Gates of Vienna News Feed 6/29/2014

The terrorist organization formerly known as ISIS or ISIL has declared itself to be the Caliphate in Iraq and Syria (and the rest of the Levant). From now on it wants to be known simply as the Islamic State, rather than the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria or the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. It has demanded the allegiance of Al Qaeda groups in the area.

In other news, the Islamic terror group Boko Haram murdered at least thirty people in attacks on churches in the vicinity of Chibok, Nigeria.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, 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.

Financial Crisis
» Eurozone Growth Stalls, France Lags, Deflation Threatens
» Italian Cosmetics Exports Booming in Spite of Crisis
» Italy: Pensioners to Lose Over 1,400 Euros Buying Power in 2014
» U.S. Economy Shrinks by Most Since Great Recession in 1 Quarter
 
USA
» As Muslims Celebrate Ramadan, Islam Grows in Brevard
» Hillary Clinton’s Money Problem
» Obama to Nominate Ex-Procter & Gamble Chief to Lead Troubled Veterans Agency
» Of Course the President is at the Heart of the IRS Crime
» Security Door Kills Girl, 3, At Ice Cream Shop
» Terror Investigation Leads to Major Drug Bust at New York Mosque
 
Europe and the EU
» Italian Firm to Make Giant Magnets for ITER Reactor
» Italian Companies Pay Over 110 Billion Euros Tax Per Year
» Italian Media Fail to Report Renzi EU Defeat, Says Grillo
» Italy: Tension Between Police and Anti-EU Demonstrators in Rome
» Italy is Europe’s Most Expensive Holiday Destination
» Large-Scale Fraud Uncovered in Italian Healthcare Sector
» Many Britons Believe EU Will Not Implement Crucial Reforms
» Norway: Magnus Carlsen’s Parents on Raising the World’s Best Chess Player
» Norway: Oslo’s Golden Ghettos
» Payment Cards Obligatory for Italian Firms From Monday
» Special CIA Unit Sent to UK to Investigate British Islamists
» Tottenham Ayatollah Omar Bakri’s Family Launch Bid to Him to be Give Asylum in Britain Over Claim He is Being ‘Tortured’ In Lebanon
» UK Mosques Launch Anti-Terror Campaign
» UK: ‘Angel of Woolwich’ Who Confronted Lee Rigby’s Killers Faces Police Quiz Over Racial Abuse Allegations
» UK: ‘Sadistic’ Burnley Dad Who Beat Terrified Daughter With a Ladle Spared Jail
» UK: £20,000 Needed to Repair Church After Thieves Steal Lead From Roof
» UK: Christian Suspended for Bullying Muslim by Giving Her Christian Book
» UK: Cardiff Jihadis: New Police Raids Over Suspected Syria Links
» UK: Cameron and Clegg’s Awkward Ramadan Mubarak Messages
» UK: Horror as Imam is Attacked on His Way Home From Mosque
» UK: MP Visits Nelson Mosque to Discuss Pakistan Clashes
» UK: Protest Held Against Planned Astley Bridge Mosque
» Vandals Deface Tatar Mosque With Graffiti in Poland
» Waiting for America
 
North Africa
» Egyptian Security Detain 172 Migrants Headed for Italy
» Egypt: Making Ends Meet
 
Israel and the Palestinians
» Israel ‘Ready’ To Launch Major Offensive on Gaza Militant Groups
» Israel Launches Airstrikes on a Dozen Hamas Sites in Gaza After Factory is Destroyed by Palestinian Bombs
» Netanyahu Orders State Agencies to Probe Ban of Islamic Movement
» Parents of Kidnapped Teens Visit Spot of Abduction Near Hebron
 
Middle East
» Demographic Upheaval: How the Syrian War is Reshaping the Region
» First Batch of Russian Su-24 Jets Arrives in Iraq
» Iranian Official Says ISIL Offensive a US Plot
» Iraq Crisis: ISIS Changes Name and Declares Its Territories a New Islamic State With ‘Restoration of Caliphate’ In Middle East
» Iraq Crisis: Tikrit Rebels ‘Push Back Iraq Army’
» Iraq: Thousands of Christians Flee to Kurdistan Region
» Iraq: Mosul Archbishop Says Iraq Christians Flee From ISIL Militants
» Iraq: ISIS Declare the Islamic Caliphate — Hype or a New Reality?
» ISIS Proclaims Islamic Caliphate in Iraq and Syria
» ISIS Crucifies Nine People in Syrian Villages
» Kurdish Prisoner in Iran Going Blind
» New Alliances Bring Old Enemies Together as ISIS Advances in Iraq
» Russia Rejects Rampant Terrorism in Arab Region
» Saudi King Issues Two Royal Orders
» Saudi Arabia: Riyadh Pledges to Confront Misuse of Religion
» Security Forces Battle Sunni Militants in Iraq
» Turkish Citizens Pay the Price of Government’s Faulty Foreign Policy
 
Russia
» Fighting Flares in Eastern Ukraine Despite Extended Ceasefire
 
South Asia
» Children Forced to Watch as Pakistani Couple Who Married for Love Were ‘Murdered as an Example’
» Pakistan Girl Burned Alive by Rejected Suitor
 
Far East
» China: International Community Lauds Xi’s Speech on Anniversary of Peace Principles
 
Australia — Pacific
» Perth Muslim Praises Extremists
 
Sub-Saharan Africa
» Boko Haram Suspected in Church Attacks That Kill 30 in Nigeria
» Islamist Rebels in Somalia Kill Three as Ramadan Starts
» Nigeria: Boko Haram Attacks Churches Near Chibook
» Nigerian Islamists Kill 10 in Churches Near Chibok
» Nigeria: Ramadan: Muslims to Channel Prayers Toward Peaceful Polls in 2015
» Nigeria Islamists Attack Villages, Church Near Chibok, 15 Dead
» Uganda: How Muslims Lost Property
 
Latin America
» Ruling Risks New Argentine Default as Monday Deadline Approaches
 
Immigration
» France: Marine Le Pen Calls for End to Dual Nationality After Algeria’s World Cup Celebrations Turn Violent
» Obama Asks Congress for 2 Billion for Immigrant Children
 
Culture Wars
» Italy: Gay Pride March Takes Palermo by Storm
 
General
» Ramadan 2014 Greetings From Politicians
 

Eurozone Growth Stalls, France Lags, Deflation Threatens

Europe’s fragile recovery is stalling, a batch of economic data showed this week, with analysts warning that France, with the eurozone’s second-biggest economy, could be slipping into another downturn.

Even the eurozone’s economic powerhouse Germany — whose performance is increasingly divergent from laggard France — is starting to show signs of slowing growth and posted the lowest inflation for four years at 0.9 percent.

This adds to concerns that the spectre of eurozone deflation is coming closer.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Italian Cosmetics Exports Booming in Spite of Crisis

‘Safe, effective, and fashionable’ says industry association

(ANSA) — Rome, June 25 — Italian cosmetics exports are thriving in spite of the economic downturn, Cosmetica Italia national makeup association said Wednesday.

