The Holy Spirit enables us to work with the Lord, not for Him but with Him. If you are not using the Holy Spirit in your life, you are not working with the Lord; you are ignoring him. And do you expect Him to keep His promises when you ignore Him?
Sunday, May 9, 2021
Friday, May 7, 2021
Islam - Current Day - Pegida Labelled Extremist; East Jerusalem Violence; Maldives Bombing; Turks Arrest ISIS Suspects
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German state of Saxony officially designates anti-Islam & anti-immigrant Pegida movement ‘extremist’
7 May, 2021 17:06
FILE PHOTO. © Reuters / Christian Mang
Germany’s security service in the eastern state of Saxony has officially classified the anti-Islam and anti-immigrant Pegida group as a “proven extremist organization.” The movement came to the fore amid the 2015 refugee crisis.
The Pegida movement (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the Occident) is now officially considered an extremist organization in its own “birthplace” – Germany’s eastern federal state of Saxony. The organization first came to be in the region back in October 2014, when Europe saw a massive influx of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and North Africa.
The group positioned itself as a grassroots movement opposing what they called a creeping Islamization of Europe, and gained prominence due to massive rallies it organized to show its discontent with the “open-door” policy of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Over the years, the group moved away from its “heterogenous” roots and “moderate demands” and instead adopted “increasingly radical and ultimately extremist” views, the regional branch of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) – a security service tasked with combating extremism – said in a statement, explaining its decision.
“Proven far-right extremists have had a significant influence” over the movement in recent years, the security service said, adding that they acted as “organizers, speakers and managers” of Pegida events. The group also started espousing views that directly contradict German basic law, the BfV noted, adding that the movement “rejected” the rule of law and the role of the parliament.
By giving a platform to various far-right extremists, Pegida also acted as a “lynchpin” between the far-right groups and ordinary people, the head of the BfV’s regional branch in Saxony, Dirk-Martin Christian, said in a statement.
“The resulting, ever deeper penetration of far-right extremist ideas into the core of [our] society is a serious threat to our free and democratic social order in the long run,” he added.
However, “peaceful participants” of the gatherings organized by Pegida, who simply used their “basic right on the freedom of expression,” have nothing to fear, since the security service will not put them under surveillance, he assured.
Pegida has repeatedly been accused of flirting with the far-right scene in Germany. The movement’s members were also no strangers to controversy. Its founder, Lutz Bachmann, was forced to step down from his role as Pegida leader in January 2015 after a photo of him dressed as Adolf Hitler emerged online.
Over the years that passed since the refugee crisis, the movement became much less noticeable. However, it also apparently moved beyond Germany, as Pegida supporters occasionally attempted to organize rallies in various countries, including Norway, Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, and Belgium.
It seems like strange timing on this. The group is deteriorating and has been for some time. The movement is virtually finished, and yet, Seehofer wants to make them criminal number one. The far-left is a far more dangerous segment of society (2nd story on link), and yet you never hear the government complain about them. Has Seehofer taken responsibility for Norway, Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, and Belgium?
Saxony, GDR
Car torched in East Jerusalem as clashes over
Palestinian evictions continue
7 May, 2021 12:14
A vehicle reportedly owned by a Jewish family was burnt out in East Jerusalem, where Israelis and Palestinians have been clashing over the looming eviction of several Palestinian families.
According to the Times of Israel, the groups threw rocks and chairs at each other. Palestinians reportedly set a car belonging to a Jewish family on fire, prompting a Jewish man to fire a weapon into the air. At least 15 Palestinians were arrested.
The Jerusalem Post said that fireworks were launched and rocks thrown at an office belonging to the leader of the Jewish right-wing Otzma Yehudit party.
East Jerusalem, home to both Jewish and Muslim holy sites, was captured by Israel from Jordan during the Six-Days War of 1967.
This week’s clashes erupted as a Jerusalem court is due to rule on a bitter dispute that involves four Palestinian families, which face eviction from their homes in favor of right-wing Jewish nationalists who argue that the land in the area was owned by Jewish groups before the establishment of the State of Israel. Israeli law allows Jews to reclaim Jewish-owned property in East Jerusalem from before 1948.
Disputes over land ownership lie at the heart of Israeli-Palestinian tensions, often leading to protests and violence in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland called the situation in Sheikh Jarrah “worrying,” and urged Israel to end evictions of Palestinians and the demolition of their homes.
Israeli media reported that left-wing groups and Arab activists from other regions are expected to protest against Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem later on Friday. Muslims will also attend the final Friday prayers of the month of Ramadan in Jerusalem’s Old City amid a heavy police presence.
