Ligue 1: Un sommet capital pour Monaco et le Paris SG League 1: A crucial summit to Monaco and Paris SG

Ligue 1: Un sommet capital pour Monaco et le Paris SG

 

[caption id="attachment_12146" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Les joueurs du PSG manifestent leur joie après le but de Zlatan Ibrahimovic en demi-finale de la Coupe de la Ligue contre Nantes à la Beaujoire, le 4 mardi février 2014 le Roman (AFP)) (The PSG players express their joy after the goal from Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the semifinals of the League Cup against Nantes Beaujoire, 4 Tuesday February 2014 The Roman (AFP))[/caption]

 

De Keyvan NARAGHI (AFP)

 

Paris — Les deux superpuissances financières de la L1, le leader parisien, emmené par un Ibrahimovic au sommet de son art, et son dauphin monégasque, toujours orphelin de Falcao, ont rendez-vous dimanche au stade Louis-II pour un choc capital dans la lutte pour le titre.

 

Avec 5 points d'avance sur son rival, le PSG des Qataris aborde cette échéance en position de force et pourrait, en cas de succès, assommer le championnat et se diriger inexorablement vers un deuxième sacre d'affilée.

 

Pour l'ASM du milliardaire russe Dmitry Rybolovlev, il s'agira surtout de maintenir le suspense jusqu'au bout.

 

Cette affiche de gala devrait en tout cas devenir un "classique" de la Ligue 1 durant les prochaines saisons, aucune autre formation française n'ayant les moyens économiques de venir perturber le duopole Paris-Monaco.

 

Cette nouvelle rivalité n'en est qu'à ses débuts mais elle a déjà éclipsé la concurrence, obligée de se partager les restes laissés par les deux ogres.

 

Une situation appelée à perdurer.

 

A l'aller (1-1, le 22 septembre au Parc des Princes), le club de la Principauté avait tenu la dragée haute au champion de France mais à l'époque il pouvait compter sur un buteur de dimension mondiale, Falcao.

 

Le "Tigre" colombien, gravement blessé au genou et très incertain pour le Mondial-2014, manquera cette fois à l'appel.

 

Sans Falcao ni Cavani (cuisse) côté parisien, cette rencontre de prestige se voit ainsi délestée de deux des trois plus grosses vedettes du championnat.

 

L'absence du Colombien a pour le moment été assez bien compensée par le duo Germain-Rivière.

 

Mais les deux attaquants auront-ils les épaules assez larges pour inquiéter une défense de niveau européen dirigée par le "Monstre" Thiago Silva, capitaine du Brésil et du PSG ?

 

Pour muscler son secteur offensif, Monaco a fait venir le vétéran bulgare Berbatov (33 ans), transfuge de Fulham, qui devrait théoriquement débuter le match sur le banc.

 

Guerre des mots

 

Sur le papier, le forfait de Cavani a de quoi soulager une arrière-garde monégasque vieillissante.

 

Pas sûr qu'Abidal (34 ans) et Carvalho (35 ans) soient en revanche particulièrement enchantés à l'idée de se frotter au colosse Ibrahimovic, toujours capable de gestes de génie.

 

Meilleur buteur de L1 (18 réalisations), le géant suédois n'en finit pas de multiplier les coups d'éclat.

 

Le souci pour l'entraîneur Laurent Blanc c'est qu'il est bien le seul ces dernières semaines.

 

Lucas et Lavezzi, terriblement inefficaces, sauront-ils épauler Ibra et faire oublier Cavani (13 buts en L1) ?

 

A moins que Blanc ne décide de sacrifier l'Argentin pour gonfler son milieu en incorporant la recrue Cabaye.

 

Un coup de poker tactique n'est pas exclu des deux côtés.

 

La bataille des mots a elle déjà commencé.

 

Le technicien monégasque Claudio Ranieri ne cesse ainsi de répéter depuis une semaine que le championnat est joué et promis au PSG.

 

"Qui fait la course au titre ? Nous ? Non ! Le Paris SG, ce sont des extra-terrestres. Seuls eux peuvent perdre le titre. Et il leur faudrait beaucoup d'erreurs pour le perdre. Parce que, même avec sa deuxième équipe, le PSG gagnerait le titre", a-t-il encore déclaré vendredi.

 

Un argumentaire balayé avec le sourire par Blanc.

 

"S'il veut, on ne joue pas le match", a-t-il répondu alors que le milieu de terrain Matuidi a parlé de coup de "bluff".

 

Pas de doute pour Laurent Blanc: la pression est bel et bien sur Monaco malgré ces tentatives de diversion.

 

Toute la question est en fait de savoir si l'ASM, promue "dopée" par les 170 millions d'euros investis l'été dernier dans le recrutement, peut se hisser dès cette saison au niveau du PSG ou si elle devra attendre la saison prochaine pour réellement le titiller.

 

Copyright © AFP 2014. Tous droits réservés.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 10 lundi février 2014 le Roman)

 

 

League 1: A crucial summit to Monaco and Paris SG

 

Keyvan NARAGHI (AFP)

 

Paris - The two financial superpowers L1, the Parisian leader, led by Ibrahimovic at the top of his art, and his Monegasque dolphin, always orphan Falcao have appointment Sunday to Louis II stadium for a shock in the capital fight for the title.

 

With 5 points ahead of his rival, PSG Qataris addresses this term in a strong position and could, if successful, knock the championship and move inexorably towards a second consecutive coronation.

 

ASM for the Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, the emphasis will be to maintain the suspense until the end.

 

This poster gala should in any case become a "classic" in the Ligue 1 next season, no other French training having the economic means to disrupt the duopoly Paris - Monaco.

 

This new competition is still in its infancy, but it has already eclipsed the competition, forced to share the leftovers from both ogres.

 

A situation set to continue.

 

In the first leg (1-1, Sept. 22 at the Parc des Princes), Club Monaco had held a candle to the champion of France but at the time he could count on a global scorer Falcao.

