Small Business Merchant Accounts

Brutality on the part of Guinean security forces includes both the everyday, such as that which takes place during police interrogation, and the political. One example of the latter is recurrent excessive use of force against unarmed demonstrators. As Guinea has slid deeper and deeper into economic and political chaos, there has been an increasing number of demonstrations by trade unions and other civil society organizations. Guinean civil society, once thought to be a weak voice for political change, has increasingly attempted to pressure the government for political and economic reform.62 Civil society leaders interviewed by Human Rights Watch attribute this increased activity to rapidly deteriorating economic conditions, which many Guineans find increasingly intolerable.63

Since late 2005 there have been several incidents in which Guinean security forces have used disproportionate and lethal force against unarmed demonstrators.

Fortis transformation reflected in new top management structures

Fortis will restructure its top management as of 1 January 2008.[1] The Executive Committee will be recomposed and responsibilities redistributed. A Business Executive Committee - which will replace the Fortis Management Committee - will be installed and will operate in closest collaboration with a Group Executive Committee. Taking into account the Fortis managers who have already taken up responsibilities within ABN AMRO, Fortis is convinced it now has the adequate management structure in place, not only to guarantee the successful integration of the acquired businesses, but also to develop Fortis as a whole.

1. The Group Executive Committee will consist of:

* Jean-Paul Votron, CEO and Executive Director (Audit reports directly to the CEO);

* Herman Verwilst, Deputy CEO and Executive Director (Human Resources, Public and External Affairs, Business Transformation Office report to the Deputy CEO);

* Gilbert Mittler, Member of the Group Executive Committee responsible for Finance, Risk and General Counsel;

* Filip Dierckx, Member of the Group Executive Committee responsible for Merchant Banking;

* Lex Kloosterman, Member of the Group Executive Committee responsible for Private Banking, Asset Management, Investor Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility;

* Camille Fohl, Member of the Group Executive Committee responsible for Retail Banking and for Global Branding and Communications;

* Peer van Harten, Member of the Group Executive Committee responsible for Insurance and for Real Estate;

* Alain Deschênes, Member of the Group Executive Committee responsible for Technology and Information Services, Operations, Facility, Purchasing and Process Improvement.

Spectral workshops to assist explorers

As part of the annual Geological Survey of Queensland 'Digging Deeper' seminar program, educational workshops will be held to provide information on and interpretation of a set of more than 30 maps based on HyMap airborne hyperspectral data and on Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflective Radiometer (ASTER) satellite imagery.

The workshops will be held in Brisbane on November 29 and Townsville on November 30, and will offer training for industry clients on hyperspectral mineral mapping theory through a hands on computer based workshop featuring Australian case studies.

The spectral program and workshops have been developed as the result of a joint venture to process and use spectral data, which involved Geoscience Australia, the Geological Survey of Queensland, the Predictive Mineral Discovery CRC, CSIRO and James Cook University.