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General European News; » |
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| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:41:30 +0200 The many, messy histories |
| "New Humanist" sees no humanitarian solutions to political crises; "Fronesis" asks who the People are; "Osteuropa" examines the gaffe-prone politics of European identity; "Dilema veche" says leaving Romania is the most effective form of protest; "L'Homme" revisits 19th-century arguments for the abolition of prostitution; "Arena" questions the impact of the Swedish Sex Purchase Act; "Le Monde diplomatique" (Oslo) avoids another story of western selflessnes; and "Studija" welcomes a timely exhibition of Soviet-era painting. |
| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:41:30 +0200 The populist radical Right: A pathological normalcy |
| According to the conventional view, the far-Right in Europe is antithetical to the values of liberal democracy. New research showing that far-Right ideology is a radicalization of mainstream values has a major impact on how rightwing populism is understood, writes Cas Mudde. |
| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:41:30 +0200 Aid wars |
| Humanitarian activists' refusal of politics, combined with their willingness to identify with politics, elicits doubt and even scorn from human-rights critics. Susie Linfield evaluates the controversial debate on the future of humanitarianism. |
| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:41:30 +0200 Great pretender |
| Feminist icon, anti-Catholic fabrication – or just a woman battling in a man's world? The German film "Die Päpstin" has already been written off by the Italian Bishops' Conference as a hoax. Sally Feldman explores reasons for the power and tenacity of the myth of Pope Joan. |
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| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:59:00 +0200 Israeli mobile interconnection fees slashed 73% |
(Telecompaper) Israel's telecommunications regulator has ordered mobile operators to cut interconnection fees by nearly 73 percent. Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon said interconnect fees will drop to ILS 0.0687 a minute at the start of 2011 from ILS 0.251 currently. Fees will decline further to ILS 0.0634 per minute from the start of 2012, to ILS 0.0591 from 2013 and to ILS 0.0555 in 2014. Termination fees for text messaging will also fall sharply, from ILS 0.0284 now to ILS 0.0016 from 1 January 2011, to ILS 0.0015 in 2012, to ILS 0.0014 from 2013 and to ILS 0.0013 at the start of 2014. The reduction is based on the final recommendations by Nera Economic Consulting, which examined the cost pricing model of mobile network components. The cuts to mobile termination rates could have been deeper as the ministry initially said it planned a reduction to as low as ILS 0.0414. Kahlon said reducing interconnection fees will save the public about ILS 1 billion a year, significantly lower the price of a call from landlines to mobile phones and increase competition to support the entry of new mobile companies. Market leader Cellcom said the cuts would reduce its annual EBITDA next year by ILS 420 million and net profit by ILS 320 million. Partner Communications predicted a negative impact of ILS 30-40 million per month on EBITDA and ILS 20-30 million on net profit. Both companies said they will consider legal action against the decision. |
| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:47:00 +0200 Fastweb brings 100 Mbps internet to 2 million households |
(Telecompaper) Italy's Fastweb is launching Fibre 100, a new offer that will permit about 2 million households and small businesses to use the internet at symmetrical speeds of 100 Mbps. The service will reach the cities of Milan, Rome, Turin, Genoa, Bologna, Naples and Bari, in areas already covered by fibre optics. From October the service will be extended to all those who are already Fastweb customers. Fibre 100 will be sold as an additional option for internet subscribers, at EUR 15 per month plus a EUR 100 activation fee. |
| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:39:00 +0200 ETB's investor search fails over lack of bidders |
(Telecompaper) Colombian state-controlled operator Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogota (ETB) has stopped its investor search. ETB was planning to sell a controlling stake of 36.6 percent in the company to a new partner in a public auction scheduled for 15 September. Prequalified bidders had until 1 September to submit their offers. However, ETB received no bid, the company said in a filing to the Colombian stock exchange market regulator. "The company will keep on working to add value for its shareholders," ETB said. At the beginning of July, Colombia's Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC) authorized Telefonica to bid for the ETB stake. ETB did not release a complete list of interested parties. However, besides Telefonica, Millicom International Cellular and Telmex were also reported to have shown interest in the acquisition. |
| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:07:00 +0200 Telstra plans SouFun IPO |
(Telecompaper) Telstra has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for the planned IPO of its SouFun stake. The company expects the initial public offering of American Depositary Shares to be completed on 30 September. Telstra will sell the ADS at USD 40.50 to 42.50 which values the entire company at around USD 810 to 850 million. Telstra intends to sell down its entire 50.5 percent stake in the Chinese online property site, which the company acquired in 2006 for USD 254 million. On 13 August, Telstra said it would sell shares that it is not selling at the IPO to private equity firms Apax Partners and General Atlantic, along with two other SouFun shareholders. Should the IPO not be completed within the specified time frame, the parties will buy Telstra's entire shareholding. |
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| last updated: Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:03:53 GMT |
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| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:57:03 +0000 European far-right defends Sarkozy’s Roma policy |
Lawmakers from the far-right were the only ones to defend French President Nicolas Sarkozy's tough policies towards the Roma during a debate in the European Parliament yesterday (2 September). |
| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:36:07 +0000 Paris woos Commission on industrial policy |
