Reader’s Links, March 23, 2018

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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

103 Replies to “Reader’s Links, March 23, 2018”

  1. Lefties Call Japanese-American Official Racist for Putting Constitution First
    March 23, 2018
    Daniel Greenfield

    One man with courage makes a majority. And sometimes a little city with courage makes a majority too.

    You may have heard of how Los Alamitos took a vote rejecting California’s illegal secessionist ban on cooperating with the Federal government. Here’s a little more of the story behind it.

    “We are a little city in Orange County, but we’re tired of things coming out of Sacramento that just don’t make sense, and now others are telling us they feel the same way,” said Warren Kusumoto, the Los Alamitos councilman who wrote the anti-sanctuary ordinance.

    In an interview, Kusumoto said he introduced the language opting out of the new state law because he said state officials are “bullying” city leaders into picking sides between following federal or state law.

    Choosing state law over federal law forces local officials to violate their oath of office to defend the U.S. Constitution, he said.\

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/269689/lefties-call-japanese-american-official-racist-daniel-greenfield

  2. When reading the following story, remember this advice from The Hitchikers Guide to the Universe series: “The secret is to bang the rocks together!”

    Now, to the story:

    SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, Pa. — There’s a rocky controversy when it comes to school safety in Schuylkill County.

    The superintendent of the Blue Mountain School District is in the spotlight after telling lawmakers in Harrisburg his students protect themselves against potential school shooters with rocks.

    “Every classroom has been equipped with a five-gallon bucket of river stone. If an armed intruder attempts to gain entrance into any of our classrooms, they will face a classroom full students armed with rocks and they will be stoned,” said Dr. David Helsel.

    http://wnep.com/2018/03/22/superintendent-says-students-are-armed-with-rocks-in-case-of-a-school-shooting/

  3. Terrorist is killed after driving through the gates of a California AIR FORCE base, setting himself on fire and crashing as his vehicle packed with propane tanks burst into flames
    A car filled with propane tanks breached the gates of Travis Air Force Base in California on Wednesday
    Authorities say the driver ignited himself causing the car filled with the tanks to explode into flames
    The incident is reportedly being considered an act of terror, the driver’s identity has not yet been released

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5536339/Terrorist-drove-gates-California-air-force-base-ignited-car.html?ito=social-twitter_dailymailus

  4. The biggest b*tch-slap EVER for the Islamophiles and for every one else from the “old” parties in German parliament. I love watching this man speak.

    Strictly no clapping rule for the ruling parties today in the Bundestag in the furious speech on the disastrous security situation by probably the best speaker the Bundestag ever had: Gottfried Curio.

    Cato Curio” scandalized in his sweeping sentences not only the mendacity of the Islamic terror-supporting Merkel system of old parties, minions, Asylindustrie and media – he put his finger so deep in the wound of truth that it just collapsed!

    Curios fiery speech denounced the bavarian elected speaker, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, as part of the “rulers of injustice” – after all, the CSU chief co-governed during the fatal years of transformation of Germany – AND the CDU / CSU also just rejected the application of the AfD for border security!

    “We do not need central reception centers (for new illegal immigrants), but rather a clarification of who is entitled to cross the border at all !!! Answer: no one is justified on grounds of “protection”, according to Dublin-3, people are already safe! There´s not going to be any limit on the number of “refugees” allowed to enter Germany(like the old parties promised during the campaigning), it is all just for show/false labelling, annually there will be, according to the will of the system, the equivalent population of two large cities to be imported to Germany.

    Curio continues: “A family reunification program for parallel societies, an incentive program for creating more clan crime societies – whatever it takes to keep the UN Replacement Program progressing!”

    Mia, Maria and Mireille stand for the “collateral damage” of this historically unique unprecedented experiment – “what a vile haughtiness of the managerial caste!” By submitting to Islam, we “produce more and more ticking time bombs”. The AfD gives 75% of the people who do not speak out against the Islamization of Germany, a voice”, so the doctorate physicist, mathematician and musicologist in analytical precision.

    To Merkel: “It’s not YOUR country, you only manage it!”

