World briefs 04/03/03

Air Canada files for bankruptcy protection

TORONTO -- Air Canada has become the latest major airline to file for bankruptcy protection as it seeks concessions from unions and government assistance amid the long worldwide slump for air travel.

Air Canada is the country's largest airline and the only scheduled Canadian carrier with an extensive route network to the United States and other foreign destinations. It employs more than 30,000 people.

Shares in Air Canada plummeted Wednesday, dropping 61 percent to 82 Canadian cents (57 cents), giving the airline a market value of 65 million Canadian dollars ($45 million) on 79 million common shares.

Tuesday's filing means Air Canada will continue flying during a reorganization period, but shows its difficulty coping with the industry downturn after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks now exacerbated by the war in Iraq and mystery illness spreading from Asia.

France gets EU warning over budget deficit

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union head office began disciplinary procedures against France on Wednesday for having a budget deficit that exceeded EU limits -- a violation that could carry an $8 billion fine.

France surpassed the limit -- 3 percent of gross domestic product -- last year and risks doing so again this year, the European Commission said.

If France fails to bring its public finances under control by next year, it could face a fine of up to 0.5 percent of its GDP -- or $8 billion if using 2001 figures.

However, the EU has yet to impose such fines and recently hinted it favors flexibility in applying the rules.

Wednesday's announcement was a formal step that brings no immediate action. The commission, following further analysis, may formally ask EU governments to recommend France change its fiscal policies, but that is unlikely before June.

Congolese groups sign power-sharing deal

SUN CITY, South Africa -- Congo's government signed a peace agreement with rebels Wednesday in a bid to end a 4 1/2-year civil war. But the president and a rebel leader stayed away, underscoring just how difficult it will be to implement the deal.

Congo President Joseph Kabila refused to come to this South African resort because he wanted the pact signed at home, while Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader of the rebel Congolese Liberation Movement, did not attend for "technical reasons," his representatives said.

Mediators said the leaders' absence was a symbolic blow to the agreement, a power-sharing plan that commits the sides to a temporary constitution and to setting up a transitional government.

The agreement, titled The Final Act, was signed by Congolese Foreign Minister Leonard She Okitundu; Adolphe Onusumba, the leader of the other main rebel group, the Congolese Rally for Democracy; and representatives of political parties and civic groups.

More suspects arrested in prime minister slaying

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro -- Police said Wednesday they have arrested six more suspects on charges they were involved in the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.

The arrests came as Serbian officials renewed their promise to purge the country of criminal remnants of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's regime. Police did not specify what roles the latest detainees allegedly played in the assassination.

"No one will be spared the responsibility for what has happened in our country," Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Cedomir Jovanovic was quoted as saying by the state-run Tanjug news agency.

Authorities have accused an underworld group known as the Zemun Clan of masterminding out the March 12 sniper attack on Djindjic. But the government also has said that Djindjic's death was politically motivated and aimed at destabilizing the reformist leadership.

-- From wire reports