UK Reuters: EU not ready for major upgrade with Israel

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EU not ready for major upgrade with Israel

The European Union is unlikely to agree to any wide-ranging upgrade of relations with Israel at a meeting with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Monday, EU diplomats said on Wednesday. The Jewish state had sought a joint declaration at the Luxembourg talks on boosting ties and giving Israel, which prides itself on its high-tech economy, greater access to EU markets, agencies and spending programs.However, an EU diplomat said: "That is not going to happen. One reason is that there wasn't much appetite at this point among member states, given the uncertainty of the situation on the ground in Israel and its immediate neighbourhood.

The Press Association: Britain: Miliband to continue with EU plans

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Britain: Miliband to continue with EU plans

Irish voters stunned Europe's leaders and brought the ratification process shuddering to a halt, voting by 53.4% to 46.6% to reject the treaty. As jubilant 'No' campaigners celebrated in Dublin, the Tories said that the treaty should now finally be declared dead and called on Gordon Brown to abandon ratification by the UK. But Mr Miliband said that while it was important to respect the Irish result, there should also be a "British view" on the treaty, as expressed in the ratification bill currently going through Parliament.

EU referendum: Ireland votes against Lisbon Treaty - Tom Peterkin

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Ireland votes against Lisbon Treaty - by Tom Peterkin

Even before all the official Ireland referendum results were in, the Irish government conceded that the public had voted against the Treaty. Dermot Ahern, the country’s justice minister, predicted: “It looks like this will be a 'no' vote.” Mr Ahern added: “At the end of the day, for a myriad of reasons, the people have spoken.” Despite benefiting from £32 billion in European Grants in recent years, a low turn-out (45 per cent) of the Irish electorate discarded the Treaty, designed to streamline the EU. The outcome was triumph for a highly-effective No Campaign masterminded by the Libertas group led by the multimillionaire Declan Ganley. For Brian Cowen, the newly-installed Irish Prime Minister, the result was a disaster. All the main political parties, aside from Sinn Fein, had supported the Treaty and made strenuous efforts to win the referendum.

RTÉ News: Irish Referendum vote count under way

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Irish Referendum vote count under way

Counting of the votes cast yesterday on the Lisbon Treaty Referendum began at 9am this morning, with early indications of trends expected by mid-morning.The final official result is expected to be announced late this afternoon, but tallies from the 43 constituencies should give a good indication of the likely outcome late this morning. Each constituency counts its own votes separately, and then sends the result to the Referendum Returning Officer in Dublin Castle, who will announce the overall result. Turnout is thought to have been higher than in the first Nice Referendum, which was defeated, but lower than in the second, which was passed. However, with recent opinion polls suggesting that supporters of the treaty were more likely to vote, a lower turnout is not necessarily good news for the No side.

IHT: EU - Sharks decline by 97 percent in Mediterranean

The number of sharks in the Mediterranean has fallen by 97 percent
over the past 200 years, putting the sea's ecological balance at risk,
a report released Wednesday said.

The report by the Lenfest Ocean Program, which is based in
Washington, used records like fishermen's logs, museum specimens and
sightings to estimate the number and size of Mediterranean sharks over
the past two centuries.

There was only enough data on 5 of the 20 big shark species present
in the Mediterranean to be useful to the study: the hammerhead,
thresher, blue and two species of mackerel shark, which averaged a
decline of 97 percent.

For the complete report click on: Sharks decline by 97 percent in Mediterranean

Goethe-Institut - Germany - Radical Pragmatists

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Germany - Radical PragmatistsOne hundred projects to make the world a better place - Matthias Böttger and Friedrich von Borries from raumtaktik in Berlin are presenting their ideas at the Venice Architecture Biennale.

The Architecture Biennale is taking place from 14th September to 23rd November 2008. Within the framework of the Architecture and Building Culture Initiative, the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs is sponsoring the German contribution with a donation of 500,000 euros.

signandsight.com: Why Ukraine has no place in the EU - by Richard Wagner

"Ukraine is firmly anchored in the Eurasian region that traditionally answers to Moscow. The cultural-historical fusion with Russia reaches deep into the past to the Kievan Rus,
the original formula of the East Slavic concept of state, as does the
Byzantine-Orthodox hold on mentality and society. The majority of the
population speaks Russian and geographically and geo-politically
speaking, the country has a number of non-European coordinates that are
indispensable to Russia: the Black Sea, Crimea, the Caucasus. The
Ukrainian economy is tightly bound up with its Russian counterpart, it
is reliant on Russian raw materials and energy resources, and is
organised along the same lines. The same goes for the political
structure of post-Soviet society which, in both countries relies on the
Byzantine habitus and the survival skills of Homo sovieticus.
Oligarchic interests and a bizarrely ad hoc party landscape define the
political climate in both Russia and Ukraine and no end of bold
"Orange" revolutionaries will be able to change this. They have
defended their honour, but they don't hold the political reins."

For the complete report from signandsight.com click on this link

The Prague Post Online: Generation gap - Young Czech women offer hope for political involvement - by Rebecca Cruise

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Young Czech women offer hope for political involvement - by Rebecca Cruise

Czechs who are younger than 24 have few memories of the former communist government. Most were just entering kindergarten when the Velvet Revolution happened in 1989. Western scholars believe that this post-Socialist generation will determine future democratic norms and values of democratic consolidation in the Czech Republic. But, as you might expect, there’s a widening generation gap between the people who don’t remember the former system and those who do.

There are some troubling signs that younger women are largely disinterested in politics. However, there are also some positive characteristics of this group that bode well and justify hope for the future. I found a generation of women who are seeking to find their voices at the grassroots level and through informal channels. I have reason to be hopeful that these young women will act to better the world around them.

Belfast Times: Oil prices ‘to hit $250 per barrel’ soon

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Oil prices ‘to hit $250 per barrel’ soon

The chief executive of the world's largest energy company has issued the most dire warning yet about the soaring the price of oil, predicting that it will hit $250 per barrel "in the foreseeable future". The forecast from Alexey Miller, the head of the Kremlin-owned gas giant Gazprom, would herald the arrival of £2-per-litre petrol and send shockwaves through the economy. His comments were the most stark to be expressed by an industry executive and come just days after the oil price registered its largest-ever single-day spike, hitting $139.12 per barrel last week amid fears that the world's faltering supply will be unable to keep up with demand.

Guardian: George Bush in Italy: a disruptive presence - by Tom Kington

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George Bush in Italy: a disruptive presence - by Tom Kington

Romans opening their newspapers yesterday were shocked to read that the pending arrival of George Bush would mean the roping off of 3,000 precious parking spaces in the traffic-choked eternal city. Fittingly for the visit of an unpopular president winding up his term of office, Romans were more concerned at the idea of blocked streets and blocked cell phone signals so soon after a slew of world leaders descended on them for the UN food summit held in Rome last week.

Protesters planning to march against the US presence in Iraq were on the streets as early as Monday, camped outside the city's Regina Coeli jail in prisoner's garb after hearing that 230 inmates were being moved out to make room for any protesters arrested.

Wichita Business Journal: World Economy - Bank of America strategist sees coming slump in global consumption

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World Economy - Bank of America strategist sees coming slump in global consumption

Joseph Quinlan, chief market strategist for Bank of America's investment strategies group, issued a report Tuesday predicting global private consumption expenditures -- approaching $32 trillion in 2007 -- posting anemic growth this year of between 2 percent and 4 percent.

"In the past few months, higher food and energy prices have undermined consumer confidence not only in Detroit, but also in Dusseldorf, Delhi and Dalian," Quinlan said in a report to clients Tuesday. "A global slump in personal consumption is unfolding, portending rockier times for the world economy and U.S. multinationals catering to global consumers."

LATimes: US elections - Obama scolds credit card companies, McCain - by Johanna Neuman

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US elections - Obama scolds credit card companies, McCain - by Johanna Neuman

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama took aim today at credit card companies that charge exorbitant -- and sometimes hidden -- fees to economically scrapped consumers, saying the companies "have been crossing the line to boost their bottom line." Charging that his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, "has been part of the problem" by opposing legislation to protect consumers from deceptive practices, Obama said: "We cannot let the rules of the game continue to be rigged against ordinary Americans."

Obama noted that credit card companies have spent millions of dollars to finance political campaigns -- including one industry group that spent nearly $800,000 on lobbying -- "to get laws written to their liking." He vowed that as president, he would "look out for the interests of hard-working families, not just their big campaign donors and corporate allies." Obama, saying he wants to ensure that credit card debt doesn't become "the next sub prime crisis," proposed a five-star rating system of companies. While urging Americans to "pay what we owe," he said he would push for a credit card bill of rights to ban interest on late fees and unilateral changes to card agreements so consumers "pay the rate you signed up for."

Pounding the Rock: Soccer - EURO 2008: Spain and Dutch impress, Italy and Greece not so much - by Aaronstampler

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Soccer - EURO 2008: Spain and Dutch impress, Italy and Greece not so much - by Aaronstampler

Eight matches in and what have we learned? The Netherlands are perhaps far more dangerous than we could have imagined and the Italians transition defense can be had. Spain possesses the most dangerous, skillful and deep attack in Europe but still have their issues in the back. Portugal and Germany are what we thought they were. Sadly, most of the lesser teams are what we thought they were as well. France (as was the case in World Cup '02) are going to struggle mightily for goals without Zizou and hierry Henry.

RNW: Divided Turkey sweats in a political heat wave - Is Erdogan trying to change the secular status of Turkey? by Bernard Bouwman

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Divided Turkey sweats in a political heat wave - by Bernard Bouwman

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party is furious because the Constitutional Court has decided to reinstate the ban on headscarves at Turkish universities. Rarely have the Turkish government and judiciary been so much at loggerheads. Is there any way out of the crisis? MK Party MPs cheered as Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan attacked the Turkish Constitutional Court in a speech on Tuesday. In February, MPs voted to abolish the ban on headscarves at Turkish universities, but last week the Constitutional Court revoked the decision. The religious headscarf is again outlawed on campus. And like many others in his party, Mr Erdogan is furious. In his speech to parliament he asserted,
"The constitution clearly says that legislative power belongs solely to elected parliaments" - not, therefore, to the Constitutional Court. "No one can take away the power the constitution grants to the respected parliament." Mr Erdogan's speech is indicative of the degree of political tension in Turkey. The secular camp (the CHP Party, the army and the judiciary) bitterly complains that Mr Erdogan and his supporters are striking at the roots of the secular system in Turkey.They claim only religious people are being appointed to top positions, and the AK Party is doing its best to push Turkey in the direction of Islam. The headscarf at universities is the thin end of the wedge, say secular Turks.

Note EU-Digest: A headscarf like a yamaka is a symbol of religious belief. If the constitution is changed , whereby the wearing of religious symbols is enforced and thereby indirectly undermines the secularity of the state, as seems to been the case in Turkey, it can only be seen as an attempt by the government of Mr. Erdogan to change the secular status of Turkey.

Ben Neumann: "Views From The Trenches" - the owner of Globat - EU-Digest provider - speaks out about about success

The following personal profile of Ben Neumann, a German born US entrepreneur provides some fascinating tips for anyone who is beginning his career or wants to change his career: As he says: "Many times, things in my personal and professional life happened
because of opportunities that I was offered or found through people I
was somehow connected to. No matter where you are in your career, most
of the time, relationships are the secret to ultimate success in
business or otherwise."

For the complete report click on this link : Ben Neumann: Views From The Trenches

CBCNEWS: U.S., France move to block online child pornography

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U.S., France move to block online child pornography

Governments and internet service providers in both the U.S. and France struck deals on Tuesday to block access to child pornography. In the United States, ISPs Verizon, Sprint and Time Warner Cable also agreed to pay $1.1 million US to help fund efforts to remove online child pornography created and disseminated by users through their servers. The changes, which will affect U.S. customers worldwide, were announced Tuesday by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

The Canadian Press: Soccer/EURO 2008 - Ibrahimovic scores as Sweden beats defending champion Greece 2-0 at Euro 2008

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his first international goal in almost
three years Tuesday to lead Sweden to a 2-0 win over defending champion
Greece at the European Championship.

Ibrahimovic, set up by
strike partner Henrik Larsson, scored in the 67th minute with a
powerful shot from the edge of the penalty box. Greece goalkeeper
Antonis Nikopolidis threw himself to the right and got a finger on the
ball but it sailed into his upper right corner of the goal.

It
was the first time the sturdy Greek defence had been breached in 425
minutes of European Championship play going back to the team's last
group match at the 2004 tournament.

For the complete report from the Canadian Press click on this link

Balkan Insight: EU Cautions Romania over Environment

The European Commission could penalise Romania for not respecting EU environmental laws, an European Parliament member says.

According to Magor Imre Csibi, Brussels may even launch an infringement
procedure against Romania for failing to comply with the Nature 2000
programme.

This includes around 1,000 protected areas in Romania where development in the area is strictly forbidden.

For the complete report from the Balkan Insight click on this link

EUobserver: Irish Referendum - France warns Ireland on EU treaty 'No' vote - by Honor Mahoney

EUobserver: "For the complete report from the EUobserver.com click on this link

Irish Referendum - France warns Ireland on EU treaty 'No' vote - by Honor Mahoney

French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner has warned Ireland about the consequences of voting "No" in Thursday's referendum, saying the Irish would be the "first victim" if they reject the EU treaty. Speaking on France's RTL radio, Mr Kouchner said that a "No" vote would be met by "gigantic incomprehension" in the rest of Europe."I believe the first victim of an eventual no would be the Irish. They have benefitted more than others," said Mr Kouchner. "Yes, they're not happy because maybe nobody told them that Europe is confronting the rest of the world and that to have advantages for themselves, for the Irish...well, Europe has to develop, has to go in the direction of the Treaty of Lisbon," he said.

Barrons: What Mr. Crude Oil Sees Ahead - by Arjun N.Murti

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What Mr. Crude Oil Sees Ahead - by Arjun N.Murti

IN 2004, ARJUN N. MURTI, A TOP ENERGY ANALYST AT GOLDMAN SACHS, published a report predicting "a potentially large upward spike in crude oil, natural gas and refining margins at some point this decade." It was a controversial call, with crude around $40 a barrel at the time. But it was right on the money. Four years later, crude is trading around 139.

Murti sees energy in the later stages of a "super spike," in which prices rise to a point where demand drops off. In a note last month, he wrote that "the possibility of $150-to-$200-per-barrel oil seems increasingly likely over the next six to 24 months." With supply growth constrained and global demand staying strong, prices must rise further, in Murti's view.