Belgian PM becomes EU first president

Herman van Rompuy, the Belgian Prime Minister, has been chosen by EU leaders to be the first permanent European Council President. (photo, from bbc.co.uk)
His job was created by the Lisbon Treaty, as well as foreign affairs supremo. The latter has gone to the EU Trade Commissioner, Baroness Catherine Ashton from the UK.

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Ireland says ‘yes’ to Lisbon Treaty

The European Union’s Lisbon Treaty is back on track, with the Irish voters who approved the 27-nation bloc’s plans for reform.
On Saturday, the electoral office said that 67.1 per cent of voters had said “yes”, reversing the win last year by the “no” campaign. (photo, from aljazeera.net)

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Russia stops gas supply to Ukraine

All gas supplies to Ukraine from Russia have stopped after the collapse of talks to end a row over unpaid bills and prices.
The taps have been turned off at 0700 GMT, said Gazprom, Russia’s gas giant, when its contract to supply Ukraine ended. (photo, from iht.com)

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Sarkozy talks with Dalai Lama risk EU trade

French president Nicolas Sarkozy has met the Dalai Lama in the Polish city of Gdansk, during a gathering of Nobel laureates.
The planned meeting angered Beijing, which has retaliated by cancelling a forthcoming China-EU summit in France.

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US worldwide dominance to decline

US influence will be increasingly challenged by China, India and Russia, according to a new US intelligence report on global trends.

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Quartet ‘failing’ in Middle East

A coalition of 21 aid organisations has issued their report on Thursday, charging the so-called Quartet of Middle East negotiators with failing to make significant progress towards peace in the region.
The report says that the EU, Russia, the US and the UN had not delivered on half of their goals, adding that in some instances, [...]

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Lisbon Treaty ratified in Italy

The European Union reform treaty has been unanimously ratified by Italy’s parliament.
After the Senate approved the Lisbon Treaty, the lower house did the same on Thursday, to the treaty that would reshape EU institutions and powers, as well as streamline decision-making within the 27-nation bloc.

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Peace talks date set by Cyprus leaders

Leaders of Cyprus (photo, from kktcbe.org) met on Friday, in order to consider starting negotiations to reunify the 34-year division of the island. They decided that on September 3, they will enter direct peace negociations, and that the solution they will find will be put to simultaneous referendums.

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‘No retreat’ on Iran’s nuclear

In his first reaction to a new call for Tehran to end uranium enrichment, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (photo), Iranian president, said that his country will not “retreat one iota” in its nuclear activities.

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War crime suspect Karadzic captured in Serbia

After more than a decade on the run, Radovan Karadzic (photo), Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect and one of the world’s most wanted man, has been arrested on Monday, near Belgrade, the Serbian capital. He disappeared in 1996, after being the Bosnian Serb wartime political leader.

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