Airbus shares slide after A400M crash

"The fact that they're getting to a situation where they can iron problems out before full production levels are hit is arguably a benefit"

Airbus shares were battered down from their all-time April high on Monday following the fatal A400M crash in Spain at the weekend.

Shares fell by 4.5% at one point, wiping out the previous week’s gains.

“It will undoubtedly have a negative effect on the share price for a brief period of time but the fact that they’re getting to a situation where they can iron it out before full production levels are hit is arguably a benefit here,” says market analyst Alastair McCaig.

The A400M project has been beset with problems from the start, and following the crash several clients have frozen their orders.

“Well there’s no denial that its nearly four years behind schedule, it’s €6bln euros over budget, that’s a lot for any program but all aircraft programs have a problem, particularly military ones where the end customer base is governments,” says Defence & Aerospace analyst Howard Wheeldon.

Shares finished the day 2% off. In March Airbus Spain fired its boss, who was deemed responsible for the delays in assembling the planes in Seville.

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Vegans strike back: Activists charged with thrashing their ‘worst nightmare’ deli

Published time: May 09, 2015 03:39 The choice of cuts at Vegan's Worst Nightmare (Screenshot from youtube.com video)

Three animal rights activists are facing over 279,000 rubles ($5,450) in fines, after carrying out a campaign of violence and threats against a St. Petersburg delicatessen with an “offensive” name: ‘Vegan’s worst nightmare.’

Russian prosecutors found that on January 3, the activists broke the sign, shop window, fridge glass, and a CCTV camera at the quirkily-named, trendy establishment specializing in meat products. Two nights later, they returned, throwing stones through the broken windows, and splashing paint throughout the shop.

“If you don’t close, we will have to take more radical measures,”

said a note they left behind.

Not only did the perpetrators, two men and a woman in their twenties, fail to cover their tracks, but actually posted reports of their acts on public group pages on prominent social networks, as well as YouTube. At one point, the group even gave an interview to an online portal with their faces uncovered.

“These were not the first attacks. Ever since we opened a year and a half ago, we were targeted by this behavior, which started off reasonably innocent, with them turning over flowerpots outside, and spraying paint. Mostly we shrugged it off, but [this was] just too much,”

said shop owner Yegor Burdin.

Using their beloved format – a self-shot YouTube video – the three activists, who previously claimed that their acts were “a rebellion against a symbol of the soulless capitalist machine,”

have now made an official video apology to Burdin.

“We now realize that we have made a mistake, and we should fight for our cause using other means. We do not advise anyone to follow our lead.”

The trio could face up to 2 years in jail as authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the attacks. However, local news portal Fontanka.ru reported that the extreme pro-vegans have settled the issue with the shop owners by pledging to pay some 300,000 rubles in damages.

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Canadian court releases former Gitmo detainee on bail

Published time: May 08, 2015 01:49 Lawyer Dennis Edney answers questions during a news conference after his client Omar Khadr was released on bail in Edmonton, Alberta, May 7, 2015 (Reuters / Todd Korol)

An Alberta court has decided to release the former Guantanamo inmate Omar Khadr, who had spent almost 13 years in custody, on bail. A judge denied the government’s emergency plea to keep the Canadian citizen behind bars.

“Mr. Khadr you’re free to go,” said Alberta Court of Appeal Justice Myra Bielby on Thursday, after postponing her decision for 48 hours on Tuesday, when the Federal Crown prosecutor Bruce Hughson argued that his release on bail could do “irreparable harm” to Ottawa’s diplomatic relations with other nations.

Omar Khadr speaks for 1st time since release from prison, wants to be judged for the person he is not the name #cbc pic.twitter.com/Dcx1LybU0v

— Bryan Labby (@CBCBryan) May 8, 2015

Captured at the age of 15 and jailed in America’s notorious Guantanamo Bay prison, Khadr was finally released into the custody of Dennis Edney, with whose family he will be living in Edmonton Alberta. While on bail, he will have limited access to family members and only be able to communicate with them in English. He is also prohibited from using the internet.

