Tighter financial regulations put the squeeze on LondonEuropean Union leaders gathered in Brussels this week for one of their periodic summits. High on their agenda was the thorny issue of financial regulation.Many of the leaders believe that tighter controls over financial markets are essential for economic recovery. But Britain is wary about the prospect of tougher rules. London is one of the world’s top financial centres. Finance is a major source of employment, foreign currency and tax revenue for the UK. The fear is that EU regulation could damage the City’s earning power. As Stephen Beard reports London’s dominant position is already under attack…at home.The high flyers at the Paris Air ShowThere have been worrying times too for the aviation industry. The Air France plane crash over the Atlantic and the worldwide recession have cast a pall over the usually glamorous Paris Air Show underway this week outside the French capital.But for the aerospace industry, especially those in the business of launching communication satellites, this year’s show has lost none of its glitter. Eleanor Beardsley has this report from the Paris Air Show. The new Prime Minister of Greenland looks forward to self-ruleThis Sunday, Greenland is commemorating 30 years of home rule from its former colonial master Denmark. And what better way to celebrate than to turn home-rule into self-rule. Greenland will enjoy control over its justice system and most significantly, its abundant natural resources.But the country remains blighted by a host of social problems, including high suicide rates, child abuse and alcoholism. So, full independence will remain a distant dream so long as Greenland needs the annual "block grant" 430 million euros from Copenhagen, which covers nearly half of all public expenditures. Greenland has recently elected a new Prime Minister, Kuupik Kleist from the left-leaning IA party. Earlier Rob Turner spoke to Kuupik Kleist and asked him what enhanced self-rule meant to Greenland. The scandals rocking Silvio Berlusconi’s boatIt’s been a welcome break in the US for Silvio Berlusconi this week.High-level talks with Barack Obama about Iran, the middle-East and next month’s G8 summit in Italy certainly make a pleasant change from the all the scandals he’s had to put up with at home. Nancy Greenleese has this postcard from Italy.Celebrating midsummer Latvian styleAlong with many other European nations, Latvia is soon going to celebrate Midsummer night. And this is celebration like no other in Lativa: the night of June 23rd is one of the biggest holidays celebrated by the whole nation.In recent years many Latvians have also started to learn about the deeper meaning of this night and its ancient traditions. Our correspondent in Riga Artjoms Konohovs explains why Midsummer night is so big in the Baltic.Storing carbon emissions under the seaIn the race to find solutions to global warming, 20 German companies announced this week they are pooling their resources with the aim of harnessing solar power in the deserts of north Africa and transporting the clean electricity to Europe.But before those potential benefits are felt, one technology is becoming a favourite with energy industries, governments and environmentalists. Carbon capture and storage means taking CO2 out of fossil fuel energy production and injecting it into the ground. If it works, oil, gas and coal power plants could reduce their emissions dramatically, and fossil fuel producers like Norway are investing heavily in developing the technology. But as Lars Bevanger now reports it is not without controversy. Calling for electronic tagging…of embryosA couple undergoing fertility treatment in Wales has discovered that someone else is carrying their child. They had their last embryo accidentally implanted in another woman.The couple had been trying for a second child when the IVF clinic discovered the error. When the woman in whom the egg had been implanted was told of the error she chose to have a termination. To reduce the risk of IVF mix-ups, Professor Gedis Grudzinskas, an expert in fertility and gynaecology, has called for electronic tags to track embryos, eggs and sperm samples. Earlier, Rob Turner spoke to Professor Grudzinskas and asked him how that would all work.Stopping the brain drain in HungaryHungary, like many countries in Eastern Europe, faces a constant struggle to keep its most talented research scientists or entice those who have left to return home. But the brain drain is not a new problem.Over the past century, ten Hungarian scientists have won Nobel Prizes for research they did elsewhere. So, Hungary is now investing in special grants, which, with the help of the European Molecular Biology Organisation, aim to bring scientists home. For the last three years, the Heidelberg-based EMBO, has been offering grants of 50,000 euros to scientists willing to build and lead new research labs in their home country. Jo-Anne Velin met two recipients in Budapest.Portuguese footballer Christiano Ronaldo scores bigHis record-breaking transfer to Real Madrid has been the major talking point in the world of football for over a week now.But, while Madrid paid almost 100 million euros for the star, who will earn well over 10 million euros a year, Spain’s central bank has warned the government to cut spending as the public coffers are empty as unemployment in the country is expected to hit 20% next year. In this postcard from Madrid, Danny Wood takes a look at how Spaniards are feeling about this spending spree.Praying for an increase in church-goers in GermanyIn churches on a Sunday in the German state of Brandenburg, you’ll be lucky to find a handful of old ladies attending services. But things are different in Falkensee, a green, northern suburb of Berlin.Since reunification its population of 21,000 has doubled, due predominately to West Germans looking for a nice suburban life, in close proximity to Berlin complete with house, garden, and a church. Accordingly, Falkensee’s five Christian congregations, have bucked the national trend and have quadrupled in size. In the former GDR times, the Holy-Ghost congregation in Falkensee had 400 members. Now it has 2,600. Leah McDonnell visited the Holy-Ghost community of Falkensee to find out why.

[ Sat, 20 Jun 2009 07:05:00 GMT ]

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