Germany's Good Fortune Tips the Scales Against its Neighbors
William Pfaff

The excellent second quarter export and growth results reported by Germany have set that country at an increasing, and increasingly dangerous, distance from the other members of the European Union, with jeopardy to the EU and the euro

NATO's Future Involves More Global Partnerships
Alex Kingsbury

Ian Brzezinski, a deputy assistant secretary of defense for Europe and NATO policy during the George W. Bush administration, has spent more than two decades in public service, much of it working on military issues between the United States and Europe. Brzezinski talked about the outlook for the NATO alliance

Reality and Reform for How the EU Keeps Its Peace
William Pfaff

The meeting of nearly forty EU academic analysts and non-academic observers, coming when it did, during the present crisis in the world economy, inevitably made economic and financial issues its principal subjects. The collective political inhibitions of the EU inserted themselves into the discussion, as they always do because of the institutional and national tensions within the EU

History Returns to Europe
Victor Davis Hanson

So naturally, there is a general sense of satisfied accomplishment among European social democrats. They believe that finally a quiet sameness across their continent has replaced two millennia of constant European warring and revolution. But beneath the genteel European Union veneer, few remembered that human nature remains constant and gives not even nice Europeans a pass from its harsh laws

Chancellor Angela Merkel's Sinking Support
William Drozdiak

Recent German polls report plummeting support for Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition, with Merkel's policies and leadership coming under particular fire -- especially regarding the euro crisis, in which she was seen as indecisive by a public concerned about its own national interests

Managing a More Assertive Turkey
F. Stephen Larrabee

Turkey's recent diplomatic differences with the United States and its sharpened deterioration of relations with Israel come from Turkey's desire to reestablish its role as a major influence in the Middle East and Central Asia, says F. Stephen Larrabee, an expert on Turkey

What Next for NATO?
William Pfaff

The European Union doesn't know where it stands at this moment. NATO thinks it knows and is gambling. Has the EU a future, or has disintegration set in? The behavior of the Germans under the conservative Merkel government is taken by many to signal that the end, if not nigh, is foreordained.

European Union Funding Proposal Is Only the Beginning
Ian Bremmer and Preston Keat

The dramatic European Union funding proposal is an important first step. Next comes enforcement of tough fiscal reform guidelines, which introduces a series of new political challenges and risks.

France Offers Lesson in How Not to Integrate Immigrants
Mary Sanchez

My transoceanic lyricism goes flat when I hear about things like France's preposterous plan to fine Muslim women for wearing a full-face veil in public. In our globalized age, there is no shortage of hostility on the part of native populations for the immigrants among them. What explains this law is a familiar pattern of cultural politics akin to what psychologists call displacement

European Debt Crisis Affects Investments
Rob Silverblatt and Ben Baden

Despite the initial confidence boost, a number of questions remain unanswered. Chief among them is what European Union countries will do to keep the problem from spiraling out of control after this temporary stopgap expires. Here you'll find explanations as to what has already happened and tips for what's on the horizon

Euro Crisis has American Fingerprints
William Pfaff

The obituaries written of the European currency, the euro, have demonstrated the divergences in national and cultural temperaments, the European funereal and laden with gloom about the future, but unyielding, and the American and British cheerfully and self-satisfiedly shoveling earth onto a casket of euros already six feet into the ground. Defy the markets, will they, these Europeans!

Greece: Model of Socialistic Excess
Ross Mackenzie

Greece is one of the poorest kids on the European bloc. It also is one of the most carelessly socialistic, which largely explains why it is so poor. The birthplace of democracy, today it is a model of socialistic excess. Unable to reduce its debt by inflating its own currency, Greece has had to call upon other EU countries to bail it out.

European Union: A Fragile Partnership
William Pfaff

The present crisis of the European Union was inherent in the creation of the institution itself. It is a political-economic hybrid and was intended to be an alliance of mutually supportive qualities. The qualities have instead proven a contradiction

The Brussels Wall: Tearing Down the EU-NATO Barrier
William Drozdiak

There is a great deal of talk about the dawn of an Asian century. Meanwhile, the fractious Atlantic alliance, enfeebled by two wars and an economic crisis, is said to be fading away. But the West is not doomed to decline as a center of power and influence. A relatively simple strategic fix could reinvigorate Europe and North America: bring together the European Union and the NATO

Bigger Is Better: Case for Transatlantic Economic Union
Richard Rosecrance

The 27 states that now compose the European Union will soon be accompanied by almost ten others, making Europe stretch from the Atlantic to the Caucasus. Something similar, if more gradual, has been occurring on the other side of the Atlantic as well with the formation of NAFTA. Perhaps, the time has come for establishing a transatlantic free-trade area.

Muddling through Greece's Tremors
Marc Levinson

Global markets plunged as investors continued to react with nervousness to the prospects of Greek's debt crisis spreading to other countries on the European Union's periphery. This is primarily because Greece remains in a murky situation despite its parliament's approval of tough new austerity measures linked to its bailout

Greece Financial Crisis Raises Doubts About European Union
Bonnie Erbe

The European Union's woes over Greece's financial crisis strikes me as neither odd nor unexpected

Greek Debt Crisis May Hurt Latin America Economy
Andres Oppenheimer

I don't want to be a party pooper, but I'm not convinced by the latest headlines projecting that foreign investments in Latin America will soar by up to 50 percent this year. If the problem remains restricted to Greece, the forecast for Latin America stands. However, if the financial crisis spreads to other European countries, especially Spain, it's a different story

The NATO Nuisance
William Pfaff

Large and firmly implanted bureaucratic organizations are almost impossible to kill, even when they have no reason to continue to exist, as NATO has not since the Soviet Union, communism and the Warsaw Pact all collapsed.

Pivot to Foreign Policy: American-Russian Cooperation
Jules Witcover

The United States' new nuclear arms control treaty with Russia marks a sharp pivot from domestic to foreign policy, and in some ways a welcome one. Beyond characterizing the treaty signing as a tangible 'resetting' of the American-Russian relationship

Greek Financial Debt Crisis Only Part of EU's Woes
William Pfaff

Today's European crisis has been precipitated by Greece acting with possibly reckless honesty, and Germany behaving badly toward Greece. The latter a case of the pot calling the kettle black; Germany itself is running a deficit of some 3 percent over the EC stability pact limit -- promising, like Greece, to do better in the future.

Euro's Fiscal Policy Will Give Pause to Reserve-Currency Allocators
Ian Bremmer & Jon Levy

The Greek crisis is making clear a reality long ignored or glossed over: Eurozone fiscal policy is messy and opaque. This is not a short-term phenomenon, nor can any concerted action change this fact. Global central banks, sovereign wealth firms and other major entities are going to revise their currency-allocation strategies based on this new recognition.

Europe U.S. Allies in Europe Begin to Pull Back
William Pfaff

Five NATO governments made it known that they want American nuclear weapons removed from their territory. They include the Benelux three, together with Germany and Norway. The five reportedly will ask that all the European NATO governments endorse their position before a meeting in New York in May.

Europe's Chance to Punch Its Weight: New Treaty New Influence
Anthony Luzzatto Gardner and Stuart E. Eizenstat

After nearly a decade of acrimonious debate, the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force across the 27 member states of the EU. The treaty reforms EU institutions, making the EU more accountable to voters and enhancing its ability to address European and global challenges. Over the long term, the treaty may make the EU a more coherent international actor

Europe Needs to Lose Belief in Its Own Inadequacy
William Pfaff

Much has been written and said about making the European Union a 'world player.' The Lisbon Treaty was expected to accomplish this by bestowing a president, foreign-policy representative and diplomatic service. It was another expression of Europe's inability to come to terms with the reality of Europe present and past, and thereby liberate its future potentialities.

Who Will Be the New Global King of the Hill
William Pfaff

China and India stopped being part of what was called the third world when the Communist world disappeared in a shattering of global illusions in 1989. Since then there has been a search to find a new King of the Global Hill. The United States rejoiced for a few years in being the sole superpower, considering it an opportunity to remake the world according to its own advantage.

Economic Risk Spooking Investors
Matthew Bandyk

Despite federal spending consuming 27.2 percent of GDP, the United States maintains a Aaa rating. But you can't say the same about many countries in both the developed and developing world where continued fallout from the economic crisis is hurting their credit ratings. As a result, investors have viewed the economic situations in these countries as increasingly risky bets.

For Europe, U.S. Is Country That Cries Wolf
William Pfaff

Officials such as Philip Gordon regularly travel to Europe to ask for support for American initiatives. The Europeans reply that they have not been consulted in making these policies. The Americans say we will be happy to discuss them, but we are putting up most of the men and money, so it's too late to change anything. Maybe next time.

Spain Nudging European Union to Ease Cuba Stand
Andres Oppenheimer

Spain's announcement that it will seek a major improvement in European ties with Cuba's dictatorship once it takes over the presidency of the 27-country European Union on Jan. 1 is bad news not only for pro-democracy activists on the island, but also for oppositionists in several other authoritarian-ruled Latin American countries.

For a Change, Western Europe Doesn't Want to Change
William Pfaff

European voters are moving toward the right, so far as the recent electoral evidence indicates. Even in Portugal, the Socialists -- elected by a landslide four years ago -- lost their parliamentary majority in Sunday's vote, and will be looking for legislative allies

Obama's Missile Defense Concession Holds Opportunity for European Security
Paul J. Saunders

It's a concession, but it could present an opportunity as well. While the move highlights the unhappy geography and tough political choices facing Central European leaders, it could also create an important opportunity to strengthen European security. The administration would do well to use this chance to try to encourage new and different relationships between the former Soviet bloc and Russia.

Puzzling & Dangerous U.S. Foreign Policy Comes to an End
William Pfaff

President Barack Obama's cancellation of his predecessor's missile-defense scheme for Poland and the Czech Republic presumably brings to a close one of the least explicable and most dangerous American policy initiatives since the cold war officially ended.

Britsh prime minister Gordon Brown
(c) Nancy Ohanian

Why Sometimes Pays to Be Like Gordon Brown
by William Pfaff

Flamboyance of the Latin kind gets you into the newspapers, but for bad reasons as well as good.

Nicolas Sarkozy of France is not a man noted for charm but for his unchecked energies and the restless activity. Italy's Silvio Berlusconi is another matter entirely. He is a success in politics apparently because the majority of Italians like him.

Indeed, sometimes pays to be a nondescript politician like Gordon Brown of Britain.

 

Europe: Battle Over the Burqa
by William Pfaff

Since President Barack Obama in his recent Cairo speech made a tut-tutting remark about countries that restricted wearing religious garb in school, the controversy over the Muslim burqa has resumed in Europe

Europe agrees finance watchdogs
The European Union agrees to reform financial supervision, with new agencies to oversee banks, insurers and financial markets.

German banker 'should be fired'
The German central bank calls on the country's president to dismiss one of its board members over comments he made about immigration and Jews.

EU critical of France over Roma
The European Commission criticises France over its expulsions of Roma (Gypsies) and requests more information about the crackdown.

Russia extends grain export ban
Russia will consider lifting its grain export ban only after the next year's harvest has been reaped, Vladimir Putin says.

Man held over Russia club blaze
Police in Spain arrest a Russian man wanted for questioning about a fire at a Russian nightclub that killed more than 150 people in 2009.

Germans accused of honey smuggling
US authorities indict 11 German and Chinese executives for conspiring to illegally import $40m worth of honey from China.

UK's Hague defended over aide
David Cameron supports William Hague "100%" following speculation about the foreign secretary's private life, the PM's spokeswoman says.

Greenpeace rig activists arrested
Four Greenpeace activists are arrested after giving up their occupation of a Scottish company's drilling rig off Greenland.

Blair's account of Brown 'unfair'
Allies of Gordon Brown rally behind the former prime minister, describing criticism of him in Tony Blair's memoirs as "unfair" and "one-sided".

Zara launches online retail store
Zara starts selling its clothes online for the first time following similar moves from Gap and Banana Republic last month.

Portman launches Venice film gala
Natalie Portman attends the opening of the Venice Film Festival, which launched with her film Black Swan.

Gooaaal! Football's greatest free kick 'no fluke'
Physicists explain one of football's most spectacular free-kicks, showing that Roberto Carlos's 1997 "impossible goal" was not a fluke.

Unique brass Roman lantern found in field
A metal detecting enthusiast finds what is believed to be the only intact Roman lantern made out of bronze ever discovered in Britain.

ECB ups eurozone growth forecasts
The European Central Bank raises its forecast for eurozone growth for this year and next year, and keeps interest rates on hold.

EU raps Kenya over Bashir visit
European countries asked Kenyan ambassadors to explain why Kenya refused to arrest the Sudanese president on a recent visit.

BP says oil spill cost up to $8bn
BP says the cost of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill has risen to $8bn - a rise of more than $2bn in the last month alone.

