Reader’s Links for September 21, 2018

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About Eeyore

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

132 Replies to “Reader’s Links for September 21, 2018”

  1. Germany to resume arms sales to Saudis despite own Yemen-related ban – reports (RT, Sep 21, 2018)
    https://www.rt.com/news/439069-germany-weapons-saudi-arabia/

    “The German government is to resume arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies despite a domestic agreement not to deliver weapons to countries involved in the bloody Yemen conflict, local media report.

    The Saudi kingdom may soon take delivery of four German-made artillery positioning systems, which help detect and respond to enemy fire. This is according to Spiegel magazine, citing a letter Economy Minister Peter Altmaier has sent to lawmakers.

    Aside from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan are also mentioned on the list. The former is poised to receive 48 warheads and 91 target acquisition sensors for vessel-mounted anti-aircraft systems, while the latter will procure 385 anti-tank missiles.

    All three Gulf countries are involved in the ongoing war in Yemen, which has to date seen thousands of civilians killed and many more forced to flee their homes. In addition, Saudi Arabian and Emirati jets frequently fly combat sorties against Iran-backed Houthi militias.

    The bombardments have been lambasted by human rights group for having caused collateral damage and civilian casualties. The UN even said that some of the actions by Riyadh may amount to war crimes.

    Berlin has tried to justify the move, saying the armaments it wants to sell are part of weapons systems supplied by other countries. Also, both Saudi Arabia and the UAE as close partners in the fight against international terrorism, Spiegel said…”

  2. Muslim rapper cancels Paris Bataclan concert after far-right protests (reuters, Sep 21, 2018)
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-islam-music/muslim-rapper-cancels-paris-bataclan-concert-after-far-right-protests-idUSKCN1M12CT?il=0

    “PARIS (Reuters) – A French Muslim rapper said on Friday he was cancelling two gigs at a Paris concert hall attacked by Islamist militants three years ago, saying he couldn’t go ahead for security reasons after the far-right accused him of stoking divisions.

    Far-right leader Marine Le Pen welcomed the cancellation of rapper Medine’s concerts at the Bataclan, where 90 people died in an attack coordinated by Islamic State, calling it “a victory for all the victims of Islamist terrorism”.

    Medine, a 35-year-old artist who has used phrases such as “crucify the secularists” and “I put fatwas on the heads of idiots” in his songs, told Clique online media last year that he was intentionally provocative to try to shatter stereotypes…”

    • Medine, a 35-year-old artist who has used phrases such as “crucify the secularists” and “I put fatwas on the heads of idiots” in his songs, told Clique online media last year that he was intentionally provocative to try to shatter stereotypes…”

      Medine, a 35-year-old artiste who has used phrases such as “crucify the secularists” and “I put fatwas on the heads of idiots” in his songs, told Clique online media last year that he was intentionally provocative to try to inspire ISIS terrorists…”

      There, fixed that.

  3. San Francisco museum shows off modern Muslim women’s fashion

    SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The head covering is among the most identifiable elements of Muslim women’s dress and most likely to be portrayed as drab and restrictive to the Western eye.

    But a new exhibition in San Francisco shows that the covering used by some Muslim women can be a bright yellow head wrap or a loose drape of rose; a black silk and lace scarf by Dolce & Gabbana; or a hood attached to an extra-long girls’ dress.

    “Contemporary Muslim Fashions” opens Saturday at the de Young Museum with about 80 ensembles by nearly 60 designers from around the world, including the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The clothes are vibrant, elegant and playful, ranging from high-end couture to sassy streetwear.

    The people behind the installation, which is the first major museum exhibition of its kind, hope to spark a deeper understanding of the women who are part of the second-largest religion in the world.

    “At a time when Muslim women are being increasingly targeted for using their fashion choices to assert their independence and identity, we hope that this exhibition will allow a positive review and examination of a community that’s often talked about, but rarely given the chance to speak and present itself,” said Gisue Hariri, one of two Iranian-born sisters whose architecture firm designed the galleries.

