Tag: politics

News Primary

China’s Xi Jinping Could Become President For Life

Under the current laws in China, the country’s president, Xi Jinping, would have to give up his job in 2023.

Now, he is trying to change that law.

That is causing some people to be concerned that he may try to become a “dictator” and retain power for many years.

The issue is about China’s “term limits” for its president. In other words, one person can only be president for a certain length of time–in this case, 10 years (two terms of five years each).

Xi Jinping became president in 2012. His term would end in 2023, although he could choose to continue on in another high-level job in the government. But he appears to have decided that he would rather remove term limits altogether, which means that he could choose to be president for the rest of his life.

News Politics Sports

Winter Olympics More Than Just Sports

The 2018 Winter Olympic Games are on now, in PyeongChang, South Korea.
The location is very significant. South Korea and North Korea are not on friendly terms. But the Olympics may be bringing them closer together, politically.
North Korea is a “dictatorship.” That means, one person rules it. That person is Kim Jong-un, known as the “Supreme Leader.” He is known for being extremely strict and harsh with his country’s people. He keeps his country separated from the rest of the world. It is usually hard to know what is going on in North Korea, because free communication is not allowed in or out of the country.
But the Winter Olympics may help to thaw relations between North and South Korea.

News Politics

Zimbabwe Leadership Uncertain

Robert Mugabe has been the president of Zimbabwe since 1987.
Anyone younger than 37 years old in the African country has never had another leader.
Now, many people in Zimbabwe, as well as the military, want him to step down–to leave the job so they can choose a new president.
There have been demonstrations in the country, as tens of thousands gathered in Zimbabwe’s cities to make it clear that they wanted Mugabe to leave his job. The military placed Mugabe under house arrest.
However, he may try to hold onto power.

News Politics

Canada Passes Bill C-16 To Give Transgender People Equal Rights

In Canada, it will soon be a law that transgender people cannot be treated differently than other people are treated.

What is transgender? It refers to a person who doesn’t feel like they are the gender (male and female are two genders, for instance) that they were assumed to be when they were born. For instance, a person who was originally thought to be male and who is known as male, but doesn’t feel like they are male. (And the same for female.)*

Last week, Bill C-16 was approved by the Canadian Senate. It says no one can discriminate against transgender people. (In this case discriminate means treat them differently than they would be treated if they were not transgender.)

News Politics

Theresa May’s Majority Becomes A Minority

The British Prime Minister may be regretting her decision to call an early election.
Theresa May and her political party, the Conservative Party, were the leaders in the UK (United Kingdom). They had a “majority” government. (In other words, they had more “seats”—or representatives—in the House of Commons than all of the other political parties, combined.) That’s important, because having a majority means that you can really get things done—you won’t be voted down by the other parties. May hoped that by holding an election, she could expand her majority even more.
However, things didn’t go as she planned.

News Politics

Trump Fires FBI Director

US president Donald Trump fired the head of the FBI last week. When he did that, he shocked many people. The FBI is a special organization in the United States that investigates (looks carefully at) problems and issues. The FBI has been investigating an issue that Donald Trump cares about. They have been trying to figure out if some people in Russia influenced the US election, and helped get Trump elected. (No outside country is allowed to affect the results of a US election.)

News Politics

French Elect Emmanuel Macron As President

France has a new president. On May 7, the French people elected Emmanuel Macron.

It was an important decision for France. Macron’s opponent was Marine Le Pen, a “far-right” politician. If she had won, France may have pulled out of the European Union* (EU). That would have meant big changes not only for France, but possibly the whole EU.

Many people in Europe are relieved that Macron won the election. Macron is a “centrist” politician, which means he’s in the “middle” – not too far “left” or “right.”** His win means that France will stay in the European Union.

News Politics

Scandal In Trump’s White House

Did Donald Trump’s people talk to the Russian government about things they shouldn’t have, before the election?

That question has placed Trump and his government in the middle of a scandal. (Scandal, in this case, means a big problem that may involve wrong-doing.)

When one of Donald Trump’s advisors (National Security Advisor Michael Flynn) was asked if he had talked to the Russian government before the U.S. election, he said no. But that was a lie. He had to resign (quit his job) because of his lie.

In talking to the Russian government, Flynn may have told them some things he shouldn’t have told them.

News Politics

Millions Around The World Join Women’s Marches

Millions of people around the world joined protest marches on January 21 to show their support for women’s rights and other causes.

The marches were inspired by the Women’s March, which was held in Washington, D.C., the day after Donald Trump officially became President of the United States. The Women’s March was organized to protest Trump’s policies. Many people believe his policies are a threat to basic rights and freedoms for women and for people of minority religions and races.