Belgium will soon become the second country in Europe to ban the burqa in public places, after the parliament approved legislation forbidding full veils, the bill’s author said today. The legislation quietly cleared the Senate last week after it was overwhelmingly approved by the lower chamber of deputies last month, when only one Green lawmaker voted against it and two abstained. The new law... 

Beset by Christian guilt, the Continent won’t defend Christians persecuted by Islamists. This year the leaders of France and Britain declared that their countries’ policies of multiculturalism had failed. As when Germany’s Angela Merkel made similar statements last year, Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron sparked a political firestorm. Europe’s debate over multiculturalism,... 

St Moritz: Preparing to host Bilderberg. As the Bilderberg conference heads towards Switzerland there’s still time to book your seat on a minibus to St Moritz. As Europe groans, and austerity bites, as defaulting looms, and once proud nations fall to their knees in debt, there’s only one annual conference of bankers and industrialists that can step in and save us all… Bilderberg! Next... 

So, after everyone pointed the finger at the Spanish and their cucumbers, after tonnes of the crop were destroyed, after Spain’s agriculture lost its reputation and thousands of jobs, now they decide the source of the German E.coli outbreak was not Spain after all. It’s a bit late now, isn’t it? Then what was the source? Terrorism? The form of E.coli sweeping across northern Germany... 

Despite the fact that the Sun is our “native” star, to date no one has been able to examine it at a close range. Now helio-physicists of several countries are working to create devices that would allow them to approach the sun as close as possible and study the processes taking place there. It is possible that the first solar probe will be launched in Russia. The idea of ​​sending... 

Oslo police spokeswoman Hanne Kristine Rohde According to Oslo police spokeswoman Hanne Kristine Rohde, in Oslo all identified sexual assaults involving rape in the past year have been committed by men of non-western background. This was the conclusion of a police report published few days ago. This means that every single rape assault in the last five years, where the rapist could be identified,... 

Russia has banned the import of all fresh vegetables from the European Union because of the E. coli outbreak centred on Germany. The country’s chief medical officer said EU-produced vegetables would be seized across Russia. More than 1,500 people have been infected by enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), which can cause the deadly haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS). Seventeen people have died... 

A sweetener used in Diet Coke and many other products is to undergo a safety review over fears that it has harmful effects on human health. An artificial sweetener used in Diet Coke is to undergo an urgent EU safety review. Aspartame is ingested every day by millions of people around the world in more than 6,000 well-known brands of food, drink and medicine. However, it has been the subject of a number... 

EU ambassadors in Dublin have been informed that their nationals living in Ireland should not make up baby bottles with tap water. Following an Open Letter (1) to the European Commission by leading Dutch paediatrician, Dr Gavin ten Tusscher and others associated with Amsterdam University and the NGO Ecobaby, EU diplomacies in Dublin have been alerted to the risks from tap water in Ireland which contains... 

Shutdown: The Grafenrheinfeld plant, Bavaria, Germany. All 17 of the country's nuclear plants will be shut by 2022. Germany is to shut its entire nuclear power network over safety fears triggered by the meltdown of the Fukushima atomic plant in Japan. Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that her country will pull the plug on nuclear energy by 2022. Germany – a country without natural gas or oil... 

Russian police detain American gay rights activist Dan Choi on Saturday in central Moscow. More than 30 people were arrested Saturday in central Moscow during the sixth attempt by gay rights groups to hold a parade in the city. According to the group, Gay Russia, far right groups clashed with activists who were gathered in front of the Kremlin wall and city hall. A total of 18 gay activists and 14... 

In 1991, after the Soviet Union dissolved, everything changed but stayed the same. As a result, today’s stakes are far greater, presenting much larger threats to world peace. In America, neocons are still dominant. Obama is more belligerent than Bush, waging four wars and various proxy ones. The Israeli Lobby, Christian Right, and other extremist elements drive them. Conflict is preferred over... 

Obama said he and Sarkozy agreed that the NATO bombing must continue. The G8 summit in France has concluded with nations pledging billions in economic aid to the pioneers of the Arab Spring. But this is more than just an act of generosity. Leaders of the Group of Eight leading industrial nations concluded their two-day summit in Deauville, France on Friday, pledging $40 billion to support democratic... 

Several nationalist and anti-immigration parties have become the most popular in their countries, topping recent opinion polls in France, Austria and Finland. France’s Front National, Austria’s Freedom Party and Finland’s True Finns have all headed voters’ surveys in recent weeks. In March, Marine Le Pen’s party received 23 per cent in a poll of voting intentions for 2012’s presidential... 

Policemen clash with protesters while trying to dismantle a camp set up in Catalunya square in Barcelona on May 27, 2011. At least 100 people have been injured after police clashed with demonstrators in Barcelona amid protests against the economic crisis and sky-high jobless rate in Spain. Policemen swiped at protesters with batons, dragged them on the ground and even fired rubber bullets on Friday...