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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.
Brutal Islamic State militants execute 250 women for REFUSING to become their sex slaves (express, Apr 21, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/663002/isis-mosul-women-sex-slaves-execution-turkey-bashiqa
“DEPRAVED Islamic State fanatics have executed 250 women who refused to become sex slaves as part of the death cult’s “sexual jihad”.
ISIS leaders in Mosul, Iraq, had ordered the women to accept temporary marriage to its warped jihadis.
But the women were murdered alongside their families when they refused.
A Kurdish official said that the women – who were already prohibited from going out alone – had not been allowed to choose their spouses.
The senseless killings follow a spate of similar executions last August, which saw 19 Mosul women slaughtered for refusing to have sex with ISIS fighters….”
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ottawa-landlord-reserves-apartments-for-syrian-refugees
I thought the Liberal government promised no ghettos. This is the perfect start to the perfect “no go zone”. And just so you out-of-towners know, it’s already a rough area full of hookers and drug dealers. Comfy little petri dish for sure they’re brewing up. And when the rapes start this summer we’ll see textbook CVE. Nothing going on there, no sirrrreee! Disgusting.
Russia Bolsters Its Submarine Fleet, and Tensions With U.S. Rise
NAPLES, Italy — Russian attack submarines, the most in two decades, are prowling the coastlines of Scandinavia and Scotland, the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic in what Western military officials say is a significantly increased presence aimed at contesting American and NATO undersea dominance.
Adm. Mark Ferguson, the United States Navy’s top commander in Europe, said last fall that the intensity of Russian submarine patrols had risen by almost 50 percent over the past year, citing public remarks by the Russian Navy chief, Adm. Viktor Chirkov. Analysts say that tempo has not changed since then.
The patrols are the most visible sign of a renewed interest in submarine warfare by President Vladimir V. Putin, whose government has spent billions of dollars for new classes of diesel and nuclear-powered attack submarines that are quieter, better armed and operated by more proficient crews than in the past.
The tensions are part of an expanding rivalry and military buildup, with echoes of the Cold War, between the United States and Russia. Moscow is projecting force not only in the North Atlantic but also in Syria and Ukraine and building up its nuclear arsenal and cyberwarfare capacities in what American military officials say is an attempt to prove its relevance after years of economic decline and retrenchment.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/21/world/europe/russia-bolsters-submarine-fleet-and-tensions-with-us-rise.html
White House is ‘concerned’ by reports more Russia materiel in Syria
RIYADH (Reuters) – The United States is concerned about reports that Russia is moving more military materiel into Syria, Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser to President Barack Obama, said on Thursday.
He spoke at a press briefing in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, where Obama was attending a summit with Gulf Arab leaders to discuss regional security issues.
http://www.oann.com/white-house-is-concerned-by-reports-more-russia-materiel-in-syria/
I can’t find anymore about this but will keep trying.
Syria, Georgia, Ukraine: NATO blinking rapidly
By J.E. Dyer April 21, 2016
Three or four years ago, it was often necessary to explain why particular news was bad. That is no longer the case. The predictable is already happening, and only the self-deluded have to ask what it means.
It has been surreal to watch the Western media deliberate over what it could possibly mean that the Russians sent attack jets to maneuver dangerously around the USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) in the Baltic. This one is not hard. It means the Russians are ready to violate treaties and international conventions – which is what they did on 11 April – in order to intimidate the U.S. and NATO. It means they feel free to. It means they are not a “status quo” power, as Kissinger or Morgenthau would put it: they are not broadly invested in the status quo any longer. It means they’re unstable, and we can’t be sure what they’ll do. It means it’s time to worry.
The average person seems to have picked this up pretty readily. It’s the paid media, journalists and talking heads, who polish a bizarre obtuseness into unparsable talking points.
What most people don’t realize is that we’re missing “thought leadership” at the very top. We should be able to remember something a top official of the U.S. has said about this and similar events. The same is true of the Western European “Big Three”: the UK, France, and Germany. But who does? For several years now – basically, since the end of the Libya operation in 2011 – there has been a tired, glazed-eyed silence from the national security leadership of the West’s biggest nations. If there’s a plan, no one knows what it is. From the Oder westward, there is no public strategic dialogue, no overarching, organizing sense of what the security interests of the alliance or the individual nations are.
http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/04/21/syria-georgia-ukraine-nato-blinking-rapidly/
This one is a must read for those who worry about what the west in general and NATO in particular are doing, her info is not anything new but her analysis is something we don’t normally see, especially on the LSM. A brief summation is that all of the major nations in the west are acting as if we are brain dead and deliberately upsetting Russia without a plan or the military power to backup any action.
We aren’t running headlong into a major confrontation with Russia that will lead to war, but we are at the very least either walking swiftly or jogging into one. We have little active military power and it will take at least one year to build a significant military, we have no leadership that is using their brains (assuming they have any) and we have a press that has shifted from being watchdogs into being lap dogs of the leftist governments.
If you can think of a better prescription for disaster (besides starting shooting) please tell me.
The Maiden maneuver was appalling.
Clownish vulgarity of regime-entities within our State Dept – absence of adults altogether – plus the preening arrogance of West European schemers who didn’t yet realize the US was out-for-lunch for the duration.
It’s hard to understand. So hard, in fact, it’s driving me to tin-foil hat shopping, if you know what I mean…
OT: My Russki is in Kiev right now. On the basis of three Skype conversations, I don’t get the impression of widespread misery.
I thought the wide spread misery stopped shortly after the fall of Communism.
Campus cop who asked topless coed to cover up being accused of discrimination *UPDATE*
A topless woman at the Sage Colleges in upstate New York was asked to cover her nudity by a member of campus security, and she is now claiming emotional distress over the incident.
Cedar Brock, who had been wearing a binder to cover her breasts earlier in the day, decided it was too hot and removed it.
But when the campus cop ordered her to put a shirt on, Brock dropped a bombshell, which has since reverberated all over campus, prompting outraged students to plan a topless protest.
Brock’s bombshell? She considers herself androgynous and, therefore, is a victim of discrimination.
That’s actually the perfect postscript to your comment on J.E.
True.
Turkey Ergenekon: Court quashes ‘coup plot’ convictions (BBC, Apr 21, 2016)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36099889
“Turkey’s highest appeals court has overturned the convictions of 275 people, including senior military officers, accused of plotting a coup.
The appeals court ruled that the convictions were unsafe because the existence of a clandestine network called Ergenekon was unproven.
