On April 18, an eight-member Romani family living in the small Moravian village of Vitkov was attacked in their home with Molotov cocktails, which completely destroyed the house. Someone reportedly turned off the water to the building before setting it on fire. The parents of a two-year-old girl and the girl herself were severely injured; while the girl remains in hospital, her parents have since been released. On May 3 they both attended a local demonstration by the Roma community against rising neo-Nazism in the Czech Republic. Demonstrations took place in 11 other locations nationwide and were attended by 3 000 people. Such a unified gathering of the Roma community has not taken place since 1989.

Police in Germany's capital Berlin arrested nearly 300 at the city's May Day march, with riot police battling hundreds of protesters deep into the night. According to authorities, militants attacked police with rocks, bottles and Molotov cocktails. Riot police responded with tear gas and pepper spray. 237 officers were reported injured. There were also riots reported in Germany's second city Hamburg. (Radio Netherlands, May 2)

In a joint operation, French and Spanish security forces arrested the presumed military chief of ETA and eight other suspected members of the Basque separatist organization at the village of Montauriol in southwestern France April 18. As part of the same operation, Spanish forces arrested a further six suspected ETA militants in the cities of Bilbao and Vitoria and the Basque Country town of Renteria.

Italian lawmakers April 8 rejected a bid to triple the amount of time undocumented immigrants can be detained, in a rare defeat for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's ruling coalition. In a narrow vote, opposition deputies—joined by some members of Berlusconi's own conservative coalition—voted against extending the period from two months to six months.

Amnesty International said in a media statement on March 30 that it is calling on Greek authorities to to address long-standing problems in policing in the wake of this year's youth uprising. The briefing highlights patterns of alleged human rights violations by police against civilians, including excessive use of force and firearms, torture or other ill-treatment, arbitrary detention and denial of prompt access to lawyers.

As protests at the London G20 summit start to wind down, police have arrested some 100 protesters in Strasbourg, France, on the eve of a two-day summit marking the 60th anniversary of the NATO alliance. Police said protesters vandalized bus shelters, smashed shop windows, built street barricades, and set rubbish bins on fire. Police used teargas to prevent the protesters from entering the city center. (Radio Netherlands, April 2)

Anti-G-20 protesters clashed with riot police in central London April 1, overwhelming police lines, invading and vandalizing the Bank of England and smashing windows at the Royal Bank of Scotland. A banker was burned in effigy, drawing cheers. More than 30 people were arrested after some 4,000 clogged London's financial district for what was dubbed "Financial Fool's Day." The protests were called ahead of the Group of 20 summit set to open the city.

The two biggest right wing political parties in Italy are to merge, leaders announced March 22. The National Alliance, led by Gianfranco Fini, will merge with Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party to become the People of Freedom party, and take over the government. In last year's elections, the two parties won a combined 38% of the votes.