Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti was set to resign on Friday after a year of battling the debt crisis with austerity and reforms as lawmakers gave final approval to a budget bill that will pave the way for early elections.

Monti said earlier he will step down once the vote is approved, kicking off a campaign that will likely see Italy go to the polls on February 24, with former premier Silvio Berlusconi and centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani already in the running.

After Christmas mass in the prime minister's residence, Monti joked about the end-of-world Mayan prophecy saying: "A year ago this government was only just beginning. Now we will have to wrap up and it's not the fault of the Mayas."

Greece's treatment of migrants and asylum seekers is so appalling that it has become a humanitarian crisis, Amnesty International charges in a new report. It cites squalid conditions at refugee facilities and authorities who are doing little to combat the problem.

Georgia's foreign minister has accused several conservative Western politicians, including the leader of the European People's Party, of being biased against the two-month-old government of Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze told EurActiv on Thursday (20 December) that the cohabitation between Prime Minister Ivanishvili and President Mikheil Saakashvili was a difficult one.

...She said the president had "a big network of lobbyists" who worked around the clock to spread his narrative that democracy in Georgia is in danger since the prime ministers Georgian Dream party took office. Saakashvili, the president since 2004, must step down next year.

A number of conservative Western politicians have been receptive to Saakashvili's messages and were amplifying them for the international audience, Georgia's top diplomat said. She accused Wilfried Martens, president of the European People's Party, of repeatedly badmouthing Georgian Dream.

Bei der DB hält man im schlimmsten Fall für denkbar, dass die Züge leer in München losrollen könnten - so würde man seine Verträge einhalten und die Österreicher könnten selbst entscheiden, ob sie Fahrgäste zusteigen lassen. Sollten die Gespräche komplett scheitern, würden aber wohl gar keine Züge fahren. ,,Einen ganz leeren Zug, in den gar niemand einsteigen darf, werden wir wohl nicht fahren lassen", sagt der DB-Sprecher. ,,Pro Bahn" hingegen hält sogar das für denkbar. Leere Züge fahren zu lassen, könne sich für die Bahn unter bestimmten Umständen lohnen, sagt Oomen. ,,Eventuell kann man später Schadensersatzforderungen stellen."

BRUSSELS - The economic crisis and its social impact is a major concern for most EU citizens, according to a survey published Thursday (20 December) by survey-group Eurobarometer.

...More than six Europeans out of 10 believe that "the worst is still to come" when it comes to the impact of the economic crisis on the job market.

It is a view held by the vast majority in Belgium (78%), Greece (78%), and Portugal (79%). In Cyprus, where the national coffer is running dry, the figure almost hits 90 percent.

Citizens in eighteen member states rank unemployment as their number one greatest worry.

The Russian President reacted to a long statement by Barroso, in which the head of the EU executive made the case that the Third energy package was not discriminatory against Russia.

Russia said it wanted the summit to agree rules for exempting its pipelines from the EU's energy liberalisation rules, which grant energy companies access to infrastructure held by others.

..."My friend from many years, Mr Barroso, has for so long and so emotionally spoken, because he knew that he is not right, he is guilty," Putin said, amidst laughter from the sizeable Russian delegation. Turning to the press, he added: "Open article 34 of our basic treaty with the EU and read for yourselves."

Article 34 of the EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, in force since December 1997, reads: "The Parties shall use their best endeavours to avoid taking any measures or actions which render the conditions for the establishment and operation of each other's companies more restrictive than the situation existing on the day preceding the date of signature of the Agreement."

Putin continued: "And one more observation: linking the price of gas to oil was invented not by Russia, but by the Netherlands in the beginning of last century."

The police are becoming frequent guests at Deutsche Bank headquarters in Frankfurt. For the second time in a week, authorities raided the bank in connection with an ongoing investigation, this time looking for evidence of witness collusion relating to court testimony in a high-profile case pitting Deutsche Bank against the family of the deceased German media magnate Leo Kirch.

The raid took place on Wednesday, but only became public early on Thursday afternoon, partially because it was not nearly as disruptive as a raid conducted a week ago Wednesday, when authorities showed up with 500 armed police and secured the bank's lobby. Nevertheless, the new search and seizure operation underlines yet again the dark cloud of suspicion that hangs over Deutsche Bank despite its stated desire to turn over a new leaf.

Clashes between rival demonstrators erupted on Friday in Egypt's second city Alexandria, the eve of the final round of a referendum on a divisive new constitution drafted by an Islamist-dominated panel.

Riot police, with orders to act "decisively," formed a barrier between several thousand Islamists and hundreds more opposition protesters and used tear gas to put down the street battles.

The clashes, in which the health ministry said 32 people were hurt, subsided after around 90 minutes.

Thousands of Palestinian migrants have fled Syria for Lebanon in recent days, cramming into refugee camps that have been housing Palestinians since the creation of Israel in 1948.

Palestinian refugee camps in Syria have been devastated by the civil war, particularly the sprawling Yarmouk camp near Damascus, which has hosted violent clashes between pro-regime fighters and rebel militants, who are said to be hiding weapons in the camp.

Republican lawmakers delivered a stinging rebuke to their leader, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, on Thursday when they failed to back an effort designed to extract concessions from President Barack Obama in year-end "fiscal cliff" talks.

The dramatic twist threw into disarray attempts to head off $600 billion worth of indiscriminate tax hikes and spending cuts that could push the U.S. economy into recession next year.

It also cast doubt over Boehner's future as speaker after failing to control unruly conservatives in his caucus.

The European Investment Bank has signed a €440-million loan guarantee with the Slovenian government for a crisis-plagued 600 megawatt lignite TEŠ 6 coal plant, but the deal could yet be sunk by concerns about the climate and corruption.

The EIB has already paid an initial €110 million for the coal-fired power plant in the northern town of Šoštanj, but a deal unlocking the second sum was only agreed on 6 December.

EurActiv understands that disbursement will now take place after a bank management committee review, which will follow approval of the deal by the Slovenian parliament, a move that buys the EIB time and potential wiggle room.

This could be crucial as the TEŠ 6 plant, which has also been loaned €200 million by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, faces complaints of corruption, doubts about its profitability and questions as to why EU institutions are financing such a planet-warming power plant.

When Monsanto revolutionised agriculture with a line of genetically engineered seeds, the promise was that the technology would lower herbicide use - because farmers would have to spray less. In fact, as Washington State University researcher Chuch Benbrook has shown, just the opposite happened.

Sixteen years on, Roundup (Monsanto's tradename for its glyphosate herbicide) has certainly killed lots of weeds. But the ones it has left standing are about as resistant to herbicide as the company's Roundup Ready crops, which are designed to survive repeated applications of the agribusiness giant's own Roundup herbicide.

For just one example, turn to Mississippi, where cotton, corn, and soy farmers have been using Roundup Ready seeds for years - and are now struggling to contain a new generation of super weeds, including a scourge of Italian ryegrass.

Turkey's Education Minister Ömer Dinçer made a landmark visit to an Armenian school in the city of Istanbul, becoming the first minister from his department to do so in the history of the Turkish Republic.

A European Union ban on insurers using gender to set prices, which comes into force today (21 December), will likely lead to higher insurance costs for consumers.

The EU's highest court outlawed insurers' practice of charging men and women different prices as sex discrimination in March 2011 after Belgium's consumer association brought a test case against it.

The move has drawn criticism from insurers who say gender exerts a strong influence over how likely a person is to claim, and should be reflected in the premiums they pay.

Higher prices would be welcomed by a European insurance industry squeezed by rock-bottom interest rates and recession in several key markets.

Pope Benedict has used the beginning of the Christmas period to ramp up his assault on gay marriage, stating that the very foundations of the family were threatened by same sex partnerships.

In his annual Christmas address to Vatican officials - one of the most important speeches of the year - he decried moves to allow same sex couples to marry and indicated that the Vatican would be willing to forge an alliance with those faiths who are also opposed to equal marriage rights.

His comments come amid mounting concern in Rome that the Catholic Church's teachings on homosexuality are falling on deaf ears, with pro-gay marriage movements gaining ground most recently in Britain, the United States and France.

During the speech the Pontiff referred to a recent study by the Chief Rabbi of France, Gilles Bernheim, who said the campaign for granting gays the right to marry and adopt children was an "attack" on the traditional family.

And what if I say tat organized religion threatens foundations of free society and destroys the very essence of the human creature? Will I be branded a hateful atheist?

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

The mother of seven-year-old cancer patient Neon Roberts has lost her High Court battle to stop her son receiving radiotherapy. Doctors had said that Neon, who had an emergency operation on a residual brain tumour on Wednesday, could die in months without the treatment. His father Ben, Ms Roberts' estranged husband, also supported the treatment.

Giving his verdict, Mr Justice Bodey said that, while he had "sympathy" for Ms Roberts, he was "worried her judgement has gone awry on the question of the seriousness of the threat [Neon] faces."

Ms Roberts, 37, had asked for more time to seek "alternative" treatments, which had been described by the counsel for the NHS Trust treating Neon as "experimental" and "unproven".

Mr Justice Bodey said that no evidence had been presented to support Ms Roberts' assertion that there were "thousands of children surviving cancer without radiotherapy."

...While accepting that Neon might experience adverse side effects he said that "one cannot enjoy quality of life if one is not alive."

Korean pop star Psy's "Gangnam Style" video has become the first YouTube video to surpass a billion views.

The achievement came just 27 days after it broke Justin Bieber's record of 803 million views for hit single "Baby".

That means "Gangnam Style" had an average of 6.5 million views per day for nearly four weeks.

French actor Gérard Depardieu, under fierce criticism for going into self-imposed tax exile in Belgium, would be more than welcome in Russia, the country's President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

"If Gérard really wants a residency permit or a Russian passport, it's a done deal," Putin said at a press conference. "We have very friendly relations [with Depardieu], but I know that deep down he feels French."

Conservative politicians in Germany are outraged after one of their own, Family Minister Kristina Schröder, suggested that God might not have a gender. Critics argue she has gone one step too far in her political correctness.

LOL at both parties.

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}