Europe is one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europe's borders. Physically and geologically, Europe is a subcontinent or large peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia and west of Asia.

Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea, and–according to the traditional geographic definition–to the southeast by the waterways adjoining the Mediterranean to and including the Black Sea, and the Caucasus Mountains (in Caucasia). Europe's eastern frontier is vague, but has traditionally been given as the divide of the Ural Mountains and the Caspian Sea to the southeast. The Urals are considered by most to be a geographical and tectonic landmark separating Asia from Europe.

Europe is the world's second-smallest continent in terms of area, covering about 10,390,000 square kilometres (4,010,000 sq mi) or 2.0% of the Earth's surface. The only continent smaller is Australia. In terms of population, it is the third-largest continent (Asia and Africa are larger) with a population of more than 710,000,000, or about 11% of the world's population.

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BBC News | Europe | World Edition

Italian police swoop on migrants
Thu, 15 May 2008 13:36:02 -0000
Italian police arrest hundreds of suspected illegal immigrants in raids across the country.
Spain officials mourn bomb victim
Thu, 15 May 2008 16:45:52 -0000
Spanish ministers and royalty attend the funeral of a civil guard killed in a car bombing blamed on Basque separatists.
Group jailed for Moscow bombing
Thu, 15 May 2008 17:22:26 -0000
A Moscow court jails eight men for a bomb attack on a market that killed 14 people in 2006.

NYT > Europe

Italy Arrests Hundreds of Immigrants
Fri, 16 May 2008 04:41:04 -0000
The widely publicized raids were a strong signal from Italy’s new right-wing government, led by Silvio Berlusconi, that it will pursue tougher policies toward immigrants.
Strikers in France Challenge Sarkozy’s Plan to Reduce Jobs in the Public Sector
Fri, 16 May 2008 04:14:35 -0000
The strike was another test of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s resolve in his efforts to cut down France’s large civil service to reduce budget deficits.
Bernardin Gantin, Cardinal, 86, Is Dead
Fri, 16 May 2008 04:19:54 -0000
Cardinal Gantin, the son of a railway worker, worked closely with Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.

L.A. Times - Europe

1,200 people to have canceled healthcare coverage restored
Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700
The action comes after Kaiser Permanente and Health Net reach an agreement with a state agency. Two of the state's largest health plans agreed Thursday to reinstate coverage to nearly 1,200 patients whose policies were dropped after they incurred high medical expenses.
Robert Redford's green streak runs deep
Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700
At Ron Burkle's mansion, the actor regales officials from Pitzer College, a leader in environmentally proactive planning, of his own early interest in ecology, as it was known then. ON A BALMY evening this week, the crowd at billionaire Ron Burkle's Beverly Hills estate was a mixture of high-level academia and high-level Hollywood, none higher than Robert Redford , actor, director, Sundance guru and the industry's über -environmental activist.
Mexico's search for coach continues
Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700
And it could lead to Sven-Goran Eriksson, the former national coach of England and current top man of Manchester City. Can a pale 60-year-old coach from Sweden with a reputation for womanizing really be what Mexico is thinking?

UN News Centre - Europe

General Assembly recognizes right of return of displaced to Abkhazia, Georgia
Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The General Assembly today adopted a resolution in which it recognized the right of return of all refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), regardless of their ethnicity, to Abkhazia, Georgia.
Kosovo prison guard convicted by UN tribunal to serve rest of jail term in France
Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500
A former prison guard for the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who was convicted by a United Nations war crimes tribunal for the murder of nine detainees and the torture of another prisoner will now serve the rest if his 13-year jail sentence in France.
UN expert praises Spain's role on terrorism but calls for legal reforms
Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Spain has played an important role in the global fight against international terrorism by promoting human rights, but it should reform some of the ways it handles terrorism suspects domestically, according to a United Nations expert on human rights.

Europe - International Herald Tribune

Civil servants and teachers in France strike against cutbacks
By STEVEN ERLANGER Thu, 15 May 2008 21:47:43 -0000
Hundreds of thousands of French teachers and civil servants staged a one-day strike throughout the country Thursday to protest government plans to cut jobs in the public sector.
Child obesity rates level off in France
Thu, 15 May 2008 17:34:00 -0000
France is the first European Union country to report a leveling off of childhood obesity rates, suggesting that healthier diet programs and a ban on vending machines in schools were paying off, researchers said Thursday.
Italy cracks down on immigrants
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL Thu, 15 May 2008 21:47:43 -0000
The widely publicized police raids were a strong signal from Italy's new rightist government, which includes the anti-immigrant Northern League Party, that it will pursue tougher policies toward immigrants.
Medvedev tours Russian missile base
Thu, 15 May 2008 21:47:43 -0000
President Dmitri Medvedev made his debut Thursday as the commander in chief of Russia's armed forces, touring a missile base and promising to provide the necessary funding for nuclear forces to counter global threats.
German economy leads euro area to surprisingly robust quarter
By CARTER DOUGHERTY Thu, 15 May 2008 21:47:43 -0000
Germany posted 1.5 percent growth in the first quarter, appearing to validate the path taken by the European Central Bank not to cut interest rates.
Italian 'rendition' trial begins with torture testimony
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL Thu, 15 May 2008 21:47:43 -0000
A judge ruled that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi could be called to testify about the abduction of a radical Muslim cleric in Milan in 2003.

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