Reader’s links for Aug. 3 – 2016

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

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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.

About Eeyore

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

104 Replies to “Reader’s links for Aug. 3 – 2016”

  1. Czech president calls for TOTAL BAN on refugees to prevent ‘barbaric attacks’ (express, Aug 2, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/695871/Migrant-crisis-Czech-President-calls-TOTAL-ban-refugees-prevent-attacks

    “CZECH President Milos Zeman has called for a total ban on migrants and refugees entering his country to prevent Islamist attacks.

    He said allowing even one refugee into the country was too high a risk in the wake of attacks in Germany and France.

    Zeman, an outspoken critic of immigration, even opposed plans to allow 80 asylum seekers fleeing the war in Syria from settling there.

    He said: “Our country simply cannot afford to risk terrorist attacks like what occurred in France and Germany.

    “By accepting migrants we would create fertile ground for barbaric attacks.”

    The Czech government has agreed to take in 80 Syrian refugees from a Turkish camp – a tiny proportion of the millions fleeing the civil war.

    But Zeman said Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka should halt all new arrivals and there is growing public appetite for the government to take a hard line on migration.

    A poll conducted in May found 61 per cent of Czechs are against taking in war refugees, up from 52 per cent last October.

    Another 34 percent said refugees should be accepted only until they can return home.

    Eastern European nations have been the most vocal in opposing mass migration from the Middle East and Africa.

    Hungary will hold a referendum on October 2 to ask its citizens whether they accept an EU quota system to re-distribute asylum seekers…”

    • All of the predictions like this act as if nothing is going ot happen to change the birth rate or increase the birth rate. Nothing is steady state and no downward spiral is irreversible. Instead of talking about how there is no hope how about some ideas on how western civilization can survive?

  2. British man killed fighting ISIS in Syria (express, Aug 2, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/695849/Islamic-State-British-man-killed-fighting-ISIS-Syria?_ga=1.175887653.649398293.1444062626

    “A 22-YEAR-OLD British man has been killed while fighting against Islamic State jihadis in Syria, his family have confirmed.

    Dean Carl Evans died while fighting with the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the north of Syria near the town of Manbij.

    His father John Evans said in a statement: “My son Dean Carl Evans born 7/10/93 was killed in Syria on Friday, he was loved and will be missed by all his family and friends rip son”.

    He is reportedly from Reading, Berkshire and was believed to have been fighting with the International Brigades of Rojava, which is a foreign volunteer group battling ISIS…”

  3. Marine Le Pen’s niece calls on France to scrap Schengen in ‘war against radical Islam’ (express, Aug 2, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/695954/Marine-Le-Pen-s-niece-France-scrap-Schengen-war-against-radical-Islam

    “THE niece of French’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen has outlined her plan to defeat Islamic State (ISIS), including scrapping Schengen so France can control who enters their country.

    Marion Le Pen, a Front National (FN) MP, revealed her measures to battle the jihadis days after the horrific Nice attack where an armed man drove through crowds celebrating national day killing 84 people.

    The 26-year-old said: ”I will submit a resolution calling for the immediate suspension of the Schengen area. The restoration of borders is a prerequisite in order to deport people from different countries, for countries to ban people and the fight against illegal immigration and against weapon trafficking.”

    The controversial Schengen Agreement abolished many of the EU’s internal borders to allow passport-free movement across the bloc.

    Last month a French parliamentary committee admitted that potential terrorists can move too freely in the Schengen open borders area.

    The leader of the French far right party Front National, Marine Le Pen, has also demanded the abolition of the Schengen area to ensure the safety of France.

    As Marion Le Pen vowed to do all she could to protect French citizens from ISIS, she said that “the war against radical islam has not yet started in France”.

    She has also pledged to submit a petition to MPs to demand that the Union of Islamic Organisations of France, which has been linked to radical islam, is disbanded…”

  4. EU migrant crisis ‘is colossal’: British borders face threat from terrorists and smugglers (express, Aug 3, 2016)
    http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/695974/EU-migrant-crisis-Britain-borders-threat-terrorists-smugglers-home-office-border-force

    “BRITAIN’S borders are at growing risk of exploitation by people traffickers and terrorists following the “colossal” migrant crisis engulfing the EU, MPs warned last night.

    The Border Force has a “worryingly low” number of vessels patrolling coastal waters despite a surge into Europe that is “unprecedented in modern times”, according to a Commons report.

    Gaps in security at smaller ports are increasingly being exploited to sneak illegal migrants into the country, the report said. And the crisis is raising the likelihood that terrorist “barbarism” will be imported into the UK…”

  5. Australia condones asylum seeker abuse, say rights groups (BBC, Aug 3, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-36939796

    “Two leading international campaign groups claim the Australian government has a deliberate policy of ignoring abuse of asylum seekers.

    Australia transports asylum seekers who arrive by boat to off-shore processing centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

    Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International conducted extensive interviews on Nauru and said Australia had condoned severe abuse there.

    Australia’s government said it was not given a chance to address the claims…”

  6. Syria Aleppo siege: Fighting rages as Russian jets strike (BBC, Aug 3, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36961184

    “Intense fighting has continued around the Syrian city of Aleppo, where a rebel offensive is trying to break a government siege of rebel-held areas.

    Over the weekend, the rebels tried to reconnect an encircled area in the east with insurgent territory in the west.

    They set off a huge tunnel bomb underneath army positions in the strategic Ramouseh district.
    The army has been fighting back with the help of Russian air strikes to stop the rebels breaking through.

    Around a quarter of a million civilians are living under siege in rebel-held areas since government forces cut them off last month…”

  7. Gad Saad with Andrew C Mcarthy:
    https://youtu.be/Syu2rgMxrW4

    Great discussion, and brings out how Socialists have brought about the destruction of capitalism for their utopia of unremitting motherhood, while Islam is aiming for omnipresent fatherhood.

  8. A start-up’s race to harvest the moon’s treasures

    In a race against global superpowers, Moon Express — a private venture founded by billionaire entrepreneur Naveen Jain, space technology guru Dr. Barney Pell and former astronaut Dr. Bob Richards — has cleared a path for private U.S . companies looking to explore and commercialize space.

