Reader’s Links for October 27, 2020

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

125 Replies to “Reader’s Links for October 27, 2020”

  1. Tory Councillor Threatened With Decapitation For ‘Islamophobic’ Comments on Mosques (breitbart, Oct 27, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/10/27/tory-councillor-threatened-with-decapitation-for-islamophobic-comments-on-mosques/

    “A Tory Party councillor claimed that she received death threats after she made supposedly ‘Islamophobic’ statements about British mosques and largely Muslim grooming gangs.

    Conservative member of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, Beverly Dunlop said that a man called her three times last week to threaten to cut off her head in retaliation to her comments.

    In response to the threats of decapitation against the Tory politician, the local council said they were “very alarmed” and the police in Dorset confirmed that they are investigating the matter in order to locate the unknown man, according to the BBC.

    Last year, a dossier of allegedly anti-Islam comments made by Conservative Party politicians, including Councilor Dunlop, was sent to the left-wing British newspaper The Guardian by an anonymous Twitter user called @MatesJacob.

    In a 2016 post, Ms Dunlop reportedly said on Facebook: “I hate to ban anything really but I’d suggest we start with Mosques!”

    In another post from 2019, she criticised calls for an inquiry into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party by saying: “How about them calling for an inquiry into Islamist rape gangs grooming underage, underpriveleged white girls [sic]?”

    Earlier this month, the members of the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council’s standards committee ruled that her comments did not breach the council’s code of conduct as it was deemed by independent investigator Tim Darsley that her comments were made in a personal capacity.

    The council did go on to condemn the “unacceptable” statements from Ms Dunlop, who claimed that her remarks were taken out of context.

    In a statement given to the Daily Echo last year, Cllr Dunlop said: “A few sentences from a wider discussion have been removed from the context in which they were written in order to make me appear to be something I am not.”

    “The irony – which I thought was obvious in the mosque comment – is that I am well known for my libertarian outlook and very much oppose restrictions of freedom such as bans,” she noted.

    “Only someone with a political agenda would view comments about female oppression and abuse and then attempt to denigrate the writer. I am aware of two other comments, which without the surrounding material can and no doubt will be used to convey whatever the publisher chooses,” Dunlop concluded.

    A spokesman for Dorset Police confirmed that the force had received a report on Thursday of last week that a woman had “received malicious communications the previous evening”.

    The council said in a statement that the chief executive has been in communication with Cllr Dunlop to provide support for her.

    “[The] government has recognised the increase in threats and attacks on politicians over recent years and agreed, for example, that the personal contact details of councillors need no longer be published,” the council added.

    The threats of beheading against the Tory councillor came less than a week after 18-year-old Chechen migrant Abdoulakh Anzorov decapitated a teacher, Samuel Paty, outside of Paris for showing caricatures of the prophet Muhamed from the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

    Following the attack, it was revealed that a “Fatwa” video, which detailed the address and identity of the terror victim, had been shared by the leader of the Pantin mosque in Paris, M’hammed Henniche.

    “Nobody, really nobody, could imagine, on October 9 when I posted it, that it would end with this killing,” Henniche claimed.”

    • WION’s wishful thinking – why I find it endearing.
      It’s muscular and optimistic.
      Even if it’s not true, it’s patriotic. And that’s something we don’t see much in the West.

  2. French President Emmanuel Macron Depicted as ‘Parisian Devil’ in Iranian Cartoon – Photo (sputniknews, Oct 27, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202010271080891551-french-president-emmanuel-macron-depicted-as-parisian-devil-in-iranian-cartoon—photo/

    “French President Emmanuel Macron has been at the receiving end of a barrage of abuse since his speech at a commemoration ceremony for brutally murdered French history teacher Samuel Paty last week, in which he stressed that France would continue to defend freedom of speech.

    Iran’s Watane Emrooz (Homeland Today), an ultra-conservative Persian language newspaper, has published a caricature of French President Emmanuel Macron after his statement about the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad.

    The French President is depicted as a person with a red face and pointed ears, with a signature reading the “Parisian Iblis (devil)”.

    All France was shocked this month when the teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded on the outskirts of Paris by an 18-year-old of Chechen descent after Paty showed a bunch of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his pupils during a history lesson.

    After the murder, Macron unveiled the so-called “enlightened Islam” initiative — legislation that will ensure the pre-eminence of republican values and establish control over funding which French mosques can receive from abroad.”

  3. Iran’s Foreign Minister Zarif Slams Macron for ‘Fuelling ‘Cult of Hatred’ by ‘Insulting Muslims’ (sputniknews, Oct 27, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/world/202010271080889950-irans-foreign-minister-zarif-slams-macron-for-fuelling-cult-of-hatred-by-insulting-muslims/

    “Earlier, Emmanuel Macron spoke in the wake of the murder of French history teacher Samuel Paty by a radicalised teenager after he had displayed caricatures depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad to his students. The French President depicted Islam as a religion “in crisis”, drawing widespread condemnation from Muslims worldwide.

    Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif went on Twitter on Monday to denounce French President Emanuel Macron for “insulting Muslims and their sanctities”, emphasising that such actions serve to fuel extremism.

    Muslims are the primary victims of the “cult of hatred”—empowered by colonial regimes & exported by their own clients.

    Insulting 1.9B Muslims—& their sanctities—for the abhorrent crimes of such extremists is an opportunistic abuse of freedom of speech.

    It only fuels extremism.

    The strongly-worded remarks followed a speech delivered by French President Emmanuel Macron on 21 October during a commemoration ceremony for French history teacher Samuel Paty, murdered on 16 October by a radicalised teenager of Chechen origin after he had displayed caricatures depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad to his students.

    Macron called for people to “free Islam in France from the foreign influence”, stressing that the country would continue to defend freedom of expression.

    The French President vowed new legislation that would create “enlightened Islam” in France, include stricter oversight of schooling and control over foreign funding of mosques.

    “Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world today, we are not just seeing this in our country,” said Macron.

    Measures announced by Macron will reportedly form legislation set to go to parliament before the end of the year.

    However, Emmanuel Macron’s comments, in addition to his backing of satirical outlets publishing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad by the French satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo, have drawn widespread condemnation from Muslims across the world, many of which urged for a boycott of French goods.

    Iranian state media reported that the country’s Foreign Ministry had summoned the French ambassador over the country’s officials’ “insistence” on adopting anti-Islamic stances.

    “The French officials’ injudicious reaction to the move by extremists who commit acts of violence in the name of Islam will only lay the groundwork for the growth of tendencies that are deviant and are not in conformity with this divine faith (Islam), which only promises tolerance, rationality, peace and justice-seeking,” stressed the deputy director general for European affairs at the Iranian Foreign Ministry.”

