Politics

Protest movements generate attention online but have limited effects on political attitudes, researchers who studied protests in US from 2017 to 2022 say all had zero effect, except BLM protests after death of George Floyd which shifted views on race and benefited Democrats

The documentary Flynn about General Michael Flynn reaches number one on Amazon's bestseller list, follows Flynn's life through the ranks of the US military, the twists and turns following his tenure as national security adviser to Donald Trump and is said to provide an insight into the workings of the deep state

Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill becomes Northern Ireland first minister after two years of deadlock due to the Democratic Unionist Party's terms on renegotiating the 2021 Brexit deal to support the government, O'Neill says she believes there will be a referendum on Irish unity within 10 years

Scandal-ridden George Santos (R), expelled from the US House after a vote, making him the first member to be expelled in more than 20 years, he has not been convicted of a crime but has been indicted on 23 counts related to various types of fraud

Florida's governor Ron DeSantis (R) announces proposal to permanently ban Covid-19 mandates in the state, includes banning mask and vaccine requirements, prohibiting Covid passports in the state and prohibiting employers from hiring or firing based on vaccination status, also promises to

Jordan Bardella, 27, succeeds Marine Le Pen as leader of the National Assembly, says he wants to maintain continuity and build on the legacy of his predecessor

Vandals in New Zealand write LABOUR on election posters during local elections in the country last week to smear candidates from the party represented by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, party members call it an attack tactic, the right gains ground in most cities while the incumbent government plans to tax farmers for their climate impact

Greta Thunberg says that it would be a very bad idea for Germany to focus on coal power when the nuclear power plants are still in place, would be shut down this year but is still being debated within the German government, she also says that it is completely forbidden in Sweden to talk about reducing energy use and that people then say ‘Oh no, this is communism and so on’, which she says is completely insane

Liz Truss wins race to be elected leader of the ruling Conservative Party and the new UK prime minister, defeated former finance minister Rishi Sunak by 57% to 43% in the final runoff which was a smaller margin than opinion polling had suggested, the 47-year-old foreign minister campaigned as a tax-cutting, anti-woke candidate who would take a hard line on post-Brexit dealings with the EU

Boris Johnson resigns as Tory leader after even new Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi told him that the situation is unsustainable, remains as PM until the October party conference

The European parliament votes to end sale of petrol and diesel car by 2035 in EU, MEPs still have to negotiate the final law with ministers from the 27 national governments, the proposed law is part of a broader climate crisis response with the goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by the end of the decade

Boris Johnson calls for a return to the workplace to drive up productivity and revive Britain's town and city centres, says his experience of working from home involves spending an awful lot of time making another cup of coffee and walking very slowly to hack off a small piece of cheese before forgetting what it was he was doing when returning to the computer

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the idea of defunding the police is not the position of the Democratic Party as community safety is their oath of office, the slogan was frequently used during the 2020 elections but Pelosi now quotes her far left colleague Ritchie Torres' statement that "defund the police" is dead

Joe Biden calls Fox News journalist a stupid son of a bitch after being asked if he thinks inflation will be a political liability ahead of the midterms

Joe Biden reassures his allies that he plans to run for 2024 reelection, the message follows six-month stretch where his national approval rating has plummeted more than a dozen points into the low 40s amid growing inflation concerns, top donor John Morgan says he is unsure regarding Biden's future health despite recent health checkup showing the 79-year-old to be healthy and vigorous

Andrew Anglin: Antifa in Australia protests in support of more lockdowns and forced vaccination, obviously has no interest in “opposing the power structure” but supports every aspect of the agenda of the global ruling class

Japan prime minister Abe Shinzo resigns due to health concerns, recently became the longest sitting prime minister in the post world war two era, Abe has a brief stint as prime minister between 2006 and 2007 when he was also forced to resign due to chronic illness which was later claimed to have been successfully medicated

National Justice Party founded in US by members of alt-right, front man Mike "Enoch" Peinovich says in speech that freedom is a European concept and can not be upheld without European people, new party will work for rights of whites in US and the world

Ivanka Trump changes political party affiliation, registers as Republican to vote for her father in New York primary, has previously been Democrat and seen as bridge to moderates but has over time moved in a conservative direction

Orthodox Church locks horns with Montenegrin government over new anti-ecclesiastical legislation, law gives state leave to seize ecclesiastical property from churches who cannot produce ownership titles notarised before 1918, thousands march through streets of Podgorica amid clerical hymn chants decrying "[the State] ... snatching people's souls", gloves come off as President Milo Djukanovic attacks the Orthodox Church for undermining Montenegrin independence, The Church has 12 million followers in Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro

Greta Thunberg throws down the gauntlet at Bristol climate rally, rain-soused teenagers bellow "The ocean is rising and so are we" and other equally stirring slogans, Greta—donning her iconic yellow mac—attacks political complacency in face of impending climate apocalypse

Sweden's foreign ministry summons Chinese ambassador with the intention of demanding immediate release and consular access to Gui Minhai, apprehended and detained by Chinese authorities in 2018 for sale of literature vilifying the Chinese state apparatus

Donald Trump's adviser and confidant Roger Stone sentenced to 40 months' imprisonment, found guilty on five counts of obstructing House Intelligence Committee investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, Trump retweets Tucker Carlson segment calling for pardon, request for retrial filed by Stone's legal team

Arts Council England (ACE) threaten to withold public funding for museums and arts organisations who don't implement diversity quotas, appalled ethnic non-whites should be so woefully underrepresented in arts, report unearths a number of unnerving statistics - only 6% of workforce disabled as opposed to 21% in the national labour force

EU arch-bureaucrat Josep Borrell tells Munich Security Conference the European Union must learn to embrace its oft-derided hegemonic structure by "developing an appetite for power", the EU must throw equivocation, dawdling and prudence to the winds and learn to act, a conciliatory EU won't be able to challenge U.S. dominance in global politics

Bernie Sanders says Bloomberg doesn't have enough clout with younger generations to defeat Trump, history of 'racist' policies, minimum wage law criticisms and cautious skepticism towards taxes on the wealthy tantamount to political suicide among younger voters, according to Sanders

Emmanuel Macron sets out 10-year EU vision – says the union needs larger budget, integrated capital markets and abolished vetoes, argues that moving faster on issues of European level sovereignty is key, seeks strategic dialogue with Russia as well as with UK and US as being defiant and weak is an inefficient system

Mike Bloomberg ponders Hillary Clinton as running mate, says campaign insider to Drudge Report, combination seen as favorable in terms of polling but would require one of the candidates to change their residency since constitution makes it difficult for two persons from same state to be elected

Donald Trump and Michael Bloomberg lock horns on Twitter, Trump takes swipe at Bloomberg's short stature and prodigal lifestyle, Bloomberg retorts Trump squandered his inheritance through lapses of judgement and incompetence, Bloomberg has to-date ploughed 350 million USD into his PR-campaign, slated to appear on the debate stage in Las Vegas next week as candidates vie for Democratic nomination

U.S. Senate resolution limits plenary presidential authority for military action against Iran, rationale thwarting another 'unending' war, eight Republicans ally with Democrats to pass resolution 55-45, resolution moribund as there aren't enough votes to overrule Trump's ineluctable veto

Prosecutors resign in protest when attorney general William Barr recommends foreshortened prison sentence for Trump campaign operative Roger Stone, Trump accused of extrajudicial conduct for commending Barr on his decision

Merkel's CDU drops from October's 21.7% to 13% in Thuringia polls after the debacle where right-wing AfD was allowed to put conservative Thomas Kemmerich (FDP) one vote ahead of Left Party's candidate in the state premier election and Kemmerich as well as CDU's leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer then stepped down, Left Party gains from 31% to 39%, FDP drops below the hurdle to 4%, AfD improves from 23.4% to 24%

Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez' latest gaffe betrays struggle with telling Milton Friedman apart from John M. Keynes, dedicates paean to the prescience of 'Milton Keynes', holds a degree in economics from Boston University

US Senate acquits Donald Trump on both impeachment charges, votes 52–48 to acquit him of abuse of power and 53-47 to acquit him of obstruction of Congress where respective party lines were held except for Mitt Romney (R) voting to convict him in the first case, two-thirds majority is required to remove a president under the US Constitution

French teenager calls Islam 'religion of hate' in Instagram live-stream, remark reportedly a rejoinder to muslim 'homophobic abuse' in chat, French police expedite 'hate speech' inquiry before investigating deluge of Islamist death threats, Mila, 16, says she has 'absolutely no regrets', Instagram account has since been deactivated

Democratic Iowa caucus tally unknown due to app 'coding error', both Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg claim victory, Biden campaign lawyers insist the Iowa Democratic Party address 'acute failures' in reporting system

The American Senate votes against allowing any additional witnesses or documents in upcoming impeachment trial, republican senatorial majority expected to acquit the president of all charges

Boris Johnson cabinet suffers its first legislative defeat as upper chamber votes in favour of LibDem bill to protect the rights of EU citizens after Brexit, House of Lords votes 270 to 229 in favour