    Today the company is the first private enterprise in history to receive U.S. government approval to travel beyond Earth’s orbit and undertake a deep space mission. The goal: to land a robotic spacecraft on the moon’s surface in 2017 and analyze and explore its valuable resources that can be used on Earth.

    http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/03/moon-express-and-the-trillion-dollar-race-to-harvest-the-moon.html

    (Hardly anyone remembers that the original purpose of NASA was to develop the space technologies and then turn them over to private industry. This changed when Kennedy decided to race to the moon. If the original plan had been followed we would have Luna City and Mars port now instead of much later in this Century.)

  9. Trump makes ‘you want to retch’, says Hollande

    Paris (AFP) – US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump makes “you want to retch”, French leader Francois Hollande said Tuesday, as he added his voice to a barrage of scathing criticism of the White House hopeful.

    “His excesses make you want to retch, even in the United States, especially when — as was Donald Trump’s case — he speaks ill of a soldier, of the memory of a soldier,” Hollande told journalists in Paris.

    The French leader was referring to a feud between Trump and the Muslim parents of a slain US soldier, which has shaken the presidential campaign just three months before the November vote.

    Hollande criticised Trump’s “hurtful and humiliating comments”.

    The Republican campaign to retake the White House is reeling from a series of self-inflicted scandals as Trump has in recent days criticised Muslims, babies, firefighters and the military, prompting his wincing Republican backers to issue awkward denunciations.

    US President Barack Obama also joined the fray, declaring Trump “unfit” to hold the country’s top office in his strongest rebuke yet of the 70-year-old mogul.

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-makes-want-retch-says-hollande-022327536.html?ref=gs

  10. ‘Socialist experiment’ Venezuela in ruins as soldiers delete videos of 12-hour food queues
    VENEZUELANS face 12-hour queues for food as the Latin American nation’s economic and political crisis has lead to a severe shortage of essential resources.

    A BBC journalist, who attempted to film the crisis, was stopped and forced by soldiers to delete footage of a protest outside a supermarket as desperate Venezuelans waited for food.

    Baying crowds shouted “We want to buy stuff!” as they grouped outside the store in the country’s capital, Caracas.

    BBC journalist Vladimir Hernandez reports that many people approached him to say they had queued for 12 hours without being able to buy what they wanted.

    12-hour food queues and President Maduro

    http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/695662/venezuela-food-queues-soldier-delete-video

    • NBC News Trump Allies Plot Candidate Intervention After Disastrous 48 Hours

      by Chuck Todd and Hallie Jackson

      Key Republicans close to Donald Trump’s orbit are plotting an intervention with the candidate after a disastrous 48 hours led some influential voices in the party to question whether Trump can stay at the top of the Republican ticket without catastrophic consequences for his campaign and the GOP at large.

      Republican National Committee head Reince Priebus, former Republican New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are among the Trump endorsers hoping to talk the real estate mogul into a dramatic reset of his campaign in the coming days, sources tell NBC News.

      The group of GOP heavyweights hopes to enlist the help of Trump’s children – who comprise much of his innermost circle of influential advisers – to aid in the attempt to rescue his candidacy. Trump’s family is considered to have by far the most influence over the candidate’s thinking at what could be a make-or-break moment for his campaign.

      Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort said Wednesday he had heard nothing of such a meeting and disputed that it would be at all necessary, saying on FOX News that “the only need we have for an intervention is with some media types who keep saying things that aren’t true.”

      “The candidate’s in control of his own campaign,” he said.

      The idea of an intervention is in its early stages, and there’s no guarantee that Trump’s team would entertain a conversation requiring such comprehensive changes for a candidate who has resisted calls to moderate his tone or reel in his most outlandish political positions.

      Stunned Republicans began seriously considering the idea of an exit ramp after an extraordinary few days during which Trump continually lashed out against a Gold Star family critical of his position on Muslim immigration, declared that he’d “always wanted” a Purple Heart but that it’s “easier” to receive one as a gift, and declined to endorse top Republican candidates including House Speaker Paul Ryan.

      Sources in the candidate’s orbit tell NBC News Trump is aware of the dissatisfaction within the party. But while some labeled the state of affairs “Crazytown” and “worse than ever,” they also described a sense of powerlessness, bemoaning the fact there’s “nothing that we can do, that anybody can do right now.”

      There’s absolutely no indication Trump is considering leaving the race, a move that would seem wildly out of character for a candidate who has prided himself on “winning” and grasped at any poll that shows him dominating an opponent. Still, some Republicans are quietly considering the arcane mechanics of what would happen to the party’s ticket if Trump was to leave the presidential race.

      Adviser Kellyanne Conway disputed the notion that Trump would bolt the ticket, saying “I would push back on any formal report that the candidate is going to leave the race.”

      And it’s clear that deep unease within the Republican Party is continuing to fester, despite party officials’ efforts to turn the corner with a parade of “unity” pageantry of the GOP convention two weeks ago.

      http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-allies-plot-candidate-intervention-after-disastrous-48-hours-n622216

      Rove on Trump: Worst 2 weeks after a convention I’ve seen

    • CBS – Four-star Navy admiral skewers “unstable” Donald Trump

      As Donald Trump’s campaign continues this week embroiled in a series of controversies, a retired four-star admiral, John B. Nathman, has added his voice to the chorus of military voices blasting the Republican nominee over his incendiary comments about the Khan family.

      “As Mr. Khan reminded us, it’s time now for American leadership to repudiate Donald Trump,” Nathman said in a statement. “What is required is not just the recognition of Trump’s lack of temperament to serve, but I would add it also takes personal courage to say it out loud.”[…]

      http://www.cbsnews.com/news/four-star-navy-admiral-skewers-unstable-donald-trump/

    • gateway pundit – Military Mom” Protester Who Confronted Pence was Hillary Plant

      On Tuesday Catherine Byrne infiltrated the Mike Pence rally in Carson City, Nevada.

      […]Byrne, whose son is in the Air Force, demanded that Mike Pence denounce running mate Donald Trump for ridiculing Sharia supporting Gold Star dad Khizr Khan.

      It took all of two minutes to discover Catherine Byrne from Carson City, Nevada is a Hillary supporting Democrat activist.
      She is NOT just some concerned military mom.

      And her Twitter page is littered with support for the terrorist group Black Lives Matter and Hillary Clinton.

      Of course, the liberal media will not report on this.
      They never do.

      http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/08/confirmed-military-mom-protester-confronted-pence-hillary-plant/

    • and now this one :

      BBC News – Donald Trump ‘is psychologically unbalanced’ –

  11. Japan’s PM picks hawkish defense minister for new cabinet, vows economic recovery

    TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appointed a conservative ally as defense minister in a cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday that left most key posts unchanged, and he promised to hasten the economy’s escape from deflation and boost regional ties.