  4. Greece: Turkish coast guard rescues migrants near Greek island of Simi

    Turkish coast guards rescued migrants stranded at sea off the coast of the Greek island of Simi on Tuesday.

    Several small migrant boats were seen being rescued at large by the Turkish teams and taken to the port of Marmaris.

    “They (Greeks) put us all in the same place and towards the morning they brought us, put us in these plastic boats and they left us here,” said one rescued migrant.

    *SOUNDBITES*

    SOT, Migrant (Turkish): “They put us all in the same place and towards the morning they brought us, put us in these plastic boats and they left us here.”

    SOT, Migrant (Turkish): “I saw they took the phone and wallet of three people.”

    SOT, Migrant (Turkish): “They (Greek) also took their money, they took the phones and they put the money in a bag and took it away. But not of everyone, I still got mine.”

  5. https://www.narcity.com/news/ca/bc/vancouver/bc-white-supremacist-flyers-surrey-man-offers-bounty-to-rip-them-down

    News
    Vancouver
    A Guy In BC Will Pay You For Ripping Down White Supremacist Flyers
    “If you DM me a picture of you holding them, I’ll personally give you $5 for each one.”
    Britanny Burr
    Published Oct 27 2020
    Updated October 27 at 10:01 AM

    Article Featured Image
    Ian Mcdonald | Dreamstime
    On Monday, October 26 a B.C. man reportedly came across a flyer at Surrey Central station. The B.C. white supremacist flyers read “BC IS NOW officially the most Antiwhite Place on Earth.”

    The sign, as pictured in a tweet by Ranil Prasad, goes on to say “All BC’s major cities have been White-Erased to the point of white minority.”

    Prasad said in his tweet that he saw someone putting the signs up and tore one down. “Got yelled at by a white supremacist who was distributing it who claimed I was “anti-white” and “hateful,” he wrote. Followed by a note that he thought it was totally worth it.

  6. After Biden Receives Big Goldman Sachs Donations – The Company Gets Caught In A $1.6B Bribery Scheme

    Both presidential candidates receive donations from big corporations, of course. But Democratic nominee Joe Biden has often touted his smaller-dollar donations and his “everyday Joe” image.

    Even so, Biden has received his fair share of big-money assistance from major corporations — though this might reflect poorly on his campaign when a corporation gets hit with a scandal.

    https://thepatriotjournal.com/biden-donations-company-scheme/?utm_source=gjwhg&utm_medium=email

  7. Charlie Hebdo vs Tayyip Erdogan: New funny cartoon front page targets the Turkish President
    http://en.protothema.gr/charlie-hebdo-vs-tayyip-erdogan-new-funny-cartoon-front-page-targets-the-turkish-president/
    A new “cartoon war” has just begun
    It was difficult for Tayyip Erdogan not to attract the attention of Charlie Hebdo, as what he has said in the recent days against Emmanuel Macron, could not go unnoticed.
    Thus, in its new issue, the French satirical magazine presents the Turkish president, in an obscene cartoon, one of those who have established it in the minds of readers around the world.
    In it, the Turkish president appears to lift the clothes of a Muslim woman and when he sees her naked buttocks, he exclaims “Oooh, the Prophet!”. In the front page caption, Charlie Hebdo writes: “Erdogan: in his private life he is very funny”.
    Given the extreme insults that Erdogan used in recent days against Macron, because the French President in response to Islamic fanaticism gave permission for government buildings to be illuminated with religious sketches of Charlie Hebdo which depict Muhammad, Turkey’s reaction to the new front page of the satirical magazine is expected with interest.

  8. Turkey is recruiting Syrian mercenaries to be sent to the Greek border: reports
    https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/10/24/turkey-syrian-mercenaries-greek/
    An Armenian journalist, known for being one of the first to highlight that Turkey was recruiting Syrian mercenaries to fight against Armenian forces in Artsakh, has now reported that Turkey is recruiting more mercenaries to be sent to the border with Greece.
    Abraham Kasparian, a Syrian-born Armenian journalist, revealed through a leaked conversations between Idlib-based terrorists that Turkey is now recruiting Syrian mercenaries to be sent to the Greek border.
    The ArmNews reporter in his daily bulletin on Wednesday said it is being spread among Syrian militants in Idlib that a war between Greece and Turkey is “highly possible” and that there are thousands of Syrian mercenaries ready to be deployed on the land border with Greece.
    Kasparian says that as Turkey is hosting thousands of Syrian militants, Ankara is planning another location to “burn” them as Azerbaijan will not be enough to get rid of them all.
    The Syrian War, that has been waging since 2011, is almost at an end. Turkey is the only regional state that continues to support extremist militants in the war torn country and is unwilling to relinquish control of Idlib province, prolonging the suffering.
    However, many of these Syrian militants are becoming a domestic problem in Turkey, which is part of the reason why Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an is dispersing them as a moveable fighting force to serve his interests in Libya and Azerbaijan.
    It now appears though, according to Kasparian, that some of the mercenaries will be deployed on the land border between Greece and Turkey in Thrace.
    Kasparian, who has an impressive reliability track record, concluded this part of his daily bulletin by saying that his report “will be a great gift to our fellow Greeks and their intelligence. I’m sure our Greek friends and their intelligence already have this information, but if not – then here you go.”
    His report on Syrian mercenaries preparing to be deployed on the Greek border comes as Stephanie Turco Williams, the top U.N. envoy for Libya, announced todaythat foreign mercenaries will depart “from all Libyan territories land, air and sea” within three months.
    Whether Erdo?an plans to send the returned Syrian mercenaries back to Idlib, or stay within Turkey, or be deployed to the Greek border or elsewhere remains to be seen.
    It has been well reported that ISIS and Al-Qaeda fighters from Syria have crossed the Greek-Turkish border in the past to reach other destinations in Europe.
    Currently, Turkey is militarily engaged in and/or occupying northern Cyprus, northern Syria, northern Iraq, Libya, Artsakh and also against fellow NATO member Greece in the East Mediterranean.
    As an energy starved country that is unwilling to procure energy through the rule of law, Turkey engages in hostilities with most of its neighbors to secure energy flows and procure cheap oil and gas, so much so that it facilitated blood oil trade with ISIS.
    With the Turkish economy rapidly declining, Erdo?an promises Turkish citizens economic prosperity under the guise of recreating the Ottoman Empire.
    However, unlike Syria, Iraq and Libya, Greece is not a country torn by war for nearly a decade and has a military more than capable of deterring Turkish aggression, which is why Turkey continually refuses to directly attack Greece despite incessant threats of war.
    None-the-less, Turkey has more than proven that its Syrian mercenaries are prepared to be utilized and deployed to serve Erdo?an’s agendas, as seen in Libya and Azerbaijan.
    Whether the Turkish president will use them against Greece remains to be seen, but with the Syrian mercenaries already discussing the “high possibility” Turkey will go to war with its NATO “ally,” this a security threat that Athens must take seriously.

