Chinese Tourists Arrested for Making Hitler Salute in Germany

According to police, a fine or a prison sentence up to 3 years is possible for a pair of Chinese tourists who made a particular gesture outside the Parliament building this week.

Germany has strict laws on "hate speech" and symbols linked to Hitler and the Nazis. The Nazi organization is "banned" in Germany.

The law is more commonly used to prosecute Germans who have far right political ideas.

The two men were released on a bail of around $600 each and are allowed to leave the country, and when the sentence is finally decided (in their absence), the bail money will probably be enough to cover it.

French Police Evict Thousands of Migrants Camped in Paris

Recently, around 100 new migrants per day have been arriving in an area in Northern Paris, and the number of campers there had become around 2,000 - 2,500 when they were cleared out at 5 AM one morning this week.

Many of the migrants had left war torn countries in Eastern Africa and the Middle East, while some are from as far away as Afghanistan and Sudan.

The migrants were put on buses and given temporary accommodation in gyms and other buildings in and around Paris.

“It’s always the same problem,” said the interior minister. “First off you say ‘I’m going to open a center for 500 people’ and next thing you know you have 3,000 or 4,000 people and you’re left having to sort the problem out.”

Recently a large makeshift camp in Calais was closed (the camp where migrants go before trying to reach Britain) and the migrants there dispersed to other areas.

Brussels Train Station Attack

The attack is considered to have failed.

The explosives didn't work as planned. No one was hurt.

Van hits Pedestrians Near Finsbury Park Mosque in London

At least one death reported in addition to people leaving the scene in in ambulances.

Suspicions based on emerging details are that the van was a rental driven by one white man, and the targets of his attack were Muslims near their mosque. These are unconfirmed.

Coordinated Attacks in London

The UK capital saw 3 notable attacks Saturday. including on London Bridge, at Borough Market, and at Vauxhall. London authorities are currently saying that the London Bridge and Borough Market are connected and are being treated as "terrorist" actions, but the Vauxhall is currently considered separate.

The attacks include a vehicle hitting pedestrians and stabbings.

There were fatalities in addition to many people being injured.

The use of vehicles as the weapon of choice for violent Muslim attackers in Europe is of a special concern as it doesn't even require the special and somewhat technical knowledge and supplies as do explosives, the other go-to weapon.

The last big attack in London was a week and a half ago (May 23) at the Ariana Grande concert. England has been on "serious" threat level of an Islamist attack for a long time now, but after the concert bombing the threat level was raised to "critical" because authorities feared attacks on public and cultural sites may be imminent. It was then reduced to "serious" again.

UK security officials have spoken about the phenomena, and the general tone is that they already stop a lot of attacks each year, but they can't stop them all.

'EU Is Risking Itself' - George Soros

Multi-Track Europe - Dysfunctional institutions - Peaceful Brexit - Reinvented EU

The American billionaire warned the EU this week that it was risking its own existence because of "dysfunctional institutions, a persistent austerity policy and outdated treaties.

"If the European Union carries on with business as usual, there is little hope for an improvement," Soros said.

The Hungarian-born speculator had a lot of advice to give the EU. He said EU countries are interested in more control over their territory, not less as in the EU "ever closer union" doctrine. The UK had already voted to leave the EU, and populist trends in other countries were growing, so the EU should offer a "multi-track" Europe rather than a "multi-speed" one, in order to offer member states more options.

The three things Soros particularly stressed the EU improve their stance on: territorial disintegration, the refugee crisis, and the lack of adequate economic growth.

The upcoming Brexit negotiations would be important, Soros said, so the EU should behave with a "constructive spirit" and resist any urge to try to punish the UK. Brexit will already be damaging and harmful to both sides.

He said the EU should use Brexit negotiations to introduce far-reaching reforms and be "radically reinvented."

German Music Festival Halted Over Terror Threat

German authorities told visitors to clear the Rock am Ring grounds in Nuremberg based on "concrete leads, which do not allow us to eliminate a possible terror threat."

Swiss Court Fines Man for Liking Defamatory Comment

The original post on Facebook was about whether animal rights groups should be allowed to take part in vegan street festivals, and it became discussed heatedly.

Several people were fined by the courts for making comments it deemed defamatory, and one man was fined for "liking" some comments which accused an animal rights activist of racism and antisemitism.

That activist was Erwin Kessler, who brought the lawsuit against the participants.

According to the court, “the defendant clearly endorsed the unseemly content and made it his own,” when he hit the "like" button.

Gotland Remilitarized

Sweden is fortifying its island against potential incursion by Russia. They are conducting military exercises on the island.

