Bloc to discuss trade, security and energy with leaders of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan
The EU is being urged to put human rights centre stage as it begins its first summit with the leaders of central Asia.
The president of the European Council, António Costa, and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, are meeting the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan on Friday.
On April 2, Reuters headlined “US officials object to European push to buy weapons locally,” which means that Trump’s demand for Europe to increase greatly its ‘defense’ spending is, indeed, part of his plan to keep the boom in the U.S. stock markets going. This needs to be understood in the relevant context:
Right now, Trump is promising to stop America’s apparently ceaseless creation of, and participation (such as in Ukraine) in, foreign wars, but he isn’t reducing — and is instead actually increasing — America’s ‘defense’ (aggression) expenditures while cutting virtually everything else (the federal expenditures that don’t help billionaires); and, in order to do this beyond the 2027 end-date of his $400 billion weapons-sale to the Sauds, he is trying to get America’s colonies (‘allies’), such as Europe, Japan, South Korea, etc., to increase their armaments-purchases from American firms such as Lockheed Martin — the firms whose sales-volumes are especially important to America’s billionaires, the people who control the U.S. Government. This is why he doesn’t want Europeans to grow their own ‘defense’ industries.
If a European nation will allow foreign (especially American) billionaires to benefit from its sharp increase in armaments-purchases, this won’t hurt ONLY their own domestic billionaires, but it will ALSO be sending those manufacturing jobs to America and thereby boost America’s economy at the expense of the local economy. For Trump to be requesting them to do that is to insult not only that country’s billionaires but also its residents.
This is not the only reason why NATO might soon break apart. For example: Trump is determined to take Greenland for the U.S. Government — to expand the U.S. to include Greenland. However, polls show that around 85% of Greenlanders are opposed to that, and Trump is also saying that if they won’t willingly comply, then he will do it militarily. Greenland is a Danish colony, and Denmark is a part of NATO. If the U.S. invades Greenland, then how will other countries in NATO feel about that? It would present the U.S. blatantly as aggressor against a NATO member-nation — the very nation that had previously been supposedly their chief protector. What would this do to NATO?
The U.S. Congress is, according to the U.S. Constitution, supposed to be the ultimate determinant of whether or not U.S. military forces invade another country; but, so far, there has been prevailing silence from Congress about Trump’s threat against Greenlanders and even Danes — not the outrage that would prevail if America were still governed under its Constitution.
We are entering the twilight zone. Will it turn out to be the end of the U.S. empire — the end of the largest empire in all of world history? It could — especially if Congress remains silent about what has been happening. The longer this silence continues, the deeper into it we are getting.
This is certainly a weird moment in world history. Of course, ultimately, NATO will end, but the question is when and how. NATO had started on 25 July 1945 as a sentiment and resulting decision by Truman, and was then born in 1949, but is probably near its end now, and the public don’t know it because lots of ‘history’ that has been told in The West is false.
Paranoia manifests in various ways. It can eat away individuals in desperate solitude, whittling away sanity and balance. It can be enlisted in the making of policy. The latter can be particularly dangerous, notably when readying for a fantastic threat. For the Baltic States, Poland and Finland, there is much talk about the Russia threat, one that will supposedly manifest in boots, armour and missiles once the war against Ukraine concludes. Unfortunately, that talk is now manifesting in preparations for war. So eager are these countries in making such preparations, they are willing to exit important treaties in doing so.
The 1997 Ottawa Convention, otherwise known as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, is one such document. The number of state parties is impressive: 164 in all. The omissions are, however, also notable, including the United States, China, Russia, India and Pakistan. Despite such impediments, the Convention has been instrumental in inducing a near halt of global production and reduction in the deployment of these weapons.
With the vibrant war chat that has gripped European capitals, the stockpiling and use of landmines is now being revisited as a genuine possibility. Even Ukraine, which is a signatory to the Convention, has received landmines from the United States and stated that its compliance with the treaty “is limited and is not guaranteed.”
Last month, the defence ministers of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia released a statement expressing their belief “that in the current security environment it is paramount to provide our defence forces with flexibility and freedom of choice to potentially use new weapons systems and solutions to bolster our defence of the alliance’s vulnerable Eastern flank.” For that reason, a unanimous recommendation was made: that all parties withdraw from the Ottawa Convention. “With this decision, we are sending a clear message: our countries are prepared and can use every necessary measure to defend our territory and freedom.”