Slovak Kotlebvci-L'SNS party (Our Slovakia) slated to become second largest party upcoming elections, party promises closed borders, moratorium on muslim immigration and reintroduction of conscription, earlier calls for dissolution of the party not upheld by Slovak supreme court since they did not pose an 'imminent threat' to democracy

Siemens intends to follow through with controversial coal extraction project in Australia, reneging on commitments to placate public furore out of the question according to Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser, Greta Thunberg insists Siemens reconsider their role in the project

Paris demonstrations against Macron's pension overhaul lose momentum as bill is submitted for consideration by the French pension administration, legal retirement age will remain at 62 but full pension cannot be claimed before 64, overhaul part of Macron's pledge to make French labour force more competitive globally, negotiations between unions and Prime Minister Eduoard Philippe scheduled to continue throughout next week, Macron may be forced to make concessions in order to end deadlock

Recent poll finds majority of Americans favour wealth tax on the super rich, support clocks in at 77% and 53% among Democrats and Republicans respectively, tax on income insufficient to forestall growing inequality say respondents

Mounting pressure from U.S. as Britain deliberates final call on Huawei 5G telecom upgrade, deployment would mean reneging on last year's decision to debar Huawei from 'critical' communication infrastructure, Republican Senator Tom Cotton threatens 'significant restrictions' on intelligence-sharing with nations relying on infrastructure provided by adversaries of the United States

Chinese career politician Luo Huining appointed new head of China's Hong Kong liaison office, predecessor Wang Zhimin ousted for his failure to anticipate public outcry in wake of extradition bill, Huining revered as stickler for Communist Party dogma, appointment is swipe at Zhimin and not harbinger of new policy according to analysts, Huining hopes Hong Kong returns to the 'right path'

Emmanuel Macron to broker pension deal with unions, bill to be presented by end of month and voted on this summer, plan would streamline 42 different pension schemes into a single one, hard-left union CGT calls for disruption of oil depots and refinieries on account of raising pension eligibility from 62 to 64, majority of French citizens support protests according to recent poll

Trump vows to add prayer to public school curriculum at evangelical rally, seizes the eaves of the podium to the sound of gospel music blaring from speakers, affirming 'society without religion cannot prosper' and that Democrats are waging war against religion, possible attempt to reconsolidate evangelical voting bloc in wake of caustic editorial excoriating Trump's 'immoral character' in Christianity Today

Impeachment of Donald Trump gridlocked as senators wrangle about witness proceedings, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer calls the Republican Majority decision to call witnesses 'mid-trial' a PR ploy designed to accuse Democrats of '[dragging] the whole affair out' as more witnesses are called, Republican Senate Majority Leader McConnell rejoins that such a strategy would follow the Clinton impeachment proceedings to a tee, Nancy Pelosi yet to submit articles of impeachment to the Senate

Barack Obama quietly working to help Elizabeth Warren in Democratic primary race, according to The Hill, privately tries to win donors to her campaign and says women are indisputably better leaders than men

Jeremy Corbyn announces resignation from Labour leadership after crushing defeat in election, internal criticism furious after party loses dozens of seats which it has previously won in every election for generations

Boris Johnson leads Tories to landslide victory, wins majority in parliament with 86 seat margin, election campaign focused on Brexit makes workers turn to conservative party while Labour sees worst result since 1935

Nigel Farage announces Brexit Party will not challenge Tories in UK election next month, good news for Boris Johnson who thereby has better chance of winning majority in parliament

Swiss People's Party still largest in parliament despite setback, Green Party and Green Liberal Party make strong gains and get a combined 20% of the vote after an election dominated by the climate

Six polls show Joe Biden with clear lead over Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren in Democratic Party's primary race, one poll show lead of as many as 18 percentage points

Donald Trump says US must in one voice condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy, following recent mass shootings, outlines policy for more co-operation between agencies and social media companies and calls for death penalty for hate crimes and mass murders, adding that mental illness and hate pull the trigger, not the gun

Leftist congresswoman Ilhan Omar to divorce husband and father of her three children for second time, bust-up comes as critics demand answers as to whether she married her own brother in-between the two marriages in a successful bid to get him into the United States

New Leader of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg issues list of rules to staff, non-titled males to be referred to as Esquire, imperial measurements to be used and banned words include equal, speculate, invest, unacceptable, yourself, hopefully, disappointment and lot

Boris Johnson to become next UK prime minister after being elected new Conservative leader, wins twice as many votes as Jeremy Hunt, takes over from Theresa May on Wednesday, promises to deliver Brexit on 31 October, unite the country and defeat Jeremy Corbyn

