A new twist in gang violence at a school in Parisian suburbs. A secondary school headmaster at Garges-lès-Gonesse was molested by a dozen youths who had burst into his school to beat up a pupil. Our Observers in the school say the violence stems from ordinary rivalry between different council estates. Read more ...

A DVD that teaches students how to act in the event of a shooting is causing quite a stir in the US. Released in late June, the program is already being shown in more than 500 universities. Read more...

Material collected by our Russian/former-USSR reporter, Maria Antonova

Classes on the fundamentals of Orthodox culture have been introduced in the schools and universities of several Russian regions. They have become an important part of the curriculum- they are mandatory and graded. Representatives of the Orthodox church recognise that during the Soviet period, atheism and materialism led the population away from the Orthodox culture. Now, parts of Russia are using the religion as a means of reinforcing a national identity. However, Russia is a secular country, where at least one quarter of the population is not Orthodox Christian.