An estimated 20,000 illegal migrants are expected to cross the English Channel by boat this year and land in the UK. In the latest incident, 30 more migrants arrived in Dover, including several children and an old man in a wheelchair.
In other news, President Biden announced that he will nominate the first Muslim American for a federal judgeship.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, DV, 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.
Trump Blasts Biden’s Tax Hike as “Globalist Betrayal”
After Joe Biden proposed a huge tax hike to pay for a $2-3 trillion spending spree, President Trump blasted it as a “globalist betrayal” and a “cruel and heartless attack on the American dream.”
Despite promising not to raise taxes for middle class Americans, Biden’s latest Spending proposal will likely effect people at the earning threshold of $200,000 per year, with the White House now suggesting that the previously announced $400,000 threshold for tax increases applies only to families, and not individuals.
Trump labeled the hike as “a massive giveaway to China, and many other countries, that will send thousands of factories, millions of jobs, and trillions of dollars to these competitive Nations.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
World Bank: Poland’s GDP Will Grow by 4.2% in 2022
The World Bank believes that despite the pandemic’s resurgence at the end of 2020 and new rise in infections, the positive economic situation in Poland will be supported by the rebound of trade in the eurozone, improved confidence, and a rebound of private consumption.
The World Bank’s report added that the 3.3 percent growth rate expected in 2021 is slightly lower than the 3.5 percent forecasted in October 2020 due to the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic and the vaccination process in Europe.
World Bank experts also forecast that following a moderate growth in 2021, the Polish economy will accelerate up to 4.2 percent in 2022. The forecast for 2022 is higher than previously expected (3.4 percent), partially thanks to the rebound of internal demand mainly in the area of investments.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Nightmare”: Los Angeles DA ‘To Dissolve or Downsize’ Hardcore Gangs, Major Narcotics Units
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón (D) is planning to “severely downsize or outright dissolve” the office’s Hardcore Gang and Major Narcotics units as early as next month, according to Fox11 LA, citing multiple sources within the DA’s office.
“What we’re hearing is that the Hardcore Gang Unit will be dissolved,” said one of the DA’s prosecutors, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden to Push for Another COVID-19 Spending Package in April
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Sunday that President Biden would soon be pushing for another large spending package to stimulate other areas of the economy left reeling from the COVID pandemic but left untouched by the recent $1.9 trillion package he signed into law.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Biden Announces Plan to Nominate First Muslim American to Federal Judgeship
President Biden touted his commitment to racial diversity in the announcing his intentto nominate 11 new judges for the federal district and circuit courts, as well as D.C. courts.
Specifically, the Biden administration issued a statement highlighting that his appointments would bring the “first Muslim American,” “first AAPI woman,” and “first woman of color” to their respective courts.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Christian University Dumps Crusader Mascot for “Negative Connotation and Violence”
The Crusader mascot of a private Christian university in Missouri has been dropped due to the “negative connotation and violence” associated with the term.
Evangel University announced that it will be dropping its Crusader mascot because the crusaders of medieval times killed Muslims, Jews, and other Christians in pursuit of the Holy Land.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Following President Joe Biden’s request that all states that had rescinded their mask mandates immediately reimpose them, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is publicly declining. Of the states that enacted a statewide mask mandate, Texas was the first to officially repeal it on March 10.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
George Floyd’s girlfriend identified the other passenger in the car with her and Floyd as their drug dealer, and revealed she once took pills with him that she thought would kill her.
Courtney Ross took the stand during the trial of Derek Chauvin on Thursday, who is currently charged with the murder of George Floyd, a black man who died during an arrest in Minneapolis last summer, sparking off “Black Lives Matter” riots and protests across the country.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Georgia House Republicans voted to strip Delta Airlines of a fuel tax break worth millions, following a memo from their CEO slamming the state’s election integrity efforts as racist.
