatively swift, because we know how interminable everything else about the process is: the primaries, the election campaign, the transition.

And for some of those enjoying the pomp, circumstance and traffic that will engulf Washington DC on 20 January, the moments of real thrill will be briefer still. It may be the instant Barack Obama is sworn in, his hand on the same Bible used at the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, or when he utters that one line in his speech from the steps of the Capitol that all of our grandchildren may or may not always remember.

Near the old civil-war front line in the centre of Beirut stands a large digital clock with blood-red numbers. It has almost reached the neat, round figure of 1,500 and represents the days since Rafiq Hariri was murdered. You still hear people in Lebanon asking for "haqiqa" - "the truth"; my driver Abed even has a slim, black sticker tied to the mirror of our car with the word in Arabic script. The trouble is that as that figure on the digital clock goes on climbing, a lot of Lebanese are beginning to doubt they will ever know who murdered the billionaire and former prime minister - along with 21 others - on the Beirut Corniche on 14 February 2005. This St Valentine's Day massacre was caused by an estimated 1,700kg of explosives, but despite a massive United Nations inquiry involving Irish police officers, judges from Germany, Belgium and Canada, and the setting up of an entire tribunal headquarters in The Hague, no one has been charged.

A Royal Marine was killed by an explosion today in Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said.

The Marine, from UK Landing Force Command Support Group (UKLF CSG), operating as part of 45 Commando Royal Marines, was killed in the Kajaki area, a spokeswoman said. Next of kin have been informed.

JAKARTA, Jan 11 (Reuters ) - An Indonesian ferry carrying 250 passengers capsized and sank after being battered by a large wave in storms in the country's east on Sunday, officials said, adding bad weather and nightfall made rescue efforts difficult.

Rustam Pakaya, head of the health ministry's crisis center, said six deaths had been confirmed in the accident, which occurred early on Sunday morning.

Eighteen people including one of the crew had been rescued, said Bambang Ervan, a spokesman for the Transport Ministry.

"We still don't know the fate of the missing people, whether they had lifejackets on when the ship was hit, and it happened at dawn so most people were probably asleep," Ervan said.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian special forces have killed a Taliban commander involved in recruiting suicide bombers and foreign fighters in Afghanistan, Australia's Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

The Taliban launched scores of suicide bombings across Afghanistan last year, mostly aimed at the 65,000 foreign troops in the country as well as Afghan forces. Most of the victims of the attacks are civilian passers-by, security experts say.

Mullah Abdul Rasheed was a "primary" facilitator of attacks using improvised bombs against foreign forces in the southern province of Uruzgan, the ministry said in a statement.

Barack Obama will mark a radical break in American foreign policy this week by unveiling a team of diplomats tasked with ushering in a new era of dialogue with enemies abroad.

As Hillary Clinton prepares for Senate confirmation hearings this week, she will head a group of advisers who are virtual opposites to the appointees made by President George W Bush. While Bush favoured aggressive neoconservative ideologues, Obama has selected people whose doveish credentials seem impeccable.

They will be responsible for reversing the political unilateralism of the Bush years and opening direct negotiations with hostile states, potentially ranging from Syria to Cuba and Venezuela and maybe including Iran and even Islamic militant group Hamas.

The Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army went on full alert Sunday, Jan. 11, after unknown gunmen in Syria opened fire on a group of Israeli military engineers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

According to an eyewitness in the Bekaa Valley, Hezbollah militants were seen taking their positions in the mountainous Knessineh area overlooking the Israeli-Lebanese border shortly after the Golan incident took place.

 

However, no one was hurt and it was not immediately clear who was responsible, an Israeli military spokesman said.

Foreigners in Sudan could be targeted by "outlaws" if the International Criminal Court pursues a case against Sudan's president, a top official says.

The ICC is widely expected to issue an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir on charges that he masterminded a genocide in Darfur.

It is the most specific warning yet that foreigners could bear the brunt of public anger if a warrant is issued.

Diplomatic efforts by Khartoum to get the case deferred have so far failed.

Rescuers are intensifying their searches in highland areas of central Costa Rica after a powerful earthquake that left at least 19 people dead.

The 6.1-magnitude quake on Thursday at Poas Volcano National Park north of the capital, San Jose, caused landslides to block roads and damage buildings.

Red Cross officials now say 19 people have died, with others still believed to buried by landslides.

At least 40 people are still missing, and hundreds have sought refuge.

Temporary shelters have been set up in the region for those affected by the quake.

Officials have warned that the number of dead and injured is likely to rise as rescuers reach remote areas.

