Grand Duke Henri Opposes Euthanasia

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg is to be stripped of his executive power to veto laws passed by parliament after threatening to block a Bill to allow euthanasia in the tiny state.

The hereditary sovereign, 53, who is the last Grand Duke in the world, caused a constitutional crisis when he gave notice that he objected to Luxembourg following its neighbours Belgium and the Netherlands in permitting euthanasia before a second-reading vote in the Chamber of Deputies next week.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the Prime Minister, also opposed the Bill but decided that the Grand Duke had overstepped the mark in threatening to deny the will of parliament. - Times Online

I learned about these guys last year for my french project! I did think Grand Duke Henri was a good man at the time, but this is further proof.

Darfur update

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, on his first trip abroad since the International Criminal Court moved to indict him for war crimes, on Tuesday denied that his forces had committed genocide in Darfur.

Doesn't he look like a black Mr. D'Agnese?

Russian convoy hits Georgia

A Russian military convoy of trucks and armored vehicles has passed through the strategic Georgian town of Gori and is moving toward the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.

There's a lesson here: if you're a tiny nation, don't mess with Russia.

Russia opens second front

GORI, Georgia -- Russian soldiers plunged into Georgia today to open a second front in the two countries' 4-day-old war, storming out of the Russia-backed breakaway republic of Abkhazia to seize control of a western army base.

Let's hope this war doesn't last too long.

Karadzic goes to court

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic appeared before a U.N. war crimes judge for the first time on Thursday to answer genocide charges and said he had been kidnapped and feared for his life.

Here's a refresher...

Tour de France takes place, no Americans care

SUPER-BESSE, France (AP) -- Kim Kirchen became the first Luxembourg rider in 50 years to take the yellow jersey in the Tour de France while Riccardo Ricco of Italy sprinted to a mountaintop victory Thursday in the sixth stage.

Who cares about cycling when there's no mention of that guy with one ball?

Darfur update

Immigration Minister Liam Byrne. Check out his teeth!

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Human rights groups feared on Monday that Darfur refugees who reached Britain could be sent to Sudan and tortured after London lifted a ban on deporting them to Khartoum.

Well, according to London, there's nothing to worry about...

Britain had said in December last year that it would stop deporting failed asylum seekers to Sudan while it investigated a report by the pressure group The Aegis Trust that refugees sent back to Khartoum had been tortured.
But a Border Agency spokeswoman said the review was now complete and Immigration Minister Liam Byrne had written to the Aegis Trust to say its accusations of torture were not proven and deportations to Sudan's capital Khartoum could resume.

U.S Embassy Opens in Berlin

Berlin - The July 4 inauguration of the United States Embassy in the heart of this city is the last stone in the postwar edifice of a whole and free Europe, diplomats say.

But Berliners are calling the building – perhaps unfairly – an architectural 'triumph of banality' more fitting for a Kansas cornfield.

Either way, the event is rich in symbolism. The embassy reopens on land the US owned in 1941 when Adolph Hitler declared war on the US. The property abuts the Brandenburg Gate, a noman's land in the cold war, and is a block from the German Reichstag.

"It's a very big piece of history," says John Kornblum, a former US ambassador. "It's a look back and a look forward at a time when Europe is going to change very fast, at a time when the Germans see they can't always live under a big US umbrella."

The German reaction to the new embassy has been almost universal dismay at the building itself with some saying the security-manic Americans should have built it in the relatively safe suburbs. - Christian Science Monitor

A pretty disgusting looking building.

Spain Takes Home Euro 2008 Trophy

The Euro 2008 soccer tournament is over. Spain beat Germany by a score of 1-0 today in Vienna, with the lone Spanish goal coming from Fernando Torres. This is the first major tournament win for the Spanish since 1964. The Spaniards finish the tournament as the highest scoring team, with Torres providing most of the offense.

Congratulations to the Spanish!

Romania OKs 11 Year Old's Abortion

BUCHAREST, Romania - The government ruled Thursday that an 11-year-old rape victim would be allowed to have an abortion in Romania, dismissing the opposition of 20 church groups.

Pro-life Christian Orthodox groups had threatened to press charges if the girl was allowed to have an abortion in Romania since it would be beyond the 14 week legal limit. The girl is 21 weeks pregnant.

The stance of the church groups was in contrast to the Romanian Orthodox Church's official view that the decision should be left to the girl's family. The parents initially wanted to travel to a country where it would be legal. - MSNBC

Courtesy to Matt Hurton for first making me aware of this tragedy.

Ape Rights

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's parliament voiced its support on Wednesday for the rights of great apes to life and freedom in what will apparently be the first time any national legislature has called for such rights for non-humans.

Parliament's environmental committee approved resolutions urging Spain to comply with the Great Apes Project, devised by scientists and philosophers who say our closest genetic relatives deserve rights hitherto limited to humans.

"This is a historic day in the struggle for animal rights and in defense of our evolutionary comrades, which will doubtless go down in the history of humanity," said Pedro Pozas, Spanish director of the Great Apes Project. - Reuters

Doesn't this make you a little sick?

Darfur update

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — The top U.N. envoy to Darfur is resigning to make room for a new full-time chief negotiator, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

Envoy Jan Eliasson, a former Swedish foreign minister, said he would continue to work as a special adviser on Darfur, but that the situation was so serious that it was "extremely important" to take realistic action, state-run radio reported.

Nice reminder of how important this crisis is...to the U.N. at least.

Irish Gov't Forcing Second Lisbon Vote

DUBLIN, June 23, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - French and German officials of the European Union are pressuring Ireland to have another vote on the Lisbon Treaty after the country's citizenry resoundingly rejected the Treaty several weeks ago in the only referendum held on the document in Europe. The Irish government is reportedly considering a second vote on Lisbon for next spring, according to the Daily Telegraph.

One senior Irish official is quoted by the Telegraph saying, "A Yes vote can be achieved if the Irish people are offered guarantees on issues like defence and taxation. The no campaign will be picked off one by one. Everyone has a price." Irish leaders were said to have been "stunned" by the rejection of the Treaty that was supported by all the major political parties. - LifeSiteNews

Aaaah, stop pressuring!

La Bete

Refugee population rises

GENEVA: The number of refugees fleeing to other countries to escape conflict and persecution rose in 2007 for the second year as factors from climate change to overly scarce resources threatened to increase the flow, the United Nations refugee agency warned Tuesday.

A total of 11.4 million refugees were under the care of the agency, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in 2007, including about 400,000 experiencing conflict in their home countries, the agency said.

Sad.

Ireland Rejects Lisbon Treaty

Irish voters have rejected the Lisbon Treaty.

With results in from all 43 constituencies, the Lisbon Treaty has been defeated by a margin of 53.4% to 46.6%.

A total of 752,451 people voted in favour of the treaty and 862,415 voted against.

Just 10 constituencies - Clare, Dublin South, Dublin South East, Dublin North, Dublin North Central, Dún Laoghaire, Kildare North, Laois Offaly, Carlow Kilkenny and Meath East - voted in favour of the Treaty. - RTE News

From what I understand, the Lisbon Treaty has to do with the European Union. If it gets passed than the Union has more control (secularization) over a country, but if it is rejected the country is free to stick with its traditional politics.

British politician protests terror detention plan

The shadow home secretary David Davis shocked Westminster today by announcing that he was resigning as an MP to "take a stand" against the Government's 42-day terror detention plan.

He said he was forcing a by-election to protest against the "insidious" erosion of civil liberties in Britain.

MP stands for "Member of Parliament", by the way...

New 007 novel arrives

LONDON --A catsuited model in stiletto heels strode the deck of a British warship with Royal Navy helicopters roaring overhead. It was not a bout of naval hijinks, but the year's most-hyped literary event -- the publication of a new adventure for super-spy James Bond.

The larger-than-life launch Tuesday of the novel "Devil May Care" proves that 100 years after the birth of 007 creator Ian Fleming, the Bond brand is stronger than ever.

And guess who's coming back to the big screen this fall.

In addition to the Fleming centenary, the latest 007 movie, "Quantum of Solace," is due for release in the fall.

EU cracks down on illegal immigration

Europe has an illegal immigration problem, too.

New European Union rules have been approved against illegal immigrants. They could be held in custody for up to 18 months now, children included.

Iraq update

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Wednesday
he's more confident than ever his government will defeat al-Qaida in Iraq and
that confrontation with militia fighters will help achieve political stability.

Well, if you want to do that anytime soon, something tells me you'll need America's help.