Chanel handbags

Japan agrees record 92.4 trillion yen draft budget

The Japanese government has approved a record level of spending of 92.4 trillion yen ($1.1tn; £711bn) for the next financial year.

The cabinet agreed the draft budget, which must still be approved by parliament before 31 March.

Japan's economy has suffered from deflation, a high yen that hurts exports, weak domestic demand and poor consumer confidence.

The budget is aimed at boosting the economy, replica Louis Vuitton handbags but adds to public debt.

And some analysts have said the programme was unlikely to offer a big economic boost.

Reined in
 
Debt-servicing costs and social security spending making up about 55% of the budget.

Aid for local authorities accounts for another 18.2% of the budget. The remainder of the spending is split among defence, public works projects, designer replica handbags education and technology.

The Democratic Party-led administration has promised to keep new borrowing at 44.3tn, in line with this year's level.

But Japan was forced to raise spending due to higher debt servicing costs.

Japan's public debt is expected to reach 891tn yen,replica handbags or 184% GDP, by the end of March 2012, the highest among developed nations.

The government said tax revenues would be about 40.9tn yen in the next fiscal year, with another 7.2tn raised by raiding special reserves.

The government has already reined in spending programmes including handouts to fund childcare.

Pace of China manufacturing growth eases

The pace of growth among China's manufacturers eased last month but output continued to expand, figures suggest.

The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its purchasing managers index fell to 53.9 in December, from 55.2 in November and 54.7 in October.

It was the first time in five months that the measure had fallen.

Monthly PMI (Purchasing Manager Index) readings have replica handbags stayed above 50, indicating expansion, for 22 months.

Analysts maintain that strong domestic demand has continued to offset weakness in some of the country's export markets such as the US and Europe.

Chinese authorities have been taking steps to try to control growth in a bid to control inflation - which in November hit a 28-month high.

On Christmas day, Beijing raised key interest rates, designer replica handbags the second such move in less than three months.

And the amount of money banks keep in reserve has also been restricted to try to reduce bank lending levels.

The latest data showed that China's economy replica Louis Vuitton handbags grew at an annual pace of 9.6% in the three months to the end of September from 11.9% in the first quarter of this year.

Kyrgyzstan to name mountain after Vladimir Putin

The new government of the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan has decided to name a mountain after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The peak, which is 4,446m (14,586ft) tall, is in Chuy province in the north.

The move must be approved by parliament. But Mr Putin would not be the first Russian leader to have his own Kyrgyz mountain.

Late President Boris Yeltsin had a 3,500m peak near Lake Issyk-kul named after him in 2002.

The founder of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin, replica Louis Vuitton handbags has the tallest one - a 7,134m-high peak on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border.

Kyrgyzstan has also named a mountain after Santa Claus, in a bid to boost tourism.

According to Kyrgyz media reports, Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev signed the draft law to name Vladimir Putin Peak late last year.

Parliament is expected to pass it in the near future.

Local analysts have suggested that the initiative is a way of expressing gratitude to the Russian authorities, reports Nazgul Kongurbaeva of designer replica handbags the BBC's Central Asian service.

They point to a recent visit to the Kremlin by Kyrgyz officials during which an agreement was reached to remove tax payments for Russian fuel replica handbags exports to Kyrgyzstan.

Others are seeing this as a sign of a greater orientation towards Russia on the part of the newly-approved Kyrgyz government, our correspondent says.

Further strikes in Birmingham refuse dispute

Shop stewards representing Birmingham bin collectors have decided to take two further half days of strike action.

Council binmen began working to rule on 22 December as part of a pay dispute.

Union representatives are due to meet the council on Wednesday. The strikes are set to take place in mid-January but the dates have not been confirmed.

Casual refuse workers have been brought in by the council to clear the backlog resulting from industrial action, severe weather and the Christmas break.

'Something positive'
 
About 480 council staff are involved in the dispute over pay which has arisen from the legal duty of replica Chanel handbags councils across the country to ensure equality in men's and women's pay rates.

The GMB union said the pay review meant staff such as refuse workers, garage staff and road sweepers would lose about £4,000 a year.

Paul Langley, who represents GMB members in Great Barr, said the council would be told about strike dates within the next few days.

He said: "I had a meeting at 6 o'clock this morning, replica Gucci handbags Perry Barr, with my members and Unite members with my other shop steward and it was 100%.