Last week, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed into law sweeping new election integrity reforms,including requiring new identification measures for mail-in voting, blocking the use of mobile voting vans, restricts the use of drop boxes for absentee ballots, and allows electors to challenge the results of an unlimited number of ballots, and strips the authority of the Secretary of State, reducing him to a nonvoting member of the State Election Board.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Google Search Lists George Floyd as ‘American Hip Hop Artist’, Features His Songs About Drug Abuse
Deceased Fentanyl aficionado George Floyd is listed on Google search results as an “American hip-hop artist,” as of press time Thursday. Google has also helpfully featured some of the artist Floyd’s song titles including references to drug abuse.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Investigators Complete Review of Federal Police Shooting That Killed Wanted Portland Activist
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday it has completed its seven-month investigation of a federally deputized task force that shot and killed Portland activist Michael Forest Reinoehl last summer.
Reinoehl, a 48-year-old self-described antifascist who was wanted for murder, was killed by law enforcement officers near Olympia on Sept. 3. According to the Thurston County investigators reviewing the case, Reinoehl “initiated” an exchange of gunfire with officers before he was killed.
The incident took place at an apartment complex in Olympia, where Reinoehl had been on the run for his suspected role in the shooting death of a pro-Trump demonstrator in Portland days earlier. Surveillance footage of that shooting obtained by OPB shows Reinoehl seeming to initiate contact with 39-year-old Aaron “Jay” Danielson outside a parking garage.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Man and Woman Charged With Attempting and Conspiring to Provide Material Support to ISIS
James Bradley, aka Abdullah, and His Wife, Arwa Muthana, Were Arrested at a Seaport in New Jersey While Allegedly Attempting to Travel Overseas to Join and Fight for ISIS
Note: A full copy of the complaint can be found here.
WASHINGTON — A New York man and Alabama woman were arrested yesterday at a seaport in Newark, New Jersey on criminal charges related to their alleged attempt to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS).
According to court documents, James Bradley, 20, of the Bronx, New York, and Arwa Muthana, 29, of Hoover, Alabama, are ISIS supporters who attempted to travel to the Middle East to join and fight for ISIS. As alleged in the complaint, Bradley has expressed his support for ISIS and his desire to join the group overseas or commit a terrorist attack in the United States. Bradley and his wife, who has also expressed her support for ISIS, were arrested while attempting to travel together by cargo ship to the Middle East to join and fight for ISIS. Bradley and Muthana were presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman in Manhattan federal court today.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Minister Sues Harris, Pelosi for Access to Capitol Grounds for Good Friday Prayer Event
A Presbyterian minister is suing a group of officials, claiming that his First Amendment rights are being violated by the continued closure of the Capitol grounds.
Rev. Patrick Mahoney filed a complaint Tuesday in federal court against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. Capitol Police Board, and the Senate Sergeant at Arms. Mahoney says he has been trying to hold a prayer vigil for Good Friday near the Capitol, but authorities denied his request.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New Court Docs Say George Floyd Had “Fatal Level” of Fentanyl in His System
MINNEAPOLIS — New documents filed in the George Floyd case give new information about the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s findings in Floyd’s autopsy.
Handwritten notes of a law enforcement interview with Dr. Andrew Baker, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, say Floyd had 11 ng/mL of fentanyl in his system.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
New York Man Accused of Rigging Hunting Camp to Explode
The suspect allegedly set fireworks to spark in a building filled with propane gas
As it turns out, hunters are pretty good at spotting traps.
A New York man allegedly attempted to rig an explosion at a hunting camp in Hamilton County — but fortunately, the potential targets noticed something was wrong and likely prevented the explosion from occurring.
Irving Talavera Jr. is accused of attaching fireworks to the door frame of the hunting camp’s front door, and rigging them to spark when the door was opened, WNYT reports. Prior to the incident, Talavera had also allegedly used the camp’s propane stove to fill the camp with the flammable liquefied gas.