Cold winter boosts Gazprom profit
Russian gas monopoly Gazprom reports a threefold surge in profits for the first three months of the year, despite a sharp fall in gas prices.

Eurozone growth of 1% confirmed
The eurozone economy grew by 1% between April and June, driven by strong German growth, official figures confirm.

Roddick falls to Tipsarevic
Ninth seed Andy Roddick sees his hopes of claiming a second US Open title end with defeat by Janko Tipsarevic.

Murray eases through in New York
Britain's Andy Murray cruises into the second round of the US Open with a straight-sets victory over Slovakia's Lukas Lacko.

Uefa bans vuvuzelas from matches
Vuvuzelas, the noisy air horns which provided the soundtrack to the World Cup in South Africa, have been banned from all Uefa-sanctioned games.

Albania
Key facts, figures and dates

Andorra
Key facts, figures and dates

Armenia
Key facts, figures and dates

Austria
Key facts, figures and dates

Azerbaijan
Key facts, figures and dates

Belarus
Key facts, figures and dates

Belgium
Key facts, figures and dates

Bosnia-Hercegovina
Key facts, figures and dates

Bulgaria
Key facts, figures and dates

Croatia
Key facts, figures and dates

Cyprus
Key facts, figures and dates

Czech Republic
Key facts, figures and dates

Denmark
Key facts, figures and dates

Estonia
Key facts, figures and dates

Finland
Key facts, figures and dates

France
Key facts, figures and dates

Georgia
Key facts, figures and dates

Germany
Key facts, figures and dates

Greece
Key facts, figures and dates

Hungary
Kay facts, figures and dates

Iceland
Key facts, figures and dates

Ireland
Key facts, figures and dates

Italy
Key facts, figures and dates

Latvia
Key facts, figures and dates

Liechtenstein
Key facts, figures and dates

Lithuania
Key facts, figures and dates

Luxembourg
Key facts, figures and dates

Macedonia
Key facts, figures and dates

Malta
Key facts, figures and dates

Moldova
Key facts, figures and dates

Monaco
An overview of Monaco including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

Montenegro
Key facts, figures and dates

Netherlands
Key facts, figures and dates

Norway
Key facts, figures and dates

Poland
Key facts, figures and dates

Portugal
Key facts, figures and dates

Romania
Key facts, figures and dates

Russia
Key facts, figures and dates

San Marino
An overview of San Marino including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

Serbia
Key facts, figures and dates

Slovakia
Key facts, figures and dates

Slovenia
Key facts, figures and dates

Spain
Key facts, figures and dates

Sweden
Key facts, figures and dates

Switzerland
Key facts, figures and dates

Turkey
Key facts, figures and dates

Ukraine
Key facts, figures and dates

United Kingdom
Key facts, figures and dates

Vatican
Key facts, figures and dates

Abkhazia
An overview of Abkhazia including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media.

Ajaria
An overview of Ajaria including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

Ceuta, Melilla
A profile of the Spanish north African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla

Channel Islands
An overview of the Channel Islands including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

Chechnya
Key facts, figures and dates

Corsica
An overview of Corsica including key facts and notes on the media

Crimea
Key facts, dates, events

Dagestan
Key facts, dates and events

Faroe Islands
An overview of the Faroe Islands including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

Gibraltar
An overview of Gibraltar including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

Greenland
Key facts, figures and dates

Ingushetia
Key facts, figures and dates

Isle of Man
An overview of the Isle of Man including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

Kabardino-Balkaria
A profile of the southern Russian republic

Kaliningrad
Key facts, dates, events

Kalmykia
Key facts, dates and events

Karachay-Cherkessia
Key facts, dates, events

Kosovo
An overview of Kosovo including key facts, leaders and notes on the media

Nagorno-Karabakh
Key facts,dates and events

North Ossetia
Key facts, dates and events

South Ossetia
An overview of South Ossetia, including key facts and political leaders

Trans-Dniester
An overview of the breakaway region in eastern Moldova

French film highlights racism
Racial discrimination in French job market reflected in new feature film L'Italien.

Emergency services tackle France fires
Wildfires in southern France have destroyed 6,000 hectares of scrubland and pine forests near Montpelier.

'Their luggage aroused suspicion'
Dutch police have questioned two men who arrived at Amsterdam airport from Chicago, after US authorities spotted "suspicious items" in their luggage.

Fighting organised crime in Montenegro
The European Union is stepping up its efforts to fight organised crime in countries wanting to join.

Spain hopes pilgrims will boost economy
Local authorities in northern Spain have invested a record amount in an attempt to attract even more pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela.

Budget hotel goes to the extreme
A new budget hotel run like a no-frills airline has opened its doors.

Istanbul told to protect heritage
Unesco has given Istanbul just a few months to improve its management of one of the world's most important World Heritage sites.

Row over private beaches in Italy
In Italy, a fence has gone up along a stretch of coastline south of Rome amid fears of a campaign to promote money-making private beaches.

Portugal child abuse
Judges to deliver verdict more than five years after trial began

Rush to buy
Fear sparks stockpiling of food in Russia as prices soar

Feeling the heat
Unease spreads over Sarkozy's Roma expulsions

Rough justice
Are UK extradition laws too draconian?

Identity crisis
French citizens forced to change name to get a job

BBC News - Europe
The latest stories from the Europe section of the BBC News web site.

 

The Cost of Mental Health in Europe
Mental health problems are tied to social and economic factors, both in cause and in treatment. By investing in mental health, in addition to the human victories, Europe can actually benefit economically.

The Question of Kosovo: Interview with Delfin Pilana
With a large majority of E.U. countries and the International Court of Justice recognizing the independence of Kosovo, Delfin Pilana is looking ahead at E.U. membership.

State-Building Woes of the U.N.
The original mandate of the United Nations deemed the sovereignty of states more or less inviolable, yet the organization has expanded its scope to, controversially, include peacekeeping and state-building.

Alternatives to the War on Drugs
In this interview, Dr. Evan Wood talks about how the War on Drugs has backfired and about various addiction-treatment and harm-reduction approaches that have proven more effective.

Albania, Europe's Problematic Child
A year after general elections, Albania's political parties are still fighting over the legitimacy of the results. Meanwhile the country's unemployment is sky high and it's no closer to E.U. accession.

Talking Nuclear Energy with Patricia Lorenz
Lorenz talks about nuclear energy production issues in Europe, outlining the current trends in technology, politics and environmental consequences.

Political Islam and Kemalist laicism: New Tango on Turkey's Old Battlefield
Turkey has been engaged in an ongoing struggle to balance its pro-Islam and secular parties for a long time, a battle that might only be won by coming to a compromise.

Heaven in Devon: the Seven Must-See Spots
Devon, England is a Cinderella spot for people looking for a European vacation with beautiful landscapes, relaxing beaches and quaint villages.

Haggling over the Former Moldavian SSR Dispute
Russian President Medvedev and his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych issued a joint declaration on the Transnistria conflict, with Moldova and Transnistria caught quite literally in between.

World's Top 50 Restaurants 2010
Restaurant Magazine recently revealed the 50 Best Restaurants in the World for 2010.

Interview with George Galloway
The U.K. member of Parliament talks about the British elections, his experience on the campaign trail and his being denied entry into Canada last year.

Asylum Seekers
Citizens from Macedonia and Serbia have been seeking asylum in E.U. countries in large numbers, especially in Belgium, under false hopes that they would be admitted.

Time to Revisit the Millennium Development Goals?
Despite the expenditure of $2.74 trillion in official development assistance over the past 40 years, the plight of the poor appears worse than ever.

The Most Amazing Museums in Italy
Nearly 60 percent of the best museums in the world are located on the European continent, and Italy has its share of the bounty.

No EU-daimonia after Lisbon
Lacking a democratic mandate and acting by stealth, E.U. elites have sought to make the Union a state in its own right, and a world power to boot. But have they gotten ahead of themselves?

Greece: Pulling Its Neighbors Down with It
Greece's debt is a serious issue, and coming up with a plan for going forward is also very much a problem for the European Union.

Screen Wars
An ongoing battle between Rupert Murdoch, Silvio Berlusconi and Muammar al-Gaddafi involves adult television programming, an ultraviolent war film, and lots of money and bitterness flying around.

Copenhagen: No Failure, but Just Not Good Enough
The result of the Copenhagen summit ended up being a small, creaking movement of the world's political machinery, while the polar ice caps continue to melt without hesitation.

Ukraine: Where Are You Going?
In these hard economic times, Ukraine is struggling to pull itself out of Russia's shadow and out of debt, aiming to establish itself as a viable free-market state.

U.N. Has the Potential to Overcome Challenges
With the United Nations struggling to maintain its relevence in the modernized world, its relationship with the European Union is proving to be an important one.

Copenhagen Climate Summit
With the U.N. Climate Change Conference in its final week, Worldpress.org reviews a sample of the varied assessments so far from around the globe.

War in the Caucasus
The ongoing tensions between the countries of the Caucasus, which can be traced back over a century, threaten to destabilize not only the region but also the Western nations connected economically.

Two New Positions in the European Union
Two relatively unknown politicians have been appointed to top spots in the E.U. The jury will be out for a while on the level of effect they will have.

World Bank Reforms: Tough Decisions Needed on Four Critical Issues
Reforms of the World Bank should be part of a coordinated global effort to make poverty history.

Investment Hopes in Lithuania
In the gloomy downturn of the economic market, Lithuania is seeing some light, with investment prospects coming from global sources.

Students Fret over Loan Program in Lithuania
The state-supported student loan system is under fire in Lithuania, with many arguing that students financial situations are getting increasingly worse.

Forgive, Forget
Twenty years after the fall of the Wall, the controversial lustration process is still in deep waters, with many wondering whether rummaging archives still makes sense.

European News from World Press Review
World News Review

 

ECB lifts eurozone growth forecasts
The European Central Bank forecast that the eurozone would expand this year and in 2011 much more strongly than previously expected, ruling out a double dip back into recession

Deal paves way for pan-EU financial watchdogs
The European Union reached a long-awaited agreement on reform of financial supervision, paving the way for the establishment of three pan-EU watchdogs to oversee controls on banks and insurers in the region from next year

Romania finance minister dropped in reshuffle
Sebastian Vladescu was forced to step down as the prime minister shook up his cabinet in response to huge political pressure over the government's unpopular austerity measures

Bundesbank calls for dismissal of Sarrazin
Germany's Bundesbank says it will ask Christian Wulff, the country's president, to dismiss Thilo Sarrazin, a board member who caused outrage by saying Jews shared 'a certain gene' and Muslims were unwilling to fit into German society

Norway keen to exploit carbon capture lead
The Sleipner platform is something of a holy site for believers in carbon capture and storage, a promising but controversial technology in the fight against climate change

Fears grow over global food supply
Russia announced a 12-month extension of its grain export ban, raising fears about a return to the food shortages and riots of 2007-08 which spread through developing countries dependent on imports

Sweden raises rates as economy strengthens
Sweden's central bank raises interest rates for the second time in two months, highlighting the strong recovery in its economy as the centre-right government battles for re-election

Cancer drug trial halted as patients fall ill
Tests in Ireland abandoned after three of 12 people receiving the treatment suffer seizures and are admitted to hospital. The Irish Medicines Board has launched an investigation into the incident

Moldovans face vote to clear political impasse
Moldova is to hold a referendum at the weekend to try to end a constitutional im­passe that has left the tiny former Soviet republic with only an interim president for more than a year

The EU can be a boon for Greece
Creating a powerful new anti-corruption commission could be like tossing a gun into the middle of the brawl, writes Paul Romer

Net closes in on Tymoshenko
A series of arrests and ongoing investigations by law enforcement officials in Ukraine have sparked fears that a Kremlin-styled crackdown on opposition parties may be under way

Derivatives reform
European regulators have sacrificed a principle in the name of transatlantic harmonisation. They have decided to drop proposals to force non-financial companies to use clearing houses to trade over-the-counter derivatives

Greece
To default or not to default: what would Socrates do?

Minister pressed over Bettencourt scandal
Eric Woerth, who is spearheading Nicolas Sarkozy's controversial pension reform bill that will go to parliament on September, accused of 'lying' by opposition

Yemeni terror suspects released
Two men held at Amsterdam airport at US request are freed without charge after prosecutors find no evidence of wrongdoing

FT.com - World, Europe
FT.com - World, Europe

 

Sarrazin To Go?: Bundesbank Looks to Remove Controversial Board Member
The German central bank has formally asked German President Christian Wulff to remove controversial executive board member Thilo Sarrazin from the bank leadership following his disparaging comments about Muslim immigrants and his claim that all Jews share a specific gene.

Picture This: Rising for Riches

A Safety Net for Global Capitalism: Inside Munich Re, the World's Risk Center
When natural disasters, like floods in Pakistan or earthquakes in Haiti, strike, Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurance company, ends up paying part of the bill. Munich Re offers capitalism a safety net, and no other company is more familiar with life's risks.

