Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/13/2018

Evangelical Christians are among those who have taken to sea in the Mediterranean to help rescue migrants who cross in boats from North Africa. Members of the Italian Federation of Evangelical Churches are participating as NGOs in the sea rescue operations off the coast of Libya.

In other news, authorities in Prague are installing anti-terrorism barriers, a.k.a. “Merkel Legos”, in the downtown area ahead of the Easter holiday.

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

Thanks to Charles Low, Insubria, Reader from Chicago, SS, 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
» Italian Growth 1.5% in 2018,1.3% in 2019-OECD
» Italy: M5S Wants to ‘Overcome’ 3% Deficit Limit — Di Maio
» Romania: Inflation Rate Up to 4.7 PC in February
 
USA
» Censorship Confirmed by Investigative Journalist: It’s a Conspiracy Fact
» Convicted Terrorist Admits He Tried to Slit Victorville Prison Warden’s Throat
» Pulse Nightclub Trial for Noor Salman Begins: What to Know About the Orlando Shooter’s Widow
» Selco: What We Ate and How We Got Food When the SHTF
» Suspect in Terrorism Plot to Bomb Loop Bar Found Mentally Fit for Trial
 
Europe and the EU
» Antisemitic Vandalism in Holland Rises 40% to Highest Level Since 2007
» Austria: University Founded by Soros Seeks Campus in Vienna
» Czech Republic: Anti-Terrorism Barriers Installed Ahead of Easter Holidays
» Five Arrested in Anti-Terrorism Raid in Eastern France: Report
» France: Front National Renamed ‘National Rally’ As Former Conservative Republican Minister Proposes Alliance
» Hungary: Orban Backers Staging Pre-Election ‘Peace March’
» Italy: Council of State OKs Gas Exploration in Adriatic
» Italy: US Student Stopped for Peeing in Florence Loggia
» Italy: Audit Court Opens Probe Into Berlusconi ‘Senator Buying’
» Italy: Bolzano Says No to Dolomites Olympic 2026 Bid
» League Doesn’t Want ‘Improvised’ Euro Exit for Italy: Salvini
» Parsons Green Suspect Told Teacher it Was ‘His Duty to Hate Britain’, Referred to Anti-Terror Programme
» Swedish Justice Minister Pressures Social Media Giants to Ban ‘Extremist Material’ Ahead of Election
» The Truth About Broken Britain
» UK: Judge: Acid Attacks a ‘Growing Problem’ In Sadiq Khan’s London
» UK: Tory MP: BBC Not ‘Standing Up for White Working Class’ After Ignoring Telford Scandal
» UK: Wakefield Man Admits Terrorism Publication Charge
 
Balkans
» ‘Night Wolves’ Travelling to Serbia and Bosnia
» Serbia: Toll-Free Number Against Undeclared Work
 
North Africa
» Egypt Rejects ‘Unfounded’ UN Charges Ahead of Poll
 
Middle East
» Al Arabiya Says 10 Soldiers Killed in Aden Suicide Bombing
» Jordan Suspends Free Trade Agreement With Turkey
» Relations With US ‘Close to Breaking Point’ — Turkey
 
Russia
» Sanctions, Cyberattack Among Possible UK Moves on Russia After Nerve Agent Attack
 
Australia — Pacific
» African Youth Gang Violence Ruins Melbourne’s Moomba Festival for a Third Year in a Row as Officers Are Forced to Use Batons and Pepper Spray to Break Up Brawls on the Street
» From Rape and Murdering a 16-Year-Old Girl to the Gang-Rape of a Woman: Inside the Horrific Lives of Some of Mongrel Mob’s Members as the Bikies Infiltrate Australia
» Grandmother Attacked Outside a Shopping Centre in a Violent Carjacking Stumbles Inside as Blood Pours Down Her Back After Her Head Was Split Open
» Heroic Off-Duty Police Officer Who Heard Screams for Help Stops Carjacking of an Elderly Couple Attacked With a Knife in a Disabled Car Park — Before the Criminal Turns on Him
» ‘Removing Aboriginal Children From Abusive Families is a No Brainer’: Sunrise Accused of ‘Racism’ For Debate About White People Adopting Indigenous Children
 
