Reader’s Links for December 16, 2019

Daily Links Post graphic

Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.

This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.

So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.

This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.

About Eeyore

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

98 Replies to “Reader’s Links for December 16, 2019”

  1. Turkey Must Step up Measures against Money Laundering, Watchdog Says
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2038771/turkey-must-step-measures-against-money-laundering-watchdog-says

    “Turkish authorities must address shortcomings in tackling money laundering and terrorism financing or face being added to a “gray list” of countries with inadequate financial controls, according to a global money laundering watchdog.

    In a report issued on Monday, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) highlighted gaps in Turkey’s efforts to prevent financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

    Out of 11 areas evaluated, Turkey was deemed to require major or fundamental improvements in nine. The report’s findings mean Ankara will be put under observation for a year, and could be added to the gray list if it does not make improvements, reported Reuters.

    The watchdog said Turkey should make “fundamental improvements in measures for freezing assets linked to terrorism, terrorist organizations and financiers”.

    Turkey had a low rate of conviction for terrorism financing, the report said, pointing to data it said was provided by authorities showing more than 6,000 people were prosecuted in 2017 but only 115 convicted.

    Ankara should also improve efforts to prevent “the raising, moving and using of funds for weapons of mass destruction”, the report said, adding that Turkey was slow in following up UN Security Council resolutions relating to Iran and North Korea.

    Turkey says it abides by all international laws and United Nations resolutions.

    The report also called on Turkey to strengthen its use of financial intelligence in money laundering cases and develop a national strategy for investigating and prosecuting different types of money laundering.”

  2. Houthis Abduct More Yemeni Women, Girls
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2038261/houthis-abduct-more-yemeni-women-girls

    “Yemeni and international human rights organizations have accused Houthi militias of ramping up their campaign of violence against women in an unprecedented manner.

    In its latest report, the Netherlands-based Human Rights Radar says the phenomenon of the abduction of girls, female students and women has increased unprecedentedly in the Houthi-held Yemeni capital, Sanaa. The spike in kidnaps can also be traced to other areas under militia control.

    According to eyewitnesses cited by the report, more than 35 girls and female students were abducted from academic institutions and streets in Sanaa. Some of them were abducted for extortion purposes or due to false and malicious reports made against them. Some were even taken for unknown reasons.

    A number of girls who were attending sewing clothes workshop in al-Tawila city of al-Mahwit governorate were abducted. The city is also controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis.

    The father of one of the kidnapped girls told Rights Radar that his daughter was moved from a brothel to a prison in Sanaa alongside another 30 women from different areas.

    He, according to Rights Radar, appealed to human rights organizations to urgently intervene and help release his daughter and other female abductees.

    Just last week, three other girls were abducted in Sanaa– they including two sisters aged 18 and 13. The kidnapping took place in al-Anab neighborhood while the girls were on their way to work.

    The third abductee is an eighth-grade primary school girl. She was kidnapped on December 7 right in front of her house in Sanaa’s Maeen district.

    According to eyewitnesses, the abductors were female militia members affiliated with the Houthis.

    More so, armed Houthis in Sanaa attacked a language institute in the Haddah district on December 9 and abducted women working there.”

  3. Morocco Says 7 Migrants Dead, 70 Saved from Shipwreck
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2038746/morocco-says-7-migrants-dead-70-saved-shipwreck

    “Seven African migrants died Monday and 70 other people were rescued when their boat sank while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Morocco to Spain, according to a military official.

    The rescued migrants, including 10 women and a baby, were brought back to the Moroccan coastal city of Nador and taken to Morocco’s coast guard for medical treatment the military official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to be publicly named.

    Emergency workers with the Moroccan Red Crescent carried the migrants on stretchers, some wrapped in thermal blankets, according to images seen by the AP.

    It was the latest of several dangerous migrant boat crossings on the rough sea passage between Morocco and Spain.

    Some 22,970 migrants have arrived in Spain by sea so far this year, and 325 people have died trying, according to the International Organization for Migration.”

  4. Egypt to confiscate funds of 120 alleged Brotherhood financiers
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191216-egypt-to-confiscate-funds-of-120-alleged-brotherhood-financiers/

    “Egyptian authorities will confiscate the funds of 120 people accused of financing the Muslim Brotherhood, according to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

    The announcement follows last year’s decision by the Committee for Inventory, Seizure and Management of Terrorist Funds to transfer up to 60 billion Egyptian pounds ($3.7 billion) directly to the Egyptian Treasury, which caused an outcry among human rights organisations.

    In April 2018 the Sisi regime passed Law 22 which made it legal for the state to transfer assets to the treasury rather than freezing or managing them as it was allowed to do prior to this legislation.

