Friday 30 December 2011
A midwife has delivered her own baby at home
A midwife has delivered her own baby daughter at home with the help of her mother's make-up mirror. Hours after finishing work at Croydon University Hospital in London, Claire Clarke-Wood, 28, from Hawkhurst, Kent, delivered baby Esmay in her bathroom. Baby Esmay was born before paramedics arrived, just after 07:30 GMT on 11 December, weighing 6lb 12oz (3.06kg). "But never in a million years would I have thought it would actually happen." The first-time mother said she had just finished a 13-hour shift at the south London hospital. "It was very busy and we had quite a few deliveries that day," she said. "I went to bed as normal and at around three o'clock, I had a bit of backache and thought it might just have been from work because you bend over a lot." She said she had woken up her husband Tim at about 05:00 GMT when regular contractions began. "I went to have a bath to see if that would settle things but things carried on very quickly," she said. "I got to the point where contractions were very close together and thought I'd check to see what stage I was at, and lo and behold the baby was coming. "I never thought I'd be that far gone. It was very quick and unexpected, particularly for someone who's quite petite. My husband came to find me and I was clearing up towels and making cups of tea. She said Esmay, who was born "a bit over three weeks early", was "doing really well".
Turkey attack
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday's attack near a Kurdish village, in which young smugglers died, was "unfortunate and saddening". President Abdullah Gul also expressed condolences and spoke of Turkey's "pain" over the incident. A Kurdish rebel commander, Bahoz Erdal of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), called on Kurds to "react after this massacre and hold the perpetrators to account through their uprising". The attack by F-16 jets on Wednesday night took place near the town of Uludere, in Sirnak province in south-eastern Turkey. The pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party condemned the air strike as a "massacre", saying that all the victims were civilians aged between 16 and 20. Mourners accompanied the coffins in a long convoy from nearby Uludere, some shouting "Erdogan is a murderer!" and flashing V for victory signs, AFP news agency reported. On Friday the website of the Turkish General Staff carried a message of condolence for the families of the 35 victims - a gesture described by correspondents as highly unusual. Earlier, the general staff had said the area attacked was inside northern Iraq and had no civilian population. It added that the raid was launched following information that suspected militants were planning to attack Turkish security bases. Since 1984 the PKK, designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the EU and the US, has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state, in which more than 40,000 people have died. In October Turkey launched a major air and land offensive against the rebels near the Iraqi border after 24 of its troops were killed in a night ambush by rebels. Supporters of the main pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) demonstrated on Thursday over the botched air strike, and some clashed with Turkish police. "They openly massacred us. Why was this blood spilled? They must answer this question," said Kitan Encu, who lost 11 family members in the raid. Quoted by AFP, she said all the victims were "burned completely" and "the oldest one was 20 years old, they were all students". Mr Erdogan said "images transmitted by drones showed a group of 40 people in the area, it was impossible to say who they were".
North Korea
North Korea has told the international community not to "expect any change" in the wake of Kim Jong-il's death. The message came in a statement carried by state media and attributed to the powerful National Defence Commission. "We declare solemnly and confidently that the foolish politicians around the world, including the puppet group in South Korea, should not expect any change from us," it said. He had ruled North Korea since the death of his father Kim Il-sung in 1994. Under him funds were channelled to the military and North Korea conducted two nuclear tests. His son, Kim Jong-un, has been named "supreme leader of the party, state and army". The impoverished communist state remains technically at war with South Korea and is isolated on the international stage because of its dire human rights record and pursuit of nuclear weapons. Six-nation talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions - involving the two Koreas, China, the US, Russia and Japan - have been stalled for months. Mr Lee has angered Pyongyang by linking the provision of aid to progress on denuclearisation. The NDC also criticised Seoul's "unforgivable" decision to allow only two non-official delegations to cross the border to pay their respects to Mr Kim. Amid regional concern, the US is to send one of its top diplomats to East Asia to discuss the situation in North Korea. Kurt Campbell will hold talks in Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo from 3-7 January, the State Department said. Mr Campbell, who is the Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, will be the most senior US official to visit the region since Kim Jong-il died. The US and South Korean defence chiefs, meanwhile, spoke for 20 minutes about issues on the Korean peninsula on Thursday. The two "shared the view that peace and stability on the Korean peninsula is our overarching priority and agreed to maintain close co-operation and co-ordination in the weeks and months ahead", the Pentagon said in a statement. Hundreds of thousands of North Korean troops and citizens lined up for the ceremony in Pyongyang's main square. Top party and military officials hailed Kim Jong-un, the young and politically inexperienced new leader, in front of the huge crowd.
Sunday 18 December 2011
Crisis in the eurozone
The origins of the challenge are the crisis in the eurozone, the catastrophic loss of market confidence in the debts of European nations that has raised doubts about the single greatest achievement of the EU, the single currency.
Since its inception, the European project has been based on a partnership between France and Germany, the two old enemies “shaking hands over the graves of Verdun” as a Frankfurt newspaper once put it. This has never been a partnership of equals: Germany’s economic heft has always exceeded that of France, but France has compensated with more assertive diplomacy. That formula worked for decades, as Germany quietly accepted a situation that effectively saw German taxpayers underwriting French politicians’ ambitions.
The recent crisis has ended the illusion of parity. Germany, its public finances robust and its growth solid, is the only European economy with the clout to rescue struggling southern nations. That economic fact has had political consequences.
Talk of Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy merging into a single entity known as Merkozy ignores the fact that the German chancellor has the upper hand and the French have not always been able to get their way.
