Friday News Roundup - International

The immigration debate in Europe raged on this week.

On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel reached a deal with opponents over the nation's migration policy.

Denmark is introducing a new set of laws that requires children who live in low-income, Muslim-dominated immigrant communities — “ghettos,” the Danish government calls them — to attend training sessions in “Danish values.”

As The New York Times reports:

Politicians' description of the ghettos has become increasingly sinister. In his annual New Year's speech, Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen warned that ghettos could “reach out their tentacles onto the streets” by spreading violence, and that because of ghettos, “cracks have appeared on the map of Denmark.” Politicians who once used the word “integration” now call frankly for “assimilation.”

And the EU at large has agreed to set up migrant centers around the Mediterranean.

In Thailand, workers are racing to rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador won Mexico's presidential election in a landslide victory last Sunday. The leftist, anti-establishment candidate has promised to transform the nation, which has faced widespread corruption and alarming murder rates in recent years.

At his victory celebration, Obrador told the crowd: “I have one ambition. I want to go down in history as a good president of Mexico.” Will he make good on that promise?

On Saturday, a couple was hospitalized in Britain after exposure to Novichok, the same nerve agent used to poison ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal. U.K. Home Secretary Sajid Javid addressed the recent attack in the House of Commons:

As we did before, we will be consulting with our international partners and allies following these latest developments. The eyes of the world are currently on Russia, not least because of the World Cup. It is now time that the Russian state comes forward and explains exactly what has gone on.

Let me be clear: we do not have a quarrel with the Russian people. Rather, it is the actions of the Russian government. We will stand up to the actions that threaten our security and the security of our partners. It is unacceptable for our people to be either deliberate or accidental targets, or for our streets, our parks, our towns to be dumping grounds for poison.

In trade news, the Trump administration will begin imposing tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports this Friday. Shortly after the plan was unveiled, China announced it will issue retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, also effective Friday.

But China, 12 time zones ahead of Washington, is wary of making the first move. In a statement, China's cabinet announced it “absolutely won't fire the first shot.” That’s why their tariffs will begin midday.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is traveling to Pyongyang to meet with North Korean officials and advance a nuclear deal. The meeting, his fourth in three months, follows recent reports suggesting North Korea has no intention of giving up its nuclear weapons program.

But one story has dominated the global news this week: The World Cup. England and Russia defeated Colombia and Spain, respectively; Japan left behind a spotlessly clean locker room and ‘thank you' note after their loss against Belgium; and Brazil triumphed over Mexico, 2-0.

The Spectator is calling the 2018 World Cup “the most political tournament ever”. Off the field, how is global politics affecting spectators and team owners?

*Text by Kathryn Fink.

GUESTS

Dr. Richard Sadler, Medical director for Dive Rescue International, which provides training, equipment and support to water rescue teams

Peter Bergen, CNN’s national security analyst; vice president and director of the international security program at New America; author of “United States of Jihad: Investigating America’s Homegrown Terrorists”; @peterbergencnn

Karoun Demirjian, Reporter, The Washington Post; @karoun

Clemens Wergin, Washington bureau chief, Die Welt, a moderately conservative German daily newspaper; @clemenswergin

For more, visit https://the1a.org.

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