Italian author Fausto Biefini Olevano, known for his recent book on Imam Moussa al-Sadr's disappearance, was found dead at his place of residence in Rome.

More than one million Catholic pilgrims have attended a ceremony in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican to mark the beatification of late Pope John Paul II.

Belgium's lower house of parliament has approved a bill that would ban all clothing that covers or partially covers the face and that would prohibit Muslim women from wearing the burqa and the niqab in public.

A fire has broken out in south Switzerland, spreading over 100 hectares of woodland and endangering residential areas on the outskirts of the town of Viege.