Ukraine: hope amidst muddled messages
12 May 2023
Whole towns flattened into fields of dirt, brick, and branches. People emerge from underground shelters to search for food and relief supplies. One country sent tanks. One country didn’t. Russia is winning. No, Ukraine is winning.…
Russia / Ukraine: nuclear power plant concerns
12 May 2023
Ukraine is expected to attempt to retake Moscow-held Zaporizhzhia territory. The Russian-installed governor of the partly-occupied province ordered 18 settlements near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to evacuate. The UN's nuclear watchdog is concerned about the…
EU: anti-corruption sanctions
12 May 2023
The EU High Representative and the European Commission are willing to step up in the global fight against kleptocrats. A new anti-corruption sanctions regime would supplement the EU’s existing regime covering worldwide corruption, enabling it quickly…
Ukraine: Bakhmut defenders losing support
04 May 2023
Ukraine’s call for more weapons and ammunition to bolster the defence of Bakhmut has grown louder. A year ago they fired all forty barrels of their rocket launcher in one go. Now they can only afford…
Germany: transition - with divine guidance
04 May 2023
Germany’s last three nuclear power plants were closed on 15 April. Its car industry has been the market leader for decades. Now production of diesel and petrol engines will end, and gas and oil heating systems…
Serbia: 13-year-old kills nine
04 May 2023
There is an awful silence hanging over the steep hill on which Vladislav Ribnikar elementary school sits. On 3 May, a 13-year-old entered the school, armed with two guns, and shot dead eight fellow students and…