Month: May 2012

Spanish Data Point to Further Decline

PARIS — Data underscoring the depth of Spain’s economic problems dampened investor enthusiasm in Europe, but most stock markets turned positive as Wall Street opened. Spanish retail sales fell in April by a record 9.8 percent from a year earlier, the 22nd consecutive monthly decline, the government statistics institute said […]

Louis XIV railway carriages take to Paris-Versailles line

Rfi: Possibly the most glamorous local railway carriages in the world started operating on Wednesday between Paris and Versailles. They may look like any old beat-up railway train on the outside but inside they are decorated with reproductions of interiors from the royal Palace of Versailles. More: http://www.english.rfi.fr/visiting-france/20120516-louis-xiv-railway-carriages-take-paris-versailles-line

Islamophobia in Europe: Racism repackaged?

Arwa Al-Rikabi ARAB NEWS “Islam and Muslims are incompatible with rationality”…Who do you think said this? It sounds like something Geert Wilders (leader of Party of Freedom-Netherlands) or Nick Griffin (chairman of British National Party) would say, but it is the French Orientalist Ernest Renan who declared this in the […]

Basra to make renewed push for autonomy

AFP | May 28,2012 | 22:56 JORDAN POST BASRA, Iraq — A top politician in Iraq’s oil-rich Basra Province moved on Monday to give the area more autonomy from the central government, three years after the failure of a similar bid. Basra provincial council chief Sabah Al Bazzouni told reporters […]