Stimulating innovation and preventing companies from fleeing abroad are the keys to success for a new EU industrial policy, stressed French Industry Minister Christian Estrosi during a visit to Brussels yesterday (2 September). But one of the main potential weapons of the strategy, the controversial "country of origin" labelling, remains blocked at EU Council level. |
| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:29:06 +0000 Ministers to hold first talks on new energy savings plan |
EU energy ministers will meet at the beginning of next week for informal discussions which are expected to shed light on their positions related to the EU's upcoming new energy efficiency action plan. |
| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:28:22 +0000 Barnier finalising draft 'EU Single Market Act' |
The European Commission is preparing a new Single Market Act designed to boost job creation and stimulate growth, according to an internal paper seen exclusively by EurActiv. |
| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:27:28 +0000 Socialists plan 'Citizens' Initiative' on taxing speculation |
The Socialists may become the first to use the new European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) introduced by the Lisbon Treaty in their bid to request new EU legislation on taxing financial speculation, according to their leader Martin Schulz. |
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EU Institutions and Agencies News; » |
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| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:00:00 +0100 Volume of retail trade up by 0.1% in both euro area and EU27 |
| In July 2010, compared with June 2010, the volume of retail trade increased by 0.1% in both the euro area (EA16) and the EU27. In June retail trade rose by 0.2% and 0.3% respectively. |
| Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 +0100 Industrial producer prices up by 0.2% in both euro area and EU27 |
| In July 2010 compared with June 2010, the industrial producer price index rose by 0.2% in both the euro area (EA16) and the EU27. In June 20103, prices increased by 0.3% in both zones. |
| Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 +0100 Euro area and EU27 GDP up by 1.0% |
| GDP increased by 1.0% in both the euro area (EA16) and the EU27 during the second quarter of 2010, compared with the previous quarter, according to first estimates released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the first quarter of 2010, growth rates were +0.3% in both zones. |
| Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:00:00 +0100 Euro area unemployment rate stable at 10.0% |
| The euro area (EA16) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 10.0% in July 2010, unchanged compared with June. It was 9.6% in July 2009. The EU27 unemployment rate was 9.6% in July 2010, unchanged compared with June. It was 9.1% in July 2009. |
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| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:41:30 +0200 The many, messy histories |
| "New Humanist" sees no humanitarian solutions to political crises; "Fronesis" asks who the People are; "Osteuropa" examines the gaffe-prone politics of European identity; "Dilema veche" says leaving Romania is the most effective form of protest; "L'Homme" revisits 19th-century arguments for the abolition of prostitution; "Arena" questions the impact of the Swedish Sex Purchase Act; "Le Monde diplomatique" (Oslo) avoids another story of western selflessnes; and "Studija" welcomes a timely exhibition of Soviet-era painting. |
| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:41:30 +0200 The populist radical Right: A pathological normalcy |
| According to the conventional view, the far-Right in Europe is antithetical to the values of liberal democracy. New research showing that far-Right ideology is a radicalization of mainstream values has a major impact on how rightwing populism is understood, writes Cas Mudde. |
| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:41:30 +0200 Aid wars |
| Humanitarian activists' refusal of politics, combined with their willingness to identify with politics, elicits doubt and even scorn from human-rights critics. Susie Linfield evaluates the controversial debate on the future of humanitarianism. |
| Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:41:30 +0200 Great pretender |
| Feminist icon, anti-Catholic fabrication – or just a woman battling in a man's world? The German film "Die Päpstin" has already been written off by the Italian Bishops' Conference as a hoax. Sally Feldman explores reasons for the power and tenacity of the myth of Pope Joan. |
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| Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:00:00 UT Herschel:Herschel detection explains the origin of water in a carbon star |
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ESA's Herschel Space Observatory has detected water vapour in a location previously thought to be impossible - in the atmosphere of an ageing, red giant carbon star. The rich and detailed data provided by Herschel can be explained within a new framework in which ultraviolet photons play a key role. These results are reported in the 2 September issue of Nature.
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| Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:30:00 UT INTEGRAL:INTEGRAL completes deepest all-sky survey in hard X-rays |
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A newly developed image analysis technique has significantly improved the sensitivity limits reached by the IBIS imager on board INTEGRAL, resulting in the deepest survey ever compiled of the entire sky in the energy range between 17 and 60 keV. Pushing the instrument towards its very limits, the novel method discloses a vast number of previously undetected faint sources, galactic and extragalactic alike.
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| Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:37:00 UT Director's Desk:Fundamental Physics Roadmap released |
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After an in-depth consultation with the European scientific community, the ESA-appointed Fundamental Physics Roadmap Advisory Team (FPR-AT) has released its final report.
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| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:02:00 UT Venus Express:Recreating Venus in the lab |
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Scientists are able to learn about the atmospheres and surfaces of planets by studying their spectra - the different wavelengths of light which they reflect or absorb. However, when researchers study spectra of Venus, the hottest planet in the Solar System, they run into a problem. Its high temperatures and pressures seriously affect the data.
