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December 2nd, 2008
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FRANCE President Nicholas Sarkozy was inaugurated May 16 and the next day chose Francois Fillon as prime minister. On May 18, he appointed his Cabinet members. Sarkozy has proposed economic reforms and plans to integrate the country’s ethnic minorities. A poll found that half of the French public approved of Sarkozy’s appointments.

RUSSIA Seventeen political opposition leaders were detained at a Moscow airport May 18. The group, which included chess champion Garry Kasparov, was heading to Samara, a Russian city hosting a summit between President Vladimir Putin and European Union leaders. Police said the detention was unrelated to the summit.
UK Fire severely damaged the Cutty Sark, the famous 138-year-old tea clipper built to be the fastest trading ship of its day, May 21. Greenwich residents report hearing loud explosions in the early morning and police suspect arson.
POLAND About 5,000 people attended a gay rights parade in Warsaw May 19, days after Education Minister Roman Giertych called for a ban on the “propagation of homosexuality” in Polish schools. The European Parliament criticized Polish officials last month for inciting hatred based on sexual orientation.
TURKEY Tens of thousands protested in the city of Samsun May 20 against the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party’s Islamist-rooted government. As July elections approach, the political divide between secular and Islamist parties in Turkey is growing. The AK party has been attempting to court centrist voters.
ITALY A British documentary about sex abuse in the Catholic Church has sparked a political squabble in Italy, Reuters reported May 21. A conservative politician has asked the state network not to air Sex Crimes and the Vatican, which the church has already called slanderous. Left-wing politicians have condemned the move as censorship.
ROMANIA President Traian Basescu got his job back in a May 19 national referendum on his impeachment. Approximately 74 percent of voters chose to reinstate Basescu, preliminary counts showed. Parliament voted last month to suspend his presidency, accusing him of violating the constitution and abusing his power. Basescu is now calling for Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu’s resignation.
DENMARK The iconic Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen’s harbor was found draped in a Muslim head scarf May 21, the Associated Press reported. Police removed the scarf after receiving a phone tip. The statue is occasionally the target of vandals. On May 15, the statue was discovered partially covered in red paint.
UK British prosecutors announced May 22 that a former Russian intelligence officer should face murder charges in the death of Alexander Litvinenko, who died in London last November from polonium poisoning. The director of public prosecutions said in a statement that lawyers should seek the extradition from Russia of Andrei Lugovoi, who met with Litvinenko the day he fell ill.
HUNGARY The justice minister and the chiefs of national and Budapest police have resigned amid accusations of misconduct and corruption, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany said May 20. Gyurcsany said the resignations were a result of recent allegations against five police officers, accused of raping a woman in Budapest while on duty.


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