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https://mopo24.de/nachrichten/dresden-neustadt-party-sex-attacke-im-baellebad-Abdirahman-68562
Does anyone here speak german? I saw people sharing this piece of news in an online german forum, it seems that some somali asylum-seeker came uninvited to a party and attacked a sleeping woman in a ball pit, breaking her nose with a punch and threatening her life, now he claims he doesn’t remember anything because he was drunk, notice his shirt says “No regrets”… Unfortunately it’s not just a coincidence….
“Urteil: Sieben Monate Haft ausgesetzt auf Bewährung. Abdirahman M. wird einem Bewährungshelfer unterstellt und muss einen Kurs besuchen, in dem kombiniert deutsch gelernt und gearbeitet wird.”
He was sentenced to suspended 7 months and some classes that teach the German language combined with some work (or perhaps vocational training). Really pathetic…
Man in asylum ‘abuse’ videos arrested for death threats
The Syrian asylum seeker who was shown in videos being restrained at a refugee tent camp was arrested on Tuesday on charges that he had threatened to kill the camp’s director and camp residents, South Zealand Police said.
According to documents obtained by the radio station, the man was brought to the tent camp in Næstved after officials at a Red Cross centre determined that he was a potential danger to both women and children. After arriving at the tent camp, the Syrian was involved in a number of incidents in which he threatened and/or verbally abused residents and staff.
“Even toward my kitchen staff, he was a very brash and provocative type who constantly seeks conflict and discord. He has expressed himself sexually toward the female [staff members] and would stand at the fence and yell at them when they went home at night,” Olsen said.
http://www.thelocal.dk/20160518/asylum-seeker-denmark-abuse-video-arrested-for-death-threats
Berlin Celebration Of Multiculturalism Turns Into Rapey Cologne Repeat
The celebration of Berlin’s annual Carnival of Culture was overshadowed by similar incidents to what took place in Cologne on New Year’s Eve.
Police initially said there had been two victims of sexual assault when the festival concluded Monday. Police spokesman Thomas Neuendorf announced the number had grown to eight victims Tuesday, as more women have come forward.
“All the women described the perpetrators as young men with a Mediterranean appearance,” Neuendorf said, adding that some women were “significantly battered” had been crying while getting sexually assaulted.
The men circled the women when they were dancing during concerts and touched their “intimate parts,” according to police. None of the women suffered any physical injuries.
Police have detained three Turkish suspects and a 14-year-old German with “foreign roots,” according to Berliner Zeitung. Seven arrest warrants have been issued against other suspects. Neuendorf emphasized that none of the suspects are recent refugees to Germany.
http://dailycaller.com/2016/05/17/berlin-celebration-of-multiculturalism-turns-into-rapey-cologne-repeat/
Berlin police seek carnival sexual assault suspects
Authorities in Berlin have issued arrest warrants for seven suspects after reported sexual assaults during the city’s Carnival of Cultures weekend. Eight women reported that they were molested during the event.
Berlin police spokesman Thomas Neuendorf said on Tuesday that 11 criminal offences had been reported during the bank holiday weekend Carnival of Cultures event.
The victims included eight women who reported that they were sexually assaulted at the street festival, which ran from Friday to Monday.
“The women were touched on the private parts by the perpetrators, or surrounded by a group and touched in that way,” said Neuendorf.
The spokesman said 12 suspects had been identified, with arrest warrants issued against seven of them. Of those, three were Tunisian, two Moroccan, one Libyan and one Algerian.
Police on Sunday said that two women, aged 17 and 18, reported that they were sexually harassed after being surrounded by a group of about 10 males, with the younger girl having her mobile phone stolen. The pair said they had tried to escape from the group but were repeatedly forced back, until a passer-by intervened.
Detained and released
Three youths between the ages of 14 and 17, who were part of the group and who were already known to police, were temporarily detained.
The stolen phone was retrieved and returned to the victim, but further custody orders against the three were not issued. According to police, two had Turkish citizenship while another was German with “an immigration background.” Police stressed that the youths were not recent refugees to Germany, having grown up in Berlin.
Instances of gangs surrounding and robbing their female victims in a similar way have become increasingly common in Berlin, Neuendorf said, with a special investigation group having been set up. An officer had been assigned to each suspect, he said, in the hope of proving some to be serial offenders.
“This degrading and misogynistic approach is as repulsive as it is criminal,” Berlin Interior Minister Frank Henkel said on Tuesday, appealing for any other victims to contact police.
Mass assaults against women in Cologne and other German cities on New Year’s Eve stoked a debate about Chancellor Angela Merkel’s migration and refugee policy, with about 1 million refugees having been registered in the country in 2015. The Cologne assaults were largely blamed on North African migrants.
http://www.dw.com/en/berlin-police-seek-carnival-sexual-assault-suspects/a-19263469
France: Moving police car smashed up, set on fire during Paris protest
Protesters set fire to a police car during a rally against police brutality in Paris, Wednesday, the incident coincided with a demonstration staged by the National police union who have opposed the stigmatisation against them as a result of the ongoing labour reform protests.
USA: Huge fire disrupts metro service in New York
A fire broke out on the metro’s railway tracks in Harlem, New York City, on Tuesday, causing a suspension in service.
The blaze started at the beginning of the morning rush hour, at the crossing of 118th Street and Park Avenue, underneath the Metro-North train station. It reportedly began as a trailer caught alight, igniting propane inside. Thick columns of smoke could be seen rising from under the station.
Thousands of Underage Migrants Live in Shadows Across Europe (abcnews, May 18, 2016?
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/thousands-underage-migrants-live-shadows-europe-39189434
“Outside the train station in Rome, teen migrants sell drugs from school backpacks and trade sex for cash or clothes. In the capital of Sweden, they steal food from supermarkets and sleep on the streets. From makeshift camps along the northern French coast, they try to hop at night onto the backs of moving trucks headed to Britain.
All across Europe, there is a growing shadow population of thousands of underage migrants who are living on their own, without families. They hide silently and in plain sight, rarely noticed in the crowd. Nobody even knows how many of them there are — Europol estimates broadly that at least 10,000 kids have gone missing from shelters or reception centers….”
Relative: Chibok Girl Snatched by Boko Haram Found, Pregnant (abcnews, May 18, 2016)
http://abcn.ws/1sy0MY5
“Nigerian soldiers have found one of the schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram from Chibok, making her the first freed from the Islamic extremists since the mass kidnapping more than two years ago. Her uncle describes her as pregnant and traumatized but otherwise fine…”
Belgian bombings suspect Abrini ‘left letter backing attacks’ (BBC, May 18, 2016)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36320031
“Investigators have discovered a “last testament” written by a key surviving suspect in the March bombings in Brussels, French media say.
The text, found in a computer left in a rubbish bin, has been attributed to Mohamed Abrini, the “man in the hat” seen with the Brussels airport bombers.
He had told investigators he “would not hurt a fly” after his capture in April.
But the text suggests he approved of November’s Paris attacks and wished to die a martyr himself, a report said….”
