Featured stories about Western Europe
Stories about Western Europe
Russian and Belarusian oppositionists in Munich come together to support Ukraine
In South Germany, Russians and Belarusians opposing their governments and Moscow's invasion of Ukraine join Ukrainians in street demonstrations to show solidarity and provide support to Ukrainians.
Indonesia is caught between Russia and the West ahead of the November G20 conference
This year’s G20 is being chaired by Indonesian President Joko Widodo who is facing pressure to ban Russian representatives because of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Africa's heritage restitution debate extends to audio and visual archives
Unlike artifacts whose functionality and value do not depend on the medium they can be accessed through, visual and sound recordings are subject to the vagaries of technology.
The geopolitics of disinformation and cybersecurity in Europe
Political and private sector experts were warning the EU to take more precautions against the kind of Russian cyber-attacks unleashed on Ukraine, amid concern that Russia could use them in response to EU sanctions.
In their own words: Latinas with disabilities explain leaving the house during the pandemic
Moving through the world as a blind woman is not the same as it was before the pandemic, from touching objects, to finding your way, to obtaining essential coronavirus information.
In their own words: How Latinas with disabilities persevere during the pandemic
To combat isolation and discrimination, the women interviewed joined forces with other people with disabilities, activists, and associations to join together in solidarity and make change.
‘Your’dle: Wordle is now available in many of the world’s languages
Wordle is a fun way to flex your brain, but the open-source code behind the free game has also been adapted to work in different languages, including indigenous ones.
Belgium introduces new passport design featuring characters from domestic comics
"The introduction of this new passport is also an opportunity for us to highlight the 9th art, the comic strip, which is a central element of our culture and our influence abroad"
Portugal: Human rights activist fighting racism wins international award
Mamadou is one of the most prominent voices of the anti-racist movement in Portugal and is also often targeted by far-right and neo-Nazi movements.
New Caledonia votes to stay with France in referendum boycotted by the Indigenous population
"The future of New Caledonia cannot be built without its indigenous people. The Kanak voice is the cornerstone of New Caledonia’s common destiny."
July 7 declared World Kiswahili Language Day: A new project seeks to better understand present day dialectal variations in Swahili
"Our hope is also for Swahili to be celebrated in its complexity — with its many varieties and dialects, with the diverse groups of Swahili speakers..." –The Project Team.
Colonial prejudices and vaccine nationalism drive COVID-19 African travel bans
Omicron has spread to many countries, but most Western countries red-listed only southern African countries. This is reflective of the colonial stereotyping of Africans as savages from a diseased continent.
‘In my country, I feared the war. But here I feared the Home Office': Asylum seekers speak on the UK refugee process
While the UK has some of the highest living standards in the world, financial resources and legal guarantees are scarce for the most vulnerable people.
France complicit in heinous crimes committed by Egyptian state, website reveals
'Strikes often destroyed several vehicles, and the number of victims could be as many as several hundred. According to UNGA resolution 56/83, France's complicity in these illegal executions could be established.'
A ‘new deal’ for Africa: Is this the best chance for a generation?
The pressure is now “on Europe, on the developed countries, and on governments, to seize this opportunity to deliver a generational change in Africa.”
A literary landscape in flux: Fiston Mwanza Mujila's take on Congolese and diasporic literature
According to Congolese-Austrian author Fiston Mwanza Mujila, Francophone African authors face a number of challenges, the first being the nature of the French literary scene.
Billboard satire blasts Australian government's tepid climate change stance for Glasgow COP26
"They are laughing at us in Times Square, as they should be: our response to climate change is the biggest joke on earth."
Pandora Papers revelations across Lusophone countries
Numerous politicians were implicated in Angola, Mozambique, and Portugal. Before that, their names had never been attached to offshore scandals.
I was invited to celebrate ‘Columbus Day.’ This is what I answered
"The 'National Day of Spain' is a mockery and offense to our Indigenous and Afro-descendent peoples."
Basque separatist group ETA lowered its weapons 10 years ago. Has reconciliation truly happened?
A lot has changed for the better in the past 10 years … but Basque society is still working out a public memory about the previous four decades of violence.
COVID-19, vaccination and the progress of the global healthcare system
“ … obesity might soon be recognised as a vitally strategic global element in explaining varying COVID-19 levels between rich and poor.”