The Thai government has declared a state of emergency as mass protests against the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra continue in Bangkok. The government says it has no plans to use force against the demonstrators, but some civil rights will be curtailed during the emergency period.
In other news, a top jihad leader in the North Caucasus was killed in a shootout with Russian security police.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, Jerry Gordon, JP, KGS, 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.
Andor Says Poverty Growing in Italy, As Well as Unemployment
Commissioner says in-work poverty a big problem
(ANSA) — Brussels, January 21 — European Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Commissioner Lazlo Andor said Tuesday that “poverty is growing, not just unemployment, in Italy” after years of economic crisis and recession.
Andor said Italy stood out for high unemployment levels and high levels of poverty even among people in work at the presentation of the European Commission’s 2013 report on employment and poverty. Unemployment in Italy recently hit a record high of 12.7%, with over four in 10 under-25s out of work.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
EU Sounds Alarm on Poverty Among Working-Age People
In its latest review of social developments, the European Commission has said finding a job increasingly has not pulled people out of economic hardship. It said poverty among people with jobs was a major problem.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Armed Forces Wage Ruling Rattles Government
Leaked court decision deems salary cuts illegal
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, JANUARY 21 — A decision by Greece’s highest administrative court, leaked to the media on Monday and expected to be made public over the next month, has deemed unconstitutional the wage cuts made to members of the armed forces and emergency services in 2012, meaning that the government is likely to be obliged to pay back those affected by the measure. As Kathimerini online reports, although the exact details, and the repercussions, of the Council of State’s decision remained unclear, the news caused upheaval within the government amid concerns about where the money will come from to pay back withheld salaries. There were also worries that the decision could spur similar demands by other civil servants whose salaries have been cut as part of belt-tightening pledged by Greece to the troika. There are fears that the cost to the state coffers could be in excess of 400 million euros.
Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said authorities would respect the court’s decision, once it has been made public and its reasoning elaborated. But other senior officials expressed concern. According to sources, the court deemed unconstitutional the fact that the decision to cut the wages was voted through Parliament in December of 2012 but applied retroactively from August of that year. It remained unclear whether the decision to cut salaries has been deemed unconstitutional itself. If so, it could set a precedent for other groups of civil servants to seek similar rulings.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
More Than 12% of Italian Workers Don’t Make Living Wage
Study says only Greece, Romania in worse position in EU
(ANSA) — Vatican City, January 21 — More than 12% of employed Italians cannot afford to live on what they earn, says a study issued Tuesday by the European Union. Only Greece and Romania are in worse positions in term of earning a living wage, with about 14% of workers in those countries unable to make ends meet, added the research.
Those findings are consistent with a report earlier this month issued by the national statistical agency Istat that said in the first nine months of 2013, the purchasing power of Italian households fell by 1.5% compared with the same period in 2012.
Overall, economic indicators suggest that 2013 will be remembered “as the worst year” in recent economic history, with spending on such necessities as medications falling by 2.5% in the first 10 months of the year and food spending falling by 1.3%, consumer group Codacons said earlier in January.
Italy has been enduring its worst recession since the Second World War and is only now emerging, according to estimates.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
The Sum of All Risks: Why China is Heading for a Greek Style Crisis on a Grand Scale
As the world’s business and political leaders gather in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland for the 44th annual World Economic Forum this week, one question will probably come up officially or unofficially:Is the global economy going to face another Greek style crisis?
I would certainly be anxious to hear some answers to this question, as I believe that if there is a country that is a good candidate for a Greek style crisis, it is China.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The World’s 85 Richest Now Worth as Much as 3.5 Billion Poorest
The poorest half of the world’s population—that’s 3.5 billion people—control as much wealth as the richest 85 individuals.
On the eve of World Economic Forum, when the global elite gather in Davos, Switzerland, to forecast international trends, Oxfam has released a new report, “Working for the Few,” (PDF) documenting yawning global wealth disparities. Other findings:
- The world’s richest 1 percent control nearly 50 percent of global wealth.
- In 24 out of 26 countries studied, the richest 1 percent has increased their share of national wealth since 1980.
- Only three in 10 people live in countries where economic inequality has not increased over the past three decades.
- In the U.S., 95 percent of post-financial crash wealth generated (i.e., since 2009) went into the bank accounts of the richest 1 percent.
- Nine in 10 people in the United States control less wealth in real terms than they did before the financial crash.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Marijuana vs. Alcohol: Which is Really Worse for Your Health?
The question of whether alcohol or marijuana is worse for health is being debated once again, this time, sparked by comments that President Barack Obama made in a recent interview with The New Yorker magazine.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
US Army Considers Replacing Thousands of Troops With Robots
The US Army is studying whether robots could take the place of thousands of soldiers
The US Army is considering replacing thousands of soldiers with robots as it deals with sweeping troop cuts. A senior American officer has said he is considering shrinking the size of the Army’s brigade combat teams by a quarter and replacing the lost troops with robots and remote-controlled vehicles.
The American military is still far from fielding armies of Terminator-type robotic killers though. Ideas under discussion instead include proposals to see manned lorries and transporters replaced by supply trains of robots vehicles.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The Rise of Islamic Extremism in Canada
By Raheel Raza
My family and I came to Canada 24 years ago from Pakistan because we saw the rise of fundamentalism in the land of our birth. I grew up in a pluralistic, visionary country with people of other faiths, mostly Christians and Zoroastrians, and I studied in a Catholic school. We rarely came across blatant extremism, terrorism, or political Islam.
However, in 1977, Mohammed Zia-ul-Haq came into power after removing and hanging the democratically elected Prime Minister, Zulfiqar Bhutto. Zia, a follower of Abul Ala Mawdudi, founder of the Islamist party Jamaat-e Islamiyya, implemented his extreme version of Islam. Women had to cover their heads in public, co-education was eliminated in schools, and Friday was made the weekly holiday. Islam, which had never been imposed upon Pakistan’s citizens, was suddenly forced into the public sphere. This discomfited those of us who had always lived moderate, normal lives imbued with a traditional, spiritual interpretation of Islam. Zia-ul-Haq was also responsible for implementing, in 1979, the Hudood Ordinance. These were Pakistani legal provisions intended to implement Islamic Sharia law by enforcing punishments, primarily upon women.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Toddlers’ Aggression is Strongly Associated With Genetic Factors, Study Reports
The development of physical aggression in toddlers is strongly associated genetic factors and to a lesser degree with the environment, according to a new study led by Eric Lacourse of the University of Montreal and its affiliated CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital. Lacourse’s worked with the parents of identical and non-identical twins to evaluate and compare their behaviour, environment and genetics.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EU Freezes Part of Transatlantic Trade Negotiations With US
The EU has put one area of its negotiations with the US for a transatlantic free trade deal on hold. Brussels has expressed concern over provisions that would allow corporations to sue governments in private court.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
For Biofuel and Food, Europe Needs More Bees
Europe doesn’t have enough bees. If it did, researchers say, yields on biofuel crops could dramatically increase. The energy boost would be entirely insect-driven and reduce environmental pollutants.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Human Rights: HRW Slams Greece for Violations, Failed Action
Some 104 attacks on immigrants in the first nine months of 2013
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, JANUARY 21 — Human Rights Watch (HRW) used harsh language towards Greece and the EU in its annual report that was published today, as GreekReporter online writes.
