World

Commentary: No detente in sight for Israel-Palestine

Israel, 19.11.2014 15:10, (ROMEA) One week in solitary confinement and a fine of EUR 60 euros is the punishment that Marwan Barghouti, a leading member of the secular movement Fatah, has received for urging the Palestinian Authority to immediately end its security cooperation with Israel in a letter released on the 10th anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death. AFP reported that the 55-year-old militant, who is serving a life sentence on five counts of murder related to the second intifada in 2000, called for Palestinians to put up an "overall and armed resistance" against Israel.  full story

Czech President offends brave Russians who stood up for Czechoslovakia in 1968

Prague, 14.11.2014 23:16, (ROMEA) It seems that Czech President Miloš Zeman is striving so hard for the favor of the Chinese communists and the Putin supporters that he has no hesitation about insulting those who stood up for Czechoslovakia during her darkest hour. He may not have intended it that way, but part of what he said in his now world-famous radio program of 2 November has offended the sons of Natalya Gorbanevskaya as well as Russian dissident Victor Fainberg.  full story

Amnesty International issues Urgent Action over death sentence for blasphemy

Lahore, Pakistan, 12.11.2014 11:49, (ROMEA) Amnesty International reports that on 16 October, the High Court of Appeal in Lahore declined an appeal against the 2010 conviction of Asia Bibi, a Christian Pakistan woman sentenced to death under Section 295C of Pakistan’s Penal Code for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad during an argument with a Muslim woman. There are very serious doubts as to the fairness of the entire trial.  full story

EU takeover of Italian mission a catastrophe for Mediterranean migration

11.11.2014 17:26 After a year of operation, the Mare Nostrum humanitarian and military mission promoted by the Italian government to increase patrols in the Mediterranean Sea in order to prevent migrant shipwrecks came to an end on 1 November.  full story

Iranian woman gets two years for protesting ban on women attending sports matches

Teheran, Iran, 6.11.2014 12:29, (ROMEA) Ghoncheh Ghavami, age 25, is an English-Iranian woman arrested in Tehran this past June for trying to attend a volleyball match together with men. A court has now sentenced her to two years in prison.  full story

Canadian Muslims condemn Islamist radical violence, now face increased aggression themselves

Ottawa, 4.11.2014 1:29, (ROMEA) After two recent attacks reportedly committed by Islamists in Canada, the number of attempted attacks against members of the Muslim community has risen sharply. The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) announced the increase last Thursday.  full story

Amnesty International: Court must consider hate motive behind attack on Romani woman

Messolonghy/Greece, 3.11.2014 12:23, (ROMEA) The court in Messolonghy, Western Greece, recognizes racial motivations in the brutal attack that two Romani people, Paraskevi Kokoni and her nephew Kostas, who has a learning disability, have been subjected to in October 2012.  full story

Czech Govt tells UN that law to compensate forced sterilization will be ready in one year

Prague, 20.10.2014 17:15, (ROMEA) The Czech Government is planning to submit a law to compensate the victims of illegal sterilizations by the end of 2015. It expects to have the outlines of the legislation ready by the end of this year.  full story

ERTF reproaches Czech Republic for being too restrained in combating racism

Paris, 11.10.2014 22:22, (ROMEA) The European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) is reproaching several European states, the Czech Republic included, for their "restraint" in combating anti-Romani racism and improving everyday life for Romani people. Agence France-Presse reports that the ERTF named the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and four other countries in a report published yesterday as examples.  full story

Ukraine: Neo-Nazi Right Sector fighters attack pro-Russian MP

Kiev, 3.10.2014 18:39, (ROMEA) Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov addressed an emphatic warning to neo-Nazis from the Right Sector organization on 1 October. In response to an attack committed Tuesday by right-wing radicals against a pro-Russian MP, Avakov declared that America and Europe could turn away from supporting Ukraine if similar incidents persist.  full story

Serbia: Police protect LGBT Pride parade, PM's brother is injured

Belgrade, Serbia, 1.10.2014 16:08, (ROMEA) In the center of Belgrade, after a four-year hiatus, an LGBT Pride parade has been allowed to take place. The authorities mobilized large numbers of security forces to prevent violence of the kind sparked by radical nationalists during the event in 2010.  full story

Norway: Reconstruction of government offices damaged by ultra-right terrorism

Oslo, Norway, 30.9.2014 21:31, (ROMEA) News server The Local reports that yesterday work began in the center of Oslo on demolishing and rebuilding a new headquarters for the Norwegian Government. The government buildings were extensively damaged in July 2011 during a terrorist attack committed by ultra-right terrorist Anders Behring Breivik.  full story

Denmark marks 25th anniversary of becoming the first country to permit registered partnerships

Copenhagen/Prague, 29.9.2014 21:48, (ROMEA) Laws legalizing same-sex marriages are being commonly introduced today and famous figures are openly revealing their same-sex orientation. Liberal societies have grown accustomed to seeing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community as a minority whose rights must be defended.  full story

Sweden: Neo-Nazis double their gains compared to last election

Stockholm, 21.9.2014 19:59, (ROMEA) Parliamentary elections were held in Sweden recently and their outcome is evidently the end to the eight-year-long government by the center-right coalition led by Prime Mnister Fredrik Reinfeldt. Almost one-third of the votes were won by the opposition Swedish Social Democratic Party.  full story

Ukrainian soldiers wearing helmets with Nazi symbols

Ukraine, 20.9.2014 17:36, (ROMEA) The German television station ZDF has broadcast footage showing members of the Ukrainian Army with Nazi symbols on their helmets such as a swastika and the symbol of Hitler's special SS units. News server Echo24.cz cited NBC News as reporting that ZDF broadcast the footage as part of its reporting on the situation in Ukraine earlier this month.  full story

Slovakia: International conference on the Romani issue

Bratislava, Slovakia, 18.9.2014 19:49, (ROMEA) Roughly 130 experts from several continents have come to Bratislava to discuss the Romani issue. Those invited include guests from Argentina, Brazil and the USA.  full story

Norway: Terrorist Breivik establishing Fascist Party, wants to run for Parliament

Oslo, 8.9.2014 19:04, (ROMEA) Imprisoned Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in 2011 in attacks in Oslo and on the island of Utöya, is trying to create an ultra-right Fascist political party in Norway and to become an MP. He is charging the authorities with intentionally preventing him from doing so and is threatening to sue.  full story

French citizen charged with murders at Jewish Museum committed torture in Syria

Paris, 8.9.2014 17:33, (ROMEA) The French citizen charged with murdering four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels this May tortured people captured by Islamists in Syria. French journalist Nicolas Henin, who was one of those hostages released in April of this year, has made the claim in the magazine Le Point.  full story

Ostalinda Maya Ovalle: The Myth of the Spanish Model of Roma Inclusion

Madrid, 29.8.2014 10:42, (ROMEA) “Things are different in Spain.” This is a common refrain when discussing Roma integration in Europe. Spain is held up as a model, and not just by media or government officials. Even some Roma activists point to programs in the country as a way forward. But this rosy picture ignores the historical and economic environment, as well as the vital role of Romani families. As Spain’s economic crisis and its effects take root, it’s time to break this myth.  full story

UN: Pro-Russian separatists, Ukrainian forces violating human rights

Geneva, 27.8.2014 15:35, (ROMEA) Reuters reports that both pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian Government forces are violating human rights during the current conflict in eastern Ukraine. According to a UN report, kidnapping, murder and torture are taking place there.  full story