    Former President Mohamed Morsi, Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, Khairat Al-Shater, Mohammed El-Beltagy and Yusuf Al-Qaradawi have all been targeted by the order to seize funds.

    Also accused of financing the Brotherhood is the footballer Mohamed Aboutrika, in what is clearly a politicised attack after the star player endorsed the organisation in the lead up to the post revolution elections…”

  5. Houthis: UAE plot to wipe out Islah Party in south Yemen
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191216-houthis-uae-plot-to-wipe-out-islah-party-in-south-yemen/

    “Sources affiliated with Yemen’s Houthis have reported plans by the UAE to wipe out the Islamist Islah Party’s leadership across southern Yemen.

    A member of the Houthi-led National Salvation Government (NSG), which is based in the capital Sanaa, revealed the plot to assassinate leaders of the Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, especially in the provinces of Taiz, Ma’rib and Shabwah.

    According to a Tweet on Saturday by Deputy Foreign Minister in the NSG Hussein Al-Izzi, a nephew of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Tariq Afash requested funding from the UAE to carry out plans to eradicate the leaders of the Islah Party across the aforementioned provinces…”

  6. Why is the Muslim Brotherhood targeting the UAE and Mohamed Bin Zayed?
    https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/why-is-the-muslim-brotherhood-targeting-the-uae-and-mohamed-bin-zayed-1.68510626

    “A relentless campaign is being carried out by the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists, targeting the UAE and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

    It started early this year, with a systematic string of articles and TV programmes cranked out in regional and international newspapers, satellite channels, and websites, all bankrolled either by Turkey or Qatar.

    The reasons behind this campaign are numerous and overlapping but related primarily to Sheikh Mohamed’s commitment to Islamic moderation, which stands in sharp contrast to everything the Brotherhood has worked for since its creation in Egypt back in 1928.

    Since he was a teenager, Sheikh Mohamed developed a deep-seated aversion towards the Muslim Brotherhood, Palestinian analyst Kamal Khalaf Al Tawil told Gulf News.

    Back in the 1960s and 1970s, Brotherhood members were heavily present throughout the Arabian Gulf, working almost entirely as schoolteachers coming from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.

    That is when they started creating secret cells, aimed at toppling Gulf governments and replacing them with theocracies.

    “The struggle between them and the UAE has been in slow motion,” added Al Tawil, saying that it went into full gear with the Arab uprisings in 2011.

    “After the outbreak of the Arab Spring and the creation of the Brotherhood regime in Egypt, the struggle reached new heights, explaining the UAE’s heightened worries.”

    “The Brotherhood’s heyday in the Gulf is now history, thanks to Mohamed Bin Zayed. They dream of a comeback to the UAE but that is now impossible. They are now fully exposed. The people of the Emirates see through their deception and shun them, at every single level of society. There is no turning back,” Kuwaiti analyst Fouad Al Hashem told Gulf News.

    The Brotherhood’s heyday in the Gulf is now history, thanks to Mohamed Bin Zayed. They dream of a comeback to the UAE but that is now impossible. They are now fully exposed. The people of the Emirates see through their deception and shun them, at every single level of society. There is no turning back
    – Foaud Al Hashem, Kuwaiti journalist
    The current smear campaign comes “under different names” according to Dr Anwar Gargash, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

    On December 12, he tweeted that Sheikh Mohamed mirrors “a model of stability, prosperity, and tolerance,” which is very different from everything the Brotherhood stands for.

    “It is a successful vision in a tough region beset with ruins of failed experiences, dismantled institutions and uncontrolled violence,” he added.

    UAE phobia
    “The Muslim Brotherhood suffers from a chronic UAE phobia,” Al Hashem noted.

    “They have an axe to grind with the UAE in general and with Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed in particular. He has foiled their project throughout the region and if it were not for him, those terrorists would be roaming the streets of the Gulf, slitting throats along the way.”

    Al Hashem pointed out that recently, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani recently said that his country was willing to sever ties with the Brotherhood, in order to normalize relations with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt.

    Breaking away from the Brotherhood was one of the demands made by the Quartet back in June 2017 as a precondition for normalizing relations with Doha.

    “Nothing of the sort has happened. They just hosted Fayez Al Sarraj, head of the Government of National Accord in Libya, which is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Instead of bringing peace to Libya, they are sowing discord and making sure that more blood is spilled there.”

    Dealing with a vicious enemy
    “The government of Abu Dhabi has always been aware of their project,” said Palestinian-Italian filmmaker Adel Abu Zahri.

