Islam in Europe > Hopelessly biased UK police; Another French shrine vandalized; Another church service disrupted

 

UK: Police fire hate crime scrutiny panel chair for calling ‘Islamist extremism’ the ‘elephant in the room’

Jun 11, 2026 3:00 pm By Robert Spencer4 Comments

Even when Islamic jihad violence and Sharia oppression of women is covered over with soothing euphemisms such as “Islamist extremism,” which are designed to distance the crimes of jihadis from Islam, statements calling attention to the jihad threat are not allowed in shattered, staggering, dhimmi Britain. Britain is dying as a free society in the face of a threat that hardly anyone in perfidious Albion dares even to name. And when it dies, Britons will congratulate themselves, as they are led into slavery and dhimmitude, that they were never, ever, racist or “Islamophobic.”

Vauxhall Astra of West Yorkshire Police by Mtaylor848, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

‘I was driven out of my policing role in Bradford for offending Muslims’

by Allison Pearson, Telegraph, May 29, 2026:

A whistleblower reveals how questioning a focus on Muslim sensitivities led to her being sacked as chairman of a hate-crime panel.

It was in October last year, when two men were killed in a terrorist attack at a synagogue in Manchester, that Elaine (who has asked for her name to be changed) realised the awful truth about West Yorkshire Police…

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The FSU is supporting a former hate crime scrutiny panel chair after she was sacked by police for calling the threat from Islamism the ‘elephant in the room'

by Max Thompson, Free Speech Union, June 5, 2026:

The chair of Bradford’s policing scrutiny panel was sacked by West Yorkshire Police after she complained that officers were ignoring the “elephant in the room” of Islamist extremism in the wake of last October’s antisemitic terror attack on a synagogue in Manchester.

Following the attack, the woman — whom we will call “Elaine” to protect her identity — attended an emergency meeting with officers. She has said that the meeting appeared to focus more on the sensitivities of the Muslim community than on addressing the risk to the Jewish community.

Elaine has accused West Yorkshire Police of seeking to appease Muslims — including Muslim officers and community leaders — rather than focusing on the threat to the Jewish community.

Speaking to Allison Pearson about the meeting, Elaine said: “I could not believe what I was hearing.”

She added: “I was taking part in this emergency Teams meeting hosted by West Yorkshire Police, the day after the horrific attack on the synagogue. It was chaired by a white female inspector. She was very fair, very strict and didn’t take any nonsense, but she was under constant pressure from the Muslim men in the meeting…

“The whole meeting wasn’t about what it should have been about. [It should have been about], ‘How can we protect the Bradford synagogue and the Jewish population?’ ” Elaine insisted that much of what was discussed “[was about], ‘We Muslims need protecting because we are now at risk of anti-Muslim reprisals.’ ”

The retired academic, who is in her 60s, was informed of her sacking via a letter stating it was the result of “divisive and inflammatory” comments that had prompted complaints from Muslim officers who had attended the meeting.

She said the letter “sounded like a threat” because the senior officer who had written it implied that some complainants had been demanding her personal details, and that consideration had been given as to whether the hate crime adviser had herself committed a hate crime….

Another complaint read: “A lady… made some absurd comments which I believe to be outright hate and racism. [She] mentioned that we need to address the ‘elephant’ in the room, referring to the Muslim community. [She] mentioned that we should say things as they are, as we all know which community is responsible for the attacks in Manchester, again referring to the Muslim community.”…

In France, Churches and Shrines Under Muslim Attack

Jun 11, 2026 4:00 pm By Hugh Fitzgerald4 Comments

Throughout France, thousands of churches have been vandalized, with crucifixes pulled off walls, pews broken, altars set alight, tabernacles carrying the host bashed in, baptismal fonts kicked over, statues of the Virgin Mary beheaded or smashed to bits, missals torn to shreds. Those who have been caught have all been Muslims, and it is reasonable to assume that those who haven’t yet been caught are also Muslims.

Sanctuaire de Notre Dame du Faron, Toulon, by M.Strīķis, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

More on the latest desecration of a Christian site can be found here: 

Attack on statue of Our Lady as French shrine vandalized

by Gaetano Masciullo, LifeSite News, June 9, 2026:

Vandals desecrated the Notre-Dame du Faron shrine in Toulon, France, damaging a statue of the Virgin Mary at one of the region’s most visited Marian pilgrimage sites.

On June 9, the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon reported the desecration of the Notre-Dame du Faron shrine, a prominent Marian pilgrimage site overlooking the harbor of Toulon in southern France. Church authorities announced that a statue of the Virgin Mary was damaged in an act of vandalism discovered in recent days by the priest of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul parish, which is responsible for the shrine. The diocese has filed a formal complaint with the authorities.

