The Russian gas monopoly halted nearly its entire export of natural gas to Europe in an escalation of a dispute with Ukraine.

An ad campaign for atheism in London is aiming to counter religious ads, one bus billboard at a time.

Before the Christmas recess, the New Democracy (ND) government pushed through parliament a revised budget estimate for 2008 and projection for 2009.

Christopher Hibbert won a wide readership with his popular approach to history and a gift for narrative.

Stretches of the border between Greece and Turkey are sown with land mines that kill migrants, but date from a conflict decades ago.

Signs are mounting that the conflict in Gaza is starting to spill over into violence in Europe's towns and cities, with assaults against Jews and arson attacks on Jewish congregations in France, Sweden and Britain.

Antwerp's Orthodox Jews have set the tone of its lively diamond market for more than a century, but global economic forces threaten their livelihoods and way of life.

The announcement by the Russian gas monopoly, which said it is trying to make up for gas stolen by Ukraine, was essentially a partial fuel embargo of Europe.

For Pope Benedict XVI, who has staked his three-year-old papacy on keeping Europe Catholic, Spain represents a last hope in an increasingly irreligious continent.

As Russia put the latest tightening twist on the gas valve to Ukraine on Monday, Europe steadfastly refused to become the arbiter in a price dispute in which both sides have weaker hands than in a similar standoff three years ago.

A policeman was seriously injured in the latest sign of surging extremism after the police shooting of a teenage boy last month.

In late December, the Ukrainian parliament passed a long-awaited package of legislation, by a one-vote margin. At the same sitting, it also passed the 2009 state budget. Under normal circumstances, the package of laws -- which significantly raises import duties on 'non-critical' items such as foreign automobiles and other consumer goods -- would have a significant impact on economic activity as well as Ukraine's balance of foreign trade. However, persistent fierce rivalries within the ruling 'coalition' will hinder virtually any efforts to coordinate and implement policy.

Top German officials on Monday began hammering out a new economic stimulus package that could be worth up to €50 billion over the next two years.

An Estonian court acquitted four ethnic Russians on Monday who were accused of organizing deadly riots in April 2007 after the authorities relocated a Soviet war grave and statue.

Ahmed Aboutaleb, a 47-year-old former journalist, has been compared to President-elect Barack Obama for breaching barriers that have long kept immigrants out of office in the Netherlands.

Authorities said at least two masked gunmen sprayed the police unit with more than 20 bullets, seriously injuring a 21-year-old officer.

In its response to recession and a series of global confrontations, Germany is giving the impression it's comfortable with a diminished hand on European and global leadership.

Gazprom, Russia's gas monopoly, said Sunday that it was raising the price it wants Ukraine to pay for natural gas, hardening its position in a dispute that has decreased supplies to Europe.

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France will leave Monday for the Middle East on a mission to try to broker a cease-fire in Gaza.

As a start, a number of European countries say they might be willing to take in prisoners from Guantánamo Bay.