Mounting tensions between East and West have been a fixture in news reporting for the past few weeks, with the U.S. and Ukraine claiming Russia may be preparing an invasion of its neighbor. Russia has emphatically denied planning such a course of action and says it is Ukraine’s dalliance with NATO that is to be blamed for the escalation.

Following disastrous local elections for his party in October, Zaev announced at the end of the month that he would resign as Prime Minister, though he didn’t formally submit his resignation until December 23rd. In the meantime, he led the coalition government through the threat of a no confidence vote to reinforce their slight majority in Parliament to 64 of the 120 seats. This avoided snap elections.

The agreement between Denmark and Kosovo will allow hundreds of criminal migrants with deportation orders to carry out their sentences in Kosovo instead of Denmark.

“Blanket booster programmes are likely to prolong the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than ending it,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. He reasoned that until vaccination reached around the world, the virus would only have more opportunity to spread and mutate. “No country can boost its way out of the pandemic,” Tedros added.

Figures from a government report have shown that foreign nationals were responsible for 92% of thefts and nearly two-thirds of all sexual assaults carried out on the Paris regional public transportation system in 2020.

The rise in gang-related violence, which includes the use of firearms and even explosive materials, had been signaled in a report, which noted that at least 44 people had died in shooting incidents this year so far. It concluded that “despite extensive and offensive police work, the trend has moved in a negative direction and shootings and explosions remain at a high level.”

Vice Admiral Schonbach said the deployment is “like a teaser;” a signal of German commitment to increased engagement in Asia. “We’re here for the first time after 19 years to check the battlefield,” he said. “The next step, I hope that we can come on a regular basis.”

This year, Austria’s embattled government, presently led by Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP), recorded a total of 28,288 asylum application submissions from January to the end of October, well over twice (144%) the number recorded during the same period last year.

The choice of Katalin Novák allows him to highlight the work she has done to promote family values in Hungary. They will remain the priority of Novák’s focus, in contrast to Áder for whom environmental issues were the subject of his attention. The promotion of a woman to the highest office also allows Orbán to respond to accusations that his policies are outdated. 

Placing little faith in verbal assurances, Putin called for legally binding agreements. “We know the price of such verbal assurances, words, and promises,” he asserted.

In it, von der Leyen seeks to ameliorate the EU’s relationship with the Pope after a proposed internal directive for EU officials not to use Christian language was leaked, causing outcry across Europe. The document has since been withdrawn.

The Italian birthrate, which has been well below replacement levels for over four decades, fell to a record low of 1.16 births per woman in 2020 as would-be parents grappled with socially oppressive and economically ruinous COVID-19 lockdowns.