The officers, journalists, lawyers and academics were found guilty in 2013 of plotting the overthrow of then-prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The new ruling may lead to a retrial.
The Ergenekon trial was one of the biggest court cases in recent Turkish history, pitting Mr Erdogan’s supporters in the Islamist-rooted AK Party against the secularist military establishment.
The highest-ranking defendant was ex-military chief Ilker Basbug, who had been given a life sentence. Several other life sentences were also handed down.
The appeals court found several other flaws in the original proceedings, including illegal surveillance and searches.
The Ergenekon network was accused of plotting a coup against Mr Erdogan – now Turkey’s president – in 2003-2004.”
Hamas Deploys Forces on Egypt-Gaza Border Over IS Concerns (abcnews, Apr 21, 2016)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/hamas-deploys-forces-egypt-gaza-border-concerns-38565639
“Hamas has deployed forces along the Egyptian-Gaza border to counter Cairo’s concerns it is aiding militants from the Islamic State group in Egypt’s lawless Sinai Peninsula.
Egypt accuses Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza, of providing a safe haven for IS’s Sinai affiliate through a network of smuggling tunnels. Hamas denies that.
On Thursday, armed Hamas men took up positions along the 13 kilometer border, with fighters in pick-up trucks patrolling back and forth.
Hamas says the deployment is part of an agreement reached with Egyptian officials last month. Analysts describe it as a unilateral step by Hamas to send assurances to Cairo.
Relations between Hamas and Egypt soured after the 2013 military ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi; Hamas and Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood party were close allies.”
White House concerned Russia moving military equipment into Syria (reuters, Apr 21, 2016)
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-russia-obama-idUSKCN0XI1AH
“The United States said on Thursday it was concerned about reports that Russia is moving more military equipment into Syria to bolster President Bashar al-Assad with a truce in tatters and peace talks in meltdown.
Fighting raged across Syria after the truce, brokered by Washington and Moscow to allow talks to take place, ended and both sides geared up for more war. Russian intervention late last year swayed the conflict in Assad’s favor.
“We’ve been concerned about reports of Russia moving materiel into Syria,” Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser to President Barack Obama, said at a news briefing in Riyadh, where Obama was at a summit with Gulf Arab leaders.
“We think it would be negative for Russia to move additional military equipment or personnel into Syria. We believe that our efforts are best focused on supporting the diplomatic process,” Rhodes added.
U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura will on Friday assess whether Geneva talks can continue with the main opposition negotiator refusing to participate and combatants accusing each other of breaking the six-week-old ceasefire….”
Obama starts talks with Gulf leaders aimed at easing strains (reuters, Apr 21, 2016)
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-gulf-obama-summit-idUSKCN0XI0UB
“U.S. President Barack Obama and Gulf Arab leaders started talks in Riyadh on Thursday at a summit aimed at forging joint action on perceived security threats from Iran and Islamic State, and at ironing out strains in their old alliance.
Obama, who arrived on Wednesday, hopes to allay Gulf countries’ fears over Iranian influence and encourage them to douse sectarian tensions in an effort to confront the threat posed by jihadist militants like Islamic State.
Those issues were addressed in his bilateral talks on Wednesday and Thursday with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar, and will dominate again in the summit which includes the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members.
The region’s crises, including civil wars in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, in which the U.S. and Gulf states have cooperated but still disagree on some issues, are important areas of discussion.
“On the core issues, there’s agreement about where we want to go,” Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, told reporters at a briefing in Riyadh.
He said strains in ties in recent years reflected differences over tactics rather than goals.
“This summit allows us to align our approaches and strategies,” he said.
Years of frustration among Gulf countries, aggravated by more recent stumbles, may make Saudi Arabia and its regional allies less receptive to Obama on his fourth and most probably final trip to the kingdom.
The Middle East is mired in a contest for influence between a bloc of mostly Sunni countries, including the conservative, pro-Western Gulf monarchies, and revolutionary Shi’ite Iran and its allies….”
Turkey meets less than half EU visa waiver terms: EU official (reuters, Apr 21, 2016)
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-eu-turkey-idUSKCN0XI1C2
“Turkey has met fewer than half the conditions for its citizens to be granted early visa-free travel to the European Union, just 10 days before a deadline for it to meet the requirements, an EU official told lawmakers on Thursday.
The EU promised last month to extend visa liberalization to Turkey by the end of June in return for its agreement to take back all illegal migrants who cross to Greece from its shores, provided it fulfilled all the so-called benchmarks.
The executive European Commission is due to report to member states and the European Parliament on May 4 whether Ankara has met the goals, and has set April 31 as a cut-off date for Turkey to pass the necessary measures.
Marta Cygan, a director in the Commission’s migration and home affairs department, told a European Parliament hearing that Ankara now satisfied in full or almost entirely 35 of the 72 conditions.
“The Turkish authorities have definitely been accelerating the implementation of administrative and legal reforms allowing them to fulfill the requirements,” she told lawmakers.
Visa-free travel for Turkey, a nation of 79 million, is controversial among the 28 EU states, even though they would not be allowed to work or stay longer than three months.
Some fear it would open doors to more Muslim migration to a bloc already struggling with the biggest influx of refugees and migrants since World War Two.
Arrivals of migrants and refugees on Greek islands have dropped sharply since the EU-Turkey agreement went into force on March 21, but Ankara threatened to walk away from the deal should it not get visa liberalization in June.
During the hearing, lawmakers insisted Turkey should only be granted easier travel terms if it fully satisfies all the criteria. Some also criticized the migration accord with Ankara over human rights concerns.
“I am personally very much in favor of visa liberalization with Turkey and many other countries. But we are mixing things up here. We have the migration agreement with Turkey and one does get the impression that we are selling ourselves here a bit,” Dutch member Sophia in ‘t Veld said.
“Visa liberalization – yes, but we shouldn’t relax the criteria, they should meet all the criteria… Let’s stick to the criteria we always apply because only then we will be credible to our own citizens and the Turks.”
Cygan said the visa liberalization dialogue was a good tool to improve Turkish standards on document security, migration management, public order and fundamental rights.
Ankara had to share more information on fraudulent documents used to travel to the EU, issue more biometric passports and grant access to its labor market and other services to non-Syrian refugees who sought shelter in Turkey, she said.
She added that a backlog of 140,000 asylum applications must be sharply reduced, that Roma people living in Turkey should be better integrated and that Ankara must establish an independent body to monitor for any rights abuses by law enforcers and state authorities.”
Britain will take 3,000 MORE refugees from the Middle East as ministers admit previous promises did not go far enough (dailymail, Apr 21, 2016)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3551641/Britain-3-000-refugees-Middle-East-ministers-admit-previous-promises-did-not-far-enough.html
“Britain is to take in another 3,000 refugees fleeing war in Syria after the Government faced repeated demands the UK us not doing enough.
Most of the new group will be children identified as vulnerable by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The 3,000 refugees will be brought to Britain over the next four years. Some of the group will be adults in family groups with the children but No 10 said today most would be under 18.
The Government has been under fire for the ‘indefensible’ decision not to relocate any unaccompanied children from Greece who have made the dangerous journey to Europe already…”
70 British jihadists who went to fight for ISIS are now plotting attacks in this country, government official warns (dailymail, Apr 21, 2016)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3551333/Britain-threat-70-jihadists-returned-fighting-ISIS-plotting-attacks-officials-warn.html
“Britain is under threat from 70 jihadists who have returned from fighting for ISIS in Syria and Iraq and are currently plotting attacks here, a senior government official has warned.
In a chilling warning about the danger posed by the terrorist group, the national counter terrorism co-ordinator Scott Wilson warned that ISIS could not be destroyed soon and would pose a threat to national security for a ‘long, long time’.
He said a fifth of the 350 British jihadists who have returned to the UK are ‘high threat’ extremists, who are suspected of plotting or wanting to carry out attacks or spreading radical propaganda.
They are also suspected of seeking new recruits for ISIS as they plan further attacks on European soil.
More than 800 British extremists are estimated to have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS…”
Merkel ally admits multiculturalism has ‘FAILED’ as he calls for Islamist eviction (express, Apr 21, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/663081/Merkel-ally-admits-multiculturalism-failed-calls-Islamist-eviction
“A KEY ally of embattled Angela Merkel has admitted multiculturalism has “failed” and called for radical Islamists to be booted out of Europe.
Prominent German politician Andreas Scheuer said it was time for his country’s bungling leader to “put an end to this integration romance” and take a tough new stance on Islamic extremism.
His comments came as one of Mrs Merkel’s own MPs proposed banning all foreign funding for German mosques to stop the spread of Islamic State’s (ISIS) hate-filled ideology.
In a series of hard-hitting proposals Mr Scheuer said in future all Imams must be trained in Germany and said any Muslims who do not accept Western values “cannot stay here”.
His outburst comes amid an increasingly fractious debate over radical Islamism in Germany, sparked by Mrs Merkel’s ill-fated open door asylum policy.
It also exposes the growing cracks in the German chancellor’s power base as her approval ratings plummet and members of her own movement begin to openly question her stance on immigration.
In an interview with newspaper Die Welt, Mr Scheuer raged: “We cannot tolerate a situation in which extremist views are imported from abroad. Europe must cultivate its own Islam.
“All imams need to be trained in Germany and share our core values.
“Those who are not integrated cannot stay here. We must put an end to this integration romance. Multiculturalism has failed. Those who are not integrated, must expect departure [from Germany].”
His words carry extra weight because he is the General Secretary of the Christian Social Union (CSU), which is the sister party of Angela Merkel’s governing Christian Democratic Union (CDU)…”
Sweden Facing Another Migrant Invasion?
One Month of Islam and Multiculturalism in Sweden: March 2016
In early March, the Swedish government announced that the country’s tighter border controls at the Öresund Bridge might remain in place for the foreseeable future, and that they may even become permanent. The problem, however, is that this summer, a two-week lapse will occur. According to the current law, the government can only operate border controls six months at a time, and there is a two week waiting period before the controls can be reinstated. The gap will occur July 4-17, right in the middle of the European vacation period. Many people fear that tens of thousands of migrants will seize the opportunity to enter Sweden during this time. When the migration wave peaked in the fall of 2015, Sweden received 9,000 migrants per week. So far this year, the number has been steady at 600-700 per week.
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven recently stated: “The number of people coming to Sweden has decreased dramatically. More are applying for asylum in the EU. That was the whole point.”
According to the government, the “public order and inner safety of Sweden” would still be at risk if the border and ID checks were to cease.
The Minister for Justice and Migration, Morgan Johansson, pointed out that sustaining the border controls sends an important signal to the half a million migrants now staying in Germany who have not sought asylum there. Neither minister mentioned anything, however, about how Sweden should avoid being flooded by these people during the two-week lapse in border controls.
March 2: An opinion poll by the Inizio polling institute, commissioned by the newspaper Aftonbladet, showed that 46% of Swedish women feel unsafe when they go out alone at night. Women who venture out despite their fears say they stay in constant contact with a friend or relative on their mobile phones while out at night.
March 4: At an asylum seekers residence in the small rural village of Storå, a 19-year-old man received a fatal knife wound to his throat. The police apprehended three suspects, all residents of the asylum seekers home, one of whom has since been remanded into custody. The murder caused great concern among the residents of the village. “I worry about everything. I don’t go out at night,” one woman told the public radio broadcaster, Sveriges Radio.
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7889/sweden-migrant-invasion
The people who wrote that law should either be committed to a mental hospital or put on trial for treason.
Iran’s Nuclear Missiles in Our Future
In 2017, the next U.S. administration will face the choice of keeping the U.S.-Iran 2015 nuclear deal — still unsigned by Iran — or of creating a new approach to eliminate Iran as an emerging nuclear power.
Supporters of the current deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), will continue to argue that Iran has implemented the important provisions of the deal; that current violations and uncertainties are not critical to fulfilling the agreement, and that troublesome activities by Iran’s leadership are just designed to appease some hardliners opposed to any concessions to the United States, “the Great Satan.”
A significant number of senior security policy specialists, on the other hand, as well as members of Congress, apparently have serious doubts that Iran will fulfill the terms of the nuclear framework.
There is also growing concern that Iran already has a nuclear weapon, built with technology acquired in part from its North Korean partner, as well as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of delivering it.
Moreover, as a result of the JCPOA, Iran will be receiving in excess of $100 billion from previously sanctioned oil-sales revenue. This windfall makes its further missile and nuclear development easily affordable.
In what direction, then, should the next American president go?
That question requires analysis of two key issues. First, what does the U.S. know of Iran’s nuclear and missile activities? Second, what is the objective of these Iranian activities?
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7893/iran-nuclear-missiles
Russia warns U.S. over naval incident as NATO tensions laid bare
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Russia accused the United States on Wednesday of intimidation by sailing a U.S. naval destroyer close to Russia’s border in the Baltics and warned that the Russian military would respond with “all necessary measures” to any future incidents.
Speaking after a meeting between NATO envoys and Russia, their first in almost two years, Moscow’s ambassador to NATO said the April 11 maritime incident showed there could be no improvement in ties until the U.S.-led alliance withdrew from Russia’s borders.
“This is about attempts to exercise military pressure on Russia,” the envoy, Alexander Grushko, said. “We will take all necessary measures, precautions, to compensate for these attempts to use military force,” he told reporters.
U.S. Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute pressed Russia about the incident, warning it had been dangerous. The United States has said the guided missile destroyer USS Cook was on routine business near Poland when it was harassed by Russian jets.
“We were in international waters,” a NATO diplomat reported Lute as telling Grushko during the NATO-Russia council meeting.
Despite what officials said was a calm and professional meeting, the public comments highlighted the state of tension that persists between the sides since Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea in March 2014 and its support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-warns-u-over-baltic-maneuvers-ready-necessary-140704706.html
Oh great, now we have two nations on opposites of the world seeking to limit freedom of the seas, international law and conventions say that national limits are 20 miles, the Russian routinely fly and sail this close to the US, Canadian and British coasts. Now they are saying that they can do that but we have to stay further then 40 miles away from their coasts.
Welcome to either the new Cold War or depending on how you want to count WWIII or WWIV, the difference is do you consider the Cold War to be WWIII or not. More troops on both sides died during the Cold War then did in WWII. Granted most were Third World Allies but they still died.
Netherlands: Merkel receives International Four Freedoms Award in Middelburg
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was awarded the International Four Freedoms Medal during an official ceremony at the Dutch-based Roosevelt Foundation in Middelburg, Thursday.
SOT, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor (German): “Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the freedom from want and freedom from fear, have been the basis of human freedoms for all people around the world, as was articulated by President Roosevelt in his State of the Union address on June 6, 1941. And Roosevelt’s vision has to remain not only as a theory. But we also know that all these freedoms had to be struggled for with blood. It cannot be forgotten what was done by the United States and its allies in order to free Europe from the horrors of war and Holocaust started by Germany during the WWII, as well as to provide a way to live in freedom and peace. Germany has brought a lot of suffering around the world and today is a respected member of the international community. We have a strong position in Europe and we are always thankful for that.”
GERMANY – Teen ‘Salafists’ arrested over bomb attack on Sikh temple
Police said on Thursday that two teenagers they have arrested in connection with a bomb attack on a Sikh temple in the western German city of Essen are linked to the Islamic fundamentalist scene there.
Officers received large numbers of tip-offs during their investigation that allowed them to identify the two 16-year-olds believed to behind the attack, the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ) reported.
“The accused have clear links to the terrorist scene,” Essen police chief Frank Richter told journalists at a press conference, saying that both teenagers had made partial confessions.
Richter added that there was no evidence so far of a link to the Isis terrorist group, but said police expect to make further arrests in the coming days.
ARD public television reported that the two youths arrested were well-known to the police for their links to the Salafist scene in the densely populated Rhine-Ruhr region of North Rhine-Westphalia, something Richter refused to confirm at the press conference.
Three hurt in bomb explosion
The bomb exploded at a temple belonging to the Sikh Gurdwara Nanaksar congregation on Saturday at around 7 pm, wounding three people – one of them, a Sikh priest, seriously.
Hundreds of worshippers regularly visit the temple at weekends to pray and meet other members of the community, and a wedding with dozens of guests had taken place earlier that same day.
Fortunately, only a few people were in the hall at the time of the explosion. Windowpanes shattered with the force of the blast and the door was ripped from its hinges, while parts of the slate facade were also torn away.
An audio recording from the moment of the crash features a loud explosion and then shouts from the people gathered inside.
Witnesses said that they had seen a masked man throw a round object into the entrance before fleeing, and police found a discarded mask close to the scene shortly afterwards.
It quickly became clear that the explosion was caused by a deliberately placed bomb, but police initially said that they had no evidence of a terrorist connection.
News of the attack caused uproar among Sikhs all over the world as new reports, photos and videos were shared online.
The Indian consul-general based in Frankfurt made a special trip to Essen to meet with city authorities.
Most Sikhs live in northern India, but there is a population of more than 13,000 in Germany, many of them based in Cologne.
http://www.thelocal.de/20160421/sikh-temple-bomb-attack-salafists-arrested-police
German Police: 2 Islamic Extremists Behind Sikh Temple Blast
Two teenage Islamic extremists were allegedly behind an explosion in a Sikh temple in the German city of Essen that wounded three people, the city’s police president said Thursday, calling the blast an “act of terror.”
Essen police president Frank Richter told reporters the two 16-year-old boys from Essen and nearby Gelsenkirchen, whose identities weren’t given in accordance with German privacy laws, were under arrest. One had come forward while the second was arrested at his parents’ home, the German news agency dpa reported.
Police said both had clear links to Islamic extremism, and they were investigating if the two self-radicalized or were part of a bigger group.
“We assume there will be more arrests,” Richter said, adding that 120 officers were investigating the bomb that exploded Saturday in the western city. Both boys had “partially admitted” the attack, but had not talked about their motives, he said.
A 60-year-old man suffered serious but not life-threatening wounds in the blast and remains hospitalized. Two other men, aged 47 and 56, suffered slight injuries.
The victims were members of a wedding party that had held a ceremony earlier at the temple. At the time, most people had already left the building.
The interior minister of the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ralf Jaeger, said the two teenagers had attracted the attention of police before the attack. Dpa reported they had links to Salafist groups.
“I find it shocking that people who grew up among us are in a position and willing to build bombs and risk the lives of others,” Jaeger said.
[...no... not people... MUSLIMS ]http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/german-police-islamic-extremists-sikh-temple-blast-38571241
The Spectator
Introducing ‘The President Erdogan Offensive Poetry Competition’
– £1000 prize to be won
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/04/introducing-the-president-erdogan-offensive-poetry-competition/
Fox – Do classified documents show Saudi government links to 9/11?
LIBYA – Islamic State in retreat around east Libyan city: military
– Islamic State fighters retreated from long-held positions around the port city of Derna on Wednesday, military forces in eastern Libya said, as troops loyal to the government in the region pressed on with an offensive in Benghazi.
If the retreat around Derna is confirmed, it could mark a significant shift in the alignment of forces in the area.
Islamic State gained territory in Libya as two rival governments and a range of armed factions battled to control the country in the past two years. But it has also faced resistance from other local armed groups on the ground.
Derna has a history of Islamism and was an early bastion for Islamic State. The militant group lost control of the city last June to rival armed Islamists grouped under the Derna Mujahideen Shura Council, but retained positions around the outskirts.
Derna and its suburbs had been “completely liberated from the apostates”, the council said in a statement.
Eastern security forces, which are allied to a government based in the east, have carried out occasional strikes against Islamist rivals around Derna in recent months.
Military spokesman Abdulkarim Sabra said Islamic State had retreated from Derna’s 400 neighborhood and al-Fatayeh, 20 km (12 miles) south of the city, and its forces were trying to head towards the militant group’s Libyan stronghold of Sirte when they were intercepted.
The military was providing air support for troops, he said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Pictures circulating on social media showed some Derna residents celebrating and waving Libyan flags on the streets.
Eastern military forces have also been involved in heavy fighting around 250 km (155 miles) to the west in Benghazi, where they have taken several neighborhoods from fighters loyal to Islamic State and other groups.
Clashes continued there on Wednesday, and the military said it had nearly full control of the southern district of Guwarsha. It said one commander had been killed in the fighting and four soldiers were wounded.
The eastern government was set up after armed opponents took control of the capital, Tripoli, in 2014, and installed a rival administration. Both are backed by alliances of former rebels who once fought together to oust Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but have slowly turned against each other.
Last month, a U.N.-backed unity government arrived in Tripoli, where it has been trying to establish its authority. The West sees the new government as the best chance of ending Libya’s political divisions and uniting its armed factions to take on Islamic State.
But the government has yet to win approval from Libya’s eastern parliament, which received international recognition and has repeatedly failed to hold a vote on the issue.
Lawmakers in the east who support the new government say they have been threatened and physically impeded from holding a vote, including when they tried to convene on Monday.
They have been opposed by allies of eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar, who are concerned about losing control of military appointments if the unity government takes full power.
In an apparent attempt to break the ice with the eastern military, the unity government’s leadership released a statement on Wednesday congratulating it on its advances in Benghazi.
The Presidential Council said it would “provide all necessary support to Benghazi and other affected cities for reconstruction,” and that it was committed to “supporting the institution of the army”.
It also congratulated the “people of Derna and all Libyans” on the “liberation” of the areas around where Islamic State retreated.
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKCN0XH27H?sp=true
I don’t believe any reports from these sources.
Germany – Teen ‘Salafists’ arrested over bomb attack on Sikh temple
Police said on Thursday that two teenagers they have arrested in connection with a bomb attack on a Sikh temple in the western German city of Essen are linked to the Islamic fundamentalist scene there.
The bomb exploded at a temple belonging to the Sikh Gurdwara Nanaksar congregation on Saturday at around 7 pm, wounding three people – one of them, a Sikh priest, seriously.
http://www.thelocal.de/20160421/sikh-temple-bomb-attack-salafists-arrested-police
Germany arrests two teenagers suspected of bombing Sikh temple
“We must act on the assumption that it was a terrorist attack, religiously tainted terrorism of the Islamist scene,” said Frank Richter, police chief in the city of Essen, where the attack took place last weekend.
http://news.trust.org/item/20160421175917-iaaft
ISIS may be linked to gurudwara attack in Germany, say reports
One of the two men identified by police as Yusuf T, an ISIS sympathiser, is now treated by investigators as the main suspect in the attack, ARD TV network reported.
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/isis-may-be-linked-to-gurudwara-attack-in-germany-say-reports-2764388/
Are the Catholics beginning to wake up? Or will this preacher get excommunicated by Vatican?
Noted Catholic Scholar Calls for Westerners to Wake Up to Islam’s Violent Nature
Known as an “old-school Jesuit,” Father James V. Schall taught Political Philosophy in the Department of Government at Georgetown University for many years and has written more than two dozen books on a variety of topics, both popular and academic. In his new essay, “Realism and Islam,” Schall insists that the Muslim religion must be evaluated on its own terms rather than through the lens of the Judeo-Christian West.
Islam’s consistent advocacy of violence, which has been practiced “from its seventh century beginning,” has a purpose, Schall proposes. “This purpose is, ultimately, religious and pious.”
Whereas the so-called “moderate” Muslims who claim they can read their religious texts as if they did not advocate and justify violence “may be applauded for trying to mitigate the historic record,” Schall writes, “the fact is that those who see this violence as essential to the religion have the better side of the argument and are the better witnesses to what historic Islam stands for.”
http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/04/21/noted-catholic-scholar-calls-westerners-wake-islams-violent-nature/
A hijab day at a French Uni did not go too well…people started asking when will be the stoning day and the slavery day and…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3549947/When-Sharia-Day-Stoning-Slavery-Muslim-students-elite-French-university-fire-Hijab-Day-event.html
I was slightly more polite than “that.” I asked when there would be the bikini day, the burka day and the full frontal nudity day… 😉
And, where is the Hindu red dot on the forehead day?
Or the Wiccan ‘dance skyclad’ day?
Or the feminist ‘freebleeding’ day? (OK, this one was a 4-chan troll meme, but thousands of intersectional feminists fell for it and participated!!!)
Just heard on CFRA radio: Mike Duffy cleared of all charges
The African migrants are starting to wash up on American shores:
More than 600 people from several African countries are stranded after crossing the Atlantic by boat to Brazil and then passing through Colombia and Panama before getting stuck in Costa Rica en route to the United States.
With more arriving every day – so far from seven countries on the continent – to the small border town of Paso Canoas, both the Red Cross and the government have warned it could turn into a crisis.
The whole journey took the people four months.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/600-africans-stranded-sailing-costa-rica-160421091642240.html
Scandinavian asylum centres are turning a blind eye to child marriages and allowing young girls to stay with their ‘husbands’ in a bid to avoid ‘traumatising’ them
Authorities have noticed the problem among Afghan and Syrian refugees
Ten migrant children under 16 were married and four had children
Scandinavian authorities are now changing their rules on the issue
Denmark took in more than 20,000 asylum seekers last year
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3552415/Scandinavian-asylum-centres-turning-blind-eye-child-marriages-allowing-young-girls-stay-husbands-bid-avoid-traumatising-them.html
Award-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh talked in a wide-ranging interview with journalist Ken Klipperstein about the complex relationship between the United States, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, which he reported on extensively in his new book, The Killing of Osama Bin Laden.
Among other things, Hersh said in the exclusive AlterNet interview that the Saudi government bribed Pakistan with “hush money” to hide Osama bin Laden from the U.S. because the Saudis didn’t want the Americans to interrogate him.
“The money was from the government … what the Saudis were doing, so I’ve been told, by reasonable people (I haven’t written this) is that they were also passing along tankers of oil for the Pakistanis to resell. That’s really a lot of money,” Hersh told Klipperstein.
The bribe, in the form of money and tankers of oil, was in the amount of “hundreds of millions [of dollars],” but he didn’t have solid figures to share.
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/04/seymour-hersh-saudi-arabia-bribed-pakistanis-to-hide-bin-laden-so-americans-couldnt-question-him/
Netherlands: Protesters chant ‘Merkel must leave’ as she drives to awards
Dozens of protesters gathered in the city centre of Middleburg to protest against German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s refugee policy as she arrived in the city to attend an awards ceremony.
A small group of protesters with placards and banners as “Stop asylum madness” and “No Jihadists on our streets” chanted “Merkel must leave,” while her convoy passed by the protest. The rally was met with small counter reactions and messages such as “No hate on our streets” posted in windows. No major scufflles have been reported, although police detained a counter-protester, who attempted to reach the anti-Merkel rally.
Netherlands: Europe needs to ‘share the burden’ with Turkey, says Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed Europe’s ongoing refugee crisis at a press conference in Middleburg on Thursday. She was in the Netherlands to receive the International Four Freedoms Medal during an official ceremony at the Dutch-based Roosevelt Foundation in Middelburg.
SOT, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor (German): “We’ve already said that we – as the European Union member states in agreement with Turkey – will share the burden with Turkey. I must once again point out that Turkey, with 75 million citizens, is accommodating around 2.7 million Syrian refugees. And the European Union is, with its 500 million citizens, probably still not accommodating as many as 1 million. With regards to ‘sharing the burden’, it is very important that we support projects there, right on the border areas between Turkey and Syria. We will have the opportunity to speak with the Minister President again, and, of course, all political issues will certainly be discussed there. But, centrally, the question remains the one of the Syrian refugees and how we will further build on our communal humanitarian efforts here as well.”
SOT, Angela Merkel, German Chancellor (German): “Regarding the common market, regarding the togetherness of 500 million people – through a digital union, through an energy union, through common foreign policy activities, through a common development policy – Europe must show that we can solve the great questions that the people are facing: the questions of security, in external territories, cooperation in counter-terrorism security. And then Europe will be confident, as will the entire Dutch presidency. And also, our bilateral government consultations today are geared towards where we can be innovative, where we can be more innovative together, than if each of us were alone. Here is Europe’s added value and we prioritise this in our policy.”
Luxembourg: European migration system ‘doesn’t function any more’ – Dutch minister
Dutch Minister for Migration Klaas Dijkhoff said that the current migration crisis has revealed that the European asylum system “doesn’t function any more” and that the bloc is in serious need of seeking long-term solutions to improve it, in comments made during a press conference in Luxembourg, Thursday.
“Lately we have been patching up a system that doesn’t function any more, with temporary measures,” said the minister following the first exploratory discussion about the future of the European asylum system with the Justice and Home Affairs Council.
Merkel Lauds Turkey in Dealing With Syria Refugee Crisis (abcnews, Apr 21, 2016)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/german-chancellor-angela-merkel-honored-leadership-38564836
“Despite increasing discord between the European Union and Turkey, German Chancellor Angela Merkel lauded Ankara’s commitment to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis and said her weekend trip to the Turkish-Syrian border will be used to raise all contentious issues between the two sides.
At the end of a Netherlands-Germany summit, Merkel’s Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte did raise tensions with Turkey again when he said his ambassador in Ankara would demand clarifications following reports that a Turkish consulate in the Netherlands was urging the Turkish community to report insults to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the nation….”
Iran Calls US Supreme Court Ruling on Beirut Blast a ‘Theft’ (abcnews, Apr 21, 2016)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-calls-us-supreme-court-ruling-beirut-blast-38578156
“Iran rejected on Thursday a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court the day before that clears the way for families of victims of the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut and other attacks linked to Iran to collect nearly $2 billion in frozen Iranian funds.
The state IRNA news agency quoted the spokesman of Iran’s foreign ministry, Hossein Jaberi Ansari, as saying that “such a verdict is a theft of the assets and properties of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
From the United Nations, Ansari spoke to IRNA and said the ruling is “tantamount to ridiculing justice and law and it does not create any right for the US nationals.”
He added that Iran considers the U.S. government responsible for compensating any damages that Iran might incur from the verdict…:”
Turkish hotline for Erdogan insults angers Dutch (BBC, Apr 21, 2016)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36104691
“The Turkish consulate in Rotterdam has infuriated Dutch MPs by calling on Turkish groups in the Netherlands to inform it of insults against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Several MPs complained of the “long arm of the Turkish state” while the Dutch PM said it was a “strange” move.
Last week, Germany allowed the prosecution of a top satirist for insulting Mr Erdogan to proceed.
Jan Boehmermann had read a crude poem on TV, aimed at testing German law.
Both Germany and the Netherlands have old lese majeste laws against insulting the head of a friendly head of state.
The Turkish embassy said it did not wish to comment on the case, although a spokesman told the NRC newspaper that since the Boehmermann affair in Germany “we’ve seen an increase in the number of hate messages we’re receiving”.
Some 400,000 people of Turkish origin live in the Netherlands and the Dutch branch of Turkish opposition party CHP said it had taken calls from a number of concerned people.
“They’re scared because they said something critical in the past for example on Facebook or Twitter,” a spokesperson told Dutch Turkish website Zaman Vandaag….”
Extremism is on the rise among Swedish teenagers (thelocal, Apr 21, 2016)
http://www.thelocal.se/20160421/young-extremists-in-sweden-must-be-taken-seriously
“Radicalisation in Sweden is taking place not just in its biggest cities and their suburbs but around the country, researchers working for government agency the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) have concluded.
After surveying social workers in 220 municipalities and cities around the country, Socialstyrelsen’s researchers identified 39 areas where staff said they had been working with young people at risk of or already turning to extremism. In 25 of the locations, children under the age of 18 were included in this group.
But staff working in a large majority of the the affected areas (31 out of 39) said that they did not yet have a strategy in place to provide support for teenagers who might want to distance themselves from radical friends or gangs.
“I think that there is still considerable uncertainty over how to handle these cases,” Ann Jönsson, one of the lead researchers behind the study, told Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet on Wednesday.
Officials in Gothenburg, which has previously been identified as one of the key cities in Sweden where religious radicalisation is a growing problem, told the paper that it was working hard to tackle the issue, but admitted it remained a huge challenge.
“Over the past six months we have had an increase in cases where anxious relatives are contacting us,” said Sven-Johan Dahl, a spokesperson for social services in the city.
“We have slowly begun to develop an action plan to deal with the situation; this problem was almost completely unknown a year ago (…) There is no ‘copy paste’ [solution], rather it requires almost a new approach each time because each case is about individuals.”
READ ALSO: Gothenburg is ‘largest recruiting ground for Isis’
The full findings of Socialstyrelsen’s study are due to be presented to Sweden’s Social Democrat-Green government next month.
Sweden’s intelligence service Säpo has previously identified around 300 people as having left Sweden since 2013 to join Isis jihadist groups in the Middle East. It believes 135 have since returned to Swedish soil and has said that returning fighters are among the biggest threats to Swedes.
News of Socialstyrelsen’s research comes just a day after a nationwide poll by the SOM insitute at Gothenburg University, suggested that more than half of all Swedes (53 percent) now think that immigration and integration are the most important questions facing the Nordic nation. This compares to just 27 percent a year ago.”
41 militants killed in latest counter-terrorism operations of Afghan forces (khaama, Apr 21, 2016)
http://www.khaama.com/41-militants-killed-in-latest-counter-terrorism-operations-of-afghan-forces-0724
“At least 41 militants were killed in the latest counter-terrorism operations conducted by the Afghan National Security Forces, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said.
The operations were conducted in the past 24 hours in Ghazni, Herat, and Nangarhar provinces.
A statement by MoD said at least 19 of the militants were killed in Andar district of southeastern Ghazni province where at least 9 militants were also wounded.
The statement further added that 1 militant was killed and 3 others were wounded during a separate operation in Chesht-e-Sharif district of Herat province.
At least 21 militants operating under the name of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group were killed in separate operations in eastern Nangarhar province, MoD said, adding that 11 militants were also wounded in the same raids.
According to MoD, a commander of the terror group identified as Saadat Khan was also among those killed in the airstrikes conducted in Achin district.
The anti-government armed militant groups have not commented regarding the reports so far.”
Deadly Kabul attacker likely released from Bagram prison during Karzai era (khaama, Apr 21, 2016)
http://www.khaama.com/deadly-kabul-attacker-likely-released-from-bagram-prison-during-karzai-era-0728
“New reports have emerged new the deadly Kabul attack which left at least 64 people dead and 347 others wounded as the attack has sent shockwaves across the country and globally.
According to the new reports, the main attacker involved in the deadly attack was likely released from the prison when Karzai administration was in power.
The Presidential Palace officials have said they are aware regarding the report, promising that the government will thoroughly investigate regarding the release of the attacker and circumstances surrounding his release.
The release of prisoners had turned into a controversial issue as Afghanistan was preparing for the Presidential Elections early in 2014.
The government released almost 88 prisoners from Bagram prison despite growing concerns by the United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan.
The US Forces in Afghanistan in a statement said earlier in 2014 that “The release of these dangerous individuals poses a threat to U.S., coalition and Afghan National Security Forces, as well as the Afghan population. Insurgents in the group released today have killed coalition and Afghan forces.”
The released detainees were also accused of killing Afghan men, women and children. “More than two dozen of the individuals released were linked to the production or emplacement of improvised explosive devices, the number one killer of Afghan civilians,” the statement added.
Earlier, a panel was formed to review the cases of the prisoners which reported that no evidences or documents were found to prove that the inmates were posing threats to the country or international community.”
Obama reaffirms U.S. to deter aggression against Gulf Arabs (reuters, Apr 21, 2016)
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-gulf-obama-summit-idUSKCN0XI0UB
“President Barack Obama pledged to “deter aggression” against Gulf Arab allies increasingly concerned about Iran’s influence in the region but did not shy away from raising sensitive issues in talks aimed at addressing recent strains in U.S.-Gulf ties.
Obama’s visit to Riyadh to meet Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders was aimed at allaying fears in Saudi Arabia and its neighbors that Washington’s commitment to their security had diminished.
The president also hoped to use his fourth and probably final trip to the kingdom to dispel some of the frustration felt by Gulf countries toward his administration, in what one senior U.S. official said was a chance to “clear the air”.
“I reaffirmed the policy of the United States to use all elements of our power to secure our core interests in the Gulf region and to deter and confront external aggression against our allies,” Obama said after the summit on Thursday.
However, he also raised the issue of sectarianism, for which he has chided Gulf states in the past on grounds it fuels Islamist militancy, saying “the prosperity and stability of the region depends on countries treating all their citizens fairly and … sectarianism is an enemy of peace and prosperity”.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman lauded the summit as “constructive and fruitful”, according to the Saudi Press Agency, and pledged the “desire and commitment” of GCC countries to continue developing their ties with the United States….”
Bulgaria: Man charged with illegally detaining migrants appears in court
Petar Nizamov arrived in court in Burgas, Thursday, to attend a hearing that confirmed the continuation of his house arrest, after he was accused of illegally detaining the group of men from Afghanistan. Nizamov was arrested on 12th April after he published footage of himself detaining three Afghani men after they had crossed the Bulgarian border.
The Netherlands is to abolish the law making it a criminal offence to insult a foreign heads of state, justice minister Ard van der Steur told parliament on Wednesday. Earlier this week, MPs from the two Dutch liberal parties VVD and D66 called on the government to scrap the law, following Turkey’s attempt to prosecute a German comedian. Similar legislation in Germany is being used by Turkey to prosecute Jan Böhmermann, a comedian who read out an offensive poem about the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, on television.
Read more at DutchNews.nl: Dutch to scrap ban on insulting foreign heads of state http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2016/04/dutch-to-scrap-ban-on-insulting-foreign-heads-of-state/
Channel 4 – Migrant Crisis: thousands now arriving in Italy every month
Two African migrants rescued from the Mediterranean have said that they witnessed the sinking of a boat with up to 500 refugees on board. The unconfirmed reports came as the United Nations warned of a spring revival of attempted crossings from North Africa to Italy. Another boat full of migrants were rescued from the sea today and taken ashore to Sicily.
Good grammar is now “racist”, minority woman claims its ‘white’, ‘old’ and ‘prejudiced’
And, if you watch the video, please note that she makes this claim using perfect grammar and an upper-class accent….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1n1niMBbaI
OK – I am a self-admitted grammar-nazi. But, I worked hard to learn to speak English and I don’t want to hear it distorted and maligned through sheer laziness. Is that so wrong?
GIG HARBOR, Wash. — A Gig Harbor man believes his car was vandalized because he supports Donald Trump for President.
The man arrested for the incident agrees, according to police.
Riley Siva pleaded not guilty to a malicious mischief charge in Gig Harbor’s municipal courtroom Wednesday morning. But when he was arrested on April 10, investigators say he confessed to the crime.
Siva is accused of slashing the tires of a Ford Focus and pouring yogurt into the car’s open sunroof while it was parked at a Gig Harbor Fred Meyer.
Police say Siva told them he attacked the vehicle because of the Trump sticker on the rear bumper. Siva allegedly told police he considered the sticker a “hate symbol” and vandalizing the car “improved the community.”
http://www.king5.com/news/local/police-trump-bumper-sticker-triggered-vandalism/145364998
ISIS launch WAR ON NATURE by kidnapping 7000 endangered GAZELLES (express, Apr 21, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/663259/ISIS-launch-WAR-ON-NATURE-by-kidnapping-7000-endangered-GAZELLES
“As many as 7,000 of the wild animals were taken by the jihadis, who drugged watering holes in a nature reserve near the Iraqi town of Al-Rutbah.
The extremists raided the expanse, which stretches to the Saudi Arabian border and is home to countless species of protected animals, as they prepared to flee from the town.
With Iraqi forces readying themselves to seize Al-Rutbah, ISIS soldiers were driven by desperation to make the most of the reserve’s abundant bounty before fleeing to Syria. …”
ISIS crackdown: Jihadi training manuals and terror videos to be REMOVED from internet (express, Apr 21, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/663293/ISIS-crackdown-Jihadi-training-manuals-terror-videos-removed-internet
“THOUSANDS of terror training manuals, propaganda films and sickening videos glorifying terrorism are set to be removed from the internet following an international crackdown against online extremism.
In a 36-hour operation led by anti-terror cops in the UK, more than 3,500 items of harmful and illegal material were referred for removal from the internet.
Among the items referred were propaganda films, terror training manuals and videos and publications glorifying or supporting terrorism and extremism. This included material from Islamic State (ISIS), Boko Haram and other international terrorist organisations, as well as extreme right wing groups.
A number of social media accounts linked to terrorists and extremists were also uncovered….”
Amid rising tensions Austria reveals it has received more asylum applications than BIRTHS (express, Apr 21, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/663341/Amid-rising-tensions-Austria-reveals-it-has-received-more-asylum-applications-than-BIRTHS
“AUSTRIA had more asylum applications last year than live births, startling new statistics have revealed.
The figures, which expose a worrying new angle on the migrant crisis, have been slammed as unsustainable by the country’s president.
After announcing the figures at a press conference on Wednesday, Heinz Fischer said: “This cannot become a permanent state of affairs.”
Mr Fischer said Austria received 88,000 applications last year, with the number of live births estimated to be similar to 2014’s total of just 82,000.
The statistics were revealed amid rising tensions between migrants and native Austrians….”
Islamist Turkey seizes ALL Christian churches in city and declares them ‘state property’ (express, Apr 22, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/663089/Islamist-Turkey-Erdogan-seize-Christian-churches-Diyarbakir-persecution-state-property
“TURKEY’S Islamist government has stepped up its war on Christianity by seizing all the churches in one city and declaring them state property.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken control of six churches in the war-torn southeastern city of Diyarbakir in his latest move to squash freedom of speech and religious movement.
The state-sanctioned seizure is just the latest in a number of worrying developments to come out of increasingly hardline Turkey, which is in advanced talks with the EU over visa-free travel for its 80 million citizens.
Included in the seizures are Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches, one of which is over 1,700 years old.
They have now effectively become state property – meaning they are run by the government – in a country with a dire human rights record where about 98 percent of the population is Muslim.
The order to seize the churches was made on March 25 by Erdogan’s council of ministers, according to the website World Watch Monitor.
They claim it was made on the grounds that authorities intend to rebuild and restore the historical centre of the city, which has been partially destroyed by 10 months of urban conflict between government forces and militants from the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK).
But the seizures have outraged worshippers at the churches, who fear a government coup against their religion are now threatening to take legal action against the decision. …”
The United Nations refugee agency said on Wednesday that 500 people may have died in the choppy waters of the Mediterranean last week, when a large boat packed with migrants from Africa and the Middle East capsized in an unknown location between Libya and Italy.
If confirmed, it would be the worst humanitarian calamity in Europe’s migrant crisis since more than 800 people died last April near Libyan shores as they tried to reach Italy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/21/world/europe/500-may-have-died-in-sinking-of-migrant-boat-in-mediterranean-un-says.html
Assyrian Forces Launch Counterattack Against Kurdish Fighters in Syria
https://www.almasdarnews.com
Posted 2016-04-21 23:31 GMT
Assyrian GPF fighters in Qamishli, Syria.
Hours after the Kurdish police (Asayish) and the Arab tribesmen of the National Defense Forces (NDF) began to clash inside Qamishli, the Assyrian forces (Sootooro and Hamiya Al-Jazeerah) launched a counter-attack near the Security Box after several of their fighters were arrested by the Asayish.
Intense clashes are still ongoing between the pro-government forces and the Asayish in Qamishli; however, the battle is deadlocked, despite claims made by Kurdish activists regarding the alleged capture of the Qamishli Central Prison
http://www.aina.org/news/20160421193102.htm
Bangladesh’s central bank was vulnerable to hackers because it did not have a firewall and used second-hand, $10 switches to network computers connected to the SWIFT global payment network, an investigator into one of the world’s biggest cyber heists said.
The shortcomings made it easier for hackers to break into the Bangladesh Bank system earlier this year and attempt to siphon off nearly $1 billion using the bank’s SWIFT credentials, said Mohammad Shah Alam, head of the Forensic Training Institute of the Bangladesh police’s criminal investigation department.
“It could be difficult to hack if there was a firewall,” Alam said in an interview.
The lack of sophisticated switches, which can cost several hundred dollars or more, also means it is difficult for investigators to figure out what the hackers did and where they might have been based, he added.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-bangladesh-idUSKCN0XI1UO?il=0