USA - Evangelicals: Trump policies and Christian teachings don't tally up, say Church of England leaders — by Carlos Barria

Another senior church leader in Britain has joined a chorus of voices speaking out against the “uncritical support” evangelical Americans have for Donald Trump. To them, the US president’s policies simply don’t tally up with the religion’s teachings.

Paul Bayes, a senior Church of England bishop, told the Guardian that he believed “self-styled evangelicals” who support Trump are evoking God in a way that contradicts his message of helping the poor.

“Some of the things that have been said by religious leaders seem to collude with a system that marginalizes the poor, a system which builds walls instead of bridges, a system which says people on the margins of society should be excluded, a system which says we’re not welcoming people any more into our country,” said Bayes. “Whenever people say those kinds of things, they need to be able to justify that they’re saying those things as Christians, and I do not believe it’s justifiable.”

His comments follow those of Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury. “I really genuinely do not understand” why conservative evangelical Americans support Trump, he said last month.

In his Christmas sermon, Welby, without naming Trump, also criticized “populist leaders that deceive.”

In the US, 80% of self-identified white evangelical Christians said they voted for Trump in the 2016 election, according to the Pew Research Center.

Reads more: rump policies and Christian teachings don't tally up, say Church of England leaders — Quartz

The Netherlands: New income requirements for residence as a highly skilled migrant in the Netherlands - by Pim Bouwmeester

The Netherlands sets a minimum salary for Dutch citizens based on age, the so-called Wettelijk Minimum Loon. Usually this minimum wage changes every January 1 and halfway through each year. This minimum wage applies if you are working in the Netherlands as a Dutch citizen or if you are working on your partner’s residence permit. Of course an employer can pay you more, but this is the legal minimum.

For further details and scales click on this link: New income requirements for residence as a highlyskilled migrant in the Netherlands

Climate Change: The media is bad at covering climate change and worse at covering solutions

While President Trump has turned bashing the mainstream media into a form of performance art, sometimes the press does deserve some constructive criticism. For example, look no further than the media’s inadequate coverage of climate change and potential solutions—inadequate, at least, according to a new report by the watchdog group Public Citizen. The group looked at news stories from a number of major U.S. news outlets to see how–or if–they covered what many consider to be the greatest threat to national security. More specifically, the group looked at whether the media was able to connect dramatic weather events–which the world had plenty of in 2017–to climate change. It found a “decidedly low” number of pieces that mentioned climate change in relevant contexts–such as drought, floods, and disease. Instead, the term “climate change” most often occurred in stories about record heat, but not issues like wildfires, record rain fall, or hurricanes, tropical storms, and flooding.

In fact, Public Citizen found that just 4% of the many stories discussing hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, or Nate made the connection to climate change.

Not only is the media barely mentioning climate change in context, but coverage of potential solutions to climate change is even more scanty–only 9% of all pieces mentioned solutions. Reporting on ways to possibly slow or even reverse climate change are critical now, particularly in light of the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, roll back U.S. climate policy, and promote coal.ML

Read more: Report: The media is bad at covering climate change and worse at cover

Hungary ‘should be kicked out of EU’ - by Armend Nimani

Europe’s cultural divisions deepened yesterday after Luxembourg called for Hungary to be kicked out of the EU because of the country’s hard stance on Muslim refugees and migrants.

The row has further poisoned relations between liberal western European countries and eastern Europe three days before a crucial summit on the future of the EU after Britain’s vote to leave in June.
Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg’s foreign minister, demanded the suspension or expulsion of Hungary over its authoritarianism and anti-migrant razor wire fences on its Balkan borders.

“We cannot accept that the EU’s fundamental values are being massively violated,” he told the German newspaper Die Welt.

“Anyone, like Hungary, who builds fences against refugees fleeing war or breaches press freedom and the independence of the justice system should be temporarily, or if needed, for ever excluded from the EU.”

Note EU-Digest: If the EU would do this they should include Poland in the process - unfortunately it does not have the power and guts to do so.

