Home Office Latest: 99.1% of Ukrainian Refugee Applications ‘Paused’! #Ukraine

Home Office: 'around 50' Ukrainians have been granted visas under a scheme for refugees with family links to the United Kingdom, a number which represents just 0.90% of applicants #refugees

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 6, 2022

In stark contrast to the UK response, Ukraine's neighbours have taken in the overwhelming majority of the estimated 1.5m people seeking refuge from a completely unnecessary and truly horrifying war #Ukraine

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 6, 2022

Analysis: the 99.1% stall rate in granting UK visas to refugees fleeing a superpower invasion is all the more galling given the United Kingdom's outsize role in destabilising the region #Ukraine

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 6, 2022

To watch: #Ukraine needs a viable and just peace settlement with absolute immediacy if the outflow of refugees from the country is not to eclipse those exiting the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s https://t.co/29lwvD5mnP

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 6, 2022

Basic Instinct: China Takes Hyperpower Baby Steps in Deepest Tajikistan!

Dushanbe: Tajikistan confirms that China has obtained approval to build a 'special forces base' on the Central Asian nation's border with Afghanistan #geopolitics #geopolitique #militarybases #Asia

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) November 3, 2021

According to a spokesman of Tajikistan's Supreme Assembly, the Chinese-funded base will host an elite unit of the Tajik national police, suggesting deep strategic cooperation between the two states #Asia

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) November 3, 2021

Analysis: the rise of the 'remixed' Taliban has led not just to the effective transfer of Afghanistan into China's security axis, but the reconfiguration of regional countries' de facto allegiances #Asia #politics

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) November 3, 2021

To watch: China's military-diplomatic advances into Central Asia may be limited by the treatment of its own Central Asian populations; #Chinese soft power could do with an organic boost #China #diplomacy https://t.co/vsHd00i462

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) November 3, 2021

Rodney, You Plonker: Labour Leader Nails His Mast to Catastrophe! #Brexit

Brighton: Sir Keir Rodney Starmer's pledge to the 2021 Labour Party Conference that he will 'make Brexit work' constitutes an all-too-predictable U-turn which effectively eliminates any distance between the UK's two major parties on the key issue of the day #Brexit #BrexitReality

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 30, 2021

Starmer's #Lab21 speech was generally light on policy, but the relentless emphasis on 'security' and his studied silence on the unfolding #Brexit nightmare were clear pointers to a different iteration of the only permitted option #authoritarianism #onepartystate

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 30, 2021

Analysis: #Labour's new pro-Brexit direction comes at the very moment that even government-linked polling companies such as #YouGov are recording overwhelming dissatisfaction with #Brexit, and will do nothing to dispel speculation that the UK is now – de facto – a one-party state

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 30, 2021

To watch: #Brexit could yet break almost the entire political class in the United Kingdom as the economic damage and everyday chaos descends into rage against a system perceived as corrupt and closed; slogans will not deliver fuel or food https://t.co/4Td19QlQne #BrexitShortages

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 30, 2021

Relocation, Relocation, Relocation: Exotic Countries Volunteer to Host Afghan Refugees!

Financial Times: Rwanda, Costa Rica and Mexico are amongst a number of far-flung developing countries volunteering to give fleeing Afghans a new place to call home #Refugees #AfghanRefugees #Warzone

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 4, 2021

FT: the numbers of Afghan nationals being taken in by states in Latin America and Africa are small and symbolic, but notable given that the host countries have limited experience of hosting refugees from outside their region #Mexico #Rwanda #CostaRica #AfghanRefugees

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 4, 2021

Analysis: the current debates around #refugees tend to omit the fact that as of 2020, developing countries hosted 86% of the world's refugee + displaced Venezuelan population (@UNHCR); very few end up in Europe, and even fewer get to stay

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 4, 2021

To watch: at the end of 2020, Pakistan (1.4m) and Iran (0.95m) accounted for the vast majority of Afghan refugees; the economies of both countries are creaking somewhat, and international solidarity is sorely needed #Refugees https://t.co/Qnei2G2SpB

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) September 4, 2021

Anyone But Corbyn Latest: UK Facing Food Shortages! #Brexit #EU

United Kingdom: chilled food 'may not be available' in some British shops this summer as a looming logistics crisis takes its firm, icy grip on #BrexitBritain #foodshortages #Brexit

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) July 2, 2021

Cold Chain Federation: chilled food shortages are 'going to be a rolling problem – there will be outages day by day' as the supply chain struggles to cope without EU manpower #Brexit #foodshortages

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) July 2, 2021

Analysis: watching promoters of the 'anyone but Corbyn' meme attempt to dissociate themselves from Boris Johnson makes for excellent entertainment, but they now need to get serious if total catastrophe is to be averted #Brexit #media

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) July 2, 2021

To watch: with the lifting of #COVID19 restrictions, a summer of protests lies ahead; throwing food shortages into a mix which already contains collapsing exports and a fragmenting UK risks systemic instability #BrexitReality #foodshortages https://t.co/4zIYpG25sJ

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) July 2, 2021

One More Time: Syrian Election Produces Predictable Result!

