The Most Serene Republic of San Marino (Italian: Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino) is one of the smallest nations in the world. Located in southern Europe, it is an enclave surrounded by Italy, and is one of the European microstates. San Marino is the oldest constitutional republic in the world still in existence today.http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/sanmarino.html It was founded in A.D. 301 by Marinus from Rab, a Christian stonemason fleeing the religious persecution of Roman Emperor Diocletian.

History

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According to legend, Marino left the island of Rab with his lifelong friend Leo and went to the town of Rimini as a stone worker. After persecution because of his Christian sermons, he escaped to the nearby Mt. Titano, where he built a small church and thus founded what is now the city and the state of San Marino. The official date of foundation of the Republic is 3 September AD 301.

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BBC News | Europe | World Edition

France denounces genocide claims
Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:06:33 -0000
France accuses Rwanda of "unacceptable accusations" after a report says it was actively involved in the 1994 genocide.
Solzhenitsyn is buried in Moscow
Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:38:32 -0000
The body of Russian writer and dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn, chronicler of Soviet brutality, is laid to rest.
Teacher finds new cosmic object
Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:23:28 -0000
A new class of cosmic object has been found by a 25-year-old Dutch schoolteacher through an online astronomy project.

NYT > Europe

Britain Debates Army’s Delay at Basra
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:32:21 -0000
A political controversy has erupted in London over Britain’s failure to deploy troops to help save a faltering Iraqi Army offensive against Shiite militias earlier this year.
French Role in Genocide Denied
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:13:22 -0000
France dismissed as unacceptable a Rwandan report that accused 13 senior French politicians of involvement in the 1994 genocide that killed as many as 800,000 people.
Italian Premier Briefs Media With More Background Coverage
Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:03:29 -0000
An 18th-century allegorical figure in a painting that serves as a backdrop for government news conferences was recently retouched to cover a body part.

L.A. Times - Europe

Basque separatist freed from prison after 21 years
Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
A notorious and unrepentant Basque separatist convicted of killing 25 people -- including a dozen policemen in a Madrid car bombing -- walked out of a Spanish prison a free man today after 21 years behind bars.
France's August traffic jam
Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
More than 430 miles of highway are backed up during the first weekend of the month as the annual summer vacation exodus kicks off, conjuring apocalyptic visions. Frederic Arnold never met Julio Cortazar, but they would have appreciated each other's work.
Movie 'Bottle Shock' recounts the historic 1976 Paris wine-tasting contest
Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
A film based on the historic event that put California wine on the map -- starring Alan Rickman and Bill Pullman -- opens in Southern California. "Bottle Shock," a new independent film based, very loosely, on the famous 1976 blind tasting in Paris in which two California wines came out on top, much to the chagrin of the expert -- and very French -- wine tasters, opens today at theaters across the Southland.

UN News Centre - Europe

Belgium joins treaty on international sale of goods - UN commission
Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Belgium has become the 28th country to accede to a treaty covering the transnational sale of goods, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) announced today.
Montenegro: UN agency helps refugees escape statelessness
Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The United Nations refugee agency is helping thousands of refugees who fled to Montenegro from Kosovo to get legal representation.
German appointed as judge on UN war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia
Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Christoph Flügge has been appointed to serve on the United Nations war crimes tribunal dealing with the worst offences committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s after the Security Council indicated its support for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's intention to select the German jurist.

Europe - International Herald Tribune

Two major European banks post better-than-expected profit
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:56:30 -0000
The profit reported by BNP Paribas and Commerzbank for the second quarter is a further sign European banks are weathering the subprime crisis that hit a year ago.
EU investment rules criticized by countries
Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:18:16 -0000
Germany, France and at least 11 other countries have criticized a European Union plan to restrict banks' investments in risk-sharing instruments, creating doubt that the initiative can win approval.
France rejects Rwanda's charge of links to '94 genocide
By KATRIN BENNHOLD Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:56:30 -0000
The French Foreign Ministry dismissed the report by a Rwandan commission which accused former President François Mitterrand and other leading French politicians of involvement in the killing of up to 800,000 people.
German Social Democrats in trouble
By JUDY DEMPSEY Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:56:30 -0000
The leader of one of Europe's oldest and biggest left-wing parties, Kurt Beck, has no idea how to dent Chancellor Angela Merkel's extraordinary popularity, and the party's membership is in free fall.
German city wonders how green is too green
By NICHOLAS KULISH Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:56:30 -0000
A German town's decision to require solar-heating panels has thrown it into a vehement debate over the boundaries of ecological good citizenship.
Russian gang suspected of hijacking computers for personal data
By JOHN MARKOFF Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:56:30 -0000
The new method indicates that little progress has been made in ending the threat of networks of infected computers that criminals use to send spam, steal passwords and do other damage.

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