Must reads for June 11: What will Spain’s bailout really achieve? Who killed Li Wangyang? And will any of Mexico’s presidential hopefuls solve the country’s bloody narco crisis?
Spain
You Say Tomato, I Say Bailout: How Spain Agreed to Be Rescued
Knowing how bailouts doomed the governments of other countries, Spain insists it has accepted a massive “loan” to recapitalize its banks. Others, however, are calling it as they see it
Euro Crisis: Spain Inches Closer to a Bank Bailout
After declaring that there would be ‘no bank bailout’ in his country, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy looks set to ask the E.U. for financial assistance for Spain’s beleaguered banks.
What’s Behind La Roja: The Politics and Poetry of Spanish Soccer
As Euro 2012 kicks off in Ukraine and Poland, Jimmy Burns, award-winning journalist and author of La Roja, a history of Spanish football, talks with TIME about Spain’s football past and the prospects of an even more glorious future.
Spain Doesn’t Want a Bailout — Just Send Money. Now!
Hesitant to apply more austerity, the fourth largest economy in the E.U. could get what it wants — direct injection of funds into its banks, not a bailout. It may just be too big to fail
Amid Economic Crisis, Spain Ponders Taxing Catholic Church Property
A concordat with the Vatican has exempted the church from taxation but towns and cities are looking for loopholes to get at funding during austere times
Must-Reads from Around the World: June 5, 2012
High Stakes — The Guardian reports that Germany is weighing up a plan for a eurozone banking union to end the debt crisis, as Spain pleads for an E.U. rescue of its beleaguered banks. “The plan could see vast national debt and …
Must-Reads from Around the World: June 4, 2012
Pivot Watch — Following U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta‘s weekend visit to the Asia Security Summit in Singapore, China’s Global Times analyses America’s shift to an enlarged military presence in the region. Their take: …
Must-Reads From Around the World: June 1, 2012
Blame, Banks, and Bailouts – As it emerges that Spain’s foundering banks may soon need a bailout, the New York Times argues that the cost of this rescue would leave “little behind should investors turn on Italy next” and …
The Pain in Spain: A Banking Scandal Makes the Crisis No Joke
Spaniards have been trying to deal with their economic problems with a good measure of black humor. The mood, however, has gone from black to bad with the Bankia revelations
Must-Reads From Around the World, May 28, 2012
Syrian Massacre – The U.N. Security Council on Sunday condemned Bashar al-Assad’s government for its use of tanks and artillery against civilians during Friday’s Houla massacre that left at least 108 villagers dead. …
Must-Reads from Around the World, May 23, 2012
After Winning the French Presidency, What Will François Hollande Do Next?
Though it’s an obvious cliché (and one that has already been used here in a related story last autumn), winning the Elysée may have been the easy part for French president-elect François Hollande. Given the severity of the …