Norse tattoos

Libya: Arms, ethics and the EU
As the body count mounts in Libya and the EU and allies apply diplomatic pressure to force Gaddafi to stand down. The stark reality is that EU member states have been racing to arm Gaddafi since an arms embargo was lifted in 2004. Italy leads the way with a total of 276.7 million euros worth of export licences granted followed by France, the United Kingdom and Germany. That is close to 690 million euros worth of licences between the four nations between 2005 and 2009. Italy, France and Portugal granted permits for military aircraft and associated equipment, while Belgium sold licences for anti-personal chemicals used to break up protests. Human rights organisations estimate close to 6,000 people have been killed since the start of the Libyan uprising and according to the German arms control NGO Bits, the brutal reality is business, economic and political interests override ethical standards in many cases. Copyright © 2011 euronews

New Zealand police: ‘it remains a rescue operation’
The official death toll from the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand has risen to 98. There are fears in New Zealand that many more bodies will be dragged lifeless from the rubble in the coming days. Yesterday there had been applause as a survivor was brought out. But hopes are beginning to fade of finding others alive, more than two days after the 6.3 magnitude quake. Japanese specialists have joined other foreign teams and plenty of volunteers on the ground, to search for about 200 people still missing. Meanwhile, across the city the race is on to restore water and power supplies. “Yesterday we had about 65 percent of the customers back on. Tonight, we’re aiming to have 75 percent of the customers back on,” said local power executive Roger Sutton. “Compared to the September 4th event (last year’s earthquake), it’s a much, much larger event for us. We’ve a lot more damage.” The army’s presence – to keep order and keep people away from unstable areas – may be reassuring. It is also a reminder of the gravity of the situation. The authorities say they are still involved in a rescue operation, but a fire chief said they had no signs of life. For others, life is anything but normal as they struggle to cope with collapsed and unsafe buildings, broken roads and flooded sewers. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Six dead in Yemen’s anti-regime protests
Anti-regime protesters marched through the Yemeni capital of Sanaa for an eighth straight day on Friday as demonstrations across the country turned violent, leaving at least six dead.?�The demonstrators, who want President Ali Abdullah Saleh to quit, fought with government supporters.?�Two protesters were killed in the southern city of Taez in a hand grenade attack, while police shot four others dead in Aden as they tried to disperse the crowd.?�A total of 27 people were injured in the clashes across Yemen on Friday, dubbed a ‘day of rage’ by the anti-Saleh movement.?�Saleh has ruled Yemen for?�32 years but has promised to stand down at the end of his current seven-year term in 2013.?�Under his leadership, the country has been a close ally of the United States in its fight against al-Qaeda in the region. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Counting the cost of Japan’s disasters
With the scale of Japan’s destructive earthquake and tsunami becoming more apparent insurers have begun their calculations. Although many of the worst hit areas are barely accessible, the US giant, AIG, which is very exposed in Asia, has set aside nearly a billion dollars. Reinsurers, such as Swiss Re, have almost doubled that figure. Catasptrophe modeling companies believe the tragic events will result losses of between 12 and 35 billion euros. Meanwhile, Tepco, operators of the stricken Fukushima plant, say they will be paying farmers for losses caused by nuclear radiation leaking. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Germany’s ‘cut and paste’ minister drops PhD
Germany’s beleaguered Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg temporarily dropped his PhD title on Friday amid claims of plagiarism. German media outlets have come forward with parts of the thesis which they say are of questionable origin, but zu Guttenberg denies deliberately copying parts of his law dissertation. He cancelled a key election rally in Saxony-Anhalt on Thursday but this morning he defended his actions. “Without question, it (the thesis) contains mistakes. And I am the most unhappy person for every single one of these mistakes,” zu Guttenberg told reporters in Berlin. “At no time, however, has there been a deliberate deception. Neither has there been a case where I deliberately did not mark the copyright.” In a recent poll, zu Guttenberg ranked as the country’s most popular politician. The aristocrat with a pop-star image has emerged unscathed from a number of setbacks over his handling of military affairs, including the death of a cadet aboard a naval training ship. This scandal, however, may cost him his job with the opposition leading calls for him to step down. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Anna Nicole, the Opera
Her life was a soap opera, played out in courtrooms and on the pages of gossip magazines. The world was fascinated by Anna Nicole Smith: her plastic surgery, the Playboy centrefolds, the strip clubs, her bankruptcy and finally her premature death. Now, at the Royal Opera House in London, her story has become a real opera. Her first husband was 16 years old. Her second was a billionaire octogenarian. Richard Thomas who wrote the libretto told euronews: “She was a fabulous eccentric. There’s something absurdly beautiful in her rise to fame, and just deeply moving and tragic about the horrible end of her life. Her problem came when she fought for half of the old man’s fortune, so she was in and out of court for 10 years. In a way it’s another cautionary tale: there’s no such thing as easy money! Because she spent ten years chasing this easy money, and didn’t get a dime!” She was a fixture in the media, famous for being famous, a celebrity created and maintained by the hunger of the 20th century media. And that raised some questions for the writers. “The libretto has quite a lot of swearing,” said Thomas, “It’s very contemporary, there’s a lot of references to musicals and to pop songs. “It’s very conversational language mingled with rhyming couplets, and suddenly you have bursts of poetry. There’s a great dynamic, there’s a pace there, there’s tension, and the clash of the words and music. It’s a good little trick!” The score is made up of a myriad different styles touching pop and soul, R&B and jazz. The Royal Opera House’s Music Director Antonion Pappano said: “The idiom is very tricky for opera singers because here they have to make sounds that favour the words, the words have to sound American, at certain moments they almost have to sound pop-like, with that kind of freedom and flexibility, but Mark Anthony Turnage, the composer, at certain points writes very operatic phrases for Anna Nicole, and there she must sing like she’s singing Tosca.” Anna Nicole Smith’s life was stranger than fiction. Highly paid modelling went out of the window after botched plastic surgery. She was a shameless self-publicist and a laughing-stock. Her son died of an overdose, and she too went the same way, succumbing to prescription drugs. She was 39 and penniless. Pappano said: “Anna Nicole’s mother makes a statement: ‘Take care of your children because the world is a dangerous place’, I’m paraphrasing, but it’s true, the risks out there are there to be taken, but it’s a frightening business, the world of risk and the world of adventure with a big A that we call life – it’s scary.” Copyright © 2011 euronews

