In the Belgian city of Antwerp, a school bus full of Jewish kindergarteners was attacked by Muslim “youths”, who surrounded it and threw stones at it. No one was injured. Jewish groups in Antwerp called for a prompt response by the authorities against the perpetrators of the attack.
In other news, twelve people were killed by a car bomb in a Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Andy Bostom, C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, Jerry Gordon, JP, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
Falling EU Inflation May Spark Central Bank Moves
The EU’s statistics agency Eurostat confirmed Monday that consumer prices keep falling in the bloc making it likely that the European Central Bank will move to stimulate the economy. Euro area annual inflation was 0.5% in May 2014, down from 0.7% in April. A year earlier the rate was 1.4%.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Banking Association Says Mortgage Loans Rising
‘Some micro glimmer of light’ in lending market, says ABI
(ANSA) — Rome, June 17 — The Italian Banking Association (ABI) said Tuesday that it has recorded a sharp rise in mortgage loans for new home purchases.
The number of mortgage loans for new homes rose by 26.5% in the first four months of this year compared with the same period in 2013, said the ABI.
During the first four months of 2013, mortgage loans for new homes fell by 14.7% compared with the same period in 2012, the group said.
According to ABI, this data indicates that there is “some micro glimmer of light there” that could hint at a turning point in the Italian economy which has been struggling to emerge from its worst recession since the Second World War.
ABI said that the data was collected from 83 banks representing about 80% of the retail banking market, and showed that new mortgage loans worth 7.3 billion euros were made between January and April, an increase of 26.5% compared with the 5.8 billion euros in mortgage loans made in the same period of 2013.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Over 20,000 Retail and Tourism Businesses Lost Jan-May
Closures driven by higher taxes, crisis, Confesercenti says
(ANSA) — Rome, June 17 — Some 53,037 businesses operating in the retail and tourism sectors closed in the first five months of the year, small and medium-sized business association Confesercenti said Tuesday.
It said 32,230 new businesses opened in the same period, translating into a negative balance of 20,807.
The decline was due to a combination of higher taxes and the ongoing crisis in demand on the domestic market, Confesercenti said.
Italy is struggling to emerge from its longest postwar recession.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium: Antwerp: Arabs Attack a School Bus With Stones
It appears the deteriorating security situation in Israel is serving to encourage Muslims in Europe to attack Jews. A few weeks following the fatal attack in the Jewish Museum in Brussels a school bus from the Antwerp Talmid Torah was attacked with stones by local Arab residents…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Belgium: Antwerp Muslims Throw Rocks at Jewish School Bus
A Jewish school bus in Antwerp, Belgium had rocks thrown at it by Muslim teens on Sunday, reported Orthodox Jewish media. The teens surrounded the bus, which was carrying kindergarten students from the Antwerp Hayder school and proceeded to throw stones.
Nobody was injured in the attack. Police are investigating the incident but no arrests have been made so far.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Danes the Highest Taxed in Europe, Reveals Eurostat
BRUSSELS — Denmark, Belgium and France are the highest taxed EU countries according to research by the bloc’s statistical agency Eurostat.
The data in Eurostat’s report on ‘Taxation trends’ in the EU, published on Monday (16 June), found that the Danish government collected tax worth 48.1 percent of economic output in 2012.
At the other end of the scale, Lithuanians are the lowest taxed in Europe, with a burden worth 27.2 percent of output, closely followed by Bulgaria and Latvia.
Overall, the average tax-to-GDP ratio in the EU increased to 39.4 percent in 2012, slightly up from 38.8 percent the previous year. Eurostat says the rate continued to rise in 2013.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Politicians and Royals Steering Clear of Grand Mosque’s Opening
Opponents fear that Qatar will attempt to push a more conservative form of Islam
When Denmark’s largest mosque opens its doors for the first time on Thursday in Copenhagen’s Nordvest district, few prominent invitees will be present to take part in the celebrations.
The Royal House, the nation’s ministers and most of the seven deputy mayors of Copenhagen have all been invited, but only the city’s deputy mayor for social issues, Jesper Christensen, has agreed to show up, according to a survey by DR’s radio station P4…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Greece Demands Germany’s Explanations Over Spying
Greece has demanded explanations from Germany after reports that Greek citizens had been subjected to electronic spying by Berlin.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Greek Foreign Ministry said that there are specific rules and ethics between friends, and that Athens expects an instant answer from Germany for its spying activities.
“We are certain that there will be an immediate answer from the German side,” the statement said.
The ministry noted that Germany itself had been subject to US spying and complained to Washington over a similar case involving German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone.
Greek media reported on Saturday that German intelligence agents had intercepted emails and tapped telephone calls from 195 countries, including Greece.
Reports on the US National Security Agency (NSA)’s tapping of Merkel’s phone emerged last year from documents released by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
Further revelations by Snowden showed that the NSA also eavesdropped on the phone of Merkel’s predecessor the Social Democrat Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
The disclosures shocked Germans and sparked one of the most serious disputes between the two allies.
Following the event, US President Barack Obama called Merkel and apologized for spying on friends.
In June 2013, Snowden leaked top secret US government spying programs under which the NSA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are eavesdropping on millions of American and European phone records and the Internet data from major Internet companies such as Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Apple, and Microsoft.
