In Sweden all divorces are no-fault. Apparently Malta (according to the article) does not even have divorces.

A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - European Parliament president Hans-Gert Poettering has called on Slovakia to act responsibly, as the country locked in internal bickering is heading for a crucial vote on the EU's hard-fought Lisbon Treaty on Thursday evening.

"I call on all respective politicians in Slovakia to realise their enormous political responsibility," Mr Poettering said at the beginning of the parliament's plenary session on Wednesday (30 January).

A similar message came from the parliament's two leading groups, the Conservatives and the Socialists.

"I totally reject the idea of making the Lisbon Treaty dependent on some national law. If all the countries do it, we would never have any progress in Europe," the Socialists' vice-chairman Hannes Swoboda said, describing the current deadlock in Slovakia as "negative and un-European".

The EU's treaty has been held captive by the Slovak centre-right opposition since Monday (28 January). Even though an overwhelming majority backs the document, they are refusing to vote in favour of the treaty unless the government redrafts a separate media bill.

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has sent a warning to France, Italy, Romania and Slovakia over their spending plans for the coming years, with an extra heap of criticism for Paris and Rome for their reluctance to sign up to an EU-wide goal of fully slashing public deficit by 2010.

Presenting the regular reports on the four countries on Wednesday (30 January), EU economy commissioner Joaquin Almunia recommended cuts in budgetary expenditure and further structural reforms as key goals for all of them, suggesting they should be "more ambitious" in their planning.

He highlighted the need for stronger fiscal discipline particularly when evaluating France's performance, as one of the biggest European economies and currently with one of the highest rates of public expenditure in the EU.

Paris has committed itself to eliminate its budgetary deficit by 2012, with most other EU countries aspiring to achieve this goal two years earlier.

Europe's postal services are to be opened up to full competition by 2011 under plans adopted by the European Parliament today (31 January).

The remaining postal service monopolies will expire by 31 December, 2010, with central and eastern European member states as well as Greece and Luxembourg having until 2013 to open their postal markets.

From this date, public postal service providers will have to compete with private firms in the delivery of mail weighing up to 50 grams.

"This is a clear signal for all member states and all citizens that the traditional monopolies have to prepare for competition," said MEP Markus Ferber, the centre-right German EP in charge of the dossier in response to the parliament's plenary vote.

"Citizens will have more possibilities with more products available, prices will go down, the quality is going to be improved. The European Parliament has decided today in the interests of people in the EU", he added.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus persistently denies climate change is caused by people and rails against the European Union. Even though his fellow Czechs don't share all of his views, his prospects for re-election on Feb. 8 are good.

Getty Images

Prague Castle, the seat of power: President Vaclav Klaus wants to hold onto power for another term. On Sep. 24, 2007, a man with a mustache and thin wire-rimmed glasses stepped up to a black podium in New York. More than 70 heads of state were in attendance in the General Assembly chamber at the United Nations. Speaking quietly and in perfect English, Vaclav Klaus, the president of the small Czech Republic, had been given the opportunity to tell the assembled dignitaries what he thinks about the current state of the world. According to Klaus, the greenhouse effect is nonexistent, our weather changes every couple of centuries, we are powerless to do anything about it and we certainly cannot stop climate change. It must have been one of the high points in the life of this contrary politician from Prague.

There was hardly any applause at the end of his 15-minute speech, but Klaus doesn't need applause. Once again, he had given them all a piece of his mind: the environmentalists, the bureaucrats and good people like Al Gore. Klaus is quick to mention that after his speech at the UN, many heads of state came up to him, slapped him on the back and quietly congratulated him. He is convinced that he alone, the unerringly sharp thinker, had dared to challenge a world of political correctness. But it's always the same story with Klaus: he alone is right, he alone is courageous, and everyone else is either cowardly or dim-witted.

PARIS: Inflation in the euro zone rose at the fastest pace on record in January, official data showed Thursday, highlighting the difficult task facing the European Central Bank as it seeks to enforce price stability in the face of slowing economic growth.

The report came at the end of a stomach-churning month in European stock markets. It served as a reminder that things could get worse, as the twin problems of rising prices and spreading financial market contagion from the ailing U.S. housing market were felt globally.

Consumer prices rose at an average 3.2 percent annualized rate in the 15 countries sharing the euro, according to an initial estimate from the EU statistics agency Eurostat, accelerating from a 3.1 percent pace in December. The January increase was the fastest since the agency began tracking the data in 1997.

