Skydiver will attempt to break record [ 585 ]

Skydiver to break records with space dive

A daredevil skydiver is preparing to make a record breaking 23 mile freefall from the edge of space.

By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent
Telegraph c. uk.,,Published: 12:30PM GMT 23 Jan 2010

Link to this video

Austrian-born Felix Baumgartner will plummet 125,000 feet in a fall that will see him break the sound barrier.

His jump, which is being assisted by former Nasa and US Air Force engineers, will feature in a documentary to be shown on BBC Two later this year.

It is 50 years since American Joe Kittinger made history by leaping from a balloon at 102,800ft.

Mr Baumgartner, who is known for stunts such as jumping off the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, will travel up to 125,000ft in a specially designed capsule suspended beneath a helium balloon.

His freefall will last for more than five minutes and he will have to wear a specially made pressure suit and helmet to protect his body in the extreme cold and thin air.

It is hoped that the jump will answer a number of important scientific questions. Reaching speeds of over 690mph (Mach 1) in just 35 seconds his body will experience some of the most arduous conditions ever experienced in freefall.

His team also hope to use the "space dive" to gather data about the stratosphere and how the body copes with the extreme conditions.

The jump is due to take place above North America this summer.

Gary Hunter, BBC executive producer, said: "This is a fascinating blend of scientific challenge and human endeavour."

RA Ambassador to Russia..[ 584 ]

Oleg Yesayan appointed RA Ambassador to Russia

11:35 am | January 22, 2010 | Official

Last year Armenian Ambassador to Russia Armen Smbatyan was elected Executive Director of the Humanitarian Cooperation Council of the CIS countries.

On this occasion President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree on releasing Armen Smbatyan from the duties of Armenia's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Russian Federation.

According to another presidential decree, Oleg Yesayan was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the Russian Federation (seat in Moscow).

Romanian prostitutes flee to Western EU..[ 583 ]

Romanian prostitutes flee to Western EU to escape tough laws

Prostitutes try to attract the attentions of lorry drivers in Romania

TIMES ON LINE January 23, 2010 David Charter, Europe Correspondent

Hooked on heroin and with a small child to support, Ana-Marie decided to sell the only asset she had. She became part of an exodus of desperate women from Romania that led the country to be named this week as Europe’s main exporter of prostitutes.

Ana-Marie, 32, was persuaded by a client to follow him to Paris, where she worked in bars and clubs earning more in a month than she would in a year on the streets of Bucharest.

Cases such as hers have caused an acrimonious debate in Romania over a grim side-effect of the former communist country’s entry into the European Union and the start of visa-free travel in 2007.

A survey by Tempep, an EU-funded network of sex industry health agencies, found that one in eight foreign prostitutes in Europe was Romanian, replacing Russians as the main nationality since the previous assessment in 2006.

Speaking from Bucharest, where she recently returned, Ana-Marie said: “The fine for prostitution in Romania is €120 \[£105\] and I would get one almost every night standing on the street. I had no chance of paying the fines and paying the rent and feeding my child. I would have ended up in prison ... In France I can get free condoms and methadone, I can also complain to the police if something happens instead of being harassed by them.”

This week Evenimentul zilei, a Bucharest newspaper, under the headline “Romania top exporter of prostitution”, wrote: “Barely three years after its accession to the EU, the country can lay claim to yet another lofty distinction.”

The newspaper called for a fresh debate on calls for prostitution to be legalised, in line with a proposal by a presidential commission four months ago.

That was blocked by an alliance of civic and religious groups including the powerful Romanian Orthodox Church.

The result of Europe’s strictest anti-prostitution laws, according to sex workers, is that prostitutes are regularly sent to prison while their clients are hardly punished.

The report assessed that about two fifths of Britain’s estimated 80,000 prostitutes were migrants, most commonly from Lithuania, Thailand and Poland. The proportion of foreign prostitutes was highest in London at 70-80 per cent. Few British women had worked as prostitutes abroad — about 5 per cent — with the most common destinations given as Spain, Ireland and Australia.

Japan Air Lines in cash shortfall..[ 582 ]

Jal faced 10 billion Yen cash shortfall by end of January, without support

(Mainichi Japan) January 23, 2010

Japan Airlines (JAL) would have racked up a cash shortfall of nearly 10 billion yen by Jan. 28 had a restructuring plan not been approved earlier this month, according to documents filed by the airline with the Tokyo District Court.

JAL filed for bankruptcy protection under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law on Jan. 19 after the government, the airline's creditors and other stakeholders agreed to a restructuring plan under the state-backed Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. of Japan (ETIC). The decision now appears to have been rushed to prevent new fundraising for the airline from drying up in the face of looming payments to JAL partners totaling just under 100 billion yen, plus security payments needed to keep doing business.

After applying for restructuring under the direction of ETIC in late October, JAL received 55 billion yen in financing from the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) through December, with a further 145 billion in bridge financing on Jan 15. However, the airline was required to pay some 96.4 billion yen to business partners by Jan. 28, while it also faced ballooning security deposits required to make new deals -- costs the DBJ bridge loans were not sufficient to cover.

"There is a very high risk a nearly 10 billion yen funding shortfall will result on Jan. 28," the JAL documents conclude.

Debt-rating houses have been downgrading JAL paper since last spring, while confidence in the flag carrier plummeted when it emerged it may be legally liquidated -- similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States. As the future of JAL grew darker, especially foreign business partners began demanding greater security deposits on vital materials such as fuel before agreeing to sell to the airline, striking a direct blow to fundraising efforts.

Since ETIC proposed JAL file for protection under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law as a condition for support, JAL eventually concluded that "no ETIC support will be provided and (JAL) will be unable to raise funds. Repayment dates (on corporate bonds and other debt) will arrive simultaneously, and further fundraising will fail." On Jan. 19, three JAL group companies filed for bankruptcy protection under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law at about the same time as ETIC formally decided to provide support for the airline, providing some 600 billion yen in financing together with the DBJ for JAL's restructuring.

JAL plans to reduce staff and cut money-losing routes, and aims to complete restructuring within three years. A detailed restructuring plan is scheduled for official release by the end of August this year.

Tatar Leader..to quit...[ 581 ]

Leader of Russia's Tatar republic to quit in March

CLICK FOR ,,,Full story: en.rian.ru

Tatar Leader mr. Mintimer Shaimigev

MOSCOW, January 22 (RIA Novosti)| Posted by: coolncrazy

The long-serving president of the Russian republic of Tatarstan said Friday he had no plans to seek another term of office after his tenure ends in March.

"Mintimer Shaimiyev asked the Russian president not to consider his candidacy," Dmitry Medvedev's spokeswoman said.

"Shaimiyev thanked the head of state for his trust and support," Natalya Timakova went on, adding that that the Tatar leader wanted to step aside for a new generation of politicians.