1. Trump to address Congress
Trump gives his first address to a joint sitting of the US Congress on Tuesday night. The speech is at 9pm ET time and 1pm Australian time. [Details]
He began his day with the breakfast chat show Fox & Friends assessing his presidency so far. Interestingly, he graded himself (ahem Sean Spicer) a "C" or "C+" in terms of communication. On achievement and effort he gives himself an "A." [Watch]
![Donald Trump has given his presidency an A for achievement and effort.](/web/20170308203349im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/m/r/x/r/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gulsdt.png/1488347395503.jpg)
"I and my people, I don't think we've explained it well enough," he said. Trump predicted he would change this with his speech tonight.
Back to Spicer, Trump gently rebuked his press secretary for his handling of leaks from the White House. [Fairfax]
Don't feel too sorry for Spicer though. Steve Bannon has described the media as the government's "opposition party" and it shows in the administration's treatment of individual journalists. The Politico reporter who broke the story about Spicer collecting the phones of his own staff in the search for leaks, is now the subject of a story in the conservative Washington Examiner claiming he laughed at the death of a Navy SEAL during a phone call with Spicer. [Paul Bedard] Columnist Erik Wemple has called that Examiner story payback and a "political slime job". [Washington Post]
And George W. Bush has given another interview, commenting on the personal animosity emanating from his Republican successor in the White House. "I don't like the racism and I don't like the name-calling and I don't like the people feeling alienated," he said. [People]
2. Aust politics
You had one job.
A committee stacked with Liberals couldn't agree on recommending changes to the Racial Discrimination Act putting Malcolm Turnbull in the worst of all positions.
If he acts, he does not have the political cover of the parliamentary inquiry and if he doesn't, he continues to feel the heat from a disgruntled base and noisy conservatives who say it's a sign of his government's impotence. [Michelle Grattan/The Conversation]
![George Christensen pictured for Good Weekend.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170308203349im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/1/2/p/a/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1488276940863.png)
George Christensen pictured for Good Weekend. Photo: Andrew Meares
George Christensen who was so visibly silenced by being Nationals Whip (yes that's sarcasm font) has quit as Nationals whip to speak out (even more). More seriously, the merged Liberal National Party in Queensland looks in danger with the Nats wanting their own branding and possibly separate partyroom. [Philip Coorey/Financial Review]
The political centre has been smashed in favour of populism, writes Paul Kelly. [The Australian]
Nice read on France's visiting Foreign Minister, middle powers doing more to advance democracy and democratic interests and increasing their economic ties. [Laura Tingle/Financial Review]
Today we find out if Australia is in technical recession. The GDP figures are released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics at 11.30am. But economists are expecting the numbers will show the economy grew in the last quarter. [ABC]
3. India retains fastest growing economy
![Narendra Modi addresses an election rally in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, this week ahead of state elections. His attempts to curb corruption, counterfeiting and the black economy will weigh on the polls.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170308203349im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/i/c/g/c/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1487739474260.png)
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: Rajesh Kumar Singh
India is still the world's fastest growing economy despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cash crackdown.
GDP slowed from 7.4 per cent to 7.0 per cent but this astounded economists, given Modi took out 86 per cent of the country's currency, virtually overnight.
Economists fear though these figures aren't fully capturing the impact of his demonitisation policy. [The Times of India]
3. Islamic State drones
![In this Friday, Jan. 27, 2017 photo, an Iraqi officer inspects drones belonging to Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq. Islamic State is hacking store-bought drone technology, using rigorous testing and tactics that mimic those used by U.S. unmanned aircraft to adapt to diminishing numbers of fighters and a battlefield that is increasingly difficult to navigate on the ground. (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed)](http://web.archive.org./web/20170308203349im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/n/l/y/f/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1488297981767.png)
An Iraqi officer inspects drones belonging to Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq. Photo: AP.
The global coalition helping fight Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, , of which Australia is a member, is trying to improve its access to the world's media and is committing to monthly briefings with London-based reporters.
Today Major General Rupert Jones was in town spruiking the advances being made in Iraq. He says the flow of foreign fighters, once in the hundreds per month, is now just down to a "trickle," although wouldn't provide exact numbers.
He was also coy on exactly how they are combating Islamic State's use of weaponised drones, which he admits is "insidious" on the battlefield but insists is a sign of the jihadi's "desperation" as they face losing their strongholds in Mosul and Raqqa. [My report/Fairfax]
4. UKIP implosion
UKIP continues to provide the political drama in the UK.
Nigel Farage, that battler for the people, is outraged that UKIP's only MP in the British Parliament, Douglas Carswell, didn't back him for a Knighthood.
Carswell, who sensationally defected from the Conservatives to UKIP, is a more genteel sort of UKIP MP, in that he doesn't share the Farage's harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric or policies.
![Boris Johnson and fellow MPs Gisela Stuart and Douglas Carswell throw a cheque into a furnace during an anti-EU photo stop in Staffordshire, England, this week.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170308203349im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/z/x/b/7/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1463731092448.png)
Douglas Carswell (centre) with Boris Johnson (right). Photo: Getty Images
Their mutual loathing of each other escalated today when Farage, writing in an opinion piece, called for the MP to be kicked out of the party.
"If he didn't like me, or our policy on immigration, why on earth did he join the party in the first place? By February 2015, he was totally disconnected from the rest of the party," Farage complained. [The Telegraph]
And it raises again the question - without Brexit, what is UKIP? [Robert Hutton/Bloomberg]
5. Charges over Kim Jong-nam death
South Korea says the apparent use of chemical weapons to kill the half-brother of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un should serve as a "wake up call" and the international community should punish the rogue nation.
Two women who allegedly carried out the attack, killing Kim Jong-nam with the VX nerve agent, will be charged and could face the death penalty, Malaysia has confirmed. [Reuters]
6. Iron age gold found
Two friends have unearthed jewellery which could be the oldest Iron Age gold discovered in Britain https://t.co/bOT97m5wwb pic.twitter.com/iL36wn1T11
— BBC News England (@BBCEngland) February 28, 2017
Two friends have found several pieces of Iron Age gold jewellery which could be oldest ever discovered in Britain.
The pair found the three necklaces and bracelet while metal detecting on farmland in Staffordshire.
The best part? They were just about to call it a day when they made their discovery. [BBC]
And that's it from me today, you can follow me on Facebook for more.