Related Articles
Despite Mr Sarkozy’s boasts to the contrary, Mrs Merkel has not always been talked around to the French way of thinking over the euro. For better or for worse, it is the German chancellor and her voters who have set the pace of Europe’s response to the crisis.
But if the loss of political dominance is troubling for France, it still pales in comparison to the economic questions the country faces. In a clichéd analysis, Europe’s economies divide into industrious, frugal northerners who run budget surpluses and indolent, spendthrift southerners with deficits.
Yet France does not clearly belong to either group, showing characteristics of both: world-beating industries combine with workers whose holidays, working hours and benefits look almost Greek in their generosity. Those questions have been asked most sharply by the credit ratings agencies, whose assessment of governments’ bonds have taken on earth-shaking importance of late.
Threats from agencies like Standard and Poor’s to reduce France’s AAA credit rating sparked fury in France. That rating is the hallmark of a first-rank economy; its loss would put France in the global second division.
The fact that all three of the major credit ratings agencies are American has inevitably led to French allegations of an “Anglo-Saxon” conspiracy against France and the European project. France, of course, prides itself on its unique and superior economic model, rejecting unchecked free markets and giving the state a much bigger role in industry and commerce.
France’s deficit is 5.8 per cent of GDP this year, smaller than Britain’s 8.8 per cent, but still well above Germany’s 1 per cent, and even Italy’s 4.4 per cent. The French economy will grow around 1.6 per cent this year, barely half the German rate.
And for all the talk of different models and rejection of the “Anglo-Saxon way”, France has made economic decisions that will be quite familiar to Britons as Mr Sarkozy desperately tries to avert the humiliating loss of that AAA rating.
François Fillon, the prime minister, has pledged to clear the French government deficit by 2016, something that will require around €100 billion (£83 billion) of fiscal tightening. That’s roughly similar to the British austerity programme, though the French refer to “rigour”. The measures will have a direct impact on French lives. The French retirement age, now 62, will creep upwards slightly more quickly than planned. Around €8 billion more will be raised in VAT on everyday goods and services.
Some of those cuts have proved at least as unpopular with the French as their British equivalents have here. Britain and France may both have centre-right leaders making cuts, but there is a major political difference between the two. David Cameron’s Coalition can hope to stay in office until 2015. Mr Sarkozy must seek re-election in May.
Austerity has not done his hopes any favours. Reporting the November budget, the headline in the daily newspaper Libération declared simply: “Fillon buries Sarkozy”. The president’s Socialist opponent, François Hollande, leads in opinion polls, largely due to his populist opposition to the Sarkozy austerity programme. By contrast, among those seen as supporting Mr Sarkozy is Christian Noyer.
Since its inception, the European project has been based on a partnership between France and Germany, the two old enemies “shaking hands over the graves of Verdun” as a Frankfurt newspaper once put it. This has never been a partnership of equals: Germany’s economic heft has always exceeded that of France, but France has compensated with more assertive diplomacy. That formula worked for decades, as Germany quietly accepted a situation that effectively saw German taxpayers underwriting French politicians’ ambitions.
The recent crisis has ended the illusion of parity. Germany, its public finances robust and its growth solid, is the only European economy with the clout to rescue struggling southern nations. That economic fact has had political consequences.
Talk of Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy merging into a single entity known as Merkozy ignores the fact that the German chancellor has the upper hand and the French have not always been able to get their way.
Related Articles
Despite Mr Sarkozy’s boasts to the contrary, Mrs Merkel has not always been talked around to the French way of thinking over the euro. For better or for worse, it is the German chancellor and her voters who have set the pace of Europe’s response to the crisis.
But if the loss of political dominance is troubling for France, it still pales in comparison to the economic questions the country faces. In a clichéd analysis, Europe’s economies divide into industrious, frugal northerners who run budget surpluses and indolent, spendthrift southerners with deficits.
Yet France does not clearly belong to either group, showing characteristics of both: world-beating industries combine with workers whose holidays, working hours and benefits look almost Greek in their generosity. Those questions have been asked most sharply by the credit ratings agencies, whose assessment of governments’ bonds have taken on earth-shaking importance of late.
Threats from agencies like Standard and Poor’s to reduce France’s AAA credit rating sparked fury in France. That rating is the hallmark of a first-rank economy; its loss would put France in the global second division.
The fact that all three of the major credit ratings agencies are American has inevitably led to French allegations of an “Anglo-Saxon” conspiracy against France and the European project. France, of course, prides itself on its unique and superior economic model, rejecting unchecked free markets and giving the state a much bigger role in industry and commerce.
France’s deficit is 5.8 per cent of GDP this year, smaller than Britain’s 8.8 per cent, but still well above Germany’s 1 per cent, and even Italy’s 4.4 per cent. The French economy will grow around 1.6 per cent this year, barely half the German rate.
And for all the talk of different models and rejection of the “Anglo-Saxon way”, France has made economic decisions that will be quite familiar to Britons as Mr Sarkozy desperately tries to avert the humiliating loss of that AAA rating.
François Fillon, the prime minister, has pledged to clear the French government deficit by 2016, something that will require around €100 billion (£83 billion) of fiscal tightening. That’s roughly similar to the British austerity programme, though the French refer to “rigour”. The measures will have a direct impact on French lives. The French retirement age, now 62, will creep upwards slightly more quickly than planned. Around €8 billion more will be raised in VAT on everyday goods and services.
Some of those cuts have proved at least as unpopular with the French as their British equivalents have here. Britain and France may both have centre-right leaders making cuts, but there is a major political difference between the two. David Cameron’s Coalition can hope to stay in office until 2015. Mr Sarkozy must seek re-election in May.
