The Austrian Constitutional Court has ruled that irregularities in May’s presidential election are of sufficient magnitude that the results are invalid, and a new election must be held. The vote is expected to occur sometime in late September.
In other news, an unofficial meeting between Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton caused controversy due to an appearance of impropriety, given that Ms. Lynch’s department is currently conducting a criminal investigation of Mr. Clinton’s wife. In response to all the furor, Ms. Lynch announced that she would implement the recommendations of the FBI and federal prosecutors about whether or not Mrs. Clinton should be indicted for criminal mishandling of top-secret government emails during her tenure as Secretary of State.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to AF, Dean, Fjordman, MC, MM, Nash Montana, Nick, Reader from Chicago, Vlad Tepes, 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.
Puerto Rico Defaults Amid Hopes for US Rescue
Puerto Rico has suspended all payments on its multi-billion dollar debt after US President Barack Obama signed a law creating a federal oversight board to negotiate the restructuring of the island’s arrears.
Puerto Rico’s governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla announced Thursday that his administration had stopped all payments on the country’s massive debt to the tune of $70 billion (63 billion euros). The announcement came just one day before the US territory was due to make $1.9 billion worth of debt payments on July 1, including some $780 million in constitutionally-backed, general obligation bonds (GO).
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Attorney General Pledges to Accept FBI and Justice Findings in Clinton Email Probe
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said Friday that she would accept recommendations from career prosecutors and FBI agents leading the probe into the use of a private email server by Hillary Clinton during her time as secretary of state — though she stopped short of fully removing herself or other political appointees from the case.
The announcement from Lynch was a clear attempt to quiet mounting criticism that she — as the head of the Justice Department in a Democratic administration — cannot be trusted to oversee the probe of the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. While she did not promise a full recusal — saying that “would mean I wouldn’t even be briefed on what the findings were” — she seemed to confirm that she would not veto whatever was proposed to her by those investigating the case.
Lynch said officials would develop a chronology of what happened and provide recommendations on what to do, including “the final determination as to how to proceed.”
“I will be accepting their recommendations,” she said…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Black Lives Matter Leader Warns Clinton of Convention Protests
A leader of the Black Lives Matter movement warns that activists are prepared to protest the platform at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia next month, citing the congressional sit-in on the House floor last week over gun control as a possible model.
“There are two things that I’m mindful of: One is that I’ve not seen a draft or a final version of the platform from the Democratic convention committee, and I think that will have a big bearing on how people mobilize,” DeRay Mckesson told Capital Download. “The second is that Congress just sat in, so it’ll be interesting to see how the DNC responds to people in protest, given that congressmen literally just sat in and they seemed to validate that.”
His comments signal that Republican Donald Trump isn’t the only candidate who has to worry about disruptions and demands from within the party at its national convention.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Chuck Norris’ Son Poisoned at Amerigeddon Movie Showing in Ohio
VERO BEACH, FL (TRUNEWS) Mike Norris, son of television celebrity and martial arts expert Chuck Norris, says he was poisoned by a mysterious man following the showing of his new film Amerigeddon.
In an exclusive interview with TRUNEWS, film director Mike Norris said he spoke to the audience that attended on Sunday a showing of Amerigeddon in Columbus, Ohio.
Amerigeddon’s plot involves a top secret plot by a U.S. government agency and the United Nations to attack the U.S. energy grid. The movie depicts the U.S.A. ruled under martial law in which citizens are stripped of their constitutional rights and firearms. The coup d’état is overthrown by patriots who fight back to rescue America from irreversible chaos.
Billionaire Gary Haevin, founder of Curves fitness chain and CEO of Jenny Craig, provided much of the funding for the production of the movie.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Clock Boy Ahmed Mohamed on Life in Qatar, What He’s Learned About Hate
After photos of Ahmed in handcuffs went viral, a national uproar began about the treatment of Muslims in the U.S. and made him think about how he could use the incident to teach others.