Sheikh Jarrah
Bomb blast puts former Maldives president in hospital,
as he undergoes surgery to treat shrapnel wounds
7 May, 2021 11:52
Maldivian police officers inspect the area after a blast outside the family home of the speaker of parliament, former President Mohamed Nasheed, in Male, Maldives May 6, 2021. © Maldives Police Service / Handout via REUTERS
Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of the Maldives and the current speaker of the country’s parliament, is undergoing surgery after suffering shrapnel wounds following a bomb blast outside his home on Thursday night.
The injuries were caused when a bomb attached to a motorbike detonated as he left his residence late on Thursday, with the explosion heard across the country’s capital, Male, leaving the 53-year-old with shrapnel wounds.
After he arrived at the medical facility, a spokesperson for Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party confirmed he had been injured but was “stable” amid “ongoing” surgeries.
Footage on social media showed the aftermath of the explosion, with the remains of the damaged motorbike visible and police on the scene to aid those injured.
Bystanders were seen on video providing support to individuals who were caught in the bomb blast, with one person seen on the ground with what appears to be a bandage wrapped around their leg.
So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the explosion and security officials have not publicly identified a potential culprit.
A UK national is believed to have been injured in the explosion, according to local media reports, and Australian authorities have dispatched a team to the country to support the investigation.
After the explosion, the current Maldives president, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, was seen arriving at the ADK hospital where Nasheed was being treated, having held a cabinet meeting earlier in the day and ahead of a nationally televised address on the situation.
Speaking in the wake of the bomb blast, Solih, who is seen as a close political ally of Nasheed, called the explosion an attack on “democracy and economy”, with security being stepped up around the country’s islands.
Turkish security forces arrest 8 ISIS terror suspects in simultaneous raids
at 15 addresses
7 May, 2021 08:46
Turkish security forces have carried out raids across the country’s largest city, arresting eight individuals in relation to suspected links to Islamic State, according to a state-run news agency.
Anadolu Agency, a state-run news agency headquartered in Ankara, said on Friday that at least eight individuals had been detained by police as anti-terror units simultaneously raided 15 addresses in 10 districts of Istanbul.
Security forces told the news agency that the individuals were detained for suspected links to IS and its operations in conflict zones. The suspects remain in police custody and under investigation.
Turkey declared ISIS a terrorist organization in 2013 and has engaged in a number of operations to defeat the group, which once occupied territory close to its south-eastern border.
They also engaged in a number of operations with the group.
The country has been attacked numerous times by people affiliated with IS. More than 300 people have died and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven incendiary attacks, and four assaults.
On Sunday, Istanbul police said they had captured the alleged military head of IS and a close aide to the group's former leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. A police statement said he had been arrested in the Atasehir district on the city’s Asian side last Wednesday.
The man, identified only by the codename ‘Basim’, had been travelling on false passports.
Does it seem odd to you that after 15 raids only 10 people were arrested?
The Media is the Message > World Press Freedom Day, But Not for Snowdon or Assange; Seehofer Raises False Flag
Snowden says Assange prosecution shows Biden’s lip service to ‘brave journalists’ on World Press Freedom Day rings hollow
3 May, 2021 23:21
FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators protest outside of Westminster Magistrates Court during the extradition trial for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, in London, Britain, October 21, 2019. © Reuters / Henry Nicholls
As US President Joe Biden marked World Press Freedom Day with praise of heroic independent media, his government still seeks to jail Julian Assange of WikiLeaks for the act of journalism, said NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
The famed national security whistleblower took the administration to task on Monday, after Secretary of State Antony Blinken boasted of the US devotion to “press freedom” and “the safety of journalists worldwide.” Assange’s ongoing prosecution is impossible to square with those vows, Snowden said.
Prosecution, or persecution?
“This would be more persuasive if the White House weren't aggressively seeking a 175-year sentence for the publisher of award-winning journalism of global importance – despite pleas from every significant press freedom and human rights organization,” he tweeted.
While Biden himself spoke of the importance of “truth-tellers who refuse to be intimidated” in celebrating World Press Freedom Day, his administration continues to pursue an 18-count indictment against the WikiLeaks publisher, including charges under the Espionage Act brought by the Trump administration in 2019.
Just my opinion, but isn't espionage associated with enemies. Who are the enemies of the exposure of war crimes? Are they not criminals? Are they not Deep State? Are they not the military industrial complex? Are these the people running the world's leading democracy?
Altogether, Assange faces nearly two centuries behind bars, with most charges linked to the publication of classified material – such as the Iraq and Afghan war logs – leaked in 2010 by former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.
