In the fourth part of his pre-election manifesto published in Kommersant daily on Monday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin touts the internet as an electronic means for making democracy more responsive to the people. The premier is running for president in next month’s election. Expressing the importance of “indispensable” democratic principles, Putin stresses at... 

It took researches 30 years of drilling through a four-kilometer-thick ice to reach the renowned subglacial lake. Most importantly, million years-old secrets will be unveiled without causing harm to the lake’s ecosystem. ­“Yesterday [on Sunday] our scientists at the Vostok polar station in the Antarctic completed drilling at depths of 3,768 meters and reached surface... 

A new international project is scheduled to be launched to assess the threat posed by asteroids or comets and look for solutions to protect Earth from an impact. The new European-led NEOShield project will calculate any threat posed by Near Earth Objects (NEO) and figure the best possible way to shield the Earth. The project initiated by the German space agency’s... 

French workers attend the rally in Paris on January 18, 2012. Thousands of people have participated in a rally in Paris, attacking French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plans for dealing with the country’s unemployment crisis, Press TV reports. As France gauges the international fallout from losing its triple-A credit rating, Sarkozy has called for the formation... 

Protesters trample a burnt European Union flag during a demonstration in front of the EU Parliament and Committee headquarters in downtown Budapest, January 14, 2012. Thousands of Hungarians have protested against the European Union, urging their country to pull out from the bloc while Budapest seeks EU’s backing to evade insolvency. People gathered in front of... 

For once, I find myself on the same side as David Cameron, the David who stands alone against the fiendish Goliath of the European Union, that all-engulfing rampaging monster which gobbles up national identities, disregarding its citizens as it makes sweeping decisions over their heads, sending the lemmings scurrying over the cliff-edge… I could not have disagreed... 

On October 23, Switzerland elected the lower chamber of the parliament – the National Council. The favorite of the election was considered the ultra-right People’s Party. It stands for the drastic restriction of immigration and is against joining the EU. Its program is best characterized by the pre-election poster: three white sheep standing on the Swiss... 

An international survey of 23 countries by Ipsos has found opposition to immigration in numerous countries across the world, with majorities often considering its effects to be negative and its scale excessive. European nations were typical of this trend. Majorities in countries as diverse as Germany, South Africa, Russia, Turkey and the United States were found to... 

Denmark fences itself off from the EU Denmark is to put the barriers back up on its borders with Germany and Sweden. The move is not going down well with EU colleagues who say it violates Europe’s much-heralded open border agreement. From Tuesday, 50 Danish customs officers will be stationed at the country’s borders to perform spot checks on vehicles. The move... 

Orban says Hungarian renewal provides model for Europe as country recaptures lost respect during EU presidency. Hungary has provided practical examples for Europe by the renewal of the country, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told parliament on Monday. Assessing the six-month Hungarian EU Presidency, Orban said Hungary had recaptured much of its lost respect over the past... 

Croatia's Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor is welcomed by EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy. Croatia has been given the conditional go-ahead to join the EU, after six years of preparations marred by slow democratic reforms in Zagreb and the EU’s reluctance to expand. The former Yugoslav state of 4.4 million people should be able to wrap up accession negotiations... 

Several nationalist and anti-immigration parties have become the most popular in their countries, topping recent opinion polls in France, Austria and Finland. France’s Front National, Austria’s Freedom Party and Finland’s True Finns have all headed voters’ surveys in recent weeks. In March, Marine Le Pen’s party received 23 per cent in a poll of voting intentions... 

While the EU forces France to accept more and more immigrants, the country has already had enough, with anti-ethnic sentiments growing every year, believes Marine Le Pen, head of the far-right party National Front. Marine follows the political line of her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the National Front, who is famous in France and all over the world for his... 

By the end of the current year, Russia is expected to finish the establishment of air and space defense troops. According to General Lieutenant Oleg Ostapenko, the commander of space troops of the Russian Federation, the concept for establishing air and space defense troops has been approved. The decision about the new type of troops was made by President Medvedev in... 

Large numbers of north African migrants have been landing on Italian shores. Authorities in France temporarily blocked trains from Italy in an attempt to stop north African migrants from entering the country. Trains were stopped at the border for hours – prompting Italy to launch an official complaint with France. Services were later resumed. Italy has angered France...