EU's 'spare 1bn euros' for Africa Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:27:52 -0000 The European Commission backs a plan to give 1bn euros of unspent EU farm subsidies in aid to African farmers. French search for stolen Semtex Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:21:48 -0000 Anti-terrorist police are called in after Semtex and explosives detonators vanish from a security services site in France. French aid workers taken captive Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:02:39 -0000 A French aid organisation says two of its workers have been abducted in central Afghanistan.
NYT > Europe
Belgian King Seeks End to Political Deadlock Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:28:19 -0000 King Albert II asked three seasoned politicians to help him resolve a constitutional crisis that threatens to split 6.5 million Dutch speakers and 4 million Francophones.
Pope Calls for Unity to Oppose Violence Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:59:14 -0000 It was part of a broader message that has echoed throughout the pope’s statements this week during the Roman Catholic Church’s gathering of young people.
4 Cleared in Madrid Train Bombing Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:56:53 -0000 Spain’s highest court absolved four men and upheld the acquittal of a fifth in the 2004 bombings that killed 191.
L.A. Times - Europe
Tecktonik: the trademarked dance craze that's everywhere in France Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700 It's as much of a movement as it is a way of moving. Some see the trend as simply a tool to sell merchandise. And it's starting to go mainstream, which may mean it's about to lose its cool.
A young teacher was leading her class in a "good morning" song in a run-down suburb when a couple of 6-year-olds began flailing their arms in herky-jerky motions, swiping their hands around their heads and pretending to claw up and down their faces.
Heeding call of wild Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Many nature shows are produced in Britain, and they're ready to cross the Atlantic.
BRISTOL, England -- The camera pans to a patch of earth in a bracken wood. Not a badger in sight!
Going home to grow up: 'The Grocer's Son' Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Other capsule reviews: 'Kenny,' 'Lou Reed's Berlin,' 'A Very British Gangster'
Eric Guirado's beguiling "The Grocer's Son" is deceptively simple. Antoine (Nicolas Cazalé), a 30-year-old Paris waiter, suddenly finds himself back home in the village in Provence he fled a decade earlier. His gruff, demeaning father (Daniel Duval) has suffered a heart attack, and Antoine, at least temporarily, must drive a van every day through the countryside, selling food and goods to isolated, mainly elderly customers while his good-natured mother (Jeanne Goupil) runs their small store in the village.
UN News Centre - Europe
Proposed EU policy on illegal immigrants alarms UN rights experts Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 Ten independent United Nations human rights experts have expressed their deep concern at a proposed European Union policy that seeks to harmonize standards and procedures for returning "irregularly staying third-country nationals," and which includes what they deem as provisions for "excessive" detention. EU needs to remain accessible for asylum-seekers - UN refugee chief Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 While welcoming efforts to build a unified asylum procedure, the top United Nations refugee official has urged the European Union to ensure the rights of those seeking international protection in its member countries. UN mission has to adjust to profoundly new reality' in Kosovo, says Ban Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 In light of developments since Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in February, the United Nations mission there is unable to perform its usual functions and must adjust to the new reality on the ground, says Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Europe - International Herald Tribune
Scotland's hunger for independence proves annoying in England By SARAH LYALL Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:16:13 -0000 With relations at their uneasiest point in decades, there is even talk that unless the balance of power can somehow be renegotiated, the union is in danger of unraveling. A Muslim woman too orthodox for France By KATRIN BENNHOLD Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:16:13 -0000 A recent case has sharpened the focus on the delicate balance between the tradition of Republican secularism and the freedom of religion guaranteed under the French Constitution - and how that balance might be shifting. Belgian prime minister stays on By STEPHEN CASTLE Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:16:13 -0000 The political chaos that has threatened the unity of the country continued on Friday when the prime minister, Yves Leterme, resumed the office he offered to quit three days earlier. Bulgaria risks losing funds from EU By STEPHEN CASTLE Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:16:13 -0000 The European Union could freeze about €1 billion in aid to Bulgaria, according to a leaked document that accuses Sofia of losing money through high-level corruption, organized crime and incompetence. Abkhazia's separatists reject German plan to prevent conflict with Georgia Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:16:13 -0000 Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany failed to convince Abkhazian separatist leaders after outlining his peace plan, which included returning Georgian refugees to Abkhazia. Another nuclear leak in France Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:16:13 -0000 A leak of uranium-bearing liquid from a broken underground pipe at a nuclear plant in southeastern France was the second discovered at a French site this month, officials said.