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.

Far-right Facebook Groups 'Spreading Hate to Millions in Europe'

THE GUARDIAN: Avaaz uncovers 500 accounts using fake news to spread white supremacy message

A web of far-right Facebook accounts spreading fake news and hate speech to millions of people across Europe has been uncovered by the campaign group Avaaz.

Facebook, which is struggling to clean up the platform and salvage its reputation, has already taken down accounts with about 6 million followers before voting in the European elections begins on Thursday. It was still investigating hundreds of other accounts with an additional 26 million followers, Avaaz said.

In total, the group reported more than 500 suspect groups and Facebookpages operating across France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Poland and Spain. Most were either spreading fake news or using false pages and profiles to artificially boost the content of parties or sites they supported, in violation of Facebook’s rules.

The networks were far more popular than the official pages of far-right and anti-EU populist groups in those countries. The pages taken down by Facebook so far had been viewed half a billion times, Avaaz estimated. » | Emma Graham-Harrison | Wednesday, May 22, 2019

EU to Investigate Nigel Farage over Expenses Funded by Arron Banks

THE GUARDIAN: Move follows revelations MEP failed to declare lavish funding from year of Brexit referendum

The European parliament is to investigate Nigel Farage for failing to declare lavish expenses funded by Arron Banks.

The European parliament president, Antonio Tajani, “today refers the Farage issue to an advisory committee”, a source told the Guardian.

The advisory committee is a group of five MEPs who act as watchdogs over the parliament’s code of conduct. It stipulates that all members must declare expensive gifts and report whether third parties fund attendances at events.

Last week, Channel 4 revealed Farage was generously funded by Arron Banksin the year of the Brexit referendum. Invoices, emails and documents showed Farage benefited from a £13,000-a-month Chelsea home, a car with a driver, and promotional visits to the US in 2016. » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Tuesday, May 21, 2019

May Offers MPs Vote on Second Referendum in 'New' Brexit Deal

THE GUARDIAN: Customs union vote also included in ‘10-point offer’ in last attempt to break impasse

Theresa May has offered MPs votes on a second referendum and a temporary customs union in her last attempt to get a Brexit deal through parliament.

Amid widespread expectation that the withdrawal agreement bill (Wab) will be heavily defeated early next month, and reports of serious rows in cabinet, the prime minister used a hastily arranged speech to warn of serious political disruption if Brexit is not delivered.

However, the immediate reaction to May’s proposals from MPs was overwhelmingly negative, with even previously loyal Conservatives coming out against it. » | Peter Walker and Rowena Mason | Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Will Europe's Populist Leaders Make a Breakthrough? | Inside Story

Mainstream politicians face a challenge from the far right as 400 million Europeans vote in this week's European Parliament elections. Elections for the European Parliament get underway on Thursday.

Immigration and the economy are dominating the political agenda, and the rise of the far-right is dominating the headlines.

On Saturday, right-wing leaders from nearly a dozen EU countries, including France, Germany and the Netherlands gathered for a rally in Milan to show their unity. The gathering was led by the Italian Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini, who wants to form a far-right block within the EU Parliament.

Some analysts believe that the future identity of European politics––and the EU itself––is at stake. So, how will voting shape the continent?

Presenter: Barbara Serra | Guests: Theofanis Exadaktylos, senior lecturer in European politics at the University of Surrey; Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe initiative and a former special adviser to the House of Lords EU committee; Stefano Vergine who is an Italian journalist focussing on economics and foreign affairs

Does Europe Need the USA? | Full Debate | George Galloway, Phillip Collins, Bronwen Maddox

Is the US in dangerous decline? Many in Europe welcomed the decline of the US and its retreat from global intervention. Now with Russia flexing its muscle it feels less comfortable. No doubt the Britons felt similarly when the Romans left. Is the reality that Europe needs to be sheltering under the wing of a superpower? Or should we rapidly rearm in a troubled multipolar world?

Iran's Basic Goods Prices Double as Fall of Rial Continues | Al Jazeera English

US sanctions are making life in Iran increasingly difficult for its people. Iranians say their devalued currency is a more pressing problem. Al Jazeera's Zein Basravi reports from Tehran.

Macron wirft Moskau Förderung von Rechtspopulisten in der EU vor

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: „Die Russen und einige andere haben noch nie so zudringlich extremistische Parteien finanziert und ihnen geholfen“, beklagt der französische Präsident. Ihr Ziel sei es, „Europa abzuwickeln“.

Wenige Tage vor der Europawahl hat Frankreichs Präsident Emmanuel Macron Russland vorgeworfen, extremistische Parteien in Europa stark zu fördern. „Die Russen und einige andere haben noch nie so zudringlich extremistische Parteien finanziert und ihnen geholfen“, sagte Macron in einem Interview, das französische Regionalzeitungen am Dienstag veröffentlichten. „Man muss besorgt sein, man darf nicht naiv sein.“

Macron nannte auch den ehemaligen Berater des amerikanischen Präsidenten Donald Trump Steve Bannon, dem er eine weiter bestehende Nähe zur amerikanischen Regierung unterstellte. Es gebe zum ersten Mal eine Zusammenarbeit zwischen „Nationalisten und ausländischen Interessen mit dem Ziel, Europa abzuwickeln“, sagte Macron. » | Quelle: nto./Reuters | Dienstag, 21. Mai 2019

Boris Johnson Not Fit to Be PM, Says Tory Minister

THE GUARDIAN: Margot James, of moderate One Nation Tory group, hits out at leadership hopeful’s ‘fuck business’ remark

Boris Johnson has been branded an unacceptable candidate to be prime minister by the Conservative minister Margot James, because of his “fuck business” remark when asked about companies’ concerns over Brexit.

James, a business minister and leading member of the One Nation Conservative group, said the comment meant Johnson was not fit for “high public office” as she addressed a Creative England event in London.

Speaking later to the Guardian, she said some of her colleagues promoting Brexit at any cost to business had the “wrong attitude”.

“I don’t think people in the public eye should be using language like that to discuss the concerns of the business community,” she said. “It’s the dismissive attitude to business that’s a problem among some people for whom Brexit is everything.” » | Rowena Mason, Deputy political editor | Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Trump Says the Military Industrial Complex Is Pressuring Him Into a War with Iran

With a thirty year Boeing veteran at the Pentagon, Patrick Shanahan as Acting Secretary of Defense, and with John Bolton and Mike Pompeo at the helm, war with Iran is likely says the former chief of staff to Secretary of State, Col. Larry Wilkerson

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — May 21, 2019

Hungary Accused of Fuelling Xenophobia with Anti-migrant Rhetoric

THE GUARDIAN: Council of Europe’s damning report says human rights violations must be urgently addressed

Europe’s top human rights watchdog has accused Hungary’s government of violating people’s rights and using anti-migrant rhetoric that fuels “xenophobic attitudes, fear and hatred”.

A damning report from the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, Dunja Mijatović, concluded: “Human rights violations in Hungary have a negative effect on the whole protection system and the rule of law” and should “be addressed as a matter of urgency”.

The commissioner, whose report is based on meeting government ministers and civil society groups during a five-day visit to Hungary in February, issued a devastating critique of the Hungarian asylum system that has resulted in “practically systemic rejection of asylum applications”. Voicing alarm at the “excessive use of violence” by police in removing foreign nationals, she criticised a policy of denying food to those refused asylum. » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Tuesday, May 21, 2019

How Ukip Normalised Far-right Politics

Since the Brexit vote in 2016, Ukip is no longer primarily concerned with attacking the EU. Now led by Gerard Batten, the party has started to normalise far-right ideas and has given roles to figures including Tommy Robinson. The Guardian's Peter Walker asks how it happened and examines what it means for British politics

THE GUARDIAN: Racism on the rise since Brexit vote, nationwide study reveals » | Robert Booth, Social affairs correspondent | Monday, May 20, 2019

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — May 20, 2019

Marine Le Pen Denies Steve Bannon Has Role in Her EU Election Campaign as He Sets Up Camp in Paris

THE TELEGRAPH: Steve Bannon was on Monday at the heart of a row over whether the ex-Trump strategist is playing an active role in French far-Right leader Marine Le Pen’s European election campaign.

The accusations came after the American president's controversial former eminence grise decamped to a palatial Parisian hotel days before the vote.

The elections for the European Parliament on May 26 in France will see President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party go head to head with Ms Le Pen’s National Rally, or RN, formerly known as the National Front.