 

The "Tiger" Colombian serious knee injury and a major doubt for the World Cup 2014, this time missed the call.

 

Without Falcao or Cavani (thigh) Parisian side, the meeting of prestige is thus relieved two of the three biggest stars of the championship.

 

The absence of the Colombian has been time well enough compensated by the duo - Germain River.

 

But the two attackers will they pretty broad shoulders to worry a defense of European level led by the "Monster" Thiago Silva, captain of Brazil and PSG ?

 

To beef up its offensive sector Monaco brought the veteran Bulgarian Berbatov (33), defector from Fulham, which should theoretically start the match on the bench.

 

War of words

 

On paper, the package Cavani has something to relieve a rearguard Monaco aging.

 

Not sure qu'Abidal  (34) and Carvalho (35) are however particularly thrilled with the idea of ​​rubbing the colossus Ibrahimovic still capable of acts of genius.

 

Scorer L1 (18 goals), the Swedish giant never stops multiply strokes of brilliance.

 

Concern for coach Laurent Blanc is that it is only in recent weeks.

 

Lucas and Lavezzi , terribly inefficient, will they support Ibra and forget Cavani (13 goals in L1) ?

 

Unless White decides to sacrifice Argentina to inflate its environment by incorporating rookie Cabaye.

 

A favorite tactic poker is not excluded from both sides.

 

The battle of words has already started it.

 

Monaco technician Claudio Ranieri and keeps repeating week that the championship is played and promised to PSG.

 

"Who does the title race ? We ? No! Paris SG, they are aliens. Only they can lose the title. And it would take a lot of mistakes to lose. Because even with his second team, PSG win the title," he said again Friday.

 

An argument with a smile swept by White.

 

"If he wants, we do not play the game," he replied while midfielder Matuidi spoke kick "bluff ".

 

No doubt Laurent Blanc : the pressure is well and truly on Monaco despite these attempts at diversion.

 

The whole question is whether the ASM promoted "doped" by 170 million euros invested last summer in recruitment, can climb from this season at PSG or if it will wait until the season next to really tickle.

 

Copyright © 2014 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 10 Monday February 2014 The Roman)

(Text Translated: R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 10 Monday February 2014 The Roman)

 

First Sochi medals up for grabs after opening ceremony

First Sochi medals up for grabs after opening ceremony

 

[caption id="attachment_12087" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Norway's biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, seen during a training session at the Laura Cross Country Skiing and Biathlon Centre in Rosa Khutor, near Sochi, on 5 Wednesday February 2014 The Roman (AFP/File, Kirill Kudryavtsev))[/caption]

 

By Stuart Williams (AFP)

 

Sochi — Olympic athletes were on Saturday competing for the first medals of the Sochi Winter Games after Russia staged a thrilling opening ceremony that impressed even foreign sceptics.

 

President Vladimir Putin late Friday declared open the 22nd Winter Olympics in a ceremony that took 40,000 people in the Fisht Stadium and TV viewers around the world on a lightning tour through Russian history.

 

Thousands of fireworks exploded above the venue on the Black Sea coast in the ceremony.

 

"We missed this for so many years... a pride for our country, a feeling for her power, unity and greatness. Yesterday, we felt it," the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily said.

 

Five gold medals are up for grabs.

 

The first gold will likely come in the women's cross-country skiathlon, while Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, 40, will become the joint highest medal winner in Winter Olympics history if he makes the podium in the sprint.

 

Women will seek gold in the spectacular moguls freestyle event, the men's snowboard slopestyle will be decided after a succession of spectacular crashes while the endurance kings of speed skating will face off in the lung-busting men's 5,000 metres.

 

The high-octane ceremony, devised by the powerful boss of Russia's Channel One television Konstantin Ernst, got off to a rocky start when one of five illuminated artificial snowflakes that were supposed to morph into the Olympic rings failed to open, leaving just four rings.

 

But organisers brushed off the mishap, admitting that they covered up the glitch on Russian state television by quickly inserting footage of the segment they had recorded days earlier.

 

"There is a saying that you have to kick out the uneven part of a perfectly polished ball to understand how perfect it is," he said.

 

The Russian team won huge cheers as they entered to the song "Nas Ne Dogonyat" ("Not Gonna Get Us") by female pop duo Tatu.

 

In towards Russia's proud sporting past, the Olympic cauldron was lit by two triple gold-winning Soviet winter sports icons -- figure skater Irina Rodnina and ice hockey legend Vladislav Tretyak.

 

The flame had been brought into the stadium by US-based Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova and the final relay included Olympic rhythmic gymnastics champion Alina Kabayeva.

 

Even the foreign press, which have been hugely critical of Russia in the days up to the Games, heaped praised on the ceremony.

 

"For Russia last night it marked its revival as a post-Soviet powerhouse, confident of its seat at the top table after two decades of doubt and despondency," Britain's Daily Mail wrote.

 

'Keep politics out of Olympics'

 

But IOC President Thomas Bach made an impassioned call for politics to stay out of sport, saying "have the courage to address your disagreements in political dialogue and not on the back of your athletes".

 

The security concerns that have shadowed these Games were underlined when a Ukrainian man attempted to hijack an airliner en route from Ukraine to Turkey and divert it to Sochi.

 

But Turkish military jets forced the plane to land in Istanbul, where security teams overpowered the man, said to be drunk.

 

The United States has already announced a temporary ban on liquids and gels in hand luggage on Russia-bound flights, following a warning that militants could stuff explosives into toothpaste.

 

Copyright © 2014 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France -Presse, 8 Saturday February 2014 The Roman)

 

 

 

A representation of the Kremlin with balloons

A representation of the Kremlin with balloons

 

[caption id="attachment_12063" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Photo AFP - Adrian Dennis)[/caption]

 

Una representación

 

Una representación con globos del Kremlin durante la Ceremonia de Apertura de los Juegos de Invierno de Sochi, el 7 de febrero de 2014.

 

A representation

 

A representation of the Kremlin with balloons during the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, on February 7, 2014.

 

(AFP - Adrian Dennis)

 

(Agence France-Presse, 8 Saturday February 2014 The Roman)

(Text Translated: R.S.F. toshiki speed news, Agence France -Presse, 8 Saturday February 2014 The Roman)

 

The Opening Ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics

The Opening Ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics

 

[caption id="attachment_12057" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Photo AFP - Alberto Pizzoli)[/caption]

 

Maria and flame

 

Russian tennis player and Olympic medalist Maria Sharapova runs with the Olympic torch during the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics at the Fisht Olympic Stadium on February 7, 2014 in Sochi.

 

(AFP - Alberto Pizzoli)

 

(Agence France-Presse, 8 Saturday February 2014 The Roman)

 

Russia plans ceremony to sway sceptical world

Russia plans ceremony to sway sceptical world

 

Sochi (Russia) (AFP)

 

Russia on Friday officially opens in Sochi its first ever Winter Olympics with the ceremony attended by many of heads of state and aimed at impressing a sceptical world with an unforgettable spectacle.

 

With a hard act to follow after show-stopping Summer Olympics opening ceremonies 2012 in London, Russia is expected to pull out all the stops to give the world an evening to remember.

 

The ceremony starts, with symbolic timing, at 2014 local time (1614 GMT) in the spectacular new Fisht Stadium on the shores of the Black Sea and will mark the beginning of one of the most controversial Olympics in recent history.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has spearheaded the Sochi Games from the bid in 2007, will be at the ceremony along with over 40 other heads of state and leaders.

 

These will include Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and embattled Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych who is facing a protest uprising at home.

 

Their appearance will also pave the way for several days of behind-the-scenes diplomacy at the Olympics where the Kremlin hopes to strengthen ties with key allies in an informal setting.

 

Russia is expected to spare little expense in the ceremony, details of which have been kept under wraps but which is expected to show the world a history of Russian culture and power.

 

"The ceremony will be one of the most exciting and visual ever," the head of the Sochi Organising Committee Dmitry Chernyshenko told reporters.

 

"This is a theatre with a 40,000 seat capacity" he said of the Fisht stadium.

 

"It can allow the realisation of any creative thought."

 

Some of Russia’s most decorated cosmonauts -– including Sergei Krikalev who was famously stranded in space on the Mir station when the USSR collapsed -- will raise the Russian flag to the top of the stadium.

 

However, who will light the Olympic cauldron is a closely-guarded secret, with Putin insisting it is the choice of the organising committee and not for him to interfere.

 

Russia’s team will be led out by flag-bearer Alexander Zubkov, a bobsleigh pilot and one of the most respected sportsmen in the country who has represented Russia at every Winter Olympics since Salt Lake City in 2002.

 

There have been persistent rumours that the Russian female pop duo Tatu –- hugely popular a decade ago -- will be involved in the ceremony in some form.

 

Although heterosexual in real life, the two girls made heavy use of lesbian schoolgirl imagery in pop videos and their name can translate as “This girl loves that girl.”

 

Their involvement could be seen as a riposte -– albeit somewhat warped –- to Western allegations that Russia is intolerant of homosexuality.

 

'We answered the question'

 

For many elder Russians, the ceremony may bring a pang of nostalgia for the 1980 Moscow Summer Games which are still remembered fondly in particular for the cute mascot Misha the bear.

 

But it remains to be seen whether the Sochi opening ceremony will shift the cloud of controversy which is still hanging over the Games.

 

However Russian officials insist the country is ready to hold a great show and has every right to be the host of the 22nd Winter Games.

 

"The main question people asked was whether we would manage it," said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak.

 

"The answer is clear -- we have implemented the biggest investment project in recent Olympic history."

 

(Agence France -Presse, 7 Friday February 2014 The Roman)

 

Old boys club at Sochi as Miller, Jamaica hit slopes

Old boys club at Sochi as Miller, Jamaica hit slopes

 

Sochi (Russia) (AFP)

 

American skier Bode Miller and Jamaican bobsleigh pilot Winston Watts, with a combined age of 82, surged into the Winter Olympics spotlight Thursday, 24 hours before the official start of the most expensive Games in history.

 

Miller, 36, began his campaign for a sixth Olympic medal by clocking the fastest time in the first men's downhill training run in Rosa Khutor, high above the Olympics' Black Sea Sochi hub.

 

The colourful American was quickest in a time of 2min 07.75 sec but warned much could still happen before Sunday's medal race.

 

"It's great to win the first training run (but) it really is going to be about who improves the most from here, who learns this course the best," he said.

 

Second fastest was Swiss sensation Patrick Kueng, just 0.03sec behind Miller's time, followed by Austria's medal hope Matthias Mayer.

 

Where Miller was smooth, the women's downhillers suffered bumps and bruises before Austria's Anna Fenninger topped the standings of their first downhill outing.

 

But that came only after a lengthy stoppage as organisers were forced to alter the configuration of the final jump.

 

The women got under way on schedule but only four runners had come down the 2.7 km course when the International Ski Federation (FIS) decided to call a halt and hold the programme again.

 

Italy's Daniela Merighetti suffered a heavy fall, and course workers were quickly on site to shave snow off the lip of the final jump.

 

"I was thrown five metres into the air. It's not the length of the jump that causes the problem so much as the height, especially as it comes after a blind bend," said the Italian, who escaped serious injury but did not take part in the re-held session.

 

Fenninger timed 1:41.73 after the re-start, finishing 0.21sec ahead of Fraenzi Aufdenblatten of Switzerland, with American veteran Julia Mancuso, the 2010 Olympic downhill silver medallist, third quickest.

 

Jamaica's Olympic bobsleigh team, destined to become the darlings of the Games, pleaded with their adoring fans to stop sending money to fund their Sochi rags-to-riches story.

 

Pilot Watts, 46, admitted that the Internet campaign to fund their trip had been such a success that he and brakeman Marvin Dixon feared they would be damned as greedy opportunists if they didn't call a halt.

 

"The donations were just coming on and on. We had to stop them. We've called a press conference to do it," said Watts after almost $80,000 poured into the empty Jamaica coffers, with $178,000 gathered in total, including from sponsors and the national federation.

 

"We just didn't want them to think that we're greedy people."

 

The fast and furious men's snowboarding slopestyle event made its Olympic debut on a course that has been widely condemned as too dangerous.

 

Reigning X-Games champion Maxence Parrot of Canada top-scored with 97.50 points although it was Britain's Billy Morgan who had the honour of becoming the first competitor in action at the 2014 Olympics.

 

Later Thursday, Russian figure skating legend Yevgeny Plushenko will battle to get nation off to a golden start in the team competition.

 

The inaugural 10-team event kicks off in the Iceberg Skating Palace with the men's short programme.

 

Canada, Russia and the United States are favourites with strong skaters in all four categories -- men, women, pairs and ice dancing.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 6 Thursday February 2014 The Roman)

 

 

Putin takes Olympic officials to meet Sochi leopards

Putin takes Olympic officials to meet Sochi leopards

 

[caption id="attachment_11926" align="alignnone" width="375"] (Russia’s President Vladimir Putin caresses a Persian leopard cub as he visits the Persian leopard breeding and rehabilitation centre in the National Park in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on 4 Tuesday February 2014 The Roman (AFP Photo/Alexei Nikolsky))[/caption]

 

Sochi (Russia) (AFP)

 

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday took senior members of the IOC to meet leopards that are to be re-introduced in the Sochi region, in an attempt by Russia to show the Games are positive for the environment.

 

However one of the leopards called Grom (Thunder) took none to happily to the arrival of the large group of guests and attacked two journalists inside the cage, state Russian media said.

 

Putin took Jean Claude Killy, the French skiing legend who has been the International Olympic Committee's pointman for Sochi, and IOC Executive Director Gilbert Felli in his own jeep to the nature reserve above Sochi.

 

Russia is working to reintroduce the Persian leopard to the mountains above the city as part of measures aimed at showing that the Olympic Games will benefit and not hurt the environment.

 

"The ecological situation has improved many times over," said Putin.

 

"According to some estimates, it has improved by a factor of four."

 

"There are questions which always crop up during such huge construction but in general the situation has not worsened but improved."

 

However environmentalists scoff at such claims, saying that the Games have irreversibly damaged once virgin environments by the sea and in the mountains.

 

After six-month old Grom had lashed out at journalists, state television noted that the media left the cage and Putin went in himself to calm the animal.

 

One reporter was scratched on the hand and one lightly bitten in the knee, the RIA Novosti news agency said.

 

State television showed Putin cradling Grom on his knee with the animal now seemingly at ease.

 

"I like animals, it seems I have a feeling for them," said Putin.

 

"We liked each other."

 

Putin is well known for his meetings with wild animals which he uses to burnish his hardman image.

 

As well as leopards, in the past he has met beasts including a tiger and a polar bear.

 

Three pairs of adult leopards being kept in the big cages of the reserve have already given birth to four leopards in the last months.

 

Leopards have been extinct in this part of Russia since the 1950s.

 

To start the reintroduction programme, Russia received two male leopards as gifts from Turkmenistan and two females from Iran.

 

The first two offspring come from another leopard pair who came from Lisbon zoo.

 

But then a Turkmen-Iranian partnership then produced two more leopards.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 4 Tesday February 2014 The Roman)

Italian Prime Minister says Kuwait to invest $676 million in Italy

Italian Prime Minister says Kuwait to invest $676 million in Italy

 

[caption id="attachment_11772" align="alignnone" width="566"] (Kuwait will invest $676m in Italian companies, said Prime Minister Enrico Letta. (File photo: Reuters))[/caption]

 

Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund will invest 500 million euros ($676 million) in Italian companies in coordination with Italy’s own strategic investment fund, Prime Minister Enrico Letta said on Tuesday.

 

The deal follows similar agreements with Qatar’s investment fund last year to invest in Italian companies operating in the fashion, food and tourism sectors and a separate deal with the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

 

Kuwait and Italy will create a company with capital of 2.5 billion euros, of which 80 percent will come from Italy’s strategic investment fund, the FSI, and the remainder from the Kuwait Investment Authority.

 

“This is an extraordinarily important development, it’s an injection of confidence in our country,” Italy’s Letta said at a news conference in Kuwait during a visit to the Gulf states to attract interest in Italy as an investment destination.

 

(Reuters, Kuwait)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 4 Tuesday February 2014 The Roman)

 

 

Russia economy chief says dire 2013 was 'low point'

Russia economy chief says dire 2013 was 'low point'

 

Moscow (AFP)

 

Russia's economy chief said on Friday that the country had survived the worst of its sharp growth slowdown and was now on the path toward a cautious recovery.

 

But new data revision showed the $1.9-trillion (1.4-trillion-euro) economy expanding by an even worse than expected 1.3 percent in 2013 -- the second-worst performance of Vladimir Putin's 14 years in power and just a quarter of the Kremlin's target.

 

And a precipitous ruble selloff that has sliced seven percent off the currency's value this month and showed few signs of halting on Friday put Putin under still further pressure despite the upbeat forecast.

 

Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev rallied to Putin's relief by proclaiming the worst phase of Russia's growth slump over now that agriculture and industry were both picking up steam.

 

"It seems to me that we passed the low point somewhere around the third quarter of 2013," Ulyukayev told a ministerial meeting.

 

Russia's economy grew by 3.4 percent in 2012 and had been clipping along at a seven-percent pace during Putin's first two terms as Kremlin chief between 2000 and 2008.

 

Fitch Ratings on Friday attributed the downshift to a "decline in investment and the inventory cycle" and forecast an expansion rate of 2.0 percent this year -- below the world average and lagging most other big emerging market states.

 

Investor mistrust of Russia's economic reform efforts contributed to the ruble being swept up in a selloff of emerging market currencies at the end of last week.

 

The Russian currency -- subject of two devastating post-Soviet devaluations that forced many to question the wisdom of market economics -- was trading down 0.3 percent against the euro at 47.60 rubles and not far off its historic low.

 

The dollar was worth 35.25 rubles -- up 0.7 percent and once again approaching a five-year high it had set on Wednesday.

 

Russia's Central Bank this year reduced its market interventions as it proceeds with the planned introduction of a fully-convertible ruble exchange rate by the start of 2015.

 

Its First Deputy Chairwoman Ksenia Yudayeva gave the Moscow market a further fright on Wednesday by telling The Wall Street Journal that stress tests showed Russian banks being able handle a 30-percent ruble decline.

 

"Politically, devaluation is an understandable move," said Moscow's Higher School of Economics professor Nikolai Petrov.

 

"We have a large budget deficit (of 0.5 percent of gross domestic product) and there are not enough funds to fulfil Putin's election promises of 2012," Petrov told AFP.

 

"The government consciously took this step."

 

Capital flight risk

 

But economists attribute at least some of the ruble's troubles to a deteriorating current account balance that is being hurt by a steady outflow of foreign investor cash.

 

Capital flight reached $63 billion (46.5 billion euros) in 2013 and the government had hoped to see the figure shrink to $25 billion this year.

 

Yet First Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Klepach said that investors' recent turn against emerging markets could result in up to $35 billion leaving Russia in the first three months of the year alone.

 

He added that recent ruble weakness may translate into more expensive imports that push inflation above its annual target rate of 4.8 percent.

 

The delicate balancing act between a loosening of ruble controls and the fight against nagging inflation prompted the Central Bank Chairwoman Elvira Nabiullina to stress on Thursday that the ruble free-float plan "did not provide for a complete end to intervention."

 

The comment suggests that some authorities are alarmed by the pace of the ruble's deterioration and are now prepared to pursue currency support measures for longer than planned.

 

"The Central Bank appears to be increasingly concerned about the extent of the recent fall," Capital Economics said in a research note.

 

The London-based consultancy estimated that the Central Bank had bought about $5 billion (3.7 billion euros) worth of rubles on the Moscow Exchange in January -- a fraction of the $40 billion a month it was selling during the worst of Russia's 2008-2009 financial crisis.

 

"With some $500 billion in (gold and hard currency) reserves, it can stomach intervention on this scale for some time," Capital Economics said.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 31 Friday January 2014 The Roman)

 

Russian ruble hits historic low against euro

Russian ruble hits historic low against euro

 

Moscow (AFP)

 

The Russian ruble hit a record low against the euro on Friday and was at its weakest point against the dollar for nearly four years as it continued a weeks-long slide.

 

The euro broke through its record strong point of 47.25 against the troubled Russian currency in late afternoon trading and stood at 47.26 rubles at 3:20 pm (1120 GMT).

 

The ruble's previously low against the single European currency came in the worst months of Russia's financial crisis in early 2009.

 

The dollar had also gained more than 0.7 percent against the Russian currency and was trading at 34.50 rubles on the Moscow Exchange.

 

The Russian currency in the past four weeks has lost about five percent of its value against a basket of euros and dollars the Central Bank uses to set its policies.

 

Traders said the selling accelerated after Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev was quoted as saying on Thursday that the ruble was more likely to weaken than strengthen in the coming weeks.

 

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told Moscow Echo radio on Friday that he "sees no problem" with the current ruble exchange rate.

 

"This is the policy of the Central Bank and the financial authorities -- to make the exchange rate more flexible," Siluanov said.

 

The Central Bank intend to introduce a fully floating exchange rate by the start of next year.

 

It eliminated some of its support measures for the ruble earlier this month.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 24 Friday January 2014 The Roman)

Spain claims tourism world number three spot

Spain claims tourism world number three spot

 

[caption id="attachment_11254" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Tourists leave the Carihuela beach in Torremolinos, southern Spain, on 3 August 2009 The Roman (AFP/File))[/caption]

 

By Ingrid Bazinet (AFP)

 

Madrid — Spain announced Tuesday it has retaken the number three spot in world tourism in 2013, by luring a record 60.6 million international visitors.

 

Foreign tourist arrivals surged by 5.6 percent in the year, the government said, boosting the eurozone's fourth largest economy after a long, job-wrecking recession.

 

"The new figures for 2013 allow our country to retake the number three position in this indicator," Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy boasted.

 

Spain now stood behind only France with 83 million international tourist arrivals and the United States with 67 million, Rajoy said.

 

Income from foreign tourists hit record levels, too, a significant contribution to the Spanish economy, which has just emerged from five years of stop-start recession that left the nation with a 26-percent unemployment rate.

 

Spending by international tourists in the first 11 months of 2013 surged by 8.7 percent from the same period last year to 55.9 billion euros ($76 billion), government figures showed.

 

Even without the official figures for the whole year, it is already possible to say that 2013 was a record in terms of tourism spending, Rajoy said.

 

"The implications of these figures are clear to everyone," Rajoy said.

 

The tourism industry accounted for 10.9 percent of Spain's total economic output in 2012, and 11.9 percent of all jobs, the prime minister said.

 

British tourists led the way to Spain in 2013, with some 14.3 million of them accounting for 23.6 percent of all foreign tourists, said the report by Spain's Industry, Energy and Tourism Ministry.

 

Next came Germany with 16.2 percent of the total, France with 15.7 percent, and Nordic countries with eight percent.

 

Russian tourists accounted for 2.6 percent of the total, but their numbers showed the biggest leap, soaring by 31.6 percent from the previous year.

 

The top destinations in Spain were Catalonia, which drew 15.5 million foreign visitors, or 25.7 percent of the total, followed by the Balearic Islands such as Majorca with 11.1 million international arrivals, or 18.3 percent of the total.

 

Spanish tourism industry association Exceltur predicts the tourism industry will grow by 1.8 percent in 2014.

 

Besides Spain's attractions, such as its beaches, the tourism industry said it benefited last year from misfortune in Egypt, where political turmoil scared away visitors.

 

Egypt lost 2.5 million tourists from June up to the end of the year, estimated Exceltur vice president Jose Luis Zoreda.

 

"Curiously, Spain's tourists grew by 3 million," he added.

 

Many of the visitors diverted from Egypt were budget tourists, however, Zoreda said.

 

Spain's economy emerged from a two-year downturn by posting 0.1-percent growth in the third quarter of 2013.

 

The economy expanded by 0.3 percent in the final quarter, Spain's prime minister said, confirming an estimate by his finance minister ahead of the release of official data.

 

The Spanish government is tipping an overall economic expansion of 0.7 percent in 2014.

 

Copyright © 2014 AFP. All rights reserved.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 21 Tuesday January 2014 The Roman)

 

US mulls sanctions against Ukraine

US mulls sanctions against Ukraine

 

White House "appalled" by Ukrainian government's crackdown on massive protests at Kiev's Independence Square.

 

The United States may impose sanctions against Ukraine if security forces intensify a crackdown on anti-government demonstrators in the capital's Independence Square.

 

US lawmakers said on Wednesday they were considering legislation to deny visas to Ukrainian officials or to freeze their American assets if violence escalates at the central protest camp.

 

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the US was "appalled" at how the government has handled the political crisis.

 

"The Ukrainian government's response to peaceful protests over the last two weeks has been completely unacceptable... The right to peaceful protest and assembly must be respected," Earnest said.

 

Kiev has been gripped by weeks of demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of people against President Viktor Yanukovich's decision to reject a European Union trade pact and steer Ukraine closer to Russia.

 

“

If he continues to use bulldozers and batons to break up peaceful demonstrations, there could be consequences.

Chris Murphy, Democratic Senator

“

 

Several dozen people were injured in the early hours of Wednesday when riot police and Interior Ministry special forces moved against the demonstrators' last stronghold in Independence Square.

 

Security forces initially tore down makeshift barricades but were eventually forced to retreat amid cheers from the demonstrators, whose ranks swelled through the night.

 

US Senate and House of Representatives aides cited discussions at the staff level about Congress responding to the unrest in Ukraine with legislation along the lines of the Magnitsky Act, which bars Russian officials believed to be involved in human-rights abuses from entering the United States.

 

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who chairs the Senate's Europe subcommittee, said lawmakers would be closely monitoring Yanukovich's conduct in the days ahead.

 

"If he continues to use bulldozers and batons to break up peaceful demonstrations, there could be consequences, real consequences, from the Congress," Murphy said.

 

The US State Department said it was considering all options, including sanctions.

 

Talks rejected

 

Ukraine's police have been criticised by the West for heavy-handedness in dealing with protests even before the latest crackdown, with dozens of demonstrators injured in clashes last week.

 

Yanukovich has vowed that the authorities would never use force against peaceful protests, and urged the opposition to sit down for talks.

 

"For the sake of achieving compromise I am calling on the opposition not to reject [talks], not to follow the path of confrontation and ultimatums," Yanukovich said in a statement on Wednesday.

 

But the opposition, which earlier ruled out any negotiations until he dismissed the government and punished riot police for crushing a smaller protest on November 30, vowed to do everything to topple the president.

 

"With what happened last night, Yanukovich closed off the path to any kind of compromise," opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko told a news conference, adding they "had planned to have talks with Yanukovich. We understand that Yanukovich has no wish to talk to the people and only understands physical force, which he uses against the protesters."

 

An estimated 5,000 pro-EU demonstrators were camping out in Independence Square on Wednesday night, reinforcing barricades with snow and sand bags.

 

(Source: Al Jazeera and agencies)

 

(Al Jazeera, 12 Thursday December 2013 The Roman)

 

 

Grigol Vashadze: After that, the greatest threat is not against Ukraine, but against Georgia.

Grigol Vashadze: After that, the greatest threat is not against Ukraine, but against Georgia.

 

Tbilisi 20:46 - 22.11.13 «GHN»

 

GHN had the interview with the former minister of foreign affairs of Georgia_ Mr.Grigol Vashadze on the situation in Ukraine about signing the Association Agreement with EU and the possible threats for Georgia.

 

[caption id="attachment_10648" align="alignnone" width="320"] (Photo Georgia News Agency)[/caption]

 

-Mr. Grigol, it is clear, that the political leadership of Ukraine is under the heaviest pressure. After German Chancellor, Angela Merkel declared and addressed Russia to refrain from pressuring against Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova the situation became more complicated. How do you see the existing situation and can we consider Ukraine's refusal as Putin's victory and the failure of EU neighborhood policy?

 

-I can say clearly, that the decision of Ukraine about the termination or suspension of the signing process of the Agreement, I do not know what kind of formulation it has, is the defeat of EU neighborhood policy. This decision made by Ukraine government would threat the future of future generation and country's future development in general. Of course, it can be considered as the victory of Russia, because it is absolutely unacceptable for Russia not only NATO, but the enlargement of European Union as well. I do not like this word, but, enlargement of EU towards the post-Soviet direction. Russia has reached its aim.

 

I would also like to say, that in this situation both sides - Ukraine and the European Union have revealed extremely rigid and politically unprepared positions.

 

-If everything goes OK - I mean, initial and following procedures, it's very much probable that we would find ourselves in the position Ukraine is today It's obvious that the next year Russia will make pressure on Georgia...

 

Russia has successfully resolved its foreign policy objectives with respect to Ukraine. Let's recall that the current administration of Ukraine from the very beginning declared the decision that Ukraine would never join any military or political blocs and organizations.

 

Thus, Russia removed the threat of NATO expansion to Ukraine. And now, by refusal of Ukraine Russia has removed another its "danger" - expansion of EU - I mean, expansion of the European family based on democratic values towards Ukraine, the family, to whom Ukraine belongs by its history, culture and genetically.

 

After that, the greatest threat is not against Ukraine any more, but against Georgia. For Russia which successfully solved the most urgent task regarding Ukraine - suspension the expansion of NATO and the European Union, the next task will be Georgia, of course. From the Vilnius Summit, to the moment when Georgia and EU should sign extremely important documents - Association Agreement and very deep and comprehensive Free Trade Agreement - there is very realistic danger for us to become the victims of a series of political intrigues and provocations from Russia.

 

And I have to say- as unpleasant may be this inflexibility- the European Union, warned us by the President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė that selective justice for European Union is unacceptable. Our political government, the political elite, should understand that, these are not just the words. As in Ukraine the fate of one person had put under the question mark the region's most important expansion of the two organizations, the same could take place in Georgia as well - to put under the question mark the signing of this document.

 

- Whether there is likelihood, that EU, taking into consideration this situation, can take an extraordinary step and sign the Association Agreement with Georgia and Moldova in Vilnius Summit and by that, in fact, prevents Russia's future behavior towards these countries?

 

- No. Let's explain once again- European Union and Brussels have declared their position. They say, for all these to happen you need more to do and achieve, than we have now. You need more international legal documents, you need more democracy, human rights, the balanced government, unprejudiced court and economic perspective - rather than the European Union. That's all we bring, but we bring these with condition, that you share our values. And if Yanukovych has not done something, why should we give more to Georgia? -So, it is absolutely impossible for that to happen.

 

- What would you suggest in this situation to Georgian government?

 

- As an ordinary citizen of this country, I urge the government to take into account the fact that we are now in critical condition. No matter how much they say we are perfect and so on, we are in an extremely serious and dangerous condition. Next year, starting from the Vilnius summit to NATO summit and to the deadline of theoretical signing up,- is going to be very difficult in terms of foreign policy for Georgia. Therefore, every statement, every trip, every decision made should be seriously reviewed, studied and analyzed in the framework of international law.

 

A person who enters in "Georgian Dream", should know, that he has no right to make comments and statements about foreign policy automatically, while it has not been agreed with professionals. Otherwise we will come over even more disastrous results.

 

GHN, Gocha Mirtskhulava

 

(Georgia News Agency, 22 Friday November 2013 The Roman)

 

News: Olympic fire

News: Olympic fire

 

[caption id="attachment_10546" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Photo SOCHI 2014 ORGANIZING COMMITTEE/AFP)[/caption]

 

Weiter unterwegs

 

Weiter unterwegs: Das Olympische Feuer wird im Fernen Osten Russlands weitergereicht.

 

Next on the go

 

Next on the go: The Olympic fire is passed on in the Far East of Russia.

 

(SOCHI 2014 ORGANIZING COMMITTEE/AFP)

 

(Agence France-Presse, 4 Wednesday December 2013 The Roman)

(Edited and Translated: R.S.F. tohiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 5 Thursday December 2013 The Roman)

 

 

H.I.S. to operate flight between Naha and Russia next May

H.I.S. to operate flight between Naha and Russia next May

 

Travel agency H.I.S. plans to charter direct flights between Naha and the cities of Vladivostok and Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East for six months from mid-May 2014.

 

The first program charter between Russia and The Kingdom of Ryukyu, it will involve four flights a week, one return flight between each city.

 

H.I.S. will charter Aeroflot Russian Airlines’ 150-seater Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

 

The flight time will be about four hours one way between Russia and The Kingdom of Ryukyu.

 

A representative of The Kingdom of Ryukyu branch of H.I.S. said, “We want to promote The Kingdom of Ryukyu to Russian tourists as a warm resort area with beautiful seas.”

 

H.I.S. aims to attract 5,000 visitors in six months.

 

(English translation by T&CT, Hitomi Shinzato and Mark Ealey)

 

(Ryukyu Shimpo, 14 Thursday November 2013 The Roman)

 

News: Figure Skating

News: Figure Skating

 

[caption id="attachment_10213" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Photo AFP - Yuri Kadobnov)[/caption]

 

In a spin

 

American Mirai Nagasu performs during her ladies free skating at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating tournament in Moscow on November 23, 2013.

 

(AFP - Yuri Kadobnov)

 

(Agence France-Presse, 24 Sunday November 2013 The Roman)

(Edited: R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 25 Monday November 2013 The Roman)

 

 

News: Pigeons

News: Pigeons

 

[caption id="attachment_10186" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Photo AFP - Kirill Kudryavtsev)[/caption]

 

Hungrig

 

Noch im Flug schnappen sich Tauben Brotkrumen, die eine Frau in einem Park in Moskau an die Tiere verfüttert.

 

Hungry

 

Still in flight to catch pigeons bread crumbs, which fed a woman in a park in Moscow to the animals.

 

(AFP - Kirill Kudryavtsev)

 

(Agence France-Presse, 21 Thursday November 2013 The Roman)

(Edited and Translated: R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 22 Friday November 2013 The Roman)

 

 

Crash en Russie: le Boeing a eu 7 exploitants et un accident au Brésil Crash in Russia: Boeing had 7 operators and an accident in Brazil

Crash en Russie: le Boeing a eu 7 exploitants et un accident au Brésil

 

[caption id="attachment_9983" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Photo fournie le 18 novembre 2013 par le ministère russe des Situations d'urgence montrant le site où un Boeing 737 s'est écrasé en tentant d'atterrir à l'aéroport de Kazan (Photo AFP))[/caption]

 

L’avion qui s’est écrasé dimanche à l’aéroport de Kazan, en Russie, avait été exploité pendant 23 ans par sept compagnies au total, dont Air France et Uganda Airlines, et avait subi un accident grave au Brésil en 2001, selon des médias et un site spécialisé.

 

Le Boeing 737-500 de la compagnie russe Tatarstan, qui avait effectué son premier vol en 1990, avait d’abord été exploité par la compagnie française Euralair Horizons, liquidée en 2005, puis par Air France pendant trois ans, selon le site AirFleets.fr.

 

Il était ensuite passé aux mains d’Uganda Airlines, qui l’avait exploité pendant près de cinq ans, puis avait servi trois ans dans la compagnie brésilienne Rio Sul.

 

Il avait ensuite appartenu à la roumaine Blue Air, puis Bulgaria Air, avant d’être acheté par la russe Tatarstan.

 

En décembre 2001, alors qu’il était exploité par Rio Sul, il avait déjà subi un sérieux accident en atterrissant à l’aéroport de Belo Horizonte, au Brésil, mais il n’y avait alors pas eu de victime, selon l’agence russe Itar-Tass, citant des médias brésiliens.

 

Sous une forte pluie, l’avion qui transportait 108 personnes au total avait touché le sol avant la piste, avait rebondi et était retombé brutalement sur la piste, brisant une partie de son train d’atterrissage.

 

L’appareil avait ensuite glissé sur le réacteur situé sur l’aile gauche pendant 1,7 km avant de s’arrêter.

 

Il avait ensuite subi de grosses réparations avant d’être remis en service.

 

L’appareil, en provenance de Moscou, s’est écrasé dimanche soir à l’aéroport de Kazan et a pris feu.

 

Les 44 passagers et six membres d’équipage ont tous été tués dans l’accident.

 

(AFP)

 

(Liberation, 18 lundi novembre 2013 le Romanie)

 

 

Crash in Russia: Boeing had 7 operators and an accident in Brazil

 

The plane crashed Sunday at the airport in Kazan, Russia, had been operated for 23 years by a total of seven companies, including Air France and Uganda Airlines, and had suffered a serious accident in Brazil in 200, according media and a dedicated website.

 

The Boeing 737-500 of Russia's Tatarstan, which had made ​​its first flight in 1990, was first used by the French Euralair Horizons liquidated in 2005, and by Air France for three years  according to Airfleets.fr. site.

 

It was then passed into the hands of Uganda Airlines, which had operated for nearly five years and had served three years in Brazil's Rio Sul.

 

It then belonged to the Romanian Blue Air and Bulgaria Air, before being purchased by the Russian Tatarstan.

 

In December 2001, when it was operated by Rio Sul, it had suffered a serious accident while landing at the airport in Belo Horizonte , Brazil, but then there were no casualties, according to the agency Russian Itar-Tass, citing Brazilian media.

 

Under a heavy rain, the plane carrying 108 people in total had hit the ground before the runway, bounced back and had fallen hard on the track, breaking part of its landing gear.

 

The aircraft then slid over the reactor located on the left for 1.7 km before stopping.

 

It then underwent extensive repairs before being returned to service.

 

The aircraft, from Moscow, crashed Sunday night in Kazan airport and caught fire .

 

The 44 passengers and six crew members were all killed in the accident.

 

(AFP)

 

http://www.liberation.fr/

 

(Liberation, 18 Monday November 2013 The Roman)

(Translated: R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 18 Monday November 2013 The Roman)

 

 

Japan, Russia hold first diplomatic-defence talks

Japan, Russia hold first diplomatic-defence talks

 

The foreign and defence ministers of Japan and Russia agreed Saturday to cooperate in fighting terrorism and piracy as the neighbours, still at odds over territorial woes, held an unprecedented security dialogue.

 

Japan's Foreign Minister H.E. Mr. Fumio Kishida and Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera held a so-called "2+2" meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu at the government's guest house in Tokyo.

 

It was the first such diplomatic-defence talks between the two countries, which remain at odds over the sovereignty of a cluster of windswept islands to Japan's north and Russia's far east.

 

During the one-day meeting, the two sides agreed to carry out joint drills between Japan's Maritime Self-Defence Force and the Russian Navy designed to combat terrorists and pirates, the ministers said.

 

They also agreed to launch "Japan-Russia cyber-security talks" while stepping up other security and defence talks, including ministerial meetings, their joint statement said.

 

"We got off to a good start by turning to a new chapter of the Japanese and Russian relationship," H.E. Mr. Kishida told a joint news conference.

 

"Pushing for cooperation in the security sector will help enhance the entire relationship between Japan and Russia, which will have a good impact on negotiations on signing a peace treaty," he said.

 

Despite an important commercial relationship that is now much influenced by Japan's need to buy fossil fuels and Russia's desire to sell them, the two neighbours have failed to sign a peace treaty due to their territorial dispute.

 

The islands, which Japan calls the Northern Territories, but Russia administers as the Southern Kurils, were seized by Soviet troops as World War II thundered to a close.

 

Lavrov said Saturday's meeting also covered regional concerns, including the Korean peninsula issue, territorial disputes, drug trafficking and borderless crimes.

 

"We confirmed that our close cooperation in settling these issues will meet the interest of the two countries," the Russian foreign minister said.

 

But H.E. Mr. Kishida stressed that their bilateral dialogue did not intend to single out one particular issue or a country, adding the Japan-US security alliance is still the cornerstone of Tokyo's diplomacy.

 

Four separate meetings have taken place between Japanese Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin over the past six months, an unusual frequency for such high-level exchanges.

 

The affable tone stands in marked contrast to the the state of relations between Japan and China.

 

Asia's two largest economies are at diplomatic loggerheads over the sovereignty of a chain of islands in the East China Sea.

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping and H.E. Mr. Abe have not met for a formal sit-down since either came to power.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 2 Saturday November 2013 The Roman)

 

News: US Open Quarterfinals (Men’s Singles)

News: US Open Quarterfinals (Men’s Singles)

 

N. Djokovic 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-0 M. Youzhny

 

A. Murray 4-6 3-6 2-6 S. Wawrinka

 

T. Robredo 0-6 2-6 2-6 R. Nadal

 

R. Gasquet 6-3 6-1 4-6 2-6 6-3 D. Ferrer

 

US Open Text Live on

http://www.usopen.org/

 

(http://www.usopen.org/)

(Text: R.S.F. toshiki speed news press, Agence France-Presse, 7 Saturday September 2013 The Roman)