The Dutch government has snapped up a near-13% stake in Air France-KLM, prompting the French government to accuse The Hague of acting like an “unfriendly” corporate raider. A minor diplomatic row appeared to be building after the Dutch finance minister said the Netherlands had spent €680m (£581m) on a 12.7% stake in the company, formed in 2004 via the merger of the two flag-carrier airlines.

The Netherlands said it was prepared to increase its stake to 14% to ensure it can bring Dutch influence to bear on the company, putting it on an even keel with France, which also holds about 14%. “Buying this stake ensures we have a seat at the table,” said the Dutch finance minister, Wopke Hoekstra, indicating a desire to have more influence over Dutch economic interests and jobs. French officials said they were upset that they had not been informed in advance of the Dutch stake-building plans.

“The way that the stake was built up was more like that done by a corporate raider, rather than a state shareholder,” a French finance ministry official told Reuters. The official added that the purchase was an “unfriendly, surprising move that is extremely detrimental to Air France-KLM financially”. The source declined to say whether the French state would raise its stake in reaction to the Dutch move but said Paris was going to ask France’s financial markets watchdog to prove heavy trading in the airline’s shares prior to the Dutch government’s announcement.

Shares in Air France-KLM fell by nearly 10% on Wednesday after the disclosure of the investment by the Netherlands, prompting the French official to point out that Dutch taxpayers have already seen their investment plummet by about €70m.(theguardian)…[+]

Nigeria’s opposition leader has rejected a claim by the incumbent, Muhammadu Buhari, that he won the presidential election, denouncing the poll as a “sham” and vowing to mount a legal challenge. Hours after the president was announced the winner of Saturday’s delayedelection, Atiku Abubakar said that the reason he had not called Buhari to congratulate him was because he had “never seen our democracy so debased”.

Atiku – the former vice-president and wealthy businessman is known countrywide by his first name – said there had been “manifest and premeditated malpractices in many states”. He compared the election unfavourably with that of 2007, widely considered the worst in Nigeria’s history, in which Buhari was runner-up and Abubakar came a distant third.  According to the country’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the People’s Democratic party (PDP) candidate scored 11,262,978 votes to finish second after Buhari of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC), whose 15,191,847 votes secured his reelection for a second term in office. The elections, Nigeria’s sixth since its return to democracy in 1999, were seen as a referendum on the presidency of Buhari, the tough-talking former general who was also a military head of state in the 1980s. Despite seeming unpopular with large sections of the population, Buhari managed to retain most of his base and do well in opposition strongholds.(theguardian)…[+]

Marcia McClean has been committed to stand trial before the High Court for the murder of her four year-old step-daughter Jenice Figaro. McClean intends calling two police officers as defence witnesses when the matter goes to trial. McClean, 30, was charged that on November 24 2016 she murdered the child at the Williamsville home she shared with Figaro, the child’s father and her daughters.

Initial reports were that the child ate a meal of fries, garlic sauce and ketchup before she was pronounced dead at the San Fernando General Hospital. An autopsy however found that the child was beaten to death. The matter started last year September before San Fernando senior magistrate Cherril-Anne Antoine. State attorney Daneia Mayers presented 27 witnesses. Six people gave evidence from the witness stand, including the investigator constable Leiselle Serioux, two other police officers, the child’s father, Robert Figaro, and her relatives. Evidence was also presented by way of paper committal.(Trinidad Express)…[+]