It may be one of Europe’s most liberal states, but in the Netherlands reverence for the monarchy appears hard to kick. A divide has emerged in the Dutch coalition government over an attempt by one of the ruling parties to scrap a law that makes insulting King Willem-Alexander a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

The Netherlands is one of the few European countries to retain a law of lèse-majesté, from the Latin laesa maiestatis, meaning injury to the majesty. The last case in the Netherlands was brought in 2016.The Dutch house of representatives is due to debate the issue this week, but differences within the governing coalition have already become evident.

While the Greens, socialists and Labour party are backing the initiative by the liberals in the D66 party, they are facing opposition from the Christian parties in government – the CDA and the more conservative Christian Union. Chris van Dam, an MP in the CDA, told the Dutch daily newspaper De Telegraaf: “We are talking about the king, our king who cannot defend himself in the public debate.” Under the proposals from D66, Willem-Alexander would still be protected by laws designed to stop speech liable to incite discrimination or hatred.(theguardian)…[+]

Lauri Love, the British student accused of hacking into US government websites, will not be extradited to face trial in America, the high court has ruled. Lawyers for the 32-year-old, who lives in Suffolk, had argued that he should be tried for his alleged crimes in the UK and that he would be at risk of killing himself if sent to the US. The court accepted both of the main arguments advanced by Love’s lawyers that there was no reason he could not be tried in England and that he might suffer serious damage to his health if he were extradited.There was an outburst of cheering and applause in court when the lord chief justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, announced his decision. Burnett asked suppor

Announcing his decision preventing extradition, Burnett said: “We emphasise however that it would not be oppressive to prosecute Mr Love in England for the offences alleged against him. “Far from it. Much of Mr Love’s argument was based on the contention that this is indeed where he should be prosecuted. ters to be quiet, saying: “This is a court, not a theatre.”(theguardian)…[+]

Jacob Zuma is fighting for his political survival as pressure mounts on the South African president to resign before a key national address this week. Senior leaders of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) met Zuma over the weekend to ask him to step down. Local media reported that the 75-year-old politician, who is battling corruption allegations, refused.

The party’s national working committee, one of its highest decision-making bodies, will meet on Monday in Johannesburg to consider its next step.

One possibility is that Zuma will be ordered to resign, though this may raise significant constitutional issues. According to ANC rules, all members – even elected officials – fulfil their functions according to the will of the party.

The premature departure of Zuma, whose second five-year term is due to expire next year, will consolidate the power of Cyril Ramaphosa, who was elected leader of the ANC in December. Supporters of Ramaphosa, seen as the standard bearer of the reformist wing of the party, say it is essential that Zuma is sidelined as early as possible to allow the ANC to regroup before campaigning starts in earnest for elections in 2019. Adriaan Basson, a senior South African journalist, wrote: “Zuma has played all his cards and is now at open war with Ramaphosa and his supporters.”

Zuma had led the ANC since 2007 and has been South Africa’s president since 2009. His tenure in both posts has been controversial, with a series of corruption scandals undermining the image and legitimacy of the party that led South Africans to freedom in 1994 and has ruled ever since.(theguardian)…[+]

A top Democrat in Congress has accused his Republican colleagues of carrying out “a political hit job on the FBI in the service of the president” with the Friday release of a memo assembled by House intelligence committee chair Devin Nunes.

The extraordinary charge, which underscored the rift that has opened between Donald Trump and America’s most powerful law enforcement agency, was delivered on Sunday by Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the intelligence committee.

Schiff told ABC’s This Week that Republican members of the committee had declined to interview FBI officials as they bulldozed forward to release a memo they hoped would discredit the investigation of Trump’s Russia ties. Trump privately hoped the memo, which ties top figures in the Russia investigation to alleged law enforcement malpractice, would give him political cover to make changes in the justice department and potentially short-circuit the Russia inquiry run by special counsel Robert Mueller, according to multiple reports.(theguardian)…[+]