Omar Khadr is finally free, free Alberta. ‘A great day for justice:’ Omar Khadr free on bail after 13 years in prison http://t.co/Jk0oWvZyDj

— Fotis Kanteres (@FotisKanteres) May 8, 2015

Other restrictions include wearing an electronic monitoring device and observing a nightly curfew.

“I look forward to Omar Khadr letting the public see who he is,” Edney said outside the court.

#omarkhadr bail order just entered. #gtmo pic.twitter.com/jPyOYZf7Bv

— Nate Whitling (@NWhitling) May 7, 2015

Khadr’s bail has been debated since the April 24 order from Court of Queen’s Bench Justice June Ross, which ruled that the former Gitmo detainee, 28, should be granted bail as he waits for the appeal of his war crimes conviction in the US. An appeal hearing is likely to be scheduled for the fall.

Poll by Evan Solomon - ignorance of Canadians: 51% fear #Khadr's release. Be very afraid of PM's bigotry politics! http://t.co/9S8HKQFO0A

— janice williamson (@jwilliambao) May 8, 2015

READ MORE: ‘Threat to foreign relations’: Canada delays former Gitmo detainee’s bail decision

The young man was detained by American forces in Afghanistan in 2002 and taken to the Bagram Air Base and later Guantanamo. There he pleaded guilty to tossing a grenade that killed Sgt. Christopher Speer, according to military prosecutors.

After the inmate was transferred to Canadian custody in 2012, Khadr maintained that he pleaded guilty to the killing because he was “left with a hopeless choice” of either accepting the charges or risk facing “continued abuse and torture” at the hands of his Gitmo jailers.

I'm not celebrating Khadr's release #ConfessYourUnpopularOpinion

— Sports Masochist (@CarcelMousineau) May 8, 2015

The controversial case of Khadr has split Canadian society. The government sharply criticized and opposed the idea of his release, while human rights advocates such as Amnesty International have argued that Khadr has been denied access to due process since a young age.

#omarkhadr walks free. pic.twitter.com/e4AQJLaXN4

— Nate Whitling (@NWhitling) May 7, 2015

Meanwhile, spokesman for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney expressed disappointment with today’s decision. “[We] regret that a convicted terrorist has been allowed back into Canadian society without having served his full sentence,” Blaney said in a statement.

You know what's disappointing?The Minister for Public Safety #Khadr's release 'disappointing,' public safety minister http://t.co/D2HLNaVqwS

— Peter (@ArawakWarrior) May 7, 2015

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Former GDR top brass slam US-NATO policy, anti-Russian rhetoric in open letter

Published time: May 07, 2015 05:52 Participants of a rally against NATO's policy by Munich's Rathaus (Town Hall). Several hundred people gathered in the center of the city requiring to put an end to NATO's aggressive police and stop a confrontation with Russia.(RIA Novosti / Vladimir Pesnya)

Former top military commanders of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) penned an open letter on the eve of WWII Victory Day celebrations calling for the US and NATO to refrain from Cold War policies and cooperate with Russia to solve the Ukrainian crisis.

More than 100 top brass of the ex-GDR, the majority of whom fought on the fronts of WWII, slammed American and North Atlantic alliance leaders for using military power in the resolution of conflicts. Titled “Soldiers for Peace,” the open letter was presented in Berlin on Tuesday.

“We witness War becoming a permanent companion of humanity once again. The new world order that the USA and their allies have been trying to establish has recently led to nothing but new wars – in Yugoslavia and Afghanistan, in Iraq, Yemen and Sudan, in Libya and Somalia. These wars claimed the lives of more than two million people and forced even more out of their homes,” the letter said.

READ MORE: ‘Very important to remember it was shared victory’ – top Russian diplomat ahead of WW2 anniversary

Former German generals pointed to NATO’s “intensive militarization of Europe” saying that war “has returned” to the continent.

