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Leftist Lopez Obrador favorite as Mexico votes for new president Mexicans are lining up to vote for a new president in an election that is expected to hand over power to an anti-establishment outsider. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor, has maintained a commanding lead in opinion polls throughout a campaign marred by more than 100 murders of politicians by suspected drug gangs More than 3,000 offices are up for grabs, including 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, 128 in the Senate and eight governorships.Lopez Obrador faces a challenge from Former Chamber of Deputies president Ricardo Anaya, who is seeking to appeal to young voters — about 40 percent of the electorate.Five-time minister Jose Antonio Meade is the candidate for outgoing President Enrique Pena Nietoʼs Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).Corruption and a steep rise in murders by the countryʼs powerful drug cartels are the main issues among voters.More than 88 million people are eligible to vote in what are Mexicoʼs biggest-ever elections.
Egypt refuses EU call for migrant reception centers Egypt and four other countries have said they will refuse to host migrants aiming for the European Union. The "reception centers" are part a broader plan to more evenly distribute asylum seekers in Europe. Egypt said on Sunday that it will not build refugee camps for migrants deported from the European Union if asked. The announcement came after details ofa new EU-wide migration dealrevealed that bloc leaders will seek to build centers for asylum seekers in "partner countries" in the Middle East and Africa. "EU reception facilities for migrants in Egypt would violate the laws and constitution of our country," Egyptian Speaker of the House of Representatives Ali Abdel Aal, to Germanyʼs Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
148/2018 • 02 JULY, 2018
The EUʼs new power broker? Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz:
Austria takes over the EU Council presidency on July 1. Its conservative new leader Sebastian Kurz sees himself above all as a gatekeeper, with migration at the top of the agenda for his countryʼs mandate. The dispute overa common EU migration policyis far from resolved. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkelʼs coalition has been teetering on the brink of collapse over the issue. The Visegrad countries continue to stoke tensions with fellow member states, while Italy has just sealed its ports in an effort to deter vessels of rescued migrants. While the EU summit unanimously agreed to do more protect its external borders, the problem of how to distribute migrants within the blocwent unsolved in Brussels on Friday. The question mark continues to weigh heavily on the bloc just days before Austria takes the reigns of the EU Council presidency. Witha right-wing populist chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, at its helm, the bloc is about to be led by a country whose policies on migration in recent years have shown little willingness to compromise. In 2017, Kurz and his conservative ÖVP (Austrian Peopleʼs Party) formed a government in a coalition in Vienna with the far-right FPÖ (Freedom Party of Austria). He was serving as foreign minister at the peak the refugee crisis in 2015, and has credited himself with having
curbed migration via the Balkan route into the into the EU. "I think people are justifiably fed up of hearing migration talked about at the EU level, but not seeing anything happen in practice," said Kurz a few days ahead of his countryʼs ascendence to the EU Council presidency in Brussels. The six-month Austrian tenure will be governed under the motto "A Europe that protects." In line with the slogan, Kurz is emphasizing his agenda to reduce immigration into Europe via all routes.The recent decision by the EU to establish camps for migrants in North Africais, in Kurzʼs view, a positive development. Kurz lauded the blocʼs shift in policy: "It wasnʼt like that in 2015. Now we are seeing action, and itʼs heading in the right direction." Austria is committed to improving the protection of the EUʼs external borders, and a massive expansion of the EU border protection agency Frontexis on the agenda. Aspirations to expand Frontex are not new to EU policy. The EU Commission had beat Austria to it with a proposal set out at the previous summit of bulking up the agency with a further 10,000 personnel by 2020. B
US-Mexico border scandals sink bilateral ties to historic low "Even for building a wall you need Mexican workers," Mexicoʼs richest man and entrepreneur Carlos Slim said when US President Donald Trump took office in Washington. This seemingly relaxed attitude, the belief that many of Trumpʼs campaign promises wouldnʼt turn out that bad, has completely dissipated in Mexico by now. Trump has ceaselessly humiliated the USʼs southern neighbor not just during his campaign, but also during his first year in office.The building of a wall along the Mexican borderto keep out illegal immigrants and curtail the drug trade is one of Trumpʼs most important campaign promises. "Even before his victory, Trump accused Mexico of sending criminals, rapists and drug dealers to the US, and he has stuck with this position," Washington-based Mexican journalist Gregorio Meraz tells DW.
Iran announces plan to circumvent US oil sanctions Iran announced on Sunday that it would permit private companies to export crude oil as Tehran attempts to thwart US sanctions against the country’s oil industry. Iran also urgedfellow OPEC nations, including rival Saudi Arabia, to stick toan agreement made last monthto collectively boost output. "We want to defeat America’s efforts…to stop Iran’s oil exports," said First Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri in a televised statement. "The Iranian government has a plan."
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