An award-winning play by first-time playwright Bola Agbaje, Gone too far!, explores Black identity in a clever, funny and very entertaining way. ‘Nigeria, England, America, Jamaica; are you proud of where you’re from? Dark-skinned, light-skinned, Afro, weaves, who are your true brothers and sisters? When two brothers from different continents go down the street to
Appeal for funds to send Iraqi man home
The International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR) is appealing for funds to send the body of Mohammad Hussain home to Iraq to be buried after he died from cancer on 3 August 2008. According to the IFIR, for the eight years Mohammad was in the UK he was a constant and fierce defender of refugee
Control order bans contact with ex-Guantanamo detainee
A recent court hearing has banned a desperately ill man, whose daily movements are restricted by a control order, from having any contact with Moazzam Begg, who was detained in Guantanamo Bay for nearly three years. Mahmoud Abu Rideh, a refugee from Palestine, whose health is in a serious condition after numerous suicide attempts since
Media hysteria around new book
A recent guide on how to deal with race equality issues with pre-school age children has been mercilessly distorted by sections of the media. Two of the UK’s experts, one Black, one White, one in the Lords, one a ‘commoner’ and both seasoned practitioners, helped produce a three hundred-plus page book on one of the
Victory for Southall Black Sisters
On 18 July at the High Court, Southall Black Sisters (SBS) won a major victory against Ealing Council which had cut funding for its services for BME women suffering from domestic violence. The Court found that the council failed to pay proper regard to equality legislation, in particular the Race Relations Act, when making its
Pupils speak in support of Kamal Begi
Students at an east London school are hoping against hope that their campaign will stop the deportation of their Afghani classmate, Kamal Begi. Kamal Begi, a Brampton Manor student, and his uncle have lost all their appeals for asylum and are under threat of deportation, despite having lived in the UK for over six years.
Vigils in memory of Habib Ullah
Last week, members of the local community and family and friends of Habib Ullah, who died after being arrested by police on 3 July, gathered in High Wycombe town centre to hold two vigils in his memory. The vigils were held to provide the local community with more information and to raise awareness about Habib’s
Convictions in three Black murder cases
IRR News reports on three recent trials of young White men convicted for their part in the deaths of three Black men. Tomorrow, 29-year-old Michael Ross will be sentenced for the murder (suspected of being racially motivated) of Shamsuddin Mahmood. Next week, another young man will be sentenced for his part in a murder in
Family question police role in death of Asian man
On 3 July 2008, during a police search of a car in High Wycombe, 39-year-old Habib Ullah, became ill, was taken to hospital and pronounced dead. His family are concerned that the police version of what happened may not be accurate. They also are angry that they were not informed about the death till the
Germany: ‘belief test’ for Muslim students
As university lecturers in the UK warn of the threat posed to academic freedom by government guidelines on dealing with extremism on campus, university lecturers and students in North-Rhine Westphalia are campaigning against the targeting of foreign students and academics from Muslim countries. It was recently exposed by the Frankfurter Rundschau that the interior ministry