"I asked them 'will they back more industrial action?' and we had 100% backing on that."

'Significant problem'
 
Earlier, Roger Jenkins, from the union, said he hoped "something positive" would come from the meeting with council representatives on Wednesday.

The council has said it was holding regular meetings with the four unions involved in a bid to solve the dispute.

Earlier, Matt Kelly, head of operations for waste management at the council, said the Christmas break had seen a 33% increase in waste while refuse collections had also been hit by the snow.

Councillor Timothy Huxtable, cabinet member for transportation and regeneration, said by using its casual workforce of up to 23 crews it hoped to catch up the existing backlog by the end of the week.

He said: "In the meantime the majority of scheduled collections should still be carried out on the allotted day by the regular crews, replica watches operating on a 'work to rule' basis.

"Where this does not take place we will be retaining the casual workforce to catch-up with any gaps in the service as soon as they become apparent, which from next week with the backlog cleared, should be within a day or two."

Funeral for Diamonds keeper Dale Roberts

Family and footballers gathered for the funeral of goalkeeper Dale Roberts.

The 24-year-old was found dead at his home in Higham Ferrers, Rushden, Northamptonshire, on 14 December.

He played for Rushden and Diamonds and had also appeared for the England C team and played academy football for Middlesbrough.

The funeral at St Mary's Church, in Horden, County Durham, replica watches was attended by fellow footballers including England star Adam Johnson.

He grew up with Mr Roberts in County Durham and they were school friends.

When he scored the winning goal in Manchester City's 1-0 win over Blackpool on New Year's Day, he revealed the message 'RIP Dale' under his shirt.

The funeral was also attended by the Rushden replica Chanel handbags and Diamonds squad and Middlesbrough players David Wheater and Matthew Bates.

Mr Robert's coffin was carried into the church by friends and Rushden and Diamonds players carried it out afterwards.

Before their match against Kettering Town on Monday, replica Gucci handbags fans laid flowers on the pitch and held a minute's silence in the goalkeeper's memory.

Northamptonshire Police said Mr Roberts' death was not being treated as suspicious.

An inquest into his death was opened and adjourned last month when the cause of death was given as asphyxia.

Third planned Heinz strike in Wigan suspended

A planned strike on Wednesday at the Heinz factory near Wigan has been called off after a new pay offer from the company.

The Unite union and management held talks on Tuesday which resulted in the new package being put to workers.

The union agreed to suspend the strike ahead of a fresh ballot of its members over the offer.

But the union said if the offer is rejected there will replica Chanel handbags be another strike on 11 January.

Under the new deal, workers would receive a 3.5% rise in the first year plus a £200 one-off payment and a 3.4% increase in the second year.

A further increase for shift workers of between 0.6% and 1.6% is also part of the deal.

"We have worked hard to improve what we already believed was a very fair offer in order to bring an end to the dispute," replica Gucci handbags said a company statement.

'Profitable company'
 
It added: "Our offer is well above our competitors' and UK average weekly earnings which are increasing by 1.7%."

The union, which held two 24-hour strikes last month in a dispute over pay, replica watches said the offer was a "marginal" improvement and it was going to ballot its members.

Jennie Formby, Unite national officer for food and drink said: "Heinz has tabled a new offer and the senior stewards unanimously agree that we must give our members an opportunity to vote on this.

"However, Unite remains of the belief that the new offer, which represents only a small improvement, is less than our members deserve and certainly less than Heinz, a profitable and recession-resistant company, should and could be paying."

About 1,200 staff work at the Kitt Green plant near Wigan.

New Zealand miners' recovery could take months, says PM

New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key has warned it may take months to recover the bodies of 29 men killed in an accident at the Pike River mine.

Speaking in Greymouth on the South Island, near the coal mine, replica Louis Vuitton handbags he promised an investigation into the accident, saying the nation "needs answers".

The men were trapped last week and declared dead on Wednesday after a second explosion.

Messages of condolences have poured in from around the world.

Flags have been flying at half-mast and people have been gathering in churches across New Zealand for special services to mourn the 29 miners.

Members of parliament in the capital, Wellington, wore black and paid tribute to the men, singing the hymn How Great Thou Art.

Mr Key met the grieving families of the miners in Greymouth and said all New Zealanders were "deeply sorry" for their loss.