    New defense minister Tomomi Inada, previously the ruling party policy chief, shares Abe’s goal of revising the post-war, pacifist constitution, which some conservatives consider a humiliating symbol of Japan’s World War Two defeat.

    She also regularly visits Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine for war dead, which China and South Korea see as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism. Japan’s ties with China and South Korea have been frayed by the legacy of its military aggression before and during World War Two.

    Asked if she would visit Yasukuni on August 15, the emotive anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War Two, Inada sidestepped the query.

    http://www.oann.com/japan-pm-abe-appoints-conservative-ally-as-defense-minister/

    • I wonder how close Japan is to a “political breakout” if PRC & Japan really decide confrontation is the order of the day? Japan, like PRC is developing stealth aircraft (The USA could have SOLD the F-22 Raptor to the Japs; we could have kept the production line going, could have kept on followup development like a an F-111 replacement, could have made a big PROFIT. Instead, they are going to make their own aircraft. A big chance to have a win-win down the drain from the US standpoint.). A reborn patriotic Japan culture against a PRC that is going to allow expanded families with more than one son or daughter. I’d say that is going to become one HOT military area in the future.

      • We could have sold planes to Japan and kept the production lines open, the left didn’t want that because it would have 1) helped the US economy 2) helped the US military by having an existing production line for needed airplanes.

        Yes that area is going to be a very hot military zone in the near future, I say near future because the US is going to be busy with left wing and Moslem terror campaigns inside the US while trying to help the European nations remain free. All of that while trying to rebuild our military and regrow our economy.

        Don’t forget that Japan will have India (a much stronger military then most know and with a military tradition that goes back thousands of years) and the Philippines a nation the US trained and whose officer Corp contains many educated in the US military academies. Between the three they are strong enough to do most of the naval and ground fighting in the Far East. Add South Korea to the list of allies because once China is tied up where they can’t interfere the South will move north no matter what the US says, and they may (probably will) decide to take a fairly large section of China and add it to Korea. The people who are talking about how the US will be replaced as the leader of the free world never stop to think about what will happen in the Far East and how China will probably not survive as an independent nation. This is part of what I see as a possible future and a new paradigm to replace Western Civilization. The US will survive and Europe we regain its freedom but the map of the world will show nations with different shapes and some of the nations will no longer exist while several new ones will spring up. When looking at the future don’t get so involved with fighting Islam that you ignore the rest of the world. There are several predator nations out there who want to seize large chunks of the world for themselves and others who are looked upon as potential prey that have the capability of allying and taking over as the big boy on the block. Think of the possibility of a resurgent Japan and a united Korea taking over at least one Chinese province each.

        Just throwing out possibilities but remember every time China has attacked Japan they have lost and usually lost big time. Also add this to your thoughts about a war in that region, India is a nuclear power with a minimum of 200 warheads, Japan and South are both capable of building nuclear warheads in a matter of weeks at the longest. Then remember that between 80 and 90% of China’s population is in 6 cities.

  12. Thousands of Yazidis missing, captive, two years after start of ‘genocide’ – U.N.

    BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Thousands of Yazidis are being held captive by Islamic State in Syria where many are used for sexual slavery or forced to fight for the group, the United Nations said on Wednesday, on the second anniversary of what investigators termed a genocide.

    A U.N.-appointed commission of independent war crimes investigators said in June that Islamic State was committing genocide against the Yazidis, a religious community of 400,000 people in northern Iraq, beginning with an attack on their city of Sinjar on Aug. 3, 2014.

    Yazidis’ beliefs combine elements of several ancient Middle Eastern religions and they are considered infidels by the hardline Sunni Islamist militants.

    The U.N. said most of the captives have been taken to neighboring Syria “where Yazidi women and girls continue to be sexually enslaved and Yazidi boys indoctrinated, trained and used in hostilities.”

    Around 3,200 Yazidi women and girls are being held captive, and thousands of men and boys are missing, the U.N. said.

    http://www.oann.com/thousands-of-yazidis-missing-captive-two-years-after-start-of-genocide-u-n/

  13. Turkish police raid science council as crackdown widens

    ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish police have raided the offices of the national science research council, an official said on Wednesday, as authorities widen an investigation into followers of the U.S.-based cleric accused of masterminding last month’s coup attempt.

    Broadcaster NTV earlier reported that police raided the offices of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (Tubitak) on Wednesday and detained “many” people.

    However, a Tubitak official told Reuters the raid had happened on Sunday, adding he did not have any details about the number of detentions. He declined to comment further.

    Tubitak funds science research projects in universities and the private sector and employs more than 1,500 researchers, according to its website.

    More than 60,000 people in the military, judiciary, civil service and education have been detained, suspended or placed under investigation following the July 15 coup attempt, prompting fears that President Tayyip Erdogan is using the events to crack down on dissent.

    http://www.oann.com/turkish-police-raid-science-council-many-detained-in-post-coup-purge-ntv/

    • UK: Turkey-US relations ‘seriously compromised’ following failed coup – Assange

      Founder of Wikileaks Julian Assange questioned the US’ role in the recent failed coup attempt in Turkey, during an exclusive interview with Russia Today’s Afshin Rattanzi at the Ecuadorian embassy in London on Wednesday.

      “In the middle of the coup NBC published that Erdogan was on his way to Germany to seek asylum and they say this was said to him by a US military source,” stated Assange, before questioning why the report was published, “that went all the way around the world and was used to further the chance of the success of the coup within Turkey, because if the president is fled then he has lost control.”

      • Behind the interviewer there’s a primitive trident. Assauge wasn’t able to sit in that chair because it would confirm suspicions that he is, in fact, an agent of the Devil.

  14. Greece wants ‘Plan B’ after Turkey threatens to quit EU migrant deal: paper

    BERLIN (Reuters) – The European Union needs to come up with an alternative plan for tackling migration after Turkey threatened to back out of an accord to help stem the influx of migrants to Europe, Greece’s migration minister told German daily Bild.

    Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said over the weekend that Ankara would back out of the agreement with the EU if the bloc did not deliver the promised visa-free travel for Turks in return.

    The 28-nation EU is dependent on Ankara to enforce the deal which has sharply cut the number of refugees and migrants leaving Turkish shores for Greece. Grappling with a major financial crisis, Greece struggled to cope with the influx.

