Finland
YLE: Foreign Affairs Committee puts NY trip on hold. ‘Finland’s Foreign Affairs Committee has been forced to put its planned trip to the United States on hold because of the Hurricane Sandy storm. The Committee was due to fly to New York on Wednesday. Finns Party leader Timo Soini, who chairs the Committee, had postponed his trip to the U.S. earlier. Soini was due to travel to the States before the rest of the Foreign Affairs Committee. However, he will now be travelling with the Committee – if the trip can be realized.’
France
France 24: In heart of France, Islamic school trains imams. ‘Deep in the wooded hills of Burgundy in central France, an unusual institute is training unusual students: aspiring French imams who hope to minister to the country’s large Muslim population. Early in the morning, some 200 students from across the country stream into the European Institute of Human Sciences de Saint-Leger-de-Fougeret, where they learn to chant the Koran and study Islamic theology and Arabic literature.’
Germany
The Local: Neo-Nazi victims to be paid over €800,000. ‘The German government is paying more than €800,000 to relatives of the victims of a neo-Nazi terrorist gang which is said to have murdered ten people by shooting them, and hurt more with a nail bomb, it emerged on Monday. A Federal Office of Justice (BfJ) report, dated August and seen by the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung newspaper, said a total of €832,407.67 was in the process of being paid to the families of the victims, and that the compensation had been agreed by the Justice Ministry.’
Italy
The Guardian: Beppe Grillo: a comedian to be taken seriously. ‘The ‘programme’ of Italy’s Five Star movement is almost entirely negative, but its sudden rise cannot be ignored. Nobody quite knows what to make of the “Five Star movement” in Italy which is emerging as the surprise winner of this week’s Sicilian elections. But one thing is for sure: all the traditional parties are terrified of what might happen in the general elections, which will probably be held in spring 2013. This political movement, led by Beppe Grillo – a volcanic comedian with a huge mop of shaggy greying hair – is threatening to tear Italy’s political establishment apart.’
The Jewsih Daily Forward: Rome Council Wants To Block Neo-Nazi Sites. ‘Rome’s provincial council is calling for websites that promote racism and anti-Semitism to be blocked and such online hatred criminalized. The council on Monday unanimously passed a motion voicing solidarity with Rome local official Carla Di Veroli and with the Rome Jewish community in general following anti-Semitic attacks on Di Veroli that appeared last week on the neo-Nazi website Stormfront. Di Veroli, who is Jewish, has long been an anti-fascist and minority rights activist.’
Spain
National Turk: Catalonia Independence: Is there danger of civil war in Spain, again ? / EU News. Spain is entering a period of dangerous, Catalonia wants to independence but it seems difficult to looking at the Spanish constitution. What about EU ? The rise of Catalan nationalism is provoking tension in Spain. In the light of the independence drive by Catalunya, the Spanish governing party have issued instructions to the navy to intercept fishing boats and demand them to fly the Spanish National flag.’
