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General European News; » |
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| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:19:01 +0200 Art and politics: A reappraisal |
| "There is no need for the western political artist to sail the seven seas looking for injustices to denounce. Inequality and exploitation saturate the ground on which we stand, they are in the grain of everyday life." Conceptual artist Victor Burgin on documentary art as the "new doxa". |
| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:19:01 +0200 Will the book enter the digital age? |
| Are publishers prepared for challenges posed by the dematerialization of the printed word? Pascal Fouché, author of an encyclopaedia of the book, on digitization and the new balance of power in the book trade. [English version added] |
| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:19:01 +0200 How to become a real Muslim |
| The media has colluded with self-promoting but marginal Muslim clerics to create a cycle of self-reinforcing myths around the Mohammed cartoons. The fear of causing offence undermines progressive trends in Islam and strengthens the hand of religious bigots. [Romanian version added] |
| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:19:01 +0200 Vilnius: The city as object of nostalgia |
| Lithuania's capital is close to the heart of many different groups and nationalities who have at one time or another called it "home". Better that they unite in their love of the city than fight for isolated fragments of its magical, multi-layered past, writes Tomas Venclova. [English version added] |
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| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:26:41 GMT US growth slows in second quarter |
| Economic expansion slowed in the second quarter of the year as a swelling trade deficit and weaker consumer spending proved a drag on the recovery |
| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:29:30 GMT Li Ka-shing buys EDF arm for £5.8bn |
| EDF Networks has low-voltage electricity distribution networks in the east and south of England, long-term contracts with businesses such as London Underground, Heathrow and Gatwick, and the Channel Tunnel |
| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:50:52 GMT Investors drop risk after US GDP data |
| Global Markets Overview: The FTSE All-World index is down 0.5% following a lower-than-forecast GDP growth report for the US. Futures markets are pricing in lower opening prices for the S&P 500 index |
| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:49:37 GMT Spanish jobless rate continues to climb |
| Latest household employment survey reveals that 32,800 additional people had joined the dole queue in the three months to the end of June, taking the total to 4.65m, or 20.09 per cent of the active population |
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| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:47:00 +0200 Qualcomm secures local investors for India LTE project |
(Telecompaper) Qualcomm has signed up local investors for its Indian wireless broadband venture. The US-based chipmaker won spectrum in four regions of India last month and plans to roll out a LTE network. Global Holding Corp and Tulip Telecom have now agreed to become shareholders in the venture with 13 percent each, and Qualcomm at 74 percent, in line with Indian foreign investment rules. Tulip said it will pay INR 1.4 billion for its stake. Global Holding is the holding company of the Global Group, which provides network services to India's mobile operators and owns telecom tower infrastructure. Tulip Telecom is an enterprise data connectivity service provider with experience in creating and managing large networks across industry verticals. Qualcomm said its objective was to secure initial shareholders who are operator-neutral, yet bring strong telecom and broadband experience. It plans to bring one or more existing mobile operators into the venture in future, and then exit the company. In the recently concluded BWA auction, Qualcomm won one slot of 20 MHz TDD spectrum in the 2.3 GHz band covering the telecom circles of Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala. The company paid a total INR 49.125 billion (USD 1.045 billion) for the spectrum rights. |
| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:01:00 +0200 Alcatel-Lucent on rising trend in Q2, maintains outlook |
(Telecompaper) Alcatel-Lucent reported EUR 3.81 billion of revenue in the second quarter, up 17.4 percent sequentially but down 2.4 percent compared to the year-earlier period. The group's adjusted gross margin came in a 36.1 percent for the quarter, versus 32.6 percent in the first quarter and 33.1 percent in the second quarter of 2009, driven by the product and geographic mix and the impact of fixed operations cost-cutting initiatives. Alcatel-Lucent said it expected a stronger second half. The continued improvement in sales trends combined with its action on costs are likely to deliver a significant leverage effect on the operating profit level, the company said. The group has maintained its full-year outlook of up to 5 percent growth in telecommunications equipment and related services revenues and an adjusted operating margin of 1-5 percent. In the second quarter, Alcatel-Lucent's revenue in its networks segment was down by 3.4 percent year-on-year to EUR 2.3 billion, but up 19.5 percent on the first quarter. The segment posted an adjusted operating profit of EUR 55 million for a 2.4 percent operating margin, compared to a EUR 136 million adjusted operating loss in the year-earlier period. Within this segement, the IP division posted revenues down 11.2 percent year-on-year to EUR 318 million, optics down 14.6 percent to EUR 622 million, wireless up 5 percent to EUR 1.02 billion, and wireline down 13.7 percent from EUR 366 million. The applications segment increased its revenue by 5.8 percent to EUR 489 million over the same period. Finally, the services segment's sales reached EUR 833 million, up 1.1 percent on the second-quarter of last year. |
| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:23:00 +0200 Samsung mobile phone shipments up 22%, prices under pressure |
(Telecompaper) Samsung Electronics announced second-quarter revenues of KRW 37.89 trillion, up 17 percent year-on-year. Operating profit rose 88 percent to KRW 5.01 trillion, and net profit improved to KRW 4.28 trillion from KRW 2.33 trillion a year ago. The results were in line with the company's earlier forecast, with growth driven by a recovery in its components and semiconductors business, helping to offset price pressure in consumer electronics. "With intensified competition throughout the digital media and mobile industries going forward, it may become a challenge to maintain current profitability levels," said Robert Yi, head of Samsung Electronics' investor relations "However, we will continue to focus on introducing differentiated products and widening our technology leadership in components to meet these difficult market conditions." Strong seasonal demand for core components is expected to drive Samsung's performance in the third quarter, although increased market supply is also forecast. Samsung forecast that continued price competition in its CE businesses will put downward pressure on profit margins in the third quarter. Samsung's telecom division posted an operating profit of KRW 630 billio in Q2, down from KRW 980 billion a year ago, on revenue down 4 percent to KRW 8.78 trillion. The operating profit margin fell to 7.2 percent from 10.8 in Q2 2009, as competition caused a slight decline in the average handset price and earnings were affected by the fall in the euro. Samsung sold 63.8 million handsets during the second quarter, an increase of 22 percent year-on-year but down slightly from 64.3 million in Q1 due to a slowdown in Europe. The recently launched Galaxy S and Wave handsets made little contribution in the quarter but are expected to help grow H2 sales. Samsung forecast high single digit sequential growth in shipments for the third quarter. Touch-screen mobile handsets made up 30 percent of Samsung's unit sales during the second quarter, compared with 15 percent a year ago. Samsung said it will also launch a range of mid-end smartphones as part of its strategy to provide mobile devices for every lifestyle. |
| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:50:00 +0200 Softbank's Q1 sales boosted by mobile unit |
(Telecompaper) Japanese communications provider Softbank saw its first quarter net sales grow over 5 percent while income dropped almost 30 percent. Net sales in the three months to June totalled JPY 700.84 billion, up 5.2 percent from JPY 666.33 billion in the year-ago period, reflecting steady sales at Softbank Mobile. Operating income went up 44.6 percent to JPY 156.60 billion, and ordinary income rose 61 percent to JPY 126.84 billion, driven by earnings growth in the mobile communications segment due to an increase in the number of mobile subscribers and an increase in ARPU. Softbank recorded a net income of JPY 19.44 billion, down 29 percent from JPY 27.38 billion a year earlier, mainly due to an increase in total income taxes. For the full year, Softbank expects operating income of JPY 500 billion, up 7.3 percent year-on-year. |
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| last updated: Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:05:29 GMT |
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| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:42:05 +0000 Global climate effort ‘still inadequate’ as talks continue |
Countries' pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions offer virtually no chance of halting global warming before it reaches dangerous levels, researchers said as negotiators gather in Bonn to continue climate talks next week. |
| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:22:17 +0000 Education targets 'won’t be a problem' for Czechs |
Education, one of the five headline targets of the EU's 'Europe 2020' strategy, is not worrying the Czech Republic - its national targets seem attainable. Yet during the negotiation process, Prague repeatedly stressed that the EU-wide targets must respect the existing absorption capacity of the market. EurActiv.cz reports. |
| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:51:39 +0000 The EU's economic governance: Rewriting the rulebook |
The Greek sovereign debt crisis is forcing Europeans to rethink the coordination of their national economic policies, confronting the euro area with its most severe test since its launch eleven years ago. |
| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:47:25 +0000 EU Kosovo mission steps up corruption crackdown |
EULEX, the EU's law enforcement mission in Kosovo, has carried out a string of high-profile arrests leading to charges against government officials in the former Serbian province, which declared its independence in 2008. |
| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:31:10 +0000 EU regulators to probe financial trading |
Traders who sell complex financial products, like credit defaults swaps, will face increased transparency standards if European regulators investigating high-frequency trading get their own way. |
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EU Institutions and Agencies News; » |
