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News digest: 23 October 2012

BULGARIA: Political background essential to hack attacks from Romania, Bulgaria (Novinite): "There are exceptionally skilled hackers in Eastern Europe but their activity must always be considered against the existing political backdrop, according to Misha Glenny, distinguished journalist and historian"

CZECH REPUBLIC: Inspection proposes that former police chief by charged (Prague Daily Monitor): "The General Inspection of Security Forces (GIBS) has proposed that former Czech police president Petr Lessy be charged over his handing documents to a journalist, Prague State Attorney's Office spokeswoman Stepanka Zenklova told CTK Monday"

France to send drones to Mali in fight against al-Qaidi-backed insurgents (The Guardian): "France is planning to send drones into Mali as part of an international intervention to free the west African country from al-Qaida-backed insurgents who control large swaths of its territory, according to reports." See also: Mali military intervention plan gathers pace (Magharebia)

GERMANY: Conditions little better for Roma immigrants in Germany (Spiegel Online): "Seeking a better life and a future for their children, tens of thousands of Roma have come to Germany in recent years. They hope to escape the poverty and marginalization they experience in their home countries, but they remain outsiders in their new home too. The resulting problems are keeping police and social workers busy"

GERMANY: Court rules in Germany's first modern-day piracy trial (Spiegel Online): "A court in Hamburg has handed down prison sentences to 10 Somali pirates who hijacked the German freighter cargo ship MS Taipan in 2010. The trial lasted almost two years, making it one of the longest in postwar German history. It was hampered primarily by linguistic difficulties and problems establishing the age of the defendants"

GREECE: Parties condemn leader's fascist salute to youth (Ekathimerini): "Political parties expressed outrage on Monday after the head of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn, Nikos Michaloliakos, performed a fascist salute during a speech to young supporters in Goudi, eastern Athens"

ITALY: 186 people die in Italy's prisons in 2011, 66 by suicide (AGI)

Kosovo police clashes with protesters (Balkan Insight): "Eighteen police officers and 10 activists from Vetevendosje, the Kosovan opposition party, have been injured during a protest against the Kosovo." See also: Kosovo demonstrations turn ugly (euronews)

Turkish press freedom crisis (The Guardian): "Turkey's press freedom situation has reached a crisis point, with the country assuming the world's top spot for the number of imprisoned journalists, says the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)." See also: Turkey 'cracking down' on press freedom (BBC News)

UK to double number of drones in Afghanistan (The Guardian): "The UK's is to double the number of armed RAF "drones" flying combat and surveillance operations in Afghanistan and, for the first time, the aircraft will be controlled from terminals and screens in Britain." See also: RAF drone squadron to be operated from the UK (The Telegraph)

UK: G4S in the running to take contorl of privatised probation (The Independent): "Large companies such as G4S and Serco will win the lion's share of contracts to run probation services, unions forecast last night after David Cameron announced a drive to slash levels of reoffending by hardened criminals"

UK: Spy apprenticeship: Government launches new scheme (BBC News): "The government has launched an apprenticeship scheme for spies which will target young people regardless of their academic background"

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