Reader’s Links for January 28, 2020

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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

166 Replies to “Reader’s Links for January 28, 2020”

  1. Iran’s President Rouhani Slams Current US Government as ‘Worst in History of America’ (sputniknews, Jan 28, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202001281078159040-irans-president-rouhani-slams-current-us-government-as-worst-in-history-of-america/

    “The tense US-Iranian relations were further marred last week after Washington slapped new sanctions on individuals and entities that allegedly help Iran evade US restrictions.

    Iranian President Hassan Rouhani launched a tirade against the United States in a speech broadcast on state TV on Tuesday, saying that the current US government is ‘the worst in America’s history’.

    The President also spoke of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Iran scheduled for next month, noting that its outcome will have an impact on regional and international politics…”

  2. Swedish PM Pins Rise of Anti-Semitism on Immigration From Middle East (sputniknews, Jan 28, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/202001281078158785-swedish-pm-pins-rise-of-anti-semitism-on-immigration-from-middle-east/

    “An earlier study established that 51 percent of anti-Semitic incidents in Sweden were linked to Muslim extremists, a dynamic described as “importing a conflict originating in the Middle East”.

    In what may be seen as a change of course, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has suggested that the rise of anti-Semitism to do has to do with mass immigration from the Middle East.

    In an interview with national broadcaster SVT, Löfven lamented the rise of anti-Semitic sentiment across Sweden, which he party ascribed to the Holocaust falling into oblivion. However, he also stressed the influx from the Middle East as one of the reasons.

    “It is also so, that we have got people who come from other countries where it is part of the state propaganda to not only be against Israel’s politics but Israel as a country. We clearly stand for Israel’s right to live in security,” Löfven stressed. “And there, in these countries in the Middle East region, children may learn what to believe already at school. So it’s our job to make sure that no, in Sweden you don’t do that. It is not acceptable at all”, Löfven said.

    In another recent TV-interview Löfven said that “rumblings” from the 1930s were felt in today’s Sweden and that Europe must take the threat of Nazism more seriously in order not to let history repeat itself. To combat this development, Löfven proposed educating citizens about the Holocaust and sending schoolchildren to Auschwitz to learn the danger of nationalism…”

  3. Indonesia’s wealth gap spurs Muslims to join ‘economic jihad’ (nikkei asian review, Jan 28, 2020)
    https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Asia-Insight/Indonesia-s-wealth-gap-spurs-Muslims-to-join-economic-jihad

    “Taufan left his petrochemical job in Abu Dhabi just over a year ago to answer what he felt was his true calling. Upon returning home to Jakarta, he invested in 212 Mart, a new Indonesian convenience store chain whose all-Muslim investors say is part of an “economic jihad.”

    Not to be confused with bloody holy wars waged by terrorist groups against perceived “infidels,” supporters of economic jihad say they use the literal meaning of “jihad” in Arabic — which translates to “striving” or “a meritorious struggle” — and apply it to business. “I want to invest in a shop that sides more with Muslims, which sells produce by Muslim communities, by our [small businesses],” Taufan, 53, told the Nikkei Asian Review, declining to share his surname.

    The aim of this growing movement in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation is to promote compliance with Shariah — Islamic law — and enhance Muslims’ economic prowess. For decades, the Indonesian economy has been dominated by those close to power and tycoons of Chinese descent, the latter of whom are typically either Buddhists or Christians. The country’s wealth gap remains wide despite some improvement in recent years.

    So Taufan joined 140 people, including some of his neighbors, who chipped in a total of around 550 million rupiah ($40,400) to open a 212 Mart in East Jakarta in late 2018.

    The 212 brand is owned by the 212 Shariah Cooperative. The number in the name is derived from Dec. 2. On that date in 2016, hard-line Muslims rallied in Jakarta against then-Gov. Basuki Tjahaja “Ahok” Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian accused of blasphemy against the Quran. Months later, Ahok lost his reelection bid to a rival supported by opposition and conservative Muslim groups. He was also convicted and spent 20 months in prison.

    Riding on the “positive energy” of the rallies, the cooperative has recruited 57,000 members in three years, collecting a combined 37 billion rupiah, according to Agus Siswanto, deputy head of the organization. Some of the money has gone toward 212 Mart stores, 212-brand mineral water and several fried chicken kiosks. Members have also set up local groups, like Taufan’s, to open and run their own 212 Marts.

    “Let’s strive,” Siswanto said. “Let’s do jihad to build up Muslims’ economic independence, to distribute wealth more evenly. If we hadn’t started it now, when would we?”

    The shops sell some of the usual convenience store fare — snacks, beverages and skin-care products from major brands. But they also sell lesser-known brands of mineral water, honey and processed meats sourced from small and mid-size enterprises that have partnered with the 212 Mart chain.

    They do not stock cigarettes, condoms or alcoholic beverages — all of which the investors consider un-Islamic.

    Taufan’s store is one of 252 in the chain. They have popped up in greater Jakarta and other parts of Indonesia since the cooperative launched the business in May 2017. The cooperative’s founders consider 212 Marts part of the economic jihad.

    Their mission does not resonate with everyone. Some 212 Marts were reportedly closed after they failed to attract customers. Some consumers spoke openly about boycotting the chain over its connection to the protests against Ahok, which they saw as a worrying sign of rising intolerance.

    The cooperative admits the anti-Ahok rallies are part of its history but says it is now separate from any political causes. Siswanto stresses the goal is to level the playing field.

    “Muslims are the majority here, but they’re at the bottom of the pyramid, serving only as consumers and employees,” he said in the cooperative’s small head office in Sentul, on the outskirts of Jakarta. “Those in the top 20%, [most] are not of the Islamic people, but hold control over our economy.”

    So far, the term “economic jihad” is only used within limited circles, like 212 cooperative members. But its spirit and principles are slowly gaining traction as Muslims in Indonesia — a secular democracy — become more pious.

    The shift comes as conservative groups carrying Middle Eastern strands of Islam wield greater social and political influence. Their ideas are challenging the norms established by local Muslim groups with less-rigid teachings. Indonesians call the trend hijrah, derived from another Arabic word that describes Muslims who leave behind secular and hedonistic lifestyles to adhere to religious tenets.

    In a recent survey, 80% of Indonesian Muslim respondents said they consider religion “strongly important” in their daily lives, while 19% think it is “important.” This is a stark contrast from just 10 years ago, according to Hasanuddin Ali, who leads the Alvara Research Center, which conducted the study.

