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EDITIONTUESDAYDecember 2, 2008ISSUE 2CIRCULATION 8 THOUSAND

ENGLISH EDITION EDITORS

AGNIESZKA MITRASZEWSKA

BARTOSZ WĘGLARCZYK

PUBLISHER: AGORA SA

www.wyborcza.pl

COP

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LIZA SIDOTI, AP IN CHICAGO

Obama named Clinton as secretaryof state and said Gates would remainas defense secretary, a post he hasheld for the past two years.

At a news conference, the presi-dent-elect also introduced retiredMarine Gen. James Jones as WhiteHouse national security adviser, for-mer Justice Department official EricHolder as attorney general, ArizonaGov. Janet Napolitano as secretary ofhomeland security, and Susan Riceas ambassador to the United Nations.

The announcements rounded outthe top tier of the team that will advisethe incoming chief executive on for-eign and national security issues inan era marked by wars in Iraq andAfghanistan, and terrorism.

”I assembled this team becauseI am a strong believer in strong per-

sonalities and strong opinions,” he said.”I think that’s how the best decisionsare made. One of the dangers in aWhiteHouse, based on my reading of history,is that you get wrapped up in group-think and everybody agrees with every-thing and there’s no discussion andthere are no dissenting views. So I amgoing to be welcoming avigorous debateinside the White House.”

Obama’s announcements markeda shift in emphasis after a spate ofappointments last week for his eco-nomic team. He is filling out the top ech-elons of his administration at an unusu-ally quick pace during his transition ashe seeks to fulfill his goal of being ableto ”hit the ground running” when hetakes the oath of office on Jan. 20.

He introduced Clinton first, sayingof his former presidential rival, ”Shepossesses an extraordinary intelligenceand toughness, and a remarkable work

ethic... She is an American of tremen-dous stature who will have my com-plete confidence, who knows many ofthe world’s leaders, who will commandrespect in every capital and who willclearly have the ability to advance ourinterests around the world.”

Gates’ presence in Chicago madehim a visible symbol of the transitionin power from the old administrationto the new. The president-elect said hewould give the military a new mission:”responsibly ending the war in Iraqthrough a successful transition to Iraqicontrol.” In his announcement remarks,he did not mention his oft-repeatedpledge to withdraw most US combattroops within 16 months, although hereferred to it in response to a questionseveral moments later.

Obama said he would make Rice,his pick for the UN, a member of theCabinet, an increase in stature from the

Bush era. Clinton, Holder, Napolitano,and Rice all require confirmation bythe Senate. Jones, as a White Houseofficial, does not. Nor does Gates,already confirmed to his post.

Clinton will give up her seat as a sen-ator from New York to join the ObamaCabinet. Her appointment was pre-ceded by lengthy negotiations involv-ing her husband, the former president,whose international business connec-tions posed potential conflicts of inter-ests. The former president agreed todisclose the donors to the foundationthat built his library, as well as contrib-utors to his international foundation.

Sen. Clinton had scarcely finishedspeaking when her husband issueda written statement. ”She is the rightperson for the job of helping to restoreAmerica’s image abroad, end the warin Iraq, advance peace and increase oursecurity,” he said. 1

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OBAMA ANNOUNCESClinton, Gates for Cabinet

United Nations Climate Change Conference,

IN SHORTTUESDAY

02.12.08Transport

Round table discussions on thefuture of the transport systemsand car industry. 1

WEDNESDAY

03.12.08Water Machines

Grand Finale of the Fifth WaterMachines Tournament starts at2:30 pm. 1

THURSDAY

04.12.08Bionic Tower

At 1pm a presentation of the newenvironment-friendly sky scraperBionic Tower will commence.Keynote speaker will be architectMr. Tomasz Piwiński. 1

POZNAŃ 2008POZNAŃ 2008

President-elect Barack Obama picked a national security team headed by formercampaign rival and Bush administration holdover

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VP Joe Biden,Sec. of Defense Robert Gates,President-elect Barack Obama,and new Sec. of State Hillary Clinton Monday in Chicago

Market ends loweron economic worry

US stocks tumbled on Monday asnews pointing to the deepening eco-nomic slump around the world era-sed the bulk of last week’s sharp ga-ins, with financial services compa-nies and retailers among Wall Stre-et’s biggest casualties. The Dow Jo-nes industrial average was down 679.95points, or 7.70 percent, to end at8,149.09. The Standard & Poor’s 500Index was down 80.05 points, or 8.93percent, to finish unofficially at 816.19.The Nasdaq Composite Index wasdown 137.50 points, or 8.95 percent,to close unofficially at 1,398.07. 1

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Hazim, 48, speaks good Polish. Hestudied in Poland in the 80s. He visitedhis home country during his universityvacation but the war between Iraq andIran broke out, so he never came backto Poland. In 2003, he began to workfor Poles as an interpreter. He workedfor the Polish army from its first to lasttour of duty in Iraq.

”I came to your country with mywife and son,” says Hazim. ”They fedus and gave us pocket money, PLN 50a week. In Dęblin we are supposed tomove into a block of flats. They expectus to pay the rent ourselves. But whereto get the money from? That’s not theway it was supposed to be.”

Kadir who came with his wife andfour children said, ”An officer said weshould go to the job centre. But he alsoadmitted it’s better if we look for workon our own, because the job centrewould find us nothing. And what kindof work could there be for us in such asmall town as Dęblin?”

The Iraqis are educated and mostof them have finished college. Theycounted on finding a job in which theirskills and knowledge of Arab countriescould be used. They cannot go back totheir homeland. After all, the Iraq gov-ernment had even tried to block theirdeparture to Poland. 1

More – P. 9

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Not Wanted: Interpreters from Iraq England Wait forSecurity Report on India Tests

The England and Wales CricketBoard (ECB) will send a securityconsultant to India before decidingwhether to take part in this month’stwo-test series following the deadlyattacks in Mumbai.

”The ECB will be sending theirsecurity consultant for discussionswith the authorities in India beforefinal clearance is given for the tour,”Board of Control for Cricket in Indiasecretary N. Srinivasan said in a state-ment on Monday. 1 Sports – P. 11

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On the first day, the participants’attention was focused on Poland. MrTusk was forced to explain whyPoland, the summit’s host, is block-ing the endorsement of the EU’senergy-climate package.

The package provides for the EUto cut its carbon dioxide emissionsby at least 20 percent by 2020 and tobecome a leader in the global fightagainst climate change – setting anexample for the other world powers.The problem is Poland and severalother countries is against the waythe agenda is to be implemented.

Warsaw does not agree to carbondioxide emission permits to beingauctioned starting from 2013 and forthose permits to be freely traded onstock exchanges, believing it wouldlead to sharp rises in energy prices.

Non-governmental ecologicalorganisations, represented in greatnumbers at the summit, criticise theposition. ”The package is a test forEurope. Unfortunately, the EU failsat this moment, because some coun-tries, such as Poland, Italy, and Ger-many, are trying to weaken it,” saidMorgan Creach at the Climate ActionNetwork (CAN) coalition.

Ireneusz Chojnacki at the Polishbranch of the WWF echoed herwords. ”I wonder whether Poland

really deserves to organise this sum-mit. We are a black leg.’

