Conversion by Aversion? Featuring Arnoud van Doorn, Former Member of the Dutch Freedom Party

As far-right parties obsess about the danger Islam presents to the western lifestyle, some Islamic scholars are increasingly concerned about the danger the western lifestyle presents to Islam. Arnoud van Doorn argues that if moderate Muslims don’t step up their game, within the next 20 to 40 years, Islam may be gone from Europe. Are those fears really justified? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Arnoud van Doorn, a former member of the Dutch Freedom Party who converted to Islam and a representative of the Party of Unity in The Hague City Council.

President Trump Tells Reporter That Asking Government To Investigate Biden Is Ok | The Last Word | MSNBC

As the congressional investigations into the Trump campaign ramp up, President Trump is now targeting Joe Biden and his family. Neera Tanden and Tim O'Brien discuss with Joy Reid Trump's latest claim that he might ask Attorney General William Barr to investigate Biden.

Sam Harris Responds to His Most Common Critique

John Bolton Gearing Up the US for War with Iran

Via America’s Lawyer: Host of Watching the Hawks, Tyrel Ventura, joins Mike Papantonio to discuss the reasons behind national security adviser John Bolton’s statements about Iran, which has raised U.S. Iran tensions to a new high.

Farage Cannot Be Allowed to Dictate Britain’s Future. He Must Be Thwarted

THE GUARDIAN: The EU election results will send a vital message to MPs about Brexit

If you care about what the Brexiters are doing to our country, then vote on 23 May. All that matters is that on 24 May, Nigel Farage and his allies on the far right of the Conservative party cannot claim they speak for Britain.

Politics is not an exact science. After the vote, there will be a ledger. On one side will be hard or no-deal Brexit with Farage and the Tory fellow travellers. On the other will be those who want an end to Brexit and those who believe that, after this degree of mess and on a decision of this magnitude, the final say should be with the people.

The most important thing to remember is that with the knowledge of these election results parliament will take its decision. MPs will scrutinise the ledger as if their future depends on it.

So, the big message: vote. Because your vote will affect their vote. » | Tony Blair | Saturday, May 11, 2019

Louis Farrakhan Denies Antisemitism – Then Refers to 'Satanic Jews'

THE GUARDIAN: Nation of Islam leader speaks in Chicago after Facebook ban / Christian and Jewish leaders in city condemn invitation

In a speech denying allegations of antisemitism, misogyny and homophobia after Facebook banned him from the social media platform, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan referred to “Satanic Jews”.

During the speech on Thursday at a Catholic church on Chicago’s South Side, Farrakhan said people shouldn’t be angry if “I stand on God’s word”. He also said that he knows “the truth” and “separate[s] the good Jews from the Satanic Jews”. » | Associated Press in Chicago | Saturday, May 11, 2019

Poll Surge for Farage Sparks Panic among Tories and Labour

THE GUARDIAN: Support for the Conservatives at the European elections slumps to 11%, less than a third of what the Brexit party is polling

Senior Tory and Labour politicians have issued frantic calls to their voters to back them in next week’s European elections after a new poll showed support for Nigel Farage’s Brexit party had soared to a level higher than for the two main parties put together.

The Opinium survey for the Observer places the Brexit party on 34%, when people were asked how they intended to vote on 23 May, with Labour slipping to 21% and the Conservatives collapsing to just 11%. Ominously for Theresa May, support for the Tories at the European elections is now less than a third of that for Farage’s party, and below that for the Liberal Democrats, who are on 12%.

The poll suggests the Brexit party, launched only last month, is now on course for a thumping victory that Farage will, MPs fear, use to back his argument that the UK must leave the EU immediately without a deal. » | Toby Helm and Michael Savage | Saturday, May 11, 2019

Protesters March in Cardiff for Welsh Independence

THE GUARDIAN: Thousands march in Cardiff calling for Welsh independence » | Mattha Busby | Saturday, May 11, 2019

Can Europe Save the Iran Nuclear Deal? | Inside Story

Europe is scrambling to save the Iran nuclear deal from collapse. A year after the US withdrew from the 2015 agreement, Iran is threatening to produce more enriched uranium unless other parties to the deal protect its economy from US sanctions. Iran gave Europe, China and 60 days to comply.

EU leaders have rejected that ultimatum, but say they're committed to keeping the nuclear deal alive. Iran says the response isn't strong enough, and is accusing the Europeans of submitting to pressure from the United States. Can a way forward be found?

Presenter: Halla Mohiedeen | Guests: Nathalie Tocci - Director of the Italian Institute of International Affairs and a special adviser to EU foreign policy chief; Federica Mogherini. Mahdi Ghodsi - Economist at The Vienna Institute For International Economic Studies; François Nicoullaud - Former French Ambassador to Iran

Is Capital Punishment for Abortion & Miscarriage Coming to America?

Republicans are trying to criminalize abortion. Even planning to make abortion a capital offense, worthy of the death penalty. And with Donald Trump's Supreme Court there is no guarantee that these laws will be overturned. Will Republicans be able to get away with making women the property of the state?

Nancy Pelosi: We Now Face A Trump-Made 'Constitutional Crisis' | The Beat With Ari Melber | MSNBC

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Trump has created a “constitutional crisis” by trying to block congress from seeing the full Mueller report and warns she is ready to hold more Trump officials in contempt. Attorney General Bill Barr joked about his own contempt vote, for refusing to handover the full Mueller report to congress. Campaign Director of the Center for American Progress, Juanita Tolliver, tells Ari Melber “if this is a joke in his mind that says a lot about his character.”

US Conservative Pundit Ben Shapiro Ends Interview with BBC's Andrew Neil

US conservative pundit Ben Shapiro has said he was 'destroyed' by Andrew Neil in a feisty debate in which he accused the veteran broadcaster of being a 'lefty' before abruptly ending the interview on BBC's Politics Live. Neil, chairman of the group which owns rightwing magazine the Spectator, subjected Shapiro to a robust interrogation about his previous controversial remarks, and highlighted Shapiro's support for new hardline abortion laws in the state of Georgia.


THE GUARDIAN: Ben Shapiro apologises to Andrew Neil after being 'destroyed' in BBC interview » | Mattha Busby | Saturday, May 11, 2019

From Tehran: Are US & Iran Going to War

Professor Mohammad Marandi of the University of Tehran, who helped negotiate the Iran Nuclear Deal, joins Rick Sanchez to discuss Iran’s vow to restart their nuclear program in the face of US violations of the agreement and deepening economic pressure. He says that from the beginning, “the Iranians were the only ones committed to the agreement.” He ominously predicts that a US invasion of Iran would create worldwide economic calamity.