    “We are very concerned,” Greek Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas told mass-selling Bild. “We need, in any case, a Plan B.”

    German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said on Monday Europe would not be blackmailed by Turkey in talks on visa liberalisation, which have been hampered by a dispute over Turkish anti-terrorism legislation and a crackdown after an abortive coup on July 15.

    http://www.oann.com/greece-wants-plan-b-after-turkey-threatens-to-quit-eu-migrant-deal-paper/

  15. Obama paid mob ransom to Iran for U.S. hostages

    Most Americans pretty much assumed that the release of $1.7 billion to Iran in January 2016, in conjunction with the implementation of the nuclear JCPOA and the swap of prisoners between the U.S. and Iran, was effectively a ransom payment.

    But according to the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, parts of the release deal — on which Congress has now been briefed — make it clear that the monetary compensation to Iran was absolutely, unquestionably, and egregiously a ransom payment. No “effectively” about it. This was a mob deal, down to the literal stacks of currency being flown to Iran on pallets.

    If you like, you can take comfort from the fact that only $400 million of the ransom seems to have been transferred to Iran in that particular manner.

    But the bottom line is that when it’s reported that Obama “sent cash to Iran” as the hostages were being freed, that really effing means Obama sent cash to Iran. Don’t envision the U.S. Treasury making an accountable electronic transaction of some kind. Think Guido and three armed goons driving to the docks at midnight with wrapped packages of $100s in the trunk.

    http://libertyunyielding.com/2016/08/02/obama-paid-mob-ransom-iran-iran-u-s-hostages/

  16. This is a very damning article on Obama and his actions, he has put all Americans everywhere at risk of being kidnapped, we are facing a very nasty future thanks to the people who voted for Obama based on his skin color rather then his qualifications and character.

    • Not all the man says in the video is correct, however his final conclusions are correct we should be working to support Assad instead of working to destroy him.

      His comments about creating a dictator to fight a proxy fight against our enemies is right, and wrong. And he misses the point that if we created a monster it is our duty to destroy the monster.

      Also we will never know if the government we installed in Iraq would have lasted if we had stayed the course instead of pulling out before the enemy was destroyed.

      Finally if we support Assad will we be support ing a Russian puppet, yes and no. That support would give us a chance to wean Assad away from Russia. Will Assad turn into a liability in the future? Who knows? When you are in a war of survival you support people who are fighting on your side even though they may become the enemy after the war is over. It is called real politick and the left has demonized this in order to damage the west and take a weapon from our arsenal while playing the same game against us.

  17. Islamic State Group Announces New Boko Haram Leader (abcnews, Aug 3, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/islamic-state-group-announces-boko-haram-leader-41092185

    “The Islamic State group’s newspaper identifies a new leader of the group’s West Africa Province, popularly known as Nigeria’s Boko Haram extremists, who promises not to attack mosques or markets used by Muslims.

    The Arabic-language newspaper al-Nabaa on Wednesday identified Abu Musab al-Barnawi as the new “Wali,” a title previously used to describe long-time leader Abubakar Shekau.

    The report does not say what Shekau’s current status is.

    Analyst Jacob Zenn says the announcement indicates a coup by Boko Haram breakaway group Ansaru and follows a trend of extremist Islamic groups moving away from al-Qaida to the Islamic State.

    Ansaru is known for kidnapping foreigners. It had broken away from Boko Haram because it disagrees with the indiscriminate killing of civilians, especially Muslims.”

  18. Italy Ready to Allow Strikes on IS in Libya From Its Bases (abcnews, Aug 3, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/italy-ready-strikes-libya-bases-41091329

    “The Italian government is ready to “positively evaluate” any request for air base or airspace use in the U.S. airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Libya if that would yield “a more rapid and effective end” to the campaign, Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti said Wednesday.

    The minister spoke in response to questions in the Chamber of Deputies about the airstrikes, which began earlier this week.

    She said the U.S. military action which began this week “will be limited in time and area of operation, doesn’t foresee the use of ground forces and is limited to allowing the Libyan forces to successfully defeat the terrorist forces in the area of Sirte,” a coastal city which had become an Islamic State stronghold.

    “The government is ready to positively evaluate any request for use of bases and air space if that would be functional to a more rapid and effective conclusion to the operation underway,” Pinotti said.

    So far, the U.S. airstrikes haven’t involved flights over Italian territory, she added…”

  19. Washington transport officer charged with aiding Islamic State (BBC, Aug 3, 2016)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36968052

    “A police officer working for the Washington transport system has been charged with aiding militants of so-called Islamic State (IS).

    Federal officials said Nicholas Young, 36, sent an FBI informant about $250 worth of credits for mobile messaging accounts used by IS fighters.

    Mr Young’s arrest marks the first time a US police officer has been charged with helping IS militants.

    Authorities said there no was threat to the Washington transport system.

    Mr Young had been under investigation since 2010, the FBI said.

    The FBI said that Mr Young had travelled in 2011 to Libya to fight with rebels trying to overthrow President Muammar Gaddafi. He packed body armour and other military gear, authorities said.

    Authorities said Mr Young was an acquaintance of Amine El Khalifi, who later pleaded guilty to plotting a suicide bombing at the US Capitol Building in 2012.”

      • They were probably keeping him under close surveillance to find out who he as talking to and who was helping him. In many ways a spy you know of is not near as dangerous as one you don’t know about. During the US and Cold War both the US and the Soviets left enemy spies alone and fed them fake info.

  20. Xinhua English – Interview: Syrian army’s progress in Aleppo could entirely change conflict map: expert

    DAMASCUS, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) — The sweeping progress made by the Syrian army against the rebels in the northern province of Aleppo is “strategic and pivotal and will entirely change the conflict map,” a Syrian political expert told Xinhua in an interview.

    The Syrian army was able to lay a full siege on rebel-held areas in the eastern part of the Aleppo city, after effectively severing their last supply route into the city, an achievement that will have positive repercussions on the political tracks to resolve the Syrian crisis.

    “This victory will enable the Syrian state to wrest back control over one of the very important regions, which has an economic, demographic and political importance,” said Danura, who holds a PhD in political science and is a member in the government delegation to the Geneva talks on Syria issue.

    Danura said the progress made in Aleppo is the result of a long strategic coordination between the Syrian and Russian forces, adding that it also came after the Turkish side, which was active in supporting the rebellion in Aleppo, was marginalized following the failed coup attempt in Turkey last month.

