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RESETTLEMENT is one of the thorniest problems caused by the surge of migrants in Europe. Politicians and pundits frequently debate how to integrate newcomers, and how well they will cope thereafter. If the progress of the continent’s Roma population is anything to go by, the new arrivals could be bound for a destitute existence. A new survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) paints a grim picture of living conditions for the continent’s largest ethnic minority.

Overall, 17% of residents of EU countries are at risk of poverty. According to the FRA, among Roma that share is 80%.

AMERICA’S technology sector celebrated when Barack Obama was first elected president in 2008. Mr Obama, who made savvy use of the internet during his campaign, brought a detailed technology agenda to the White House. He earned the support of industry heavyweights like Eric Schmidt, Google’s CEO, and Chris Hughes, a Facebook co-founder, and promised to appoint the country’s first chief technology officer.

Silicon Valley’s relationship with president-elect Donald Trump is a good deal less cosy.

FIDEL CASTRO has died, aged 90. He ruled Cuba for 47 years, ceding power to his brother Raúl in 2006 before officially resigning in 2008. Revered on the anti-imperialist left, the Communist revolutionary survived numerous American assassination attempts and ten presidents. His rule was notable for world-class health care and education, political repression—and marathon speeches, including a record four hours 29 minutes at the UN.

Further reading
Obituary: The life and times of Fidel Castro
The transition to a post-communist Cuba will now begin in earnest
The mood in Havana

BREXIT in June, then Trump in November and next year the threat of Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s Eurosceptic party. Populism has rarely been so popular, and Western democratic and international institutions look increasingly fragile. A recent survey of 25 countries by Ipsos MORI, a pollster, reveals the widespread discontent on which populists have preyed. In Britain and America 60% and 63% of respondents said their country was on the wrong track. In perpetually disgruntled France, that figure is a whopping 89%.

The underlying causes of this dissatisfaction vary by country.

MEASURING sea ice is difficult. Not only does it appear in the most remote, inhospitable parts of the world, it is constantly either melting or forming. Since 1979, satellites have made the job easier, but they can give a misleading picture. Using satellite images to tot up the total area of sea ice risks mistaking surface melt for open water during the summer melting season. Scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Colorado instead measure sea-ice extent by dividing the images into grids and counting any squares with more than 15% ice concentration as “ice covered”.

TWENTY-NINE years ago another American politician—Ronald Reagan—also sought to “make America great again”. He stood in front of the Brandenburg Gate in what was then West Berlin and implored his Soviet counterpart, Mikhail Gorbachev, to knock down the Berlin Wall. Mr Reagan proclaimed that the West was ready to “promote true openness, to tear down barriers that separate people, to create a safe, freer world”. Today Donald Trump is the politician most associated with the desire to make America great again—and he thinks the way to do so is to build walls.

Europe’s economies CurrencyEconomyGDP per personUnemploymentYouth unemploymentDebtPublic debtBudget balancePrimary balanceGrowthLatest GDP change2017 GDP forecast2018 GDP forecast Source: The Economist Source: Eurostat Source: Eurostat *15- to 24-year-olds Source: Eurostat Source: European Commission Source: European Commission Source: European Commission *Q3 2016 or latest Source: Eurostat Source: European Commission Source: European Commission

Our interactive overview of European GDP, debt and jobs

THE economy of the 19-country-strong euro area has expanded at a moderate pace during the first three quarters of 2016. In the first three months of 2015, quarterly growth reached as high as a (still modest) 0.8%; that rate slackened to 0.5% in the first quarter of 2016 and sits at 0.4% over the past year.

The slowdown suggests that Europe is still struggling to break out of its post-euro-crisis doldrums. Political uncertainty, slower economic performance outside the EU and weak global trade continue to weigh on growth. The fillip of cheap energy caused by the collapse of oil prices—which boosted consumer spending in much the same way as a tax cut—has largely come to an end. And while headline unemployment figures have been declining, plenty of slack remains in the labour market, raising questions about the strength of the recovery. The European Central Bank’s programme of quantitative easing–creating money to buy financial assets–is set to carry on until March 2017, and may continue beyond that date if inflation remains low. 

Overall the outlook for growth in 2017 is highly uncertain. Britain’s looming departure from the EU will likely be the largest source of volatility. Protectionist trade policies by the United States under incoming president Donald Trump could also have a chilling effect on European economic growth.

Our interactive graphic (updated November 16th 2016) enables readers to inspect the health of European economies (including the nine member states of the European Union that do not belong to the euro) in a variety of ways, including data on jobs and public finances as well as GDP.