Three Dead in Shooting in Dutch City of Utrecht: Mayor | Al Jazeera English

Three people are dead and nine wounded after a gunman opened fire in a tram in the central Dutch city of Utrecht says the city's mayor Jan von Zanen.

Dutch authorities have raised the threat level to its highest, and Prime Minister Mark Rutte said all efforts were focusing on the "suspect or suspects" responsible.

Al Jazeera's Fleur Launspach reports from Utrecht.

Former Neo-Nazi: President Trump May Be Complicit in Growing Threat of White Supremacy

President Donald Trump is refusing to acknowledge the global rise of white nationalism in the wake of the hate-fueled New Zealand massacre that left 50 Muslim worshipers dead on Friday. Police have arrested and charged 28-year-old white supremacist Brenton Tarrant with the killings. Before the attacks, Tarrant published a manifesto in which he praised Trump as “a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose” and described immigrants as “invaders.” On the same day, Trump claimed there was an “invasion” occurring on the southern border, signing his first presidential veto rejecting a resolution reversing his declaration of a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border. We speak with Christian Picciolini, the founder of Free Radicals Project, a nonprofit helping people disengage from hate and violent extremism. He was a leading neo-Nazi skinhead and far-right extremist in the 1980s and '90s. He is the author of “White American Youth: My Descent into America's Most Violent Hate Movement—and How I Got Out.” We also speak with Khaled Beydoun, a law professor at the University of Arkansas and author of “American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear.”

State-Sponsored Islamophobia & Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Embolden Right-Wing Terrorists

Fifty people are dead, and millions around the globe are mourning, following the massacre at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday. The terrorist attack unfolded during Friday prayer, when a lone gunman and avid white supremacist opened fire on worshipers while live-streaming the attack on Facebook. It was the deadliest shooting in the country’s modern history. The youngest of the dead is 3-year-old Mucad Ibrahim. Police have arrested and charged a 28-year-old Australian white supremacist named Brenton Tarrant with the killings. Tarrant published a manifesto praising President Donald Trump as “a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.” Trump has refused to acknowledge the global rise of white nationalism in the wake of the attack. We speak with Khaled Beydoun, a law professor at the University of Arkansas and the author of “American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear.” He says, “There’s an underbelly of anti-Muslim animus that facilitates the emergence of the very brazen Islamophobia we see today, weaponized by people like President Trump or by terrorists on the ground in places like New Zealand who commit massacres like we saw on Friday.”

Utrecht Shooting: A Gunman Opened Fire at Several Locations - BBC News

A gunman has opened fire inside a tram and at several other locations in the Dutch city of Utrecht, authorities say.

Dutch anti-terrorism co-ordinator Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg said all efforts were now focused on catching the gunman. He also said there could be more than one perpetrator.

The threat level has been temporarily raised to its highest point in the province of Utrecht.

Heavily armed police are reportedly gathered outside a house on a street near the 24 Oktoberplein junction, where the tram attack took place, with reports they are preparing to launch a raid.

Iranian Human Rights Lawyer Sentenced to 38 Years and 148 Lashes

Nasrin Sotoudeh defended political prisoners and worked to abolish Iran's death penalty. Human rights groups are worried her sentence could signal increased repression of peace activism in Iran under a judiciary with a history of human rights violations

Are Trump Supporters the Most Gullible People on Earth?

Back before most of us were born, President Harry Truman called out the GOP for lying to the American people, saying they were using “the best propaganda money can buy.” Today the GOP is using the exact same tactics. Meet the New GOP Scam, same as the old GOP scam.

Saudi Crown Prince Allegedly Stripped of Some Authority

THE GUARDIAN: Series of Mohammed bin Salman no-shows at high-profile meetings fed claims of rift with king

The heir to the Saudi throne has not attended a series of high-profile ministerial and diplomatic meetings in Saudi Arabia over the last fortnight and is alleged to have been stripped of some of his financial and economic authority, the Guardian has been told.

The move to restrict, if only temporarily, the responsibilities of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is understood to have been revealed to a group of senior ministers earlier last week by his father, King Salman.

The king is said to have asked Bin Salman to be at this cabinet meeting, but he failed to attend.

