Where does this leave substantive democracy? The game-changing Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership was barely discussed in many countries. Could the Eurosceptic surge be an opportunity to renew the EU’s relationship with citizens? Perhaps we need to move beyond any fixed ‘idea’ of Europe. Meanwhile, civil society may have grown, but its influence has not.

A dispatch from the Ukraine frontline reveals a country thatdoes not think with one mind. Abkhazia has been influenced, with renewed debates on Russia and street protests. It’s time to reassess the illusion of progress since the fall of the USSR. Meanwhile, Poland is divided by the death of communist strongman Wojciech Jaruzelski.

Mobile technology has created a new global digital divide. It has also allowed PM Modi to win India’s voters with an unprecedentedly tech-savvy campaign. In North East India, we learn how conflict reportage could help deliver peace. Meanwhile, the social media campaign against Boko Haram is being fitted into ‘war on terror’ strategy. In Russia, journalists get secret medals for coverage of Crimea. Independent media is crucial, which is why we ask you to fund OurKingdom’s coverage of the Scottish referendum.

El-Sisi is Egypt’s new PM, but his tainted legitimacy will haunt him. It’s unlikely he will uphold the full rights of Copts. In Turkey, the Soma mining disaster shines a light on a class left behind. The Pope’s visit to Israel makes history, while the state responds to African non-Jewish immigrants by stopping the influx of refugees.

We discover the good thing about having a disability, and why‘bringing sexy back’ can help combat HIV. 50.50 looks back at the murder of lawyer Rashid Rehman for defending a man accused of blasphemy. In Sudan, a young mother faces hanging on charges of apostasy, while the UK has made some radical rulings on those in danger from blasphemy laws.

Also don’t miss: subsidies for Britain’s gun-toting elite, what next for China after its ‘largest factory’ went on strike, and a reminder that it is five years since the kidnap of three Syrianswho dedicated their lives to the revolution.


Links not to miss:

• The most important interview you’ll see this summer: NBC News’ Brian Williams talks to Ed Snowden

• An outsider’s guide to the City of London, The Guardian

• Greece stuck in the long tunnel of transition, Macropolis

• Egyptians protest after Sisi election victory (video), Al Jazeera

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