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Italy: MPS Foundation Offices Searched, ‘Insider Trading’ Suspected
Linked to 3bn-euro share sale in December, sources say
(ANSA) — Rome, March 26 — Finance police and agents from market watchdog Consob on Wednesday were inspecting the offices the MPS Foundation, the main shareholder of troubled Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS). Sources told ANSA police suspect insider trading last December, when MPS delayed a crucial three-billion-euro share sale. Agents are also said to be looking into 12% share sale the foundation made last week. On December 30, Consob launched what they termed “coordinated monitoring” of Siena-based MPS, the world’s oldest functioning bank and Italy’s third-largest by assets. The bank has suffered a series of losses related to derivatives and has seen earnings eroded by years of economic recession.
Earlier this month finance police expanded their investigation into what is now believed to be a 90-million-euro fraud at MPS, including new searches in several cities including Siena, Rome, and Milan.
The latest searches are part of a broader probe targeting alleged members of the so-called “5% gang” — a name given to ex-bank managers suspected of taking 5% payoffs on banking operations under a previous management.
Investigators believe the fraud occurred between January and October 2013.
Prosecutors say they hope to eventually bring charges of aggravated criminal conspiracy aimed at defrauding the Sienese bank.
The case involves funds transferred to offshore accounts, trusts and companies, and investigators are reaching out as far as San Marino, Switzerland, Great Britain and Singapore as they search for suspicious international transactions.
The Siena prosecutor’s office has placed 11 former MPS managers and financial brokers under investigation in the case, including Gianluca Baldassarri, former chief of finance for MPS.
They are also probing Baldassarri’s former deputy, Alessandro Toccafondi, the former head of the MPS London office Matteo Pontone, and former MPS manager Antonio Pantalena.
Italy’s third-largest bank was thrown into crisis in January 2013 when it emerged that a shady series of derivative and structured-finance deals produced losses of 720 million euros.
Meanwhile, the investigating judge of the court of Siena announced this month the file has been closed into the suicide of David Rossi, the bank’s communication manager who threw himself from a window in March 2013.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Alaskans Plead to Leave U.S. And Reunite With Russia
Some Alaskans apparently are not opposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent annexation of Crimea—in fact, they are hoping to be grabbed up next.
More than 30,000 Alaskans have signed the petition “Alaska back to Russia,” pleading that the White House allow them to secede and join their native land. If the request garners 100,000 signatures by April 20, the White House will make an official response.
Alaska has only been a state for 55 years. Russia owned the territory until 1867, when Secretary of State William H. Seward agreed to pay $7.2 million for President Andrew Jackson’s “polar bear garden.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Cupcake ATM Pops Out Treats in 10 Seconds
Do New Yorkers really need another way to consume cupcakes?
Yes. The answer is yes.
And now New Yorkers — joining cupcake fanatics in cities like Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Beverly Hills — can get a cupcake 24 hours a day. Will the Sprinkles store opening next month on the Upper East Side of Manhattan be open all hours of the day and night? No, but its cupcake ATM will.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Jordan Graham Sentenced for Pushing Husband Off Cliff
A woman in the US state of Montana who admitted shoving her husband off a cliff eight days into their marriage has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Jordan Linn Graham, 22, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in December and faced up to life in prison. Cody Johnson, 25, fell to his death in Glacier National Park on 7 July.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Lawmaker Defends His Praise for 9/11 Mosque
Islamic center is ‘important member of Northern Virginia community’
Despite rebuke from counter-terrorism officials and the media, a former Obama appointee turned politician has doubled down on his controversial praise for the so-called 9/11 mosque outside the Washington suburbs, calling it “an important member of the Northern Virginia community.”
Virginia State Del. Alfonso H. Lopez, D-Arlington, earlier this month sponsored a resolution “commending” the notorious Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center “as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration” for the center…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Navy Official Identifies Civilian Who Shot Sailor at Base; Records Show He is Convicted Felon
NORFOLK, Va. — The civilian truck driver who killed a sailor aboard a destroyer at the world’s largest naval base was a convicted felon from Virginia, according to prison records and the Navy.
