Arthur Wagner, a leading member of the party in the eastern German state of Brandenburg, said he would not comment on his reason for leaving the party, but confirmed to a Berlin daily that he had converted to Islam and that he had renounced his party membership on 11 January.

 Trump in his State of the Union address promised to fix bad trade deals raising the prospect of protectionist policies amongst allies. He also pledged to upgrade America’s nuclear arsenal and instructed Mattis to keep the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay open 

Headlines: Revised American Military Policy Introduces New Nuclear Weapons Roman Catholic Church Seeks Involvement in Chinese Internal Affairs America Plays the Role of Wizard of Oz behind the Turkish Assault into Syria

Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas calls on African states to join a multilateral mechanism to discuss the conflict between “Israel” and the Palestinians after spurning any US role in such negotiations. “Pursuing peace efforts requires the establishment of a multilateral mechanism under the umbrella of the United Nations.