EU member states could soon be charged hundreds of millions of euros for denying asylum to refugees if the European Commission has its way. The scheme is considered one of the most contentious parts of the revision to the so-called Dublin asylum regulation, which allows northern EU countries to deport refugees to their port of first entry. [...]

At least 64 percent of French people believe that asylum seekers arriving in increasing numbers from North Africa and the Middle East are a “major source of crime,” a recent poll shows. The survey was conducted by international polling and market research company Ifop for the Russian Sputnik news agency. [...]

More than 1,000 world leaders, celebrities, and other societal figures have signed a letter calling for an end to the "disastrous" drug war ahead of an upcoming United Nations summit to discuss the organization's nearly two-decade-long campaign against narcotics." Humankind cannot afford a 21st century drug policy as ineffective and counterproductive as the last century's," reads the letter, or [...]

The Austrian government is about to enforce a tougher asylum law. According to it, the government will be entitled to declare a state of emergency. If this happens, no refugee would be able to apply for asylum in Austria any longer. The opposition and other critics speak of a “de facto abolition of the right to asylum”. [...]

The majority of Germans believe that EU-Turkey deal is a bad idea and will not work properly, according to a recent poll. Most also don’t tend to see Ankara as a trusted partner, let alone a potential member in the union. Under a plan agreed in Brussels earlier in March, all migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey would be returned. [...]

French authorities plan to provide foreign prostitutes with six month residence permits in a bid to help them escape the sex trade, according to media reports. Foreign prostitutes in France will be offered six month residence permits if they agree to participate in "the exit program," something that is thought will help sex workers escape the trade, media reports said. [...]

The Paris and Brussels attacks are blowback from what Islamic State terrorists see as betrayal by Western benefactors who thought using jihadists could bring “regime change” in Syria, says Pakistani analyst Nauman Sadiq. France under President Nicolas Sarkozy played a lead role in fomenting the insurgency against the Gaddafi regime in Libya in 2011, and Sarkozy’s successor, Francois Holla [...]

More and more men are giving up on marriage, as Kit Daniels reveals. Men are now finding marriage undesirable and are marrying later in life, if at all. A Catholic pastor recently revealed he's only performing five marriages a year, down from 35 over 25 years ago. Here's why. Why Men Are Giving Up On Marriage  Why Are Men Frightened of Marriage? Dr Helen Smith Explains Why Men Need [...]

A new draft law proposed by German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere makes taking German lessons and otherwise integrating into society a mandatory requirement for refugees seeking to stay in Germany for the long term. Germans are clearly not happy with their government's hospitable policy toward the refugees that continue to flee to Europe predominantly from war-torn Middle East and poor Af [...]

Libya's late leader Muammar Gaddafi and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned that terrorism would be on the rise in Europe if Western leaders help to destabilize the two countries, but no one listened. As a result, Libya and Syria have been plunged into chaos and now Europe has to grapple with a string of gruesome terrorist attacks. [...]

Environmental and consumer advocacy groups hailed decision by food manufacturer and called on Congress to follow suit. General Mills will start labeling genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in all its food products, thanks to Vermont's impending GMO law and the failure of the 'voluntary labeling' law in U.S. Congress this week. [...]

In the context of the current refugee crisis, leaders of the European Union reached an agreement on the deal with Turkey. The package of measures agreed on Friday morning is now awaiting approval by the Turkish government, German newspaper Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten (DWN) reported, referring to Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel. [...]

The US Justice Department cautioned local courts that it is unconstitutional to jail someone for not paying fines without determining whether they are able to pay, and warned against using court fees to generate revenue for cities. The warnings came as part of an effort to reform court practices that “perpetuate poverty and result in unnecessary deprivations of liberty,” the Justice Depar [...]

Stability used to define Germany's political system. But the refugee crisis has fundamentally changed the country's party landscape. The rise of the fringe has eroded the traditional centers of power. Seven or eight months ago, Germany was a different country than it is today. [...]

A four-year-old Asian boy who mispronounced “cucumber” as “cooker bomb” was recommended for a de-radicalisation programme by staff at a UK nursery, the boy’s family has said. According to the child’s mother, who has not been named, workers at the [...]

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden’s Russian lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, whose novel Time of the Octopus provided the basis for the upcoming movie “Snowden” shot by Oliver Stone, spoke to RT about the unexpected challenges filmmakers encountered in the US. Simply called Snowden, the biographical thriller directed by Oliver Stone tells the story of the US National Security Agency whistleblow [...]

Patients in need of a kidney transplant have up to now been required to find a nearly-perfect match as the immune system tends to reject most transplanted organs. However, a recent study suggests that with a new approach transplants can come from any donor. The study showed that patients whose immune system was technically incompatible with the kidney transplant they received were more likely t [...]

Getting a good night's sleep may not actually be very good for you after all. A new study has found that people who sleep more than eight hours or less than four hours a night face a higher risk of dying from heart disease. Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology collected information from 400,000 Taiwanese adults, [...]

Mercedes-Benz has congratulated BMW on their centenary with a friendly advertisement and a less benevolent hint. BMW received a “Happy 100th birthday!” message from its long-time domestic rival Mercedes-Benz in a cool little video posted on Facebook. /* */ The video’s opening showed the signature BMW grille, but in the next five seconds it became clear how [...]

Rejoice, coffee-lovers! Drinking six cups of your favorite fluid each day could cut the risk of developing multiple sclerosis by 30 percent, a new study suggests. Scientists have been saying for some time now that they’re finding more evidence of coffee being good for health. [...]

According to latest research conducted by Russian state-owned agency VTSIOM the share of Russians who express willingness to vote for Putin in the nearest presidential polls is the largest in four years. “Seventy-four percent of Russian citizens say that they are ready to vote for Vladimir Putin at the nearest presidential elections, due in the beginning of 2018. [...]

Pope Francis has urged the people of Latin America to stand up to the world's capitalist system and change the world economic order by creating a “truly communitarian economy” based on distribution of goods among all. [...]