There were no immediate reports of injuries or arrests.The march like numerous others in recent weeks was called to honour dozens of people killed in the riots that swept through the mountainous Berber region of Kabyle last month. Carrying long black cloths to symbolise mourning as they marched to the city hall, the women held up pictures of Algerians killed by government forces.Sporadic rioting was also reported in Bejaia, the second largest city in the Kabyle region. On Wednesday, clashes erupted between youths and police in numerous small towns around the region, and several dozen demonstrators were injured. Some 50 journalists marched through Tizi Ouzou to protest a tough new press law.Algiers has long had a tense relationship with the Berber region, where inhabitants demand official recognition of their culture. However, the April riots are also seen as a symptom of the massive unemployment and general discontent confronting Algeria, where an Islamic insurgency has been in progress since 1992 At least 100,000 people have been killed in the violence.. Railtrack is preparing to raise up to £3bn from the debt markets this autumn to help pay for a huge increase in the costs of renewing and improving the national rail network. Railtrack is preparing to raise up to £3bn from the debt markets this autumn to help pay for a huge increase in the costs of renewing and improving the national rail network.Steve Marshall, Railtrack's chief executive, also indicated that it was keen to tap shareholders for more cash at some stage, although he ruled out a rights issue for the next 12 months.
The network operator disclosed yesterday that the cost of repairing Britain's crumbling railways over the next five years could be £17bn about £3.8bn more than it has been allowed by the Rail Regulator Tom Winsor.Railtrack is seeking to recover £2.6bn of this through increased government subsidies, but the remaining £1.2bn will have to be met through efficiency savings or higher borrowings. The £3.8bn shortfall is in addition to £1.25bn of extra costs Railtrack is already facing because of a £500m increase in the bill for the West Coast Main Line and a £750m shortfall in efficiency savings it had expected to make.The scale of the increased costs facing Railtrack emerged as it reported higher-than-expected losses for last year of £534m. A pre-tax profit of £199m was wiped out by £733m of one-off charges to cover the network's upheaval since October's Hatfield crash.Despite a pledge to maintain the dividend for the year at 26.9p, the financial markets were unnerved, and Railtrack shares fell a further 4 per cent to 459.5p. The company's market capitalisation has now shrunk to £2.36bn, leaving it in danger of dropping out of the FTSE 100 index.The debt-raising exercise will take the form of a huge bond issue denominated in sterling, dollars and euros. Mr Marshall said Railtrack might need to raise £4bn from the bond market, lifting its debts to £7.5bn from the present £3.3bn.Railtrack also unveiled plans yesterday for a corporate overhaul splitting the group into three new divisions, abolishing its much-criticised structure of regional zones or "fiefdoms". It also might move out of its Railtrack House headquarters next to Euston station.One new division will be responsible for operating and renewing Railtrack's core net- work.
A second division will be responsible for major programmes and enhancement projects, such as the West Coast Main Line and Thameslink 2000. The third will cover property and new businesses and will be expected to generate profits from Railtrack's huge land bank beyond the £1bn that the regulator intends to claw back for re-investment in the network in the next five years.Mr Marshall also said job losses among Railtrack's workforce of 12,000 were a "possibility", but it was too early to say how many.Railtrack is not expected to tap shareholders for new money until the outcome of its request for additional funding from the Government was known in the middle of next year. "The main thing we are asking shareholders for is their patience and understanding while we sort out the uncertainties," Mr Marshall said.The £733m in exceptional costs includes £561m to compensate train operators for the chaos that has afflicted the network since last October. The figure is £100m more than the previous Railtrack estimate of its liability. Mr Marshall maintained that the new total would be sufficient to meet all claims and allow Railtrack to "wave goodbye to any further compensation"..
