Category: NEWS

ExxonMobil Sues EU Over Windfall Tax

According to the company, the tax on ‘excess profits,’ whatever boon it might be for the EU’s coffers in the short term, is ultimately “counterproductive,” since it would scare off prospective investors.

Swedish Kids a Minority in Malmö Schools

It is suggested that students generally would do better in Malmö’s schools if they were allowed to take classes in their native language instead of in Swedish.

Spain Spending First Million on EU Presidency

Spain is offering contracts worth €845,647 for umbrellas, fans, scarves, and water bottles with Sanchez’s presidential logo, plus contracts for event organisation.

Taiwan Extends Military Service

Recent polls show that three-quarters of Taiwanese consider the current four-month term too short—a significant shift in opinion, since military service, inherited from Taiwan’s dictatorial years, has long been unpopular.

Psychological Defense Agency Launched to Inoculate Swedish Minds Against ‘Misinformation’

Psychological Defense Agency Launched to Inoculate Swedish Minds Against ‘Misinformation’

The agency’s chief was eager to draw a clear distinction between its efforts to counter false information and Orwellian, quasi-authoritarian efforts to exert total control over the information available to the public.

January 20, 2022
Denmark: Ex-Minister Charged with Treason for Leaking State Secrets 

Denmark: Ex-Minister Charged with Treason for Leaking State Secrets 

Danish press have speculated that the charges may be related to a 2020 interview where Frederiksen appeared to confirm the existence of a highly classified spy program.

January 20, 2022
Italy: Short Term Migrants to Receive Baby Bonuses and Maternity Allowance

Italy: Short Term Migrants to Receive Baby Bonuses and Maternity Allowance

By extending maternity and paternity benefits to short term migrants, the Italian state will help to facilitate the policy known as ‘replacement migration,’ which is often put forward by liberal politicians as a solution to Europe’s low birth rates and aging population.

January 19, 2022
Bulgaria: Thousands of Anti-Green Pass Protestors Storm National Parliament 

Bulgaria: Thousands of Anti-Green Pass Protestors Storm National Parliament 

Shortly after some 3,000 people gathered in front of the National Assembly last Wednesday in Sofia, tempers flared, and demonstrators—comprised heavily of supporters of the irredentist-nationalist Revival party—clashed with police and stormed towards the parliament, coming just several meters away from the main entrance.

January 19, 2022
The Order of Malta Faces Severe Changes

The Order of Malta Faces Severe Changes

The disappearance of the specific status of the Order is not simply a matter of symbols. Its diplomatic status, for example, facilitates its humanitarian work in a number of countries around the world.

January 19, 2022
EU: Roberta Metsola Takes her Seat as President of European Parliament

EU: Roberta Metsola Takes her Seat as President of European Parliament

For someone who has just landed one of the most prized jobs in the EU apparat, Metsola has an unusual profile. Her self-professed feminism and staunch defense of civil rights, would place her squarely in the progressive camp, and endear her to many inhabiting the EU’s institutions. Yet, she labels herself a conservative, with an anti-abortion stance to boot.

January 19, 2022
Italy is Looking for a New President

Italy is Looking for a New President

The choice of the Italian president is the result of complicated negotiations between the different parties. For many years, the position has remained in the hands of the centre-left, but the right-wing, which nowadays has a relative majority, may be able to win the vote for the first time since the demise of the Christian democracy in the 1990s.

January 18, 2022
Germany’s Domestic Intelligence Chief Brands COVID Critics ‘Enemies of the State’

Germany’s Domestic Intelligence Chief Brands COVID Critics ‘Enemies of the State’

During a weekend interview, Thomas Haldenwang, the president of Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, called anti-lockdown protesters, vaccine skeptics, and so-called ‘lateral thinkers,’ “enemies of the state” who “fundamentally reject the democratic state.”

January 18, 2022
Belgium Expels Country’s Most Influential Radical Islamist Cleric

Belgium Expels Country’s Most Influential Radical Islamist Cleric

In addition to being suspected of carrying out espionage work for the Moroccan government, one of the deciding factors that resulted in Toujagini’s residence permit being revoked was a recently resurfaced video that shows him delivering a fiery speech in front of a large contingent of faithful Muslims. 

January 18, 2022
Germany: Leftist Interior Minister Threatens to Ban Telegram

Germany: Leftist Interior Minister Threatens to Ban Telegram

If it decides to shut down Telegram, Germany will join countries like China, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus, and Cuba who’ve also banned the application in the past.

January 17, 2022
Nearing the Breaking Point: Continued Tensions in Russia-West Relations

Nearing the Breaking Point: Continued Tensions in Russia-West Relations

While committed to a diplomatic solution, Western officials’ projections were grim. To reporters, U.S. Ambassador Michael Carpenter said that escalation is not impossible, and that “the drumbeat of war is sounding loud, and the rhetoric has gotten rather shrill.”

January 16, 2022
An Epidemic of Church Desecrations Hits France

An Epidemic of Church Desecrations Hits France

The nature of these acts of vandalism differs in each case. They may be purely thefts to recover valuables, but they testify to a general climate of hostility towards Catholic faith in France.

January 16, 2022