‘Call Me’ Maybe – Trump Asks Iran to Chat

US National Security Advisor John Bolton visited the CIA last week along with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss Iran, as tensions mount between the US and the oil-rich country. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump says he wants Iran to call him. RT’s Dan Cohen sits down with RT America’s Manila Chan to unpack the surge in tensions.

Europe Must Never Repeat Brexit, Says Guy Verhofstadt

THE GUARDIAN: EU parliament representative says process has done ‘far more damage than ever predicted’

The European parliament’s Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, has warned that the UK’s decision to leave the EU has already done “far more damage than has ever been predicted”.

Appearing alongside the Liberal Democrat leader, Vince Cable, at a European election campaign event in Camden, north London, on Friday morning, the leader of the Alliance for Liberals and Democrats for Europe said he wanted to send a message to people on the continent to “never repeat Brexit again”. » | Frances Perraudin | Friday, May 10, 2019

Queen's Meeting with King of Bahrain Prompts Protests

THE GUARDIAN: Campaigners say British monarch should not host king who has led crackdown on political opponents

Campaigners have condemned Buckingham Palace’s invitation to the king of Bahrain to attend the Windsor horse show this weekend, arguing that the UK should not provide a public relations opportunity to what they say is an increasingly repressive regime.

King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa met the Queen at the event on Friday, demonstrating a warmth of official ties despite the Middle Eastern’s state’s outlawing of political opposition and repression of its Shia majority since a failed 2011 revolt.

Ali Mushaima, the son of a jailed opposition leader, said he would demonstrate outside the event to draw attention to the detention of his father and other politicians jailed during the crackdown, which has lasted most of the decade. » | Dan Sabbagh | Friday, May 10, 2019

THE GUARDIAN: I’m fasting in protest outside Royal Windsor Horse Show to save my father in Bahrain » | Ali Mushaima | Friday, May 10, 2019

Donald Tusk: Chance of Brexit Being Cancelled Could Be 30%

THE GUARDIAN: EU chief says good reason to believe leave vote could be reversed in second referendum

The chances of the UK staying in the EU are as high as 30% as the country would be likely to reject Brexit in a second referendum, the president of the European council, Donald Tusk, has said.

The bloc’s most senior official claimed the British public had only truly debated Brexit after the 2016 referendum and there was significant reason to believe the leave vote could be reversed.

Describing the decision by the former British prime minister, David Cameron, to call the vote as a political miscalculation, Tusk said he would expect a different result in a vote today given what had been learned about the consequences of leaving.

“The referendum was at the worst possible moment, it is the result of a wrong political calculation,” Tusk said in an interview with the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza (GW) that was shared with the Guardian as part of the Europa collaboration of six European newspapers.

“A real debate about the consequences of Brexit wasn’t had during the referendum campaign, but only after the vote. Today the result would probably look different. Paradoxically, Brexit awoke in Great Britain a pro-European movement.” » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Friday, May 10, 2019

Col. Wilkerson: US Would Face a Unified Venezuelan Military in an Armed Intervention

Col. Larry Wilkerson describes the limits of a 'gringo invasion' and warns of repeating the failures of Vietnam and Iraq

Trump Admits He's a Fraud

Trump’s Foolish Iran Policy Only Makes War More Likely

THE GUARDIAN: Iran’s rulers face impossible choices as a result of unrelenting US hostility, which has one aim – regime change

It is unclear what, if anything, Iran can do to induce the United States and its regional allies to halt their escalating war of attrition before it provokes all-out conflict. When Donald Trump reneged on the UN-ratified nuclear agreement with Tehran last year, he said he wanted a better deal. Iran must change its behaviour, he said, and act like a “normal country”.

This was always disingenuous. Iran’s authoritarian and abusive rulers certainly need to mend their ways. But what Trump and his imperious advisers really meant was that they must do what America says, in conformity with American interests. What they want is an end to 40 years of post-revolution defiance. What they want is regime change in Iran. » | Simon Tisdall | Thursday, May 9, 2019

THE GUARDIAN: Trump’s antics over Iran have endangered us all. The stakes are now lethally high » | Jonathan Friedland | Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Donald Trump Tells Iran ‘Call Me’ over Lifting Sanctions

THE GUARDIAN: President suggests US could help revive Iran’s economy in return for no-nuclear weapons pledge

Donald Trump has offered Iran direct talks, saying its leaders should “call me” and suggested the US would help revive the country’s economy as long as Iran did not acquire nuclear weapons.

The impromptu offer by the US president, if serious, represents a dramatic lowering of the bar set by his administration for lifting extensive sanctions, including an oil embargo. Iran is already party to a 2015 agreement that strictly limits its nuclear programme and places it under close scrutiny. Trump withdrew the US from that Obama-era treaty a year ago.

“What I’d like to see with Iran, I’d like to see them call me,” Trump said. He pointed out the Iranian economy was in shambles as a result of the US pressure campaign.

“What they should be doing is calling me up, sitting down and we can make a deal, a fair deal,” Trump said. “We just don’t want them to have nuclear weapons. It’s not too much to ask. And we would help put them back into great shape.” » | Julian Borger in Washington and Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor | Thursday, May 9, 2019

Is this, perhaps, a ruse? – Mark

Die Schwulenheiler | Panorama - die Reporter | NDR (2015)

Christian Deker, schwul und Panorama Reporter, besuchte Ärzte, die offenbar seine sexuelle Orientierung ändern wollen. Eine Reise in die homophoben Winkel der Republik.

Bob Woodward: I Think We Have a Governing Crisis

Journalist Bob Woodward offers his thoughts on the current state of the Trump presidency to CNN's Anderson Cooper after President Donald Trump invoked executive privilege over special counsel Robert Mueller's report and the House Judiciary Committee voted to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt.

Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor – What's in a Name?

THE GUARDIAN: Forenames of Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s baby son are far from traditional

The decision by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to call their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor came as a surprise to many.

The forenames are far from traditional for the royal family, which may be exactly why the couple, anxious for their son to have as normal an upbringing as possible, chose them. While there are courtesy titles they could have used, such as the Earl of Dumbarton, they have chosen not to do so for now, according to palace sources.

The name Archie – a shortened version of Archibald, which is of German origin and means “genuine”, “bold” and “brave” – has become increasingly popular. According to the Office for National Statistics, it was the 18th most popular in the UK in 2017, while Harrison came in at 34th. » | Caroline Davies | Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Is the Iran Nuclear Deal Dead? | Inside Story

Donald Trump called it the worst deal ever.

The US president decided a year ago to pull out of the Iran nuclear agreement, which imposed limits on Tehran’s nuclear activities. Trump then re-imposed sanctions against Iran, and recently extended them to threaten those countries still party to the deal.

Iran has now reacted, warning the UK, France, Germany, China, and Russia, it will step up uranium production unless they meet their commitments within 60 days.