Last night CAN announced it hadawarded Poland with its Fossil of theDay anti-award for a country that isdoing the most to aggravate climatechange.

But Prime Minister Donald Tuskfirmly rejected such criticism yester-day. In his opening speech he men-tioned several times the need for a new‘global solidarity’ in the fight againstclimate change. He stressed that coun-tries needed to understand eachother’s specific needs, especially dur-ing a financial crisis.

In Poland’s case, the problem is itseconomy’s overwhelming dependenceon coal. That is why, Mr Tusk said, thepackage has to contain incentives forthe development of low-emission coal-fuelled power plants. Poland plans tospend some 12-13 billion euro on it overthe next couple of years.

Mr Tusk stressed that the Polishposition is favourable for all EU citi-zens because it will protect themfrom sudden price rises, and can alsomake global negotiations easier. ”Ifwe adopt a regime and stick to it, it’llbe the best example for the poorer,developing countries. Because noone doubts that Germany or Den-mark can meet ambitious targets,”Mr Tusk told Gazeta.

Denmark was not mentioned acci-dentally. Mr Tusk spoke about the car-

bon dioxide emission reductions in Poz-nań yesterday to Danish Prime Minis-ter Anders Fogh Rasmussen. And hedoes not seem to have convinced him.”I believe the EU has already present-ed a package that takes into account theposition of countries such as Poland,”Mr Rasmussen said after the meeting.But he said further negotiations werepossible.

The atmosphere at the summit willcalm down for a couple of days now.”I wouldn’t expect any breakthroughdecisions. It‘s time for the experts to

work now,” Yvo de Boer, Executive Sec-retary, UNFCCC, told Gazeta.

Things will get hot again on the finaldays of the summit, December 11-12,when the leaders and virtually all en-vironment ministers of UN memberstates are expected in Poznań. UN offi-cials hope that by then, two importantissues will have already been agreedupon: a consensus on the ‘adaptationfund’ for financing ecological projectsin low-income countries; and a pre-liminary deal on mandatory CO2

reduction targets after 2012. There is

talk of a figure as high as 50 percent.The preliminary agreement wouldserve as basis for detailed negotiationsand the signing in Copenhagen inDecember 2009 of a new internation-al agreement that from 2012 wouldreplace the existing treaty, the KyotoProtocol.

The fate of the EU package will bedecided in mid-December at an EUsummit in Brussels. Mr Tusk was opti-mistic yesterday, ”We’re close to reach-ing an agreement. No one is going tobulldoze anyone here.” 1

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All Eyes in Poznań are set on Poland”We need a new ‘global solidarity’ in the fight against climate change,” stressed Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The UN Climate Change Conference began in Poznań yesterday

”It is up to you, politicians repre-senting your nations, to make peo-ple in your respective countries real-ize that it is their responsibility tocare for the environment. And thisis what we expect of you,” said 15--year old Maciej Witkowski duringthe opening ceremony.

The middle school student fromPoznań read out the message of theYouth Climate Summit, which tookplace in the city a month earlier. Hereceived the biggest applause of allthe speakers. Some 700 studentsfrom all over Poland took part in theYouth Climate Summit, which wasorganised by Gazeta Wyborcza, theCity of Poznań, and the Poznań Inter-national Fair. 1

Schoolboy among VIPs

Delegates from Ghana enjoying the first day of the summit

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Guests from all over the world start-ed filling the Poznań InternationalFair buildings from 8 AM. Two hourslater the conference centre looked likethe United Nations headquarters,crowded with representatives fromdifferent continents, languages, andreligions. Many of them had neverheard of Poznań before.

For instance Ke Xu from Beijing inChina. Iam interviewing her in the hall-way in front of the restaurant. It is noteasy because she is late and clearly quitestressed out about it. ”Which way tothe press centre?,” she asks. ”You needto take the glass walkway to anotherbuilding,’ I respond, ”Maybe you cantell me something about yourself onthe way?” She is far from enthusiastic,but eventually she agrees. ”I work fora magazine, not a daily, but I am super-busy anyway. It”s because we also havea website, where I need to post dailyreports from Poznań. Together thatmakes twelve reports and a large arti-cle for the magazine!” The Chinese jour-nalist explains her rush.

She doesn”t know whether shewill find the time to see Poznań, thefirst Polish city she”s ever been to. ”Ifthere”s enough time I”ll try,” explainsKe Xu. ”I”ve got to go!” she adds andshe”s gone.

That doesn”t mean all conferenceparticipants are in a hurry. Aboubak-er Doualé Waiss, who heads the two-

person delegation from Djibouti inAfrica, definitely is not. He attracts a lotof attention parading around in a win-ter hat with a Poznań logo, which theorganisers handed out to all attendees.He wears his hat with a suit and feels allright.

”My employee and me, we are stay-ing here till December 14,” he says. ”Weneed to stay two days longer becauseit is difficult to get back to Djibouti. Ittook me 46 hours to get here – I flew viaEthiopia, Amsterdam, Paris, and War-saw.”

Aboubaker likes the architecture inPoznań. ”And people,” he adds. ”I don”tfeel at all like a stranger here. As soonas I have some time, probably over theweekend, I am going to see the old townsquare, museums, and…”

”Let me guess – pubs?” I suggest.”What pubs! I”m too old for that,”

my interviewee laughs, ”Shopping! Iwillgo shopping.”

Surinamese journalist Rachael UanDer Kooÿe also wants to go shopping.”The first thing I”m going to buy will be

warm clothing. It”s freezing over here!”When I explain to her that it”s actuallyquite warm as for December and thatonly a week ago the temperature wasbelow zero, Rachael refuses to believeme. ”Excuse me? When I was leavingSurinam the thermometer showed 32degrees Celsius!” Rachael is a freelan-cer, working for the press and television.

She knows nothing about Poznań.”This is not the capital of Poland?” sheasks.

”No,” I confirm.”This is a regional capital of some

kind, right? Is this why there are fewerpeople here than in London or Amster-dam?” she wonders.

Sander Brinkman from the Nether-lands knows more about Poland, He”sa scientist. ”More precisely, I deal withscience and business,” he explainsquickly, because Sander, just like Ke Xu,is in a hurry. ”But, sure we can havea quick chat,” he agrees. He tells meabout his impressions. ”I went to theOld Town square. It reminded me ofKraków, which I visited once.”

”So you already know Poland?””Not really. I came on two short trips

to Kraków and Warsaw,” he says, ad-ding that he is glad to have more timenow to get to know the country.

”What would you like to see?” I ask.”Museums, monuments, or perhapsstop by a couple of pubs?”

