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There have been other cases in which commission departments were much slower to respond.
In 2018, EUobserver filed access to documents related to the Southern Gas Corridor project.
The initial reply from the directorate-general energy arrived only after more than two months, while the commission secretariat-general needed more than four months to respond to the appeal of that case.
Such delays in responding are no anomaly.
Last month I turned to the European Ombudsman, asking for an opinion about the commission's unequal treatment of deadlines.
The ombudsman's head of inquiries, Tina Nilsson, said she was unfortunately not able to deal with my complaint, precisely because the "confirmatory application was not submitted to the European commission within the applicable deadline".
She said that the commission "was not acting unlawfully in refusing to deal with the confirmatory application".
However, she also wrote that "the ombudsman notes your reasonable concern at the apparent inconsistency at times in the commission's approach to the deadlines in Regulation 1049, enforcing them strictly against complainants while not always meeting them itself".
"We will continue to monitor this situation, with a view to considering whether a closer examination might be useful," she added.
On Thursday, the European Parliament will vote on a political deal on organic farming, following 19 months of behind-closed-doors negotiations. EUobserver here details a five-month odyssey to get access to the secret documents that led to the deal.
European Parliament denies access to draft papers, claiming publishing them could lead to 'self-censorship' by MEPs.
Congress supporters celebrated their party's sweeping victory in the Indian elections by dancing in the streets as they hailed Rahul Gandhi as their "new leader".
Ecstatic party workers danced to the beat of folk drums as a supporter stood under the yellow petals of a laburnum tree outside Congress Party headquarters, wiping away tears of joy with her scarf.
"I feel as happy as when a baby is born or your child gets married," said Razia Siddiqui, a Muslim woman from the Old Quarter of the Indian capital. "A new leader has been born (Rahul Gandhi) and he will lead India to prosperity and happiness."
Emerging from her residence, Sonia Gandhi, the party's leader, thanked the people of India for "reposing their faith in the Congress Party". At her side, Manmohan Singh, the prime minister, thanked voters and said he hoped Mrs Gandhi's son, Rahul, the party's rising star, would be a member of his government. "It is my ...
Around them, supporters celebrated in traditional Indian style outside the party's headquarters, distributing bouquets as brass bands played and loudspeakers blared "Long Live Rahul!", "Long Live Sonia!" and the slogan "Jai Ho!" (Victory!), which Congress had appropriated from the film Slumdog Millionaire for its campa...
Policemen on duty in their khaki uniforms outside the party headquarters on Ashoka Road sweated profusely in temperatures of 41 degrees Celsius, but nothing could dampen the festive mood.
Party workers had been waiting on Ashoka Road since 4 am for the election result. At first, a wave of disbelief swept through them as it emerged that the Congress had performed not just better than expected, but better than at any time in the past 20 years.
"We thought we would emerge as the largest party, but not this level of victory," admitted party member Parag Jain as he stood outside, trying to catch a glimpse of beaming Congress leaders as their cars rolled into party headquarters.
Portly Sikhs from Punjab said they planned to dance all day and all night, helped by a few bottles of rum.
Shrikant Kohli, a semi-toothless auto-rickshaw driver in Delhi, recited doggerel in praise of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi to anyone who cared to listen.
"A new leader has been born [Rahul] and under his wisdom, India will shine like a star while his mother, like a great tree, gives us shade, fruit and protection," he declaimed loudly to the amusement of party workers.
Mrs Siddiqui, who is not a party worker but who voted for the party, had come to share the jubilation. Standing alone amid the noise and music, she explained why she had voted for the party.
"Muslims were angry with the Congress over the demolition of the mosque at Ayodhya, but we have now realised that it is the only party that will help Muslims and the poor," she said.
Despite the television studio debates that went on all day, in which experts predicted that Congress Party workers would now clamour for Rahul Gandhi to become prime minister, the workers outside party headquarters were surprisingly measured.
As the party's star campaigner and the man who took all the big decisions, Rahul Gandhi has established himself in this election as a legitimate political leader who has more than merely the Nehru-Gandhi name to his claim to fame. Supporters extolled Rahul Gandhi for having led the party to a stunning and spectacular v...
"He needs more time to gain experience," said Mukesh Kohli, a party worker from the south. "We have a wonderful prime minister in Manmohan Singh and we should wait till Rahul is ready to take over."
"The biggest victor in this election is this young man," said Mr Kohli. "And his biggest asset is his sincerity and concern for the poor."