Polls suggest that they are neck and neck with Mr Macron, Europe’s self-styled centrist champion, warning it would be a “catastrophe for France” should she finish ahead on Sunday. She has called for him to resign should he fail to do so.

Mr Bannon told Le Parisien this weekend he had opted to come to France as its election was "by far" the most important among EU member states. He predicted an “earthquake” next Sunday. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Monday, May 20, 2019

The Tories Have Forgotten Their Pro-EU Voters. And They’ll Pay for It

THE GUARDIAN: In my home town, I’ve seen how middle-class angst over Brexit is creating an existential threat to the party which could once count on their votes

In a seemingly endless season of Tory nightmares, this week looks set to mark the most dreadful phase so far. The Conservatives are about to endure a set of elections that they never thought they would face. Only four years ago, the party won a general election; now, there is talk of them finishing fifth, or even sixth. With every Tory moan of pain, Nigel Farage’s nicotine grin grows ever larger. And out in the country, there is an overlooked Conservative crisis: one bound up not with the part of the population that voted for Brexit, but with the liberal, pro-remain swathe of the country without whom the future of Conservatism looks bleak indeed. » | John Harris | Monday, May 20, 2019

Republicans Terrified That Their Anti-Abortion Crusade Will Cost Them 2020

Republicans from Pat Robertson to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy are terrified that the string of strict anti-abortion laws that Republicans are passing are going to cost them dearly in 2020. They deserve it. The Republican Party has no idea how far they are setting back reproductive rights for women in this country, and given the backlash that we’ve already seen, it seems likely that Republicans are going to pay dearly in the near future. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.

Donald Trump's Peace Conference Will Fail, Palestinians Say

THE GUARDIAN: ‘Deal of the century’ will begin with economic workshop that does not address core disputes

Peace efforts that ignore Palestinian political aspirations will fail, senior Palestinian officials have said, after the Trump administration announced an economic conference will take place next month as the first step of its long-awaited Middle East peace plan.

Washington said on Sunday that Bahrain had agreed to host a “Peace to Prosperity” workshop to discuss the potential economic incentives of its still-undisclosed plan, which Trump has promised over the last two years would be the “deal of the century”.

A spokesman for the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, on Monday cast doubt over the Bahrain conference. “Any plan without a political horizon will not lead to peace,” Nabil Abu Rdeneh said. » | Oliver Holmes in Jerusalem | Monday, May 20, 2019

Europe's Centrists Draw on Austrian Scandal to Issue Far-right Warning

THE GUARDIAN: Mainstream parties hope voters will shun populists in wake of ‘politicians for sale’ revelation

Politicians from mainstream parties across Europe have called on voters to shun the far right in this week’s European elections after Austria’s vice-chancellor resigned over a video sting that showed him offering public contracts in exchange for financial and campaign backing.

Heinz-Christian Strache stepped down on Saturday after the footage emerged. Hours later, Austria’s chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, announced snap elections, ending the 18-month ruling coalition between his centre-right Austrian People’s party (ÖVP) and Strache’s far-right Freedom party (FPÖ).

The video showed the vice-chancellor proposing to trade government contracts for party donations and favourable media coverage with a woman posing as the wealthy niece of a Russian energy billionaire. He acknowledged the video was “catastrophic” but denied doing anything illegal. » | Jon Henley, Europe correspondent | Monday, May 20, 2019

Switzerland Votes for Tighter Gun Laws by Large Margin

THE GUARDIAN: Motion to line up county’s laws with EU rules passed with 64% of votes, initial results show

Swiss voters have agreed by a nearly two-to-one margin to adopt tighter gun controls in line with changes to European Union rules, heading off a clash with Brussels.

The measure passed in the binding referendum on Sunday under the Swiss system of direct democracy by a 64%-36% margin, provisional final results showed.

The restrictions, which apply to Switzerland as a non-EU member because it is part of Europe’s Schengen open-border system, had raised hackles among shooting enthusiasts before the vote.

Failure to adopt the rules could have forced Switzerland to leave the passport-free Schengen zone and the Dublin joint system for handling asylum requests. » | Reuters | Sunday, May 19, 2019

'Future of Britain Is in Europe,' The Queen Told Germany in 1988

THE GUARDIAN: Diplomatic cables reveal the monarch also appeared to back the creation of a single market

The Queen confided to the German ambassador that she believed the future of Britain lay in Europe, newly released diplomatic cables from 1988 have shown.

“Some have not realised this yet,” the monarch allegedly said of her subjects. She also appeared to back the creation of the single market.

In a memo composed on the occasion of his farewell visit to the British head of state on 25 November 1988, the then ambassador Rüdiger Freiherr von Wechmar reported that the conversation during an “emphatically warm and unrestrained” meeting had moved on to the subject of the British people’s attitude to Europe.

“With a smirk,” Wechmar wrote, “she noted that the Brits are still a very insular people, and to most of them the magical number 1992 doesn’t mean very much.”

That was a reference to the fact that, two years previously, European leaders including the then prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, had signed the Single European Act, which set the member states of the bloc the objective of establishing a single market by the end of 1992, a commitment that culminated in the Maastricht treaty. » | Philip Oltermann in Berlin | Sunday, May 19, 2019

Politik-Skandal in Österreich! Alle Infos

Österreichs Regierung löst sich auf - und der Grund dafür ist ein pikantes Video aus dem Jahr 2017, das jetzt aufgetaucht ist. Im Zentrum: Vizekanzler Heinz-Christian Strache von der Partei FPÖ. Wer noch betroffen ist und was dahintersteckt, erfahrt ihr hier.

Hungary's Lone Fighter for Europe and the EU | Focus on Europe

Péter Márki-Zay, independent mayor of the Hungarian town of Hodmezovasarhely, aims to combat anti-EU sentiment in his country. But officials loyal to Hungary's governing party, Fidesz, are making his job difficult.

Iran Crisis: Deal or War? | Quadriga Talk

Sabre-rattling and sanctions are the methods of choice for Donald Trump and the US Administration in its stand-off with Iran. But can this strategy force a climb-down in Tehran? Guests: Torrey Taussig (Robert Bosch fellow), Shayan Arkian (IranAnders), Rick Noack (Washington Post)

Trump Backs Abortion in Cases of Rape or Incest, Contradicting Alabama Law

THE GUARDIAN: President suggests abortion will be election issue, tweeting ‘we must stick together and Win for Life in 2020’

Donald Trump, in a series of late night posts on Twitter, has outlined a less restrictive view of abortion than that just passed by Alabama’s Republican state government.

Alabama now bans abortion except if there is a “serious health risk” to the mother, with no exceptions for rape and incest, but the president says he favours making an exception of cases of rape and incest.

“As most people know, and for those who would like to know, I am strongly pro-life, with the three exceptions – rape, incest and protecting the life of the mother – the same position taken by Ronald Reagan,” Trump tweeted. » | Pádraig Collins | Sunday, May 19, 2019

Trump is pro-life? Really? So why all this war-mongering? Such hypocrisy! – Mark

On Contact: Threat of War with Iran w/Codepink's Medea Benjamin

Chris Hedges discusses the threat of war with Iran and the US relationship with Saudi Arabia and Israel with anti-war activist Medea Benjamin of Codepink.

Old Grudges, New Weapons… Is the US on the Brink of War with Iran?

THE OBSERVER: While American hawks talk up an ‘imminent’ threat from Tehran with no hard evidence, echoing the start of the Iraq conflict, hardliners are in the ascendant in Iran

For better or worse, America remains the world’s leading military superpower. In Washington last week, a familiar row erupted over how best that power should be used. Past targets have included Soviet Russia, al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Today the international bogeyman topping the White House’s to-do list is Iran.

Once again the US is in the process of deciding whether to go to war. As always, it is a tangled, messy and dishonest business. On one side, favouring punitive action, stand the Iran hawks. They include neoconservative retreads such as John Bolton, Donald Trump’s national security adviser, who championed the 2003 Iraq invasion; Mike Pompeo, a former CIA director and Christian evangelical who heads the state department; and Mike Pence, the ascetic US vice-president.

