Apr
The UK has one of the worst environments for press freedom in western Europe, according to a global ranking that places Britain below the likes of Uruguay, Samoa, and Chile for restrictions on reporters as they seek to hold power to account. Reporters Without Borders, which campaigns for journalistic freedoms, said the UK ranked 40th […]
Apr
In 2014 a Swiss firm exported to Syria a chemical substance which can be used to produce deadly sarin gas, Swiss media reported on Wednesday. According to public Swiss Radio and Television RTS, a Swiss firm exported five metric tons of the chemical isopropanol to Syria in 2014. In May 2014, the Organization for the […]
Apr
The BBC allowed MI5, Britain’s intelligence service, to vet its applicants in a bid to stop potentially “subversive” people from influencing the broadcast material, new files have revealed. The documents reveal the extent to which MI5 worked with the broadcaster to politically vet thousands of employees – except for “personnel such as chairwomen” – right until the […]
Apr
A 26-year-old leukemia patient, wearing a prescribed medical mask, was stopped by police in Vienna under a ban on the full Islamic veil and other “coverings,” law enforcement officials confirmed on Monday. Doctors told the man, identified only by his first name, Valentin, to wear his mask at all times to protect his weakened immune […]
Apr
A German state has ordered that Christian crosses should be placed on the entrance of all government buildings. Bavaria’s conservative government has said the crosses should not be seen as religious symbols, but are meant to reflect the southern German state’s “cultural identity and Christian-western influence.” Crosses are already compulsory in public schools and courtrooms […]
Apr
A Tunisian man who once allegedly protected Osama Bin Laden has lived in Germany since 1997 and gets €1,168 (£1,022) a month in welfare payments. The figure was revealed by a regional government, after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) asked about the man, known as Sami A. German media have not reported the man’s […]
Apr
A public library in the U.S. state of Illinois has received harsh criticism on social media after exhibiting on Saturday an Islamophobic poem written on a Confederate flag background that insults Muslim women. The poem, written by Professor George Miller, chair of the philosophy department at Lewis University, says “Hijab to me means jihad, so […]
Apr
France’s highest administrative court has upheld a decision to deny a French passport to an Algerian Muslim who refused to shake hands with officials during her citizenship ceremony, according to a ruling seen by AFP Thursday. The woman argued that her “religious beliefs” prevented her from shaking hands with a senior official presiding over the […]
Apr
The Austrian cabinet decided Wednesday on a new packet of measures to tackle asylum misuse and illegal immigration, local media reported. The measures are to bestow greater power to authorities, who will in future be able to analyze the mobile phones of asylum seekers to check which route they took to reach Austria. Should they […]
Apr
California state university is investigating comments made on Twitter by an English professor who called former first lady Barbara Bush an “amazing racist” shortly after her death Tuesday at age 92. “Barbara Bush was a generous and smart and amazing racist who, along with her husband, raised a war criminal,” Randa Jarrar wrote on Twitter. […]
