European Politics This WeekHere is the roundup of this weeks top politics news in Europe. Over the terror attacks of the past few weeks in Europe, it currently is on a state of alert as anti-terror raids continue.

The latest issue appeared ofCharlie Hebdo, the satirical magazine inFrancethat was murderously assaulted by two Islamist terrorists, with a cover depicting a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. Its print run of 3m sold out within hours. Two days after the attack onCharlie Hebdofour hostages held by another Islamist at a Jewish supermarket were killed. Extra police were deployed across France to protect possible targets. Paris staged a 1.6m-strong protest march against extremism attended by dozens of world leaders.

Abu Hamza, an Egyptian-born radical Islamist cleric, who for years fought his extradition from Britain to America, was sentenced to life in prison by a court in New York for supporting terrorism. One of the attackers in Paris is thought to have been mentored by an associate of Mr Hamza.

Croatiaunexpectedly elected Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, the right-wing candidate, as president. She narrowly defeated the left-wing incumbent. Seearticle

TheEuropean Parliamentvoted to allow national governments to decide whether to permit the growth of more genetically modified crops in their own territory. Britain, Spain and some others are expected to do so, but most countries will retain their blanket bans. Seearticle

Ukrainespurported ceasefire was shattered by renewed fighting in the south-east and a rocket attack on a bus that killed 12 people. A peace summit called by the Germans that was supposed to take place in Kazakhstan was cancelled.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world/europe/

Politics in the AmericasHere is a summary of the latest news in politics in North and South America for the past week.Presidential authorityBarack Obama used his executive powers again to try to curb greenhouse-gas pollutants, this time announcing that the government would seek to cut methane emissionsfrom the energy industry by 45% by 2025 from their levels in 2012. Methane accounts for around 9% of Americas planet-cooking emissions.

Hackers calling themselves CyberCaliphate briefly took over thesocial-mediachannels of US Central Command, which runs Americas military operations in the Middle East. They declared support for Islamic State and posted threats, urging American troops to watch their back. The Pentagon described it as little more than a prank, but the cyber-attack came just as Mr Obama was outlining plans to crack down on the theft of personal data.

Mitt Romneyindicated that he is seriously considering running again for president, having denied for months that he was interested. He is talking to his old campaign donors about another bid, his third.

Rapid thawThe United States said thatCubahas released 53 political prisoners, fulfilling a promise it made as part of an agreement to normalise relations. Some Cuban dissidents claimed that not all the prisoners on the list had actually been freed.

Moodys cutVenezuelascredit rating to the lowest level used for countries that are not actually in default on their loans. The countrys economy is suffering from the slump in the price of oil, its main export. Shortages of consumer goods have pushed up inflation and led to lengthy queues at shops. A prosecutor inArgentinaalleged that the countrys president, Cristina Fernndez de Kirchner, tried to cover up the role of Iran in the bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires in 1994, which killed 85 people. The prosecutor, Alberto Nisman, said that a controversial agreement with Iran in 2013 to set up a commission to look into the massacre was the result of secret negotiations and claims that officials offered to export grain to Iran in exchange for oil to ease Argentinas energy deficit.

Haitisparliament was dissolved after the mandates of several senators expired, leaving the president, Michel Martelly, free to rule by decree. A prolonged dispute between him and the opposition over a delay in elections, and over an electoral law that would allow them to be held, has sparked violent protests in Port-au-Prince, the capital.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world/latin_america/The 1% richer than the 99%The combined wealth of the worlds richest 1 per cent will overtake that of the remaining 99 per cent by 2016 unless action is taken to curb shocking extremes of inequality, a new report warns. The richest 1 per cent currently own 48 per cent of all global wealth, Oxfam says. Next year that figure is forecast to exceed 50 per cent for the first time.Using data from Credit Suisses latest global wealth report, the charity warns that rising inequality is holding back the fight against global poverty at a time when more than a billion people still live on less than $1.25 (83p) a day. The report warns that global wealth is becoming increasing concentrated among a small, wealthy elite. The report warns that global wealth is becoming increasing concentrated among a small, wealthy elite. Oxfam will use the summit in Switzerland to call for new measures to tackle global inequality, including a clampdown on tax evasion and a living wage for all workers.Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International, said: The scale of global inequality is quite simply staggering, and despite the issues shooting up the global agenda, the gap between the richest and the rest is widening fast. Failure to tackle inequality will set the fight against poverty back decades. The poor are hurt twice by rising inequality they get a smaller share of the economic pie and because extreme inequality hurts growth, there is less pie to be shared around.Lynn Forester de Rothschild, chief executive of E L Rothschild, said: Extreme inequality undermines economic growth and it threatens the private sectors bottom line.http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30875633