An EU flag flutters inside the European Union headquarters in Brussels. Brussels: It’s been a stormy year for the European single currency, and there are very real fears that the sovereign debt crises that hit Greece and Ireland could engulf other eurozone countries. The EU has been under fire for its response to the crisis and for not doing enough to prevent a... 

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa is seen in Quito on October 2010. Ecuador formally recognized Palestine as an independent state on Friday, following the lead of its neighbors Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay earlier this month. Ecuador formally recognized Palestine as an independent state on Friday, following the lead of its neighbors Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina... 

Arctic conditions: A bus tries to make its way through Tunbridge Wells, Kent, as bad weather sweeps across the country Ten years ago global warming “scientists” were saying the opposite, that Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past. So if winters become warmer it’s global warming’s fault and if they become colder it’s still global warming’s... 

Washington transferred more than 600 million dollars to the Pakistani government this week to pay for its efforts in the fight against violent extremists, the US embassy in Islamabad said Thursday. The 633 million dollar payment under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) programme came on Wednesday, amid reports that top US military commanders in Afghanistan were pushing... 

The paucity of information on Israel in the early WikiLeaks releases led to a flurry of speculations and conspiracy theories, insisting WikiLeaks may have made a secret deal with the Netanyahu government or that the lack of data proved the organization’s insincerity as a whistleblower. After all, in a dump of 250,000+ classified documents from the US, surely Israel... 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union was fined 1.2 million euros ($1.6 million) for breaching party donation rules, adding to the CDU’s difficulties as it prepares to fight seven state elections. The fine was imposed by the lower house of parliament in Berlin, the Bundestag, for party funding violations in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate... 

In a first for the Vatican and British broadcaster BBC, Pope Benedict XVI Friday was given a radio slot to deliver a Christmas message to the people of Britain. The pope, 83, said he remembered his September visit to Scotland and England with great fondness. ‘I want you to know that I keep all of you very much in my prayers during this holy season,’ he said. The... 

Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's foreign minister, has ordered a range of measures in a bid to improve Israel's image in Europe. ‘Allies and friends’ will promote government policy to press and public meetings as part of fresh PR drive. Israel has instructed its embassies in 10 European countries, including the UK, each to recruit 1,000 members of the public... 

Nigeria: Iranian man charged with importing arms into Nigeria’s busiest port granted bail. A defense lawyer told The Associated Press on Friday that the Abuja High Court granted Azim Aghajani a $260,000 bail Thursday. The lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak to press, said the judge asked Aghajani to present two people... 

Environmental groups had called on the Obama administration to restore wilderness protections. The US is to make millions of acres of public land eligible for wilderness protection, officials have said. The order reverses former President George W Bush’s policy forbidding the government from doing so. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Thursday said the new policy... 

Mistaken identity... Carnita Matthews outside court with a friend A BURQA-CLAD mother of seven who claimed she was the victim of mistaken identity has been jailed for six months for making a false complaint against a police officer. Magistrate Robert Rabbidge dismissed Carnita Matthews’ allegations that a highway patrol officer was racist after he pulled her over... 

An Israeli child plays with Christmas decorations at a market stall in Nazareth in 2009. The mayor of a Jewish suburb of Nazareth sparked outrage on Wednesday after refusing to allow Christmas trees to be placed in town squares, calling them provocative. The mayor of a Jewish suburb of Nazareth sparked outrage on Wednesday after refusing to allow Christmas trees to be... 

Recently we became aware of a statement from an American Jewish women-activist, who some ten years ago with grants from the Swedish government, founded a Jewish ‘study-institute’ with the name “PAIDEIA”, that seems to be involved in subversive activities. The woman, Barbara Lerner Spectre, says in an interview on Israeli IBA-News: 

”Europe... 

Most of the children will be in France in time for Christmas with their new families. Some 200 Haitian orphans are being brought to France to be with their adoptive families for Christmas. On Wednesday, a plane carrying the first group of more than 100 children arrived in Paris from Port-au-Prince. Another flight carrying another 80 children is expected on Friday. More... 

The Obama administration is preparing an executive order that would formalize indefinite detention without trial for some detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but allow those detainees and their lawyers to challenge the basis for continued incarceration, U.S. officials said. The administration has long signaled that the use of what the administration...