“European Union (EU) leaders in 2013 acknowledged problems of rising intolerance and persistent human rights violations across the EU, but failed to take concerted action,” wrote the 667-page report.
“Respect for human rights is measured in deeds, not words,” said Judith Sunderland, senior Europe and Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Ordinary people, from the homeless in Hungary, to black and Arab teenagers constantly stopped by the police in France, to Syrian asylum seekers in Greece, are paying the price for the lack of robust rights enforcement.” The chapter on Greece in particular, stressed the fact that there have been ongoing attacks on immigrants — 104 in the first nine months of 2013 — and an increase in attacks against homosexuals. The bill presented in November by the Greek government concerning racist speech and incitement of violence did not address all problems in the existing legislation.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Renzi Presents Controversial Election Law Deal
PD leader criticised at party meeting after deal with Berlusconi
(By Paul Virgo) (ANSA) — Rome, January 20 — New leader Matteo Renzi presented his proposals for a new election law to a meeting of his Democratic Party (PD) in Rome on Monday after reaching a controversial deal with ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi on Saturday.
Renzi, the ambitious 39-year-old mayor of Florence who won a primary to lead Italy’s biggest party last month, said that his proposals were “concrete” and could be approved by the end of May. The deal has come under fire from some parts of the PD, who say it serves as a political rehabilitation for Forza Italia chief Berlusconi, who was ejected from parliament after a definitive tax-fraud conviction last year. Renzi has said it is only logical to try to find an agreement on the election system with the second-biggest party and argued the PD and Italy’s political class as a whole had to move quickly to regain credibility.
And despite the internal dissent, his proposals were approved by a PD meeting with 111 votes in favour, 34 absentions and none against. Italy needs a new election system to replace the old one that was recently declared invalid by the Constitutional Court.
The political parties failed for years to find an agreement on a new system, even though the old one, which was nicknamed the ‘pigsty’ and was blamed for contributing to the inconclusive outcome to last year’s general election, was widely recognised to be dysfunctional.
That election result led to two months of deadlock and then the swearing-in of the weak left-right coalition government of Renzi’s PD colleague, Premier Enrico Letta. “We are trying to regain lost dignity,” Renzi said. “The time has come to show that politics is not just talk, talk, talk. We have to decide if we’re going to be political or bar sport”. Renzi warned his own party, Forza Italia and the junior partners in Letta’s governing coalition that his proposals were not amendable. “It’s a complicated castle that only stands up if all the pieces are together,” Renzi said. “If someone intervened in parliament to change something, it would wreck everything”.
Renzi said his proposed system, based on proportional representation, would feature a significant bonus for the coalition that comes first to ensure it can govern. A coalition that comes first and obtains at least 35% of the votes would get a bonus that would grant it between 53% and 55% of the seats in parliament, with the maximum bonus being 18%. He said that if no coalition obtains 35% or more of the vote, his proposal is for a second round of voting between the top two alliances.
Voters would not have the opportunity to express preferences for the candidates who they want to represent them on a party list. A big problem with Italy’s former election law was that the system of long ‘blocked lists’ of candidates gave voters little power in selecting representatives. This, and the former win-bonus system, were among the reasons that the old law was ruled invalid by the Constitutional Court last month.
Renzi reportedly wants to get around the detachment this creates between elector and elected with smaller constituencies and lists of just four or five candidates so voters can have a better idea of who the potential MPs are in their area. He added that his proposal is for a threshold of 8% of the vote for a party to have seats in parliament to prevent the system being too fragmented. The threshold would be lower, 5%, for parties in a coalition. The proposals, and the way they were presented, were criticised at Monday’s meeting. “If you say that (the package is untouchable), then there’s no point in calling a party meeting again in two weeks,” said Gianni Cuperlo, who unsuccessfully ran against Renzi in December’s primary. “This election reform is not convincing because it does not guarantee adequate representation, nor the right of people to choose their elected representatives, nor reasonable governability,” he had said before the meeting. “There are doubts about whether its Constitutional”. The small parties in Letta’s government alliance, who are threatened by the the thresholds on entry to parliament, have not ruled out the proposals.
Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, the leader of the New Centre Right, said they would be acceptable if three out of four of his demands were accepted, above all over the question of voter preferences.
The Civic Choice party of former premier Mario Monti said it was waiting for further details.
But the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5s), which won about a quarter of the vote at last year’s election, blasted the pact and said it will not sign up.
Renzi denied wanting to pass a new election law quickly so that he can scupper Letta’s executive and provoke a fresh vote, in the hope of winning and taking his party colleague’s place at the helm of government. The PD chief, who has repeatedly criticised the government since winning the party primary, said such speculation was “ungenerous”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Sale of Stake in Post Office Could Happen by Summer
Govt official says Poste Italiane on block in five to six months
(ANSA) — Rome, January 21 — The Italian government could be prepared to sell a sizeable stake in the national post office within the next five to six months, the junior industry minister said Tuesday.
“It is imaginable that within a period between five and six months (we will) refine the details of the transaction,” Antonio Catricalà told a hearing of the House transportation committee.
He has previously said that stake as large as 40% of the publicly owned Poste Italiane, which is controlled by the Italian government through the economy ministry, could be sold.
Tuesday, Catricalà said that selling the stake is important “to continue to create value”.
