European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso gestures as he gives a press conference in Los Cabos, Baja California, Mexico on June 18, 2012
Transatlantic Friction — The Guardian analyzes a fractious opening day at the G20, in which the E.U. Commission President José Manuel Barroso insisted “the origins of the eurozone crisis lay in the unorthodox policies of American capitalism.” The paper reports that Barroso responded to a Canadian journalist’s question on North American help for Europe by saying: “Frankly, we are not here to receive lessons in terms of democracy or in terms of how to handle the economy.”
One Month On — Following Chen Guangcheng’s flight from China to New York in May, both the New York Times and Washington Post have run interviews with the dissident. He saved his stronger sentiments for the Times, renewing his call for an “honest inquiry” into his years-long detention. He said: “If they don’t open an investigation in a timely manner, I will quickly make my next step. Then the central government will not have an opportunity to be the good guy.”
Marriage of Convenience — Reuters reports Greece’s conservatives are set to form a coalition government with the Socialists, “allowing the two parties that dominated politics for decades to share power despite a major anti-establishment election vote.” An unnamed official told the agency late Monday: “We are going to clinch a deal tomorrow, we will form a government. PASOK will participate more than symbolically… They will participate actively.”
Historic Shift — The New York Times reports on the landmark shift which has seen Asians becoming the largest group of new immigrants to the United States. The shift has been attributed to a decline in Hispanic immigration, resulting in Asians becoming “the latest leading actors in this great American drama.”
A Brutal Future — As the Syrian conflict rages on, Der Spiegel looks into how things could play out in the future. “Fifteen grueling months into the revolution against the country’s dictatorship, an uprising that has become a war, it’s not possible to give a single, unified description of the situation here.” The paper hints at the fact the Syrian people will eventually have to come to terms with the violence that’s been committed in what it calls an “apocalypse.”
Right to Die — Tony Nicklinson, the British man suffering from ‘locked-in syndrome’ following a stroke, is to hear from England’s High Court Tuesday on whether the current law “breaches his human rights by forcing him to stay alive against his wish,” writes the Daily Telegraph. If the court rules in his favor, it would force Parliament to reconsider the legality of assisted suicide.