    The Turkish coup has made Ankara busy rearranging its inner home, which led to lifting the cover from the rebels, who were largely supported by Turkey.

    “The rebel losses in Aleppo will usher in further defeats, which could lead to softening the reluctance stance of the exiled opposition,” he said.

    Speaking of the opposition, Danura continued that the Western powers and the United States must play a more positive role in finding a solution to the crisis, by pushing the opposition to lower their expectations and their “wooden language.”

    Regarding the future of the Syrian crisis after the military progress in Aleppo, Danura said the Syrian government will continue to fight terrorist groups, as long as they keep their terrorist mentality.

    He said the pardon offered by Assad recently is a step toward achieving a national reconciliation, which, itself, is a step toward a solution to the crisis.

    Late last month, the Syrian army stormed the Bani Zaid area, a main rebel stronghold in the eastern part of Aleppo.

    The progress came days after the army severed the last rebel supply route connecting rebel-held areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo, with rebel-controlled parts in the eastern part of the city.

    Severing the Castello road has dealt a strong blow to the rebels inside Aleppo.

    With the progress made, the Syrian army has fully besieged eastern Aleppo, urging the rebels to surrender themselves and the civilians to cooperate.

    Moreover, President Bashar al-Assad announced an amnesty for the rebels who surrender themselves and their weapons to the authorities.

    The Syrian authorities in cooperation with the Russians also opened three safe passages for civilians wishing to leave eastern Aleppo. They also opened a fourth one for the rebels who would want to surrender themselves.

    On Tuesday, state news agency SANA said dozens of families evacuated eastern districts in Aleppo, the second batch to leave the city since the government offered the safe passages.

    SANA also said rebel fighters surrendered themselves to the authorities.

    Video clips of rebels surrendering were aired on several Syrian TVs.

    With the Syrian army making all this progress in Aleppo, the rebels, including jihadi ones, unleashed several attacks over the past week to try to break the government-imposed siege.

    However, all of their efforts have been rendered flat so far, as the government siege on rebel-held areas is still in place.

    Aleppo, Syria’s largest province and once a thriving economic metropolis, has witnessed intensified violent battles lately as the Syrian army advances against the rebels in the north.

    http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-08/03/c_135558945.htm
    =================================================

    Video Aug 03 2016 – Aleppo -relatively moderate freedom figthers

    • Russia says informed U.S. of toxic substance attack by rebels in Syria’s Aleppo

      The Russian military informed the United States that rebels in the Syrian city of Aleppo launched an attack using toxic substances at 19:05 on Aug. 2, Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing a Russian general.

      As a result of the attack, seven people died and more than 20 people were sent to hospital, Interfax reported.

      http://news.trust.org/item/20160803171548-9y083

      =============================================
      Aleppo – Aug 03 2016 – extremely moderate rebels

    • NYT – The Case for (Finally) Bombing Assad

      WASHINGTON — The Obama administration wants to reduce the violence and suffering in Syria and, at the same time, quash jihadist groups there. This is why the White House is now pushing a plan for the United States to cooperate with the Russian military in Syria, sharing intelligence and coordinating airstrikes against the Islamic State and the Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front. In return, Russia would force the government of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, to stop using barrel bombs and air attacks in areas in which neither extremist group is present.

      […]But the Obama administration’s plan, opposed by many within the C.I.A., the State Department and the Pentagon, is flawed. Not only would it cement the Assad government’s siege of the opposition-held city Aleppo, it would push terrorist groups and refugees into neighboring Turkey. Instead, the United States must use this opportunity to take a harder line against Mr. Assad and his allies.

      […]There is an alternative: Punish the Syrian government for violating the truce by using drones and cruise missiles to hit the Syrian military’s airfields, bases and artillery positions where no Russian troops are present.

      […]If Russia does want to limit its involvement in Syria, the threat of limited strikes should persuade it to make Mr. Assad behave. Conversely, if the skeptics are right that Mr. Putin will get serious about a political solution only if he sees the costs of backing Syria’s government increasing, the threat of such strikes is probably the only way to start a political process to end the war.

      Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry have long said there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict. Unfortunately, Russia and Iran seem to think there is — or at least that no acceptable political outcome is possible without diminishing the rebels and strengthening the Syrian government. It is time for the United States to speak the language that Mr. Assad and Mr. Putin understand.

      http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/03/opinion/the-case-for-finally-bombing-assad.html

      ===================================================
      video – supply convoy destroyed by the Russian airforce in Atareb Syria

  21. Danish opposition parties have called for young asylum seekers to be punished by being forcibly detained within their accommodation centres.

    The Social Democrats on Tuesday backed a proposal from the populist Danish People’s Party to empower the police to ban young asylum seekers from leaving their accommodation centres as a punishment for misbehaviour.

    Five boys of between 14 and 17 years old from Tullebølle asylum centre were charged for sexual misdemeanours committed at the nearby Langeland festival on the island of Funen. Three were charged with groping, and two for raping a 16-year-old girl.

    http://www.thelocal.dk/20160802/danish-opposition-calls-for-troublesome-migrants-to-be-locked-in-centre

    Three refugees charged for groping at Danish festival

    Three asylum seekers have been charged for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl at a festival on the island of Funen.

    http://www.thelocal.dk/20160801/three-asylum-seekers-charges-for-groping-girl-at-festival

  22. DAILY MAIL – Radical Islamist who posed for pictures beside George Galloway has been jailed for 12 years for child sex offences

    Al Said Qasim Hashem, 59, molested two girls over the course of 13 years
    One of the girls was just five years old when the abuse started
    He has been linked to Bahraini dissident network the ’14 Feb Coalition’

    […]It is the second time in just seven months that a prominent member of the group has been handed a lengthy jail term.

    Hashem’s compatriot Abdul Raoof Al Shayeb, 51, was locked up for five years last December for possessing information likely to be useful to terrorists.

    Hashem’s compatriot Abdul Raoof Al Shayeb, 51, (pictured left, with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn) was locked up for five years last December for possessing information likely to be useful to terrorists

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3721700/Radical-Islamist-posed-pictures-George-Galloway-jailed-12-years-child-sex-offences.html

    • Paris police drag worshippers out of church due for demolition, day after slain priest’s funeral

        • Under Obama probably none. Under Trump a lot, hopefully many more then the number of Moslems Obama let into the country, And we don’t want to stop with France or Catholics, Christians of all nations should be welcome.

