After a split between the two parties in Italy’s governing coalition earlier in the month, a deal has been struck for a new coalition that will oust the far-right League party from government. The previous coalition agreement between the League and the Five Star Movement (FSM) collapsed over disagreements regarding a railway project. The populist FSM held to its environmental concerns, while the League supported the project as a means to create jobs. The League, led by Matteo Salvini, tabled a no-confidence motion to dissolve the government, expecting a new…
The US 10th Circuit Court announced a ruling on Tuesday that protects electors, the ultimate authority on the allocation of votes in the US presidential elections, who choose to vote against the results of the popular vote in their states. The court ruling holds that electors cannot be compelled to vote in a certain way once selected, cannot be recalled after selection, and cannot be punished for voting in a given way. As a circuit court decision, the ruling has immediate effect in the states of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico,…
A climate change scientist who previously ran health programs at the Centers for Disease Control is now planning to file a whistleblower complaint against the agency, alleging he was removed from his office in retaliation for calling out an illegal misuse of funds set aside for climate work. George Luber ran the climate and health program at the CDC, until his office of 18 people was rolled into a bigger asthma program, which initially was set to include the word climate in its title, but was ultimately named asthma and…
On Monday, the Indian government announced the repeal of Article 370 of its constitution, effectively removing the statehood of the region of Jammu and Kashmir after thousands of troops were rushed into the region last week. This action changes the status of the Jammu and Kashmir region to “union territory” placing it under direct control of the central government in Delhi. A further proposal would divide the singular Jammu-and-Kashmir region into two, creating the union territory of Ladakh. The regional constitution is abolished, and local party leaders have been placed…
In the ongoing struggle between UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU negotiators over the terms of Brexit, Johnson’s backup plan has consistently been to seek increased trade with the United States should a no-deal Brexit stifle trade with the EU. Despite President Trump’s fondness for Johnson, however, a 54-member Congressional caucus now threatens to block any such trade deal if Johnson continues with current plans to scrap the Irish backstop and threaten the Good Friday agreement between the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The Friends of Ireland caucus,…
This September, Moscow is due for a city council election, and uproar has already begun regarding election authorities barring several candidates opposed to the dominant pro-Kremlin party from running. One such candidate is Alexei Navalny, an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin who attempted to run against Putin in last year’s presidential election. Then, too, he was barred from the race. Navalny spoke out in support of large-scale protests taking place in Moscow last weekend, and on Wednesday was detained by police while out jogging. Yesterday, his spokesperson announced he had…
Puerto Rico’s governor Ricardo Rosselló is expected to step down from his position at the end of the week, the result of massive public outcry over the “Chatgate” scandal involving homophobic and misogynistic messages. However, the question of who will replace Rosselló is an open one, as further resignations and rejections have complicated Puerto Rico’s chain of succession. The first in line for the governor’s seat would normally be the Secretary of State. But Luis Rivera Marín, who held that post, has already stepped down in the wake of Chatgate,…
US Attorney General William Barr announced on Thursday that the federal government will resume executing death-row inmates, a practice halted since 2003. The death sentence is rare in federal cases, with only three executions total having taken place since 1988. At the state level, the death penalty has been made illegal in 21 jurisdictions, and President Obama ordered a federal moratorium after a botched execution in the state of Oklahoma in 2014. Barr’s order will end that moratorium, with the main change being a switch from the three-drug cocktail formerly…
As votes have been tallied in Japanese parliamentary elections, it appears Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government has fallen below the supermajority threshold needed to pursue their plans of changing the country’s constitution. Abe’s coalition, consisting of Abe’s own Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito party, previously held a supermajority in the lower house of the Japanese government. They sought the same control in the upper house, the House of Councillors, to allow consitutional reforms to be pushed through. The current election had 124 seats in contention, of which the LDP…
The British ministers for justice and finance have now both announced they plan to resign from the government in the case that the next Prime Minister pursues a no-deal Brexit. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and Justice Secretary David Gauke made their announcements this month in the face of a contest between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt for leadership of the Conservative Party. Both lead candidate Johnson and his opponent Hunt have made strong statements to the effect that the UK must leave the EU on the current Brexit…