Stories about Austria
Under Austria's right-wing government, ‘ethical’ principles for journalists could hijack media rights

If the current draft is adopted as it stands, it will provide for an extra layer of strict control that aims to silence the critique and dissent.
What will it take to #savetheinternet in Europe? The view from Romania

Copyright proposals being pushed by European governance bodies must take into account the nature and potential uses of networked digital technology.
From Graffiti to Politics, Anti-Semitic and Neo-Nazi Speech Is Becoming More Visible in Eastern Europe
Activists in the region have been sounding the alarm about increasingly emboldened hate speech against Jewish people and apology for perpetrators of the Holocaust.
Fake News Tries to Link Austria's Chancellor-to-Be and Philanthropist George Soros
A known fake news purveyor published disinformation that Sebastian Kurz expelled Soros' Open Society Foundations from the country. It's not the first time fake news producers connected the two.
Polish Lawmakers Move Forward With a New Abortion Ban That Critics Say Will Be ‘Hell for Women’
Poland's “Black Protest” movement picks up steam, after lawmakers vote to proceed with legislation that will criminalize abortions in nearly all circumstances, threatening women and doctors with prison.
A Toxic Mix of Illegal Logging and Corruption Is Devastating Europe’s Last Primeval Forests
The documentary film “Clear Cut Crime” shows the toxic effects of collusion between illegal logging and politicians in Romania and Ukraine.
Macedonia's Ruling Party Has Resuscitated Socialist Realism Without the Socialism
Macedonia's ruling party placed an order for more than 50 paintings, depicting key moments in its history, in the manner of the former Communist party.
The Refugees Stopping at Vienna's Train Station of Hope

A look back at the scenes at Vienna's central train station in September, two months before the deadly violence from which many refugees are fleeing would touch Beirut and Paris.
GV Face: How Volunteers in Europe Are Opening Their Hearts and Homes to Refugees

As governments are struggling to address the growing refugee crisis in Europe, ordinary citizens in Greece, Germany, and Hungary are organizing and even offering their homes to help refugees.
Hundreds of Austrians and Germans Turn Out to Welcome Refugees Arriving From Hungary
Refugees travelling through Austria to Germany were greeted with applause at train stations by Austrians and Germans bearing not only good will, but food, water sanitary products and toys.
Iran: Deceased Blogger's Mother Erased Out of News Photo
The European Union foreign policy chief caused furore in Iran when she met with human rights activists and a deceased blogger's mother at the Austrian Embassy in Tehran.
European Citizens Call for the Protection of Media Pluralism
“European institutions should safeguard the right to free, independent and pluralistic information”. The quote, from the Media Initiative website, summarizes the main idea behind a pan-European campaign that aims at urging the...
Extreme Anti-immigrant Groups Spread Throughout Europe
Plagued by one of the worst economic crises in recent history, extreme anti-immigrant parties are once again on the rise in 21st-century Europe.
Japan's Jaded Public Pushes for Nuclear Truth Post-Fukushima
Two years after the powerful earthquake and resulting tsunami off the northeastern coast of Japan triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in what became the largest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, the Japanese people are becoming increasingly frustrated with the government's reluctance to come clean on the risks associated with nuclear power.
Parallels Between Religious and Copyright Wars
Rick Falkvinge, the founder of Pirate Party, reinterprets the wars of religion that devastated Western Europe in the XVI and XVII centuries in terms of the current struggle to control...
Croatia: Promoting Solar Energy at Terraneo Music Festival
UNDP's Voices from Eurasia blog reports on the ecological education program of this year's Terraneo music festival in Šibenik, where guests, among other things, could “test-drive Croatia’s only solar-powered car...
Ukraine: President Yanukovych's European Assets
On OpenDemocracy.com, Ukrainian journalist Serhij Leschenko writes about President Viktor Yanukovych's “luxury residence and the money trail that leads to London”: “Having completely rejected such European values as human rights...