Members of the hunting club identified Talavera as a former member of the group, The Daily Gazette reports. However, Talavera had previously been kicked out of the club…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Rand Paul ‘Pages’ Fauci With CDC Confirmation That Vaccinated and Recovered Cannot Pass on COVID
Senator Rand Paul shared video Wednesday of CDC Director Rochelle Walensky announcing that new data suggests vaccinated and recovered people do not carry Covid-19.
Paul directed his comments at White House chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci, writing “paging Dr Fauci: please end the mask theater now that cdc admits evidence that the vaccinated do not carry the virus.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Rep. Gosar Demands Federal Investigation Into OnlyFans for Facilitating Prostitution
Rep. Paul Gosar has written to the U.S. Attorney General demanding an investigation into OnlyFans, accusing the website of facilitating online prostitution.
OnlyFans is a website where supporters pay creators for private content. Much of the material on the website is based around young girls posting lewd photographs of themselves as well as porn videos.
According to Gosar, the website’s operating platform may be in violation of the Mann Act, which seeks to prevent “interstate transportation of an individual for an immoral, or an illegal purpose.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republicans Officially Claim Final Disputed House Seat After Democrat Hart Withdraws
The last disputed House seat from the 2020 election cycle has now been decided after Democrat Rita Hart withdrew her challenge to Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican physician who squeaked out an electoral victory by six votes.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Students at Florida High School Warned They Will be “Re-Educated” If Caught Not Wearing a Mask
Students at Clearwater High School in Florida have been warned that they will be “re-educated” on the importance of wearing a mask if they are seen on school premises not wearing a face covering.
An advisory posted on the school’s website regarding face mask policy tells students, teachers, staff and any visitors that masks are mandatory on all school property as well as on school buses.
The section on “noncompliance” then spells out the punishment for anyone caught flouting the rules.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Surveillance Video Captured Orange Mass Shooting Suspect Inside Unified Homes Office Building
Authorities provided an update Thursday afternoon on the mass shooting at the Unified Homes office building in Orange that left four dead, including a 9-year-old boy.
ORANGE, Calif. — Police said that a gunman locked the gates surrounding the Unified Homes office building in the city of Orange on Wednesday night, trapping the victims inside before going on a shooting rampage that left four people including a 9-year-old boy.
The suspect was identified Thursday as Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez, 44, of Fullerton. Authorities said the shooting was “not a random act of violence” and that the suspect knew the victims through business and personal relationships, which was likely the motive behind the shooting. Authorities did not elaborate on his relationship with the victims…
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
Video: Biden Barely Makes it Up Airforce One Steps
Joe Biden barely made it to the top of the steps on Airforce One Wednesday, misplacing his own feet despite a concerted effort on his part not to fall over again.
Holding a bag and an umbrella, Biden slowly eased his way up the steps in the rain, but still managed to lose his coordination half way up.
It clearly wasn’t a slip, Biden has trouble putting one foot in front of the other. He loses his train of thought and makes phantom steps.
This is a known signifier of dementia.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Year-to-Year Shootings, Murders Soar in Chicago
CHICAGO — A quick glance at the press release from the Chicago Police Department might have you believe police officers are regaining control of dangerous streets.
“Chicago saw a 27% drop in year-to-date in criminal activity compared to the same three-month period in 2020,” the department declared in its monthly crime report.
But that’s not the entire story.
While Chicago police claim credit for a reduction in the category of “overall violent crime” (including homicides, aggravated battery and assault, burglary, robbery, theft and motor vehicle theft), the department acknowledges it’s a dramatic decrease in thefts — not murders and shootings — driving that statistic.
In the month of March, the number of shooting victims increased 70% compared to last year (175 vs 298) and the number of murders increased 50% (28 vs 42).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Stop Treating Us Like We’re Walking Viruses”: Protesters Risk $1,200 Fines in Whitecourt, Alberta
Last weekend we checked in on the All Fired Up For Freedom protest in Whitecourt, Alberta.
Benita Pedersen, the MC of these events, is one of the hundreds of people we are helping fight their lockdown tickets.
through www.FightTheFines.com, at no cost to her. Despite being issued thousands of dollars in COVID fines, with new tickets issued to her nearly every weekend, Benita travels happily up and down Alberta, giving people a place to show up and express their displeasure and disgust with the province’s lockdowns on civil liberties.
The lockdown in Alberta restricts outdoor gatherings to just 10 people, however, hundreds routinely show up to Benita’s events, each one also risking a lockdown ticket to express their human right to protest the government’s policies.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Canadian Woman Accused of Trying to Join ISIS Released on Bail
A Toronto-area woman accused of leaving Canada in 2019 to join the so-called Islamic State was ordered released on bail Wednesday, seven months after she was arrested by the RCMP.
Haleema Mustafa, 23, has been in custody since her arrest last August, but following a hearing before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, a judge released her on several conditions.
Mustafa and her husband Ikar Mao have been charged with participating in the activities of a terrorist group and leaving Canada to participate in the activities of a terrorist group.
Her lawyer, Faisal Mirza, declined to comment.
Mao was denied bail last June and remains in custody.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bank of England Targeted by Extinction Rebellion in ‘Fake Oil’ Spray Protest
Extinction Rebellion protesters sprayed fake oil over the front of the Bank of England as part of action targeting financial institutions.
Demonstrators, dressed in black, staged the April Fools protest over the bank’s role in the climate crisis.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Could an EU Army Become a Reality? Germany’s Vice-Chancellor Backs the Controversial Idea
Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) Chancellor candidate and current Vice-Chancellor Olaf Scholz said over the weekend that he supports the formation of a common European army that would be controlled by the EU.
Despite claims that such an army would be created being labeled a “conspiracy” in the past, the left-wing vice-chancellor, while speaking with the daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung on Saturday, said, “For me, a common army is part of the idea of European sovereignty.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Czech Football Players Refused to Knee for BLM Before Match With Wales
The Czech national football team refused to kneel in support of the controversial Black Lives Matter movement before Tuesday’s match against Wales. The British media linked this to the recent affair of Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kúdela, who was accused of racism, according to Echo24. However, the Czech team announced its “apolitical stance” on the matter of kneeling in advance.
The Czech team was the first not to kneel, but they have since been joined by Polish players as well.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Deadly Violence in Sweden Reaches All Time High
In 2020, lethal violence in Sweden reached its highest point since 2002, when the country’s Crime Prevention Council (Brå) began its measurements.
A total of 124 cases of deadly violence, including murder, homicide, infanticide, and manslaughter, were recorded in the Scandinavian country. In 48 of the cases (or 39 percent), firearms were used, and Stockholm is home to the largest increase at 11 percent. The sex ratio of the victims is 20 percent women and 80 percent men.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Eight ISIS Fighters Are En Route to France Via Lebanon and Greece: Source to GCT
A port worker in Tripoli, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Greek City Times that eight ISIS fighters are en route to France after they departed from the northern Lebanese city yesterday morning.
The group of ISIS fighters arrived at the Port of Tripoli, now Lebanon’s main port after the Port of Beirut was destroyed in last years blast, at 2:30AM local time on Wednesday, according to the port worker.
He said that they left “sometime after this.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France Forced Into Another National Lockdown
From Saturday, France will widen regional lockdown measures to the entire country in a bid to halt rising Covid-19 infections, President Emmanuel Macron has said, while defending his government’s approach to tackling the virus.
All face-to-face teaching in schools will be suspended from Monday for a week ahead of the two-week spring break, with schools set to return on April 26, Macron announced, in a televised national address on Wednesday evening.
The tougher lockdown measures, which had been in place in 19 areas including Paris, will now be extended to the whole of France for four weeks.
From Saturday evening, travel for the entire population will be limited to within a 10-kilometer radius of home, while longer essential journeys will require a certificate.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Father Defending From ‘Youths’ Beaten With Shovel, Hammer
A man suffered injuries while defending his daughter from a group of ‘youths’ armed with a shovel and hammer in France, according to reports.
The incident unfolded on Monday evening in a residential neighborhood in the commune of Montataire.
A young girl was attacked in the street by a group of young males from a neighboring town, some of whom were drunk, Actu 17 reports.
When the girl’s father intervened, the group set upon him with weapons, including a shovel and wooden hammer.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Govt Rejects ‘Islamophobia’ Term, Says Islamists Use it as a ‘Weapon’ Against Freedoms
The French government has rejected the use of the term “Islamophobia”, saying Islamists use it to silence criticism of radical Islam.
The French Interministerial Committee for the Prevention of Delinquency and Radicalisation rejected the term earlier this week, stating: “To speak of hatred against Muslims, the term ‘Islamophobia’ is inappropriate since it confuses the stigmatisation of believers with criticism of Islam.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hungary Leads the World With 5% of GDP Dedicated to Family Subsides, Says Family Minister
Dedicating 5.2 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) to family subsidies, Hungary is the global leader in this area, Minister for Family Affairs Katalin Novak said in a Facebook video.
“This year, Hungarian families will receive more (state) subsidies than ever,” Novak said in the video. “This means that in 2021, the amount dedicated to the support of Hungarian families has exceeded five percent of the gross domestic product.”
Shortly after the migration crisis broke out in Europe in 2015, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced a strong focus on reversing the country’s declining demographic trend, instead of boosting the population by accepting migrants — a path that many Western countries have taken. With that goal in mind, 2018 was declared the year of the families and the ruling Fidesz party’s vice-president, Katalin Novak, was appointed minister without portfolio for family affairs.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Is a New Right-Wing Power Bloc to be Formed in the European Parliament?
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and leader of Italian League Matteo Salvini on Thursday in Budapest to discuss the future of the right in the European Parliament.
Law and Justice (PiS) MEPs believe that the talks between Morawiecki, Orban and Salvini are an opportunity to create a new right-wing force in the European Parliament. Media reports also claim that as a result of the Thursday talks, a new group in the European Parliament might be created.
In the opinion of PiS MEP Ryszard Czarnecki, the right-wing integration in the European Parliament should take place as part of the already existing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) faction.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pope Francis: Climate Crisis ‘Has Been Unfolding Since the Industrial Revolution’
ROME — Pope Francis said this week the “climate crisis” has its roots in the Industrial Revolution but for many years “it remained imperceptible except to a very few clairvoyants.”
In the preface to a Vatican booklet titled “Pastoral Orientations on Climate Displaced People,” the pope argues that the disastrous effects of climate change are evident to everyone.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pupils at School Where British Flag Was Pulled Down and Burned Felt ‘Colonised’
A London school where the British flag was pulled down and burned by pupils who say they felt “colonised” is giving in after teachers backed protesting youths.
Teachers at Pimlico Academy predicted a “mass exodus” of staff who agreed with rowdy pupils’ objections to new headmaster Daniel Smith attempting to raise Britain’s Union flag, or jack, on a flagpole outside the school, according to the left-wing Guardian.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Spain: Video of Police Breaking Down Door at Illegal House Party in Madrid Sparks Controversy
A video of police officers breaking down the door of a home in Madrid on March 21 to stop an illegal party has sparked controversy over the use of the Citizen Safety Law, popularly known in Spain as the “gag law.” In the official report on the raid, police said the law, as well as an internal order issued days earlier by the Interior Ministry regarding the implementation of coronavirus safety measures, gave the officers the authority to enter the home without a court warrant. This was the same argument used to justify a second raid on an illegal party that took place the following day.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘They Need Hanging’: BLM Radical Sasha Johnson Blasts ‘House Negroes’ After UK Race Report
Sasha Johnson, a self-described ‘Black Panther’, said that “house negroes” are in need of “hanging” following a Downing Street report which said that the United Kingdom is a model for race relations.
Johnson, a leading figure in the broader BLM movement in Britain — although not the Black Lives Matter UK organisation, seemingly — took to Instagram on Wednesday morning to criticise Tony Sewell, the British government’s head of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Khan’s London: Two Arrested After Man Fatally Stabbed While Attending Vigil for Stabbing Victim
London police have arrested two men and launched a murder investigation after a man was fatally stabbed at a vigil for another stabbing victim.
Scotland Yard released a statement confirming the name of Tuesday night’s fatal stabbingat Alpha Road in Croydon, South London, as 23-year-old Reece Young.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In a sane political climate, Meghan Markle would be the one who would be afraid of damaging her reputation by giving money to a group that furthers a smear propaganda term designed to intimidate people into thinking it wrong to oppose jihad violence and Sharia oppression of women and others.
“A British charity says it initially kept Meghan Markle’s $13,000 donation a secret in case she damaged its reputation,” by Mikhaila Friel, Business Insider, March 29, 2021.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
North African Laws Leave Christians Vulnerable
03/27/2021 North Africa (International Christian Concern) — Ten years after the Arab Spring, minorities in North African countries continue to experience religious persecution and oppression. According to independent research by an Egyptian, religious minorities Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco suffer from harsh and disproportionate laws.
In all four countries, penal codes often lack clarity and lead to discretionary application, suggesting that the charges are primarily based on value, rather than criminal acts. Contempt of religion laws in North Africa typically safeguard Islam. Morocco, Egypt, and Algeria all have blasphemy articles within their penal codes. Though Tunisia does not specifically site insulting Islam in its laws, articles outlining offenses against good morals are often utilized as essentially blasphemy laws, only protecting Islamic beliefs.
As a result of these criminal articles, Christians face prison sentences, fines, and day-to-day discrimination for their faith.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Children Must be Protected From Ideologies Other Than Islam: Turkey’s Top Religious Body
The head of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) has said that children must be protected from ideologies other than Islam, as he warned against “organizations that promote deism and atheism.”
“Let’s not make our children fall to superstitious understandings,” Ali Erbas told representatives of non-governmental organizations and opinion leaders in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir on March 28.
“Let’s protect our children from ideologies other than Islam and various organizations and structures that promote disbelieving, atheism, deism and Zoroastrianism. We would be committing a sin if we don’t protect them,” he said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Azeri Vandalism to Armenian Church Incites Plea for Protection
03/29/2021 Nagorno-Karabakh (International Christian Concern) — Recent satellite and video footage reveals the partial destruction of Shushi’s Armenian Kanach Zham Church. The city and church now remain under Azeri control. In light of the most recent damaged church, the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO) called for the protection of Christian monuments in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Satellite photos taken four months apart, one in October 2020 and one in February 2021, show the church domes completely destroyed. Saint John the Baptist Church, also known as Kanach Zham, reportedly faced partial demolition by Azeri troops just days after Shushi came under their control.
This vandalism against Armenian Christian heritage sites adds to the list including Ghazanchetsots Cathedral of Shushi, St. Astvatsatsin Church of Mekhakavan, and others. President Alivey also identified a 12th-century Armenian church to be an Albanian church and expressed his intentions to renovate it.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Indonesia Police to Step Up Security at Churches Ahead of Easter Weekend Following Terror Attacks
JAKARTA: Indonesian police said on Thursday (Apr 1) that they will be stepping up security at churches across the country ahead of the Easter weekend, after two recent terror attacks.
National Police spokesman Rusdi Hartono told reporters: “In light of recent security conditions, (particularly) the incident in Makassar, the National Police has instructed police in all regions to step up their vigilance towards acts of terrorism, particularly in their operations to secure Easter celebrations.”
A Catholic church in the city of Makassar, South Sulawesi province was the scene of a suicide bombing attack last Sunday, when a married couple riding on a motorcycle blew themselves up. Twenty people were injured in the blast, four of whom are still hospitalised.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Islamic law forbids the subjugated People of the Book (Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians) to make public display of their religious festivals, including the ringing of bells. The dhimmis “are forbidden…to ring church bells or display crosses…recite the Torah or Evangel aloud, or make public display of their funerals or feastdays” (Reliance of the Traveller, o11.5 (6).)
This applies to the ringing of bells at Hindu temples as well.
The international media will continue to focus on Muslims in India and claim they are victims of persecution because of the Citizenship Amendment Act, which offers refuge to non-Muslims persecuted in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
“Pakistan: 100-year-old Hindu temple attacked in Rawalpindi, where only recently, temple bells had been sounded after 74 long years,” OpIndia, March 29, 2021.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
On the day of Holi, a temple priest was found dead in a field close to a temple in UP’s Bulandshahr. As per a report by Swarajya, the police have informed that the sadhu’s throat was slit using a sharp weapon. Outrage has been reported by the aggrieved devotees against the brutal murder of a sadhu, following which the police have been put on high alert.
50-year-old Ashok Kumar, a priest, had come to work at the temple a week back from Kailavan village in Salempur. The sadhu was found dead in a mustard field, near the famous Dhakwale temple in Aanchru Kala village of Shikarpur.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
7 Hong Kong Democracy Leaders Convicted as China Clamps Down
HONG KONG (AP) — Seven of Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy advocates, including a media tycoon and an 82-year-old veteran of the movement, were convicted Thursday for organizing and participating in a march during massive anti-government protests in 2019 that triggered a crackdown on dissent.
The verdict was the latest blow to the flagging democracy movement as the governments in Hong Kong and Beijing tighten the screws in their efforts to exert greater control over the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. Hong Kong had enjoyed a vibrant political culture and freedoms not seen elsewhere in China during the decades it was a British colony. Beijing had pledged to allow the city to retain those freedoms for 50 years when it took the territory back in 1997, but recently it has ushered in a series of measures that many fear are a step closer to making Hong Kong no different from cities on the mainland.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Australia is currently ranked 102 in the world for the total amount of vaccinations distributed per 100 people, as the government falls 3.4million doses short of meeting its rollout target.
| — Hat tip: SS | [Return to headlines] |
Christians Abducted From Bus in North-Central Nigeria
JOS, Nigeria (Morning Star News) — Christians in Kaduna state, Nigeria suspect Muslim Fulani herdsmen were behind the kidnapping of eight Christians from a bus in the southern part of the state on Friday (March 26).
The members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) were traveling from the city of Kaduna to Kafanchan when their bus was intercepted on the Kachia-Kafanchan highway 63 kilometers (39 miles) southeast of the state capital, Kaduna city, according to reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Nigeria: Bauchi Community Torture, Burn Man to Death for Allegedly Insulting Prophet Muhammad
Irate youths backed by leaders in Sade community in the Darazo Local Government Area of Bauchi State have burnt a man identified as Talle Mai Ruwa, to death for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad.
SaharaReporters learnt that Mai Ruwa was dragged away from his house on Tuesday in the presence of his mother and burnt to death in the middle of the communtiy.
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20,000 Illegal Boat Migrants Projected to Land in the UK This Year: Report
Britain is on pace for 20,000 illegal boat migrants to land in 2021, more than doubling last year’s already record-setting numbers, as another 140 illegal aliens were brought ashore on Tuesday.
According to the Daily Telegraph, some 1,400 illegal migrants have landed on British shores this year. The numbers are nearly three times as many as reached the United Kingdom during the same time period last year, which stood at 514.
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Antifa Blocks Austrian Airport Road to Prevent Deportation of Afghan Migrants
Antifa operatives attempted to prevent the deportation of dozens of Afghan nationals from Austria by blocking a motorway leading to the Vienna airport, according to reports.
