EUROPE - latest news report on Europe, European politics, society, culture, business, institutions, EEC, EU

G20

Brown urges ministers to consider bank tax

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged G20 finance ministers gathered in St Andrews to urgently consider a financial transactions levy on banks to make them more accountable to society.

AFP

Moscow warns of new Iran sanctions over nuclear dispute

New sanctions against Iran cannot be excluded if there is no movement forward in the standoff over its nuclear drive, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in comments released by the Kremlin on Saturday.In an interview with German weekly Der ...

AFP

Russian military plane crashes, killing 11

A Russian military plane crashed into the sea during a training exercise in Russia's Far East region, leaving all 11 crew members missing and presumed dead, officials said on Saturday.The Tupolev Tu-142 plane disappeared from radar as it was coming ...

CLIMATE

Copenhagen deal uncertain as preliminary talks close

Officials attending preliminary climate change talks in Barcelona have acknowledged that the United Nations' main event in Copenhagen next month may fail to produce a final accord, drawing criticism from environmental groups.

AFP

Berlin bans fast-growing neo-Nazi group

Berlin authorities outlawed a rapidly-expanding neo-Nazi group on Thursday, with police staging dawn raids at the homes of its leading members, according to the city's interior minister Ehrhart Koerting.The group, named "Frontbann 24" after a ...

The Berlin Wall: 20 years after the fall

THE OBSERVERS

Kosovars celebrate local hero, Bill Clinton

On November 1 the streets of Kosovan capital Pristina were crowded with people waiting to see one of their favourite icons, former US president Bill Clinton.

UNITED KINGDOM

Conservatives will ‘castrate’ Britain in the EU, says French minister

A French minister has accused the opposition Conservatives led by David Cameron (pictured) of "autism" on Europe, describing a campaign pledge to negotiate a return of powers from Brussels to London as "pathetic".

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Germany

Former political prisoners of the Stasi share their memories

The old Stasi prisons lost their purpose in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall. They have now become the symbols and a daily reminder of what the unified Germany never wants to see again.

THE OBSERVERS

Georgian government 'trying to gain favour from Orthodox Church'

When a prank video clip of Patriarch Ilia II sounding off about President Mikheil Saakashvili emerged on YouTube on October 13, the nation was outraged. But so too, was the government.

ITALY

Court convicts 23 ex-CIA agents in imam kidnapping trial

A top Italian court has convicted 23 American former CIA agents plus two Italian nationals for the 2003 kidnapping of an Egyptian imam in Milan. The court handed down prison sentences to all those convicted.

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DIPLOMACY

Switzerland suspends normalisation deal with Libya

Swiss government spokesman Andre Simonazzi (pictured) announced his country has suspended an agreement struck with Libya over the arrest of one of Libyan leader Muamar Gaddafi's sons in Geneva last year.

THE OBSERVERS

Tables turned as Orthodox Church seizes Soviet buildings

In an attempt to do away with religion, Soviet Russia turned its churches into swimming pools, warehouses and sobering-up clinics.

AFGHANISTAN

Policeman kills five UK soldiers at checkpoint

An Afghan policeman has killed five British soldiers at a checkpoint where the men, who all died of gunshot wounds, were mentoring their Afghan counterparts, the UK military says.

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EUROPEAN UNION

Eurosceptic Czech president Vaclav Klaus signs Lisbon Treaty

The Czech Republic's eurosceptic president, Vaclav Klaus, has become the 27th and final EU head of state to sign the Lisbon Treaty, paving the way for its ratification on December 1.

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AUTO INDUSTRY

Germany slams 'unacceptable' GM U-turn on Opel sale

Struggling US carmaker General Motors has announced it will not sell a majority stake in its German-based European division Opel, to the fury and consternation of unions and government ministers concerned about Opel's German workers.

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