While the move has not been declared publicly, the Guardian has been told that one of the king’s trusted advisers, Musaed al-Aiban, who was educated at Harvard and recently named as national security adviser, will informally oversee investment decisions on the king’s behalf.

The Saudi embassy in Washington has declined multiple requests for comment since the Guardian approached it on Tuesday. » | Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington, and Nick Hopkins in London | Monday, March 18, 2019

Islamophobia Inc | Al Jazeera Investigations

Across the United States, there has been a growth in organizations that portray Islam as a threat.

Over two years, the number of groups that make up what’s become known as the Islamophobia industry has more than tripled.

This investigation reveals the tactics these groups use to instigate a fear of Islam, including how they manipulate social media to create a false narrative that Muslims are trying to take over the country.

Anti-Muslim messages proliferate social media with bought-in followers, fake accounts and robotic amplifiers.

The investigation also shows how these organizations try to suppress the rise of a Muslim political voice in America. It uncovers the “dark money” that has fuelled the rapid growth of Islamophobia Inc. - tens of millions of dollars which is funnelled through secretive, anonymous donor funds.

We unveil the donors of the dark money and ask; what do they ultimately hope to achieve?

New Zealand Mosque Attacks: Social Media Comes Under Attack | Al Jazeera English

Since Friday's attacks at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, social media platforms have been criticised for failing to stop the suspect's shooting video, and hate-filled manifesto, from going viral. Why was it so difficult for the social media giants, with all their resources and latest technology, to contain the spread of videos of New Zealand mosque attacks? Al Jazeera's Mereana Hond reports.

Why Is Islamophobia Increasing in Western Countries? | Inside Story

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern calls it a ‘terrorist attack.’ She was sent a 74-page so-called "manifesto" against Muslims and immigrants by a suspected gunman just minutes before he began firing indiscriminately at the first of two mosques in Christchurch.

In the "manifesto" the suspect describes U.S. President Donald Trump as a symbol of renewed white identity.

When Trump asked Ardern what he could do to help, she told him to show "sympathy and love for all Muslim communities."

So what's driving the hatred and prejudice against Muslims in Western countries? And is it linked to white supremacy?

Presenter: Hazem Sika | Guests: Tasneem Chopra, chair of the Australian Muslim Women's Centre for Human Rights; Rodger Shanahan, research fellow at the Lowy Institute; Matthew Goodwin, professor at the University of Kent and former member of the UK government's Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group.

Philby's Choice. Unknown Life of the World's Most Talented Spy

Gilet Jaunes: Yellow Vest Protesters Fight Police, Ransack Shops and Set Fire to Bank in Paris

THE INDEPENDENT: Interior minister condemns 'ultra violent' group as city is ransacked

Yellow vest protesters hurled stones at police officers, ransacked shops along the Champs-Elysees and set fire to a bank, as Paris saw its 18th consecutive weekend of protests.

Police fired tear gas and water cannons at the anti-government demonstrators after the protests turned violent.

Firefighters rescued two people from a burning bank, with 11 people suffering minor injuries in the blaze.

Two news stands on the avenue also caught fire, as bonfires burned in the streets. By late afternoon police officers had arrested around 120 protesters.

A number of demonstrators ransacked the high-end Fouquet's restaurant and clashed with riot police in front of the Arc de Triomphe. » | Zamira Rahim | Sunday, March 17, 2019

Holocaust Survivor Anton Mason Testimony

Opinion: Dissecting the Dreams of Brexit Britain

THE NEW YORK TIMES: I've traveled England trying to understand what drives the Brexit psyche.

The June 2016 Brexit referendum left Britain a divided nation. That much we know. But the referendum didn’t create division. It exposed something that was already there, latent. This was hard to see if you attended to people’s conventional political views about taxation or public spending; even the issue of immigration, by itself, wasn’t “it.” Nor was it to be found in something as vague as “feelings” or “emotions.” It lay elsewhere, in the realm of the individual political psyche, that blending of personal, family and nonacademic history, casually informed reasoning, clan prejudice, tribal loyalty and ancestor worship that forms the imaginative framework in which, as we represent it to ourselves, our lives relate to events in the wider world. Read on and comment » | James Meek | Mr. Meek is the author, most recently, of “Dreams of Leaving and Remaining.” | Friday, March 15, 2019