Russia is putting the blame on what it calls 'lamentable' behaviour from the US, while EU leaders are warning Iran of possible consequences.

Can the deal be renegotiated and revived?

Presenter: Imran Khan | Guests: Mohammad Marandi - Professor of North American Studies at University of Tehran; Rina Shah - Republican Strategist and Consultant; Ali Fathollah-Nejad - visiting fellow at Brookings Doha Center

The Rise of the Right: Populism in Germany - BBC News

A new wave of far-right politics is sweeping across Europe, promising to smash the ruling elite, end migration and shake-up the EU. But are these parties fuelling hate?

The Nine’s Europe Correspondent Jean Mackenzie travels across the continent, to find out why these movements are surging - meeting the people celebrating their rise and those fighting to stop them.

The first in this series comes from Germany, where the far-right party the AfD is now Germany’s main opposition. We ask whether their place in Parliament is emboldening more extreme groups.

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — May 8, 2019

Trump's Attacks on Palestinians Are "Evil and Unacceptable," Says Human Rights Lawyer

"What [Trump] is doing against Palestinian people, against international and humanitarian law, is evil and unacceptable by all standards," says leading human rights attorney Raji Sourani, speaking from Gaza. The Trump administration makes Israel and its leaders feel "fully immune" to international law, he adds.

Juncker: Europeans Have Lost Their 'Libido' for Each Other

Jean-Claude Juncker claims Europeans have lost their 'collective libido'.

Trita Parsi: John Bolton Has Wanted War with Iran for 20 Years. Now Could Be His Best Chance

Iran is accusing the United States of “psychological warfare” after National Security Advisor John Bolton announced the U.S. is deploying a carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the region.

In a statement on Sunday night, Bolton said the move was intended to “send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian régime that any attacks on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force.”

On Monday acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said the deployment was made because of a “credible threat by Iranian régime forces” but he offered no details. Axios is reporting the threat is based on information passed on from Israel.

The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure against Iran following Washington’s withdrawal from the landmark Iran nuclear deal last year. Last month, the US designated Iran’s élite Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. The Trump administration also said it will end a waiver program that allowed some nations to circumvent US sanctions and continue buying Iranian oil without suffering penalties.

We speak with Trita Parsi in Washington DC, author of “Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy.” He is the founder and former president of the National Iranian American Council, and an adjunct associate professor in the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University.

Pompeo Won’t Seek OK to Attack Venezuela

Juan Guaidó's back. The Venezuelan opposition leader is once again inviting US military intervention, after another failed coup attempt last week. US Secretary of State Pompeo, meanwhile, says he won't promise to consult Congress before launching a potential attack. All this while the Venezuelan embassy in DC continues to be under siege by Guaidó supporters. For more on this, we turn to investigative journalist Ben Swann.

George Clooney Vows to Keep Up Pressure on Brunei over Gay-sex Death Penalty

THE GUARDIAN: Actor calls for sustained commercial boycott after Brunei puts moratorium on death penalty for gay sex

George Clooney has promised to keep up pressure on Brunei after the oil-rich country’s sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah, announced it would not enforce the death penalty for gay sex.

Gay sex remains illegal in Brunei, punishable by up to 10 years in jail.

Clooney said the moratorium on executions was a “huge step forward after a giant leap backwards”, but that “the law to stone their citizens is still in place”. He added: “For my family and me, we simply can’t walk away until this draconian law is no longer on the books.” » | Andrew Pulver | Tuesday, May 7, 2019

CIA Warns Arab Activist of Potential Threat from Saudi Arabia

THE GUARDIAN: Pro-democracy campaigner İyad el-Baghdadi has been vocal critic of Saudi crown prince

The CIA has warned Norway that a prominent Arab activist who is living in the country under asylum protection is facing a potential threat from Saudi Arabia, the Guardian has learned.

The pro-democracy activist, İyad el-Baghdadi, is a vocal critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

El-Baghdadi was alerted to the threat on 25 April, when Norwegian authorities arrived at his doorstep, took him to a secure location, and warned him he was in possible danger from an unspecified threat emanating from the kingdom.

The activist was told the threat had been passed on to Norwegian authorities by a foreign intelligence agency, which the Guardian has confirmed was the CIA. » | Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington and Nick Hopkins in London | Tuesday, May 7, 2019

John Bolton Can Almost Taste War With Iran

Bolton announced yesterday that the US was deploying a carrier strike force to the Middle East to convey the message to Iran that the US doesn't want war. Makes perfect sense.

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — May 6, 2019

US Deploys Aircraft Carrier and Bombers after 'Troubling Indications' from Iran

THE GUARDIAN: National security adviser John Bolton says any Iranian attack on US or its allies will be met with ‘unrelenting force’

The US is sending an aircraft carrier and a bomber task force to the Middle East in response to a “number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings” from Iran, the national security advisor John Bolton has said.

It was unclear on Sunday night what Iranian actions Bolton was referring to. There have been no recent incidents in the Persian Gulf where US and Iranian navies are routinely in close proximity and the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group was already bound for the Gulf a month before Bolton made his announcement.

However, the tone of Bolton’s declaration looked likely to escalate tensions in the region, and it comes days after the Iranian government expressed concern that Bolton and other hawks were seeking to draw the Trump administration into a new war.

In a written statement, Bolton said the ships and planes were intended “to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force.” » | Julian Borger, World affairs editor | Monday, May 6, 2019

Brunei Says It Will Not Enforce Gay Sex Death Penalty after Backlash

THE GUARDIAN: Sultan extends moratorium to death by stoning law in rare response to global criticism

Brunei’s Sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah, has extended a moratorium on the death penalty to incoming legislation on punishments for gay sex, after a global backlash led by celebrities such as George Clooney and Elton John.

The country provoked an outcry when it rolled out its interpretation of Islamic laws, or sharia, on 3 April, punishing sodomy, adultery and rape with death, including by stoning.

Brunei has consistently defended its right to implement the laws, elements of which were first adopted in 2014 and which have been rolled out in phases since then.

However, in a rare response to criticism aimed at the oil-rich state, the sultan said on Sunday that the death penalty would not be enforced in the implementation of the sharia penal code order (SPCO). » | Reuters | Sunday, May 5, 2019

Mike Pompeo: A Bully Boy Calls at No 10

THE GUARDIAN: The visit of the hawkish US secretary of state poses problems for Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt

American secretaries of state can be earnestly dull, like John Kerry, or plain brilliant, like George Marshall; Machiavellian, like Henry Kissinger, or intensely political, like Hillary Clinton. Mike Pompeo, the bluntly spoken, present-day incumbent who will discuss “shared global priorities” with Theresa May in London, is simply a problem.

