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EUROPE AT 1100GMT(Associated Press WorldStream Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) EDITORS: The following is a digest of Europe's top general news, financial, sports and enterprise offerings at 1100GMT. TOP STORIES: Acrimony dominates run-up to an EU summit on moribund constitution BRUSSELS, Belgium _ France and Germany, two "Old Europe" heavyweights jolted to life by new dynamic leaders, hope to achieve the impossible at this week's EU summit: resurrect the aborted and mostly unlamented EU constitution. But that mission faces a threat from a pesky "New Europe" member of the club: Poland threatens to veto a deal over worries it will lose influence. Lurking in the background is Euro-skeptic Britain, whose prime minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown will have to tread carefully to keep his public's heart. BC-EU-GEN--EU-SUMMIT. By 1200GMT. By Paul Ames. With Issues Glance, Constitution Glance. WITH: _BC-EU-GEN--EU-HOW TO RUN IT? BRUSSELS _ Poland is so desperate to change the EU voting rules Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski has said _ however improbably _ that he is ready to die for it. So why is no one helping Warsaw out? Because, it seems, the chances of agreement on a new system are so remote. By 1400GMT. By Robert Wielaard. Boeing and Airbus show off green credentials _ but is it too little, too late? LE BOURGET, France _ Boeing, Airbus, and dozens of airlines that fly their jets are jumping on the environmental bandwagon, showcasing "green" technology at the Paris Air Show to spew less noxious fumes into the planet's clogged skies. But analysts say the growth in worldwide air travel is outpacing industry progress in cleaning up aircraft emissions. High fuel costs and fear of government-regulated emissions cuts _ not pure environmental concerns _ inspired much of the research. BC-EU-GEN--FRANCE-GREEN SKIES? By 1400GMT. By Angela Charlton. AP Photos available. WITH: _ BC-EU-FIN--FRANCE-AIR SHOW. LE BOURGET, France _ Airbus books another major order for its A350 XWB aircraft, signing up Russian airline Aeroflot for 22 of the revamped aircraft. The deal comes a day after Boeing Co. snagged the original launch customer for the troubled jet, making Los Angeles-based International Lease Finance Corp. the biggest customer for its own rival 787 Dreamliner instead. Developing. By Jane Wardell. ALSO: TRIPOLI, Libya _ Libya's Supreme Court hears an appeal by five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor trying to overturn their convictions and death sentences on charges of deliberately infecting Libyan children with the AIDS virus. BC-ME-GEN--LIBYA-AIDS TRIAL. Upcoming. By Khaled el-Deeb. PARIS _ France's new government is holding its first Cabinet meeting, taking up a first batch of planned reforms _ the probable harbinger of more radical steps to come. BC-EU-POL--FRANCE-NEW GOVERNMENT. Developing. WITH: BC-EU-POL--FRANCE-FAR RIGHT. PARIS _ President Nicolas Sarkozy hosts Jean-Marie Le Pen _ the first time the nationalist firebrand, convicted of racism and anti-Semitism, has been invited to the presidential palace in three decades. Le Pen hails the "democratic gesture." Developing. BELLINZONA, Switzerland _ Switzerland's first Internet terrorism trial opens with the prosecution accusing two Muslims of running Web sites that supported al-Qaida linked groups and showed terror executions. BC-EU-GEN--SWITZERLAND-INTERNET TERROR. Developing. By Gabriella Broggi. BERLIN _ German prosecutors file charges of attempted murder against one of two main suspects in a failed attempt to blow up two commuter trains in the main station in Cologne last year. BC-EU-GEN--GERMANY-TRAIN BOMBS. Moved. By David Rising. WASHINGTON _ U.S. lawmakers are stepping up pressure on the European Union to declare the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah a terrorist organization. BC-NA-GEN--US-EU-HEZBOLLAH. Moved. By Desmond Butler. PRAGUE, Czech Republic _ Parliament votes on a no-confidence motion brought against Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's government over allegations of corruption. BC-EU-POL--CZECH-GOVERNMENT. Developing. TIRANA, Albania _ Parliament begins the process of electing a new president for Albania amid