France: Paris talks centered on security of Libya

Laurent Fabius (INTERMEDIATE/REUTERS)

Despite the goodwill and talent of its leaders, there is not enough security in Libya. "

Paris (Reuters)-France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Sunday said talks with Libya antarpejabat high Western diplomats in Paris this week will be centered on security issues following the overthrow of Moamar Gaddafi.

"Despite the goodwill and talent of its leaders, there is not enough security in Libya," Fabius said on BFM Television ahead of the talks on Tuesday, reported AFP.

"Meeting on Tuesday aiming to help them control their borders, to give them support in order to prevent the arms moving in all directions," he said.

Fabius will join in the talks along with the Abkhaz from Libya, Mohamed Abdulaziz, the Foreign Minister of the United Kingdom, Italy, Denmark, Turkey and Malta as well as high officials from Libya.

Senior diplomats from other countries will also take part. The Conference will be followed by the visit of the Prime Minister of Libya Ali Zeidan to Paris, Wednesday, to meet with President Francois Hollande.

Efforts to revive the economy will also be discussed, Libya when Libya some Ministers met on Monday evening with the head of France's business.

Diplomatic sources said the talks were a result of serious concerns over the security of Libya, including a flood of weapons from storage places Gaddafi across the region since the collapse of the regime's leaders.

"The bad news is that there is a real security risk in Libya, the good news is that Libya is not in denial. They want us to offer solutions on them, "said one diplomatic source.

The guerrillas who ruled Mali last year was one of a number of parties are believed to benefit from looting the Armory Gaddafi. (G003/B002)

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Iran: talks with the US "unlikely" at this time

The spiritual leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khameini. (Special)

You guys (Americans) enact, as you guys call it, crippling sanctions to cripple Iran's State. If this is a sign of good faith or bad faith?

Tehran (Reuters)-talks with the United States (US) is not possible at the moment, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast, Iran Friday.

"According to the spiritual leader's Guide (Iran), negotiations with the United States are not included in the agenda and could not possibly do before they changed their stance and apologize for the hostile attitude ... they are against this country," said Mehmanparast as quoted Iran's official news agency, IRNA on Friday.

However, it may just be for Iran to enter into negotiations with all countries except Zionist Israel regime, which is not recognized by Iran, Mehmanparast said.

The Spiritual Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Thursday the Islamic Republic is interested in holding talks with the United States under pressure.

Khamenei's statement was issued a day after Washington extended the U.S. sanctions on Iran by tightening the grip on the Islamic Republic's economy by entering another name into the black list.

When speaking to a group of military officials in Tehran, Khamenei was referring to a recent U.S. proposal on direct talks with the Islamic Republic of Iran's nuclear program. He says, "you guys (Americans) enact, as you guys call it, crippling sanctions to cripple Iran's State. If this is a sign of good faith or bad faith? "

On Friday, members of Parliament are Mansour Haqiqatpour Iran says U.S. rallying cry for talks while Washington impose sanctions on Iran shows its lack of sincerity of countries in action Washington, Press TV said, as quoted by Xinhua--which monitored Reuters, in Jakarta on Saturday morning.

"In a couple of days later, we have witnessed increasing restrictions by the US action against Iran. On the one hand, they want to drop sanctions against Iran and, in other occasions, they say they are ready to negotiate. Such actions are completely unacceptable, "said Haqiqatpour.

He added by saying the US offer of talks to the Islamic Republic was an attempt to cover up its failure in the Middle East.

On Friday, the Friday Prayer in Tehran "Ayatollah Mohammad-Ali Movahhedi-Kermani also said the United States turned to negotiations with Iran as a result of its failure in Syria, said Press TV.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Commission on foreign policy and national security of the House of Assembly (Parliament) of Iran Sayyid Hossein Naqavi Hosseini-speech and U.S. deeds say are inconsistent and it's just trying to cheat the community with an offer of talks.

"The American Government wanted to show they were willing to negotiate but in practice, they are searching for (the) threat, sanctions and pressure," said Sayyid Hossein Hosseini as cited Nagavi-Press TV.

(C003)

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Greeks in talks over new leader

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8 November 2011 Last updated at 12:38 GMT Greek politicians are under international pressure to resolve their differences Greece's political leaders are still locked in debate over the formation of a unity government they hope can save the country from imminent bankruptcy.

PM George Papandreou is to stand down once the government is formed but his replacement has not yet been named.

The new leadership will be tasked with ratifying a vital EU bailout package.

Greece is under huge international pressure to resolve its political crisis, in order to calm the global markets and protect the eurozone.