  9. Oct 27 2020 Turkey designates Greek island of Amorgos on Google Maps as Turkish with a Mosque on it
    http://en.protothema.gr/turkey-designates-greek-island-of-amorgos-on-google-maps-as-turkish-with-a-mosque-on-it/
    Turkey continues its propaganda against Greece, with the most recent activity being the tampering with Google Maps to designate the Greek island of Amorgos as Turkish, which, according to ‘Google Maps’, also has a mosque.
    According to what Open TV reported, Turkey gave the island the name “Turk Adasi” which in Greek means “Turkish island”.
    It is worth noting that Amorgos has never had a mosque in its history but is famous for the emblematic island of Hazoviotissa. The new fake information on Google maps shows the island as ‘Turkish” for three days.
    The island’s local government sent a letter to both Google and Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias on Monday afternoon.

  10. Oct 26 2020 Greek Foreign Minister: “Turkey is a ‘jihadist travel agency” in the East Med”
    http://en.protothema.gr/greek-foreign-minister-turkey-is-a-jihadist-travel-agency-in-the-east-med/
    Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said Turkey was acting as a “travel agency for jihadists” in the wider region of the Middle East, in a statement he made after meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Athens on Monday.
    “Relations between our countries have lasted for centuries. We stressed the importance of strengthening bilateral political contacts. “Russia is and will remain an integral part of European architectural security,” said Nikos Dendias. “In the field of energy, we look forward to continuing cooperation, examining bilateral trade and the possibility of increasing investment. “We have a lot to gain by working together.”
    “Unfortunately, in all regional developments, the common denominator is the destabilising factor of Turkey. I have expressed concern about the role of Turkey, which has become a travel agency for jihadists,” said the Greek Foreign Minister, who said he had raised the issue of Turkish military arms race with his Russian counterpart.
    On his part, the Russian Foreign Minister initially focused on the historical ties between the two countries and stressed that bilateral cooperation continues, while noting that, at the beginning of the pandemic, the two countries helped each other. Among other things, referring to the issue of Ankara’s provocations in the Eastern Aegean region, he advocated a peaceful settlement through dialogue.
    “There are many problems in the Eastern Mediterranean. We believe that they must be resolved through international law “, underlined Sergey Lavrov,” essentially “showing the way of dialogue in Athens and Ankara.
    Mr. Lavrov is scheduled to meet with PM Mitsotakis at 5pm on Monday.

  11. (Richard: She doesn’t know much about Macron)

    Gravitas: Why the world must support Emmanuel Macron

  12. Will They Really Get Away With It?

    by Chris Farrell
    October 27, 2020 at 5:00 am

    Obama administration officials committed crimes against the constitution. They engaged in a seditious conspiracy to overthrow the government of the United States.

    Will they really get away with it?

    Forty government officials were indicted or jailed as a result of Watergate. White House staffers H.R. Haldeman and John Erlichman went to jail. White House counsel John Dean went to jail. Attorney General John Mitchell went to jail. Howard Hunt, G. Gordon Liddy, Charles Colson and James McCord – all jailed. Nixon Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler called Watergate a “third-rate burglary.” It toppled a president.

    “Obamagate,” or the “Russia Hoax” is a political and criminal scandal exponentially more serious and damaging to the constitution. Like the Richter Scale measurements of earthquakes, Obamagate can be measured in “orders of magnitude” greater seriousness than the third-rate burglary. Obamagate is the First American Coup. Not from the militaristic right, as fantasized by liberal Hollywood. Oh, no – from the “fundamental transformation” artists of the Bolshevik Left.

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16692/will-they-really-get-away-with-it

  13. UN Watchdog: Iran Building at Underground Nuclear Facility
    https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2589986/un-watchdog-iran-building-underground-nuclear-facility

    “Inspectors from the UN’s atomic watchdog have confirmed Iran has started building an underground centrifuge assembly plant after its previous one exploded in what Tehran called a sabotage attack over the summer, the agency’s head told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

    Iran also continues to stockpile greater amounts of low-enriched uranium, but does not appear to possess enough to produce a weapon, Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the AP in an interview in Berlin.

    Following the July explosion at the Natanz nuclear site, Tehran said it would build a new, more secure, structure in the mountains around the area. Satellite pictures of Natanz analyzed by experts have yet to show any obvious signs of construction at the site in Iran’s central Isfahan province.

    “They have started, but it’s not completed,” Grossi said. “It’s a long process.”

    He would not give further details, saying it’s “confidential information.” Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s nuclear department, last month told state television the destroyed above-ground facility was being replaced with one “in the heart of the mountains around Natanz.”

    Natanz hosts the country’s main uranium enrichment facility. In its long underground halls, centrifuges rapidly spin uranium hexafluoride gas to enrich uranium.

    Natanz became a flashpoint for Western fears about Iran’s nuclear program in 2002, when satellite photos showed Iran building an underground facility at the site, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of the capital, Tehran.

    In 2003, the IAEA visited Natanz, which Iran said would house centrifuges for its nuclear program, buried under some 7.6 meters (25 feet) of concrete. That offers protection from potential airstrikes on the site, which also is guarded by anti-aircraft positions.

    Natanz had been targeted by the Stuxnet computer virus previously, which was believed to be a creation of the US and Israel. Iran has yet to say who it suspects of carrying out the sabotage in the July incident. Suspicion has fallen on Israel as well, despite a claim of responsibility by a previously unheard-of group at the time.

    Under the provisions of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran is allowed to produce a certain amount of enriched uranium for non-military purposes.

    In return, Iran was offered economic incentives by the countries involved.

    Since President Donald Trump pulled the US unilaterally out of the deal in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions, however, the other signatories — Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China — have been struggling to keep the deal alive.

    Meanwhile, Iran has been steadily exceeding the deal’s limits on how much uranium it can stockpile, the purity to which it can enrich uranium and other restrictions to pressure those countries to come up with a plan to offset US sanctions.

    Still though, Iran has continued to allow IAEA inspectors full access to its nuclear facilities, including Natanz, Grossi said.

    In the latest IAEA quarterly report, the agency reported Iran as of Aug. 25 had stockpiled 2,105.4 kilograms (4,641.6 pounds) of low-enriched uranium, well above the 202.8 kilograms (447.1 pounds) allowed under the JCPOA. It was also enriching uranium to a purity of 4.5%, higher than the 3.67% allowed under the deal.

    In the next report, due in coming weeks, Grossi said: “We continue to see the same trend that we have seen so far.”