Austerity has not done his hopes any favours. Reporting the November budget, the headline in the daily newspaper Libération declared simply: “Fillon buries Sarkozy”. The president’s Socialist opponent, François Hollande, leads in opinion polls, largely due to his populist opposition to the Sarkozy austerity programme. By contrast, among those seen as supporting Mr Sarkozy is Christian Noyer.
Researchers from the University of California
Researchers from the University of California, Irvine, tested the levels of two dozen separate toys and took 10 of the loudest to a specialist soundproof laboratory. The scientists found that all of the 10 exceeded 90 decibels and several reached 100 or more - equivalent to the noise of a chainsaw or underground train. Among the toys tested were the Tonka Mighty Motorised Fire Truck, Marvel Super Shield Captain America, Whac-A-Mole game, Sesame Street Let's Rock Elmo and Toy Story Buzz Lightyear Cosmic Blaster.
Dr. Hamid Djalilian, associate professor of otolaryngology at the University of California, Irvine, said problems could arise if a noisy toy was held too close to a child’s ears. “We tested the sound levels at the speaker and again at 12 inches, which is about the length of a toddler's arm,” he said.
Children are very sensitive to loud and high-pitched sounds. Unfortunately, hearing loss from noise damage is permanent and not currently curable." According to the American Academy of Otolaryngology, unprotected exposure to sounds above 85 decibels for a prolonged period can lead to hearing impairment.
Dr Djalilian said two factors contributed to this: loudness and duration. The louder a sound is, the less time it takes to cause hearing loss. He added that someone buying a noisy toy for a child should hold the toy as a youngster would and listen to its sound. "If it hurts your ears," he said, "then it's probably too loud for a child.
Dr. Hamid Djalilian, associate professor of otolaryngology at the University of California, Irvine, said problems could arise if a noisy toy was held too close to a child’s ears. “We tested the sound levels at the speaker and again at 12 inches, which is about the length of a toddler's arm,” he said.
Children are very sensitive to loud and high-pitched sounds. Unfortunately, hearing loss from noise damage is permanent and not currently curable." According to the American Academy of Otolaryngology, unprotected exposure to sounds above 85 decibels for a prolonged period can lead to hearing impairment.
Dr Djalilian said two factors contributed to this: loudness and duration. The louder a sound is, the less time it takes to cause hearing loss. He added that someone buying a noisy toy for a child should hold the toy as a youngster would and listen to its sound. "If it hurts your ears," he said, "then it's probably too loud for a child.
Seasonal flu
A year ago, Britain was gripped not only by snow but also la grippe. Seasonal flu, including the swine flu strain, was putting intense pressure on hospitals and intensive care beds in particular. GPs faced vaccine shortages, which had to be shored up by resorting to leftover stock from the 2009 swine flu pandemic. It is clear the Government is now taking no chances with this winter, and has ordered in extra stock to be held centrally. Figures from the Health Protection Agency, released in May, showed there were 602 confirmed flu deaths over the 2010/11 winter season. Of those, 562 were linked to swine flu.
While flu preoccupied Britain in the first few weeks of the year, international researchers were hailing a find that should prove to be much more significant, in global terms. The RTS, S/AS01E vaccine was found to cut the number of severe malaria cases in children aged five to 17 months by 46 per cent.
With the virus killing about 800,000 annually, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, if the vaccine is rolled out it could end up saving millions of lives. As the year progressed, it became clear that the NHS was coming under more and more strain due to tightening budgets.
With finance managers under pressure to improve productivity by four per cent a year, and with many trusts struggling to pay the onerous terms of PFI contracts, hospital managers started to raise the thresholds for operations like cataract removals, varicose veins and even hip and knee operations.
Primary care trusts also started to restrict access to some drugs, even those approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice).
It is against this backdrop that by far the biggest health policy story of the year has been played out: the stormy ride of the Health and Social Care Bill through parliament. With mounting opposition from much of the medical profession to the Bill, Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, broke ranks to describe it as a "disruptive revolution".
Significant amendments were subsequently made, which should make it harder for private firms to "cherry pick" profitable NHS services, and reducing the emphasis on competition. Opponents of the Bill welcomed the changes, while supporters feared they emasculated it.
It continued to attract opposition in the Lords, although an attempt led by Lord Owen to have parts dealing with the Health Secretary's responsibilities for the NHS scrutinised by a special committee was defeated in October. It is now highly likely the Bill will become law.
Exactly how it will be enacted, and what difference it makes to how the NHS works and the way patients are treated, will only begin to be sketched out in the coming year.
Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, has maintained throughout that the changes, which will see primary care trusts and strategic health authorities abolished, and GPs put in charge of over half the NHS budget, are necessary to save the NHS from being engulfed in a long-term "financial crisis".
Part of Mr Lansley's rationale for reforming the NHS is Britain's ageing population. The growing number of older people is also behind another problem the Government faced in 2011 - and will continue to face in the future - social care for the elderly.
Bupa warned that the lack of care home places would lead to an "intolerable" bed blocking crisis by the end of the decade, with wards filled with elderly people who should be cared for elsewhere. NHS figures showed rates rose 16 per cent in a year and that "delayed discharges" were costing the service almost £500,000 a day.
The Dilnot Review, chaired by economist Andrew Dilnot, suggested individuals' contributions should be capped at £35,000, but his radical plans have yet to be adopted by the Government.
The Cancer Drugs Fund, one of David Cameron's eye-catching election promises, has proved positive after a slow start. The Government set aside £200 million a year for drugs not recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) for use on the NHS. Left to regional health authorities to organise, there have unsurprisingly been wide geographical variations in its use. Nonetheless, cancer charities have broadly welcomed the initiative, which the Government claims has helped almost 7,000 people by the end of September.