The NSA scandal took even broader dimensions when Snowden revealed information about its espionage activities targeting “friendly” countries including other European countries such as France.
The revelations about the extent of Washington’s espionage program have angered its European allies and drawn worldwide criticisms. In late October, the disclosures also prompted Brazil and Germany to draft a United Nations General Assembly resolution aimed at restraining the NSA’s surveillance programs against other nations.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Mondadori in 6% Capital Hike
‘To strengthen financial structure’ of Berlusconi publisher
(ANSA) — Milan, June 17 — Mondadori on Tuesday launched a capital hike worth 6% of its ordinary shares, saying it would place the same amount of shares on the market.
Italy’s biggest publisher, part of ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi’s media empire, said the IPO was aimed at “strengthening its financial structure”.
As well as being a top book publisher, Mondadori owns mass-circulation newsweekly Panorama and several glossy and gossip mags including Chi.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
More Brits Joined Jihad Than Volunteered for UK Army Reserves
More British citizens joined the jihad in Syria and Iraq than signed up for the Army Reserves over the last twelve months, according to the MailOnline. Whilst “several hundred” have gone to fight for militants in the Middle East, only 170 have enlisted for the British Army Reserves despite a major recruitment campaign…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Telegraaf Publishes New Photo of Pim Fortuyn’s Killer
Tuesday’s Telegraaf opens with a page-sized photograph of Volkert van der Graaf, the man who served 12 years in jail for killing populist politician Pim Fortuyn in 2002.
It is the first time there has been a photograph of Van der Graaf since he was released from jail in early May.
Van der Graaf was visiting his lawyer on the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam and was recognised by one of the paper’s photographers who approached him. He is pictured in jeans and baseball cap walking along the street.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
New Labour Leader Calls for Zero-Emission Norway
The new leader of Norway’s Labour Party has called for the country to become the world’s first zero-emission nation in an unexpectedly radical speech that signalled a sharp change in the party’s climate policy.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway Sees Freak June Snowfall
A blast of ice-cold wind from the North Pole is sending temperatures plummeting across northern Norway, with the city of Tromsø on Monday seeing June snowfall for the first time in living memory.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Oslo Mosque Prayers Leader in Hospital After Attack
Nemat Ali Shah was seriously wounded rushed to hospital after being attacked from behind by an unidentified person, rtl website reported. The incident took place outside his house when he was walking to the mosque…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Top Oslo Imam in Hospital After Axe Attack
The Imam of Oslo’s largest mosque is recuperating in hospital after being attacked with an axe by a masked assailant. The Local reports that the man attacked Nemat Ali Shah as left home to lead prayers at the Central Jamaat Ahle-Sunnat mosque on Monday, severely wounding his face and hands…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
President of Azerbaijan in Athens to Discuss TAP
And the Socar’s acquisition of 66% of Desfa
(ANSA) — ATHENS — Speeding up procedures for the approval of the transfer of a majority stake in DESFA (Natural Gas System Operator) to Socar and the beginning of construction works of a Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) natural gas network according to set timetables, were the focus of talks held on Monday on the occasion of an official visit by Azeri President Ilham Aliyev to Athens. As Ana-Mpa reports, in his meetings with President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos, Aliyev discussed energy cooperation between Greece and Azerbaijan, a strategic cooperation between his country and the European Union and the role of Greece as an entry gate of Azeri energy raw materials to the EU, amidst a crisis in the Ukraine. The two sides agreed on the need to avoid any delays in Bruxelles for the completion of the transaction. Greece has agreed to sell 66% of DESFA to Socar for 400 million euros. The transaction needs approval from the European Commission. Referring to the TAP pipeline, Greece and Azerbaijan agreed on the importance of the South Corridor of natural gas towards improving the EU’s energy safety. The pipeline will transport natural gas from Shah Deniz field in Azerbaijan through Turkey, Greece and Albania to Italy, while talks also focused on the possibility of supplying other countries in the region through a vertical Greek-Bulgarian pipeline (IGB) promoted by DEPA. The TAP pipeline will have an initial transport ability of 10 billion cubic meters of gas annually, with the investment in the Greek part of the pipeline (with a length of 870 km) totaling 1.5 billion euros. The project will create 2,000 direct and 10,000 indirect job positions. TAP’s shareholders are BP (20%), Socar (20%), Statoil (20%), Fluxys (16%), Total (10%), E.ON (9%) and Axpo (5%).
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Simon Wiesenthal Center Urges Swift Belgian Response to ‘Pogrom of the Antwerp Hayder School Bus’
Jewish human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center on Tuesday urged Belgium to respond to the stoning of a Jewish school bus by teens…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Spain to End State Rail Monopoly, Trains to Private Firms
For seven years RENFE competitor, then others
(ANSAmed) — MADRID, JUNE 16 — Spain will end the monopoly held by RENFE state railways, opening passenger train routes to private operators. The council of ministers approved a measure enabling a private company selected through a call for tenders to operate for seven years the train route connecting Madrid to Cuenca and Albacete till Valnza, Alicante, Castellon and Murcia. At the end of the seven-year period, the competition will be extended to other private firms.