    “Unlike Qatar, it never gave them a media platform and eradicated them forcefully from society after 2011, when it became clear that their new ambition was aimed at overrunning the Gulf, after their obvious defeats in Egypt and Syria. That eradication was carried out discretely, with little media attention, and it was led by Sheikh Mohamed.”

    “The dismantling of their presence in UAE society was not easy,” added Abu Zahri.

    “You are dealing with a well-funded organization that knows how to work undercover and has no problem in dealing with anybody who is willing to help them reach power, even if it’s the enemies of the Arab World.”

    UAE’s model of religious tolerance
    The Brotherhood despises inter-religious initiatives, believing that non-believers should be put to the sword—echoing rhetoric voiced by Al Qaeda and Daesh.

    That explains why they were furious with Pope Francis’ historic visit to the UAE last February, reciprocating a visit to the Vatican made by Sheikh Mohamed in 2016.

    It was the first time ever that a Catholic pope set foot in the Arabian Peninsula, reaching out to Muslims and thousands of Christian foreigners living throughout the Gulf.

    The visit highlighted the country’s commitment to tolerance and inter-faith dialogue, challenging the Brotherhood’s ultimate ambition for the entire Arab Gulf.

    In all their literature, they continued to describe Christians as “infidels” who ought to be forcefully converted to Islam—or killed.

    “Their frustration with the Pope’s visit was natural and expected,” said Akram Al Sibai, a Syrian university professor.

    “Just revisit their literature from when they fiercely criticized the opening of the first church in the UAE. Yet when Qatar did it in 2008, they were completely mute, thanks to Qatari checkbooks and the open access they have to the Doha-based Al Jazeera Network.”

    Just revisit their literature from when they fiercely criticized the opening of the first church in the UAE. Yet when Qatar did it in 2008, they were completely mute, thanks to Qatari checkbooks and the open access they have to the Doha-based Al Jazeera Network.
    – Akram Al Sibai, Syrian University Professor
    UAE leaders, particularly His Highness Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed have spearheaded a series of initiatives to champion religious tolerance, carried out in recent years with thundering success.

    In 2015, for example, the UAE passed a law prohibiting discrimination in all its forms.

    Then came a cabinet post to promote that end, followed by the National Tolerance Program of 2016 and the International Institute for Tolerance in 2017.

    Prior to that, the UAE had put its full weight behind the Abu Dhabi-based Muslim Council of Elders, chaired by Sheikh Ahmad Al Tayeb, the grand imam of Al Azhar.

    With support from Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed, he has been working to advance core Islamic values that prohibit excommunication, head chopping, and forced conversion.

    During his visit earlier this year, Pope Francis co-signed the Human Fraternity Document with Sheikh Al Tayeb.

    As if promoting inclusivity and cohesion with Christians was not enough to raise the Brotherhood ire, last April Sheikh Mohamed donated 13.5 acres of land to create the first Hindu Temple in Abu Dhabi.

    No wonder the Muslim Brotherhood are trying to discredit the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince.

    By virtue of him being there, he exposes just how backward, obsolete, and intolerant they really are, and how much of a threat they really have become, not only to the UAE, but to the Arab World at large.

    “Just look at what they did in Egypt and Libya, and you will appreciate what Mohamed Bin Zayed did to them in the UAE,” added Fouad Al Hashem.”

  7. Dubai Police arrests Ridouan Taghi, leader of Angels of Death gang
    https://gulfnews.com/uae/crime/dubai-police-arrests-ridouan-taghi-leader-of-angels-of-death-gang-1.1576511240345

    “The ring leader of the ‘Angels of Death’ motorcycle gang has been arrested in Dubai, a Dubai Police official said on Monday.

    Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Merri, Commander-In-Chief of Dubai Police, said 41-year-old Ridouan Taghi – described as ‘the Netherlands’ most dangerous man’ – was arrested in cooperation with Dutch authorities who issued an arrest warrant last year through Interpol.

    “He is one of the world’s most dangerous and wanted men and listed on Interpol for his connections to serious organised crime,” said Al Merri. “He was arrested in Dubai in a residential villa after he entered the country using a different ID,” he added.

    Taghi used a real passport and visa to enter the UAE from Holland, which was issued before the arrest warrant, according to Al Merri. He didn’t commit any crime in the UAE but had assistants here from different nationalities who were able to help him.

    “He is wanted for crimes like murder and drug trafficking and was the leader of an organization called the ‘Angels of Death’, which is one of the most serious criminal organisations in the Netherlands,” Al Marri said.

    Dubai Police said Taghi committed several crimes in Europe and Africa but avoided arrest by using different identities.

    Dutch police commissioner Erik Akerboom thanked the UAE and Dubai Police for their help in tracing and apprehending Taghi. Akerboom said that the cooperation with Dubai Police is an example of positive work being done to fight international organised crime.

    Al Merri praised the work of his force under the Ministry of Interior’s umbrella to arrest Taghi.

    “We have elite police force members who are qualified to solve mysterious cases,” said Al Merri. “It is part of UAE’s strategy to spread safety and security worldwide, and to fight crime everywhere in the world with Interpol,” he added…”

  8. Pakistan slams India for ‘brutal’ crackdown on Muslim students
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/2118916/1-fm-qureshi-slams-india-brutal-crackdown-muslim-students/

    “Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday condemned the Indian government for the violent crackdown in New Delhi on students and activists protesting against India’s contentious new citizenship law.

    “Concerned about the brutal & indiscriminate use of force by the state on Indian Muslim students of Jamia Millia Islamia & Aligarh Muslim University, protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Bill,” FM Qureshi said in a tweet.

    More than 100 students and activists have been injured in the Indian capital as they clashed with police who used tear gas and baton charges to disperse demonstrators at the Jamia Millia Islamia University.

    Sunday was the fifth straight day of protests across the country and the third day running in the capital against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) enacted earlier this month…”

  9. Turkey: Nearly 3,000 irregular migrants held last week
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-nearly-3-000-irregular-migrants-held-last-week/1675236

    “Almost 3,000 irregular migrants were held across Turkey over the past week, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency from security sources.

    Turkish gendarmerie forces held some 1,500 of the migrants in the northwestern province of Edirne, which borders Greece and Bulgaria.

    According to local sources in Edirne, Greece has stepped up efforts to send irregular migrants to Turkey in violation of the Geneva Conventions, European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention Against Torture.

    In the western cities of Mugla, Canakkale, Izmir, Aydin, and Balikesir, the Turkish Coast Guard and gendarmerie forces rounded up over 1,200 migrants.

    Turkey has been a key transit point for irregular migrants aiming to cross to Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

    In the Aegean province of Denizli, gendarmerie forces rounded up 65 migrants.

    Separately, in the northwestern provinces of Kirklareli and Tekirdag, some 130 migrants were held by gendarmerie forces.

    Moreover, personnel for border security and provincial gendarmerie in the southern Hatay province arrested more than 80 migrants trying to enter Turkey from Syria illegally.

    Among the migrants were the nationals of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Yemen, Palestine, Morocco, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon, Somalia, Senegal, Burundi, and South Africa.

    All of the migrants were either taken to hospitals for medical treatment or transferred to provincial migration offices.

    In 2018, 268,000 irregular migrants were held in Turkey, according to the Interior Ministry.”

  10. Erdogan: PKK suffering heaviest blows in its history
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/erdogan-pkk-suffering-heaviest-blows-in-its-history/1675502

    “Turkey’s president said Monday that the PKK terror group is suffering the heaviest blows in its history.

    Speaking in Geneva while receiving European representatives of the International Democrat Union, Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised Turkey’s anti-terror operations in Syria.

    “The PKK terror group, both inside our borders and outside, is receiving the heaviest blows in its history,” he stressed.

    Erdogan said that by conducting three anti-terror operations in Syria over the last three years, Turkey destroyed the terror corridor the PKK was attempting to establish on the country’s southern border.

    He added that Turkey’s anti-terror operations were also a “critical step” towards guaranteeing the territorial integrity of Syria.

    Erdogan is in Geneva to attend the first-ever Global Refugee Forum between Dec. 16-18.

    In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union — has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.”

  11. Turkey-Libya military deal to ‘contribute to stability’
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/turkey-libya-military-deal-to-contribute-to-stability/1675187

    “A recent agreement between Turkey and Libya on military cooperation will make a “great” contribution to the stability of the two countries, Turkey’s deputy foreign minister said on Monday.

    In an address to parliament’s Foreign Affair Committee, Faruk Kaymakci told lawmakers that the government signed the agreement to further improve the relations with Libya.

    “We think that the agreement will make a great contribution both to provide stability and to strengthen infrastructure in Libya, and to protect the interest of our country in the eastern Mediterranean and North Africa,” Kaymakci said.

    He noted that the agreement would form the legal infrastructure to Turkey-Libya relations.

    Seeking to “provide a ground for relations and develop cooperation” between Turkey and Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), the agreement includes increased cooperation in the exchange of personnel, materials, equipment, consultancy and experience between the two sides.

    It also offers Turkish support for the establishment of a Quick Reaction Force for police and military in Libya, as well as enhanced cooperation on intelligence and defense industry, among others.

    On Nov. 27, Ankara and Tripoli-based Libyan government reached two separate memorandums of understanding (MoU), one on military cooperation and the other one on maritime boundaries of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.

    The earlier memorandum on maritime boundaries asserted Turkey’s rights in the Eastern Mediterranean in the face of unilateral drilling by the Greek Cypriot administration, clarifying that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) also has rights to the resources in the area. It went into effect on Dec. 8.

    Following the military cooperation deal, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently said Ankara might consider sending troops to Libya if the Libyan government made such a demand.”

  12. Austrian police foil ‘Vienna Christmas market terror plot’
    https://www.thelocal.at/20191216/austrian-police-foil-vienna-christmas-market-terror-plot

    “Austrian authorities have foiled a plot to carry out a series of terror attacks, including bombing one of Vienna’s Christmas markets, local media reported Monday.

    The plot involved three men, including a 24-year-old ringleader who had been influenced by the ideology of the so-called Islamic State (IS) group, according to the APA news agency.

    The main suspect is thought to have hatched a plot to target the Christmas market in front of St Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna city centre between Christmas and New Year.

    Other possible targets are said to have included Salzburg and locations in Germany, France and Luxembourg.

    An anonymous tip-off led to the ringleader, who was already in jail following two attempts to reach Syria and join IS.

    However, the report said he was able to remain in contact with his alleged accomplices via mobile phone — contrary to prison regulations.

    Part of the plot was a plan to help the ringleader escape.

    The two other suspects, aged 25 and 31, were taken into custody at the end of last week. All three men are ethnic Chechens.

    While Austria has been spared the major terror attacks that have hit other European countries including France, Britain and Germany in recent years, a relatively high number of Austrians have gone abroad to participate in Islamic extremism.”

  13. 54-year-old woman suspected of abandoning two children in Aarhus
    https://www.thelocal.dk/20191216/danish-police-snowed-under-with-calls-but-no-leads-over-abandoned-children

    “Two children found abandoned in Aarhus speak a language thought to be from Afghanistan.

    The two children, a boy and a girl, are described as having a “Dari accent”, Ritzau writes. Dari is spoken in by large parts of the Asian country’s population and is one of its two official languages along with Pashto.

    Police were on Monday morning looking for an interpreter to help them figure out where the children are from and how they came to be abandoned.

    Surveillance camera footage from the area where they were found was being studied and officers were also in touch with local hospitals to rule out any potential accidents having befallen the parents.

    A 54-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of abandoning them, and a 33-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman are also of interest to police in the case, police confirmed at a press briefing on Monday afternoon.

    East Jutland Police asked for the 54-year-old to be remanded in custody on Monday afternoon at Aarhus City Court. She is suspected of leaving the two children in a helpless condition and is related to the little girl and the little boy.

    The girl is estimated to be about one year old, while the boy is believed to be two and a half years old.

    The woman was arrested in an apartment in central Aarhus. She is an Afghan citizen and has legal residence in Denmark.

    The two children were found on Park Allé, a busy central street in Aarhus, on Saturday evening.

    They are currently in the care of Aarhus Municipality’s family care centre and are doing well under the circumstances, police said.

    Police officers visited several addresses in Jutland on Sunday in an attempt to find the parents.

    In the town of Ølgod, two people — a man of 33 years and a woman of 25 years – were detained in order to establish their identity.

    “There could be multiple theories,” police inspector Michael Kjeldgaard said at the press briefing when asked why children may have been abandoned.

    East Jutland Police released photos of the children on Sunday as part of the effort to find out where they came from.

    The story has been reported in neighbouring Sweden and Norway, and police telephones have been ringing regularly in relation to the unusual case.

    “We are being snowed under (with calls) and have had a minor telephone storm from the public and the press. Including media from Norway and Sweden,” East Jutland Police spokesperson Jakob Christiansen said prior to the woman’s arrest.”

  14. Germany: Merkel hopes to recruit non-EU skilled workers to tackle country”s labour shortage

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the Federal Ministers, leaders of the German states and representatives of the economy and unions at the Chancellery in Berlin on Monday, to discuss the new Skilled Workers Immigration Act.

    “We have a shortage of qualified professionals and therefore we have an interest in getting well-qualified professionals,” admitted Merkel, as she spoke to the press.

    At Monday’s meeting, business leaders and unions discussed measures to implement the new law, which will facilitate the recruiting of qualified workers from outside the EU in a bid to tackle the country’s skilled labour shortage.

    “Now, no one needs to be concerned, that our country will be overrun”, said Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, Hubertus Heil, who emphasised “this is not a migration into the welfare system, but into the labour market.”