Immigration
» Australia’s Immigration Jobs Myth: Population Expert Says Migrants Aren’t Fixing Skill Shortages and Are Making it Harder for People to Get Jobs — and He Has the Numbers to Prove it
» Germany: 88.5% of Refugee Women Don’t Work and Especially Muslim Women Live Segregated
» Italy: Lampedusa Hotspot Closed for Restructuring
» Italy: Evangelical Churches on Migrant Rescue Ships
» Migrants: Imminent Expulsions, Kibbutz Offer Hospitality
» Pew: Sub-Saharan Africa is Fastest Growing Region for ‘Exporting’ Migrants
» PM Orban: Hungarian Money Should be Spent on Hungarians, Not on Migrants
» Sweden to Spend Millions to Encourage Migrant-Background Citizens to Vote in September Election
 

Italian Growth 1.5% in 2018,1.3% in 2019-OECD

‘Positive’ outlook for Italy, no impact of vote on forecasts

(ANSA) — Rome, March 13 — The OECD said in its interim economic report on Tuesday that it expects Italian growth to continue in 2018 and 2019, but “at a more moderate pace” than Germany and France. It forecast Italian GDP rising 1.5% this year and 1.3% in 2019. OECD Acting Chief Economist Alvaro Pereira said that the organization has a positive outlook for Italy, adding that the inconclusive outcome to this month’s general election “did not have an impact on our growth forecasts”. “We are quite positive about Italy. It is the first time it has a growth rate of 1.5% since the euro was introduced,” Pereira said.

“The markets have reacted well to the elections. The labour market is recovering thanks to the reforms that have been made”.

He added that Italy “will benefit” from the good performance of the European economy.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: M5S Wants to ‘Overcome’ 3% Deficit Limit — Di Maio

Cut debt by expansionary measures says PM candidate

(ANSA) — Rome, March 13 — “Everyone” wants to “overcome” the EU’s 3% budget-deficit-to-GDP limit and “now we’ll see how to do it,” anti-establishment 5-Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio told the foreign press in Rome Tuesday.

“It seems to me that now everyone agrees that it should be revised or overcome and we’ll see how now,” said Di Maio, whose party came top in the March 4 general election without getting a majority.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Romania: Inflation Rate Up to 4.7 PC in February

Statistics, highest level in the past five years

(ANSA) — BUCHAREST — The inflation has climbed to 4.7% in February 2018 against February 2017 and by 0.3% against January, the National Statistics Institute (INS) informs on Tuesday, as The Romania Journal reported. The price increases were of 3.74% for foodstuff, of 6.27% for non-food goods and of 2.92% for services.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Censorship Confirmed by Investigative Journalist: It’s a Conspiracy Fact

It isn’t new news that YouTube, Google, Facebook, and Twitter have taken their censorship to a whole new level in recent weeks. But investigative journalist Ben Swann has now proven that alternative media sites have been laying out conspiracy facts, not theories about what’s being done to them to silence their dissent.

           — Hat tip: Charles Low [Return to headlines]
 

Convicted Terrorist Admits He Tried to Slit Victorville Prison Warden’s Throat

An Uzbek national already serving a 25-year terrorism-related sentence has entered a guilty plea for trying to slit the throat of the warden of the Victorville federal prison in a 2016 attack.

Fazliddin Kurbanov, 34, faces sentencing on June 4 before United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips in Los Angeles after he entered a guilty plea Tuesday, March 13, to one count of attempted murder of a federal officer.

Kurbanov attacked then-Warden Calvin Johnson of the Victorville Federal Correctional Institute on May 31, 2016 in a dining facility, where Johnson was standing “near the serving line to be accessible to inmates during the lunch service” court papers said.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Pulse Nightclub Trial for Noor Salman Begins: What to Know About the Orlando Shooter’s Widow

At one point, it was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Now, two years after 49 people were massacred inside a crowded nightclub in Orlando, the wife of the gunman responsible is going to trial — and families of the victims are looking for justice.

