Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/16/2020

The city of Atwater, California has declared itself a sanctuary city for businesses, and is defying Governor Gavin Newsom by allowing businesses to remain open during the Wuhan Coronavirus crisis. Meanwhile, a federal judge has blocked North Carolina’s order banning religious services during the pandemic. Also, former First Lady Hillary Clinton described lockdown protesters in Michigan as “domestic terrorists”.

In other news, Serbia sent troops to its border with Croatia to secure three migrant camps and protect local residents from the depredations of “refugees”.

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

Thanks to JD, 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. I 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
» Already on the Cusp Before Coronavirus Downturn, Germany Enters Recession
 
USA
» California City to Allow Reopenings, Declares Itself a ‘Sanctuary City’ For Business
» Charges Dropped Against FL Pastor Arrested for Holding Church During Pandemic
» Colorado Corrects Coronavirus Death Count Method, Now 24% Fewer Fatalities Than Previously Reported
» Deliver Us From Evil Democrats — They Must be Defeated
» Facebook/AP Claim Chicago Mayor Pledging Support for ‘New World Order’ Is Fake News
» Federal Judge Blocks NC Governor’s Restrictions on Religious Services
» FL City Dumps Mountains of Mulch on Skate Park, Families Clean it Up So Kids Can Skate
» Florida Man Friday: Ready! Fire! Aim!
» Hillary Clinton Calls Michigan Lockdown Protests “Domestic Terrorism” Which “Cannot be Tolerated”
» Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for COVID-19
» In One of America’s Wealthiest Counties, Line for Food Donation Event Stretches to Highway an Hour Before Opening
» Lockdown Lamentations
» MI Music Store Owner Weeps During Interview About Going Out of Business, Blames Gov. Whitmer
» Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Slapped With Lawsuit Over ‘Drastic’ Lockdown
» NFL to Propose New Rule Rewarding Teams With Improved Draft Picks for Hiring Minority Coaches, GMs
» Ohio Professor the Latest to be Arrested Over China Ties
» Reference Guide to Debunking the Political Flu Pandemic
» Rhode Island Bishop Challenges State Lockdown of Worship
» San Antonio City Council Denounces the Utterance of Chinese Flu “Hate Speech”
» State Department Inspector General is Fired, Was Investigated for Mishandling Sensitive Information
» Trump: ‘Call Obama to Testify, He Knew EVERYTHING’
» Trump-Supporting Student Says Columbia Prof Told Him to ‘Drop Dead’
» YouTube Deletes Video of Anti-Lockdown Epidemiology Researcher Knut M. Wittkowski After Millions of Views
 
Canada
» The Magnetic North Pole is Rapidly Moving Because of Some Blobs
 
Europe and the EU
» “Victimhood Culture” UK: Rape Victims Need Not Apply
» 39 Years Ago, A Turkish Terrorist Shot Polish Pope John Paul II in Assassination Attempt
» Albanians Charged in £1m NCA Drug Bust at British Port
» Bizarre New Species Discovered… on Twitter
» China Suspected of Creating Spy-Tower in EU District
» Drone Delivering Illegal Drugs to Belgian Prison Crashes
» England Team Footballer Robbed at Knifepoint in Sadiq Khan’s London
» EU-UK Negotiations at Standstill as Brussels Demands Submission as Price of Trade Deal
» Germany Declares Burning EU Flag a Hate Crime Punishable by Three Years in Prison
» Government Could Enforce Who You’re Allowed to Socialize With Via Tracking App
» Hungary: European Union is Facing the ‘Greatest Crisis in Its History’
» Hungary’s Orban Prepares to Give Up Coronavirus Powers, Ready to Accept Apologies for ‘Dictator’ Accusations
» Hungary’s Justice Minister Banned From EU Debate on Emergency Law
» Hungary’s Conservative Govt Sounds Alarm on Facebook’s New ‘Soros Oversight Board’
» Leftist Clickbait Site BuzzFeed Shutters British and Australian Operations
» Liberal Challenger to Conservative Polish President Drops Out of Race After Support Collapse
» Norwegian State TV Promotes a Hijab-Wearing Woman on Promo Ad for Constitution Day
» Poland Labels Sweden’s Coronavirus Policy ‘Darwinian’
» Romania Declares WWI Treaty Anniversary That Saw Hungary Lose 72% of Its Territory a National Holiday
» Rwandan Genocide Perpetrator Found Living in Paris, France
» Studies See ‘No Benefit’ In Hydroxychloroquine Treatment for COVID-19 Patients
» UK: Churches and Cathedrals Fly NHS Flag
» UK: Farage Gives Credit to Keir Starmer for Calling Out Boris Johnson’s Failings
» UK: Jeremy Corbyn’s Brother Among Arrests at Anti-Lockdown Protests
 
North Africa
» NATO Chief Says the Alliance Backs Jihadi-Supported Government in Libya (Video)
 
South Asia
» Hindu Couple Forcibly Converted to Islam in Sindh Region of Pakistan
 
Far East
» China Fires Back at New Zealand: War of Words Escalates as Beijing Denies Trying to Persuade the Kiwis Not to Enforce Strict Coronavirus Lockdown
» China Has Created a Pandemic Through ‘Gross Negligence, Obsessive Secrecy and Brazen Dishonesty’, Top US Diplomat Says — as Australia Secures EU Support for an Independent Inquiry Into Coronavirus
» China May Have 640,000 Coronavirus Cases Instead of 84,000, Leaked Data From Country’s Military-Run University Suggests
» New Species of Seaweed and Algae Discovered
» Report: China Has Jailed Hundreds of People for Questioning Official Coronavirus Narrative
» Trump Delivers Blow to China With Announcement That Taiwan Chip Maker Building $12 Billion U.S. Plant
» US ‘Would Lose a War With China Fought in the Pacific, Is Unable to Defend Taiwan From an Invasion and There Are Fears the Guam Military Base is at Risk Now’, Pentagon Sources Warn
 
