Paris a pour sa part indiqu que la porte du dialogue avec l'Iran restait ouverte. Selon le ministre franais des Affaires trangres, le message adress aux responsables iraniens est trs clair: soit l'Iran poursuit ses activits sensibles en violation du droit international et alors il devra faire face un isolement croissant, soit il fait le choix de la coopration et accepte enfin d'engager de vritables ngociations avec les Six, peut-on lire dans un communiqu. Les sanctions ne sont pas une fin en soi. La rsolution, et la dclaration des six ministres des Affaires trangres prononce l'issue du vote, rappellent que nous souhaitons parvenir une solution ngocie, qui rponde aux besoins de l'Iran tout en rassurant la communaut internationale sur la finalit de son programme nuclaire.
Commento di Timothy Garton Ash. A un anno dalle contestate elezioni presidenziali iraniane, il movimento studentesco dell'onda verde ancora vivo, nonostante la persecuzione subita dal regime. In questo momento per i cittadini iraniani hanno bisogno di un aiuto internazionale e di un'attenzione che vada oltre il programma nucleare del governo.
Iran's tortured Green movement is down but not out. We can still help One harrowing year since the stolen election, the people of Iran need the world's attention to go beyond the nuclear issue By Timothy Garton Ash Do not forget Iran. Remember Neda. If there are green-clad protests in Tehran this weekend, to mark the first anniversary of the election that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stole, they will doubtless again be crushed with casual brutality by the thugs of the basij militia, secret police and Revolutionary Guard. Imprisonment, torture, male rape and execution are the offerings these henchmen of the Islamic Republic bring to honour Allah, the compassionate, the merciful. Faced with such violent repression, the Green movement is a long way down but not out. Iran will never again be the country it was before the election of 12 June 2009. In the great demonstration three days later, one of the largest in recorded history, everything was changed, changed utterly. In the subsequent repression, a terrible beauty was born. The historical process may take years, but one day, as the economy worsens and discontent spreads to more sections of society, the movement will be back in force, though perhaps in a different form. Eventually, in Iran there will be statues of Neda Agha-Sultan, the young woman shot in one of the early mass demonstrations, and memorials to the martyrs of this struggle for freedom, as there are now memorials to the martyrs of the Iran-Iraq war. We should also never forget that this is a self-generated movement from within a Muslim society, dedicated to transforming the contemporary world's longest-running and still most formidable Islamist regime into something very different. If you want to get a sense of the agony and ecstasy of Iran over the last year, read Death to the Dictator! by Afsaneh Moqadam. It tells the story of the stolen election and attempted Green revolution through the experience of one young man, Mohsen, who is caught up in the excitement of the protests, but then detained, tortured, and repeatedly raped by his jailers. (Mohsen is too humiliated to admit this, but the horrible effects are detailed to his mother by a doctor, with appropriate medical advice.) The larger political narrative is vividly and knowledgeably woven around this central, biographical thread. One thing that emerges very clearly is the vital role of women, which the Nobel peace prizewinner Shirin Ebadi has written about. Mohsen's mother herself joined the protests, independently of the men in her family, and we understand that this is a double emancipation. "Afsaneh Moqadam" is a pseudonym, and some names and details have been changed to protect those involved, but I have spoken to the author and am left in no doubt that this harrowing account is closely based on a true story. Then go on YouTube to watch the American film For Neda. The film is a bit too schmaltzy for my taste, but well worth seeing, with some brave reporting by Saeed Kamali Dehghan, who returned to Iran to film interviews with Neda's family (and to report for the Guardian). Despite the regime's efforts to block it, many people in Iran have reportedly already viewed it online. Finally, look at Amnesty International's latest report on Iran, with its sober catalogue of arrests, torture

Israele sarebbe pronto ad accettare una proposta britannica che prevede lallentamento del blocco di Gaza in cambio dellaccettazione internazionale di uninchiesta interna israeliana per investigare sugli eventi che hanno portato alla morte di nove attivisti turchi a bordo di una nave diretta a Gaza la settimana scorsa. Lo riporta la stampa britannica.
Britain: No quid pro quo deal on Gaza blockade Britain denies report in the Daily Telegraph that in exchange for decreased world pressure for an international probe into Gaza flotilla events, Israel is expected to ease the Gaza siege. By Natasha Mozgovaya and Barak Ravid Britain has denied a report in The Daily Telegraph of a British plan wherein Israel will ease the Gaza siege in exchange for decreased world pressure for an international probe into the events of the Gaza flotilla, the British Embassy in Tel Aviv said in a statement on Wednesday. "We don't know where the idea of a quid pro quo came from the Foreign Secretary has made clear that the current restrictions on Gaza must be lifted in line with UNSCR 1860," the statement read. "In this context, we are of course giving some thought to how this might be done, and discussing with our partners, including Israel. Other partners are doing the same, and we hope that all such discussions will lead to rapid progress on this issue," the statement continued. The Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday that Israel is expected to agree to a British proposal in which it will ease the Gaza blockade in exchange for international acceptance of Israel's internal investigation into the events that led up to the deaths of nine Turkish activists aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla last week. According to the report in the conservative British daily, Britain has taken upon itself a central role in mediating the crisis that has erupted following the Gaza flotilla events and has drawn up a confidential document proposing ways of easing the blockade on Gaza. Israeli officials said that in light of growing international criticism over Gaza's humanitarian situation, they would agree to permit a substantial amount of aid to pass through Israel's land crossing into the Gaza Strip, the paper reported. According to the Telegraph, Israeli officials denied any direct link between their readiness to cooperate over the blockade and the decrease in international support for the UN-led proposal for an international probe. However a Western source involved in the discussions with Israel said that there are talks of a mutually beneficial deal. "A quid pro quo deal is in the offing," said the Western source. Moreover, British Foreign Secretary William Hague also hinted that pressure for a UN investigation was easing after he said that a probe with simply international presence may also be acceptable. U.S.: International probe into Gaza flotilla raid is 'essential' Echoing countless calls on Israel to subject itself to an international investigation of the events that led up to the deaths

of nine Turkish activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid ship last week, the U.S. on Tuesday demanded that some international body be involved in the probe of the events. This, after a senior official said earlier Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has nearly completed a draft of guidelines for the establishment of a commission of inquiry comprised of Israeli jurists. The future commission would investigate the clash between Israeli navy commandos who were rappelled onto a Turkish ship, participating in a flotilla attempting to break Israel's three-year blockade on the Gaza Strip and deliver aid, and Turkish activists aboard the ship. The incident sparked harsh criticism against Israel and international calls for an independent investigation. Israel has so far rejected any external investigation, insisting that any investigation by an external body would be biased against Israel. "International participation in investigating these matters will be important to the credibility that everybody wants to see," said U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley on Tuesday. "We are discussing with Israel and others the prospective nature of international participation in the investigation. And we're sharing different ideas on how to best accomplish that." "We want to see an impartial, credible, prompt, thorough investigation. We recognize that international participation, which lends itself to countries and entities being able to vouch for the results of the investigation - will be an essential element to putting this tragedy behind us," he went on to say. Meanwhile Tuesday, Netanyahu demanded that he and his forum of seven senior ministers be allowed to testify before the investigation committee that will be established, comprised of Israeli jurists, and said that he and his top ministers would supply any future committee with all the required information. In drafting the guidelines for the future investigation, Netanyahu insisted that Israel Defense Forces soldiers will not be personally interrogated, and asked that the investigation committee use instead the findings of internal military investigations already conducted. Netanyahu added that IDF Chief of Staff would testify. According to the senior official, the guidelines for the panel of investigation have been almost finalized by the forum of seven during a meeting they held Monday morning. However, the forum is expected to convene an additional meeting on the topic on Wednesday. The draft of the guidelines has been approved unanimously by the forum ministers, who supported Netanyahu's demands. The Prime Minister's Bureau has neither made the draft public nor the names of the individuals who will serve on the committee. The reason, according to the official, is the fact that the cabinet has yet to complete coordinating the investigation with the U.S. administration and other Western countries in order to ensure their support. The aim, he said, is that these countries will send observers to oversee the investigation. In addition, the official added, conflicts of interest must be examined in regard to the possible members of the investigation panel. The Prime Minister's Bureau approached several top litigators to inquire whether they would be interested in taking part in the work of the committee. Several of the candidates are former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Meir Rosen, former legal adviser to Israel's Foreign Ministry Alan Baker, and Bar-Ilan University professor Yaffa Zilbershatz, who is also a candidate to become Israel's next ambassador to the United Nations.