“I want to help change Texas for a better state, and I hope that not just for Texas, but the entire world,” Ahmed said this week from Irving, where he’s returned for the summer. “People sometimes don’t want to admit their mistakes, and sometimes the best thing to do is to help them change.”
| — Hat tip: Nash Montana | [Return to headlines] |
Film Academy Broadens Voting Pool After Oscars Criticism
LOS ANGELES — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited many more minorities and women to join on Wednesday as the first major step in reshaping its membership after the #OscarsSoWhite controversy this year.
The announcement of the unusually large new class — more than twice last year’s number — followed a January pledge by the academy to double its female and minority membership by 2020 after it failed to nominate any minority actors for an Oscar for the second year in a row.
By the academy’s count, 46 percent of this year’s 683 invitees are women, and 41 percent are minorities.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Forced Diversity Training Backfires, Claims Harvard Study
Diversity might be a good thing, but forced training in tolerance not only fails in the business world, it backfires, according to a new Harvard study.
Managers sent to mandatory diversity training sessions often come away resenting the very groups they are being encouraged to accept, according to the study, entitled “Why Diversity Programs Fail,” and published in the latest edition of Harvard Business Review. It gets even worse when threats and punishments are imposed to ensure participation, the study found.
“People often respond to compulsory courses with anger and resistance,” wrote authors Frank Dobbin, a professor of sociology at Harvard and Alexandra Kalev, a professor of social sciences at Tel Aviv University. “Your organization will become less diverse, not more.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gut Bacteria Spotted Eating Brain Chemicals for the First Time
Bacteria have been discovered in our guts that depend on one of our brain chemicals for survival. These bacteria consume GABA, a molecule crucial for calming the brain, and the fact that they gobble it up could help explain why the gut microbiome seems to affect mood.
Philip Strandwitz and his colleagues at Northeastern University in Boston discovered that they could only grow a species of recently discovered gut bacteria, called KLE1738, if they provide it with GABA molecules. “Nothing made it grow, except GABA,” Strandwitz said while announcing his findings at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Boston last month.
GABA acts by inhibiting signals from nerve cells, calming down the activity of the brain, so it’s surprising to learn that a gut bacterium needs it to grow and reproduce. Having abnormally low levels of GABA is linked to depression and mood disorders, and this finding adds to growing evidence that our gut bacteria may affect our brains.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Interior Secretary: More Diversity Needed in National Monuments — ‘Bronze White Guy’ Too Prevalent
(CNSNews.com) — Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said on Tuesday at an event focused on Hispanic-American Entrepreneurship that the national monuments in the nation’s capital need to be more diverse.
“If you drive around Washington, D.C., in every circle and every square you generally see a bronze white guy — sometimes on a horse, sometimes not — you have to work really hard — like in front of the Indian embassy you’ll find Mahatma Gandhi,” Jewell said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Judicial Watch Asks Justice Inspector General to Investigate Loretta Lynch-Bill Clinton Meeting
(Washington, DC) — Judicial Watch today requested that the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General investigate the meeting yesterday between Bill Clinton and Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
NASA’s Dawn Probe Ends Primary Mission, May Visit 3rd Cosmic Object
NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has completed its historic primary mission, during which the probe became the first ever to visit a dwarf planet and the first to orbit two different bodies beyond the Earth-moon system.
Dawn’s primary mission came to an end Thursday (June 30). But the spacecraft isn’t shutting down; Dawn is still studying the dwarf planet Ceres from orbit, and the probe may soon head out to visit a third cosmic object, if NASA approves a proposed extended mission.
The $467 million Dawn mission launched in September 2007 to study Vesta and Ceres, the two largest objects in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
There’s Big Money Again in Saving Humanity With Antibiotics
Big Pharma is creeping back into development of new antibiotics after decades of largely ignoring the business due to the scant rewards offered by such medications.
With the planet on the brink of losing its miracle cures for bacterial diseases, research incentives from governments are spurring drugmakers to renew efforts to fight antimicrobial resistance and replenish the arsenal of infection-fighting drugs. Giants such as Roche Holding AG and Merck & Co. are stepping up their efforts in the field while a host of startups seek partners to help market new products.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Bill Clinton Meet Privately in Phoenix Before Benghazi Report
PHOENIX — Amid an ongoing investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of email and hours before the public release of the Benghazi report, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch met privately with former President Bill Clinton.
The private meeting took place on the west side of Sky Harbor International Airport on board a parked private plane.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Austria Presidential Poll Result Overturned
Austria’s highest court has annulled the result of the presidential election narrowly lost by the candidate of the far-right Freedom Party.
The party had challenged the result, saying that postal votes had been illegally and improperly handled.
The Freedom Party candidate, Norbert Hofer, lost the election to the former leader of the Greens, Alexander Van der Bellen, by just 30,863 votes or less than one percentage point.
The election will now be re-run.
Announcing the decision, Gerhard Holzinger, head of the Constitutional Court, said: “The challenge brought by Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache against the 22 May election… has been upheld.”…
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
Austrian far right leader Norbert Hofer has been granted a re-run of May’s presidential election which he lost by 30,000 votes over fears concerning absentee ballots.
Hofer, the candidate of the Freedom Party, was ahead when the polls closed on May 22. However, his opponent Alexander Van der Bellen won when absentee ballots were counted.
However, Austria’s Constitutional Court decided that rules in handling the absentee ballots had been breached, bringing the result into question. …
The rerun is expected to be held in September or October.
Court president Gerhart Holzinger said: ‘The challenge brought by Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache against the May 22 election… has been upheld.’
Gun enthusiast Hofer, 45, came top in a first round in April but then lost in a runoff with the 72-year-old Van der Bellen, sparking relief among Europe’s centrist parties.
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
Austrian Court Orders Rerun of Presidential Vote
BERLIN—Austria’s Constitutional Court ordered a rerun of the final round of the country’s presidential election, giving Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer a second chance of becoming the first right-wing populist head of state in postwar Western Europe.
“The runoff presidential election must be completely repeated in all of Austria,” Gerhart Holzinger, the president of the Constitutional Court, said Friday in Vienna…
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Austrian Court Annuls Presidential Election Result
Austria’s Constitutional Court has called for a total re-run of the recent presidential election.
It upheld a challenge brought by the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) against its candidate Norbert Hofer’s narrow defeat in May’s presidential election.
“The challenge brought by Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache against the May 22nd election… has been upheld,” said Gerhard Holzinger, head of Austria’s Constitutional Court.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Battle of the Somme: Royals at Somme Centenary Commemoration
Thousands of people, including members of the Royal Family, have attended a ceremony in France to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme.
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry were at the Thiepval Memorial for the event.
Earlier, a UK-wide two-minute silence at 07:28 BST marked the start of the World War One battle on 1 July 1916.
More than a million men were killed or wounded on all sides at the Somme.
The Battle of the Somme, one of WW1’s bloodiest, was fought in northern France and lasted five months, with the British suffering almost 60,000 casualties on the first day alone.
The British and French armies fought the Germans in a brutal battle of attrition on a 15-mile front.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Brexit: Tensions Emerge Over UK-EU Trade Negotiations
UK and EU politicians have given very different accounts of how the UK’s Brexit negotiations should proceed.
The EU’s Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom, says the UK cannot begin negotiating trade terms with the bloc until after it has left.
“First you exit then you negotiate,” she told BBC Newsnight.
But the BBC understands other EU Commission officials privately believe it is “inconceivable” that trade talks would not start before the UK’s exit.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Britain Has Started a Revolution Against ‘Stupid’ Brussels Elite and EU is ‘Doomed’
BRITAIN has unleashed a people’s revolution against the bumbling Brussels elite and their project is now “doomed to fail”, a leading scholar and financial expert has said.
Nassim Taleb — author of the renowned Black Swan book — said people are sick of being told how to think by hapless Eurocrats who “couldn’t find a coconut on coconut island”.
The respected Lebanese professor said Brexit has sparked the “beginning of a revolution” because people have seen through the posturing of unaccountable elites who “don’t know what they’re talking about”.
Mr Taleb, a world-renowned statistician and academic, made the remarks amid growing chaos in Europe about how to deal with the fallout of Britain’s historic vote to leave the Brussels bloc.
He said the entire world has grown tired of a sneering elite which has spent the last few decades “patronising the bottom 30 per cent” whilst vastly enriching itself.
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
‘Brussels Hasn’t Heard the Wake Up Call’
Outrage as EU pushes forward with Turkey talks
THE EU has not learnt from the “wake up call” of a Brexit vote as Brussels has pushed forward with talks on Turkey’s controversial membership bid.
The fresh discussions come after Turkey demanded an acceleration on its application in return for taking back migrants seeking asylum in Europe.
But members of Germany’s conservative Christian Social Union party are appalled and have called for the negotiations to be halted immediately.
CSU general secretary Andreas Scheuer said: “Apparently Brussels hasn’t heard the wake up call.
“London is threatening to leave and Ankara is courting — this cannot be Europe’s future.”
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
Danes to Build New Viking Museum in Oslo
The Danish architecture firm AART has been chosen to build the new Viking Age Museum in Oslo.
The existing Viking Ship Building from 1926 will be incorporated into the new circular design.
The new building will be 13,000 square metres, making it three three times as large as the current museum.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
There is no future in the EU. The Union is dead, finished and over, says Nigel Farage and invites Denmark out.
The European Union is dead, and Denmark should follow the British and leave the EU.
So says Nigel Farage, MEP and head of the EU-critical British party UKIP.
– There is no future in the EU. It is dead, finished, it’s over. The European Union is finished, it will not work, he says, and gives Denmark a piece of advice:
– We have had the honor of leaving first. Follow us out, claim your independence, your democracy, your waters and your pride back. Let us work with a Europe where we act and work together, and where we are close together, but not one political union, says Farage.
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Munich ‘To Spend Extra €2.2m’ on Oktoberfest Security
After terror attacks in Paris, Brussels and most recently Istanbul, Munich could spend nearly €3 million more on security and other measures — but terrorism isn’t the only concern: the biggest fear is overcrowding.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Man Who Stabbed Cologne Mayor Gets 14 Years Jail
The man who almost killed Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker when he stabbed her in the neck was sentenced to 14 years in jail on Friday.
The High Court in North Rhine-Westphalia found the man guilty of attempted murder from its seat in state capital Düsseldorf.
Frank S. attacked Reker with a hunting knife on the campaign trail on October 17th 2015, just days before the people of Cologne would vote her in as their new mayor.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Illusions Decrease as One Gets Older
– Young people are exposed to “indoctrination.” One might argue that it is the best and necessary for a civilized society, but systematic influence is there nonetheless, says Helge Lurås, who is chairman of the center for international and strategic analysis (SISA).
– In the first period after you finish school and is educated, you believe strongly in what you have been told. But then the illusions decrease eventually. Not at least one experiences that the praised words are largely empty, he says.
– There are two different ways of seeing discrepancies in the British voting preferences between the young and elderly. Either the young understood something that the elderly are not able to see. Or they are young and so inexperienced and naive that they have not yet realized what one would progressively experience when one gets older — that ideals and realities are not the same.
– Illusions decrease as one gets older, says Lurås.
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Stage Set for Colosseum to Begin Hosting Events Again After Restoration
Italy’s culture minister says ancient Roman arena will be able to hold ‘cultural events of the highest level’ when work is complete
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Rome’s Colosseum Gets Multi-Million Euro Makeover
The first phase of a multi-million-euro makeover of Rome’s Colosseum was completed Friday with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi pledging cash would be made available to spruce up other crumbling historic sites.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Lower Austrian Swimming Pool Bans Burqinis
Burqinis (the full head-to-ankle swimsuit worn by some Muslim women) have now been banned from a swimming pool in the town of Hainfeld in Lower Austria — by order of the council. The Krone newspaper reports that the motion was submitted by councillor Peter Terzer, of the right-wing Freedom Party.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mount Vesuvius & Pompeii: Facts & History
Mount Vesuvius, on the west coast of Italy, is the only active volcano on mainland Europe. It is best known because of the eruption in A.D. 79 that destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Mount Vesuvius is considered to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world due to the large population of the city of Naples and the surrounding towns on the slopes nearby.
The volcano is classed as a complex stratovolcano because its eruptions typically involve explosive eruptions as well as pyroclastic flows. Vesuvius and other Italian volcanoes, such as Campi Flegrei and Stromboli, are part of the Campanian volcanic arc. The Campanian arc sits on a tectonic boundary where the African plate is being subducted beneath the Eurasian plate.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Police Raid Italy’s ‘Chinese Mafia’ Over Race Crime
Italian police said on Friday they had raided nine premises as part of an investigation into a Chinese criminal gang they suspect of being behind a spate of attacks on North Africans.
The raids were carried out in the Tuscan town of Prato, home to one of the biggest Chinese communities in Europe and a booming textiles industry that is notorious for sweatshop exploitation.
The individuals being investigated are all linked to a Chinese cultural association “The City of the White Stag” and are also suspected of preying on law-abiding Chinese businesses.
Friday’s raids were carried out under warrants issued for criminal association and commissioning racially motivated violence.
A police statement said the head of the White Stag group had organised vigilante style patrols in Prato as part of a protection racket which had led to attacks on Arab immigrants with no criminal connections.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Rosetta Finale Set for 30 September
Rosetta is set to complete its mission in a controlled descent to the surface of its comet on 30 September.
The mission is coming to an end as a result of the spacecraft’s ever-increasing distance from the Sun and Earth. It is heading out towards the orbit of Jupiter, resulting in significantly reduced solar power to operate the craft and its instruments, and a reduction in bandwidth available to downlink scientific data.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland Attempts to Plot New European Course
It’s been quite a post-Brexit week for Scotland. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been pushing the pro-EU case at home and in Brussels, but there remains a long way to go, as Peter Geoghegan reports from Glasgow.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Slovakia’s EU Presidency in the Shadow of Brexit and the Refugee Crisis
Slovakia takes over the EU presidency on July 1. The problem? Eastern Europe doesn’t want any more refugees, but an EU-wide solution to the crisis is not in sight. And a Brexit won’t make life any easier either.
Slovakia’s parliament has agreed that the country will not accept refugees and asylum seekers, and Muslims are not welcome among its population of 5.5 million people. Prime Minister Robert Fico (above), a Social Democrat, vowed during his campaign not to tolerate any Muslim communities in Slovakia. “There is no place for Islam here,” he said.
Despite this position, which runs contrary to most EU member countries, Fico announced in Bratislava on Thursday that he intends to be an honest, neutral broker for the crisis-ridden EU. For six months, he is to hold the presidency of the EU’s Council of Ministers.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Kidnappers With Chainsaw Abduct Man in Stockholm
Armed kidnappers bundled a man into a van and drove off with him shortly after noon on Friday outside the Bromma Blocks shopping centre on the outskirts of Stockholm.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Fifty Stockholm Heart Patients Hit by Superbug
A potentially deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria has spread to more than 50 heart patients at Karolinska University Hospital in Solna, Stockholm.
Four of the 52 patients affected have died, and the hospital believes an antibiotic-resistant strain of the Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria was the cause of death in at least one case.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Swiss City Allows Bitcoin Payment
The Swiss city of Zug is the first in the world to accept bitcoin payments starting today. Bitcoin is a digital currency that allows people to buy goods and services, and to exchange money without involving banks, credit cards or other third parties.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Battle of the Somme — A Century Later
French President Francois Hollande and British Prime Minister David Cameron have met at the site of one of the 20th century’s bloodiest battles. More than 1 million were killed, maimed or missing at the Somme in 1916.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Tomb With a View: Ancient Burial Sites Served as ‘Telescopes’
Thousands of years ago, stone constructions built as tombs may have served another purpose — one with an unexpected celestial connection. Astronomers suggest these ancient structures may have been used for observing the night sky and tracking the movements of the stars.
Researchers are investigating whether so-called “megalithic” tombs — tombs hewn from ancient stone — provided optical opportunities for humanity’s earliest astronomers, acting as “telescopes” without lenses.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Tour De France: 23,000 Police and Special Ops Join the Ride
This year’s Tour de France which begins on Saturday will be unique in that 23,000 police officers along with special counter-terrorist units will be on duty.
Elite special forces have been assigned to protect the Tour de France from a potential terror threat during July.
Just seven months on from the Paris terror attacks that left 130 people dead, authorities are taking no chances during the nation’s biggest yearly sporting extravaganza.
As well as the elite GIGN special operations unit of the National Gendarmerie, there will be 23,000 police mobilised to handle security at the Grand Boucle.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gaza Rocket Explodes in Sderot
The “Red Alert” rocket siren was heard on Friday night in the Sderot and the Shaar Hanegev area of southern Israel.
A rocket fired by Gaza terrorists exploded a short time later in the city of Sderot. There were no reports of injuries or damages…
[I was loading some stuff into the car as the alarm sounded, the nearest shelter was about 100yards away, too far for me, the thing buzzed over me about 300ft up and I saw the white flash of the explosion.]
| — Hat tip: MC | [Return to headlines] |
Kiryat Arba Terror Victim Was American Citizen
US government official tells Associated Press that Hallel Ariel, murdered in her bed by a Palestinian terrorist, was a US citizen…
| — Hat tip: MC | [Return to headlines] |
Bangladesh Killings: Hindu Priest Hacked to Death
A Hindu temple worker has been killed by three men on a motorcycle, local police have said, the latest of dozens of brutal attacks in Bangladesh.
Shaymanonda Das was preparing for morning prayers at a temple in the south-western district of Jhenaidah when he was attacked.
Police said he was hacked on the neck several times with machetes.
More than 40 people have been killed in attacks blamed on Islamist militants in Bangladesh since February 2013.
That includes secular bloggers, academics, gay rights activists and members of religious minorities.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Claims Responsiblity After Attackers Seize Hostages in Attack on Bangladesh Restaurant
Up to nine attackers shouting “Allahu Akbar” stormed a popular restaurant in Dacca, Bangladesh Friday, taking hostages and setting off bombs in a siege claimed by ISIS. The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency said the attack on the restaurant was carried out by “Islamic State commandos,” according to the SITE Intelligence Group which monitors jihadist activity.
Earlier this month, authorities in the country rounded up about 1,600 criminal suspects, including a few dozen believed to be Islamist radicals, in a nationwide crackdown aimed at halting a wave of brutal attacks on minorities and activists.
Only 37 of them were suspected to be radical Islamist militants, according to authorities. Those include three charged with alleged membership in the banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh.
The country saw a significant increase in terrorist attacks in 2015, as groups including ISIS and Al Qaeda targeted foreigners, religious minorities, police, secular bloggers and publishers. ISIS last November called for attacks in Bangladesh in an article in its online magazine, Dabiq.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Police Battle Gunmen in Bangladeshi Capital Dhaka
A gun battle is taking place between police and unidentified attackers in the diplomatic area of the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, officials say.
Three people, including two police officers, have been wounded after gunmen stormed a cafe in the Gulshan district, police say.
The Dhaka Tribune said at least 20 civilians had been taken hostage, but this was not confirmed.
Police and security forces have sealed off the area.
The US embassy in Dhaka tweeted that there were “reports of shooting and hostage situation”.
Local media reported that several gunmen had entered the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe and opened fire.
The cafe is described as being popular with expatriates, diplomats and middle-class families.
It is not clear who the attackers are, although a police officer told the BBC that Islamic militants were suspected.
BBC South Asia editor Jill McGivering says that although high-profile gun attacks are rare in Bangladesh, the latest incident follows a series of murders widely blamed on Islamist extremists.