An agreement on an interim leader had been expected on Monday but by Tuesday morning, there was still no announcement from the negotiations between Mr Papandreou and opposition leader Antonis Samaras, of the New Democracy party.

An emergency cabinet session chaired by Mr Papandreou on Tuesday ended still without an announcement.

"Today is the last chance for the two main parties," daily newspaper Nea wrote in an editorial on Tuesday.

"They have to come up with a government strong enough to take the country out of the moving sand of political impasse that leaves us defenceless, at the mercy of the crisis. Time is up."

"A national unity government, right now," the daily newspaper Ethnos wrote on its front page, adding: "The country and the society cannot endure any more."

Greece must approve the EU bailout if it is to avoid going bankrupt by the end of the year. But the deal demands stringent austerity measures and spending cuts which have proved hugely unpopular with many Greeks.

Continue reading the main story Mark Lowen BBC News, Athens

The waiting game continues in Greece as the name of the next prime minister remains unknown.

Lucas Papademos, a former vice president of the European Central Bank, is the front runner. He helped Greece move from drachma to euro, a process he would hope will not have to be reversed as the debt crisis worsens.

And though the political turmoil is not over, MPs have broadly welcomed the coalition deal. The new government will be faced with a deeply disillusioned population and a crisis which threatens the whole eurozone.

The concern is that Greece's long-term financial prospects remain bleak. But this country is taking things day-by-day for now. It is too hard, perhaps too dangerous, to peer too far into the future.

Mr Papandreou agreed to stand down on Sunday, after days of upheaval caused by his call - now revoked - for a referendum on accepting the bailout.

Since then, he had been trying to build a national unity government to replace his Pasok party administration. However, Mr Samaras was refusing to negotiate unless his rival resigned.

The first steps in forming the new government were finally announced after late-night talks on Sunday between the two men, hosted by President Karolos Papoulias.

A Greek government spokesman said a new administration would be sworn in and a confidence vote held within a week, if all went well.

Greece's new political roadmap envisages elections being held - possibly on 19 February - once the new government has approved an EU bailout package.

Government figures spent Monday locked in discussions on the framework of the interim authority and their roles within it.

Lucas Papademos, a former vice president of the European Central Bank (ECB), is widely seen as the frontrunner to become interim prime minister, while Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos - for a time considered to be a candidate - is expected to remain at the finance ministry.

The BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens says it is believed Mr Papademos expressed doubts that an interim administration could be effective until proposed elections in February.

It appears he wants to stay in power longer if chosen, he adds.

Our correspondent says there will be immense pressure on whoever takes over, while European leaders will be hoping that person will work with them in trying to contain the country's debt crisis and prevent it from spreading further across the eurozone.

Eurozone finance ministers held talks in Brussels on Monday, adding to the pressure on Greece to find an early solution to the political deadlock.

Mr Venizelos also attended the talks, telling reporters that the move towards a unity government was "proof of our commitment and of our national capacity to implement the programme and to reconstruct our country".

Views of the Greek people: "When there's an uprising, then things will change"

But eurozone finance ministers have asked for written assurances from Mr Papandreou and Mr Samaras that they are committed to passing the rescue package.

Eurozone chief Jean-Claude Juncker said he was "quite confident that now the situation in Greece is developing in the right direction" but that it "should have been done months ago".

The EU says no more of the funds which have been promised to Greece will be released until the new bailout deal has been approved.

Political crisis

The hard-fought bailout deal for Greece agreed by the EU last month gives the government 130bn euros (£111bn; $178bn) and imposes a 50% write-off on private holders of Greek debts, in return for deeply unpopular austerity measures.

But Mr Papandreou faced the wrath of fellow EU leaders when he announced that he would put the deal to the people of Greece in a referendum

Continue reading the main story Tuesday: Details of unity government and name of prime minister expected to be announcedWithin a week: Coalition sworn in and confidence vote held; the new coalition must win parliamentary approval for the EU bailout plan before calling early electionsMid-December: Greece would receive next tranche of bail-out money19 February: Possible date for early electionThe idea was dropped days later, but not without sparking a deeper financial crisis and triggering the political crisis which led to the confidence vote last Friday.

Mr Papandreou narrowly won that vote, but had been under continuing pressure to resign amid chaos over the debt crisis.

The possibility of Greece leaving the euro has also been raised by EU leaders, if Athens fails to resolve its political and financial problems.

There are fears that the crisis could spread to bigger eurozone countries like Italy.

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Urgent talks to rescue Italy deal

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25 October 2011 Last updated at 21:19 GMT Silvio Berlusconi is under conflicting pressures from Brussels and his own political allies Urgent talks are being held in Italy to try to break a stalemate over economic reforms demanded by the EU.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been unable to convince his main coalition partner, the Northern League, to accept the measures - including proposals to increase the pension age.

