European Union

Ukrainian President Viktor Poroshenko and US President Donald Trump have called on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to mediate in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in the Kerch Strait. Commentators take a critical view of Germany's intervention and see Putin as already having won.

The international community will meet in Marrakesh on December 10 and 11 to ratify the UN migration pact. But as the conference draws closer more and more countries are announcing that they don't want to sign the pact - most recently Italy, following several Eastern European countries and Austria. The non-binding agreement is meant to help control the flow of refugees and migration. What makes the pact so contentious?

The state board for Lower Saxony of Germany's largest Islamic association, the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (Ditib), has resigned in protest at what it says is excessive influence from Ankara. Yilmaz Kilic, the chairman, of the board, said that representatives of the Turkish embassy had tried to influence the board's work. Commentators say Germany should crack down on Turkish influence-peddling.

Romania's Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici has suggested that Romanian citizens should only be given working permits in other EU countries for a maximum of five years. After that they should either move on or come home, he said. After a wave of indignation in reaction to this proposal, he toned down his views via Facebook. Romania's media are nonetheless indignant.

BSEF, The International Bromine Council, was a proud exhibitor at the 2018 Energy Storage Global Conference.

In many EU countries, mental health is still a taboo. However, the economic impact of psychological disorders is a loss of 4% of GDP and changes in the labour market only aggravate the situation, according to a report by the OECD.