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| 30 Aug 2010 17:47:00 +0100 Boosting the exploratory power of open research in future
and emerging technologies (SMART 2010/0055) |
| The purpose of this contract is to study current practices in thematically open bottom-up approaches to funding cross-disciplinary frontier research (such as the Open scheme of the Future and Emerging Technologies challenge within the ICT workprogamme), to provide scenarios for the possible future developments of such schemes, and to formulate recommendations and options to address the opportunities ahead for boosting the exploratory power of bottom-up collaborative frontier research. |
| 30 Aug 2010 17:38:00 +0100 eMobility General Assembly |
| Members of eMobility will discuss selected activities of eMobility Working Groups and the Steering Board on the ICT sector and the preparation of FP8 for future collaborative research. The meeting provides a good networking opportunity e.g. for the preparation of new research consortia for upcoming FP7 calls 7 and 8 and the Future Internet PPP. |
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| Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT Protein in Huntington's linked to neurogenesis |
| EU-funded scientists have discovered that a mutated protein inherent in Huntington's disease (HD) performs an unforeseen role in neurogenesis. The finding could lead to a better understanding of HD, an inherited neurodegenerative disorder that is characterised by severe psychiatric, cognitive and motor defects, and neuronal death in the brain. The work was supported by CEPODRO ('Cell polarization in Drosophila'), a project that received EUR 1.159 million under the European Research Council’s Starting Grant scheme. Findings from the study are published in the journal Neuron. |
| Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT Future phones just got smarter |
| The next generation of mobile phones will be able to do more than ever before — both safely and efficiently. An EU-funded team has created a software platform that enables the use of multi-core technology on mobile embedded computing devices by way of virtualisation techniques. The dual multi-core and virtualisation solution developed by the EMUCO ('Embedded multi-core processing for mobile communication systems') team allows for both higher processing capacity and low power consumption, with the added value of security and flexibility. The project received almost EUR 3 million in support under the 'Information and communication technologies' (ICT) Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). |
| Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT Warm water can trigger deformities in farmed fish |
| EU-funded scientists have discovered that temperatures greater than 16°C can cause skeletal deformities in young salmon. The finding is part of the FINE FISH ('Reduction of malformations in farmed fish species') project, which received EUR 3.02 million under the SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) cross cutting activity of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). Results of the study were recently published in BMC (BioMed Central) Physiology. |
| Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT Another milestone for marine science's greatest endeavour |
| As the largest ever collaboration in marine biology history, research under the Census of Marine Life initiative, funded in part by the EU, has resulted in the discovery of at least 1 200 new species, and generated more than 2 600 publications. The latest in a long list of achievements is a species inventory of distribution and diversity in 25 key ocean areas. The inventory is part of a collection of articles published in PLoS (Public Library of Science) ONE. |
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| 2010-08-25 11:00:00 Europe's coasts: reconciling development and conservation |
| Europe’s coastal zones are under increasing pressure from erosion, pollution, climate change, urbanisation and tourism. Such pressures threaten entire ecosystems — vital not only for wildlife but also for the economy and human well-being. The European Environment Agency (EEA) takes a closer look at the state of coastal ecosystems and policy responses to the pressures affecting them. |
| 2010-07-28 10:00:00 Europe's mountains: rich in biodiversity but increasingly vulnerable |
| Snow-capped peaks, rocky inclines, rich forests and sloping meadows provide recreation and economic opportunities for humans and a home to many plants and animals. The European Environment Agency's new assessment of mountain ecosystems sheds light on their state and the pressures they face. |
| 2010-07-12 12:00:00 Emissions of sulphur oxides and ozone-forming pollutants fall significantly |
| The European Union air pollutant emission inventory report compiled by the European Environment Agency (EEA) shows that the EU-27 has cut sulphur oxides (SOx) emissions by 78 % since 1990. The decline was particularly sharp during the latest reporting year, falling 20 % in 2008 compared to 2007. The emissions of three ozone precursors — CO, NMVOCs and NOx — also continued the downward trend. |
| 2010-06-30 10:00:00 How Europe's agriculture can boost biodiversity |
| Intensive farming has long been a major cause of biodiversity decline in Europe. The European Environment Agency's (EEA) new short assessment examines Europe's efforts to strike a balance between producing sufficient food and maintaining agro-ecosystems that are rich in biodiversity above and below ground. |
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The week in Strasbourg will see Commission President José Manuel Barroso make his first "State of the European Union" speech. Also on the agenda is how to help Pakistan after the floods devastated the country. The controversy over the Roma deportations will also be discussed during talks between MEPs and the European Commission. There is also likely to be steps to limit the use of animals in scientific testing. All of these issues can be followed here on the Parliament's website.
It is just over a year since the June 2009 elections and in the first year a remarkable number of debates and votes have taken place. Here we look at some of the numbers that have dominated the first of the five year mandate.![[logo]](http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/PGP_ADM_IMAGES/PGE_COMMON_IMAGES/estat_logo.gif "Eurostat Press Releases"){kind=logo}
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