EUROPE NEWS AT 1100 GMT

2009-07-02 13:41:02 -

TOP STORIES
YEMEN-PLANE CRASH
LE BOURGET, France _ Just four days after she left Paris to visit relatives in the Comoros islands in the faraway Indian Ocean, teenager Bahia Bakari is flown back home __ this time in a French official jet and as the only survivor of the crash of a Yemenia flight that claimed the lives of 152 people on board, including her mother. Developing. AP Photos.
BRITAIN-MICHAEL JACKSON-DRUGS
LONDON _ Two of Michael Jackson's former confidantes, medium Uri Geller and ex-bodyguard Matt Fiddes, say they tried in vain to keep the pop superstar from abusing painkillers and other prescriptions _ but others in the singer's circle kept the drugs coming. Developing. By Shawn Pogatchnik.
BRITAIN-MICHAEL JACKSON-EMPTY ARENA
LONDON _ An all-star Michael Jackson tribute show? A Jackson family concert, minus Michael? An ABBA reunion? The death of the King of Pop has left 50 empty nights at London's 23,000-seat O2 Arena _ and a heady mixture of business hope, hype and wishful thinking is already filling the gap. By 1500 GMT. By Jill Lawless.
EU-IRAN
STOCKHOLM _ The European Union debates a British request to pull ambassadors of all 27 EU nations from Iran in protest over the detention of Iranian staff at the British Embassy in Tehran. But it's a delicate balancing act: Punishing Iran too harshly also risk spoiling chances to make headway on the bigger question of its disputed nuclear program.
Developing. By Robert Wielaard and Karl Ritter. AP Photos.
FRANCE-CRASH INVESTIGATION
PARIS _ French investigators release their first preliminary report into what caused Air France Flight 447 to crash in the Atlantic on its way from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, killing all 288 people aboard. Developing; News conference at 1300 GMT. AP Photos.
RUSSIA-MEDVEDEV-OBAMA
MOSCOW _ Russia's president says in a video that he's hopeful an upcoming summit with Barack Obama will help Moscow and Washington find new ways to cooperate. Moved. By Mike Eckel.
WITH: US-RUSSIA
ITALY-CRIME CRACKDOWN
ROME _ The Italian government has easily won a confidence vote in the Senate linked to a bill that allows unarmed citizen patrols and imposes other measures to boost security in the streets. Final approval of the bill is expected later in the day. Developing. AP Photos.
RUSSIA-CHECHNYA BURNING
MOSCOW _ Chechen authorities have burnt more than two dozen houses in the past year to punish relatives of alleged rebels and the Kremlin has chosen to ignore the practice, a U.S. rights group alleges in a report. Moved. By Brett Holton.
UN-NUCLEAR AGENCY-NEW HEAD
VIENNA _ The U.N. nuclear agency meets to try to chose a new head, after a previous round failed to agree on a candidate. Developing.
NATO-CHANGE OF COMMAND
MONS, Belgium _ A U.S. admiral with a reputation for being less wedded to convention, more open to engaging with the news media and the public, and an advocate of combining military and diplomatic power to secure strategic goals, becomes NATO's new supreme commander. By 1400 GMT. By Slobodan Lekic.
GERMANY-G8-IRAN
BERLIN _ German Chancellor Angela Merkel calls for next week's Group of Eight summit to send a «strong message of unity» in support of Iranians' human rights, and says efforts to address concerns over Tehran's nuclear ambitions must remain on track. Moved. By Geir Moulson.
SPAIN-NUCLEAR
MADRID _ The Spanish government will announce Thursday a keenly awaited decision on whether to shut down the country's oldest nuclear reactor, the prime minister says. Developing. By Daniel Woolls.
BULGARIA-ELECTIONS-PRIME MINISTER
SOFIA, Bulgaria _ In a final bid to improve his foundering Socialists' popularity ahead of weekend parliamentary elections, Bulgaria's prime minister is promising to shepherd the country through the economic crisis _ two years after winning EU membership. But opinion polls suggest nearly 80 percent of Bulgarians want Sergei Stanishev's government out. By 1400 GMT. By Veselin Toshkov.
ODD--ITALY-RESTAURANT BILL
ROME _ They were looking for a bit of La Dolce Vita but what two Japanese tourists got in a restaurant in Rome left a bad taste in their mouths. The couple was handed a ¤695 ($980) restaurant bill after lunch last month at a restaurant just steps away from Piazza Navona _ and an uproar has ensued.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
EUROPE-INTEREST RATES
LUXEMBOURG _ The European Central Bank is expected to keep its key interest rate steady at 1 percent as it waits to see whether a massive infusion of credit into the banking system will help Europe's struggling economy. Developing; Rate decision due at 1145 GMT, followed by press conference at 1230 GMT. By George Frey.
EUROPE-UNEMPLOYMENT
LONDON _ Unemployment in the 16 countries that use the euro spiked to a ten-year high in May, reinforcing concerns any recovery will take time now that more than 15 million people are out of work. Moved. By Pan Pylas.
SWEDEN-INTEREST RATES
STOCKHOLM _ Sweden's central bank surprises markets by cutting its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.25 percent, saying the economic downturn appears to be deeper than previously forecast. Moved. By Malin Rising.
GERMANY-G8-ECONOMY
BERLIN _ Governments must follow through on pledges to reform the global financial system, German Chancellor Angela Merkel says, insisting that signs the crisis is easing cannot mean a return to «business as usual.» Moved. By Geir Moulson.

SPORTS
WIMBLEDON
WIMBLEDON, England _ The Williams sisters could set up another all-in-the-family Wimbledon final when Serena takes on Elena Dementieva and Venus faces top-ranked Dinara Safina in the semifinals. Developing. By Stephen Wilson.
TOUR DE FRANCE-ARMSTRONG
MONACO _ Lance Armstrong may have won seven Tour de France titles, but never the hearts of the French. Now, back from retirement, he's older, more relaxed, and «cool» with the relationship as he prepares his long-awaited return to the race on Saturday _ and so too may be his hosts. By 1500 GMT. By Samuel Petrequin.
FRENCH OPEN
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France _ Padraig Harrington, Colin Montgomerie and Masters champion Angel Cabrera are among the contenders in the French Open, the oldest and richest championship played in continental Europe. By 1730 GMT. By Trung Latieule.
ENGLAND LIONS-AUSTRALIA
WORCESTER, England _ Australia reaches 358 in its first innings against the England Lions on the second day of the four-day match. By 1300 GMT.
FEATURES & ARTS
FRANCE-FASHION-MADELEINE VIONNET
PARIS _ The work of the «designers' designer,» Madeleine Vionnet _ whose luxurious-yet-cerebral designs in sumptuous silks helped liberate women from the corset and continue to influence today's fashion designers, 70 years after the demise of her label _ goes on display in a Paris exhibit of more than 130 impeccably restored garments dating from as early as 1912. By 1230 GMT. By Jenny Barchfield. AP Photos.
AUSTRIA-EXPELLED BY NAZIS
VIENNA _ Kurt Elias still remembers the day in 1938 when the Nazis barred him from entering the University of Vienna because he was Jewish. «I had to send someone else in to get my dissection kit and coat,» said the 90-year-old Elias, a medical student at the time. Elias is one of more than 2,200 people listed in an online database launched this week containing the names of students and teachers who were forced to leave the University of Vienna after Adolf Hitler annexed Austria in March 1938. Upcoming. By Veronika Oleksyn. AP Photos.
US-BOOKS-SALINGER
NEW YORK _ A Swedish author whose new book was promoted as a sequel to J.D. Salinger's «The Catcher in the Rye» cannot publish it in the United States because it too closely mirrors Salinger's classic without adequate parody or critique, a judge rules. Moved. By Larry Neumeister.
For more features, please see the AP World Features Digest.
YOUR QUERIES: The Europe & Africa Desk in London can be reached at +44 207 427 4300.