Ashifa Kassam

Spain

Community Affairs Correspondent, Europe at The Guardian

Correspondent covering communities and stories across Europe for The Guardian. Previously based in Spain & Canada for @guardian. Thoughts & ideas always welcome

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Articles

Nearly 300 applications to French university offer to take in US academics

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Ashifa Kassam

Nearly 300 academics have applied to a French university’s offer to take in US-based researchers rattled by the American government’s crackdown on academia, as a former French president called for the creation of a “scientific refugee” status for academics in peril. Earlier this year, France’s Aix-Marseille University was among the first in Europe to respond to the funding freezes, cuts and executive orders unleashed on institutions across the US by Donald Trump’s administration.
Irregular migrant crossings into Europe fall 30% in first quarter of 2025

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Ashifa Kassam

Irregular crossings at Europe’s borders have fallen by 30% in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period last year, in a decrease that rights groups partly attributed to EU policies that have emphasised deterrence while seemingly turning a blind eye to the risk of rights abuses. The decline was seen across all the major migratory routes into Europe, the EU’s border agency Frontex said in a statement, amounting to nearly 33,600 fewer arrivals in the first three months of the year.
Vatican puts ‘God’s architect’ Antoni Gaudí on path to sainthood

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Ashifa Kassam

He’s long been nicknamed “God’s architect” by those who point to his piety and the religious imagery woven through his soaring spires, colourful ceramics and undulating lines. Now it seems the Vatican may be ready to make it official. It said on Monday that Antoni Gaudí, the Catalan architect behind Barcelona’s Sagrada Família basilica, had been put on the path to sainthood.
Vatican puts ‘God’s architect’ Antoni Gaudí on path to sainthood

1 week ago | msn.com | Ashifa Kassam

Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
Hungary poised to adopt constitutional amendment to ban LGBTQ+ gatherings

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Ashifa Kassam

Hungarian lawmakers are expected to vote in a controversial constitutional amendment on Monday that rights campaigners have described as a “significant escalation” in the government’s efforts to crackdown on dissent and chip away at human rights.
British man, 63, dies after falling at Roman aqueduct in Spain

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Ashifa Kassam

A 63-year-old British man has died after falling from a viewing platform overlooking the historic aqueduct of Segovia in central Spain, according to local authorities. In a brief statement on Saturday, officials described the man as a British passport holder who had arrived in the city on Thursday with two other people.
San Sebastián locals write to Fifa saying they don’t want to host 2030 World Cup

2 weeks ago | msn.com | Ashifa Kassam

Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
San Sebastián locals write to Fifa saying they don’t want to host 2030 World Cup

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Ashifa Kassam

Six neighbourhood associations in the Basque city of San Sebastián have asked Fifa to withdraw the city as a venue for the 2030 men’s World Cup, citing concerns that the soaring number of visitors will “worsen living conditions” in the city in northern Spain. The letter – which was sharply criticised by the city’s mayor on Tuesday – comes months after the city was named as one of 11 Spanish venues for the tournament set to take place in Spain, Morocco and Portugal.
EU in early talks with US but preparing ‘robust’ tariff countermeasures, says trade chief - as it happened

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Jakub Krupa |Ashifa Kassam |Angela Giuffrida |Stephen Burgen |Jon Henley

Key eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureUS tariffs calculations are ‘nonsense’, German economy minister saysOutgoing German economy minister Robert Habeck is not mincing his words this morning in response to a question on US tariffs and how they were calculated. He says: “The calculations, from my point of view, are nonsense. Even the basis of the calculation is nonsense.
Marine Le Pen ruling is fuel for the global right’s attacks on court authority

2 weeks ago | msn.com | Ashifa Kassam

Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.