So far, Spain had only privatized the transport of goods and a few touristic trains like Transcantabricos or Al-Andalus.
Development Minister Ana Pastor said competition will improve the quality of services and give users more choice.
A public tender will be called in the coming weeks for a license concerning the rental of RENFE convoys. Over the next seven years, the private operator who will obtain the license will be allowed to decide which connections to operate, their frequency and ticket prices.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
UK: ‘The Guards Don’t Run the Prison, Islam Does’: My Interview With a ‘Reformed’ Tommy Robinson
by Jamie Bartlett
When Tommy Robinson, former leader of the English Defence League, arrived at Woodhill prison in January 2014 after being sentenced to 18 months in prison for mortgage fraud, he was told he’d be lucky to make it out alive.
I have been writing to Robinson — whose real name is Stephen Yaxley Lennon — while he’s been in prison to find out what’s happened to him, and what he plans to do next…
[Reader comment by Martin Adamson on 17 June 2104.]
If Robinson was convicted for mortgage fraud, why is it a condition of his release that “no one involved with the EDL can contact him until the end of his original sentence, which is still 12 months”? His membership of the EDL surely had nothing to do with the alleged mortgage fraud
If Robinson was sentenced to 18 months for mortgage fraud, why were Peter Mandelson and David Laws not sentenced to 18 months for the same crime?
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: No More Fillings as Dentists Reveal New Tooth Decay Treatment
Scientists have developed a new pain-free filling that allows cavities to be repaired without drilling or injections.
The tooth-rebuilding technique developed at King’s College London does away with fillings and instead encourages teeth to repair themselves.
Tooth decay is normally removed by drilling, after which the cavity is filled with a material such as amalgam or composite resin.
The new treatment, called Electrically Accelerated and Enhanced Remineralisation (EAER), accelerates the natural movement of calcium and phosphate minerals into the damaged tooth.
A two-step process first prepares the damaged area of enamel, then uses a tiny electric current to push minerals into the repair site. It could be available within three years.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Ofsted Scraps Controversial Faith School Inspection Rules
Guidance from Ofsted telling inspectors that segregating boys and girls is acceptable in Muslim schools has been withdrawn by the watchdog following the “Trojan Horse” investigation in Birmingham
Controversial guidance allowing Muslim schools to segregate boys and girls and restrict subjects such as music has been scrapped by Ofsted, it emerged today. Guidelines for the inspection of faith schools has been withdrawn pending an official review following claims that it effectively gave schools permission to discriminate between the sexes…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
8 Extremists Killed in Security Raids in Egypt’s Sinai
CAIRO, June 16 (Xinhua) — Eight suspected extremists were killed on Monday in fierce clashes with the Egyptian military in Sheikh Zuweid city in north Sinai province, security sources told Xinhua.
Troops raided two jihadist hideouts in the city, close to the border with the Palestinian Gaza Strip, killing eight militants and wounding one soldier, the sources said…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: Night Curfew in Benghazi in Effort to Curb Violence
From midnight to 6am, due to deteriorating security
Smoke and flames rise during fighting between Islamist militias and forces loyal to a retired general Khalifa Haftar, in Benghazi, Libya
(ANSAmed) — TRIPOLI — In an effort to curb ongoing violence, Libya has declared a midnight-6am curfew in the eastern city of Benghazi, authorities said Tuesday.
Security forces will set up checkpoints to enforce the curfew.
Since the 2011 revolution that ousted Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Islamic militia such as Ansar al-Sharia are widely held to be responsible for daily bombings, kidnappings and assassinations of security forces, activists, journalists, judges, civilians and foreigners in eastern Libya and especially Benghazi.
The situation has deteriorated since General Khalifa Haftar, the self-declared leader of the Libyan National Army, announced the launch of an anti-jihadist offensive named Operation Dignity on May 16, vowing to rid his country of violent Islamic militias since the Tripoli government appears unwilling or unable to do so.
The ensuing clashes have left some 100 dead so far as Khalifa’s offensive, which the government says is a coup, has garnered support from some sectors of the armed forces and some ministries.
An average of 35 police agents and members of the military have been assassinated every month since the beginning of 2014, Human Rights Watch made known recently.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: US Commandos Capture Benghazi Suspect
Barack Obama says Ahmed Abu Khatallah will “face the full weight of the American justice system” after being captured in Libya.
US commandos have captured one of the alleged leaders of the 2012 assault on the American consulate in Benghazi.
Ahmed Abu Khatallah is the first suspect to be arrested after a nearly two-year hunt for those responsible for killing the US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Special Forces in Libya Capture Suspect in Benghazi Attack, Pentagon Says
American Special Operations forces have captured the suspected leader of the attack on the United States diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, in September 2012 and taken him out of that country in a secret commando operation, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.
The suspect, Ahmed Abu Khattala, was captured on Sunday, the Pentagon said in a statement. “All U.S. personnel involved in the operation have safely departed Libya,” the statement said.
News of the operation was first reported by The Washington Post.
| [Return to headlines] |
Among 100 Hamas Leaders Arrested by the IDF Were Sheik Hassan Youssef and Abdul Aziz Duwaik
It hit us like a proverbial 2 x4 this morning when we opened today’s Wall Street Journal (WSJ) with a report on 100 Hamas leaders arrested yesterday by the IDF, “Israel Arrests Hamas Officials”. These arrests were in retaliation from the alleged Hamas kidnapping of three Jewish youths caught hitchhiking home five days ago from a yeshiva in the Gush Etzion bloc between Bethlehem and Hebron. See our Iconoclast post, “IDF Raids Seek an American and Two Israelis Allegedly Abducted by Hamas”.
Among those the IDF detained was Abdul Aziz Duwaik, speaker of the non-functioning Palestinian parliament and a University of Pennsylvania Architecture graduate. Students from the University of California at Irvine Olive Tree Initiative program purportedly met him by accident in the disputed territories back in 2009. We chronicled that in our NER article, “Does the Olive Tree Initiative Lack Credibility?” This is not the first arrest for Duwaik as the IDF previously detained him in January 2012 in the wake of the October 2011 release by Hamas of former IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, held in captivity in Gaza since his capture by terrorists in 2006. Duwaik had previously been detained by the IDF in 2006, when Shalit was originally abducted.Then there was Sheik Hassan Yousef, co-founder of Hamas in West Bank and father of the fabled Shin Bet double agent, Mosab Hassan Yousef, subject of the 2010 book, Son of Hamas , and the acclaimed 2014 Sundance Festival movie, The Green Prince. We had contacted the younger Yousef in 2010 to facilitate legal clinic aid to assist him in fighting a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immigration hearing that might have resulted in his being deported back to Israel. The immigration Judge dismissed the charges in a June 2010 decision granting Mosab asylum.
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
IDF Works to Dismantle Hamas Infrastructure in 5th Day Since Kidnapping
by Phyllis Chesler
First, some facts on the ground. Then, a brief Talmudic discussion of how civilized peoples are supposed to deal with someone who is “coming to kill you.”
Here’s what Israel just did: Last night, the IDF went door to door in cities in the West Bank and confiscated a huge cache of weapons. Photos and a video show what they found in Nablus/Shechem, a city that has an ancient Jewish Biblical-era history. It is now a city ready for battle.
Here’s what members of the local Palestinian community did: They posted anti-Jewish cartoons and posed their children giving three fingered salutes—one finger for each captured “Shalit.” And they baked cakes celebrating the kidnapping.
Here’s how Hamas sounded: Their spokesman, Mushir al-Masri, “warned the Zionists against committing any more stupidities, including their violations of international laws by their arresting of the Parliament speaker.” As of yesterday, Israel had arrested over 150 Palestinians, including the Hamas representatives in the newly formed Palestinian Unity Government. Al-Masri continued: “The resistance is the only route to freeing the (Palestinian) prisoners.” He said that he did not believe that the “lives of the three Israeli teens are actually worth “those of the 5,000 prisoners.”
Of course, Hamas officials also condemned Abbas for agreeing to help Israel look for its captives—and demanded that he instead “declare Jihad against the Zionists.”
What else did Israel do? The authorities cancelled visiting privileges for all Palestinian terrorist prisoners who, unlike Israeli captives, have access to excellent medical care, other prisoners and visitors, literacy and university educations, exercise, prayer sites, and entertainment. According to Noam Shalit, Hamas kept his son, Gilad, in the dark and in isolation for five years. The Red Cross was not allowed to visit him. These privileges that Palestinian prisoners routinely enjoy will be returned when the three kidnapped boys are returned.
Israeli authorities are also considering re-incarcerating those terrorists whom they swapped out for Gilad Shalit as a dis-incentive to use kidnapping as a way of freeing terrorists with blood on their hands…
| [Return to headlines] |
Israel Expands Arrests in Search for Missing Teens
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s army says it has arrested 40 more Palestinians in the West Bank, expanding searches for three missing Israeli teens who Israel believes Hamas kidnapped last week.
The arrests early Tuesday brought the total number of Palestinians detained since the kidnapping to over 200, most of them Hamas activists. It’s the biggest West Bank crackdown on Hamas in almost a decade…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
British Embassy in Iran ‘To Reopen’ Amid Iraq Crisis
The Foreign Secretary said that “circumstances are right” to reopen the British embassy in Iran after expanded “bilateral engagement” with the country
Britain will reopen its embassy in Tehran, William Hague has announced. The Foreign Secretary said that “circumstances are right” to re-establish the embassy in the Iranian capital Tehran after expanded “bilateral engagement” with the country over the past four months…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Guess Who’s Responsible for the Sunni-Shiite Carnage in Iraq? (Hint: Starts With a “J”)
By Andrew Bostom
The jihadist butchers (see here, here, here) of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)—supported by a much broader Sunni insurgency (see here, here, and here) against the Shiite-dominated, U.S. mid-wived al-Maliki government—continue their Baghdad-bound carnage.
Predictably—confirming obvious trends I documented 8-years ago—Maliki’s longstanding patron (and puppet-master) Iran, has committed (and pledged even more) military assets against the Sunni assault. Eli Lake of the The Daily Beast reported today (6/17/2014):
“The offer to help us with everything we need has been made from the highest levels of the Iranian government,” a senior Iraqi official told The Daily Beast.
