The first Turkish president, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, once stated “He is a weak ruler who needs religion to uphold his government”. Although falling short of advocating a fully secular state, Ataturk highlights the weakness of a state reliant upon a…
Continue reading Secularism and Religious Extremism – Jack Davies
What could we do to make the Earth cleaner, healthier and nicer for everyone? The first and the most important thing is to change our attitude to the relationship between us and our planet. How can we use natural resources…
Continue reading Climate Сhange Issues and Green Energy Solutions in Russia – Nikolay Artemenko
One year has passed since Ukrainians, undertaking considerable losses, got rid of the regime of Victor Yanukovych. New opportunities came as a result – so why has the government not implemented them so far? One can sum up some results…
Continue reading Internal and External issues of the Crisis in Ukraine – Julia Rudenko
I’ll never forget my reaction the first time I visited a refugee camp; Zaatari, nearby the city of Al-Mafraq in Jordan. The feelings of profound shock at witnessing the endless line of people desperately walking towards the camp, seeking refuge,…
Continue reading Rethinking the Global Refugee Crisis – Umar Ramzan
A successful dictator needs two things to hold his power in bad economic conditions. The first – an external enemy, and the second – an internal enemy. The Soviet Union left a good base for Putin to re-create those enemies.…
Continue reading Witch Hunt: how to survive in Putin’s Russia – Ksenia Vakhrusheva
As programme manager of IFLRY’s Gender Equality programme, there are a lot of topics that I want to write about: there was an amazing event that we had in Tunisia, our plans for this year, and many other very interesting…
Continue reading Can these guys rock our world? – Alena Santalainen
After the negotiations at COP 20 in Lima over-ran by two days, the Parties finally reached an agreement, which is called «Lima Call for Climate Action». It outlines the main aspects of a new global deal, and has received mixed…
Continue reading Lima calls for climate action – will Paris listen? – Tone Bjørndal
On the 2nd of June 2015 it will be 40 years since about 100 sex workers occupied Saint-Nizier Church in Lyon, France to protest against their exploited working conditions. Since then, society has changed a lot, but the rights of…
Continue reading Legalizing Prostitution and the Case for Sex-Workers Rights – Kjersti Møller
According to the UN Weather Agency, 2014 was described as the hottest on record. Fourteen of the fifteen warmest years have all occurred in the 21st century. This is consistent with what can be expected from climate change. And yet,…
Continue reading The sky is falling (only if we don’t destroy it first)! – Junior Sikabwe
“I am More Lebanese than half of you guys!” He used to say it smiling. Jamal, or Jack as he liked us to call him, is a Turkish immigrant from a Lebanese mother and a Lebanese wife. He spent all…
Continue reading Jack’s Café – An Immigration Problem in Lebanon – Ahmad Al Rachwani