The Navy identified the shooter Thursday as Jeffrey Tyrone Savage. Records show he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in North Carolina in 2008 and a decade earlier he spent time in prison for possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute.
Savage was killed by Navy security forces Monday night aboard the USS Mahan after he took a gun from a petty officer who was on watch for the ship and used her gun to shoot Petty Officer 2nd Class Mark Mayo, who was providing security at Naval Station Norfolk.
Navy officials have said there’s no indication the attack was planned or had any link to terrorism.
[No link to terrorism? Given the media’s proclivity for identifying criminal Muslim converts by their erstwhile non-Muslim names, we’ll just see. Guy had plenty of time to get in on some jailhouse da’wah. — PW]
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Report Says Port Authority Official Told Christie of Lane Closings; Christie Doesn’t Recall
The Port Authority official who oversaw the lane closing at the George Washington Bridge said that he had he informed Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey about it at a Sept. 11 memorial while the closings were occurring, according to an internal investigation released on Thursday by lawyers for the governor.
The official, David Wildstein, told Mr. Christie’s press secretary of the Sept 11 conversation at a dinner in December just before his resignation from the Port Authority, according to the report.
The report said that Mr. Christie did not recall any such conversation and finds no evidence that he was involved in the scheme, which snarled traffic for thousands of commuters in Fort Lee, N.J., from Sept. 9 through the morning of Sept. 12.
It was one of many revelations unearthed by the inquiry, commissioned by Mr. Christie’s office, into what prompted the lane closings and what role his administration played in it.
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US Air Force’s Secretive X-37B Space Plane Shatters Orbital Endurance Record
The U.S. Air Force’s robotic X-37B space plane has broken its own all-time endurance record in orbit after more than 470 days of circling the Earth on a mystery mission for the American military.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Berlin’s Little Vietnam Reflects Divided City
Berlin has a huge Vietnamese population, shaped by city’s own historical division. DW’s Elizabeth Grenier immerses herself in the local sub-culture, on a hunt for the best Pho soup.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Giant Rat: Swedes Agog at ‘Ratzilla’ In Stockholm
The appearance of a massive rat in a Stockholm family’s kitchen has made headlines in Sweden, where it is being dubbed “Ratzilla”. Measuring 40cm (nearly 16in) plus tail, the creature terrified the family in Solna district. Pest controllers finally killed the intruder using an oversized trap.
Even the family cat had refused to enter the kitchen while the giant rat was in residence, father Erik Korsas told BBC News.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Court Rejects NZ Magnate Bid to Buy Budelli Island
(AGI) Olbia, March 27 — An Italian court has rejected New Zealand magnate Michael Harte’s bid to buy the Budelli Island since the Italian National Parks Agency had already exercised its right of first refusal stating its intention to buy the island. The agency explained that procedures had been started the day after the publication of the 2014 budget in which parliament expressed the wish to add the national park to the state’s assets.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Rejects Marine Trial in India, Says Envoy
‘The Italian position is very firm’ de Mistura tells House
(ANSA) — Rome, March 26 — The Italian government will not participate in a trial for the two Italian marines held in India for over two years for allegedly killing two Indian fishermen during an anti-piracy mission, Italy’s special envoy in the case Staffan de Mistura said Wednesday.
“Whatever happens at the March 28 hearing in New Delhi, we will not be present,” De Mistura said to an Italian House committee, adding “the Italian position is very firm: no trial”.
De Mistura also reiterated that Italy’s goal is to rally international support for the case.
On Friday, the Indian Supreme Court will examine an appeal filed by the Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fisherman in 2012.
Earlier this month, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone filed a petition to prevent the Indian authorities from permitting that country’s NIA anti-terrorism police to probe the case.
The court is also expected to review the marine’s request to return to Italy to await the beginning of the trial.
The 50-page document argues that allowing the NIA to probe the case is not valid because its jurisdiction only extends to certain laws, such as suppression of piracy, which do not apply to the Italian marines.
The document was prepared by the Italian legal team that has worked with the two marines for almost two years.
