up singer in piano bars his musical career didn take off until he was in
his
he began with fairly traditional chansons but quickly began to experiment and
over the next years would produce work that ranged from jazz to pop and
reggae and in the electronic
gainsbourg is still hugely popular in france
most of his work which often features morbid or sexual themes never gained the
global notoriety of the raunchy duet je aime but has nevertheless
influenced contemporary bands such as franz ferdinand placebo and portishead
gainsbourg originally recorded je aime whose explicit lyrics and female
orgasmic groaning led to bans in many countries and public denunciation by the
vatican with brigitte bardot played by laetitia casta in the film
but she backed out and he made new version with the english actress jane
birkin with whom he would later have daughter the actress and singer
charlotte gainsbourg
many critics see jane birkin as the main love interest in the life of the chain
smoking gainsbourg who was known as great seducer despite looks that might
politely be described as aesthetically challenged
in sfar minute movie she is played by lucie gordon british actress who
apparently committed suicide last may by hanging herself in her paris flat
shortly after shooting the film
the director has dedicated his film to the gordon who had previously acted in
spider man and in french films
sfar at first sought to cast charlotte gainsbourg as her father but the actress
declined
the director had his actors sing all the numbers in his movie themselves with
varying results but overall critical reaction in france and in britain has been
positive
icrc to retry haiti aid distribution after tensions halt
geneva jan afp
the international red cross said it hoped to resume distributing relief items in
part of haiti capital port au prince on tuesday after it was forced to suspend
distribution day before amid tension
team in charge of handing out of non food items such as kitchen utensils had
to withdraw due to intense tension in the delmas district in northeastern
port au prince an international committee of the red cross spokesman said
the team will try again today said spokesman marcal izard
riccardo conti who manages icrc operations in haiti said the tensions were
understandable given the extremely difficult situation people who have lost
everything find themselves in
on monday the icrc which was carrying out aid work in port au prince before the
january quake said that violence and looting were on the rise
there was unrest but most security incidents have been reported from areas that
were categorized as high risk prior to the earthquake said un office for the
coordination of humanitarian affairs spokeswoman elisabeth byrs
the two most senior officials of the icrc sister organisation the
international federation of red cross and red crescent societies arrived in
haiti on tuesday to lead its aid effort federation spokesman said
we must confront natural disaster that is not only one of the biggest of the
past decade but is affecting one of the very poorest countries in the world
federation president tadateru konoe said in statement
more than red cross workers from around the world have arrived in port au
prince to help their haitian colleagues with dozens more on the way
haitian red cross volunteers were among the first to respond because they live
within the affected communities said konoe
they too have suffered appalling losses they are shocked and grieving and yet
their desire to help their fellow human beings takes priority
they are true humanitarian heroes and we are both proud of and humbled by
their dedication added konoe
federation spokesman matthew cochrane told afp that about local volunteers
worked for the red cross in and around port au prince before the huge quake
struck week ago levelling buildings and homes
we know some have been killed we don know how many he added
the red cross is appealing for million swiss francs million us
dollars million euros to assist people in haiti for three years
biopic brings back iconic french je aime singer gainsbourg
paris jan afp
biopic of serge gainsbourg the french singer best known abroad for his
raunchy classic je aime moi non plus hits cinemas across europe this
week but its release is overshadowed by the suicide of the british actress who
played his muse
serge gainsbourg vie heroique heroic life takes poignant look at the
hard drinking and lascivious life of singer who defined music and pop culture
in france from the until his death at the age of in
made by first time director joann sfar the film is the latest in wave of
french biopics of celebrities whose highlight was la vie en rose that scooped
oscar for marion cotillard for her role as the tormented edith piaf
the film by sfar who previously worked as comic book artist adopts an
elliptical non linear narrative structure to portray the life of singer whose
career shocked and seduced the french in almost equal measure
the little known stage actor eric elmosnino takes the title role as the adult
gainsbourg whose life began in paris as lucien ginsburg the son of russian
jewish immigrants
the film follows his adolescence in nazi occupied paris where as jew he was
obliged to wear yellow star on his clothes and where he narrowly managed to
escape being sent to an extermination camp
when the war ended in he began an unsuccessful stint as painter but ended
up singer in piano bars his musical career didn take off until he was in
his
he began with fairly traditional chansons but quickly began to experiment and
over the next years would produce work that ranged from jazz to pop and
reggae and in the electronic
gainsbourg is still hugely popular in france
most of his work which often features morbid or sexual themes never gained the
global notoriety of the raunchy duet je aime but has nevertheless
influenced contemporary bands such as franz ferdinand placebo and portishead
