Österreich: Ex-FPÖ-Chef Heinz-Christian Strache beendet politische Karriere

ZEIT ONLINE: Heinz-Christian Strache hat Konsequenzen aus den Skandalen der vergangenen Monate und der Wahlniederlage der FPÖ gezogen. Seine Parteimitgliedschaft lässt er ruhen.

Der frühere FPÖ-Vorsitzende Heinz-Christian Strache lässt seine Parteimitgliedschaft ruhen. Das teilte er in einer persönlichen Stellungnahme zwei Tage nach der Wahlniederlage für seine Partei mit. Er werde darüber hinaus "jegliche politische Aktivität einstellen und kein Amt mehr anstreben", um eine Spaltung der FPÖ zu verhindern, sagte der frühere Parteivorsitzende. Strache war im Mai wegen der sogenannten Ibiza-Affäre zurückgetreten. » | Quelle: ZEIT ONLINE, zz | Dienstag, 1. Oktober 2019

The Tories Have Lost Their Ideology. Now They Are Merely the Party of Resentment

THE GUARDIAN: After three decades of intellectual decline, the Conservative party stands for nothing but Brexit

What does the Conservative party stand for in 2019? If you survey the central tenets of Tory ideology from the past 50 years, it is hard to find a single one that is still intact.

The party of business is hellbent on undermining access to an export market of half a billion people. The party of law and order is now raging against the judiciary – with senior Tories being regularly asked whether their government intends to obey the law.

The party of “family values” – “back to basics”, as John Major put it – has now fallen for the charms of a famous philanderer, who is currently being dogged by questions about how his “close friend”, Jennifer Arcuri, was awarded £126,000 of grants during his time as London mayor. The party of the establishment is provoking a constitutional crisis, angering the Queen and expelling some of its most distinguished MPs from its benches. » | Tuesday, October 1, 2019

La journée d’hommage à Jacques Chirac en images

Emmanuel Macron a décrété le lundi 30 septembre journée de deuil national, en mémoire de Jacques Chirac. L’ancien président français est mort le 26 septembre, à l’âge de 86 ans.

La journée a commencé avec les honneurs funèbres militaires donnés par Emmanuel Macron aux Invalides en présence de nombreux corps de l’armée. Ensuite, à midi, Mgr Michel Aupetit, archevêque de Paris, a rendu un service solennel dans l’église Saint-Sulpice, la cathédrale Notre-Dame, où sont traditionnellement rendus les services religieux officiels, étant fermée au public depuis l’incendie du 15 avril 2019.

L’ancien chef de l’Etat a ensuite été enterré au cimetière du Montparnasse dans l’après-midi, en présence de sa famille et de ses proches.

Swedish Navy Returns to Vast Underground HQ amid Russia Fears

THE GUARDIAN: Cavernous docks can shelter warships, with miles of tunnels, offices, and a hospital

Sweden’s navy HQ is returning to a vast underground cold war fortress designed to withstand a nuclear attack, in what has been seen as a defensive move against a resurgent Russia.

After a 25-year absence, the navy will once again be commanded from beneath billions of tonnes of granite as the country strives to build up its defences in response to the perceived threat from Moscow. » | David Crouch in Gothenburg | Monday, September 30, 2019

Saudi Prince Warns Regional War with Iran Could Lead to 'Total Collapse of Global Economy'

THE TELEGRAPH: Awar with Iran would lead to “a total collapse of the global economy”, Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has said, as he called for a political solution and endorsed talks between Donald Trump and Iranian leaders.

Speaking two weeks after Iran allegedly bombed major Saudi oil facilities, and as new footage of the attack surfaced, the kingdom’s de-facto ruler said that a full-scale conflict in the Persian Gulf would cause oil prices to jump to “unimaginably high numbers that we haven't seen in our lifetimes”.

“The political and peaceful solution is much better than the military one,” Crown Prince Mohammed told CBS News. » | Raf Sanchez, Middle East correspondent | Monday, September 30, 2019

Outrage as Trump Suggests Key Democratic Foe Face Arrest for 'Treason'

THE GUARDIAN: President unleashes barrage littered with false claims

Donald Trump, already facing impeachment, has provoked fresh outrage by suggesting one of his main political adversaries should be arrested for “treason”.

The US president unleashed a barrage of tweets littered with false claims, incendiary language and a refusal to acknowledge wrongdoing in a July phone call with the president of Ukraine.

Trump singled out Adam Schiff, the Democratic chair of the House intelligence committee, who has been criticised for his opening statement at a hearing last week in which he parodied Trump’s conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Schiff “illegally made up a FAKE & terrible statement, pretended it to be mine as the most important part of my call to the Ukrainian President, and read it aloud to Congress and the American people,” Trump wrote. “It bore NO relationship to what I said on the call. Arrest for Treason?” » | David Smith in Washington and Andrew Roth in Moscow | Monday, September 30, 2019

Harry: The Mysterious Prince – British Royal Family Documentary | Timeline

Who is the 'real' Prince Harry? A feckless playboy partying at nightclubs with a blonde on his lap? Or a physically brave young man destined to distinguish himself in unexpected ways? Despite relentless media scrutiny, much of it negative, Harry remains a tantalising, elusive mystery.

Robert De Niro: Trump Should Not Be President. Period

Actor Robert De Niro tells CNN's Brian Stelter that President Donald Trump has been worse than he "ever could have imagined."

The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia | Full Documentary | FRONTLINE

One year after the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi, FRONTLINE investigates the rise and rule of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) of Saudi Arabia.

In a never before seen or heard conversation featured in the documentary, the Saudi Crown Prince addresses his role in Khashoggi’s murder exclusively to FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith. Smith, who has covered the Middle East for FRONTLINE for 20 years, examines MBS's vision for the future, his handling of dissent, and his relationship with the United States.

Serious Questions Raised about Khashoggi’s Murder in Interviews with Saudi Officials | FRONTLINE

FRONTLINE asks Saudi officials how Khashoggi's murder could have been a "rogue operation."

Saudi officials maintain that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had no prior knowledge of the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

But in powerful and occasionally contentious new interviews, FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith presses high-ranking Saudi official Adel al-Jubeir about how they could come to such a conclusion while the murder is still being investigated.

Europe Isn’t the Enemy – Demonising Us Is Undermining Britain

THE GUARDIAN: The Tories used to worry about being the nasty party. Now they’re making Britain a difficult country to like

Seventeen years ago Theresa May stunned her fellow Conservatives by telling their annual party conference that they were “just plain unattractive”. The Tories, she said, had become “ the nasty party”. Today, from where I sit in western Europe, Britain itself looks just plain unattractive. It seems to have become “the nasty country”. I’m not saying the British people are any worse, or any better, than any other Europeans. I am saying its ruling political party is nasty, as is much of its press. The leader of the Conservative party, and therefore the prime minister, is a man who has personally taken nastiness to an entirely new level, yet is the country’s most popular politician.

Ever since the UK voted to leave the EU, millions of other Europeans like me have been looking for signs that the country is coming around to its old, pragmatic self. It’s a version of Boris Johnson’s cakeism: you want to love Britain and you want to be honest about the kind of country it is now. These two positions have become impossible to hold at the same time. » | Joris Luyendijk | Sunday, September 29, 2019

James Risen: Whistleblower Complaint Shows “Trump Is a Habitual Criminal” Abusing His Office

Democrats are ramping up efforts to impeach President Trump for pressing the president of Ukraine to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Nearly 90% of House Democrats now support impeachment. On Thursday, a declassified version of a complaint by an anonymous whistleblower was released, detailing his concerns about Trump’s July phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky. In the complaint, the unnamed whistleblower — who has been identified as a CIA official — accused the president of “using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election.” The complaint also revealed details about how the White House attempted to “lock down” all records of Trump’s phone conversation with Zelensky by moving a transcript of the call to a standalone computer system reserved for codeword-level intelligence information. The whistleblower wrote in his complaint, “According to White House officials I spoke with, this was 'not the first time' under this Administration that a Presidential transcript was placed into this codeword-level system solely for the purpose of protecting politically sensitive — rather than national security sensitive — information.” For more on the unfolding scandal, we speak with James Risen, senior national security correspondent for The Intercept.

Brexit Anxiety in Ireland's Drummully Polyp | Focus on Europe

People in the Irish enclave of Drummully Polyp fear the introduction of a hard border. Some 200 live in Drummully, which is almost entirely surrounded by Northern Ireland. Many think the return of checkpoints could also lead to a return to violence.

Exclusive Interview with Lady Hale - First 100 Years | November 2017

First 100 Years celebrate the past to change the future for women in law. This is a ground-breaking project, building the only digital platform of stories, videos and artefacts dedicated to the journey of women in law.

In this exclusive interview, Lady Hale, the first female President of the Supreme Court, gives a personal account of her being the 'first' many times over and the role of women in the legal profession.

