European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton has met with the prime ministers of Serbia and Kosovo in the first official talks between the two leaders aimed at easing tensions in the Balkans. The EU-brokered talks in Brussels Friday followed separate meetings between Ashton and Prime Ministers Ivica Dacic of Serbia and Hashim Thaci of […]
EU Mediates First Round of Talks Between Serbia, Kosovo PMs
Posted October 19th, 2012 at 3:20 pm (UTC-5)
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Lawyer: Twitter Agrees to Pull Anti-Semitic Messages in France
Posted October 19th, 2012 at 12:45 pm (UTC-5)
The social media website Twitter has agreed to remove anti-Semitic messages written in France, following the threat of legal action by a French Jewish group. A lawyer for the Union of French Jewish Students said Friday the union will provide Twitter with a list of the posts, or “tweets,” it wants removed. The union had […]
Member of Russian Punk Rock Band Takes Case to European Court
Posted October 19th, 2012 at 10:05 am (UTC-5)
The only freed member of the anti-Kremlin all-female punk band Pussy Riot has filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. Yekaterina Samutsevich’s lawyer, Irina Khrunova, said on Friday the complaint accuses Russia of violating Samutsevich’s right to free speech and illegally detaining her during her six months in jail. Khrunova says prison […]
Renowned Turkish Pianist on Trial for Insulting Islam
Posted October 18th, 2012 at 1:45 pm (UTC-5)
A world-renowned Turkish pianist is on trial on charges of inciting religious hatred and insulting Islam in comments he made on Twitter in April. Forty-two year old Fazil Say appeared in an Istanbul courtroom Thursday to defend himself against the charges, which stemmed from several tweets making jokes about Muslims. If convicted, he faces up […]
Survey: Russian Attitudes Toward US Worsened in 2012
Posted October 18th, 2012 at 1:10 pm (UTC-5)
A new survey of Russian public opinion shows the attitude of Russians toward the United States has worsened in the past year. The poll taken by the Levada Center, a non-governmental Russian research organization, shows the percentage of respondents with a positive view of the United States dropped to 46 percent, from 67 percent last […]
Northern Ireland’s First Abortion Clinic Opens, Draws Protests
Posted October 18th, 2012 at 11:40 am (UTC-5)
The first abortion clinic on the predominantly Catholic island of Ireland has opened in the British-controlled northern city of Belfast. The clinic operated by London-based family planning group Marie Stopes received its first clients on Thursday. Hours ahead of the opening, about 200 conservative Catholics and Protestants held a protest outside the clinic, holding signs […]
Greek Anti-austerity Protests Turn Violent
Posted October 18th, 2012 at 10:10 am (UTC-5)
Anti-austerity protests turned violent in Athens on Thursday, with hundreds of youths hurling gasoline bombs and rocks at riot police. Tens of thousands of Greek workers struck and marched to protest demands by the country’s international lenders that Athens impose more austerity measures before they will agree to hand Greece another segment of a bailout […]
Russian Investigators File Charges Against Opposition Leader’s Aide
Posted October 18th, 2012 at 9:15 am (UTC-5)
Russian investigators have filed criminal charges against an assistant of opposition leader Sergei Udaltsov, as part of an ongoing crackdown against opponents of President Vladimir Putin. Russia’s Investigations Committee said Thursday it charged Left Front party member Konstantin Lebedev with plotting mass riots to overthrow the government. Authorities detained Lebedev and party leader Udaltsov on […]
Renowned Pianist on Trial for Insulting Islam
Posted October 18th, 2012 at 7:35 am (UTC-5)
A world-renowned Turkish pianist is on trial on charges of inciting religious hatred and insulting Islam in comments he made on Twitter in April. Fazil Say appeared in an Istanbul courtroom Thursday to defend himself against the charges, which stemmed from several tweets making jokes about Muslims. If convicted, he faces up to 18 months […]
EU to Discuss Strengthening the Euro; Greeks Strike
Posted October 18th, 2012 at 4:40 am (UTC-5)
Members of the European Union are meeting in Brussels Thursday to discuss how to strengthen the ailing euro currency. Germany is expected to press for the EU to play a stronger role in the economies of its member states, but it faces opposition by some member states reluctant to relinquish control over their finances. The […]