Lake added,
This official stressed that Iran’s offer to assist Iraq’s fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS) [the Levant/ (ISIL)] was not conditional on Maliki making any immediate reforms or changes to his government.
An indelible, “unconditional” feature of the Iranian, and indeed the entire region’s “religiously” imbued Muslim mindset, which transcends the bitter, violent Shiite-Sunni divide, was simultaneously on display today: conspiratorial Islamic Jew-hatred. General Hassan Firouzabadi, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, insisted Tuesday (6/17/14, in Tehran) Israel—i.e., in regional parlance, Jews/”Zionists”—had created and supported ISIL, while further claiming,…
| — Hat tip: Andy Bostom | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq Conflict: Clashes on Approaches to Baghdad
Iraqi government forces are engaged in heavy clashes with Sunni insurgents who have made major advances in the past week.
Parts of the city of Baquba — just 60km (37 miles) from Baghdad — were briefly taken over by the rebels. Reports say 44 prisoners were killed during fighting at a police station in the city.
The US is deploying up to 275 military personnel to protect staff at its huge embassy in the capital…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq Crisis: British ISIS Fighters ‘Biggest Threat to National Security’ Says Cameron — Live
Foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria including Britons who could try to return to UK “biggest threat to national security that exists today”, says Prime Minister, as Isis moves closer to Baghdad
Latest
16.50 British citizens and other nationals fighting alongside Islamist insurgents in Iraq and Syria pose the biggest threat to Britain’s national security that exists today, David Cameron has said.
“No-one should be in any doubt that what we see in Syria and now in Iraq in terms of Isis is the most serious threat to Britain’s security that there is today,” Cameron told a joint news conference with Chinese premier Li Keqiang. “The number of foreign fighters in that area, the number of foreign fighters including those from the UK who could try to return to the UK is a real threat to our country,” he said…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq’s Central Government Suffers Mortal Blow
By Fawaz A Gerges, London School of Economics
Regardless of whether the Iraqi government in Baghdad rolls back the recent military advances by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), the central authority has suffered a mortal blow.
ISIS’s takeover of most of the so-called Sunni Triangle, as well as Mosul, the second largest city with almost two million people, hammers a deadly nail in the coffin of the post-Saddam Hussein nation-building project…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq: 12 Killed in Car Bomb in Shiite Area of Baghdad
BAGHDAD, June 17 (Xinhua) — The number of deaths killed in a car bomb blast in a market in the predominantly Shiite north Baghdad area of Sadr City district late Tuesday rose to 12, according to security and medical sources…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq: Fears of Sectarian Killings Rise in Baghdad After Sunni Imam, Two Aides Found Dead
BAGHDAD — Fears of a revival of sectarian killings in Baghdad soared Tuesday after the bodies of a Sunni Muslim prayer leader and two of his assistants were found in a morgue, four days after they were allegedly kidnapped by Shiite militiamen…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Lebanon: Hezbollah Prevents Isil Reaching Beirut: Nasrallah
Nasrallah was quoted by Lebanese newspaper Al-Safir as telling a meeting of party backers that the terrorist group of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) could have spread to Lebanon if Hezbollah had not stepped in…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
‘Many’ Dutch Nationals Have Joined ISIS Extremists: Minister
‘Many’ Dutch nationals have joined up with the ISIS, the extremist Islamic group waging war in Iraq and with links to Syria, foreign affairs minister Frans Timmermans told parliament on Monday in a written briefing.
‘Various measures’ — both in terms of criminal law and administrative law — have been taken to prevent Dutch nationals joining up with groups like ISIS, Timmermans said.
The Netherlands is also working together with other countries to try to stem the flow of volunteers.
The UN security council has imposed sanctions on ISIS and this means the Netherlands can also freeze the property of people connected to the organisation and prevent them from travelling, Timmermans said in his briefing.
Syria
On Monday morning, the Volkskrant said the Dutch secret service AIVD has given to Turkey the names of over 100 young men and women they believe may be planning to go to Syria to fight with Muslim rebels there.
Turkey has agreed to pick them up and deport them if they are spotted, the paper said.
‘We have a no-entry list,’ a police spokesman told the Volkskrant. ‘Everyone on this list will be refused entry if they try to cross the border.’
Around 150 Dutch nationals are said to be in Syria, most of whom travelled through Turkey to get there.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Signs of Reprisal Killings Emerge in Iraq
BAGHDAD (AP) — Signs emerged Tuesday of a reprisal sectarian slaughter of Sunnis in Iraq, as police said pro-government Shiite militiamen killed nearly four dozen detainees after insurgents tried to storm the jail northeast of Baghdad…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
The Middle East’s Own Thirty Years’ War Has Begun
In January, Douglas Murray explained in The Spectator how relations in the Middle East were becoming increasingly tense. With northern Iraq now in turmoil, following the advance of Islamist militant group Isis, Douglas’s insight seems prescient.