Lady Hale, President of the UK Supreme Court – BBC HARDtalk

In July 2019, HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur spoke to Lady Hale, President of the UK Supreme Court. Her role was brought into the spotlight this week when she delivered the verdict of 11 Supreme Court judges which ruled British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's suspension of Parliament was unlawful.

Hommage au Président Jacques Chirac

Suivez l'allocution du Président Emmanuel Macron en hommage au Président Jacques Chirac.

Will Trump Be Impeached?| Inside Story

Details emerge of the White House's efforts to lock down records of a Presidential phone call, leveraging the office of the US President to interfere in the 2020 election.

That's the accusation facing Donald Trump in a whistleblower complaint that's set him on course for an impeachment investigation.

Donald Trump has been accused of trying to persuade the Ukrainian leader to dig up dirt on his rival, Joe Biden. So, will the impeachment effort against Donald Trump intensify? Or will it backfire on the President's opponents?

Presenter: Sami Zeidan | Guests Greg Swenson, Spokesman for Republicans Abroad UK; Rina Shah, Republican Strategist; Arshad Hasan, Democratic Political Strategist

Les fumeurs autrichiens peuvent compter sur l’extrême droite

LE MONDE: Lanterne rouge de la lutte contre le tabagisme en Europe, l’Autriche doit interdire la cigarette dans les bars et les restaurants le 1er novembre. Norbert Hofer, le chef du FPÖ, a fait du combat pour la liberté de fumer un point essentiel de sa campagne pour les élections législatives de dimanche.

S’il fallait une preuve que le Parti de la liberté d’Autriche (FPÖ) est le parti de la cigarette, il suffit de voir le nombre impressionnant de délégués qui se précipitent à l’extérieur de la salle pour en griller une à chaque interruption de séance lors des congrès. Réunis à Graz samedi 14 septembre, les cadres du parti d’extrême droite – très majoritairement des hommes blancs fumeurs – ont pu compter sur leur nouveau chef, Norbert Hofer, pour tout faire afin qu’ils puissent continuer de fumer en paix dans un pays qui reste la lanterne rouge européenne de la lutte contre le tabac.

Officiellement, l’Autriche doit, en effet, enfin interdire la cigarette dans les bars et les restaurants à partir du 1er novembre, une mesure déjà en vigueur depuis des années dans la presque totalité de l’Union européenne. Sauf si… l’extrême droite arrive de nouveau à faire annuler la mesure. En effet, à côté de la lutte contre « l’immigration illégale », M. Hofer a fait du combat pour la liberté de fumer un point essentiel de son programme de campagne pour les élections législatives anticipées qui sont organisées dimanche 29 septembre. » [€] | Par Jean-Baptiste Chastand | vendredi 27 septembre 2019

The Guardian View on Egypt: Sisi Isn’t Everyone’s Favourite Dictator

THE GUARDIAN: While foreign leaders buddy up to Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, his people endure a brutal crackdown on rights

Even before Egyptian authorities warned that they would “decisively confront” any protests that take place on Friday, it was evident that it would require extraordinary courage to answer the call to the streets. Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s regime has repeatedly shown its utter ruthlessness since seizing power six years ago in a coup. Security forces killed thousands of people protesting against the takeover. The country has locked up 60,000 political prisoners. Executions have soared this year. » | Editorial | Thursday, September 26, 2019

MPs of All Parties Must Unite to Rein In This Reckless, Divisive Government

THE GUARDIAN: I fear Boris Johnson will use political chicanery to bypass the anti-no-deal Brexit law. Time for parliament to show its strength

At the moment, our country is more unsettled, more divided, than I can ever recall. Ministers assure us they are moving towards a deal. The European Union tells us they are not – because no new or viable proposals have been put forward by the British government. The prime minister tells us he wishes to have a deal with Europe. But we don’t see him sitting down in Brussels, hammering out an agreement.

Lip service is paid to the unanimous judgment of the supreme court – that it was unlawful to prorogue parliament for five weeks – while the prime minister tells us the court was wrong and he was right. That is the cry of those found guilty of misdemeanours throughout the ages.

Meanwhile, ministers continue to offer fantasy outcomes of what a post-Brexit future holds for people in every corner of our United Kingdom. As day succeeds day, it seems more likely that we will end up leaving the European Union without any deal at all. On Wednesday night, the prime minister wilfully destroyed any hope of cross-party agreement.

The price of such a negotiating failure will be widespread and will affect rich and poor alike – with one difference: the poor will be far less able to protect themselves. » | John Major | Friday, September 27, 2019