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Germany's Merkel calls for stronger ties with US, smaller EU states

BERLIN (AFX) – New German Chancellor Angela
Merkel has called for closer ties with smaller EU states and the United States, in an interview to be published Monday on her foreign policy goals.

‘Relations with the smaller member states of
the European Union will be intensified,’ Merkel, who took office
Tuesday, told news weekly Focus.

‘And there will be a more intense transatlantic relationship. But that is not intended as a message against anyone.’

Cold spell brings chaos to Europe

Ski slopes in Belgium and Germany opened early after as much as 30cm of snow fell overnight in some countries, while in Paris, the Eiffel Tower closed to the public for four hours after a morning snowfall made it too slippery to climb.

The winter storm hit hard in The Netherlands, where high winds and sudden freezing temperatures caused havoc on the national rail and road networks. Hundreds of stranded Dutch commuters spent Friday night in temporary Red Cross shelters at train stations, theatres and more than a dozen other locations.

France does have a drink problem, survey reveals

France regards itself as a nation which knows how to take its drink, unlike, say, the Scandinavians or the British. But a hard-hitting report presented to the government suggested the entire country is in a state of alcoholic denial.

One in 10 French people has a drink problem, the report says. Every day, five people die of alcohol-linked accidents or diseases in France.

The semi-official study undermines an argument used by the Blair government for extending Britain’s pub opening hours. Spreading drinking over a longer period, as France does, does not necessarily reduce alcohol-related social ills.

Opinion: What's Wrong with Europe?

Mayor Claude Dilain sits on the edge of his chair in his community’s wedding banquet hall. His hands are folded on the table in front of him, and his face is a tortured reflection of the doubts and fears inside him.

For the past 10 years, Claude Dilain, 57, has been the mayor of Clichy-sous-Bois, a suburb in northeastern Paris with 28,100 inhabitants, mostly immigrants. Dilain calls it “a powder keg.” He slightly resembles the French author Michel Houellebecq, but today he is paler than even the author normally is. The strain of the last few nights is no doubt part of it. But so too is a growing suspicion — that the modern welfare state may be fully incapable of addressing some of his community’s most pressing problems.