Europe
France: protests continue
Doctors and lawyers marched in Paris on 3 February, demonstrating against President Macron's pension reforms. It is the latest in a wave of protests against Macron's signature reform, streamlining France's complex and expensive…
Malta: a wake-up call to church
A float depicting Archbishop Charles J Scicluna will take part in Valletta’s carnival parade, despite criticism. Rayvin Galea, the artist behind the float’s design, hopes to get across various issues which he feels…
Britain leaves EU
Three million newly-minted 50p coins celebrating the UK leaving the European Union on 31 January have entered circulation. They bear the inscription ‘Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations’. Chancellor Sajid Javid said…
Turkey earthquake: 1,600+ hospitalised, dozens dead
Social media videos show patients in overcrowded hospitals, as over 1,600 people have been hospitalised in eastern Turkey after a 6.7 magnitude earthquake. At least 36 people have died. Most of the injured…
Germany: Libya civil war Berlin meeting
The Berlin conference on Libya, attended by rival leaders in the civil war and many international leaders including Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Erdogan, concluded on 19 January. It set forth mechanisms for…
Switzerland: Davos - climate change
The World Economic Forum annual meeting of 3,000 of the world's richest and most powerful people took place this week in Davos. One of the speakers was Greta Thunberg, who opened a debate…
Germany: deported asylum-seekers ‘face torture or death’
The leader of the German Evangelical Alliance, Reinhardt Schink, spoke out against the tragedy of Christian refugees and migrants who are sent back to Afghanistan and Iran, even though they could face prison,…
Ireland: general election
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that Ireland will hold a general election on Saturday 8 February. It is unusual for Ireland to hold elections on a Saturday; they are usually on a Thursday…
Europe: countries redeploy troops
Despite a call by the Iraqi parliament for the withdrawal of its forces, the USA stated it has no plans to do so, even though a draft letter signalling a pull-out was sent…
Ukraine jet crashes, killing 176
On 8 December, a Ukrainian jet bound for Kiev crashed soon after taking off from Tehran. The majority of passengers were from Iran and Canada. Ukraine initially blamed engine failure, but later retracted…
