EU meeting on Irish No

European Union foreign ministers are gathering in Luxembourg for talks on how to respond to the Irish rejection of the Lisbon reform treaty.

Voters in the Irish Republic, the only state to hold a referendum on Lisbon, rejected the treaty by 53.4% to 46.6% last Thursday. The treaty cannot be implemented unless approved by all 27 EU states. But the majority of EU members agree that those who have yet to ratify the treaty should carry on and do so.

They knew it before happen, didn’t they? So why the panic now?

The Irish No vote

Early unofficial vote tallies around Ireland are indicating a strong showing for the No vote in a referendum on the European Union's Lisbon Treaty.

In Irish polls, tally counters in each constituency watch votes being sorted and make their own count, giving early indications of how a vote is going. Broadcaster RTE reports the No vote is ahead, but the Yes side has regained some ground as the day progresses. A No vote would scupper the EU treaty, which must be ratified by all members.

Another crisis of identity in the EU, I start …wandering!!!

Swiss say no to new citizenship rule

Voters in Switzerland have rejected a move to make it even harder for foreigners to obtain citizenship.

In a referendum, they voted 64% against a bid to revive the practice of approving citizenship candidates by secret ballot and scrapping appeals. Secret ballots were outlawed five years ago by the Supreme Court, which judged them to be discriminatory.

Switzerland has one of Europe's highest numbers of foreign-born residents - more than 20%. Many Swiss said not allowing voters to have the final say on who became a citizen violated the country's system of direct democracy. However, opponents of Sunday's poll, which was called by the nationalist Swiss People's Party, suspect the real agenda behind it was not Swiss democracy, but how best to keep certain groups out of Switzerland, our correspondent adds.

The people can always sense when the motives are racist and fascist and their answer justifies the fact!

Burma votes amid cyclone

A constitutional referendum is being held in Burma despite calls from the outside world for a postponement after last week's devastating cyclone.

Voting is under way in most of the country - but has been delayed in the worst-hit areas, including Rangoon. The poll comes amid mounting international criticism of Burma's military rulers for their handling of the response to the crisis. They say they will welcome overseas aid but not foreign relief workers.

The UN fears the death toll from the cyclone could reach 100,000. The referendum has been postponed for two weeks in Rangoon, the country's main city, and the Irrawaddy delta, which took the full force of Cyclone Nargis. The country's ruling generals say the referendum will pave the way for democratic elections in 2010, while the opposition says it is intended to tighten the generals' rule.

Democracy might not feed people but definitely saves lives and Burma nowadays is the best prove why the dictators must go the soonest possible.