Italy's new Prime Minister, Mario Monti, has had his first meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Both demonstrated their confidence in his ability to solve Italy's economic challenges. Meanwhile, Turkey’s ruling AKP party says it needs to get tough to fight terrorism. 13,000 people have now been sentenced on terror charges, and 60 of them are journalists who are now in jail.
Turkey has been touted as a model for the Arab Spring's fledgling democracies. Yet Turkish journalists, publishers, academics and human rights activists say they are being arrested and put on trial on charges of terrorism. They say the government has a simple message for Turks: reveal information that compromises our party, and risk being neutralised.
Greeks take to the streets once again, the are calling for more action against their government's spending cuts.
Cucumbers tear Europe apart, after Germany wrongly blamed Spain's salad producers for its deadly e-coli outbreak.
Finally the Finnish goevernment cracks down on lighting up. finland has some of Europe's toughest laws against selling tobacco to minors.
For the past two weeks, some in Turkey have expressed concern at new regulations on the sale of alcohol. They've sparked a row between conservative Muslims and pro-secular movements; the ruling AKP party, which has Islamic roots, has introduced a number of measures aimed at discouraging people from drinking. Critics fear this is an attempt to force a more Muslim way of life on what's always been a fiercely secular country.
A Turkish court ordered the arrest of 102 suspects, including retired military officials, over an alleged plot by secularist armed forces to oust the moderate Islamic AK party government in 2003.
Turkey’s ruling AK Party is leading in local elections, but PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party failed to win the key Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, as well as the secularist stronghold of Izmir, amid a nationwide slide in support.
Turkish politicians wooing Kurdish votes are testing the Kurdish language taboo. But while the Turkish PM's Kurdish language foray raised eyebrows, DTP chief Ahmet Turk (photo) was silenced on air during a parliamentary speech.
The Turkish Constitutional Court rejected calls to outlaw PM Recip Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist party, the AKP, but imposed financial penalties. The United States hailed the decision, seen as a "victory"by the AKP
The US State Department has praised the Turkish Constitutional Court's decision not to outlaw PM Recip Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist party, the AKP. "We work well with [this government]", said a State department spokesman.
The Turkish press widely expects the Constitutional Court to announce Wednesday a decision on a proposed ban on PM Recip Tayyip Erdogan's party, the AKP. Academic Hakan Yilmaz told FRANCE 24 the population is divided on the issue.