How Australia stood up to minister’s ‘illiterate migrants’ comments (BBC, May 18, 2016)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-36321236
“When Australia’s immigration minister spoke out about the level of literacy and numeracy among migrants late on Tuesday, he was addressing what has become one of the hot potatoes of this election season.
With the build-up to the 2 July vote now in full swing, Peter Dutton responded to proposals by the opposition Labor party to increase annual refugee numbers from 13,750 to 27,000.
“They won’t be numerate or literate in their own language, let alone English,” he told Sky News. “These people would be taking Australian jobs, there’s no question about that.”
At this point, it is important to point out that 26% of the population of Australia is foreign-born. That’s some 5.8m people, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), with a fair few voters among them.
In the hours after Mr Dutton’s interview, plenty of those people, their children and their supporters took to social media to respond….”
Loony left galore (if you keep reading the article)…
IS conflict: Iraq forces retake remote western town of Rutba (BBC, May 18, 2016)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36320638
“Iraqi government forces have regained control of a remote western town from the jihadist group Islamic State (IS), Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says.
Mr Abadi announced that counter-terrorism troops, backed by tribesmen and US-led coalition air strikes, had raised the Iraqi flag in central Rutba….”
Yemen conflict: Houthis ‘carry out wave of detentions’ (BBC, May 18, 2016)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36315761
“Houthi rebels in Yemen have carried out a wave of arrests of their opponents, seizing them at gunpoint and torturing some, Amnesty International says.
An examination of 60 cases revealed a pattern of arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, according to a new report by the human rights group.
Politicians, journalists, academics and activists have been among those held….”
UK – Woman who plotted ISIS attack in UK on 7/7 anniversary has sentence reduced due to ‘good character’
Sana Khan, 24, was jailed for 25 years after plotting with her husband Mohammed Rehman to carry out an attack in London
A woman who plotted with her husband to carry out an ISIS-inspired attack on the 10th anniversary of the 7/7 bombings has had her sentence reduced.
Sana Khan, 24, was jailed for 25 years last December for preparing terrorist acts with her then-husband Mohammed Rehman.
But she had her sentence reduce by two years at the Court of Appeal today despite Lord Chief Justice for England and Wales, John Thomas, saying Khan “was determined to fulfil Islamic State’s cause for jihad by the carrying out of an act of terrorism within the UK.”
The couple’s plan was foiled when Khan’s husband asked Twitter followers: “Westfield shopping centre or London Underground?” after he tested a bomb in his back garden.
Rehman received a life sentence with a minimum of 27 years after he produced explosives and recorded a “martyrdom video” ahead of a possible suicide bombing in a crowded area of London.
During Khan’s sentencing at The Old Baily, Justice Jeremy Baker said he believed Khan had “full knowledge” of her husband’s terror plot and took a “full and active part in encouraging and planning [it].”
Explaining the reduction of Khan’s sentence, Lord Thomas referred to her “previous law-abiding life”, adding: “Taking into account her previous good character and her role in contrast to that of Rehman, the appropriate minimum term should have been 23 years.”
During the couple’s trial the court heard how Rehman used his bedroom as a bomb factory filled with deadly chemicals and explosives recipes, and even took to Twitter for help picking his targets.
Meanwhile his wife funded his Jihadi plot, using payday loans to buy 11kg of fertiliser to make into explosives.
Prosecutor Tony Badenoch QC told the court at the pair’s sentencing that Rehman and Khan were behind “an advanced plot to manufacture and detonate a substantial explosive device in a crowded and confined public space”.
He added: “Mohammed Rehman was an enthusiastic and vocal supporter of violent extremist Islamist ideology who keenly applied himself to making bombs and gathering all the necessary material to do just that.
“He talked freely about martyrdom on the Internet, his preparations were almost complete and his intentions were clear.
“But for the intervention of the counter terrorism officers at the end of May, this plot would have been carried out.”
He said the couple, who wed in secret in a traditional Islamic ceremony but have now divorced, idolised 7/7 bomber Shehzad Tanweer and were plotting an attack in July 2015 to mark the 10th anniversary of the atrocity.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/woman-who-plotted-isis-attack-7988864
Australian demining expert killed in Iraq (BBC, May 18, 2016)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-36263751
“An Australian demining expert has been killed by an explosion in Iraq. He was working for the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action, a non-profit group based in Geneva. He was defusing an explosive device left by the so-called Islamic State group when its fighters were driven out of Kirkuk in the north of the country, according to local media reports. The foundation is working with embassy officials to return his body to Australia….”
‘Drastic’ rise in Iraqi refugees returning home (BBC, video, May 18, 2016)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36319343
ISIS has executed almost 50 in Libya, Human Rights Watch says (CNN, May 18, 2016)
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/18/middleeast/libya-isis-sirte/index.html
“Public beheadings. Corpses hanging from scaffolding. Floggings for violating the law.
This is life in the ISIS-held city of Sirte, Libya — a Mediterranean coastal city that’s about 350 miles away from Malta — according to a new report from Human Rights Watch.
Many of the 45 former and current residents of Sirte Human Rights Watch spoke to say they live in a continued state of fear…”
‘Known Salafist’ allowed to work at Berlin airports (thelocal, May 18, 2016)
http://www.thelocal.de/20160518/known-salafist-allowed-to-work-at-berlin-airport
“A worker was allowed access to secure areas of both of Berlin’s airports for up to 10 months after authorities found out he had links to fundamentalist Islam, media reported on Wednesday….”
Fines for online hate speech can run into €1,000s (thelocal, May 18, 2016)
http://www.thelocal.de/20160518/fines-for-online-hate-speech-can-run-into-1000s
“People throwing around words like “vermin” or advocating the return of the gas chambers in online comments face high fines in Germany – as one German publication made very clear on Tuesday…:”
Church fights AfD for Muslim right to build new mosque (thelocal, May 18, 2016)
http://www.thelocal.de/20160518/church-fights-afd-over-plans-to-block-mosque-build
“Outside of Berlin there are only two mosques in the whole of the former East Germany. The populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) are trying to scupper plans for a new one in Erfurt, state capital of Thuringia.
The AfD hope to block the new build by means of a referendum and have put a proposal to this effect in from of the state parliament in Thuringia, public broadcaster MDR reports.
The populist party, who have seen their popularity soar during the refugee crisis, have also called a protest in the central square of state capital Erfurt using the slogan “our land, our culture, our decision.”
The AfD’s leader in Thuringia, Björn Höcke, a man known to belong to the hard right of the party, has described the mosque construction as “part of a long-term land grab project.”
But the two main churches in Erfurt have come out in support of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s plans for a new mosque.
The AfD position is “completely unintelligible”, Winfried Weinrich, head of the Catholic Church’s office in the state capital, told the Catholic News Agency.
The German constitution guarantees the right to practice religion privately or publicly, said Weinrich, adding that the Ahmadiyya Community also had the right “to find worthy spaces for meeting and praying.”
Ilse Junkermann, head bishop of the protestant church in central Germany, said that “whoever questions religious freedom should think about whether they still stand on the firm footing of the constitution.”
She also welcomed plans for the mosque….”