    According to a widely cited analysis by the Washington-based Arms Control Association, Iran would need roughly 1,050 kilograms (1.16 tons) of low-enriched uranium — under 5% purity — in gas form and would then need to enrich it further to weapons-grade, or more than 90% purity, to make a nuclear weapon.

    The IAEA’s current assessment is, however, that Iran does not at the moment possess a “significant quantity” of uranium — defined by the agency as enough to produce a bomb — according to Grossi.

    “At the moment, I’m not in contact with my inspectors, but by memory, I wouldn’t say so,” he said.

    “All of these are projections and the IAEA is not into speculation” he added. “What may happen? What could happen? We are inspectors, we say the amounts that we see.”

    Iran insists it has no interest in producing a bomb, and Grossi noted that before the JCPOA, Iran had enriched its uranium up to 20% purity, which is just a short technical step away from the weapons-grade level of 90%. And in 2013, Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was already more than 7,000 kilograms (7.72 tons) with higher enrichment, but it didn’t pursue a bomb.

    “The idea of a ‘significant quantity’ is a technical parameter … that applies in the context of the safeguards agreement to indicate amounts which could be theoretically used for the development of a nuclear weapon,” he said.

    “The fact that there could be such an amount would not indicate automatically that a nuclear weapon is being fabricated, so I think we have to be very careful when we use these terms.”

    Grossi personally visited Tehran in late August for meetings with top officials, and managed to break a months-long impasse over two locations thought to be from the early 2000s where Iran was suspected of having stored or used undeclared nuclear material and possibly conducted nuclear-related activities.

    Inspectors have now taken samples from both of those sites, and Grossi said they are still undergoing lab analysis.

    “It was a constructive solution to a problem what we were having,” he said. “And I would say since then we have kept the good level of cooperation in the sense that our inspectors are regularly present and visiting the sites.””

  14. France Urges EU to Adopt Measures against Turkey at Next Summit
    https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2589971/france-urges-eu-adopt-measures-against-turkey-next-summit

    “France urged fellow European Union leaders on Tuesday to adopt measures against Turkey, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan questioned French President Emmanuel Macron’s mental health and called for a boycott of French goods.

    “France is united and Europe is united. At the next European Council, Europe will have to take decisions that will allow it to strengthen the power balance with Turkey to better defend its interests and European values,” Trade Minister Franck Riester told lawmakers, without elaborating.

    Over the weekend, Erdogan’s comments prompted France to recall its ambassador from Ankara.

    Several of France’s partners in the European Union rallied round the French leader. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Erdogan’s remarks were unacceptable.

    Turkey and France, NATO members, have been at odds over a host of issues, from Syria and Libya, maritime jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean, and the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.”

  15. Child malnutrition reaches new highs in parts of Yemen: UN survey
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/yemen-child-malnutrition-new-high-un-survey

    “Parts of Yemen are seeing their highest levels of acute malnutrition in children, heightening warnings that the country is approaching a dire food security crisis, a UN report said on Tuesday.

    Drivers of malnutrition in Yemen worsened in 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic, economic decline, floods, escalating conflict and significant underfunding of this year’s aid response have compounded an already bleak hunger situation after almost six years of war.

    “We’ve been warning since July that Yemen is on the brink of a catastrophic food security crisis,” said Lise Grande, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen…”

  16. Denmark to criminalise foreign funding for mosques in effort to ‘counter extremism’
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201027-denmark-to-criminalise-foreign-funding-for-mosques-in-effort-to-counter-extremism/

    “Denmark is set to present a new bill that would criminalise funding for mosques sent by foreign countries and entities, in new efforts to counter religious extremism.

    The bill was announced in a Facebook post by Danish Integration Minister Mattias Tesfaye earlier this month, who said that the government would criminalise the funding of mosques in the country by any individuals, organisations, or even countries which “oppose or undermine democratic values, fundamental freedoms and human rights.”

    The Danish government’s proposed bill comes after it was revealed by the Danish newspaper Berlingske in January that Saudi Arabia had been sending around $790,000 to the Taiba Mosque in the capital Copenhagen through its embassy.

    In the following month, the government issued a parliamentary settlement with opposition parties which targeted the flow of money from foreign entities, also agreeing to oppose and ban “religious preachers that seek to undermine Danish laws and values and support parallel legal perceptions.”

    Under that law, it would become a criminal offence for mosques to accept money from certain entities, organisations and other donors which Denmark would compile and establish a list of.

    In 2014, Denmark’s first official ‘Grand Mosque’ opened in Copenhagen with Qatari funding, in a move which stirred controversy in the country.

    Denmark’s new bill comes amid a wave of Islamophobic sentiment and policy throughout the continent, with its neighbour France carrying out its own crackdown against “Islamic separatism” and having also proposed a law to obligate imams to be state-approved and restrict those from abroad.”

  17. France boycott call puts Turkey ‘even further’ from Europe, EU commission warns
    https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/10/27/france-boycott-call-puts-turkey-even-further-from-eu

    “President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s support for a boycott of French goods is a further setback to Turkey’s already stalled bid to join the EU, the European Commission said Tuesday.

    “Calls for boycott of products of any member state are contrary to the spirit of these obligations and will take Turkey even further away from the European Union,” a spokesman said…”

  18. Saudi Arabia set to abolish sponsorship system
    https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/599660/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudi-Arabia-set-to-abolish-sponsorship-system

    “In a landmark move, Saudi Arabia is set to abolish the sponsorship system effective from the first half of the next year. More than one million expatriates are expected to benefit from the move, according to a report in Maaal online business daily.

    Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development will make the official announcement in this regard in the coming week. The historic initiative is aimed at improving the contractual relationship between expatriate workers and their employers.

    The sponsorship system, which has been in force for around seven decades, will be replaced by a work contract that regulates the relationship between employers and foreign workers. The current system, also known as the kafala system, ties workers to their employers, or sponsors, who are responsible for the employees’ visa and legal status.

    This is part of other initiatives that seek to improve the quality of life of expatriates, especially for housing and entertainment. The move would be the latest in a series of economic reforms being carried out in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

    The abolition of the sponsorship system would give expatriate workers freedom to secure exit and re-entry visas, receive the final passport exit stamp without a sponsor, and gain employment without the approval from a sponsor.

    With the abolition of the system, the foreign workers will also have freedom of movement according to what is stipulated in the work contract.

    The sponsorship system has been in place in Saudi Arabia for decades. Under the system, a worker is obligated to work for his sponsor, and they cannot work for another employer unless the sponsorship is transferred through formal channels.

    The Ministry of Human Resources was expected to announce on Wednesday (Oct. 28) the major features of this initiative to improve the relationship between the expatriate workers and their employers with the abolition of the sponsorship system, but it was postponed for the coming week, as preparations are being made for this, including inviting international media persons to attend a press conference in this regard.

