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News digest: 29 August 2012

AUSTRIA: Row over regional government grant for SS reunion (Austrian Times): "Austrian officials are under fire after it was revealed they were handing out grants to help pay for a reunion of veterans of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen SS held at the Ulrichsberg mountain in Carinthia"

AUSTRIA: Anger over electronic tag for sex offenders (Austrian Times): " Campaigners demanding that sex offenders not be allowed out of jail with an electronic tag have stepped up their efforts after it was revealed that a paedophile in Germany had carried out a sex attack on a seven-year-old while wearing an electronic tag"

CZECH REPUBLIC: Intelligence: Far-right supporters want to join Czech army (Prague Daily Monitor): "Right-wing radicals keep focusing on the Czech army and they want to serve in it, the military intelligence service (VZ) says in its annual report released Tuesday"

DENMARK: Campaign builds to stop deportation of trans-woman raped at Sandholm (Copenhagen Post): "More than 200 people attended a rally on Saturday protesting the decision to deport a transgender asylum seeker. The trans-woman, Fernanda Milan, is due to be sent back to Guatemala on September 17 after her application for asylum was rejected"

DENMARK: Government proposes cutting back Danish classes for foreigners (Copenhagen Post): "In its recently-released budget proposal, the government said it wanted to cut 200 million kroner from the funds available to language centres that teach Danish to adult foreigners. The proposed cuts amount to 15 percent of the total budget"

FRANCE: French police break up Roma encampment in Lyon (BBC News): "French police have begun breaking up one of the biggest Roma (Gypsy) camps in the city of Lyon, following a similar action in Paris on Monday"

GREECE: Anti-immigrant view being 'legitimised' in Greece (euobserver): "Anti-immigrant and nationalistic discourse has existed in Greece since the 1990s, say experts, but has become more radical with the economic crisis"

GREECE: Migrants reverting to Aegean route (Ekathimerini): "A crackdown on the influx of undocumented immigrants entering Greece via the land border with Turkey has apparently resulted in people smugglers changing their routes as increasing numbers of migrants are being intercepted on the islands of the Aegean, authorities say"

GREECE: Police clash with garbage collectors in Athens (Ekathimerini): "Riot police fired tear gas in central Athens on Wednesday after municipal trash collectors protesting spending cutbacks tried to drive garbage truck toward the main offices of the Interior Ministry"

IRELAND: MI5's role in the Smithwick Tribunal (RTE News): "The role of MI5 has come to prominence again after the Police Service of Northern Ireland returned to the tribunal this week and effectively said 'we've hidden important intelligence material from you’. It is clear that they could tell the Judge this information now because MI5 said they could." See: Smithwick Tribunal of Inquiry into suggestions that members of An Garda Síochána or other employees of the State colluded in the fatal shootings of RUC Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and RUC Superintendent Robert Buchanan on the 20th March, 1989.

ITALY: Boat carrying 100 immigrants is approaching Capo Leuca (AGI)

MALTA: Refugee field offices finally get their ACs (Times of Malta): "By a “mini-miracle”, the offices where asylum seekers are interviewed now enjoy the luxury of air-conditioners and are no longer like mini-ovens"

POLAND: Fine for insulting Polish troops (New Poland Express): "The Minister of Defence has given his support to the case of a 62-year-old man who was fined after writing his thoughts on Poland’s involvement in Afghanistan on an Internet forum"

Poland must modernise defence systems, says President Komorowski (Polskie Radio)

Turkey closes its borders to fleeing Syrians (Global Post): "Turkish authorities closed their borders Friday to fleeing Syrian refugees after receiving more than 78,000 since the beginning of the conflict. The total number of Syrians seeking refuge in neighboring countries this week surpassed 200,000, according to the United Nations refugee agency"

UK: Jobless young told to work for no pay to earn benefits (The Indepdendent): "Young people leaving education with no job to go to will be made to do three months full-time unpaid work experience with charities and social enterprises or have their benefits cut, the Government has announced"

UK: Why did police shoot dead an unarmed man seven years ago? (The Independent): "Phone-tap evidence to play crucial role in public inquiry into Azelle Rodney's death in 2005"

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