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0 comments Posted by Knightkrm at 2:36 PMBy Caroline Gammell
Kate McCann has offered her support to the parents of a five-year-old girl who has vanished in Spain, not far from the Portuguese resort where her own daughter disappeared.
The 39-year-old contacted Juan Jose Cortes and Irene Suarez, whose five-year-old daughter Mari Luz went missing from Huelva on Sunday after going out to buy a packet of crisps, to say the couple were in her thoughts. The Spanish border town is just two hours' drive from Praia da Luz in the Algarve where the McCanns were staying when four-year-old Madeleine disappeared from their holiday apartment last May. Mrs McCann, and her husband Gerry, also 39, travelled to Huelva in August to launch a poster campaign and raise the profile of their missing daughter. They sent a message to Mari Luz's parents via the Spanish private detective agency Metodo 3, who have spoken to the couple to see if there are any possible links between the two cases. Spanish police said they were keeping an open mind and have sent dark-haired Mari Luz's picture to Portuguese police amid fears she had been snatched by a child trafficking gang and taken across the border between the two countries. Scores of Spanish volunteers joined more than 150 firefighters in Huelva to search for the little girl, while helicopters and sniffer dogs were brought in to help with the search. Mr Cortes, a 34-year-old former professional footballer turned builder, said: "Kate McCann has been in touch to send her condolences. "She knows what we're going through and I understand them now too."
A family friend added: "Knowing they have the support of Gerry and Kate has been comforting. "They have been touched by the fact someone who is going through her own turmoil can find the strength to think of them in their moment of need." The pledge of support came after Mr McCann wrote on his blog: "Hearing of the probable abduction of Mari Luz Cortes has brought many awful emotions flooding back. We hope and pray that Mari Luz is quickly found and returned safely to her family." Mari Luz's distraught grandmother, whose shares the same name, pleaded for the little girl to be returned safely: "Please give me back my granddaughter, she's the only one I have." Like the McCanns, Mr Cortes said they would set up an appeal fund to raise money to help find Mari Luz: "All I want is to make sure everything possible is being done to look for my daughter and all the money that is needed in the search is available." In Portugal, there were reports the McCanns, who are still formal suspects Madeleine's disappearance, will have to wait another eight months before being allowed access to the police files in the case. Judge Pedro Frias decided last autumn the case should remain private until the first anniversary of Portugal's extensive judicial reform, according to Correio da Manha. The ruling would also affect third suspect, British ex-patriate Robert Murat.
A judicial source told the newspaper: "The Madeleine McCann process will never become public before September 15 this year, a year after Portugal’s new penal code came into force. "The decision was taken by Pedro Frias on September 18 2007 who considered that the maintenance of judicial secrecy for a year was required by the rules that emerged from the judicial reform. "The judge felt the deadlines only began to count from the start of the new code." Publishers wishing to reproduce photographs on this page should phone 44 (0) 207 931 2921 or email syndication@telegraph.co.uk |
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The Kingdom Of Morocco And The Renault-Nissan Alliance Sign The Final Agreements
0 comments Posted by Knightkrm at 2:27 PMRabat (Morocco), in the presence of, Mr. Abbas El Fassi, Prime Minister of Morocco: Mr. Salaheddine Mezouar, Minister of the Economy and Finance, Mr. Ahmed Chami, Minister of Trade, Industry and New Technologies, Mr. Karim Ghellab, Minister of Equipment and Transportation, Mrs Amina Benkhadra, Minister of Energy, Mining, Water and the Environment Mr. Jamal Arhmani, Minister of Labor and Professional Training and Mr. Bernard Rey, Renault Senior Vice President, representative of Renault s.a.s, Mr. Christian Estève, representative of the Renault Tangier Mediterranean project enterprise, signed a framework agreement and six application agreements.