”I will definitely stop by a pub to-night,” he laughs, running off to his ap-pointment. 1

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Cold City, Friendly PeopleIt is a rather difficult thing to stop by for a weekend in thiswestern Polish city, coming from Djibouti, by the Gulf of Aden

ZAMEK CULTURE CENTRE(CENTRUM KULTURY ZAMEK)Świętego Marcina Street 80/82,phone 0-61.852.94.64

* 2ND FLOOR HALLAuthor’s Calendar 2008,post-competition exhibition,opening: 2 December,6 pm(open through 10 December)

* GALERIA PROFILHenryk Starikiewicz paintingexhibition, opening: 3 December,6 pm(open through end-December)

ARSENAŁ MUNICIPAL GALLERY(GALERIA MIEJSKA ARSENAŁ)Stary Rynek 3Barbara Pilch,States, exhibitionof works, opening: 3 December,6 pm (open through 11 December)

POZNAŃ UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND FOREIGN LANGUAGESNiedziałkowskiego Street 18Patrycja Mikołajczak, exhibitionof works, opening: 4 December,6 pm (open through end-January)

EXHIBITIONOPENINGSaccompanyingthe ClimateConference

GALLERIESINTERNATIONAL POZNAŃ FAIRGłogowska Street 14Technologies for ClimateProtection, exhibition(open through 14 December)

GALERIA PIEKARYPiekary Street 5Olaf Brzeski, From Beyond theGrave, exhibition (open through23 December)

ECOLOGICAL LIBRARY(BIBLIOTEKA EKOLOGICZNA)Kościuszki Street 79,phone 061.852.41.39Krasiejów – the World’s OldestDinosaur Park (open through 7 December)

OLD BREWERY (STARY BROWAR)Półwiejska Street 42* ATRIUMBeata Pawlikowska,MarekKamiński, photography exhibition(open through the year-end)* GALERIA PIANO BARJacek Kulm,Konrad Drzewieckiand His Ballet, photography exhibition (open through 10 December)

KLUBOKAWIARNIA MESKALNowowiejskiego Street 17Igor Popov, photography exhibition (open through 14 December)

ZAMEK CULTURE CENTRE(CENTRUM KULTURY ZAMEK)Świętego Marcina Street 80/82,phone 0-61.852.94.64* Wojciech Weiss,Aneri IrenaWeissowa,The Chords of Light andColour, exhibition(open through 21 December)

”This is a regionalcapital of some kind,right? Is this why there are fewer peoplehere than in London or Amsterdam?”

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* GALERIA DEBIUTMaja Polgaj,Facemasks andAttic Stories, exhibition of works(open through 12 December)

GALERIA EMPIKRatajczaka Street 44Gossia Zielaskowska,FoundSpace, photography exhibition

SOBRIETY HOUSE GALLERY(GALERIA DOMUTRZEŹWOŚCI)Marcinkowskiego Street 24Exhibition presenting the outputof open air in Glinka Szlachecka(open through 12 December)

GALERIA NOWAPaderewskiego Street 11/8Antoni Fałat, painting exhibition(open through 30 December)

GALERIA STARTERDąbrowskiego Street 33Robert Maciejuk,Mirror of Nature, exhibition of works(open through 8 December,3-6 pm)

ABC GALLERYGarbary Street 38/6Ignacy Czwartos,Tranquillity,exhibition of works (openthrough 12 December)

GALERIA TAKMielżyńskiego Street 27/29An Obsession of Paper and Plastics

GALERIA PIESDąbrowskiego Street 25aPirmin Blum,Hunters and Gatherers (open through 15 December)

GALERIA ATSolna Street 4Hanna Łuczak,Strings (openthrough 5 December,3-6 pm)

HANSGROHE AQUADEMIAGALLERYSowia Street 12, TarnowoPodgórneAleksandra Leśniak,painting exhibition

MUSEUMSNATIONAL MUSEUM (MUZEUMNARODOWE)Marcinkowskiego Avenue 9,phone 0-61.856.80.00,0-61.852.59.69www.mnp.art.pl* The Rogalin Gallery in PoznańA presentation of masterpiecesfrom the National Museum inKraków: Henryk Siemiradzki’sNero’s Torches, and Jan Matejko’sThe Battle of Racławice* Gallery of Medieval Art(permanent exhibition)* Polish Art of the 16th and 17thCenturies (permanent exhibition)* Gallery of Foreign Painting(permanent exhibition)* Gallery of Polish Art From theEnlightenment to the Present(permanent exhibition)* Rembrandt: Original, Copy,Imitation, Inspirations

ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM(MUZEUM ARCHEOLOGICZNE)Górków Palace,Wodna Street 27,phone 0-61.852.82.51www.muzarp.poznan.plPoland Began Here(permanent exhibition)

ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM(MUZEUM ETNOGRAFICZNE)Grobla Street 25,phone 0-61.852.30.06

* The Dress Reveals Human Customs. Folk Costumes of theWielkopolska Region, exhibition* Welcome.Lusatia Sorbs – History, Culture,Tradition

APPLIED ARTS MUSEUM(MUZEUM SZTUKUŻYTKOWYCH)Góra Przemysła 1,phone 0-61.852.20.35Two Centuries in Fashion

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTSMUSEUM (MUZEUMINSTRUMENTÓWMUZYCZNYCH)Stary Rynek 45, phone0.61.852.08.57The Night Gallery of MusicalInstruments: Mozart in Brno and Prague (9 pm-5 am)

MUSIC SALON – FELIKSNOWOWIEJSKI MUSEUM(SALON MUZYCZNY – MUZEUMFELIKSA NOWOWIEJSKIGO)Wielkopolska Avenue 11,phone 0-61.853.40.76www.nowowiejski.plThe Life and Work of FeliksNowowiejski (open Tuesday-Satur-day,10 am-4 pm,admission PLN 4-5, organisedgroups upon prior reservation at 0.61.853.40.76)

KÓRNIK CASTLE MUSEUM(MUZEUM W ZAMKUKÓRNICKIM)Kórnik, Zamkowa Street 1www.bkpan.poznan.plThe Polish Academy of Sciences’Kórnik Library is located in thecastle. Some of the rooms serveas a museum where, among otherthings,19th-century furnishingscan be viewed (open Tuesday-Sun-day,10 am-5 pm)

POZNAŃ UPRISING MUSEUM– JUNE 1956(MUZEUM POWSTANIAPOZNAŃSKIEGO – CZERWIEC 1956)Zamek Culture Centre,ŚwiętegoMarcina Street 80/82,phone 0-61.852.94.64Poznań Uprising – June 1956

PEOPLE OF WIELKOPOLSKAMARTYROLOGY MUSEUM– FORT VII(MUZEUM MARTYROLOGIIWIELKOPOLAN FORT VII)Polska Avenue,phone 0-61.848.31.38www.muzeumniepodleglosci.poz-nan.plThe Prisoners of Fort VII in thePrisons and Camps of the 3rdReich – Dead and Missing,exhibition(through the year-end)Deportations of the Residents ofPoznań and Wielkopolska to theGeneral-Gouvernement 1939-1941, exhibition

CLASSIC CAR MUSEUM(MUZEUM MOTORYZACJI)Under the Kaponiera Roundabout,phone 0-61.847.63.59Some 25 vintage autos on display, changed every threemonths (open except Mondays and Thursdays,10 am-4 pm,Saturdays and Sundays 10 am-3 pm)

ARMS MUSEUM (MUZEUM UZBROJENIA)Poznań CitadelArmii Poznań Street,phone 0-61.820.45.03Polish Army’s Armoured Weaponry1918-1945, exhibition

