#UK: Wales First Minister To Resign Following "Dark Times" Of Former Member's Suicide

[world politics news]

Carwyn Jones has announced he will stand down as Wales' first minister this fall. The Welsh Assembly Member made the announcement at Welsh Labour party conference in Llandudno which he said would be his last as leader. The move comes after another member, Carl Sargeant, committed suicide after being expelled from the party.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#MALAYSIA: Crackdown On "Fake News" Increasingly Used As Cover For Crushing Dissent, Free Press

[world politics news]

Inflammatory stories masquerading as real news pose a particularly toxic threat in Asian countries with long-standing religious and ethnic divides, but promises by some regional leaders to tackle the problem carry equal menace.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#CUBA: Miguel Diaz-Canel Set To Become First Post-Castro Strongman

[world politics news]

Miguel Diaz-Canel, 57, the hard-line First VP of the Communist Party, is the pre-ordained choice of Raul Castro as he steps down Thursday as Cuba's new leader.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#NORWAY: PM Solberg Warns Trump Against "Protectionist" Trade Policies

[world politics news]

Prime Minister Erna Solberg says she is concerned by the current trend of protectionism in the light of tariffs on metal imports implemented by Donald Trump and retaliatory measures by China. Speaking at the Conservative party’s annual conference, Solberg warned against the historical precedent set by trade wars.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#SPAIN: Prosecutors Claim Senior Member Of Ruling Party Forged Grades To Gain Masters Degree

[world politics news]

Prosecutors have opened a probe into a senior member of the ruling conservative party over allegations she doctored documents to gain her masters degree. Cristina Cifuentes, head of the Madrid region and a member of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's Popular Party (PP), is suspected of obtaining the qualification from the public Rey Juan Carlos university by forging the grades for two units.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#NIGERIA: Pres. Buhari Gets Early Support For 2019 Election From Pro-Democracy Group

[world politics news]

A pro-democracy group, the Northern Alternative Forum, NAF, has endorsed Nigerian Pres. Muhammadu Buhari for a second term ahead of 2019 national elections, saying Buhari remains the most credible presidential candidate from the region.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#CANADA: Ontario Liberals Cast Spending Spree, Min. Wage Hike, As "Investments" In June Election

[world politics news]

The Ontario Liberals will go to voters in June painting their recent massive spending on child care and other social programs as pro-business investment. Government officials have admitted that some business owners have expressed concern about the government raising the hourly minimum wage from $11.60 to $14 now and to $15 next Jan. 1.

Pictured: Steven Del Duca, Ontario's Minister of Economic Development and Growth

[FULL STORY HERE]

#AUSTRIA: Chancellor Kurz's Center-Right Coalition Seeks Ban On Pre-Teen Muslim Girls Wearing Headscarves

[world politics news]

The center-right coalition government of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz wants to ban girls in kindergarten and primary schools from wearing headscarves. It's unclear how many children will be affected as most Muslim girls only start wearing the hijab from puberty.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#FRANCE: Legislation Would Reduce Number Of Politicians By 30%; Seeks To Restore Confidence in Politics

[world politics news]

Newly proposed legislation seeks to reduce the number of politicians and see the partial introduction of proportional representation. The changes are aimed at restoring French voters' confidence in the political class.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#CHINA: Foreign Min. Gives Blessing To Upcoming US/N. Korea Talks

[world politics news]

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says that China supports North Korea's upcoming summit meetings with Seoul and Washington and that China will continue to work for denuclearization and the establishment of a peace mechanism on the Korean Peninsula. The statement comes after a rare out-of-country visit to China by North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jun-un.

