Could Iraq Be Pulled into a Conflict between the United States and Iran? | Inside Story

The United States is raising the stakes against what it calls threats from Iran. President Donald Trump is sending an extra 1,500 troops to the Middle East. He's also bypassing Congress to sell billions of dollars' of weapons to Iran's rivals, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Iran's neighbour, Iraq, is vowing support and offering to mediate. At the same time, Iraq is wary of straining relations with the Americans.

How should leaders in Baghdad handle this balancing act?

Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra | Guests: Andreas Kreig - Assistant Professor, Defence Studies Department, King's College London; Sami Nader - Director, The Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs; Robert Gutsche - Associate Professor, Lancaster University

Who Will Succeed Juncker as European Commission President? | DW News

The European Parliament that emerges from the 2019 EU election will go on to elect the next president of the European Commission. That person will succeed Jean Claude-Juncker whose five year term is coming to an end. It's Europe's top job so the stakes are high. Among the candidates are Margarete Vestager for the Liberals, Ska Keller for the Greens, Manfred Weber for the Conservatives, Frans Timmermans for the Social Democrats, Jan Zharadil for the Conservative and Reformists and Nico Cue for the Left Party.

Trump Brushes Off North Korea's Launch of 'Some Small Weapons'

THE GUARDIAN: President says recent missile tests bother some people, but not him, and praises regime for calling Joe Biden ‘a fool of low IQ’

Donald Trump has dismissed concerns about North Korea’s recent missile tests, calling them “small weapons”, a day after his national security adviser said there was no doubt the launches violated UN security council resolutions.

The US president tweeted on Sunday: “North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me”.

His adviser John Bolton said on Saturday UN resolutions prohibited the launch of any ballistic missiles and urged Kim Jong-un to return to denuclearisation talks.

Despite scant progress from two summits with the North Korean leader, Trump has made much of his personal relationship with Kim, saying last year that he “fell in love” with the dictator after receiving “beautiful letters” from him. » | Guardian staff | Sunday, May 26, 2019

Jews in Germany Warned of Risks of Wearing Kippah Cap in Public

THE GUARDIAN: Government commissioner says lifting of inhibitions and rise of uncouthness are factors behind rising incidence of antisemitism

Germany’s government commissioner on antisemitism has warned Jews about the potential dangers of wearing the traditional kippah cap in the face of rising anti-Jewish attacks.

“I cannot advise Jews to wear the kippah everywhere all the time in Germany,” Felix Klein said in an interview published Saturday by the Funke regional press group.

In issuing the warning, he said he had “alas, changed my mind (on the subject) compared to previously”.

Klein, whose post was created last year, cited “the lifting of inhibitions and the uncouthness which is on the rise in society” as factors behind a rising incidence of antisemitism. » | Agence France-Presse | Sunday, May 26, 2019

Stop Boris Campaign Launched by Tory Moderates Opposed to No-Deal Brexit

THE OBSERVER: Former foreign secretary attacked as dishonest by leadership candidate Rory Stewart

A campaign to stop Boris Johnson becoming prime minister and taking the country into a no-deal Brexit was launched by moderate cabinet ministers on Saturday as the first shots were fired in the Tory contest to succeed Theresa May in Downing Street.

After May bowed to pressure on Friday and announced she would resign as Tory leader within two weeks, justice secretary David Gauke and international development secretary Rory Stewart condemned Johnson’s readiness to embrace a no-deal, saying it would be hugely damaging to the national interest.

The move, part of a concerted “anti-Johnson” push by opponents of a hard Brexit, followed comments by the former foreign secretary on Friday, soon after May’s resignation speech in Downing Street, that the UK would definitely leave the EU “deal or no deal” on 31 October if he became leader in July.

The remark infuriated the soft-Brexit wing of the party, with some MPs and ministers even warning that there would be “serious numbers” of moderate Conservatives who would be ready to vote down a Johnson government if he set the country on a path to no deal. » | Michael Savage, Jamie Doward and Toby Helm | Saturday, May 25, 2019

A Short History of Donald Trump’s Clashes with CNN’s Jim Acosta

THE GUARDIAN: ‘The president's insane’: book by CNN's Jim Acosta charts Trump war on press » | Martin Pengelly in New York | Saturday, May 25, 2019

President Trump is really quite objectionable. – Mark

What Will Britain's Leadership Change Mean for Brexit? | Inside Story

UK leadership contest begins after Prime Minister Theresa May announces her resignation. Brexit brought UK prime minister Teresa May to power, and it was ultimately the issue that forced her out.

Debate on Britain's departure from the European Union exposed deep divisions in the country. May faced intense pressure to step down, after parliament repeatedly rejected her withdrawal deal with the EU.

She will resign on June 7th, and her governing Conservative Party is now looking for a new leader. But can her successor unite parliament and the United Kingdom? And what will a change of UK leadership mean for Brexit?

Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra | Guests: Mark Garnett - Senior Lecturer in Politics at Lancaster University; Jonathan Lis - Deputy Director at British Influence, a pro-European Think Tank; Matthew Goodwin - Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent

Jeremy Scahill: New Indictment of Assange Is Part of a Broader War on Journalism & Whistleblowers

The Espionage Act charges filed against Julian Assange mark just the latest attempt by the Trump administration to criminalize journalism and whistleblowers. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning is back in jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury. Two weeks ago, drone whistleblower Daniel Hale was arrested in Tennessee. We air a new video by The Intercept titled “Why You Should Care About Trump’s War on Whistleblowers,” featuring Jeremy Scahill. We also speak to Scahill and Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg about how the corporate media has failed to stand up for Assange and others.

