The power problem in politics

February 26, 2014 - Daily News Briefing

Power too easily corrupts public officials.

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The Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday delayed the formation of a new government, reflecting political tensions and economic challenges after the Russia-backed president went into hiding. Parliament speaker Oleksandr Turchinov, who was named Ukraine’s interim leader after President Viktor Yanukovych fled the capital, said that a new government should be in place by Thursday, instead of Tuesday, as indicated earlier.

President Obama has ordered the Pentagon to plan for a full American withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of this year should the Afghan government refuse to sign a security agreement with the US, the White House said Tuesday. However, in a call with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Obama also said the US could still keep a limited troop presence in Afghanistan after 2014 if the agreement is ultimately signed.

Suspected Islamic militants killed dozens of students in a predawn attack on a northeast Nigerian college, survivors say, setting ablaze a locked hostel and shooting and slitting the throats of those who escaped through windows. Some were burned alive. Adamu Garba said he and other teachers who ran away through the bush estimate 40 students died in the assault that began around 2 a.m. Tuesday at the Federal Government College Buni Yadi.

One of the world’s largest Bitcoin exchanges has seemingly disappeared, delivering a severe blow to the virtual currency as it struggles to gain legitimacy. A coalition of virtual currency companies said Tuesday that Tokyo-based Mt. Gox went under after secretly racking up catastrophic losses.

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán must stand trial on drug-trafficking charges and remain for the immediate future in Mexico, where authorities say there is no chance of him escaping his cell in the nation’s highest-security prison. It is at least the second case launched against Guzmán in Mexico since he was captured Saturday. Mexican officials want Guzmán to face all local charges, and interrogation by Mexican investigators looking to dismantle his cartel before they consider extraditing him to the US.

Premier Matteo Renzi easily won a final vote of confidence on Tuesday, clearing the way for his new government to begin a slate of promised reforms to Italy’s economy and institutions. Renzi’s choice to delay courtesy calls to his European partners was a signal of discontinuity with Italy’s last two governments, which emphasized ties with Europe even as Italians bristled at austerity measures imposed at the EU’s behest.

The Philippine government summoned China’s top envoy in Manila on Tuesday to protest what it said was the firing of a water cannon by a Chinese government vessel to drive away Filipino fishermen from a hotly disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

A Ugandan newspaper published a list Tuesday of what it called the country’s “200 top” homosexuals, outing some Ugandans who previously had not identified themselves as gay one day after the president enacted a harsh antigay law. US Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday’s signing of the bill by President Yoweri Museveni marked “a tragic day for Uganda and for all who care about the cause of human rights” and warned that Washington could cut aid to the East African nation.

The US has expelled three Venezuelan diplomats in response to similar action against three US consular officials in Caracas. The envoys were given 48 hours to leave the US, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Tuesday. Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro expelled three US diplomats from Caracas on Feb. 17, saying they were supporting opposition plots to overthrow him.

A former Guantánamo Bay detainee who is a well-known advocate for the rights of terrorism suspects was arrested on suspicion of Syria-related terrorism offenses, British police said Tuesday. West Midlands Police said Moazzam Begg is suspected of attending a terrorist training camp and facilitating terrorism overseas.

President Obama announced Tuesday the creation of two Pentagon-led institutes, one in Chicago and one in Canton, Mich., near Detroit, that will use public and private resources to boost advanced manufacturing and help create jobs. Obama says the hubs will keep America at the cutting edge of technology and innovation. The third hub is an Energy Department-led project in Raleigh, N.C.

A sprawling Democratic bill expanding health, education and other benefits for veterans easily cleared an early Senate hurdle on Tuesday. But the election-year measure still faces an uncertain future as Republicans battle to make it smaller and find ways to pay for it.

Compiled from wire service reports

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

Compiled from wire service reports

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

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