Riga, June 3.– In an interview on Latvian Television this morning, President-elect Egils Levits said that Latvia must form good relations with Russia, but that these relations must primarily be formed in context with EU foreign policy.
He said that good relations must always be formed with neighbors, but added that this is a two-way street. ''Our side has this good will, we have always had and always will have,'' Levits said.
Written by The Economist on .
Posted in Headlines.
How to manage the growing rivalry between USA and a rising China
May 18.– Fighting over trade is not the half of it. The United States and China are contesting every domain, from semiconductors to submarines and from blockbuster films to lunar exploration. The two superpowers used to seek a win-win world. Today winning seems to involve the other lot’s defeat—a collapse that permanently subordinates China to the American order; or a humbled America that retreats from the western Pacific. It is a new kind of cold war that could leave no winners at all.
As our special report in this week’s issue explains, superpower relations have soured. America complains that China is cheating its way to the top by stealing technology, and that by muscling into the South China Sea and bullying democracies like Canada and Sweden it is becoming a threat to global peace. China is caught between the dream of regaining its rightful place in Asia and the fear that tired, jealous America will block its rise because it cannot accept its own decline.
Written by The Independent on .
Posted in Headlines.
'You can only drive a wedge so far between yourself and the people who put you in that position', Clive Lewis tells his leader.
London, May 20.– Jeremy Corbyn will plunge his own position into jeopardy if he “betrays” Labour supporters by refusing to push for a further Brexit referendum, a shadow minister has said, in an outspoken interview.
Clive Lewis warned Mr Corbyn’s leadership would be “in peril” if he failed to fully support a Final Say public vote because the activists who “put you in that position” could turn against him.
History has made Germans reluctant to let the mob decide.
Berlin, May 20.– Germany, like many places in Europe, is badly in need of democratic rejuvenation.
But where other countries are experimenting with bringing voices from the street into the political process, Germany’s dark history casts a shadow on efforts to break down barriers to political participation.
There’s no question Germany would benefit from listening to its citizens and engaging in some talk therapy.
Written by The Economist on .
Posted in Headlines.
After a storm of rockers over Israel from Gaza,
the latest ceasefire will not last unless conditions in Gaza improve.
Cairo, May 9.– It should have been a celebratory weekend. Israelis were getting ready to mark their 71st independence day. In Gaza 2m Palestinians were making final preparations for the month-long Ramadan holiday, which began on May 6th. And then the rockets and bombs started falling.
Residents on both sides spent the weekend cowering under rocket fire and air strikes. Four Israelis were killed, the first civilians to die in fighting with Gaza since a brief but brutal war in 2014. On the Palestinian side 27 people, a mix of militants and civilians, died. As in previous bouts of conflict, the fighting ended with a truce brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the un. And, as before, no one expects it to last.