Europe Intelligence Wire articles from August 2003

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from August 2003

UPDATE 1- International Power in exclusive Drax talks.
August 31, 2003... (From FT Investor (Stories)) International Power has entered into exclusive talks to take over Drax, the struggling coal-fired power station, beating competition from three rival bidders. Drax's creditors decided to back...

AMX deal revives battle in Brazil.
August 31, 2003... (From FT Investor (Stories)) The battle for Brazil's large cellular phone market has been revived after Mexico's America Movil announced its acquisition of BCP, the troubled Sao Paulo operator. Under the deal announced on Friday,...

Goodyear plant closures short of the mark.
August 31, 2003... (From FT Investor (Stories)) Goodyear Tire & Rubber has reached agreement with unions for the closure of only one of its 14 US plants, much less than most analysts had expected would emerge from almost five months of wrangling over a new...

Tom Singh offers GBP662m to take New Look private.
August 31, 2003... (From FT Investor (Stories)) Tom Singh, the founder of New Look and also its biggest shareholder, has tabled a GBP662m ($1.1bn) offer to take the discount fashion retailer private. A statement from New Look may come this week,...

Investigators focus on email.
August 31, 2003... (From FT Investor (Stories)) Senate investigators are studying whether the US air force improperly gave Boeing details of a rival's bid for a lucrative contract to build air-to-air refuelling aircraft, after investigators obtained an...

The yen is the Asian currency to watch.
August 31, 2003... (From FT Investor (Stories)) Asia's currencies have this year displayed little of their usual volatility. Regional policymakers, led by Japan, are still sceptical of global economic recovery and therefore not prepared to let their...

Lombard: How not to seize the moment in pensions.
August 31, 2003... (From FT Investor (Stories)) An actuarial trap for the unwary Since the dark days of March, equities are up and bonds are down. Is this the moment for the many pension funds that are over-exposed to equities to evacuate into fixed...

Accounting at China Unicom triggers concern.
August 31, 2003... (From FT Investor (Stories)) China Unicom, the mainland's number two mobile telephone operator, said its CDMA wireless network operations could turn profitable by the year-end, but analysts pointed out that the company was using...

Shell's China project delayed.
August 31, 2003... (From FT Investor (Stories)) One of Royal Dutch/Shell's most important projects, a 3,900km natural-gas pipeline in China, is bogged down indefinitely in disagreement, according to Sir Philip Watts, chairman of the UK-based oil group. ...

UPDATE 1- Shell's China project delayed.
August 31, 2003... (From FT Investor (Stories)) One of Royal Dutch/Shell's most important projects, a 3,900km natural-gas pipeline in China, is bogged down indefinitely in disagreement, according to Sir Philip Watts, chairman of the UK-based oil group. ...

VW to alter management focus.
August 31, 2003... (From FT Investor (Stories)) Volkswagen, Europe's biggest carmaker, is shaking up executive pay in an attempt to make managers more cautious about investment and increase loyalty to the group rather than the seven individual brands. ...

German insurers warned over tax charge.
August 31, 2003... (From FT Investor (Stories)) The shock tax charge that forced Munich Re into the red last week could hit the profits of every life and health insurer in Germany to the sum of [euro]5bn ($5.46bn), analysts have warned. Munich Re has...

Ahold considers [euro]2bn rights issue to cut debt.
August 31, 2003... (From FT Investor (Stories)) Ahold, the Dutch retailer plotting a recovery from a massive accounting scandal, is considering a possible [euro]2bn ($2.2bn) rights issue to overhaul its debt-laden balance sheet. Investment bankers...

Fosun eyes Xinhua publishing group.
August 31, 2003... (From FT Investor (Stories)) The Fosun Group, one of China's largest private companies, is in talks to buy the Xinhua publishing company in Shanghai. It is Fosun's latest move in an ambitious plan to play a role in the country's...

Drayson looks to invest in Code Securities.
August 31, 2003... (From FT Investor (Stories)) Paul Drayson, the multimillionaire biotechnology entrepreneur, is in talks to invest in Code Securities, an outfit set up by Chris Collins, the former head of life sciences at WestLB, the German investment...

International Power in exclusive Drax talks.
August 31, 2003... (From FT Investor (Stories)) International Power has entered into exclusive talks to take over Drax, the struggling coal-fired power station, beating competition from three rival bidders. Drax's creditors decided to back...

Ex-culture minister Tigrid dies.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Aug 31 (CTK) - Pavel Tigrid, former culture minister and a significant Czech writer and publicist, died at the age of 85 in France this morning, the public broadcaster Czech Radio said today. ...

