Charlie Hebdo Attack Spurs EU Anti-Terror Projects

The European Union seeks to partner with Muslim-majority nations on security and boost their Arabic language skills after the attacks in Paris. The plans – in response to attacks on newspaper offices and a Kosher grocery, both in Paris, leaving 17 dead – were announced after talks by 28 EU foreign ministers. Protest rallies condemning Charlie Hebdo cartoons were held in Chechnya, Palestine and Pakistan. “The EU would step up intelligence-sharing both internally and with countries affected by terrorism, [EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini] said, and increase its work to prevent funding for terrorist networks,” reports the BBC News. Projects include sharing information on airline passengers, security arrangements at foreign missions and analyzing messages from the Arab world. Partner countries include Turkey, Egypt, Yemen, Algeria and Gulf states. Police in Brussels and elsewhere in Europe arrested more than 30 on terrorism charges after the Paris attacks. Part of the challenge is determining which groups are terrorists after a European court ruled that Hamas must be removed from a list of such organizations. – YaleGlobal