Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Iran's Basic Goods Prices Double as Fall of Rial Continues | Al Jazeera English
Macron wirft Moskau Förderung von Rechtspopulisten in der EU vor
Wenige Tage vor der Europawahl hat Frankreichs Präsident Emmanuel Macron Russland vorgeworfen, extremistische Parteien in Europa stark zu fördern. „Die Russen und einige andere haben noch nie so zudringlich extremistische Parteien finanziert und ihnen geholfen“, sagte Macron in einem Interview, das französische Regionalzeitungen am Dienstag veröffentlichten. „Man muss besorgt sein, man darf nicht naiv sein.“
Macron nannte auch den ehemaligen Berater des amerikanischen Präsidenten Donald Trump Steve Bannon, dem er eine weiter bestehende Nähe zur amerikanischen Regierung unterstellte. Es gebe zum ersten Mal eine Zusammenarbeit zwischen „Nationalisten und ausländischen Interessen mit dem Ziel, Europa abzuwickeln“, sagte Macron. » | Quelle: nto./Reuters | Dienstag, 21. Mai 2019
Boris Johnson Not Fit to Be PM, Says Tory Minister
Boris Johnson has been branded an unacceptable candidate to be prime minister by the Conservative minister Margot James, because of his “fuck business” remark when asked about companies’ concerns over Brexit.
James, a business minister and leading member of the One Nation Conservative group, said the comment meant Johnson was not fit for “high public office” as she addressed a Creative England event in London.
Speaking later to the Guardian, she said some of her colleagues promoting Brexit at any cost to business had the “wrong attitude”.
“I don’t think people in the public eye should be using language like that to discuss the concerns of the business community,” she said. “It’s the dismissive attitude to business that’s a problem among some people for whom Brexit is everything.” » | Rowena Mason, Deputy political editor | Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Trump Says the Military Industrial Complex Is Pressuring Him Into a War with Iran
Hungary Accused of Fuelling Xenophobia with Anti-migrant Rhetoric
Europe’s top human rights watchdog has accused Hungary’s government of violating people’s rights and using anti-migrant rhetoric that fuels “xenophobic attitudes, fear and hatred”.
A damning report from the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, Dunja Mijatović, concluded: “Human rights violations in Hungary have a negative effect on the whole protection system and the rule of law” and should “be addressed as a matter of urgency”.
The commissioner, whose report is based on meeting government ministers and civil society groups during a five-day visit to Hungary in February, issued a devastating critique of the Hungarian asylum system that has resulted in “practically systemic rejection of asylum applications”. Voicing alarm at the “excessive use of violence” by police in removing foreign nationals, she criticised a policy of denying food to those refused asylum. » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Monday, May 20, 2019
How Ukip Normalised Far-right Politics
THE GUARDIAN: Racism on the rise since Brexit vote, nationwide study reveals » | Robert Booth, Social affairs correspondent | Monday, May 20, 2019
Marine Le Pen Denies Steve Bannon Has Role in Her EU Election Campaign as He Sets Up Camp in Paris
The accusations came after the American president's controversial former eminence grise decamped to a palatial Parisian hotel days before the vote.
The elections for the European Parliament on May 26 in France will see President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party go head to head with Ms Le Pen’s National Rally, or RN, formerly known as the National Front.
Polls suggest that they are neck and neck with Mr Macron, Europe’s self-styled centrist champion, warning it would be a “catastrophe for France” should she finish ahead on Sunday. She has called for him to resign should he fail to do so.
Mr Bannon told Le Parisien this weekend he had opted to come to France as its election was "by far" the most important among EU member states. He predicted an “earthquake” next Sunday. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Monday, May 20, 2019
The Tories Have Forgotten Their Pro-EU Voters. And They’ll Pay for It
In a seemingly endless season of Tory nightmares, this week looks set to mark the most dreadful phase so far. The Conservatives are about to endure a set of elections that they never thought they would face. Only four years ago, the party won a general election; now, there is talk of them finishing fifth, or even sixth. With every Tory moan of pain, Nigel Farage’s nicotine grin grows ever larger. And out in the country, there is an overlooked Conservative crisis: one bound up not with the part of the population that voted for Brexit, but with the liberal, pro-remain swathe of the country without whom the future of Conservatism looks bleak indeed. » | John Harris | Monday, May 20, 2019
Republicans Terrified That Their Anti-Abortion Crusade Will Cost Them 2020
Donald Trump's Peace Conference Will Fail, Palestinians Say
Peace efforts that ignore Palestinian political aspirations will fail, senior Palestinian officials have said, after the Trump administration announced an economic conference will take place next month as the first step of its long-awaited Middle East peace plan.
