Times on Line: Turkish Tourism takes a nose-dive as a result of Bird Flu

Times Online

Turkish Tourism takes a nose-dive as a result of Bird Flu

TURKEY’S tourism industry was plunged into crisis last week as foreigners cancelled their hotel reservations and a British holiday haven on the Aegean coast was placed under quarantine because of the spread of the bird flu virus.Residents have every reason to believe in a curse. When it was placed under bird flu quarantine last week, the town renowned for its hedonistic nightlife was only just recovering from a bombing by Islamic extremists last July in which five people, including a British and an Irish tourist, were killed

From the Presidency of the EU: State Secretary Hans Winkler at the European Parliament in Strasbourg

Austrian Presidency of the EU

State Secretary Hans Winkler at the European Parliament in Strasbourg

Vienna (OTS) – On Tuesday, 17 January 2006, State Secretary Hans Winkler will meet the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Elmar Brok, the Chairman of the Constitutional Committee, Jo Leinen, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Development, Luisa Morgantini, and the Chairman of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, Jean-Marie Cavada, for talks within the framework of the European Parliament’s plenary sessions. The talks with Elmar Brok will focus on cooperation on matters of foreign policy for the next few months, including EU enlargement, the Austrian Presidency's plans with regard to the Western Balkans, transatlantic relations and recent developments regarding foreign-policy issues. The discussions with Jo Leinen will revolve around the approach to be adopted towards the debate on the future of the EU during the Austrian Presidency, and in particular the European Parliament’s contribution towards the period of reflection. During the talks with Luisa Morgantini, Hans Winkler will also discuss the main focus of the Committee on Development, such as the future financing of development cooperation, the Africa Strategy and involving human rights in dialogue with third countries. Talks with Jean-Marie Cavada will centre on the Agency on Fundamental Rights. Subsequently, Hans Winkler will attend the meeting of the Interinstitutional Group on Communication as a representative of the Council. The talks will focus on the coordination of specific measures to support the discussion of the future of the EU between the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission at all levels.

Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr, I Have A Dream

Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr, "I Have A Dream"

Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963."When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Telegraph: The origins of the Great War of 2007 - and how it could have been prevented

Telegraph

The origins of the Great War of 2007 - and how it could have been prevented

Are we living through the origins of the next world war? Certainly, it is easy to imagine how a future historian might deal with the next phase of events in the Middle East. With every passing year after the turn of the century, the instability of the Gulf region grew. By the beginning of 2006, nearly all the combustible ingredients for a conflict - far bigger in its scale and scope than the wars of 1991 or 2003 - were in place.

Iran Wants EU Talks Not UN Sanctions Over its Nuclear Program

AXcessNews.com

"Iran Wants EU Talks Not UN Sanctions Over its Nuclear Program


By Philip White

(EUNN) London - Less than 24-hours after foreign ministers met in Berlin to discuss the growing situation in Iran over its move Tuesday in breaking IAEA seals on nuclear facilities there, EU leaders came away with a request for the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect Iran's nuclear activities and report back to the UN. If Iran refused, the European Union has joined the United States in asking the UN Security Council to intervene and sanction Iran.

According to the Iran Press Association, Tehran tendered an olive branch Saturday, calling on the Europeans to 'return to the negotiation table and solving the issue peacefully'."

Germany's immigrants straddle cultural divide

Baltimore Sun

"Germany's immigrants straddle cultural divide

By Jeffrey Fleishman

January 15, 2006

BERLIN -- The Gummi Bear candy marked the cultural divide between Annette Spieler and the inquisitive little girl.

Spieler, principal at the elementary school in the Wrangel neighborhood here, offers candy as rewards for good grades. One Muslim student asked if Gummi Bears were made with gelatin, an ingredient often derived from pigs. Spieler discovered that they were.

'The girl refused it,' Spieler said, in her office the other day. 'It was an indication of how the neighborhood has changed. When I came here in 1991, I didn't see as many head scarves as I see now, or as many immigrant women wrapped up all over. But now I see it everywhere. The Islamic religious life is strengthening, and it's coming into the schools.'

The 12-square-block neighborhood in West Berlin long has been a place where new arrivals to the city flock, struggling to establish themselves. Bordered by a canal and train tracks, colored with graffiti and scented with wood smoke, the neighborhood is a glimpse of the immigration pressures that Germany, and the rest of Europe, face."

Leadingthecharge.com: EU Expects Economy to Grow Strongly in 2Q

Leadingthecharge.com

EU Expects Economy to Grow Strongly in 2Q

By AOIFE WHITE, AP Business Writer 19 minutes ago BRUSSELS, Belgium - The euro area economy could pick up slightly in the second quarter of this year, growing between 0.4 and 0.9 percent, according to a forecast published Friday by the European Commission European Commission. The European Union European Union executive expects gross domestic product to grow 0.4 to 0.8 percent for the fourth quarter of 2005 and the first quarter of this year, in a forecast based on business and economic data from all euro-area countries. Last autumn, the Commission predicted that the euro-zone economy would grow 1.9 percent in 2006 with the entire EU economy expanding by 2.1 percent.

