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In Ireland's capital, Dublin, tent cities set up by migrants who lack temporary protected status are repeatedly cleared. The situation has been aggravated by Ireland's housing crisis and anti-migrant laws in Britain. The center of Dublin glitters with architectural showpieces, the offices of global corporations. But there are increasingly tents at the base of the glass facades. Some of these belong to people excluded from housing, a scarcity across Ireland and simply unaffordable for many people in the booming capital. The housing crisis is the dominant topic in Ireland right now. When he took office as Taoiseach, or Ireland's head of government, in April, Simon Harris promised to provide 250,000 new homes by the end of the decade. The second group of people sleeping in tents constitute the second-hottest topic in the Irish republic. More and more migrants are arriving here, to this island in north-western Europe, and its capacity to accommodate them is at its limits — not least because of the housing crisis. The situation has been aggravated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, 100,000 Ukrainian refugees have registered in Ireland. An EU-wide agreement means they do not have to apply for asylum first. Ireland's government openly admits that it is unable to provide all asylum-seekers with accommodation while their applications are processed. According to the government, as of May 14, 1,780 male applicants were as yet unhoused. A veritable tent city sprang up around the International Protection Office in Dublin, which is responsible for processing asylum applications. Young men were sleeping here; they had to wash and cook on the street, and rely on bike hire docking bays to charge their phones with USB cables. On May 1, the Irish authorities cleared the camp, and divided 285 male asylum-seekers between two emergency shelters. Since then, new tent encampments have repeatedly appeared near the office, and have repeatedly been cleared.
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LGBTQ+ rights in Europe5/18/2024 The world celebrates International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia on May 17. To mark the occasion, ILGA Europe — a lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer (LGBTQ+) rights group — is publishing its latest Rainbow Map based on 2023 data. The Rainbow Map, which has been published annually for 11 years now, ranks European countries on their LGBTQ+ rights. It does so according to range of criteria including LGBTQ+ equality, protection from hate crime and discrimination, societal integration and sexual self-determination. Which countries are leading the way This year, Malta tops the ranking as Europe's most progressive country for LGBTQ+ rights, scoring 88 out of 100 possible points. Iceland follows in second with 83 points. EU states Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Denmark, Finland and Greece also scored highly, each with over 70 points. Roughly speaking, Europe's northern and western states tend to have stronger LGBTQ+ rights than other countries on the continent. Russia, Azerbaijan and Türkiye, for example, are the lowest-ranked countries. Poland, meanwhile, occupies the lowest out of all EU states with a mere 17 points due to a decade of conservative PiS party rule. Following the change of government last year, Poland may rise up the ranking next year. Italy undoing progress The situation has worsened for Italy's LGBTQ+ people since the far-right Brothers of Italy, League and Forza Italia coalition government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took over in 2022. For years, Italy has been in the bottom third of the ILGA ranking due to inequality regarding parenthood, adoption and marriage rights, says Katrin Hugendubel, who coordinates policy, advocacy and strategic litigation work at ILGA Europe. Meloni is using these legal loopholes to enforce her idea of families made up of heterosexual parents only. "Laws are important for protecting us against political change," Hugendubel told DW. "And we are not seeing see much improvement at the moment."
Self-determination The ranking of European states has not changed much in recent times because there are hardly any initiatives to enshrine queer rights in law, according to Hugendubel. Germany is a notable exception, which passed a gender self-determination law in spring. Such self-determination is possible only in 11 of the 49 European countries ranked. "While some countries, including Germany, have made progress, there is stagnation in others, meaning no new laws are being passed," Hugendubel said. "This comes at a very dangerous time with hatred and violence on the rise, and governments trying to undermine human rights, especially those of LGBTQ+ people." The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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The EU has launched a new investigation into Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, over its alleged failure to protect children from harmful content.
The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm tasked with proposing new laws and policies, said on Thursday that it has opened formal proceedings to assess whether Meta may have breached the Digital Services Act (DSA) in areas linked to the protection of minors. Adopted in 2022, the DSA aims to create a safer digital space where the fundamental rights of users are protected. The commission is concerned that Facebook and Instagram’s algorithms and online interfaces “may exploit the weaknesses and inexperience of minors and cause addictive behavior, and/or reinforce so-called ‘rabbit hole effect,’” reads the commission’s press release. The ‘rabbit-hole effect’ refers to specific algorithms used by social media platforms. When a user looks at one piece of harmful content, the algorithms suggest more of the same, potentially leading them toward videos that become more extreme. Meta’s age-verification tools may also not be “reasonable, proportionate, and effective” to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate content, the press release stated. The commission said it will now carry out an in-depth investigation as a matter of priority. The opening of formal proceedings empowers the EU executive arm to take enforcement steps such as adopting interim measures and non-compliance decisions. Meta said it has “spent a decade developing more than 50 tools and policies” to protect children. The company wants “young people to have safe, age-appropriate experiences online,” Reuters quoted a Meta spokesperson as saying. Protection of children is a “challenge the whole industry is facing,” the statement added. Both Facebook and Instagram have more than 45 million monthly active users in the EU. In April 2023, they were designated by the bloc as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs). As such, they have to comply with obligations set out in the DSA. The European Commission already opened a set of formal proceedings against Meta in April, looking into alleged deceptive advertising, political content, and election disinformation on Facebook and Instagram. The probes come ahead of the vote for the European Parliament scheduled for early June. DSA violations can lead to fines of as much as 6% of a company’s annual global turnover. The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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Ukraine said their units have managed to stop Russian forces in Kharkiv, but Moscow said they would continue to advance.