Northern League leader Umberto Bossi has said the government was "at risk".

Rome's EU partners are demanding action to tackle Italy's huge public debt before a eurozone summit on Wednesday.

Eurozone leaders are to meet in Brussels to devise a strategy to confront the area's worsening debt crisis.

Continue reading the main story

Some suspect that France and Germany are trying to engineer Mr Berlusconi's departure ”

End Quote Gavin Hewitt BBC Europe editor They are expected to agree a plan to reduce Greece's debt burden, strengthen European banks to withstand bond losses and scale up the eurozone rescue fund.

At a meeting over the weekend, Mr Berlusconi was publicly reproached by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel who said that it was vital for Italy's public debt "to be reduced in a credible manner in the coming years".

Italy, the third largest economy in the eurozone, needs to issue some 600bn euros (£520bn; $835bn) in bonds over the next three years to refinance maturing debt.

Raising the retirement age is one of the key economic reforms demanded by the country's EU partners as a condition for supporting Italy's bonds.

But Mr Bossi has dismissed the idea, saying: "I'm not touching our pensions, which are fine, to bring up the age to 67 just to please the Germans."

Continue reading the main story David Willey BBC News, Rome

In Brussels over the weekend Mr Berlusconi was given an ultimatum - he was told to go back to Rome and produce a credible plan by Wednesday.

He passed an austerity budget back in August but it does not seem to have convinced the market.

Since then, there has been a lot of political infighting and his popularity has reached an all-time low.

There is no overall plan in Italy - neither a plan A nor a plan B - and people in Brussels are getting a bit impatient. They see that he cannot deliver, which is putting him in a difficult political position at home.

He added: "The government is at risk."

However there were signs that progress had been made in talks between the two sides late on Tuesday.

A leader in Berlusconi's People of Freedom party (PDL), Angelino Alfano, said: "We have shown today that the relationship between the two parties, which has provided stability and reforms, still holds."

As the coalition parties held meetings, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said in a statement that the country must do everything to reduce the risk to government bonds by making its determination to cut public debt more credible.

For the first time, Silvio Berlusconi has also raised the possibility that he might step down from the political stage after dominating Italian politics for 17 years.

"I hope the conditions arise where I can leave the responsibility of the presidency to others, perhaps remaining within the party as its founding father," Mr Berlusconi is reported as saying, according to La Repubblica newspaper.

"Whatever happens I will do what my party and the coalition ask of me."

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N Korea-US nuclear talks to begin

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23 October 2011 Last updated at 21:26 GMT By Imogen Foulkes BBC News, Geneva The US wants North Korea to commit to nuclear disarmament before talks can resume The US and North Korea are due to hold talks in Geneva, aimed at restarting stalled nuclear negotiations.

Six-party discussions involving North and South Korea, China, Russia, Japan and the US broke down in April 2009 when North Korea walked out.

One month later, North Korea tested its second nuclear weapon, which was followed by increased tension on the Korean peninsula.

But diplomats are warning against expecting too much from the talks.

Although both sides say they want the six-party negotiations on North Korea's nuclear programme to resume, they disagree on the terms: North Korea has suggested they restart without preconditions while the United States wants a firm commitment from Pyongyang to disarm first.

But the fact these talks are taking place at all is a sign of improved relations since the dark days of 2009, when North Korea tested its second nuclear weapon, and 2010, when North Korean attacks along its disputed border with the South killed 50 South Koreans.

Washington and Pyongyang have just agreed to resume searching for the remains of American soldiers killed in the Korean war of the 1950s, and in July, the foreign ministers of North and South Korea met for the first time in three years.

So although it seems unlikely there will be a swift resumption of the six-party negotiations, the talks in Geneva are being viewed as another positive step.

At the very least, it is suggested, they may encourage North Korea not to proceed with a rumoured third nuclear test.

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UAW-Ford talks, GM deal vote hit the home stretch

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The United Auto Workers union logo on the front of the UAW Solidarity House in Detroit, September 8, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Rebecca Cook

DETROIT | Tue Sep 27, 2011 10:58am EDT

DETROIT (Reuters) - Talks between the United Auto Workers and Ford Motor Co for a new labor contract as well as ratification of the proposed agreement with General Motors Co were nearing a conclusion.

"We have accelerated our talks," Joel Goddard, co-chairman of the UAW Ford National Negotiating Committee said in a recorded call on Monday evening, citing the involvement of UAW President Bob King in the constant meetings with Ford negotiators.

"We are optimistically hopeful that we will have good news for our membership by the end of the week," he added.

Teams of negotiators for the union and Ford, the only U.S. automaker to avoid bankruptcy, have been meeting for about two months. Financial issues typically are addressed in the final stages of negotiations.

The union began an intense focus on Ford a day after the UAW, failing to finalize a deal with Chrysler Group LLC, extended its contract with the Fiat SpA-controlled automaker until October 19.

Chrysler and UAW negotiators held "high-level" discussions over the weekend and were scheduled to continue on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, UAW-represented workers have begun voting on a tentative four-year deal reached a week ago with GM. Union officials hope to wrap up that voting by Thursday and early results show most union locals supporting the deal.

As of Tuesday morning, at least 15 union locals had voted for ratification, three had voted against it and 35 more had yet to vote, according to a union dissident group and reports by individual union locals.

Union dissidents are urging workers to vote against the deal, citing a failure by UAW negotiators on a number of issues including fears about the future of GM pensions to union retirees.

The GM deal would keep or create more than 6,000 factory jobs, raise wages for entry-level workers, and guarantee all workers bonuses of at least $11,500 over four years.

The Detroit labor talks will set wages and benefits for about 112,500 union-represented autoworkers and establish a benchmark for wages at auto-parts suppliers and nonunion plants run by Asian and German automakers.

New four-year contracts for GM and Chrysler workers would be the first since those two companies were bailed out by the Obama administration in 2009. UAW-represented autoworkers have gone without a base pay increase since 2003.

The uncertain outlook for auto sales in 2012 and the risk of a renewed U.S. recession have made the Detroit automakers reluctant to offer traditional wage increases. Also, GM and Chrysler UAW workers gave up the right to strike for these contract negotiations as part of the government bailout.

The talks with Ford, playing out at the company's Dearborn, Michigan, headquarters known as "the Glass House," will be patterned roughly after the deal that covers 48,500 GM employees.

Ford's roughly 41,000 UAW-represented workers have the right to strike and have the highest expectations for wages and bonuses because of the automaker's performance. The UAW has not had a strike at Ford since 1976.

The union has made job retention and expansion a top goal in the talks. The UAW may seek to have Ford shift work from Mexico to U.S. plants, something the union touted in its deal with GM.

Ford builds the Fusion mid-sized sedan and Fiesta small car at plants in Mexico, where it also has an engine plant.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit, editing by Maureen Bavdek)

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UAW talks with Ford shifting into higher gear

DETROIT (Reuters) - United Auto Workers and Ford Motor Co officials set a framework for the final stages of the negotiations toward a new labor contract on Thursday, the union said.
"Vice President Jimmy Settles has indicated that high-level financial discussions with the company are expected to begin Monday," the union said in a memo. Financial issues typically are addressed in the final stages of negotiations.
Settles is the lead negotiator for the UAW with Ford.
Thursday was the first day of negotiations between the UAW and Ford with the automaker as the main focus of bargaining, though the sides have been meeting for almost two months.
"Both our negotiators and the company have submitted their final resolutions," the union said in a memo updating workers on the talks with Ford, the only U.S. automaker that avoided bankruptcy.
The union began an intense focus on Ford a day after the UAW, failing to finalize a deal with Chrysler Group LLC, extended its contract with the Fiat-controlled automaker until October 19.
Meanwhile, UAW-represented workers began to vote on Thursday on a tentative four-year deal reached late last week with General Motors Co, including meetings at locals in Flint, Michigan, and Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Union officials hope to wrap up ratification votes on the GM deal by September 29 and a four-week extension at Chrysler has reduced the urgency for reaching agreements.
Union leaders on Tuesday released highlights touting jobs retained and added, and bonus payments in the proposed GM deal. On Thursday, dissident union group autoworkercaravan.org said the freeze in cost-of-living increases amounted to an annual pay cut over the next four years.
The Detroit labor talks will set wages and benefits for about 112,500 unionized autoworkers and set a benchmark for wages at auto parts suppliers and nonunion plants run by Asian and German automakers.
New four-year contracts for GM and Chrysler workers would be the first since those two companies were bailed out by the Obama administration in 2009. UAW-represented autoworkers have gone without a base pay increase since 2003.
The talks with Ford, playing out at its Dearborn, Michigan, headquarters also known as "the Glass House," will be patterned roughly after the deal that covers 48,500 GM workers, which is expected to be ratified late next week.
The GM contract would keep or create more than 6,000 factory jobs, raise wages for entry-level workers and guarantee all workers bonuses of at least $11,500 over four years.
The uncertainty around the outlook for auto sales in 2012 and the risk of a renewed U.S. recession have made the Detroit automakers reluctant to offer traditional wage increases.
However, Ford's roughly 41,000 UAW-represented workers have retained the right to strike and have the highest expectations for wages and bonuses because of the automaker's performance. Ford has not had a UAW strike since 1976.
An unsettled grievance also could complicate talks. The union has said Ford broke a pledge to treat workers equally when it restored raises and 401(k) matches for white-collar workers without making a similar payout to factory workers.
There is also simmering resentment among UAW workers over Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally's compensation last year of $26.5 million, which UAW President Bob King called "morally wrong."
The UAW also may seek to have Ford shift work from Mexico to U.S. plants, something it touted in its deal with GM. Ford builds the Fusion mid-sized sedan and Fiesta small car in Mexico. Ford also has an engine plant in Mexico.
The shift to Ford from Chrysler caught analysts and even some UAW officials by surprise as the union strategy had been to close quick deals at GM and Chrysler before turning to Ford.
However, talks with Chrysler became strained last week when the company's CEO, Sergio Marchionne, scolded King for failing to meet a commitment to reach a new contract by the expiration of the former pact on September 14.
In talks this week, Chrysler negotiators had hammered home the message that the GM deal was too rich for Chrysler to match, a person with knowledge of the talks previously said.
In addition, Chrysler pressed the UAW for some assurance it would not try to push fixed costs higher even after 2015, the person said.

