France and eight other Eurozone countries suffered ratings downgrades on their sovereign debt Friday, sparking renewed global worries over Europe's ability to bail itself out of financial crisis. Another memory jog came Friday from Greece, the original source of Europe’s debt troubles.

The first rumors were widespread downgrades in the Eurozone in the afternoon, when thestock markets veered sharply to the downside. Milan, who lost up to 2.5% also closed down1, 2%. The 'Euro closed sharply down to $ 1.2683 against the dollar.

Talks hit a snag between the new Greek government and the banks and other private investors that Athens hopes will agree to take losses on their debt so that Greece can avoid a default. European politicians, in turn, criticized S.& P.’s downgrade plans as providing no meaningful new information to investors but simply stoking a sense of crisis. S&P, which in December placed 15 of the 17 euro-zone countries on watch for possible downgrades, said Friday it had decided to lower the debt ratings of nine of them because it felt the currency bloc has so far failed to take adequate action.

Finance Minister François Baroin of France said Friday that the loss of his country’s pristine AAA rating, cut a notch to AA+, was “not good news” but was “not a catastrophe.” He insisted that the country was headed in the right direction and that no ratings agency would dictate the policies of France, which has Europe’s second-biggest economy, behind Germany’s.

After Friday, the only euro zone nations retaining their top AAA ratings are Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Luxembourg. Italy and Spain, which are considered the two big euro-zone economies most vulnerable to an escalation of debt problems, both were downgraded two notches, Italy to BBB+ and Spain to A.

The banks of the 'Eurozone, while supported by the cash obtained from the ECB'semergency loans, continue to seek shelter in the coffers Eurotower certifies as marked byyet another record high overnight deposits now come to touch the 500 billion.

Selected Guest List for the Wedding Service at Westminster Abbey

The following are all confirmed attendees at the Royal Wedding as of 23rd April 2011

Members of the British Royal Family

The Queen

The Duke of Edinburgh

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall

Prince Henry of Wales

The Duke of York

Princess Beatrice of York

Princess Eugenie of York

The Earl and Countess of Wessex

The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence

Mr. and Mrs. Peter Phillips

Miss Zara Phillips with Mr. Mike Tindall

Viscount Linley and Viscountess Linley

And The Hon. Charles Armstrong-Jones

The Lady Sarah Chatto and Mr. Daniel Chatto

And Master Samuel Chatto

And Master Arthur Chatto

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester

The Earl and Countess of Ulster

The Lady Davina and Mr. Gary Lewis

Lady Rose and Mr. George Gilman

The Duke and Duchess of Kent

Earl and Countess of St. Andrews

Lord Downpatrick

The Lady Marina-Charlotte Windsor

The Lady Amelia Windsor

The Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor

The Lady Helen Taylor and Mr. Timothy Taylor

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent

The Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor

The Lady Gabriella Windsor

Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy

Mr. and Mrs. James Ogilvy

Miss Marina Ogilvy

The Lady Saltoun

Members of Foreign Royal Families

The Prince and Princess of the Asturias

The Crown Prince of Bahrain

Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium

The Sultan of Brunei and Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha

King Simeon II and Queen Margarita of the Bulgrarian

The Queen of Denmark

King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes

Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece and Prince Constantine of Greece

Sheikh Ahmad Hmoud Al-Sabah of Kuwait

Prince Seeiso Bereng Seeiso and Princess Mabereng Seeiso of Lesotho

The Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia

Prince Albert II of Monaco and Miss Charlene Wittstock

Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco

The Crown Prince and Princess of The Netherlands

The King and Queen of Norway

Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said of Oman

The Emir of The State of Qatar and Sheika Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned

King Michael I of Romania and Crown Princess Margarita

Prince Mohamed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and Princess Fadwa bint Khalid bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman

The Queen of Spain

The King of Swaziland

The Crown Princess of Sweden and The Duke of Västergötland

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand

The King of Tonga

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi

Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia

The Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia

Dignitaries

The Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda

The Governor-General of Australia and His Excellency Mr. Michael Bryce

The Governor-General of The Bahamas and Lady Foulkes

The Governor-General of Barbados

The Governor-General of Belize and Lady Young

The Governor-General of Canada and Mrs. David Johnston

The Governor-General of Jamaica

The Governor-General of New Zealand and Lady Satyanand

The Governor-General of Papua New Guinea and Mrs Michael Ogio

The Governor-General of the Solomon Islands and Lady Kabui

The Governor-General of St Christopher and Nevis

The Governor-General of St Lucia

The Governor-General of St Vincent and the Grenadines and Lady Ballantyne

The Prime Minister of Australia and Mr. Tim Matheison

The Prime Minister of The Bahamas and Ms Delores Miller

The Prime Minister of Barbados

The Prime Minister of New Zealand and Mrs. John Key

The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea and Lady Somare

The Prime Minister of Saint Lucia and Mrs. Rosalia Nestor King

The Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and The Grenadines and Mrs. Ralph Gonsalves

The Premier of Bermuda and Mr. Germain Nkeuleu

The Premier of The British Virgin Islands and Mrs. Ralph O’Neal

The Premier of the Cayman Islands and Mrs. Kerry Bush

The Hon. Sharon and Mr. Rodney Halford (Falkland Islands)

The Chief Minister of Gibraltar and Mrs. Peter Caruana

The Chief Minister of Montserrat and the Reverend Doctor Joan Delsol Meade

The Hon. John and Mrs. Vilma Cranfield (St. Helena)

Members of Government, Parliament and Devolved Administrations

The Prime Minister and Mrs. David Cameron

The Deputy Prime Minister and Ms. Miriam Gonzalez Duantez

First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Mrs. William Hague

The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Hon. Mrs. Osborne

The Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor and Mrs. Kenneth Clarke

The Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Women and Equalities, and Mr. Philip May

The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport and Mrs. Jeremy Hunt

The Rt. Hon Ed Miliband, M.P and Ms. Justine Thornton

The Speaker of the House of Commons and Mrs. John Bercow

The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales and the Lady Elis-Thomas

The Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament and Mrs. Alex Fergusson

The Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Mrs. William Hay

The Lord Speaker and Mr. Martin Hayman

First Minister of Wales and Mrs. Carwyn Jones

First Minister of Northern Ireland and Mrs. Peter Robinson

First Minister of Scotland and Mrs. Alex Salmond

The Mayor of London and Mrs. Boris Johnson

The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor and The Lady Mayoress

Sir Gus and Lady O’Donnell

The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of Westminster and Count Paolo Filo della Torre

Mr. and Mrs. Simon Fraser

Representatives from the Church and other Faiths

The Most Reverend Gregorious, Archbishop of the Greek Archdiocese of Thysteira and Great Britain

The Archbishop of Canterbury and Mrs. Rowan Williams

Rabbi Anthony Bayfield

Mr. Anil Bhanot

The Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal Archbishop Sean Brady

Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, The Most Reverend David Chillingworth

The Right Reverend John Christie, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

Mr. Malcolm Deboo President, Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe

The Rt. Reverend Doctor Norman Hamilton

The Archbishop of Armagh, The Most Reverend Alan Edwin Harper

Monsignor Philip Kerr, The Convener, Action of Churches Together in Scotland

Commissioner Elizabeth Matear, Salvation Army

The Archbishop of Wales, The Most Reverend Doctor Barry Morgan

The Reverend Gareth Morgan Jones, President of the Free Church Council of Wales

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-Connor

The Archbishop of Westminster, The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols

Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh

Rabbi Alan Plancey

Imam Mohammad Raz

The Chief Rabbi (Lord Sacks)

The Venerable Bogoda Seelawimala, Acting Head Monk, The London Buddhist Vihara

Maulana Syed Raza Shabbarm, Muhammadi Trust

Mr. Natubhai Shah, President, the Jain Academy

Dr Indarjit Singh, Director, Network Sikh Organisations (UK)

Canon Chirstopher Tuckwell

The Reverend Martin Turner

The Archbishop of York and Mrs. John Sentamu

Senior Members of the Defence Services

Major General and Mrs. William Cubitt, Major General Commanding Household Division and GOC London District

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen and Lady Dalton, Chief of the Air Staf

General Sir Nicholas and Lady Houghton

Air Vice-Marshal the Hon. David and Mrs. Murray, Defence Services Secretary

General Sir David and Lady Richards, Chief of the Defence Staff

Admiral Sir Mark and Lady Stanhope, First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff

General Sir Peter and Lady Wall, Chief of the General Staff

All these names have been invited with their spouses or partners if married or in a civil partnership:

Mr. David Allan
David Allan is the Chairman of Mountain Rescue, England and Wales. Prince William has been Patron of the organisation since 2007.