The NHS Breast Cancer Screening Programme has come under scrutiny after researchers called into question the balance of benefits - finding tumours early - and risks - overdiagnosing pre-cancerous lesions that might not prove malignant, leading to unnecessary surgery.
While flu preoccupied Britain in the first few weeks of the year, international researchers were hailing a find that should prove to be much more significant, in global terms. The RTS, S/AS01E vaccine was found to cut the number of severe malaria cases in children aged five to 17 months by 46 per cent.
With the virus killing about 800,000 annually, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, if the vaccine is rolled out it could end up saving millions of lives. As the year progressed, it became clear that the NHS was coming under more and more strain due to tightening budgets.
With finance managers under pressure to improve productivity by four per cent a year, and with many trusts struggling to pay the onerous terms of PFI contracts, hospital managers started to raise the thresholds for operations like cataract removals, varicose veins and even hip and knee operations.
Primary care trusts also started to restrict access to some drugs, even those approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice).
It is against this backdrop that by far the biggest health policy story of the year has been played out: the stormy ride of the Health and Social Care Bill through parliament. With mounting opposition from much of the medical profession to the Bill, Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, broke ranks to describe it as a "disruptive revolution".
Significant amendments were subsequently made, which should make it harder for private firms to "cherry pick" profitable NHS services, and reducing the emphasis on competition. Opponents of the Bill welcomed the changes, while supporters feared they emasculated it.
It continued to attract opposition in the Lords, although an attempt led by Lord Owen to have parts dealing with the Health Secretary's responsibilities for the NHS scrutinised by a special committee was defeated in October. It is now highly likely the Bill will become law.
Exactly how it will be enacted, and what difference it makes to how the NHS works and the way patients are treated, will only begin to be sketched out in the coming year.
Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, has maintained throughout that the changes, which will see primary care trusts and strategic health authorities abolished, and GPs put in charge of over half the NHS budget, are necessary to save the NHS from being engulfed in a long-term "financial crisis".
Part of Mr Lansley's rationale for reforming the NHS is Britain's ageing population. The growing number of older people is also behind another problem the Government faced in 2011 - and will continue to face in the future - social care for the elderly.
Bupa warned that the lack of care home places would lead to an "intolerable" bed blocking crisis by the end of the decade, with wards filled with elderly people who should be cared for elsewhere. NHS figures showed rates rose 16 per cent in a year and that "delayed discharges" were costing the service almost £500,000 a day.
The Dilnot Review, chaired by economist Andrew Dilnot, suggested individuals' contributions should be capped at £35,000, but his radical plans have yet to be adopted by the Government.
The Cancer Drugs Fund, one of David Cameron's eye-catching election promises, has proved positive after a slow start. The Government set aside £200 million a year for drugs not recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) for use on the NHS. Left to regional health authorities to organise, there have unsurprisingly been wide geographical variations in its use. Nonetheless, cancer charities have broadly welcomed the initiative, which the Government claims has helped almost 7,000 people by the end of September.
The NHS Breast Cancer Screening Programme has come under scrutiny after researchers called into question the balance of benefits - finding tumours early - and risks - overdiagnosing pre-cancerous lesions that might not prove malignant, leading to unnecessary surgery.
The Soyuz put six satellites in orbit
The capability will put it on a par with the leading US commercial systems operated by GeoEye and DigitalGlobe. Lift-off occurred on schedule at 23:03 local time, Friday (02:03 GMT, Saturday), with Pleiades-1 being dropped off in its 700km-high polar orbit some 55 minutes later. The 970kg satellite is the result of a near-decade-long programme in the French space agency (Cnes) to develop one of the most powerful Earth observation systems in the world.
The spacecraft's sensor actually has a resolution of 70cm, but image processing will recover detail that is around the half-metre mark. Pleiades-1 Pleiades-1 will be followed by Pleiades-2 in the coming year. Pleiades carries gyroscopes that allow it to swivel its telescope in quick time, enabling it to acquire a strip, or mosaic, of images around its target in a single pass overhead.
The Pleiades spacecraft has been assembled by Astrium, Europe's largest space company, with its instrument supplied by Thales Alenia Space. It will have both a civilian and military role, and a number of European countries (Austria, Belgium, Spain and Sweden) have part-funded the project to get access to its pictures.
"The fact that we will have two, twin satellites operating in a phased orbit separated by 180 degrees will give us something very powerful - a daily re-visit capacity. It means we will be able to gather information every day on any part of the globe," explained Charlotte Gabriel Robez, Pleiades project manager with Astrium Geo-information Services.
The commercial market for very high resolution imagery has become dominated in recent years by the American companies GeoEye and DigitalGlobe, which benefit from multi-billion-dollar contracts with the US intelligence agencies. Astrium Geo-information Services is hoping these agencies' voracious appetite for pictures will leave a productive hole in the market for Pleiades' products.
The Soyuz rocket flew its inaugural mission from Europe's Sinnamary spaceport in October. A dedicated new launch pad has been constructed in the Guianese jungle for the Russian vehicle. By operating closer to the equator, the rocket receives a bigger boost from the Earth's rotation, meaning it can lift nearly double the mass of a comparable payload at its traditional home in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
The Soyuz' five other "passengers" included a high-resolution imaging satellite for the Chilean military called SSOT; and four radar eavesdropping spacecraft developed for the French military. All six satellites were manufactured by Astrium.