Inflation has become a worldwide problem, as oil prices hover above $90 a barrel and the conversion of farmland to grow biofuel crops increases food prices. Global policy makers are being confronted by the very real danger of stagflation - anemic economic growth and upward pressure on prices.

After talks between Germany and Spain on climate change, terrorism and immigration, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and German Chancellor Angela Merkel heralded a new level of bilateral relations.

Speaking at a joint press conference during their countries' 21st summit in Palma de Majorca on Thursday, Jan. 31, Merkel and Zapatero said discussions on a number of topics had been "extremely positive" and the two leaders announced a raft of new initiatives aimed at easing some of the most pressing shared problems.

 

Zapatero told reporters that Spain and Germany, who are among the world's leaders in solar and wind power, were working together on projects to promote renewable energy in Africa and that a convergence was needed to make the fight against climate change more effective.

 

Merkel added that the two countries were "committed and determined" to fight climate change, and noted that they occupy "leading global positions in renewable energies."

 

BELGRADE: Pro-Western Serbian President Boris Tadic faces nationalist challenger Tomislav Nikolic on Sunday in an election that will decide Serbia's attitude to the West after the imminent loss of breakaway Kosovo province.

Analysts say it amounts to a referendum on the nation's future. The race is so close that monitors may withhold exit polls for fear of provoking premature celebrations and tension.

The European Union, urging Serbs to break with the lingering legacies of the late autocratic and nationalist ruler Slobodan Milosevic, wants Tadic to win.

Tadic, like Nikolic, opposes independence for Kosovo but would try to stop a relapse into the defiant nationalism of the 1990s once the land-locked territory breaks away with Western backing in coming weeks.

"We find ourselves at a crossroads," Tadic said in a televised debate with Nikolic on Wednesday night. "The European path has no alternative, it contains all our hopes. The years of isolation must be over once and for all."

The Treasury is to review spending on government IT projects in an effort to halt a series of scandals as Gordon Brown's ambitions to computerise public services were dealt another blow yesterday.

Hundreds of thousands of people were given an extra 24 hours to file their returns online after the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) computer filing system crashed hours before the annual deadline. The website failed to work for nearly six hours on the biggest day of the tax year, denting Mr Brown's plans to make all taxpayers file online within four years.

A major review of public spending will seek to draw lessons from recent IT disasters, which have cost the tax billions, The Times has learn. The review, to be conducted by Yvette Cooper, the new Chief Secretary to the Treasury, will look at IT procurement in several areas.

A Treasury source said that the review, across a dozen areas of government spending, would seek to "ensure better value for money" for future IT projects. A recent survey revealed that the cost to the taxpayer of abandoned Whitehall computer projects since 2000 had reached £2 billion.

BERLIN: With NATO facing the risk of failure in Afghanistan, a group of former senior officers has called for a radical overhaul of the alliance, which they say is paralyzed by cumbersome decision-making rules, inequitable funding arrangements and an inability to sustain long-term missions.

The officers' 152-page report, "Toward a Grand Strategy for an Uncertain World," attempts to analyze why NATO has not completed the transformation from a Cold War organization to one capable of dealing with threats and conflicts in the 21st century.

It will probably ruffle feathers inside NATO, diplomats said, because of its candor and because the authors also call on the alliance to continue its support for nuclear weapons as a deterrent, an issue that is still taboo.

The authors - General John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and a former NATO commander; Admiral Jacques Lanxade, former chief of the Defense Staff of France, General Klaus Naumann, former chief of the Defense Staff of Germany; Field Marshall Peter Inge, former chief of the Defense Staff of Britain; and General Henk van den Breemen, former chief of the Defense Staff of the Netherlands - served together in NATO.

Worldwide outrage over Afghan sentenced to death for reading article on women's rights. Join the Independent campaign now

Afghanistan's President, Hamid Karzai, has been inundated with appeals to save the life of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, the student journalist sentenced to death after being accused of downloading an internet report on women's rights.

While international protests mounted over the affair, with the British Government saying it had already raised its concerns, hundreds of people marched through the capital, Kabul, demanding Mr Kambaksh's release.

A petition launched yesterday by The Independent to secure justice for Mr Kambaksh had attracted more than 13,500 signatories by last night, and a number of support groups have been set up on the social networking site Facebook with more than 400 joining one group alone.

Mr Kambaksh, 23, was arrested, tried and convicted by a religious court, in what his friends and family say was a secret session without being allowed legal representation.