This liberation from obligations imposed by international humanitarian law was seen as entirely consistent – and here, perversity creeps in – with all states’ continued willingness to observe it, “including the protection of civilians during an armed conflict. Our nations will continue to uphold these principles while addressing our security needs.”
Estonia’s Defence Minister, Hanno Pevkur, attempted to give the recommendation some context, while trying to dispel notions that these countries had somehow scorned important legal obligations, let alone a global consensus on landmines. “Decisions regarding the Ottawa Convention should be made in solidarity and coordination within the region. At the same time, we currently have no plans to develop, stockpile, or use previously banned anti-personnel landmines.”
In a post on the X platform, Finland’s President Alex Stubb declared his country’s intention to join the four states, while still making the claim that “Finland will always be a responsible actor in the world”. The decision, which was already being considered last November given Russia’s liberal use of such weapons in Ukraine, was made “based on a thorough assessment by the relevant ministries and the Defence Forces.”
Rather anomalously, Stubb went on to claim that Finland was “committed to its international obligations on the responsible use of mines.” Similarly, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Sari Essayah told reporters that Helsinki would “use mines in a responsible way, but it’s a deterrent we need.”
Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, in keeping with language that has become very modish, also stated that exiting the Ottawa Convention would allow preparations “for the changes in the security environment in a more versatile way”. Despite admitting that Finland was not in any immediate danger from Moscow, he was confident that it posed a continuing, European-wide threat.
Given that such devices are indiscriminate and lingering in their lethal and maiming potential, squaring their use with the dictates of international customary law is nigh impossible. Despite their inherently clumsy nature, their skulking defenders can be found. In January 2020, then US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper authored a memorandum reversing a 2014 ban on US production and acquisition of antipersonnel landmines, while permitting their use outside any future conflict on the Korean Peninsula. In doing so, he insisted in rather novel reading that landmines were essential to “becoming more lethal, resilient, agile, and ready across a range of potential contingencies and geographies.”
In its 2023 Landmine Monitor report, Human Rights Watch found that the active remnants of landmines killed more than 1,600 people and injured 3,015 in 2022. Of these, 85% were civilians, with children accounting for half of them. (So much for the protective principle and civilians.) The report also noted various groups most vulnerable to such weapons: nomads, hunters, herders, shepherds and agricultural workers, along with refugees and internally displaced persons.
With such grim assessments and bloody statistics, the recent volte face towards international humanitarian law by Poland, Finland and the Baltic states seems even more remarkable and ill-founded. Paranoia is producing its casualties.
European leaders gathered in Paris on March 27 for another summit on the war in Ukraine, continuing discussions launched alongside peace negotiations initiated by the Trump presidency. The stated goal of the meeting was shaping a roadmap towards a “robust peace.”
Judging from the conclusions of the summit, European heads of state continue to believe such a peace will be achieved by prolonging sanctions on Russia, financing more weapons for Ukraine, and preparing a so-called “reassurance force” to be deployed after a future ceasefire.
In his article about being invited by U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz to a Signal chat with the U.S. secretaries of state, defense and treasury, the U.S. vice president and the directors of national intelligence and the C.I.A., Atlantic magazine editor Jeffrey Goldberg writes that Waltz set at least some of the text messages in the chat to disappear.
Goldberg wrote:
Waltz set some of the messages in the Signal group to disappear after one week, and some after four. That raises questions about whether the officials may have violated federal records law: Text messages about official acts are considered records that should be preserved.
It seems impossible to have a discussion with those who insist on calling for more billions for weapons, training, and mercenaries for Ukraine even after US/NATO wars have destroyed so many millions of lives. The cheerleaders for the US war in Ukraine are as misguided and indoctrinated by the Biden regime as the dupes who believe that Trump will bring us peace. Biden’s minions, like Trump’s, stake their position on a mountain of lies, lack of information, wishful thinking, and hatred of the other while invoking high-sounding words like sovereignty, democracy, and freedom.
“Why organize the future? Because the present we face is repulsive.” With these words, Marta Collot began her speech at Potere al Popolo’s national assembly in Rome on March 15, marking the culmination of months of organizing and political discussion. The assembly launched a new program, developed through a bottom-up process rooted in labor and territorial struggles, outlined to serve as a framework for truly organizing the future.
According to Maurizio Coppola, a member of Potere al Popolo’s national coordination, the process was launched for multiple reasons.
