A court in Marseilles March 12 ordered that anti-Islamic campaign posters put up by the far-right National Front be taken down. The posters, proclaiming "No to Islamism," depict a fully veiled woman standing next to a map of France with the pattern of the Algerian flag on it, and are directly inspired by Swiss posters deployed during the referendum on minarets. The court held them to constitute an unlawful disturbance of public order. In a press release, the party denounced the decision as "a serious violation of the freedom of opinion and of speech during an election period" and said it will appeal against it. The Algerian government had issued a complaint about the posters.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) war crimes court indicted the former Serb commander of a special police brigade March 13 for his alleged role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre during the Bosnian civil war. The BiH prosecutor accuses Nedjo Ikonic of participating in the killing of thousands of Muslim men and boys including more than one thousand who escaped Srebinaca but were detained in a warehouse in the nearby village of Kravice. Ikonic was extradited to BiH in January after he was arrested on an international arrest warrant. Three other former Bosnian Serb policemen have been indicted on charges of genocide for their alleged roles massacre.

Spokesperson for Serbia's Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor Bruno Vekaric announced March 13 the arrest of nine individuals suspected of committing war crimes during the 1998-1999 Kosovo war. The nine, members of the Serbian paramilitary group Sakali, are accused of the systematic murders of 41 ethnic Albanians in May 1999. In all, roughly 200 civilians residing in and around the village of Cuska are believed to have been killed by these and 15 other suspects. Those in custody are scheduled to appear before an investigative judge.

Striking Greek workers shut down transport and tried to storm the parliament building in Athens as lawmakers passed 4.8 billion euros ($6.5 billion) in budget cuts, including wage reductions. Yiannis Panagopoulos, leader of Greece's main GSEE union, was attacked by goons outside the parliament building, which further escalated the violence. Clashes were also reported from Thessaloniki, where riot police used tear gas to disperse protesters outside government buildings. (AFP, Bloomberg, Toronto Sun, March 5)

Hundreds of striking Finance Ministry and customs employees protested in Athens Feb. 17, as Prime Minister George Papandreou prepared to meet opposition leaders to discuss Greece's financial crisis. Greek unions oppose the new Socialist government's new austerity measures, as European finance ministers warned Athens othat it would have to impose even tougher budget cuts. Amid the strikes, a bomb exploded Feb. 16 at the Athens offices of JP Morgan, causing damage but no injuries. Police also defused a bomb outside the offices of the Citizen Protection Ministry. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the bombs, but police say they suspect anarchists. (AP, DPA, Feb. 17)

Russia's foreign ministry voiced its "concern" Feb. 5 at Romania's plans to host part of a new US "missile shield" system for Europe. "This is a serious matter," the ministry said in a statement, adding that Moscow will seek explanations from Washington and Europe. The statement came the day after Romania's President Traian Basescu announced his country has agreed to host medium-range ballistic missile interceptors as part of the US system, expected to be operational by 2015. The US State Department confirmed his announcement, saying the planned missile shield is intended to protect against the "emergent threat" from Iran.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Vygaudas Usackas resigned Jan. 21 in the midst of a dispute with President Dalia Grybauskaite over secret US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) prisons in the country. Grybauskaite has publicly said that she believes there were prisoners held in Lithuania, but Usackas has denied this. The dispute follows a parliamentary report that found that the CIA had been provided two facilities in Lithuania to interrogate al-Qaeda suspects. Usackas has maintained that no prisoners were actually held at the locations. On Jan. 20, Grybauskaite had urged Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius to dismiss Usackas because he had lost the president's confidence and trust.

Spain's National Court Jan. 13 convicted five people for their involvement in the 2004 Madrid train bombings on charges of supporting terrorist groups that planned attacks. The men were indicted in November, along with two other suspects, and were accused of providing money, housing, food, and forged documentation to the suspected perpetrators of the Madrid bombings. The suspects, Moroccan, Algerian, and Turkish nationals, were sentenced to jail terms ranging from five to nine years. Among those sentenced was the group's alleged leader, Omar Nakhcha, who received the harshest term.