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Coach passengers rights to increase
A new EU law on coach passengers’ rights will come into effect in 2013. The rules cover all long-distance scheduled passenger services, whether national or crossing borders. Compensation can be as much as half of the purchase price as well as a full refund of the ticket, if an operator cancels a service or somehow cannot honour the transport contract, after a departure is delayed by at least two hours. The law package includes the provision of information before and during a journey and the needs of people with disabilities or reduced mobility. A more than 90 minute delay will entitle passengers to snacks and refreshments. If a trip is interrupted forcing passengers to make an unforeseen extended pause part-way, the operator has to pay for hotel accommodations. The rules will not apply where natural disasters or unsafe weather causes problems; but the operator is liable in the case of death or injury from accident. Lost or damaged luggage entails compensation under the law as well. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Norway’s only marine reserve hit by oil spill
Authorities in Norway on Friday struggled to contain an oil spill after an Icelandic cargo ship ran aground in the country’s only marine reserve. Officials say the ship is leaking from both sides and some oil has already reached the shore. The Godafoss hit rocks on Thursday night near the Ytre Hvaler marine park as it travelled from Fredrikstad to the Swedish town of Helsingborg. The Norwegian Coastal Administration estimates the ship is carrying 800 tonnes of fuel. Floating barriers have been set up to try and stop the spill from spreading and anti-pollution vessels from Sweden and Norway have been sent to begin the clean-up operation. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Jordan
Protests, largely peaceful, began in January calling for political and economic reform amid high unemployment and a high cost of living. King Abdullah II, who has held power since 1999 has responded by replacing his cabinet and permitting public gatherings. He has demanded “real and fast” reforms and a clampdown on corruption in a bid to quell the protests. The new cabinet has promised to investigate clashes on Friday in Amman, in which several demonstrators were injured. Previously disparate opposition groups are beginning to unite their calls for more limits to the King’s powers and a constitutional monarchy. Population: 5.9 millionHuman Development Index1: 82ndUnemployment: 12.2% 1 HDI is calculated according to factors such as schooling, life expectancy and gross national income and is used by the UN’s Development Programme for its Human development reports. back to all countries Copyright © 2011 euronews

Dozens dead in Yemen protests
At least 30 people are believed to have been killed in Yemen after pro-government troops reportedly opened fire on protesters in the capital, Sanaa. According to witnesses, the shooting started after security forces tried to prevent anti-government worshippers from marching after prayers near the protest base at Sanaa University. Tens of thousands of Yemenis have gathered in the capital for competing prayers and protests. Yemen has been rocked by weeks of demonstrations that have undermined President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s grip on power. Saleh said after the clashes erupted that they were between citizens and protesters rather than security forces. He declared a state of emergency that forbids citizens carrying weapons, while expressing “sorrow” for the deaths. Several allies of the president have recently defected to the opposition, calling on him to step down immediately and criticising rampant corruption and soaring unemployment. Copyright © 2011 euronews

China blocks G20 moves on how to guage economic imbalances
China has blocked moves to use exchange rates and currency reserves in the criteria of how to measure global economic imbalances at the G20 meeting of finance minister in Paris. Still a partial accord was reached on how to gauge general economic well being. The United States and others accuse China of keeping the yuen artificially low to boost exports and accumulate massive foreign currency reserves. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde chaired the meeting: “One day at a time means agreeing on the indicators first. The next step will be the guidelines and the following step will be the mutual assessment test, it is a question of being focussed, determined and respectful of other people’s views. That is what we have tried to do today and what we will try to do tomorrow.” China, the worlds second biggest economy, has long resisted Western pressure to substantially revalue its currency to help rebalance global growth. The G20 also moved to end speculation on food prices by banks, hedge and pension funds. Food prices are at “dangerous levels” according to the World Bank with close to 50 million people being shunted into poverty since last summer as a result. Copyright © 2011 euronews