For the record, it was the U.S., from Bill Clinton to Joe Biden, that provoked the Ukrainian tragedy. And now it is the Europeans who can stop it.
NATO’s Eastern expansion led to the bloodiest military conflict in Europe since the Second World War, one that could lead to a Third.
Donald Trump in his first term tried to exit this crisis, only to be subjected to the Russiagate “scandal” and two unsuccessful impeachment efforts led the bipartisan U.S. War Party.
Eventually, they succeeded and took back power, facilitating Joe Biden’s 2020 victory with various manipulations, including producing a letter signed by 51 top, retired U.S. intelligence officers falsely blaming Russia for the criminal contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop that included his father’s involvement.
The Russians are coming and Europe is preparing for war.
Hysteria has gripped the continent.
It is being spread by political elites who claim peace in Europe is no longer a given.
“Never again” is now a motto forgotten. As if two world wars born in Europe were not enough.
These are the only possible assessments to be drawn from the extraordinary March 5 European Union summit in Brussels at which rearmament and renewed militarization of Europe became the cause to unite an increasingly disunited EU.
Meanwhile, leading media are doing their part to whip up the cries of war.
Berlin checking if US immigration policy has changed after Fabian Schmidt becomes third German to be detained
Berlin is investigating whether US immigration policy has changed, after a German national who is a permanent US resident was detained and “violently interrogated” by US border officials.
Fabian Schmidt, 34, is being held at a detention centre in Rhode Island after attempting to return to his home in New Hampshire after a trip to Luxembourg.
Berlin checking if US immigration policy has changed after Fabian Schmidt becomes third German to be detained
Berlin is investigating whether US immigration policy has changed, after a German national who is a permanent US resident was detained and “violently interrogated” by US border officials.
Fabian Schmidt, 34, is being held at a detention centre in Rhode Island after attempting to return to his home in New Hampshire after a trip to Luxembourg.
Bodies of 17 murdered men removed from monument to Francoism and returned to families amid political row over legacy of Spain’s civil war
Juan Chueca Sagarra was buried for the third time late on Wednesday afternoon, his tiny coffin, topped with a single white rose, stowed in a crypt in his home town of Magallón, which sits among vineyards and wind turbines under the huge, low skies of Aragón.
His homecoming was as overdue as his murder was savage, and his afterlife has been peripatetic. The farm worker, trade unionist and father of five was 42 when he and five other men were shot dead by Francoists in the cemetery in the neighbouring town of Borja in August 1936.
Europe’s resistance to America’s rapprochement with Russia and peace efforts for Ukraine means stagnation which will only hinder its development towards a more autonomous structure.
Another point of Hahn’s piece is made in his discussion about the future configuration of the government in Kiev. It is a warning to those who want to remove Zelenski:
Despite Zelenskiy’s weakened position domestically and internationally, this at least partially illegitimate president may be the last or next to last surviving pillar of the Maidan regime and the Ukrainian state. For all his narcissism, egoism, corruption, and mounting authoritarianism, Zelenskiy currently holds the Ukrainian elite together and is the face of Ukraine abroad, still well-liked in Europe. He remains a figure that minimally satisfies all the various factions in Ukrainian politics and is able to hold off opposition elements, many of which he has emasculated by banning parties and media and by either forcing their leaders into exile or arresting them (e.g., former President Petro Poroshenko and Viktor Medvedchuk).
Spain’s government has approved a bill imposing massive fines on companies that use content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) without properly labelling it as such, in a bid to curb the use of so-called “deepfakes”. The bill adopts guidelines from the European Union’s landmark AI Act imposing strict transparency obligations on AI systems deemed to…
The European Commission has outlined proposals to increase deportations of people with no legal right to stay in the EU, but critics said it had opened the door to “prolonged detention” of people with plans for offshore detention centres.
The plans for a European returns system published on Tuesday came after EU leaders demanded “innovative solutions” to deal with undocumented migrants, in response to gains made by the far-right in last year’s European elections.
Tibetans around the world on Monday marked the 1959 uprising against Chinese rule with protests in cities across Europe, North America and India as thousands marched for an end to Chinese oppression.
With faces painted in the blue and red of the Tibetan national flag –- and shouting slogans in a slew of different languages -– Tibetans and their supporters rallied in Sydney, Taipei, London, New York, Washington and Toronto, among others.
