Monday, April 01, 2019
UN Joins Clooney in Decrying 'Inhuman' Brunei Anti-gay Law
The United Nations has condemned “cruel and inhuman” laws set to take effect in Brunei this week that impose death by stoning for gay sex and adultery, and amputations for theft.
“I appeal to the government to stop the entry into force of this draconian new penal code, which would mark a serious setback for human rights protections for the people of Brunei if implemented,” the UN high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, said in a statement.
Brunei, an absolute monarchy ruled for 51 years by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, has said it will implement the code starting on Wednesday.
Brunei first announced the measures in 2013, but their implementation has been delayed in the face of opposition by rights groups, and as officials worked out the practical details.
The law stipulates the death penalty for a number of offences, including rape, adultery, sodomy, robbery and insulting or defaming the prophet Muhammad.
It also introduces public flogging as punishment for abortion as well as amputation for theft, and criminalises exposing Muslim children to the beliefs and practices of any religion besides Islam. » | Agence France-Presse in Geneva | Monday, April 1, 2019
UK 'Silver Spoon' Cabinet Will Escape Brexit Fallout, Says German Minister
Germany’s Europe minister has accused “90 percent” of the British cabinet of having “no idea how workers think, live, work and behave”, as politicians in the union are finding Westminster turmoil to be a useful argument in the campaign for upcoming elections.
At the Social Democratic party’s (SPD) conference on Saturday, Michael Roth dispensed with diplomatic etiquette to condemn what he called the “big shitshow” of Brexit.
UK politicians “born with silver spoons in their mouths, who went to private schools and elite universities” were responsible for the current impasse in parliament, but were unlikely to suffer the direct consequences of their actions, he said. » | Philip Oltermann in Berlin | Monday, April 1, 2019
Rees-Mogg Defends Promotion of German Far-right AfD Video
Jacob Rees-Mogg has defended his decision to tweet a video of a speech by a senior member of Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), saying he did not endorse the party’s views but the opinions expressed had “real importance”.
The Conservative backbencher and leading Brexiter faced strong criticism from some Labour MPs after tweeting a YouTube video of a speech by Alice Weidel, the leader of the AfD’s 91 deputies in the Bundestag, the German parliament.
Rees-Mogg added the message: “The AfD leader asks: ‘Is it any wonder the British see bad faith behind every manoeuvre from Brussels?’” » | Peter Walker, Political correspondent | Monday, April 1, 2019
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Interview: Michael Heseltine: ‘Britain Is Stepping Down from World Pre-eminence’
Lord Heseltine is a Conservative politician and businessman. He served as an MP between 1966 and 2001 and now sits in the House of Lords. He has held several government positions, including defence secretary under Margaret Thatcher and deputy prime minister under John Major, and worked as an adviser to David Cameron. He lives in Northamptonshire with his wife, Anne, and is co-founder of the publishing company Haymarket. A longstanding Europhile, he is now a prominent critic of Brexit. » | Dorian Lynskey | Sunday, March 31, 2019
Leaked Reports Reveal Severe Abuse of Saudi Political Prisoners
Political prisoners in Saudi Arabia are said to be suffering from malnutrition, cuts, bruises and burns, according to leaked medical reports that are understood to have been prepared for the country’s ruler, King Salman.
The reports seem to provide the first documented evidence from within the heart of the royal court that political prisoners are facing severe physical abuse, despite the government’s denials that men and women in custody are being tortured.
The Guardian has been told the medical reports will be given to King Salman along with recommendations that are said to include a potential pardon for all the prisoners, or at least early release for those with serious health problems. » | Nick Hopkins, Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Kareem Shaheen | Sunday, March 31, 2019
Elton John Joins call for Boycott of Brunei-owned Hotels
Elton John has joined George Clooney in calling for a boycott of nine Brunei-owned hotels over the sultanate’s new death penalty laws for gay sex and adultery.
“I commend my friend, George Clooney, for taking a stand against the anti-gay discrimination and bigotry taking place in the nation of Brunei – a place where gay people are brutalised, or worse – by boycotting the sultan’s hotels,” the singer wrote on his Twitter page late on Saturday.
The 72-year-old, a veteran gay rights campaigner, said his “heart went out” to staff at the hotels, but that “we must send a message, however we can, that such treatment is unacceptable”.
The nine hotels mentioned by Clooney, in the US, Britain, France and Italy, include London’s exclusive Dorchester and the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. » | Agence France-Presse | Sunday, March 31, 2019
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Brexit Stalemate Has Caused Enormous Damage to UK, Princeton's O'Toole Says
Friday, March 29, 2019
EU Gives Britain 11 Days to Come Up with New Brexit Plan
The EU has given the British government 11 days to come up with a fresh Brexit plan to avoid crashing out of the bloc at 11pm on 12 April.
In the immediate aftermath of the crushing rejection of the prime minister’s deal, the European council president, Donald Tusk, called an emergency leaders’ summit.
Should the UK seek a lengthy extension, leaders will debate any request at an extraordinary meeting on 10 April.
EU capitals would require a clear justification at least two days earlier from Downing Street on the reason for a lengthy delay to allow officials to prepare. “We expect the UK to indicate a way forward before then, well in time for the European council to consider,” an official said.
EU heads of state and government expressed their alarm at the continued impasse in Westminster following the third defeat of May’s deal. » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Friday, March 29, 2019
Have Protesters in Gaza Achieved Their Goal? | Inside Story
Israeli soldiers have responded by firing live ammunition and Gaza's health ministry says they've now killed more than 250 people and injured thousands. The United Nations says more than 120 people have had one or both legs amputated. UN investigators say Israel has committed war crimes. All this, at a time of heightened tension in the region. So what's the way forward?
Presenter: Divya Gopalan | Guests: Mukhaimer Abu Saada, Professor of Political Science at Al Azhar University in Gaza; Mitchell Barak, CEO of Keevoon Global Research and was adviser to former Israeli President Shimon Peres and Speechwriter for Ex Prime Minister Ariel Sharon; Saleh Higazi, Deputy Regional Director covering the Middle East and North Africa region for Amnesty International
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Japan Poised to Reveal Name of New Imperial Era as Akihito Abdicates
On Monday morning, a senior government official in Tokyo will enter a room, gather his thoughts and hold up a work of handwritten calligraphy.
Millions of people will pause and digest the meaning of the two kanjicharacters, and Japan will finally get the answer to a question that has kept it in suspense for months: the name of the new imperial era.
The characters will open a new chapter in Japanese history, a month before the emperor, Akihito, makes way for his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, whose enthronement will take place on 1 May in the country’s first imperial abdication for 200 years. » | Justin McCurry in Tokyo | Friday, March 29, 2019
Donald Trump Rails against 'Greatest Hoax' at First Rally Since Mueller Report
Donald Trump continued his assault on the media and Democrats on Thursday night, wrongly claiming “total exoneration, complete vindication” at his first rally since Robert Mueller submitted his report.
Trump dedicated about half of his approximately 90-minute speech in front of a raucous audience at Grand Rapids to the topic, labeling the accusations and investigation “ridiculous bullshit”. The president bounced between theories about why the special counsel’s investigation happened and attacks on his opponents.
“All of the Democrats, politicians, the media also – bad people,” Trump told the crowd at Michigan’s Van Andel Arena. “The crooked journalists, the totally dishonest TV pundits” helped perpetuate “the single greatest hoax in the history of politics”.
He later claimed that the investigation was really an effort “to overturn the results of the 2016 election”. » | Tom Perkins in Grand Rapids, Michigan | Friday, March 29, 2019
Far-right Terrorism Threat Is Growing, Say MI5 and Police Chiefs
Far-right terrorism has been identified as a key threat to the safety and prosperity of the country, according to the director general of MI5, Andrew Parker, and Cressida Dick, the commissioner of the Metropolitan police.
Writing in the Times, the pair warned that while Islamist terrorism remains the largest by scale, they are also “concerned about the growing threat from other forms of violent extremism … covering a spectrum of hate-driven ideologies, including the extreme right and left.”
“Over the past few years [police] have stopped a number of rightwing terrorist attacks from getting through,” they wrote.
In the wake of the Christchurch attacks, in which 50 Muslims were killed by a suspected white supremacist, security services worldwide have refocused on the threat of far-right extremists. » | Seth Jacobson | Friday, March 29, 2019
George Clooney Calls for Hotels Boycott over Brunei's LGBT Laws
George Clooney has called for a boycott of nine luxury hotels, including the Dorchester on Park Lane in London, because of their links to Brunei, which plans to impose death by stoning as a punishment for gay sex and adultery from next week.
“Let that sink in. In the onslaught of news where we see the world backsliding into authoritarianism this stands alone,” the film star and activist wrote in an opinion piece for Deadline.
In a novel form of political activism aimed at the global elite, he called for the public to join him in immediately boycotting the hotels operated by the Dorchester Collection luxury chain: three in the UK, two in the US, two in France and two in Italy. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Friday, March 29, 2019
George Clooney: Boycott Sultan Of Brunei’s Hotels Over Cruel Anti-Gay Laws
The date April 3rd has held a unique place in our history over the years. Theologians and astronomers will tell you that Christ was crucified on that date. On April 3rd Harry Truman signed the Marshall Plan, arguably the greatest postwar intervention in the history of man. The first portable cellphone call was made on April 3rd. Marlon Brando was born on that day.
But this April 3rd will hold its own place in history. On this particular April 3rd the nation of Brunei will begin stoning and whipping to death any of its citizens that are proved to be gay. Let that sink in. In the onslaught of news where we see the world backsliding into authoritarianism this stands alone. » | George Clooney | Thursday, March 28, 2019
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Analysis: The Saudi Justice System and Human Rights | Al Jazeera English
At least 11 activists were arrested last May in a sweeping crackdown on campaigners just before the historic lifting of a decades-long ban on female motorists.
In a separate development on Thursday, a United Nations human rights expert said that Saudi Arabia should hold public trials for those accused of killing Khashoggi in order for the judicial process to be credible.
Al Jazeera's Senior Middle East Analyst Marwan Bishara talks about the two issues.
Quebec to Ban Public Employees from Wearing Religious Symbols
The Canadian province of Quebec will ban public sector employees from wearing religious symbols during work hours, in legislation introduced on Thursday, a controversial move that critics say targets Muslim women who wear hijabs or other head coverings.
The proposed law sets the province’s right-leaning Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government on a collision course with the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, who promotes religious freedom, in a federal election year with Quebec a vital battleground.
“It is unthinkable to me that in a free society we would legitimise discrimination against citizens based on their religion,” Trudeau told reporters in Halifax on Thursday. » | Reuters in Ottawa | Thursday, March 28, 2019
Is the Austrian Government Serious about Cracking Down on the Far-right? l Inside Story
That decision has been made after it was confirmed the movement's leader, Martin Sellner, received nearly $1,700 from the man accused of perpetrating the Christchurch mosque attacks in New Zealand. But he has denied any ties to white supremacist Brenton Tarrant.
Austria is the only country in Western Europe with a far-right presence in government. The leader of the right-wing Freedom Party has distanced himself from the Identitarians; and the country's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz says radical ideologies are not welcome in Austria. But is anyone convinced?
Presenter: Hazem Sika | Guests: Michael Bonvalot, author and expert on the far-right in Austria; Emily Gorcenski, Researcher and Advisory Board member to the Prosecution Project, a research lab studying political violence; Cynthia Miller-Idriss, Professor of Sociology at the American University and author of "The Extreme Gone Mainstream: Commercialization and Far Right Youth Culture in Germany"
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Brunei Brings In Death by Stoning as Punishment for Gay Sex
Brunei is to begin imposing death by stoning as a punishment for gay sex and adultery from next week, as part of the country’s highly criticised implementation of sharia law.
From 3 April, individuals in the tiny southeast Asian kingdom will be subject to a draconian new penal code, which also includes the amputation of a hand and a foot for the crime of theft. The capital punishments are to be “witnessed by a group of Muslims.”
Brunei, which has adopted a more conservative form of Islam in recent years, first announced back in 2014 its intention to introduce sharia law, the Islamic legal system which imposes strict corporal punishments. It was a directive of the Sultan of Brunei, who is one of the world’s richest leaders with a personal wealth of about $20bn and has held the throne since 1967. » | Hannah Ellis-Petersen, South-east Asia correspondent | Thursday, March 28, 2019
ADVOCATE: Re-Boycott the Beverly Hills Hotel and Its Gay-Stoning Bruneian Owner »
THESE ARE THE HOTELS TO AVOID: »
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL UK: Brunei: 'Vicious' new laws to allow stoning of same-sex couples and amputation for robbery »
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
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Jamal Khashoggi: The Silencing of a Journalist | Al Jazeera World
On the same day, a 15-man Saudi hit squad had allegedly flown to Istanbul. All the evidence points to Khashoggi's murder, suggesting that his body was first dismembered and then disposed of.
The killing of the well-known journalist and critic of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has resonated around the world, both as an attack on media freedom and as a shocking insight into the workings of a secretive and repressive regime.
The horrific story has been well documented in the media but there are still pieces missing and serious questions remaining unanswered: What happened to the body? Why did two weeks pass before Turkish investigators were allowed into the consulate to examine forensic evidence? And who was ultimately responsible for the killing?
Al Jazeera Arabic's Tamer Almisshal goes to Istanbul to try and find answers. He has pieced together the chronology of events - and examined the theories as to what may have happened to Khashoggi's body.
In mid-March, Saudi Arabia announced it had started court proceedings against those it believes were involved. The Kingdom still refuses to agree to a UN-led investigation, and despite the volume of powerful evidence, we still don't know whether those ultimately responsible for Khashoggi's death will ever be openly held to account.
Bomben auf die Schweiz - «Luftschutzmässiges Verhalten hätte Menschenleben gerettet.»
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George Osborne 'I’ve Sat Down and Had a Drink with Theresa May Since All of This' | British GQ
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Opinion: I’m Glad I Left Brexit Britain. My EU Friends Who Didn’t Are Stuck In Limbo
Almost every Brexit lie has been debunked over the past two years for the British population, and now it’s EU citizens’ turn. Surprise, surprise: your rights will likely not be protected as the government once promised. For the very few who still had hope that Brexit would not affect them this may come as a shock and cause serious concern about their future in the UK. For me, it is reassurance that I did the right thing in leaving the UK last September.
From the beginning I had zero trust in a government made up of vicious liars and buffoons. After the leave campaign pushed racist stereotypes and blamed all the country’s problems on the EU, how could I believe they really cared about people from the continent? So last year I did the only logical thing, packed my bag and bought a one-way ticket to Madrid where life is good and the weather is sunny. Ever since, I have been watching the Brexit chaos from a safe distance and can only say that I am shocked. The impossibility of striking a deal acceptable to every side, because of the backstop issue, the EU’s constant overstepping of so-called red lines and the Tory government’s obvious incompetence – if the fate of the country I enjoyed living in wasn’t so sad, it would be entertaining. » | Oliver Imhof | Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Opinion: Amoral and Venal: Britain’s Governing Class Has Lost All Sense of Duty
Even as doodlebugs smashed into the surrounding streets, George Orwell consoled himself with this thought: “One thing that has always shown that the English ruling class are morally fairly sound, is that in time of war they are ready enough to get themselves killed.” Present those who governed us with an existential crisis, he argued in his essay England Your England, and they would do what they believed to be right for the country.
Almost eight decades later, the UK stands on the verge of a calamity as great as any since the war. Whatever the protestations in parliament, we could within days crash-land into a world of medicine shortages and food riots. And where are our political classes? According to the lobby correspondents, Monday’s cabinet meeting was spent war-gaming general election strategiesand thinking how to timetable voting so as to “scare” Labour. Wherever the national interest actually featured, it was buried under a thick dollop of party interest.
Sunday afternoon was Theresa May’s crisis summit at Chequers, to which Iain Duncan Smith came as Toad of Toad Hall, complete with open-top vintage sports car and cloth cap. Jacob Rees-Mogg’s chosen passenger was his 12-year-old son, Peter, because a national crisis evidently created the perfect occasion for bring-your-child-to-work day. Boris Johnson rocked up in his Spaffmobile before chuntering back to London to publish a columndumping all over the woman with whom he’d just been talking, dubbing her “chicken” and saying she had “bottled it”. (One of the columns, if it’s not too unseemly to mention, for which the Telegraph pays him £275,000 a year.) The BBC reports that these men refer to themselves as the Grand Wizards. Since that is an honorific used by the Ku Klux Klan, the best can be said is they have put as much thought into their nicknames as they ever did into the Irish backstop.
