Tuesday, March 05, 2019
Incestuous Relationship Between Fox News And Trump Has Been Exposed
Donald Tusk Claims Anti-European Forces Meddled in Brexit Vote
Donald Tusk has claimed external powers meddled in the Brexit vote as he called for EU member states to do more to protect the upcoming European elections.
Speaking at a press conference in Brussels with the Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, the European council president said he agreed with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who used an editorial in the Guardian and other newspapers to call on European countries to be alert to malign influences.
“There are external anti-European forces, which are seeking – openly or secretly – to influence the democratic choices of Europeans, as was the case with Brexit and a number of election campaigns across Europe. And it may again be the case with the European elections in May,” said Tusk, a former prime minister of Poland and vociferous critic of Vladimir Putin.
Tusk’s intervention echoed fears Russia sought to foment anti-EU sentiment during the 2016 EU referendum campaign in the UK. » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Lawrence's Last Word: Bulls**t | The Last Word | MSNBC
Monday, March 04, 2019
Dear Europe, Brexit Is a Lesson for All of Us: It’s Time for Renewal
Citizens of Europe, if I am taking the liberty of addressing you directly, it is not only in the name of the history and values that unite us, but because time is of the essence. A few weeks from now the European elections will be decisive for the future of our continent.
Never since the second world war has Europe been so essential. Yet never has Europe been in such danger. Brexit stands as the symbol of that. It symbolises the crisis of a Europe that has failed to respond to its peoples’ need for protection from the major shocks of the modern world. It also symbolises the European trap. The trap lies not in being part of the European Union; the trap is in the lie and the irresponsibility that can destroy it. Who told the British people the truth about their post-Brexit future? Who spoke to them about losing access to the EU market? Who mentioned the risks to peace in Ireland of restoring the border? Retreating into nationalism offers nothing; it is rejection without an alternative. And this is the trap that threatens the whole of Europe: the anger mongers, backed by fake news, promise anything and everything. » | Emmanuel Macron | Monday, March 4, 2019
Sanders on Venezuela - Does His Critique of US Policy Go Far Enough?
Guaidó Returns to Venezuela as US Issues Warning to Maduro
Washington has warned Nicolás Maduro he faces a “strong and significant response” if his rival, Juan Guaidó, is detained or threatened as he tries to reenter Venezuela on Monday before a day of fresh protests.
Guaidó sneaked out of Venezuela on the eve of a failed bid to force humanitarian aid into the economically ravaged country on 23 February and subsequently set off on a five-nation tour of South America.
The 35-year-old visited Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Paraguay despite a travel ban introduced after his decision to challenge Maduro by declaring himself Venezuela’s rightful interim president.
Most western governments now recognise Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate interim president but, beyond widespread popular support, he enjoys little concrete power in Venezuela. » | Tom Phillips, Latin America correspondent | Monday, March 4, 2019
Sunday, March 03, 2019
Killing Jamal Khashoggi: How a Brutal Saudi Hit Job Unfolded | NYT - Visual Investigations
Trump and Netanyahu Scandals a Very Dangerous Moment - Wilkerson & Jay
Calls to Raise Smoking Age to 21 "Infantalise Young Adults"
The proposal is included in a report by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health which is run by the anti-smoking group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).
Other proposals include further restrictions on the portrayal of smoking on television and in films, and introducing a levy on tobacco companies that would be used to fund further anti-smoking initiatives.
Simon Clark, director of Forest, said:
“These proposals infantilise young adults. If you’re 18 and old enough to vote, drive a car and join the army you’re old enough to make an informed decision to smoke. » | Sunday, March 3, 2019
Saturday, March 02, 2019
US Ambassador to UK Under Fire over Defence of Chlorinated Chicken
The US ambassador to Britain, Woody Johnson, has come under fire from a leading food critic, a farming union and trade justice campaigners over his push to open up the UK to American farmers post-Brexit.
Jay Rayner, the BBC presenter, Observer columnist and MasterChef critic, said the UK should tell Johnson where he can stick chlorinated chicken, the US’s preferred approach for protecting consumers from pathogens such as salmonella and campylobacter.
