According to the latest reports, the recent air attack on Islamist militants at the airport in Tripoli were carried out by fighter jets from the UAE, operating from bases in Egypt. The United States was not consulted prior to the raid, and is said to have been caught by surprise.
In other news, several cases of Ebola have been reported in a remote region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The government of the DRC says that these cases are unrelated to the larger Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, which represents a different strain of the virus.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, Jerry Gordon, JP, KGS, LH, LS, Phyllis Chesler, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
Germany Should Drive Economic Recovery in Europe: IMF Chief
IMF chief Christine Lagarde wants Germany to play a bigger role in propelling economic recovery in Europe, she hinted in an interview broadcast on Monday, suggesting that German wages should rise.
Part of her remarks may be interpreted by personalities on the left of French politics as going in the same direction as criticism of French, German and European Union austerity policies by French Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg at the weekend.
Montebourg’s attack on the thrust of the French Socialist government’s policy caused a crisis on Monday when President Francois Hollande told Prime Minister Manuel Valls to form a new government.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Purchasing Power at Historic Low
Consumer groups say expenses are ‘unsustainable’ for families
(ANSA) — Rome, August 25 — Italian purchasing power is at a historic low, having fallen more than 13.4% since 2008, Italian consumer groups Adusbef and Federconsumatori said Monday.
The groups estimated that in autumn, Italian families will be forced to spend 1,900 euros between taxes, bills, and back-to-school costs, a figure that the groups called “unsustainable”.
Among these taxes is the TASI, a part of the Italian government’s 2014 Stability law, which will tax both homeowners and renters in order to fund services such as road maintenance and street lights.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
S&P 500 Stock Index Hits 2,000 Level for the First Time
The S&P 500 has hit a new milestone by breaking through the 2,000 mark. Financials were among the winners following encouraging comments from the European Central Bank and it US counterpart, the Federal Reserve.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Arizona Attorney General Refuses to Recognize the Stealth Jihad of the Gulen Movement
Yesterday, the usual restrained, moderate informative format of the Lisa Benson show ended in an uproar. The kerfuffle was over the refusal of incumbent Arizona Attorney General Thomas Horne to recognize the stealth jihad agenda of the Gulen Movement here in the US. Horne, a former Democrat is in the final days of a fractious Republican primary that ends Tuesday amidst accusations of alleged abuse of office encompassing campaign funding and resignation of former aides objecting to questionable practices. This has resulted in investigations by the FBI and his own department’s Solicitor General. The New York Times article, “Legal Woes Pose Hurdles for Attorney General Tom Horne of Arizona in Campaign” chronicled Horne’s problems in a mid- July 2014 article indicating that he had been abandoned by luminaries in the State Republican Party over accusations of questionable practices. His opponent in the primary battle, Mark Brnovich is making much of these accusations. Horne’s presence came as a result of a call from his campaign office requesting time to defend his support of the Gulen science and math academies.. Horne told Benson that, “I am not soft on Islam issues, but I don’t see anything wrong with Gulen.” Yet he would not admit that Islam could be so overt and obvious. My co-host Lisa Benson reacted angrily to Horne’s comments. Horne came with an agenda to yesterday’s program. It was to put both he and his GM supporters in Arizona in the best possible light. As I said in an after program dialogue with both Benson and Attorney General Horne, he came with a closed mind not to engage in meaningful dialogue.. Problem is that he evinced no curiosity about the evidence presented. That was not his purpose; it was trolling for votes in a hotly contested Republican primary for the top law officer position in Arizona.
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
British Diplomats Apologize for Tweets Marking 1814 Burning of White House With BBQ, Cake
British diplomats in Washington are apologizing for Twitter posts that made light of the 200th anniversary of their troops torching the White House in the War of 1812.
The apologies were prompted after the British Embassy posted a picture Sunday of Patrick Davis, deputy British ambassador to the United States, with a caption saying he was participating in “the anniversary of burning of the White House with a BBQ.”
The picture was followed by another, about an hour later, that showed a White House replica atop a sheet cake, flanked by sparklers. The caption said: “Commemorating the 200th anniversary of burning the White House. Only sparklers this time!”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Chicago Crime Rate Drops as Concealed Carry Applications Surge
City sees fewer homicides, robberies, burglaries, car thefts as Illinois residents take arms.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Escape From New York: City Dwellers Prep for Doomsday
In the event of a zombie apocalypse, how would you make it out of New York City alive? If you’re like most New Yorkers, you probably have no idea. But a small group of folks in the city are gearing up for the next doomsday scenario by prepping survival gear, planning escape routes, and training to get out of New York City — even by inflatable kayak if necessary.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Former CIA Chief: Matter of Time Before ISIS Tries to Attack West
(CNN) — An ISIS attack against the West is a question of timing — “not of inevitably, not of intent,” according to the former head of the CIA, retired Gen. Michael Hayden
Speaking to CNN’s Jim Sciutto on “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” Hayden said he expects ISIS to attempt an attack on targets in the United States or Europe.
“ISIS is a very powerful local organization, and probably a reasonably powerful regional terrorist organization,” Hayden said. “But it’s one that has global ambitions — and it has the tools.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Michael Brown Funeral Takes Place in Missouri
Civil rights leaders have joined the family of slain black Missouri teen Michael Brown for his funeral. His death at the hands of a white police officer unleashed days of unrest in his home town of Ferguson.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
On to Pluto! NASA Spacecraft Now Beyond Neptune’s Orbit
A speedy NASA probe has crossed the orbit of Neptune, notching one more spaceflight milestone on its way toward a historic flyby of Pluto next summer.
New Horizons — which is scheduled to zoom through the Pluto system on July 14, 2015 — passed Neptune’s orbit today (Aug. 25), 25 years to the day after NASA’s Voyager 2 probe executed the first-ever flyby of faraway Neptune and its icy moon Triton.
New Horizons team members took the opportunity provided by this spaceflight coincidence to pay tribute to Voyager 2, the only probe ever to visit the “ice giant” planets Uranus and Neptune.
In the past two decades or so, scientists have come to realize that Pluto is just one of many dwarf planets that orbit the sun in the Kuiper Belt, a repository of icy bodies beyond Neptune’s orbit. So learning about Pluto could also shed light on the other denizens of this dim and distant realm, Stern said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
President Jimmy Carter to be Keynote Speaker at Muslim Convention in Detroit
The Islamic Society of North America or ISNA, the nation’s largest Muslim group, will hold its 51st annual convention in Detroit’s Cobo Center Friday through Sept. 1, and will feature former President Jimmy Carter as the keynote speaker. President Carter will talk on the subject of his latest book, A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power, at a luncheon Aug. 30.
That night, at a session called “Generations Rise: Elevating Muslim-American Culture” — the same title as the entire conference theme — the outgoing president of ISNA, Imam Mohamed Magid, and four other Muslim speakers will offer ideas for Muslim-American advancement over the next five years. A “secret special guest” is also on the bill.
The convention’?s opening session Friday will include words from Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, the national leader of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first Muslim member of Congress, will also be speaking Saturday.
| — Hat tip: LS | [Return to headlines] |
Ret Gen: ISIS Has ‘The Ability to Attack Anywhere’
Ret. U.S. Army Gen. Paul Vallely predicted that the United States will be hit with a terrorist attack worse than Sept. 11, 2001 “within the next six months” on Monday’s “Sean Hannity Show.”
