Europe

On July 10, the German government demanded the immediate departure of the head of the CIA mission in Berlin. What accounts for what some are already calling an “unprecedented breach” in the very close relations after 1945 between the United States and the German Federal Republic?

In deed if not in word, London's homeless population are now on par with pigeons. No, they have not gained the ability to fly, but they are deemed so troublesome that special "spike" beds have started to appear on pavements to deter homeless people from sleeping in those areas.

Migration, employment, financial policies and regulations, the “Free Trade” agreement between the EU and the USA will all continue to be important issues for the EU Parliament, and merit being watched closely.

The current Ukraine crisis is serious and threatening, so much so that some commentators even compare it to the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.

One possibility of lowering tensions on a longer-term basis is the start of discussions on a federal-decentralized government structure for Ukraine that would not divide the country but would foster local and regional autonomy.

A politically divided and potentially more violent Ukraine highlights broad social, economic, and geopolitical orientations that will have long-range consequences. Currently Ukraine, as other countries in this post-Soviet area, has four socio-economic poles of attraction and options.