    “There is very high religious enthusiasm among our Muslim communities,” Ali said. “One of the implementations is in the economic sector. Religious factors are becoming a bigger consideration when people purchase products or services. There had been a supply for those in the past, but not many demands. The demands now are big.”

    Research on the actual economic impact of all this is scant. Certainly, 212 Mart and smaller Muslim-owned retailers have a long way to go to challenge chains like Alfamart and Indomaret, which are owned by Chinese-Indonesian conglomerates headed by Djoko Susanto and Anthoni Salim, respectively. Each runs around 16,000 stores.

    But Ali noted the growing availability of not only halal food and cosmetics but also Islamic schools, travel agencies for pilgrims to Mecca, Shariah-compliant hotels, and other businesses catering to the demands of the devout.

    President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s government also sees huge potential in the Islamic economy. It has launched a number of campaigns to promote halal food and tourism, modest fashion and Shariah finance.

    These helped Indonesia rise to fifth place last year from 10th in 2018 in the latest annual State of the Global Islamic Economy Report released by DinarStandard in November. The rankings are determined by factors such as Islamic finance, halal food, travel, fashion, media and recreation, and pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

    The government’s approach, however, may not be completely compatible with conservatives’ aspirations for the “economic rise of the Islamic people.”…”

  4. Terror as jihadists target key northeast Nigeria road (news24, Jan 28, 2020)
    https://www.news24.com/Africa/News/terror-as-jihadists-target-key-northeast-nigeria-road-20200128

    “Taliban militants attacked a police base in northern Afghanistan, killing 11, possibly with help from at least one of the policemen inside, local government officials said on Tuesday.

    The insurgents first overran a checkpoint near the base late Monday and were apparently able to breach the compound with ease because a sympathetic policeman opened a door for them.

    These details were provided by Mabobullah Ghafari, a provincial councilman in Baghlan province where the attack took place…”

    • We have had antibiotic and anti viral drugs for about 80 years, people have forgotten what a real pandemic is like, they question everything including the idea of quarantining the infected areas. The lack of honesty in the Chinese reporting and in the various government owned media sources helps confuse the matter.

      The world is once again discovering that God or nature if you prefer still rules, that we have to take sensible precautions to remain healthy and that we can’t trust the government to take care of us.

      As to the matter of trustworthy reporting, I am as frustrated as you and want the various governments and media sources to straighten up and fly right.

      • Its also important not to confuse reasonable precautions with the nature of the threat.

        I get that lots of people are taking strong precautionary measures and thats great. But it still doesn’t make this the Spanish Flu.

        It begins to feel like a biannual thing where some biblical pathogen is gonna wipe us all out. Between that and Kobe I wonder if its more to stop coverage of the defence for the impeachment trial. The leftist media is above nothing in terms of trying to stop President Trump from being reelected.

        Exaggerating and using bad reasoning about a Chinese flu would be the least worst thing they have done.

        Not saying it is not an issue. It certainly is. But so far I see no evidence that the mortality rate of this disease is particularly bad. Its no Ebola that is for sure so far.

        Watch wait and see. Try to avoid popular Chinese restaurants where the clientele travel back and forth a lot, and watch.

        With an unknown pathogen, the precautionary principle is the way to go. But that doesn’t mean its as bad as one prepares for. It just means its smarter to take precautions, up to a point, in case it is.

        Its sort of Pascal’s Wager except like with Pascal’s Wager, which is crap in that exact equation, you have to factor in the real cost of believing and not believing. When the cost of not believing is high, then believe. But if the cost of believing is also high think it through. That is where Pascal goes wrong. Like Global Warming, there IS a cost to believing also.

        • Actually, I agree with you that there’s probably no need to panic. However my point above is that this event illuminates how the Chicoms deal with their own communications and their own people, how our orgs com to us and ours, and how the WHO reacts quickly or slowly. It’s just all telling.

          • A drug store today said they were out of masks and the warehouse was also out and they have no idea when they can get more and its a crisis.

            Dishonest news sites would say this is a measure of how serious this is. But it is only a measure of how scared people are. Turning it into a feedback loop is a bad idea.

            A good idea is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Buy a ton of food that can store well, store it well, and go about your life. If it turns out to be real, you have food and hopefully meds and if you can tough it out for a month or three then you did everything you could do.

            But its important to know what things mean. The total lack of masks means people are afraid. People are afraid because of reports that are often other examples of people doing what scared people do.

            If I wrote this up as an article about how there are no masks to be had, it would raise the panic level, even if there is no actual cause at all.

            It is a good idea not to go to airports. Hospitals. large crowded places or China towns. Caution is reasonable. But lets wait and see. The only thing we can be sure of, is the Chinese government is lying to us all. But how and why we don’t know.

            • One think that works against this being a global pandemic is the lack of reports from India and the Stans. If this was going to turn into a global pandemic they should be reporting cases.

    • Taxi driver kicks out Wuhan passenger amid coronavirus panic in China

      Henan taxi driver kicked out a coughing passenger after he confessed that he just got back from Wuhan, where coronavirus outbreak originated.

      • The best ultimate scenario: It spreads to the soldiers in the Army. The Regime will go into a full-blown panic.

        • Either that or the vast majority of the Chinese decide that the CCP has lost the mandate of Heaven.

    • China temporary bans wildlife trade amid coronavirus outbreak

      Chinese authorities banned wildlife trade in markets, restaurants and e-commerce platforms across the country as a measure to control the spread of the coronavirus.

      Death toll from China’s coronavirus outbreak has risen to 106 as over 4,500 cases have been confirmed nationwide.

    • Right Side Broadcasting Network YouTube Steve Lookner has been covering and researching this issue every single day, many times a day for many hours at a time.

      He covers the planet as new info comes in. Very impressive work, he is doing. In China, the ‘reported’ numbers double every day and the entire country is now affected.

    • zero hedge – Hundreds Of Virus Carrying Planes Headed For US, London, Paris, Vancouver

      Lockdowns are for the peasants, not those with money.

      Here’s the Wuhan Flight Schedule for today.
      ===================================================
      https://www.flightstats.com/v2/flight-tracker/departures/WUH/?date=27&hour=18&month=1&year=2020
      ===================================================
      Wuhan Departures Today

      How easy is it to escape Wuhan?

      You can still catch a flight from Wuhan to Anchorage, Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore, Taipei and countless cities in China including Beijing and Shanghai.

      There are 8 pages of flights out of Wuhan today. That’s about 200 flights. Most of the flights are within China, but that hardly stops containment.

      In the 00:00-06:00 slot one flight left for Anchorage. Another left for Bangkok, Thailand and another went to Tokyo.

      In the 06:00-12:00 slot, two planes left for Tokyo and three to Hong Kong.

      In the 12:00-18:00 slot, three planes left for Seoul, South Korea and two went to Taipei, Taiwan.

      In the 18:00-00:00 slot, one plane went to Bangkok , three went to Taipei, three went to Hong Kong,

      Wuhan Departures Tomorrow

      Tomorrow, there are four flights from Wuhan to Singapore, three to Taipei, two to Bangkok, three to Tokyo, three to Paris, and six to Hong Kong, three to San Francisco,

      The rest headed for other parts of China including Beijing. Then where?? Here are international possibilities from Beijing.

      […]

      https://www.zerohedge.com/health/hundreds-virus-carrying-planes-headed-us-london-paris-vancouver

    • Channel 4 -Inside Wuhan: Cooking and celebrating birthday in Coronavirus lockdown

      Ben Kavanagh is working as a teacher in Wuhan – the city under quarantine as the deadly coronavirus continues to spread across China.

      Ben has been stuck in his flat for the duration of the lockdown. Today, he’s celebrating his birthday – alone in his flat, having enjoyed a simple dinner out of stockpiled rations and ventured into the eerie empty city to throw out garbage and find water.

      He took his phone along to film it all for us.

      Like Ben, millions of Wuhan locals are in lockdown, as China’s health minister warns that the virus is ‘getting stronger’.

      Over 100 people have now died and more than 4,500 are infected – with many of those infected not yet displaying symptoms.

    • CBC – B.C. confirms presumptive case of coronavirus

      There is now one confirmed case of coronavirus in Toronto and two presumptive cases, one in B.C. and the other in Toronto.

    • Deutsche Pravda China coronavirus goes viral: What’s true and what’s fake?

      A transmission in Germany may be the first person-to-person infection of coronavirus outside Asia.

      Officials say a man contracted the virus from a Chinese colleague at a conference. Other confirmed cases of the viral outbreak in Europe have so far involved patients who had recently been to China.

      Other than Germany, more than a dozen countries have confirmed cases of the virus. In China, the death toll has jumped to 100, with more than 45-hundred cases confirmed. Scientific studies suggest each infected person passes the virus on to two or three other people, on average.

      Entire cities are already under quarantine, and now the government has asked people to delay foreign travel.

      For millions, worrying and waiting are the new normal.

      Spreading almost as rapidly as the coronavirus itself are false information and conspiracy theories about it.

      So what’s true and what’s fake?

    • Wuhan CoronaVirus | On the border of quarantine zone | Truth You have to know about virus

    • zero hedge – Is This The Man Behind The Global Coronavirus Pandemic?

      In light of growing speculation, most of it within less than official circles, that the official theory for the spread of the Coronavirus epidemic, namely because someone ate bat soup at a Wuhan seafood and animal market…

      … is a fabricated farce, and that the real reason behind the viral spread is because a weaponized version of the coronavirus (one which may have originally been obtained from Canada), was released by Wuhan’s Institute of Virology (accidentally or not), a top, level-4 biohazard lab which was studying “the world’s most dangerous pathogens”, perhaps it would be a good idea for the same Wuhan Institute of Virologyto remove the following “help wanted” notice, posted on November 18, 2019, according to which the institute is seeking to hire one or two post-doc fellows, who will use “bats to research the molecular mechanism that allows Ebola and SARS-associated coronaviruses to lie dormant for a long time without causing diseases.”

      The full job posting, which can still be found on the Wuhan Institute of Virology website can be found here (and screengrabbed below as it will be gone within a few hours).

      […]Why is this notable? Because as it turns out, this is a job posting for the lab of Dr. Peng Zhou Ph.D., a researcher at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and Leader of the Bat Virus Infection and Immunization Group.

      […]Which brings us to the punchline: courtesy of the Wuhan institute of virology, here is a press release from Dr. Zhou’s lab titled “How bats carry viruses without getting sick”:

      more :

      https://www.zerohedge.com/health/man-behind-global-coronavirus-pandemic

  7. Rapid Fire ‘Kalashnikov’ Attack Caught on Video on French City Street (breitbart, Jan 28, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/01/28/rapid-fire-kalashnikov-attack-caught-video-french-city-street/

    “Video of what has been reported as an attack involving Kalashnikov rifle fire in the French city of Nîmes was posted on social media.

    The attack, which took place on Sunday evening in the Pissevin district of the city, is said to have seen around 40 shots, causing material damage but no injuries or fatalities according to local police, French newspaper Midi Libre reports.

    According to the paper, the gunfire was identified as coming from one or more Kalashnikov rifles and stated that police forensic investigation teams were on site shortly after the shooting, with the Regional Judicial Police Service (SRPJ) taking over the investigation on Monday.

    The Pissevin district has seen several shootings over the last several months. In June a shooting took place at the Richard-Wagner gallery and later in October another shooting occurred in the same area which saw a man wounded and taken to hospital after being shot in the leg.

    Following Sunday’s shooting, Prefect of the Gard Didier Lauga reacted to the incident saying: “These shots must not be trivialised.”

    Military-grade firearms have become more and more common across France’s criminal underworld, with police raids in the last several years turning up not only Kalashnikov rifles, but other items including anti-tank rocket launchers.

    In 2019, France saw a surge in violent crime with homicide cases increasing by 8.4 per cent for a total of 970 victims, according to statistics from the French Interior Ministry.

    Professor of Criminology Alain Bauer noted that the statistics were the “worst record we have seen in years”.

    “All types of violence are concerned, raising fears of a return to almost 40 years ago, at least on the grounds of homicides and attempted homicides,” he added.

    Rising levels of violence and crime, particularly in the no-go suburbs in various French cities, which often also have high migrant-background populations, has raised fears among some that the violence could spill over into a civil conflict.”

  8. French ISIS Fighters Sentenced to Death in Iraq Complain of Inhuman Treatment (breitbart, Jan 28, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/01/28/french-isis-fighters-sentenced-death-iraq-complain-inhuman-treatment/

    “A group of French jihadists have decried their treatment in an Iraqi prison, claiming that they have been subjected to “torture” and “humiliation” before their planned executions.

