News Digest (14 stories, 23.11.15)
23 November 2015
BELGIUM:
The Latest: Belgium in third day of lockdown (Associated Press, link):
"The Belgian capital Brussels has entered its third day of lockdown, with schools and underground transport shut and more than 1,000 security personnel deployed across the country."
EU agrees on Schengen checks for all (EUobserver, link):
"The EU will change the Schengen borders code to introduce systematic checks for EU citizens at the external borders of the EU free travel area."
EU to Revise Travel Ban Rules (Wall Street Journal, link):
"The European Union will revise its rules on travel bans, making it mandatory for member states to share the names of people denied entry and wanted felons, so that they don’t slip unnoticed into another EU country."
EU:
Democracy: the film that gets behind the scenes of the European privacy debate (The Guardian, link):
"As nationalism sweeps Europe, a subtle cinematic triumph about an unlikely subject animates the hopes of transnational democracy"
EU:
Yanis Varoufakis: Europe is being broken apart by refugee crisis (The Guardian, link): "Former Greek finance minister says the monetary union has ‘failed spectacularly’ leaving Europe too fragmented to respond to influx of refugees"
France awaits Spain’s proposal for supporting fight against Islamic State (El País, link): "The French government is waiting for Spain to explain how it plans to cooperate in the fight against the Islamic State, shortly after the European Union activated a mutual defense clause at France’s request."
NORTHERN IRELAND:
Police ombudsman rejects concerns over police actions over Coleraine attack (BBC News, link): "The police ombudsman has found no evidence to support concerns that police did not intervene to stop a sectarian attack in Coleraine in which a man later died."
ROMANIA:
Tighter Controls Cause Jams on Romanian Borders (Balkan Insight, link):
"Security measures on Romania’s borders are being boosted in the wake of the attacks a week ago in Paris, causing long delays for drivers."
Serbian Security Agencies Join Forces for Anti-Terorrism Exercise (Balkan Insight, link):
"In a display of force, a massive anti-terrorist exercise by all Serbian security agencies was held in Belgrade on Saturday as a joint effort by the Serbian army, the police anti-terrorist squad, the secret police and military security services."
SPAIN:
Remnants of the Franco era (El País, link):
"Neither the education system nor collective memory have done enough to help clarify Spain’s ideas about Francisco Franco, the dictator who died 40 years ago today."
UK:
Paris attacks: Women targeted as hate crime against British Muslims soars following terrorist atrocity (The Independent, link):
"Muslims living in Britain have suffered more than 100 racial attacks since the terrorist atrocities in Paris, figures prepared for ministers reveal."
UK:
“Slavish” lodging of appeals against deportation determinations deplored by President of Upper Tribunal (Free Movement, link):
"In Greenwood (No. 2) (para 398 considered) [2015] UKUT 629 (IAC), the “Empire Strikes Back” style sequel to Greenwood (Automatic Deportation: Order of Events) [2014] UKUT 342 (IAC), President McCloskey gives guidance on the correct approach to consideration of deportation appeals. This is a hotly contested and highly politicised area of work and his comments are interesting. The comments are all the more interesting when set alongside the contrasting approach adopted by the Court of Appeal in Secretary of State for the Home Department v Boyd [2015] EWCA Civ 1190, a judgment which was to appear on BAILII on the very same day."
UK:
Time for bold action to downsize criminal justice (Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, link):
"An unquestioning defence of police budgets makes it harder to address the many real social challenges that currently receive an inadequate criminal justice response, argues Richard Garside"
USA:
Government Compares NSA Whistleblower to Ft. Hood Shooter, Soviet Spies (The Daily Beast, link):
"During a “webinar” on Tuesday, an official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s National Insider Threat Task Force showed a PowerPoint slide with examples of “insider threats.” Thomas Drake, who exposed part of the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance program in 2005, is next to Fort Hood killer Nidal Hasan, Navy Yard killer Aaron Alexis, and FBI-agent-turned-Soviet-spy Robert Hanssen."