The World from PRX

Western Europe

portrait of a woman in the park
Ukraine
Big changes for this young Ukrainian in London
A natural gas power plant of RWE AG in Lingen, Germany
Ukraine
Can heat pumps help bring peace to Ukraine?
São Sebastião Fort and Museum with statues of conquistadors São Tomé.
History
‘Born in Blackness’: A new book centers Africa in the expansive history of slavery
Angkor Wat is shown by a pond at sunrise.
Arts, Culture & Media
‘World Heritage’ site selection is Eurocentric – and that shapes which historic places get love and money
doner kebabs for all
Food
The doner kebab, an unlikely symbol of European identity
Members of parliament from a top-down view with a podium in the center
Global Politics
The claim that democracy fares better in the West than in Africa is a fallacy
Firefighters blast water in Berlin in mid-August, providing relief from the heat. This is among the few ways to cool off in a city with little air conditioning.
It’s so hot in Berlin that people are cooling down in an old WWII bunker
French civil servants and students carry labor union flags and banners as they march in protest during a national day of strikes by public sector workers, in Paris, France, May 22
Changes to French public university admissions leaves more than 150,000 without a spot this fall
People from different faiths wear kippas as they attend a demonstration on April 25th in front of a Jewish synagogue, to denounce an anti-Semitic attack on a young man wearing a kippa in Berlin earlier in the month.
Conflict
In Germany, there are growing fears of a rise in anti-Semitism
Messages are left at a memorial in Dublin to Savita Halappanava, who died from an infection after miscarrying her first child at an Irish hospital in 2012, one day after Irish voters took part in a national referendum to liberalize abortion laws on May 25
Ireland votes to repeal abortion restrictions, but there’s still a lot to talk about
Nuria at My Red Light, a social project in the form of a brothel in Amsterdam. Nuria plans to retire from sex work later this year and work full-time in an administrative role at My Red Light.
Women & Gender
A Dutch brothel where women work for themselves
Rie van de Mueren (r) used to be a professional ballroom dancer. She's with Dieuwer Duijf at the Music Salon, which holds dance parties for the elderly in north Amsterdam.
Music
Amsterdam is tackling loneliness one dance party at a time
A satellite image of Arctic sea ice fractures caused by the force of the Beaufort Gyre
Environment
Scientists are keeping a close eye on the Beaufort Gyre
This 19th century sign, which was originally above a grocery shop in Paris, has been defaced several times in recent years. The Paris City Council has voted to take it down.
Conflict
Why some say Paris shouldn’t take down this racist sign
Wind turbines in a rapeseed field in Sandesneben, Germany.
Global Politics
France invests $34M in climate research
Linawato Sidarto has lived in Amsterdam almost as long as she lived in Indonesia, but she says she doesn't think she'll ever be able to feel Dutch.
Global Politics
First- and second-generation Dutch wonder whether they’ll ever be considered locals
Sarah Zouak is one of the co-founders of Lallab, a new webzine featuring the voices of Muslim women in France.
Religion
One group aims to give Muslim women in France a voice
Dutch far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders campaigns for the 2017 Dutch election in Spijkenisse, a suburb of Rotterdam, on February 18.
Global Politics
Why some immigrants in the Netherlands plan to vote for the ‘Dutch Donald Trump’
Abdallah Khalil (right) with friends in northern Paris. Khalil arrived in Paris in December and hopes to get asylum in France.
Conflict
French police don’t want migrants getting too comfortable on the streets of Paris
Ole Martin Juul Slyngstadli on Utoya Island five years after the Norway shootings. He says the biggest victory for survivors of the attack like him is that the summer camp remains open and a new crop of kids is arriving next month.
Justice
Your answer to mass shootings is to get bigger guns. To me that’s really strange.
Ghafoor Hussain and his brother Fazel outside Ghafoor's bus-turned-mobile kitchen. They're supplying 3,000 hot meals a day, and 10,000 cups of tea.
Conflict
It’s not a food truck. It’s a mobile kitchen feeding refugees around Europe.
A French soldier secures access to a Jewish school in Marseille, France, January 11, 2016 after a teenager, armed with a machete, slightly wounded a Jewish teacher before being arrested. Armed guards are the new normal for Jewish institutions in France.