Results of 1st Slovak soccer league 7th round.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) BRATISLAVA, Aug 31 (CTK) - The following are results of the 1st Slovak soccer league 7th round matches played on Saturday: MSK Ruzomberok vs ZTS Dubnica 3-3 AS Trencin vs Dukla Banska Bystrica 1-1 ...

Czech first soccer league best scorers after 6th round.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Aug 31 (CTK) - Czech first soccer league best scorers after the 6th round: 5 - Heinz (Ostrava), 4 - Dosek (Brno), Pospech (Ostrava), 3 - Pacanda (Brno), Zavadil (Pribram), 2 - I....

Police catch railway extortionist.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) BRATISLAVA, Aug 31 (CTK) - Slovak police last night arrested the extortionist who had threatened to "raise hell" on Slovak railways unless he received ten million crowns, railway police spokesman Jozef Buransky...

Havel receives prize from Austrian organisation.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) PERNEGG, Austria, Aug 31 (CTK) - Former Czech president Vaclav Havel has received a prize from the independent Austrian cultural organisation GLOBArt for his life-long contribution to the peaceful co-existence of...

Three cyclists set out for marathon to warn against drugs.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) PETROVICE, North Bohemia, Aug 31 (CTK) - Three Czech cyclists have set out for a cycling marathon during which they want to warn people against "the unresolved problem of drugs," project spokesman Vlastimil...

Small members, candidates to discuss EU constitution in Prague.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Aug 31 (CTK) - Representatives of 15 small and medium-sized EU members and candidates are to discuss the proposed EU constitution in Prague on Monday. According to the Czech Foreign Ministry, the...

Skacel signs contract with Marseille.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) MARSEILLE, France, Aug 31 (CTK) - Czech footballer Rudolf Skacel signed a four-year contract with the Olympique Marseille team today. He will transfer to the French team from Slavia Praha, for which he played...

UB bank to put outlets up for auction separately.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) OSTRAVA, North Moravia, Aug 31 (CTK) - Union banka UB, which went bankrupt three months ago, will sell former outlets separately but dates of auctions have not yet been set, spokesman Robert Korselt told CTK...

Ex-culture minister Tigrid dies.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) (adds information from Tigrid's wife and further reactions) PRAGUE, Aug 31 (CTK) - Pavel Tigrid, former culture minister and a significant Czech writer, publicist and journalist, died at the age of 85 in...

Shares on BCPB add another 1.35 pct in week 35.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) BRATISLAVA, Aug 31 (CTK) - Shares on the Bratislava Stock Exchange (BCPB) continued firming in week 35, which was one day shorter (Friday was a holiday), and put on 1.35 pct, with the Slovak capital market's SAX...

Conseq IM doubles client assets to Kc6.8bn in 2002.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Aug 31 (CTK) - Conseq Investment Management IM last year saw the volume of client assets soar to Kc6.8bn from Kc3.5bn at end-2001, with the inflow of money seen also for managed investment funds, a rise...

Tigrid - remarkable personality of Czech politics, journalism.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Aug 31 (CTK) - Czech writer, journalist, publicist and politician Pavel Tigrid, who died in France today, spent over half of his life in forced exile, but he never renounced his native country. ...

Belgian Smets wins motocross world championship.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) LOKET NAD OHRI, West Bohemia, Aug 31 (CTK) - Joel Smets of Belgium won the motocross World Championship held in Loket nad Ohri today. Results - 650 ccm: 1. Smets (Belgium/KTM) 41:05,699, 2. Garcia Vico...

Ministry postpones CEZ's EGM indefinitely -- press.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Aug 31 (CTK) - The Industry and Trade Ministry has put off the extraordinary general meeting EGM of dominant power producer CEZ indefinitely, ministry spokesman Ivo Mravinac said in the weekly Euro...

Nearly whole nation knows about teachers' strike - poll.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Aug 31 (CTK) - As many as 90 percent of Czechs know about the teachers' one-day token strike planned for Monday, September 1, according to a poll carried out by the STEM agency for the public broadcaster...

Nomura offers billions to avoid arbitration with IPB--press.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Aug 31 (CTK) - The Czech Republic has reportedly almost come to agreement with Japanese bank Nomura on an out-of- court settlement in the case of collapsed IPB, says the latest edition of weekly Tyden....

New school year to begin with teachers' strike.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Aug 31 (CTK) - The beginning of the new school year on Monday, September 1, will be unusual since many of Czech schools have decided to stage a one-day token strike in protest against low wages in the...

