US fines drive Alstom into loss

Despite rises in both income and sales French transport and power firm Alstom turned a loss last year to the tune of 719 million euros.

The previous year the company made a 556 million euro profit.

The poor figures are being blamed in part on a 684 million euro fine imposed on Alstom in America for criminal bribery charges.

The company’s medium-term earnings targets remain unchanged
but it will not be paying a dividend for 2014.

Alstom says it is close to selling its power equipment division to GE, and it is deciding how much of the 12.4 billion euro raised will go to shareholders.

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VW's Winterkorn says it's back to business for carmaker

Volkwagen’s boss has spoken out about the future for Europe’s number one carmaker and sought to put the boardroom battles behind at the annual shareholders meeting.

The company is on the hunt for a new chairman which it wants to appoint quickly, said Martin Winterkorn.

“It is good that we have returned to calmer waters, that we have clarity on our future strategy and above all that we can fully concentrate on the business,” he told shareholders in Hanover.

However why stop at just getting rid of the company patriarch say some who want bigger changes at the top to ensure a revival of the
carmaker’s fortunes.

“I don’t think Mr Winterkorn’s contract should be renewed. I believe that the future holds so many new things and I’m not sure a 68 year-old’s up to it,” said shareholder Imsold Schroeder.

Plans for integrating VW’s different truck businesses are being speeded up as VW seeks to take on market leader Mercedes, costs are being cut at car operations, and the US division is being boosted.

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Finnish punk rockers with Down's, Autism and Attitude enter Eurovision

Kari, Pertti, Sami and Toni will be representing Finland at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna.
The quartet, whose members suffer from mental disabilities like Down’s Syndrome and Autism, say they entered the contest to raise awareness about people with disabilities.
The first punk band to compete for the top prize at Eurovision, they are confident their style will appeal to voters.
“Well, we think that our music will be well received, just like any other type of music,” says Sami, the band’s bass player.
“You can always give it a try,” adds singer Kari.
Founded in 2009, PKN – short for Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät (Pertti Kurikka’s Name Day) – has released five EPs and one album. Already a household name at home, they have toured Scandinavia, Europe and North America.
The band’s rise is chronicled in an award-winning documentary, ‘The Punk Syndrome’, a story of rebellion against the mainstream by people with disabilities, available on Vimeo on Demand with subtitles in seven European languages
After an Israeli transgender diva and a bearded Austrian drag queen, these could be the latest artists to challenge prejudice at the Eurovision song contest. Finland has a history of breaking the Eurovision mould: the contest’s first heavy metal glam-rock monster band, Lordi, gave the country its only victory back in 2006 with ‘Hard Rock Hallelujah’.
In true punk style, band members will be offering no concessions to Eurovision norms of style, saying they will make no changes in how they look or what they wear for the contest.
And what viewers can most look forward to is making fun of those trying to pronounce the band’s full name on the night.
Rendez-vous on 23rd May in Vienna.

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Pope Francis tests basketball skills on St. Peter’s with Harlem Globetrotters

Published time: May 07, 2015 15:31 This handout picture released by the Vatican press office shows Pope Francis posing with members of the Harlem Globe Trotters basketball team at the end of his weekly general audience on May 6, 2015 in Vatican. (AFP Photo/Osservatore Romano)

Pope Francis pulled off some cool basketball moves in Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square at his general audience on Wednesday. He was encouraged by visiting US basketball team the Harlem Globetrotters, who made the Pontiff an honorary member.

The pontiff is known to be an ardent fan of football, especially of his Argentinian home team. However, on Wednesday the Pope showed interest in basketball at his general audience on St. Peter’s Square as he met with the famous entertainment basketball team.

The Pope was walked through how to spin a ball on his fingertip and encouraged to try the move. He was also presented a jersey of an honorary member of the team adorned with the name Pope Francis and the number 90 on the back.

Only nine people, including Pope Francis, former Pope John Paul II and Nelson Mandela, have been given the honor by the Globetrotters.

The Globetrotters stopped in Vatican on Wednesday as part of their Italy tour. The American exhibition team was founded in 1926 and over the years has played more than 20,000 games in 120 countries. The Globetrotters are claimed to be the first professional basketball team.

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Stop the War coalition issues #GE2015 anti-war manifesto

Debate on foreign policy and the legacy of UK involvement in war and occupation has become the elephant in the room during the general election campaign, according to the Stop the War coalition.
In an essay by coalition convener Lindsey German, published on the Stop the War website, the group sketches an “anti-war manifesto
” for the future.

Apart from limited debate about the prospect of Trident nuclear weapons renewal, the UK’s military policy overseas has not been adequately debated by politicians or public, German argues.
READ MORE: Chilcot Iraq War inquiry delayed again, may not report until 2016
READ MORE: Scrap ‘irrelevant’ Trident nukes, Scottish trade unionists say
“The failure of the British establishment to even publish the findings of the Chilcot inquiry could be held up as representative of the failings of this consensus foreign policy,
” say German.
“If Iraq is the issue that still helps define modern British politics, it is only one of many in terms of foreign policy failures. It has led to the growth of terrorism, particularly in the form of ISIS [Islamic State, formerly ISIS/ISIL], in Iraq itself.
”
The coalition warns the dots are not being connected to inform more sensible policies in future.
“The bigger picture is that the war on terror, supposedly launched to root out terrorism nearly 14 years ago, has created terrorism across large parts of the globe.
”
The manifesto also argues that anti-war and anti-militarist politics resonate with the broader public, a reality to which politicians would be wise to pay heed.
“[Labour Party leader] Ed Miliband opposed the bombing of Syria two years ago, which helped bring about an important victory for the anti-war movement.
”
The debate on the UK’s nuclear deterrent, while not far-reaching enough according to the coalition, shows the way forward for political parties desperate for popularity.
“The issue of Trident – and we have to thank the rise of the SNP [Scottish National Party] for bringing it to the fore and breaking the main party consensus – is the only question of weapons and the military which has been allowed as a subject of debate.
”
The details of the manifesto include arguments for an end to arms trading with Saudi Arabia, the scrapping of Trident and the withdrawal of British troops and aircraft from the various global theatres of war to which they are currently deployed.

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Woman who went to walk off a headache gets a massive pain in the neck when she is hit by a tree branch in high winds

Dawn Lister was walking in Belfairs Wood in Southend-on-Sea, Essex44-year-old had been hoping stroll would cure her headache on SundayShe was taken to hospital and put in neck brace after being hit by branchDoctors says she was lucky her neck was not broken in the freak accident

 A woman was struck by a 6ft tree branch and sent crashing to the ground as Britain was battered by fierce winds.Dawn Lister was suffering from a painful headache when she ventured outside hoping that the fresh air would help.As gusts of wind reaching up to 60mph swept across the country on Sunday, the massive branch smashed into the 44-year-old's head in Belfairs Wood in Southend-on-Sea, Essex.Ms Lister told how she remembers very little of being struck at around 4pm, while walking with her partner Mark Goodson, 53 Dawn Lister, 44, pictured left, was taken to hospital in a neck brace, pictured right, after being struck by a 6ft tree branch'I feel lucky to be alive,' she said.'We were just out for a walk in the woods when a branch fell off this 50-foot high tree and landed straight on my head.'I don't actually remember it happening - all I remember is being on the floor with a very sore head.'Ms Lister, from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, was taken to Southend Hospital A&E department where she was placed in a neck brace and monitored before being given the all clear later that evening. The remains of the tree branch which hit Ms Lister while she was out walking in Belfairs Wood in Southend-on-Sea, Essex,She added: 'I spent the whole day in hospital.'Doctors said if it had been a little bit one way or the other it could have broken my neck.'I've had to take the whole week off to recover.

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