EUROPE - Herman Van Rompuy was born in Etterbeek (Brussels) on October 31, 1947. He got a Bachelor in Philosophy from THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF LEUVEN in 1968. In 1971 he got a Master's degree in Applied Economics, also from Leuven. Both of these fields were to have substantial influence on his life: both spiritually and politically.
UK - A controversial Conservative Euro MP has careered into a clash with a bishop over his claim that the Church of England has "abandoned religion" to preach the gospel of climate change. Roger Helmer, Tory MEP for the East Midlands, has infuriated the Church with the accusation that it is more interested in "climate alarmism" than its traditional teachings.
UK - Over the weekend it emerged that France has secured the job of EU Internal Market Commissioner for Michel Barnier as part of the deal that saw Lady Ashton become EU Foreign Minister, following reports in French newspaper Le Monde. The paper reported, that, according to a source at the European Commission, "The French supported the British to lead European diplomacy, with Catherine Ashton's nomination. In return, they obtained the guarantee that the French MEP Michel Barnier would become Vice President of the European Commission in charge of the internal market and financial services."
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, USA - The federal government said Monday that it has found a "strong association" between problematic imported Chinese drywall and corrosion of pipes and wires, a conclusion that supports complaints by thousands of homeowners over the last year.
USA - The dirty little secrets of Glade, Pledge and Windex are all coming clean courtesy of venerable consumer products company SC Johnson. The Racine, Wisconsin outfit said last week it had launched a new website that lists the ingredients of more than 200 of its products. The WhatsInsideSCJohnson site represents the most significant disclosure to date of the ingredients found in household cleaning products.
USA - For those of us "skeptics" and "deniers" who have been jumping up and down, pointing at the Sun, and saying, "See, it's the Sun that determines how warm or cool the Earth is. See it? Up there in the sky?" The truth about some of the scientists behind the global warming hoax has finally arrived.
USA - As the Congress continues to rewrite and introduce new versions of so called health care reform legislation in both houses of Congress the citizens of the United States are treated to longer and longer bills that are more and more confusing.
USA - The United States government is financing its more than trillion-dollar-a-year borrowing with IOU's on terms that seem too good to be true. But that happy situation, aided by ultralow interest rates, may not last much longer.
WASHINGTON, USA - Suddenly the Federal Reserve is everybody's punching bag. Strip the Fed of its bank regulation powers, some in Congress are demanding. Get probing audits of its behind-the-scenes operations, others say.
BHUBANESWAR, INDIA – India's army tested a nuclear-capable Agni missile after sunset on Monday for the first time to demonstrate it could be fired whenever required, defense officials said.
UK - The leading industrialised economies emerged from recession between July and September, but Britain remained the "sick man", staying in an economic slump, figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed today.
VATICAN - Pope John Paul II regularly whipped himself in a sign of "remorse for his sins", a nun has claimed. The Pope, who died five years ago, is being considered for sainthood by the Catholic Church.
EUROPE - Europe's leaders have chosen two competent but dull technocrats to be the EU's first president and foreign minister. The uninspired choice shows the determination of national leaders to hold on to power - and the limits of what is currently possible within the bloc.
USA - The level of swine flu activity in the United States appears to be declining, although officials are worried about another increase of cases during the Thanksgiving holiday when many people travel and families gather.
RUSSIA - Russia has now turned into a "criminal state", according to the man who was once its leading foreign investor. Bill Browder of Hermitage Capital was reacting to the news that his lawyer had died in prison in Russia after being held for a year without charge.