Gates of Vienna News Feed 9/7/2014

Israel’s energy minister announced that his government will sign a 15-year deal to deliver natural gas to Jordan. The gas will come from the Leviathan offshore field.

In other news, after 126 years, DNA evidence from the shawl of one of his victims has conclusively determined the identity of Jack the Ripper.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, DF, Fjordman, Insubria, Ivan Winters, 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.

Financial Crisis
» Intl Press Blasts Draghi Economic Stimulus Measures
» Italy: Cottarelli Sees 500 Mn in Savings in Public-Private Cuts
» Italy: School Expenses Too High for 40% of Families, Group Says
» Moody’s Says ECB Measures Positive, But of Limited Impact
 
USA
» 3 Columbus Churches Vandalized With Graffiti Overnight
» Study: ‘Hurtful Messages’ Could Contribute to Obesity in Minorities
 
Europe and the EU
» Jack the Ripper Unmasked: How Amateur Sleuth Used DNA Breakthrough to Identify Britain’s Most Notorious Criminal 126 Years After String of Terrible Murders
» Jews Leaving France Amid ‘Anti-Semitic Climate’
» Jihadists Want Al-Andalus Back, Says Spanish Terrorism Analyst
» Renzi Moots Taking Defense Spending Out of EU Budget Rules
» Spain May Ban Burqas in Public, Says Interior Minister
» Two More Dutch Families Head for Syria, Taking Their Children
» UK: Rotherham Whistleblower ‘Sent on Diversity Training for Saying Most Abusers Were Asian’
» We’ll Put Guards on Scottish Border: Ed Miliband Reveals Incendiary Plan as Yes Camp Leads for First Time in Shock New Poll
 
North Africa
» Islamic State Guides Egyptian Militants, Expanding Its Influence
 
Middle East
» Israel to Ink 15-Year Accord to Supply Gas to Jordan
» Syria Rebels Advance Near Golan Heights: NGO
 
Russia
» NATO Irresponsible for Sanctioning Russia, Says Berlusconi
 
Immigration
» Calais Police Clash With Anti-Fascist Activists
» EU Unable to Spend as Much as Much as Italy
» UK Offers France NATO Security Fence to Stop Calais Migrants
 

Intl Press Blasts Draghi Economic Stimulus Measures

‘Lax policies give France, Italy, excuse to put off reforms’

(ANSA) — Rome, September 5 — American and European pundits gave economic stimulus measures taken by European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi a mixed reception Friday, echoing the fears of many in the business community that lenient central bank policies might provide “undisciplined” countries such as Italy another excuse to delay key reforms.

Draghi on Thursday announced the ECB will begin to buy asset-backed securities (ABS) and covered bonds in October to encourage credit flows and economic growth, while also cutting its main interest rates for commercial banks and lowering many of its forecasts for economic growth and inflation.

But the central bank apparently stopped short of outright quantitative easing of the style used by the United States Federal Reserve, although Draghi gave notice that if necessary, the ECB could still implement “unconventional” measures. Draghi has launched a “counteroffensive” against deflation and weak eurozone demand, but his chosen course may be fraught with difficulties, the Financial Times of London editorialized. For one thing, it said, he will have to make sure the ABS purchases are “big enough to make a difference”.

“The concern is that unconventional measures will ease the pressure on crisis-ridden countries, such as Italy, to carry out painful structural reforms”.

The sentiment was the same across the pond.

“Too bad the politicians keep using Mr. Draghi as an excuse to dodge their responsibility to pass pro-growth reforms,” the Wall Street Journal wrote in an op-ed.

While Draghi has been preaching the gospel of reform for years, “these never arrive”.

Europe’s biggest economic stumbling block is its political class, which refuses to face structural obstacles to growth such as high taxes, too much business regulation, and a rigid labor market, the American paper went on.

In Germany, opinion-makers were unanimous that Draghi is treading on thin ice.

“Draghi must be desperate,” wrote conservative paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The ECB is taking on excessive risk in order to prop up shaky economies such as those of France and Italy, which unlike Spain, have put off making key social and labor reforms, the paper opined. Draghi “is playing with fire”, wrote liberal German paper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, going on to say that his rate cuts are purely “symbolic”.

