Copenhagen treaty may endanger rainforests
On its front page, The Independent warns “Rainforest treaty ‘fatally flawed.’” A key text banning “the conversion of natural forests to forest plantations” has been deleted from a treaty on deforestation due be signed at the Copenhagen climate conference in December. If the safeguard is not reinserted, an environmentalist quoted by the daily claims “we will have a situation where countries are paid for converting their natural forests into palm plantations," which are often used to produce bio-fuel. The report further notes that deforestation “now produces nearly 20 per cent of annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions – more than from all the world's transport.” It is for this reason that REDD, a UN programme for “Reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries” has a section to itself in the Copenhagen accord. Greenpeace has urged EU officials to reinstate the ban at final negotiations on the treaty, which begin in Barcelona next week.
Two camps, two theories, and two visions of France: 18 years after the massacre of 800,000 Tutsis, the precise role played by Paris is still the subject of heated debate, fueled by the findings of successive criminal investigations. 
Agree to new austerity measures or risk being kicked out of the eurozone: that’s the alternative presented to Athens on the day the euro group is meeting. It’s a situation Greek politicians have failed to avoid, regrets To Vima. 
At a time when Athens is still involved in debt restructuring negotiations with its private creditors, Neelie Kroes’ recent allusions to a Greek exit from the euro are a sign that European leaders are intent on preparing the terrain for such an eventuality.