A group of around 45 migrants was scheduled to be deported from Austria to Afghanistan via charter flight on Tuesday, Junge Freiheit reports.
Radical militants managed to shut down traffic in both directions on a road near Vienna International Airport until they were cleared by police.
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Border Patrol Video Shows Smugglers Abandoning 3-Year-Old, 5-Year-Old at Border Wall
A video released by Border Patrol on Wednesday shows smugglers dropping two children over the border wall before abandoning them.
The two girls, ages 3 and 5, were abandoned by smugglers in the New Mexico desert in the middle of the night.
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Cancel culture’ may be about to claim two more unlikely victims — Barack and Michelle Obama.
Latino activists in suburban Chicago have come out against renaming a local middle school after the 44th president and his wife this week due to his immigrationpolicies.
The issue came up on Tuesday during a contentious meeting at the Waukegan, Illinois Board of Education, where members said they were opposed to honoring the man some call ‘the deporter-in-chief.’
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Migrants Dressed as Fake Volleyball Team in Attempt to Enter Austria From Greece
Greek police arrested a group of migrants dressed up as a sports team that attempted to travel to Vienna using fake passports.
The incident was the third in two years.
Syrian nationals were arrested on Sunday evening at Athens airport.
Greek public radio ERT reported Monday that the men were travelling with fake Romanian passports.
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Sen. Cruz, Rep. Green Slam AOC About Border Crisis Video and Her “Surge” Pushback
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) blasted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) said he was “offended” after she suggested on her Instagram story that some people concerned about the border crisis are engaging in “white supremacist” thinking.
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Around 30 migrants including young children and a man in a wheelchair crossed the Channel earlier today despite worsening weather including 30mph winds.
No crossings had been expected today as conditions deteriorated following this week’s mini-heatwave which saw people smugglers taking advantage of the warm weather to traffick dozens of asylum seekers across from France.
But Border Force vessel Vigilant was seen unloading around 30 migrants shortly after midday at Dover Marina, Kent. The landing was was extremely late for the first arrivals of the day — which usually happen before dawn.
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A group of Christian college students is suing the U.S. Department of Education on the grounds that the religious exemption to Title IX is unconstitutional as it permits discrimination against LGBT individuals.
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Pentagon Releases New Guidelines on Transgender Military Members After Reversing Trump Ban
The Pentagon released new guidelines for transgender military members, allowing new rules that give wider access to medical care and gender transitions.
The guidelines come two months after President Biden overturned a Trump-era ban on military members being openly transgender. New regulations allow transgender people who meet military standards to enlist and serve as the gender they identify, as well as obtain transition-related medical care.
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Poland’s Kaczynski on Gender and LGBT: ‘While We Rule, No One Will Impose Anything on US’
The leader of Law and Justice (PiS) and Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski took part in a special online event on the independent social media platform ‘Albicla’ in which he was asked about “the threat of imposing LGBT and gender ideology on Poland”.
Kaczynski responded to the question by saying, “While we rule, no one will impose anything on us. All those who want to live in a normal world in which a woman is a woman and a man is a man and no one calls women ‘people with uteruses’ — they should support our political coalition. If we want to live in such a society, which refers to what should be obvious, then our faction must be supported.”
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Only 20,000 illegal migrants expected to enter the UK in 2021? In the USA 20,000 banana pickers invade everyday. Abolish ICE? Why not obviously ICE isn’t allowed to protect American borders.
Everyone will be glad to know that the knife attack at our nation’s capitol by an admitted Muslim supporter of Louis Farrakhan, had nothing to do with terrorism.
Also comforting that this attack was quickly determined to be by a lone wolf with absolutely no relationship with any terror groups.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/04/dc-police-say-muslim-attack-vehicle-knife-police-farrakhan-supporter-noah-green-good-friday-not-appear-terrorism/