"My duties are to bring news, watch the people who move weapons to the government side from the weapons markets and find the enemies of al-Shabab in our area To kill people you don't need a gun Not always." I ask him why he fought a government that imposed sharia on Somalia and is led by one of their former allies in the Islamic courts movement. "According to our beliefs Somalia was never an Islamic country it has to be liberated from the apostasy. After that we move to Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti The resistance never stops at specific borders." Al-Shabab's origins date to the mid-1990s when a group of militant jihadis split from the Itehad al-Islami, the main Islamist organisation at the time, in Somalia and later joined a loose alliance known as the Islamic courts. The more militant elements in the alliance gave Ethiopia, ever nervous about the Islamist presence on its doorstep, the pretext to invade. Ethiopia's occupation was backed by the US but after a war of insurgency led by the courts alliance, the Ethiopians withdrew, handing security to the African Union. In a clan-based society such as Somalia where it's not uncommon to hear someone say of a close cousin: "We meet in the 10th grandfather" or approximately 300 years ago the militias are tribal; the forging and breaking of alliances happens according to tribal interests. Even the parliament is a tribal entity based on a sub-sub-clan representation. Foot soldiers Al-Shabab's success like other Islamist organisations can partly be attributed to their "modern structure", based more on merit rather than tribal loyalties. Beliefs, rituals and loyalty to the commander of the faithful replace the traditional loyalties. Their foot soldiers are young men, radicalised by years of war, many from the marginalised tribes of the farming south that have been dominated for the past two decades by the strong pastoralist tribes. Their tribal elders can no longer offer any resemblance of respect. "Most of the new recruits joining us now are the zealous young, their hearts are filled with passion and zeal, who can't wait to face the enemy. They are 14, 15, 16," said Qadir. "They empower the young," a writer in Mogadishu who lives in al-Shabab-controlled Bakara market told me. "They go to the young, give them power, the power to face that rotten structure of the tribe, power in the shape of a gun. Power as self esteem and belief This is why they succeed. Now I am worried about my own young brother." With power, discipline and structure, al-Shabab managed to provide "security" to the local population, making it possible for people to safely leave their houses, go shopping, do business and, unlike government soldiers who are known to be little better than looters and criminals, their fighters enjoy a good reputation. They also levy taxes from businesses and farmers and even local herders. "We tax the people, the companies, the farmers and the herders. But we don't use the word tax. Instead we use the term aid. We also control some ports and airports that give us revenues.

"The big money transfer companies we go to them once a month they pay between ten thousand dollars and twenty during the war, at the time of peace few thousands only," says Qadir. Al-Shabab is in nominal alliance with Hizb al-Islam but they often clash with each other over control of "liberated" areas and a war of assassination is going on between the two parties. Recently they have started to outbid each other on radicalism. When Hizb banned radios in Mogadishu from broadcasting music, al-Shabab issued a statement a week later banning schools from ringing bells. After al-Shabab started getting support from al-Qaida in Yemen and other jihadi groups, Hizb called on Osama bin Laden to come to Mogadishu. Foreign backing Just as the government receives military and financial support from Ethiopia, Djibouti, the EU and US, al-Shabab also look abroad for money, weapons and fighters. "The government takes support from the west so we take support from our brothers the muhajiroon - immigrants," says Qadir. "Some are part of the fighting brigade, some don't leave their hiding places. They work in manufacturing explosives and strategy and those are not seen. "They are Asians, Yemenis and Arabs with American passports, but there are also many Africans Kenyans, Tanzanians and Moroccans." A large number of the muhajiroon arriving in Mogadishu are Somalis with western passports, he says. Some of them went on to become suicide bombers. "We take films of the shelling and the bombing by the government and the African Union, and we show to the young in the diaspora and they come here enraged and passionate," he says. "We have our supporters in America, Australia and in Europe. Their duty is to recruit men and bring them to Somalia. The young men, most of them haven't seen war in their lives, go to military training for six months and then they fight." Another commander with Hezb al-Islam explains the dynamics of the different foreign fighters flocking to Somalia: "Most are from Africa Nigerians, Sudanese and Zanzibaris. There are Arabs also, most of them Yemenis, and a few Asians. And there are the Somalis from Britain, Holland, Sweden and Norway." Many of the foreigners have been trained and able to instruct Somali fighters and returning Somalis in tactics and first aid. "The foreigners, especially from Pakistan and Yemen, have a very high training. They also teach us how to make explosive belts how to plant time bombs in walls and under the floor." Later a Hizb al-Islam commander tells me his group was also attracting fighters from abroad. "Now the foreigners coming are Arabs from Europe, from the US and from Yemen. They are very experienced fighters in directing mortar and artillery fire and very good snipers. "The Somalis are better in open field attacks but the foreigners are better in sniping and artillery." Many things have changed in Mogadishu over the last year. Gone are the plastic chairs in the presidential office and in have come wooden chairs with leather padding. The air-conditioned office is by far the coldest place in Mogadishu; a sweater is needed to stop you from shivering, while outside the sweltering heat envelops everything and everyone. Even the president looks happier. The trappings of power seem to suit him. He no longer carries the world-weary look I saw when he took office last year. His face slips easily into a confident smile. He wears a thin, gold watch encrusted with glittering gems.

La Gran Bretagna parteciper ad un progetto di sorveglianza europeo per la raccolta di informazioni personali su presunti "gruppi politici radicali". Secondo alcune indiscrezioni, l'iniziativa di Europol, destinata inizialmente a raccogliere dati sulla "radicalizzazione e il reclutamento" di gruppi terroristi islamici, stata estesa anche ad altre organizzazioni estremiste.
UK monitors suspected radicals as part of European surveillance project Police keep tabs on activists from across the political spectrum, documents obtained by EU civil liberties NGO reveal By Paul Lewis The UK is taking part in a European surveillance programme which is designed to gather personal information about suspected "radicals" from across the political spectrum. Confidential documents reveal how an initiative to gather data on "radicalisation and recruitment" in Islamic terrorist groups has been expanded to incorporate other organisations. Political activists who have no association with terrorism could now find themselves monitored by authorities mandated to discover information about their friends, family, neighbours, political beliefs, use of the internet and even psychological traits. Police and security agencies have agreed to monitor "agents" who adhere to ideologies potentially involving violence. The documents define targets for the surveillance as people involved in "extreme right/left, Islamist, nationalist, antiglobalisation" groups. Europol, a EU law enforcement agency, has been asked to produce a list of people involved in either promoting such groups, or in trying to recruit members. The documents, obtained by Statewatch, the EU civil liberties monitoring NGO, set out a programme of "systematic data collection" ostensibly geared towards terrorism. But the inclusion of such a broad array of political interests will add to growing concerns that legitimate protest organisations are being subjected to state surveillance. In the UK, the police have developed a centralised monitoring apparatus to spy on "domestic extremists", an umbrella term with no legal definition which, in practice, includes law-abiding environmental protesters, anti-war activists, and anti-racist campaigners. The scheme has a central database held by the national public order intelligence unit, a secretive body funded by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo). Monitoring of political activists is a task filled by the terrorism and allied matters division of Acpo. The advice lists "environmental extremists" alongside far-right activists, dissident Irish republicans, loyalist paramilitaries, and al-Qaida inspired extremists, as among those "currently categorised as extremist [that] may include those who have committed serious crime in pursuit of an ideology or cause". The UK government has also been criticised over Prevent, a programme aimed at stopping Muslims being lured into violent extremism. The initiative was branded a mass surveillance project after it was found it was being used to gather intelligence on innocent people who were not suspected of involvement in terrorism.