Omar Mateen opened fire with a Sig Saur semi-automatic rifle on June 12, 2016, killing dozens of people before he was fatally shot hours later by police. The trial of his widow, Noor Salman, will be the only criminal prosecution for the incident.

Testimony may begin this week in a trial that’s expected to last at least three weeks. Salman faces up to life in prison if convicted. Here’s what you need to know.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Selco: What We Ate and How We Got Food When the SHTF

Editor’s Note: If a disaster is bad enough and lasts long enough, it isn’t going to take long before there is no food to be had. In this interview with Selco, he shares his real-life experiences and explains how people kept from starving to death when there was no food in the stores. ~ Daisy

           — Hat tip: Charles Low [Return to headlines]
 

Suspect in Terrorism Plot to Bomb Loop Bar Found Mentally Fit for Trial

Nearly six years after his arrest, a Hillside man has finally been declared fit to stand trial on terrorism charges alleging he tried to detonate a bomb outside a Loop bar.

Adel Daoud, now 24, was sent to a mental health facility in North Carolina in 2016 after U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman sided with Daoud’s attorneys and found him incompetent to stand trial.

After six months of treatment, a government psychiatrist declared Daoud rehabilitated last year, but Daoud’s lawyers again objected, saying lingering issues still remained.

At a brief hearing Monday, both sides agreed that Daoud was stable enough to go to trial as long as he remained on his prescribed psychotropic medications. A trial date could be set at the next status hearing in April.

Coleman’s ruling that Daoud was incompetent came after he made bizarre statements accusing the judge, prosecutors and even his own attorneys of being members of a secret society known as the Illuminati. He also called Coleman a reptilian overlord and claimed that he was being targeted as a Muslim.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Antisemitic Vandalism in Holland Rises 40% to Highest Level Since 2007

The number of incidents involving antisemitic vandalism recorded in the Netherlands last year increased by 40 percent, to a 10-year high of 28 cases.

The increase in vandalism was part of a small overall rise in antisemitic incidents in 2017 over 2016, the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, or CIDI, wrote in its annual incidents report, which the group published Saturday. CIDI recorded 113 incidents in 2017 compared to 109 in 2016.

The data was published amid unprecedented developments in public debate on antisemitism in the Netherlands. This month, almost all of the political parties contending in the municipal elections in Amsterdam signed a document vowing tougher action against antisemitism.

The move followed a Palestinian man’s smashing of windows in December of a kosher restaurant in Amsterdam. Holding a Palestinian flag, he then broke in and stole an Israeli one before being arrested.

Last week, the rightist leader of the Party for Freedom, Geert Wilders, visited the restaurant. The Forum for Democracy party produced for the first time in the history of Dutch politics an ad campaign focused exclusively on antisemitism ahead of the March 21 municipal elections.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Austria: University Founded by Soros Seeks Campus in Vienna

CEU will keep its current home base in Budapest

(ANSA) — BELGRADE — The Central European University (CEU), founded in 1991 by the American tycoon of Hungarian origin George Soros, and the city of Vienna are negotiating the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that would lead to the opening of a satellite campus in the Austrian capital, CEU and the Vienna city administration said in two separate press releases yesterday afternoon.

CEU said that the city of Vienna offers “ideal conditions for a new site”, complementary to the home base in Budapest and the Bard College in New York State. “For Vienna as a university city cooperating with CEU is a great opportunity,” noted Michael Haeupl, the mayor of the Austrian capital.

In the past, the university was involved in the attacks by the Hungarian government against Soros, accused by Prime Minister Orban of inciting immigration into Europe and Hungary and to influence national politics, by supporting NGOs operating in the country.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Czech Republic: Anti-Terrorism Barriers Installed Ahead of Easter Holidays

The authorities in Prague are installing concrete barriers meant to foil terrorist attacks ahead of the Easter holiday, City Hall spokesman Vit Hofman said on Tuesday. The barriers have already appeared on the downtown square namesti Republiky and will go up on Wenceslas Square on Friday. Concrete barricades are permanently in place on Old Town Square.

