Kim Jong-un Vows to Deliver 'Serious Blow' over Sanctions

THE GUARDIAN: North Korean leader says ‘hostile forces’ are determined to bring country to its knees

Kim Jong-un has vowed to deliver a “serious blow” to hostile countries he accused of using sanctions to bring the regime “to its knees”, according to the country’s state media.

The North Korean leader’s broadside against measures imposed in response to missile and nuclear programmes comes weeks after his second summit with Donald Trump ended in failure after they disagreed on how to match sanctions relief with progress on denuclearisation.

“We must deal a serious blow to the hostile forces who are mistakenly determined to bring us to our knees with sanctions by advancing the socialist construction to a high level of self-reliance that fits our circumstances and state, based on our own power, technology and resources,” Kim said, according to the state news agency KCNA. » | Justin McCurry and agencies | Thursday, April 11, 2019

Pence Asks UN to Recognize Guaidó in Venezuela

At a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York City, US Vice President Mike Pence called on the UN to recognize Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as president and revoke the credentials of Venezuela’s ambassador. RT’s Dan Cohen has more.

What Kind of Government Will Take Power in Israel? | Inside Story

There is no doubting Benjamin Netanyahu is a political survivor. The Israeli Prime Minister first took office back in 1996, and now in Israel's 2019 election, he's once again in prime position to bring together a ruling coalition.

That's not to say Israel's elections weren't close. They definitely were. But in Israel, politics is all about partnerships, and the way Netanyahu positioned himself before the vote has meant finding support after it, will be far easier for him and his Likud party. So what will it all mean for Israel... and the region?

Presenter: Kamahl Santamaria Guests Akiva Eldar, columnist for Al-Monitor's Israel Pulse... Yossi Mekelberg, Professor in International Relations at Regent's University Mitchell Barak, CEO of Keevoon Global Research, and an adviser to the former Israeli President Shimon Peres.

'Brexit May Be Worse for EU Than UK' Timothy Garton Ash Interview

In an interview with DW, British historian Timothy Garton Ash argued for a long Brexit extension or a soft Brexit, saying a no-deal Brexit could poison relations between the EU and the UK for decades and would be a boon for Europe's populist movements.

Will EU Members Approve Theresa May's Brexit Extension Request?

EU leaders are meeting for a crisis summit in Brussels today to discuss British Prime Minister Theresa May's request for a delay to Brexit. Diplomats say London could be offered a flexible extension of up to a year. If there is no agreement, Britain could crash out of the block on Friday night. Ahead of the meeting, May visited Berlin and Paris to plead her case. But she'll need the support of all 27 EU members to obtain the delay. It seems likely leaders will demand May accept a longer extension than the one she has proposed.

Europäische Union: Ungarn ist verloren

ZEIT ONLINE: Unter Viktor Orbán wird Ungarns Demokratie systematisch zerstört. Hass, Rassismus und das anmaßende Ganoventum der Rechten sind Staatsräson. Die EU ist daran mit schuld.

Beda Magyar ist ein ungarischer Wissenschaftler, der in Budapest an der Zentraleuropäischen Universität (CEU) gearbeitet hat. Diese Hochschule wurde von der ungarischen Regierung mit neuen Anforderungen im Hochschulgesetz unter Druck gesetzt, bis sie sich Ende 2018 gezwungen sah, teilweise nach Wien umzuziehen. Beda Magyar schreibt hier unter Pseudonym, um sich und sein privates und berufliches Umfeld zu schützen. Seine Identität ist der Redaktion bekannt.

