Gerard Lethbridge, his solicitor, described yesterday's ruling by a Melbourne magistrate as "inhumane and unjust".Mr Kalejs, 87, faces charges of genocide and war crimes in relation to his alleged role in the massacre of Latvian Jews during the 1941-44 occupation of his homeland by Nazi Germany.He is accused of being a guard at the Salaspils labour camp near Riga, where Jews and Russian prisoners of war were tortured, executed or died of malnutrition. Jewish groups claim he was a member of Arajs Kommando, a death squad responsible for the murder of 30,000 Latvian Jews.Mr Kalejs denies the allegations. Mr Lethbridge added that his client had dementia and prostate cancer, was blind and nearly deaf and could not follow proceedings.Mr Kalejs, who attended the hearing in a wheelchair, fled Britain in January last year to avoid being deported. A naturalised Australian since 1957, he was deported from America in 1994 and Canada in 1997 for lying about his wartime record on immigration entry forms.He was released on bail to a Melbourne nursing home and told to surrender his passport.. Marks & Spencer is considering a radical shake-up of its food business in an attempt to reduce the chain's costs and increase its profits. Marks & Spencer is considering a radical shake-up of its food business in an attempt to reduce the chain's costs and increase its profits. The changes will alarm customers and the City, as M&S's food operation has built its reputation on premium-priced but quality food.The food business has also been one of the most stable parts of the M&S empire. It has consistently improved sales and profits, while the clothing side has collapsed.The changes include putting more food contracts out for competitive tender to lower costs.
It is thought the company is already implementing aggressive use of Dutch auctions, in which suppliers are played off against each other in an attempt to drive prices lower.The aim is to use the buying gains to increase profit margins rather than lower prices on the shelves.M&S has also been reducing the number of suppliers in an attempt to simplify the supply chain and improve efficiencies. It is thought that this process will be stepped up.The possible restructuring of the food business coincides with the appointment of a former Asda executive to head up M&S Foods. Justin King was appointed in December and joined M&S two months ago.It is understood that buying practices have already been changed in sectors such as poultry. The buying of other commodity items such as fruit and vegetables, as well as biscuits and cakes, is likely to be high on the list.Some M&S insiders are said to be dismayed about the plans. One said: "It shows a basic lack of understanding of the part of the market M&S is operating in. It jeopardises quality, and if customers start to get a whiff of that, then you're sunk."Food industry insiders said M&S has already tried to introduce lower-cost packaging on some ranges but had to change it back when shoppers did not like it.M&S declined to comment on its plans.
A spokeswoman said: "We've got a new head of the food business. In terms of how he wants to wants to run the business, it is very early days. With a business this size and with so many changes, you can never say never."The possibility of a radical overhaul of the food side of M&S will alarm suppliers, following the brutal shake-up of its clothing suppliers last year under Peter Salsbury, who was then chief executive.That saw M&S terminate relationships with some suppliers, such as William Baird and Daks-Simpson, as M&S moved more of its buying to cheaper offshore markets.M&S will not be able to take such a radical approach with its food suppliers, as food products need to bought closer to the point of sale than clothing. Also, only a limited number of food manufacturers are capable of supplying certain high-quality ranges, such as ready-made meals and desserts.Potential winners in the new regime include Northern Foods, which supplies ready-made meals to M&S and is one of the retailer's largest suppliers; Uniq, the former Unigate dairy business; and Geest.M&S Foods recorded a 1.6 per cent increase in sales to £2.9bn in the year to March, with sales up by 2.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis. The company does not split out profits for the food operation.. General Motors has agreed with the main creditor of Daewoo Motor to make an offer to take over the assets and related businesses of the bankrupt South Korean car maker. General Motors has agreed with the main creditor of Daewoo Motor to make an offer to take over the assets and related businesses of the bankrupt South Korean car maker. GM and the Korea Development Bank (KDB), acting on behalf of Daewoo creditors, said yesterday they had agreed to begin "formal negotiations" today on a timetable to buy the passenger vehicle assets and related businesses of Daewoo.Confirmation that GM wanted to begin formal takeover talks was issued six months after an evaluation of Daewoo by the world's largest auto maker.The news helped lift South Korean stock prices, pushing the Korea composite index up 2.2 per cent to a close of 632.05, its highest finish in more than eight months.Both sides agreed to keep the content of their discussions confidential during the talks, a joint statement said.Rhee Sung-kun, a KDB official in charge of selling Daewoo, said that GM would submit a proposal to take over Daewoo by today and that the formal talks would take place in a third country.GM spokesman Rob Leggat said no deadline had been set for the talks to be completed.
