Goldcorp announces offer to acquire Osisko

GOLDCORP INC (GG). (TSX: G, NYSE: GG) today announced that it intends to commence an offer to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Osisko Mining Corporation ("Osisko") (TSX: OSK, Deutsche Boerse: EWX) for approximately C$2.6 billion in cash and shares (the "Offer").

Under the terms of the Offer, Osisko shareholders will be entitled to receive 0.146 of a Goldcorp common share plus C$2.26 in cash for each Osisko common share. Based on Goldcorp's TSX closing share price of C$25.29 on January 10, 2014, the total consideration offered to Osisko shareholders is C$5.95 per Osisko common share representing a premium of 28% over the 20-day volume-weighted average share price of Osisko from all trading on Canadian exchanges for the period ending January 10, 2014 and a premium of 15% over Osisko's TSX closing share price on January 10, 2014.

Transaction Highlights

• Consistent with Goldcorp's strategy of disciplined portfolio enhancement, focus on gold and investment in low political risk jurisdictions.
• Large ~10 million ounce gold reserve⁽¹⁾ that, with Goldcorp's financial and technical resources, should support a long mine life and low all-in sustaining costs.
• Immediately accretive on key per-share metrics, including free cash flow, operating cash flow, net asset value, gold production and gold reserves.
• Provides Goldcorp with immediate free cash flow as it completes the construction and ramp-up of its key growth projects at Cerro Negro, Éléonore and Cochenour over the next eighteen months.
• Addition of a high-quality operating mine in the prolific Abitibi mining district of Québec.
• Leverages Goldcorp's existing investments in Québec and Ontariowith opportunity for corporate and regional synergies.
  

"From a financial and strategic perspective, this offer represents a compelling transaction that is consistent with our strategy of improving the overall quality of our portfolio," said Chuck Jeannes, Goldcorp President and Chief Executive Officer.  "Goldcorp shareholders will benefit from a long-lived, high-quality gold mine with low all-in sustaining costs capable of generating long-term free cash flows. We are particularly pleased to be making a further substantial investment in the Province ofQuébec, one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world.  With our world-class Éléonore project in Northern Québec due to commence production later this year, Goldcorp will be the largest gold producer in the province with the resources to continue building collaborative, long-term relationships while leveraging corporate and regional synergies."

Benefits to Osisko Shareholders

Goldcorp believes the Offer is attractive to Osisko shareholders for the following reasons:

• Immediate Premium: The Offer represents a premium of 28% over the 20-day volume-weighted average share price of Osisko and a premium of 15% over Osisko's closing price on January 10, 2014.
  
• Greater Liquidity, Dividend Participation and Meaningful Ownership in the Industry Leader: Consideration is comprised of cash and highly liquid Goldcorp shares that provide a meaningful ownership stake in one of the lowest-cost, highest-growth senior gold producers, and allows Osisko shareholders to participate in Goldcorp's monthly dividend.
  
• Exposure to Goldcorp's High Quality Asset Portfolio and Industry Leading Growth Profile: Osisko shareholders will gain exposure to Goldcorp's suite of low-cost mines and development projects, and participate in Goldcorp's strong production growth profile.
  
• Disciplined and Focused Management Team with a Proven Track Record of Value Creation: Goldcorp's experienced and proven management team will help ensure optimum performance of Canadian Malartic for the benefit of all stakeholders.
  
• Continued Participation in Osisko's Assets: Osisko shareholders will continue to benefit from any future increases in value associated with operational improvements at Canadian Malartic and Osisko's other properties.
  
• Operational and Strategic Synergies: Osisko shareholders will benefit from synergies with Goldcorp's existing investments in Québec andOntario.
  
• Eliminates Single Asset Operating and Financial Risks: Osisko shareholders will benefit from exposure to Goldcorp's diversified portfolio and financial strength.
  

"This combination offers excellent strategic value as Canadian Malartic and its talented operating team will benefit from Goldcorp's strong financial position, technical expertise and commitments to safety and sustainability," added Mr. Jeannes. "Our clear preference remains to engage with Osisko, as we strongly believe in the compelling strategic and financial merits of this transaction to the mutual benefit of both companies` shareholders."

About the Offer

This Offer will be open for acceptance until 5:00 p.m. EST on February 19, 2014, unless extended or withdrawn.  The Offer will be subject to customary conditions, including the acceptance by Osisko shareholders owning not less than 66 2/3% of Osisko shares outstanding on a fully-diluted basis, confirmation to the satisfaction of Goldcorp that the Osisko shareholder rights plan will not adversely affect the Offer, no material adverse change in Osisko and receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals. The Offer will not require the approval of Goldcorp's shareholders and Goldcorp has obtained a $1.25 billion non-revolving term credit facility from Scotiabank which, together with cash on hand of approximately $620 million and an undrawn $2 billion credit facility, will be sufficient to fund the cash portion of the Offer.

Source: Seeking Alpha

No resistance as crowds occupy Thai capital in festive protest

Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters occupied parts of central Bangkok on Monday, ratcheting up a two-month agitation to force the resignation of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and meeting no resistance.

Police and soldiers maintained a low profile as the "Shutdown Bangkok" drive got under way in the city of about 12 million people. The mood was festive, with many protesters singing and dancing in the streets.

"Don't ask me how long this occupation will last," protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban said in a speech to supporters carried by the movement's BlueSky television channel. "We will not stop until we win."intersections that normally teem with cars and trucks were blockaded, but trains and river ferries were operating, most shops were open and motorbikes plied the roads freely.

The turmoil is the latest chapter in an eight-year conflict pitting Bangkok's middle class and royalist establishment against the mostly poorer, rural supporters of Yingluck and her self-exiled brother, billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin was ousted by the army in 2006 and sentenced to jail in absentia for abuse of power in 2008, but the former telecoms tycoon looms large over Thai politics and is the dominant force behind his sister's administration from his home in Dubai.

In a bid to end the unrest, Yingluck called a snap election for February 2, but Suthep has rejected the poll, which the prime minister's Puea Thai Party would probably win.

As the blockade began to bite, Yingluck invited the protest leaders and political parties to a meeting on Wednesday to discuss an Election Commision proposal to postpone the vote, according to a senior aide of the prime minister.

"Suthep has said he won't negotiate with the government, yet the government said today it will try to invite all warring parties to the table. The protest group's aims to overhaul the political system in this country won't happen overnight.

Pro-Thaksin groups started rallies in several provincial regions on Sunday but are steering clear of Bangkok for now. Suthep has said he would call off the protests if, as some fear, civil war threatened to break out.

The government deployed 10,000 police to maintain law and order, along with 8,000 soldiers at government offices.

"We don't want confrontation with the protesters ... In some places we will let them into government buildings," Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said on Sunday.

Source: Reuters

China: Raising corn output is food for thought

1. Soybean imports have increased drastically in recent years to make up for the shortfall in domestic production and meet the ever-growing demand of the domestic market.

It is problems like these that the proposed national grain safety policy is expected to solve.  Based on self-reliant grain production and moderate imports, the policy was outlined at theCentral Economic Work Conference in mid-December, an annual tone-setter for next year'seconomic development, and the Central Rural Work Conference in late   December.

China has always been committed to ensuring basic grain self-sufficiency by using domesticresources. But going by the policy, the country needs to become  self-sufficient in corn, togetherwith rice and wheat, and prevent the domestic corn market from going the soybean way. Andincreasing production remains the best way of becoming self-sufficient in corn.

Though gradual, China's corn production has been rising in recent years, reaching a record 200million tons in 2012. But corn imports have also kept rising because of the inflexible demand forfeed and its use to make biofuel. Such a tendency cannot be checked without making concertedefforts.

China does not have authoritative data on how big a gap its domestic corn supply faces. Corn production has seen a gradual increase in recent years, but that has been achieved mainly by squeezing the cultivation area of other crops and not by raising  per-unit yield of corn. Since it is not possible for China to continuously expand its corn growing area, the country has to boost its per-unit corn output if it wants to fill or narrow the corn supplying gap and become self-sufficient inthe crop. The lack of progress will hamper the country's efforts to ensure grain   security and prevent the domestic corn market from suffering the fate of the soybean.

The Central Economic Work Conference emphasized the use of science and technology for  grain security. China's corn yield is about 380 kilograms per mu (666 square meters), only 60  percent that of the United States. A lower output, however, means room for improvement. A  series  of methods can be used to boost per-unit corn yield, including improving the infrastructureand farming procedures, and choosing   good strains of seeds, better soil and fertilizer management.
New technologies, including breeding and growing technologies for transgenic crops, can be ofhelp.
The self-         bred phytase transgenic corn technology - coupled with industrialized cultivation basedon experimental planting and assessment of scientific attributes - can also help China boost itsper-unit corn yield. Such types of corn can sharply lower phosphorus pollution and raise the ratio of  feed nutrient utilization.
China has no option but to expedite efforts to develop its own corn technologies and promote  industrialization if it does not want its domestic corn market to be dominated by international  transgenic corn supplies.

