#GERMANY: Alt. For Germany Party Leader Takes Merkel To Task For Treatment Of UK During Brexit

[world politics news]

Alice Weidel, the leader of the Alternative For Germany Party, delivered a scathing attack on Angela Merkel during a session of the Bundestag after the Chancellor threatened to punish Britain over Brexit. Express. The parliamentary speech also tore into Merkel for using taxpayer money to fund her "failed" EU project. Weidel slammed Merkel for her treatment of Britain and ordered her to stop sending threats to the country to punish Brexit.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#CHINA: Pres. Xi's Plans To Extend Term Indefinitely Spark Fears Of Dictatorship

[world politics news]

Xi Jinping, China’s most powerful leader for decades, could stay in office indefinitely after the Communist Party called for the removal of presidential term limits, raising fears that he could be elevated to the level of a modern-day emperor, and sparking protests on social media. Xi, who is also party chief and seen as the country’s most formidable ruler since Mao Zedong, has been president since 2013 and the 64-year-old leader would have to step down in 2023 under the current system.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#RUSSIA: Thousands March In Moscow To Commemorate Assassination Of Opposition Leader

[world politics news]

Thousands marched through central Moscow on Sunday to commemorate murdered Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, calling for President Vladimir Putin to be ousted just three weeks before a presidential election. Nemtsov, one of Putin’s most vocal critics, was shot dead on Feb. 27, 2015 as he walked across a bridge near the Kremlin.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#ISRAEL: Angry Church Leaders Close Shrine Of The Holy Sepulchre In Jerusalem

[world politics news]

Stepping up protest against Israel, angry church leaders closed the Church of The Holy Sepulchre, a
Christian holy site in Jerusalem. They were upset about a Knesset bill restricting sales of church land and Jerusalem's move to charge millions of shekels in disputed back taxes.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#GERMANY: Huge Budget Surplus Could Trigger Spending Spree On Elderly, Education

[world politics news]

Germany recorded record budget surplus of €36.6 billion last year, lower than estimated but still at record levels. The extra cash amounted is about 1.1 percent of Germany's €3.26-trillion Gross Domestic Product. Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and prospective junior partners the Social Democratic Party have planned to loosen the purse strings over the coming four years - as long as SPD members approve their coalition deal in an internal referendum.

The world bank estimates that Germany spends just 1.6% of its GDP on defense spending, allowing it to spend far more on "butter" than worry about spending for guns. Germany relies on the nuclear umbrella of the United States and NATO, and can therefore spend far less for their military, and more on social welfare spending.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#CANADA: PM Trudeau's "Unusual" 8-Day India Trip Criticized By Indian Officials, Canadian Watchdog Group

[world politics news]

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues his eight-day visit to India, the fact that his schedule includes just half-a-day of official engagements in New Delhi is being described as “unusual” by veteran diplomats and criticized by a Canadian watchdog group.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#UK: PM May Prepares To Call For Cheaper Tuition For Students

[world politics news]

The prime minister today is set to call for better value for students in England who face "one of the most expensive systems of university tuition in the world." Theresa May will announce an independent review of fees and student finance on Monday. She will also argue for an end to "outdated attitudes" that favor university over technical education.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#ICELAND: Proposal To Ban Circumcision Rite Has Jewish Groups Raising Religious Freedom Concerns

[world politics news]

Jewish groups have strongly criticized a move by five different groups in the Icelandic parliament parliament to ban circumcision. They have warned the proposed ban would make Iceland one of the only countries in the world 'to ban one of the most central, if not the most central rite in the Jewish tradition in modern times.' The proposal to prohibit circumcision  has been put forward by Progressive Party MP Silja Dogg Gunnarsdottir and is backed by several other Icelandic politicians.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#INDIA: PM Modi Backs An Independent Palestine During Historic Ramallah Visit

[world politics news]

Indian PM Narendra Modi is visiting the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on a landmark visit - the first ever by an Indian prime minister. After holding talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Modi said India hoped to see an independent Palestinian state through dialogue.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#ISRAEL: Police Recommend Charging PM Netanyahu On 2 Counts Of Bribery

[world politics news]

Israeli police say there is sufficient evidence indicating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took bribes in two separate occasions, and acted, "against the public interest."