As last week’s failed US pressure tactics in Venezuela showed, the former army officer, Christian evangelical and ex-CIA director favours a muscular approach to diplomacy. His messianic drive to force regime change in Iran is another example. He recently suggested Donald Trump had been sent by God to save Israel from Tehran’s mullahs.

Speaking in Cairo in January, Pompeo celebrated US support for dictators such as Egypt’s Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and the Saudis’ war in Yemen. Next month, he will help unveil a peace plan that could destroy any lingering Palestinian hopes of an independent state. But he makes no apologies. “I’ll put it bluntly. America is a force for good in the Middle East,” he declared. » | Simon Tisdall | Saturday, May 4, 2019

Why We Can't Stop Eating Unhealthy Foods

Sugar scientist and UCSF professor of health policy Laura Schmidt questions whether consumers really do have freedom of choice – and what policymakers can learn from corporations in nudging consumers toward healthier behaviors.

Florida Votes to Allow Teachers to Carry Weapons in the Classroom

THE TELEGRAPH: Florida has voted to allow teachers to carry weapons in the classroom in the latest response to last year's mass shooting at the Parkland high school.

In the aftermath of the massacre, in which 1 7 people were killed, state representatives lifted a ban on arming those who "exclusively perform classroom duties".

Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is now expected to sign off a new law that enables teachers who pass a 144-hour training course to carry a gun.

Activists including a gun control group started by survivors of the Parkland shooting, March for Our Lives, are calling on Governor DeSantis to veto the reform, using the hashtag #BooksNotBullets on social media. » | Phoebe Davis | Friday, May 3, 2019

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — May 3, 2019

Trump's Foreign Policy | Full Debate | George Galloway, Mark Leonard

Many think Trump a buffoon and a threat to world peace. But with ISIS weakened, and signs of progress in North Korea, perhaps his supporters can point to some initial successes. Could a belligerent approach to foreign policy make for a safer world? Is the beat way of pursuing peace to prepare for war? Or has Trump in fact made the world more precarious than ever?

Craig Murray: "Anyone Who Believes Julian Assange Case Is Genuinely Independent Is a Fool"

"Anyone who believes this case is genuinely independent is a fool" says Craig Murray as Julian Assange tells UK court that he doesn't want to be extradited to the US.

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — May 2, 2019

As Venezuela Coup Fizzles, Pompeo Threatens US Attack

Self-proclaimed Venezuelan president Juan Guaidó's coup yesterday failed to get off the ground. The military did not join him and protests were barely seen outside a few of Caracas's wealthy neighborhoods. Frustrated and furious, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded by threatening direct US military action to overthrow President Maduro. An urgent call with Russian foreign minister is scheduled today. Are neocons about to ignite the earth?

A Very Singular Man: Edward Heath Profile

Edward Heath was one of the most controversial Prime Ministers this century. He took Britain into Europe, but was brought down by the very trades unions he soughttotame. In an intimate Portrait Sir Edward talks candidly about his life and career, and of his stormy relationship with his successors. Michael Cockerell reports. Originally transmitted 27 September 1998.

Economist Jeffrey Sachs: US Sanctions Have Devastated Venezuela & Killed Over 40,000 Since 2017

More than 40,000 people have died in Venezuela since 2017 as a result of US sanctions, according to a new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research co-authored by economists Jeffrey Sachs and Mark Weisbrot.

The report examines how US sanctions have reduced the availability of food and medicine in Venezuela and increased disease and mortality.

We speak with Jeffrey Sachs in our New York studio. In the report, he writes, “American sanctions are deliberately aiming to wreck Venezuela’s economy and thereby lead to régime change. It’s a fruitless, heartless, illegal, and failed policy, causing grave harm to the Venezuelan people.”

What's Next for Venezuela after 'Attempted Coup'? | Inside Story

President Nicolás Maduro vows to prosecute those behind dramatic attempt to oust him. Venezuela's president is hailing victory after what he calls an attempted coup. Nicolas Maduro is promising to prosecute those behind a dramatic attempt to remove him from office.

On Tuesday, opposition leader Juan Guaidó called on the army to oust Maduro. But by the end of the day, Guaidó was in hiding, and dozens of his supporters were injured in scuffles with security forces.

Both sides are urging Venezuelans to hold more protests. Who's backing them? And what's next in this drawn-out political crisis?

Presenter: Imran Khan | Guests: Ramon Muchacho - former mayor of Chacao District, an opposition stronghold in Caracas; Paul Dobson - journalist at venezuelaanalysis.com; Tom Long - Professor of South American Politics at Warwick University, UK

Guaidó’s Coup Is a ‘Farce’ – Daniel McAdams

Venezuela’s opposition leader and US-back presidential aspirant Juan Guaidó has called for a military uprising in his latest effort to topple President Nicolás Maduro. Clashes have broken out between police and protesters in Caracas. Meanwhile police in Washington, DC have set up barricades between the pro-Maduro activists occupying Venezuela’s embassy and more recent arrivals protesting in favor of Guaidó. Rachel Blevins reports. Daniel McAdams of the Ron Paul Institute joins News.Views.Hughes to weigh in.

Peter Tatchell on Julian Assange 50-week Sentence: "This Is Excessive, Extreme and Unjustified"

Venezuelan Government Says 'Coup Attempt' Failed | Al Jazeera English

Chaos and violence fill the streets of Caracas after Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó called for a "military uprising" against the government of Nicolás Maduro. Warning: this video contains some graphic content.

Venezuela Crisis: Maduro Claims Victory over 'Deranged' Coup Attempt

THE GUARDIAN: President blames Trump imperialists and ‘coup-mongering far right’ as rival Juan Guaidó calls for more protests

Nicolás Maduro claimed his troops have thwarted a botched attempt to topple him masterminded by Venezuela’s “coup-mongering far right” and Donald Trump’s deranged imperialist “gang”.

In an hour-long address to the nation on Tuesday night – his first since the pre-dawn uprising began – Maduro accused opposition leader Juan Guaidó and his political mentor Leopoldo López of seeking to spark an armed confrontation that might be used as a pretext for a foreign military intervention.

However, “loyal and obedient” members of Venezuela’s Bolivarian armed forces had put down the mutiny within hours of it starting shortly after 4am, Maduro claimed, in direct contradiction to Guaidó’s earlier remark that the president no longer had military backing. » | Wednesday, May 1, 2019


THE GUARDIAN: Venezuela: Moscow persuaded Maduro not to step down, US claims » | Julian Borger in Washington and Joe Parkin Daniels in Bogotá | Tuesday, April 30, 2019

UK's Brexit Obsession Will Diminish Country, Says UN Poverty Expert

THE GUARDIAN: Britain ‘screwing itself royally for the future’, warns human rights lawyer Philip Alston

The United Nations global poverty expert, Philip Alston, has warned that Britain’s preoccupation with Brexit will leave the country severely diminished whether or not it leaves the EU because too little is being done to alter policies driving people deeper into poverty.