The industry posted 3.176 million euros in exports in 2013, up by 11% over the previous year and equal to 34.2% of total turnover. This is because Italian cosmetics have a reputation as being safe, effective, and fashionable, according to Cosmetica.

“The most-loved product was eau de Cologne, with total sales of 558 million euros, up 14% in 2013”, said Cosmetica President Fabio Rossello.

Among these is Acqua di Parma, which launched its product in Indonesia in April and is being used by exclusive seven-star hotels and boutiques, according to Italian foreign trade commission ICE.

Cologne was followed by beauty creams with 565 million euros in sales and growth of 4.7%, while makeup exports went from 183 million euros in 2010 to 286 million in 2013, up 8.9%.

“The export growth doesn’t just depend on a global consumer recovery but also on quality, the safety of our formulas, constant investment in research and innovation, and our capacity to satisfy consumers in different continents”, Rossello explained.

The Italian cosmetics industry is made up of 1,500 firms, 1,000 of them exporters, according to ICE.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Pensioners to Lose Over 1,400 Euros Buying Power in 2014

(AGI) Rome, June 28 — Pensioners in Italy will lose an average of 1,419 euros in purchasing power in 2014, according to the president of retailers organisation Confesercenti, Marco Venturi. “That is more than 118 euros per month they have less to spend. Many households have come to rely on pensions as the only source of income during the crisis,” Venturi pointed out at a pensioners meeting.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

U.S. Economy Shrinks by Most Since Great Recession in 1 Quarter

The U.S. economy contracted at a much steeper pace than previously estimated in the first quarter, but there are indications that growth has since rebounded strongly.

The Commerce Department said on Wednesday gross domestic product fell at a 2.9 percent annual rate, the economy’s worst performance in five years, instead of the 1.0 percent pace it had reported last month.

While the economy’s woes have been largely blamed on an unusually cold winter, the magnitude of the revisions suggest other factors at play beyond the weather. Growth has now been revised down by a total of 3.0 percentage points since the government’s first estimate was published in April, which had the economy expanding at a 0.1 percent rate.

The difference between the second and third estimates was the largest on records going back to 1976, the Commerce Department said.

Economists had expected growth to be revised to show it contracting at a 1.7 percent rate. Sharp revisions to GDP numbers are not unusual as the government does not have complete data when it makes its initial and preliminary estimates.

The latest revisions reflect a weaker pace of healthcare spending than previously assumed, which caused a downgrading of the consumer spending estimate. Trade was also a bigger drag on the economy than previously thought.

The economy grew at a 2.6 percent pace in the final three months of 2013. With the first quarter in the rear view and the April-June period looking stronger, investors are likely to ignore the report.

Data such as employment, manufacturing and services sectors point to a sharp acceleration in growth early in the second quarter. However, the pace of expansion could fall short of expectations, which range as high as a 3.6 percent rate.

Economists estimate severe weather could have slashed as much as 1.5 percentage points from GDP growth in the first quarter. The government, however, gave no details on the impact of the weather.

Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, increased at a 1.0 percent rate. It was previously reported to have advanced at a 3.1 percent pace.

Exports declined at a 8.9 percent rate, instead of 6.0 percent pace, resulting in a trade deficit…

[…]

[Return to headlines]
 

As Muslims Celebrate Ramadan, Islam Grows in Brevard

Nearly 30 years ago, being Muslim in Melbourne meant quietly gathering in the living rooms of apartments for a moment of prayer or having to explain what sounded like a foreign, exotic religion to strangers…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Hillary Clinton’s Money Problem

Hillary Clinton is having a very hard time being rich.

After two weeks of verbal gaffes and unflattering headlines, Democratic operatives, political historians and counselors to the nation’s wealthy agree that Clinton’s current strategy — acting like she’s not incredibly rich and made her money the old-fashioned way — is not working and needs to change. Fast.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Obama to Nominate Ex-Procter & Gamble Chief to Lead Troubled Veterans Agency

President Obama intends on Monday to nominate Bob McDonald, a former chief of Procter & Gamble, to be the next secretary of veterans affairs, administration officials said Sunday afternoon.

Mr. Obama hopes that Mr. McDonald, a West Point graduate, can turn around an agency whose health system that has been rocked by allegations of mismanagement and cover-ups of long patient waiting times.

The president last month accepted the resignation of Eric Shinseki, the retired four-star general tapped in 2009 to lead the agency. By appointing Mr. McDonald, Mr. Obama is betting that a new leader can overcome deep bureaucratic problems and the mismanagament that stemmed, in part, from a surge in the number of veterans needing care.

[Return to headlines]
 

Of Course the President is at the Heart of the IRS Crime

It matters not what polling outfit poses the question, right at 75% of Americans believe the IRS purposely did something amiss with the Lois Lerner emails.

From President Obama on the IRS targeting matter…

“I first learned about this from the same news reports that I think most people learned about this.”

“This is pretty straightforward. If, in fact, IRS personnel engaged in the kind of practices that have been reported on and were intentionally targeting conservative groups, then that’s outrageous.”

“I’ve got no patience with it.”

“I will not tolerate it.”

“And they have to be held accountable, because the IRS as an independent agency requires absolute integrity and people have to have confidence that they’re applying it in a nonpartisan way — applying the laws in a nonpartisan way.”

“You should feel that way regardless of party — I don’t care whether you’re a Democrat, Independent, Republican.”

“I can tell you that if you’ve got the IRS operating in anything less than a neutral and nonpartisan way, then it is outrageous, it is contrary to our traditions, and people have to be held accountable and it’s got to be fixed.”

Shortly thereafter, with no facts whatsoever at hand, the President lumped the IRS crime into the “phony scandal” mix — along with Fast & Furious; Solyndra; Benghazi; NSA data collection; AP reporters snooping; et al.

And then as information began to show a picture of criminal activity, the President said, “…not even a smidgen of corruption…”.

As the case for crimes continues to build there is but one conclusion — a logical inference: The President of the United States, Barack Obama, is at the heart of the IRS crime (not a scandal).

For were the President true to his words and not involved he would have, without hesitation, long ago ordered the delivery of all materials (including all of Lois Lerner’s email — which experts say is still available) to investigative bodies. Period.

In fact, yesterday a computer duty expert commented the emails were absolutely available but finding them was simply a matter of “political will.” In other words, politicians (e.g., Barack Obama; Eric Holder; Harry Reid; Nancy Pelosi; et al. — party matters not — it just so happens Democrats, in this case, are party to crime and conspiracy) are without integrity.

And his Attorney General would be fully engaged (vice dismissing as a partisan witch hunt) to produce the email (and whatever else is relevant to truth).

And there certainly would not be need for Congress to offer handsome cash rewards to lure those who know where the email in question is and more relevant information still.

In America, lots of money works wonders (think lottery players). Soon someone will be rich. And truth there will be — the crime, though bad enough, will pale in contrast to the crimes committed to hide the crime.

Truth is black and white — but colorless.

[…]

[Return to headlines]
 

Security Door Kills Girl, 3, At Ice Cream Shop

A three-year-old girl has been killed at an ice cream shop after a metal security door fell on her.

Police and witnesses said the girl was at the Rita’s Water Ice store in north Philadelphia about 4.30pm (9.30pm UK time) on Saturday when the door suddenly came loose.

She was at the shop, in Girard Avenue in the city’s Brewerytown neighbourhood, for a sorority and fraternity fundraiser with her mother, according to reports.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Terror Investigation Leads to Major Drug Bust at New York Mosque

by Daniel Greenfield

The NYPD knew there was something going on at the Islamic Center of Flatbush. They thought it was terrorism. It turned out to be drugs…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Italian Firm to Make Giant Magnets for ITER Reactor

Massive international reactor being assembled in France

(ANSA) — Rome, June 25 — The European Union’s Fusion for Energy (F4E) organization has signed a five-year, one-billion-euro contract with Italian high-tech engineering company Simic SpA to produce key components of ITER, a massive nuclear fusion reactor being assembled in the south of France, F4E said in a statement Wednesday.

ITER (“the way” in Latin) is a large-scale scientific experiment to try to harness fusion energy as a sustainable long-term alternative to fossil fuels. Born at the Geneva Superpower Summit in November 1985, the ITER agreement was officially signed by China, the EU, Japan, India, Russia, South Korea, and the United States in France in 2006.

Together, these seven partners represent over half of the world’s population.

Simic will produce 10 toroidal field coils, or gigantic superconducting magnets whose main task will be to create a magnetic cage within which to confine the reactor’s superhot plasma, whose temperature is expected to reach 150 million degrees Celsius.

The challenge is to keep it burning without letting it touch the walls of the reactor. Each TF coil is 15 meters high, nine meters wide and 1.2 meters across. It weighs approximately 340 tonnes, the same as six Boeing 737-800 planes. Together, the reactor’s 18 TF coils will produce a magnetic field equal to 11.8 Tesla, or one million times as powerful as the Earth’s magnetic field, according to F4E.

Europe is responsible for manufacturing 10 out of ITER’s 18 TF coils.

“This is an impressive achievement that enhances the proven track record of our company and places Italian manufacturing among the most skilled in the world”, said Simic Commercial Manager Marianna Ginola.

“Thanks to this contract, the last and most decisive chapter of the TF coils manufacturing is about to be written. We will produce magnets of unprecedented size and power, following extremely complex techniques”, said F4E Director Henrik Bindslev.

Based in Barcelona, F4E was established under the Euratom Treaty by the European Council in 2007 for a period of 35 years.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italian Companies Pay Over 110 Billion Euros Tax Per Year

(AGI) Rome, June 28 — Italian companies pay 110.4 billion euros tax per year, according to the Italian economic studies office CGIA. The office emphasised that in Europe, only German companies pay more in absolute terms, and pointed out that Germany has 20 million more inhabitants.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Italian Media Fail to Report Renzi EU Defeat, Says Grillo

(AGI) Rome, June 29 — The founder of Italy’s Five Star Movement (M5S), Beppe Grillo, has accused the Italian media of giving prominence to Matteo Renzi’s utterings, and of failing to report Mr Renzi’s “first great defeat” in Brussels. Referencing Mark Twain’s remark about journalists being those who could distinguish truth from falsehood, yet published falsehoods, Mr Grillo said this was the system adopted by the Italian media, whose reporting of the latest European Council meeting was proof of this.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Tension Between Police and Anti-EU Demonstrators in Rome

(AGI) Rome, June 28 — A group of protesters taking part in the so-called “people’s counter EU semester” approached the police cordon preventing access to Piazza Venezia and Via IV Novembre in Rome, where demonstrators wanted to reach the EU head office in the Italian capital. Stopped by the riot police, some protesters cried out in anger, but tension was diffused as one of the organisers told the demonstrators to disperse, while promising they will keep the Italian government and institutions under pressure during Italy’s presidency semester.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Italy is Europe’s Most Expensive Holiday Destination

(AGI) Rome, June 29 — Italy is the most expensive holiday destination in Europe, according to a study from agricultural organisation Coldiretti. “Spending on hotels and restaurants is 10 percent higher than the European average,” the study reports. Italy is the most expensive Mediterranean tourist destination. The Coldiretti analysis, on the basis of Eurostat figures for 2013, shows that the prices domestic and foreign tourists have to pay is one of the main factors holding back tourism in Italy.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Large-Scale Fraud Uncovered in Italian Healthcare Sector

(AGI) Milan, June 28 — Police in Perugia have uncovered a large-scale fraud in the healthcare sector involving doctors, nurses and other health workers. A system of false hospital admissions lost the treasury more than 1,200,000 euros. Over 800 people have been reported for aggravated fraud.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Many Britons Believe EU Will Not Implement Crucial Reforms

(AGI) London, June 29 — A YouGov survey has shown that 71 percent of British citizens do not believe that the European Union (EU) will carry out the reforms that Prime Minister David Cameron believes to be crucial. Some 42 percent of respondents do not believe the EU will be prepared to hand back any powers to member states, and another 29 percent think any concessions won by Britain will only be minor. Mr Cameron has pledged to renegotiate Britain’s terms of membership with the EU before holding a referendum on whether to leave or stay in the Union in 2017.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Norway: Magnus Carlsen’s Parents on Raising the World’s Best Chess Player

The family of the unmatched chess prodigy gave him time to find his passion, but never went easy on him

By Alex Clark

HOW DO YOU SPOT a chess prodigy? Is there a moment—perhaps when he makes a boldly brilliant move out of nowhere or plasters his bedroom with pinups of Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov—when it all becomes clear?

Well, that wasn’t quite how it happened for Henrik Carlsen and Sigrun Öen, parents of 23-year-old Magnus Carlsen, the Norwegian who became a grandmaster at 13 and the youngest-ever world No. 1 at 19, and whose peak World Chess Federation rating (2,882) is the highest in history. Last November, Carlsen defeated Viswanathan Anand to become the World Chess Champion, a title he will defend against Anand later this year in a yet-to-be-decided location—possibly Norway.

Carlsen’s route to chess took a little longer than his subsequent stellar progression might suggest. Henrik, 52, a keen chess player himself, remembers introducing the game to Magnus and his older sister, Ellen, now 25, when his son was turning 5. But after a month or two, Henrik says, “I gave up, basically, in the sense that we continued to play chess occasionally, but I didn’t have any ambitions.” He knew that legendary players such as Capablanca and Kasparov had understood the game—he clicks his fingers—”just like that.” Magnus and his sister, he says, “learned the rules quickly, and they could capture a piece, but to get two or more pieces working together, which is what chess is about, this spatial vision took a long time.”…

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Norway: Oslo’s Golden Ghettos

Lots of large cities are split up demographically in richer and poorer districts. But Norway’s capital is something else.

In the media the issue of the ghettoization of Oslo usually refers to sections of town where lots of immigrants and low-income and groups dwell.

The sociologists Jørn Ljunggren and Patrick Lie Andersen were surprised when they analysed the income and residential patterns in the capital over a longer period.

The results showed that the rich and resourceful residents of the city live in a more segregated way than other groups.

The researchers’ analyses showed that the upper crust has withdrawn and segregated itself the most since 1980.

A division within the West Side

The researchers also found an east-west subdivision within the West Side.

They checked out the addresses of people like professors, editors and museum directors — people with plenty of cultural resources. They live on the eastern side of the West Side.

Long tradition of class divisions

Oslo has a long history of economic and social separations. Traditionally the rich have lived on the West Side and the working class and low income groups have lived on the East Side.

But few systematic studies have investigated how class.separated the city is over a longer period. This is what the sociologists decided to do.

Using figures from Statistics Norway, they charted all Oslo youth aged 15 to 18 in the year 1980, and in the period 1993 to 2005.

They compared their parents’ incomes based on tax records. This data was correlated with information from Statistics Norway’s census and registration of residences.

The researchers found that the division between East and West in Oslo has remained stable.

Oslo stands apart

Ljunggren works at the University of Oslo and Andersen is connected with the social research institute NOVA. They have started to make comparable analyses of other large Norwegian cities.

While these are incomplete, the researchers have already concluded that Oslo is unique in Norway with regard to segregation. Indeed it would be hard to split up the population any more distinctly into neighbourhoods dominated by kindred class and educational levels.

Oslo also has a clearer geographical division between rich and poor city districts than just about any other city in Europe.

The researchers also wish to focus on what they call the “golden ghettos”. If Norway hopes to reduce class distinctions, efforts must be made to get a better mix of people in the golden ghettos just as much as the traditional East Side ghettos.

Harmful ghetto developments

A ghetto is not just a concentration of poor people or immigrants with little formal education, low incomes and insufficient social resources.

“We understand how the consequences can be bad when a neighbourhood lacks a certain minimum of resourceful people. But there are similar negative consequences when the rich are all concentrated in the same neighbourhood,” says Jørn Ljunggren.

“The very poorest and the very richest see very little of one another in today’s Oslo.”

“But it is primarily the wealthiest people who live on their own and never mingle with the poorest people in Oslo’s East Side districts.”

Housing market plays a key role

[…]

[Return to headlines]
 

Payment Cards Obligatory for Italian Firms From Monday

(AGI) Rome, June 29 — Businesses and self-employed workers in Italy will be legally obliged to accept payment cards for sums over 30 euros as of Monday. According to estimates by the CGIA economic studies office, “on a significant sample of Italian lending institutions, a business with 100,000 euros in annual revenue, with a POS device would, between monthly and annual fees and percentage fees on its takings, incur an average yearly cost of 1,200 euros”.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Special CIA Unit Sent to UK to Investigate British Islamists

Washington takes concerns over Islamism in Britain into its own hands, concerned that ISIS influence can spread to the West.

As more and more world leaders are becoming frustrated over the unchecked growth of radical Islam in the UK, the Obama administration has taken the unusual action of sending intelligence agents to Britain to take matters into their own hands and evaluate the threat posed to the west from UK-based extremists, according to the Daily Mail…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Tottenham Ayatollah Omar Bakri’s Family Launch Bid to Him to be Give Asylum in Britain Over Claim He is Being ‘Tortured’ In Lebanon

Extremist preacher Omar Bakri Mohammad will not be allowed back into Britain, the Government has insisted amid reports he intends to claim asylum in the UK.

The radical Islamic cleric faces the death sentence for running a terror cell in Lebanon and claims he has been tortured, according to reports. Family members have said they are launching an urgent appeal to allow him back into Britain under asylum laws but the Home Office has ruled out a return…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK Mosques Launch Anti-Terror Campaign

London: To check radicalisation, mosques across Britain have joined hands to call on young Muslims citizens to stay away from the civil war in Syria.

Imams involved in the nationwide anti-terror campaign are instead encouraging donations to Syrian cause through legitimate charities. Their message coincides with the holy month of Ramadan, which began this weekend…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: ‘Angel of Woolwich’ Who Confronted Lee Rigby’s Killers Faces Police Quiz Over Racial Abuse Allegations

Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, 49, faces an investigation over an alleged incident at her local Tesco store

The woman dubbed the Angel of Woolwich after she confronted Lee Rigby’s killers is to be quizzed by police over claims she racially abused a Tesco pharmacist.

Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, 49, received national acclaim for calmly talking to armed Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale after the soldier’s slaying in the street. But the cub scout leader now faces a police investigation over an alleged incident at her local store.

Ms Loyau-Kennett was said to have had a row with a black pharmacist as customers looked on. It was claimed she told the man he should not be allowed in England and should be working in Nigeria.

Security guards were called and she was marched out of the building in Helston, Cornwall, on Friday…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: ‘Sadistic’ Burnley Dad Who Beat Terrified Daughter With a Ladle Spared Jail

A ‘SADISTIC’ Burnley dad who beat his terrified daughter ‘up to 40 times’ with a ladle for not reading the holy book, has been spared jail.

The 46-year-old man had told the girl to bend over before ordering her brother to hit her 120 times with the weapon. He had then taken the spoon off the boy and repeatedly struck the 10-year-old victim as she sobbed and gasped for breath. The defendant, said to have also kicked the child in the hip, back and stomach, threatened the girl’s mother with violence after she tried to intervene.

He then said he was going to Pakistan and left the house, the town’s magistrates had earlier heard…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: £20,000 Needed to Repair Church After Thieves Steal Lead From Roof

A CHURCH is appealing for people to get behind its fundraising campaign to help pay for £20,000 of roof repairs after it was damaged by lead thieves.

The congregation of St James Church in Lower Leigh Road, Daisy Hill, were left reeling when thieves scaled the church and took lead from the roof in three separate raids in November and December last year…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Christian Suspended for Bullying Muslim by Giving Her Christian Book

If a Muslim had given a Christian coworker a book about Islam, do you think he or she would have been suspended for nine months for “bullying”? No, I don’t, either. Proselytizing for Christianity is not illegal in Britain. It is only illegal under Islamic law. The anxiousness of British officials to appease and accommodate Islamic supremacism has long ago shaded over into outright ludicrousness, although the laughter is muted by the spectacle of a dying nation and civilization.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Cardiff Jihadis: New Police Raids Over Suspected Syria Links

by Andrew Gilligan

Anti-terrorist officers investigating who recruited Nasser Muthana to join Isis raid address in Midlands

Anti-terror police staged co-ordinated raids connected to an “ongoing Syria-related investigation” last week as the authorities investigate links between the Cardiff jihadis and a suspected jihadi recruiter in the West Midlands.