Obama's Misguided Approach: America Has Become Too European
The Obama administration and the Federal Reserve want to fix the United States economy by spending more money. But while that approach might work for Europe, it is risky for the US. The nation would be better off embracing traditional American values like self-reliance and small government.

Celebrating Retirement: Pensioner Gives Away Free Cash To Shoppers
Concerned citizens in the German city of Aschaffenburg alerted police when a pensioner began handing out cash to passers-by on the street. But apparently the man just wanted to celebrate his retirement.

The World from Berlin: 'Obama Takes a Big, Necessary Risk' on Middle East
As the first direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians in two years get underway in Washington, President Barack Obama says he is "cautiously hopeful" about finding a solution for the Middle East. German editorialists on Thursday, however, are more circumspect about his chances.

German Trains in the Channel Tunnel?: Plans Move Ahead for Germany-Britain Rail Connection
Germany's national railway has long resented the fact that its high-speed ICE trains are not allowed to operate through the Channel Tunnel. But a test run is planned for October and, if rules are eased, the company could be on track to introduce passenger services direct from Cologne to London in time for the 2012 Olympics.

Austrian Anti-Muslim Video Game: 'We'd Rather Have Sarrazin than a Muezzin'
Austrian police are investigating a video game released by the right-wing Freedom Party, the former political home of the late Jörg Haider, that invites players to stop the construction of minarets and mosques. But the politician behind the campaign answers his critics with: "We'd rather have Sarrazin than a muezzin."

The Low-Expectations Summit: Do Peace Talks in Washington Stand a Chance of Success?
A new round of Middle East peace talks begin Thursday in Washington. Expectations have never been so low, but that also presents an opportunity for progress between the Israelis and Palestinians. SPIEGEL ONLINE analyzes the main issues at the talks.

Life in Baghdad's Slums: Fighting to Survive in Sadr City
Iraq's poorest people live on trash heaps, sleep amongst the rats and drink polluted water. In the country with the world's third largest oil reserves, a million people live in misery, despite the fact that the US has spent $53 billion on the country's reconstruction efforts.

Picture This: Back to School Blues

'Peak Oil' and the German Government: Military Study Warns of a Potentially Drastic Oil Crisis
A study by a German military think tank has analyzed how "peak oil" might change the global economy. The internal draft document -- leaked on the Internet -- shows for the first time how carefully the German government has considered a potential energy crisis.

'Racist' Political Ad Rejected by Swedish TV: Danish Politicians Call for Election Observers in Sweden
A political ad rejected as hate speech by a Swedish TV station has sparked tension between Sweden and neighboring Denmark. Some Danish leaders have cried censorship, and even want to see election observers at Sweden's upcoming national poll.

Internet Freedom: Will Russia's Bloggers Survive Censorship Push?
With so many of their media sources controlled by the state or government-friendly oligarchs, Russians have turned to their bloggers to keep informed and give voice to their grievances and concerns. But many of those in power are now seeking to impose rigid limits on online freedom.

Dodging a Controversy: Ballack to Remain German National Team Captain
Back in July, it looked as though the German national football team was heading for controversy. On Wednesday, though, trainer Joachim Löw announced that Michael Ballack would remain the squad's captain. As soon as he is fit enough to play, that is.

The World from Berlin: New Catholic Abuse Guidelines 'Are Only a First Step'
The Catholic Church in Germany has introduced new guidelines on dealing with allegations of suspected sexual abuse. They are intended to get police involved more quickly and prevent cases from being covered up. Media commentators feel the new rules do not go far enough. 

Moral Bankruptcy at HSH Nordbank: Investigators Look into Frameups and Iniquity at German Bank
Child pornography planted on a work computer, a house break-in and illegal wiretapping: The leadership of Germany's HSH Nordbank stands accused of going to great lengths to rid itself of unwanted senior officials. Prosecutors in both New York and Germany have launched investigations.

'I Did Nothing Wrong': German Gulag Prisoners Recall Their Postwar Ordeal
Thousands of Germans, including teenagers, were forced to toil in Stalin's labor camps after World War II. When they were finally released, their country had been divided into east and west. Karl Heinz Vogeley and Lothar Scholz recall how no one was interested in their fate when they returned.

Picture This: Solidarity Swirl

Interview with CIA Veteran Michael Scheuer: 'Only the Taliban Are Not Corrupt'
The CIA is alleged to have been paying an aide to Afghan President Hamid Karzai for information. Former CIA officer Michael Scheuer spoke to SPIEGEL about why fighting corruption in Afghanistan is all but impossible.

SPIEGEL ONLINE - International
Daily news, analysis and opinion from Europe's leading newsmagazine and Germany's top news Web site.

 

Charlemagne: Long live the Karlings

The emperor Charlemagne is the wrong father-figure for Europe

BEYOND the octagon of Aachen cathedral lies the golden shrine of St Mary, holding ancient relics that are displayed every seven years: the cloak of the Virgin, the swaddling clothes of the infant Jesus, the loincloth of the Saviour on the Cross and the cloth that held the severed head of John the Baptist. Such wonders made Aachen one of the great pilgrimage sites of medieval Europe. In these more sceptical times, it is the other golden casket here that commands the visitor’s attention: the one bearing the remains of Charlemagne.

The Frankish warrior-king, crowned as heir of the Roman emperors by Pope Leo III in 800, is still revered locally as a saint. More importantly, he is the icon of Europe’s newer, secular faith: political and economic integration. Since 1950 Aachen has bestowed a yearly Charlemagne prize on the figure deemed to have done most to promote European unity. The winners are mostly a predictable cast of grandees. In 2002 the prize was awarded not to a person but to the euro. And in 2004 the judges conferred the prize on Pope John Paul II; a reversal, perhaps, of Leo’s coronation of Charlemagne. ...

Germany's energy policy: Nuclear power? Um, maybe

Angela Merkel agonises over a planned phase-out of Germany’s nuclear capacity

WHEN Angela Merkel cares about an issue she does not give a speech. Instead, she hits the road. Lately Germany’s chancellor has travelled to a wind park in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, a nuclear reactor in Lower Saxony, and an energy-generating house in Hesse. Aiming to draw attention to Germany’s dilemmas in deciding how much and what sort of power to produce and consume in the coming decades, Mrs Merkel will bundle her answers into a comprehensive “energy concept”, to be unveiled at the end of September.

This is like coming up with a menu that pleases both carnivores and herbivores. Much of the debate revolves around whether to scrap a plan devised by an earlier government to cease nuclear-power generation by 2022. The decision will affect Mrs Merkel’s political standing and the public finances, as well as Germany’s energy future. With roughly a quarter of generation capacity due to reach retirement age by 2020, decisions made now will shape the energy profile of Europe’s biggest economy for years. There is “a window of opportunity for good changes or for messing up the situation for the next 50 years,” says Olav Hohmeyer, an economist at the University of Flensburg. ...

The French opposition: Maybe he Strauss-Kahn't

What looks obvious to outsiders is not clear to France’s Socialists

FRANCE’S opposition Socialist Party should be building up for its best crack at the French presidency in over a decade. The incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy, is unpopular. Polls find that a majority of the French want the left to return to power. And, in Dominique Strauss-Kahn (pictured), the boss of the IMF in Washington, DC, the Socialists have a potential candidate with a real chance of victory in 2012. One new poll finds that, if a presidential election were to take place today, Mr Strauss-Kahn would beat Mr Sarkozy in a second-round run-off by a crushing 59% to 41%.

If only it were that simple. After its summer conference at the Atlantic resort of La Rochelle last weekend, where delegates discussed socialism over platters of fruits de mer, the party is certainly feeling upbeat. It put on a show of unity, with rival grandees posing together for the cameras in studious harmony. Yet Mr Strauss-Kahn, the party’s best potential candidate, may not get the nomination. ...

Europe's Roma: Hard travelling

Scapegoated abroad and the victims of prejudice at home, eastern Europe’s Roma are the problem no politician wants to solve

SLOVAKIA is in shock; France in uproar. The cause of both nations’ turmoil is the Roma (gypsies), or, rather, what is being done to them. This week a gunman in the Slovak capital, Bratislava, killed seven people and injured 14, before shooting himself dead. Six of the victims were a Roma family, killed inside their apartment; they appear to have been deliberately targeted.

In France the expulsion of hundreds of Roma immigrants, whom Nicolas Sarkozy’s government says were in the country illegally, has galvanised opposition from the pope, French churches, a UN committee and even several ministers in Mr Sarkozy’s own government. Yet further tough legislation is promised. ...

Correction: Czechoslovakia

Last week’s story on drug use in the former Czechoslovakia incorrectly conflated the velvet revolution and the velvet divorce. The country split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, not 1989. Our apologies for the error, which has been corrected online.

...

French politics resumes: Tough-guy Sarko

Drowning in unpopularity and beset by scandal, the French president lashes out at some easy targets

AFTER a three-week holiday at his wife’s family villa on France’s Mediterranean coast, President Nicolas Sarkozy returned to work this week for what could be the most testing autumn of his presidency. Deeply unpopular—a poll this week found that 62% of the French do not want him to seek re-election in 2012—the president faces four sources of trouble in the coming weeks: pension reform, the budget, nationality law and the expulsion of Roma (gypsies), and an ongoing political scandal linked to Liliane Bettencourt, the heiress to the L’Oreal cosmetics empire. Mr Sarkozy’s management of them will set the tone for the remainder of his presidency.

The first two will test Mr Sarkozy’s reformist resolve. On September 7th parliament will start to debate his proposal to raise France’s legal retirement age from 60 to 62. The plan may not look revolutionary. But it breaks a cherished French pattern of progressively shortening the amount of time people spend at work. Trade unions are furious, and plan a series of strikes starting on the same date. The opposition Socialist Party is also against. But under the close watch of credit-rating agencies, which want to see proof of France’s will to control its public finances, Mr Sarkozy cannot afford to give ground. ...

Spanish politics: Losing his grip

Spain’s prime minister faces a minor insurrection within his own party

IT IS a brave act of defiance. It is also a sign that Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Spain’s prime minister, is losing the iron grip he once held on his Socialist Party. A row has erupted over Mr Zapatero’s attempt to impose a candidate to lead the party into elections for the Madrid region’s parliament next May.

Mr Zapatero’s candidate for the post, one of Spain’s 17 powerful regional premierships, is Trinidad Jimenez (pictured), Spain’s health minister. She is opposed by Tomas Gomez, the pugnacious leader of the Socialists’ Madrid branch, who wants to stand himself. Rather than bow to his boss’s demands, as expected, Mr Gomez has forced a party vote, which will be held in October. ...

Oil in Greenland: Black stuff in a green land

After decades of searching, evidence of oil is found off the coast of Greenland

WHEN Cairn Energy, a British petrochemicals company, this week announced the first firm indication of worthwhile oil deposits off Greenland’s coast, inhabitants of Nuuk, the island’s gritty capital, greeted the news with their customary equanimity. “That’s nice,” said a housewife less interested in the implications of a possible oil bonanza than in negotiating her country’s sole pedestrian crossing in the sleeting rain.

Several hundred miles north in Baffin Bay, Greenpeace eco-warriors seeking to halt offshore oil exploration in the Arctic faced down a Danish warship. The government hotly contests Greenpeace’s claim that, because oil degrades far more slowly in freezing waters, a Mexican Gulf-style oil spill would mean calamity for the fragile environment. “Our safety standards are the highest in the world,” says Henrik Stendal, chief geologist at the Government Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum. ...

Italy's highway code: Roads to ruin

An optimistic attempt to impose order on Italy’s roads

ANARCHY, ignorance of the law or just a belief that rules are optional: Italian behaviour in traffic is a colourful, and worrying, mosaic. Government ministers with seat belts left unbuckled; police cars that ignore red lights; parking on pedestrian crossings; mobile phones glued to drivers’ ears; and widespread speeding on every road from country lanes to autostrade—such is the anarchy of the road in Italy. Five times as many people are injured on Italian roads as on French ones and, although the number has fallen in recent years, road deaths in Italy are still far higher than in many other large European countries.

A new highway code offers hope that Italians will improve their behaviour behind the wheel. Parts of the code await ministerial decrees, some of which will be issued over the next six months. But important sections covering road safety have already entered into force. One deals with pedestrian crossings, where injuries and deaths are common, thanks in part to the failure of town councils to ensure that road markings are clear and crossings well lit. Yet although the new code promises a “more rigorous right of way” for pedestrians, instructing drivers to stop at crossings when a pedestrian is about to cross, this will be difficult to enforce in a country where the car has always come first. ...

