When Immigrants Become the Football

Candidates in the French presidential election are coming to use the word ‘immigrant’ like a ball to be kicked around from one side to another, analysts say. "Boot all the immigrants out, and everything will be fine. That’s the seductive and deceptive message from some candidates," says French professor Nonna Mayer.

European Airlines Silence Palestine Protest

As 60 percent of the international activists set to land at Ben Gurion airport Sunday had their plane tickets cancelled, organisers of the ‘Welcome to Palestine’ fly-in campaign condemned what they say is European complicity in Israel’s illegal restrictions on their right to travel freely.

Chinese Dissidents Silenced for London Book Fair

A dissident Chinese author has expressed dismay at the lack of independent and exiled authors represented at this year’s London Book Fair (LBF), where China is guest of honour. An ensuing public spat, revolving around accusations that the Fair’s organisers have bowed to Chinese authorities, has thrust the thorny issue of censorship to centre-stage.

Tighter Security Ignores Root Causes of Somali Crises

As Western forces step up their military presence in Somalia, locals and experts are worried that the country – struggling under multiple crises from piracy, to drought – is doomed to churn in a cycle of violence that fails to acknowledge root causes of the problems.

Spain Slashes Funds for Integration of Immigrants

The Support Fund for the Integration of Immigrants in Spain has been drained of resources, and as a result there is no funding for social insertion, employment and education programmes for the immigrant community.

Cuban Dissidents in Spain Complain about Cut-off in Aid

A group of former political prisoners from Cuba and their family members gathered in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square and in front of the foreign ministry Tuesday to protest the unexpected cut-off in aid from the government.

Argentine Court Forges Ahead in Franco-Era Human Rights Crimes Case

Based on the principle of universal justice, human rights crimes committed during Spain's 1936-1939 civil war and the 1939-1975 dictatorship of General Francisco Franco are being tried in Argentina, and more and more plaintiffs are joining the lawsuit.

Eastern Europe, a Cold War Relic, Still Alive at U.N.

A politically intense battle between Lithuania and Serbia for the post of president of the next General Assembly sessions has shifted the focus on an anomaly of the Cold War era: the existence of the long-defunct Eastern Europe.

Austerity Plan Decapitates Greek Cultural Heritage

The broken display cases at Greece’s Museum of Olympia, the site where the first Olympic Games were held thousand of years ago, have stunned members of the Archaeological Service who have been registering a stream of missing cultural artifacts.

Gunfire from Syria Hits Border Camp in Turkey

Gunfire from the Syrian side of the border has hit a refugee camp inside Turkey, wounding at least three people.

Cold Spring Forecast in Iran-Turkey Relations

Ties between Turkey and Iran appear to be headed downward in the wake of Tehran's statement earlier this week that it would prefer not to hold the negotiations with the P5+1 group on its nuclear programme in Istanbul, as had been announced last week by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton.

Uzbekistan Takes Hardline Approach on Containing Turkish Soft Power

Religion is a wedge that is driving Uzbekistan and Turkey apart.

TAJIKISTAN: Using Force to Maintain a Standing Army

Hunger, unheated barracks, beatings and regular outbreaks of disease: it could be life in a penal colony. But in this case, it describes the existence of a fresh military conscript in Tajikistan.

Europe Urges More Development Aid for Women

Though United Nations experts agree that governments should focus on empowering girls and women as a key to managing a world of seven billion people, not enough is being done for women’s rights in developing countries, aid advocates say.

Oil Drilling Threatens Spain’s Renewable Energy Paradise

Environmentalists and local authorities are opposed to prospecting for oil in the waters off the Canary Islands, one of Europe’s leading tourist destinations and an area with great potential in the field of renewable energy.

European NGOs Put IFIs Under Microscope

European civil society organisations continue to demand that international financial institutions (IFIs) such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund apply the same standards of transparency and accountability to their internal affairs that they demand for governments across the world.

Europe’s Austerity Programme Spawns ‘Lost Generation’

The recent dramatic rise of youth unemployment across Europe – particularly in the Mediterranean member countries of the Eurozone most affected by the sovereign debt crisis and so-called ‘remedial’ austerity programmes – indicates that the continent is sacrificing its future on the altar of short-term budget consolidation.

When Europe Develops, and Israel Destroys

The European Commission has released a document that lists projects it funded that were destroyed or damaged by the Israel Defence Forces between May 2001 and October 2011.

Argentina Insists On, UK Resists Talks on Malvinas/Falklands

Three decades after Argentine troops disembarked in the Malvinas/Falklands Islands, the government of President Cristina Fernández is pressing Britain to negotiate the sovereignty of the islands, which have been under British occupation since 1833.

Caribbean Private Sector Lags in Exploiting EU Trade Pact

When Europe signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the Caribbean Forum countries in 2008, the intention was to boost trade and services between the two regions.

Could Coffee Eliminate Borders?

A diverse blend of coffee is going to pervade the city of Milan in 2015. World producers will come together to show, exchange and market their coffee in a global alliance without geographical-based membership.