Reporting from London, United Kingdom – Belgium is one of the least religious countries in the world, according to a study by the Gallup International. Less than half (44 percent) of the Belgians call themselves religious, compared to a global average of two in three (63 percent). For the study, the researchers interviewed 63,898 people in 65 countries. Europeans in general appear to be less religious. In Western Europe, 43 percent of the population is religious, 37 percent consider themselves as unbelievers and 14 percent as atheist. The least religious country in Europe is Sweden, where only 19 percent of the population still call themselves religious, and 78 percent are atheist. The most religious country in the world is Thailand (94 percent), followed by Armenia, Bangladesh, Georgia and Morocco (93 percent). 

A Germanwings plane Milan-bound flight 826 to Milan’s Malpensa airport with 120 people on board was evacuated last night at Cologne-Bonn airport in Germany minutes before take-off after receiving a bomb threat. The tower in Cologne alerted the pilot of the Airbus A320, which was taxiing toward the runway at the time. The pilot took the plane to a position at the airport that is foreseen for such cases, where the passengers and crew left the aircraft. Federal police said sniffer dogs found no sign of explosives. The threat was emailed to the airport 15 minutes before the plane’s scheduled departure, prompting police to set the necessary measures in action. At the same time, Germanwings planes from London and Birmingham to Germany have been immediately cancelled.