Writing in the Telegraph on Friday [£], Johnson attacked warnings that a post-Brexit trade deal would result in chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-pumped beef arriving on supermarket shelves. “You have been presented with a false choice,” he wrote. “Either stick to EU directives, or find yourselves flooded with American food of the lowest quality. Inflammatory and misleading terms like ‘chlorinated chicken’ and ‘hormone beef’ are deployed to cast American farming in the worst possible light. » | Jamie Doward | Saturday, March 2, 2019
Did President Donald Trump Just Have His Worst Week Yet As President? | The 11th Hour | MSNBC
Lawrence's Last Word: President Donald Trump's Golf Socialism | The Last Word | MSNBC
Friday, March 01, 2019
Hamza bin Laden Loses Saudi Citizenship after US Offers $1m Reward
Saudi Arabia has revoked the citizenship of Hamza bin Laden, after the US offered a $1m (£755,000) reward for the [the] son of the late al-Qaida leader.
The kingdom announced the news on Friday in an order in its official gazette.
Hamza bin Laden’s father, Osama, masterminded the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and was killed in a US military raid in Pakistan 10 years later.
The US State Department said the $1m reward would be paid for help locating Hamza bin Laden in any country as part its “rewards for justice” programme. » | Associated Press | Friday, March 1, 2019
Otto Warmbier Parents Blame Kim for Son's Death and Reject Trump's 'Excuses'
The parents of Otto Warmbier, a young American who was detained by North Korea for more than a year and died soon after his release in 2017, have rebuked Donald Trump’s defense of Kim Jong-un for the death of their son.
“We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out,” Fred and Cindy Warmbier wrote in a statement Friday, the morning after Trump returned from his summit with the North Korean leader in Vietnam, where the pair failed to reach a deal over US sanctions and nuclear weapons.
“Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that.”
Trump received a fierce backlash, including from fellow Republicans, after he refused to blame Kim for Warmbier’s death, in response to a question during the president’s visit to Hanoi earlier this week, about how it affected his relationship with Kim. » | Lauren Aratani in New York | Friday, March 1, 2019
Otto Warmbier's Family Rebukes Trump for Siding with North Korea
Can Netanyahu Avoid Indictment? l Inside Story
If convicted he could face up to 10 years in prison. Netanyahu dismisses the allegations as a political “witch-hunt” designed to oust him from power. A hearing to decide if the prosecution goes ahead won't take place until after Israel's general election in April. So what’s likely to happen if, by then, Netanyahu has won a fifth term as prime minister? And what does it mean for his political career?
Presenter: Laura Kyle | Guests Akiva Eldar, Israeli Columnist for Al-Monitor; Yossi Mekelberg, Professor in International Relations at Regent's University in London; Mitchell Barak, speechwriter for former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and former Israeli President Shimon Peres.
President Donald Trump, Ivanka Deny Special Treatment For Jared Kushner | Morning Joe | MSNBC
Joe: President Donald Trump Appeases Yet Another Dictator | Morning Joe | MSNBC
Fractured France: “There Will Be a Civil War” - BBC News
But does he have what it takes to see off the protesters, or is France heading for a civil war? The Nine’s Europe Correspondent Jean Mackenzie has taken a road trip across the country to find out.
Reported by Jean Mackenzie; Produced by Sara Monetta
Concern over Food Safety as US Seeks Greater Access to UK Markets
The US has outlined its objectives for a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK, demanding greater access to the food markets where products such as chlorinated chicken or hormone-fed beef are currently banned under EU rules.
The US laid out its aims for a trade deal to cut tariff and non-tariff barriers for US industrial and agricultural goods and reduce regulatory differences.
The Trump administration is seeking to eliminate or reduce barriers for US agricultural products and secure duty-free access for industrial goods. » | Lisa O’Carroll, Brexit correspondent | Friday, March 1, 2019
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Why Did the Trump-Kim Summit Break Down? | Inside Story
The pair arrived in Vietnam with hopes of building on last year's historic summit in Singapore. However, less than two days later, they signed no agreement, and it's unclear when they'll talk again.
North Korea's neighbours South Korea and China both said they were disappointed with the outcome. So what went wrong? And where does it leave the nuclear threat from North Korea?
Presenter: Hoda Abdel-Hamid | Guests: Se-Woong Koo - Publisher, Korea Expose; Robert Gutsche - Associate Professor at Lancaster University; Emil Dall - Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and Specialist on Nuclear Proliferation
Specter of Fascism: Cohen Says Trump Won’t Leave Peacefully in 2020
Luxembourg PM Takes Arab Leaders to Task on Gay Rights at Summit
Luxembourg’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel, has confronted Arab leaders over the repression of gay rights, telling them his same-sex marriage would condemn him to death in some of their countries.