Officers from the West Midlands counter-terrorism unit raided addresses in King’s Heath, south Birmingham, and Maida Vale, London, on Wednesday…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Cameron and Clegg’s Awkward Ramadan Mubarak Messages

by Raheem Kassam

It’s that time of the year again — where Prime Minister David Cameron and his Deputy Nick Clegg try to appeal to Muslim voters by awkwardly wishing them “Ramadan Mubarak”. Don’t believe me?

Watch the cringeworthy videos below, and listen to the strain in Cameron and Clegg’s voices as they try in some sort of pidgin accent to say, “Ramm-er-dan. Moob-aa-rack”…

[Reader comment by ViolentElizabeth on 29 June 2014.]

Sickening. These people are beyond contempt.

Anybody who continues to support these traitors should be ashamed of themselves…you are supporting people who are DESTROYING YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR WAY OF LIFE.

[Reader comment by ludo on 29 June 2014.]

So the tax payer is funding ramadan (2:22). Multiculturalism is still thriving under the Tories. And in London, Britishness is seen as a weakness to be exorcised by religion.

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Horror as Imam is Attacked on His Way Home From Mosque

A PROMINENT member of Burton’s Muslim community was left with a broken nose and had two teeth knocked out following an attack outside his home. Staffordshire Police confirmed a report of an attack on an Imam — named by the Muslim community as Hafiz Ramzan — in Uxbridge Street…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: MP Visits Nelson Mosque to Discuss Pakistan Clashes

PENDLE MP Andrew Stephenson has called for a ‘full, independent inquiry’ into clashes between police and protesters in Lahore that has left eight people dead.

Mr Stephenson was invited to Friday prayers last week at the Jamia Masjid Minhaj-ul-Quran Mosque, in Brunswick Street, Nelson, to talk about the incident.

Violence erupted outside the Minhaj-ul-Quran headquarters in Lahore two weeks ago. Mr Stephenson said: “I was invited to address Friday prayers to talk about what happened in Lahore this week. I signed a petition outside the mosque ahead of Friday prayers.

“I raised what happened in Lahore in the House of Commons. What happened has had a big impact on the Muslim community in Pendle as two Mosques (Carr Road and Brunswick Street) are run by the Minhaj-ul-Quran organisation…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Protest Held Against Planned Astley Bridge Mosque

PROTESTERS took to the steps of Bolton Town Hall to rally against plans to build a new mosque in Astley Bridge.

More than 100 campaigners, who insisted they were not representatives of any political party, demonstrated in Victoria Square today…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Vandals Deface Tatar Mosque With Graffiti in Poland

Varsovie: Vandals have defaced a mosque in a Tatar region of eastern Poland with graffiti, a local community leader said on Sunday.

“On the eastern side you see a pig — an insulting symbol for our community and our religion — and other insults,” Bronislaw Talkowski, the president of the Tatar community in the village, told a local radio station…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Waiting for America

[…]

The Telegraph put it this way: “One step closer to quitting Europe” — if Cameron can. But maybe he can’t. The EU is the Mother of All Obamacare schemes, the giant pot of taxpayer money that no one can seem to walk away from. The Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova at least, have proved their inability to resist its pull, at least in part because the alternative was absorption into the Putin Black Hole.

All over the world, from Vienna to Washington, giant bureaucracies are rising: in Beijing, the re-forming Caliphate, EU and even Putin’s ramshackle ‘Eurasianist’ empire. They are asserting a kind of hegemony over the planet that brooks no refusal. Everybody’s building empires and in many ways the West with its drones and technical surveillance feels no different from the Stasi. Nor do they shy from each other. Kerry’s talking to the Saudis, the Saudis are talking to al-Qaeda, the Turks are talking to Isis. It’s all one big happy family where the only ones unwelcome are the populations for whom government is supposed to be for. The world belongs to the elite, to the cosmopolitans, to the people bored with making money.

From Obama’s point of view his main frustration must be his inability to match the expansionary efforts of his rivals. No wonder he hates the Republican Congress so; without their narrow minded obstruction he might already be a Herman von Rompuy.

And who’s resisting the trend towards gigantism? Nobody but a ragtag UKIP here and tattered Tea Party there. Rubin writes, “Europe certainly needs a genuine conservative movement to combat the creeping bureaucratic collectivism that is stifling the human potential of the Continent.” That it does, but where are they going to come from? In days past there were White Hats among the Black. Maybe there will be again. But right now the only obvious choices are between Bad and Badder. Like the late 1930s, all the chic people today are fans of the “virile” messiahs which are pretty much a drug on the market.

If you want to make a fashion statement today, wear a keffiyeh. If you want to be investigated for a hate crime, fly an American Flag or better yet, wear one as a t-shirt logo to school. The sleek black uniform and boots of the anarchist or the do-rag of the Muslim militant is in. Wave the Red Flag or the Black Flag, and you’re edgy. Wave the American Flag — now there’s a bigot.

Today we are witnessing a revival of glamour of authoritarianism unequaled since the dark days of the Second World War…

[Return to headlines]
 

Egyptian Security Detain 172 Migrants Headed for Italy

(AGI) Cairo, June 29 — Egyptian security forces detained 172 migrants on Sunday morning in the town of Rashid in the northwestern Nile delta. The migrants were headed for Italy, intending to take a boat across the Mediterranean, the official news agency Mena reported. The group comprised 50 Egyptians, 92 Syrians, 27 Sudanese, one Palestinian, one Chadian and one Eritrean, each of whom reportedly paid 4,000 U.S. dollars for the voyage.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Egypt: Making Ends Meet

Demand for food products famously increases during Ramadan — which this year starts on Saturday or Sunday — as families gather throughout the month to break the fast.

A survey conducted by Visa International found that Egyptians spend 50 per cent more during Ramadan than at any other time of the year. The increase in demand for food commodities, including meat, is around 25-30 per cent, says former minister of supply Mohamed Abu Shadi, and “this is usually accompanied by an increase in prices even in state-controlled retailers”.

This year any Ramadan-related prices hikes will come on top of soaring prices. According to Central Bank of Egypt’s statistics food inflation has been running at 15.5 per cent during the first five months of the year. In a country where poverty and overall inflation rates stand at 26 per cent 13.4 per cent respectively the holy month can come as an intolerable burden on many family budgets.

