Hopes of a peaceful exit from the crisis are fainter after days of talks. As the military build-up near the border continues, how far will Putin go? A week that began with low expectations has ended with a still bleaker mood. No one believed that three rounds of talks between the US, Russia and others […]
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Critics say bill, now moving to senate, could curb access to teaching on LGBT and reproductive rights Poland’s lower house of parliament has passed a bill by the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party that would step up government control of schools, which critics say could curb access to teaching on LGBT and reproductive […]
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Poland’s foreign minister has warned that Europe is closer to war than it has been at any time in the last three decades, at the launch of his country’s year-long chairing of the region’s largest security organisation. Without naming Russia in his address on Thursday to envoys from the 57 members of the Organization for […]
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Watchdog’s latest report argues autocrats around the world are getting desperate as opponents form coalitions to challenge them Increasingly repressive and violent acts against civilian protests by autocratic leaders and military regimes around the world are signs of their desperation and weakening grip on power, Human Rights Watch says in its annual assessment of human […]
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A roundup of the coverage of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Mexico to Hong Kong Continue reading…
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Firework sales prohibited in Germany for second year in a row owing to Covid, resulting in growing stockpile Germans seeking to defy a government ban on the domestic selling of fireworks before new year celebrations are heading in their droves across the border to Polish shops and factories. A ban was announced this month for […]
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About 1,000 people, mostly Kurds, are waiting at a converted customs centre in Bruzgi for the chance to cross into EU The giant warehouse towers over the Belarus countryside, less than a mile from the Polish border. In this 10,000 sq metre space patrolled by dozens of armed soldiers, 1,000 asylum seekers are crammed among […]
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France sets European record, and France and Italy may drop negative tests as pass to enter bars or workplaces Coronavirus – latest updates France has registered a national and European record for new coronavirus infections as the Omicron variant fuels a surge in cases across the continent, with multiple countries hitting new highs. France reported […]
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Opposition leader Donald Tusk calls for inquiry after watchdog says government’s rivals were targeted by Pegasus spyware Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk said on Tuesday reports that the government spied on its opponents represented the country’s biggest “crisis for democracy” since the end of communism. A cybersecurity watchdog last week said the Pegasus spyware had […]
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Despite warnings that it would devastate rare wildlife habitats, the controversial project is back on the table Chernobyl fears resurface as river dredging begins in exclusion zoneRead more in our series Biodiversity: what happened next? The construction of a €1bn (£850m) dam on the Vistula River is one step closer to getting the green light […]
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