The eminent New York-based human rights lawyer, who is in the final year of his term as the UN rapporteur on extreme poverty, said on Tuesday: “You are really screwing yourselves royally for the future by producing a substandard workforce and children that are malnourished.” » | Robert Booth, Social affairs correspondent | Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — April 30, 2019

Julian Assange World Exclusive: Secrets from Inside the Embassy | 60 Minutes Australia

There’s no middle ground when it comes to what the world thinks of Julian Assange. He’s either loved or loathed. Just over a fortnight ago, the Australian founder of WikiLeaks made more headlines when police dragged him, not so much kicking, but definitely screaming, out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he’d been holed up for seven years. Watching the shock eviction was Assange’s father, John Shipton, who fears his son will be sent to the United States, locked up and never released. In a 60 MINUTES world exclusive, Shipton tells Tara Brown he wants everyone to know the real Julian Assange is not some careless villain computer hacker, but a hero of free speech.

US Threatens Iran with 40% Inflation

After withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization and reversing on oil sanctions waivers, the US is now threatening to hike inflation in Iran up to 40 percent. Former US diplomat Jim Jatras sits down with RT America’s Manila Chan to discuss US President Donald Trump’s hawkish policies toward the oil-rich country.

Joe To President Donald Trump: You Can Call Out White Nationalism | Morning Joe | MSNBC

The president on Friday accused Democrats and the intel community of attempting a coup in the form of the special counsel's investigation and said he didn't need a gun to fend it off. Joe Scarborough reacts to Trump's remarks and to new reporting on the NRA.

Amal Clooney Calls Out Trump Administration at the UN | NowThis

Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney called out the Trump administration for undermining efforts to help women raped during war, warning that it's their 'chance to stand on the right side of history.’

In the latest current events news on the Trump administration, Amal Clooney, human rights lawyer and wife of George Clooney, recently spoke at the United Nations in front of the UN Security Council about some of the most dire global issues: sexual violence, sex slavery, and other related war crimes. In the Amal Clooney speech, she directly called out the President Trump administration for impeding the UN's efforts to help women hurt by the Islamic State and other destructive regimes. The Donald Trump White House has been persistent over reproductive rights, but this Amal Clooney UN speech, Clooney showed she wasn't afraid.

Can Iran Close Hormuz Strait? | Inside Story

The Strait of Hormuz is the only sea route in and out of the Gulf. Twenty percent of the world's oil is carried through it by tankers.

Now, the US decision to impose further economic sanctions on Iran has prompted threats from Tehran to close this strategic waterway. This week, Washington will end all waivers granted to eight countries, including China and India, that import Iranian oil.

The Trump administration says it's part of its 'maximum pressure' campaign to stop Iran from destabilising the region. But what are the consequences of shutting the Strait of Hormus, not just for Iran, but the region and global oil markets?

Presenter: Kamahl Santamaria | Guests: Mohammad Eslami, political researcher and columnist; Manouchehr Takin, independent oil and energy consultant; Simon Mabon, senior lecturer in international studies at Lancaster University

Nigel Farage Is Fuelled by the Betrayal Myth. And Brexit Is Only the Start

THE GUARDIAN: His rhetoric was always that the elite would thwart the will of the people, enabling a new movement to rise up amid the anger

It is a grim reflection that no contemporary British politician better understands the networks, dynamics and ever-changing rules of modern politics than Nigel Farage.

He is as effective as he is awful. His fledgling Brexit party is not fielding candidates in Thursday’s local elections – though its baleful spirit will surely loom over the battle for control of 248 English councils, in which the Tories are expected to suffer serious losses.

Instead, Farage is keeping his powder dry for the European elections that will be held on 23 May, assuming Theresa May has not secured Britain’s exit from the European Union by then.

In the latest Opinium poll of voting intention, his new movement is level pegging with Labour on 28% – 14 points ahead of the Tories. » | Matthew d’Ancona | Monday, April 29, 2019

Prince William Speaking Inside the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch

Published on 25 Apr 2019

Markus Auer, Koch von Marlene Dietrich

What Shapes US Foreign Policy in the Middle East? | Inside Story

Qatar hosts a two-day conference on US policy and the Gulf crisis. From the crisis in the Gulf to the war in Syria, the decisions made in Washington have long-lasting consequences.

US president Donald Trump has taken a 'hands-off' approach to foreign policy while pushing his 'America First' strategy. He has long promised to find a solution to the conflict in Palestine with what he calls the 'deal of the century'. But there hasn't been much detail on what that deal contains.

Now, with an election year coming up in the US, and an ever-changing political dynamic in the Middle East, what will be America's policy in the region? And are we heading towards more uncertainty?

Presenter: Peter Dobbie | Guests: Mahmoud Jabara - Visiting Lecturer, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg; Seyed Mohammad Marandi - Dean at the Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran; Omar Ayasra - Researcher in Religious Sociology and Political Transformation; Mohammed Cherkaoui - Senior Fellow, Al Jazeera Centre For Studies

Nicola Sturgeon Interview on Brexit, Scottish Independence and the Euro

First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon discusses her time frame for a second Scottish referendum - and is challenged on whether Scotland would have to commit to adopting the Euro if an independent Scotland were to join the EU.

Will Macron's Promises End Yellow Vests Protests? | Al Jazeera English

President Emmanuel Macron responds to months of riots by vowing to 'transform France'. They are the results of the so-called 'great debate'. After months of hearing complaints from the length of and breadth of France, Emmanuel Macron has told TV viewers that he has listened to the cries for change.

He's responded to the biggest challenge to his presidency by offering some concessions to the Yellow Vest protesters. They've brought Paris - and other cities - to a standstill every Saturday for months demanding cuts to the cost of living.

Macron is proposing lower taxes for some, pensions reform, stopping the closure of schools and hospitals - and making it easier to hold a referendum on vital issues. There are other proposals too. But are they enough to stop the riots and revolt against his ideas for the future of France?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan | Guests: Renaud Girard - Chief Foreign Correspondent, Le Figaro newspaper; Charles Lichfield - European Affairs Analyst, Eurasia Group of consultants; Jacques Reland - Head of European Research, Global Policy Institute

Marlene Dietrich's Daughter, Maria Riva, Speaking at the William J. Donovan Award® Dinner

Loneliness Epidemic As Deadly As Smoking | 60 Minutes Australia

In Australia, and around the world, loneliness has become a massive health epidemic. In fact, researchers say being lonely is just as detrimental to our wellbeing as smoking and excessive drinking. And that means loneliness can be deadly. Just as worrying, it doesn’t discriminate. Loneliness can strike anyone, young, old, male, female, rich or poor.