Australia — Pacific
» Islamic Bookshop Owner — and Brother of Australia’s First Suicide Bomber — Who Was Caught Up in Terrorism Raids Walks Free From Prison
» Leading Business Broker With China Warns That the Free-Trade Agreement Between Beijing and Australia Could be Scrapped Due to Ongoing Tensions Related to the Outbreak of COVID-19
» Medicinal Cannabis Could be Available in Australian Chemists Without a Prescription as Early as Next Year — as Olivia Newton-John Calls for Weed Rules to be Relaxed
 
Immigration
» Court to Prosecute Afghan Migrant Who Raped Swedish Girl Under the Age of 15
» EU Courts Tells Hungary to Release Migrants in Border Transit Zone Detention
» EU Warns of Increase in Migrants, Terrorism Threat Due to Pandemic
» European Court Rules Against Syrian Family That Wanted Belgian Visas
» Europol Warns Migrant-Smuggling Surging as Lockdowns Ease
» Finland Busts Trafficking Ring That Smuggled Migrants to UK for €8,000
» Greece: Afghan Migrants Jailed for Detention Center Riot
» Greece: Trashed Church on Lesvos Becomes Toilet for Illegal Immigrants
» Hungary Donates $30,000 to Restore Greek Churches Trashed by Migrants
» Italy’s Leftist Government Grants 600,000 Illegal Migrants Amnesty
» Migrants Arriving to Greece From Turkey Test Positive for Coronavirus
» Netherlands: Incidents at Asylum Centers Increased by 30 Percent in 2019
» Pope Francis: Migrants and Refugees Are Forced to Flee ‘Like Jesus Christ’
» Serbia Sends the Army to Its Border With Croatia to ‘Secure’ Three Camps Holding 1,500 Migrants Trying to Reach the EU Amid Claims of ‘Harassment’ Against Local People
» So Much for Brexit: EU Threatens Legal Action Against UK for Not Following Migration Rules
» Spain Overtakes Germany for Asylum Claim Numbers in 2020
» Sweden: Sudanese Migrant Arrested for Raping Girl and Killing Teenager Who Tried to Intervene
» Sweden: Iraqi Migrant Convicted of Raping Homeless Woman in Gothenburg
» UK: Border Force Intercepts Six Boats Carrying 90 Migrants Including Three Toddlers and a Baby in Just One Day
 
Culture Wars
» Trump Vows to Strip ‘Radical Left’ of ‘Total Command’ Over FB, IG, Twitter & Google
 
General
» UN Official Suggests Lockdowns Should Continue
 

Already on the Cusp Before Coronavirus Downturn, Germany Enters Recession

Germany is in recession, its economy having contracted by over two per cent in the first quarter of 2020, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic following years of flatlining performance.

While nations worldwide are expected to take a significant beating over sanitary lockdowns throttling economies, some entered the crisis in worse condition than others, such as Germany which teetered at the edge of recession at the start of 2020.

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

California City to Allow Reopenings, Declares Itself a ‘Sanctuary City’ For Business

The central California city of Atwater has declared itself a “sanctuary city” for businesses.

The Friday resolution passed by the Atwater City Council allows business owners to open, openly defying Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s coronavirus-related stay-at-home order.

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

Charges Dropped Against FL Pastor Arrested for Holding Church During Pandemic

Criminal charges against Florida pastor Rodney Howard-Browne have been droppedby the state’s attorney’s office after he was arrested in March for holding church service during the coronavirus pandemic in violation of government stay-at-home orders.

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

Colorado Corrects Coronavirus Death Count Method, Now 24% Fewer Fatalities Than Previously Reported

The Colorado Department of Public Health Friday amended the state’s coronavirus death count by nearly 300 after it changed the way it counts COVID-19 deaths.

The health department admitted that its previous coronavirus death toll included people who had tested positive for the virus but had died of other causes. It did not make a distinction between dying with and dying from COVID-19.

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

Deliver Us From Evil Democrats — They Must be Defeated

Democrats are hellbent on prolonging this insane unscientific lock-down for as long as they can get away with it. It is Democrats’ most destructive effort thus far to attack America, destroy Trump and assume the role of God…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Facebook/AP Claim Chicago Mayor Pledging Support for ‘New World Order’ Is Fake News

Facebook and Associated Press ‘fact checkers’ claim it’s false that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she supported the “New World Order,” saying the video is “edited,” despite the fact that it’s not edited.

A 2019 interview with Lightfoot has resurfaced in which she makes the following statement;

“And you get the people who run those agencies and the deputies that are pledging allegiance to the new world order and good governance.”

Facebook slapped a “false news” label on the post, which serves to bury the content in the algorithm, ensuring it’s reach is restricted.

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

Federal Judge Blocks NC Governor’s Restrictions on Religious Services

A federal judge’s order Saturday allows North Carolina religious leaders to open their doors to their congregations, in spite of the governor’s warning that they risk spreading coronavirus.

Gov. Roy Cooper said he wouldn’t appeal the ruling blocking his restrictions on indoor religious services.

Saturday’s order pointed out that while only up to 10 people are allowed inside for religious services under Cooper’s stay-at-home order, that same standard doesn’t apply to other entities, such as businesses that are limited to 50% capacity, and funeral services, which allow up to 50 people.

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

FL City Dumps Mountains of Mulch on Skate Park, Families Clean it Up So Kids Can Skate

Residents near Gainesville, Florida armed with shovels and leaf blowers showed up at a local skate park on Thursday to remove mountains of mulch the city dumped over every inch of the park.

Skaters arrived at Possum Creek Park Thursday morning excited to ride the ramps after the city of Tampa announced that all parks would be reopening over the weekend.

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

Florida Man Friday: Ready! Fire! Aim!

Florida Man is about to go off the leash as Governor Ron DeSantis begins opening up the state once more. If you thought there would be fewer Florida Man stories to report this week — never fear! But I do have a bit of a surprise waiting for you at the end of this week’s thrill-a-minute episode of…

Florida Man Friday!