He said an independent commission of inquiry designer replica handbags would "leave no stone unturned" into the cause of the explosions that trapped and most likely killed the miners.

"We need answers to what happened at Pike River. Clearly something's gone terribly wrong and it's now claimed the lives of 29 people," he said.

"And I think for the families, they now have accepted that their loved ones have gone, but they want answers. They also want their men removed from the mine."

The recovery operation could only take place "in a way that is safe to those that would undertake that mission", he said, adding that international experience showed this could take months.

No 'window of opportunity'
 
A mix of poisonous and combustible gases remained in the mine and there was the risk of further explosions at any time, said the CEO of Pike River Coal, Peter Whittall.

A rescue team had been preparing to enter the mine on Wednesday when gas levels spiked. The mission was called off just before the second explosion, Associated Press news agency said.

Trevor Watts, of New Zealand Mines Rescue, said there had been no "window of opportunity" for rescuers to enter the mine immediately after the first explosion on Friday, as some angry relatives have charged.

"It wasn't for the want of trying, or the willingness or the courage or the bravery of those that would have gone in to undertake the rescue - it was just the reality of the situation," Mr Key said.

Even before the second blast ended hopes of survival, rescuers did not manage to make contact with the miners - who included 24 New Zealanders, two Australians, two Britons and a South African.

Condolences
 
Local high school principal Jim Luders said Greymouth, home to many of the miners, said he was devastated by events.

"Everyone here knows someone who's down the mines and that's what makes it so intensely personal," he told Radio New Zealand.

The UK's Queen Elizabeth, who is New Zealand's head of state, said she was deeply saddened by the disaster.

"I send my thanks and deep appreciation to everyone who has worked so hard to attempt a rescue, and also to those who will have a part to play in the task of healing the pain that is being felt throughout New Zealand and around the world," she said.

The board of Pike River Coal was to meet on Friday to discuss the future of the mine - seen as an economic lifeline for the region when it opened in 2008.

Analysts say New Zealand's mines have a good safety record, replica Louis Vuitton handbags and this was the worst disaster for almost a century.

Pike River is not far from the Strongman mine, where an underground explosion killed 19 men in January 1967.

New Zealand's worst mining disaster was in 1896, when a gas explosion at the Brunner mine, also near Greymouth, left 65 miners dead. It accessed the same coal seam as the Pike River mine.

 

Passive smoking 'kills 600,000' worldwide

The first global study into the effects of passive smoking has found it causes 600,000 deaths every year.

One-third of those killed are children, often exposed to smoke at home, the World Health Organization (WHO) found.

The study, in 192 countries, found that passive smoking is particularly dangerous for children, said to be at higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome, pneumonia and asthma.

Passive smoking causes heart disease, respiratory illness and lung cancer.

"This helps us understand the real toll of tobacco," replica handbags said Armando Peruga, of the WHO's Tobacco-Free Initiative, who led the study.

'Deadly combination'

The study used estimates of the incidence of specific diseases and of the number of people exposed to second-hand smoke in particular areas.

The global health body said it was particularly concerned about the estimated 165,000 children who die of smoke-related respiratory infections, designer replica handbags mostly in South East Asia and in Africa.

"The mix of infectious diseases and second-hand smoke is a deadly combination," Mr Peruga said.

As well as being at increased risk of a series of respiratory conditions, the lungs of children who breathe in passive smoke may also develop more slowly than children who grow up in smoke-free homes.

Worldwide, as many as 40% of children, 33% of non-smoking men and 35% non-smoking women were exposed to second-hand smoke in 2004, researchers found.

This exposure was estimated to have caused 379,000 deaths from heart disease, 165,000 from lower respiratory infections, 36,900 from asthma and 21,400 from lung cancer.

According to the study, the highest numbers of people exposed to second-hand smoke are in Europe and Asia and the lowest rates of exposure were in the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean and Africa.

The research also revealed that passive smoking had a large impact on women, killing about 281,000 worldwide. This is due to the fact that in many parts of the world, the study suggests, women are at least 50% more likely to be exposed to second-hand smoke than men.

However, the researchers said were limitations to the study, replica Louis Vuitton handbags including uncertainties about the underlying health data and gaps in the data relating to exposure to second-hand smoke.

