Denmark is one of the most Islamic countries in the world. According to a study by George Washington University, which established an “Islamicity index” for every country in the world, New Zealand is the most Islamic non-Muslim country, but Denmark is high on the list.
In other news, Meriam Ibrahim, a Sudanese Christian woman who was sentenced to death for refusing to “revert” to Islam, has had her sentence overturned by a higher court, and has been released from prison.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Charlie Marteau, Fjordman, Insubria, Jerry Gordon, JP, Kitman, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
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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.
Bank of Italy Raises Doubts Over Value of Crime in Economy
Including prostitution, drugs in GDP triggers skepticism
(ANSA) — Rome, June 23 — Estimates that as much as 10% of Italy’s gross domestic product (GDP) is derived from criminal activities is “only a hypothesis,” the Bank of Italy said Monday.
Statisticians from the central banking were reacting to estimates that extrapolated the impact of crime on the national economy.
Those estimates were made after national statistics agency Istat announced earlier this month that it would begin to estimate the value of some criminal activity, including drugs, prostitution, and smuggling, in its calculations of economic activity.
Italy is one of several European nations that are to begin to include activities within the underground economy in its macroeconomic indicators under new accounting methods sanctioned by the European Union in line with a “best practices” directive laid out by the United Nations in 2008.
Other nations beginning to take account of the value of crime include the United Kingdom and Ireland.
A report in the Wall Street Journal earlier this month suggested that Italian GDP could be increased by 1-2% when the country starts including crime when measuring its economic activity. Skeptics of the changes question the accuracy of the resulting figures given that transactions made in the shadow economy are by definition hard to quantify.
However the UN in its 2008 directive warned that national accounts “as a whole are liable to be seriously distorted” if all transactions are not tabulated.
There is a plus side for Italy to include the calculations — a higher GDP will help it to meet its obligations to keep its deficit as a proportion of GDP within the prescribed EU limit of 3%.
In April, statistical agency Istat said Italy’s deficit-to-GDP ratio in 2013 was 2.8% by some measures.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Pope ‘Following Lenin’ But ‘Asks Right Questions’ — Economist
Francis takes ‘ultra-radical line’ on capitalism, magazine says
(ANSA) London, June 23 — Pope Francis is following Lenin in adopting an “ultra radical line” on the ills of capitalism but the pontiff is “asking the right questions” about modern society, the Economist magazine says.
“By positing a link between capitalism and war, he seems to be taking an ultra-radical line: one that consciously or unconsciously follows Vladimir Lenin in his diagnosis of capitalism and imperialism as the main reason why world war broke out a century ago,” the Economist says in a blog entitled “Francis, capitalism and war: the pope’s divisions” analysing a recent interview Francis gave to La Vanguardia newspaper.
“… But then in contrast with his cerebral predecessor, Francis does not pretend either to be an academic philosopher, political scientist or economist …” “He observes what he calls the ‘idolatry of money’ in some places and hungry children in others … he concludes that economists must be missing some important point,” the Economist continued “Francis may not be offering all the right answers, or getting the diagnosis exactly right, but he is asking the right questions,” the Economist concluded, “like a little boy who observes the emperor’s nakedness.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Spending Spree: Anger With Greek Shipowners on the Rise
The Greek economy continues to suffer, but the country’s shipowners are spending as though there were no crisis. Once popular, Greece’s shipping companies are now widely reviled.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Half the Natural Gas Extracted in America Now Comes From Shale
The shale gas boom, spurred by fracking and horizontal drilling, is bigger than anyone thought it would be. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, natural gas derived from shale now makes up a full half of U.S. natural gas production, says Scientific American. Shale gas wasn’t supposed to make up such a large portion of our gas supply for another ten to twenty years.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Louisiana Gov. Jindal Claims ‘Rebellion Brewing’ Against Washington
WASHINGTON — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Saturday night accused President Barack Obama and other Democrats of waging wars against religious liberty and education and said that a rebellion is brewing in the U.S. with people ready for “a hostile takeover” of the nation’s capital.
Jindal spoke at the annual conference hosted by the Faith and Freedom Coalition, a group led by longtime Christian activist Ralph Reed. Organizers said more than 1,000 evangelical leaders attended the three-day gathering. Republican officials across the political spectrum concede that evangelical voters continue to play a critical role in GOP politics.
“I can sense right now a rebellion brewing amongst these United States,” Jindal said, “where people are ready for a hostile takeover of Washington, D.C., to preserve the American Dream for our children and grandchildren.”
The governor said there was a “silent war” on religious liberty being fought in the U.S. — a country that he said was built on that liberty.
“I am tired of the left. They say they’re for tolerance, they say they respect diversity. The reality is this: They respect everybody unless you happen to disagree with them,” he said. “The left is trying to silence us and I’m tired of it, I won’t take it anymore.”
Earlier this week, Jindal signed an executive order to block the use of tests tied to Common Core education standards in his state, a position favored by tea party supporters and conservatives. He said he would continue to fight against the administration’s attempts to implement Common Core.
“The federal government has no role, no right and no place dictating standards in our local schools across these 50 states of the United States of America,” Jindal said.
Jindal used humor in criticizing the Obama administration on several fronts, referencing the Bergdahl prisoner exchange and the deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.
“Are we witnessing right now the most radically, extremely liberal, ideological president of our entire lifetime right here in the United States of America, or are we witnessing the most incompetent president of the United States of America in the history of our lifetimes? You know, it is a difficult question,” he said. “I’ve thought long and hard about it. Here’s the only answer I’ve come up with, and I’m going to quote Secretary Clinton: ‘What difference does it make?”‘
The conference featured most of the well-known Republicans considering a 2016 presidential run, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. Jindal is expected to announce after the November midterm elections whether or not he will launch a presidential bid.
| — Hat tip: Charlie Marteau | [Return to headlines] |
Midland Park Mosque Approval Faces Appeal
MIDLAND PARK — The zoning board will hear an appeal from a resident who says the borough incorrectly approved an application by an Islamic foundation to convert a Korean church on Irving Street into a mosque. “I find the application incomplete, at a minimum, and defective,” Joan Doumas said in her letter of appeal…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Nearly Half of Detroit Water Customers Can’t Pay Their Bill
DETROIT (WWJ) — It’s a basic human right: water. But could the United Nations soon help the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department provide the service to struggling customers?
Water department spokeswoman Curtrise Garner says it’s a possibility — but for now, the water bills must be paid.
Garner said the reality is that nearly half of Detroit Water and Sewerage customers can’t pay their bills; and that has led activists to lobby the UN to step up and take action.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Update on Mosque Under Construction in Pocatello
Pocatello’s new mosque on 5th avenue by Idaho State University is finally starting to take shape, and today we got a first look of the framework, and found out just how far away they are from finishing.
“Given a couple years, this building probably would have collapsed,” said Daniel Hummel, the Secretary for the Islamic Society of Southeastern Idaho…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Britain’s Armed Forces ‘Not Good Enough’ To Deal With Jihadi Threat, Warns Ex-Defence Chief
Lord Richards of Hertsmonceux also calls for defence spending to increase as the economy starts to grow again and says that if plans to replace regular troops with part-time reserves must work soon or junked altogether.
Britain’s armed forces are “not good enough” to deal with the global threat of Jihadis, according to a former head of the military.
Lord Richards of Hertsmonceux also called for defence spending to increase as the economy starts to grow again and said that if plans to replace regular troops with part-time reserves must work soon or junked altogether…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
British PM Calls for Vote on Juncker EU Candidacy
(AGI) London, June 23 — Prime Minister David Cameron wants to force a vote on Jean-Claude Juncker’s candidacy as next president of the European Union, said Cameron’s spokeswoman.
“The prime minister will make clear that if the European Council seeks to proceed with the nomination of Jean-Claude Juncker, then the prime minister will expect there to be a vote on that,” the spokeswoman told a briefing in London. Cameron wants to break with usual manner in which the EU appoints presidents of the EU commission.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
End Immunity for Italy’s Politicians, Says Five Star Party
(AGI) Rome, June 23 — Immunity for those who hold political office must be abolished, said Five Star Movement MP and Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies Luigi Di Maio. Members of the movement do not use any rights of immunity they may have, he said after a meeting on reform with the movement’s leader, Beppe Grillo.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Female Genital Mutilation Exposed in Swedish Class
Some 60 cases of genital mutilation have been discovered in Norrköping in eastern Sweden since March with all 30 girls in one school class found to have undergone the procedure.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: Athens Vies for Azeri and Chinese Investments
Baku and Beijing crucial for Greek economic recovery
(by Demetrio Manolitsakis) (ANSAmed) — ATHENS — Recent trips to Athens by Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang are the best demonstration that Greece is re-conquering international credibility and that the government formed after elections two years ago — the first coalition government in the country’s recent history — has so far obtained important results in economic recovery, although there are still many difficulties.
The government knows very well that with unemployment at 27% (over 50% amid youths) and public debt at 180% of GDP, it cannot be easily considered a normal country. China and Azerbaijan are among the strongest protagonists of the world economy and their support will be crucial for the Greek economy.
Azerbaijan, which the Ukrainian and Middle Eastern crises have made a key country for energy provision to Europe, has for this reason been defined as a “milestone for the diversification of European provisions” by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. And it is in excellent economic relations with Greece where it has already invested 400 million euros to buy 66% of Desfa.
“Energy security has strategic importance and the construction of the gas pipeline Tapis is not only an energy operation but also the re-evaluation of relations between Azerbaijan and Greece”, said Aliyev during his visit to Athens.
The authority in charge of regulating energy (Rae) has already sent to the European Commission the certification that Desfa will be independent, will not trade gas and will not intervene in the internal administration of the company.
The atmosphere during the visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was definitely hotter. Economic relations between China and Greece are increasingly stronger and cooperation sectors with Beijing are expanding as China is ready to invest in many areas, including airports and railways while many big Chinese firms already operate in Greece.
The companies Friedmann Pacific Asset Management Limited (Fpam) and the Shenzhen Airport Group already own 55% of shares in Athens airport Elefterios Venizelos and have promised to turn Greece’s top airport into “China’s door into Europe”.
Fosun Group for its part has expressed an interest in exploiting the capital’s old airport, Hellinikon, and is also interested in building and managing the new airport of Kastelli near Iraklion (Crete).
The Chinese presence in the port of Piraeus is even more important. Maritime logistics giant Cosco of China, which already controls dock 2 and the eastern part of dock 3, holds 70% of the port’s commercial activities and wants to gain control of the western part of dock 3 so it can be in charge of over 80% of the port’s trade activities.
The port of Piraeus is today the third-largest in the Mediterranean and some major international companies like Zte, Huawei and Hp mean to use it to transport their products to Europe.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Former Berlusconi Minister Defends Self From Mose Arrest
Protected by immunity, MP Galan accused of millions in bribes
(ANSA) — Rome, June 23 — A former minister under ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi on Monday submitted his written defence against a request to arrest him for alleged links to an unfolding political graft scandal tied to the multi-billion-euro MOSE flood-prevention system in Venice. Giancarlo Galan, an MP with Berlusconi’s center-right Forza Italia (FI), is under investigation for taking millions in bribes and faces arrest, which must first be approved by the Lower House given his parliamentary immunity. He’s among some 100 suspects accused of skimming a total of 25 million euros from MOSE and funneling them to political campaigns.
“I’ve been hit by a cyclone of the media and the judiciary I could never have foreseen,” said Galan, a former Veneto governor. “I’m guilty of none of the charges”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Priest Apologizes for Saying Cohabitation Worse Than Murder
Community angry, bishop denounces ‘inappropriate, wrong’ words
(ANSA) — Novara, June 23 — A priest in Northern Italy who said that couples living together outside of marriage commit a worse sin than murder has been forced to apologize.
Father Tarcisio Vicario set off a firestorm of reaction in the town of Cameri when he said that while murder is an “occasional” sin for which the culprit can repent, people who live together outside the “sacrament of marriage” are sinning continuously.
He was forced to write a letter of apology to his parishioners, saying his words published in the parish bulletin were “inappropriate and wrong (because) they simplify a reality that is complex”.
Vicario had also said that people who married in civil ceremonies were also living in a state of sin and would not be able to act as godparents because they could not be sure to teach their godchildren to live in “the proper Christian” way.
Bishop Franco Giulio Brambilla distanced himself from Vicario’s comments, and posted his own letter on the website of the Diocese of Novara in which he said he “sincerely apologizes to all those who were offended by the misleading statements the text published in the parish bulletin”.
Brambilla, who is bishop of Novara, added that themes around marriage, cohabitation, separation, and divorce are key topics raised by Pope Francis for the next Synod of Bishops to be held in October on the subject of the family.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: NYC Cop Killer Maybe Uncovered 100 Years Later in Palermo
Joe Petrosino, pioneering anti-Mafia officer, shot in 1909
(ANSA) — Palermo, June 23 — Italian police may have uncovered who was behind the infamous murder over 100 years ago of Italian-American New York City police officer Joe Petrosino, it emerged Monday after police arrested 95 suspected Mafia suspects in Palermo. Among those arrested included Domenico Palazzotto, who was caught bragging in police recordings that “the uncle of his father, Paolo Palazzotto, committed the murder of the first police officer killed in Palermo, Joe Petrosino, on behalf of Cascio Ferro” in 1909. Vito Cascio Ferro (1862-1943) was a boss of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra who also operated in the United States.
He was let off charges of assassinating Petrosino, a pioneering anti-Mafia policeman who had traveled to Palermo on a top-secret mission that was leaked to the American press. Petrosino continued on his mission despite the danger, believing the Mafia would not dare harm a member of law enforcement. While waiting to meet with someone who claimed to be an informant, Petrosino was ambushed and gunned down in Piazza Marina. Charges against the suspected assassin’s heir and others arrested Monday ranged from extorsion and association in a criminal network, in the towns of Resuttana and San Lorenzo. Police code-named the operation Apocalypse.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Galan Tied to ‘$50mn in Asian Dummy Corp. Deals’
Ex-Berlusconi minister facing possible arrest in Venice scandal
(ANSA) — Venice, June 23 — Former Berlusconi minister and sitting MP Gianfranco Galan has engaged in “conspicuous commercial deals in Southeast Asia” worth $50 million, deals outlined in documents tied to a dummy corporation in his accountant’s name but “traceable to the Galan family,” prosecutors’ case files showed Monday. Galan faces possible arrest for allegedly receiving millions in bribes from the consortium in charge of the multi-billion-euro MOSE flood barriers in Venice.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Rognoni to Go to Immediate Trial for Expo Bribes
Seven others also sent to trial Sep 18
(refiling with missing word in lead). (ANSA) — Milan, June 23 — A Milan judge on Monday ordered an immediate trial for Prosecutors ask immediate trial for 8 Expo bribery suspects for eight businessmen September 18 on charges of offering bribes to obtain contracts for the Expo 2015 world fair.
Best-known among the eight is Antonio Rognoni, former manager of the regional infrastructure company Infrastrutture Lombarde. Rognoni was arrested in late March on charges of criminal association, bid rigging, fraud against the regional authorities and forgery in connection with the outsourcing of legal consulting and contract-control services.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Rome Mayor Denies Rolling Stones Undercharged for Concert
Northern League says low fee ‘slap in the face’ by Rome
(ANSA) Rome, June 23 — Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino came under fire Monday for renting the Circus Maximus to the Rolling Stones for just 8000 euros a short time after asking the central government to bail out the Eternal City administration.
Northern League MP Marco Rondini said his opposition party will table a parliamentary question on whether the symbolic price charged for using the ancient Roman charioteers’ racecourse for the British group’s concert on Sunday constitutes damages to the Italian treasury.
“This free gift by the mayor of Rome is a slap in the face for citizens of other cities obliged to pay for the deep hole in Rome’s finances caused by incomprehensible choices like this,” Rondini claimed.
Marino defended the price saying that the costs of the concert were paid for entirely by the Rolling Stones and that the concert brought 50,000 people to Rome from outside the city who spent money in restaurants, hotels and museums.
The Rolling Stones left Rome’s Ciampino Airport Monday for Oslo aboard a Boeing 737.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Venice Airport Evacuated for False Bomb Alarm
MILAN, Italy, June 22 (Xinhua) — The Venice airport in Italy was evacuated on Sunday after someone said there was a bomb inside it, but the threat was later found to be a false alarm, local reports said.
A suitcase in the airport, which is located around 15 km away from the Italian water city, was identified as dangerous as possibly containing some kind of explosive, Rai state television said…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Mogherini Candidature as EU Foreign Minister ‘A Hypothesis’
Netherlands supports Mogherini to succeed Baroness Ashton
(ANSA) Luxembourg, June 23 — Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini acknowledged Monday her possible candidature to become High Representative for European Foreign Policy “is a hypothesis” under consideration by Premier Matteo Renzi’s government.
“As far as the hypothesis about me is concerned, it is a hypothesis,” she told reporters. However she added that “I am focussed on doing what is my job at the moment, which is very beautiful and very demanding and makes me proud: being foreign minister of the Italian republic, I am concentrating on that”.
Earlier her Dutch counterpart, Frans Timmermans, told reporters that “without doubt” Mogherini “is a good candidate” to replace Britain’s Baroness Catherine Ashton.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: A Commentary on the Collection of the Quran to a Single Book
A critical look at the Quran showing that the Saracen honor-shame culture made those who collected the Quran to insert verses from other sources with the goal of making it comparable in length to the New Testament — thus saving Saracen honor.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Study: Denmark is One of the Most Islamic Countries in the World
A new study by two George Washington University academics ranked 208 countries on what they have coined the ‘Islamicity index’. The ranking is based on how closely a country is aligned with “Islamic teachings from the Quran and the life and sayings of the Prophet,” according to the study.
The ‘Islamicity’ of a country is based on many factors: rule of law, human and civil rights, natural resource management, income distribution and eradication of poverty, among others.
Out of the 12 countries that have declared Islam as their state religion, the highest ranked is Malaysia (38). Scandinavian countries Denmark and Norway (12) rank quite high, while Islamic countries such as Qatar (112), Libya (196) and Iraq (201) generally rank very low. New Zealand has the highest Islamicity Index.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Suspected Bomb Snarls Swedish Train Traffic
STOCKHOLM, June 23 (Xinhua) — Swedish police on Monday were working to remove what they believe is a bomb aboard a train on its way to Gothenburg on Sweden’s west coast, Swedish newspaper Goteborgs Posten reported.
Police spokesman Christer Fuxborg was quoted as saying that police were called shortly before noon by a person who said there was a bomb aboard a train that was on its way into the Gothenburg station…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Stockholm Bomb Man Blames Asylum Rejection
The man whose bomb threat shut down central Stockholm last Thursday said the move was a protest against Sweden’s asylum process, after his application for refugee status was declined.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The EU’s ‘Strategic Agenda’ Until 2020 — Leaked Document
The Telegraph publishes the confidential EU strategy paper that will be discussed by David Cameron and Herman Van Romput in Downing Street on Monday before it is tabled at a summit of European leaders on Thursday
STRATEGIC AGENDA FOR THE UNION IN TIMES OF CHANGE
In May European citizens elected a new European parliament, launching a new legislative cycle. This is the right moment to reflect on which Union we want and how we want it to function, and for the European Council as the strategic agenda-setting institution to provide guidance for the years ahead…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Third Brit in ISIS Video ‘Comes From Aberdeen’
A man named locally as Raqib is believed to have spent both primary and secondary school in Scotland before joining Islamic radicals is Iraq
A third British man in a terrorist propaganda video posted by Isis, the Islamic radicals advancing in Iraq, has been identified as coming from Aberdeen. He was named as Raqib locally and is said to have moved to the city as a young child before attending both primary and secondary school there.
An acquaintance told the BBC that Raqib was a troublemaker in his youth, describing him as a “bit arrogant” and saying he often got into fights…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
The furious father of a star medical student who went to fight jihad before appearing in a chilling ISIS recruitment video has said he has binned family pictures of his son.
Nasser Muthana, 20, has been revealed as a key figure in a chilling recruitment video aimed at luring jihadists to Iraq.
The star medical student secretly travelled to Syria from his family home in Cardiff with his 17-year-old brother Aseel — despite being offered the opportunity to study medicine by four universities.
Today, his furious father Ahmed Muthana, 57, said if his sons ever return to the UK, he would like to see them jailed.
He added that his sons have ‘betrayed his family and betrayed Britain’ — before insisting he had already binned family pictures of his boys because ‘you don’t keep the devil in your house.’
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Banned Cleric Preached at Mosque Where Jihadi Brothers Worshipped
Mohammed al-Arifi, banned from Switzerland for his extremist views, spoke at Cardiff’s Al Manar centre
A Saudi cleric banned from Switzerland for his extremist views, preached at a British mosque accused of radicalising three young Britons fighting in Syria. Mohammed al-Arifi, who has called for jihad or holy war to overthrow Bashar al-Assad’s regime, spoke at Cardiff’s Al Manar centre, according to the Daily Mail…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Did This Preacher Groom the Jihadi Britons?…
A notorious Saudi cleric preached at a mosque accused of radicalising three young Britons fighting in Syria.
Mohammed al-Arifi, who has called for holy war to overthrow Bashar al-Assad’s regime, spoke at Cardiff’s Al Manar centre. The trio — two brothers and a friend — attended the mosque before leaving their homes to join the civil war…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Eastenders is Too White, Says BBC Trust Chief
EastEnders is twice as white as the real East London and does not represent “kaleidoscopic” modern Britain, says acting head of BBC Trust
The BBC must do more to provide an “authentic portrayal of life in modern Britain”, one of its most senior figures has said, after research found EastEnders is twice as white as the real East London.
Diane Coyle, acting head of the BBC Trust and frontrunner to take over on a permanent basis, said the ethnic make-up of the fictional Walford was out of sync with Walthamstow, the borough on which the soap is partly based…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Emergency Powers to Shut Schools Linked to Extremism
The Department for Education publishes guidelines that will prevent teachers taking a “minimum approach” to British values and give the government emergency powers to shut schools
New emergency powers will be introduced to close any school linked to extremism or child abuse in the wake of the Trojan Horse plot, it was announced today.
Lord Nash, the Schools Minister, said the government would be able to apply to a magistrate to shut a school “where there are serious safeguarding concerns”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Muslims Student Group Addressed by Preacher Linked to ISIS Radicalisation
A Saudi scholar who has been linked by the Daily Mail to the radicalisation of two young Muslims who travelled to Syria to fight for ISIS was invited to address the annual conference of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) just last year…
[Reader comment by CassandraKing on 23 June 2014.]
It seems that from 9/11 and 7/7 to using their oil wealth to build giant unneeded islamic centres and attached indoctrination schools and infiltrating those mosques with radical preachers the Saudis are major players in fomenting extremism and radicalising young muslims.
While the establishment cartel elite do nothing to counter this dangerous Saudi meddling in the internal affairs of the UK they drone on and on about how at some point they may get around to making some vague promises of action to counter the threat, and then they look in the wrong direction and totally ignore the glaring role of Saudi Arabia for some strange reason. Could it be the gigantic piles of oil money the Saudis use to suppress action against their infernal meddling and exporting of religious fundamentalism?
The biggest threat to the security of the UK comes from Saudi Arabia as they export their extremist ideology and implant it directly into muslim populations in the West, and until our leaders acknowledge this the infection will only get worse.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Kosovo: Clashes Erupt in Mitrovica Over Barricade
PRISTINA, June 22 (Xinhua) — Kosovo special police clashed with Kosovo Albanian protesters on Sunday afternoon on the main bridge over Ibar River in the city of Mitrovica in north of Kosovo.
Protesters threw rocks and burned some cars at the bridge in a protest aiming to peacefully show disagreements with the barricade re-established by Serbs this week. In response police units fired tear gas to disperse the crowd…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
19 Gunmen Killed in Security Raid in Egypt’s Sinai
ARISH, Egypt, June 23 (Xinhua) — At least 19 gunmen have been killed in a security raid by the Egyptian army in Sheikh Zuweid city of Egypt’s North Sinai governorate, a security source told Xinhua late on Sunday evening.
“Four gunmen riding a vehicle in the south of Sheikh Zuweid exchanged fire with the security forces that managed to kill them, besides 15 other militants who were killed separately in different parts of the city,” the source explained…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt: Al Jazeera Journalists Sentenced to 7 Years in Jail
On charges of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood
(ANSAmed) — CAIRO — Journalists working for al Jazeera have been sentenced to seven years in jail by a court in Cairo on charges of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, the tribunal said Monday. The journalists can appeal the sentence.
Australian journalist Peter Greste and Egyptian-Canadian reporter Mohamed Fahmi were resentenced to seven years in jail, while Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed received an additional three years and was sentenced to 10 years in jail, court sources said. The court also sentenced 12 defendants in absentia, including a Briton and Canadian, to seven years.
The prosecution had sought a sentence of 15 to 25 years in jail.
The trial involved 20 reporters, photographers and cameramen charged with “misinformation” and with supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt has banned as a terrorist organization.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Was Benghazi an Act of State Sponsored Terrorism by Iran?
Sunday, Lisa Benson and I interviewed Kenneth R. Timmerman, author of Dark Forces: The Truth About What Happened in Benghazi. It is a gripping expose, replete with evidence of deception and cover up, behind who perpetrated the Benghazi attack that killed four Americans Ambassador Chris Stevens, communications aide Sean Smith, ex-Navy Seals CIA-contractors, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty on 9/11/2012. Dark Forces conveys the thesis that the attacks in Benghazi were preventable. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bears responsibility for ignoring those warnings, and preventing a military response. Ambassador Stevens and his security team had repeatedly warned Clinton of the precarious security situation in Tripoli and Benghazi requesting additional resources. Clinton for reasons of her own opposed any military response to the attacks. U.S. Special Forces operators on the ground 9/11/2012 could have saved the Americans who perished, but were told to “hold in place” during the opening moments of the attack. Benghazi was the hub of the U.S. covert arms smuggling to Islamist groups in Libya and Syria. The Administration supplied weapons to fight Qaddafi in Libya and Assad in Syria knowing full well that many of the rebel leaders were al Qaeda operatives. The Benghazi attack was planned and executed by Iran’s Quds Force headed by Gen. Qassem Suleymani. Timmerman called the Benghazi attack “an act of state terrorism” planned and executed by Iran’s Quds Force on yesterday’s Salem Radio Network program the Lisa Benson Radio Show.
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
71 Detainees Killed in Attack in Iraq
BAGHDAD, June 23 (Xinhua) — Up to 71 detainees were killed on Monday in a militant attack while being transferred to another jail in Iraq’s central province of Babil, a police source said.
It occurred early in the day when gunmen attacked a convoy of buses carrying dozens of inmates, transferred from a prison by the army unit of al-Aqrab Brigade in the provincial capital of Hilla, some 100 km south of Baghdad, to the one in the town of al-Qasim, some 35 km south of Hilla, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity, adding that five gunmen were killed and five guards were wounded…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
9 Killed in Attacks Across Iraq
BAGHDAD, June 23 (Xinhua) — A total of nine people were killed and 16 others wounded in separate bombings and shootings in Iraq on Sunday, police sources said.
A car bomb exploded late Sunday near a funeral of Colonel Majid al-Fahdawi, commander of the 28th Iraqi Army Brigade, who was killed during the clashes with the militants to take control of the border area with Syria. A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt blew himself up in eastern Ramadi, about 110 km west of Baghdad, leaving six killed and eight wounded…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
‘ISIS’ Hanged and Decapitated Hundreds of Soldiers — Maliki
Slaughter disclosed as Maliki has talks with Kerry in Baghdad
(ANSA) Baghdad, June 23 — Jihadists from ‘Isis’ have hanged and decapitated hundreds of Iraqi soldiers in Salahaddin, Ninive, Dilaya, Kirkuk and areas under control of the Sunni militia, a spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Al Maliki said Monday.
The slaughter was disclosed as the Iraqi Prime Minister met in Baghdad with US secretary of state John Kerry for talks that centred on an American proposal for a more ‘inclusive’ Iraqi government with more Sunni representatives to try and stem the advance of Isis troops.
South of Baghdad meanwhile as many as 70 bodies of prisoners killed by Al Qaeda militiamen were discovered as Iraqi media said Isis was consolidating its control of Tel Afar between Mosul and Syria.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Israeli Raid on 9 Golan Targets of Syrian Army
After rocket Sunday killed Israeli boy
(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV — The Israeli air force last night hit nine targets of the Syrian army on the Golan heights controlled by Damascus. The raid followed an anti-tank rocket launched from Syria into Israel which killed a 14-year-old Israeli in a car. Land-attack missiles were also deployed in the raid.
Defense Minister Mishe Yaalon said Israel blames the regime of President Bashar al-Assad for actions carried out from its territory.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Jordan Deploys Tanks and Heavy Artillery Along Iraq Border
(AGI) Baghdad, June 23 — Jordan has decided to deploy reinforcements, including tanks and heavy artillery, along its border with Iraq, according to a Jordanian military spokesman.
The spokesman was reported in the Jordanian press following the seizing of the Trebil border crossing in western Anbar Province by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The border crossing has returned to Iraqi government control, but Jordanian forces are on the alert pending orders from Amman, the source reported.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Kerry Says U.S. To Provide “Intense” Support to Iraq
BAGHDAD, June 23 (Xinhua) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday said that Iraq is facing existential threat and that United States would provide “intensive” support to the country to face the Sunni blitzkrieg.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Security Spokesman Denies Fall of Embattled City in Northern Iraq
BAGHDAD, June 23 (Xinhua) — A security spokesman on Monday denied that an ethnically mixed city in northern Iraq is in the hands of militant groups after days of heavy fighting.
Lieutenant General Qassim Atta, also security spokesman for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, told a news conference that previous reports, which said Tal Afar, west of Nineveh’s provincial capital Mosul, were seized by militants, and that the troops commander fled the city, are false…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Students Kidnapped by ISIS Militants in Syria
(AGI) Baghdad, June 23 — At least 20 students were kidnapped while travelling between the Syrian cities of Haska and Al-Qamishly on Sunday, reported the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Their abductors are believed to be Jihadist militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).
The group still holds 145 Kurdish students they kidnapped while returning to their homes after taking final exams on May 29.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Syria Says Israeli Airstrikes Killed 4, Wound 9 in ‘Flagrant Violation’
The Syrian government said Monday a series of Israeli airstrikes targeting its troops in retaliation for a deadly cross-border attack killed four people and wounded nine others, in its first comment on the overnight incident…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
The British Brothers Fighting Against ISIS in Iraq
Polad and Lahur Talabani, who grew up in Beckenham and have south London accents, now lead the Kurdish military and intelligence in their fight against Isis in Iraq
Britain is well aware of its “foreign fighters” serving the jihadi cause in Iraq. Less known is that there are even more prominent British fighters on the other side. The leading names fighting Isis in the north and east of the country belong to two brothers who grew up in Beckenham, London, and went to Crofton Park Secondary School nearby…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UAE: New Traffic Signals at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
ABU DHABI // A new traffic signal has been installed at the entrance to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
Costing around Dh8 million, the signal system will ensure the smooth flow of traffic in front of the landmark at peak hours, particularly Friday prayers, during Ramadan, Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha.
The signal is located at the entrance to the mosque on Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Street, also known as Airport Road…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
7 Soldiers Killed in Afghan Bomb Attack
QALAT, Afghanistan, June 23 (Xinhua) — Seven Afghan army troops were killed Monday in a roadside bomb attack in the country ‘s southern province of Zabul, authorities said. “An army vehicle set off a roadside bomb planted by the militants in Shah Hassan Khel area of Shahjoy district Monday morning,” the district governor Malik Ali Mohammad told Xinhua…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Afghanistan: An Audio Tape as “Proof” of Electoral Frauds
The campaign team of Abdullah Abdullah released the recordings, without disclosing their sources. It involves a senior member of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), who would have worked in Ashraf Ghani’s interest.
Kabul (AsiaNews/Agencies) — The campaign team of Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah yesterday released audio recordings which they say contained evidence of fraud against a senior member of the country’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). However, they refuse to disclose their source. The recordings have been handed to the presidency.
The audio tapes appear to capture conversations between a senior election official, Zia Ul-Haq Amarkhail, and colleagues in at least four other provinces.
In an apparent reference to ballot box stuffing, the tapes appear to show Mr. Amarkhail urging a colleague to “bring the sheep stuffed and not empty”. The reference to sheep and goats — ballot boxes and people or votes — is made several times during the recorded exchanges.
In a separate conversation he also apparently deals with concerns from a colleague, who warns that “others make the majority in our office”. Mr. Amarkhail responds to him with the words “why don’t you get rid of them, take a stick and kick them all out”.
Lately even Ashraf Ghani, rival of Abdullah Abdullah, made fraud allegations. However the audio tapes appear to reveal that Amarkhail is working in Dr. Ghani’s interest.
Afghan presidential elections were held on 5 April 2014. Since any of the eight candidates got an absolute majority, last 14 June there was a run-off among the most voted: Abdullah Abdullah, National Coalition of Afghanistan, and Ashraf Ghani, Independent.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Afghan Election Commission Chief Secretariat Resigns, Abdullah’s Team Calls for Trial
KABUL, June 23 (Xinhua) — Afghan election commission chief secretariat Ziaul Haq Omarkhil resigned on Monday in the wake of leveling allegation by presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah in vote rigging and demand for his suspension from duty…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Bangladesh: Convicted to Death 8 Islamists for New Year’s Massacre
They’re all militants of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), a banned organization since 2005. In 2001 it killed 10 people during Bangla New Year celebrations. Months later they put a bomb inside The Most Holy Redeemer church (Khulna diocese), killing 10 Catholics. Other six Islamists got life imprisonment.