Damascus: Syria's second multi-party presidential election in seven years sees Bashar Al-Assad romp home with 95.19% of the official vote tally – and the Western political response to his rule now firmly divided #Syria

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) June 3, 2021

The 2021 Syrian presidential election was ultra-symbolic, with Bashar Al-Assad casting his vote in Douma, a satellite town of Damascus which was once synonymous with crumbling state authority #Syria

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) June 3, 2021

Analysis: notably, the Western political response to Syria's election process was split, with several EU member states permitting voting to be conducted at their Syrian diplomatic missions; the UK and US prohibited expatriate voting #democracy #Syria

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) June 3, 2021

To watch: Bashar Al-Assad is constitutionally barred from contesting Syria's next presidential election, scheduled for 2028; his London-born wife Asma could make an interesting and iconic future candidate #Syria https://t.co/nXOpyszBfN

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) June 3, 2021

Korea Team Uniting: Seoul-Pyongyang Hosting Bid Becomes Official! #2032SummerOlympics

Yonhap News Agency: Seoul Metropolitan Government has formally notified the International Olympic Committee ('IOC') of its bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics with Pyongyang #peace #sport #AsianCentury

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) April 2, 2021

Seoul is emphasising the 'combination of cutting-edge technologies and Korean culture' as a key bid feature, but the real USP is the indirect realisation of a united Korean peninsula #Korea #2032Olympics #Pyongyang

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) April 2, 2021

Analysis: the Seoul-Pyongyang bid's most serious rival to host the 2032 Summer Olympics is Brisbane, which vaunts 'preferred bidder' status but somehow fails to set the pulse racing #SeoulPyongyang #2032Olympics

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) April 2, 2021

To watch: a successful Seoul-Pyongyang Olympic Games bid would necessitate major technological, infrastructural and legislative upgrades in North Korea, globalising a hitherto secretive communist nation – with any number of consequences https://t.co/pbZOUIcvvZ #2032Olympics

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) April 2, 2021

Business As Unusual: Global Britain ‘Entering Europe’s Recycle Bin’! #Brexit

Monocle: food and drink exports from the United Kingdom to the European Union have declined by a seismic 75% since 01/01/2021, with salmon tumbling by 98% #Brexit

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 24, 2021

The collapse in food and beverage exports from the UK to the EU cannot be blamed on the #COVID19 pandemic given (i) the timing of the carnage; and (ii) that the corresponding decline for non-EU exports is just 11% #Brexit

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 24, 2021

Analysis: the frankly surreal measures against basic democratic rights in the United Kingdom actually make perfect sense in the context of millions of furious people taking to the streets at the first post-#COVID opportunity #Brexit

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 24, 2021

To watch: Boris Johnson's 'populist' government may be stretching the limits of its own credibility if 90%+ of the British population are politically and practically disconnected from it #Brexit https://t.co/QAixZ0Euec

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) March 24, 2021

Ctrl-Alt-Delete Latest: Democracy Index Score ‘Eroding, Eroding, Eroding’!

Democracy Without Borders: the year 2020 has received the lowest-ever score in the Economist Intelligence Unit's annual democracy index as the relentless collateral damage from the response to #COVID19 pours down #democracy #DemocracyIndex

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) February 23, 2021

Economist Intelligence Unit #DemocracyIndex: 'the removal of individual liberties in developed democracies was the most remarkable feature of 2020' #Covid19UK #COVID19france

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) February 23, 2021

Analysis: while established democracies saw basic freedoms proscribed almost without limit, the violent enforcement of initial #lockdown restrictions in Nigeria saw more people die of police brutality than #COVID

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) February 23, 2021

To watch: East Asian nations Japan, South Korea and Taiwan all got upgraded from 'flawed' to 'full' democracies in 2020, presumably for the simple act of allowing some semblance of normality to continue; the risk of governance backsliding remains high https://t.co/AaCNs2AOQ4

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) February 23, 2021

Regime Change Latest: World’s Most Powerful Man Deleted from Facebook!

Washington Post: #Facebook and #Instagram have banned @realDonaldTrump 'indefinitely' in a move that has serious implications for democracy and freedom of speech #Trump #BigTechCensorship

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) January 8, 2021

The move by Facebook and Instagram – both services are owned by Facebook, Inc. – is clearly political given Mark Zuckerberg's promise that the ban will continue 'for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete' #Trump #democracy

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) January 8, 2021

Analysis: no matter what one may think of @realDonaldTrump, the idea that #BigTech can effectively shut down the elected leader of the world's largest economy says much about where the true centers of power lie in 2021 #BigTechCensorship

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) January 8, 2021

To watch: Joe Biden is penciled in to be inaugurated as President of the United States of America on 20/01/2021, but whether this will happen as planned – let alone prove to be a panacea – is anyone's guess https://t.co/rkc18fdAJD

— ッ MEDIOLANA® EDU (@Mediolana) January 8, 2021