Philip Reeves

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Start with a city centuries old, mix in contests that trace their origins back millennia, then add in record numbers of arrivals at London's Heathrow Airport, including athletes who in some cases felt like they'd spent centuries on the bus stuck in traffic on the way into town.

The London Olympics are days away, along with some complications, as NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

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The Olympic Games are now just over three weeks away. NPR's Philip Reeves is tracking preparations. He brings us his latest letter from London.

PHILIP REEVES, BYLINE: So it's true then. Surface-to-air missiles really will be stationed on London's rooftops during the Olympic Games.

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And European leaders worked through the night last night, at a summit in Brussels aimed at tackling the eurozone's worsening debt crisis.

PHILIP REEVES, BYLINE: NPR's Philip Reeves is there and says they've reached an agreement on at least some issues.

Spain and Italy are among the largest economies in Europe. Their borrowing costs have been spiraling towards unsustainable levels. Spain has warned that it can't afford to pay them for much longer.

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The soccer game - they call it football - between Greece in Germany in Poland yesterday was always about more than just sport. Of course, there's friction between these two countries because of that eurozone crisis and both sides said they'd try to set aside politics for the day just to enjoy the entertainment. Now, of course, as has been widely reported, Germany won the game. They head to the semi-finals of the European championship. NPR's Philip Reeves was there and he sends us this account of an unusual day.

The queen of England this year marks 60 years on the throne, and Buckingham Palace is coordinating a week of events, including a concert at the palace and a 1,000-boat flotilla along the River Thames. NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

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The financial woes of Greece and other countries of the eurozone have meant painful austerity measures in exchange for financial bailouts. Now Irish voters have approved a European Union treaty to battle the debt crisis. It's an effort to enforce strict budget cuts or face financial penalties.

The people of Ireland vote Thursday on a European treaty that imposes strict budgetary rules on eurozone nations. It's triggered a heated debate in Ireland about whether austerity measures are working. The Irish government says rejecting the treaty would cut Ireland off from future EU bailout funds, and isolate the nation.

A mass tax revolt is under way in Ireland, and hundreds of thousands of people have resolved to break the law and refuse to pay a newly-introduced levy on households. The tax is $125 a year, but protesters say it could lead to larger property taxes in the future.

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The British have been holding a public inquiry into press ethics for the last few months. The government is responding to the outcry over the phone-hacking scandal at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World. The inquiry's investing the way newspapers, the police and politicians may feed off each other and that means shining a light into the secluded world, in particular, of the prime minister's social set. NPR's Philip Reeves has been watching the questioning.

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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

The British got an intriguing glimpse today into the secret world of the powerful. They heard from Rebekah Brooks, a close advisor to Rupert Murdoch and a former tabloid editor. She was caught up in the phone hacking scandal that's engulfed Murdoch's British operations.

Today, Brooks testified to a media ethics inquiry. It's investigating the close relationship between Britain's press and its politicians. NPR's Philip Reeves has the story.