Mr. Hofman said the barriers were a preventative measure linked to planned Easter markets. Prague traditionally draws many thousands of tourists during the holiday season.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Five Arrested in Anti-Terrorism Raid in Eastern France: Report

PARIS, March 13 (Xinhua) — French police on Tuesday conducted a raid in the southeastern French city of Isere, arresting five people on alleged links with terrorist cell, according to local media report.

Those arrested — four men and a woman — were suspected of recruiting jihadists to join insurgents in Syria and Iraq in 2014 and 2015, the daily newspaper Le Parisien said.

Some detainees were believed to collect money to finance jihadists’ stay in the zone of war, it added. Aged between 18 and 53 years, they were placed into custody.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

France: Front National Renamed ‘National Rally’ As Former Conservative Republican Minister Proposes Alliance

The Front National has rebranded itself as National Rally (“Rassemblement National”), while former Republican Transport Minister Thierry Mariani has proposed an alliance between the two largest right-wing parties in France.

The name change was approved by 52 per cent of the party members who voted through an internal consultation at a major conference last weekend, but will be confirmed in a few weeks’ time with an official mail-in ballot, L’Express reports.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Hungary: Orban Backers Staging Pre-Election ‘Peace March’

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Organizers of a “Peace March” supporting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Tuesday they expect as many as 200,000 people to attend the event, set to take place three weeks before Hungary’s April 8 national election.

Leaders of the Civil Union Forum said the ruling Fidesz party is supporting Thursday’s march to parliament, where Orban will speak on a holiday commemorating the Hungarian Revolution of 1848.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Council of State OKs Gas Exploration in Adriatic

Rejects appeal from Abruzzo regional govt

(ANSA) — Rome, March 13 — The Council of State on Tuesday rejected an appeal from the Abruzzo regional government and approved gas exploration and drilling in the Adriatic, from Emilia Romagna to Puglia. Abruzzo had appealed against the environment ministry and the Spectrum Geo LfD company. The decision was contained in a series of sentences published between February 28 and March 8, the Nuovo Quotidiano di Puglia local daily reported.

Drilling in the Adriatic has been opposed by activists and by regional governments whose regions lie along the coast.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: US Student Stopped for Peeing in Florence Loggia

Subject to 5,000-10,000 euro fine

(ANSA) — Florence, March 13 — A 21-year-old student from New Jersey peed in Florence’s iconic Loggia dei Lanzi next to Palazzo Vecchio at about 1:30 last night, police said Tuesday.

He is liable to a fine ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 euros, police said.

The loggia contains famed statues including Benvenuto Cellini’s Perseus Slaying Medusa.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Audit Court Opens Probe Into Berlusconi ‘Senator Buying’

Into De Gregorio’s movement

(ANSA) — Rome, March 13 — The Audit Court on Tuesday opened a probe related to a Naples criminal case involving Silvio Berlusconi’s alleged bribing of a Senator to switch sides and bring down Romano Prodi’s second government.

The court wants to see how much the alleged payment to Senator Sergio De Gregorio’s hit the Italian financial markets and public finances, sources said.

The case in which ex-premier Berlusconi was convicted of bribing Senators to switch sides timed out last April under Italy’s statute of limitations.

In the first-instance trial Berlusconi was sentenced to three years, as was his former associate Valter Lavitola.

During the first trial a former Senator who claims he was bribed by Berlusconi to switch sides testified that the former premier failed to agree on an “exit strategy” with him once Naples prosecutors were about to uncover their alleged deal and fled “like Schettino”, referring to the disgraced former Costa Concordia captain convicted of multiple manslaughter.

“He ran away just like (Francesco) Schettino fled from his ship,” during the January 2012 wreck of the Concordia cruise liner, former Senator Sergio De Gregorio said at a the so-called ‘Senator-buying’ trial in Naples where Berlusconi was a defendant.