As young as you feel on high-wire
In India, a 91-year-old dare-devil has proved that age is no obstacle, by crossing a 300 metre deep ravine on a high-wire in the western state of Maharashtra. Narajan Krishna Mahajan said he believes that if your attitude is strong, your body will also be strong. He said he did it to boost the morale of young people, and that he does not consider himself old. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Ariane mission passes weight-and-date milestone
The 200th Ariane space mission is set to blast off from a base in French Guyana later. As well as being an anniversary flight, it will also be carrying the heaviest cargo ever sent into orbit by the European project. The Automated Transfer Vehicle will carry supplies to the International Space Station. An hour after launch and 260 kilometres up in space, the ATV2 will separate from its rocket booster and embark on an orbit at 7.6 kilometres a second. It will still take it eight days to reach the International Space Station. The remote link-up involves fitting the ATV2 into a 10 cm wide port on the ISS at a speed of 28,000 kilometres an hour. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Frankfurt gunman inspired by ‘radical Islam’
German police say a suspected gunman who shot dead two US airmen at Frankfurt Airport operated alone and was probably inspired by radical Islamist beliefs. Arid Uka, a 21-year-old postal worker of Kosovan origin, has allegedly confessed. Posts on his Facebook account are said to praise jihadists and denounce non-Muslims as infidels. Neighbours from his Frankfurt suburb said they were shocked. One woman said that he was often lone and did not have any friends on the estate. “Although there are some bad people here for the police to deal, he was not that type and was very withdrawn,” she said. Investigators believe the suspect was not part of a wider terror network and was radicalised on the Internet. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Enthusiastic welcome for former Haitian leader
The former president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, has made a triumphant homecoming seven years after he was ousted from power. Thousands turned out to greet the man who is still widely revered in the poor Caribbean country. His return, two days before a crucial presidential election, came despite US objections. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Frattini denies Italian support for Libyan rebels
As the L?�byan crisis intensifies Europe is watching developments nervously. There are concerns over energy supplies and an influx of refugees from the conflict zone. Italy, the former colonial power in Libya, has a complex relationship with the country. The Italian foreign affairs minister, Franco Frattini, spoke to euronews about his concerns over the unfolding conflict. euronews: “Minister Frattini, Gaddafi says he will resist to the death, while over 1,000 Libyans are reported to have been killed by his mercenaries. Prime Minister Berlusconi has assumed an attitude of non-interference towards Gaddafi, but the Libyan dictator says that Italy has interfered by providing weapons to the demonstrators.” Frattini: “That is not true, we have not given weapons to the demonstrators or the rebels. We did not give weapons to anyone in Libya. It is also not true that Italy has not taken a position against Libya. We have take the same position as the EU and the rest of the international community, which is strong condemnation of the bloodshed and a demand for the immediate cessation of violence.” euronews: “Do you thing Gaddafi is trying to hold on to power by using the rhetoric of the past to get his people angry, calling for revenge for Italian colonialism, or even worse using blackmail, threatening a devastating invasion of migration to Italy and Europe? Frattini: “We reject any legacy of a colonial past that has hurt the Libyan people, but to once again accuse Italy and the United States of interfering in Libya’s affairs is false, not true. We will continue to work with the international community to ensure that the violence ceases immediately.” euronews: “No one wants to lose the profitable business Italian firms get from Libya, but at this point would be it not be better to tear up the friendship pact between Italy and Gaddafi?” Frattini: “The signature of this friendship is an agreement that has resulted in a treaty, overwhelmingly approved by the Italian parliament and concerns the Italian national interest. We will see what happens in the future. I hope we can finally start a national dialogue and that the demands of the Libyan people are heard, that the violence will stop. This is what the international community calls for and Italy is working on it.” euronews: “How is it possible that nobody anticipated this great revolution that, from Tunisia to Egypt to Libya and most likely also tomorrow to Algeria and Morocco, has inflamed the whole Mediterranean?” Frattini: “Until two months ago the Western world had settled for partnerships of convenience, stability and economic interests. Perhaps we underestimated the partnerships of coexistence, those based on common social visions. No-one could have predicted the rapidity of events. Events were so fast that no government could make provisions, not even the Italian one. Above all it was absolutely not expected by the analysts who have written rivers of ink about the Arab world. And this was just between the end of December and early January. They did not understand anything!” euronews: “Now what will happen over the next five years?” Frattini: “I do not know what to say, but it’s our duty to help this transition process without dictating policy to any of these countries. Only those unfamiliar with the Arab world could be so irresponsible as to believe that they would passively follow the directives coming from Rome or Brussels or Washington. They never follow that sort of lead! All the Mediterranean leaders, whom I know very well, recognise one Italian virtue: that of teaching others, by listening and then helping. This is the right way!” euronews: “It is now certain that there will quickly be an exodus of biblical proportions from North Africa. Northern League leader Umberto Bossi says that Italy must tell France and Germany to take the refugees: it’s clearly a provocation but if Italy and Lampedusa island are the frontline, where is the EU?” Frattini: “Unfortunately, there were vague and inconsistent answers from Brussels. We strongly urge Europe to intervene quickly because the matter is not Italian or Sicilian, but it concerns the entire European Union. If there are 200,000 or 300,000 desperate people who head north, Italy alone could never take them. All EU countries should take on this issue. Otherwise it is simple: the crisis could undermine the principle of solidarity which is one of the pillars upon which Europe was founded in 1957. It would be a pickaxe blow into a fundamental requirement of Europe. We Italians are working to avoid this, and ensure there is a global European response to this emergency.” euronews: “You have been vice president of the European Commission. Do you think that Brussels’ attitude towards Italy is the result of a strong reluctance by the European Commission to deal with a government whose prime minister will be on trial next April?” Frattini: “The European Union doesn’t usually take this sort of thing into consideration. These are the considerations of Italian domestic politics. We think and believe that the Italian government has every right, is legitimate, and has a parliamentary majority that allows us to move forward.” euronews: “Honestly, haven’t you been embarrassed to read for months, on the front pages of the world’s newspapers, transcripts of Berlusconi’s sexual shenanigans?” Frattini: “I have told many of my fellow ministers who read that this is probably the result of massive leaks, which in other countries are punished harshly. In Italy the invasion of privacy is permitted, tolerated and substantially encouraged. In most Western countries all this is punished. And that’s what I explained to my European colleagues.” Copyright © 2011 euronews