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
Rail Boom in Bangladesh Brings Trains to Asia’s Longest Beach
In Bangladesh, it’s the age of rail.
After decades of neglect and decline, the nation’s railway network, much of it dating back to British colonial times, is being updated under a $30 billion plan to renovate stations and workshops, buy new trains and lay thousands of kilometers of new track.
The renewed enthusiasm for rail in one of Asia’s poorest nations is largely thanks to China, and its ambitious agenda to extend trade tentacles across Asia.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hong Kong Protest Against Chinese Rule
Hong Kong’s annual pro-democracy protest has begun, but without a bookseller critical of mainland China. Organizers say Lam Wing-kee “suddenly” pulled out. Protestors want the area’s Beijing-aligned governor to resign.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Is China’s Space Junk Collector a Weapon in Disguise?
A small, unmanned spacecraft launched last weekend for ostensibly peaceful purposes could have a more secretive use. According to the South China Morning Post, analysts believe the Aolong-1, could be used to attack enemy satellites.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ivory Coast Sweetens Up With First Locally Made Chocolate
Ivory Coast is the world’s biggest cocoa producer but for a long time it couldn’t process the cocoa beans into chocolate. But that, as they say, is history, while “Made in Ivory Coast” is the future.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Newfound Human Species Suggests Africa Was Evolutionary Melting Pot
The most recently discovered extinct human species may have lived less than 1 million years ago, researchers have discovered.
This finding suggests that a diverse range of human species might have lived at the same time in Africa, just as they might have in Asia, researchers said.
In 2015, scientists reported South African fossils of a hitherto-unknown relative of modern humans that possessed an unusual mix of features, such as feet adapted for a life on the ground but hands suited for a life in the trees. The fossil’s discoverers named the species Homo naledi, and noted that although the early human had a brain about the size of an orange, these humans may have performed ritual burials of their dead.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Haiti’s Political Stalemate Hurts the Most Vulnerable
Leonel Windi is supposed to be lying still.
After a motorbike accident in January, he should be in traction to give his shattered leg a chance to heal.
Instead he wanders the halls of Port-au-Prince’s general hospital on crutches, long pins protruding from his knee, in search of a doctor or nurse.
But with a national healthcare strike now in its third month, the only people making regular rounds on the wards are the preachers.
Rather than drugs, all they can offer are hymns, Bible passages and their particular brand of evangelical hope.
Some patients need more than just prayers.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
New Exoplanet Hunter to be Sited at ESO’s La Silla Observatory
ESO has reached agreement with Leiden University in the Netherlands to site a station of MASCARA (the Multi-site All-Sky CAmerRA) at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. The contract was signed by ESO Director General Tim de Zeeuw and Geert de Snoo, Dean of the Faculty of Science at Leiden University.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
More than 10,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to Italy in just four days as the European Union fails to provide a deterrent by sending back those found not to be genuine refugees.
EU leaders will today be presented with figures that show as few as six per cent of those told go back home to Africa last year actually left.
Calm seas have led to a surge in the number of people departing from the North African coast in overcrowded boats heading for Europe.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
As Refugee Crisis Grows, U.S. Strains Under Asylum Backlog, Report Says
The federal government is buckling under a surge of asylum cases, a dilemma that could only get worse as the United States allows more refugees into the country, the U.S. immigration agency’s own watchdog said Wednesday.
The backlog at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has ballooned by 1400 percent since 2011, with more than 128,000 asylum cases still pending at the end of 2015, the agency’s ombudsman Maria M. Odom, said in her annual report to Congress. And the flow isn’t letting up: New applications have more than doubled in five years, to 83,197, the report said.
As it struggles to keep up, CIS has been forced to reassign asylum officers to its Refugee Affairs Division to handle a larger influx of people fleeing violence and persecution around the world.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Austria Takes Steps to Control Migration on Balkan Route
For Austria, it’s clear: Uncontrolled migration must be stopped. Police chiefs from Austria and the Balkan countries are discussing how they can improve cooperation on migration matters.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary PM Vows to Forge Ahead With Migration Referendum After Brexit Success
THE Hungarian Prime Minister has vowed to forge ahead with a referendum on migration quotas as he continues to clash with EU leaders in the wake of Brexit.