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

Hillary Clinton Calls Michigan Lockdown Protests “Domestic Terrorism” Which “Cannot be Tolerated”

Hillary Clinton on Friday called organized protests against Michigan Gov. Whitmer’s stay-at-home order “domestic terrorism” which “cannot be tolerated”:

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

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for COVID-19

I have been saying for months now that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) would be an excellent treatment adjunct against severe COVID-19 and a superior alternative to ventilators, which have been shown to cause harm in many patients and increase the risk of death.

Mechanical ventilation can easily damage the lungs for the fact that it’s pushing air into the lungs with force in a disease where the alveoli are compromised and filled with fluid from inflammatory cytokines due to insulin resistance. HBOT bypasses this problem by supplying 100% oxygen in a pressurized chamber, which allows your body to bypass this defect and absorb oxygen directly into your tissues.

There’s no airflow being forced directly into the lungs. HBOT also improves mitochondrial function, helps with detoxification, inhibits and controls inflammation and optimizes your body’s innate healing capacity.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

In One of America’s Wealthiest Counties, Line for Food Donation Event Stretches to Highway an Hour Before Opening

Hundreds of cars in Montgomery County, Maryland formed a huge line Friday which stretched into a traffic jam reaching all the way to the highway an hour before a free food donation event was set to open.

Montgomery County is the 17th wealthiest county in the U.S. with a median household income of $99,763.

NBC 4 reporter Scott MacFarlane captured video from the Catholic Charities DC food donation event an hour before it opened.

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

Lockdown Lamentations

You can protect yourself from any virus including this one through commonsense cleanliness (e.g., frequent handwashing), not touching objects in public that have been touched by others (e.g., handrails), and building up your immune system with sound nutrition, exercise, at least some sunlight, and sufficient sleep…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

MI Music Store Owner Weeps During Interview About Going Out of Business, Blames Gov. Whitmer

A heartbroken Michigan music store owner is blaming Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her strict stay-at-home orders that have left him no choice but to close his business permanently.

Steve Walker is closing his family’s store, Walker Music & Textiles Co., of 11 years after the governor forced all businesses deemed non-essential to close in March. He openly wept in an interview about his store’s closure, saying, “It’s not just the closing of a stupid store, it’s the closing of a dream”:

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

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Slapped With Lawsuit Over ‘Drastic’ Lockdown

Medical professionals and a patient in Michigan have filed a lawsuit against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as the battles grow between her and those favoring relaxing the economic shutdown she has imposed in response to the coronavirus crisis.

Their lawsuit in federal court comes at a time when Ms. Whitmer continues to engage in a public spat with a 77-year-old barber, who has defied various orders and as of Thursday morning continued to cut hair at his Owosso shop.

The plaintiffs allege in federal court that Ms. Whitmer’s “drastic, unprecedented [and] unilateral executive actions” to cease economic activity that her office deemed nonessential were based on “grossly inaccurate” models that no longer apply and therefore should be lifted.

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

NFL to Propose New Rule Rewarding Teams With Improved Draft Picks for Hiring Minority Coaches, GMs

The National Football League is set to propose a resolution that would reward teams with improved draft picks if they hire minority candidates as head coaches or general managers, multiple sources told NFL.com.

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

Ohio Professor the Latest to be Arrested Over China Ties

A Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine professor and former Cleveland Clinic employee was arrested Wednesday over his alleged ties to China.

The Justice Department announced that Qing Wang was arrested at his Shaker Heights, Ohio home as part of a joint operation conducted by the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Service Office of the Inspector-General. Wang was charged with wire fraud related to more than $3.6 million in grant funding that Wang and his research team at the Cleveland Clinic had received from the National Institutes of Health.

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

Reference Guide to Debunking the Political Flu Pandemic

Ethical practitioners of respiratory viral science are correcting the pandemic of false information spread by entitled government “experts” such as Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx. They have been heavily censored by Google, YouTube, Facebook, and the MSM.

This is the medical truth about the Coronavirus from independent scientists not working for the government. If you are tired of hearing stories that do not add up, please study this article carefully.

[Comment: Recommended reading.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Rhode Island Bishop Challenges State Lockdown of Worship

Thomas J. Tobin, the Catholic bishop of Providence, Rhode Island, has challenged the authority of the state to shut down the religious worship of its citizens.

“I’m not an historian at all, but I wonder what our founder, Roger Williams, would have said about the power of the State to prevent religious folk from gathering for worship, even during difficult times,” Bishop Tobin tweeted early Saturday.

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

San Antonio City Council Denounces the Utterance of Chinese Flu “Hate Speech”

Freedom of speech is under attack in our country. Much of this is driven by the so-called “politically correct” hysteria which sweeping our nation. We find a recent eruption of this mentality in San Antonio, Texas, the city of the Alamo.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

State Department Inspector General is Fired, Was Investigated for Mishandling Sensitive Information

President Donald Trump fired Steve Linick, the State Department’s inspector general, on Friday night, sources told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Trump notified House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that he was removing Linick from office, effective in 30 days. He said in the letter that “it is vital that I have the fullest confidence in the appointees serving as Inspectors General.”

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

Trump: ‘Call Obama to Testify, He Knew EVERYTHING’

President Trump said Thursday that the Senate should call Barack Obama to testify regarding the unmasking scandal, with Trump declaring that Obama “knew everything”.

“If I were a Senator or Congressman, the first person I would call to testify about the biggest political crime and scandal in the history of the USA, by FAR, is former President Obama.” Trump tweeted.

“He knew EVERYTHING.” Trump added, asking Lindsey Graham to “Do it.”

“Just do it. No more Mr. Nice Guy. No more talk!” the President added.

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

Trump-Supporting Student Says Columbia Prof Told Him to ‘Drop Dead’

Columbia University is facing backlash after a professor told a student to “drop dead” in a heated Facebook exchange.

The student, Gabriel Montalvo, attends a different university but sent an email Tuesday to Columbia with screenshots of expletives the professor directed at him on the social media site.

