Terror in Copenhagen: A 22-year-old Danish-born gunman killed two people at a Copenhagen synagogue and an event promoting free speech, and wounded at least five policemen. The police shot and killed the man who had a history of violence and may have been inspired by the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, Danish authorities said. In a raid on a Copenhagen Internet cafe, police removed at least two people in handcuffs, as part of the investigation. Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt mourned the two people killed and vowed to protect freedom of speech and Denmark’s Jewish community.
npr.org, yahoonews.com, nytimes.com, reuters.com
Ukraine ceasefire largely holding: The ceasefire in Ukraine is generally being observed. Shelling has continued around the besieged town of Debaltseve. A military spokesman said Ukrainian troops had come under fire 60 times in the hours after the truce came into force at midnight Saturday. OSCE monitors agree that the truce appears to be generally holding, but complain they have been denied access to Debaltseve. The next step is the start of the withdrawal of heavy weapons to create two demilitarised buffer zones. France, Germany, and the Ukraine are calling for a resolution of UN Security Council.
wallstreetjournal.com, bbc.com, theguardian.com
New round of negotiations for Greece : Today Greece will negotiate with the EU Finance Ministers for new money. Two key points are especially important to the Greek government: Firstly, a request to reduce the budget surpluses, excluding interest payments, in order to relaunch the economy and create jobs. Secondly, Greece plans to review and possibly avoid privatizations. Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said that both sides have agreed on many issues already, while announcing a new version of an extensive reform plan for the European Monetary Union. According to information from banking circles, more and more Greeks are withdrawing their money from accounts. Thousands protested in Athens and other cities against the austerity measures.
bloomberg.com, reuters.com, newsweek.com
Italy wants to participate in Libya mission: Italy plans to deploy 5,000 soldiers for a mission in Libya against jihadist terrorism. This is the relative magnitude of a mission in Afghanistan in which the country participated. According to Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti, the extent of the mission in Libya could be far greater. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi supports Minister for Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni, who had announced Rome’s readiness to fight any active terrorist threat under leadership of the UN.
reuters.com, yahoonews.com, abcnews.com
Dresden Peace Price for Prince Edward: Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, was awarded the Dresden Peace Price. The price is awarded to people who have dedicated themselves to peace and understanding in the world. Edward, the cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, was the sponsor of the Dresden Trust since the 1990’s, an organization which contributes to the reconstruction of the Dresden Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). 70 years ago, the fire-bombing that devastated Dresden and killed up to 25,000 civilians began.
europeonline-magazine.eu, gov.uk
ISS European supply program ends phys.org
Danger Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu encourages European Jews to come to Israel cbsnews.com
Council of Ministers Tighter controls on benchmarks for financial instruments europa.eu
„When the Russian says peace, he means war.“
Oleg Wojzechowskij, Ukrainian volunteer in Eastern Ukraine, does not believe in a permanent ceasefire.
faz.net„They would spread to other countries. When Portuguese families or Spanish companies see that euros have been converted into drachmas, they will take their money out of their accounts. That could lead to a run on the banks.“
US star economist Barry Eichengreen fears a devastating chain reaction in case of a Greek exit from the eurozone.
yahoonews.com
Croatia’s first female president sworn in: The country’s first female president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic pledged to help kickstart the country’s ailing economy as she was sworn into office on Sunday. The nationalist won the largely ceremonial presidency by edging out liberal incumbent Ivo Josipovic in a runoff vote in January. Grabar-Kitarovic, a former foreign minister, ambassador to Washington and an ex-assistant to the NATO secretary general, vowed to do her utmost to make Croatia a wealthy nation. The inauguration ceremony was attended by thousands of supporters at a square in the old part of the capital, Zagreb.
abcnews.com, huffingtonpost.com, yahoonews.com
Greece reviews Fraport deal: German airport operator Fraport expects Greece’s new government to honour a 1.4 billion dollar deal for Fraport to run 14 regional airports. The new Greek government, however, is again reviewing the deal. Fraport and the Greek partner Copelouzos Group had received the contract under the old Greek government. The final contracts will still need to be negotiated.
reuters.com, sueddeutsche.de
Saakashvili to advise Ukraine: The former pro-Western leader of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, has been appointed an aide to the Ukraine president to help the war-torn country on its path to reform. The 47-year-old former president was appointed head of the Advisory International Council of Reform to help implement reforms and buld global support for the country. Saakashvili rose to power in Georgia after the Rose Revolution that ousted the country’s former leader, ex-Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze, in 2003. The Georgian judiciary is accusing him of misuse of power.
yahoonews.com, president.gov.ua
German carnival parade cancelled over terror threat: Police in the German city of Braunschweig canceled a popular Carnival street parade on Sunday because of fears of an imminent Islamist terror attack. Authorities cancelled the parade at short notice after reliable state sources became aware of a concrete threat of an attack with an Islamist background, police spokesman Thomas Geese stated. Police urged people planning to attend to stay at home. The city’s mayor, Ulrich Markurth, said the cancellation marked „a sad day for our democratic society“.
dw.de, bbc.com, usatoday.com
Austria stripped of Triple-A rating: Fitch Ratings stripped Austria of its triple-A credit rating, saying government debt will reach a higher peak than previously thought. Fitch downgraded Austria’s long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings to „AA+“ from „AAA“. Within a short space of time the debt dynamics of Austria have deteriorated significantly, Fitch said in a statement. Despite the downgrade, Austria’s very high credit quality is reflected in its „AA+“ rating with a Stable Outlook, which reflects that the Austrian government has a relatively favourable underlying budgetary position.
reuters.com, wallstreetjournal.com
Greece closes controversial migrant centers: The new Greek government will move quickly to keep its electoral promise and shut down the country’s overcrowded migrant detention centers. After the apparent suicide of a refugee at an asyulm center, minister Yiannis Panoussis said Greece is done with the centers of detention. The unnamed man had been arrested last December in Crete for having entered Greece illegally. Demonstrators held a protest during the minister’s visit, calling for all the centers to be closed. The center at Amygdaleza was built to hold 1,000 immigrants but currently houses twice that number and has been the site of hunger strikes in the past.
yahoonews.com, unhcr.org
Turkey Protests over murder of student bbc.com
Ukraine Default risk high according to Fitch ratings ibtimes.com
Italy At least 1,000 refugees rescued in Mediterranean euronews.com
18,000 asylum seekers have left the Kosovo since the beginning of the year and applied for asylum in Germany. They are by far the largest group of asylum seekers in the country. Because of the difficult economic situation in the Kosovo, the number of migrants suddenly surged last fall.
latimes.com
politjobs.eu: ONE seeks Policy Officer, Agriculture and Inclusive Growth *** AEC seeks Chief Executive Officer (CEO) *** Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum seeks Communications Manager *** interel EU seeks Consultant *** European Climate Foundation seeks European Relationship Manager *** European Peacebuilding Liaison Office seeks Executive Director
politjobs.eu, politjobs.eu/submit (Inserat schalten)
The iron lip: A used napkin is currently being offered for sale on the internet for around 2,600 euros. The reason for this price is a red lipstick print on the paper napkin, which allegedly belongs to former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. According to the letter of provenance, the napkin stems from the Pfister hotel in Milwaukee, US. An employee had retrieved it from a waste basket at the Ohio Theatre, where the Iron Lady spoke in 2000.
thetimes.co.uk