Sweden extends smoking ban to public places including outdoor restaurants, train stations and playgrounds, extends 2005 law which banned smoking inside bars and restaurants, PM Stefan Löfven wants country to be smoke-free by 2025

Liberalism has outlived its purpose and come in conflict with interests of majority of people by promoting immigration, open borders and multiculturalism, says Vladimir Putin in interview with Financial Times

Boris Johnson and foreign minister Jeremy Hunt only two candidates left in race to become British prime minister after a fifth and final ballot of Conservative lawmakers, with Johnson earning 160 votes versus Hunt's 77

President Trump reveals 2020 re-election campaign slogan "Keep America Great", says if he loses, people will criticize the new slogan, but doesn't consider a loss to be within realm of possibility

Old power blocs losers in EU elections, nationalist parties big winners: Brexit Party gets 32% in UK, Lega 30% in Italy, RN 24% in France, PiS 45% in Poland, Fidesz 52% in Hungary, AfD 10% in Germany and SD 15% in Sweden

Brexit Party and CDU tied largest individual party in EU parliament, claiming 28 seats each, according to preliminary numbers

Theresa May will quit as Conservative leader on 7 June, expresses deep regret that she has been unable to deliver Brexit, leadership contest to begin next week

Nigel Farage hit by milkshake during visit to Newcastle, several pro-Brexit politicians subjected to same treatment in recent weeks

Sweden asks Netherlands to back plan for international tribunal to try ISIS terrorists travelling to caliphate from European countries, summit to be held in Stockholm on June 3, Dutch government adamant not to act to bring Dutch jihadis back to the Netherlands

Coinbase blocks Milo Yiannopoulos from the platform after having blocked Gab founder Andrew Torba and WikiLeaks Shop earlier this year

Former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt genuinely worried over hand signals by incoming Estonian ministers, EKRE representatives made the allegedly right-wing OK gesture at Estonian parliament Riigikogu

Three of US most influential female activists forms Supermajority, organization aims to mobilise 2 million women over next year to become organisers and political leaders in their communities, creation of Cecile Richards, former head of Planned Parenthood; Alicia Garza, co-founder of Black Lives Matter; and Ai-jen Poo, executive director of National Domestic Workers Alliance

Tommy Robinson announces plans to stand as independent MEP in European elections, will speak out against Islamification of Britain, kick-starts campaign with family-friendly barbecue event in Manchester, promptly told by police he was potentially in breach of electoral laws on bribery by offering free food to voters

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz condemns allegedly racist poem by Braunau am Inn deputy mayor Christian Schilcher (FPÖ), poem compares Austrians and immigrants alike to rats, asking the latter to hurry away unless they adapt to way of life of their new home country, Vice-Chancellor and FPÖ head Heinz-Christian Strache says incitements and campaign against his party shows competitors are nervous ahead of European Parliament elections

Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld first Republican to challenge Donald Trump in 2020, Weld shared the ticket with Gary Johnson in 2016, party leaders promptly reject his campaign, according to recent Gallup poll 89% of Republican voters approve of the president

German politician Markus Frohnmaier, member of AfD party and parliament, could become "absolutely controlled" MP in Bundestag, according to unverified Russian documents seen by BBC, Frohnmaier says he has no knowledge of the documents

Donald Tusk to propose offering UK 12-month extension to its Brexit date, would allow them to leave sooner if Parliament ratifies a deal, "flextension" meant to avoid a rolling series of short extensions

Julian Assange reportedly set to be expelled from Ecuadorian embassy in London, President Lenin Moreno says Assange repeatedly violated terms of his asylum stating he cannot intervene in politics of other countries, comments made after Government said photos of Moreno and family from when they lived in Europe were shared by WikiLeaks

Joe Biden pledges to be more mindful about physical contact with women, statement follows accusations against him of unwelcome touching from four women in recent days, Nancy Pelosi defended him, saying allegations should not disqualify a presidential run

Bernie Sanders against expanding the nine-member Supreme Court, a proposal some liberal activists have advocated, worried next time Republicans are in power they will do the same thing, Sanders would consider term limits for Supreme Court justices or rotation between highest court and lower-level appeals courts

Second woman accuse Joe Biden of unwanted physical contact, Amy Lappos says he touched her inappropriately, grabbed her by the head and rubbed noses with her at a 2009 political fundraiser, states that it wasn’t sexual but sexism or misogyny

Democratic National Committee bars Fox News from hosting its presidential primary debates, says "network is not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate for our candidates"