Human rights are in danger because established democracies are accepting unfair elections in other countries, Human Rights Watch said in its annual report. China, Turkey and the US were also reprimanded by the group.

In a report released on Thursday, Jan. 31, Human Rights Watch chastised Europe and the US for tolerating unjust elections this past year in places including Russia, Jordan and Nigeria.

 

"By allowing autocrats to pose as democrats without demanding they uphold the civil and political rights that make democracy meaningful, the United States, the European Union and other influential democracies risk undermining human rights worldwide," the New York-based rights group said in its annual report.

 

Fair elections are not the only essential component to democracy, said HRW, adding that a free press, freedom of assembly and free speech are also crucial.

 

Germans are gaga over Barack Obama. He's got Japan pretty jazzed, too, along with Hillary Rodham Clinton. Russia's leaders, not so much: They prefer a Republican -- as long as it's not Kremlin critic John McCain.

And Mexico's president? He doesn't have much use for any of them.

America's extraordinary presidential campaign has captivated politicians and ordinary people around the globe. With so much at stake in the race for the White House, the world is watching with an intensity that hasn't been seen since the Clinton era began in 1992.

After eight years of George W. Bush, the latest mantra in U.S. politics -- "transformational change" -- is resonating across the rest of a planet desperate for a fresh start.

"They feel there's a real chance to work with the U.S.," said Julianne Smith, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. "America's image in the world is really on the line."

What Natasha does on the bed in the dingy room with flaking orange paint so shames her she cannot bring herself to use the word. She calls it "so and so" and sells it here from midday to midnight, six days a week.

On a very good day she makes £45. With each 30-minute session earning £2.50 that works out at 18 different men, many drunk, some violent. She tries to forget the very good days.

ks. It's ugly." Natasha shuddered. "Ugly, ugly, ugly."

Three years ago she won two beauty contests and was runner-up in another two, including Miss Best Legs, on Nicaragua's impoverished Caribbean coast. With dreams of modelling she boarded a bus for the distant capital, Managua.

But Nicaragua has not fully recovered from its 1980s war and remains the second-poorest country in the Americas after Haiti. Economic necessity kills many dreams.

In FT comments section - January 31 2008 19:33 - by R Duncan:

Here is an alternative view. As globalisation made trade between high-wage and low-wage countries possible, consumers in the US began buying more products made in low-wage countries such as China because those products were cheaper. Meanwhile, people in low-wage countries continued to buy their own products for the same reason. [...]

At the same time, in order to prevent their own currencies from appreciating, the central banks of the surplus countries printed their currencies and bought (literally) thousands of billions of dollars [...]

This, rather than a decline in home bias, drove the surge of capital inflows required to finance the US's soaring trade deficit

Mr Greenspan has obviously confused cause and effect in claiming that a savings glut in the surplus countries caused the current account deficit.

I think Jérôme might like to read this article.

A free fox in a free henhouse!

Remarkable new footage of Canada's Arctic wolves has been caught on camera by a BBC crew.

The team managed to film the wolves taking to the water to hunt waterfowl - behaviour that has never been seen before, according to an expert.

Arctic wolves live in the Canadian Arctic and northern parts of Greenland; observing them is a difficult task as they rarely interact with humans.

The team followed a pack on Ellesmere Island for several weeks last summer.

This glimpse into the lives of these elusive animals was filmed for the Natural World wildlife programme: White Falcon, White Wolf, which also features other animals, including gyr falcons, Arctic foxes and snowy owls, that live on the remote island.

DUBLIN: There is something missing from this otherwise typical bustling cityscape.

There are taxis and buses. There are hip bars and pollution. Every other person is holding a cellphone to his ear. But there are no plastic bags, the ubiquitous symbol of urban life.

In a determined attempt to deal with litter, Ireland passed a plastic bag tax in 2002 - now 22 euro cents, about 33 U.S. cents - at the register if you want one with your purchases. There was an advertising awareness campaign. Then something happened that was bigger than the sum of these parts.

Within weeks, there was a 94 percent drop in plastic bag use. Within a year, nearly everyone bought reusable cloth bags, which they now keep in the office and the back of their cars. Plastic bags became socially unacceptable - on par with wearing a fur coat or not cleaning up after your dog.

"When my roommate brings one in the flat, it annoys the hell out of me," said Edel Egan, a photographer carrying a load of groceries in a red backpack.

Shell smashed all-time British company profit records today, posting 2007 earnings of $27.5billion (£13.9billion), and immediately ran into a storm with union leaders, who are demanding the Government hits the oil giant with a windfall tax.