Vallely said the prediction was based on his vetting of the group, along with others such as the Muslim Brotherhood and al Qaeda, his travels to the Middle East, and interviews with Egyptian leaders and intelligence officials. Vallely added that he believed based on “good intelligence” that ISIS has “linked up now with the drug cartels.” And that “they have the ability to attack anywhere that they so desire.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
‘Sex Box’ Reality TV Show to Premiere in 2015 — Adapted From UK Series
21 August 2015: WE tv today announced the series greenlight of Sex Box for an early 2015 exclusive U.S. premiere. Produced by Relativity Television, and adapted from the UK series of the same name, Sex Box is an extreme therapy reality concept that lets couples discuss their relationship issues with a panel of experts and then retire to a camera-free, soundproof box on the show’s set to have sex. They emerge to immediately discuss their experiences in the box and most intimate personal issues with the experts, as the cameras roll before a studio audience. The first season will feature nine, one-hour episodes.
“Sex Box is one of the most unique and compelling show concepts we’ve ever seen, and we can’t wait to bring it to WE tv,” said Marc Juris, WE tv’s president. “Our featured couples will get a once-in-a-lifetime experience, while our viewers will get the kind of bold, break-through-the-clutter programming they increasingly associate with WE tv.”
Scientists and researchers cite that people are more trusting and open in the moments immediately after sex due to the body’s natural release of oxytocin, also known as the “cuddle hormone.” As a result, post coital couples therapy is more powerful and effective. … Once each couple enters the sex box, … experts discuss their initial observations, ranging from what they think is happening inside the box to whether or not the relationship will survive. Immediately upon exiting the sex box, each couple sits down for a heart-to-heart with the expert panelists to discuss what just happened, how they feel, and how they’re planning to overcome their issues.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Vintage Superman Comic Book Fetches Record Price in eBay Auction
A nearly flawless 1938 copy of “Action Comics No 1,” containing the first Superman adventure, has become the most expensive comic book ever. It fetched $3.2 million dollars in an online auction.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Why Earthquakes Make Napa Wine Taste So Good
The soil that makes Napa Valley grapes so special also makes the region vulnerable to earthquakes.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
World’s Most Expensive Superman Comic Just Sold for $3.2m on eBay
A nearly perfect copy of Action Comics No. 1—aka the debut of Superman—sold for a record-setting $3.2 million on eBay, another example of iconic comics selling for house-in-the-Hamptons amounts of cash.
The sale of the 1938 book, by Federal Way, Wash. comic book shop owner Darren Adams, handily topped the 2011 sale of an equally pristine copy of the volume for $2.16 million.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gold Mining Ghost Town on Block for Less Than $1m
It’s a real fixer-upper, but a gold mining ghost town surrounded by majestic snow-capped peaks in Canada’s most western province can be had for less than $1 million.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Imam Receives Death Threat, Says ISIS Recruiting in Canada
23 August 2014: A Canadian imam known for his pacifist sermons warned that Islamist militant group IS was actively recruiting in Canada and said one member issued him a death threat.
Syed Soharwardy, founder of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada (ISCC), on Friday called on Canadian and Western authorities to intensify the fight against jihadist movements.
“Absolutely I am convinced that this recruitment is going on right here in this country, under our noses, in our universities, in our colleges, in the places of worship, in our community,” he told CBC public television.
Soharwardy added that a Muslim man from Ottawa who was fighting with IS in Mosul in northern Iraq had sent him a death threat on Facebook.
“He was condemning me for condemning ISIS, and he was saying that ‘You are a deviant imam and your version of Islam is not the right version,’“ Soharwardy said, … . … In February, intelligence services said at least 130 Canadians were fighting with IS in Iraq and Syria.
“Three Calgarian young fellows died in Iraq and Syria fighting for ISIS. One of them was very known to me,” he said. …
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: Vienna ‘A Hub for European Jihadists’
Vienna has become a hub for European jihadists who plan to join extremists at war in Syria, because it is easy to travel to Syria through the Balkans, according to a report in Der Standard newspaper.
Nine suspected Chechen jihadists who were arrested in Austria on Wednesday had planned to use this route.
“The conflict in Syria is attracting foreign fighters from all over Europe to Austria. The route to Syria is simple and safe,” a report from Austria’s Federal Agency for State Protection and Counter Terrorism (BAT) said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark: Tuborg Fast Becoming Carlsberg’s International Flagship
By the end of 2014, Tuborg beer will surpass Carlsberg as Carlsberg Group’s most sold Danish beer in the international market.
Tuborg is powering ahead in markets like India, China and Turkey, With 12 million hectolitres sold so far this year, it is expected to equal Carlsberg’s international beer sales by the end of December. The brewery giant revealed in April that it now sells five times as much Tuborg in China than it did during its first year on the market.
“We are seeing huge gains in Turkey and Israel,” Graham Fewkes, Carlsberg’s head of global sales, told Jyllands-Posten newspaper. “Sales in India have risen by 56 percent and by 158 percent in China.”
“It’s happened quicker than we thought, but Tuborg perfectly fits markets that have a lot of young people and a growing middle class.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Economy Minister Montebourg Out of France’s New Cabinet
France’s outgoing economy minister has said he won’t figure in Prime Minister Manuel Valls’ new government. Valls was working to form a new cabinet after he and his government resigned amid a row over economic policy.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EU Commissioners Collect €500,000 for Four Months Work
Around half a million euros for four months work. That’s the salary to be collected by each of the four interim commissioners; Luxembourg’s Martine Reicherts, Poland’s Jacek Dominik, Italy’s Ferdinando Nelli Feroci and Finland’s Jyrki Katainen, who replaced the four commissioners elected as MEPs in May’s European election, reports Spiegel.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gnome-Napping Spree Shocks Austria’s SPÖ
Four hundred garden gnomes belonging to the Social Democrats (SPÖ) in Vorarlberg have gone missing — amid suspicions they were kidnapped by political rivals the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP).
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hugh Fitzgerald: What ISIS Took at Tabqa
It seized planes, MIG-21s. People say ISIS doesn’t have pilots to fly them. But are there no Muslims anywhere in the world to fly those MIG-21s in the path of Allah? We’ll see.
It seized radar systems, useful if Syrian planes are trying to bomb you.
And it seized MANPADS, of an advanced kind, which can be distributed far and wide, to be used not only against Syrian planes, but against American and Israeli and British and French planes too, and civilian as well as military aircraft. Imagine what a MANPAD could do if it were to be in the hands of a determined Muslim just outside Kennedy Airport, or Reagan, or Heathrow, or Charles De Gaulle?
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Little Belgium is Europe’s Largest Exporter of Jihadis
Despite Belgium’s small size, per capita it is sending the most jihadis from Europe to Syria. Its experience may teach the UK about the recruitment and ‘rescue’ of jihadis.
Belgium has had the largest number of jihadis leave to fight in the Syrian civil war, out of any country in western Europe, on a per capita basis.
Channel 4 News has learned that as of yesterday 399 Belgians had left the country of just 11 million people to join jihad, according to Pieter Van Ostaeyen, a Belgian expert on jihadis…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Muslim Clerics Who Preach Hatred Face Deportation, Dutch Minister Says
Foreign Muslim clerics who preach hatred in Dutch mosques and who glorify terrorism face deportation, social affairs minister Lodewijk Asscher says in Monday’s Telegraaf.