Xinhua - Germany, U.S. relations warmer, yet differences remain

Xinhua

Germany, U.S. relations warmer, yet differences remain

Relations between Germany and the United States are definitely warmer now as it is discerned through German Chancellor Angela Merkel's debut visit to the United States, although differences between the two countries remain. "My first impressions in 45 minutes alone (with her) in the Oval Office were incredibly positive," U.S. President George W. Bush said at a press conference with Merkel following their talks in the White House on Friday. "I am convinced that we will have a really important and good relationship," Bush said, adding that Germany has been "a valued ally" of the United States. "But everyone knows there are not going to be German troops in Iraq, that this is going to be a sensitive issue in the relationship," Merkel said. Bush admitted disagreements with Merkel on Iraq. "It has been a difficult issue in our relationship and I fully understand that," he said. In addition, Bush also rejected Merkel's call to shut up the Guantanamo military detention camp in Cuba. "So long as there is a threat and the war on terror goes on, we will inevitably need to hold people that would do ourselves harm in a system in which people would be treated humanely, and ultimately there is going to be an end, which is a legal system," Bush said. All these show that with the stepping down of President Bush's war critic Schroeder, as both the United States and Germany have the same values and need each other in international affairs, the United States and Germany under Merkel's leadership are expected to maintain warm relations in the years to come, although their differences will remain.

USATODAY.com - Is God dead in Europe? By James P. Gannon

USATODAY.com

Is God dead in Europe? By James P. Gannon

"Two snapshots from a recent tourist trip to Europe: We are in Prague, the lovely and lively capital of the Czech Republic, where the bars and cafes are full, the glitzy crystal and art shops are busy, and the dozens of historic cathedrals and churches are largely empty — except for gawking tourists snapping photos. In The Prague Post, an English-language weekly newspaper, a front-page article reports, in titillating detail, how the city has become Europe's new capital for pornographic filmmaking, while an op-ed examines why only 19% of the people in this once-religious country believe that God exists."

StarTribune: Dollar down against euro, British pound on U.S. economic data, Trichet

Star Tribune

Dollar down against euro, British pound on U.S. economic data, Trichet

NEW YORK (AP) - The dollar fell back Friday, dropping to a one-month low against the U.K. pound and ceding ground versus the euro following weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data. The dollar's main declines came during New York trading and were helped by comments from a hawkish comment by European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet. However, traders said the dollar managed to hold within its recent ranges against most major currencies and that the market continues to lack clear direction. Indeed, the dollar was little changed versus the yen Friday and closed the week not far from its levels of seven days earlier versus the euro. With bond markets closing early and U.S. markets shut Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, volumes were lighter during the New York session, which seemed to exacerbate choppy trading, said analysts.

EUABC: A dictionary on words related to the EU

EUABC

A dictionary on words related to the EU

The EUABC - An EU dictionary for Internet users

The EUABC is an Internet dictionary providing concise explanations of terms used in the EU debate, and a lot of useful links. Its aim is to inform people on the debate on the future of Europe. It includes many terms that relate to matters of political tension, controversy and debate. Federalists may find arguments and explanations both in favour of and against further European integration, just as Eurosceptics, EU-critics and Eurorealists may find their own arguments and the Federalist counter-arguments to their positions. The contents of this site are constantly updated. Thus, you will find new entries concerning the EU Constitution, which was agreed by Heads of State on 18 June 2004. We also recommend you the Reader-Friendly edition of the EU Constitution, as well as a PowerPoint presentation on the same subject - you can find this in the Menu under "EU Constitution".

If should you find any mistakes or omissions please email the editor at editor@euabc.com

NewsFromRussia.Com: China and EU to build joint broadband network

NewsFromRussia.Com

China and EU to build joint broadband network

China and the European Union (EU) will jointly establish a broadband network with transmission speed of above 2.5 Gbps, according to a joint statement signed Thursday. According to sources with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) the broadband network is designed to support research cooperation by the two sides. It will also open up a new path for China to construct broadband network, and consequently lower the cost for international cooperation on research and development.

A MOST official said the cooperation will also help push forward the strategic partnership between China and the EU.

Iraq Coalition Casualties update: 34 US troops killed in the first two weeks of the year

Iraq Coalition Casualties update

34 US troops killed in the first two weeks of the year

Two pilots died of injuries Jan. 13 when their OH-58D Kiowa helicopter went down in the city of Mosul just outside of Forward Operating Base Courage. The aircraft was conducting a combat air patrol with another OH-58D in an area where hostile fire was reported shortly before it went down. The aircrew’s wingman provided aerial cover while ground units from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team and the Iraqi police responded to the downed aircraft and cordoned off the area. This is the econd downed helicopter in the past two weeks.