Magdalena Abakanowicz,Unrecognised (Citadel, betweenthe Peace Bell and the Rose Garden)POZNAŃ BAMBERGER MUSEUM(MUZEUM BAMBRÓWPOZNAŃSKICH)Mostowa Street 7 (EthnographicalMuseum gardens), open Friday-Saturday,10 am-2 pm,admissionfreeA traditional Bamberger settlercottage with original furnishings,Bamberger tools, costumes, pho-tographs, documents

MUSEUM OF THE ORIGINS OFTHE POLISH STATE(MUZEUM POCZĄTKÓWPAŃSTWA POLSKIEGO)Gniezno,Kostrzewskiego Street 1,phone 0-61.426.46.41www.mppp.pl* Medieval Wielkopolska,exhibition/audiovisual show* Medieval Gniezno* Modern-Day Gniezno* Historical Arms, exhibition of arms and weapons in the Polish lands* Roman Sculpture in Poland,sculpture exhibition* A Painted History of the PiastDynasty, exhibition of 19th-centu-ry historical painting

FRANCISCAN MONASTERY(KLASZTOR OO.FRANCISZKANÓW)Góra Przemysła (entrance fromLudgardy Street)Model of old Poznań, open Mon-day-Sunday,9.30 am-7.15 pm(every 45 minutes, show lasts 27minutes); tickets PLN 9-12; reser-vations: phone 0-61.855.14.35

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ANNE D’INNOCENZIOAP IN NEW YORK

Now, the nation’s merchantsare struggling to find othertricks to entice financial-ly strapped shoppers forthe rest of the holiday

shopping season, expected to be theweakest in decades.

’’The consumer clearly is show-ing us that there is a holiday to behad, but they wants bigger deals.And they are not panicking,’’ saidMarshal Cohen, chief industry ana-lyst at NPD Group, a marketresearch group. ’’They’re willing towait it out at almost any price.’’

Cohen predicts sales for theweekend, the traditional start of theholiday shopping season, were atbest even with the same holidayweekend a year ago.

If stores are already offering upto 75 percent off – a move likely tohurt profits – what more can theydo? With mounds of inventory thatmerchants need to clear, Cohen saidhe expects retailers will be doingmore two-for-one deals.

Still, the crowds that turned outfor the early morning specials onFriday were a welcome relief to thenation’s retailers, who since mid-September have suffered from themost dramatic falloff in spendingin decades amid a ballooning finan-cial crisis.

Merchants opened their storesas early as midnight on Thursday,holding their breath wondering ifshoppers would snap up the pre-dawn specials.

But while the crowds did comeout to buy, many analysts say theywere thinner than last year, andaccording to some accounts, thepre-dawn buying binge fell offsharply during the remainder of theweekend.

Shoppers were also focused onbargains and smaller-ticket, prac-tical items like blenders, apparelitems such as sweaters, and videogames, as they worry about layoffs,tightening credit, and shrinkingretirement funds.

Even online spending, oncea bright spot in retailing, has beenhit hard by economic woes in recentmonths. ComScore, an Internetresearch company, reported Sun-day that online spending was upa modest 2 percent for the com-bined Thanksgiving Day and Fri-day, compared with the year-agoperiod.

Stephanie Denney, a stay-at-home mom of two from Brooklyn,Mich., who was outside the Disneystore on Chicago’s Michigan Avenueon Saturday, said she and herextended family had decided overthe Thanksgiving holiday to cut backon Christmas spending.

’’As a family, we’re doing justkids,’’ she said, adding she has beenscaling back for some time.

’’There’s less money, so there’sless to spend,’’ she said. ’’Across theboard, anything I can cut – cellphones, cable, eating out.’’

New York-based retail consultantWalter Loeb said he expects sales forthe weekend to be below year-ago lev-els, based on discussions this week-end with key executives from dis-counters and department stores.

But he added, ’’It wasn’t as bad assome feared... People were buying,but they bought cheap, and the resultswere not as good.’’

Loeb, like many analysts who pre-dict a rare contraction in spendingfor the holidays from a year ago,expects a 1 percent drop in total retailsales for the November and Decem-

ber period, compared with the year-ago period.

Karen MacDonald, a spokes-woman at Taubman Centers Inc.,which operates 24 malls in 11 states,said that based on a sampling ofmalls, business on Friday was any-where from unchanged to up mid-single digits. But on Saturday, saleswere unchanged to down slightly.’’Friday was encouraging, but Satur-day wasn’t as good as we hoped,’’she said.

But Toys R Us Chief ExecutiveJerry Storch reported on Sunday that

customer traffic was at least as strongthis past weekend as the Thanksgiv-ing weekend a year ago, and said hewas ’’definitely pleased with sales.’’

Geoffrey Webb, director of adver-tising and sales promotions at K-BToys Inc., said that sales for the week-end were equal or slightly better thanlast year. ’’We are very encouragedby the response,’’ he said.

A more complete sales picture ofhow the Thanksgiving shoppingweekend fared won’t be known untilThursday, when the nation’s retail-ers report November same-storesales, or sales at stores opened at leasta year.

According to preliminary figuresreleased Saturday by ShopperTrakRCT, a research firm that tracks totalretail sales at more than 50,000 out-lets, sales rose 3 percent to $10.6 bil-lion on Friday from the Black Fridaya year ago.

ShopperTrak RCT is expected torelease data for the combined Fridayand Saturday period on Monday. BillMartin, ShopperTrak’s co-founder,said he wasn’t sure if the momentumwas sustained through the rest of theweekend.

The day after Thanksgiving – dubbed Black Friday because it his-torically was the day when a surge ofshoppers helped stores break intoprofitability for the full year – has beenfading in importance particularly thisyear as stores were even more aggres-sive in discounting and pushing upsales event.

While Black Friday isn’t a predic-tor of the holiday season, it does actas a barometer of consumers’ will-ingness to spend. Complicating mat-ters is a shorter buying season – 27days between Black Friday andChristmas – instead of 32 last year,putting more pressure on retailers.

Clearly economic woes playeda key role in how shoppers boughtthis weekend. The managers of Dil-lard’s and Macy’s departments storesat Greenspoint Mall in north Hous-ton both said weekend crowds metexpectations, though shoppersseemed to be more bargain-hungrythan in recent years.

At the mall’s Macy’s, one ofa dozen in the Houston area, cloth-ing, jewelry, and home items – butnot high-end brands – were sellingwell, said manager Ron Misrack.’’People seem to be going to promo-tional items,’’ Misrack said. ’’If youlook at our books, you can see thespecials, and people seem to be goingfor those items.’’

Sandra Schweitzer, a teachers’assistant from Long Island, however,was among the few exceptions. ’’Thisyear, we’ve decided to just go forbroke. Yeah, the economy might bein bad shape, and times might be tight,but putting another four or five hun-dred dollars to the debt we alreadyowe isn’t going to make that much ofa difference,’’ she said.