Under the new, approved, EU scheme, states have acquired a 70-question list on "agents of radicalisation" under their watch. Much of the information presumes a high-degree of intrusive monitoring, obtainable only via covert surveillance techniques, such as phone tapping. It is assumed, for example, that law enforcement agencies will obtain information about a person's "feelings" about a group that could be "considered as the enemy". One section asks for information about "oral comments" made by targets, while others ask about religious knowledge, behaviour, and socio-economic status. Under "relevant psychological traits", law enforcement agencies are asked to collate and share information on "psychological disorders, charismatic personality, weak personality, etc". Another question asks: "Is there a prior relationship between the agents? Schoolmates, friends, relatives, shared time in prison, etc." This latest data-sharing agreement is the culmination of long-standing attempts to create a pan-European database of individuals whom police suspect could cause trouble at large demonstrations. EU officials, principally led by Germany, have tried repeatedly to widen the shared data on suspected terrorists and serious criminals to include political activists, defined in documents as "troublemakers" who attend "large public gatherings". The moves were stalled by objections from some member states, including the UK, concerned about civil liberties and data protection. But they reappeared as a firm commitment in the EU's five-year Stockholm programme.
Dopo esseri impegnati per anni nel tentativo di gestire i giovani criminali in apposite strutture, diversi Stati Usa stanno progressivamente chiudendo decine di riformatori in risposta alla flessione degli arresti tra i teenager, ma anche in osservanza delle nuove politiche di detenzione minorile, decisamente meno severe, e alla luce dei problemi di budget delle casse pubbliche.
States closing youth prisons as arrests plunge By TODD RICHMOND WALES, Wis. -- After struggling for years to treat young criminals in razor wire-ringed institutions, states across the country are quietly shuttering dozens of reformatories amid plunging juvenile arrests, softer treatment policies and bleak budgets. In Ohio, the number of juvenile offenders has plummeted by nearly half over the last two years, pushing the state to close three facilities. California's closures include a youth institution near Los Angeles that operated for nearly 115 years. And one in Texas will finally go quiet after getting its start as a World War II-era training base. The closures have juvenile advocates cheering. "I can tell you it's the best thing they can do," said Aaron Kupchik, a University of Delaware criminologist. "Incarceration does nobody any good. You're taking away most of their chance for normal development." Several factors have pushed states to close facilities. In stark contrast to the growing adult prison population, the number of juveniles in state lockups has dropped dramatically, partly because there are fewer juvenile arrests and more offenders in county-based treatment programs. States grappling with busted budgets can't afford to operate facilities with so many empty beds. State reformatories are typically reserved for serious criminals, such as sex offenders and other violent offenders. Unlike the punishment-oriented adult system, juvenile justice focuses on rehabilitation. During the early 1990s, though, tough-on-crime legislators turned to the juvenile system. Nearly every state lowered the minimum age for kids to be tried as adults or increased the kind of crimes that land kids in the adult system. But juvenile arrest rates dropped, falling 33 percent between 1997 and 2008, according to the latest U.S. Justice Department data. Criminologists aren't sure why fewer kids are getting in trouble. Some believe more kids are avoiding drug trafficking. Others think programs such as group homes, halfway houses and after-school tutoring closer to kids' homes have reduced recidivism. "No fancy stats suggest this is a cure-all, but what I think you do see is the accumulation of those small results of people doing this increasingly in cities and towns all across the country," said Elliot Currie, a University of CaliforniaIrvine criminologist. Those reforms have gained momentum as studies found teens sent to adult court often got in worse trouble after they were released and lawsuits emerged over poor conditions at state lockups. Many states have tweaked their juvenile

Germany has made clear steep spending cuts are needed and German newspapers have said troop cuts of tens of thousands were being considered. Gates himself has been spearheading efforts at the Pentagon to reduce overhead and end certain arms programmes, with the aim of freeing more than $100 billion to maintain current military forces and upgrade their arsenal over the next five years. U.S. officials said this week NATO's priority needed to be protecting critical capabilities, such as helicopters needed for the troubled operation in Afghanistan, missile defense and ground surveillance systems by unmanned aircraft, or drones. Washington would also like to see more NATO allies joining projects to provide heavy airlift capabilities through shared purchases of C-17 aircraft. Rasmussen said NATO had managed to find savings in its military budget of 1.5 billion euros over the next four years and planned to boost efficiency by cutting the number of its headquarters committees to less than 100 from around 400. Rasmussen is also proposing streamlining NATO headquarters structures and cutting staff numbers by several thousand. (editing by Peter Graff)
Il Parlamento dellAzerbaijan ha approvato ieri una nuova dottrina militare che prevede la concessione a potenze straniere di basi militari sul territorio di questa ex repubblica sovietica del Caucaso. La mozione passata con una maggioranza di 110 voti contro 2 e prevede che, in caso di cambiamenti radicali nella situazione politica del paese, sia autorizzata la costruzione di basi militari temporanee. La decisione arriva allindomani.della visita a Baku (la capitale) del ministro della Difesa Usa, Robert Gates
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Unready at Justice

"EVERYBODY WOULD be winging it." That is how one law enforcement official described the likely Justice Department response to an attack involving weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The remark was included in a critical report by the department's inspector general, which concluded that the department "is not prepared to fulfill its role. to ensure public safety and security in the event of a WMD incident," including those involving biological, chemical or nuclear weapons. The only Justice component to receive high marks was the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which the report noted had specific policies in place to deal with a WMD attack and routinely carried out WMD-specific training for agents and other personnel. Not so the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Agency or the U.S. Marshals Service. The ATF, for example, had been tapped to coordinate federal law enforcement's response and its efforts to dovetail with local and state efforts in such matters as sealing off buildings and areas subject to WMD exposure. But the agency has no policies or training focused specifically on reacting to a WMD attack, and many officials within the Justice Department were not aware of the agency's critical role nor had they worked with any other component, including the FBI, to coordinate efforts in the event of an attack. This state of affairs is appalling, coming as it does nearly nine years after the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes and the anthrax attacks that took the lives of five people and sickened 17 others. The inspector general offered five recommendations, among them: designating a person within the top echelons of the Justice Department, probably a deputy within the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, to serve as a point person in the event of an attack; requiring the Justice components to develop WMD-specific policies and training exercises; and increasing coordination to ensure an orderly, efficient and effective response. In a formal response to the inspector general's report, the Justice Department acknowledges its lapses, embraces the recommendations and signals that it has begun to move forward to fully implement several of them. The progress is welcome, but the truth is that these actions should have been taken -- and completed -- years ago.

La Camera bassa della Svizzera ha bocciato la legge che avrebbe permesso al governo di fornire agli Stati Uniti i nomi dei titolari di conti bancari Ubs che presumibilmente evadono le tasse statunitensi. a rischio ora l'accordo che gli Usa hanno stipulato lo scorso agosto direttamente con Ubs e in base al quale la banca si era impegnata a svelare i nomi di oltre quattromila clienti.
Swiss Lower House Rejects UBS Pact Vote Jeopardizes a Deal to Turn Over Names of Suspected Tax Cheats to the U.S.; Bonus Ire By DEBORAH BALL A deal to resolve the U.S. government's tax battle with UBS AG was jeopardized Tuesday when Switzerland's lower house rejected a bill that would have allowed the government to provide the U.S. with the names of UBS account holders allegedly dodging American taxes. Last August, the U.S. and Switzerland reached a deal to settle a case involving hidden offshore accounts at the banking giant. The U.S. accused UBS of having helped thousands of Americans avoid paying taxes at home by setting up the offshore accounts. UBS admitted wrongdoing and agreed to hand over the names of 4,450 American account holders to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service by August. However, in January, a Swiss court ruled that the deal broke domestic laws. In April, the government presented a special bill that would have laid the legal groundwork to enable it to hand over the names. Last week, the Swiss Senate approved the bill. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday it is prepared to reopen the case against UBS should the Swiss miss the August deadline. "We expect that the Swiss government will continue to honor the terms of the agreement," said a statement from IRS spokesman Frank Keith. "We stand ready to pursue all legal options available to us should the Swiss fail to provide the required information." The lower house's rejection is a defeat for the Swiss government, which had hoped to put the dispute with the U.S. behind it. If an agreement isn't reached before the Swiss parliament adjourns later this month, the deal between the U.S. and UBS could be voided. It also complicates UBS's efforts to rehabilitate its image and revamp its wealthmanagement unit, which has seen an exodus of clients in part due to the U.S. tax squabble. The U.S. Department of Justice had no comment on the development. UBS said in a statement that it has taken note of the vote, without elaborating. The bill was rejected 104 to 76, with 16 abstentions. It has been the subject of a heated debate in Switzerland for months and became caught up in a separate controversy regarding bankers' bonuses, which have roused public ire over the last two years. Left-leaning parliamentarians opposed the UBS bill because they wanted to attach an amendment establishing a special tax on bankers' bonuses. Conservative parties oppose such an amendment. Following the rejection, Swiss parliamentarians will now seek a compromise that, if successful, would lead to another round of voting on the bill in both chambers. However, there is considerable time pressure. The current parliamentary session ends at the end of next week, while the U.S.-Swiss deal last year requires that the Swiss hand over the names to American officials by August.

