On July 21, the leader of the Flemish rightwing N-VA party, Bart De Wever, argued for the reunification of Flanders and the Netherlands. While the idea still seems unthinkable today, that could soon change, he said. “A confederation of the Low Countries could be a reality the day after tomorrow. If I could die as a Southern Dutchman, I would die happier than as a Belgian,” De Wever said. This infographic will remind you of various reunification movements across Europe.
The pro-Western government of Ukraine is trying to wipe out the Soviet period of its history by pursuing a policy of “decommunization”. However, Ukraine as an independent state in its present borders could only be possible thanks to the Soviet rulers who expanded the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic at the expense of the neighboring states, including Russia. In fact, the Soviet power continued Imperial Russia’s policy of uniting Ukrainians within one state: the bulk of the present-day Ukraine’s territory was taken by the Imperial Russia from Poland and Turkey. Meanwhile, today’s Ukraine is the direct successor of the first internationally recognized Ukrainian state, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which was proclaimed in 1919, became one of the founding states of the Soviet Union in 1922 and a founding member of the United Nations in 1945.
In Afghanistan, the U.S. created a cauldron of Islamist extremism, aided and abetted by British and Pakistani intelligence as well as massive Saudi funding. The wreckage in Central Asia will henceforth haunt geopolitical rivals in Moscow and Beijing.
Every four years the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) measures the conditions of bridge, water and transportation infrastructure within the U.S. and publishes its findings through the Infrastructure Report Card. In 2021, America’s Cumulative Infrastructure Grade is C-, that is worse than “mediocre”. Energy got the same grade.
On June 23, 2021 HMS Defender entered Russia’s territorial waters and sailed some 12 miles (19km) off Crimea’s coast. The peninsula is not recognized by the United Kingdom as Russian land and London believes it to be illegally occupied Ukrainian territory. A BBC correspondent was on board the navy ship and his version of what happened is different from official accounts of both Britain and Russia.
Prior to the summit meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Geneva, Russian President Vladimir Putin was interviewed by NBC’s Keir Simmons. Unfortunately, some points of the interview were lost in translation. Some cultural background is needed to understand what the Russian leader said.
Every four years the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) measures the conditions of bridge, water and transportation infrastructure within the U.S. and publishes its findings through the Infrastructure Report Card. In 2021, America’s Cumulative Infrastructure Grade is C-, that is worse than “mediocre”. Drinking Water got the same grade.
On June 9, US President Joe Biden embarked on his first foreign trip. He will be accompanied by Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the G7 and NATO summits, as well as during top-level discussions with European leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
