Every Monday, the Research Trainees of the CERESE assess the news of the previous week. You can read their opinions below:

I like the news that the European Commission intends to set up six new hubs against disinformation. The new hubs will be ready to use in early 2023. They will be part of the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO), the independent platform for fact-checkers, academic researchers and other relevant stakeholders. They will help to build an interdisciplinary community to set up a network capable of detecting and analysing disinformation campaigns, organising media literacy activities at national or multinational level, and any other activities aimed at fighting disinformation. EU funding amounts to around €8 million through the Digital Europe programme.

I like the news that President Vladimir Putin is open to negotiations over the Russian military’s invasion of Ukraine. This piece of news was conveyed by his representative, Dmitry Peskov. Nevertheless, he declared that the Russian army would not withdraw from Ukraine, nullifying any amicable spirit. As previously mentioned, an inhibiting factor for the withdrawal of the Russian army is the inability of the West to recognize Russia’s “new territories”, meaning the territories Russia has annexed in Ukraine.

I dislike the inability of forming a new government in Lebanon. Since May, the legislative body has failed eight times to elect a Prime Minister, which can be considered a sign of political instability. The main issue is associated with the absence of a long-run plan to replace the former Prime Minister who held the office for six years. In addition, it can be claimed that the delaying of forming a government is a product of internal disputes, particularly between the religious communities of Shia and Sunnis.

I dislike the news that Japan may buy up to 500 missiles from the United States by 2028, as it looks to achieve expanded counter-attack capabilities. Tokyo is also considering acquiring hypersonic missiles by 2030, with the aim of achieving the ability to destroy enemy targets at sea and on land. Apart from endangering human lives which are often civilians, the desire to strengthen the armed forces and the use of missiles will also have a serious impact on the environment, due to environmental pollution having already increased significantly in recent years.