Dear reader, Welcome back to your Sunday summary! This week, we’re doing something a little different in honor of Mother’s Day. Instead of doing the normal news report for the last week, we’re going to highlight our members and their maternal figures. The ‘Maastricht Diplomat’ journalists value their moms, who inspire them in their daily lives. Mother’s Day as we know it traces back to 1908 when a woman named Anna Jarvis held a memorial service to honor her late mother. Anna

Dear readers, as another week comes to a close, we are here to share some intriguing news. The school year is slowly wrapping up, and we know deadlines abound (including my own thesis submission, which has led to the delay in publishing; thanks for your patience by the way). To keep things clear and concise, the Maastricht Diplomat is back with another Sunday - or rather in this case, Monday - Summary recapping this week's important news so you can stay informed without havin

A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system arrives at Osan Air Base, South Korea, March 6, 2017. Nine years later, components of the same system were transferred from the Korean Peninsula to the Middle East. U.S. Air Force photo. Jeremy Larlee. -"The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoW) visual information does not imply or constitute DoW endorsement." On April 8, 2026, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stood at the Pentagon podium and declared the objectives of Operat

Uniting food and community, Foodbank is a space full of inspiration. Located at Landbouwbelang (also known as LBB), the coolest non-profit organisation in the Maastricht region promotes sustainability by raising awareness about unnecessary food waste and actively reducing it. Foodbank is a place where everyone is welcome, and where people come together not only to save food and share it with others, but also to cook and enjoy delicious meals made from perfectly good food that

“You know what I fucking did to get back to you? “No.” Grace replies, her voice quiet. “You know what I fucking did— to get back to you? Sam shouts, using a crowbar to destroy the newly renovated kitchen. “You know how he fucking suffered?” Sam rages. “He fucking suffered because of YOU!” he says, pointing fingers at Grace. “And what have you done to my fucking house, my fucking kids, Grace?” In his rage, Sam continues to destroy the kitchen, and Grace's devastated eyes

On April 21, 2026, the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum opened a discussion on “Hybrid Threats and Disinformation: The Role of Civil Society in the Armenian Elections” in Brussels. The conference gathered European Union policymakers on one side, represented by MEP Miriam Lexmann, MEP Andrey Kovatchev, and Jan Latal from European Union External Action Services; on the other side civil society representatives, including Lousineh Hakobyan from the NGO Europe in Law Associ

«Je suis fasciné par les orques, car elles sont pleines de mystères.» Ce n’est pas exactement la phrase d’ouverture à laquelle on s’attendrait de la part de Guillaume Meurice lors d’une interview. Laissant de côté la satire politique pour un (petit) moment, nous avons commencé notre interview, donnant immédiatement le ton d’une discussion autour de l’une de ses passions les plus chères : son admiration pour les orques. S’il est encore nécessaire de le présenter: Guillaume Meu

“I am fascinated by orcas, as they are full of mysteries.” This is not exactly the opening line you would expect from Guillaume Meurice during an interview. Leaving political satire on the side for a (little) while, we started our interview, immediately setting the stage for a talk about one of his dearest passions: orcas. For the non-French readers among you, Guillaume Meurice is a 44-year-old comedian, radio host, and author of several essays and novels. He is also an anim

In 2018, a British rock band released a song that sounded less like music and more like a news feed having a breakdown. “Love It If We Made It” by ‘The 1975’ was written as an introspective reflection of the social and political climate happening since 2016. It was not a protest song. It was not a call to action. It was something more unsettling, a shrug dressed up as a scream. “It’s the gem of hope amongst all of the rubble.” - Matty Healy, The 1975 "Love It If We Made It"

This week I have overheard numerous conversations about King’s Day. I was asked what my plans were although I’m working and I don’t mind missing out on most of the festivities. The only thing I’d be interested in is the flea markets in the park in front of the library. This section of the park is called Monseigneur Nolenspark. Who was he? How do I feel about this remembrance? Who would I like to remember instead? A Dutch classmate is going to Amsterdam to celebrate King’s

