Kosice, Slovakia | AFP | As day breaks through smudged tram windows, Slovak workers heading to the U.S. Steel Kosice plant mull their fate after hearing the company plans to sack a fifth of them. Some stare silently at the morning haze behind the chimneys of the sprawling communist-era factory. With …
Read More »Migrant rescue NGOs defy European states
Barcelona, Spain | AFP | A Spanish charity that saved 121 migrants in the Mediterranean last week vowed Monday to continue sea rescue operations, the latest NGO to defy moves by European nations to shut down a route exploited by trafficking gangs. Proactiva Open Arms founder Oscar Camps called on EU …
Read More »Boris Johnson and girlfriend Symonds move into Downing Street
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Boris Johnson and his girlfriend Carrie Symonds moved into Downing Street on Monday, becoming the first unmarried couple to occupy the British prime minister’s official residence. The change of guard at the famous address was prompted by Theresa May’s forced resignation under the …
Read More »Determined EU defies Johnson push for Brexit rewrite
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The European Union on Thursday flatly rejected an aggressive push by Britain’s new prime minister Boris Johnson to rewrite the Brexit agreement. Chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier warned EU member states that Johnson was trying to divide them by amping up the threat of a damaging …
Read More »EU nominee von der Leyen faces sceptical parliament
Strasbourg, France | AFP | Was an intense two-week political operation to woo European lawmakers long enough to win German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen the top job in Brussels? The 60-year-old conservative will replace Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European Commission if she secures a majority in …
Read More »EU killing African immigrants
Africans quiet as the EU builds an invisible but vicious wall of torture, slavery and blood in the deserts of North Africa | Hussein Lumumba Amin | Many African refugees, including women and toddlers, drowned recently after their boat capsized in the vast Mediterranean Sea. They were attempting to migrate …
Read More »Starved, tortured, bombed: the fate of refugees trapped in Libya
Paris, France | AFP | Acute malnutrition, forced labour, torture: NGOs have sharpened their tone against the shocking conditions endured by refugees and migrants in Libya, where over 40 people were killed in an air strike on a detention centre. Tuesday night’s strike on the centre at Tajoura near the capital …
Read More »EU commits UGX 34 billion to climate change adaptation in Uganda
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The European Union-EU has committed 8 million Euros (34 billion Shillings) towards mitigating the effects of Climate Change in districts in the central cattle corridor, that experience semi-arid climatic conditions. Under the project, the EU will scale up agricultural adaptation activities in the districts of …
Read More »Putin to meet Pope and populist govt during lightning Italy trip
Rome, Italy | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in Rome Thursday for a lightning visit including talks with the pope and Italy’s populist government, which has called for an easing of sanctions despite Moscow’s ongoing crisis with the West. Rome’s historic centre is on security lockdown for the visit …
Read More »One in, one out: A tale of two Brexit MEPs
Dublin, Ireland | AFP | When the other new members of the European Parliament take their seats in Strasbourg on Tuesday, Barry Andrews will be sitting at home, unable to attend because of Brexit. Basking in the sun in Dublin, the 52-year-old Irish politician is on an unwanted holiday as he …
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