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Deutsche Welle journalists provide coverage of the top stories on the world and European news agenda. Primary Format : News Language : German Also Listed as: City : Berlin State/Province : Unknown Country : Germany Region : EU User Tags: User Votes: RSS Feed Website People found this Podcast Searching for: View this Podcast on a Google Map. Podcast iTunes Link Text Only listing of Correspondents report | Deutsche Welle Podcasts Methings.com listings of Correspondents report | Deutsche Welle Podcasts If you like this podcast, you might also like:

Controversial German military museum now open Dresden's Museum of Military History is now attracting visitors in a building remodelled by star architect Daniel Liebeskind, but there are worries that some of the exhibits might not be suitable for children. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Phone giant set to close Romanian plant When Nokia closed its German operation in Bochum in 2008, it opened a new plant in Cluj, Romania. Now that plant, too, is set to be shut down. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Chess on the curriculum heralded as a smart move A Bulgarian school has made chess lessons compulsory in a bid to improve students' ability to think strategically. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Berlin reflects on stand-off between US and Soviet tanks in the city 50 years ago When East German border guards stopped an American diplomat from crossing from West Berlin to East Berlin they triggered a crisis that brought the world to brink of nuclear Armageddon. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website No prayers for non-Catholics at papal peace gathering Pope Benedict has invited religious leaders from across the globe to Assisi to discuss peace. Unlike a similar event organised by his predecessor Pope John Paul II, there were no common prayers with non-Catholics. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dictator's grandson say all he wants to do is study and live his life The 16-year-old grandson of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il finds it difficult to escape from his grandfather's shadow, even when concentrating on his studies at a multi-cultural college in Mostar, Bosnia-Hercegovina. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New publication lifts veil on part of Poland's World War Two history 'Goralenvolk, the History of Betrayal' is a new book about Poland's Gorale highlanders and has broken a taboo by telling the story of their collaboration with the Nazis. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Settlements might scuttle submarine sale An Israeli newspaper says Germany is reconsidering its sale of a sixth submarine to Israel in the wake of German anger over Jewish settlement construction. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Tunisians rejoice at their successful exercise in democracy Tunisians may be divided over what future course the Islamist Ennahda party will steer but they are united in claiming that their first free elections to a constituent assembly were a resounding success. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 81 British Conservative MPs break ranks over Europe Britain's Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron has been facing down a backbench revolt over his insistence that there should be no referendum on the UK membership of the European Union. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website No curtain call on Italian theatre protest In a spontaneous protest, Italian actors, directors and theatre workers occupied Rome's oldest theatre in protest at government cuts to the arts. Months later their protest is still going strong. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Eurozone has mounting worries about Italy Fellow eurozone countries are piling the pressure on Italy to sort out its state finances, but there is the risk that if the government in Rome is pushed too hard it might collapse. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website High turnout in Tunisia's first free election Tunisians have been savouring democracy in action with turnout for elections to a constituent assembly reaching 90 percent in some areas. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Old hotel is a beacon of hope for protest movement Protestors in Madrid, fed up with the excesses of global finance and the perceived ineptitude of politicians, are channelling their energy into the renovation of a derelict hotel. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Doubts over Italy's response to eurozone woes Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is under pressure from fellow EU leaders to bring down Italy's huge debt. But critics doubt his ability to deliver while bemoaning the absence of a credible replacement. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UN wants full investigation into Gadhafi's death The United Nations Human Rights office is calling more details to ascertain whether Colonel Gadhafi was killed in some form of fighting or was executed. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkey and Iran to intensify cooperation over Kurdish guerrillas Ankara and Teheran may have common enemies in Kurdish nationalists, but they are competing for influence in Iraq and at loggerheads over Syria. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website ETA pledges to halt violence After four decades and 800 deaths, Basque separatist group ETA has declared a definitive end to its campaign of violence. However, lasting peace in the Basque region may be some time in coming. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website EU reaffirms support for Libya The European Union says it will uphold its commitment to the rebuilding of Libya following the fall of Sirte and the death of Colonel Gadhafi. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Anger in Turkey over troop deaths Funerals in Turkey for 24 government soldiers slain by Kurdish rebels have turned into anti-Kurdish demonstrations Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Billions stolen in carbon trading fraud Thieves operating a C02 trading scam, which exploited differing rates of sales tax in EU member countries, have stolen a total of some 5 billion euros. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkish army sustains heavy losses in Kurdish rebel attack Kurdish rebels have killed at least 24 government soldiers in simultaneous attacks on Turkish army bases. Turkey hit back with air strikes on rebel bases and sent troops into neighboring Iraq. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UK police clear travellers' site after long legal battle Riot police met with resistance as they carry out the long-awaited clearance of Britain's biggest illegal travellers' site. One person was shot with a Taser stun gun and seven people were arrested. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website France and Germany in eurozone crisis talks ahead of EU summit President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel are under enormous pressure to shore up the eurozone's defenses. With Paris having just received a credit warning, the onus is on Berlin. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Summit with Ukraine called off over Tymoshenko trial European Union officials, signalling their displeasure at the prison term handed down to Ukrainian opposition leader, Yulia Tymoshenko, have postponed an EU-Ukraine summit indefinitely. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website EU wants to cut pollution and save resources by recycling more electronic waste Electronic waste dumped in landfills pollutes the environment and squanders valuable resources. The European Commission is campaigning to get it properly collected and recycled. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Top French crime fighter under investigation over law on journalists' sources Bernard Squarcini is suspected of illegally uncovering the identity of a journalist's source in a story about corruption in the highest echelons of the French government. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Peace summit in Spain's Basque region Participants at a top level peace conference held in Spain’s Basque region have called on separatists to end armed activities and start post-conflict talks. Spaniards are angry the meeting took place at all. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 'Occupy Wall Street' protests spread to Europe In Frankfurt, hundreds set up a makeshift village of tents outside the European Central Bank to protest against disparity and corporate greed. In London, a camp-out outside St Paul's Cathedral entered its third day. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Questioning violence in protests in Italy Italy is taking stock of the damage done after violence broke out in Rome at what began as a peaceful protest against economic inequality on Saturday. A group of young men set buildings and cars on fire. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Italian prime minister survives confidence vote Silvio Berlusconi has won a key confidence vote in parliament. The outcome was in doubt until the last minute. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website French are gripped by election fever as presidential primaries get underway In France, the opposition Socialist Party will choose its candidate this weekend in an open primary. It's the first time ever that the political party has let voters choose the candidate, rather than party insiders. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Rape charges dropped against DSK A French inquiry into allegations of attempted rape against former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is dismissed. Prosecutors did find evidence of a lesser charge of sexual assault, which may lead to civil action. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Berlusconi coalition on the brink of collapse Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has appeared before parliament to shore up support as his coalition braces for a no-confidence vote on Friday. Berlusconi's coalition appears more and more to be crumbling. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website French juvenile delinquents to be sent to boot camps Youth crime rates in France have risen steadily, and most minors normally get off scot-free. But that's all set to change. Paris has voted to send juvenile offenders to boot camps run by ex-military personnel. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website German footballer wins Julius-Hirsch Prize German footballer Thomas Hitzelsperger is among this year's winners of the prize for players who oppose anti-Semitism on the pitch. The midfielder won the honorary award, and a youth organization won the main award. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Israel celebrates release of Gilad Shalit Israel and Hamas have announced that Gilad Shalit, a captive Israeli soldier, will be freed in a prisoner swap with the Islamist group Hamas. Under the deal, Israel will release around 1000 Palestinian prisoners. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Italy fears looming threat to country's agriculture The economic crisis in Italy is affecting more than the country's job market and family budgets. Conservationists fear that deals made to pay off debts could hurt its landscape and agriculture. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Britain leads eurosceptic movement The eurozone crisis is being felt everywhere in Europe, but in Britain it has led to calls for a referendum on whether the country should ditch the European Union. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Outcry over 'abuse of power' conviction for Timoshenko Russia, the European Union and rights groups were briefly united in chorus of criticism of Ukraine over the sentencing of opposition leader Yulia Timoshenko to seven years in prison. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Anti-austerity strikes can hit victims of austerity Strikes targeting public transport in France can hurt the vulnerable, such as the unemployed and those on low pay struggling to get to work. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website France and Germany have differing perceptions of the eurozone crisis Germans worry endlessly about the cost of eurozone bailouts, the French are apparently unfazed by it all. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Poland's ruling centrist Civic Platform party re-elected Prime minister Donald Tusk has set about forming a new government after Sunday's general election, but he could find it difficult to put together a coalition with a working majority. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website European bank Dexia falls victim to eurozone debt crisis The Belgian state will buy the national subsidiary of embattled bank Dexia and provide tens of billions of euros in new guarantees as part of a wider bailout of the lender. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website French Socialist campaign could veer to the left after first primary A strong showing by hardline leftist Arnaud Montebourg in France's Socialist Party primary vote makes the selection of a moderate candidate less of a certainty. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Killer or killers of Anna Politkovskaya still evading justice five years on A long-running probe into the murder of investigative Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya on October 7th, 2006 has so far failed to secure any convictions. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Nobel Committee rewards women campaigners fighting war and oppression The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian peace campaigner Leymah Gbowee and Yemeni human rights activist Tawakkul Karman. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Polish nationalists play anti-German card On the eve of a general election, Poland's nationalist opposition leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski is trying to win votes by stirring up fears that Germany wants to reclaim lost territories. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website German economics minister spearheads investment drive in Greece Undeterred by the public unrest over austerity measures raging in Greece, a group of 50 visiting German entrepreneurs are trying to drum up business in the country. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkey underlines its opposition to the Syrian government Turkey is conducting military exercises on its border with Syria. It is also threatening Damascus with sanctions over the violent government crackdown on dissent, but their impact is likely to be limited. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Anti-immigration memo interferes with non-EU graduates' job plans Young graduates from non-EU countries are finding that their entry into the job market in France is being blocked by is a ministerial memo urging police to be less lenient when handing out work permits. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website NATO to stay in Libya for as long as necessary NATO has been congratulating itself over Libya, but there are clouds on the horizon. A prolonged eurozone crisis will make it even less likely that governments increase defense spending. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Ratings jolt is a sign of a deeper economic malaise for Italy The ratings agency Moody's has downgraded Italy's sovereign debt. Analysts says it's a reflection of Prime Minister Berlusconi's failure to privatize and liberalize key parts of the economy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Former US president returns to Prague A replica of a bronze statue of former US President Woodrow Wilson has been unveiled in the Czech capital. The original, which stood on the same spot, was torn down and destroyed during World War Two. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Abusive remarks cast shadow over parliamentary approval for eurozone rescue package A senior conservative German MP is said to be mulling over his future in politics after facing personal abuse from an aide to Chancellor Merkel in the scramble for votes for the eurozone rescue package. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hungary mourns victims on anniversary of environmental disaster Church bells rang out in Kolontar, Hungary on Tuesday for baby Angyalka, one of 10 people killed when towns and villages were flooded with red toxic sludge exactly a year ago. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Death of Russian oil company vice president linked to prison conditions Former Yukos Vice-President Vasily Alexanyan has died of complications caused by AIDS. Rights activists say he would have lived longer had he received proper treatment in prison. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Cypriot president blamed for deadly explosion An official investigator has surprised the island of Cyprus by accusing its president of being personally responsible for a munitions blast which killed 13 people and destroyed the main power station. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website High profile French police chief arrested on suspicion of corruption A lawyer for Michel Neyret says his client is a victim of a hypocritical system which welcomes his successes, but pretends to be shocked by his methods. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Soviet-era Stalin museum still receiving visitors A museum devoted to Josef Stalin in his birthplace, Gori, Georgia, has barely changed since Soviet times, reflecting an unwillingness to face up to the Stalinist era. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hollywood epic Ben Hur reincarnated as Italian musical The musical Ben Hur has just opened in Rome. It either resembles a Saturday night game show on Italian television, or it's simply terrific. Take your choice! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Germany to continue vet civil servants for links to the Stasi until 2019 The legacy of huge quantities of communist secret police files is still preoccupying Germany more than twenty years after the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Copwatch stirs fear and indignation among French police The website published names, photos and other details of French policemen and women, it says are guilty of brutality or racism. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website EU holds 'eastern partnership' summit Trade between the EU and six former Soviet states has tripled over the past decade, but political differences remain and in some cases such as Belarus have worsened. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Row over Mediterranean energy resources deepens An acrimonious dispute between Turkey and Cyprus over gas exploration is getting worse, with analysts saying it is a sign of Ankara's increasingly robust foreign policy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Merkel survives leadership test German Chancellor Angela Merkel has won a key parliamentary vote to expand the eurozone's bailout mechanism, but 15 members of her ruling coalition either voted against the measure, or abstained. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New legislation to address shortage of organ donors The German government wants to use the introduction of new digitalized health insurance cards to encourage organ donation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Kurdish party ends boycott of Turkish parliament The BDP Kurdish party said its boycott was 'correct, justifiable and dignified,' but did not have the expected impact on the Turkish government. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website EU official says more European unity needed to defeat eurozone debt crisis The head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, told the European parliament 'we need to complete our monetary union with an economic union.' Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Germany reminded of atrocity from its colonial past in Africa A delegation from Namibia's Herero and Nama ethnic groups is in Berlin to collect 20 skulls belonging to their forefathers, who were massacred after an uprising in what was a German colony more than a century ago. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Teachers in France strike over job losses French unions say half of all teachers followed a call to go on strike in protest at job cuts. But figures show there is no teacher shortage – when comparing France with its European neighbors. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Cardinal lashes out at behavior of Italian politicians Berlusconi's government is very pro-Catholic Church on a number of social issues so bishops have tended in the past to turn a blind eye to moral lapses by its politicians. That has now changed. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website President Sarkozy weakened by left victory in the Senate In France left-wing parties have secured a majority in the upper house of parliament for the first time in more than half a century. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkey claims diplomatic breakthrough over US drones Turkey says the United States has agreed in principle to deploy Predator drones on Turkish soil to assist in the fight against Kurdish separatists. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Spain dissolves parliament Spaniards are to go to the polls in late November as their country battles high unemployment, flat growth, a large deficit and market turbulence. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Suspended sentence for Czech midwife A midwife in the Czech Republic has been found guilty of criminal negligence and given a two year suspended sentence after a baby boy suffered brain damage during a botched delivery in the mother's home. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Weekend demonstration to call for more women in Italian politics Italy has the lowest female representation in politics in Europe and activists are converging on Rome to call for changes to an electoral law they say is keeping women out of decision-making. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 'Faster-than-light' subatomic particles could challenge foundations of physics Scientists at CERN say they have recorded neutrinos travelling faster than the speed of light, which is normally considered impossible. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website French court fines women for wearing the burqa Two women have been ordered to pay 120 and 90 euros respectively for wearing the full-face and body-covering Muslim veil in public, now banned under French law. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Women's human rights group in Turkey fears setback over rape A proposal by Turkish judges and prosecutors to revive a legal provision under which rapists are treated leniently if they marry their victims is sparking outrage. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website German-born Pope starts four-day tour of his home country Pope Benedict lectured German MPs about moral standards during an address to parliament in Berlin which was boycotted by scores of leftist politicians. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website British deputy prime minister defends spending cuts Britain's coalition government says it will stick to its plans to cut spending and bring down debt. At a party conference, Nick Clegg defended the plans, but warned the country faces a "long, hard road" to recovery. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkey launches revenge attacks against Kurdish rebels Turkish security forces mount a new military operation against Kurdish rebels in Northern Iraq. The rebels have been fighting for greater rights for decades, but the response from Turkish authorities has been unwavering. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Northern League calls for secession from Italy Silvio Berlusconi's coalition partners are distancing themselves from the government they claim is losing its grip on power. The party has called for a referendum on the North seceding from central control. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Journalist counterattacks after Dominique Strauss-Kahn interview Tristane Banon repeated her accusation that the former IMF head had tried to rape her, and said his interview showed no understanding of the women affected by his behavior. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russia and Yukos both happy with court decision The European Court of Human Rights has said Russia abused human rights in the way it dismantled the oil company Yukos. But it said the state had kept within the law, and it didn't set damages. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website State elections in Berlin disastrous for junior federal coalition partner The vote of the pro-business FDP collapsed in Sunday's election, and they've now been thrown out of yet another state parliament. What does the presence of such a weak party mean for the federal coalition? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Europe puzzles over Germany's line on the euro Germany opposed eurobonds, German ministers talk about Greek insolvency - the European Union is unsettled by what looks like German lack of commitment. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website French charities call for continuation of EU food aid for the poor France's four biggest poverty-relief charities are worried about an announcement that the EU plans to cut its food aid by about 75 percent following a ruling by the European Court of Justice. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Tough times for young Italian designers Italy is home to some of fashion's most well-known designers. But as the country sinks deeper into economic woes, younger, less-established designers are finding it harder and harder to get noticed. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Paris hopes Libya will be generous with contracts Libya's new leadership has promised to bear in mind the efforts made by different countries to help the rebellion when it comes to the attribution of contracts - so the French are in a good position. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russian tycoon leaves liberal party The campaign for Russia's parliamentary elections started with a scandal, when Russia's richest man left the liberal party he had promised to bring into parliament. The tycoon accused the Kremlin of meddling. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Czech-Israeli relations put to the test There is a chance the Czech Republic - one of Israel’s closest European allies - could be one of the few EU states to vote outright against the bid by the Palestinians to gain full UN recognition as an independent state. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Parliamentarians plan to boycott pope speech A number of members of the German parliament say they will skip out on a speech by Pope Benedict XVI in the Bundestag, claiming it violates parliament's obligation to religious neutrality. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Spanish school spending sparks squabbles With students heading back to school, Spanish cuts in education have come under scrutiny. The country's regional governments are struggling, and spending on schools has become a divisive issue. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Asylum-seekers in a German town protest against food vouchers Refugees have been holding demonstrations against their local government to demand cash to buy food. They are winning local support for their campaign of refusing to take the vouchers the municipality is offering. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Apple told to withdraw French 'Jewish' app Anti-racist groups and the Socialist Party are calling on Apple to withdraw a new iPhone application which allows users to find out whether a celebrity is Jewish or not. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Locals unite with the far right to protest against Roma presence In the Czech town of Varnsdorf, residents are protesting against the local Roma minority. There are fears their concerns are being exploited by the far right. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Italy joins Greece in the eurozone hot seat Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi held talks in Brussels amid fears that his nation would follow Greece in a downward eurozone spiral as market confidence in Italy’s finances reach a new low. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russia mourns hockey player who died of burns In Russia, the nation said goodbye to the sole surviving hockey player from last week's fatal plane crash. Alexander Galimov succumbed to his injuries after surviving the crash that killed his entire team. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website EU still doesn't agree on Palestine's bid for statehood EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton met with the Arab League to discuss Palestinian plans to seek a declaration of statehood from the United Nations. But the EU still hasn't reached a united position itself. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Westerwelle advises Palestine against unilateral statehood The German foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, has told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Germany supports statehood, but only after agreement with Israel. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Cameron and Medvedev agree to differ so they can do business The British prime minister and the Russian president can't agree on the case of an alleged Russian-sponsored murder in Britain, but at talks in Moscow they agree that they have business interests in common. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Berlusconi talks to EU leaders - is he just avoiding something worse? The Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, is talking to EU colleagues about the euro crisis, but the opposition says the meeting is just a way of filling up his calendar to avoid answering bribery charges. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Germany hospital has history of saving American lives As the United States remembers the tenth anniversary of September 11th, the country continues to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US military has relied heavily on a German hospital to heal its wounded soldiers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website London war museum exhibits World Trade Center wreckage Pieces from the collapsed World Trade Center are being displayed across Europe as part of the 9/11 anniversary. London - also the target of a terror attack - is displaying a structural beam once part of the Twin Towers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New revelations deepen Berlusconi sex scandal Things are not going well for Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. More details have emerged about sex parties allegedly held at his villa. The scandal is a distraction from Italy's much bigger problem: debt. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russia debates air safety in wake of plane crash The death of 43 people in a plane crash in Russia has put air safety in the country under greater scrutiny. As crews search through the plane's wreckage to find the cause of the crash, Russians are expressing their grief Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Spain amends constitution to limit budget deficit In order to shore up credibility in its economy, the Spanish senate has passed a constitutional amendment to limit its deficit. The measure has broad support among political parties, but critics say it is undemocratic. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Court convicts Galliano on anti-Semitism charges British fashion icon John Galliano has been found guilty of anti-Semitism for shouting insults at patrons of a bar in the Jewish quarter of Paris, but he was given only a suspended fine. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russian hockey players killed in Moscow plane crash A Russian jet carrying hockey players to their first match of the season has crashed on takeoff northeast of Moscow, killing more than 40 people. The crash is the latest blow to the country's tainted air safety record. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkish-Israeli dispute deepens under threat of trade war Israel's ambassador to Turkey has reached the deadline to leave the country. His departure is the most visible sign of the crisis between the former close allies, but the crisis could deepen even further. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Calls for new mosque have Kosovan Muslims praying on the streets Tension is rising between Kosvo's secular and moderate Muslim majority and an increasingly vocal religious lobby. A summer campaign by a Muslim group has spurred fears that radical Islam could be on the rise. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Swiss Central Bank steps in to weaken franc Switzerland's national bank is to peg the Swiss franc to the euro in order to protect the export market. Business leaders argue that, as debt crises increase demand for the franc, the currency has become too expensive. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website In run-up to elections, Ukraine taking heat from all sides Ukraine is under increasing pressure from competing interests. The EU is criticizing the trial of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko as political, as Russia refuses to renegotiate gas prices that burden the economy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Underground radar detects ancient gladiator school in Austria Archaeologists in Austria have made what's being described as a "sensational" find near Vienna: the most complete ancient Roman gladiator school outside Rome itself, discovered by underground radar technology. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Jacques Chirac absent at opening of corruption trial Jacques Chirac’s corruption trial has opened in Paris - without the former French president. Chirac's lawyers presented judges with a report saying the frail 78-year-old was unable to stand trial. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website One year after ceasefire, ETA appears to be disbanding The Basque separatist group ETA hasn't carried out any attacks since announcing its ceasefire one year ago. With the police constantly arresting its members, the organization seems weaker than ever. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UK companies on the prowl for Chinese executives Companies in London are competing hard to find talented executives from China to join their boards. Head-hunters say finding bilingual workers familiar with both cultures is presenting a challenge Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkey reacts angrily to UN report on Israeli flotilla attack Turkey expels the Israeli ambassador after a UN report blames both Turkey and Israel for last year's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. The UN said Israel used “excessive” force but ruled its action was legal. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Concern for a million refugees in Libya UN aid agencies have again expressed concerns about the fate of around a million sub-Saharan migrants in Libya, many of whom say they have threatened and attacked. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Asylum seekers do battle on Dutch TV for cash back home In a new TV show, participants who are about to be deported are tested on their knowledge on Dutch ways. The winner gets a cash prize – which must be spent in their country of origin. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Afghan families seek compensation for civilian deaths in Kunduz For the families that lost loved ones in the German-ordered airstrike in northern Afghanistan in 2009, in which over 100 civilians lost their lives, the fight for compensation is entering a new phase. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Muscovites relieved at temporary end of sidewalk project A beautification project in Moscow, which has been bothering citizens all summer, has been suspended due to increased traffic. The break is a source of relief, as many Muscovites disagreed with the project to begin with. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website South African horse breeder pushes for event in Port Elizabeth Phindi Kema, South Africa's first black thoroughbred breeder, is attempting to create an international horse racing event in Port Elizabeth. She is turning to the UK for help in a white-dominated industry. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bomb blasts rip through Grozny, signaling renewed Islamist presence Three bombs have gone off in Grozny in the troubled province of Chechnya, killing nine people and injuring dozens. Authorities believe the blasts represented a terrorist attack meant to target the regional parliament. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Former allies Turkey and Israel set for diplomatic showdown Israel and Turkey remain at diplomatic loggerheads as the UN prepares to publish its report on Israel's raid on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed nine Turkish activists last year. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Radio Prague celebrates 75th anniversary The international broadcaster of the Czech Republic, Radio Prague, celebrated its 75th anniversary on Wednesday. The station went on air on August 31, 1936, to counter Nazi propaganda aimed at Czechoslovakia. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website 'Telekom scandal' leaves Austrian parliament searching for answers Austria is looking to clarify a scandal involving the telecommunications giant, Telekom, which is alleged of having channeled millions of euros to board members and politicians under the guise of lobbyist payments. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkey returns confiscated properties to religious minorities The government has taken a symbolic step towards repairing ties between Muslims and non-Muslims by returning confiscated properties belonging to Christians and Jews. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website ECB head blames governments for the continued euro crisis The head of the European Central Bank, Jean Claude Trichet, has told the European Parliament that governments are to blame for the continued jitters over the euro: They should have put their finances in order. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Belarus wants IMF help The Belarus economy is in a mess, and the people are angry with the government over empty shops and soaring prices. So President Alexander Lukashenko is hoping for an IMF loan to ensure his political survival. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Prominent sex scandal grips Czech Republic A prominent Czech doctor has been arrested on charges of assaulting up to seven of his assistants. The doctor says the women signed contracts to provide him with what were described as "services of a personal nature." Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Europe signals it will take a backseat in post-Gadhafi Libya Libya remains a divisive issue in Europe, with countries vying to clinch lucrative contracts for the reconstruction effort, but the EU has said it won't take a leading role once Gadhafi finally falls. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New 'incest' case shocks Austria Austria has been rocked by a scandal with startling parallels to the notorious Josef Fritzl case, as police arrest an 80-year-old man on suspicion of abusing his two daughters for over 40 years. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website London police on high alert ahead of the Notting Hill Carnival Thousands of extra police officers will be on duty in the British capital this weekend, over concerns that the festival could spark off fresh rioting and looting in the British capital. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Libyan rebels confident assets will be unfrozen At a meeting of the Libya Contact Group in Istanbul, the head of political affairs at Libya's National Transitional Council said they were expecting $ 2.5 billion in unfrozen assets by the end of the month. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UN launches campaign against statelessness A stateless child is a vulnerable child. Millions of children have no official nationality. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website French taxes to go in defense of national credit rating Nervous that its coveted triple A credit rating might be downgraded, France is planning austerity measures including higher taxes on alcohol, cigarettes and the super rich Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website France wants its share of the credit for supporting Libyan rebels France was the first country to recognize the Libyan rebels' National Transitional Council and some French commentators are claiming recent rebel successes in Tripoli are a victory for French foreign policy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkey prepares to step up campaign against Kurdish rebels Turkish forces are amassing on the Iraqi border for an expected incursion into northern Iraq targeting suspected Kurdish rebel bases. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pedalling away for the planet at a Berlin disco If the stationary cyclists stop pedalling, the lights go out and so does the music. Bicycle discos are now all the rage in green Germany. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Merkel urges Serbia to persevere with reforms to gain EU candidacy status Serbs see Germany as a key ally, but have their reservations about pressure from Berlin over Kosovo. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website DSK heads for home French presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss-Kahn may have had sexual charges against him dismissed, but once back in France how will he ever manage to change the subject? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Former imprisoned teenager marks five years of freedom The Austrian girl who was kidnapped at the age of ten and kept in a cell for eight years has now turned 23. She is still a media celebrity. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Merkel under pressure at home over eurozone rescue fund Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing opposition from within her Christian Democrat party over new measures to prop up weaker eurozone states. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Row over oil expected to flare up between Turkey and Cyprus Cyprus is poised to start drilling for oil in the eastern Mediterranean in six weeks time raising tension with Turkey, which has threatened to take unspecified action in retaliation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russians' willingness to fight for change has seeped away Twenty years ago Boris Yeltsin was able to rouse the nation to defeat a hardline communist coup. These days, however, there is social apathy in Russia. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Berlin loses sleep over nightly arson attacks Burnt-out cars in a Berlin residential district are perceived by a leading Social Democrat as a harbinger of terrorism. England's riots may have unsettled German policy-makers more than they care to admit. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Charity denounces new law targeting the homeless as absurd A new by-law designed to regulate the behavior of homeless people in a small Czech town would effectively criminalize the act of leaning on a public waste bin. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Papal visit raises questions about Catholic Church's role in Spain Pope Benedict's visit to Madrid may have been joyously welcomed by devout Catholics, but for critics it is a reminder that the full separation of church and state in Spain is still unfinished business. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Holocaust survivors seeking compensation from Austria look to Israel for support Austrian-born survivors of the Holocaust say they've been compensated for just a fraction of what was stolen from them by the Nazis. They hope Israel will put pressure on Austria to reopen a compensation agreement. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New revelations about wartime past of French fashion icon 'Sleeping with The Enemy' is a new biography of Coco Chanel that alleges that she was a Nazi spy and almost fanatically anti-Semitic. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Evangelical Christians' caravans unwelcome in French village Thousands of evangelical Christian Roma are descending on a tiny village in central France, and in protest the deputy mayor has dug trenches at the side of the road to stop them parking. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Sentencing of rioters in English courts stirs unease For an attempt to start a riot that never happened with the help of Facebook, two young men have been sent to prison for four years each. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Switzerland intervenes over its soaring currency The Swiss national bank is pumping Swiss francs on to the markets to limit the currency's increase in value, which is threatening the competitiveness of Swiss goods and services. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website More Spaniards seeking work in France France is witnessing the biggest wave of immigration from Spain in decades. Spaniards can double, even triple their pay when they work on the other side of the Pyrenees. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pilgrims flock to Madrid for papal visit A million pilgrims are expected to converge on Madrid later this week for World Youth Day festivities, which include a visit by the Pope. Critics complain about the cost in times of economic difficulty. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bilingual road signs in Slovene and German to point to new era of harmony Three years after the death of far-right leader Jörg Haider, the Austrian province of Carinthia and the neighboring country of Slovenia settle a long-running dispute about bilateral place-names signs. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Cameron lashes out at rioters 'angry entitlement' Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron has dismissed criticism that welfare cuts had contributed to last week's riots blaming instead gang culture and a sense of 'angry entitlement' among the rioters. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Anti-communist, still controversial in the Czech Republic, dies in the US aged 81 Ctirad Masin, a Czech anti-communist resistance fighter who shot his way to freedom in a daring 1953 escape, has died in the United States. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Sri Lanka Tamils make pilgrimage to German Catholic shrine Growing numbers of Sri Lanka Tamils, who came to Europe as refugees in 1980s, now make pilgrimages to a Catholic shrine at Kevelaer in Germany, convinced it shares much in common with a shrine in their homeland. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Berlin Wall started to go up fifty years ago When East German forces started sealing off the border to the western sectors of Berlin on August 13th 1961, Berliners were shocked by passivity of the western allies. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Cold War era compensation for Czech churches Religious organizations and the government in the Czech Republic are closing in on a deal for compensation for church property confiscated by the Communists in 1948. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Ethnic Albanians see peace dividend in Macedonia Ten years ago Macedonians and ethnic Albanians signed the Ohrid agreement, averting a conflict that could have destabilized the whole Balkans region. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Soaring Swiss franc could see Swiss economy stall As investors flee for safety and buy Swiss francs, the price of that traditional safe haven currency against the euro has rocketed, making Swiss products and services less competitive in the eurozone. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website French bank woes stoke fears of speculators Shares in the major French bank Societe Generale tumbled on a groundless rumour published in a British newspaper. The French securities regulator has been asked to investigate. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Far right attack on Roma as authorities are accused of indifference Neo-Nazis are being blamed for an arson attack on a Roma family in the Czech republic. Roma rights activists say these attacks are often not treated with the seriousness they deserve by the authorities. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website British prime minister promises 'fight back' against looters and rioters A heavy police presence has brought calm to London's streets, though rioting has spread to other cities in the UK. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Market jitters force French president back to his desk President Nicolas Sarkozy cuts short his holiday to announce new moves to slash France's massive debt amid fears it might be next after the United States to suffer a credit-rating downgrade. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Prague hosts its first ever gay pride festival Prague Pride's organizers are bracing themselves for hostile Christians, neo-Nazis and bad weather. One local conservative has denounced the US embassy for supporting the event. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website London struggles to shrug off worst rioting in decades Britain's political leaders belatedly return home and promise a tough police crackdown while ordinary Londoners pick up brooms to help sweep away the debris of three nights of rioting and looting. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Spain heaves a sigh of relief With the European Central Bank intervening on its behalf, Spain appears to have narrowly avoided disaster on the bond markets. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Wood not seen for the trees in the battle of the bark beetle A dispute in the Czech Republic over whether trees should be felled to contain the spread of the bark beetle is being pursued with a doctrinal fervour normally reserved for religion or politics. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Ex-Olympic skiing coach could face jail Disgraced Austrian Olympic skiing coach Walter Mayer has gone on trial in Vienna on doping charges for which he could be sent to prison for three years Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Sterilized Romani woman clears legal hurdle in fight for damages A Romani woman who was sterilized at the age of 21 without her consent can now sue for damages after Czech Republic's Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Social media fans' oblique take on Russia's upcoming presidential election Girls, who wash cars for nothing in support of Vladmir Putin, or who remove clothing to promote Dimitry Medvedev's anti-beer law. It appears a long way from traditional electioneering, perhaps quite deliberately so. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Unmade roads unlikely to dent optimism for Sino-Polish business ties China's foreign minister praised Poland's recovery from the global financial crisis and its role in the EU, but remained silent on a failed Chinese motorway project which was to have helped link Warsaw to Berlin. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Controversial Czech presidential aide attacks gays Advisor to Czech president Vaclav Klaus, Petr Hajek, is a creationist who believes Osama bin Laden was a media fiction. Now he's lashed out at the gay community days before Prague stages its first Pride parade. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Probe into torture link with UK security services boycotted A government inquiry to whether UK agents colluded with foreign security services in the mistreatment of terror suspects has come under attack from campaigners who had earlier supported it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Spain stands its ground in bond market turmoil Spain has successfully sold 3.5 billion euros in government bonds, providing a brief respite in the fight against contagion from the eurozone debt crisis. But an upcoming election could weaken its defenses. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russians wary of dark summer month In the former Soviet Union, August is 'black August', the time of year when calamity strikes, such as war or forest fires. Some say this has less to do with superstition than with economic cycles. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website France starting to count the military cost of political influence Many French people like to see their president actively shaping international events, but public opinion is fickle and some are asking if France's political ambitions are now out of step with its military means. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UK takes copyright law into digital age, drops website blocking The UK is updating its copyright law for the digital era and in a victory for open rights campaigners is abandoning as unworkable plans to block websites that host copyright-infringing material. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Berlin's UN diplomacy disappoints German opposition parties The German government is being accused of failing to use its ties with China and Russia to secure a more concerted diplomatic offensive at the UN against the Syrian leader Bashar al Assad. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Political motives suspected behind terrorism allegations Prosecutors in Turkey claim to have detected a terrorist conspiracy called the KCK among members of the country's Kurdish BDP party. Some commentators are skeptical. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Austerity threat to UK voluntary sector UK campaigners say 2000 charities have had their funding reduced or withdrawn in austerity cuts, undermining the role of the voluntary sector said to be crucial in Prime Minister David Cameron's 'Big Society' Britain. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Change elusive in Sidi Bouzid Residents of Sidi Bouzid, the Tunisian town that became the cradle for change in North Africa, are frustrated because so little has improved in their own lives. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Border incidents highlight Kosovo's volatile ethnic divide The recent unrest that flared up at the border between Serbia and Kosovo following the deployment of Kosovo special police is a sign of simmering ethnic feuds that could unsettle the whole region. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russia strives after a smaller, more professional, police force More than 200,000 Russian police officers are losing their jobs in a shake-up of the force ordered by President Medvedev. The police will also lose the label 'militia', a legacy from the Soviet era. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Mass resignations of Turkish generals signal military is losing influence The influence of Turkey's military is seeping away and the Islamic-rooted government is gaining in authority. It's uncertain how the prime minister will respond to this tilt in the balance of power. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Polish defense minister steps down after Kaczynski crash report Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich resigns after a government report lists numerous errors by the crew of the military plane that crashed in Russia last year killing President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Spain to go to polls early Spain's prime minister moves a general election due in the spring forward to November, saying he wants to create political and economic certainty in the coming months. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Ukraine hit by coal mining tragedy At least 17 miners were killed when a gas explosion rocked a coal mine in Ukraine in the middle of the night in a chilling reminder that the country's mines are among the most dangerous in the world. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Soul-searching in Norway in aftermath of massacre After the horrendous attacks by Anders Behring Breivik, Norwegians are asking questions about racism in their society and attitudes towards Islam. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Cyprus cabinet quits The entire cabinet of Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias, under fire after a munitions blast killed 13 people and wrecked the island's main power plant, has resigned. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Café and restaurant tables taken from the streets in Turkey Turks suspect a crackdown on pavement cafes and restaurants, ostensibly for road safety reasons, is motivated by religious sensitivities. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website London organizers confident about Olympics London says it is on track to stage the summer Olympics in 2012 starting in exactly a year's time, but there are nagging worries about policing and travel chaos. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Suspected Russian pressure said to be behind ex-KGB agent's release Austria is facing growing international criticism for releasing a former KGB agent wanted on war crimes charges in Lithuania with Austrian media reporting he was set free because of pressure from Russia. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UK recognizes Libyan rebels, expels diplomats Britain has given Libyan diplomats three days to leave the country and now recognizes the Libyan transitional council as Libya's only legitimate government. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Daughter of Khordorkovsky's associate wants her father released from prison A court in Russia has heard written testimony from the nine-year-old daughter of Platon Lebedev, co-accused of ex-oil tycoon Mikhail Khordorkovsky, saying she cries almost every day because her father can't come home. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Watchdog claims timber companies exploiting link to conservation group An environmental watchdog Global Witness is accusing timber companies of abusing membership of a World Wide Fund for Nature scheme by not keeping their side of the bargain. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New role for police in Turkey's conflict with Kurdish rebels as political overtures falter Equipped with 200 new armored personnel carriers and heavy weapons, Turkey's police force is to be assigned a more active role in the conflict with PKK rebels, stoking fears of further escalation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bombing and killing spree suspect in court as Norway mourns victims Norway observes a minute's silence in memory of the scores of victims of Friday's bombing and shooting spree. Suspect Anders Behring Breivik is remanded in custody for eight weeks. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkish women protest against lethal domestic violence There has been a worrying increase in the number of Turkish women being murdered by the husbands; women's groups urge the government to do more to stop domestic violence. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Striking taxi drivers symbolize national pain as austerity bites Greek taxi drivers strike over government proposals to open up their chosen trade to more competition, forcing them to make painful adjustments symbolic of the upheaval gripping the whole country. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website World Shakespeare Congress on stage in Prague The Bard's genius thrives in translation as languages other than English create their own Shakespearean culture. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Burka banned in Belgium Wearing the full-face veil will be punishable by a fine or even imprisonment from Saturday. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Discord over Turkish deaths in Israeli raid set to continue A UN report on last year's Israeli raid on a flotilla of peace activists that claimed nine Turkish lives is expected to exacerbate bilateral tensions, even though both sides have sufficient reasons to repair ties. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hess remains removed from final resting place The body of Rudolf Hess, once deputy to the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, has been exhumed and his grave destroyed to end neo-Nazi pilgrimages. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Italian politicians' salaries under attack An anonymous Italian blogger has been drawing attention to the lavish lifestyle and privileges enjoyed by Italian politicians while others are having to tighten their belts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dissatisfaction in Kosovo over US policy channelled into satire The Pimpsons, inspired by the long-running US television series with a very similar name, are an internet sensation in Kosovo, poking fun at the American ambassador and the influence he wields. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkey signals tougher line over Cyprus Ankara says it will suspend ties with EU when Cyprus takes over the six-month rotating presidency, but this could just play into the hands of opponents of Turkey's EU membership bid. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Switzerland ponders the downside of being a safe haven A strong Swiss franc on the currency markets may boost Swiss self-esteem, but it worries Swiss hoteliers who see it driving away foreign guests. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UK prime minister grilled in parliament over phone-hacking David Cameron did not falter, hesitate or fall in his political battle to survive. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Murdoch faces unprecedented grilling by parliamentarians British MPs have been questioning media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son James over the phone-hacking scandal that brought down the News of the World tabloid. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Song that called for change in the Soviet Union is outlawed in Belarus A rock song, popular in the twilight years of the Soviet Union, is spooking the authorities in Belarus, who believe it is inflaming political dissent. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Roma claim Czech government is going soft on neo-Nazis A Roma advocacy group is accusing the Czech police of failing to crack down on racist abuse by neo-Nazis, as relations between the Roma minority and the Czech authorities deteriorate. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Portuguese braced for new tax and more spending cuts Portugal is tightening its austerity regime still further to fill a gap in the national budget of two billion euros only discovered this month. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Spain determined to put positive spin on failed stress tests Five of the eight European banks which failed the European Union's stress tests were Spanish, but the government in Madrid remains optimistic about the credibility of the country's financial sector. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Vienna and Vilnius in row over European arrest warrant A diplomatic spat has broken out between Austria and Lithuania after Vienna failed to extradite a war crimes suspect, who is an ex-Soviet KGB officer. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Libyan rebels win support of international contact group A contact group of Western, Arab and African countries agree at a meeting in Istanbul to formally recognize Libyan rebels fighting to topple Moammar Gadhafi, designating them as the country's legitimate rulers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Greek Cypriots demand president’s resignation over deadly munitions blast Greek Cypriots call on the president to step down after an explosion at a naval base that left 13 people dead. The blast destroyed the island’s main power station and now Cypriots are facing rolling power cuts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Spanish experts help soccer referees improve their performances There is a saying in sports that the best referee is the one you don’t notice. Now a group of experts in Spain is trying to help match officials get even less attention. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website On Bastille Day, France mourns the deaths of five soldiers in Afghanistan July 14 is the French national holiday, Bastille Day. This year, Paris is being urged to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan after six French soldiers were killed in attacks there over the past two days. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pamplona’s annual “Running of the Bulls” ends relatively injury-free Spain’s traditional “Running of the Bulls” is an annual event held in the northern town of Pamplona. Popularized by the American author Ernest Hemingway, it’s a week-long celebration of machismo and mortal danger. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Austrian national anthem to underscore gender equality Austria is about to change the lyrics to its national anthem. Instead of only referring to the country’s “great sons”, the daughters of the Alpine republic will now also have their place of honor in the song. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Libyan rebel delegation meets with NATO and EU leaders in Brussels The head of Libya’s rebels has met for talks with top European Union and NATO officials in Brussels. He admitted that some human rights abuses had occurred at the start of the rebellion. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Murdoch drops bid to take over BSkyB as phone-hacking investigation looms Media mogul Rupert Murdoch withdrew a bid for the UK broadcaster BSkyB as the British prime minister declared that an independent judge will conduct an inquiry into a spreading phone-hacking scandal. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkey prepares to write a new constitution in the midst of Kurdish tension The Turkish government has won a vote of confidence, opening the way to write a new constitution. However, concerns remain over tensions caused by the arrest of Kurdish lawmakers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Eurozone debt crisis adds to Berlusconi's woes Financial markets are putting pressure on Italy to pass a 50 billion euro austerity budget quickly, but Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been made conspicuous by his silence. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russia in mourning after 100 presumed drowned in shipping disaster Many are still in shock following the sinking of the 'Bulgaria'. Volga river cruises are highly popular and this could have happened to anyone. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website News International targeted by ex-prime minister over invasion of privacy Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has lashed Rupert Murdoch's media empire accusing them of working with 'criminals with records'. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Eurozone faces up to intractable Greek debt crisis Eurozone nations are in a quandary over the Greek debt crisis. Enlist the help of private creditors and the ratings agencies could cry 'default'. Don't enlist their help and taxpayers will grumble. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website British political leaders take on Murdoch Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is seeking to shore up his News Corporation empire following the demise of the News of the World tabloid and political pressure to rethink his bid for the BSkyB pay TV giant. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Politicians and church leaders vow to keep memory of Jedwabne massacre alive Jedwabne stands for one of the darkest chapters in Polish history - the murder of Jews seventy years ago, not by Nazis but by Poles. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Israelis leave hundreds of pro-Palestinian protestors stranded at European airports Israeli authorities curtailed a protest by hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists at Tel Aviv airport by putting them on a blacklist which stopped them from boarding planes for Israel in the first place. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website British government acutely embarrassed by phone-hacking scandal The phone-hacking scandal that brought down the UK tabloid News of the World is coming uncomfortably close to Prime Minister David Cameron following the arrest of his former director of communications. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Austrian towns seek to erase the memory of links with Hitler It's not clear from the records whether the Austrian town of Braunau, birthplace of Adolf Hitler, actually awarded an honorary citizenship to the notorious Nazi dictator, but officials decided to strike him off anyway. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Britain's best-selling tabloid to be shut down over phone-hacking scandal The last edition of the News of the World will be published on Sunday after allegations that people who worked for it had hacked the phones of relatives of military personnel who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website ECB's key refinancing rate now at 1.5 percent The European Central Bank raised interest rates, as expected, by 25 basis points and had strong words for the ratings agencies. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russian president Medvedev angry over report of military modernization delays The designer of Russia's Topol-M nuclear missile has gone public with allegations that the Russia defence ministry is failing to supply funds for the procurement of new military hardware. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkey now fully backing the rebels in Libyan conflict A Turkish diplomat says dialogue with Colonel Gadhafi had become impossible, while the rebels in Benghazi were acting more and more responsibly. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The small country that serves as a huge filling station Drive to a foreign country for a tank of petrol! Motorists living in France, Belgium and Germany save money in Luxembourg because fuel tax is lower there. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website British prime minister promises inquiry into phone-hacking by national newspaper A scandal in Britain about phone-hacking is raising worrying questions about the relationship between the police and the media. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Court finds Dutch state responsible for three Srebrenica deaths The Dutch state has been held responsible for the first time for the actions of its UN peacekeeping battalion which was charged with protecting thousands of Muslims from a Bosnian Serb offensive. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dominique Strauss-Kahn faces rape allegation in France In a case separate from proceedings underway in New York, a young woman says the former head of the International Monetary Fund tried to rape her in 2003. She has brought charges against him. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UN urged to list Venice as an endangered city Conservationists say the lagoon city of Venice is under attack from all sides – from pollution, developers and global warming Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Renewed interest in Strauss Kahn's ambitions as assault case appears to crumble Reports that the sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss Kahn in New York was unravelling have reignited debate about whether he should run for president in France and spawned conspiracy theories. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Otto Habsburg dies The eldest son of the Karl I, the last Austro-Hungarian emperor, has passed away at the age of 98 and will be laid to rest in Vienna. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkey in shock over football match-fixing probe Nearly 60 people including the president of Turkish champions Fenerbahce, Aziz Yildirim, have been detained by police in an investigation that involves many of the country's top clubs. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Poland takes over EU presidency from Hungary Warsaw would like to use its six-month presidency to deepen ties with ex-Soviet states such as Ukraine, but more pressing issues such as the eurozone debt crisis may hamper such ambitions. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bundeswehr steps up recruiting as conscription is abolished Conscription in German armed forces ended on July 1st and the Bundeswehr is now launching a recruitment campaign aimed at sceptical young Germans. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Monaco's Prince Albert II marries South African Charlene Wittstock Following Friday's civil ceremony and celebrations for the people of Monaco, the couple are to wed again on Saturday in a Catholic religious ceremony attended by fellow royals and stars from fashion and show business. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hungarian EU presidency ends Hungary's six month stint at the helm of the EU has been dogged by controversy over domestic curbs on media freedoms and a new constitution, but the government claims the presidency was a success. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Czech claimants still waiting A declaration signed two years ago was supposed to help Czech claimants of property looted by the Nazis retrieve the goods that rightfully belong to them. But lofty promises of swift restitution have led almost nowhere. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Aboriginal skeletal remains return home Austria has returned the human remains of 30 Australian aborigines, collected by an Austrian doctor 100 years ago, for traditional burial in Australia. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website More protests against Lukashenko The silent protestors return to the streets of the Belarusian capital Minsk as Russia cuts electricity supplies because of an unpaid bill. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website France effusive in its praise of Lagarde The appointment of finance minister Christine Lagarde as the head of the International Monetary Fund is a relief for France in the wake of the fall of Dominique Strauss Kahn. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Respite for soft drug tourists in Maastricht expected to be temporary A Dutch court ruling overturning a local ban on the sale of cannabis to foreigners in Maastricht is likely to be a short-lived victory for consumers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website No sign of a breakthrough in Libya after three months of NATO operations Reports of civilian casualties from NATO airstrikes are unnerving some allies and the issuing of an arrest warrant for Colonel Gadhafi has raised the stakes for regime change. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Clashes between police and protestors over Italy-France rail link Protestors in Italy are trying to block the construction of a high-speed railway line they say is spoiling the natural habitat. The government claims it's an eco-friendly way of travelling to and from France. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New rules enabling Luxembourgers to hold dual nationality arouse interest in Belgium Some Belgians, worried by the rudderless state of their own nation, are opting for Luxembourg citizenship as a sort of safety net. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russian court sentences former spy to 25 years in jail in absentia 59 year-old Russia Colonel Alexander Poteyev oversaw 'deep cover' operations in the United States. He told the CIA about ten Russian spies, who were later arrested and exchanged in a spy-swap. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Slovenia marks 20th anniversary of ten-day war with the Yugoslav army When Yugoslavia split up, Slovenia fought a brief war for independence. Its casualties were light compared to the bloodshed that followed in Bosnia and Croatia. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fans in Berlin celebrate opening of Women's World Cup Defending champions Germany beat Canada 2-1 to the delight of German fans who left the match in Berlin's Olympic Stadium exhausted but happy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Tymoshenko denounces trial as politically motivated Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is accused of signing an unprofitable gas deal with Russia, which is said to have cost Ukraine hundreds of millions of dollars. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The sky's the limit for Airbus after Paris Air show Planemaker Airbus celebrates a huge haul of orders, including the biggest single airliner deal in the history of aviation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Women's World Cup opens in Berlin on Sunday Women's football will profit from greater visibility, say fans of the women's World Cup, even if the German national team fails to clinch the title for a third time. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Anti-immigrant Dutch politician acquitted on hate speech Judges said Geert Wilders' comments about Islam may have been crude and denigrating, but were not illegal. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fresh clamp down on protest in Belarus Hundreds have been detained in the Belarusian capital Minsk after a protest organised via social networking. The demonstrators didn't shout slogans or carry banners, they just clapped their hands. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Shoe company to spend 25 million euros on famous Roman monument There'll be no flashing neon signs, but a shoe company's sponsorship of urgent renovation work on the Coliseum is dividing Italians Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Doubts over practicality of Greek austerity As Europe applies relentless pressure on Greece to secure parliamentary approval for austerity cuts, questions remain over whether they will ever be implemented once they've become law. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fashion designer in the dock over anti-Semitic tirade Fallen fashion idol John Galliano told a Paris court he could not remember making the anti-Semitic insults he is on trial for because he was in a haze of drugs and alcohol. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Agriculture ministers meet as food insecurity climbs the G20 Decision-makers need to find ways to ensure sustainable agricultural growth that can feed a planet of nine billion people by 2050. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Germany and Poland celebrate friendship treaty Berlin and Warsaw marked the 20th anniversary of a post-German-unification accord with a joint cabinet meeting, amid regrets that Germany did not open its borders sooner to Polish skilled workers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Northern League in a quandary over Berlusconi Italy's Northern League can keep prime minister Silvio Berlusconi in office and seek to influence the government, but if it sticks too close to the embattled leader it could alienate its supporters. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Amnesty International criticizes Turkey over poor gay rights record After reporting systematic government abuse and discrimination, Amnesty has called on Turkey to ensure that the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are protected under a planned new constitution. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Eurozone finance ministers turn up the pressure on Athens Greece is on tenterhooks ahead of a parliamentary vote on austerity measures, which will determine whether it receives 12 billion euros in urgently-needed loans. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Nuclear watchdog holds first major safety review since Fukushima The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog Yukiya Amano says nuclear regulatory bodies must be genuinely independent, in remarks interpreted as being critical of his native Japan. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Aero industry taking off again with rising passenger traffic and profits Airbus is hoping to score with its more fuel efficient version of the A320 at this year's Paris Air Show. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Protests in France over removal of nuclear power CEO Anne Lauvergeon, head of the mostly state owned nuclear power company Areva, has been sacked by President Sarkozy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Syria's violent crackdown is straining relations with Turkey Turkey is adopting tougher language with its neighbour Syria as Syrian refugees continue to seek sanctuary on Turkish territory. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Latvian anti-corruption chief is sacked Latvia has fired its anti-corruption chief Normunds Vilnitis after presentation of a report by the prosecutor general which accused him of 'serious violations'. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website France is counting the cost of attacking Gadhafi This Sunday three months will have elapsed since the start of the Franco-British-led military intervention in Libya and it is now costing the French taxpayer 1.2 million euros a day. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Criticism of Europe's 'realpolitik' towards Russia Dismay was expressed at a conference organised by a former Russian prime minister over how the recent EU-Ruvssia summit failed to discuss standards, principles or the rule of law. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Sun shines on Serbian invention A team of Serbian university students have built the world's first public solar powered mobile phone charger winning them an award from the EU. The students say it's helped to improve their country's image. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website German foreign minister presents Berlin's new approach to Africa Germany has unveiled a plan of enlightened self-interest for its new 'concept for Africa', which critics believe should focus more on poverty. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website German capital tightens gambling legislation The Berlin city government has introduced a stringent new law on amusement arcades as officials worry about Berliners being unable to kick the slot machine habit. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Concern about mass suicides among apocalyptic cults French officials have published a report about sect activity leading up to 21st December 2012 when some believe the world will end. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Television documentary attacked over assisted suicide A British television documentary showing a 71-year-old on his final journey to a clinic in Switzerland where he was given medical help to kill himself has raised fears of copy-cat suicides. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website French airline urged to fly the flag As Air France/KLM prepares to order a hundred aircraft, French parliamentarians are saying it should patriotically opt for Airbus, rather than placing an order with Boeing. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Berlusconi defeated in referendums Italians have been flocking to the polls in referendums, including one on nuclear power, cheerfully disregarding a call by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi urging them not to vote. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Erdogan says he wants consensus politics after landslide victory Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to seek consensus with his opponents, but critics note he made the same pledge in 2007 and nothing came of it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Funeral held for controversial Russian colonel Colonel Yury Budanov, who was convicted of the murder of an 18-year-old Chechen girl in 2003, was shot dead in broad daylight in central Moscow on Friday. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Link between E.coli strain and outbreak now established Germany says it's convinced it has found the source of the deadly strain of E.coli that has killed 31 people, infected thousands, wreaked havoc with vegetable sales and caused diplomatic fall-out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkey heads for the polls in weekend general election Pollsters are predicting a comfortable win for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, despite opposition claims that while the economy may be booming, his government has turned increasingly authoritarian. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Belgrade to host NATO conference amid continued distrust of the alliance With memories of NATO bombing during the Kosovan War still fresh, many Serbians are suspicious of joining the alliance. Membership would, however, be beneficial to the Serb arms industry. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Greeks numbed by debt crisis and austerity packages Greek pollster Dimitris Mavros says 'the average Greek citizen is so confused that he doesn't know what he should want. All he knows is that he is in pain and the bad symptoms of the illness must be done away with.' Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Counterfeit alcohol in Turkey kills four Four Russian tourists have died in Turkey after drinking whiskey and vodka laced with methanol at a popular resort. Another 20 who survived are still suffering from the after-effects and one victim is in a coma. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Underground art on show in London All sorts of people leave all sorts of things on the London Underground. Some of the works of art that have been handed into the 'Lost and Found' department are now on display in an exhibition. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website OPEC to keep current oil production levels OPEC surprised analysts by deciding not to increase oil production at its Vienna meeting. The failure to agree on a rise was in part due to rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website German farmers concerned about their future German vegetable growers are fearful of the long term impact of the E.coli scare, especially if even more sorts of vegetables come under suspicion. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Ukraine focused on Euro2012 kick-off in twelve months' time Border guards with better English skills and less military-looking uniforms – Ukraine is preparing to welcome fans to the football championship it is co-hosting with Poland, but worries over infrastructure persist. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Spanish lawmaker brandishes cucumber at Germany in European parliament Spanish politicians are furious with Germany over its handling over the E.coli outbreak for which Spanish cucumbers were initially held responsible, causing a dramatic drop in sales. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website International conference seeks to learn from Fukushima Spent fuel rods should be better protected and located further away from reactors. That's one of the recommendations heard at a 30-nation meeting in Paris called to discuss nuclear safety. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Spanish protest movement faces uncertain future Spain's May 15th protest movement sprung up during a local election campaign, reflecting disenchantment with traditional politics, but it remains to be seen whether it will have a lasting impact. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russian envoy visits Libyan rebel stronghold Moscow wants to help forge a negotiated settlement to the Libyan conflict, but has no intention of offering Colonel Gadhafi a safe exit. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website French police weapon suspected of causing serious injury to a child They fire soft rubber balls which are not supposed to penetrate the skin. Yet a 9-year-old girl is now in a coma and her parents believe the 'Flash-ball' is to blame. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Germans shy of becoming organ donors 85 percent of Germans don't carry an organ donor's card. Campaigners are trying to convince them that donating their organs when they die could help somebody else lead a new life. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website First day in court for Mladic Ex-Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic has made his first appearance at the International Criminal Tribunal in the Hague, shaking his head when the charges relating to the Srebrenica massacre were read out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Researchers assume mystery source of deadly E.coli still active Spanish cucumbers may now have a clean bill of health, but disease control experts are still advising Germans to avoid salad vegetables as they continue the hunt for the source of a deadly strain of E.coli. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Interfaith project planned for where 13th century church once stood Berliners want to turn the site of the Petri church that was bombed by the allies in World War Two and demolished by the Communist regime in the 1960s into a place of worship for Christians, Jews and Muslims. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Moscow accused of overreacting by Brussels A ban by Russia on the import of vegetables from the 27-nation EU because of the deadly E.coli outbreak has been described by the European Commission as disproportionate. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Former French minister allegedly involved in pedophilia France has been plunged into its third sex scandal in as many weeks by accusations that an unnamed former minister was caught having a sex party with young boys in Marrakech. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UK parliamentary inquiry uncovers 'silent amnesty' for asylum-seekers While clearing up a backlog of almost half a million asylum-seekers, UK immigration authorities let 40 percent of applicants stay in the country. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Latvian presidential race still open Valdis Zatlers will ask the Latvian parliament to re-elect him as president on Thursday, just days after he called for the assembly to be dissolved over corruption allegations. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkish opposition embraces Kurdish cause ahead of general election The Turkish opposition party CHP has radically revised its attitude towards the minority Kurds; previously they saw them as a terrorist problem, now they deserve greater rights. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic awaits trial in the Netherlands After 16 years on the run, Europe's most wanted man will face the UN International Criminal Tribunal in Hague on Friday, where he will face charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkish deaths from Israeli raid still troubling bilateral One year after an Israeli commando raid on a Gaza-bound Turkish aid flotilla, there is little hope of Turkish-Israeli relations recovering soon and fresh confrontation over a new flotilla is looming Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website No evidence of political motive at Khodorkovsky trial The European Court of Human Rights finds irregularities in the case against Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khordorkovsky, but no evidence that it was politically motivated Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Spain hit by cucumber accusations Although German scientists have said that Spanish cucumbers are probably not the source of a deadly E. coli infection, Spanish farmers have been hit by a major drop in demand for their produce. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Germany announces nuclear energy pull-out Just months after the Fukushima disaster, Germany has become the first major industrialised power to renounce nuclear energy, pledging to shut down all of its 17 nuclear plants by 2022. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Latvian president wins popular backing in skirmish with parliament Lativia's president appears to have struck a chord with the population by calling for the dissolution of parliament after it stopped the house search of an oligarch at the centre of a corruption probe. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Culture for toddlers is a hit with Berlin parents A project in Berlin's rundown Marzahn district is trying to expand the horizons of toddlers at a local kindergarten by exposing them to the arts and foreign languages. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website World's richest nations pledge billions for nascent Arab democracies G8 nations promise tens of billions of dollars in aid to Tunisia and Egypt to foster the Arab Spring while increasing the pressure on the Libyan leader Colonel Gadhafi to step down. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Helicopters to join the fight against Colonel Gadhafi's troops Britain and France are both going to deploy ground attack helicopters in Libya. Some say this is a sign the bombing campaign isn't having the desired effect, others believe they are just an extra tool in the toolbox. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Weekend mayoral elections in Italy could be pivotal for Berlusconi Elections in Italy in which city residents choose their local mayors in a second round of voting could end in defeat for the centre-right backed by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Mladic arrest expected to bring Serbia closer to Europe With the surprise arrest by Serbia of top war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic, another obstacle to the country's bid to join the EU has been removed. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Authorities in Georgia crack down on anti-Saakashvili protest Riot police in Tbilisi have broken up a rally by demonstrators trying to stop a military parade called to celebrate 20 years of independence from Russia. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Kurdish militants believed to be behind Istanbul bombing No one has claimed responsibility for the bicycle bomb which exploded in Istanbul, wounding eight people, but the Turkish prime minister says it bears all the hallmarks of a Kurdish separatist attack. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website French finance minister to run for top job at IMF Christine Lagarde has a good chance of becoming the next director of the International Monetary Fund. She is French, has acquired broad European backing, and knows the Anglo-Saxon world well. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Lukashenko says political prisoners could be set free Battling a currency crisis, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has given his clearest hint yet that he may be hoping to negotiate with western powers about possible aid and an end to sanctions. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Italian deaf people want recognition for sign language Deaf people are protesting in Italy in a campaign to get the government to grant sign language official status. This would bring Italy into line with other western nations such as Germany. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Internet forum staged in France ahead of G8 summit The biggest names in the internet and social media have gathered for a pre-G8 forum hosted by French President Sarkozy. The meeting is highlighting a rift between innovators and regulators. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Libyan opposition leader concludes ground-breaking trip to Turkey has now fallen into line behind fellow NATO member countries and is voicing support for the Libyan opposition. Only weeks ago, Libyan rebels were burning Turkish flags. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Obama in London on second leg of four-nation European tour US President Obama has been given a royal welcome to London by Queen Elizabeth at the start of a two day state visit which will seek to redefine the US-UK 'special relationship' as an 'essential relationship.' Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Obama speaks to Irish people US President Barack Obama has thanked the Irish people for their contribution to America. He was speaking in Dublin on the first leg of his European Tour which will also take him to Britain, France and Poland. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website French push finance minister for IMF top job She hasn’t said she wants the job. President Sarkozy hasn’t even evoked the possibility of letting her go. But French finance minister Christine Lagarde is the front-runner to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the IMF Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Poles protest visit from German politician Poles are protesting the visit by Erica Steinbach, the leader of an organization which represents the interests of ethnic Germans expelled from Eastern Europe in the wake of WWII. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UN urges more help for refugees at sea United Nations aid agencies are warning of a growing humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean, as more and more unseaworthy boats carrying migrants and refugees sail for Europe from North Africa. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Restaurant inspection plan gets a green light 15 out of Germany's 16 states have agreed to make it easier for restaurants patrons to know whether kitchen hygiene standards are high, mediocre or poor before they order their meals. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Sweden re-thinks its rape laws In the wake of sexual assault charges against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, Sweden’s laws have come under attack from abroad. But it has also made many Swedes talk about rape in a new way. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website British justice minister in storm over different kinds of rape There's rape and there's serious rape: that's what the British justice secretary, Ken Clarke, seemed to say. The comments came as he was arguing in favor of reduced sentences for rapists who plead guilty early on. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Cannes bans film director who 'understands Hitler' The Danish film maker Lars von Trier has been banned from the Cannes Film Festival after he said at a press conference that he understood Hitler and was himself a Nazi. Some people think he was joking. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Study shows prostitution is just the job for many students A group of students from Berlin have surveyed students in Berlin, Paris and Kyiv, to find out their attitudes towards prostitution as a way of paying their way through college. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website A day in the life of the rebels Rebels in the Libyan town of Nalut are getting ready for an offensive against Colonel Gadhafi's forces. Our correspondent spent 24 hours with them. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bare breasts for democracy Ukraine has developed an unusual form of protest: the group Femen is using traditional floral wreaths combined with bare breasts to draw attention to issues like sex tourism or racism. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website France considers its attitude to sexual misbehavior The television coverage of the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn in New York has shocked French viewers, but it is making them think about whether they are too tolerant of sexual misbehavior Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Strauss-Kahn arrest leaves French Socialists looking for a new candidate French Socialist party leaders have been meeting to decide what to do now that Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who's in prison on rape charges, is unavailable to challenge the incumbent president. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Government-commissioned study says German nuclear plants safer than feared The study says Germany's 17 nuclear power plants are better protected against natural disasters than the Fukushima reactor in Japan was. But none of them is properly protected against a serious aircraft crash. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Khodorkovsky appeal delayed A court in Moscow has put off hearing an appeal by the former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. His lawyers say it's so President Dmitri Medvedev can avoid awkward questions at a press conference. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Strauss-Kahn in New York causes earthquake in France Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, was the only candidate who was thought to be able to beat incumbent president Nicolas Sarkozy. Now he's in prison instead of on the campaign trail. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Vatican letter 'not enough' A Vatican letter to Catholic bishops, advising them to cooperate with police over child sexual abuse, is the latest attempt by the church to deal with the issue. But it's not enough, say victims groups. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Belarus opposition journalist released on probation Irina Khalip was given a two-year suspended sentence for demonstrating against December's elections. Two days earlier, her husband, former presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov, had received five years in prison. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Doubts emerge over EU Syria sanctions Earlier this week, the European Union imposed targeted sanctions on the Syrian regime. But some fear the sanctions will not have much impact. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Controversy at Czech Roma Holocaust site Roma are calling for a proper memorial at the Lety concentration camp site in the Czech Republic, but the presence of a giant pig farm is making things tricky. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Proposed parking lot could ruin Roman ruins One Rome resident is trying to stop a parking lot from going up. The problem? The lot being dug on the site of ancient ruins. It’s the latest chapter in a long battle between car culture and preserving the past. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Denmark flouting Schengen? In 25 EU nations, travelers can cross borders without a passport under the Schengen agreement. But immigration and security concerns are making some nervous - Denmark is threatening to tighten up its border. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Dealing with new drugs New psychoactive substances are becoming ever more common in the European Union. Last year, a record 41 new drugs were registered by experts in member states, up from 24 in 2009. It’s a headache for policymakers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Düsseldorf’s Eurovision anticipation All eyes are on the German city of Düsseldorf, the surprise choice to host this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. The city of just over 500,000 is hoping to raise its profile for good. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Insurers tout nuclear risks A new report says Germany's 17 nuclear plants should be closed down by 2021. The insurance industry agrees: no utility operator or insurer would be able to cover the damages caused by a major nuclear accident. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russian blogger on trial One of Russia’s most famous bloggers faces a prison sentence if he is convicted of fraud - but he says he’s done nothing more than call state companies and ruling party officials to account for alleged corruption. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Spain sweats over scrutiny of Greece The new spotlight on Greece’s finances has raised concerns about Spain’s ability to emerge from the eurozone crisis without significant help. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Laurent Blanc stays as French coach After more than a week of speculation that he’d be fired for discussing a quota system for youth players which some felt was racist, French national team coach Laurent Blanc has been cleared and will stay in his post. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Head of Stasi archive wants old agents out A prominent GDR-era dissident was a popular choice to take over Germany’s secret police archive two months ago, but now he’s making enemies. Why? He wants to lay off workers who were Stasi agents themselves. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website German coalition partner in turmoil The Free Democrats, Germany’s junior coalition partner, are set to name a new leader at their conference this weekend after their chairman stepped down. A new head is ready to take over, but must stroke a few egos first. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website French hope cash will entice Tunisians to leave Thousands of Tunisians have fled their homeland since the revolution. Many are now living rough in France, and some say they want to return. The French government is offering them 300 euros to leave, but some want more. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Austria set to extradite former Croatian PM An Austrian court has ruled that the former Prime Minister of Croatia, Ivo Sanader, can be extradited to face corruption charges in his home country. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Some celebrate Europe, Czechs shrug May 9th is Europe Day, on which the 27 EU nations remember the founding of the bloc. We found out how the day is being marked in the Czech Republic – something of a skeptic nation when it comes to European integration. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website British coroner publishes inquest of July 7, 2005 bombing attacks in London After a five month inquest, London coroner Lady Justice Hallett says the death of 52 people in the suicide bomb attacks on London’s transport system could not have been prevented. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website France expels Libyan diplomats France has ordered 14 Libyan diplomats loyal to embattled dictator Mouammar Gadhafi to leave the country. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website One of the Czech Republic’s oldest football clubs faces uncertain future Debt and an unclear ownership situation spell trouble for Slavia Prague. The club could lose its license and the days of the famous club in top-flight football could be numbered. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Exhibition celebrates 125th birthday of Berlin’s “Kudamm” boulevard Berlin’s luxury shopping mile, the Kurfürstendamm, today hosts elegant boutiques and gourmet restaurants. An exhibition looks back on the varied and 125-year-long history of the boulevard popularly known as “Kudamm”. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Opposition accuses Spanish public television of biased reporting The government believes it has managed to eliminate a long tradition of political partiality in the national broadcaster’s news coverage. But the opposition claims it is the target of biased reporting. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Former presidential candidate in Belarus stands trial, faces prison sentence Vladimir Neklyayev is accused of having organized mass unrest following Aleksandr Lukashenko’s landslide victory in last December’s presidential election. Neklyayev’s trial started on Thursday in Minsk. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UK to hold referendum whether to change its electoral system The UK’s last referendum was held in 1975 – the next will be held May 5th. The question this time is whether or not to change the way people elect their Members of Parliament. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Amsterdam residents mark their houses to commemorate Jewish families deported during WW II On May 4th the Netherlands traditionally commemorates the victims of World War II. This year, an Amsterdam resident had a special idea to call attention to Jewish inhabitants who were deported during the war. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Palestinian factions sign reconciliation pact The two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, signed a unity deal in Cairo, ending four years of bitter rivalry. But rifts remain, not least over recognition of Israel’s right to exist. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkish government fears refugee crisis More than two hundred Syrian refugees have fled into neighboring Turkey to escape the ongoing crackdown on anti-government protests. The influx has fuelled Turkish concerns that the country could face a refugee crisis. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Rights court rules Russian trial was unfair The Russian state must pay 20,000 euros to a Russian scientist who had been convicted of spying. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has ruled that the trial of Igor Sutyagin had not been fair. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Digging to give the name a face In Italy a self-styled art sleuth is searching for the remains of the woman believed to have been the model for Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website German government relieved about death of Osama bin Laden While Chancellor Angela Merkel called the killing of Osama bin Laden a victory for the forces of peace, Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich warned it was too early to celebrate. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Controversial trial in Austria ends with acquittals A controversial and long-running trial of animal rights activists in Austria who were tried under anti-terrorism laws has ended with all thirteen of the accused being set free. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Another 'Waterloo?': How the Swedes gear up for the Eurovision Song Contest The Swedish band ABBA is one of the few winners of the Eurovision Song Contest who went on to global success - back in the 1970s. With this year’s ESC drawing nearer, we went to find out what the Swedes think about it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Thousands of street parties celebrate royal wedding Britons have been celebrating the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at more than 5,000 street parties up and down the country, with many hoping they have just seen the start of a more modern royal family. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Czech workers unlikely to migrate to Germany after restrictions disappear Germany is lifting its restrictions on migrant workers from eight EU countries in eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic. But the move is stirring little interest among Czechs Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pope's beatification hardly a blessing for local tourism Tourists appear to have lost interest in the beatification of Pope John Paul II, largely because of difficulties with flights. Ironically, the prospect of Vatican crowds pouring in could keep regular tourists away. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Parisian police start detaining Tunisian migrants from Italy France is not extending a helping hand to Tunisian migrants. It has been saying for days those caught without a tourist visa, a passport and enough money will be arrested and sent back to Italy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Latvian government nervous as greater European labor mobility beckons on May 1st Some officials in the tiny Baltic state of Latvia fear it may be weakened by a new wave of emigration when Germany and Austria end restrictions on migrant workers from eight EU states in eastern and central Europe. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UK anti-monarchists undaunted by royals' overwhelming popularity Not everybody in Britain thinks marriage between Prince William and Kate Middleton is something to celebrate. Anti-monarchists disapprove, but welcome nonetheless the opportunity to spread their message. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Yet another suicide at France Telecom There was a silent march through Merignac near Bordeaux as colleagues from France Telecom paid their last respects to a 57-year-old employee who died after setting fire to himself. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Full labor mobility now awaits EU's eastern Europeans Citizens of eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004 are now used to going to work in fellow EU member states. Only Germany and Austria kept them out, but that is set to change on May 1st. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Trial of President Lukaschenko's most prominent rival opens Former Belarus presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov is charged with organising mass unrest during an election which international observers say was fraudulent and unfair. He could face up 15 years in jail. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website France and Italy want to change EU treaty on internal passport-free travel French president Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi are appealing for changes to the Schengen accord, which would make it easier for member states to re-impose internal border controls. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Frustrated Tunisian migrants in Italy yearn for France When Tunisian migrants first arrived in Oria in southern Italy, there was no trouble. But now, according to one local resident, they drink, they argue, they fight and they break bottles in the street. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Chernobyl's legacy remains a persistent challenge 25 years after reactor number 4 exploded at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the concrete containment shelter or sarcophagus, could soon disintegrate and release a radioactive cloud. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website France mulls leaving Schengen over Tunisians Faced with a wave of Tunisian immigrants, France is considering revoking the Schengen Agreement, which permits border-free travel between most EU countries. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Armenia faces twin risk of earthquakes and outdated nuclear technology Armenia's sole functioning 1960's Soviet reactor at Metsamor has already weathered one earthquake, but Armenians and their neighbors worry about what might happen should a second tremor strike. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website German protestors convinced days of nuclear power stations are numbered Memories of the Chernobyl disaster coupled with present-day worries about Fukushima are making German anti-nuclear activists more confident than ever that the curtain is about to fall on German nuclear energy sector. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pope makes first foray into televised dialogue Pope Benedict XVI has taken part in a chat show on Italian television calling for peace in Ivory Coast and the defense of Christians in Iraq. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russia claims al Qaeda envoy has been killed. Russian federal authorities say an Arab militant, reported to be al Qaeda's top emissary to an Islamist insurgency in Russia's North Caucasus region, has been killed by security officials. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkish woman undresses for German edition of Playboy stirring row over cultural differences Turkish women are perceived in Germany as victims of an oppressive conservative culture so a naked Turkish woman on the cover of the German edition of Playboy is being hailed by some as an act of emancipation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website European officials now aware of the limitations of air strikes on Libya Analysts suspect the decision by France, Britain and Italy to send military advisers to Libya could be mission creep towards ground troops and a sign that air strikes are not yielding the desired results. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Italy abandons nuclear energy renaissance The Italian government has postponed indefinitely plans to build new nuclear power plants, but renewable energy operators doubt this is a wholehearted policy switch in their direction Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New child sex confessions by disgraced Belgian bishop Belgians were shocked last year when the Bishop of Bruges admitted to sexually abusing his young nephew. Now, just before Easter, he has confessed to abusing a second nephew as well. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Protests erupt in Turkey following exclusion of pro-Kurdish independents There is growing pressure on Turkey's electoral board reverse its decision to ban 12 independent candidates, backed by the pro-Kurdish BDP party, from standing for parliament in June. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website France's Libyan adventure has unlikely spoils French president Nicolas Sarkozy is being hailed as a hero in Benghazi with at least one expectant mother ready to name her offspring after him. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Austrian scientists predict likelihood of major European nuclear accident Coastal areas in Portugal are less likely to be hit by radiation than areas of central Europe. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Austria to get its first woman finance minister Maria Fekter, the sometimes controversial interior minister, takes over the finance ministry from Josef Pröll, Austria's vice chancellor who resigned last week. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Media watchdog says the situation in Turkey is 'not good' The head of the media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders, Jean Francois Julliard, has been visiting Turkey. He says the country does not respect international standards on freedom of expression. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Nato commander convinced alliance is saving lives in Libya Nato's commander in chief for the Libya operation, Lt. General Charles Bouchard, says he's convinced that if the alliance wasn't involved in Libya thousands of people would be killed. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Shift in German energy policy set to meet with public opposition Following the Fukushima disaster, Germany is moving to phase out nuclear power. But whereas some Germans are nervous about nuclear reactors, others feel just as uncomfortable living next to noise-making wind turbines. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Diplomatic spat erupts between France and Italy over Tunisian migrants Hocine is a Tunisian migrant. He would like to have been on the "Dignity Train" from Italy to France, but border rail traffic was stopped by French officials. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website British government ponders overhauling rules of royal succession The marriage of Kate Middleton and Prince William is putting the spotlight on royal succession in UK. Critics say the rule stopping first-born daughters from being direct heirs to the throne is out of date. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Quest for partnership dominates second day of NATO meeting in Berlin Having agreed on conditions for an end to their campaign on Libya, NATO foreign ministers switched to the bloc's partnerships with Russia, Georgia and Ukraine, including a possible missile shield with Moscow. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hostility to Western support for Palestinians thought to be behind activist's death A friend of Vittorio Arrigoni, the Italian pro-Palestinian peace activist, who was kidnapped and killed in Gaza, believes his death was the work of extremist Saudi-backed elements. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Kremlin watchers return putting old skills to new uses Did you think Kremlinology, or Kremlin watching, was a extinct science that died out with the Cold War? Quite to the contrary! In this era of Putin and Medvedev, some would argue it is as indispensible as ever. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website NATO ministers meeting in Berlin discuss Libya NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the alliance needs a few more precision attack aircraft for air-to-ground missions in Libya. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Gbagbo's French supporters preparing to flex legal muscles A daughter of former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo has asked a team of very high profile French lawyers to defend him. One of them, Gilbert Collard says France had no mandate to do what it did in Ivory Coast. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fukushima disaster turns spotlight on routine nuclear safety meeting The 72-nation Nuclear Safety Conference in Vienna has heard that non-nuclear nations have a role to play in ensuring that countries with nuclear programs guarantee the safety of their installations. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website German Free Democrat declines to comment on plagiarism accusations Silvana Koch-Mehrin, young Free Democrat hopeful, is being accused of having plagiarized material for her PhD. Similar allegations led recently to the resignation of a German defense minister. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Spanish prime minister insists no more austerity measures in the medium term In distancing himself from austerity packages Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapetero is seeking to send a signal that Spain is not in the same boat as Portugal. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Lukaschenko says Minsk metro bombing has been 'solved' Belarussian president Alexander Lukaschenko claims the perpetrators of the Minsk metro bombing that killed 12 people have been found, but his political opponents are still fearful of more repression. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Mystery still surrounds identity of Minsk bombers The Minsk metro blast resembles a recent attack in Moscow. But Belarus, unlike Russia, does not have restive provinces with Islamist militants, leaving investigators to hunt for less conventional suspects. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Debate in France over depth of involvement in arrest of Ivorian ex-President Laurent Gbagbo's arrest was a French job, claims of one of his aides. But the chief of staff of the French army insists no particular role was played by French special forces in his capture. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russia remembers Cold War space hero 50 years on On April 12th 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit the earth in a major Cold War propaganda coup for the Soviet Union. Gagarin died in 1968. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Law banning full face Muslim veil now in force in France Many Muslims say President Sarkozy is responsible for an anti-Muslim climate in France, which they say he has created to deflect attention away from real problems, such as the economy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Tensions in EU rising over northern African migrants Since mid-January, 22,000 mostly Tunisian migrants have crossed into Italy. Their bid to build a better life for themselves is putting solidarity among EU member states to a severe test. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Polish suspicions of Moscow linger one year after President Kaczynski's death The presidents of Russia and Poland vowed to improve ties during a visit to sites where Polish officials died in a plane crash a year ago and Poles from an earlier generation were killed on Soviet orders. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UN human rights investigators to leave for Libya A three member commission set up by the UN Human Rights Council will probe alleged violations of international human rights law committed by forces loyal to Colonel Gadhafi and opposition groups. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website France realigns its foreign policy First Libya, then Ivory Coast: In the space of less than a month, President Sarkozy has taken France into two wars, establishing a remarkable record. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Special school classes in Berlin for migrant Roma children Many Roma children can't read or write and have never been to school in their lives. A primary school in Berlin's Neukölln district is offering special induction classes. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Portugal set to join Greece and Ireland and ask for EU assistance Portugal's prime minister has said his country needs a bailout from the European Union. Estimates say it will need between 70 and 80 million euros in what one analyst called 'a slow train crash.' Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Egypt's hated security service to be dismantled Egypt's transitional government says it is disbanding the hated and feared state security service of the Mubarak era. Some protestors say Egypt should deal with its state security as Germany dealt with the Stasi. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Creating a buzz about bees in Berlin 'Buzzing Berlin' is trying to explain the importance of bees to the German capital's city-dwellers, some of whom may not know the difference between a bee and wasp. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fresh moral dilemma over the assisted death of a British woman Should only the terminally ill be permitted the right to assisted dying? The case of a British woman who chose to die in Switzerland even though she was not at death's door is sparking heated debate. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Probe into death of popular journalist could switch to other Ukrainian public figures Tape recordings which Ukrainian prosecutors intend to use against former president Leonid Kuchma could have repercussions for other prominent Ukrainians. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Berlusconi trial adjourned until May Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's trial on charges he paid an underage teenager for sex was adjourned until May after a hearing that lasted just 10 minutes. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Chechen leader accused of rights violations is sworn in for a second term Human rights groups accuse Chechen President Ramsan Kadyrov of several murders and disappearances. Exposing such abuses is fraught with danger. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UK ministers face uncomfortable questions over arms sales Tear gas for Libya and sniper rifles for Bahrain! A parliamentary committee says the UK has exported military equipment to 15 North African and Middle East regimes that could be used against civilians. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Italian earthquake town still dogged by reconstruction issues two years on Residents of l'Aquila suspect their historic town center is being deliberately left in ruins so owners will be eventually forced to sell off their properties at cheap prices. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Europe urged to shield Ivorians from human rights abuses Human rights groups are saying Europe should be doing more in Ivory Coast to protect Ivorians and other Africans from atrocities. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hungarian village blighted by legacy of toxic sludge Six months after Hungary's toxic sludge spill, there is still a ban in force on the cultivation of vegetables in the afflicted area, because nobody is prepared to predict the long-term consequences of the disaster. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website National Front youth seek to transform its image as chances of winning power increase Since Marine Le Pen took over France's National Front from her father, the party's youth has embarked on an image makeover, distancing itself, in appearance at least, from the traditional supporters of the far right. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website NATO's Libya mission is not without risk or opportunities Military operations in Libya may help NATO find a new role for itself, but at the risk of tensions between member states and of the alliance overreaching itself in times of tight defense budgets. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Netherlands marks gay rights milestone There are 10 countries in the world where gay marriage is permitted. The first gay couples got married 10 years ago, in the Netherlands. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Poles hoard German sugar Poles are flooding into eastern Germany to buy sugar – because it's cheaper than at home. The ensuing sugar shortage has highlighted the differing mentalities of the two neighbors and even spawned the odd joke! Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New Berlin exhibition probes role of German police officers under the Nazis The exhibition has evidence on display showing that German police officers were involved in the mass murder of the Jews and in other atrocities. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website French pilots on Corsican military airbase fly 25 Libya missions a day Pilots won’t tell you what they’ve seen or what they’ve hit. But they do say they have an ever clearer picture of what’s happening on the ground in Libya after 12 days of intelligence gathering. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russian president Dimitri Medvedev seeks to lure investors and stamp out corruption Government ministers are being forced to vacate their posts on the boards of state-run companies in a bid to improve those companies' performance. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Growing opposition to nuclear power in coalition adds to Merkel's woes Chancellor Merkel is coming under increasing pressure to abandon nuclear power in Germany as her Free Democrat coalition partners overhaul their energy policy in the hope of reversing recent losses at the polls. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Russia launches crackdown against rebels in northern Caucasus Russian security forces have been hunting down Islamist rebels in the mountains of Ingushetia. It remains unclear whether rebel leader Doku Umarov was among 17 militants who were killed. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Mobile kit used at baby's birth could help treatment of disease in later life A private medical establishment in Leipzig has built what it claims is Europe's first mobile unit for the preparation of stem cells derived from blood taken from the umbilical cord. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UN, NATO, African Union and Arab League in London for Libya conference. Britain and the US are insisting that airstrikes against Libya will continue until Colonel Gadhafi complies with UN resolutions Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkey's prime minister visits Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region Suspicion between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds is giving way to trade ties, now that the United States has convinced Ankara it will not support an independent Kurdish state. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Belgian government standstill hits new record 289 days: Belgium has now matched a dubious world record set by Iraq for being the country without a government for the longest period of time. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Japanese nuclear disaster sways German voters Germany's Greens have triumphed at two state elections and their opponents are trying to console themselves that it was just nuclear angst that made voters switch in droves to the environmentalists. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website NATO command of Libyan operations is not without risk NATO is taking over command of operations against Libya from the United States. While Washington may be breathing a sigh of relief, there is the risk of damaging divisions opening up between alliance members. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Berlusconi finally goes to court Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has attended a legal hearing over whether he should face trial over allegations of fraud and breach of trust levelled against him in connection with his Mediatrade company. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Crisis prevention looms large at Brussels summit EU leaders agree on measures to protect the euro and improve the safety of nuclear power stations. Japan is offered preferential trade terms to help it recover from its multiple crises. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Italy's ambitions over Libya appear thwarted by lack of credibility Italy would like to act as a mediator in the Libyan conflict but analyst Raffaele Marchetti says the country has missed a window of opportunity and is considered unreliable by both Colonel Gadhafi and the rebels. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Detention of former KLA rebels sparks protest There is anger in Kosovo over the arrest of nine former rebels from the Kosovo Liberation Army by police from the European Union rule of law mission EULEX on suspicion of war crimes. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Iran is allocated special human rights rapporteur, joining Burma and North Korea The UN Human Rights Council has voted to create the new post of human rights investigator for Iran, overcoming Iran's objections by 22 votes in favor, 7 against and 14 abstentions. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Latvian buses hit by protests against austerity measures Bus companies in Latvia suspended services on a fifth of the country's bus routes in protest against cuts in government subsidies they say will destroy the public transport network. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website New Chopin letters focus on composer's final tragic years Six previously unknown letters sent to his native Poland by the 19th century composer Frederic Chopin while in exile in France are described as 'the most exciting discovery in Polish musicology for decades.' Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website EU countries monitor the air for radiation blown over from Japan People in France are especially suspicious, believing that the French establishment, with its long history of commitment to nuclear power, has a vested interest in playing down the risks. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Former Ukrainian president denies involvement in journalist's murder Ex-Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma has appeared at the general prosecutor's office in Kiev protesting that he was innocent of all charges of involvement in the murder of opposition journalist Giorgy Gongadze in 2000. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Hope for ancient city about to be sacrificed for electric power generation Treasures from 10,000 years of human civilization at the city of Hansankeyf could be lost when Turkey builds a new hydroelectric dam. But a court case is pending and there could be a last-minute reprieve. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Overwhelming parliamentary approval for Spanish military action in Libya A near unanimous vote in the Spanish parliament giving the green light for participation in enforcement of the no-fly zone over Libya provided welcome respite for the country's embattled prime minister. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Lack of investment and skills is accelerating the decline of Russia's arms industry Russia's arms industry is failing to invest in new equipment or specialists, and its products lack innovation. The Russian military are shopping for hardware abroad, which is infuriating Russian workers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Outrage over Czech military police raid rumbles on The Czech defense minister appeared before a parliamentary committee over a military police raid on Czech television premises, which rights watchdog OSCE branded as 'unacceptable in a democracy. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Japanese nuclear crisis reignites anti-nuclear protest in Germany German environmentalists staged protest rallies near aging nuclear reactors demanding that the government close them down not temporarily but permanently. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Arab League chief retracts criticism of military action against Libya Remarks by the head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa about Western-led intervention in Libya sowed confusion over the weekend which he and other officials sought to clear up at the start of a new week. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkey's Kurds join Nevroz celebrations amid government crackdown Turkey's main Kurdish party, the BDP, is accusing the Islamic-rooted ruling AK party of pursuing a crackdown against its members for political gain ahead of a June general election. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Street protests in EU-hopeful Croatia Protests in Zagreb may not be as big or as tumultuous as those that recently hit Tunis or Cairo, but Croatians are also angry with their leaders. They are complaining of economic problems and government corruption. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Japanese diaspora keeps public displays of grief in check but seeks to help Germany's Rhine region has a large Japanese expatriate community. Some Japanese are coping with the catastrophe by working extra hard so they can send more money to their loved ones back home. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Japanese head of UN nuclear watchdog in Japan With the agony of the Japanese nuclear crisis showing few signs of abating, the UN's nuclear watchdog, is finding itself under mounting scrutiny. Has it done enough to ensure Japan's nuclear reactors are safe? Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website UN agency warns of growth in terrorism financing by organized crime The UN's Office on Drugs and Crime says governments can help fight terrorism by cracking down on crime and corruption. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Italy marks 150 years of national unity In 1861 Garibaldi swept across Italy in an unlikely expedition and pulled seven different states into one country. But concerns about the present and future have dampened enthusiasm for celebrating the past. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Forced marriage to become a punishable offence in Germany Sibel refused to bow to the wishes of her Turkish parents and marry the young man they introduced her to at the age of 13. She now lives in hiding and believes her father would kill her if he could find her. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fabricated espionage charges are still troubling French carmaker After the head of Renault was forced to apologise to three senior managers, wrongfully sacked for industrial espionage, suspicions of fraud are falling on the car giant's security personnel. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fears for safety of Swiss nuclear power plants Switzerland was the first country in Europe to change its nuclear policy after the disaster in Japan, but one member of its nuclear inspectorate admits that aging Swiss reactors are unlikely to withstand an earthquake. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Investigators claim to have cracked world's biggest child pornography network Police say there is no classic profile for the tens of thousands of users of the website that was the target of their investigations, but most of them seem to be men in their 30s and 40s. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fukushima nuclear accident reawakens memories in Russia's Far East In Russia's Far East, not far from Japan, everybody remembers Chernobyl and is stocking up on dosimeters, red wine and iodine. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Turkey seeks to link controls on illegal immigration to liberalization of EU visa regime Turkey is refusing to implement an EU deal obliging it to take back illegal migrants who have crossed its territory before entering Greece. Ankara is holding out for more liberal EU visa rules for citizens. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Ice hockey team draws the crowds after quitting professional league Forced out of Germany's top professional ice hockey league, the Kassel Huskies had no alternative but to join their home state's lowest competitive league. It has given them an unexpected boost in popularity. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Japanese nuclear accident puts pressure on German Christian Democrats Chancellor Merkel has quickly put on ice a plan to extend the lifespan of German nuclear power stations, fearing an electoral disaster at a key state election in less than two weeks time. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website French Muslims angry over debate about Islam President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP party is organising a debate about Islam and its place in French society. Critics accuse the party of shifting to the right so it can compete better with the National Front. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Fukushima nuclear accident forces reappraisal of safety in Europe The European Union is coming under pressure to review its nuclear safety and implement stress tests on European nuclear reactors. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website EU leaders mull over what action to take against Libyan regime European Union leaders meeting at a crisis summit in Brussels have agreed to examine all necessary options to protect the civilian population from the fighting in Libya. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Judges consider Taylor verdict The trial of Liberian ex-president Charles Taylor on charges that he armed Sierra Leone rebels in exchange for blood diamonds has closed while the judges consider their verdict. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Minister's disgrace could help expand students' powers of expression The plagiarism scandal that cost German Defense Minister Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg his academic title and his job is still making ripples – German universities are waking up to the need for tuition in writing. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website ICRC says Libya now engaged in civil war The International Committee of the Red Cross is appealing for access to all areas of the conflict in Libya and calling on both sides not to target civilians. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Poles divided over account of Polish role in the Holocaust A new book describing how some Poles profited financially from the Holocaust is causing controversy in Poland. Critics say it is 'drivel', others note it is revealing little-known facts about Nazi-occupied Poland. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Protest in Italy over abrupt cancellation of solar energy incentives The Italian government is ending financial incentives for Italians to install solar panels on their roofs, triggering a mass protest by solar energy operators. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Spanish Christians embrace new technology in a bid to boost religious observance Spain's Catholic Church is using mp3 files and the Internet to reach out to young people in a country where church attendance is in steady decline. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Tunisians say legacy of corruption not being addressed quickly enough Tunisia's anti-corruption commission was set up after the toppling of Ben Ali to remedy injustices committed under the old regime. But many feel past wrongs are not being rectified fast enough. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website NATO and EU leaders to discuss Libya in Brussels NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the alliance has no intention to intervene in Libya, but it must conduct prudent planning for any eventuality. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Spooky carnival procession at four in the morning lures visitors The Binche Carnival is a colorful feast of medieval mysticism in a most unlikely setting, a grimy industrial town in Wallonia. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website International Women's Day draws attention to gender equality issues A Norwegian law enforcing a quota of 40 percent women on company boards was introduced by a conservative male who promoted it as a sound business practice rather than an exercise in feminism. Listen | Listen in your iPhone |