ChinaDaily, by Huang Dafang Senior researcher with the Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academyof Agricultural Sciences. 

Traditional Chinese dance drama debuts in London

Chinese dance drama Silk Road made its debut on Saturday night in London, bringing orientalartistic experience for British audiences.

The 34-year-old drama was performed by Gansu Dance Drama and Opera Ensemble onSaturday in the Peacock Theatre of the Sadler's Wells group, Britain's leading dance house.Another two shows will be given in London and Manchester from Saturday to Sunday.

Inspired by the landscape of Northwest China's Silk Road and the early Dunhuang Frescoesand performed by a 47-strong ensemble, the drama depicts a story of peace and friendshipbetween Chinese merchants and foreign traders.

Set in the Sanwei Mountain, a place blessed with thousands of Buddhas and lit by holy lights,the performance follows a painter's daughter who is kidnapped after they help save the life of aPersian businessman on the Silk Road.

Liz Whiu, took her family to watch the drama said the drama was strongly characterized.

"The Chinese drama is fundamentally the same with the British, just with different characters. Butthe different characterizations bring different culture. It's very difficult to say what's the mostenjoyable part, I'm just following the story, and the choreography and music are very well, and thecontrast of the different elements and different move are very interesting," she said.

John M Cruickshank, a local lawyer, said the drama is colorful. "It seems familiar, as the themeof the story is not just Chinese, but universal."

Silk Road has been performed in 30 countries and regions and 400 cities to audiences of morethan 4 million since it was created in 1979. It was adapted into a film in 1982.

Source: Xinhua

Japan: Alzheimer's disease study under scrutiny

Japan's health ministry is looking into a problem with a multi-million-dollar, state-backed research project on Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers say they have been unable to come up with results due to a large amount of unreliable data gathered from patients across the nation.

The 5-year study known as 'J-ADNI' was launched in 2008 to seek ways to detect Alzheimer's disease early and develop treatments.

38 medical institutions, including the University of Tokyo, took part in the study, the largest of its kind in Japan. The government and other organizations funded the 19-million-dollar project.

The study was aimed at tracking for 3 years more than 500 people with mild cognitive impairment, early-stage Alzheimer's disease patients and other related symptoms.

But researchers in charge of data analysis say they found that the study included at least 80 people who did not meet the study's criteria. These include patients suffering from dementia that was not due to Alzheimer's disease.

Source:  NHK

Dollar-yen margin trading volume doubles in '13

The volume of foreign exchange margin trading between the yen and the dollar more than doubled in 2013 from the previous year thanks to the weakening of the Japanese currency against the dollar.

The trading volume in the two currencies swelled by 118.4 percent to about 20.12 million contracts from about 9.21 million contracts, while the volume in other pairs of currency involving the yen slumped, according to Tokyo Financial Exchange data.

The yen-dollar volume grew for the first time in two years, as activity returned from other currency pairs such as the yen and the euro.

The Japan News

China's trade with Japan down 2nd year in row

Chinese officials say their country's global trade volume increased 7.6 percent from the previous year in 2013, topping 4-trillion dollars for the first time, while trade with Japan decreased for a 2nd year in a row.

Chinese customs authorities on Friday released trade figures for last year. Total exports were up 7.9 percent from 2012, totaling 2-trillion 210-billion dollars. Imports amounted to 1-trillion 950-billion dollars, up 7.3 percent.Recovery of the global economy apparently favored China's exports, while stable growth of the domestic economy contributed to fairly high growth of imports.
Trade with Japan, on the other hand, fell 5.1 percent to 312.6-billion dollars, with exports down 0.9 percent to 150.3-billion dollars and imports down 8.7 percent to 162.3-billion dollars.

Source: NHK

Launch of iOS, Android smartphone rival delayed: NTT Docomo

Japanese mobile operator NTT Docomo said Friday that the launch of a new smartphone operating system to rival Google's Android and Apple's iOS had been pushed back owing to development delays.