The spacecraft's sensor actually has a resolution of 70cm, but image processing will recover detail that is around the half-metre mark. Pleiades-1 Pleiades-1 will be followed by Pleiades-2 in the coming year. Pleiades carries gyroscopes that allow it to swivel its telescope in quick time, enabling it to acquire a strip, or mosaic, of images around its target in a single pass overhead.
The Pleiades spacecraft has been assembled by Astrium, Europe's largest space company, with its instrument supplied by Thales Alenia Space. It will have both a civilian and military role, and a number of European countries (Austria, Belgium, Spain and Sweden) have part-funded the project to get access to its pictures.
"The fact that we will have two, twin satellites operating in a phased orbit separated by 180 degrees will give us something very powerful - a daily re-visit capacity. It means we will be able to gather information every day on any part of the globe," explained Charlotte Gabriel Robez, Pleiades project manager with Astrium Geo-information Services.
The commercial market for very high resolution imagery has become dominated in recent years by the American companies GeoEye and DigitalGlobe, which benefit from multi-billion-dollar contracts with the US intelligence agencies. Astrium Geo-information Services is hoping these agencies' voracious appetite for pictures will leave a productive hole in the market for Pleiades' products.
The Soyuz rocket flew its inaugural mission from Europe's Sinnamary spaceport in October. A dedicated new launch pad has been constructed in the Guianese jungle for the Russian vehicle. By operating closer to the equator, the rocket receives a bigger boost from the Earth's rotation, meaning it can lift nearly double the mass of a comparable payload at its traditional home in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
The Soyuz' five other "passengers" included a high-resolution imaging satellite for the Chilean military called SSOT; and four radar eavesdropping spacecraft developed for the French military. All six satellites were manufactured by Astrium.
Another agency
Fitch said the change in outlook was prompted by the heightened risk of government liabilities arising from the eurozone's debt crisis.
The agency also said it was considering downgrading ratings for Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, Italy, Ireland and Cyprus.
"Following the EU Summit on 9-10 December, Fitch has concluded that a 'comprehensive solution' to the eurozone crisis is technically and politically beyond reach," the agency said in a statement.
Their ratings have now been placed in "credit watch negative", which means a downgrade is possible within three months.
'Greater risk'
The revised outlook on France comes in a week when senior French figures have criticised the economic situation in the UK, with Finance Minister Francois Baroin describing it as "very worrying".
But Fitch said: "Relative to non-euro area 'AAA' peers, notably the US and the UK, the risk from contingent liabilities from an intensification of the eurozone crisis is greater in light of its commitments to the European Financial Stability Facility and the European Stability Mechanism, as well as indirectly from French banks that are less strong than previously assessed as reflected in recent negative rating actions by Fitch."
It also said that compared with other eurozone countries with a rating of AAA, it judged France to be the most exposed to a further intensification of the crisis, citing France's larger structural budget deficit and higher government debt burden.
Another agency, Standard & Poor's, warned earlier this month that France's rating could suffer over the eurozone crisis.
The agency also said it was considering downgrading ratings for Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, Italy, Ireland and Cyprus.
"Following the EU Summit on 9-10 December, Fitch has concluded that a 'comprehensive solution' to the eurozone crisis is technically and politically beyond reach," the agency said in a statement.
Their ratings have now been placed in "credit watch negative", which means a downgrade is possible within three months.
'Greater risk'
The revised outlook on France comes in a week when senior French figures have criticised the economic situation in the UK, with Finance Minister Francois Baroin describing it as "very worrying".
But Fitch said: "Relative to non-euro area 'AAA' peers, notably the US and the UK, the risk from contingent liabilities from an intensification of the eurozone crisis is greater in light of its commitments to the European Financial Stability Facility and the European Stability Mechanism, as well as indirectly from French banks that are less strong than previously assessed as reflected in recent negative rating actions by Fitch."
It also said that compared with other eurozone countries with a rating of AAA, it judged France to be the most exposed to a further intensification of the crisis, citing France's larger structural budget deficit and higher government debt burden.
Another agency, Standard & Poor's, warned earlier this month that France's rating could suffer over the eurozone crisis.
Hundreds of people protested outside the mayor's office in Aktau
Kazakstan's deepest unrest since independence from Soviet rule has spread from the oil town where it broke out on Friday to the regional capital.
Protesters rallied in the west Kazakh city of Aktau after two days of violence over an oil-workers' strike in Zhanaozen left 11 dead and many hurt.
Hundreds of people protested outside the mayor's office in Aktau, capital of the oil-producing Mangistau region.
A long-running industrial dispute by oil workers in the town of Zhanaozen on Friday descended into violence with 10 people killed and 86 injured.
One person died on Saturday and 11 were injured when security forces opened fire in a railway settlement in a nearby village.
Three Russian journalists deployed to cover events there were briefly arrested on Sunday under the state of emergency. After their release, they left for Aktau.
Petrol bombs
On Sunday morning, oil workers gathered outside the mayor's office in Aktau, a port of nearly 190,000 people on the Caspian Sea.
The unrest, which began as Kazakhstan was celebrating the 20th anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union, is unprecedented.
Many here are finding it difficult to believe that such unrest could be taking place in their country. Comments on pro-government web sites are talking about an evil plot from the West and drawing parallels with recent protests in Russia. After all, some say, we are not Kyrgyzstan - a poor central Asian neighbour which has been through two revolutions in the past six years.
Kazakhstan prides itself as the regional leader, the most successful and stable country in Central Asia. But the recent violence underlines deep-rooted problems in Kazakh society: lack of democracy, lack of free media, and lack of governmental accountability. Very few media outlets in Kazakhstan have been following the strike in Zhanaozen, the country's longest running industrial dispute.
