#CANADA: Conservatives Open 5-Point Lead Over Trudeau's Liberals

[world politics news]

The Conservative Party has opened a five-point lead and Party Leader Erin O’Toole has surpassed Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau in popularity among voters, giving the Conservatives clear momentum going into the holiday weekend, according to nightly tracking conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News and the Globe and Mail.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#SRILANKA: Parliament Declares State Of Emergency

[world politics news]

 

Sri Lanka’s Parliament on Monday approved a state of emergency declared by the president, who said it is needed to control food prices and prevent hoarding amid shortages of some staples.

Opposition lawmakers said the emergency declaration isn’t needed because other laws can be used to maintain essential supplies, and the tough emergency rules can be misused to stifle critics.

In recent weeks there have been shortages of essential items such as sugar, milk power and cooking gas. The government says the shortages were artificially created by hoarders. 

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CHINA: Supreme Court Rules 72-Hour Work Week Illegal

[world politics news]

The Supreme People’s Court and Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security have both announced in a statement that it is illegal to force employees to work 12 hours a day (from 9 am to 9 pm) for six days a week, a practice known as “996."

Common in tech, logistics and other related industries, the practice has reportedly resulted in several workers’ deaths in recent years.

The memo reminded employers to follow the national regime for working hours as overtime can “easily lead to labor disputes, impact the worker-employer relationship and social stability.”

The court stated, “Legally, workers have the right to corresponding compensation and rest times or holidays.”

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#AUSTRALIA: Proposed Bill Would Extend Secrecy To Nation's Cabinet

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison has introduced a Bill to protect the secret discussions of state premiers within National Cabinet.

The Bill’s purpose is to extend the secrecy protections of Federal Cabinet to cover the contents of National Cabinet.

It comes after the embarrassing ruling from the Federal Court when Justice White determined that National Cabinet was not a real Cabinet and must open itself to Freedom of Information requests under the Freedom of Information Act 1978.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CANADA: Ontario Unveils Vaccine Passports For Sept. Rollout

[world politics news]

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has announced a vaccine passport program to take effect later this month.  

Beginning Sept. 22, proof of vaccination will be needed for restaurants, bars, gyms and other indoor settings in Ontario where masks cannot be worn for the duration of the visit.

For the first month, proof of vaccination will be the receipt issued when getting vaccinated or downloaded from the government website. Another piece of government identification, such as a driver’s licence, will be required.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CHINA: Gov't Limits Children To Three Hours Of Online Gaming Per Week

[world politics news]

The Communist Chinese government has announced far-reaching restrictions on minors playing video games, a move that further exacerbates tensions between the powerful central government and its tech sector.

Under the new regulations unveiled by China’s National Press and Publication Administration Aug. 30, children under 18 will not be allowed to play video games from Monday through Thursday and only between 8pm and 9pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: A maximum of three hours a week. 

The policy only applies to online games and users will need to register using their real names and government identification.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#IRAN: All But One Of Pres. Raisi's Cabinet Ministers Approved By Parliament

[world politics news]

After five days of debates, the Iranian parliament gave its vote of confidence to all the ministers proposed by President Ebrahim Raisi, except for Hossein Baghgoli, who was nominated as minister of education.

Although lawmakers pointed out more than a handful of shortcomings in Baghgoli's credentials and plans, what makes his rejection notable is parliament's determination to prove to Raisi that they are not going to surrender to all his wishes.

Baghgoli is reportedly a relative of Raisi's wife, and the fact that he did not win the vote of confidence while others with credentials at his level got it, signifies a direct message from the hardline parliament to the hardliner president.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#SOUTHKOREA: Debate Continues On "Fake News" Bill

[world politics news]

Lawmakers Monday continued to debate the timing of a final vote on a bill on penalizing the press for “fake news,” with fierce opposition from those outside the ruling party likely pushing the date back.

In face of fierce protest from the media and opposition People Power Party lawmakers, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea was debating within its members whether to walk back from its plan to push the bill through the National Assembly within this month’s provisional session.

The bill has faced severe criticism, with opinions divided even within the ruling party. 

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#UK: Greens Join Coalition With Scottish National Party

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The Scottish Greens will join the Scottish National Party in the Scottish Government after party members voted in favor of the “historic” power sharing deal.

The agreement will see the Scottish Green co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater become government ministers – the first time any Green representative has held political office in a government in the UK.

First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon announced the plans for the parties to work together, having agreed a “transformative” policy program.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CHINA: Xi Unveils Plans To Restructure The World Order

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The White House has confirmed that U.S. President Joe Biden plans to meet later this year with his Japanese, Australian and Indian counterparts — a four-country grouping dubbed the “Quadrilateral Security Dialogue” or QUAD.

The announcement came just days after Chinese Communist Party General-Secretary Xi Jinping marked the centenary of the party with an incendiary oratory that was short on Marxism but long on nationalist promises “to build a new type of international relations.”

This is Xi’s doctrine of “the community of the common destiny of mankind” under future People’s Republic of China (PRC) global domination, which includes making irrelevant the current institutions that promote peace, prosperity and justice, such as the United Nations, World Trade Organization, G-20 and G-7.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CANADA: Women and Gender Equality Minister Calls Taliban "Our Brothers"

[world politics news]

While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made the point of calling the Taliban in Afghanistan a terrorist group, his minister for women and gender equality is calling the Taliban “our brothers.”

