International
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By Lynn Boylan, MEP. I’ve never been one to shy away from criticising the democratic deficit at the heart of the European Union. However, even a critic like me was left speechless with the antics recently in the European Parliament. MEPs were due to vote on June 10th on a report that outlined the Parliament’s […]
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By Barry Walsh. One year on, over 100,000 people still remain displaced in Gaza. Some people are living with extended families, others in temporary accommodation and UN schools. The ongoing economic blockade of Gaza by Israel and Egypt means that reconstruction can’t begin in earnest. Yet for many people in Gaza, the greatest challenges are […]
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Gaza again and again?
By Garry Walsh. One year on, over 100,000 people still remain displaced in Gaza. Some people are living with extended families, others in temporary accommodation and UN schools. The ongoing economic blockade of Gaza by Israel and Egypt means that reconstruction can’t begin in earnest. Yet for many people in Gaza, the greatest challenges are […]
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Few countries elevate rejection as far as celebrating a national “No” day. But every October 28th Greece’s Oxi Day holiday commemorates the No with which it replied to a humiliating Italian ultimatum in 1940, a refusal to acquiesce that led to invasion. Greece is also the country whose stereotype is plate-smashing. The New York Times […]
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Portuguese parallels
In 2011 Portugal was at the forefront of Europe’s anti-austerity movement. Yet, four years later, as elections approach in the Autumn, there is no chance of a Left government to ally with Greece’s Syriza or the recent municipal victories in Spain. What went wrong? And can Portugal return to the frontlines? Village’s Ronan Burtenshaw interviews Bloco de Esquerda’s […]
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If Colonel Gadaffi were still running Libya there would not be mass migration across the Mediterranean, with thousands drowned because of unscrupulous traffickers. Gadaffi was guilty of the sin of all those secular dictators. He was too independent of ‘the West’. Britain and France, backed by America, bombed him out of existence. Their excuse was […]
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UN is not Coca-Cola
By Lorna Gold Negotiations on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) may still be ongoing, but the debate is shifting to questions of implementation. A strange logic is evident. A highly technocratic market-driven model of delivery is envisaged rather than any focus on embedding these goals in national political life. There appears to be little […]