Vatican: first-ever abuse conference
22 Feb 2019
Catholic bishops are meeting to discuss the Roman Catholic church's response to the sexual abuse of children by members of the clergy for the first time. The Vatican says it wants four days of reflection and…
Europe: Huawei and 5G security
22 Feb 2019
President Trump wants Europe to ban Chinese tech giant Huawei from their next-generation 5G information networks, citing security risks (giving China power inside telecommunication networks where they could modify or steal information or conduct undetected espionage).…
France: far left and far right protesters
14 Feb 2019
In Lyon a brawl between rival groups, fighting with fists, rocks, and sticks, highlighted bitter divisions among the ‘yellow vests’, who have now led anti-government protests for 13 consecutive weekends. The fighting is evidence of widening…
Europe: recession risk and the church
14 Feb 2019
The economic outlook across the Eurozone has deteriorated in 2019 as the probability of the entire Euro area falling into recession increases. Italy is in an officially-declared recession, and data suggest that Germany, France, and the…
EU / Ireland: further Brexit talks planned
08 Feb 2019
On 7 February, following a ‘robust but constructive’ meeting between Jean-Claude Juncker and Theresa May, who was seeking changes to her Brexit deal, Mr Juncker stressed that the withdrawal agreement would not be redrawn, but he…
France: jihadists from Syria
08 Feb 2019
The US decision to remove 2,000 troops from Syria worries France, which has 200 special forces in areas wrested from IS by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). US forces ferried supplies to French commandos, and helped…