Phare twinning programme to back pension reform ends in CzechRep.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Aug 31 (CTK) - The position of the Czech Republic in the area of social security seen its future membership of the EU has reinforced, also thanks to the Phare twinning programme of support to pension...

CKA can't sell real estate to cut debts due to law --press.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Aug 31 (CTK) - State-run bail-out agency Ceska konsolidacni agentura CKA owns or pledges for some 3,500 facilities whose value is equal to some Kc20bn but the valid law makes it impossible to sell real...

Summary of the main business news published by CTK on Aug 31:.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE - The position of the Czech Republic in the area of social security seen its future membership of the EU has reinforced, also thanks to the Phare twinning programme of support to pension reform which...

Nomura offers billions to avoid arbitration with IPB--press.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) (adds Nomura's stance in paras 4,5) PRAGUE, Aug 31 (CTK) - The Czech Republic has reportedly almost come to agreement with Japanese bank Nomura on an out-of- court settlement in the case of collapsed IPB,...

Results of 1st Slovak soccer league 7th round.
August 31, 2003... (From Czech News Agency) BRATISLAVA, Aug 31 (CTK) - The following are results of the 1st Slovak soccer league 7th round matches played today. Results: Matador Puchov vs MSK Zilina 1-2 Inter Bratislava vs Artmedia Petrzalka...

INFO-CAFE.
August 31, 2003... (From Athens News Agency) ADESMEFTOS ON SUNDAY: "Opportunities for (real estate) purchase and rent" ADESMEFTOS TYPOS : "30,000 employees transferred to other jobs" APOGEVMATINI: "No more audits for small and medium enterprizes" AVGI:...

FM: PASOK will be victorious at the elections in 2004.
August 31, 2003... (From Athens News Agency) Foreign Minister George Papandreou from Chania, Crete, on Saturday said he was confident PASOK would win the parliamentary elections in the spring and stressed that the leadership of Prime Minister and PASOK...

Weather Forecast: Partly cloudy on Monday.
August 31, 2003... (From Athens News Agency) The weather will be partly cloudy throughout Greece on Monday, with increased cloud in western and northern parts of the mainland and possibility of local storms mostly on the mountainous areas of Epirus and...

Economy minister: Privatizations, but with state maintaining strategic role.
August 31, 2003... (From Athens News Agency) National Economy and Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis over the weekend reiterated his support for a policy of privatisations, although he stressed that the state should maintain a strategic role in major...

Turkish education minister supports re-opening of Halki school.
August 31, 2003... (From Athens News Agency) ISTANBUL (ANA - A. Kourkoulas) - Turkish Education Minister Huseyin Celik over the weekend added his voice to a timid but growing surge of support within the Turkish government to lift restrictions on the...

Interior minister defends election law draft.
August 31, 2003... (From Athens News Agency) Interior Minister Costas Skandalidis again referred to a more proportional electoral system, at levels of up to 80 per cent, while at the same time defending the Simitis government's decision to use a list...

FM: PASOK will be victorious in 2004 elections (adds).
August 31, 2003... (From Athens News Agency) Foreign Minister George Papandreou on Saturday said he was confident ruling PASOK will win general elections next spring, while he stressed that the leadership of Prime Minister and PASOK party leader Costas...

Papadopoulos on talks over Cyprus issue's future.
August 31, 2003... (From Athens News Agency) Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos stressed that if Turkish Cypriot community leader Rauf Denktash remains in power and continues the negotiations for a settlement of the Cyprus problem, there will not be...

Soccer results.
August 31, 2003... (From Athens News Agency) Returning champion Olympiakos Piraeus along with fellow champions League participants Panathinaikos Athens and AEK Athens continued with wins during the second week of play over the weekend in Greece's first...

INDIAN POLICE ARREST FIVE SUSPECTS OVER BOMBAY CAR BOMBINGS.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) BOMBAY, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - Indian police have arrested five people and questioned many more in their probe of twin car bombings in Bombay that killed 52 and injured more than 150, a minister said Sunday. "Five...

WEATHER FORECAST AND ROAD CONDITIONS.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) SARAJEVO, Aug 31 (ONASA) - It will be cloudy on Sunday in BiH with sunny periods in the morning and local showers in the afternoon, BiH Meteo reported. Morning temperatures will range from 15 to 22 degrees,...

TODAY IN HISTORY - AUG 31.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) Today is Sunday, Aug 31, the 243rd day of 2003. There are 122 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: Two hundred years ago, explorer Meriwether Lewis departed Pittsburgh, sailing down the Ohio...

