Photo by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine On the night of 28 August, Russia launched another large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s capital. Several waves of strikes included drones, hypersonic weapons, ballistic and cruise missiles. Air defence systems intercepted many threats, but multiple direct hits struck Kyiv, causing fires, destruction, and civilian casualties….
Photo by Roman Skrypnyk on Unsplash Europe and the United States are now succeeding where Russia has long tried and failed: maintaining steadfast unity in support of Ukraine, alongside a cool, pragmatic scepticism towards any so-called guarantees that Moscow tries to use to position itself as both aggressor and arbiter. Following diplomatic musical chairs in…
Photo by Evan Wise on Unsplash MEPs have called for the immediate reappointment of the EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU. They say it is urgent this is done as the position, they say, has been left vacant since December 2024. The demand comes in the…
Photo by Braden Collum on Unsplash World champions from the world of athletics are gathering today for the keenly-awaited Brussels edition of the Wanda Diamond League with one, or more, world records possibly set to be smashed. It is an elite one-day meeting series in global athletics and comprises 15 of the most prestigious events in…
Photo by Anastasiia Krutota on Unsplash As debates about Ukraine’s future continue in Western capitals, one perspective remains notably under-represented – that of the Ukrainian people themselves. Proposals to cede the entire Donetsk region to Vladimir Putin in exchange for a ceasefire recur regularly, often portrayed as pragmatic or necessary for peace. But from a…
Photo by Masjid MABA on Unsplash Switzerland and Germany are the latest European countries to see politicians voicing concerns about the influence and reach of the Muslim Brotherhood. Recent weeks have seen prominent Swiss politican Jacqueline de Quattro demand a France-style investigation into the threat posed by the Muslim Brotherhood. Jacqueline de Quattro (Les Libéraux-Radicaux)…
It’s arguably one of the least visited of Belgium’s ten provinces but lovely Limburg is well worth discovering. The area was, economically, devastated a decade or so ago when the giant Ford car factory closed, with the loss of over 10,000 jobs. Limburg was forced to reinvent itself and it has done just that remarkably…
Photo by Maël BALLAND on Unsplash Last week in Sudan was more about what didn’t happen than did, although the violence continued unabated. A meeting of the Quartet (the United States plus three regional powers, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE) seeking a resolution to the conflict, was called off at the last minute. Reasons…
Photo by Elgin Akyurt on Unsplash The French NGO CAP Liberté de Conscience (CAP) and Brussels-based Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF) have filed a joint written statement to the United Nations expressing their deep concern about the use of chemical weapons by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the violent civil war that has raged…
Photo by Tayla Kohler on Unsplash The North Atlantic Council says it strongly condemns Russia’s malicious cyber activities. It says these constitute a threat to Allied security. The council issued a statement which says, “We stand in solidarity and recognise that Estonia, France, the United Kingdom and the United States have recently attributed malicious cyber…