    Two French nationals, Brahim Nejara and Fodil Tahar Aouidate, currently awaiting execution for joining the ISIS terrorist group alongside nine other French citizens, have written to their families complaining about their treatment in the Al Rosafa prison in Baghdad.

    “We are confronted with the incessant threats, verbal and physical of the militiamen who work in this prison. Some of us have been tortured and humiliated, the pressure is so strong that there are among us who have isolated themselves and started to speak alone, and that death is preferable to them to the current ordeal,” their letter read according to French newspaper Liberation.

    “France does not want us and Iraq received the order to assassinate us as soon as the opportunity arises. We met with the representative of the French Embassy on December 17 and we explained our situation to him, he replied that he could do nothing for us. We ask to be transferred urgently to a secure place held by the Americans. Thank you,” the letter concluded.

    Fodil Tahar Aouidate and Brahim Nejara are both suspected of being members of Islamic State, appearing in propaganda videos that celebrated the terrorist attacks in France in November of 2015, which left 90 people dead at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris. Aouidate is believed to have attempted to organise a terror attack in France in 2013 and Nejara is suspected of belonging to the same ISIS cell as some of the Bataclan terrorists.

    The two men were captured in Syria by the Syrian Democratic Forces, before being moved to Iraq, where they were sentenced to death last spring. They were then transferred to Al-Rosafa prison in Baghdad, where common criminals and jihadists are housed together.

    “Most of the common criminals are Shiites, and therefore hate the French who were with IS. And the other jihadists regard them as renegades who surrendered and betrayed the cause. I wonder if leaving people who hate each other in the same cell is not a way to eliminate them in the long term,” said a family member of a French ISIS fighter.

    The Collectif des Familles Unies, an activist group in France that focusses on reuniting families of jihadists in Iraq and Syria, called on the French government “to intervene to put an end to all forms of inhuman and degrading treatment inflicted on prisoners and for that the death sentences be commuted”.”

  9. Hungarian Border Guards Fired Warning Shots as 60 Migrants Attempted to Storm Border (breitbart, Jan 28, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/01/28/hungarian-border-guards-fired-warning-shots-as-60-migrants-attempted-to-storm-border/

    “A security guard fired three warning shots when several dozen migrants tried to enter Hungary Tuesday through a border crossing with Serbia, Hungarian police said.

    Police said they were able to stop most of the 60-70 migrants from entering Hungary, while four were caught at the scene and detained.

    The border crossing at the southern village of Roszke had been closed for the night when the attempt occurred.

    Officials described the incident, which took place at the same location as a September 2015 riot by migrants when Hungary closed its southern border with fences protected by razor wire, as an “extraordinary and violent” attempt to breach the border.

    Hungarian authorities have been pointing to a noticeable increase in past months in the number of migrants coming north through the Balkans and trying to enter Hungary. Many rely on human traffickers and are trying to make their way to Western Europe.”

      • Here is a nightmare scenario, what is it going to be like if/when the wuhan virus moves into the MME?

          • That has occurred to me, as has the fact that in the Western nations most of the dying will be in the inner cities.

            As I have seen it put else where, this is the dream of the Deep Ecologists.

            Also even if this virus turns out to be a fizzle instead of a bang this may give some of the Terrorist leaders and supporters ideas about what to do next.

        • The MME and Africa desperately need to thin the herd. (It also happens to be in our interests as well.) This is an old story, let them deal with it.

          ~ Challenge and Opportunity. ~
          ~ This may be it. ~

          Doesn’t matter if this is the big Kill-Off or if it peters out. Fear of contagion is an historic memory, it’s hardwired. The responses are what shake things up. Fact is, vastly more HKers would die of thirst than virus.

          I’m hoping and praying it’s the catalyst for our PEOPLE to fight back. It’s the INSTITUTIONS that are in panic mode now.

          Look at the ChiComs’ absurd scramble. They stand to lose the Mandate of Heaven.

          This might just generate the survival instinct that’s been dormant for perilously long. Communities circle the wagons, get in touch with the facts of life. And death.

          As you said above, Richard, modern medicine has allowed us a sense of invulnerability that’s not natural. The UN and the Pope tell us we can – and should! – accommodate the global spill-over with our resources.

          Now, THAT’S lethal.

          • Yeah, if this will cause enough people to wake up to reality this will be a good thing. One of the things that scares me is the way so many people are ignoring reality and allowing massive travel from the infected areas. Without knowing the true death rate we don’t know if this is the second coming of the Spanish Flu. But even it is not that lethal the massive numbers fleeing that are being let into the unaffected nations is sure to spread the virus.

            We have problems but they can be handled if we decide to live in the real world instead of the fantasy world of the left.

  10. Market attack kills at least 30 in northern Burkina Faso (abcnews, Jan 28, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/market-attack-kills-30-northern-burkina-faso-68579834

    “Suspected Islamic extremists attacked a busy market in Burkina Faso and killed more than 30 people over the weekend, authorities said, as the West African country’s security situation deteriorates.

    The death toll could be as high as 50, Burkina Faso’s national television reported Monday evening. It was the second attack in northern Burkina Faso in a week that has left dozens dead.

    Meanwhile, the Norwegian Refugee Council warned that as many as 900,000 people could be displaced in the country by April, up from current estimates of 560,000.

    Information about the latest violence in Silgadji in Soum province was difficult to obtain because the jihadists reportedly disabled the local phone network before the massacre near the country’s troubled border with Mali.

    Days earlier, militants killed 36 civilians in a marketplace in neighboring Sanmatenga province.

    Extremist attacks are dramatically escalating in Burkina Faso, with deaths rising from about 80 in 2016 to over 1,800 in 2019, according to the United Nations. Burkina Faso’s military has struggled to contain the violence despite training and aid from the French and U.S. militaries in recent years.

    Burkina Faso’s defense ministry is trying to recruit 2,000 more soldiers, and parliament has approved the use of civilian volunteers in the fight against extremism, a move that has concerned human rights groups.

    Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said during a visit this week the country’s humanitarian needs are “enormous.”

    “Insecurity and a lack of funding is severely hampering our work,” he said. “Donor governments have not understood that this is the world’s fastest-growing displacement crisis. We still see a small aid response in a huge human catastrophe.””

    • parliament has approved the use of civilian volunteers…
      They’re arming the civilians.
      Ok.
      Avg IQ in Burkina Faso = 68. USA = 98.

