#COSTARICA: Supreme Court Overturns Gay Marriage Ban

[world politics news]

Costa Rica's Supreme Court has ruled that the country's same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional and discriminatory.

The court ruling gives the country's legislators a time limit of 18 months to change the current law.

The president welcomed the ruling, saying he wants to guarantee "no person will face discrimination for their sexual orientation".

However many lawmakers are evangelicals who strongly oppose gay marriage.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#JAPAN: Gov't Ends State Of Emergency

[world politics news] 

Japan this  week declared at least a temporary victory in its battle with COVID-19, and it triumphed by following its own playbook. It drove down the number of daily new cases to near target levels of 0.5 per 100,000 people with voluntary and not very restrictive social distancing and without large-scale testing.

Instead, the country focused on finding clusters of infections and attacking the underlying causes, which often proved to be overcrowded gathering spots such as gyms and nightclubs.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#CHINA: Parliament Approves Restrictive Hong Kong Security Law

[world politics news] 

China's parliament has backed security legislation for Hong Kong which would make it a crime to undermine Beijing's authority in the territory.

The resolution - which now passes to China's senior leadership - has caused deep concern among those who say it could end Hong Kong's unique status and political freedoms. 

It could also see China installing its own security agencies in the region for the first time.

The move has already sparked a new wave of anti-mainland protest.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#UK: Journalist Threatens Conservative MP For Defending Cabinet Member

[world politics news]

A podcaster who writes for two major British newspapers has tweeted his desire to physically attack a Conservative MP in front of his children.

Andy Dawson, who writes for left-leaning newspapers the Guardian and the Mirror and also co-hosts a podcast called Athletico Mince, was responding to a tweet by Sarah Vine, wife of Michael Gove MP.

Gove was on TV defending Dominic Cummings, who has come under fire for taking a 260-mile trip during the lockdown to bring his family to the countryside.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HONGKONG: Gov't Dismisses Concerns Over New Security Law

[world politics news]

Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam has said other countries "have no place" interfering in the territory, as she robustly defended a controversial national security law planned by China.

The law would ban treason, secession, sedition and subversion. Critics say it would limit the city's freedoms. Many fear it would be the end of the "One Nation, Two Systems" arrangement made between the city-state and the Communist Chinese mainland in 1997 when it was handed back by the British.

But in her weekly press conference, Ms Lam said it was a "responsible" move to protect the law-abiding majority.

She denied that the law would curtail the rights of Hong Kongers.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#KENYA: Jubilee Party Vows Crackdown On Renegade Members Of Parliament

[world politics news]

Kenya's Jubilee Party has warned that it will not tolerate acts of indiscipline by its members.

Ten MPs allied to Deputy President William Ruto have accused the party leadership of using State agencies to harass and intimidate them.

The MPs led by Kimani Ngunjiri (Bahati) claimed there is an elaborate plan to arrest them, using fabricated charges

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#CANADA: Four Federal Political Parties Apply For Federal Aid As Donations Dry Up

[world politics news]

Four of the main political parties in Canada have joined a growing list of organizations looking for federal support during the pandemic.

Spokespeople for the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party of Canada, the Green Party and the New Democratic Party told CBC News that they all have applied to the Canada emergency wage subsidy program to help them cover their employees' salaries as political donations dry up.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#CHINA: People's Congress To Consider Law To Ban Dissent In Hong Kong

[world politics news]

Pro-democracy activists say they fear "the end of Hong Kong", after China announced plans for a new security law.

The US said the move could be "highly destabilising" and undermine China's obligations on Hong Kong's autonomy.

China's National People's Congress will on Friday debate the law, aimed at banning "sedition and subversion," which many fear will be broadly defined as any type of dissent against the Communist Party in mainland China.

Supporters say it is needed to tackle the violence in political protests that erupted last year, broadly disrupting normal life for many.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#UK: Parliament Begins Debate On Post-Brexit Immigration Bill

[world politics news]

New immigration legislation now being debated in Parliament will focus on putting EU citizens wanting to move to the country on an equal footing with other nationalities, and will end the free movement of EU citizens into the UK, something that existed before Brexit.

But it will also pave the way for the government to introduce a new points-based system, which some say will affect the ability of care workers to come to the UK.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#AUSTRALIA: 116 Nations Back Call For Coronavirus Origin Inquiry

[world politics news]

More than 110 countries have backed Australia's push for an independent coronavirus inquiry which has caused a damaging rift with China.

The African Group's 54 member states will co-sponsor the motion, joining 62 other countries including Russia, Indonesia, India, Japan, Britain and Canada.

The European Union's 27 members are all on board, along with Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, Turkey and New Zealand.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HONGKONG: Democratic Party Supports Autumn Primary Election

[world politics news]

Hong Kong’s Democratic Party has pledged to support a primary held by the opposition camp after backing seven lawmakers to seek re-election, and help the bloc secure a majority in the Legislative Council vote in September.

The party endorsed the lists of prospective candidates in a special meeting on Sunday, setting the stage for the autumn vote, with the line-ups of most major parties in both camps revealed.

The opposition was given a boost of confidence by its landslide victory in the district council elections in November that came on the back of months of anti-government protests triggered by a now-withdrawn extradition bill.