On the other side, opposing escalation, stand Democratic party leaders in Congress and a clutch of presidential hopefuls; sceptical Pentagon generals and security agency officials who trust Bolton as far as they can toss an IED; a majority of Washington’s more important allies in the EU and Nato; and China and Russia, which oppose American global power-plays on principle. » | Simon Tisdall | Saturday, May 18, 2019

Don’t Lead Us to Disaster, Moderate Tories Warn Frontrunner Boris Johnson

THE GUARDIAN: One Nation group of Conservatives try to stop lurch towards no-deal Brexit as ex-foreign secretary and Dominic Raab emerge as favourites among members

Conservative leadership contenders will shepherd the party to disaster if they adopt the “comfort blanket of populism” in response to Nigel Farage, scores of Tory MPs will warn this week.

Eight cabinet ministers are among a group of 60 modernising MPs who will call on contenders for the leadership to “reject narrow nationalism” in their quest to replace Theresa May. The warning comes with Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab, who have both said they are willing to back a no-deal Brexit, emerging as the favourites among Tory members. Johnson is the frontrunner. » | Michael Savage | Saturday, May 18, 2019

Europe’s Far-right Leaders Unite with a Vow to ‘Change History’

THE GUARDIAN: Matteo Salvini and Marine Le Pen are joining with allies to create what may be the third-largest bloc in the European parliament

Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini led a rally of his European far-right allies in front of Milan’s Gothic cathedral on Saturday. He pledged to change history after this week’s EU elections by making the populist alliance one of the largest groupings in the European parliament.

Flanked by France’s Marine Le Pen and leaders from nine other nationalist parties, Salvini began his speech to the packed Piazza del Duomo by quoting the British writer GK Chesterton: “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him but because he loves what is behind him.” He added that his group would remould Europe “not for our sake, but for our children”. » | Angela Giuffrida | Saturday, May 18, 2019

There’s So Much At Stake in the EU Elections. This Is about What Kind of Country We Want to Be

THE GUARDIAN: The vote will not just decide who represents us in the European parliament but the future we envision for our children

We are in the middle of a battle for Britain’s soul. On one side are those who want our country to continue to be forward looking, open to the world, tolerant, inclusive and progressive. On the other, those who want to pit our communities against each other, undo the social progress painstakingly made over decades, and who advocate a politics of division.

Across the globe, the far right is on the rise. They are gaining ground and winning power and influence in places that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.

Many are using the same methods from the old far-right playbook. Picking on minority communities and the marginalised in order to manufacture an enemy. Fabricating lies in order to stoke up fear. And promoting hatred of immigrants, sympathy for white nationalism, attacks on women’s reproductive rights and rolling back the progress made on LGBT rights.

Take Donald Trump who, as US president, said there were “very fine people on all sides” when white supremacists marched through the streets of Charlottesville. Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, has embraced antisemitism and attacked LGBT rights and press freedom. Matteo Salvini, deputy prime minister of Italy, has repeatedly attacked migrants. And Marine Le Pen finished second in the last French presidential election on an anti-immigration platform. Worryingly, similar nationalist and populist parties are gaining support in almost every European country. » | Sadiq Khan | Saturday, May 18, 2019

Labour Panic as Remain Voters Switch to Liberal Democrats

THE GUARDIAN: Polls makes Vince Cable’s party the favourite for Remainers and puts it in first place in London

Senior Labour figures were engaged in a desperate battle to shore up the party’s support on Saturday night, amid warnings that its stance on Brexitwas helping to “detoxify the Lib Dems”.

With just days left before the European elections at which Nigel Farage’s Brexit party is expected to triumph, shadow cabinet ministers are among those concerned that Labour’s ambiguous position on Brexit has helped revive the Lib Dems. It comes as new polling seen by the Observer suggests Vince Cable’s party is running in first place in London and could even beat Labour overall.

One senior party figure warned: “If the consequence of Labour’s Brexit position and this European election is to essentially detoxify the Lib Dems, then that’s a real problem.” Clive Lewis, a shadow Treasury minister, said “lifelong Labour voters” would not back the party this week due to its Brexit stance. He added: “It feels like we’ve given [the Lib Dems] the political equivalent of resuscitation.” » | Michael Savage, Observer policy editor | Saturday, May 18, 2019

Strache Video Ibiza HD

Wie Strache und Gudenus auf Ibiza in eine Falle tappen

Sex Education: The Clash of LGBT and Religious Rights – BBC Newsnight

How do we balance the secular norms of an inclusive society with religious freedoms? LGBT and religious rights are both protected by law - so what happens when they clash? A change in the law is about to make it tougher for parents to remove their kids from relationship and sex education classes on religious grounds so, whose rights are more important?

