Europe Archives

RELIGION-BULGARIA: Pope Ends a Historic Visit

The ailing Pope John Paul II concluded a physically gruelling but spiritually invigorating three-day visit to orthodox Christian Bulgaria with a mass for the country's Catholic minority in Plodiv Sunday. The mass was attended by about 20,000 worshippers.

ECONOMY-SLOVAKIA: Joining EU Will Bring Early Shocks

By IPS Correspondents

Slovakia will see a significant rise in prices and in unemployment once it joins the European Union, a study commissioned by the government shows.

RIGHTS-EU: Fear Feeding Islamophobia, says Report

By IPS Correspondents

Fear of Islam led to increased hostilities against Muslims in the European Union after the terrorist attacks on the U.S., a new report shows.

FRANCE-POLITICS: Thank America, and Confront Bush

By Julio Godoy

President George Bush faces both gratitude and strong criticism when he arrives in France Sunday on a two-day visit.

RIGHTS-BELGIUM: Law Loses International Scope

By IPS Correspondents

Rights groups are campaigning to get the teeth back into a law that seeks to permit prosecution in Belgium for atrocities committed abroad.

HEALTH-YUGOSLAVIA: Alcoholism on a High

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic

Alcoholism has reached alarmingly high levels among Serb women, new studies show.

FINANCE-EUROPE: More Loans but with More Caution

By IPS Correspondents

Former Communist countries are looking at more funds but also more caution in years ahead from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

POLITICS-RUSSIA: New Concern over Rising Crime

By IPS Correspondents

Russian officials have been ordered to make renewed efforts to check an alarming rise in crime.

TRADE-RUSSIA: Rising Oil Exports Could Cut Prices

By IPS Correspondents

Russia has declared it will restore normal oil exports, raising prospects of lower prices.

/CORRECTED/DEVELOPMENT-BRITAIN: Brown Resists Push to 0.7 Per Cent Aid

By Sanjay Suri

The British government is showing few signs of yielding to new pressures to agree on 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) for official development assistance to the poor countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

TECHNOLOGY-RUSSIA: High Aims with Low Funds

By IPS Correspondents

When the hangar at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan collapsed Sunday, many hopes for Russia's space programme came down with it.

RIGHTS-YUGOSLAVIA: Chinese Flee After Milosevic Fall

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic

Thousands of Chinese have fled Yugoslavia after the fall of Slobodan Milosevic. Those who remain face racial attacks and harassment.

RIGHTS-EUROPE: Common Border Force Proposed for EU

By IPS Correspondents

The European Commission has proposed a multinational border force to secure the borders of the European Union.

ENVIRONMENT-BRITAIN: Erratic Court Orders Boost Illegal Wildlife Trade

By Sanjay Suri

Uncertain laws and erratic enforcement is turning Britain into a global centre for wildlife traffickers, according to an independent report.

RIGHTS-SPAIN: Enclave to Expel Unaccompanied Child Immigrants

By Tito Drago

The autonomous government of Melilla, a Spanish enclave on the North African coast, decided this week that it will refuse to accept immigrant children who arrive there unaccompanied by an adult.

POLITICS-YUGOSLAVIA: Three Years After NATO The Poisoned Air Lingers

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic

Three years after North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO, air strikes against Yugoslavia people in the area are still breathing in particles of toxic depleted uranium (DU), according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

RIGHTS-SLOVAKIA: Taking Domestic Violence Out of the Closet

By IPS Correspondents

Although new legislation designed to help people affected by domestic violence is expected to be passed by parliament this month, activists say the laws will be more effective if there are more public debates on what has already been identified by the state as a growing problem.