Kourtney Spak is an american journalist and political commentator. Her journalism career focuses on American domestic policy and also foreign affairs. She also writes on environment, climate change and economy.
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The head of Police Scotland has stated that it is morally imperative and necessary to operate for police forces across the UK to show “zero tolerance for discrimination, racism and misogyny” both across society and within their
EDINBURGH (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Politicians from all over Scotland have paid homage to a member of the Scottish Parliament who passed while playing rugby for Holyrood. David Hill died on Saturday while playing for the Scottish Parliament in a tournament in
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – P&O Ferries is facing a backlash after the company abruptly fired 800 employees without warning. The government announced it will evaluate its agreements with P&O Ferries after the company sacked its employees and replaced them with less
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The UK administration said on Wednesday that 2 British nationals who had been detained in Iran for years will be returning home, putting an end to long ordeals that have affected ties between London and Tehran. Nazanin
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – After No 10 seemed to open the door to fracking, Ed Miliband, the shadow energy secretary, advised Mr Johnson against bowing in to climate sceptics on the Conservative backbenchers. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the government is
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Boris Johnson has expressed his concern that Vladimir Putin may use chemical weapons in Ukraine, saying that such a move would be “straight out of Russia’s playbook.” There is only one way the war in Ukraine can
WASHINGTON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – More from the United Nations Security Council, where Russia’s ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, claims that Moscow’s forces have discovered evidence of Ukraine’s attempts to conceal biological weapons research. Nebenzya said that Ukraine had attempted to disseminate biological weapons
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – After choosing a former Tory party candidate with ties to a rightwing thinktank as its preferred choice for the chair of the charities’ watchdog, the government has been accused of “looking after their own.” Ministers have bypassed
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – In a historic address to the House of Commons, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to “fight to the end” against Russia, pleading for further assistance from the UK. In the words of Winston Churchill, “We
EDINBURGH (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The Scottish government should implement a misogyny act, according to a report released this morning. Baroness Helena Kennedy QC has argued for “innovative, change-making, and radical” legal changes, including a new legislation to fight misogyny, advocated a
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Sir Keir Starmer has called for an investigation into reports that Boris Johnson pushed for a Russian-born businessman to be given a peerage despite concerns regarding security. After the PM’s intervention, the security services dropped an assessment
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Starting on Monday, when the Commons is anticipated to vote on all phases of the Economic Crime Bill in a single sitting, events in Ukraine are likely to dominate the parliamentary week. As events unfold, there will
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – PM Johnson accused Russian President Putin of committing “a war crime” during a Prime Minister’s Question Time session that was preceded by a standing ovation for Ukraine’s ambassador. The PM criticised Mr Putin’s “abhorrent” attack on his
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Boris Johnson’s nationality and borders bill has been defeated in the House of Lords four times, including the elimination of a key plank of the government’s immigration strategy that would have criminalised refugees who enter the UK
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The removal from Swift is considered one of the most severe restrictions imposed by the West. The United Kingdom, the European Union, the United States, and Canada have decided to bar a number of Russian banks from
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) Boris Johnson claims that Ukrainians are battling “heroically” and “successfully” in some areas. Following a call with the President of Ukraine, the PM Johnson stated that “things are not going all the way of President [Vladimir] Putin.” He
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, demonstrations and protests in favour of Ukraine have taken place around the UK. Thousands of people have attended rallies in Edinburgh, London and Manchester including outside the Russian embassy and Downing
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Boris Johnson has announced the “largest set of sanctions ever imposed anywhere by the government of UK” against Russia, which includes sanctions against President Putin’s former son-in-law. Five more oligarchs, including the once youngest billionaire of Russia
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The Met’s survey asks respondents if they have a ‘reasonable excuse’ for attending lockdown gatherings. The first look at a Partygate questionnaire indicates that Downing Street insiders are being interrogated under duress – and asked if they
BERN (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The release of information on thousands of accounts with the Swiss banking company Credit Suisse by a whistleblower has once again engulfed a slew of Middle Eastern politicians in a big controversy involving hoarded money. A number
TEHRAN (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Ebrahim Raisi, Iranian president, has arrived in Qatar for high-level talks with Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and to attend the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF). During his two-day visit, Raisi will be accompanied by numerous ministers
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – With news that US President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to meet to resolve the Ukrainian problem, the week has started on a more positive note. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has invited Putin
BERLIN (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Volodymyr Zelenskiy, president of Ukraine did not hold back in what he termed as “his own dreadful history lessons” in his erratic address to the conference hall on Saturday. “Seeing a shell crater in the schoolyard, children
BEIRUT (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah eased on Saturday after a drone flew into Israeli airspace on Friday for a 40-minute, 70-kilometre surveillance mission. After the Israeli Iron Dome failed to bring it down, it returned to Lebanon.