DISMISSED WORKERS OF FACTORY "FRUTEKS- FRIGOS" ANNOUNCE PROTESTS.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) CELIC, Aug 31 (ONASA) - Dismissed workers of the factory "Fruteks-Frigos" announced peaceful protests for Monday, September 1, in Celic. They claim that the bankruptcy procedure, which started at the...

BIH PRESS REVIEW.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) SARAJEVO, Aug 31 (ONASA) - Chairman of the project Dayton Peace Accords Robert Hitchner believes that time has come for BiH to take a step forward from the Dayton Peace Accords. According to Sarajevo's daily...

SEMINAR "YOUTH FOR EUROPE" ENDS IN SRBAC.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) SRBAC, Aug 31 (ONASA) - The six-day seminar "Youth for Europe," which was organized by the BiH non-governmental youth organization "Millennium" and financed by the European Foundation for Youth within the...

CEREMONY ON OCCASION OF CROATIAN GOVERNMENT'S PROJECT IN KOSTAJNICA.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) KOSTAJNICA, Aug 31 (ONASA) - A ceremony on the occasion of implementation of the Croatian Government's project in the amount to 140,000 KM took place on Sunday in the village of Kostajnica in the Konjic...

UNITED STATES, ARGENTINA BOOK ATHENS OLYMPIC BERTHS.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) SAN JUAN, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - The United States and Argentina booked tickets to the Athens Games with semi-final wins in the FIBA Olympic basketball qualifying tournament of the Americas Saturday and will meet...

TEXTBOOKS FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN LIVNO CANTON CHOSEN.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) LIVNO, Aug 31 (ONASA) - The Livno Canton Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports has delivered to schools a list of textbooks for primary schools in the school year 2003/04, and the expert groups in...

MOSES CONFIRMS COMEBACK ATTEMPT.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) PARIS, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - Two-time Olympic champion Edwin Moses confirmed on Sunday he is making a comeback to the 400 meters hurdles at the age of 48 with an initial aim of qualifying to run in the trials for...

TWO KILLED, TWO WOUNDED BY SHIITE CLERIC'S BODYGUARDS IN NAJAF.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) NAJAF, Iraq, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - Bodyguards of firebrand Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr opened fire Sunday on a car at a checkpoint in the holy city of Najaf, killing two people and seriously wounding two others,...

SHARON TOPS HAMAS DECK OF "WANTED" ISRAELI LEADERS.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) GAZA CITY, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is the trump card in a suit of "wanted" Israeli leaders, according to a spoof of the famous US Central Command deck of cards for Iraq posted on a...

WIDOW UP NEXT AT INQUIRY INTO BRITISH WEAPONS EXPERT.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) LONDON, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - The judicial inquiry into the apparent suicide of David Kelly enters its final stages Monday with what promises to be emotional testimony from the widow of the British weapons...

PREPARATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF REGIONAL SOLID WASTE DUMP.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) LIVNO, Aug 31 (ONASA) - The Livno Canton Ministry for Construction, Urban Planning and Protection of Environment has created the information on the situation of environment and construction of the solid waste...

WORKERS OF BIHAC'S ZITOPRERADA PUT UP TENTS, RESUME HUNGER STRIKE.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) BIHAC, Aug 31 (ONASA) - Workers of Bihac's Zitoprerada put up on Sunday an improvised tent settlement in front of the Una-Sana Canton Government building and resumed the hunger strike. Workers resumed the...

BLAZING RUSSIAN TANKER LEAKING OIL INTO VOLGA RIVER.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) MOSCOW, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - Firemen were working on Sunday to contain a kilometer-long (half mile-long) oil slick spilt into Russia's Volga River by a blazing tanker, where a fire had raged out of control for...

13 KILLED, 70 OTHERS INJURED IN TAIPEI BLAZE.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) TAIPEI, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - At least 13 people were killed and 70 others injured Sunday when fire, one of the worst in years , swept through a residential building in suburban Taipei, firefighters said. The...

MAN ARRESTED ON IRAQ'S SAUDI BORDER OVER NAJAF MASSACRE.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) NAJAF, Iraq, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - Iraqi police on Sunday arrested a man on the Saudi border in connection with the Najaf bomb massacre and said they had now made a total of 19 arrests after the blast, police told...

US FORCES ENTER MOSUL AREA IN SUSPECTED SADDAM HUNT: RESIDENTS.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) ARBIL, Iraq, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - US forces backed by helicopters entered the al-Arabi neighborhood in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul Sunday, residents told AFP, adding that deposed president Saddam Hussein...

ASHDOWN, FREDERIKSEN TO UNVEIL POSTER MARKING START OF EUPM CAMPAIGN.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) SARAJEVO, Aug 31 (ONASA) - The High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, and the EUPM Commissioner, Sven Frederiksen will tomorrow unveil a new poster marking the start of public information campaign run by the...

