#BELARUS: Sunday Referendum Will Decide On Nukes In Belarus

[world politics news]

 

Belarus is holding a referendum to adopt a new constitution that would ditch its non-nuclear status, at a time when the country has become a launchpad for Russian troops invading Ukraine.

The vote on Sunday is almost certain to pass under the tightly controlled rule of President Alexander Lukashenko, bringing nuclear weapons back on Belarusian soil for the first time since the country gave them up after the fall of the Soviet Union.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#THAILAND: Bill Banning Torture Moves Thru Parliament

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A long-stalled bill criminalizing torture and political disappearances cleared its first hurdle in Parliament this week, as victims' families struggle for answers in scores of unsolved missing-persons cases.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#LITHUANIA: Baltic Nations Fear They're Next To Be Invaded

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The Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have called for additional NATO forces to bolster their security as Russia invades Ukraine and tightens its grip on neighboring Belarus.

The small European Union states, whose combined population is similar to that of the island of Ireland, have called for years for a harder line to be taken to deter the Kremlin.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis tweeted Thursday:

"We in Lithuania know it very well that Ukraine is fighting not just for Ukraine, but for us in the region, Europe and everyone in the democratic world. It is our obligation not just to punish Russia for its actions but to help Ukraine with all and every means available. Now."

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#FRANCE: Draft Legislation Includes Ban Of Hijab In Sports

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A draft bill that would ban the wearing of the hijab in sporting competitions will pass on to France's National Assembly after the Senate declined to vote on the legislation.

The bill includes a clause, previously added as an amendment by the conservative-dominated upper house, which stipulates that the wearing "of conspicuous religious symbols is prohibited" in events and competitions organized by sports federations.

However, the bill is opposed by the government and is expected to die in the lower house which is dominated by the government's party.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CANADA: Civil Liberties Groups Outraged Over Police Threats To Arrest Reporters

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Civil liberties and legal rights groups are expressing outrage after Ottawa Police threatened members of the media with arrest for reporting on the ongoing crackdown of peaceful protesters calling for an end to COVID-19 mandates. 

On Friday, the official Ottawa Police Twitter account warned that media attending the protest zone would be “subject to arrest.” 

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CANADA: Trudeau Ends Emergencies Act Amid Criticism

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has revoked the emergency powers he invoked just over a week ago to end a weeks-long anti-government protest that paralysed the country’s capital.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday afternoon, Trudeau said the Emergencies Act was necessary to help law enforcement agencies disperse large numbers of protesters who had descended on Ottawa in anger over coronavirus measures, among other grievances.

Many critics have questioned whether Trudeau’s government had met the strict, legal threshold required to invoke the Act, and labeled Trudeau a "dictator" for imposing it. Members of parliament complained that average citizens had to go through police checkpoints to get to work in Ottawa, and ordinary citizens were no longer allowed to attend Parliament meetings.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#SOUTHKOREA: COVID Business Restrictions Eased Amid Backlash

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South Korea’s daily COVID-19 cases topped 100,000 for the first time amid its Omicron outbreak, as authorities announced a slight easing of restrictions ahead of the March 9 presidential election.

Authorities announced they would move a curfew on restaurants and cafés from 9 pm to 10 pm, amid a growing backlash

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#RUSSIA: Putin Recognizes Breakaway Ukraine Regions, Invades

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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday formally recognized the independence of two Moscow-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine where Russia has been supporting armed separatists in an eight-year conflict.

The move by Putin was seen by the United States and its European allies as a dramatic provocation and possibly part of a pretext to invade Ukraine. The U.S. and European Union both swiftly announced sanctions.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#NEWZEALAND: Parliament Bans Gay Conversion Therapy

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New Zealand became the latest country to ban gay conversion therapy this week in a near-unanimous vote of its parliament.

Legislation outlawing the practice passed New Zealand’s unicameral legislature on Feb. 15 by an overwhelming 112-8 margin, with all “no” votes coming from the centre-right National Party. 

The Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill outlaws any attempt to “cure” the sexual orientation or gender identity of an LGBTQ+ minor, and violators will face up to three years in prison.

Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson, who is gay, dedicated the bill to a friend who had committed suicide.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#ITALY: League Party Leader Wants Alliance Based on US Republican Party

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The Italian League leader, Matteo Salvini, has proposed creating a rightwing political force styled on America’s Republican Party in a move that threatens to spell the end of his tense partnership with his far-right sometime rival Giorgia Meloni.

Salvini’s League and other parties including the centre-left Democratic party and populist Five Star Movement that make up Italy’s broad ruling coalition have been left in disarray after failing to agree on a mutually acceptable candidate for head of state in last week’s presidential election, culminating with Sergio Mattarella, 80, being elected for a second term against his earlier expressed wishes.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#SWEDEN: Poll Shows Right-Leaning Party Could Win Sept. Election

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A new poll suggests that a right-wing government could enter power after Sweden’s upcoming September elections. But a fragmented political map makes predictions difficult.

The poll, commissioned and published on 11 February by the newspaper close to the Social Democratic Party, Aftonbladet, shows that the Social Democrats continue to be the country’s biggest party with 28.2% support.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CANADA: "Pro-Trump" Groups Financially Supporting Truckers To Be Targeted By Gov't

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Justice Minister David Lametti said being pro Trump will be a factor in the government's choice of which bank accounts to seize under the Emergencies Act says Canada's Justice minister.

“If you are a member of a pro-Trump movement who's donating... you ought to be worried” about your bank account being frozen.

Lametti made the comments on CTV's Power Play program. He also said that truckers that participate in the convoy risk losing their licenses and insurance.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#FRANCE: Conservative Presidential Candidate Has "Failed" First Rally

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Five years after snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, have France’s conservatives once again backed the wrong horse in the race for the presidential Elysée Palace?

This nagging question has come back to haunt the mainstream conservative Les Républicains party after a dreary week that began with a string of high-profile defections and ended with an underwhelming campaign rally at the Zenith concert hall in Paris on Sunday.

Valérie Pécresse’s first major campaign gathering was meant to energize a sputtering presidential bid rattled by the  defections and self-doubt. Instead, it exposed a key weakness of a conservative candidate ill-suited to the raucous world of campaign rallies.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#IRAQ: Top Court Bars Kurdish Presidential Candidate

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Iraq’s top court banned a veteran Kurdish politician from the country's presidency on Sunday, citing lingering corruption allegations.

Hoshyar Zebari, a former foreign minister and longtime Iraqi diplomat, had been a front-runner competing against the sitting president, Barham Salih. In Iraq's political system, parliament votes to pick the president who in turn appoints the prime minister.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CANADA: Trudeau Gov't Invokes "Emergencies Act" To Seize Trucker Convoy Funding

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Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced that measures are being taken to curtail the funding of the ongoing anti-mandate Trucker convoy protests, which includes both crowdfunding platforms as well as digital assets and cryptocurrency.

“In invoking the Emergencies Act, we are announcing the following immediate actions: first, we are broadening the scope of Canada’s anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules so that they cover crowdfunding platforms and the payment service providers they use,” said Freeland.

“These changes cover all forms of transactions including digital assets such as cryptocurrencies. Illegal blockades have highlighted the fact that crowdfunding platforms and some of the payment service providers they use are not fully captured under the Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing Act,” she said.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#RUSSIA: Lawmakers Set To Vote On Recognition Of Ukraine Breakaway Republics

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Russia's parliament will vote on Tuesday to decide whether to ask President Vladimir Putin to recognise two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent, the speaker of the Duma lower house said.

Vyacheslav Volodin said lawmakers would consider two alternative resolutions on recognition of the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, in the area known as the Donbass, where separatist forces have been fighting the Ukrainian army since 2014.

The vote is a reversal of sorts for the parliament, which last week said it would not immediately take up the matter.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#BOSNIAANDHERZEGOVINA: Serbs Set Up Separate Legal System

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The parliament of Republika Srpska, one of the two entities that make up Bosnia and Herzegovina, voted on Feb. 10 to set up an independent judicial system outside of the Bosnia and Herzegovina legal system, with 45 votes in favor out of 63 votes cast in the 83-seat parliament.

Lawmakers on December 10 voted 49-3 to start a procedure for Bosnia-Herzegovina's Serb-dominated entity to withdraw from the Bosnian Army, security services, tax system, and judiciary.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#RUSSIA: Duma May Delay Vote To Recognize Breakaway Ukraine Provinces

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Russia’s lower house of parliament may seek guidance from the government on whether to call for the recognition of two breakaway Ukrainian regions as independent, its speaker said on Friday, implying that the step could be delayed.

The State Duma, Russia’s lower house, is due on Monday to set a date to vote on a group of lawmakers’ proposal to appeal to President Vladimir Putin to recognize the two self-proclaimed republics that are supported by Moscow.

Formal recognition of the east Ukrainian regions controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014 would further inflame tensions over a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine that has raised fears of an invasion. Moscow denies invasion plans.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CANADA: Poll: Majority Want COVID Restrictions To End

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A majority of Canadians now say it is time to end COVID restrictions, according to an Angus Reid poll, a sharp increase from when the same question was asked in early January.

The latest poll, taken Jan. 27-28, found 54% want restrictions to be lifted compared to just 39% who wanted restrictions lifted when the same question was asked two weeks earlier.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CYPRUS: Turkish Cyprus Elects Right-Wing Pro-Erdogan Party

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A right-wing nationalist party has won the majority of Turkish Cypriot votes in snap legislative elections in the breakaway northern part of Cyprus, according to the final results released by the election commission.

The National Unity Party (UBP) of right-wing nationalist Ersin Tatar, a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, won 39.5 percent of the vote, strengthening its presence in the parliament of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus by taking 24 out of 50 seats.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CANADA: O'Toole Out As Conservative Leader

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The Conservative Party of Canada has named Candice Bergen as interim leader following a private vote late Wednesday evening.

Bergen, who had the role of deputy party leader, finished tops among nine candidates in a private preferential ballot.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#INDIA: Gov't To Introduce Cryptocurrency, Tax Them All At 30%

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India has announced plans to launch a digital currency by next year and tax cryptocurrencies and NFTs as the country moves closer to recognizing cryptocurrencies as legal tender in the world’s second largest internet market.

Income from the the transfer of any virtual assets will be taxed at 30%, the nation’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Tuesday. 

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#BARBADOS: PM Mia Mottley's Party Wins Landslide Re-Election to House of Assembly

[world politics news]

 

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has secured a second term in office after a landslide victory in the country’s first elections since becoming a republic. Preliminary results from the election this past Thursday reveal that the Barbados Labor Party (BLP), led by Mia Amor Mottley, secured all 30 seats in the House of Assembly. This is the party’s second clean sweep victory, the first being in the 2018 elections.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CANADA: Saskatchewan Will End COVID Restrictions

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Following an international trend, Premier Scott Moe says his Saskatchewan Party government will soon end COVID-19 measures that he says restrict people’s rights and freedoms.

“COVID is not ending, but government restrictions on your rights and freedoms — those will be ending, and ending very soon,” Moe said in a four-minute video posted Wednesday night on social media.

It’s no longer necessary for the public to assess every activity, including going to a movie, watching children’s sporting events or dining out, said the governor of the western Canadian province, which lies just north of the US states of Montana and North Dakota.

The announcement comes after massive demonstrations across the country against Covid and vaccine mandates.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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#NORTHERNIRELAND: DUP Ag Minister Ends Border Inspections For UK Food

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Irish Sea border checks on British agricultural food exports to Northern Ireland have been ordered stopped by the Democratic Unionist Party, undermining the hard Irish border.

Agriculture minister Edwin Poots, also the party's Leader, has called on his officials to halt the checks, which are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political

events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#NORWAY: All Lockdown Measures Ended By Prime Minister

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Norway will scrap most of its remaining Covid-19 lockdown measures with immediate effect as an ongoing spike in coronavirus cases is unlikely to jeopardize health services, the prime minister said on Tuesday.

Restaurants will again be allowed to serve alcohol beyond 11 o’clock at night, working from home will no longer be mandatory and the current limit of 10 visitors in private homes is removed, Jonas Gahr Stoere told a news conference.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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