    *Dr. Curio today cured the ideological insanity of the system of lies according to all the rules of art! Worth translating !!!*

  5. Car bomb targets spectators at Afghanistan wrestling match (BBC, Mar 23, 2018)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43519692

    “A suspected suicide bomber has killed at least 13 people and injured dozens more in a car bomb attack on a sports stadium in the Afghan province of Helmand.

    The blast happened at a wrestling match at the Ghazi Muhammad Ayub Khan stadium in the region’s capital Lashkar Gah.

    The car was reportedly driven into a crowd outside the stadium.

    A police spokesman told AFP that the blast happened by the venue’s entrance gate after the match had ended.

    Photographs from the scene showed badly damaged cars and thick plumes of smoke rising…”

  6. US sanctions Iranian hackers for ‘stealing university data’ (BBC, Mar 23, 2018)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43519437

    “The United States has imposed sanctions on an Iranian company and 10 individuals for alleged cyber attacks, including on hundreds of universities.

    The Mabna Institute is accused of stealing 31 terabytes of “valuable intellectual property and data”.

    The justice department said the firm hacked 320 universities around the world, dozens of companies and parts of the US government.

    Nine of the 10 individuals have been indicted separately for related crimes.

    The two founders of the Mabna Institute are among those sanctioned and their assets are subject to US seizure, a statement by the US Treasury Department said.

    “These defendants are now fugitives of justice,” US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said at a news conference. Reuters reported he warned that the individuals may face extradition in more than 100 countries if they travel outside of Iran.

    The Mabna Institute was established in 2013, and US prosecutors believe it was designed to help Iranian research organisations steal information.

    It is accused of carrying out cyber attacks on 144 US universities, and 176 universities in 21 foreign countries, including the UK, Germany, Canada, Israel and Japan.

    By targeting the email accounts of more than 100,000 professors worldwide, the hackers compromised about 8,000 of them, according to the justice department.

    US authorities described the global conspiracy as one of the largest state-sponsored hacking sprees to be prosecuted…”

  7. CAIR – Video: CNN Panel on John Bolton’s Associations with Islamophobes Robert Spencer, Pamela Geller

  8. Millions of Africans to Leave for US and Europe – Research (sputniknews, Mar 23, 2018)
    https://sputniknews.com/africa/201803231062847296-afrcans-leave-for-us-europe/

    “A significant and steady increase in emigration from Sub-Saharan Africa began in 2010. Many more plan to leave for better lives in Western countries, but not all of them actually will, a recent study points out.

    The most recent research conducted by the Pew Research Center, a polling company based in Washington, shows that roughly 1.5 million people living in the Sub-Saharan region would like to leave their countries. Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal are the top three source countries for migrants to the EU and the US, among those surveyed.

    The key reasons for their departure are low job prospects and unemployment, low wages, threat of armed conflict, modern day slavery and political instability. The authors of the study indicate that it is not necessarily so that all of the people who have expressed desire to leave will do so.

    In recent years many European countries have faced significant a growth in immigration, especially from destabilized regions in the Middle East. The states are struggling to cope with the costs of accepting refugees and are trying to spread the burden. These attempts have caused a backlash from several EU-members who have refused to accept refugees. The EU states that were most severely hit by the immigration crisis have faced internal political tensions, the growth of right-wing parties and discontent among the native populations, who feel threatened by the newcomers.”

  9. Norway Wants to Ban Full-Face Veils in Schools – Reports (sputniknews, Mar 23, 2018)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/201803231062843607-norway-bans-face-veils-in-schools/

    “The Norwegian government has sent a bill to the parliament seeking to ban full-face veils during classes and all other education-related activities in schools and universities, the Politico news outlet reported.

    The draft law is a revised version of the June proposal, which insisted on a complete ban on all clothing that fully covered the face, the Politico news outlet said, citing the bill.

    The proposed law would apply to students and teachers alike. In kindergartens, employees would have to abstain from covering their faces at all times, and not just during educational activities.

    Headscarves would still be allowed under the new rules…”

  10. BACKFIRE: Broward County Implements ‘Solution’ For School Violence And Students Are Not Happy

    On Wednesday, the superintendent of the Democrat-heavy Broward County Public Schools announced a new policy aimed at reducing school violence — and the students are not happy.

    Superintendent Robert W. Runcie, a proponent of radical left-wing gun control measures, announced that students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School will only be allowed to bring clear backpacks to school after spring break and will be required to wear a new ID badge at all times.

    https://www.dailywire.com/news/28566/backfire-broward-county-implements-solution-school-ryan-saavedra?utm_medium=email&utm_content=032318-news&utm_campaign=position1

  11. The Boycott of DICK’S and Field & Stream Stores May Be Working! Show Us How Your Local Store Is Doing!

    I received a text from my brother-in-law today regarding the Field & Stream store in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania. He was curious as to what was going on since their parent company, DICK’S Sporting Goods, banned all “assault-style” firearms from both stores. The Cranberry Field & Stream location is an important one to DICK’s, as it was the flagship store that launched the rest of the 25 or so locations for that chain; it is also a stone’s throw to DICK’S national headquarters.

    I remember when the store launched in 2013, and had its grand opening. Willie Robinson, of Duck Dynasty fame, showed up for it, and many of us gun owners were curious if the Field & Stream store would be carrying military-styled semi-auto firearms. Back then, a story that stated that Willie Robinson himself inquired about the very same thing and would not show up for the event if these firearms were barred from the store, as had been the case at DICK’S stores after the Sandy Hook shooting. Turns out that DICK’S Sporting Goods did hold the ban of military-styled semi-auto firearms for the DICK’S stores, but not the case with Field & Stream. I visited the store a couple of times and it had a nice section dedicated to modern sporting rifles (MSRs) and accessories, including standard-capacity magazines of 30 rounds.

    http://patriotgunnews.com/2018/03/20/the-boycott-of-dicks-and-field-stream-stores-may-be-working-show-us-how-your-local-store-is-doing/

  12. Donor says he gave illegal contributions to New York mayor, de Blasio, who was aware

    Listen, I don’t know, I don’t want to know. Just do what you’ve got to do.”

    Former donor Harendra Singh testified on Thursday that those were the words of Bill de Blasio in response to Singh offering illegal contributions to the New York mayor’s campaign.

    As part of the dual corruption trial of former Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and former Oyster Bar Town Supervisor John Venditto, Singh is currently serving as the star witness.

    Singh has already pleaded guilty to bribing de Blasio, and accepted a plea deal to testify in the trial of Mangano and Venditto. Defense attorneys for the two accused say Singh, a former restauranteur, can’t be trusted.

    https://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/03/22/donor-says-he-gave-illegal-contributions-to-new-york-mayor-de-blasio-who-was-aware?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TheBlaze%20Daily%20AM%202018-03-23&utm_term=TheBlaze%20Daily%20AM%20-%20last%20270%20days

  13. Obama accused of ‘smash and grab’ stock scheme to benefit him and pals financially

    With every passing day, a new revelation of the mind-blowingly massive corruption within the administration of Barack Obama surfaces.

    If anyone else had committed the crimes that Obama and his cronies committed — and I am referring just to those that are now public knowledge — that person would go to prison and likely never see the outside of a cage again.

    Obama’s scandal du jour involves a “smash and grab” scheme he reportedly practiced along with his pals. Here is how the scheme worked:

    Obama would publicly announce his intentions to implementa regulation that if implemented would cripple or close Business XYZ.
    XYZ’s stock would tank, devaluing the company by as much as 97%.
    Obama’s buddies would rush in and buy up the company for pennies on the dollar.
    Obama would announce publicly that he had reconsidered and was abandoning the regulation.
    XYZ’s stock would instantly skyrocket, making Obama’s friends many millions of dollars.
    A nice, fat cut of the profit would find its way to the Obama Foundation. Imagine that!

    In the real world — you know, the one outside the Washington beltway? — that scheme is called insider trading, and it is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and millions of dollars in punitive fines. From the SEC:

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2018/03/22/obama-accused-of-smash-and-grab-scheme-to-benefit-him-and-pals-financially/

  14. A synagogue in Thornhill was the target of alleged anti-Semitic vandalism on Wednesday morning, according to B’nai Brith Canada, prompting a police investigation.