The conference room at a summit of EU and Arab states fell silent when Bettel made his statement, according to a German TV journalist.
Retweeting this account, Bettel wrote: “Saying nothing was not an option for me.” The tweet was signed with his initials.
Bettel, the first EU leader to be married to a same-sex partner, had planned to make the intervention before arriving at the summit, which was the first gathering between the EU and Arab League.
Homosexuality is punishable by death under sharia law in Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen. Other countries in the region prohibit same-sex acts, including Algeria, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia, Syria, Kuwait and some of the United Arab Emirates. » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Thursday, February 28, 2019
Trump: I Took Kim at His Word over Otto Warmbier's Torture
Donald Trump has said he took Kim Jong-un “at his word” when he denied any responsibility in the imprisonment and torture of Otto Warmbier that led to the US student’s death in 2017.
“Some really bad things happened to Otto,” Trump said. “But Kim tells me that he didn’t know about it and I will take him at his word.”
Although Kim wields tremendous power in one of the world’s last totalitarian regimes, Trump said he believed the North Korean leader was not aware of Warmbier’s imprisonment in January 2016 and torture in jail until it was too late.
“I don’t believe he knew about it. He felt very badly about it, I did speak to him. He knew about it, but he knew about it after,” Trump said. North Korea, he went on, was a “big country” with “a lot of people in those prisons and the camps – there are some bad people”. » | Juliaan Borger in Hanoi | Thursday, February 28, 2019
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Donald Trump 'a Racist, a Conman' Who Committed Crimes as President – Cohen
In explosive public testimony before Congress, Donald Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen cast the president as a “racist” and a “conman” who engaged in criminal activity after taking office as president to cover up an illegal hush money payment to an adult film actor.
Appearing before the House oversight committee on Wednesday, Cohen became the first Trump associate to allege that Trump had prior knowledge that his longtime adviser, Roger Stone, was communicating with WikiLeaks during the 2016 election regarding the release of hacked Democratic Party emails.
He also said Trump was aware of the infamous Trump Tower meeting between members of his presidential campaign, including his son Donald Trump Jr, and a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin, which was arranged under the pretense of receiving damaging information about Hillary Clinton. Cohen’s testimony marked a rare opportunity for millions of Americans to bear witness to the account of a central player in multiple investigations ensnaring the president and his inner circle. Cohen acted for more than a decade as the president’s fixer – a role in which he became intimately familiar with both Trump’s personal and professional affairs. » | Sabrina Siddiqui in Washington and Jon Swaine in New York | Wednesday, February 27, 2019
UK Shooting Range Uses Shamima Begum Image for Targets
A shooting range in Wirral has defended its use of targets with an image of Shamima Begum, the teenager who travelled from the UK to Syria to join Islamic State, saying it had received a high number of requests from customers.
Children as young as six can visit the Wallasey site, which also reportedly features targets of high-profile figures, such as Donald Trump and Margaret Thatcher. » | Mattha Busby | Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Netherlands Cuts Muslim Man's Benefits for Refusing to Shave Beard
A Dutch court has backed the suspension of a Muslim man’s benefits over his refusal on religious grounds to shave his beard while on training for a job.
The unnamed man had been offered a job as an asbestos removal officer but was subsequently told he would need to be clean shaven in order to undergo the training course.
When he refused on the basis of his religious convictions, Amersfoort city council suspended payments to both him and his wife for a month under the Participatiewet, which provides a minimum income for every legal resident in the Netherlands. » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Donald Trump Hails ‘Great Leader’ Kim Jong-un at Hanoi Summit
Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have begun their second summit, with the US president calling his North Korean counterpart “a great leader” and offering to help give his country a “tremendous future”.
The two leaders advanced towards each other and shook hands in front of a dozen US and North Korean flags, set up in the Metropole hotel in Hanoi, in a tableau almost identical to the backdrop at their first meeting, eight months ago in Singapore.
In his remarks to the press, Trump addressed criticism that the first summit had not lived up to his claims that it was a breakthrough that would lead to North Korea’s disarmament and end the nuclear threat the country posed.
“It is an honour to be with Chairman Kim. It’s an honour to be together in a country, Vietnam, where they have rolled out the red carpet and they are very honoured to have us,” the US president told reporters as the two men sat alongside each other before brief introductory talks. » | Julian Borger in Hanoi | Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
The “Permanent War State” Aims to Plunder Venezuela - Wilkerson and Jay
Monday, February 25, 2019
Labour Party Leader, Under Pressure, Backs a New Brexit Referendum
After the resignations of nine Labour Party members last week, and amid the prospect of more, the party’s leader, Jeremy Corbyn, dropped his longstanding resistance to a second vote on leaving the bloc.
Mr. Corbyn’s support for a new vote is certainly no guarantee a new vote will happen. Still, it will cheer pro-European Britons, who have been fighting to reverse the outcome of the 2016 referendum decision. » | Stephen Castle | Monday, February 25, 2019
Dr. Patrick Vickers Explains Gerson Therapy for Healing Cancer Naturally
Marco Rubio Tweets Out Death Threat To Venezuelan Leader
The Coup Has Failed & Now the US Is Looking to Wage War: Venezuelan Foreign Minister Speaks Out
Sunday, February 24, 2019
‘I Felt the Hatred’, Says Philosopher Attacked by Gilets Jaunes
The French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut is at home: an airy apartment with walls packed floor to ceiling with books in one of Paris’s more chic arrondissements.
Today, however, the writer and commentator does not feel entirely at home in France. That feeling was heightened dramatically when, last weekend, a gilet jaune protester shouted at him that he was a “dirty Zionist shit” who should “go back to Tel Aviv”.
“I am home, but not to these people. Those who shout ‘go back to Tel Aviv’ believe Israel is stolen land, so what they are saying is that I have no place here, I have no place there … that I have no place on earth,” he told the Observer.
It is all part of what he calls “new winds blowing across Europe. Where are they taking us? Nobody knows,” he said. “It’s very worrying.” » | Kim Willsher in Paris | Sunday, February 24, 2019
Saturday, February 23, 2019
How Much of a Problem Is Anti-Semitism in Europe? l Inside Story
Anti-Zionism, opposition to the state of Israel, could now follow. Elsewhere in Europe, 12 MPs resigned from their parties in the UK, citing the failure to deal with anti-Semitism as one of the reasons. The EU says hate speech and harassment are becoming the new norm. So why are Jewish people being singled out?
Presenter: Hoda Abdelhamid | Guests Yossi Mekelburg, professor in International Relations at Regent's University; Michal Bilewicz, Chair at the Center for Research on Prejudice at the University of Warsaw; Hugo Drochon, Political Theorist at the University of Nottingham
Maduro bricht die diplomatischen Beziehungen zu Kolumbien ab – die neuesten Entwicklungen in Venezuela im Überblick
Der venezolanische Präsident Nicolás Maduro hat am Samstag bekannt gegeben, dass Venezuela die diplomatischen Beziehungen zum Nachbarland Kolumbien abgebrochen habe. Bei einer Kundgebung in der Hauptstadt Caracas kritisierte Maduro am Samstag, die «faschistische Regierung von Kolumbien». Diese habe die vom selbsternannten Übergangspräsidenten Juan Guaidó initiierten ausländischen Hilfslieferungen nach Venezuela aktiv unterstützt. Deswegen müssten alle diplomatischen Vertreter des Nachbarlandes Venezuela binnen 24 Stunden verlassen, sagte Maduro. » | Tobias Sedlmaier, Boas Ruh (Agenturen) | Samstag, 23. Februar 2019
Opinion: The Grave Threats of White Supremacy and Far-Right Extremism
Last week, federal agents in Maryland arrested a United States Coast Guard officer and said he was plotting to assassinate Democratic members of Congress, prominent television journalists and others. The officer, Lt. Christopher Hasson, apparently was inspired by a right-wing Norwegian terrorist who slaughtered 77 people in 2011, stockpiled firearms and ammunition and researched locations around Washington to launch his attacks, according to investigators. Fortunately, the F.B.I. arrested him before he could act.
This frightening case is just one of several recent reminders that white supremacy and far-right extremism are among the greatest domestic-security threats facing the United States. » | Thomas T. Cullen | Mr. Cullen is the United States attorney for the Western District of Virginia. | Friday, February 22, 2019
Saudi Crown Prince Defends China's Right to Put Uighur Muslims in Concentration Camps
"China has the right to carry out anti-terrorism and de-extremisation work for its national security,” Prince Mohammed, who has been in China signing multi-million trade deals much to the annoyance of his Western allies, was quoted as saying on Chinese state television.