Brazil Governed by ‘Lunatics’ and US ‘Lackeys’, Says Ex-president Lula

THE GUARDIAN: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president from 2003 and 2011, is in jail over corruption charges that he disputes

Brazil is being governed by “a bunch of lunatics” and United States “lackeys” who have shattered its international reputation, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has claimed in his first interview since being jailed one year ago.

Lula, Brazil’s president from 2003 and 2011, surrendered himself to police last April after being convicted on corruption charges he disputes.

The 73-year-old leftist had been forbidden from giving face-to-face interviews until Friday, when two Brazilian journalists were allowed to visit him at his prison in southern Brazil following a lengthy legal battle.

Lula told them Brazil needed to undergo period of “self-reflection” after what he described as the “crazy” fake news and hate-filled election of far-right populist Jair Bolsonaro last year. “What we can’t have is this country being run governed by a bunch of lunatics. The country doesn’t deserve this and above all the people do not deserve this.” » | Anna Jean Kaiser in São Paulo and Tom Phillips | Saturday, April 27, 2019

Trump Withdraws from UN Arms Treaty as NRA Crowd Cheers in Delight

THE GUARDIAN: Democrats condemn Trump’s ‘myopic’ decision to withdraw / President at NRA summit vows to defend second amendment

Donald Trump has announced that the US will withdraw its support for a United Nations treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar global arms trade.

Addressing the National Rifle Association (NRA) in Indianapolis, the president said he would revoke America’s status as a signatory of the arms trade treaty regulating conventional weapons including small arms, battle tanks, combat aircraft and warships.

“My administration will never ratify the UN arms trade treaty,” Trump said. “We’re taking our signature back. The United Nations will soon receive a formal notice that America is rejecting this treaty.”

Trump added: “Under my administration, we will never surrender American sovereignty to anyone. We will never allow foreign bureaucrats to trample on your second amendment freedom. I’m officially announcing today that the United States will be revoking the effect of America’s signature from this badly misguided treaty.” » | David Smith in Indianapolis | Friday, April 26, 2019

UN Condemns Saudi Executions, US Barely Reacts

Amnesty International and members of the US Congress are expressing outrage over the mass execution of 37 prisoners in Saudi Arabia. While their trials failed to meet international standards of fairness and their deaths have drawn worldwide rebuke, the US State Department has refused to condemn them. RT America’s Dan Cohen reports for News.Views.Hughes.

37 Men Were Executed and Court Filings Show Some Protested Their Innocence

Saudi Arabia says 37 men have been executed after being convicted of terror-related crimes, but documents reviewed by CNN show that many said they were totally innocent and their confessions had been written by the same people who had tortured them.

Brazil Must Not Become a 'Gay Tourism Paradise', Says Bolsonaro

THE GUARDIAN: LGBT campaigners say Brazilian president’s comments risk inciting hatred

Brazil’s far-right president, the self-declared homophobe Jair Bolsonaro, has been accused of inciting hatred towards LGBT people after declaring the South American country should not become a “gay tourism paradise”.

“If you want to come here and have sex with a woman, go for your life,” Bolsonaro reportedly told journalists in the capital, Brasília. “But we can’t let this place become known as a gay tourism paradise. Brazil can’t be a country of the gay world, of gay tourism. We have families,” Bolsonaro added, according to the Brazilian magazine Exame.

The comments – made during a breakfast meeting with Brazilian reporters – sparked an immediate reaction from LGBT campaigners. » | Tom Phillips and Anna Jean Kaiser in São Paulo | Friday, April 26, 2019

Simon Schama on the Lessons of History for Brexit and Donald Trump

Historian Simon Schama is probably best known for his television documentaries on the history of Britain, America and art. His new book, Wordy, is a collection of his writings covering everything from interviews with rock musicians to food and the future of liberal democracy.

Should Trump Be Committed to a Mental Health Facility?

Donald Trump's campaign opened with shouts of "Lock Her Up" from his followers and supporters. Two years into his presidency calls for impeaching Donald Trump are using that phrase against him. Now Dr. Justin Frank, Psychoanalyst, and author of 'Trump on the Couch' joins the Thom Hartmann program to call for locking Donald Trump up in a Mental Health facility, Is it time to put Donald Trump in the funny farm? Is the President's mental health out for lunch?

Elizabeth Drew On 'The Danger in Not Impeaching President Donald Trump' | The Last Word | MSNBC

Watergate reporter Elizabeth Drew explains why even though Democrats might face political danger in impeaching Trump, the bigger danger may be doing nothing.

Sri Lanka: After the Attacks, Muslims Fear a Backlash

Sen. Warren Wants to Jail Those Who Caused 2008's Meltdown

BIll Black examines the historical context of Warren's bills for easier prosecution of banks and corporate leaders

Kim - Putin Summit: What's Different from Meetings with Trump? | DW News

Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un to a summit in the far eastern city of Vladivostok. The meeting is the first between the two leaders, and is a chance for Pyongyang to seek support from Moscow, especially when it comes to ending international sanctions imposed over North Korea's nuclear program. Just two months ago a summit with US president Donald Trump broke down over that topic. Before Kim and Putin went in to their private meeting, they talked about one of their major points of discussion, peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Irans Präsident nennt Trump einen „Halbstarken“

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Iran will auf die Öl-Politik von Donald Trump reagieren, Präsident Rohani schließt auch militärische Optionen nicht aus. Die Revolutionsgarde droht mit einer Blockade der wichtigsten Öl-Handelsroute im Persischen Golf.

Der iranische Präsident Hassan Rohani hat den amerikanischen Präsidenten Donald Trumpals einen „Halbstarken“ bezeichnet. „Diplomatie ist nur dann möglich, wenn gegenseitiger Respekt herrscht und kein Druck ausgeübt wird“, sagte Rohani in einer Kabinettssitzung am Mittwoch. Verhandlungen mit einem „Halbstarken“ seien in dieser Phase auch nicht möglich, so der iranische Präsident laut dem Webportal des Präsidialamtes.

Trumps Entscheidung, bei Sanktionen gegen Öl-Importe aus Iran keine Ausnahmen mehr zuzulassen, führte in Iran zu unterschiedlichen Reaktionen. Die Revolutionsgarden (IRGC), die Eliteeinheit der Streitkräfte, drohten sogar damit, die Straße von Hormus im Persischen Golf zu blockieren. Sie gilt als die wichtigste Öl-Handelsroute, durch die fast ein Drittel aller Öl-Exporte verschifft wird. Eine Blockade dieser Route würde nach Meinung vieler Beobachter zu einem militärischen Konflikt am Persischen Golf führen. » | Quelle: dpa/AFP | Mittwoch, 24. April 2019

La première ministre écossaise appelle à un second référendum sur l’indépendance

LE FIGARO: La cheffe du Parti national écossais, Nicola Sturgeon, a déclaré devant le Parlement sa volonté d’introduire «prochainement» un projet de loi visant à faire de nouveau appel au peuple d’ici 2021.

