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ROME, Jul 8 2016 (IPS) - A sign of the time is that Germany is raising a revolt against the President of the European Commission, Jeam-Claude Juncker, whom Chancellor Angela Merkel imposed in 2014 after a strong fight with David Cameron, then a powerful British PM. The group of Visograd, , formed by Poland, Hungary, Slovaquia and the Czech Republic, which resurged from ashes, to become an anti Brussels voice, has requested to bring back the Commission under the authority of the States. When Merkel organized a meeting of the leaders of the six original founders of the EU, in Berlin, she invited Donald Tusk, the President of the Council, but not Jean-Claude Juncker, who is the President of the Commission. And Wolfgang Schauble, the German minister of Finance, has launched an appeal: “it is time to bring back Brussels under the control of the states. “
ROME, Jun 23 2016 (IPS) - “Xenophobic and racist rhetoric seems not only to be on the rise, but also to be becoming more socially and politically acceptable.”
The warning has been heralded by the authoritative voice of Mogens Lykketoft, current president of the United Nations General Assembly, who on World Refugee Day on June 20, reacted to the just announced new record number of people displaced from their homes due to conflict and persecution.
ROME, Jun 19 2016 (IPS) - Will the rapid–though silent escalation of political tensions between the European Union and Turkey, which has been taking a dangerous turn over the last few weeks, push Ankara to drop a “human bomb” on Europe by opening its borders for refugees to enter Greece and other EU countries?
ROME, Jun 9 2016 (IPS) - Big business is most often seen by human rights defenders and civil society organisations as “bad news,” as those huge heartless, soulless corporations whose exclusive goal is to make the biggest profits possible. Too often and in too many cases this is a proven fact.
Daylesford, Australia, Jun 1 2016 (IPS) - Islamophobia has become a significant factor driving politics in many Western countries.
Islamophobia – fear of Muslims – is now highly visible among European populations concerned about terrorist responses from Islamic groups claiming Jihadi links.
ROME, May 26 2016 (IPS) - The humanitarian clock is now ticking away faster than ever, with over 130 million of the world’s most vulnerable people in dire need of assistance. But the most powerful, richest countries—those who have largely contributed to manufacturing it and can therefore stop it, continue to pretend not hearing nor seeing the signals.
ISTANBUL, Turkey, May 24 2016 (IPS) - The World Humanitarian Summit held in Istanbul on May 23-24, failed to achieve its fund raising goals. With the exception of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, none from the Group of the richest courtiers or of the UN Security Council attended. And the Summit could not mobilise the much-needed resources it had hoped for.
IPS Daily Report