Though the newly installed administration has reversed many of Trump’s policies, it is continuing to seek Assange’s extradition from the UK, over a chorus of objections from press freedom groups.
In a letter addressed to Biden’s Justice Department earlier this year, some two dozen civil liberties groups – including the Freedom of the Press Foundation, the ACLU, Amnesty International and the Committee to Protect Journalists – argued that Assange’s prosecution represents a grave threat to press freedom as “much of the conduct described in the indictment is conduct that journalists engage in routinely.”
Snowden was joined by a number of journalists and activists demanding Assange’s release on World Press Freedom Day, among them Australian MP Andrew Wilkie, as well as the mother of Assange’s children, Stella Morris.
“It is no overstatement to say that the use of the 1917 Espionage Act against Julian is the single biggest, most urgent threat to press freedom and a free society,” she said.
It is also profoundly wrong. Julian isn’t simply just innocent. He is being punished for doing the right thing, for exposing the wrongful killing of journalists and of thousands of civilians, for documenting war crimes.
Assange was arrested in April 2019, after Ecuador revoked his asylum. He has been locked up at the Belmarsh maximum security prison in south London ever since, long after his sentence for skipping bail had expired, as the extradition process drags on.
The continued persecution of Assange goes beyond making him pay for his exposure of criminal acts by western militaries and intelligence. It, in my humble opinion, is an attempt to make sure that neither he, nor anyone else, will risk the exposure of evil being done in secret. This is probably because such dark operations are still going on.
Western countries have proclaimed a disturbing increase in right-wing/far-right crimes. Nearly all such countries are crying that this is the biggest danger to peace in their country. Technically, it may be so, but only if you include far-right propaganda, hate speech and insults, which are the majority of right-wing crimes.
Once you look at violent crimes - far-left radicals are responsible for nearly 50% more than far-right, and they have increased by 45% over the past year while far-right violent crimes have increased by only 11%.
Religiously motivated crimes, including Islamic crimes, have increased by more than 12% last year.
So, why are western governments decrying right-wing crimes as the real threat when left-wing crimes are far worse and are growing much faster? This is what they are feeding the media and the media is eating it up without a trace of scrutiny. The media is almost invariably left-leaning, but why are governments so adamant that the far-right is the problem? What's their end-game?
Politically motivated crimes are ‘on the rise’ in Germany; far-right offenses hit record numbers in 20 years – Interior Minister
4 May, 2021 17:29
FILE PHOTO. © Reuters / Annegret Hilse
Germany has seen its highest number of politically motivated crimes in a decade in 2020, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said, calling it a “very worrying” trend and adding that more than a half of them were far-right offenses.
The number of politically motivated crimes in Germany in 2020 has risen by more than 8.5% in comparison to the previous year, Seehofer told a press conference, citing fresh data provided by the Federal Criminal Police (BKA). The number of such crimes in 2020 was the highest over the last decade, according to the statistics.
Although all politically motivated crimes still constitute just over 1% of all offenses committed in Germany, the minister still called the numbers “very worrying” and said that this upward trend is “solidifying” and that the officials see a “clear tendency towards brutality.”
"These numbers are very alarming mainly because a trend has been established over the last few years," he said, adding that the Covid-19 pandemic had further contributed to the “polarization of the political discussion.”
More than a half of all politically motivated crimes were committed by far-right radicals, the minister said, adding that the police reported more than 23,000 such offenses in 2020 – an increase of 5.7% in comparison to 2019 – that were mostly related to far-right propaganda, hate speech and insults. Their number was still the highest since 2001 when such statistics were reported for the first time, according to the interior minister.
Left-wing extremist offenses, although much smaller in number than the right-wing ones, were still rising at a faster pace and reached 10,971 in 2020, which is 11.39% more than in the previous year. “Religiously motivated” crimes, including Islamist ones, were also up by 12.24% and accounted for 477 offenses in 2020, according to the police data.
“This shows again that right-wing extremism is the biggest threat for our country,” Seehofer said during the press conference while admitting that “extremism in all its forms remains a threat for our society.”
Statistics on violent offenses showed that leftist radicals appeared to be more aggressive throughout 2020 than even the far-right ones. Out of a total of 3,365 violent politically motivated crimes, 1,526 were attributed to far-left radicals, which is 45% more than in 2019. Right-wing radicals committed 1,092 violent crimes over the same period, which is 11% more than the previous year.
Surely, a 45% increase in violent crimes is startling and worthy of far more attention than an 11% increase. Why is Seehofer, a right-winger himself, more concerned about propaganda, hate-speech, and insults, than violent crimes? It makes no sense!
