The 2008 UEFA Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro-2008, a sports event, has found itself involved in dirty politics. Austria’s notorious politician, Joerg Haider, set out his indignation about the participation of Russia and Turkey at the European Championship. He was particularly concerned about Turkey’s success. Haider’s open self-promotion at Euro-2008 uncovered a very…
The top United Nations rights body passes a resolution proposed by Islamic countries saying it is deeply concerned with the defamation of religions and urging governments to prohibit it. The European Union claimed the text was one-sided, however, because it focused primarily on Islam. Over the opposition of Europe and Canada, the U.N. Human Rights…
According to a report released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a five-year downward trend in the overall number of people seeking asylum in industrialized countries experienced a reversal last year. Nearly half of asylum seekers from around the world found home in the European Union last year, with the majority of them…
At least 921 would-be immigrants died in 2007 in attempts to reach Spain from Africa, according to a Spanish human rights group. The figure only reflected confirmed deaths, said the Asociacion Pro Derechos Humanos Andalusia, putting the real death toll at an alarming minimum of 3,500. Most deaths of the victims resulted from drowning, or…
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende requested France to show solidarity should his country suffer any fallout over an anti-Islamic film made by Dutch right-wing parliamentarian, Geert Wilders. Without going into any details, Balkenende told reporters, We have indicated that if necessary we will need diplomatic support. Sarkozy’s spokesperson responded that the French president had…
