Israel’s Claims on Iran Divide Europe and U.S. on Merits of Nuclear Deal
The Trump administration on Tuesday embraced Israel’s claims that Iran entered a nuclear deal with the world’s major powers under false pretenses, a stark divergence from its European allies, who said the disclosures broke little new ground and reinforced the case for the 2015 deal. The administration echoed the claims made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, suggesting he had coordinated it with the White House to set the stage for President Donald Trump’s decision about whether to rip up the agreement. Trump has threatened to scrap the deal as soon as May 12.
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Bots and Trolls Elbow Into Mexico’s Crowded Electoral Field
The message that circulated on social media earlier this year — most Mexicans would have to re-register if they wanted to vote in the presidential election — set off a low-level panic. The thing is, it wasn’t true. There is a lot at stake in the July 1 vote, and fake news has been flowing fast. The campaigns have traded accusations that they have hired paid, online agitators called trolls and used automated programs known as bots to flood social media platforms with messages intended to deceive and manipulate voters.
Britain’s Wedding-Mad Tabloids Feel a Cold Royal Shoulder
For decades, when not effervescing over royal weddings and births, British tabloids have castigated the royal family as lazy, frumpy, dissipated or self-indulgent. The royals have used all the means at their disposal to curtail access to their personal lives. Now, as Prince Harry's May 19 wedding to Meghan Markle promises to be the highlight of the year, Kensington Palace has announced details of the media’s access to the ceremony: There will be almost none. One reporter will be allowed into St. George’s Chapel for the wedding, a palace spokesman said Tuesday.
Denied Power, Armenian Opposition Leader Urges Nationwide Strikes
The governing party in Armenia thwarted the opposition leader’s effort to become prime minister on Tuesday, setting the stage for continued upheaval as street protesters ratchet up their efforts to force the ruling elite to loosen its grip on the country. In an extraordinary session of parliament, the opposition leader, Nikol Pashinyan, urged the majority Republican Party to install him as prime minister, warning that if they did not, they would face a “political tsunami” on the streets. When all but one member of the party voted against him anyway, Pashinyan called for a national strike starting Wednesday.
Wary of Being Left Out, Japan Will Host Chinese and South Korean Leaders
A blistering pace of meetings to discuss the prospects for peace on the Korean Peninsula will continue next week in Tokyo, when Japan hosts a meeting with leaders from China and South Korea. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Tuesday during a visit to Amman, Jordan, that he would host President Moon Jae-in of South Korea and Premier Li Keqiang of China in Tokyo on May 9. The meeting would put Japan back into the diplomatic fray after it had looked increasingly isolated, with the primary discussions about North Korea progressing without it.
Latest Threat to China: Peppa Pig, Countercultural Cartoon Character
First they came for Winnie the Pooh. Now, it appears China’s censors may have their sights on another cuddly cartoon character turned subversive symbol: Peppa Pig. Over the weekend, more than 30,000 videos of the pink-snouted British character abruptly vanished from Douyin, a popular Chinese app that streams short videos, according to the state-owned Global Times newspaper. Douyin, which is owned by the Chinese technology company Bytedance, has not commented on why it decided to ban videos about the children’s cartoon, which is meant for preschoolers but which some teenage fans have adopted as a sign of rebellion.
Divided by Ideology, United in Marriage
Helmut Lethen, 79, and Caroline Sommerfeld, 42, are both writers. They represent two generations and two intellectual camps in an ever more divided Germany. They are political enemies. And they are married. Their marriage is exceptional, incomprehensible even, but it is also a laboratory for tolerance and a window into how the other side thinks. So far-reaching are their ideological differences that they seem impossible to reconcile with a relationship that began when Sommerfeld was a university student in Lethen’s seminar. After sharing a bed for two decades and bringing up their three sons, they are still talking.