BRUSSELS (Parliament Politics Magazine) – After two difficult years marked by claims of “vaccine apartheid” and “discriminatory” travel bans, the African Union and the European union are meeting in Brussels for a two-day summit to restore relations. A total of 40 African
BAGHDAD (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Officials cautioned Wednesday that a surprise verdict by Iraq’s high court put doubt on the legal basis of Iraq’s Kurdish-run region’s independent oil policy, threatening to force a political wedge between the two governments. The legal justifications
ATHENS (Parliament Politics Magazine) – On Tuesday, the parliament of Greece authorised a €3 billion deal for three new French-built frigates, which defence officials say are critical in resolving continuing tensions with Turkey. Lawmakers also approved the addition of six new Rafale
STOCKHOLM (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Following the release of a video of a Syrian youngster on the internet, Swedish social services have been accused of purposely taking Syrian children from their families. In a different tale, a Syrian family requested assistance from
ROME (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Participants may finally celebrate the return of the historic carnival and parade through Venice’s Saint- Mark’s square after two years of silence, now that surgical masks have been replaced with traditional masks. “It’s a little different because
WASHINGTON, DC (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Concerns about a hawkish Federal Reserve are threatening to dampen risk appetite across the markets, so investors are ready for additional gyrations in other cryptocurrencies including bitcoin. In recent weeks, the volatility that has always been
CANBERRA (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Australia has dropped a cartel case against Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank AG, and numerous former employees against a $1.8 billion stock offering, a startling retreat from the biggest white-collar criminal trail of the country. Federal prosecutors announced
PARIS (Parliament Politics Magazine) – As lorry drivers prepare to enter the city on Friday, Paris has banned the so-called Freedom Convoy rallies. Truckers protesting Covid-19 restrictions in Canada’s capital city, Ottawa, have been paralysed for days. Convoys from cities and towns
LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Johnson has been dealt a new setback after a senior Tory contributor declared that he is ‘past point of no return.’ Boris Johnson will be hoping this morning that his mini-reshuffle yesterday will permit him to reset
WASHINGTON (Transatlantic Today) – A stealth fighter that landed on a US Navy navy ship last month explodes into flames as it impacts the big warship’s flight deck, according to a video uploaded on social media during the weekend. On a video
RABAT (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The royal palace in Morocco has confirmed that a five-year-old child who was stranded for four days in a deep well and whose suffering captivated Moroccans has died. Rayan Awram, a young child from Ighrane, plunged 32
BEIJING (Parliament Politics Magazine): Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin signed a joint statement appealing the west to “give up the ideologised methods of the cold war, as the two leaders showed their warming friendship amidst a heated exchange with the west ahead
Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, continues to be under fire for ignoring Covid regulations his own government put into place at the beginning of 2020. “I regret very much that we did not do things differently that evening,” Johnson said in his
Novak Djokovic seems to be blaming everyone else for the mistakes made on his way to the first Grand Slam of the year. The Australian Open is known as the happy slam, but there’s been more controversy than excitement heading into this
Buckingham Palace released a statement: “With the Queen’s approval and agreement, the Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to the Queen. The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this
Dame Sandra Mason, 72, has replaced Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state of Barbados. She was sworn in as president during an overnight handover ceremony in, the capital, Bridgetown. This event coincided with the 55th anniversary of Barbados’ independence –
Within one week, the first female prime minister of Sweden was voted in, she then resigned seven hours later, and was then voted back in a second time. Sweden needed a new prime minister after Stefan Lofven retired – he has been
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Damn (GERD) is a 6,450-megawatt hydropower project that is nearing completion on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia. It’s located about 30 kilometers upstream from the border of Sudan and will be the largest hydropower project in Africa. Egyptian
Six of Donald Trump’s top campaign associates have been subpoenaed by the Democratic-led House select committee investigating the deadly January 6 insurrection. The committee is still in need of testimony and document from key witnesses. The six people subpoenaed were involved
In mid-October, Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev laid into Iranian officials in a short video. He wore a military uniform and said, “Don’t make us angry. Calm down. If you say something about us in the media again, we will walk over your
Since becoming President of the United States, Joe Biden took his first big win when Congress passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. This bill was one of the biggest, if not the central pillar, of Biden’s domestic agenda. It was
China and Russia are both major superpowers in the east and both have a keen eye as to the happenings of Central Asia. They both want to diminish the United States influence and power on the region, and with the Taliban retaking
Colin Powell’s life was a classic American success story. He was born in Harlem to Jamaican parents, grew up in the South Bronx, and graduated from City College of New York. It was there, through the ROTC, that was the foundation to
What is the carbon tax? The quick answer is that the carbon tax is a tax regime that makes it more expensive to emit greenhouses gasses that contribute to global warming, like methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide. The longer answer is
Eight million undocumented immigrants’ path to citizenship hopes to be included in the Democrat’s upcoming budget reconciliation bill were thwarted by a Senate parliamentarian ruling, a staff attorney who reviews chamber rules. But there’s been a wealth of enthusiastic support from the
In a recent press conference, Secretary of State Antony Blinken – along with his counterparts from Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – advised Iran that “time is running short” for them to re-enter the 2015 nuclear deal agreement that put
