Most powerful people in the world

Wearing his trademark flat cap, Lars Aslan Rasmussen was full of optimism as he began canvassing in Nørrebro, a volatile Copenhagen enclave that epitomises the two dominant issues of the Danish election, immigration and welfare. But the mood swiftly changed. Aslan Rasmussen was surrounded by a group of extreme Islamists as he distributed leaflets at the suburban train station, a labyrinth of dark passages, cracked windows, graffiti and very un-Danish litter. “They said I should leave their territory and that Muslims are not allowed to vote. They were very aggressive and told me that you don’t go to paradise when you participate in democracy.” A Social Democrat with a Turkish father and Danish mother, Aslan Rasmussen is trying to step up from the city council, where he has a reputation as a role model for integration. “It’s serious. I’m not the only one with this experience,” he said in a capital brimming with election posters for aspiring … [Read more...] about Denmark’s radical parties vie for power as terror casts a shadow over poll

In five words Not only Mozart and Trapp. Sound of the city I would have to say the Salzburger Stier (the Bull of Salzburg in English), an ancient organ located inside the fortress of Hohensalzburg. It plays a single chord three times a day and is loud enough to be heard throughout the old town. In the past, people said the sound reminded them of the crying of a bull, hence the name. The Stier used to be the local archbishop’s audible reminder of his power over the city, nowadays it mainly makes tourists wonder what the heck it was they just heard. Best building That would be the Heizkraftwerk Mitte, a caloric power plant located just on the border of the historic city centre. Planned by internationally acclaimed architects Marie-Claude Bétrix und Eraldo Consolascio it caused widespread public protest when it was presented to the public in 2003, due to its very modern architecture – many people claimed it was an eyesore and a blemish on the city’s skyline. It … [Read more...] about An insider’s guide to Salzburg: power plants, synth-pop and Cara Delevingne

In April, at an event called Resist and Reimagine, PEN America invited Hillary Clinton to deliver the Arthur Miller Freedom to Write lecture. The former secretary of state, chosen by America’s pre-eminent literary organisation for her “human rights accomplishments”, engaged in a Q&A afterwards with Nigerian American novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Admirers of Adichie’s writings may have hoped that she would hold Clinton to account for her ruinous human rights record: her vociferous support for all the wars the United States has fought since 2001, costing almost $5tn, according to a recent report from Brown University, and causing the death of more than a third of a million people in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. During Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state, the United States expanded its disastrous war on terror in Africa, most notably in Libya, Mali and Somalia. But Adichie wasn’t expressing her own anguish at this despoiling of several … [Read more...] about When Chimamanda met Hillary: a tale of how liberals cosy up to power

Uhuru Kenyatta has been re-elected as president in Kenya, with final official results giving the incumbent a substantial margin of victory over the veteran opposition politician Raila Odinga. After an acrimonious campaign, Kenyatta used his re-election speech to reach out to Odinga and supporters on Friday night, saying he wanted to work with them “in the service of Kenya”. The 55-year-old, in power since 2013, also called on his compatriots to “remember that we are brothers and sisters” and shun “division”. Within minutes of the results being announced, shots were heard in parts of the capital, Nairobi. There were also reports of clashes between protesters and riot police in opposition strongholds in the city as well as in the western city of Kisumu. “There are gunshots all over; we don’t know how it will end but we are praying for peace,” said Lucas Odhiambo, a resident of Kisumu. Fears that protests by opposition supporters … [Read more...] about Uhuru Kenyatta confirmed as Kenyan president

Steve Bannon thought his offer to help nationalist, populist parties competing in the 2019 European elections would be irresistible. “I think we will get them all onboard,” he told the Guardian in July, shortly before his Brussels-based initiative, the Movement, was launched. But research by the Guardian has shown that electoral law prevents the former Donald Trump strategist from providing polling services or other campaign support in most of the countries in which he wants to operate. Bannon’s organisation is completely barred or prevented from doing any meaningful work in nine of 13 countries on his target list, according to checks with electoral bodies and relevant ministries. Only four EU countries could be part of the Bannon experiment: Italy, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. Foreign organisations are barred from contributing to political parties in France, Belgium, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Finland. In Germany and Austria, contributions … [Read more...] about Bannon’s Europe plan: a look at the law in his 13 targeted countries