Switzerland’s government has decided to go nuclear-free in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster. Last week-end, 20,000 rallied against nuclear power. Earlier today, the cabinet decided to build no new fission plants while allowing those currently on line to operate through their designed lifespan. “Existing nuclear power plants will be closed at the end of […]
Penelope Chester wrote a post today that I highly recommend on the double standards increasingly demonstrated by European countries, especially France. One clear example is when it comes to issues of immigration. On the recent call by France and Italy to revise the Schengen Agreement that allows people to cross the borders of member states […]
by Sheila Jasanoff In May 2003, the United States and several cooperating countries filed a case at the World Trade Organization (WTO) charging the European Union (EU) with maintaining an illegal, non-science based moratorium on genetically modified (GM) food and crops. Almost three years later, in February 2006, the WTO concluded that EU inaction between […]
At the start of every year, we celebrate and wonder what the next 365 days will bring. We know that there will be ups and downs, things we didn’t expect, public scandals we never anticipated, tragedies of some sort that will unfold on our television sets, and a whole lot of everyday distractions in between. […]
In Greece, police on Sunday, arrested and charged six people of having connections with a terrorist group after confiscating guns and explosives at various locations across the country. Newspaper reports suggest that the suspects range in age from 21-30. The group also includes one woman member. They were detained following police raids in Athens, the […]
The bank, now a unit of Wells Fargo, leads a list of firms that have moved dirty money for Mexico’s narcotics cartels–helping a $39 billion trade that has killed more than 22,000 people since 2006. –Michael Smith, Bloomberg Markets Magazine, July7, 2010
People marked International Women’s Day yesterday in a variety of ways. In Europe, the Commissioner for Human Rights for the Council of Europe, Thomas Hammarberg, made news with the publication of his Viewpoint that bans against the Islamic niqab or burqa would violate a woman’s privacy and could potential violate the European Convention on […]
The movie Avatar is a blockbuster, and now the third-highest grossing movie of all time. It is also a story about migration. In short, it depicts humans in the year 2154, seeking to extract a valuable mineral from a far-off planet called Pandora, and willing to do so at any cost, including the extermination of […]
Last Sunday, Swiss voters opted to legally ban the construction of any new minarets in the country. Since then, the topic has been debated online and in the media, with plenty of analysis by people on both sides of the ban on what the minaret ban is really about, or what minarets are really about. […]
Countries within the Southern Hemisphere are on the move. This past weekend member states of UNASUR and the African Union met on Margarita Island, Venezuela, in order to strengthen ties between their countries and continents. One of the ideas proposed by President Hugo Chávez, as well as Moammar Gadhafi, of Libya, is an alliance among […]
El Universal reported that a decline in revenue from oil sales caused imports into Venezuela to drop by 49% during the first six months of 2009. Despite a recent increase the value of petroleum, Venezuela has experienced a sharp reduction in available funds since the price of a barrel of oil is just over $65, […]
A recent incident where Madonna was booed by concert goers after speaking out against the widespread discrimination against Roma in Romania has reignited the debate over the general treatment of Roma in Europe, particularly in Eastern Europe. Roma, more colloquially referred to as Gypsies, have suffered rampant institutional discrimination since their arrival in Europe centuries […]
Current relations between Pakistan and Europe are defined by cooperation. Through humanitarian and supply assistance offered, European states are also working with Islamabad in collaborating on development projects as a form for debt relief to Pakistan. This cooperation comes with Pakistan’s commitment to democracy and successes in uprooting terrorism.