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Geopolitics
South Africa

Mandela Memorial, Kiev Cleared, China Hackers

In Soweto's FNB Stadium
In Soweto's FNB Stadium
Zhang Chen/Xinhua/ZUMA
GeopoliticsSourcesWHILE YOU SLEPTSouth AfricaCountries
Worldcrunch

MANDELA MEMORIAL TODAY
• Mourners gathered for former South African leader Nelson Mandela's memorial service in rainy Soweto today.
• In his remarks at the memorial, President Barack Obama characterized Mandela as “a giant of history, who moved a nation toward justice, and in the process moved billions around the world.”
• Notably, and in keeping with Mandela's legacy of reconciliation, Obama shook hands with Cuban President Raul Castro at the memorial, AP reports.
• Click here to see who is attending the historic event and to see which dignitaries were also on hand for the last comparable event, the funeral of Pope John Paul II.
• Reuters has a live feed of the event that is being attended by more than 100 world leaders and other notables.

[rebelmouse-image 27087630 alt="""" original_size="610x450" expand=1]
Photo: Meng Chenguang/Xinhua/ZUMA

POLICE CLEAR KIEV PROTESTERS
The Ukrainian police cleared out barricades to government buildings installed by Kiev protesters early this morning, ousting hundreds of demonstrators in the process. No arrests were made, but reports from news agency Ria Novosti say that 10 people were injured in the clashes, including two policemen. According to the Financial Times, EU Foreign Affairs representative Catherine Ashton is traveling to Kiev today to meet with President Viktor Yanukovych.

TWO FRENCH SOLDIERS KILLED
Two French soldiers were killed in the Central African Republic capital of Bangui, five days after the beginning of their crackdown on armed groups in the city, Le Monde reports. French journalist Nicolas Bertrand reported looting and violent clashes this morning between Christians and Muslims in Bangui, as the city falls deeper into chaos.

CANADA TO CLAIM NORTH POLE
Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird announced that the country intends to include the North Pole in its territorial claims in the Arctic seabed, extending Canadian ownership of natural resources in the region as a result, CBC reports.

CHINA HACKED FOREIGN MINISTRIES
A report by a California computer security company suggests that Chinese hackers with links to government authorities hacked into the computers of five European foreign ministries and repeatedly spied on them. The ministries of Czech Republic, Portugal, Bulgaria, Latvia and Hungary were infiltrated thanks to an email inviting the targets to click on a link for naked pictures of Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, The New York Times reports.

VERBATIM
South Korean President Park Geun-hye has warned of further divisions with North Korea, as she criticized Kim Jong-un’s “reign of terror.”

Brrrrrrr
NASA has detected the coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth. Guess just how cold it is in East Antarctica?

A NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
A Chinese man was so tired of shopping with his girlfriend that he jumped from a balcony to his death after she insisted they go to one more store.

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Economy
Democracy

Lex Tusk? How Poland’s Controversial "Russian Influence" Law Will Subvert Democracy

The new “lex Tusk” includes language about companies and their management. But is this likely to be a fair investigation into breaking sanctions on Russia, or a political witch-hunt in the business sphere?

Photo of President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda

Polish President Andrzej Duda

Alex Bona/SOPA/Zuma
EconomyGAZETA WYBORCZAGeopoliticsSourcesPolandIdeasfeatured-postCountries
Piotr Miaczynski, Leszek Kostrzewski

-Analysis-

WARSAW — Poland’s new Commission for investigating Russian influence, which President Andrzej Duda signed into law on Monday, will be able to summon representatives of any company for inquiry. It has sparked a major controversy in Polish politics, as political opponents of the government warn that the Commission has been given near absolute power to investigate and punish any citizen, business or organization.

And opposition politicians are expected to be high on the list of would-be suspects, starting with Donald Tusk, who is challenging the ruling PiS government to return to the presidency next fall. For that reason, it has been sardonically dubbed: Lex Tusk.

University of Warsaw law professor Michal Romanowski notes that the interests of any firm can be considered favorable to Russia. “These are instruments which the likes of Putin and Orban would not be ashamed of," Romanowski said.

The law on the Commission for examining Russian influences has "atomic" prerogatives sewn into it. Nine members of the Commission with the rank of secretary of state will be able to summon virtually anyone, with the powers of severe punishment.

Under the new law, these Commissioners will become arbiters of nearly absolute power, and will be able to use the resources of nearly any organ of the state, including the secret services, in order to demand access to every available document. They will be able to prosecute people for acts which were not prohibited at the time they were committed.

Their prerogatives are broader than that of the President or the Prime Minister, wider than those of any court. And there is virtually no oversight over their actions.

Nobody can feel safe. This includes companies, their management, lawyers, journalists, and trade unionists.

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