’’Our New Year’s resolution is toget in better shape financially, eat inmore, watch what we spend. But, untilJanuary 1, we’re not going to worryabout it.’’ 1

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Holiday Season offto aModest Start

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The Thanksgiving shopping weekend doesn’t appear to have been the disaster some had feared,but consumers’tempered buying and stores’ unprecedented discounts are likely to result in meeting low expectationsat best

Woman sleeps after shopping during "Black Friday" sales at the Dadeland Mall in Miami November 28,2008

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MARTIN CRUTSINGERAP IN WASHINGTON

The NBER – a private, nonprofit re-search organization – said its groupof academic economists who de-termine business cycles met and de-cided that the US recession beganlast December.

By one benchmark, a recessionoccurs whenever the gross domes-tic product, the total output ofgoods and services, declines for twoconsecutive quarters. The GDPturned negative in the July-Septem-ber quarter of this year, and manyeconomists believe it is falling inthe current quarter at an evensharper rate.

But the NBER’s dating commit-tee uses broader and more precisemeasures, including employmentdata. In a news release, the groupsaid its cycle dating committee helda telephone conference call on Fri-day and made the determination onwhen the recession began.

The White House commentedon the news that a second downturnhas officially begun on PresidentGeorge W. Bush’s watch withoutever actually using the word ‘reces-sion,’ a term the president and hisaides have repeatedly avoided.

Instead, spokesman Tony Frat-to remarked upon the fact thatNBER ”determines the start andend dates of business cycles.”

”What’s important is what isbeing done about it,” Fratto said.”The most important things we cando for the economy right now areto return the financial and credit

markets to normal, and to continueto make progress in housing, andthat’s where we’ll continue to focus.”

Many economists believe the cur-rent downturn will be the most severesince the 1981-82 recession. The coun-try is being battered by the mostsevere financial crisis since the 1930sas banks struggle to deal with billionsof dollars in loan losses.

The Bush administration wonapproval from Congress on Oct. 3 fora $700 billion rescue package for thefinancial system.

Bush said in an interview withABC’s World News to be aired Mon-day that he would support addition-al intervention if necessary to end therecession.

”I’m sorry it’s happening, ofcourse,” Bush said, referring to a glob-al financial crisis that has eliminatedmillions of jobs and damaged retire-ment accounts.

Federal Reserve Chairman BenBernanke said Monday that furtherinterest rate cuts were possible buthe cautioned that there were limitsto how much such action will be ableto revive an economy expected toremain weak well into next year.

”Although further reductions...are certainly feasible, at this point thescope for using conventional interestrate policies to support the economyis obviously limited,” Bernanke saidin a speech to business executives inAustin, Texas.

The Fed is widely expected to cuta key interest rate when officials nextmeet on Dec. 15-16.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paul-son also was scheduled to give

a speech Monday providing an updateon how the government’s rescueefforts are working to deal with theeconomic distress.

Two new reports provided a grimsnapshot of how steep the economicslump is becoming.

The Commerce Departmentreported Monday that constructionspending fell by a larger-than-expect-ed 1.2 percent in October, while theInstitute for Supply Management saidits gauge of manufacturing activitydropped to a 26-year low in Novem-ber.

The GDP contracted by 0.2 per-cent at an annual rate in the fourthquarter of 2007, but that drop was fol-lowed by growth in the first two quar-ters of this year, partially boosted bythe distribution of millions of eco-nomic stimulus payments.

However, employment, one of themeasurements tracked by the NBER,has been falling since January.

The NBER decision means thatthe economic expansion lasted fromNovember 2001 until December 2007.Economic expansions peak and reces-sions begin in the same month,according to the NBER’s dating meth-ods.

Founded in 1920, the NBER hasmore than 1,000 university profes-sors and researchers who act asbureau associates, studying how theeconomy works.

The decision on the recessionmeans that during the eight years thatBush has been in office, the countryhas seen two recessions. The firstdownturn lasted from March 2001until November of that year. 1

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It’s Official: US is in RecessionThe US economy has been in a recession since December 2007,the National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday

The European Union should sus-pend its rules on state aid to helpcountries deal with the global fi-nancial crisis, a French presidentialaide said in comments published onMonday.Paris wants to shore up the capitalpositions of its banks under a planthat is being reviewed by the Euro-pean Commission to ensure it doesnot give the French banks an unfairadvantage over competitors inbreach of EU competition rules.

France, home to some of Europe’sbiggest carmakers, has also prom-ised to help the ailing auto industry.Asked if the EU should suspend itsrules on state aid, Henri Guaino,a senior adviser to President Nico-las Sarkozy, told business newspa-per La Tribune in an interview: ”Weneed exceptional rules for an excep-tional situation.”

”But the European countriesmust coordinate with each other toavoid each country’s policies harm-ing the others,” he said.

The Financial Times newspaperreported on Saturday the EuropeanCommission, the EU’s executive, wasdemanding the banks reduce theirlending in return for state support. TheCommission denied blocking the planand said it was working with Paris tosecure approval as soon as possible.

Paris announced in October itwould lend 10.5 billion euros ($13.59billion) to the six top French lendersbefore the end of this year to prop uptheir capital reserves followinga freeze in global interbank markets.

Paris has said that without statesupport, lenders would have shored

up their capital positions by reducingloans, which would have dealt a newblow to the euro zone’s second-biggesteconomy.

Asked what measures could betaken to counter the economic down-turn, Guaino said a cut in value-addedtax could be useful but needed to beapproved by all 27 EU member statesto work.

He also called for a shake-up of thecar industry. ”We need a real indus-trial policy for the automobile sector,to handle the transition to new meansof transport — the electric car. And thatwill undoubtedly raise the issue ofEuropean competition policy and thestate aid system,” Guaino said.

Guaino favoured the EuropeanCentral Bank cutting interest rates buthe did not say when he thought itshould do so. 1 REUTERS

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French Aide Urges EU toSuspend State Aid Rules

President Nicolas Sarkozy

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European carmakers must cutwarming gases from new vehiclesby 18 percent within the next sixyears, the EU agreed on Monday.”This deal represents a balancebetween the needs of the environ-ment and the car industry acrossEurope, which is suffering massive-ly at the moment,” British Conserv-ative lawmaker Martin Callanan toldReuters late on Monday.

But the compromise was attackedby environmentalists, who said it wastailored too neatly around big auto’sdemands and undermined EU effortsto lead the world in fighting climatechange.

Carbon dioxide emissions fromnew cars will be cut to 130 grams perkm (.6 mile), with auto makers’ fleetsphased into the new regime between2012 and 2015.

The provisional deal in closed-door negotiations will need approvalby the European Parliament and all27 European Union nations beforebecoming law, but is not expected tochange much.

The European Commission,which originates EU laws, had envis-aged the full emissions cuts by 2012,mindful of climate change and thedroughts, violent storms, and risingsea levels it is expected to bring.

But Germany fought hard forBMW and Mercedes, which will nowbe able to produce their biggest, lux-ury gas-guzzlers until 2014, protect-ing jobs and export earnings.

A moderate system of finesmeans manufacturers may prefer tomiss targets and pay up rather thanthrottle back on horsepower.

”The car industry has been driv-ing negotiations all along and EU

politicians have been happy to sit inthe passenger seat,” Greenpeace cam-paigner Franziska Achterberg said.

France and Germany had sketchedout a rough deal in May, which Britainsigned up to in October after winningspecial treatment for luxury brandsAston Martin and Jaguar.

