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.
[Coronavirus Special] “Systematic Problems with China’s Virus Research Labs” – Tim Trevan
If there is one Twitter handle to follow, it is this one:
Jennifer Zeng@jenniferatntd
Excellent video clips, the stuff you’ve never seen. Police barricading people in their apartment buildings. They can’t get out. PLEASE, follow this lady. You’ll be shocked.
Which leads me to conclude this is no ordinary virus, as we all know. And the government knows it.
https://www.zerohedge.com/health/man-behind-global-coronavirus-pandemic
I think you’re right. Too many lies being told.
We are being told a lot of lies and all know the official infection numbers and the official death rate, but what we need are the official numbers. From the reactions of the governments of the nations surrounding China they don’t believe the official story and are acting as if the virus is much more dangerous.
If the pandemic lasts much longer the CCP is going to have a hard time remaining in power.
url
the rebel Ezra Levant HIDDEN CAMERA: Police interrogated me about my Justin Trudeau book. They didn’t know I videotaped it
(25 min 52 )
I wrote a best-selling book about Justin Trudeau in the last election.
After the election, I received a letter by registered mail notifying me that I was being investigated for that book. Trudeau’s elections commissioner claimed it was an illegal campaign activity and demanded that I submit to an interrogation.
So I went to Elections Canada’s Ottawa headquarters last week, where I was grilled for an hour by two 30-year veterans of the RCMP — and they refused to rule out a police raid on Rebel News headquarters!
Chronique d’un antisémitisme d’aujourd’hui
Erdogan Accuses Russia of not Abiding by Syria Agreements
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2105211/erdogan-accuses-russia-not-abiding-syria-agreements
“Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Moscow of “not honoring” agreements made with Ankara to stem the conflict in northwestern Syria where Russian and Syrian warplanes have increased their assault.
“There have been agreements made with Russia. If Russia honors these agreements, we will do the same. But right now, unfortunately, Russia is not honoring these deals,” Erdogan said, quoted by the Hurriyet daily…”
Warning: Adult Content – Grooming
“California Educators Defend Gross Porn At School”
FreedomProject Media – January 28, 2020
“Leslie Wexner, Victoria’s Secret Billionaire Who Had Ties To Epstein, In Talks To Step Down And Sell Company: Report”
Sergei Klebnikov – January 29, 2020
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/01/29/victorias-secret-billionaire-leslie-wexner-in-talks-to-step-down-and-sell-company/#5f1b71f761b8
I am ToRe twitter article link: + more tweets
“Wexner Primed Young Girls for the Epsteins & Weinsteins of the World Through Retail” Tore – July 16, 2019
http://toresays.com/2019/07/16/wexner-primed-young-girls-for-the-epsteins-weinsteins-of-the-world-through-retail/
Kuwait: Court Sentences Former Minister to 7 Years in Prison
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2105296/kuwait-court-sentences-former-minister-7-years-prison
“Kuwait’s Ministerial Court sentenced former Minister of Health Ali al-Obaidi, the former undersecretary, and a number of assistant undersecretaries to seven years in prison for embezzling public funds…”
After Russia, China Veto, UN Says Medical Aid for Syria Stuck in Iraq
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2105606/after-russia-china-veto-un-says-medical-aid-syria-stuck-iraq
“Truckloads of medical aid for civilians in Syria’s northeast is stuck in Iraq, the United Nations aid chief said on Wednesday, after Russia and China prevented the UN Security Council from renewing authorization for the cross-border deliveries.
Earlier this month, the council allowed a six-year-long cross-border aid operation to continue from two places in Turkey, but dropped crossing points from Iraq and Jordan due to opposition by Russia and China. In December the two countries vetoed a bid to extend approval for both the crossing points in Turkey and Iraq.
“Some 400,000 medical items planned for delivery are stuck on trucks in Iraq and unable to cross,” UN aid chief Mark Lowcock told the council on Wednesday.
“The secretary-general (Antonio Guterres) has asked members of this council for their support in getting agreement that these items can be brought in,” he said. “As of today, they remain in Iraq.”
Lowcock said that the World Health Organization had warned that the removal of the Iraq crossing point from the cross-border aid operation would lead to “a reduction in the medical services available and a growing shortfall of medical supplies.”
Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia has dismissed concerns about closing the Iraq border crossing because he said the situation on the ground had changed and humanitarian aid was being delivered to the northeast from within Syria…”
Mauritania: Parliament Forms Committee to Investigate Deals Concluded Under Previous Govt
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2105396/mauritania-parliament-forms-committee-investigate-deals-concluded-under
“The Economic Affairs Committee in Mauritania’s Parliament has agreed to form a committee to investigate files and deals, suspected of being corrupted, under former President Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz.
The committee approved the proposal on Tuesday and referred it to a public session during which the formation of the committee will be voted on to enter into force, EPA quoted a parliamentary source as saying.
The probe will include means of disbursing oil revenues fund and state properties that have been sold, activities of a controversial Chinese fishing company called Poly Hong Dong, the running of a charitable body affiliated to the mines and deals for solar public lighting, operation of the container dock at the port of Nouakchott, and the liquidation of imports and exports.
Twenty-four deputies have recommended the formation of the committee to investigate these files on suspicion of their corruption.
Its formation comes in light of a silent political crisis between the current president, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, and the former president, Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz.
It was settled for Ghazouani after his ruling party sided with him being its exclusive reference.”
Cameroon: Five Killed in Terror Attack by Boko Haram
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2105491/cameroon-five-killed-terror-attack-boko-haram
“Boko Haram militants carried out overnight attack in north Cameron killing five people. The militants were hunting for soldiers in a village near Lake Chad.
“Five civilians were killed by Boko Haram in Blaram,” a village in the Blangoua district of Cameroon’s Far North region, a local official said.
Two soldiers were also injured in the assault and a military base set on fire, the officer said, AFP reported.
“Boko Haram fighters attacked the post around 1 am. Fighting erupted between them and the soldiers, but the troops made a strategic retreat because they were outnumbered,” a Blangoua district official said.
The civilians were killed in their homes by attackers searching for soldiers, the official said.
The village of Blaram is located on dry land near Lake Chad.
Based in neighbouring Nigeria, Boko Haram has stepped up attacks from bases hidden in the Lake Chad area, where the borders of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria converge.
Cameroon says the group has carried out nearly 13,000 attacks on its territory since 2014, with the loss of “several thousand” lives.
The insurgency has forced more than 250,000 people to flee their homes and triggered an influx of 60,000 people from Nigeria.
?Accordingt to AFP, Boko Haram was formed in Nigeria but attacks have spread to neighbouring countries.”
Greece Plans Floating Fence to Stop Migrants
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2105501/greece-plans-floating-fence-stop-migrants
“The government in Greece wants to use a floating barrier to help stop migrants from reaching the Greek islands from the nearby coast of Turkey.
The Defense Ministry has invited private contractors to bid on supplying a 2.7-kilometer-long (1.7 miles) floating fence within three months, according to information available on a government procurement website Wednesday. No details were given on when the barrier might be installed.
A resurgence in the number of migrants and refugees arriving by sea to Lesbos and other eastern Greek islands has caused severe overcrowding at refugee camps.
The netted barrier would rise 50 centimeters (20 inches) above water and be designed to hold flashing lights, the submission said. The Defense Ministry estimates the project will cost 500,000 euros ($550,000), which includes four years of maintenance.
The government’s description says the “floating barrier system” needs to be built “with non-military specifications” and “specific features for carrying out the mission of (maritime agencies) in managing the refugee crisis.”
“This contract process will be executed by the Defense Ministry but is for civilian use – a process similar to that used for the supply of other equipment for (camps) housing refugees and migrants,” a government official told The Associated Press.
The official asked not to be identified pending official announcements by the government.
Greece’s six-month-old center-right government has promised to take a tougher line on the migration crisis and plans to set up detention facilities for migrants denied asylum and to speed up deportations back to Turkey.
Under a 2016 migration agreement between the European Union and Turkey, the Turkish government was promised up to 6 billion euros to help stop the mass movement of migrants to Europe.
Nearly 60,000 migrants and refugees made the crossing to the islands last year, nearly double the number recorded in 2018, according to data from the United Nations refugee agency.”
Yemen’s Houthis ‘target Saudi Aramco facilities in Jizan’
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemens-houthis-say-targeted-saudi-aramco-facilities-jizan
“Yemen’s Houthi rebels said on Wednesday that they had targeted facilities belonging to Saudi Aramco in Jizan on the Red Sea in response to “escalating air strikes”, but there was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities of any attack.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria said in comments reported by Houthi-run Al Masirah TV that the rebel group had also targeted non-energy Saudi facilities near the border with Yemen.