Syria has fallen apart. Major cities in Iraq have fallen to al-Qa’eda. Egypt may have stabilised slightly after a counter-coup. But Lebanon is starting once again to fragment. Beneath all these facts — beneath all the explosions, exhortations and blood — certain themes are emerging…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UAE: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre is World’s Second Best Attraction on Tripadvisor
Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre has ranked second among the world’s top 25 attractions in the ‘2014 ‘Travelers’ Choice’ awards’ of TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site.
“Grand is an understatement. The architecture, the white marble and the beautifully maintained green gardens are stunning,” said Tripadvisor of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UN Names Italian Major General to Head Force in Lebanon
Ban Ki-moon thanks outgoing official who held post for 30 months
(ANSA) — New York, June 17 — United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has named Italian Major General Luciano Portolano to head the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Portolano, 54, will succeed his countryman Major General Paolo Serra, who is leaving the post on July 24 after two-and-a-half years. A native of the Sicilian city of Agrigento, Portolano previously commanded the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Regional Command West in Afghanistan.
Last week he received the Legion of Merit, a military award from the United States Armed Forces, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in Afghanistan. Portolano also served as commander in Iraq, Kosovo, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
He was one of three candidates for the UNIFIL post, along with generals from Finland and Nepal.
Italy is the fourth-largest financial supporter of UN peacekeeping missions and has contributed some 10,100 soldiers to UNIFIL, making it one of the main troop contributors to the multinational force which was established in 1978 to monitor the border between Lebanon and Israel.
This is the third time an Italian general is given the UNIFIL command since 2007, after the three-year mandate of General Claudio Graziano, now the Chief of the Staff of the Italian Army.
UNIFIL was created by the UN Security Council in March 1978, which further enhanced UNIFIL in 2006.
In a communique, Ban expressed gratitude to Serra for “his excellent service and leadership of UNIFIL”.
Monday’s appointment came on the eve of an international conference in Rome to support the Lebanese Armed Forces.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
US Deploys Extra Troops, Mulls Air Strikes in Iraq as Clashes Approach Baghdad
BAGHDAD: The US was deploying extra troops to protect its embassy in Baghdad and mulling air strikes against militants who have seized key cities, amid warnings on Tuesday that Iraq has polarized irrevocably…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Yemeni Forces Surround Sana’a Mosque Complex Near Presidential Palace
Complex suspected of being used as insurrectionists’ base to launch attack on presidential compound
Yemeni forces have surrounded a sprawling mosque complex in the capital Sana’a amid fears that backers of the former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh might use it as a launchpad to attack the presidential palace…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Yemen: Presidential Guards Continue Siege of Saleh Mosque
SANA’A, June 16 — Presidential Guards are continuing to encircling the Saleh Mosque in Al-Sabaeen area, near the presidential palace. The siege began Saturday afternoon when the guards, backed by armored vehicles, surrounded the mosque, trapping armed supporters of former President Ali Abdulla Saleh inside…
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31 Ukrainian Troops Wounded in Fighting Near Russian Border
KIEV, June 17 (Xinhua) — At least 31 Ukrainian troops were wounded during clashes with rebels in eastern Ukraine near the border crossing with Russia early Tuesday, authorities said.
The fighting began near the village of Alekseevka at about 2 a.m. local time (0000 GMT), when insurgents attacked Ukrainian forces with mortar bombs, according to Ukraine’s border guard service…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Russian TV Reporter Killed in Eastern Ukraine
EU disburses first tranche of aid
(ANSA) — Kiev, June 17 — A Russian state television reporter was among the latest casualties of fighting between Kiev forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday as the European Commission released its first tranche of aid.
The Russian foreign ministry described the death of Rossyia 24 journalist Igor Kornelyuk in a mortar attack near a village outside the east Ukrainian city of Luhansk as “a new crime by the Ukrainian armed forces” and called for an “objective inquiry” into the incident.
A colleague, sound engineer Anton Voloshin, was reported missing following the attack.
Meanwhile six pro-Russian rebels were reported dead following clashes in the separatist stronghold of Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region and 30 Ukraine soldiers sustained injuries in fighting near the border with Russia. Separatist leader Natalia Grudzenko was arrested in the port city of Mariupol, officially recaptured by Kiev forces on Friday. Also on Tuesday the European Union disbursed 500 million euros of a broader aid package for Ukraine amounting to 11 billion euros agreed by Brussels in March.
“It’s up to Kiev to decide how to use the money, according to its needs,” said European Commissioner for Economic Affaris, Olli Rehn.
Ukraine could use the money to buy gas after Russia cut off supplies over a pricing and payment dispute on Monday. Separately on Tuesday, Ukraine’s newly elected president Petro Poroshenko appointed MP Irina Gherashenko, a representative of Udar, the party led by former boxer Vitali Klitschko, as his envoy for the peaceful resolution of the crisis in the east.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish Mosque Stuck in the Cross-Fire in Ukraine
In the city Mariupol in Ukraine, the Ukrainian armed forces brought pro-Russian separatists under control by carrying out anti-terror operations and putting security control points at the entrance and exit of the city. Ukrainian forces are searching all vehicles and performing thorough ID checks…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Buddhists vs Muslims: Sri Lanka Deploys Army as Riots Spread in Country
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Tuesday deployed its army as clashes between Buddhists and minority Muslims spread to newer areas overnight in a popular tourist region where a curfew failed to douse the flare-up that has killed at least four people and destroyed a number of homes and businesses…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Indian Girl Murdered by Brothers After Eloping
(AGI) Delhi, June 16 — A 17-year-old girl in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh was murdered by her three brothers after she eloped with a man she wanted to marry, local media has reported. Devendri had returned to her home in Sabapur where her brothers shot her and burned her body, which was found by local police. Her family had not reported the incident and are now being sought.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Malaysia Seeks to Expand Halal Food Industry to Turkmenistan
Malaysia plans to expand its halal food industry to Turkmenistan following the huge potential in the Central Asian nation.