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Il trattamento riservato dal personale carcerario agli oltre diecimila detenuti musulmani in Inghilterra e nel Galles rischia di alimentare l'estremismo islamico nel paese. Lo afferma il capo ispettore delle prigioni, Anne Owers, nel suo ultimo rapporto sullo stato degli istituti penitenziari, in cui sottolinea come i prigionieri islamici vengano trattati come potenziali terroristi, nonostante siano in carcere per motivi diversi.
Muslim prisoners 'treated as potential terrorists' Attitude risks creating extremism, watchdog warns amid scepticism over claims of forced conversion to Islam By Alan Travis, home affairs editor The blanket treatment by staff of the 10,300 Muslim prisoners in England and Wales as potential terrorists risks creating young men ready to embrace extremism on their release, the chief inspector of prisons warns today. Dame Anne Owers says the treatment of the rapidly growing population of Muslim prisoners as potential or actual extremists is prevalent throughout the prison system despite the fact that fewer than 1% are in prison for terroristrelated offences. The chief inspector also voices scepticism over claims by high security prison staff that gangs are forcing non-Muslim prisoners to convert to Islam through intimidation. Her report says that while conversions are common they are more likely to be the result of better food at Ramadan, the benefits of protection within a group and the discipline and structure provided by observing Islam through prayer. The report, published today, is based on interviews with 164 Muslim prisoners in eight prisons and young offender institutions, combined with prisoner surveys and inspection reports over the past three years. The number of Muslims in prison in England and Wales has soared in recent years from 2,513, or 5% of the prison population, in 1994 to 6,571 or 8% in 2004 and to 10,300, more than 12%, on the latest figures. "There has been considerable public focus on them as potential extremists and on prisons as the place where they may become radicalised, often through conversion even though fewer than 1% are in prison for terrorist-related offences," says the chief inspector's report. But Owers says they are a far from homogenous group: "Some are birth Muslims, and others have converted. In prisoner surveys, 40% were Asian, 32% black, 11% white and 10% of mixed heritage. One of their main grievances was, however, that staff tended to think of them as a group, rather than as individuals, and too often through the lens of extremism and terrorism whether that was to prevent, or detect, those issues." The chief inspector says the main finding from the surveys and interviews was that Muslim prisoners report more negatively on their prison experience, and particularly their safety and relationships with staff, than other prisoners. The problem was most acute in high security prisons where three-quarters of Muslims interviewed said they felt unsafe, which was strongly linked to mistrust of the staff. The one positive finding of the report was that the strengthening network of Muslim chaplains meant that Muslim prisoners are now more likely to have their faith needs met than other prisoners. Owers says a "pervasive theme" of their interviews and reports was the lack of support and training provided to staff

Boeing entrer nella gara d'appalto multimiliardaria per la fornitura agli Stati Uniti del nuovo elicottero presidenziale insieme a Finmeccanica. L'industria aerea statunitense acquister i diritti per la costruzione di un mezzo di medie dimensioni da AgustaWestland, divisione del gruppo della difesa italiano. Alla competizione parteciper anche Lockheed Martin, alleatasi con Sikorsky.
Boeing bids to supply presidential helicopter By Sylvia Pfeifer, Defence Industries Correspondent Boeing will enter a controversial multibillion dollar competition to supply the US with a new presidential helicopter, teaming up with Italys Finmeccanica to make a bid. The US aerospace and defence group said on Monday that it would buy the rights to build a mid-sized helicopter from AgustaWestland, Finmeccanicas helicopter subsidiary. Under the licensing deal Boeing will offer its version of AgustaWestlands 101 helicopter. The news gives AgustaWestland another stab at the long-running competition. The Pentagon cancelled an earlier contract the company had won together with its then US partner Lockheed Martin in June 2009, citing cost overruns and delays. Lockheed announced earlier this year it was teaming up with Sikorsky, the incumbent, to bid in the new contest. The two companies plan to offer a helicopter based on Sikorskys H-92 medium-lift craft. According to Boeing the licensing deal will give it all the intellectual property, data and production rights for the helicopter, enabling it to build it in the US at one of its facilities. It will be called the Boeing 101. A team of subcontractors, including AgustaWestland, will work with Boeing if the bid is successful. As a leading original equipment manufacturer in the military helicopter market and with our nearly 50 years of experience in presidential transport, we believe we are uniquely positioned to make the most of the navys significant investment in this aircraft, said Phil Dunford, general manager for Boeing Rotorcraft Systems. Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, chairman and chief executive of Finmeccanica, told the Financial Times in April that the company was in talks with Boeing over a possible joint bid. The original decision in 2005 to choose an Anglo-Italian design for the presidents personal helicopter was seen as a breakthrough for European defence contractors in the US. Tony Blair, then UK prime minister, and Silvio Berlusconi, his Italian counterpart, both lobbied then President Bush on behalf of Finmeccanica. The decision was also a huge blow to Sikorsky, which had supplied the helicopters for the fleet, commonly referred to as Marine One, since 1957. The Pentagon said it had scrapped the original contract because it was running six years late and the cost had doubled to $13bn. Mr Guarguaglini in April countered that the company had maintained the date and the cost but that the US navy had increased the specifications In February, the navy requested information from manufacturers for the new programme, dubbed the VXX, which envisioned a fleet of between 23 and 28 helicopters that could begin operations some time between 2017 and 2023. The projected cost is between $6bn and $10bn.

Pentagon officials are seeking preliminary information from potential bidders this month. Analysts said Boeings involvement will heighten the competition but that ultimately, the government would probably end up choosing between two helicopters similar to those in the original contest in 2005.
Il segretario alla Difesa degli Stati Uniti, Robert Gates, ha espresso il suo disappunto per il tentativo del Congresso di scoraggiare le offerte europee per l'appalto da 40 miliardi di dollari per la fornitura dei nuovi aerei cisterna. Gates, di fronte alla diffusione delle posizioni protezionistiche, ha ribadito che il Pentagono vuole una gara aperta e corretta.
US defence chief seeks fair tanker contest By Alex Barker and Sylvia Pfeifer in London Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, on Tuesday expressed his disappointment at Congressmen attempting to discourage European-led bids for the $40bn Pentagon air refuelling tanker contract, in a sign of frustrations over protectionist pressures from Capitol Hill. In a forthright rebuke to those warning US companies against working with EADS, the European aerospace and defence group, Mr Gates stressed the Pentagon wants a fair and open competition, adding that frankly efforts to discourage participants in the competition do not help us. I was very disappointed to hear some of the comments that were made, he told reporters in London. Mr Gatess statement will be seen as directed at Norm Dicks, chair of the House of Representatives subcommittee that controls the defence budget, who has urged US companies not to team up with EADS against Boeing, whose main assembly plants are in his home state of Washington. If they ask me, I am surely going to tell them what I think about it. I would hope that they wouldnt partner with EADS, Mr Dicks said in April. His comments were recently cited as a reason by Louis Gallois, EADS chief executive, for keeping secret the identity of a new US partner. We are not giving the name because we dont want to put them under pressure, Mr Gallois told reporters in London earlier this month, adding that the decision to name an earlier potential US partner which then withdrew had probably been a mistake. EADS had been talking to L-3 Communications, a leading US defence contractor, but the company decided it didnt want to work with us, Mr Gallois said. We perhaps made a mistake to announce L-3. Putting it on the radar screen was not very good. This time we prefer to be more quiet. You read what Norm Dicks said. Its public. He said, I hope that US suppliers will not go with EADS. I think its a kind of pressure. The protracted contest between EADS and US rival Boeing for the contract to supply refuelling aircraft tankers to the US air force has become more heated ahead of a deadline for final bids next month. EADS and US group Northrop Grumman won an earlier contest to supply refuelling tankers in 2008, but the Pentagon