    The exhibit comes amid conflicts in Western countries over Muslim clothing.

    Denmark recently banned face veils in public, saying the move was critical to ensure public safety and uphold Danish values. Austria, Belgium and France have similar laws. In the U.S., President Donald Trump issued a controversial ban on travel from several majority-Muslim countries.

    But the idea for the exhibition predated Trump’s election, said Jill D’Alessandro, curator in charge of costume and textile arts for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, which includes the de Young Museum.

    She said the seed was planted in 2016, when France was in an uproar over a ban on “burkini” swimsuits worn by some Muslim beachgoers. At the same time, D’Alessandro was seeing examples of chic “modest fashion” embraced by young Muslim women who wanted to express their religious piety.

    “It was the dichotomy we were interested in,” she said. “That was the kernel. It was like, ‘Look at this. Isn’t this so funny? They’re so fashionable and yet people want to discuss what they can wear at the beach.’”

    Modest fashion has become a $44 billion industry, with more Western fashion houses catering to Muslim consumers.

    Last year, Nike introduced a headscarf made of high-tech fabrics. A Max Mara fashion show in 2017 featured a model in a hijab, her body wrapped in one of the company’s long tailored coats — a common look among wealthier Muslim shoppers.

    The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, an organization that studies American Muslims, released a poll that showed most women said they wear a hijab for religious reasons. Only 1 percent said they were required to do so by family.

    Dalia Mogahed, the institute’s research director, is delighted the de Young has taken on the topic. Mogahed, who is not affiliated with the show, balks at governments that force Muslim women to cover themselves in a certain way and those that won’t let women cover up as they wish.

    “The perception that people have of Muslims in America or Muslims globally is often shaped by sensational headlines that ignore and minimize what the majority is all about,” she said.

    Designers featured hail from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Malaysia, Singapore, Iran and other countries.

    One of D’Alessandro’s treasured finds is a 2012 “Hoody Dress” by British designer Sarah Elenany. She created long-sleeve, knee-length dresses for the Scout Association in the United Kingdom so Muslim girls could rappel and climb comfortably. The dresses were worn over trousers or leggings.

    Also among the pieces is a traditional Pakistani wedding ensemble of red silk and chiffon, with metallic embroidery and glass beads. It is on loan from Saba Ali, a San Francisco-area stylist who served as adviser to the exhibition and styled the head coverings.

    She is thrilled to be part of the show, which ends in January and then moves to Frankfurt’s Museum Angewandte Kunst.

    “I feel it’s so important in this day and age and the climate we live in. A lot of people don’t know Muslims,” Ali said. “Art is a means to a conversation for people to get to know a culture or people better.”

    https://apnews.com/020165b76e324ea2a6bbf24e171f805f

    • Denmark recently banned face veils in public, saying the move was critical to ensure public safety and uphold Danish values. Austria, Belgium and France have similar laws. In the U.S., President Donald Trump issued a controversial ban on travel from several majority-Muslim countries.

      All of which are signs of countries that wish to survive.

      France being an exception, in this case. Belgium is kinda squiffy, too.

  4. NYT – Rosenstein Suggested He Secretly Record Trump and Discussed 25th Amendment

    WASHINGTON — The deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, suggested last year that he secretly record President Trump in the White House to expose the chaos consuming the administration, and he discussed recruiting cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump from office for being unfit.

    Mr. Rosenstein made these suggestions in the spring of 2017 when Mr. Trump’s firing of James B. Comey as F.B.I. director plunged the White House into turmoil. Over the ensuing days, the president divulged classified intelligence to Russians in the Oval Office, and revelations emerged that Mr. Trump had asked Mr. Comey to pledge loyalty and end an investigation into a senior aide.

    Mr. Rosenstein was just two weeks into his job. He had begun overseeing the Russia investigation and played a key role in the president’s dismissal of Mr. Comey by writing a memo critical of his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation. But Mr. Rosenstein was caught off guard when Mr. Trump cited the memo in the firing, and he began telling people that he feared he had been used.

    Mr. Rosenstein made the remarks about secretly recording Mr. Trump and about the 25th Amendment in meetings and conversations with other Justice Department and F.B.I. officials. Several people described the episodes, insisting on anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The people were briefed either on the events themselves or on memos written by F.B.I. officials, including Andrew G. McCabe, then the acting bureau director, that documented Mr. Rosenstein’s actions and comments.

    None of Mr. Rosenstein’s proposals apparently came to fruition. It is not clear how determined he was about seeing them through, though he did tell Mr. McCabe that he might be able to persuade Attorney General Jeff Sessions and John F. Kelly, then the secretary of homeland security and now the White House chief of staff, to mount an effort to invoke the 25th Amendment.

    The extreme suggestions show Mr. Rosenstein’s state of mind in the disorienting days that followed Mr. Comey’s dismissal. Sitting in on Mr. Trump’s interviews with prospective F.B.I. directors and facing attacks for his own role in Mr. Comey’s firing, Mr. Rosenstein had an up-close view of the tumult. Mr. Rosenstein appeared conflicted, regretful and emotional, according to people who spoke with him at the time.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/21/us/politics/rod-rosenstein-wear-wire-25th-amendment.html

    • Rosenstein joked about secretly recording Trump, Justice Department officials say

      “Well, what do you want me to do, Andy, wear a wire?” the deputy attorney general asked FBI official Andrew McCabe at a meeting last year.

      WASHINGTON — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was joking when he discussed wearing a wire to secretly record President Donald Trump and does not believe Trump should be removed from office through the use of procedures outlined in the Constitution’s 25th Amendment, according to Justice Department officials who requested anonymity to discuss the conversation.[…]

      https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/rosenstein-joked-about-secretly-recording-trump-say-sources-n911981

    • Rod Rosenstein secretly wore wire to record Trump: Report

      “The Russia Hoax” author Gregg Jarrett and Judicial Watch Director of Investigations Chris Farrell weigh in on The New York Times report that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein discussed wearing a wire to secretly record President Trump.

  5. Hungary’s FM: We are anti-migration government, whether Brussels likes it or not

    The rift between Hungary and Brussels is widening. But can Budapest resist pressure from the EU’s establishment… with warning shots already fired? We talked to Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, about the challenges ahead.

  6. German father pleas for ‘justice’ over death of his son in migrant brawl

    In Germany a father is appealing to authorities to re-launch the investigation into his son’s death.

  7. ‘Trump is a THREAT’ Iran ramps up World War 3 fears with FURIOUS attack on US president (express, Sep 21, 2018)
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1021079/Iran-United-States-World-War-3-Donald-Trump-Mohammad-Javad-Zarif

    “IRAN’S Foreign Minister has ramped up Tehran’s war of words with Washington by branding Donald Trump a “threat to world peace”.

    In a furious rant, Mohammad Javad Zarif said the United States risks “destabilising the world” under Donald Trump’s leadership.

    Tensions between the US and Iran have soared since Mr Trump, an outspoken critic of Tehran, took office last January.

    The White House chief reimposed economic sanctions on the regime in August after withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal.

    Mr Zarif today tweeted: “It is true that there is a real threat to our region and to international peace and security.

    “That threat is the Trump administration’s sense of entitlement to destabilise the world along with rogue accomplices in our region.

    “The US must start acting like a normal state.”

    MORE TO FOLLOW”

  8. “Raymond Ibrahim – Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West (Part 1)”
    June 26, 2018 – Ronie Berggren interviews the author Raymond Ibrahim about his latest book “Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West”.
    TJ Singh – Published on September 5, 2018

    • “Raymond Ibrahim – Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West (Part 2)”
      September 11, 2018 – Al Kresta of Ave Maria Radio interviewed Raymond Ibrahim on the events of 9/11 in the context of history.
      TJ Singh – Published on September 18, 2018

  9. State: Iran’s Proxy Hezbollah Operating Across Western Hemisphere, Including U.S.

    The “world’s preeminent state sponsor of terrorism” Iran and its proxy Hezbollah maintain an operational presence across Latin America and in the United States, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) reported this week.