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| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:00:00 +0100 Euro area inflation estimated at 1.7% |
| Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 1.7% in July 2010 according to a flash estimate issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. It was 1.4% in June. |
| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:00:00 +0100 Euro area unemployment rate stable at 10.0% |
| The euro area (EA16) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 10.0% in June 2010, unchanged compared with May. It was 9.5% in June 2009. The EU27 unemployment rate was 9.6% in June 2010, unchanged compared with May. It was 9.0% in June 2009. |
| Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:00:00 +0100 Business investment rate down to 20.2% in the euro area and 19.7% in the EU27 |
| In the first quarter of 2010, in both the euro area (EA16) and the EU27, the seasonally adjusted business investment rate fell compared with the previous quarter, while the profit share grew. In the euro area, stocks decreased for the fifth quarter in a row. |
| Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:00:00 +0100 Household saving rate down to 14.6% in the euro area and 13.0% in the EU27 |
| In the first quarter of 2010, in both the euro area (EA16) and the EU27, the seasonally adjusted household saving rate and the household investment rate decreased. In the euro area, household disposable income fell by 0.6% in real terms. |
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| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:19:01 +0200 Art and politics: A reappraisal |
| "There is no need for the western political artist to sail the seven seas looking for injustices to denounce. Inequality and exploitation saturate the ground on which we stand, they are in the grain of everyday life." Conceptual artist Victor Burgin on documentary art as the "new doxa". |
| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:19:01 +0200 Will the book enter the digital age? |
| Are publishers prepared for challenges posed by the dematerialization of the printed word? Pascal Fouché, author of an encyclopaedia of the book, on digitization and the new balance of power in the book trade. [English version added] |
| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:19:01 +0200 How to become a real Muslim |
| The media has colluded with self-promoting but marginal Muslim clerics to create a cycle of self-reinforcing myths around the Mohammed cartoons. The fear of causing offence undermines progressive trends in Islam and strengthens the hand of religious bigots. [Romanian version added] |
| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:19:01 +0200 Vilnius: The city as object of nostalgia |
| Lithuania's capital is close to the heart of many different groups and nationalities who have at one time or another called it "home". Better that they unite in their love of the city than fight for isolated fragments of its magical, multi-layered past, writes Tomas Venclova. [English version added] |
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| Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:02:00 UT Venus Express:Recreating Venus in the lab |
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Scientists are able to learn about the atmospheres and surfaces of planets by studying their spectra - the different wavelengths of light which they reflect or absorb. However, when researchers study spectra of Venus, the hottest planet in the Solar System, they run into a problem. Its high temperatures and pressures seriously affect the data.
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| Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:39:00 UT Cluster:Cluster makes crucial step in understanding space weather |
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Researchers using the four spacecraft of ESA's Cluster mission have uncovered the long journey that energetic ions undergo during geomagnetic storms and how they ultimately precipitate into the Earth's atmosphere. Such precipitation affects the composition of the ionosphere, preventing GPS and communications satellites from operating correctly.
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| Fri, 16 Jul 2010 10:52:00 UT Herschel:Special issue of Astronomy & Astrophysics dedicated to Herschel's first results |
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The first scientific results obtained with Herschel are appearing, this week, in a special issue of the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. Based on data collected during the first few months of operations with this ESA observatory, the 152 new publications tackle a multitude of different astrophysical subjects, ranging from nearby Solar System bodies through newly-forming stars in our Galaxy, all the way to very distant galaxies. These first results provide a clear indication of the profound contribution that this mission will make to astronomy.
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| Mon, 05 Jul 2010 20:37:00 UT Planck:Planck all-sky image depicts galactic mist over the cosmic background |
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An all-sky image from Planck's recently completed first survey highlights the two major emission sources in the microwave sky: the cosmic background and the Milky Way. The relic radiation coming from the very early Universe is, to a large extent, masked by intervening astronomical sources, in particular by our own Galaxy's diffuse emission. Thanks to Planck's nine frequency channels, and to sophisticated image analysis techniques, it is possible to separate these two contributions into distinct scientific products that are of immense value for cosmologists and astrophysicists, alike.
