RUTHFULLY YOURS

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called snap general elections for late April, bringing the curtain down early on a short-lived government and pitching Spain into a vote that is likely to produce a fragmented legislature and could showcase the rising strength of a new, hard-right party.
Mr. Sánchez, who heads the only established center-left party running a major European country, invoked snap parliamentary elections for April 28, a year earlier than the current end of the legislature’s scheduled four-year mandate.
The decision followed Mr. Sanchez’s failure Wednesday to secure parliamentary approval of this year’s budget after he lost critical support from Catalan separatist parties.
The April elections, which would mark the third time Spanish voters have gone to the polls in national elections in under four years, could usher in a period of protracted instability, as no obvious parliamentary majority seems set to emerge from the vote. No party enjoys more than about 25% support in current opinion polls.
Indeed, the fragmentation of Spain’s political landscape is such that Vox, a new hard-right party that enjoys about 10% of support in opinion polls, could prove the kingmaker in a new government.
The political situation in Spain reflects a trend across Europe, where legacy parties have faded and new, upstart forces steadily gain strength. The result has been monthslong political haggling in countries such as Germany, Italy and Sweden before governments can be formed. Even then, many administrations are shaky, minority governments that rely on fragile parliamentary coalitions. CONTINUE AT SITE

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13539/religion-free-speech

Courts and government bodies still find it hard to make useful distinctions between gratuitous, racist, or violent speech about Islam and Muslims on the one hand, and reasoned argument that questions aspects of Islam, or even the religion overall, from the point of view of human rights, on the other.

The situation in Europe is even more ambiguous. Most European states have laws that purportedly support free speech, yet accusations of hate speech and Islamophobia often lead to trials and sentencing can lead to imprisonment. This skewing of facts is one crucial reason why free speech needs to be defended.

It is more than ever necessary to educate the public and many of its leaders about both the benign and troubling facts of Islamic history, doctrine, and culture. Those leaders who must require a more solid grounding include the ones who deny that terrorism has genuine links to issues such as jihad warfare — and who are constantly told that “real” Islam is above rebuke.

We must indeed paint a positive picture of what so many Muslims contribute to their host societies. We should, for example, celebrate the way in which Muslim-Americans in Philadelphia launched an appeal that raised over $100,000 to help repair two Jewish cemeteries that had been vandalized. Or the Muslim veteran in Arkansas who volunteered to stand guard with others at any Jewish site that was threatened with attack.

Speaking and writing about Islam today requires discretion, sensitivity, and a good grasp of facts. Doing this is harder in most European countries than it is in the United States, where the First Amendment insists on powerful free speech rights. The need for sensitivity stems from the almost universal condemnation of “Islamophobia”, a mainly good-hearted response to democratic worries that innocent Muslims may be targeted with violence or hate speech, even as many (but far from all) seek to integrate themselves and their families into Western society.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/nigeria-braces-for-outcome-of-rancorous-presidential-showdown-11550226600

KADUNA, Nigeria—The largest election in Africa’s history is already shaping up to be one of its more volatile.

Some 84 million people are registered to vote on Saturday in a presidential race that will determine who controls Africa’s largest economy, top oil producer and an important U.S. counterterrorism ally.

The winner, in a bout between two heavyweights with a decadeslong history in a patronage-based political system, will face sluggish economic growth, entrenched corruption and a dizzying array of security threats.

In one corner is President Muhammadu Buhari, the former military junta leader who returned to power in 2015 elections on a promise to defeat Nigeria’s Islamist insurgency and quell rampant corruption.

In the other, Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president and businessman whose dominance of the logistics sector brought him wealth and decades of graft allegations, is pledging to reinvigorate the country’s moribund economy.

Polls show a race that is too close to call, with Mr. Buhari as the favorite, armed with the advantages of incumbency and a broader base among the more populous Muslim north.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-u-s-negotiators-expected-to-show-progress-on-trade-deal-framework-11550212318

BEIJING—Chinese and U.S. trade negotiators concluded weeklong talks Friday, making some progress toward a broad agreement aimed at defusing the countries’ trade tensions, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The agreement would be in the form of a memorandum of understanding and could serve as the framework for a deal that President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping could later finalize at a summit, the people said. Negotiators on both sides have agreed to continue the talks next week in Washington, according to the people.

During negotiations this week in Beijing, officials on both sides have been seeking to narrow the still-substantial gap between the concessions China is willing to offer and what the Trump administration will accept.

The memorandum in the works is expected to cover issues related to Beijing’s offers to purchase more American goods and services, accelerating China’s market-opening efforts in sectors such as financial services and manufacturing, as well as improving its protection of U.S. intellectual-property rights.

Thornier issues like how to enforce a trade deal are also expected to be included in the memorandum, the people said.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the lead negotiator, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with President Xi on Friday afternoon before returning to Washington. The U.S. delegation is expected to release a statement on the latest negotiations.

Throughout the talks, sharp divisions remained on items such as how Beijing can address U.S. complaints that China pressures U.S. companies to share technology and that its policies favor state-owned companies at the expense of U.S. competitors. CONTINUE AT SITE