According to a report released by Tribune Chrétienne, the damage was identified after the parish priest inspected the site at the summit of Mount Faron. The pedestal supporting the statue, known as Notre-Dame du Mont Faron, had been knocked over and broken. The wooden statue itself also suffered damage. Church officials reported a crack in one of the feet and additional deterioration to the head that will require restoration work. The statue has since been removed and secured pending repairs.

At this stage, the diocese indicated, no information has been made public regarding those responsible for the desecration or the reasons behind it.

After many thousands of such attacks on churches across France — about 800 to 1,000 annually — a number of the malefactors have been caught, sometimes through having been filmed on the church’s CCTV, and sometimes by the swift appearance of the police, summoned by a priest or parishioners when the vandals are still inside the church, and in every case they have turned out to be Muslims, so we can safely assume that Muslims most like vandalized this shrine, too.

Muslims wish to destroy the symbols and places of Christian worship. There are 40,000 churches in France; the police now guard only a few hundred of them in the cities; those in small villages are left unguarded, because the locals cannot pay guards to secure their churches. As the Muslim population of France increases, so will the attacks on Christian sites — churches and shrines. French leaders should recognize that the attacks on churches are an attack on Christianity in France, the faith that is central to the French cultural identity. The national government should have a dedicated force, some ten to twenty thousand men strong, whose officers are tasked with protecting the religious heritage of France. That means guarding its churches from vandalism and arson. These men could be spread out across the country, capable of being summoned at once by alarm systems set off by intruders in the churches, systems that would be installed in every church in the land. Such a force won’t stop all of these attacks, but many attacks will be foiled, and many malefactors who currently ‘scape whipping will be caught, convicted, and either sent to prison or better still, be deported back to their countries of origin.

And meanwhile, of course, ora pro nobis.

France: Muslims storm Catholic church service, scream ‘F*** your mothers, you Christians!’ and ‘Allahu akbar’

Jun 12, 2026 9:00 am By Robert Spencer

17 Comments

Imagine how much we would be hearing about this if a pair of Roman Catholics had shown up at a mosque and shouted “F*** your mothers, you Muslims!” and “Jesus is Lord!” That would never happen and should never happen, of course, but the double standard is no less acceptable for being obvious. Everywhere Muslims and non-Muslims live in close proximity, some Muslims are hostile toward the Christians. Screaming these things in a church is designed to frighten and intimidate the people inside, and make them think that for their safety, they should leave the area. When they do leave, other Muslims will be ready to move in, until the entire area is “Muslim land.” That’s how the jihad advances without a shot being fired.

"F*** your mothers, you Christians!” 

Génération Poissy, June 7, 2026 (thanks to Medforth):

…Friday night Beauregard church was the site of racist, insulting and inadmissible language! At least two people hurled these insults and “Allah Akbar” while a Catholic religious office was being held.

Feedbacks are unanimous.

Obviously, the city has kept itself safe from condemning such things. Living well together must irrigate our daily lives. This was the essence of our initiatives with the creation of the olive garden and intercultural meetings starting in 2014.

Géneration Poissy supports the Christian community. As we also support all faiths.

And we urgently ask the municipality to protect religious buildings whatever they may be. Enough is enough….

Ozzone 12-27 > Fight the battle before God in the secret places of the will, before taking it to the world

 

Latin America Rising > The Americas Leading the World in Forced Displacements; Cuba's Economic Reforms; Argentina allowing 10,000 American cars duty free

 

U.N: The Americas world's leading region for forced displacement

By Mar Puig    

People displaced by violence live in a refugee camp in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in late May Haiti faces brutal gang violence, deteriorating living conditions for millions of people and an inadequate international response to these protracted crises, Amnesty International has reported. Photo by Jonet St Elois/EPA

June 12 (UPI) -- The Americas was the world's leading region for forced displacement in 2025, with 22.8 million refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced people and needing international protection, the United Nations refugee agency reported Friday.

The figure represents an increase from the 21.9 million recorded a year earlier. The rise was driven primarily by crises in Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua, Colombia and northern Central America.

The annual report by the United Nations refugee agency also showed a significant shift in the global forced migration landscape: Colombia became the world's leading host country for refugees and people in need of international protection.

By the end of 2025, Colombia was hosting 2.8 million people, most of them Venezuelans, surpassing countries such as Germany, Turkey and Uganda.

Colombia's position as a major host country is largely linked to the massive arrival of Venezuelans over the past decade. The agency highlighted that regularization policies implemented by Bogotá have allowed millions of migrants to gain access to documentation, employment and basic services, facilitating their integration into host communities.