Pictured above: Hong Kong Democratic Party Leader Wu Chi-wai.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GEORGIA: European Parliament Approves 3 Billion Euro Loan To Deal With COVID-19

[world politics news]

The European Parliament has approved €3 billion in loans to help EU neighbors and partner countries deal with the coronavirus. The loans will help avert financial instability in beneficiary countries.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HONGKONG: Exam Question Minimizing WWII Japanese Occupation Of China Sparks Outrage

[world politics news]

Hong Kong’s Education Bureau has taken the unprecedented step of asking the local examination authority to strike out a controversial history exam question on whether Japan, “did more good than harm to China” in the early 20th century, condemning it as biased and flying in the face of objective facts.

Barely hours later, state news agency Xinhua in a strongly worded commentary called the question “poisonous” as it warned that if it were not pulled from the exam, the “rage of all Chinese sons and daughters would not be able to be settled”.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#ISRAEL: Knesset Approves Netanyahu-Gantz Unity Gov't, Ending Political Stalemate

[world politics news]

Israeli lawmakers have voted to approve a unity government deal between incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party and the Blue and White alliance, led by Benny Gantz.

Parliament backed the coalition deal by 71 votes to 37, a statement said, with the two men expected to swear-in the power-sharing government next week.

The Knesset (Israel Parliament) also passed a raft of legislative changes to the country's semi-constitutional Basic Laws, paving the way for a government to be established after more than a year of political deadlock.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#MALI: Ally Of Pres. Keita Elected To Head Parliament

[world politics news]

Mali´s parliament picked a close ally of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita as its head on Monday, despite tensions in the West African state surrounding his recent election to the assembly. Moussa Timbine, the new president of the parliament, contested legislative elections in March but lost his seat in the first round, according to an initial vote count.

But Mali´s constitutional court overturned the result on April 30, along with dozens of others, provoking several days of protests in the capital Bamako and in regional cities. On Monday, Timbine was elected president of the 147-seat parliament with 134 votes in his favour.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#JAMAICA: Former MP Tells Of Death Threats

[world politics news]

A former member of Jamaica's parliament has opened up about some of the measures that were employed to keep her safe amid a slew of death threats over the four years she served as a lawmaker.

Heather Robinson, the one-term parliamentary representative for what was then St Catherine South Central, recounted that the threats against her life were based on police intelligence. None of the threats, she acknowledged, were made directly or by telephone.

But they were credible enough that at one point, she was assigned two police bodyguards, Robinson recalled.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HONGKONG: Gov't Will Give Every Resident Free Face Masks

[world politics news]

The Hong Kong government has plans to distribute locally designed reusable face masks to all residents. Chief Executive Carrie Lam and cabinet ministers who attended the press conference were all wearing the copper-linen CuMasks, which come in three sizes.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HUNGARY: Parliament Rejects EU Declaration On Gender

[world politics news]

Hungary’s parliament adopted a political resolution, sponsored by government coalition partner party, the Christian Democrats, rejecting the Istanbul Convention. The declaration said the Council of Europe document takes, an "unacceptable approach" to defining gender, and said parliament should not incorporate this approach into national law.

The declaration was adopted with 115 votes in favor, 35 against and three abstentions. It calls on the government not to go any further in acceding to the convention and to lobby the European Union to do the same.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#KOSOVO: Top Court Delays Parliamentary Vote For New Prime Minister

[world politics news]

Kosovo’s Constitutional Court has suspended a parliamentary vote on a new prime minister until May 29, dashing President Hashim Thaci’s hopes for a quick resolution to a political crisis.

Kosovo’s top court made the decision on May 1 amid a national holiday and just a day before parliament was to vote on Thaci’s new choice to lead the government.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#UK: Cabinet Member Resigns After Making Threat Over Loan Repayment

[world politics news]

Conor Burns, a member of Boris Johnson's cabinet  has resigned as trade minister after being found to have used his position to try to intimidate a member of the public.

Burns, the minister for trade policy, was found by the standards committee to have made veiled threats while attempting to intervene in his father’s dispute over a loan.

A Downing Street spokesman said Burns had resigned following a report from the parliamentary commissioner for standards.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#SPAIN: Regional Governors Oppose Extending State Of Emergency

[world politics news]

Several of Spain’s regional premiers told Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Sunday that they oppose another extension of the state of alarm that was implemented on March 14, a move that gave the central government extra powers to be used to deal with the coronavirus crisis.

The state of alarm must be approved by Congress every two weeks, and the current period is set to end on May 9.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#CANADA: Gov't Announces Ban Of 1,500 "Assault-Style" Guns

[world politics news]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is banning a range of assault-style guns, with an order that takes effect immediately.

The cabinet order he describes doesn't forbid owning any of 1,500 'military-style' weapons and their variants but it does ban the trade in them.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#AUSTRALIA: Tensions With China Escalate After PM Morrison Calls For Coronavirus Origins Commission

[world politics news]

China has lashed out at Scott Morrison as deserving ‘a slap in the face’ for trying to blame the COVID-19 pandemic on the communist state, warning any push for an independent inquiry into the virus’ origins will spark a travel and trade boycott.

As diplomatic tensions escalated, the Department of Foreign Affairs issued a rebuke to China for leaking details of a private conversation between Australian officials and China over the threats.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.