Europe’s other big car-makingnation, Italy, joined the trio last monthafter winning concessions for Fiat andits Maserati and Ferrari sports cars.

Environmentalists had held thepower during negotiations in the Euro-pean Parliament, throwing out an ear-lier compromise they saw as too softon big automakers.

But the economic crisis addedweight to manufacturers’ demands,and lawmakers accepted the phased-in deal after winning assurances thatcarmakers would have to meet moreambitious targets further down theroad.

”This is a huge disappointment,”said British Liberal member ChrisDavies. ”Tough carbon curbs wouldhave led to lower driving costs, but theconsumer seems to have been largelyforgotten.”

Emissions will have to be cutaround 40 percent to 95 grams per kmby 2020, a goal expected to boost salesof electric cars and hybrids. But Daviessaid such an ambitious goal would bedifficult, given the watered-down mid-term cuts.

Monday’s deal sees tough fines of95 euros ($119.80) per gram per car soldfor automakers that miss their targetby a long way, but those that overshootby less than three grams face modestsanctions of between 5 and 25 euros.1

PETE HARRISON AND ILONA WISSENBACHREUTERS IN BRUSSELS

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EU Agrees to Cut CarEmissions in Climate Fight

India, the world’s no. 4 greenhousegas emitter, joins about 185 nationsin Poznań to work on a new UN cli-mate pact meant to curb globalwarming.The following are some of the mainpoints India has made in submis-sions to the United Nations aheadof the talks, which are part of a two-year drive to replace the Kyoto Pro-tocol from 2013.

The United States, China, India,and Brazil are currently outsideKyoto’s first phase till end-2012.Kyoto only commits 37 rich nationsto binding emissions targets.

With greenhouse gas levels ris-ing quickly, India has said any sta-bilization target should be decidedon the principle that each personon the planet has an equal right tothe atmosphere.

But India believes industrialisednations have a historic responsi-bility for the bulk of the greenhousepollution and should curb their ownemissions first and, helping deve-loping world clean up their econo-mies without harming develop-ment.

”Equitable sharing of the carbonspace, therefore, needs to be urgent-ly agreed by the international com-munity,” the Indian governmentsaid in an October submission tothe United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change,Kyoto’s parent treaty.

”There is a critical and urgentneed to provide access to technol-ogy for adaptation at a regional andnational level,” the government saidin the same submission.

It was crucial to have new andadditional funding to meet the costs

of integrating adaptation into nation-al development plans and adaptationprojects, the government said.

India has called on the developedworld to contribute the equivalentof 0.5 percent of GDP.

China said in late October it want-ed rich Western nations to commitone percent of their economic worthto help poor nations f ight globalwarming.

The Indian government saysmoney could be channelled intoa series of funds, such as a venturecapital fund for emerging green ener-gy technologies, an adaptation fund,and a technology acquisition andtechnology transfer fund.

India has expressed alarm at thesteady increase in emissions by the37 rich nations bound by Kyoto’s firstphase and has called on them toadopt deep 2020 cuts and promoteless wasteful lifestyles that ‘promotesustainable patterns of consump-tion’.

India wants mid-term cuts ofmore than 25-40 percent by 2020from 1990 levels, excluding lifestylechanges.

India released its first NationalAction Plan on Climate Change inmid-2008.

It laid out 8 ‘national missions’running to 2017, including develop-ment of solar power, promoting ener-gy efficiency, and afforestation.

It sets no caps on emissions butpledges that India’s per-capitagreenhouse gas emissions will ‘atno point exceed that of developedcountries’.

India’s per-capita emissions areabout two tonnes, compared with 20tonnes for the United States. 1 REUTERS

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India Sets Out Demands to Curb Climate Change

Forests underthreat fromclimate change-study

Forests are extremely vulnerableto climate change, bringing aboutmore wildfires and floods. Quick ac-tion is needed, a study said just be-fore the Poznań summit.The report, by the Jakarta-based Cen-ter for International ForestryResearch (CIFOR), urged delegatesat a UN climate meeting in Poznań,Poland, to work out new ways to safe-guard forests in developing nations.

It said climate change could haveimpacts ranging from a drying out ofcloud forests in mountainous regionsof Central America — making wild-fires more frequent — to swampingmangroves in Asia as seas rise.

”Unless immediate action is taken,climate change could have a devas-tating effect on the world’s forestsand the nearly 1 billion people whodepend on them for their liveli-hoods,” a statement said. Measuresinclude better fire prevention, select-ing tree species in plantations suit-ed to a changing climate, keeping outnew insect pests, and preserving for-est corridors to help animals andplants to migrate when some forestareas were cleared.

People who rely on forests wouldneed aid to adapt to changing con-ditions. Forests are a source of food,building materials, and medicinesfor millions of people.

”The imperative to assist forestsand forest communities to adapt toclimate change has been poorlyaddressed in national policies andinternational negotiations,” saidCIFOR director general Frances Sey-mour. 1 REUTERS

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MARCIN GÓRKAAND ADAM ZADWORNY

One can see how incompe-tently this operation wasprepared” said a Polish of-ficer who cooperated withIraqi interpreters during

the military mission in Iraq. ”To bringthem to Poland was not a problem.But what next?”

About 200 Iraqis were to come toPoland as part of a government pro-gramme revealed by Gazeta. Theyworked for our military (ie as inter-preters) which puts them at risk ofdeath in Iraq. There were more appli-cants, but 40 percent did not manageto go through the verification proce-dure of the Polish secret service.

In mid-October, 25 of them arrivedat a military resort near Bydgoszczconverted to a refugee camp (the resttook advantage of another offer: theytook $40,000 non-repayable aid eachand were supposed to manage ontheir own). Those most anxious abouttheir safety came to Poland.

They were promised anew life andjob. ”These people should be offeredan alternative, where their life or theirfamilies may be in danger,” said thedefence minister Bogdan Klich.

Meanwhile, they had been toldthey would be given flats in Dęblin,in a block owned by a military hous-ing authority. However, as theylearned recently, they would have tosupport themselves and pay the rent.

Hazim, 48, speaks good Polish. Hestudied in Poland in the 80s. He visi-ted his home country during his uni-versity vacation but the war betweenIraq and Iran broke out, so he nevercame back to Poland. In 2003, he be-gan to work for Poles as an interpre-ter. He worked for the Polish armyfrom its first to last tour of duty in Iraq.

”I came to your country with mywife and son,” says Hazim. ”They feedus and gave us pocket money, PLN 50a week. In Dęblin we are supposed to

move into a block of flats. They expectus to pay the rent ourselves. But whereto get the money from? That’s not theway it was supposed to be. I’m scared.”

Kadir who came with his wife andfour children said, ”An officer said weshould go to the job centre. But he alsoadmitted it’s better if we look for workon our own, because the job centrewould find us nothing. And what kindof work could there be for us in such asmall town as Dęblin?”

The Iraqis are educated and mostof them have finished college. Theycounted on finding a job in which theirskills and knowledge of Arab coun-tries could be used. They cannot goback to their homeland. Afer all theIraq government had even tried toblock their departure to Poland. ”Whoare we now? To the Iraq government– defectors and spies. To Poland – a bur-den,” complains Kadir.