“The United States as well as the other NATO members have recently returned to the policy of the Cold War and they justify it by imaginary Russian aggression,” said former GDR defense minister Theodor Hoffmann during the presentation of the open letter on Tuesday.

“The aim of the American strategy consists in defeating Russia as a competitor to the US as well as in weakening the EU. The US hopes to isolate Russia and to corrode its ties to Europe and particularly to Germany by admitting Ukraine to NATO,” the letter reads.

The East German commanders also blamed the US and their allies for launching an “unprecedented media campaign,” which aims to “to win the trust of people in western countries over to their cause.”

“And those taking part in this campaign are just irredeemable politicians and corrupt journalists that stir up hostility, hatred and war hysteria,” the letter states.

READ MORE: Obama's outrageous snub to the Russian people

“We are set against military power becoming a key instrument in modern international politics. We are absolutely sure that urgent political problems cannot be resolved by military means.”

Among the signatories are two former GDR defense ministers, three former Chiefs of Staff of the National People’s Army (NPA), 19 lieutenant generals, 61 major generals and several admirals.

“Most signatories of our plea fought at the fronts of WWII and know exactly that war can by no means be a political instrument,” Hoffmann said.

READ MORE: Unique historic color video shows Berlin in July 1945

He pointed out that any “participation of the modern German army in conflicts and wars waged by the West, even if it is just a sort of logistical support, runs counter to an agreement between the former Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl and the then East Germany leader Erich Honecker [signed on September 8, 1987], which provided that no war would be ever launched by Germany.”

The letter also stated that a new war in Europe will inevitably lead to unprecedented damage due to the destructive power of the modern arms, even turning the continent into a “lifeless wasteland.”

“Have the numerous victims of the Second World War already been forgotten? Do modern Europeans no longer remember the devastation, the many refugees and unending suffering of the people engendered by WWII? Have the latest US and NATO wars not claimed enough people’s lives?” the letter says.

READ MORE: 872 days of cold, hunger & death: Leningrad siege survivors share memories with RT

The former top brass emphasize in their statement that it was the Soviet army and the Soviet people that “carried the heaviest burden in defeating fascism” and “now, on the 70th anniversary of the Victory in Europe day, we should express our gratitude to them.”

The West needs to cooperate with Moscow to solve international issues, the letter stressed, urging for a “peaceful dialogue and not combative rhetoric.” It also points out that the EU shouldn’t depend on the US in issues of military security.

“Instead of the NATO ‘Rapid Deployment force’ near the Russian border we need more tourist and youth exchanges as well as peace conferences between us and our eastern neighbor,” it adds.

There are plans to distribute the letter among members of the German parliament as well send it to the embassies of NATO countries in Germany. The organizers of the campaign also plan to send the text to Russia, so leaflets can be handled out at the Red Square parade marking the 70th V-Day anniversary on May 9 in Moscow.

READ MORE: NATO saber rattling: ‘When you need militarism, you invent threats to legitimize policy, budgets’

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7.2 earthquake hits off Papua New Guinea, warning of 'hazardous tsunami waves'

Published time: May 07, 2015 07:33
Edited time: May 07, 2015 08:48 Screenshot from earthquake.usgs.gov

An earthquake of magnitude 7.2 struck off Papua New Guinea on Thursday, the US Geological Survey reported. This is just two days after a 7.4-magnitude jolt shook the southern coast.

The quake, which struck 150km southwest of the town of Arawa, appears to be relatively shallow. There have been no immediate reports of damage or casualties, Reuters says.

A tsunami alert has been issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre for islands in the region. "Hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within 300km of the epicenter along the coasts of Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea," the agency has warned.

7.2 - BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Date: Thu, 07 May 2015 07:10:22 UTCLat/Lon: -7.2771/154.534Depth: 22.11 http://t.co/4YueY5Bd5X

— Earthquake & Tsunami (@EQTW) 7 ??? 2015

It's the latest in a series of strong tremors to hit the region in recent days.

