SOCIETY-BALKANS: They Come Dressed in Black

The Balkan countries, Serbia among them, have often been dubbed as the dock of organised crime.

POLITICS-CROATIA: Right Turn in the Balkans

The parties of the right have achieved substantial success in the Croatian parliamentary elections. They are now likely to rule for the next four years.

DEVELOPMENT: Appeal Launched for the “Forgotten Crises”

Donor countries must remember the "forgotten crises" when pledging humanitarian aid, senior aid and development leaders say.

EUROPE: ‘Stop Complaining, Start Planning’

Proposals for a better world must replace protests against present ways, the European Social Forum concluded over the weekend.

POLITICS-SERBIA: Warnings Rise from Failed Election

Presidential elections failed for the third time in a little over a year in Serbia Sunday. The fragile democracy is in danger only three years after the ouster of former strongman Slobodan Milosevic.

EUROPE: Capitalism ‘Working Against Women’

The dismantling of welfare institutions in Western Europe and the growth of capitalism in Eastern Europe are eroding women's rights, feminist groups say.

ECONOMY: Commonwealth to Play a Role in Trade Talks

The Commonwealth can play an important role in advancing the stalled Doha Development Round when World Trade Organisation officials meet in Geneva next month, says Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon.

EUROPE: Privatised Water is ‘Public Danger’

European Union officials are working closely with private corporations to push privatisation of public services in other countries, activists say.

EUROPE: War on Terror Seen as Front for Domination

The so-called war on terrorism is only a U.S. ploy to extend military domination over world resources, leading analysts said at the second European Social Forum.

EUROPEAN SOCIAL FORUM: Political Parties Talk NGO Language

Political parties in France are coming to talk the language of non-governmental organisations on globalisation.

SOCIETY-SERBIA: Capitalism Brings Such Rich Confusion

Serbia is among the poorest countries in the Balkans with an average monthly salary of barely 200 dollars. But there are ways to become a millionaire.

POLITICS-EUROPE: A ‘Freedom Movement’ Begins in Britain

Everyone agrees that Guy Fawkes could not have loved the British parliament if he tried to blow it up 398 years ago. Not everyone agrees that the European Union is trying to finish the job for him, but a growing group is now seeing the EU as a real threat.

EUROPE: Social Forum Seeks Alternative to Globalisation

The European Social Forum opening in Paris Wednesday will look for an economic model that could become an alternative to capital-led globalisation.

PORTUGAL: Paedophilia Scandal Casts Stain on State’s Image

An ongoing investigation of a paedophilia scandal in Portugal, in which prominent public figures have been arrested, has undermined the state's credibility in the eyes of a society increasingly sceptical of the justice system, at a time of discouragement regarding the performance of the economy.

POLITICS-BALKANS: Not Quite Europe Yet

Maneciu appears on a map of Europe as a tiny dot remote from the centres of power. It is some 2,000 km from Brussels and 100 km even from the Romanian capital Bucharest.

SOCIETY: Serbia Moves to End that Suicide Fashion

The north of Serbia is turning out to be a suicide belt, experts are still trying to figure out why.

RIGHTS: EU Urged to Quiz Russia Over Abuses

A leading civil society group is calling on European leaders to demand answers over human rights violations when they meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit Thursday (November 6).

RIGHTS-BRITAIN: These Ten Get Another Kind of Justice

We may never know the real name of G, or whether he was called G because he was seen looking at goats in the south of England one day.

RIGHTS-BALKANS: Human Trafficking Finds New Ways

Every week now, dozens of people are caught trying to cross illegally into Western Europe through the Balkans. They mask the many more who get through.

DEVELOPMENT-EU: Caution Urged over Constitution

A leading think-tank has highlighted key issues European leaders need to address to ensure that development cooperation is not compromised under a new EU constitution.

ECONOMY-RUSSIA: Moscow Market Hits a Red Patch

It was an arrest that shook Russia. More than 15 billion dollars were wiped off the market after the head of the giant oil company YukosSibneft was taken into custody last weekend.