gainsbourg originally recorded je aime whose explicit lyrics and female
orgasmic groaning led to bans in many countries and public denunciation by the
vatican with brigitte bardot played by laetitia casta in the film
but she backed out and he made new version with the english actress jane
birkin with whom he would later have daughter the actress and singer
charlotte gainsbourg
many critics see jane birkin as the main love interest in the life of the chain
smoking gainsbourg who was known as great seducer despite looks that might
politely be described as aesthetically challenged
in sfar minute movie she is played by lucie gordon british actress who
apparently committed suicide last may by hanging herself in her paris flat
shortly after shooting the film
the director has dedicated his film to the gordon who had previously acted in
spider man and in french films
sfar at first sought to cast charlotte gainsbourg as her father but the actress
declined
the director had his actors sing all the numbers in his movie themselves with
varying results but overall critical reaction in france and in britain has been
positive
kraft gobbles cadbury in mega takeover
london jan afp
british chocolate maker cadbury melted into the arms of us giant kraft on
tuesday in multi billion dollar deal to create world leader in food and
confectionery that sparked fears of job losses
cadbury board agreed to an improved takeover offer valuing the british group
at billion pounds billion euros billion dollars or pence
per share the companies announced in statement
cadbury shareholders will also receive pence per share via special
dividend lifting kraft offer to billion pounds
british prime minister gordon brown whose labour party is widely tipped to lose
an upcoming general election said the government was determined to help save
jobs at cadbury amid union fears that kraft will wield the axe
britain biggest union unite warned that kraft would be saddled with huge
debts following the takeover putting at risk cadbury posts and
jobs at the company sub contractors
the friendly takeover meanwhile marks the end of prolonged and bitter battle
for control of year old cadbury whose products such as dairy milk
chocolate bars are loved by millions of sweet toothed customers worldwide
cadbury which began as small grocer shop in birmingham central england in
has grown into global operation spanning countries with staff
london listed cadbury led by chief executive todd stitzer an american
repeatedly rejected kraft since an initial approach in september arguing that
its previous cash and shares offer worth billion pounds was derisory
cadbury chairman roger carr said the latest offer from the world second
biggest snacks group after nestle epresented good value for cadbury
shareholders
we will now work with the kraft foods management to ensure the continued
success and growth of the business for the benefit of our customers consumers
and employees it added in the takeover statement
the new firm will create global market leader with more than confectionery
brands each with annual sales of more than million dollars
once formally approved by regulators and shareholders the takeover will see
new company eclipse us firm mars the world biggest confectioner
investors welcomed tuesday news sending cadbury share price percent
higher to close at pence on london benchmark ftse index which rose
by one third of percent
kraft chief executive irene rosenfeld said her company bid represents
compelling opportunity for cadbury shareholders providing both immediate value
certainty and upside potential in the combined company
kraft added that tie up provides the potential for meaningful cost savings
under the deal kraft will pay pence in cash and new kraft foods
shares per cadbury share
the takeover will end almost years of history and independence for cadbury
colourful maker of chocolate bar brands including crunchie and flake as
well as halls throat sweets and trident chewing gum
quaker john cadbury launched the company in the early th century selling hot
chocolate drinks as an alternative to alcohol
markets were meanwhile waiting to see if us chocolate maker hershey would table
its own offer for cadbury the wall street journal last friday reported that
hershey planned to bid at least billion dollars this week
cadbury dairy milk is meanwhile the most popular chocolate bar in britain
and the company sells more than million bars every year in countries
around the world
kraft well known snack products include dairylea cheese milka and toblerone
chocolate and oreo cookies
haitians can get help from free cell phone text service us
washington jan afp
haitians subscribing to the main cell phone operator in haiti digicel can now
ask for emergency help using free text service the state department announced
tuesday
the text message program allows people with digicel service to text their
location and their need to free short code katie dowd the
department new media director said in tweet over the dipnote blog
for example someone could text need water or need medical help with
their location and these messages will be routed to aid organizations and
emergency responders on the ground for free she said
she said group of engineers developed the service for haitian subscribers of
the irish mobile telephone service digicel in areas of the quake hit caribbean
island where there is coverage
digicel said monday it had restored percent of coverage in the capital port
au prince and intended to complete repairs by the end of the week
if you know someone in haiti please share the program with them so they
can text their needs and sign up for further information on relief efforts
dowd said
you can also sign up someone else phone number by texting register or
registre and their location and number to she said
this is also available internationally by texting register or registre and the
person affected in haiti number and location to according to
dowd
the state department is trying to offer similar service with other cell phone
