take small percentage of google online ad revenues which he estimated at
million euros year in total according to liberation newspaper
he dubbed the plan google tax but said it could also target other big
internet players such as microsoft aol yahoo and facebook
president nicolas sarkozy did not comment specifically on the tax proposal but
said that when big internet companies made money from online advertising in
france but avoided paying tax there it distorted competition
speaking on thursday he backed the report call for decision by french
competition authorities on the dominant market position of big online firms
google france said it hoped the government plans would lead to innovation
rather than new taxes according to statement from its public affairs director
olivier esper
there is an opportunity here to promote innovative solutions rather than
extending the attitude of opposition between the internet world and the cultural
world for example through the approach of taxation esper said
the digital media think tank renaissance numerique whose members include
business leaders said the tax proposal penalised advertisers unfairly
neither online advertisers nor internet service providers are robbing artists
said its co president christine balague in statement quite the contrary
they are taking part in bringing consumers and artists together
quadrature du net which describes itself as citizens rights group for the
digital age said the plan would make all taxpayers pay for out of date
businesses and make scapegoat of internet providers
zelnik report also proposed public subsidies for voucher card system to buy
music files online so as to encourage legal means of accessing content via the
web
sarkozy voiced support for this measure saying he hoped the card scheme for
young people would come into operation by the summer
the sacd society of authors and composers said it was satisfied with the
proposals which would encourage and stimulate the legal availability of works
to the public
french media companies have complained their online material is being used for
free via services such as california based google the world leader in internet
searches
the report followed government reform that came into force this month to
punish users for illegal downloads
but it also taps into the issue of cultural autonomy amid fears in france of the
growing might of google and other internet giants
taxing online ads seemed inevitable if we want to preserve cultural pluralism
and prevent the never ending development of two or three world players
zelnik was quoted as saying by liberation
afptv agenda for friday
paris jan afp
we plan to file the following videos on friday please consult the advisory for
additions and amendments
spain to inaugurate its eu presidency
madrid
spain officially inaugurates its six month presidency of the european union on
friday with meetings between prime minister jose luis rodriguez zapatero new
eu president herman van rompuy and european commission president jose manuel
durao barroso and formal ceremony news coverage
images and soundbites
five years after peace deal south sudan still suffers
juba sudan
five years ago landmark peace deal ended one of africa longest conflicts
but on the anniversary of the accord aid agencies are warning that poverty
political tensions and violence have left it close to collapse afptv looks at
the problems plaguing south sudan
voiced report to be confirmed
gadgets galore
las vegas nevada
consumer electronics manufacturers after suffering rare dip in sales last
year are hoping to bounce back in with new technology of the kind being
rolled out at the annual consumer electronics show ces for four days
pioneers of high tech are unveiling their latest inventions voiced report
voiced report
as part of our series of reports ahead of the african nations cup which opens
sunday we plan to file the following
cameroon has high ambitions heading into football cup
paris
cameroon made it to the finals in but coach paul le guen says the squad
has its sights set on crowning glory in this year african nations cup afptv
met up with the frenchman ahead of his departure for kenya where the cameroon
team was preparing for the competition
images and soundbites
the losers in luanda housing boom
luanda
african cup host luanda is booming with oil money and reconstruction projects
eight years after the end of angola civil war but across the city bulldozers
are razing shantytowns to make way for upmarket housing compounds leaving
thousands homeless
voiced report
should tourists travel to myanmar
yangon bagan myanmar
should tourists travel to myanmar the military dictatorship has imprisoned
political dissidents used forced labour and seized foreign aid but there are
increasing calls for an end to isolation not least from many burmese people
voiced report
separating the real and fake in dubai goods
dubai
with it grandiose malls dubai is shopaholic paradise but in the back
alleys there is sinister trade the gulf state has become hub for
counterfeit goods from china business that customs officers are trying to
rein in
voiced report
afptv
alert
in hawaii clinton will urge japan to move forward on base issue us
obama remarks on plane attack delayed
washington jan afp
us president barack obama remarks on the first probe into intelligence
failures surrounding the christmas airliner attack have been delayed until
pm gmt the white house said
obama had originally been scheduled to speak about gmt in the state dining
room of the white house but his appearance was rescheduled as he held
previously unannounced meeting with former president bill clinton
white house official later said the televised speech had been delayed again
without giving reason
eu calls for common stance on airport body scanners
madrid jan afp
the spanish eu presidency called thursday for common european stance on the
use of body scanners at airports as member states bickered over the issue after
failed plot to blow up us airplane
it better for europe to have common position because it makes no sense for
european passengers to travel from london to madrid and back and have different
kinds of controls spanish transport minister jose blanco said
common position would be beneficial for all of us even if it wasn binding
he told press conference in madrid
blanco was speaking after eu experts met behind closed doors in brussels to
discuss the issue amid disagreement over the use of the controversial body
scanners capable of peering through clothes to create three dimensional images
of passengers and reveal any concealed weapons or explosives
the european experts were also briefed by us representatives on the need for
tougher air security with the americans stressing that the terrorist threat
has risen according to one diplomatic source
several european countries including britain and the netherlands have decided
to install the scanners at airports after nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab was
charged with trying to down us bound passenger jet from amsterdam on christmas
day
body scanners will also be introduced for experimentation in some french
airports france civil aviation authority said wednesday
other countries such as spain are less enthusiastic
the european commission which helps draft eu law said there was an exchange
of views over the technology and that it was considering an initiative on
employing it
the commission is considering an initiative on imaging technology to reinforce
passenger security while at the same time addressing the conditions for using
such technology in particular privacy data protection and health issues it
said in statement
people talk about not wanting to stand as naked in front of security officer
but you could have more or less diffuse images so you can see what is under the
clothes but not properly see the body that sort of thing one eu diplomat said
after the meeting in brussels
there is also the need to discuss the provisions for storing the images and to
whom these pictures can be shown he told afp
eu transport commissioner antonio tajani said the commission would examine the
issue next week
it is better to have european rule than to leave it to member states to
decide he said
so far there is no common rule in europe though any of the eu nations is
free to introduce the scanners in its own airports as the british and the dutch
are doing
the spanish minister spoke of the scanners as last resort saying that the
traditional airport methods of detection had proved widely effective
we shouldn act hastily we must take well considered decision he said
eu warns greece no bailout as officials assess action plan
athens jan afp
the spanish eu presidency on thursday warned struggling greece it could not
expect bailout by the rest of the bloc as eu officials scrutinised the
country plans to reduce mountain of debt
missions from the european commission and europe central bank are on three day
visit to athens to assess the socialist government plan to rescue the economy
amid deep scepticism in the financial markets
greek finances are in parlous state with the public deficit estimated at
percent of gross domestic product gdp in compared with an eu upper limit
of just percent
its total public debt of accumulated past annual deficits is put at
percent of output for and is set to rise further compared with the eu
limit of percent
in madrid spain secretary of state for european affairs diego lopez garrido
said economic coordination within the eu was necessary but there is limit
which is no bailout
he said there could be no easing of this rule in the nation euroszone where
each country had to make sure its finances were in order
each country has responsibility on the budget he told news conference
you have to address the risk of the budget in each country
after eu officials met georges zanias who is overseeing the greek action plan
they went into talks with finance minister georges papaconstantinou and other
departments ahead of their departure on friday
greece is supposed to submit comprehensive plan of action to the eu later this
month to show that it can bring its public finances back into line
minister papaconstantinou said the greek measures aimed at the reconstruction
of the national economy and involved major changes in both the financial
and fiscal sectors
they also involved changes to the way the budget is formulated and to the way
the state and the economy is organised he added
minister of the economy louka katseli said the government programme planned to
get the country through the crisis in three years
athens measures aim to get the public deficit down to percent of gdp this
year and then to percent by
analysts said there are widespread concerns that if the problems in greece are
not properly handled they could raise questions about the wider eurozone an
issue the spanish eu presidency was clearly addressing
while there are growing signs that pressure from the markets is forcing greece
to put its fiscal house in order there is real risk that it will result in
catastrophically large economic contraction analysts at capital economics in
london commented
such an event could eventually lead default to become an increasingly
attractive option
they said that given an earlier european central bank warning that other
eurozone countries would not automatically provide bailout further rise in
the steep interest rate greece has to offer to attract lenders was possible
the government may ultimately be forced to scale back its fiscal plans they
said
julio iglesias to tour asia australia
madrid jan afp