Members of Premier Enrico Letta’s cabinet have discussed the sale as a means of raising much-needed capital for the treasury of Italy, which has a debt of more than two trillion euros.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Cuperlo Quits as PD President, Says He Felt Muzzled
Debate over election reform with Renzi triggers resignation
(ANSA) — Rome, January 21 — The new president of the Democratic Party (PD) Gianni Cuperlo abruptly resigned on Tuesday, saying he felt “alarmed” at the direction of the party.
In a letter published on his Facebook page, Cuperlo — who was defeated in December by Matteo Renzi for top position as party secretary — suggested he felt muzzled.
“I resign because I am shocked and alarmed by a …
(political) party that cannot bend its uniformity of language and thought,” Cuperlo wrote in his letter, addressed to Renzi.
The resignation came one day after the PD accepted a set of election-law proposals from Renzi reached in a controversial deal with ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi last Saturday.
Renzi, the ambitious 39-year-old mayor of Florence, said that his proposals were “concrete,” not open to amendment, and could be approved by the end of May. “It’s a complicated castle that only stands up if all the pieces are together,” Renzi said Monday.
“If someone intervened in parliament to change something, it would wreck everything”. Cuperlo had expressed his concern at Monday’s meeting that the proposals could not be amended, adding they were not convincing and some feared they were not Constitutional. In his letter Tuesday, he elaborated on his frustration.
“I resign because I want what is good for the Democratic Party and want to commit to strengthen its internal ideas and the values of the left,” which Cuperlo suggested are being “redesigned” to the detriment of the left.
“I resign because I will always have the freedom to say what I think. I want to be able to applaud, criticize, disagree, without it appearing to anyone as an abuse”. Renzi’s deal has also come under fire from some parts of the PD, who complained that it serves as a political rehabilitation for Forza Italia chief Berlusconi, who was ejected from parliament after a definitive tax-fraud conviction last year. Italy needs a new election system to replace the old one that was recently declared invalid by the Constitutional Court.
The political parties failed for years to find an agreement on a new system, even though the old one, which was nicknamed the ‘pigsty’ and was blamed for contributing to the inconclusive outcome to last year’s general election, was widely recognized to be dysfunctional.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Poll Finds Xenophobia on the Rise in France
The divide between the French and their elected leaders is growing, according to a new poll carried out by Ipsos, which also shows that the French are increasingly wary of foreigners.
According to the poll, 65% of French people think that most politicians are corrupt (a three-point increase since last year) and 84% think they are motivated primarily by personal gain (a two-point rise). Meanwhile, 78% of those questioned think “the political system does not work well” and “their ideas are not represented” (six points higher than last year). At the same time, the French seem eager for a politician who can fix things. A whopping 84% of those polled said they would like “a real leader to restore order”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Scarano’s Vatican Bank Accounts Already Frozen, Says IOR
Ex-prelate under investigation for financial crimes
(see related) (ANSA) — Rome, January 21 — All accounts at the Vatican bank, the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), linked to Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, the former Vatican prelate who is under investigation for alleged financial crimes, were frozen last July, an IOR spokesman told ANSA on Tuesday.
The freezing was ordered by a Vatican tribunal on 9 July after Scarano was detained in June on suspicion of planning to elude customs with 20 million euros in cash for a family of boat-builders he was friends with.
On Tuesday he was issued a second arrest warrant in connection with a separate money-laundering probe. The new warrant also requested that the Vatican bank freeze his accounts.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Sleeping Rosetta Spacecraft Wakes Up for Historic Comet Rendezvous and Landing
A European probe awoke from a deep sleep Monday (Jan. 20) to gear up for an unprecedented comet rendezvous and landing this year that will cap a 10-year voyage across the solar system.
After two and a half years in hibernation, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft emerged from its slumber while cruising nearly 418 million miles (673 million kilometers) from the sun. The wakeup call, which was due to begin at 5 a.m. EST (1000 GMT), took hours as Rosetta switched on heaters to warm itself after its long night in the cold depths of space.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Spain Reclaims No.3 Spot in World Tourism
Spain has been keen to win back third position in world tourism by setting a new record in foreign arrivals last year. The surge has played a pivotal role in the country’s struggle to leave the recession behind.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Hate Crimes Against Mosques to be Mapped
Muslim organisations in Sweden will start mapping hate crimes against mosques and prayer rooms after several institutions were subjected to vandalism and threats the past year, Swedish Radio News reports.
Last year a pig’s head was placed outside a mosque in Trollhättan in western Sweden. Many mosques reported cases of vandalism and racist graffiti.
Helena Hummasten, chair of the Swedish Muslim Council, said there is an urgent need to assess the threat levels to Muslim institutions in Sweden. “Many of these facilities are not safe. It’s just a matter of time before someone gets injured or worse,” Hummasten told Swedish Radio.
According to a report from five years ago, four in ten Muslim organisations had been subjected to criminal activity, and Hummasten said that the situation could be even worse today.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Not Illegal to Throw MP Out of Restaurant
It was not against the law when a Stockholm restaurant asked Sweden Democrat MP Kent Ekeroth to leave Saturday evening. Prosecutor Ronnie Jacobsson dropped the discrimination case Monday, stating that it is not illegal to discriminate someone because of their political affiliation.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: ‘Romania Must Pay for Beggars’: Liberals
Romania should foot the bill for its citizens who travel to Sweden to beg, two prominent Liberal Party politicians said on Monday as they admonished certain EU countries for not taking care of their poorest citizens.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden ‘Slimmest Nordic Welfare State ‘
High taxes, high social security, such has been the identity of the “Nordic Model”, yet hard times and ideological bents have propelled Europe’s northern politicians to reform the cradle-to-the-grave system, argues AFP.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Cameron Advisor: ‘We Need the Red Card to Stop EU Proposals’
British Prime Minister David Cameron has threatened to withdraw his country from the EU should far-reaching reforms not be made. Influential Tory lawmaker Andrea Leadsom spoke with SPIEGEL ONLINE about the UK conservatives’ demands.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Petition by Chris Moos
On January 12th, Maajid Nawaz, Liberal Democrat PPC for Hampstead and Killburn, posted an innocuous ‘Jesus and Mo’ cartoon on his Twitter timeline and stated that he, as a Muslim, was not offended by the content. This followed a BBC Big Questions programme in which the cartoons were discussed and Maajid Nawaz was included as a studio guest. The cartoon depicts Jesus and Mo saying ‘Hey’ and ‘How ya doin’“ to each other…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Ofcom Clears Broadcasters Over Anjem Choudary Interviews After Woolwich Murder
Communications watchdog Ofcom has cleared the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 of breaching the broadcasting code after they interviewed Anjem Choudary, the former leader of banned Islamic group Al Muhajiroun, following the death of Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich.