Ruslan Shakhimov, a former employee of the local oil company Karazhanbasmunai, told the Associated Press news agency he had come out to rally to show "solidarity with those workers killed in Zhanaozen".
"We have no rights, we're being treated like cattle," he said, explaining the workers' indignation.
On Saturday afternoon, protesters blocked the line in the railway settlement of Shetpe, near Zhanaozen, causing delays to passenger and goods trains.
In response, the protesters set fire to a freight locomotive and threw petrol bombs at the wagons, then ran riot in the village, burning a New Year's tree, and smashing shop and car windows.
When police came under attack with petrol bombs and stones, they were forced to use their weapons, the prosecutors said.
The Zhanaozen violence on Friday saw a crowd storm a stage erected for an Independence Day party, smashing sound equipment.
They reportedly later set fire to the city hall, the headquarters of a local oil company, a hotel and dozens of other buildings and vehicles.
Protesters rallied in the west Kazakh city of Aktau after two days of violence over an oil-workers' strike in Zhanaozen left 11 dead and many hurt.
Hundreds of people protested outside the mayor's office in Aktau, capital of the oil-producing Mangistau region.
A long-running industrial dispute by oil workers in the town of Zhanaozen on Friday descended into violence with 10 people killed and 86 injured.
One person died on Saturday and 11 were injured when security forces opened fire in a railway settlement in a nearby village.
Three Russian journalists deployed to cover events there were briefly arrested on Sunday under the state of emergency. After their release, they left for Aktau.
Petrol bombs
On Sunday morning, oil workers gathered outside the mayor's office in Aktau, a port of nearly 190,000 people on the Caspian Sea.
The unrest, which began as Kazakhstan was celebrating the 20th anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union, is unprecedented.
Many here are finding it difficult to believe that such unrest could be taking place in their country. Comments on pro-government web sites are talking about an evil plot from the West and drawing parallels with recent protests in Russia. After all, some say, we are not Kyrgyzstan - a poor central Asian neighbour which has been through two revolutions in the past six years.
Kazakhstan prides itself as the regional leader, the most successful and stable country in Central Asia. But the recent violence underlines deep-rooted problems in Kazakh society: lack of democracy, lack of free media, and lack of governmental accountability. Very few media outlets in Kazakhstan have been following the strike in Zhanaozen, the country's longest running industrial dispute.
Ruslan Shakhimov, a former employee of the local oil company Karazhanbasmunai, told the Associated Press news agency he had come out to rally to show "solidarity with those workers killed in Zhanaozen".
"We have no rights, we're being treated like cattle," he said, explaining the workers' indignation.
On Saturday afternoon, protesters blocked the line in the railway settlement of Shetpe, near Zhanaozen, causing delays to passenger and goods trains.
In response, the protesters set fire to a freight locomotive and threw petrol bombs at the wagons, then ran riot in the village, burning a New Year's tree, and smashing shop and car windows.
When police came under attack with petrol bombs and stones, they were forced to use their weapons, the prosecutors said.
The Zhanaozen violence on Friday saw a crowd storm a stage erected for an Independence Day party, smashing sound equipment.
They reportedly later set fire to the city hall, the headquarters of a local oil company, a hotel and dozens of other buildings and vehicles.
Czech Republic's first president
Vaclav Havel, the Czech Republic's first president after the Velvet Revolution against communist rule, has died at the age of 75.
The former dissident playwright, who suffered from prolonged ill-health, died on Sunday morning, his secretary Sabina Tancecova said.
As president, he presided over Czechoslovakia's transition to democracy and a free-market economy.
He oversaw its peaceful 1993 split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Havel first came to international fame as a dissident playwright in the 1970s through his involvement with the human rights manifesto Charter 77.
'Great European'
A black flag has been flying over Prague Castle, the presidential seat, and people have been gathering in Wenceslas Square, scene of anti-communist protests in 1989, to light candles in honour of Havel.
The Czech cabinet is to meet for a special session on Monday to consider arrangements for national mourning.
Tributes have been pouring in for the man many consider a driving force in the overthrow of communist rule in eastern Europe.
"His peaceful resistance shook the foundations of an empire, exposed the emptiness of a repressive ideology, and proved that moral leadership is more powerful than any weapon," said US President Barack Obama.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed Havel as a "great European" in a letter of condolence to Czech President Vaclav Klaus.
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
Rob Cameron BBC News, Prague
It was clear to all who saw him in recent months that Vaclav Havel was not in the best of health.
He cut a gaunt, shrunken figure at the handful of public appearances he attended in Prague, most recently a meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
Nonetheless his death has come as a shock, and politicians and many others have been paying their respects to the man who, in the words of his successor, Vaclav Klaus, "was a symbol of the Czech state".
Miroslava Nemcova, speaker of the lower house, said her country had "lost its moral authority." Similar tributes have been pouring in from all over the world. For once, those words do not sound like cliches.
Within hours of the announcement of his death people began lighting candles and laying flowers at the statue of St Wenceslas on Wenceslas Square, where Havel addressed huge crowds of demonstrators in November 1989.
A black flag has been raised in mourning above Prague Castle. Church bells across the country will ring out to mark the death of a man who lived by a naive, but simple motto - "truth and love will prevail over lies and hatred".
"His fight for freedom and democracy was as unforgettable as his great humanity," wrote Mrs Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany.
"We Germans in particular have much for which we are grateful to him. We mourn this loss of a great European with you," she wrote.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "deeply saddened" and that Europe owed Havel a "profound debt".
"Havel devoted his life to the cause of human freedom. For years, Communism tried to crush him, and to extinguish his voice. But Havel could not be silenced.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on Twitter: "Vaclav Havel was one of the greatest Europeans of our age. His voice for freedom paved way for a Europe whole and free."