Saria did not give a timeframe for the assault, and state oil giant Aramco declined to comment on the report.
The spokesman said in more than 15 “operations” had been carried out in the past week inside Saudi Arabia in retaliation for an escalation in air strikes.
Yemen has been ongoing in Yemen for almost five years since Houthi rebels ousted the internationally-recognised government of President Abed Rabbu Mansour Hadi from the capital in late 2014. A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in 2015 in a bid to restore him.
In a separate statement, Saria said that other Saudi sites targeted “with a large number of rockets and drones” near the border with Yemen include Abha and Jizan airports and Khamis Mushait military base.
If confirmed, they would be the first such Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia since late September, when the group said it would halt missile and drone attacks on Saudi cities if the coalition ended its air strikes on Yemen.
The group extended the offer after claiming responsibility for an unprecedented 14 September assault on Saudi oil facilities that initially halved the kingdom’s output.
Riyadh rejected the claim and instead blamed Iran, which denied any involvement.”
QUEBEC CITY MOSQUE SHOOTING ANNIVERSARY
Activist and writer Shireen Ahmed joined Reshmi Nair on CBC News Network to talk about where Canada stands in the fight against Islamophobia.
Lions starve to death in Yemen’s national zoo
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200129-lions-starve-to-death-in-yemens-national-zoo/
“Lions are starving to death at Yemen’s national zoo in the capital Sanaa due in part to the on-going conflict, collapse of the local currency, inflation in food prices and medical care for the animals, reports Xinhua.
“Four lions have died over the past weeks due to severe food shortage and diseases,” Fouad Al-Harsh, who is in charge of taking care of the zoo, told the news agency, adding that “The high prices do not enable us to provide enough meat or medical care to help the remaining lions.”…”
Iran rapper wanted by Interpol arrested in Turkey
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200129-iran-rapper-wanted-by-interpol-arrested-in-turkey/
“Iranian rapper and underground musician Amir Tataloo has been arrested in Turkey’s Istanbul following a request from Iran, Tehran authorities said yesterday.
Turkish police said Interpol issued a “red notice” for Tataloo, real name Amirhossein Maghsoudloo, Hurriyet’s court reporter said.
Iranian police have accused Tataloo of “encouraging citizens, especially the youth, to use drugs”, Iranian news agency ISNA reported.
The heavily tattooed singer, who has not been authorised to sing by the Islamic Republic’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, has been arrested at least twice in Iran, including in 2013 for alleged cooperation with satellite channels.
He has reportedly been living in Turkey for several months now.
His social media manager said the singer was planning to move to the UK, where he was reportedly due to perform live in the coming days.”
Saudi Arabia, UAE siding with Greece against Turkey in Cyprus
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200129-saudi-arabia-uae-siding-with-greece-against-turkey-in-cyprus/
“Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been in touch with Greece in an effort to cooperate against Turkey in the Mediterranean, Turkey’s Yenisafak newspaper has reported.
The two Arab states, which have had a history of animosity with Ankara over the past decade as a result of their support of opposing sides in numerous Middle East conflicts including in Syria, Egypt and Libya, have met with Greek Cyprus Foreign Minister, Nikos Christodoulides, and other officials in Athens.
In a meeting between Saudi officials and Christodoulides, the newspaper reported that Saudi King Salman promised to offer Greek Cyprus all the support it needs in the Eastern Mediterranean in order to see of Turkey.
It also reported that the Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan visited Athens and met with his Greek counterpart as part of the joint efforts against Ankara.”
Taliban kill at least 29 Afghan security personnel in renewed clashes
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-attacks/taliban-kill-at-least-29-afghan-security-personnel-in-renewed-clashes-idUSKBN1ZS2DL
“At least 29 members of the Afghan security forces have been killed in Taliban attacks that followed air and ground assaults by government forces on the Islamist group at the weekend.
The surge in hostilities signals deadlock at stop-start peace talks involving U.S and Taliban negotiators in Doha.
The Defense Ministry said on Sunday government forces had killed 51 Taliban fighters in the weekend assaults.
But the Taliban hit back, carrying out attacks on security checkpoints in the northern province of Kunduz on Tuesday night in which a security official who declined to be identified said 15 members of the Afghan army were killed.
The Taliban also attacked a police station on Monday night in Pul-e Khomri, capital of the neighboring Baghlan province, killing 14 policemen, said Safdar Muhseni, head of the provincial council.
Taliban said it was responsible for both attacks. The group’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said 35 members of the Afghan security forces had been killed in the attack in Kunduz and 17 in Baghlan…”
Iranian factory makes U.S. and Israeli flags to burn
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-flags/iranian-factory-makes-u-s-and-israeli-flags-to-burn-idUSKBN1ZT065
“Business is booming at Iran’s largest flag factory which makes U.S., British and Israeli flags for Iranian protesters to burn.
At the factory in the town of Khomein, southwest of the capital Tehran, young men and women print the flags by hand then hang them up to dry. The factory produces about 2,000 U.S. and Israeli flags a month in its busiest periods, and more than 1.5 million square feet of flags a year.
Tensions between the United States and Iran have reached the highest level in decades after top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad on Jan. 3, prompting Iran to retaliate with a missile attack against a U.S. base in Iraq days later.
In state-sponsored rallies and protests in Iran, demonstrators regularly burn the flags of Israel, U.S. and Britain.
Ghasem Ghanjani, who owns the Diba Parcham flag factory, said: “We have no problem with the American and British people. We have (a) problem with their governors. We have (a) problem with their presidents, with the wrong policy they have.”
“The people of America and Israel know that we have no problem with them. If people burn the flags of these countries at different rallies, it is only to show their protest.”
Rezaei, a quality control manager, who declined to give her first name, said, “compared to the cowardly actions of the United States, such as General Soleimani’s assassination, this (burning an American flag) is a minimal thing against them. This is the least that can be done.”
For hardliners, anti-American sentiment has always been central to Iran’s Islamic revolution, and Iran’s clerical rulers continue to denounce the United States as the Great Satan.
Last November, however, many Iranians took to the streets to protest against the country’s top authorities, chanting “our enemy is not the U.S., our enemy is here.”
During protests this month that erupted after Tehran belatedly admitted shooting down a passenger plane by mistake, young demonstrators in Tehran refused to step on the American flag painted on the street.”
Pakistani man gets life for killing Filipino maid in Dubai
https://gulfnews.com/uae/crime/pakistani-man-gets-life-for-killing-filipino-maid-in-dubai-1.69347722
“A worker has been sentenced to life in jail for killing a housemaid by striking her across the head four times with a metal bar after she caught him stealing from a villa, a Dubai court on Wednesday…”
“Accused Hanukkah stabber Grafton Thomas unfit for trial, psychiatrist finds”
By Kenneth Garger – January 28, 2020
https://nypost.com/2020/01/28/accused-hanukkah-stabber-grafton-thomas-unfit-for-trial-psychiatrist-finds/
“The schizophrenic Muslim mind”
by Mattei Elass – June 6, 2019
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2019/06/the-schizophrenic-muslim-mind
“Robert Spencer on the Global Outbreak of Mental Illness”
JihadWatchVideo – June 17, 2016
“US Gov’t Hands Out Tens of Millions to Islamist Organizations”
By Clarion Project – January 23, 2020
https://clarionproject.org/govt-grants-islamist-organizations/
“Enemies Within Series: Nat’l Security Meltdown: Global Allies, Iran, IRGC & the Muslim Brotherhood”
Sharia Crime Stoppers – January 29, 2020
Tennessee Lawmaker Introduces Bill Labeling CNN, Washington Post as ‘Fake News’
https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2020/01/29/tennessee-lawmaker-introduces-bill-labeling-cnn-washington-post-as-fake-news/
“Tennessee State Rep. Micah Van Huss (R) on Wednesday proposed legislation in the state’s General Assembly which would recognize CNN and the Washington Post as “fake news.”
The filed bill brands CNN and the Post as both “fake news” and “part of the media wing of the Democratic Party.” The text also accuses the corporate media outlets of “denigrating our citizens and implying that they are weak-minded followers instead of people exercising their rights that our veterans paid for with their blood” — an apparent reference to a recent CNN segment, in which anchor Don Lemon and guests Rick Wilson and Wajahat Ali laughed and mocked Trump supporters as illiterate “credulous rubes.”
In a Facebook post, Van Huss wrote that he filed the bill on behalf of voters who are “tired of fake news” and Republicans who refuse to confront it…”
Taliban ban medicine supply to Paktia healthcare facilities
http://www.afghanistantimes.af/taliban-ban-medicine-supply-to-paktia-healthcare-facilities/
“Officials in the eastern province of Paktia say that Taliban do not allow medicines supply to healthcare centers there.