The cleric appeared on Newsnight and Channel 4 News on May 23, and Daybreak the day after, sparking complaints to Ofcom that his appearance was “disrespectful” to the dead soldier’s family and likely to “incite hatred” against Muslims.
During the Daybreak interview, Mr Choudary said Michael Adebolajo, who was subsequently found guilty of Fusilier Rigby’s murder along with Michael Adebowale, was “considered to be courageous and a hero” in many Muslim countries.
His appearances sparked controversy at the time, with Home Secretary Theresa May saying the Government had to look at “whether we’ve got the right processes, the right rules in place in relation to what is being beamed into people’s homes”.
All three broadcasters told Ofcom they were aware Mr Choudary’s views could cause “offence” but defended giving him airtime, with the BBC saying “the public interest outweighed the potential offence”.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Residents Living Near New Lincoln Mosque Site Invited to Dispel Misconceptions About Islam
Residents living near the site of a new mosque in Boultham were able to meet their new neighbours at an event designed to dispel misconceptions about Islam.
In the same weekend as a second EAP protest took place in the city, residents heard from the Lincoln Imam during a useful question and answer session on Sunday afternoon (January 19) at the Royal Naval Association Club in Coulson Road…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Spike in Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes Recorded in Cambridge Area Last Year
Hate crimes against Muslims rose in Cambridgeshire last year, new data reveals. In the six-month period from October 2012 to March 2013 there were two hate crimes against Muslims in the county. However, in the three months from April to June last year there were 12…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Three Men Charged Over Use of Y-Word at Spurs
Three men have been charged by police with using the term “Yid” at Tottenham’s White Hart Lane stadium. The Metropolitan Police confirmed the trio would appear in court on February 4. It is understood the men are Spurs fans…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
EU and Lebanon to Develop Judicial Cooperation
Head of Delegation meets the President of Beirut Bar Association
(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, JANUARY 16 — The Head of the EU Delegation to Lebanon Angelina Eichhorst has met with the President of the Beirut Bar Association Georges Jreige to discuss judicial cooperation between the European Union and Lebanon.
According to the Enpi website (www.enpi-info.eu) Eichhorst underlined that the EU is the major donor to the justice sector in Lebanon, with approximately 20 million euros allocated to ongoing projects. The Lebanese Bar benefits from EU assistance in the framework of an ongoing training programme for judicial stakeholders, including lawyers.
Eichhorst and Jreige also discussed a new initiative aimed at reinforcing access to justice for the vulnerable population and especially the question of legal aid, which is a priority for the Bar and the EU.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Scholarships in Europe Open to Middle Eastern Students
Deadline is Jan.22. priority given to refugees and displaced
(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, JANUARY 15 — Students and staff from universities in the Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria have time until January 22 to apply for a scholarship in Europe under the Phoenix Erasmus Mundus project. The programme kicks off between August and September 2014 and citizens from the Middle Eastern area living in a particularly vulnerable situation, such as refugees and internally displaced, are a key priority of the project.
The scholarships are 150, according to the website of Enpi (www.enpi-info.eu), and are available for high school and university graduates, PhD and post-PhD students as well as academic and administrative staff to work or study for a period of time in Europe. Scholarships include a monthly check and cover travel, insurance and registration expenses.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: Italian Cemetary Attacked in Tripoli, Guard Killed
2nd attack after recent kidnapping of Italian workers in Derna
(ANSAmed) — ROME, JANUARY 21 — The Italian cemetery in Tripoli was attacked late Sunday night for the second time in the past week, reports local media. A guard was killed and some graves were damaged. A first attack, which the media attributed to Gaddafi supporters, occurred on Saturday, January 19, a few days after the kidnapping of the Italian workers Francesco Scalise and Luciano Gallo. The two were taken hostage in Derna, Cyrenaica, a region out of Libyan authorities’ control. No news have been reported on the workers, and their families have been asked by the Italian Foreign Ministry to refrain from commenting on the situation.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Supporters Urge Egypt General to Run for President
Thousands of supporters of Egypt’s powerful army chief rallied in a Cairo stadium on Tuesday, urging him to run for president and saying the third anniversary of the country’s uprising should be used as an occasion to thank him and security forces for overthrowing the former Islamist president.
The former security officers and army loyalists organizing the campaign, called “complete your good deed,” aim to boost popular support for Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi, the man who removed President Mohammed Morsi from power in a July 3 coup.
The general has yet to announce his intentions. A referendum that last week approved the country’s new constitution saw an unexpectedly modest turnout, denying him the robust popular mandate he allegedly sought as a rationale to make a run for office.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Palestinian President Refuses Extension of Peace Talks With Israel
RAMALLAH, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas hinted Tuesday that he rejects any extension of the ongoing U.S.-sponsored peace talks set to run nine months between the Palestinians and Israel.
When the negotiations resumed in July after a three-year halt, “it was stipulated that they run for nine months and there were no talks about extending them,” Abbas said at a press conference held jointly with visiting Romanian President Traian Basescu…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
EU and Former Ally Pile Pressure on Turkish PM
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan faced criticism on two fronts on Tuesday as he made his first visit to Brussels in five years.
European Union leaders said they had taken the opportunity to tell Erdogan of their concerns over his crackdown on the judiciary and police. Meanwhile, in the United States, Fethullah Gulen, the exiled Islamic cleric locked in a damaging feud with Erdogan, gave a rare interview and accused the Turkish government of rolling back on democratic reforms.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Iran Reportedly Sends Two Warships to Atlantic
Two Iranian warships set sail Tuesday for the Atlantic Ocean on their navy’s first-ever mission there, state TV reported. The voyage comes amid an ongoing push by Iran to demonstrate the ability to project power across the Middle East and beyond.
The report said that the destroyer Sabalan and the logistic helicopter carrier Khark will be dispatched on a three-month voyage. “The warships will have task of securing shipping routes as well as training new personnel,” the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Iran’s navy chief Admiral Habibollah Sayyari as saying.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq’s Unity Threatened by the Fight Between Baghdad and Kurdistan Over Oil
The Kurdish Regional Government is bypassing the federal pipeline to export oil to Turkey, thus avoiding payments to the central government. Without Kurdish oil revenues, Iraq’s economy is in danger of collapsing. Iraqi oil minister threatens legal action against Ankara.
Baghdad (AsiaNews/Agencies) — The agreements between Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey on oil exports bypassing Baghdad are against the constitution and could bring down the Iraqi economy.
The warning comes Haider al-Abadi, head of parliament’s treasury committee, who said that the country’s draft budget projected a deficit of about US$ 18 billion and could “collapse”. Abadi slammed the Kurds who do not contribute to the federal budget but still receive their 17 per cent share.
In recent years, public spending has gone up due to an increase in pensions, minimum wages, family allowances and incentives for students, whilst Kurdistan’s missed export targets cost Iraq US$ 9 billion in lost revenue.
According to the central government in Baghdad, Kurdistan has violated the constitution and a UN Security Council resolution that requires Iraq to coordinate its oil policies with the United Nations, which can charge 5 per cent of its revenue to pay for damages caused during the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
The clash between Baghdad and Erbil on how to manage and share Iraq’s energy resources began in January 2013 when Kurdistan started exporting directly crude oil to world markets via Turkey.
The dispute has intensified this month when the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) and Turkey agreed to export oil through a pipeline outside of federal control.
In 2012, the Kurds exported 61,000 bpd of crude via the Baghdad-controlled pipeline to Turkey, so the revenue went automatically to the central government.
In 2013, exports rose to 250,000 barrels per day, but payments were blocked due to a legal dispute over the payment of oil and gas companies operating in the north of the country.
With the new oil pipeline that bypasses federal controls, the Kurdish region will be able to export up to 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Last week, Abdul Kareem Luaibi, Iraqi Oil Minister threatened legal action against Ankara and foreign companies involved in what he called the “smuggling” of Iraqi oil.
“Turkey must consider its commercial ties and its interests in Iraq,” he said. “Turkey should know this issue is dangerous. It touches the independence and unity of Iraq.”
For his part, Kurdistan’s Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani arrived in the Iraqi capital on Sunday to pursue talks on an issue that has bedevilled relations between Nuri al-Maliki’s Shia-controlled Iraqi government and minority Kurds.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Lebanon: 5 Killed in Beirut Suicide Bombing
BEIRUT, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) — A suicide bombing rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs Tuesday, killing five people and injuring 35 others.
According to the state-run National News Agency (NNA), five people including two women were killed and 35 wounded when a suicide bomber in silver Kia Sportage with the license plate G347527 blew himself up…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Photos May Prove Assad Regime Committed Crimes Against Humanity
According to a new report by top war crimes prosecutors, Assad and his forces could face charges in international court after photos appear to show detainees strangled and starved to death
Bashar al-Assad’s regime could face war crimes charges, according to top prosecutors and forensic experts, who claim to have “direct evidence” of “systematic torture and killing” by Syrian forces.
“This is a smoking gun,” said David Crane, one of the report’s authors. “Any prosecutor would like this kind of evidence — the photos and the process. This is direct evidence of the regime’s killing machine.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Report Claims Syrian Government Behind ‘Systematic Killing’ Of 11,000 Detainees
A report compiled by three international war crimes prosecutors claims that the Syrian government is behind the “systematic killing” of approximately 11,000 detainees between March 2011 and August 2013.
The Guardian, which obtained access to the report, says that the source of the report’s claims is a military police photographer who secretly worked with a Syrian rebel group before defecting and fleeing the country. In the process, the defector smuggled the images of “killed detainees” out of the country on memory sticks.
The defector, identified in the report as “Caesar,” does not claim to have witnessed executions or torture himself. However, he describes the bodies of detainees, mostly young men, as being emaciated, blood-stained, and, in some cases, bearing signs of strangulation or electrocution.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Syria Accused of ‘Systemic Torture’ In Qatar-Backed Report
A team of senior war crimes prosecutors released a report on Monday accusing the Syrian regime of carrying out “systemic torture and killings” of thousands of men who are thought to be victims of the regime’s notorious security agencies.
The 31-page document was commissioned by Qatar, a key backer of the Syrian rebels, and given to CNN and The Guardian a day before Syrian peace talks were due to be held in Geneva.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish Premier Erdogan Resists EU Call to Rethink Legal Reforms
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will not back down on a controversial reform of the country’s judiciary. Visiting Brussels, he dismissed EU concerns that judges’ powers were being compromised.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
What ISIS, An Al-Qaeda Affiliate in Syria, Really Wants
ISIS originated as an al-Qaeda offshoot in Iraq. Composed of fundamentalist Sunni Muslims, the group targeted the Iraqi government and American forces in Iraq, as well as Shia Muslims and Christians (both of whom it considers heretics) and killed civilians of all faiths in indiscriminate attacks. It expanded into Syria when that country’s uprising turned into a war between President Bashar Assad (who is backed by Iran’s Shia leadership) and the rebels he had tried to crush. One of the best-equipped and funded militias on the ground—although its sources of cash are murky—ISIS took control of the eastern rebel-held city of Raqqa in 2012 and expanded along the border with Turkey. Foreign fighters flocked to Syria to join it.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
A Crumbling Sochi Hides Behind Olympic Facades
A shining new $635 million highway on the outskirts of Sochi stands next to a crumbling apartment block with a red “SOS!” banner on its roof.
The residents of 5a Akatsy street have lived for years with no running water or sewage system. Construction for the 2014 Winter Games has made their lives more miserable: The new highway has cut them off from the city center. Even their communal outhouse had to be torn down because it was found to be too close to the new road and ruled an eyesore.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Could the Protests in Ukraine Spiral Out of Control?
The recent clashes in Kiev after two months of peaceful protests underline a growing split between opposition leaders calling for non-violence and infuriated demonstrators, raising fears of further violence in the deeply-divided nation.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Olympic Terror Fears Mount Despite Putin’s Assurances
New terror threats. U.S. warships on standby. Warnings from U.S. lawmakers that the security dangers are “real.” As concerns mount over next month’s Olympic Games, Russian President Vladimir Putin is insisting he’s got things under control.
With some 40,000 cops deployed inside the 1,500-mile so-called “Ring of Steel,” Putin has so far brushed aside offers from other nations to assist in ensuring the safety of athletes and spectators at the games, in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi. But with those nations, including the U.S., sending their own people to the games, they have nearly as big a stake in safety as Putin.
