8 WORLD The Minsk Times Thursday, November 6, 2008
Rage in
Rome as
education
reforms get
green light
There have been ugly scenes
in an historic square in Rome
REUTERS
as controversial education reforms
won final parliamentary approval Students attend an engineering class being conducted in the middle of the Farnese Square
Tourists ran for cover from the side the Senate building, denounced she said. “But they are preventing us and put Italian schools on an equal finalised. But his words are unlikely
Piazza Navona and riot police moved spending cuts they say will hinder from continuing our studies.” footing with other European school to dampen the determination of
in as rival groups of students clashed. their ability to get a good education. The text approved by the Senate, systems. protesters who took to the streets
Witnesses said the demonstration One young woman expressed her as part of Education Minister Mari- Prime Minister Silvio Berlus- throughout Italy. Fearful for their
was peaceful until right-wingers anger at politicians. “They say the astella Gelmini’s reforms, is largely coni accuses the left of manipulat- jobs, teachers are angry too and a
wielding clubs and chains arrived. youth of today don’t know anything, focused on primary education. The ing students. He says reforms to the nationwide strike is to hit the state
Nearby, students staging a sit-in out- that they are leaving school earlier,” Government says it will trim waste university sector have not yet been school sector.
European car sales fall Delta and Northwest
for fifth month this year airlines seal merger
New vehicle registrations were down 8.2 percent for the Eu- cerned. In Europe, the recession is Delta Air Lines has
in Europe continued to ropean Union, excluding Malta and advancing bit by bit, in the US the completed a $2.8bn
plummet in September Cyprus, plus the European Free car markets have been destroyed. deal to take over US rival
The financial crisis is hitting car Trade Association countries. The next three years will be very, Northwest Airlines
makers hard. Sales in Western Eu- The credit crunch is making it very hard for car makers and sup-
rope fell 9.3 percent. In Spain they more difficult for purchasers to get pliers.” It came after the Justice Depart-
were down by nearly a third com- loans and preventing car makers The European Automobile ment granted antitrust approval and
pared with last year and in the UK from financing their daily opera- Manufacturers’ Association, which said the deal could produce efficien-
they dropped over 21 percent. Sep- tions. Ferdinand Dudenhoefer, the released the registration figures, cies that ‘would benefit US consum-
tember is normally a month when Director of the Centre for Auto- said its members were also having ers’. The new airline, to be called Delta, biggest. The combined company will
sales pick up after a summer lull. motive Research in Germany, said, trouble raising the money to invest will have annual revenue of more than be based in Atlanta. “The airline in-
Not so this year. Following August’s “We are going into a big recession in new technologies for greener ve- $35bn and employ about 75,000 staff. dustry faces a very difficult economic
15.7 percent fall, sales last month as far as the car markets are con- hicles. It will serve customers in 66 countries environment around the world and
and more than 375 cities — ‘more than this merger gives Delta increased flex-
Recession hit economy
any other airline’, it is claimed. ibility to adapt to the economic chal-
Delta Air Lines was the US’s third lenges ahead,” said Delta Chief Execu-
largest airline, and Northwest was fifth tive Richard Anderson.
The economic storm clouds
continue to gather over
Britain
‘Full’ artificial heart
The latest figures show the UK
gross domestic product fell substan-
tially more than expected in the last
implant now ready
three months, increasing the evidence Scientists say they have a saving heart transplant because of a
that Europe’s second largest economy working prototype of a fully shortage of donor organs.
is in recession. However the British artificial heart ready for Heart specialist Alain Carpen-
Government is trying to be upbeat. implanting in humans tier said it had taken him 15 years to
Finance Minister Alistair Darling The device beats almost exactly perfect and claimed his device over-
REUTERS
said, “Oil prices have halved in recent like the real thing using electronic comes some of the drawbacks with
weeks, we’ve taken significant steps sensors to regulate heart rate and other prototypes. The new heart is
to deal with the banking problems blood flow. Developers Carmat now covered with specially treated tis-
Pedestrians read recruitment announcements in central London
and the credit crunch and we will get need approval from the French au- sue to avoid rejection by the body’s
through this; I’m determined we will 16 years and the biggest quarterly increasing action, in terms of bring- thorities before pushing ahead with immune system and the formation
do everything we can to support the fall since 1990. Economists said the ing interest rates down to try and clinical trials. But heart experts of blood clots. However, the power
economy and also to ensure that we situation could be even worse in the fight it,” said Howard Wheldon, Sen- warned it was still early days as previ- supply for the heart remains a signifi-
have sound public finances; so, yes it’s fourth quarter given the fact that the ior Strategist with BGC Partners. ous attempts to create a fully artificial cant hurdle. Carmat, the company
going to be difficult and it’s going to escalation in the financial crisis only The GDP figures are just the latest heart had failed during human test- founded by Professor Carpentier and
be tough, but we will get through it.” took hold in September. sign that the UK is heading into what ing. Several teams from around the Europe’s aerospace and defence giant
The UK economy grew by an The question now is how long economists feel will be a significantly world have been working to develop EADS, says the battery could last for
anaemic 0.3 percent in the first three will the recession last? “We are going deeper than previously predicted re- the perfect artificial heart that could between five and 16 hours after which
months of this year, it was stagnant to suffer three full quarters of GDP cession. Reports from retailers un- be fitted into the 20,000 patients it would have to be recharged to pre-
between April and June and shrank growth decline, but we knew it was derline that. The John Lewis chain worldwide unable to receive a life- vent the artificial heart stopping.
by half a percent in the third quar- going to happen, we are ready for it, of department stores has just said its
ter. That is the first contraction in and the authorities of course will take sales fell 7.6 percent on the year. Materials prepared with aid of information agencies