Republicans latest attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, includes several provisions that would dramatically affect women’s health care.
Named for sponsors Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy, the Graham-Cassidy bill would make it harder for low-income women to access Planned Parenthood, reduce private insurance coverage for abortions and allow states to reduce maternity coverage.
The bill needs to pass by the end of September to have a realistic chance of being enacted into law. It’s currently just a handful of votes away from reaching the majority needed.
Here’s a closer look at how the Graham-Cassidy bill would affect women’s health.
The bill would restrict people who get tax credits to buy insurance on the individual market from purchasing plans that include abortion coverage. It would also bar small businesses that receive tax credits to offer insurance from including abortion coverage in employees’ plans.
The bill would allow states to stop requiring that private insurance plans include maternity care among the essential health benefits included in the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.
Is the feces of alcohol induced hepitis patients contagious?
what are the symptoms of hepatitis?
The 'Hidden Epidemic' of Hepatitis: What's Your Risk?
i have a HCV virus load of 12, 473,000. How serious is it that i get treatment?
According to the city of Asheville’s official Twitter feed, at 4:50 p.m. Sweeten Creek Road is closed from Caribou to Biltmore due to flooding.
News & Observer: Teen pregnancy rate hits historic low in N.C.
The end of Skype Classic (or Skype 7, if you prefer) has been on the cards for a while now, much to the annoyance of legions of users. Microsoft has been keen to encourage Classic users to migrate to Skype 8, but many have held out. Now Microsoft is forcing their hands.
When the company announced that support for Skype 7 and below was terminating at the beginning of November, Microsoft said that "you may be able to use older versions for a little while". Three months down the line, Skype Classic users are being forced into upgrading to Skype 8.
People using the latest version of Skype Classic -- Skype 7.41.0.10101 -- are finding themselves greeted by a dialog box which gives them the option of either updating to Skype 8, or exiting Skype. There is no other option.
It looks like Skype hasn't been updated for some time. It's free, only takes a minute and comes with the latest features and security updates.
What happens if I don't update now?
The next time you sign out or restart your computer, you'll need to update Skype before you can sign back in.
Microsoft's decision to force the upgrade on users is not going down well, but it seems there is no way to avoid it other than (as reported by BleepingComputer) downgrading to Skype 7.36.0.101 -- although this has to be downloaded from sources other than Microsoft.
Dec. 12 marked the seventh annual Technicity event, co-hosted by ITWC (represented here by President Fawn Annan, left) and the City of Toronto (with Cllr. Michelle Holland at centre), this year’s event was sponsored by Cogeco Peer 1 (see Jaime Leverton, general manager for Canada and APAC right). The conference provide...
Tomi Poutanen, co-founder of the Vector Institute at the University of Toronto, explained why Toronto was a global hotspot for AI innovation. The fact that the Toronto-Waterloo corridor is the second-largest tech talent hot spot in North America helps, and of course the University of Toronto is home to Geoffrey Hinton,...
In a panel discussion, Glen Gore, the chief architect at Amazon Web Services, predicted that AI would impact every industry. He says that Amazon and other major players in the AI space are trying to use their innovation to solve complex business problems across various applications like fraud, traffic management, and q...
Ontario Chief Digital Officer Hillary Hartley delivered the luncheon keynote, describing her first several months in her role, chipping away at the government’s legacy systems. Just one of her achievements is implementing an aid calculator into the Ontario Student Assistance Program website. It’s helped grow post-secon...
Cogeco Peer 1’s Leverton led a panel discussion on what disruption AI could bring to the workforce. Jeremy Depow, vice-president of policy and research at ICTC, predicted that worries of a ‘jobpacalypse’ were overblown. While AI will automate some tasks currently done by workers, it won’t be an overnight shift, he said...
Did you guys know Doug was at Technicity? What a great guy.
Since Alphabet subsidiary Sidewalk Labs announced a deal with Waterfront Toronto to bring its unique brand of digital development to Quayside, many in the city and beyond have wondered what might come from the partnership. Sidewalk Labs Chief Technology Officer Craig Nevill-Manning said it would serve as a test bed for...
Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg described how AI is helping his service distribute its trucks and first responders across the city to ensure the best service level possible. When half of the on-duty staff were required for a major fire at the Badminton and Racquet Club of Toronto in February, city-wide coverage only de...
Councillor and innovation advocate Michelle Holland discussed innovation and partnerships with Toronto’s CIO, Rob Meikle, and its chief transformation officer, Michael Kolm. Meikle said that a different attitude towards procurement was taking shape at the city now, that a willingness to experiment and try something new...