De Gregorio says the three-time premier and he had adopted a strategy of “urban warfare” against Romano Prodi’s shaky center-left 2006-08 coalition government and testified that he had agreed to “gradually” switch sides and involve other lawmakers in exchange for three million euros.

He said one million euros went to fund his movement “Italiani nel mondo”, Italians in the world, and the other two million were paid to him cash by the former editor of the Avanti! newspaper, Lavitola, who was also on trial in Naples.

He added that when payments were late he disobeyed orders by Berlusconi’s centre-right Forza Italia party to vote against the government “to send out a signal” and that Lavitola would “run off to solve the problem and came back with the money”.

Lavitola was originally convicted of acting as a go-between in the case of De Gregorio.

Prosecutors alleged that Lavitola tried to bribe other Senators who have not been identified.

Former premier and ex-European Commission president Prodi testified that he had no idea that Senators were allegedly bribed to topple his government in 2008.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Bolzano Says No to Dolomites Olympic 2026 Bid

‘Zero-impact Games impossible’ — Kompatscher

(ANSA) — Bolzano, March 13 — The provincial government of Bolzano on Tuesday said No to a bid by the Dolomites for the 2026 Winter Olympics. The proposal was advanced by Veneto Governor Luca Zaia of the rightwing populist League.

“At the present time zero-impact Games are impossible”, said Bolzano Provincial President Arno Kompatscher.

Kompatscher issued an appeal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) “to revise the criteria for the Olympic Games, otherwise you won’t be able to find localities in Europe disposed to host them”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

League Doesn’t Want ‘Improvised’ Euro Exit for Italy: Salvini

The leader of Italy’s populist-right League party, Matteo Salvini, said on Tuesday that the euro was a “mistake” but he did not want a chaotic exit from the single currency.

Salvini, whose party got most votes in the right-wing coalition in Italy’s inconclusive general election, said he would not hesitate to breach EU spending rules if he became prime minister.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Parsons Green Suspect Told Teacher it Was ‘His Duty to Hate Britain’, Referred to Anti-Terror Programme

The teen Iraqi asylum seeker accused of the Parsons Green station bombing told his teacher it was his “duty to hate Britain” and was referred to the government’s anti-terror programme, a court heard.

Jurors at the Old Bailey heard Monday that Ahmed Hassan had made the comments to his teacher, allegedly telling her “the British” were responsible for his parents’ death, The Telegraph reports.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Swedish Justice Minister Pressures Social Media Giants to Ban ‘Extremist Material’ Ahead of Election

Swedish Justice Minister Morgan Johansson has promised to put more pressure on social media giants Facebook and YouTube owner Google to remove illegal “hate speech” material.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

The Truth About Broken Britain

The UK government is detaining & deporting people for handing out leaflets while allowing hundreds of returning ISIS jihadists to return and roam the streets.

Let THAT sink in.

SHARE this crucial video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h45n1CSetiM

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Judge: Acid Attacks a ‘Growing Problem’ In Sadiq Khan’s London

Sentencing a teenager for a spree of acid attacks in London that left victims with “life-changing injuries”, a judge has warned the violent use of corrosive liquids is a “serious and growing problem” in the UK capital.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Tory MP: BBC Not ‘Standing Up for White Working Class’ After Ignoring Telford Scandal

A Tory MP has slammed the BBC for not “standing up for [the] white working class” after the corporation was accused of ignoring revelations about the Telford grooming gang scandal.

Lucy Allan MP, who represents the people of Telford, said she was pushing to ask an urgent question in parliament on Tuesday, as well as revealing she will be demanding an inquiry into the scandal, which could be the largest in the UK’s history.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Wakefield Man Admits Terrorism Publication Charge

A man from West Yorkshire has admitted one of two terrorism charges against him.

Farooq Rashid, 43, of Soothill Road, Wakefield, appeared at Leeds Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to disseminating a terrorist publication.

He is also charged with possessing a publication likely to be useful to a terrorist, which he denies.

