EUROPEAN HEADLINES
FT – Pledge to speed up reforms as India grows confident of overtaking China. Finance minister forecasts 8% annual growth. “Strategic” privatisations to go ahead.
WJSE – US growth hiccups vex Fed yet again. A slew of recent soft economic data has fuelled fresh expectations of dimmer US growth, underscoring the already-anaemic economy’s unusual vulnerability to even fleeting shocks.
INYT – Boko Haram’s strategy of sexual terror. Hundreds of female captives of Boko Haram have been raped, many repeatedly, in what officials and relief workers describe as a deliberate strategy to dominate rural residents and possibly even create a new generation of Islamist militants in Nigeria.
BALTIC STATES
Baltic Times – Imports of Lithuanian gas soar as Estonia reduces reliance on Gazprom. In April, imports of natural gas to Estonia reached 41 million cubic metres, of which 27% was imported from Lithuania, Estonia’s main grid company Elering announced.
FRANCE
Le Monde – Mistral: France and Russia in search for an agreement. Paris makes a proposal to Moscow to reimburse the Mistral helicopter carriers it refuses to deliver.
Les Echos – A trial week for Valls’ government. Call for a national strike in education sector and Paris hospitals. The social dialogue reform will be discussed at the National Assembly. The government’s policy will be debated before the annual congress of the Socialist Party.
GERMANY
Frankfurter Allgemeine – ISIS-fighters pushed back in Palmyra. The world cultural heritage still at risk. US special envoy in Moscow.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung – Government fuelling doubts about tariff agreement. Contrary to previous affirmations, the Federal Ministry of Labour acknowledges for the first time that the new rules restrict the right to strike – which is a possible violation to the Constitution.
ITALY
La Repubblica – Matteo Renzi: “I will give EUR 500 back to 4 million pensioners.” In response to a decision of the Constitutional Court which condemned the government for not indexing pensions in 2012, the PM promised a bonus to retirees.
Il Sole 24 Ore – The increase in local taxes brings an extra EUR 16 billion in income tax. The combined effect of tax increases will bring an additional EUR 16 billion in income tax, but the consequences for taxpayers change dramatically from one region to another.
POLAND
Gazeta Wyborcza – Komorowski – Duda 1:0. The incumbent President of Poland Bronisław Komorowski won a presidential debate held yesterday on TVP1 television channel with the PiS party’s candidate Andrzej Duda. “If you want a State that sees conspiracy and plots everywhere and wants to send people to prison, then you should cast your votes on Andrzej Duda,” said President Komorowski.
SPAIN
El Pais – New elections in Andalusia would harm the PP party. The PSOE group would win the elections once again, increasing its advance. Ciudadanos getting stronger.
Expansion – RIU, Mélia, Iberostar and Barcelo assault the Caribbean. Spanish companies raise their investments in the region, in which they have a total of 222 hotels and 92,800 rooms.
UK
The Times – Union holds Labour over to ransom over leadership. Party must champion workers, says Unite chief.
The Guardian – EU exit may be in UK interest, says top firm. Better out than in unless bureaucracy can be cut, says leading manufacturer.
