World Focus from Brussels

Elvar Már Friðriksson landsliðsmaður í körfuknattleik telur að Ísland eigi enn ágæta möguleika á að komast í lokakeppni Heimsmeistaramótsins. Elvar Már átti stórleik  um helgina þegar lið hans Rytas Vilnius lagði Siauliai (Síólæ), 107:101 í framlengdum leik  í litháísku úrvalsdeildinni. Elvar var að mæta sínum gömlu félögunum en hann spilaði með Siauliai fyrir tveimur árum. 

Russia’s unprovoked, illegal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine has led to unspeakable human suffering and widespread destruction. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have courageously fought the invaders and backed by weapons supplied by Western Allies gained the momentum on the battlefield. In late September I spoke with Nataliya  Gumenyuk, a well known journalist from Ukraine, on documenting the atrocities committed by Russian forces, how this war is about values and is in fact existential for Ukraine.

Aleksandrs Karpovs, US born graphic artist of Latvian descent, led a remarkable life.  An exhibition, presenting his powerful and provocative printmaking was opened in The Global Center for Latvian Art in the town of Cēsis on 25 March. On that day Latvians commemorate every year the mass deportations of over 40.000 people to Siberia in 1949, carried out by the Soviets. I speak with Kārlis Kanderovskis, the director of the Center, about the life and art of Aleksandrs Karpovs and the importance of preserving the strong bond with your home country. Art and politics in the past and the present.

German voters go to the polls on the 26th of September to choose a new Bundestag, the federal parliament in Berlin. The two current government partners – the CDU/CSU alliance and the Social Democratic Party are almost in a dead-heat in the polls and the Greens are not far behind. Some of the latest polling actually indicates that the Social Democrats are slightly ahead of Angela’s Merkel party, who after sixteen years is stepping down as chancellor. In this episode I speak with Hardy Ostry, an expert on German and European Politics, about the state-of-play in the election campaign and Germany after Merkel. 

The Jewish community in Belgium has a remarkable history and culture.  In this episode I speak with Frieda van Kamp from the Jewish Museum of Belgium about the diversity of this vibrant community, the importance of education and how to promote mutual understanding. We also discuss the horrors of the Holocaust and how to counter Anti-Semitism in the modern day.

“How Iceland Changed the World” is the title of a new book written by my fellow Icelander, journalist Egill Bjarnason and published by Penguin.  Egill tells the history of those who have lived on this volcanic island in the middle of the North-Atlantic for 1200 years, featuring various historical figures, from Vikings to the first elected female president plus chess player Bobby Fisher. In this episode I speak with Egill about the book and how Iceland and Icelanders have changed the course of world history.

More about How Iceland Changed the World and reviews:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/645812/how-iceland-changed-the-world-by-egill-bjarnason/

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/11/books/review/how-iceland-changed-the-world-egill-bjarnason.html

https://apnews.com/article/reviews-europe-iceland-business-entertainment-478bbe17584ec8857f1af60ab2e5f495

The President of Haiti Jovenel Moïse was assassinated during a night time attack on July 7 by a group of assailants. The murder has shocked the nation, adding to political turmoil in a country already hammered by COVID-19 on top of a struggling economy,  In this episode I speak to Robin Morais, an experienced journalist from Trinidad and Tobago, another state in the Caribbean. He has been closely following events in Haiti and how they are affecting this poor nation which also takes pride in it’s  independence, more than two centuries ago.

Leaders of NATO Allies meet at a Summit in Brussels on Monday 14 of June to discuss a wide range of issues, including the vision for NATO 2030, how to deal with Russia, the rise of China, and the security implications of climate change. I speak with Kristine Berzina, a NATO-expert, on the future of the Alliance and how to deal with the multiple security and political challenges at hand.  This is also the first NATO Summit of Joe Biden as US President.

Transnational repression is on the rise as multiple states deploy a broad spectrum of tactics against their perceived enemies, from spyware and family intimidation to renditions or assassinations. In this episode I speak to Nate Schenkkan from Freedom House,  co-author of a recent report on transnational repression "Out of Sight, Not Out of Reach."  Find it here: https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/2021-02/Complete_FH_TransnationalRepressionReport2021_rev020221.pdf

Russia under the rule of Vladimir Putin and the complicated history of this vast country. This is the subject of my conversation with  Mark Galeotti,  the author of A Short History of Russia, We Need to Talk about Putin and several other books.  Mark closely follows Russian politics and society and also has his own podcast: In Moscow's Shadows.  We talk about challenging several myths about Russia and  Putin and a range of other subjects.