While “emergencies engender creativity, not all inventions are reasonable”, the Bavarian paper wrote.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Cottarelli Sees 500 Mn in Savings in Public-Private Cuts

‘Some 2,000 mixed ventures could be scrapped’ says Cottarelli

(ANSA) Rome, September 1 — Italy could save as much as half a billion euros by slashing public stakes in mixed-capital companies, spending review czar Carlo Cottarelli said Monday.

As many as 2,000 out of 8,000 existing mixed ventures could be scrapped, Cottarelli added.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: School Expenses Too High for 40% of Families, Group Says

ADOC says four of ten families can’t afford didactic expenses

(ANSA) — Rome, September 1 — Forty percent of families have “enormous difficulty” meeting the annual cost of books and materials for their children, consumer group ADOC said on Monday.

“There needs to be a system of assistance and deductions similar to the Scandinavian model, where expenses for didactic materials are completely covered by the State,” said ADOC president Lamberto Santini.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Moody’s Says ECB Measures Positive, But of Limited Impact

Ratings agency concludes eurozone challenges persist

(ANSA) — New York, September 5 — New measures from the European Central Bank (ECB) to stimulate the eurozone economy will have a positive but limited impact, ratings agency Moody’s said Friday.

In a statement, Moody’s said that the need “for new ideas highlights the persistent economic and financial challenges in the euro area”.

On Thursday, ECB President Mario Draghi reduced an important bank interest rate and announced a major purchase plan for bonds and asset-backed securities.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

3 Columbus Churches Vandalized With Graffiti Overnight

COLUMBUS, Ind. — Columbus Police said they’ve never had anything like it — three churches vandalized in the same night.

Someone spray painted them on the outside. It’s the words used, though, that have some people asking if this was more than a prank.

“It was just one word. It said ‘Infidels!’“ Father Doug Marcotte said of what was spray painted on Saint Bartholomew’s Catholic Church in Columbus overnight Saturday.

Parishioners saw that, along with the word “Qur’an 3:151” on their way into mass Sunday morning.

“It’s certainly not a warm and fuzzy verse. It talks about the infidels, their refuge being the fire,” explained Father Marcotte.

Specifically, that passage of the Qur’an reads: “We will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve for what they have associated with Allah of which He had not sent down [any] authority. And their refuge will be the Fire, and wretched is the residence of the wrongdoers.”

Saint Bartholomew’s wasn’t the only Columbus church vandalized.

“It’s really bizarre and the fact that they hit two other Christian Churches. It’s not like we’re all in a line. So why did they pick the three of us,” asked Father Marcotte.

Outside East Columbus Christian Church and Lakeview Church of Christ, members there found the same kind of graffiti Sunday morning.

“Is there somebody that really believes this that we’re all infidels so they felt the need to write it all over our church? “ asked Father Marcote. “Is this some sort of nasty prank? Is this someone that’s trying to incite people against Muslims? I mean I don’t know,” he added.

Columbus Police said they’re looking at surveillance video to help figure it out.

Until they do though, parishioners at Saint Bartholomew’s have been unsettled by the defacing of their church, at the very least.

“There’s a lot of bad stuff being done in the name of Allah and so when people see this happening in Columbus, whether that was truly the person’s intent or there’s something else going on, It makes people nervous. It makes people upset. It makes them scared,” said Father Marcotte.

Columbus police would not comment on whether they had alerted federal authorities to the vandalism because of its nature. The priests at Saint Bartholomew’s said they’ve been contacted by members of the local Muslim community in Columbus who have condemned the vandalism and offered to help clean it up.

           — Hat tip: DF [Return to headlines]
 

Study: ‘Hurtful Messages’ Could Contribute to Obesity in Minorities

(CNSNews.com) — Research led by Rutgers University concludes that ethnic minorities’ tendency to be more obese than other populations could be caused by “hurtful messages” and stereotypes that diminish motivation to stay fit.

“Rutgers-led research finds that exposure to hurtful messages might diminish motivation to lose weight,” an article about the research posted on Rutgers’ website said.

“Many Americans need extraordinary willpower to avoid becoming obese — or to slim down if they already weigh too much,” the Aug. 25 article stated.

The research project was led by Luis Rivera, an experimental psychologist at Rutgers, who concluded the messages that suggest some groups are “inferior” make it harder for them to care about their health.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Jack the Ripper Unmasked: How Amateur Sleuth Used DNA Breakthrough to Identify Britain’s Most Notorious Criminal 126 Years After String of Terrible Murders

It is the greatest murder mystery of all time, a puzzle that has perplexed criminologists for more than a century and spawned books, films and myriad theories ranging from the plausible to the utterly bizarre.

But now, thanks to modern forensic science, The Mail on Sunday can exclusively reveal the true identity of Jack the Ripper, the serial killer responsible for at least five grisly murders in Whitechapel in East London during the autumn of 1888.

DNA evidence has now shown beyond reasonable doubt which one of six key suspects commonly cited in connection with the Ripper’s reign of terror was the actual killer — and we reveal his identity.

A shawl found by the body of Catherine Eddowes, one of the Ripper’s victims, has been analysed and found to contain DNA from her blood as well as DNA from the killer.

A DNA sample has proven Polish immigrant Aaron Kosminski was Jack the Ripper.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Jews Leaving France Amid ‘Anti-Semitic Climate’

Almost 5,000 people have left the country in the first 8 months of 2014

(ANSAmed)- PARIS — More Jews have left France for Israel in the first eight months of 2014 than any other country, a leading Jewish group told AFP on Friday. Almost 5,000 people have reportedly left France for the Jewish State so far this year.

Ariel Kandel, who heads the French office of the Jewish Agency for Israel, told AFP that the number of people who chose to leave for Israel — or ‘aliyah’ as emigration to Israel is called by Jews — could reach 5,500 people in 2014.

“France is today the leading country for Jewish emigration to Israel”, he said, citing data from the Israeli integration ministry. “It has never been before”.

Anti-Semitism and the difficult economic situation in France were cited by Kandel among reasons to emigrate.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Jihadists Want Al-Andalus Back, Says Spanish Terrorism Analyst

‘But Italy and Spain not highest risk’, interview with Reinares

(by Paola Del Vecchio) (ANSAmed) — MADRID, SEPTEMBER 5 — Al-Andalus is still considered by jihadists as Muslim territory, international terrorism analyst Fernando Reinares told ANSA in an interview.

Both Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) see it as “under Spanish and Portuguese occupation”, and this leads to a greater risk of terrorism in the area, the senior analyst for the Real Instituto Elcano — the most prestigious center for strategic studies of Spain — told ANSA. Author of the book ‘Matadlos! Quien estuvo detras dell’11-M y porqué se asentó en Espana’ (‘Kill them! Who was behind 3/11 and Why Spain was Targeted’), published by Galaxia Gutenberg in 2014, Reinares said that the Iberian peninsula is a prime target for the two transnational jihadist networks. The Al-Andalus region was under Arab domination for eight centuries. The analyst noted that “even in the writings of the Al-Qaeda founders there are direct and indirect references to Spain, which go beyond the usual anti-Western sentiments voiced by the ideologues of global jihad.” “One of them, Abdullah Azzam, published a highly influential pamphlet in 1987 on the religious duty of jihad, in which he urged Muslims to use it to retake Al-Andalus, as if it were still a Muslim dominion under occupation. This was the origin of the allusions to Al-Andalus made in 1994 by former Al-Qaeda leader Bin Laden, and his successor Al-Zawahiri. The members of the local cell that planned and carried out the March 11 attacks in Madrid called themselves the ‘Brigade in Al-Andalus’, or the ‘Al-Andalus Brigade’.”

Q: In March, Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said that Spain was one of the strategic objectives of the global holy war, but there haven’t been any attacks since March 11, 2004. Why is this? A: The bombs on the regional trains in Atocha killed 191 and injured over 1,800. It was the most lethal attack in a Western country since 9/11 and shows, without a shadow of a doubt, that our nation is a target of global terrorism. It is true that the jihadist narrative refers to Spain, due to the ancient Al-Andalus, in a different way that other Western countries. But it is also true that Spain has stood out — since the mid-1990s — as one of the European countries where more jihadists have been arrested and more cells dismantled.

Q: But can you say that it is now the European country at the most risk from the Islamic State? A: No, Spain and Italy are not at the moment the European nations most affected by jihadist mobilization linked to the conflict in Syria an Iraq. The most exposed, in absolute and relative terms, are France, the UK, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, where the Muslim population is made up of mostly the children and grandchildren of immigrants from Muslim-majority nations. However, Spain and Italy are in the Western Mediterranean, where over half of the jihadists that have joined Jabhat Al-Nusra and, especially, the Islamic State, in Syria and Iraq are from. This leads to new breeding grounds and, obviously, greater potential risk of terrorism.”

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Renzi Moots Taking Defense Spending Out of EU Budget Rules

Italian premier urged common EU defense policy at NATO summit

(ANSA) — Rome, September 5 — Defense spending shouldn’t be included in European Stability Pact limits if Western leaders think it a strategic priority, Premier Matteo Renzi said Friday after NATO called on members to up their defense spending to 2% of GDP. “After I made that suggestion, some of the other leaders called me a ‘provocateur’,” Renzi told reporters at a news briefing at the close of a two-day NATO summit in Newport, Wales. “I also said I would like to have a common EU defense policy and a forum in which to discuss it,” Renzi said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Spain May Ban Burqas in Public, Says Interior Minister

Poll shows 90% of citizens support move

(by Paola Del Vecchio) (ANSAmed) — MADRID, SEPTEMBER 4 — A ban on wearing burqas or any veil that conceals the entire face may be included into a public security law that Spain’s parliament is expected to pass soon, announced Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz on Thursday.

“We have the draft Citizen Security Law in the Congress right now, and perhaps it is the right time for the issue” of a full-face veil ban, the minister said. A burqa, said Fernandez Diaz, “is an attack on women’s dignity” and is a problem “from a security point of view, since it makes it difficult to identify a person who may have been the perpetrator of a crime.” The Citizen Security Law, which has sparked criticism from opposition parties, establishes administrative sanctions for those who take part in protests with their faces covered, wearing helmets, scarves or ski masks in such a way as to prevent their identification. “This does not mean that it is necessary” to bring in a ban on the burqa specifically, the minister said, but it “could be an opportunity” to do so. This view was echoed by Ramon Espadaler, the ‘conseller’ of the interior ministry for the Catalonia government, which on Wednesday passed the first draft of a regional law on the protection of public spaces. The law, which regulates street vendors, prostitution and protests, does not contain a specific ban on burqas in public. “It will be prohibited to conceal one’s identity in demonstrations or to hinder the work of the Catalan police in identifying protestors,” Espadaler said. “But the restriction on wearing a full-face veil does not apply to the streets in general. It is only in certain public spaces for public security. The Generalitat does not have the authority to regulate an issue that affects fundamental rights, and even if we wanted to, we couldn’t prohibit the use of burqas in the streets.” In addition to rekindling debate, the government initiative has sparked reactions from Muslim associations in Spain. According to the head of the Islamic Commission of Spain (CIE) and head of the Union of Islamic Communities (UCIDE), Riary Tatari, there is “no need” for a ban, thereby “creating a precedent in Spain on a matter that is not widespread”, since “most of the women who wear a full-face veil are foreigners visiting the country and not residents anyway.” Tatary noted that the burqa is not Muslim in origins, that it comes from a specific tribe in Afghanistan, and that “it is necessary to differentiate between traditions and religion”. “The religious precept,” he said, “calls for the head to be covered, not for clothes that cover the entire body.” The representative of Spain’s Muslim community agrees that burqas are “an attack on women’s dignity”, but says that the matter should not be dealt with through a ban. “It is a matter of dialogue,” he said, noting that the law already requires women to have their head uncovered in photographs on identity cards. The head of the Europa Laica association, Francisco Delgado, says that the use of the full-face veil “is indefensible in educational and healthcare environments, since these are places where it is necessary to see and recognize faces to work, assist and engage with the public”. However, he said, it is a phenomenon “that is not of concern, since it is very limited in Spain”. The population is also staunchly against the use of burqas in public: 90% support the ban, according to polls published in several media outlets, including Huffington Post.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Two More Dutch Families Head for Syria, Taking Their Children

A Muslim family from Amersfoort with three children and a second family from Utrecht are thought to have moved to Syria last weekend, according to Dutch media reports.