Xi Jinping, China’s leader, told the crown prince the two countries must strengthen international cooperation on de-radicalisation to “prevent the infiltration and spread of extremist thinking”. » | Telegraph Reporters | Friday, February 22, 2019
Friday, February 22, 2019
UN Concludes Journalist Khashoggi Murder Was Premeditated by Saudi Arabia Leadership
Chuka Umunna MP on Leaving Labour, a New Centrist Party and a Second Brexit Referendum
Maajid Explains Why Love Kept Him Sane after Racist Attack
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Church of England Makes Sunday Services Non-compulsory
The Church of England has dropped a centuries-old requirement for all churches to hold weekly Sunday services.
Its general synod, meeting in London this week, formally approved a change to canon law to relax the requirement for morning and evening prayer in every parish church every Sunday.
The change, which will also apply to services of Holy Communion, will mainly affect parishes with small and declining congregations in rural areas.
Most rural priests have multiple benefices, with some in charge of up to 20 churches, but were required to maintain regular services even if only a handful of worshippers turned up. » | Harriet Sherwood, Religion correspondent | Thursday, February 21, 2019
Trump Admin’s Secretive Talks to Sell Saudi Arabia Nuclear Technology Spark New Fear of Arms Race
Antisemitism at Worst Levels Since Second World War, Says Macron
Antisemitism appears to have reached its worst levels since the second world war, Emmanuel Macron told Jewish community leaders on Wednesday, a day after thousands of people took to the streets in France to denounce hate crimes.
The French government is to adopt the intergovernmental organisation International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism and propose a law to stop hate speech being circulated online, the French president said.
Speaking at the annual dinner of the Jewish organisation Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France (Crif), Macron said his country and other parts of Europe had in recent years seen “a resurgence of antisemitism that is probably unprecedented since [the second world war]”. » | Agencies | Thursday, February 21, 2019
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Can Bernie Sanders Win against Donald Trump? l Inside Story
The 77-year-old is making a second attempt, launching his campaign to be Democratic candidate in 2020 and believes he still has what it takes to win the White House. He's described Donald Trump as the most dangerous president in modern American history.
The list for the Democratic primary looks a crowded one and one of the most diverse ever. At least 12 candidates have confirmed they'll run so far - dozens more have still to decide.
There are already a record number of women, vast age differences between candidates, and ethnic minorities. But have any of them got what it will take to face up to Trump?
Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra | Guests: Jeffrey Stacey - Former State Department Official in the Obama Administration; Adam Quinn - Senior Lecturer in American Politics, University of Birmingham; Rina Shah - Republican Strategist and Consultant
Saudi Scholar: My Father Faces the Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia for Supporting Human Rights
Karl Lagerfeld - German Fashion Designer and Icon | DW Documentary
No living fashion designer, let alone a German one, was as celebrated as Karl Lagerfeld. On September 10, 2018 the man with the trademark ponytail and sunglasses celebrated his 85th birthday. From dawn to late morning, Karl Lagerfeld designs for Chanel, Fendi and his own signature brand - a combined workload of up to 15 collections a year. A workhorse who never takes breaks or even a vacation, he is also a photographer and filmmaker. His passion for fashion was awakened by a Dior show in Hamburg in 1950. Four years later, at the age of 17, Karl Lagerfeld was hired as an assistant to Pierre Balmain. Karl Lagerfeld recounts his beginnings in the industry, as well as his upper class background and childhood in Schleswig-Holstein. Karl Lagerfeld was greatly influenced by his mother, whom he describes as his personal style icon. Karl Lagerfeld's caustic comments were notorious and dreaded by those at the receiving end. As an artist, Karl Lagerfeld worked in several media, from pictures and photographs to book illustrations and videos. The documentary of 2015 follows Karl Lagerfeld to exhibition openings, during the hectic preparations for his fashion shows, and at photo shoots in Paris as it seeks to uncover the man behind the mask.