Imams with Dutch nationality will also be stopped from preaching, Asscher told the paper.
‘If an imam from Syria wants to preach here and does not have peaceful intentions, he will not get a visa,’ Asscher said. ‘We will also make the lives difficult of Dutch imams who grew up here and spread hatred.’
It is not the first time controversial religious leaders have been refused visas. Integration minister Rita Verdonk also banned several from travelling to the Netherlands and had others deported between 2003 and 2007.
The decision tackle so-called ‘hate imams’ is part of a wider programme to counteract the radicalisation of young Dutch Muslims, Asscher said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Egyptian Activist Defecates on Islamic State Flag While Nude in Viral Photo
Editor’s Note: Warning: Graphic Content.
Using the Islamic State’s own social media tactics against them, an Egyptian-born feminist activist posted a picture Saturday of herself and another female defecating and menstruating on the Islamic State flag while nude…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Norway: Thousands March Against Extremism
Thousands of mobilized Muslims and Christians alike marched through the streets of Oslo on Monday evening, expressing what one Muslim cleric called “collective disgust” for violent extremism in the name of Islam. “Not in our name,” the crowd claimed in the major demonstration that was called an “historic turning point” as diverse participants “stood together” against terrorism and brutality.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Norwegian Muslims Hold Demonstration Against Radical Islamic Militants
Norway’s prime minister and other politicians have joined Muslim leaders and thousands of other people for a demonstration in Oslo against radical Islamists.
Monday’s rally was an initiative by young Norwegian Muslims who wanted to show a united front against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq and their sympathizers in Norway.
Mehtab Afshar, head of the Islamic Council in Norway, told the crowd: “They stand for terrorism, they stand for terror … and we condemn that in the strongest terms.”
A small radical group in Norway has expressed support for Islamic State militants, angering moderate Muslims in immigrant communities in the country.
According to the Norwegian security service at least 50 people have left Norway to become foreign fighters for militant groups in Syria.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Police Arm Swiss Federal Judges With Pepper Spray
Police have equipped Swiss federal judges with pepper spray and flashlights for self-protection following an attack on a judge in Lucerne several months ago.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Q&A: Why Iceland’s Volcanoes Have Vexed Humans for Centuries
Author Alexandra Witze explains why Iceland has so many, and such troublesome, volcanoes.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Slovenian Parliament Endorses Law Professor Miro Cerar as PM
Slovenia’s parliament has voted for law professor Miro Cerar as the country’s new prime minister. He will face the challenge of boosting Slovenia’s fragile economy while cutting public spending.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Strip Fanatics of Their Passports to Stop Them Bringing Terror Back to the UK, Say Top Tories
British jihadis fighting in Iraq should be stripped of their citizenship to prevent them returning to the UK to bring carnage to our streets, senior Tories said yesterday.
Home Secretary Theresa May has already changed the law to allow extremists with dual nationality to be stripped of their British citizenship.
But former Tory leadership contender David Davis said ministers should now go much further and strip British-born Isis fighters of their citizenship — even though the move would render them stateless…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Stone-Throwing Youths Attack Stockholm Cops
After police officers tried to search a car in Stockholm’s Rinkeby, youths began throwing stones and torching cars in a spree that stretched into the early hours of Monday morning.
“The commotion started when a patrol tried to stop and investigate a vehicle,” Towe Hägg, Stockholm police spokeswoman, told news agency TT. “Youths started throwing rocks at the police car.”
Young people in the district set fire to several cars as well as the city’s community centre. The cars were left to burn and police extinguished the fire in the community centre.
Rinkeby, a district of Västerort in Stockholm, was one of several areas which saw violent unrest in 2013, with up to 30 fires a night and several police injured by stones.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland: Teen Shot Dead in Saint Gallen City Mosque
One person was killed Friday in a shooting in the prayer hall of a mosque in the Swiss city of Saint Gallen, police said. Media reports said the victim was 18 and was killed as a result of a row between Albanian families.
One person was killed Friday in a shooting in the prayer hall of the mosque in the city in northeastern Switzerland, police said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Do Nothing, And We Invite the Tide of Terror to Our Front Door
by Boris Johnson
As the problem of Isil worsens by the day, it is surely time to bring back control orders
Let’s assume he is indeed who he sounds like — another deluded British-born jihadi. I am afraid I have listened, on the Telegraph website, to the voice of the man who claims to be the killer of James Foley, and there seems little doubt that he grew up in this country. He was probably born in our wonderful NHS. He was schooled in our broadly excellent education system. He and his family have very likely spent their lives, like the rest of us, cushioned by our welfare state. And this is how he chooses to pay back the gift of nurture — by engaging in terrorism, declaring his allegiance to a novel barbarian state, and publicly beheading an entirely innocent journalist…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Lee Rigby Killer Mosque Tries to Distance Itself From Latest Jihadi
One London mosque that seems to be fast acquiring a reputation for producing Britain’s most ‘famous’ terrorists has taken steps to distance itself from a recent alumnus, who has demanded equal rights for Jihadists and said she wants to be the first female to execute a UK or US ‘terrorist’…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love Voted Best Guitar Riff
Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love has been voted the greatest guitar riff of all time by listeners of BBC Radio 2.
The rock classic came out top from a list of 100 riffs drawn up by a panel of Radio 2 and 6 Music DJs, critics and record producers.
Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns ‘N’ Roses was second in the poll, with Back In Black (AC/DC) and Smoke On The Water (Deep Purple) the next most popular.
Led Zep guitarist Jimmy Page said he was “knocked out” by winning the vote.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Police to Move Protesters Away From Kedem Store
Police have put a stop to a five-week protest outside a Jewish-owned shop which sells Israeli products. Pro-Palestinian activists and Israel-supporting counter-protesters will be moved away from the Kedem store, in a central Manchester, to a nearby “designated protest area”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Egypt’s Top Islamic Authority: Do Not Call it the ‘Islamic State’
Egypt’s Dar Al-Iftaa, the international flagship institute for the issuing of religious edicts and Islamic legal research since its founding in 1895, has called on international media to no longer refer to ISIS as the ‘Islamic State’ but as Al-Qaeda Separatists in Iraq and Syria (QSIS).
| — Hat tip: KGS | [Return to headlines] |
Emirates and Egypt Said to Secretly Attack Militia in Libya
Twice in the last seven days, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have secretly teamed up to launch airstrikes against Islamist-allied militias battling for control of Tripoli, Libya, four senior American officials said, in a major escalation between the supporters and opponents of political Islam.
The United States, the officials said, was caught by surprise: Egypt and the Emirates, both close allies and military partners, acted without informing Washington or seeking its consent, leaving the Obama administration on the sidelines. Egyptian officials explicitly denied the operation to American diplomats, the officials said.
The strikes are the most high-profile and high-risk salvo unleashed in a struggle for power that has broken out across the region in the aftermath of the Arab Spring revolts, pitting old-line Arab autocrats against Islamists.
| [Return to headlines] |
Libya’s Neighbors Won’t Intervene in ‘Domestic Affairs’
Libya’s North African neighbors have pledged not to intervene in the crisis-ridden country. They also expressed support for Libya’s elected parliament, which has been challenged by the former interim assembly.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UAE, Egypt Carry Out Airstrikes in Libya Without US’ Consent, Officials Say
UAE fighter jets with help from Egypt carried out airstrikes in Libya a week ago amid an ongoing power struggle in the country in the wake of Muammar Qaddafi’s ouster, a senior U.S. official confirms to Fox News.
Four senior American officials who spoke to the New York Times said Egypt and the United Arab Emirates — both allies — executed the military maneuvers without informing the Obama administration beforehand.
The Islamist forces have been given weapons and support from Qatar, officials told the newspaper.
But the strikes didn’t appear to hold them back. A day after the militants were hit, Tripoli’s airport fell to the Islamists.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Gaza Fighting Continues Amid Reports of Egyptian Ceasefire Proposal
The Israeli military has launched a new round of airstrikes in Gaza, while Hamas militants continue to fire rockets into Israel. Meanwhile, Egypt has reportedly proposed a new ceasefire that would open Gaza’s borders.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
‘Holocaust Victims, ‘ Relatives Challenge Elie Wiesel for Defending Israel
by Phyllis Chesler
On August 23, 2014, a paid ad/open letter appeared in the New York Times taking Elie Wiesel to task for playing the “Holocaust trump” card and for trying to “justify the unjustifiable: Israel’s wholesale effort to destroy Gaza and the murder of more than 2000 Palestinians.”
The open letter was in response to Wiesel’s ad, which appeared in a number of newspapers including the ?”Paper of Record?” but which was rejected by the Times of London, and called upon “President Obama and the leaders of the world to condemn Hamas’s use of children as human shields.”
Saturday’s ad is an open letter by “Jewish survivors and descendants of survivors and victims of Nazi genocide.”
One signatory is listed as the “spouse of a hidden child;” some are identified as the children of survivors, as child refugees, or as relatives of refugees (who escaped the Holocaust); some are listed as the grandchildren of survivors and refugees, some are described as the great-grandchildren of survivors, and some merely as “relatives” of survivors and of victims…
| — Hat tip: Phyllis Chesler | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Turns to New Arms Suppliers Amid US Doubt
25 August 2014: With the recent US announcement of that the Pentagon put on hold a shipment of ‘Hellfire’ missiles to Israel as a warning to Jerusalem, the country is turning to other arms and munition sources to acquire new weapons. Israel purchased hundreds of Russian-made shoulder-fire missiles in recent years, Israeli daily Haaretz reported Monday, although most weapons the army uses are produced locally. A significant portion of the IDF’s weapons is acquired with the use of American funds, totalling over $3 billion per year.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Israel Targets 2 Gaza Mosques in Latest Airstrikes
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A new round of Israeli airstrikes and tank fire pounded Gaza on Monday as officials in the coastal strip said two more Palestinian civilians died from the violence.
There is no end in sight for the war, which has already killed more than 2,100 Palestinians since the fighting erupted on July 8. On the Israeli side, 68 people have been killed, all but four of them soldiers.
The Israeli military said it carried out 16 airstrikes on Gaza early Monday, targeting a mosque it said was used to store weapons and another it said militants used as a meeting point…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Netherlands: Pro-Gaza Protest Leader — “**** the Zionists, **** the Talmud”
A pro-Gaza demonstration in Amsterdam became (as usual) an anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hate-fest. So much so that Socialists, who intended to participate — pulled out at the last minute because the speakers were too extremist for them. Minister of Foreign Affairs Timmermans (Labour), also dropped out.
Rapper Appa spoke from the podium: “I’m done with these Zionist dogs who are out for our money and blood!” and “**** the Zionists, **** the Talmud”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
No Let-Up in Gaza War, Israel Moves to Protect Its Economy
(Reuters) — Israeli air strikes killed at least eight Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and militants kept up their cross-border rocket fire on Monday as Israel moved to cushion its economy against the effects of a war now in its seventh week.
Egypt pressed on with efforts to broker a durable truce, and the Bank of Israel, fearing the conflict would slow economic growth, cut its benchmark interest rate ILINR=ECI by a quarter-point to 0.25 percent, its lowest level ever…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Boris Johnson: I Hope ‘Jihadi John’ Is Killed in Bomb Attack
Boris Johnson has said he wants the reportedly English jihadist who beheaded an American journalist to be killed in a bomb attack, and has joined the growing calls for Britons fighting abroad to be stripped of their citizenship…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Britons in Syria Are ‘Guilty Until Proven Innocent’
Britons who travel to Iraq and Syria should be “arrested without good reason” until they can prove their innocence, London Mayor Boris Johnson says.
The Mayor of London, who has overall responsibility for the Metropolitan Police, has called for a “swift and minor change” to the law introducing “rebuttable presumption” that those visiting war areas without notifying the authorities had done so for a terrorist purpose…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Erick Stakelbeck: Analysis: ISIS and Hamas One in the Same
Last Friday, I spoke to my CBN colleague Mark Martin about the rise of ISIS and Hamas’s ongoing jihad against Israel. I made the point that these two jihadist death cults are cut from the same savage cloth.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Fleeing ISIS Leaves Iraqi Christian Town Wired to Explode
Islamic State militants driven from a Christian town by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters left rubble in their wake, having wired the town with explosives which they detonated as they fled.
Residents of the town of Talesskef, roughly 20 miles from Mosul and once home to 6,000 people, have been sifting through demolished buildings and trying to salvage what they can after the Peshmerga liberated it on Aug. 16, the military blog War Is Boring reports.
“I always tell my friend that ISIS has more TNT than we have flour,” Gen. Abdulrahman Gawrini, the regional Peshmerga commander, told the website.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Frank Gaffney, Jr.: Declare War on Shariah
The National Journal called earlier this week for the United States to “declare war on ISIS.” The magazine is right to argue for a new authorization for the use of military force (AUMF), a legislative vehicle that passes these days for a congressional declaration of war. It is wrong, however, to urge that the existing AUMF, which targets al Qaeda and “associated forces,” be replaced by one that focuses just on the Islamic State (also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham/Syria, or ISIS, or the Islamic State in the Levant, or ISIL).
Nearly thirteen years after 9/11, it is past time to recognize that we are at war not with one group of “terrorists” or another. Rather, adherents to a doctrine or ideology they call shariah are at war with us. Shariah is, at its core, about power, not faith. While some small percentage (some estimates suggest ten-percent) of its dictates prescribe the religious practices, the rest of it defines comprehensively how every relationship must be ordered — between individuals, families, neighbors, business associates, all the way up to how the world is governed.
Most importantly, shariah obliges its followers to engage in jihad (or holy war). Don’t be misled by those who argue jihad means “personal struggle.” The Koran makes clear that jihad is “holy war.” And for shariah-adherent Islamists that war has two goals: the triumph of shariah worldwide and the establishment of what is, for want of a better term, a theocratic government to rule the entire planet according to that doctrine.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
How Much of a Threat is ISIS to the West?
With all of that in mind — aggressive recruiting by ISIS with a track record of success in Western nations, adept use of social media, weak American border security, plenty of soft targets to exploit, plus a weak and confused White House headed by a disconnected President and the anniversary of 9/11 hard upon us — which of the threat assessments I mentioned at the beginning of this article sounds more plausible: the chairman of the Joint Chiefs portraying the Islamic State as primarily being a threat to its immediate neighbors, or the chair of the House Homeland Security Committee worrying that “external operations” might already be under way?
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Iraq: 8 Killed in Suicide Bombing at Shiite Mosque in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) — At least eight people were killed and 26 others wounded in a suicide bomb attack at a Shiite mosque in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Monday, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.
