• UN human rights expert ‘cautiously’ welcomes UK court’s refusal to extradite Julian Assange

An independent UN human rights expert has welcomed a British court’s refusal to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the United States on the basis that he would be exposed to oppressive conditions of imprisonment.

• On EU’s doorstep, UN raises alarm for thousands of young migrants sleeping rough

Well over 2,500 migrants and refugees have been forced to sleep rough in Bosnia-Herzegovina for several weeks – on the European Union’s doorstep – despite the fact that suitable sheltered accommodation is available.

• EU may ask too high a price for financial services trade, Bank of England warns

Britain should not submit to the European Union’s financial services rules just to get better access to the bloc’s market after Brexit, Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey said on Wednesday, January 6.

• UK retailers face tariffs for re-exporting goods to EU, trade body says

More than 50 British retailers, including Tesco and Marks & Spencer, face potential tariffs for re-exporting goods to the European Union, their trade body said on Thursday, January 7, amid warnings this could make Britain less competitive.

• UN refugee agency calls for ‘new chapter for refugee protection’ across Europe

Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, UNHCR’s Representative for EU Affairs, also called for reform to be central during negotiations over a new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum “an EU that saves lives, protects refugees in Europe and globally, and finds solutions to end forced displacement and build resilient societies is needed more than ever”.

• EU calls on Biden to take global leadership on COVID-19

The world needs American leadership in the battle against COVID-19, the EU’s top diplomat said, urging President-elect Joe Biden to step up after the Trump administration was widely criticized for its slow response to the pandemic.

• Turkey and university autonomy: criticism rises as government appoints new rector

In Turkey, the practice of appointments of university rectors by the President of the Republic is generating a new wave of criticism

• Brexit butchers EU trade for Scottish beef producers

Scottish beef businesses are among the thousands across Britain facing issues with exporting goods into the European Union

• Italy failed to rescue over 200 migrants in 2013 Mediterranean disaster, UN rights body finds

In a decision published on Wednesday, the Human Rights Committee – an independent expert body that monitors States’ compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – said that Italy failed to respond promptly to various distress calls from the sinking boat, which was carrying more than 400 adults and children.

• Stand against antisemitism with the ‘utmost determination’ – German Chancellor Merkel

During the first Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, organized jointly by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, the UN and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Angela Merkel added that antisemitism must be thwarted, “be it open or veiled, and against denial or diminishing of the Holocaust”.

• EU must place social justice ‘at its core’ to lift people out of poverty

The European Union’s failure to lift 20 million people out of poverty by 2020, is “a defeat for social rights”, an independent UN human rights expert said on Friday, urging the bloc to boldly rethink its whole socio-economic approach.