Europe

Villepin faces retrial over Sarkozy 'smear'

Saturday, 30 January 2010

The Paris public prosecutor was accused of "persecution" and "political bias" yesterday after he appealed against the acquittal of former prime minister Dominique de Villepin on charges of smearing President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Prosecutor accused of bias after Villepin cleared

Friday, 29 January 2010

John Lichfield: France faces a 'Trial of the Century II'

Villepin cleared of smearing Sarkozy – now he wants his job

Friday, 29 January 2010

Court victory for former French prime minister accused of trying to derail President's rise to power

Feuding symbols of old and new France in court of King Jacques

Friday, 29 January 2010

Nicolas Sarkozy and Dominique de Villepin were once, supposedly, brothers in arms at the court of King Jacques.

From method acting to madness

Friday, 29 January 2010

It was intended as a highbrow theatrical rendition of a Soviet-era poem, but the actors staging it at Frankfurt's prestigious Schauspielhaus took the programme notes – "a crazy depiction of one of the most famous alcoholic benders in world literature" – a little too literally. The performance ended with seriously inebriated actors falling off the stage, and one actor going berserk in an ambulance that was summoned by backstage staff.

EU judges ponder peep show puzzle

Thursday, 28 January 2010

The owner of a Belgian sex shop today posed a puzzler for European judges - does a coin-in-the-slot peep show count as a cinema?

Listen up, Auschwitz survivor is hip-hop MC

Thursday, 28 January 2010

Octogenarian teams up with German band to fight modern-day racism

King Eric flat on his back as stage debut dribbles away (Rated 3/ 5 )

Wednesday, 27 January 2010

John Lichfield: Watching him in a play was rather like watching Gérard Depardieu playing football

Belgium apartment building collapses after blast

Wednesday, 27 January 2010

At least two people were trapped under the rubble

Inquiry condemns burka as 'un-French'

Wednesday, 27 January 2010

Sarkozy calls for wearing of full-body veils to be banned in 'official' public places

Duralex – the glass tumbler that would not be broken

Wednesday, 27 January 2010

John Lichfield: A French design classic has been saved from extinction by new investors who are determined to have the famous brand name on everyone's lips once again.

El Bulli restaurant set to close for two years

Wednesday, 27 January 2010

Chef Ferran Adria dishes up disappointment for fans of world's best restaurant

Joy of sex: an ancient guide

Wednesday, 27 January 2010

Erotic artefacts on show at Athens exhibition still inspire passion

Pope John Paul II 'whipped himself as penitence'

Wednesday, 27 January 2010

Pope John Paul II whipped himself with a belt and slept on the floor as acts of penitence and to bring him closer to Christian perfection, according to a new book.

Polish beekeeper saved by pulse before coffin sealed

Tuesday, 26 January 2010

A Polish beekeeper passed out after being stung and woke up inside a coffin.

German politics set for shake-up as cancer forces Red Oskar to quit

Tuesday, 26 January 2010

He has been called "the most dangerous man in Europe", but "Red" Oskar Lafontaine, veteran leader of The Left party in German, has announced plans to step down. And whatever risk he may have posed in the past, there is little doubt that his departure will reshape German politics – and pose a significant new risk to Chancellor Angela Merkel's right-wing government.

Airline passenger tries to force his way in to cockpit

Tuesday, 26 January 2010

A passenger tried to force his way into the cockpit on board a plane flying to the Canary Islands today.

The Big Question: What's the truth behind the fate that befell the prisoners of Stalag Luft III?

Tuesday, 26 January 2010

Cantona launches stage career as a man facing death

Monday, 25 January 2010

The former Manchester United footballer will make his first live performance off the Champs Elyseés

Iceland willing to talk over £3bn Icesave debt

Monday, 25 January 2010

Iceland has approached several governments about the possibility of mediating talks on the more than $5bn (£3.2bn) it owes Britain and the Netherlands after the island's banking crisis, Icelandic media reported yesterday.

Sinn Fein leaders meet over power-sharing deadlock

Saturday, 23 January 2010

The future of Northern Ireland's power-sharing government could hinge on a meeting today of Sinn Fein leaders who accuse unionists of blocking a deal on the devolution of policing and justice powers.

Home cooking has come off the boil in France, says Ducasse

Saturday, 23 January 2010

Chef believes working women are failing to pass on their skills to daughters

Polanski's wife blames assault on 'crazy' 1970s

Saturday, 23 January 2010

LA judge to decide whether Polish-born film director can be sentenced in absentia

Witchcraft beat me, says Romanian politician

Saturday, 23 January 2010

Was a top contender for the Romanian presidency zapped out of the race by a shadowy parapsychologist enlisted by his rival? The claim might be dismissed as preposterous in most other EU countries. But here, in the homeland of Dracula, Mircea Geoana's assertion that a "negative energy attack" led to his narrow loss to re-elected President Traian Basescu has been the talk of the nation.

Policemen deny 'murder' that sparked riots

Saturday, 23 January 2010

Athens Two policemen pleaded not guilty yesterday on charges of fatally shooting a teenager in an incident that provoked nationwide riots in Greece in December 2008.