EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Attacks on the Estonian embassy in Moscow have sparked a conversation in Brussels on whether or not to postpone the EU-Russia summit later this month, as prospects for launching talks on a new EU-Russia treaty become increasingly worse.

"We are not excluding it. This might happen. It depends on the Russian reaction," the Latvian ambassador to the EU, Eduards Stiprais, told EUobserver on the summit postponement option after an EU ambassadors' meeting in Brussels on Wednesday (2 May) broached the issue.

"It's difficult to understand how the Russian law enforcement authorities were able to disperse so effectively some peaceful protestors a few weeks ago, but are now unable to maintain law and order on the streets of Moscow," Mr Stiprais added. "The ball is in the Russian court."

An Estonian diplomat explained that both Tallinn and the German EU presidency are still expecting the summit to go ahead at this stage, with Estonia "happy" the EU has shown solidarity and with Germany arguing the summit is the best forum for handling EU-Russia gripes.

"We wouldn't like to veto anything, we are hoping for the best," the Estonian official explained.

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - As the EU moves closer to a key debate on reviewing its budgetary policy, the European Commission has tabled a budget proposal for 2008 that for the first time pays more money towards initiatives that will boost the bloc's economy rather than subsidise its farmers.

"The commission is steady in its ambition of refocusing the budget on the global challenges facing Europe as a whole," EU budget commissioner Dalia Grybauskaite said on Wednesday (2 May) after she and her fellow commissioners approved next year's draft budget.

Under the proposal, €57.2 billion (44.2% of the budget for 2008) is to be put towards "sustainable growth," an amount that is for the first time higher than what the EU will be paying out for its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - €56.3 billion (43.6%).

Along with cohesion funds, worth €46.9 billion and put aside for big infrastructure projects mainly for the new member states - the economic package includes €10.3 billion for boosting the bloc's competitiveness in areas such as enterprise, Trans-European Networks and life-long learning.

But given that agriculture accounts for just a tiny portion of the EU's jobs and wealth, critics still consider the amount earmarked for farmers as being too big a portion from the European coffers - with the issue to be a hotly-debated topic during the review of the bloc's budget, which is to begin in earnest next year.

The European Commission urged Russia Wednesday to end a blockade of Estonia's embassy in Moscow and said it wanted to send an EU delegation to raise the issue with Russian authorities.

"We share the concerns about the increasing violence around the Estonian embassy in Moscow," said an EU external relations spokeswoman, calling on Russia to respect its international obligations on embassies and their staff.

On Wednesday evening the German ambassador to Moscow presented a diplomatic demarche to the Russian government in the name of the whole EU, setting out the EU's misgivings over the row, the German foreign ministry confirmed.

 

Earlier Chancellor Angela Merkel had phoned Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip to assure him that Germany was doing all it could to ease the row with Russia, Estonian officials said.

 

Germany has proposed building a facility to enrich uranium under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to prevent countries from covertly developing nuclear weapons.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in the Handelsblatt newspaper on Wednesday that a plant overseen by the UN nuclear watchdog would ensure that "countries do not use uranium enrichment secretly to build nuclear weapons."

"We must find ways in which each country can use nuclear energy in a peaceful and unlimited manner without making access to the bomb possible," Steinmeier said.

Such a facility would also "ensure the security of energy supplies," he added.

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU tax commissioner Laszlo Kovacs is set to cause controversy today, as he forges ahead with an ambitious project to create a single EU company tax base, something which is expected to prompt a clash within the college of 27 commissioners as well as with EU capitals.

Later today (2 May), Mr Kovacs is expected to reaffirm his intention to table a legislative proposal on harmonizing national tax bases in 2008. He will also outline to his colleagues in the European Commission the steps that are needed before a set of rules - calculating what constitutes a company's taxable earnings - is up and running by 2011.

According to commissioner Kovacs' report - seen by EUobserver - an EU-wide tax base "could make a significant contribution to the success of the internal market".

If companies operating across the 27-nation bloc would follow the same rules, their administrative burden would be reduced while cross-border activities and foreign investment would be boosted, the paper says.

The new uniform base "should be broad rather than narrow", the paper adds. It argues that "a broad tax base with low tax rates is the most economically efficient", while "specific reliefs and incentives should be limited in number and properly targeted and justified".

Unemployment in the eurozone fell to a new record low in March, led by declines in the bloc's biggest economies Germany and France, but also in Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Slovenia.

European Union statistics office Eurostat said the seasonally adjusted jobless rate in the 13 countries using the euro dipped to 7.2 percent the lowest reading since records began in 1993 - from 7.3 percent in February.

