NEWS
By Megan K. Stack and Sebastian Rotella | January 7, 2009
MOSCOW - Russia's natural gas monopoly drastically cut flows to Europe through Ukraine yesterday, sharpening fears of winter fuel shortages. Despite warnings from the European Union, a pricing dispute between Gazprom and Ukraine showed no signs of letting up. As the two sides traded accusations and blame, negotiations remained frozen for the sixth day. Bulgarian authorities said two-thirds of their natural gas supply had been cut off and consumption would...
NEWS
By New York Times News Service | November 29, 2008
BERLIN - Somali pirates firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades hijacked yet another ship in the Gulf of Aden yesterday, this time seizing a chemical tanker. A German military helicopter from a nearby warship arrived in time to pull three security guards out of the water, but not soon enough to prevent the hijacking of the ship and the rest of the crew. The latest attack, in which even trained security personnel aboard could not deter the pirates, demonstrated the urgent need for coordinated action by governments from Cairo to Berlin.
NEWS
By Jim Rosapepe and Sheilah Kast | August 12, 2008
However it turns out, the current fighting between Russia and Georgia - the first major military offensive by Russia outside its borders since the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 - is likely to have long-term consequences for the United States. Georgia's independence and democracy deserve U.S. support in this crisis, and we should make that position clear. When we were in Romania a decade ago, Romanians would regularly tell us that the United States was naive about Russia. Then, Russia's economy was weak and its politics much more democratic and open than they are today.
NEWS
By Donny Mahoney and Kim Murphy | June 14, 2008
DUBLIN, Ireland - European leaders were scrambling yesterday to find a new path to a more powerful and manageable European Union after Irish voters rejected a treaty meant to bolster the alliance's government. The rejection threw into doubt nearly a decade of efforts to overcome widespread public skepticism and develop a European constitution. The reforms would create a powerful European presidency and diplomatic corps and improve cooperation on law enforcement and defense. Because the measure must be ratified by all 27 member states of the alliance, Ireland's rejection struck a potentially fatal blow.
NEWS
By New York Times News Service | June 11, 2008
KRANJ, Slovenia - Opening a farewell tour of Europe, President Bush won European support yesterday to consider additional punitive sanctions against Iran, including restrictions on its banks, if Iran rejects a package of incentives to suspend its uranium enrichment program. Iran has begun transferring billions of dollars from European banks to Iranian and Asian banks, and buying gold and equities, according to reports in the Iranian news media, apparently to protect its windfall oil revenue from any new sanctions.
NEWS
By Glenn C. Altschuler | April 6, 2008
The Second World Empires and Influence in the New Global Order By Parag Khanna Random House / 496 pages / $28.95 In the 21st century, according to Parag Khanna, three empires strut their stuff on the world stage. The United States, the European Union and China are "frenemies." Globalization fosters interdependence. But fear and greed continue to drive geopolitical competition. "Arrayed along and sandwiched between" the superpowers, Khanna points out, are Second World countries. Encompassing the world's emerging markets, they are divided between haves and have-nots and may or may not be moving toward democracy.
NEWS
By John Menzies and Marshall Harris | December 9, 2007
Tomorrow, the United States, the European Union and Russia will report to the United Nations on the latest round of talks on the future of Kosovo. They will be tempted yet again to delay resolution of the Kosovo question - even after three years of talks. On its face, the new report will be largely meaningless. The most recent talks were no more than a sop to Serbia and Russia. Positions have not changed, compromise has not been reached, and agreement remains a fatuous hope. Kosovo is determined to exercise its political self-determination by pursuing internationally recognized sovereignty and independence.
NEWS
November 14, 2007
Apple Inc. Shares surged $16.20 to $169.96. China Mobile Ltd. said it's in talks to sell Apple's iPhone handset in China, a market with potentially more mobile-phone users than the combined population of the European Union.
NEWS
By Jim Puzzanghera | September 18, 2007
WASHINGTON -- The European Union's second-highest court upheld yesterday a 2004 antitrust ruling against Microsoft Corp.'s dominant operating system that led to a $689 million fine. Other American companies that dominate their markets, such as Apple Inc. in digital music, Google Inc. in Web search and Intel Corp. in computer chips, also might feel the sting. Antitrust experts called the decision by the Court of the First Instance a landmark ruling that validated the aggressive approach recently taken by the European Union's competition commission - especially when compared with the Bush administration's more hands-off approach to regulating companies that exploit their market dominance.
NEWS
By Tom Hundley | July 25, 2007
LONDON -- They came to Libya in search of better-paying jobs. They ended up as pawns in a high-stakes game of geopolitical horse trading. After enduring more than eight years in prison, including the last three under a death sentence, five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor were freed yesterday despite being convicted of infecting more than 400 Libyan children with HIV -- charges most of the world scorned as a frame-up. But their release came only after the government of Libyan strongman Col. Muammar el Kadafi negotiated a package of concessions that included $400 million in cash for the sick children's families and a pledge to help restore Libya's archaeological sites.