“Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said Monday he would resign ahead of snap parliamentary elections, paving the way for him to participate in the upcoming legislative vote. ‘Today is the last time I address you as president,’ Radev said in a televised address to the nation, adding he would formally resign on Tuesday. Although he did not explicitly say he would run in the parliamentary elections, expected to be held in the coming months, his speech strongly hinted he would do so. … Speculation has swirled for weeks that Radev, who was elected president in 2016 and again in 2021, could resign his post to throw his hat in the ring. For many Bulgarians he has been the sole political constant amid a constant churn of governments.” (01/19/26)
“Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has said she will dissolve parliament on Friday and call a general election to seek voter backing for her spending plans and other policies. The snap election announcement on Monday comes just three months into her tenure as the nation’s first female prime minister. … Calling an early election would allow her to capitalise on strong public support to tighten her grip on the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and shore up her coalition’s fragile majority. The election will test voter appetite for higher spending at a time when the rising cost of living is the public’s top concern.” (01/19/26)
“Sen. Bernie Sanders has served on the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s board for 18 years, but hasn’t attended a single meeting — inspiring a bipartisan push to oust him, The Post has learned. Sanders (I-VT) was appointed in 2007 to the Holocaust Memorial Council, which meets twice a year to oversee the landmark DC museum located about 2 miles from the Capitol. Records supplied to The Post by museum staff show that Sanders, who mainstreamed Democratic socialism with grassroots campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020, has missed every meeting of the board since his appointment.” (01/19/25)
“A Nicaraguan immigrant [abducted] earlier this month in the Trump administration’s crackdown targeting Minneapolis has died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody of an apparent suicide, officials said. Victor Manuel Diaz, 36, died Wednesday at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, Ice said Sunday in a statement. He is at least the sixth person whose death in ICE custody has been public reported by the agency so far this year. … Diaz was [abducted] by ICE [thugs] on Jan. 6 in Minneapolis where thousands of federal immigration law enforcement officers have been deployed for Operation Metro Surge.” (01/19/26)
“‘Intimidation,’ ‘threats’ and ‘blackmail’ are just some of the terms being used by European Union leaders to describe U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning that he will slap new tariffs on nations opposing American control of Greenland. European language has hardened since Trump returned to the White House 12 months ago. Now it’s in reaction to the previously unthinkable idea that NATO’s most powerful member would threaten to seize the territory of another ally. Trade retaliation is likely should Trump make good on his tariff announcement. A year into Trump 2.0, Europe’s faith in the strength of the trans-Atlantic bond is fading fast. For some, it’s already disappeared. The flattery of past months has not worked and tactics are evolving as the Europeans try to manage threats from an old ally just as they confront the threat of an increasingly hostile Russia. Trump’s first term brought NATO to the brink of collapse.” (01/19/25)
“At least 27 members of a leftist guerrilla group in Colombia were killed in clashes with a rival faction in a fight over control of a jungle area in central Colombia, military authorities reported on Sunday. The clashes, which have been the most violent in recent months, occurred in the rural area of the municipality of El Retorno, in the department of Guaviare, 300 km (186 miles) southeast of Bogota, a military source said. The region is strategic for cocaine production and trafficking. The clashes took place between a faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) led by Nestor Gregorio Vera, known by his war name Ivan Mordisco, and another led by Alexander Diaz Mendoza, alias Calarca Cordoba, a second military source specified.” (01/18/26)
It’s a holiday in the US (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), but instead of taking the day off we’re bringing you a full email / social media edition PLUS additional news stories, opinion pieces, and audio/video links here at our web edition (I’m not sure how many extras yet, as I’m writing this on Sunday). Enjoy!
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“The Pentagon has placed around 1,500 active-duty soldiers on prepare-to-deploy orders amid escalating protests in Minnesota against the federal government’s immigration enforcement campaign, according to US media reports. Troops have been alerted as a contingency measure in case violence intensifies in the northern state, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing defence officials. It remains unclear whether the soldiers will ultimately be deployed. The White House said such preparations were routine, stating that the Pentagon must be ready ‘for any decision the President may or may not make.’ … The move comes days after President Donald Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act … In a post on his Truth Social platform last week, Trump warned that he would act if Minnesota’s leaders failed to stop protesters from confronting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) [gang members].” (01/18/26)
“Prime Minister Mark Carney is considering sending soldiers to Greenland for military exercises with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies, as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens tariffs on European nations unless they let him purchase and control the semiautonomous island. Two senior Canadian officials have told CBC News that a set of contingency plans were drawn up last week and presented to the federal government. A Royal Canadian Air Force contingent is already taking part in a pre-planned NORAD exercise in Greenland, but the prime minister is weighing whether to send additional forces as part of sovereignty exercises the Danes are planning, which could include drills to protect the Arctic island’s critical infrastructure. Given the political implications of Canada joining and the potential blowback from the Trump administration, both sources said they’re not certain which way the government is leaning.” (01/18/26)
“New Hampshire Episcopal bishop is attracting national attention after warning his clergy to finalize their wills and get their affairs in order to prepare for a ‘new era of martyrdom.’ Bishop Rob Hirschfeld of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire made his comments earlier this month at a vigil honoring Renee Good, who was [murdered] on Jan. 7 behind the wheel of her vehicle by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. … Hirschfeld’s speech cited several historical clergy members who had risked their lives to protect others, including mentioning New Hampshire seminary student Jonathan Daniels, who was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy in Alabama while shielding a young Black civil rights activist in 1965. ‘I have told the clergy of the Episcopal diocese of New Hampshire that we may be entering into that same witness,’ Hirschfeld said.” (01/18/26)