Some of the protests took place outside Chinese embassies. In New Delhi, police clashed with dozens of Tibetan protesters as some demonstrators tried to enter the Chinese Embassy.
On March 10th, thousands of Tibetans commemorated the 66th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising, with hundreds joining peaceful demonstrations worldwide
Supporters carried banners that read “World Leaders, Stand up for Tibet,” “CCP, Stop Torturing Tibetans” and “Missing Home Since 1959.”
The Tibetan national flag –- which is banned inside Tibet -– was widely seen.
Demonstrations for the 66th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising were also held in Ladakh in north India, Guwahati in northeast India and Mysore in south India.
Tibetans protest outside the Chinese Embassy in Washington, March 10, 2025.(RFA Tibetan)
China invaded and forcibly annexed Tibet in 1950. The revolt nine years later was sparked in part by fears that the Chinese would arrest Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who fled from Lhasa to India several weeks later.
Thousands of Tibetans died in the 1959 uprising amid a subsequent crackdown by China. Since then, Tibetans have used March 10 to honor their courage, press China to stop its repression of Tibetans and voice their hope for a homeland where they can live freely.
The date remains a politically sensitive one for Chinese authorities in Tibet, who routinely tighten surveillance and security measures in Tibetan areas of China to block protests ahead of the anniversary.
‘Freedom from Chinese forces’
The Central Tibetan Administration, or CTA, led an official event in Dharamsala, India, where the Tibetan government-in-exile is located.
“As we commemorate the Tibetan National Uprising Day, we honor our brave martyrs, and express solidarity with our brothers and sisters inside Tibet who continue to languish under the oppressive Chinese government,” CTA President Sikyong Penpa Tsering said at the event, which was attended by former Slovakian President Andrej Kiska and Estonian parliamentarian Juku-Kalle Raid.
Tibetans protested in 1959 out of a “sense of real desperation,” the Dalai Lama said from his residence in Dharamsala.
“There was no other way but to escape,” he said. “My heart was a little heavy. After I crossed a river, a local villager guiding my horse told me to take one last look at Lhasa as I won’t be able to see Lhasa beyond this point.
At his residence in Dharamsala, North India, March 10, 2025, the Dalai Lama marks the March 10 Uprising of 1959.(OHHDL)
“So I turned and made my horse face Lhasa and said my prayers,” he said. “As I made my way southward, crossing the river and up through the passes, I felt a sense of happiness and freedom from Chinese forces.”
Since then, despite Chinese efforts to “wipe Tibet from the face of the earth,” Tibet has endured, he said.
Tight security in Lhasa
In Europe, over 3,000 Tibetans and supporters from across various European countries gathered at The Hague in the Netherlands to participate in a rally that is organized every two years in a major city in Europe under the campaign, “Europe, Stand with Tibet.”
Speaking at the rally were Dutch members of parliament, actor Richard Gere and former NBA player, Enes Kanter Freedom.
“Tibetans inside Tibet are still experiencing a lot of problems under Chinese rule,” Kanter told Radio Free Asia. “So being a supporter of human rights and peace in the world, I fully support the Tibetan people and movement.”
In Taipei, more than 500 people –- mostly Taiwanese and about 40 Tibetans –- gathered on Sunday. Representatives from Taiwan’s Human Rights Commission urged the Taiwanese people to stand with Tibetans to hold China accountable for human rights violations in Tibet.
The Tibetan national flag was hoisted in various parts of the United States, including Berkeley and Richmond in California, Burlington in Vermont and East Rutherford in New Jersey. In Germany, more than 400 cities, districts and municipalities raised the Tibetan flag to recognize the ongoing oppression in Tibet.
Inside Tibet, Chinese authorities have deployed police and military throughout Lhasa’s streets and religious sites, including the Jokhang Temple and Sera Monastery, since the beginning of March, two sources in the region told RFA.
The sources added that police are conducting patrols even at 3 a.m. in predominantly Tibetan neighborhoods, while travelers from other Tibetan regions attempting to enter Lhasa are being turned away for even minor documentation issues.
Edited by Tenzin Pema and Matt Reed.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Tibetan.
One thing that instantly struck me watching the White House press conference February 28, 2025 with US President Donald Trump, Vice President J. D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was that the grand welcome accorded to Zelenskyy by the previous US government of Joe Biden and some Western European governments had gone to Zelenskyy’s head. He expected that as he was like an idol to warmongers like Biden and to reporters itching to see Russia defeated, that he would be so to Trump, too.
