As a response to clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police on the Temple Mount, Hamas activists in Gaza fired missiles into Israel, some travelling as far as Jerusalem. The Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted most of them, but at least one struck an inhabited dwelling. The IDF retaliated with air attacks on targets in Gaza, killing at least nine people, one of them a Hamas commander.
In other news, police broke up illegal lockdown-violating gatherings in Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Scotland, Wales, England, and Ireland.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, DV, LP, MM, Reader from Chicago, 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.
1 Killed, Suspect Caught in Shooting at U.S. Customs Office
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A man was fatally shot outside a U.S. Customs and Immigration Services building in central Florida on Monday, and a suspect was taken into custody, authorities said.
The shooting happened in an office park in south Orlando, police said.
A man and a woman were entering the immigration office when another man drove up and confronted them. The suspect fired a weapon, striking the man who died at the scene, said Lt. Diego Toruno, a spokesman for the Orlando Police Department.
The woman managed to escape. The suspect drove off and was pursued by a responding police officer into neighboring Osceola County, where he was arrested, Toruno said.
Investigators were trying to figure out what relationships the people involved might have had with each other. “We’re working on that right now,” Toruno said. No identities were released immediately.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
Bloomberg is out with a Monday report chronicling the sad state of affairs the US military has found itself in — notably trying to lure eligible recruits from Generation Z with a cartoon series dubbed “The Calling,” which will run on YouTube during May and June.
As Bloomberg notes, “The Army—the U.S. military’s largest service—faces a complex set of problems: the eligible recruiting pool into all military services is small; and the newest generation of prospects, Gen Z, has had almost no contact or knowledge of the military, which has largely fought wars abroad since 2001. The Gen Z cohort grew up with technology, the internet, and social media.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dearborn Man Accused of ISIS Ties Won’t Go Free Before Detroit Trial
Update, 4:45 p.m. Monday: Ibraheem Musaibli, 30, of Dearborn, who is accused of being an ISIS soldier, won’t go free while awaiting his October trial on terrorism charges, U.S. District Judge David Lawson ruled Monday.
Federal authorities alleged in court papers that Musaibli had threatened to kill one of his lawyers if released. Still, his team of attorneys had argued that he should go free.
But Lawson ruled that Musaibli might flee the state if freed, The Detroit News reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Exclusive — Sen. Josh Hawley: Break Up Big Tech Monopolies to Protect Free Market
Big Tech companies need to be broken up to end monopoly control and protect free markets, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), author of The Tyranny of Big Tech, said on Friday’s edition of SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow, author of Breaking the News: Exposing the Establishment Media’s Hidden Deals and Secret Corruption.
Hawley declared, “We need to break these companies up. It’s actually pretty simple. These are monopoly companies that have monopoly power over speech, over news, over journalism, over information. Of course, we’re now too familiar with how they’re trying to project that power into our government and politics, and to try to control our country. We’ve got to break them up.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Facebook’s Oversight Board Co-Chair: The Rules Are “Not Transparent, Inconsistent, And a Shambles”
Facebook’s Oversight Board co-chair described the platform’s rules as “not transparent, inconsistent, and a shambles,” adding that the board upheld Trump’s ban for six months to give CEO Mark Zuckerberg time to “get his house in order.”
“We gave them a certain amount of time to get their house in order. They need some time because their rules are a shambles,” the Oversight Board’s co-chair Michael McConnell said in an interview on Fox News Sunday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Fauci: “Possible” Mask Mandates Could Last Indefinitely to Fight Flu
Anthony Fauci told NBC’s Chuck Todd that it’s “possible” mask mandates could continue indefinitely in order to reduce seasonal flu infections.
During his appearance on Meet The Press, Fauci was asked when Americans could take the masks off given that the CDC is now advising vaccinated Americans that they can remove the face coverings when outside.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Gov. Kemp Signs Overhaul of Georgia’s Citizen’s Arrest Law After Death of Ahmaud Arbery
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday signed a repeal of the state’s citizen’s arrest law on Monday — a move sparked by the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery last year.
The measure, which came under consideration by state lawmakers following Arbery’s death at the hands of three white men, will overhaul a Civil War-era law that allows civilians to make citizen’s arrests if they believe a crime was committed, WTVY-TV said in a report.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Republican officials are rendering an unequivocal verdict: They want to cement former President Trump’s politics and policies into the foundation of the GOP for many years to come.