The attack occurred when a suicide bomber blew up his explosive vest among worshippers during the noon prayer at Imam Ali mosque, located in the middle of a busy popular market in New Baghdad district in the southeastern part of the capital, the source said on condition of anonymity…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Reportedly Holding Two Italian Women, Says Newspaper
Among 20 foreign hostages held by Islamic militants
(ANSA) — Rome, August 21 — Fundamentalist Islamic State (ISIS) militia are holding two Italian women among their foreign hostages, the British newspaper The Guardian reported Thursday on its website.
The pair were not identified by the newspaper but were said to have been among four new captives taken by the militants, which reportedly executed American journalist James Foley in a video taped circulated around the globe.
The newspaper said that about 20 foreign hostages are being held by ISIS.
Two young Italian women recently disappeared in Syrian while doing humanitarian work there.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Captures Major Military Air Base in Syria Using Child Suicide Bomber
[…]
Located just 40 kilometres from Raqqa, Tabqa military base had been besieged for several weeks, forcing the Syrian regime to supply its trapped soldiers by parachute.
In recent days however, ISIS stepped up its campaign, dispatching suicide bombers to breach the base’s outer wall — including, according to its social media accounts on Friday, Sufian al Omar, a 14-year-old boy who it claimed had joined his father in a “suicide operation” at Tabqa…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS an ‘Incredible’ Fighting Force, US Special Ops Sources Say
With the Obama White House left reeling from the “savage” slaughter of an American journalist held hostage by ISIS terrorists, military options are being considered against an adversary who officials say is growing in strength and is much more capable than the one faced when the group was called “al Qaeda-Iraq” during the U.S. war from 2003-2011.
“These guys aren’t just bugging out, they’re tactically withdrawing. Very professional, well trained, motivated and equipped. They operate like a state with a military,” said one official who tracks ISIS closely. “These aren’t the same guys we fought in OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) who would just scatter when you dropped a bomb near them.”
ISIS appeared to have a sophisticated and well thought-out plan for establishing its “Islamic Caliphate” from northern Syria across the western and northern deserts of Iraq, many experts and officials have said, and support from hostage-taking, robbery and sympathetic donations to fund it. They use drones to gather overhead intel on targets and effectively commandeer captured military vehicles — including American Humvees — and munitions.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS’ Thirst for Oil Could Lead to ‘Global Catastrophe’ If Unchecked, Experts Say
Islamic State’s thirst for blood has the world on edge, but its equally insatiable yearning for oil could prove a “catastrophe” for the global economy if the terror organization isn’t stopped, experts say.
The jihadist group, formerly known as ISIS, now controls seven oil fields and two small refineries in northern Iraq, bringing in as much as $2 million per day by selling up to 40,000 barrels via middlemen in illicit deals. The black market oil sells for roughly $25 to $60 per barrel, compared to the current market rate of $102.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
24 August 2014: Islamic State fighters captured a major military air base in northeastern Syria on Sunday, eliminating the last government-held outpost in a province dominated by the extremist group, activists and state media said.
The jihadis launched their long-anticipated offensive last week to seize the sprawling Tabqa air field, located some 45 kilometers (25 miles) from the extremists’ stronghold in the city of Raqqa. The air base was one of the most significant government military facilities in the area, containing several warplane squadrons, helicopters, tanks, artillery and ammunition.
After several failed efforts to breach the facility’s walls in recent days, Islamic State fighters managed to punch through and storm the air field Sunday. … Despite government airstrikes to try to beat back the attack, the jihadis quickly quashed the remaining pockets of resistance, killing dozens of soldiers…. “This makes Raqqa province the first [Syrian province] to fully fall out of government hands.” … [They have] overwhelmed outposts held by rival rebels in Deir el-Zour province, which borders Iraq, while also systematically picking off isolated government bases in the northeast, decapitating army commanders and pro-government militiamen and putting their heads on display.
Last month, Islamic State fighters overran the sprawling Division 17 military base in Raqqa, killing at least 85 soldiers. Two weeks later, the extremists seized the nearby Brigade 93 base after days of heavy fighting.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Jordan to Import Natural Gas From Gaza Field
23 August 2014: Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have agreed in principle to start negotiations for Jordan to purchase natural gas from a field recently discovered off Gaza’s coast. In a statement to Anadolu news agency, the chairperson of the energy committee in the Jordanian parliament, Gamal Qumwa, explained that the preliminary agreement includes supplying Jordan with 150 cubic feet of natural gas from Gaza’s field. He pointed out that this quantity would cover 50 per cent of Jordan’s natural gas needs, which ranges from between 300 to 350 cubic feet per day.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Kurdish Londoner Fights ISIS in Iraq: ‘I’ll Kill Them, They’re Inhuman’
23 August 2014: The extent of British passport-holders going to fight in the Levant now means that British citizens may be facing each other across battle lines. The Mirror has revealed that at least one Londoner has joined Kurdish forces fighting ISIS in Iraq.
Mama Kurda, an engineering graduate who ran a hair salon in Croydon, was inspired to join the Kurdish army when he heard about ISIS “raping Kurdish women and killing Kurdish kids”. Despite the fact he may technically be breaking British law by fighting abroad, Mama insists he is a British patriot and has his adopted home country’s best interests at heart. In an interview with The Mirror he said:
“I am a proud British citizen. London, all of the UK is my land too… how I defend Kurdistan, I am also ready to defend UK as well, [what I am doing now] is not only for Kurdistan… but some of my fighting is to defend UK as well. Because the group of ISIS, they are terrorists. They threaten even the West”
“Especially when I read 500 people with the terrorists are from Britain. I have to show to the world there is a British citizen fighting against them.”
Although Mama is clearly very fond of Britain, and praises it for allowing religious freedom he feels is under threat in the nation that would be Kurdistan, he does not feel the same way about all British passport holders. When asked what he would do if he was confronted with a British member of ISIS, he replied: “I will kill him, yes. I mean, they are inhuman. They are brainwashed, they are committed to what they are doing.” …
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
Patriarch of Baghdad: While Politicians Argue, Iraqi Christians Continue to Suffer and Die
Visiting refugee camps in Erbil and Dohok, Mar Sako speaks of a situation “beyond all imagination”. He appeals to the international community and the Muslim world “that have not yet understood the gravity of the situation.” The militiamen kidnap a Christian girl of three years, two men die from hunger. Baghdad and Tehran work on a joint plan of action.
Erbil (AsiaNews) — “I visited the camps of the displaced persons in the provinces of Erbil and Dohok and what I saw and what I heard is beyond any imagination!€¨”. Iraqi Christians and other minorities in the country, have received “a terrible blow” to the “heart of their life,” deprived of all rights, property, and even documents.
These are the words of Chaldean Patriarch Raphael I Louis Sako, in an appeal — sent to AsiaNews — in which he recalls that since August 6 no “concrete solutions” to the “crisis” have been found. Instead “the flow of money, weapons and combatants”for the Islamic state continues unabated. His Beatitude warns that “faced with a campaign” to eliminate Christians and other minorities from Iraq, the world “has not yet understood the gravity of the situation.” He warns that we are now in “the second phase of this disaster”, which is “the migration of these families” to the four corners of the world, causing “the dissolution of the history, heritage and identity of this people”.