providers she said adding we are working to re establish systems as fast as
possible
major van gogh show set to open in london
london jan afp
an exhibition bringing together vincent van gogh paintings and letters opens
in london next weekend the first major show about the artist here in over
years
the real van gogh the artist and his letters at the royal academy includes
the last letter van gogh wrote to his brother theo six days before he committed
suicide in
the correspondence sheds revealing light on the dutch artist best known for
tempestuous brushwork sometimes odd angles and colours and having cut off his
own ear
there is myth about van gogh people concentrate on the dramatic aspect of
his life and that tended to overshadow who he really was curator anne dumas
told afp
the popular view is that he is crazy and used to paint very quickly he did
paint very quickly but what comes out of the letters is how he carefully made
preparations for his works she added
most of the letters and of the paintings are on loan from the van gogh museum
in amsterdam and are presented alongside works from galleries and private
collections around the world
the exhibition opens on january and runs until april at the royal academy
economic crisis threatens education unesco
paris jan afp
the global economic crisis threatens to deprive millions of children in the
world poorest countries of an education the un culture and education agency
unesco said in report on tuesday
we cannot afford to create lost generation of children who have been deprived
of their chance for an education that might lift them out of poverty the head
of paris based unesco irina bokova said in the report
the united nations education scientific and cultural organization said
education systems in sub saharan africa could be lose some billion dollars
billion euros year in and as result of the crisis
the report also said donors would have to bridge financing gap of billion
dollars year to meet goal of universal primary education by
based on current development trends the report pointed out that million
primary school age children will still be out of school in
unesco did however say there had been spectacular advances in education over
the past decade in contrast to the lost decade of the with the number
of children not attending school falling by million since
polanski wins more privacy damages in france
paris jan afp
filmmaker roman polanski won more damages on tuesday from french publications
that printed photographs of him at his swiss home where he is confined pending
extradition proceedings in child sex case
paris court convicted the magazines vsd and voici and the weekly newspaper
journal de dimanche of breaching polanski privacy by publishing zoom lens
pictures of him and his children without permission
it ordered them to pay total of euros dollars in fines costs
and compensation to him and his wife french actress emmanuelle seigner
the publications had printed pictures of polanski and his family at his chalet
near gstaad switzerland
the filmmaker is under house arrest there while swiss authorities consider
demand by the united states to deport him to face charges of having unlawful sex
with year old girl in california in
last week paris court also ordered french daily aujourd hui en france with
its paris edition le parisien to pay euros to polanski for printing
pictures of him in gstaad
it convicted that paper of breaching his privacy and the right to the use of his
image rights strictly protected by french law
polanski and seigner had demanded total of euros in damages and
interest from the three french publications in tuesday case and from
aujourd hui le parisien
euro drops as german investor confidence falls
london jan afp
the euro plunged to its lowest level against the dollar since christmas on
tuesday after drop in confidence among investors in germany europe biggest
economy traders said
in london late afternoon deals the european single currency fell to
dollars from dollars late on monday
against the japanese currency the euro also fell to yen from yen
while the dollar gained to yen from yen on monday
german investor sentiment fell for fourth month running in january as europe
biggest economy braced for burdensome and long recovery the zew economic
research institute said on tuesday
the zew indicator of german economic sentiment fell more steeply than forecast
to an indexed points the lowest level since july
the assessment of the financial market experts suggests that we will see an
economic recovery in at best but not clear economic upswing
statement quoted zew president wolfgang franz as saying
the way out of the recession is burdensome and long he added
analysts polled by dow jones newswires had expected the german financial sector
barometer to just edge lower to points
germany january zew survey provided more negative news for the euro said
jane foley analyst at online trading firm forex com
greece continues to contribute most of the negative pressure on the euro she
added however
international rating agency moody on tuesday said it was maintaining
negative outlook on greece because it was unclear whether the government could
implement plan to shore up public finances
given the lack of certainty surrounding the greek government ability to
implement the programme moody negative outlook remains unchanged the agency
said
the greek government which last month suffered credit downgrade from all
three leading ratings agencies is struggling to overcome huge debt and public
deficit that have sparked consternation among its eurozone partners
elsewhere on tuesday the british pound rallied after official data revealed
larger than expected spike in inflation data dealers said
annual inflation in recession hit britain surged to percent in december
partly owing to changes in taxation levels data showed on tuesday
consumer prices index cpi inflation increased by percent in december from
