French youths set fire to cars and loot shops in Paris during protests against the contrat première embauche law that Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin had agreed to discuss with unions. (Reuters) (Link dead as of 04:32, 16 January 2007 (UTC))
Basque separatist group ETA announce a permanent ceasefire to their 38-year campaign for independence from Spain, which has cost over 800 lives. (BBC)
The French National Assembly votes on "DADVSI" ("Right of the Author and related rights in the information society") with 296 votes for against 193. The DADVSI act implements the 2001 EU Copyright Directive with some modifications. The UMP (right-wing), which has the absolute majority at the National Assembly, supported the laws, while the Left-wing opposed it. MPs of the centre-right UDF voted either against the text or abstained themselves. Le Monde (only extract available free)
Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said in the Dáil that he believes the British security forces colluded with loyalist paramilitaries in the planning of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane's murder in 1989. (Irish examiner) (Link dead as of 04:32, 16 January 2007 (UTC))
2006 labour protests in France: In Paris, and other major French cities, hundreds of thousands of people march in protest of the Contrat de première embauche (First Employment Contract), a labour law set to take effect in April that gives employers the right to fire workers under the age of 26 in the first two years of their employment without justification.(BBC)
The European Parliament demands that Senegal turn over Hissène Habré to Belgium to be tried for his actions while he was President of Chad. Senegal is not expected to comply, as it already refused extradition demands from the African Union. The ATDPH has expressed its approval of the decision. (allafrica) (subscription required)
Euronext, a derivatives exchange based in Amsterdam and Paris, announced that it might join the ongoing auction for the London Stock Exchange — which would put it in competition with bidders Nasdaq and the Deutsche Börse. (Forbes)
A major oil slick, which could contain some 40 tonnes of fuel, has been detected off the coast of Estonia, one week after the Runner-4 cargo vessel sank in the Baltic Sea. Heavy sea ice prevents an accurate estimate of the content of the oil slick that may have killed 35,000 sea birds. (Yahoo News) (Link dead as of 04:32, 16 January 2007 (UTC))
In Malta, the Malta Labour Party makes a big victory in the Local Council Elections (Times of Malta) (Link dead as of 04:32, 16 January 2007 (UTC))
Schering, a Berlin, Germany based pharmaceutical firm, announces that it has received a hostile merger bid from Frankfurt-based rival Merck. (MSNBC) (Link dead as of 04:32, 16 January 2007 (UTC)), (Reuters) (Link dead as of 04:32, 16 January 2007 (UTC))
The Sablé-sur-Sarthe hostage crisis in France ends peacefully with no casualties. The gunman had suffered from depression. (ABC)
European Union lifts ban on British beef exports imposed after outbreak of BSE 10 years ago. (Guardian).
Slovenia asks to join the Euro monetary union. (Business week) (Link dead as of 04:32, 16 January 2007 (UTC))
The Dutch Labour party gains more than five hundred seats in the country's municipal election. (Financial Times)
Avian flu outbreak: Poland confirms first outbreak of H5N1, the bird flu virus, in two wild swans. (News-Medical Net) (BBC)
An Italian parliamentary commission accuses the former Soviet Union of orchestrating the 1981 attempt to assassinate Pope John Paul II (Telegraph)
Italian judges in Milan to charge Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and David Mills, husband of Tessa Jowell a British Minister in connection with a bribery scandal. (Independent).
A shipwreck from the 14th century is found buried in Riddarfjärden Bay in Stockholm, Sweden. If the ship is well preserved, there are plans to remove it from the waters. (ABC)
The European Central Bank raises base interest rates by 0.25% to 2.5%. The move affects the 12 members of the Eurozone. (FT)
CIA flights: French newspaper Le Figaro reveals that the attorney general of Bobigny has opened up an investigation concerning the landing of a CIA flight in Le Bourget Airport, following a complain filled at the end of December 2005 by NGOs International Federation of Human Rights Leagues and the French Ligue des droits de l'homme. [1]
Church in Poland launches investigation to identify collaborators who worked for the secret police in the Communist era (BBC).
March 2006 in the European Union Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