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| 29 Jul 2010 16:55:00 +0100 How do satellite communications help tackle grand societal
challenges? |
| The Integral SatCom Initiative European Technology Platform (ISI) released an innovative paper to identify the research topics in satellite communications that could help in addressing grand societal challenges. It is the first one produced by a Technology Platform on interdisciplinary cooperation for societal challenges. The key words to remember: smarter systems for culture and knowledge management, healthcare, transport, mobility, environmental information, energy grids and broadband for all. |
| 29 Jul 2010 10:00:00 +0100 Public consultation : Deployment of in-vehicle Emergency
call - eCALL - in Europe |
| In case of a severe crash, an eCall-equipped vehicle will automatically call 112, the EU's single emergency number. Even if no passenger is able to speak, e.g. due to injuries, a minimum set of data with information about the accident is sent automatically. The minimum set of data includes the exact geographic location of the crash site. eCall can also be activated manually. eCall has the potential to reduce the time that emergency services will need to arrive at the accident scene. This will contribute to reducing the number of people killed in road accidents, as well as the severity of injuries.
The European Commission is carrying out an impact assessment of the eCall deployment. The assessment considers various policy options (no intervention, voluntary approach or mandatory implementation of eCall) to implement the eCall system in Europe.
The main objective of this public consultation is to collect the opinions of stakeholders and EU citizens on the issue and therefore ensure the transparency of the decision making process. Closing date : 19/09/2010 |
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| Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT Merging e-services seamlessly |
| Information technology (IT) experts and computer scientists from Europe and Israel have begun work on a project that seeks to resolve the significant business stumbling block of interoperation between e-services (electronic services). The ACSI ('Artifact-centric service interoperation') consortium's two-pronged solution will examine the viability of interoperation hubs and dynamic artefacts as ways to improve the process whereby e-services are merged into one dynamic system. The project has been funded EUR 3.24 million by the 'Information and Communication Technologies' (ICT) Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). |
| Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT Rewarding research excellence |
| Two young scientists have received the first ever Excellent Paper in Neuroscience Award, an initiative of the ERA-NET NEURON project (Network for European Funding for Neuroscience Research). NEURON received EUR 2.7 million under the ERA-NET scheme of the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) to better coordinate national research funding programmes and funding activities in Europe in the field of disease-related neurosciences. |
| Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT Plug-ins to cut back on energy waste |
| Two percent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are attributed to the information communication and technologies (ICT) sector. This figure represents 1 billion kilowatts of electricity required to keep 3 billion PCs and mobile devices and over 500 million host computers running! The EU-funded team under FIT4Green ('Federated IT for a sustainable environmental impact') has set itself the ambitious goal of tackling this overconsumption. The project is funded with EUR 3.18 million under the ICT Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). |
| Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT Tracking down neuromuscular diseases |
| Neuromuscular diseases (NMDs) are chronic and so far incurable conditions that gradually affect patients' muscles, leading to potentially severe disabilities. Biomedical researchers are busy looking for the diseases' Achilles' heel. Rising to meet this challenge head on are scientists from the EU-funded BIO-NMD ('Identifying and validating preclinical biomarkers for diagnostics and therapeutics of NMDs)' project, which was granted more than EUR 5.6 million under the Health Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) to identify new biological markers for future clinical trials. |
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| 2010-07-28 10:00:00 Europe's mountains: rich in biodiversity but increasingly vulnerable |
| Snow-capped peaks, rocky inclines, rich forests and sloping meadows provide recreation and economic opportunities for humans and a home to many plants and animals. The European Environment Agency's new assessment of mountain ecosystems sheds light on their state and the pressures they face. |
| 2010-07-12 12:00:00 Emissions of sulphur oxides and ozone-forming pollutants fall significantly |
| The European Union air pollutant emission inventory report compiled by the European Environment Agency (EEA) shows that the EU-27 has cut sulphur oxides (SOx) emissions by 78 % since 1990. The decline was particularly sharp during the latest reporting year, falling 20 % in 2008 compared to 2007. The emissions of three ozone precursors — CO, NMVOCs and NOx — also continued the downward trend. |
| 2010-06-30 10:00:00 How Europe's agriculture can boost biodiversity |
| Intensive farming has long been a major cause of biodiversity decline in Europe. The European Environment Agency's (EEA) new short assessment examines Europe's efforts to strike a balance between producing sufficient food and maintaining agro-ecosystems that are rich in biodiversity above and below ground. |
| 2010-06-23 17:45:00 Take a look at your water environment |
| What are the nutrient levels in your coastal waters or nearby lake? Do you live in an area where urban waste water treatment fails to meet the EU requirements? The European Environment Agency (EEA) provides the answers through its interactive maps, which have been updated with new water quality data. |
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