Alleged racism in English football personnel practices, the women among the most influential young Arabs, Germany’s struggle to eradicate xenophobic activity, China’s crackdown on Muslim identity, and more in today’s Rounds…

Race, Ethnicity & Nationality

• “Smartphone dependence” among U.S. blacks and Hispanics, or their reliance on mobile computing for Internet access, points to smartphones’ role in diminishing the digital divide. (Pew)
• New book alleges England football (soccer) team manager was approached about establishing ceiling for number of black players on the team. (Guardian)
• Small Samaritan community bridges divide between Israelis and Palestinians. (HuffPo)
• Ethiopian Israelis plan continued protests with theme “No to violence, yes to dialogue.” (Forward)
• Baltimore mayor requests U.S. Department of Justice review of police practices in her city after decades of allegations of discrimination and excessive force. (Baltimore Sun)

Gender

• Afghanistan‘s skater girls. (BuzzFeed)
• Four men sentenced to death for the murder of Afghan woman Farkhunda, burned to death after false allegations of burning the Qu’ran. (RFE/RL)
• Number of reported incidents of sexual assault on U.S. college campuses steeply increase over last five years. (BuzzFeed)
• List of top 100 most influential young Arabs includes 41 women. (ArabianBusiness.com)

Immigration & Displacement

• Norwegian report finds number of internally displaced people worldwide has reached record levels. (BuzzFeed)
• Israeli immigrant wins top regional prize in prestigious U.S. culinary awards. (Times of Israel)
• Thai police increase security for two Rohingya testifying in case against recent human trafficking finds out of retaliation fears. (Bangkok Post)
• Indonesia ends migration to the Middle East for domestic work following executions in Saudi Arabia. (Guardian)
• Dramatic increase in Indian immigrants to the U.S. sees establishment of well-educated, professional community. (Migration Information Source)
• Remittances to Mexico from the U.S. reach $5.7 billion, the highest since 2008. (Fox News Latino)
• A significant uptick in crimes against immigrants reported in Germany leads officials to work to address violence and “everyday racism.” (DW)

Religion & Belief

• The Buddha’s birthday arrives for the devastated Buddhist community in Nepal. (HuffPo)
• Egypt‘s Ministrity of Solidarity forms committee to investigate Shiite NGOs, which are banned in the country. (Cairo Post)
• German authorities arrest four affiliated with group formed to carry out attacks against Muslims, mosques, and shelters for asylum seekers. (NYT)
• Secular Middle East online TV channel launches to provide platform for content censored by state-regulated broadcasting. (Digital Journal)
• Chinese authorities compel storekeepers in a largely Muslim Xinjiang Province community to sell alcohol and cigarettes in crackdown on religious identity and separatism. (RFA)

Sexual & Gender Identity

• U.S. Supreme Court lets stand a ruling denying reassignment surgery for transgender prisoner in Massachusetts. (CS Monitor)
• Brazilian airline company Gol’s Mother’s Day video features adoptive families, including two husbands and their son. (Guia Gay Floripa, in Portuguese)
• Black, retired United Methodist minister in the U.S. extends his civil rights activism to LGBT rights. (RNS)
• Students and faculty mount pink-tie protest against homophobia and discrimination against LGBT students at the University of São Paolo in Brazil. (Globo, in Portuguese)