German Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly berated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to advance peace talks during a “tense” phone call. Citing German sources, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Friday that Merkel responded furiously when Netanyahu criticised Germany for supporting a Palestinian-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution against Israeli settlement... 

Tunisian immigrants are guarded by policemen upon arrival on the Italian island of Lampedusa. Italy faced criticism in the European Union on Thursday (24 February) for raising the alarm about a potential wave of refugees from Libya, with several governments saying Rome’s calls for help in dealing with migrants were exaggerated. EU justice ministers were meeting in Brussels yesterday to weigh... 

A Tunisian woman crosses into Tunisia at the Ras Jdir border crossing, after fleeing unrest in Libya. Up to 1.5 million refugees from North Africa could try to flee across the Mediterranean, Italy warned on Thursday as the government begged for help from the EU in dealing with the potential exodus. Roberto Maroni, Italy’s interior minister, said the worst case scenario could see 1.5 million migrants... 

Order: Julian Assange will be extradited to Sweden, a judge ordered. The founder of whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, will be extradited to Sweden to answer sex attack allegations, a judge has ruled. The 39-year-old Australian is accused of sexually assaulting one woman and raping another during a week-long visit to Stockholm in August. He denies any wrongdoing and has sought to fight... 

From the conclusions of the Swiss, Russian and German scientific clinical studies, we can no longer ignore the microwave oven sitting in our kitchens. Based on this research, we will conclude this article with the following: 1. Continually eating food processed from a microwave oven causes long term – permanent – brain damage by “shorting out” electrical impulses in the brain... 

The country’s first suicide attack and the rise of a far-right political party are signs of change in traditionally tolerant Sweden. Laid-back Sweden questions its welcome for Muslims. The bullet exploded through the mosque’s window, sending glass splinters hurtling into the office worker’s neck. Frantically abandoning their New Year’s Eve chatter and coffee cups, worshippers... 

Mr Lieberman (r) in the EU Council on Tuesday. ‘It’s not the sort of thing a journalist does’ the API chairman said. The Brussels reporter who made headlines around the world last year for attempting to place former UK prime minister Tony Blair under a citizen’s arrest has done it again, this time with the foreign minister of Israel, the hard-right Avigdor Lieberman. David Cronin,... 

During a security meeting in the Caucasus city of Vladikavkaz, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev predicted decades of instability and strife if protesters he deemed fanatics come to power in the Middle East and North Africa. “These states are difficult, and it is quite probable that hard times are ahead, including the arrival at power of fanatics. This will mean fires for decades and the spread... 

Joschka Fischer at the launch of his Iraq war memoir, I Am Not Convinced, in Berlin. Joschka Fischer accuses former CIA chief George Tenet over his knowledge of Iraqi defector’s sketchy background. Germany’s former foreign minister Joschka Fischer has accused the former head of the CIA George Tenet of making implausible claims about the handling of the Curveball case by the US. On Wednesday... 

A secret document prepared for Prime Minister Putin by Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is claiming that President Medvedev confirmed in his extended meeting with Pope Benedict XVI [photo right] yesterday that the new planet named Tyche (pronounced ty-kee) by NASA [NASA rendering 2nd photo right] will be appearing in the Earth’s night sky by 2012. Though the existence of this planet had long... 

Penalised: Primary school pupils are being labelled as bigots over minor squabbles in the playground and so-called hate crimes involving words including 'gaylord' and 'white trash'. More than 10,000 primary school pupils in a single year have been labelled racist or homophobic over minor squabbles. Even toddlers in nursery classes are being penalised for so-called hate crimes such as... 

Christine Lagarde wants changes on world's finance system. France will help the transition to a global financial system based on ‘several international currencies’, the French Economy Minister said today. France, as current head of the Group of 20 countries, will help the transition to a global financial system based on ‘several international currencies’, French Economy... 

Misjudged? Vince Cable has said he thought the cap was too tough. The public, including a sizeable majority of Lib Dem supporters, want far stricter controls on immigration to the UK, according to a poll released last night. The YouGov survey found 81 per cent support for the government’s cap on economic migration – which will slash the number of non-EU workers given visas by a fifth. It... 

Tunisian immigrants are guarded by policemen upon arrival on the Italian island of Lampedusa. A state of emergency has been declared by the Italian government after 5,000 illegal immigrants fleeing riot-torn Tunisia arrived in just five days. Coastguard officials said that in just one 12-hour period 977 had arrived, with many more boats seen on radar screens approaching from north Africa. The vessels... 

A new word is launched in Russia: a Marsonaut. The six members of the simulation programme for a visit to Mars have started the third phase of the experiment, namely a Mars landing followed by the first Mars walk. The Russian flag now flies firmly and proudly on the Red Planet! Work is under way in Russia in the first active tests in the simulation phase of the manned space flight to Mars. The multinational...