ENGLISH VERSION

Level -01 Spa offer the opportunity to look into the lagoon and see the coral and fish; day and night. On Level 09 a helipad located 55m above the Arabian Gulf with bridge access across to the ninth floor of the hotel. On Level 11 an outdoor garden with views down the atrium through the building to the sea below and boat jetty as well as views out to sea. Dramatic surroundings with the remainder of the building lifting from the garden level, full size palm trees and fresh water pools. Pools in turn light the restaurant and art gallery below. On Level 28 a double height rooftop Butterfly Jungle level with a unique backdrop of the Arabian Gulf nearly 200m below. The temperature and humidity would be artificially controlled to make it a very relaxing and unique space. The hotel will also contains a number of private clubs, private cinemas, luxury boutiques, conference rooms, restaurants with menus from all around the world. Restaurants and bars (alcoholic and non alcoholic) distributed throughout building from Level 28 to the underwater restaurant at Level -01. The buildings shape creates natural shade on the brunt of the external facades to protect against the direct noon sunlight (which is harsh in the Gulf). The internal faade has louvers to prevent direct solar gain and the louvers are made up of solar cells as is the ribbon that frames the building and gives the Apeiron its name (meaning infinity). The energy calculations estimate that the building will generate two thirds of its own energy. THE PROGRAM OF HIGH-RISE BUILDING IN MOSCOW WILL BE UPDATED. Moscow mayor Yuriy Luzhkov sent for updating the allocation scheme of high-rise objects New Ring of Moscow 2015. In two months it will be updated with new points, that provide for building skyscrapers in geologically safe places. According to mayor there was not shown a whole series of problems of high-rise construction. Particularly, high-rise buildings should not be constructed in such areas of the city where the transport system is overloaded. There are 120 country estates. How will these tall buildings adjoin them? asked mayor on the meeting of the city government. He added that there are no technical or legal regulations for highrise construction in Russia. We are using Japanese experience, but we dont have practically no knowledge of our own about highrise construction, and there are 57 objects in the mentioned scheme that are to be build in the nearest future. Its not right said Yuriy Luzhkov. As mayor mentioned, the city wont stop the construction in course. But in future construction on the state order will be put in the focus. The project provides building of 57 skyscrapers till 2015, its fewer then it was declared earlier. As chief Moscow architect Aleksander Kuzmin explained, they had to recuse some projects. Particularly, they decided not to construct high-rise buildings in the region of Simonovskiy monastery and Rogozhskaya Zastava, because they would have distorted the historical face of the region. RBC TURNING ON THE POWER The three wind turbines on the Bahrain World Trade Centre are scheduled to be commissioned in three weeks time, the last week of October 2007. This is the first time that a commercial development has inte-
Te x t b y B R I A N B R E M N E R

A sea hotel

Dubai always impresses us with some new buildings and projects and Crescent Lagoon is not an exception. It is an underwater sculpted landscape with colourful corals and sea water plant life cultivated to create a unique and surreal world. On Level 00 theres a boat jetty in the buildings atrium and from this level there is access to the private beach, gardens, fresh water pools and the crescent lagoon. The building atrium is over 50m high. On Level 00 and -01 (under the beach) a Health Club and Spa is located containing private saunas, steam, treatment and massage rooms and several fresh water pools at different temperatures located outside as well as inside with different lighting at night. Large windows from the

works are being made at the sites 2 and 3 and contracts for technical inspection and consulting services were signed. Nevertheless, today its already possible to look at the interiors of the future skyscraper. The designing process of the Wedding Palace interiors is rapidly going the designing company RMJM Scotland Ltd. has decided to involve Russian architects and painters in it. This decision was made in order to make the building truly Russian, create the atmosphere of Slavic sincerity. In terms of this cooperation several work shops were organized. Due to them new sketches of interior design for Wedding Palace have appeared. Most of the concepts are revolutionary for Russia in terms of decoration materials and technologies proposed. The interior of the future Wedding Palace is expected to be a unic one its planned to create unearthly atmosphere, that will allow to be imbued with the sacrament of the wedding ceremony. City Palace LLC GRAVITY FOR MANCHESTER At 30 storeys with shops and over 380 apartments Gravity on Store Street in Manchester is an exciting new residential development designed by Austin-Smith:Lord for developers Time & Tide. Gravity is the direct design progression from a series of feasibility studies and initial concept designs for a new landmark residential building on Great Ancoats Street that were produced late last year by AustinSmith:Lord. The Store Street development sees 385 one and two bedroom apartments over 30 storeys, placed over ground floor commercial and retail space over two levels of basement car parking. The 72 million project was eventually passed after a lengthy meeting of Manchesters Councils planning committee (13 September), which resulted in an unconditional approval for the 30-storey residential tower. The six storey residential block responds to the fall of the existing topography across
the site and the adjacent existing housing. The thirty storey tower forms a landmark structure and will help to signal the regeneration of the Piccadilly Station hinterland. A glass core connects both forms and is exposed to the north and south as the layers of facade are peeled away to reveal the activities of city living. The northern facade is fully glazed and at night will provide an illuminated beacon for East Manchester. The project will also include a five storey podium block and will be instrumental in bringing new life to East Manchester, acting as a new link between the east and the city centre which includes the new Piccadilly Place development. Austin-Smith Lord A TROPICAL HIGH-RISE The Architectural Bureau of Yuri Vissarionov was awarded with gold diploma at the XVth International festival Zodchestvo 2007 in nomination Creative architectural groups and bureaus. One of the designs of InturistKamelia five-star hotel with elite residential complex and welldeveloped infrastructure in the city of Sochi was given a National award - ARX AWARDS 2007 as a Best hotel/resort complex. The specificity of the multistore hotels design is its belonging to the complex, that includes blocks of Inturist sanatorium built in 19351949 by an architect A.V. Samoilov. Built in a classic style it was declared a monument in 2002. The necessity of that hystoric ensemble preservation was defended by the bureau in tender with foreign and domestic architects. Unfortunately, new designers involved in the project have conformed demolition of majority of the buildings. Supproting in stylobate part the rhythmic construction and material of the old architecture, new high-rise simultaneously develops the concept of tropical vegetation of coastal site. This imitation is achieved by twisting of additional external structure that simulates bamboo tangle or palm trunk. The other peculiarity of the object

Resume of International Forum City Build. Town planning 2007
International Forum City Build. Town planning 2007 was successfully held in AllRussia Exhibition Center from 22nd till 25th of October 2007.
As its traditional among the scientists, all the work was made in form of plenary meetings subdivided into sections: Underground city, High-rise construction, DORMOSTEXPO, Light in city, Smart building, City engineering and communications, Parking. But there were some outside meetings so-called technical excursions. For example, the participants of Underground City section were invited by Russian Tunnel Association for two excursions: Krasnopresnenskiy Avenue in Moscow. New engineering constructions, Constructions and work technologies of inter-tunnel connections. Russian bridge builder association organized an excursion on construction area of a cablebraced bridge over Moscow-river in the region of Serebryaniy Bor. An excursion of great interest multifunctional high-rise complex Sokolinaya Gora was made by New Ring of Moscow JSC. The guests and participants of Lights of City section were also deeply impressed by an excursion to the Memorial Estate Tsaritsino. International Forum City Build. Town planning 2007was held in a period of intensive town planning development in Russia. Its objective is to promote formation of an individual appearance of towns and cities. It wont take much to achieve it, - constructors joke, its just a matter of getting over monotony of standard building up and solving the ecological problems of big cities.
HI-TECH HOUSE & Building 2007
The 6-th international exhibition HI-TECH HOUSE & BUILDING 2007 was housed in November in Gostiniy dvor, Moscow. This is the largest exposition of intellectual systems for equipping and maintaining buildings in Russia and CIS countries.
and images of these projects. The organizers of the exhibition traditionally demonstrated a rich program of trainings and masterclasses, arranged with support of the international professional associations: BIG-RU, LonMark, KONNE, CEDIA. RESUME. According to the estimate of specialists during the current year in the sphere of business real estate a need for using intellectual systems has risen by 20% comparing to last years. In the near 5 years specialists are witnessing and predicting an annual extension of the market by 15-20%. Taking into consideration such factors as the perspective plan of the Moscow government regarding modern development of entire districts, the program of high-rise buildings construction, the plan of hotels construction, as well as the upcoming active construction works within Sochi 2014, it can be assumed that the Russian market of building automation is on the eve of considered extension. As for the market of smart houses, according to the experts, it will extend by 15-20%, which has exceeded the results of last year. The urgency of introduction of smart technologies and the annually increasing speed of development of this market in Russia is clearly shown by HI-TECH HOUSE & BUILDING, being the key event in its field. Thanks to this event the hi-end technologies and solutions have been successfully implemented in the Russian market of buildings automation.

