Shooting surge hands previously safe Sweden
one of the highest rates of gun violence in Europe
FILE PHOTO. Malmo, Sweden. © Reuters / Johan NIlsson
A spate of shootings throughout Sweden has seen the nation move from one of the lowest rates of gun violence in Europe to the second highest, sparking concerns of a “social contagion,” according to a report released on Wednesday.
Speaking at a press conference following the release of the report, a researcher from BRA, the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, Hradilova Selin, laid out the organization’s concerns, after Sweden rose “from almost the bottom of the ranking in Europe to very high up.”
We do not know why. It is a kind of social contagion. If a shooting takes place, another usually takes place close in time and space.
That's called gang warfare!
The Scandinavian country of 10 million reported a rate of 1.2 cases of lethal gun violence per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020, an increase from 18 years ago, where the total number of fatal shooting incidents were at 0.71 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Deadly shootings in Scandinavia had previously been declining but there was an uptick in incidents following the mid-2000s and they have since continued to rise, compared to the majority of other European nations, where numbers have been falling.
Examining the causes behind the fatal shootings, the BRA’s report found that eight out of ten deadly gun incidents occurred in a “criminal environment,” with officials fearing gang violence could be behind the rise, sparked by the drugs trade and a lack of confidence in the police.
Gang violence and increased drug trade is very likely proportional to the increase in Muslim immigrants. Sweden recklessly took far more than their share of Islamic migrants in 2015 and are paying the price now.
Among 22 European nations that were analyzed in the report, which was produced by BRA, only one country, Croatia, had a higher number of gun deaths per capita in the last four years.
‘Does this look like an organization that wants peace?’ IDF posts video
of Hamas leader posing with armed child
26 May, 2021 16:32
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar holds the child of an Al-Qassam Brigades fighter, who was killed in the recent fighting with Israel, during a rally in Gaza City on May 24, 2021.© AFP / Emmanuel DUNAND
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have slammed Hamas’s leader over a morally dubious photo shoot in which Yahya Sinwar, the militant chief, posed with a child armed with what appears to be an AKS-74U assault rifle.
In a post on Wednesday, the IDF questioned Hamas’s commitment to peace following the Egyptian-mediated ceasefire last week. The tweet is accompanied by a video of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar posing with an armed child and asks: “Does this look like an organization that wants peace?”
The leader was reportedly posing with a child of a fighter from the Al Qassam Brigades who died during the conflict with Israel. The child, who can be seen wearing full camouflage gear and holding a weapon, is embraced and picked up by Sinwar during a rally in Gaza City.
Over the weekend, Sinwar made his first public appearance since the ceasefire was agreed. The Hamas chief’s home was targeted in bombing raids and he remains on Israel’s hitlist.
In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 on Saturday, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that Sinwar and Hamas chief of staff Mohammed Deif remained “in Israel’s sights.” A senior Hamas official responded, telling the Israeli state broadcaster Kan that if Israel were to attempt a hit on Sinwar or Deif, the group would start a new round of fighting.
Officials in Gaza say that at least 243 people, including more than 100 women and children, were killed during the latest conflict. In numerous airstrikes, the IDF targeted militant positions, the homes of Hamas leaders as well as a vast underground network of tunnels used by Palestinian militants when taking shelter.
A ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has held for six days, but tensions remain high in East Jerusalem, where clashes between Palestinians and Israeli law enforcement were the catalyst for the latest outbreak of violence. On Friday, violent clashes erupted at Al-Aqsa mosque, just hours after the ceasefire was agreed.
Christian nurses saved from enraged mob after blasphemy claim in Pakistan
Kamran Chaudhry, Lahore
Published: April 10, 2021 06:50 AM GMT
Two Christian nurses were rescued by policemen from an enraged mob after being accused of blasphemy by their hospital’s staff in Pakistan.
Staff nurse Mariam Lal and student nurse Newish Urooj were detained by police after a first information report (FIR) under section 295-B of the blasphemy law was made by Dr. Mirza Muhammad Ali of Civil Hospital, Faisalabad.
“Labbayk ya Rasool-Allah [Here I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah]” and “Beheading the only punishment for blasphemer” chanted protesters gathered on April 9 in the emergency department of Civil Hospital. One of them kicked Lal as she entered a police van.
Muhammad Waqas, a ward boy in the hospital, confessed to wounding Lal in a knife attack.
“That filthy daughter of a bitch, a Christian staff, tore away a sticker inscribed with Durood Shareef [a salutation for Prophet Muhammad] from the cupboard,” he said during a meeting with hospital officials.
“I asked her why she did it. A Muslim can’t keep quiet against blasphemy to his prophet. You are all Muslims. I attacked her with a knife, wounding her arm. I would have killed her. My life is to serve.”
Section 295-B of the blasphemy law stipulates that defiling a copy of the Quran is punishable by life imprisonment.
“During the ward visit at 10am, I learned that a third-year student, Newish Urooj, scratched the sticker with a pencil on April 8. Lal hid it in her fist and couldn’t give a proper reply. All staff returned home as their duty was over. We formed an inquiry committee the next day which proved that both nurses intentionally tore the Durood Shareef,” Dr. Mirza stated.
But wait, there's more...
Both nurses are in custody at Civil Lines Police Station. Videos of a mob at the hospital were quickly shared by Christian social media users. Most of them requested prayers for the victims.
The Catholic family of Newish Urooj, a member of Holy Rosary Parish, held an emergency meeting with Bishop Indrias Rehmat of Faisalabad and a group of priests at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul on April 9. Bishop Rehmat later led a delegation, including staff of the Catholic bishops' National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), to the police station.
Father Bonnie Mendes, former executive secretary of the NCJP, was anointing the sick in Civil Hospital on April 8. “I was asked to leave early that evening. Two Christians, one of them a doctor, were removed from the hospital inquiry committee amid mounting tension,” he told UCA News.
“The incident occurred in a psychiatric ward. The sticker was already half torn by a mentally challenged patient. The nurses were trying to clean the cupboard. They were not interested in blasphemy. It is very difficult to proceed in such cases.
“Blasphemy allegations always follow a pattern. Two decades ago, Christians were usually accused of drinking water from a cup that was reserved for Muslims. Now our nurses are being targeted. There was planning in advance to gather people in the hospital following Friday prayers. The conspiracy continues.”
Sister Genevieve Ram Lal, national director of the Catholic Women’s Organization, condemned the arrests. “We are hopeless and helpless. Christian nurses are popular for their commitment and service. The patients are usually drawn to them. Such allegations threaten their career. We expect doctors to be life savers. Christian people respect all religions. The government should protect them,” she said.
Members of Minorities Alliance Pakistan (MAP) also visited the deputy superintendent of police shortly after the arrest of the nurses. “We requested them to launch an inquiry on merit before registering the FIR. The lives of such victims are destroyed once the blasphemy case is registered. We tried to argue with police officials that both nurses showed up for duty the next day. They would have gone into hiding if they were guilty,” said MAP chairman Akmal Bhatti.
“We also urged arresting [Muhammad] Waqas for the murder attempt. Mariam Lal is already divorced and was trying to bring up her 18-year-old daughter.”
Blasphemy is a serious allegation in Pakistan, where a mere allegation of insulting Islam has led to mob attacks and the murder of religious minority members.
According to the Lahore-based Centre for Social Justice, the highest number of blasphemy accused (200) was reported last year. Since 1987, Punjab province has experienced the highest ratio of abuse of law and religion (76 percent) followed by 19 percent in Sindh province.
In January, Christian nurse Tabitha Nazir Gill was slapped and stripped for alleged blasphemy at a hospital of Karachi in Sindh province where she had worked for nine years. She remains in hiding.
Come out of her, My people
I am inclined to believe that Christians should leave Pakistan as their madness is not worth the dangers posed to Christians. With Judgment coming soon, I believe in the next 10-15 years, Pakistan is not the country you want to be in.
Knife-wielding attacker seriously injures policewoman near Nantes, France.
Suspect reportedly dead
28 May, 2021 10:21
French gendarmes secure the area after an assailant stabbed and badly wounded a policewoman in La Chapelle-sur-Erdre, western France, May 28, 2021. © Reuters / Stephane Mahe
A policewoman has been stabbed several times in La Chapelle-sur-Erdre, France, leaving her with serious injuries. Local media are reporting that the suspect has died following a shootout with police.
The National Gendarmerie force has confirmed in a tweet that one of their officers was attacked on Friday morning. Police sources told BFMTV the attack occurred around 10am (8am GMT) in La Chapelle-sur-Erdre, in Loire-Atlantique. The assailant, identified only as a man, had entered the town’s police station before attacking a female officer, stabbing her several times.
She was injured in the lower limbs, according to reports, and is in a critical state. She has been taken to hospital.
According to BFMTV, after a short-lived manhunt, police attempted to arrest the suspect following a shootout. A judicial source said the man had been pronounced dead.
Officers said the assailant had stolen the policewoman’s weapon and crashed his car while escaping, forcing him to continue on foot.
More than 200 gendarmes and three dog units were deployed along with two police helicopters. On Twitter, the National Gendarmerie called on residents to “avoid the area” and to “strictly follow the instructions of the police.”
The attacker’s motives are currently unknown, but a source close to the investigation claims that prison staff said the man had been radicalized in jail and has psychological disorders.
All radical Muslims have psychological disorders. Whether the egg came before the chicken is a good question.
The stabbing comes one week after French police officers held a demonstration outside the National Assembly and called on President Emmanuel Macron’s government to protect them against violence and to introduce tougher punishment for those who attack law-enforcement officers.
Unions have complained that the government is failing to protect officers from violence against the police and the state. In the preceding month, one policeman had been killed during a drug raid while a police force employee was stabbed to death outside her station.
La Chapelle sur Erdre, FR
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