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December 19, 2007
A new and different Germany?
See "Arrogant Germans See Their Country as a World Power" and related links at The Atlantic Review, the fine news digest on German-U.S. relations published and edited by German Fulbright alumni. Excerpt: "The just released international Bertelsmann survey [PDF in German] indicates that Germans' views of themselves as a world power increased from the 2005 study by 8 percent to 49 percent in 2007." Also see "Germany To Play Larger Role In The World" at Berlin-based Observing Hermann.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
Bush signs bill boosting fuel standards
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush signed into law Wednesday legislation that will bring more fuel-efficient vehicles into auto showrooms and require wider use of ethanol, calling it "a major step" toward energy independence and easing global warming. [more]
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
U.S. trade deficit falls by 5.5%
AP: Trade Deficit Declines To Lowest Point In 2 Years. To $178.5 billion in third quarter. But deficit with China is higher than last year.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 08:45 PM | Comments (0)
Iran receives nuclear fuel from Russia
WASHINGTON (NYT) — The United States lost a long battle when Russia, as it announced on Monday, delivered nuclear fuel to an Iranian power plant that is at the center of an international dispute over its nuclear program. Iran, for its part, confirmed on Monday plans to build a second such plant.
In announcing that it had delivered the first shipment of enriched-uranium fuel rods to the power plant, at Bushehr in southern Iran, on Sunday, Russian officials said that while the fuel was in Iran, it would be under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the nuclear monitoring agency for the United Nations. Russia also said the Iranian government had guaranteed that the fuel would be used only for the power plant. [more]
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)