Free Republic

An incident in the South China Sea last month saw 10 Vietnamese fishermen beaten by officers from China’s Maritime Safety Administration near the Paracel Islands, reported local media.According to Vietnamese accounts, Maritime Safety Administration vessels 101 and 301 from the Sansha City United Law Enforcement Unit surrounded the civilian vessel on the morning of Sept. 29. Three rubber hulled inflated boats were deployed by the patrol ships to board the fishing vessel, which was attempting to escape. Despite attempts from the QNg 95739 TS to prevent the boarding. Their efforts were unsuccessful.Four of the Vietnamese fishermen were severely injured during...

A Chinese cutter blasted a Philippine fisheries vessel with its water cannon at Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Tuesday morning, officials in Manila said on Tuesday.The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, a civilian department meant to assist and regulate Philippine fishing efforts, said two offshore vessels were harassed by two cutters from the China Coast Guard and a warship from the People’s Liberation Army Navy. According to the agency, BRP Datu Cabaylo (MMOV-3001) and BRP Datu Sanday (MMOV-3002) were at Scarborough Shoal to resupply fishermen fishing near the disputed maritime feature.A video released by Philippine state...

Discussion on the Greek bailout and implications for the EEC

"Declaration on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the signature of the Treaties of Rome"For centuries Europe has been an idea, holding out hope of peace and understanding. That hope has been fulfilled. European unification has made peace and prosperity possible. It has brought about a sense of community and overcome differences. Each Member State has helped to unite Europe and to strengthen democracy and the rule of law. Thanks to the yearning for freedom of the peoples of Central and Eastern Europe the unnatural division of Europe is now consigned to the past. European unification shows that...

Berlin is seen as a symbolic venue for the EU party European Union leaders have joined a gala concert in Berlin celebrating the 50th anniversary of the bloc, which was founded by the 1957 Treaty of Rome.The concert, conducted by Britain's Sir Simon Rattle, will be followed by dinner for the 27 leaders at German President Horst Koehler's residence. Berliners will also join events at city clubs and museums throughout the night. A leader's summit on Sunday will endorse a statement emphasising the EU's achievements and challenges ahead. Chancellor Angela Merkel will use the event to relaunch the debate...

Marie-Helene Von Mach was there Marie-Helene Von Mach remembers the day her father came back from the dead. It was 1954 and he had been gone nine years.A German Wehrmacht officer taken prisoner by the Soviets in occupied Czechoslovakia at the end of the war, he had disappeared into Stalin's Gulag and his family did not know whether he was alive or dead. Then, suddenly, he came home. Over lunch in Brussels last month I told her that, as the BBC's Moscow correspondent, I'd lived in an apartment block built by captured German soldiers, whom Stalin used as slave...

!-- E IBYL --> The European Union claims it has secured peace among historical enemies, spread democracy to its neighbours and created a new model of international co-operation. But none of that was pre-ordained. The milestones of the past 50 years tell a story of bitter national rivalries, personality clashes and tortured compromises which have threatened the project's survival more than once and may do so again in the coming years. Churchill saw European unity as a means of breaking the cycle of conflict Winston Churchill, Britain's wartime leader, called postwar Europe "a rubble heap, a charnel-house, a breeding-ground...

No sooner had Israel raised its hand in self-defense Finland, speaking as the rotating president of the European Union, denounced it for “the disproportionate use of force.” This position, echoed by France, Spain, the United Nations, and others, is wrong legally, morally, and strategically. From a legal standpoint, Israel is the victim of multiple unprovoked aggressions. It withdrew entirely from Lebanon in 2000 and from Gaza in 2005. (Both of these occupations had come about as acts of self-defense: the former against rocket fire from Lebanon in 1982 and the latter against a war of annihilation declared by Egypt in...

Meeting of G9 group of environmental NGOs European Parliament, Wednesday, 26 January 2005 I am very pleased to be here this evening to address representatives of the Green 9 environmental NGOs. They have played an important role in moving forward and communicating the EU environmental agenda. I look forward to working with you over the coming years. I am also grateful to John Bowis for hosting this event. The European Parliament plays a crucial role as co-legislator and advocate of environmental protection and I am committed to working closely with the EP during my mandate. * * Earlier this afternoon,...