Khaleej Times Online: The West must avoid making an Iraq of Iran - Teheran has Washington by the cojones

Khaleej Times Online

The West must avoid making an Iraq of Iran because Teheran has Washington by the cojones

NOW we face the next big test of the West: after Iraq, Iran. As the Islamic revolutionary regime breaks the international seals on its nuclear facilities, and prepares to hone its skills in the uranium enrichment that could, in a matter of years, enable it to produce nuclear weapons, we in Europe and the United States have to respond. But how? If we mishandle this, it could lead not only to the edge of another military confrontation but also to another crisis of the west. The European policy of negotiated containment, mistrustfully backed by America and ambiguously accompanied by Russia, has failed. It was worth trying, but it was not enough. The Europeans did not carry sufficiently credible sticks and the Americans did not wave large enough carrots to sway the theocrats in Teheran. Neither half of the old transatlantic West could induce oil-hungry China and energy-rich Russia to play the diplomatic game sufficiently clearly our way. The new Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, would probably regard a cost-benefit analysis as an invention of the Great Satan and a prime example of western secular decadence. Yet if cooler heads in the regime behind him are making a cost-benefit analysis, they could still conclude that this is a risk worth taking. Iran is floating high on an ocean of oil revenue: an estimated $36bn last year. This money can be used to buy off material discontent at home.

They know that the US is deeply mired in neighbouring Iraq, where the Iranians wield growing influence in the Shia south. As President Bush might privately put it, Teheran has Washington by the cojones.

EU PLEDGES $100M IN H5N1 FIGHT

SBS - The World News:

"EU PLEDGES $100M IN H5N1 FIGHT
14.1.2006. 13:52:43

The European Union has announced plans to spend US$100 million (A$133m) in funding to help fight the spread of avian influenza, as the virus makes further inroads into the continent, possibly claiming a fourth life in Turkey. "

Boston.com: EU mulls plan to create rival to MIT

Boston.com

EU mulls plan to create rival to MIT

BRUSSELS, Belgium --Austria will use its presidency of the EU to promote proposals to create a European rival to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in a bid to stop the continent's brightest minds moving across the Atlantic, the country's ambassador to the EU said Friday.The plan would likely be discussed by EU leaders at a March economic summit in Brussels, Ambassador Gregor Woschnagg said. The proposal was "something that could prevent a brain drain of researchers and scientists to the United States," he told a think tank audience.

European leaders are increasingly concerned that Europe's academic and research standards continue to lag far behind the United States, while emerging powers such as India and China are making fast improvements.

AM - Sharon a man of war, not peace

AM

Sharon a man of war, by Mark Willacy

A prominent journalist with the leading Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, Levy rejects descriptions of Ariel Sharon as peacemaker, father figure, or nation builder. He says a more honest reading of Mr Sharon's legacy is that of a man who built Jewish settlements, master-minded the disastrous Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and who launched a draconian crackdown on the Palestinian civilian population.Ariel Sharon's legacy is the legacy of the State of Israel in the last 60 years in which almost the only language which was used was the language of violence and power.

Stratfor: Merkel, Bush: Getting Cozy in Washington

Stratfor

Merkel, Bush: Getting Cozy in Washington

In her first press conference on U.S. soil, new German Chancellor Angela Merkel indirectly repudiated the long-time Franco-German axis -- and planted the seeds for a deep revamping of U.S.-German relations. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President George W. Bush held their first summit Jan. 13 in Washington, D.C. The joint press conference that followed was notable for what the two world leaders said -- but even more so for what they did not say.

Merkel's opening remarks were clearly not intended for her U.S. audience. What started out as a pep-talk for the Germans evolved into a description of the ways in which U.S. interests complement those of Germany. Merkel's government is as untested as it is unwieldy, being as it is a seven-week-old coalition of Merkel's center-right Christian Democrats and the center-left Social Democrats once led by her opponent, Gerhard Schroeder.

NewsFromRussia.Com Are you interested in future of Europe? Participate in continentwide Internet debate

NewsFromRussia.Com Are you interested in future of Europe? Participate in continentwide Internet debate

"Are you interested in future of Europe? Participate in continentwide Internet debate

19:59 2006-01-13
The European Union plans to hold an EU-wide Internet consultation with its citizens in May before a summit to decide on the bloc's future after voters' rejection of its constitutional treaty last year, Austria's ambassador said Friday. On May 9, 'there will be a kind of a vote by Internet about the ,' Ambassador Gregor Woschnagg said.

Austria took over the presidency of the EU on Jan. 1 and is due to chair a summit in June to debate European integration in the wake of referendums in France and the Netherlands last year which rejected the EU constitution. 'This is a very difficult dossier,' Woschnagg acknowledged.
"

Europe Joins U.S. in Urging Action by U.N. on Iran

New York Times

"Europe Joins U.S. in Urging Action by U.N. on Iran
Markus Shreiber/Associated Press

By RICHARD BERNSTEIN
and STEVEN R. WEISMAN
Published: January 13, 2006

BERLIN, Jan. 12 - The leading nations of Europe joined with the United States on Thursday to declare an end, for now, to negotiations with Iran over dismantling its suspected nuclear weapons program and to demand that Iran be referred to the United Nations Security Council for possible sanctions.

The Europeans' announcement was made at a news conference in Berlin two days after the Iranian authorities removed internationally monitored seals on nuclear facilities involved in the enrichment of uranium that Western nations say could be used in a bomb."