India’s Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati has already told the supreme court in New Delhi that he favoured dropping the anti-terrorism laws in this case — but has still asked the courts to uphold the NIA leading the investigation.
Latorre and Girone are accused of killing fishermen Valentine (aka Gelastine) and Ajesh Binki after allegedly mistaking them for pirates and reportedly opening fire on their fishing trawler.
The incident occurred while the marines were guarding the privately owned Italian-flagged oil-tanker MT Enrica Lexie off the coast of the southern Indian state of Kerala in February 2012.
The two marines have been living and working at the Italian embassy in India pending charges.
Rome has protested a long series of delays in the case, which has caused a deep diplomatic schism between the countries.
Italy is seeking international arbitration on the incident, which it insists took place in international waters.
Premier Matteo Renzi said on his appointment last month the case was “absurd and shocking”.
He said the pair have been stuck “for too long” in New Delhi and has given them his personal guarantee to see them returned to Italy.
De Mistura has argued that if the marines must face trial, it should be in Italy.
“They must come home,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Renzi Asks Obama for More Support on Marines in India
Italy aims to bring home anti-piracy duo held for alleged murder
(see related) (ANSA) — Rome, March 27 — Italian Premier Matteo Renzi on Thursday asked US President Barack Obama for further support in Italy’s initiative to bring home two marines held for two years without charge in India for allegedly killing two fishermen on an anti-piracy mission. Renzi also thanked the US for its support on the issue up till now.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Norwegian Ex-PM Stoltenberg Tipped as Next NATO Chief
In the margins of the EU-US summit, British Prime Minister David Cameron has given his support to Jens Stoltenberg as next secretary general of the NATO defence alliance, securing the Norwegian’s lead to get the position.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Obama Concerned Over Defence Cuts in NATO Countries
(AGI) Brussels, March 26 — U.S. President Barack Obama has expressed concern over defence cuts made in some NATO countries and, speaking at the EU-U.S. summit in Brussels, said that “the situation in Ukraine reminds us that our freedom isn’t free.” The president added that every NATO partner must “chip in” for mutual defense and that the members should examine their defense plans to make sure they reflect current threats.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Terror Strike Planned for French Riviera
French police believe they prevented an “imminent” terrorist attack that was planned to hit the French Riviera. According to French newspaper Le Figaro, authorities are convinced that a jihadist who had returned from Syria was planning to bomb the Riviera using almost a kilo of homemade explosives, which were discovered during a raid earlier this year.
Le Figaro reported on Wednesday 26th March that “close sources” claim the Central Directorate of Internal Intelligence (DCRI) is certain that it foiled a planned attack on the French Riviera following raids on 17th February. Around 900 grams of explosives were discovered as police stormed a building in Mandelieu La Napoule. Identified as TATP, the explosives can be manufactured at home and have been used in previous terror attacks.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Return of Ethnic Nationalism— is Europe Cracking Up?
By Patrick J. Buchanan
What the children of Europe are rebelling against is what their fathers, paralyzed by political correctness, refused to prevent. It was predictable, it was predicted, and it has come to pass.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
by Ed West
In the past 30 years British English has received a number of loan words from Arabic, words which would have meant very little to our young grandparents but are now familiar enough to be used metaphorically: jihad, fatwa, taliban, dhimmi. Almost all refer to religion and religious conflict, and have a slightly unwelcome ear to most people…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Man ‘Did Chin-Ups on the Bus After Hurling Racist Abuse and Punching Woman in Face’
Police are hunting a man who did chin-ups on a bus after punching a woman in the face and hurling racist abuse. The suspect launched a tirade of abuse at the woman when she intervened to stop him verbally abusing a woman as she waited at a bus stop after a night shift at Heathrow Airport.
The woman, who is of Polish descent, was then followed on board the bus by the man, who continued abusing her before punching her in the face. After she ran off the bus in terror, the alleged attacker stayed on and did chin-ups during the remainder of the journey until he got off the bus in Hounslow…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Met Chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe: Change the Law for a More Diverse Police Force
Scotland Yard chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe today called for a change in the law to allow positive discrimination to recruit more ethnic minority officers in London. Sir Bernard said there should be a five year period of 50/50 recruitment for white and ethnic minority officers so the force reflected the diversity of London’s population.