The Pentagon confirmed late Monday that the U.S. military will have two ships and other assets at the ready. The Pentagon maintains that no aircraft are being sent to the region, contrary to an earlier report.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Russo-Japanese Ties Thaw After Long Freeze
Japan’s PM Abe has announced he would meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Sochi Winter Olympics, an indication of the thawing ties between Moscow and Tokyo after decades of disguised distrust.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Snowden Documents Proving “US-Alien-Hitler” Link Stun Russia
TEHRAN (FNA)- Former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden revealed documents providing incontrovertible proof that an alien/extraterrestrial intelligence agenda is driving US domestic and international policy, and has been doing so since at least 1945, some media reports said.
Of the many explosive revelations in this FSB report, the one most concerning to Russian authorities are the Snowden’s documents “confirming” that the “Tall Whites” (further revealed by Defense Minister Hellyer as noted above) are the same extraterrestrial alien race behind the stunning rise of Nazi Germany during the 1930’s.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Did Tamerlane Tsarnaev Contact Jihadists Near Sochi Olympic Site?
The late Boston Marathon Bomber, Tamerlan Tsarnaev made contact with Jihadists in Dagestan during a six month sojourn there in 2012. Dagestan is less than 1000 miles from the Russian Olympics site in Sochi. The question arises as to whether he visited Sochi in the company of Jihadists? That is a concern facing Members of the US House Homeland Security Committee, chaired by Rep. Michael McFaul (R-TX). They are investigating that and security at Sochi during a current trip to Russia endeavoring to wrap up an report to be issued shortly on the April 15, 2013 Boston Marathon finish line terror attack by the Tsarnaev Brothers.Massachusetts Congressman William Keating (D- MA) was interviewed today prior to a visit to Sochi Tuesday to check out security arrangements there with the start of the Winter Olympics, just two weeks away on February 7th.Both the AP and Lori Lowenthal Marcus, US correspondent for The Jewish Press had reports about security concerns for the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympics and possible ties to Chechen and Dagestani Jihadists in the adjacent Northern Caucasus region.
According to The Jewish Press report by Marcus, “Security Report, Tsarneav sought insurgents near 2014 Olympics Site”, Rep. Keating said in a Boston Herald Radio interview:
He believes “that Tamerlan Tsarnaev did meet with insurgents here.” The phone interview was with the Boston Herald Radio and it took place on Monday, Jan. 20. Keating and several other members of the congressional committee investigating the Boston Marathon bombings traveled to Russia to investigate Tsarnaev’s connections to local terrorist groups.Given the 10th anniversary of the Beslan atrocity in September 2014 and the recent Volgograd suicide bombings could more murderous Jihad terrorism occur? That despite Russian security virtually cordoning off the entire Russian Winter Olympic site and the surrounding vicinity of Sochi, as well as prior clearance of credentials for officials, TV and print journalists, national teams and spectators.
Possible terrorist scenarios might range from combating with a mass suicide attack akin to Volgograd perpetrated by Chechen and Dagestani Black Widows to hostage taking by Chechen henchmen of Emir Umarov of one of the Olympic teams eerily akin to the Israeli team massacre at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Marcus of The Jewish Press contrasted the security concerns of Rep. Keating and Maine US Senator King:
This Sunday the talk shows finally began airing discussions of potential terrorism at the Olympics next month. U.S. Sen. Angus King of Maine said he would not go to Sochi due to security concerns. Cong. Keating said he “wouldn’t go so far” as King, but said he is “aware of the dangers.”
Marcus commented in an email to this writer: “In what may be the first time, I fully agree with Angus King: I am not going to the 2014 Olympics and I wouldn’t let anyone in my family go!”
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Police Kill Terror Suspect in Winter Olympics Security Crackdown
Eldar Magatov killed in shootout in Dagestan during security operation as Sochi Games approach
Police have killed a senior Islamist militant in a shootout in Russia’s North Caucasus before the Winter Olympics in Sochi, the national anti-terror committee has said.
The operation against Eldar Magatov, a suspect in numerous attacks on Russian targets, at a house where he had taken refuge in the Dagestan region was part of an intensifying security clampdown as the Games approach.
President Vladimir Putin has staked his political reputation on organising a successful Olympics and tightened security nationwide after insurgents who hope to create an Islamist state in the North Caucasus threatened to attack the Games.
Magatov led an insurgent group in the Babyurt district of Dagestan, the committee said. Dagestan has become the focal point of the insurgency, which is rooted in two separatist wars in neighbouring Chechnya.
In a video published on Monday, two men belonging to an Islamist militant group thought to have carried out twin suicide bombings in the southern city of Volgograd last month warned Putin to expect more attacks if the Games went ahead.
The attacks in Volgograd killed at least 34 people and raised security fears before the Olympics, which open on 7 February.
In Sochi itself, residents say posters have appeared of a woman from Dagestan whom the Russian authorities suspect could be planning a suicide bombing. Putin has said Russia can cope with the security threat.
| — Hat tip: KGS | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Police Kill Islamist Militant Leader Before Olympics
(Reuters) — Police have killed a senior Islamist militant in Russia’s North Caucasus ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, where security forces searched on Tuesday for a woman they fear is planning an attack during the games.
Eldar Magatov, a suspect in attacks on Russian targets and alleged leader of an insurgent group in the Babyurt district of Dagestan, died in a shootout, the National Anti-Terror Committee said on Tuesday.
President Vladimir Putin has staked his political reputation on organizing a successful Olympics and tightened security nationwide after insurgents who hope to create an Islamist state in the North Caucasus threatened to attack the games, which start on February 7.
Putin had a phone call on Tuesday with U.S. President Barack Obama in which they discussed how best to have a “safe and secure” Winter Olympics, the White House said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
India Considering Blacklisting AgustaWestland — Media Report
New Delhi scrapped helicopter contract amid bribery probe
(ANSA) — New Delhi, January 21 — The Indian government is considering blacklisting the AgustaWestland unit of Italian defence giant Finmeccanica, according to local media reports. The development comes less than a month after India scrapped a contract to buy AW-101 helicopters outfitted for VIP use from the company amid an ongoing bribery probe.
On Monday The Hindu reported that the government was examining the possibility of blacklisting AW and that a final decision would be taken after consultations with the justice and defence ministries and the Central Investigation Bureau (CBI). Sources at the Finmeccanica subsidiary denied knowledge of the matter.
India froze payments on the 12 helicopters early last year after only three had been delivered in the wake of allegations that bribes had been paid to secure the contract.