november
market expectations had been for an annual gain of percent and month on
month increase of percent according to analysts polled by dow jones
newswires
analysts said the data could force the bank of england to begin raising interest
rates from record low level of percent earlier than expected
in london on tuesday the euro was changing hands at dollars against
dollars late on monday yen pounds and
swiss francs
the dollar stood at yen and swiss francs
the pound was at dollars
on the london bullion market the price of gold dipped to dollars an ounce
from dollars on monday
european stocks rise after cadbury takeover
london jan afp
european stock markets edged higher on tuesday after british chocolate maker
cadbury accepted multi billion dollar takeover from us food giant kraft
european shares rose after wall street opened higher as trading resumed in new
york following three day national holiday weekend
markets also absorbed news that japan airlines filed for bankruptcy protection
on tuesday as it battled to overcome crippling debts
london benchmark ftse index of leading shares rose by percent to
points
in paris the cac was up percent to points while in frankfurt
the dax gained percent to finish at
the dj euro stoxx index of top eurozone shares was up percent to reach
points
back in london cadbury said it had agreed to takeover from kraft worth around
billion pounds creating world leader in food and confectionery
the pair announced in statement that cadbury management had agreed to
takeover worth pence per share valuing the group at the equivalent of
billion euros or billion dollars
in response the share price of british confectioner cadbury rallied
percent to pence
the combined group will provide large cost savings and create global market
leader with annual sales totalling more than million dollars they added
european stock markets had dropped in midday trading as investors reacted to
downbeat german economic news and awaited wall street to open before key us
results
german investor sentiment fell for fourth month running in january as europe
biggest economy braced for burdensome and long recovery the zew economic
research institute said on tuesday
the zew indicator of german economic sentiment fell more steeply than forecast
to an indexed points the lowest level since july
in new york share prices swung higher as investors digested the cadbury deal
and big loss from battered financial giant citigroup
the dow jones industrial average rose points percent to
at gmt as wall street reopened after the martin luther king holiday monday
the nasdaq composite rose points percent to and the
standard amp poor index added points percent to
citigroup said it suffered net loss of billion dollars in the fourth
quarter of resulting in full year loss of billion dollars which
executives said indicated progress is reviving the banking firm
andy fitzpatrick at hinsdale associates said the market is still unsure if the
current earnings season key indicator of the health of the corporate sector
and the overall economy will live up to high expectations
all eyes will again be on earnings reports as companies like ibm google bank
of america starbucks and goldman sachs announce their fourth quarter results
he said
expect another week of stops and starts as the market tries to figure out if
this recovery is in fact advancing or rather retreating wall street will also
be listening closely to company outlooks as gauge of what to expect in
and could place more weight on that than recent earnings
in asia tokyo stocks fell percent ahead of the bankruptcy filing by debt
ridden japan airlines
asia biggest carrier will receive billions of dollars in public aid to keep it
flying as it undergoes painful revamp that will see it cut about jobs
about third of its staff
corpses in haiti pose scant immediate health risk experts
paris jan afp
decomposing bodies in haiti are unlikely to pose major threat to health
although leaving the dead untended or dumping them in mass graves risks
intensifying grief and sparking resentment experts say
in the popular mind corpses must be swiftly collected and buried or burned to
avoid spreading cholera plague typhus and other killers
but specialists say this is more often than not myth
in natural disasters most of those who die were healthy and thus do not carry
the pathogens that cause such diseases they say
indeed rush to pick up the dead may well be life threatening it could divert
resources away from rescue efforts for those who are alive and buried under
rubble or in urgent need of medical care
the assumed infectious risk that dead body poses has been discredited by
science through numerous observations and by epidemiological and scientific
evidence which while scarce is documented says manual published by
the pan american health organisation paho and the world health organisation
who
investigations published in the medical press suggest that in many cases post
disaster outbreaks of disease can be traced to unclean water supplies poor
sanitation or respiratory infections among sick cramped survivors
corpses do not generally create serious health hazard says un
assessment environmental health in emergencies and disasters
an exception is if bodies are polluting drinking water with faecal matter or are
infected with plague or typhus in which case they may be infested with the
fleas or lice that spread these diseases
decomposing bodies are problem in that they smell and they look awful but
this is not especially the biggest problem said michel sapanet pathologist
at the university hospital centre in poitiers france
they do have liquids which have certain number of germs that potentially can
be dangerous these are ordinary germs which we have in our bodies mainly
intestinal germs he said the biggest problem in haiti is that people do
not have access to water
people handling corpses have to be suitably protected with masks and gloves to
avoid infection by hiv and other blood borne microbes