Although Colombia tops the global list of host countries, it also continues to face one of the world's largest internal displacement crises.

The Victims Unit reported that 7.2 million people continue to live in situations of internal displacement caused by armed conflict and violence, while the cumulative historical registry exceeds 8.9 million victims.

"The Americas demonstrate that solidarity and shared responsibility produce real results for people and societies," said Juan Carlos Murillo, the United Nations refugee agency official in charge of the region.

The Venezuelan crisis remains one of the main drivers of displacement. By the end of 2025, there were 417,000 Venezuelan refugees and another 6 million people in need of international protection. Ninety-seven percent remained in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Colombia hosted the largest displaced Venezuelan population, with 2.8 million people. It was followed by Peru with 1.1 million, Brazil with 699,000, Chile with 662,600 and Ecuador with 435,800.

The Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela, known as R4V, estimates that nearly 7 million Venezuelans remain outside their country.

The report also notes that returns to Venezuela have increased in recent years.

However, a survey conducted by the agency in six countries found that only 9% of displaced Venezuelans plan to return during the next 12 months, while the majority remain cautious and condition their return on improvements in living conditions.

Haiti recorded one of the most severe deteriorations in the region. The number of internally displaced people reached 1.4 million, an increase of 38% compared with the previous year.

The International Organization for Migration reported this month that the number of internally displaced people has already surpassed 1.47 million, equivalent to approximately 12% of Haiti's population, and noted that more than half are women and girls.

The agency also warned that gang violence is spreading beyond Port-au-Prince into new regions of the country.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross estimated in April that more than 6 million Haitians require urgent humanitarian assistance. The organization also said gangs exercise control over approximately 85% of Port-au-Prince, a situation that has contributed to rising displacement and a worsening humanitarian crisis.

The report also indicates that 987,700 people from countries in the Americas sought international protection in different parts of the world during 2025, representing approximately one in five asylum applications registered globally.

Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, Haiti and Colombia rank among the main countries of origin.

Despite the increase in displacement, the United Nations refugee agency highlighted the Americas as a region that has advanced in integration policies.

The agency cited migrant regularization programs, access to employment and partnerships with the private sector, noting that more than 1,500 companies currently participate in initiatives to incorporate displaced people into the labor market across eight countries in the region.

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Cuba implements economic reforms amid new U.S. sanctions

By Macarena Hermosilla    

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel (C) attends an event in support of former Cuban President Raul Castro in Havana on May 22 after the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed two days earlier a federal criminal indictment charging the 94-year-old Castro, along with five other co-defendants, for his alleged role in the February 1996 shoot-down of two unarmed U.S. civilian aircraft operated by a Cuban exile relief group. Photo by Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA

June 12 (UPI) -- Cuba's government on Friday announced a broad package of economic reforms aimed at restructuring key aspects of the country's economic model, just hours after the United States imposed a full financial blockade on state oil company Unión Cuba-Petróleo, or CUPET.

Speaking on state television, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel defended the shift toward decentralization, saying that "these are times when change is necessary."

The measures are part of the government's 2026 Economic and Social Program, a roadmap inspired by the economic models of China and Vietnam. Havana says the plan is intended to address the island's deep economic crisis, high inflation and widespread shortages of goods and services.  

The reforms came only hours after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on X sanctions against CUPET, freezing all of the company's assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting commercial transactions with it.

Rubio said that "Cuba's communist elites have turned energy into a tool of social control and profit," accusing the government of hoarding fuel supplies for its own benefit and using them to repress the Cuban people.

"President Donald Trump wants a new future for the Cuban people with greater freedom and opportunity," Rubio wrote.

The secretary of state said the sanctions were justified because CUPET operates assets that were allegedly confiscated from U.S. owners decades ago. Washington also warned that foreign companies continuing to do business with the state oil company could face secondary sanctions.

Cuba announced the measures two days after the Miami Herald reported on a proposed commercial agreement between Florida-based Vanguard Energy and Cuban agencies to deliver 250,000 barrels of gasoline and diesel fuel intended exclusively for Cuba's private sector, small and medium-sized enterprises and humanitarian organizations.

The arrangement included a five-year lease of state-owned storage tanks operated by CUPET. Under the proposal, Vanguard would retain ownership of the fuel to prevent it from being diverted to the Cuban government and would operate outside the island's banking system.

However, within hours of the agreement becoming public, the U.S. State Department halted the shipment, saying the company did not possess a specific license authorizing the transaction and reaffirming that the Trump administration's sanctions against Cuba remain fully in force.

Despite the tightening U.S. restrictions, Díaz-Canel rejected suggestions that the reforms were a response to pressure from Washington, describing them as a necessary internal restructuring effort.

