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News digest: 9 October 2012

BELGIUM-DENMARK: Belgian diplomat suspected of being Russian spy (EUobserver)

CZECH REPUBLIC: Right-wing extremists protest in Ústí nad Labem (Prague Daily Monitor): "Some 70 people took part in a protest march against socially "unadaptable" citizens passing by dormitories inhabited mainly by Romanies in Usti nad Labem Saturday"

DENMARK: Government proposes scrapping military service (The Copenhagen Post): "Half a billion kroner could be saved by ending compulsory military service for 18-year-olds but opposition parties oppose the move"

FRANCE: One dead, 11 detained in French anti-terror sweep (Al Arabiya): "A man shot dead by French police Saturday in a nationwide crackdown on terror suspects that made 11 arrests was linked to an attack on a Jewish store last month, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said"

FRANCE: Marseille police unit closed due to rampant corruption (France 24)

GREECE: Anonymous attacks Greek government websites (Ekathimerini)

GREECE: Golden Dawn: The alarming rise of Greece's far right (The Independent)

GREECE: Golden Dawn spokesman's sibling arrested for pointing loaded gun (Ekathimerini)

GREECE: MIGRATION: Influx shifts to Greek islands (IRIN): "Just as Greece appears to have successfully stemmed the flow of undocumented migrants crossing the land border with Turkey, a new influx of migrants and asylum seekers has started arriving on its eastern Aegean islands"

GREECE: Samaras bans rallies during Merkel's visit (Greek Reporter): "Worried that planned protests during German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Athens on Oct. 9 could escalate into violence, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras had directed that all rallies and gatherings be banned while she’s in the city to meet him, and the government will put snipers on rooftops and have Army commandos on standby in helicopters." See also: Massive police operation underway ahead of Merkel visit (Athens News), and: Thousands of protesters tell Merkel she is not welcome (Greek Reporter)

GREECE: Skaramangas protesters accused (Athens News): "Twelve of the protesting shipyard workers who broke into the Defence Ministry on Thursday were sent before an Athens first instance prosecutor on Friday"

GREECE: Two Pakistani men in hospital after attack (Ekathimerini): "Two Pakistani nationals were being treated for serious injuries on Tuesday at a hospital in Agrinio, western Greece, after their home was attacked late on Monday night by a mob"

ITALY: Inmate deaths in Italian prisons over 2,000 in 12 years (Gazzetta del Sud): "There have been 2,056 inmate deaths in Italian prisons since the beginning of 2000, 736 of which were suicides, a report published Monday by inmates' rights group Restricted Horizons (Ristretti Orizzonti) said." See also: Inmate population 20,719 over acceptable limit says report (Gazzetta del Sud)

NETHERLANDS: Dutch government ordered to compensate widows of 1947 Indonesian massacre (The Amsterdam Herald): "Between 150 and 400 people died at the hands of Dutch troops in the village of Rawagede, West Java, on December 9, in one of the most infamous atrocities of Indonesia’s war of independence. A court in The Hague ruled on Wednesday that seven widows of the victims were entitled to compensation. The exact amount was not disclosed"

NETHERLANDS: Police to scan licence plate of every car driving into Amsterdam (The Amsterdam Herald)

SWEDEN: Attack on Malmö Jewish centre ruled a hate crime (The Local): "The explosion outside a Jewish community centre in Malmö last week is now being investigated as a hate crime, a move welcomed by the Swedish Committee Against Anti-Semitism"

SWEDEN: Balkan emigrants 'lured' into coming to Sweden (The Local): "Many emigrants from the Balkans are being tricked into coming to Sweden for a permanent residence permit that they’ll never get, a problem the Swedish Migration Board (Migrationsverket) puts down to "misinformation" from travel organizers"

SWEDEN: Police avoid internal reports for fear of media (The Local): "Police often avoid filing accident reports following a 2011 ruling by a Swedish court determining the papers to be official documents and as such fair game for Swedish press"

UK: Changing scope of anti-piracy code would need Parliamentary and EU approval, says Ofcom (Out-Law.com)

UK: Prime minister proposes limiting migration from some European countries (Out-Law.com): "The "competency" of European laws allowing workers and their families to move freely between EU member states should be reviewed, the Prime Minister has said." See also: Minister says UK will not introduce visas for Bulgaria (Balkan Insight)

UK: Susan Alexander: Met's secrecy over shooting that killed my son is an insult (The Independent): "The mother of an unarmed man shot dead by police officers seven years ago has slammed the inquiry into his death for allowing what she sees as unnecessary secrecy and a failure to hold the Metropolitan Police to account"

UK-USA: 'Too east': Ex-drone operator on watching civilians die (BBC News, video): "James Jeffrey served as an officer in the British Army in both Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2009, he helped guide drones flying over Helmand Province, where he had to make life and death decisions about whether to engage the enemy." See also: Living under drones (Youtube, video)

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