    Rabbi Mendel Kaplan says around 9:40 a.m., the glass doors of Chabad Flamingo were smashed with a rock.

    On his Facebook page, Rabbi Kaplan says a man walked by the synagogue, stopped multiple times to look for rocks and then ran back twice to “hatefully smash the glass doors.”

    http://www.680news.com/2018/03/21/thornhill-synagogue-vandalism/

  15. SAN FRANCISCO
    Colleges in California have a responsibility to protect students from foreseeable acts of violence in the classroom and other settings connected to their studies and can be held liable for failing to do so, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a lawsuit by a UCLA student who was stabbed by a classmate.

    College campuses are communities where many students are living on their own for the first time, Associate Justice Carol Corrigan wrote for the majority. Colleges have mental health counselors, campus police and resident advisers, impose rules and can monitor and discipline students, she added.

    http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article206385859.html

  16. Rape victim, 13, reveals her social worker LAUGHED when she found out she was being sold to Asian men for sex – while staff at her care home responded by putting her on the Pill
    EXCLUSIVE: Zoe Patterson was trafficked from Midlands care home as a teen
    Another girl, 15, took her to parties where she was raped by older men
    Zoe has since settled out of court with care home where staff turned a blind eye
    Book about how she survived her horrifying experiences is published today

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5528399/Woman-trafficked-Asian-men-sex-13-year-old.html

  17. Calais migrants: more food distributed by the government

    In Calais, because of the initial reluctance of migrants to accept government food distributions, things have been adapted.

    The police presence is now more discreet, the barbed wire has been removed and the number of distribution points has increased.

    The result is that in two weeks, the number of migrants benefiting from these measures has increased.

  18. Flint terror suspect facing additional charge

    FLINT — The Canadian man accused of attacking an officer at Flint Bishop International Airport last summer has been hit with a new charge.

    Federal prosecutors announced on Wednesday that a new charge of committing terrorism crossing national boundaries has been added against Amor Ftouhi.

    Ftouhi, whose address is listed as Montreal, is accused of crossing into the United States days before pulling a knife on Bishop International Airport Police Lt. Jeff Neville in the terminal.

    Authorities say Ftouhi researched American gun laws and gun shows in Michigan online while in Canada before entering the United States on June 16, 2017.

    Ftouhi allegedly tried to purchase a gun in the United States, wasn’t allowed and purchased a knife instead. That knife is what he is accused of using to attack Bishop International Airport Police Lt. Jeff Neville on June 20, 2017.

    Neville suffered serious knife wounds to his neck before other airport police officers were able to subdue the 50-year-old Ftouhi. He was arrested with the help of officers from surrounding agencies. Lt. Neville has since made a full recovery since the attack took place.

    Ftouhi allegedly referenced killings in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and yelled “Allahu Akbar” during the attack. During interviews with authorities, Ftouhi allegedly indicated that he was a “soldier of Allah” and was a follower of al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

    Ftouhi faces up to life in prison if convicted and he will be arraigned on the new charge in Flint.

    Stay with News 10 as we continue to track this developing story.

    http://www.wilx.com/content/news/Flint-terror-suspect-facing-additional-charge–477602063.html

  19. REVEALED: Britain’s ‘secret’ arms sales to Middle East human rights abusers (middleeasteye, Mar 23, 2018)
    http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/revealed-secret-arms-sales-middle-east-2053260663

    “The UK government has been accused of using secretive export rules to hide the true extent of arms exports to Middle East states with dire human rights records, Middle East Eye can reveal.

    Figures seen exclusively by MEE reveal a more than 20 percent increase in the use of opaque “open licences” to approve arms sales to states in the Middle East and North Africa, in a move that avoids public scrutiny and keeps the value of arms and their quantities secret.

    Arms exports are worth $8.3bn a year to the UK economy, and defence firms have used standard open licenses to approve more than $4.2bn in arms to the Middle East since senior ministers vowed to expand UK arms exports after the Brexit vote in June 2016.

    But the new figures, compiled for MEE by Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), show that the government has also overseen a 22 percent rise in the use of secretive open licences to boost arms export to the Middle East and North Africa, including assault rifles to Turkey in 2016 – as a rights crackdown intensified in the country – and acoustic riot control devices to Egypt in 2015.

    Figures for open arms export licences show the number of open arms export licences rose from 189 to 230 from 2013 to 2017, while the number of individual items approved under these licensees soared to 4,315 from 1,201.

    Saudi Arabia is by far the larger recipient of arms under the opaque open licensing system, and last month MEE revealed that the use of approvals for arms exports, including vital parts for jets striking targets in Yemen, had risen by 75 percent.

    But the use of open licences to boost arms exports to Riyadh is just the tip of the iceberg, say campaigners, as open licences have been used to approve arms exports to the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Algeria and Iraq.

    Fabian Hamilton, Labour’s shadow minister for peace, told MEE: “The increases in arms exports to countries with questionable human rights records in the Middle East and North Africa must be urgently reviewed. Britain must lead by example, and confront human rights abuses head on…”

  20. Houthi leader vows to fight with Hezbollah in future war with Israel (middleeasteye, Mar 23, 2018)
    http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/houthis-leader-say-they-will-ally-hezbollah-against-israel-future-war-1044362159

    “The leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebels has warned that his fighters would unite with Hezbollah against Israel if a war erupted in Lebanon or Palestine.

    Abdul Malik al-Houthi told the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar on Friday that “our announcement that we are prepared to send fighters in any Israeli war against Lebanon or Palestine, is based on our principles”.

    He claimed that Israel is “a true enemy” for every Arab and Muslim country, and if Yemen had borders with Lebanon or Palestine, Houthis would participate in fighting with the Lebanese and Palestinians.

    “We will not be reluctant to send fighters in a new war. Many of Yemen’s tribesmen are ambitious to fight against Israel, and they are looking for the day to participate along with the freemen of the Islamic nation against the Israeli enemy,” he added.

    He said they had informed Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah of their intent to fight. Houthi added that they had intercepted Israel’s military activities in the Red Sea and Mandeb Strait, and claimed that there had been some Israeli air strikes on the Yemeni coast.

    He claimed that the Israelis had participated alongside UAE officers in planning some military activities in Yemen.

    Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a bombing campaign against the Houthis in March 2015 with the aim to reinstall the government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, which had been pushed out by the Iran-allied rebels.

    The war and Saudi-imposed siege have killed more than 10,000 people and pushed the country to the verge of famine and sparked a deadly cholera outbreak.

    The Houthi rebels also killed Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former president of Yemen, as he was fleeing Sanaa in December. Saleh’s convoy was hit by a grenade and sniper attack at a checkpoint supervised by Houthi gunmen. Saleh had made overtures to the Saudis following his uneasy alliance with his former enemies the Houthis in the war.

    Houthi said that his movement is developing its missiles capacity to enable it to reach long-distance targets “in the deep territories of the enemy”.

    “[Our missiles] reached Riyadh and the area of Abu Dhabi… and Volcano-2 missiles reached Yamama Palace in Riyadh, and this was confirmed by the Americans.”…”

    • Yemen Unveils New Ballistic Missile (tasnimnews, Mar 23, 2018)
      https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2018/03/23/1686430/yemen-unveils-new-ballistic-missile

      “TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Yemeni Army unveiled a new short-range ballistic missile on Thursday, three years after start of a Saudi-led military campaign that has killed more than 10,000 Yemeni civilians.

      In a statement on Thursday, the missile division of Yemen’s Army said the new homegrown missile, dubbed Badr, runs on solid fuel and travels at a speed of Mach 4.5, Saba reported.

      The short-range ballistic missile has been developed after “three years of steadfastness in the face of US-Saudi aggression, and in allegiance to the blood of martyrs,” the statement added.

      Yemen’s Army says all Saudi Arabian facilities and targets are within the reach of its missiles.

      In January, the Yemeni Air Defense introduced a surface-to-air missile system used in shooting down a Tornado military aircraft of the Saudi-led coalition.

      Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.”

  21. Mufti: Egypt ‘conspiring’ against Libya (memo, Mar 23, 2018)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180323-mufti-egypt-conspiring-against-libya/

    “Libya’s Mufti Al-Saddiq Al-Gharyani has accused Egypt of conspiring against the country and of intervening in the country’s internal affairs after delegations from Libya’s rival factions met in Cairo this week to discuss the possibility of creating a Libyan army.

    “Egypt is plotting against Libya and the unification of the Libyan army cannot be at the hands of Egypt as all what it is doing is a flagrant intervention in Libya’s domestic affairs,” Al-Gharyani said on TV.

    “We thank the military officers of the western region for their stance as they stressed that [Field Marshal Khalifa] Haftar is illegitimate and call on all Libyan officers to oppose Egypt’s agenda,” the Mufti added.

    Al-Gharyani explained how putting suspects behind Libya’s abuses in prison will add to the instability and incite retaliatory acts.

    If people want to end conflicts and war, they should demonstrate in huge numbers and say no to wrong, crimes and arbitrary detentions. It is a must that Libyans call for their rights so Libya can be stable.

    Last month, the Libyan Mufti slammed the UAE and Saudi Arabia’s policies in Libya stating that they are supporting Haftar with “dirty money” and their “schemes” will divide the country.”

  22. US Congress Passes Moroccan Aid Bill Including ‘Western Sahara’ (moroccoworldnews, Mar 23, 2018)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/03/243039/us-congress-moroccan-aid-bill-western-sahara/

    “The US Congress has once again lent its support to Morocco in the so-called Western Sahara conflict, by way of its Omnibus Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2018, passed on Thursday.

    Morocco’s aid provisions in the Appropriations Bill, listed on page 1399, section (g), state: “Funds appropriated under title III of this Act shall be made available for assistance for the Western Sahara” after consultation with the secretary of state, appropriations committee, and USAID administrator.

    This language reflects a bicameral nod to Moroccan authority in the conflict, through its reference to the the Western Sahara explicitly within the section for Morocco’s provisions. Nearly identical iterations of this language can be found in previous appropriations bills from 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014.

    These provisions reiterate the European Commission’s recent decision to tacitly recognize Moroccan sovereignty through its inclusion of Western Saharan waters in its renewal proposal to the current Morocco-EU Fisheries Partnership Agreement.

    Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) reports that the appropriations bill also makes a “thinly-veiled reference” to the Tindouf camps in Algeria with its mention of steps “taken to strengthen monitoring of the delivery of humanitarian assistance provided for refugees in North Africa, including any steps taken to ensure that all vulnerable refugees are receiving such assistance.”

    This is the second time since FY2017 that the Appropriations Bill has called on the US state department to monitor the delivery of humanitarian aid to refugees in North Africa, echoing Morocco’s calls to the international community to shed light on the embezzlement of humanitarian aid destined for the Tindouf camps.”

  23. Pakistan acquires another communication satellite (tribune, Mar 22, 2018)
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/1666876/1-pakistan-acquires-another-communication-satellite/

    “Pakistan marked on Thursday another significant milestone in space technology by securing a geostationary orbital slot along with previous frequency resources ensuring a continuous and expanding foothold in the extraterrestrial world.

    The Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) inked a deal with China Great Wall Industry Cooperation (CGWIC) to acquire communication satellite PakSat Multi Satellite (PakSat-MM1).

    PakSat MM-1 is believed to prove to be another major asset to initiate and expand various communication services including Direct to Home (DTH)…”

  24. Paigham-e-Pakistan Fatwa: ‘Endorsement by Egypt’s grand mufti major feat’ (tribune, Mar 23, 2018)
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/1667245/1-paigham-e-pakistan-fatwa-endorsement-egypts-grand-mufti-major-feat/

    “Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sardar Muhammad Yousaf on Thursday termed the full endorsement of Paigham-e-Pakistan Fatwa by Egypt’s grand mufti as a major achievement for Pakistan.

