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Pedersen has sights on Europe
Blackburn Rovers winger Morten Gamst Pedersen has in recent days spoken of how he feels Rovers should again this season be targeting another challenge amongst the top elite for a place in Europe.
So far, Rovers have had a rocky start with two losses, two draws and their first win recorded Sunday at the expense of Manchester City, winning 4-2. This win would see them climb from rock bottom to twelfth place. Despite scoring four against City, they have so far only notched up five league goals and conceded eight, giving them one of the worst goals against starts of this campaign.
Many people feel that it is a big ask for Rovers to perform to the standards of 2005-2006 as it will be hard to emulate, yet after qualifying for Europe in sixth place, it is still a surprise to see the club starting so poorly.
More : blackburn.vitalfootball.co.uk
The big question: Is Europe turning away from the social democrat model?
Because Swedens voters have thrown out their Social Democratic government after 12 years in office, striking a blow to one of the most successful political parties in Europe. Sundays elections ended the 10-year premiership of Göran Persson and ushered in a new coalition of centre-right parties led by Fredrik Reinfeldt. The scale of Mr Reinfeldts achievement should not be underestimated; the Social Democrats have been in power for all but nine years since 1932 and created a welfare state which is the envy of much of Europe.
Does Sweden matter?
With sluggish economic growth in France and Germany in recent years, EU policymakers have increasingly looked to the Nordic nations for inspiration. Under the Swedish social model voters pay some of the highest taxes in the world but get high-quality hospitals, schools and childcare. The government invests heavily in research and development to help innovation and boost economic growth.
More : news.independent.co.uk
Track and Field / World Cup / Shaheen, Richard clinch doubles; Europe, Russia take team titles
Europe and Russia took the team titles at the IAAF World Cup, but the second day of competition belonged to Qatar-based Saif Saaeed Shaheen and Sanya Richards of the United States, who completed competition doubles.
Shaheen, running for Asia, produced a spectacular finish to add the 3,000 meter steeplechase to the 5,000 meters that he won on Saturday.
Richards, meanwhile, who won the 400 meters on the opening day, made easy work of the 200, winning in a time of 22.23.
More : haaretz.com
DS Hits 6m in Europe
The brouhaha surrounding last weeks deluge of Wii details stole attention from Nintendos DS for a while, but new numbers from Nintendo reveal that the public is not forgetting about it.
The DS has sold 6 million units in Europe, Nintendos Satoru Shibata said at Nintendos Wii briefing on Friday. This is a handsome addition to the 10 million units that the handheld has sold in Japan.
Nintendo says the DS is responsible for widening the gaming audience, just like it said it would. Around 44 per cent of DS owners are female, said Nintendos Laurent Fisher, and thanks to games in the Touch Generations line, the company is attracting older people too.
Source : games.kikizo.com
Europe and Japan in effort to shore up yen
Finance ministers from Europe and Japan have launched a co-ordinated effort to shore up the yen, voicing concern over the recent sharp decline in a move designed to stop the Japanese currency falling any further.
After a meeting of ministers and central bank governors of the G7 in Singapore at the weekend, Sadakazu Tanigaki, the Japanese finance minister said the yens value should reflect Japans economy, which is recovering, and added that the recent drop in yen had been a little rough.
Jean Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, said: We noted that [Japan] had exited its zero interest rate policy, that its recovery is now broad-based. We agreed that the yen will reflect these developments.
More : ft.com
US trustbusters to Europe: Apple DRM monopoly? What monopoly?
In a story that still has my head spinning (and me wondering whether I need to go on medication or something), US antitrust officials are apparently lobbying foreign officials on Apples behalf. Reuters Peter Kaplan reports:
A top U.S. antitrust official on Wednesday urged foreign governments to think twice before interfering with popular new technologies, singling out overseas scrutiny of Apple Computer Inc.s iTunes online music service as an example of misguided enforcement….. Justice Department antitrust chief Thomas Barnett cited proposals by some officials overseas to impose restrictions on iTunes as an example of overzealous regulation that he said could discourage innovation and hurt consumers…… Barnett warned about a rise in regulatory second-guessing that threatens to harm the very consumers it claims to help.…..The comments came during a speech at an antitrust law conference in Washington, D.C., before an audience that included antitrust officials from Europe and Asia.
More : blogs.zdnet.com
Nintendo Wii hits Europe in December
Nintendos next-generation Wii games console will launch across Europe on 8 December, the company has officially announced.
The console will cost €249 throughout Europe and £179 in the UK. Games are expected to sell for between €49 and €59, or £34 to £39 in the UK.
The Wii ships with a wireless remote, a Nunchuk controller and five different sports games that can be played using simple physical movements.
More : vnunet.com
Blair attacks Europes mad anti-Americans Add to Clippings
British prime minister Tony Blair launched a withering attack on Thursday on what he called mad anti-Americanism among European politicians.
Blair, US president George W Bushs closest ally in the so-called war on terror, said the world urgently needs the United States to help tackle the globes most pressing problems.