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Bernie Sanders: End US Arms Sales to Saudis and Support for its Yemen War
Türkei: Führende Ex-Mitarbeiter von "Cumhuriyet" müssen ins Gefängnis
Führende Ex-Mitarbeiter und Journalisten der regierungskritischen türkischen Zeitung "Cumhuriyet" müssen nach einem gescheiterten Berufungsverfahren ins Gefängnis. Das Berufungsgericht in Istanbul wies den Einspruch der 14 Angeklagten zurück, die im vergangenen April zu teils mehrjährigen Haftstrafen verurteilt worden waren. » | APA/AFP/dpa | Dienstag, 19. Februar 2019
Former IS Bride: Shamima Begum Should Ask for 'Mercy'
Ms Joya believes that like herself, Shamima Begum has been "deceived to believe" in a utopia that simply doesn't exist and that she can be helped if she asks for "mercy".
Shamima Begum: 'I didn't want to be IS poster girl' - BBC News
Ms Begum, who has just given birth, said she now wants the UK's forgiveness and supports "some British values".
She told the BBC while it was "wrong" innocent people died in the 2017 Manchester attack, it was "kind of retaliation" for attacks on IS.
The 19-year-old left Bethnal Green four years ago with two school friends
Shamima Begum: I Didn't Do Anything Dangerous
Now aged 19, she has given birth to a baby boy and she wants to return to the UK.
She says she knew about IS executions before she left for Syria, and thinks that people should have sympathy 'for everything [she has] been through'.
Monday, February 18, 2019
Mike Pence Met With Silence; Angela Merkel Hammers President Donald Trump | Morning Joe | MSNBC
Rift Between Trump and Europe Is Now Open and Angry
But in the last few days of a prestigious annual security conference in Munich, the rift between Europe and the Trump administration became open, angry and concrete, diplomats and analysts say.
A senior German official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on such matters, shrugged his shoulders and said: “No one any longer believes that Trump cares about the views or interests of the allies. It’s broken.”
The most immediate danger, diplomats and intelligence officials warned, is that the trans-Atlantic fissures now risk being exploited by Russia and China. » | Steven Erlanger and Katrin Bennhold | Sunday, February 17, 2019
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Macron Condemns Antisemitic Abuse During gilets jaunes Paris Protest
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has condemned antisemitic abuse of a leading intellectual by gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protesters and said it would not be tolerated.
Police intervened to protect philosopher and writer Alain Finkielkraut after he was targeted by a group of protesters on the fringe of a demonstration in central Paris on Saturday, according to videos posted on social networks.
“The antisemitic insults he has been subjected to are the absolute negation of what we are and what makes us a great nation. We will not tolerate it,” Macron tweeted.
“The son of Polish immigrants who became a French academician, Alain Finkielkraut is not only a prominent man of letters but the symbol of what the Republic allows everyone,” the president added in another tweet.
Several protesters shouted “dirty Zionist”, “we are the people” and “France is ours”, according to a video broadcast by Yahoo! News. » | Agence France-Presse | Sunday, February 17, 2019
Third of Britons Believe Islam Threatens British Way of Life, Says Report
More than a third of people in the UK think that Islam is a threat to the British way of life, according to a report by the anti-fascist group Hope not Hate.
The organisation’s annual “State of Hate” report, which will be launched on Monday, argues that anti-Muslim prejudice has replaced immigration as the key driver of far right growth.
In polling conducted by the group in July last year, 35% of people thought Islam was generally a threat to the British way of life, compared with 30% who thought it was generally compatible. Forty-nine per cent of those who voted Conservative in the 2017 general election shared thought it was generally incompatible, while 21% of Labour voters did. » | Frances Perraudin | Sunday, February 17, 2019
Saturday, February 16, 2019
Lee Radziwill, Jackie Kennedy's Younger Sister, Dies Aged 85
The American socialite Lee Radziwill, who was Jackie Kennedy’s younger sister, has died. She was 85.
The website WWD reported the news, saying Radziwill died at home in New York City on Friday. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Radziwill was born Caroline Lee Bouvier in 1933, four years after her sister. Briefly and unsuccessfully an actor, she achieved success as an interior designer and public relations executive in the fashion industry, working for Giorgio Armani. » \ Martin Pengelly in New York | Saturday, February 16, 2019
Karl Marx's London Memorial Vandalised for Second Time
The tomb of Karl Marx in Highgate cemetery in London has been vandalised for the second time in the space of a month.
The words “doctrine of hate” and “architect of genocide” were found daubed in red paint across the Grade I-listed monument in the north London graveyard on Saturday.