Rashid was further remanded in custody and a date was set for his trial to begin on 22 May.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

‘Night Wolves’ Travelling to Serbia and Bosnia

Bikers will ride for 2,000 km, stops in Belgrade, Banja Luka

(ANSA) — BELGRADE — The Russian motorcycle club ‘Night Wolves’ will travel in Serbia and Bosnia from March 19 to March 28, the portal Balkan Insight said today, quoting an announcement on the motorbike group’s official website. Critics say the Night Wolves are known for their nationalistic stances and support to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The “Russian Balkans” tour, 2,000-kilometers long, will include stops in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis, in Serbia, and Brcko and Banja Luka in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to Balkan Insight, the purpose of the initiative is to “study the historical heritage of the Russian Empire and the Orthodox Church.”

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Serbia: Toll-Free Number Against Undeclared Work

Workers can send anonymous complaints by phone

(ANSA) — BELGRADE — Authorities in Serbia have launched on Saturday a toll-free number that allows citizens to report undeclared work in the black economy.

The initiative is part of the broader program “Say no to illegal work”, managed by the ministry of Labour, with the financial support of the Norwegian embassy in Belgrade.

By calling 0800 300 307, people can report anonymously to be working irregularly and other misconduct in the labour market.

“Everybody suffers from illegal work, the State, the employers who respect the law and employees who are losing social benefits,” Serbian minister of Labour Zoran Djordjevic said.

Djordjevic noted that complaints received through the toll-free number will be used to sanction the employers only, not the employees that work in the shadow economy.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Egypt Rejects ‘Unfounded’ UN Charges Ahead of Poll

Human rights chief denounces ‘climate of intimidation’

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, MARCH 8 — The Egyptian foreign minister has rejected “in the strongest terms” the accusation made by the head of the UN human rights agency Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein that this month’s presidential elections is taking place in a “pervasive climate of intimidation” with potential candidates being forced to withdraw under pressure or arrested. In a statement published on the internet, the ministry said the accusations are “unfounded” and “reflect total ignorance” of what has been achieved in Egypt concerning the strengthening of these rights. The report contains incorrect information that “damages the credibility and integrity of the upcoming elections”, it adds. The presidential elections are due to take place on March 26-28 and the incumbent head of state Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is certain of victory seeing as his only ‘opponent’ is a little-known supporter, Moussa Moustafa.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Al Arabiya Says 10 Soldiers Killed in Aden Suicide Bombing

ISIS claims responsibility for car bomb on UAE-trained troops

(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, MARCH 13 — At least 10 Yemeni soldiers were killed on Tuesday in a suicide bombing in the southern city of Aden, where the internationally recognised government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is located, according to pan-Arab broadcaster Al Arabiya.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, in a statement from its Amaq news agency.

It said it targeted a supply base of the so-called Security Belt Forces backed by the United Arab Emirates.

According to initial reports, the attacker drove a car bomb into kitchens that make meals for soldiers of the UAE-trained troops in the city’s Mansoura district.

As seat of the internally recognised government of President President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, Aden has previously been the site of several other attacks by ISIS and Al-Qaeda.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Jordan Suspends Free Trade Agreement With Turkey

AMMAN — Jordan has suspended its free trade agreement (FTA) with Turkey on allegation that the deal harms the national industry by tipping the balance of trade in favour of Turkey’s products, the government announced today.

The government says the 2011 deal has lead to an increase in the imports of Turkish products and causes significant harm to Jordanian businesses, which are unable to compete with Turkish products that receive subsidies from the Turkish authorities. The surprising move comes less than a month after a recent visit by Turkish foreign minister and top officials to Jordan, where they discussed political and economic relations. The government alleges that the FTA with Turkey did not come to the results that it was hoped for, thus putting an end to the accord. But business men said the move will likely lead to an increase in prices of commodities imported from Turkey with local products sold at higher prices in the market. Jordan announced two years ago it was re-studying the FTA with many countries to see their benefit to the local economy. Jordan is a member in the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA), Agadir Agreement, and a party to the EU Association Agreement, Barcelona Declaration. It has also entered FTAs with the US, European Free Trade Association States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), Singapore, Canada and Turkey.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Relations With US ‘Close to Breaking Point’ — Turkey

