Russia's growth slows drastically

RUSSIA has reported a sharp slowdown in growth over the first three months of the year to 1.1 per cent from 4.9 per cent in the same period of 2012, amid growing alarm over the state of its economy amid a slew of poor data and falling oil prices.

Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Klepach said the estimate came in after downward revisions for the figures for January and February - a month in which the economy contracted by 0.4 per cent.

But he added that a stronger March helped Russia's overall performance in the first quarter.

"By our estimate, GDP grew in March by 2.3 per cent in annual terms, and we confirm our estimate of 1.1 per cent for the first quarter," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted Klepach as saying.

The estimate was released a week after Russia slashed its 2013 growth forecast to 2.4 from 3.6 per cent due to a slowdown in both industrial output and consumer demand.

Klepach spoke at the same time as Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was delivering an economic performance review before the lower house of parliament.

Medvedev told deputies that Russia's slowdown was caused in large part by poor economic performance among its main trading partners abroad.

"The first months of the year show that the global trend toward slower growth remains in place," Medvedev said in a speech lasting nearly two hours. "There are serious risks here."

President Vladimir Putin - whose strong popularity ratings come from the prosperity brought by years of high prices for Russia's energy exports - himself admitted on Monday that the world economy was in "crisis".

He then instructed Medvedev to quickly assemble a meeting of ministers and Kremlin officials that could devise a strategy for pulling the country out of its economic malaise.

Medvedev said on Wednesday that the government already had a proper strategy in place.

"The government has its own vision of what must be done," he said.

"But these measures must be discussed in detail with the experts and the deputies."

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Vibrating fork to combat obesity on sale

AN electronic fork that vibrates when you eat too fast has gone on sale in the US, with its French inventors claiming it can help combat obesity and digestive issues.

Those who contribute at least $US89 ($A86) on the crowd funding website Kickstarter will get a HAPIfork, which comes in blue, green and pink, ahead of its planned general release to consumers in the United States and Europe later this year.

"While our product is still a prototype, we're thrilled by the global response so far," said Fabrice Boutain, founder of the product's California-based developer HAPILABS, in a statement.

"We believe this is affirmation of the growing consumer health awareness movement to gain better control of issues impacting weight and digestive issues as well as more serious issues such as diabetes and other chronic conditions."

First shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, the HAPIfork - the brainchild of French inventor Jacques Lepine - is based on research that suggests people living in a fast-paced world can lose weight by eating more slowly.

The gadget, which is dishwasher safe, includes LED warning lights, a USB connector and software for computers and smartphones enabling users to monitor their progress towards a healthier pace of eating.

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French executives in breast implant trial

FRANCE has launched one of its biggest-ever trials as five managers from company PIP faced charges of selling faulty breast implants that sparked a global health scare.

More than 5000 women registered as plaintiffs in the case, which sees the defendants, including PIP founder Jean-Claude Mas, charged with aggravated fraud for using industrial-grade silicone in implants.

An estimated 300,000 women in 65 countries are believed to have received the implants, which some health authorities say are twice as likely to rupture as other brands.

Up to 400 of the plaintiffs were on hand on Wednesday for the start of the trial, which has been moved to a congress centre in the southern city of Marseille to accommodate the hundreds of plaintiffs and lawyers attending.

The defendants face up to five years in prison and the trial is set to last until May 17.

Taking to the stand to declare his name and profession at the start of the trial, Mas was booed by the crowd, who hissed and shouted again when a defence lawyer stated that the accused had been "ruined" by the scandal.

Mas, who has always insisted there was no health risk from the implants, made no comment to journalists gathered outside the courtroom, but his lawyer Yves Haddad said he would expound on his actions in court.

News of the faulty implants in 2011 sparked fears worldwide, but health officials in various countries have said they are not toxic and do not increase the risk of breast cancer.

More than 4000 women have reported ruptures, and in France alone 15,000 have had the PIP implants replaced.

The others on trial with Mas are PIP's former general manager, Claude Couty, quality control director Hannelore Font, technical director Loic Gossart and product director Thierry Brinon.

Some of the defendants, including Mas, have also been charged in separate and ongoing manslaughter and financial fraud investigations into the scandal.

The manslaughter probe is related to the 2010 death from cancer of a woman who was fitted with the implants.

The hearings were adjourned until Thursday morning, with the court expected to continuing hearing procedural motions until at least Friday.

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Undisclosed glitch disrupts Google Mail

GOOGLE has suffered disruptions on several of its cloud-based services including Google Mail for about two hours for reasons that were not disclosed.

The apps status dashboard of the world's most popular search engine indicated "service disruptions" for Google Mail, Google Drive, Google Documents, Google Spreadsheets and Google Presentations.

It also reported a total "service outage" for its "admin control panel / API" used by administrators of Google Apps domains.

By 11.30am on Wednesday (1530 GMT) however, the dashboard indicated that all services were back in full service.

There was no explanation for the outage, but Google said "less than 0.007 per cent" of its Google Mail user base was affected.

"We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support," it said.

"Please rest assured that system reliability is a top priority at Google, and we are making continuous improvements to make our systems better."

Cloud-based computing services - in which email, documents and other data from many different sources are filed and accessed from a single shared server via the internet - is growing.

Last year, Google said its Gmail service has more than 425 million users, and that 500 million businesses use its various Google Apps.

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Obama letter had suspicious substance

A LETTER addressed to President Barack Obama containing a "suspicious" substance has been intercepted at a mail screening facility outside the White House, the US Secret Service says.

The letter was discovered at the remote facility which is used to screen White House mail on Tuesday, the same day authorities said a letter was sent to Senator Roger Wicker which was laced with ricin, a deadly poison.

Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan said the agency, which protects the president and his family, was working closely with the US Capitol Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to trace the origins of the letter.

The discovery of the letters rattled nerves following the bomb attacks near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on Monday, which killed three people and injured more than 180 others, though it was not clear if the incidents were linked.

The episode also recalled the mysterious series of letters laced with anthrax that were sent to MPs and some journalists following the September 11 attacks in 2001, which killed five people and sickened 17 others.

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EU mulls easing Syria oil embargo

THE European Union is considering a case-by-case easing of its oil embargo against Syria in order to help the opposition, diplomatic sources say.

A decision, which would be formally agreed by EU foreign ministers at talks next Monday in Luxembourg, would enable EU companies to import oil on a case-by-case basis from areas under opposition control, the sources said.

It would also allow a resumption of EU investments and export of equipment intended for the oil and gas sector.

The 27-nation bloc slapped a ban on investments in Syrian oil in September 2011 followed by a ban on imports of oil in December.

Syria's largest oil reserves are in Deir Ezzor in the east of the country.

Syria's production of some 420,000 of barrels of oil a day has been sliced in half since the United States and the European Union banned the import of Syrian petroleum.

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France unveils plan to reach 2014 deficit

FRANCE has presented a plan to get its public deficit back under the EU limit by 2014, having decided to let debt grow further as it tries to jumpstart a sputtering economy.

The plan to bring the deficit below 3.0 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) is based on a broad effort that includes higher taxes along with savings within the social security system.

The "stability program" was released by the finance ministry and based on what the government termed a "realistic" economic growth forecast of 0.1 per cent this year and 1.2 per cent in 2014, which it maintained would allow the public deficit to be cut to 2.9 per cent of output next year.

"What I want is fiscal sobriety - essential for debt reduction in the medium term but also for growth without which there won't be deficit reduction," President Francois Hollande said in a speech.

The growth forecasts have been questioned however both by the International Monetary Fund and a new independent French high council for public finances, with the IMF forecasting on Tuesday that the French economy would contract by 0.1 per cent this year before expanding by a slight 0.3 per cent in 2014.

France was initially to have cut the deficit to 3.0 per cent of GDP already this year, but has asked for more time owing to weak growth which has pushed the estimated 2013 public deficit figure up to 3.7 per cent, compared with 4.8 per cent in 2012.

Under EU rules, eurozone members are expected to run public deficits of no more than 3.0 per cent of GDP, and are supposed to work towards a balance, or even a surplus in times of economic growth.

Without an EU extension, France could trigger procedures that might result in sanctions.

The government is now pledging to bring the public deficit down to 2.9 per cent next year, with Hollande having ruled out making more sharp spending cuts to reach the target this year.

Under the program, public debt is expected to reach a record peak of 94.3 per cent of GDP in 2014 before beginning to decline a year later than initially planned.

The European Commission, which will vet the plan once French MPs have approved it, said it would take a close look at new commitments by the French government.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "We wish France success because France is key to the eurozone as a whole."

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France acquits mum over son's Jihad shirt

A COURT in southern France has acquitted a mother on trial for dressing her three-year-old son in a T-shirt reading "I am a bomb" and "Jihad, Born on September 11."

Bouchra Bagour, 35, was on trial in Avignon on charges of defending terrorism after sending her boy, named Jihad, to his school in the town of Sorgues wearing the T-shirt.

Bagour and her 29-year-old brother Zeyad, who was also charged and acquitted, had faced up to five years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros ($A56,520) if convicted.

The court ruled on Wednesday that prosecutors had not proven that the defence of terrorism was "unequivocal", as required by the law.

"I am delighted, it was a discerning and legally justified decision that should put an end to this unfortunate affair," said Gaele Guenoun, the lawyer for Bagour, who was not present for the ruling.

Bagour had admitted to the court that sending her child to school wearing the T-shirt had been "tactless" but insisted it was not meant as a provocation.

She said she simply wanted to make note of her son's birthday on September 11 and did not intend to reference the 9/11 attacks in the United States in 2001.

Her brother, who had also faced charges for having bought Jihad the T-shirt, said after the ruling that he was "happy" and "relieved".

