The internationally acclaimed soprano, Sonya Yoncheva, is set for a rare appearance in Belgium as part of her new European tour. Along with the Cappella Mediterranea (under Leonardo Garcia Alarcon), she will appear in concert in Brussels at Bozar on 15 December. It is an opportunity to present her latest creation, “Rebirth”, to the Belgian…
Year: 2021
Honouring the “forgotten angels” of the health crisis
A leading ferry operator is honouring the “forgotten angels” who have been at the sharp end of the ongoing health crisis. Nurses worldwide have been acclaimed for their sterling efforts to help the needy during the near-two year pandemic that has cost tens of thousands of lives and devastated economies. DFDS has now decided to…
New Video Game Helps Children Who Stutter
Fluency Friends is the first interactive video game that uses speech recognition to help children who stutter improve their speech at home Today, on International Stuttering Awareness Day (22 October), the Belgian – American startup Say It Labs officially launched its new video game ‘Fluency Friends’. The app helps children improve their stuttering in a fun way through…
EU Trade Policy in a Changing Global Reality
In a plenary debate on the future of EU trade policy in a changing global reality, the EESC stressed that open, fair, inclusive and sustainable trade is the only trade that will deliver a resilient recovery and bring prosperity to business and people. It also acknowledged the key role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)…
Pandora Papers Report: The EP Votes
Members of the European Parliament have voted on a report on the Pandora Papers, in the wake of the revelations by the ICIJ and others into global tax avoidance, evasion and money laundering. The report was an initiative of the Greens/EFA Group. For the first time, this report sees the European Parliament condemn the role…
Parliament Calls for Closer Relations With Taiwan
The European Parliament has called for closer relations with Taiwan guided by the EU’s One China Policy, while issuing warnings over the continued tensions across the Formosa Strait. MEPs hail Taiwan as a key EU partner and democratic ally in the Indo-Pacific, one that contributes to maintaining a rules-based order in the midst of an…
Students Arrested For Protesting Against China’s 2022 Winter Olympics
Tibetan and Hongkong students protesting in Athens against the handover of the Olympic Torch to the Beijing 2022 Committee have been arrested. They waved the Tibetan flag and Hongkong’s revolution flag at the iconic historical landmark of the Acropolis, chanting “Boycott Beijing 2022” and “Free Tibet” as Greek authorities promptly confiscated their flag. Displaying the…
Space Records Due To Be Broken Friday 22 October
Ariane 5 is on the cusp of setting 3 new records when it carries the SES-17 and SYRACUSE 4A satellites for its second launch of the year, scheduled for Friday October 22. Arianespace will orbit two geostationary satellites: SES-17, a high throughput satellite operated by SES and SYRACUSE 4A, a satellite developed for the French…
Chasselas: a “little-known gem”
With only just over 6,000 hectares turned into wine across the globe, Chasselas is something of a little known variety of grape. But, if so, that is a shame because any well informed wine lover would be very eager to possess a few bottles of it. For the uninitiated, Chasselas or Chasselas blanc, is a wine grape variety grown mainly in Switzerland, France,…
Alexei Navalny Awarded Sakharov Prize
MEPs have awarded Russian opposition politician and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny the European Parliament’s 2021 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Parliament Vice-President Heidi Hautala announced the 2021 laureate in the Strasbourg plenary chamber on Wednesday afternoon, following an earlier decision by the Conference of Presidents (President and political group leaders). Parliament President David Sassoli said: “The European Parliament…