Votes have been held in Thailand for 29 parliamentary seats, seen as the first test of support for the new coalition government of PM Abhisit Vejjajiva.

His Democrat Party-led coalition came to power in December and only has a narrow majority in parliament.

The previous leadership was forced out by a court ruling and months of anti-government protests.

The court ruling also banned 29 MPs from politics, triggering by-elections across 22 states.

The previous governing party, allied to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is hoping to pick up enough seats to weaken the new government's hold on power.

Officials from China's southern Guangdong province are reported to have gambled away more than $3m (£2m) of public money in recent years.

Chinese media reports said more than 50 officials had been investigated and six had been jailed or punished.

The officials lost the money gambling at casinos in Macau, on cruise ships off Hong Kong, and betting on football matches, reports said.

President Hu Jintao has said battling corruption is a key priority.

The Indian government has appointed three leading businessmen to the board of scandal-hit software firm Satyam.

This comes two days after Delhi sacked the entire board of Satyam, a private company, as its founder and former chairman was arrested.

Ramalinga Raju and his brother Rama, also a former Satyam director, were arrested on charges including criminal conspiracy and forgery.

Mr Raju admitted last week that the firm had been falsifying its accounts.

He said the company had exaggerated its cash reserves by some $1bn (£661m).

The affair is India's biggest-ever corporate fraud.

Alexander Nevsky, best-known for stopping the advance of the Swedes and Teutonic Knights into Russia in the 13th century, narrowly defeated 20th-century reformer and tsarist Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin in the "Face of Russia," a controversial seven-month contest on state-run Rossia television.

Nevsky, the prince of Novgorod and Kiev and grand prince of Vladimir, tallied 524,575 votes in the contest. He edged out Stolypin -- generally better known for having been murdered by a Russian terrorist than for his unfinished reforms -- who finished with 523,766 votes, cast by Internet and telephone. The contest is the Russian equivalent of the BBC program "Great Britons."

Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin finished third, with 519,671 votes, while poet Alexander Pushkin finished fourth.

A total of more than 50 million votes were cast. ...

President-elect Barack Obama on Sunday promised to focus on Middle East peace from the start of his administration and to treat Iran with "respect" as he set out his foreign policy thinking in greater detail than before. But, in remarks that may prove disappointing to some of his supporters, he also warned that it would be a "challenge" to close the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay within 100 days of taking office.

In an interview with ABC News, broadcast on Sunday, Mr Obama steered clear of detailed comments on the fighting in the Gaza Strip, although in a response to a question about Israel's response to missile attacks by Hamas he emphasised the "basic principle" of a country's obligation to protect its citizens.

He signalled that he would not wait as long on the issue as either President George W Bush or former President Bill Clinton - each of whom hoped to seal an Israeli-Palestinian deal during their last year in office - and that it was important to avoid being seen as favouring one or other of the two sides.

January 2, 2009 (WASHINGTON) -- A privately held U.S. investment firm entered into an agricultural investment with a company controlled by the son of a South Sudanese general.

Jarch Management Group, Ltd, which is registered in the Virgin Islands, is managed by commodities traders and former State Department and Central Intelligence Agency officials, among others.

The investment group announced that it has purchased a 70% interest, by way of sub-participation, in a company incorporated in Juba, the capital of the autonomous region of Southern Sudan. This company, Leac for Agriculture and Investment Company Limited, is controlled by Gabriel Matip, the eldest son of General Paulino Matip Nhial, deputy commander-in-chief of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).

In addition, Jarch has leased a large tract of farmland in Mayom county of Unity State.

"Jarch has leased approximately 400,000 hectares gross of prime farmland from General Paulino Matip. In addition, Jarch will acquire more farm land within Southern Sudan," said a statement issued by the investment group.

The statement also noted that Mayom county, where the farmland was leased, contains some mineral resources, for which contracts will be executed by the Government of Southern Sudan in early 2009.

[...]

The privately-held firm operates in Africa to extract natural resources. The company is chaired by Philippe Heilberg, who during the 1990s worked in the commodities division of American International Group, a giant American financial company that nearly collapsed in 2008.

US and European banking chiefs will converge on Basel on Saturday for a behind-the-scenes meeting with central bankers and regulators to discuss the post-crisis regulatory framework.

The gathering, hosted by the Bank for International Settlements, is expected to see the attendance of such as Morgan Stanley's chief executive John Mack, Citigroup's chairman Sir Win Bischoff and Crédit Suisse's chief Brady Dougan. Other leading European institutions, including UBS and Deutsche Bank, are expected to be represented.

