Governments across Europe tremble as angry people take to the streets

   Governments across Europe tremble

as angry people take to the streets 

LONDON, Jan 31 — France paralysed by a wave of strike action, the boulevards of Paris resembling a debris-strewn battle field. The Hungarian currency sinks to its lowest level ever against the euro, as the unemployment figure rises. Greek farmers block the road into Bulgaria in protest at low prices for their produce. New figures from the biggest bank in the Baltic show that the three post-Soviet states there face the biggest recessions in Europe.

It’s a snapshot of a single day — yesterday — in a Europe sinking into the bleakest of times. But while the outlook may be dark in the big wealthy democracies of western Europe, it is in the young, poor, vulnerable states of central and eastern Europe that the trauma of crash, slump and meltdown looks graver.

It’s a catastrophe for the apostrophe in Britain

 

 

“Apostrophes denote possessions that are no longer accurate, and are not needed,” he said. “More importantly, they confuse people. If I want to go to a restaurant, I don’t want to have an A-level (high school diploma) in English to find it.”

But grammarians say apostrophes enrich the English language.

“They are such sweet-looking things that play a crucial role in the English language,” said Marie Clair of the Plain English Society, which campaigns for the use of simple English. “It’s always worth taking the effort to understand them, instead of ignoring them.”A street sign naming St Paul’s Square without an apostrophe is seen in Birmingham. — AP pic

LONDON, Jan 31 — On the streets of Birmingham, the queen’s English is now the queens English.

 

Human Rights Watch, World Report 2009 – Burma

 

Events of 2008 Burma’s already dismal human rights record worsened following the devastation of cyclone Nargis in early May 2008. The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) blocked international assistance while pushing through a constitutional referendum in which basic freedoms were denied. The ruling junta systematically denies citizens basic freedoms, including freedom of expression, association, and assembly. It regularly imprisons political activists and human rights defenders; in 2008 the number of political prisoners nearly doubled to more than 2,150. The Burmese military continues to violate the rights of civilians in ethnic conflict areas and extrajudicial killings, forced labor, land confiscation without due process and other violations continued in 2008.

French Muslims should make friendship with French Jews to pressure Israel to agree for the formation of free Palestine State

French Muslims should make friendship with French Jews to pressure Israel to agree for the formation of free Palestine State 

 

PARIS (Reuters) – An umbrella group of Jewish groups sought assurances on Friday from French President Nicolas Sarkozy that authorities would do more to stem a rise in anti-Jewish crime due to the war in the Gaza strip.

Priests’ comments on Jews, Muslims embarrass Pope

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Outbursts about Jews and Muslims by Italian leaders of an ultra-traditionalist Roman Catholic group show the challenge facing Pope Benedict as he tries to bring them back into the Church.

 

 

The same day Abrahamowicz made his comments about the gas chambers, Father Pierpaolo Petrucci, head of the SSPX branch in Rimini, said group members were still “shocked” the pope prayed with an Imam when he visited Istanbul’s Blue Mosque in 2006.

No one wants to live under Thai colonial rule

 

BANGKOK, Jan 24 — The Thai Foreign Ministry should be commended for making the problems in the deep South one of its top priorities.

Rohingya refugee issue needs a holistic approach – The Nation

 

JAN 27 – Thailand’s call for a conference in Bangkok of a focus group on the Rohingya issue is a good initiative.

All the stakeholders could meet and work out practicable and durable solutions on a trans-national issue that increasingly needs a comprehensive and multilateral approach.