Double Massacre in Rural Town in South Africa - 15 Women, 2 Men killed

 

17 people killed in 2 mass shootings in the same town

in South Africa

By Mogomotsi Magome  The Associated Press

Posted September 28, 2024 7:49 am

 2 min read

View image in full screen

This photo supplied by the South Africa Police Services (SAPS) shows the scene where seventeen people were killed in two mass shootings that took place in close proximity to each other Friday night in Lusikisiki, South Africa, police said Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. South African Police Services via AP

Seventeen people, including 15 women, were killed in two mass shootings that took place in close proximity to each other in a rural town in South Africa, police said Saturday.

A search was underway for the suspects, national police spokesperson Brig. Athlenda Mathe said in a statement. The victims were 15 women and two men, she said. One other person was in critical condition in the hospital.

The shootings took place Friday night in the town of Lusikisiki in Eastern Cape province in southeastern South Africa. Video released by police showed that the shootings occurred at two houses in the same neighborhood, which is a collection of rural homesteads on the outskirts of the town.

Twelve women and a man were killed in one house and three women and a man were killed in the other house, police said.

Four women, one man and a 2-month-old baby survived.

“A manhunt has been launched to apprehend those behind these heinous killings,” Mathe said.

Local media reported that the people were attending a family gathering at the time of the shooting, but the motive for the killings remains unknown.

Police minister Senzo Mchunu told a media briefing on Saturday that a team of detectives and forensic experts had been deployed.

“We have full faith and confidence in the team that has been deployed to crack this case and find these criminals. Either they hand themselves over or we will fetch them ourselves,” Mchunu said.

South Africa, a country of 62 million, recorded 12,734 homicides in the first six months of this year, according to official crime statistics from the police. That’s an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the biggest cause of deaths in those cases.

That is a little over 2,000 per month.

Compared to the USA:

The USA has a population of 345 million, they record about 49,000 gun deaths per year, or about 4,000 per month.

Mass shootings have become increasingly common in recent years, sometimes targeting people in their homes.

Ten members of the same family, including seven women and a 13-year-old boy, were killed in a mass shooting at their home in the neighboring KwaZulu-Natal province in April 2023.

Firearm laws are reasonably strict in South Africa, but authorities have often pointed to the large number of illegal, unregistered guns in circulation as a major problem.

Islam - Current Day > UNRWA withdraws from Palestinian Refugee Camp in Lebanon; Iran arrests 69 Christians; Berlin's Turkish Top Cop a thief; Muslim University with guns and bombs

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U.N. suspends Palestinian refugee camp work due to

armed fighters in its facilities

By Doug Cunningham

 

The UNRWA suspended Palestinian refugee camp operations amid the presence of armed fighters at the facility

in Ain al-Hilweh camp in southern Lebanon. Photo by Wael Hamzeh/EPA-EFE

Aug. 18 (UPI) -- The United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestinian refugees Friday suspended all its services within the Ain al-Hilweh camp in southern Lebanon over the presence of armed fighters in its facilities.

The UNRWA said it operates schools for 3,200 children and said given repeated violations of its installations by the armed fighters, schools are unlikely to be available at the start of the new school year.

"The Agency does not tolerate actions that breach the inviolability and neutrality of its installations," it said, repeating a call it made Thursday on all the armed fighters to immediately vacate its facilities in the camp.

On Thursday the agency strongly condemned the occupation of its facilities by the armed groups and said it was a violation of international law.

"UNRWA received alarming reports that armed actors continue to occupy its installations including a school compound in Ain al-Hilweh Palestine refugee camp in the south of Lebanon," UNRWA's Thursday statement said. "UNRWA facilities have reportedly been damaged by the recent fighting in the camp. This is a grave violation of the inviolability of U.N. premises under international law."

The agency was established by the U.N. in 1949 to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestinian refugees.

The Agency began operations in 1950, it was responding to the needs of about 750,000 Palestine refugees. Today, some 5.9 million Palestine refugees are eligible for UNRWA services. 