      • They are more afraid of Islam then they are of their citizens, in the US the left is more afraid of the citizens then Islam. This lack of trust and the oppression by the leftist State Government is fueling the population shift from the North East to more rational states. A lot of the Libertarians and Conservatives in the Dem controlled states are reading the hand writing on the wall and are moving to states that will let them defend themselves.

        From what she said in a recent video your fellow Bostonian Liberty Doll and her husband are moving to South Carolina and I will bet the difference in the State Attitudes towards private ownership of firearms is playing a very big role in that move.

        • We have guns.
          You think Sen. Warren’s security service doesn’t carry?
          There are bureaucratic hurdles, but it’s certainly manageable.

  12. London Commuters Horrified as Teenage Boy Stabbed to Death at Busy Railway Station (breitbart, Jan 28, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/01/28/london-commuters-horrified-as-teenage-boy-stabbed-to-death-at-busy-railway-station/

    “A 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death by a man wielding a machete in front of commuters at a busy tube station in South London.

    Louis Johnson, 16, has been identified by British Transport Police (BTP) as the victim of a “senseless killing” committed outside the East Croydon Sation in South London. The perpetrator is currently unknown and police have launched a murder inquiry.

    “I was passed by someone with a machete when walking up to East Croydon station. As I reached the top of the stairs there was blood everywhere and a lad slumped in the ticket office by the barriers”, a horrified witness told The Mirror.

    Johson was met by his attacker on the overpass connecting the station, whereupon the “immediately pulled out a knife and stabbed him”, in an attack that lasted approximately 40 seconds. Despite the efforts of medics who had been called to the scene, the 16-year-old was pronounced dead.

    “This was a senseless killing at an extremely busy time of the day, and my thoughts are with Louis’s family at this painfully difficult time”, said Detective Chief Inspector Sam Blackburn per the Evening Standard.

    “For such a young man to lose his life in these circumstances is truly devastating, and I would like to reassure everyone that a thorough investigation is well underway”, he added.

    In response to the killing in Croydon, the Mayor of London wrote on Twitter: “Violent crime destroys lives and devastates communities. I’m doing all I can to support our overstretched police service bring offenders to justice, including funding new officers, as well as investing in youth and preventative services across London.”

    Under the leadership of Sadiq Khan, the murder rate hit a decade high in 2019…”

  13. Germany: Muslim murders the friend of his sister because he is a Christian

    Because his sister was in love with an Iraqi Christian, a Muslim asylum seeker in Salzgitter executed her friend. In the spirit of the “religion of peace”, which forbids a Muslim woman to have relations with an infidel – and vice versa – the ” family honour” is restored. For this reason, a 33-year-old Syrian must now stand trial before the Regional Court of Braunschweig for murder for malice and base motives.Unfortunately, despite extensive research, it is not possible to determine when the suspected perpetrator, who is a native of Syria, arrived in Germany.According to the Internet portal news28.de, the 33-year-old belongs to the Kurdish ethnic group, i.e. to that ethnic group originating from Northern Syria which, thanks to the IS terror and other wars fought over religion and ethnicity, is constantly caught between the fronts and therefore seeks asylum in Germany.The fact that someone who originates from this region,demonstrates the same murderous intolerance as his alleged “persecutors” and continues to practise it here, is once again of a particular perfidiousness and proof that he and the family in whose name he allegedly acted did not deserve protection status in Germany, and that those who unconditionally grant protection to these fundamentalist families should also be in the dock.If one looks at the background of this crime, the sister separated from this family clan after various conflicts and went into hiding. “Her brother had not accepted the relationship because his sister had apostatised from the Muslim faith. Her conversion was in consideration,” writes the newspaper Hannoversche Allgemeine. But the persecutor, who had fled Syria, probably succeeded in locating the couple. Already in November, the Kurd threatened the Christian who had fled Iraq with murder in his hairdressing salon in Seesen.After this action he should have been arrested and deported to Syria.But the Merkel regime let the fundamentalist go and thereby sentenced the Christian to death. Then in January 2019 – on a parking lot as arranged – the fatal shots were fired. The 25-year-old died the same evening in hospital. According to the newspaper “Braunschweiger Zeitung” the whole family of the accused was investigated by the police after the cowardly murder. There were three operations by special forces. Both the accused’s home and that of his clan were searched.”According to the indictment, the purpose was to restore the honor of his Muslim family. For the public prosecutor’s office this is murder for malice and base motives,” the daily Haz adds, reporting at the same time that despite the clear background to the crime a “psychiatric report” will be required. To exonerate the perpetrator?
    More:
    https://searchlight-germany.blogspot.com/2020/01/germany-muslim-murders-friend-of-his.html

  15. M1 news conference on border attack:

    -didn’t try to get through fence. Tried to get through regular entrance. Didn’t think police would shoot.
    -3 armed border guards present
    -new tactic by migrants
    -happened 1 hr 20 min before gates were scheduled to open this morning
    -police not authorized to fire weapons but this new method of attack requires different response
    -2 cases of coronavirus reported (an aside answer to reporter question)
    -police ready to respond any time to migrant attacks
    -took 2 minutes to push them back. Police videotaped the incursion
    -if larger mobs attack police will be prepared

  16. Another disturbing coverup, brought to you by the government of the Netherlands.

    Justice Inspectorate pressured to withhold info from parliament: report
    https://nltimes.nl/2020/01/28/justice-inspectorate-pressured-withhold-info-parliament-report
    The Justice and Security Inspectorate for years adjusted investigation results under pressure from top officials, whistleblowers told newspaper AD. This resulted in sensitive information being withheld from the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of parliament. Seven inspectorate employees went to the integrity coordinator in 2017, but their reports were ignored, they said to the newspaper.

    According to the whistleblowers, there is a culture or “improper influence”, which results in unwelcome conclusions from their investigations being adjusted or completely omitted. Some inspectors experienced burnout because they could not deal with this culture, others deliberately took early retirement, the newspaper writes.

    [..]

    Another example they gave involved the immigration and naturalization service IND. According to them, “explicit videos of torture” and child pornography were found on the phones of asylum seekers who applied for residence in the Netherlands. In some cases, this information was ignored because problems at the IND were politically sensitive. “There may have been terrorists transferred to an asylum center,” one source said to the newspaper. “That was not allowed to appear in the report.
    [..]

  17. #Expose2020 Part IV: Two More Bernie Staffers Promote “Extreme Action” and Property Destruction

    • Armed violence is the next logical step for the radical left, they are taking the Dems further to the left and think that the rest of us are to cowardly to fight back. The left is going to lose the 2020 election and going to resort to violence to get what they can’t get through the ballot box.