    Saudi Arabia was supposed to announce the abolition of the sponsorship system during the first quarter of 2020, but it had been delayed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The final abolition of the sponsorship system comes as the next step after the introduction of Special Privilege Residency Permit (Premium Iqama).

    The Saudi Cabinet took the historic decision in this regard on May 14, 2019. The Premium Iqama provides an opportunity to all those who have ties with the Kingdom, irrespective of their nationality, to obtain a permanent or temporary residency that would grant them many privileges as well as the chance to avail of several services for themselves and their families.

    The new law allows expatriates, who are holders of this iqama, to enjoy several privileges hitherto extended only to citizens. These included owning real estate, renting out of properties, educational and health services, and other utilities specified in the Executive Regulations.

    The initiative to abolish the sponsorship system aims to improve the contractual relationship between the expatriate workers and employers through the amendment of labor regulations to allow job mobility for expatriates and improve the mechanisms of exit and re-entry and final exit, which will contribute to raising the attractiveness of the labor market and raising its competitiveness, besides enhancing its attractiveness for highly skilled expatriate workers.

    The initiative contributes to improving expatriates’ working conditions by raising their satisfaction, protecting their rights, increasing their productivity in the labor market, as well as the Kingdom’s competitiveness in attracting global talent.

    The initiative seeks to eliminate and solve some challenges, including the failure on the part of limited groups of business owners to abide by the rights of expatriate workers, which negatively affects the attractiveness of the labor market. The initiative also aims to prevent some negative activities such as the black market for runaway workers and iqama violators in addition to violations that are internationally classified as falling under the clause of human trafficking.

    Notably, the abolition of the sponsorship system carries many advantages for the local labor market and supports the competitiveness of Saudi citizens against foreigners, and will halt the cases of runaway workers (huroob). This will also lead to attracting foreign manpower with extra competencies and specialties from various countries.

    Improving the work environment to attract talents, whether local or foreign, is an opportunity for Saudi citizens to accept work and fair competition in front of foreigners. Under the sponsorship system, some employers used to hire foreigners for low wages and poor working conditions at the expense of Saudi youth.”

  19. Muslim Council of Elders considers filing a lawsuit against Charlie Hebdo
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/389293/Egypt/Politics-/Muslim-Council-of-Elders-considers-filing-a-lawsui.aspx

    “The Muslim Council of Elders will form an international legal committee to look into filing a lawsuit against the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo for publishing “offensive cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad”, the council said in a statement after a virtual meeting on Monday.

    The UAE-based Council was established in 2014, with the aim of promoting peace and addressing the sources of conflict, divisiveness and fragmentation in Muslim communities; the council is comprised of Muslim scholars and experts.

    In its statement, the Council denounced what it described as “a systematic campaign” against the Prophet Muhammad and the sanctities of Islam under the slogan of freedom of expression.

    The statement also denounced the recent killing of a French teacher as well as the stabbing and attempted murder of two Muslim women near the Eiffel Tower.

    “All these incidents are abhorrent terrorism, no matter who committed them or what their motives were,” the Council said.

    The Council added that freedom of expression comes with the social responsibility of respecting the rights of others and does not allow for exploiting religions for political purposes or for electoral campaigns.

    The Council called on Muslims in the West to adhere to the principles of coexistence and peace, as well as to enhance their contribution towards development in their countries.

    Monday’s meeting, which was held via video conference and headed by the grand imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb, comes amid heightened tension over recent remarks made by French officials, including President Emmanuel Macron, about Islam.

    Charlie Hebdo republished, in September, the controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The magazine first published the cartoons in 2012 causing an uproar in the Muslim world. In January 2015, the magazine’s offices were the target of a deadly terrorist attack by Islamist gunmen that left 12 people killed.

    Macron refused to condemn the republishing of the cartoon, arguing that “France has freedom of expression.”

    Earlier this month, Macron gave a controversial speech where he announced that France has put in place a strategy to fight what he called “Islamic separatism” within the country, and said he would send a bill to France’s parliament early next year to that effect.”

  20. Two Swiss Muslim leaders convicted of spreading al Qaeda propaganda
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/389382/World/International/Two-Swiss-Muslim-leaders-convicted-of-spreading-al.aspx

    “A Swiss court handed suspended jail terms on Tuesday to two senior officials from a Swiss Islamic group for spreading propaganda supporting al Qaeda, in a retrial which followed their earlier acquittal.

    Nicolas Blancho, president of the Islamic Central Council of Switzerland (ICCS), and media spokesman Abdel Azziz Qaasim Illi were sentenced by the Federal Criminal Court to 15 months and 18 months in prison respectively, both suspended for three years.

    Prosecutors originally charged the two men and one other ICCS official in 2017 over videos posted online two years earlier that included interviews with leaders of Jabhat al-Nusra, at the time al Qaeda’s Syrian branch.

    The ICCS did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday’s ruling. It has previously said the footage was intended to shed light on a troubled region, not glorify extremists.

    Films of the interview were subsequently used online as propaganda for al Qaeda, according to the indictment. Prosecutors said the filmmakers failed to explicitly distance themselves from al Qaeda activities in Syria in the 2015 videos.

    The charges were made under a Swiss law that bans al Qaeda and Islamic State. Blancho and Illi were found not guilty in the earlier trial because the court held that prosecutors had failed to provide sufficient detail about the allegations. The third ICCS official was convicted at the time.

    The Federal Court overturned Blancho and Illi’s acquittals in March and ordered a new hearing.

    The Office of the Attorney General, which brought the prosecution, said it noted the court’s decision on Tuesday with satisfaction.”

  21. US-India military pact threatens regional peace, warns Pakistan
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/2270117/us-india-military-pact-threatens-regional-peace-warns-pakistan

    “The United States and India signed a pact to share sensitive satellite and map data on Tuesday, prompting quick warning from Pakistan that the agreement will have serious repercussions for peace and stability in South Asia.

    The annual US-India strategic dialogue comes at a time of heightened tension in the region, with Indian troops confronting Chinese forces on their disputed Himalayan border and deteriorating ties between arch rivals in the region.

    Pompeo, who arrived in New Delhi on Monday along with Defence Secretary Mark Esper, said after talks with their Indian counterparts that the two countries had to work together to confront the threat China posed to security and freedom.

    “Big things are happening as our democracies align to better protect the citizens of our two countries and indeed, of the free world,” Pompeo told reporters after the talks with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

    “Our leaders, and our citizens, see with increasing clarity that the Chinese Communist Party is no friend to democracy, the rule of law, transparency, nor to freedom of navigation, the foundation of a free and open, prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Pompeo said.

    The new defence pact – the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement on Geospatial Cooperation – was a “significant milestone” that would foster cooperation between the militaries of both countries, Esper told the news conference.

    The United States planned to sell more fighter planes and drones to India, Esper added. The pact will give India access to a range of topographical, nautical and aeronautical data that is considered vital for targeting of missiles and armed drones.

    It would also allow the United States to provide advanced navigational aids and avionics on US-supplied aircraft to India, an Indian defence source said.

    The formal reaction from Pakistan came within hours after the US and India signed US-India Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) which will allow India to gain access to precision data and topographical images – on a real time basis – from United States military satellites.

    The signing of the long-negotiated defence pact comes in the backdrop of India’s tense border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.

    The agreement was signed as part of 2+2 dialogue between the two countries. Observers believe that signing of the agreement just week before the US presidential election indicates that there is a bipartisan consensus in Washington on advancing strategic ties with India.

    The ever-growing strategic and defence cooperation is part of the US designs to use India as a counterweight to China. The deepening US-Indian ties have implications for Pakistan, according to the observers.

    And this was reflected in the Foreign Office statement issued immediately after the signing of BECA.

    “Pakistan has been consistently highlighting the threats posed to strategic stability in South Asia as a result of provision of advanced military hardware, technologies and knowledge to India,” the Foreign Office statement read.

    It added that India’s massive acquisition of armaments and expansion of its nuclear forces, including introduction of new destabilising weapon systems, were developments with serious repercussions for peace and stability in South Asia.

    The statement noted that the recent unprecedented rate of missile tests conducted by India is yet another manifestation of dangerous Indian conventional and nuclear military build-ups.

    “It again corroborates concerns expressed by several international experts on the military spin-offs of conducting high technology trade with India, which has not only eroded the international norms but has also resulted in negatively affecting the strategic stability in South Asia,” the Foreign Office said.

    The developments, according to the official handout, clearly negate the argument that India’s mainstreaming in the international export control regimes will further the non-proliferation objectives of these regimes.

    China dismissed Pompeo’s accusations. “We urge Pompeo to abandon his Cold War mentality, zero-sum mindset, and stop harping on the ‘China threat’,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a news briefing in Beijing earlier on Tuesday.”

  22. Turkey detains ISIL suspects for ’preparing attacks’
    https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-detains-seven-isil-suspects-for-preparing-attacks-159506

    “Police on Oct. 27 detained thirteen ISIL suspects in Ankara accused of preparing attacks on national holidays in Turkey, media and officials said.

    They were planning attacks on Republic Day on Thursday and ceremonies on November 10 which commemorate the death of the founder of the modern Turkish state, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

    Special forces police raided the homes of the suspects, two of whom were believed to have played an “active role” in armed fighting in Syria, the channel added.

    Another individual was accused of being an “executioner” for the extremist group.

    The Ankara chief public prosecutor’s office said in a statement seven arrest warrants for ISIL members were issued on Tuesday and they were all detained as part of two separate investigations but did not provide more details.

    Their nationalities were not given.”

  23. Turkey: 12 asylum seekers rescued in Aegean
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-12-asylum-seekers-rescued-in-aegean/2021171

    “Turkey’s coast guard on Tuesday rescued a total of 12 asylum seekers pushed back to Turkish waters in the Aegean Sea by Greek coast guard boats.

    Rescued off the coast of Marmaris in southwestern Mugla province, the asylum seekers were taken to nearby ports and transferred to local migration offices.

    The asylum seekers had been driven back from Greek waters while trying to reach Europe.

    Turkish authorities arrested two alleged human smugglers.”

  24. ’11 PKK terrorists neutralized in Turkey’s Mt. Amanos’
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/11-pkk-terrorists-neutralized-in-turkeys-mt-amanos/2021121

    “At least 11 PKK terrorists, including wanted members of the terror group, have been neutralized in the Mt. Amanos region in Turkey’s south since Aug. 12, according to the Interior Ministry.

    The terrorists were neutralized in rural areas around Mt. Amanos in Hatay province as part of Operation Yildirim-5, according to ministry records.

    Turkish authorities often use the term “neutralized” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

    Two PKK terrorists were neutralized in Hatay’s Iskenderun town on Monday, in an operation that was hailed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    After Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced that the terrorists were neutralized, Hatay Governor Rahmi Dogan said at a press conference that the “PKK terrorist organization has been destroyed in the Mt. Amanos region.”…”

  25. US senators enter bill to label Uighur abuse ‘genocide’
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-senators-enter-bill-to-label-uighur-abuse-genocide/2021212

    “A bipartisan group of US senators has introduced a resolution seeking to label China’s abuses of its minority Uighur population a “genocide,” the Senate Foreign Relations Committee announced Tuesday.

    Jim Risch joined John Cornyn and Robert Menendez in introducing the resolution Monday. It seeks to hold Beijing accountable for its policies and would start the process to coordinate an international response to bring them to an end, the committee said.

    “The Chinese government’s systematic use of forced sterilization, abortion, and other practices in Xinjiang is truly abhorrent,” Risch said in a statement of the Chinese region home to some 10 million Uighurs.

    “These actions targeting Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities constitute genocide, and I am proud to join colleagues on both sides of the aisle in introducing a resolution that defines them as such. The United States and countries around the world must continue to draw attention to what is happening in Xinjiang,” he added.

    Beijing’s policy in Xinjiang has drawn widespread criticism from rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, who accuse it of ostracizing the 12 million Uighurs in China, most of whom are Muslims.

    The region is home to 10 million Uighurs. The Turkic Muslim group, which makes up around 45% of Xinjiang’s population, has long accused China’s authorities of cultural, religious and economic discrimination.

    Up to 1 million people, or about 7% of the Muslim population in Xinjiang, have been incarcerated in an expanding network of “political re-education” camps, according to US officials and UN experts.

    The camps have been linked to forced labor and mandatory sterilization.”

  26. Migrants: Frontex, internal inquiry into alleged pushbacks
    http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2020/10/27/migrants-frontex-internal-inquiry-into-alleged-pushbacks_31b56a8e-8a49-4590-9c80-382b4bf76abb.html

    “European border agency Frontex has launched an internal inquiry into suspicious incidents recently reported by the media regarding pushbacks at the Greek border, said Frontex in a statement.

    It said so far no documents or other materials have been found to substantiate any accusations of violations of the law or the Frontex Code of Conduct by deployed officers.

    “I informed EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson that we are looking into the accusations levelled by several news organisations related to our activities at Greece’s external borders,” said Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri in the statement.

    “We aim to uphold the highest border-guarding standards in all of our operations and do not tolerate any violations of the fundamental rights in any of our activities,” he said.

