Washington, Dec 4 : New images taken by instruments on board ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) Venus Express have provided insight into the turbulent atmosphere of our neighbouring planet.

Using Venus Express, it is possible to compare what the planet looks like in different wavelengths, giving scientists a powerful tool to study the physical conditions and dynamics of the planet''s atmosphere.

Observed in the ultraviolet, Venus shows numerous high-contrast features.

Berlin  - Ireland hopes next week's European Union summit will help break the impasse arising from Irish voters' rejection of the EU reform treaty, Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen indicated Wednesday.

"The situation we face represents a considerable challenge for Europe," Cowen said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, ahead of talks between the two leaders in Berlin.

"I'm hopeful we can identify the elements of an acceptable way forward next week," he said, adding: "Any way forward must naturally respond to the concerns of the Irish public which led to the rejection of the treaty in the referendum last June."

Brussels - The European Union is to crack down on imports of foods which contain soya products and consignments of baking powder from China in a bid to stop food contaminated with the toxin melamine reaching Europe, officials in Brussels said Wednesday.

The EU's executive, the European Commission, "will take measures to ban the import from China of food for infants and young children containing soya and soya products, after high levels of melamine were recently found in Chinese soy bean meal," a statement said.

Brussels - The European Union's executive was set Wednesday to unveil a plan to strengthen ties with former-Soviet neighbours, such as Ukraine and Georgia, which EU leaders pushed up the political agenda in the wake of the summer's Russian-Georgian war.

The so-called "Eastern Partnership," originally proposed by Poland and Sweden in May, is aimed at strengthening the EU's ties with Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova - and possibly Belarus if Minsk shows itself open to democratic reforms.

Brussels - The European Union and Russia on Tuesday re- opened high-level talks on a new strategic treaty which EU leaders froze in September to protest Russia's invasion of Georgia.

The meeting between Russia's ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, and EU negotiator Eneko Landaburu was intended to discuss the "general architecture" of a future deal, sources in the European Commission, the EU's executive, said.

Relations between Russia and the EU are currently governed by a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) agreed with the government of Boris Yeltsin in 1997.

Brussels - European Union governments endorsed Tuesday plans to raise the total amount of money available to member states which run into trouble as a result of the global credit crunch - from 12 billion euros (15 billion dollars) to 25 billion euros.

In a statement, a council of finance ministers meeting in Brussels said the higher ceiling was needed because of "the evolution of the international economic situation" and because the EU has expanded to accommodate 12 new member states since the facility was created, in 2002.