All Europe
First LookEuropean leaders work to keep conservative East in EUWith Britain's exit from the European Union approaching next year, the international network is now turning its attention to countries in Eastern Europe, including Poland and Hungary, whose powerful leaders have spoken out against it.聽
Armenia is having a 'color revolution.' So why is Russia so calm?Unlike post-Soviet revolutions in Ukraine, Georgia, and elsewhere, the current protests in Armenia have not alarmed the Kremlin, even though they look set to bring greater democracy. That is likely due to the lack of geopolitical stakes involved.
First LookThousands of Germans join 'kippa marches' in support of the Jewish communityAn Israeli Arab, who wore a kippa in Berlin as an experiment, was attacked and harassed last week. The incident came after reports of Jewish children being bullied in schools led the head of the Central Council of Jews to advise people not wear kippas in big cities.聽
Will Russia's involvement in Syria end up burning its ties with Israel?Israel has maintained a good relationship with the Kremlin amid Russia's tensions with the West. But as the Assad regime's victories bring Iran closer to the Israeli border, Russia is finding it harder to balance its needs in Syria with its Israeli ties.
First LookSyrian refugees share traditional Arab dance with BerlinersIn addition to formal integration efforts, dozens of informal cultural projects,聽run by migrants wanting to share their culture and Germans attempting to break down barriers, have sprouted up around Germany.
First LookCrowdfunding helps Britain's homeless transition to stable housing and workBeam, a social enterprise born in 2017, is helping England's homeless transition from temporary聽accommodation into聽permanent聽accommodation. So far, Beam has helped 27 people, with two having found employment and many others in training.聽
The ExplainerBritain's DACA? Children of invited laborers caught in 'Windrush' controversyThey didn't need passports to accompany their laborer parents into Britain from the far corners of the Commonwealth. Now, some 50,000 offspring of the 'Windrush generation' appear caught in a press amid immigration scrutiny.聽
First LookAfter sex-abuse scandal, protesters demand change on Nobel literature prize boardSara Danius was the first woman to lead the secretive board that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature. Her removal from the academy, amid criticism from male members for her handling of the scandal, has sparked protests across Sweden.聽
Kremlin cyberpower? How fight over messaging app is showing its limits.The Russian government is trying to block popular messaging app Telegram from domestic users. But its creator, Pavel Durov, is easily winning the fight, ensuring Telegram stays up even as the Kremlin clumsily causes collateral damage online.
How an activist who helped transform postwar Germany views its newest challengesGesine Schwan ran for president of Germany, led the German-Polish Viadrina University,聽and聽 is one of the few remaining political activists聽of the generation whose lifespan parallels that of democratic Germany. Now,聽she keeps a keen eye on the crises that have blown up in both the European Union and Germany.
Russia wants US military out of Syria. But it still needs US to help bring peace.Russian and US-allied forces avoided conflict during Friday's airstrikes on alleged Syrian chemical weapon sites. But Moscow sees the US's ongoing involvement in Syria as nothing more than spoiler. Still, analysts say, Russia needs the US to help diplomatically.
Russian consumerism may be poisoning this town. But nascent civil society is pushing back.Locals in Volokolamsk say the massive garbage dump outside of their town is poisoning their children. The dump is a byproduct of Russia's transformation from communist to capitalist society 鈥� but the locals' lawsuit to move it shows that civil society is growing too.
How Fukushima turned a nuclear advocate into an antinuclear championNaoto聽Kan, Japan's former prime minister, was devoted to the idea of nuclear power. But after his country's nuclear disaster in 2011, he turned into an improbable activist against atomic energy. Can he persuade the pro-nuke French?
FocusAn old beast re-awoken, anti-Semitism stalks Europe, US once moreBritain, France, the US, and Hungary have seen聽upticks in anti-Jewish invective and assaults in recent years. The resurgence of overt anti-Semitism stems from both an awakening of repressed prejudice聽and a byproduct of anti-Zionism.
Anti-Semitism stains Labour, Corbyn again. Why does this keep happening?Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has been at the center of protests over Labour's apparent tolerance for anti-Semitism within its ranks. But the controversy seems to be sparking new soul-searching about old and deeply ingrained attitudes and traditions within the party.
First LookPro-migrant groups targeted after Hungary's electionPrime Minister Viktor Orban and his right-wing party promised to limit the ability of civic groups to help migrants and refugees. His victory in the elections is the latest聽iteration of right-wing parties with an聽anti-immigrant rhetoric coming to power in Europe.
Cover StoryIs Germany鈥檚 bold new law a way to clean up the internet or is it stifling free expression?In the struggle to deal with the explosion of abusive and hateful content on social media sites, Germany is staking out one of the most aggressive and far-reaching positions of any country in the world 鈥� and is being closely watched as a result.聽
FocusAs Hungary votes, memories of a mythical past loom largeAhead of Sunday's parliamentary election Sunday, Prime Minister Viktor Orb谩n is framing Hungary as a homogeneous 海角大神 nation standing against a migrant tide. But the country's national identity may be proving hollow and fragile. Part of聽an occasional series on Finding 'Home.'
France's wolves are back. Now, can it protect its farmers?Wolves' numbers are growing across France. But they are taking their toll on the livelihoods of French farmers, who cannot kill the protected animals nor receive reimbursement for major losses the wolves cause to their livestock.
With Russians feeling besieged, some give Putin a loaded title: vozhdVozhd literally means leader, but in politics it is inextricably linked with the personality cult of Joseph Stalin. Now, with many Russians feeling their country is under attack from the West, some are invoking the term in solidarity with Putin and defiance of his critics.
