Europe and Australia

Should Germany ban the burqa?

Photo: DPA Opponents of such a ban here say it would heavily infringe on personal, cultural and religious freedoms and only serve to inflame tensions. Advocates insist the burqa has no place in progressive, pluralistic German society. In Frankfurt am Main, a city of 700,000 residents, including a large Muslim […]

Queen’s horse Estimate fails drugs test

Source: CNN (CNN) — Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II cheered Estimate on to success at the Gold Cup in 2013 but now her her five-year old filly is in the dock. Buckingham Palace confirmed to CNN Tuesday Estimate had tested positive for banned substance morphine. The Monarch was present at Ascot […]

Putin miscalculated in Ukraine

Source: Stratfor: Ultimately, politicians who miscalculate and mismanage tend not to survive. Putin miscalculated in Ukraine, failing to anticipate the fall of an ally, failing to respond effectively and then stumbling badly in trying to recoup. His management of the economy has not been exemplary of late either, to say […]

Flight 17 Burial Delays Frustrate Families

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—As the bodies of those killed on Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 decompose, some stricken families of those on board look set to suffer more frustration if religious burial rites are passed over. Islam typically has strict requirements for burial of the deceased. Rites include bathing corpses, dressing them in white […]

Croatia Exempts Church From Financial Checks

Source: Balkan Insight: Croatia’s government has given a green light to a new law on the financial reporting of non-profit organizations, which omits the country’s powerful Catholic Church from checks. The draft Law on Financial Transactions and Accountancy of Non-profit Organisations introduces stricter regulations and monitoring for the financial transactions […]