Poland’s top court has rejected the principle of the primacy of EU law over national legislation in certain judicial matters, in a major challenge to the EU’s legal framework. The Constitutional Tribunal said some EU treaty articles were incompatible with Poland’s constitution. It ruled that the Polish constitution took precedence over EU law. Polish judges, […]
German federal election 2021 Ten days after Germany’s centre-left Social Democrats won parliamentary elections, the Greens and pro-business liberals have agreed to start exploratory coalition talks with them. Thursday’s talks with the “kingmakers” mean centre-left leader Olaf Scholz is a step closer to the job of chancellor. It is a blow to the conservatives’ […]
Some 216,000 children – mostly boys – have been sexually abused by clergy in the French Catholic Church since 1950, a damning new inquiry has found. The head of the inquiry said there were at least 2,900-3,200 abusers, and accused the Church of showing a “cruel indifference towards the victims”. Pope Francis “felt pain” on […]
Thousands of paedophiles have operated within the French Catholic Church since 1950, the head of a panel investigating abuses by church members says. Jean-Marc Sauvé told French media that the commission had found evidence of 2,900 to 3,200 abusers – out of a total of 115,000 priests and other clerics. “That is a minimal estimate,” […]
A Lithuanian man has had more than a kilogram of nails, screws, nuts and knives removed from his stomach by doctors, local media report. He had been swallowing metal objects for a month after quitting alcohol, doctors said. Some of the objects retrieved during a surgery in Klaipeda University Hospital were 10cm (4in) long, according […]
By Hugh Schofield BBC News, Paris November 2015 Paris attacks The personal stories of people caught in the November 2015 attacks are now at the heart of the jihadist trial that began in Paris three weeks ago. For the next five weeks around 350 survivors and relatives of the dead are scheduled to give their […]
Belarusian presidential election 2020 Eighty-seven people have been arrested in Belarus for commenting on social media about a shoot-out that claimed two lives, a human rights group says. It is the latest crackdown by Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko, since he claimed victory in discredited elections over a year ago. An IT worker and a […]
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to a year in prison for illegally funding his unsuccessful 2012 re-election campaign. The 66-year-old was found guilty in a Paris court of spending tens of millions of euros more on his campaign than was permitted under the law. He will not be jailed, however, and can […]
Lava from an erupting volcano on Spain’s La Palma island has reached the Atlantic Ocean, raising fears of toxic gases being released and explosions. Clouds of white steam were seen rising as a red-hot current made contact with the water in the Playa Nueva area. This could trigger a chemical reaction, involving chlorine, which can […]
Dutch police have arrested a politician in the Hague on suspicion of involvement in a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Mark Rutte. The prime minister’s security service said Arnoud van Doorn, the leader of The Hague Unity Party, was arrested on Sunday. He “displayed suspicious behaviour” as he walked through the same area of the […]
