Environmental Protection Agency

The publishing of the constitutional court's decision, necessary for it to become law, means abortion will become all but illegal in Poland, given that terminations caused by irreversible damage to the foetus represent about 98 per cent of the abortions conducted legally in the country each year. The ruling's publication had been postponed, reportedly at the behest of the conservative Law and J

After running into an institutional 'brick wall', they have resorted to organising creative flash mobs such as a 'masked ball', donning protective masks even before the advent of COVID-19.

According to the investigation file seen by BIRN, prosecutors have identified a total of 96 instances in which votes were bought for the Socialist Party candidate and eventual winner, Muharrem Rama.

A protester holds a Women's Strike symbol in front of police during a demo in Warsaw, Poland, 13 December 2020. EPA-EFE/MARCIN OBARA

Kosovo, meanwhile, holds snap parliamentary elections on February 14. At the same time, the Assembly will have to elect a new president. Forming a government has proven to be difficult in the past and this year will be no exception.

However, the Russian police announced that about 4.000 demonstrators had gathered, Russian news agency TASS reports.
TASS writes that police officers on the ground continue to warn that the rally is illegal, while arresting the most active participants.

A health worker prepares to vaccinate a colleague against COVID-19 with Sinovac's Coronavac vaccine at the Prof. Dr. Cemil Tascioglu City Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey, 14 January 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/SEDAT SUNA

Some health experts have warned that the effectiveness of these vaccines is still not fully researched, and note that their delivery dates are also still uncertain.

Former MP Mersel Biljali, a law and political science professor, said that despite delays in implementing the peace deal over the years, it has helped the country to ease ethnic tensions and avoid greater bloodshed.

"It sobered us, directed us towards living with one another, building a joint future together, understanding each other a bit better, and building trust," Biljali said.

In 2021, Serbia's ruling Progressive Party faces being revisited by the errors of 2020.

A landslide election win in June yielded a parliament without an opposition, likely necessitating mediation by the European Union in 2021 if President Aleksandar Vucic is to head off another opposition boycott come the next election he wants held in 2022.

New START is complicated by China's rise as a nuclear power. The US and Russia both want to prevent China's modernisation of its strategic nuclear forces, which represents a possible area for cooperation between Moscow and Washington.