In The News

BBC News: Merkel’s Three Challenges

Jenny Hill October 15, 2018
Chancellor Angela Merkel's already weakened government confronts challenges after Sunday's election in Germany’s largest federal state – Bavaria. Jenny Hill explains for BBC News that the ruling Christian Social Union, a coalition partner with Merkel’s more conservative Christian Democrat Union, lost its majority in the Bavarian state parliament. The party’s leader still serves as...

DW: Chinese Propaganda Infiltrating German Media?

Deutsche Welle September 28, 2018
Donald Trump has warned that China may meddle in the US midterm congressional elections, including propaganda presented as news. Similar concerns have been raised about German media. China rejects the allegation. A German newsletter agreed to carry content from China's state news service, Xinhua. “The aim, according to the newsletter, was to keep DPA customers informed about the Belt and...

El País: Spain Wants Special Brexit Chapter

Lucía Abellán September 23, 2018
Any Brexit deal requires approval of the European Parliament and a supermajority of EU members, many of which hold messy concerns. For example, Spain is striving for an agreement related to taxes, labor and pollution concerns, and smuggling in Gibraltar. The territory in Southern Spain, under British control since 1713, has 30,000 residents and more than 50,000 registered businesses, so Spain...

NewStatesman: Why Sweden Is Turning Right

Andrew Brown September 17, 2018
The Scandinavian countries have long been a role model on human rights, equality and control over globalization. But Sweden is slowly showing a rightward shift, and its leading anti-immigrant party, the Sweden Democrats won 17 percent in the September election. Swedes worry about a loss of control with the shutdown of traditional industries like shipyards, increased crime and changes in culture...

TechCrunch: Google Argues Against Global “Right to Be Forgotten”

Natasha Lomas September 11, 2018
Google contends that Europe’s internet privacy rules should not extend to global domains. In 2014, the European Court of Justice “ruled search engines must respect Europeans’ privacy rights, and – on request – remove erroneous, irrelevant and/or outdated information about a private citizen,” reports Natasha Lomas for TechCrunch. Google responded by applying delistings on local European domains,...

BBC News: Europe and Nationalism

September 10, 2018
Nationalist and far-right parties are making electoral gains throughout Europe. The most recent example: Sweden Democrats winning about 18 percent of the vote on September 9. BBC News points to common themes including opposition to immigration and refugees, Islam and the European Union project: “In part, this can be seen as a backlash against the political establishment in the wake of the...

Financial Times: Turkish Lira Plunges as Trump Threatens Tariffs

Ayla Jean Yackley and Demetri Sevastopulo August 10, 2018
Turkey’s currency is falling against the dollar even as the US president threatens more tariffs – 20 percent on aluminum and 50 percent on steel. Turkey’s president calls the actions “economic war.” Turkey, like the United States, is among the top 10 countries that produce steel. The lira’s fall “ricocheted into Turkey’s bond market, sending the yield on the local currency 10-year bond above 20...