5: 

Sanders Criticizes Clinton’s Wall Street Ties in Final Debate Before Iowa Caucus

Here in the United States, Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders faced off in the final Democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses. During the spirited debate, Senator Sanders criticized the former Secretary of State for her close ties to Wall Street, invoking the $5 billion settlement Goldman Sachs reached with regulators over its role in the financial crisis.

Sen. Bernie Sanders: “Secretary Clinton—and you’re not the only one, so I don’t mean to just point the finger at you—you’ve received over $600,000 in speaking fees from Goldman Sachs in one year. I find it very strange that a major financial institution that pays $5 billion in fines for breaking the law, not one of their executives is prosecuted, while kids who smoke marijuana get a jail sentence.”

Democracy Now

4: 

Iraq: 3 U.S. Citizens Kidnapped as U.N. Reports “Staggering Civilian Death Toll”

In Iraq, security forces have been going door to door, searching homes in areas of the capital Baghdad after three U.S. contractors went missing. The three U.S. citizens were reportedly kidnapped by militiamen from an apartment described by some Iraqi authorities as a brothel. Meanwhile, a new U.N. tally describes a “staggering civilian death toll” from violence in Iraq, with nearly 19,000 civilians killed from the beginning of 2014 through October.

Democracy Now

3: 

Oil market could drown in oversupply in 2016, says IEA

The world could find itself drowning in oil this year and prices could fall further as new Iranian output cancels out production cuts elsewhere, according to the International Energy Agency.

An increase in supply and weakening demand growth will ensure there is an overabundance of oil until late 2016 at the earliest, the IEA said in its January report. It said the result would be the third successive year when supply exceeded demand by 1m barrels a day, and the system would struggle to cope.

The agency, which advises industrialised countries, said growth in global oil demand would be weaker in response to the slowing economy of China, whose manufacturing sector absorbs vast quantities of the world’s oil output. At the same time, as a result of sanctions against Iran being lifted, the IEA estimates 285m barrels will be added to stocks this year.

The Guardian

2: 

China’s economic growth slumps to 25-year low

China’s economy grew 6.9 percent in 2015, GDP figures released on Tuesday showed, the lowest level of growth in 25 years.

Chinese leaders are trying to reduce reliance on trade and investment by nurturing slower, more self-sustaining growth based on domestic consumption and services.

But the unexpectedly sharp decline over the past two years prompted fears of a politically dangerous spike in job losses. Beijing responded by cutting interest rates and taking other steps to shore up growth.

Full-year growth for 2015 was the lowest since sanctions imposed on Beijing following its crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement caused growth to plummet to 3.8 percent in 1990.

Aljazeera

1: 

Minister shouldn’t judge judges – lawyer

Ms Collins told Checkpoint with John Campbell yesterday that it was a wrong call to put a man with a history of evading police on electronically monitored bail.

Mathew Kidman removed his electronic monitoring bracelet early on Friday morning and has been avoiding the police and his family since. He was on bail to a residence in Upper Hutt, facing two charges of unlawful sexual connection.

Ms Collins said Department of Corrections did not recommend he receive electronically monitored bail and she also had no reason to believe police were happy with that decision.

Ms Collins said yesterday the decision was “not up to police or Corrections, it’s up to a judge”.

“In my opinion, and in Corrections’ opinion, this was the wrong call… You have to say it was an unusual decision but a judge has made that.”

She went on to say that ministers did not criticise judges and they made the best decisions with the information they had.

Mr Bouchier said Ms Collins had never been respectful of the role judges played.

“She’s taking a punch at someone who can’t punch back,” Mr Bouchier said.

RNZ