So, there are now nearly 8 times as many refugees as there were in 1950. Go figure!

It operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, The Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Iran targets minorities one year after Mahsa Amini’s death,

69 Christians arrested

AsiaNews, August 11, 2023

Tehran (AsiaNews) – Iran arrested scores of Christians, mostly converts from Islam but also some Assyrian-Chaldeans baptised as children, over a seven-week period in June and July in 11 different cities of the country, this according to Article18, a human rights organisation that advocates on behalf of Iranian Christians and religious freedom.

In an early report, the NGO had reported 50 arrests by mid-July in five cities, but its latest update indicates that at least 69 people were taken into custody, 10 of which – four men and six women – are still held by the authorities.

The arrests occurred between 1 June and 17 July in the following cities: Tehran, Karaj, Rasht, Orumiyeh, Aligoudarz, Isfahan, Shiraz, Semnan, Garmsar, Varamin, and Eslamshahr.

In the capital Tehran and the other cities, after their arrest, people were forced to sign statements pledging to refrain from Christian activities or undergo Islamic re-education in order to be released.

Some say that after their release they were summoned for further questioning, or were ordered to leave Iran. One said he lost his job at the request of intelligence agents. For those granted bail, families had to pay between US$ 8,000 and US$ 40,000.

The majority of those arrested are converts from Islam, but at least two are Iranian-Armenians, who were born into Christian families….

The wave of arrests among Christians also coincides with a new crackdown on Iran’s Baha’i community, which, along with Christian converts, is a minority religious group not recognised by the Islamic Republic….

Berlin's Turkish Chief Inspector of Police robs 57,000 euros

Translated from “Berliner Hauptkommissar raubt 57.000 Euro,” 

by Michael Behrendt and Maren Wittge, B.Z., August 15, 2023

Scandal in the capital police. Ironically, a chief inspector is said to have robbed a driver with a service weapon and a civilian company car and stole 57,000 euros in cash and mobile phones. Now he’s a case for the prosecutor.

On July 19, the policeman (48) with an unknown accomplice is said to have stopped the driver on the city highway at Messedamm with “special signals and a police signal” and gave the impression that it was a “proper police measure.”

“He is said to have carried his official equipment, including his service weapon, in a holster,” said a police spokesman.

During the identity check, the 62-year-old victim is said to have been handcuffed and placed in the police vehicle. Then the two perpetrators are said to have searched the car and taken 57,000 euros and several mobile phones.

According to B.Z. information, the accused is Bülent L., of Turkish origin, from Directorate 5. According to the information available, he is said to have previously worked there at the AGIA specialist department (intercultural tasks department).

Among other things, AGIA deals with criminal offenses such as illegal entry, illegal prostitution and trade in duty-unpaid cigarettes.

Particularly brazen: “The police chief is said to have even given the alleged victim a police seizure report, on which the confiscated money was not listed,” said the police spokesman.

As the B.Z. learned from investigators, the 48-year-old must have known about the money transport. Whether he found out about it professionally or privately is currently the subject of the investigation.

On Monday, the suspect’s home and offices were searched. There, “the official equipment used” and other evidence were confiscated. In addition, his service weapon was confiscated and transported to the collection of evidence.

On the same day, the Tiergarten district court issued an arrest warrant. However, the accused has so far been spared from prison. The Chief Inspector is no longer allowed to perform his duties until the investigation has been completed.

Not the first incident in Directorate 5 this year. Already in February, a police commissioner and a police superintendent were accused of giving inside information to business owners about upcoming police stops.

These things might be common procedures in Turkey, but they shouldn't be in Germany.

India: At least 30 crude bombs and two pistols recovered from

Muslim dormitory at University of Allahabad

Bombing and gunfire in Muslim dormitory of Allahabad University,

attack after quarrel with roommate

Translated from “इलाहाबाद विश्वविद्यालय के मुस्लिम बोर्डिंग हास्टल में बमबाजी व फायरिंग, रूम पार्टनर से झगड़े के बाद किया हमला,” Jagran, August 20, 2023:

Bombing and gunfire in the Muslim dormitory of Allahabad University created sensation. Asif Iqbal, a student living in room number 11, was bombed and fired upon after a quarrel with his roommate, but he narrowly escaped. Police of several police stations including Colonelganj reached the spot and conducted a search operation in the dormitory. During this, two pistols and 30 crude bombs were recovered. A case has been registered against 11 boys on the Tahrir of Asif and Inspector Brijesh Singh. Raids are being conducted in search of the accused. Sadakat Khan, who conspired to kill Umesh Pal and his two security personnel, also lived in this dormitory.

Asif Iqbal, a resident of Dildarnagar Ghazipur, is pursuing graduation in Allahabad University. He lives in room number 11 of the Muslim dormitory. He says that on Friday there was a dispute with his roommate Jalal Akbar. After this, Alamin Ahmed, Sarfaraz, Arbaaz, Sameer, Mubassir Harun, Intakhabul Mukhtar, Khalid Noman, Obada, Obaid, Mohd. Ashfaq and Qasim Rehman beat him up. When he started running and making noise, Mubassir and Obada threw a bomb to kill him. He was fired upon and the bullet came out of his side. He was bombed again.

The incident created panic among the residents of the dormitory. The police reached the spot quickly, but those responsible for the gunfire and bombings had escaped. The police officers called the dormitory superintendent, Dr. Irfan Ahmed, and started a search operation; then two pistols and 30 bombs were recovered. Asif has registered a case on the charge of attack and on the recovery of pistol and bomb, Inspector Brijesh Singh has registered a case in Colonelganj police station.

The Muslim dormitory is often in the headlines. Many times, students staying there illegally were evicted and the rooms were vacated, but later some were re-allotted. Police say that for what purpose so many bombs and pistols were kept in the dormitory, the secrets related to this will be revealed upon the arrest of the accused. Aid is also being received from the university administration to apprehend the accused.

Room number 57 of the dormitory is allotted in the name of Mubassir Harun, a resident of Derwa, Pratapgarh, and room number 35 to a resident of Prayagraj. A pistol and bombs have been recovered from the rooms of both. Even before the search, both had thrown away the pistol and ran away. Police said that a case has also been registered against Mubassir Khan at the Georgetown police station on charges of murderous attack. He is of a criminal nature.

What jihadist isn't?

Prayagraj - Allahabad

Bits and Bites from Around the World > Man tells 4 y/o to shoot cops; Info points to murder-suicide by pilot of MH370

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Four-year-old told to fire gun at officers – police

The child’s parent had allegedly been angered over an incorrect order

at a McDonald’s drive-through in the US state of Utah 

FILE PHOTO © Getty Images / anadorado

A father told his four-year-old child to fire a gun at officers following a dispute over a McDonald’s order, police in Utah have said. The gun was seized from the child just as it was fired. 

The incident happened on Monday lunchtime at a drive-through restaurant in Midvale, in suburban Salt Lake City. The unidentified 21-year-old man had begun arguing with staff, demanding his order be corrected while brandishing a gun in their direction, Unified Police spokeswoman Sergeant Melody Cutler told the media. 

Staff corrected his order, asked him to move into a waiting area, and called the police. The disgruntled customer apparently failed to cooperate with the attending officers and had to be pulled from his vehicle. The agents then spotted the child holding the gun, which was pointed towards them. An officer managed to push the gun to one side as it was fired, receiving a minor injury to his arm as he did so.

According to Sgt Cutler, the officer in question shouted “Kid!”, alerting his colleagues not to fire back at the four-year-old. A witness informed the police that they had heard the father tell the child, who was in the backseat with a three-year-old sibling, to shoot at the cops, Cutler said.

The father remains in custody and Unified Police say the incident is currently an “active investigation.”

The idiot should never be allowed near his children again. As I see it, it was attempted murder by proxy, of a cop, or more than one. 

Pilot's baffling 22 minute manoeuvre which could hold the key

to proving MH370 mystery WAS a murder-suicide

On March 8 in 2014, the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared from view

By ANDREW PRENTICE FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

PUBLISHED: 09:16 EST, 23 February 2022

A bizarre 22-minute manoeuvre could prove the doomed MH370 flight was actually a murder-suicide plot by one of the pilots, a top Australian pilot has claimed.

On March 8 in 2014, the Malaysian Airlines plane disappeared from the skies along with 239 people on board - including six Australians.

They included Queensland couples Catherine and Robert Lawton as well as Mary and Rodney Burrows.

Many wild theories have since followed, but now a flight holding pattern - detected through an invisible trail - may finally provide closure for those who lost loved ones.

In Wednesday night's Sky News documentary MH370: The Final Search, a number of aviation leaders stated it was deliberate sabotage from senior flight Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah - and said a 22-minute-long holding pattern proved it.

'My theory has always been that it was the captain who is responsible …probably as a political protest,' aviation writer and former Qantas Captain Mike Glynn said. 

In Wednesday night's Sky News documentary MH370: The Final Search, a number of aviation experts

stated their belief it was deliberate sabotage from senior flight Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah

This graphic shows the predicted location for MH370's wreckage at the bottom of the Indian Ocean

On March 8 in 2014, the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared from the skies with 239 people on board

To support his claim, Mr Glynn pointed to the 'holding pattern' on MH370 from 3.12am onwards.

A holding pattern is where a plane holds a particular flight path while awaiting approval to land, but in this case it was done mid-flight. 

He said there was 'no reason' for the aircraft to engage in the pattern mid-flight, before adding there is a 'possibility' it was the timeframe Mr Shah used as a 'form of negotiation.'

Australian Danica Weeks, whose husband Paul was on board the flight, said the 22-minute holding pattern revelation was 'overwhelming' and that Captain Shah 'must've been talking to someone… it's just a complete cover up.'

Mr Glynn went on to claim Captain Shah, a married father of three, was enraged after Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s Opposition Leader at the time of the crash in 2014, was convicted of sodomy the day before MH370 disappeared.

Shah was said to be an avid supporter of Ibrahim, and the pilot's Facebook account was also labelled a 'treasure trove' of political activity and anti-government sentiment.

Leading aviation safety investigator and retired pilot, John Cox, also said the demise of MH370 was no accident.

Author and journalist Ean Higgins agreed, stating Mr Shah had enough motivation if he wanted to take the 'drastic action.'

The pilot did have a supporter in Malaysia Airlines Crisis Director Fuad Sharuji, who expressed his doubt over a possible plane hijack.

The final point of control tower contact with flight MH370 almost eight years ago was over the South China Sea, the location where the search first launched following the disappearance, which generated international headlines.

However, it soon became apparent the plane had made its way back in the direction of Malaysia.

The aircraft then flew over the Malay peninsula, went around the island of Penang and up the Malacca Strait and eventually over the southern Indian Ocean.

Mr Glynn went on to state the use of Weak Signal Propagation Report (WSPR), could help locate the final remains of the plane.

The modern technology is a network of signals that use amateur or hand radios, and has been in use since 2009.

The pilot believes MH370 may have been tracked by WSPR - and that could pinpoint where the remains are.

'It is a game changer,' he said.

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Corruption is Everywhere > Would you believe Nurses? Liberal darling Avenatti - guilty again; Mercedes-Benz fined in So. Korea

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New York nurses arrested after making staggering amount

from fake vaccine cards

The scheme allegedly brought in more than $1.5 million

©  Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Two New York nurses have been arrested for allegedly selling fake Covid-19 vaccination cards, and making more than $1.5 million in the process.

The Suffolk County district attorney’s office announced the two nurses working in Long Island, 49-year-old Julie Devuono and 44-year-old Marissa Urraro, had forged vaccine cards from last November into January of 2022. The pair reportedly charged $220 to $440 for vaccine cards for adults, but offered a discount for children, only charging $85. 

After faking the actual physical vaccine cards, the two would then allegedly add false information to the New York State Immunization Information System (NYSIIS) to list people as vaccinated when they were not. 

Prosecutors also alleged that the nurses forged vaccine cards for undercover detectives. The two worked at Wild Child Pediatric Healthcare in Amityville, an establishment that DeVuono, who is a nurse practitioner, owned. 

Businesses around the pediatric clinic had noticed increased foot traffic recently, according to local media reports. “It’s frightening beyond words,” one neighbor told the New York CBS affiliate. 

In a search of DeVuono’s home, police discovered more than $900,000 in US currency, plus a ledger documenting more than $1.5 million in payments for the alleged vaccine card scheme. 

DeVuono and Urraro have both been charged with forgery. 

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney added in a statement he hopes the arrests will “send a message” to anyone else “considering gaming the system.”

“We will enforce the law to the fullest extent,” Tierney said.

‘Donald Trump’s worst nightmare’ is his own worst nightmare

Before he was found guilty of defrauding porn star Stormy Daniels,

Michael Avenatti was lauded by liberal media

Michael Avenatti speaks to members of the media after leaving federal court in New York City,

February 4, 2022. ©  AP / John Minchillo

Disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti has been convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for stealing $300,000 from porn star Stormy Daniels. It’s the second criminal conviction in two years for a man liberal pundits once believed would bring down the presidency of Donald Trump.

Avenatti was found guilty by a jury in Manhattan on Friday and will be sentenced in May. Representing himself, he had argued that Daniels owed him the money in exchange for legal representation in a case against Trump, but the jury sided with federal prosecutors who said Avenatti diverted the cash into his own account and then convinced Daniels that the money hadn’t arrived.

Avenatti took the cash sum from a larger advance for Daniels’ memoir, ‘Full Disclosure,’ which details her alleged affair with Trump.

Prior to his fall from grace, liberal pundits touted Avenatti as “Donald Trump’s worst nightmare,” and a “folk hero” whose legal action against Trump would “save the country.” After attempting to scupper the Supreme Court confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh with unfounded allegations of sexual assault, Avenatti explored a run for the presidency himself in 2018, immediately before his life began to unravel.

Avenatti was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence in late 2018, and less than a year later was found guilty of attempting to extort sportswear company Nike. He has yet to begin serving his 30-month prison sentence for that conviction, and is also facing retrial in California for allegedly stealing almost $10 million from various clients.

Carmaker fined for gas emissions cover-up

Mercedes-Benz to pay millions and fix rigged pollution-mitigation devices

to comply with law in South Korea

© Getty Images / picture alliance

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) on Sunday demanded that major luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz pay $16.87 million in fines for providing falsified information on gas emissions from its diesel cars, Yonhap news agency reported.

The South Korean antitrust regulator discovered that the vehicle producer had installed illegal software on pollution-mitigation devices in some of its cars. The software allowed the devices to perform at lower levels in driving conditions than during certification tests. The vehicles therefore failed to meet the legally allowed emission levels, but the automaker was found to have covered up related facts in signs attached to its cars between April 2012 and November 2018, according to the KFTC.

The automaker also advertised that the cars’ nitrogen oxide emissions were at a minimum level and they fully met the Euro 6 emission standards. The inadequate ads were on 15 Mercedes-Benz models.

“Though Mercedes-Benz claimed that it only used typical phrases about well-known performances of the emission mitigation devices, concealing the intentional implementation of illegal software and claiming its vehicles perform the best are beyond simple exaggeration and deception,” the regulator stated, adding that “such practices will or are feared to hurt fair market order by preventing consumers from making a reasonable decision” when purchasing a car.

Apart from the fine, the KFTC also ordered the carmaker to fix the devices and install qualified software.

In 2021, the South Korean regulator slapped a number of other carmakers with fines or correction orders, including Audi-Volkswagen Korea, Nissan Motor, Stellantis Korea, and Porsche AG for similar emissions-tampering practices.

US states join Mexico in lawsuit against American gun manufacturers

Gunmakers hit back against allegations of facilitating trafficking

Weapons confiscated or turned in to Mexican authorities © AFP / Bernardo Montoya

Attorneys general for 13 states and Washington DC have backed a Mexican federal lawsuit accusing American gun manufacturers of aiding and abetting the trafficking of weapons to Mexican criminals. The prosecutors – all Democrats – filed a brief last week in Massachusetts federal court seeking to deny the gunmakers the protection of a federal law shielding them from liability.

The targeted companies, including Smith & Wesson, Colt and Glock, have cited the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act in an effort to have the case dismissed. The law protects gunmakers from liability if their products are used in a crime.

However, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey accused the companies of “knowingly market[ing] their products in a way that facilitates the illegal trafficking of weapons into the hands of dangerous individuals.”

Mexican legal adviser Alejandro Celorio clarified to CNN that the lawsuit is not attempting to blame the gunmakers or distributors for the killings or injuries committed with their weapons, but instead to hold them accountable for “negligence in their commercial practices” and a “lack of caution” violating US state and federal laws.

Nevertheless, the suit claims US gun makers’ practices “aid and abet the killing and maiming of children, judges, journalists, police, and ordinary citizens,” reducing Mexican life expectancy and costing the government billions of dollars annually.

Trade industry group the National Shooting Sports Foundation slammed the coalition of prosecutors for what it described as misplaced efforts, arguing the Mexican government should “focus on bringing the Mexican drug cartels to justice in Mexican courtrooms” rather than “filing a baseless lawsuit in an American court to deflect attention from its disgraceful and corrupt failure to protect its citizens.”

While most of the defendants declined to speak to media pending litigation, Glock told CNN on Sunday that it would “vigorously” defend itself against the charges.

The lawsuit, initially filed in August, alleges over 597,000 guns are trafficked from the US into Mexico and claims the companies designed, marketed and distributed “military-style assault weapons” with an eye toward arming drug cartels, thus promoting violent crime of all kinds. A 2020 report by the US Government Accountability Office revealed 70% of guns recovered in Mexico between 2014 and 2018 came from the US, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Thousands of American-bought guns have found their way south of the border in recent years. The infamous Operation Fast and Furious saw the ATF deliberately allow gun dealers to sell over 2,000 weapons to known criminal entities, which would then ‘walk’ them across the border to Mexico. There, ATF agents were supposed to apprehend the criminals and convince them to turn in their bosses, but as often as not the agency ended up losing track of the guns. The scheme, which ran from 2009 to 2011, was wound up only after the firearms had been used in the commission of hundreds of murders and other crimes, including the 2010 killing of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry. Some were later used in the 2015 Bataclan massacre in France.

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Islam - Current Day > Sweden Becoming Wild West; Hamas Wants Peace? Nurses Saved from Pakistani Mob; Another French Cop Attacked

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

Bishop Indrias Rehmat (right) with a Catholic delegation at Civil Lines Police Station in Faisalabad on April 9

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

France in Shock as Video of Student Threatening Teacher With ‘Gun’ in Class Goes Viral

Violence, insults, and threats in French Schools - The New Normal

© youtube.com/user/lafouine

An appalling video showing a student in a French school threatening a teacher with a dummy ‘gun’ in class has shocked France. Questions are being raised about the regularity of such incidents and the authorities’ response.

The viral footage, initially distributed on Snapchat, shows a class in a school in Creteil commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris. A male student stands in the middle of the classroom and threatens the teacher with an object that looks like a gun, and demands that she write ‘present’, not ‘absent’ in the attendance list. In the background, there is another student making obscene gestures at the camera.

And, the idiot recording the whole thing thinks it's hilarious.

Marine Le Pen✔
@MLP_officiel
 Le calme de cette enseignante braquée en plein cours par un élève et l’absence de signalement et de plainte immédiate par l’établissement scolaire à la suite de ce comportement suggère que ce type d’incidents est régulier.  Qui cela étonne-t-il encore ? MLP #Créteil

https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/1053936594288345089

French media report that the gun was “an airsoft type” ball gun or a toy gun – which wouldn’t be capable of hurting the teacher. In spite of the shocking situation, the teacher seems unperturbed, as though it’s not the first time this has happened.

Following the incident, the teacher filed a complaint and two 16-year-old students were taken into custody, according to French media. The student who made the obscene gestures was soon released, while the main perpetrator is in custody and will stand before a juvenile court on Sunday. 

The story caused shock and outrage on social media, with people raising questions regarding the punishment for the students, whether the teacher’s reaction was appropriate, and how the authorities should respond. “I hope they will be severely punished,” one person wrote.

The mayor of the city of Nancy, Laurent Henart, expressed “condemnation and indignation.” The educational community should take exceptional measures “to ensure security” in schools, he tweeted.

French President Emmanuel Macron called the incident “unacceptable” and urged the ministries of interior and education to handle the case. 

“Every day, teachers are insulted,” one person commented under Macron’s post. Another person said teachers have to deal with violence, insults, and threats almost every day.  “Should we get used to this free daily violence? The New World of Macron!” one person asked. 

Marine Le Pen, the president of France’s National Rally (formerly Front National), tweeted that the teacher looked relatively calm. The absence of an immediate report and complaint by the school “suggests that this type of incident is regular,” she wrote. 

2 Officers, 1 Worshiper Killed in Attack on Orthodox Church in Chechnya

War on Christianity - Islam storms church in Chechnya

Two officers and a worshiper were killed as armed militants attempted to storm an Orthodox church in Russia’s Chechnya. The attack was thwarted by law enforcers, who shot dead four militants.

The Church of Michael the Archangel in Grozny, the capital of Russia’s Republic of Chechnya, was attacked on Saturday by a group of gunmen, who attempted to take parishioners hostage.

A female worshiper told RIA-Novosti that the shooting outside the church began during the evening service, which was attended by around 15 people.

“One of the men rushed to block the door with a chair… we were holding the door,” the woman said, adding that shots from what she thought were pistols and machine guns were fired.

She also said that the priest’s children were playing outside when the attack began, and his wife had to rush from the church to lead them to safety.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said that two officers were killed at the church, while one worshiper also lost his life. Knives and a sawn-off shotgun were recovered from the militants after they were eliminated.

“The professionalism of the police officers guarding the church prevented more serious consequences of the attack and avoided a large number of casualties,” the Investigative Committee said on its website.

The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, also confirmed the elimination of the militants as a result of a “swift security operation.” Three of the killed militants were residents of Chechnya, while the leader of the gang was from “one of the neighboring regions,” he added. 

Kadyrov also said that "there is intelligence data that the militants received the order [to carry out the attack] from one of the Western countries."

Mufti Ismail Berdiyev, chairman of the Coordination Center of North Caucasus Muslims, has condemned the attack, which he said was aimed at destabilizing the situation in Chechnya.

“It was deliberately done during the holy month in order to destabilize the situation. It’s the month of Ramadan now. It’s the time when not only wars are forbidden, but even foul language is outlawed,” Berdiyev told TASS.

And yet, in most Islamic countries, where Christian churches are permitted, they have to be guarded by police continuously, even in Ramadan.

The attack was “yet another attempt by pseudo-Islamic extremists to pit Orthodox Christians and Muslims against each other,” said Vladimir Legoyda, head of the Synodal Information Department of the Russian Orthodox Church.