By David Ibsen The Lebanese government’s application to the IMF for $10 billion worth of aid in order to stave off economic collapse represents a golden opportunity for the world to bring pressure to bear on Beirut and force it to separate from the terror group Hezbollah. The timing could not be more opportune. Hezbollah…
Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) lists Algeria as a country where the media struggle to fulfil their role due to judicial harassment. The unstable political environment is increasing threats to the freedom of information in Algeria, and the authorities continue to step up their harassment of journalists. Reporters covering the “Hirak” protests that began in February…
In a decision that places Foreign Policy on a higher level than Healthcare Policy and apparently more important to the Berlaymont than saving European lives, the European Commission has bottled its support for Taiwan to be granted observer status at the WHO this week. Taiwan, with the strong support of the United States, had lobbied…
Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron have proposed that the EU borrows on the financial markets in order to disperse some €500bn through grants to European economies hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic. Under the Franco-German proposal the member states receiving the funds would not need to repay the cash. Liability for the debt would instead…
According to some reports, Russia hit a grim Covid-19 milestone this week – it now reportedly ranks second in the world for confirmed coronavirus cases. The Johns Hopkins University says the Russian capital has been hardest hit. Of Russia’s total of 281,752 confirmed cases, over half — 142,824 — are in Moscow. Russia’s mortality figures have…
By Willy Fautré Twenty-five years after the end of Croatia’s war for independence from Serbia, thousands of Serbs are still fighting for their property rights in that Western Balkan country which became a member state of the European Union (EU) in 2013 and is now chairing the EU. Dalibor Močević, a Croatian citizen of Serbian…
Oleksiy Reznikov, the Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories and Ukraine’s envoy to the Trilateral Contact Group exposes the facts. The so-called “Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs” of the self-proclaimed “Luhansk People’s Republic” (“LPR”) Vladislav Deinego has been granted Russian citizenship. A photocopy of Deinego’s Russian passport has been posted…
In response to a request from Ukraine via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, Slovakia has offered protective facemasks, disinfectants, blankets, among other items to help the country tackle the coronavirus pandemic. The EU will coordinate and co-finance the delivery of this assistance to Ukraine. Janez Lenarčič, Commissioner for Crisis Management, said: “The coronavirus pandemic must be tackled…
Ukraine, like other European countries, is experiencing a crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In the energy sector, this is reflected by a significant decline in electricity consumption. However, the situation is further compounded by an ongoing systemic crisis in the sector. Even before the Coronavirus outbreak Ukraine’s energy sector was facing enormous challenges, with…
Everyone is affected by coronavirus, and we have all have experienced some kind of loss, even if we’ve been fortunate enough not to lose someone close to us. Loss of a rite of passage (no exams, end of school prom, final class photos – the list goes on). No proper goodbye to primary school life….