    For years, State and the U.S. military have warned against Iran and Hezbollah’s growing activities in Latin America, including the terrorist group’s involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering.

    According to State’s Country Reports on Terrorism for 2017 released Wednesday, which tracks terrorist activities across the world, Iran is the world’s leading s

    https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2018/09/20/state-irans-proxy-hezbollah-operating-across-western-hemisphere-including-u-s/

  10. 5 People, Including 3 Infants, Stabbed at NYC Maternity Center; Butcher Knife, Meat Cleaver Found at Scene

    https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Queens-Flushing-Daycare-Center-Stabbing-NYPD-493925451.html

    “Nine babies — five girls, four boys — were in the house at the time. Police say some other parents were there as well. It wasn’t clear whether the facility was licensed or why it had so many newborns there at the time of the stabbing; state records indicate there was a registered business at the location.”

    “An official briefed on the investigation tells News 4 it was a maternity center. Mothers would go there with their newborns and workers would help take care of the babies. Foreign mothers could also have their babies here, the official said, and then receive help at the center processing paperwork to get those babies citizenship.”

    [Please read the comments]

  11. Yemeni Muslims Stage Massive Rally to Mark Ashura (+Photos) (tasnimnews, Sep 21, 2018)
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2018/09/21/1833223/yemeni-muslims-stage-massive-rally-to-mark-ashura-photos

    “The Yemeni people from every walk of life, poured into streets in the capital, Sana’a, to commemorate the day of Ashura, which marks the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Shiite Imam, and his companions.

    Tens of thousands of Yemeni people gathered to participate in the rally, which opened with a speech of Leader of Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah Movement Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi in Sana’a on Thursday.

    During the demonstration, the Yemenis chanted slogans against all oppressors and arrogant powers in the world.

    Ashura, the 10th day of the lunar month of Muharram, marks the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and his 72 faithful companions in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD.

    The rally came as Yemen’s defenseless people have been under massive attacks by a coalition led by the Saudi regime for more than three years but Riyadh has reached none of its objectives in Yemen so far…”

  12. Iranian Official Reveals Proof of Saudi Arabia’s Suspicious Act before Tehran Embassy Attack (tasnimnews, Sep 21, 2018)
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2018/09/21/1833412/iranian-official-reveals-proof-of-saudi-arabia-s-suspicious-act-before-tehran-embassy-attack

    “Iran’s former deputy foreign minister for African and Middle Eastern affairs said there is a document in the Foreign Ministry, which proves that Saudi Arabia had conducted suspicious acts before the 2016 attack on its embassy in Tehran…”

  13. Brazil Police Arrest ‘Hezbollah’ Financier (aawsat, Sep 21, 2018)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1403006/brazil-police-arrest-%E2%80%98hezbollah%E2%80%99-financier

    “Brazilian police arrested on Friday a financier of the Lebanese “Hezbollah” group who had been accused by US officials of terrorism.

    Police took Assad Ahmad Barakat into custody in the border city of Foz do Iguacu, which is home to the famous Iguazu Falls and sits where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet.

    Authorities in Paraguay are seeking Barakat on allegations of false representation, police said, and Brazil’s Supreme Court authorized his arrest earlier this month.

    The Brazilian federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement that Barakat’s case meets the requirements for an arrest with a view to extradition…”

  14. Morocco confirms it will not renew relations with Iran (memo, Sep 21, 2018)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180921-morocco-confirms-it-will-not-renew-relations-with-iran/

    “Morocco will continue to oppose any renewal of relations with Iran after the two countries severed diplomatic ties in May. Moroccan government spokesman Mustafa Al-Khaliji justified the stance by saying the decision was “dictated by requirements to defend the territorial integrity of the Kingdom,” Al-Khaleej reported.

    Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita also discussed the fact that talks were held in Washington a few days ago, explaining they “focused on several issues, including the issue of Iran and its complicity with the Frente Polisario [Polisario Front]”. Bourita added: “The solution of the Sahara problem will also help stabilise North Africa, and this will help Rabat to counter Iran’s attack.”

    Morocco and Iran have been engaged in a diplomatic spat since 2 May when it emerged that Iran had given support to the Polisario Front, a political-military group at the head of the Western Sahara independence movement. Rabat accused Tehran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah of funding, training and arming fighters from the movement, with Bourita claiming his government had explicit evidence of Iranian involvement. This evidence included documentation of arms deliveries made to the Front via the Iranian embassy in Algiers, including surface-to-air SAM9, SAM11 and Strela missiles.

    It was believed that financial and logistical support to Front had been ongoing since 2016, but the first delivery of weapons in April prompted Morocco to sever diplomatic relations with Iran. The Moroccan Ambassador quickly left Tehran and the Iranian embassy in Rabat was closed immediately.

    The spat has also impacted other regional relations. The following day, on 3 May, Algeria summoned the Moroccan ambassador to protest accusations of Algerian involvement.

    Algerian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdulaziz bin Ali Al-Sharif said that the Algerian government completely rejects “untrue statements” made by the Moroccan Foreign Minister, adding that the accusations are “completely baseless”.

    After the initial fallout, Iran claimed that the Moroccan decision had been made under pressure from Saudi Arabia, Iran’s regional foe. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Qasimi, said that “what Morocco has done is not strategic […] of course, Morocco’s action came at the request of Saudi”. Iran also denied its alleged links with the Polisario Front, saying that Morocco has no evidence of Iranian involvement and “we remind [Rabat] that the world public opinion does not easily believe just any false claim”.

    Occupied by Spain until 1975, Western Sahara – a large territory in southern Morocco – has remained the subject of a dispute between Rabat and the Polisario Front for more than four decades. The Polisario Front, or the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia El-Hamra and Río de Oro, was formed initially in the early 1970s as an anti-Spanish movement led by the Sahrawi population. Since then it has positioned itself as a national liberation movement and demanded an independent state in Western Sahara. Morocco, however, sees Western Sahara as part of its territory and has resisted calls to establish an autonomous state in the region.”

  15. Terror chief Al Baghdadi sought in offensive (gulfnews, Sep 21, 2018)
    https://gulfnews.com/news/mena/syria/terror-chief-al-baghdadi-sought-in-offensive-1.2280950

    “US-backed forces have launched an offensive on Daesh’s last stronghold in eastern Syria, but the man dubbed the world’s “most wanted”- Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi — could yet again slip through the net, experts warn.

    There have been recurring reports of Al Baghdadi being killed or injured, but the elusive leader, whose only known public appearance dates to July 2014 when he proclaimed a cross-border caliphate from the pulpit of a mosque in the Iraqi city of Mosul, is believed to be still alive.

    In August, he resurfaced in a purported new audio recording in which he urged his followers to keep up the fight despite Daesh having lost around 90 per cent of the territory it held at the height of its reign of terror.

    He also urged them to continue waging lone-wolf attacks in the West.

    In May, a senior Iraqi intelligence official told AFP that Al Baghdadi had been moving discreetly between villages and towns east of the Euphrates river in Deir Al Zor province, near the Iraqi border.

    He was travelling in a small group of “four or five people” including male relatives, the official said.

    Iraqi political commentator Hisham Al Hashemi, an expert on the extremist group, said his security sources told him Al Baghdadi was hiding out in the Syrian Desert and regularly moved between Al Baaj in northwest Iraq and Hajin in Syria’s southeast.

    As the caliphate crumbled, Iraqi forces and coalition-backed forces in Syria have killed or captured several Daesh leaders.

