Trump’sump’s Wife, Melania Announces

 

Knavs' cause of death was not announced.

Former US first lady Melania Trump has announced the death of her mother Amalija Knavs. She was 78.

“It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved mother,” Trump posted late Tuesday on X, the former Twitter.

“Amalija Knavs was a strong woman who always carried herself with grace, warmth, and dignity,” she said, adding: “We will miss her beyond measure and continue to honor and love her legacy.”

Melania Trump’s mother came to the United States from Slovenia with her husband Victor Knavs, and following a years-long immigration process the couple took the oath to become US citizens in 2018, while Donald Trump was president.

After becoming legal permanent residents, they obtained citizenship through the sponsorship of their adult daughter, taking advantage of the very family reunification visa process that then-president Donald Trump himself had derided as “chain migration” and said should be abolished.

In 2017 Melania Trump became the first presidential wife to be born outside the United States since Louisa Adams in 1825.

Trump himself had campaigned heavily on restricting US immigration. As president he urged the building of a wall on the southern border with Mexico and restricting other forms of immigration and visa mechanisms.

Knavs’ cause of death was not announced.

In Slovenia, she worked at local textile factory Jutranjka, first introducing daughter Melania to the fashion business as a child model for the company in the mid-1970s. Her husband Viktor was an entrepreneur.

Donald Trump released a statement on his Truth Social media platform overnight, calling it “a very sad night” for the Trump family.

“Melania’s great and beautiful mother, Amalija, has just gone to a beautiful place in the sky,” he added. “She was an incredible woman, and will be missed far beyond words!”

Spain PM Sanchez Faces First Parliamentary Test Since Re-Election

 

Faced with the likelihood that the decrees will be blocked, the government reached out to the PP, but its leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo was unmoved.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday faced his first parliamentary test since re-election, with Catalan separatists refusing to back him in the first key vote of the legislature.

The lower house was to vote on three decrees adopted in December by Spain’s left-wing government that must receive parliament’s green light within a month.

The texts concern the renewal of anti-inflation measures, the functioning of the justice system and measures demanded by Brussels to unblock 10 billion euros of European funding.

The vote will be the first test of Sanchez’s fragile network of parliamentary support that handed him a new four-year mandate after finally putting together a working coalition in November.

He actually come second in July’s general election behind the right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP).

It looked set to be an uphill battle with hardline Catalan separatist JxCat party’s seven lawmakers, and five more from the hard-left Podemos saying they will vote against it in a ballot scheduled for the day’s end.

Without that support in a vote, the texts will not pass, given that the right-wing opposition has also pledged to vote against it.

“There can be no reason, no political outlook nor ideology that can justify not supporting our citizens, our families and our factories,” said cabinet minister Felix Bolanos, a member of Sanchez’s Socialist party, calling for support as the parliamentary debate opened.

Spanish media reports said Sanchez’s administration told its allies it would change the way of adopting such measures from a decree to a draft law proposal that would open them up to amendments but slow their implementation.

JxCat, which is headed by its self-exiled leader Carles Puigdemont, agreed to back Sanchez’s return to power in exchange for a controversial amnesty law linked to the failed 2017 Catalan independence bid that sparked Spain’s biggest political crisis in decades.

But until now, they have refused to support him in Wednesday’s vote on the grounds that one of the decrees could endanger the amnesty law that is currently passing through parliament.

They are also demanding the government sanction businesses who moved their headquarters out of Catalonia during the independence crisis.

Faced with the likelihood that the decrees will be blocked, the government reached out to the PP, but its leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo was unmoved.

“I will not take part in any rescue of Pedro Sanchez,” he said.

Global Unemployment Set To Worsen In 2024 – UN

 

The UN's labour agency said the economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed down, with ongoing geopolitical tensions and persistent inflation triggering aggressive moves by central banks.

The global unemployment rate will increase slightly in 2024, the United Nations said Wednesday as it raised concerns about stagnant productivity, worsening inequalities and inflation biting into disposable income.

The UN’s labour agency said the economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed down, with ongoing geopolitical tensions and persistent inflation triggering aggressive moves by central banks.

That said, global growth in 2023 was modestly higher than anticipated, and labour markets showed surprising resilience, the International Labour Organization said.

However, real wages declined in most of the G20 countries as wage increases failed to keep pace with inflation, said the ILO.

The 2022 global unemployment rate stood at 5.3 percent and made a modest improvement last year to 5.1 percent.

However, in 2024 an extra two million workers are expected to be looking for jobs, raising the global unemployment rate to 5.2 percent.

