Free Republic

US: Who is John Kerry, the man US Democrats will choose next week to run for the White House? Conor O'Clery has been exploring his background For most of his life, people assumed John Kerry was Irish-American because of his name and his religion. He knew he was not, that his father's family had come from a part of Europe that was then in Austria but is now in the Czech Republic. But it wasn't until January 2003 that he learned in a meeting with Boston Globe reporters who had done some genealogical research that his paternal grandfather, Frederick Kerry,...

EU foreign ministers have reached a deal clearing the way for accession talks with Turkey to begin, EU officials have said. Austria had demanded the EU keep open the option of "privileged partnership" for Turkey, as well as full membership. But officials said after intense negotiations in Luxembourg that Austria had fallen into line. The new document has been sent to the Turkish government, which is considering whether to accept it. The BBC's Emma Jane Kirby at the talks in Luxembourg says everyone there is now waiting keenly for Ankara's response. "The government is studying the text and its...