The island was demilitarized 12 years ago, assuming then that Russia had become weak or non-threatening. But in light of recent Russian military activity in Crimea and Ukraine, Sweden has stepped up defenses.

Gotland has a strategic location, near to Russian Kaliningrad and also Latvia. From the island, both air and sea can be affected by military forces.

Sweden, one of the non-NATO European countries, is going to re-introduce conscription and will increase military spending 11% over the next 5 years.

Trump at NATO Meeting

The president met with other world leaders in Brussels this week -- a meeting for an organization he last year called "obsolete" in the city he last year called a "hell hole."

Analysts noted that world leaders seemed somewhat dismayed about Trump's continued insistence they pay more money. Trump reminded them many nations owe large amounts for their defense.

Trump also met with the two leaders of the EU, another institution previously heavily criticized by Trump, and with France's new leader Macron.

Assange's Sex Charges Dropped

Julian Assange has been holed up in a room in London for years after being given refuge by Equador in their London embassy building. In 2010, he was charged with sex crimes in Sweden -- a couple of women he was involved with at the time made complaints not long after Wikileaks published video and other documents of American military activities in the Middle East -- and Assange fled to England. British courts in 2012 ruled Assange should be given up to Sweden, and Assange violated his bail to flee to the embassy.

He has lived indoors since then, only making public appearances from a balcony or via the internet.

The case has been repeatedly reviewed by Swedish courts, and now they have found that in the interests of proportionality it is not worth continuing. Essentially, authorities made the decision because all legal options had been exhausted and because the prosecutor wasn't working harder to pursue the matter.

The Swedish public prosecutor wrote in a statement, "In view of this, and that to continue with legal proceedings would require Julian Assange's personal appearance in court, there is no longer any reason to continue with the investigation."

The validity of the charges have always been questioned. There have been claims the charges were politically motivated because the U.S. government was very upset with the recent leaks.

The women in question are ones who each met Assange at conferences he was a speaker at and had consensual sex. Later on, the two women discussed Assange, and afterwards laid charges for forms of non-consensual sex (alleged to have happened in addition to the consensual sex). One of the charges was molestation, one was for unlawful coercion, and one was rape, according to Swedish law (the alleged acts had to do with not wearing condoms although the woman said he must and sex while the partner was sleeping). Originally, Swedish prosecutors didn't think there was evidence of rape and that the molestation charge would still go forward but it wasn't serious enough for a warrant. The lawyer for the 2 women made an appeal to a special department and after police interviewed Assange, the director of prosecution reopened the case for rape.

Over time, the molestation and unlawful coersion charge was dropped because Swedish authorities ran out of time to question Assange, and the UN found Assange was being arbitrarily detained and should be compensated for "deprivation of liberty." The rape charge was the only one remaining until now, although Assange may still be found in contempt of court for violating his bail and fleeing.

British authorities have said Assange will be arrested if he leaves the embassy. The expectation is that he would then be extradited to the U.S.

Macron Still Faces Challenges

The French president-elect, the youngest leader of the country since Napoleon and a man who was unknown a year ago, could find himself without much power to act if he doesn't quickly form a movement to win a majority in the French national assembly.

In the run up to the election, two candidates were chosen from a dozen, with Macron getting voter support from 24% of French citizens and Le Pen getting 22%.

Between the two candidates, Macron won a decisive victory, getting 65% of the votes in an election in which relatively few people went out to vote for either option. In all, less than a third of the country voted for the president in the election.

Evidence of how divided France is can be seen in the 35% garnered by Le Pen, whose political views are considered extreme and very different from those of the new president, who was the first choice of less than a quarter of the French public. Another important statistic: 40% of France is against the EU (which represents globalization in Europe), which Macron is in favor of.

Analysts said that there has never been a similar situation in French political life.

Macron, President of France

The 39-year-old centrist independent will win, it looks like, by a decisive margin of 65% to 35%.

Le Pen’s 35% is seen as still being an important indicator of political feeling in the country.

First Pack of Wolves in Denmark in 200 Years

Scientists might know the general whereabouts of up to 40 wolves in the country, but they are keeping the location secret because they fear public attention would have a negative impact on the wolves, which haven't existed in Denmark for 200 years.

It's thought the current inhabitants are making their way from Germany, about 500 kilometers away. One was spotted in Jutland 5 years ago.

The big news is of a recent sighting of a pair on CCTV, male and female, which generally only come together briefly to mate. Scientists predict there may be cubs within the the next year or two.

In other Northern European countries as well, a slight increase in wolves has been reported. They are harassing farmers and killing sheep and deer.