During a conference organised at the University of Latvia in Riga this past Monday, February 2, the Vice President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, went back over the Council of the European Union’s plans for this first semester of 2015. Proud to assume the role of President of the Council for the first time, Latvia does not want to disappoint, on the evidence of the ambitious speech by the former Prime Minister. The official website of the European Union defines the Council of...

Hearings for the Perinçek vs. Switzerland case started on Wednesday, January 28th at the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights. Beyond the matter of the limits of freedom of speech with regards to “hate speech”, this case is of tremendous significance for Switzerland’s domestic politics. Back in 2005, during various conferences of the Turkish Labor Party in Switzerland, Dogu Perinçek repeated numerous times that the Armenian Genocide of 1915 was an “international lie”. The...

Nollywood, dubbed the Shining Star of Africa by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathanis the second largest film industry in the world, following the Indian version of Hollywood, known as Bollywood. Nigerian cinema produces on average 50 films a week, and constitutes the second largest sector of the economy, in a country torn apart by ethnic tensions and territorial disputes. Nollywood emerged in the 60s, with the first films produced in the Igbo language. It gained momentum during the 1990s,...

On 14 January 2015, Giorgio Napolitano, the former president of the Italian Republic, resigned from his position after more than nine years at the head of the Peninsula. The election of his successor began last Tuesday 29 January. Gathered in the Roman Montecitorio Palace, 630 deputies, 315 senators, 6 senators for life as well as 58 regional delegates are now electing the 11th successor to Enrico de Nicola, the first President of the Italian Republic. Bargaining and whispers are...

The truce of December 9 2014 lasted no more than a few weeks. In fact, hostilities between pro-Russian separatists and Kiev are starting again. At the beginning of December, the rebels held a large territory stretching from Donetsk to the Russian border, while the army still controlled Donetsk airport, and the number of lives lost totalled 4,700. It was a situation that deteriorated in a matter of days: today the rebels have taken control of the airport and the number of deaths stretches to...

Whereas some people thought the incarnation of interior design avant-gardism was limited to Scandinavia’s frontiers, well ahead concerning design, the Toronto Design Week has made the headlines this week. We met WantedDesign, one of the big names of this Canadian event rich in colour and materials. Do you like nice curves, smooth and faultless materials, processed metals or raw woods? Then the Toronto Design Week was not to be missed. For the fourth year, between the 19th and the 25th January,...

Satellite pictures suggest that North Korea have reactivated the main reactor in the Yongbyon nuclear power plant, located north of the capital. Because of this, the totalitarian state would now be able to produce six kilograms of plutonium a year, a sufficient amount to develop a nuclear bomb. The Yongbyon site specializes in nuclear research. Ten business sectors are distinguished there, and range from an institute of radioprotection to a research center for nuclear energy, including a...

As of today, we are permanently connected to the point that our computers and smartphones are becoming an extension of our hands. We spend a great time of our days on websites, apps, etc… Never did we share so much information with our likes on Facebook, our tweets, our online purchases, our online CV. Those are as much data shared every day on the Internet. Big Data is the analytical processing of our digital footprints. They are analyzed by major companies and public laboratories in order to...

#Dysturb is the name of a project founded by photographers Pierre Terdjman and Benjamin Girette, that is likely to bring a solution to the crisis in photojournalism. With a diminishing photo budget and growing competition from the media, many subjects covered by these professionals now dissolve into silence, causing them great frustration and indignation. #Dysturb is a project supported by a vast network of professionals who look for an alternative to the crisis which has, for some time,...

At the center of the world, the capital of the Inca Empire whose expansion in the 15th century was an amazing feat worthy of respect, Cuzco is a city steeped in history. I have seen European ruins, but I am still amazed by this magic of mankind, its creativity and imagination that can yet still be improved. However, Peru is mostly an opportunity to glimpse some mysteries which will likely remain mysteries forever, reminding us who we are. Our imagination is our best ally against questions. It...