These numbers include 11 murders and 13 attempted murders, Seehofer said without specifying who the perpetrators were in each particular case.
The number of anti-Semitic crimes also rose by almost 16% over the last year, while the number of xenophobic crimes directed against “foreigners” doubled, increasing from 3,073 to 5,298. The term “foreigner”, which generally means any non-German citizen in German, is also sometimes used to describe people of non-European ethnic background as well as migrants and refugees.
The police reported more than 3,500 crimes related to the Covid-19 pandemic, ranging from “propaganda” offenses and violation of the law on public assemblies to bodily harm. Most such crimes could not be attributed to either left-wing or right-wing radicalism, but law enforcement officials said they observed a worrying tendency of ordinary people teaming up with “conspiracy theorists”, anti-vaccination activists and various radicals.
The news comes the same day German law enforcement also announced the arrest of a suspect who had been using the acronym of a neo-Nazi gang to send hate mail to politicians during a three-year campaign.
Dozens of individuals and organizations received more than 100 letters from a 53-year-old man who used the name ‘NSU 2.0’ – a reference to an infamous neo-Nazi gang responsible for 10 murders, two bombings, and numerous bank robberies between 2000 and 2007.
It’s the second year in a row that German police have been ringing the alarm over the threat from the far right. Back in May 2020, Seehofer – together with the head of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Holger Munch – also spoke about a dramatic increase in anti-Semitic and politically motivated crime, adding that half of politically motivated crimes in 2019 were connected to the far right.
And the other half?
Corruption is Everywhere > Skipping Work for 15 Years; Fake Pfizer Vaccines; Qatar Finance Minister
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Italian hospital worker accused of skipping job for 15 YEARS STRAIGHT while raking in $650,000 in wages, setting national record
22 Apr, 2021 11:49
FILE PHOTO. The Pugliese-Ciaccio Hospital . ©Mollo / Fotogramma via Global Look Press
An Italian man who was supposed to work as a fire response officer at a public hospital has allegedly not been doing his job for a whopping 15 years in a row, while still receiving a salary.
The Italian public sector is infamous for this type of scam, and it appears this particular case sets a new national record for length. It was reported by the press this week, based on an investigation by local law enforcement.
The alleged fraudster, named Salvatore Scumace, was an employee of the Pugliese-Ciaccio Hospital in Catanzaro, the capital of the Calabria region in southern Italy. He was part of the COEI, the hospital’s fire emergency operations center. However, he had not showed up for work since 2005, and was only sacked in October 2020 after his lengthy absence was finally looked into, the media said.
Over the 15 years, Scumace, who is now 67, has allegedly defrauded the hospital out of some 538,000 euros ($648,000) that he unduly received in salary. He is also accused of threatening his COEI superior in 2005 to stop her from making a formal complaint about him skipping work. The manager has since retired, and Scumace’s absence remained unnoticed by her replacement, the police said.
A total of seven people, including Scumace, are being probed in a case of alleged forgery, abuse of power, and extortion. It was unearthed in July 2020 as part of a wider investigation by the Catanzaro police’s financial crimes unit into absentee worker fraud in the city.
Extraordinary! It's so common they keep records for the longest cases!
As if Big Pharma wasn't already bad enough, now we have fake vaccines!
Fake Pfizer vaccines seized in Mexico & Poland contained
distilled water, skin care products – media
22 Apr, 2021 07:39
Pfizer has reportedly identified for the first time counterfeit doses of its Covid-19 vaccine, with some selling for as much as $1,000. Thankfully no one appears to have been harmed by the scam jabs.
The pharmaceutical giant confirmed through testing that doses of their vaccine seized in Mexico and Poland were fake, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In Mexico, vials found in beer coolers were initially flagged as suspect due to their fabricated lot numbers and expiration dates. Around 80 people paid as much as $1,000 for the shots, which reportedly contained distilled water. Six people were arrested in February in connection with the black market shots. Fortunately, the fake jabs haven’t been linked to any medical episodes.
In a separate case, Pfizer said it had confirmed that fake doses had been put up for sale in Poland. The counterfeit vaccine purportedly contained hyaluronic acid, which is typically found in anti-wrinkle creams. One person was charged with fraud after an unspecified amount of the fake vials were found in his apartment. Authorities intervened before any of the counterfeit jabs were sold.
In a statement sent to the media, Pfizer said it recognized that the “ease and convenience of e-commerce and anonymity” on the internet has allowed for an “increase in the prevalence of fraud.” The pharmaceutical firm stressed that it does not sell the vaccine online, adding that it was working with law enforcement agencies and healthcare providers to crack down on the sale of fake doses.