Ukrainian forces fought to stop the advance of Russian troops in the Kharkiv region, home to the second-largest city in Ukraine and located in the country's northeast. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the military sent reinforcements to the area. As Russia tries to gain ground near the city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian soldiers do what they can to bring residents to safety, reports from Vovchansk say, just a few kilometers from the Russian border. The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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French police killed an armed in individual who intended to set a synagogue in the northern city of Rouen ablaze, France's Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Friday.
"National police in Rouen neutralized early this morning an armed individual who clearly wanted to set fire to the city's synagogue," Darmanin said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.Local authorities that the man approached police armed with a knife and a crowbar. "It is not only the Jewish community that is affected. It is the entire city of Rouen that is bruised and in shock," Rouen Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol said on X. He said that there were no victims besides the attacker. What do we know about the suspected synagogue attack? The Franceinfo broadcaster reported police were called to the scene early on Friday because smoke was billowing form the synagogue. Local authorities that the man approached police armed with a knife and a crowbar, after which he was shot dead by an officer. Franceinfo cited a police source as saying that a link between the fire and the armed man had not been established. "It is not only the Jewish community that is affected. It is the entire city of Rouen that is bruised and in shock," Rouen Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol said on X. He said that there were no victims besides the attacker. Rouen prosecutors said that they had opened investigations into the fire at the synagogue, as well as a separate probe into the circumstances of the death of the man killed by police. Anti-Semitic incidents in France Yonathan Arfi, who heads the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France, condemned what he called an "attempt to intimidate all Jews" in a post on X. "Attempting to burn a synagogue is an attempt to intimidate all Jews. Once again, there is an attempt to impose a climate of terror on the Jews of our country. Combating anti-Semitism means defending the French Republic," he said. The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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If the British royal family was looking for a public relations win after Princess Catherine’s Photoshop fails, the unveiling of King Charles’ newest royal portrait was not it.
“I’m sorry, but this portrait looks like he’s in hell,” one person posted in comments under artist Jonathan Yeo’s and the royal family’s joint Instagram post revealing and explaining the image. “Without sounding rude this is the worst royal portrait I’ve ever seen,” another added. “It looks like he’s bathing in blood,” a third concluded. The painting, which stands at an impressive 2.6 by 2 metres (8½ by 6½ feet), was commissioned three years ago by the Worshipful Company of Drapers, a medieval guild of wool and cloth merchants that now focuses on philanthropy. The piece will hang at the gallery in Drapers’ Hall in downtown London, Yeo wrote. King Charles sat for four sessions with the artist, a trustee at the National Portrait Gallery who has painted Queen Camilla when she was duchess of Cornwall as well as Charles’ father, the late Prince Philip, albeit in much more flattering tones. Charles had a creative say in the project, suggesting the artist include the butterfly landing on his shoulder, doing double duty as a symbol of his commitment to the environment and to show his transformation as he ascended to the throne. “When I started this project, His Majesty The King was still His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, and much like the butterfly I’ve painted hovering over his shoulder, this portrait has evolved as the subject’s role in our public life has transformed,” Yeo wrote. “I do my best to capture the life experiences and humanity etched into any individual sitter’s face, and I hope that is what I have achieved in this portrait. To try and capture that for His Majesty The King, who occupies such a unique role, was both a tremendous professional challenge, and one which I thoroughly enjoyed and am immensely grateful for.” Despite his involvement in the project, King Charles was “initially surprised by the strong colour,” the artist told the BBC, and TikTok royals commentator @matta_of_fact noted that the king appeared to jump a bit when he pulled the cloth away to reveal the painting. The online opinions didn’t stop at hellfire, however. Allusions to the royal family’s bloody colonial past, Charles and Camilla’s infamous tampon scandal and the family’s current woes, including the king’s recent cancer diagnosis, ran rampant. But not everyone seemed bothered. Queen Camilla took one look at the painting, the BBC reported, and said, “Yes, you’ve got him”. The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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The Netherlands go Right5/16/2024 MPs from all four parties who have agreed to form a right-wing government voted in favour of the draft coalition plans on Wednesday evening, but there is still no confirmation of who will be prime minister.