  20. More than two dozen people quarantined in Danang, Vietnam to be tested for Wuhan coronavirus

  23. Wuhan virus: Death toll in China rises over 100, over 4,500 cases | THE BIG STORY |The Straits Times

  25. “CNN Segment Insults Trump Supporters as Illiterate Americans Who Can’t Read or Understand Maps” Julio Rosas – January 27, 2020

  26. Carrie Lam: Travel between mainland China & Hong Kong to be restricted, but borders to stay open

  28. “BONDI TIME: Pam Bondi DETAILS Hunter Biden Ukraine Connection”
    FOX 10 Phoenix – January 27, 2020

  29. Coronavirus: Hong Kong medical experts urge ‘draconian’ measures as study claims 44,000 cases in Wuh

  30. DAILY MAIL – FRANCE _More than 1,400 migrants are evicted from Paris’s biggest makeshift camp as riot police and bulldozers move in

    600 single men and 240 families had been living in the ramshackled shanty town at Porte d’Aubervilliers

    They were ferried out of the area in a fleet of coaches that took them to 17 so-called ‘reception centres’

    The mainly Afghan, Eritrean and Libyan residents of the camp were forced out, before bulldozers moved in to destroy makeshift huts and tents

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7938053/More-1-400-migrants-evicted-Pariss-biggest-makeshift-camp.html

    ===============================================

  31. Trump Administration Takes on California’s Abortion Funding Coercion

    President Donald Trump wasn’t the only one making history at this year’s March for Life. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar put an even bigger exclamation point on the day when he broke news at Family Research Council headquarters about new action the agency was taking.

    After four years of watching California attack its own people, HHS is finally saying, “Enough.” If the state can’t be bothered to follow the law, Azar has decided to make it pay for it—in federal funds, if necessary.

    It’s been a problem since 2014. That’s when California’s health department started strong-arming employers into covering abortion on their insurance exchange.

    As bad as that was, the Golden State made it worse. Instead of exempting churches and other groups with religious convictions, the state ordered them to comply too—forcing pastors like Calvary Chapel Chino Hills’ Jack Hibbs to finance a deadly business in direct defiance of their faith.

    In these trying times, we must turn to the greatest document in the history of the world to promise freedom and opportunity to its citizens for guidance. Find out more now >>

    https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/01/27/trump-administration-takes-on-californias-abortion-funding-coercion/

  32. Venezuela Weighs Privatizing Oil in Face of Economic Free Fall

    Facing economic collapse and painful sanctions, the socialist government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has proposed giving majority shares and control of its oil industry to big international corporations, a move that would forsake decades of state monopoly.

    Maduro’s representatives have held talks with Russia’s Rosneft PJSC, Repsol SA of Spain and Italy’s Eni SpA. The idea is to allow them to take over government-controlled oil properties and restructure some debt of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA in exchange for assets, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

    The proposal, which could offer a balm to the country’s disintegrating oil industry, is in early stages and faces major obstacles. Venezuelan laws would have to be changed, there is disagreement over how to finance the operations, and Washington’s sanctions bar any U.S. companies from doing business with the Maduro regime without a waiver. The sanctions have also discouraged non-U.S. firms from investing in Venezuela.

    Once an admired state-dominated company producing 3.5 million barrels per day, PDVSA is pumping at a record-low of 700,000, despite sitting on the world’s largest known reserves. Its finances are in tatters: The central bank’s hard-currency reserves have plunged to the lowest in three decades while the government’s cash holdings total less than $1 billion.

    National Assembly

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/venezuela-weighs-privatizing-oil-faces-181133688.html

  33. China Market Opening Delayed Until Feb. 3 on Virus Upheaval

    (Bloomberg) — China’s financial markets will remain closed until next Monday after authorities extended the Lunar New Year break by three days as they grapple with the worsening virus crisis.

    Trading will resume Feb. 3, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges said. Shanghai authorities separately advised that companies shouldn’t start work until at least Feb. 9.

    While onshore markets will be closed all week, traders are finding alternative ways to express their China concerns. Futures on the FTSE China A50 Index sank as much as 5.9% in Singapore on Monday, and extended declines in after-hours trading. The offshore yuan fell 0.8%, trading weaker than its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

    China’s stock market, the world’s second largest, last saw trading on Jan. 23, when the Shanghai benchmark tumbled 2.8% in the worst eve to a Lunar Year in its three-decade history. People familiar with market said earlier Monday that stocks and futures trading, as well as interbank transactions for bonds and currencies, would all resume Feb. 3.

    In 2003, during the outbreak of SARS, officials extended a May Day holiday market closure by four trading days.

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-financial-markets-likely-stay-023203874.html

  34. Germany: Syrian refugee on trial for posing for picture with severed head

    The media representatives must protect the personal rights of the people present.

    The publication of film or images of the defendant’s face that have not been made unrecognizable (“unpixed”) is prohibited.

    When the filming permit is exercised, the personal rights of all persons (in particular those involved in the process – such as members of the court, parties, lawyers – as well as the spectators) who are in the courthouse – in particular in the areas covered by this authorization – are to be granted note.

    The right to photograph these persons without their consent to this in accordance with Section 22 of the Art Copyright Act or the requirements of Sections 23 and 24 of this Act is not covered by this permit.

    A criminal trial against a Syrian citizen, who allegedly posed for pictures with the severed head of an enemy fighter, began at the Higher Regional Court in the western city of Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, on Tuesday.

    The 34-year old defendant is suspected of joining armed resistance against the Syrian government forces in his home country back in 2012 and later posing for pictures with what is thought to be the severed head of an enemy fighter to mock and belittle the deceased.

    According to reports, the pictures were found stored on the mobile phone of the suspect.

    The Syrian man came to Germany first as a refugee and returned to Syria for at least two weeks between 2012 and 2014, when the pictures are believed to have been taken.

    Upon his return, he lived in Saarbruecken, Saarland.

    The suspect, who has already been in prison for other lesser offences, faces up to ten years in prison, if convicted.

  35. Trump Admin Reconsidering U.S. Aid to Hezbollah-Controlled Lebanon

    An internal divide in the Trump administration over American aid to Lebanon is reaching a breaking point as Lebanon forms a government controlled by the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah, according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon.