    On Wednesday an Iraqi presented as Al Baghdadi’s deputy, Esmail Alwan Salman Al Ithawi, was sentenced to death by a court in Iraq after being apprehended in Turkey and extradited as part of a joint Turkish-Iraqi-US operation.

    In May, Iraqi forces claimed to have captured five top Daesh commanders in a cross-border sting.

    The US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance launched Operation Roundup last week, the third phase of a year-old operation to clear southeastern Syria of its last Daesh holdouts, in an area around the Euphrates extending around 50km into Syria.

    “This is the last bastion for Daesh’s mercenaries,” Zaradasht Kobani, a Kurdish commander with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, told AFP. “We will eliminate them here,” he said.

    But reeling in Al Baghdadi will not be simple, said Hassan Hassan, a senior research fellow at the Programme on Extremism at the George Washington University in Washington.

    “He and his group learnt from previous mistakes that led to the killing of the top two leaders in 2010, (Al Baghdadi’s predecessor) Abu Omar Al Baghdadi, and his war minister Abu Hamza Al Muhajir,” Hassan told AFP.

    “This means that only a very few and highly-trusted people know where he is.”
    The mountains, desert, river valleys and villages of the border area provide “several possible hideouts,” Hassan noted.

    The anti-Daesh coalition may be hoping Al Baghdadi again gives away his whereabouts by mistake, as in November 2016 when Iraqi forces fighting to retake Mosul from Daesh picked up on a short radio exchange between him and his men.

    “He spoke for 45 seconds and then his guards took the radio from him,” a senior Kurdish official who heard the call told Britain’s Guardian newspaper, which revealed the near-miss in January.

    “They realised what he had done,” the official added, saying the call was traced to a village west of Mosul.

    If Al Baghdadi does manage to outfox the coalition, he could join one of Daesh’s underground cells in Iraq or Syria.

    Al Hashemi estimates that around 2,000 Daesh extremists are still active in Iraq and around 3,000 in eastern Syria, a large proportion of them foreigners.

    He believes Operation Roundup could drive hundreds of fighters back across the border into Iraq.

    Iraq declared “victory” over Daesh in December 2017 after a three-year war against the group, which once controlled nearly a third of the country.

    But sleeper cells continue to stage attacks from sparsely populated areas.”

  16. Germany: Coalition leaders reconsider spy chief’s transfer

    The leaders of Germany’s governing coalition will discuss the future of former domestic security chief Hans-Georg Maassen over the weekend, confirmed Chancellor Angela Merkel in a speech from Hotel Kempisnky Four Seasons in Munich.

    “Mrs. Nahles, Horst Seehofer and I were in contact this afternoon regarding the procedure about present head of Germany’s domestic security agency,” she told journalists.

    “We agreed to evaluate the situation again,” Merkel concluded.

    Her statement came shortly after Socialist Democratic Party (SPD) leader’s Andrea Nahles insisted on revevaluating Maassen’s controversial transfer to the Interior Ministry.

    The spy chief was removed from his post after comments on the far-right protests in Chemnitz, which directly contradicted Chancellor Angela Merkel.

    His new job reportedly comes with a substantial salary increase and has been heavily criticised for effectively being a promotion.

  17. 85 on-duty soldiers arrested in Turkey with FETÖ charge (hurriyetdailynews, Sep 21, 2018)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/85-on-duty-soldiers-arrested-in-turkey-with-feto-charge-137076

    “Eighty-five on-duty soldiers suspected of links to Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), the terrorist group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, were arrested on Sept. 21, according to prosecutors in the capital Ankara.

    The arrests came after warrants were issued by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in the capital Ankara for 110 soldiers, as part of a probe of FETÖ infiltration of the Turkish Air Forces Command.

    The soldiers — who were learned to be periodically communicating the “covert imams” of the organization — include three colonels, two lieutenant colonels, six squadron leaders, three captains, 18 first lieutenants, a second lieutenant and 77 sergeants, the prosecutor’s office said.

    Five of the suspects were pilots in the command, it added.

    The Ankara-based operations were initiated in 16 provinces across Turkey.

    Remaining 25 suspects are still being sought.”

  18. Direct democracy: Regional ‘burqa ban’ up for vote in Switzerland (thelocal, Sep 21, 2018)
    https://www.thelocal.ch/20180921/direct-democracy-regional-burqa-ban-up-for-vote-in-switzerland-gmo-crops-agriculture

    “A second Swiss canton will vote Sunday on whether to introduce a regional “burqa ban”, a controversial law that would prohibit all face-covering garments in public spaces.

    The ballot in northeastern St. Gallen is to be held as voters across the country also determine whether a moratorium on genetically modified crops should become a full-out ban.

    St. Gallen is expected to follow the example of the southern canton of Ticino, where a law was introduced two years ago which appeared to be aimed at burqas and other Muslim veils.

    A text stipulating that “any person who renders themselves unrecognisable by covering their face in a public space, and thus endangers public security or social and religious peace will be fined” was adopted by lawmakers in St. Gallen late last year.

    That law was opposed by the regional government but narrowly passed the regional parliament with support from the populist right and centre parties.

    But the issue is being put to the people after the Green Party and Young Socialists demanded a referendum.

    Opponents of the law believe it is populist scaremongering and not that St. Gallen already has a law banning face coverings in potentially dangerous situations such as political rallies and sports events…”

  19. Report: 21,800 people killed in work-related accidents during AKP rule (turkishminute, Sep 22, 2018)
    https://www.turkishminute.com/2018/09/22/report-21800-people-killed-in-work-related-accidents-during-akp-rule/

    “A report drafted by Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) shows that a total of 21,800 workers have been killed in work-related accidents in the country since the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power 16 years ago.

    The report was drafted by CHP Ankara deputy Tekin Bingöl.

    According to the report, Turkey leads Europe in the number of work-related fatalities, with four workers losing their lives every day.

    The report says the number of female workers killed in work accidents is on the rise. Seven hundred twenty-two women were killed in work accidents between 2013 and in the first six months of 2018. Ninety percent of female workers are not members of any labor union, and 75 percent of them work in the informal economy. In the same period, 319 child workers also died in work-related accidents.

    The report also provides information about workers who committed suicide for work-related reasons. Fifteen workers committed suicide in 2014, 25 in 2014, 59 in 2015, 90 in 2016 and 89 in 2017 due to reasons related to their jobs. The report cites long working hours [more than 12 hours a day), oppressive working conditions, psychological pressure applied by their employers, stress, lack of a permanent job, low salaries and unpaid extra work as the reasons leading the workers to take their own lives.

    The construction, agriculture and mining sectors lead in the number of work accidents due to the rapid growth of these sectors, competition and the lack of supervision of work conditions, according to the report.”

  20. LONDON BLOODBATH: Teen rushed to hospital after ‘gang-related’ stabbing in Limehouse (express, Sep 22, 2018)
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1021104/london-news-limehouse-stabbing-island-row-tower-hamlets-london-crime-met-police

    “A TEENAGER has been rushed to hospital after being stabbed in Limehouse, east London, as a wave of violent crime continues to blight the capital.

    Police have cordoned off part of Island Row following the attack this evening.

    A witness told Express.co.uk the male had been rushed to hospital after a “gang-related” attack at around 9pm.

    The dog unit is currently at the scene.

    Metropolitan Police said: “Officers are at the scene of a stabbing in Island Row.

    “A 17-year-old male has been taken to hospital.

    “We await an assessment of his condition.”

    No arrests have been made.

    More to follow…”

    • Germany: Far-right pro-Chemnitz rally protest release of stabbing suspect

      Thousands of far-right Pro Chemnitz movement supporters held a rally in the city on Friday to protest the release of an Iraqi suspect in fatal stabbing that sparked anti-immigaration riots in the Saxony city.