Maryam Monsef made the comments while speaking on a call with other ministers regarding the evacuation efforts in Afghanistan.

She later clarified that it was a "cultural reference."

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CHINA: Factories Cutting Ties With Suppliers Using Forced Labor

[world politics news]

Chinese factories that supply Apple Inc. and Nike Inc. and make other products sold in the U.S. are shunning workers from Xinjiang, as Western countries increase scrutiny of forced labor from the remote northwestern region where Beijing has been accused of committing genocide against local ethnic minorities.

Lens Technology Co. Ltd, a Chinese maker of smartphone touch screens and supplier to Apple and other companies, phased out Uyghur factory workers transferred from Xinjiang through a state-backed labor program last year, according to former staff and shop owners near one of its factories. The company has also ceased hiring Uyghur workers, according to current staff.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CANADA: Deputy Prime Minister Has Tweet Labelled "Manipulated Media"

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A video tweeted by incumbent Liberal candidate Chrystia Freeland, who served as deputy prime minister in Justin Trudeau's government, was given a warning label Sunday from Twitter, which marked it as "manipulated media."

Freeland's tweets, posted in both English and French, contain several edits and show Conservative leader Erin O'Toole answering a question about privatized health care during an online question-and-answer session in July 2020 during the Conservative leadership race.

The tweet shows O'Toole being asked, during his party leadership race, if he would bring private, "for-profit" health care to Canada. He quickly responds: "yes." 

However, in the original recording of O'Toole's remarks on heath care — which can be seen here at about the 12:30 mark — the Conservative leader also noted that "universal access remains paramount."

On Sunday, the party accused the Liberals of spreading misinformation.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#POLAND: Region Declared "LGBT-Free" Zone By Council; EU To Pull Funding

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A Polish regional council has voted to re-affirm its status as an “LGBT -free zone” despite the EU threatening to remove billions of euros in funding.

The council of Malopolska – a southern region of Poland which includes the country's second city Krakow and 3.4 million citizens – passed a resolution in 2019 which declared itself an “LGBT-free” region.

This prompted a rebuke by the European Commission , which sent a letter to the council demanding it revoked the resolution by the middle of September. If it did not, it could lose the more than €2.5bn (about £2.1bn) in funding it receives from the EU.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CHINA: New Law Would Protect Consumers From Discrimination By Internet Companies

[world politics news]

Chinese lawmakers are reviewing a new privacy law this week that will ban internet companies from using data to set discriminatory prices for users, according to state media.

A revised version of the Personal Information Protection Law is expected to be passed by China’s top legislative body, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, state news agency Xinhua reported.

The draft has several revisions, including the ban on “algorithmic discrimination” – a common practice among Chinese internet companies where a platform charges different prices to different users based on how much it thinks they are willing to pay.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CUBA: Cybersecurity Law Criticized As Way To Crack Down On Protests

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The Cuban government had published decrees spelling out its first cybersecurity law, which has been criticized as an attempt to limit political and civic freedoms on the island. 

The decrees, which lay out the Caribbean nation's laws against the use of social media or the internet to insult the state or stir up protests, were published in the Official Gazette weeks after Cuba saw the largest protests it has seen in recent years.

The protests were fed, in part, by messages on social media. 

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#MALAYSIA: New Prime Minister Set To Be Sworn In After PM's Resignation

[world politics news]

Just days after the resignation of embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, his deputy Ismail Sabri Yaakob has won the support of 114 of the coalition government’s 115 MPs, constituting a 51.8 per cent bare majority in the 220-member parliament, and he is expected to be sworn in this weekend.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CANADA: Trudeau Taking "Wait And See" Approach To Taliban, Consults Hillary Clinton

[world politics news]

At a campaign stop in Markham, ⁦Ontario, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau⁩ mentioned that he consulted ⁦Hillary Clinton⁩ about the situation in Afghanistan and his concern for women and girls. He says his government is taking a “wait and see” approach on the Taliban.

Conservative Party Leader Erin O'Toole, meanwhile, said his government wouldn't recognize the Taliban government.

“A Conservative government will not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan,” O’Toole said.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#CANADA: Conservatives Win Provincial Election In Nova Scotia

[world politics news]

Nova Scotia's Progressive Conservatives surged to a stunning upset election win Tuesday over the governing Liberals after capitalizing on their main opponent's early stumbles and promising a big-spending fix to the troubled health system.

During the 32-day campaign, Tory Leader Tim Houston unveiled a left-leaning platform that promised hundreds of millions of dollars in the first year of the party's mandate to increase the number of family doctors, bolster the mental health system and create more nursing home beds.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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

#POLAND: Parliament Moves To Approve Media Reform Bill

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The lower house of Poland’s parliament voted 228-216 to narrowly pass a media reform legislation on Wednesday that the US Department of State fears will “significantly weaken the media environment the Polish people have worked so long to build.”

The bill aims to prevent non-European owners from having controlling stakes in Poland-based media companies as part of an effort to nationalize the media.

Effectively, this would force US-based Discovery Inc. to sell its controlling stake in TVN24 network—a flagship evening news program that has a large viewership base and is known to be critical of the current Polish government.

[FULL STORY HERE]

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