European Union

In filing its first major complaint of unfair trade practices by accusing China of restricting competitors' access to raw materials, the Obama administration raised hopes among U.S. manufacturers and unions that it would move aggressively to defend their interests in the global economy. But whether the complaint filed Tuesday on behalf of U.S.

European leaders were scrambling Friday to find a new path to a more powerful and manageable European Union after Irish voters rejected a treaty meant to bolster the alliance's government. The rejection threw into doubt nearly a decade of efforts to overcome widespread public skepticism and develop a European constitution. The reforms would create a powerful European presidency and diplomatic corps and improve cooperation on law enforcement and defense. Because the measure must be ratified by all 27 member states of the alliance, Ireland's rejection struck a potentially fatal blow.

Diplomats from European Union countries angered Cuba when they went Thursday to the home of a jailed dissident to express their concern about the case and what they view as government efforts to quell dissent. Cuba's government summoned ambassadors or charges d'affaires from the five countries whose diplomats made the visit -- Sweden, Poland, Hungary, Germany and Britain -- to say they had threatened recently renewed EU-Cuba dialogue. The diplomats met with the wife of physician Dariel "Darsi" Ferrer.

Only 16 months after shooting it down the first time, voters in Ireland have decisively approved a wide-ranging treaty to overhaul how the European Union is run and to give the 27-nation body a more forceful presence on the world stage, early returns showed today. And the biggest winner may turn out to be someone who couldn't even cast a ballot: former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is the hot favorite to become the EU's first president under the new system, which would vault him firmly back into the international limelight that he basks in. Returns in Ireland today, the day after voters went to the polls, showed the so-called Lisbon Treaty passing by a wide margin.

The European Union fought Thursday to live up to its self-proclaimed leadership on combating climate change, with the 27 EU leaders at odds over how much to offer poorer nations to join the global battle. EU members failed to agree on a sum for climate change funding for developing countries during a first set of talks on Thursday, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said, promising to make new efforts to strike a deal on the second day of talks here today. "On climate, we are not ready yet. . . . We have not solved it," he told reporters after leading the talks.

European regulators are likely to approve Google Inc.'s $3.1-billion takeover of ad firm DoubleClick Inc., despite rivals' worries that the deal could squeeze them and make Web advertising more expensive. The European Commission, which is in charge of preserving competition in the 27-country European Union, is about to decide whether it will express serious doubts about the deal, which would combine Mountain View, Calif.

Hundreds of civilians have died in fierce fighting between rebels and government forces here in Chad's capital, Red Cross officials said Tuesday, as the insurgents agreed to a cease-fire. Rebel leader Mahamat Nouri, leader of the biggest of three rebel groups in a coalition, told BBC radio Tuesday afternoon that the coalition accepted a Libyan-brokered cease-fire. Nouri said he did not think that the government had accepted.

European Union antitrust regulators raided an Intel Corp. office and computer retailers Tuesday in search of evidence they may have broken rules to ensure competition in the market for computer chips, the European Commission and Intel said. Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy confirmed that the company's Munich, Germany, office had been raided and said the company would cooperate closely with the investigation.

With the province of Kosovo expected to declare independence from Serbia this weekend, it is increasingly unlikely that Europe will offer a united pledge of support, officials and diplomats across the region say. There is unease in several countries over the precedent Kosovo's secession would set and over the ability of the corruption-plagued government in the ethnic Albanian province to rule.

In the Federal Reserve's battle to keep the U.S. economy from a severe downturn, the beleaguered dollar is getting walloped anew. That is going to worsen the sticker shock for Americans headed overseas or buying some of their favorite imported goods. But it also will underpin the current boom in U.S. exports, which has helped to offset some of the economic pain of the housing bust. The euro currency jumped to a record high against the dollar Wednesday, reaching $1.512 from $1.497 on Tuesday.