Ungarn hat Selbstmord begangen – mit ungeschickter Hilfe der EU und vor den Augen der übrigen, hilflosen EU-Mitglieder. Der Totentanz der Demokratie hat begonnen, wie schon einmal im 20. Jahrhundert: Menschenrechte, Pressefreiheit, die Unabhängigkeit von Justiz, Wissenschaft und Kunst sind wieder zum Spielball der Politik geworden; Fakten und Realitäten werden umgedeutet zu Angriffen auf die nationale Identität; Hass und Gesetzesbruch werden zum moralischen Imperativ erklärt. Dies alles geschieht nicht nur in der EU, sondern die EU hat selbst dazu beigetragen, den Wahngebilden der Rechtsextremen Leben einzuhauchen. Denn um nichts anderes handelt es sich bei der fixen Idee, die Brüsseler Bürokratie stelle eine Bedrohung für Ungarns kulturelle Identität dar. » | Ein Essay von Beda Magyar, Budapest | Dienstag, 09. April 2019

In English: Hungary Is Lost »

Why Is the US Calling Iran's Revolutionary Guard 'Terrorists'? | Inside Story

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard in Iran is both revered and feared. The 150,000 strong élite army answers directly to the Supreme Leader, and controls major businesses in Iran as well. However, it's been accused of destabilising the Middle East.

The United States has designated the force as a terrorist organisation in an unprecedented move. Iran responded by calling US troops in the Middle East terrorists, and threatened to produce more advanced nuclear centrifuges. So what's the objective? And what will be the impact of these unprecedented declarations?

Presenter: Martine Dennis | Guests: Mohammad Marandi - Dean of Faculty of World Studies at the University of Tehran; Trita Parsi - Professor at Georgetown University; Ellie Geranmayeh - Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa programme and Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations

Iran's MPs Don Uniform of Revolutionary Guard in Protest at US

THE GUARDIAN: Tehran responds fiercely to US’s reclassification of its military wing as a terrorist organisation

Politicians in Iran wore Revolutionary Guard uniforms in parliament on Tuesday in protest at the US decision to classify the nation’s military wing as a foreign terrorist organisation.

There were chants of “Death to America” as the president, Hassan Rouhani, declared the guard was “dearer than ever in the hearts of the Iranian nation” and announced countermeasures against the US.

Donald Trump’s move on Monday marked the first time Washington has declared another nation’s military wing a terrorist organisation – in the same category as non-state groups such as Isis or al-Qaida.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, met members of the Revolutionary Guard on Tuesday, telling them: “Americans imagine they are designing and making trouble against the guard – in fact against the revolution and Iran – but their evil designs will not harm [the force]”. » | Bethan McKernan and agencies | Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Has Trump Locked US and Iran into a “Permanent State of Enmity” by Listing IRGC as Terror Group?

Democracy Now! Top US & World Headlines — April 9, 2019

Who Are the Real Terrorists? Trump Intensifies Economic War Against Iran – Wilkerson & Jay

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization on Monday, upping the economic war against Iran, the rift with Europe and China, and preparing conditions for a “military option” - Col. Larry Wilkerson joins Paul Jay

Trump Hires New Legal Team To Protect His Tax Returns

A major fight is brewing between House Democrats and Donald Trump over the president’s tax returns. But Trump isn’t going to sit idly by while Democrats consider subpoenaing these records, and he’s hired a new legal team whose only purpose is to protect those returns and fight off the Democrats. The man is clearly hiding something, we just don’t know what. Is it evidence of criminal activity, or simply embarrassing info that he doesn’t want us to see regarding his REAL net worth? Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.

IS Targets the Philippines | DW Documentary

Is the so-called "Islamic State" aiming to use the Philippines as its bridgehead in Asia? IS took control of the predominantly Muslim city of Marawi in 2017, and it took the Philippine army five months to take it back.

