UK starts the Brexit process

United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May will begin the formal process of ending Britain’s 44 year membership of the European Union on Wednesday, which will kick start a two-year process that will ultimately end in Brexit. May signed a formal letter to the European Union in Downing Street on Tuesday night, announcing that Britain is triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, effectively in the EU’s rulebook. The letter will be hand-delivered to the President of the European Council in Brussels at 1:30 p.mm on Wednesday. At the same time, May will stand to deliver a statement to the House of Commons, confirming that the Brexit process has begun. Formal notification will start the clock ticking on two years of talks between the UK and the EU to conclude the terms of Britain’s exit and establish future relations between the two parties.

For more information: http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/28/europe/article-50-brexit/index.html

Donald Trump’s climate change order

The executive order President Donald Trump signed on Tuesday afternoon at the Environmental Protection Agency is an unequivocal move by the President to halt the United States’ government’s attempts to curb carbon dioxide emissions with the goal of encouraging American business. However, the executive order does not do everything the Trump administration thinks it will. It is highly unlikely it will bring a restoration of the coal industry, is sure to be caught up in court for years, and it doesn’t pull the US out of the Paris accords. This executive order on climate change, Trump’s advisors say, is the President’s attempt to put American jobs first. Trump has been a critic of climate change policies, even going as far as to call climate change a “hoax” created by the Chinese.

For more information:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/28/politics/donald-trump-climate-change-executive-order/index.html

Cyclone Debbie destroys Queensland coast

Tropical Cyclone Debbie dumped torrential rain on the northeastern of Australia and left more than 50,000 homes without power. This massive storm is the most powerful since Cyclone Yasi, which had been a Category 5 storm which tore through the region in 2011. Debbie is packing sustained winds of 114 mph with gusts reaching for than 163 mph. The worst of the damage so far appears to been in the Whitsunday Islands, a popular destination for tourists to catch a glimpse of the Great Barrier Reef. “The ferocity of these wings is actually taking roofs off of houses, it’s sending fences up in the sky,” says Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

For more information:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/28/asia/cyclone-debbie-australia/index.html

Liberal voters push Democrats to a new nuclear age

President Donald Trump’s White House is now looking for Democratic assistance to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, advance a massive new infrastructure investment, and fund the government. The Democratic base, however, doesn’t want any part of it whatsoever. Buoyed by its initial victory of health care, Democrats are especially interested in using the improved bargaining position that the party’s House and Senate members suddenly find themselves in. Instead, progressives are continuing to demand total and complete opposition to Trump. With the confirmation fight over Gorsuch and a deadline to find the government both looming, Democratic lawmakers are under intense pressure not to give an inch, even if that means forcing what could be a losing battle over the filibuster in the Senate.

For more information:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/29/politics/democrats-trump-opposition/index.html

Young Russian protesting

The thousands of Russian who took to the streets over the course of the weekend may not vented their fury directly at Vladimir Putin, but the President certainly took note of the message. After the largest mass demonstrations in years, when crowds across the country took part in anti-corruption rallies, the Interior Ministry has warned that it will use the full extent of its powers to confront any future unauthorized gatherings. But the warning, however, has not impressed or deterred a younger generation of protesters who are fed up with nepotism, exasperated by the lack of accountability, and stifled by the lack of opportunities in Russia today.

For more information:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/30/europe/russia-youth-protests-corruption/index.html