Major Tom Archer-Burton
Major Archer Burton was Prince William and Prince Harry's Commanding Officer in the Household Cavalry. He also led the Burnaby Blue expedition to southern Africa – an African community project supported by Sentebale, in which Prince Harry was involved.

Mr. Charlie Mayhew
Charlie Mayhew is Chief Executive of the Conservation Charity, Tusk Trust. Prince William and Prince Harry visited Tusk-funded projects in Botswana last year. The visit to Africa was the first oversees Royal tour that Princes William and Harry undertook together.

Mrs. Alison Moore-Gwyn
Alison Moore Gwyn is Chief Executive of Fields in Trust. In 2010, Prince William became Patron of The Queen Elizabeth II Fields, an initiative to protect and create hundreds of playing fields throughout the UK in honour of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The project is run by Fields in Trust.

Mr. Seyi (pronounced Shay) Obakin
Seyi Obakin is Chief Executive of Centrepoint. Centrepoint became Prince William's first Patronage in 2005. His mother, Diana, Princess of Wales was also Patron of the Charity. Seyi slept rough with Prince William in London to highlight the issue of homelessness.

Mr. Peter Cross
Peter Cross is Chief Executive of the charity SkillForce, of which Prince William has been Patron since 2009. Earlier this month, Prince William officially launched the SkillForce Prince's Award, in recognition of the contribution that young people make to their communities.

Miss Amanda Berry
Amanda Berry is Chief Executive of BAFTA. Prince William has been President of BAFTA since 2010.

Mrs. Ann Chalmers
Ann Chalmers is Chief Executive of the Child Bereavement Charity. Prince William has been Patron of the Charity since 2009. The Child Bereavement Charity educates professionals and supports families both when a child dies and when a child is bereaved.

Mrs. Julia Samuel
Julia Samuel is Chair of the Child Bereavement Charity and also a family friend of Prince William. Prince William has been Patron of the Charity since 2009. The Child Bereavement Charity educates professionals and supports families both when a child dies and when a child is bereaved.

Mrs. Tessa Green
Tessa Green is former Chairman of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. Prince William became President of The Royal Marsden in May 2007 having undertaken two days of work experience there in 2005. The Prince helped out in a variety of departments, including medical research, catering and fundraising.

Mr. Simon Johnson
Simon Johnson worked closely with Prince William as Chief Operating Officer of the FA's 2018 World Cup bid.

Sir Trevor Brooking
Sir Trevor is the Football Association's Director of Football Development and is responsible for youth-coaching standards in England. Prince William has been President of the FA since 2006 and has met Sir Trevor on several occasions at FA events.

Sir Clive Woodward
Sir Clive Woodward is a former Coach of the England Rugby Team and the British and Irish Lions. Prince William was invited by Sir Clive to join the British and Irish Lions rugby team on their tour to New Zealand in 2005.

Mr. Gareth Thomas
Prince William met Welsh Rugby player Gareth Thomas several times in his role as Vice Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union.

Mr. Ian Thorpe
Australian Prince William met the Olympic swimmer, Ian Thorpe, on a visit to Australia in 2010. The Prince has since supported Mr. Thorpe's charitable organisation Ian Thorpe's Fountain for Youth, which focuses on improving health and education for children.

Mr. Barty Pleydell-Bouverie
Barty Pleydell-Bouverie led the Cycle of Life charity bike ride across Africa in 2008, which raised money for the Tusk Trust.

Rear Admiral Ian Corder
Rear Admiral Ian Corder is Rear Admiral of Submarines. Prince William was appointed Commodore-in-Chief of Submarines by The Queen in 2006.

