14/03 – Today’s headlines from across the EU

EUROPEAN HEADLINES

FT Europe – Germany’s right set for big gains as Merkel suffers refugee fallout. AfD on course to beat regional poll forecast. Voter turnout far higher than usual.

WSJE – Car bomb kills 27 in Ankara. Blast is the latest in a string of attacks that have left nearly 200 dead in Turkey.

INYT – ISIS system of rape relies on birth control. Militants are imposing modern methods to sustain medieval code.

BBC Europe – Turkey strikes against Kurdish rebel PKK. Turkey has begun security operations against Kurdish rebels in the country’s south-east and in Iraq. The moves come as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed a crackdown on terror after Sunday’s attack in Ankara that killed at least 36 people.A suspected bomber, who also died in the blast, was a female member of the PKK, sources said.

FRANCE

Le Monde – Paedophilia: the Church in France under investigation. The diocese in Lyon has been shaken for several months by a child abuse scandal involving a priest.

Les Echos – Labour Law: Hollande’s last chance. The Head of State is about to make some concessions in order to have his last major reform adopted by 2017. SMEs fear that the few measures targeting them will disappear.

GERMANY

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) – Green strongest party for the first time in a regional election. Kretschmann wins. Dreyer beats Klöckner. AfD with double digits in all three regions. High turnout.

Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) – Kretschmann wins and the AfD celebrates. The right-wing populists achieve double-digit results in the regional parliamentary elections. Greens in Baden-Württemberg celebrate a historic election victory and SPD is ahead in Rhineland-Palatinate.

ITALY

La Repubblica – Merkel punished in elections: fear of migrants makes the right skyrocket. Germany: 15% for the populists in three Landers. Local governments resisting, CDU and SPD collapsing.

Il Sole 24 Ore – Tax authorities: record increases for taxes on savings. In ten years, taxes on interest and capital gain have increased by 20%.

POLAND

Gazeta Wyborcza – Cutting of trees in Białowieża Forest suspended for now. Two demonstrations were organised on Sunday in Białowieża town – by the opponents and followers of the tree removal project in the Białowieża Forest. The Environment Minister Jan Szyszko argues that felling some trees is necessary.

SPAIN

El País – The PSOE hopes that divisions among Podemos will lead to the party’s abstention. Sánchez thinks Iglesias will not take part in new elections since it means breaking with his allies.

The Times – Merkel left wounded as Germans turn right. The German chancellor was given a bloody nose by voters who flocked to a new anti-immigration party in a backlash against her generous refugee policy.

The Guardian – Trump: don’t blame me for the violence. Donald Trump has refused to take responsibility for an unprecedented weekend of violence and chaos on his campaign trail.