The families were also in touch with the two families from Huizen who were stopped from leaving last Friday evening when they were arrested and their children were taken into care, the Volkskrant said.

Three of the four Huizen parents are said to be European converts to Islam and have since been released from custody. Child protection officials will decide on Monday if their children can be returned to them. The fourth parent, a 34-year-old man, remains in jail.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Rotherham Whistleblower ‘Sent on Diversity Training for Saying Most Abusers Were Asian’

A researcher was sent on a diversity awareness course — and faced the sack — for raising the alarm about the appalling abuse of children in Rotherham and the fact most of the perpetrators were of Pakistani descent, it has been reported.

Some 1,400 children were abused between 1997 and 2013 in the South Yorkshire town, including cases of them of being made to witness brutal rapes, being covered in petrol and threatened with being set alight, according to a devastating report last week.

Many of the victims were young girls in care of the council — which was accused of “blatant” failures in not dealing with the problem.

The researcher, who was seconded to Rotherham Council from the Home Office in 2002, spoke to BBC Panorama anonymously and said she was told she must “never, ever” again mention the fact they most of the abusers were Asian men.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

We’ll Put Guards on Scottish Border: Ed Miliband Reveals Incendiary Plan as Yes Camp Leads for First Time in Shock New Poll

Ed Miliband today issues the stark threat that manned border posts could be introduced if Scotland backs independence in next week’s historic vote.

With just 11 days to go until the referendum — and polls showing growing momentum for Alex Salmond’s nationalists — the Labour leader has urged voters to face up to the consequences of severing the 300-year-old Union.

‘If you don’t want borders, vote to stay in the United Kingdom,’ Mr Miliband said in an interview with today’s Scottish Mail on Sunday.

Asked whether that would mean him introducing border guards and passport checks if he was Prime Minister, Mr Miliband warned: ‘It would have to be looked at.’

And Mr Miliband’s spokesman added last night: ‘The last time I looked there were two sides to the border — and we would be in charge of one of them. It would be up to us, not Mr Salmond, to secure our northern border.’…

           — Hat tip: Ivan Winters [Return to headlines]
 

Islamic State Guides Egyptian Militants, Expanding Its Influence

(Reuters) — Islamic State, fighting to redraw the map of the Middle East, has been coaching Egypt’s most dangerous militant group, complicating efforts to stabilize the biggest Arab nation.

Confirmation that Islamic Sate, currently the most successful of the region’s jihadi groups, is extending its influence to Egypt will sound alarm bells in Cairo, where the authorities are already facing a security challenge from home-grown militants.

A senior commander from the Sinai-based Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which has killed hundreds of members of the Egyptian security forces over the last year, said Islamic State has provided instructions on how to operate more effectively.

“They teach us how to carry out operations. We communicate through the internet,” the commander, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters.

“They don’t give us weapons or fighters. But they teach us how to create secret cells, consisting of five people. Only one person has contact with other cells.”

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

Israel to Ink 15-Year Accord to Supply Gas to Jordan

From offshore natural gas field

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, SEPTEMBER 3 — Israel will sign a 15-year agreement with Jordan to supply natural gas from the Leviathen field off its coast, media quoted Energy Minister Silvan Shalom as saying on Wednesday. The agreement — say ministry sources — is worth 15 billion dollars (about 12 billion euros).

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Syria Rebels Advance Near Golan Heights: NGO

Syrian rebels have made fresh advances near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in Quneitra province, where 26 troops and 17 rebels were killed in a battle on Saturday, a monitoring group said.

Fighting has raged in the province since August, when rebels and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front took control of a border post.

“Rebels have since taken control of hills overlooking the border post, as well as several villages nearby, (after battles that killed) a large number of troops on both sides,” Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman said Sunday.

On Saturday, “the regime tried to take back the village of Msahra, but failed”, said Abdel Rahman, with the fighting leaving the 43 dead on both sides.

Over the course of Saturday’s fighting, the rebels also seized a string of new hilltops.

The Observatory says the fighting around Quneitra has killed some 70 loyalists and dozens of rebels since the end of August.

