Italian anti-terrorism police arrested three Moroccans—an imam and two of his aides—at a mosque in Perugia, capital of Umbria region, July 22, saying it served as a base for an extremist cell that ran courses in hand-to-hand combat, making bombs and flying aircraft. A police statement said the cell had contacts with members of the Moroccan Islamic Combat group arrested in Belgium two years ago. The group, known by its French acronym GICM, is said to have ties to al-Qaeda and to the 2004 Madrid bombings and 2003 Casablanca attacks. (SMH, July 23) Meanwhile, the Algerian army killed 20 alleged al-Qaeda militants in gun-battles in the Kabylie region July 24. The killings followed more days of fighting that began July 14 when the army claimed to have foiled an al-Qaeda attack on two police stations in Yakourene village, Tizi Ouzou province. (Reuters, July 24)

July 11 marks the twelfth anniversary of the massacre of some 8,000 Muslims at the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica, and little has changed for the survivors who continue to wait for a modicum of justice. Up to 30,000 survivors are expected to attend a religious ceremony and funeral at the memorial cemetery outside the town, where the remains of more than 2,400 of those killed are already buried. Another 465—retrieved from mass graves and identified by DNA analysis—will be laid to rest at the ceremony, including the remains of a 75-year-old woman. The other victims were males, aged between 13 and 77. The UN's chief war crimes prosecutor for ex-Yugoslavia Carla Del Ponte is among those expected to attend, while another 2,000 survivors have set off on a four-day symbolic march to the town. Srebrenica is the only episode of the Bosnian war that has been ruled an "act of genocide" by the UN war crimes tribunal and the International Court of Justice, both based at The Hague. However, Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic and his military commander Ratko Mladic, the two men considered most responsible for the massacre, remain at large. (AFP, July 11)

Our June issue featured the story "Resisting the New Euro-Missiles: Czech Dissidents Stand Up Again—This Time to the Pentagon!" by WW4 REPORT contributor Gwendolyn Albert, noting the emergence of popular opposition to US plans to build a radar base for the new "missile shield" in the Czech Republic. The "missile shield" has opened a new rift with Russia, and is surely topping the agenda in the Bush-Putin meeting underway at the Bush family estate in Kennebunkport, ME. Our June Exit Poll was: "Is the 'missile shield' actually intended to protect the US and the world from 'rogue' nations like Iran and North Korea, or is the 'real' enemy still Russia?" We received the following responses:

Prosecutor Javier Zaragoza, in closing arguments against 27 of the 29 accused in Madrid 3-11 attacks, took time to criticize what he called the "parallel process based on unfounded suspicions" of involvement by the Basque separatist group ETA. In his remarks, he even called for criminal charges for contempt of court against Agustín Díaz de Mera, Director General of Police at the time of the attack and a top promoter of the ETA theory. (Typically Spanish, June 12)

For those who remember when Albania was a hermetically sealed communist dictatorship under Enver Hoxha, the spectacle of George Bush receiving a hero's welcome in Tirana was a surreal one. An easy appeal to ethnic nationalism on the issue of Kosova was a sure way to win applause. "The question is whether or not there is going to be endless dialogue on a subject that we have made up our mind about," Bush said while visting Prime Minister Sali Berisha June 10. "We believe Kosovo ought to be independent. There just cannot be continued drift, because I'm worried about expectations not being met in Kosovo." But in a none-too-subtle equivocation on actual independence (and a warning against too strident demands for it), he called on Berisha to use his "good contacts" among Kosovar Albanians to help "maintain calm during these final stages." (EU Observer, June 11)

Arnaldo Otegi, the leader of banned Basque separatist party Batasuna, has been arrested in northern Spain, charged with glorifying terrorism; he is to serve a 15-month sentence. Batasuna is closely linked with Basque separatists ETA, who ended a 15-month cease-fire on June 6. [The Supreme Court had rejected Otegi's appeal of a conviction and 15-month sentence handed down last year.] [EITB24, June 8]

Protesters dodged the massive police presence at the G8 summit in Heiligendamm again June 7, blockading a road leading to the summit site. Thousands of demonstrators had spent the night in the no-demonstration zone within a kilometer of the security fence. The words "Evil Empire!!!!" were taped to a road sign that pointed the way to Heiligendamm. Meanwhile, sea-borne Greenpeace activists leading officers on a boat chase in the Baltic. One boatload of protesters spilled into the Baltic after colliding with their pursuers. (AP, June 7) In nearby Rostock, a "clown bloc" marched, mocking police and official paranoia about anarchist "black blocs." (Infoshop, June 5) Polish activists staged an occupation of a train after being refused entry into Germany. After anti-terrorist squads were brought in, police gave the activists half an hour to leave, and the occupation ended. (A-Infos, June 6)

Just two days after a mass anti-G8 demonstration in Rostock turned violent, protestors skirmished with police June 4, this time in a part of town known for neo-Nazi attacks in the early 1990s. Nearly 1,000 staged a sit-down protest in front of the immigration office in Baltic Sea port city to protest the asylum policies of the world's major industrialized countries. Police said the rally turned violent when black-clad anarchist bloc began throwing bottles. Four protesters were detained there for violating a police ban on wearing masks at rallies. However, a photo showed police detaining a protester in a clown outfit armed with a water pistol.