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French bank Societe Generale to cut over 1,000 jobs
French bank Societe Generale has revealed that it would slash at least 1,000 jobs worldwide, in a move to save 900 million euros by 2015.
The bank reported the job cuts on Tuesday after its first-quarter profit fell to 364 million euros, far below the 674.6 million euro profit expected by the analysts.
General Manager Jean-Francois Sammarcelli told French radio that the number of job cuts would be substantially higher than the 1,000 announced.
He added that about 550 jobs at the bank’s headquarters in Paris are included in the number.
Societe Generale said in a statement that the full effect of the cuts and layoffs would be achieved at the end of 2015 when a total of 1.45 billion euros is expected to be saved compared to the figures at the beginning of 2012.
The bank already cut costs by 550 million euros last year.
The announcement comes as… Continue reading
Sexual assaults among active-duty US military forces climb by 35%
The US Defense Department has released a survey study showing a 35 % climb in sexual assault cases in the military, just two days after an officer leading Air Force’s sexual assault prevention programs was himself detained and charged with sexual battery.
The Pentagon report, released on Tuesday, estimates that 26,000 American military service members were sexually assaulted in 2012, a major heap from 19,000 such cases reported during 2010.
In a separate report, also published on Tuesday, the US military further said that it recorded 3,374 sexual assault reports in 2012, up from 3,192 in the previous year, indicating that many sexual assault victims continue not to report the crimes out of fear of vengeance or lack of justice under the military’s system of prosecution.
This is while an Air Force Lt. General reversed a guilty verdict in late 2012 in a major sexual assault case involving a senior… Continue reading
Israeli attacks on Syria “unacceptable”: Erdogan
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned the recent Israeli airstrikes on a research center near the Syrian capital as “unacceptable.”
Erdogan told a parliamentary meeting of his ruling party on Tuesday that “no excuse can justify” the Israeli act of aggression against Syria.
“The airstrike Israel carried out on Damascus is completely unacceptable. There is no rationale, no pretext that can excuse this operation,” Erdogan said.
Turkish premier, whose country supports militants fighting against the Syrian government, also said that the Israeli attacks provided what he called a “golden opportunity” for President Bashar al-Assad to cover up massacres of opponents.
Israeli warplanes hit the Jamraya Research Center in the outskirts of Damascus on Sunday two days after striking another target in the country.
Syrian media reports say the Sunday attack caused a number of casualties and widespread damage. Some reports say Israel used depleted uranium in its airstrike… Continue reading
Armed tribesmen abduct 2 Egyptians in southern Yemen:
Armed tribesmen in the southern Yemeni Province of Abyan have abducted two Egyptian engineers working for a local cement factory, security officials say. “Tribesmen armed with assault rifles intercepted a pick-up truck carrying the Egyptian engineers and took them by force to an unknown location,” a security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said on Monday.
The official added that the tribesmen have asked Yemeni authorities to release a jailed member of their tribe held in the central prison in Abyan.
On Tuesday, Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the abduction of the two engineers saying the Egyptian consul in the southern Yemeni city of Aden was working to secure their release from the hands of kidnappers.
Tribesmen or al-Qaeda militants frequently kidnap foreigners in Yemen in exchange for ransoms or for the release of jailed fellows. Most of the abductees are freed unscathed.
On February 27, a… Continue reading
Greece’s people show the politicians how to fight Golden Dawn
Greeks are becoming increasingly vocal in their disgust at the presence of fascists on their political scene
For many Greeks, Orthodox Easter is a chance to see friends and family, to eat good food or to worship. But for the neo-Nazis in Golden Dawn, who only recently made the switch from “Hellenic” paganism to a professed love for Christianity, it has been an opportunity for propaganda. Last Thursday, the party made headlines with its attempt to stage a “Greeks-only” food distribution in Athens’s Syntagma square. The next day, when Athenians were driving back to home towns and villages, Golden Dawn members held open motorway toll booths – which have become a symbolic point of resistance against the rising cost of living in the wake of austerity – so cars could pass for free.