The Guardian View on the Christchurch Attacks: Extremism’s Rising Danger

THE GUARDIAN: The far right seeks to divide. Responsible politicians ought, especially in times of grief and anger, to bring people together

New Zealand is best known for its breathtaking wilderness, found in distant but secure islands at the edge of the world. On Friday that changed. Forty-nine people were killed in shootings at two mosques in central Christchurch in a suspected terrorist attack during the congregational prayer. The horrific events have left the country in mourning and shock. Muslims make up less than 1% of New Zealand’s population and the faith’s most prominent adherent is a rugby player. This was a stupefying amount of lethal force in a country that saw only 35 homicides in all of 2017. New Zealand as a nation will collectively have to deal with a trauma that no parent, no relative, no friend should ever endure. » | Editorial | Friday, March 15, 2019

Could Brexit Be Delayed? - Inside Story

'Brexit means Brexit' - or maybe it doesn't after all.

Britain's Prime Minister has repeated her slogan many times, insisting that Britain will leave the European Union on March the 29th. But with just two weeks to go, MPs have voted to delay the divorce until June.

The leaders of ALL EU countries now need to decide whether that can happen. And despite the biggest vote defeat in British parliamentary history, Theresa May says she'll try one more time next week to persuade MPs to back her withdrawal deal.

Will the European Union delay Brexit?

Presenter: Hazem Sika | Guests: Catherine McBride - Senior Economist, International Trade and Competition Unit at the Institute of Economic Affairs, London; Donnacha O'Beachain - Associate Professor, School of Law and Government, Dublin City University; Jon Worth - European Union Affairs blogger and visiting lecturer, College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium

North Korea Threatens to Scuttle Talks With the U.S. and Resume Tests

THE NEW YORK TIMES: North Korea threatened on Friday to suspend negotiations with the Trump administration over the North’s nuclear arms program and said its leader, Kim Jong-un, would soon decide whether to resume nuclear and missile tests.

Addressing diplomats and foreign correspondents at a news conference in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said that personal relations between Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump were “still good and the chemistry is mysteriously wonderful.”

But she said that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and John Bolton, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, had created an “atmosphere of hostility and mistrust” that thwarted the top leaders’ negotiations in Hanoi, Vietnam, last month.

After the Hanoi meeting ended without a deal, the North Korean leader had serious doubts about the merits of continuing negotiations with Mr. Trump, Ms. Choe said. » | Choe Sang-Hun | Friday, March 15, 2019

Holocaust Survivor Frank Shurman Testimony

This testimony from Jewish Survivor Frank Shurman is from the archive of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute and is also featured in Echoes & Reflections: A Multimedia Curriculum on the Holocaust.

Irish PM Brings Partner to Meet Mike Pence and Delivers Pointed Remarks on Sexuality

THE GUARDIAN: Leo Varadkar spoke on the changes for Ireland and called out various forms of discrimination

The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, who is gay, brought his partner to a meeting on Thursday with the US vice-president, Mike Pence, a conservative Christian once dubbed “the face of anti-LGBTQ hate in America”.

Varadkar, who is in Washington this week to reaffirm the longstanding shared history between the two countries, brought his partner, Matt Barrett, to a St Patrick’s Day breakfast at the vice-presidential residence at the Naval Observatory.

Varadkar tweeted that he and Barrett had received a “warm reception” at Pence’s home, but in pointed remarks to Pence and gathered media, he also called out various forms of discrimination.

“I lived in a country where if I’d tried to be myself at the time, it would have ended up breaking laws,” he said. “But today, that is all changed. I stand here, leader of my country, flawed and human, but judged by my political actions, and not by my sexual orientation, my skin tone, gender or religious beliefs.” » | Luke O’Neil | Thursday, March 14, 2019

Jacinda Ardern Says Christchurch Mosque Shootings Were Terrorist Attack

New Zealand's prime minister has issued 'the strongest possible condemnation of the ideology of the people who did this' after mass shootings at two mosques. The country's terrorism threat level has been raised and flights in and out of Christchurch were cancelled as intelligence agencies worked to secure the city. Mass shooting at two Christchurch mosques – video report.

THE GUARDIAN: What we know so far »

THE GUARDIAN: Far-right ideology detailed in Christchurch shooting 'manifesto' » | Lisa Martin | Friday, March 15, 2019