Libya divided into protests and celebrations
Conflict rages in the west of Libya, but in the East, there are celebrations. In Benghazi they are waiting for Tripoli to fall and on the streets of the city, everyone thinks that will happen very soon. A reporter on the scene, Francesca Cicardi, told euronews, groups of volunteers are leaving Benghazi to head for Tripoli and join the fight against Gaddafi’s forces. “A week after the uprising in Benghazi, the people here have got together here to form what is being called a “revolutionary committee” to act as the new local government, managing the city and forging links with other towns in the east.” she added. “Everyone here is celebrating and waiting for the revolution to spread to the west. The word is that the country will not be divided and Tripoli will continue as the capital of Libya.” Copyright © 2011 euronews

Yen up, stocks down, fear high
Fear continues to drive trading in Japan’s financial markets. An unfolding nuclear threat has investors dumping shares and trying to guess what the full financial and economic impact of the disaster would be. The yen hit a record high against the dollar on Thursday in the belief that Japanese firms would have to repatriate billions from overseas to pay for reconstruction. As the benchmark Nikkei went into free fall after the earthquake and tsunami, the value of the Japanese currency against the US dollar spiked. Japan’s Economics Minister says he “doesn’t think the stock and currency markets are in a state of turmoil.” Kaoru Yosano blamed the yen’s rise on buying by speculators. He said that Japan’s Financial Services Agency and the country’s central bank have confirmed that insurance companies are not buying Japanese yen by selling overseas assets in order to raise money to pay for reconstruction from the quake and tsunami. He added “They have ample cash, deposits and other liquid assets.” Yosano spoke out against the speculators and called them “utterly thoughtless.” The higher yen hits the profits of companies like Toyota – the world’s top carmaker – making it more difficult for Japan’s export dependent economy to recover. Though for the moment Toyota and other major exporters are producing nothing. The carmaker has said its 12 main plants will stay shut until at least 22 March. Nissan, Mazda, Honda, Hitachi, NEC, Fujitsu and Sony have also closed multiple factories. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Rebels deride Gaddafi TV appearance
With international reporters restricted in their movements in Tripoli, there appears to have been a mixed reaction to Muammar Gaddafi typically defiant speech. Making his first television appearance since the start of the Western-led bombing campaign, he pledged victory and condemned the coalition as fascists. Some western reporters say many people are too afraid to speak openly in the Libyan capital for fear of being arrested or detained. Others, however, are willing to support Gaddafi, describing his appearance as reassuring. Tripoli resident Tareq Mansour said: “He came out last night and told us that we should not be scared. In terms of our leader, he is not only the head of government or someone elected but he is the leader of our revolution” The event was followed by fireworks in the Libyan capital. The sentiments expressed in Tripoli were not shared in the eastern rebel held city of Tobruk. “When Gaddafi spoke a guy smashed the screen. Most young people watch Libyan TV to get a good laugh. It’s a joke,” said Adam al-Mansouri. Although Adam and his father do not believe what they see, it remains unclear how much effect Gaddafi’s state TV is having on the wider population. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Snow-mantic comedy on the slopes
Take a working-class English girl who becomes a champion snowboarder, make her fall for an upper-class smoothy in a posh Austrian ski-resort, and you have the basis for the romantic comedy movie Chalet Girl. Copyright © 2011 euronews