Smash hit

Piracy is costing shipowners millions in insurance

The cost of insuring container ships to travel through high-risk routes has risen fivefold in the past year

Inside the EU’s anti-piracy bunker

From a basement in Northwood, Middlesex, a joint task force is tackling pirates in the world’s most dangerous waters

Amanda Knox 'just a wide-eyed innocent'

Lawyer tells last days of the Meredith Kercher murder trial that his client is no maneater, just a fragile and weak girl

Medvedev's plan to bury legacy of Cold War

Russian proposals for a common security umbrella will be seen as an attempt to restore its dominance over neighbours

John Demjanjuk wheeled into German courtroom

Nazi war crimes trial begins of man accused of helping to kill 27,000 Jews at Nazi death camp of Sobibor

Europe unites to deplore Swiss ban on minarets

The Swiss Government opposed the poll but conservative leaders hailed it as a triumph of the people against the elite

UKIP outrage at planned deal with Tories

The emergence of UKIP plans not to stand at the general election in a deal with the Tories has led to talk of resignations

Swiss voters back right-wing minaret ban

Fifty seven per cent of voters in a referendum backed the proposal reflecting an alarming hostility to a rising Muslim minority

BNP leader to attend Copenhagen summit for EU

Nick Griffin has secured a place to represent the European Parliament at the Copenhagen climate summit, it is confrimed

John Demjanjuk faces Nazi war crimes trial

The infirm 89-year-old is accused of being a guard at the Sobibor death camp when 29,579 Jews were killed in four months

Don’t give in to terror, patriarch tells Russia

Head of the Orthodox Church urges a strong will ‘for victory over terror’ after fears of a new terrorist campaign

How Josiel turns paper sculptures into notes

Frenchman sets new standards in the art of origami but claims that his art is not appreciated closer to home

Silvio Berlusconi denies links to the Mafia

The Italian leader says claims that he has Mafia links are unfounded and ridiculous, adding that he fights organised crime

Minaret ban fits pattern of populist protest

The Swiss electorate has struck a blow against freedom of association and conscience - it should be speedily overturned

Nightclub death ‘covered up to protect tourism’

Family of 17-year-old Briton found dying outside Greek nightclub claim police covered up his death to protect tourism

Murder on the Nevsky Express

At least 30 people were killed, and scores more injured, when a bomb went off in a Russian train, derailing three carriages

Women lead Swiss in vote to ban minarets

Radical feminists are boosting a right-wing campaign to outlaw minarets on mosques in a referendum being held in Switzerland today

Oligarchs hire peers to boost their prestige

Kirill Babayev has revealed how 'grey-headed' British peers can be paid to boost a firm’s image even if they do little significant work