Te x t b y M a r i a n n a S m i r n o v a , p h o t o b y W i l m o t t & A s s o c i s

Landscape vertical

Jean Michel Wilmott is an architect whose artistic palette is exceptionally broad and various. In the beginning of his career he designed furniture and interior. After three decades he widened his activities to the most relevant objects of modern reality. His company designs and builds objects in 15 countries of the world, and in France he is well known as one of the authors, along with the Ieoh Ming Peis bureau, of reconstruction and transformation of famous Louver.
He is a rare kind of person who from the very beginning of his professional career knew clearly what he wanted and how to achieve it. He graduated from Ecole Camondo then passed a period of studying the secrets of the craft in a big design company. In 1975 he founded his own bureau. Initially he dialed with furniture and designing museum expositions. Gradually it led to orders for reconstruction of historical objects, and nowadays its one of the most important activities of his bureau - Wilmott & Associs. Now the bureau has 300 embodied projects in different countries and its stuff consists of 130 architects and engineers. In spite of the absence of intensive advertising policy in Russia, Wilmott & Associs taking roots in architectural life in Russia and the CIS countries. Wilmott & Associs bureau designed some projects for Moscow, cities of Volgograd, Kaliningrad, Baku. In 2005 the bureau designed the project of a new office building on Prospect Mira avenue in Moscow. Also the offered reconstruction project of the Krasniy Oktyabr mill. Last provided relieving of a heavy industrial design of historical constructions of plant at the expense of an impregnation of pellucid glass surfaces and emersion of visual division of space on more chamber fragments. Thus the French master in every possible way underlined, that his objective
was not to create an installations called to shock Russian public by any vanguard receptions or fashionable gestures. On the contrary, his intention was to offer a reasonable combination of habitual Moscow urban ambient values and a modern sight at functional use of constructions. Jean Michel Wilmott, unlike many of his colleagues, rather optimistically evaluated the future of Russian and, in particular, Moscow architecture. And his plans to enter Russian dynamically developing architectural market are obvious. The plan of designing a rightangled 160-metre tower converging from top to bottom, made by ilmott for Baku, refers to a rare type of skyscrapers in the world architecture when according to the plans the square of upper floors surpasses the square of bottom levels in all construction. Cultural prototypes for similar designs with a return tectonics are associated with the reverse columns of the Knossky labyrinth. Unlike the deconstructive idea of leaving from a tectonics and the space experiments on disorientation the spectator in habitual axes, the form of the truncated reverse pyramid signal, especially with a small slope, looks very firm and tectonic. The majority of works of the company distinguishes the complete approach to working out of not only the volume of a building, but also adjoining territory, a landscape of environment. First of all

Guidelines on the interior design in skyscrapers
The prevalence of high-tech features in modern skyscraper architecture, characterized by multiple uniform serial elements is mitigated by the presence and contrast of singular architectural details. The art of architecture is searching for an aesthetic proportion between the background and the dominant, or, so to speak, between prose and poetry.
In the meantime theres a trend to reduce the mass of constructions and the amount of engineering communications and shafts to a minimum necessary for the building to function properly and to maintain its tenacity, reliability, durability, and safety. Construction systems provide for flexible, portable, and transformable open space planning solutions which can easily be adjusted to the current functions of buildings. Engineering equipment can be connected and renewed at minimum costs without any significant difficulties. Such an approach goes in line with the statement that every kind of completion is similar to a shell which initially provides for momentary needs, but at a certain point it constrains development, comes into contradiction with it and undergoes reconstruction. Interior design largely aims at furnishing a maximum level of ergonomic, psychological, physical, and aesthetic convenience, complex safety and efficiency to the client. The main task is balancing the functional zones of business and recreation, background and detail. As a rule, this is the proportion between the background interiors of technical and common business offices, and accentuated interiors of recreational and conference facilities. The main criterion is the clients will in combination with aesthetic and functional requirements. Most skyscrapers are multifunctional business centers, or office buildings, as they were termed before. Main effective areas of

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design|
The works of Russian and foreign architects, designers, project, manufacturing and construction organizations, companies and firms, architectural offices and studios, personal workshops, students of architectural and construction colleges and architectural and artistic schools were presented at the festival. It was attended by a huge number of participants and visitors. The presented projects, as well as master classes given by leading Russian and foreign architects, topical review-competitions and exhibitions, discussions on acute problems of modern architecture and city planning, their social importance, relations between architects and authorities, evoked great public interest. This year the festival was held under the slogan Russian national projects. Probably, thats why a lot of general layouts of cities development were presented there. And also an alternative project of Sochis Olympic complex was

introduced, and little wonder. The festival organizers couldnt help touching upon this issue. A large number of high altitude projects was a surprise in spite of its vast territory, the country has been rapidly developing. Moreover high altitude projects appear everywhere, not only in Moscow. The creative contests winners were determined by a jury composed of professionals and reputable public representatives who awarded festival prizes, including the main prize Russian national premium in the sphere of architecture Crystal Daedalus, received this year by Valentin Pastushenko and Vitaly Samogorovs architectural workshop for Holiday Inn hotels design in Samara. The prize was awarded to the most famous Samaras architects who had created an extremely moderate example of neoconstuctivism. Laureates pointed out that it was the moment of modernisms return to Samaras architectural life. And the president of the Union
of Russian architects, who handed the prize, explained the jurys choice by the fact the hotel had been built in Russian avant-garde style of the beginning of the XX-th century embracing the true particularity of Russian architecture. Gold for constructions was obtained by the SMA president Victor Logvinov for administrative and business center in Karamyshevsky passage, 68 and Boris Shabunin for business center on Sushchevsky Val. Golden certificates in Projects section were given for the general layout of Gorodets, one of the most ancient towns in Nizhny Novgorod region. This jury parts chairman Pavel Andreev remarked that it was the only work the jury was unanimous about. Another two certificates went to Aviation and astronautics complex in Khodynskoe field in Moscow (Andrey Bokov, Vadim Lenok and others) and the project of the Ladozhsky railway station squares development in St. Petersburg. The latter consists
s u c h b u i l d i n g s a re designed for the purposes of the owners or for rent. Owners and tenants tend to order unique interiors with the help of architects and designers. These local, or private, projects must be agreed in course of developing the project and endorsed with the appropriate authorities. Tenants normally change one another rather often. So the interiors are changed, rebuilt and repaired in course of the construction process as well as afterwards. Interiors of transit public areas are also subject to frequent change and repairs; engineering and communication shafts are supposed to be frequently changed as well. The question arises if the ultimate (final, turnkey) decoration of commercial offices is necessary or maybe it is relevant to end up with

SOCHI. Looking into the future
By the year of 2012 Sochi will undoubtedly get a new appearance. The contribution to development of architectural style of Olympic capital will be made by many architects. One of designs was offered by an XM project architectural studio.
LOCATION The concept of a 32-storeyed residential building in a city of Sochi is intended for Vinogradnaya street. The development site is located between the Riviera park and Sochi sanatorium. From the seaside only a boarding house called Kavkazskaya Riviera separates a designed building from a water front. The lot is on the second water front and has no exit to the sea. However due to direct affinity of a Riviera park the erected building will stand in a rather picturesque place of a city. From upper storeys the dazzling view of the sea opens, that together with park bordering to the building provides high level of comfort for the residents. STYLE Its almost impossible to definitely define the style of a construction: high manufacturability intersects with bionic forms. Due to complexity of the problem put before architects by the customer, authors of the design had to step away from the standard forms used in high-rise building, and approach the solution of style orientation unconventionally. The building should be modern, with strongly pronounced hi-tech elements, and at the same time it should have a picturesque artistic image. According to the preliminary specifications, the construction should have a concept not similar to constructivism or cubism, only insignificant application of such elements was allowed. The group of authors decided to use smooth lines creating plastic forms in volume as a main concept. During the design stage, architects from XM project studio have assigned a rather ambitious task for themselves: to create the image of a building representing a new style. The basis of the concept developed by authors is combination of newest technologies and bionic forms, that appear after detailed representation of smooth lines in 3D. The colour is dictated by the attained originality of the form and desire of architects to add vividness and memorability of the image. CREATIVE CREDO OF THE STUDIO Specialists of studio XM project characterise internal philosophy of their creativity as a combination of supertechnological forms of extra-terrestrial origin with biological forms of our planet, demonstrating a certain connection between natural images and products of technical achievements of our and other civilisations as well. The given concept is based on the theory about interconnection and a general origin of all forms of life occupying the Universe. before software for 3D drawing have appeared, process of architectural designing was reduced to working out of facades, i.e. the architect unfolded the threedimensional building on a plane (two-dimensional images) and studied each plane separately. Today, due to computer programs, there is a possibility to create architectural forms of any complexity in virtual space of the computer. PLANNING : The building has two underground levels where the parking is located. On the first two floors the design provides the shops consolidated in one shopping centre, counted for service of tenants as well as of citizens. An elevator gives straight access from the house into the shopping centre, and for citizens a separate entrance from the Vinogradnaya street functions. According to the design, the second floor has a cinema both for residents and citizens. The square of residential apartments averages 90 sq. m. One, two, three, four and five-room apartments are provided. Planning was made according to the international standards that provides the most comfortable conditions of habitation. Two upper floors have a double-lever penthouse. CONSTRUCTIVE SYSTEM Loadbearing carcass of a building - reinforced concrete framework. In the central part there is a the traffic centre which structurally is a stiffening core. In the architectural design of facades authors have applied a solid glassing and facing by metal panels. According to the colour, glass panels of an external glassing are tinted with various colours, and transparent panels alternate with opaque, according to the design. Metal panels used in refinishing of facades are executed according to the accepted colour. Panels of red and violet colour and also chromeplated are used. The constructive system of facing facade panels represents a shell that is fastened by means of difficult system to the monolithic floorings of a building. The difficult configuration of a facade in the form of smooth lines is created with the help of multijoint columns of a circular section having a rigid fastening to laid component parts of the monolithic floorings. Additional stability to constructive system of a building is given by the bottom part having greater radius, than the one above.