For many months, rebels have sought to take full control of southern Damascus, Daraa province on the Jordan border, and Quneitra.

Elsewhere, regime warplanes carried out fresh strikes against areas under Islamic State (IS) control in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor and the northern province of Raqa.

The air strike on Raqa killed two children, said the Observatory, while the raids on two areas in Deir Ezzor killed at least 12 civilians, among them seven members of a tribe that had fought the IS.

The strikes come amid a stepped-up campaign by Assad’s regime targeting IS positions in northern and eastern Syria.

Activists say such air raids often kill many civilians as well as jihadists.

The Britain-based monitor and activists meanwhile reported several shells launched from rebel positions onto Abbasiyeen Square and other areas of central Damascus.

The shelling comes three weeks into a major battle in the eastern Damascus district of Jobar, which the regime is trying to wrest from rebel control.

On Sunday, the air force carried out 10 air strikes against rebel positions east of Damascus, the Observatory said, reporting no casualties.

Syria’s war has killed more than 191,000 people since March 2011.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

NATO Irresponsible for Sanctioning Russia, Says Berlusconi

(AGI) Giovinazzo (Bari), Sept 7 — NATO is irresponsible to sanction Russia for its intervention in Ukraine, Berlusconi told a meeting of the “Everest 014” young Forza Italia supporters in a phone call on Sunday morning. “We are deeply distressed over the economic crisis and the way that the Western leaders and NATO have, quite incredibly, inexplicably and irresponsibly, wiped out our huge effort and achievement in 2002 when, with the Pratica di Mare treaty, we put an end to half a century of cold war”, Berlusconi said.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Calais Police Clash With Anti-Fascist Activists

Police and anti-fascist demonstrators were involved in a standoff on Sunday in the French port town of Calais.

The stand off came during a march by left-wing activists who were protesting at a separate march by far right anti-immigration activists.

Calais is facing rising tensions over immigration with about 1,300 migrants from the Horn of Africa, Sudan and Afghanistan currently there.

Protesting leftists said they were defending the migrants and were trying to disrupt the demonstration by anti-immigration activists protesting the influx of migrants camping out in Calais while they wait to try and sneak across the English Channel into Britain.

Police barricaded streets and sought to keep the groups apart.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

EU Unable to Spend as Much as Much as Italy

Malstrom, Frontex Plus will not replace Italian Mare Nostrum

(ANSAmed) — LA VALLETTA (MALTA) — Frontex Plus, an operation which starts at end of November, will help Italy patrol the Strait of Sicily but will not replace Italian surveillance and rescue operation Mare Nostrum, EU Commissioner of Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom said Friday during a visit to Malta.

Malmstrom stressed that so far it is unclear how the operation will work and engagement rules, but she added that it will never be able to replace Mare Nostrum because the EU will never be able to undertake the expense of a mission similar to the one organized by Italy.

“It is still unclear how Frontex Plus will function”, the commissioner said, adding work was ongoing in defining training and responsibility. “What I can say is that the operation will be larger than the traditional Frontex operation in the Mediterranean and it will be different from Mare Nostrum”. The Frontex council still needs to define the mission’s arrangements, Malstrom said, vowing that she is “personally involved” in convincing member states to take part in the mission.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

UK Offers France NATO Security Fence to Stop Calais Migrants

The UK has offered France the security fencing it used at a recent NATO summit to protect world leaders, suggesting the barrier might deter illegal migrants crossing the Channel from the port town of Calais.

Writing in British daily The Telegraph on Saturday, British Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said the 12 miles of 9ft-high steel fencing, installed for last week’s summit at Celtic Manor in Newport, could be used “to replace and enlarge the inadequate fencing at Calais, which is too easy for illegal immigrants to scale”.

It follows demands by Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart that the UK do more to help with the town’s migrant problem, threatening to shut the port if it did not.

“I could take the decision to block the port,” she said. “It would be illegal, but today I want to make a strong gesture towards the British.”

However, Brokenshire argued that “it is for the French to maintain security of their port and to maintain public order on their own soil”.

           — Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]
 

One thought on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 9/7/2014

  1. That purchase contract was a real gas! Now Jordan is in the position of having to man Israel’s back in order for its energy needs to be met. Real slick move Bibi!

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