An interview with award-winning humanitarian from Beirut, Marina El Khawand
The war in the Middle East is heating up. After the attacks carried out by Iran on Israel, Israel began a heavy bombing of its Hezbollah proxy in Lebanon and continued heavy attacks on the Gaza Strip. In this Labyrinth, we talk to award-winning humanitarian and fighter for equal and free access to medical care, Marina El Khawand.
We discussed the current situation in Lebanon with refugees and people receiving evacuation orders in the middle of the night, the basic needs of water, food and medicine, as well as the role Hezbollah plays in Lebanese society.
Watch the full episode.
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General Arsoski on the potential consequences of active wars
Analysis with General Arsoski about Macedonian relations with neighbors and global military players
The guest in this edition of Labyrinth is Major General Pavle Arsoski, who in the last elections was also elected as a deputy in the Macedonian Assembly from the ranks of the new political party ZNAM. We discussed the future steps of the Macedonian Government regarding the respect of international agreements, as well as the relations between the coalition partners. The General says that everything is already clear regarding the observance of international agreements, namely that the agreements will be respected where they should, and the Government will make great efforts to improve good neighborly relations.
With General Arsoski, we also discussed the regional open issues, as well as the active military hotspots and the possibility of ending them. General Arsoski reiterated the position that the attacked side has the right to defend itself, and he sees the end of the two active wars in the very near future. For the new Secretary General of NATO, Rutte believes that he is an excellent choice for the Alliance.
Watch the full interview.
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Macedonia got a new President - Eastern European countries are fighting for democracy
Analysis of Macedonian diplomacy, Callings from Georgia and Ukraine on the situation with the protests and the war.
The first guest in this edition of Labyrinth is the former Ambassador of Macedonia to Sweden and Romania, Tihomir Ilievski. We talked about the oath taken by the new President and the reactions it caused among our neighbors. Despite the reactions and difficulties in bilateral relations, the diplomat is still optimistic about the European integration of Macedonia, as well as about the normalization of relations in the entire Balkans.
In Georgia, massive civil protests are taking place over the law on "foreign agents" which moves the country away from the European path, but also seriously threatens the livelihood and freedom of Georgian citizens. From Tbilisi, we were joined by Ekaterine Basilaia - director of the Center for Media and Social Research of Georgia, who explained in more detail what this law is and why so many people took to the streets. We discussed the use of excessive force by the police in arresting peaceful protesters and the legal fight to protect those detained.
In Labyrinth, we also included the volunteer in the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces, Volodymyr Sapekhin. Volodymyr has been going to the fronts and back for more than two years. We talked about the current situation on the fronts, about the progress of Russian forces in the Kharkiv region, but also about his personal feelings about the two realities he lives in.
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Old parliamentary majority – tectonic changes in some member states after the Union elections
Analysis with Andreja Stojkovski: the European elections and Macedonian bilateral relations with the neighbors
The European elections ended without a change in the parliamentary majority, but with an increase in the number of far-right MPs. The composition of the European Parliament may not undergo major changes, but changes are taking place in the domestic politics of member states with great political influence. What this will mean for the Union and its individual policies in the future, we analyze with Andreja Stojkovski from the Prespa Institute. The enlargement policy, the green agenda, as well as the Common Foreign and Security Policy are some of the topics we discussed. We also analyzed our strained relations with our neighbors and the expectations from the future Macedonian Government when it comes to bilateral agreements with the neighbors.