Tsunami threat to the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea from magnitude 7.2 earthquake. http://t.co/nbw2S4RQGS #PTWC

— NWS PTWC (@NWS_PTWC) 7 ??? 2015

READ MORE: 7.4 quake, aftershocks hit Papua New Guinea prompting tsunami scare

Papua New Guinea sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the point of collision of several tectonic plates. There are a number of active volcanoes and earthquakes are common.

5.0 earthquake, 142km SW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea. May 7 18:12 at epicenter (19m ago, depth 10km). http://t.co/ATnV7fIFcX

— Earthquakes Tsunamis (@NewEarthquake) 7 ??? 2015

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Navajo Nation struggles with fallout from uranium mining

Published time: May 09, 2015 01:31 Waste outside an abandoned uranium mine on the Navajo Nation, Cameron, Arizona (Image from ehp.niehs.nih.gov)

As part of a cleanup settlement, the US will pay out more than $13 million to start dealing with hundreds of abandoned uranium mines on Navajo Nation territory. Navajo officials tell RT it is just the first step on a long road ahead.

The money will be put into an “environmental response trust” managed by the Navajo Nation with the support of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

“It will provide us with funding to do a very specific task under the cleanup process that’s authorized by the federal superfund law,” Stephen Etsitty, executive director of the Navajo Nation’s EPA, told RT’s Ben Swann.

The funds will cover evaluations of 16 abandoned mines throughout Navajo lands, chosen from a list of 46 priority sites. There are hundreds of sites that still need to be addressed. By one estimate, there are more than 1,200 abandoned uranium mines within the borders of the Navajo Nation, a 27,000-square-mile territory stretching across Utah, New Mexico and Arizona.

The EPA says it has repaired 34 homes, surveyed 521 mines, compiled a list of 46 priority sites for cleanup, and performed stabilization or cleanup work at nine mines so far. The agency has also provided safe drinking water to more than 1,800 families.

A 2014 settlement set aside $985 million from a multi-billion dollar settlement with subsidiaries of Anadarko Petroleum Corp to clean up approximately 50 abandoned Kerr-McGee mining operations in the Navajo Nation.

The feds are finally starting to take some responsibility for uranium clean up on Navajo land. http://t.co/9OEL89414j pic.twitter.com/kGKvX3tOjJ

— Tim Ream (@ourcarbon) May 5, 2015

Federal surveyors found rich uranium deposits on Navajo lands in the 1940s, and the government authorized private contractors to extract the ore for US weapons and energy needs. About 4 million tons of uranium ore were extracted from the area between 1944 and 1986, after which the mining was halted. The federal government, through the Atomic Energy Commission, was the sole purchaser of the ore until 1966.

Navajo miners worked without any kind of protective gear or decontamination protocols for wages sometimes less than $1 an hour. In her 2011 book, Yellow Dirt: A Poisoned Land and a People Betrayed, journalist Judy Pasternak wrote that the miners suffered radiation exposure four times that of the Japanese exposed to nuclear bombs during World War II.

In the 1950s, cancer rates among the Navajos were so low, they were thought naturally immune, wrote environmental journalist Sonia Luokkala. By 2004, cancer had become the leading cause of illness and death among the Navajo.

A 2014 survey by the EPA of about 500 abandoned mines found radiation levels up to 25 times higher than normal. Many of the mines with the highest radiation levels were found within a quarter mile of human habitation.

READ MORE: Arizona dream and nuclear reality

“Chronic exposure is definitely one thing we want to get a better understanding of,” Etsitty told RT. Many of the Navajo live in the remote areas of the reservation, often close to the abandoned mining pits that have since filled up with water. Humans and animals drink the water from the pits, often not aware of the possible issues with radiation or toxicity.

“We still have not completed meaningful public health studies to begin answering those questions,” Etsitty said. The DOJ settlement should offer a little bit of help in the process, but merely surveying the extent of the contamination and environmental impact will take much more money and time.

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