The United Nations’ launch of a US$529 million response plan for the 2.7 million Afghans expected to return from Iran and Pakistan this year marks one of the most significant humanitarian and demographic interventions in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
The United Nations General Assembly has delivered one of the most consequential climate decisions in its history, endorsing a landmark resolution that transforms the global conversation on climate action from political aspiration to legal obligation.
President Ursula von der Leyen’s address to Parliament today was framed as a reflection on the future of the Single Market, but the political reality was far less subtle. Two years into the new parliamentary term, the quiet manoeuvring for the next Commission has already begun, and her speech carried all the hallmarks of a…
Photo by NEOM on Unsplash The prestigious High Seas Treaty has been declared winner of the 2025 Earthshot Prize in the “Revive Our Oceans” category. The winners were named at an awards ceremony in Brazil, an event attended by The Prince of Wales, who founded the global environmental award in 2020. This is seen as…
Photo by Ilyas Dautov on Unsplash Europe today is rethinking its economic security and long-term resilience. Questions of energy autonomy, supply chain diversification, and connectivity have risen to the top of the agenda, accelerated by geopolitical fragmentation and the global green transition. At the same time, Central Asia has emerged as a region of growing…
Photo by Gaël Gaborel – OrbisTerrae on Unsplash In Moscow this October, a seemingly apolitical gathering provided a clear insight into Russia’s evolving state ideology. The 17th Congress of the Russian Geographical Society, held at the Kremlin Palace, was not just about science or exploration. It was, in effect, a display of how Vladimir Putin’s…
Photo by Stephanie LeBlanc on Unsplash Ever wondered about acquiring Belgian nationality? If so, an upcoming event could be just for you. A webinar entitled How to Acquire Belgian Nationality will enable you to get explanations, practical tips, and answers to your key questions. It has been organised by the Expatriate Welcome Desk and takes…
Photo by Bruno Aguirre on Unsplash The impact of Europe’s rapidly ageing population is coming under increasing scrutiny, including by British peers. The UK House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee has just concluded an inquiry into Preparing for Ageing. Britain is an ageing society, the birth rate is declining and life expectancy increasing. It can…
It was the year forever made famous by a book and the year of Band Aid, when Margaret Thatcher was at the peak of her powers and the miner’s strike in the UK. But 1984 was also the year when former colleagues at a UK weekly newspaper went their different ways, assuming they’d never see…
Listening to Sir Keir Starmer explaining why standing up to Russian tyranny and bending over backward to get the United States to stay engaged in Europe is like reliving the early dramas of post-war Europe 1948-51, writes Denis MacShane. Starmer’s flat, uninspiring style is almost a parody of Clement Attlee’s dull clipped upper-middle class tones…