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) hit with new ethics complaint after obtaining an official @mail.house.gov e-mail address for her boyfriend by falsely designating him a staff member, claims the account was given so he could have access to her calendar, boyfriend has previously received two payments for USD 3,000 from Brand New Congress PAC

Emmanuel Macron set out proposals for a "European renaissance", says the EU needs to stop member states "retreating into nationalism", wants to create new bodies to protect the bloc against cyber-attacks and spreading of fake news, ban foreign powers financing European political parties, introduce a EU minimum wage and target zero carbon by 2050

Eurosceptic EKRE who promised to slash taxes saw its popularity surge in Estonia's general election, more than doubling its previous results and garnering about 18% of the vote, opposition centre-right Reform party won the election with 29% of the vote, insisting a coalition with EKRE is not a choice, a quarter of Estonia's 881,000 eligible voters cast their ballots by e-voting

Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta illegally hid plea details from sex trafficking victims of Jeffrey Epstein, Acosta was a federal prosecutor in Miami who struck plea deal with the politically connected former hedge fund manager, he now oversees federal government international human trafficking and child labor violations efforts

Vermont senator Bernie Sanders announces 2020 presidential bid to complete "political revolution", rose to prominence during 2016 campaign on promises of universal health care and USD 15 per hour minimum wage, ultimately lost the Democratic party nomination via controversial infighting with Hillary Clinton campaign

Sexual deviant Anthony Weiner released from prison early for good behavior, the former congressman was serving a 21-month sentence for obscenity after sending sexual text messages to 15 year-old girl

7 British MPs leave Labour party over "institutional antisemitism" of Jeremy Corbyn, the departing politicians will sit in Parliament as Independent Group, concerns over Brexit lead to calls for new political alternatives in UK

Former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe claims President Trump may have committed a crime in firing James Comey, believes he was fired in retaliation for beginning investigation into Trump-Russia connection, says Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein was willing to wear a wiretap in the White House

UK parliament-commissioned report claims Facebook deliberately broke privacy laws and threatens democracy, 18-month investigation accuses Zuckerberg and company of "digital gangsterism", Labour party leads calls for more onerous regulation of new tech companies

Swedish foreign minister accuses UK of political leadership deficit, Margot Wallstrom says the management of Brexit has endangered "our political project" in the EU

Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond charged with two attempted rapes, nine sexual assaults, two indecent assaults and one breach of the peace, Salmond refutes the allegations

US presidential candidate John Mcafee runs campaign in exile on boat, charged by the IRS for using cryptocurrencies in criminal activities, often talks against taxation and believes blockchain and censorship-resistant cryptocurrencies are the future of economies

German spy agency announces AfD party to be investigated for unconstitutional extremism, spy chief Thomas Haldenwang says the case merits concern but falls short of a need for full espionage tactics

Ivanka Trump to serve on committee selecting new World Bank head, the US President's daughter is a presidential advisor, has worked with the departing President Jim Yong Kim and was asked to help by US Treasury Secretary and White House Chief of Staff

Obama-appointed former US counterintelligence chief says Trump is a "clear and present danger" to US national security, David Laufman cites secrecy over handling of relationship with Putin as tipping point, calls on "good men (and women) to come to the aid of their country"

Italian senator receives 18-month prison sentence for defamation aggravated by racial hatred, Roberto Calderoli of right-wing League party claimed at a rally in 2013 that Italy's first black minister Cécile Kyenge reminded him of the "features of an orangutan", the charge was celebrated by Kyenge as "a very important signal"

Second suspicious death in 18 months at home of LGBT activist and Democrat donor Ed Buck, police also reviewing previous death of 26-year-old gay male escort from drug overdose then ruled an accident

Bolsonaro to remove communists from non-elected state positions, 320 civil servants already notified about upcoming evaluation of their compatibility with agenda of new government, measure said to be first step in shrinking Brazil state apparatus

Michael Bastasch: 2018 has seen a number of high-profile defeats for policies aimed at fighting global warming; voters in Ontario province and Washington state rejected carbon tax programs, Australian Prime Minister Turnbull lost power over CO2 emissions bill and French President Macron yielded to Yellow Vests protesters over fuel tax increases

MPs will vote on UK's Brexit deal in week beginning 14 January, Theresa May tells Parliament, vote was due last week but was put on hold as May admitted she was set to lose, says the EU had made it clear Irish backstop was "not a plot to trap the UK"

Theresa May faces party confidence vote triggered by Conservative MPs supporting Brexit, awaits vote result Wednesday evening, says she will step down before next election