Author: Nikolaos Constantiniadis

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who received the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to peace in the Middle East and easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula in the 1990s, died Sunday, the Carter Center said. He was 100. Carter, the longest-living former U.S. president in history, who entered hospice care nearly two years ago, died peacefully at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family, according to the center. “My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights and unselfish love,” Chip Carter, the former president’s son, said…

Donald Trump on the sidelines in France where he attended the re-opening of a change of direction of U.S. involvement in helping NATO and Ukraine. This was also confirmed by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaking at the OSCE conference in Malta. The Russian take the signaling of the European and U.S. as concerning. Trump is perceived as the rising star on the foreign affair domain as a tough negotiator. The toughness becomes evident with the former Lithuanian prime minister becoming the first dedicated defense commissioner this month, tasked with turbocharging Europe’s defense industry and the stuttering push to…

Everything resembles a thriller novel. Early one morning in December last year, after months of undercover investigation and wiretapping, Belgian police officers raided dozens of locations across Brussels. Over the next 3 days, in apartments, hotel rooms and offices, they seized laptops, mobile phones and nearly 1.5 million euros in cash. The following week, 4 people were arrested on corruption charges, including 2 representatives, a former member of parliament and a current member of the European Parliament. Antonio Panzeri, a retired MEP from Italy, who eventually admitted that he was the mastermind of the corruption scheme. Meanwhile, Eva Kaili, vice-president of the…

Washington/Paris/Berlin (12/8 – 28.57). Today is the twenty-anniversary of the sinking of the Kursk. A painful experience. A true shocker. All hands are lost, the shortcomings of the Russian system fully exposed. But today is another experience. Kursk, the region. After ceremonial pageantry by the military commander, it is clear the great Red Army was ambushed. Hoodwinked by the Ukrainians who pulled off a surprise attack, a classic attack which has all the elements of a successful deception operation. Overwhelming strength, speed and first and foremost silence. Deception played a role keeping the Russian pre-occupied. Daily the news a filled…

Beijing, Dushanbe announced upgrading of diplomatic relations. Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised to defend the “territorial integrity” of Tajikistan as he announced a boost to diplomatic relations with the neighbouring country on a rare visit. Xi arrived in the Tajik capital Dushanbe, Thursday night from Kazakhstan following a gathering of leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), during which he held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged the bloc to “resist external interference”. Central Asia is a vital link in China’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a massive infrastructure project that Beijing has used to expand…

The successful phasing-out of gas imports from Russia risks making Europe dependent on liquified natural gas (LNG) imports, according to a report published by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) today (June 24). Between 2021 and 2022, LNG imports increased from 80 billion cubic meters (bcm) to 120 bcm — reflecting an increase from 22% to 34% of total gas imports including from Russia and pipeline — according to the ECA. By 2023, the largest LNG global exporters to the EU were Norway (30%), the US (19.4%) and North Africa (14.1%), Russia was still responsible for 6.1% of LNG imports alongside 8.7% via pipeline,…

ISTANBUL The Greek deputy foreign minister said Friday that the improvement of Greek-Turkish relations contributes to regional prosperity. “The deepening of the positive climate in Greek-Turkish relations and the further development of our bilateral cooperation contribute to the prosperity of the whole region,” Konstantinos Fragkogiannis told Anadolu. About the ongoing thaw in the relations in general and particularly Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Athens in December, he said, “At this moment, our bilateral relations run on a roadmap at three levels: political dialogue, the Positive Agenda, and Confidence Building Measures.” Drawing attention to the Positive Agenda that focuses…

The carbon intensity of electricity production across Europe’s largest economies has dropped by nearly a quarter over the past five years, thanks to steep cuts in fossil fuel use for power generation and rapid expansions in renewable electricity output. Average carbon dioxide emissions per kilowatt hour (KWh) of electricity in Europe’s six largest economies – Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands – was 253 grams through November of 2023, data from electricitymaps.com shows. That cumulative total is down from more than 330 grams in 2018, and reveals a broad push across key countries to decarbonise power systems…

Diplomatic sources from Brussels reaffirmed on Tuesday Greece’s stance that it will not consent to Albania’s EU accession process without progress on the issue of the elected mayor of Himare, Fredi Beleri. The Greek position, communicated to the Albanian side, emphasizes a clear move towards restoring the political will of Himare’s electorate. The matter is deemed a political-administrative decision, not a judicial independence issue. Greece seeks the elected mayor’s permission to be sworn in and exercise political rights. The EU General Affairs Council discussed enlargement issues on Tuesday, including the potential decoupling of Albania’s accession from North Macedonia’s. EU leaders,…

European nations reached an agreement on rules for artificial intelligence (AI) last week. Some experts say the regulations will affect people around the world. Here are some of the details of the agreement reported by the Associated Press: The AI Act and how it works: The AI Act aims to regulate or establish guidelines for AI technology that has the potential to cause problems if misused. AI systems that recommend online material, or those that check email messages, would be less regulated. But technology that concerns healthcare or medical decisions would have higher requirements. Some AI systems will be banned except in some cases.…