The open source offering called Tizen, based on the Linux operating system, is the product of a tie-up between companies from Japan, China, South Korea, Europe and the United States.The consortium that makes up Tizen Association include Docomo, U.S. giant Intel, Japan's Fujitsu, South Korea's Samsung and LG, China's Huawei, and European mobile carriers Vodafone and Orange.
Docomo's president had previously said he hoped the new system would launch by the end of the current fiscal year to March.
But that timeline is being pushed back because Docomo is still "developing products that would maximise the features of the Tizen", company spokesman Jun Otori told AFP.

Source: NewsOnJapan

Japan: Race to become 'lucky man for 2014'

About 1,500 men tested their running skills at a shrine compound in Nishinomiya, western Japan, in a race to become the "lucky man of the year."

The annual event at Nishinomiya Shrine dates back to the Edo Period and is part of New Year festivities to pray for good business.As soon as the shrine's gates opened to the sound of a drum at 6 AM on Friday, the men dashed the roughly 230 meters across the compound to the main hall.
The winner was a 19-year-old university student from Amagasaki. The second- and third-place runners were also honored as lucky men.

Source: NHK

Japan condemns China fishing curbs; vows to defend islands

Japan on Sunday joined the United States in criticising China's new fishing restrictions in the South China Sea, saying the curbs, coupled with the launch last year of an air defence zone, has left the international community jittery.

Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera made the comment after observing the Japanese Self-Defence Forces' elite airborne brigade conducting airdrop drills designed to hone their skills to defend and retake remote islands.

Earlier on Sunday, Chinese government ships briefly entered what Japan considers its territorial waters near a group of disputed East China Sea islets, in the first such action this year.

"Setting something like this unilaterally as if you are treating your own territorial waters, and imposing certain restrictions on fishing boats is not something that is internationally tolerated," Onodera told reporters.

"I'm afraid not only Japan but the international society as a whole has a concern that China is unilaterally threatening the existing international order" with its new restrictions in the South China Sea and the creation of an air defence identification zone, he said.

The fishing rules, approved by China's southern Hainan province, took effect on January 1 and require foreign fishing vessels to obtain approval to enter disputed waters in the South China Sea, which the local government says are under its jurisdiction.

Washington called the fishing rules "provocative and potentially dangerous", prompting a rebuttal from China's foreign ministry on Friday.

Source: reuters

China's Moon rover, lander wake after lunar night

 China's moon rover "Yutu" (Jade Rabbit) and the Chang'e-3 lander have just "woken up" after a period of dormancy that lasted two weeks, or one lunar night, in a move designed to ride out harsh climactic conditions.

Yutu was awakened autonomously at 5:09 a.m. Beijing Time on Saturday and has finished necessary setting procedures and entered a normal working mode following orders from the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC), according to a statement issued by the BACC on Sunday.

It has started its rove around the moon surface and scientific missions.

Chang'e-3 has also been awakened automatically at 8:21 a.m. on Sunday, and is currently in normal condition, the statement said.

One night on the moon lasts about 14 days on Earth, during which the temperature falls below minus 180 celsius and there is no sunlight to provide power to the instruments' solar panels.

"During the lunar night, the lander and the rover were in a power-off condition and the communication with Earth was also cut off," said Zhou Jianliang, chief engineer of the BACC.

"When the night ends, they will be started up with the power provided by sunlight and resume operation and communication according to preset programs," Zhou said.

The awakening of the rover and lander marks the success of Chinese technology in surviving the lunar night, and the center will instruct the two instruments to carry on scheduled exploration missions, the chief engineer added.

Chang'e-3 soft-landed on the moon's Sinus Iridium, or the Bay of Rainbows, on Dec. 14 last year, and Yutu later separated from the lander.

Source: Xinhua

Libye : le vice-ministre de l'industrie a été tué par balle

Le vice-ministre de l'industrie libyen, Hassan Al-Droui, a été tué par balle par des inconnus, samedi 11 janvier au soir dans sa ville de Syrte, à 500 kilomètres au sud-est de Tripoli.

Selon une source anonyme des services de sécurité, « des inconnus armés ont tiré des rafales de balles sur M. Droui, dans le centre de la ville de Syrte ». Une source de l'hôpital Ibn Sina de Syrte a confirmé la mort de M. Droui, affirmant que le responsable libyen avait reçu plusieurs balles dans différentes parties du corps.

Il s'agit du premier assassinat d'un membre du gouvernement de transition, depuis la chute du régime de Mouammar Kadhafi en octobre 2011.

SYRTE, DERNIER BASTION DE KADHAFI

M. Droui était un ancien membre du Conseil national de transition, bras politiquede la rébellion qui a renversé le régime du dictateur déchu. Il avait été nommé vice-ministre de l'industrie par le premier chef de gouvernement de transition, Abdelrahim Al-Kib. Il a été maintenu à son poste par le premier ministre actuel, Ali Zeidan.

M. Droui était originaire de la ville de Syrte, dernier bastion du régime de Mouammar Kadhafi à tomber aux mains des rebelles en 2011.

Depuis la chute du régime kadhafiste, la Libye a été le théâtre de violences et d'assassinats visant notamment des militaires et des responsables des services de sécurité.

Le Monde

China succeeds in first 300-meter saturation dive

China succeeded in its first 300-meter saturation dive in the morning on Jan. 12 as three divers returned safe and sound from deep water to the living chamber on their ship. The diving bell actually reached a depth of 313.5 meters under the South China Sea. Saturation diving technology enables human beings to withstand high water pressure by saturating human tissue with inert gas. 

Source: Xinhua

China: Newspaper urges privacy-transparency balance in real-estate registration

A Chinese newspaper article has urged efforts to strike a balance between privacy protection and the public's right to know in establishing the country's real-estate registration system.

"There need to be restrictions on requests for information to protect citizens' privacy. However, any approach that sets excessively strict terms and denies supervision attempts should be avoided," said an article published in the Sunday edition of the Beijing Youth Daily under the byline of the newspaper's commentator Pan Hongqi.

An official announced on Saturday that China will set up a bureau for real estate registration to facilitate property management reform.

Authorities will also form an unified real-estate registration platform and improve information management and inquiry services related to real estate, according to the official.

The newspaper article said real estate generally constitutes the bulk of Chinese citizens' private assets while a unified system will enable information to be obtained about one's assets.

While strict regulation governing information requests may well protect citizens' privacy, it should be possible to ease certain restrictions to facilitate authorities' supervision and the public's right to know when it comes to officials' assets that may involve important public interests, the article said.

The unified registration system will also help with the reporting of officials' personal information, it went on.

The Chinese public has been shocked by cases exposed by whistleblowers about owners of multiple properties such as "Sister House" Gong Ai'ai and "Uncle House" Cai Bin.

Last year, Cai, a former senior police officer, was sentenced to 11 and a half years in prison for bribe-taking after an online post claimed that he has more than 20 houses.

Gong was also sentenced to three years in prison for forging IDs and residency records to purchase houses.

Source: Xinhua

China: Travel rush train ticket sales surge

The China Railway Corporation said on Sunday that an average of 7.43 million train tickets have been sold a day since fares went on sale for the upcoming Spring Festival travel rush, with this figure up 20.3 percent year on year.

According to the corporation, 148.58 million tickets for travel in the 40-day travel rush around the Spring Festival had been sold by Saturday, since these tickets became available on December 23.

Passengers can buy train tickets online or by telephone.

China's official ticket-booking website www.12306.cn had sold 3.59 million train tickets per day up to Saturday, with a growth of 57 percent from a year ago.

The Spring Festival, or China's lunar new year, is the country's most important traditional holiday for family reunions. Most people will go home for the festival, putting great pressure on the country's transportation system.

The coming Spring Festival falls on Jan. 31. This year's travel rush, literally translated as "spring transportation," is expected to last from Jan. 16 to Feb. 24.

People can book tickets for trains 25 days before the travel date via the Internet or telephone, while train stations and train ticket agencies begin to sell the tickets 23 days ahead.

Source: Xinhua

What I wish for Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year is a time for making wishes. But unlike in the West, the tradition in China seems to have grown increasingly charged with superstition as more Chinese turn to a myriad of deities to grant them better times ahead.

On the first day of the lunar calendar last year, Lama Temple (or Yonghegong) in Beijing drew a crowd of nearly 80,000 who burned joss sticks to seek the blessings of their gods; the figure for the previous Lunar New Year was about 67,000. The turnout could be much higher in a couple of weeks when the nation celebrates Spring Festival.

While explanations abound, I tend to believe feelings of uncertainty or sometimes helplessness, or both, have driven many to deities that are believed to possess magical powers. When I think about my wishes for the nation and myself in the Year of the Horse, I realize some of them look set to happen, but most would require luck and a touch of miracle. Here are my five top hopes.

