Amanullah, a 32-year-old welder, worked in his shop near the Afghan capital Kabul when the neighbourhood suddenly rattled with automatic gunfire. People ran for cover as government troops engaged in heavy clashes with Taliban fighters in the streets outside.

“Bullets were flying everywhere,” Amanullah, who like most Afghans uses only one name, recalls. “Then someone fired a rocket that landed just outside my shop.”

Amanullah was thrown backwards by the blast, hitting his head on a concrete wall. He woke up in the hospital four days later. …

As schools re-open in Yemen, parents are wondering how safe it is for their children to go back. Six years of war have taken a heavy toll on education, especially for displaced children, and the coronavirus pandemic has only made matters worse. Together, the European Union and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) are trying to give children a chance to learn in a safe and conducive environment.

Here are five questions Yemeni parents are asking themselves.

1. Are schools safe?

Did you know that hackers attack an average of 2,244 times a day?
They can have an impact even on our personal lives.

“Cybercrime will never happen to me.”

We all think this way until it does happen. As more of our life moves online, we need to be aware of how to stay safe.

Did you know that hackers attack an average of 2,244 times a day globally, causing damage to the economy and hurting businesses? They can even have an impact on our personal lives!

Phishing, hacking, data leaks and other cyber threats are among the biggest global risks of the decade after climate change (WEF). This is why one of the top priorities of the EU is to make the internet a safer place for everyone. That means protecting your personal data while you browse, but also safeguarding key infrastructure from cyberattacks, and ensuring we think through the risks of new technologies. …

Under the cover of darkness, a dilapidated fishing boat left a secluded strip of beach near the Bangladeshi city of Cox’s Bazar. On board, over 60 Rohingya refugees huddled together in preparation for the perilous journey across the Bay of Bengal to Malaysia. The group had joined an increasing number of Rohingya risking their lives in over-crowded, rickety vessels to escape persecution and dire poverty.

Among the passengers was Hosna*, travelling with her young son. Desperate to escape a life trapped in an overpopulated refugee camp, a group of smugglers had convinced the 36-year-old woman that it would only be a matter of days before she would rejoin her husband in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. …

Erasmus is… learning to ride a bike, music, making a new home for yourself, making friends and so much more… as these stories tell us.

Some memories can be a bit blurry, a bit old, but precious nonetheless.

We asked you to share your Erasmus experiences with us some time ago. Many of you responded and shared stories of fun, friendship, warmth, travels, and of all the new experiences and opportunities that helped you later in life.

Together, let’s journey back in time and look at some of your recollections from the past.

1. One of the first batches of students

When Jasmerlin decided to abandon her home to flee poverty and hunger in Venezuela, she knew that the life of a migrant with no money and two small daughters was not going to be easy. She knew she would have to work extremely hard, often on an empty stomach and for endless hours, but staying back was not an option. She and her daughters deserved better.

From preserving our democracy to education and culture, science guides EU policymaking in more ways than you might think!

Scientists at our Joint Research Centre (JRC) support EU policymaking in a wide range of areas. They come up with innovative and technological solutions that drive progress, are part of your everyday life, help protect the planet, and save lives in emergencies.

The JRC is all about bringing scientific knowledge together for Europe and its people. Scientists at JRC carry out research and provide independent scientific advice and support to EU policy, from conception and design to implementation and monitoring.

Here are 10 examples of how research by the JRC has helped the EU achieve its goals. …

René Namunesha, a father of 5, is a local aid worker from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

When the coronavirus pandemic reached his country, Namunesha was working with People in Need (PIN) on a project funded by the European Union in the Lemera Zone (Eastern Congo).

Together with others from PIN and Doctors of the World Belgium, he has been working hard to increase the capacity of the health centres to screen patients for coronavirus, process suspected cases, refer infected patients to the appropriate health facilities and raise awareness about the disease.

The health centres Namunesha supports also focus on treating people with severe acute malnutrition. Since 2019, nearly 35,000 patients have received consultations as part of the EU-funded project. …