Italy's president has asked political neophyte Giuseppe Conte to try to form a government, giving the euroskeptic 5-Star Movement and anti-immigrant League their first shot at running western Europe's first populist government. President Sergio Mattarella met with Conte, a law professor with no political experience, for nearly two hours Wednesday amid skittish markets and concerns in Brussels that Europe's third-largest economy was embarking on a populist plunge. With the mandate in hand, Conte must now huddle with the 5-Stars and League to finalize a list of Cabinet ministers to present to the president. Once the government is sworn in, its program will be put to confidence votes in both houses of the Italian parliament, where the two blocs have a slight majority. The law professor has confirmed the country's place in the European Union and international affairs, but says his first priority is to be the "defense lawyer of the Italian people." Conte says he is aware of the "delicate … [Read more...] about Italian president gives Conte a mandate to form western Europe’s first populist government
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Remembering Solingen: The fractious rise of extreme xenophobia in Western Europe
In the early 1990s, resentment toward foreigners led to a number of physical assaults and arson attacks in Germany. Such attacks took place in the cities Rostock-Lichtenhagen, Hoyerswerda, Frankfurt an der Oder, Magdeburg, Mölln, and Solingen. The 1993 Solingen arson attack is considered one of the most severe instances of xenophobic violence in modern Germany. On the night of May 28-29, four young men belonging to a far-right group with neo-Nazi ties firebombed the house of a Turkish family in Solingen, resulting in the death of three children and two adults. Fourteen other family members, including several children were severely injured. This attack led to protests by Turks in several German cities. Such crimes, which reminded Germans of the Nazi persecutions of the past, triggered nationwide protests. Vast crowds of Germans took a public stance against neo-Nazism and xenophobic violence. Thousands of Solingen residents condemned the attack and gathered to bid farewell to their … [Read more...] about Remembering Solingen: The fractious rise of extreme xenophobia in Western Europe
Bosnia Struggles With Thousands Of Migrants On New Route To Western Europe
Bosnia is struggling to cope with an influx of thousands of migrants mostly from the Middle East trying to reach Western Europe that authorities and aid groups warn could develop into a crisis. Bosnia's governing council met on May 15 to consider measures to deal with the thousands of migrants who have turned to the small Balkan country in recent months, trying to avoid more heavily guarded routes and borders in the Balkans. About 4,000 people from Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Algeria, and Afghanistan have entered Bosnia so far this year compared with 755 in 2017, migrant aid groups say. Most are seeking to cross the border into EU-member Croatia, and then move on toward Western Europe, but about 1,500 have remained in the country after being blocked from enter the European Union. The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have facilities to accommodate so many migrants, as its asylum center in Sarajevo has only 200 beds, with 80 to 150 people arriving each day, Security Minister … [Read more...] about Bosnia Struggles With Thousands Of Migrants On New Route To Western Europe
The UK defied shrinking dealmaking in western Europe last month as Comcast-Sky and Asda-Sainsbury’s tie-ups boosted value
UK companies received more investment through announced mergers and acquisitions (M&A) than any of their western European peers in April, set to rake in €58.4bn (£42.8bn) – the largest monthly value for the country since July 2016. Comcast's eventual £22bn formal bid for Sky topped the deal rankings, while Sainsbury's offer to buy Asda for £7.3bn closed the month in a strong second place, according to research from Moody's analytics company Bureau van Dijk. Yet the number of deals across western Europe fell to a low not seen in more than a year, and private equity and venture capital (PE and VC) interest in the region also decreased. Read more: Dealmaking involving British firms hits highest since the millennium Though the UK is often Europe's largest private equity market, it only saw Western Europe's fifth largest private equity-backed deal in April as Goldman Sachs and Antin Infrastructure took on Cityfibre. “Despite the disappointing result in … [Read more...] about The UK defied shrinking dealmaking in western Europe last month as Comcast-Sky and Asda-Sainsbury’s tie-ups boosted value
UK among worst in Western Europe for freedom of press after ‘staggering decline’, Reporters Without Borders index claims
The UK is one of the worst countries in western Europe for press freedom because of new media-muzzling laws and a climate of hostility towards journalists, a new report has found. The country ranked 40 out of 180 in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index, a report compiled by influential non-profit organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF). It dropped to that position last year. The position marks a “staggering” decline for the UK of 18 places since the index began in 2002, RFS said. Read more Cambridge Analytica whistleblower to give evidence to US Congress As well as western European nations such as Germany, Ireland and France, countries including South Africa, Jamaica, Namibia and Slovakia also outperformed Britain. Scandinavian countries had the best climates for the free exchange of information, with Norway, Sweden and Finland ranking best in the index. North Korea held the lowest ranking, below Eritrea … [Read more...] about UK among worst in Western Europe for freedom of press after ‘staggering decline’, Reporters Without Borders index claims