Viktor Orban has long called for Brussels to take control of migration, and says its failure to manage the migrant crisis was to blame for Britain voting to leave the EU.
A staunch EU critic, Mr Orban’s ruling Fidesz party has initiated a referendum of its own, to be held in September or October, on whether Hungary should reject any future mandatory quotas from Brussels to resettle migrants arriving en masse from countries such as Syria.
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Nearly 1 Million Immigrants — Including More Than 170k Convicts — Ignoring Deportation
Nearly 1 million immigrants are ignoring deportation orders to remain in the U.S. — including more than 170,000 convicted criminals, according to a new report Thursday that suggests the government’s deportation efforts are still falling short.
Only a small fraction of the immigrants are even being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), meaning most of them remain free on the streets, where they can commit crimes and continue living in the shadows, according to the study by Jessica Vaughan, policy studies director at the Center for Immigration Studies.
“The fact that almost 10 percent of the illegal resident population has already been ordered removed and is still here illustrates just how dysfunctional our immigration enforcement system is. It also should be of great concern that 20 percent of them are conviction criminals, and that most of these are at large in our communities,” Ms. Vaughan said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
France: ‘Giving in to Fear’: Anger as Paris Gay Pride Cut Back
The Orlando massacre on a gay club this month is among the reasons that police are cutting short the annual Paris gay pride parade on Saturday, much to the anger of the LGBT community.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gut Bacteria Sends Signals to the Brain to Make Us Fat
Our gut bacteria send signals to the brain and encourage us to eat more, and may cause us to put on weight.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
re Vesuvius:
I said this a few years ago, but will try it again:
Pu’u ‘O’o crater on Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano could be appropriately renamed Pu’u ‘O’Obama crater. Maybe it will go dormant next year; maybe just fizzle out.
Kalapana 96778 could gain a wealth of Sister Sanctuary Cities.
The EU MARXISTS aren’t “bumbling”. They control all aspects of your life and promise tyranny.
May I point out that Gates of Vienna is virtually the only news blog I know that discussed, let alone even mentioned, the fact of the Austrian election, let alone its issues and importance. I believe JihadWatch had a piece on it, but only one of many. And JihadWatch does not cover European issues in near the depth that Gates of Vienna does.
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“F*** Isis” flag is being investigated as “racial hatred”
Published July 1, 2016 at 21:21
Tommy Robinson, the former leader of the Islam-critical EDL, now accused by British police for “inciting racial hatred” after having been wearing a shirt with the message of the Islamic state and kept up an English flag with the message “F*** Isis”.
In the pictures posted on social media Tommy Robinson poses in front of the flag at the European Championships in France. He wears a sweater that shows how an English soccer supporter urinates at the IS black flag.
Now, 33-year-old Tommy Robinson’s attorney Alison Gurden tells the International Business Times that police are investigating Robinson for having “incited to racial hatred” against Muslims on account of their messages against the terrorist organization.
– Both me and my client are very concerned that the police chief in Bedfordshire and British soccer monitoring entity consider that Tommy Robinson’s demonstration against a banned extremist terrorist organization is the same as showing hatred against people of Muslim faith, says Gurden.
Robinson, who currently leads Pegida in the UK, called the accusation “ridiculous”.
– In court on Friday, they said that I had incited racial hatred because of the English flag and the sweater I had on me, he says to the International Business Times.
Tommy Robinson photographed himself when police came to his home and put the clip on Twitter:
Follow
Tommy Robinson @TRobinsonNewEra
Police Imagine being able to come to ya house, intimidate and harass ya family then seize ya passport with no crime
9:40 PM – June 26, 2016
It would appear Tommy desperately needs an attorney with at least English O level.
The devious politicos Austria more than likely have been taking lessons in ‘election procedure’ from Hudson County NJ and Crook County IL USA. In these states the ‘right’ candidates are always ‘elected’.