Le gouvernement écossais va introduire «prochainement» un projet de loi visant à organiser un nouveau référendum sur l’indépendance de l’Écosse d’ici 2021, a déclaré ce mercredi la première ministre écossaise Nicola Sturgeon. «Nous allons prochainement présenter un projet de loi fixant les règles pour tout référendum relevant actuellement ou à l’avenir de la compétence du parlement écossais», a déclaré la cheffe du Parti national écossais (SNP) au Parlement écossais à Édimbourg, espérant que ce texte serait voté d’ici à la fin de l’année. » | Par Le figaro.fr et AFP agence | mercredi 24 avril 2019

UK Condemns Saudi Arabia over 'Repulsive' Mass Executions

THE GUARDIAN: Foreign Office minister criticises country’s human rights after 37 people killed

Britain has issued its sharpest condemnation of the direction of Saudi Arabian human rights policy, describing its mass executions as “repulsive” and “utterly unacceptable in the modern world”.

The remarks came after further details emerged of the Saudi government’s execution on Tuesday of 37 people, including three who were minors at the time of their alleged offence.

One of those executed was then crucified, according to Saudi state media.

The Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan, answering an urgent question in the Commons, spurned the usual diplomatic niceties, saying the mass executions were “a deeply backward step which we deplore”. He added it was “deplorable and totally unacceptable” that at least one of those executed had been a minor at the time of the arrest.

He highlighted reports that one of those executed was displayed on a cross, saying that anyone in the House, just two days after Easter, would find “more repulsive than anything we could picture”.

He added: “Any country needs to realise that when it uses methods like this they will eventually backfire. The practical benefit is entirely negative.” » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — April 24, 2019

Chris Hedges - The American Empire Will Collapse Within a Decade, Two at Most | November 19, 2018)

Here, Chris speaks with CBC Radio about his new book and predicts that the US empire will collapse within the next 20 years, probably within the next 10.

The Guardian View on Donald Trump’s UK Visit: A Mistake

THE GUARDIAN: The US president is no respecter of democracy or Britain. He should be held at a distance, not given dinner with the Queen

Rolling out the red carpet for a US president ought to be easier than this. Britain and America share a “special relationship” which rests on a common language, histories and ideals. Yet Donald Trump makes building on this impossible. He is no friend of this country. The president has repeatedly attacked leading British politicians, singling outLondon’s mayor, Sadiq Khan. He retweets fascists. On the day news emerged that Mr Trump would be accorded a state visit to Britain, he was threatening to veto a UN resolution against the use of rape as a weapon of war. America has been taken over by a demagogue who sees Brexit as an opportunity for a rabble-rouser to rise here too. He is a dangerous liar whom racists and misogynists think of as one of their own. Mr Trump ought to be held at a distance, not invited for dinner with the Queen. » | Editorial | Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Donald Trump's Comments About Princess Diana Will Definitely Give You The Creeps »

Stop Buying Iranian Oil or Face Sanctions? | Inside Story

Oil prices are on the rise after the United States announced a new crackdown on Iran's oil exports aiming to reduce them to zero.

Iran is threatening retaliation by blocking the Strait of Hormuz - the world's lifeline of oil from all Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. The move has brought America's rivals and allies on the same page.

China and Turkey have condemned the decision; and India and Japan, major buyers of Iranian oil, are scrambling to meet the shortfall.

Many countries would now feel the pinch of sanctions Washington re-imposed after pulling out from Iran nuclear deal last year.

Will the development stoke tensions in the Gulf? And does Donald Trump risk alienating friends and antagonizing rivals?

Presenter: Imran Khan | Guests: Adolfo Franco, Republican strategist & Former Adviser to President George W. Bush and Senator John McCain; Mohammad Marandi, Head of the North American Studies Graduate Program at the University of Tehran; Dan Wang, China Analyst, The Economist Intelligence Unit

Trump's Latest Iran Sanctions Show an Unraveling of US Foreign Policy

Col. Lawrence Wilkerson says unilateral sanctions against Iran are illegal, and show the ascendancy of John Bolton; they intensify tension with China and threaten our international position

Is Zelensky Up to the President's Job? | Inside Story

Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky wins a landslide victory in Ukraine’s election. He played a fictional president for years. Now he is going to play it for real.

But stand-up comedy is one thing, standing up to Russia and the myriad other problems facing Ukraine is another thing altogether.

Outgoing president Petro Poroshenko says Zelensky's too naïve for hard politics, but it is dissatisfaction with old faces like Poroshenko that has probably benefitted the comedian.

He's campaigned on an anti-establishment, anti-corruption platform; and that seems to have resounded with his supporters.

Zelensky won with more than 70 percent of the vote. But with no previous political experience how will he tackle the many challenges ahead? What's the punchline?

Presenter: Imran Khan | Guests: Valentin Yakushik, Professor of political science at the National University of "Kiev-Mohyla Academy"; Uly Brueckner, Jean Monnet Professor in European Studies at Stanford University, Berlin; Dmitry Babich, Political Analyst at Rossiya Segodnya news agency

Brunei Defends Death by Stoning for Gay Sex in Letter to EU

THE GUARDIAN: Kingdom’s mission to bloc calls for tolerance and understanding over penal code

Brunei has written to the European parliament defending its decision to start imposing death by stoning as a punishment for gay sex, claiming convictions will be rare as it requires two men of “high moral standing and piety” to be witnesses.

In a four-page letter to MEPs, the kingdom’s mission to the EU called for “tolerance, respect and understanding” with regard to the country’s desire to preserve its traditional values and “family lineage”.

The new penal code, which also provides for the amputation of thieves and whipping of people wearing clothes associated with the opposite sex, was brought in on 3 April, despite international condemnation.

But in the letter, the kingdom claimed the outcry is due to a misconception that it wanted to clarify.

“The criminalisation of adultery and sodomy is to safeguard the sanctity of family lineage and marriage to individual Muslims, particularly women,” it said.

