Immigrant shopkeepers from the suburb of Nikaia, near Piraeus, held a demonstration in the central Aghiou Nikolaou Square on Thursday evening to protest a wave of threats by extreme rightwing protesters against them and a recent spike in racist attacks. According to the migrants, members of the extreme-right Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn) have told them to close their shops and leave the country. The demonstration... 

A German court ruled that circumcision for non-medical reasons is bodily harm – a criminal assault – a decision that is bound to create uproar among Jewish and Muslim communities. Is it a reasonable ruling? Have your say. Doctors called upon to perform circumcisions for religious reasons have long been in a legal grey area – but when challenged, could plea that there was no clear ruling... 

Shocking images have surfaced, revealing the alleged desecration of Christian churches in Syria by Western-backed rebels. The pictures, taken by local Christians outraged at the violence, were published by PrisonPlanet.com. In one of the photos a man who is said to be a member of the Free Syrian Army poses in a stolen priest’s robe while brandishing a looted cross in one hand and a machine gun in... 

Russia offered Zimbabwe to conclude an intergovernmental agreement about the mutual protection of investments. Russian companies may thus obtain an opportunity to develop one of the world’s largest deposits of platinum. In return, Zimbabwe, which remains under the influence of sanctions from the USA and EU, will receive military hardware from Russia. Moreover, Russia intends to ship a large... 

Class time: In North Korea, the systematic indoctrination of anti-Americanism starts as early as kindergarten and is as much a part of the curriculum as learning to count In North Korea, the systematic indoctrination of anti-Americanism starts as early as kindergarten and is as much a part of the curriculum as learning to count. The sentiment of the U.S. – known as American b******* – is... 

Britain came alarmingly close to a dangerous clash with Moscow when David Cameron was asked to consider giving an order to forcibly board a ship headed towards the English Channel carrying three Russian-made helicopters for delivery to the regime in Syria, it emerged today. Any seizure would have been carried out by members of the Special Boat Service, SBS, the only military unit authorised to performing... 

American secret service operatives are distributing illegal assault rifles, anti-tank rocket launchers and other ammunition to Syrian opposition, the New York Times reports. But due to some rebels’ links to Al Qaeda, the CIA’s task is precarious. ­The paper reports that for weeks now, officers based in southeast Turkey have supervised the flow of illegal arms to numerous opposition factions ready... 

On Wednesday, a rapporteur of the United Nations Organization (UNO) condemned the drone attacks carried out by U.S. forces that have killed thousands, and has questioned the legality of such aerial assaults. The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary executions, Cristoff Heyns, in his report of 28 pages submitted to the UN Human Rights Council, has sued the U.S. Government in order to clarify... 

Japanese authorities failed to disclose US data on the spread of radiation from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant last year, a cabinet minister says. This left some evacuees fleeing in the same direction as the radioactive emissions, media report. ­The March 11, 2011 tsunami and earthquake partially wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant north of Tokyo. 160,000 people fled the ensuing worst nuclear... 

Despite the White House’s efforts to keep a proposed free trade agreement concealed from the public — and even Congress — an excerpt from the TPP leaked Wednesday reveals that President Obama is prepared to bow to multinational corporations. The United States has been engaged in discussion with eight Pacific nations to come to agreement on the terms of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership,... 

The Greek extreme right party Golden Dawn has stepped up assaults on immigrants by threatening to remove them and their children from hospitals and kindergartens. The neo-Nazi rhetoric comes as Greece prepares for its crucial elections scheduled for Sunday, June 17 If Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn) gets into parliament as polls predict, the party says it will carry out raids on hospitals and kindergartens... 

EU countries have agreed that border control in the Schengen zone can be restored temporarily under “exceptional circumstances.” The measure is moved by the uncontrolled flow of migrants into the EU in the wake of the economic crisis. Under the proposal, which was approved at a meeting of EU home affairs ministers in Luxembourg, the control of national borders the Schengen Area would be... 

Police at a building where blogger Alexei Navalny lives. Moscow prosecutors have searched the homes of several Russian opposition figures. They are investigating the violence during previous protests. The searches came a day before a key opposition rally in the Russian capital. Officials of the Russian Investigative Committee have searched the homes of Aleksey Navalny, Sergey Udaltsov, Ilya Yashin... 

Moscow city court has upheld a decision to turn down the LGBT activists’ request for permission to hold gay pride parades for the next 100 years. Earlier, Tverskoy district court ruled lawful the decision of the Moscow municipal government to ban public events that can be qualified as gay parades from March 2012 till May 2112. Nikolay Alekseyev, one of the leaders of the Russian LGBT community and... 

A young victims: The four victims of the genital mutilation wept in court as their parents were sent down An Islamic holy man and his wife have been jailed for the genital mutilation of their four daughters. The case has shocked France and was branded by a female government minister as a ‘grave crime’ and an ‘intolerable affront to women’s dignity.’ All four of the victims,...