Skopje: A Macedonian makeover

The capital city gets a controversial facelift

ITS charms are many, but architecture is not usually seen as one of them. Rebuilt after an earthquake in 1963 wiped out most of the city, Skopje, the capital of the ex-Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, was for years characterised by ugly concrete blocks and strange empty spaces. But earlier this year Nikola Gruevski's conservative government produced a video that revealed the full ambition of “Skopje 2014”, its plan for a radical reinvention of the city centre.

It was hard to take the scheme seriously. Fifteen grand buildings, including a new foreign ministry and a constitutional court, were to be built from scratch. Older structures, such as the parliament, were to be tarted up with domes and other accoutrements. In the city's main square, the government would erect a giant statue of Alexander the Great. ...

Drugs in the Czech Republic and Slovakia: High contrast

Why are the Czechs more lenient on narcotic use than the Slovaks?

FOR many Czechs, CzechTek, an outdoor rave where revellers danced for days, often on a cocktail of speed, ecstasy and methamphetamine, was once a highlight of the summer. Authorities concerned about drug use found it less attractive. Five years ago 80 people were hurt when police used water cannon and tear gas on a crowd of 5,000 ravers. Jiri Paroubek, the prime minister, described them as “obsessed people with anarchist proclivities…who provoke massive violent demonstrations, fuelled by alcohol and drugs, against peaceful society”.

So it came as a surprise when Czech politicians liberalised the country’s drug laws. Since January 1st techno fans (and other users) have faced nothing worse than a fine if caught with an amount the law considers intended for personal use. ...

Bulgarian relics: A sainted discovery

The Bulgarian government recruits an unlikely ally

FLAUNTING an old tooth and a few bones is an unusual way to attract tourists and distract voters. Not in Bulgaria, where a recently excavated box of ancient bone fragments is said to contain partial remains of St John the Baptist.

On July 28th Kazimir Popconstantinov, an archaeologist, found the box while digging under the altar of an early Christian church on a Black Sea islet off the coast of Sozopol, a small, fading resort town in the east of the country. The box bore an inscription with John’s name and presumed date of birth. ...

Turkish foreign policy: The great mediator

Sometimes Turkey really is a bridge between west and east

IN JUNE 2006, days after a young Israeli private was captured by Hamas, Israel’s ambassador to Turkey paid a midnight visit to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister. Gilad Shalit was feared to be gravely ill, perhaps even dead. Could Turkey help? Phone calls were made and favours called in. Mr Shalit turned out to be alive, and his captors promised the Turks they would treat him respectfully.

Turkey’s relations with Israel, once an ally, have worsened of late, and hit a fresh low in May, when Israeli commandos raided a Turkish ship carrying humanitarian supplies to Gaza, killing nine Turkish citizens. Yet Turkey continues to lobby Hamas for Mr Shalit’s release. ...

Georgia: Georgia's mental revolution

Seven years after the Rose revolution, Georgia has come a long way

FOUNTAINS dance, children play and families stroll along Batumi’s five-mile seafront boulevard, lined with palm trees, hammocks and playgrounds. Less than a decade ago, Ajaria, a verdant south-western corner of Georgia of which Batumi is the regional capital, was the personal fief of Aslan Abashidze, a strongman who seemed to own the place more than run it. He never appeared without an army of goons, and closed the streets when his son felt like racing his Lamborghini. Cut off from the rest of Georgia by checkpoints, the economy was stagnant.

Today this gently beguiling holiday resort is an exhibition of Georgia’s capitalist achievements, a showcase of its transition and an advertisement for what Abkhazia, a separatist region to the north, could have become had it not been, in effect, annexed by Russia following the short Russia-Georgia war two years ago. ...

Illegal immigration in Greece: Border burden

Greece struggles to deal with a European problem

GUARDING their nation’s frontiers has traditionally been an honourable task for Greeks. These days they are almost begging for foreign assistance. Greece’s borders have become the gateway of choice for the vast majority of people hoping to enter the European Union illegally, and the country is finding it difficult to cope. Of the 106,200 people detected trying to cross illegally into the European Union in 2009, almost three-quarters were stopped in Greece (see chart). Early data for 2010 suggest that, although absolute numbers are falling, Greece’s burden has risen further, to about 80% of the EU total, up from 50% three years ago. Compounding the problem is a rule that says undocumented immigrants found anywhere in the EU must be returned to their country of entry—usually Greece.

Detention centres for irregular immigrants in Greece are small and understaffed, and there are too few of them. Cash-strapped authorities encourage detainees to move on to Athens before their claims have been processed. And on top of the flow of tens of thousands arriving every year is a stock of an estimated 300,000 illegal immigrants already in the country. The €80m ($103m) the government spends each year on tackling the problem is far from adequate, but with austerity in the air more cash is unlikely to be found. ...

Italian politics: Slinging dirt

A lively August for Italy’s politicians

THE middle finger that Umberto Bossi, leader of the Northern League, a partner in Silvio Berlusconi’s ruling coalition, raised to photographers last month says much about the condition of Italian politics. The degeneration has proceeded unabated into the dog days of August, spurred by a dramatic split in Mr Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (PdL) party.

The decision, in late July, of 33 members of the lower house and ten of the upper house to split from the PdL and establish a group called Future and Freedom (FLI), under the leadership of Gianfranco Fini, a former ally of Mr Berlusconi, places the prime minister in jeopardy. The role of Giorgio Napolitano, Italy’s president, is crucial. Constitutionally, if the government loses the support of parliament, Mr Napolitano should sound out the possibility of a new administration and, if that fails, call fresh elections. But Mr Bossi and senior members of the PdL claim that Mr Berlusconi enjoys a direct popular mandate and so should have the right to dissolve parliament himself. ...

Turkey’s military: No jobs for the boys

Turkey’s generals lose another argument with the government

IT HAS been a rotten month for Turkey’s generals. Their latest wrangle with the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party over who should be promoted during the army’s annual August review has ended in stinging defeat.

General Ilker Basbug, who is poised to step down on August 30th after two years as chief of the general staff, suffered the biggest loss of face. He wanted Hasan Igsiz, commander of the 1st army corps, to become land-forces commander. But Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, blocked the move. General Igsiz has been linked to bogus internet sites used to smear AK; their content was used as evidence when Turkey’s chief prosecutor sought to ban the party two years ago. The general has also been implicated in an alleged plot against adherents of the Fethullah Gulen movement, an Islamic fraternity that broadly supports AK. ...

Central and eastern European security: Reset and unsettled

The Obama administration is working hard to please its ex-communist allies in Europe. But they are still twitchy

LISTEN to critics of Barack Obama’s administration and the story of American policy in eastern Europe is of a grand betrayal, featuring the binning of a promised missile-defence system, the freezing of NATO enlargement and the headlong pursuit of better ties with Russia.

The facts are rather different. The single biggest security problem in the region was left untouched by the Bush administration: the near-defencelessness of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Their security rested on the treaty promise of NATO’s Article 5, which provides for collective self-defence, but most practical measures, such as plans and exercises, were taboo. The Obama administration has addressed that. It pushed NATO to make contingency plans. This year the organisation has scheduled several big military exercises in the Baltic. ...

Fires and floods: Part of the main

How the heatwave in Russia is connected to floods in Pakistan

AS RUSSIA burns to a crisp, thousands of kilometres to the south-west torrential storms visit unprecedented flooding on Pakistan. Both events can be attributed to the same large-scale pattern of atmospheric circulation. They are also both the sort of thing climate scientists expect more of in a warming world.

The upper atmosphere (the part through which the jet streams run) is gently rocked by what are known as Rossby waves—movements of air towards and away from the poles. These waves usually travel east or west, depending on various conditions. But they can also stand still, trapping the weather beneath them. ...

The Economist: Europe
Europe

 

Peace talks get promising start
It seems that the renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have got off to as good a start as anyone could have hoped for. Both Benjamin Netanyahu…

Palestinians greet peace talks with mixed feelings
Palestinians in the West Bank capital Ramallah were also divided in their opinions, even if most people appeared to recognise they potentially had a…

No sign of oil spill after platform fire
Thirteen workers have been safely rescued after an explosion on board an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The blast caused a fire but no oil…

Southern Russia hit by forest fires
Forest fires have flared up again in Russia, this time in the south, forcing hundreds of people to leave their homes. At least five people have…

Hurricane Earl downgraded but still strong
It has weakened from a Category Four storm to a Category Two, but for people in North Carolina, Hurricane Earl is still an awe-inspiring experience.…

Six year sex abuse trial in Portugal set to end
In Portugal a six year trial - one of the largest in the country's legal history and known as the Casa Pia trial -is set to reach a conclusion.…

Israel Palestine conflict makes headlines at Venice film festival
In the glitz and glamour of the Venice Film festival there were strong echoes of the peace talks in Washington. Director Julian Schnabel, an American…

Bundesbank calls for Sarrazin to be sacked
Germany's Bundesbank has asked the country's president, Christian Wulff, to dismiss board member Thilo Sarrazin for his remarks about Muslims and…

IMF boost for flood victims as government comes under more criticism
Thousands of flood victims in the Punjab province of Pakistan are living in camps. It is more than a month since the waters drove them from their…

Mozambique deploys troops over food riots
Troops have been deployed in Mozambique amid a second day of rioting caused by soaring prices. The government said seven people had been killed…

Russian police raid opposition magazine
Russian security forces have raided a leading opposition magazine that has printed articles alleging high-level corruption. 'The New Times' is…

Azerbaijan defies Nagorno-Karabakh's national day
Azerbaijan has pledged to retake Nagorno-Karabakh from ethnic Armenians, at a rally in Baku held on the eve of the breakaway…

Gillard edges closer to victory in Australia
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is edging closer to forming a new government, after one of four key independent MPs backed her. Nearly two…

Dolphin hunters threaten "Flipper" trainer
The Japanese dolphin hunting season has begun, defying international criticism by anti-hunting campaigners. One protest in Tokyo was attended by…

Gunman killed by police in US hostage crisis
A gunman who took three hostages at the Discovery Communications headquarters near Washington DC in the USA has been shot dead by police and his…

Thriller opens the 67th Venice Film Festival
In Venice, the stars of the film world were on the red carpet for the opening of the 67th Venice Festival. A dark psychological drama 'Black Swan'…

Terror suspects released without charge
Dutch authorities have freed without charge two Yemenis living in the US arrested on Monday for transporting unusual objects on a transatlantic…

Iraqi uncertainty over US troop shrinkage
US Vice President Joe Biden has been in Iraq to mark the end of seven years of fighting operations there, following the US-led invasion in 2003. Iraq…

Labour's leadership contenders
The main question facing Labour after its election fiasco of last May was who would take over from Gordon Brown and lead the party in opposition. Now…

Sufi shrine attackers admit latest Pakistan blasts
Three bombs have ripped through a Shia Muslim procession in the Pakistani city of Lahore, killing at least 29 and wounding more than 140.  …

Moscow bans night-time spirit sales
Moscow has banned night-time sales of vodka and other spirits starting from Wednesday night. It's part of a nationwide drive to curb alcohol abuse…

No cigarettes and alcohol for Chile miners
As if being separated from their families wasn't enough, the Chilean miners trapped underground have received a new setback. Doctors say they must…

Qantas passengers suffer engine scare
Passengers on a Qantas jet heading to Australia from the US had a scare when they saw sparks flying from a large orange ball in one of the engines.…

Tony Blair on Iraq, Iran, Brown and booze
A defence of the Iraq war, an attack on Gordon Brown and a hint of alcohol dependence. These are among the insights offered by Tony Blair's memoirs…

Mideast talks "productive" and "cordial"
The US Middle East envoy gave a positive assessment of the start of the peace talks, using the words "productive" and "cordial" and saying there was…

Smoking Greeks find life's a drag
Greek smokers are getting used to being confined to the great outdoors following a ban on lighting up in public buildings.   Europe's heaviest…

Israelis shot by Hamas militants buried
The four Israeli settlers killed in an ambush on Tuesday near Hebron in the West Bank have been buried. The attack was claimed by the military…

Mozambique cost of living protests turn violent
At least six people are reported killed in Mozambique, as protests over rising prices turned violent in and around the capital Maputo, and hundreds…

Five killed in latest Nagorno-Karabakh clash
Azerbaijan and Armenia are blaming each other for the latest clash over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which reportedly killed five…

Leaders flag up peace ahead of Middle East talks
It is down to business in face-to-face Middle East talks today after the pomp of a White House reception. Meeting key players ahead of the…

NASA scientists are called in to help Chile's miners
Heavy drilling equipment has begun work on sinking a rescue shaft by which it's hoped Chile's 33 trapped miners will eventually be brought to safety.…

Violence in Middle East as peace talks begin
In the West Bank, two civilians were wounded in a shooting by suspected Palestinian gunmen. The incident came 24 hours after the killing of four…

Middle East leaders speak ahead of peace talks
Middle East leaders have spoken of their hopes and aspirations ahead of planned peace talks and after a meeting with Barack Obama. At the White…

