An American schoolteacher named Ibolya Ryan, the mother of twin boys, was stabbed to death in a restroom of a shopping mall in Abu Dhabi. Her murderer appears in CCTV footage, wearing a burka. Police are searching for the suspect, and are anxious to determine whether it is a man or a woman.
In other news, the budget proposed by Sweden’s governing coalition was voted down, forcing Prime Minister Stefan Löfven to call new elections just three months after the previous ones.
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Italy: Interest on 10-Year BTP Drops Below 2%
Record low, spread at 126 points
(ANSA) — Rome, December 3 — The yield on Italy’s 10-year BTP State bond fell below the 2% mark for the first time since the introduction of the euro on Wednesday. The spread between the 10-year bond and the benchmark German bund, a key measure of investor confidence, stood at 126 basis points. The yield has been falling amid expectations that the European Central Bank is about to scale up its use of unconventional measures, including bond acquisitions, to combat sluggish growth in the eurozone.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: Interest on 10-Year BTP Closes at Historic Low of 1.97%
BTP-Bund spread drops to 123 basis points
(ANSA) — Rome, December 3 — The yield on Italy’s 10-year BTP State bond on Wednesday closed below the 2% mark for the first time since the introduction of the euro, settling at 1.97%.
The spread between the 10-year bond and the benchmark German bund, a key measure of investor confidence, stood at 123 basis points.
The yield has been falling amid expectations that the European Central Bank is about to scale up its use of unconventional measures, including bond acquisitions, to combat sluggish growth in the eurozone.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
‘Moving Toward a Crisis’: Nat’l Debt Up 70% Under Obama to $18 Trillion
The United States’ national debt has now passed the $18 trillion mark and is up by a whopping 70 percent since President Obama took office.
When Obama leaves office, the number will be near $20 trillion; the debt was $10.6 trillion when he arrived in the White House.
The Congressional Budget Office projects that the debt will be at $26.5 trillion in 10 years.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Plunging Crude Adds to Poloz Case for 1% Canada Rate Hold
The global plunge in crude oil prices is impeding Canada’s economic recovery, threatening policy makers’ inflation outlook — and giving Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz more reason to keep his benchmark interest rate unchanged today.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Troika Responds Via Email to Greece’s Proposals
Creditors’ representatives request further clarifications
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, DECEMBER 3 — The troika (IMF, EU, ECB) responded via email to the coalition government’s proposals early on Wednesday morning as daily To Vima online reports.
Sources suggest that the troika has requested further clarifications on the government proposals in order to come to an agreement that will also see the troika mission return to Athens by the end of the week. Specifically the troika has requested further clarifications on the measures and commitments regarding the fiscal gap, should the government miss its targets.
The IMF, EU, ECB representatives are not convinced over certain measures and have requested alternatives in case they do not perform as expected. The government will respond to the troika later in the day in a teleconference. Nevertheless, with time running out, it is becoming increasingly unlikely that both sides will have come to a formal agreement by the Eurogroup on the 8th of December.
Government officers have noted that there must be staff-level agreement at the upcoming Eurogroup in order to complete the fifth review to be complete and take decisions regarding the precautionary credit line. The government’s goal is to complete the negotiations for the review and “the next day” by the end of December in order to avoid the costly perspective of extending the negotiations into January.
The troika’s Wednesday-morning response however did not state if and when the troika would return. From the exchanges between all sides, the IMF appears to be playing the role of the “bad cop” and is not pleased with the government proposals. In the meantime, in the 48-page email that he sent the troika, the Minister of Finances Gikas Hardouvelis favored the IMF’s involvement in the European ECCL safety net, via the conversion of the current Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program into a precautionary program.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Bill Cosby Accused of Assaulting 15-Year-Old at Playboy Mansion in ‘74
A lawsuit filed against Bill Cosby on Tuesday by a Riverside County woman is believed to be the first connected to a recent spate of allegations that he sexually assaulted nearly 20 women since the 1970s. And the alleged victim was underage at the time she says the assault occurred.
Judy Huth was 15 years old, according to the lawsuit, when she and a 16-year-old friend met the comedian at a San Marino park in 1974. The assault came later, the suit states, after he gave her alcohol and led her to the Playboy Mansion.
The series of sexual assault allegations against Cosby, 77, has led to the suspension of two of his TV projects, cancellation of on-stage appearances, and “The Cosby Show” reruns have been pulled from the air.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Georgia Town Votes to Ban Muslim Mosque, Residents Hate Islam (Video)
While anti-Muslim protesters waved signs outside the Kennesaw City Hall, the City Council voted against allowing an Islamic group the opportunity to rent a retail space in the small Georgia town.
The local Islamic group agreed to the numerous limitations that the Kennesaw city attorney requested, including a limit of 80 worshipers at a time, 40 parking spaces and only a two-year lease, noted 11 Alive (video below).
“The issue at hand has to do with the hours and days of the week that [the mosque] will be open from my perspective,” Mayor Mathews told The Marietta Daily Journal.
City Council Member Cris Eaton-Welsh voted for the Muslim group’s request, but the other four members voted against, without debate or comment.
“They have the right to be there, and we’ve already set precedent,” said Eaton-Welsh.
Matthews countered, “Each application is considered on its own merits and precedence does not come into consideration in my opinion.”
Doug Dillard, a lawyer who represents the Muslim group, says they may have to sue the City of Kennesaw in federal court as similar suits have been successful.
“You know, if Christianity were killing people, I’m pretty sure I would have a problem with it,” said Pastor C.S. Clarke of the Redeemed Christian Fellowship Church. “Then I would be concerned with that moving into my neighborhood. But, I’m open, I’m inclusive. Christianity does teach love, inclusiveness, creating a better environment for everyone.”
Clarke added, “I really believe that the country was founded on freedom of religion, so that’s always my first perspective. Can we practice religions openly? I think that’s what the laws really protect. As far as that particular faith, I do know that there’s some challenges, and I think that’s what’s maybe influencing a lot of our decisions in this modern day.”
Outside the City Hall, anti-Muslim protesters held signs such as “Ban Islam.”
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
Holder Suggests Police Can be an “Occupying Force”
by Keith Koffler
Speaking about Ferguson to a largely African American audience at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta Monday, Attorney General Eric Holder indicated police are sometimes an “occupying force” in black neighborhoods.
“Our police officers cannot be, and cannot be seen as, an occupying force disconnected to the communities that they serve,” Holder said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
1,200 Years of History Can’t Make Germans Trust French
In the ancient German city that first symbolized European unity, the French government has an image problem.
Aachen, the capital of Charlemagne’s Holy Roman Empire from the year 800, is steeped in the history of a unified European identity. French pleas for understanding as they seek to fix their economy and narrow the deficit are testing the patience of Aachen’s people, echoing the concerns of many Germans over what they see as their neighbor’s foot-dragging.
“I don’t trust the French at all,” said Pazashk Ali in the narrow bar he owns in the shadow of Aachen’s imposing octagonal cathedral, where Charlemagne is buried.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Alternatives to South Stream Involve the Mediterranean
EU reaffirms commitment to diversification after Putin drops project
(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS — Russian president Vladimir Putin on Monday scrapped the South Stream pipeline project to supply gas to southern Europe, accusing the European Commission of a “counterproductive” attitude after the project was suspended following sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine.
The Commission said on Tuesday that it was “never against South Stream”, according to the spokesman of Vice President Maros Sefcovic, but that EU consumer protection regulations would have to be complied through competition while ensuring diversification of supply sources.
South Stream is a 16-billion-euro project that Italy has a prime role in — through Gazprom’s top partner, ENI — alongside France’s EDF and Germany’s Wintershall, but the plan to arrive in Europe without crossing through Ukraine is now unlikely to come into being, as was the case with Nabucco, which for years was the South Stream’s major competitor and had been backed by the EU.
Some of the other gas pipelines bringing Russian, Azeri or North African gas to Europe include the following.
-SOUTHERN CORRIDOR: TAP, TANAP, WHITE STREAM. This is the EU’s preferred route to free itself of Moscow to get Caspian gas from Azeri Shah Deniz reserves. The corridor was opened last year with the assigning of gas to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which will bring Azeri gas to Europe through Greece, Albania and Italy via Turkey and its TANAP pipeline. This will supply gas to TAP (still being built), which won out over rivals Nabucco West and ITGI. Another gas pipeline, White Stream, is currently being considered, which would bring Azeri gas through Romania and Bulgaria via Georgia and the Black Sea.
-MEDITERRANEAN AND NORTH SEA. Gas is brought to Italy and the EU from North Africa using Green Stream (from Libya) and the Trans Med (from Algeria via Tunisia to Sicily). The GALSI project, which would bring Algeria gas directly to Sardinia, is currently stalled. There are also numerous gas pipelines (such as Europipe, Zeepipe, Franpipe)crossing the North Sea and Norway.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark’s Jihadist Rehab: School, Sport and Islam
Young men who have fought alongside Isis in Syria are welcomed back into Aarhus by a controversial rehab programme that has shown signs of success despite being condemned by many as too soft and naive.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
EU Commission: No Legal Basis Exists for Compensating Bulgaria on South Stream
The European Commission revealed that no legal framework existed for compensating Bulgaria due to Russia’s announced cancellation of the construction of the South Stream pipeline.
Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, Spokesperson of the European Commission (EC) on climate action and energy, said this at a pressconference on Tuesday, the Bulgarian National Television reports.
The Spokesperson remarked that security and solidarity are the main components of the EU energy union.
Itkonen did not provide a concrete answer whether the statement of Russian President Vladimir Putin meant that the project was dead.
She stated that the EU has not changed its position regarding the pipelines in the Union, which should be constructed and utilised according to the European legislation.
Itkonen pointed out that pipelines contravening EU legislation, represent a threat to the internal market…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Europe Agrees to Build New-Generation Ariane 6 Rocket
European governments on Tuesday agreed to fund the development of the Ariane 6, a next-generation rocket that will be used to launch satellites into orbit.
The decision comes as the European Space Agency (ESA) faces increasing competition from cheaper rivals.
The new launcher will replace the Ariane 5 and the maiden flight is scheduled for 2020,
“With this historic decision, the member states have given a strong reply to international competition in a strategic sector for European sovereignty, industry and jobs,” French Research Minister Geneviève Fioraso said in a statement…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Far-Right Leaders Vow to ‘Save Europe’ At French Gathering
Representatives of Eurosceptic and far-right groups from Italy to Bulgaria gathered at the National Front party conference in Lyon at the weekend to warn France and Europe of a “neo-Ottoman” onslaught of Islam-preaching, benefit-stealing migrants.
Digging through the history books, Heinz-Christian Strache, the head of Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), warned that “Arab armies plundered Lyon in 725 and are now busy doing the same in Iraq and Syria”.
Strache went on to blast Europe’s mainstream parties for, among other things, stoking “mass immigration, ideological terror, gay marriage and gender theory”.
The Austrian far-right leader was one of seven foreign politicians invited by the National Front (FN) leader, Marine Le Pen, to showcase her so-called “Europe of nations” — which she hopes to build on the ruins of an increasingly unpopular EU…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
France: Woman Raped and Boyfriend Assaulted ‘For Being Jews’
In armed break-in; community speaks out against anti-Semitism
(ANSAmed) — PARIS, DECEMBER 3 — A young Jewish couple were brutally beaten and robbed and the woman raped in an apparent anti-Semitic attack in Créteil, a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, on Monday morning. The man, 21, and his girlfriend, 19, were tied up and beaten by three hooded, armed men who had broken into an apartment owned by the man’s parents and who then proceeded to rape the woman. The attackers fled an hour and a half later, taking with them jewels, credit cards and cell phones.
Two of the perpetrators were arrested shortly thereafter but the third managed to get away and is still sought by the authorities. Investigators say that the break-in was likely a “premeditated attack”. The assailants have admitted to “knowing the family was Jewish”, a source close to the incident said. “The anti-Semitic nature of the attack seems confirmed,” Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve noted. The council representing Jewish institutions in France has called the incident yet another “savage anti-Semitic attack”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Greece Receives Huge Fine for Illegal Landfills
(ANSAmed) — ATHENS, DECEMBER 3 — The European Court of Justice on Tuesday slapped Greece with a 10-million-euro fine for failing to comply with waste management directives as dozens of illegal landfills continue to operate in the cash-strapped country. As daily Kathimerini online reported, the Strasbourg-based court found that Greece has not fulfilled the requirements of a prior ruling dating from 2005 ordering the country to shut down all its uncontrolled dumps by 2008. The European Commission sent Greece formal notices in 2009 and 2010, followed by action taken in 2013 after the country continued to flout regulations. According to official figures from Greece and the Commission, in May 2014, out of a total of 293 illegal landfills, 70 remained operational and 223, although closed down, had not yet been cleaned up. While this is an improvement from the 1,125 illegal dumps that were operational in 2004, the court deemed that measures remain insufficient. Until the 2005 judgment is complied with in full, the actual amount of the penalty will depend on the progress made by Greece, the court said, adding that if there is no such progress, the penalty will be more than 14 million euros for each six-month period of delay.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Greece, Cyprus and Israel to Explain Med Pipeline Vision to EU
Energy ministers of Greece, Cyprus and Israel will hold talks with the EU next week to try to advance a plan for a pipeline linking newly-discovered gas riches in the eastern Mediterranean to Europe, Cyprus’s energy minister has said.
Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis told Reuters Tuesday the three countries would put their case forward for a technical and feasibility study on building a pipeline through the Mediterranean westwards to Europe, tapping hydrocarbons discovered in the Levantine Basin.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary Looking for New Gas Sources After Putin Scraps South Stream
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Tuesday the country will have to find alternative sources to secure its long-term gas supplies following Russia’s decision to drop the South Stream project.
“Russia had the right to make that decision and Hungary has acknowledged the move,” Budapest Business Journal quoted Szijjarto as telling Hungarian news agency MTI.
Hungary, which imports most of its gas from Russia, backed South Stream despite opposition from the EU Commission and the US because it saw the project as the only way to safeguardits energy supplies, Andras Aradszki, energy affairs state secretary, told Reuters last month…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Pope Francis Dismisses Head of Swiss Guard
(AGI) Vatican City, Dec 3 — Pope Francis has dismissed the head of the Swiss Guard, Colonel Daniel Rudolf Anrig. Certain rumours attribute the decision to Anrig’s excessive strictness in applying military rules. Speculation in the Vatican, however, involves a more personal reason, possibly an apartment that Anrig restructured and allegedly expanded by using terrace space from the barracks near St. Anne’s Gate. The practice of using terraces in the Vatican as building space was begun by Cardinal Agostino Casaroli in the 1990s, when leaving his apartment to his successor as Secretary of State, Angelo Sodano. He in turn followed his predecessor’s example by creating a massive living space on top of the Pontifical Ethiopian College. In reality, two apartments were expanded by using the Pontifical Ethiopian College’s roof: one for Sodano, and another for Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, the President of the Governatorate, who covered the expenses. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone also built on top of his apartment in Palazzo San Carlo in 2013, nearly doubling its volume and creating dignified lodgings for the community of nuns that serve under him. Among the reasons for Colonel Anrig’s dismissal is also the end of the one-year extension to his five-year mandate. Therefore, the decision dates back to the early days of Pope Francis’s papacy, as the established time limit for Anrig’s mandate was left unchanged. It is also known that in the days immediately following his appointment, Pope Francis asked Swiss Guards on duty at his residence to at least sit down, but was told that it was not possible. Swiss bishops made the most of their visit to the Vatican to suggest a new commander, who would take over for Anrig once his extended mandate ends in January. The proposed successor, Christoph Graf, currently serves as deputy commander and holds the rank of lieutenant colonel, and began his 27-year stay in Rome as a simple halberdier. In response to reports on the Anrig affair, published only by the non-official Osservatore Romano and not by the Holy See’s press office, spokesman Federico Lombardi merely told journalists, “I have nothing to say”.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Rival Species Recast Significance of ‘First Bird’
Archaeopteryx’s status is changing, but the animal is still key to the dinosaur-bird transition.
The first Archaeopteryx fossil specimens turned up in limestone quarries in Bavaria, southern Germany, in the early 1860s. Until recently, they were the only fossil specimens found to mix bird- and dinosaur-like features. On the one hand, they are small — the fossils show juvenile creatures about the size of a magpie, which as adults may have been raven-sized — and have broad feathered wings that look good for gliding; on the other, they have a jaw with sharp teeth, dinosaur-like claws and a bony tail. These features led to the idea of the first bird, and generations of scientists have treated the 145-million-year-old animal as a ‘transitional species’ — the key piece of evidence linking birds and dinosaurs (Archaeopteryx is Greek for ‘ancient feather’, whereas its German name, Urvogel, means ‘first bird’).
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden’s Prime Minister Calls Fresh Election
Sweden’s coalition government has failed to get its budget through parliament amid a political crisis. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has announced fresh elections, just three months after voters last went to the polls.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Will Germany Abolish Itself and France Commit Suicide?
by Peter Martino
Sarrazin wrote that Islamic immigrants threaten Germany’s freedom and prosperity because they are unwilling to integrate and rely overwhelmingly on welfare benefits. The book hit a nerve with the German public. It sold over two million copies and became one of the most widely read books ever published in Germany.
Ziemmour’s book argues that France is being destroyed by immigrants who refuse to assimilate; by political correctness that stifles all debate and by supranational organizations such as the EU, which are undermining the French nation state and the French economy. Its sales are breaking all records.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
South Stream Project Termination ‘Bad News’ For Serbia
PM warns it will suffer repercussions, to speak with Putin
(ANSAmed) — BELGRADE, DECEMBER 2 — Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said Tuesday that Russia’s decision to terminate the South Stream gas pipeline project was “bad news”. “Serbia has been investing in this project for seven years, but now it has to pay the price of a clash between the great (powers),” state broadcaster RTS quotes him as saying.
Vucic added that he would be broaching the issue with Russian President Vladimir and other Russian officials. Energy Minister Aleksandar Antic said that his ministry had not received any official communication on “changes” to the South Stream project, adding that the future of the gas pipeline clearly depends on agreement between Moscow and Brussels.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
He had a conscience, so he forsook Islam—i.e., he was a “conscientious objector to Islam”—a term that should be in widespread usage, instead of “Muslim apostate.”
Atheist Ahmad Harqan: I do not believe in the existence of God. Being non-religious and leaving Islam is not something that I wanted, but having lived 27 years of my life in this religion, I decided that I could not go on [believing] in it. All people could reach the same conclusion, if they were allowed to think freely about this. But the reality is that people are denied the opportunity to reach this decision. They are not allowed to think critically about religion. Islam is a very harsh religion, and what ISIS is now doing is, perhaps, a physical manifestation of this religion. […] The Quranic texts are crystal clear. When the Quran says “strike their necks,” [Koran 47:4] it is very clear. When it says “Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day, and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful, and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture — until they give the jizya willingly while they are humbled” [Koran 9:29] it is very clear, and ISIS understands and implements it in Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere. Boko Haram are also implementing this when they capture women. This is what the Prophet Muhammad and his companions did.[…]
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Libya: At Least 10 Dead After Rocket Hits Benghazi District
Military sources accuse jihadists from Ansar al Sharia
(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, DECEMBER 3 — Ten people were reported dead and eight others injured after a rocket last night hit downtown Benghazi, in eastern Libya, medical sources said Wednesday.
Egyptian news agency Mena reported the victims were 11.
Military sources accused jihadist group Ansar al Sharia of launching the rocket, which was allegedly meant to hit a military hospital and fell instead on a neighbourhood.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
American Woman Stabbed to Death in Abu Dhabi Mall
Police in Abu Dhabi are investigating the death of an American woman stabbed in a shopping centre toilets by a suspect wearing a Muslim veil, official media reported Wednesday.
The motive for Monday´s attack in Boutik Mall was unclear.
The stabbing took place on the same day as a recording attributed to IS spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani urged Muslims to attack Westerners by any means, even if only to “spit on their faces”.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
American Teacher Stabbed to Death in Abu Dhabi Mall Bathroom by Woman Wearing Full Veil
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An American school teacher was stabbed to death in a public restroom at a mall by a suspect wearing the traditional black robe, full-face veil and gloves commonly worn by local women throughout the Arab Gulf region, local police said Tuesday.
A statement posted on the Abu Dhabi Interior Ministry’s website said the victim was stabbed Monday with a sharp tool that has been confiscated by police. The statement said the American woman was 37 years old. Her name has not been made public.
The victim had 11 year-old twins who are now in the custody of police until their father, who is the victim’s ex-husband, arrives from abroad.
Col. Rashid Borshid, head of the Criminal Investigation Department, said the attacker remains at large. He said police are investigating possible motives and the gender of the attacker…
| [Return to headlines] |
Danish Companies in Middle East on High Alert
A number of Danish companies have tightened their security in the wake of the shooting of a Danish employee of Arla by extremists in Saudi Arabia last month.
Peter Thagesen, the director of international market policy at industry advocates Dansk Industri, maintained that Denmark’s active foreign affairs policies in Afghanistan and Iraq have pushed the Danish companies to high alert in terms of security.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Claims Baghdad Bomb Attack on U.N. Convoy
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) jihadist group on Monday claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb attack against a U.N. convoy near Baghdad airport.
“Our brother Abu Muawiya al-Falluji rammed a convoy for the ‘United Nations waging war against Muslims’ surrounded by heavy U.S. protection,” the group said in a statement.
The name given for the suicide attacker suggests he was an Iraqi from the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, which lies around 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Baghdad.
In its statement, ISIS claimed Sunday’s attack had left many dead and alleged the Iraqi government had taken away the bodies of U.S. personnel.
“The convoy was strictly a U.N. convoy, there was nobody who isn’t U.N. staff,” a press officer for the U.N. mission in Iraq said…
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
Islamic State: Kerry Says Any Iran Strikes ‘Positive’
US Secretary of State John Kerry says any Iranian action against Islamic State (IS) in Iraq would be “positive”.
He would not confirm Pentagon claims that Iran had carried out strikes on IS. Iran is not a member of the US-led coalition and denies any such action.
Mr Kerry praised the alliance for inflicting “significant” damage on IS, but said IS ideology, funding and recruitment needed to be destroyed.
His comments came after the coalition’s first high-level meeting in Brussels.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Kuwait: 5 MPs Propose Ban on Women Joining Judiciary
Despite the constitution that emphasizes gender equality and despite allowing women to join the judiciary as prosecutors, five lawmakers made a proposal to add a new clause to article 19 of the decree law number 23/1990 pertaining judiciary regulations with the ultimate aim of preventing women from joining the judiciary.
MPs Humoud Al-Hamdan, Abdul Rahman Al-Jeeran, Mohammed Tana, Fares Al-Otaibi and Ahmed Muttee proposed to add a condition to those needed for recruitment in the judiciary, noting that recruits will have to be ‘males’. “Since the Islamic sharia is the main source of legislation and since the constitution’s explanatory charter holds the parliament responsible for observing sharia regulations, this proposal was made to prevent women from joining the judiciary, which matches sharia regulations,” said the MPs’ proposal.
The five lawmakers also said Kuwaiti family laws fully observed sharia in not allowing women to get married on their own and in prioritizing men, deeming them responsible for families and children. “Appointing women in the judiciary places legislatives in a lot of contradiction between different laws,” the lawmakers stressed in their proposal, pointing out Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) saying that “It is forbidden for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to travel for a one day and night journey without a mahram,” and that women had never been appointed as judges during the days of the Prophet (PBUH) nor those of the caliphs. — Al-Jarida
| — Hat tip: RR | [Return to headlines] |
American teachers in Abu Dhabi were warned that jihadis were threatening to kill them just weeks before a 47-year-old was stabbed to death in a mall by a burqa-wearing murderer, it emerged today.
Every American in the United Arab Emirates was warned today step up their security today after the kindergarten teacher was stabbed to death by a knife-wielding murderer in a burqa.
Ibolya Ryan, a mother of twin 11-year-old boys, was left dying in a pool of blood by the murderer after what police said was a ‘brawl’ in the toilets of a mall.
Detectives today released CCTV footage which showed how the suspect — whose gender they say they have not confirmed — lay in wait for the teacher for an hour.
It suggests strongly the attack was a targeted murder. Witnesses today told MailOnline the victim had been stabbed up to six times.
The victim was named by CNN as Ibolya Ryan, 47, a US-trained teacher who was described in an online profile as Hungarian-born and raised in Romania. She trained as a teacher in the United States…
| — Hat tip: Steen | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey Discriminates Against Alevis Over Worship Places, Euro Court Says in Landmark Ruling
Turkey’s public policies regarding cemevis, Alevi houses of worship, discriminate against the Alevi community, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has stated in a landmark ruling.
The Dec. 2 ruling comes after the Turkish government recently announced a fresh set of reforms aimed at answering the demands of Alevis. These reforms were greeted with considerable skepticism among Alevis, as they once again failed to recognize cemevis as official places of worship.
Turkey was sued at the ECHR by the Republican Education and Cultural Center Foundation — also known as the Cem Vakfi — which aims to publicize Alevi demands. The group claimed that the government’s policy of not paying the electricity bills of a cemevi in an Istanbul neighborhood, while doing so for mosques, churches and synagogues, was discriminatory…
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Turkish Students Know Einstein, But Not Muslim Scholars, Erdogan Complains
Erdogan vows to teach Turkish children Muslim discovery of Americas
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has heralded a new curriculum for schools, after complaining that Turkish students know foreign figures like Albert Einstein but not Muslim and Turkish ones.
“If you ask them who Einstein is, each young person has a word to say. But if you ask them who Ibni Sina is, most of them are unaware,” Erdogan said in his address to the 19th National Education Council in the southern province of Antalya on Dec. 2.
Avicenna, a Muslim polymath of the 11th century who is regarded as one of the most significant thinkers and writers of the Islamic Golden Age, is known as Ibni Sina in Turkey.
Last month, Erdogan instructed Turkey’s educational institutions to adopt a policy of highlighting the contribution of Islam to global science and arts, including “the discovery of the American continent by Muslim sailors some 300 years before Columbus.”
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan Police Register Blasphemy Case Against ‘Disco Mullah’
(Reuters) — Pakistan police said on Wednesday they were investigating blasphemy allegations against a man dubbed the “disco mullah” who quit a career in pop music to become a preacher.