South Tyrol under pressure as Austria turns back migrants (thelocal, May 18, 2016)
http://www.thelocal.at/20160518/south-tyrol-under-pressure-as-austria-returns-migrants
“Wealthy South Tyrol – a little bit of Austria in Italy – is the latest bottleneck in Europe’s refugee crisis. Angela Giuffrida finds a region battling with the consequences…”
Morocco Says US State Department Report on Human Rights is ‘Truly Outrageous’ (moroccoworldnews, May 17, 2016)
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/05/186798/morocco-says-us-state-department-report-on-human-rights-is-truly-outrageous/
“The latest report of the US State Department on human rights in Morocco is ”truly outrageous’,’ and Morocco is forced to explore all possible ways to uncover the report’s excesses, the Interior ministry said Tuesday.
”The content of the report of the State Department this year, published on April 13, 2016, is truly outrageous,” the ministry pointed out in a statement, citing the report’s ‘fabricated information’ and ‘incorrect assessment’.
”In recent years, the Moroccan government has continued to attract the attention of US authorities on the sloppy, biased and quirky character of the content of the State Department’s report on Human Rights,” the ministry recalled.
‘Often, exclusive sources are unreliable and politically hostile. Inserted information is approximate and appreciations are unfounded,” the ministry added, noting that the report’s general conclusions are hasty.
”Nevertheless, Morocco, which is confident in the evolution of its societal model conceived and implemented by Moroccans and for Moroccans, and which does not accept lessons from anyone, was never allergic to constructive criticism,” the statement went on.
However, “Morocco cannot accept fabricated facts and false claims intended for obscure political motivations,” the source added.
The Ministry of Interior noted that the report was at the heart of talks in recent weeks between the Minister of Interior Mohamed Hassad and the US Ambassador to Morocco Dwight Bush.
“Tangible evidence has been provided to demonstrate the fallacy of the report’s allegations,” the statement added.
“Yet, a dialogue process, unique of its kind in the region, has been established since 2006 with Moroccan authorities. This process has been required by Morocco, although it is not obliged to do so and it is not accountable to any foreign country,” the source pointed out.
“This process responds quickly and throughout the year to questions, provides comprehensive information on cases and makes available all requested documentation. It is now legitimate to question the relevance and usefulness of such a dialogue,” the statement said, noting ”unfortunately today the report is not an information tool for the Congress but a political instrument in the hands of people devoid of rigor”.
In light of the failure of US interlocutors to answer arguments and protests from Moroccan authorities, for several years, Morocco is forced to explore all the possible ways to uncover the report’s excesses,” the ministry said, adding that “the Kingdom is ready to go all the way and bring the issue before the highest authorities at the various American national institutions.”
“Morocco hopes that American partners will work with the Moroccan government to restore truth and denounce manipulations and lies”, the statement concluded.”
Kingdom, Bosnia and Herzegovina join hands to fight terror, smuggling (saudigazette, May 18, 2016)
http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/kingdom-bosnia-herzegovina-join-hands-fight-terror-smuggling/
“Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, and Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dragan Mektic sign in Jeddah on Monday a comprehensive cooperation agreement to fight terrorism, organized crime and illicit trafficking and smuggling of narcotics and psychotropic substances.”
Interpol issues red notice for JeM chief (tribune, May 18, 2016)
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1105556/interpol-issues-red-notice-for-jem-chief/
“Interpol on Tuesday issued fresh Red Corner Notice for Masood Azhar, chief of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit and his brother in connection with the attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot in January.
The warrants were issued after India’s National Investigation Agency had managed to secure ‘open ended’ non-bailable warrants against Azhar and Abdul Rauf, The Hindu reported….”
Al-Qaeda commander among 5 killed in US drone strike in Afghanistan (khaama, May 18, 2016)
http://www.khaama.com/al-qaeda-commander-among-5-killed-in-us-drone-strike-in-afghanistan-0976
“A commander of the al-Qaeda terrorist network was killed with four others during separate airstrikes involving unmanned aerial vehicle of the US forces in Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the airstrikes were carried out in southern Zabul and northern Kunduz provinces.
According to a statement by MoD, the al-Qaeda commander killed in the airstrike has been identified as Mullah Mohammad Ali…”
China reaffirms support to Afghan forces following $70m commitment in military aid (khaama, May 18, 2016)
http://www.khaama.com/china-reaffirms-support-to-afghan-forces-following-70m-commitment-in-military-aid-0980
“The Chinese President Xi Jinping has reaffirmed Beijing’s military support to the Afghan security forces during a meeting with the Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah.
The Office of the Chief Executive in a statement said the Chinese President reaffirmed military aid as well as supporting Afghanistan in development and rehabilitation projects.
The statement further added that the Chinese leader also announced Beijing’ support towards the Afghan-led peace process…:”
Taliban militants have reportedly captured Surkh Kotal in Baghlan (khaama, May 18, 2016)
http://www.khaama.com/taliban-militants-have-reportedly-captured-surkh-kotal-in-baghlan-0981
“The Taliban militants have reportedly captured Surkh Kotal in northern Baghlan province of Afghanistan following days of heavy clash.
A local security official confirmed that the Af ghan forces retreated from the area after they were under siege for several days.
The official further added that the security personnel under the siege of the Taliban insurgents were rescued from the area.
The Taliban group earlier claimed that several security personnel were killed during the clash with the Taliban insurgents.
Heavy clashes in Surkh Kotal erupted late on Saturday night as the security officials claimed that at least 28 Taliban insurgents were killed or wounded.
The area fell to Taliban control despite continuous raids by the Afghan security forces to disperse the assailant militants.
The Ministry of Defense said Tuesday that 31 militants were killed in the air and ground operations of the Afghan security forces in Surkh Kotal and Baghlan Markzai district.
Surkh Kotal is located in the outskirts of Baghlan near province where and the area has been witnessing violence during the past several months.”
Top militant commanders among 17 killed as A-29s target militant hideouts in Kunar (khama, May 18, 2016)
http://www.khaama.com/top-militant-commanders-among-17-killed-as-a-29s-target-militant-hideouts-in-kunar-0983
“Two top commanders of the anti-government armed militants were killed in an airstrike by the Afghan Air Force (AAF) in eastern Kunar province.
The 201st Silab Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces said the airstrike was carried out in Ghaziabad district.
According to a statement by 201st Silab Corps, the Afghan Air Force (AAF) used A-29 light attacks aircraft in the raid which left at least 17 dead including two commanders of the militants.
The statement further added that the commanders killed in the airstrike have been identified as Hamza and Akbar.
A mortar and rocket launcher along with 3 Ak-47 assault rifles and various other types of explosives belonging to the militants were also destroyed in the airstrike….”
12-year-old suicide bomber arrested before targeting populated area of Kabul (khaama, May 18, 2016)
http://www.khaama.com/12-year-old-suicide-bomber-arrested-before-targeting-populated-area-of-kabul-0985
“The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) thwarted a twin suicide attack plot in capital Kabul by arresting one of the would-be suicide bombers.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said the detained would-be suicide bomber is a 12-year-old boy who was appointed by the Taliban group to carry out the attack.
According to MoI, the boy has been identified as Mohammad Yaqoob son of Sher Mohammad who has confessed that he was trained in Juma Khani training camp in Imam Sahib district of Kunduz province.
Yaqoob has also added that the training camp was supervised by TAliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghafoor and was appointed by him to carry out the attack 20 days ago.
He was due to detonate a Vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) in a populated area of the city while another suicide bomber was given the task target the crowd after the first explosion.
MoI said the child managed to flee and was on his way to Kunduz province when he was arrested by the security forces.
This comes as a teenage suicide bomber assigned for a suicide attack by the Taliban group was arrested by the Afghan intelligence operatives from Kabul city last month.
The Afghan children have regularly been recruited by the militant groups, the Taliban and the Haqqani network for the terrorist related activities, including suicide attacks.
Madrasas are described as the main recruitment source for the militant groups as poor families in Pakistan and
Afghanistan send their sons to such madrassas for free education and lodging.”
GERMANY – Church fights AfD for Muslim right to build new mosque
Outside of Berlin there are only two mosques in the whole of the former East Germany. The populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) are trying to scupper plans for a new one in Erfurt, state capital of Thuringia.
The AfD hope to block the new build by means of a referendum and have put a proposal to this effect in from of the state parliament in Thuringia, public broadcaster MDR reports.
The populist party, who have seen their popularity soar during the refugee crisis, have also called a protest in the central square of state capital Erfurt using the slogan “our land, our culture, our decision.”
The AfD’s leader in Thuringia, Björn Höcke, a man known to belong to the hard right of the party, has described the mosque construction as “part of a long-term land grab project.”
But the two main churches in Erfurt have come out in support of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s plans for a new mosque.
The AfD position is “completely unintelligible”, Winfried Weinrich, head of the Catholic Church’s office in the state capital, told the Catholic News Agency.
The German constitution guarantees the right to practice religion privately or publicly, said Weinrich, adding that the Ahmadiyya Community also had the right “to find worthy spaces for meeting and praying.”
Ilse Junkermann, head bishop of the protestant church in central Germany, said that “whoever questions religious freedom should think about whether they still stand on the firm footing of the constitution.”
She also welcomed plans for the mosque.
Praying in empty offices
The Ahmadiyya Community’s plans to build a mosque with a decorative minaret would make it only the first mosque built in Thuringia.
It would also be only the third in the whole of former East Germany outside of Berlin, with one each in Chemnitz and Leipzig.
Public opinion in former East Germany is widely seen to be less tolerant of Islam than that in west Germany.
The anti-Islamic Pegida movement was founded in the eastern city of Dresden and the movement still holds weekly Monday protests there.
In Leipzig, meanwhile, unknown people recently placed a pig’s head near the construction site of a new mosque in a bid to scare off Muslims.
The paucity of actual places of worship means Muslims are left with little choice but to use empty apartments or business premises as prayer rooms.
But, with refugees arrivals placing ever greater pressure on these slim resources, Muslim community members say there is desperate need for more adequate facilities.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was founded during the late 19th Century in British colonial India.
According to the Rheinische Post it is known for its message of peace and tolerance between religions, and supports the idea of separation between religion and state.
The proposed mosque has however also come in for criticism because it does not represent the religious mainstream.
Jamal Malik, a professor of Islam at Erfurt university, said he would be surprised if many refugees use it, pointing out that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community are a small sect which has faced persecution in parts of the Islamic world.
Minaret ban
The AfD recently published their electoral programme, which contained a paragraph stating their wish to ban minarets in Germany.
They have also caused outrage by suggesting that it would be acceptable for police to shoot at migrants if they cross the German border illegally.
And this is not the first time they have been at loggerheads with the church on an issue that touched the question on Islam’s growing presence in Germany.
Party leader Frauke Petry has slammed the Catholic Church for its “dishonest” for its involvement in refugee politics.
Petry was responding to comments from Cardinal Reinhard Marx that “anyone who flees to Europe fearing for life and limb in their homeland has a right to our protection and fair proceedings.”
http://www.thelocal.de/20160518/church-fights-afd-over-plans-to-block-mosque-build
Australia: Geelong Mosque gutted by suspicious fire
The Islamic Society of Geelong Mosque was gutted by a fire in the early hours of Wednesday, in Geelong, in the State of Victoria.
Footage filmed on Wednesday morning shows workers inspecting the mosque and setting up a fence in front of the building. Imam of the mosque, Mohammad Ramzan, said of the destruction that “this is so tragic, so sad, so devastating that I cannot speak, I cannot describe that in words.”
According to the local police, they do not believe the mosque was deliberately targeted; however, they are not ruling out the possibility that the mosque was set on fire in a case of mistaken identity and linked to a string of arson attacks on churches of various Christian denominations. The mosque is housed in an old church but has functioned as a Muslim place of worship for 23 years.
Why so serious: German court bans most of Erdogan-mocking poem
A court in Hamburg has issued a preliminary injunction banning 18 of the 24 verses in a German comedian’s satirical poem lampooning Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for being ‘abusive and defaming.’
Saudi Arabia – military parade – May 2016
Wa Po –Who in Libya will the U.S. send weapons to? It’s complicated, says a top general.
BRUSSELS — The top U.S. general overseeing American military operations in Africa said Tuesday that while Washington is considering sending weapons to Libya to fight the Islamic State, doing so will require taking cues from a fledgling unity government that is still struggling to establish support at home.
Army Gen. David M. Rodriguez, the chief of U.S. Africa Command, told a handful of reporters here that Libya’s internal politics still make it difficult to determine which armed groups are aligning themselves with the Government of National Accord, an interim group that has backing from the United Nations. The militias would be called on to play a key role in stopping the spread of the Islamic State, which took hold in Libya in November 2014.
We’re really dependent on the Government of National Accord to figure out who is with them and who is moving over toward them,” Rodriguez said. “Those are some of the things you can really only understand by watching how the GNA operates and how the different militias operate, whether it’s the Misratas, the Zintans or anybody else.”
The comments came after an announcement Monday in Vienna that the United States and its international partners are prepared to provide humanitarian, economic and security assistance if requested, including weapons. Diplomats, including Secretary of State John F. Kerry, said they will support Libya’s request for an exception to a U.N. embargo that was put in place in 2011 as the country faced a violent power struggle after the fall of strongman Moammar Gaddafi.
Rodriguez, who was in Brussels to meet with senior European military officials and Marine Gen. Joseph F. DunfordJr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that “everybody” is waiting to see how the United Nations examines the Libyan request, which must include details about who will receive the weapons.
“The support for the GNA and how they need it and how they want it, we’ll just have to see how that develops over time,” Rodriguez said, speaking of the Libyan government.
Rodriguez said that the majority of what Libyan forces need is ammunition and small arms, rather than heavier weapons. But the United States and its international partners still face a complicated process in making sure that whatever arsenal they provide does not fall in the wrong hands, as weapons have at times against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Rodriguez said the meeting Monday in Vienna signified “as much as we’ve got” out of the new Libyan government in recent days, and that more discussions will be necessary
“They’re just starting to stand up,” the general said. “They’ve only been there a month, and they’re still struggling to get established in Tripoli.”
Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said Monday that the U.S. military doesn’t have a “great picture” of what is happening in Libya. Rodriguez said the United States is working to improve that, and acknowledged that having a small number of troops on the ground has helped. U.S. Special Operations forces have been stationed at small outposts in western Libya since December, in Misrata and Benghazi, to look for potential allies and assess threats, U.S. military officials said recently.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/05/17/who-in-libya-will-the-u-s-send-weapons-to-its-complicated-says-a-top-general/
VoA – Friend or Foe? Doubts Plague US Military in Libya Training
The U.S. military is “prepared to support” a train-and-equip mission to fight the thousands of Islamic State militants in Libya when the Libyan government is ready for it, the head of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said Tuesday.
AFRICOM commander General David Rodriguez added that Libya’s internal politics have made it unclear which armed groups are fighting alongside the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), leaving the U.S. “really dependent” on the Libyan interim government to determine “who is with them and who is moving over to them.”
Militias will likely be key to stopping the spread of Islamic State once friendly forces are identified and aided he said, but, “We’re not at that point yet.”
Libya is under a U.N. arms embargo, imposed to keep lethal weapons away from terrorists and militias vying for power.
However, a joint communique issued after international talks Monday in Vienna signaled that international powers, including the U.S., are set to provide arms and support to the Libyan government to fight Islamic State.
“The thing that they need most is really ammunition and small arms,” Rodriguez said. “It’s not fighter aircraft and that kind of stuff.”
Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook told reporters Tuesday at the Pentagon that there were small teams of U.S. forces on the ground in Libya to get a “better sense of the players” and to more accurately understand the Islamic State group’s presence and strength level.
Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow on defense strategy at the Brookings Institution, said the 20 to 25 U.S. forces now in Libya, along with other NATO allies on the ground there, should “get serious” about a training mission for a Libyan military or integrated paramilitary.
“I’m interested in asking if 1,000 to 2,000 Americans at the right time could make a big difference,” he told VOA.
US military locations
The U.S. military has looked at 11 locations for small “cooperative security locations” to help African nations fight extremist groups and other security threats, according to AFRICOM spokesman Colonel Mark Cheadle.
In response to a VOA question about military base locations in Africa, Cheadle had initially said the U.S. was looking at 11 locations for a second base, but later told VOA he misunderstood the question.
The United States currently has one military base in the east African nation of Djibouti. U.S. forces are also on the ground in Somalia to assist the regional fight against al-Shabab and in Cameroon to help with the multinational effort against Nigeria-based Boko Haram.
One of the possible new cooperative security locations is in Cameroon, but Cheadle did not identify other locations due to “host nation sensitivities.”
The military is not looking at a cooperative security location in Nigeria, he said, despite increased cooperation between the U.S. and Nigerian militaries.
AFRICOM commander General David Rodriguez told reporters in Brussels that the U.S. military has trained members of Nigeria’s intelligence corps as well as three Nigerian battalions, including one that “just recently” graduated.
“Boko Haram is the biggest killer of people across the world,” the general said.
Rodriguez also said the AFRICOM headquarters, located in Stuttgart, Germany, will stay in Europe for the foreseeable future.
The command’s stated mission is to advance U.S. interests and promote security and stability in Africa.
http://www.voanews.com/content/us-military-prepared-to-support-train-and-equip-mission-in-libya/3335188.html
LIBYA – Car bomb, clashes with IS kill 32 Libya unity govt forces: military
Tripoli (AFP) – Thirty-two fighters loyal to Libya’s unity government were killed in clashes with Islamic State group jihadists and a car bombing Wednesday near the IS stronghold of Sirte, the military said.
“The toll of today’s martyrs reached 32, and 50 others were wounded,” the operations room set up by the new Government of National Unity (GNA) said on its Facebook page and Twitter account late Wednesday, updating an earlier toll of 18 dead.
Of the earlier toll, seven died in a car bomb attack in Buairat el-Hassun, 60 kilometres (35 miles) west of Sirte and the others were killed in an IS foray in Abu Grein, further west, that the GNA recaptured on Tuesday.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/31643691/car-bomb-clashes-with-is-kill-32-libya-unity-govt-forces-military/
==================================
Car bomb, clashes with ISIS kill 32 Libya unity govt forces: military
Thirty-two fighters loyal to Libya’s unity government were killed in clashes with ISIS militants and a car bombing Wednesday near the ISIS stronghold of Sirte, the military said.
“The toll of today’s martyrs reached 32, and 50 others were wounded,” the operations room set up by the new Government of National Unity (GNA) said on its Facebook page and Twitter account late Wednesday, updating an earlier toll of 18 dead.
Of the earlier toll, seven died in a car bomb attack in Buairat el-Hassun, 60 kilometers (35 miles) west of Sirte and the others were killed in an IS foray in Abu Grein, further west, that the GNA recaptured on Tuesday.
Libya descended into chaos after the toppling and death of Muammar Qaddafi five years ago and soon turned into a battleground of rival militias battling for powers. More recently, the power vacuum has allowed ISIS radicals to expand their presence, giving them a potential base in a country separated from Europe only by a relatively small stretch of the Mediterranean Sea.
In a related story, bank guards shot dead three people as they tried to disperse a crowd of hundreds of people queuing for cash outside a bank in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Wednesday, a security official said.
Libyan banks have been suffering from severe liquidity problems, which bankers say is partly caused by people withdrawing cash and keeping it at home due to concerns over security.
For months, long queues have formed daily outside banks across the country, and in some cases people have begun queuing overnight.
Banks have placed limits on withdrawals, with residents in the capital currently restricted to taking out a maximum of 200 Libyan dinars at a time. That is the equivalent of about $145 at the official exchange rate, but just $50 at black market rates.
Wednesday’s shooting happened outside the North Africa Bank in Tripoli’s Qaser Bin Ghasir neighborhood, said Salah Eddin Al-Marghani, a security official for southern Tripoli.
“One of six members of security team securing the bank shot in the air when there was a stampede among the crowd, but mistakenly hit the building and then the people,” he said.
The guards had been placed under investigation, Marghani said.
Libya’s economy has been severely damaged due to political strife and conflict following the uprising against Qaddafi in 2011.
The country is largely dependent on oil revenues, but these have slumped as prices have fallen and labor disputes, factional rivalries and militant attacks have slashed production.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/africa/2016/05/18/Car-bomb-clashes-with-IS-kill-18-Libya-unity-govt-forces-military.html
Libya: Libyan forces advance against IS south of Misrata
reuters – Smugglers made $5-6 billion off migrants to Europe in 2015: Interpol
People smugglers made over $5 billion from the wave of migration into southern Europe last year, a report by international crime-fighting agencies Interpol and Europol said on Tuesday.
Nine out of 10 migrants and refugees entering the European Union in 2015 relied on “facilitation services”, mainly loose networks of criminals along the routes, and the proportion was likely to be even higher this year, the report said.
About 1 million migrants entered the EU in 2015. Most paid 3,000-6,000 euros ($3,400-$6,800), so the average turnover was likely between $5 billion and $6 billion, the report said.
To launder the money and integrate it into the legitimate economy, couriers carried large amounts of cash over borders, and smugglers ran their proceeds through car dealerships, grocery stores, restaurants or transport companies.
The main organizers came from the same countries as the migrants, but often had EU residence permits or passports.
“The basic structure of migrant smuggling networks includes leaders who coordinate activities along a given route, organizers who manage activities locally through personal contacts, and opportunistic low-level facilitators who mostly assist organizers and may assist in recruitment activities,” the report said.
Corrupt officials may let vehicles through border checks or release ships for bribes, as there was so much money in the trafficking trade. About 250 smuggling “hotspots”, often at railway stations, airports or coach stations, had been identified along the routes – 170 inside the EU and 80 outside.
The report’s authors found no evidence of fighting between criminal groups, but larger criminal networks slowly took over smaller opportunistic ones, leading to an oligopoly.
In 2015, the vast majority of migrants made risky boat trips in boats across the Mediterranean from Turkey or Libya, and then traveled on by road. Around 800,000 were still in Libya waiting to travel to the EU, the report said.
But increasing border controls mean air travel is likely to become more attractive, with fraudulent documents rented out to migrants and then taken back by an accompanying facilitator, the report said.
Migrant smuggling routes could be used to smuggle drugs or guns, and there was growing concern that radicalized foreign fighters could also use them to enter the EU, it said.
But there was no concrete data yet to suggest militant groups consistently relied on or cooperated with organized crime groups, it added.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-smugglers-idUSKCN0Y81J4
al jazeera – Mehdi Hasan asked the Saudi ambassador to the UN why he supports democracy in Syria but not in Saudi Arabia
https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/713361161161408512
Turkey : Turkish court sentences journalist [ Arzu Yildiz ] to jail, seizes the right to custody of her kids over story on MIT trucks saga
in Turkish :
http://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/mit-tir-lari-savunmasini-yayinlayan-gazeteci-arzu-yildiz-a-hapis-ve-annelikten-men-cezalari-112757.html
http://www.sozcu.com.tr/2016/gundem/gazeteci-arzu-yildiz-icin-annelikten-men-karari-1235527/
PRAGUE – Ambassadors walk out of Prague seminar on Islam in protest at comments
The Turkish ambassador to the Czech Republic and representatives of other Muslim countries walked out of a seminar being staged on Islam in the lower house of parliament on Wednesday. The protest reaction followed comments in which lawyer Klara Samková compared Islam to totalitarian regimes and said it should be fought. The organizer of the seminar, ANO lawmaker Zd?nek Soukup said that he did not expect there to be much diplomatic fall-out from the comments. Samková is a former member of the anti-Islamic Bloc against Islam. Another participant in the seminar was the chairman of the Muslim community in the Czech Republic, Muneeb Hassan Alrawi.
http://www.radio.cz/en/section/news/ambassadors-walk-out-of-prague-seminar-on-islam-in-protest-at-comments
Na seminári o islámu Samková vyhnala svym projevem muslimy ze sálu
http://www.novinky.cz/domaci/403846-na-seminari-o-islamu-samkova-vyhnala-svym-projevem-muslimy-ze-salu.html
APNewsBreak: Lebanese Man Held in Iran Had Past US Contracts (abcnews, May 18, 2016)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/apnewsbreak-lebanese-man-held-iran-past-us-contracts-39210580
“A nonprofit organization headed by a Lebanese citizen held prisoner in Iran received grants totaling $730,000 from the U.S. government for projects in the Middle East, The Associated Press has learned.
Nizar Zakka, 49, a technology expert and advocate for Internet freedom, was arrested in Tehran in September after being invited by the Iranian government to attend a conference there. Although no charges have been announced, Iranian media has accused him of being an American spy, allegations vigorously rejected by his family and associates.
Zakka, who lives in Washington and holds resident status in the U.S., leads the Arab ICT Organization, or IJMA3, an industry consortium from 13 countries that advocates for information technology in the region…”
Muslim Nations Block Gay Groups From UN Aids Conference (abcnews, May 18, 2016)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/muslim-nations-block-gay-groups-aids-conference-39209695
“The United States, European Union and Canada are protesting a move to block gay and transgender groups from attending a high-level United Nations conference on AIDS.
A U.N. diplomat said a group of 51 Muslim nations asked that more than a dozen groups not be allowed to attend next month’s conference. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because the communications have been private.
In a letter to General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said transgender people are 49 times more likely to be living with the HIV virus that causes AIDS and their exclusion will impede progress in achieving an AIDS-free generation.”
Turkish MP sparks outrage after saying he ‘feels like downing another Russian jet’ (express, May 18, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/671678/Turkish-MP-sparks-outrage-after-saying-feels-like-downing-Russian-jet
“A TURKISH politician has courted controversy after saying that he felt like “downing another Russian jet” after his basketball side were beaten by Russian rivals…”
Turkey angered over EU envoy’s remark on EU migrant deal – sources (reuters, May 18, 2016)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-migrants-turkey-envoy-idUKKCN0Y92I8?rpc=401
“Turkey summoned the top European Union envoy in the country on Tuesday to complain about comments he made last week on the migration deal between Ankara and the EU, Turkish foreign ministry sources said on Wednesday.
Turkish officials took offensive at Hansjoerg Haber’s use of an unflattering German saying to describe how a plan to ease visa restrictions for Turks travelling to Europe had started off in an orderly way but run into problems recently…”
REVEALED: French police FLEEING Calais after more than 300 are attacked by migrant mobs (express, May 18, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/671624/Calais-migrants-French-police-fleeing-Calais-300-attacked-refugees-Jungle-Bouchart
“FRENCH police are fleeing lawless Calais in their droves after more than 300 were attacked and injured by rioting migrant mobs in just two months…”
Turkey moves towards stripping MPs of immunity (aljazeera, May 18, 2016)
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/05/turkey-moves-stripping-mps-immunity-160517093515589.html
“Turkey’s pariament has completed a first round of voting on a bill that will strip some MPs of immunity from prosecution – a move members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) say targets them…”
Lebanon Sentences to Death 106 People Over Ties to Daesh, Al-Nusra Front (sputniknews, May 18, 2016)
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160518/1039851123/Lebanon-Sentences-Death-Over-Ties-Daesh.html
“According to a judicial source in Beirut, 106 people were sentenced to death for membership in extremist organizations Daesh and Al-Nusra Front, kidnapping and attempting to kill Lebanese soldiers and policemen, and attacking the town of Arsal near the Syrian border.
The source said that those sentenced to death include 73 Syrians, 32 Lebanese and one Palestinian. Only 77 of those are currently in custody…”
DAILY MAIL – UK -Sharia students loans that do not conflict with the rules of Islam to be offered for the first time in drive to get more Muslims to university
The government confirmed a new ‘halal’ finance model will be introduced
Muslims cannot take out loans that they would be charged interest on
Campaigners say this is putting some youngsters off going to university
Sharia student loans will be set up for the first time in Britain as part of a drive to boost the number of young Muslims applying to university.
The Government confirmed on Monday that a new ‘halal’ finance model will be introduced which does not conflict with the rules of Islam.
Muslims are forbidden from taking out loans on which they would be charged interest, and campaigners say this is putting some youngsters off going to university.