In our ever changing society, we have fallen in line with viewing the Middle East through a very narrow lens. This lens is deeply problematic. Governments, particularly U.S.-backed states like Israel, have long shaped policies directly impacting the lives of citizens in the region. Additionally, Western outlets tend to portray citizens as enemies and reduce lived human experiences to mere statistical numbers. As students, we are introduced to a variety of perspectives of the

Maastricht is a large student city, with 23.000 students coming here to study, live, and shape daily life. However, when it comes to political representation, this reality translates into few seats at the municipal table. In 2022, only 7% of municipal councillors in the Netherlands were under 30. The average councillor was over 50. Therefore, students are hardly represented in daily local politics. This matters. Decisions on housing, mobility, safety, and public spaces direct

“I still think about our revolution in 2018 when all Sudanese people were on the streets, united against Omar al-Bashir. The most beautiful was the sit-in on April 6, 2019, outside the General Command headquarters. We were all in the square. I remember people saying this was the future of Sudan.” — Musa, age 40, from Khartoum We are living in a day and age where some are granted the privilege to remain ignorant, while others suffer daily. If you belong to the former category

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about – Oscar Wilde. Hello, welcome back to our eighth edition of Loosely Talking, where we reflect on our lives between the cobblestones. We wanted to avoid this topic, but living in Maastricht, it’s impossible to ignore. Today, we’re talking about dating. More specifically, the syndrome that seems to have struck us all. There must be something scientifically wrong with Maastricht. One would think that with t

One of the grandest love letters to the city of Venice can be found at The European Fine Arts Fair (TEFAF) 2026. Though a month has passed since the event, conversation and sharing of impressions of those who have had the chance to attend continue to stir. Through painting and illustration, the highly anticipated annual art fair walked its patrons through squares, canals, and centuries. It became a beguiling invitation to those who have never been, and a chance to fondly reme

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about – Oscar Wilde. Hello, welcome back to Loosely Talking, where we reflect on our lives between the cobblestones. Let’s be real – even though the cobblestones are beautiful, they can get boring. This is a transcript of a conversation we had with Maastricht during a late night at LBB [ We are sitting on the couches, complaining about Maastricht, when all of a sudden they appeared – SHIT] Us: Oh, hey Maastri

Happy Easter Monday: Splash! For those living in Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia, this week started with many of them getting soaked— and not because of the rain. In many Slavic cultures, Easter Monday holds a long-standing tradition of Wet Monday (Śmigus Dyngus/Oblievačka). The practice of Wet Monday has its roots and diverse pasts in Slavic pagan cultures and practices. Nowadays, the core of Wet Monday is splashing water on those around you, and many families continue to part

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about – Oscar Wilde. Hello! Welcome to our sixth issue of Loosely Talking, where we reflect on our lives between the cobblestones. Happy Easter! We hope you ate loads of chocolate in-between egg hunts and time in the sun! While preparing today’s column, we (for the first time), entered into a full-blown disagreement. Who has better chocolate? Celia insists the Belgians do, while Ella defends the Germans. Here i

From constitutional battles to street protests and from anti-corruption crackdowns to diplomatic equilibrium, the Western Balkans remain a region where politics never stand still. This week once again shows how closely domestic reforms, identity debates, and regional tensions are tied to a shared ambition: joining the European Union. But as governments push forward, internal divisions, public distrust, and unresolved historical disputes continue to shape the pace and the limi

Whilst the current crisis in Iran has demonstrated that geography is a strategic asset in times of conflict – with the Strait of Hormuz bringing global energy trade to a standstill when it was closed – this strategic chokepoint is, unfortunately, not the only one threatening what little stability appears to remain in the region. Another strategic point could be held hostage, but this time extending the conflict zone beyond the Gulf States to include the countries of the Horn