Brussels fears Musk, he fights the ancient fight for free speech
The Brussels elite have contended they are defending liberal democracy against authoritarianism at home and abroad.
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Society
Latest reporting and analysis on society.
Pension protests pressure Belgian government talks
Belgian political parties currently negotiating over forming a government faced a new challenge with protests and strike action in Brussels on January 13 over pension…
Violence erupts in Italy over police death of Italian-Egyptian teenager
Italy has seen violent unrest break out, largely attributed to immigrant communities over the death of 19-year-old Italian-Egyptian Rami El Gamal during a police…
A director sees only racism in Britain when history offers more
The often overrated Hanna Arendt was bang on the money when she declared that, “Under normal circumstances, the liar is defeated by reality, for which there is…
Polish Government aims for power to block social media content
The Polish centre-left coalition government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk has proposed legislation that would grant a state agency the power to block social…
German hard-right AfD party dissolves ‘radical’ youth branch
At its party conference, the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has decided to drop its youth organisation and create a new one.
Holocaust and ritual slaughter increasingly sensitive topics in Belgium
This story was edited following a reaction from one of the mentioned schools
Belgian film crew ‘threatened by thugs demanding protection money’
Belgian film producer Bert Hamelinck has revealed on national TV that his crew was told they had to pay protection money to local thugs in order not to be harassed.
Algeria sends deported Algerian straight back to France
Algeria has immediately returned an Algerian influencer who was deported by France back to where he came from, aggravating diplomatic tensions between both countries.
EC and European Council chiefs target Trump and Musk
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa have sent a joint statement to the US President-elect Donald Trump…
Danish Socialists want donation cap to prevent ‘Musk-Style’ influence in politics
The Danish eco-socialist party, Enhedslisten, is pushing for a 20,000 kroner (€2.
German inquiry into whether Musk-AfD podcast would be an ‘illegal donation’
Germany's parliament is reported to be investigating whether an upcoming online conversation between US tech guru Elon Musk and the head of the Alternative for Germany…
Greenland, Canada, Panama: Trump wants them, but can he take them?
This is the kind of news that makes a journalist shiver in excitement. What a story.
Scores of migrants arrested on Greek island
The Greek Coast Guard has arrested 124 migrants on the island of Karpathos after spotting speedboats without identification markers.
EU court orders EC to compensate citizen for violating its own protection laws
The General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union has directed the European Commission to compensate an individual who alleged his personal data was…
German magazine attacks rival for publishing Musk op-ed
A major German news website has attacked one of its main rivals over its competitor's decision to publish an article written by Elon Musk.
EU threatens Meta with fines after Zuckerberg backs Trump
The European Union has threatened Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta with fines of up to six per cent of the global turnover of the platform.
Left-wing German anti-discrimination commissioner calls for government to quit X
German Federal Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Ferda Ataman has called on her government to leave social media platform X.
EC forces ‘gender balance’ on companies, despite missing its own goals
The European Commission has announced that private companies will now have to respect so-called gender balance norms.
France’s Retailleau targets ‘political Islam’, calls for university ban on Islamic veil
French Minister of Interior Bruno Retailleau has targeted what he referred to as "political Islam", calling for a ban the Islamic veil in French higher-education.
The mass rape of young girls, British establishment says, ‘So what?’
The grooming gang scandal in Britain has been a long time coming and while aspects of it and some allegations may be excessive (or not), it lifts the rock on the…
Meta’s Zuckerberg vows to ‘restore free speech’ as ‘EU is institutionalising censorship’
Meta, the parent company of social media giants including Instagram and Facebook, has said it planned to "restore free speech".
Right mourns ‘courageous’ Jean-Marie Le Pen as Left mocks him online
France's Right is in mourning after the death of "courageous" National Rally (RN) founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen, on January 7.
Swiss Attorney General warns of spiralling crime ‘like in Belgium or Sweden’
Swiss Federal Prosecutor Stefan Blättler has called for decisive action against gang crime in his country, citing what he called conditions in Belgium and Sweden,…
Vulgarity, crime, rapes, coarsening of public life, liberal England is gone
This year sees the ninetieth anniversary of the publication of a book called The Strange Death of Liberal England by the Anglo-American historian George Dangerfield.
German Christian Democrats pledge tougher line on migration as elections loom
Germany's Christian Democrats (the CDU party) have been toughening their stance on migration in the run-up to national elections in February, including calls for…
Gang rape: Starmer did not stand across the scandal and yell ‘Stop!’
The grooming gangs in Rotherham -- let us just say Rotherham and let it also cover Rochdale, Manchester, Telford, Oldham and dozens of other British cities and towns…
Italy PM Meloni lauds ‘beautiful’ meeting with Donald Trump
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has boasted that she had a "beautiful" meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump.
Spain’s Canary Islands reports record number of migrants for 2024
Annual numbers released by Spain's Interior Ministry have shown that 46,843 migrants reached Europe via the Canary Islands in 2024, marking a new record.
Germany sees ‘100 gender change applications daily’ under new law
Around 100 people apply to change their legal gender each day in Germany under federal-level legislation passed late last year.