Live

Iranians Take to Streets After Government Admits It Shot Down Passenger Plane

  • Protests have erupted in Iran after the government admitted responsibility for shooting down an Ukrainian passenger jet on the same night as it fired missiles into Iraq to avenge the death of its top military commander, Qasem Soleimani.
  • Soleimani, who led Iran’s expeditionary Quds Force, was killed in an American drone strike on President Donald Trump’s order.
  • No Americans or Iraqis were killed in the reprisals. All 176 passengers and crew aboard Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, including 82 Iranians, were killed when the plane crashed outside Tehran on Wednesday morning. Read more “Iranians Take to Streets After Government Admits It Shot Down Passenger Plane”

Sánchez Wins Second Term as Prime Minister of Spain

Pedro Sánchez
Spanish Socialist Party leader Pedro Sánchez gives a speech in parliament in Madrid, March 2, 2016 (PSOE)
  • Socialist Party leader Pedro Sánchez has won a second term as prime minister of Spain.
  • He fell short of a absolute majority in Congress on Sunday but needed only more votes in favor than against a the second ballot on Tuesday.
  • Left-wing separatists from the Basque Country and Catalonia abstained, allowing Sánchez to scrape by with a majority of two — the smallest ever for a Spanish prime minister.
  • Sánchez’ will be the first coalition government since the Civil War and the most left-wing government since the fall of the Republic. Read more “Sánchez Wins Second Term as Prime Minister of Spain”

British Post-Election Analysis and Opinion Blog

A policeman stands guard outside 10 Downing Street, the residence of the British prime minister, in London, England, November 28, 2016
A policeman stands guard outside 10 Downing Street, the residence of the British prime minister, in London, England, November 28, 2016 (Shutterstock/Dominika Zarzycka)
  • Boris Johnson has promised to lead a “people’s government” after winning the Conservatives’ biggest parliamentary majority since 1987.
  • Jeremy Corbyn has announced he will resign after leading Labour into its worst election since 1935.
  • Scotland’s National Party has won most seats in the region and is demanding a second independence referendum. Read more “British Post-Election Analysis and Opinion Blog”

Conservative Landslide in British Election

  • Britain’s ruling Conservative Party is on track to win its biggest parliamentary majority since 1987.
  • The election on Thursday was the worst for Labour since 1935. Jeremy Corbyn has announced he will resign.
  • Scotland’s National Party is expected to win almost all seats in the region and demanding a second independence referendum.
  • The Liberal Democrats fell short of expectations. Party leader Jo Swinson even lost reelection in her own constituency. Read more “Conservative Landslide in British Election”

No Party or Bloc Wins Majority in Spain

  • Neither the left nor the right has won a majority in Spain. Catalan and other regional parties will hold the balance of power in the new Congress.
  • The only options for a majority government are a grand coalition of the center-left Socialists and center-right People’s Party, which has never been tried, or a coalition of left-wing and regional parties.
  • The Socialists remain the largest party, although they are down three seats. This will be a disappointment to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who called the election in hopes of breaking the deadlock in Congress.
  • He is expected to try to form a minority government. Read more “No Party or Bloc Wins Majority in Spain”

Sánchez Wins in Spain But Could Need Separatists for Majority

  • Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez won the election on Sunday with 29 percent support for his center-left Socialist Party.
  • But his alliance with the far-left Podemos does not have a majority, forcing Sánchez to negotiate with parties from the Basque Country and Catalonia.
  • The conservative People’s Party imploded, losing half its votes to the center-right Citizens and the far-right Vox, which enters Congress for the first time. Read more “Sánchez Wins in Spain But Could Need Separatists for Majority”

Rutte Loses Senate Majority, Gains for Dutch Far Right

Aerial view of Dutch government offices and parliament buildings in The Hague
Aerial view of Dutch government offices and parliament buildings in The Hague (Tweede Kamer)
  • Dutch voters elected provincial deputies on Wednesday, who will elect a new Senate in May.
  • The four parties in Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s ruling coalition are projected to lose their majority in the upper chamber.
  • Far-right partied posted their best result to date, taking 21 percent of the votes. Read more “Rutte Loses Senate Majority, Gains for Dutch Far Right”

Theresa May Survives Leadership Challenge from Brexiteers

British prime minister Theresa May attends the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 8, 2017
British prime minister Theresa May attends the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 8, 2017 (The Prime Minister’s Office/Jay Allen)

May’s Brexit Deal Splits Conservative Party

British prime minister Theresa May attends a NATO summit in Brussels, July 11, 2018
British prime minister Theresa May attends a NATO summit in Brussels, July 11, 2018 (Shutterstock/Alexandros Michailidis)
  • Seven members of the British government, including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, have resigned in protest to Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
  • They — and many Conservatives — object to a potentially indefinite “backstop” in the withdrawal agreement that would keep the United Kingdom in a customs union with the EU in order to avoid closing the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Read more “May’s Brexit Deal Splits Conservative Party”