    The State Department’s concession to Congress that it would commit to halting financial aid to Lebanon if U.S. taxpayer dollars go to Hezbollah is now being brought to the forefront. That guarantee from the State Department is fueling a growing push to freeze all aid in light of Hezbollah’s unprecedented takeover of the Lebanese government, sources confirmed.

    Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), who has led a battle on Capitol Hill against unconditional assistance to Lebanon, recently wrenched promises from the administration to halt the aid if it is shown Hezbollah is the beneficiary, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

    https://freebeacon.com/national-security/trump-admin-reconsidering-u-s-aid-to-hezbollah-controlled-lebanon/

    • Terrific article, Mendi Safadi and Prof Mordechai Kedar observations:
      The government, the parliament, the president all are no more than a mask which covers the real face of Lebanon, the face of Hassan Nasrallah

      …According to recent media reports, Hezbollah and its allies have agreed to the formation of a new government in Lebanon under Prime Minister Hassan Diab. However, although this is supposed to be a government of technocrats that will determine the future of Lebanon, the pivotal role that Hezbollah played in forming this government undermines its credibility. This in turn adversely affects the Iraqi protesters’ struggle and Israel’s security interests, as it means Hezbollah is now further entrenched within Lebanon.

      However, it looks as though the Lebanese people will not accept this situation silently.…
      http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/25082

  37. China sure of slaying ‘devil’ virus, Hong Kong to cut links

    https://www.oann.com/china-records-first-virus-death-in-beijing-as-toll-passes-100/

    BEIJING (Reuters) – President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China was sure of defeating a “devil” coronavirus that has killed 106 people, spread across the world and rattled financial markets.

    Yet despite his confidence, international alarm was rising.
    Report Ad

    From France to Japan, governments were organizing evacuations, while Hong Kong – scene of anti-China unrest for months – planned to suspend rail and ferry links with the mainland.

    Among countries pulling nationals out of Wuhan, the central city of 11 million people where the outbreak started, the United States’ Embassy in Beijing said a chartered plane would pick up its consular staff on Wednesday.

    World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Xi met in Beijing to discuss how to protect Chinese and foreigners in areas affected by the virus and “possible” evacuation alternatives, a WHO spokesman said.

    “The virus is a devil and we cannot let the devil hide,” state television quoted Xi as saying.

    “China will strengthen international cooperation and welcomes the WHO participation in virus prevention … China is confident of winning the battle against the virus.”

    • Something I don’t know enough to answer, how much is the Chinese superstition and reliance on traditional herbalists going to hamper the fight to stop the virus?

      • One traditional custom makes a whole lot of sense:
        A village defending its perimeter.

        There was a clip of a man armed with a scythe blocking the rural road to his village. They’re standing guard, securing supplies within the community, and looking after each other.

  38. Wuhan people keep out: Chinese villages shun outsiders as virus spreads

    BEIJING (Reuters) – In a village in Beijing’s far northeastern Shunyi district, residents have set an informal rule: “If you’re here, don’t leave. If they’ve left, don’t let them come back.”

    Red tape was tied across the road at the entrance to the small community Monday. Village committee members wearing face masks and high-visibility vests manned the blockade.
    Report Ad

    Since last week, a public address system had been broadcasting messages, residents told Reuters, warning people against inviting guests and urging anyone who has been to Wuhan, the epicenter of a spreading coronavirus that has killed 106 people, to register with authorities.

    “We grow our own leeks … we have a lot of frozen pork, rice and oil. There’s no need for us to go outside,” villager Lu Weian, who lives in a traditional village house with high walls, told Reuters by phone.

    “Every house is its own quarantine zone,” she said.

    The village, hundreds of miles from Wuhan, is one of many across China shunning outsiders amid rising panic over the virus that has infected thousands.

    https://www.oann.com/wuhan-people-keep-out-chinese-villages-shun-outsiders-as-virus-spreads/

    • Oh, I wrote the comment above before seeing this article!
      Makes MUCH more sense than mewling into an iphone, trusting the all-knowing Govt to take care of you and yours.

      It could become a major challenge to the ChiComs. People making their own decisions! Acting on their own initiative!

      Trouble is, that Govt apparatus is a crushing monster. It will be defeated only at terrible cost. Chinese history is punctuated with bloodbaths.

  39. CBC – Antisemitism on the rise in Germany

    “…rise in antisemitic attacks …most attributed to the far-right “

  41. Spanish Prosecutor’s statement is ‘a sick joke, a slap at all Holocaust survivors’
    Spanish State Prosecutor: Incitement to hatred against Nazis can be considered a hate crime.

    In a letter to Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, expressed shock at a brief prepared by the Spanish State Prosecutor claiming that incitement against Nazis can be considered a hate crime.

    In his letter, Dr. Samuels expressed his dismay in learning “about a brief prepared by the State Prosecutor (Circular 7/2019 on the Signs to Recognize Hate Crime…).”

    “This claims that ‘incitement to hatred against Nazis’ can be considered as ‘a hate crime,’” he wrote.

    The Prosecution argued: “The origin of the hate crime is related to the protection of vulnerable communities” and that “an aggression against a person of Nazi ideology or incitement to hatred towards such a group can be included in this type of crime.”

    Dr. Samuels questioned: “Should we expect the imprisonment of Auschwitz survivors for having incited hatred of the Nazis?”

    The Centre urged the Prime Minister “to take appropriate measures, on this International Holocaust Commemoration Day, against those who would desecrate memory and banalize Nazi atrocities.”

    This is “a sick joke, a slap at all Holocaust survivors, just like the claim that the Nazis could never forgive the Jews for forcing them to build Auschwitz,” concluded Samuels.

    http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/275230

  42. Three ‘pings’ on the New York Times leak about the forthcoming John Bolton book
    By J.E. Dyer January 28, 2020

    There is some difficulty in writing about the report from the weekend, by Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt in the New York Times, that former national security adviser John Bolton’s new book, expected in March 2020, contains “bombshell” information about Trump and Ukraine.

    On the one hand, the NYT report conveys its information in an elliptical, misleading way that invites severe criticism.

    On the other hand, that is not John Bolton’s fault. It’s hard to separate the misleading implications of the NYT article from what Bolton may have actually written, given that we haven’t seen Bolton’s original text yet.

    But I’m betting Bolton didn’t pull a major shift in premises between one sentence and the next, as Haberman and Schmidt did in the first two sentences of their piece.

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2020/01/28/three-pings-on-the-new-york-times-leak-about-the-forthcoming-john-bolton-book/

    The Dems and their lapdogs in the Propaganda Media have been lying about Trump since he started running for President, I see no reason to think they have changed their Modus Operandi.

