All Europe
- First LookMediterranean beaches are calling, but whither the tourists?
Even though Croatia, Cyprus, and Greece are reopening, workers in the tourism industry are bracing for another tough year. Malta is offering vouchers, Turkey is welcoming visitors without COVID testing, Portugal isn't requiring quarantines – but bookings remain low.
- At odds with West, Kremlin lashes out at indie media in Russia
Russia may not be at war with the West, but the Kremlin is increasingly using a warlike sensibility in its domestic rhetoric and policy.
- First LookPutin orders review of gun laws after deadly Kazan school attack
A lone teenage gunman opened fire at a school in Kazan, Russia, killing nine people, including seven children, and injuring nearly 20 more. The motive of the gunman, a former student at the school, remains unclear.
- US debates child credit payments. Germany loves them.
In Germany, long-standing Kindergeld payments to support child welfare illuminate the values of the country’s social democratic fabric.
- First LookScottish nationalists vow independence vote after election win
Pro-independence parties won a majority in Scotland’s parliament, with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon pledging a new independence referendum.
- The French military is becoming more diverse. It’s also leaning further right.
Far-right sentiment has crept into the French military. But it has provided a moment of reflection for how the army addresses diversity.
- First LookWhy an Italian TV show with majority Black cast is making waves
In a first for Italian TV, a predominantly Black cast stars in the new Netflix series “Zero.” Supporters hope the show will help Italians recognize that their country is becoming increasingly multicultural while also providing role models for young, Black Italians.
- Moscow cyclists are getting new bike paths. Do Muscovites get a say?
Efforts to fix Moscow’s traffic highlight the green priorities of a new generation of bureaucrats – and the lack of input from any other Muscovites.
- First LookSpain's immigrant politician highlights racial imbalances
Serigne Mbaye has gone from being an undocumented Senegalese migrant to a Spanish citizen running for public office, hoping to bring debates about race – often brushed aside or seen as irrelevant – to the forefront of Spanish society.
- First LookYoung generations can't face climate burden alone, Germany rules
Should future generations have to give up more than current generations to combat climate change? Germany’s top court ruled that the country must set clearer emissions targets for the future – a decision that activists say delivers generational justice.
- Southern Europe’s brain drain reversed in pandemic. Will it last?
Countries like Italy and Romania are trying to make permanent the pandemic-driven return of their best and brightest from abroad.
- Super League smashup: US business crashes into English soccer values
European soccer’s values of community and custodianship were behind the three-day rise and fall of the proposed Super League.
- First LookAfter years in Denmark, some Syrians are now forced home
Denmark has begun to revoke residency permits for many Syrian refugees who had been granted temporary protection. The move is prompting pushback.
- Domestic abuse surged in pandemic. Britain pushing back with legal reform.
Britain is set to enact sweeping reforms to its domestic violence laws. But whether the changes do enough to protect victims of abuse remains unclear.
- First LookEU agrees on new carbon emissions goal ahead of US climate summit
The tentative deal, which was negotiated in an all-night session, would make the 27-nation European bloc climate-neutral by 2050. The agreement comes ahead of a U.S.-led climate summit set to gather heads of state from around the world.
- Worse than the Cold War? US-Russia relations hit new low.
With its relations with Washington at a nadir, Moscow is eyeing a more pragmatic, if adversarial, relationship with the U.S.
- They sing for a living. In the pandemic, Germany has their backs.
Thanks to a history of government funding for the arts, shuttered German opera houses and singers have kept humming during the pandemic.
- How the far-right has shifted France’s political center of gravity
French President Macron and Marine Le Pen are nabbing bits of each other’s platforms, scrambling what topics are accepted in the political mainstream.
- First LookIn post-Brexit world, Europe adapts to new trade rules with UK
Trade volumes between the United Kingdom and the European Union have suffered in the wake of Brexit. As international trade rules now apply to Britain, companies across Europe have to adapt to extra costs, paperwork, and longer delivery times.
- First LookHow this hotel offers African migrants hope in the Canary Islands
When the Spanish government stopped contracting hotels to shelter the many Moroccan and West African migrants arriving in the Canary Islands, one couple is housing and caring for dozens who had nowhere to go.