Belief
France’s Jews are thankful for armed guards outside their synagogues — but say it makes them feel different
Steve Puget, 18, started a Facebook page to help people in Paris find missing friends and relatives after the attacks. In some cases, he had to break the news that a loved one had been killed.
Global Politics
From his bedroom hundreds of miles away, this teenager helped find the missing of Paris
In the days after the Paris attacks, classes at the Great Mosque in Paris were canceled, though the mosque remained open.
Belief
At the Paris Great Mosque there’s tranquility inside and heavily armed guards outside
Morgane Bloncourt, 24, lives a few minutes walk away from a cafe that was attacked last Friday. She's now moving to Israel. "I don't feel safe in Paris. It's weird."
Conflict
‘I feel safe in Israel. I don’t feel safe in Paris’
The Aligre market in Paris is open every day except Monday. But when vendors came to work on the Saturday after the attacks, they found the market closed. That never happens, says Eskander Dridi, who sells vegetables there.
Business
‘We can’t be afraid, we have to live like any day’
Sanja Golubovic (r) and her friend Branka Saric (l) at a rally demanding the Danish government accept more refugees and migrants. Both came to Denmark as refugees from Bosnia.
Conflict
A former refugee in Denmark says she’s embarrassed by her adopted country’s stance on refugees
Ahmed and his family came to Munich from Syria. He is carrying his young cousin. He came to Germany “for studying, good work, and to get married and have a baby from [a] German.”
Conflict
What happens to the migrants after they get to Germany?
Belgian soldiers patrolling outside the US Embassy in Brussels, near the Belgian Parliament. Belgium has deployed hundreds of troops to guard potential targets of terrorism, including Jewish sites and diplomatic missions.
Justice
Terrorism fears mean Belgian troops now have a license to kill
French journalist is upset that her daughter has converted to Judaism. “I have nothing Judaism. I am just against any religion.”
Belief
After her daughter embraced religion, this French woman wonders ‘Did I do something wrong?’
An increasingly common sight across Europe, heavily armed security forces on guard. These are Belgian special forces police, blocking a street in Verviers, near the scene of a deadly firefight with suspected Islamic militants on Thursday night.
Justice
Europe mounts a series of sweeping anti-extremist raids: A scorecard
Culture
Why do so many people in the Netherlands work part-time? Because they can
Nuclear Security Summit, Washington
Global Politics
President Obama starts this week’s trip to Europe in a country where his popularity is huge
Nuclear Security Summit, Washington
Global Politics
President Obama starts this week’s trip to Europe in a country where his popularity is huge
WWI memorial crosses
Business, Economics and Jobs
Flanders prepares for a World War I army — of tourists
A Milan branch of Extrabanca, an Italian bank that caters to immigrant clients.
Business, Economics and Jobs
This Italian bank caters to immigrants — and business is booming
Germany's newest Autobahn church, tucked in among restaurants and the gas station.
Lifestyle & Belief
Can a highway pit stop be a spiritual experience? Germany is trying to make it one
Global Politics
Spain inaugurates first high-speed rail service connection with the rest of Europe
Global Politics
Anniversary prompts memories of German teen who landed private plan in Red Square
Arts, Culture & Media
New documentary looks at development of skateboarding culture in East Germany
Environment
New study finds greater risk of wildfires in U.S. from climate change; others see decline
Environment
On eve of Rio environmental conference, Brazil pushes back forestry changes
Global Politics
Sarkozy first French incumbent president to lose in first round of elections
Arts, Culture & Media
George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ resonated with Ukrainian refugees
Lifestyle & Belief
VIDEO: France reeling after four killed in attack on Jewish school
Business, Economics and Jobs
Argentina likely manipulating Big Mac prices to keep inflation seemingly lower
Grandson of North Korean leader makes waves by attending Bosnian high school
Health & Medicine
Book traces history of AIDS back to 1930s, examines current outbreak’s history
Eurozone leaders hold emergency meeting on debt crisis in Greece
Report claims al-Qaeda greatly weakened
Business, Economics and Jobs
Economic fallout from volcanic ash cloud
Environment
Facebook fanatics in Italy
Global Politics
Race and elections
Gary Younge on Identity in the 21st Century
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