World News Briefs For Thursday, 6 Feb 2020
Hello Australia!! - Trump beats impeachment - Germany's mainstream allows the far-right to play kingmaker - The country about to take a big step forward - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:
The US Senate failed to convict Donald Trump of Abuse of Power and Corruption, concluding this attempt to impeach and remove Trump from office. The vote was 52 Senators for Not Guilty, 48 saying Trump is Guilty. Only Utah's Mitt Romney, a former Republican presidential candidate, crossed party lines to convict, meaning that the Democrats at least had a bi-partisan effort. On the second charge of Obstruction of Congress, Romney changed his vote for Not Guilty, making 53-47 to acquit. Former Secretary of State and Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton tweeted, "Republican senators pledged an oath to defend the Constitution. Today, 52 of them voted to betray that oath - and all of us. We're entering dangerous territory for our democracy. It'll take all of us working together to restore it."
For the first time since World War II when all of this should have been decided, a state premier in Germany has been elected with the help from neo-nazi scum - provoking outrage and protests. The Left-wing Die Linke actually won Thuringia's election in October and agreed to a coalition deal earlier this week. But the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) unexpectedly threw its votes behind one of the conservative losers, backing the candidate put up by Chancellor Angela Merkel's local CDU and the pro-business FDP. Instead of instantly rejecting the support of the overtly racist AfD, Thomas Kemmerich shook the hand of his local nazi. He claimed to be "anti-AfD" while the eastern state parliament erupted in shouts of "charlatan" and "hypocrite" and protesters hit the streets. Critics say it's clear that Germany's mainstream conservatives are not taking the rise of the far-right seriously.
It was not a good day to be in Turkey: At least 38 people are dead after a second avalanche came down a mountain in the country's east, burying rescuers and others looking for victims of the first; dozens more people are injured. And a crowded passenger plane slid off the runway at Sabiha Gokcen airport near Istanbul, breaking into three sections - one person died of injuries and at least 150 out of the 177 passengers and crew were hurt.
The UN World Heath Organization is asking for AU$1 Billion in donations to fight the 2019-nCov Wuhan Coronavirus. "Our message to the international community is invest today or pay more later," said WHO chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The death toll is 594 out of more than 24,000 infections - those numbers will certainly be adjusted up later today.
Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez revealed "this will be the year" his country will legalize women's reproductive rights. "I am going to pass a law that will end the criminalization of abortion and allow the care of any abortion in any public center," and "allow for the care of any abortion in public health centers". President Fernandez made his comments at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris, one of the last stops on his visit to Europe. "I don't live in peace with my conscience knowing that a woman has to have an abortion, doesn't have the economic possibility, and ends up in the hands of a healer who ends up hurting or killing her with a needle," he said.
US evangelical leader Franklin Graham says his spring tour of the UK will go ahead, even after every single venue he had booked has now cancelled on him because of his past bigoted and intolerant statements. The Utilita Arena in Newcastle was the final venue to pull the plug on the hate preacher who has demonized LGBT+ people as "the enemy" ruled by "Satan", following arenas in Birmingham, Newport, Glasgow, Milton Keynes, Sheffield, and Liverpool. A planned London date was unable to secure a venue. Thousands signed a petition urging local councils in the UK to take action to stop Graham.