September 19, 2026 By: Khaled A. BaRahma Photo Credit: © European Union 2026 – Source: EP For most of its history, Canada has had one economic relationship that mattered above all others. That is starting to change. In mid-September 2026, the European Union and Canada signalled they want to build something far more ambitious than a trade agreement, and the timing is no accident. The partnership is taking shape as Canada's relationship with the United States goes thro

By: Ahmed Taleb On September 28, 1991, one million young Russians at a military airfield in Moscow screamed at the top of their lungs: "Enter Sandman". Above them, Soviet Army helicopters circled, and around them, soldiers in uniform didn't know if they were guarding the concert or guarding the collapse of their own country. The band Metallica was playing, and the Soviet Union was taking its last breaths. Just two and a half months later, the red flag fell from the Kremlin. T

On 2 September 2026, at the initiative of Monaco, the Council of Europe conducted a captivating debate on “The environmental crisis through the lens of human rights: scientific findings, legal challenges and political prospects for the Council of Europe”. Linking human rights to environmental protection is not necessarily a new topic. The Declaration “United around our Values”, adopted in 2023, in Reykajavik, by the 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council o

Nino Kalos for August 4 in Beirut 1. August 4, 2020: the moment that broke Beirut At 18:08 on August 4, 2020, a massive explosion tore through the port of Beirut. A roar, a cloud, a shockwave that swept across the city like a hurricane. More than 200 lives lost, thousands injured, entire neighborhoods erased, 300,000 people left without a home. But the tragedy was not only physical: it was moral. Lebanon discovered that 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate had been abandoned for ye

By: Alain Seckler When Singapore became independent in 1965, its chances of survival appeared slim. Following its short-lived association with Malaysia, the country faced daunting challenges. It had virtually no natural resources, while ethnic tensions among the Chinese, Malay, Indian, and other communities were compounded by severe unemployment and widespread poverty. Singapore was, in many respects, an urban slum. Yet within a single generation, under the visionary leaders

Brussels - It is well know that the situation in Afghanistan for women and girls have significantly deteriorated since the takeover by the Taliban in 2021. Women and girls' rights and freedoms, including access to education, employment, healthcare, travel, appearance and behaviours have been banned or heavily restricted. It is less known that the situation became so desperate that it is now described as "Gender apartheid", notably following the ban on the participation of wom

By: Dr. Karen Becker President of the American Veterinary One Health Society Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine Smoke from Canadian wildfires is blanketing cities across the Mid‑Atlantic and breathing it may be equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes per day. Hospitals are bracing for spikes in respiratory illnesses while vulnerable residents are being urged to stay indoors, limit exertion, and monitor health symptoms hour by hour. This cri

When I turned 45, my daughter, Daria, gave me the book “The Hooligan’s Return” as a birthday present in Brussels, just a few days after the French translation was published. That’s how I discovered Norman Manea and became his friend without him knowing. Norman Manea lived through the horrors of Nazism and Communism, survived the Holocaust and the concentration camp to which he was deported as a child, and knew the dramatic experience of exile. In fact, the theme of exile is a

Photo by Dirk Pothen: https://www.pexels.com/photo/apostolic-palace-and-colonnade-in-vatican-city-31741852/ By: Nino Kalos New York, NY — At a time when the language of politics seems increasingly dominated by the logic of force, a different voice emerges — one that speaks an ancient and yet strikingly modern lexicon: the language of disarmed peace. It is the voice of Pope Leone XIV, a pontiff who surprises with his evangelical radicalism and his deeply American biography. Bo

Photo by Balázs Gábor: https://www.pexels.com/photo/aerial-view-of-naples-with-mount-vesuvius-35504405/ By: Nino Kalos The problem is not between Trump and Italy. The problem is between Trump and Europe. In his view — and not only his — Europeans still live under the illusion that the United States must protect them by historical right, as in the postwar era. But that world no longer exists. The United States now deals directly with Russia, China, North Korea, and the Gulf st