Lev Kubiak, Pfizer's head of global security, said that the limited supply of the vaccine has created a “perfect opportunity” for criminals.
Although the two cases represent the first time that Pfizer has confirmed that its product has been falsified, numerous reports have sprung up in recent months about the sale of fake Covid-19 vaccines. In January, an unlicensed clinic in Ecuador offered patients what it falsely claimed to be a $15-per-dose vaccine against the coronavirus. The place was raided and shut down by authorities. The brand of the fake drug was not identified.
Interpol, the global police coordination agency, has warned countries that criminals could threaten public health by using websites to market fake vaccines and other ‘cures’ for Covid-19.
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Qatar finance minister arrested over misuse of public money
and abuse of power
6 May, 2021 14:36
View of the skyline of the West Bay area in Doha is taken on January 4, 2011 in Doha, Qatar.
© Christof Koepsel / Getty Images; (inset) Ali Shareef Al Emadi © gco.gov.qa
Qatar’s Attorney General Ali Bin Fetais Al-Marri ordered the arrest of the country’s Finance Minister Ali Sharif Al-Emadi on Thursday over allegations of misuse of public money and abuse of power.
State media organization Qatar News Agency (QNA) confirmed that the finance official had been detained and laid out that he was facing charges of embezzlement, abuse of power and crimes linked to the public sector.
“The Attorney General ordered the arrest of the Minister of Finance Ali Sharif Al-Emadi to investigate what was mentioned in the reports of crimes related to practicing public office,” the statement to QNA read.
While the attorney general’s office confirmed an investigation is underway, no information was released stating where Al-Emadi is being held or when he is expected to appear in court.
Al-Emadi previously worked as the chief executive of the Qatar Central Bank before he was appointed to the role of Qatar’s minister of finance in June 2013 after Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani took over as Emir of Qatar.
While corruption has plagued some countries in the Middle East, Qatar has been ranked as one of the least corrupt nations in the region. In the 2020 corruption perceptions index, Transparency International gave Qatar a score of 63 out of 100, ranking it as the 30th least corrupt country out of an overall list of 180.
I think you are in for a raise this year!
Wednesday, May 5, 2021
Islam - Current Day > IDF Shoots Woman with Knife; Berlin Bans Terror Financier Ansaar; Journalist Kidnapped in Mali; A Dozen Killed in Nigeria
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Police secures a building after Germany banned the Islamic organisation Ansaar International in Duesseldorf, Germany, May 5, 2021 © REUTERS/Erol Dogrudogan
The organization shared a 21-second video in which Oliver (Olivier?) Dubois, a journalist for Liberation and Point Afrique, said he was abducted by the "Support Group for Islam and Muslims," or JNIM, in Gao in northeastern Mali on April 8.
Palestinian woman tries to stab soldiers in West Bank,
is shot dead — IDF
By TOI STAFF
Today, at 8:56 pm
A Palestinian woman (R) approaching IDF soldiers at the Gush Etzion Junction in the West Bank, in an alleged attempt at a stabbing attack, May 2, 2021. (screenshot: Twitter)
I don't mean to make light of this very tragic incident, but isn't it ironic that the woman was approaching the IDF soldiers with a knife, with the intention of stabbing them, and she's wearing Covid19 mask?
Israeli security forces shot dead a Palestinian woman brandishing a knife who tried to carry out a stabbing attack at the Gush Etzion Junction in the West Bank, south of Jerusalem, the Israel Defense Forces said Sunday.
The incident came amid rising tensions over the postponement of Palestinian elections, as well as unrest surrounding the holy month of Ramadan.
The woman, a 60-year-old resident of the nearby village of Husan, approached a group of soldiers with a knife in her hand and tried to stab the troops, the military said.
Palestinian media later identified the 60-year-old woman as Fahima al-Hroub.
One of the soldiers shot her in the upper body, and she was taken to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center in critical condition, where she was later pronounced dead, the hospital said.
There were no casualties among the soldiers, according to the IDF.
Footage of the incident showed al-Hroub continuing to walk toward the soldiers even as they shouted at her repeatedly to stop and fired warning shots in the air.
An IDF statement said: “A terrorist armed with a knife arrived at the Gush Etzion Junction and tried to stab IDF fighters who were at the spot. A fighter initiated rules of engagement protocol that included gunshots toward the terrorist, who was neutralized.”
The knife used by a Palestinian woman in an alleged stabbing attempt in the Gush Etzion Junction in the West Bank on May 2 2021. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Gush Etzion Junction has been the scene of many Palestinian attacks in recent years, most recently on January 31, when Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian man who attempted to stab a soldier with a makeshift spear.
On Friday, police said a Palestinian man tried to carry out a stabbing attack near the Efrat junction, south of Bethlehem — several kilometers from the Gush Etzion Junction — and was shot by an officer on the scene and seriously injured.
Tensions in Jerusalem, specifically around its Old City, were high in recent days after police prevented people from congregating outside Damascus Gate during Ramadan, which critics said was an inflammatory move that obstructed a long-held tradition of gathering at the site during the holy month. Authorities later canceled the policy.
Palestinian protesters raise national flags as they gather near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, on April 25, 2021. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)
Additionally, in the West Bank over the past week, hundreds of Palestinians have marched toward Israeli checkpoints on a nightly basis, leading to clashes.
The IDF is said to have also bolstered its forces in the West Bank during the month of Ramadan, in case of violence stemming from the postponement of Palestinian elections.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Thursday night that the first Palestinian national elections in 15 years would be indefinitely delayed, a move likely to instigate further tensions in the region.
The vote would be postponed until Israel agreed to allow East Jerusalem Palestinians to participate, Abbas told a conference of senior Palestinian officials.
The Palestinians had been scheduled to vote for the Palestinian Legislative Council on May 22, for the first time since 2006. A presidential election was set to follow on July 31, for the first time since 2005.
Islamic group Ansaar banned by Berlin: Minister says they financed terrorism
under the guise of humanitarian aid
5 May, 2021 09:55
German police have conducted raids on offices and locations belonging to Ansaar International, after Berlin outlawed the organization on the grounds that it had financed Islamist terrorism around the world.
“If you want to fight terror, you have to dry out their sources of money,” Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer said on Wednesday via Twitter, as he announced that the group had been banned in Germany. “They are spreading the Salafist worldview and financing terror all over the world under the guise of humanitarian aid.”
In a press release shared by the interior ministry, the government said around 1,000 police officers had participated in raids on Ansaar offices and affiliates across 10 German states. “So far, around €150,000 in cash has been seized,” it added.
According to Ansaar’s website, the group finances humanitarian aid to people affected by war and crises, including the building of hospitals, orphanages, and schools.
The Interior Ministry disputed these claims, noting that, “contrary to the company’s own statements, these are not only used for humanitarian purposes, but, in particular, to support terrorist organizations such as Jabhat al-Nusra, Hamas and Al-Shabab.”
According to Der Tagesspiegel, 70 locations were searched by police officers on Wednesday morning. The operation focused on North Rhine-Westphalia, where the alleged aid organization was founded in 2012.
In April 2019, the police raided around 90 premises belonging to the organization in nine states, collecting material for a prospective ban.
French journalist kidnapped in Mali pleads for release in video message
By Daniel Uria
May 5 (UPI) -- A French journalist who was kidnapped in Mali called for his release in a video released on Wednesday, Reporters Without Borders said.
"We urge the Malian and French authorities to do everything possible to obtain his release and we offer our full support to his family and friends," Arnaud Froger, head of Reporters Without Borders Africa desk, said in a statement.
The French foreign ministry confirmed Dubois' disappearance but the video is still in the process of being authenticated.
Reporters Without Borders said it was informed of Dubois' kidnapping two days after he went missing when he failed to return to the Malian capital after going out for lunch.
However, the organization decided in conjunction with Dubois' editors to not report his abduction "in order to not hamper the possibility of a rapid positive outcome."
Which, apparently, didn't happen!
Reporters Without Borders noted that the presence of armed groups in Africa's Sahel area are "making journalism extremely dangerous there," citing the killings of Spanish journalists David Beriain and Roberto Fraile in Burkina Faso late last month.
"Coming just 10 days after two Spanish journalists were killed in neighboring Burkina Faso, the report of this reporter's abduction is another cruel blow to journalism in the Sahel," said Froger.
More than a dozen people killed by Islamist militants in northeast Nigeria
Fargo, ND, USA / The Mighty 790 KFGO | KFGO
Thomson Reuters
May 3, 2021 4:27 PM
MAIDUGURI/ABUJA (Reuters) – More than a dozen people, including seven soldiers, were killed by Islamist militants in an attack in northeast Nigeria, four sources told Reuters.
The militants arrived in the Ajiri community in the Mafa local government area of Borno state on motorcycles early on Sunday, killing an army commanding officer and six soldiers, the sources said.
The assailants also killed six civilians, burned down nine housing blocks and carted away valuables, the sources – one soldier, one civilian fighter and two local government officials – told Reuters.
In a statement, the military said troops repelled the attack but that militants killed some residents and two military personnel.
The military lies!
Attacks by Islamist militants have been intensifying in northeast Nigeria in recent months, with dozens of soldiers killed and thousands of Nigerians displaced.
Army spokesman Mohammed Yerima said the military on Saturday repelled another attack on Rann, capital of the Kala Balge local government area of Borno.
Two sources, one soldier and one local resident, said troops killed nine militants. Yerima said in the statement that the troops also captured weapons including an anti-aircraft gun barrel, an AK-47 rifle and different calibres of ammunition.
Politics > Le Pen Acquitted of Hate Speech; VP Harris Cites Climate for Migrant Surge; What Country Threatens Democracy Most? Global Pandemic Reset
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France’s Marine Le Pen acquitted in hate-speech trial
after she tweeted Islamic State photos
4 May, 2021 13:46
FILE PHOTO. France's right-wing National Rally party leader Marine Le Pen (R) and MEP Gilbert Collard, Paris, France
© Reuters / Philippe Wojazer
French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has been acquitted in her trial for posting pictures of atrocities committed by the Islamic State terrorist group, including an image of a US journalist’s body.
The right-wing politician was alleged to have broken French hate-speech laws for uploading three particular images to her Twitter account in December 2015. She denied breaking the law.
La Pen, the leader of France’s National Rally (previously National Front), posted the pictures to ridicule a journalist’s comparison of her party to IS.
The pair’s exchange came just weeks after the 2015 Paris attacks, for which IS claimed responsibility, in which 130 people were killed.
One of the images featured the body of James Foley, a US journalist who was beheaded by an IS fighter in 2014. Le Pen claimed she was unaware of Foley’s identity and she later removed the image at the request of his family.
Le Pen’s National Rally colleague, MEP Gilbert Collard, who was on trial for posting an explicit image, was also acquitted.
He had also responded to the French journalist’s comparison, in his case by uploading a picture of a man with a smashed skull to his Facebook and Twitter accounts.
The two politicians were charged in 2018 with distributing “violent messages that incite terrorism or pornography or seriously harm human dignity” and that can be seen by minors. The offense is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of €75,000 ($90,000).
Le Pen previously said the case impinged on free speech, while Collard’s lawyer Jean-Marc Descoubes branded it a “political trial.”
Her acquittal comes as Le Pen campaigns for next year’s presidential election, in which she will likely face-off against the incumbent, Emmanuel Macron.
Recent polling shows Le Pen and Macron, to whom she lost in the 2017 election, are both projected to take 26% of the first-round vote.
Kamala Harris stirs critics by declaring ‘lack of climate adaptation and climate resilience’ as ‘root causes’ of migrant surge
4 May, 2021 17:55
© REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Vice President Kamala Harris again addressed the migrant surge at the US’ southern border, this time citing a ‘lack of climate adaptation’ and ‘resilience’ as some root causes of the problem. Her critics weren’t convinced.
Speaking at the Washington Conference on the Americas on Tuesday, Harris acknowledged the recent surge at the US-Mexico border, saying people are leaving their homes at “an alarming rate.”
“We want to help people find hope at home. And so we are focused on addressing both the acute factors and the root causes of migration. And I believe this is an important distinction. We must focus on both,” she said.
She added that “catastrophes” like “hurricanes, the drought, and the extreme food insecurity” are driving people to illegally cross the border. Then she turned to the “root causes” which she named as “corruption, violence, and poverty” as well as “the lack of economic opportunity, the lack of climate adaptation and climate resilience, the lack of good governance.”
Since being charged with heading the handling of the crisis at the border, Harris has faced criticism for her lack of physical trips and direct addresses on the matter. Conservatives were instantly skeptical of her effort to connect the current border crisis with climate change.
Is she aware that climate change affects the USA as well as Central America? And that, according to Democrats, Trump did nothing to change that.
While climate change continues to be a partisan debate, experts have pointed to events such as recent hurricanes like Eta and Iota in Mexico as pushing people to make the trip north, though it’s far from the only reason. Many critics have pointed to the current administration’s more relaxed rhetoric and policies on immigration as also driving the surge.
“It couldn't possibly be caused by the Biden admin stopping construction of the border wall or offering asylum to millions of illegal immigrants,” Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Alabama) tweeted in response to a video highlighting Harris’ climate comments.
This is exactly what happened when Trudeau became Prime Minister of Canada in 2015. He opened the borders and migrants flooded in.
US Customs and Border Patrol reported encountering more than 170,000 migrants in March, an increase of 71% from the previous month. There has also been a record surge in unaccompanied minors being caught crossing the border in recent months.
Biden officials have continually blasted Trump-era policies at the border, and some have said the restrictive administration even created a “pent up demand” for migrants.
Biden administration adviser Roberta Jacobson admitted last month that the president’s “more humane policy” on illegal immigration may be driving more migrants to make the journey to the US.
“There was a hope for a more humane policy after four years of pent-up demand, so I don't know if I would call that a coincidence,” she said at a White House briefing. “But the idea that a more humane policy would be in place may have driven people to make that decision.”
It probably would never have happened if America had a more humane policy toward Latin America in the previous century instead of raping them of their natural resources, leaving them in abject poverty, and teaching them that corruption means control.
World sees US as significantly greater threat to democracy
than Russia & China – survey
5 May, 2021 17:01
© Reuters / Hannah McKay
A poll taken in 53 countries has found that 44% of people around the world consider the United States to be a threat to their democracy – significantly less more than those who believe the same about China and Russia.
Out of the 53,000 people polled across 53 countries, more respondents (44%) considered US influence on their country to be a “threat to democracy” than those who didn’t (26%). Meanwhile, only 38% considered Chinese influence a threat to democracy.
Fear of Russian influence was the lowest of the three, with only 28% considering Russia to be a threat to their democracy.
Asian countries were high among those that feared US influence, with Pakistan fearing Washington the most. Japanese respondents also consider the US to be a greater concern than China – while Mexico, Canada, Colombia, Greece, Israel, Australia, Ukraine, and Switzerland were also among the top half.
The survey was conducted by Latana in partnership with the Alliance of Democracies, which was founded in Denmark by former NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen – a detail some on social media found interesting, given that the results inconveniently showed higher levels of fear regarding the US than Russia and China.
While people in European countries expressed lower levels of fear when it comes to US influence, they still expressed more fear about it than they did about influence from Moscow or Beijing.
Meanwhile, 64% of the world also considered economic inequality to be a threat to democracy, along with “limits on free speech” at 53%, “unfair or fraudulent elections” at 49%, and the power of Big Tech companies – most of which are based in the United States – at 48%.
Regarding the US’ “role in world affairs,” people in Russia, China, and Europe were most critical, while Latin America and Asia were more positive.
That's hard to fathom when you know what the USA did to Latin America in the last century.
The report also showed that concerns over US influence on other democracies has increased since last year – up 20% in Germany alone and 16% in China.
The Alliance of Democracies boasts that it is funded by “several democratic governments,” including Canada. It has also received money from Google, Facebook, Microsoft, the George W. Bush Institute, the Atlantic Council and the George Soros-funded National Democratic Institute.
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It's funny, not funny, that Trudeau was the first world leader to drop the term 'global reset' in the media! Now, the UN is talking about a global reset in the area of fighting pandemics. Canada had such a center from very early in this century until Trudeau defunded it in his first term as Prime Minister.
'Global reset' needed to fight future pandemics, as creation of WHO research hub announced
5 May, 2021 14:26
German Health Minister Jens Spahn in Berlin, Germany, April 29, 2021 © Reuters / John Macdougall
A "global reset" is needed to fight future pandemics, Germany’s Health Minister Jens Spahn told a World Health Organization (WHO) briefing on Wednesday as the UN agency announced the creation of a new research hub in Berlin.
Spahn highlighted the findings of a review into the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which will be officially announced at the WHO's World Health Assembly later this month.
The authors of the report will call for "nothing less than a global reset in pandemic preparedness" and say that the world needs to focus on the "next crisis," Spahn said.
Spahn said that the world is "insufficiently prepared" for potential pandemic risks, including the extension of diseases to previously unaffected populations and the transmission of diseases from animals to people.
Not to mention the creation of diseases in virology labs, and the likelihood of hybrid warfare using viruses.
The minister appeared alongside WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who announced the creation of a new pandemic and health research hub in Berlin.
Set to open this year, the WHO hub for pandemic and epidemic intelligence will produce information to inform the policies of governments and other health authorities, Merkel said.
Ghebreyesus told the briefing that the pandemic has "exposed gaps" in global intelligence systems and said there will be "more viruses that will emerge with the potential of sparking epidemics or pandemics."
He said the potential risks will be addressed by the global center in Berlin, which aims to collect, analyze and disseminate health data around the world in real-time.
Which is exactly what the Canadian centre did until it was dissolved in time for the 2019 pandemic.
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