The officials in the districts of Samkani and Aryoub Zazi, said Wednesday that hospitals and other medical facilities had not received medicines for one month, which had made big problems for the patients.
Shamim Khan Katawazi, provincial governor, confirmed the report, saying that the government was not able to establish checkpoints for every single medical facility.
Abdul Quddoos, a physician in Samkani state-run hospital said that they receive 400 patients per day, but the patients need to buy medicines from market as the hospital lacks medications.
Shahrzad Akbar, head of the independent human rights commission, called ban of health services against all human rights norms.
She asked the Taliban to not only make troubles for people, but also to help them in gaining their civil rights.
Taliban spokesman, said they had warned medical suppliers two months ago to continue serving people according to contracts they had with the ministry of public health, but they ignore the demand and people’s complaints increased.”
Taliban oppose educating girls in Takhar
http://www.afghanistantimes.af/taliban-oppose-educating-girls-in-takhar/
“Hundreds of girls have been deprived of education as insecurity recently been intensified in northern Takhar province, provincial officials said on Wednesday.
Some of the provincial inhabits have voiced concerns over the Taliban’s active presence in Khwajaghar district. They said the insecurity has deprived scores of girl students from accessibility to education.
However, Abdul Rahim, a resident of the district has called poverty, security challenges and force marriage the reasons for girls’ inaccessibility to education. “We want the government to provide opportunities for education,” said Satayash, s student.
Meanwhile, head of Takhar provincial council, Mohammad Azam Afzali said the students who reach to grade six, can’t go to schools due to Taliban’ opposition.
Moreover, the provincial education department has confirmed the issue and said the Taliban have repeatedly shut the girls’ schools. “Even they don’t let girl students in schools that have female teachers.”
But the Taliban’ Spokesman Zabiulllah Mujahid blame the foreign troops for war and conflicts in Afghanistan, saying that the issue of girl’s inaccessibility to education is natural in such condition.
Takhar is one of insecure provinces in northern Afghanistan, where the Taliban have a strong presence.”
Turkish frigate saves 30 Med Sea migrants from drowning
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-frigate-saves-30-med-sea-migrants-from-drowning-151543
“The staff of Turkish Navy frigate TCG Gaziantep, which is on a Mediterranean duty to support NATO’s Operation Sea Guardian, rescued 30 migrants on a drifting dingy off Libya.
Spotting the unregistered migrants on the boat, the frigate intervened.
The migrants were provided with aid and medical support, before they were handed to Libyan Coast Guard officials.
TCG Gaziantep is part of the Turkish Navy mission that directly contributes to the Operation Sea Guardian…”
German lawmaker questions Berlin’s contact with FETÖ members
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/german-spy-agencies-maintain-contact-with-feto-151515
“A German lawmaker has questioned the relationship between her country’s spy agency and FETÖ, with the government admitting that contact with the members of the group behind the failed 2016 coup attempt in Turkey continues, Anadolu Agency reported on Jan. 29.
Responding to a question in parliament submitted by the opposition Left Party, the German government confirmed Berlin’s ongoing talks and cooperation with FETÖ affiliated people, who are often referred to as Gülenists in Germany.
But Berlin declined to provide any information about these contacts, arguing that doing so could reveal sources and undermine the functional capability of the spy agencies, referring to the country’s foreign intelligence agency the BND and domestic intelligence agency the BfV.
Left Party lawmaker Ulla Jelpke sharply criticized the government for hiding information from parliament and stressed that Berlin’s continued talks with FETO, mainly through its intelligence organizations, was an alarming development.
“German intelligence organizations would like to benefit from the confidential information acquired by this movement through a decades-long campaign to infiltrate state institutions and through illegal eavesdropping,” she concluded, Anadolu Agency said.
FETÖ-linked groups have long denied having a hidden agenda or pursuing any political goals and claim that they were only working for inter-religious dialogue, education and cultural projects.
But court cases in Turkey have revealed that FETÖ and its leaders have built a secretive hierarchical structure and managed to infiltrate the key institutions of the military, police and judiciary to take control of the state.
FETÖ is classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016 left 251 killed and nearly 2,200 injured.
The German government’s tolerance towards the group and its reluctance to extradite key FETÖ suspects to Turkey including ex-generals, bureaucrats or prosecutors involved in plots against the democratically elected government has been a major source of tension between Berlin and Ankara in recent years.