The case against Junaid Jamshed, a member of the deeply conservative Tableeghi Jamaat organization, was brought by Mobeen Qadri, a member of the religious political party Sunni Tehreek.
Blasphemy is punishable by death in Muslim-majority Pakistan. But the law does not define what is blasphemous — anyone can file a case alleging their religious feelings were hurt for any reason.
Qadri filed the case against Jamshed after he used the example of one of Prophet Muhammad’s wives to illustrate an argument about the failings of women in a video.
“Now the case is with the investigators,” said Mehmood Ahmed, a police officer in Karachi. “We will have to arrest Junaid Jamshed and it is up to him if he moves bail and goes to court against this.”…
| — Hat tip: Vlad Tepes | [Return to headlines] |
China Has Big Plans to Explore the Moon and Mars
China continues to ramp up its space activities, which include a new launch complex, more powerful boosters and the construction of a large space station, as well as plans for complex robotic missions to the moon and Mars.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Hayabusa 2 Probe Begins Journey to Land on an Asteroid
We can’t get enough of space rocks. Just weeks after Rosetta’s comet landing, Japanese space agency JAXA today successfully launched Hayabusa 2 — an ambitious follow-up to its Hayabusa probe, which landed on an asteroid in 2005.
Hayabusa 2 will peck at the asteroid’s surface to take samples and place four devices on it — including Mascot, a lander based on Philae technology. More spectacularly, it will hurl a 2-kilogram explosive device called a small carry-on impactor at the asteroid to create an artificial crater. Ejected material and the rock layers exposed by the impact can then be analysed. Watch a test firing of the explosive here.
Hayabusa 2 launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on an H-IIA rocket and will arrive at asteroid 1993 JU3 in 2018. That rock has been chosen because its reflectivity suggests it contains much organic matter and water, hopefully revealing insights into the origins of water, and therefore life, in the solar system.
Little leaping landers
Unlike Rosetta, Hayabusa 2 will sample the surface itself, using a probe mechanism slung beneath the craft to catch surface dust.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mexico Federal Police, Troops to Patrol Acapulco
Federal police and soldiers will take over policing duties in the resort of Acapulco to ensure the safety of tourists amid a wave of violence and protests that has scared away visitors, Mexican authorities said Wednesday.
Troops and federal police will also take over policing in 20 more townships north of Acapulco in a region known as Tierra Caliente, or the Hot Lands, which is plagued by drug cultivation, trafficking and cartels. The region covers parts of the states of Guerrero, Michoacan, Morelos and Mexico State.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
From Syria to Europe: A Human Trafficker’s Tale
Turkey is one of the most important hubs on the route taken by Middle Easterners looking to reach Europe, particularly for Syrians. Since the start of the Syrian conflict, more than one million Syrian refugees have crossed into Turkey; it also hosts tens of thousands of Iraqis, Iranians and Afghans. Those who can afford it often try to leave Turkey for other European countries, where they are more likely to obtain asylum.
This has made Turkey a paradise for smugglers, or “human slingers” as they are called there. Ahmad is an Afghan human trafficker based in Ankara.
“If the client gets arrested or dies, who cares? We’ve already received part of the money up-front”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Kuala Lumpur Repatriates 53 Indonesian Migrants Victims of Traffickers
Police arrest a Malaysian citizen and search for accomplices in Indonesia. Potential victims — especially young women — are chosen in poor and remote villages in the archipelago. Attracted by the prospect of a job in the Middle East, they end up becoming prostitutes. Yesterday the appeal of Pope Francis against human trafficking.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) — At least 53 Indonesian citizens were repatriated from the capital of Malaysia, after being intercepted by the local police as they were ready to leave for the Middle East as “illegal migrants”.
A report detailing the episode was released by the Jakarta embassy in Kuala Lumpur, denouncing a racket of unscrupulous trafficking in humans in Indonesia and Malaysia. Investigators have arrested a Malaysian citizen to question him and find out who his Indonesian accomplices are. Going by the nickname IM, he was already known to the police in Kuala Lumpur because he had been arrested in March 2013; he was charged with having kept some Indonesian migrant workers in a state of semi-slavery, but was released on bail.
According to Jakarta Police it is common practice for unscrupulous criminals to prey on the rural poor as potential victims in human trafficking. Identified as “brokers”, these people focus especially on young women from remote villages, which are taken upon payment of a (small) amount of money.