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The European Central Bank is concerned that the tightening labour market, a result of relatively fast economic growth, could prompt wage increases that are higher than productivity gains, fuelling inflation.

Markets expect the ECB to raise interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.0 percent in June and perhaps once more later in the year to stem medium-term inflationary pressures, further boosted by the fastest money supply growth in 24 years.

The latest scandal in Hungary is the desecration of the grave of János Kádár, the traitor of 1956 who, after the retribution, went on to rule in good-king style until just before the changes.

This wasn't the average gravestone-toppling, graffiti-smearing exercise (though the latter was done, too). The grave-destroyers must have been well prepared. On the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, they removed the heavy marble cover, dug out the coffin, lifted it from the grave, removed the wooden outer coffin, then opened the metal inner coffin.

And then they stole Kádár's bones and his wife's urn.

The act was denounced by all parties in parliament, though the hypocritical right-wing media of course started to produce conspiracy theories ("who must have known in advance that Kádár's coffin has metal inside?").

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

British and US officials today denied a report that the US was seeking ways of imposing entry restrictions for visiting Britons of Pakistani origin, following a spate of UK bomb plots involving citizens with links to Pakistan.

The report in the New York Times, quoted unnamed British officials as saying that the US had put several options on the table, including a cancellation of the existing visa waiver programme, which allows British tourists to visit without a visa, or a requirement that British Pakistanis would have to apply for visas.

The US homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, had raised the issue with the British government in recent months, the article said.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The New York Times story that the UK and US are considering requiring British citizens of Pakistani origin to apply for US visas is incorrect. It does not represent UK government policy nor would it be an acceptable proposal."

I wonder if someone at the FO decided to leak this in order to kill it?

"Ideas or the lack of them can cause disease." - Kurt Vonnegut

The Ulster Volunteer Force has announced that it is to assume a non-military, civilianised role.

The organisation said it has put its weapons beyond use and instructed the independent decommissioning body.

One of the UVF's founding members, Gusty Spence made the statement in Belfast this morning.

During the Troubles, the UVF was responsible for the deaths of more than 400 people, more than any other loyalist paramilitary organisation.
(RTÉ)

Germany experienced the driest and warmest April in more than 200 years -- good news for a frequently sun-starved population, but bad news for farmers, who may face devastating crop losses.

This spring in Germany has been an exceptionally good time for sitting outside in cafes, strolling through parks and getting some wear out of those warm weather clothes. The bright skies have put many Germans in an equally bright mood.

But the trifecta of record weather conditions in April -- it was the sunniest, hottest and driest in recent memory -- is putting very sour faces on the nation's farmers, since it means their livelihoods could well be in danger.

Rainfall was 95 percent below the monthly average; in some areas of the country, not a single drop of rain fell the entire month. The average median temperature was nearly 11.7 degrees Celsius (53 degrees Fahrenheit) -- 4.4 degrees C higher than normal. And the number of hours of sunshine in the month - 350 - was double the norm.

If the extreme weather continues, it looks like the drought will cost farmers a bundle, including possible crop failure and additional burdens, like increased irrigation costs. And consumers may have to pony up as well, some observers say.

A pugnacious and impassioned Ségolène Royal scored a points victory over an often-rattled Nicolas Sarkozy in the French presidential television debate last night.

The two presidential contestants sparred live for two and a half hours, exchanging flurries of sharp verbal blows without landing any knock-out punches.

In a studio designed to resemble a boxing ring, the Socialist candidate, Mme Royal, 53, gave a fluent, gutsy performance which may go some way towards drawing undecided voters.

It remains to be seen whether she did enough to alter the dynamics of a campaign which appears to be heading towards a comfortable victory for the centre-right candidate.

In an often bewilderingly technical debate, Mme Royal and M. Sarkozy, 52, assaulted each other with batteries of pre-digested statistics. Mme Royal refused to be browbeaten by the confident ­ sometimes overconfident ­ front-runner. She accused him at one point of "political immorality" for talking about policy for the handicapped, after his centre-right government had dismantled programmes for handicapped children.

The two candidates vying to be French president have gone head-to-head in a highly anticipated TV debate.

Conservative frontrunner Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal clashed over employment, the economy, the environment and law and order.

The only debate of the campaign was a heated confrontation, and continued beyond the expected two-hour duration.

The encounter was seen as a decisive battle in swaying undecided voters ahead of Sunday's second-round vote.

Mr Sarkozy won 31.2% and Ms Royal won 25.9% in the 22 April poll.

On the attack

The face-off was screened by France's two biggest TV channels and watched by an estimated 20 million people.

Ms Royal criticised Mr Sarkozy's record in government during the debate, particularly on crime and security - Mr Sarkozy's traditional forte.

Ségolène Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy traded insults on Wednesday night in a moment of high political drama during the televised debate between presidential finalists that captivated France just four days before the final round of elections.

Ms Royal accused her ­centre-right opponent of "political immorality" and Mr Sarkozy complained the Socialist had "lost her nerve" as the debate - France's first in 12 years - lived up to its promise of fireworks between the contenders to replace Jacques Chirac in the Elysée palace.

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While the two candidates seemed surprised by the ­sudden aggressive turn taken by their debate, both scored points during their heated exchange. Contrary to expectations, Mr Sarkozy appeared measured and calm, while Ms Royal looked more nervous but was often on the offensive.

The highlight came as Ms Royal said it was "scandalous" that Mr Sarkozy could talk "with a tear in his eye" of giving handicapped children an enforceable right to schooling, when his government had scrapped a similar measure she had introduced as schools minister.

I'm depressed anyway. Trying to spend my last few days without Sarkozy's smirk in my face.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

He also days that he notes that she did pretty well in the debate.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

The struggle for control of an Israeli government gripped by aftershocks from the failures of last year's bloody Lebanon war began in earnest last night after Tzipi Livni, the Foreign Minister, called on the Prime Minister to resign.

Ms Livni became the first senior figure in the cabinet - and in Ehud Olmert's own party, Kadima - to announce that she had told the Prime Minister face to face that he should quit in response to the official report highlighting the failures of the war.

Ms Livni, who made no secret of her desire to replace Mr Olmert, declared after a tense hour-long meeting with the Prime Minister: "I told him that resignation would be the right thing for him to do. It's not a personal matter between me and the Prime Minister - this issue is more important than both of us."

Her announcement, which was delivered to reporters after the meeting in a notably low-key fashion and which stopped significantly short of a "you go or I will" ultimatum, was widely interpreted as an effort to accelerate the pace of an internal party revolt against Mr Olmert's 13-month premiership.

Mr Olmert was standing firm after the meeting last night and one of his senior aides suggested that he would have no alternative but to sack Ms Livni after her decision not to underpin her call to Mr Olmert by resigning herself.

A spokesman quoted him as telling an emergency meeting of Kadima Knesset members: "I intend to implement the recommendations of the [war] report down to the last detail. I am in a personally uncomfortable position, but I will not shirk my responsibility and will fix all the mistakes."

Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan, has said he is enraged at the killing of scores of civilians by Western forces hunting Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.

 

Karzai summoned the US ambassador and Nato's senior commander to his presidential palace in Kabul on Wednesday to tell them that the death of civilians is "not acceptable anymore".

He said: "We can no longer accept civilian casualties the way they occur. It's becoming heavy for us."   Karzai's complaints followed a spate of high-profile incidents in which local people accused US and other Western troops of killing large numbers of Afghan civilians.

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About 50 civilians have reportedly been killed in raids by US-led coalition troops in the past week, sparking four days of anti-American and anti-Karzai protests around the country.   The US army recognised that civilian deaths had occured in the raids and said that more than 136 Taliban fighters were killed in the clashes.   In the latest incident, the governor of Kandahar said that Afghan and Nato forces killed 13 people, including two women, during clash with suspected Taliban in the southern province on Wednesday .

Committee Is Likely to Say Wolfowitz Broke Rules - New York Times

WASHINGTON, May 2 -- Members of a World Bank board committee investigating the conduct of Paul D. Wolfowitz, the bank president, are leaning toward finding that he violated the institution's rules against conflicts of interest when he arranged a pay raise and promotion for his companion, bank officials said Wednesday.

A conclusion that Mr. Wolfowitz broke the bank rules and the terms of his own contract, which bars conflicts of interest, would be likely to increase the pressure on him to resign despite his vow not to do so in the face of such charges. But it was unclear how harsh the committee's judgment would be or what penalty would be recommended to the 24-member board of directors that will decide his fate.

"They have had long meetings late into the night and today to ensure that they are following due process," said a bank official briefed on the committee's discussions, noting that its work was occurring in secret in a highly charged atmosphere throughout the bank. "There is heavy drafting and redrafting going on."

Ten largest papers in USA:

USA Today:  2,27 million (+0.2 %)
Wall Street Journal: 2,06 m (+0.6 %)
New York Times 1,12 m (-1.9 %)
Los Angeles Times 815 000 (-4.2 %)
New York Post 725 000  (+7.6 %)
New York Daily News, 719 000 (+1.4 %)
Washington Post 619 000 (-3.5 %)
Chicago Tribune 567 000 (-2.1 %)
Houston Chronicle 503 000 (-2 %)
Arizona Republic 434 000 (-1.1 %)
Dallas Morning News 412 000 (-14,3 %)

Svenska dagbladet

Scientists believe they have for the first time identified an ancient graveyard for gladiators.

Analysis of their bones and injuries has given new insight into how they lived, fought and died.

The remains were found at Ephesus in Turkey, a major city of the Roman world, BBC Timewatch reports.

Gladiators were the sporting heroes of the ancient world. Archaeological records show them celebrated in everything from mosaics to graffiti.

Motifs of gladiators are found on nearly a third of all oil lamps from Roman archaeological digs throughout the Empire.

But how much did they risk every time they stepped into the arena? Did they have much chance of getting out alive?

The discovery of what is claimed to be the first scientifically authenticated gladiator graveyard has given researchers the opportunity to find out.

(brought to you by "Transit Security Report")

Russia looks pretty darn safe.

Truth unfolds in time through a communal process.

Besides Karl Rove's deep voice even as an under 21-year old, another thing that struck me about this piece is that it is five and a half minutes long.  Seems like a full-length documentary compared to the brief "investigative" pieces on today's prime time nightly news segments.

Truth unfolds in time through a communal process.

KUALA LUMPUR - The non-Western world routinely alleges that the global media represented by the likes of CNN and the Wall Street Journal are tainted with a Western, often pro-US bias. But the ever-growing reach of new media entities providing non-Western perspectives to breaking global news, ranging from powerful new television networks to itty-bitty weblogs, has in effect reduced the claim to myth.

Unfortunately, what we are often left with is not a mass movement to inform the news-consuming public better, but rather attempts to distort the news, leading to a great irony of the so-called new information age - that with more and more information at our disposal, we are no closer to bridging seismic gaps in global understanding. That is something Western and non-Western media are unfortunately equally responsible for.

Apple, responding to criticism from environmental groups, unveiled plans on Wednesday that Chief Executive Steve Jobs claimed would make the company greener than most of its competitors.

In a message titled, "A Greener Apple," posted on the company's Web site, Jobs gave details for the first time of what the company was doing to remove toxic chemicals from its new products and more aggressively recycle old products.

"Today is the first time we have openly discussed our plans to become a greener Apple," Jobs wrote. "I was surprised to learn that in many cases Apple is ahead of, or will soon be ahead of, most of its competitors in these areas."

Forget the jokes about beachfront property. If global warming has any upside, it would seem to be for gardeners, who make up three-quarters of the population and spend $34 billion a year, according to the National Gardening Association. Many experts agree that climate change, which by some estimates has already nudged up large swaths of the country by one or more plant-hardiness zones, has meant a longer growing season and a more robust selection. There are palm trees in Knoxville and subtropical camellias in Pennsylvania.

But horticulturists warn that it is shortsighted to view this as good news. Warmer temperatures help pests as well as plants, and studies have shown that weeds and invasive species receive a greater boost from higher levels of carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping gas, than desirable plants do. Poison ivy becomes more toxic, ragweed dumps more pollen, and kudzu, the fast-growing vine that has swallowed whole woodlands in the South, is creeping northward.

Already, some states are facing the possibility that the cherished local flora that has helped define their identities -- the Ohio buckeye, the Kansas sunflower or the Mississippi magnolia -- may begin to disappear within their borders and move north.

By the end of the century, the climate will no longer be favorable for the official state tree or flower in 28 states, according to "The Gardener's Guide to Global Warming," a report released last month by the National Wildlife Federation.

MOSCOW -- A virulent strain of tuberculosis resistant to most available drugs is surfacing around the globe, raising fears of a pandemic that could devastate efforts to contain TB and prove deadly to people with immune-deficiency diseases such as HIV-AIDS.

Known formally as extensively drug-resistant TB, or XDR-TB, the strain has been detected in 37 countries. It arises when the bacterium that causes TB mutates because antibiotics used to combat it are carelessly administered by poorly trained doctors or patients don't take their full course of medication. Rather than being killed by the drugs, the microbe builds up resistance to them.

At least 50 percent of those who contract this strain of TB will die of it, according to medical experts. In trying to stop the spread of the disease, which can be transmitted through coughing, spitting or even speaking, health officials have imposed sometimes extreme controls on infected people.

Mobiles lose their magic as calls fall for the first time

The number of calls made on mobile phones has fallen for the first time, according to new research.

The figures suggest that the novelty of constantly being in touch is finally starting to fade.

[The] research shows the average number of calls made by pre-pay customers each week has fallen from 14 in 2006 to ten this year - a drop of 28.5 per cent.

The figure for contract phone owners has dipped from 35 to 27 - a drop of 23