5: Israel announces 2,500 more West Bank settlement homes
Israel has approved a massive new building programme of Jewish settlement homes in the occupied Palestinian territories, following hard on the heels of the swearing-in of the US president, Donald Trump.
The defiant move, in opposition to most recent international opinion, comes as Israeli politicians have rushed to exploit what they see as a pro-Israel and pro-settlement US administration.
The announcement of 2,500 new housing units in the West Bank is one of the largest in years and marks a comprehensive rejection of December’s UN security council resolution, which described settlement building as a “flagrant violation” of international law and an obstacle to peace.
The Guardian
4: UK Supreme Court Rules Parliament Gets a Vote on Brexit
The Supreme Court rejected the government’s argument that Prime Minister Theresa May could use her executive powers to formally start negotiations with the EU.
Britain’s highest court ruled Tuesday that the government cannot formally trigger Brexit proceedings by itself, and must gain the consent of parliament before it begins the process of removing the UK from the European Union.
As was widely anticipated, the Supreme Court rejected the government’s argument that Prime Minister Theresa May could use her executive powers to invoke Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon—which will formally start negotiations with the EU on extricating Britain from the bloc—and ruled that an Act of Parliament would be required instead. An Act of Parliament requires the approval of both the House of Commons and House of Lords.
Vice News
3: GET READY FOR THE FIRST SHOCKS OF TRUMP’S DISASTER CAPITALISM
WE ALREADY KNOW that the Trump administration plans to deregulate markets, wage all-out war on “radical Islamic terrorism,” trash climate science and unleash a fossil-fuel frenzy. It’s a vision that can be counted on to generate a tsunami of crises and shocks: economic shocks, as market bubbles burst; security shocks, as blowback from foreign belligerence comes home; weather shocks, as our climate is further destabilized; and industrial shocks, as oil pipelines spill and rigs collapse, which they tend to do, especially when enjoying light-touch regulation.
All this is dangerous enough. What’s even worse is the way the Trump administration can be counted on to exploit these shocks politically and economically.
The Intercept
2: Trump’s embassy move to Jerusalem ‘self-destructive’
Newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump is about to reverse an historical course that has been in the making for 100 years.
The inexperienced, demagogic politician hardly understands the danger that lies in his decision to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. If he goes through with this, he is likely to unleash an episode of chaos in an already volatile region.
The move, which is now reportedly in the “beginning stages”, is not a mere symbolic one, as some naively reported in Western mainstream media. True, American foreign policy has been centred mostly on military power, rarely historical fact.
But Trump, known for his thoughtlessness and impulsive nature, is threatening to eradicate even the little common sense that governed US foreign policy conduct in the Middle East.
Aljazeera
Just two days after millions of people poured into the streets of Washington, D.C., and cities around the world for the historic Women’s March on Washington, President Trump has reinstated the controversial “global gag rule,” which women’s rights advocates fear will increase unsafe abortions around the world. The policy originated in the Reagan era and bans U.S. funding for any international healthcare organizations that perform abortions or advocate for the legalization of abortion or even mention it, even if those activities are funded by non-U.S. money. Trump signed the order surrounded by seven other men. We speak speak to Planned Parenthood’s Dawn Laguens.
Democracy Now