ITWC launched the AI Directory alongside its partners CATA and SalesChoice Inc. With AI having a far-reaching impact on Canada’s economy and many startups innovating in the space, the directory offers a place to discover these companies and learn about their efforts in the space. Making the announcement of the launch a...
If there was one over-arching message out of Technicity 2017, it was that the time is now to experiment with AI at your business. If startups can create it, enterprises can implement it, and government can harness it to improve the lives of their citizens, then you can find a way to make AI work for you. And if you nee...
The death penalty is still on the table for capital murder suspect Joseph Tejeda. The motion to remove or cover his facial tattoos has not been decided.
The death penalty remains on the table for capital murder suspect Joseph Tejeda, who is accused in the death of Breanna Wood.
Judge Jack Pulcher, of the 105th district court, on Friday denied a motion from Tejeda's attorneys, Fred Jimenez and Dee Ann Torres, that the death penalty not be considered.
Tejeda, 27, is charged with capital murder, engaging in organized criminal activity, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse. The state is seeking the death penalty against him and Sandra Vasquez, who is also charged with capital murder in connection with Wood's death.
A third person, Christopher Gonzalez, is also facing a capital murder charge, but prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty in his case. They are three of seven people charged with crimes related to the 21-year-old.
Wood's remains were found in early January 2017 after she was last seen with Tejeda at a convenience store in October 2016.
It was decided at a previous hearing that motions filed by Tejeda's attorneys would be heard in increments of 10. At his last hearing, among other motions, his attorneys requested he be allowed to appear in court wearing "civilian clothes" and that he not be shackled. Those requests were denied.
His attorneys have also filed a motion requesting his facial tattoos be either removed or covered with makeup for his trial.
The district attorney's office explained to the court that Tejeda's attorneys have said "three to four of Tejeda's tattoos are gang-related," and would "come across to a jury as intimidating."
Tejeda's attorneys requested more time on that motion while they find an expert to speak about the tattoos.
His attorneys also filed a motion requesting more time with Tejeda to work on his case. They requested they all meet in a room at the Nueces County Jail or in an empty jury room and that Tejeda be unshackled.
Pulcher granted the request for more time, but denied the request that Tejeda be unshackled. Appellate council was also granted for Tejeda.
Another granted motion will allow attorneys to meet with potential members of the jury on a one-on-one basis in front of the court.
A trial date has not been set.
More: Are face tattoos a mark that can cause a jury to prejudge a defendant in court cases?
On 26 May Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island in the Galapagos Islands erupted for the first time in 33 years. Lava flows from the summit were accompanied by ash and smoke rising 6 miles into the air. The lava flows are highlighted in red. The image covers an area of 18.4 by 29 miles.
The first two named storms of the eastern Pacific Ocean hurricane season are spinning off the west coast of Mexico. Hurricane Andres is winding down and expected to drop to depression-strength and turn east in the next couple of days. Tropical storm Blanca is expected to become a major hurricane as it heads north-north...
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station used a high magnification lens to capture the details of the Aswan high dam on the River Nile in southern Egypt. This vast engineering project was started in 1960 and completed in 1970, and it is one of the largest earthen embankment dams in the world at 3,830 meters (1...
In August 2009, construction began on China’s first large-scale solar power station. Six years later, solar panels have expanded much deeper into the Gobi Desert, where sunlight and land are abundant. The solar farms, located on the outskirts of Dunhuang in northwestern China’s Gansu province cover about three times th...
Smoke from agricultural fires (shown with red outlines) rises up in Huaibei, in the North China Plain, a fertile and densely-populated region. It produces 35% of the country’s agricultural yields. The staple crops are wheat and maize. Winter wheat is sown in mid-October and harvested at the end of May. In June, farmers...
A phytoplankton bloom in the Sea of Marmara. Situated between the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea, it is full of a rich soup of nutrients and life The Marmara has an unusual layered structure with fresher water near the surface and much saltier water near the bottom. That fresh surface is fed by exchanges with the Black S...
In early June a strong low pressure system over the North Atlantic Ocean brought rain and gusty winds to Ireland and the United Kingdom as this true-colour image of the spiralling system shows on 5 June. A very deep low pressure area lies in the centre of the spiral, just off the northwestern shore of emerald-green Ire...
