Vienna to keep plaque commemorating Stalin
A plaque on a house in Vienna’s 12th district commemorating Soviet dictator Josef Stalin will not be removed for the time being, the local council has announced.
Society
Latest reporting and analysis on society.
‘Progressive democracy’ means destroying the power of the people’s vote
If you listen to establishmentarians in Washington and Brussels, liberal democracy is under threat from anti-democratic populist movements.
Israel slams Poland for refusing Netanyahu safe passage to Auschwitz event
The centre-left Polish government of prime minister Donald Tusk has said that it respects all International Criminal Court (ICC) decisions and warrants, making it…
German President brands Musk’s X a ‘threat to democracy’
Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has branded Elon Musk's X social media platform a potential "threat to democracy".
Polish opposition says proposed hate-speech law changes would lead to ‘censorship’
Poland’s opposition Conservatives (PiS) have failed in their attempt in parliament to reject at first reading a bill proposed by the government aiming to widen…
Merry Christmas to everyone, because it is worth preserving for all
On December 20 yet another attack on a Christmas market took place in Europe, this time in Magdeburg, Germany.
Discovered!: Dutch wooden clog from 500 years ago
The Dutch are known worldwide for their wooden shoes but the recent rare discovery of a 500-year-old one in the city of Alkmaar has shown just how widespread their…
Real name Glucksburg: Former Greek royals’ Frenchified name-change sparks ridicule
As the Greek government allows citizenship for ten members of the former royal family, many Greeks have continued to pour scorn on the family's Christmas decision…
Albania bans TikTok for a year after killing of teenager
Albania announced on December 22 a one-year ban on TikTok, the popular short video app, following the killing of a teenager last month that raised fears over the…
Gang-linked gangster rapper Gaboro shot dead in Sweden in ‘filmed attack’
The popular gangster rapper Gaboro has been shot dead in the Swedish city of Norrköping.
Nativity scene has no place under Christmas tree, hard-left MEP claims
Manon Aubry, hard-left MEP for La France Insoumise (LFI), has taken aim at the nativity scene under Christmas trees in Brussels in her Christmas message to her supporters.
Polish Government says it will only publish court rulings it approves of
The Polish Government has adopted a resolution to address what it claimed was a rule-of-law crisis affecting judicial institutions.
German parliament passes reform of Constitutional Court ‘to block extremists’
A large majority in the German parliament, the Bundestag, has approved a reform they claim will protect the independence of the Constitutional Court and prevent…
Orbán offers political asylum to Polish opposition MP ‘persecuted by rainbow government’
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government has offered political asylum to Polish opposition Conservative (PiS) MP Marcin Romanowski.
Danish Government aims to screen ‘personal views’ of citizenship applicants
The Danish Government has been pushing forward with a new step in its citizenship process: Screening applicants for "anti-democratic attitudes".
Parody song brutally attacking UK PM Starmer’s pensioners policy a smash-hit
UK Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Keir Starmer has likely not been enjoying Christmas tune-smithery thus far.
‘Peak in hate-motivated crimes directed at LGBTQ people in Berlin’, report finds
According to a report by the Berlin Police, there has been a peak in hate-motivated crimes directed against homosexuals, bisexuals and trans people.
MEP Fidias accuses EU of silencing voices under ‘disinformation pretext’
The Cypriot social media influencer-turned-MEP Fidias Panayiotou has fought for "free speech" in the European Parliament during a plenary debate on online misinformation…
Dutch authority fines Netflix €4.75 Million for data violation
Netflix has been hit with a €4.75 million fine by the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) for breaking the European Union's GDPR privacy rules.
Austrian state coalition plans to ban ‘gender-inclusive language’ in government
In the Austrian State of Styria, the right-wing Freedom Party (FPÖ) has said it planned to ban civil servants in Styria from using "gender-inclusive language".
EC demands end to Portugal’s ‘discriminatory’ rule on museum entry
The European Commission has launched an infringement procedure against Portugal, calling on the country to end its "discriminatory" policy on admission fees for…
Brexiteers voted ‘Out!’ but are left still tied to foreign regulators they did not elect
Sir Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, is starting to slide the United Kingdom back into the EU.
EC ‘illegally targeted adverts at citizens using sensitive personal data’, watchdog finds
The European Commission has lost a case before the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), which ruled that the the EC had "illegally targeted advertisements…
French Trotskyist party leader brands alleged US CEO killer Mangione a ‘vigilante’
Nathalie Arthaud, leader of the French Trotskyist party Lutte Ouvrière (LO), has branded Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson,…
To express ourselves as we please, that is what elites fear most
TikTok, the Chinese-owned short-form social media platform, has lately been in the spotlight on both sides of the Atlantic. Not without good reason.
Miss Netherlands competition ends: ‘No longer relevant in today’s times’
After 35 years of wide smiles and long legs, the annual Miss Netherlands competition is coming to an end.
Berlin University refuses exhibition on persecution of Jews over concerns of backlash
The Freie Universität Berlin (FU) has decided a travelling exhibition on anti-Jewish pogroms cannot be exhibited in the university building, fearing an "emotional…
Polish PM Tusk’s government ‘led unprecedented assault on rule of law’, claim Brussels think-tank
The Brussels think-tank MCC, linked to the Hungarian Mathias Corvinus Collegium education forum, has published a report alleging the Polish Government led by Prime…
France: Son of imam and two others arrested over alleged ‘Islamist terror plot’
Three young men who were said to have been radicalised have been charged with alleged criminal terrorist conspiracy by France's intelligence services, the General…
Austrian Chancellor praises X’s ‘contribution to freedom of speech’
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has publicly stated his appreciation for X, the social media platform owned by US tech billionaire Elon Musk.