Tens of thousands of protesters jammed the streets of Strasbourg as the fate of the law at the heart of the EU's economic reform plans prompted fierce last-minute wrangling.

MEPs were holding tense talks ahead of a crucial vote tomorrow on the proposed so-called services directive, which prompted fears in France of an invasion of Polish plumbers. Although the measure is certain to be watered down, the precise outcome of the vote on more than 400 amendments in the European Parliament will be seen as a yardstick of the EU's commitment to economic reform.

It is also a chance for the parliament to extend its influence since, if it delivers a large majority in favour of a compromise, it will be hard for member states or the European Commission to overturn it.

The row in France over the services directive was widely blamed for contributing to the country's "no" vote in a referendum on the EU constitution. Since then, law-makers have remained divided over the future of the EU's efforts to open up the multibillion- euro market in services.

Negotiators in the two main political blocs have already agreed to water down the text of the draft law which prompted last year's ructions. Last night, they were trying to sell these amendments to their respective MEPs.

ROME, Feb 14: Italy's Reforms Minister Roberto Calderoli has had T-shirts made emblazoned with the anti-Islam cartoons in a move that could embarrass Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government.

Mr Calderoli, a member of the anti-immigrant Northern League, told Ansa news agency on Tuesday that the West had to stand up against Muslim extremists and offered to hand out the T-shirts to anyone who wanted them.

"I have had T-shirts made with the cartoons that have upset Islam and I will start wearing them today," Ansa quoted Mr Calderoli as saying.

He said the T-shirts were not meant to be a provocation, but added that he saw no point trying to appease extremists.

"We have to put an end to this story that we can talk to these people. They only want to humiliate people. Full stop. And what are we becoming? The civilisation of melted butter?" Mr Calderoli said.

The League has long opposed mass immigration into Italy and its leaders say violence over the cartoon shows the dangers of allowing Muslim immigrants to settle here.

When Danish embassies began going up in flames last week, some in the European Union wanted a firm response. But nothing happened. The most the EU could agree on were a few wishy-washy statements.

In the Brussels language school "English Academy," a cultural war has broken out. While Danes and Germans -- and even the often contentious Flemings and Walloons -- peacefully learn foreign languages together, Belgian Muslims are stirring up a bit of a ruckus. In language class, they don't want to be "discriminated against anymore," they say.

What's their beef? Politics, religion, sex, love and other such topics with their roots in Western decadence are offensive and should no longer be allowed in the classroom. And women teachers? An impertinence. The group has already found a lawyer to represent its offended sensibilities, and the heads of the "English Academy" have no idea how they should respond. Understand and accept? Negotiate a compromise? Or just chuck the rebels out of class?

Down the block, interestingly enough, the same debate is playing out on a slightly larger playing field -- namely in the glass palace of the European Union headquarters. And the debate is a much more explosive one.

Golden opportunity wasted

Ever since a Danish newspaper published 12 caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad and triggered sometimes violent protests against Denmark and the West in the Muslim world, the European Union has been casting about for a common position. So far, though, without success -- and as the EU lack of action on the issue becomes more and more obvious, the realization grows that the 25-member European club has let a golden opportunity slip through its fingers. For years, Europe has repeated the mantra that real international relevance will only come with the development of a common foreign and security policy. The problem, though, has been that whenever difficult decisions need to be made, EU members can't agree. Like right now.

Germany's first public sector strike in 14 years is barely a week old but, as the uncollected rubbish piles up, Gerhard Widder, mayor of Mannheim, is already warning of rat-infested mountains of burning rubbish in the streets.

"Rubbish is a hazard. Once it gets warmer, it could catch fire. It can even explode," he warns.

Exploding bins have yetto be reported, but the dispute is shaping up as Germany's toughest industrial action for decades. It is about more than just working hours, the union's stated target. At stake is the credibility of the labour movement.

"The unions are fighting against their own decline. Their margin of movement is decreasing," says Klaus Zimmermann, head of the Berlin DIW economic institute. "It will be a tough battle."

Ostensibly, Verdi, the service sector union behind the stoppages, opposes a move by public sector employers to raise the working week from 38.5 to 40 hours.

Verdi wants Germany's 16 states to sign the framework deal on wages and working time it struck last year with the federal government and local authorities.

It also seeks to reverse a decision by local authorities in three states to opt out of the deal and increase working hours for their employees.

ANKARA (Reuters) -- Turkey has decided to build its first nuclear power plant at Sinop on the Black Sea coast, energy officials said on Tuesday.

"The prime minister's office and the energy ministry have decided to build the nuclear plant at Sinop, taking into account such factors as geological faultlines and cooling water," an energy official told Reuters.

Turkey straddles seismic faultlines and is highly prone to earthquakes. Sinop is located in the central stretch of Turkey's lengthy Black Sea coast.

The country has no nuclear power plants at present, but a preliminary study envisages the construction of between three and five plants with a total capacity of 5,000 megawatts.

The energy officials said Turkey's National Security Council, which groups the president, top politicians and army generals, would examine the issue of building nuclear power plants at its next meeting on Feb. 28.

Oil and natural gas imports, along with coal and hydro-electric power, account for most of Turkey's current energy needs.

Russia and France on Tuesday called on Iran to halt uranium enrichment, reinforcing international pressure on Tehran, and French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin urged Palestinian militant group Hamas to listen to Russia's calls to disarm.

In a joint statement by Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and Villepin in Moscow, the two countries said Iran must fulfill the demands of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"Russia and France call on Iran to fully comply with the February resolution and the demands of the board of governors of the IAEA, including on uranium enrichment," said the statement posted on the Kremlin's web site.

Fradkov said he was "concerned about the way events are unfolding" around Iran's nuclear program.

"We made a series of proposals that, in our view, could significantly ease the situation in the course of a search for a solution," Fradkov said at a joint news conference with Villepin, adding that the potential for a positive outcome was "not yet exhausted."

On Monday, Tehran abruptly postponed talks scheduled for this week on Moscow's uranium enrichment offer. Russia is now considering Iran's request for the Moscow talks to be held next Monday, news agencies quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin as saying.

Is there any show more overdue than a major one about contemporary Spanish architecture? For years now, architects and planners have been jetting to places like Barcelona, Bilbao and Merida in an attempt to decipher one of the great architectural success stories in modern history.

The endurance of Spain's grand experiment is remarkable. It started, you could argue, during the final years of Franco's rule in the early 1970s, as Spain began to awaken from the isolation of a four-decade dictatorship. It began to flower in earnest after 1986, when the country joined the European Union and money began flowing into large-scale public work