Such stunts have become common for a party that seeks to exploit anger at Greece’s social… Continue reading
IMF warn of tax evasion threat to Greek recovery
Greece has been ordered by the International Monetary Fund to do more to crack down on its ‘notorious’ tax evasion problem.
After completing its latest health check, the IMF yesterday concluded that Greece had made progress slashing debts and improving competitiveness.
But it said ‘very little progress’ had been made in tackling tax evasion.
It added: ‘The rich are not paying their fair share which has forced an excessive reliance on expenditure cuts and higher taxes on those earning a salary or a pension.’
Endemic tax evasion in Greece was a major factor in the collapse of its economy. But it is also making it harder for Greece to shore up its finances.
In a clear sign that patience is running out, the IMF said ‘decisive correction actions’ were needed, including a ‘deeper political commitment to tax administration reform’.
The IMF also said Greece must take more radical action to… Continue reading
Greece reaches $3.67bn bailout agreement
Athens and the ‘Troika’ of lenders- the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Central Bank, have agreed on conditions for the next €2.8 ($3.67bn)bailout installment.
“We have a deal,” Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras told reporters at the Eurogroup meeting April 15 in Athens.
“The recent steps taken by the authorities suggest that the March milestones are likely to be achieved in the near future,” the lenders said in a joint statement.
The new wave of aid comes after the three lenders evaluated Greece’s latest fiscal performance and deemed it was ‘on track’ with bailout targets, and its approval signals a stream of confidence in the economic recovery of the island nation.
“The mission’s view is that debt sustainability remains on track,” the Troika statement said.
The recapitalization effort, according to the Troika, is ‘nearing completion’ with a lion’s share… Continue reading
Turkey fears of Islamic challenge to secular state
Turkish pianist Fazil Say received a suspended 10-month jail term on Monday for mocking Islam on Twitter. Secular Turks have become increasingly concerned over what they see as the creeping Islamization of society.
“Honestly, we were not expecting this ruling, and all I can say is, both legally and for the country, it’s a sad decision,” Say’s lawyer Meltem Akyol told Reuters.
The blasphemy charges were brought against Say in June last year. In their suit, prosecutors cited several sarcastic messages about believers and Islamic concepts of Heaven. The musician, who has served as a cultural ambassador to the European Union, denied the accusations.
RT’s Maria Finoshina reported from Turkey how residents are concerned by the growing dominance of Islamic values: Censorship is imposed on TV shows, museums are turned into mosques, and attempts are even being made to introduce Ottoman-style uniforms for flight attendants.
Turkish… Continue reading
‘Topless Jihad’: FEMEN flashes Tunisian president during Paris summit
The Ukrainian-based feminist group FEMEN, famous for their international bare-breasted protests, stormed a conference in Paris attended by Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki in their recent ‘Topless Jihad’ campaign to protect Muslim women’s rights.
The topless activists came to support Tunisian Amina Tyler, who has been threatened with death in her home country for posting a topless picture of herself online. They also demanded the names of those who shot and killed Tunisian opposition leader Chokri Belaid in February, chanting “Who killed Chokri Belaid?”
Amina Tyler, 19, wrote “My body is mine, not somebody’s honor” across her chest in Arabic in a show of solidarity with FEMEN, and made the image public. The picture sparked rage among religious Muslimsm and ultraconservative Tunisian religious groups now say the girl deserves death by stoning.
Hackers defaced the FEMEN Tunisia page on Facebook, and Tyler now says she wants to… Continue reading
Government fears Russia may slip into recession by fall
The Russian economy could slip into recession by the fall if additional stimulus measures are not taken says Russia’s Economic Development Minister.
“We shall be proposing economic incentives. There will be a conference at the President’s office on this theme. There have been some under Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev already,” Economic Minister Andrey Belousov said.
He added that “such measures must be taken urgently, because we need to get out of the situation we are in now in order to avoid a recession.”
On Thursday the Economic Ministry cut a number of macroeconomic forecasts for 2013. The growth of GDP, industrial production, capital investment will be smaller than expected, while the capital outflow from the country will increase.
According to the Ministry, industrial production in Russia will increase only 2% in comparison with the previously predicted figure of 3.6%.
Expectations for industrial capital investment have also fallen from… Continue reading
