Shutdown: Bologna airport was shut on Tuesday after a cargo plane was held on the runway and searched for a parcel, believed to be a mail bomb, addressed to Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi Greek authorities have halted international postal deliveries for 48 hours in the wake of a militant bombing campaign. At least 11 mail bombs were sent to embassies in Athens yesterday, while devices were also... 

At least 5,000 Russian nationalists rallied for curbs on immigration in Moscow on Thursday in one of the largest far-right demonstrations in years in the capital. Activists shouted “Russia for the Russians,” and carried banners calling for “White Power” and “Orthodox Faith or Death” in a march held with official permission in a suburb in the south of the capital... 

Virus (purple) circulating in the bloodstream recognised by antibodies (yellow) of the immune system. In a dramatic breakthrough that could affect millions of lives, scientists have been able to show for the first time that the body’s immune defences can destroy the common cold virus after it has actually invaded the inner sanctum of a human cell, a feat that was believed until now to be impossible. The... 

The pro-expulsion campaign involves posters featuring a black sheep being kicked out of the country by several white sheep. Switzerland is poised to vote on a controversial law that will allow for all immigrants – EU citizens included – to be automatically expelled from the country if they commit a crime. Even benefit fraudsters and burglars are targeted by the proposed new law, which polls show... 

Pia Kjaersgaard The leader of Denmark’s populist Danish People’s Party, on which the government relies for support, said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday that pan-Arab television channels Al-Jazeera and Al Arabiya should be stopped from broadcasting to the country. Pia Kjaersgaard, leader of parliament’s third-biggest party, accused the channels of sowing hatred against... 

Scathing: John Glen's complaints prompted accusations of sour grapes. A new Tory MP has made a scathing attack on David Cameron for pro­moting women and people from the ethnic minorities over ‘white, Christian, married’ men. John Glen, the party’s former head of research, said his background effectively ruled him out for a min­isterial job under Mr Cameron. He said: ‘I don’t anticipate... 

Russia will limit the powers of police to their own jurisdictions to stem abuses, the Kremlin said Saturday. Under current law, policemen can exercise their authority anywhere in the country, but President Dmitry Medvedev has submitted a law to the State Duma ending that policy, RIA Novosti reported. “This amendment will, on the one hand, reduce police abuse and, on the other hand, concentrate... 

Mirko Hannemann, chief executive of DBM Energy, gets out of the "Lekker Mobil", an Audi A2 with an electric engine, in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on Tuesday. The electric car drove 600km (372 Miles) from Munich in southern Germany to Berlin without recharging its battery, setting what organisers hailed as a new world distance record for an everyday vehicle. An electric car drove... 

Russia called on the US Thursday to carry out a detailed investigation into allegations contained in leaked Iraq war documents published by WikiLeaks. “The US authorities bear the responsibility to conduct a thorough, independent and transparent investigation of all the reports that have appeared in the media,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The statement pointed out that Washington... 

Name game: Mohammed is now the most popular name for new-born boys (picture posed by model) Mohammed has become the most popular name for newborn boys in Britain. It shot up from third the previous year, overtaking Jack, which had topped the list for the past 14 years but was relegated to third spot. Olivia topped the list for little girls for the second year in a row, behind Ruby and Chloe. A total... 

Bumblebees can find the solution to a complex mathematical problem which keeps computers busy for days. Scientists at Queen Mary, University of London and Royal Holloway, University of London have discovered that bees learn to fly the shortest possible route between flowers even if they discover the flowers in a different order. Bees are effectively solving the ‘Travelling Salesman Problem’,... 

Iceland hopes to host computer servers for international companies seeking freedom of speech. One of the consequences surrounding the most recent release by Wikileaks of documents relating to America’s war in Iraq is a renewed interest in the safe and secure hosting of contentious data. The prospect of hosting secret or questionably legal data within the United States has become increasingly less... 

Benedict XVI says freedom of religion ‘one of the fundamental human rights,’ should be subject of dialogue with Muslims. Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday called for greater religious freedom in the Middle East and said that peace there is possible, urgently needed and the best remedy to the exodus of Christians from the region. Benedict celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday... 

Europe's far right say Turkey could bring down the EU Since 2005, Turkey has been in membership talks with the European Union – with little success. Far-right parties now say the country poses a threat to EU identity and are planning a referendum to block Turkey’s EU bid. Several far-right European parties have vowed to seek a Europe-wide referendum on Turkey’s accession to the... 

A car bomb and two police raids killed six people and wounded seven in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus region on Saturday, authorities said. In the republic of Dagestan, a suicide bomber in a car tried to attack a police dormitory in the town of Khasavyurt but an armored vehicle blocked his way, a police spokesman said. The explosion killed the suspected militant and a police officer, and wounded...