POPE PRAYS FOR "AN END TO TEARS" IN MIDEAST, AFRICA.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) CASTELGANDOLFO, Italy, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - Pope John Paul II Sunday called for an end to hatred and violence in the Middle East and Africa and again insisted on a mention of Europe's "Christian roots" in the...

JEWISH CULTURE DAY PLANNED IN 23 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES ON SEPTEMBER 7.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) STRASBOURG, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - A Jewish culture day will be held in 23 countries across Europe on September 7 with an emphasis on art, organizers said Sunday. A contemporary art competition is planned in...

TWO US SOLDIERS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - Two US soldiers died of wounds sustained in a clash with guerrillas in Afghanistan, the US Central Command said Sunday. The two "died of wounds received during the initial...

WTO CHEAP PRESCRIPTION DRUGS DEAL DRAWS CHEERS, DISMAY.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) GENEVA, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - The World Trade Organization's long-fought deal Saturday to improve access to generic drugs for poor countries drew wide praise, but critics said the agreement could aggravate the...

US FORCES IN SUSPECTED SADDAM HUNT IN MOSUL.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) MOSUL, Iraq, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - US forces backed by helicopters moved into a farming area around the northern Iraqi city of Mosul after scouring a neighborhood in an apparent hunt for ousted Iraqi president...

SOCCER - BIH PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) SARAJEVO, Aug 31 (ONASA) - Result of BiH premier league match played on Sunday - 5 round: Glasinac - Leotar 0:3, Rudar - Sarajevo 0:0, Zepce Limorad - Modrica Maksima 1:0, Brotnjo - Celik 2:0. Match Zrinjski...

US TROOPS KILL SIX IRAQIS AFTER ATTACK, TWO AMERICANS WOUNDED.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) BAGHDAD, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - US soldiers killed six Iraqis after their patrol came under attack near the northern city of Kirkuk, the army said Sunday. "The convoy was ambushed and we took the necessary action...

MONDAY NEWS CALENDAR.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) 1000 - Sarajevo Canton Prime Minister Denis Zvizdic and cantonal ministers for labor, welfare and refugees and displaced persons will visit Children's Home "Bjelave," SARAJEVO 1030 - Reis-ul-Ulema Mustafa Effendi...

FIREFIGHTERS IN SOUTHERN FRANCE BATTLE RAGING FOREST BLAZE.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) LA GARDE-FREINET, France, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - Some 800 firefighters backed by 12 water-dropping aircraft on Sunday battled brush fires in hills off France's Mediterranean coast, a region already ravaged by...

BIN LADEN TELLS OF BIO-ATTACK PLAN AT "TERROR SUMMIT": NEWSWEEK.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - Osama bin Laden held a "terror summit" in Afghanistan to outline plans to use biological weapons in his next "unbelievable" attacks, according to Taliban sources quoted by...

US POLITICIANS CALL FOR MORE FOREIGN TROOPS IN IRAQ.
August 31, 2003... (From ONASA News Agency) WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (ONASA/AFP) - Leading US politicians, including two Democratic presidential candidates, on Sunday urged President George W. Bush to encourage more countries to deploy troops in Iraq, amid...

Nikkei breaks through 10,500.
August 31, 2003... (From FT Investor (Stories)) Tokyo shares crossed a new landmark on Monday morning as rising technology stocks in the US helped the Nikkei average broke through 10,500 for the first time in 13 months. The Nikkei 225 average, which...

France Televisions scores broadcasting victory in World Football Championships (Succes d'audience pour France Televisions).
August 31, 2003... (From Le Monde) An average of 2.5 million people in France is said to have watched the broadcasts of the World Football Championship matches by the France 2 and France 3 channels of French public broadcasting group France Televisions....

BUX Breaks Three-Year Peak.
August 31, 2003... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, August 31 (MTI) - The BUX closed above 9,000 for the first time since June 2000 on the Budapest Stock Exchange this week. Weekly share turnover was HUF 46.2bn (EUR 180m) as compared to HUF 42bn...

Jewish Summer Festival Opens.
August 31, 2003... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, August 31 (MTI) - The Jewish Summer Festival, a week-long celebration of Jewish culture, opened on Sunday with a string of programmes in seven cities in Hungary. When people learn about...

Orban Urges Job Creation Through Support to Local Business.
August 31, 2003... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, August 31 (MTI) - Hungary cannot step back from stimulating the economy and investments, and from supporting local businesses and farmers, because they are the key to an expanding job market,...