Tag Archives: Europe

Ideology + Affiliation, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

U.K. Feature | Radicals

Video

Radical in Britain

Contemporary radicalism manifests itself in a variety of ways, with each instance emerging from a unique intersection of race, class, gender, religion, and other dimensions of identity that create specific forms of vulnerability that lead to radical thought and action. BBC examines the diversity of radicalism in the U.K. context, featuring the stories of several who have been labeled (or who self-identify) as radicals, analyses of its causes, and discussions of the controversial methods the government uses to curtail its effects.

The Series:

The Proud Racist
The Man with No Passport
De-radicalizing Adam

Health + Ability

U.K. News | HIV+

London HIV clinic accidentally divulges names of nearly 800 patients
  • 56 Dean Street, one of London’s biggest HIV clinics, revealed 780 names and e-mail addresses through an e-mail newsletter, which directors said was the result of human error.
  • Patients indicated that they saw names of people on the list whose HIV status had been undisclosed to them previously, worrying them about the fallout.
  • The Information Commissioner’s Office, Britain’s data protection watchdog, announced it was investigating the breach.

“I am a bit paranoid that somehow the list might be shared or end up published on the internet somewhere. I know that is a bit unlikely but it still terrifies me. I am worried that if there is legal action [for breach of privacy] my anonymity will be further compromised as well.”

Read the full story at the Guardian.

(Image Credit: Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust/Video grab, via the Guardian)

Nationality + Migration

Austria & Hungary News | Migrants & Refugees

Austria announces it will check migrants’ asylum status at border with Hungary
  • Hundreds of migrants discovered on an overcrowded train from Budapest at the Austrian border will have their status checked by Austrian authorities.
  • If migrants are discovered to have applied for asylum in Hungary, they will be barred from further movement and returned to Hungary.
  • Migrants with no asylum application in progress will be given two weeks to decide whether to apply for asylum in Austria, or be returned to their last country of transit.

Read the full story at Reuters.

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Italy News | LGBT

Venice mayor says no Pride parades for city during his tenure
  • Recently elected mayor Luigi Brugnaro was elected on a center-right ticket and has made his opposition to LGBT rights clear previously.
  • Rights group Arcigay, which hosts numerous Pride events throughout Italy, condemned the statement, having last hosted a parade in Venice just last year.
  • Brugnaro’s statement is the latest in anti-LGBT moves to come from his office, including a blanket ban on books featuring same-sex couples from Venice schools.

“There will never be a gay pride in my city. … Let them go and do it in Milan, or in front of their own homes.”

Read the full story at the Guardian.

Nationality + Migration

France News | Americans & Britons

Three Americans and one Briton receive France’s highest honor for role in subduing train attacker
  • French President François Hollande awarded the four men the Legion d’Honneur at a reception at the Elysée Palace.
  • The men were a part of a group that subdued the gunman on a train bound for Paris with more than 550 passengers reported on board.
  • A French-American, who was shot and remains hospitalized, and an additional unnamed man also assisted and will receive their honors at a later date.

Read the full story at BuzzFeed News.

(Image Credit: Pool New/Reuters, via BuzzFeed News)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.K. Feature | Gay Asian Muslims

Gaysian and Proud

Image Credit: Borja Suarez/Reuters
Image Credit: Borja Suarez/Reuters

A new documentary featuring renowned British drag queen Asifa Lahore (Asif Quarashi) highlights struggles of Britain’s gay Asian and Muslim drag queen communities. Probing the complexities at the intersection of an at times violently opposed faith community and a gender and sexual minority community that often whitewashes its population, Muslim Drag Queens premieres today in celebration of Britain’s vibrant Gaysian community.

Read the full feature at the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

(Image Credit: Borja Suarez/Reuters)

Nationality + Migration

Europe News | Migrants

More than 4,000 migrants rescued off Libya’s coast in coordinated European naval effort
  • The Italian-led effort was responding to distress calls, which led to the rescue of around 4,400 migrants in one of Europe’s biggest operations in the Mediterranean.
  • The migrants had been stranded aboard nearly two dozen overcrowded dinghies and boats.
  • More than 2,300 have died trying to cross the Mediterranean from Africa and West Asia to get to Europe, leading to more proactive rescue efforts by European navies.

Read the full story at Reuters.

Nationality + Migration

Macedonia News | Refugees & Migrants

Thousands of migrants overwhelm Macedonian border security following the country’s state of emergency declaration
  • Macedonia had declared a state of emergency prior to the event to close its borders to migrants, leaving thousands stranded at the border with little food or water.
  • Border authorities used stun grenades and batons against the migrants, who quickly overwhelmed forces as they attempted to move on through the Balkan country towards Western Europe.
  • There were indications that the Macedonian government shifted to trying to coordinate the transport of migrants through the country to expedite their departure for other European countries.