In a white paper published yesterday, the government vowed to tackle the issue by creating a so-called ‘Takaful’ model, which is Sharia-compliant.
Ministers are looking to include it in legislation imminently and hope it will encourage more Muslim youngsters to enter higher education.
The document said: ‘We will introduce an alternative finance system to support the participation of students who, for religious reasons, might feel unable to take on interest-bearing loans.
‘We have heard that that some students will not access higher education in these circumstances, some will access higher education and use loans but will be troubled by their situation, and others will restrict their choice of course or institution to try to minimise the sums involved.
‘To ensure participation and choice are open to all, we plan to legislate for the creation of an alternative model of student finance.’
Officials said the new package was necessary because of the tougher interest rates imposed on student loans from 2012.
However, they said students taking up the model would not be given any financial advantage over those using a traditional loan as the total paid back would be the same.
The Takaful model is based on the idea of a community fund, which students would be able to draw from to pay their fees.
They would then pay back the sum into the fund as a ‘charitable contribution’ for use by other students in future.
Although no ‘interest’ would be charged per se, the government said that repayments would be structured so that the total paid back would be the same as that paid by a student with a regular loan.
The Takaful model would be available for everyone, not just Muslim students.
Officials said the details were still being finalised, but they said the ‘charitable contributions’ would have to be legally enforceable.
And they said it was possible the system could be administered by the Student Loans Company via the tax system, just as regular student loans are.
Students would apply for finance from the fund the way they apply for the equivalent student loan and enter a contract, promising to repay a Takaful contribution.
When they are earning above the repayment threshold, which would be the same as for the equivalent student loan, they would make their contributions.
These contributions would be used to fund the education of future students.
The white paper added: ‘This will be open to everyone and will not result in any advantage or disadvantage relative to a student loan, but will avoid the payment of interest, which is inconsistent with the principles of Islamic finance.
‘It has the potential to support participation from Muslim students and therefore to help meet the Prime Minister’s clear commitment to increasing the number of BME students going to university.’
There are currently 329,694 Muslim full-time students, and the total number of Muslims in England and Wales is at a record high.
According to the last census in 2011, there were 2 million Muslims– making up 5 per cent of the population.
This compares with 1.5 million in 2001, when they made up just 3 per cent of the population.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3593821/Sharia-students-loans-not-conflict-rules-Islam-offered-time-drive-Muslims-university.html
Main suspect arrested in deadly attack on 17 year old German boy. The police call him “C” as in “A, B, C” (cause it is three suspects) and confirmed he was born in Italy. Look at the fine print, and the picture that leaked:
http://www.express.de/bonn/verdaechtiger-sitzt-in-u-haft-walid-s—20–soll-niklas—17–in-den-tod-getreten-haben-24081706
“According to chief prosecutor Faßbender, a witness unambiguously identified the 20 year old as the person who beat Niklas. „Also, all components of the description of the [perpetrator’s] person fit.“
Main suspect leans towards violence and denies the deed
Walid S. was born in Italy, Piacenza, but has moroccan roots. He has been living in Bonn for a few years. And: he is already known to the police for violent offenses!
During interrogation, the arrested denied being involved in the deed. Robin Faßbender: „But he got partially caught up in contradictions.“ Among others, he stated where he was during the time of the deed. „We were already able to proove that false“, said Faßbender.
note by me:
What is interesting to note is that after the Antifa riot at the dead teen’s memorial, the press, like F.A.Z. and Spiegel, reported right extremists (!) had hijacked the event and good citizens had protested the right extremists. No mention of the Antifa excesses.
http://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/kriminalitaet/bonner-buerger-gehen-wegen-pruegeltod-eines-teenagers-auf-die-strasse-14233763/demonstranten-von-bonn-stellt-14233756.html
Yesterday (tuesday) the main suspect was arrested.
At the same time, this whole topic disappeared from the front pages of F.A.Z. and Spiegel, the Germany-wide opinion leaders. Like it never happened.
Sanders: ‘Shots Were Fired Into My Campaign Office in Nevada’
‘Apartment housing complex my campaign staff lived in was broken into and ransacked.’
Bernie Sanders revealed Tuesday that shots were fired into his Nevada campaign office and that an “apartment housing complex my campaign staff lived in was broken into and ransacked.” The Democratic presidential candidate did not explicitly blame his rival, Hillary Clinton, for the actions.
Sanders made the statement in response to “criticisms made against my campaign organization.” Here’s the Sanders’s full statement:
“It is imperative that the Democratic leadership, both nationally and in the states, understand that the political world is changing and that millions of Americans are outraged at establishment politics and establishment economics. The people of this country want a government which represents all of us, not just the 1 percent, super PACs and wealthy campaign contributors.
“The Democratic Party has a choice. It can open its doors and welcome into the party people who are prepared to fight for real economic and social change – people who are willing to take on Wall Street, corporate greed and a fossil fuel industry which is destroying this planet. Or the party can choose to maintain its status quo structure, remain dependent on big-money campaign contributions and be a party with limited participation and limited energy.
Obama, Turkey’s Erdogan discuss Syria, fight against Islamic State
U.S. President Barack Obama spoke by telephone on Wednesday with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan about the war in Syria and efforts to defeat Islamic State militants, the White House said in a statement
WASHINGTON: U.S. President Barack Obama spoke by telephone on Wednesday with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan about the war in Syria and efforts to defeat Islamic State militants, the White House said in a statement.
Obama noted the importance of international cooperation to maintain the cessation of hostilities in Syria and to make progress on a negotiated political transition in the country, the statement said.
The two leaders agreed on the urgency of continued efforts to degrade and defeat Islamic State and to disrupt the militant group’s capacity to conduct attacks in Turkey, Europe and elsewhere, the White House said.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/obama-turkey-s-erdogan-d/2797958.html
Surge in Syrian refugees expected across US
WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service) — With less than five months to go, the Obama administration remains far behind its target of resettling 10,000 Syrian refugees by Sept. 30, but officials are expecting to draw closer to that goal in the coming months with a spike in resettlements in Michigan and across the U.S.
Officials at refugee-assistance agencies in Michigan and elsewhere say the pace of resettlements has lagged expectations, though Obama administration officials made clear that security concerns raised last November by Gov. Rick Snyder and others after the Paris attacks have not slowed their efforts.
[…]State Department spokeswoman Julia Mason confirmed for the Free Press last week. “We expect Syrian refugee arrivals to the U.S. to increase steadily throughout the fiscal year.”
www( dot )stripes( dot )com/news/us/surge-in-syrian-refugees-expected-across-us-1.409685
State seeks to pick up pace on bringing Syrian refugees to US
The State Department is hoping to bring an average of nearly 1,500 Syrian refugees to the United States per month in order to meet President Obama’s target of settling 10,000 refugees in the country by September.
About 1,300 refugees have already been placed in the United States since Obama first made the commitment in September.
That’s far fewer than those taken in by European countries such as Germany, who has dealt with an unprecedented wave of migrants fleeing Syria’s civil war, as well as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Yet the settlement has provoked a significant backlash, mostly from Republicans, who argue it puts the U.S. at risk from terrorism.
“It’s clear that ISIS wants to, has planned on attempting to infiltrate refugee populations. This is a problem. If one person gets through who is planning a terrorist attack in our country, that’s a problem,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, who recently returned from a trip to the region, said Thursday.
“The administration — whether it’s Homeland Security or the FBI, cannot tell us that they can adequately screen people. There isn’t really a Syria to talk to on that end of the equation to vet people, so it is a problem,” Ryan told reporters.
The State Department says it has fallen behind schedule in meting Obama’s goal partly due to a lack of personnel available to interview refugees.
It is now doing a “surge operation” in Amman, Jordan, that is designed to process the rest of the Syrian refugees in as little as three months and leave them enough time to get to the U.S. before September.
The State Department has devoted more staff in Amman to focus on processing Syrian refugees, as well as hired new employees, which the department says it needed anyway.
“By putting more officers in one place we can conduct more interviews. Partly we have a backlog because we don’t have enough officers to interview people,” Larry Bartlett, the State Department’s director of the Office of Refugee Admissions, told The Hill in a recent interview.
“So part of it is a little bit of shifting. We’ve also done some new hiring, and it was hiring that was timely. Those were people we needed anyway but they came onboard in time for this surge operation,” said Bartlett. He did not say how many staff were added in Amman.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has prioritized sending more refugees to the U.S. than other countries, he said.
So far, about 9,500 Syrians have been interviewed in Amman since February 1, and 12,000 interviews should be completed by April 28, according to a State Department spokesperson.
Republican critics argue that speeding up the process to as little as three months will make it easier for terrorists to slip through.
Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), who co-authored a bill to pause and bolster the refugee screening process, called State’s surge operation “unsecure” and said Obama should shut it down immediately.
“This will inevitably put our nation and our citizens at risk for future terrorist attacks,” he said in a recent statement.
Zinke pointed to the Paris terrorist attacks in November, in which one of the attackers used a fake Syrian passport to pose as a refugee, possibly because his real identity was on a watch list.
He also accused administration officials of using “bait and switch tactics” to ease public concern and reassure that screening refugees takes at least a year.
Indeed, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters after the administration announced the 10,000 figure that the screening process would take “12 to 18 months.”
“That process typically takes 12 to 18 months. And the reason for that process is that the safety and security of the U.S. homeland comes first,” he said on Sept. 10.
The State Department insists it is not cutting corners on security with its new program.
“The security screening in of itself doesn’t take 18 to 24 months,” Bartlett said. “The 18 to 24 month timeframe is what it would normally take us to process a case. And in this instance we’ve compressed the non-security portions of the case work so that it can be shorter.
“The security portions have not been compressed in terms of what they’re looking at, and the standards that they’re using to either approve or disapprove someone,” he added.
Bartlett said that in order to meet the 10,000 goal, Syrian refugees will also continue to be accepted from other nations as well as Jordan, to include Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. He said the State Department has just started to re-interview refugees in Lebanon.
State Department officials have also said they are hoping to bring in even more than 10,000 Syrian refugees this fiscal year, since there is currently a ceiling of 85,000 refugees to the U.S., and it does not limit them by nationality.
However, the plan to bring in 8,700 more refugees in the next several months will face stiff opposition, especially if it gains attention in the presidential race.
GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has called for a temporary ban on Muslim migrants and fellow candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has called for imposing a religious test on refugees.
But supporters of the program say the U.S. is doing the right thing. More than 4.7 million Syrians have registered with UNHCR.
“What the people of the United States should understand is that our intention is to help the most vulnerable people and to do it in a way that respects the security of our nation,” Bartlett said. “This operation is consistent with that goal.”
http://thehill.com/policy/defense/276441-state-seeks-to-pick-up-pace-on-bringing-syrian-refugees-to-us
Germany: AfD supporters protest plan to build first mosque in Thuringia
Some 300 supporters of the right-wing German party Alternative for Germany (AfD) gathered in Erfurt to protest against the planned construction of the first ever mosque in the state of Thuringia. PEGIDA Dresden leaders and supporters were also in attendance, according to reports.
AfD supporters were holding banners adorned with slogans such as “No mosque in Germany” and “today the mosques and tomorrow the war of religions”. The protest was met by a counter-demonstration of around 200 people on the other side of the square.
ITALY – Migrants Burn Down Lampedusa Refugee Welcome Center
A group of Tunisian migrants set fire to the main pavilion in a Lampedusa refugee welcome center Tuesday night, causing severe damage, after learning they would be repatriated to their home country, according to reports.
The fire enveloped the first aid and reception center of Imbriacola in Lampedusa, which presently houses some 530 asylum-seekers, though no injuries have been reported. This is not the first time that migrants have set the pavilion ablaze. Similar acts of arson occurred in 2009 and then in 2011.
After hours battling the fire, which was set around 10:30pm, teams of firefighters stationed on the island were finally able to get the blaze under control in the early hours of Wednesday morning.[…]
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/05/17/migrants-set-fire-lampedusa-refugee-welcome-center/
Muslim faith school ‘bans inspectors from speaking to pupils & staff during investigation’ (express, May 18, 2016)
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/671314/Muslim-faith-school-bans-inspectors-from-speaking-to-pupils-staff-Ofsted-UK-Islam
“A MUSLIM faith school was not inspected properly by Ofsted because officials were “prohibited” from speaking to pupils or staff, the regulator has admitted.
The child safety inspection fell on the same day as the Islamic festival of Eid and inspectors were allegedly told they could only speak to senior managers.
The private Zakaria Muslim Girls’ High School, in Batley, is run by the secretive Deobandi sect, which often shuns contact with non-Muslims.
It is believed the sect controls around half of all Britain’s private Islamic schools.
Ofsted’s initial report into the 149-pupil school stated: “It was not possible to talk to students during this visit as they and the staff were celebrating the festival of Eid.”
The report was supported by a statement from Ofsted’s National Director of Education, Sean Harford, who wrote: “The inspector did not challenge the school when they stated they were celebrating Eid and prohibited him from talking to pupils.
“There is no Ofsted guidance or protocol to state that inspectors will not talk to pupils during the observance of any religious festivals.”
Ofsted later admitted that not talking to children at the Batley school was “a mistake” and said it had taken “appropriate action” against the inspector.
Two other schools in the area – the Islamic Institute of Education and the Islamic Tarbiyah Centre, both in Dewsbury – have raised concerns recently.
The Islamic Institute was re-inspected by Ofsted after inspectors allegedly failed to challenge its teaching of the strict Sharia code – it was then downgraded from “good” to “inadequate”.
Documents uncovered last year revealed that young boys at the school were told they could be expelled for mixing with outsiders and pupils were banned from watching television or reading newspapers.
The Islamic Tarbiyah Centre, which teaches primary school pupils in the evenings, is now under investigation by the Department for Education over its promotion of an extreme form of Islam.
The school, run by a senior Deobandi cleric who is unconnected to the other two schools, was allegedly found to be handing out leaflets claiming Jews are engaged in a conspiracy to take over the world and that adopting British customs is forbidden.
The Zakaria Muslim Girls’ High School refutes Ofsted’s claims but nobody from any of the three schools wished to comment in detail, according to Sky.”