Ashifa Kassam

2 days ago | theguardian.com | Ashifa Kassam

Hungary’s ruling party has postponed a planned vote on draft legislation aimed at organisations that receive foreign funding, following weeks of protests and warnings that the law would “starve and strangle” civil society and independent media. Viktor Orbán’s rightwing populist party, Fidesz, put forward legislation last month that would allow the government to monitor, penalise and potentially ban organisations that receive any sort of foreign funding, including donations or EU grants.

4 days ago | theguardian.com | Ashifa Kassam

More than a century ago he was wrongly convicted of treason in a case that convulsed France and laid bare a rising tide of antisemitism. On Monday, French politicians took the first step towards remedying the injustice; unanimously backing a symbolic effort to promote Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish French army captain, to brigadier general. It was the beginning of bringing Dreyfus a step closer to the title he was denied, said Gabriel Attal, the former prime minister who put forward the bill.

5 days ago | theguardian.com | Ashifa Kassam |Flora Garamvolgyi

Viktor Orbán (top) and Donald Trump. The US president and those around him have long talked up Orbán’s Hungary Composite: GuardianOn a sunny April afternoon in Budapest, a handful of reporters crowded around the back entrance of the Dorothea, a luxury hotel tucked between a Madame Tussauds waxworks museum and a discount clothing store in the city’s walking district. Most had spent hours outside the hotel, hoping to confirm reports that Donald Trump Jr was inside.

5 days ago | theguardian.com | Ashifa Kassam

Far-right politicians in Europe are weaponising LGBTQ+ rights and sowing divisions that are sending hate crimes soaring, campaigners have said as communities prepare to mark Pride month. For years, countries in Europe were among those at the forefront of advancing rights, making steady progress on issues such as marriage equality, said Katrin Hugendubel of ILGA-Europe, an umbrella organisation that works with more than 700 groups across Europe and central Asia.

6 days ago | theguardian.com | Ashifa Kassam

Hundreds of millions in European Union funds have been used in projects that violate the rights of marginalised communities, a report alleges, citing initiatives such as segregated housing for Roma, residential institutions for children with disabilities and holding centres for asylum seekers. The report, based on information compiled by eight NGOs from across Europe, looks at 63 projects in six countries.