France
The Australian: No regrets as unrepetant Le Pen celebrates 40 years at helm. ‘Jean-Marie Le Pen celebrates 40 years at the helm of France’s National Front on Friday unrepentant over the outbursts that have helped make his party a major political force but have also ensured it has been kept at arm’s length from power. Throughout the four decades since a handful of miniscule extremist groups got together on October 5, 1972 to launch a party that was to become the most significant far-right political force in western Europe, Le Pen and controversy have been virtually synonymous.’
Spain
CNN: Suspect planned to recreate Columbine massacre, police say. ‘Inspired by the deadly Columbine school shooting, a Spanish man purchased more than 300 pounds of explosive materials as part of an alleged plan to massacre university students, authorities said Thursday. Instead, Spanish police, who had been tracking him for five months, descended on his home Wednesday morning and arrested the 21-year-old just as he received the potentially deadly materials he had ordered off the Internet, according to authorities. They seized 140 kilograms of the materials.’
France
France 24: ‘Misunderstanding’ over Islamic art sparks near riot. ‘The accidental projection of a work of art based on Islamic holy texts nearly started a riot in the southwestern French city of Toulouse on Tuesday. The artist, shocked by the response of young Muslim youths in the city, has withdrawn the piece. A Moroccan artist on Wednesday suspended one of his works from a major arts festival in southern France after his projections of Islamic calligraphy onto a bridge nearly set off a riot when local Muslim youths saw pedestrians walking on the words.’
Malta
The Times of Malta: Five plus five meeting in Malta. ‘Ten heads of state and government from the Western Mediterranean area will be meeting in Malta this week. They form part of the so-called Five plus Five Dialogue originally set up in 1990. The recent sad events in Benghazi will remind the 10 leaders meeting in Malta to remain vigilant against extremism.’ This methodology concludes on fighting extremist groups through more democratic means.
Spain
Telegraph: Spain fears harsh rescue terms from AAA Nordic parliaments. ‘Fear of escalating demands by Germany, Finland and Holland is a key reason why Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy continues to drag his feet on a full sovereign bail-out. True Finn leader Timo Soini said the parliament would demand high-quality collateral from Spain, complicating any deal. “Don’t underestimate the fury of Finnish taxpayers. Almost everybody here thinks the bail-out policies have failed and that we are paying to rescue French and German banks,” he said.’
The Netherlands
Minn Post: How does Norway rehabilitate Anders Behring Breivik? ‘Norway’s attitude toward criminal offenders is to rehabilitate them back into society, rather than punish them. The tolerant Nordic country has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world, 20 percent compared to about 50 percent in the US. But what do you do with a mass murderer like the 33-year old Norwegian responsible for single-handedly killing 77 last year in the country’s worst peacetime national tragedy? That is the current dilemma facing Ila maximum security prison, the jail where Anders Behring Breivik has started serving his 21 year sentence for a car bomb attack on government headquarters in Oslo and shooting spree at the Norwegian Labor Party summer youth camp on Utøya island.’
