Author: M Barbu

Dutch ISIS recruits ‘held frontline roles’ despite their protestations

Dutch ISIS recruits held pivotal roles in the terrorist group — not the minor roles they have claimed — and they should be held fully accountable for their crimes, a report from the Counter Extremist Project think tank says.

Claims that they were radicalised and groomed online have also been dismissed after evidence has emerged that many were members of extremist group Sharia4Holland — an offshoot of Britain’s Anjem Choudary’s banned Al-Muhajiroun group.

Riots erupt in Sweden’s Orebro ahead of right-wing extremist demonstration

Violent riots erupted in the central Swedish city of Orebro on Friday as counter-protesters attacked police ahead of a planned right-wing extremist demonstration.

Police said on its website that four police cars had been set on fire and at least four police officers and one private individual had been injured as protesters threw stones and large groups attacked police cordons and tore down riot fences.

Kosovo welcomes first Ukrainian journalist refugee

Open Democracy journalist Lyudmila Makey is the first Ukrainian journalist displaced by the war to move to Kosovo under the ‘Journalist in Residence’ scheme.

“I thank all of you for enabling me to come to Kosovo. This programme will allow me to continue to work as a journalist. I am deeply touched by the fact that complete strangers want to help us,” Makey said upon her arrival in Pristina.

Republika Srpska would postpone competency transfer decision

Serb entity Republika Srpska would defer the decision transferring competencies from the central state government to the entity level that parliament adopted last year, Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tripartite presidency, told Serbian daily Politika in an interview.

Petition against Russia sanctions presented in Belgrade

A petition against imposing sanctions on Russia was presented in Belgrade on Monday after signatures were collected from 200 public figures, including the academics Matija Becković, Kosta Čavoški and Vasilije Krestić, Serbian Orthodox Church bishops Irinej and David, filmmaker Emir Kusturica and former ambassador to Russia, Slavenko Terzić.

Bulgarians reject Russia as model state

Only a quarter of Bulgarians trust Russian President Vladimir Putin as support for him has continued to decline since the start of the war, a nationally representative survey by Alpha Research has found.

The drop in Putin’s rating in Bulgaria in just one year is remarkable – a year ago, his positive rating was 55%. Now 61% of Bulgarians distrust the Russian president.

French embassy returns to Kyiv

The French embassy was re-established in Kyiv this weekend after security conditions were deemed “acceptable” in the Ukrainian capital.

The French embassy returned to Kyiv on Friday (15 April), while it continues to advise French nationals against travelling to Ukraine formally. Before the re-establishment, the embassy was moved to Lviv, where it had been functioning since 28 February.

The U.K.-Rwanda Deal Is Another Blow to Refugee and Asylum Norms

Rwanda has announced an agreement with the United Kingdom to take in some asylum-seekers for processing in the East African country. Having pledged to control the country’s borders during the successful “Brexit” campaign to leave the European Union, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday announced a crackdown on migrant crossings via routes across the English Channel, saying that migrants who do not meet strict asylum criteria will be flown more than 4,000 miles to Rwanda for processing and possible resettlement there.

Une ONG saisit l’UE sur des actes de torture sur le détenu sahraoui Lamine Haddi

Une ONG française a appelé l’Union européenne (UE) à oeuvrer pour la fin “des actes de torture et mauvais traitements” infligés par les autorités d’occupation marocaines au détenu politique sahraoui Mohamed Lamine Haddi et le lancement d'”une enquête indépendante” sur les violations subies par les militants de la cause sahraouie.