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