It subsequently cancelled the $770 million deal at the start of 2014 but has agreed to take part in an arbitration process. Meanwhile, both Italy and India have opened separate judicial investigations into the claims, which led to the arrest and resignation of Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistani Christians Ask for Church Help to Get Political Asylum in Sri Lanka
At least 200 refugees, including more than 50 children, have been stranded in Negombo for nearly three years. Sri Lankan authorities have not yet recognised their right to asylum. The inability to get an education and crime are their most serious problems. “In Pakistan, we are treated like enemies,” some young people said, “but as Christians, there is no peace in our country.”
Colombo (AsiaNews) — About 200 Pakistani Christians have asked the Catholic Church for help to secure political asylum in Sri Lanka. For almost three years, these refugees have been stranded in Negombo (Western Province) without help from the local government. This is especially problematic for the more than 50 children who cannot go to school, and for young people who are likely to become victims of crime.
“We did not want to leave Pakistan,” some of them told AsiaNews, “but as Christians, there is no peace in our country.”
This community of refugees has been supported by members of the Catholic clergy in Negombo, in particular by the Claretian Sisters, the Sisters of the Holy Family, and the Sisters the Good Shepherd, as well as Dominican and the Claretian priests. Fr Terrance Bodiyabaduge is in charge of coordinating and distributing the aid provided by local parishioners.
Two days ago, the church of Kudapaduwa celebrated a special Mass in Urdu for the refugees. At the end of the service, the representatives of the clergy met to present their most urgent demands.
“We want to make an appeal to the international community,” they said, “to change Pakistan’s discriminatory laws and help obtain asylum in Sri Lanka on religious, social and economic grounds.”
“I know that the Sri Lankan government will not help these people,” Fr Bodiyabaduge told AsiaNews. “Only the Catholic Church can do something for them.”
Sharoon John, a young Pakistani Christian, told AsiaNews that in Pakistan, “We are treated as enemies. Wherever we go, we are not respected. For example, if I wanted to join the police force I would have to bribe some official despite my qualifications just because I am Christian. I can also think of the many threats that we receive if one of us wants to marry a Muslim man or woman.”
One of the greatest threats to their lives are the so-called “blasphemy laws”, whereby anyone who desecrates the Qur’an or insults Muhammad can be sentenced to death.
“Because of these rules,” the Christians noted, “many of our Christian brothers and sisters have fled to other countries to save themselves. Those who did not make it were either killed or jailed for life.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Thai Government Declares State of Emergency in Bangkok
Thailand’s government has declared a 60-day state of emergency in the capital Bangkok and its surrounding areas from Wednesday, as it struggles to contain violent protests against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
The decree gives security forces the power to impose curfews, detain suspects without charge, censor media, ban political gatherings of more than five people and cordon off parts of the capital.
“We need it because the protesters have closed government buildings, banks and escalated the situation, which has caused injuries and deaths. The government sees the need to announce the emergency decree to keep the situation under control,” Labour Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung told a nationally televised news conference.
Chalerm spoke to the media following a cabinet meeting that was held at an air force headquarters north of Bangkok, because Yingluck’s offices at Government House have been blocked off by protesters for weeks.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Thailand Imposes State of Emergency, No Immediate Plans to Use Force on Protesters
Thailand has imposed a state of emergency in Bangkok and surrounding areas in a bid to get to grips with mass anti-government demonstrations. So far, though, there are no plans to use force to break up the protests.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
A Test for One Chinese Province: How to Educate an Influx of US-Born Children
At least 10,000 children born in the US to Chinese parents have been sent back to Fujian to be raised. But because they maintain US citizenship, they’re ineligible for China’s public schools
A gray marble monument stands at the village’s entrance to document the latest fundraising feat: half a million dollars collected in 2011 to bring the villagers tap water. Donations overwhelmingly are made in dollars, remitted by local sons and daughters who work in America.
Elsewhere, plaques and other privately funded community projects — from streetlights to sewer lines — dot the landscape. And villa-style mansions with marble pillars now tower over mustard-colored brick shacks.
The mansions’ inhabitants are mostly the elderly and their grandchildren. While China’s countryside is teeming with such families as working-age adults migrate to cities in search of higher wages, the difference here is that many of the children are Americans by birth. They are known as yang liu shou er tong, or “left-behind foreign kids.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Beijing Tightens Censorship of Books by Hong Kong and Taiwan Authors
Tougher rules for all HK and Taiwan authors to weed out ‘vulgar’ and ‘harmful’ content
Beijing has tightened controls on book publishers and ordered publications by authors from Hong Kong and Taiwan to go through a stricter approval process. The directive was sent to all chief editors of major Chinese publishers in early December and came with immediate effect.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Japan Hopes Seabed Will Yield Data and Resources
With scant energy and mineral reserves of its own, and nuclear plants mothballed since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan is investing heavily in exploring beneath the oceans for resources that will power its future.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Made in China: Up to a Quarter of California Smog
What goes around comes around — quite literally in the case of smog. The US has outsourced many of its production lines to China and, in return, global winds are exporting the Chinese factories’ pollution right back to the US.
Decades ago, the US began outsourcing its industrial production, resulting in the ubiquitous “made in China” label. US factories shut down and Chinese ones opened up in droves. It looked like a clever scheme to shift noxious pollution to the opposite side of the planet, but it is backfiring.