Washington said on Sunday that Bahrain had agreed to host a “Peace to Prosperity” workshop to discuss the potential economic incentives of its still-undisclosed plan, which Trump has promised over the last two years would be the “deal of the century”.
A spokesman for the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, on Monday cast doubt over the Bahrain conference. “Any plan without a political horizon will not lead to peace,” Nabil Abu Rdeneh said. » | Oliver Holmes in Jerusalem | Monday, May 20, 2019
Europe's Centrists Draw on Austrian Scandal to Issue Far-right Warning
Politicians from mainstream parties across Europe have called on voters to shun the far right in this week’s European elections after Austria’s vice-chancellor resigned over a video sting that showed him offering public contracts in exchange for financial and campaign backing.
Heinz-Christian Strache stepped down on Saturday after the footage emerged. Hours later, Austria’s chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, announced snap elections, ending the 18-month ruling coalition between his centre-right Austrian People’s party (ÖVP) and Strache’s far-right Freedom party (FPÖ).
The video showed the vice-chancellor proposing to trade government contracts for party donations and favourable media coverage with a woman posing as the wealthy niece of a Russian energy billionaire. He acknowledged the video was “catastrophic” but denied doing anything illegal. » | Jon Henley, Europe correspondent | Monday, May 20, 2019
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Switzerland Votes for Tighter Gun Laws by Large Margin
Swiss voters have agreed by a nearly two-to-one margin to adopt tighter gun controls in line with changes to European Union rules, heading off a clash with Brussels.
The measure passed in the binding referendum on Sunday under the Swiss system of direct democracy by a 64%-36% margin, provisional final results showed.
The restrictions, which apply to Switzerland as a non-EU member because it is part of Europe’s Schengen open-border system, had raised hackles among shooting enthusiasts before the vote.
Failure to adopt the rules could have forced Switzerland to leave the passport-free Schengen zone and the Dublin joint system for handling asylum requests. » | Reuters | Sunday, May 19, 2019
'Future of Britain Is in Europe,' The Queen Told Germany in 1988
The Queen confided to the German ambassador that she believed the future of Britain lay in Europe, newly released diplomatic cables from 1988 have shown.
“Some have not realised this yet,” the monarch allegedly said of her subjects. She also appeared to back the creation of the single market.
In a memo composed on the occasion of his farewell visit to the British head of state on 25 November 1988, the then ambassador Rüdiger Freiherr von Wechmar reported that the conversation during an “emphatically warm and unrestrained” meeting had moved on to the subject of the British people’s attitude to Europe.
“With a smirk,” Wechmar wrote, “she noted that the Brits are still a very insular people, and to most of them the magical number 1992 doesn’t mean very much.”
That was a reference to the fact that, two years previously, European leaders including the then prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, had signed the Single European Act, which set the member states of the bloc the objective of establishing a single market by the end of 1992, a commitment that culminated in the Maastricht treaty. » | Philip Oltermann in Berlin | Sunday, May 19, 2019
Politik-Skandal in Österreich! Alle Infos
Hungary's Lone Fighter for Europe and the EU | Focus on Europe
Iran Crisis: Deal or War? | Quadriga Talk
Trump Backs Abortion in Cases of Rape or Incest, Contradicting Alabama Law
Donald Trump, in a series of late night posts on Twitter, has outlined a less restrictive view of abortion than that just passed by Alabama’s Republican state government.
Alabama now bans abortion except if there is a “serious health risk” to the mother, with no exceptions for rape and incest, but the president says he favours making an exception of cases of rape and incest.