    • France: Police evict priests and protesters from squatted Church

      Police evicted 20 people from St. Rita Church, a building which had been promised for sale, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris early Wednesday morning.

      SOT, Nicolas Stoquer, Deputy Chairman of the Association of St. Rita of Arches (French): “I attended the scene at 6:45 am. Police officers have molested several elected officials including councilors of Paris and women in order to evacuate [the premises]. A complaint will be filed following the violence [served] on municipal officials.”

      Nicolas Stoquer, Deputy Chairman of the Association of St. Rita of Arches SOT (French): “We have just known in France, dramatic situations of terrorist attacks whose latest, in Saint-Etienne de Rouvray, near Rouen, the slaughter of a priest during mass. Honestly and sincerely, we didn’t think that the day after the solemn mass in the presence of the Minister of the Interior and Religious Affairs, Mr. Cazeneuve, who is the superior of the police prefect of Paris, could give his permission to evict a Roman Catholic church in the heart of Paris, the day after the solemn funeral of Jacques Hamel. We couldn’t imagine this. This clash in calendars is infinitely shocking.”

      Nicolas Stoquer, Deputy Chairman of the Association of St. Rita of Arches (French): “That wants to do Lamotte group is the real estate speculation: buying property 3.3 million, roughly the size of a large apartment in Paris, and to several floors of housing and parking for resale with a margin more than 500 or 600 percent. It is not the rules of capitalism as we should know it in the West. That is the real estate speculation, financial greed and it is mainly the lack of ethics in architectural and urban planning.”

    • RT- France: Priest dragged away as riot police end protest in Paris church

      A priest was seen dragged from the church as the police quashed a sit-down protest against the demolition of the Catholic Church of St Rita, in Paris, Wednesday.

      The decimation of the church has ignited public outrage after it was announced that a parking lot is to be built in its place.

      • Gallicans aren’t sold on the primacy of the Pope. Sounds wise, even more so these days.
        Power-mad Catholic clergy see them as a thorn in their side (so to speak). They won’t stand up for them (or for most Christians, even the kosher Catholics).
        “First they came for the Jews, but I wasn’t…”

  23. CNN – Why this American is set to make history in Rio

    Team USA fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad is set to make history at the Rio Olympics as the first American to compete in the games while wearing a hijab.

  24. DC Metro Officer Went from Playing Nazi to Joining ISIS

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/263729/dc-metro-officer-went-playing-nazi-joining-isis-daniel-greenfield

    I’m surprised that this doesn’t happen more often. Islam is the next best thing to Nazism around these days. There’s a reason that they call it Islamofascism.

    A Washington, D.C. Metro Transit police officer who was a convert to Islam and once dressed up as Jihadi John for Halloween was charged on Wednesday with trying to provide material support to ISIS — the first time a law enforcement officer has been charged with an ISIS-related crime.

    Virginia resident Nicholas Young, 36, who has served with the department since 2003, was arrested Wednesday morning by FBI agents.

    Authorities allege in a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday that Young attempted to send money to ISIS through a mobile-based gift card using an unnamed messaging service the terror group utilizes for recruiting purposes.

    Considering the area, we’ll likely learn that they had a mosque in common.

    The criminal complaint connects Young to two convicted Washington, DC-area terrorist sympathizers, Zachary Chesser and Amine El Khalifi.

    Young really liked his costumes.

    A baggage search by Customs and Border Protection on one of Young’s outbound trips revealed he had traveled with body armor, a Kevlar helmet, and “several other military-style items,” according to the criminal complaint.

    Young is also alleged to have been in possession of a large cache of firearms, including numerous rifles and handguns at his home.

    His alleged terrorist leanings came into the spotlight in 2015 when he admitted to interviewers at the Metro Transit Police Department that he dressed up as Jihadi John for Halloween in 2014. According to the criminal complaint, as part of his costume “Young stuffed an orange jumpsuit with paper to portray a headless hostage, and he carried that around with him through the party.”

    During the same interview, Young admitted to having previously dressed up as a Nazi and to collecting Nazi memorabilia as well as possessing a tattoo of a German eagle on his neck.

    If you can’t have Hitler, you can always have Mohammed.

  25. A Nuclear-Armed Caliphate?
    Erdogan is one giant step closer to doing what he has always wanted to do.

    Much has been made of the Islamic State’s claim to the caliphate. But the Islamic State is fast losing ground in Syria and Iraq, and without a territorial claim, its claim to the caliphate is a shaky one. According to some sources, ISIS has already been preparing its followers for the fall of the caliphate.

    Meanwhile, an Islamist power with a much better claim to the caliphate has been gathering strength. Whether the failed coup in Turkey was the real thing or whether it was staged, as some have claimed, President Erdogan’s hold over the Turkish nation has been immeasurably strengthened. As a result, he is now one giant step closer to doing what, some say, he has always wanted to do—namely, to re-establish the caliphate.

    The last time the Muslim world had a caliphate, it was centered in Constantinople. The Turkish sultan (who was also the caliph) was the head of the Ottoman Empire—an empire that controlled far more territory than ISIS does or is ever likely to. Then in 1923, following the disarray left by the First World War, a secular government under the leadership of Kemal Ataturk came to power in Turkey and abolished the caliphate soon after.

    To many in the Muslim world, this was a world-changing catastrophe. It flew in the face of Muhammad’s intention that mosque and state should be united, and it undermined the case for Islamic law. Moreover, the overthrow of the caliphate affected not just Turkey, but all of the Muslim world. In the late 1920s in Egypt, Hasan al-Banna founded the Muslim Brotherhood with the intention of reversing what Ataturk had done. The Brotherhood came close to doing this–at least in Egypt—in 2012 with the election of Mohamed Morsi as president. But Morsi showed his hand too early and was soon deposed by the military under General El-Sisi.

    http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/263722/nuclear-armed-caliphate-william-kilpatrick

  26. Warning graphic details you may not want to read, I couldn’t get all the way through

    Pamela Geller: Slate Puts Mother of 5-Year-Old Rape Victim on Trial

    Slate magazine on Sunday published “If You Want to Live Here, You Need to Live by the Rules Here,” a 5,000-plus word exposition of the Muslim migrant rape case in Twin Falls, Idaho. Author Michelle Goldberg subtitles her piece: “A sexual assault case involving refugee children in Idaho. A microcosm of America in the age of Trump.” That tells you all you need to know: Goldberg and Slate are using this case to demonize opposition to the Democrats’ suicidal policies regarding Muslim migrants.