According to reports from the Indonesian ambassador in Kuala Lumpur Herman Prayitno, IM is a “familiar face” in Malaysia, one of the leading figures in the “mafia” that controls the racket of modern slavery and human trafficking. The trade route, which affects mostly women, was uncovered by some Indonesian officials stationed in consulates and embassies in the Middle East, who discovered some irregularities in documents.
Already on April 9 a group of nine girls from Indonesia destined for prostitution were repatriated after being discovered by Malaysian police. But despite these discoveries, the vast majority of victims remains enslaved and exploited in this trafficking. A phenomenon, according to experts, that continues to rise.
The latest police investigations also shows that Indonesian migrant women, who erroneously migrate to countries in the Middle East in the hope of securing a job as a domestic worker end up as prostitutes or sex slaves. The province of Aceh and the regency of Sukabumi in West Java province, are among the centers in this trade in the lives of young women, with hundreds of cases per year and the number is constantly growing; experts point out that “only 30% of cases” of trafficking comes to the light, but the vast majority remain submerged.
Yesterday, Pope Francis, during a meeting with interreligious leaders at the Vatican, slammed the trade as “modern day slavery”, defining the exploitation of the people “an abhorrent crime”. The Pope’s words accompanied the signing of a Declaration of Religious Leaders against Slavery, held in conjunction with the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Rome Mafia Revelations Shock Italy
‘Immigrants more profitable than drugs’ says suspect
(ANSA) — Rome, December 3 — Immigrants and Roma people were the main racket of an alleged mafia syndicate in the Italian capital, judicial documents showed on Wednesday.
Former center-right Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno is among some 100 people under investigation in a probe into the alleged mob that rigged public contracts that has netted 37 arrests so far. The ex mayor — under whose watch many a police raid was conducted on Roma and Sinti camps in the capital — on Wednesday suspended himself from his positions within the small, rightwing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party.
Among those put behind bars is the Roman mobsters’ alleged leader Massimo Carminati, a former member of the NAR neofascist terrorist group and of the Banda della Magliana crime gang. “Do you have any idea how much I make on these immigrants?” Carminati’s right-hand man Salvatore Buzzi says in a 1,200-page wiretap from early 2013.
“Drug trafficking is not as profitable”. “We closed this year with turnover of 40 million but…our profits all came from the gypsies (Roma people), the housing emergency and the immigrants,” Buzzi said. “We didn’t make any money in the other sectors,” he added. These sectors, according to prosecution documents, included waste management and recycling, parks maintenance, and immigrant and refugee reception centers (CIEs).
The immigrant racket — which allegedly involved controlling the social cooperatives running the CIEs and the Roma people camps — was allegedly coordinated by Luca Odevaine, a deputy cabinet secretary under former center-left mayor Walter Veltroni. “This gentleman criss-crossed all key public offices dealing with the immigrant emergency, both vertically and horizontally,” prosecutors wrote.
“Odevaine used his contacts…to steer authorities to follow his indications, aimed at furthering the economic interests of certain entrepreneurs, which he shared,” the prosecution wrote. “We must take the measure of (current center-left Mayor Ignazio) Marino,” Buzzi continues in the wiretap from early 2013, soon after the Democratic Party (PD) candidate Marino replaced Alemanno. Marino, it appears, proved difficult to approach. “They trust (center-left Lazio Governor Nicola) Zingaretti, no one trusts Marino,” Buzzi says in the wiretap. Also on Wednesday, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) blasted the targeting of vulnerable newcomers and discriminated minorities as a profit-making enterprise. “Refugees…are not merchandise for criminal affairs,” said UNHCR Regional Representative for Southern Europe Laurens Jolles.
As well, Italy has been repeatedly criticized by human rights watchdogs like Amnesty International for ongoing discrimination against the Roma and Sinti people’s rights to education, housing, health care and employment.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
It’s disappointing to read of Marine Le Pen’s pro-Russian/Putin and anti-American rhetoric. I am convinced of her distancing the National Front from the rancid antisemitism of her father, but her these positions have tempered my enthusiasm for her and her party!
Stalin was totally “cool” for an ally in WW2. He wasn’t exactly “pro-American”? No travel involved this time as Crusaders are needed just down the street and around the corner – now. There is a lot more anti-Semitism to-day in places where there did not used to be. Who is importing Islam knowing that where the Muslim demon goes anti-Semitism in particular grows? Hopefully very few will “temper” their “enthusiasm” for Marine Le Pen.
The last I checked there are 21 million Jews on the earth. There are 1.5 BILLION Muslims…
Talk about a major inferiority complex…
Depends how you count them, Babs; Wikipedia seems to be objective on this. 21 million appears optimistic.