PORTUGAL: Green Light to Mistreatment of Disabled Children

In a verdict that shocked human rights and child advocacy organisations, the bar association and the country's leading analysts, Portugal's Supreme Court ruled that corporal punishment of children with mental disabilities in a children's institution is not illegal.

ELECTIONS-ITALY: Razor-Thin Victory Means Weak New Government

Ten years after the first match between Romano Prodi and Silvio Berlusconi in 1996, the final count from the Sunday-Monday elections suggests that governability in Italy is still a challenge. Prodi's centre-left Union won by such a razor-thin margin that it will be difficult to form a government capable of leading a deeply divided nation.

LABOUR-FRANCE: Rare Win for Workers

The withdrawal of a controversial youth job law following weeks of protests marks a severe setback for the right-wing French ruling party, the Union for a Popular Movement.

ELECTIONS-ITALY: Too Close to Call in a Polarised Country

The first exit polls released Monday - after the polls closed at 3pm - showed the centre-left alliance of Romano Prodi sweeping to victory in Italy's elections, confirming pre-election opinion surveys. But then came the surprise.

/CORRECTION*/DEATH PENALTY: Beslan Massacre at the Core of Russian Debate

The only hostage-taker to survive the Beslan school tragedy has received unlikely support in his bid to avoid the death penalty: a group of parents whose children died in the September 2004 attack.

/UPDATE*/ELECTIONS-ITALY: High Turnout on First Day of Voting

The first day of Italy's two-day voting period came to a close Sunday evening with a healthy voter turnout - on top of the positive response from the newly eligible Italian voters abroad - to decide who is to govern the country for the next five years.

POLITICS-ITALY: Elections Bring New Hope for Migrants

Italy, which once saw a net population loss due to emigration, has in just a few decades become a magnet for immigrants seeking a better life in Europe, making immigrant rights a hot-button issue in campaigning for the Apr. 9-10 elections.

ELECTIONS-HUNGARY: Socialists Headed for Two in a Row

For the first time in post-communist Hungary, a government may win re-election. Opinion polls for Sunday's parliamentary contests indicate the MSZP (Hungarian Socialist Party) are headed for a second term in office, with 43 to 45 percent of the vote.

SERBIA: Return May Not Be a Homecoming

Thousands who fled Serbia through the years of the wars in the nineties are due to return, nobody knows to what.

RIGHTS-PORTUGAL: State Ordered to Pay Damages to Child Sex Abuse Victims

In a legal decision that has no precedent in Portugal, the state was found guilty of failing to protect wards of the state who were victims of sexual abuse for at least two decades.

BALKANS: From Russia With Doubts

The recent death of former Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic has brought relations between Russia and Serbia into the spotlight again.

UKRAINE: Winner Headed for Opposition

Ukrainians have shown just how disappointed they are with President Viktor Yushchenko, after his Our Ukraine party ended in a humiliating third place with just 15 percent of the vote.

UKRAINE: World Has a Stake in Election

In the midst of social and economic hardship, and following a politically turbulent year under a liberal and Western-looking government, Ukrainians prepare to go to the polls this Sunday, in an election to be closely followed by Western countries and Russia alike.

ENVIRONMENT: NGOs Warn About Genetic Contamination

The European Commission's (EC) most recent decisions on genetically modified crops have condemned the continent's farms to transgenic contamination, say environmental groups consulted by Tierramérica.

SPAIN: Cautious Response to ETA Ceasefire Announcement

Although it produced a commotion, the ceasefire declared by the Basque separatist group ETA in Spain had been expected for several weeks, and was met by caution and a climate of hope marked by tension.

BELARUS: Democracy and Civil Society Throttled

The seriously flawed elections in Belarus follow a strong crackdown on civil society, activists say.

ECONOMY: Uruguay’s Gain is Finland’s Loss

The paper mill was the cradle of the little Finnish town Kuusankoski more than a hundred years ago. Now it could become its grave after paper-making giant UPM announced it is downsizing local operations.

LITHUANIA: On an Obstacle Course to the Euro Zone

A rise of inflation in Lithuania may disturb the country's aspirations to join the euro currency zone next year and to become one of the first new EU member states to adopt the euro.

RIGHTS: Migrant Minors Twice Vulnerable

Hundreds of minor migrants reach the Italian coast every year, often to face more difficult conditions after they 'disembark' than those they fled.

BALKANS: Milosevic Death Brings Serbia Back to the Crossroads

Serbia faces serious choices about its future after the death of former leader Slobodan Milosevic. Many issues that had receded into the shadows are now back in the open.

HEALTH: Europe-Wide Smoking Ban Demanded

More than 79,000 adults die each year as a result of passive smoking in the European Union, according to a new report from leading anti-smoking groups.