The leader of France's conservative party introduced legislation Jan. 12 that would ban wearing of the burqa in public and make it punishable by 750 euros. Jean-Francois Cope, leader of the Union for Popular Movement (UMP) in the National Assembly, is heading the legislative effort, spurred on by French President Nicholas Sarkozy's announcement in June that those who wore the burqa were not welcome in France. The bill also has the support of some French socialists, as well as that of Prime Minister Francois Fillon. An official commission into the issue is expected to report by the end of January.

More than a thousand African immigrant workers were put aboard buses and trains in the southern Italian region of Calabria over the weekend and shipped out to detention centers, following an outbreak of violence over the weekend in the town of Rosarno. Three days of rioting that began Jan. 7 when a group of immigrants was attacked while returning from the farms where they worked. The clashes resulted in widespread property damage as well as injuries to more than 50 immigrants and police officers. On Jan. 10, authorities began bulldozing makeshift immigrant encampments outside Rosarno. The evacuated immigrants were dispersed to centers around Italy and face deportation if they are found to lack residence permits.

The alleged instigator of the theft of the "Arbeit macht frei" ("Work will set you free") sign from the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, a man living in Sweden, is said to have intended to use the proceeds from the sale of the sign to finance an assassination plot at the Swedish Parliament and at the prime minister's headquarters in Stockholm. The claim was reported in the Swedish media Jan. 2, citing sources in that country's intelligence services.

Greek police conducted raids in Athens Dec. 5 in an effort to avoid a repeat of last year's violent protests as the first anniversary of a controversial police shooting approaches. Over 6,000 officers spread across the city, arresting more than 150 people for throwing rocks or vandalism. Students preparing to commemorate the incident gathered in universities, and authorities estimate 150 anarchists converged on the country from across Europe. Prime Minister George Papandreou emphasized the importance of maintaining stability, and said the government had adopted a "zero tolerance policy towards violence."

Civilized and democratic Switzerland isn't looking so civilized and democratic these days. On Nov. 29, Swiss voters approved a ban on minarets by 57.5%, at the urging of the right-wing Swiss People's Party—which argued that the minaret is a symbol of Islamic political power and not protected by guarantees of religious freedom. Switzerland has 400,000 Muslims—many of them Bosnian and Kosovar Albanian refugees from the former Yugoslavia. (CSM, Nov. 30)

Police in Geneva, Switzerland, used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets Nov. 28 at a protest opposing the World Trade Organization summit that opens this week. Hooded "black bloc" anarchists who broke away from the main march set fire to at least four cars, broke shop windows and committed other acts of violence, police said. The group Anti-WTO Coordination said it "regretted being unable to finish the demonstration" and condemned "unreservedly all police repression violating democratic rights." (AP, Nov. 29)

Denmark's parliament Nov. 26 passed legislation giving police sweeping powers of "pre-emptive" arrest and extending sentences for acts of civil disobedience. The law comes ahead of the UN talks on global climate change in Copenhagen, which start on Dec. 7 and are expected to attract thousands of protesters. Under the new powers, Danish police will be able to detain people for up to 12 hours under suspicion they might break the law in the near future.

The Nov. 27 crash of a Russian express train between Moscow and Saint Petersburg was caused by a terrorist attack, authorities say. The Russian Prosecutor General and the secret service report that remnants of explosives have been found at the scene, while the Echo of Moscow radio station reports that the neo-Nazi organization Combat 18 has claimed responsibility for the attack. Some media reports have suggested the claim is a publicity stunt. At least 26 were killed and 60 injured in the derailment on the Nevsky Express, but the final figures are expected to be higher. (Romea, Prague, Nov. 29)