The Chaldean Patriarch and President of the Iraqi Bishops’ Conference said that the phenomenon of migration has a “big impact” on both the Christians, and Muslims themselves, because “Iraq is losing an irreplaceable component” of its society. He points the finger at the international community, led by the United States and the European Union, which while acknowledging the need for an immediate solution, they have not taken concrete steps “to alleviate the fate” of a battered population.
Mar Sako spares no criticism for the Muslim community, whose statements about the “barbarism” of the militia of the Islamic State, perpetrated in the name of their own religion, has done little to ensure respect for and defense of the dignity of Christians. “Religious fundamentalism — warns the Patriarch — is still growing in its power and force, creating tragedies, and making us wonder when the Islamic religious scholars and the Muslim intellectuals will critically examine this dangerous phenomenon and eradicate it by educating a true religious consciousness and spreading a genuine culture of accepting the other as brother and as an equal citizen with full rights”.
Faced with “terrible and horrific” acts he calls for an “urgent and effective international support from all the people of good will to save the Christians and Yezidis, genuine components of the Iraqi society from extinction, knowing that silence and passivity will encourage ISIS fundamentalists to commit more tragedies”. The question the Chaldean Patriarch asks is “Who will be next?”.
Finally, he warns the Universal Church that the Iraqi Christians strong testimony do not need exhausting statements but real communion with others, such as the visits by the special envoy of Pope Francis and of the Patriarchs. “We respect the reasons of those who want to emigrate — ends Mar Sako — but for those who wish to remain, we underline our long history and deeply rooted heritage in this land. God has his own plan for our presence in this land and invites us to carry the message of love, brotherhood, dignity, and harmonious co-existence”.
The plight of Christians is confirmed by sources of the Chaldean Patriarchate, which speak of “continuous persecution” of militants against unarmed Christian civilians, including children. In Baghdida, one of the cities of the Nineveh plain, IS militants seized Ebada Khader, a child of only three years, “literally tearing her from the arms of her family.” The militiamen kidnapped the girl and forced the family to leave their home, dragging them to the checkpoint Khazar. Christian sources in the city of Bashiqa, one of the towns north of Mosul, instead describe having found the bodies of two Christian men, who died of hunger and malnutrition in their home. They are David Georgis and his son Saad. According to local witnesses, the men who are both deaf and dumb did not want to leave the town which has been in the hands of jihadisits for the past three weeks.
Meanwhile, the government in Baghdad and its Iranian ally have launched an appeal to the international community for a joint plan of action against the militias of the Islamic State, which have gained large portions of territory in northern Iraq in recent weeks.
Yesterday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made an official visit to the Iraqi capital, where he met with outgoing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the new Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, the Speaker of Parliament, Salim al-Jubouri and President Hoshyar Zebari. During the press conference, theTehran representative denied the presence of Iranian troops on the ground in the war against the Islamist militias; he hoped at the same time for a joint international operation against IS that “is committing horrendous acts of genocide and crimes against humanity.” His appeal was sustained and echoed by the government in Baghdad, which calls for “comprehensive support” in the fight against the jihadi militias.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Qatar: Club Med for Terrorists
by Ron Prosor
[…]
Only a few nations still stand by Hamas. Among the most prominent is the tiny Persian Gulf emirate Qatar.
In recent years, the sheikhs of Doha, Qatar’s capital, have funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to Gaza. Every one of Hamas’s tunnels and rockets might as well have had a sign that read “Made possible through a kind donation from the emir of Qatar.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Syria: Islamic State Win Air Base in Battle Causing Hundreds of Victims
The jihadi militias have taken Taqba air base from Damascus, the last government stronghold in the province of Raqqa. More than 500 died in the battle. Gunfire and chants from the mosques hailed the Islamists victory in the city. Severed heads of Syrian soldiers on display in the main square to shouts of “Allah Akbar”.
Damascus (AsiaNews / Agencies) — The death toll from the last two days of intense fighting between the government army and militias of the Islamic state (IS) now stands at 500. The battle came to an end yesterday with the extremists conquest of an important base air in the north-east of Syria. According to reports by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group based in Britain, more than 346 militants Islamists and over 170 members of government security forces have been killed. The battle, one of the bloodiest since the conflict began in 2011 against President Bashar al Assad, was over Taqba Air Force Base, the last stronghold loyal to Damascus in the province of Raqqa now in the hands of the Islamic state which controls large areas in Syria and Iraq.
In the nearby town of Raqqa, shots of gunfire and chants from the loudspeakers of the mosques hailed the Islamists victory (see photo); on several occasions the Islamist leaders launched the cry “Allah Akbar” (God is great -ed) to celebrate the victory. Local sources said that the jihadists have put the severed heads of Syrian army soldiers on display in the city’s main square.
Damascus air raids on the area have proven ineffective. In the early hours of yesterday morning they bombed the area around the base which failed to repel the attack and prevent the structure from falling into the hands of the Islamists.
Syrian state TV reports that now the government security forces are “reorganizing”. Military sources report that the base “has been evacuated,” before being taken by the jihadists and the army resumed its bombardment of “terrorist groups” that have already suffered heavy losses.
In recent weeks, the militias of the Islamic State have taken three military bases from the government. In the three years of war in Syria, at least 191 thousand people have been killed. What began as a revolt to oust the Syrian president has turned into a bloody conflict with the growing success of the Islamist movement, which once belonged to the galaxy of al Qaeda. The United States has launched air strikes against militants in Iraq, but not in neighboring Syria, where Washington has long supported the rebel groups — including the current IS — which sought to overthrow Assad.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Syria Says Ready to Collaborate in Fight Against Terrorism
(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT- Syria is ready to collaborate in the fight against terrorism, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallim said according to Syrian state news agency SANA on Monday. Muallim added that the collaboration could take place in accordance with the UN resolution n.2170, which provides for sanctions against jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Syrian Government Offers to Help West Fight ‘Islamic State’
The Syrian government has said it’s prepared to cooperate with the West in the fight against the “Islamic State.” But Germany has said that it has no intention to work with Damascus.
Washington, which is already launching airstrikes against IS positions in Iraq, has publicly suggested that it might expand its campaign into Syria, where the militant group’s main bases are located.
On Sunday, IS captured Syria’s Tabqa military air base, the last government outpost in the country’s northeastern province of al-Raqqa. The base was home to warplane squadrons, helicopters, tanks, artillery, and ammunition bunkers.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
UK and US Special Forces Form Hunter Killer Unit to “Smash the Islamic State”
Elite British and US special forces troops are forming a hunter killer unit called Task Force Black — its orders: “Smash the Islamic State.”
The undercover warriors will aim to “cut the head off the snake” by hitting the command structure of the Islamist terror group responsible for a trail of atrocities across Iraq and Syria, reports the Sunday People.
PM David Cameron has told the SAS and UK spy agencies to direct all their resources at defeating IS after a video of US journalist James Foley being beheaded shocked the world.
British special forces will work with America’s Delta Force and Seal Team 6. The move sees a rebirth of top secret Task Force Black, which helped defeat al-Qaeda terrorists in Iraq .
