A Royal Tweet and a massive Italian Protest

UK- The European Union has presented the UK with a steep fee of £1.7bn (pounds) that would go toward the EU budget as a result of the growth observed in the British pound. On Friday, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron released a statement stating that the EU had "another think coming" if it thought Britain would pay the bill by the December first deadline. I view this "fee" as a ridiculous attempt to take advantage of the prosperous pound in order to stabilize the sporadic euro. I'm interested to see how this situation is going to play out as I have do not believe the UK will end up paying the £1.7bn.

The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton's second baby is due in April. Can't wait! 

The Queen posted her first tweet to launch the British Science Museum Gallery saying, "It is a pleasure to open the Information Age exhibition today at the +Science Museum and I hope people will enjoy visiting. Elizabeth R." How urban of her. It really is cool to see such a regal figure in British society in touch (to an extent) with modern trends. 

Italy- A series of mass protests are being held in the Italian capital Rome today, against Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's plans for labor market reform. The PM has planned to loosen labor protection, making it easier for firms to fire workers. The angry responses make sense since Italian youth unemployment is at a record high of 44.2%.  The PM wants workers to earn job protection and benefits over a long period of time. Almost facing its third recession in six years, Italian economic output has contracted by 9% since 2007 so the PM should really focus on making jobs more attainable rather than a struggle. Honestly, what was he thinking? 

EU- The EU has agreed to cut CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) emissions by 40% by 2030, a landmark decision. I hope this paves the way for a new era of environmental awareness (here in the US as well) as I believe the environment is an incredibly significant concern for the future of human progress. 

Ireland- Ireland has recovered economically to an extent as a result of a bailout, largely removing it as a concern for the EU, leaving them to focus on larger concerns (such as the suffering economies of Greece, Italy and Spain). 

Greece- Greece urges international lenders to let is delay pension reform plan.