Drug lord arrest is seen as turning point in Mexico
Mexico's police have paraded one of the country's most violent drug lords after they arrested him and six others at a house guarded by cartel…

Bratislava killer an "unemployed loner" - police
Details are at last emerging about the man, 48 year-old Lubomir Harman, who shot dead seven people yesterday in Bratislava before shooting himself.…

German Chancellor slams banker in racism row
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for the dismissal of Bundesbank executive Thilo Sarrazin for anti-semitic remarks. The controversial…

Dutch police hold two Yemeni terror suspects
Two men remained in custody in the Netherlands on Tuesday after being arrested at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on suspicion of planning a terrorist…

Homecoming: US troops return to Fort Bliss
In Texas, Heather Shoaf is counting down to the moment she has been waiting for. Her husband is coming home after nine months. 'I think all of them…

USA prepares for Hurricane Earl
On the east coast of America, signs are flashing out a stark warning. Hurricane Earl is on his way. In parts of low-lying north Carolina, residents…

Maliki: Iraq 'independent' as US troops withdraw
Iraq's prime minister has used a visit by the US Vice-President to declare his country independent. Nouri al-Maliki said Iraq had won sovereignty…

America to bear Iraq scars for many years
Artificial limbs and disfigured faces are the most visible cost to America of its Iraq adventure; the thousands of mutilated and dead soldiers that…

Hurricane Earl threatens eastern US coast
Hurricane Earl, which has already struck several islands in the eastern Caribbean, is heading across the Atlantic towards the United States.…

Tour de France legend Laurent Fignon dies
Former cycling champion Laurent Fignon has died of cancer at the age of 50. The Frenchman won the Tour de France twice - in 1983 and 1984. He was…

Netanyahu to DC for Palestinian peace talks
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left for Washington on Tuesday for the first direct peace talks with the Palestinians in nearly two years.…

Drilling operation begins to free Chilean miners
The operation has begun in Chile to construct a rescue shaft it is hoped will free the 33 miners trapped 700 metres underground. A huge…

Gaddafi tells Italian women to convert to Islam
Libya's Muammar Gaddafi provoked outrage in Italy on Monday after trying to convert hundreds of Italian women to Islam. Gaddafi was in Italy as…

Biden in Iraq as combat units prepare withdrawal
US Vice President Joe Biden has arrived in Iraq as American troops prepare to end combat operations officially. Biden was set to hold talks with…

Neo-nazis run riot at Russian rock concert
A 14 year-old girl has been seriously injured along with dozens of other people in central Russia after a mob of more than 100 bare-chested skinheads…

Drilling to begin on shaft to rescue trapped miners
A new video of Chile's trapped miners has been broadcast showing the 33 men sending greetings to their families. They have also had their first…

Gaddafi's Italian preaching tour
Libya's controversial leader Muammar Gaddafi is to meet Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi today on his two day visit to the country. Along with…

'Militants' strike Chechen presidents home village
At least 19 people have been killed in a gun battle in the birth place of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov. The Kremlin-backed leader personally…

Thilo Sarrazin continues to provoke race outcry in Germany
A 65-year-old board member of the Bundesbank is once again making headlines in Germany - for the wrong reasons. Thilo Sarrazin has barely left the…

Mother and baby critical after doctors' brawl in Sicily
A first-time mother and her baby son are in a serious condition in an Italian hospital after a brawl between doctors led to an hour's delay in…

English Defence League protest turns ugly
Violence has flared in the northern English city of Bradford at a right-wing rally. Bottles, stones and a smoke bomb were all thrown as riot…

Row develops over UK intelligence expert's death
The mysterious death of a British intelligence expert at his flat in central London has reportedly led to a major row between the police and MI6.…

Gaddafi arrives in Rome with business focus
Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi arrives in the Italian capital for a two-day visit aimed at forging closer ties. Media interest has tended…

Drilling machinery moves into place at Chile mine
A special hydraulic bore has arrived to start drilling a rescue tunnel for the 33 miners trapped deep underground in Chile. It is a welcome sight…

Volcano erupts for first time since 1600
Last time the Mount Sinabung volcano erupted, Queen Elizabeth the First still had three years left on the throne of England. Now, after rumbling…

People power gathers steam in Stuttgart
The normally quiet, middle class, southern German city of Stuttgart has been galvanised by plans to build a state of the art rail interchange. It…

EU drug regulator probes GSK swine flu jab
Europe's drug regulator has opened an investigation into the safety of a swine-flu vaccine to see if it is linked to suspected cases of narcolepsy.…

Turkish landslides claim 12 lives
At least 12 people are now known to have died after torrential rain triggered landslides and floods in northern Turkey. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip…

First video images of miners shown
Footage showing the first impressions of how the miners trapped 700 metres underground in Chile are coping with the ordeal has been released.   The…

Immigration debate in Germany given fresh impetus
A political storm is brewing in Germany, with, at its epicentre, a board member of the country's Central Bank. Thilo Sarrazin has caused an outcry…

First images of Kim Jong Il in China
Grainy images of a hotel in Jilin appear to confirm the presence of the North Korean leader in China. It is understood Kim Jong Il has come to…

Teenagers gunned down on Facebook hitlist
In Colombia gunmen have killed three teenagers named on a death list on Facebook. The stark warnings told them to leave the remote town of Puerto…

No jail for HIV German pop star
A German pop star has been handed a two-year suspended sentence for infecting a former lover with the HIV virus, while keeping her own HIV status a…

Trapped miners show off their refuge to the world
The latest video pictures from deep underground in Chile where 33 miners have been trapped for three weeks have been seen by their families above…

Migrant workers murdered in Mexican drug killings
Mexican officials say the 72 people found murdered at a ranch close to the US border were migrant workers trying to reach the United States.…

Chile's mine rescue has political dimension
Chile's Minister of Mines has been in touch with trapped miners by telephone, through a narrow shaft piercing the 700 metres of rock. He said the men…

Miss Mexico crowned Miss Universe 2010
Mexico's Jimena Navarette has been crowned Miss Universe 2010. The 22-year-old beat Miss Jamaica Yendi Phillipps to seize the sought-after beauty…

Pakistan flood crisis 'worse than tsunami' says UN
The scale of Pakistan's flood crisis is worse than the 2004 tsunami, senior UN sources said on Monday. An estimated 15 million people have now been…

Twilight" stars get their teeth into more awards
The sun never seems to set on the "Twilight" film franchise. The second film in the vampire romance series has taken five prizes at the MTV Movie…

Several die in Turkish landslide
At least 11 people have died after a mudslide engulfed a town in north-eastern Turkey. Buildings, homes and vehicles have been completely…

Four Israelis shot dead in West Bank
Four Israeli settlers have been shot dead in a car near Hebron in the West Bank in a night-time ambush. The car was attacked at the entrance to the…

Hurricane Earl strengthens to category four
A storm currently hitting the northeast Caribbean and moving towards the US has now strengthened into a major category four hurricane - one short of…

US won't 'impose' solution on Israel, Palestinians
US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton urged the Israelis and the Palestinians to "shake off the shackles of history" at the relaunch of peace talks…

One man taken hostage at Discovery Channel
An armed man with a handgun has taken at least person hostage at the headquarters of Discovery Channel near Washington DC. Police in Montgomery…

Middle East peace talks: the issues
In the 17 years since Israel and the PLO officially recognised each other in the Oslo Accords, Middle East peace summits have come and gone, but the…

US East Coast braces for Hurricane Earl
The dangers posed by Hurricane Earl are being taken increasingly seriously as it threatens to deliver a sidelong blow to the North Carolina coast.…

Explosion on Gulf of Mexico oil platform
A fire is reported to have broken out after an explosion on board an oil facility off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico.   The US Coast…

Bundesbank board votes for Sarrazin's dismissal
The Board of Germany's Bundesbank says it's voted unamimously to seek the dismissal of Thilo Sarrazin, the board member who's sparked uproar with his…

Reaction to Raúl Castro's 26 July silence
Those hoping for announcements of change at Cuba's Revolution Day ceremony in front of the Che Guevara monument on 26 July were disappointed.…

What Cuba's dissidents want
On July 13, seven freed Cuban dissidents arrived at Madrid airport in Spain. They were part of a group of 75 people who were given long prison…

Crisis in Cuba?: an analyst's insight
Euronews interviewed Carmelo Mesa-Lago, originally Cuban but now a US citizen and Professor Emeritus of Economics and Latin American Studies at the…

Cuba to release 52 political prisoners
Independent journalist and prominent Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas has long been campaigning for the freedom of his compatriots.   In a desperate…

Foreign policy dominates Castro's return
Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro is back in the public spotlight, four years after health problems forced him to hand over power to his…

Guillermo Farinas reacts to Cuban dissident releases
The prominent Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas has given his reaction to the release of 52 political prisoners by authorities there. He gave an…

Freed Cuban's unsure of legal status in Spain
The newly liberated Cuban activists who arrived in Spain earlier this week are grateful for their newfound freedom, yet fear for their future legal…

Cuban dissident: "Raul Castro can become the man who changes Cuba"
Among the first to have arrived in Spain with their families is the Cuban dissident journalist Pablo Pacheco. He was one of those jailed for 20 years…

More Cuban dissidents arrive in Spain
A further two Cuban dissidents and their families have arrived in Spain as part of a prisoner release deal struck between Havana and the Catholic…

Cuban dissident Farinas making recovery: mother
Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas is making a slowl but encouraging following his four-month hunger strike, his mother told Euronews in an exclusive…

Cuban dissidents welcomed to Madrid
They are speaking freely in public for the first time after years in jail. Some of the 52 political prisoners released by Cuba in a surprise deal…

Freed Cuban dissidents arrive in Spain
Six political prisoners freed by Cuba have arrived in Madrid. The six men and their families landed at the Spanish capital's Barajas airport.…

Sick political prisoner freed in Cuba
The Cuban government has freed a political prisoner who became ill in jail, while six others have been moved to prisons nearer to home. Ariel…

Pictures of Fidel Castro's first public appearance
Pictures of Fidel Castro making his first known public appearance in four years have been posted on a pro-government blog. The photos were taken…

Cuba to free over 50 dissidents
Cuba's President Raul Castro has agreed to release 52 political dissidents after significant talks involving the Catholic Church and Spain's foreign…

Paul Rester extended interview
As a bonus feature, this is an extended interview with Paul Rester, an intelligence chief at Guantanamo Bay, covering waterboarding, interrogations,…

Sarah, a Guantanamo Bay guard
This bonus feature is an extended interview with Sarah, a US Marine and a guard at Guantanamo Bay, covering her 21st birthday, change-overs and…

Bisher al-Rawi extended interview
As an extra feature for the web, this is an extended interview with ex-Guantanamo Bay detainee Bisher al-Rawi covering lie-detector tests, innocent…

Peter Finn extended interview
As a bonus feature, this is an extended interview with Peter Finn from the Washington Post, covering the impossibility of building a replacement…

euronews
The leading European News TV-channel. All the International news in seven languages.

 

Europe: Taking the lead on aid transparency?
When Commissioners Piebalgs and Georgieva came into office they recognised the importance of increasing the transparency of aid.nbsp; As the worldrsquo;s largest aid donor the European Union has a crucial contribution to make to increasing aid effectiveness and taking the lead in making sure the International Aid Transparency Initiative IATI...

Finally One Europe without dividing lines?
1950-2010: sixty years of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in Europe. This year we celebrate the 60th birthday of the European Convention on Human Rights and we look forward to a Europenbsp; without dividing lines. Accession by the European Union to the Human Rights Convention envisaged under Article 6 of...

The Ground Zero of intolerance
You may be forgiven from watching the US media that the biggest issue facing the nation is the opening of a Muslim community centre in lower Manhattan. The campaigners are saying that the ldquo;Ground Zero Mosquerdquo; is a deliberate offence to Americans being built on what they describe as ldquo;hallowed...

Innovative start up turns to gold
Technology companies in Belgium tend to focus on SAP Applications or web design so when Cedric Pierrard the CEO of efficy and his associates started a technology company balancing on a need to streamline businesses through a computer program they werenrsquo;t aware of just hwo popular they would end up...

NATO to stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014
KABUL - The Afghan government is capable of managing the country on its own relying on its own military Afghanistanrsquo;s President Hamid Karzai said in July speaking at an international conference devoted to the future of his country. It is expected that a staged transfer of the security mandate from...

Troika mi amor
troibull;ka - [troi-kuh] ndash;noun Deriving from Russian 1. a Russian carriage wagon or sleigh drawn by a team ofthree horses abreast. 2. a team of three horses driven abreast. 3.any group of three persons nations etc. acting equally inunison to exert influence control or the like. It is considered wise when pondering the state...

Europe the biggest donor
The European Union has until this point been the largest donor to the aid efforts being undertaken following mass floods that have disrupted the lives of 20 million people. Whether climate change or regional fragility to the monsoon season are to blame the fact remains that Pakistan has been devastated by...

Liburnia case settlement boosts accession for Croatia
Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor has successfully settled out of court a controversial and long standing dispute that previously threatened to hold up negotiation of Chapter 23 Justice and Home Affairs of the Croatian Accession Negotiations to join the EU. In what has come to be known as the ldquo;Liburnia caserdquo;...

Frontex sails into Piraeus Port
ATHENS ndash; With a signature on 2 August the new offices of the European Organisation Frontex are set to take shape in Piraeus Greece. An agreement to host the first pilot Frontex Operational Office FOO was signed in Athens by Frontex Executive Director Ilkka Laitinen and Michalis Chrisochoidis ndash; the...

Eurozone consumer confidence rises in July
Consumer confidence in the 16- nation Eurozone improved significantly in July while that of the European Union EU also increased the European Commission said. According to the flash estimate of the Commission consumer confidence indicator in the Eurozone increased from minus 17.3 in June to minus 14.1 in July. For the...

Industry up inflation down
This past week Eurostat announced that the euro area annual inflation was 1.4% in June 2010 down from 1.6% in May. On the same day the EUrsquo;s statistical service publicized also statistics on industrial production which was found to be 9.4% higher in May on annual base. Industrial product was...

Barnier seeks to protect Europeans from a future financial crisis
European Commissioner for the Internal Market Michel Barnier announced three more steps designed to protect consumers and business from financial turmoil. The steps include; an investor compensation schemes to provide compensation when an insurance firm is unable to return investorrsquo;s assets; an insurance compensation scheme to protect against an insurance...

What Now for Development Policy Under New Arrangement?
The make-up of the European External Action Service EEAS has been largely finalised following protracted discussions between the institutions but internal conflict still remains over its exact role in development policy. At the last plenary session in Strasbourg MEPs finally agreed by a large majority to the creation of the...

The EU to reform financial supervision
The European Council adopted last week a political guideline for continuing negotiations with the European Parliament on the reform of financial supervision in Europe. At this point it has to be stressed that in view of the adoption by the US Senate of similar legislation tonbsp; betternbsp; control the American...

Why Martin Luther King Matters To Europes Roma
There can be few more inspiring litmus tests of social justice than the one laid out for America in Martin Luther Kingrsquo;s lsquo;I have A Dreamrsquo; speech. The black civil rights leaderrsquo;s passionate appeal at the March on Washington on 28 August 1963 was an exhortation to recast the countryrsquo;s racial...

EU to help with investigation stabilization in Kyrgyzstan
STRASBOURG - Interim leader Rosa Otunbayeva who was sworn in as president of Kyrgyzstan on 3 July has already asked the EU for help for an international inquiry into the source of conflict and international police contingent to train and reinforce local police European Commissioner for International Cooperation Humanitarian Assistance...

Record EU firms active abroad
Around 25% of EU 27 small and medium-sized businesses SMEs export or have exported at some point during the last 3 years. This was stated in a new European Commission study last week available also on line in europa.eu. Internationally active SMEs report an employment growth of 7% whereas the...

EU Regional Policy to help fight crisis
The European Parliament voted for a report by Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou Vice-President and member of the Regional Development Committee on the contribution of EU regional policy towards fighting the financial and economic crisis with a special reference to Objective 2. With the 2006 reform in which the new Structural Funds Regulations...

How far the Interest of the Service can go
On December 2006 by Commission Decision Ierotheos Papadopoulos a low ranking Commission employee was appointed Head Director of the European Commissions Athens Representation Office. Three of the other contendersnbsp;for the concours among which was a Greek Deputy Director General at the time appealed to the European Court of Justice which...

Asian lessons for Europe
Will investors continue to meet the financing needs of European governments? Will the proposed cuts in government spending push the European economies back into recession? What is the optimal exit strategy from macroeconomic stimulus? Those questions have filled financial pages across the world in recent months. The discussion focuses on...

Abbas urges Europe to increase political engagement in Mideast
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday called on Europe to increase its political engagement in the Middle East in a way similar to its economic role. We are looking to Europe to carry out a bigger political role and we dont want it to be just financial assistant Abbas told reporters...

Activists protest over Biofuels land grab
Development and environmental groups complained that the Eu drive to increase production and use of bio-fuels is leading to the poor in Africa having their land taken off them in order to grow fuel crops that would be exported to Europe. The activists claim that EU companies have acquired or...

RCC Strategy shifts focus to the future
nbsp;The Annual Meeting of the Regional Cooperation Council RCC held in Istanbul today endorsed the organizationrsquo;s 2011-2013 Strategy and Work Programme and the Annual Report of its Secretary General for the past yearrsquo;s activities. The RCC members also endorsed the nomination proposal for the appointment of the Secretary General for a...

UNICEF demands more on MDGs
UNICEF Director Anthony Lake has written an open letter to the EU leaders telling them that as the world measures its progress toward meeting the MDGs it is increasingly clear that millions of children are being left behind. In fact data is beginning to show widening rifts between rich and...

Employment Week 2010 – be part of it!
This major event in the employment calendar strives to bring fresh impetus to improving the employment situation in Europe . nbsp; Has your organisation achieved something you would like to share? nbsp; Make a contribution and suggest a topic for Employment Weeks new lsquo;Focus Groupsrsquo;. nbsp; These sessions will run alongside the main Conference programme. Click...

UN Counter Terrorism Strategy needs EU support
Jean-Paul Laborde Special Advisor for the UN spoke to New Europe about the counter terror strategy that brings in 30 agencies to co-ordinate efforts not only to fight terrorism directly but to also use soft power to dissuade people from using terror as a way of achieving political goals. The UN...

Barroso Trade Unions Employers push for growth
The European Social Partners representatives of employers and staff met with President Barroso to air their concerns about austerity measures being adopted throughout Europe and the risk of social unrest caused by the cuts in public finance. Barroso said that ldquo;we are extremely concerned about the social situation in Europe...

The politics of fiscal deficit accounting
After the major credit crisis of 2008-2009 in the western investment banking sector which demanded state and central bank aid of anything between 11 and 14 trillion dollars to contain the issue of the Eurozone government debt is in reality a minimal problem. The three rating agencies namely Moodyrsquo;s Standard...

Talking Europe and a more Humane Society
Following 20 years of unparalleled success in a world of stakeholders ministers policy makers and debate focused on business international policy and a particular course set lsquo;notrsquo; on running the world the eloquence of the Crans Montana Forum founded in Switzerland reunites again for its 21st year in Brussels 23-26...

Mediterranean Deja-vu
The postponement of the Euro-Mediterranean summit which was originally to be held on 7 June in Barcelona surely is not how the Spanish had imagined the height of their EU Presidency. Israeli hardliner foreign minister Avigdor Liebermanrsquo;s announced attendance stirred opposition and threats of boycott among the Arab invitees. Pushed...

EU spending cuts threaten aid agencies in Pakistan
Aid agencies in North West Pakistan are being forced to close down humanitarian programmes due to a dramatic reduction in the amount of assistance from the European Union. The news comes as the EU and Pakistan hold a high-level summit in Brussels chaired by European Council President Herman van Rompuy and...

Broadband as a means of growth
Eastern and Southeast Europersquo;s gap with its Western neighbours in terms of access to high-speed internet is widening ndash; enhanced efforts are needed to help this region to close the digital gap by 2013 as envisioned by the EUrsquo;s Agenda 2020 ndash; new study presented today by Frontier Economics ndash;...

In the Cloud
Data limitations will never be the same again if Microsoft has anything to do with it neither will business. In a move that opens up doorways Microsoft say were never imagined cloud computing expands the width and breadth of storage and processing capabilities and brings it to a level beyond previous...

Guinea Bissau - The land Africa forgot
While attention is being paid to the larger African nations there is a quiet backwater that has lost out on the continentrsquo;s progress indeed it seems to be trapped in the Africa of the Seventies coup after coup criminality and a state that exists in little more than name only....

EU Visa procedures under fire
It was yet another disappointment from the EU for Ukrainian businesses again last week as the Home Affairs Council failed to come with anything concrete to improve visa procedures for Ukrainian businessmen in the EU. From truck drivers to software programmers the complicated and clumsy procedures to apply for visas to...

Brussels ready to support Russias modernization program
Following the conclusion of the 25th summit between Russia and the European Union in Rostov-on-Don Russia on 1 June a joint statement said the Partnership for Modernization a bilateral agreement on the protection of classified information and a declaration condemning Israelrsquo;s attack on a Gaza-bound international aid flotilla were among...

Turkey: Emerging energy hub?
THESSALONIKI Greece ndash; The intended signing of an Azerbaijan-Turkey natural gas agreement in a few days in Istanbul may set the stage for Nabucco Trans-Adriatic Pipeline TAP and Interconnector Turkey Greece Italy ITGI gas pipelines. Therefore it comes as no surprise that it was one of the topics of an...

Lega Nord in talks about joining ECR
There have been rumours now confirmed that there are private discussions going on between reshy;pshy;resshy;entatives of Lega Nord and the UK Conservatives aimed at getting the Italian party to leave the EFD and join the ECR. These discussions are highly informal and not endorsed by party chiefs. It would seem...

Europe of Freedom and Democracy Vs The Bilderberg Group
At a press conference in the European Parliament Mario Borghezio Lega Nord IT introduced Daniel Estulin who has written a book about the Bilderberg group whom he claimed were a secret world government. A press release also on the authors website said that he was invited to speak at the...

Ecosystems contributing to our economies
Biodiversity is the living fabric of this planet ndash; its ecosystems species and genetic material both in terms of their extent and quantity and their variability and diversity. It is crucial to keep the ecosystems that our planet depends on healthy. There are millions of species on Earth but thousands...

Sexual orientation discrimination is outdated
17 May marks the International Day against Homophobia. Europe has seen important progress in addressing the rights of lesbian gay bisexual and transgender LGBT people. But there is more to be done. In March the representatives of the 47 member countries of the oldest European organisation the Council of Europe...

Israel Boards Gaza Aid Convoy - Number of fatalities unknown
In the early hours of the morning Isreali soldiers using three boats and a helicopter boarded a flotilla of vessels heading for Gaza. The boats were 65 km the Gaza shore in international waters when the raid occurred. They were trying to deliver 10 000 tonnes of humanitrian aid from...

Biodiversity; our lifeline
Biodiversity is still something of an untold story. It should be fascinating: the variety of life on Earth and how we rely on it for countless benefits we often overlook. Yet here we are in the midst of one of the worst disasters we could possibly imagine ndash; a massive...

Reinventing Europe
In an era of shrinking budgets and financial challenges no government expenditure goes without public scrutiny. Agriculture and fossil fuel subsidies bank steel and auto-industry bailouts industrial accidents and natural disasters cost countries that is people money and opportunity lots of it. Environmentalists are often criticized for asking for more...

The Emperors New Clothes In Turkey
The Danish writer of fairy tales Hans Christian Andersen has amused the world with his fable from 1837 ldquo;The Emperorrsquo;s New Clothesrdquo;. The story tells of two weavers who persuade an emperor that they can weave him a set of clothes that are invisible to those who are either incompetent...

Gender equality in law and in practice
Despite the fact that equality between men and women has been a political priority for some time in Europe progress remains very slow. Even if women have the same rights as men they do not have the same access to opportunities offered to men and the claims to their rights...

EU takes to Somalia
As EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton visits East Africa this week to discuss piracy off the coast of Somalia 20 civilians were killed as shells and bullets rained down on a busy marketplace in the countryrsquo;s capital Mogadishu. Such violence has become routine and civilians are usually the ones...

The Importance of Green Growth and Innovation
Energy plays a critical role in fuelling economic growth and ensuring national security ndash; yet it also accounts for 84% of global CO2 emissions.nbsp; If there is no change in government policies energy use will increase by 40% by 2030.nbsp; Because carbon-intensive fossil fuels ndash; coal natural gas and oil...

Another robbery in the European Parliament
nbsp;After a previous bank robbery thieves once again struck at the European Parliament this time at the less likely venue of the self service canteen in the Spinelli building. After the canteen closed an employee was leaving with two boxes of takings when she was challenged by a man who...

A New Era for the Balkans?
There are signs of hope regarding recent developments in the Balkans. Various new trends point to a more optimistic scenario for the future of the region. Croatia is steadily on the road to EU accession with the opening up of three more negotiation chapters. The newly elected Croatian President Josipovic...

New Europe News - Main Feed
New Europe News - Main Feed

 

An EU political union without a…Treaty
Towards the end of May 2010 the European Parliament held the Global Jean Monnet ndash; ECSA World Conference with general theme ldquo;The European Union after the Treaty of Lisbonrdquo;.nbsp; On the second day of the conference the morning session was devoted to an issue under the title ldquo;The EU as...

An EU political union without a…Treaty
Towards the end of May 2010 the European Parliament held the Global Jean Monnet ndash; ECSA World Conference with general theme ldquo;The European Union after the Treaty of Lisbonrdquo;.nbsp; On the second day of the conference the morning session was devoted to an issue under the title ldquo;The EU as...

EP Vice-President promotes wider Euro-Arab cooperation
During a short visit at the United Arab Emirates Dubai and Abu Dhabi the Vice-President of the European Parliamentnbsp; Rodi Kratsa responsible for the euromediterranean relations had the opportunity to hold important meetingsnbsp; for the promotion of the Euro-Arab cooperation on education and culture. She had contacts with governmental business...

What Now for Development Policy Under New Arrangement?
The make-up of the European External Action Service EEAS has been largely finalised following protracted discussions between the institutions but internal conflict still remains over its exact role in development policy. At the last plenary session in Strasbourg MEPs finally agreed by a large majority to the creation of the...

Bankers under siege
STRASBOURG - If banks canrsquo;t change their own short-term bonus and remuneration culture which led to irresponsible speculation and fuelled the world financial crisis with the taxpayers paying the price the European Union will do it for them lawmakers decided in Strasbourg. As Wall Street in New York hesitated on reining...

Why Energy Efficiency is Important
As the EU and Ukraine develop closer economic integration through the negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement a key element in the relationship will be co-operationnbsp; in respect of energy policy and energy efficiency. This is the topic of the second in a series of Energy Round Tables organised by...

External Action Service takes form in Madrid
After protracted and delicate negotiations there has finally been an agreement between the nascent External Action Service and the Parliament who have successfully forced concessions from the British Baroness. The High Representative of the European Council Baroness Catherine Ashton put her plans in front of Parliament in March but the MEPs...

WikiLeaks founder surfaces... in the European Parliament
Julian Assange the founder of the whistle blowing website WikiLeaks went to ground in recent days after it became known that the Pentagon wanted to speak to him. WikiLeaks is preparing to release classified video footage of a US assault on an Afghan village that reportedly led to the deaths...

Iceland creates data haven as WikiLeaks comes under fire
One effect of the Icelandic banking crisis has been to persuade Icelandic lawmakers to vote for a new media haven in Iceland with the worlds strongest press and whistle-blower protection laws and a Nobel prize for Freedom of Expression. The Althing which is often described as the worlds oldest parliament...

Lega Nord in talks about joining ECR
There have been rumours now confirmed that there are private discussions going on between reshy;pshy;resshy;entatives of Lega Nord and the UK Conservatives aimed at getting the Italian party to leave the EFD and join the ECR. These discussions are highly informal and not endorsed by party chiefs. It would seem...

Europe of Freedom and Democracy Vs The Bilderberg Group
At a press conference in the European Parliament Mario Borghezio Lega Nord IT introduced Daniel Estulin who has written a book about the Bilderberg group whom he claimed were a secret world government. A press release also on the authors website said that he was invited to speak at the...

Another robbery in the European Parliament
nbsp;After a previous bank robbery thieves once again struck at the European Parliament this time at the less likely venue of the self service canteen in the Spinelli building. After the canteen closed an employee was leaving with two boxes of takings when she was challenged by a man who...

US Vice President Biden at European Parliament Thursday
US Vice President Joe Biden arrives in Brussels on 5 May to begin a nearly two day stay in the European capital as he is to deliver a major address to the European Parliament during a tripnbsp;that willnbsp;covernbsp;Belgium and Spain. Along with his stop at a formal sitting of the Parliament...

The three deficits of the Greek economy
For weeks now Greece is making headlines with its financial crisis. The facts are clear and uncontestable the story is well known: The deficit is about 14% over four times the acceptable Maastricht criterion the debt is almost 120% and spreads are going back and forth between 400 and 500...

EU says Sudan election flawed but vital step to peace
The April elections in Sudan were criticised by the European Union Election Observation Mission EU EOM headed by the Chief Observer Veronique De Keyser MEP. A total of 134 observers from 25 member states of the European Union as well as Norway Switzerland and Canada were deployed to assess the...

Volcano brings EU to snail speed
If Karl Marx were alive today he would begin this story by saying that there is a spectre haunting Europe - the spectre of Eyjafjallajokull. The Icelandic volcano has disrupted Europeans for five days now as the continents airspace has been closed down costing the airlines an estimated euro;230 million...

Citizen disaster protection cooperation with China
Both the European Union EU and China have been hit in recent decades by disasters natural environmental major accidents with catastrophic results in terms of loss of human life destruction of property and economic loss owing to damage which runs to many billions of euros. Disaster protection is a system which...

The End of the Third World?
The global economic crisis has shown that multilateralism matters. Staring into the abyss countries pulled together to save the global economy.nbsp; The modern G-20 was borne out of crisis. It showed its potential by quickly acting to shore up confidence. The question now is whether this was an aberration a...

Science and policy – what really matters?
Entering the ring of Parliamentary hearings with a bang Niki Tzavela MEP held her first Parliamentary hearing on a theme that will be close to most Parliamentarianrsquo;s hearts how to make wiser decisions bringing many of her coworkers to the parliamentary room and members of the European Commission to venture...

Negotiations on blueprint for EUs diplomatic service ongoing
The first informal negotiations on the final outlook of the European External Action Service EEAS between the European Parliament European Council and the European Commission took place in the evening of 14 April. During the mainly technical meeting no major progress has been made sources say. The formation of the...

We Need A Transfer Market For MEPs
The talk in the euro-corridors this week has been about possible defections among individuals parties and groups. This is mainly fed by the twin obsessions of the deputies and their staff; gossiping and leaking gossip to the press. Recently there has been an increase in the rumour mill fed by...

EU cuts the tough wood out of unlawful timber bill
Rampant illegal trade in timber and the cutting down of forests around the world is being tolerated by the European Union because it has taken several tough proposals out of a bill that would crack down on the process the lawmaker who drafts the European Parliamentrsquo;s reports on the issue...

Farage To Belgium: Im Sorry
Speaking to New Europe ahead of his meeting with Parliament President Jerzy Buzek the unrepentant EFD Leader spoke about being disciplined his contentious remarks his involvement in the controversial second pension scheme and on rumours that he is under investigation by OLAF the EU anti-fraud office. Asked how he felt...

Will the Parliament be transparent over secretive pension scheme?
Our recent article MEPs spending spree forces payback but the names are being kept secret see full article below disclosed that unnamed MEPs have handed back euro;3.4 million to Parliament and that the secretive second pension scheme is in financial trouble among other related issues. Mr Juame Duch Guillot Spokesperson...

EU enlargement blues eyes on Croatia FYROM Turkey – and Greece
Even as Greecersquo;s economic crisis had Italy fretting over how it would affect the Eurozonersquo;s plans to let more countries use the euro as a currency a spurt of support has blossomed for candidates ranging from Croatia to FYROM to Turkey with key backing for the idea coming from Sweden...

Parvanova - Loyal Servant or Loose Cannon?
Following our revelations last week into Ms Antonyia Parvanova MEP and Vice-President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe ALDE and her campaign against Commissioner Designate Jeleva it has become suspected that Ms Parvanova was less motivated by homour then a desire to help her friend Commissioner Kuneva...

Europe Marks Holocaust Memorial Day
The 65th anniversary of Soviet troops liberating the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps was marked throughout Europe and by a group of 20 MEPs attending a ceremony at the camp itself. Israeli President Shimon Peres chose to address the German Parliament where the 86 year old spoke about his own memories of...

EU lawmakers want SWIFT agreement suspended now
After a request from the Greens/EFA party the European Parliament Conference of Presidents agreed that President Jerzy Buzek will send a letter to the European Union Council asking for the EU to break off its deal to provide bank transfer information from the Brussels-based SWIFT system to the United States....

Diamandouros re-elected as European Ombudsman
The Europen Parliament has re-electednbsp;Nikiforos Diamandouros as European Ombudsman with 340 votes out of a total of 648 valid votes cast. Mr Diamandouros commented: I am very grateful for the support of the European Parliament and for this vote of confidence in my work. I look forward to continuing my...

Kristalina Georgieva to replace Jeleva as Bulgarian Commissioner-designate
nbsp; Bulgarian Prime Minister Borisov has informed European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso of his intention to suggest Ms Kristalina Georgieva currently Vice-President of the World Bank as member of the European Commission. A statement from the office Barroso nbsp;was issued to this effect stating that President Barroso welcomes the swift reaction...

Jeleva resigns from European Commission and Foreign Ministry
The candidacy of Bulgarian Commissioner-designate Rumiana Jeleva has been withdrawn according to the European Peoples Party Groupnbsp;in the European Parliament. A letter was sent to Joseph Daul this morning by Rumiana Jeleva. Jeleva has resigned from her position as Commissioner-designate and her position as Foreign Minister Sources from the European Parliament...

Jelevas name cleared pressure mounts for removal
nbsp; The whole European Union is watching as Rumiana Jelevarsquo;s candidacy for European Commissioner is one of the few sticking points of its acceptance by the European Parliament. Though Jelevarsquo;s performance was not satisfactory it was falsely alleged that Jeleva had not made accurate statements of commercial activities to the European...

Call to ban Burqa in UK in public and private
nbsp;Nigel Farage has announced that UKIP the main party in the EFD group are calling for the traditional Muslim clothing worn by women to be Banned. Going further than the far-right British National Party who are accused of neo-fascist ideology and only wish to prohibit the wearing of the burqa...

ECR Trans-National Party Set for EU Funding - But is it legal?
Last year New Europe revealed secret plans by the European Conservatives and Reformists ECR Group to set up a new transnational party called the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe and a think tank called New Direction: Foundation for European Reform. This became controversial after a right wing coupnbsp;...

Parliament prepares for battle as Barroso confirms confidence in Jeleva
European Commission President has reaffirmed his confidence in Commissioner-designate Rumiana Jeleva who found herself in political crossfire last week after allegations of conflict of interest. Barroso through a letter to Euroepan Parliament President Jerzy Buzek after the latter expressed concerns supported Jelevas competence for the European Commissioner post. Furthermore Barroso attached...

John DALLI European Parliament Hearing Report
John DALLI Health and Consumer Policy EN CV Our rating: Dalli clearly impressed MEPs many of whom were waiting for someone to turn up with a clear vision and agenda. He made it clear that his priorities were the interests of citizens and he showed...

Androula Vassiliou European Parliament Hearing Report
Androula Vassiliou Education Culture Multilingualism and Youth EN CV Our rating: Under the auspices of the culture and education Committee in the European Parliament Cypriot national and former Commissioner for Health Androula Vassiliou brought with her a strong vocal well developed outlook of Europe...

Gunther H.Oettinger European Parliament Hearing Report
Gunther H.Oettinger Energy EN CV Our rating: Energy was one of those portfolios five years ago that Jose Manuel Barroso struggled to find an interested party to take on in his first Commission College. When announcing the new Commission designate for energy he said...

Documents clear Jeleva of allegations
Updates:nbsp;Jeleva made no violation: Bulgarian Ministry of Justice report - EXCLUSIVE nbsp;Check-mate; Jeleva unsalvable; a commentary nbsp;Borisov opens the door for new Commission nominee nbsp; We have acquired Official translated Global Consult documents which relate to political attack on Commissioner-designate Rumiana Jeleva in the European Parliamentary hearingnbsp;of Tuesday 12 January 2010. Bulgarian...

Maire Geoghegan-Quinn European Parliament Hearing Report
Maire Geoghegan-Quinn Research Innovation and Science EN CV Our rating: Nobody would accuse Ms Geoghegan-Quinn of being a shrinking violet and her powerful and forceful manner showed that she was not to be messed with and provided some dynamism so far missing from the hearings....

Michel BARNIER European Parliament Hearing Report
Michel BARNIER Internal Market and Services EN CV Our rating: On the back of what Michel Barnier Former Agricultural and Fisheries Minister of France Former Commissioner for Regional Policy and Former MEP has called the largest financial crisis since 1929 he vigorously pronounced the...

Janez Potocnik European Parliament Hearing Report
Janez Potocnik Environment EN CV Our rating: With all his experience in the Commission Poto?nik was comfortable and engaged with the room. His confidence could not have been harmed by the regular scatterings of applause he received from members during the hearing. He made...

Laszlo ANDOR European Parliament Hearing Report
Laszlo ANDOR Employment Social Affairs and Inclusion EN CV Our rating: Capable is one word that would describe the Commissioner Designate Laszlo Andor and readiness to explore all means open to him via the Commission portfolio of Employment Social Affairs and Inclusion in a following...