Tommy Robinson: Salvini Shows Far-right Agenda Attainable

THE GUARDIAN: Anti-Islam activist lauds Italian minister while campaigning in Lancashire to become MEP

Tommy Robinson has said Matteo Salvini, the anti-Islam Italian minister accused of targeting refugees, had shown what was attainable from pursuing far-right policies.

Speaking in a pub car park on the latest stage of his European election campaign, Robinson told supporters in the former mill town of Heywood in Lancashire that Italy’s interior minister had shown it was possible to make the transition from being classed as an “extremist” into “one of the most powerful men in Europe”.

About 300 supporters, many holding aloft pints, comprised one of the biggest crowds of Robinson’s campaign to become an MEP. » | Mark Townsend | Saturday, May 18, 2019

John Bolton: The Man Driving the US towards War … Any War

THE GUARDIAN: Donald Trump’s national security adviser is stoking tensions with North Korea, Iran and Venezuela, in line with decades of taking the most hawkish position on any given issue

The US is now engaged in three major confrontations around the world that have the potential to degrade into war. And in the driving seat on all three fronts is John Bolton, one of the most fervent believers in American military power ever to work in the White House.

Donald Trump’s 70-year-old national security adviser has been a fixture in US foreign policy over the past four decades, and has spent that time, whether in or out of government, mostly arguing for the most hawkish position on any issue put in front of him.

“He actually believes when America leads, the world is a safer and better place – not just for us but for the world,” said Mark Groombridge, who worked for Bolton for more than 10 years.

In the Obama era, Bolton’s bristling walrus moustache was a near constant presence on television, almost always Fox News, from where he would vent scorn and spleen on the Democratic administration.

These days, Bolton looks considerably more cheerful, having reached the peak of the policymaking establishment that had once seemed out of his reach. » | Julian Borger in Washington | Friday, May 17, 2019

Iran Says 'There Will Be No War' as US Warns of Risk to Civilian Aircraft

THE GUARDIAN: Zarif: nobody suffering from ‘hallucination’ of taking on Iran ? US: potential for ‘miscalculation or misidentification’ of planes

Iran’s foreign minister said on Saturday “there will be no war” with the US, since “nobody in the region is suffering from a hallucination to think that he is able to confront Iran”.

Nonetheless, US diplomats warned commercial airliners flying over the Persian Gulf that they faced a risk of being “misidentified” amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.

The US has ordered bombers and an aircraft carrier to the Gulf over an unexplained perceived threat, raising tensions a year after Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal between world powers and the Islamic Republic.

In remarks quoted by the state-run IRNA news agency at the end of his trip to China, the foreign minister, Mohammed Javad Zarif, said the Islamic Republic was “not seeking war”, adding: “In fact, as the supreme leader said, there will be no war since we are not seeking war and nobody in the region is suffering from a hallucination to think that he is able to confront Iran.”

He added that though Trump has said he is not seeking war, “some that have sat around him” are pushing such a conflict. » | Associated Press in Washington | Saturday, May 18, 2019

CrossTalk: Bolton War Machine

Is Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton a clear and present danger to America and the world? His saber-rattling in the Middle East, particularly against Iran, should concern us all. We are forced to ask a fundamental question – is Bolton the primary architect of Trump’s foreign policy? CrossTalking with Brian Becker, Gareth Porter, and Max Abrahms.

Austria: Far-right Vice-Chancellor Strache Forced to Resign | DW News

Austria's vice-chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, of the far-right Freedom Party has announced his resignation from the country's coalition government. Strache was forced to step down after German media published a secretly recorded 2017 video from the island of Ibiza. It appears to show Strache offering government contracts in return for campaign donations. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, of the People's Party had already ruled out further co-operation with Strache in the country's governing coalition although Strache had denied any wrongdoing.

German Neo-Nazi Party Runs for European Elections | DW News

A minor far-right radical party in Germany called the 'Dritte Weg', or 'Third Path' is trying to boost its draw with marches evoking the country's Nazi past and openly aligns itself with National Socialism, unapologetically pushing its “Germans only” platform. The group is running candidates for the European parliamentary elections. In the town of Plauen the extremist group has found followers, amidst calls that they should be banned.