The danger is if they decide to pull up the drawbridge and disengage. We need them involved, Blair said, spelling out his political vision in a pamphlet published by The Foreign Policy Centre think-tank.
More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Europe bids to reclaim £20m funding from the Highlands
First Minister Jack McConnell is to resist attempts by the European Commission to claw back more than £20m spent on projects in the Highlands and Islands in the 1990s.
The Scottish Executive and the UK government face a battle in hanging on to past financial awards after the EC officially informed them it was launching a formal financial correction which would represent 18% of the £110m of European funds invested between 1994 and 1999.
Mr McConnell will make this clear when he meets Professor Danuta Hubner, the European Commissioner for regional policy, who is due to visit Edinburgh next week. He will also seek the support of Westminster in his efforts.
More : theherald.co.uk
Stein and Busby the pioneers of Europe
Perhaps it was being born into the harsh surroundings of Lanarkshire coal-mining communities that influenced the football philosophy shared by Jock Stein and Matt Busby: it could never be enough for Celtic and Manchester United simply to win, they had to win in a manner that brought a smile to the faces of the common man who parted with a chunk of his wages to throng the terraces of Parkhead and Old Trafford.
The old stadiums have long since been transformed into modern wonders of the sporting world, the shipyard and textile workers, to whom a Saturday afternoon represented a brief escape from their daily toil, have surrendered their spaces to wealthy season ticket-holders and corporate executives, but the ideology survives. Celtic and United fans expect to win every game, and in the traditional style.
Stein and Busby shared another belief; long, before the rest of their fellow managers achieved similar enlightenment, they came to realise that success in domestic league football — while cause for intense satisfaction — was merely a passport to the European Cup, in which the true greatness of teams could be most accurately judged.
More : telegraph.co.uk
New-look Inter-Milan set to fire away in Europe
ARE Inter-Milan ready to be one of the big players in this seasons Champions League?
Yes, say the Italian champions after confirming their status as the Serie A favourites with a 3-2 win over Fiorentina on Saturday.
Inter have spent heavily to build a squad capable of defending the domestic title.
Going further than the quarter-finals in Europes premier competition, where they were beaten by Villarreal last term, is also a main objective for the Nerazzurri this year.
That is what has attracted the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Patrick Vieira and Hernan Crespo to the club, and all three will be crucial to coach Roberto Mancinis plans, since he will be without one of his star performers.
More : newpaper.asia1.com.sg
Arroyos conscience will be squeezed in Europe
AS OF this writing, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyos hand is being pressed by European leaders who will squeeze not only the flesh but also her conscience, as she is haunted here by the killings of human rights activists and leftist political opposition members.
In a petition letter I sent to the Committee on Petitions of the German Foreign Office and Parliament last April 25, I appealed to them to take necessary actions by telling Arroyo in no uncertain terms that her measures such as the calibrated preemptive response policy on street protests, Executive Order 464 which prohibits government officials from appearing in congressional hearings in aid of legislation, and Presidential Proclamation 1017 which put the country in a martial-law-like state of national emergency (which was non-existent) are not acceptable norms of government in a democracy.
I also requested them to tell Arroyo bluntly that extrajudicial killings of human rights activists, politically motivated murders, and human rights violations in the Philippines under her watch are totally unacceptable in any free society.
More : opinion.inq7.net
Europe, Asia Pledge to Cut Emissions
European and Asian leaders pledged Monday to keep cutting greenhouse gases after the U.N.s Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
But delegates at the two-day summit stopped short of setting new targets beyond the Kyoto agreement, reflecting Asian concerns that sharp emissions cuts could sap the strength of energy-hungry developing economies.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the climate change discussions were fruitful.
More : abcnews.go.com
Blues rate a favourite’s chance in Europe
After victories for Porto (66-1) and Liverpool (50-1) in the previous two years, normal service was resumed in last seasons Champions League. Barcelona were one of the market leaders at 13-2 this time last year, and punters looking for a long-term investment before this seasons competition gets properly under way on Tuesday are advised to concentrate on the highly rated teams rather than back a fancy-priced outsider.
Frank Rijkaards team are 4-1 favourites with Paddy Power to retain the title, a price that looks a little short on value given their group opponents, which include the second favourites Chelsea (5-1 outright with Coral) and the dangerous floaters Werder Bremen (generally 66-1). Also, it is possible that Barcelona will be pushed a little harder domestically by a reinvigorated Real Madrid, who themselves cannot be ruled out of Champions League glory at 9-1 (general) given Fabio Capellos record - although one Betfred punter disagrees, as he has staked £50,000 on Barça at 4-1 (the firm now goes 7-2).
More : football.guardian.co.uk
Pressure on Europe over CIA rendition
European governments face mounting pressure to come clean over their involvement in secret CIA prisons after their existence was acknowledged by the US.
So far all European countries have denied hosting illegal, US-run detention centres for terror suspects.
But Terry Davis, secretary general of the 46-nation Council of Europe, said: It is in everyones interests to clear the air. I am not going to accuse governments of lying but clearly it is difficult to reconcile what the Americans have said with what European governments have said.
More : news.independent.co.uk
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