Malaysia’s ambassador to Turkmenistan, Norman Muhamad said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will bring up the matter during his meeting with the country’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Sri Lanka: Authorities Impose Curfew After Buddhists and Muslims Clash in the South
At the end of a rally by the radical Buddhist Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), militants attacked Muslims in the city of Aluthgama. In his speech, the BBS leader allegedly incited violence.
Colombo (AsiaNews/Agencies) — The Sri Lankan government imposed a curfew in two cities in the south of the country after violent clashes broke out between members of a radical Buddhist group and Muslims.
The riots took place yesterday following a rally at Aluthgama by the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), a Buddhist fundamentalist group also known as the ‘Buddhist brigade’. For security reasons, a curfew was also imposed on Beruwala, a predominantly Muslim town.
In his speech, Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero, a Buddhist monk and a BBS leader, allegedly incited violence between Muslims and Sinhalese Buddhists.
At the end of the meeting, BBS activists marched towards Muslim-majority areas of the city, chanting anti-Muslim slogans and throwing stones at a few houses and a mosque.
It is not clear how Muslims reacted, but eyewitnesses said they saw some Muslims dragged out of the buses and beaten. Robberies were also reported.
Police used tear gas to stop the violence but according to some unconfirmed eyewitness accounts, police also opened fire to disperse the crowd, injuring several people.
For several months, the BBS and similar organisations have verbally and physically attacked Sri Lanka’s minority communities, particularly Muslims.
Such groups justify their acts of persecution, discrimination and violence by claiming they want to protect the public, the majority Buddhist Sinhalese population and its religion.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Woman Gang Raped in Northern India
(AGI) Lucknow, India, June 16 — A 38-year-old woman was gang-raped at the weekend in a northern Indian state whose government is under fire over a string of sexual attacks, police said on Monday. She went shopping for medicine on Friday night when she was lured into a house and attacked in Uttar Pradesh state, said police. Badaun is the same district where two girls, aged 12 and 14, were gang-raped and found hanged in May.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Chinese Church’s Fightback Fails to Stop Cross Removal
Nearly a week after Chinese Christians thwarted government attempts to remove the cross from their place of worship as part of an ongoing “anti-church” campaign, authorities returned to destroy the religious symbol.
Last Wednesday, members of the Guantou church in Wenzhou, a city known as China’s Jerusalem, successfully forced demolition teams to abandon a predawn attempt to remove its cross.
However, demolition workers returned in the early hours of Tuesday morning to complete their task, which activists and academics believe is part of a renewed Communist Party crackdown on faith that began in the eastern province of Zhejiang earlier this year.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Kenya Attacks Heighten Fears That World’s Favourite Safari Destination No Longer Safe
Kenyan hoteliers warn ‘one more big attack and we’re off the tourism map for half a decade or more’ following back-to-back al-Shabaab terror attacks near tourist beaches
Back-to-back terror attacks close to Kenya’s coast have deepened worries that the world’s favourite safari destination may no longer be safe.
At least 59 people died in raids on towns in northern Kenya near Lamu on Sunday and Monday nights. Although tourists were not the targets, al-Shabaab, the regional affiliate of al-Qaeda warned that “Kenya is officially a war zone”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Kenya Attack: Al-Shabaab Claims New Attack That Has Left at Least 10 Dead
Al-Shabaab has claimed an overnight attack in Kenya that killed at least 10 people close to popular tourist destination of Lamu
Gunmen from al-Shabaab, Somalia’s al-Qaeda affiliate, carried out a second night of attacks in northern Kenya on Monday, killing 10 more people. The attack came the day after 49 died when the Islamists took over a town close to Lamu.
The fresh strikes took place despite Kenyan forces patrolling the area and raised further questions over the country’s ability to stem terrorism on its soil…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Kenya Attacks: ‘Women Abducted’ Near Mpeketoni
At least 12 women were abducted during the latest attack on Kenya’s coast, which also left 15 people dead, residents have told the BBC.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has blamed “local political networks” for the overnight raid on two villages near the town of Mpeketoni. But Somalia’s al-Shabab group had earlier said it was behind the attack.
At least 49 people died in a separate raid on hotels and a police station in Mpeketoni on Sunday…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Authorities Rescue Almost 600 Migrants Off Sicily
Coast Guard saves 293 people, another 280 found by Navy
(ANSA) — Catania, June 17 — Italian authorities on Tuesday rescued almost 600 migrants from rickety boats in the Strait of Sicily between Italy and Africa as part of the Mare Nostrum (our sea) search and rescue operation. Authorities said that 293 people reached the city of Catania aboard the coast guard ship Umberto Diciotti early Tuesday, while the Navy ship Sirio was taking 280 rescued migrants to the town of Pozzallo, near the city of Ragusa.