“As most people know, and for those who would like to know, I am strongly pro-life, with the three exceptions – rape, incest and protecting the life of the mother – the same position taken by Ronald Reagan,” Trump tweeted. » | Pádraig Collins | Sunday, May 19, 2019
Trump is pro-life? Really? So why all this war-mongering? Such hypocrisy! – Mark
On Contact: Threat of War with Iran w/Codepink's Medea Benjamin
Old Grudges, New Weapons… Is the US on the Brink of War with Iran?
For better or worse, America remains the world’s leading military superpower. In Washington last week, a familiar row erupted over how best that power should be used. Past targets have included Soviet Russia, al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Today the international bogeyman topping the White House’s to-do list is Iran.
Once again the US is in the process of deciding whether to go to war. As always, it is a tangled, messy and dishonest business. On one side, favouring punitive action, stand the Iran hawks. They include neoconservative retreads such as John Bolton, Donald Trump’s national security adviser, who championed the 2003 Iraq invasion; Mike Pompeo, a former CIA director and Christian evangelical who heads the state department; and Mike Pence, the ascetic US vice-president.
On the other side, opposing escalation, stand Democratic party leaders in Congress and a clutch of presidential hopefuls; sceptical Pentagon generals and security agency officials who trust Bolton as far as they can toss an IED; a majority of Washington’s more important allies in the EU and Nato; and China and Russia, which oppose American global power-plays on principle. » | Simon Tisdall | Saturday, May 18, 2019
Don’t Lead Us to Disaster, Moderate Tories Warn Frontrunner Boris Johnson
Conservative leadership contenders will shepherd the party to disaster if they adopt the “comfort blanket of populism” in response to Nigel Farage, scores of Tory MPs will warn this week.
Eight cabinet ministers are among a group of 60 modernising MPs who will call on contenders for the leadership to “reject narrow nationalism” in their quest to replace Theresa May. The warning comes with Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab, who have both said they are willing to back a no-deal Brexit, emerging as the favourites among Tory members. Johnson is the frontrunner. » | Michael Savage | Saturday, May 18, 2019
Saturday, May 18, 2019
Europe’s Far-right Leaders Unite with a Vow to ‘Change History’
Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini led a rally of his European far-right allies in front of Milan’s Gothic cathedral on Saturday. He pledged to change history after this week’s EU elections by making the populist alliance one of the largest groupings in the European parliament.
Flanked by France’s Marine Le Pen and leaders from nine other nationalist parties, Salvini began his speech to the packed Piazza del Duomo by quoting the British writer GK Chesterton: “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him but because he loves what is behind him.” He added that his group would remould Europe “not for our sake, but for our children”. » | Angela Giuffrida | Saturday, May 18, 2019
There’s So Much At Stake in the EU Elections. This Is about What Kind of Country We Want to Be
We are in the middle of a battle for Britain’s soul. On one side are those who want our country to continue to be forward looking, open to the world, tolerant, inclusive and progressive. On the other, those who want to pit our communities against each other, undo the social progress painstakingly made over decades, and who advocate a politics of division.
Across the globe, the far right is on the rise. They are gaining ground and winning power and influence in places that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.
Many are using the same methods from the old far-right playbook. Picking on minority communities and the marginalised in order to manufacture an enemy. Fabricating lies in order to stoke up fear. And promoting hatred of immigrants, sympathy for white nationalism, attacks on women’s reproductive rights and rolling back the progress made on LGBT rights.
Take Donald Trump who, as US president, said there were “very fine people on all sides” when white supremacists marched through the streets of Charlottesville. Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, has embraced antisemitism and attacked LGBT rights and press freedom. Matteo Salvini, deputy prime minister of Italy, has repeatedly attacked migrants. And Marine Le Pen finished second in the last French presidential election on an anti-immigration platform. Worryingly, similar nationalist and populist parties are gaining support in almost every European country. » | Sadiq Khan | Saturday, May 18, 2019
Labour Panic as Remain Voters Switch to Liberal Democrats
Senior Labour figures were engaged in a desperate battle to shore up the party’s support on Saturday night, amid warnings that its stance on Brexitwas helping to “detoxify the Lib Dems”.
With just days left before the European elections at which Nigel Farage’s Brexit party is expected to triumph, shadow cabinet ministers are among those concerned that Labour’s ambiguous position on Brexit has helped revive the Lib Dems. It comes as new polling seen by the Observer suggests Vince Cable’s party is running in first place in London and could even beat Labour overall.
One senior party figure warned: “If the consequence of Labour’s Brexit position and this European election is to essentially detoxify the Lib Dems, then that’s a real problem.” Clive Lewis, a shadow Treasury minister, said “lifelong Labour voters” would not back the party this week due to its Brexit stance. He added: “It feels like we’ve given [the Lib Dems] the political equivalent of resuscitation.” » | Michael Savage, Observer policy editor | Saturday, May 18, 2019
Sex Education: The Clash of LGBT and Religious Rights – BBC Newsnight
Tommy Robinson: Salvini Shows Far-right Agenda Attainable
Tommy Robinson has said Matteo Salvini, the anti-Islam Italian minister accused of targeting refugees, had shown what was attainable from pursuing far-right policies.
Speaking in a pub car park on the latest stage of his European election campaign, Robinson told supporters in the former mill town of Heywood in Lancashire that Italy’s interior minister had shown it was possible to make the transition from being classed as an “extremist” into “one of the most powerful men in Europe”.
About 300 supporters, many holding aloft pints, comprised one of the biggest crowds of Robinson’s campaign to become an MEP. » | Mark Townsend | Saturday, May 18, 2019
John Bolton: The Man Driving the US towards War … Any War
The US is now engaged in three major confrontations around the world that have the potential to degrade into war. And in the driving seat on all three fronts is John Bolton, one of the most fervent believers in American military power ever to work in the White House.
Donald Trump’s 70-year-old national security adviser has been a fixture in US foreign policy over the past four decades, and has spent that time, whether in or out of government, mostly arguing for the most hawkish position on any issue put in front of him.
“He actually believes when America leads, the world is a safer and better place – not just for us but for the world,” said Mark Groombridge, who worked for Bolton for more than 10 years.
In the Obama era, Bolton’s bristling walrus moustache was a near constant presence on television, almost always Fox News, from where he would vent scorn and spleen on the Democratic administration.
These days, Bolton looks considerably more cheerful, having reached the peak of the policymaking establishment that had once seemed out of his reach. » | Julian Borger in Washington | Friday, May 17, 2019
Iran Says 'There Will Be No War' as US Warns of Risk to Civilian Aircraft
Iran’s foreign minister said on Saturday “there will be no war” with the US, since “nobody in the region is suffering from a hallucination to think that he is able to confront Iran”.
Nonetheless, US diplomats warned commercial airliners flying over the Persian Gulf that they faced a risk of being “misidentified” amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.
The US has ordered bombers and an aircraft carrier to the Gulf over an unexplained perceived threat, raising tensions a year after Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal between world powers and the Islamic Republic.
In remarks quoted by the state-run IRNA news agency at the end of his trip to China, the foreign minister, Mohammed Javad Zarif, said the Islamic Republic was “not seeking war”, adding: “In fact, as the supreme leader said, there will be no war since we are not seeking war and nobody in the region is suffering from a hallucination to think that he is able to confront Iran.”
He added that though Trump has said he is not seeking war, “some that have sat around him” are pushing such a conflict. » | Associated Press in Washington | Saturday, May 18, 2019
CrossTalk: Bolton War Machine
Austria: Far-right Vice-Chancellor Strache Forced to Resign | DW News
German Neo-Nazi Party Runs for European Elections | DW News
Austria Minister Heinz-Christian Strache Resigns amid Video Scandal
The video appeared to show Mr Strache discussing government contracts with an alleged Russian investor in return for campaign support.
He also appeared to hint at a potentially illegal donation system for the far-right Freedom Party he leads.
Mr Strache said that transport minister Norbert Hofer will replace him.
He said he was leaving to avoid further damage to the government and claimed he had been the "victim of a targeted political attack" which had used illegal means. » | Saturday, May 18, 2019
Friday, May 17, 2019
As Rightwing Populism Spreads, Bigotry against the LGBT Community Is Growing
Ispent last week in Cuba, a time which overlapped with what should have been the country’s 12th annual Conga Against Homophobia and Transphobia. The march, however, organised by the government and the brainchild of Mariela Castro – daughter of Raul – was cancelled, owing to “new tensions in the international and regional context”.
This essentially translates into a fear that people taking to the streets at a time of heightened tension in the region might turn into general unrest. But there is also the unmentioned fact that religious communities in Cuba are increasingly pushing back against the otherwise repressive state’s attempts to improve LGBT+ rights. Earlier in the year proposed changes to the constitution to allow same-sex marriages were scrapped after pressure from evangelical churches and sections of the population. A spontaneous civilian-organised march to replace the cancelled conga resulted in multiple arrests.
LGBT+ discrimination still exists the world over – this can be insiduous, quotidian prejudice or extreme hatred. Homosexual sex and relationships are still illegal in 69 countries (including 35 Commonwealth countries), and can be penalised with life imprisonment, while some countries still have the death penalty on their statute books. But LGBT+ individuals had become used to good news stories: be it the ground-breaking vote for same-sex marriage in Ireland or Ana Brnabić becoming Serbia’s first openly gay prime minister).
Now, however, as rightwing populism spreads around the world, there is a noticeable rise in bigotry. The LGBT+ community is feeling besieged once again. » | Hannah Jane Parkinson | Friday, May 17, 2019
UK Advises Dual Nationals against All Travel to Iran
The UK has upgraded its travel advice to British-Iranian dual nationals, for the first time advising against all travel to Iran.
The advice also urges Iranian nationals living in the UK to exercise caution if they decide to travel to Iran.
The latest tightening of the Foreign Office travel advice comes in the wake of the sentencing of Aras Amiri, an Iranian national who worked for the British Council in London, to 10 years in jail on charges of spying for the UK. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Friday, May 17, 2019
German Parliament Criminalizes Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement
Post-Poe America Won’t Be Like Pre-Roe America. It Will Be Worse
This week, Alabama’s governor signed legislation banning most abortions without exceptions for rape or incest, with sentences of up to 99 years in prison for abortion providers. It follows a measure that Georgia’s governor signed last week effectively banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy and that is worded in a way that could lead to prosecutions of women who terminate their pregnancies after that point. Missouri’s Senate approved an eight-week abortion ban on Thursday, also without exceptions for rape or incest. It contains a trigger that will ban abortion outright if Roe v. Wade falls. A Louisiana six-week abortion ban is likely to be next.
You can see, in the anti-abortion movement, a mood of triumphant anticipation. Decades of right-wing politics have all led up to this moment, when an anti-abortion majority on the Supreme Court could end women’s constitutional protection against being forced to carry a pregnancy and give birth against their will. » | Michelle Goldberg, Opinion Columnist | Thursday, May 16, 2019
Duchess of Sussex Gave Birth at Portland Hospital in Westminster, Royal Baby's Birth Certificate Confirms
The Duchess, whose occupation was listed as “Princess of the United Kingdom”, and Duke had declined to specify the place of birth when they announced news of Archie’s safe arrival, omitting details of the medical team and location.
Today, after the Duke registered his son’s birth with the Westminster registrar, the certificate confirmed the place of birth as the private Portland Hospital.
The factual statement will end the narrative of a home birth at Frogmore Cottage, widely reported to have been the Duchess’ preferred option, and will go some way to shutting down baseless rumours about the circumstances of the birth. » | Hannah Furness, Royal Correspondent; Izzy Lyons and Gareth Davies | Friday, May 17, 2019
US-Iran Conflict Would Hit Energy Supplies, Says Iranian General
Iranian missiles could easily hit US ships in the Gulf, and any conflict would threaten global energy supplies, a senior Iranian military official has said.
As tensions simmered on Friday, Tehran blamed the US for an escalating regional crisis that western intelligence officials fear could lead to open conflict.
“If a war happens, the world’s energy supply will suffer,” Gen Saleh Jokar, deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards, said on Friday. He added: “Iran’s short-range missiles can easily reach present [US] warships in the Persian Gulf.”
Iranian military leaders say the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” approach, which includes crippling sanctions on Tehran’s economy and a unilateral pullout from a nuclear deal, has forced an inevitable reaction. » | Martin Chulov and Dan Sabbagh | Friday, May 17, 2019
Meet the Alabama Doctor Who Could Face 99 Years in Prison for Providing Abortions under New Law
World's Largest Pilgrimage – Hajj Documentary
Missouri Passes Anti-Abortion Law
Donald Trump's Anti-Abortion Executive Order
Change UK's Anna Soubry: "The Brexit Party Is Nigel Farage's Ego Trip"
Bob Hawke, Former Australian Prime Minister, Dies Aged 89
Read the article here »
THE GUARDIAN: Obituary »
Nigel Farage’s Funding Secrets Revealed
Thursday, May 16, 2019
The Trump Administration Is Lying Us Into Another War
Arrogance of Ignorance? Ft. Richard Dawkins, Evolutionary Biologist
A Saudi War With Iran? It’s a Cartoon for Now
Theresa May Told: Set a Departure Date Or Be Forced Out
Theresa May is under intense pressure to formally announce a resignation date after one of her most senior backbenchers warned that if she did not do so she would be forced out.
Before a crucial meeting between the prime minister and the 1922 Committee, which represents Tory backbenchers, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said it would be “much more dignified” for May to name a date, rather than oblige the committee to change party rules to oust her.
The Cotswolds MP, who is treasurer of the 1922 Committee, told Sky News that May, who has promised to stand down once her Brexit deal is passed, should instead leave soon. » | Peter Walker and Andrew Sparrow | Thursday, May 16, 2019
Trump Pardons Fraudster Conrad Black after Glowing Biography
Conrad Black, the former media mogul who owned the Daily Telegraph and the Spectator before being jailed for fraud, has been pardoned by Donald Trump – shortly after writing a book praising the US president.
The Canadian-born British citizen was once known for his extravagant lifestyle as he ran an international newspaper empire that included the Chicago Sun-Times and the Jerusalem Post. But he ended up serving three and a half years in prison after being convicted in 2007 of siphoning off millions of dollars from the sale of newspapers owned by the company he controlled.
Since leaving jail Black, who is also a British peer, has been on a quest to clear his name. Last year he published a book entitled Donald J Trump: A President Like No Other, writing that Trump “is not, in fact, a racist, sexist, warmonger, hothead, promoter of violence, or a foreign or domestic economic warrior”. He suggested the president had been misunderstood. » | Jim Waterson, media editor | Thursday, May 16, 2019
Donald Trump Says He Is 'Absolutely' Ready to Send Troops to Confront Iran
The comments come amid mounting diplomatic and military tensions in the Persian Gulf after Iran-aligned Yemeni rebels attacked an oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia and an unidentified attacker attempted to sabotage tankers.
Mr Trump said reports that the Pentagon has already drawn up plans to deploy 120,000 soldiers to the region in preparation for conflict were “fake news.”
But he added: “Now, would I do that? Absolutely. But we have not planned for that,” he said.
“Hopefully we’re not going to have to plan for that. And if we did that, we’d send a hell of a lot more troops than that,” he said. » | Roland Oliphant, Senior Foreign Correspondent | Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Methodist Church Should Allow Same-sex Marriages, Report States
In a document published on Tuesday ahead of the Methodist Church’s Conference this summer, a task force called for a series of recommendations in a bid to modernise the Methodist Church.
The report was drawn up amid changes in society regarding same-sex relationships, cohabition and the delicining marriage rate, the legalisation of civil partnerships and same-sex marriage.
It also comes following the Government’s revelation last year that civil partnerships would be rolled out to heterosexual couples and the proposal has been welcomed by the LGBT community. » | Gabriella Swerling, Social and Religious Affairs Editor | Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Trump Administration Beats War Drums
US Fails to Get International Support for Iran Policy | DW News
Meanwhile, Pompeo has been reassuring Russia and the EU that Washington is not heading towards conflict with Iran. Pompeo's comments came during his first official visit to Russia, a key backer of Tehran. Iran has blamed the current crisis in the Gulf region on Washington's decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.
Latest: Who Has NY Times in Their Pocket?
Iyad el-Baghdadi: In the 'Crosshairs' of Saudi Government | Talk to Al Jazeera
Iyad el-Baghdadi is a pro-democracy activist and strong critic of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The UK's Guardian newspaper reported that Norwegian officials took him from his home in Oslo to a secure location. There, he was told the CIA had warned Norway's government the Saudis had him "in their crosshairs".
El-Baghdadi gained popularity during the Arab Spring when he posted pro-human rights messages on social media. The Palestinian activist was granted asylum in Norway four years ago after being expelled from the United Arab Emirates for criticising Middle Eastern regimes.
In an exclusive interview, Iyad el-Baghdadi discusses an unlikely friendship with the murdered ‘Washington Post’ journalist Jamal Khashoggi and how continuing Khashoggi's work has made him a target of the Saudi government.
US Embassy in Iraq Orders Non-emergency Staff to Leave | Al Jazeera English
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
John Bolton Wants Regime Change in Iran. What’s His Alternaative?
THE NEW YORK TIMES: White House Reviews Military Plans Against Iran, in Echoes of Iraq War » | Eric Schmitt and Julian E. Barnes | Monday, May 13, 2019
Will John Bolton’s Dream to Bomb Iran Come True? Ex-Iranian Ambassador Warns About US Escalation
Monday, May 13, 2019
Trump Praises Controversial Hungarian Leader Shunned by Bush and Obama
Hollywood Legend Doris Day Dies Aged 97
Is Iran Conducting Secret Sabotage Attacks? | DW News
‘Trump Administration Wants War with Iran’ – Colonel
The Dark Side of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince l Al Jazeera English (2018)
Here are 8 things that have gone wrong since MBS started his ascent to power:
1. War in Yemen
2. Detention of Lebanon’s PM
3. Ritz-Carlton purge
4. GCC crisis and blockade of Qatar
5. Jailed women’s rights activists
6. Diplomatic spat with Canada
7. Rise of executions in the kingdom
8. Disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi
The number of executions in the kingdom has rapidly increased lately. According to human rights organisations, MBS has overseen the execution, of 16 people on average per month, every month. If this rate continues, 2018 could see 200 executions. That is the highest number ever recorded in Saudi Arabia in one year.
In October 2018, Saudi journalist and MBS critic Jamal Khashoggi enters a Saudi consulate in Istanbul and never comes out. Pressure mounted on Saudi Arabia to reveal what happened to Khashoggi: world leaders demanded a thorough and transparent investigation.
Iyad el-Baghdadi Faces Threat from Saudi Arabia | Al Jazeera English
Iyad el-Baghdadi was told that the threat had been passed on to Norwegian authorities by the United States Central Intelligence Agency. He was informed there could be several reasons why Saudi Arabia would target him.
Iyad was granted asylum in Norway four years ago and is a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Ireland Bars Christian Fundamentalist Pastor from Entering Country
An anti-gay US Christian fundamentalist pastor who has been accused of Holocaust denial has become the first person to be barred from entering Ireland under a 20-year-old immigration law.
Steven Anderson was due to travel to Dublin on 26 May to preach in the city, but the Irish justice minister, Charlie Flanagan, took the unusual step to ban him from coming into the country.
More than 14,000 people signed an online petition set up by the Christian gay rights campaign group Changing Attitude Ireland calling on the Irish government to block Anderson’s trip to the country. The organisation claimed that in the past he had “advocated exterminating LGBT+ people”.
Confirming the barring order under the 1999 Immigration Act, Flanagan said: “I have signed the exclusion order under my executive powers in the interest of public policy.”
It is the first time the Irish government has used the legislation to bar anyone from the country. » | Henry McDonald | Monday, May 13, 2019
Who Can Secure Shipping Lines in the Gulf? | Inside Story
The incidents happened off the coast of Fujairah. The Emirate denied reports of explosions at its port on Sunday. But the Emirati government later said four commercial ships flagged under several nationalities had been hit - although there were no injuries or deaths. The attack was condemned by several countries, including Iran.
What does it mean for global oil supplies?
Presenter: Sami Zeidan | Guests: Mahjoob Zweiri, Director of the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University; Manouchehr Takin, Senior Analyst at the Centre for Global Energy Studies; Elias Farhat, retired military general and defence analyst
Doris Day, Celebrated Actor and Singer, Dies at 97
Doris Day, the actor, singer and animal welfare activist, has died at the age of 97. The Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed the news.