several Moscow institutes: PM T M o s p ro j e c t-2, P TC PDTIPromstroy and JSC P r o m s t r o y - p r o j e c t. C h i e f designer of detail project, JSC Gorproject of the city of Moscow is responsible for the following aspects: architectural and constructional, technological, mechanical, electrotechnical. A significant role in the creation of MCIBC unique architectural image is played by a team of Moskomarchitecture under the supervision of the chief architect of Moscow A.V. Kusmin. A considerable contribution to MCIBC successful design was also made by a member of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Building Science, Doctor of Engineering, chief designer of MCIBC Vladimir Ilyich Travush and chief architect of MoscowCity Gennadiy Lvovich Sirota. A serious and exceedingly important task was fulfilled by Mosgorexpertise. The project put forward in 2006 was subject to detailed consideration by Mosgorexper tise specialists; their recommendations were taken into account, which allowed Techinvest to significantly improve the quality parametres and be the first company in MoscowCity to get the project approved. What stages have been completed already? The building process began in the first half of 2006. First we constructed a slurry wall using cast-in-situ reinforced concrete, specification documents were prepared by a Turkish firm Karstas. This organization finished the slurry wall and excavation works 4,5 months behind the schedule, but with excellent quality. Later in 2006 according to the construction contract with Enka we proceeded to construct a pile and slab foundation, drainage layer and water isolation barrier, which were mostly finished in the first half of 2007. Foundation work is in full swing now: we are erecting the steel frame of the tower and stylobate frame made of cast-in-situ reinforced concrete.

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When are you planning to complete the foundation work? According to the adopted work schedule by the end of February 2008. The whole steel structure of the tower is to be assembled by April-May 2009. What problems did JSC Techinvest have to face at the first stage of the construction process? The need for optimal solutions may arise at different stages of project development. We preferred the so-called speculative, a more difficult way of project development, which means that we do not invite significant tenants beforehand. Professional experience and real estate market awareness of our employees, multilateral consultations with specialists in Europe and the USA helped to solve a very important problem of rational use of the areas in the given complex. However, at present we have to introduce some changes, to partially alter the functional purpose of the areas in stylobate, give up on casino, because starting with 2009 they will be banned in big cities and towns on the territory of Russia. The problem arose while choosing the type of foundation for the tower. Initially, we planned to bild a foundation slab 3 metres thick. The design of the foundation slab was approved by the chief designer academician V.I. Travush, NIIOSP (Scientific-Research Institute of Bases and Underground Structures named N.M. Gersevanov) and passed a test in Mosgorexpertise without any remarks. At the beginning of 2006 vicepresident of the American company Thornton Tomasetti Group Leonid Zborovskiy first expressed his doubts concerning the decision to build a foundation slab and suggested a different construction: pile and slab foundation. To justify his standpoint the designer of the constructional part of the project put forward two hypotheses. 1. Soil pressure under the foundation slab is uneven. It is much higher in the middle zone, under the concrete-metal core. The

Yield Point , (N/mm2) Steel grade 16 S235 S275 S355 S355 S460 Histar 355 Histar 460 Flange Thickness, From To (mm) 335 430
WTMs have been used in more than 1000 projects in the U.S. and more than 1600 worldwide where built-up sections or concrete were previously required in spite of having one sole supplier of WTMs for many years. Nowadays, these WTMs are available from a few major suppliers. QUENCHING AND SELF TEMPERING (QST) PROCESS. Now, in addition to the TailorMade beam concept, ArcelorMittal provides the largest choice of steel grades as well, thanks to the QST process. In this process, an intense water-cooling is applied to the whole surface of the beam directly after the last rolling pass. Cooling is interrupted before the core is affected and the outer layers are tempered by the flow of heat from the core to the surface. The QST process considerably increases the yield strength and the toughness of the steel and due to much lower carbon equivalent values, simultaneously improves its weldability and keeps excellent ductility. A prerequisite for a successful QST treatment is a homogeneous temperature profile in the beam section before
entering the cooling bank. This condition is fulfilled by applying a selective cooling during rolling to the hottest part of the beam, namely the flange-web intersection. By applying this selective cooling in the region of the flange-web junction, existing temperature differences can be eliminated. This process considerably improves the grain sizes and reduces the residual stresses in the core area of heavy shapes. This process is fully controlled by computer. SELECTIVE COOLING The above picture schematically illustrates the QST treatment. At the exit of the finishing stand, directly at the entry of the cooling bank temperatures lie typically at 850C. After the cooling over the whole surface of the section, a self-tempering temperature of 600C is aimed for. The below picture shows the operation at the mill of the QST process. The beam enters the finishing stand from the left hand side at about 850C. The dark color of the beam leaving the cooling bank and the pink color on the right side demonstrates the efficiency of the cooling and the self-tempering process. PROPERTIES OF QST STEELS. The above table compares the mechanical properties of the most common European grades with HISTAR steels. AVAILABLE SIZES The full range of sections from 80 mm to 1100 mm and from 4,9 kg/m up to 1086 kg/m can be supplied according to different standards such as European (EN: IPE, HE,

IPN, HD,), American (ASTM : W, S, HP) or British (BS : UB, UC) standards. Besides the beams, ArcelorMittal is also rolling a wide range of merchant bars such as angles, channels, flat bars, round bars, The complete list as well as the sectional, mechanical and chemical properties can be downloaded on http://www.arcelormittal.com Special sections, such as castellated beams or slim floor beams (IF, SF) are also available for respectively long span applications and buildings with minimum floor to floor distance. If we compare the dimensions of the sections produced in Russia, they are very similar to the European ones. But the advantage of the European range is obvious. There are more sizes available in the EN. This allows the engineers to optimize his design due to the huge amount of available sizes. WELDABILITY. In 1998, ASTM A913 / Grades 345 and 450 MPa have been introduced in the AWS (American Welding Society) codes D1.1 in a category weldable without preheating if welded with low hydrogen (< 8 ml/100g) electrodes and when the outside temperature is above 0C (32F). The limitation of the maximum CE (Carbon Equivalent) in ASTM A913 guarantees the outstanding weldability of HISTAR steels. ASTM A913 grade 345 MPa and grade 450 MPa have respectively a maximum CE of 0.38 and 0.43. The splicing by welding of the two heaviest sizes produced nowadays, HD 400x 1086 kg/m (W14x730 lbs/ft) in QST Grade 460 can be
done without preheating. In order to achieve this splice, the welder needed 140 passes to weld the two pieces together. Thanks to QST beams, he didnt have to preheat the beam flanges and webs and saved about 4 hours of work. Because the most vulnerable size can be welded without preheating, smaller QST sizes can also be welded without preheating. For welding the same sizes in A572/Gr.50 steel, a preheating temperature of 110C would have been needed as per AWS D1.1. codes. WHEN TO USE A913/HISTAR STEELS? HISTAR 355 or ASTM A913/ grade 345MPa (50ksi). HISTAR 355 and A913/grade 345MPa (50 ksi) should be used instead of a normal S355 steel or ASTM A572 /Grade 50 steel every time the welding procedure requests a preheating. The steel fabricators will be able to save the time and the propane needed for preheating normal 345 steels. ASTM A913/grade 65 ksi (450 MPa) / HISTAR 460. GRAVITY COLUMNS. When the design is not governed by a drift or a vibration problem, HISTAR 460 in gravity columns with normal buckling lengths (typically less than 5.5 m) allows the engineer to reduce the weight and the cost of the structure. Indeed, the use of HISTAR 460 instead of 355 MPa or even 245 MPa allows the engineer to reduce dramatically the size of the column. In average, the weight of the columns can be reduced by 15 % compared to 355 MPa and more than 45 % compared to 245 MPa. Almost all buildings designed

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Jean-Claude (JC) Gerardy is a structural engineer from the University of Liege in Belgium. He started his career in ArcelorMittal research department from 1990 (formerly ARBED research). During that time, he was involved in the Eurocodes on steel and composite structures. From 1993 to 1997, he moved to New York as resident engineer for promoting steel in highrise buildings, trusses and bridges in North America. He was representing ARBED within ASTM, AWS (American Welding Society), AISC (American Institute of Steel Construction) and the SSPC (Steel Shapes Producer Council). From 1997 to 2000, he came back to Europe as sales manager of long products in the Eastern Countries, Middle East, Africa and India. After being general manager of the e-business platform for the distribution network of Arcelor, he joined Arcelor International Singapore in 2003 as Mill Sales Director for the Far East. In 2005, he moved to Istanbul as Managing Director in charge of the sales of ArcelorMittal in the Near East. Since 2007, he is technical advisory for all Eastern European countries.