The latest attack comes less than two weeks after the marble plaque on the tomb was defaced by an apparent attempt to scrape and chip Marx’s name off the marble slab with a hammer. » | Ruth Quinn | Saturday, February 16, 2019
Mike Pence Rebukes European Powers over Iran and Venezuela
Rede der Kanzlerin: Merkel live auf der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz
THE GUARDIAN: Angela Merkel criticises US isolationism, urging 'win-win solutions' »
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Merkel Rejects U.S. Demands That Europe Pull Out of Iran Nuclear Deal »
UK's Saudi Weapons Sales Unlawful, Lords Committee Finds
The UK is on “the wrong side of the law” by sanctioning arms exports to Saudi Arabia for the war in Yemen and should suspend some of the export licences, an all-party Lords committee has said.
The report by the international relations select committee says ministers are not making independent checks to see if arms supplied by the UK are being used in breach of the law, but is instead relying on inadequate investigations by the Saudis, its allies in the war.
It describes the humanitarian plight of Yemenis as “unconscionable”. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Saturday, February 16, 2019
Saudi Women, Unveiled
'Why I Fled Saudi Arabia and Sought Asylum in the UK' - BBC News
Pelosi Slams Trump's National Emergency over Border Wall
Friday, February 15, 2019
German Minister Calls for Ban on Conversion Therapy
The German health minister, Jens Spahn, has said that he will seek to ban “conversion therapies” that claim to change sexual orientation.
“Homosexuality is not an illness, which is why it does not need to be treated,” Spahn, who is gay himself, told the left-leaning Berlin daily Die Tageszeitung.
He hoped that a German law banning such therapies could be adopted by the summer. » | Agence France-Presse | Friday, February 15, 2019
David Gergen: There's No Border Emergency, It's a Fake
Antisemitism Rising Sharply across Europe, Latest Figures Show
Antisemitism is rising sharply across Europe, experts have said, as France reported a 74% increase in the number of offences against Jews last year and Germany said the number of violent antisemitic attacks had surged by more than 60%.
The figures confirm the results of three recent Europe-wide surveys showing Jewish people feel at greater risk, and are experiencing markedly more aggression, amid a generalised increase in racist hate speech and violence in a significantly coarser, more polarised political environment.
France’s interior ministry said this week that recorded incidents of antisemitism rose to 541 last year from 311 in 2017, while the German government said offences motivated by hatred of Jews hit a 10-year high of 1,646 in 2018. Physical attacks rose from 37 to 62, leaving 43 people needing medical treatment. » | Jon Henley, European affairs correspondent | Friday, February 15, 2019
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Trump Will Declare National Emergency to Fund Border Wall, Says White House
The White House said it is going to declare a national emergency on America’s southern border as a way of funding Donald Trump’s long-promised border wall with Mexico.
The announcement came just before the Senate voted 83 to 16 to advance a spending package designed to prevent another government shutdown. The House will take up the bill later evening and Trump has said he will sign it.
“President Trump will sign the government funding bill, and as he has stated before, he will also take other executive action – including a national emergency – to ensure we stop the national security and humanitarian crisis at the border. The President is once again delivering on his promise to build the wall, protect the border, and secure our great country,” the White House said in a statement. » | Ben Jacobs and Lauren Gambino in Washington | Thursday, February 14, 2019
Mike Pence Attacks UK for 'Breaking US Sanctions against Iran'
In an unusually blunt attack on America’s traditional European allies, Mr Pence told a summit in Warsaw that the three countries were leading “an effort to break American sanctions against Iran’s murderous revolutionary regime”.
He focused his criticism on a financial mechanism created by the three states and the EU to allow European firms to continue trading with Iran in a way that skirts punishing US sanctions.
“It's an ill-advised step that will only strengthen Iran, weaken the EU, and create still more distance between Europe and the United States,” Mr Pence said.
He said the British, French, and German governments had “not been nearly as cooperative” in backing America’s anti-Iran policy as Israel and the Gulf Arab states like Saudi Arabia and the UAE. » | Raf Sanchez, Warsaw | Thursday, February 14, 2019
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister: “Washington Hijacked Guaidó”
'Salman Rushdie Radicalised My Generation'
Alyas Karmani was soaking up everything student life had to offer. He'd grown up in Tooting, south London, in a traditional Pakistani household, his father a bus driver and trade unionist. Religion was an important part of Alyas's upbringing but not something he was particularly interested in.