“In this Europe, animals are sleeping in beds and we sleep in the rain. … I was freezing for four days in the rain, with nothing to eat.”

Read the full story at Reuters.

Uncategorized

ClimateWatch: Europe

ClimateWatch periodically analyzes the security climates of the world’s regions, focusing on conditions and developments affecting the most vulnerable identity communities while highlighting meaningful political and social steps towards security and integration. This week’s European report summarizes developments in identity security from late July through mid-August.

Continue reading ClimateWatch: Europe →

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.K. News & Research | LGBT

1 Comment
Report: 80% of largest U.K. companies lack trans-inclusive non-discrimination policies
  • LGBT network OUTstanding found that despite general statements of commitment to diversity, most FTSE 100 companies lack explicit policies on the books to protect trans employees from employment discrimination.
  • The report also found that just under half of the U.K.’s top companies lack specifically inclusive non-discrimination policies for LGB employees.
  • However, OUTstanding also reported that LGBT issues were the second-most discussed diversity topic, following gender inequality.

“From my own experience, I know that there are many enlightened CEOs who value diversity. In fact, 62% of our members say LGBT issues have been publicly discussed by their CEO. It’s vital that more businesses – including all those in the FTSE 100 – consider their attitude to LGBT inclusion as an asset worth reporting.”

Read the full story at HITC.

Nationality + Migration

Germany News | Eritrean Refugees

1 Comment
Eritrean dissident advocates in Germany allege translators are contaminating the asylum process for refugees
  • The co-founder of Frankfurt-based dissident group United4Eritrea related stories of omissions and hostile environments with translators that increased asylum seekers’ insecurity.
  • Displaced Eritreans fear pro-regime agents in the diaspora who can derail the asylum process and send information back to Eritrea that leads to threats against family members, activities that a recent U.N. report acknowledged.
  • German officials responded that although they do not monitor possible relaying of information back to the Eritrean government, all translators are rigorously tested before being put to work.

“For example they tell them not to explain things the way they are, the political situation – they say ‘you can’t say this, you have to say it like this.’ They try to give as little information as possible, so then they leave the political things out. They want the refugees to arrive here to be recognized only as economic migrants.”

Read the full story at Deutsche Welle.

(Image Credit: imago/epd, via Deutsche Welle)

Ideology + Affiliation

Germany News | Journalists & Dissidents

1 Comment
Germany drops treason investigation against website
  • Germany’s former top prosecutor had been pursuing charges against Netzpolitik.org for allegedly leaking state secrets.
  • That prosecutor was recently replaced, and his acting replacement determined that the site’s posting of documents detailing government plans to ramp up surveillance of online communities did not constitute state secrets.
  • The case prompted worldwide response from journalists, who argued the investigation stifled press freedom in the democratic country.

Read the full story at Reuters.

Nationality + Migration

Greece News | Migrants

1 Comment
Migrants clash with police on Greek island of Kos
  • Police used fire extinguishers and batons against the migrants after hundreds began protesting in the streets of the small island just off the coast of Turkey.
  • More than a thousand migrants had gathered at a stadium to await immigration papers and grew frustrated by the slow process.
  • The tensions followed a Greek police officer’s suspension the previous day for assaulting a Pakistani migrant.

Read the full story at Al Jazeera America and Reuters.

Nationality + Migration

U.K. News | Polish Immigrants

1 Comment
Polish immigrants in the U.K. launch #PolishBlood blood donation campaign to combat anti-immigrant sentiment
  • Andrzej Rygielski developed the idea as a productive protest against rising anti-immigrant activity in the U.K.
  • The protest is promoted as a positive demonstration in contrast to the planned workers’ strike next week.
  • More than 1,000 have pledged to donate blood on August 20, which the National Health Service says will begin helping to address the more than 200,000 donors who still need to be recruited this year.

“It seems that thousands of Poles and other people have joined the Polish blood campaign, not just in opposition to the strike but to show that Polish and migrant energy can be harnessed to achieve positive and extraordinary things – and that is what we should be aiming for. Not for division, not for hatred, not for inequality – but for inclusiveness, positivity and tolerance.”

Read the full story at the Independent.

(Image Credit: Getty Images, via The Independent)

Nationality + Migration

Europe News | Migrants & Refugees

1 Comment
European Commission announces €2.4 billion in funding support as transregional migration surge continues
  • The aid will be disbursed over six years, with the two countries most acutely affected to receive the largest share: €560 million for Italy and €473 million for Greece.
  • France will receive €27 million later in the month, and the U.K. already received €20 million in emergency aid in March.
  • France and the U.K. are expected to use the funding they have received to address the situation in Calais, the departure point for many migrants looking to cross into Britain.

Read the full story at Reuters.