Poland blames Russia over crash

29 July 2011 Last updated at 16:44 GMT The crash near Smolensk killed all those on board A Polish report has found that Russia was partly to blame for the air crash last year which killed then-President Lech Kaczynski.

It said that pilot error was the main reason for the crash, but that air controllers and poor lighting at Smolensk were also at fault.

Poland's Defence Minister Bogdan Klich resigned in the wake of the report.

The crash killed 96 people and has been a source of tension between the two countries.

A Russian report released in January laid full blame on Poland.

But Poland, while accepting some of the findings, said that Moscow's report was "incomplete".

All those on board the TU-154 Tupolev, who included officials spanning the country's military and political elite, were killed when their airliner crashed while trying to land in heavy fog.

They had been on their way to a memorial for the victims of Katyn, where 20,000 Polish officers were massacred by Soviet forces in 1940.

'Erroneous information'

The report by Warsaw said the pilot had lacked experience in landing aircraft in adverse weather conditions, and the crew was not adequately equipped.

Russia was commended for its sensitivity after the crash, but relations later deteriorated

It also found that airport lighting was "defective and incomplete", while a landing zone official had given "erroneous information" to the crew as they prepared to land in poor weather at the Russian city of Smolensk.

Air traffic controllers misinformed the crew about their true altitude during the approach and gave a crucial warning too late, it said.

In its report earlier this year, Russia had said the crash was due to pilot error and said the crew had taken unjustified risks under pressure from their superiors.

However, the Polish report said there was no evidence that Lech Kaczynski or anyone else on board had put pressure on the pilots to act against their wishes.

An official with the Russian committee which investigates air disasters said "the fundamental part" of the conclusions in the Polish report agreed with his own committee's findings.

But the official, Alexei Morozov, said they could not understand the Polish finding that the flight's crew was not influenced by senior officials in the cockpit.

Russia's handling of the disaster had originally been widely commended, but the issue later became a source of contention between the two nations.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he had accepted the resignation of Mr Klich in the wake of the report's criticism of the crew.

Tomasz Siemoniak, a deputy interior minister, has replaced Mr Klich, Mr Tusk told reporters.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the twin brother of the late president and opposition politician, has previously accused Mr Tusk's government of a cover-up with Moscow. Mr Tusk strongly denies the claims.

Poland's first couple - along with other leading political and military figures - had been on their way to a memorial ceremony for the World War II Katyn massacre when the crash took place on 10 April. There were no survivors.

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Galliano blames drink for 'abuse'

22 June 2011 Last updated at 20:52 GMT Lawyer Aurelien Hamelle says Galliano is "a loving character who loves diversity"

British fashion designer John Galliano has told a Paris court that his drug and alcohol addictions were to blame for his alleged anti-Semitic outbursts.

Prosecutors say he hurled racial slurs at customers in Paris a cafe.

The designer, who was fired by the Dior fashion house over the allegations, said he had no recollection of the events and denied being racist.

If convicted, he faces a possible six months in jail and a fine of up to 22,500-euro (?20,000).

Prosecutors have asked for a fine of not less than 10,000 euros.

Mr Galliano is charged with "public insults based on origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity". The verdict will be announced on 8 September.

The trial focuses on two alleged incidents in October and February.

Video of a third incident - in which he was shown saying to two women in a cafe, "I love Hitler", and telling them that their parents could have been gassed by the Nazis - was used as evidence in court.

But after watching the footage in court, Mr Galliano denied he was racist or anti-Semitic.

"All my life I have fought against prejudice, intolerance and discrimination, having been subjected to it myself," he said.

"I do not have these views and I have never held them."

'Complete denial'

Mr Galliano told the court he was "a recovering alcoholic, a recovering addict".

He said he began using alcohol and drugs in 2007 following the death of a close friend, and that their use had helped him to cope with the pressures of his job as creative director at Dior.

"After every creative high, I would crash and the alcohol helped me," he said.

He had been in "complete denial" about his addictions when he was arrested, he said which is why he did not tell the police at the time.

Earlier, Mr Galliano's defence lawyer Aurelian Hamelle, said his alcoholic and "pathological state" could be proved by medical testimony.

Aurelian Hamelle said his client wanted to "present his excuses to the people he offended", and to have the chance to "rebuild himself professionally and personally".

The designer has previously repeatedly apologised "unreservedly" for his behaviour and has sought treatment for his addictions.

'Thighs criticised'

Geraldine Bloch, a museum curator, is suing Mr Galliano over what she said was a tirade of anti-Semitic abuse that lasted 45 minutes.

She told the court he had mocked her appearance and clothing during the February incident, and that the word "Jewish" was "one of the most recurrent".

"The tone was not at all funny. I didn't laugh at any time. There was no humour," the AFP news agency quoted her as saying.

Ms Bloch's lawyer, Yves Beddouk, earlier said Mr Galliano had "assaulted her, not only as a woman, by criticising the texture of her hair, by criticising her thighs, and by criticising the way she was dressed".

Ms Bloch "did not even know who John Galliano was at the time of the incident", he said.

Another woman has made similar accusations about an incident in October.

But a British teacher who witnessed the incident involving Ms Bloch told the court she did not hear Mr Galliano say anything racist and that the exchange had been "totally overblown", the Associated Press reports.

Mr Galliano was sacked by Dior after footage of the third incident emerged.

All incidents are alleged to have taken place at La Perle cafe in the Marais district of Paris.

Mr Galliano took over the creative helm of Dior in 1996 and has won British Fashion Designer of the Year on four occasions.

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