Breffni O'Rourke

August 10, 2004

Mideast/South Asia: Massive Locust Swarms Could Spread East From Africa Into Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan

Vast swarms of locusts are spreading across North Africa's Sahel region, and experts fear the voracious insects could head east and north across the Arabian Peninsula into Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan, almost to Central Asia. Efforts to control the infestation at its starting point along Africa's Atlantic coast have so far been ineffective.

August 04, 2004

U.S.: Terror Alert Seen As Lesson Drawn From 9/11

U.S. Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge (file photo) U.S. Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge is defending as "essential" the decision to raise the terror alert level for financial institutions in the New York and Washington, D.C., areas, despite the fact that some of the information the warning is based on is up to four years old. Officials say the age of the information is not relevant. They say Al-Qaeda is known to plan well ahead, and is thought to have recently updated the information. That could indicate such an attack is near.

August 04, 2004

Middle East: No Easy Solution In Sight For Palestinian Authority Tensions

The Palestinian National Authority, the body which governs the Palestinian territories, is riven with internal political tensions even as it struggles to contend with the unending conflict with Israel. The veteran Authority chairman, Yasser Arafat -- who turned 75 on 4 August -- is facing a revolt from the younger generation of Palestinian activists who want to see better governance of their territories, as well as the uprooting of corruption. They also want to see some results from the tattered peace process with Israel. Arafat has made some concessions to his critics, but is that enough to bring a new sense of direction to the Palestinian search for a secure future alongside Israel?

August 02, 2004

U.S.: Washington Heightens Terror Alert For Financial Institutions

U.S. officials are trying to prevent another 9/11 The United States has raised to "high" its security alert level for major financial institutions in the New York and Washington areas. Tom Ridge, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said "unusually specific" intelligence information suggests that Al-Qaeda attacks may occur at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund headquarters in Washington, or at the New York Stock Exchange or several other financial institutions in or close to New York. RFE/RL correspondent Breffni O'Rourke reports that U.S. officials are saying the new information is tied to the recent capture of terror suspects in Asia.

July 29, 2004

Poland: Aftershocks Still Being Felt As Warsaw Remembers Failed Uprising

Ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising take place in the Polish capital on 1 August. The revolt of the Polish Home Army against the Nazi German occupation cost the lives of as many as 20,000 Polish underground fighters, and tens of thousands of civilians. Among those in Warsaw for the commemoration will be German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Despite the passage of time, wounds are still raw in Poland, and the occasion will provide another opportunity to advance German-Polish reconciliation.

July 28, 2004

World: As Global Warming Accelerates, Is It Time For Nuclear Power To Come In From the Cold?

Extreme weather conditions are occurring with increasing frequency around the world, many of them blamed on disturbances to the atmosphere caused by global warming. But despite warnings from scientists, mankind seems unable to stem its insatiable appetite for energy -- particularly fossil fuels, which, according to experts, are producing the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. Emissions are set to rise dramatically in the next few years as developing countries expand their economies. Given the predicament, is it time for the environmental movement to drop its opposition to nuclear power?

July 22, 2004

EU: Western Europe's Workers Start To Feel Cold Wind Of Economic Globalization

Western Europe's system of short working weeks and generous annual holidays is under attack. Prominent companies in both Germany and France are threatening to move to cheaper production sites in other countries unless their workers accept longer working hours for the same pay. The companies' negotiating hand is greatly strengthened by the presence inside the European Union of 10 new members -- mostly from Eastern and Central Europe -- where wage costs are only a fraction of Western levels.

July 01, 2004

World: Saturn Probe Flawlessly Enters Orbit, Running Rings Around The Planet

After a 3 billion-kilometer journey through space, the international "Cassini-Huygens" spacecraft has gone into orbit around the ringed planet Saturn. Almost seven years after leaving Earth, the spacecraft is now beginning a research program to unlock the secrets of the planet and its many moons. "Cassini-Huygens" is a joint project of the U.S. and European space agencies. It consists of two probes, the major one being the "Cassini" vehicle that will study the planet and its famous rings. Carried piggyback on "Cassini" is the European Space Agency's "Huygens" probe, which will detach and land on the surface of Saturn's biggest moon, Titan.

June 30, 2004

Iraq: Authorities In Baghdad Take Legal Custody of Saddam Hussein

Just two days after Iraq's interim government took power in Baghdad, U.S. forces have handed over former President Saddam Hussein to the legal custody of the new authorities. Transferred along with Hussein today were 11 senior figures from his government, which was ousted by U.S.-led forces more than a year ago. Among them are former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali" for his role in chemical weapons attacks. Hussein is expected to face a wide range of charges in court tomorrow.