Writing in the Lancet, Dr Heather Wipfli of the University of Southern California and colleagues, said: "There are well acknowledged uncertainties in estimates of disease burden.

"However, there can be no question that the 1.2bn smokers in the world are exposing billions of non-smokers to second-hand smoke, a disease-causing indoor air pollutant."

Friend praised by judge for stopping rape

A judge who jailed a would-be rapist praised the offender's friend who stopped him and reported the attack.

Charles Chuwang, 29, of Chapel Street, Luton, Bedfordshire, replica watches was jailed for three years at Luton Crown Court. He admitted the attempted rape.

Judge Barbara Mensah said: "You have a lot to thank your friend for. Were it not for his actions you would have been facing a far longer sentence."

She awarded Brian Mucuva £300 from public funds.

Prosecutor Simon Thomas said on New Year's Eve last year Chuwang had been out drinking heavily.

He met a 23-year-old woman and her two friends in a pub.

'She was screaming'
 
Mr Mucuva, who became friends with Chuwang at university, had arranged to drive him home and had not been drinking, the court heard.

He picked up Chuwang and the three women and he dropped two of the women home.

But Chuwang encouraged one of them to come back to his flat where he tried to rape her in the lounge before Mr Mucuva stopped him.

Mr Thomas told the court: "She was screaming to replica Gucci handbags get him off and he tried three times to pull his friend away before he succeeded."

The woman left and immediately told police what had happened to her but she could not locate the flat where the assault had taken place.

'Great courage'

In the days following Mr Mucuva repeatedly tried to persuade his friend to go to the police, but Chuwang maintained they had "just been having fun".

He then took the decision to report the matter himself and Chuwang was arrested.

Judge Mensah said Mr Mucuva had shown "great courage".

Jonathan Akinsanya, defending, said: "This behaviour replica watches was totally out of character and something he will regret for the rest of his life.

"He is deeply sorry for what happened, sorry that he put this young lady through what she went through. He knows he has affected her life."

Longleat staff aged over 65 made to retire

Staff aged over 65 at the Longleat tourist attraction in Wiltshire have been made to retire.

The move comes almost a year before a law protecting the rights of older workers is introduced.

A spokesman for the attraction, which includes a safari park, replica Chanel handbags denied the move was anything to do with the law change.

The Seventh Marquess of Bath, 78, handed over the running of the estate to his son Ceawlin, Viscount Weymouth, earlier this year.

A new chief executive officer, David Bradley, was employed to manage the attraction when Lord Bath stepped down.

The Longleat spokesman said employees over the pensionable age had their contracts ended in the last fortnight.

He said that no redundancies had been made.

At present, an employer can compulsorily retire replica Gucci handbags employees at 65 but from October 2011, they will no longer be able to.

'Enforcing contracts'
 
The spokesman said: "All the contracts for these people allowed for retirement at 65 and all that has been done is that this has been enacted.

"These contracts - which have lapsed in terms of the over-65 retirement - hadn't been enforced and they are now enforcing this."

He said the retired workers were from all areas of the estate and included 18 workers over 70, seven over the age of 75 and two members of staff in their 80s.

He added: "All staff that were in estate accommodation will keep their accommodation and the estate is ensuring they'll be provided for as well as possible."

A statement later released by the management of the Longleat Estate said retiring the staff had taken "much consideration" and had been a "difficult decision".

It added: "The estate is extremely grateful for the valuable service provided by those employees but as we embark on a sustained multi million pound investment and modernisation programme it is inevitable that we require people with new diverse skills and experience from a variety of backgrounds.

"This is crucial to maintain our position as the premier safari park attraction in Europe and crucial to our dedication to providing an updated, diverse and exciting mix of attractions."

The move was not welcomed by unions.

Trades Union Congress (TUC) regional secretary Nigel Costley said: "We're very concerned that Longleat seem to be one of the first to try to pre-empt the legislation in this way.

"Any company that is discriminating on the grounds of age should be challenged.

"It would appear that Longleat is doing this in advance of the law change, but businesses should learn that a diverse range of replica watches employees of all ages gain the benefits of wisdom and knowledge and stand to reflect the customers that they are serving.

"I'm sure that Longleat would want to attract people of all ages and this should be extended to their workforce."

The estate includes Longleat House, where Lord Bath said he would continue to reside after stepping down.