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| Iceland passes bill to repay Icesave losses to Britain and Netherlands • £3.4bn to be paid for collapse of Landsbanki offshoot Icesave• Icelandic MPs shout 'treason' after narrow vote on IcesaveThe Icelandic parliament has narrowly approved a bill to repay about €3.8bn (£3.37bn) to Britain and the Netherlands, to cover the losses of depositors in Icesave, the online bank that went bust during the collapse of Iceland's financial system.Almost 300,000 British savers had their accounts in the bank frozen in October 2008, following the failure of its parent company Landsbanki. The British and Dutch governments agreed at the time to compensate savers for the full amount of their losses and has since put pressure on Iceland to repay the debt.The bill has been fiercely opposed by rebel ministers, opposition MPs and a grassroots protest movement, who have argued that Iceland, with a population of only 330,000, can ill-afford to repay the money. It was passed by 33-30 in what local reports said was a stormy late night session in parliament on Wednesday following a day-long debate. As it was passed, a number of MPs shouted "treason".But the passage of the bill was viewed by supporters as crucial to Iceland's bid to join the European Union and hopes of rebuilding its shattered economy. Iceland also needs to settle the claims arising from the Icesave collapse before it can draw on $4.6bn (£2.9bn) in promised bailout funds from the International Monetary Fund and Nordic countries."Approving the bill is the better option and will avoid even more economic damage," said finance minister SteingrÃmur Sigfússon during the debate. "History will show that we are doing the right thing."It is still not yet certain, however, that the money will be repaid. President Olafur Ragnar GrÃmsson said today he wanted more time to study the controversial legislation and will meet opponents before adding his signature to the bill.The initial refusal from ReykjavÃk to cover the losses prompted a diplomatic row between Britain and Iceland, with the chancellor, Alistair Darling, deploying anti-terrorism laws to freeze Landsbanki assets. A repayment deal was agreed in August with the British and Dutch governments but fell apart after subsequent amendments by the Icelandic prime minister.A UK Treasury spokesman welcomed the passing of the bill. "This action, along with support from the IMF, EU and Nordic countries will enable Iceland to recover confidence in international markets and focus upon economic recovery." "The passing of the loan agreement is good news for the UK and for Iceland."Iceland will initially use assets from the collapsed bank to cover the cost of the repaymentswith any additional sums covered by the state.Iceland was plunged into crisis when all three of its big banks failed.IcesaveIcelandBankingFinancial crisisGlobal recessionTax avoidanceDavid Teatherguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
France considers Google tax plan A report, commissioned by the French government, seeks ways to counteract digital dominance over content. news.bbc.co.uk |
Ear of go(l)d - ear-ring seized from Maradona fetches £22,000 A diamond earring seized from Diego Maradona fetches 25,000 euros - five times its asking price - at auction in Italy. news.bbc.co.uk |
NYC judge refuses to toss Letterman extortion case NEW YORK (AP) -- A judge on Tuesday refused to throw out the criminal case against a TV producer who is accused of trying to blackmail David Letterman.... hosted.ap.org |
French recommend partial burkha ban Report given to parliament dismisses outright ban in favour of barring anyone using public services who refuses to uncover faceFrance will today take the first step towards barring Muslim women from wearing the full veil when using public services, but will stop short of calling for an outright ban after critics argued that such a move would be socially divisive and hard to enforce.A cross-party committee of MPs was set up last year to explore the controversial issue in France of burkas and niqabs. The committee will recommend to Âparliament that Muslim women should be allowed to continue covering their faces in the street.Its final report will, however, recommend that anyone covering their face be barred from entering public sector property, including hospitals and schools, or using public transport."The full veil is the visible part of this black tide of fundamentalism," said Communist MP André Gerin, the committee's president, in an interview last week. Eric Raoult, a rightwing MP heavily involved in the report, said yesterday that the imposition of a full ban – if it were to occur – would have to wait. "We have tried to do something that is coherent and enforceable," he said, adding that a ban that was unenforceable would "make everyone look ridiculous".Under the proposals, a woman who fails to remove her veil inside when using any realm of the statethose public servicin such cases would not face a fine for breaking the law, but would be refused access to the service. She would not, for instance, be allowed to collect her child benefit payments or take the bus.President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has repeatedly said that the full veil "is not welcome" on French soil, is believed to favour this partial legislation, rather than more radical suggestions from recalcitrant members of his rightwing UMP party.The president has been warned that an outright ban on the full veil could be found to be unconstitutional and almost impossible to put into practice. Sarkozy, who has stressed the need to find a solution in which "no one feels stigmatised", is also keen to play down speculation that his policies are doing more to aggravate social divisions than to bridge them.Steps to ban the burka, which have been opposed by the Muslim Council of France and other religious groups, have coincided with the French government's "big debate" on national identity. Critics of the government, from the left and right, have accused Sarkozy of encouraging dangerous rhetoric which has seen the country's 5 million Muslims become the object of increasing critiques.Tomorrow's cross-party report – whose contents were leaked to the French press last week – looks likely to recommend the Âpassing of a non-binding parliamentary resolution setting out the country's "symbolic" opposition to the full veil.After that, steps should be taken to vote into law a series of "separate, but multiple bans" which would make clear the garment's practical incompatibility with French values of sexual equality and freedom, the report will say."We have to make life impossible for them in order to curb the phenomenon," one MP told the French daily Le Figaro. However, opponents have said that banning the full veil either outright or partially would serve merely to reinforce the isolation of women already partially alienated from mainstream society.The 32-member panel, which has been meeting and questioning experts on the issue for the past six months, was set up by Sarkozy last summer after he declared that the full veil was "a sign of subservience [and] debasement".Gerin has not made any secret of his desire to see a ban on what he has denounced as a "walking prison". His feelings have tapped into growing concern in France over an item of clothing worn by a small minority of Muslim women.According to police figures, no more than 2,000 women – most of them young and a quarter of them converts – wear a face-covering veil. But in a country which places a high value on laïcité – secularism – and which in 2004 banned headscarves in schools, it is unsurprising that such an overt display of religion has raised eyebrows. The major political parties, leading feminists and even one prominent imam have made clear their dislike for the full veil, which they view as an affront to women's rights and a sign of an emerging strand of fundamentalist Islam.Despite wide-ranging opposition to the garment and polls showing that most French citizens favour a ban, opinions have differed on how to go about discouraging women from covering their faces.The Socialist party, while condemning the full veil, refused to support a ban.The UMP's Jean-François Copé, a politician with half an eye on the 2012 presidential elections, grabbed the headlines with a proposal to outlaw the full veil anywhere on French streets and to fine wearers €750 each – a suggestion rejected by the committee.FranceFreedom of religionFreedom of speechReligionFeminismGenderIslamNicolas SarkozyLizzy Daviesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |