Is Russia Clamping Down On Jehovah's Witnesses?

BBC: Russia's Supreme Court has begun hearing a government request to outlaw the Jehovah's Witnesses and declare it an extremist organisation.

The justice ministry has already placed its headquarters near St Petersburg on a list of extremist groups. (+BBC video) » | Thursday, April 6, 2017

Boycotting Bill O'Reilly: Over 50 Advertisers Pull Ads on Fox Show over Sexual Harassment Scandal

The number of advertisers boycotting Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News program has increased to at least 52, following revelations that he and the network paid out $13 million to settle lawsuits by five women who accuse O’Reilly of sexual harassment and inappropriate sexual behavior. Meanwhile, a third Fox News employee has joined a lawsuit charging the network with racial discrimination. The employees claim top executives—including former CEO Roger Ailes—refused to intervene as they were forced to endure "years-long relentless racial animus" at the hands of a white manager. We speak to Arisha Hatch, managing director of campaigns at Color of Change, which has organized a major campaign calling on advertisers to boycott "The O’Reilly Factor."

Meet the Lawyer Who Is Going After Bill O'Reilly & Donald Trump for Sexual Harassment

President Donald Trump is lending his support to Bill O’Reilly, as the number of advertisers boycotting the Fox News host’s program has increased to at least 52, following revelations that he and the network Fox News paid out $13 million to settle lawsuits by five women who accuse O’Reilly of sexual harassment and inappropriate sexual behavior. Other women have made similar accusations. In an Oval Office interview with The New York Times Wednesday, Trump said, "I think he’s a person I know well. He is a good person. … I think he shouldn’t have settled. Personally, I think he shouldn’t have settled. Because you should have taken it all the way. I don’t think Bill did anything wrong." We speak to attorney Lisa Bloom, who represents Dr. Wendy Walsh, one of the women who has publicly accused Bill O’Reilly of unwanted sexual advances. She also represented Jill Harth, a Florida business associate of Trump who sued him for sexual harassment after he allegedly groped her at a business dinner and later attempted to sexually assault her in the empty bedroom of his daughter Ivanka.

ISIS Calls Trump 'Idiot' In Message

The terror group ISIS said in new audio released Tuesday and according to various translations called President Donald Trump an Arabic term that means "idiot" and said he doesn't know anything about Islam. ISIS controls parts of Iraq and Syria, and is currently being targeted by a U.S.-led coalition. The ISIS statement calls the United States "bankrupt" and says: "the sign of your elimination are now clearer to everyone, as the most clear of signs is that you are now ruled by a stupid idiot who does not know what Sham and Iraq are, or what Islam is, who continues to express his hatred and war against." Trump has pledged to "totally obliterate ISIS."

Dutch Men Hold Hands in Solidarity With Attacked Gay Couple

THE NEW YORK TIMES: From Amsterdam to New York, London to Havana, Dutch men across the world held hands this week to show solidarity with a gay couple who say they were brutally beaten in Arnhem, the Netherlands.

The outpouring of support came after the married couple, Jasper Vernes-Sewratan and Ronnie Sewratan-Vernes, said they were attacked by a gang of youths while holding hands on their way home from a party early Sunday.

According to a statement the Arnhem police posted on Facebook, the two said they had been attacked by men wielding bolt cutters; one had some of his teeth smashed out. » | Dan Bilefsky | Thursday, April 6, 2017

Brexit Is a 'Lose Lose Proposition' for Everyone

Former Prime Minister of Finland, Alexander Stubb speaks to Sky News about Brexit negotiations on trade.

Steve Bannon's Removal From National Security Council Could Signal Departure | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Top Talkers: After 10 weeks, Senior Counselor to the President, Stephen Bannon, has been removed from the National Security Council. The panel discusses the implications of this move.

Ivanka: 'Where I Disagree with My Father, He Knows It'

BBC: Ivanka Trump has given her first interview since being named as assistant to the president.

The US "first daughter" hasn't publicly disagreed with her father, but says that in private she expresses herself "with total candour". (+ BBC video) » | Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Trump Removes Stephen Bannon From National Security Council Post

THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — For the first 10 weeks of President Trump’s administration, no adviser loomed larger in the public imagination than Stephen K. Bannon, the raw and rumpled former chairman of Breitbart News who considers himself a “virulently anti-establishment” revolutionary out to destroy the “administrative state.”

But behind the scenes, White House officials said, the ideologist who enjoyed the president’s confidence became increasingly embattled as other advisers, including Mr. Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, complained about setbacks on health care and immigration. Lately, Mr. Bannon has been conspicuously absent from some meetings. And now he has lost his seat at the national security table. Read on and comment » | Peter Baker, Maggie Haberman and Glenn Thrush | Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Related here and here

Fox Losing More Advertisers After Sexual Harassment Claims Against O’Reilly

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Pressure mounted on Tuesday for Fox News to take action against its top-rated host, Bill O’Reilly, as a series of prominent companies pulled advertising from his show and a leading women’s rights group called for his ouster.

Following an investigation by The New York Times over the weekend that revealed multiple settlements over allegations of sexual harassment or other inappropriate behavior by Mr. O’Reilly, the network faced a major advertising revolt as more than a dozen marketers said that they were withdrawing their ads from “The O’Reilly Factor.” Escalating the tension, the National Organization for Women called for Mr. O’Reilly to be fired and said an independent investigation should be conducted into the culture at Fox News.

“Fox News is too big and too influential to simply let this go,” Terry O’Neill, the president of NOW, said in a statement. » | Emily Steel and Michael S. Schmidt | Tuesday, April 4, 2017

A New Kind of American! Oh Allah Assist Me! - Abdur Raheem McCarthy

How we should Remember Allah? - Abdur Raheem McCarthy

EU Lawmakers Adopt Brexit Resolution - Interview with David McAllister | DW English

EU lawmakers in Strasbourg have passed a resolution that calls for phased negotiations on Britain's withdrawal from the EU. DW caught up with German MEP David McAllister, as he came out of the vote.

Editorial: Enabling Egypt’s President Sisi, an Enemy of Human Rights

THE NEW YORK TIMES: American presidents must sometimes deal with unsavory foreign leaders in pursuit of America’s national interest. But that doesn’t require inviting them to the White House and lavishing them with praise and promises of unconditional support.

Yet that’s what President Trump did on Monday in not just welcoming but celebrating one of the most authoritarian leaders in the Middle East, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, a man responsible for killing hundreds of Egyptians, jailing thousands of others and, in the process, running his country and its reputation into the ground. » | The Editorial Board | Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Steve Bannon Removed From White House National Security Council | MSNBC

NBC’s Kristen Welker details the circumstances behind the Trump administration’s latest shakeup.

ISIS Message Calls Trump 'Foolish Idiot'

CNN: Islamist terror group ISIS has unleashed contempt on both the United States and President Donald Trump in a new audio message, calling the latter a "foolish idiot."

ISIS spokesman Abu Hasan al-Muhajir narrates the roughly 37-minute message, which was released Tuesday.

"You (America) are bankrupt and the signs of your demise are evident to every eye," Muhajir says. "There is no clearer sign of you being ruled by a foolish idiot who does not know what Levant or Iraq or Islam is, who continue(s) his hallucination to express his animosity and war against it (Islam)."

The message was distributed via social media by ISIS supporters. » | Jason Hanna and Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN | Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Sorry Justin Trudeau, But Radical Islam Is a Problem

TORONTO SUN: In Justin Trudeau’s Canada, if I mention the Islamist ties of Akbardzhon Dzhalilov, the 22-year-old suspected of carrying out the subway bombing that killed 14 in St. Petersburg, Russia on Monday, am I guilty of Islamophobia?

What if I also mention that Khalid Masood, the man who mowed down scores of pedestrians, killing three, and stabbed a police officer to death outside the British Parliament last week, was a convert to Islam? Am I guilty of a crime against Canada’s new politically correct speech codes? » | Lorne Gunter | Edmonton Sun | Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Steve Bannon’s Weird, Winding Road to the White House

Read the Bloomberg article here

St. Petersburg Bombing: The Beginning of a New Wave of Terrorism in Russia? (Parts 1 & 2)

Brexit: EU Parliament Backs 'Red Lines' Resolution

The EU Parliament today backed a motion setting out the Parliament's position for the upcoming Brexit negotiations.

"UK Effectively Created Saudi Arabia, No-one Is Reprimanding Them"

Political analyst Shabbir Razvi believes Saudi Arabia wanted to create the situation in Yemen.