The Arab Spring is bringing unexpected consequences to the EU. The increasing influx of migrants from Tunisia and Libya has created a dispute between Italy, the country through which most migrants enter the EU, and France, the country where most of them want to go due to their knowledge of the language and the many Tunisians already living in it. Read the rest of this entry »

It was known since the end of April that the two rival Palestine factions of Fatah and Hamas were to sign a reconciliation pact. Today that reconciliation become real and for many Palestinians a welcomed one after four years of a bitter division. Read the rest of this entry »

According to a report by Europol, the EU’s joint police body, the economic crisis and the Arab revolutions have the potential to increase the risk of terrorist attacks in the European Union by far-left, far-right and Islamists groups. It has been noted that in the Arab revolutions Islamist groups such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula have become observers and had not had influence in the events. Read the rest of this entry »

While in the United States the high-speed rail does not appear to have a good future, as it has been one of the programs cut from the budget, Europe is going the opposite way. Read the rest of this entry »

With all the turmoil in the Middle East and Africa, Israel has not been much on the news lately. All of a sudden we have heard about new developments that bring it back to our attention. First one is the proposal for a Palestinian state that will include all of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. The countries leading this proposal, Germany, Britain and France, would call for an Israeli withdrawal for almost all the territories that were captured in the 1967 Mideast war. Read the rest of this entry »

While the US president is running into trouble in his own country for not having consulted Congress before getting involved in the military campaign over Libya and his lack of explanations to the American people about what that military intervention implies, the British Prime Minister David Cameron has made a direct appeal to Parliament and outlined the reasons why Britain intervened in Libya and why he is putting the British army in harm’s way. Read the rest of this entry »

What prompted Sarkozy to suddenly recognize the Libyan rebels in Benhazi? Was he trying to give the impression that he was the European leader who had a grasp on the events? If that is what he intended he probably failed as at this moment nobody seems to know which way things are going to go. While the Gaddafi’s regime will eventually have to go, it is rather hazardous to recognize the rebels as they don’t seem to have a clear leadership. Read the rest of this entry »