In The News

The Guardian: Merkel Says EU Cannot Completely Rely on US and Britain Anymore

Jon Henley May 30, 2017
The United States as reliable partner is a campaign issue for other countries. “We Europeans truly have to take its fate into its own hands,” said Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel at campaign rally. The Guardian reported on Merkel’s comments: “Speaking after bruising meetings of Nato and the G7 group of wealthy nations last week, the German chancellor suggested the postwar western alliance had...

The Washington Post: Trump Chastises Fellow NATO Members

Philip Rucker, Karen DeYoung and Michael Birnbaum May 26, 2017
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization formed in 1949 as collective defense against potential aggression by the Soviet Union. NATO now has 28 members. US President Donald Trump, attending meetings and ceremonies in Brussels, urged fellow members to pay a fair share of NATO expenses, at least 2 percent of GDP by 2024. Other NATO members may be wary of Trump, whose presidential campaign is under...

New Statesman: The Age of Lies

Mark Damazer May 25, 2017
Many politicians, desperate to stay in power, lack the courage to ask voters to make tough choices – often tax hikes or reductions in services. Many rely on catchy soundbites and clichés, and titles of specific pieces of legislation are often contrary to what bills purport to do. The media is tasked with holding political leaders accountable, analyzing the legislation and policies against...

Climate News Network: UK Nuclear Industry Faces Brexit Fallout

Paul Brown May 17, 2017
Nuclear power is the source about one-fifth of the United Kingdom’s energy, and the government has shifted support in subsidies away from solar and wind toward nuclear power with plans to construct more. “However, the industry relies on foreign companies − based both in the EU and outside − that provide parts, fuel and raw materials,” reports Paul Brown for Climate News Network. France’s ETF owns...

The Local: Six Challenges Facing France’s New President Emmanuel Macron

Elisabeth Beretta May 7, 2017
Emanuel Macron, 39, won the French presidential election over Marine Le Pen, 65-35 percent. Macron, a former banker, supports France’s membership in the European Union, maintaining that globalization can be embraced and controlled. Le Pen is a fierce opponent to EU integration and immigration. Neither candidate represents mainstream political parties, offering voters a distinctive choice that...

Spiegel Online: EU Seeks to Ward Off New Refugee Crisis

Christiane Hoffmann, Walter Mayr, Peter Müller, Christoph Schult and Wolf Wiedmann-Schmidt May 6, 2017
European leaders value the Schengen zone for border-free travel, but recognize it will lose allure for citizens if external borders are not secure, reports a team from Spiegel Online. “Schengen, [Chancellor Angela Merkel] said, means that Germany's neighbors are no longer Austria or Poland, but Russia, Turkey and Libya,” notes the article. Europe has little control over so many countries in...

El Pais: Free Speech in the Twitter Era

Vera Gutiérrez Calvo May 3, 2017
Spain is debating whether some topics are off limits, even terror groups from long ago, now defunct, on social media – and “how to tackle hatred, humiliation and disrespect without being disproportionate and arbitrary,” reports Vera Gutiérrez Calvo for El Pais. “Sources from the central High Court and prosecutor offices state that jokes in themselves are not being prosecuted as crimes, but that...