‘They are supplying arms to Kurds in Syria,’ says Cavusoglu

(ANSAmed) — MOSCOW, MARCH 13 — Relations between Turkey and the US are “close to breaking point”, Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reportedly said on Tuesday during a lesson at the Institute for International Relations in Moscow. Interfax agency also cited Cavusoglu as saying the US have “recently supplied weapons to Syrian Kurds”.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Sanctions, Cyberattack Among Possible UK Moves on Russia After Nerve Agent Attack

LONDON (AP) — Britain has given Moscow until midnight Tuesday to explain how a Russian-made nerve agent came to poison a former spy in Britain. If no explanation is given, Prime Minister Theresa May says Russia will be hit by “extensive” retaliatory measures.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

African Youth Gang Violence Ruins Melbourne’s Moomba Festival for a Third Year in a Row as Officers Are Forced to Use Batons and Pepper Spray to Break Up Brawls on the Street

Melbourne’s Moomba festival has been marred by violence once again, with gangs of teens of African appearance filmed brawling in the heart of the city early on Sunday and running from police.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

From Rape and Murdering a 16-Year-Old Girl to the Gang-Rape of a Woman: Inside the Horrific Lives of Some of Mongrel Mob’s Members as the Bikies Infiltrate Australia

Now the gang are in Australia, recruiting for chapters in Perth, Melbourne, the Gold Coast and Darwin — sometimes sending members from New Zealand or interstate to make up the numbers.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Grandmother Attacked Outside a Shopping Centre in a Violent Carjacking Stumbles Inside as Blood Pours Down Her Back After Her Head Was Split Open

The 59-year-old suffered a nasty head wound outside a shopping centre in Perth. Her alleged attacker is still on the run.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Heroic Off-Duty Police Officer Who Heard Screams for Help Stops Carjacking of an Elderly Couple Attacked With a Knife in a Disabled Car Park — Before the Criminal Turns on Him

The hero cop was walking down a street in Frankston, Melbourne about 8pm on Tuesday when he saw the alleged carjacking in progress and ran to the assistance of a man, 82 and a woman, 67.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

‘Removing Aboriginal Children From Abusive Families is a No Brainer’: Sunrise Accused of ‘Racism’ For Debate About White People Adopting Indigenous Children

The controversial topic was discussed Tuesday morning after children’s minister David Gillespie called on rules prohibiting Indigenous children being adopted by non-family members to be relaxed.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Australia’s Immigration Jobs Myth: Population Expert Says Migrants Aren’t Fixing Skill Shortages and Are Making it Harder for People to Get Jobs — and He Has the Numbers to Prove it

Bob Birrell, who heads the Melbourne-based Australian Population Research Institute, said the nation was importing migrants who couldn’t find work as engineers and accountants.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Germany: 88.5% of Refugee Women Don’t Work and Especially Muslim Women Live Segregated

Refugee women in Germany barely work and integration is therefore very hard, a new research of the Institute of the World Economy (IfW) shows.

The labour market is considered the most important place to integrate and a large majority of refugees stay unemployed. Almost half of the male refugees go to work, but for women this figure is much lower at 11.5 percent.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Lampedusa Hotspot Closed for Restructuring

Quick evacuation

(ANSA) — Rome, March 13 — The migrant hotspot on Lampedusa is to be “temporarily” closed for restructuring, sources said after a meeting at the interior ministry on Tuesday. Sources said there would be a “gradual” but “fast” evacuation of the site.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: Evangelical Churches on Migrant Rescue Ships

