Emergency EU summit, Denmark elections, the ‘dark web’ myth

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

Enough failed talks. The EU has called an emergency summit of eurozone leaders for Monday. “It is time to urgently discuss the situation of Greece at the highest political level,” said Donald Tusk, president of the European Council. First though, Alex Tsipras has headed over to Russia, to meet another man who has tested EU patience.

Their country may be on the road to an “uncontrollable crisis”, as its central bank says, but the Greek youth gathered outside parliament want their defiant prime minister to hold firm,whatever the cost. Matthew Klein looks at just what that might be.

German chancellor Angela Merkel may be prepared to see Athens leave the euro but Philip Stephens argues there is one big reason she should hold on to Greece – Germany’s European mission.

Here are the other meetings and deadlines coming up. You can keep track of what’s happened here. (FT)

In the news

Charleston shooting Barack Obama said the country must address gun violence after a white gunman killed nine people at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina. “At some point we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries…with this kind of frequency.” The comments came as authorities apprehended 21-year-old suspect Dylann Storm Roof after an overnight manhunt. (FT, NYT)

Downsize me Looks like the shifting American appetite is catching up with McDonald’s which, for the first time in its 60-year history, will close more stores in its home market than it will open. (FT)

Fitbit wears it well The maker of fitness trackers secured a valuation above $6bn in its public debut – its shares soared 52 per cent to $30.40 in the first few minutes of trading. This premium rating might seem justified now, says Lex, but Fitbit is likely to face the same challenges that GPS device maker Garmin has struggled with, including competition from cheaper devices. (FT)

Populist success in Denmark The centre right opposition won by one seat over the ruling Social Democrat coalition with the populist, anti-immigration Danish People’s party making big gains to become the second-biggest party. If the DPP enters into a centre-right coalition, Denmark would be the third Nordic country to have a populist party in power. (FT)

Pope attacks business leaders and politicians His encyclical criticises multinational companies and excessive consumption for threatening the environment. “The idea of infinite or unlimited growth, which proves so attractive to economists, financiers and experts in technology… is based on the lie that there is an infinite supply of the earth’s goods”. (FT)

It’s a big day for

Paid-for editorial content The UK Competition & Markets Authority will start investigating companies to determine whether consumers are aware of the commercial nature of paid-for content on blogs. The CMA has been looking into the £23bn advertorial content industry and has found that “a number of large companies and media agencies” want it to look like – well, not paid-for content. (FT)

Food for thought

On Charleston Jamelle Bouie looks at the deadly history of whites accusing black people of“raping our women” and the significance of the site of the shooting, Emanuel AME Church, a nearly 200-year-old monument to black resistance to slavery and racism. Meanwhile, Jelani Cobb says in Charleston “the existential question of who is black has been answered in the most concussive and horrific way possible“. (Slate, New Yorker)

The ‘dark web’ myth The collapse of Silk Road may have brought it into the mainstream, but this hidden part of the internet is not what you think it is . “You’ll be told that it is home to several nefarious things, stolen data, terrorist sites, and child porn. Now while those things may be among what’s available on the dark web, all also are available on the normal web, and are easily accessible to anyone, right now, without the need for any fancy encryption software.” (Wired)

Dear Tim Hunt A molecular biologist responds to the Nobel laureate’s comments about the “trouble with girls”, by explaining what it means to be a ‘girl’ in the lab. “Twenty-first-century science has a great deal in common with the medieval apprentice system.” (NYT)

David Cameron’s migration question The prime minister’s idea to cut EU migration to the UK by revoking new migrants’ rights to benefits and tax credits even when they have a job, is proving to be a hard sell across Europe. (FT)

Video of the day

Osborne: from tactics to vision Lionel Barber and Janan Ganesh discuss the transformation of George Osborne, UK chancellor, from the “dangerously pragmatic” to a politician who has “if not an ideology, then preoccupation with his tangible legacy”. (FT)

This article is published in collaboration with The Financial Times. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: FirstFT is the Financial Times’ editors curated free daily email of the top global stories from the FT and the best of the rest of the web.

Image: Flags of European Union member states fly in front of the European Parliament building in Strasbourg. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler