source: BBC News

A law has come into force in France which makes it an offence for a Muslim woman to conceal her face behind a veil when in public.

“Europe Has Failed To Move From Scapegoating To Inclusion”
A commentary by Els de Groen on Radio Liberty

source: The Boston Globe

Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders appealed for freedom of expression Monday as he went on trial for alleged hate speech at a time when his popularity and influence in the Netherlands are near all-time highs.

source: The Moderate Voice

Today is an important day for Gypsies, also known as Romani (estimated population 6-11 million worldwide). A group of academics, government advisers and gypsy representatives are meeting in Strasbourg to discuss the next steps in a pan-European project entitled “The Decade of Roma Inclusion, 2005 to 2015″. The Independent describes Gypsies/Roma as “Europe’s most persecuted minority that has become the subject of increasingly draconian laws.”

source: Yahoo News

Fidel Castro criticized Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for what he called his anti-Semitic attitudes and questioned his own actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 during interviews with an American journalist he summoned to Havana to discuss fears of global nuclear war.

source: The Telegraph

Nicolas Sarkozy has been accused by European politicians of carrying out a “witch-hunt” against Roma gipsy migrants following the expulsion of 1,000 gipsies from France in the past month.

Source: The Globe and Mail

Ruling grants white South African refugee status, citing claimant’s ‘convincing proof’ that he was beaten and unable to find work because of his race.

Source: Jewish Tribune

“I thought those days were finished. Really, I think it has been at least 20 years since I saw an antisemitic slogan anywhere close to my restaurant. This one faced my outdoor terrace”

Source: New York Times

When the nation’s first black president took the oath of office, surrounded by the grandeur of the National Mall, it was easy to forget that one of the country’s most isolated and impoverished black ghettos was a few short blocks away.

Source: jpost.com