[FULL STORY HERE]

#AUSTRALIA: Deputy PM "On Leave" Following Revelation Of Affair With Aide; PM To Revamp Ethics Code

[world politics news]

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will act to prohibit sex between ministers and their staff, after it was revealed his deputy Prime Minister had an affair with a former staffer. In a press briefing, he condemned Barnaby Joyce for a "shocking error of judgement"and said Joyce will take a leave of absence this week amid scrutiny over whether he breached ministerial standards. While no rules were broken, Turnbull said he would overhaul the "truly deficient" ministerial code of conduct.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#THENETHERLANDS: Foreign Min. Resigns After Lie About Putin Meeting Is Revealed

[world politics news]

The Dutch foreign minister has stepped down after admitting he lied about being in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Halbe Zijlstra announced his decision tearfully in parliament, after MPs had summoned him to explain himself. During his campaign for the March 2017 election, Mr Zijlstra claimed he had personally heard Mr Putin speak of creating a "Greater Russia" in 2006.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#SOUTHAFRICA: Jacob Zuma Resigns As President, Leaving Behind Legacy Of Corruption

[world politics news]

In a momentous and historic day in South African politics, scandal-plagued President Jacob Zuma resigned after days of defying orders from the ruling African National Congress to leave office and on the eve of a no-confidence vote in parliament. In a televised address to the nation late on Wednesday, the 75-year-old said he was a disciplined member of the ANC, to which he had dedicated his life. His tenure has been marred by economic decline and multiple charges of graft that have undermined the image and legitimacy of the party that led South Africans to freedom in 1994.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#THEPHILIPPINES: Pres. Duterte Suggests Shooting Rebel Women In the Genitalia

[world politics news]

Human rights organizations are blasting Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's latest comments, in which he suggests his troops shoot female rebels in the vagina to render them "useless."

[FULL STORY HERE]

#SOUTHAFRICA: Pres. Zuma Ordered To Resign By His Own Party; His Refusal Is Causing A Crisis

[world politics news]

South Africa has been pitched into an unprecedented political crisis after the ruling ANC party admitted that President Jacob Zuma had defied its orders to resign, and that it had little idea of when the 75-year-old head of state would respond to its demand to leave office (although, as of Tuesday night, Zuma said he would hold a press conference at 10 am local time on Wednesday.) The decision to tell the corruption-stained Zuma to stand down was taken at an emergency session of the highest decision-making body of the African National Congress near Pretoria, the administrative capital.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#NORWAY: Far-Left Parliamentarian Nominates Anti-Israel Boycott Movement For Nobel Prize

[world politics news]

The leader of Norway's Red Party has nominated the BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) movement for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. The group, which campaigns for a global boycott of Israel until it withdraws from Palestinian territories, was nominated for the prize by Bjørnar Moxnes, leader of Norway’s far-left Red Party. Any minister or member of parliament around the world can nominate an individual or active organisation for the Nobel Peace Prize. The BDS movement has enjoyed support among many European political activists and parties, as well as from the American political Left.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#EU: Chief Brexit Negotiator Warns UK That Northern Ireland Border Checks May Be "Unavoidable"

[world politics news]

The UK faces “unavoidable” checks at the Northern Irish border if it decides to leave the EU’s single market and customs union, the European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier warned, after the latest round of talks on the UK’s withdrawal from the bloc ended last week. The future of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland remains one of the most vexed questions in the Brexit process.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#JAPAN: Abe's Party Favors Inclusion Of Self-Defense Forces In Post-War Constitution's Article 9

[world politics news]

Members of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party favor a re-wording of Article 9, the constitutional provision barring Japan from having an offensive military capability, to explicitly allow the nation's Self-Defense Forces. Currently, a lack of recognition in the Constitution puts restrictions on what the de-facto military force can do within the borders and waters of Japan.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#GERMANY: SPD Party Leader Schulz Abandons Effort To Be Merkel's Foreign Min. After Party Opposition

[world politics news]

Germany's embattled center-left leader Martin Schulz said Friday he would abandon a bid to become foreign minister in a new coalition government with Chancellor Angela Merkel, after massive resistance from his own party. "I hereby renounce joining the federal government and at the same time implore that this should be an end to debates about personalities" within the Social Democratic Party, Schulz said in a statement. "My own personal ambitions must be placed behind the interests of the party."

[FULL STORY HERE]

#EGYPT: New Round Of Talks To Begin On Controversial Ethiopian Nile Dam

[world politics news]

Preparations are underway for the resumption of talks between negotiators from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to examine the fate of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a mega-dam that Ethiopia is currently building on the River Nile that Egypt's government believes disadvantages Egypt’s water needs.  A one-month deadline has been set for laying out ways to break the deadlock on the negotiations, which could restart as early as next week depending on the agendas of each delegation.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#BERMUDA: First Nation In The World To Repeal Same-Sex Marriage

[world politics news]

Bermuda has become the first country to legalize and then repeal same-sex marriage, in what critics have called an unprecedented rollback of civil rights by the British island territory. Bermuda’s governor has signed into law a bill reversing the right of gay couples to marry, despite a supreme court ruling last year authorizing same-sex marriage. Gay couples can now only seek domestic partnerships.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#THENETHERLANDS: Dutch Won't Appoint New Ambassador To Turkey, Citing "No Progress" On Diplomatic Rift

[world politics news]

Citing "no progress" on a long-term diplomatic rift, the Dutch government has decided to officially withdraw the Netherlands' Ambassador from Turkey. The Netherlands will not issue permission for a new Turkish ambassador to take up duties in the Netherlands, added the Dutch ministry. The two nations have not exchanged ambassadors since last March, when tensions rose after Turkish government officials were barred from attending rallies in Rotterdam during a Turkish referendum on constitutional amendments to expand the Turkish president's powers.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#EGYPT: Seven Opposition Parties Say They Will Boycott Next Month's Presidential Election

[world politics news]

Seven opposition parties have decided not to take part in next month’s presidential elections, citing a “tight timetable did not give competitors a real chance to present themselves and their programs." Comprised of seven leftist and liberal parties and 150 political figures, the Democratic Civil Movement was founded in December of last year to define a unified stance regarding the presidential polls. Pres. Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, who has been in office since 2014, announced on 19 January his intention to run for a second four-year term. Al-Sisi’s sole rival is Moussa Mustafa Moussa, chairman of the little known Ghad Party.

[FULL STORY HERE]

Pictured: Hamdeen Sabahi,former presidential candidate and a prominent member of the Democratic Civil Movement. 

#AUSTRALIA: PM Turnbull Says It's Unlikely Nation Will Ever Adopt A New Flag

[world politics news]

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, once a campaigner for a new Australian flag, says it is unlikely to ever shift from the current design. Turnbull predicted the flag, which was first flown in 1901, would be flying over Parliament House "long after all of us have shuffled off the stage of history" and said younger people regarded it as an Australian symbol without focusing on the Union Jack in the upper left corner.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#IRELAND: Taoiseach Varadkar Polling High At 60% In Latest IPSOS Survey

[world politics news]

The soaring satisfaction rating of Taoiseach [President] Leo Varadkar, in a Times/Ipsos MRBI poll, is evidence of the dramatic impact he has had on Irish politics since his accession to the leadership last summer. Varadkar is polling at 60%, far higher than his predecessor had ever polled, and his party, Fine Gael, is polling well, too, at  34%, ahead of its closest rival, Fianna Fáil, which is at 25%.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#CROATIA: EU Press Freedom Team Make Return Visit Amid Concerns With Croatia's Media

[world politics news]

The issue of media freedom in Croatia has earned the EU’s newest member the dubious honour of being visited twice in as many years by a team of press freedom organisation representatives. Upon return, they said the situation has improved but serious concerns remain. The country has fallen ten places in the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index since joining the bloc in 2013 and it now ranks 74th on the list.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#AUSTRIA: Chancellor Kurz Stands With Hungarian PM Against EU Immigration Quotas

[world politics news]

The EU migrant redistribution scheme "isn't working," Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has said while welcoming Hungary's Viktor Orban in Vienna. The two leaders called for opposition to illegal migration to Europe. At the same time,  Austria should work to ease tensions between western and the eastern EU members, Kurz said in Vienna at a joint press conference.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#EGYPT: Former Military Chief Of Staff's Presidential Campaign Announcement Doesn't Impress Many

[world politics news]

The quiet announcement - made by a small, largely unknown political party - that former military chief of staff Sami Anan would run for president this year, caused little stir in the press, and raised suspicion that his was a stealth candidacy. While Pres. Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi who has yet to officially announce he will be a candidate in the March election, it's seen as an almost foregone conclusion he will win re-election.

[FULL STORY HERE]