julio iglesias will perform in australia and four asian nations later this year
as part of his starry night world tour the spanish singer official website
said thursday
the year old grammy winner will kick off his tour of the region with
concert in manila on march followed by three performances in australia in
sydney hunter valley and melbourne between march and
he will then perform in kuala lumpur on april and in three japanese cities
tokyo osaka and nagoya between april and
iglesias the biggest selling latino recording artist in history will wrap up
his tour of asia with concert in seoul on april
the tour is focused on the emblematic songs of the artist songs dedicated to
his fans around the world in gratitude for their unconditional love his
website said
in iglesias was honoured with star from the hollywood walk of fame and
three years later he received grammy award for best latin singer with his
album un hombre solo
he has released nearly albums which have sold around million copies over
his four decade long singing career
in addition to spanish iglesias has recorded albums in german english french
italian portuguese tagalog and japanese
football cold snap wipes out wolves move for mansare
wolverhampton england jan afp
the big freeze engulfing britain has put paid to premier league side
wolverhampton wanderers hopes of taking toulouse midfielder fode mansare on
trial
the guinea international had been due at molineux at the start of this week
but bad weather would have meant mansare had no chance to show his full
potential to wolves manager mick mccarthy with the midlands club players
unable to train outside all week because of the cold conditions
britain harshest winter for decades also put paid to wolves midweek reserve
game with west ham
the year old mansare has months left on his toulouse contract but is keen
to leave france and try his luck in english football hence his decision to opt
out of playing for guinea in this month african nations cup in angola
nigeria offers us images of bomber screening at lagos airport
abuja jan afp
nigeria on thursday said the man accused of trying to bomb us airline was
properly screened as it offered the us images of him going through security
checks at lagos airport
the young man came in he was screened justice minister michael aondoaaka
said
we have visual information that shows our security agents did what they
were supposed to do the minister told journalists
us authorities have charged year old nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab
with attempting to blow up us jetliner on christmas day with explosives sewn
in his underpants
he had passed through lagos on his way from accra to amsterdam where he boarded
flight to detroit
he was arrested after trying to set off bomb hidden in his underwear on us
northwest airlines flight as it approached detroit on christmas day
we have nothing to hide he said offering pledging abuja full cooperation
with us investigators and giving details of proposed anti terrorism law
we will give full cooperation and all requests made related to the
investigations will be granted he said
security staff did all that was required under the law to ensure that nigeria
complies with international standards he added
nigeria has demanded it be removed from us terror watchlist of countries
including iran iraq syria and afghanistan introduced this week after
security review ordered by president barack obama
under government sponsored anti terrorism bill before the country
legislature acts of terrorism will be punishable by life jail terms aondoaaka
said
if you conspire to commit terrorist act anywhere in the world even if you
did not do it on nigerian soil but the conspiracy took place in nigeria or
aspect of the conspiracy took place in nigeria you go in for life
imprisonment he said
the bill clearly defines and prohibits all acts of terrorism and its support
aondoaaka said
convicted terrorists will be prevented from entering or transiting through
nigeria while their assets inside the west african country will be frozen
parliament is expected to begin debating the bill when it returns next week from
the year end recess
the cabinet warned on wednesday that new us security restrictions on air
passengers from nigeria are likely to hurt ties between the two countries
aondoaaka said nigeria would not allow such single incident to rupture the
relationship and am very hopeful that with facts and what we are placing
before the us government they will rescind their decision
nigeria is not terrorist country nigeria will not cannot be on the list of
countries of interest because we have track record as peacekeeper added
the minister
we have taken steps to deal with this situation to pre empt any future
occurence of this situation in nigeria and elsewhere in the world
iran consul in oslo refuses to return home
oslo jan afp
iran consul general in oslo confirmed thursday he quit his job in protest
against tehran violent repression of opposition demonstrators and said he
would not return to iran for fear of repercussions
if go back don know what will happen mohammed reza heydari told afp in
telephone interview
for me it not possible my friends have told me that will have problems if
go back he said adding that iranian authorities had asked him via the
embassy to return to tehran
stationed in oslo for just over two years heydari said he resigned after
tehran crackdown on opposition demonstrators on december that left at least
eight people dead and hundreds of others either injured or imprisoned
sent my resignation to the charge affaires told him that it was
impossible for me to continue did it for the people did it for iranian
opposition leader mir hossein mousavi he said
on wednesday the iranian embassy denied that he had resigned insisting that
the consul term had simply come to an end about month ago