Yield Strength (N/mm2) Nominal thickness, (mm) Max. Elongation, %
Te x t b y A l e x a n d e r M o c h a l o v - h e a d o f t h e n e w m e t h o d s o f r e i n f o r c e d c o n c r e t e s t r e n g t h e n i n g s e c tor (5th laboratory of NIIZHB insitute), General director of PRAKTIK company; Alexander Pasuta C a n d i d a t e o f Te c h n i c a l S c i e n c e , h e a d o f t h e P R A K T I K c o m p a n y d e s i g n d e p a r t m e n t
with a concrete core taking all the lateral loads can thus be designed with HISTAR 460 columns. It is also the case for gravity or high loaded columns used in power plants.
Russian and EN sections classified by their elastic Modulus Wel,y G Standard EN EN GOST EN EN EN GOST EN EN EN GOST EN EN EN EN EN EN EN GOST EN EN EN EN EN EN EN EN Designation HE 100 B HE 120 A 162 IPE 160 HE 140 AA IPE AA IPE A 180 HE 100 C HE 120 B 182 IPE 180 HE 140 A IPE AA 200 IPE A 200 IPE O 180+ HE 160 AA HE 100 M 201 IPE 200 IPE AA 220 IPE A 220 HE 120 C HE 140 B IPE O 200 HE 160 A HE 180 AA kg/m 20,4 19,9 15,8 15,8 18,1 14,9 15,4 15,4 30,9 26,7 18,8 18,8 24,7 18,0 18,4 21,3 23,8 41,8 22,4 22,4 21,2 22,2 39,2 33,7 25,1 30,4 28,7 h mm 128 176,196,200 216,167 b mm 180 tw mm 5 5,0 4,3 4,3 4,3 4,6,5 5,3 5,3 5,5 4,5 4,5 6,0 4,5,6 5,6 4,7 5,0 9,6,5 tf mm 7,4 7,6,2 6,5 6,8,0 8,5 6,7 7,0 9,20 8,5 8,5 7,4 7,12 9,7,5 Wel,y mm3 x103 89,91 106,3 108,112,120,137,9 144,1 146,155,173,4 190,4 194,213,6 215,220,1 235,6
TRUSSES. The best use of HISTAR 460 or A913/Gr.450 (65 ksi) is in tension members such as the typical bottom chord of a truss or in compression members with short buckling length such as the top chords of the truss. HISTAR 460 in a truss generally allows a reduction of minimum 15 % compared to classical solution in Grade 355 (50ksi). This reduction in weight is a function of the span of the trusses and the importance of the dead loads on the design. For the new assembly plant of the Boeing 777 closed to Seattle, the weight savings was 35 % compared to grade 355 due to the long span (108 m ) of the trusses. This project, built in 1991 was the first project in the US using QST beams, even before the approval of ASTM A913. Another advantage is the weldability without preheating of all the splices as mentioned earlier. SEISMIC DESIGN. The use of HISTAR 460 and 355 allows the engineer to design a moment frame structure with the economical strong column - weak beam concept which is commonly used on the West Coast of the United States. Combined with the RBS (Reduced Beams Section), it gives to the engineer the possibility to design a connection 100 % safe under seismic loading conditions. The RBS or sometimes called Dog Bone Connection was patented by ArcelorMittal (ARBED) in 1989. After the Northridge earthquake, ArcelorMittal decided to release this patent in order to offer this concept to the engineering community. Strong Column (65 ksi / Grade 450 MPa) Weak Beam (50 ksi / Grade 345 MPa) concept + RBS connection (199 Fremont Street San Francisco) OFFSHORE PLATFORMS. Due to its high level of toughness at low temperature, (up to 27 J at -50C) and their outstanding weldability, HISTAR 355, 460 or A913 steels are prefect for offshore applications, especially in cold area.

Constructive aspects and problems of high-rise objects fire safety equipped with back-ventilated facade U-KON
strict transmission of the force from one bar to another. The dr.4 shows different systems of mechanical joints, but most of them need very complicated equipment on the site. Thinking about simplicity as a goal we advise the special fretwork steel bars by SAS 67/80 or analog. This kind of steel reinforcement is like our A800, meaning mechanical characteristics, the diameter up to 75mm and 4 bars for cross section of high loaded column may be OK. The application of mechanical joints for steel reinforcement leads to smaller cross sections of columns, higher tolerances of framework, cut volume of steel to 10%, relieve concrete casting. -Frame joints should be both rigid and viscose. The modern trend in joint design includes special elements, that ensure safety under extreme loading. This approach is based on main phenomena of concrete to change stiffness after cracking. For high strength concrete it is also true because of it high modulus of elasticity. In order to ensure the safe work under high loads practicians we recommend to special rigid spearhead steel elements, called as collar and additional disperse steel reinforcement. The company PRACTIC in cooperation with NIIGB developed universal steel collar with halls for reinforcement placing (dr.5), which ensure safe work under all loads. More than that, it brings tolerance for reinforcement placing and ensure reliable transmission of forces. For more safety additional fiber reinforcement is used and collar work as formwork. This solution of frame joints excepts appliance mistakes, improves its stiffness and safety. The design of the collar means exception of punching shear, because all shear force comes to steel sheets. - Developing high strength concretes with low modulus of elasticity for columns of high rise buildings. High modulus of elasticity of concrete obstructs to natural plastic work of concrete and threatens with fracture failure. The alternative solution of company PRACTIC is to use special kind of concrete B50-B60 with small gravel and low modulus of elasticity (E=20000MPa) which have proper plasticity. These materials exist as ready mixes in bags or high-bags, are coming to the site dry, then added by water, casted in place traditionally or by injections (dr.6). These concretes are produced by grands of structural chemical industry: SIKA, MAPEI, BASF. The developing of these concretes is a chance for investor to get high load columns with small sized cross section and safety plastic work. Conclusions: Technical and design solutions of columns for tall buildings, explained in the article, both special kinds of reinforcement and joints makes possible to provide more economy and safety.

- the methods of calculating the estimated time of evacuation stated by the State Standard 12.1.004-91 is out of date, as it doesnt take into account step-bystep evacuation; - the normative requirements for the arrangement of inflow and blowout in the systems antismoke ventilation are impossible to be

Tall Buildings Magazine

fulfilled in the process of projecting high-rise buildings; - the requirements for the algorithm of elevator movement for the transportation of fire brigades are impossible to be fulfilled, because high-rise buildings are equipped with step-by-step elevator systems; However the contradictions in documents in force cannot be an obstacle for the creative imagination of an architect, whose dream is now not only the creation of a temple or a theatre, but also a high-rise building. The uniqueness of each high-rise building becomes obvious, when one takes a look at several projects that were presented for the contest on the Gazprom Tower. The peculiar attention in the process of engineering high-rise buildings is paid to the safety of people, including the possibility of a conflagration. The term fire safety is defined by the p. 41 of the State Standard 12.1.00381 [1] as the condition of an object, which excludes with an estimated probability the cases of conflagration and the exposures of dangerous factors of fire on people, as well as the maintenance of tangible property safety. That is the fire safety of each object must be confirmed by estimations. Now we have to just define the term the condition of an object. As the
topic is fire safety, it is obvious, that the condition of an object is based upon the system of fire protection. Global directions in the development of such a system are to include: - the application of framing and self-bearing constructions, including fire safety units with an estimated limit of fire resistance; - the application of analytical m o d e l s o f e v a c u a t i o n f ro m particular rooms and the building on the whole; - the application of external, internal and automatic firecontrol units, fire alarms, smoke protection, as well as primary means of fire extinguishing; - the application of maximal safe models of energy supply for firecontrol units; - the application of automatised unit-management, which provide for vital activity of the object; - the arrangement and practicing the behaviour of the administration, staff, employees and (or) tenants in case of conflagration. Today Federal State Institution Fire Safety Research Institute has worked out the project of recommendations for maintaining fire safety in multifunctional highrise buildings, taking into account not only the worldwide practice of high-rise engineering, but also the problems, that arose in projecting of already constructed and being