The newly-elected President of Poland promises change. Andrzej Duda has limited powers, but is head of the armed forces and can veto new laws. The victory will be a wake-up call to Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz ahead of parliamentary elections this autumn. Mr Duda said, ‘Those who voted for me…
Turkish voters go to the polls on Sunday amid concerns around slowing economic growth and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's autocratic policies. The election could also be momentous for modern Turkish history, as four candidates come from Turkey’s minority groups, including the resurgent Kurds who have been discriminated against for years.…
A few countries span more than one continent - transcontinental states. Azerbaijan is on both European and Asian maps, but this year’s European games place it firmly in Europe. An anomaly? Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, was awarded the right to host the 2015 European Games, which are the…
This week EU leaders convened in Riga for the eastern partnership summit. They met with officials from the six eastern partners. Latvian foreign affairs minister Edgars Rinkevics hoped it would be ‘an opportunity to look at the challenges the EU faces along its eastern borders’ (namely ongoing tensions with Russia…
Russian people and religious organisations charged with distributing banned ‘extremist’ texts face sharply increased fines after changes to the law this month. Confiscations of religious texts from all religions, mostly during raids or detentions, frequently result in prosecutions of people. Convictions have led to liquidation, or threats of liquidation of…
On Sunday four Irish bishops simultaneously published statements urging Catholics to vote ‘no’ in Ireland's referendum on gay marriage. They defend marriage between a man and a woman as the natural order and argue that a vote against same-sex marriage is a vote for the common good. Bishop of Killala…