 By signing these agreements, the Renault Nissan-Alliance confirms the project to build a manufacturing complex near Tangiers. These agreements are in accordance with the protocol signed on September 1, 2007 in the presence of his Majesty King Mohammed VI, by Mr. Driss Jettou, Prime Minister and Mr. Carlos Ghosn, President of Renault and President of Nissan. The Renault-Nissan Alliance will start work on the manufacturing complex in February 2008. The new complex, which will include an assembly plant, will be located on a 300-hectare site inside the Tangiers Mediterranean Special Economic Zone and will use the TangerMed port platform. Once completed, the site will have an operating capacity of 400,000 vehicles per year (200,000 vehicles per year from 2010), providing the Renault-Nissan Alliance with one of the largest manufacturing complexes in the Mediterranean. Representing a global capacity investment of more than €600 million, the complex will create 6,000 direct jobs and 30,000 indirect jobs. Under the lead of Renault, this site will extend Renault's manufacturing system for the production of competitive vehicles derived from the B0 Platform (Logan platform) and Nissan's system for the production of new-generation light commercial vehicles. On December 1, 2007, Edouard Armalet was appointed General Manager of the Renault Tanger Méditerranée project. http://www.paddocktalk.com/news/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=75178 |
Article Date: 18/01/2008
Article Time: 08:00:00
Topic: Lifestyle
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The north African country was described by Ukrainian publication the Kyiv Post as a place that offered "amazing" beaches and scenery.
Morocco's climate was said to be "tourist-friendly" for 12 months of the year, particularly along its Mediterranean coastline.
However, the Kyiv Post went on to highlight some of the other attractions the country had to offer, such as its mountain ranges.
The newspaper stated that people would be able to enjoy activities such as skiing in these areas, particularly between December and March.
Alternatively, it suggested that people could go driving off-road in the country's deserts.
The wide range of attractions on offer could be important in helping the Moroccan government achieve its aim of attracting ten million a visitors a year by 2010.
This would be likely to have significant economic benefits for the country, particularly its tourism industry.
http://www.ready2invest.co.uk/news/article.jsp?id=18430357&category=18430357
14/01/2008
The Amazigh New Year on January 12th was celebrated with events as diverse as the many Amazigh communities across Algeria. Festivities for "Yennayer" were held even in non-Amazigh regions and Algiers offered cultural events. With the widening popularity of the New Year festival, Amazigh activists hope to see January 12th recognised as an official holiday in Algeria.
By Said Jameh for Magharebia in Algiers – 14/01/08
 [File] Some Algerians have called for the Amazigh New Year to be made into an official holiday |
The Amazigh people of Algeria celebrated New Year 2598 on January 12th with traditional festivities, special food and parties reflecting their cultural heritage and ethnic pride. The annual event, known as "Yennayer", marks the beginning of the new farming year.
The origin of the celebration is unclear. Some think that the Amazigh calendar dates back to the victory achieved by Amazigh King Chachnaq against the Pharaohs in a battle fought on the banks of Nile in 950 BC. Rachid Malika says in his book "The Early Berbers between the Mediterranean Tassili and the Nile" that after defeating the Pharoahs, the Berber king announced the birth of the 23rd Berber dynasty and thus began the Amazigh calendar.
Today, Algeria celebrates the Amazigh New Year by holding festivities that differ from one region to another. In the predominantly Amazigh province of Kabylia, many children wear ornamental henna tattoos and families prepare traditional dishes, such as couscous with the meat of a home-slaughtered rooster. To mark the occasion, circumcisions may also be performed. These celebrations symbolise the relation between man and nature, according to Said Bouterfa, a specialist in Amazigh traditions.
The Amazigh of the Algerian desert, known as the Touareg, celebrated the day with their unique music, dance and traditional dishes. Researcher Badi Dida explained that the Touareg people maintain Yennayer customs to commemorate an historical milestone.
Another Amazigh community, the Chenoua (named after the Chenoua Mountains in Tipasa province), celebrates by preparing special bread using herbs collected from the wilderness.
Some non-Amazigh regions of Algeria also join in the New Year's events. In the western city of Tlemcen, birthplace of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, young and old celebrate Yennayer together. Directly after sunset prayers, family members have dinner and exchange gifts. Tlemcen children await a visit from "Yennayer Woman", who goes around by night from house to house bringing candy and presents.
To highlight Algeria's cultural diversity, events and seminars were offered in the capital to mark the occasion of Yennayer. The Algiers Centre for Culture and Arts, for example, organised traditional industry exhibitions and music concerts featuring artists from Amazigh regions.
Beyond its festive and historical significance to the Amazigh people, the New Year is taking on a political element. Some activists in the Amazigh Movement want to include January 12th each year as one of the eids. They are campaigning to make Yennayer an official holiday like the Muslim New Year.
Voices have been calling for making Yennayer an official holiday since 2001, when confrontations between citizens and security forces in the Kabylia region left 127 protestors dead. Those events calmed when the government officially recognised the Amazigh language.
In a statement made on January 12th, the head of the National Consultative Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights asked the government to make Yennayer an official holiday. Farouk Ksentini said the move would contribute to national solidarity.