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

YouTube Deletes Video of Anti-Lockdown Epidemiology Researcher Knut M. Wittkowski After Millions of Views

Dr. Knut M. Wittkowski, the former head of biostatistics, epidemiology, and research design at Rockefeller University has been censored by YouTube. A widely popular video that had received over 1.3 million views on the original and had received even more in re-uploads has now been deleted.

Wittkowski has been one of the foremost critics of the actions that are being taken to fight the coronavirus and believes that social distancing only prolongs the lifetime of a virus and has also criticized the lockdowns, saying that they’re not necessary.

While YouTube has said that it favors authoritative sources on the platform, YouTube has also said that it will remove any content that goes against the word of the controversial World Health Organization — which has recently been defunded by the US government for its handling and alleged coverup of the outbreak.

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

The Magnetic North Pole is Rapidly Moving Because of Some Blobs

The magnetic north pole just isn’t where it used to be.

Ever since James Clark Ross first identified it on the Boothia Peninsula in Canada’s Nunavut territory in 1831, scientists have been carefully measuring its location ever since. But in recent years, it’s been inching closer and closer to Siberia at a surprisingly rapid pace.

Now, researchers from U.K. and Denmark say they’ve uncovered the reason for this mysterious movement: Two writhing lobes of magnetic force are duking it out near Earth’s core.

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

“Victimhood Culture” UK: Rape Victims Need Not Apply

In July 2018, Britain’s then Home Secretary Sajid Javid ordered a review into the characteristics of child sexual grooming gangs. “The scandal of child grooming gangs is one of the most shocking state failures that I can remember,” he said.

“I will not let cultural or political sensitivities get in the way of understanding the problem and doing something about it. It is a statement of fact… that most of the men in recent high profile gang convictions have had Pakistani heritage… I’ve instructed my officials to look into this unflinchingly.”

The review was long overdue, to say the least. In 2015, Prime Minister David Cameron told the BBC that the rape and sexual abuse of underage girls had been “on an industrial scale”: “Young girls… being abused over and over again on an industrial scale, being raped, being passed from one bunch of perpetrators to another bunch of perpetrators”.

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

39 Years Ago, A Turkish Terrorist Shot Polish Pope John Paul II in Assassination Attempt

In his papal audience transmitted from Rome, Pope Francis commemorated the attack on Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981, in which Turkish terrorist Mehmet Ali Agca shot and wounded the pontiff.

“In today’s liturgy, we commemorate the memory of Our Lady of Fatima. We return to her revelations and missive given to the world, as well as the attempt on the life of Saint John Paul II, who saw the motherly intervention of the Holy Virgin in his salvation,” Pope Francis said during his broadcast.

The Catholic News Agency also reminded Catholics of the anniversary on social media.

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

Albanians Charged in £1m NCA Drug Bust at British Port

Two Albanians have been charged with allegedly breaking into the London Container Terminal in Tilbury to retrieve packages of drugs.

Britain’s National Crime Agency were called in on Tuesday 5 May after port workers spotted suspicious activity and reported it to port police.

Two men were later arrested by Border Force officers, who recovered around 16 kilos of cocaine from a refrigerated container which had arrived from Belize on 1 May.

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

Bizarre New Species Discovered… on Twitter

While many of us use social media to be tickled silly by cat videos or wowed by delectable cakes, others use them to discover new species. Included in the latter group are researchers from the University of Copenhagen’s Natural History Museum of Denmark. Indeed, they just found a new type of parasitic fungus via Twitter.

It all began as biologist and associate professor Ana Sofia Reboleira of the National Natural History Museum was scrolling though Twitter. There, she stumbled upon a photo of a North American millipede shared by her US colleague Derek Hennen of Virginia Tech. She spotted a few tiny dots that struck her well-trained eyes.

“I could see something looking like fungi on the surface of the millipede. Until then, these fungi had never been found on American millipedes. So, I went to my colleague and showed him the image. That’s when we ran down to the museum’s collections and began digging,” explains Ana Sofia Reboleira.

Together with colleague Henrik Enghoff, she discovered several specimens of the same fungus on a few of the American millipedes in the Natural History Museum’s enormous collection—fungi that had never before been documented. This confirmed the existence of a previously unknown species of Laboulbeniales—an order of tiny, bizarre and largely unknown fungal parasites that attack insects and millipedes.

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

China Suspected of Creating Spy-Tower in EU District

Chinese spies were suspected by Belgian intelligence to have installed surveillance equipment in a building in Brussels which now houses Malta’s EU embassy and which overlooks the European Commission HQ, Le Monde reports, citing classified Belgian files. A Chinese firm renovated the building and the then head of Belgium’s intelligence service, the VSSE, Alain Winants, wrote to Belgium’s then foreign minister to warn him, Le Monde said.

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

Drone Delivering Illegal Drugs to Belgian Prison Crashes

A drone carrying illegal drugs into a prison in Belgium has crashed, with local authorities saying the crash was caused by the drone being overloaded.

The crash took place on Thursday morning at the Forest Prison in the south of the EU capital of Brussels. Police seized both the drone and the illegal drugs, but they did not share which illegal drugs the drone had been attempting to transport into the prison.

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

England Team Footballer Robbed at Knifepoint in Sadiq Khan’s London

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, Dele Alli, was punched and threatened with a blade after armed robbers broke into his house to steal valuables, ITV News reports.

The 24-year-old footballer was playing pool with his girlfriend, model Ruby Mae, and his brother in the early hours of Wednesday morning when their home in Hadley Wood, North East London was attacked. The two robbers fled with the midfielder’s watches and the model’s jewellery. The couple were spending lockdown together, and Alli has described the crime as “a horrible experience.”

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

EU-UK Negotiations at Standstill as Brussels Demands Submission as Price of Trade Deal

BRUSSELS (AP) — Talks between the European Union and the United Kingdom on their post-Brexit relationship ground to a near-standstill Friday, with each side accusing the other of blocking progress on a trade deal just weeks before a crucial summit.

The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, told a news conference in Brussels that a week-long round of talks had been “disappointing, very disappointing.”

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

Germany Declares Burning EU Flag a Hate Crime Punishable by Three Years in Prison

Germany’s Bundestag has approved a new law imposing a prison sentence of up to three years for damaging or destroying a European Union flag, in an effort to curb “hate”.