Italian federation with Proactiva Open Arms at sea

ROME — Members of the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy (FCEI) are on the boats of NGOs tasked with rescuing migrants in danger at sea in the Mediterranean. Onboard the Opens Arms boat of the Proactiva Open Arms NGO are workers from the FCEI’s refugees and migrants program Mediterranean Hope, who for 15 days will be taking part in rescue operations for refugees seeking to reach Italy. Weekend rescues at sea Over the weekend, two Mediterranean Hope workers were involved in various rescue at sea actions conducted by the Open Arms ship. The first rescue, which happened on Friday night, involved three Libyan siblings who had departed from Libya on a small dinghy in an attempt to reach a port where the youngest — a teenager suffering from leukemia — could be treated. A few hours later, Open Arms intercepted a group of 106 refugees of several different nationalities that were subsequently transferred on a ship under the SOS Mediterranée NGO. Open Arms continued its rescue operations and on late Sunday morning, March 11, intercepted another dinghy with 95 refugees onboard. During the mission, one of the Mediterranean Hope workers cooked for the crew and migrants. The other, Francesco Piobbichi, took part in the rescue actions and drew the key moments of the mission. Many of his drawings have been collected in the book “Disegni dalla Frontiera”.

FCEI broadens migrant activities “Through this humanitarian act, the FCEI is extending its range of activities in the migration sector,” said Mediterranean Hope coordinator Paolo Naso, “and and is expressing concrete support to those working to save human lives.” FCEI noted that that, in this latest mission, Proactiva Open Arms rescued over 600 refugees and in the previous one over a thousand, though two children died. “This is proof of the professionalism of the workers of an NGO that we chose in part for the transparency of the management and the relations built up previously with our Osservatorio di Lampedusa,” Naso added. “Proactiva signed the operating protocol for legal management of the interventions, fighting against human trafficking.”

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Migrants: Imminent Expulsions, Kibbutz Offer Hospitality

‘We can’t remain indifferent faced with expulsions’

TEL AVIV — As a deadline set by the government (end of March) for the start of the gradual forced departure from Israel of thousands of African migrants draws nearer, the kibbutz movement (collective farms) is mobilizing to help them. “Our movement — said a statement — cannot remain indifferent faced with the upcoming process of expulsions of asylum seekers that appears in contrast with Jewish and human values and those of the kibbutz movement”.

Secretary general Nir Meir launched yesterday an appeal for all kibbutz to make “every possible effort to host or include in their structures, for a few months, the highest possible number of asylum seekers. It is necessary to provide them with a residence and employment. This is a challenging moment”. Based on Socialist roots, the kibbutz movement says that Benyamin Netanyahu’s government was unable to deal with the migrant phenomenon and the needs of poor areas of Tel Aviv where they were living, which also have the right to be supported.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Pew: Sub-Saharan Africa is Fastest Growing Region for ‘Exporting’ Migrants

Emigration from countries of Sub-Saharan Africa has risen dramatically in recent years and the region currently accounts for eight of the 10 fastest growing international migrant populations, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.

Analyzing the latest United Nations data on the number of people living outside their country of birth, Pew found that the rate of emigration from these eight African nations—South Sudan, Central African Republic, Sao Tome and Principe, Eritrea, Namibia, Rwanda, Botswana, and Burundi—grew by more than 50 percent, and in some cases as much as 200-300 percent. The number rises to 9 of the top 10 if Sudan—much of which is sub-Saharan—is included.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

PM Orban: Hungarian Money Should be Spent on Hungarians, Not on Migrants

Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, said the European Union has a plan “to accommodate at least 10,000 migrants” in the country.

According to Orban, this would “crush the country financially,” he said to a local TV broadcaster on Sunday. “We must speak openly,” Orban said and added that, “We either spend the money on developments or build a migrant haven.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden to Spend Millions to Encourage Migrant-Background Citizens to Vote in September Election

The Swedish government is set to spend eight million Krona (£700,000) on initiatives to encourage residents from migrant backgrounds to vote in the national election.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

7 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 3/13/2018

  1. “The teen Iraqi asylum seeker accused of the Parsons Green station bombing told his teacher it was his “duty to hate Britain”

    Simply more evidence of what you get with muslim migrants. Certainly no sense of gratefulness for the chance, and definitely no allegiance.

  2. The migration problem for Europe is not going to stopped till they collectively impose a blockade on the African coast. Return every migrant boat right back to Africa. There are steps to be taken after that, but blockade is the first step.

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