    Earlier this year, as part of an operational dialogue with Greece, Leggeri had already asked its authorities to investigate two events near its islands in the eastern Aegean Sea.

    In one incident, they found no proof of any illegal acts, and are still looking into another one.”

  27. France tightens security, facing ‘very high’ terror risk after teacher beheading
    https://www.france24.com/en/france/20201027-france-tightens-security-facing-very-high-terror-risk-after-teacher-beheading

    “France is increasing security at religious sites as the interior minister said Tuesday that the country faces a “very high” risk of terrorist threats, amid growing geopolitical tensions following the beheading of a teacher who showed his class caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

    French diplomats are trying to quell anger in Turkey and Arab nations amid anti-France protests and calls for boycotts of French goods in response to President Emmanuel Macron’s firm stance against Islamism in the wake of the Oct. 16 beheading. European allies have supported Macron, while Muslim-majority countries are angered by his defense of prophet cartoons they consider sacrilegious.

    France’s national police have called for increased security at religious sites around the All Saint’s holiday this coming weekend, particularly noting online threats from extremists against Christians and moderate French Muslims.

    Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on France-Inter radio that the terrorist threat remains “very high, because we have a lot of enemies from within and outside the country.”

    He reiterated plans to try to disband Muslim groups seen as peddling dangerous radical views or with too much foreign financing. He accused Turkey and Pakistan in particular of “meddling in France’s internal business.”

    “There is a battle against an Islamist ideology. We must not back down,” he said. But he insisted that “the Muslim faith has all its place in the republic.”

    Some members of France’s largely moderate Muslim community are calling for calm, and defending the freedom of expression that the beheaded teacher was seeking to demonstrate.

    The prophet cartoons deeply upset many Muslims around the world…”

  28. German police must release crime suspects’ nationality to journalists, court rules
    https://rmx.news/article/article/german-police-must-release-crime-suspects-nationality-to-journalists-court-rules

    “In a case that may serve as precedent in Germany, a German administrative court ruled last week that police must reveal the nationality of a suspect to the press if a journalist makes the request.

    The Hanover Administrative Court granted a reporter’s urgent application on Tuesday, according to which the authorities were obliged to provide information to the press in order to “fulfill their public task”.

    “The press fulfills a public task when it procures and disseminates news in matters of public interest, takes a position, criticizes or otherwise participates in the formation of opinion”, said the reasoning for the decision that was made public on Wednesday, according to a report from Berlin-based newspaper Junge Freiheit.

    In Germany and other European countries, a perpetrator’s national origins has become a matter of public interest. The continent’s growing migrant populations have been tied to increased crime in Germany, Sweden, France, Switzerland, Italy, and other European countries. In many cases, police either do not report on the ethnicity or national origin of perpetrators or newspaper refuse to publish the information.

    Police initially refused to give details of the perpetrator’s origin
    The specific case in Germany involved an illegal car race in Hanover in September. The journalist subsequently asked an official of the Hanover Police Department about the origin of one of the parties involved, however, the authority refused to provide information on the grounds that it was personal data.

    The journalist, however, insisted that the information was relevant. He remarked that as a court reporter, he had noticed in the past that young men regularly taking part in illegal street races often had a migrant background. Remix News has also previously reported on the prevalence of young migrant men involved in illegal street races in Germany, which has led to a number of deaths, including of children.

    The Hanover Administrative Court backed the journalist’s position in its verdict, saying that there is a public interest in information in cases of illegal street races. This has been shown in the past, for example, in the Berlin “Ku’damm Racer case”. This refers to a June illegal street race on Berlin’s famous Kurfürstendamm avenue, when a race with speeds of up to 170 kilometers per hour (105 mph) led to the death of one of the participants.

    In addition, there is an interest in information as to the origin of the person involved in the accident in the specific case, the court ruled that “the socio-cultural background” could “be important with regard to the determination of any accumulations of behavior in question in certain groups of perpetrators”. The judges determined that the suspect’s private interest in not disclosing his nationality does not outweigh the public’s interest in information.”

  29. VOA – Trump Campaign Focuses on Hunter Biden Emails as October Surprise

    “….. unverified emails purportedly from Hunter Biden… “

  30. Syrians are the most likely to commit acts of violence in Germany
    https://rmx.news/article/article/syrians-are-the-most-likely-to-commit-acts-of-violence-in-germany

    “Foreigners who commit acts of violence in Germany are most often of Syrian origin and, last year, 37.5 percent of all perpetrators suspected of committing violent crimes were foreigners, according to data from the German Federal Ministry of the Interior.

    Among the perpetrators of violent crime, Syrians were the most represented nationality at 12.2 percent. The data were provided by the Federal Ministry of the Interior in response to a request of Alternative for Germany (AfD) Bundestag member Stephan Brandner. German news outlet Junge Freiheit also received the data.

    In 2009, the share of Syrians involved in acts of violence was 0.9 percent, however, in 2015 and 2016, this number increased significantly from 3.6 percent to 9.8 percent. With the Syrian population estimated at 800,000 out of a country of 83 million, Syrians account for less than one percent of the German population bot over 12 percent of all violent crime. While magazines like Germany’s Der Spiegel have written on the impact of Syrians on German society, such sobering crime statistics are remarkably absent from the magazine’s reporting.

    Turks, Afghans, and Syrians most likely to commit murder among foreigners
    At 12 percent, Turks were the second most common suspects for violent crimes in 2019.

    In 2009, they made up 34.1 percent of all suspects. Afghans were the third nationality most frequently suspected of committing a violent crime with a share of 7.5 percent in 2019. However, as in the case of the Syrians, between 2015 and 2016, the number of suspects of Afghan nationality jumped from three percent to 6.5 percent.

    When it comes to homicides, Turks, Syrians, and Afghans also took the top three places among the non-German suspects. However, the number of Turkish nationals committing such a crime has steadily decreased since 2013. The share of Syrians, however, has increased tenfold since 2010.

    In the past year, the number of Syrians suspected of committing a sex crime was relatively the highest at 12.4 percent. Since 2015, this number has roughly tripled. Turkish nationals were the second most frequently accused of such crimes, with Afghans following in the third place as their share has more than doubled since 2015.

    The Federal Ministry of the Interior explained the numbers with differences in the social structure. According to the ministry, foreigners are “on average younger and more often male” compared to the rest of the German population. They usually live in large cities and mostly belong to the lower-income and less educated classes. On top of that, they are often unemployed.

    Brandner called such reasoning “ridiculous and embarrassing.” In the listed violent crimes, 31.7 percent of the non-German suspects came from the three Muslim countries alone.

    “The fact that the federal government wants to gloss over the figures with crude excuses is tantamount to a denial of reality,” he said.