Jeleva hangs in the balance Schulz wages partisan warfare
Updates: Check-mate; Jeleva unsalvable; a commentary nbsp;Documents clear Jeleva of allegations Borisov opens the door for new Commission nominee The document that could clear Jeleva nbsp; Concerning the commercial activities of Jeleva the issue becomes quite technical. According to Bulgarian legal experts the detail that is important according to Bulgarian law is not the...

Algirdas Gediminas ŠEMETA European Parliament Hearing Report
Algirdas Gediminas Scaron;EMETA Taxation and Customs Union Audit and Anti-Fraud EN CV Our rating: Semeta started nervously and felt the concern of the room as he was asked repeatedly to state his position on the OLAF and if it should be part of the Commission or...

Stefan Fule European Parliament Hearing Report
Stefan Fule Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy EN CV Our rating: Fule gave a confident performance engaging with the members. Using his background he spoke with passion on the importance of enlargement in his own country and how it should be central to EU plans. He...

Joaquin Almunia European Parliament Hearing Report
Joaquin Almunia Competition EN CV Our rating: No stranger to the ECON committee it was clear that this was going to be an easy ride as the main groups lined up to stress how highly they thought of him and his regular appearances before...

Rumiana Jeleva European Parliament Hearing Report
Updates:nbsp;Jeleva made no violation: Bulgarian Ministry of Justice report - EXCLUSIVE nbsp;Check-mate; Jeleva unsalvable; a commentary nbsp;Documents clear Jeleva of allegations Borisov opens the door for new Commission nominee Rumiana Jeleva International Cooperation Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response EN CV Our rating:...

Viviane Reding European Parliament Hearing Report
Viviane Redingnbsp; Justice Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Responsible for the hearings Parliamentary Committee s on Womens Rights and Gender Equality Legal Affairs Civil Liberties Justice and Home Affairs Our rating: EN CV One underlying current made up the main theme of the now...

Olli REHN European Parliament Hearing Report
Our rating: EN CV Olli Rehn isnt a star performer but his style which is like a cautious bank manager or a doctor preparing a patient for bad news seemed appropriate. His main points were that Lisbon provided instruments to assist exiting the financial crisis but it was...

European Parliament News - New Europe
European Parliament News - New Europe

 

From 16-year-old prodigy to elder statesman before 50

William Hague came back from leading the Conservatives to crushing defeat in the 2001 election to become one of the most effective members of David Cameron's team.

Tories turn on Hague over sharing aide's hotel room

BRITISH Foreign Secretary William Hague's judgment was questioned publicly by senior Conservative figures yesterday after admitting that he shared a hotel room with a young male adviser.

Hague strongly denies gay affair with adviser

BRITISH Foreign Secretary William Hague last night vehemently denied having a gay affair with a young party adviser.

Stephen Hawking: God was not needed to create the Universe

The Big Bang was the result of the inevitable laws of physics and did not need God to spark the creation of the Universe, Stephen Hawking has concluded.

Rape investigation into Wikileaks chief reopens

ALLEGATIONS AGAINST Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, took an unexpected turn yesterday when Sweden's top prosecutor announced she was reopening a rape investigation.

Best free kick ever by Roberto Carlos was no fluke, claim scientists

One of the most incredible goals in international football was no fluke, physicists claim after working out the science of the seemingly impossible free kick.

Tony Blair's message to Labour stirs up civil war

THE ferocity of Tony Blair's attack on Gordon Brown threatened to plunge Labour into a fresh civil war yesterday and send the party into the electoral wilderness.

Rugby's bloodgate doctor to retain licence

THE doctor who deliberately cut the lip of a Harlequins rugby player to cover up a fake injury can continue to practise medicine.

Pakistan officials in UK to quiz cricketers

Three Pakistani cricketers embroiled in allegations of match-fixing will be questioned by officials from their country later today as the furore over the claims continues.

Police foil 'dry run' for new plane terror blitz

Two Yemenis accused of making a 'dry run' for a planned terrorist attack were able to fly from Chicago to Amsterdam, despite airport staff finding a mobile phone taped to a bottle and other suspicious items in their luggage .

Blair almost ordered RAF to shoot down passenger jet

Tony Blair came close to ordering the RAF to shoot down a passenger airliner over London after the 9/11 attacks on the United States, he reveals in his memoirs.

Truth was often 'distorted' for peace talks

FORMER British Prime Minister Tony Blair has admitted that he sometimes "distorted" the truth during the Northern Ireland peace process in order to keep the talks on track.

Princess Diana was a manipulator just like me, admits 'rebel soul' Blair

Brown: Tony Blair opens the book by blaming Gordon Brown for Labour's general election defeat.

Man blows himself up trying to kill a spider

A man suffered flash burns after he accidentally blew himself up trying to kill a spider.

Algerian web pirates 2,000 miles astray in siege of Belvoir Castle

One of Britain’s best-known castles fell victim to a band of hapless Middle-Eastern "cyber-pirates" last week after they mistook it for a Crusader fortress of the same name more than 2,000 miles away.

Dutch police arrest terror suspects on US flight

Dutch police have arrested two men who were allowed to board a transatlantic flight despite the fact that one was allegedly carrying a "mock bomb".

Activists ready to sabotage French bird-hunters

French ornithologists are waging an increasingly sophisticated war against the hunting of the ortolan, a songbird which is regarded by gastronomes - when eaten beak, bones and all - as the ultimate in sinful pleasure.

Gunman kills seven in Slovak capital shootout

A GUNMAN went on a rampage in Slovakia's capital yesterday killing seven people.

Minister apologises for doctors' C-section punch-up

ITALY'S health minister was dispatched to Sicily yesterday to personally apologise to a woman whose delivery of a son was botched when her two doctors got into a fistfight in the operating theatre.

Pakistan's top detectives arrive to question cricketers over betting-scam allegations

INVESTIGATORS from Pakistan's highest crime-fighting agency will arrive in London today to begin their own inquiry into allegations of a cricket betting scam amid growing calls for the country to be suspended to prevent further damage to the reputation of the game.

Gunman kills six in Bratislava street attack

A gunman has killed six people and wounded 14 others in Bratislava, a Slovak news agency has reported.

Police probing work link to spy's killing

POLICE have not ruled out the possibility that the death of a British spy could be linked to his work after investigations into his private life failed to provide a motive for his murder.

'Spot bet' would have set off alarm bells in UK

THE nature of cricket as a sport, with its complex rules and seemingly endless permutations, makes it extremely popular with betting fans.

Third England player wins press reports ban

A THIRD England footballer has won an injunction banning the reporting of allegations about his private life.

Secret tapes reveal cardinal warned victim to stay silent

Leaked tapes of Belgium's Cardinal Godfried Danneels urging a victim not to reveal he was sexually abused by a bishop are some of the most damaging documents to emerge in the scandal rocking the Catholic Church worldwide.

Spotlight on 82 games in cricket corruption scandal

More than 80 international cricket matches will be investigated amid allegations that a London businessman has been running a multi-million-pound match-fixing racket.

Cole escapes driving ban after court hears of wife's carjacking ordeal

LIVERPOOL footballer Joe Cole has escaped an immediate driving ban for speeding at 105mph, after his solicitor told a court in London yesterday that the midfielder needed his licence to drive his wife -- who is too scared to get behind the wheel following a carjacking and too famous to catch public transport.

Discovery of wheat's genetic code to boost harvests

British scientists have decoded the genetic sequence of wheat -- one of the world's oldest and most important crops -- a development they hope could help the global staple meet the challenges of climate change, disease and population growth.

Eight signs that 'must be checked for cancer'

Eight key signs of cancer that should be investigated immediately have been identified by scientists.

HIV singer guilty of grievous bodily harm

A German pop singer who confessed to knowingly exposing two men to the risk of HIV after finding out she had the virus herself was convicted by a court yesterday of grievous bodily harm.

'Bloodgate' doctor fears career over

THE "Bloodgate" rugby matchday doctor told a fitness to practise panel yesterday that she would "deeply like" to return to medicine, but conceded it would be difficult to find work.

England footballer granted continuation of gagging order

An England footballer has been granted a continuation of a gagging order preventing the publication of details of his private life.

Finns take semi-naked sauna on summit of Mont Blanc

Four adventurous Finns have set up a 'pop-up' sauna on the top of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe.

Scientists hail cornea transplants

Artificial corneas have been transplanted into patients for the first time, offering hope to millions of the partly-sighted.

Lover may have killed spy

A murdered British spy whose body was found stuffed into a sports bag at his London flat might have been killed by a jealous lover, police believe.

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Companies Shunning Banks on Stress Tests Doubts
Leading UK and continental European companies are increasingly shunning banks from Spain, Italy and even Germany because they do not believe the Europe-wide stress testing of banks gave a true picture of their financial health. The FT reports.

Greek Minister Has Rosier 2011 Outlook Than 2010

Fears Growing Over Global Food Supply

China Investors Approach Canadian Fund on Potash Bid

European Central Bank Holds Rates, Extends Liquidity

Royal Bank of Scotland to Cut 3,500 Jobs in UK

Germany's Nordbank Embroiled in Frame-Up Allegations

Scenes from the Farnborough Airshow

Special Report: Farnborough Airshow

Where Pre-Euro Currencies Would Trade Now

Special Report: Countdown to London 2012

CNBC Europe Top News and Analysis
Stock Market News, Financial, Earnings, World Market News and Info Covering the Europe Region

 

Rights Group Says European Multinationals Violate US Workers' Rights
Human Rights Watch says European companies tow the line in Europe, but not in the United States

Money Key To Tackling Climate Change
Ministers from 45 countries meeting to discuss long-term financing of mitigation, adaptation measures needed to tackle climate change

Former British PM Reflects on Iraq War in Long-Awaited Memoir
Tony Blair says he does not regret his decision to take Britain to war in Iraq, but did not foresee nightmare that had unfolded there

Dutch Free Two Men Held in Terror Scare
Dutch prosecutors said tests conducted in the U.S. on the men's luggage did not show signs of explosive material

Italy, Libya Celebrate Second Anniversary of 'Friendship Treaty'
Despite criticism, Gadhafi visit to Italy drew praise from town where he plans investments

Experts, Industry Leaders, Decision Makers Meet to Discuss World's Water Problems
Water problems discussed at an annual event called World Water Week in Stockholm

US, Netherlands Investigate Possible Airline Terror Plot
Dutch authorities say two Yemeni men arrested after taking flight from US to Amsterdam suspected of conspiring to commit terrorism

Activists Detained at Russian Rights Protest
Among those detained were several prominent activists, including opposition politician, former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov

Iranian Media Says French First Lady Deserves Death
Attacks surface after Carla Bruni-Sarkozy condemned Iran's decision to stone Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani to death for adultery

Environmental Group says EU Biofuel Targets Create Land-Grab in Africa
An international network of environmental groups, is criticizing the European Union for driving land acquisition by foreign companies.

Russian Mini-Sub Finds Possible Czarist Gold
Attempts to pick up the shiny metal objects with a mechanical arm 400 meters below Lake Baikal's surface have failed so far

Italian Politicians Complain Gadhafi Trying to Convert Christians
Libyan leader gave lecture on Islam to few-hundred Italian women, urged them to convert and handed out copies of the Koran

7 Dead After Shooting in Slovak Capital
14 people also wounded during mid-morning shooting Monday

Legacy of Slavery Lingers in Britain
Liverpool's International Slavery Museum curator says it is vital that city's dark past be remembered

Britain's Paralympic Athletes Preparing for 2012 Games
Disabled athletes have new training center

VOA News: Europe
Europe Voice of America

 

Arrest over club fire that killed 156
Investigators in Spain arrest a suspect from Russia in connection with a fire that killed 156 people in a nightclub in Russia in 2009.

West Nile virus kills 13 in Greece
West Nile Virus has killed 13 people in northern Greece and sickened another 143, the Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

Lawyer who fled Iran reunited with family
A human rights lawyer who defended a woman sentenced to death in Iran for adultery enjoyed a tearful reunion with his wife and daughter Thursday after they flew from Tehran to Oslo, Norway.

3 babies found buried at Dutch home
Dutch investigators were trying to determine Thursday whether the bodies of three babies found at a home in the Netherlands belong to the woman who lived there.

Bet allegation cricketers meet authorities
Three Pakistan cricket players at the center of an alleged betting scandal were meeting their country's cricket authorities Thursday morning in London.

Greece imposes smoking ban
Greece has imposed a nationwide ban on smoking in enclosed public and private workplaces under a new slogan "cut smoking, gain life."

UK bank RBS job cuts reach 27,000
Read full story for latest details.

Ferrari recalls supercar amid fire threat
Ferrari has been forced to recall its latest supercar after reports that several had burst into flames.

Hawking: God didn't create universe
God did not create the universe, world-famous physicist Stephen Hawking argues in a new book that aims to banish a divine creator from physics.

Sweden to reopen WikiLeaks rape case
Swedish prosecutors decide to reopen a rape investigation involving WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, officials confirm.

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