HowRu68

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s parliament voted Saturday to elect Nizar Amidi, a political official with one of the country’s two main Kurdish parties, as president, five months after a parliamentary election that didn’t produce a bloc with a decisive majority.

His election comes as Iraq is reeling from the fallout of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Iraq became caught in the middle of the conflict, with Iran-backed militias launching attacks on U.S. bases and diplomatic facilities as well as on critical energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Israel carried out airstrikes targeting the militias, some of which killed members of the Iraqi military.

The war and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz also largely halted the oil exports upon which Iraq’s economy depends.

The Great Recession in Europe, the economic downturn that began in 2008, resulted in job and income loss, which demonstrably contributed to a rise in poor mental health among those affected. The COVID-19 pandemic, and the measures put in place to contain the virus, similarly caused a spike in the prevalence of poor mental health due to job and income insecurity. Moreover, this crisis negatively impacted mental health through other factors, notably social isolation and the deterioration of working conditions in sectors such as care.

Question; these trends must somehow be worldwide anyone has a take on this from their region?

The 2024 report outlines several interconnected aspects influencing the situation of young people [15-29 yo] in the European Union (EU), encompassing demographics, employment, education, social inclusion, political engagement, environmental activism, and health. These topics are not isolated but are intricately related, with many factors influencing others, creating a complex landscape for policy makers and stakeholders.

#Note 1: Relevance with reference to this recent euronews Post and the many comments, I digged up a recent 2024 comparative study published by EU.

#Note 2: Summary of 90 page publication in the comments (via Le chat AI). Or check the original pub in pdf via the link.

#Note 3: This more elaborate eurofund 2025 study titled, 'The roots of Europe's mental health crisis run deep' , encompasses all big Europen crises since 2009 and their economic & mental health impact. Yes, there is a strong correlation, and there are no simple solutions.

• Trump administration said in 2020 that he could leave treaties
• Congress passed law in 2023 barring unilateral NATO withdrawal
• No NATO member has ever withdrawn from the 77-year-old alliance
• As senator, Rubio helped lead effort to prevent unilateral withdrawal

WHAT DOES U.S. LAW SAY? In 2023, Congress passed, and then-President Joe Biden, a ​Democrat, signed into law, legislation barring any U.S. president from suspending, terminating, denouncing or withdrawing the United States from the treaty that established NATO unless the withdrawal is backed by a two-thirds majority in the 100-member Senate.

TL;DR; Per 2023 Congressional Law, not without a 2/3 US Congressional majority (and with a one year notice to NATO). But, experts said this lack of commitment, rather than any law, was the key point.

Polish and Irish leaders have called the Hungarian government’s actions “repulsive” and “sinister”, after leaked audio appeared to capture its foreign minister telling Moscow he would try to amend the EU sanctions list to its liking.

On Tuesday – days before an election in which Hungary’s Viktor Orbán is facing the toughest battle of his 16 years in power – a joint media investigation published a report that it said was based on leaked phone calls between Péter Szijjártó and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

note : the report by Vsquare.org was earlier posted here

Russian oil is now selling at either no discount or even a premium as governments scramble to replace energy supplies lost after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Thursday.

“Today, when there’s a deficit in the market, our oil and petroleum products are in high demand,” Novak told reporters, according to the Interfax news agency.

“We’ve moved from a discount to either no discount or, in some cases, even a partial premium,” he said.

Reuters estimates that Russia’s oil and gas revenues could jump by around 70% in April from March amid the rise in global prices, reaching their highest monthly level since October 2025.

mediabias credibility: HIGH

The European Parliament has backed legislation to implement an EU-US trade deal, following months of uncertainty over President Donald Trump's tariff threats.

On Thursday, lawmakers moved to strengthen its safeguards, including a provision to suspend the agreement if the US imposes additional tariffs above 15% or introduces new duties on EU goods. Another would halt the deal if the US threatened the EU's territorial sovereignty.

MEPs also included a "sunrise clause" that means EU tariff reductions will only take effect if the US upholds its side of the bargain - including lowering tariffs to 15% on EU products that contain less than 50% steel and aluminium.

When the framework agreement was announced last summer, Trump said the 50% US tariff on global steel and aluminium would still apply to the EU.

KYIV, March 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. is making its offer of security guarantees for a peace deal in Ukraine conditional on Kyiv ceding all of the country's eastern region of ‌Donbas to Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Reuters in an interview. With the U.S. focused on its own conflict with Iran, President Donald Trump is applying pressure to Ukraine in an effort to bring a quick end to the four-year war triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion, Zelenskiy said.

KYIV, March 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. is making its offer of security guarantees for a peace deal in Ukraine conditional on Kyiv ceding all of the country's eastern region of ‌Donbas to Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Reuters in an interview.

With the U.S. focused on its own conflict with Iran, President Donald Trump is applying pressure to Ukraine in an effort to bring a quick end to the four-year war triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion, Zelenskiy said.

More than 350 years after the death of legendary French musketeer d'Artagnan, his remains may well have been found under the floor of a Dutch church.

Jos Valke, who is deacon at St Peter and Paul Church in Maastricht, helped unearth the skeleton and is 99% certain that the remains belong to Charles de Batz de Castelmore, a close aide to France's Sun King Louis XIV who was known as Count d'Artagnan.

D'Artagnan was killed during the Siege of Maastricht in 1673, but later immortalised in the adventure stories of Alexandre Dumas as a friend of the Three Musketeers.

(..) former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. According to NATO's ( former) Secretary General, Europe is entering a decisive strategic rupture, one that forces a long-delayed reckoning with its own dependency structures and security assumptions. The erosion of American commitment to European defence is not a hypothetical risk but an unfolding reality, exposing the fragility of a model built on external guarantees and internal complacency.

Russia has launched a huge wave of nearly 1,000 drones at Ukraine, killing at least seven people, as Moscow appears to be stepping up a spring offensive intended to break Ukrainian resistance along the front.

The geopolitical situation has become more complicated due to the war against Iran, and unfortunately, this is emboldening Russia.”

The well-sourced outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported that the US had put pressure on Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the Donetsk region during the Florida talks, saying Washington could step back from peace negotiations and shift its focus further to the military operation in Iran.