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NL Approaching winter opens Europe's gas labyrinth
As winter approaches, European countries are increasingly concerned about where their energy should come from. While Hungary, Serbia and Turkey are negotiating to open Russia's gas tap, other countries are instead relying on their neighbours' reserves. Last week, available [...]
Russian terror: 'October 10 was a terrible day for millions of Ukrainians'
Residents of Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine were woken up by loud explosions on Monday, 10 October. It is the first time since June that the capital has been attacked. FMS spoke to Bogdan Ferens, who was in Kyiv on the morning of the attacks. "10 October was a terrible day for millions of Ukrainians," said [...]
Brazil: Lula beats Bolsonaro - but Bolsonaro beats the polls
Former president Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva is expected to have won the first round of Brazil's elections. In doing so, Lula defeated Jair Bolsonaro, the incumbent president, by more than five percentage points. However, the victory was celebrated far less euphorically than anticipated beforehand - as Bolsonaro scored well ahead of all polls up to then [...]
Kido Koenig new director Foundation Max van der Stoel
As of 1 November, Kido Koenig is the new director of the Max van der Stoel Foundation. Read this news item in English. Kido Koenig previously worked at Capgemini, where he was a consultant and manager for 10 years in the field of digital transformations, talent development and change management. Before taking that step into the private sector, he [...]
Sanctions in the name of women's rights?
Protest in Lausanne on 28 September following the death of Masha Amini (Flickr) For the past two weeks, Iran has been rocked by massive protests. The immediate cause of these protests was the death of 22-year-old Masha Amini, who was arrested by the so-called morality police for not wearing "modest clothing" prior to her death. [...]
Pakistan is under water: hope for breakthrough at climate summit
After weeks of record high temperatures and extreme drought in spring, Pakistan was ravaged by months of extreme rainfall during the monsoon season from mid-June. In some regions, five times as much rain fell as 'normal' for this time of year. A third of the country is under water, the floods have left at least 1,500 people, at least [...]
Fitful Italian political conjuncture continues with Giorgia Meloni win, EU out of concern
Meloni (FdI) and Salvini (Lega) in 2017 (WikiMedia Commons) In Italy, Giorgia Meloni's radical-right, post-fascist Fratelli d'Italia (FdI) party won the parliamentary elections with 26% of the votes. Meloni is thus well on her way to becoming Italy's first female prime minister. In the coming period, she will attempt to form a coalition with [...]
"It showed that there are people who are not afraid": Impressions from EuroPride 2022 in Belgrade
In spite of an initial ban by the Serbian government, Saturday 17 September saw thousands walk through Belgrade in the first EuroPride march ever in the Western Balkans. Despite attempts at stirring trouble, the historic parade took place without major incidents. Despite the rain, thousands marched in Belgrade on Saturday. Picture by Miloš Đajić. The announcements [...]
Sham referendums and reservists - Putin's convulsive attempt at reversal
Kharkiv after a missile strike, 2022 (Flickr) Referenda have been announced in the Russian-occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson to join the Russian Federation in the near future. The annexation referendums not only disregard the sovereignty of the Ukrainian state, but at the same time are mainly intended to further mobilise [...]
The four trees commemoration: where past and present meet
Protests against the Belarusian regime, Minsk, August 2020 (WikiMedia Commons) Last Friday 16 September, the annual four trees commemoration in Eindhoven took place again. This commemoration commemorates four opposition members who disappeared in Belarus in 1999 and 2000. Today, it is still uncertain what happened to Anatoly Krasovsky, Viktor Gonchar, Yuri [...]