Brigadier Ed Smyth-Osbourne
Brigadier Smyth-Osbourne was Prince William and Prince Harry's Commanding Officer in the Household Regiment and acted as their military mentor. He was also Prince Harry's Commanding Officer when The Prince undertook active service in Afghanistan.

Major William Bartle-Jones
Major Bartle-Jones was Prince William's Squadron Leader in the Household Cavalry Regiment based at Windsor.

Wing Commander Steven Bentley
Wg Cdr Steve Bentley is Prince William's Search and Rescue Force Squadron Leader at RAF Valley, Anglesey.

Sergeant Keith Best
Sgt Keith Best is a colleague of Prince William's at RAF Valley, in Anglesey, North Wales. The Winchman was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Bravery in the Air after playing a major role in the rescue efforts in the Cumbrian floods in 2009.

Squadron Leader Paul Bolton
Sqn Ldr Paul Bolton is a colleague of Prince William's at RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales.

Wing Commander Kevin Marsh
Wing Commander Kevin Marsh met Prince William through his service in the RAF. He will be one of the Path Liners outside Westminster Abbey on the wedding day.

Lance-Corporal Martyn Compton
Martyn is a Lance-Corporal in the Household Cavalry. He was injured in an ambush in Afghanistan in 2006, which put him in a coma for three months and left him with 75 per cent burns.

Miss Holly Dyer
Holly is sister to 2nd Lieutenant Joanna Dyer, who was killed by a bomb in Iraq in 2007. Joanna was a close friend of Prince William's at Sandhurst. In a statement released by Clarence House at the time, Prince William said he was "deeply saddened to hear the tragic news and he is very much thinking of her family and friends right now and they will remain in his thoughts and prayers."

Mrs. Susie Roberts
Susie Roberts is the widow of Major Alexis Roberts, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2007. Major Alexis Roberts was Prince William's Platoon Commander at Sandhurst. In a statement released at the time, Prince William said he was deeply saddened to learn of Major Robert's Death. The Prince remembers him with 'great fondness and respect'.

Mr. and Mrs. Bryn Parry
Former soldier Bryn Parry and his wife Emma founded the charity Help for Heroes to assist wounded service men and women. Both Princes William and Harry are supporters of the charity and Prince William previously opened a new swimming pool at Headley Court in 2010, which had been funded by Help for Heroes.

Mr. Edward Gould
Mr. Edward Gould was Master of Marlborough College whilst Miss Middleton was a student.

Dr. Andrew Gailey
Dr Andrew Gailey is the Vice-Provost of Eaton College and was Prince William's Housemaster.

The Hon. Edward Dawson-Damer
Australian Ed Dawson-Damer is an ex-Irish Guards officer, who was Equerry to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in the 1980's. He hosted Prince William for a section of his visit to Australia in January 2010.

Mr. Sam Stevenson
New Zealander Sam Stevenson was Prince William's New Zealand equerry during his visit to the country in July 2005. At the time, Sam was a Captain within the New Zealand Defence Forces. During the visit, Prince William undertook official engagements representing The Queen in Wellington and Auckland at events to commemorate the end of the Second World War.

Sir John Major
Following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, Sir John Major – then Prime Minister – was appointed a Guardian to Prince William and Prince Harry with responsibility for legal and administrative matters.

Mr. Rowan Atkinson
Actor Rowan Atkinson is a close friend of The Prince of Wales.

Mr. Tom Bradby
The journalist and news reporter Tom Bradby has known both Prince William and Miss Middleton for some time. He conducted their first joint interview together on the day their engagement was announced.

Mr. Ben Fogle
Ben Fogle is best known as a travel writer, television presenter and adventurer and has met Prince William on a number of occasions.

Sir Elton John
Sir Elton John is a singer-songwriter, composer and pianist. He performed at the funeral of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

Mr. and Mrs. David Beckham
Prince William, as President of the Football Association, has met footballer David Beckham on a number of occasions. They recently worked together as Ambassadors of England's 2018 World Cup Bid.

Mr. Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie is a friend of Prince William and Miss Middleton. He is a well-established filmmaker, who directed Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and Revolver.

Miss Joss Stone
Joss Stone is best known as an English Soul singer and songwriter. She performed at the Concert for Diana at Wembley in 2007 and at City Salute in 2008.

Mr. Mario Testino
Photographer Mario Testino took Prince William and Miss Middleton's official portrait photographs to mark their engagement.

Miss Tara Palmer-Tomkinson
Tara Palmer Tomkinson is a friend of The Prince of Wales and his family.

Mr. Sam Waley-Cohen
Amateur jockey Sam Waley Cohen is a friend of Prince William and Miss Middleton.

Mr. Galen Weston
Canadians Galen and Hilary Weston are friends of The Prince of Wales and his family.

liday to ensure that it will be a truly national celebration.

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Royal wedding

Royal Wedding Procession Route in 3D

Royal wedding: Westminster Abbey 360 tour (BBC)

Westminster Abbey is over 900 years old and and one of the most important churches in England. It has been the setting for many coronations and royal weddings. Explore the image below with Blue Badge guide Judy Pulley, who provides audio and text commentary.

“Reading the morning newspaper is the realist’s morning prayer” Hegel

Journalism is what people need to know the truth; in fact it provides daily news from all over the world about different subjects. Journalism has recently changed; news is not only printed on paper but they are now diffused thanks to the internet and television.

But what do people really think about them? Our inquiry is based on this important question. Interviewing the British public in and around London, we had the chance to hear their thoughts (or opinions), by asking simple questions: Do you think English journalism is independent? Do you think that journalism involves young people? Which kind of newspaper do you prefer: online or paper version?

It was possible to conclude that they are overall happy with English journalism because it is independent. Although sometimes it can seem influenced by politics and powerful men. People mostly prefer the paper version as they can have direct ‘physical’ contact with the news.

However the online version of newspapers are very popular with young people.

They use the internet to link up with the world and also they don't like having to pay for newspapers because they have all that information on their Tablets or Smartphone.

From our inquiries we discovered that a lot of people quickly read the Free Newspapers on the underground whilst they are going to work. But they only read a few articles then leave the newspapers on the tube.

This came out of our inquiries, in fact some people interviewed focused on the ecological problem, that it is also an economic problem: The wastefulness of paper that is paid for by their taxes.

Another important fact that came out of our inquiry is that for the majority of the British population they think that politics influences journalism, so newspapers are not independent. Moreover we went into some colleges and we put the same questions to young people and we discovered that they prefer online newspapers because they are easier and cheaper to consult.

 

 

authors : G.Barberi,C.Cobisi,A.Faila,E.Giunta,M.Lopiano, F.Mela, G.Alaimo,G.Aquilina,A.Burgio,E.Campione,F.D'Amico,G.Di Raimondo,A.Verdone,M.Zuccala'

(Ruggero Settimo's School - Sicily) 

[foto italoeuropeo magazine]

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read more:

*The Paper or web?

A lot of people prefer to switch on the TV or the radio to listen to the news, sparing themselves the effort of having to read. Other people instead find the news on the computer, thereby avoiding buying an "expensive" newspaper in the morning [read more]

 

 

 

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*What the British think about journalism, politics and involvement of the young

After asking British passers-by in London questions about journalism and politics, we collated their different feelings and impressions, we'll show the results of our survey using the pie charts below.• Do you think that English journalism is independent? As you can read from the pie chart most of those interviewed considers English journalism to be independent, about 1/3 of them think that journalistic autonomy depends on the different journals whilst over 26% think not.[Read more]

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* conclusion

In conclusion, for the most part, the British public (42%) thinks that journalism is already independent, but others (26%) say that it isn't really free from political influences. [Read more]

 

Giorgio.Barberi,Claudio Cobisi,Alberto Failla,Enrico Giunta,Marco Lopiano, Federico Mela, Giulia Alaimo,Giulio Aquilina, Alida Burgio, EvaCampione,                Flavia D'Amico,  Giulia di Raimondo, Alessio Verdone,M.Carmen Zuccala' , Carlo La Rosa - (Ruggero Settimo's School - Sicily)