Greece seeks to deprive its troublesome neo-nazi party of its rhetorical weapons – Russia goes for the harshest charges against the Greenpeace 30 – And the Pope lurches the church to more openness and less Vatican.

Greece is planning a new law targeting racist hate speech, part of its crackdown on the fascist Golden Dawn political party that is linked to the murder of an anti-racist musician.  Other European Nations that have had brushes with and calamities caused by fascism already have similar laws.  Prime Minister Antonis Samaras says, “There is no room for the neo-Nazis in any part of the Democratic world.”

President Nicolas Maduro says Venezuela will not have cordial relations with the US, as long as US diplomats allegedly try to destabilize his country.  Maduro waved a folder full of papers to the cameras, but did not offer details when announcing he was expelling the top three US diplomats for allegedly conspiring with “the extreme right” to undermine Venezuela’s economy and power grids.

A war crimes tribunal sentenced Bangladesh lawmaker Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury to death for rape, mass murder and torture during to the country’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.  He’s the seventh suspect sentenced by the tribunal, which Human Rights Watch says seems heavily biased towards the prosecution.

Russia will formally charge a group Greenpeace activists with “piracy” for their protest against Russia’s arctic oil drilling plans.  Convictions could draw sentences of 15 years in prison.  The 30, including Aussies, Brits, and Americans, are said to be in shock at the appalling conditions of their jail cells, and are being held without adequate clothing, heat, or food.

Torture is rife is Libyan jails, which have fallen under the control of militia groups that hand banded together to oust dictator Moammar Gaddafi in 2011.  A report from the United Nations’ top human rights office (UNHCHR) says thousands are being held without trial for allegedly fighting for Gaddafi, although many arrests were arbitrary, and motivated by personal or tribal score-settling.

South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius’ defense attorneys are working with American forensics experts to counter evidence in his murder case.  The “Blade Runner” is accused of shooting and killing his girlfriend and TV presenter Reeve Steenkamp.  He admits it, but denies premeditation claiming he thought she was a burglar.

Liam Adams, the brother of Northern Ireland political leader Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein, has been found guilty of raping his own daughter.  Although Gerry was described in court as having confronted his brother about it, the case highlights how in the dark days of “The Troubles”, Irish nationalist political parties discouraged the reporting of crimes within their own circles.  Liam Adams denies the charges and will be sentenced later this month.  Gerry spent the day speaking in the Irish parliament in Dublin on the need for other victims of child rape to receive immediate state protection and swift access to justice.

Pope Francis says the Catholic Church “is too Vatican-centric.”  In an interview with the Italian Left-Wing newspaper La Repubblica, Francis censured the world of Vatican politics, calling the hierarchy and courtiers “the leprosy of the papacy.”  The Pope’s reform advisory board, which includes Sydney’s Cardinal George Pell, is holding closed-door talks that could include things like financial reform and changes in the role of women in the church.