Dhaka (AsiaNews) — A court in Dhaka today convicted to death 8 Islamic extremists of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) for killing 10 people in bomb blasts during the Pahela Baishakh (Bangla New Year) celebrations at Ramna Batamul in 2001. Among the convicted there is also HuJI chief Mufti Abdul Hannan. The court sentenced other six militants to life imprisonment and fined each one with Tk 50,000 (474 euros).
The Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (“Islamic Jihad Movement”) is an Islamic fundamentalist organization committed to establishing an Islamic rule. It is most active in South Asian countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, since the early 1990s.
On 14 April 2001, during the traditional celebrations of the Bangla New Year several blasts killed 10 people and injured around 50 others. HuJI claimed responsibility for the Ramna Batamul bombings. A militant of the suicide squad died too.
On 6 June 2001 the fundamentalist group blew up a powerful bomb inside The Most Holy Redeemer catholic church in Baniarchar (Khulna diocese, southwestern district of Gopalgonj). The blast killed 10 churchgoers and injured about 50. For this attack several Christian associations are still asking for justice.
HuJI was eve the prime suspect in a scheme to assassinate the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2000, and has been blamed for several bombings in 2005. In October that year it was officially banned by the government of Bangladesh.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Bangladesh Sentences Eight Militants to Death for 2001 New Year Concert Attack
DHAKA, June 23 (Xinhua) — A court in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka on Monday awarded death penalty to eight militants of a banned Islamist outfit including its ringleader for bomb explosions at an open-air Bengali New Year concert in 2001 that left at least eight people killed and many more others injured…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Indian Woman Hanged by Father and Brother
(AGI) New Delhi, June 23 — A 19-year old woman has been strangled and hanged from a tree near her home by her father and two young brothers for having a relationship with a boy the family disapproved of. This latest ‘honour killing occurred in the state of Orissa, in Ganjam district and was the second murder of this kind in a month. The father and his two sons have been arrested.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Indian Man Kills Wife for Not Giving Him a Son
(AGI) New Delhi, June 23 — An Indian businessman strangled his wife and threw her out of the window because she hadn’t given him a son. He then killed their three-year-old daughter because she would not stop crying. The latest episode of violence against women in India occurred in the Adarsh Nagar area, north of New Delhi.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Malaysia’s Top Court: ‘Allah’ for Muslims Only
Malaysia’s top court ruled Monday that non-Muslims cannot use the word “Allah” to refer to God, delivering the final word on a contentious debate that has reinforced complaints that religious minorities are treated unfairly in the Muslim-majority country.
| — Hat tip: Kitman | [Return to headlines] |
Malaysia Top Court Rules Catholic Newspaper May Not Use Word ‘Allah’
Malaysia’s top court has upheld a ban against a Catholic newspaper, which had wanted to use the word “Allah” to refer to God. The weekly insists that the ban is unconstitutional.
The leader of Muslim Malay rights groups, Ibrahim Ali, praised the court’s decision: “We thank Allah because the court’s decision has favored us this time.”
The legal dispute stems from a previous government ban on The Herald from using the term. The daily had taken its case to court, arguing the ban was unconstitutional, and subsequently won an appeal in 2009. However, the court’s decision to override the government sparked unrest in Malaysia, with some opponents of the ruling setting fire to and vandalizing Christian churches.
In October, The Herald reiterated its previous criticism of the ban, arguing that the term “Allah” has been the common term for God in the Malay language for centuries and should not pose a problem to Muslims.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
MH370 Captain Plotted Route to Southern Indian Ocean on Home Simulator
The pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane which disappeared in March with 239 people on board had plotted a flight path to a remote island far into the southern Indian Ocean where the search is now focused, investigators have discovered.
The route, which was deleted before MH370 disappeared on March 8, was made on a home flight simulator machine used for practice by its captain, Zaharie Shah. Its discovery has intensified suspicion that he deliberately hijacked his own plane and diverted it from its approved flight path to Beijing.
More than three months have now passed since the flight disappeared in what has become one of the great mysteries of modern aviation. And despite a lack of any hard evidence, suspicion of Capt Zaharie’s involvement has grown as investigators have gradually eliminated other potential suspects and causes of its disappearance.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Teenager Killed, 4 Wounded in Indian-Controlled Kashmir Firing
SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, June 23 (Xinhua) — A teenager was killed and four others wounded after Indian troops fired upon protesters in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.
The protests broke out at Krank Shivan in Sopore town, about 54 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian- controlled Kashmir, following the killing of a top militant commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) in a gunfight with Indian troops…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Ashes of Chinese Victims in Vietnam Riots Return
NANNING, June 22 (Xinhua) — The ashes of two victims in Vietnam’s anti-China riots returned home on Sunday through the Friendship Gate in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The two victims Yi Jijun and Zhang Yijian were workers of China’s 19th Metallurgical Corporation. Their construction site in Vietnam’s central Ha Tinh province was attacked on May 14 during the anti-China riots. Four workers were killed and more than 130 were injured…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
China: Five Police Officers Killed in Attack on Xinjiang Security Checkpoint
Five police officers have been killed in a pre-dawn attack on a security checkpoint in China’s restive far-western region of Xinjiang after government officials harassed ethnic minority Muslim women wearing head scarves and men with beards, according to police and residents…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
China: Uyghur Language Activist Formally Charged, Thrown in Notorious Prison
A Uyghur language rights activist, whose whereabouts had been unknown since his detention nearly a year ago, has been thrown in a prison notorious for abuses against political activists and formally charged with soliciting “illegal” donations to run his kindergarten, according to sources…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Mongolia Hosts Multinational Peacekeeping Drill
ULAN BATOR, June 23 (Xinhua) — About 1,200 troops from 23 countries are participating in a peacekeeping drill in Mongolia’s Five Hills military field, southwest of the capital.
The exercises, dubbed Khaan Quest-2014 and aimed at training the multinational forces’ interoperability, started Friday and will continue through July 1. This year’s drill has four main parts: Command-Staff Exercise, Field Exercise of Platoons, Hospital-Humanitarian Operation, and Engineering Cooperation.
Khaan Quest, which was launched in 2003 by Mongolia and the United States, expanded into a multinational peacekeeping drill in 2006.
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Anti-Islamic and Right Wing Groups Driving Bendigo Anti-Mosque Push
Bendigo has become a rallying point for a loosely affiliated network of right-wing and anti-Islamic groups providing cash and support for the fight to block the city’s first mosque.
The Bendigo campaign, which included the spread of black balloons, is just the latest in a string of challenges to the development of Islamic schools and prayer centres across Australia that have been linked to a handful of political groups and individuals…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK ‘Mosque-Buster’ Advising Bendigo Residents Opposed to Islamic Centre
Gavin Boby, a British planning lawyer, met with anti-mosque activists while attending an anti-Islam conference in Melbourne
A UK adviser to opponents of a proposed mosque in Bendigo is known as a “mosque-buster” who boasts of his record of using planning laws to block mosque applications.
Gavin Boby, a British planning lawyer and director of the Law and Freedom Foundation, met Bendigo anti-mosque activists while attending an anti-Islam conference in Melbourne in March this year…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
At Least 8 Killed by Boko Haram Suicide Bomb in Kano
Kano a frequent Islamist target
(ANSA) — Rome, June 23 — A Boko Haram suicide bomb killed at least 8 students at a college in Nigeria’s second city Kano Monday in the latest of a string of attacks on the northern city.
At least 20 others were wounded in the blast at the Kano School of Hygiene. Radical Islamist group Boko Haram aims to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
International Pressure Reverses Shariah Court Death Sentence for Sudanese Christian Mother
by Phyllis Chesler
Earlier today, an appeal court in Sudan overturned Meriam Yahya Ibrahim Ishag’s death penalty and released her from jail.
Ibrahim is the woman who had never embraced her absent father’s Muslim faith and whose mother brought her up as a God-fearing Christian. Shariah law demands that such a woman is an apostate and demands either execution or “reversion” to Islam. That, Meriam refused to do. She was willing to die for her faith.
This was her only crime—a refusal to convert or revert to Islam. This exceptionally beautiful woman was arrested and brutalized in a medieval fashion: Chained up in a dark dungeon and forced to give birth on the filthy floor of that very dungeon in chains. The fact that her husband is an American citizen and that her two children, including the daughter born while she was imprisoned, are also American citizens did not sway the Sudanese authorities.
What has? It is hard to say. International human rights groups and Christian groupslaunched campaigns on her behalf. An internet campaign which I quickly joined seems to have gathered some momentum, but internet campaigns do not open cell doors. Many articles were published, including mine at Breitbart, but that, too, does not usually open cell doors…
| [Return to headlines] |
Nigeria: Boko Haram Raid Toll Goes From 10 to 40
Islamists continue terror campaign
(ANSA) — Rome, June 23 — The death toll from a weekend Boko Haram raid in three north Nigerian villages rose from 10 to 40 Monday.
The Islamist group, which has waged an increasingly bloody insurgency since 2009 in an attempt to create an Islamic state, has stepped up its attacks since the abduction of 200 schoolgirls in April and thousands have died.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Nigeria: Boko Haram Kills 40 People in Chibok
(AGI) Lagos, June 23 — About 40 people, among them many young people, have been killed by Boko Haram in Chibok. Attacks on the city sadly known for the kidnapping of 200 school girls, have involved the villages of Chuha A, Chuha B and Korongilim, where many homes, offices, shops and vehicles have been destroyed according to local sources. Two weeks ago the extremist Islamist group had warned the authorities in Chibok that there would be more attacks.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Sudan Death Sentence Woman Freed 1 Hour Ago
A Sudanese woman sentenced to death for abandoning her religious faith has been freed from jail, her lawyer has told the BBC.
Meriam Ibrahim’s death penalty was overturned by an appeal court, the official Suna news agency reported.
She is married to a Christian man and was sentenced under Sharia law to hang for apostasy in May after refusing to renounce Christianity.
“We are very very happy about this — and we’re going to her now,” Ms Ibrahim’s lawyer Elshareef Ali told the BBC.
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Sudanese Woman Meriam Ibrahim Walks Free From Prison
Meriam Ibrahim, the woman sentenced to death in Sudan for apostasy, has been freed, her lawyer says
The Sudanese woman sentenced to death for apostasy while pregnant has finally been freed, and was on Monday night reunited with her family after spending six months behind bars.
Meriam Ibrahim, 27, walked out of prison in Khartoum on Monday afternoon and was taken to an undisclosed safe house for her own protection. In Sudan, where Sharia law is implemented, leaving the Islamic faith is a crime punishable by death — and earlier this month her own brother called for the sentence to be carried out…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
U.S. Nun Killed During Kidnapping, Dumped in South Africa Stream
South African police arrested two suspects in the death of 82-year-old Sister Mary Paule Tacke on Friday after her body was found dumped in a remote stream. She spent about 60 years in the country educating orphans and founding the Bethany Place of Safety and Thembelihle Home.
She helped children escape South Africa’s apartheid and started an orphanage, but at 82, an Idaho-born Catholic nun was found dead in a stream in Libode after a violent carjacking.
| — Hat tip: Kitman | [Return to headlines] |
Australia Offers Asylum-Seekers $10,000 to Return Home
Australia is offering asylum-seekers in its Pacific immigration camps up to $10,000 (US$9,400) if they voluntarily return to their home country, a report said Saturday, prompting outrage from refugee campaigners.
Fairfax Media reported that those returning to Lebanon from detention centres on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island and the tiny Pacific state of Nauru were offered the highest amount of $10,000.
Iranians and Sudanese were given $7,000 if they dropped bids for refugee status, Afghans $4,000 and those from Pakistan, Nepal and Myanmar $3,300, the report in The Sydney Morning Herald said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greek State Braces for Upcoming Massive Illegal Immigration Flow
Immigration wave to be expected in the mid-term in Southeast Europe due to the deteriorating situation in the Middle East and North Africa regions (MENA), paired with the culminations in Ukraine and the Black Sea area.
By Ioannis Michaletos/ The upturns and radical changes in the geopolitical vicinity of Southeastern Europe is raising substantial fears in policy-makers across the region that a major flow of illegal immigrants and refugees, chiefly from the battle fields of the Middle East is due to arrive by land or by sea in the coming months and years and will further deteriorate the situation and associated issues concerning illegal immigration…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Latino Lawmakers Move to Reverse Decades of Anti-Immigrant Legislation
Two decades after California voters took a hard line on illegal immigration, affirmative action and bilingual education, an ascendant class of Latino lawmakers is seeking to rewrite the books and discard the polarizing laws.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Previous estimates from the Swedish Migration Board predicted some 61,000 applications for asylum in 2014. But those numbers are now adjusted upward by nearly 20,000 to 80,000 people, newspaper Dagens Nyheter reports.
But finding appropriate housing for the many asylum seekers is proving to be a challenge, according to Anders Danielsson, director general of the Swedish Migration Board. He is critical of the municipalities that refuse to receive immigrants, and says he is surprised by the anti-immigrant sentiment expressed by some local politicians.
“Their rancorous tone is remarkable. We hear stories of bombs, executions and torture. Then it feels absurd to hear Swedish councilors talk about ‘Soviet methods’ and ‘abuse’. How can it be an “abuse” to offer shelter to those who seek refuge?”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Not Enough Housing for Refugees
Municipalities are more agreeable to taking in refugees than they were 15 years ago, but still, too few refugees are offered long-term accommodation, according to an article published in the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet.
The responsibility is being shouldered by some municipalities much more than others, according to the government’s coordinators for refugees. Lars Stjernkvist, an opposition Social Democrat, along with Gunnar Hedlund of the conservative Moderates, are presenting a report to the government today about how municipalities can take in more refugees.
Finally, the report recommends that all of Sweden’s municipalities be required by law to be prepared to take in refugees, if needed.
