12  theSun | FRIDAY OCTOBER 30 2009

news without borders

PARIS: France on Wednesday Ministry spokesman Bernard

denied a claim President Nicolas
Sarkozy had ordered a €250,000
(RM1,275,000) luxury shower cabin
as part of a spending spree during his
presidency of the European Union.
Report: Sarkozy spent Valero said it spent less than Berlin
during its 2007 stint at the EU helm,
despite unplanned events linked to
the financial crisis and the Russia-
Georgia conflict.

RM1.3m on shower cabin

A report by France’s official budget
watchdog, leaked on the internet this
week, chastised the government for
spending €171 million (RM872 mil-
lion) on its six-month presidency of
the European Union last year.
It skewered Paris for spending
a colossal €16.6 million (RM84.6
million) to kit out the Grand Palais
exhibition hall for a one-day summit
to launch the Mediterranean Union,
a pet project of the right-wing French
president.
But anger has focused on a claim,
made by a left-wing deputy, that
Sarkozy spent €245,572 (RM1,252,417)
on a state-of-the art shower complete
with in-built sound system, fitted in
his suite at the summit venue and
never even used.
The quarter-million-euro shower
allegation was widely picked up
by French and English-language
media, in a new embarrassment for
Sarkozy’s government as it battles a
string of recent scandals.
“It would be scandalous if it were
true, but it is false,” said French
Budget Minister Eric Woerth on
Wednesday.
Detailed reading of the budget
report lists the sum as the total cost
of an office and suite for the French
leader – including the shower – and
bilateral meeting rooms for the 40
delegations present.
Deputy Rene Dosiere apparently
misread a summary of the budget
report on French website Mediapart,
which first published it this week.
The French foreign ministry
insisted Paris had stayed within the
budget of €180 million (RM918 mil-
lion) allocated for its EU presidency,
whose costs are spread between
various ministries.
But he admitted spending on
the Mediterranean Union summit
was “higher” than for the 500 other
events held during the presidency,
saying a lack of suitable venues had
forced officials to equip the Grand
Palais from scratch.
Sarkozy’s shower aside, the sum-
mit shopping list included €194,900
(RM993,990) for potted plants,
€653,703 (RM3,333,885) for air condi-
tioning and €301,208 (RM1,536,160)
for a conference podium, while the
end of summit dinner cost €1,010,256
(RM5,153,305) – more than €5,000
(RM25,500) per head. – AFP

Indonesia denies briefs

Australia asylum 11 mourners
seeker deal die in bus crash
BEIJING: Eleven people returning
home from a funeral in eastern
JAKARTA: Indonesia firmly denied yesterday China were killed when the bus
reaching a deal with Australia to receive money they were travelling in plunged
in return for temporarily accepting boatloads of into a ravine, state media reported
asylum seekers intercepted at sea. yesterday. The accident occurred on
Indonesia and Australia had reached no Wednesday when the bus carrying
definite agreement on dealing with a recent rash 28 people on their way back from a
of arrivals from countries including Sri Lanka relative’s cremation fell 100m down
and Afghanistan, despite talk in Australia of an a mountainside in Jiangshan city,
“Indonesia Solution” to deal with the crisis, said Xinhua news agency said. Eleven
foreign ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah. people died, and 17 others were
“We’re very much unaware of the term ‘Indo- injured, one of whom was in critical
nesia Solution’. We’re not at all comfortable with condition, the report said. – AFP
the notion of an Indonesia Solution,” Faizasyah Australian Customs

said.
“The term is political jargon used in Australia
for domestic political purposes and we’re not
comfortable at all,” he said.
Australia has said it has agreed to hand over
financial aid to help Indonesia, a major staging
post for asylum-seekers, intercept and detain the
refugee boats which have long been the subject
of fierce domestic debate.
But Faizasyah denied any such agreement
had been made.
He said a recent decision to accept a group of
78 Sri Lankans intercepted by Australia 11 days
ago, who have refused to leave the Australian
ship the Oceanic Viking on the Indonesian island
of Bintan, was a “one-off occasion” in lieu of
further agreement.
“I’ve not heard about money. There’s no talk
about money. No money has been involved so
far,” Faizasyah said.
“For sure in the latest two cases involving the
Sri Lankans, there’s no discussion concerning
REUTERSPIX
officials stand with Sri
Lankan refugees on the Britain slams jailing
Oceanic Viking yesterday. of embassy worker
LONDON: British Foreign Secretary
compensation,” he said referring to the 78 migrants David Miliband branded yesterday
and an earlier group of 255 Sri Lankans who are a reported jail sentence handed
refusing to leave their boat at the Javanese port of to an embassy worker in Iran as
Merak. “wholly unjustified” and urged
“We’re not interested in being dragged into the authorities to overturn it. British
political debate in Australia because what we’re embassy worker Hossein Rassam
simply doing is offering humanitarian assistance. If was sentenced to four years in
there’s a need to develop a framework, we’ll have prison this week after being found
to sit together and discuss it.” guilty of fomenting violence during
Despite Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Iran’s disputed presidential elec-
saying he would not rule out using force to get tions in June, The Times newspaper
the 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers off the boat, said. Miliband said the sentence
Faizasyah said Indonesia would not compel them was further harassment of British
to disembark. – AFP embassy staff. – AFP

Size matters when

New typhoon it comes to AIDS
to hit Philippines WASHINGTON: Men with larger
foreskins are more likely to be-
come infected with the AIDS virus,
MANILA: Storm-weary Filipinos were yesterday told to researchers said on Wednesday
prepare for another typhoon to hit the main island of in a finding that helps explain why
Luzon during the upcoming long-weekend holiday, with circumcision can protect men. The
rain forecast for flood-ravaged Manila. Typhoon Mirinae, study of 965 men in Uganda, all with-
already packing gusts of up to 185kph, was expected out AIDS at the start, showed those
to become stronger before it slams into the Philippines with larger foreskins were more
tomorrow, the state weather bureau said. likely to become infected. Infection
“We should expect Mirinae to become a very rates correlated with the size of the
intense typhoon in the next several hours or days,” foreskin, Dr Godfrey Kigozi of Johns
weather bureau spokesman Nathaniel Cruz said on Hopkins University’s Rakai Health
local television. Sciences Programme in Uganda and
Mirinae’s expected arrival comes as Luzon is still try- colleagues found. “Mean foreskin
ing to recover from two devastating storms that claimed surface area was significantly higher
more than 1,000 lives. Parts of Manila remain flooded among men who acquired HIV,” they
after Tropical Storm Ketsana dumped the heaviest rains wrote in the journal AIDS. – Reuters
in more than four decades on the nation’s capital on
Sept 26. Typhoon Parma arrived exactly one week later,
then hovered over northern Luzon as a tropical storm Pirates attack Thai
for nearly 10 days, causing massive flooding and trig- boat off Somalia
gering deadly landslides. LONDON: Pirates attacked a Thai-
Cruz warned that Manila was likely to get more rain, flagged fishing boat off the east
potentially exacerbating the woes for more than one African coast yesterday and are
million people still living in flooded districts. heading for Somalia, the European
“If and when Mirinae will cross northern or central Union’s naval force in the region
Luzon, definitely metro Manila will be affected by strong said. Pirates on two skiffs boarded
winds and rains associated with it,” Cruz said. the ship about 200 nautical miles
The rain also threatens to cause havoc for millions north of the Seychelles and 650
of Filipinos living in cities who are expected to return miles off the Somali coast. An EU
to their home provinces at the weekend to honour naval force plane spotted the boat
their dead during All Soul’s Day on Monday, which is and confirmed the pirates were
a public holiday. The government this week said it had on board. “The vessel appears to
already positioned relief supplies in northern Luzon in be heading towards the Somali
preparation for Mirinae, while the military and other coast,” the force said. – Reuters
rescue units were placed on alert. – AFP