This time the counter-terrorist experts will be targeting Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of IS and now the world’s most wanted terrorist.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Up to 95 Spaniards Are Syria ISIS Fighters
Spanish Police believe “between 30 and 40 people with Spanish passports”, as well as many more Moroccan residents in Spain, have flown to Syria to fight as Islamic State rebels. Other authorities point to an even higher figure.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
West Poised to Join Forces With President Assad in Face of Islamic State
23 August 2014: Islamist forces are fighting their way into western Syria from bases further east, bringing forward the prospect of US military intervention to stop their advance. If Isis, which styles itself Islamic State, threatens to take all or part of Aleppo, establishing complete dominance over the anti-government rebels, the US may be compelled to act publicly or secretly in concert with President Bashar al-Assad, whom it has been trying to displace. The US has already covertly assisted the Assad government by passing on intelligence through the BND.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
What Obama Doesn’t Get About the Islamic State
By Marc A. Thiessen
A day before the Islamic State released a video of the brutal execution of American journalist James Foley, President Obama declared at a White House news conference that defeating the Islamic State was not his responsibility. “We’re not the Iraqi military, we’re not even the Iraqi air force,” Obama said, adding “I am the commander in chief of the United States armed forces, and Iraq is gonna have to ultimately provide for its own security.”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Russian Tanks, Armored Vehicles Enter Southeast Ukraine
A column of Russian tanks and armored vehicles has crossed into southeastern Ukraine, away from where most of the intense fighting has been taking place, a top Ukrainian official said Monday.
Col. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s National Security Council, told reporters that the column of 10 tanks, two armored vehicles and two trucks crossed the border near Shcherbak and that the nearby city of Novoazovsk was shelled during the night from Russia. He said they were Russian military vehicles bearing the flags of the separatist Donetsk rebels.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday he had no information about the column.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Crisis: ‘Column From Russia’ Crosses Border
The Ukrainian military says it has clashed with rebel armoured vehicles that crossed from Russia and headed to the south-eastern port of Mariupol.
It said the column was halted near the town of Novoazovsk. One military commander said pro-Russian rebels might be trying to open up a new southern front.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had not heard the reports but complained of regular “disinformation about our ‘incursions’“…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine’s Poroshenko Signs Decree to Dissolve Parliament
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has dissolved the country’s parliament. The move paves the way for new parliamentary elections that could enhance his government’s legitimacy.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
4 Militants, 2 Indian Troopers Killed in Kashmir Gunfights
SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) — At least four militants and two Indian army troopers were killed Sunday in two different gunfights in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said.
Four militants and an Indian army trooper were killed in an ongoing fierce gunfight inside Kalaroos forest area of frontier Kupwara district, about 110 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Bangladesh: Targeted Attacks and Social Injustices Behind the “Disappearance” of Hindus
In 1947 the Hindus in the then East Pakistan were 28% of the population, they are now below 8.5% and continue to decline day by day. The Prime Minister Hasina launched an appeal in favor of a multi-religious country in which all citizens are equal, but experts argue: “They have no protection and no justice, so they flee”.
Dhaka (AsiaNews) — Theft of land, sectarian attacks, unpunished rapes, forced conversions: these are, according to some experts, the main causes of the “disappearance” of the Hindus of Bangladesh, who from 28% of the total population, are now less of 8.5%.
It is an exodus that concerns even politics, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asking the community to “not abandon the motherland.” But the appeal, denounce human rights activists, “clashes with the reality on the ground. Hindus are leaving because they have no security in the country”.
The data was presented by Sanatan Moitree Sangha, an organization for the human rights of Hindus founded in 1947, the year in which the boundaries of the current state of Bangladesh were established with the partition between Pakistan and India. It reports that the number of followers of Hinduism has plummeted and “continues to fall day after day.” Once a quarter of the population, today they represent a minority, one that is less and less protected.
Speaking yesterday to mark Janmashtami (the Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna), Prime Minister Hasina appealed to Hindus to remain in Bangladesh: “It is your home, you were born here, and here you have rights. We want a country free from sectarian violence and that guarantees freedom for all, but to get it we have to work together”.
This appeal, denounce social activists, does not reflect reality. According to well-known blogger Aziz Rafiq “Hindus are leaving because they have no protection and this is because, when they suffer injustice, they do not get justice.” Swpon Kumar Roy, a lawyer, tells AsiaNews: “The State has failed to give us the guarantees that we are entitled to. Few of us convert to Islam, but most simply move to India”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Cambodian Rat Meat: A Growing Export Market
A unique harvest is under way in the rice fields of Cambodia where tens of thousands of wild rats are being trapped alive each day to feed a growing export market for the meat of rural rodents.
Popularly considered a disease-carrying nuisance in many societies, the rice field rats, Rattus argentiventer, of this small South-East Asian nation are considered a healthy delicacy due to their free-range lifestyle and largely organic diet.
“It’s a good meat. It can be cooked many ways. Rats are very expensive in Vietnam and very cheap here,” he said. He wobbled away on his motorcycle as it struggled under the weight of his teeming cargo.
“People come from far and wide to buy. They like the big fat ones,” she said, comparing her own substantial calf muscle to the size of the rats her Vietnamese customers prefer to buy. And, of course, Ms Tuan reminded me: “It’s more delicious than pork.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Japan to Provide Anti-Influenza Drugs to Stop Ebola
Japan has offered to deliver an experimental serum to combat the Ebola virus, one initially designed to treat influenza. The World Health Organization is working on an approved Ebola treatment with several companies.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
People’s Initiative for Abolishing Pork Barrel Kicks Off in Philippines
Thousands of residents of Metro Manila on Monday signed a manifesto, called “people’s initiative, “ to force the administration of President Benigno Aquino III to finally abolish the priority development assistance fund (PDAF), popularly known here as pork barrel.
Police in Manila estimated at least 5,000 attended the mass action at the Quirino Grandstand at the Luneta Park complex for the signing of the manifesto.
But the militant group, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (New Nationalist Alliance), the main organizer of the protest movement, said it was able to gather some 20,000 anti-pork supporters…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
New Zealand: Local Muslims Share Their Faith
City library gets an Islamic Makeover
The section of the Palmerston North City Library devoted to Islam grew significantly larger on Saturday. The Massey University Muslim Students Society and the Manawatu Muslim Association hosted an event there to share their religion with the city.
Rashad Syed said the annual Islam Open Day was an opportunity to showcase the positive side of Islam. Last year it was held in The Square. The religion was often misunderstood, he said, particularly by the media…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
A hardline Sydney Islamic preacher has launched an inflammatory Facebook tirade, saying Muslims who preach acceptance ‘will never be Australian enough’ for ‘bigots’.
In a post to supporters Sheikh Abu Adnan, from Sydney’s western suburbs, wrote: ‘This is an advice to those Muslims who are trying very hard to send out the message of acceptance. ‘“I am an Australian too!” is what they a screaming out in their responses to many Facebook articles,’ he goes on in the rant…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
500 Nigerian Troops Reportedly Flee to Cameroon
They have reportedly fled to neighboring Cameroon in the wake of fierce clashes with Boko Haram militants
Yaounde
Some 500 Nigerian soldiers have reportedly fled to neighboring Cameroon in the wake of fierce clashes with Boko Haram militants.
“They fled after running out of ammunition following clashes with Boko Haram,” a Nigerian security official told Anadolu Agency, requesting anonymity. He said that fleeing soldiers had taken temporary refuge at schools in the area…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
DR Congo Confirms First Ebola Cases in ‘New Strain’ of Killer Virus
Two deaths in remote region of Democratic Republic of Congo confirmed as Ebola but “unrelated” to west Afica epidemic
The Democratic Republic of Congo confirmed its two first cases of Ebola this year, but claimed they were unrelated to the epidemic raging in four countries of West Africa.