(Watch Biden/Zelenskyy bonhomie at a press conference with reporters from the dominant/major/traditional/legacy media, the war media, to whom Russia is the “evil empire,” per President Ronald Reagan’s label.)
Zelenskyy was told to put on a suit when visiting the White House. He showed up wearing a commando like stylish black sweatshirt with the logo of Ukrainian tryzub or trident and black pants, both from Ukrainian fashion designer Elvira Gasanova’s menswear label Damirli.
One should have the freedom to wear whatever one wants, however, Zelenskyy has not always worn such casual clothes. He used to wear suits till Russia attacked1 Ukraine, since then his attire has been military/commando style clothes which he says he’ll wear till the war ends. Zelenskyy is not always on the war front, but his clothing creates an impression that he is just coming from the war front, this in turn deludes him into believing that he is kind of a commando. This commando mentality proved almost fatal for the United States-Ukraine relations when he acted as one during the meeting. On March 3, Trump ordered a pause to all military aid to Ukraine — the first wise step to stop the war. Intelligence sharing is also on pause. Zelenskyy needs to come out of this commando mentality.
If Zelenskyy was more powerful than Trump, he could do, wear, say, whatever he wanted to. But he is not. He met Trump for Ukraine, not for himself. If the meeting was a personal one, no one will give a damn even if he blew it up. No. This interaction was for Ukraine and he should have remembered that. As the saying goes: Beggars can’t be choosers. Or as Trump put it: “You don’t have the cards. With us, you have the cards. Without us, you don’t have any cards.”
Zelenskyy badly needs a class in 101 diplomacy. You don’t cut off the branch you’re sitting on; Zelenskyy almost cut off the branch (of the US aid tree) on which Ukraine depends. During the meeting, he constantly argued rather than try and take the conversation towards a more agreeable path.
Despite the fact that US Senator Lindsey Graham, a strong Trump supporter, had warned Zelenskyy beforehand: “Don’t take the bait. Don’t let the media or anyone else get you into an argument with President Trump.”
Zelenskyy’s arguments wouldn’t have mattered if he was arguing with the Biden team, because it was the Biden regime’s war.
Another thing one can deduce from Zelenskyy’s behavior is that he’s not smart like Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu or India’s Narendra Modi (both have big egos and cruel mentality, and wouldn’t hesitate to unleash violence to achieve the desired goals). But neither argue or show any displeasure when they meet Trump because they know they are weak partners vis-a-vis the US which is very strong — I would say too strong for our world, not a very good thing. Israeli leaders are famous for insulting, bypassing, or ordering US leaders but they can’t do that with Trump — of course, instead, they get things done with flattery.
Invited for lunch, but humiliated and shown the door without lunch from the White House, Zelenskyy flew into London in the warm and comforting embrace (albeit, a momentary one) of Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the UK. (Britain, once the greatest empire in the world, now has not much power except, every now and then, it makes some noise to draw attention.)
A conference of 18 leaders: Europeans and Canada’s Justin Trudeau, were called to support Ukraine which Starmer called “coalition of the willing.” The unwilling ones will be crushed or maligned. But the leaders were aware that without the US not much can be accomplished.
Tusk should have added: We are all together but still alone unless the Globo Cop US joins in.
It seems like Zelenskyy came his senses. On March 4, he said:
“None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians.” “My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.”
Zelenskyy must be feeling very humiliated: first for being dressed down by Trump, and, then for accepting “Trump’s strong leadership.”
Advice for Zelenskyy, if he’s allowed to stay in power, or any other leader who takes over: Try to stay neutral, avoid joining NATO, be friendly, as much as possible, with your neighbors, including Russia, and prevent being a proxy in the hands of US/European warmongers. The devastating result in the form of death and destruction for both Ukraine and Russia is in front of you, due to your prolongation of the war.
Ukrainians must watch the following video of a speech given by Jeffrey Sachs to the European Parliament.
Business-being Trump
The effective rate for many anti-bacterial, disinfectant, and other products is advertised as 99.99% effective. In other words, it’s not absolutely effective and not totally potent.
The same analogy can also be applied to Trump. One could say Trump is 99.99% nasty, greedy, cruel, or whatever. That, however, leaves room for some uprightness in Trump.
Trump’s figure for US support of $350 billion dollars to Ukraine was, as usual, exaggerated, the actual amount is about $183 billion — huge sum of money for the war, for which major support comes only from the Democratic Party’s “affluent upper-middle class base.” However, the total amount Ukraine received from the US, European Union institutes, several countries, and groups amounts to $380 billion.
For Trump, Zelenskyy is not a hero. Trump is a different entity with a diverse agenda; he has been talking about ending the Russia/Ukraine war for a long time and so it was counterproductive to argue and throw tantrums rather than listening to Trump and then requesting a favor here and a favor there. Of course, Trump has his own interest in facilitating a ceasefire, he is eyeing Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.
After all, Trump is business-being and like most businesspersons, his motive is always a financial one.
Trump is right when he points out the danger of the Russian Ukraine war:
“You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War Three2.”
Trump attacked
The war news media and many European leaders instead of thanking Trump for his efforts in working for a ceasefire, which would not only prevent loss of life and destruction in Ukraine and Russia but would also save US and European taxpayers’ money, lambasted him for being a “bully” and termed discussion with Zelenskyy an “ambush.”
Financial Times’ Europe editor Ben Hall said Trump and Vance “were spoiling for a fight” with Zelenskyy. Marc Polymeropoulus, MSNBC’s National Security & Intelligence Analyst noted that Trump and Vance “have humiliated the United States” when they shouted at Zelenskyy.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) accused Trump and Vance of “doing Putin’s dirty work.” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) described Trump’s berating of Zelenskyy “utter embarrassment” for the US.
Trump is wrong on a huge number of issues but not on this one. All those criticizing him are foes of Ukrainian people; it’s they who are paying the price for this meaningless war.
1 The former USSR’s (now Russia) request for NATO membership in mid 1950s was rejected. Why? two logical reasons: one, if Russia is in NATO then you have no enemy to fight with. That is a no, no. Also, there wouldn’t be a war lobby and no arms-related corruption; not a good thing for lobbyists, Congresspersons, weapons producers who always get their cuts, profit, and so on. The other reason was a united Europe wouldn’t be as vulnerable to US dictates as it is now.
2 The World War I and the World War II started by Europeans and the world was dragged in because most countries were under European colonial rule. (The name World War is a misnomer — actually it should be called European World War.) How wise are these idiot European leaders whose insanity could drive Europe towards the European World War III.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will introduce 27 European Union members with her “ReArm Europe” costing $840 billion.
The Swiss government has been told it must do more to show that its national climate plans are ambitious enough to comply with a landmark legal ruling.
The Council of Europe’s committee of ministers, in a meeting this week, decided that Switzerland was not doing enough to respect a decision last year by the European court of human rights that it must do more to cut its greenhouse gas emissions and rejected the government’s plea to close the case.
Europe stands ready to fight and die as peacekeepers to save Ukraine if necessary, but only with the Americans. So when they refuse to come and the disastrous Project Ukraine at last comes crashing on our heads, don’t blame us, blame the U.S.A.
Trump will become even easier to blame now that he has cut off military aid and intelligence to Ukraine.
The theater piece directed by Starmer at Lancaster House with an assembly of 15 European heads of government (and Justin Trudeau of Canada) was not really choreographed to try to convince Trump to reverse course, which appears unlikely, but as an elaborate presentation to save the hides of politicians who invested so much of their own political capital and wasted so much of their citizens’ money in the inevitable and humiliating defeat of Ukraine.
Harrowing story of ‘ES’, fleeing persecution to seek safety in US, shines light on judges who grant claims at exceptionally low rates – or not at all
At an immigration court in Pearsall, Texas, in front of a judge, government attorneys and a court interpreter, ES shakily recounted the darkest moments of his life.
He explained how he had been arrested seven years ago in Turkey, amid his government’s crackdown on followers of Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen. The police officers who detained him accused him of being involved in a terrorist movement, and demanded he reveal the names of his associates, he said.
European leaders—together with NATO chief Mark Rutte and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau—met in London on Sunday to discuss further militarization and support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s administration following his humiliation at the hands of the US president and vice president. Trump and Vance’s treatment of Zelenskyy only deepened the perplexity that has been haunting European countries since January, when the new US administration began to chill relations towards its Atlantic allies.
The supporters of the Ukraine Solidarity Network (USN) inhabit the same contradictory moral and political space as the European leaders who met with Volodymyr Zelensky, their frontman from Ukraine, to reaffirm their collective commitment to the proxy war in Ukraine. The language of self-determination and rights easily flowed from their lips but not one of them had a word to say about the self-determination of Palestinians who are now facing another illegal siege by Israel in occupied Gaza.
This is the terrain of white privilege that must be confronted. The power to define who is human and who has rights.
Europe’s militarization has been accelerating long before Donald Trump’s return to the White House. In the past three years, Poland has increased its military spending to nearly 4% of GDP, French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to “transform” the French military for a new era, and most recently, Britain’s Labour government announced plans to slash international aid to fund a “generational” boost in defense spending.
This renewed focus on expanding arsenals is growing while the region remains subordinated to US interests.
Council of Europe’s Michael O’Flaherty urged leaders not to give in to populist rhetoric over migration
Europe’s most senior human rights official has said there is evidence of asylum seekers being forcibly expelled at EU borders, as he urged mainstream politicians not to concede to populists on migration.
The commissioner for human rights at the Council of Europe, Michael O’Flaherty, told the Guardian he was concerned about the treatment of asylum seekers at the EU’s external borders in Poland and Greece, as he warned against a “securitisation response” that goes too far.
Three years into the 2022 Ukraine war, European leaders have unveiled yet another round of sanctions against Russia, its allies, and companies that engage with them—but continue to reject options that might actually bring an end to the conflict. This latest package in the EU’s ongoing effort to stun Russia targets not just Russian individuals and enterprises, but also officials in the Korean People’s Army and Chinese companies.
European officials insist these sanctions are working, weakening Russia’s military capabilities. “Today’s decision maintains pressure on the Russian military and defense by listing several industry companies manufacturing weapons, ammunition, and other military equipment and technologies,” the Council of the EU stated.
The results of Germany’s February 23 election have cemented a chilling trend that has increasingly characterized European politics in the 21st century: the collapse of social democracy and the subsequent resurgence of far right parties and movements, with some of their followers openly glorifying fascism. The snap national election left no room for doubt about Germany’s sharp rightward shift.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen @ Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been told that former colonial powers must apologize and pay compensation for their historical involvement in the enslavement of Africans.
Addressing the 48th meeting of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) heads of government in Barbados on Thursday, which was attended by von der Leyen, Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell urged Western leaders to recognize slavery as a crime against humanity and ensure appropriate reparations are made to prevent the recurrence of such atrocities.
“I don’t mean to be impolite,” Mitchell told von der Leyen. “But I will say it to you: the issue of reparations… is an issue we will take up with you.”
The transatlantic slave trade saw millions of Africans taken from their homeland, bought by European merchants, forcibly transported to the Americas and sold into slavery. Between 1517 and 1867, around 12.5 million people were forced to endure the so-called Middle Passage across the Atlantic, enduring cruel treatment and disease. Only about 10.7 million survived the journey, with nearly 40% sent to work on sugarcane plantations in Brazil.
Demands for reparations for slavery and colonialism have been ongoing for years but are gaining increasing support worldwide, especially among Caricom and the African Union (AU).
Caricom has outlined a reparations plan that includes calls for technology transfers and investments to address health crises and illiteracy. Meanwhile, the AU is in the process of developing its own strategy.
“We owe it to ourselves and future generations of humanity to ensure [slavery] is accepted as a crime against humanity, and that appropriate apology and compensation is paid, and that the international community accepts this should never happen again,” Reuters quoted Mitchell as saying.
Von der Leyen responded to Mitchell but did not mention reparations, only saying that “slavery is a crime against humanity… and the dignity and universal rights of every single human being is untouchable and must be defended by all means”.
Echoing Mitchell’s remarks, the Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, told the Guardian that the Caribbean states were not seeking “a handout” but an “apology for the wrongs of their forebears.”
No specific figures for reparations have been agreed upon yet, according to Caribbean leaders, but the priority is constructive collaboration on the issue. Following the event in Barbados, the issue of compensation was discussed during closed-door meetings, which were also attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Tuesday’s talks (not yet ‘negotiations’) between the Foreign Ministers of the United States and the Russian Federation went well. More will follow. The readouts and interviews from the U.S. and Russia were all positive.
Embassies and Consulates of both sides, shut down for absurd reasons during the Obama and Biden administration, will be reopened and restaffed. Normal diplomatic relations will resume. That in itself is a huge step forward.
There were no negotiations yet about the war in Ukraine. Envoys and delegations will be named to crack that nut. It will be a challenge. The process will take some time.
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