The economic plan centers on decentralization and greater openness to investment. Municipal governments and state-owned companies will receive expanded authority over imports, exports and foreign currency management in an effort to reduce bureaucratic obstacles.

The government also plans to ease restrictions on private small and medium-sized businesses, open financial investment opportunities for Cubans living abroad and allow foreign companies to lease agricultural land to boost food production.

To support the reforms, Havana plans a significant reduction of the central bureaucracy, cutting the number of government ministries to 20 from 27 through mergers and eliminations.

Díaz-Canel said Cuba must move toward "new models and new actors" capable of making use of existing infrastructure, acknowledging that sectors such as tourism have been hurt by U.S. sanctions.

"We cannot focus only on the large international hotel chains when many of them, because of pressure from the United States government, have left the country," he said. "We are developing real estate and tourism projects with new models and other actors that have not traditionally participated in these sectors."

On energy policy, Díaz-Canel said Cuba would continue shifting toward solar power and renewable energy sources.

"We are going to eliminate, as much as possible, the restrictions that exist on vehicle imports," he said. "We will continue prioritizing, through tariffs and pricing policies, the importation of electric vehicles powered by solar energy."

Recent U.S. measures against Cuba have significantly tightened the decades-old embargo through Executive Order 14404 and additional restrictions targeting the energy sector, including CUPET. The sanctions also affect senior government officials, their relatives and military-linked entities.

Washington says the measures are intended to cut off revenue to the Cuban government, encourage political change and punish human rights abuses.

Cuban authorities argue that the restrictions have worsened an already severe economic crisis marked by chronic shortages and power outages that have lasted more than 48 hours in some parts of the island.

International organizations, including the United Nations, have warned about the humanitarian impact on the civilian population.

Read More

• U.S. revises key licenses for Venezuela energy sector
• Cuba sets record for political prisoners, rights group says
• U.S. sanctions Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel, military, Castro kin

Argentina plans to allow sale of 10,000 U.S. vehicles duty-free

By Banyeliz Muñoz    

Some companies already have begun to anticipate the Argentine government's tariff cut, with discounts being offered on the Ford Mustang, among other vehicles. File Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/EPA

BUENOS AIRES, June 11 (UPI) -- Argentina is preparing to partially open its automotive market to vehicles manufactured in the United States -- a move that could expand the range of models available to consumers and deepen President Javier Milei's economic liberalization agenda.

The plan would allow up to 10,000 vehicles a year to enter Argentina without paying the 35% tariff currently applied to most automobiles imported from countries outside Mercosur, the South American trade bloc that comprises Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The government is finalizing details of the initiative, which local media reports say could be announced in August. If implemented, it would mark one of the most significant changes to Argentina's automotive trade policy in recent years.

Industry analysts said the impact is likely to be more noticeable in vehicle prices than in sales volumes.

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Gabriel Silveira, automotive editor at Argentine newspaper Clarín, told UPI the agreement would apply to a limited number of vehicles and that most qualifying models would be concentrated in higher-priced market segments.

"This agreement would involve only 10,000 vehicles annually and there are not that many cars imported from the United States. It would particularly benefit brands such as Ford and General Motors," he said.

Silveira said several luxury automakers that manufacture vehicles in the United States also would benefit, including BMW and Mercedes-Benz. He said eliminating the tariff could significantly reduce the retail price of those models.

Some companies already have begun to anticipate the agreement's potential effects. Silveira noted that Ford is offering discounts on several U.S.-built vehicles, including the F-150 pickup truck, Mustang sports car and Bronco sport utility vehicle.

"They are already being sold at discounted prices in anticipation of the agreement's final implementation," he said.

According to business news outlet iProfesional, Imports exceeding the 10,000-unit limit would continue to pay the full tariff. Import permits would be granted on a first-come, first-served basis, and no plans exist to automatically increase the quota in coming years.

The measure could benefit U.S. automakers such as Ford, Chevrolet and Stellantis, as well as European and Asian brands that manufacture vehicles in U.S. plants, including Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen.

Financial newspaper Ámbito Financiero reported that the agreement will cover passenger cars, SUVs, pickup trucks and light commercial vehicles powered by internal combustion, hybrid and electric drivetrains.

Models that could become available in Argentina under the program include the Toyota Tundra, Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban SUVs and the Mercedes-Maybach GLS.

The White House said last year that the understanding is intended to promote economic growth and expand business opportunities between the two countries.

While Argentina's government has presented the measure as part of its broader trade liberalization strategy, some sectors of the domestic automotive industry are closely monitoring its potential effects on competition and local manufacturing.