France: damaged but still standing
19 Apr 2019
otre Dame suffered desecration during the 1789 French Revolution and was restored by 1804, when it was the venue for Napoleon’s coronation as emperor of France. A restoration project between 1844 and 1864 added the cathedral's…
EU: Macron and US animosity
19 Apr 2019
Emmanuel Macron is launching a bid to block EU/US trade talks because of Donald Trump’s refusal to sign up to the Paris climate agreement. Trump enraged Brussels when he described the EU as ‘brutal trading partners’…
Trump calls EU brutal
11 Apr 2019
The US president called Brussels ‘a brutal trading partner’ and criticised the EU's tough treatment of Britain after it gave the UK a further extension at the special Brexit summit. He finished his critique on a…
Romania: Christianity v witchcraft
11 Apr 2019
Parts of Romania are hotbeds of the occult and witchcraft, as well as home to large groups of unreached Roma gypsies and Romanians. Witchcraft is a respected (and feared) profession: even the president is known to…
Poland: Harry Potter books burnt
04 Apr 2019
Priests at a Catholic parish in northern Poland have burnt books, including the Harry Potter series, and other items that their owners said had evil forces. Images from the burning at Gdansk’s Mother of Church parish…
Malta: archbishop’s warning to new president
04 Apr 2019
Archbishop Charles Scicluna delivered the message at the mass on George Vella’s swearing-in as Malta’s tenth president. Scicluna made the point that ‘the economic prosperity of a country is on solid foundations when its leaders embrace…