All four parliamentary groupings – PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB – voted unanimously to accept the agreement, although there was unease among some MPs about forming an alliance with the far-right PVV. In addition, both immigration minister Eric van der Burg (VVD), and nitrogen and nature chief Christianne van der Wal (VVD) said publicly they are sorry that work they have put in for the outgoing cabinet will now be scrapped. The new government is set to repeal legislation to ensure refugees are spread fairly around the country, which Van der Burg battled to get accepted and was only recently passed in the senate. Furthermore, the outgoing government’s strategy for dealing with the problem of nitrogen-based pollution, which helped drive the growth of new coalition party BBB, is being overturned. “It was absolutely an emotional meeting,” party leader Dilan Yesilgöz said after the 24 VVD MPs agreed to back the deal. “And [the agreement] includes issues which impact on party members or which they disagree with.” The VVD was the last party to make its support for the coalition document public, some 30 minutes before the midnight deadline. The 25-page coalition plan, which highlights broad strategy but not detail, will be formally presented on Thursday but some of the measures the new cabinet plans to implement have already leaked out. The maximum speed on motorways will go back up to 130 kph. It was cut earlier to reduce nitrogen emissions. The own-risk element in healthcare, currently €385 a year, will be halved in 2027, the earliest date at which the cut can be implemented. Spending on the public broadcasting system NPO will also be cut by €100 million. Foreign workers The new government has also pledged to get tough on all forms of migration, and that will also include cuts in the number of people coming to the Netherlands to work. However, the four parties have also pledged to act in line with international treaties. Formal childcare will become much cheaper, RTL Nieuws reported, and value-added tax on hotel stays will be put back up to 21%. It was cut during the coronavirus epidemic to help support the travel industry. According to Nu.nl, work will also begin on setting up a constitutional court, one of the key demands made by NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt. MInisters Now an agreement has been reached, work will start on putting together a team of ministers, of which around half are expected to be independent of any party. The four parties agreed earlier they would form an “extra-parliamentary” or “business” cabinet and it will be up to ministers to flesh out how they intend to implement the new coalition strategy. All four leaders also agreed to stay in the lower house of parliament because Wilders, despite leading the biggest party in parliament, could not count on sufficient support from within the coalition to become prime minister as is customary. He is thought to have put forward former MP Ronald Plasterk, who kicked off the negotiations after the November election, for the job but said on Wednesday that discussion will take place later. Insiders say it will still take several weeks before the new ministerial team will pose for the traditional photograph with the king. The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has been seriously injured in a shooting, according to several Slovak media.
The incident took place in Handlová, about 150 kilometers from the capital Bratislava. According to the Slovak television station TA3, one suspect has been arrested. According to the television station, four shots were heard after a government meeting and the prime minister was hit in the abdomen by one bullet. The pro-Russian Fico has been prime minister since October last year. Before that, he was Prime Minister of Slovakia twice. He mainly sees Russia as a partner and this became clear in 2014 when he rejected EU sanctions against the country. Fico resigned in 2018 in the wake of the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak, who had linked corruption to Fico's government. Fico took office in October 2023, after serving two stints as prime minister from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018. Fico immediately halted the previous government’s policy of military aid to Ukraine and called for a negotiated settlement between Moscow and Kiev. His neutral stance on the conflict has seen him clash with Brussels, and with pro-Western figures within Slovakia such as Caputova. The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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EU shifts toward ‘War Economy’5/15/2024 The European Union’s defence industry has partially switched to a war economy, European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton has said.
Kiev could face a “dangerous period” this year as the focus of Western politicians backing it has now turned to the European Parliament elections on June 6-9 and US presidential election on November 5, Breton explained in an interview with French broadcaster BFMTV on Monday. Russia may well take advantage of this “uncertainty” and “move forward” on the front line, he said. “Because of this, we in Europe have decided to significantly increase our subsidies in terms of weapons and ammunition” for Ukraine, the commissioner stressed. According to Breton, the EU is now on track to be producing 2 million shells, including 155mm calibre, per year for Ukraine. He said that it is fair to say the EU has “moved into a war economy” at least in terms of shell production. “Now the challenge is for us to move into a war economy in all segments of the European defence industry,” the commissioner added. In March, the European Commission approved the allocation of €500 million ($590 million) to boost the production of shells in the EU. According to Brussels, the bloc will be able to make 2 million shells annually by the end of 2025. Last year, the EU vowed to supply Kiev with 1 million shells by March 2024. However, it later acknowledged that it would not be able to meet this goal. Ukrainian officials said that they received around a third of what had been promised. In April, French President Emmanuel Macron insisted that the switch to a war economy was “necessary” as defence spending and military orders have been on the rise across the EU. Russia has warned repeatedly that foreign weapons being sent to Kiev will not prevent Moscow from achieving its military goals, but will merely prolong the fighting and increases the risk of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO. According to officials in Moscow, the provision of arms, intelligence sharing, and the training of Ukrainian troops mean that Western nations have already become de-facto parties to the conflict. The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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