Exciting news just in from Stockholm. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2011 Nobel prize in economics to Thomas Sargent of New York University and to Christopher Sims of Princeton. They have, apparently, laboured mightily-and over many decades- on the question of how, in the words of the ci...
Any kind of economic development involves a relationship between interest rates, taxation and inflation- and an awful lot of people have hunches or clues about how that might work out. But the idea that economics is a science that might deliver the answers to perplexed policy makers was one of the great illusions of th...
I do not begrudge the award of Nobel peace prizes to great campaigners- though the nomination of Henry 'let's bomb Cambodia' Kissinger left me bemused. And the award of the literature prize to Seamus Heaney was one of the Nobel Committee's better ideas. Similarly, prizes in proper sciences- such as physics and chemistr...
Economics became a major university subject in the inter-war years. By various silly stages it then became a subject taught in schools and from the 1970's onwards it proved to be extremely popular as a soft A-level option. Careers have therefore been based on this bogus subject now for some three generations, and all t...
In the societies of ancient Mesopotamia between the fourth and the second millennium BC power lay with the temple priests who said they could foretell the future. Their prognostication involved the inspection of the livers of recently slaughtered animals. Those organs' variable smell and texture would then guide the pr...
Economists of course have their graphs and tables, and these have become progressively more complicated and theoretical as they tried to trick us into thinking that their subject was somehow scientific. Surely something that looked so very like mathematics was really the genuine thing? And there was even that famous di...
Looking at how trade and business, patterns of manufacturing, investment and productivity have operated in the past is well worth doing. And the people who pioneered that investigation in the 18th. century- such as the famous Adam Smith- called their subject 'political economy'. They were under no illusions that they w...
We can have trends and probabilities of course. At some point demand for some goods- let's take oil as an example- having been elastic, will stop being so. But nobody can ever predict at what point people will decide they're not prepared to pay a high price for oil any more.
'Political economy' was a good phrase since it showed how politics and social life generally give a context and a meaning to economic behaviour. But that wasn't good enough for all those economists who laboured over their quasi-mathematical models in the late 20th century. Career building was all important here. All th...
But there's a very simple reason why all the economic charts in the world will never really demonstrate what might, or might not, work as a policy. At any one time, and especially during a major crisis as at the moment, there are in fact all sorts of economic policies that are in place. A bit of quantitative easing her...
But then, at some stage, there is an economic improvement and trebles all round can be ordered at the Treasury. At which point the perplexity really sets in. Which of all the policies that were pursued was the one that actually did the trick? All sorts of levers were pulled, and many contradicted each other. But the po...
Can Oxford and Cambridge survive ?
The survival of Oxford and Cambridge as universities with an international renown is more surprising than we think. Any league table documenting the top ten universities in the world for excellence in research will include Oxbridge, and in Britain we've become rather complacent about that fact. In a speech over the wee...
Universities that rise to greatness tend to reflect the political and commercial fortunes of their host countries- as happened at Harvard and Yale in the period after the American Civil War. Academic distinction followed, as it were, the flag once the stars and stripes started to flutter to global effect. Britain lost ...
It helped of course that some individual colleges were rich in their own right in terms of lands and investments. And the aesthetic charms of Oxbridge have turned both universities into part of the English national heritage industry along with the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and Shakespeare's Stratford. Oxbridg...
This was a story that was also entirely exceptional in European terms. The continent is littered with universities that, like Oxford and cambridge, were established during the middle ages. Salamanca, Bologna,Padua, Montpellier, Naples were once glorious seats of learning. But where are they now? None of those names fea...
The same is true by and large of the German universities that once set the pace as power houses of learning.Berlin, Bonn, Freiburg, Heidelberg and Tubingen: these were the universities that really mattered in the 19th. century. Every country with serious higher education ambitions wanted to emulate those Teutonic giant...
It was all too good to last, and here it is the comparison with U.S universities which is really telling. Last year the University of Oxford had an annual income of £880 million. But Harvard has an endowment worth £21 billion, and that fund provides a third of the university's annual running costs of £2.4 billion.
The debate about the impact of under-graduate tuition fees is a pretty familiar one, but the impact of fees on postgraduate researchers has been less advertised. In order to keep their place among the top ten research universities Oxford and Cambridge now have to compete against the great American universities. It's al...
Bright minds that want to research now have every inducement to travel to foreign universities where bursaries, scholarships and studentships will liberate them from financial constraints. Beijing may therefore become the Cambridge of the mid-21st century and Delhi the Oxford of tomorrow. The gap between the endowment ...

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