Eurosphere agenda: “Voting begins in Scottish referendum

I hope Scotland leaves, and I hope England follows them open Democracy News Analysis – by Oliver Huitson Britain is a dying project. A Yes would not only be good for Scotland but good for England; a major blow for popular sovereignty against unresponsive, undemocratic and incompetent rule.   Vote Yes for the NHS – independence is … Read more

Eurosphere agenda: “Gender inequality in Spain…

Britain is no longer a world power  open Democracy News Analysis – by Ben Waite Britain faces a turning point in its foreign policy; it is no longer capable of delivering the ‘interventions’ its leaders crave, while its much vaunted ‘soft power’ seems so soft as to barely make an impact at all. A change of mindset … Read more

Eurosphere agenda: ” Mini-summit in row over Juncker ….

  Left-wing leaders back Juncker  BBC News | Europe | World Edition Jean-Claude Juncker‘s bid to head the European Commission receives a boost with the backing of nine left-wing heads of government The world’s most precious genes? BBC News | Europe | World Edition Why scientists are dying to get their hands on Icelanders’ DNA   … Read more

Eurosphere agenda: “Italian navy rescues over 1,000 migrants in one day… Merkel injured…

Italian navy rescues over 1,000 migrants in one day The Italian navy said on Friday (3 January) it had rescued more than 1,000 migrants from boats trying to reach Europe, as an immigration crisis that killed hundreds in the last year showed no signs of easing. Italian navy helicopters spotted four overcrowded boats struggling to … Read more

U.S. and Russia Strike Deal on Syria Chemical Weapons [WITHOUT asking Turkey (!)]… Syria updates…

Al-Qaeda tells Syria fighters to shun secularists in sign of deeper rebel rift Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri has told the Islamist militants to avoid alliances with other rebel fighters Morning Brief: U.S. and Russia Strike Deal on Syria Chemical Weapons U.S. and Russia Strike Deal on Syria Chemical Weapons Top News: The United States and Russiareached an agreement Saturday … Read more

US still hesitates… A massive Syria roundup…

France will not act alone in Syria, PM to meet parliament heads French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said Sept.1 France would not act alone in Syria but would await a decision by the U.S. Congress Welcoming the vote of the British Parliament while supporting the Syrian uprising The best way to ?punish? the Syrian regime is to … Read more

Eurosphere roundup: “Greece ‘may need 10bn euros more’

Gibraltar criticises Spain over dive Gibraltar strongly criticises Spanish police for sending divers to inspect an artificial reef in waters claimed by the British territory. Greece ‘may need 10bn euros more’ Greece may need a third bailout worth about about 10bn euros (£8.6bn; $13.4bn) but would not accept new austerity measures, the Greek finance minister … Read more

“British navy arrives in Gibraltar… Eurosphere roundup…

British navy arrives in Gibraltar amid tension with Spain British warships arrived in Gibraltar on Monday for scheduled exercises amid tensions with Spain over fishing Poverty: a human rights abuse in the UK Internationally poverty has been recognised as a violation of human dignity and, when a consequence of government policy, a violation of human … Read more

Eurosphere roundup: The new autocrats in Eastern Europe [includes one from Turkey]

Eastern Europe: the new autocrats From Hungary to the Czech Republic, and from Romania to Turkey, democracy is being tested by a new generation of authoritarian leaders. Click on the faces below Eastern European autocrats pose new test for democracy From Hungary’s Orbán and Czech Republic’s Zeman to Erdoğan in Turkey, a new breed of … Read more

Gibraltar and Schengen… German elections… Czech elections… British police… Eurosphere roundup….

If Gibraltar wants to solve its border headache with Spain, it should join Schengen So the Spain-Gibraltar border dispute rumbles on. Queues at the land border to enter Gibraltar persist, and suggestions abound that Spain may introduce a charge to cross from Gibraltar into Spain. Meanwhile Tory MEP for the South West & Gibraltar, Ashley … Read more

Eurosphere roundup: “European data protection under a cloud

Who’s accountable for Britain’s Internet censorwall? Jim from the UK Open Rights Group sez, “It seems Cameron and Perry have ignored official government policy, invented their own policy and forced it onto UK ISPs. With no legislation, and no complaints from Lib Dem MPS or the ISPs, we have completely unaccountable “nudge censorship” being forced … Read more

Eurosphere roundup: “Record 60% of Europeans ‘tend not to trust’ EU

Record 60% of Europeans ‘tend not to trust’ EU The number of Europeans who distrust the European Union has doubled over the past six years to a record high, with bailed-out Greeks and Cypriots having the least faith in the bloc, according to a new Eurobarometer poll. An economic crisis, record unemployment and five eurozone … Read more

NSA Surveillance “legally” continues…while UK government thinks of ridiculous anti-porn proposals….

Morning Brief: House Defeats Effort to Rein In NSA Surveillance House Defeats Effort to Rein In NSA Surveillance Top news: The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday narrowly defeated a bill that would have restricted how the National Security Agency (NSA) gathers phone records on millions of Americans. The 217-to-205 vote represented a victory for … Read more

Eurosphere roundup: “EU nears terror ruling on Hizbollah armed wing…

EU nears terror ruling on Hizbollah armed wing A declaration of Hizbollah?s military wing as a terrorist group, which must be backed by all EU member states, has been gaining momentum   Burke, Norman and Glasman – ‘post-liberalism’ in Britain today At a Civitas seminar this week, Jesse Norman MP and Maurice Glasman of Blue … Read more

Eurosphere roundup: “Greece lays off 25,000 public workers in education, police…Protests…

MAIN FOCUS: Greeks protest against job cuts | 17/07/2013 Tens of thousands of Greeks once again brought much of public life to a complete standstill with a general strike on Tuesday. They are protesting against the troika’s demand for job cuts in the public sector, which will be put to vote in parliament today, Wednesday. … Read more