The national parliament voted on Thursday to amend the criminal code to protect the European Union flag from being destroyed, damaged, or defaced. Punishments for contraventions of the law range from a fine or even a prison sentence of up to three years.

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

Government Could Enforce Who You’re Allowed to Socialize With Via Tracking App

In the “new normal” of social distancing, governments could dictate who you’re allowed to socialize with and punish wrongdoers via a smart phone tracking app.

Governments are now considering a post-lockdown world of “social bubbles,” which in the UK translates into a proposal to allow people to visit “10 friends and family.”

The Belgian government is also considering permitting people to have a designated list of people they can visit in order to keep the risk of transmitting COVID-19 low.

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

Hungary: European Union is Facing the ‘Greatest Crisis in Its History’

The Hungarian Justice Minister chastised the European Parliament (EP) in a stinging address Wednesday, insisting it has been “part of the problem” rather than a solution during the coronavirus pandemic.

In her speech before the plenary assembly of the EP, Minister Judit Varga said the European Union “is facing the greatest crisis in its history” due to the coronavirus pandemic, which poses a direct threat to the lives and health of our citizens.

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

Hungary’s Orban Prepares to Give Up Coronavirus Powers, Ready to Accept Apologies for ‘Dictator’ Accusations

Hungary’s anti-mass migration, national conservative government may be among the first to hand back its emergency coronavirus powers, despite leftist claims its premier planned to rule “indefinitely” over the EU’s first “dictatorship”.

“Prime Minister [Viktor] Orban, speaking at a press conference in Belgrade following his meeting with Serbian president [Aleksandar] Vucic, said that the government’s power to take extraordinary measures under the Coronavirus Protection Act will likely be given back to parliament at the end of May,” a Hungarian government spokesman told Breitbart London.

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

Hungary’s Justice Minister Banned From EU Debate on Emergency Law

Judit Varga, Hungary’s Justice Minister, was banned from the debate that was held regarding her country’s Coronavirus Protection Law in the European Parliament yesterday. No member of the Hungarian government was present to offer their response to allegations that the law established dictatorial rule by Prime Minister Viktor Orban. At the session, some participants called for Hungary to be harshly disciplined.

“Can an institution where hearing the other side is not self-evident still call itself democratic?” Varga said in a lengthy response to the EU’s move that has also been posted online.

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

Hungary’s Conservative Govt Sounds Alarm on Facebook’s New ‘Soros Oversight Board’

The Hungarian government is sounding the alarm over a powerful new oversight team for content shared on Facebook, denouncing it as the “Soros Oversight Board”.

Hungarian premier Viktor Orban is something of an archnemesis to George Soros, the 89-year-old pro-open borders plutocrat and convicted insider trader — frequently making a point of calling out his efforts to undermine the Hungarian government’s strong pro-borders, anti-mass migration policies in a highly public manner.

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

Leftist Clickbait Site BuzzFeed Shutters British and Australian Operations

(AFP) — BuzzFeed said on Thursday that it would be shuttering part of its loss-making news operations in Britain and Australia, as it scales back global ambitions to cut costs.

“For economic and strategic reasons, we are going to focus on news that hits big in the United States during this difficult period,” a company spokesperson said.

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

Liberal Challenger to Conservative Polish President Drops Out of Race After Support Collapse

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The main opposition candidate in Poland´s trouble-ridden presidential election said Friday she was quitting the race after her support dropped dramatically.

Center-liberal candidate Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska of the Civic Platform party was at one point seen as a strong contender, but lost almost all support after she called for a boycott of the election held amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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

Norwegian State TV Promotes a Hijab-Wearing Woman on Promo Ad for Constitution Day

Norwegian state broadcaster NRK has angered many by promoting the hijab in a commercial for Norway’s soon-to-be celebrated Constitution Day.

Some Norwegians are outraged after the broadcaster, in a promotional ad for Norway’s national day of independence on May 17th, featured a woman in a hijab standing next to the Norwegian flag.

“Is promoting a hijab in line with NRK’s mission? Hijab stands for something else than what we are celebrating wrote Jan Otto Viken from Resett Norway

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

Poland Labels Sweden’s Coronavirus Policy ‘Darwinian’

Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki slammed Sweden’s no-lockdown policy on the Chinese coronavirus, labelling the approach “Darwinian”.

The Polish prime minister made his comments at a press conference this week on the subject of the coronavirus pandemic when he was asked if he regretted not taking the same approach as Sweden, which let many businesses remain open and did not introduce strict lockdown measures.

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

Romania Declares WWI Treaty Anniversary That Saw Hungary Lose 72% of Its Territory a National Holiday

In a culmination of the three-week period marked by nationalist rhetoric against the ethnic Hungarian minority in the country, the Romanian Parliament declared June 4 a national holiday to commemorate the day the Trianon Treaty carved out Transylvania from Hungary and handed it to its eastern neighbor of Romania.

The resolution was passed with an overwhelming majority — 235 yes votes, 21 no votes and 25 abstentions — and it now only requires President Klaus Iohannis’ signature to take effect.

One of the peace treaties that officially ended World War I, the Trianon Treaty divided more than two-thirds of the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary among its neighbors. This territory included the Kingdom of Romania, the Czechoslovak Republic, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and — most ironically — the First Austrian Republic, which is considered the half of the then Austro-Hungarian Empire that was involved in igniting World War I even if it was not directly responsible for causing the war.

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

Rwandan Genocide Perpetrator Found Living in Paris, France

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — One of the most wanted fugitives in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide has been arrested in Paris, authorities said Saturday.

Felicien Kabuga, who had a $5 million bounty on his head, had been accused of equipping militias in the genocide that killed more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus who tried to protect them.

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

Studies See ‘No Benefit’ In Hydroxychloroquine Treatment for COVID-19 Patients

Treating Covid-19 patients with the anti-inflammatory drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) had no positive effect and caused other health complications, two new studies showed Friday.

