World

Slovakia: Criminal charges filed against play about neo-Nazi arson attack in Czech Republic

18.2.2017 7:58 The Slovak National Theater (SND) has produced a play for students about the 2009 arson attack committed in Vítkov, Opava district, Czech Republic as an example of extremism, but after seeing the performance at a high school this month, its critics have reported it to the police for the suspected crime of defamation on the basis of nationality, political convictions or race. SND has responded by saying those who reported the play to police are attempting to intimidate teachers into not inviting the theater to schools.  full story

German court sentences xenophobes to seven and eight-year prison sentences for arson

17.2.2017 12:22 Six men, including a member of the ultra-right National Democratic Party (Národnědemokratická strana - NPD), have been convicted by a court in Germany of committing arson against a building slated for use as an asylum-seekers' shelter in 2015. Politician Maik Schneider has received the longest sentence.  full story

German court awards compensation to Muslim woman not hired because of head scarf

17.2.2017 10:24 A German court has awarded compensation to a woman who was not hired by a primary school in Berlin because, as a Muslim, she wears a head scarf. Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported on 10 February that the establisher of the school must pay the rejected applicant the equivalent of two months' pay, or EUR 8 680.  full story

Slovak Parliament changes regional election rules, extremists could benefit

16.2.2017 6:50 The Slovak Parliament has changed the rules for the direct election of the chairs (Governors) of the country's eight self-administered regions less than a year before the next elections are to be held. According to the opposition, the amendment could aid extremist candidates including some incumbents, six of whom were supported during the 2013 elections by the Social Democrats headed by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Směr-SD).
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Slovakia: Romani businessman stopped from distributing food to the homeless by authorities

15.2.2017 9:38 Marián Markovič is a 37-year-old businessman from Komárno, Slovakia. News server Romea.cz reported on his decision, roughly a month ago, to regularly aid local homeless people and the socially vulnerable.  full story

European Roma and Travellers Forum condemns offer made by self-appointed "king" to US President

13.2.2017 19:44 The European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) has indicated its dismay and outrage over the letter sent recently by Dorin Cioabă of Romania to US President Donald Trump suggesting that Romani people in particular should build a proposed wall between Mexico and the USA. The ERTF condemns ideas that foster segregation and discrimination in any form.  full story

Slovakia: Black model in ad sparks racist commentary

11.2.2017 18:26 A hate campaign on social media has been sparked by an advertisement by a Slovak firm selling sports clothing in which a dark-skinned man is featured. The business has stood up for the black model.  full story

International Romani Union says offer to help Trump came from Rom facing traditional community justice procedure in Romania

8.2.2017 8:35 Dorin Cioabă, the self-declared "King of all Roma", has sent a letter to US President Donald Trump promising to aid him with building the controversial wall on the border between Mexico and the USA. This news, which in the Czech Republic would usually only be fit for the tabloid media, was instead reported here by public broadcaster Czech Radio.  full story

Croatia: Jewish community boycotts official Holocaust commemoration

6.2.2017 6:33 The Associated Press has reported that the Jewish community in Croatia has boycotted the official state ceremony held on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27 January. The decision was meant to protest the Croatian Government not doing enough, in the Jewish community's view, to suppress pro-Nazi sentiment in the country.  full story

Stano Daniel: Fico's the "gypsy", I am a Rom

3.2.2017 9:12 Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico spoke about Romani people as "Gypsies" during a debate Sunday broadcast by the TA3 news station. He made his remarks in connection with the fact that businesses in Slovakia are having a problem finding employees.  full story

Slovak Prime Minister refers to Romani people as "Gypsies" during media appearances

2.2.2017 7:24 Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico spoke during last Sunday's debate on the TA3 news station about Romani people, referring to them as "Gypsies". He was discussing the fact that firms today have a problem finding employees in Slovakia.  full story

Central and East European NGOs critique EU Member States barring asylum-seekers

31.1.2017 9:49 Some EU Member States in Central and Eastern Europe are making it difficult for persons fleeing war to seek asylum on their territories. They have complicated the asylum-seekers' access to protection by increasing border checks, erecting physical barriers on their borders and undertaking various police procedures to deter them.  full story

German Police arrest seven in raid on ultra-right

31.1.2017 8:13 German Police performed simultaneous raids in several states and the capital, Berlin, on 25 January. Several people from the ranks of the ultra-right who are suspected of preparing to attack asylum seekers, Jewish community members and police officers themselves were arrested.  full story

Alternative for Germany pol faces party discipline after Holocaust remarks

31.1.2017 7:28 The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party will not be immediately expelling the head of its cell in Thuringia, Björn Höcke, who recently became the subject of a wave of criticism for his remarks about the Holocaust memorial in the center of Berlin. Party leadership decided last week, after a three-hour debate, to hold a disciplinary proceedings in the matter.  full story

Inclusive education from the Czech Republic to Georgia to the USA

26.1.2017 8:29 If you were to tell people anywhere else in the world that inclusive education was not required by law in the Czech Republic until 2016, they would be shocked. If you were to tell them that the main reason for this change having to be forced onto the system by the state is the absurd number of Romani children attending the so-called "practical schools", they would have a hard time believing you.  full story

Czech capital one of more than 600 marches worldwide in solidarity with women demonstrating in Washington DC

21.1.2017 20:04 The Prague Solidarity Rally with the Women's March on Washington on Saturday, 21 January 2017, was one of over 600 events worldwide organized to coincide with the demonstration in the American capital. That march attracted over a half a million people and organizers say the global "sister rallies" were attended by over 3 million.

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American Ambassador to Czech Republic Cites Roma Causes, Russian Threat in Final Press Conference

19.1.2017 13:15 Outgoing American ambassador to the Czech Republic Andrew Schapiro said that supporting Roma causes was one of the things that has made him "most proud" during his time here and cited progress to remove the pig farm at the Roma Holocaust site in Lety as another positive development.  full story

Slovakia: More than 50 children from socially deprived families institutionalized since year began

19.1.2017 8:49 Since the beginning of this year audits have been underway of the living conditions in socially vulnerable families in Slovakia during the persistently cold weather, with social workers visiting thousands of families around the country and institutionalizing 56 children as of 17 January. "The consequence of our visits is that we discovered cases in which we had to remove the children. In some cases, our colleagues had to call ambulances for them," said the head of the Slovak Headquarters for Labor, Social Affairs and the Family, Marián Valentovič.
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Slovakia: Entrepreneur organizes food distribution to the needy

19.1.2017 7:21 The entrepreneur Marián Markovič has been organizing humanitarian aid since 9 January in the town of Komárna in southern Slovakia for homeless persons and the socially vulnerable. He reached out to local restaurants Alegra, Fiest, and Neptún, which have been providing him food, and posted to his Facebook profile asking people to give the needy warm clothing.  full story

Hungary: Camerawoman gets three-year probation for kicking at migrants

17.1.2017 9:56 A court in the town of Szeged has placed Petra László, the Hungarian camerawoman for the N1TV station who kicked migrants at the Hungarian-Serbian border in September 2015, on probation for three years. The public defender is appealing and asking that his client be released.  full story