Chronic ill-health
Havel died at his country home north-east of Prague.
In his final moments, he was comforted by his wife Dagmar and several nuns, his secretary was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
A former heavy smoker, Havel had a history of chronic respiratory problems dating back to his years in communist prisons.
He had part of a lung removed during surgery for cancer in the 1990s.
He was taken to hospital in Prague on 12 January 2009, with an unspecified inflammation, and developed breathing difficulties after undergoing minor throat surgery.
Satirist
Havel began co-writing plays during his military service in the 1950s and his first solo play, The Garden Party, was staged in 1963.
Continue reading the main story
Vaclav Havel
* Born in 1936 to a wealthy family in Czechoslovakia
* Considered "too bourgeois" by communist government, studied at night school
* Writing banned and plays forced underground after the 1968 Prague Spring
* In 1977, co-authored the Charter 77 movement for democratic change
* Faced constant harassment and imprisonment as Czechoslovakia's most famous dissident
* Czechoslovakia's first post-communist president in December 1989
* Oversaw transition to democracy, and 1993 division into the Czech Republic and Slovakia
* Left office in 2003 and continued writing, publishing a new play in 2008 and directing first film in 2011
* Life of Vaclav Havel in pictures
His plays satirised the absurdities of life under communist rule, but his work was banned after the reformist Prague Spring of 1968 was crushed by a Soviet-led invasion.
After that his plays were banned and he was imprisoned several times.
By the late 1970s he had become Czechoslovakia's best-known dissident. He helped found the Charter 77 movement for democratic change.
When communist rule unravelled in late 1989, he was elected president by the interim coalition cabinet. He resigned in 1992 after Slovak nationalists successfully campaigned for the break-up of Czechoslovakia.
He was elected first president of the Czech Republic in January 1993, serving until 2003 when he resigned as his health deteriorated.
Havel returned to literature and to supporting human rights activists around the world.
Your comments (201)
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43 Minutes ago
A great philosopher-president and a sad loss. Unlike many of the career-politicians that are frequently given to self-serving their own causes and cynicism, Havel was a exemplary example of a man of the opposite. He didn't court power. If there is to be an example of an head of state, he represents it.
Report this comment (Comment number 195)
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I admired his honesty, and trust in love, peace and humanity. I was inspired by his environmental attitude and fight for human rights. Some people said Vaclav Havel was just a dreamer who did not understand the reality. I do believe in his dreams... as they proved to come true in many cases.
Report this comment (Comment number 194)
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Comment number 179.
brucke
2 Hours ago
I admit I didn't know much about Vaclav Havel before reading this. Seems to me he was a very genuine man. No pretense. I have always liked people who seem uncomfortable with adulation. It shows humility and a mature perspective.
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The former dissident playwright, who suffered from prolonged ill-health, died on Sunday morning, his secretary Sabina Tancecova said.
As president, he presided over Czechoslovakia's transition to democracy and a free-market economy.
He oversaw its peaceful 1993 split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Havel first came to international fame as a dissident playwright in the 1970s through his involvement with the human rights manifesto Charter 77.
'Great European'
A black flag has been flying over Prague Castle, the presidential seat, and people have been gathering in Wenceslas Square, scene of anti-communist protests in 1989, to light candles in honour of Havel.
The Czech cabinet is to meet for a special session on Monday to consider arrangements for national mourning.
Tributes have been pouring in for the man many consider a driving force in the overthrow of communist rule in eastern Europe.
"His peaceful resistance shook the foundations of an empire, exposed the emptiness of a repressive ideology, and proved that moral leadership is more powerful than any weapon," said US President Barack Obama.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed Havel as a "great European" in a letter of condolence to Czech President Vaclav Klaus.
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
Rob Cameron BBC News, Prague
It was clear to all who saw him in recent months that Vaclav Havel was not in the best of health.
He cut a gaunt, shrunken figure at the handful of public appearances he attended in Prague, most recently a meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
Nonetheless his death has come as a shock, and politicians and many others have been paying their respects to the man who, in the words of his successor, Vaclav Klaus, "was a symbol of the Czech state".
Miroslava Nemcova, speaker of the lower house, said her country had "lost its moral authority." Similar tributes have been pouring in from all over the world. For once, those words do not sound like cliches.
Within hours of the announcement of his death people began lighting candles and laying flowers at the statue of St Wenceslas on Wenceslas Square, where Havel addressed huge crowds of demonstrators in November 1989.
A black flag has been raised in mourning above Prague Castle. Church bells across the country will ring out to mark the death of a man who lived by a naive, but simple motto - "truth and love will prevail over lies and hatred".
"His fight for freedom and democracy was as unforgettable as his great humanity," wrote Mrs Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany.
"We Germans in particular have much for which we are grateful to him. We mourn this loss of a great European with you," she wrote.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "deeply saddened" and that Europe owed Havel a "profound debt".
"Havel devoted his life to the cause of human freedom. For years, Communism tried to crush him, and to extinguish his voice. But Havel could not be silenced.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on Twitter: "Vaclav Havel was one of the greatest Europeans of our age. His voice for freedom paved way for a Europe whole and free."
Chronic ill-health
Havel died at his country home north-east of Prague.
In his final moments, he was comforted by his wife Dagmar and several nuns, his secretary was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
A former heavy smoker, Havel had a history of chronic respiratory problems dating back to his years in communist prisons.
He had part of a lung removed during surgery for cancer in the 1990s.