Janusz Zemke of the DemocraticLeft Alliance head of parliamentary de-fence committee said ”I imagined thathaving been positively verified by oursecret sevice these people will be usedby that service, the army or authorities.We still have too few experts on the Arabworld: people we can trust who knowthe realities over there and can speakPolish. I totally don’t understand thebehaviour of Polish authorities. I willappeal to the defence minister and theOffice for Foreigners.”

The Ministry of Defence promisedIraqis refugee status, political asylumor the so-called tolerated residencepermit. Minister Klich also announcedputting in place integration procedures,flats, and work in Poland. The Minis-ter’s spokesman Robert Rochowicz wasunavailable yesterday. One of theDefence Ministry’s officials who wouldlike to remain anonymous told us, ”Ourrole was finished when we broughtthese people to Poland. Now it is theOffice for Foreigners that is responsi-ble for everything, and they are notproperly prepared for this operation.”1

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You brought us here. And now we hear: ‘find a job on your own,’ say Iraqi associates of the Polish military who arrived in Poland

Hazim (L) and Kadir (R) during visit to city of Bydgoszcz in northern Poland

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JENNY BARCHFIELD,AP IN MUMBAI

The United States called on Pakistanto fully cooperate with investigationsinto the attack, which India hasblamed on a banned Pakistani mili-tant group, as fresh details emergedabout the gunmen and the trainingthat enabled them to thwart Indiancommandos for days.

The sole surviving attacker toldpolice that his group trained formonths in camps operated by Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan, learning close-com-bat techniques, hostage taking, han-dling of explosives, satellite navigation,and high seas survival skills.

Lashkar was banned in Pakistanin 2002 under pressure from the US,a year after Washington and Britainlisted it a terrorist group. It is since be-lieved to have emerged under ano-ther name, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, thoughthat group has denied links to theMumbai attack.

Mumbai’s most influential Mus-lim cemetery rejected the corpses ofnine of the gunmen and said ’’Islamdoes not permit this sort of barbariccrime.’’

Pakistan’s high commissioner toIndia was called to the foreign mini-stry and told that ’’elements from Pa-kistan’’ had carried out the attacks,ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakashtold reporters.

The commissioner was told thatIndia ’’expects that strong actionwould be taken against those ele-ments,’’ Prakash said.

Secretary of State CondoleezzaRice urged Pakistan to ’follow the evi-dence wherever it leads. ’’This is atimefor complete, absolute, total trans-parency and cooperation and that’swhat we expect,’’ Rice said in London.She said the perpetrators of attacks’’must be brought to justice.’’

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zar-dari called the attackers ’’non-stateactors,’’ and warned against lettingtheir actions lead to greater enmity inthe region. ’’Such a tragic incidentmust bring opportunity rather thanthe defeat of a nation,’’ Zardari said

in an interview with Aaj television. ’’Wedon’t think the world’s great nationsand countries can be held hostage bynon-state actors.’’

The announcement blamingLashkar has threatened to escalatetensions between India and Pakistan.However, Indian officials have beencautious about accusing Pakistan’sgovernment of complicity.

Prakash, India’s foreign ministryspokesman, denied a news report thatIndia was preparing to end a2003 cease--fire with Pakistan. An intelligence offi-cial, speaking on customary conditionof anonymity, said there was no unusu-al mobilisation of troops along the India-Pakistan border.

In Mumbai, teams from the FBI andBritain’s Scotland Yard met with topIndian police Monday as they prepa-red to help collect evidence from theattacks, a police official said. At the TajMahal, security forces declared the 565-room landmark – the scene of Satur-day’s final battle – cleared of booby trapsand bodies.

’’We were apprehensive about morebodies being found. But this is not like-ly. All rooms in the Taj have been openedand checked,’’ said Maharashtra stategovernment spokesman BhushanGagrani.

The army had already cleared othersites, including the five-star Oberoi hoteland the Mumbai headquarters of anultra-Orthodox Jewish group. Israeliemergency workers sorted through theshattered glass and splintered furnitureat the Jewish centre Monday to gatherthe victims’ body parts. At one point,one of the men opened a prayer bookamid the rubble and stopped to pray.

The top provincial official, VilasraoDeshmukh, offered to resign Monday,as did his deputy, R.R. Patil, who outra-ged many by referring to the attacks as’’small incidents.’’

The only gunman known to havesurvived, Ajmal Qasab, told investiga-tors the gunmen trained over sixmonths at Lashkar camps near Kara-chi and another area of Pakistan, accor-ding to two security officials familiarwith the probe, who spoke on condi-

tion of anonymity because they werenot authorised to speak publicly aboutthe details.

The men, between the ages of 18 and28, received rigorous training in close-combat techniques, hostage taking, han-dling of explosives, satellite navigation,and high seas survival skills, the offi-cials said.

A Muslim graveyard in Mumbaion Monday rejected the bodies of thenine dead attackers. ’’People whocommitted this heinous crime can-not be called Muslim,’’ said HanifNalkhande, a trustee of the influen-tial Jama Masjid Trust, which runsthe 7.5-acre (three-hectare) Badaka-brastan graveyard in downtownMumbai. ’’Islam does not permit thissort of barbaric crime.’’

While some Muslim scholars disa-greed with the decision – saying Islamrequires a proper burial for every Mus-lim – the city’s other Muslim graveyardsare likely to do the same.

Mumbai returned to normal Mon-day to some degree, with parents drop-ping their children off at school . Manyshopkeepers opened their doors for thefirst time since the attacks began.

’’I think this is the first Monday I amglad to be coming to work,’’ said Doni-ca Trivedi, 23, an employee of a publicrelations agency. Indian officials saidtheir country would not be broken.

’’This is a threat to the very idea ofIndia, the very soul of India,’’ Pala-niappan Chidambaram, the just-namedhome minister, the country’s top lawenforcement official, told reporters.’’Ultimately the idea of India – that isa secular, plural, tolerant and open soci-ety – will triumph.’’

India’s previous home minister re-signed Sunday, as more details of theresponse to the attack emerged anda picture formed of woefully unprepa-red security forces.

’’These guys could do it next weekagain in Mumbai and our responseswould be exactly the same,’’ said AjaiSahni, head of the New Delhi-based In-stitute for Conflict Management andwho has close ties to India’s police andintelligence. 1

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India Clears Bodies from Last Mumbai Siege SiteSoldiers removed the last bodies from the shattered Taj Mahal hotel Monday as India formally demanded Pakistantake ’’strong action’’ against those behind the 60-hour siege that left at least 172 people dead

Beijing said Monday it has alrea-dy reached its target number of 256«blue-sky days» this year, with thehelp of ambitious environmental me-asures the city imposed to cut emis-sions for the Olympic Games.China’s notoriously polluted capitalof 17 million reached the clean-air daytarget on Sunday, 31 days ahead ofschedule, Beijing’s Municipal Envi-ronmental Protection Bureau said.”The quality of our city’s air has shownconstant improvement over the last10 years,” Du Shaozhong, deputy di-rector of the bureau, said in a state-ment.

