Judge Orders Migrant Boat to Remain in Custody
An Italian judge on Friday ordered that the presumed captain of a migrant boat that sank with the loss of more than 700 lives should remain in custody after prosecutors asked for him to be charged with multiple homicide and people-trafficking. Mohammed Alì Malek, 27, denies that he was in charge of the heavily overloaded fishing boat that capsized off Libya late on Saturday with hundreds of African and Bangladeshi migrants locked in its lower decks. "He says he's a migrant like all the others and he paid his fare to go on the boat," his lawyer, Massimo Ferrante, said outside the courtroom. However Catania chief prosecutor Giovanni Salvi said the judge had ordered both Malek and 25 year-old Syrian Mahmud Bikhit, who is accused of being a member of the crew, to be detained in custody.
Rescue Ships Head for Libya, as Migrants Die Also in Balkans
British and German warships made ready to sail for waters off Libya as Europe ramped up rescue operations in the Mediterranean after up to 900 desperate migrants drowned last weekend on a boat heading for Italy. Yet hours after European Union leaders agreed in Brussels on Thursday to treble funding for EU maritime missions and pledged more ships and aircraft, 14 clandestine migrants were killed when a train ploughed into dozens of Somalis and Afghans making their way in darkness along a rail track in a Macedonian gorge. The incident highlighted the variety of routes that growing numbers are taking to escape war and poverty in Asia, Africa and the Middle East and chance their luck in a wealthy region that offers, at best, a chilly welcome.
Shipwrecked Bodies Brought Ashore, EU Proposes Doubling Rescue Effort
The European Union proposed doubling the size of its Mediterranean search and rescue operations on Monday, as the first bodies were brought ashore of some 900 people feared killed in the deadliest shipwreck while trying to reach Europe. Three other rescue operations were underway on Monday to save hundreds more migrants in peril on overloaded vessels making the journey from the north coast of Africa to Europe. The mass deaths have caused shock in Europe, where a decision to scale back naval operations last year seems to have increased the risks for migrants without reducing their numbers. "The situation in the Mediterranean is dramatic.
Russian Firms Face Huge Insurance Costs as Foreign Providers Flee
Russian companies face billions of dollars in extra insurance costs as Western sanctions prompt foreign insurance firms to start pulling out, worried that any business they undertake is at risk from future measures and an increasingly sick economy. Russian President Vladimir Putin came under heavy criticism at a G20 summit last weekend, where Western leaders accused him of continuing to destabilise Ukraine in violation of a September peace agreement. Existing sanctions, along with an oil price tumble, have brought Russia to the brink of recession. The rouble is down some 30 percent over the year and lending costs are soaring for all companies, be they on sanctions lists or not.
France Picks: GE is the One for Alstom
France chose General Electric to form an alliance with Alstom on Friday - rejecting an offer from Siemens and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries - but said the deal still needed some work and added it would buy a 20 percent stake in the hotly-contested company. Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg said he had used a newly- created state decree to reject both of the existing offers as not being in France's strategic interest, and had formulated fresh demands to GE Chief Executive Jeff Immelt. The decision ended weeks of suspense surrounding one of Europe's fiercest industrial battles in years, but left open major questions about the final shape of an alliance which GE hopes will give it access to new power markets.
Siemens, Mitsubishi Challenge GE with Alstom Offer
Germany's Siemens and Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries presented a joint offer to France's Alstom on Monday that included 7 billion euros ($9.5 billion) in cash, challenging a bid by General Electric. Under the deal, Siemens offered to buy Alstom's gas turbines business for 3.9 billion euros in cash, and MHI to buy stakes in Alstom power assets including hydroelectric power equipment and grid, to be held in separate joint ventures. MHI would inject 3.1 billion euros in cash into Alstom and offer to take a stake of up to 10 percent in the French firm from shareholder Bouygues. "Alstom would remain an independent energy and transport player with a strong brand," Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser said. Alstom said it would review the proposal in the coming days.
DP World Raises $1B
DP World took advantage of strong market conditions and scarcity value to raise a $1 billion convertible bond with a ten year lifespan on Thursday, in order to fund growth opportunities and diversify its funding sources. The issue is a rare example of an international convertible bond from a Middle Eastern company and comes at a time when convertible bonds have drawing investors' attention following a spate of issuance by European firms. Pricing for DP World's debut convertible…
French Government Will Block Hasty Alstom Deal
France's Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg confirmed for the first time on Sunday that both General Electric and Siemens were interested in engineering group Alstom and said he would not allow any hasty decisions. In a statement, he said he first learned of GE's interest on Thursday and then of Siemens' proposal earlier on Sunday. He said the government was ready to look at both proposals but "will not accept that a decision is taken, whatever it might be, in haste" and without knowledge of what was in the national interest and what alternatives there might be. Earlier, a spokeswoman said Montebourg was no longer expecting to meet GE chief executive Jeff Immelt on Sunday as government sources reported on Saturday. She said the meeting had been postponed "for a few days".