Since the 1990s, FETÖ members have managed to build a large network in Germany and the group claims to have around 70,000 followers in the country, Anadolu said.
“Around 14,000 people with suspected ties to FETO have also arrived in the country after the foiled coup attempt in Turkey, according to local reports,” it said.”
Ankara slams Belgian ruling protecting PKK terrorists
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ankara-slams-belgian-ruling-protecting-pkk-terrorists-151534
“Turkey on Jan. 29 slammed a court ruling in Belgium blocking the prosecution of 36 suspects linked to the terrorist group YPG/PKK.
A Belgian Supreme Court ruling upholding a 2010 decision not to prosecute YPG/PKK-linked suspects amounts to an explicit attempt to undermine the law, said a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement.
The ruling “exonerates a terrorist organization with ideological motives” and is especially egregious “as it comes from a country that presumes to lecture Turkey on the rule of law,” said the statement.
The ruling amounts to clear support for the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and the EU and is responsible for the death of over 40,000 Turkish citizens, including civilians, children, and even infants, said the ministry.
The court decision is based on the misunderstanding that even if a terror group massacres people in other countries, there is no problem if it launches no attacks in my country, said the statement.
‘Hypocrisy’ which encourages terrorism
“It is an example of hypocrisy; ignores the fact that terrorism poses threats to all nations and encourages other terrorist organizations,” the ministry added.
The ministry said the ruling is based on political rather than legal criteria and contains grave contradictions.
The Belgian decision “is inconsistent with the acquis communautaire of the EU which Belgium hosts as a founding member,” and poses an obstacle for Belgium fulfilling its international counter-terrorism obligations in relation, it added.
The ministry urged the Belgian government to take all necessary steps to correct this contradictory ruling and to properly counter the terrorist YPG/PKK.
Not only the YPG/PKK but also other terrorist groups such as ISIL will exploit this irresponsible ruling, warned the ministry.
Turkey expects all responsible stakeholders to condemn such attempts to weaken international counter-terrorism efforts.
“Standing on the right side of the history under all circumstances, Turkey will continue its fight against all forms of terrorism, which is one of biggest threats to humanity, both legally and through effective measures on the ground until the eradication of terrorist organizations,” it said.
Separately, Turkey’s foreign minister also condemned the Belgian ruling, saying it has nothing to do with the law.
“This decision is ideological and political. It is a hypocritical decision made by those who try to teach us law with fear,” Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu wrote on Twitter.”
Turkish cultural center inks deal with NBA team
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/culture/turkish-cultural-center-inks-deal-with-nba-team/1718461
“Turkey’s state-run cultural institute on Wednesday announced that it has signed a deal with NBA team Cleveland Cavaliers to promote Turkish culture…”
148 Bangladeshi migrants return from Libya via UN help
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/148-bangladeshi-migrants-return-from-libya-via-un-help/1718537
“A total of 148 migrants who had left for Libya from Bangladesh in search of better employment opportunities, returned Wednesday to Dhaka via voluntary humanitarian return (VHR) by the UN migration agency.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) charted a flight carrying the migrants, the National Communication Officer for the IOM in Dhaka, Md. Sariful Islam, confirmed to Anadolu Agency.
The flight included people who were wounded in conflict, survivors of failed sea crossings to Europe and former detainees…”
Migrants disembarked from Ocean Viking, ‘nightmare journey’
http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2020/01/29/migrants-disembarked-from-ocean-viking-nightmare-journey_54f508a0-72cd-4127-90b2-bb897d132672.html
“A total of 403 migrants disembarked from the Ocean Viking in Taranto on Wednesday and rescue workers said the migrants had faced a “nightmare journey”.
The Taranto prefecture said there were 12 pregnant women, 132 unaccompanied minors (some between 11-13 years old), and 20 families aboard the NGO ship run by SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders.
The migrants are from Morocco, Guinea, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Nigeria, Mali and Somalia.
They were rescued in recent days in the Mediterranean, in five nighttime operations made difficult by bad weather at sea.
Many of the migrants were crowded into small boats full of water that nearly overturned numerous times.
Others were suffering from hypothermia and seasickness, covered with fuel, travelling aboard an overcrowded rubber boat.
There were some smiling faces among those who disembarked, but the faces were also marked by fatigue and tension.
Sources said health workers found two cases of tuberculosis and some cases of fuel burns due to contact with the fuel on board and seawater, but said the overall condition of the survivors was “rather good”.