1: More blue-sky days: In 2013, Beijing saw 58 heavily polluted days with smoggy skies, or almost 16 percent of the year. Urban residents now live in constant fear of smog striking any time again even during lulls of blue skies. While the nation sorely needs to devise a coherent and viable strategy to clear smog, scientists and officials have locked horns over the main causes of the pollution woes.

I pray for a miracle, without which we'll continue to count on strong winds to blow away smog.

2: Safer food: President Xi Jinping's impromptu visit to a Qingfeng Steamed Bun outlet late last month has hugely boosted the reputation of local dishes and renewed people's love affair with traditional dishes. At the restaurant, Xi ordered six pork-stuffed steamed buns, stewed pig liver soup and a plate of vegetables, which have since become one of the most popular set meals in the restaurant chain.

Like many other Chinese consumers who are jittery about frequent food contamination, my family has always tried to avoid cheap, mass-market food. But after Xi ate at Qingfeng, we followed suit and found the eatery clean, and its buns and porridge tasted delicious.

I hope the president's visit marks a new beginning for other local food brands, too.

3: Better working conditions for journalists: Believe it or not, journalism has become one of the most stressful and dangerous jobs in China. Last week, the All-China Journalists Association launched a special fund to compensate journalists who have died or have been injured in the line of duty, with claims ranging from 5,000 yuan ($852.6) to 300,000 yuan.

I wish good luck to colleagues and fellow journalists who risk their health and even lives in the competition to grab headlines and readers' attention.

4: Happier family life with anti-graft campaign: Corruption may have played a significant role in many family break-ups because crooked officials are more likely to be unfaithful to their spouses. Since the end of last year, officials in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, have been asked to answer the question, "Do you desire extra-marital affairs or sex outside marriage?", as a key indicator of corruption.

The ongoing anti-corruption drive has significantly reduced the nightlife and other extra curricular activities of people in power. The latest joke doing the rounds is that the divorce rate could fall as more officials head home after work.

5: Stabilizing housing prices: The continuing frenzied home sales at stratospheric prices surprized both homeowners and property agents last year. In the last five years,home prices have risen by three to four times in Beijing.

While sellers are laughing their way to the bank and buyers are rushing to take the plunge, remember the popular belief that housing prices will only go up is false. Let's pray the market will stabilize soon to avoid a housing bubble, which will have a serious impact on the economy and millions of homeowners when it bursts.

by Bai Ping ChinaDaily

Les Amis de la Syrie pressent l'opposition d'aller à Genève

"La réunion des « Amis de la Syrie », qui regroupe les onze pays occidentaux et arabes soutenant l'opposition syrienne, s'est achevée, dimanche 12 janvier àParis, par un appel à la Coalition nationale syrienne (CNS) à participer à une conférence internationale de paix dont le but est de parvenir à la fin du « régime despotique » de Bachar Al-Assad, selon la déclaration finale adoptée à l'unanimité.

Les ministres des affaires étrangères des onze pays présents ont avant tout vouluadresser un message de soutien à Ahmad Jarba, le président de la CNS, dont le mouvement est divisé sur une participation à des négociations avec des représentants du pouvoir syrien. Les délégués de la CNS doivent décider, vendredi 17 janvier à Istanbul, s'ils se rendent ou non aux à ces pourparlers dont le lancement est prévu en Suisse, le 22 janvier à Montreux.

L'objectif de la réunion de dimanche à Paris, dit-on de source diplomatique, consistait surtout à renforcer l'assise de M. Jarba et à inciter l'opposition à serendre en Suisse pour éviter que le régime de Damas ne fasse porter l'échec de ces négociations à ses adversaires. S'adressant à tous ceux, dans son camp, qui redoutent que l'ouverture de pourparlers ne fera que consolider le pouvoir syrien, M. Jarba a souligné que « nous sommes tous d'accord pour dire qu'il n'y a pas d'avenir pour Bachar Al-Assad et pour sa famille en Syrie. Son départ est inéxorable », a-t-il insisté.

De son côté, Laurent Fabius, le ministre français des affaires étrangères,a condamné les « atrocités perpétuées par le régime contre son peuple » et rappelé que les négociations en Suisse visaient à« faire en sorte que ce régime voit sa fin ».