    Goldberg doesn’t care about the five-year-old rape victim in Twin Falls in the slightest degree. In fact, throughout her lengthy piece and in texts with the victim’s mother, she puts this little girl and her family on trial.

    Goldberg’s agenda is further exposed by the fact that throughout her wordy article, she doesn’t deign to include a full description of the attack itself. The closest Golberg comes to this is her account of the victim’s mother’s brief description of the video that the attackers took while they were raping the girl: “Her fiancé, she said, told her it showed oral sex as well as their daughter being urinated on.” But Goldberg follows this with prosecuting attorney Grant Loebs waxing “indignant at all the misrepresentations still swirling around about the case. ‘I’m a lifelong conservative Republican, and the behavior of the right-wing alternative press on this is atrocious.’” Loebs’ own dishonesty I have shown in a previous article.

    http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2016/08/02/pamela-geller-slate-mother-migrant-rape-victim/

    After the rape of the little girl the worst thing is that they left the boys with their parents, then comes the attempt by SLATE to make the girls family the villians.

  27. Report: 9 Citizens of Trinidad Sought to Join IS Group (abcnews, Aug 3, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/report-citizens-trinidad-sought-join-group-41099828

    “The government of Trinidad and Tobago has reportedly confirmed that nine of its citizens will be deported from Turkey after being detained while trying to enter Syria or Iraq to join the Islamic State group.

    The Trinidad and Tobago Guardian said in an article published Wednesday that Attorney General Faris al-Rawi told it the nine will be under surveillance and could face criminal charges for involvement with a terrorist group.

    “At the end of the day, anybody in an alleged circumstance of terrorism has to face the courts. There is due process and it must be done fairly but at the same time you have to take an intelligence-based approach to this,” al-Rawi told the newspaper.

    The attorney general could not be reached for comment Wednesday by The Associated Press…”

  28. Turkish Cypriots Protest Turkey’s ‘Religious’ Influence (abcnews, Aug 3, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkish-cypriots-protest-turkeys-religious-influence-41099911

    “Hundreds of Turkish Cypriots are protesting against what they say is Turkey’s attempt to mold their secular culture into one that’s more in tune with Islamic norms.

    Some 1,500 mostly young people gathered in front of the Parliament in the breakaway north of the ethnically divided island Wednesday to decry the creation of a “coordination committee” that will oversee all youth sport and cultural activities.

    Protesters charge the committee’s hidden agenda is to instill a more Islamic way of life by funding cultural and sporting projects that will include religious elements.

    Turkish Cypriot parliamentarian Zeki Celer told The Associated Press the committee is “all about religion” and added that “we don’t need them to tell us what to do.””

  29. France Secures Land, Sea and Summer Fun Against Attacks (abcnews, Aug 3, 2016)
    http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/summer-events-cancelled-france-security-reasons-41091664

    “France is bolstering its security on land and at sea in the face of attack threats, and has started airdropping armed military officers from a helicopter onto ferries crossing the English Channel.

    Other sea routes, including across the Mediterranean, are also being secured, Lieut. Pierre Joachim Antona, spokesman for the local maritime authority in Cherbourg said Wednesday.

    Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve reiterated the need for increased security on land, especially in the summer season which is at its height in August when numerous festivals are held. Some have been canceled, including major events in Marseille and Nice.

    “Our objective is to ensure and guarantee a high-level presence and a high level of security during the summer period,” Cazeneuve said after a Defense Council meeting, a regular event since the July 14 truck attack in Nice that killed 84 people who were celebrating France’s national day. Less than two weeks later, two extremists murdered a priest in his Normandy church during Mass.

    The minister said that 12,500 reservists have joined police forces to support extra security measures. The 10,000-strong Sentinel Operation of soldiers will continue to patrol French streets and sensitive sites like airports and train stations…”

  30. Rome tightens security at Colosseum as Isil threatens to attack Italy

    taly will install a high security cordon around the Colosseum in Rome amid rising fears of a terrorist attack during the summer tourist season.

    Nicolo D’Angelo, the Rome police chief, has ordered a series of measures, including new entrance controls at the Colosseum, guarded by his officers. Security perimeters around the Vatican museums and St Peter’s Square are also being extended.

    The tighter security comes after the emergence of a new 35-minute video from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant , repeating a specific threat to “conquer Rome”.

    About 800 more police officers have been deployed in the city, allowing more protection for churches and other religious sites along with shopping centres.

    But another video, available on YouTube, showed a German daredevil, Flavius Vasily, climbing up the Colosseum, apparently unchallenged. The emergence of the video triggered criticism over a security lapse that had apparently allowed the 23-year-old prankster and one companion to enter the Colosseum undetected.

    Two arrests of suspected terrorists this week only amplified those concerns. Mahmoud Jrad, a 23-year-old Syrian, was detained on suspicion of planning to travel to Syria to join Jabhat al-Nusra, a jihadist group previously affiliated to al-Qaeda.

    There was no evidence he planned attacks in Italy, police said, but the investigation has widened to include several imams in Genoa, where he was arrested.

    The second man arrested was a 26-year-old Pakistani, Aftab Farooq, who was deported from Italy after allegedly pledging allegiance to Isil. Andrea Orlando, the justice minister, told a parliamentary committee Wednesday that more than 150 inmates in Italian prisons were considered high-risk for radicalisation.

    Mr Orlando added that a “sweeping probe” was underway into Isil’s role in managing migrant flows to Italy, and distributing migrants across the country after their arrival.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/03/rome-tightens-security-at-colosseum-as-isil-threatens-to-attack/

  31. USA Designate Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Mohamed Abrini as Global Terrorists (moroccoworldnews, Aug 3, 2016)
    http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/08/193022/usa-designate-jamaat-ul-ahrar-mohamed-abrini-global-terrorists/

    “The United States has designated, on Wednesday, Pakistani group “Jamaat-ul-Ahrar” and Mohamed Abrini as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), said the Department of State in a statement.

    The Department of State said that the designation was made under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which imposes sanctions on foreign persons and groups determined to have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.

    As a result of these designations, all property subject to U.S. jurisdiction in which Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Abrini have any interest is blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Abrini…”

  32. Turkish deputy PM says FETÖ has become ‘modern masonic organization’ (hurriyetdailynews, Aug 3, 2016)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-deputy-pm-says-feto-has-become-modern-masonic-organization.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102435&NewsCatID=338

    “The Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ), which has been blamed for the failed coup attempt of July 15, has emerged as a “modern-day masonic organization,” Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmu? has said, defining the organization as a new religion.