Read more: Hungary ‘should be kicked out of EU’ | World | The Times & The Sunday Times

The Netherlands: Public transit strike shuts down many routes around Netherlands yesterday-by Zack Newmark

Public transportation in the Netherlands was seriously disrupted Thursday morning after regional transit workers walked off the job at 4 a.m. in a one-day strike.

The labour action is meant to call attention to what the workers have called unreasonable work pressure, and a pay raise that is capped 40 percent lower than what the bus drivers and train conductors wanted.

Read more: - by Zack NewmarkPublic transit strike shuts down many routes around Netherlands Times

EU: France becomes a nation of optimists

The French have become more optimistic about the future that at any time in the past eight years, a survey showed on Tuesday (2 January), belying their reputation as a nation of pessimists.

According to a Harris Interactive survey for RTL radio, 59 percent of the French were optimistic for 2018, the highest level since 2010 and 15 points higher than a trough in 2012.

Supporters of President Emmanuel Macron’s party were the most optimistic, the poll showed, while those of the far-right National Front were the most pessimistic.

“There’s probably a bit of a Macron effect,” Harris head of political polling Jean-Daniel Levy said, pointing to renewed hope about European integration, one of Macron’s policy priorities.

“There is in particular the feeling of having a presidency that holds water, with good prospects on the economic front,” he told Reuters.

Read more: France becomes a nation of optimists – EURACTIV.com

Global Forecast: 2018 may bring disastrous geopolitical event, says Eurasia Group

he world is moving toward crisis and a state of "geopolitical depression" as the presidency of Donald Trump accelerates divisions among citizens and the unraveling of the global order, risk consultancy Eurasia Group warns.

Liberal democracies are suffering from a deficit of legitimacy not seen since World War II, and today's leaders have largely abandoned civil society and common values, Eurasia Group says in its annual assessment of top geopolitical risks. The breakdown in norms opens the door to a major event that could rock the global economy and markets.

"In the 20 years since we started Eurasia Group, the global environment has had its ups and downs. But if we had to pick one year for a big unexpected crisis — the geopolitical equivalent of the 2008 financial meltdown — it feels like 2018," said Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer and Chairman Cliff Kupchan.

U.S. global power is "sputtering to a stall" as the Trump philosophy of retrenchment and unilateralism sows confusion among both allies and rivals, Eurasia Group says. The world now lacks leadership to steer it through the impending crisis.

"'America First' and the policies that flow from it have eroded the U.S.-led order and its guardrails, while no other country or set of countries stands ready or interested in rebuilding it … significantly increasing global risk."

Here are Eurasia Group's top risks in 2018:

In the absence of U.S. leadership, China faces less resistance in setting the international standards in trade and investment, technology development and the value of noninterference in other countries' affairs. This could force businesses to adapt to a new set of rules and may increase tensions with the Asia-Pacific region's more democratic powers.

The world has become more dangerous because there is no global power to underwrite security and many subnational and nonstate actors can carry out destablizing actions. Cyberattacks and terrorism are two top risks, but there is also the chance of a miscalculation leading to conflict as North Korea continues to test ballistic missiles in a region full of U.S. allies and as the United States and Russia back rival factions in Syria.

The United States and China are racing to dominate areas like artificial intelligence and supercomputing, setting up a battle to supply other countries with civilian infrastructure, consumer goods and security equipment. This could lead to a fragmented tech space in which China and countries in its sphere of influence seek to control the flow of information and the United States guards against foreign investment in American tech companies.

The United Kingdom is moving toward a phase of its separation from the European Union that will bring more difficult negotiations, including designing a border for Northern Ireland and finalizing the U.K.'s divorce bill. Prime Minister Theresa May needs to clarify the U.K.'s goals to reach a deal with Europe, but as she reveals her hand, her leadership may be challenged by rival political factions with contradicting priorities.

Countries are using nontraditional measures — bailouts, subsidies and "buy local" requirements — to protect intellectual property and technology, a trend that can be called "protectionism 2.0." This could lead to a surge in protectionism, a more complex and contradictory regulatory environment, and resentment among countries whose policies are seen to target one another.

Read more: 2018 may bring disastrous geopolitical event, says Eurasia Group