At least 51 migrants drowned trying to cross from Turkey to Greece—and the European Union—when their boat sank in rough weather Dec. 9. The boat was carrying about 70 Palestinians, Iraqis and Somalians when it sank off Seferihisar, in the Aegean province of Izmir. Rescuers saved six; the death toll is expected to rise. Izmir's Gov. Orhan Sefik Güldibi noted the irony that the disaster happened on the eve of International Human Rights Day.

Basque activists arrested in the so-called "18/98" case began appearing before a judge in Bilbao Dec. 4, following a sweep that prompted angry protests over the weekend. Spain's High Court issued 46 arrest warrants for members of the Basque civil groups Ekin, Orain, Xaki and Fundación Joxemi Zumalabe, after a finding by magistrate Baltasar Garzón that they are fronts for the armed organization ETA. (EiTB24, Spain, Dec. 4) Thousands marched against the arrests in Bilbao Dec. 1, in a rally led by leaders of outlawed organizations, including the Batasuna party. (EiTB24, Dec. 2)

Six days before President Nicolas Sarkozy is to visit Algiers, the Algerian veterans' minister Mohamed Cherif Abbas was quoted in the daily Al-Khabar Nov. 26 attributing Sarkozy's rise to a "Jewish lobby" that holds sway over French politics, and implying the president—whose maternal grandfather was Jewish—exploited family connections. (AFP, Nov. 28) The comments came as the new violence in Paris' suburbs reached a height—and spread to Toulouse, where a library was set on fire and a dozen cars were torched. The riots, sparked by the deaths of two teenagers in a police car collision with a motorbike Nov. 25, this time saw North African youth firing on police with shotguns. "This is a real guerrilla war," senior police union official Patrice Ribeiro told RTL radio. (AFP, NYT, Nov. 28)

Some 400 neo-Nazis were blocked from marching in Prague by a group of approximately 2,000 anti-fascist activists Nov. 10—the anniversary of Kristallnacht. Six were reported injured in clashes between the two camps. The far-right Young Nationalist Democrats (MND) received back-up from two busloads of German supporters for their march on Prague's Jewish Quarter. Clashes broke out in front of the 13th-century Old New Synagogue—Europe's oldest Jewish house of worship—after one of the Nazis used pepper spray against a counter-protester. Two neo-Nazis lay in a pool of blood after being beaten by a group of German anarchists. Police arrested over 40 neo-Nazis, and reported some of them carried weapons such as iron rods and explosives. Prague authorities had banned the march, and sealed off subway stations to prevent neo-Nazis from reaching the quarter.

The Spanish parliament Oct. 31 passed a landmark bill that condemns the 1939-75 fascist dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco and mandates restitution to its victims. The Law of Historical Memory, approved by the lower house, will expand benefits to victims of Spain's 1936-39 civil war and nearly four decades of dictatorship that followed. Approval by the Senate is considered a formality. Right-wing opposition politicians bitterly fought the law, arguing it reopens wounds that would further divide the country. The Socialist government of Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero—whose grandfather was among thousands executed by Franco's forces—maintains that while Franco supporters who suffered during the war have been honored and compensated, those who opposed him faced only persecution. Details of the bill from the LA Times:

Judge Javier Gomez Bermudez read out the verdicts Oct. 31 in the long-running Madrid 3-11 terror trial. Three of the defendants—Jamal Zougam, Emilio Suarez Trashorras, and Osman Gnaoui— were found guilty of murder and handed prison terms of up to 38,000 years. Eighteen other defendants were found guilty of lesser charges such as belonging to a terrorist organization. Of 28 standing trial, seven—including the alleged mastermind of the attacks, the Egyptian Rabei Osman—were acquitted of all charges.

On Oct. 12, the Regional Court in Ostrava, Czech Republic, awarded compensation of CZK500,000 (US$260,000) to a Romani woman, Iveta Červeňáková, 30, for having been sterilized against her will. Ostrava City Hospital is to pay the damages. According to Kumar Vishwanathan of the Vzájemné Soužití (Life Together) civic association, this is the Czech Republic's first case of compensation for coerced sterilization. Holubová was sterilized 10 years ago. "She was not sufficiently informed and did not even learn she had had such surgery until seven years later," Vishwanathan said. The hospital claims it has Červeňáková's written consent on file and is considering appealing. (Romea.cz, Oct. 12)

From AP, Oct. 3:

LONDON – Super spicy chili sauce sparked road closures and evacuations in central London after passers-by complained that a chemical emanating from a Thai restaurant was burning their throats, police said Wednesday.