Continental view - Europe
The Kremlin is widely suspected of being behind Mr Litvinenko's death
Also In The News
|
England spinner Monty Panesar will be given the chance to stake a claim for a Test place as he lines up for an England Invitational XI at Lilac Hill on Friday. |  |
Friday, 08, Dec 2006 12:01
A summary of the top news stories making the headlines in Europe in the last two weeks.
After former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko pointed the finger from beyond the grave on November 24th, a news cycle of international intrigue and espionage began which has dominated European headlines for the last fortnight.
Mr Litvinenko, who passed away on November 23rd after being poisoned with the radioactive isotope polonium-210 (po-210) on November 1st, accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of murdering him in a deathbed statement.
Since then British police have taken their investigation into Mr Litvinenko's death to Moscow, saying on December 6th that the case was being treated as a murder investigation. The Kremlin has vociferously denied any involvement in the case.
Meanwhile Yedor Gaidar, a former Russian prime minister during the Boris Yeltsin era, has claimed that he too was poisoned in a linked case.
Mr Gaidar fell ill while giving a speech in Dublin just one day after the death of Mr Litvinenko but, rather than blaming the Russian government, said that he believed radicals seeking to divide Russia from the rest of Europe further were responsible.
Meanwhile, the Pope has been making an historic visit to Turkey. His trip was met by widespread protests, especially in Istanbul, where 20,000 demonstrators rallied to show their objections to a speech he made in September.
Pope Benedict XVI began his visit on November 28th, meeting Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss Turkey's accession talks to the EU.
On November 30th he became only the second pontiff in history to visit a mosque, an occasion he used to urge Christians to erode century-old divisions.
In European politics, a scathing report drafted by MEPs condemned European governments for their complicit support of the CIA's rumoured practice of transferring suspects to secret prisons to interrogate them on November 29th.
The European parliament report accused governments of being aware that EU airspace was being used to transport the suspects. It said that EU countries including Britain were aware of the practice of extraordinary renditions, which involves a terror suspect being transported to a third location where they are interrogated and risk being tortured.
The report said that at least 1,245 secret CIA rendition flights used European airspace or even stopped at European airports.
The month in Europe
Major developments occurring in the last four weeks across the European continent include:
National mourning in Poland. Poland mourned the loss of 23 miners killed in a gas explosion, the country's worst mining disaster since 1979.
Bad news for smokers. The European court of justice ruled on November 23rd that consumers buying tobacco and alcohol from other countries online will not be allowed to get away with paying lower duties on their purchases.
The deteriorating health of Silvio Berlusconi? The former Italian prime minister fainted while giving a speech in the Tuscan town of Montecatini Alto on November 26th, but recovered shortly afterwards.