Disposable incomes have declined in the majority of G20 nations and, generally, the erosion of living standards resulting from inflation is “unlikely to be compensated quickly”, the ILO said.

Widening inequalities and stagnant productivity are causes for concern, the ILO said in its World Employment and Social Outlook Trends report for 2024.

The study assesses the latest labour market trends, including unemployment, job creation, labour force participation and hours worked — then links those to their social outcomes.

The report found that some of the data, notably on growth and unemployment, are “encouraging”, ILO chief Gilbert Houngbo said.

But a “deeper analysis reveals that labour market imbalances are growing and that, in the context of multiple and interacting global crises, this is eroding progress towards greater social justice”, Houngbo added.

The report found that only China, Russia and Mexico “enjoyed positive real wage growth in 2023”.

Real wages fell in other G20 countries, with Brazil (6.9 percent), Italy (five percent) and Indonesia (3.5 percent) experiencing the sharpest declines.

“Falling living standards and weak productivity combined with persistent inflation create the conditions for greater inequality and undermine efforts to achieve social justice,” said Houngbo.

“And without greater social justice we will never have a sustainable recovery.”

SDP’s Ardo Withdraws Appeal Against Fintiri’s Re-Election

The SDP candidate withdrew his appeal against Governor Ahmadu Fintiri's re-election at the Supreme Court after the Tribunal and appellate court affirmed the governor's victory.

The 2023 governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Adamawa State, Umar Ardo, has withdrawn his appeal against Governor Ahmadu Fintiri’s re-election at the Supreme Court.

Ardo had sought the nullification of Fintiri’s re-election on the grounds that there was substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act, corrupt practices, threats, and violence during the exercise

Counsel for the SDP, Sylvester Imanobe, said the party had 6,000 votes during the election and the court pointed out that there was a difference between the integrity of the election and numerical strength.

Towards this end, they saw the mood of the court and took the hint to withdraw the appeal.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja had in November dismissed a petition filed by Ardo, challenging Fintiri’s victory in the 2023 polls.

Delivering ruling, Justice Ugochukwu Ogakwu affirmed a previous decision of the Tribunal led by Justice Theodora Uloho, which had dismissed Ardo’s petition for being incompetent and not properly filed.

The appellate court held that the appellants did not prove the allegations of corrupt practices and non-compliance to the Electoral Act, against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Justice Ogakwu said there was no basis to grant the appeal.

The SDP candidate and his party had filed a petition at the State Governorship Election Tribunal after Fintiri was declared the winner of the poll.

Ardo had sought the nullification of Fintiri’s re-election on the grounds that there was substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act, corrupt practices, threats, and violence during the exercise.

Ardo subsequently appealed the tribunal’s judgment but the appellate court dismissed his petition.

The SDP candidate further approached the Supreme Court but later withdrew his appeal against the governor.

Gabriel Attal Picked As France’s Youngest PM

 

Following days of speculation, Macron late Monday accepted the resignation of Elisabeth Borne, 62, who stepped down along with the rest of the government after serving less than two years in office.

French leader Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday picked Gabriel Attal as prime minister to give new momentum to his presidency, with the 34-year-old becoming France’s youngest and first openly gay head of government.

Following days of speculation, Macron late Monday accepted the resignation of Elisabeth Borne, 62, who stepped down along with the rest of the government after serving less than two years in office.

The overhaul comes ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris and European parliament elections this summer where Macron’s centrist forces risk defeat at the hands of the far-right under Marine Le Pen.

A wider cabinet reshuffle is expected this week as Macron seeks to sharpen his team for the final three years of his presidency.

“The president of the republic appointed Mr Gabriel Attal prime minister, and tasked him with forming a government,” a presidential statement said.

Attal is set to to bring a major change of style to the office of the prime minister following Borne, only the second woman to lead the French government.

Her austere and no-nonsense demeanour won respect from colleagues but not necessarily popularity from the public, whereas Attal is the most popular figure in government after his stint at the politically crucial education ministry.

The appointment of Attal had been expected after Borne’s resignation on Monday and the absence of the swift announcement fuelled talk that heavy-weight government figures were unhappy over Attal’s meteoric promotion.

However sources close to those said to be behind the tensions, including Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, vehemently denied this.

– ‘Fragile as ever’ –

Borne’s resignation letter to Macron, a copy of which was seen by AFP, hinted that she would have preferred to stay in her job.

“While I must present the resignation of my government, I wanted to tell you how passionate I was about this mission,” she wrote.

