US State Department drops Biden-era directive on DEI diplomacy
A presidential memorandum in March 2025 ordered the removal of the DEIA "core precept" from Foreign Service tenure and promotion criteria.
Culture war
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Zero bids for broadcasting rights of female football in Spain
Liga F said none of the proposals submitted had reached the minimum price set for the lots.
Clowns entertain illegal migrants on their way to Britain
The performances, which also included helping prepare free hot lunches, largely met with bemusement rather than smiles.
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Bluesky’s active user base halves as the post-election exodus fades
The decline is sharper still when measured against the platform's late-2024 peak.
Berlin hosts pool for black swimmers only
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Cambridge college issues content warning for Little Red Riding Hood over ‘themes of violence’
The warning is the latest example of content advisories applied to literary material at Cambridge.
Female detective sacked and barred for ‘cocks in frocks’ remark on transgender strip-search policy
The phrase was used during a discussion of force policy that allowed biological males who identify as women to insist on being strip-searched by a female officer.
Transgender American who fled Trump’s US returns home from notorious Dutch asylum centre
Arc later told media outlets that conditions at the camp were far more dangerous than anything she had experienced in the US.
One in seven Germans plans to emigrate within five years
More than a quarter of those aged under 40 said they intended to leave, according to pollster INSA.
WNBA sets up eligibility task force as two ex-NBA men enter women’s draft
Two former first-round NBA picks said they would enter the 2027 women's draft, testing a rulebook that never defined the word "woman".
Italy to host first CPAC only after 2027 general election
The decision means the Italian edition of the flagship US conservative gathering will be launched only once the next government is in place, rather than during the…
Irish health service confirms ‘maternity leave’ for transgender men
Staff who hold a gender recognition certificate qualify for the full paid entitlement, official guidance states.
North Korea recommends dog-meat soup to combat summer heatwave
State media has portrayed leader Kim Jong Un enduring the heat during inspections as a show of solidarity.
Swedish Left Party MP praises jailed al-Aqsa Brigades commander
Ilona Szatmári Waldau, a Riksdag member for the Left Party, wrote an open letter to Ahmad al-Moghrabi, who is serving 18 life sentences in Israel.
French conservative journalist attacked by far-left mob
According to accounts based on his complaint and phone footage, he was recognised while leaving a bar with friends.
Seville residents hang pig remains at mosque site in bid to halt project
Cuts of pork have appeared on the fencing of a plot in one of Spain's poorest districts, where a mosque and Islamic centre are due to be built.
West Midlands Police invites non-Muslim officers to fast for Ramadan
Documents released under freedom of information laws show the force being held up as a model of inclusivity for other public bodies.
Austrian taxpayers fund nearly €400,000 study on ‘right-wing extremism in fashion’
The team conducts fieldwork, archive research and online analysis, and collaborates with the Polarization and Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American…
German neo-Nazi is officially allowed to call himself Adolfa
Formerly known as André B., the man from the Apolda area completed the official name and gender change in 2025.
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Congressional report finds no scientific basis for masks, distancing or lockdowns
The White House based its official page on the origins of Covid-19 on the same 520-page document, and Anthony Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times…
Paris makes gender assessments mandatory for all public space projects
The motion argues that a growing "masculinist" movement, which it links to a reactionary right-wing politics, is increasingly challenging feminist policies.
White House officially names Wuhan laboratory leak as the origin of Covid-19
The dossier accuses Anthony Fauci, the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organisation of burying the theory, days before Fauci refused to answer…
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Tusk government defies constitutional tribunal over foreign same-sex marriage registrations
The change applies to full and abridged marriage certificates and other documents issued from the civil-status register.
Greens demand EU heatwave plan as member states battle wildfires
Across Europe, more than 254,000 hectares had already burned by July 22, according to EFFIS, as wildfires also spread across Spain and Italy.
Seville mayor grants mosque permit as Vox freezes its pact with the PP
Planning officials ruled the scheme lawful, leaving José Luis Sanz with no grounds to refuse.
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Berlin queer commissioner counts Islamists among ‘conservative forces’ after Pride attack
Abdul Ballout, a 21-year-old German citizen with Lebanese roots, drove a hired minibus into pedestrians near the closing rally of the parade in the Tiergarten park…
Merz reopens citizenship-stripping debate after Berlin CSD attack
The German Chancellor's proposal comes in response to the fact that the alleged attacker was not a foreign national.
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Sánchez closes his political year with a record fire, climate excuses and no budget
Investigators traced Spain's largest ever wildfire to a spark from machinery used during a regional ban, while Moncloa pressed again for a state agreement on the…
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Berlin attack lands amid a rightward drift in Europe’s gay vote
Polling in France, Germany and Britain pointed to a realignment among gay and bisexual men, though the picture was far from uniform.
Jewish DJ Barbara Butch files incitement complaints against French left-wing party
The move comes after prosecutors in Grenoble opened an investigation into what authorities described as a possible offence of "concerted obstruction of freedoms"…