Photo by Patrick Schneider on Unsplash Experts warn of the possibility of a new environmental disaster in the Caspian Sea in recent years, similar to the drying up of the Aral Sea, writes Professor Dr. Abdulvahap Kara. One of the important reasons for this is that the water in the Ural River is decreasing from year to year….
Photo by Matt Brown on Unsplash In recent weeks the British Government has been deluged with noise about the Northern Ireland Protocol, agreed with the EU following the UK’s departure, well before the text of any new agreement was revealed, writes Philip Bushill-Matthews. None of the noise came from European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, who remained diplomatically silent about the…
Photo by British Library on Unsplash The Parable of the Old Man and the Young So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,And took the fire with him, and a knife.And as they sojourned both of them together,Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,Behold the preparations, fire and iron,But where the lamb for this burnt-offering?Then Abram…
Photo by Kenrick Mills on Unsplash It is exactly ten years since the death of nine-year old Ella Kissi-Debrah. She was the first person in the world to have the cause of death defined as air pollution. It happened in London, writes Philip Bushill-Matthews. The European Environment Agency in its 2021 report claimed that overall in 2018 air…
Photo by Jacek Dylag on Unsplash Margaret Thatcher was a great believer in privatisation. She said it was crucial for ‘reversing the corrosive and corrupting effects of socialism…. ensuring the power of the people is enhanced….and reclaiming the territory for freedom’, writes Philip Bushill-Matthews. She was equally clear that Governments were inherently inefficient at running businesses, and few…
Photo by Mulyadi on Unsplash The independent Public Inquiry to examine the Government’s handling of the Covid pandemic in the UK will open the hearing on its first module on Valentine’s Day 14th February. Conservatives should not expect any loving responses, writes Philip Bushill-Matthews. Boris Johnson, though no longer Prime Minister, continues to boast that when in office…
Photo by Taras Chernus on Unsplash Freedom of speech is regarded as one of the most fundamental freedoms underpinning western democracies. The problem now is how to handle abuses of this freedom, writes Philip Bushill-Matthews. The EU Charter on Fundamental Rights was proclaimed by the European Parliament in 2000. Article 11 proudly stated that ‘everyone has the right…
Photo by Dustin Humes on Unsplash Germany’s slowness in authorising the supply of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine was bad news for Ukraine, European security and Germany itself. But other Western leaders should not be too smug, writes Ian Bond. Just days after Russia launched its full-scale assault on Ukraine in February 2022, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz described it as…
Photo by Nina Abdel Malak on Unsplash As Lebanon faces an unprecedented crisis, a new political class is beginning to emerge in the country. Mr. Omar Harfouch is the most telling example of this generation that wants to rebuild Lebanon, writes Eric Gozlan. The Lebanese Parliament has still not succeeded in electing a successor to Michel Aoun, President…
Photo by Katie Moum on Unsplash EU countries are all facing immigration pressures, but despite Brexit, immigrants from other countries are still keen to come to the UK, writes Philip Bushill-Matthews. Nigel Farage as Leader of the UK Independence Party had his own solution: the UK needed an Australian-style points system (although ironically the Australian system helped immigrants…