Pictured: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right) shakes hands with Ri Yong-ho, foreign minister for North Korea, in Beijing.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#EGYPT: Pres. Al-Sisi Wins Re-Election With Near 100% Of Vote On Reduced Turnout

[world politics news]

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has been re-elected for a second four-year term, after winning 97% of the vote last week, official results show. The amount is the same as he won in the last election in 2014. But turnout, at 41%, was six percentage points lower. Electoral officials also said 7% of the 24 million ballots cast were spoiled.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#UK: London Mayor Kahn Calls Out Corbyn, Labour Party's Anti-Semitism

[world politics news]

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has turned up the heat on Jeremy Corbyn over anti-Semitism in the party by saying it’s “depressing, saddening and completely unacceptable” that British Jews have been made to feel alienated by Labour.
[FULL STORY HERE]

#NORWAY: Controversial Justice Minister Resigns After "No Confidence" Vote Of Oppo. Parties

[world politics news]

Sylvi Listhaug has resigned as Norway's Minister of Justice following a motion of no confidence against her by opposition parties. Parliament had been set to vote on the motion of no confidence on Tuesday. But the minister preempted the vote by announcing her resignation early Tuesday morning, stating she could not allow the Progress Party to lose power over her departure.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#JAPAN: PM Abe's Cabinet Begins Process Of Lowering Age of "Adult" To 18 From 20

[world politics news]

The cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has adopted bills to amend the Civil Code and other laws to lower Japan's adult age from 20 to 18. The Abe government plans to introduce the bills, including ones to maintain the ban on drinking, smoking and gambling by people under 20, to the ongoing ordinary session of the Diet for enactment. If the bills are passed into law, the new adult age will be implemented on April 1, 2022, to mark the first change in the definition of adult in the country's modern period.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#HUNGARY: PM Orban Defiant At Mass Re-Election Rally; Condemns EU For Forced Mass Migration

[world politics news]

Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has told a huge rally in Budapest that they must fight the "external forces and international powers" who want to allow mass immigration into their country. Orban is seeking a third consecutive term when elections take place on April 8.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#NORWAY: Speaker Of Parliament Resigns Over Ballooning Costs Of Renovation Project

[world politics news]

President of the Norwegian parliament Olemic Thommessen has resigned over controversy relating to a construction contract renovating the grounds and facilities at the Storting Assembly that has seen costs balloon from 1.1 billion kroner in 2015 to 2.3 billion kroner in a February 2018 estimate.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#AUSTRALIA: Home Affairs Min. Dutton Says Australia Should Open Doors To White S. African Farmers

[world politics news]

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said he was exploring giving South Africa's white farmers access to fast-track visas on humanitarian grounds, after that nation's parliament had begun discussing taking white farmer's land without compensation. The new South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has faced a torrent of criticism for earlier remarks about taking land by force. He seeming backtracked after severe international criticism, saying this week, "We will not allow land grabs. We will not allow land invasion - because it is illegal. It begins to violate rights of other South African citizens."

[FULL STORY HERE]

#THEPHILIPPINES: Pres. Duterte Withdraws From Int'l Criminal Court After It Stars Extrajudicial Killings Investigation

[world politics news]

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte moved to quit the International Criminal Court on Wednesday after it began investigating his brutal war on drug dealers. Duterte announced he is withdrawing the Philippines from the Rome Statute which gives the Hague-based ICC the authority to investigate crimes on its soil.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#SPAIN: Catalan Gov't Seeking Replacement For President After Exiled Puigdmont Abandons Comeback Bid

[world politics news]

Catalan separatists have begun the challenging search for a new candidate to lead their region after deposed President Carles Puigdemont, in self-exile in Belgium and wanted in Spain, abandoned his comeback bid. Fears that  the presidency could become a "part-time" job has eliminated another popular contender for the job.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#INDIA: Congress Party Pres. Rahul Gandhi Says He'd Have Junked Rollout Of Demonetization; Rips Modi's Policies

[world politics news]

On a trip to Malaysia, Congress Party President Rahul Gandhi criticized PM Narenda Modi's policy of demonetization, which removed high-value banknotes from circulation. Asked how he would have rolled out the policy differently, he said, "If I was the Prime Minister and somebody had given me a file with 'demonetization' written on it, I would thrown it in the dustbin," he continued to say he would have "rolled it out through door and into the junkyard." Congress Party blames the policy for an economic slowdown.

[FULL STORY HERE]