Shell's profit surge - it is now making a staggering $75million (£38million) a day - on the back of a booming oil price that touched $100 a barrel this winter, was labelled as "obscene" by Tony Woodley of Unite, the UK's largest trade union, as Britons struggle with soaring energy costs.

"Shell shareholders are doing very nicely while the rest of us are paying the price and struggling," said Woodley.

The women's national Under-20 side received a major boost ahead of the preliminary qualifiers for the World Cup when the European Commission (EC) through the Ministry of Finance handed a P200,000 cheque to the team.

The cheque was handed over to the Botswana Football Association (BFA) by secretary of the Delegation of European Commission (EC), Marc Thill and principal economist in the Ministry of Finance, Kathleen Molaodi.

Thill said that from a historical perspective, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in July 2006 between FIFA president, Sepp Blatter and EC commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel for a partnership to use football as a vehicle for development in all the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

After the memorandum, they met with the BFA last year and the Ministry of Finance to identify possible avenues to establish such a partnership. He explained that they support football because it is the most popular sport in the world. Besides, it plays a major role in youth development, contributes to team building, prevents substance abuse and intensifies the impact of preventative campaigns against discrimination and diseases.

A flotilla of ships may have been dispatched to reinstate the broken submarine cable that has left the Middle East and India struggling to communicate with the rest of the world, but it took just one vessel to inflict the damage that brought down the internet for millions.

According to reports, the internet blackout, which has left 75 million people with only limited access, was caused by a ship that tried to moor off the coast of Egypt in bad weather on Wednesday. Since then phone and internet traffic has been severely reduced across a huge swath of the region, slashed by as much as 70% in countries including India, Egypt and Dubai.

While tens of millions have been directly affected, the impact of the blackout has spread far wider, with economies across Asia and the Middle East struggling to cope. Governments have also become directly involved, with the Egyptian communications ministry imploring surfers to stay offline so business traffic can take priority. "People who download music and films are going to affect businesses who have more important things to do," said ministry spokesman Mohammed Taymur.

But as backroom staff at businesses across the globe scrambled to reroute their traffic or switch on backup satellite systems, experts said the incident highlighted the fragility of a global communications network we take for granted.

Microsoft said it has made a cash-and-stock offer to buy Yahoo for $31 a share, in a deal valuing the company at $44.6 billion.

"We have great respect for Yahoo!, and together we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market," said Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer. "We believe our combination will deliver superior value to our respective shareholders and better choice and innovation to our customers and industry partners."

As Europe's kings and queens approach their twilight years, it will soon be time for the elder generation to pass the mantle to their heirs apparent. The problem is, they don't want to.

Dutch Queen Beatrix celebrated her 70th birthday on Thursday, Jan. 31, amid rumors she is preparing to abdicate and hand the throne to her 40-year-old son Prince Willem-Alexander. After four queens, this would make him the first Dutch king in more than a century.

 

But will she really leave the throne? Like her counterparts across Europe, she seems in no hurry to hand over her crown -- despite the fact that her popularity has seen better days.

 

"Most Dutch people look forward to stopping work at 65. Queen Beatrix is turning 70 but is still working flat out. How much longer?" asked the Christian daily Reformatorisch Dagblad.

The president is eager to give France a new world confidence, but he has so far proved impetuous in matters of heart and state

So tell me, how is Nicolas Sarkozy's reform programme coming on; what progress to report? "Love, this is serious love. You must understand. She is a very beautiful woman. And Sarko, he has the aphrodisiac of power. They talk five, six times a day. It is a complete coup de foudre."

Sorry, I asked about your president's promised changes in French domestic policy. "You see, he was terribly bruised when Cecilia left him. He was quite dependent on her, boasting during the election, 'You liked Jackie Kennedy; you'll love Cecilia.' Then off she goes with her lover and accuses him of being a womaniser, cheap and not even loving his own children."

Yes, yes, I understand, but what about the future of the 35-hour week? "Carla is a 40-year-old woman in a hurry. She wants another baby and apparently even had sperm stored from a previous lover, for artificial insemination. After a while, a girl wants to settle down.

All right, let's try the Société Générale scandal. What is likely to happen to ... "You see, Cecilia insulted his manhood. He is hyperactive and not much liked, but this was not about a person, it was about love. He is badly wounded and along comes this gorgeous thing and, pouff, she offers love and revenge in one. He even buys her the same ring as he bought Cecilia, from the same shop, with the same cut. C'est magnifique, et c'est aussi la guerre."