The presence of heavy hitters underlines the financial industry's desire to shape the regulatory framework that will govern the sector once the current turmoil abates. "It is important to be at the negotiating table well before decisions are made. We need to make our voice heard," a senior Wall Street executive said.

While most bank executives acknowledge the need for tougher regulations, many fear their capital requirements will be increased at a time when they are still grappling with the financial crisis and subsequent downturn in the global economy.

In an appropriate answer to Israel's current implementation of that threat, Norway's biggest newspaper VG on January 8 printed this cartoon which would be an awful car sticker (via annie in comments and Daily Norway).

 

The leader of a Muslim youth organisation and several senior politicians today condemned Prince Harry for a video diary in which he describes an Asian member of his platoon as "our little Paki friend".

The prince, who is third in line to the throne, made the comments in footage shot while training as an officer at the Sandhurst military academy in 2006, a year after being forced to make a public apology for wearing a Nazi swastika at a fancy dress party. Last night, St James's Palace issued a public apology for the latest incident, saying: "Prince Harry fully understands how offensive this term can be, and is extremely sorry for any offence his words might cause."

The youngest Briton to climb Everest has died in an avalanche while ice-climbing in the French Alps. Rob Gauntlett, who reached the mountain's 8,840m summit in May 2006, just after he turned 19, was killed yesterday, along with a close friend.

At last it can be shown. Two days before the medallion man of British politics gets a gong for advancing world peace, The Independent on Sunday has obtained the art work for the congressional gold medal awarded to Tony Blair in 2003, but not, so far, actually minted and presented.

The medal - unlike the standard Ruritanian presidential medal of freedom that Mr Blair will receive from his old buddy George Bush on Tuesday - allows the recipient "input" into its design. This may, in the case of Britain's own pretty straight kinda guy, have been a mistake.

'Our ultimate weapon is not our guns, but our beliefs'.
Huh?

Ad astra per aspera

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The world's first billboard running solely on wind and solar power is ready to make its debut in the capital of all billboards -- New York's Times Square.

Wind whistling between the neighborhood's skyscrapers should keep the giant billboard lit constantly, said the manufacturer, Japanese copy and photo giant Ricoh Company Ltd.

The "Eco-Board" weighs 35,000 pounds (15,800 kg) and will be powered by 16 vertical wind turbines and 64 solar panels.

Britain's high street fashion giant Primark was at the centre of a storm last night over allegations that illegal immigrants paid just over half the minimum wage had been employed to make fashionable knitwear for one of the firm's bestselling ranges.

Primark announced yesterday that it had launched an inquiry after an investigation by the Observer and the BBC revealed that Manchester-based garment firm TNS Knitwear may have breached key employment and immigration laws. Breaches of the legislation could lead to fines of up to £10,000 for each illegal worker and potential prosecution for tax evasion and employment law abuses.

In a few days, a robot vehicle no bigger than a golf cart will complete its analysis of a small patch of red Martian soil. Then it will turn south to continue a journey that will become the longest overland trek ever made on another world.

Opportunity is one of a pair of six-wheeled robots that have been trundling across Mars since 2004. In that time, Opportunity and its partner, Spirit, have uncovered vital information about the planet's past and shown that, although apparently sterile and barren today, Mars was once Earth-like, with a thick atmosphere and plenty of water.

The small probes, which will mark their fifth anniversary on Mars this month, have helped to transform our knowledge of the Red Planet. Yet each was designed to survive there for only three months, a startling 20-fold increase in operating life that was hailed by scientists at Nasa last week.

Worker ants in colonies with a queen are physically attacked by their peers if they try to reproduce, a study says.

In ant society, workers normally give up reproducing to care for the queen's offspring, who are also their brothers and sisters.

The researchers found that chemicals produced by the sneaky ants gave away their fertility status.

Is this Kate Winslet's year? The actress has received five Oscar nominations and five Golden Globe nominations to date, but never won. In a pincer movement that might see her break her duck, she is up for awards in two separate categories at tonight's Globes ceremony.

She is the lead actress in both the fifties US suburbs tragi-drama Revolutionary Road, directed by her husband Sam Mendes, and Stephen Daldry's Nazi-themed The Reader. To double her chances of success, she is nominated in the best supporting role for the latter.

They've got blonde hair, blue eyes, and occupy a special place in heart of generations of schoolgirls from every corner of the globe. But for years, Barbie and Ken appear to have been hiding a guilty secret.

The popular all-American toys turn out to have been created by "a full-blown Seventies-style swinger" with "a manic need for sexual gratification," who based their design on his favourite adult dolls, according to a new book.