On this week’s show: EU leaders call for a new economic world order--The legacy of Austrian right wing populist Jörg Haider--Can Moldova win over the West with Wine?--US giant Facebook calls a rival German firm copycat--Is social networking in Turkey empowering people or polarising society?--How nasty can the digital battlefield get? and a new way of keeping people alive virtually Web cemeteries. Tune in to Inside Europe on the radio or sign up for the Inside Europe podcast! You can also download the programme from the website.EU leaders call for a new economic world orderFrench President Nicolas Sarkozy said this week that the global credit crunch represented an unprecedented crisis for the European Union. But the bloc’s 27 member states, he said, now have a common and robust solution to the crisis.President Sarkozy was attending an EU summit in Brussels, where the bloc endorsed a major financial rescue package - including measures to inject new capital into ailing lenders and encourage the flow of credit to consumers and businesses. The leaders of the European Union also called for a new financial world order and backed the idea of the G8 to hold a world finance summit before the end of this year. Reporter: Eleanor Beardsley (Brussels) Iceland’s economic meltdown leaves islanders financially strandedThe biggest national casualty of the financial crisis has been Iceland. Its three largest banks have gone bust and the whole economy is in danger.Officials from the International Monetary Fund have arrived on the island and are working on a rescue package. For Icelanders living abroad these are very difficult times. Many of them have had their funds cut off; and they’re watching events unfold back home with mounting consternation and dismay. Reporter: Stephen Beard (London) The legacy of Austrian right wing populist Jörg HaiderThe death of Austrian far-right politician Jörg Haider in a car crash last weekend has thrown into doubt the future of his party, the Alliance for Austria's Future.It's also raised the possibility of the country's two successful far-right parties joining forces. Haider was killed when his car smashed into concrete barriers and overturned while travelling at more than twice the speed limit. Reporter: Kerry Skyring (Vienna)Winemaking - changing Moldova’s imageWhen foreigners read about Moldova it’s invariably in association with corruption, human trafficking or wide scale poverty. Moldovans, though, would like their country’s image to be based on one of its potential assets – winemaking.After all, Moldovan wines are exported to around 60 countries and the locals will tell you that Moldova is even shaped like a bunch of grapes. The country’s oenological heritage is a distinguished one: Moldova’s vineyards have won prestigious foreign awards and back in the nineteenth century, their wines were drunk by the British royal family. But the industry needs a higher profile and more markets abroad. Reporter: Helen Seeney (Moldova)The digital battlefield – tracing Internet traffic and cyber attacksAdvances in computer technology and the Internet have changed the way we work, learn, and communicate. Within little over a decade the world wide web has brought significant changes to our societies, our economies and political systems.It’s connecting people across the world and enables them to share knowledge, exchange ideas and build networks. It has an incredible potential, but also its dark sides. Identity theft, child pornography and cyber attacks are just a few examples of flourishing and lucrative cyber crime. For some years now concerted online attacks have become a growing threat, but the recent cyber war between Russia and Georgia has shown how nasty the digital battlefield can get and how vulnerable web-reliant countries are. Interview: Barbara Gruber/ Bill Woodcock research director of Packet Clearing House, a non-profit organisation that tracks Internet traffic Facebook sparks political debate in TurkeyThe website Facebook has become synonymous with social networking. For most people it's a way to keep in touch with friends and check out their holiday snaps. But in Turkey, Facebook is at the centre of a fiery political debate.Earlier this year Turkey’s constitutional court heard a case about whether the governing Islamic AK party was seeking to overthrow the secular state and introduce Islamic rule. There was widespread speculation that the AK party would be banned. The court found the AK party guilty but did not shut it down. However, the case continues to divide Turkish society, with both sides fighting it out on Facebook. Reporter Dorian Jones (Istanbul) US giant Facebook calls a rival German firm copycatDespite the online social networking giant Facebook being about making friends, the company also has a few enemies.This summer, Facebook filed a law suit against a German competitor, studiVZ, alleging they copied the look and feel of the well-known social media site. But where do you draw the line between innovators and copy cats? Reporter: Susan Stone(Berlin)Europe and the InternetIt has been four months since Irish voters rejected the EU reform plans to streamline EU decision-making and strengthen European institutions.Europeans are now debating how to move forward with the Lisbon Reform Treaty, and part of that discussion is happening online. The European Commission hopes to bridge the gap with EU citizens by promoting new ways for a pan-European dialogue. Reporter: Alex Bakst (Brussels) Web cemeteries - remembering your loved ones onlineSetting up web memorials to commemorate our loved ones is fast becoming popular.The way we remember them has always been strongly determined by the media surrounding us - from the earliest forms of painting, to sculpture, to the invention of photography and video. Now the internet is creating a new chapter in the culture of remembrance. But is it changing the way we see death, and the way we grieve? Anna Brooke has more on the growing trend of internet memorial sites.

[ Sat, 18 Oct 2008 07:05:00 +0000 ]

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