Sorgues Mayor Thierry Lagneau, who had expressed outrage at the incident, said the court ruling did not reflect the wishes of the local community.

"I have the feeling that the law does not reflect reality as it is seen by citizens," he said, adding that the ruling "gives the impression that everything is allowed."

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UK PM leads parliament tribute to Thatcher

BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron has led parliament in a special session of tributes to Margaret Thatcher, describing the divisive former leader as an "extraordinary" woman who had revived the country's fortunes.

The Iron Lady's harshest critics stayed away in a sign of her bitterly disputed legacy, but the Houses of Commons and Lords were mostly packed full of MPs recalled from their holidays after Thatcher died on Monday aged 87.

"Let this be her epitaph, that she made this country great again," intoned Cameron, a fellow Conservative.

Hailing her as an "extraordinary leader - and an extraordinary woman", Cameron said Thatcher was also renowned internationally for helping defeat communism during the 1980s and ending the Cold War.

"Today, in different corners of the world, there are millions of people who know that they owe their freedom, in part, to Margaret Thatcher," Cameron said.

Supporters say Thatcher's free-market reforms made Britain stronger and hail her leadership during the Falklands War with Argentina, while critics complain her economic policies and battles with the trade unions destroyed millions of lives.

But opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband acknowledged her impact on Britain.

"Whatever your view of her, Margaret Thatcher was a unique and towering figure," he said in answer to Cameron's comments.

Thatcher's son Mark said his twin sister Carol and the rest of their family had been "overwhelmed" by messages of support they had received from around the globe. Their mother died at London's Ritz Hotel after a stroke.

Mark said that Thatcher would have been "greatly honoured" by Queen Elizabeth II's decision to attend her funeral next Wednesday, a rare honour from the monarch only accorded to Winston Churchill.

The ceremony will be held at St Paul's Cathedral in London, where British armed forces personnel from units associated with the Falklands conflict will bear her coffin. A total of 700 military personnel will be involved.

Cameron said her casket would also be draped with the British flag as it was transported on a gun carriage to the cathedral, saying: "This will be a fitting salute to a great prime minister."

The parliamentary session was largely respectful but several of her biggest critics boycotted the debates.

"Her impact and influence is indisputable, but her legacy is too bitter to warrant this claim to national mourning," said one Labour lawmaker who stayed away, John Healey.

Firebrand left-wing lawmaker George Galloway also said he would stay away from what he derided as a "state-organised eulogy".

Security for the funeral is likely to be extremely tight with fears of disruption by Irish republican dissidents and far-left groups. Police are also reportedly bracing for a possible "lone wolf" attack.

Concerns about potential violence rose after trouble erupted at several street parties celebrating her death on Monday night in London, Liverpool, Bristol and Glasgow.

Many world figures are expected to attend Thatcher's funeral, although a spokesman for former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said he would not be among them because his health was too frail.

Former Labour prime minister Tony Blair and his wife were among the first confirmed guests to the ceremony, which will be followed by a private cremation.

Thatcher's ashes will be laid next to those of her husband Denis, who died in 2003, at the Royal Chelsea Hospital.

Mark Thatcher was out of the country when his mother died, as was his sister, but he returned overnight to the family's plush central London townhouse, where well-wishers had left flowers and tributes.

"We have quite simply been overwhelmed by messages of support, condolence, of every type from far and wide and I know that my mother would be pleased they have come from people of all walks of life," the 59-year-old told reporters.

Several Conservative MPs have called for Thatcher to receive a full state funeral but her spokesman Lord Tim Bell said Thatcher had specifically asked not to have one.

The government dismissed criticism over the cost of the ceremony, which is less ostentatious than the state funeral given to Churchill but is the same honour afforded to the Queen Mother and Princess Diana.

"I think we can afford to contribute to a funeral," Foreign Secretary William Hague told the BBC.

Thatcher and her policies, dubbed "Thatcherism", remain as divisive now as they were during her premiership from 1979 to 1990.

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US growth to pick up 3.2% in 2014: Obama

PRESIDENT Barack Obama's fiscal 2014 budget sees US economic growth picking up to 3.2 per cent next year from 2.3 per cent this year.

The $US3.77 trillion ($A3.61 trillion) proposed budget, released on Wednesday, also assumes unemployment will average 7.2 per cent next year, down from the current 7.6 per cent.

The budget for the fiscal year beginning October 1 foresees the US deficit falling to $US744 billion, compared to a projected shortfall of $US973 billion in the current year.

That would bring the country's deficit down to 4.4 per cent of gross domestic product from 6.0 per cent this year.

Government spending was projected to rise just 2.5 per cent in 2014 - slightly more than the projected inflation rate of 2.2 per cent - as pressure remains on the White House to curtail spending.

Nevertheless, Republicans in Congress are expected to reject the proposal and push for more cuts in disbursements.

"We don't view this budget as a starting point. This is an offer where the president came more than half way towards the Republicans in an attempt to get a fiscal deal," said a senior White House official.

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