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Red faces in Paris as 'destroyed' Cartier-Bresson snaps resurface

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Prints made by the celebrated French photographer, Henri Cartier-Bresson, supposedly destroyed after a flood, are turning up on the market, according to his widow. The allegation is deeply embarrassing to the French government which was given the 551 images by one of the greatest photographic masters in 1955 and 1970.

Berlusconi accused of bugging talks

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

The Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was at the receiving end of an unusual allegation yesterday when a senior Italian official claimed the Italian delegation had been secretly bugging the deliberations at the G8 summit – which protocol dictates are kept firmly off the record – to help Mr Berlusconi keep up.

BNP struggling to make friends in Brussels

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:24:01 GMT

The British National Party's first two Euro-MPs are finding it increasingly hard to win friends and influence people in Europe.

Virgin Mary seen in tree stump in Limerick

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:58:28 GMT

As a place of worship, it’s verging on the bizarre: a tree stump in the grounds of a church in Co Limerick, Ireland, which many believe depicts an image of the Blessed Virgin.

Five injured in superfast Pamplona bull run

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:44:00 GMT

A lightning-fast running of the bulls in Pamplona left five people slightly injured Thursday but no one was gored.

Ireland to hold second EU vote referendum

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Ireland will hold a second referendum on the European Union's Lisbon reform treaty, Prime Minister Brian Cowen, has announced. Mr Cowen has won legal guarantees from his EU partners to address concerns of voters who in June last year opposed the treaty, designed to streamline EU decision-making and give the 27-nation bloc a greater say in world affairs.

New evidence may solve mystery of decapitated monks

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

One of the most troubling and mysterious episodes in recent French history – the brutal death of six French monks in Algeria in 1996 – is to be re-investigated with the co-operation of the French state.

Irish treaty vote set for October

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:39:30 GMT

The Taoiseach has announced that the re-run of the Lisbon Treaty referendum will be held, as expected, on October 2nd.

Italian politician resigns over racist chant

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:55:33 GMT

An Italian lawmaker in Premier Silvio Berlusconi's coalition has resigned after being filmed singing a racist chant about Naples and its residents.

Italian lawmaker resigns over racist chant

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:55:33 GMT

An Italian lawmaker in Premier Silvio Berlusconi's coalition has resigned after being filmed singing a racist chant about Naples and its residents.

French student is a spy, Iran says

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

France demanded yesterday the immediate release of a 23-year-old student accused by Iran of spying after she took pictures of a street demonstration with her mobile phone.

Serbian pilot killed in jet crash

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:55:11 GMT

A Serbian military jet crashed near Belgrade during a training flight today, killing the pilot and a soldier on the ground, the Defence Ministry said.

Row over new 'Iron Cross'

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Adolf Hitler claimed it was the happiest day of his life when he was awarded it as a soldier during the First World War and most films about the ensuing conflict would be unthinkable without a jackbooted German general showing off the medal on his tunic.

Tent city that awaits the G8

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Silvio Berlusconi switched the location of the G8 summit to the city of L'Aquila as a way of focusing world attention on Italy's most disastrous earthquake for 30 years.

Is there an engineer on the flight...?

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Passengers on a Thomas Cook flight from Menorca to Glasgow avoided a long delay when an unlikely hero emerged to fix a mechanical problem with their plane.

Kercher murder knife is wrong weapon, says expert

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:30:38 GMT

The knife police say killed British student Meredith Kercher could not have been used to cut her throat, a forensic expert told a court today.

Meet the black-belt hardman aiming to lead Bulgaria

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Since communism collapsed 20 years ago, Bulgarians have been waiting for a saviour to rid the land of its plagues: corruption, nepotism and impunity for the powerful of the day. Today as the country goes to the polls, hopes are now pinned on a bodyguard-turned-politician with cropped hair, a karate black belt and the epaulettes of a general.

Gunmen kill nine Chechen police in Russia's Ingushetia

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 07:29:19 GMT

Nine Chechen police officers were killed today in the Russian republic of Ingushetia after gunmen opened fire on their convoy, Russia's Interfax news agency reported, citing the republic's interior ministry.

Singer jailed for forced abortion

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

The Algerian singer Cheb Mami has been sentenced to five years in a French prison after being found guilty of forcing an attempted abortion on his former lover. The 42-year-old star of Algeria's popular rai music, whose real name is Mohamed Khelifati, was arrested on his arrival in France on Monday night, having fled to Algeria two years ago.

Cardinal Newman moves step closer to sainthood

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:02:20 GMT

Campaigners for the canonisation of John Paul Newman are praying for another miracle after the Pope confirmed that the Cardinal was responsible for curing a case of spinal debility more than 100 years after his death.

Troops gather on Georgian border

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

It's easy to see how things could spiral out of control: the two sides are braced for combat. At Ergneti on Georgia's border with South Ossetia, Georgian military police stand guard behind high barricades made of sandbags and two metre-high slabs of concrete. Out of sight barely 20 metres away, the forces of South Ossetia and Russia are mustered behind barricades of their own, their national flags fluttering.

Writers attack new Italian 'race laws'

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Italy's parliament yesterday gave final approval to a controversial law which criminalises illegal immigration and legalises unarmed vigilante patrols by citizens. The law was assured an easy final passage by being tied to a confidence vote, so that MPs in the ruling coalition were virtually obliged to vote for it.

Air France jet 'not destroyed in flight'

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

An intact Air France Flight 447 slammed belly first into the Atlantic Ocean at high speed, a top French investigator said yesterday, adding that problems with speed sensors were not the direct cause of the crash.

And finally, Germans see the funny side of Mrs Merkel

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

As a child, she was so politically chameleon-like that she didn't ride a bike. The reason: she saw no difference between left and right. Now in her fifties, she stands somewhat gormlessly on a podium, sporting a golden crown engraved with a giant "A" and celebrating her coronation as Miss Tschörmänie.

Felipe Gonzalez takes on Blair for EU presidency

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

He oversaw the modernisation of Spain and secured its entry into the EU; he ruled for 13 years before falling from view in a 1996 political scandal. But now Felipe Gonzalez, the charismatic former Socialist prime minister is once more stalking the land and being spoken of as a challenger to Tony Blair in the race to become the first "President of Europe".