This year, though, after the state-owned Holding Company for Food industries was removed from the Ministry of Investment and affiliated to the Ministry of Supply, seasonal price hikes will be limited, says Abu Shadi.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Israel ‘Ready’ To Launch Major Offensive on Gaza Militant Groups

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, warns of large-scale response to increase in rocket fire from Gaza

Israel is prepared to a launch a renewed large-scale offensive against militant groups in Gaza in response to an increase in rocket fire from the tiny coastal territory, the country’s leadership said on Sunday.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, led the warnings after the Israeli air force hit up to a dozen targets in Gaza on Sunday in the latest in a series of raids conducted in recent days. The strikes came after one of six missiles fired from Gaza on Saturday hit a paint factory in Sderot, an Israeli border town, setting it ablaze and forcing four workers to flee the site…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Israel Launches Airstrikes on a Dozen Hamas Sites in Gaza After Factory is Destroyed by Palestinian Bombs

Israel today carried out bombing raids on the Gaza Strip in revenge for a rocket attack on a factory by Islamic militants Hamas.

The country’s foreign minister also suggested it might be necessary to re-occupy the territory in a bid to stop the continuous low-level attacks from Palestinian militias. The latest airstrikes come at a time of high tensions in the region, after three Israeli teenagers were apparently kidnapped by Hamas…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Netanyahu Orders State Agencies to Probe Ban of Islamic Movement

Premier denounces Israeli Arab demonstrators who voiced support for kidnapping IDF soldiers; Islamic Movement: This is a declaration of war.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu directed the relevant authorities on Sunday to weigh the possibilities of outlawing the Islamic Movement’s Northern Branch, following a protest Friday in Umm el-Fahm that was accompanied by calls to kidnap IDF soldiers…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Parents of Kidnapped Teens Visit Spot of Abduction Near Hebron

The parents of the three kidnapped teenagers who were abducted presumably by Palestinian militants 17 days ago visited the spot on Sunday where they were taken captive near Hebron…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Demographic Upheaval: How the Syrian War is Reshaping the Region

by Pinhas Inbari

The current political and military upheavals in the Middle East are producing new and far-reaching demographic realities.

The communities in Syria are consolidating as the Alawite-Shiite components gain strength; the Sunnis are leaving for Lebanon and undermining Hizbullah’s status; in Jordan the relative weight of the Palestinians has declined and the “Jordan is Palestine” threat has diminished; and the West Bank is undergoing emigration pressures which will certainly be copied in Gaza if emigration is allowed.

Some minority communities in the Levant and in Libya are expressing a positive attitude toward Israel and repudiating pan-Arabism.

Syria is being transformed from a Sunni to a Shiite country not only demographically but also in religious terms.

The Syrian ethnic-cleansing policy also includes the Palestinians in Syria. The regime is systematically destroying the refugee camps in Syria as one way to “cause (Sunni) emigration.”

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

First Batch of Russian Su-24 Jets Arrives in Iraq

The first ten Russian Sukhoi (Su-24) fighter jets arrived in Iraq on Saturday, the country’s Defense Ministry said. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is hoping the jets will make a key difference in the fight against ISIS.

“The fighter jets landed today in the morning on different military airfields,” MP Abbas al-Bayati told Iraqi media.

The official spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, Mohammed al-Askari, also confirmed the information, Al Iraqiya TV channel reported.

The fighter jets will be stationed at an airbase located in the southern part of the country, PressTV reported, citing military sources.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Maliki revealed that Iraq purchased jets from Russia and Belarus in order to help its fight against Sunni militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS/ISIL).

At the same time, Maliki criticized the US for taking too long to deliver on its own contract after Iraq purchased F-16 jets from America.

On Friday, Iraqi Air Force Commander Hameed al-Maliki confirmed the shipment of MI-35 and MI-28 Russian helicopter fighters to “keep the momentum” in the attacks against ISIS, Ruptly reported.

The commander said that he signed three contracts with the Russians and stressed the importance of the choppers as “excellent anti-terrorism weapons.”

The radical Sunni Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS or ISIL) has taken large parts of the country’s north from the Shia government.

Hundreds of Iraqi soldiers have been killed by insurgents since the Sunni militants began their offensive on June 9, according to Iraqi forces.

The United Nations says more than 1,000 people — mainly civilians — have been killed during the surge thus far.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Iranian Official Says ISIL Offensive a US Plot

The US and its allies are behind the rising threat of Islamist militants in the Middle East, an Iranian general charged Saturday, declaring that Iran would react aggressively to any threats to its borders.

The comments by Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brig. Gen. Masoud Jazayeri come less than two weeks after the US and Iran discussed the possibility of joining forces to thwart the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Iraq Crisis: ISIS Changes Name and Declares Its Territories a New Islamic State With ‘Restoration of Caliphate’ In Middle East

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) has reportedly declared the areas it occupies in Iraq and Syria as a new Islamic state, removing Iraq and the Levant from its name and ushering in “a new era of international jihad”.

The announcement will see the Isis now simply refer to itself as The Islamic State, and the group has called on al-Qa’ida and other related militant Sunni factions operating in the region to immediately pledge their allegiance.

According to Isis’s chief spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, the declaration of the “restoration of the caliphate” was made after a meeting of the group’s Shura Council. In recent weeks, Isis has captured large areas of western and northern Iraq and for two years has held parts of Syria, imposing a harsh interpretation of Islamic law and in many cases, killing large numbers of opposition Shia Muslims.

Adnani said all jihadist organisations must now offer up their support to Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who has been declared Caliph of the new state.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Iraq Crisis: Tikrit Rebels ‘Push Back Iraq Army’

Reports from Iraq say government troops trying to retake the city of Tikrit from Sunni militants have pulled back to the town of Dijla, 25km to the south, following a failed assault involving tanks, armoured vehicles and air cover.

According to the reports, heavy fighting led to casualties on both sides…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Iraq: Thousands of Christians Flee to Kurdistan Region

by Rana Zebari

Following the attacks carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) in and around Mosul, the insurgents entered the Christian town of Qaraqosh, forcing thousands to flee to the Kurdistan Region.

“We were all asleep, we woke to the sound of shelling. Once we woke up, without thinking, we immediately got into our cars and moved to Ankawa in Erbil where most of the Christians and our relatives live,” one of the internally displaced persons (IDP) told BasNews.

The Representative of Qatar Red Crescent Organization Mohammed Tayfur Rahman told BasNews: “We have came to provide the most important needs such as water and we want to provide water for 8,000 people which is equal to 24,000 liters of water.”

“We held a meeting with the supervising committee in order to get the full number of those who have fled to Kurdistan Region. Now, we are working in 20 stations to help Qaraqosh IDPs,” said Rahman.

The Mayor of Ankawa Jalal Habib told BasNews: “after the shelling of Qaraqosh areas by ISIS, Christians started to flee to the Kurdistan Region. They stayed in Khazair Checkpoint, but after we contacted Kurdish officials, they allowed them to enter and settle in Ankawa.”

“With the help of officials in Erbil, some stations and schools were opened for these IDPs to settle in. We have provided basic needs with the help of other charity organizations including Barzani Charity Foundation, Chaldeans Charity Group, Rwanga, UNICEF, Qatar Red Crescent and others,” added Rahman.

He also mentioned that they were able to open schools for the Christian families because of the summer break, but hoped that the IDPs would soon return home as the area is now controlled and protected by the Peshmerga.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Iraq: Mosul Archbishop Says Iraq Christians Flee From ISIL Militants

Thousands of Iraqi Christians have fled from towns near Mosul this week, amid fighting in the region between security forces and an al-Qaeda splinter group, a senior cleric from the city said.

Many of the refugees have escaped to Kurdish-controlled cities including Erbil, Emile Shimoun Nona, the Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Mosul, said in a phone interview from Iraqi Kurdistan late yesterday. He said most of the Christians in Mosul itself, who amounted to about 1,200 families, had escaped earlier after the city fell to fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant on June 10.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement today that 10,000 Iraqis had fled from Christian regions into Kurdistan after mortar rounds landed near their town. Nona said he estimated as many as 50,000 Christians have left their homes, about 90 percent of them from the town of Hamdaniya near Mosul.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Iraq: ISIS Declare the Islamic Caliphate — Hype or a New Reality?

Osama Bin Laden’s dream is declared a reality, as the Islamic Caliphate is announced by the militants of Isis today, who also demand all other jihadi groups pledge allegiance.

Islamist militants in Iraq have declared the completion of their Islamic State, with a new Caliphate under their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Discarding their previous title of ISIS for the simpler IS, they claim that the new State stretches “from Aleppo to Diyala” on the outskirts of Baghdad…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

ISIS Proclaims Islamic Caliphate in Iraq and Syria

(AGI) Beirut, May 29 — The jihadists fighting in Syria and Iraq have proclaimed an “Islamic caliphate” in the territories between Aleppo in northern Syria and the governorate of Diyala in eastern Iraq. In an audio recording distributed on the web, the extremist group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) announced that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been appointed caliph and is now the leader of all Muslims wherever they are. The group then changed its name to the Islamic State.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

ISIS Crucifies Nine People in Syrian Villages

Crucifixions have been meted out by Isis across Syria as punishment to rebels

A man has survived being crucified by Isis in Syria, after the jihadists raided his village and nailed him to a cross for eight hours.

The unnamed man from Al-Bab, near the border with Turkey, was crucified as a punishment, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. He managed to survive the ordeal.

But eight others who received the same punishment did not survive. The men, from Deir Hafer in the east of Aleppo province, were subjected to the same treatment and crucified “in the main square of the village, where their bodies will remain for three days”, the Britain-based monitor said.

The men were reportedly rebels fighting against both President Bashar al-Assad and jihadist groups including Isis…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Kurdish Prisoner in Iran Going Blind

TORONTO, Canada—A female Kurdish prisoner in Iran who has reportedly been tortured and is now going blind is being denied proper healthcare, activists say.

Zeinab Jalalian’s eyesight has been deteriorating over the past several months and her physical and psychological health is deteriorating, human rights activists say. Jalalian, 32, is serving a life sentence in Kermanshah prison for enmity against God for belonging to the armed rebel Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), a charge she denies.

Prisoners have access to healthcare under Iranian law, but activists say prison officials are refusing to let her see an eye specialist outside of the prison. She has suffered torture, serious intestinal issues and eye problems since being imprisoned, “possibly as a result of blows to her head” Amnesty International reported.

Iranian and international human rights groups are calling for Jalalian to receive immediate medical treatment and for a new trial to be held. Amnesty reported that her trial in 2009 lasted only a few minutes and that she did not have a lawyer.

Jalalian was originally given the death penalty, but her sentence was reduced to life imprisonment in 2011. She has frequently gone on hunger strikes and has not been allowed family visits for over a year, according to Amnesty International.

Jalalian is from Maku, a town in the West Azerbaijan province of Iran. Human rights activists including the World Organization Against Torture have called for Jalalian’s release, noting that she did not have the right to cross-examine witnesses or have witnesses testify on her behalf.

US-based Kurdish activist Soraya Falah has called on Nobel Peace Prize winner and prominent Iranian lawyer Shirin Ebadi to advocate on Jalalian’s behalf.

Though vaguely worded, enmity against God, is no small crime in Iran. Kurdish prisoners including Farzad Kamangar, 32, Ehsan Fattahian, 28, and Fasih Yasmani, 28, were among those hanged for the crime, which human rights activists say is often politically motivated.

Other Kurdish political prisoners are living under dire conditions in Iranian prisons including Muhammad Sediq Kaboudvand, a Kurdish journalist who was convicted in 2007 of breaking numerous laws including “acting against national security” and “widespread propagation against the system.” He is serving a 10-year sentence.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

New Alliances Bring Old Enemies Together as ISIS Advances in Iraq

Iran, the US and even the Shia militias who fought the American invasion are turning uneasily to each other

The Syrian air force jets swooped in low over the Iraqi border, dropping two bombs before soaring back to Damascus. The insurgents beneath, caught unawares, were obliterated, but the several thousand more nearby had already got what they wanted — an 800km stretch of border with Iraq that gave them an open passage between both countries…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Russia Rejects Rampant Terrorism in Arab Region

Damascus, June 29 (IANS) Russia has rejected the unabated terrorism existing the Arab region, as the country’s visiting Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said here Saturday that his country will not stand idly toward the rampant terrorism in the region.

“Russia will not stand idly toward some groups’ attempts to spread terrorism in the region, including Syria and Iraq,” Xinhua quoted Ryabkov telling in a press conference in Damascus, without elaborating how his country would react to such issues…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Saudi King Issues Two Royal Orders

Jeddah-June28(BNA) Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud issued today a royal order relieving Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of his post as Deputy Defence Minister…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Saudi Arabia: Riyadh Pledges to Confront Misuse of Religion

Some people have been fooled by bogus calls not related to Islam, King Abdullah says

Manama: King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz said that Saudi Arabia would not allow “a handful of terrorists, misusing religion to serve their own interests, to terrorise Muslims or harm the nation”.

“We hereby declare that we will continue to confront and fight all forms of this menace that does not relate to Islam by any means. With determination, solidarity and cooperation of the sons of this great nation, we will eradicate this abrasion from its roots,” the King said in an address to the Saudi nation and Muslims as they welcomed Ramadan…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Security Forces Battle Sunni Militants in Iraq

BAGHDAD, June 29 (Xinhua) — Iraqi security forces on Sunday continued their clashed against Sunni militant groups in several provinces across the country, while the government received a boost in its battles against the militants with the arrival of five Sukhoi 25 jet fighters, security sources said…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Turkish Citizens Pay the Price of Government’s Faulty Foreign Policy

The foreign policy choices of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) regarding countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya and Syria are increasingly putting Turkish citizens’ lives at risk around the world as kidnappings become more commonplace and economic costs rise.