Theresa May’s Legacy by Michael Cockerell – BBC Newsnight

The Media Momentum for War with Iran | The Listening Post (Full)

Brexit: What Does Theresa May's Resignation Mean for the EU? | DW News

Outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May, of the governing Conservative Party, says she will always regret failing to secure a deal for the UK to leave the European Union. May announced she'll resign on June 7th, almost three years after the British voted to exit from the bloc. She was unable to get a deeply divided parliament to back her withdrawal deal. Boris Johnson, who is among the Tory front-runners to succeed May, has said that a no-deal Brexit was a distinct possibility. Many EU leaders, including Dutch PM Mark Rutte, Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, have been clear about what May's resignation means for the EU.

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — May 24, 2019

Theresa May Announces Her Resignation

THE GUARDIAN: Prime minister to leave on 7 June, drawing three-year premiership to a close

Theresa May has bowed to intense pressure from her own party and named 7 June as the day she will step aside as Conservative leader, drawing her turbulent three-year premiership to a close.

Speaking in Downing Street, May said it had been “the honour of my life” to serve as Britain’s second female prime minister. Her voice breaking, she said she would leave “with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude”.

The prime minister listed a series of what she said were her government’s achievements, including tackling the deficit, reducing unemployment and boosting funding for mental health.

But she admitted: “It is and will always[s] remain a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit.” » | Heather Stewart | Friday, May 24, 2019

Trump Calls Himself a 'Stable Genius' at Wild Press Conference

President Donald Trump traded barbs with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a press conference, claiming she's a "mess" and calling her "crazy" after she suggested the President's family should stage an intervention for the good of the country. Trump also insisted that he is a "stable genius" and called on aides to back him up.

US Charges WikiLeaks' Julian Assange with Publishing Classified Information

THE GUARDIAN: WikiLeaks founder faces decades in US prison if found guilty ? Assange ‘risked serious harm to US national security’, DoJ says

Julian Assange has been charged with violating the US Espionage Act by publishing classified information through WikiLeaks.

Prosecutors on Thursday unveiled 17 additional charges against Assange, who was previously indicted on a charge of working to hack a Pentagon computer system. » | Jon Swaine in New York | Thursday, May 23, 2019

Is Saudi Arabia Ramping Up the Campaign against Religious Scholars? | Inside Story

Saudi Arabia has jailed many activists and dissidents since Mohammed Bin Salman became the Crown Prince two years ago. Now media reports suggest three religious scholars may be sentenced to death after the Muslim month of Ramadan.

Salman Al-Odah, Awad Al-Qarni and Ali Al-Omari were arrested in September 2017 on what Saudi Arabia described as terror charges. They are seen as reformists who have spoken about human rights.

The United Nations and rights groups have been calling for their release. Why are they targeted? And what message will this send about human rights in the Kingdom?

Presenter: Sami Zeidan | Guests: Sami Hamdi - Editor-in-Chief of The International Interest, a current affairs magazine; Bessma Momani - Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo; Ali Al-Ahmed - Director of the Gulf Affairs Institute and a former Saudi political prisoner

Theresa May On the Brink as Cabinet Turns on Her

It's not often that MPs demand the resignation of their party leader and Prime Minister on the eve of a national election. But furious Conservative backbenchers are in open revolt against Theresa May today over her proposal to give parliament a vote on another referendum in the Brexit withdrawal bill. A string of MPs have called on her to quit immediately. She might have heard a similar message from members of her cabinet if she hadn't refused to meet a number of them this afternoon.

George Osborne's Evening Standard Backs Lib Dems for EU Elections

THE GUARDIAN: Editorial in former chancellor’s paper is latest breakaway by Cameron-era Tories over Brexit

The Evening Standard, edited by the former Conservative chancellor George Osborne, has urged readers to consider voting Liberal Democrat in the European elections, in the latest sign of David Cameron-era Tories breaking with the party over Brexit.

The London newspaper said the Lib Dems had the “courage from the start to say the referendum result was a mistake” and as a result, “voters have started to think again about them”.

However, the Standard stopped short of a full endorsement for Vince Cable’s party, simply saying “we wish them well”.

Other prominent Conservatives have been punished by the party in recent days for endorsing the Lib Dems in the elections, including the former deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine. It is not known whether Osborne remains a paid-up member of the Conservative party, but the carefully phrased endorsement means he is likely to escape being censured. » | Jim Waterson, Media editor | Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Family of Jailed Saudi Feminist Loujain Al-Hathloul: She Was Waterboarded, Flogged & Electrocuted

Is Nationalism Killing the EU? | State of Europe

Since the last European parliamentary elections in 2014, nationalist right-wing parties have made significant gains in many European states. Does the growing influence of right-wing nationalism pose a threat to the ideal of European unity?

To understand what moves Europe's citizens, DW's Max Hofmann traveled around the continent seeking the perspectives of key players and those directly affected by the major issues of today. For example, how the migration drama on the southern coast of Italy originates and ends partly in eastern Germany. Or how right-wing populists in France try to lure in voters - and how comparable political forces in Poland have used similar tactics to gain seats in government. In investigating the topics of environment and climate protection, Hofmann visits the EU Climate Change Dossiers and the EU's largest per capita plastic waste producer: Ireland. Through each trip, Hofmann seeks to better understand the connections and centrifugal forces at play across Europe.