Jintai Lin of Peking University in Beijing, China, and his colleagues used economic and emission data to divide Chinese emissions into several categories. They measured emissions produced in China for products consumed in China, and emissions produced in China for products destined for the US.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
US Consumerism Fuels China Air Pollution, Study Says
As Americans’ desire for cheap goods from China grows, there’s one increasing side effect US citizens hadn’t bargained for. A study has shown just how much of China’s air pollution makes its way across the Pacific Ocean.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
by Christina McIntosh
And while they are busy blaming the Infidels for upsetting Muslims and making them Go Jihad, they are also busy redirecting young Musilm men, and any likely-looking Infidel men they can recruit, away from mere local nonideological gangs and into the ranks of the biggest and oldest Gang of all, the Allah Gang, the Ummah or Mohammedan Mob. I don’t think the ABC’s Mark Solomons has the faintest idea what he is dealing with, here…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Islamic Outreach Group Ummah United Says ASIO Risks Radicalising Young Muslims in Need of Mentors
It was the “gangster feel” of Muslim outreach organisation Ummah United that caught the eye of Tayyab Khan. The young Logan man liked its ideals of brotherhood, sticking up for each other no matter what, and its image, the menacing black hoodies and T-shirts with their crossed-swords emblem…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
CAR: Interim President Must Rein in “Out of Control” Militias as Muslims Forced to Flee
The new interim President of the Central African Republic must urgently rein in the “out of control” anti-balaka militias currently forcing scores of people from Muslim communities to leave the country in a bid to escape terrifying abuse, Amnesty International said…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Mali: Five Injured as UN Vehicle in Mali Hits Land Mine
A vehicle from the UN stabilisation mission in Mali runs over a mine in north east of the country, 20 miles from Kidal, with five on board injured
Five members of the UN mission in Mali were injured on Monday when their vehicle ran over a landmine planted in the north eastern rebel bastion of Kidal, the stabilisation mission said. “This (Monday) morning a MINUSMA (UN stabilisation mission in Mali) vehicle ran over a mine” 20 miles from Kidal, the statement sent via Twitter said. “Five blue helmets were slightly injured,” it added, giving no more details…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Nigeria: New Defence Chief Says Boko Haram Must End by April
Newly appointed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Air Marshal Alex Badeh yesterday said the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East must be brought to a stop before April this year…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Repairs Begin on Rio’s Christ Statue, Likely Take 4 Months to Correct Damage From Lightning
Rio de Janeiro’s famed Christ statue is being repaired after two fingers and its head were chipped during recent lightning storms. Workers began examining the 125-foot (38-meter) Christ the Redeemer statue on Tuesday. After inspecting the damage up close, officials say it’ll take about four months to repair. The statue, which is perched atop a mountain and offering spectacular views of Rio, will remain open to tourists.
The right thumb of the statue was chipped during a violent storm last week, and its right middle finger and a spot on its head were damaged last month. Officials say they’ll place more lightning rods on the statue in an effort to prevent future damage.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Police Turn Blind Eye to Illegal Immigrant Clinics
A health clinic for illegal immigrants has opened in Aarhus but the police will let the volunteers work in peace
Police won’t interfere with the activities of a health clinic for illegal immigrants that opened in Aarhus on December 2, Inspector Jan Andersen of Østjyllands Politi said. The clinic allows rejected asylum seekers, prostitutes, and au pair girls living under the radar of the authorities to get medical treatment.
Andersen said that the police will let the clinic work in peace. “We are obviously aware of this clinic,” Andersen told Berlingske newspaper. “We will patrol the area as we’ve always done and if we notice something in relation to our investigations, we will stop by. But like the Copenhagen Police we won’t just turn up at the clinic if we don’t have any suspicions.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
German Foreign Minister: Cameron ‘Damaging Europe’ With Call for Immigration Limits
Germany has accused David Cameron of seeking to “damage Europe” by calling the European Union’s right to free movement into question. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister, has attacked the Prime Minister’s call for limits to be set on immigration when poor countries, such as Bulgaria and Romania, join the EU in future.
Mr Steinmeier, a Social Democrat in the Germany’s coalition government, has effectively committed Germany to blocking Britain’s plan to restrict the right to free movement for European nationals as part of proposals to renegotiate the EU treaty.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Senate Votes to Decriminalize Illegal Immigration
Compromise means repeat offenders still face criminal charges
(ANSA) — Rome, January 21 — Italy’s Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a government measure decriminalizing illegal immigration.
The amendment to an existing prison law passed with 182 votes in favor, 16 against and 7 abstentions. This means that overstaying one’s visa or entering Italy from a non-EU nation without a visa become administrative offenses will no longer punishable be under the penal code.
Italy’s tough migration laws became a hot issue in October when prosecutors were obliged to put the survivors of two migrant-boat disasters in which some 400 people died under investigation in order to respect the law.
Critics say the government measure does not go far enough, because it still allows for anyone entering the country without a visa to be expelled. The government’s proposal was a compromise after centre-right and right-wing parties expressed concerns that softening the migration laws could cause security risks.
While being an illegal immigrant is no longer a criminal offence, it is considered such in the case of repeat offenders, such as someone who breaks the law against entering Italy without a visa after having previously been expelled. Premier Enrico Letta on December 23 promised to make changing the old migration law a priority.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Bonino Warns of Sleeper Cells Among Refugees
‘Security’ central to European migration debate — foreign min
(ANSA) — Rome, January 21 — Italy’s Foreign Minister Emma Bonino on Tuesday warned of the possible presence of terrorist ‘sleeper cells’ among refugees arriving in Europe and said the issue of security must be central to the immigration debate. “Millions of refugees, including women and children, provide an easy hiding place for a whole series of other gentlemen,” said Bonino.
“It is a European problem because Italy is a transit country and the final destination of sleeper cells is a matter for the whole of Europe,” she continued. The foreign minister added that millions of refugees are on the move in the Mediterranean: a million in Lebanon, 500,000 in Jordan, 300,000 in Turkey. “It is no longer a question of how many refugees each country takes”, she said, adding that the migrant boat landings on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa and deaths at sea are only the tip of the iceberg.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Lampedusa Boat Victims Raped and Tortured
Italian police say dozens of Lampedusa boat tragedy victims were raped and tortured in Libya
Dozens of the people who were on the boat that sank near the Italian coast last month were raped and tortured in Libya before starting their journey, Italian police said.
The police revelation on Friday came after they announced the detention of Mouhamud Elmi Muhidin, a Somali citizen, who is believed to be the alleged organiser behind the smugglers’ ship packed with migrants that sank off the coast of a southern Italian island, killing more than 365 migrants.
According to migrants’ testimony, the 20 women in the group were repeatedly raped and offered to Libyan visitors “as if they were a cup of tea”. Muhidin, Libyan militiamen and Sudanese traffickers all took part in the alleged assaults in a detention centre in Sabha in southwest Libya, that Italian prosecutor Maurizio Scalia likened to “a concentration camp”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
On the anniversary of his death, hastened by the supreme effort to finish ‘his masterpiece’, it is fitting to remember once again the warning by the author of ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ that the totalitarian impulse can be supressed but never eradicated…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
@ Iran Reportedly Sends Two Warships to Atlantic.
Hmmm, Who do they think they kid?
US have been playing hide and seek with Russia for decades. Iran in the Atlantic wont be any problem 🙂
Now lets see if they return safely.
Re: “Snowden Documents Proving US-Alien-Hitler Link”- what nonsense! Everyone knows it’s the six-foot lizards. Or, of course, and yet again, the Jews…