Why it matters: The debate over Trump’s post-election hold on the GOP is over — it has gotten stronger since the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Man Who Saved 2-Year-Old in Marshall House Explosion Dies
The man dubbed a hero for running back into a Marshall home after it exploded to save a two-year-old girl dies from his injuries.
A sad update to pass along nearly one month after a home in Marshall, Michigan exploded leaving 8 seriously injured. A release from the Marshall Fire Department Chief Martin Erskine confirms the 38-year-old male who had been hospitalized for his injuries at the University of Michigan Hospital succumbed to his injuries and died on Friday (5-7-2021).
Family members of the 38-year-old identify him as Dustin Boggess. They say Dustin was a hero even before sacrificing himself to run back into the Marshall home on April 12, to save the 2-year-old female victim.
Anyone wishing to donate to the family of Dustin Boggesscan can do so by contacting Ashley at (269) 274-0802…
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
NBC Cancels Golden Globes for 2022, Saying Hfpa Must First Address Its Problems
Growing Hollywood pushback against the scandal-plagued Hollywood Foreign Press Association became an avalanche Monday, as NBC announced it won’t broadcast the HFPA’s Golden Globe Awardsceremony in 2022.
The network’s decision comes after an array of top-flight film and TV companies, including Netflix, Amazon and WarnerMedia, distanced themselves from the HFPA and the Globes in recent days. The HFPA has not said whether it will try to hold a Globes ceremony next year.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
People Are Choosing to Buy Wearable Digital Vaccine Passports
A new wearable product has hit the market, meant to allow people to display their coronavirus vaccination status to everyone around them — a wearable device called ImmunaBand. It’s just arrived in California, having already been used in New York and Philadelphia.
Apart from serving to publicly signal that a person supports vaccination — something difficult to achieve by simply carrying a vaccine card with you — the device also contains data on their vaccination status.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Report: Three UMass Students Suspended After Taking Photo Outdoors Without Masks
The University of Massachusetts Amherst reportedly suspended three students for taking a photo without masks while outdoors.
As CBS Boston reports, three freshmen girls were sent home to learn virtually for the rest of the spring semester after the administration received a photo of the maskless students at an off-campus, outdoor event. The students were reportedly later cut off from virtual learning and were not able to take their finals, rendering their spring semester a financial and academic loss.
UMass-Amherst charges $18,213.50 and $8,219.50 per semester for out-of-state and in-state tuition, respectively.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Times Square Shooting: Person of Interest Who Shot at Brother, Hit Bystanders ID’d
The victims, who police do not believe are related, suffered gunshot wounds and were taken to Bellevue Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries
Police have identified their prime suspect in Saturday’s Times Square shooting that injured three bystanders, including a 4-year-old girl, and sent hundreds fleeing from the sound of gunshots in New York City’s iconic tourist destination.
Farrakhan Muhammad was identified by two senior NYPD officials as the person of interest in Saturday’s Times Square shooting. They say he attempted to shoot his brother after an argument when he struck the three bystanders.
The three victims were recovering Sunday, each had suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. Among the injured were a 4-year-old girl from Brooklyn, a 43-year-old woman from New Jersey, and a 23-year-old woman visiting the city for Mother’s Day…
| — Hat tip: LP | [Return to headlines] |
Trump Ramps Up Calls for Rep. Stefanik to Replace Liz Cheney in Leadership
Former President Donald Trump is ramping up his calls for the House Republican Conference to rally behind Rep. Elise Stefanik to replace embattled “warmonger” Rep. Liz Cheney as conference chair.
His push for Stefanik (R-NY) comes just two days ahead of the meeting where a vote is expected to take place to determine Cheney’s fate in leadership — with the Wyoming Republican having come under fire for her continued criticisms of Trump.
Trump touted Stefanik’s endorsements from the NRA and National Border Patrol Council, among others.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“A Fundamental Breach of the Principles of Justice”: Whistle Stop Cafe Owner Still in Jail
The owner of the Whistle Stop Cafe remains in jail tonight after being arrested by RCMP after Alberta Health Services got a restraining order banning political protests.
Chris Scott, the renegade owner of the Whistle Stop Cafe, who reopened his diner in January in defiance of the Alberta government’s restrictions on dine-in service, was taken into custody by Bashaw RCMP after a Saturday protest in Mirror, Alberta attracted over 1,500 people.
Scott’s lawyer, Chad Williamson, though known to AHS, was excluded from the Calgary court hearing on Thursday that restrained the rights of Scott, as well as United We Roll organizer Glen Carritt and unnamed Jane and Does from attending, organizing and promoting “illegal public gatherings.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Charlottetown Police Fine Seven People for Illegal Gathering
HALIFAX — Police in Charlottetown, P.E.I. fined seven people early Sunday morning for allegedly holding a ‘large gathering’ in violation of the province’s Public Health Act.
Shortly after midnight on May 9, Charlottetown Police Services responded to a complaint of what they call a ‘large gathering’ on Cumberland Street.
Upon arrival, police confirmed the gathering was in excess of the province’s current gathering limit of 10 people.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Majority of Council in Favour of Increasing Calgary Mask Bylaw Fine to $500
The majority of Calgary city councillors support increasing the fine for violating the city’s temporary COVID-19 face covering bylaw, however, the changes have yet to take effect.
Council voted 10 to four in favour of increasing the fine to $500, which is five times more than the current penalty of $100.
[Comment: Insanity.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pastor Artur Pawlowski is Free — But Why Did the Guards Refuse for Hours to Let Him Out?
Update: see the Twitter thread below for Ezra Levant’s recap of a phone call had with Pastor Artur Pawlowski after he was released from jail.
Pastor Artur Pawlowski is finally free. This morning, our legal dream team went to the Court of Queen’s Bench and argued for his immediate release from jail. That order was granted by Mr. Justice Germain — setting free both Pastor Artur and his brother Dawid, who was arrested in the same SWAT-team raid.
That should have been the end of it — the court order was signed by the judge, and then sent over to the jail, called the Calgary Remand Centre.And normally that would be that — prison guards do whatever a judge tells them to do. And in this case, that would be releasing Pastor Artur and his brother.
But they didn’t.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Say Organizers of Anti-Lockdown Rallies in the Sault Face $10k Fines
SUDBURY — Three people in Sault Ste. Marie have been charged with organizing an illegal gathering and could face fines up to $10,000.
Sault police also said Monday another 13 people have been fined for attending the anti-lockdown gatherings, held April 30 and May 8 at Bellevue Park in the city.
“The investigation identified three people as having organized the illegal gathering — two from Sault Ste. Marie and one person from Spring Water Township, Ont.,” police said in a news release.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Video Emerges Showing Moment Police Arrive to Bust Illegal 150-Person Party in Toronto
TORONTO — Video has emerged showing the moment police arrive at a commercial building in Toronto to break up a party that was attended by upwards of 150 people without masks this weekend.
Toronto police say that at 1:27 a.m. Sunday they were called to a dispute in a laneway near Dundas Street West and Huron Street.
Police said when officers arrived they could hear “loud music” coming from a nearby property.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Active Duty Military: France Heading for Civil War
France is likely to be the first European example of where mass uncontrolled immigration leads to a third world style failed state.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
British Teacher Still in Hiding After Showing Mohammed Cartoon Six Weeks Ago
A British teacher who showed his class a caricature of Islam’s prophet, Mohammed, during a lesson on blasphemy remains under police protection six weeks after the incident, amid fears of retribution against him and his family.
The teacher was suspended from his position at Batley Grammar School in March, later being forced into hiding after a local Islamic group shared his identity online, saying that the teacher had committed an act of “terrorism” by “insulting Islam”. He remains in a safe house with his wife and children to this day.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Eurexit Fury Grows as EU Flag Destroyed During Fiery Protest in Paris: ‘Frexit Now!’
EUREXIT fury has been ramped up after a European Union flag was destroyed during a demonstration in France over the weekend, with Frexit campaigners continuing to demand their country leaves the bloc.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
France: Watch: Rival Groups Clash in Broad Daylight in Paris Suburb
A wild altercation between rival factions unfolded in broad daylight on Saturday in the suburbs of Paris, France, according to reports.
Around twenty combatants attacked each other with projectiles and sticks in the commune of Noisy-le-Sec. One suspect was reportedly armed with a tear gas canister.
