Anti-Semitic acts continue to increase in France, according to a new report by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF). The annual document reports that violence and threats against French Jews increased dramatically in 2006 over a year earlier, with a 45% rise in physical attacks (112) and a 24% increase in alll registered anti-Semitic acts (371). (Jerusalem Post, Feb. 27) Anti-Semitic attacks also reached record levels in the UK last year, according to a study Britain's Community Security Trust. "These are the worst figures we have had in the 23 years since we have been monitoring it," said the Trust's Mark Gardner. (Reuters, Feb. 1) 2006 saw a rise in anti-Semitism around the world, according to the Jewish Agency's Global Forum Against Anti-Semitism. According to the figures, 2006 saw a 66% rise in anti-Semitic incidents in Austria, a 60% rise in Germany, and a 20% rise in Russia. As an explicitly Zionist organization, the Jewish Agency may have an interest in overstating the problem, but the statistics were based on law enforcement records. The report especially noted two murders—that of Ilan Halimi, beaten to death in France last January, and Pamela Wechter, shot dead in the Jewish Federation Building in Seattle in July. Images of a bullet-ridden Oslo synagogue, and worshippers at a Moscow synagogue coming under attack were included in the report. (YNet, Jan. 28) All the reports noted that anti-Semitic violence peaked during the Lebanon crisis.

Thousands of Serbs protested in front of the US embassy in Belgrade Feb. 27 against independence for Kosova, which has been under United Nations control since 1999. The protest, organised by the Serb National Council of Kosovo (SNV), drew some 40,000 people. Many came by bus directly from Kosova, carrying banners reading “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia”, "We won't give up Kosovo" and "Russia, help!" Some carried pictures of Vladimir Putin or signs calling for Moscow to veto Kosova's independence at the Security Council.

Anti-war marchers took to the streets in London and Glasgow Feb. 24 to demand the return of all troops from Iraq, and an end to plans to replace the UK's Trident nuclear missile system. Organizers from the Stop the War coalition said 60,000 people turned out in London's Trafalgar Square. In Glasgow, around 2,000 gathered in George Square. The protests, jointly organized with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the British Muslim Initiative, also opposed any military action against Iran. Marchers carried "Don't attack Iran" banners and posters calling US President George Bush a "terrorist." (BBC, Feb. 24)

Wow, like, nostalgia for the '80s, dude. This should be read to the strains of Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Except that now the Russkies are threatening to nuke former Warsaw Pact members—which just indicates how desperate their post-imperial position is, and (contrary to the conventional wisdom) makes them more likely to use their nukes. We can only hope the decrepit things will fail to fire... From RFE/RL, Feb. 20:

Prime Minister Romano Prodi resigned Feb. 21 after his center-left government failed to get the necessary majority of 160 Senate votes to extend Italy's Afghanistan mission. Both Prodi and Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema lobbied for the extension, but fell short by two votes because of opposition from the left within the government coalition. Some 1,900 Italian soldiers are currently stationed in Afghanistan. (UPI, Feb. 21)

Given the draconian measures against bird flu in Russia at the moment (ITAR-TASS, Feb. 9), this could be a protest against Chicken McNuggets. From AP, Feb. 19:

An explosion hit a McDonald's restaurant in St Petersburg on Sunday, injuring at least six people, partially destroying a ceiling and breaking windows, an emergency official said.

It barely rates a headline these days, but things are sure looking good in the long aftermath of another US military adventure, eh? From the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, Feb. 12:

Hundreds gathered on Sunday, February 11, in the centre of Pristina to mourn the victims of the previous day’s demonstration against the UN peace plan that turned violent and ended in fatalities. Two people died and more than 80 were injured in clashes with the police.

Italian police claim to have averted a major terrorist incident after the arrest of 15 men and women in northern Italy, who they said were members of the Red Brigades. The alleged leader of the plot, Alfredo Davanzo, 50, imprisoned for 10 years in the 1980s for Red Brigades actions, has declared himself a political prisoner. Police said the group was planning attacks on the home of Silvio Berlusconi, the offices of his TV company Mediaset and of News Corporation's Sky Italia, the office of right-wing daily Libero, and of ENI, Italy's principal oil company.