This is how today’s governing classes comport themselves, while the country teeters on the edge of a cliff: they behave with neither care nor caution, let alone concern for the welfare of the nation. These people are laughing at us, even as they take our money to go about their daily business. » | Aditya Chakrabortty | Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Could Banning Menthol Cigarettes Have Deadly, Unintended Consequences?
EU Cannot Betray 'Increasing Majority' Who Want UK to Remain, Says Tusk
Donald Tusk has issued a rallying call to the “increasing majority” of British people who want to cancel Brexit and stay in the EU.
In a stirring intervention, the European council president has praised those who marched on the streets of London and the millions who are petitioning the government to revoke article 50.
Speaking to the European parliament, Tusk reprimanded those who voiced concerns about a potential lengthy extension to article 50 in the event of the Commons rejecting the withdrawal agreement again this week.
Tusk said: “Let me make one personal remark to the members of this parliament. Before the European council, I said that we should be open to a long extension if the UK wishes to rethink its Brexit strategy, which would of course mean the UK’s participation in the European parliament elections. And then there were voices saying that this would be harmful or inconvenient to some of you.
“Let me be clear: such thinking is unacceptable. You cannot betray the 6 million people who signed the petition to revoke article 50, the 1 million people who marched for a people’s vote, or the increasing majority of people who want to remain in the European Union.”
To heckling from Ukip MEPs, Tusk went on: “They may feel that they are not sufficiently represented by the UK parliament, but they must feel that they are represented by you in this chamber. Because they are Europeans.” » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
The $16m New York Penthouse Fit for a UK Civil Servant
The government has bought a $15.9m (£12m) seven bedroom luxury New York apartment for a senior British civil servant charged with signing fresh trade deals in a post-Brexit world, the Guardian can reveal.
The foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt oversaw the purchase of a 5,893 sq ft (574 sq metre) apartment as the official residence for Antony Phillipson, the UK trade commissioner for North America and consul general in New York. The apartment occupies the whole of the 38th floor of 50 United Nations Plaza, a 42-storey luxury tower near the UN headquarters in Manhattan.
The 167 metre tower, designed by the firm of celebrated British architect Norman Foster is described as “the ultimate global address”, and was also home to Nikki Haley when she served as the US ambassador to the UN until December 2018. » | Rupert Neate, Wealth correspondent | Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Theresa May Is Effectively Gone. She Is a Leader in Name Only
Brexit is the biggest peacetime crisis we have faced and a no-deal Brexit could provoke a national emergency. The depth and scale of the divisions and the narrowness of the majority in favour of leaving the EU mean that the most sensible step would be to put the issue on hold, complete the negotiations and then hold a referendum. Sadly, that option is not available.
But it is in the next phase of negotiations that the details of the UK’s future relationship with the EU will be fleshed out. Depending on what happens in those negotiations, either we will see virtually no change to our current status – in which case, what is the point of leaving? Or, as is much more likely, the Brexiteers will demand significant changes to reflect their own views – views that will appal and frighten much of the electorate when they realise the enormity of what is being done. In essence, Brexiteers want to dismantle much of what we regard as the underpinning of civilised life in the modern world.
A referendum now would at least give people the chance to react to the realisation that the easy and facile promises of three years ago have evaporated. £350m a week for the NHS has become a £39bn severance cost to leave the EU, every penny of it to be borrowed by the current political generation, but to be repaid by the young people coming after them. » | Michael Heseltine | Monday, March 25, 2019
Is Trump Changing US Policy in the Middle East? | Inside Story
Israel captured the territory in 1967 and annexed it in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally. So is Trump helping or hindering peace in the Middle East?
Presenter: Nick Clark | Guests: Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow at the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy at the American University of Beirut; Guillaume Charron, director of the advisory firm Independent Diplomat; Eugene Kontorovich, international law professor at the Kohelet Policy Forum who advised both the Israeli and American governments on the Occupied Golan Heights
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