• After months of internal debate, British Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn embraced a “soft Brexit” policy in endorsing a “customs union” with the European Union. The announcement was applauded by mainstream business leaders, while Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May has been indecisive in laying out terms for Brexit with European leaders. (“May Gets Down to Business on Brexit,” BBC, March 2, 2018)
• The murder of Slovakian journalist Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend has set off a crisis for Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was linked to organized crime in Kuciak’s last article, published after his death. Links between an Italian crime gang and members of the Prime Ministe’s ruling party forced several to resign.
(“‘They Can’t Kill Us All’: Slovakian Journalists Defiant after Murders,” The Guardian, March 2, 2018; “Slovakian Journalism’s Darkest Days,” Politico, Feb. 28, 2018)
• In submitting a bid to become home to Amazon’s second U.S. headquarters, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel trumpeted his city’s mass transit system and infrastructure investments to lure the giant online retailer. Yet the mayor’s pledge to spend $450 million in new transit projects could exacerbate existing transit disparities for people of color in Chicago. At the same time, the state of Illinois is slashing subsidies to the Chicago Transit Authority. To address the short-term deficit, city officials hiked CTA fares 25 cents in January, a move advocates say will likely hurt already-dwindling ridership.
(“Amazon’s Race to the Bottom Puts Chicago Transit at Risk,” American Prospect, Feb. 22, 2018)