his mission has been over for month and his successor has arrived two weeks
ago we reject the news an embassy spokesman said
it not true resigned heydari told afp on thursday
the diplomat married father of two children whose family lives with him in
norway said he did not know what he was going to do now
at this time don know exactly he said when asked whether he planned to
seek political asylum in norway
afghan envoys eye abu dhabi meeting
washington jan afp
around international envoys to afghanistan and pakistan will gather in abu
dhabi next month us diplomat said thursday
the issues that will be discussed next week include pakistan economic
development plans and humanitarian assistance as well as strengthening
democratic institutions in afghanistan said dan feldman an adviser to us
afghanistan envoy richard holbrooke
the group of envoys met from the first time in april last year in munich
germany
the next meeting will come just weeks before major january conference in
london that will bring afghan president hamid karzai together with
international leaders
israel complains to us over palestinian incitement
jerusalem jan afp
israel has complained to the united states that the palestinian leadership is
glorifying those involved in attacks against the jewish state officials said on
thursday
over the last few days the israeli government has raised serious concerns with
washington over incitement in the palestinian authority senior israeli
official told afp speaking on condition of anonymity
the official said israel took its concerns to washington which has been
mediating between the two sides trying to get them back to long stalled peace
talks in the hope that they would take up the issue with the palestinians
israel was angered when palestinian president mahmud abbas reportedly endorsed
the naming of public square in the west bank city of ramallah after dalal
mughrabi woman who led an attack on bus in that killed israelis
the official said
palestinian prime minister salam fayad reportedly referred to three palestinians
killed by israeli forces last week as martyrs israel said they launched an
attack that killed settler driving in the occupied west bank
israel complaints were conveyed to the white house and state department the
official said without providing further details
these people are terrorists and murderers not martyrs ron dermer an aide to
israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu told afp
we expect the palestinian authority to prepare the palestinian people to live
in peace with israel not to glorify killers and name public squares after
them he said
palestinian officials were not immediately available for comment
teen maths prodigy offered cambridge place
london jan afp
year old maths prodigy has been offered place at cambridge university
which if he accepts it would make him the youngest student there for almost
years
arran fernandez who lives in surrey outside london passed exams set by the
university last year and he now only needs to pass his level physics exam to
enrol
in the british educational system levels are commonly taken by year old
students but fernandez who was home educated has already passed the exams
in maths and further maths
his father neil fernandez said that if he takes the place at fitzwilliam
college he will be the youngest undergraduate at cambridge since william pitt
the younger studied there aged in and went on to become prime minister
fitzwilliam college decided to make arran conditional offer after considering
his application very carefully said david cardwell who will be teaching
arran
the college looks forward to welcoming arran in october should he meet his
offer and to helping him develop and fulfil his considerable academic
potential the professor said
arran first hit the headlines in when he took gcse maths exam normally
taken by year olds at the age of five
maths has been my favourite subject for as long as can remember said the
teenager who aspires to become research mathematician
there are few things want to work on he said like the solve the
riemann hypothesis theory about the patterns of prime numbers that has
baffled the greatest mathematicians for years
christmas eve attack further alienates egypt copts analysts
cairo jan afp
christmas eve shooting attack that killed six coptic christians in southern
egyptian town will further stoke feelings of alienation among the country
coptic minority analysts said on thursday
gunmen in car mowed down the copts after service on wednesday night in the
southern village of nagaa hammadi
muslim policeman was also killed
on thursday the coptic christmas day thousands of mourners gathered to bury
their dead and clashed with police when they stoned cars and hospital
chanting no to repression
there are increasing feelings of alienation among large sector of christians
as result of the outward islamisation egypt has witnessed over the past
years said amr shobaki an analyst with the ahram centre for political and
strategic studies
police believe wanted local strongman was behind the shooting which was the
deadliest attack since copts were killed in sectarian clashes in they
said it was linked to the alleged rape of muslim girl in november by coptic
man in nearby town
muslims attacked coptic owned business in response to that incident at the
time bishop kirilos of nagaa hammadi told afp copts are in continuous state
of fear
such fears were borne out in wednesday attack which terrorised the town
christians and left pools of blood along stretch of road where there are two
churches and shopping mall
copts just under percent of egypt population of million have long
complained of discrimination in the muslim majority country and have often been
the targets of sectarian attacks