  43. Sweden: Just Seven Convictions After Year of Over 250 Explosions and Bombings (breitbart, Jan 28, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/01/28/sweden-just-seven-convictions-after-year-of-over-250-explosions-and-bombings/

    “Sweden saw just seven convictions for bombings in 2019, despite there being over 250 known cases of explosions in the same year.

    New figures released from the Swedish Crime Prevention Council (Bra) have shown that in 2019, the country saw a total of 257 reports of explosions and bombings, up from prior estimates and an increase of 59 per cent from 2018, broadcaster SVT reports.

    A further review by the broadcaster has shown that the number of people convicted for these attacks has been poor, with only seven convictions of public endangerment due to the use of explosives.

    Marie Borgh, who is the head of the national bomb protection, has claimed that the main reason for the lack of convictions in explosive cases is due to the difficulty of prosecuting individuals.

    “The technical evidence is difficult when it is blown up. Most of it is blown away in connection with the detonation. Often, someone may order this job based on a conflict that exists. A bomb builder will build the bomb and someone else will then carry it out,” Borgh said.

    She went on to add that police did not think the bombings were intentionally being carried out to kill people but added, “Some of the charges have been so powerful that there was a risk of it. This is obviously ignored, though it may not be the basic purpose.”

    Swedish gangs, who are largely seen as being behind the bombings, have previously used hand grenades against rival gangs in order to spread fear according to Police officer Gunnar Appelgren who noted in 2018 that hand grenades were easy to find and inexpensive.

    “Some groups initially estimated that hand grenades are good for scaring or attacking another group. Then you are in a spiral, where hand grenades become part of the weapons used in these gang conflicts,” he said.”

  44. UN: Clashes in Sudan’s West Darfur force 11,000 into Chad (abcnews, Jan 28, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/clashes-sudans-west-darfur-force-11000-chad-68581645

    ” Tribal clashes in Sudan’s West Darfur province forced more than 11,000 people to flee into neighboring Chad over the past month, the U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday.

    Clashes between Arabs and non-Arabs erupted late in December in the West Darfur town of Genena, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the border with Chad. At least three dozen people, including women and children, were killed and around 60 others were wounded.

    Babar Baloch, a spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency, said 4,000 of the 11,000 have fled during the last week alone.

    Baloch estimated the clashes have displaced some 46,000 inside the country. Most of those were already internally displaced people, and when the attacks happened in West Darfur, including on displacement camps, people fled and found temporary refuge in schools, mosques and other buildings in Genena, he said.

    The UNHCR said the refugees who crossed the border were scattered in several villages in Chad’s Ouddai province, already hosts 128,000 Sudanese refugees.

    “The conditions are dire. Most are staying in the open or under makeshift shelters, with little protection from the elements. Food and water are urgently needed, while health conditions are a concern,” said Baloch.

    Clashes in West Darfur have posed a challenge to efforts by Sudan’s transitional government to end decades-long rebellions in areas like Darfur.

    Negotiating an end to the rebellions in Sudan’s far-flung provinces including West Darfur has been a crucial goal for the transitional government. It’s looking to revive the country’s battered economy through slashing military spending, which takes up much of the national budget.

    The transitional military-civilian Sovereign Council took power in August, just months after a pro-democracy uprising led Sudan’s military to overthrow former autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in April.”

  45. Europe’s asylum agency signs deal on boosting Greek presence
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/europes-asylum-agency-signs-deal-boosting-greek-presence-68585758

    “Europe’s asylum agency signed a deal with Greece Tuesday that will help expand its operations in the country, which is struggling to process asylum requests amid high migrant arrivals and overcrowding in island camps.

    The European Asylum Support Office said in a statement that the agreement signed in Athens “gives legal and administrative clarity to the status of EASO in the country.”

    EASO and Greece had already agreed for the number of agency staff in the country to double to more than 1,000, Greek Alternate Migration and Asylum Minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos said. EASO funding for its Greek operations will also increase by 30%, from 27 million euros ($30 million) last year to 35 million euros in 2020, he said.

    Koumoutsakos said the signing of the agreement Tuesday was an “important day in Greece’s efforts to tackle … the great challenge of migration.”

    “The challenge is very big, difficult and hard to solve. (EU) member-states must not and cannot stand alone in the face of a challenge of such magnitude,” Koumoutsakos added. “European cooperation, solidarity and coordination are essential.”

    Tens of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in Asia, the Middle East and Africa continue to arrive in Greece from neighboring Turkey each year, despite a 2016 European Union-Turkey deal designed to stop migrant flows.

    Most head from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in the eastern Aegean, where under the EU-Turkey agreement they must remain pending deportation back to Turkey unless they successfully apply for asylum in Greece. In practice, very few are returned to Turkey.

    The deal and a massive backlog in asylum applications has left thousands stranded on the islands in desperately overcrowded camps, where those unable to find accommodation inside pitch makeshift tents and shacks outside the camp’s perimeters. Greece’s nearly seven-month-old government has vowed to tackle the overcrowding but so far has not managed to solve the problem.

    EASO head Nina Gregori, who signed the deal with Koumoutsakos, said the office had been increasing its support to Greece since 2011.”

  46. Leeds attack: Two police officers assaulted while trying to help injured woman- 3 arrested (express, Jan 28, 2020)
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1234586/Leeds-news-police-officers-attacked-dorset-mount

    “POLICE have arrested three members of the public for assaulting two officers in Leeds.

    Officers were called to Dorset Road in Harehills where a woman was arrested on suspicion of assault following a family dispute. Three more people were arrested for other offences including assaulting emergency workers and obstructing police. Two officers were hurt in the process.

    West Yorkshire Police said in a statement: “At 12.15pm today police are called to Sandhurst Terrace, Harehills, following a report of a woman having been assaulted by another woman.

    “Officers attended the scene and arrested a woman on suspicion of assault from an address in Dorset Mount.

    “A number of apparent family members were then involved in a disturbance in the street during which two officers were assaulted but not seriously injured.”

    They added: “There people were arrested on suspicion of offences including assaulting emergency workers and obstructing police.

    “The woman from the initial assault has attended hospital with injuries that are not considered life threatening.

    “A scene is currently in place in Dorset Mount and enquiries into the incident are ongoing.

    “The local neighbourhood policing tam has been made aware of the incident.”

    This is a breaking news story.

    More to follow…”