#NEWCALEDONIA: French Island Territory To Vote On Independence In October

[world politics news]

The French Pacific island territory of New Caledonia will hold a referendum on independence from France on October 4, a month later than originally planned due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the French government.

Initially scheduled for September 6, the vote has been "delayed to October 4, 2020, due to the consequences of the health crisis", a French government spokeswoman told reporters.

This is the second vote on independence for the remote island territory in the southwest Pacific. A referendum in November 2018 was defeated when 57 percent of voters chose to remain part of France.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#POLAND: Presidential Election Goes To Runoff As Duda Suddenly Faces Close Race

[world politics news]

Poland’s conservative President Andrzej Duda will face centrist challenger Rafał Trzaskowski in a runoff election next month after no candidate won an outright majority in a first round of voting on Sunday, according to final results announced by electoral officials.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#NEWZEALAND: High Court Rules Minister of Police Acted Improperly During Ammunition/Gun Confiscations

[world politics news]

A High Court decision found that the Minister of Police had acted against property rights when he banned some classes of commonly held ammunition without compensation, but that it was legal because Parliament endorsed this decision by passing legislation to do so.

On April 10, New Zealand's government passed the Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Act 2019, banning semi-automatic firearms, magazines, and parts.

The case was brought by the Council of Licenced Firearms Owners, which called the ruling "an embarrassment for the government."

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#KYRGYZSTAN: Parliament Appoints New Prime Minister After Corruption Scandal

[world politics news]

Kubatbek Boronov has been approved by parliament to become the 31st prime minister of Kyrgyzstan since it became independent. in 1991.

Mukhammedkalyi Abylgaziev, the former prime minister, announced his resignation after he was accused of being corrupt in selling ratio frequencies. He was appointed prime minister in April, 2018.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#ARMENIA: Parliament Forces Three Judges Off Supreme Court

[world politics news]

Amid strong opposition objections, the Armenian parliament approved constitutional changes calling for the immediate dismissal of three of the nine members of the country’s Constitutional Court.The amendments drafted by the ruling My Step bloc would also require the court to elect a new chairman.

The judges have been under strong government pressure to step down, with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accusing them of maintaining close ties to the country’s former government and impeding judicial reforms.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#THENETHERLANDS: Parliament Votes To Close Remaining 128 Mink Farms 3 Years Ahead Of 2024 Deadline

[world politics news]

Dutch Members of Parliament voted to shut down all remaining mink fur farms—estimated at 128 farms—across the Netherlands in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. In 2013, the Dutch government passed a ban on mink fur farming which is scheduled to be enacted in 2024. The politicians voted to compensate fur farmers to phase out the practice three and a half years before the law goes into effect.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#JAMAICA Crime Wave Prompts PM To Extend State Of Emergency In Kingston Area,

[world politics news]

 A motion to extend the state of emergency recently declared in the Kingston Western and Kingston Central police divisions was approved in Parliament this evening.

Forty-four members voted to extend the State of Emergency. Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared a state of emergency in the divisions on June 14. It was to last for an initial period of 14 days.

Holness said the SOE was implemented due to increased criminal activities in the two divisions since the start of the year.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CROATIA: July 5th Election Will Go Ahead, Despite Surge In Covid-19 Cases

[world politics news]

Croatian Democratic Union Party president Andrej Plenkovic says that July 5 remains to be the date of the parliamentary election, despite a surge in Covid-19 cases in the country in recent weeks, and that wise and smart balancing was needed to do good for the economy and protect the public healthcare system.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#TURKEY: Parliament Nullifies 1950 Trial That Ended in Execution Of Prime Minister

[world politics news]

The Turkish Parliament has sought to get passed an ugly episode of his history by declaring the decisions that were taken in 1960 during the Yassıada trials that ended in the execution of then-Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and two others null and void.

The bill that declared the controversial decisions invalid was prepared jointly by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and presented to Parliament. The Parliament adopted the bill unanimously.

Menderes and two of his ministers, Hasan Polatkan and Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, were three of the 15 sentenced to death at the trials held on Yassıada. Lesser ministers were pardoned.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#GABON: Legislators Reverse 2019 Law, Decriminalize Homosexuality

[world politics news]

Lawmakers in Gabon’s lower house of parliament on Tuesday voted to decriminalize homosexuality, becoming one of the few countries in sub-Saharan Africa to reverse a law that punishes sexual relations between people of the same sex.

Forty-eight members of parliament backed the proposed initiative by the government to revise an article of the 2019 law that criminalized homosexuality. Twenty-four voted against, while 25 others abstained. Gay marriage, however, remains illegal in the central African nation.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#GERMANY: Western Town Sues To Prevent Erection Of Lenin Statue

[world politics news]

A statue of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin has been unveiled in the western German city of Gelsenkirchen by Members of Germany's tiny Marxist-Leninist Party. The installation comes amid global protests against monuments to controversial historical figures.

Not all residents of Gelsenkirchen, a city of 260,000, were happy about the new monument.

Representatives from mainstream parties on the district council in Gelsenkirchen-West passed a resolution in early March, and went to court in an attempt to block its installation.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#ZIMBABWE: Health Minister Arrested For Awarding Dodgy Contract

[world politics news]

Health minister Obadiah Moyo has been arrested, accused of awarding a US$42 million contract to Drax International for the supply of COVID-19 drugs and personal protective equipment fully aware the company was not a pharmaceutical but a consultancy firm.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#ROMAMIA: Parliament Passes Bill Banning Gender Studies

[world politics news]

Romania’s Senate  has passed legislation that bans making any reference to gender identity as something distinct from one’s biological gender. It still needs to be signed by the President.

The legislation was added as an amendment to a larger bill on educational policies by the center-Right People’s Movement Party. The Social Democratic Party supported it as well.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#HONGKONG: UK Offer Of Passports For HK Dissenters Irks China

[world politics news]

Britain and China are engaged in a heated dispute over plans to make it easier for some Hong Kong residents to emigrate to Britain. 

The British government announced the proposal last month in response to China’s ongoing attempt to impose a new security law on Hong Kong, following violent anti-government protests in 2019. Critics say the proposed legislation would make any form of anti-government criticism or protest a criminal act.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#BELARUS: Six-Term President Faces First Real Challenge In August Election

[world politics news]

A forthcoming presidential election in Belarus, scheduled for August 9, looks set to be the liveliest and most  competitive since the country secured its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko is seeking a  sixth term in office.  And  some political observers are suggesting that Lukashenko might face a genuine challenge to his position for the first time, from at least two challengers.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#AUSTRALIA: Postal Service Seeks Permission From Parliament to Cut Services

[world politics news]

The Australian postal service, Australia Post, is seeking controversial cuts to its delivery service from parliament.

The proposed changes allow Australia Post to halve the frequency of letter and small parcel delivery services in metropolitan areas from daily to every second day, stretch delivery times for intrastate letters from three to five days, and scrap its priority mail service.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#IRELAND: Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Agree On Coalition Government

[world politics news]

Sinn Féin will provide “the most effective opposition in the history of this State”, party leader Mary Lou McDonald has said.

Speaking after the emergence of the draft plan for a coalition government, she described the document as “very long, very wordy” and said the content was “vague”.

“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael back in government together, that’s not change.”

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#SCOTLAND: Parliament Urges Ending Exports Of Tear Gas, Rubber Bullets To US

[world politics news]

The Scottish Parliament voted in favor of the immediate suspension of exports of riot gear from the U.K. to the U.S.

The successful motion, lead by Minister Patrick Harvie, was backed by a 52-0 vote with 11 abstentions in which the parliament stated it “stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and considers that the U.K. Government must immediately suspend all export licences for tear gas, rubber bullets and riot gear to the U.S.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#UK: Nigel Farage Will Launch Brexit Party As "Reform Party"

[world politics news]

Nigel Farage, the man who spearheaded the Brexit campaign, is set to relaunch the Brexit Party as the Reform Party, as more and more ordinary Britons begin to doubt Boris Johnson’s ability to maintain order and deliver a suitable Brexit deal.

The Reform Party, which Farage formally registered last December, will seek to abolish the House of Lords, change Britain’s voting system, and to ensure that Boris Johnson delivers a proper Brexit that’s approved by the people who voted for it.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#NEPAL: Parliament Approves New Map, Claiming Territory Disputed With India

[world politics news]

Nepal’s Parliament has approved a new map of the country, that includes areas disputed with India, with India's government rejecting the changes, saying that the addition of Indian territory was not based on historical facts or evidence. The move signals a hardening of Nepal’s position over a decades-long border dispute that has strained ties between the South Asian neighbors.

The revised map was approved by 258 out of 275 members of parliament, exceeding the required two-thirds majority. There were no votes against.

The map must also be passed by the National Assembly, the parliament’s upper chamber, and approved by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari before it becomes a part of the constitution.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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