European Union

» European Union (EU) countries are no longer content to stand by while Israel destroys Palestinian Authority property paid for by the EU. The European Commission has calculated that the Israeli attacks have destroyed projects worth at least E20m ($17.7m) in aid from either the EU itself or individual member states. "It's not acceptable for the European Union if Israel does not repay the damage that it indirectly caused the EU," says Hannes Swoboda, delegation leader of the Austrian Social Democrats. He continues: "The infrastructure in Palestine built up with tax money from the EU has been destroyed on the orders of the present government of Israel. This form of aggression is just as much to be condemned as terrorism against innocent Israeli citizens." This puts the EU at odds with the U.S., a long-time supporter of Israel, which has recently considered Yasser Arafat more a part of the problem than the solution.

» European commissioners from France and Germany are debating the idea of a Franco-German confederation to deepen European integration. The core elements of such a confederation would include a common army, common embassies in third countries, and a common seat at the United Nations. French commissioner Pascal Lamy, who first launched the idea, says that such a confederation would not be an exclusive project: "If this idea of a Franco-German confederation will ever become a concrete project, it has to be open for other countries." He also emphasizes how important it is for the health of the EU that the Franco-German relationship delivers: "The Franco-German couple is the matrix for compromise in the European Union, the forerunner for important compromises. And this is not because they tend to agree on many issues: on the contrary, they have many divergent interests, but they have the political good will to reach compromise."

Promiscuity

According to a new study of 18- to 30-year-olds, the average young person in Scotland is single, believes in sex before marriage, has had six lovers, and lost his or her virginity at 16. Most men admit to having sex for the first time at the age of 16 and say they have slept with seven partners. Women claim to have lost their virginity at 17, with a "more modest" four partners. The average age for initial sexual activity was 16.2 in Edinburgh, the lowest in Scotland. More men than women believe in sex before marriage—87 percent of males to 81 percent of females. A panel spokeswoman said: "Saving yourself for your wedding night is a nice idea, but it is not very realistic. I'd say it's done mostly for religious reasons, if at all. It is generally agreed to be important to find out whether you are sexually compatible with someone before you settle down. The attitude these days is that it is not sinful if it occurs within a loving relationship."

Language

By the summer of 2002, Internet users should be able to converse and interact with live human operators via automatic language translation. Under the European Commission (EC) administered NESPOLE project (NEgotiating through SPOken Language in E-commerce), Internet users will be able to call up a set of Web pages for information about a specific European country. For example, English-speaking users will be able to look at relevant Web pages and call up to speak with an Italian operator. The system will translate from one language to the other. The NESPOLE project has a total funding of $2.48 million, and 61 percent is being funded directly by the EC.

Earthquakes

Researchers say 2001 was a particularly deadly year for earthquakes, with 65 significant quakes worldwide blamed for killing 21,436 people. The U.S. Geological Survey reports most of the fatalities occurred in the magnitude 7.7 quake that struck northwestern India on January 26. Most of the nearly 13,000 victims were trapped as thousands of dwellings and offices were reduced to rubble. The 2001 death toll was significantly higher than 2000's, when only 225 earthquake deaths were reported worldwide. On average, 10,000 people die in earthquakes annually, the USGS said. Major 2001 quakes include a pair that struck El Salvador on January 13 and February 13, killing 5,000. A magnitude 6.8 earthquake shook the Seattle-Tacoma area on February 28, causing $1.5 billion in damage and injuring 400.