Europe

    When a house used to shelter refugees was burned down in an arson attack last week, there seemed to be no doubt about the motives behind it. Someone had sprayed a swastika on one of the house's walls, which made investigators believe that they were dealing with right wing extremism. Local politicians in the city of Bingen were shocked and immediately set up a pro-refugee march to advocate for tolerance. That was before a Syrian refugee — an inhabitant of the house — reportedly confessed to the crime. According to police, the 26-year-old had lived in the house for more than half a year and wanted to express his dissatisfaction with the accommodations, which he described as cramped. He has since been jailed, as investigators search for explanations and evidence. A similar sc...

    The Children's Commissioner for England has called on authorities in France to speed up processing scores of lone child asylum seekers who may be eligible to come to the UK. Anne Longfield has written to the French government asking for urgent action to be taken in relation to an estimated 150 unaccompanied minors in a refugee camp in Calais. Under European regulations known as Dublin III, child asylum seekers can have their claims transferred to another EU country if they have relatives there. However, the system has come under fire amid claims the process can take several months. Charities have identified children as young as ten who have fled war and fighting in countries such as Syria as potentially eligible to travel to the UK under the agreement, according to the com...

    Edward Snowden has called on the British people to rise up and demand that David Cameron resign. The fugitive whistleblower urged voters to attend a protest outside Downing Street to force the Prime Minister from office. In a series of tweets, Mr Snowden , said the next 24 hours "could change Britain. He suggested the outrage at Mr Cameron's admission that he trousered thousands in profits from his father's offshore fund could spark the same kind of protests that yesterday forced Icelandic PM Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson to quit. An estimated 10% of Icelandic voters took to the streets on Tuesday night, furious at the revelation that Mr Gunnlaugsson had hidden millions in an offshore fund. Mr Snowden tweeted: It's up to the British people, not us. In Iceland, 10% of all vo...

    One of the jihadists who blew themselves up in Islamic State attacks in Brussels on March 22 briefly worked as a cleaner at the European Parliament several years ago, the EU body said Wednesday. "He held a summer holiday job cleaning at the Parliament for one month in 2009 and one month in 2010. Those were the only instances he worked at the Parliament," it said in a statement. It did not name the individual, but a source close to the inquiry told AFP it was Najim Laachraoui. Laachraoui and fellow suicide bomber Ibrahim El Bakraoui blew themselves up at Brussels airport in coordinated attacks two weeks ago that also struck a Brussels metro station and killed a total of 32 people. Laachraoui is also suspected of being the bomb-maker for the Paris terror assaults last Novemb...

    Air France said it would allow female cabin crew and pilots to opt out of flying routes to Tehran after some staff said they did not want to be forced to cover their hair when in Iran. Air France, part of the Franco-Dutch group Air France-KLM, is preparing to restart flights to Tehran from April 17 after an eight-year hiatus due to sanctions. After a meeting between Air France management and unions on Monday, the French carrier said it would offer female staff the choice of opting out of the flights. Under Iranian law, women must cover their hair in public places. Unions had raised concerns over an Air France ruling obliging female crew to wear a headscarf on leaving a plane. The debate on the wearing of headscarves and other religious symbols in public is particularly hea...

    The largest ever leak of documents has revealed how an offshore law firm has helped its clients to hide their money in tax havens. Dubbed the Panama Papers, the 11 million confidential documents from Mossack Fonseca show how the Panama-based firm has used shell companies to benefit the world’s rich and powerful. Some clients have laundered money, dodged sanctions and evaded tax. The files show links to 72 current or former heads of state, including secret offshore companies linked to family and associates of Egypt’s former president, Hosni Mubarak, Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad, and Libya’s ex-leader Muammar Gaddafi. Two close allies of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, are linked to an alleged money-laundering ring. At least $1bn (£700m) is thought to have been ch...

    Greek authorities are gearing up to send hundreds of failed asylum-seekers back to Turkey, which is racing to set up reception centres under a controversial EU deal. Some 750 migrants are set to be sent back between Monday and Wednesday, Greek state news agency ANA said, the first wave of deportations under the much-criticised agreement struck last month. All irregular migrants now face being sent back from the Greek islands to Turkey, as Europe grapples with its worst migration crisis since World War II. Greece has been struggling to get the infrastructure in place under its side of the deal, which has been met with scepticism by EU members like Austria, while the United Nations argues it is illegal. "Planning is in progress," Yiorgos Kyritsis, spokesman for Greece's refu...

    Air stewardess poses with Seif Eddin Mustafa A new picture has emerged of an air stewardess posing with the Egyptian plane hijacker, as the mother of a British hostage also photographed with the man wearing a "suicide vest" branded her son's actions "stupid". Pauline Innes scolded her son Ben as he arrived back in the UK less than 48 hours after the image emerged of him stood grinning next to a man who claimed to have smuggled a bomb belt on board. The health and safety auditor from Leeds was one of 72 passengers and crew taken hostage by Seif Eddin Mustafa soon after their EgyptAir flight took off from Alexandria on Tuesday. As 26-year-old Mr Innes was collected by his mother from Manchester Airport late on Wednesday, she said "I don't know why you did it," according to T...

    A grinning British hostage who posed for a photograph with the EgyptAir hijacker has been described as the latest victim of “narcissistic” social media culture. Ben Innes, 26, spoke on Tuesday night about his motives for walking up to the front of the hijacked plane after it landed in Cyprus and asking for a photo with the apparent suicide bomber, admitting he’s “not sure why I did it”. The photo had begun circulating on social media before the hostage situation was over, suggesting Mr Innes began sharing it before he was even off the plane. The alleged hijacker, Seif Eldin Mustafa, has since appeared in court in Cyprus (Picture: [copyright]) And the image, in which the hijacker’s fake bomb vest is clearly visible, has sparked a mix of reactions ranging from amusement to c...

    A German train operator has announced it is introducing women and children-only train carriages amid fears over sex attacks in the country. The Regiobahn line between Leipzig and Chemnitz will introduce the carriages to increase security for women. The carriages will be next to the train conductor in a bid to make women feel more safe. A spokesman for the railway said: “The local proximity to the customer service representative is chosen deliberately.” Germany is still reeling from a a string of sex attacks in Cologne on New Year's Eve, allegedly carried out by dozens of migrants. In total more than 800 complaints were made to police and the incidents have sparked criticism over German Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to refuse to limit the number of refugees allowed in...