“The penal sentences of had – stoning to death and amputation – imposed for offences of theft, robbery, adultery and sodomy, have extremely high evidentiary threshold, requiring no less than two or four men of high moral standing and piety as witnesses, to the exclusion of every form of circumstantial evidence.” » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Monday, April 22, 2019

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — April 22, 2019

Did Jesus Die On Cross? | BBC Four Documentary

Will Brexit Happen? Political Heavyweights Take On Debate | 60 Minutes Australia

In London, the parliament is a complete mess of chaos and confusion, all because of Brexit: the decision taken at a referendum three years ago for the UK to withdraw from the European Union. As Sarah Abo reports, the problem – an enormous one – is the politicians, who can’t agree on how to do it. While they’re being distracted by bickering and backstabbing, many others fear the “great” is being ripped out of Great Britain. Reporter: Sarah Abo; Producers: Joel Tozer, Stefanie Sgroi

Comedian Wins Landslide Victory in Ukrainian Presidential Election

THE GUARDIAN: Petro Poroshenko concedes defeat as Volodymyr Zelenskiy takes over 70% of votes, promising: ‘I won’t mess up’

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, an actor and comedian with no political experience other than playing the role of president in a TV series, has won a landslide victory in Ukraine’s presidential election, with near-complete counting showing he has won over 70% of the vote.

The incumbent, Petro Poroshenko conceded defeat on Sunday evening before results started coming in.

According to official results released on Monday morning, with 85% of the vote counted, 41-year-old Zelenskiy had won 73.4% of the vote, compared to Poroshenko’s 24.4%. » | Shaun Walker in Kyiv | Monday, April 22, 2019

Iraq's Oldest Christian Town Celebrates Easter without Isis

THE GUARDIAN: Hamdaniya has been reclaimed from the extremists who made it a hotbed of violence

The church ceiling was still scorched and some cherished relics missing, but after five years of war and exile, their tormentors were finally gone.

When the men and women of Iraq’s oldest Christian town gathered for Easter mass this weekend, they did so knowing that the Islamic State extremists who had chased them away were not coming back. Their battlefield defeat two months ago meant the people of Hamdaniya (also called Qaraqosh) could once again celebrate without fear.

A large congregation shuffled into pews that only two years ago lay in splintered ruin, both in the Church of the Immaculate Conception and every other church in Hamdaniya, which, like much of the rest of northern Iraq, had been overrun by extremists from Isis.

A priest in bright red robes holding a gold crosier in one hand and a small cross in the other spoke in Syriac only blocks away from where militants plotted chaos and even genocide for vulnerable communities. » | Martin Chulov in Hamdaniya | Sunday, April 21, 2019

Marlene Dietrich - Ein Engel in der Dämmerung

Dokumentation über Marlenes letzte Lebensjahre in Paris. Neben diversen Archivaufnahmen von Marlene, werden Maria Riva, Peter Riva, Werner Sudendorf (Filmmuseum Berlin), Marlene's Freund Louis Bozon ua. interviewt. Sehr zu empfehlen, um mal den Blick auf die etwas andere Marlene zu erhaschen.

Mayor Pete

Once a long-shot, Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of Indiana's fourth-largest city has been rising in the polls for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, attracting dollars, attention, and name recognition (if not pronunciation). The Afghanistan War veteran, Rhodes scholar and trained pianist talks with CBS News' John Dickerson about the importance of narratives, coming out, what youth brings to public office, and reanimating his party's values for a new era, including a connection with faith.

(Un)Welcome: Sweden's Rise of the Right

In this installment of CBSN Originals’ ongoing examination at how migration is reshaping the world, Adam Yamaguchi travels to Sweden to examine how a record influx of migrants has coincided with the recently welcoming and politically progressive nation's swift shift to the right.

How Can Stateless People Cross Borders? | DW Documentary

After the end of the First World War, millions of people in Europe became stateless refugees. A newly devised passport created by the League of Nations’ High Commissioner for Refugees was their salvation.

In the aftermath of the First World War, more than two million people fled the Russian Revolution and the Armenian massacres. To prevent them from returning to their home countries, their respective governments revoked their citizenships. These permanent exiles had no choice but to start anew elsewhere and spread out around the world. To deal with this fraught situation, Norwegian diplomat Fridtjof Nansen, the League of Nations’ first High Commissioner for Refugees, worked hard to create a passport for these "stateless" persons. The so-called "Nansen Passport" was introduced on 5 July 1922. It was a symbolic document that made history as the first international legal instrument for the protection of refugees. This identity card and travel document allowed them to enter all the member states of the League of Nations at a time when many European states were closing their borders because of fascism, anti-Semitism and war and paying increasing attention to the legal status of both residents and foreigners. Famous artists such as Anna Pavlova, Vladimir Nabokov, Marc Chagall, Igor Stravinsky and Robert Capa, as well as more than a million other stateless persons, mostly refugees from Russia and the Ottoman Empire, received these precious passports. States have not used collective deprivation of citizenship as a weapon since 1945, but the UN General Assembly did not officially ban it until 2012.

The Princesses of Monaco – Intimate Portrait

When Hollywood queen Grace Kelly married Prince Rainer of Monaco, she brought elegance and class to the tiny principality previously known as "a sunny place for shady people." But the couple's daughters, Caroline and Stephanie, became known for rebellious, scandal-seeking behavior, seemingly designed to tarnish their mother's aura of dignity.

Ironically, it was through tragedy - Grace's 1982 death in a terrifying car accident, and later the death of Caroline's husband - that the family finally made peace with itself. Today, Caroline and Stephanie are Princesses on their own terms: out of the public eye and raising families of their own. THE PRINCESSES OF MONACO: the fairy tale faltered; the family endures.

THE GUARDIAN: Prince Rainier of Monaco » | Dennis Barker | Wednesday, April 6, 2005

Greece to Ask Germany for Billions in War Reparations

THE GUARDIAN: MPs vote to put pressure on Berlin as European parliamentary elections loom

Greece is poised to send Germany a formal diplomatic note detailing its demand for billions of euros in wartime reparations after MPs voted overwhelmingly for the emotive issue to be raised officially.

In a move bound to stir sentiment ahead of crucial European parliament elections, Athens vowed to pile pressure on Berlin, taking legal and diplomatic steps that will throw the spotlight on crimes committed during the brutal Nazi occupation.

“It is an open issue that must be resolved,” Greece’s deputy foreign minister, Markos Bolaris, told the Guardian, hitting back at German insistence that compensation claims had been conclusively settled.

“For matters of this kind there is international justice,” he said on Friday. “In all disputes the EU abides by it, on principle. Germany may say it has been resolved but what counts is international law.” » | Helena Smith in Athens | Sunday, April 21, 2019

On Contact: Russiagate & Mueller Report with Aaron Mate

Chris Hedges discusses with Nation reporter Aaron Mate how despite the categorical statement in Robert Mueller’s report that Donald Trump and his campaign did not collude with Russia, the conspiracy theories by the nation’s mainstream media show little sign of diminishing.