Congolese health minister Felix Kabange Numbi said that two of eight samples taken from victims of a mystery fever had tested positive for Ebola.
“The results are positive. The Ebola virus is confirmed in DRC,” Mr Kabange told AFP…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Ebola Outbreak Confirmed by DR Congo
“The Democratic Republic of Congo has confirmed that an outbreak of haemorrhagic fever in the north of the country has been identified as Ebola.
Health Minister Felix Numbi told the BBC that tests on two people had confirmed the disease in Equateur province, where 13 had already died.
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
South African Activists to Join Gaza Freedom Flotilla
15 August 2014: A number of South African activists are expected to join the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), made up of rights groups from several countries determined to sail to the Gaza Strip in defiance of Israel’s years-long naval blockade on the coastal enclave.
“In South Africa, over 50 people want to take part in the flotilla,” Ismail Moola of the Palestine Solidarity Alliance (PSA) told Anadolu Agency. … South Africans have held several protests since Israel began its onslaught on Gaza in early June.
Most of them empathize with the Palestinian struggle for nationhood, having faced similar conditions during South Africa’s apartheid era.
Last week, nearly 200,000 [is this a reliable figure?] people demonstrated outside the parliament building in Cape Town to demand that their government take “decisive diplomatic action” against the self-proclaimed Jewish state for its ongoing offensive in Gaza.
| — Hat tip: LH | [Return to headlines] |
South Sudan Rebels Agree to Ceasefire, Unity Government Within Six Weeks
President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar have agreed to a fresh ceasefire at talks mediated by the regional group IGAD. Under the deal, the warring sides have six weeks to form a unity government.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Thousands Flee Boko Haram to Cameroon
Islamists declare Islamic State
(ANSA) — Rome, August 25 — Thousands of inhabitants of Nigerian city Gamboru Ngala where Boko Haram killed 230 civilians in May fled into Cameroon Monday.
The Islamist group declared an Islamic State in the northeastern parts of Nigeria where it has been running amok.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Why Venezuela’s Hospitals Are in Need of Intensive Care
Venezuela’s private healthcare system appears to be under siege. For a week now, one of the most expensive and reputable clinics in Caracas has been unable to take blood tests because of a shortage of sample tubes.
Just as it is doing with other sectors of the economy, the state is depriving healthcare professionals of the necessary currency and import authorizations to purchase items such as gauze, surgical sutures, disposable diapers, catheters and pumps that administer drips.
Over at another medical facility, anesthetics are running low and are being reserved for emergency procedures only. In some places, the ambulance service has been discontinued and operating rooms have shut down altogether.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EU ‘Appalled’ By Migrant Dead Off Italy
The European Union’s Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said she was “appalled” by reports that migrants had died trying to cross the Mediterranean to get to Italy as six more migrants died in a shipwreck on Sunday night.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Greece: More Than 500 People Found in the Aegean Sea
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, AUGUST 25 — Greek Coast Guard collected more than 500 migrants from various areas of the eastern Aegean sea over the last 48 hours as GreekReporter website writes.
Coast Guard officers reported that the wave of immigration from Asia Minor has and will continue to grow due to the tense situation in Gaza, Iraq, Syria and Libya. Human traffickers receive large amounts of money in order to fill their old boats with men, women and children, and help them enter Europe through Greece, to hopefully find a better life. Just in the last 48 hours, 553 illegal migrants were found in various areas of the eastern Greek sea borders, while six human traffickers were arrested. Some 114 illegal migrants were found and rescued in Chios, while the smuggler was arrested. Other 72 were found in Farmakonisi, 62 in Rhodes as well as a smuggler, 41 in Samos, 27 in Samothrace, 5 in Kos, 104 in Simi as well as four traffickers, 69 in Agios Efstratios and 59 in Mytilene.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Rescue Operation Saved 113,000 Migrants, Says Navy Chief
Politician warns that new arrivals to Italy being used by mafia
(See related) (ANSA) — Rome, August 25 — Some 113,000 migrants have been rescued from dangerous seas by Italy’s Mare Nostrum (Our Sea) program established less than one year ago to save lives, Giuseppe De Giorgi, chief of staff for the Italian Navy, said Monday.
His comments came soon after a weekend that saw as many as 4,000 people plucked from the seas as they attempted the dangerous crossing to Italy and Europe from North Africa — desperate voyages that also took six lives during the same period.
Most migrants rescued to date came from Eritrea, Syria, and Mali — all countries torn by civil war, said De Giorgi.
His figures were matched by a warning that landings “fatten the mafia” as too many migrants are preyed upon by the mafia when they arrive in Italy with no resources or support.
Davide Mattiello, a legislator with the Democratic Party (PD) and member of the government’s Anti-Mafia Commission, said that the rescue program should be halted because it plays into the hands of organized crime.
Many migrants are forced to work as prostitutes, drug dealers or smugglers, and in other tasks under the control of the mafia, he said.
“In the foreground there is the drama of human beings who die, clinging to an illusion and the tremendous work of the Italian Navy and those who devote themselves in the initial reception of survivors,” said Mattiello.
“But just in the background there are the interests of the Italian mafia organizations and foreign (criminals) operating in Italy to take advantage of the manna represented by this humanity landing in our country,” he added.
Instead, a pan-national solution through the European Union’s Frontex border agency would deal more effectively with the migrant crisis, said Mattiello.
A similar appeal came Monday from EU Affairs Undersecretary Sandro Gozi who said that the Mediterranean is a “common border” and therefore, Italy alone cannot shoulder the migrant burden.
“Joint action is needed, starting from an increase in the funds and operational capacities of Frontex, which must replace Mare Nostrum. That is what the government is working on,” said Gozi.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Finds Six Bodies After Another Migrant Boat Sinks
At least six people have drowned after a fishing boat carrying migrants from North Africa got into trouble south of the Italian island of Lampedusa.
Rescue workers say they have managed to pull more than 360 migrants alive from the water. It is the third such incident to take place on the migrant route between Libya and Italy over the last few days.
The Italian coastguard says it has rescued nearly 4,000 people altogether over the weekend…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Most Italian Jihadis With ISIS Aren’t Immigrants
Around 50 Italians have been recruited by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis), the majority from non-immigrant families, Italian media reported.
The majority of the young “foreign fighters” were converted to Isis’ extreme ideology online and subsequently travelled to Syria and Iraq, Corriere della Sera said.
The vast majority — 80 percent — are from Italian families, while a minority are the second generation of immigrant families.
The men are mostly aged between 18 and 25 and come from northern Italy. Bologna, Turin and Padua were named as some of their home cities, although some foreign fighters have also come from Rome and Naples.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Nearly 200 migrants are feared to have drowned after a boat sank less than a mile from the coast of Libya during an attempted crossing to mainland Europe.
The small vessel — which was crammed with men, women and children — sank late on Friday near Qarabouli, 35 miles east of the capital Tripoli, according to the local coast guard.
It comes as Italy’s maritime search and rescue team are being called upon to retrieve hundreds of migrants who are trying to flee North Africa via the Mediterranean Sea on a daily basis.
A breakdown of order in Libya since the toppling of Colonel Gaddafi has been exploited by human traffickers, pushing the number of arrivals into Italy since January past 100,000.
At the frontier between Europe and Africa, Italy has long attracted seaborne migrants, but the number of arrivals this year is already above a previous record of just over 60,000 for all of 2011, when the Arab Spring uprisings fuelled migration.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |