Bits and Bites from Around the World > Culling street dogs in Morocco, by the millions; Pygmy Owl survives hit by car in central B.C.

 

Three MILLION dogs to be killed in Morocco ahead of the FIFA World Cup in a‘brutal clean-up of the streets'

by Taryn Pedlar, Daily Mail, January 14, 2025:

A top conservationist has condemned Morocco and urged FIFA to take action over the slaughter of three million street dogs ahead of the 2030 World Cup.

Campaigners claim that the animals could be killed in a brutal ‘clean-up’ operation to make cities more presentable to visiting football fans.

Reports suggest thousands of stray dogs have already been massacred in venues across the North African nation, with fears the killings are escalating.

Jane Goodall, a prominent animal rights campaigner, has now written to the international football association demanding immediate action, accusing the organisation of turning a blind eye to what she calls ‘a horrific act of barbarity’.

In the letter addressed to FIFA’s Secretary General Mattias Grafström, Goodall said she was left appalled to see that Moroccan authorities were engaging in the large-scale killings – an initiative which allegedly stopped in August 2024.

‘I am equally appalled to learn from the IAWPC – International Animal Coalition that you have been presented with detailed dossiers documenting these horrific acts, most of which are conducted in the most brutal and cruel fashion imaginable, and yet appear to have ignored them,’ she continued.

The animal rights activist then questioned how football fans around the world would react if they knew of the brutality the helpless animals were facing in the run up to the games….

 

'Tiny but tough,' Pygmy Owl survives

being hit by car in Cariboo

A Northern Pygmy Owl survived being hit by a car thanks to a local birder

Patrick Davies
a day ago

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1 / 9 A Northern Pygmy Owl dubbed Tiny But Tough who was hit by a car on Highway 97 peers at the camera. (Murray Zelt photo)Murray Zelt

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A Northern Pygmy Owl proved its toughness earlier this month after getting hit by a car on Highway 97 in early January.

The incident occurred around Jan. 8 near the turnoff to Canim Hendrix Road while local wildlife photographer Murray Zelt was out photographing the diminutive predator. Zelt said he saw the accident happen in real-time and was horrified. Springing into action Zelt dashed onto the highway to retrieve what he thought was the owl's corpse only to be surprised when it started showing signs of life. 

"I ran out and picked it up with my bare hands and took it back to my car. I was literally in tears, I love watching these beautiful creatures," Zelt said. "I was kind of praying, basically, don't let it die but its little feet and talons were still quivering so I knew there was still a pulse and a chance." 

Zelt has been photographing wildlife for several years now since his forced retirement after the Chasm Sawmill closed down in 2019. He said he has always enjoyed being out in nature to camp and fish, so taking photos of wildlife and his adventures was a natural fit. 

One of his favourite subjects to take pictures of includes the 17 different species of owls that make B.C. their home. This winter he said he has been seeing a lot more owls than usual and noticed a Northern Pygmy Owl hunting near Highway 97 on Jan. 7. After photographing it he decided to return the next day to get some more photos. 

"This year has been an incredible year for the owls for whatever reason, because of the mild winter," Zelt remarked. "It's pretty neat to see them 'cause they're not that common, normally." 

When he returned Zelt said it was late in the afternoon and he watched the owl hop from power line to power line peering down into the ditches. Zelt remarked the Northern Pygmy Owl was hunting for voles, one of its primary food sources. Suddenly Zelt said he saw it dart down into the snow and then after a few seconds come up with a vole in its talons. 

"It burst out of the snow and this vole was as big as the owl, almost the exact same size, it was incredible. Instead of flying back up onto the powerline or a nearby branch of a tree or shrub it darted across the highway around shoulder height," Zelt said. "I could see it unfold right in front of my eyes as this car, going about 90 clicks, nails it dead on the and owl bounced on the road. I literally yelled 'oh no!"

Another vehicle passed over the top of the owl before Zelt was able to retrieve it from the road. At first, Zelt thought the owl's claws twitching were its death spasms but after getting into his car, intending to take it home for a burial, he noticed the owl trying to stand up, much to his shock. 

Worried the owl would start trying to fly in his car, Zelt grabbed a cloth grocery bag and picked the owl up to put it inside. When he grabbed it he said it sunk his talons into his finger, another encouraging sign.

"It didn't feel good, let me tell you. There were three of them all embedding into my finger so I had to pry them one at a time with my other hand. Didn't draw blood but I thought 'gee, it's got some life, it's got some strength'."

After driving to his home in Lac La Hache, Zelt put the owl in a shoe box and called up the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (OWL). A few years ago Zelt said he took care of a Great Horned Owl who had also been hit by his nephew, so he has contacts with OWL. They told him to keep the owl for observation overnight and if it was able to fly in his home with no discernable injuries he should be alright to release it back into the wild. 

"He said you would be surprised by how tough these little guys are. Sometimes they can really take a licking and keep on ticking," Zelt remarked. "That evening I went to check on it and it was looking, turning its head around and seemed very alert. I'm thinking this is a miracle and when I went to close the box it flew right over the top of my shoulder and landed on top of my tennis racket." 

Zelt said he nicknamed the owl TBT after that, short for Tiny But Tough, and made plans to release it the next day. Calling up a wildlife photographer friend from Canim Lake, named Mernie Senchuk, to help in the release the two headed out to the general area where he found the owl, though they made sure to stay well away from the highway. 

"I opened the box and pulled it out and it literally sat on my hand for about five seconds. It was almost like a thank you or farewell and then it just flew off really strong and far off into the bushes," Zelt remarked. "We were unbelievably impressed it was back where it belonged. It really seems like a miracle, I have no idea how it survived that impact. It was a beautiful ending, for sure." 

Over the last few days since releasing TBT, Zelt said he's seen a Northern Pygmy Owl near the same area and he believes it is now back to its usual "risky business." While he's happy with the outcome, Zelt said this story illustrates the importance of keeping an eye out for owls around dawn and dusk near roads. Senchuk herself told him driving back from the release she had to slam on the brakes when another pygmy owl flew out in front of her. 

"(People) should be aware when they're driving near dawn and dusk there are a lot of owls this year. Quite a few people I connect with on social media or birding sites are all saying the same thing. I think it's the low snow load we have combined with the low weather. They truly are everywhere this year and we need to be a little extra cautious and give them their space."

Bits and Bites from Around the World > Orcas attacking yachts off Morocco

 

45-minute long orca attack sinks yet another yacht off Morocco

By Michelle Butterfield  Global News

Posted November 6, 2023 10:06 am

 

There's a new trend in the oceans that may be worrying some boaters. It involves killer whales. In recent weeks, there have been several stories of orcas going after boats, and in some cases, sinking them. This has left people wondering whether this is the dawn of a killer whale uprising, or simply orcas playing their newest game. Mike Armstrong explains – Jul 22, 2023

Killer whales are at it again, this time attacking and sinking a Polish yacht off the coast of Morocco.

The incident happened in the Strait of Gibraltar last week, when a pod of orcas set their sights on the Grazie Mamma II, a vessel owned by Polish touring company Morskie Mile.

In a translated Facebook post, the company said the group of whales attacked the boat “for 45 minutes ..causing major damage and leakage.”

“The crew is safe, unharmed and sound,” the post assured readers, but the boat itself sank at the entrance to Tanger-Med, a Moroccan port.

It’s just the latest in an ever-increasing trend of the animals attacking and damaging boats off the coast of Portugal and Spain.

Orcas have been targeting ships in the region since 2020 and each year sees more and more attacks.

Marine scientists are still trying to determine what is causing the uptick in orca attacks, but there’s no question there’s been a sizable increase in these incidents. Over the past two years, killer whale research group Atlantic Orca Working Group has found these events have tripled, with more than 200 in 2022 compared with 52 incidents in 2020.

One intriguing aspect of the attacks is that the orcas primarily target smaller boats — those measuring less than 49 feet tend to be a favourite for the whales.

Earlier this year, biologist and wildlife conservationist Jeff Corwin told CBS News that the behaviour boils down the “incredible intelligence” of orcas and he believes older whales are teaching their young pod members these destructive tendencies.

“What we’re seeing is adapted behaviour. We’re learning about how they actually learn from their environment and then take those skill sets and share them and teach them to other whales,” he said.

Some researchers have theorized that a single, revenge-obsessed orca is teaching others to attack boats after she was injured by one in the past, but not everyone is convinced by this theory.

“They could crush the boat in a heartbeat if they wanted to,” Sébastien Destremau, a captain who was involved in a similar attack on May 22, previously told Newsweek. “But they were not aggressive, they’re not wanting to have a piece of you.”

Rather, Destremau told the outlet he thinks parent orcas might be teaching their young how to hunt using boats as the learning prop.

“If I was a parent orca, I’m not going to touch my living stock, because my living stock is low, so why not train them on our boats?” Destremau said. “For them, the rudder looks like a fin! [It] moves like a fin, and you can play and push and grab it. And, as soon as the rudder is destroyed, they disappear.”

Alfredo López Fernandez, an orca researcher at the Atlantic Orca Working Group, told Live Science that the watercraft assaults might also be a new fad for the animals, encouraged by juvenile whales.

“We do not interpret that the orcas are teaching the young, although the behaviour has spread to the young vertically, simply by imitation, and later horizontally among them, because they consider it something important in their lives,” López Fernandez said.

Most researchers agree, however, that these attacks aren’t malevolent or a direct attempt to harm humans. The majority of the interactions between the boats and whales have involved the animals bumping the vessels but not causing serious damage.

That said, a number of boats have sunk to the sea floor in the past year after they were badly damaged. Other boats were stranded at sea and required a tow back to port after the whales impeded their ability to sail.

“This yacht was the most wonderful thing in maritime sailing for all of us. Longtime friendships formed on board,” wrote Morskie Mile in a eulogy to their lost vessel. It said, however, that upcoming cruises in the Canary Islands would go ahead.

Corruption is Everywhere > Vietnam President Resigns; Lid Coming Off the EU Parliament Bribery Scandal

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Vietnam President Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigns

By Joe Fisher

   

Vietnam’s President Nguyen Xuan Phuc announced he will step down from his position following a number of changes among the country’s leadership in recent days.

File Photo by John Minchillo/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Vietnam's President Nguyen Xuan Phuc announced he will step down from his position following a number of changes among the country's leadership in recent days.

Phuc is the third high-level official to either resign or be dismissed from his position this month following the dismissal of two deputy prime ministers, Pham Binh Minh and Vu Duc Dam. The National Assembly will meet Wednesday to make the resignation official.

As president, Phuc played a key role in Vietnam's Communist Party and its policymaking committee, the Politburo. In a statement by his party he was thanked for his service, but it was also noted that he was responsible for violations by those serving under him.

Other government officials who served with Phuc are facing criminal charges related to corruption and misconduct.

"As he was well aware of his responsibilities to the Party and the people, Phuc filed a request to resign from his positions and retire," said the statement obtained by VN Express International.

In 2022, the Communist Party prosecuted or disciplined some 539 members in an effort by general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to rein in corruption.

Is this extraordinary level of corruption peculiar to Communists? Or is it common to all government parties? It is definitely not restricted to Vietnam.

Vietnam has greatly increased its efforts to rid the corruption among its government officials and business leaders, increasing the investigation of corruption cases by 50% in 2022, engaging in 453 investigations.

Phuc served as prime minister from 2016 to 2021 before being elected president in April 2021.

Former deputy prime minister Dam was ousted in connection with a scheme involving the distribution of COVID-19 testing kits. One of Dam's primary responsibilities was leading the country's pandemic response.

Did he have a deal with the party that he would resign if they stopped investigating him? What do you think?

Former European Parliament member to give details in bribery scandal

Obviously, being a member of the European Parliament does not require a moral compass as a prerequisite.

By Clyde Hughes   

Former European Parliament member Pier Antonio Panzeri agreed on Tuesday to cooperate with authorities

in connection with the bribery scandal. Photo by Stephanie Lecocq/EPA-EFE

Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Former European Parliament member Pier Antonio Panzeri said on Tuesday he will work with prosecutors investigating an alleged bribery scheme.

Panzeri agreed to offer "revealing, truthful and complete statements" about third parties involved in the scandal as well as his own involvement "if applicable" in exchange for a possible reduced prison sentence, Belgium's federal prosecutor said.

Prosecutors accuse Panzeri of accepting money from the governments of Qatar and Morocco in exchange for influencing decisions in the parliament.

Panzeri, who served in the European Parliament from 2004-2019, is charged along with three others for money laundering, corruption and participating in a criminal organization after police found nearly $1.62 million in bags of cash at several locations around Brussels, including Panzeri's home.

The Belgian prosecutor said in its ongoing investigation that Panzeri will tell detectives details showing if foreign countries, including Qatar, illegally influenced the parliament's work, how the bribery scheme operated and who was involved.

He is also expected to turn over financial documents connected with his arrangements with those countries and who directly benefited.

Panzeri also agreed to admit to bribery, pay a fine and forfeit the assets he obtained, said to total more than $1 million.

An Italian court ruled on Monday that the Panzeri's daughter Silvia Panzeri could be extradited to Belgium because she allegedly knew of her father's activities. She has denied the allegations.

The scandal also ensnared Eva Kaili, a Greek legislator, who at the time served as the European Parliament's vice president.

Kaili was removed from her European Parliament post in December after being arrested in connection with the scheme.

Islam - Current Day - Tanker Attack; Sudan Unblacklisted; Morocco-Israel Deal Condemned; Another Bali Bomber Arrested

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Terrorists attacked oil tanker at Jeddah with ‘explosives-laden boat’

14 Dec 2020 16:03

FILE PHOTO: Oil tanker BW Rhine is seen in the Straits of Singapore. © Handout via REUTERS / Hafnia

An explosion and fire aboard a Singapore oil tanker at a Saudi port was the result of a “terrorist attack,” the Ministry of Energy said, condemning the recent spate of attacks on the Kingdom’s vital infrastructure.

In a statement carried by state media, the ministry confirmed that the BW Rhine vessel was attacked by terrorists shortly after midnight local time, adding that the Singapore-flagged vessel was anchored in the fuel terminal in Jeddah when it was targeted by an “explosives-laden boat.”

The ministry confirmed that there were no casualties, reiterating an earlier statement by the ship’s operators, Hafnia, and that there had been no damage to port facilities. 

The spokesman quoted in the statement slammed the recent spate of attacks on vital Saudi infrastructure. “These acts of terrorism and vandalism, directed against vital installations, go beyond the Kingdom and its vital facilities, to the security and stability of energy supplies to the world and the global economy,” the statement reads.

The spokesman also urged world leaders to make a unified effort to tackle “subversive terrorist acts” and adopt practical measures to prevent further incidents.

Monday’s assault on an oil tanker discharging at the port of Jeddah comes after attacks on a Maltese vessel in Al-Shuqaiq and the petroleum products distribution station in north Jeddah in late November.

Sudan officially comes off U.S. blacklist of terrorism sponsors

By Don Jacobson

Sudanese celebrate during a reception for leaders of South Sudan in Khartoum, Sudan, on Nov. 15.

Sudan was removed from the U.S. blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism on Monday.

File photo by Mohammed Abu Obaid/EPA-EFE

Dec. 14 (UPI) -- The United States on Monday officially removed Sudan from its list of nations designated as state backers of terrorism, fulfilling a top goal for the African nation's transitional government.

Sudan's removal from the terrorism blacklist became official at the conclusion of a 45-day waiting period following U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's signing of a notification rescinding Sudan's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Monday marks a "historic day in the U.S.-Sudanese bilateral relationship, as Sudan's designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism is officially rescinded," Pompeo said in a tweet.

"I congratulate [Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok] and the Sudanese people and look forward to building a stronger U.S.-Sudanese partnership," he said.

Sudan was first blacklisted as a sponsor of terrorism in 1993, when al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden lived there as a guest of the government.

Momentum to remove it from the list accelerated last year when an uprising ousted longtime President Omar al-Basir, who is accused of crimes against humanity stemming from the Darfur conflict, during which more than 300,000 Sudanese were killed.

President Donald Trump announced in October that Sudan would be removed from the list after it had agreed to provide compensation for the families of victims of the 1998 twin embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.

Hamdok hailed the rescinding of the designation, which he says has prevented his government from receiving debt relief and financing from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

"Today, after more than two decades, it has been announced to our people that the name of our beloved country has come out of the list of states sponsoring terrorism and our liberation from the international and global blockade into which the behavior of the ousted regime has forced us," he said in a tweet.

Responding to Pompeo's message, Hamdok wrote, "It's indeed a historic day for our bilateral relations, by which we look forward to establish meaningful partnerships to benefit our people."

I suspect there is also some change in attitude toward Israel involved in this. 

Islamist Movement Condemns Morocco-Israel Deal to Establish Relations

The movement called on Moroccans to protest the move and “confront it” with all means

By Safaa Kasraoui -

Dec 14, 2020

Rabat – Islamist movement the Justice and Spirituality Movement (Al Adl Wal Ihssan) issued a press release on Friday to condemn Morocco’s decision to establish diplomatic relaions with Israel.

Describing the move as “incalculable,” the banned movement said it strongly condemns “the decision to normalize [ties] taken by the Moroccan authority with the Zionist entity that usurped the land of Palestine.”

The movement said the decision contradicts the historical and current position of the Moroccan people, who support Palestinians and their full right to return to their homes as well as their independence.

If Palestinians returned to their historical home they would be in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Morocco.

“We call on our people to reject the [Moroccan decision] and confront it and work to bring it down by all available peaceful means.”

The Islamist movement’s statement comes a few days after King Mohammed VI announced Morocco will establish diplomatic relations with Israel as soon as possible.

The decision followed a call with US President Donald Trump, who informed the monarch that his country recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.

Observers and activists saw the statement from Al Adl Wal Ihssan condemning normalization with Israel as an offense to Morocco’s sovereign decision, criticizing the Islamist movement’s silence during the Guerguerat development.

Some of them questioned why the Islamist movement did not issue a press release to condemn Polisario’s move after it caused a blockade of the Guerguerat border crossing point for over three weeks.

Moroccan movements, associations, and press expressed solidarity with the Royal Armed Forces, who acted on November 13 to secure the flow of goods and people in the region.

Morocco has banned the movement’s activities and prevented it from political participation due to what the government calls its antagonistic approach towards the Moroccan government. 

The anti-monarchy movement claims to support democracy of the state but refuses to participate in elections, considering them undemocratic.

I wonder what their model of democracy looks like? Pretty weird, I'll bet.

Sheikh Abdessalam Yassine, a former teacher and the late spiritual guide of the group, founded the movement in the 1980s.

The Islamist movement was also active during the most notable protests in Morocco, including the Arab Spring protests in 2011 and the 2016-2017 Hirak Rif protests in the Al Hoceima province in northern Morocco.

Indonesian Police Arrest Top Islamist Militant Linked To Bali Bombings

by SANJAY BHAGAT, AzadHindNews

on DECEMBER 14, 2020 

Jemaah Islamiah’s stated aim is to build an Islamic caliphate in Southeast Asia.

Zulkarnaen, one of the commanders of the Bali attack, was arrested on Thursday by anti-terrorism police, spokesman Ahmad Ramadhan said in a statement on Saturday.

He said the officers met no resistance.

Reuters was unable to reach Zulkarnaen or find out whether he had any legal representation. According to a UN Security Council report, he also goes by the name Aris Sumarsono. 

Zulkarnaen is believed to have been involved in making the bombs that were used in the Bali attacks and in the 2003 bombing of the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta that killed 12 people.

Jemaah Islamiah’s former leader Para Wijayanto was arrested in 2019.

Swedish Doctor of Theology: Islamism is Evil and It’s Time We Change Our Attitude

 By EMMA R.

Prazis images / shutterstock.com

Theologist Ann Heberlein warns in Swedish newspaper Nyheter Idag for the dangers of Islamism. 

“Evil,” wrote Hannah Arendt in “Responsibility and Judgement”, are things that make us think “this should not have happened”.

In the midst of Christmas preparations, evil is making itself known – first an act of terror at a Christmas market in Strasbourg. A man shoots irrationally straight into a group of people who drink Glühwein and buy Christmas gifts. Five people die and ten are injured. This should not have happened.

Barely a week after the massacre in Strasbourg, two young women, Norwegian Maren, 28, and Danish Louisa, 24, are bestially murdered in Morocco.

The two friends were going to spend their Christmas holidays hiking in the Atlas Mountains. What would be an adventure, a memory for life, ended with their death. Several men are arrested, suspected of killing the two women. This should not have happened.

The common denominator of the deeds is spelled Islamism. The perpetrators in Strasbourg, as well as the murderers in Morocco, are reported to be Islamist terrorists.

Blinded by religious fanaticism and hatred of the Western lifestyle which they regard as sinful, they attack innocent people. We are their enemies.

Today, Sweden is for ISIS terrorists what Argentina and Brazil were

for the Nazis after World War II

A sanctuary where they can lick their wounds and start a new life without taking the consequences of the assaults and crimes they committed.

Instead of being locked up, the terrorists are visited by a social secretary. It is high time we change our attitude, states Ann Heberlein.

As I have been writing for some time, Muslim radicals (fundamentalists) are completely insane and need to be segregated from society. Anything less is societal suicide.

God Help Girls Who Wear Shorts in Morocco

‘Their heads should be cut off’: Belgian volunteers

who wore shorts flee Morocco

Three young Belgian girls are returning home from volunteer work in Morocco after a local school teacher allegedly threatened to behead them, for wearing shorts. The teacher has been arrested and the charity’s work curtailed.

The girls were part of a group of nearly 40 volunteers who were helping to build a road in the remote village of Adar. The charity that organized the trip, Bouworde, posted a video of their activities on social media, prompting the 26-year-old teacher to unleash decapitation threats because their attire didn’t “respect the Muslim faith”.

Does it matter that the Muslim faith doesn't respect girls?

A scene from the video that sparked the threats. © Bouworde

“[…] Their heads should be cut off so that no one else dares to challenge the teachings of our religion,” the offended teacher wrote. The violent threats led Morocco’s National Judicial Police to arrest him for inciting terrorism.

The volunteers’ clothing also attracted the attention of Moroccan lawmaker Ali El Asri, a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (PJD), who said: “Since when do Europeans start working in clothing that is meant for sunbathing?”

Shorts are not for sunbathing, they are for warm weather, and I think there is a lot of that in Morocco.

Morocco likes that there are volunteers who come and do things to make the country a better place, but they want them to dress in such a way as to be seriously overheated and largely invisible, like proper Muslim women.

In the midst of the furor, Bouworde revealed on Friday that three of the girls in the group would be returning to Belgium early. The charity also announced that it is canceling its upcoming volunteering projects in Morocco because of the “publicity” of the case in the press and on social media.

The organization had been working in the Taroudant region of Morocco for more than 15 years, helping to build infrastructure projects like water canals, schools and a women’s center.

The debacle comes less than a month after three Moroccan men were sentenced to death for murdering two Scandinavian women in a popular hiking area in the Moroccan Atlas mountains.

Adar, Morocco

Swedish National Broadcaster Plays Down Islamic Terrorism - Just Like UN Compact Says

Swedish media blasted for playing down horrific details of hikers’ IS-inspired murders in Morocco

For years now I have been criticizing the Swedish government and media for refusing to tell the truth about Muslim migrants and the danger they are to young, white, Swedish women. Many such girls have paid a very high price for Sweden's politically correct madness. SVT is not doing anything new here, but this is what we can all (almost) expect from the media in western countries. 

This is the very thing that the UN's Marrakesh compact, signed so recently, encourages countries receiving migrants to do. It's odd that the deal was signed in Marrakesh; Marrakesh is just 50 kms due north of where those two young women were massacred 6 days after the compact was signed. 

All 'progressive' countries can expect their media to behave with such politically correct insanity.

Swedish state broadcaster SVT has come under fire for what some viewers are calling an effort to downplay the horrendous details of the murders of two Scandinavian backpackers in Morocco last week.

Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway were killed while backpacking in Morocco’s High Atlas mountains. While both girls were stabbed multiple times, one of them was also beheaded on camera, shown in a video that has spread like wildfire around social media.

Previously recorded footage, which was authenticated by investigators, also shows the suspects in the brutal double murder pledging allegiance to the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, further confirming that the murders were an act of terrorism.

Memorial to the slain backpackers at Danish embassy © Reuters / Youssef Boudlal

On Christmas Eve, the national public broadcaster in Sweden aired a report about the barbaric killings, but chose not to focus on the actual details of the crime or the now-established links to Islamic terrorism. The SVT report made no mention of the fact that one of the young women was beheaded, said nothing about the ISIS link and simply referred to “knife damage” on the woman’s neck.

Bizarrely, the report focused almost entirely on how it is a punishable offence to share the disturbing video. Written reports on SVT’s website did mention the fact that the murders have been linked to Islamic terrorism, but that fact was nowhere to be found in its strange Christmas Eve report.

The odd angle taken by SVT prompted suggestions from viewers that the broadcaster seemed to be more worried about the possibility of the video spreading further than the actual murders themselves – and annoyed viewers quickly took to social media to denounce what they said was a case of the media being overly concerned with political correctness.

One person noted that there was a significant difference between how SVT covered the 2015 Trollhättan school attack, in which the Swedish perpetrator had been motivated by racism and chose a school in an area with a high immigrant population to commit his murders. While in that case, SVT recounted “minute by minute” what the killer did, publishing graphics and detailed information, in the case of the Scandinavian girls, the coverage was far more vague.

One Twitter user wrote that at first he thought the use of the phrase “knife damage” instead of ‘beheaded’ or ‘decapitated’ was just some kind of unfortunate formulation of words until he realized the channel had repeated the phrase more than once.

People from Maren Ueland's hometown walk in a torch-lit march to honor Maren Ueland from Norway and Louisa Vesterager Jespersen from Denmark ©  Jan Kare Ness / NTB Scanpix / via Reuters

“I myself would never watch such a film, let alone share it. But now we are more upset about the crime of proliferation than the crime of beheading,” another user wrote, denouncing overly “PC” people.

“Have these IS killers already been given jobs at SVT?” asked another angry tweeter, while another asked had the SVT reporters seen the footage of the woman dying and in pain as her neck is cut. “Knife damage is indeed a euphemism,” they wrote.

“225 years ago Marie Antoinette suffered 'knife damage to her neck' during the French Revolution,” another user sarcastically wrote.

Mt Toubkal, Morocco