    “Pakistan is making all-out efforts in countering hate speech and content inflaming religious sentiments,” said the minister while addressing the participants of an ‘International Moot on Promoting Interfaith Harmony’ organised by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony at a local hotel.

    The moot was attended by Egypt Grand Mufti Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam along with numerous internationally-renowned religious scholars belonging to all sects and people from various beliefs.

    Pakistan had planned to organise this international conference for promoting interfaith harmony in a bid to improve the image of the country after the US State Department placed Pakistan on its Special Watch List over ‘severe violations’ of religious freedom earlier this year…”

  25. Far-right group protests with funeral candles at Merkel’s office after Freiburg murder verdict (thelocal, Mar 23, 2018)
    https://www.thelocal.de/20180323/far-right-group-protests-with-funeral-candles-at-merkels-office-after-freiburg-murder-conviction

    “Anti-Islam protesters placed funeral candles outside German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s electoral office together with photos of young women who have been stabbed to death, some by asylum seekers, police said Friday.

    The protest – with the message “Islam is part of Germany?” written in yellow chalk on the pavement — bore the logo of the far-right Identitarian Movement, which is under surveillance by Germany’s domestic security service.

    The pictures, candles and red roses were put there Thursday, hours after a German court jailed for life Hussein Khavari, an asylum seeker claiming to be from Afghanistan, for the 2016 rape and murder of a medical student.

    An image of his victim, Maria Ladenburger, 19, was among those of four young women placed in picture frames on the pavement, together with 14 candles and the flowers, outside Merkel’s office in the Baltic Sea town of Stralsund.

    Merkel has faced a harsh backlash against her decision in 2015 to open German borders to a mass influx of mostly Muslim asylum seekers.

    It has sparked the rise of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the anti-Islam Pegida street movement, and the white pride Identitarian Movement.

    Merkel this week further angered the extreme right by reiterating that, although Germany is historically mainly shaped by its Christian-Judaic tradition, today, with four million Muslims in the country, “Islam has become part of Germany”.

    Police told AFP they had removed the objects and were investigating whether a criminal offence had been committed.

    The other photos were marked with the names Mia, Mireille and Keira.

    A girl publicly identified only as Mia, 15, from the town of Kandel was stabbed to death in December in a supermarket by her former boyfriend, a refugee from Afghanistan believed to be around 20 years old.

    Mireille, 17, was stabbed to death in March in Flensburg, and police have arrested as the chief suspect an 18-year-old Afghan asylum seeker.

    And Keira, 14, was killed in a knife attack in early March in Berlin.

    Initially false reports spread online pointing to an Afghan attacker, before a 15-year-old German fellow student confessed to the killing, police said.”

  26. US, UK, France arms sales to Saudi coalition ‘devastating’ Yemeni lives, says Amnesty (france24, Mar 23, 2018)
    http://www.france24.com/en/20180323-yemen-saudi-coalition-arms-amnesty-civilian-casualties

    “The “irresponsible arms flows” by the US, UK, France and other European countries to the Saudi-led coalition fighting Shiite rebels in Yemen has inflicted “enormous harm to Yemeni civilians,” Amnesty International said Friday.

    The human rights group documented violations of international law by all warring parties, including Shiite Houthi rebels and other groups operating in the war-torn country.

    “Three years on, Yemen’s conflict shows no real signs of abating, and all sides continue to inflict horrific suffering on the civilian population. Schools and hospitals lie in ruins, thousands have lost their lives and millions are displaced and in dire need of humanitarian aid,” Lynn Maalouf, Director of Research for the Middle East at Amnesty International, said in a statement.

    More than 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen since March 2015 when Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Muslim Arab states launched a military campaign against the Houthis, a group of Shiite fighters who had seized the capital, forcing President Abd Rabbu Mansour al-Hadi to flee.

    “There is extensive evidence that irresponsible arms flows to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition have resulted in enormous harm to Yemeni civilians,” said Maalouf. “But this has not deterred the USA, the UK and other states, including France, Spain and Italy, from continuing transfers of billions of dollars’ worth of such arms. As well as devastating civilian lives, this makes a mockery of the global Arms Trade Treaty.”…”