A Muslim woman wearing a face veil distributes flyers against a cantonal vote on banning face-covering headgear in public places, in Lugano on September 18, 2013. Residents of Switzerland’s Italian-speaking region have voted to ban full-face veils, after similar laws against Muslims were enforced in France and Belgium. Results from a democratic referendum in the Swiss canton of Ticino on Sunday revealed... 

Belgium’s King Albert II (R) and Crown Prince Philippe pose before a reception on July 8, 2013 at Laeken royal castle in Brussels. Europe’s ongoing financial crisis has forced European monarchies to reconsider their spending including Belgium’s new King Philippe who must reform the royal expenses. The 79-year-old King Albert II stepped down from the throne in favor of his son Crown Prince... 

Protesters attend a demonstration in Athens, Greece, July 8, 2013. Tens of thousands of Greek municipal workers have staged a strike to protest against the massive public sector layoffs enacted by the government in order to secure promised loans. Greek civil servants including policemen and schoolteachers took to the streets outside the Administrative Reform Ministry in Athens on Monday, as the government... 

Microsoft, the company which created abusive monopoly in the PC desktop space and did not leave any room for a single player to breath and survive for almost three decades is now crying wolf when competitors are doing better. Microsoft and it’s pizza delivery boy Nokia filed complaints with the EU, via is proxy body FairSearch, against Google’s free and open source Android OS. According... 

A view of the scene of the explosion in a Belgian train on May 4, 2013 Many have been forced to leave their homes after several train cars containing chemicals derailed and caused a major fire near the Belgian city of Gent. On Saturday, Belgian authorities evacuated nearly 300 residents living near the site of the accident after the blaze led to a series of explosions in the railway cars. Infrabel,... 

FEMEN has struck again. Every heterosexual male’s favorite female activist troupe doffed their tops (as usual) and attacked Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard, the head of the Catholic Church in Belgium, by showering him with water from Virgin Mary-shaped water bottles. The archbishop, though, one-upped the women by remaining totally still, eyes closed, and prayed for the women as they attacked. The... 

Britain’s gas reserves are running out in 36 hours amid an unreasonable cold weather leaving the country on expensive foreign imports, local media reported. According to the British media reports the country’s gas storage has less than two days’ supplies left, with lower-than-usual temperatures force millions to turn up their heating. The shortfall could force the long-term price of gas higher,... 

A trade union representative gives a speech in Brussels, Belgium, against austerity policies on March 14, 2013. Thousands of Europeans have staged a rally near the European Union (EU) headquarters in Brussels to protest against anti-austerity measures. About 15,000 protesters and trade union representatives from Belgium, Britain, France, Germany and other European Union countries gathered in the Belgium... 

In Belgium, a proposal to limit the influence of political Muslim extremists has been submitted to Parliament, amid fears that Muslim politicians are isolating themselves from the political mainstream, by, among other things, their refusal to shake hands with women. A proposal was submitted by Deputy Mayor of Koekelberg Philippe Pivin, and Alain Destexhe, a liberal member of the Wallonia-Brussels... 

Water cannons have been used against stone-throwing demonstrators in the Belgian city of Namur, as thousands rallied against the closure of a factory that will put an end to 1,300 jobs. Dozens of riot police were deployed to quell the tensions. Many protesters are wearing respirators to protect themselves against the police crackdown. The rally followed an announcement by ArcelorMittal, the world’s... 

French army soldiers standing on armored vehicles as they leave Bamako and start their deployment to the north of Mali. France has reportedly imposed a media blackout on its invasion of Mali amid a growing war that rages on in the West African nation. On January 11, France launched the war under the pretext of halting the advance of fighters in Mali. However, as Paris has stepped up its ground offensive... 

Belgium plans to build a horseshoe-shaped artificial island off its North Sea coast to store energy generated by its wind farms. The project will also double as attraction for sea birds (and possibly flocks of tourists). ­The ambitious undertaking was unveiled this week by Belgian North Sea Minister Johan Vande Lanotte, as he reported on the implementation of marine special planning. The island is... 

Imagine texting while driving, or placing a call while showering, without holding your phone in your hands. It’s not sci-fi any more – a new technology allows information like text messages and driving directions to be projected onto a contact lens. The hardware behind this invention is a spherical curved LCD display that can fit into a contact lens, developed by Ghent University’s Centre... 

File photo shows veiled women holding signs during a protest by Muslim men and women in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek (Molenbeek-Saint-Jean), in Brussels. Two candidates from Islam Party have won their way to the local councils in two major districts of the Belgian capital Brussels. The local elections were held in Anderlecht and Molenbeek on Sunday. The party reportedly plans to field candidates for the regional... 

Six EU member states have asked the European Commission to adopt a mechanism that would allow them to terminate visa-free travel from West Balkan states. The request follows an exponential rise in mainly Roma asylum-seekers from the region. Interior ministers of Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg have sent a proposal of a suspension clause, which is expected to be passed...