Born Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff in Cincinnati, Ohio, Day was known for a string of successful musicals and romantic comedies, including Pillow Talk, as well as a singing career that encompassed 29 studio albums.
Descended from German immigrants to the US, Day first gained fame with a recording of Sentimental Journey on 1945 as a vocalist for Les Brown and His Band of Renown; the song became a popular second world war anthem, and by 1946 she was the highest paid female singer in the world. » | Benjamin Lee | Monday, May 13, 2019
THE GUARDIAN: Doris Day: the wholesome face of postwar American optimism » | Peter Bradshaw | Monday, May 13, 2019
THE GUARDIAN: Doris Day obituary » | Ronald Bergan | Monday, May 13, 2019
The Guardian View on Abortion: Protecting a Human Right
No law can end abortions, however severe its restrictions and however harsh its penalties. Each day almost 70,000 unsafe abortions are carried out around the world, and they are vastly more likely to happen in countries with strict laws. What such legislation does do is force some women to continue pregnancies against their wishes, while risking the lives and wellbeing of others. Women in the US have seen their ability to terminate pregnancies dismantled piece by piece. Now states are racing to outlaw or dramatically curb abortions with extreme and unconstitutional bills. The aim is to directly challenge Roe v Wade, the US supreme court ruling that established that abortion is legal before the foetus is viable outside the womb, at around 24 weeks. Last Tuesday, the governor of Georgia signed a bill essentially banning abortions after six weeks from 2020. Some described it as a sign that men who wish to control women’s bodies have no idea of how they actually work. More likely, those who pushed hardest for the change understand all too well that many women will not know they are pregnant until it is too late. » | Editorial | Sunday, May 12, 2019
Trump’s Lifetime Of Lies Comes Crashing Down
Sweden Reopens Rape Case against Julian Assange
Swedish prosecutors are to reopen an investigation into a rape allegation against Julian Assange.
The deputy director of public prosecutions, Eva-Marie Persson, announced the decision at a press conference on Monday, saying: “I have today taken the decision to reopen the preliminary investigation.”
She said the circumstances now allowed for an extradition to Sweden from Britain, and a new interview with Assange should be held.
She said: “After reviewing the preliminary investigation carried out so far, I find that there still exist grounds for Julian Assange to be suspected on probable cause of the charge of rape. It is my assessment that a new questioning of Assange is required.” » | Caroline Davies | Monday, May 13, 2019
Saudi Oil Tankers Show 'Significant Damage' after Sabotage Attack, Says Riyadh
Two Saudi oil tankers have suffered “significant damage” in an apparent sabotage attack off the coast of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, the Saudi energy minister has said.
The reported incident – which could threaten the security of global oil supplies – came after the US warned ships that “Iran or its proxies” could be targeting maritime traffic in the region, prompting the US to send an aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf.
One of the two vessels was on its way to be loaded with Saudi crude oil bound for customers in the US, state news agency SPA reported. The attack did not lead to any casualties or an oil spill but caused significant damage to the structures of the two vessels, said Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih on Monday. » | Staff and agencies | Monday, May 13, 2019
Sunday, May 12, 2019
Conversion by Aversion? Featuring Arnoud van Doorn, Former Member of the Dutch Freedom Party
President Trump Tells Reporter That Asking Government To Investigate Biden Is Ok | The Last Word | MSNBC
Saturday, May 11, 2019
John Bolton Gearing Up the US for War with Iran
Farage Cannot Be Allowed to Dictate Britain’s Future. He Must Be Thwarted
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'
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
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
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?
Nancy Pelosi: We Now Face A Trump-Made 'Constitutional Crisis' | The Beat With Ari Melber | MSNBC
US Conservative Pundit Ben Shapiro Ends Interview with BBC's Andrew Neil
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
Friday, May 10, 2019
‘Call Me’ Maybe – Trump Asks Iran to Chat
Europe Must Never Repeat Brexit, Says Guy Verhofstadt
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
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 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
Thursday, May 09, 2019
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