He wants to replicate a radical Northern Ireland system which saw a temporary change in the law to allow one Catholic officer recruited for every Protestant officer…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Nick Clegg Hits Out at Nigel Farage Over ‘Perverse’ Vladimir Putin Comments
Nick Clegg today conceded that he failed to beat Nigel Farage in their first big showdown debate but claimed he will win the “marathon” battle over Europe. Launching a fightback, he branded the Ukip leader as “extreme” and “insulting” for appearing to side with Russian leader Vladimir Putin over the annexation of the Crimea…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Trouble With the Law? Just Plead “Islam”
What differentiates civilized societies from others is the rule of the law, where everyone must abide by the rules or face consequences. Nonetheless, as a Muslim living in the West, I have come to see that many of my fellow Muslims living in the West seem to expect a free pass when they break the law by using their religion as an excuse. Unfortunately, as the Western legal system is possibly afraid to be labelled “Islamophobic,” this approach seems to work for some of them. Will the European legal system change its plea options into: “Guilty, Not Guilty, No Contest and Islam”?…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Vienna Palace Offers Flat at Princely Price
(Reuters) — Vienna’s opulent Schoenbrunn Palace, the former summer residence of the imperial Habsburg family, will open its doors to tourists looking to spend the night like Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Sisi.
An apartment — once reserved for close relatives of the court — can be booked from April 30 at a starting price of 699 euros ($960) per person per night. The two-bedroom flat with kitchen and dining room sleeps four.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: One Dead and Eight Wounded in Cairo Clashes
Cairo — One person was killed and eight were wounded in clashes between pro-Muslim Brotherhood supporters and security forces near Cairo University on Wednesday, Egypt’s health ministry said…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Ex-Libyan PM Warns Country Could be Al-Qaeda Base
Zeidan says he is preparing to return ‘maybe very soon’ to help restore order, repel threat of extremism.
LONDON — Former Libyan prime minister Ali Zeidan on Tuesday warned that Islamist groups were sabotaging attempts to rebuild his country in order that it become a haven for extremists, in an interview with Britain’s newspaper The Times…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Giza Museum Being Built at Pyramids in Egypt
The Grand Egyptian Museum (gem.gov.eg) will house 100,000 ancient artefacts, including King Tutankhamun’s mummy. The £483m attraction was supposed to open in 2012, but has been held back and is now expected in August 2015.
Construction is now underway on the final part of the museum, as the country’s tourism industry struggles to recover from a drop in visitors following political unrest.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Oxfam International is tied to banned terror group PFLP, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, because of its support of two front organizations, according to the Jerusalem-based legal rights group Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
3 Killed in Sectarian Clashes in Lebanon’s Tripoli
BEIRUT, March 26 (Xinhua) — Three people were killed in clashes between the Sunni neighborhood of Bab El-Tebbaneh and Alawite Jabal Mohsen on Wednesday in Lebanon’s northern port city of Tripoli.
A security source told Xinhua that the clashes erupted after the killing of an Alawite citizen by unknown gunmen while driving a car in the Bab El Tebbaneh neighborhood. The car hit a woman who died later of her wound…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Blonde Iraqi Candidate With Pink Lipstick Gets Lambasted
Iraqis have long been used to seeing female parliamentarians belonging to conservative Islamist parties cover up, either by donning the Islamic head cover or the traditional black abaya.
But for the upcoming parliamentary elections in April, one of the hopeful candidates, Ashwaq Talib al-Zughaibi from the Shiite bloc National Iraqi Alliance (NIA), took a decidedly different approach.
In her poster, which says “you own the decision, so make a better choice,” Zughaibi doesn’t cover her blonde locks and wears bright pink lipstick.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
FBI: Syria is ‘Metastasizing’ Terrorist Threats Against U.S.
The FBI warned Congress on Wednesday that Syria is quickly becoming a haven for terrorists looking to do harm to the U.S. and its allies.
A recent flood of militants into the country poses a “serious challenge” for counterterrorism officials, who are increasingly concerned that Westerners in the country could be trained to plan and carry out attacks around the world, FBI Director James Comey said.
“It’s one of the things that I meant by the metastasizing threat,” said Comey, appearing before a House Appropriations subcommittee. “We’re very worried about people who (travel) there, who travel out to the E.U. and then can come to the U.S. without a visa, or our citizens who travel back and forth directly.”
Comey’s comment follows a New York Times report that al-Qaida operatives are traveling from Pakistan into Syria as part of a coordinated plot to carry out future terrorist strikes against the U.S. and Europe.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gruesome Video of European Jihadists in Syria Shocks France
Smiling at the wheel of a pickup truck, a bearded young man looks into the camera and gives the go-ahead, in French, for the camera to record the next scene. What follows are scenes of brutality that has shocked France.
The pickup starts to move, dragging along at least half-a-dozen corpses through the fields of northern Syria amid cries of “takfir” — an Arabic term used by one Muslim to denounce another Muslim as an unbeliever.
The jihadists in the pickup belong to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) — one of the hardline Salafist groups that have edged out nationalist opposition fighters in the Syrian conflict against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Rome Mayor Flies to Riyadh to Woo Donor for Restorations
Marino seeks funds to save ancient treasures
(ANSA) — Rome, March 27 — The mayor of Rome is flying to the Saudi Arabian capital on Saturday to woo a Saudi prince in an ongoing effort to find donors to fund restoration for nine Roman monuments.
Ignazio Marino will land in Riyadh to present his fundraising dossier — which has accompanied the mayor on recent foreign travels — to the art lover Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.
Marino’s portfolio of projects includes a 1.3-million-euro plan to restore the facades of the Palazzo delle Esposizioni — a neoclassical exhibition hall and museum completed in 1883 — and a six-million-euro effort to return the Seven Halls, an ancient Roman cistern that once supplied the Baths of Trajan, to their former glory.
Marino’s trip is part of a larger effort to find private donors to underwrite important renovations in a time of pinched public coffers.
Luxury goods company Tod’s is sponsoring the renovation of the Colosseum; Fendi is giving aid for the Trevi Fountain; and Japanese fashion entrepreneur Yuzo Yagi is financing a makeover for the 2000-year-old Pyramid of Cestius. Other donors include Bulgari and the embassy of Azerbajian, while contacts are underway with Coca Cola.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Vandalism at a Sacred Site in Constantinople
By Nicholas Manginas
On Sunday, March 23, 2014 at noon, a number of young vandals invaded the courtyard and the chapel of Agia Paraskevi, the site of a Sacred Spring (Agiasma), outside the Byzantine walls near the Monastery of Baloukli.
For at least five hours, according to the testimony of the church sacristan (neokoros) of forty years, Athanasiou Ozkaramichaloglou, the runaway crowd of youths looted and dishonored the sacred precints of the Agiasma, disrupting the entire sanctuary, sending sacred vessels and priestly vestments flying to the floor. They also invaded the home of the neokoros. They caused significant damage, broke into the candle pangari, and when they fled, even stole a bell!
These unfortunate events occurred during the celebrations of the Turkish holiday, Nevrouz, that is a Springtime festival originating in Mesopotamia and continuing today in Turkey especially among Kurds. It is worth noting that despite calls for help (that were unanswered) the neokoros and his family fled from the area, resorting to the protection of the local police station only forty meters away. Even then the police declined to intervene on the pretext of further exacerbating the crowd. The band of youths left in the wreckage two flags of the HDP Party (composed mainly of Kurds).
Upon being informed of the events, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew expressed sorrow and indignation for the vandalism at the Agiasma.
| — Hat tip: RR | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish Telecoms Authority Blocks Access to YouTube
Turkey’s telecoms authority says it has taken an “administrative measure” to block access to YouTube, a day after a court in Ankara ordered that a March 21 government ban on Twitter be suspended.
The latest attack on access to social media sites comes a day after a court in Ankara suspended a March 21 government ban on the micro-blogging site Twitter, giving the telecoms authority 30 days to restore access.
The Twitter crackdown followed soon after links were tweeted to alleged wiretapped recordings of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaking to family members about hiding funds as police launched massive anti-corruption raids last December.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Far-Right Weighs on Ukraine Government
The transitional government in Kyiv faces major challenges. The West supports the new government while Russia calls it fascist and illegitimate. But who are the new ministers in the Ukraine government?
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to Run for President
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Tymoshenko has said she plans to run for president. The former opposition leader was freed from jail last month following the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
General Assembly Condemns Russian Annexation of Crimea
In the first barometer of global condemnation of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Ukraine and its Western backers persuaded a large majority of countries in the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday to dismiss the annexation as illegal, even as Russia sought to rally world support for the idea of self-determination.
The resolution — which garnered 100 votes in favor, 11 votes against, with 58 abstentions — represented the latest effort to isolate President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia over the annexation.
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Italy’s Alenia Aeronautica Near Russian Deal, Say Reports
Letter of understanding involves regional jet airlines
(ANSA) — Moscow, March 26 — A subsidiary of Italian defence giant Finmeccanica is close to signing a major contract to take part in the construction of regional jet airlines with Russia’s Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, local media reported Wednesday.
Finmeccanica signed a letter of understanding with Sukhoi that would see the Italian firm’s subsidiary Alenia Aeronautica work in a joint venture to produce the Superjet 100, the flagship craft of Sukhoi, for sale to China’s O-Bay Aircraft Co.
The deal reportedly involves 100 of the Superjets for an estimated cost of $3.5 billion US, beginning with 40 aircraft in 2014. Some assembly would occur in China.
According to media reports, if the deal comes to fruition it will be the most significant in the history of Sukhoi and Russian civil aviation.
The initial development of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 began in 2000 and has involved international partners including Italy’s Alenia Aeronautica, Canada, France and the United States. Those same countries, through the Group of 7 major industrial powers, have been involved in bringing multilateral sanctions against the Russian government over the crisis in Ukraine. G7 leaders have issued a declaration reiterating their support for Ukraine’s new government and calling Russia’s annexation of Crimea illegal.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Putin Urges Measures to Protect Russians From Radicals
NOVO-OGARYOVO, Moscow Region, March 27 (RIA Novosti) — Russian lawmakers should analyze the crisis in Ukraine in order to better defend Russians from terrorism and extremism, President Putin said Thursday, while adding the rights and freedoms of citizens must be protected…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Intel Assessment: Greater Likelihood Russia Will Enter Eastern Ukraine
A new classified intelligence assessment concludes it is more likely than previously thought that Russian forces will enter eastern Ukraine, CNN has learned.
The buildup is seen to be reminiscent of Moscow’s military moves before it went into Chechnya and Georgia in both numbers of units and their capabilities.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UN General Assembly Declares Crimea Secession Invalid. Aid to Ukraine Boosted
The UN General Assembly has passed a non-binding resolution that declares Crimea’s breakaway referendum as illegitimate. The move comes as Ukraine’s new government receives a boost in international financial aid pledges.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
‘We Haven’t Listened to the Russians’
An expert on EU-Russian relations tells DW that the Crimean crisis didn’t come as a surprise. After the eastern expansion of NATO, Russian insecurity was predictable, but the West ignored Putin’s warnings.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Christian Sentenced to Death for Blasphemy in Pakistan
(AGI) Lahore, March 27 — Another Christian has been sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan, where 97 percent of the population is Muslim. Sawan Masih was found guilty of having “insulted the Prophet Mohamed” (a crime for which there is the death sentence) during what was described as a conversation with Muslim friends in a suburb of Lahore last March. This resulted in violent protests but caused no deaths.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Christian Man Awarded Death Penalty in Joseph Colony Case
LAHORE: A court in Pakistan sentenced a Christian man to death for blasphemy Thursday, his lawyer said, over an incident that triggered a riot in the country’s second-largest city.
Sawan Masih was convicted of insulting the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) during the course of a conversation with a Muslim friend in the Joseph Colony neighbourhood of Lahore in March last year.
More than 3,000 Muslims rampaged through Joseph Colony, torching some 100 Christian homes, after the allegations against Masih emerged.
Masih has maintained his innocence and argued the real reason for the blasphemy allegation was a property dispute between him and his friend.
Some 97 per cent of the 180 million population are Muslim, and even unproven allegations can trigger a violent public response.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
China’s Central Bank Boost ENI, Enel Holdings
People’s Bank holds more than 2% in Italy’s major energy firms
(ANSA) — Milan, March 27 — China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, now holds more than 2% of Italy’s largest State-controlled energy firms, the Italian financial market watchdog announced Thursday.
The People’s Bank holds 2.102% of Eni, and 2.071% of Enel, Consob reported in an update on financial market activity.
The regulator noted that the Chinese bank exceeded a 2% limit that triggers a disclosure requirement.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Chinese Tourists Boycott Malaysia in Wake of MH370 Disappearance
Mainland travel agencies have reported a sharp drop in the number of Chinese visitors to Malaysia. Some mainlanders, led by celebrities, were also calling for a tourism boycott to the popular holiday destination following the disappearance of Flight 370 on March 8.
“In the two weeks after the incident, we have seen the number of clients from northern China going to Malaysia declining 50 per cent compared with the same period last year, including group and independent travellers,” said Dun Jidong, a senior marketing manager at Ctrip.com, China’s largest travel booking website.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Philippines Signs Historic Peace Deal With Muslim Rebel Group
The Philippine government signed a peace accord with the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), on Thursday — the culmination of years of negotiations.
It is unlikely, however, that it will end all violence in a part of the country long-plagued by lawlessness, poverty and Islamist insurgency.
Other insurgent groups have vowed to keep fighting for full independence. The southern Mindanao region is also home to the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim extremist network with international links that the Philippine army is battling with American support.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Philippines and Muslim Rebel Group Sign Peace Deal
The Philippine government signed a peace accord with the country’s largest Muslim rebel group on Thursday, the culmination of years of negotiations and a significant political achievement for President Benigno Aquino III…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Philippines Signs Historic Peace Agreement With Muslim Group
The Philippines has signed a peace accord with the nation’s largest separatist group, ending decades of conflict. Under the deal, the country’s Muslim population is to receive a semi-autonomous region.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Tiger Slaughter Show Held for Chinese Rich and Powerful
(AGI) Beijing, March 27 — More than 10 tigers have been killed and butchered in a small town in the south of China, during one or more private parties for rich and powerful locals. Police in Zhanjiang in Guangdong province seized a slaughtered tiger and multiple tiger products in a raid this month. The animals were skinned first and then the meat and bones were sold for their weight in gold. According to the local press, local officials and successful businessmen gathered to watch the tigers being killed as “visual-feasts” to show off their social stature.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Bat Soup Blamed as Deadly Ebola Virus Spreads
An outbreak of the Ebola virus has claimed at least 63 lives in the African nation of Guinea. To combat the spread of this deadly disease, Guinean officials have taken the unusual step of banning the consumption of bat soup, grilled bat and other local delicacies.
“We discovered the vector (infectious) agent of the Ebola virus is the bat,” Remy Lamah, the country’s health minister, told Bloomberg News.
Bats can be prepared for human consumption a number of ways, according to the BBC. Bats are often grilled over an open flame or boiled in a spicy soup with peppers and other ingredients.
The flying mammals are reservoirs for more than 60 viruses that can infect humans, and host more viruses per species than even rodents.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ebola: Guinea Outbreak Reaches Capital Conakry
Guinea’s government has for the first time confirmed cases of the deadly Ebola virus in the capital Conakry. Until now, the 62 confirmed deaths have only been in rural areas, although there have been suspected cases, which have since proved negative, in the capital. There have also been suspected cases in neighbouring West African states Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Ebola is spread by close contact and kills between 25% and 90% of victims.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Kenya: 400 Arrested in Second Nairobi Swoop
Nairobi — Police in Nairobi arrested 450 more suspects on Wednesday night in the ongoing Usalama Watch Operation in the City. Nairobi Deputy Commandant Moses Ombati said police recovered one pistol and a homemade gun as he vowed the operation would continue until they are satisfied the city is safe.
