EU governments are arguing about a free trade agreement with Canada. One of the regions of Belgium is already threatening to derail the whole deal. Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union and Canada should be the first trade agreement of the unit with a country of the G7. Failure to deal with Canada would call into question the EU's ability to enter into such...

Last year, the birth rate in Germany was the highest for the past 33 years, amounting to an average of 1.5 children per woman. Such a growth is largely associated with the influx of migrants. Birth rate among women with German citizenship rose from 1.42 to 1.43. That of women without German citizenship, in turn, increased from 1.86 to 1.95. According to report of the Federal Statistical Office of...

The third in the last 15 years constitutional referendum will be held in Italy on December 4. The project, proposed by Matteo Renzi’s government two years ago, have been ratified by both houses of the parliament. However, they couldn’t have gathered enough votes to reach "constitutional majority". In this case, according to the current constitution, the draft shall be submitted to a national...

Japan has suspended funding for UNESCO. This was confirmed on Friday by Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida. Tokyo’s decision is associated with the inclusion of documents on events of 1937 in the Chinese city of Nanjing in the World Heritage List of UNESCO. Then Japanese soldiers killed, according to Beijing, about 300 thousand Chinese. The Israeli authorities added fuel to the fire. The country...

Globalization is losing its popularity all over the world. Political instability and growing nationalist movements are impeding conclusion of new international trade agreements. Now, all attention is drawn to Brexit consequences after 2019. However, despite the general trend, trade tariffs between the developed economies remain relatively low. The World Economic Forum has published its Global...

On Tuesday, environmental activists caused a disruption in supply of millions of barrels of oil from Canada to the US. This was a rare example of a coordinated action simultaneously aimed at several key pipelines. The police in four US states arrested activists who chained themselves to equipment at remote pumping stations. The environmentalists blocked valves to stop delivery of crude oil on...

Nobel Peace Prize for 2016 went to President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos. The Nobel Committee rewarded his efforts to end of war between the country's government and the FARC guerrillas. President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2016. On Friday, 7 October, the Committee declared the Nobel Peace prize taker in Oslo. The prize was awarded for resolution of a...

We live in a world with very low interest rates in most developed countries. This means that debts are less expensive to governments and private individuals. Moreover, this state of affairs encourages spending. Global Competitiveness Survey examines financial health and risks of the world’s countries. WEF Global Competitiveness Index includes 12 indicators. The rating composed annually on the...

Wealth inequality in the world fell after the financial crisis, according to new study by the World Bank (WB). In addition, far fewer people are now living below the poverty line. Results of WB analysis contradict the popular belief that rapid economic growth in developing countries has been achieved due to growth of social inequality within different countries. "Between 2008 and 2013, number of...