CategoryPolitics

Northern Ireland has been without a government since February. The unionist DUP party refuses to form a coalition, out of dissatisfaction with the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The country should have a new government by Friday at the latest, but has been in a political impasse since February. This is due to disagreements over Brexit agreements.

This is shown by figures published on Thursday from a large population survey. The Census census says that now 45.7 percent of Northern Ireland’s residents are Roman Catholic, versus 43.5 percent Protestant. The census was held in March 2021.

The EU countries and Britain granted € 227.97 billion (US $ 228 billion) in state aid in 2020 to support businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with Poland and Greece leading the list, the European Commission said on Thursday.

While China is engaged in military exercises around Taiwan, Beijing is leaving the trade relationship largely undisturbed for the time being.

Turkey will resume natural gas exploration in the Mediterranean on August 9. Ankara announced it. The demarche could put pressure on relations with Greece and Cyprus again.

While the whole of Europe is desperate for gas, under the seabed of Cyprus there are giant gas fields that have not yet been tapped. On the island, conflicts are the norm. Can Gas dollars play a role in reconciliation? And can the gas help the European Union out of the emergency?

Greece on Thursday opposed the European Commission’s proposal to reduce natural gas consumption in the European Union by 15 percent in response to the cut in Russian gas supplies.