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The Green Party is considering a proposal that could restrict or effectively ban circumcision, according to information obtained by The Spectator.  As part of a policy review, the party’s Health Policy Working Group (HPWG) has opened a consultation asking whether parents should be permitted to authorize irreversible surgical procedures on children only when there is a clear medical need.  It is...

A June 5 incident in which a Ukrainian drone, reportedly disrupted by Russian electronic warfare, lost control and exploded near Constanța prompted concerns. Romania wants Ukrainian naval drones to be programed to automatically self-destruct if they come close to its Black Sea territorial waters following a recent incident involving a stray unmanned vessel that detonated near its coast. Defense Minister Radu...

What makes a country? Is it language? Ethnicity? A common history? Geography? Is it easier to justify nationhood on an island, where the sea itself creates a border, than on a contested patch of land where every village contains an argument with the past? Or is a country simply a people determined to govern themselves and fend off others? The...

A new survey indicates that trust in the United States as a security partner has fallen sharply across Europe:  11% of respondents in European 15 countries currently describing America as an ally.  The survey, carried out in May across Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, found that...

Portugal and Romania are closer than you’d think. If you put a Romanian text in a Word document, it detects Portuguese. Yet linguists define Romanian as an Eastern Romance language, while Portuguese, spoken by 270 million people around the world, is a Western Romance language. Portugal looks out at the Atlantic Ocean in the far west of Europe, Romania’s Senate president Mircea...

Nicusor Dan finally sent out a message that was partly correct, partly incorrect and very late It was a short, dry, repetitive message and the president was  very irritated, but basically there was nothing new in the "big" announcement made on Wednesday evening by President Nicușor Dan. The head of state scolded the country’s political parties accusing them of caring only...

Bucharest is known for its sudden almost tropical downpours, so it was no surprise that the rain made an appearance at the fashion show of the season: Diplomacy in Fashion. Curated by Lucie Portman, the wife of the British Ambassador, Giles Portman, the event on June 4 brought together 27 designers, 55 models and 300 guests for a celebration of...

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Bologna (Italy) is leading an investigation into a suspected €1 million fraud involving funding from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), intended to support the digitalisation and internationalisation of Italian businesses through e-commerce platforms. The investigation, carried out by the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) of Macerata, concerns an alleged fraud...

There must be a better way On Monday morning this week, Israelis awoke once more to sirens, confusion and suspended normal life. Flights were canceled. Schools were shut. Businesses across parts of the country closed their doors. Millions found themselves hovering between routine and emergency, unsure whether they were witnessing another contained flare-up or the beginning of a much larger...

When he nominated a prime minister, President Nicușor Dan sent two messages to the former coalition parties on Monday: That there is an impasse That either you do as I say, or there will be early elections. Both messages – the first being an SOS, and the second a threat – were revealed Monday by Eugen Tomac to party leaders,...