The Prague Post
September 7th, 2008
Endowment Fund     Business Listings ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions
Real Estate Prague Prague Rentals Prague Apartments Prague Art & Antiques

Home » Archives » News

European Roundup


News & notes | Search restaurants | Archives

UK U.S. President George W. Bush was met by hundreds of anti-war protesters upon arrival in London on his last official visit to Europe, the BBC reported June 16. During talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, he discussed the situation in the Middle East, rising food and oil prices and asked for a slower withdrawal of UK forces from Iraq.

ITALY The Italian government has announced that up to 2,500 soldiers, some of whom have served in Afghanistan and Kosovo, would be made available for a trial period of six months to bolster the police presence in difficult urban areas, the International Herald Tribune (IHT) reported June 15. Officials say their decision to use soldiers to patrol cities will not “militarize” the streets.
SPAIN Spanish police broke up a major Russian mafia gang, arresting 20 people accused of laundering proceeds from crimes that include contract killings and arms and drug trafficking, the Associated Press reported June 13. More than 300 officers took part in the nationwide raids that were the final step of a two-year international effort aided by police from Germany, the United States, Switzerland and Russia.
KOSOVO Serbia has defied the entry into force of a new Kosovo constitution by setting up a new parliament for minority Serbs, the BBC reported June 15. Kosovo’s new constitution hands power to the ethnic Albanian majority. It comes four months after Kosovo’s declaration of independence, backed by the West but opposed by Russia. Kosovo’s minority Serbs say the new constitution will not apply to them.
NATO U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates joined NATO defense ministers in an effort to push forward a design for missile defenses that will protect all alliance nations from a potential Iranian ballistic missile attack, The New York Times (NYT) reported June 13. He also said that NATO countries are not supplying enough soldiers to Afghanistan and that troop shortages have been plaguing the mission for a year and a half.
MACEDONIA Macedonia held a partial rerun of parliamentary elections under tight security, trying to avoid the violence of the original vote that threatens to delay the country’s bid for membership in the European Union, the IHT reported June 15. Special police forces, some in full riot gear, secured the rerun of voting in dozens of ethnic Albanian areas where the June 1 election was marred by fraud, intimidation and gunfights.
GERMANY The president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, warned against the dangers of a new oil shock to Europe, the NYT reported June 14. So far, rising oil prices have hit Europe less than the United States, but Trichet said that a 1970s-style oil shock is on the way. An inflationary spiral of wages and prices at the time of economical slowdown could lead to another decade-long recession.
BOSNIA Bosnia-Herzegovina is taking its first step toward joining the EU, 13 years after its civil war ended, the BBC reported June 16. Ministers are to sign a Stabilisation and Association Agreement, although it may be a decade before Bosnia qualifies. The internationally appointed High Representative Miroslav Lajčák said the country needs the goal of EU membership to counter ethnic tensions.
DENMARK Danish police have arrested a couple of Sudanese origin suspected of taking their two young daughters to Sudan to be circumcised, the BBC reported June 13. Danish social services alerted the police after a regular medical checkup revealed the girls’ conditions. If convicted, the couple could face up to six years in prison for mutilation.


Other articles in News (18/06/2008):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Business Listings

Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.