We report from a country that the so-called "Islamic State" apparently wants to use as a bridgehead to spread its ideology in Asia. Marawi's total destruction made the Philippine state look weak and incapable of defending its own territory. The IS fighters may have been defeated, but the grueling house-to-house fighting against a well-equipped army supported by the USA was a propaganda coup for the Caliphate. Martial law still applies on Mindanao, the second largest island in the south of the Philippines where Marawi is located. More than 60,000 of the city’s inhabitants are still living in refugee camps or other emergency shelters, and reconstruction could take years. The terrorist group’s capture of Marawi was the climax to an old, religiously charged conflict that IS did not cause but was able to exploit. A feud between local Muslim inhabitants and Christian colonial rulers and settlers from the north of the archipelago has been smoldering in the south of the Philippines for more than 400 years. Many Muslims still complain about the discrimination they face from a mainly Catholic society, which is an ideal environment for the recruitment of new fighters for jihad. The fact that the Islamists' black flag flew over Marawi for 154 days could boost radical forces throughout the entire region. IS terrorists are also targeting neighboring Indonesia. And Rodrigo Duterte, a president better known for his toughness than his talent for peace making, is pouring fuel on the flames.

US Labels Iran's Élite Revolutionary Guard Corps a 'Terror Group' | Al Jazeera English

The United States designated Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a foreign "terrorist organisation", President Donald Trump said on Monday, marking the first time Washington has formally labelled another country's military a "terrorist" group. Iranian officials have threatened to respond to the move in kind, with legislators reportedly preparing legislation that would label the US military as a "terrorist group", according to Iran's state-run media. Critics have warned that the move could open US military and intelligence officials to similar actions by unfriendly governments. Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett and Rosiland Jordan have more from Washington.

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

Trump Designates Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a Foreign Terrorist Group

THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Monday that he was designating a powerful arm of the Iranian military as a foreign terrorist organization, the first time that the United States had named a part of another nation’s government as such a threat and raising the risk of retaliation against American troops and intelligence officers.

The move, which has been debated at the highest levels within the administration, was imposed on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The military unit has carried out operations across the Middle East, trained Arab Shiite militias and taken part in a wide range of businesses in Iran.

The designation “underscores the fact that Iran’s actions are fundamentally different from those of other governments,” Mr. Trump said in a statement. “This action will significantly expand the scope and scale of our maximum pressure on the Iranian regime. It makes crystal clear the risks of conducting business with, or providing support to, the I.R.G.C.”

The action imposes wide-ranging economic and travel sanctions on the military unit as well as the organizations, companies or individuals that have ties to it — including officials in Iraq, an American ally. Officials in the United States said the broad terrorist designation covers 11 million members of the Iranian group and units in its hierarchy. » | Edward Wong and Eric Schmitt | Monday, April 8, 2019

Charlotte - A Royal At War – World War 2 Documentary | Timeline

Facebook Are 'Morally Bankrupt Liars' Says New Zealand's Privacy Commissioner

THE GUARDIAN: John Edwards calls out social media giant after Christchurch attack for refusing to accept responsibility for harm

New Zealand’s privacy commissioner has lashed out at social media giant Facebook in the wake of the Christchurch attacks, calling the company “morally bankrupt pathological liars”.

The commissioner used his personal Twitter page to lambast the social network, which has also drawn the ire of prime minister Jacinda Ardern for hosting a livestream of the attacks that left 50 dead, which was then copied and shared all over the internet.

“Facebook cannot be trusted,” wrote Edwards.

“They are morally bankrupt pathological liars who enable genocide (Myanmar), facilitate foreign undermining of democratic institutions. » | Eleanor Ainge Roy in Dunedin | Monday, April 8, 2019

Theresa May erklärt im Video das Brexit-Chaos

Drei Abstimmungen im britischen Unterhaus konnten keine Übereinkunft über einen geordneten Brexit finden. Theresa May hat bereits ihren Rücktritt in Aussicht gestellt – sollte es endlich zum lang erwarteten Austritt aus der EU kommen. Nun erklärt sie in einem Video, wie der Brexit vorangetrieben werden soll.

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Brexit ist für Deutsche das wichtigste politische Thema »

Why the War on Meat? Find Out Here from Dr. Gary & Belinda Fettke

Ever wondered why absurd anti-meat articles keep popping up on the world's media? Or why EAT-Lancet has sprung from the ashes of low-fat, to promote the guzzling of grains and vegetable oils in preference to real food? Well look no further - the answers are in 100 years of the historical record - now revealed here!

I Support Gary »