Poland’s rainbow families under threat

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Pascale Harter introduces analysis, reportage and personal reflections from correspondents around the world. In Poland, the government is trying to make it impossible for same-sex couples to adopt children, by closing a loophole which allowed people to apply as single parents. The move is part of a growing, government-backed crusade against the rights of sexual minorities which puts the country at odds with the European Union. President Andrzej Duda has condemned gay rights campaigners for promoting an ideology he described as “more dangerous than communism” and many Poles are afraid says Adam Easton. Next Joel Greenberg goes to the polls in Israel, where people voted in a general election this week - their fourth such vote in two years. Neither Benjamin Netanyahu nor his challengers secured a governing majority in parliament. Some analysts say the stalemate is further alienating many Israelis from what they see as a dysfunctional political system. Racism and physical attacks against Asians in the United States have been fuelled by the coronavirus pandemic. How is California – where the largest population of Asian Americans live – coping with the recent spike in hate crimes? Finally as Venezuelans struggle through the country’s economic collapse, Vladimir Hernandez in Nairobi reflects on the troubled Latin American country’s diaspora. He tells us how those who left in search of a better future are staying connected to home – and what it feels like to get a text message in the middle of the night when you feel powerless to help. (Poster depicting the Virgin Mary with a rainbow halo – Polish LGBT activists were found not guilty of offending religious feelings over the painting. Credit: Reuters/Kacper Pempel)