European Union

Irish Parties and People demand Expulsion of Israeli ambassador, Fines for importing Settler-made Goods

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The recent Israeli assault on the Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank, and the bombardment of Gaza, has stirred passions in the Irish Republic, where public opinion has swung around to be strongly in favor of Palestinian rights and critical of the Apartheid, Occupation government of Israel. Rallies have […]

Banking

Let Lebanon be Lebanon: Paris should Stop Threatening Beirut with EU Sanctions

John Hickman

John Hickman “Governing Lebanon is surely more daunting than governing France.”[1] That pearl of wisdom in an essay defending consociational democracy by University of Pennsylvania political scientist Brendan O’Leary has never been more accurate. A delicate balance of domestic interests with institutional vetoes at the best of times, Lebanese politics has been stalemated for months […]

Climate Crisis

Why Coal Must be Phased out by 2030 to Save the Planet

Clean Energy Wire

By Edgar Meza | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Germany’s recently revamped Climate Action Law calls for the energy sector to reduce CO2 emissions from 175 to 108 metric tonnes by 2030. To reach that target, the energy sector must accelerate the phase-out of coal, according to a new study by Berlin-based energy […]

Climate Crisis

Germany’s Green Party is in the Lead, and sees Biden as climate ally on Blocking Russian Gas Pipeline

Clean Energy Wire

By Charlotte Nijhuis The co-leader of the German Greens, Annalena Baerbock, emphasised possibilities for closer cooperation between Germany and the U.S. on issues including climate action at a virtual event of the Atlantic Council. “We as Europeans and we as German Greens are not very far apart from the current U.S. administration,” Baerbock said. The […]

Climate Crisis

In Historic Ruling, German High Court slaps down Gov’t Climate Plan, Orders Accelerated Action against CO2

Clean Energy Wire

By Sören Amelang Kerstine Appunn Charlotte Nijhuis and Julian Wettengel | – ( Clean Energy Wire) – Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that the government has to have a more detailled plan how to reduce emissions as of 2030 to not put the largest burden on today’s young people. Photo: FfF. In an unexpected […]

Germany

Greentech is 15% of German Economy, and its Market Volume will Double in 10 Years to $1 Trillion

Clean Energy Wire

By Kerstine Appunn | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Experts from Germany’s environment ministry expect the global market for environmental technologies to grow by more than seven percent annually in the next ten years. The German sector is developing even more dynamically with average annual growth of more than eight percent, the environment […]

Archaeology

The Catholic Reconquista in Spain outlawed Islam in 1502, but Secret Muslims kept their culture — and Cuisine — Going

The Conversation

By Aleks Pluskowski, Guillermo García-Contreras Ruiz, and Marcos García García | – Granada, in southern Spain’s Andalusia region, was the final remnant of Islamic Iberia known as al-Andalus – a territory that once stretched across most of Spain and Portugal. In 1492, the city fell to the Catholic conquest. In the aftermath, native Andalusians, who […]

European Union

Turkey’s Government moves to Ban Pro-Kurdish Leftist Party, 3rd Largest in Parliament, to Int’l Silence

Open Democracy

By Foteini Bakadima | – ( OpenDemocracy.net) – There is no doubt that current events in Turkey violate democratic procedures, personal and political rights and any obligation Turkey has as a member of international organisations such as the Council of Europe. Over the years, the EU has seen the Turkish government exert increasing pressure against […]

Germany

Germany’s State Rails, already 61%-renewables Fueled, to add 190 GWh of North Sea Wind toward being 80% Green by 2030

Clean Energy Wire

By Charlotte Nijhuis | – ( Clean Energy Wire) – State-owned German railway company Deutsche Bahn and utility RWE extend their renewable energy contract with an additional 190 gigawatt hours (GWh) of offshore wind power annually, the railway writes in a press release. The contract will run for a period of fifteen years from 2025. […]