    “We know that these people regard only those who are inside their community as believers. Those people have only put their community forward by removing the idea of Muslim unity.

    Unfortunately, they have succeeded in removing Muslims from the unity of the mosque for years. These people have emerged as a modern-day masonic organization. They have become pharaohs,” Kurtulmu? said at the opening ceremony of the Extraordinary Religious Council in Ankara on Aug. 3, almost three weeks after a deadly coup attempt blamed on the group….”

  33. More than 100 suspended from Turkish Football Federation over failed coup attempt (hurriyetdailynews, Aug 3, 2016)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/more-than-100-suspended-from-turkish-football-federation-over-failed-coup-attempt.aspx?pageID=238&nID=102426&NewsCatID=361

    “More than 100 people were suspended from the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) on Aug. 2 over the July 15 failed coup attempt, which was carried out by the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ). The 105 suspended individuals included referees and observers, according to the TFF.

    “Our federation deemed it necessary to suspend 94 people, including regional and nationally-ranked referees and assistant referees, regional refereeing committee members and national and regional observers,” a statement released from the TFF read, while follow-up statement said a further 11 people had also been suspended….”

  34. Video shows men in Paris torching bus, reportedly shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ (RT, Aug 3, 2016)
    https://www.rt.com/news/354525-france-bus-smashing-torching/

    “Footage has surfaced showing a group of young men setting a bus alight with Molotov cocktails after blocking its way with makeshift barricade in Paris. The perpetrators were reportedly heard shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’.

    The footage, which started to spread on social media on Wednesday, shows the attack that occurred in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis last week.

    A group of young men is seen rolling trash containers to the midst of the road in front of an approaching bus to “set up a trap to force the bus to stop,” police said, as cited by L’Express.

    In the video, which was presumably shot from one of the nearby buildings, the attackers are heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great, in Arabic)…”

  35. UK _ LONDON Woman killed and five people injured in a ‘terrorist knife attack in central London’

    Woman dead and five people injured after possible terror attack in London
    Police called to Russell Square at about 10.30pm last night after ‘stabbing’ ( Wednesday nigth )
    Man was Tasered and arrested at the scene after reports of him ‘with knife’
    Scotland Yard said the incident is being treated as possible terror offence

    A woman has died and up to five people have been injured after a man allegedly ‘went on the rampage’ with a knife in a possible terror-related attack in London.

    Police confirmed a man was arrested after he was seen ‘brandishing a knife’ and ‘injuring people’ in front of horrified onlookers in Russell Square last night.

    Fears that the knifeman operated with an accomplice were raised in the early hours as the Met refused to rule out further suspects. One witness said he saw ‘a man flee on a motorbike’.

    Officers arrived at the scene to find six people injured including one woman who died from her injuries a short time later. The condition of the other five is not yet known and police have not yet named or revealed the ages of the victims.

    The incident occurred in the same area as where one of the 7/7 bombs detonated in 2005. And it comes just hours after the Met unveiled its new anti-terror unit.

    Scotland Yard said: ‘Terrorism is one possibility being explored at this stage.’

    One source said the suspect was seen to go ‘on the rampage’ with the weapon.

    The Met said the suspect was detained after being Tasered at the scene of the incident – opposite the three-star Imperial Hotel – at around 10.40pm last night.

    Police have cordoned off the area and there is a heavy presence of officers and paramedics.

    The woman’s body is still believed to be on the pavement with a forensics tent covering it.

    The Met said ‘additional units’ had been deployed for reassurance.

    Paul Hutchinson, a taxi driver, said he passed the incident shortly after it occurred.

    He said: ‘I drove past Russell Square and the road wasn’t shut but the pavement was all taped off by police, lots of armed police, lots of cars and the body was just lying on the floor. You could see the boots sticking out from under the cloth.

    ‘Loads of armed police, cars with lights on and the body on the floor.’

    A 35-year-old man, who did not wish to be named, said he saw three men fleeing nearby Queen Square shortly after the incident. ‘One man fled on a motorcycle heading down a pedestrianised area,’ he said. ‘He obviously looked in a hurry.’

    A guest at the Imperial Hotel said he saw a man lying on the ground. He said: ‘There was all sorts of commotion going on. I didn’t think it was anything serious at first, but perhaps it’s more sinister.’

    He added that guests at the hotel have been asked to enter through the rear entrance as the front is cordoned off by police.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3722796/Woman-killed-five-people-injured-terrorist-knife-attack-central-London.html

  36. Danish Muslim group offers to bury French priest killer

    A Danish Muslim group has offered to bury one of the militants who murdered a French priest, after Muslim leaders in France refused to do so, a newspaper said Wednesday.

    Adel Kermiche, a 19-year-old militant, was shot dead by French police on July 26 after he and another assailant attacked a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvroy in northern France, murdering priest Jacques Hamel and seriously injuring another hostage.

    After standing in solidarity with Christians mourning the victims of the attack, Muslim leaders in France have refused to grant Kermiche an Islamic burial.

    “It is a human right to be buried, no matter what you have done,” Kasem Said Ahmad, who heads the Danish Islamic Burial Fund, told Danish daily Jyllands-Posten.

    The church attack, which shocked France just days after the July 14 attack in Nice that left 84 people dead, “is an un-Islamic action that we naturally distance ourselves from,” Ahmad said.

    However, “if we get a request from the family to bury him, then we will do it… If they want to move his body here, he can be buried in Denmark in the Muslim cemetery,” he said.

    When contacted by AFP, the organisation declined to comment.

    The group last year organised the burial of Danish-Palestinian militant gunman Omar El-Hussein, who killed a filmmaker outside a Copenhagen free speech event and a Jewish security guard outside a synagogue.

    “It is a support for the family, not for him,” Ahmad said at the time.

    Some 500 people attended Hussein’s funeral.

    Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group before they attacked the Normandy church during morning mass on July 26.

    Mohammed Karabila, who leads a French Muslim group, said his community would not give Kermiche a Muslim burial.

    “We will not taint Islam with this person,” he told AFP.

    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/236855/World/Region/Danish-Muslim-group-offers-to-bury-French-priest-k.aspx

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    BFM-TV- French Muslims want to bury Kermiche in St-Etienne de Rouvray :