"We were obedient to our parents. We'd go to the mosque when it was required but we had a clandestine double-life existence," he says. "We were partying, smoking weed, going out with girls and doing everything we could possibly do."
So when it was time to choose a university, Alyas ran away from his Pakistani Muslim identity and headed 400 miles north to Glasgow. "I was running as fast as possible. I was a 'self-hating Paki'. I didn't want brown friends. All my friends were white liberal mainstream types. That was my crowd." » | Mobeen Azhar, BBC News | Thursday, February 14, 2019
Dutch PM on Brexit: UK Is a Waning Country Too Small to Stand Alone
Britain is a “waning country” and too small to stand alone on the world stage, the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, has claimed in a withering assessment of the UK’s exit from the EU.
Rutte, who has emerged as a key player in the talks over the past two years, also warned in an interview that the UK looked to be sliding off the “precipice” towards a “devastating” no-deal Brexit.
“Who will be left weakened by Brexit is the United Kingdom,” he said. “It is already weakening, it is a waning country compared to two or three years ago. It is going to become an economy of middling size in the Atlantic Ocean. It is neither the US nor the EU. It is too small to appear on the world stage on its own.” » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Thursday, February 14, 2019
THE GUARDIAN: Netherlands PM uses Britain's Brexit 'chaos' as cautionary tale »
Glenn Greenwald: As Bezos Protests Invasion of His Privacy, Amazon Builds Global Surveillance State
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Brexit Is National Crisis, Former Diplomats Tell Theresa May
More than 40 former British ambassadors and high commissioners have written to Theresa May warning her that Brexit has turned into a “national crisis” and urging her to delay proceedings until the government has greater clarity about Britain’s likely future relationship with Europe.
The letter, signed by many of the most senior diplomats of the last 20 years, underlines concerns that British influence in the world will wane if the country leaves Europe’s trading and foreign policy bloc.
In a joint statement they write: “As former diplomats who have served around the world we have a clear understanding of what contributes to Britain’s influence in the world. Our advice to Theresa May today is clear: we should not leave the EU when we have no clarity about our final destination. Instead we must use the mechanisms at our disposal, above all we must seek to extend the article 50 negotiating period.” » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Photographer Shows Trump Without Fake Tan And Fake Hair And It's Hilarious
Opinion: My Father Faces the Death Penalty. This Is Justice in Saudi Arabia.
Despite the claims of Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his enablers, Saudi Arabia is not rolling back the hard-line religious establishment. Instead, the kingdom is curtailing the voices of moderation that have historically combated extremism. Numerous Saudi activists, scholars and thinkers who have sought reform and opposed the forces of extremism and patriarchy have been arrested. Many of them face the death penalty.
Salman Alodah, my father, is a 61-year-old scholar of Islamic law in Saudi Arabia, a reformist who argued for greater respect for human rights within Shariah, the legal code of Islam based on the Quran. His voice was heard widely, partly owing to his popularity as a public figure with 14 million followers on Twitter. » | Abdullah Alaoudh | Mr. Alaoudh is a legal scholar at Georgetown University. | Wednesday, February 13, 2019
France's Yellow Rebellion – A Movement against Macron | DW Documentary
What began as a spontaneous protest against high gasoline prices swiftly evolved into a mass movement that has caused a major crisis in France. The "yellow vests” have become synonymous with the widespread anger at the reform policies of President Emmanuel Macron - and constitute his greatest challenge since he took office. The protesters accuse Macron of being a representative of the rich while ignoring the plight of ordinary citizens. The wave of demonstrations was triggered by Jacline Mouraud and her video tirade on social media. Her subsequent fame has enabled her to continue criticizing politicians on TV talk shows. The "yellow vest” demonstrations have been organized almost exclusively online and without the involvement of opposition parties or unions.
The protesters have a range of demands, from lower taxes to high pensions and a greater say in the running of the country. They feel neglected by the Paris elite, who they see as showing no interest in their economic duress and fears of social decline.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Monday, February 11, 2019
The Iran Revolution at 40: From Theocracy to ‘Normality’
Ecstatic Iranians danced in the streets, playing cat and mouse with soldiers as lingering pro-government sharpshooters fired from the rooftops. Families joined in mass protests, as vigilantes ransacked liquor stores and people kissed the foreheads of turbaned clerics leading the revolution. » | Thomas Erdbrink | Sunday, February 10, 2019
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