The trial of a Serbian politician accused of crimes against humanity was halted Dec. 3 at the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague after he had to be hospitalized during a hunger strike. Vojislav Šešelj is accused of ordering a Serbian militia to terrorize and kill Croatian and Bosnian civilians during the conflict in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. He has been refusing food and medicine since Nov. 11.

GERMANY

German politicians announced Dec. 1 they would pursue a ban on smoking in restaurants and certain public spaces, following the lead of other European countries like France, Ireland, Italy and the United Kingdom. However, the proposal stopped short of banning smoking in bars and pubs.

RUSSIA

The Russian foreign minister warned Dec. 4 that diplomatic relations could be damaged should the United Kingdom further suggest Moscow is responsible for the radiation poisoning of a man in London. Alexandr Litvinenko, a former Russian spy, died in a British hospital Nov. 23. He alleged the Russian government was behind the poisoning.

ITALY

Tens of thousands protested in Rome Dec. 2 against a series of tax hikes and spending cuts proposed by Italy's center-left government. The center-right opposition, led by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, says the measures are an attack on the middle class. The ruling government says the tax hikes are needed to reduce Italy's deficit.

SPAIN

Police in the eastern region of Valencia have arrested a Chechen terrorist suspect wanted on an international arrest warrant issued by Russia, media reports said Dec. 3. Murat Ajmedovich Gasayev is suspected of involvement in multiple attacks "committed on the territory of the Russian Federation," a press release from the Russian Prosecutor General's office indicated.

FRANCE

The former French ambassador to Bulgaria accused of being involved in the trans-European sex trade appeared for the first time in a French court Dec. 4, media reports said. Dominique Chassard is accused of helping to procure French business visas for Bulgarian prostitutes. He served as ambassador in Sofia 1999—2001.

DENMARK

Three Danish journalists were acquitted Dec. 4 of charges of endangering national security after they published reports from the Danish Defense Intelligence Service (DDIS) in 2004. The reports showed the DDIS knew Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The DDIS said the leak undermined its relationship with intelligence services abroad, but the journalists argued the publication was in the public interest.

POLAND

Historians have discovered the wreckage of an Allied World War II bomber shot down while dropping supplies to the Polish resistance during the 1944 Warsaw uprising, media reports said Dec. 2. The remains of its crew, five Canadians and two Britons, were discovered buried with the wreckage, which was found near the southern Polish town of Dí browa Tarnowska.

ROMANIA

The Conservative Party pulled out of Bucharest's coalition government Dec. 3 over a dispute on tax cuts with the leading Democratic Party, leaving a minority government in power as Romania prepares to join the European Union in January. The economic minister and deputy prime minister also resigned. The governing coalition now has less than half of the seats in the Senate.

UKRAINE