among the guidelines spelt out in the paho and who manual is an emphasis on
respect for the individuality of the deceased so that survivors can come to
terms with their loss
every effort must be taken to identify the bodies and mass graves are to be
avoided it says as last resort unidentified bodies should be placed in
individual niches or trenches
any form of mass burial always has very negative psychosocial impact at the
individual and community level since it is contrary to the very understandable
desire that everyone has of giving worthy farewell to our family members and
friends says the manual
another problem resulting from mass burial is that corpses are not identified
which increases grief and uncertainty and complicates the mourning process for
the survivors
in haiti though emergency officials have had recourse to common graves given
that identification of the dead was impossible said stephane malbranque
pathologist from the french overseas department of martinique contacted by text
message in haiti
in haiti slum school missionaries left with corpses
port au prince jan afp
tucked away by hillside slum school run by missionaries has been overlooked
in the aid rush since the haiti quake with children dead beneath the rubble
and people battling to survive
the little sisters of saint therese of the child of jesus described as
women religious order lies abandoned by the world since the magnitude
quake struck week ago
the oldest children were already out of school so almost all escaped with their
lives
but the little ones about aged between six and fell victim when the
concrete school collapsed as the caribbean nation shook with the force of the
powerful quake
with their bare hands the sisters dug out as many as they could and rescued
about children but with few means and unable to make it down the hillside
since the road had been reduced to rubble they had no way to treat the injured
they could only watch helplessly as of the children they had so feverishly
rescued died from their injuries
we put the dead and the living on the terrace over there their parents came to
take the bodies by hand and transported the wounded on door frames down the
winding roads to the carrefour slums said sister gisele chaperon
since then no one has made their way up to the tiny religious order now with
people still alive including some handicapped children
no international aid teams to either search for any more survivors or unearth
the dead no medical relief and no food
without equipment we can reach the bodies we have nothing no food or
water said year old american missionary barbara wander
and the looters have begun to roam past the pillaging began on the first day
at night armed men come saying they have come to protect us but we know they
are thieves we are very scared for our safety
the sisters have called on the local authorities and police for help but in
vain even the church ravaged by its losses can do nothing
government officials are busy with other things we are well out of
everything said sister gisele
in reversal of their roles some of the poor families from the slums have
tried to help bringing bananas or oranges to feed the survivors
normally it was the sisters who sought to bring succor to the slum dwellers
they didn just run school for the children but they cared for them nursed
them and above all fed the children
the children used to say when school out we don eat now the survivors
have no food said sister gisele who was also trapped for several hours in the
rubble
now she is trying to look to the future hoping at least for some tents so that
classes can eventually resume
but then the enormity of the tragedy overwhelmed her every day is painful
she said sadly we ve still not found rosena she spent years with us she
wanted to learn to sew and was taking cake baking courses to help her mother
and we haven found cyrilla she wanted to be nurse
in one corner circle of young handicapped children pressed around one of the
sisters in the ruins lay textbooks and written tests
now the mother of makendy who was in the th grade and about years old will
never know he only got out of in his religious studies test
nigerian vp orders troops into strife torn jos security chief
abuja jan afp
nigeria vice president goodluck jonathan has ordered troops into the city of
jos top security official said tuesday after fresh clashes between muslims
and christians left nearly people dead
national security adviser sarki mukthar told reporters that the military have
moved in concert with the police to normalise the situation in the central
city
he also said the vice president has ordered security chiefs to immediately move
to jos assess the situation
senior muslim cleric in the city said earlier tuesday that clashes had killed
nearly people as terrified residents reported gunshots and smoke billowing
from parts of the plateau state capital
italy sending aircraft carrier planes to haiti
rome jan afp
the italian aircraft carrier cavour will set sail for earthquake hit haiti in
the coming hours with some soldiers floating hospital and six helicopters
aboard authorities said tuesday
planeload of humanitarian aid left for port au prince early tuesday and two
more were preparing to go to the devastated caribbean state they told afp
we will have on board an engineering team with equipment needed to help clear
streets and provide communications spokesman said
the carrier named cavour will stop in brazil to pick up brazilian army medical
personnel before sailing on to haiti the defence ministry said
italy foreign ministry also announced the departure of plane carrying
humanitarian aid worth euros dollars
among the items are medical supplies blankets tents cooking utensils water
purifiers and water containers biscuits and personal hygiene articles
another flight organised by the civil protection agency with financial support
from an association of italian cities should leave late tuesday from rome