A cette fin, la déclaration adoptée dimanche a réitéré la finalité des négociations, àsavoir la mise en place « par consentement mutuel d'un gouvernement transitoire doté des pleins pouvoirs exécutifs ». Une façon de répondre au pouvoir syrien qui a déjà indiqué qu'il n'était pas disposé à discuter d'une transition politique. Autrement dit : il n'est pas question de négocier le départ de Bachar Al-Assad. Au point que les autorités syriennes ont fait savoir qu'elles pourraient mêmedemander que soit mis à l'ordre du jour l'organisation d'une élection présidentielle à laquelle participerait M. Al-Assad. Une provocation destinée à torpiller le processus.

Les négociations diplomatiques vont se poursuivre, lundi 13 janvier, à Paris lors d'une série de rencontres entre Laurent Fabius et son homologue américain, John Kerry, avec Sergueï Lavrov, le ministre russe des affaires étrangères, et Lakhdar Brahimi, l'émissaire des Nations unies pour la Syrie".

Le Monde

France: Christiane Taubira lance la réforme de la justice

Rappeler une convocation chez le juge ou demander une pièce justificative par SMS. Favoriser la médiation pour résoudre certains conflits. Jean-Marc Ayrault et Christiane Taubira ont ouvert vendredi, le « débat national sur la justice du XXIe siècle » avec pour objectif de rapprocher la justice des citoyens. Le débat réunissant les acteurs du monde judiciaire s'est terminé samedi et une série de propositions seront discutées dans toutes les juridictions de France, avant derevenir à la chancellerie pour des arbitrages à partir d'avril. Certaines mesures pourraient entrer en vigueur avant l'été.

Cette réforme judiciaire est la plus ambitieuse depuis 1958. Ces dernières années, des modifications successives ont rendu la justice de plus en plus compliquée. Cette fois, nous voulons repenser le système judiciaire dans sa globalité : améliorer son fonctionnement, son efficacité et, finalement, le service rendu au citoyen », déclare la ministre au quotidien.

Christiane Taubira précise que « cela passe aussi bien par un accès facilité à la justice, une meilleure compréhension des décisions et une accélération des procédures ». Elle envisage « un guichet universel qui recueillera toutes les démarches entreprises par le justiciable, quelle que soit la juridiction – civile, sociale, familiale ».

La réforme pourrait passer par une simplification : « Il faut repenser les sites judiciaires. Entre les tribunaux d'instance, de grande instance, les juridictions sociales ou familiales, il y a un effort de lisibilité à faire. » De même, la « réflexion ne porte pas sur la dépénalisation, mais sur la transformation de certains délits en contraventions, afin d'accélérer les procédures ». « J'ai conscience que c'est une question sensible, car certains peuvent croire que le message envoyé est celui de l'indulgence. Il faut en discuter », dit-elle. La ministre précise à ce sujet qu'elle n'exclut pas du débat l'idée d'une « contraventionnalisation de l'usage de stupéfiants » préconisée par l'ancien procureur général près la Cour de cassation, Jean-Louis Nadal, dans un récent rapport. 

Revenant sur la proposition controversée de confier les divorces par consentement mutuel à un greffier et non plus à un juge, Christiane Taubira estime que « le débat doit avoir lieu », mais que « ce n'est pas encore l'heure de trancher ».

Le Monde

Xiaomi gets another new convert as Steve Wozniak drops into Beijing HQ

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has long since discovered the magic key that helped him escape from Apple’s walled garden. Now he’s free to go anywhere, say anything, and use any device he feels like. Today, Wozniak – aka Woz – dropped into the HQ of Chinese startup phone-maker Xiaomi.

According to former Google and Android VP turned AppleexecutiveHugoBarra, who just posted a photo and some details to his Google+ page Woz is a new convert to their phones. Woz declared that it’s “very emotional for me to be a part of Xiaomi now” – a reference to him using a Xiaomi Mi3 (not working for the ambitious phone-maker).

Barra says that Woz had more advice for those in attendance at Xiaomi’s New Year celebration in Beijing;

 

Always make sure your products are better than what any other human being could make.

Xiaomi sold 18.7million of its Android-based smartphones in 2013. It operates just in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The firm, founded by serial entrepreneur Lei Jun, will expand to Sigapore next.

Wozniak is staying in Beijing all weekend. He’ll be at the capital’s GeekPark tomorrow, and then he’ll be back at Xiaomi on Sunday for a “dialogue” with Lei Jun in front of invited guests. We’ll be there to hear what the pair have to say.

Source: TECHINASIA