The minors, who made up more than one-third of those disembarked, are headed for educational communities in Taranto and the province.
The adults will be transferred by bus to the migrant hotspot in Taranto, where they will remain for 48 to 72 hours for identification procedures before being taken to other centres.
Rescue workers said the rescues “were difficult, with rough seas, at night”.
“There were some scenes of panic, but SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders did an extraordinary job,” rescue workers said.
“The crew is also tired; they rescued people at sea whose lives were at risk. These migrants deserve a bit of peace and rest. Now they can start a new life in Italy and abroad,” they said.”
Senate to examine Salvini migrant kidnap case Feb 12
http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2020/01/29/senate-to-examine-salvini-migrant-kidnap-case-feb-12_f7ed0ca9-26f9-4db0-9dc0-aa81aba08506.html
“The Senate will on February 12 examine a request to try nationalist opposition League leader Matteo Salvini for allegedly ‘kidnapping’ migrants on board the Gregoretti coast guard ship for nearly two weeks in July, caucus leaders decided Wednesday.
A Senate panel recently voted to try Salvini, with only the League members voting in favour of lifting his immunity and putting their leader on trial.
Former interior minister Salvini, who has said he is ready to face prison in the case, said last week he would report the current government for alleg edly acting as he did in keeping a boat out at sea for four days.”
Macron accuses Erdogan of breaching Berlin agreement on Libya
https://www.dw.com/en/macron-accuses-erdogan-of-breaching-berlin-agreement-on-libya/a-52193291
“The French president has accused Turkey of “a violation” in Libya by sending warships and fighters. World powers backing opposing Libyan factions had agreed to an arms embargo at a summit in Berlin earlier this month…”
‘Finally free’: Asia Bibi breaks silence after Pakistani death row hell
https://www.france24.com/en/20200129-finally-free-asia-bibi-breaks-silence-after-pakistani-death-row-hell
“Recounting the hellish conditions of eight years spent on death row on blasphemy charges but also the pain of exile, Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi has broken her silence to give her first personal insight into an ordeal that caused international outrage.
Bibi was sentenced to death on blasphemy charges by a Pakistani court in 2010 but then dramatically acquitted in 2018. She now lives in Canada at an undisclosed location.
French journalist Anne-Isabelle Tollet, who has co-written a book about her, was once based in the country where she led a support campaign for her.
She is the only reporter to have met Bibi during her stay in Canada.
In the book “Enfin libre!” (“Finally Free”) — published in French on Wednesday with an English version due out in September—Bibi recounts her arrest, the conditions of prison, the relief of her release but also the difficulty of adjusting to a new life.
“You already know my story through the media,” she said in the book.
“But you are far from understanding my daily life in prison or my new life,” she said.
‘Depths of darkness’
“I became a prisoner of fanaticism,” she said.
In prison, “tears were the only companions in the cell”.
She described the horrendous conditions in squalid jails in Pakistan where she was kept chained and jeered at by other detainees.
“My wrists are burning me, it is hard to breathe. My neck… is encased in an iron collar that the guard can tighten with a huge nut,” she wrote.
“A long chain drags along on the filthy ground. This connects my neck to the handcuffed hand who pulls me like a dog on a lead.
“Deep within me, a dull fear takes me towards the depths of darkness. A lacerating fear that will never leave me.”
Many other prisoners showed her no pity. “I am startled by the cry of a woman. ‘To death!’ The other women join in. ‘Hanged!’ Hanged!’.”
‘At what price?’
Blasphemy is an incendiary charge in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even the whiff of an unsubstantiated allegation of insulting Islam can spark death at the hands of mobs.
Her acquittal on the charges, which stemmed from an incident in 2009 when she argued with a Muslim co-labourer, resulted in violent protests that paralysed the country, led by firebrand cleric, Khadim Hussain Rizvi.
Bibi, who vehemently denied the charges against her, argued in the book that the Christian minority in overwhelmingly Muslim Pakistan still faces persecution.
“Even with my freedom, the climate (for Christians) does not seemed to have changed and Christians can expect all kinds of reprisals,” she said.
“They live with this sword of Damocles over their head.”
And while Canada gives her a safer and more certain future, Bibi also has to come to terms with likely never setting foot in her homeland again.
“In this unknown country, I am ready for a new departure, perhaps for a new life. But at what price?
“My heart broke when I had to leave without saying goodbye to my father or other members of the family.”
“Pakistan is my country. I love my country but I am in exile forever,” she said.”