Eighty Turkish citizens, including the Turkish consulate-general and 31 truck drivers, were taken hostage in and around the Iraqi city of Mosul in early June by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), an al-Qaeda affiliate. The government has imposed a media blackout on reporting about the grave situation on the ground, saying that the opposition Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) — and “their media” — are putting Turkish lives in danger by criticizing the government and pushing Turkish officials to make provocative comments against ISIL.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Fighting Flares in Eastern Ukraine Despite Extended Ceasefire

KIEV (Reuters) — Fighting flared between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists around the eastern flashpoint city of Slaviansk on Sunday despite a truce extended until Monday night, a deadline also set by EU leaders considering new sanctions against Russia…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Children Forced to Watch as Pakistani Couple Who Married for Love Were ‘Murdered as an Example’

Five people — including father of the bride — arrested after honour killing of couple who wed without permission of their parents

A young couple murdered in Pakistan barely a week after they had married for love were killed as a warning to other girls not to marry without the permission of their parents, according to witnesses.

Residents of Satrah, Punjab, said relatives of the bride slit their throats and forced children to watch as they bled to death…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Pakistan Girl Burned Alive by Rejected Suitor

(AGI) Pakistan, June 29 — A young woman in Pakistan was burned alive after rejecting a marriage proposal. Police in the Toba Tek Singh district, in Punjab province, said they have arrested the man, who used a can of petrol to set the girl on fire after going to her house. The man reportedly went crazy after the rejection.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

China: International Community Lauds Xi’s Speech on Anniversary of Peace Principles

BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhua) — Foreign experts and scholars have highly commented on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s keynote speech delivered Saturday at a commemoration marking the 60th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence guiding international relations.

Ramesh Chopra, an Indian strategic analyst, said a six-point proposal put forward by Xi in his speech has significant meaning and will serve as the guidelines for world peace and development, as well as promotion of India-China relations for mutual benefits…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Perth Muslim Praises Extremists

A radical Perth preacher has praised militants responsible for beheadings and mass killings in Iraq and labelled Christians and Jews filthy rapists.

In a series of online postings and videos Junaid Thorne, 24, has called on Muslims to defend their religion.

Junaid, who spent much of his youth in Saudi Arabia, sits in front of the black flag of al-Qaida breakaway group ISIS and calls on young Australian Muslims to reject their moderate leaders…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Boko Haram Suspected in Church Attacks That Kill 30 in Nigeria

At least 30 people were killed after suspected Boko Haram extremists attacked churches today near Chibok in Nigeria’s northeast Borno state where more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted, a vigilante group leader said…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Islamist Rebels in Somalia Kill Three as Ramadan Starts

MOGADISHU (Reuters) — Islamist rebels shot dead three members of Somalia’s security forces in the capital on Sunday, police and witnesses said on the first day of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month when insurgents had warned they would stage attacks…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Nigeria: Boko Haram Attacks Churches Near Chibook

(AGI) Maiduguri, June 29 — The extreme Islamist group Boko Haram has used bombs and guns to attack several churches in Nigeria’s northeastern state of Borno, local witnesses said.

The churches are some 10 kilometres from Chibook, the village where 276 girls were seized on Apr. 14, over 200 of whom are still missing.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Nigerian Islamists Kill 10 in Churches Near Chibok

(AGI) Maiduguri (Nigeria), June 29 — Members of Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamist group are suspected of killing at least 10 people in several churches in the northeastern State of Borno, eyewitnesses reported. This is the latest of a long series of attacks against a village only 5 kilometres from Chibok, the town where 276 girls were kidnapped on Apr. 14, 219 of whom are still held captive.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Nigeria: Ramadan: Muslims to Channel Prayers Toward Peaceful Polls in 2015

Muslims in Ikole Ekiti, Ekiti, on Sunday, said they would channel their prayers toward peaceful conduct of the 2015 general elections in the country as the 2014 holy month of Ramadan begun…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Nigeria Islamists Attack Villages, Church Near Chibok, 15 Dead

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, June 29 (Reuters) — Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 15 people on Sunday in an attack on two Nigerian villages, including one targeting worshippers at a church, a few kilometres (three miles) from Chibok, the scene of a mass abduction of more than 200 school girls…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Uganda: How Muslims Lost Property

In the first of a three-part series, The Observer reports on the 60-page Joint Muslim Committee (JMC) investigation report unveiled on June 14, which chronicles the genesis and escalation of wrangles in Uganda’s Muslim community.

Chapter 3 of the report lays out how the Muslim community accumulated its properties and how it lost it bit by bit, leading to a bitter conflict within the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council leadership (UMSC) and the wider Muslim community.

Below are excerpts of the report…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Ruling Risks New Argentine Default as Monday Deadline Approaches

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. must return a $539 million deposit from Argentina intended for restructured bondholders, a U.S. judge ruled, calling the transfer an “explosive action” that disrupted potential settlement talks with holders of defaulted debt.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa in New York has ruled that Argentina can’t pay holders of its restructured debt without also paying more than $1.5 billion to a group of defaulted bondholders, raising the possibility of a new default as the South American nation approaches a June 30 payment deadline.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

France: Marine Le Pen Calls for End to Dual Nationality After Algeria’s World Cup Celebrations Turn Violent

Marine Le Pen has said that riotous celebrations in France of Algeria’s triumph in a World Cup match are proof of failing immigration policies

Clashes between police and football fans across France after Algeria’s win over Russia in a World Cup match are proof that the country’s immigration policy has failed, Marine Le Pen has claimed — as she called for a ban on French citizens holding double nationality.

“This is the demonstration of the total failure of immigration policy in our country, of the refusal to assimilate by a certain number of binationals,” said Miss Le Pen, the leader of the far-Right anti-immigrant Front National. “They must choose: they are Algerian or French, Moroccan or French, they can’t be both,” she told iTele news channel…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]
 

Obama Asks Congress for 2 Billion for Immigrant Children

(AGI) Washington DC, June 29 — U.S. President Barack Obama has asked Congress to allocate 2 billion dollars to deal with the endless stream of immigrant children from Central and South America arriving alone at the U.S. border. The funds are to be used to provide assistance first and then to carry out repatriation operations.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Gay Pride March Takes Palermo by Storm

(AGI) Palermo, June 28 — A succession of 10 colourful floats headed the Gay Pride procession in Palermo, which left from Piazza Marina and cut through the city centre to Piazza Verdi, where the Teatro Massimo was illuminated in a rainbow effect.

Those present included Governor Rosario Crocetta, who had previously promised to carry Sicily’s Trinacria flag and spoke about gay power and the fact that being homosexual could be an advantage in carrying out public service.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Ramadan 2014 Greetings From Politicians

by Rachel Molschky

Every year politicians send their warm greetings for Ramadan to their Muslim constituents. But the messages from the Muslim world differ greatly from the messages from Western politicians, who are more concerned with soothing egos and pretending that Islam is the “religion of peace” than with addressing any real issues. Yet the messages from those in the Middle East are not sugar-coated in the same way. While they too pretend that “true” Islam is peaceful, they are not afraid to talk about the violence…

           — Hat tip: JP [Return to headlines]