(BBC): Hungarian PM Viktor Orban will comply with EU demands over an education law that could close a top university, the EU’s centre-right political group says. The bloc threatened legal action over the law that could close the Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, founded by billionaire George Soros. Mr Orban has condemned Mr Soros as an “American financial speculator”. The… Read more »
(RADIO POLAND): “Poles have a right to say whether the constitution, which has been in force for 20 years, should be changed,” Duda said during events marking the 3 May Constitution Day celebrations in Warsaw. “It’s time for a serious constitutional debate, not just with politicians but with the whole of the nation.” Duda added that Poles themselves should be able… Read more »
(DEUTSCHE WELLE): Ukraine’s former President Viktor Yanukovych stands accused of treason. Specifically, he is accused of supporting actions with the goal of changing the national borders and territory of Ukraine. He is also accused of aiding Russia in carrying out an attack on his country. The Ukrainian state prosecutor’s website states that Yanukovych “committed treason by helping the Russian Federation and… Read more »
(REUTERS): To his supporters Czech Finance Minister Andrej Babis is an efficient, plain-speaking operator who gets the job done, while to his critics he represents the murky power of big business and poses a threat to democracy. The Czech Republic’s second richest man, Babis elicits strong and contrasting reactions among Czechs, but most would agree that the billionaire businessman is now… Read more »
Nationalism as a concept has only held prevalence for a little less than 150 years, a minuscule amount of time when compared to the entire history of human civilization, which stretches back to over 20,000 years ago. With the way nationalism is often detailed, you would think it an eternally-binding concept of societal and political organization. However, it would not… Read more »
Terrorism is not, as Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London said after the recent Westminster attack, “part and parcel of life in a big city.” Nor is it “part and parcel” of life in Europe. Or, at least, it shouldn’t be those things. Mr. Khan is attempting to normalize attacks such as yesterday’s Paris shootings, with good intentions in mind. It… Read more »
(POLITICO): Poland is mulling setting up special camps where asylum seekers would be housed in containers and kept behind fences in the event of another migration crisis, according to the country’s interior minister. It’s a very similar approach to one adopted by Hungary, which has come under fire from the EU for its harsh approach to asylum seekers. The camps are part of an… Read more »
Shocked by the support among Turks in Germany for handing new powers to President Tayyip Erdogan in Sunday’s referendum, several senior German lawmakers called on Tuesday for the rules on dual citizenship to be tightened. The latest unofficial results show 51.4 percent of voters in Turkey backed plans for an overhaul of the political system which will give Erdogan sweeping… Read more »
(REUTERS): Russian navy vessels arrived in the Philippines on Thursday for joint exercises as part of a drive for new security ties under President Rodrigo Duterte’s revamped foreign policy of courting the traditional foes of Manila’s top ally, Washington. The guided-missile cruiser Varyag, accompanied by the fuel tanker ship, Pechenge, are on a four-day goodwill visit to the Philippines, the… Read more »
(WASHINGTON POST): For the past few months, Russia’s 175,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses have been on edge. After years, even decades, of persecution against the religious group, the Kremlin moved to get rid of the denomination for good. In February, Jehovah’s Witnesses were labeled “extremists” and locked out of their offices. Then Kremlin officials launched a legal effort to ban the faith. That case quickly… Read more »