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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Taro who wrote (348128)	8/23/2007 9:51:56 AM
From: Elroy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574002

Borse Dubai violated Swedish takeover law Agencies Published: August 23, 2007, 15:55 gulfnews.com Stockholm: A Swedish regulator said on Thursday state-run Borse Dubai violated Swedish takeover law in the run-up to a bid for exchange owner OMX but no action against the group was planned. Sweden's Financial Supervisory Authority said that in deciding later whether to block any purchase of OMX, it would take into account anything that might affect its view of a potential owner. But a regulatory official declined to comment directly on how the breach would be viewed. Borse Dubai, which has bid $4 billion, is locked in a battle with US exchange Nasdaq to buy the Nordic operator. Nasdaq has an agreed cash-and-shares offer currently valued at $3.7 billion. The regulator said Borse Dubai breached the law when it first announced it was buying shares in OMX this month, but as the group followed that up with a formal bid it would not be taking action. The regulator had been investigating whether the announcement, made in a press release, constituted a formal bid and as such whether the company should have filed an offer document. "Borse Dubai's press release announced on Aug 9, 2007 was a public takeover bid. As a consequence, Borse Dubai has breached the Act on Takeovers in the stock market," the regulator said in a statement. "Borse Dubai has subsequently complied with the act therefore no further action will be taken," it said. Borse Dubai issued a news release on Aug 9 saying it had begun a book-building process in OMX. The Dubai group said it had entered agreements to buy shares at 230 crowns each as it aimed to amass a stake of 25 percent. Later that day it said it had bought 4.9 percent of OMX and had agreements to buy 22.5 percent more. On Aug 17, Borse Dubai unveiled an offer of 230 crowns per share for OMX, which runs exchanges in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and the Baltic states. Bisher Barazi, managing director of DIFC Investments, a shareholder in Borse Dubai, declined to comment. Essa Kazim, chairman of Borse Dubai, could not immediately be reached for comments.

To: Taro who wrote (348128)	8/23/2007 10:11:08 AM
From: Elroy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574002

Little solace for Iraqis in Sweden By Laurence Lee in Sodertalje, Sweden english.aljazeera.net Sweden has taken in more Iraqi refugees than any country in Europe. But the influx is making it harder for refugees to apply for asylum. There are lots of jokes in Sweden about the town of Sodertalje. One is that Iraqis cannot find their country on a map, but they all know where that town is. Another is that the city should be called "Mesopotalje". The stories from the Iraqi Christian community who fled to Sodertalje are not all that funny though. Sitting in the church hall, two of them - a dentist and a journalist, both in their early thirties - described how they had paid between $15,000 and $20,000 to a people trafficker. He got them into Europe through Greece, and dumped them in Stockholm. Death threats They did not want to leave Iraq, but the death threats they received for being Christian became too much. However, they found life in Sweden to be a let down. Watch Al Jazeera's exclusive report Many fear that Sodertalje is turning into a ghetto Namir Shamany, a refugee, described in perfect English how it was impossible to get a job in Sodertalje because he did not speak Swedish or have the relevant papers. He said: "For example you work in a restaurant washing dishes, cleaning, anything ... especially if you [do not] speak the language. What do you expect? "You can't communicate with people so you are not qualified enough to work in any place." Iraqi refugees go to Sodertalje because there are so many of them there already. Major changes The local authority and the national government are desperate to get them to live somewhere else in Sweden. But every time they offer a house, and a job, in a different city, the Iraqis find a way back to the small town where they have their church and their friends. Now, even the ultra-liberal Swedes are talking about major changes to the way they look after Iraqi asylum-seekers. Sweden has already taken 50 per cent of all Iraqis to the European Union, but the danger of small pockets such as Sodertalje becoming ghettoes is driving them to consider new legislation which would force would-be migrants to accept living in a different town, away from the established community. No education The large Iraqi Christian community has its own church in Sodertalje In Sodertalje, there are now enormous queues for reception centres, which teach Iraqis how to speak Swedish or to get a job. Refugees' children cannot get a place in the local schools, which are full, so they have to manage without an education. Stories of extended families living 15 to a small apartment are common. The Swedish government had nothing to do with the Iraq war, maintaining a neutral position, but has since had to help various countries in the Middle East pick up the pieces. They still insist they will not put a block on asylum seekers coming, but wish other Western governments - particularly those who fought the war - would help more. Power of fear Tobias Billstrom, the migration minister, says: "If you compare the figures for Sweden and the United States, the US should accept just as high a number when you compare the population of the two countries. "They should have accepted 500,000 Iraqis. So yes, I would like to see more countries step up their efforts in this matter." For a country that is as rich, and with as high a quality of life as Sweden, conditions in the Iraqi areas of Sodertalje are a glaring exception. But such is the power of fear that Iraqis who had to flee their country still prefer to come here, even without any prospects or hopes for a job or education, than to seek asylum elsewhere. Their friends, and their church, are their main source of comfort.