Stories in this section cover the EU-27 countries plus the UK, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Andorra and the Balkan Countries (Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia).
Uzbekistan's state-owned railway company Temir Yullari has announced that for the first time, a cargo train carrying copper concentrate has been sent from Uzbekistan to Europe via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor.
This route bypasses Russia, and offers Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries an alternative connection to European markets.
On Saturday (17 December) at a meeting in Bucharest, the leaders of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary signed an agreement to construct a new underwater electric cable through the Black Sea, connecting the South Caucasus region to the European Union. The cable will provide Europe with Azerbaijani energy.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other ministers inaugurated on Saturday morning (17 December) the country's first liquid natural gas (LNG) terminal in Wilhelmshaven in northern Germany, a project expected to supply around 6% of the country's energy demand. At the inauguration, Scholz stated that the rapid completion of the plant demonstrates that Germany's powerful economy will remain resilient in the face of the energy crisis compounded by the conflict in Ukraine.
The European Parliament has passed a resolution on Thursday (15 December) that recognizes the 1932-1933 famine in Ukraine, known as the Holodomor, as genocide. This was backed by an overwhelming majority of votes, with 507 in favour, 12 against, and 17 abstentions. The resolution also draws a comparison between this event and the current crimes perpetrated by Russia in Ukraine, and urges all governments and organisations to recognise the Holodomor as genocide.
In this second article in a series of three pieces about different aspects of the Yemeni diaspora, Hisham Almahdi discusses notable aspects and intricacies of the German and American diasporas. The first article can be read here and, the third article in this series will be published in due course.