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Greece bailout talks 'progress'

  There were protests in Athens at the weekend calling for a boycott of banks Talks to avert a financial meltdown in Greece have made "good progress", the European Commission has announced.
Debt inspectors from the EC, European Central Bank, and International Monetary Fund will return to Athens next week for further negotiations.
This so-called troika of inspectors suspended a review of Greece's austerity programme, which was needed to approve further bailout money.
The troika and Greek finance ministers held a teleconference late on Tuesday.
After the teleconference, the EC said in a statement that a full troika mission "is now expected to come back to Athens early next week to resume the review, including policy discussions.
"Good progress was made" at Tuesday's talks, the statement said, "and technical discussions will continue in Athens over the coming days."
The suspension of the troika's full review of Greece's progress in meeting its budget reduction measures had unsettled the global financial markets for days.
The suspicion was that Greece was not making progress, jeopardising the release of an urgently-needed 8bn (£6.9bn)euros tranche of aid.
Greece has been under pressure to plug a budget hole of more than 2bn euros to meet the terms of a 110bn-euro bailout from the troika members.
The debt-laden country needs the rescue funds before it runs out of money to pay such things as public wages and pensions.

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Greece cabinet holds crisis talks

  The government said Mr Papandreou wanted to ensure commitments were fulfilled Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is chairing cabinet crisis talks, a day after cancelling a trip to the US amid growing fears over the debt crisis.The talks are said to focus on new austerity measures to enable Greece to secure the country's next bailout loan.
Greek newspaper To Vima said lenders had set further conditions including the dismissal of another 20,000 state employees before releasing the loan.
Mr Papandreou had planned to attend the UN General Assembly and IMF meetings.
'More likely' default
Greek media said he took the decision to return to Athens after consultations with Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos.
The decision comes a day after eurozone ministers delayed a decision on releasing more money to Greece.
Eurozone leaders will now decide in October whether to release the next 8bn euros ($11bn; £7bn).
To Vima published a document listing 15 new measures allegedly demanded by the troika of lenders - the European Union (EU), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The newspapers said this included redundancies among civil servants - bringing the total to 100,000 - and a cut in pensions and salaries.
The Greek government is expected to run out of cash to pay for public services by mid-October if it does not receive further loans.
Euro obligation
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has warned that no money will be forthcoming if Greece does not stick to planned cuts in its borrowing.
"Membership in a monetary union is an opportunity, but also a heavy burden," he told German Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
"The Greeks must decide whether they want to bear this burden."
Eurozone leaders decided on a second bailout of 109bn euros for Greece at a Brussels meeting in July. It is still receiving the initial 110bn-euro bailout, agreed in May last year, in tranches.
October's loan decision will be based on assessments by the three lenders.
There are concerns they may rule that Greece has fallen behind on its spending cuts targets - the government was forced to introduce a property tax amid fears prompted by the recession that it would miss its target of capping its budget to 7.6% of GDP.
Mr Venizelos is expected to hold a teleconference with the three lenders on Monday.
Demands that Greece accelerate its austerity plans, and divisions among governments and policymakers over support for indebted eurozone members, have sparked turmoil in the financial markets.
But the head of the Eurogroup of ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, said Greece was making "significant progress" and welcomed Athens' commitment to the austerity programme.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing dissent within her governing coalition over whether Greece should be made to default on its debts.

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