June 30, 2004

Iraq: Handover -- Baghdad Can't Expect Much Outside Help Until Security Is Under Control (Part 4)

Iraq's economy is based largely on oil exports Iraq has been granted its sovereignty from the United States; but will the world be rushing to help Baghdad? Probably not, while the security situation remains so grave. The likelihood of new foreign-troop commitments is slim, and reconstruction and economic activity cannot progress meaningfully without a secure environment. In the fourth piece in a five-part series on the handover of power, RFE/RL correspondent Breffni O'Rourke reports that it is now up to the new interim government in Baghdad to convince the Iraqi people that it is legitimate and that further violence is pointless.

June 28, 2004

EU: Leaders Find Compromise Candidate For Commission President

The Irish presidency is nearly over The Irish presidency of the European Union has found a compromise candidate for the key post of president of the union's executive commission. He is Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso. Almost unknown outside his own country, Durao Barroso is being described as both intensely pro-European, and at the same time Atlanticist in terms of supporting good relations with the United States. If the choice of Barroso is confirmed by the Council of Ministers tomorrow, he will replace Romano Prodi, who is stepping down at the end of his five-year term in Brussels in October. But is the obscure Portuguese the right man to lead the union at a time when it faces what are probably the most serious challenges in its half-century of existence?

June 25, 2004

Afghanistan: Istanbul Summit To Make More Aid A Priority

The NATO alliance is holding its first full summit meeting since its historic expansion into Eastern Europe in April. But the two-day summit in Istanbul on 28-29 June will not have time for self-congratulation. NATO's mission in Afghanistan -- which is meant to showcase its new role in the world -- is facing potential failure.

June 24, 2004

U.S./EU: Trans-Atlantic Summit -- Regular Ritual With A Heavyweight Agenda

U.S. President George W. Bush is about to start a visit to Europe that could take another step towards repairing the damage done to trans-Atlantic relations by the Iraq war. Bush will hold a summit with European Union leaders in Ireland from 25-26 June. The future of Iraq, Iran's nuclear intentions, the state of the fight against international terrorism, and U.S.-EU trade issues are likely to dominate the visit. Afterwards, Bush goes on to Turkey for a NATO summit.

June 21, 2004

EU: Constitutional Process Faces Difficult Prospects

Ahern's victory? The European Union leaders' agreement last week on the text of the union's first constitution is the end of a long road. But it also marks the start of an even more difficult path. That's because the constitution must now be ratified by each member state, and some governments have chosen to hold referendums on the issue. The chances that those referendums will all succeed seem dim.

June 17, 2004

World: Internet Conference Wrestles With Balancing Free Speech, Control

An international conference took place in Paris to discuss the use and abuse of the Internet. Is this wonder of modern-day communication actually turning into a means of propagating mankind's age-old hatreds, such as racism, and political and moral extremism? If so, where lies the balance between free speech and control?

June 17, 2004

EU: Minority Protection -- Bloc's Policies Could Influence Friends To The East (Part 2)

With the European Union's initial historic eastward enlargement now complete, a group of concerned experts is appealing to EU heads of state and government to do more to protect ethnic minorities. As RFE/RL correspondent Breffni O'Rourke reports in this second and final article, the experts are calling for measures that could influence minority protections well beyond the EU's borders -- for instance, in the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

June 16, 2004

EU: Minority Protection -- Initiative Seeks To Set Higher Standards (Part 1)

Just six weeks after the European Union's historic enlargement, a group of experts is appealing to EU heads of state and government to do more to protect ethnic minorities. They fear the preservation of Europe's scores of minority cultures could be neglected as the bloc absorbs new members from Central and Eastern Europe. In their Bolzano Declaration, the experts call for measures that could influence minority protection well beyond the EU's borders. RFE/RL reports in the first of a two-part series.

June 14, 2004

EU: Ruling Parties Suffer Strong Rebuke In European Elections

The elections to the European Parliament in the 25 member states of the European Union have been characterized by two marked trends. One is that voters often rejected ruling parties, voting instead for opposition parties. The other phenomenon was low overall voter participation, with turnout reaching a rock bottom of 17 percent in one EU state. What do these trends say about democratic life in the newly expanded union?

June 11, 2004

EU: Parliamentary Elections -- Voters In Eastern Newcomers Also Wrestle With Apathy, Ignorance (Part 2)

Some 350 million people are eligible to vote in elections to the European Parliament now under way in European Union member states. These are the first elections to the EU legislature since the historic expansion of the bloc on 1 May to 25 countries. In this second and final article, RFE/RL correspondent Breffni O'Rourke looks at the way the Eastern European newcomers are taking to this new democratic task.

June 10, 2004

EU: European Elections -- Parliament Enjoying Growing Power But Little Glory (Part 1)

Some 350 million people are eligible to vote in elections for the European Parliament. The polls started in some member states today and run until 13 June. The European Parliament is the democratic arm of the European Union and thus is one of the EU's fundamental institutions. But as RFE/RL correspondent Breffni O'Rourke reports in the first of a two-part series, in the 25 years it has been directly elected, the European Parliament has had to struggle to overcome voter apathy and gain public recognition. That is still the case in the present elections, which are the first since the EU expanded by 10 new members on 1 May.