European Union

14 August 2007 -- A court in western Germany has ruled that a teacher who converted to Islam must stop wearing a headscarf at her school.

The court in Dusseldorf ruled Tuesday that wearing the garment at schools violates state law prohibiting religious headwear.

The teacher who challenged the ban, Maryam Brigitte Weiss, started wearing a headscarf last year.

She argued her scarf was permissible because she wore it pushed back with hair showing at the front, in the style of American actress Grace Kelly. The court rejected her argument.    » read more »

14 August 2007 -- French authorities say four ducks have tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu in northeastern France.

The ducks were found dead last week in an area known as Diane Capelle in the Moselle region.

Two dead swans had already been discovered with bird flu at the end of July in the same area. The site is just 10 kilometers from where three other swans were found dead with the virus about a month earlier.

That outbreak was the first in France in more than a year.    » read more »

Mission to focus on renewable energy, manufacturing investment

August 14, 2007 -- LANSING - Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm will begin an overseas investment mission on Saturday, August 18, to attract Swedish and German business investments to Michigan. Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) President and CEO James C. Epolito will accompany the governor on her fifth mission - her first to Sweden and third to Germany.    » read more »

13 August 2007 -- Stock markets in Europe and Asia posted gains Monday, while U.S. stock markets fell slightly. Investors appeared reassured after central banks added cash to combat tight credit conditions that roiled markets last week.

The U.S. Federal Reserve became the latest central bank to inject further cash, adding $2 billion of temporary reserves to the U.S. banking system. Earlier, the European Central Bank released $65 billion, in addition to some $200 billion last week, while the Bank of Japan added $5 billion.    » read more »

12 August 2007 -- Poland's Prime Minister Yaroslaw Kaczynski says he is planning for early elections amid political crisis within his ruling coalition.

Mr. Kaczynski said Saturday that his conservative Law and Justice Party has decided to push for elections in the autumn following strife with its two coalition partners. He said the elections, originally scheduled for 2009, could take place as early as October.

Earlier this week, Mr. Kaczynski fired Interior Minister Janusz Kaczmarek whom he blamed of botching a corruption investigation of a former agriculture minister.    » read more »

August 8, 2007 -- "The President and Mrs. Bush will welcome French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Mrs. Sarkozy to former President George H. W. Bush's home in Kennebunkport, Maine for a private lunch on August 11, 2007.

The United States and France share a deep historic friendship and have worked together since the founding of our Nation to protect freedom around the world.

The President looks forward to meeting President Sarkozy on his first visit to the United States as President."

Source: White House

08 August 2007 -- For the first time since the confirmation of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain earlier this month, the government has decided to ease restrictions on livestock shipments in areas outside of the affected zone in southern England.    » read more »

07 August 2007 -- A Moscow court has issued a new arrest warrant for a London-based Russian billionaire at the center of a diplomatic dispute between Russia and Britain.

The court issued the warrant for exile Boris Berezovsky Tuesday on charges that he embezzled $13 million from a Russian bank (SBS-Agro Bank) to buy a villa in southern France.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Berezovsky denied any involvement in the bank's operations and said he does not care how many arrest warrants Moscow issues.    » read more »

Manila, 01 August 2007 (By Nancy-Amelia Collins) -- Foreign ministers from around the world have begun discussions in Manila on establishing a nuclear safety watchdog for the Asian region. The discussions are taking place in advance of the annual ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, where VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins compiled this report.

The ASEAN Regional Forum groups the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with 17 others, including the European Union, the United States, China and Russia.    » read more »

July 11, 2007 -- The Department of Defense announced today that the United States will cease operations at U.S. Army, Europe, locations in Buedingen, Gelnhausen, Darmstadt, Hanau and Turley Barracks in Mannheim, Germany.

Due to U.S. European Command force structure realignment and transformation, and the attendant reduction in installation and personnel support requirements that have occurred during the past several years, the Department of Defense has determined the following facilities are excess to its needs.    » read more »

10 July 2007 -- Swiss cyclist Fabian Cancellara has won the third and longest stage of this year's Tour de France to extend his lead and retain the overall race leader's yellow jersey.

Cancellara, who also won the prologue, outdueled a breakaway group of riders in a sprint finish Tuesday to complete the 236.5 kilometer trek from Waregem, Belgium to Compiegne, France in 6:36:15.

German rider Erik Zabel was second, while Italy's Danilo Napolitano was third, both credited with the same time.    » read more »

10 July 2007 -- An Italian judge has adjourned the trial in absentia of a U.S. soldier charged in the 2005 killing of an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq, after the defense questioned Italy's jurisdiction in the case.

The court made a decision Tuesday to postpone the trial of U.S. Army Specialist Mario Lozano to September 27.    » read more »

11 July 2007 -- Germany's foreign minister says one of two German hostages held in Iraq since February has been freed.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters in Berlin Wednesday that Hannelore Krause was released Tuesday.

Krause was kidnapped with her adult son in Baghdad on February 6. Steinmeier said Krause's son, an employee of the Iraqi foreign ministry, is still being held hostage.    » read more »

Governor's fifth overseas investment mission set for August 19-25

July 10, 2007 -- LANSING - Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced she will travel to Sweden and Germany next month to meet with company leaders looking to expand in North America to encourage them to make their investments in Michigan. The trip, scheduled for August 19-25, will be Granholm's fifth overseas investment mission since 2004. Michigan Economic Development Corporation President and CEO James C. Epolito will accompany Granholm on the trip.    » read more »

06 July 2007 -- In the next two years more than 30 cities in Europe plan to install wireless Internet, or Wi-Fi, zones allowing people to surf the net and check their e-mail on the move. But is there a hidden health time bomb behind the Wi-Fi revolution? That is the question scientists in the U.K. are trying to answer as Europe's demand for wireless Internet continues to boom. Paul Burge reports for VOA News.

Walk down the street, into a coffee shop or even a school and you are bound to see people tapping away at laptops, invisibly connected to the Internet.    » read more »