Ivanka Trump Isn’t a Diplomat. So Why Is She Acting Like One?

Ivanka Trump, the eldest daughter of the President, acted like an unofficial Secretary of State during a trip to Japan and South Korea for the G20. But with no international relations or foreign policy credentials, should she be playing the role of a diplomat?

Die Suche hat ein Ende: Von der Leyen als EU-Kommissionspräsidentin nominiert

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Die deutsche Bundesverteidigungsministerin Ursula von der Leyen soll Jean-Claude Juncker beerben. Die Chefin des Internationalen Währungsfonds, Christine Lagarde, soll künftig der EZB vorstehen.

(dpa) Die EU-Staaten haben die deutsche Verteidigungsministerin Ursula von der Leyen offiziell als Präsidentin der EU-Kommission nominiert. Die Entscheidung fiel am Dienstag bei einem EU-Sondergipfel in Brüssel, wie EU-Ratspräsident Donald Tusk auf Twitter mitteilte.

Die neue Kommissionschefin muss aber noch vom EU-Parlament bestätigt werden. Dies soll planmässig Mitte Juli geschehen. Von der Leyen wäre die erste Frau an der Spitze der Brüsseler EU-Behörde. » | dpa | Dienstag, 2. Juli 2019

Mika Brzezinski on Trump Attacking Her: ‘It Has Gotten Scary’

MSNBC “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski revealed intimate details about her and husband-co-host Joe Scarborough’s fraught relationship with President Trump, claiming the conflict has made her concerned about her security, family and privacy and worrying that “anything goes” with Trump. "It has gotten scary,” Brzezinski said in an interview with the Yahoo News show “Through Her Eyes.” “And we've made changes in our life to deal with the fact that it has gotten scary.” Brzezinski also isn’t shy about taking a fair measure of credit for the show's success, saying it was her husband’s idea, but she’s “the reason it’s still going.”

Ivanka Trump Faces Criticism for G20 Involvement | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Ivanka Trump was at her father's side for several meetings at the G20, and new video posted by the French government shows the first daughter having an awkward chat with world leaders.

Boris Johnson: Playing the Clown for the Media Circus? | The Listening Post (Full)

Startling Numbers Show How Bad the Wealth Gap Really Is in America

The wealth gap in the United States has been getting worse for decades, but few understand just how bad things really are. Since 1989, the top one percent has gained $21 trillion in wealth while the bottom half has lost more than $900 billion. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, and that isn’t an accident. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.

Remembering Stonewall: On 50th Anniversary, Leaders of Uprising Look Back on Sparking LGBTQ Movement

Fifty years ago today, just after midnight, at 1:30 in the morning on June 28, 1969, New York City police officers raided a gay- and trans-friendly bar called the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. As the police began dragging some of the patrons out, the community fought back, sparking three days of rioting. Their historic resistance launched the modern-day LGBTQ movement and became known as the Stonewall uprising. We hear the leaders of the Stonewall uprising in their own words, in a radio documentary produced by Dave Isay in 1989 called “Remembering Stonewall.”

Wildfire in Spain as Europe Roasts

Several countries have broken their June temperature records after a huge reservoir of hot air from the Sahara engulfed Europe.

Hundreds of firefighters have struggled to contain a major wildfire in northeastern Spain. The Spanish military has sent a unit of 120 specialists to help local firefighters battle the flames, which have sent thick plumes of smoke high into the air above the Catalonia region.

Boris Johnson’s Talk of ‘Global Britain’ Is about to Look Even More Ridiculous

THE GUARDIAN: While the favourite to be Britain’s next prime minister feeds his public disinformation, the EU is homing in on a huge trade deal

Three years after the United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum, the UK is no closer to figuring out how to leave the European Union – and what comes next – than it was when the result was announced. And now a Conservative party leadership election to replace the outgoing prime minister, Theresa May, is in full swing. To those of us watching from the outside, the debate between the candidates confirms that they have learned nothing whatsoever from the past two years of negotiations with the EU.

Sadly, this comes as no surprise, given that the lead candidate is Boris Johnson, the leave campaign’s most prominent architect and a man who continues to dissemble, exaggerate and disinform the public about Brexit. In 2016, Johnson and his fellow Brexiteers duped a narrow majority of UK voters into thinking that leaving the EU would somehow furnish the NHS with an additional £350m per week. He also drummed up fears that Britain’s EU membership would somehow lead to mass immigration from Turkey(which happens to be the homeland of his paternal great-grandfather, Ali Kemal).

Though Johnson will most likely soon find himself in a position where he must make good on his promises, he continues to spread untruths. Chief among them is the myth that Britain can tear up the withdrawal agreement that May negotiated with the EU, withhold its financial commitments to the bloc, and simultaneously start negotiating free-trade deals. To Johnson’s followers, however, he is more prophet than politician: only he can deliver a mythical “true Brexit” that will bring the prosperity promised during the referendum campaign. » | Guy Verhofstadt | Thursday, June 27, 2019

Boris Johnson's Brexit Deal Claims Rubbished by Guy Verhofstadt

THE GUARDIAN: EU Brexit coordinator likens Tory frontrunner’s claims to ‘false promises’ of referendum

Boris Johnson’s claims about the prospects of rewriting the Brexit deal have been compared by the European parliament’s Brexit coordinator to the “false promises, pseudo-patriotism and foreigner-bashing” he is said to have used to win the EU referendum.

The suggestion from the Conservative leadership frontrunner that he will be able to dump Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement, withhold the UK’s £39bn divorce bill and still negotiate a free-trade deal in Brussels was savaged by Guy Verhofstadt.

The former prime minister of Belgium said Johnson’s assertion during the current leadership campaign was a myth. In a withering assessment of the race between Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, who also claims he will be able to renegotiate the deal, Verhofstadt said it appeared they had “learned nothing whatsoever”.

The EU has repeatedly said it will not renegotiate the agreement and that the UK will crash out unless the House of Commons ratifies the full package, including the protocol containing the Irish backstop for avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland. » | Daniel Boffey in Helsinki | Thursday, June 27, 2019

Trump's "Deal of the Century" Just Means More Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Land

Ali Abunimah discusses Jared Kushner's presentation of his peace plan's economic portion in Bahrain this week. He dangled fifty billion dollars for the Palestinian economy, but no freedom, political rightsm, nor an end of the Israeli occupation.

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — June 27, 2019

Tunisia: Twin Suicide Attacks Target Police

Two suicide blasts rocked the Tunisian capital on Thursday, according to the country's interior ministry, killing at least one police officer with several people wounded.

The first blast was caused by a suicide bomber targeting a police patrol on Tunis' central Charles de Gaulle street, not far from the French embassy. Two police officers and three civilians were injured, according to the interior ministry. Body parts were strewn in the road around the police car, an AFP news agency correspondent said. The loud explosion was heard throughout the surrounding neighbourhood.

A second attacker blew himself up shortly afterwards near a police station elsewhere in the capital, the interior ministry said. Four people were injured in the attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incidents.

Analysis: UN Rapporteur Criticises Saudi’s Khashoggi Murder Probe

Agnes Callamard, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, has criticised the Saudi Arabian investigation into the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents. Callamard, who presented her report into the killing on Wednesday, said the investigation failed to examine who may have ordered the killing, adding that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, and other senior officials should be investigated over the murder. "The investigation carried out by the Saudi authorities has failed to address the chain of command," she told the UN Human Rights Council.

Exclusive: 'The Middle East Does Not Need Another War' Says Iraqi President

The president of Iraq, Barham Salih, tells Sky News about his fears over heightening tensions between America and Iran.

Prince William Says It's Fine If His Children Come Out as LGBT | 5 News

Prince William has said it would be 'absolutely fine' by him if any of his children come out as LGBT in the future. The Duke of Cambridge was visiting an LGBT charity which helps young people who have been made homeless because of their sexuality.

Boris Johnson May Be the Next Prime Minister of Britain. Who Is He?

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Boris Johnson, Political Escape Artist, Lands in Hot Water. Again »

Islam and Democracy: What's the Problem? | UpFront

In a special edition of UpFront, recorded before Ennahda's announcement, Mehdi Hasan speaks to a panel of experts, analysts and activists about whether there can be a balance between Islamic and democratic values.

Iranian President Calls White House 'Mentally Retarded'

Jeremy Hunt is not just a Tory leadership hopeful, he is, in fact, also the Foreign Secretary, and today he told parliament he could not envisage any situation in which the UK joins the US in a war with Iran.

Donald Trump announced new sanctions yesterday, but Iran's President has responded by calling them "useless, outrageous and idiotic," adding that the White House appears to be "afflicted by mental retardation".

Seriously? Pompeo Seeks Saudi Advice on ‘Bad Behavior’

Author and professor of international human rights Dan Kovalik joins Rick Sanchez to unpack western canards about Iran and double-standards in discussions of “terrorism.”