Category Archives: Europe

US Treasury Secretay on way to Europe to discuss euro zone

Posted on April 2, 2013 by

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will travel to Europe in early this month, his second international trip since taking office a month ago, to discuss recent deterioration in the euro zone and prospects for boosting global economic growth. Lew will travel to Brussels, Frankfurt and Berlin on April 8-9 to meet with the leaders of the European Council and the European Commission as well as European Central Bank Chief Mario Draghi, among others, the Treasury said on Friday. He will hold “discussions with his counterparts on economic developments in Europe and policies to boost global growth and promote financial stability,” the Treasury said in a statement. The euro zone crisis … Continue reading →

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European workers stage austerity protests across continent

Posted on November 15, 2012 by

Hundreds of flights to and from Western Europe were cancelled Wednesday as workers across the European Union staged a series of protests and strikes against rising unemployment and austerity measures. General strikes in Spain and Portugal halted transport and closed businesses and schools. Police and protesters clashed in several Spanish cities. Rallies took place in 23 countries including Greece, France and Belgium, union officials told the BBC. Airlines recommended that passengers check schedules before setting out to airports. British Airways and EasyJet were among the UK carriers forced to cancel some of their services. The European Trade Union Confederation has co-ordinated the Europe-wide action. The confederation’s Judith Kirton-Darling told the … Continue reading →

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France drops rape inquiry into ex-IMF head Strauss-Kahn

Posted on October 3, 2012 by
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the IMF whose career was ended by sex accusations.

French public prosecutors have shelved an investigation into allegations that disgraced former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn (photo), a man once tipped to become president of France, had engaged in group rape. In a statement Tuesday, the prosecution service said it acted after a young woman retracted an allegation against the 63-year-old, who is also fighting wider accusations of sexual misdemeanour in France and a civil case in the United States. Strauss-Kahn’s legal team welcomed what amounted to a partial victory for their client, who has asked a court to end a wider French inquiry into sex parties organised out of the northern city of Lille in which prostitutes took part. … Continue reading →

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Why Europe is looking like a mess again

Posted on September 27, 2012 by

Just a few days ago, Europe’s long-simmering financial crisis seemed to have reached its resolution following demonstrations of resolve by all players involved to deploy whatever means necessary to heal the deep fissures among the 17 nations using the euro. Former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou talks about the prospects of Greece leaving the euro and the impact of the euro-zone debt crisis on the country. European stock markets tumbled Wednesday amid unrest on the streets of Madrid and Athens, and new doubts about the path forward for the continent. The German stock market was down 2 per cent, the French market down 2.8 per cent and the Spanish market … Continue reading →

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We can kill thousands of Israelis, Hezbollah warns

Posted on August 18, 2012 by

Hezbollah said on Friday it could kill tens of thousands of Israelis by hitting targets with what it described as precision-guided missiles in a declaration that seemed aimed at deterring Israeli strikes on Lebanon or its regional backer Iran. Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his group could turn the lives of hundreds of thousands of Israelis “to real hell” by hitting a small number of number of targets which he said was “not large” – a possible reference to nuclear facilities, though Nasrallah would not go into details. “During any stage of an attack on our country, if we are forced to use or target this type of … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, Israel, Lebanon | 1 Comment

Tensions as Greek on brink of exiting Eurozone

Posted on May 24, 2012 by

By Claire Davenport and Luke Baker European Union leaders, advised by senior officials to prepare contingency plans in case Greece decides to quit the single currency, urged the country to stay the course on austerity and complete the reforms demanded under its bailout programme. After nearly six hours of talks held during an informal dinner, leaders said they were committed to Greece remaining in the euro zone, but it had to stick to its side of the bargain too, a commitment that will mean a heavy cost for Greeks. “We want Greece to stay in the euro, but we insist that Greece sticks to commitments that it has agreed to,” … Continue reading →

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Murdoch’s media empire strikes back

Posted on March 29, 2012 by

By Georgina Prodhan An angry Rupert Murdoch on Thursday declared war against “enemies” who have accused his Pay-TV operation of sabotaging its rivals, denouncing them as “toffs and right wingers” stuck in the last century. Separate reports by the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Australian Financial Review newspaper this week said that News Corp’s Pay-TV smartcard security unit, NDS, had promoted piracy attacks on rivals, including in the United States. NDS and News Corp had already denied the claims, but on Thursday the media empire mounted a concerted fight back as a corruption scandal that has plagued its UK newspapers began to encroach on its far more lucrative Pay-TV business. … Continue reading →

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British and French leaders reconcile

Posted on February 18, 2012 by

  France and Britain have agreed to jointly work to develop next-generation unmanned drones as part of their military cooperation as their leaders reconciled after an acrimonious clash over Europe last year. President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister David Cameron appeared to lay to rest their dispute at the height of the euro zone crisis which saw the annual Franco-British summit postponed, and sought to coordinate on issues ranging from Syria to Iran and the European Union. “There is a letter of intent for the long-term,” French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet told Reuters after the summit. “We are working together for the medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drone and we are thinking … Continue reading →

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British relations with Brussels reach low ebb

Posted on January 22, 2012 by

Michel Barnier, the official in charge of regulating finance in the European Union, meets George Osborne on Monday in what are likely to be tough talks over rules Chancellor Osborne believes will hurt the City of London. Relations between Brussels, where the European Commission sets the direction of regulation for banking and finance, and London, which fears losing its autonomy in supervising its powerful financial centre, have reached low ebb. At a December meeting of EU leaders, Prime Minister David Cameron made a series of demands to shield the City, Europe’s financial capital, from some EU rules in return for his backing for a treaty to underpin tighter state-budget controls. … Continue reading →

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France’s credit rating downgrade dents Sarkozy’s re-election

Posted on January 14, 2012 by

French President Nicholas Sarkozy’s re-election plans were sent into a severe reverse gear when the country’s credit rating was downgraded on Friday. Mr Sarkozy struggled Saturday to contain the damage after France was stripped of its top triple-A credit rating just three months ahead of the right-wing leader’s re-election bid. He sent his prime minister to face the press to try and convince sceptical voters that Standard & Poor’s (S&P) rating was just one indicator of economic health and that France was still a safe country trusted by investors. “This decision constitutes an alert which should not be dramatized any more than it should be underestimated,” Francois Fillon told reporters … Continue reading →

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