The drug has been touted by US President Donald Trump among others as a potential “game changer”, after initial studies in lab settings showed it may be able to prevent the virus replicating.

But several subsequent studies — including one funded by the US government —appear to have doused hopes that HCQ can help patients hospitalised with Covid-19.

In the first study released Friday, researchers in France monitored 181 patients hospitalised with pneumonia due to Covid-19 and who needed oxygen.

Eighty-four were treated with HCQ and 97 were not.

They found no meaningful difference between the groups for either transfer to intensive care, death within seven days or developing acute respiratory distress syndrome within 10 days.

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

UK: Churches and Cathedrals Fly NHS Flag

At least one church and one cathedral in Britain have replaced their usual flags with a banner for the National Health Service in an increasingly bizarre and cultish act of worship for the public institution.

A Catholic church in Bath, Somerset, South West England, has replaced the Vatican flag with a fabric NHS logo. Students in the university city took to Twitter to post pictures of their place of worship finding a new deity in the form of a healthcare system. St John the Evangelist’s Church is the Victorian building now flying the NHS flag in the centre of a city which is a UNESCO world heritage site for its architecture.

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

UK: Farage Gives Credit to Keir Starmer for Calling Out Boris Johnson’s Failings

The former Brexit Party MEP appears to be praising the leader of Britain’s main opposition party after a series of scandals in the UK during the Conservative government’s lockdown.

In a Facebook post, the patriotic LBC radio host wrote: “I have just been told by a care home provider that someone was returned to the home from hospital & later they were told the patient had tested positive. There have been multiple deaths in the building since. Starmer was on the right track today. This is a huge scandal.”

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

UK: Jeremy Corbyn’s Brother Among Arrests at Anti-Lockdown Protests

The brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was one of 19 protesters arrested during a protest against the coronavirus lockdown.

About 50 people defied social distancing to gather close together at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park, west London, holding placards with slogans like “anti-vax deserves a voice” and “freedom over fear”.

Dozens of police officers, including some on horseback, patrolled the protest, issuing 10 on-the-spot fines and making 19 arrests.

[Comment: Piers Corbyn is one of the great opponents of the AGW theory, and if memory serves, also supports Brexit.]

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

NATO Chief Says the Alliance Backs Jihadi-Supported Government in Libya (Video)

Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), indicated that the alliance will back the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya. The GNA is currently at war with the Libyan National Army (LNA). It is also backed by Libya’s branch of the international Muslim Brotherhood Islamist organization, among others.

Stoltenberg made the remarks in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that was published yesterday, according to a report by Greek City Times.

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

Hindu Couple Forcibly Converted to Islam in Sindh Region of Pakistan

On Friday, a Hindu couple was forcibly converted to Islam at a mosque in the city of Nawabshah in the Sindh district of Pakistan, reported ANI. The conversion was undertaken by a local Imam (Islamic Cleric) named Hamid Qadri. Another Muslim leader associated with the Jamaat Ahle Sunnat was also present at the time of the forced conversion. The couple was handed cash following their conversion to Islam.

Hindu family threatened in Karachi

This is not the first time that such an incident has come to light. Last month, a Hindu family in Karachi was attacked, amidst coronavirus lockdown, in Pakistan for refusing Islam. The case is from PIA township in Karachi where a Maulvi named Usman teamed up with the Hindu family’s neighbour named Shahid to assault the minorities for their denial to accept Islam.

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

China Fires Back at New Zealand: War of Words Escalates as Beijing Denies Trying to Persuade the Kiwis Not to Enforce Strict Coronavirus Lockdown

New Zealand’s foreign minister, Winston Peters, revealed his counterpart in China accused the country of ‘overreacting’ to the coronavirus crisis.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

China Has Created a Pandemic Through ‘Gross Negligence, Obsessive Secrecy and Brazen Dishonesty’, Top US Diplomat Says — as Australia Secures EU Support for an Independent Inquiry Into Coronavirus

China’s communist leaders are even using the catastrophe to advance their interests abroad while the weakened world struggles with death and recession, it is claimed.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

China May Have 640,000 Coronavirus Cases Instead of 84,000, Leaked Data From Country’s Military-Run University Suggests

A database leaked from China’s top military university contains 640,000 entries, charting coronavirus cases in at least 230 cities, potentially giving a glimpse at the country’s true toll.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

New Species of Seaweed and Algae Discovered

Researchers, including those at the Natural History Museum in London, have discovered a new species of seaweed Calidia pseudolobata as well as four new genera of red algae from the warm waters of China. The research suggests there are many new species yet to be discovered — with potential implications for marine biodiversity and food security.

The world faces multiple challenges from population growth to threats to agricultural production. Due to a lack of land, the impact of environmental and anthropogenic change on coastlines, and shallow seas around the world, there is an increasing need for seaweed species and strains which could be brought into aquaculture — the farming of fish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic plants, algae, and other organisms.

The red algal genus Pyropia sensu lato includes several species of economic importance to China, Japan and Korea where they are farmed for nori, an aquaculture crop that when processed is the black wrapping used in sushi.

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

Report: China Has Jailed Hundreds of People for Questioning Official Coronavirus Narrative

China has arrested and imprisoned hundreds of people for merely discussing the coronavirus outbreak in any context that strays from the communist party narrative on the epidemic, according to a report from a US based Chinese organisation.

Fox News pointed to the report by China Digital Times containing statistics that show between Jan. 1 and April 4, nearly 500 hundred people were arrested and charged, merely for talking about the virus.

The indiscretions levelled at those jailed include criticism of the response to the outbreak by the Chinese government, and questioning the number of deaths.

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

Trump Delivers Blow to China With Announcement That Taiwan Chip Maker Building $12 Billion U.S. Plant

The Trump administration hit hard against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) late this week with the announcement that a Taiwan chip manufacturer will be building a plant in the United States and that the move will severely restrict the company’s ability to sell to China’s Huawei.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) announced that it will build a new factory in Arizona as part of a $12 billion deal with the U.S. that will “create over 1,600 high-tech professional jobs directly, and thousands of indirect jobs in the semiconductor ecosystem,” the company said in a statement.

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

US ‘Would Lose a War With China Fought in the Pacific, Is Unable to Defend Taiwan From an Invasion and There Are Fears the Guam Military Base is at Risk Now’, Pentagon Sources Warn

‘Eye-opening’ Pentagon war games have revealed the US is vulnerable to China and that an attack from the superpower would lead to the US ‘suffering capital losses’, sources told The Times.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Islamic Bookshop Owner — and Brother of Australia’s First Suicide Bomber — Who Was Caught Up in Terrorism Raids Walks Free From Prison

Omar Succarieh, 37, pleaded guilty in October 2016 to four foreign incursion offences following raids conducted in Logan, Brisbane in Queensland.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Leading Business Broker With China Warns That the Free-Trade Agreement Between Beijing and Australia Could be Scrapped Due to Ongoing Tensions Related to the Outbreak of COVID-19

Businessman Warwick Smith warned the relationship with Beijing must be managed with ‘patience, no quick judgments, and no emotionalism’.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Medicinal Cannabis Could be Available in Australian Chemists Without a Prescription as Early as Next Year — as Olivia Newton-John Calls for Weed Rules to be Relaxed

Drug regulatory bodies are trying to push through changes as the number of prescriptions being issued for medical marijuana surged by 300 per cent nation-wide in the past year.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Court to Prosecute Afghan Migrant Who Raped Swedish Girl Under the Age of 15

A Swedish court is set to prosecute an Afghan migrant in his twenties who’s accused of having raped a Swedish girl under the age of fifteen. The migrant had been living in the girl’s family’s home.

The suspect, who had received a residence permit in Sweden through the Higher Education Act, is alleged to have sexually assaulted the young girl on the night of April 13th earlier this year. According to the indictment, the migrant carried out a number of unwanted sexual acts against the young girl over a two-hour time span, Swedish news portal Nyheter Idag reports.

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

EU Courts Tells Hungary to Release Migrants in Border Transit Zone Detention

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has called on Hungary to release migrants kept in transit zones on the Serbian border, claiming the illegal aliens were being kept in unlawful detention.

The subject of the ECJ ruling was two border transit zones which were both closed in early March due to the spread of the Chinese coronavirus. 321 migrants were in the zones at the time of the closure.

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

EU Warns of Increase in Migrants, Terrorism Threat Due to Pandemic

The European Asylum Support Service (EASO), a European Union agency, is warning that the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic could lead to an increase in asylum applications from migrants as well as an increased Islamic terrorist threat from groups such as ISIS (Daesh).

The EASO said in its report that asylum applications in the EU were down by 43% in March as a result of travel bans, border closures, and other emergency measures taken to contain the pandemic, given that the outbreak has thus far been “disproportionately concentrated in the developed world.”

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

European Court Rules Against Syrian Family That Wanted Belgian Visas

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against a Syrian family which claimed that their rights had been violated when the Belgian embassy refused to give them visas.

The family, which is from the capital city of Aleppo, had wanted to go to Belgium in 2016, as the Syrian Civil War was still raging at full intensity at the time. However, they didn’t want to have to undergo the long and difficult journey over land and sea from Syria to Europe that illegal migrants have to make to get there.

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

Europol Warns Migrant-Smuggling Surging as Lockdowns Ease

The European Union police agency Europol has warned that people-smuggling activities have surged as member-states soften lockdown measures to contain the spread of the Chinese coronavirus.

Europol stated that the spread of the coronavirus had led to a decline in new arrivals of illegal immigrants and people-smuggling, but noted the relaxation of travel restrictions in Europe was coinciding with a new wave of smuggling activity.

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

Finland Busts Trafficking Ring That Smuggled Migrants to UK for €8,000

Finland’s border police have uncovered a migrant smuggling ring based in Sweden and the UK that used other people’s passports as well as fake documents to smuggle migrants into the UK.

The investigation into the group began in January when a Swedish citizen and a Kuwaiti national were apprehended at Helsinki-Vantaa airport, with the latter found to have been using the passport of another individual.

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

Greece: Afghan Migrants Jailed for Detention Center Riot

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities say two Afghan men have been jailed for six years and nine months each after being convicted of participating in riots this week at a migrant detention center near the border with Turkey where some 150 unaccompanied minors are being held.

The two men, aged 22 and 23, were found guilty by a court Thursday of causing serious property damage, assault, and participation in a violent revolt and were each fined 1,375 euros. Both men told the court they had not been involved in the violence.

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

Greece: Trashed Church on Lesvos Becomes Toilet for Illegal Immigrants

The Saint Catherine Church in the small town of Moria on Lesvos, is now being used as a bathroom.

A local in Moria described the scene.

“The smell inside is unbearable,” said Makis Pavlellis, a butcher. “Discussing with people about the Church, we learned that the metropolitan of Mytilene is aware of the situation in the area nevertheless he does not wish to deal with it for his own reasons.”

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

Hungary Donates $30,000 to Restore Greek Churches Trashed by Migrants

Hungary announced earlier this week that it will be donating thousands of dollars to help restore churches on the Greek island of Lesvos which have been trashed by illegal immigrants in the past months.

Tristan Azbej, Hungary’s State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians, on Friday announced that the Hungarian state would be contributing $30,000 to help repair churches which have been vandalized by migrants on the Aegean island.

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

Italy’s Leftist Government Grants 600,000 Illegal Migrants Amnesty

Italy’s leftist-establishment government earlier this week moved ahead with plans to grant amnesty to 600,000 illegal migrants living in the country, despite widespread opposition.

As Teresa Bellanova, Italy’s pro-mass migration Agriculture Minister, signed the bill which granted six-month residency permits to illegal migrants working in the agricultural and domestic sectors into law on Wednesday, she cried tears of joy, Il Giornale reports.

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

Migrants Arriving to Greece From Turkey Test Positive for Coronavirus

Two migrants who arrived on the Greek island of Lesbos last week after departing Turkey have tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus, a development that follows claims the Turks may be purposely sending infected migrants.

The two migrants arrived from Turkey on the island is Lesbos in the Aegean Sea on the 6th of May and were identified as being infected with the coronavirus as part of a random check with the two migrants not being sent to the Moria migrant camp but quarantined in a special area on the island.

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

Netherlands: Incidents at Asylum Centers Increased by 30 Percent in 2019

The number of incidents at asylum centers in the Netherlands have more than doubled from 8,000 in 2015 to more than 17,000 last year, according to government documents.

In 2019, incidents of hunger strikes, fights, and arson at asylum centers increased by 30 percent compared to the previous year, Dutch daily evening newspaper NRC Handelsblad reports, citing a document from the Ministry of Justice and Security.

The striking uptick in incidents has occurred despite the number of asylum seekers having declined from 47,700 at the height of the migrant crisis in 2015, to 27,400 last year.

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

Pope Francis: Migrants and Refugees Are Forced to Flee ‘Like Jesus Christ’

ROME — Pope Francis has compared displaced persons to Jesus Christ in his annual message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

Bearing the title, “Like Jesus Christ, Forced to Flee: Welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating internally displaced persons,” the pope’s message for 2020 declared that the tragedy of internally displaced people is “one of the challenges of our contemporary world, especially because of “situations of conflict and humanitarian emergencies, aggravated by climate change.”

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

Serbia Sends the Army to Its Border With Croatia to ‘Secure’ Three Camps Holding 1,500 Migrants Trying to Reach the EU Amid Claims of ‘Harassment’ Against Local People

Serbia has sent its army to a town near the border with Croatia where hundreds of migrants and refugees remain stranded in hopes of reaching the European Union.

The Defence Ministry said today that President Aleksandar Vucic ordered the troop deployment to ‘secure’ three migrant camps near the western town of Sid that are housing some 1,500 people, mostly from Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Vucic claimed the increase in security presence was to protect the local population from alleged harassment and robberies committed by the migrants.

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

So Much for Brexit: EU Threatens Legal Action Against UK for Not Following Migration Rules

he European Union is threatening legal action against the United Kingdom for alleged failings in its obedience to Free Movement migration rules, despite the country’s supposed break with the bloc in January.

The British public voted to leave the European Union in 2016, but it was not until 2020 that their country finally left the bloc — at least technically.

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

Spain Overtakes Germany for Asylum Claim Numbers in 2020

Between January and April of this year, Spain has seen the most asylum applications in the European Union, overtaking Germany and France as migrant arrivals from Central and South America soar.

Spain saw a total of 37,471 asylum applications from January to April with the largest groups of asylum seekers originated in Colombia, Venezuela and Honduras, while Germany saw 33,714 asylum applications with 23 per cent of the applications coming from individuals claiming to be Syrian nationals, 9.3 per cent from Iraqis and 7.7 from Afghanis.

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

Sweden: Sudanese Migrant Arrested for Raping Girl and Killing Teenager Who Tried to Intervene

Police in Sweden have arrested a Sudanese migrant who’s suspected of raping a woman and murdering the Swedish teen who attempted to stop him.

Abubaker Mohamed, aged 22, was arrested in Härnösand earlier this week on charges of murder, gross rape, rape, serious illegal threats, and serious abuse.

According to a report from the Swedish news portal Samhällsnytt, Mohamed stabbed 19-year-old Tommie Lindh to death in a Härnösand apartment when Lindh attempted prevent him from raping a female acquaintance.

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

Sweden: Iraqi Migrant Convicted of Raping Homeless Woman in Gothenburg

A Swedish court late last month convicted Iraqi migrant of raping a homeless woman on the streets of Gothenburg at the beginning of this year.

After convicting the 41-year-old Iraqi migrant, the Gothenburg District Court handed him the minimum sentence for rape: two years in prison. The court also banned the migrant rapist from Sweden for 10 years after he serves his sentence, and ordered him to pay 10,700 euros in damages to the victim, Göteborgs-Posten reports.

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

UK: Border Force Intercepts Six Boats Carrying 90 Migrants Including Three Toddlers and a Baby in Just One Day

Border Force officers have intercepted six boats carrying 90 migrants, including three toddlers and a baby, in just one day.

The boats arrived in Dover, Kent, this morning. In the first incident a Border Force coastal patrol vessel intercepted a boat which was carrying a group of 10 males who presented themselves as Sudanese and Libyan.

A second boat was then picked up with 12 men on board who said they were Syrian and Iranian.

Photographs show suspected migrants wearing face masks and life jackets being brought into Dover on a Border Force dinghy.

[Comment: Article dated May 16, 2020.]

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

Trump Vows to Strip ‘Radical Left’ of ‘Total Command’ Over FB, IG, Twitter & Google

President Donald Trump has vowed to break the “radical left’s” apparent control of social media platforms. Earlier, the president thanked his “keyboard warriors” for their support, as they accused the tech firms of censorship.

“The Radical Left is in total command & control of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google,” Trump tweeted on Saturday. “The Administration is working to remedy this illegal situation. Stay tuned, and send names & events.”

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

UN Official Suggests Lockdowns Should Continue

A top UN official says that coronavirus lockdowns should not be lifted “too hastily” in order to protect “vulnerable” people, despite the fact that some 36 million Americans have now been made vulnerable as a result of losing their jobs because of the lockdown.

“If an affected country comes out of lock-down too hastily, there is a danger that a second wave, costing many more lives, will be triggered sooner and more destructively than would otherwise be the case,” said the UN’s Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet.

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

9 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 5/16/2020

  1. Mdme. Hillaryous said that COVID-19 lockdown protestors are terrorists. What she didn’t say is that anyone who disagrees with her is a ‘terrorist’ and should be beheaded. The recent movie “Alice in Wonderland” featuring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter had the Red Queen and the Black Knight portrayed very similarly to Bill and Hillary Clinton. Notice that the White Queen did not execute them as she should have but merely exiled them. It would seem that their term of exile is about to end. Sniff!

Comments are closed.