Reception centers for migrants were being emptied out in order to make room for the new arrivals while police searched for possible human traffickers, authorities said. Earlier, police said they arrested an alleged human smuggler who was among 1,200 people who arrived in Taranto after being picked up in a navy cruiser.
Approximately 50,000 migrants have crossed to Italy this year, more than the total for the whole of last year, as Italy’s Mare Nostrum rescue operation has worked to save those making the perilous journey.
Mare Nostrum was established last October when about 400 people died in two boatwrecks while attempting the crossing.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
China Becomes Fourth Largest Source of Migrants
(People’s Daily Online) (ANSA) — Beijing, June 17 — With the rapid rise of the Chinese economy, buying overseas properties and investment migration have become the latest investment ideas for Chinese. According to a survey, among overseas investment projects buying property accounts for more than 40 percent, ranking first. Resettlement, improving the conditions of children’s education, investment, and going on a holiday are the main purposes of overseas investment, while quality of education, environmental pollution and food security are the main drivers behind emigration. As of 2013, China has become the world’s fourth largest source of migrants with 9.3 million emigrants. The United States, Canada and Australia are the three preferred destinations for Chinese people. But the latest trend shows that Europe is gradually become a new favorite.
According to “World Migration Report” released by the United Nations in 2013, the world’s migrant population reached 232 million, accounting for 4.2 percent of the total population. In 1990 China’s emigration reached 4.1 million, ranking seventh in the world; by 2013 the figure had risen to 9.3 million, behind only India, Mexico and Russia.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Extra Dutch Border Checks Net Over 100 ‘Migration Criminals’
Extra border controls in the run up to and during the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague in March led to over 100 people being held, junior justice minister Fred Teeven has told parliament.
These included people connected to ‘migration crime’ such as people smugglers, human traffickers and people with false papers, broadcaster Nos quoted Teeven as saying.
Over 1,250 officials were involved in the extra checks at airports, on the borders with Germany and Belgium and on the waterways.
Teeven also said people trying to come the Netherlands did not have proper papers. Some 30 of them requested asylum.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Immigrants Must Speak English and Should Have Access to Benefits Restricted, Say Britons …
Most people in Britain think immigrants should speak English and have their access to benefits restricted, but there is a ‘disconnect’ between politicians’ attitudes and public opinion on the issue, a survey has found…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Suspected Human Smuggler Arrested
Navy say man was caught with arriving migrants
(ANSA) — Taranto, June 17 — Police say a suspected human smuggler was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly arrived at an Italian port with a group of 1,205 migrants.
Waheb Abdel, 34, of Tunisia faces charges of aiding and abetting illegal immigration after Monday night’s landing.
Syrian migrants on the boat reportedly named Abdel and assisted police in putting together the activities of human traffickers between Libya and Tunisia.
The migrants reported that they had made a long journey, crossing the deserts of North Africa, before sailing from the Tunisian coast.
They said they paid up to $1,000 per person.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Londoners Back Migrants as Good for Economy
The capital’s residents are more likely than people from the rest of the country to view migration as good for the economy, according to a new survey.
54% of Londoners believe that immigration has benefited the economy compared to just 28% of those asked from the rest of the country, a British Social Attitudes survey from NatCen Social Research found…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
More EU Aid Possible Amid Italian Threat to Stop Migrant Rescues
BRUSSELS — The European Commission is open to requests for further financial assistance to member states under migratory pressure from people fleeing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East. “In 2014, the EC is ready to consider further requests for emergency assistance,” said a European commission spokesperson in an email.
Italy alone has rescued around 50,000 people since the start of the year, with death tolls continuing to mount. Last weekend, a reported 39 people in an overcrowded boat drowned off the coast of Libya.
Italy’s interior minister Angelino Alfano on Monday (16 June) warned Italian search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea would cease unless the EU intervenes, reports the BBC.
Alfano’s threats were made in Sicily where many of the migrants disembark.
A Kuwaiti oil tanker arrived in Sicily carrying another 356 migrants and one body shortly after Alfano’s remarks.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Political Class Ignore Strength of Feeling on Immigration ‘At Their Peril’
The ‘liberal political class’ dominating Britain is out of step with the mass of the electorate on immigration, major study warns
Politicians have contributed to a rise in anti-immigrant sentiment because of a widening “disconnect” between the “liberal political class” and public opinion, the UK’s most authoritative barometer of public opinion suggests.
Almost half the population now believes that a decade of mass migration has not only harmed the economy but undermined “British culture”, the annual British Social Attitudes survey shows…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
We Can’t Defeat Islamists. Instead, We Must Quarantine Them Until the Fires of Jihadism Burn Out
by Sean Thomas
Religion is all about stories. Here’s one.
John R Moyle was a Cornish convert to Mormonism, who lived in the 1890s in Alpine, Utah. This little town is about 22 miles from Salt Lake City — where Moyle was chief superintendent of masonry, during the construction of the great Mormon Temple…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Sean Thomas’ article (just above) is outstanding, if frightening.