clashes with muslims often over love affairs between copts and muslims or over
land disputes are frequent
muslims have also clashed with copts over the construction of churches which
can be built only with presidential permission
the result analysts say is an increasingly cloistered coptic community
these feelings have caused them to withdraw from the public sphere and into
seclusion behind the walls of the church and have also affected some with the
extremist preaching of some diaspora coptic groups shobaki said
the coptic church is led by pope shenuda iii who has said that relations
between his congregation and muslims are tense yet he supports egyptian
president hosni mubarak and his son gamal as successor
diaspora copts are far more strident in their denunciation of what they say is
institutional discrimination against egypt christians
islamisation seen in the growing trend of men sporting beards and women wearing
the face veil is partly to blame for sectarian tensions analysts say
but analysts also blame the government which they say is soft on people behind
sectarian clashes
salafi groups have been successfully spreading in society said analyst nabil
abdel fatah an expert on coptic muslim relations
salafis preach return to the practices of early muslims and their clerics are
often seen as hostile to close relations with non muslims
the government has been accused of encouraging the trend in the past but has
started to show signs of concern over the growing influence of the salafis
whose teachings have inspired such militants as osama bin laden
the government has allowed the spread of salafism in society abdel fatah
said
it has preferred to turn the sectarian clashes from criminal cases to matter
brought before local reconciliation committees which allows those responsible
to evade trials he said
egypt christians clash with police after christmas murders
cairo jan afp
clashes erupted on thursday as thousands of coptic christians in southern
egyptian village buried six of their number gunned down on coptic christmas eve
by men believed to be muslims security officials said
officials and the local bishop said three men in car had raked pedestrians
with gunfire along street containing two churches and shopping precinct late
on wednesday
bishop kirilos said the victims were people who had just emerged from church
after attending christmas eve service and the proximity of the shopping area
might have drawn some of them to it
six copts and muslim policeman were killed while at least nine more copts
were wounded two of them seriously security official said
the wounded were evacuated to hospital in the nearby governorate of sohag
an estimated copts attended thursday funeral in nagaa hammadi miles
kilometres from the popular tourist city of luxor
police said group of protesters stoned cars as the dead were buried and
police responded with tear gas the demonstrators chanted with our spirit and
blood we will sacrifice ourselves for the cross
they said copts earlier stoned police cars and the hospital where the bodies of
the six dead were held before the service chanting no to repression
security sources said sporadic trouble continued after the funerals
an initial investigation into wednesday shooting reported that the gunmen
opened fire as they sped along the street killing and wounding people over
distance of metres yards
as the car headed out of town the gunmen fired at convent which also housed
the bishop offices before fleeing to rural area near the town in qena
province kilometres miles south of cairo
copts celebrate christmas on january along with many other orthodox
communities around the world
on wednesday the head of the coptic minority pope shenuda iii led christmas
midnight mass at the abbassiya church in cairo which was attended by thousands
of worshippers including president hosni mubarak son and heir apparent
gamal
bishop kirilos told afp on thursday that he saw gunmen spraying worshippers with
automatic gunfire outside the archbishopric after the mass ended the previous
night
we concluded the mass at pm gmt and was heading to the bishopric
when saw man in car open fire with an automatic rifle at copts who were
walking past the building kirilos said in phone interview
the gunman then continued to fire on copts in the streets of the town he
said people are angry and very worried
the bishop said the author of this crime has police record and should have
been arrested for past crimes but is under the protection of prominent figures
close to the ruling national democratic party
witnesses cited by local officials earlier said the main gunman is muslim
wanted by police and linked the shooting to the abduction of year old
muslim girl who was allegedly raped by coptic youth in november
the first elements of the investigation based on testimony of people on the
ground indicate that the main shooter is town resident identified as mohammed
ahmed hussein who is wanted by the police one official said
kirilos also told afp that for the past week some of his parishioners had
received cell phone hate calls and threats alleging that muslims will avenge
the rape of the girl during the christmas celebrations
copts who represent under percent of egypt million strong population
are the largest christian community in the middle east but they frequently
complain of discrimination harassment and sectarian attacks
in november hundreds of muslim protesters torched christian owned shops in the
town of farshut near nagaa hammadi and attacked police station where they
believed the suspected rapist was being held
it was latest in wave of sectarian tension between muslims and egypt copts
clashes with muslims often over love affairs between copts and muslims or over
land disputes are frequent
muslims have also clashed with copts over the construction of churches which