Beijing had only 100 blue-sky daysin 1998, when it introduced a clean-air campaign and began investingmore than $15 billion to improve airquality, the official Xinhua NewsAgency said.

The long-term measures as well asmore drastic efforts taken ahead ofthe Olympic Games in August helpedreach the goal, the bureau said.

Beijing pulled half the city’s 3.3 mil-lion vehicles off the roads, halted con-struction, and closed some factoriesin the capital and surrounding pro-vinces ahead of the games. The Olym-pics proved that controlling emissionsis the main way to reduce pollution,

the bureau said. Car emissions, Bei-jing’s main source of pollution, were re-duced by 60 percent from a year ear-lier because of the measures, it said.

So far this year levels of inhalableparticulate matter – tiny dust particlesthat are among the worst pollutants – were reduced by 16 percent from ayearearlier, and other pollutants such as car-bon monoxide and sulfur dioxideshowed reductions of more than 20 per-cent, the bureau said.

China’s daily air pollution index,which ranges from 1 to 500, uses a stan-dard calculation derived from levels ofmajor pollutants. A reading below 50 is considered good, and 51 to 100 ismoderate. Below 100 is considereda «blue-sky day.»

Only 56 days have measured «good»so far this year, the bureau said. Butenvironmentalists say a blue-sky dayis still more polluted than what is con-sidered healthy by the World HealthOrganisation.

Steven Andrews, an independentconsultant based in Washington, saidBeijing’s claims of improved air quali-ty are not reliable because the city hasmoved monitoring stations to less-pol-luted areas and has varied the way ithas measured pollutants since 1998.1

HENRY SANDERSON,AP IN BEIJING

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Beijing Claims Early Victory over Air Pollution

Members of ZAKA, Israeli NGO recovery organisation which specialises incollecting human remains,speak with policemen in Mumbai's Jewish centre

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The worst flooding in Venice in 20years forced residents to wade throughknee-high water Monday. City offi-cials said the sea level topped 61 inch-es (156 centimeters) on Monday, wellpast the 40-inch flood mark, follow-ing heavy rains. Alarms went off toalert citizens in the morning. ’’Thereare few streets that are water-free,’’said a city spokesman, Enzo Bon.

Among the spots affected wasfamous St. Mark’s Square, the land-mark piazza that is the lowest point inthe city.

Workers were unable to install theraised wooden walkways used duringflooding because the water rose toohigh and too quickly. The floods for-ced many of the water taxis to suspendservice, Bon said.

TV footage showed people rollingup their pants or wearing rubber bootsas they walked through the water. Somehad plastic wrapped around their legs,while some tourists in St. Mark’s walkedon chairs left in the piazza.

The last time Venice registered suchhigh waters was in 1986, city officialssaid. The all-time record was 194 centi-meters (76 inches) in 1966. 1 AP

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Gondoliers eat breakfast while sitting in flood waters in Venice December 1,2008

Historic Centre of Venice Flooded

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FORMULA 1

Former team boss Eddie Jordan haspoured cold water on Formula Onesupremo Bernie Ecclestone’s plansto have the drivers’ world cham-pionship decided by gold medalsrather than points.”I think they are nonsense,” Jordantold BBC radio on Wednesday.

”I can’t possibly believe he’sthinking straight, especially on thisone. His focus must be on cost-cutting and nothing else. The rest isjust dressing it up.”

Ecclestone has said he wants thetitle won by the driver who wins mostraces to make the sport more excitingand prevent a repeat of this year’ssituation where McLaren’s LewisHamilton needed only to finish fifthin Brazil to be champion.

Hamilton did what was neces-sary – but only just – at Interlagos,beating Ferrari’s Felipe Massa bya single point although the Brazilianwon six races to the Briton’s fivevictories.

Under Ecclestone’s Olympic-styleplan, the top three in each race wouldget gold, silver, and bronze medals.Points would count only towards theconstructors’ standings and to decideoverall rankings.

The 78-year-old Briton returned tothe theme at a news conference toannounce a new sponsorship partnerfor the championship on Wednesday.

”It’s going to happen. All the teamsare happy, we’re happy, and the(governing) FIA are happy,” he said.

”The whole reason for this was thatI got fed up with people talking aboutno overtaking. The reason there is noovertaking has nothing to do with thecircuits, very little to do with the cars;it’s that drivers don’t need to overtake.

”If you are in the lead and I’msecond, I’m not going to take a chancemaybe falling off the road and doingsomething silly to get two (more)points,” added Ecclestone.

”But if I now need to get goldmedals because the most gold medalswin the championship, then I willovertake you, I promise. And that’swhat will happen.

”This year, on anumber of occasions,Lewis didn’t bother to overtake Massafor that reason. And I wouldn’t. If hehad driven for me and tried, and madea mistake, I would have complained.It’s just not on that someone can winthe world championship withoutwinning a race.”

Jordan said, however, that pointswere of vital importance to teams anddrivers further down the pecking orderand trying to get noticed.

”One point is as important to thoseteams as a win is to McLaren andFerrari,” he said.

”He (Ecclestone) is tinkering withsomething on which he has lost theunderstanding. He thinks only winsmatter.

”When Hamilton lost the race inSpa and it was given to Massa, can youbelieve the controversy that wouldhave created?” added the Irishman.

”There has not been enoughthought put into this and for him to saythat it comes with the full approval ofall the teams — I’m sorry, I just don’tbelieve it.” 1

ALAN BALDWIN, REUTERS IN LONDON

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Jordan ridicules Ecclestone’s medals plan

N.ANANTHANARAYANANREUTERS IN NEW DELHI

The ECB tentatively agreed toplay after the Indian autho-rities switched the venues toChennai and Mohali, fromAhmedabad and Mumbai.

”The ECB will be sending their se-curity consultant for discussions withthe authorities in India before finalclearance is given for the tour,” Boardof Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)secretary N. Srinivasan said in a sta-tement on Monday.

”ECB has informed BCCI that En-gland are agreeable to tour India andplay two tests, the first at Chennaifrom Dec. 11 to 15 and the second atMohali from Dec. 19 to 23. The three-day tour match has been cancelled.”

Doubt has hung over the tests sinceEngland f lew home on Saturday,having called off the last two games ina seven-game one-day series.

English media have reported someplayers are reluctant to return due tosecurity concerns following theMumbai attacks in which 10 Islamistgunmen killed 183 people, including22 foreigners.

Cancelling the three-day warm-upgame, scheduled from Friday in theGujarat city of Baroda, would give theECB more time to get security advice.

The BCCI switched the tests fromMumbai, the original second venue,and Ahmedabad, the first venue andmain city in the adjoining Gujarat statein India’s western region.

The International Cricket Coun-cil (ICC) has urged England to play inIndia if their safety concerns are ad-dressed. Its chief Haroon Lorgat haspledged support to the two boards toensure cricket was not disrupted. 1

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The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will send asecurity consultant to India before deciding whether to take part in this month’s two-test series following the deadly attacks in Mumbai

England Wait for SecurityReport on India Tests

England's Owais Shah bats as India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni, left, looks on during the fifth one-day cricket match between India and England in Cuttack,Nov. 26.

AP

Bernie Ecclestone

AP

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