The week at a glance...Europe

Paris

Lottery hacked: Hackers took over the French website of the Euromillions lottery this week, branding it “the devil’s work” and posting Koranic verses in the place of information on how to play the numbers. A group calling itself “moroccanghosts” railed on the site against gambling and drinking, warning visitors that such un-Islamic vices would “turn you away from God and prayer.” In both French and Arabic, the site read: “Oh, you believers. Wine, games of chance, statues all augur impurity and are the devil’s work.” France has the largest Muslim population in Europe, and many of its Muslim citizens are of Moroccan or Algerian origin. ‘The devil’s work’

Milan

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Berlusconi convicted: Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud last week, and he promptly threatened to bring down the government in revenge. A Milan court ruled that Berlusconi had evaded taxes on his broadcasting empire and sentenced him to four years in jail and a five-year ban from public office. He is unlikely to serve any time: Thanks to amnesty laws and statutes of limitations, he has never been jailed for his three prior convictions for perjury, corruption, and fraud. Still, Berlusconi, 76, called the verdict “political, incredible, and absolutely intolerable.” He vowed to decide soon whether to pull his party’s vital support for the government of Mario Monti, appointed last year after Berlusconi was forced out.