    “Merkel and her supporters have by no means brought skilled workers into the country in the wake of the asylum crisis, but many thousands of violent criminals,” criticized the AfD politician.

    Over the past few years, Syrians committing acts have repeatedly sparked outrage. In August, a Syrian migrant participating in an illegal street race was arrested for hitting and killing a 6-year-old boy with his Mercedes. This month, A 20-year-old Syrian who came to Germany as a refugee in 2015 recently stabbed two tourists in downtown Dresden in what is believed to be a terrorist attack, with one of them later succumbing to the injuries.

    Another Syrian immigrant terrorist suspect in Germany requires around-the-clock surveillance from law enforcement, including police details to bring him to the supermarket, which has already cost taxpayers €5 million.”

  31. Sweden: Syrian man who filmed himself raping 14-year-old is charged
    https://rmx.news/article/article/sweden-syrian-man-who-filmed-himself-raping-14-year-old-is-charged

    “A court in the Swedish municipality of Svealand has charged a Syrian man who filmed himself raping a 14-year-old girl with child rape and exploiting children for sexual poses.

    The 22-year-old Syrian migrant, a resident of the Norrland municipality, first arrived to Sweden from Syria in 2013. According to the prosecutor, the Syrian, after first contacting the young victim via the social media application Snapchat in September, got the girl to perform oral sex on him and then had intercourse with her, which he filmed on his mobile phone, Nyheter Idag reports.

    According to the Swedish news outlet, who has read the case’s court documents, the 22-year-old Syrian admitted both to having sex with the victim and to having known she was only 14-years-old.

    “He states that he was aware of the plaintiff’s age but unaware that sex with minors was illegal,” the prosecutor said.

    “He admits that they had sex but denies the crime. He states during the investigation that he has not had any sexual attraction to minors before. (The suspect) states that if he had known that he was not allowed to have sex with minors, he would not have met her. He states that he did not force the plaintiff to do anything.”

    The perpetrator has now been charged with two counts of child rape – one for oral sex and the other for intercourse – and one count of exploitation of children for sexual poses (filming sexual intercourse). Despite the seriousness of the crimes committed, the prosecutor did not argue in favor of perpetrator’s deportation. As a result, even in the case that the 22-year-old is convicted, he will be allowed to remain in Sweden.

    Currently, the immigration status of the perpetrator is being investigated.

    Despite its lack of mainstream press coverage – both in Sweden and abroad – incidents of child rape committed by foreigners continues to be a significant problem in Sweden.

    Roughly two weeks ago, a Syrian man who was convicted by a Swedish court of raping a 12-year-old girl inside of a public toilet avoided both jail time and deportation. Instead, the Borås District Court sentenced the perpetrator to ‘youth care’ meetings which introduce the topics of gender, societal norms, and emotion to offenders, Remix News reported.”

  32. Illegal migrant trafficker blows himself up with hand grenade while fleeing Hungarian police
    https://rmx.news/article/article/illegal-migrant-trafficker-blows-himself-up-with-hand-grenade-while-fleeing-hungarian-police

    “On Monday evening, a human trafficker detonated a hand grenade when stopped by Hungarian police officers, which resulted in a blast that killed him. The incident occurred only a few kilometers from the Austrian border, near the village of Vitnyéd, in the northwestern part of Hungary.

    When police officers spotted a suspicious vehicle carrying six passengers heading towards Austria, they ordered the driver of the vehicle to stop. When the car pulled over, five foreign nationals were found in the passenger compartment.

    The driver, however, jumped out of the vehicle and tried to flee. He was seen holding a handgun and what appeared to be a hand grenade while running away from the vehicle. The officers have instructed the driver to stop, but he had refused to comply with the police officers’ instructions, which prompted the officers to fire a warning shot in the air. It was at this moment that the alleged trafficker, while running away, had turned the muzzle of his handgun towards himself and the explosive device detonated in his hand. The suspect was declared dead at the scene.

    It is not clear whether his death was an intentional suicide or the suspect had set the device off by accident while fleeing, yet this incident is being shown as an example of the risks and dangers that those guarding the Hungarian borders face from an increasingly brazen and ruthless organized people smuggling network. Although the nationality of the deceased suspect was not released by the police, he was reportedly driving a car with Hungarian number plates.

    Two of the five passengers of the car, said to be foreign nationals, were apprehended at the scene, while three of them have fled. Police are still searching for them with helicopters and trained dogs. There have been no updates on the whereabouts of the suspected illegal migrants on Tuesday.

    The news comes on the same day as police have reported the apprehension of another 28 stowaways in a Turkish lorry trying to enter Hungary from Romania. The illegal passengers have claimed to be from Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. The driver of the car was reportedly a Turkish national and was arrested by Romanian border guard, where he is facing charges of human trafficking.

    Despite the wire-fence and constant patrols, the number of daily illegal border crossings from Serbia or Romania can range from a dozen to several hundreds. As the official border-crossings are closely monitored, most illegal migrants find their way though the fence or via underground tunnels. They are later picked up by people-smugglers at locations nearby. In 2019, 150 people-smugglers were apprehended by authorities in Hungary alone, which is dwarfed by the 2020 statistics when over 320 traffickers were arrested and charged to date. By October this year, the number of apprehended illegal migrants had surpassed 28.000, but this number is widely regarded as only the tip of the iceberg…”

  33. France deports Muslim family that beat girl and shaved her head for falling in love with a Christian
    https://rmx.news/article/article/france-deports-muslim-family-that-beat-girl-and-shaved-her-head-for-falling-in-love-with-a-christian

    “France has deported a Bosnian family involved with beating and shaving the head a girl in the family who wanted to marry a Christian Serb. While the girl will remain in the care of French social services until she becomes an adult, the family cannot return to the country for five years.

    The French Ministry of the Interior decision to deport the family over events of August this year involving a 17-year-old girl from a Muslim family from Bosnia and Herzegovina who fell in love with a 20-year-old Serbian Christian who lived in the same house.

    The family beat the teenage girl for her relationship with the Christian and forcibly shaved her hair as a punishment. The age of consent in France is 15.

    The ministry stated that the girl’s parents and her three siblings were deported to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Saturday morning for their involvement in the beating. All of them have a five-year ban on entering France.

    An aunt and uncle of the family, who also took part in the violence, were given a one-year conditional sentence and also deported.

    “This deportation is the result of unacceptable behavior of the family, especially the beating and shaving of a teenage girl who was in love with a young Serbian man of another religion,” the ministry said. The minor will now be cared for by social services. When she becomes an adult, she will receive a residence permit.

    Bosnian police confirmed that the family arrived at Sarajevo International Airport on a specially organized flight on Saturday, accompanied by French police. The family previously lived in Besançon for two years…”