“Today municipalities can decide if they are willing to accept refugees or not”, Stjernkvist told Radio Sweden, “our opinion is that every municipality should be prepared to welcome refugees.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The West’s Last Stand — A Review of the Camp of the Saints
By Robert Klein Engler
All those engaged in the debate over illegal immigration should find Jean Raispail’s The Camp of the Saints a challenging summer read. Otto Scott calls it “one of the most famous of the underground books.” Lionel Shriver believes it is a “novel both prescient and appalling.” The book became so notorious that the December 1994 issue of the Atlantic Monthly investigated many of the questions it raised.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
White House Admits ‘Rumors’ of Amnesty Motivating Illegal Border Crossings
The Obama administration says it is “surging” resources to confront the flood of illegal unaccompanied minors and family units coming across the southern border.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EastEnders is ‘twice as white’ as the real East End according to the head of the BBC Trust, who has called for the corporation to do more to ‘provide an authentic portrayal’ of modern Britain
Acting head of the BBC Trust Diane Coyle, said the popular BBC One soap is also too young and has too many people born in the UK to be an accurate reflection of an area such as Walthamstow, one of the boroughs on which the fictional Albert Square is based.
In her first public speech since taking over as chair of the BBC’s governing body Miss Coyle — who is in the running to replace Lord Patten as head of the trust — said the programme did not provide an accurate picture of modern day Britain.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Huh? I live in NZ – apart from some immigrants and quite a lot of students (usually not citizens), we are not islamic. Perhaps they mean that most NZ meat is, unfortunately, halal? Only customers overseas demanding UN-halal meat from NZ will every change that, as we’re dependent on overseas trade.
It all started with “some immigrants and quite a lot of students”. Good luck on that one. What a mess.
I’m a New Zealander too. Our Government used to take ‘refugees’ that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (who dominate the UN Refugee Agency) foisted on us. The result was trouble.
We used to get refugees that fitted in (eg. Iraqi Assyrians,. etc), but we started getting Somalis making ‘hajira’ (conquest by immigration) and they caused no end of trouble – knife hijackings of aircraft, rapes of women and even men (swept under the carpet by Fairfax Media in the interests of ‘privacy’ and ‘multiculturalism’).
Fortunately the NZ Government finally saw the light. The UN/OIC tried to foist more people on us, but the NZ Government said “we can only take 750 people this year”. Over decades this will be trouble. But that’s better than the absolute floods going into Europe and North America.
Shame about the halal meet that we export. Since the general population does not like the idea of animal torture our Beef and Lamb export board uses the deceptive practice of not labelling what is non-halal and what is halal. When I asked one of the people that worked in that organization about it he seemed to think that it was no problem and you could “un-halal” the meat by simply putting it next to some bacon in your fridge. That doesn’t help the animal any (who is stunned rather than killed before the slaughter), and doesn’t stop the halal certification money from going to organizations that then forward it as ‘zakat’ to jihadis.
This “Islamic Index” is based on a researcher’s belief that Buddhist/non-violent principles equate to a greater Islamic Index – and does not take into the ahadith, Sunna, nor naskh (abrogation) into account. So this “Islamic Index” is more Progressive propaganda from Westerners who self-deceive about Islam.
Do not be deceived, fellow defenders of the Enlightenment !
Thanks Moa, good details about our ‘refugee’ absorption. Under our normal immigration rules, only educated people with required qualifications can come here, and that’s how it should be!
The UK had a problem of special immigration status for moslem slaughter men that upon immigration, after once settled, plus family bought over, worked only a few years on the job,Then more immigrants, handy with slaughter men skills were allowed in.
I can not seem to get into this NZ report, but was very surprised to find, even if it is dated to 1979.
http://tinyurl.com/ljtnqn5
Moslem Slaughtermen: Opinion of Human Rights Commission on a Complaint of Religious Discrimination Concerning Moslem Slaughtermen in New Zealand Meatworks
Front Cover
New Zealand. Human Rights Commission
The Commission, 1979 – Freedom of religion – 6 pages.
That is why in some small New Zealand provincial towns and districts, you can notice moslems.
As far as I can find, only one , smallish freezing (meat processing ) works has found a niche of NOT using moslem slaughter men, and consider that NZ is one of the largest sheep meat exporters in the world and also a lot of beef.
Their large dairy company the largest exporter of dairy products world wide is also halal certified, particularly for certain products, that are exported to muslim countries, though those same products are still sold to the unwitting NZ public.
http://tinyurl.com/mvukslq
Halal – New Zealand Islamic Processed Food Management
Division Management Division
– Halal (Indonesian) certification
Even the New Zealander’s chocolate “whittakers”
http://www.whittakers.co.nz/#/faq/
if you go to the faq then fourth from bottom click for that answer.
Only Rum & Raison that is not halal certified everything else is halal certified.
Some other small business’s confectionery, yogurts, cheeses, restaurants, possibly with tourist connections,
http://tinyurl.com/n3zme3v
are slowly being pressured to comply to halal standards, and so pay the compliance certificate tax.
Simpleton
Yes Corky, I’m worried for the long term, especially with Indonesia able to conquer and flood us if it chose to.
This Islamic Index is [material of a malodorous nature]. According to it, Israel is more islamic than any islamic country. And the islamic country which ranks the highest in this index is the 33th. Saudi Arabia ranks the 91th, one of the less islamic countries in the world.
An Islamic Index where islamic countries get a low score? Something wrong, maybe?
What features increase the islamic index? Stoning women? Killing jews? Supporting jihad and islam expansion? Nope, according to this index, democracy is something that makes a country “more islamic”.
This is just liberal propaganda.
Just check this article:
http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/islamicity-rankings-ignore-the-realities
With regard to the Islamicity Index I have not been able to find the one being bandied about but I have found 2 previous editions. Both are from 2010 with the first being the Islamicity Index or I2 and the second being the Economic Islamicity Index or EI2.
The authors go into some depth as to how they assess the worlds nations but the most fascinating thing is how they interpret the teachings of the Koran.
****
The Economic IslamicityIndex’s 12 Fundamental Islamic Economic Principles:
(1) Equal economic opportunities for all members of society & economic
freedom,
(2) Economic equity,
(3) Personal property rights and sanctity of contracts,
(4) Job creation for all that can and want to work & equal availability of
employment,
(5) Equal availability of education,
(6) Poverty prevention and reduction; basic need fulfillment of food, shelter,
clothing
and rest; and alms giving to charity,
(7) Taxation to meet the unfulfilled needs of society & to address social issues
generally,
(8) Appropriate management of natural and depletable resources to benefit all
members of current and future generations,
(9) Abolition of corrupt practices,
(10) Establishment of a supportive financial system,
(11) Financial practices that includes the abolition of interest, and
(12) The effectiveness of the state in achieving the above (general economic
prosperity).
*****
The entire documents are available as PDF’s here:
EI2 – http://www.relooney.info/0_NS4053_1106.pdf
I2 – http://www.ahmad-juhaidi.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/how-islamic-islamic-countries.pdf