South Asia in deep water as Bangladesh falls for Islamist propaganda
While the world's eyes have been elsewhere, on Gaza, Ukraine, or developments in the South China Sea, tensions have been rising in South Asia.
Culture war
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Austria’s ÖVP ‘accidentally’ votes to abolish biological sex definition under federal law
The Conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) has said it inadvertently voted into force a change of a federal law that has replaced the definition of biological…
Undeterred by parliament vote, Polish Government gives women access to abortion
The Polish Government, undeterred by losing a parliamentary vote on abortion in July, has issued guidelines allowing terminations to be performed on demand at any…
Slovakia’s Fico accuses West of ‘tolerating Ukrainian extremists’
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has accused the West of "tolerating" extremist elements within the Ukrainian military, prompting a backlash from Kyiv.
Police raid organisers of Polish independence day march in alleged hate-speech case
Polish police have raided the premises of the organisers of the annual independence day march following allegations of hate speech during the 2018 edition of the…
Netflix wants to degrade Western culture by insulting classical history
Netflix strikes again. Its new series "KAOS" has already stirred controversy and caused reactions.
Kyiv must address WW2 massacre before it can join EU, Polish minister says
Poland's defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz appeared to make Ukraine's European Union accession conditional on "resolving" a dispute with Poland over a…
Corsicans want to reclaim the slaughtering monster Napoleon for ‘cultural tourism’
“Corsica must reclaim all the great figures of its history, especially Napoleon,” Jean-Guy Talamoni, the pro-independence former president of the Corsican Assembly,…
Amsterdam universities take extra measures to ensure safety of Jewish students and staff
The University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the Free University Amsterdam have announced they are taking extra measures to ensure the safety of Jewish and Israeli students…
Belgian school introduces compulsory Arabic lessons
Mandatory Arabic lessons have been brought in for students at a college in Belgium, spurring opposition on social media.
Ryanair boss O’Leary wants to limit alcohol consumption at airports
Michael O'Leary, boss of Irish airline Ryanair, said he felt air travellers should not be allowed to simply consume as much alcohol as they wanted before a flight.
German football fans protest against sponsorship deal with arms manufacturer Rheinmetall
Fans of the German football club Borussia Dortmund have opposed an advertising deal with arms manufacturer Rheinmetall.
Germany sets most lenient cannabis drug-driving limit in EU
Under new drug regulations in Germany, Berlin has set the most lenient drug-driving limit in the European Union.
Dutch airline drops vegetarian sausage rolls as nobody bought them
Dutch low-cost airline Transavia has stopped selling vegetarian sausage rolls on board because customers said with their wallets that they preferred eating meat.
ECHR has given every prisoner the right to ‘change their sex’, legal think-tank claims
“Thanks to ECHR case law, the vast majority of European countries recognise ‘gender’ as a form of private identity that anyone can choose for oneself at their…
Slovak ministers slam presence of children at ‘erotic aid’ play
A "perverse" play performed at a Slovakian festival has prompted government uproar, with many senior officials expressing fury at children being present at the show.
What the Right now fights: the Left’s hatred of Western civilisation
There are many theories circulating at the moment as to why the political environment seems to get ever more polarised.
‘People of other cultures have a different relationship to knives,’ claims German police chief
In reaction to rising knife violence in Germany, Bonn's police chief Frank Hoever has said: "People of other cultures have a different relationship to knives."
Swedish prosecutor drops case against ‘Europapa’ artist
Joost Klein, the Dutch musician who was kicked out of May's Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden amid allegations of inappropriate behaviour, is no longer being investigated…
Bulgarian Parliament approves ban on ‘LGBTQ propaganda’ in schools
The Bulgarian Parliament has approved a ban on "LGBTQ propaganda" in schools to tackle what it called "incitement" to "non-traditional sexual orientation" or "gender…
Now youth frisbee gets political: Israeli team forced out over ‘security threat’
Israeli teens in Belgium to take part in an international frisbee tournament have been forced out after pro-Palestine activists campaigned against their presence…
The Spy Who Loved Me? German State bans agents from having sex with targets
A German State has banned its intelligence agents from having sex with their targets.
German teens taught that US schools are still ‘divided by skin colour’
Pupils reading the book are asked to answer the following questions: "Do you see the USA as a racist society?
A mother, a widow, cut off her head and French culture finds it amusing
The opening of the Paris Olympic Games turned the state-murder of Marie Antoinette in 1793 into a comic opera and marked another milestone in the cultural death…
Olympics sex controversy: Meloni backs boxer after loss to Khelif
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has come out in support of the Italian boxer who lost an Olympic bout to Imane Khelif, the Algerian fighter who is currently…
Destroying the world in French style, anything goes, nothing stands
What we saw a week ago at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympiad did not just come out of the blue.
AfD politician fined €50,000 for calling journalist a ‘fascist’
Stephan Brandner, a politician with the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, has been fined €50,000 for referring to a journalist as a "fascist".
Seine still too dirty to swim in despite Macron’s ‘anti-poop plan’
The Seine in Paris is still too dirty to swim in despite French President Emmanuel Macron's plan to reduce the amount of excrement-related contaminants in the river.
Macron tells us this is France now, like a gay club in San Francisco in 1980
In the midst of the rain-soaked opening ceremony of the Olympics, President Macron tweeted: "This is France." He was right, though perhaps not in the way he intended.
German publisher drops Vance’s book Hillbilly Elegy over alliance with Trump
German publishing house Ullstein Buchverlage has sparked outrage by deciding against a reprint of the sold-out German translation of Hillbilly Elegy, the 2016 autobiography…