He was taken to hospital in Prague on 12 January 2009, with an unspecified inflammation, and developed breathing difficulties after undergoing minor throat surgery.
Satirist
Havel began co-writing plays during his military service in the 1950s and his first solo play, The Garden Party, was staged in 1963.
Continue reading the main story
Vaclav Havel
* Born in 1936 to a wealthy family in Czechoslovakia
* Considered "too bourgeois" by communist government, studied at night school
* Writing banned and plays forced underground after the 1968 Prague Spring
* In 1977, co-authored the Charter 77 movement for democratic change
* Faced constant harassment and imprisonment as Czechoslovakia's most famous dissident
* Czechoslovakia's first post-communist president in December 1989
* Oversaw transition to democracy, and 1993 division into the Czech Republic and Slovakia
* Left office in 2003 and continued writing, publishing a new play in 2008 and directing first film in 2011
* Life of Vaclav Havel in pictures
His plays satirised the absurdities of life under communist rule, but his work was banned after the reformist Prague Spring of 1968 was crushed by a Soviet-led invasion.
After that his plays were banned and he was imprisoned several times.
By the late 1970s he had become Czechoslovakia's best-known dissident. He helped found the Charter 77 movement for democratic change.
When communist rule unravelled in late 1989, he was elected president by the interim coalition cabinet. He resigned in 1992 after Slovak nationalists successfully campaigned for the break-up of Czechoslovakia.
He was elected first president of the Czech Republic in January 1993, serving until 2003 when he resigned as his health deteriorated.
Havel returned to literature and to supporting human rights activists around the world.
Your comments (201)
Related Stories
*
CFCN Plus 'Velvet Revolution' leader Vaclav Havel dead at 75 49 mins ago
*
Reuters UK Havel, leader of "Velvet Revolution," dies 1 hr ago
*
New Zealand Herald Velvet Revolution hero dies at 75 1 hr ago
*
Yahoo! UK and Ireland Czech revolution icon Vaclav Havel dies at 75 3 hrs ago
*
Channel 4 Vaclav Havel, hero of the Velvet Revolution, dies aged 75 10 hrs ago
* About these results
43 Minutes ago
A great philosopher-president and a sad loss. Unlike many of the career-politicians that are frequently given to self-serving their own causes and cynicism, Havel was a exemplary example of a man of the opposite. He didn't court power. If there is to be an example of an head of state, he represents it.
Report this comment (Comment number 195)
Link to this (Comment number 195)
*
I admired his honesty, and trust in love, peace and humanity. I was inspired by his environmental attitude and fight for human rights. Some people said Vaclav Havel was just a dreamer who did not understand the reality. I do believe in his dreams... as they proved to come true in many cases.
Report this comment (Comment number 194)
Link to this (Comment number 194)
*
rate this
+4
rate this Rate this comment positivelyRate this comment negatively
+4
Comment number 179.
brucke
2 Hours ago
I admit I didn't know much about Vaclav Havel before reading this. Seems to me he was a very genuine man. No pretense. I have always liked people who seem uncomfortable with adulation. It shows humility and a mature perspective.
Report this comment (Comment number 179)
Link to this (Comment number 179)
Add your comment
Share this page
Share this page
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Philippines Economy 2012
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WealthDaily.com/Philippine_2012
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*
The Kolskaya (image by permission of Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka)Russian oil rig sinks under tow
Four people die and around 50 are missing after an oil drilling rig capsizes and sinks under tow in freezing seas in the Russian far east.
*
Barcelona secure Club World Cup
*
Fitch changes outlook on France
Top Stories
* Protesters rally in Aktau, Kazakhstan, 18 DecemberNew rally as Kazakh unrest grows
* Barcelona secure Club World Cup
* Philippines flood toll passes 650
* Iran TV shows 'US spy confession'
* Last US troops withdraw from Iraq
Advertisement
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Features & Analysis
*
Beaver Gnawing doubts
Is Canada becoming less like the beaver and more like the bear?
*
Sun over power station (PA)Holy grails
Why do we need something to believe in?
*
A soldier takes a photo while crossing the border into Kuwait 18 December 2011 'Damn proud'
US soldiers savour being a part of history in Iraqi withdrawal
*
Flood damage in the Cagayan de Oro area, Philippines, 18 DecemberIn pictures
Villages flattened by flash floods in southern Philippines
Most Popular
Shared
1. 1: Czech statesman Vaclav Havel dies
2. 2: Is Canada a beaver or a bear?
3. 3: Obituary: Vaclav Havel
4. 4: Brian Cox: Why atoms are empty
5. 5: Last US troops withdraw from Iraq
Read
1. 1: Czech statesman Vaclav Havel dies
2. 2: Iran TV shows 'US spy confession'
3. 3: Woman set alight in New York lift
4. 4: MP sacked after 'Nazi' stag photo
5. 5: Police hunting mystery swordsman
6. 6: Russian oil rig sinks under tow
7. 7: US smoker chokes on cost of habit
8. 8: Is Canada a beaver or a bear?
9. 9: New rally as Kazakh unrest grows
10. 10: Iraq: New dawn for departing US troops
Video/Audio
1. 1: 'I proposed after 20 minutes' Watch
2. 2: Brian Cox: Why atoms are empty Watch
3. 3: Czech statesman Vaclav Havel dies Watch
4. 4: One-minute World News Watch
5. 5: Last US troops withdraw from Iraq Watch
6. 6: Philippines flood clean-up begins Watch
7. 7: How to get the Libyan youth into work Watch
8. 8: World's shortest woman named Watch
9. 9: Czech statesman Vaclav Havel dies Watch
10. 10: Craig on free press and James Bond Watch
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