“We are going to ensure the city is free from muggers and those who have been carjacking people,” he said. “We are in control and we will not relent in this fight.” In two days of operation, he said over 900 people have been arrested and majority charged in court with various crimes.
This comes as police heighten security across the country amidst public outcry of cases of insecurity.The security mop up follows increasing cases of gun attacks in Nairobi and Mombasa the latest being Sunday’s incident at a Likoni church where six worshippers were gunned down by three suspected terrorists…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Kenya Orders Refugees Back Into Camps After Church Attack
Kenya has restricted all refugees on its soil to two designated camps in the wake of a weekend attack on a church near Mombasa that claimed six lives.
Dadaab, where people often live in appalling conditions, is home to more than 400,000 mainly Somali refugees while Kakuma, a vast desert settlement, is home to more than 125,000 refugees from across the region, including Somalia.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland: Financial Officers Worried by Immigration Vote
A large majority of chief financial officers (CFOs) of Swiss companies are unnerved about the fallout from the recent vote against European Union immigration. They cite concerns for the Swiss business landscape as well as for their own companies.
Of the 111 companies surveyed by consultants Deloitte, 88% said they expected negative consequences to befall Switzerland as a result of the February 9 vote. Only 6% expected positive outcomes.
In addition, 69% of CFOs anticipated negative fallout for their own businesses, while 29% didn’t expect anything to change after the decision to re-establish quotas on immigrants to Switzerland from the EU.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Watchdog Raises Concerns Over Thousands of Foreign Criminals and Illegal Immigrants Still in UK
John Vine, the immigration watchdog, reveals up to 6,500 cases where emergency travel documents obtained but not used
Up to 6,500 foreign criminals and illegal immigrants are still in the UK despite the Home Office having secured travel documents for their removal — with some cases dating back 12 years. Almost half are still in this country because casework is still ongoing while up to one in four have disappeared, according to the borders and immigration watchdog…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Black Civil Rights Leader Slams White Privilege Conference
As thousands of Wisconsin residents flock to downtown Madison for a four-day White Privilege Conference, one black civil rights leader is calling the event a huge waste of taxpayer money.
According to the Wisconsin Reporter, taxpayers so far are on the hook for more than $20,000 to stage the event that strives to dismantle the system of “white supremacy, white privilege and oppression.” The event began Wednesday and concludes Saturday.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Homophobic Speakers Invited to the University of Westminster
This afternoon students at the University of Westminster had booked Murtaza Khan to speak at the Islamic Society Annual Dinner ‘The Day of Judgement’.
Khan has a history of encouraging communal division, declaring of non-Muslims “people are still not waking up to understand the fact that these people are enemies towards us”, and asking in 2007 “for how long do we have to see our mothers, sisters and daughters having to uncover themselves before these filthy non-Muslim doctors?”
However, it is his views on homosexuality which are the most worrying, including his claim that it is an “abominable action which goes against humanity” and that it should be punished with death…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Brain Changes in Autism Likely Start Before Birth
A discovery of distinct patches of altered brain cells in children with autism suggests the condition starts before birth, during the brain development stages in the second and third trimester of pregnancy.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Creating Designer Organisms by Synthesizing a Genome From Scratch
Researchers have rebuilt a yeast chromosome, deleting superfluous genetic material not needed for survival. Such designer organisms could be the future of biotechnology. Are designer humans next?
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Quote:
Upon being informed of the events, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew expressed sorrow and indignation for the vandalism at the Agiasma.
end
The Turk is the Turk.
He does not even respect his own history.
What makes you think he will respect yours, Europe?
Presumably Hyphen-Howe will resign as the Met’s commissioner to allow a non-white to take the job?