Russia - Political Turmoil: Alexei Navalny: More than 5,000 arrested across Russia as tens of thousands protest

Russian police arrested more than 5,000 people on Sunday at protests to demand the release of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Protests took place in multiple Russian cities, from Siberia and Russia's far east to St Petersburg and the capital, Moscow, in the biggest show of public dissent in Russia in years.

Read more at: Alexei Navalny: More than 5,000 arrested across Russia as tens of thousands protest | Euronews

EU: 2019 ends as it began, in political turmoil

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2019 ends as it began, in political turmoil | Euronews

USA - the economy and the nation will face a "perfect storm" politically and economically:the 2020s will see 'real turmoil' as US debt woes come home to roost, says Gundlach - by Julia La Roche

Influential bond investor Jeffrey Gundlach, the CEO of $150 billion DoubleLine Capital, sees trouble brewing in the debt market, despite interest rates hovering near historic lows.

In a recent discussion with Yahoo Finance, Gundlach compared the current expansion to the boom that took place nearly 100 years ago. But the next decade will be the opposite of the roaring 1920s, he said, as the debt bomb the U.S. is sitting on becomes untenable in the next economic downturn.

"It's pretty interesting because the 20s in the 20th century, the 20s were super boom times. And weirdly, I think the 20s this time will be very much different than that, with real turmoil," the 60-year-old billionaire said in a recent wide-ranging interview with Yahoo Finance.

In Gundlach's view, the 2020s will see "the crescendo" of many unattractive trends that have been talked about for years, but finally come home to roost. 

"[We're] going to have to face Social Security, health care, all of these things, deficit-based spending — all of that is going to have to be resolved during the 2020s because the compounding curve is just so bad," the billionaire added.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the federal deficit will top $1 trillion every year beginning in 2022. Yet Gundlach said the agency’s forecast may be too rosy, given that it assumes a "pretty benign future" with no recession and interest rates that are not very high. 

Interest costs to the government, as a percentage of gross domestic product are expected rise from 1.25% to at least 3% by 2027. “That's a big, big increase. And that's coming,” the investor told Yahoo Finance.

“And when you do that, it kind of says, ‘Hey, GDP is going to be knocked by 2%-2.5% because we have to pay interest,’” he added.

Note EU-Digest: these economic problems will be compounded by a totally inept Trump Administration, which has turned the Republican party of Lincoln, Eisenhower and Reagan into a Trump loyalist party which is now based on State Planning and Crony Capitalism

Read more at: Gundlach: The 2020s will see 'real turmoil' as US debt woes come home to roost

Pakistan faces political turmoil as PM Nawaz Sharif ousted in wealth probe - A. Shahzad and S. Raza Hassan

Pakistan’s Supreme Court disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from office on Friday over undeclared assets, plunging the nuclear-armed South Asian nation into political turmoil after a period of relative stability.

Sharif swiftly resigned, but a member of his outgoing cabinet implied that elements of the powerful military had a hand in his ouster.

Pakistan was left with no government leader after Friday’s verdict, which also ordered a criminal probe into the Sharif family over allegations stemming from the “Panama Papers” leaks of international offshore companies.

Sharif’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, which holds a solid majority in parliament, is expected to name a new prime minister to hold office until elections due next year.

Read more: Pakistan faces political turmoil as PM Nawaz Sharif ousted in wealth probe - The Globe and Mail

The Middle East Turmoil Trap - by Javier Solana

Instability continues to spread in the Middle East, with the military coup in Egypt the latest episode to trigger political tremors throughout the region. With its 85 million people and strategically vital location, Egypt is the most important country on the Mediterranean’s southern shore. Continuing the democratization process that began there in 2011 is urgent.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Islamist government, led by Mohamed Morsi, demonstrated all too well its incompetence and incapacity to ensure an inclusive democratic transition. But the solution offered by Egypt’s military is far from ideal. Coups always tend to exacerbate problems, not solve them, and this one is no exception.

The first consequence is that Egyptian society is even more divided over the question of political legitimacy. Morsi’s supporters cite the legitimacy of his victory in a democratic election a year ago – and the illegitimacy of the army’s coup and detention of the deposed president – while his opponents defend the legitimacy of the massive, countrywide protests against him.

The Muslim Brotherhood tried to go too far too fast. Its Islamist agenda put crucial state institutions – namely, the army and the judiciary – on edge and clashed with the liberal, modernizing demands of its opponents. The Tamarod movement, which organized the protests that led to Morsi’s ouster, celebrated the military’s decision to intervene.

That precedent is, without doubt, dangerous for a fledgling democracy. The Islamists must have representation in order to ensure that they do not renounce the ballot box as a means of pursuing their objectives.

Neither the Islamists nor the military can build a new regime against the will of a significant part of the population. Despite Morsi’s poor performance in office – a year in which he presided over grave economic deterioration – a solution that served the cause of national and regional stability would have been preferable.

Read more: The Middle East Turmoil Trap by Javier Solana - Project Syndicate

Turkey's Erdogan: His own worst enemy?

At a gathering in a park in Istanbul, dozens of people communicate with hand signals so as not to disturb the neighbors.

At another, they quietly discuss Turkey's political future. At Taksim Square, people stand silently to avoid provoking police, but their message is clear: "We are not done."

The refusal by protesters across Turkey to go home after weeks of demonstrations has posed the biggest threat to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan since he took office more than a decade ago.

His violent crackdown against them has damaged his political standing and international stature, affected his future plans for Turkey and already significantly impacted Turkish society, analysts say.

"Erdogan still refuses to listen to the people protesting, and he still isn't admitting any mistakes," said political analyst Ahmet Insel at Galatasaray University in Istanbul. "Instead, he used all his power against them and still didn't manage to quiet them — but they have managed to somewhat wear down his authority."

Read more: Turkey's Erdogan: His own worst enemy?