Commentators see the reshuffle as essential to relaunch Macron’s centrist presidency for its last three years and prevent him becoming a “lame duck” leader after a series of crises.

Since he defeated the far right to win a second term in 2022, Macron has faced protests over unpopular pension reforms, the loss of his overall majority in parliamentary elections and controversy over immigration legislation.

While Macron cannot run again in the 2027 presidential elections, relaunching his government is seen as crucial to helping prevent Le Pen from becoming president.

The conservative daily Le Figaro said Borne was leaving a political situation “that remains as fragile as ever.

“Changing a face at the top doesn’t change the overall picture,” the newspaper said, adding Borne’s successor was facing “an overwhelming pile of political emergencies” including the task of uniting a fragmented nation.

– ‘Offensive strategy’ –

Under the French system, the president sets general policies and the prime minister is responsible for day-to-day government management, meaning the latter often pays the price when an administration runs into turbulence.

European Parliament elections in June will pose a major test, with Macron’s Renaissance party risking embarrassment at the hands of Le Pen’s National Rally (RN).

He will go toe-to-toe ahead of the European elections with another rising star of French politics, the even younger Jordan Bardella, just 28, who is now party leader of the far-right RN.

Constitutional expert Benjamin Morel told AFP that Attal’s appointment signals a “very offensive strategy with a view to the European elections” in June.

But political scientist Bruno Cautres said he would “not solve the problem of the majority, nor the main problem which is where the the mandate (of Macron) is heading”.

Other key posts are also subject to uncertainty, in particular that of Darmanin, 41, a right-winger said to covet the post of foreign minister held by Catherine Colonna.

The new head of government will be the fourth prime minister since 2017 under Macron, who critics accuse of micro-managing and centralising power in the Elysee

France Closes Roads As Cold Wave Hits

 

In the northern town of Blendecques, the frosty weather turned mud on the roads to ice.

French authorities temporarily closed two motorways on Tuesday as authorities scrambled to deploy salt trucks and tow vehicles after a cold wave hit the country.

“Everything is being done to resolve this as fast as possible,” Transport Minister Clement Beaune said on Tuesday morning, when 400 vehicles were blocked on icy roads in the Paris region.

Beaune, whose future is uncertain ahead of an expected cabinet reshuffle, argued the national weather agency had not predicted the snow overnight.

He told radio broadcaster RMC that the situation was improving since 1,000 trucks and cars had initially been blocked on the roads near the capital at the start of the night.

The A13 and A12 motorways west of Paris were cordoned off “to guarantee commuters’ safety”, police said.

A 10-kilometre (six-mile) stretch of the A13, which connects the capital to western France, would be closed all morning, the transport ministry said.

Thermometers across the country were forecast to drop below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, except for a tiny sliver of southeastern France, according to the national weather office.

Nine departments were on “orange alert” because of icy roads and snow, while two in the north were on the same alert level because of floods last week, it said.

The cold was expected to compound problems in the northern region of Pas-de-Calais near the Belgian border, which has seen devastating floods in recent weeks.

In the northern town of Blendecques, the frosty weather turned mud on the roads to ice.

Two departments in northwest France halted school transport for the day.

On Monday, Deputy Minister for Housing Patrice Vergriete said 120 million euros ($130 million) had been earmarked to provide emergency shelter for some 10,000 homeless people, especially women and children.

Around 3,000 women and children could be in need of shelter, according to estimates by the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF and non-governmental organisations.

Pope Francis Calls For Global Ban On Surrogacy

 

In his New Year's address to diplomats at the Vatican, the 87-year-old pontiff said it was a "grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child".

Pope Francis called Monday for a global ban on surrogacy, saying the practice of a woman carrying another person’s child was “deplorable”.

In his New Year’s address to diplomats at the Vatican, the 87-year-old pontiff said it was a “grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child”.

In a speech dominated by calls for an end to conflicts around the world, the head of the worldwide Catholic Church said: “The path to peace calls for respect for life.”

This began “with the life of the unborn child in the mother’s womb, which cannot be suppressed or turned into an object of trafficking”, he said.

“In this regard, I deem deplorable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs.

“A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract. Consequently, I express my hope for an effort by the international community to prohibit this practice universally.”

In June 2022, the pope condemned surrogacy as an “inhuman” practice.

“Altruistic” surrogacy, whereby a woman gives birth to a baby on behalf of another woman or couple but no money changes hands, excluding for expenses, is legal in countries including Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, Canada, Brazil and Colombia.

Commercial surrogacy is permitted in some US states.