Men can be seen throwing objects, including construction materials, at each other and multiple vehicles before some of the fighters pile in and speed away.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Government Furious Over New Military Letter Warning Macron of ‘Survival’ Of France
The government of French President Emmanuel Macron reacted with fury on Monday after a group of serving French soldiers published an open letter warning that “civil war” was brewing over his “concessions” to Islamism, weeks after a similar message from elements in the military rocked the elite.
The letter, posted on the website of the right-wing Valeurs Actuellesmagazine late Sunday, echoes the one published by the same publication last month but appears to have been written by an unknown number of younger troops still in active service.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Lifts Restrictions for Vaccinated People
Martina Czwielung and her mother Renata Czwielung, 84, gathered in Berlin’s Mauerpark with friends on Sunday for a picnic to celebrate a particularly sunny Mother’s Day.
Martina is quick to explain that their group of four is from two households and isn’t violating COVID restrictions. But she needn’t have worried: Under the new measures put in place across Germany on Sunday, Martina’s mother, the only vaccinated person in the group, is no longer counted in restrictions limiting the size of gatherings.
She had her second COVID shot more than 14 days ago, which means she can go to the hairdresser without having to take a test first. “She hasn’t been to the hairdresser in months. It is difficult for her to sign up for a test appointment online so I hope she will be able to go now,” Martina said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany: Antifa May Have Informants Inside Leipzig City Hall
The Connewitz district in Leipzig is considered to be the stronghold of left-wing extremists in the German state of Saxony, with serious riots routinely taking place there on a regular basis. Police officers are routinely attacked, while cars, cranes, and construction sites are deliberately set on fire. In 2020, the Saxon State Office of Criminal Investigation indicated that the area presented a terrorist threat.
Despite the almost routine violence in the area, what now came to light through a raid in Connewitz at the end of April is shaping up to be a serious scandal, with radical Antifa groups believed to have one or more informants in the city administration, Junge Freiheit reports.
“In fact, I can confirm that one of the accused, at whom we carried out a house search, is an employee of the city of Leipzig,” says police chief inspector Chris Graupner, one of the spokesmen for the Leipzig police department.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Ireland: Longford Bridal Party Fined Over ‘Illegal’ Wedding Celebrations
The groom, catering firm and parents of a bridal party have issued a “full and frank” apology for their part in the staging of an “illegal” wedding reception in Longford last week.
William Stokes, and his father Patrick Stokes, both of Willow Park, Strokestown Road, Longford, along with father-in-law Stephen Kelly, of Railway Meadow, Farneyhoogan, Longford, and Peter Vocella, Luigis, Main Street, Longford, were all ordered to pay €3,000 in compensation following a special Circuit Court sitting on Monday.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Knife Crime UK: Faisal Khan Charged With Stabbing Boy, 9, In Face and Head
A 24-year-old man charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a 9-year-old boy in the face and head on the street in Peterborough, England, has been named as Faisal Khan.
Khan, of Almond Road, Dogsthorpe, was also charged with possession of a knife in a public place — although he remains innocent of all charges unless and until he is proven guilty in a court of law.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Queen to Announce Voter ID Requirements in UK to Tackle Election Fraud
“Britons will have to show photo ID to vote in future general elections,” reports The Guardian. And the reason is obvious: to combat voter fraud.
The Queen is expected to formally announce the proposal in a speech on Tuesday.
Just like in the United States, this commonsense approach to fighting voter fraud is being met with accusations of racism from its opponents, who apparently think minorities are incapable of acquiring identification like everyone else.
That’s not all.
The voter ID requirement is one of a number of voting reform proposals, including one “which will also include a limit on the number of postal votes that can be handed in on behalf of others,” which is being justified by ministers “as a way to reduce the risk of electoral fraud.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Scotland: Illegal Motherwell Rave Investigated After by Police After Revellers ‘Hospitalized’
COPS are investigating after Covid flouting revellers at an illegal Scots rave ended up in hospital.
Footage circulated online showing partygoers dancing to music in what appears to be a disused building or tunnel in Motherwell on Saturday night.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Slovaks Handed Over 1,615 Weapons and 53,000 Pieces of Ammunition During Weapon Amnesty
As part of the weapon amnesty that lasted from November to April, Slovaks turned in 1,615 illegally held weapons and 53,025 pieces of ammunition, the Slovak Ministry of the Interior informed.
After a six-year break, Slovakia announced the fourth round of a weapons amnesty. The handed-over weapons and ammunition are gradually being checked by ballistics from the forensic and expert institute of the police force.
“So far, no weapon has been identified as used in criminal activity in the past,” said Marta Fabianova from the press department of the Slovak Minister of the Interior.
Citizens have the opportunity to have the weapon officially registered unless a criminal offense has been committed with it, and they meet the conditions for holding and carrying a weapon.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Extinction Rebellion Trial Delayed as Accused Glues Hand to Table
A trial of six people over an Extinction Rebellion protest was delayed when a defendant glued himself to a table in court.
Liam Norton, 36, also began filming with his iPhone at St Albans Magistrates’ Court.
It took police two hours to remove him before the trial could continue.
All six defendants face a charge of obstruction of the highway, which they deny, over a demonstration at a newspaper printers in Hertfordshire.
District judge Sally Fudge said: “[Mr Norton’s] behaviour was particularly disruptive and I take the view there is a high likelihood he should become disruptive again were he allowed to attend court for a trial again.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Laurence Fox MP? Reclaim Leader Vows to Take Fight Against Woke Agenda Nationwide
Reclaim Party leader Laurence Fox said that while Sadiq Khan “may have won in the cathedral of wokery” in the London mayoral elections, he plans to take the fight for traditional British values to the country at large, including a possible run for Parliament.
Laurence Fox, who launched the Reclaim Party in September of last year, won 47,634 votes in his campaign for the London mayoralty, representing 1.9 per cent of the vote share.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
A university has been slammed by academics for putting Charles Darwin on a list of ‘racist’ scientists as part of a guide to ‘decolonise’ its biology curriculum.
Sheffield University has created a handbook for students and lecturers in its science department to help ‘tackle racial injustice’ by ‘reflecting on the whiteness and Eurocentrism of our science’.
As part of the guide, the department created a list of 11 ‘problematic’ scientific figures — including Darwin — whose views ‘influenced the type of research they carried out and how they interpreted their data’.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Struggling Starmer Reshuffles Shadow Cabinet After Election Defeats
LONDON (AP) — The leader of Britain’s main opposition Labour Party shook up his top team after disappointing election results, moving his economy spokeswoman and chief whip in an attempt to exert control over a fractious membership.
But the moves by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer spurred new recriminations in a party that has not been able to make a breakthrough against Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s governing Conservatives.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Wales: Scenes of ‘Hostility’ as Police Face Crowd of Hundreds in Cardiff Mass Gathering
A mass gathering took over three Cardiff car parks on Sunday night, with scenes becoming hostile according to police.
Around 200 people in approximately 100 cars gathered at the Tesco supermarket car park in Culverhouse Cross, before moving on to the car parks for Halfords and The Range on Newport Road, where vehicles were driven “in an anti-social manner”.
South Wales Police said officers were “faced with hostility” after being called to the mass gathering on Newport Road around 10pm, although the crowd dispersed and vehicles left the car park by 11pm.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
We Need a Multi-Polar, Smart Europe, Says Hungarian Justice Minister
Instead of a closer and more centralized Union, what we need is a multi-polar, smart Europe, Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga said in a Facebook video posted on Europe Day on May 9.
“We Hungarians have always thought in a rational manner about Europe. We have always recognized in time and drawn attention to the difficulties and dangers affecting the continent, and for this reason, in the coming months, the Hungarians may play a key role in an honest dialogue about Europe,” Varga said. “In the coming period, we must seek together the answers to the most pertinent questions regarding Europe: How can it be that the success story of the 20th century can no longer tackle the challenges of the new era? How can it be that the economic area, which once showed the most dynamic development, is now losing ground in the global arena? Why are the responses to the challenges always late and wrong and why is the Union stumbling from crisis to crisis while unity seems to be breaking?”
After the questions, Varga also gave her answer.
“The most important learning of the past decade is that instead of more and closer Union we need a multi-polar, smarter Europe. The future of Europe cannot be planned without respect for national constitutions, a culture of consensus and the equality of the member states,” Varga said, adding that in the next installments she will detail her country’s plans.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The weekend of unrest in Jerusalem and the West bank is breaking out into broader conflict and rocket fire between Israel and Gaza, with reports of at least 30 rockets fired toward Jerusalem on Monday.
Incoming rocket sirens have been activated in multiple areas across Israel including Jerusalem and the Beit Shemesh area, which lies west of the city. Early reports suggest multiple of the rockets were intercepted by the Israel Defense Force’s (IDF) Iron Dome system, however at least one inhabited building has been reported hit outside of Jerusalem. Israel has initiated airstrikes on northern Gaza.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Hamas Fires Rockets at Jerusalem After Clashes at Mosque
JERUSALEM (AP) — Hamas militants fired a large barrage of rockets into Israel on Monday, including one that set off air raid sirens as far away as Jerusalem, after hundreds of Palestinians were hurt in clashes with Israeli police at a flashpoint religious site in the contested holy city.
The early evening attack drastically escalated what already are heightened tensions throughout the region following weeks of confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem that have threatened to become a wider conflict.
Shortly after the sirens sounded, explosions could be heard in Jerusalem. One rocket fell on the western outskirts of the city, lightly damaging a home and causing a brushfire. The Israeli army said there was an initial burst of seven rockets, one was intercepted, and rocket fire was continuing in southern Israel.
Gaza health officials said nine people, including three children, were killed in an explosion in the northern Gaza Strip. The cause of the blast was not immediately known. Meanwhile, Hamas media reported that an Israeli drone strike killed a Palestinian, also in the northern Gaza Strip…
| — Hat tip: MM | [Return to headlines] |
Hamas Fires Rockets After Hundreds of Palestinians Wounded in Clashes
Israel’s army on Monday said it launched airstrikes on Gaza in response to rockets fired by Hamas militants after hundreds of Palestinians were hurt in clashes with Israeli police at a religious site in Jerusalem.
Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus told reporters that Israeli forces had targeted “a Hamas military operative,” while Hamas sources in Gaza confirmed to AFP that one of their commanders had been killed.
Confrontations between Israeli security forces and protesters have been escalating for weeks . The clashes started at the beginning of Ramadan, almost a month ago, when Israeli police put up barriers to stop people sitting in the Damascus Gate plaza, a popular gathering area during Ramadan. Young Palestinians protested what they saw as Israeli authorities disrupting their religious and social traditions.
Then on April 16, the first Friday of Ramadan, tensions escalated further when Israel imposed a 10,000-person limit on prayers at the al-Aqsa Mosque. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were turned away.
Meanwhile, there had been demonstrations over another simmering dispute: An Israeli plan to evict several Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem, to allow Jewish settlers to move in…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
No Religion in Tibetan Schools, China Tells Parents
Parents of Tibetan schoolchildren may no longer carry rosaries, prayer wheels, or other religious items onto school grounds, Chinese authorities in one Tibetan county say, as China continues to enact policies wearing away at Tibetans’ distinct cultural identity.
Family members are also forbidden now to recite mantras or other prayers when visiting their children’s schools, a Tibetan living in Sog (in Chinese, Suo) county in the Tibet Autonomous Region’s Nagchu (Naqu) prefecture told RFA’s Tibetan Service.
Posted on school blackboards beginning in April, the new regulations remind students and their families that “Schools are places to cultivate and produce socialist scholars, and should not be used as places in which to follow rituals and traditions,” RFA’s source said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
The Origin of COVID: Did People or Nature Open Pandora’s Box at Wuhan?
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted lives the world over for more than a year. Its death toll will soon reach three million people. Yet the origin of pandemic remains uncertain: The political agendas of governments and scientists have generated thick clouds of obfuscation, which the mainstream press seems helpless to dispel.
In what follows I will sort through the available scientific facts, which hold many clues as to what happened, and provide readers with the evidence to make their own judgments. I will then try to assess the complex issue of blame, which starts with, but extends far beyond, the government of China.
By the end of this article, you may have learned a lot about the molecular biology of viruses. I will try to keep this process as painless as possible. But the science cannot be avoided because for now, and probably for a long time hence, it offers the only sure thread through the maze.
The virus that caused the pandemic is known officially as SARS-CoV-2, but can be called SARS2 for short. As many people know, there are two main theories about its origin. One is that it jumped naturally from wildlife to people. The other is that the virus was under study in a lab, from which it escaped. It matters a great deal which is the case if we hope to prevent a second such occurrence.
I’ll describe the two theories, explain why each is plausible, and then ask which provides the better explanation of the available facts. It’s important to note that so far there is no direct evidence for either theory. Each depends on a set of reasonable conjectures but so far lacks proof. So I have only clues, not conclusions, to offer. But those clues point in a specific direction. And having inferred that direction, I’m going to delineate some of the strands in this tangled skein of disaster.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Extinction Rebellion Protesters Disrupt Politicians’ 2021 Federal Budget Commute
Protesters chained themselves to gates of a Fyshwick facility housing government cars in an attempt to disrupt politicians path to Parliament House on Tuesday.
Members of Extinction Rebellion blocked motor vehicle access from the four gates to the Dairy Road car park from 5am, preventing government official drivers from leaving.
The protest was designed to draw attention to the lack of action the current government has taken to combat climate change, organisers said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, sought to release 1,500 inmates this year, including those charged with violent crimes.
Biden nominated Gonzalez to become the director of ICE, an agency that has been decimated by his administration’s orders that prevent agents from arresting and deporting illegals who are not felons, terrorists or known gang members.
As reported by the Washington Free Beacon, Gonzalez sought the release of more than 1,500 inmates in the Texas Harris County jail in January. More than 74 per cent of those released had been charged with violent crimes, were illegal aliens with ICE detainers, or had extradition orders.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Dramatic Video Shows Illegal Immigrants Streaming Across Rio Grande
Fox News cameras captured a group of more than 50 illegal immigrants wading across the Rio Grande into Texas Monday, dramatic confirmation that the border crisis has not abated.
“The Biden administration insists the border is closed,” host Harris Faulkner narrated over the footage before asking viewers: “Does it feel closed to you?”
According to reporter Bill Melugin, Monday marked the third consecutive day he and his crew had seen a group of illegal immigrants cross the river into the US. Melugin added that most of the migrants he had seen were from Venezuela and Cuba.
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Germany: Migrant Burns Down Refugee Accommodations in Gudow
After a fire broke out in a refugee accommodation in Gudow, Germany, the suspect in the case was admitted to a closed psychiatric clinic after the 32-year-old was diagnosed with mental illness, according to the police. The man was arrested on Saturday and brought before the judge on Sunday on suspicion of attempted murder and serious arson.
More than 150 firefighters and rescue services worked for hours on Saturday evening to put out a fire in the refugee accommodation. When the rescue workers arrived, the building was already completely in flames. A resident of the refugee accommodation was slightly injured in the fire and a firefighter lost consciousness due to smoke inhalation.
The fire was only extinguished on Sunday morning, but the building was badly damaged by the fire and is currently not habitable. The property damage amounts to around €350,000.
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Italy: 14 Arrested for Allegedly Selling Fake Documents to Migrants
Italian authorities have arrested 14 people who allegedly belonged to a criminal organisation that sold false documents to migrants so they could obtaining Italian stay permits.
Italian police launched an operation against an allegedly criminal organisation in Naples on Wednesday, arresting 14 people. One of the suspects was taken to jail, two were placed on house arrest, and 11 were placed under mandatory residence orders.
The charges against the suspects include conspiracy to commit a crime aimed at facilitating undocumented migration, as well as forgery and corruption.
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H.B. 1399, a bill that would ban chemical castration and radical transgender surgeries for children in the state of Texas, appeared stalled in the legislature last week, until Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller spoke to Tucker Carlson Friday night on his nightly Fox News program, and urged the Texas Republicans stalling the bill to act to protect children. Now, Jeff Younger, the father of 9-year-old James Younger, who has been embroiled in a fight over gender identity since the child was only two, is speaking out to urge Texas Republicans to act.
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German Progressive Catholics Defy Vatican Ban on Blessing Gay Unions
Progressive Catholics in Germany have announced their intent to offer blessings to same-sex couples at dozens of churches around the country this week in defiance of a recent Vatican ban on the practice.
The “Love Wins” campaign, which began in Hamburg, said it aims to celebrate “the diversity of people’s different life plans and love stories” and to ask for God’s blessing on those plans, beginning on May 10.
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A school secretly reported its chaplain to the anti-terrorism Prevent programme after he delivered a sermon defending the right of pupils to question its introduction of new LGBT policies.
The Reverend Dr Bernard Randall told pupils at independent Trent College near Nottingham that they were allowed to disagree with the measures, particularly if they felt they ran contrary to Church of England principles.
Among them was a plan to ‘develop a whole school LGBT+ inclusive curriculum’.
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