President Vladimir Putin’s assurance that Russia does not plan to attack any other country will not change many minds here at the Nato headquarters in Brussels. They will simply point to the seizure of the Crimea and the Russian military’s continuing support for the rebels in eastern Ukraine as a sure sign of Moscow’s growing assertiveness. Mr Putin also says… Read more »
Historic buildings in central Italy have been badly damaged by two strong earthquakes that forced hundreds of residents out of their homes. It was “miraculous” no deaths had been reported, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said. Dozens of people were treated for shock or light injuries. Rescue teams have been struggling to reach some areas but officials say the situation is… Read more »
Spain, backed by NATO withdrew their fueling request with Russia recently. NATO members are worried about Russia using their ships to airstrike in Aleppo, therefore urged Spain to take control of the situation and deny Russia’s request to refuel. NATO has good reason for believing this. First of all there has been reports that the Russian ships were Syria- bound,… Read more »
Not known if in response to a flotilla of Russian warships sailing past Norway en route to Syria, Norway announced that U.S. could station over 300 soldiers within its borders. Though it is on a trial basis, this decision is one that significantly goes against Norway’s diplomacy of not allowing foreign allies to post soldiers on its soils. Norway’s announcement stressed… Read more »
Russia has withdrawn a request for three warships to dock at the Spanish port of Ceuta for refuelling, the Spanish foreign ministry says. It says the stopovers have therefore been cancelled. Spain had been coming under pressure from Nato allies not to allow the refuelling of Russian warships bound for Syria.
Montenegro’s veteran Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic is stepping down, the country’s ruling party says. The move follows parliamentary elections which the Democratic Party of Socialists won but without an absolute majority 10 days ago. The party has nominated his deputy, Dusko Markovic, to take over. Mr Djukanovic has governed Montenegro either as prime minister or president for most of the… Read more »
Sometimes leaders of the European Union must feel that they cannot win. For years, they have been accused by their sternest critics of subverting democracy – by allowing bureaucratic procedures to ride roughshod over democratic institutions. That was partly why the European Commission – under pressure from the member states – decided to allow all 38 national and regional parliaments… Read more »
Norway has announced it is to allow more than 300 US troops to be stationed on its soil for a trial period in 2017. It represents a shift from the peacetime policy of the Nato member, which shares a border with Russia, of prohibiting the posting of foreign troops in Norway.
The claim: Regional governments in Belgium have held up the EU’s trade deal with Canada and would be likely to do the same to the UK. Reality check verdict: Not all EU trade deals need to be approved by individual member states, but bigger ones do. If the UK were to agree a wide-ranging deal, including provisions on things like… Read more »
This year is set to be the deadliest for migrants and refugees crossing the Mediterranean to Europe, the UN refugee agency says. Some 3,740 people died until 23 October, a number that is set to rise as the two worst months are yet to come. Last year’s death toll was 3,771. This comes despite a sharp decline on the number… Read more »