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Here’s why Turkey and the Netherlands are in a huge fight.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AKP party are backing a referendum that’s going to be held in April for a new constitution, which critics say would cede even more powers to the presidency.
To rally as many votes as possible for the referendum — including from Turks living overseas — Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu intended to fly to the Netherlands on Saturday to speak at a rally of Turkish expatriates in Rotterdam. But the Dutch government announced that it had revoked his plane’s flight permit, citing safety concerns over the crowds that were gathering.
After Erdogan accused the Dutch and the Germans of “Nazism,” the Netherlands and Germany hardened their stance. Why is Turkey holding a referendum? The BBC explains.
WE’RE KEEPING AN EYE ON
Challengers will try to stop President Trump’s new travel order before it goes into effect this week.
At 12:01 a.m. Thursday, Trump’s new refugee and travel executive order is due to go into effect. Judges in two federal courts already set hearings for Wednesday on whether to halt enforcement of the new executive order, with a third likely to be asked to take similar action before Thursday.
New York federal prosecutor Preet Bharara was fired on Saturday after refusing to comply with a Trump administration order to resign.
“I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life,” he wrote on his personal Twitter account. In a statement, Bharara said “absolute independence” was his “touchstone” throughout his service.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Friday asked for the resignations of all 46 remaining presidentially nominated and Senate-confirmed federal prosecutors from the Obama administration, effective immediately.
Apparently, the White House placed a (mysterious) phone call to Bharara a day before firing him, the New York Times reports.
A bit of background
While new presidents generally replace most of the US attorneys across the nation, the timing — seeking to have them leave office immediately and before a successor is nominated, let alone confirmed — does appear to be unusual.
QUICK THINGS TO KNOW
World news: The numbers of Syrian children dying or being forced to fight were the highest on record in 2016, according to a new UNICEF report. At least 34 people were reportedly killed and another 17 injured after a bus hit a crowd during a parade in Haiti. And a new far-right government in Poland is targeting women’s rights and pushing for other sweeping changes to the political system.
US news: A man allegedly tried to burn down a store run by Indian-Americans in Florida because he thought its owners were Muslims.
Brexit: UK Prime Minister Theresa May could trigger Article 50 — the official process to exit the European Union — as early as Tuesday.
Leaked: Baptisms for the dead. Private lives of officials. A Mormon version of WikiLeaks aims to reveal secrets of the church.
SXSW: RideAustin and Fasten, ride-hailing startups in Austin, Texas, had their moment to shine during SXSW this weekend but crashed under high demand.
Entertainment: In remaking its 1991 animated classic Beauty and the Beast, the Mouse House has written a strange, sad love song to itself. And the trailer for DC's Wonder Woman is finally out, and it shows how the princess trained to become the best warrior of them all.
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