Reader’s links for April 18 – 2016

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In order to preserve the flow of conversation about various posted items, and also in order to make it easier for visitors to find the list of related links being shared by other readers, regulars and interested parties in one place, each day a post is automatically created at a minute past midnight ET.

This way, under the various posts of the day, conversation can take place without as much ‘noise’ on the various links and articles and ideas in the main posts and all the news links being submitted can be seen under these auto-posts by clicking on the comments-link right below these ones.

Thank you all for those that take the effort to assist this site in keeping the public informed. Below, typically people can find the latest enemy propaganda, news items of related materials from multiple countries and languages, op-eds from many excellent sites who write on our topics, geopolitics and immigration issues and so on.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

84 Replies to “Reader’s links for April 18 – 2016”

  1. Two citizens killed, 11 injured in explosion in Egypt’s North Sinai (ahram, Apr 18, 2016)
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/201886/Egypt/Politics-/Two-citizens-killed,–injured-in-explosion-in-Egyp.aspx

    “An improvised explosive device (IED) detonated in the North Sinai city of El-Arish, killing two citizens and injuring 11 others, including three police conscripts from a passing police van, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported on Monday.

    According to security sources and eyewitnesses, unknown assailants planted the explosive device in the El-Khazan area with the aim of targeting a passing prisoner transport van.

    Security forces are currently combing the area for the culprits and other possible explosive devices…”

  2. Egypt parliament warns media against ‘exceeding limits’ of freedom of speech (ahram, Apr 18, 2016)
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/201866/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-parliament-warns-media-against-exceeding-lim.aspx

    “Egypt’s parliamentary speaker said Monday that parliament is ?ready to take legal action against television programmes that “direct criticism at MPs ?in a way which exceeds the limits of ?freedom of expression.”?

    In an official statement, headed “Freedom of ?Expression Should Not Be Used to Justify ?Slandering and Insulting Institutions,” parliament warned MPs who write ?articles or accept to be guests on talk ?shows to be careful and not to let ?themselves tarnish the image of ?parliament.?

    The statement said that while articles 65 and ??70 of the new constitution state that ?freedom of expression is guaranteed and ?that the freedom of establishing all forms of ?media outlets is allowed, parliament is also ?authorised to alert attention to the fact that ??”this freedom should not go to the ?extent of directing insults or slandering ?state institutions.”?

    According to the statement, “there is a ?delicate difference between exercising ?freedom of expression as a constitutional ?right and insulting or defaming state ?institutions.”

    “The first is an allowed form of political criticism, while ?the second only aims at tarnishing the ?image of state institutions and disparaging ?them,” the statement said.?

    The statement notes that a number of ?television programmes and public figures ?have recently directed insults to parliament ?and its MPs in a way that exceeds the ?limits of freedom of expression and leads ?to defaming them in the eyes of their ?constituents….”

  3. Turkish bosses, bankers detained in fresh anti-Gülen op (hurriyetdailynews, Apr 18, 2016)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-bosses-bankers-detained-in-fresh-anti-gulen-op.aspx?PageID=238&NID=97946&NewsCatID=509

    “The executives of a major Turkish company and a number of bankers were among 100 people detained by police on April 19 over allegations of funding the movement of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, prosecutors and company officials have said.

    The raids were the latest police operations targeting thousands of supporters of Gülen, accused by President Tayyip Erdo?an and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of leading what prosecutors described as a “terrorist organization” trying to overthrow the government.

    Two board members of the Dumankaya construction group were named by the state-run Anadolu Agency as being among those taken into custody.

    Dumankaya said in a statement that its board members had been invited to police headquarters to provide information.

    The Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office, which did not name Dumankaya, said 100 people had been taken into custody in an operation focused on Istanbul and carried out across nine provinces.

    A total of 140 arrest warrants were issued. …”

  4. JERUSALEM (AP) — After Israel’s war against Gaza militants in 2014, Arab countries led the way in pledging reconstruction aid to the devastated seaside enclave. But a new report released Monday by the World Bank shows that Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other Arab donors have delivered only a small fraction of what was promised.

    The World Bank released its report a day before a gathering of international donor countries in Brussels, sending the meeting a stark message that donations are well behind the schedule set when pledges were made at an international conference in October 2014.

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/world-bank-urges-donors-fulfill-053855451.html

  5. Education and Healthcare at risk for children in Afghanistan, UN report reveals (khaama, Apr 18, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/education-and-healthcare-at-risk-for-children-in-afghanistan-un-report-reveals-0693

    “The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) have released a joint report warning that the children in Afghanistan increasingly struggle to access healthcare and education.

    The report ‘Education and Healthcare at Risk’ has been jointly prepared by UNAMA and UNICEF and was released today, the UN mission in Afghanistan said.

    According to UNAMA, the report documents how conflict-related violence, threats and intimidation by all parties to the conflict harmed health and education personnel, reduced the availability of healthcare, and limited children’s access to essential health and education services. The report covers the three-year period, 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2015.

    “The report’s findings are deeply troubling. It is simply unacceptable for teachers, doctors and nurses to be subjected to violence or threats, and for schools and medical facilities to be misused or attacked,” said Nicholas Haysom, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, “All parties must take measures to protect education and health services in Afghanistan.”

    The UN mission in Afghanistan said it documented with UNICEF 125 incidents affecting access to healthcare, compared to 59 in 2014, including 20 health workers killed, 43 injured and 66 abducted.

    132 conflict-related incidents affecting access to education and education-related personnel were also documented, including 11 education personnel killed, 15 injured and 49 abducted. This was a sharp increase over 2014 figures, UNAMA added.

    According to the report, of the 257 incidents documented in 2015, the majority comprised of threats and intimidation, an increase of 182 per cent compared to 2014. Acts of threats and intimidation included: death threats; assaults of health and education personnel; forced closures of schools; letters prohibiting school attendance, particularly against girls; extortion and other harmful acts. UNAMA and UNICEF also documented incidents of improvised explosive devices detonated near schools and clinics, killing and injuring healthcare and education personnel.

    “In 2015 children increasingly struggled to access health and education services in Afghanistan due to insecurity and conflict-related violence, further exacerbated by high levels of chronic poverty throughout the country,” said Akhil Iyer, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan.

    Conflict-related violence resulted in the partial or complete closure of more than 369 schools in 2015, affecting more than 139,000 students and 600 teachers.

    The report highlights the particular vulnerabilities faced by girls, noting attacks, threats and explicit prohibitions imposed to restrict girls’ education.

    “Conflict-related violence not only puts Afghan children at risk of harm, but also limits their fundamental rights to education and healthcare,” said Danielle Bell, UNAMA Human Rights Director. “Efforts must be redoubled to enable children – particularly girls – free and safe access to medical services and education.”

    The report addresses a number of recommendations to all parties to the conflict so as to enable children’s unimpeded access to education and healthcare.”

  6. Nearly 200 militants killed, wounded in latest raid of Afghan forces: MoD (khaama, Apr 18, 2016)
    http://www.khaama.com/nearly-200-militants-killed-wounded-in-latest-raid-of-afghan-forces-mod-0697

    “Nearly 200 anti-government armed militants were killed or wounded in the latest raids of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said Monday.

    According to a statement by the Ministry of Defense (MoD), the raids were jointly conducted by Afghan army, police and intelligence operatives in the past 24 hours.

    The statement further added that the ground forces were receiving close-air support by the Afghan Air Force (AAF) as well as the artillery units of the Afghan army.

    MoD said at least 96 militants were killed and 93 others were wounded with majority of the militants killed in northern Kunduz province.

    According to MoD, at least 82 militants were killed and 69 others were wounded during the raids in Dasht-e-Achi, Khanabad, Chahar Dara, Imam Sahib and outskirts of Kunduz city.

    The ministry added that the remaining militants were killed during the operations in Kandahar, Helmand, and Baghlan provinces.

    The anti-government armed militant groups have not commented regarding the reports so far.

    Meanwhile, MoD said at least five soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces also lost their lives during the operations conducted with an aim to suppress the foreign and local militants.”

  7. A trove of ISIS personnel records obtained by NBC News has now been analyzed by experts at West Point, who say it’s the largest and “most significant” document cache of its kind, providing new insight into the terror group’s grand ambitions and diverse recruits.

    The files reveal that the jihadists who joined the Islamic State in 2013 and 2014 were largely uninterested in suicide missions, better educated than expected and, to the alarm of those trying to stop the export of terror, very well-traveled.

    http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/isis-files-what-leaked-documents-reveal-about-terror-recruits-n557411

  8. STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden’s Housing Minister Mehmet Kaplan will resign following comments where he likened Israel’s treatment of Palestinians to what happened to Jews in Nazi Germany, the prime minister said on Monday.

    The comments that daily Svenska Dagbladet first reported last week were made in 2009, before Kaplan entered the newly formed center-left government to represent the minor coalition partner the Green Party in 2014.

    The resignation comes amid reports of tensions within the center-left minority coalition government of Prime Minister Stefan Lofven’s Social Democrats and the Green Party.

    http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2016/04/18/swedens-housing-minister-to-leave-after-comments-on-israel-n2150191

  9. On April 2, a gigantic Ottoman style of mosque was opened in Lanham, Maryland by the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The mosque, according to Turkish officials, is “one of the largest Turkish mosques built outside Turkey.”

    Funds to build it, as reported by the Turkish pro-government newspaper, Sabah, came from Turkey’s state-run Presidency of Religious Affairs, known as the Diyanet, as well as Turkish-American non-profit organizations.

    The mosque is actually part of a larger complex, commonly referred to as “Maryland kulliye.” A kulliye, as such Islamic compounds were called in Ottoman times, is a complex of buildings, centered on a mosque and composed of various facilities including a madrassa (Islamic religious school).

    Erdogan recited verses from the Quran inside the mosque after the mosque was opened.

    Meanwhile, thousands of miles away from the American soil, in Turkey, Christians have for decades been deprived of the right to build their places of worship.

    http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7859/turkey-mosques-churches

  10. Flagship ‘Integration’ Football Tournament For Migrant Kids Turns To Riot (breitbart, Apr 18, 2016)
    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/04/18/fun-football-tournament-migrant-kids-turns-riot-participants-beaten-iron-rods/

    “Swedish police have released details of a bloody brawl between migrant youths which started out as a game but left two hospitalised and a number of others injured.

    Around 40 so-called unaccompanied young asylum seekers were taking part in a Sunday football tournament when things turned violent in the remote, rural village of Myrviken. Instead of settling their differences through the match, the young migrants set upon each other with iron rods and wooden staves.

    Two of those involved were rushed to hospital and several others were injured, but the fight had already ended by the time police officers were able to make it to the location of the fight, reports local paper Östersunds-Posten. Police interrogated what few witnesses were left at the scene, but the majority had already fled….”