opposition boycott threats. BC-EU-POL--ALBANIA-PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. Developing; first round of voting scheduled for 1600GMT. By Llazar Semini. AP Photos planned. LONDON _ Window shopping is taking a turn toward the literal. Ralph Lauren is launching a new interactive window in at their flagship London store where consumers can shop by touching a wide screen. BC-EU-GEN-BRITAIN-WINDOW SHOPPING. By 1600GMT. By Lindsay Toler. BUSINESS & FINANCE: POTSDAM, Germany _ The World Trade Organization's four most powerful members debate some of the biggest obstacles to a new global trade pact, a day after officials said the United States and Brazil had edged closer on the key question of U.S. farm subsidies. BC-EU-FIN-ECO--WTO-TRADE TALKS. Developing. By Bradley S. Klapper. STOCKHOLM, Sweden _ Hennes & Mauritz, Europe's second-largest clothing retailer, says second-quarter profit rose 31 percent after the company opened new stores and the Madonna-branded collection was well-received by customers. The company also announces a collaboration with Italian designer Roberto Cavalli. BC-EU-FIN-EARNS--SWEDEN-H&M. Moved. BAD NEUENAHR, Germany _ Deutsche Telekom AG and Germany's biggest services union reach a deal in a dispute over a plan to transfer some 50,000 jobs and lower salaries in exchange for giving workers protection against layoffs, union leaders say. BC-EU-FIN-COM--GERMANY-DEUTSCHE TELEKOM. Moved. FEATURES & ARTS: Dwarfed by office towers? The Tower of London faces new indignity LONDON _ It has withstood assaults from renegade barons, rampaging peasants and Nazi bombers, but the Tower of London, one of Britain's top tourists attractions, is again under siege. Now the threat comes from skyscrapers that might obstruct the view from the turreted tower and cause the world's top cultural body to add the 900-year old fortress to its list of endangered world heritage sites. BC-EU-GEN--BRITAIN-TOWER OF LONDON. Moved. By Raphael G. Satter. AP Photos. New museum mixes medicine with art LONDON _ Imagine looking at Leonardo di Vinci's heart sketch while listening to Hank Williams' "Your Cheatin Heart." Or viewing a sculpture of an HIV-positive woman in a cast made from wax and retroviral drugs she took before wasting away. This is London's newest museum where science, medicine and art meet in unusual ways. BC-EU-GEN--BRITAIN-NEW MUSEUM. By 1500GMT. By Lindsay Toler On West End, middling reviews for Middle Earth LONDON _ "The Lord of the Rings" musical, the most expensive production in West End history, opens to a standing ovation _ and mixed reviews. BC-EU-A&E-STG--BRITAIN-LORD OF THE RINGS. Moved. By Thomas Wagner. SPORTS: WIMBLEDON, England _ Four-time defending champion Roger Federer is seeded No. 1 for Wimbledon, with Justine Henin getting the top spot for the women. BC-EU-SPT-TEN--WIMBLEDON SEEDS. Moved. EASTBOURNE, England _ Top-ranked Justine Henin plays Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in the WTA Eastbourne tournament, a grasscourt tuneup for Wimbledon where she is seeded No. 1. Defending Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo is up against Mara Santangelo of Italy. BC-EU-SPT-TEN--EASTBOURNE. By 1600GMT. NOTTINGHAM, England _ Top-seeded Richard Gasquet is up against Czech qualifier Jan Vacek in the second round of the Nottingham Open, a key warmup for Wimbledon, while wild card Tim Henman takes on second-seeded Dmitry Tursunov. BC-EU-SPT-TEN--NOTTINGHAM OPEN. By 1600GMT. ASCOT, England _ Red Rocks, winner of last year's Breeders Cup Turf, takes on 2006 English Derby winner Sir Percy in the highlight race of day two of the Royal Ascot meet, the Prince of Wales Stakes. BC-EU-SPT-RAC--ROYAL ASCOT. By 1600GMT. DEN BOSCH, Netherlands _ Top-seeded Tommy Robredo takes on Kristof Vliegen of Belgium and defending champion Michaella Krajicek plays fourth-seeded Dinara Safina in the second round of the grass-court Ordina Open. BC-EU-SPT-TEN--ORDINA OPEN. By 1400GMT. ___ LOOKING AHEAD: On Thursday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych travels to Moscow for a two-day official visit, during which he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. ___ YOUR QUERIES: The Europe & Africa Desk in London can be reached at +44 207 427 4300. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |