Thousands Packed into North Korea Stadium Call for Bloody Revenge on US on Korean War Anniversary

THE TELEGRAPH: Pyongyang holds 'Mass Rally on the Day of the Struggle Against the US' and issues an English-language statement condemning the 'fatty monster US imperialists'

North Korea marked the 65th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War on Thursday with a 100,000-strong rally in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Stadium, and a statement condemning the "fatty monster US imperialists".

The "Pyongyang Mass Rally on the Day of the Struggle Against the US," was a carefully orchestrated display of angry speeches, fist-pumping and calls for blood revenge.

The rally was just one event in what it officially known as "Struggle Against US Imperialism Month", during which North Koreans visit war museums and attend gatherings denouncing the evils of the United States.

North Korea also issued a statement on Thursday urging the world to join its struggle to "dismember the gangster US imperialists".

"We appeal to the world to turn out in the worldwide anti-US struggle to dismember the gangster US imperialists", said the statement carried by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). » | Andrew Marszal, and agencies | Thursday, June 25, 2015

Shock Poll: 51% of U.S. Muslims Want Sharia; 25% Okay with Violence against Americans

BREITBART.COM: The Center for Security Policy released a poll Tuesday that should give all Americans pause. The results show that a startling number of American Muslims, our fellow citizens, agree that violence is a legitimate response to those who insult Islam. A full majority of 51% “agreed that “Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to shariah.” » | John Nolte | Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Queen and Philip Lunch with German Branch of Family Once Tainted by Nazi Past

DAILY EXPRESS: THE Queen and Prince Philip had a family reunion in Germany today with the descendants of relatives once banned from their wedding because of Nazi connections.

They met different branches of Philip’s side of the family at a lunch in Frankfurt and again at a reception at the British Embassy in Berlin tonight.

There was a time when such a meeting would have had to be far more discreet – all but one of Philip’s German relatives, his mother Princess Alice, were excluded from the couple’s 1947 wedding because of sensitivities over his sister’s Nazi connections.

Three of his four sisters joined Hitler’s party and married princes who were prominent Nazis, although other relatives were persecuted after being accused of opposing the party.

But there was no sense of any awkwardness today, as the 89-year-old monarch and her husband, 94, chatted to guests in Frankfurt’s city hall, Philip using his fluent German.

There were three groups of Philip’s relatives seated at tables: the Battenbergs, the von Badens and the Hesses. » | Richard Palmer, Royal Correspondent | Thursday, June 25, 2015

Isis Targets Vulnerable Bosnia for Recruitment and Attack

A still from a new Isis recruitment video aimed at Bosnian youth.

THE GUARDIAN: High youth unemployment, ethnic tensions and political paralysis help jihadis lure young people to Syria and open up new terror front in heart of Europe

Islamic State has expanded its efforts to recruit fighters in Bosnia and incite terrorist attacks there, taking advantage of the world’s highest youth unemployment rate and chronic political paralysis.

The initiative, though small in scale, is causing alarm in western capitals, where diplomats fear that the mix of economic malaise and ethnic tensions represents fertile terrain for extremism, and that Europe could come to regret the failure to confront Bosnia’s profound structural problems in the two decades since the war.

Isis produced a new recruitment video this month, targeting the Balkans region and Bosnia and Herzegovina in particular. The 20-minute film, entitled Honour is in Jihad, features several Bosnian Isis fighters exhorting their fellow countrymen to join the battle in Syria or carry out opportunistic attacks on perceived enemies of Islam at home.

“If you can, put explosives under the cars, in their houses, all over them. If you can, take poison and put it in their drink or food. Make them die, make them die of poisoning, kill them wherever you are. In Bosnia, in Serbia, in Sandzak [a region in south-west Serbia]. You can do it,” one of the Bosnians, identified by a pseudonym, Salahuddin al-Bosni, implores the audience in Bosnian. » | Julian Borger in Sarajevo | Thursday, June 25, 2015

Obamacare Subsidies Upheld in US Supreme Court Ruling

BBC AMERICA: The US Supreme Court has upheld a key portion of President Barack Obama's healthcare law in a 6-3 decision.

The court ruled the law as a whole made subsidies available for people in all 50 states, not just those who bought insurance through a state exchange.

The high court case was the second major challenge to the healthcare law- often known as Obamacare - since its passage.

The decision is major victory for the Obama administration.

"Congress passed the Affordable Care act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the opinion.

If the law was overturned, 6.4 million Americans would have been at risk of losing aid.

The 2010 law, often known as Obamacare, set up a federally run insurance exchange where Americans who were not covered by employers or other governmental could buy health insurance. » | Thursday, June 25, 2015

Bobby Jindal Becomes 13th Republican to Run for US Presidency

The governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, has become the 13th Republican to throw his hat into the ring and join the presidential race. Jindal criticised the establishment in Washington, saying, 'It's time for the folks in Washington to admit the truth. You can't grow the economy and the government at the same time.' He pitched himself as a Republican candidate with a difference, saying 'the Republican party in Washington DC has been beaten into submission. It is increasingly afraid to speak the truth. It is time to say what everybody is already thinking. The emperors in Washington, they are not wearing any clothes.' Jindal is the first person of Indian-American heritage ever to run for the presidency

Obama: "Shame on You" to White House Heckler

President Obama is heckled at a White House event honoring the LGBT community with Obama saying, "Shame on you," as he called for heckler to be removed. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

Read the Telegraph article here | David Millward, US Correspondent | Thursday, June 15, 2015

St. Petersburg Lawmaker Wants Romanov Family to Return to Russia

Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna

THE MOSCOW TIMES: A lawmaker in the Leningrad region outside the city of St. Petersburg has appealed to the descendants of the Romanov royal family to return to Russia, saying their presence would help unify the country and restore its might, media reports said.

In letters to Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna Romanova in Spain and Prince Dmitry Romanovich Romanov in Denmark, both of whom claim to be the head of the house of Romanov, regional lawmaker Vladimir Petrov argued that the “return of the descendants of the last Russian autocrat to their historical homeland would help smooth out the political contradictions inside the country, which have been left over from the moment of the [Bolshevik] October revolution, and would become a symbol of restoring the spiritual might of Russia's people,” Izvestia reported Tuesday.

“At the present time, a difficult process is under way in restoring Russia's might and of returning its international influence,” Petrov said in the letter, Izvestia reported. “I am certain that during such an important historical moment, members of the Romanov imperial house cannot remain aside from the processes that are going on in Russia.” » | Anna Dolgov | Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Related »

Peter Hitchens – WWI & Christianity

Saudi Arabien: Eine der grausamsten Diktaturen der Welt

Staatsbankett: Beethoven zur Forelle

FRANKFURTER RUNDSCHAU: Mit einem Staatsbankett endete der zweite Tag des Besuchs der britischen Königin in Berlin. 136 Gäste hatte der Bundespräsident dazu ins Schloss Bellevue eingeladen. Vor dem festlichen Abendessen gab es ein Defilee bei den Staatsoberhäuptern.

Das Menü wurde auf Staatsgeschirr von KPMG mit goldenem Adler serviert. Als Vorspeise gab es Bachforelle, Meerrettich und geröstetes Salatherz, gefolgt von einer „Wildkraftbrühe mit gefülltem Teigblatt“. Als Hauptgericht wurde Müritzlamm-Rücken, Beelitzer Spargel und Kartoffeltörtchen aufgetischt – und als Dessert eine Variation von Erdbeeren, Holunderblüte und Buttermilch. » | Von Susanne Rost | Mittwoch, 24. Juni 2015

Peter Hitchens - Monarchy & Christianity

Islamic State Spreads Tentacles to Russia as Chechnya Militants Pledge Allegiance to Leader Baghdadi

THE TELEGRAPH: New alliance marks first time the terror group has made a territorial claim in Russia and becomes the latest addition to its rapidly expanding portfolio of terror franchises

Islamic State has claimed a swathe of southern Russia as a “province” of its emirate after fighters there pledged allegiance to the group, opening a new front on Europe’s doorstep.

Thousands of Islamist fighters from the region this week pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isil, in a video filmed in the Muslim republic of Chechnya.

Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, Isil’s spokesman, appointed a new "governor" of the Caucasus, calling on all “mujahideen” to recognise his authority “and obey him in everything except sin.”

The move appears to sideline the current leadership of the Caucasus Emirate, an umbrella group of smaller extremist groups in Chechnya, Daghestan and Ingushetia, who have fought to break away from Russian rule for decades.

Mr Adnani declared that the Caucasus would form a new province of the self-proclaimed Caliphate, marking the first time the terror group has made a territorial claim in Russia and becomes the latest addition to its rapidly expanding portfolio of terror franchises. » | Roland Oliphant, Moscow | Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Die Queen in Deutschland: Elisabeth II warnt vor Spaltung Europas

Königin Elisabeth II. und Bundespräsident Gauck
am Mittwoch in Berlin.

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Die britische Königin sieht Europa vor einer Bewährungsprobe. In einer Rede auf einem von Bundespräsident Gauck ausgerichteten Abendessen sprach sie von Gefahren für den Osten wie den Westen des Kontinents.

Die britische Königin Elisabeth II. hat vor einer Spaltung Europas gewarnt. In einer Rede am Mittwochabend in Berlin sagte die Queen: „Wir wissen, dass Spaltung in Europa gefährlich ist und dass wir uns davor in Acht nehmen müssen, im Westen wie auch im Osten unseres Kontinents.“ Dieses bleibe „unser gemeinsames Bestreben“, äußerte Elisabeth II. bei einem von Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck ausgerichteten Abendessen im Schloss Bellevue in Berlin. Die Queen und ihr Mann Prinz Philip sind für vier Tage zu Besuch in Deutschland. » | Von Eckart Lohse, Berlin | Mittwoch, 24. Juni 2015

Queen Wades into Europe Debate as She Says Division Is 'Dangerous'

The Queen in Berlin on Wednesday

THE TELEGRAPH: Her Majesty emphasises Britain’s 'key part' in shaping of continent in Berlin speech that left little doubt of which way she would vote in referendum

The Queen has said that division in Europe is "dangerous" in what will be seen as a plea to the British people to vote yes to staying in Europe.

In a speech in front of David Cameron and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday night, Her Majesty emphasised Britain’s “key part” in the shaping of the continent.

She also lauded Britain’s “irreversible” friendship with Germany, the EU’s most powerful member state, as she spoke at a State banquet in Berlin.

Her comments were all the more powerful as they were made ahead of a speech by the German President, Joachim Gauck, who urged Mr Cameron to do everything he can to secure a “yes” vote in the in-out EU referendum, saying that “the European Union needs Britain”. » | Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter, in Berlin and Steven Swinford | Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Dutch Government Ordered to Cut Carbon Emissions in Landmark Ruling

THE GUARDIAN: Dutch court orders state to reduce emissions by 25% within five years to protect its citizens from climate change in world’s first climate liability suit

A court in The Hague has ordered the Dutch government to cut its emissions by at least 25% within five years, in a landmark ruling expected to cause ripples around the world.

To cheers and hoots from climate campaigners in court, three judges ruled that government plans to cut emissions by just 14-17% compared to 1990 levels by 2020 were unlawful, given the scale of the threat posed by climate change.

Jubilant campaigners said that governments preparing for the Paris climate summit later this year would now need to look over their shoulders for civil rights era-style legal challenges where emissions-cutting pledges are inadequate. » | Arthur Neslen | The Hague | Wednesday, June 24, 2015

US Ransom Policy Shift Undermines UK's Hardline Stance

THE GUARDIAN: Barack Obama’s decision may put Americans at greater risk, fuel hostage price inflation and raise pressure on UK to save its citizens in the same way

Barack Obama’s decision to relax Washington’s blanket ban on paying ransoms to free hostages will be seen as belated American acceptance of an unpleasant but unavoidable necessity by west European countries criticised in the past for buying off terrorist kidnappers with cash.

But if David Cohen, deputy director of the CIA, and other counter-terrorism experts are to be believed, Wednesday’s announcement may increase the risk of American citizens being taken hostage abroad, because the payment of large amounts of money for their release now appears more likely.

Obama’s policy shift does not in any way overcome the basic ransoms-for-hostages dilemma, which is the fear that handing over money is, in effect, “giving in” to the bad guys and will encourage and finance more terrorism. Linked to this is the belief, common among American and British politicians, that European governments that pay ransoms (while officially denying it) – notably France, Germany, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and Italy – are letting the side down. » | Simon Tisdall | Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Vladimir Putin 'Wants' to Reinstate Russia's Royal Family and Bring Back the Tsars

THE DAILY EXPRESS: VLADIMIR PUTIN 'wants' to reinstate the Russian royal family and move them into an ancient palace once occupied by the last Tsar Nicholas II.

The Romanov family's extraordinary return would not threaten the rule of the Kremlin strongman but would aim to give them a role in unifying Russia.

The move proposed by Vladimir Petrov, a law maker from Putin's party, has prompted speculation that it has the Russian leader's direct approval.

Petrov also plans to introduce a law, which would be implemented by the centenary of the end of Imperial rule, which would "give the Royal family members a special status" and "stimulate their return to Russia". The legislator has written letters to the heirs of the Romanov dynasty, which ruled the country for two centuries before the abdication of last Tsar Nicholas II ahead of two revolutions in 1917.

The following year the Romanov family - Nicholas and his wife Tsarina Alexandra and their five children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei - were executed by Bolsheviks led by Yakov Yurovsky under the orders of the Ural Soviet.

Petrov has written to Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna and Prince Dimitri Romanovich urging them to return to Russia to become symbols of national culture in order to "revive the spiritual power of Russian people". » | Rebecca Perring | Tuesday, June 13, 2015

Heute Nacht schläft die Queen im Kingsize-Bett

BILD: Sie bleibt drei Tage, absolviert 14 Termine

Hoher Besuch in der Hauptstadt: Königin Elizabeth II. (89) ist am Dienstag mit einer Entourage von 40 Bediensteten in Berlin gelandet. Am Abend checkte sie mit ihrem Ehemann Prinz Philip (94) im „Adlon“ ein.

Die Queen residiert in der Präsidentensuite 312 in der dritten Etage des Nobel-Hotels: 180 Quadratmeter, fünf Zimmer (u. a. Wohnbereich mit Flügel und Kamin, Schlafzimmer mit Garderobe, Badezimmer mit Sauna sowie eine Mini-Küche). Und im Schlafzimmer ein kuscheliges Kingsize-Bett – mit Blick aufs Brandenburger Tor. Kosten: 15 000 Euro pro Nacht. » | Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Hillary Clinton denounces Charleston shooting as act of 'racist terrorism'

While campaigning near Ferguson, Clinton definitively labelled the killing of nine black churchgoers, as politicians and pundits remain divided on semantics

Read the Guardian article here | Paul Lewis in Washington | Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Iran's Supreme Leader Says Western Sanctions Must Go When Nuclear Deal Is Signed

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivering
 speech to a packed crowd earlier this month

THE TELEGRAPH: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declares that inspection of military sites is "out of the question" and appears to renege on commitments that Iran has already made

Iran's Supreme Leader drew his "red lines" for a final nuclear agreement on Tuesday night, demanding the "immediate" lifting of sanctions as soon as a deal is signed.

Diplomats from Iran and six world powers are racing to negotiate an accord that would settle the confrontation over Tehran's nuclear ambitions by a deadline of next Tuesday.

But Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's sudden intervention may complicate their efforts. In a televised speech, the Supreme Leader appeared to renege on commitments that Iran has already made.

"Sanctions should be lifted immediately when the deal is signed and it should not be linked to verification by the UN watchdog body," said Ayatollah Khamenei, who has the final say over all policy questions. » | David Blair | Tuesday, June 23, 2015

At Last, Some Common Sense! Lord Richards: 'We Need to Approach Muslim Extremism as We Might Approach World War Two'

Lord Richards of Herstmonceux is a former chief
of the Defence Staff

THE TELEGRAPH: Lord Richards said extremism is a "real threat" to the world, as he condemned dithering politicians too reluctant to lead the way

Britain must stop "sleepwalking" and prepare to tackle Muslim extremism as seriously as it planned for the Second World War, Lord Richards has warned.

Lord Richards of Herstmonceux, the former Chief of the Defence Staff, said extremism is a "real threat" to the world, as he condemned dithering politicians too reluctant to lead the way.

Warning a "hell of a lot of damage" is going to be wreaked by ISIS in the coming years, he argued the armed forces risk being left "on the back foot" by leaders who fail to plan properly.

"I think the problem is that we have not seen that we need to approach this issue of Muslim extremism as we might approach World War Two back in the 30s," he said.

"This is a real threat to us and we're sleepwalking in the way we're approaching it." » | Hannah Furness | Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Deutschland-Besuch: Königin Elizabeth II. in Berlin eingetroffen

Gut gelaunt und händeschüttelnd: Die Queen nach ihrer
Ankunft am Dienstagabend am Flughafen Tegel

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Mit 21 Salutschüssen ist die britische Königin am Berliner Flughafen Tegel begrüßt worden. Der fünfte Staatsbesuch von Elisabeth II. in Deutschland erfolgt 50 Jahre nach dem ersten. Die 89 Jahre alte Monarchin erwartet ein umfangreiches Programm.

Königin Elizabeth II. ist am Dienstag zu ihrem fünften Staatsbesuch in Deutschland eingetroffen. Gemeinsam mit ihrem Ehemann Prinz Philip (94) landete die britische Königin (89) mit einer Sondermaschine am Abend im militärischen Teil des Berliner Flughafens Tegel. Um 19.05 Uhr stieg sie aus dem Flugzeug. » | Quelle: dpa | Dienstag, 23. Juni 2015

The President Hosts an Iftar Dinner

President Obama hosts an Iftar dinner at the White House in recognition of Ramadan. June 22, 2015.

Top Security Chief Warns against Portraying Muslims as 'Intrinsically Extremist'

THE TELEGRAPH: Charles Farr, director general of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism, warns of oversimplifying numbers heading to join Isil in contrast to David Cameron's toughening rhetoric

Theresa May’s most senior counter terrorism adviser has warned against portraying Muslim communities as “intrinsically extremist” just days after David Cameron said some were “quietly condoning” radicalisation.

Charles Farr, director general of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism, said there was a “risk” of oversimplification given around 2.7 million Muslims live in Britain but just a few hundred had joined Isil in the Middle East.

Mr Farr knocked back suggestions the country was losing the online war against jihadists and suggested the government was keeping step with the waves of propaganda being uploaded by Islamist radicals.

The comments contrast with Mr Cameron’s keynote speech on radicalisation last week, when he toughened his rhetoric on the responsibilities Muslim leaders had to stamp out extremism.

Speaking at a Jewish News conference on Israel, Mr Farr warned of the dangers of playing up the numbers of Britons who have headed to the Middle East to join Isil. » | Ben Riley-Smith, Political Correspondent | Monday, June 22, 2015

Barack Obama Uses N-word during Discussion on Racism – Audio

THE GUARDIAN: Obama says the United States has not overcome its history of racism – and uses the N-word to make his point. In an interview with comedian Marc Maron, Obama adds to the debate over race and guns following the racially motivated murder of nine black churchgoers in South Carolina last week. He says: 'Racism, we are not cured of it. And it's not just a matter of it not being polite to say nigger in public. That's not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It's not just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don't, overnight, completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior.'

Ex-Muslim: Leaving Islam

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the UK, with the number of Muslims almost doubling in the last few years from 1.5 million in 2001 to 2.71 million in the latest census, 2011. A small but increasing number of people are also choosing to leave the religion and many say doing so has led them to be rejected by their family and friends and - in some cases - threatened with violence. Benjamin Zand spoke to ex-Muslims.

Fury over Gender Ban in Bordeaux Muslim Grocery Store

Veiled women in Bordeaux

THE TELEGRAPH: Muslim grocery store in Bordeaux withdraws sign announcing gender-specific days for customers following local and national outcry

The south-eastern French wine capital of Bordeaux is up in arms over a Muslim-owned grocer’s decision to impose male and female-only days for customers.

A small sign outside the De L'Orient à L'Occidental (From East to West) store stipulated that women were only welcome on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesday and Fridays. Men, on the other hand, were kindly asked to take their custom elsewhere on weekends.

The gender split was put in place by the store's owners, recent converts to Islam, to make sure women and men do not meet.

Jean-Baptiste Michelon, the store's co-owner, said: “It’s really for practising Muslims. A man doesn’t want to find himself alone with a woman. A woman who comes to buy books here doesn’t want to find herself alone with a man, especially out of respect if she is married."

“I don’t think her husband would accept such things,” he told BFM TV, adding that the rule did not apply to non-Muslims. Read on and comment » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Monday, June 22, 2015

Susan Pollack: I Can’t Forgive

British Holocaust survivor Susan Pollack lost 50 members of her family, including her parents, in Nazi concentration camps during WWII. She recently gave evidence at the trial in Germany of a former SS guard Oskar Groning, who is charged with complicity in the murder of 300,000 Jews at Auschwitz.

He has admitted moral guilt but denies the criminal charges against him.

HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi spoke to Susan Pollack about her experiences in Auschwitz and Belsen before her liberation by British troops. She says she cannot forgive those who contributed to the Holocaust and believes we must continue to ask how and why such a crime could be committed.

Release date: 19 Jun 2015

2067: The End of British Christianity

THE SPECTATOR: Projections aren't predictions. But there's no denying that churches are in deep trouble

It’s often said that Britain’s church congregations are shrinking, but that doesn’t come close to expressing the scale of the disaster now facing Christianity in this country. Every ten years the census spells out the situation in detail: between 2001 and 2011 the number of Christians born in Britain fell by 5.3 million — about 10,000 a week. If that rate of decline continues, the mission of St Augustine to the English, together with that of the Irish saints to the Scots, will come to an end in 2067.

That is the year in which the Christians who have inherited the faith of their British ancestors will become statistically invisible. Parish churches everywhere will have been adapted for secular use, demolished or abandoned.

Our cathedral buildings will survive, but they won’t be true cathedrals because they will have no bishops. The Church of England is declining faster than other denominations; if it carries on shrinking at the rate suggested by the latest British Social Attitudes survey, Anglicanism will disappear from Britain in 2033. One day the last native-born Christian will die and that will be that. » | Damian Thompson | Saturday, June 13, 2015

Austere Brand of Islam On Rise in Europe, Stirring Concerns

YAHOO! NEWS: PARIS (AP) — Its imams preach austere piety, its tenets demand strict separation of sexes — and some of its most radical adherents are heeding the call of jihad. Salafism, an Islamic movement based on a literal reading of the Quran, is on the rise in France, Germany and Britain, security officials say, with Salafis sharply increasing their influence in mosques and on the streets.

The trend worries European authorities, who see Salafism as one of the inspirational forces for young Europeans heading to Syria or Iraq to do battle for the Islamic State group. Experts, however, point out that the vast majority of Salafis are peace-loving.

In Germany, there are currently about 7,000 Salafis in the country — nearly double the 3,800 estimated four years ago, the Interior Ministry said last month. About 100 French mosques are now controlled by Salafis, a small number compared to the more than 2,000 Muslim houses of worship, but more than double the number four years ago, a senior security official told The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. France does not do head-counts by religious practices or origins.

In Britain the numbers are on the rise, too. Seven percent of Britain's 1,740 mosques are run by Salafis, according to Mehmood Naqshbandi, an expert on Britain's Muslims and counter-extremism adviser to the British government who keeps a database of the various currents of Islam in Britain. He says those numbers are steadily growing, especially among young people — and that a quarter to half of British Muslims under 30 "accept some parts or all of the Salafi theology." » | Elaine Ganley | AP | Sunday, June 21, 2015

Met Police Officer Removes His Help for Heroes Charity Wristband after Being Harangued by Hate Preacher Anjem Choudary in the Street

MAIL ON SUNDAY: Metropolitan police officer confronted by hate preacher in East London / Constable is asked: 'Are you a member of the EDL or BNP or something?' / Video claims to show 'subsequent' footage of policeman without the band / Metropolitan Police allows its staff to wear such pin badges and wristbands

A Metropolitan Police officer appears to have taken his Help for Heroes wristband off after being grilled by a hate preacher in East London who said he should not be displaying a 'political agenda'.

The constable is filmed on Green Street, Forest Gate, being taunted for wearing the band which supports British soldiers and is asked: 'Are you a member of the EDL or BNP or something?'

Constable Allerston is later seen standing on the same street without the band on after a caption flashes on screen reading: 'As you will see from the next clip, the officer subsequently removed the wristband.'

The timeline of events in the video cannot be confirmed as correct and the Met do not have enough information to comment on the incident. » | Jay Akbar for MailOnline | Sunday, June 21, 2015

Brigitte Gabriel Speaks at 2015 ‘Watchment on the Wall’ Conference

ACT for America's president and founder, Brigitte Gabriel tells her story about how radical Islam changed her life as a child in Lebanon forever. May her story serve as a warning to the rest of the world.

”We’re All In This Together”: Queen's Finances Are Safe from Cuts for Two Years

Queen Elizabeth II

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Campaigners demand an immediate review into the Royal family's contribution to Government's austerity measures

The Queen will not face any cuts to royal finances for at least another two years despite an 11 per cent increase in her income, The Telegraph has learnt.

In the two years since the Civil List was replaced by the Sovereign Grant, the Queen’s taxpayer-funded income has shot up from £36.1 million to more than £40 million.

Campaigners have demanded that David Cameron and George Osborne, who set up the current funding formula, should carry out an immediate review so that the Royal family can make their own contribution to the Government’s austerity measures.

But royal sources have insisted the money is needed to continue with a backlog of repairs to the royal palaces, and gave a strong indication that any proposed cuts would be resisted. » | Gordon Raynor, Chief Reporter | Sunday, June 21, 2015

Dutch Politician Says TV ‘Sabotaged’ His Muhammad Cartoons

THE TIMES OF ISRAEL: Geert Wilders had intended to air images of Muslim prophet as part of political ad, but broadcaster nixed the video

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders claimed Saturday that the state broadcaster “sabotaged” his planned airing of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad on television.

“Sabotage by the NOS (broadcaster) everything was confirmed but not broadcast,” Wilders tweeted after a previous party political broadcast about immigration was aired instead of the cartoons.

“I will put the images on YouTube and next time on television even if I have to go to (the studios in) Hilversum,” Wilders said.

Wilders had said Friday that he would show the cartoons in the name of his Freedom Party (PVV) on Saturday morning and again on Wednesday and July 3.

Wilders said he was making the broadcasts to defend freedom of speech after two gunmen were shot dead while attacking a Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas last month.

NOS editor in chief Marcel Gelauff tweeted to Wilders that the broadcaster “has nothing to do with party political broadcasts. We do news, sports and current affairs.” » | AFP | Saturday, June 20, 2015

Doku: Queen 2015 - Der Jahrhundertbesuch: Die Königin in Deutschland

Es ist der längste, teuerste und prächtigste Staatsbesuch in der Bundesrepublik: Elf Tage reist die erst 39-jährige Queen 1965 quer durch Deutschland. Viele Tage verbringt sie in Nordrhein-Westfalen, denn die Briten waren an der Gründung des Bundeslandes maßgeblich beteiligt.

Doku – Elizabeth II. - Die Queen und die Deutschen [HD]

Dutch Anti-Islam MP to Air Mohammed Cartoons on Saturday

YAHOO! NEWS: The Hague (AFP) - Publicity-seeking Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders is to broadcast cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed on television during time reserved for political parties on Saturday, his party said.

The cartoons will be shown on Dutch public television at 1049 GMT, Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV) said in a statement on Friday, adding that they would be repeated on June 24 and July 3.

Wilders said he was making the broadcasts to defend freedom of speech after two militants were shot dead while attacking a Mohammed cartoon contest in Texas last month. » | AFP | Friday, June 19, 2015

Obama on Gun Violence: Six Years of Statements But Change Remains Elusive

Barack Obama teared up when he spoke of the 2012 shooting
at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

THE GUARDIAN: The mass shootings in South Carolina are the latest in a long line national tragedies as legislative efforts toward gun law reform continue to fail

More than a dozen times in his presidency, Barack Obama has appeared before television cameras and issued statements to express sorrow at a mass shooting event in America.

After Arizona, where congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in the head, he spoke of hope. After Newtown, where 20 children and six teachers were shot dead in their classrooms, he spoke of a nation’s broken heart. On Thursday, after nine people were shot dead in a church in Charleston, he spoke of despair.

There are other shootings where Obama has remained silent, or not engaged with issue of guns or the cause of an event. But when he has, the president’s responses have varied from anger to exasperation to sadness, nearly every time vowing that such events must not happen again.

During his presidency, most legislative efforts to reform America’s gun laws through universal background checks or restrictions on sales and magazines have failed. » | Erin McCann in New York | Thursday,, June 18, 2015

Five Centuries after Expulsion at Pain of Death, Spain Grants Citizenship to Sephardic Jews

Expulsion of Jews from Spain, 1492. Ferdinand and Isabella
being petitioned for mercy by some of those who are to be expelled

THE TELEGRAPH: Descendants of Jews expelled from Spain in the Inquisition of 1492 celebrate right to citizenship but Muslims whose ancestors were later kicked out complain of double standards

A century ago, Marcelo Benveniste’s four Jewish grandparents emigrated from the Greek island of Rhodes to Argentina. Unlike many new arrivals on far-flung shores, they had little difficulty navigating their way through the challenges of a foreign tongue as as they already spoke Ladino, a language also known as Judaeo-Spanish that had been passed down through the generations since their ancestors fled Spain as part of the mass expulsion of Jews in 1492.

Hundreds of thousands of Sephardic Jews left as a result of the Granada Edict - which offered them the choice of either leaving the country, converting to Christianity or being sentenced to death by the Spanish Inquisition - dispersing across the length and breadth of southern Europe and North Africa.

Now Spain's parliament has passed a law aimed at righting this historical wrong, making it possible for the descendants of those Jews to regain Spanish nationality more than 500 years after being expelled from Sefarad, the Hebrew word for the Iberian peninsula.

"The Spanish government’s law helps Sephardic Jews to close a circle, healing a wound that was opened 523 years ago. It helps me feel that my life forms part of history itself," said Mr Benveniste over the telephone from Buenos Aires. Rad on and comment » | James Badcock, Madrid | Saturday, June 20, 2015

Moroccan Men 'Jailed for Four Months for Kissing in Public'

THE TELEGRAPH: Lahcen and Mohsine were also fined £32 after they kissed during a recent topless demonstration by feminist group Femen

Two Moroccan men were jailed for four months on Friday for kissing in public, after a string of recent controversies over homosexuality in the conservative Muslim kingdom, said NGO officials who attended the trial.

The men, Lahcen, 38, and Mohsine, 25, were convicted of an "affront to public decency" and of an "unnatural act with a person of the same sex," and also fined 500 dirhams (£33), the sources said.

Defence lawyer Hassan Ettass told AFP he planned to appeal the sentence.

Homosexual activity is punishable in Morocco by up to three years in jail and the divisive law – known as Article 489 – has been the subject of several protests, including a recent topless demonstration by feminist group Femen in front of Rabat's famous Hassan Tower. » | AFP | Friday, June 19, 2015

After Paris – The Battle for British Islam – BBC Documentary

Assange Refuge: 3 Years in Embassy, Policing Costs about £11,000 a Day

Three years ago today, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walked into Ecuador's embassy in London to seek political asylum. The Australian's been there ever since. If he leaves the building, Assange could be arrested and, he fears, eventually extradited to the US to face charges over the release of military documents which deeply-embarrassed Washington.

'Satanic Islam' Sermon Belfast Pastor James McConnell Says He Faces Six Months in Jail

BELFAST TELEGRAPH: Controversial preacher James McConnell says he faces up to six months in jail for calling Islam satanic.

In an exclusive interview with the Belfast Telegraph, Pastor McConnell last night defiantly said he'd go to prison rather than withdraw the remarks.

"I am 78 years of age and in ill health but jail knows no fear for me," he said.

"They can lock me up with sex offenders, hoodlums and paramilitaries and I will do my time.

"I have no regrets about what I said. I do not hate Muslims but I denounce Islam as a doctrine and I make no apologies for that. I will be pleading 'not guilty' when I stand in the dock in August."

Pastor McConnell's solicitor Joe Rice vowed to fight the case "tooth and nail".

He called for the PPS to withdraw the charges and said pursuing the case was "an absolute waste of scarce public funds". » | Suzanne Breen | Friday, June 19, 2015

Related »

LITTLEJOHN: Did Michelle Obama Not See the Irony in Delivering a Speech on Female Emancipation to a School Full of Girls in Headscarves in the Islamic Republic of Tower Hamlets? (And Is This the Face Britain Wants to Show the World?)

DAILY MAIL: Michelle Obama paid visit to the Mulberry School for Girls, Tower Hamlets / More than 90% of pupils are Muslim from mainly Bangladeshi background / And majority have no option but to wear headscarves and long robes / But still it was chosen as the site for the First Lady's speech on equality

Of all the schools in all the towns in all the world, why did Michelle Obama visit a girls’ school in the Islamic Republic of Tower Hamlets this week?

She says it was her own choice to make a speech on education at the Mulberry School for Girls. But was it?

I doubt the First Lady had ever heard of the school before this trip, and probably couldn’t point to Tower Hamlets on a map. My guess is that the venue was chosen deliberately by the Department for Education to showcase our new, rigorously enforced State religion: ‘Celebrating Diversity’.

Actually, if that was what they intended, they couldn’t have chosen a worse example. The Mulberry School is probably one of the least diverse schools in Britain. And that includes Eton.

More than 90 per cent of the pupils are Muslim, from a predominantly Bangladeshi background. That make-up pretty much reflects the demography of the surrounding area.

Tower Hamlets, in East London, isn’t so much multicultural, it’s virtually a monoculture. The local council, under its recently deposed Muslim mayor, Lutfur Rahman, has been a by-word for Third World-style corruption and vote-rigging.

There are more burkas on the streets of Limehouse than there are in Lahore. So it wasn’t surprising to see the vast majority of the girls photographed with Mrs Obama wearing the now familiar headscarfs and long robes insisted upon by the more devout adherents of Islam.

Did the First Lady not appreciate the contradictions inherent in delivering a speech on female emancipation and education in front of an audience which could have been transported direct from Saudi Arabia? » | Richard Littlejohn for the Daily Mail | Thursday, June 18, 2015

French Warn Britain: Brexit Could Be Your Waterloo

THE GUARDIAN: As French politicians stay away from battle commemorations, le Monde publishes editorial in English telling UK ‘just as in 1815, your future is in Europe’

French politicians were notably absent from the 200-year commemoration of Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, but that did not stop the country’s biggest national newspaper using the symbolism of France’s bloody loss to warn Britain against a carnage of another kind: the Brexit.

Le Monde, France’s paper of record, took the unusual step of publishing its daily editorial in English under the warning: “Britain beware, Brexit could be your Waterloo!”

“The country which cornered Napoleon cannot succumb to Nigel Farage,” the paper pleaded, urging “our British allies” to “resist the familiar temptation of splendid isolation”.

“Today, we solemnly say to our friends across the Channel: beware, Brexit could be your Waterloo! And to make sure the message is really heard, we have gone as far as to convey it in English. Messieurs les Anglais, don’t let the sirens of a fake independence pull you away from the continent. Just as in 1815, your future is in Europe.” » | Angelique Chrisafis in Paris | Thursday, June 18, 2015

LE MONDE: Messieurs les Anglais, le Brexit pourrait être votre Waterloo » | LeMonde | jeudi 18 juin 2015

Charleston: exaspéré, Obama lance un appel à l'Amérique

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le président américain, très ému par la fusillade qui a fait 9 morts à Charleston, a laissé percer son exaspération face à l'absence d'avancées sur le contrôle des armes.

Profondément affecté par la fusillade ayant visé la communauté noire de Charleston, dans laquelle un pasteur qu'il connaissait a perdu la vie, Barack Obama a appelé jeudi 18 juin son pays à faire son introspection sur la question des armes à feu.

Evoquant sa «peine», sa «tristesse» et sa «colère», le président américain a aussi laissé percer son exaspération face à l'absence d'avancées sur le contrôle des armes, un débat sur lequel il a déjà échoué et n'a pratiquement aucune marge de manoeuvre face à un Congrès opposé à toute réforme d'ampleur.

«J'ai dû faire ce genre de déclarations trop souvent», a-t-il lancé, avant de réclamer une véritable réflexion collective sur le rapport aux armes à feu aux Etats-Unis, tout en reconnaissant - sans illusions - qu'une avancée législative sur ce thème était inconcevable à court terme. » | afp/Newsnet | vendredi 19 juin 2015

Wahlen in Dänemark: Rechtspopulisten triumphieren

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Die Parlamentswahl in Dänemark hat einen Machtwechsel gebracht. Das Linksbündnis von Regierungschefin Helle Thorning-Schmidt hat verloren, die Politikerin tritt von ihren Ämtern zurück. Die Rechtspopulisten feiern einen historischen Erfolg.

Die Rechtspopulisten in Dänemark haben ein historischen Wahlergebnis eingefahren. Fast alle Stimmen sind bei den Parlamentswahlen ausgezählt und die rechtspopulistische Dänische Volkspartei DF liegt mit mehr als 21 Prozent der Stimmen völlig überraschend vor der rechtsliberalen Venstre von Lars Løkke Rasmussen, dem Herausforderer von Ministerpräsidentin Helle Thorning-Schmidt. Ihre Sozialdemokraten wurden mit rund 26 Prozent stärkste Kraft. Trotzdem liegt der oppositionelle bürgerliche Block deutlich vorn.

Für Thorning-Schmidt ist die Niederlage bitter: Zum ersten Mal konnte ihre Partei mit ihr als Vorsitzender bei Parlamentswahlen dazu gewinnen und dennoch hat es nicht gereicht. In der Nacht zum Freitag erklärte sie ihren Rücktritt vom Amt der Ministerpräsidentin und der Parteichefin. Die Sozialdemokratin hatte vor vier Jahren als erste Frau den Sprung an die dänische Regierungsspitze geschafft. » | Von Anna Reimann | Donnerstag, 18. Juni 2015

Iran’s Last Shah - The Fifth Estate

In 1975 for one of the first-ever episodes of the fifth estate, Adrienne Clarkson talked to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi -the Shah of Iran- about inflation in the West in the face of rising oil prices. The Shah contends that the West built itself at Iran’s expense and he is now putting things right. Clarkson raises the issues of Iran’s record with political prisoners and torture and his views on torture are unequivocal. The Pahlavi dynasty would end four years later in the wake of the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Pahlavi died of cancer while in exile one year later.

The Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan Begins

China Bans Muslims from Fasting during Ramadan, Say Uighur Community

Shops and restaurants are being ordered to stay open during
daylight hours - or risk being shut down

THE INDEPENDENT: China has, once again, banned Ramadan in parts of the far western Xinjiang district for Muslim party members, civil servants, students and teachers.

Muslims throughout the district – which is known to have a minority population of Uighurs – have been told not to fast during the Holy Month.

The Uighur leader, Dilxat Raxit, sees the move as China’s attempt to control their Islamic faith and warned that the restrictions would force the Uighur people to resist the rule of the Chinese government even more. » | Aftab Ali | Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Anti-Islam, Freedom of Speech Rally Planned for Tucson

A protester at the May 29 "Rally for Freedom of Speech"

PHEONIX NEW TIMES: An anti-Islam, freedom-of-speech rally will take place outside the Tucson Islamic Center on Saturday, July 18.

The event is modeled after a protest at the Phoenix Islamic Cultural Center on May 29, which purportedly was a reaction to the two men who opened fire on a Muhammed cartoon drawing contest in Garland, Texas, earlier this spring.

For the upcoming “Let Freedom Ring Freedom of Speech Rally,” organizer Dean Remington has invited people he calls “true Americans.” He’s calling on “patriots,” “militias,” “motorcycle clubs,” “preppers,” “sovereign citizens,” “and all who would like to voice a concern that Islam is not a religion of peace and the mosques in America are indoctrination centers for Jihad” to protest “activities that threaten America and its citizens our families and economy.” » | Miriam Wasser | Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Belfast Preacher to Face Court over Islam Slurs

THE GUARDIAN: Pastor James McConnell is defiant after being told he will be prosecuted for describing Muslim religion as ‘satanic’ and ‘spawn of the devil’

A born-again Christian preacher in Belfast is to be prosecuted for describing Islam as “satanic” and “the spawn of the devil”.

Pastor James McConnell was accused of Islamophobia after he denounced the Muslim religion as a “heathen” faith in May 2014. He issued a public apology, but not before Northern Ireland’s first minister, Peter Robinson, came under fire for initially defending him.

Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service said on Thursday that McConnell was offered an “informed warning” that would have avoided a prosecution but he declined to accept it. » | Henry McDonald Ireland correspondent | Thursday, June 18, 2015

THE GUARDIAN: Belfast preacher who denounced Islam as evil issues apology: Pastor issues apology just hours before Northern Ireland police question him about allegations he has been inciting hatred » | Henry McDonald, Ireland correspondent | Friday, June 06, 2015

Galilee Church Where Jesus 'Fed the 5000' Hit by Arson Attack

THE TELEGRAPH: Verse from a Hebrew prayer denouncing the worship of 'false gods' spray[-]painted on wall of Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish, suggesting Jewish extremists were responsible

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has enlisted the country's domestic intelligence chief to investigate an arson attack on a revered church in the Galilee, where Christians believe Jesus performed the miracle of feeding 5,000 people with loaves and fish.

The fire, suspected to the the work of Jewish extremists, broke out at the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes at Tabgha, located on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, late on Wednesday night. It caused extensive damage to the exterior and interior of the building, while two people were taken to hospital after suffering from smoke inhalation.

Graffiti in Hebrew declaring that “False idols will be smashed” was found scrawled in red on the walls. (+ video) » | Inna Lazareva in Tel Aviv | Thursday, June 18, 2015

Muslim Gymnast Criticised for 'Revealing' Leotard as She Wins Double-Gold

THE TELEGRAPH: Farah Ann Abdul Hadi, 21, has come under fire for wearing a leotard at the Southeast Asia games, where she won a total of six medals

A Muslim gymnast has been criticised by religious leaders for wearing a ‘revealing’ leotard during a double-gold victory at the Southeast Asia Games.

Farah Ann Abdul Hadi, 21, represented Malaysia at the competition, where she won six medals, including two golds.

But she was rebuked by leaders and social media trolls for showing her “aurat” – an Islamic word referring to the genitalia and thighs.

Cleric Harussani Zakaria told one local paper: “Gymnastics is not for Muslim women. It is clear that exposing one's aurat and the shape of one's body is haram (forbidden in Islam).

“If Muslim women want to participate in gymnastics, they have to find outfits which cover the aurat and this, in turn, might not be suitable for the sport.” » | Radhika Sanghani | Thursday, June 18, 2015

Britain Should Treat Saudi Arabia as a Pariah State

Ensaf Haidar, the wife of jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi,
holds a placard after her speech as a guest at the annual meeting
of the German section of Amnesty International in Dresden, Germany

THE TELEGRAPH: David Cameron must end arms sales to a Saudi state that violates the human rights of its own citizens

It is exactly three years ago today that the pro-democracy blogger Raif Badawi was arrested and imprisoned in Saudi Arabia. Earlier this month, the Saudi Supreme Court upheld the draconian sentence handed down for his 'crime' of setting up a liberal website: ten years jail and 1,000 lashes.

Meanwhile, Badawi’s lawyer and brother-in-law, Waleed Abu Al-Khair - himself a human rights activist and founder of the Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia - had his 15 year jail sentence confirmed in February.

This is happening in a country that successive British governments have allied with, diplomatically and militarily, despite its tyrannical nature and its sharp divergence from our stated democratic, liberal and human rights values. Our foreign policy on Saudi Arabia doesn’t match what we say we stand for.

Indeed, as well as Raif’s and Waleed’s persecution, Amnesty international has documented ten different forms of gross human rights abuse perpetrated by the regime in Riyadh.

Despite UK government silence, human rights campaigners have kept the Badawi case in the public eye. English PEN has been holding weekly vigils outside the Saudi Embassy in London, and the Amnesty International petition calling for his release has over 1 million signatures. People worldwide are sharing the #FreeRaif appeal on social media, calling for his immediate, unconditional release.

Badawi is one of the human rights heroes of our age. He has been awarded several prizes, including PEN Canada’s One Humanity Award, and has been nominated for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize. Numerous Nobel laureates have voiced their support for Raif, as have well-known public figures such as Patti Smith, Jimmy Wales, Salman Rushdie and Noam Chomsky. » | Peter Tatchell | Wednesday, June 17, 2015

ENGLISH PEN: Day of action for Raif Badawi »

Think Muslim, Think Terrorist: Poll Reveals British Attitudes Toward Islam

CHRISTIAN TODAY: More British people associate the word "Muslim" with terror and terrorism than with any other quality, according to a YouGov survey commissioned by the charity Islamic Relief.

The poll was aimed at identifying British views about Muslims and their religion. It revealed attitudes described as "extremely worrying" by Islamic Relief's UK director Jehangir Malik.

The charity asked people to name the three words they associate with the term "Muslim" and found that more think of "terror/terrorism/terrorist" (12 per cent) than "faith" (11 per cent) or "mosque" (nine per cent). Also represented were "anti-women", "extremist", "fanatic" and "intolerant", though all at levels of around four or five per cent. » | Mark Woods | Christian Today Contributing Editor | Monday, June 15, 2015

Margaret Thatcher's Personal Papers Saved for Nation after Family Donate Them to Reduce Inheritance Tax Bill

Exclusive: Baroness Thatcher's handwritten accounts of her time in Number 10 will be published on Thursday


Read The Telegraph article here | Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter | Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Why Iranians Are Lapping Up Shah Memorabilia

The Shah in 1954, a year after the
CIA-MI6 coup.

THE GUARDIAN: In Tehran, memories of the Shah’s brutality are fading and selling imperial wares is becoming less dangerous. But what’s really behind the increasing fondness for the pre-1979 era?

Near the grand bazaar in Tehran, over the entrance to the complex housing the ministries of foreign affairs and information, the national museum and the Islamic era museum, is a colourful mural, dating to the time of Reza Shah, depicting symbols of Iranian nationalism including a dignified soldier, a Maxim machine-gun, and crossed Iranian flags.

The flags, sporting the distinctive horizontal bands of red, white and green, have been more recently altered than the rest. On all the flags, the white band in the centre has been painted over with a fresh coat of eggshell white. On the green band below you can see, cut off at the ankles, the paws of a lion and on the red band above you can see the rays of a rising sun.

These are remnants, spared a literal-white washing, of the Shir o Khorshid, or Lion and Sun, a coat of arms that graced the Iranian flag from the mid 19th century until the 1979 Revolution when it was replaced by a stylized version of the word Allah (“God”) written in Arabic script.

The Shir o Khorshid, a popular Iranian symbol since at least the 12th century, has since the revolution become associated with the deposed monarch Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and his dynasty. After the revolution, the new government of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini systematically eradicated it from public spaces and government buildings, replacing it with Islamic iconography. Today in Iran nostalgia for the Shah and his government, like the paws of the lion, peeks out from under a coat of white paint.

When I visited the Vakil bazaar in Shiraz or the Jomeh bazaar in Tehran, I saw mountains of Shah-related memorabilia at almost every stall. Vintage Iranian rial notes and postage stamps emblazoned with his face, brass busts of him and his infamously fabulous wife Empress Farah, coffee-table books with full-colour photos of the royal family, countless pendants, rings, and wall hangings depicting the Shir o Khorshid, some vintage and some obviously mass-produced more recently. » | Tehran Bureau correspondent | Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Saudi Arabia Executes 100th Person This Year in 'Campaign of Death' - but UK Stays Silent

DAILY EXPRESS: SAUDI Arabia has executed its 100th person already this year amid a deathly silence on its human rights abuses from Britain.

Authorities in the ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom were accused of waging a "campaign of death" as the number killed in the first half of this year surpassed that for the whole of 2014.

Beheading is the most popular form of execution amongst Saudi Arabia's rulers, with many carried out in public.

Just over half of those executed this year have been Saudi citizens, with many of the harshest sentences handed down to drug smugglers.

Yet Britain and America have remained largely silent over human rights abuses in the oil-rich Gulf state, which is an increasingly important political and economic ally in the unstable region. » | Nick Gutteridge | Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Women Working for Qatar Airways 'Forced to Get Consent from Bosses before Getting Married'

DAILY EXPRESS: WOMEN working for Qatar Airways need management's consent to get married – and can be sacked for getting pregnant, the UN has revealed.

Flight attendants for the Middle Eastern airline have allegedly been subjected to the company's strict policies making their life a living hell.

The staff claim they have faced dismissal for infractions and are bound by strict curfews, even while off duty.

The airline is said to have a policy where female cabin crew cannot be dropped off or picked up from work by men other than their brother, father or husband – which Qatar Airways insists is a "cultural norm".

After a year-long investigation, the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO) ruled that Qatar breached discrimination conventions by having rules that allow it to sack pregnant cabin crew. » | Jake Burman | Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Grexit Beckons: Greece On Brink of Euro Exit as It Faces Economic Meltdown

THE TELEGRAPH: Embattled country could be forced out by Germany after politicians warn 'enough is enough' as it lurches towards default on €1.5bn debt

Greece is on the brink of economic meltdown after Germany appeared poised to push the country out of the eurozone.

With the embattled country set to default on a €1.5billion (£1.1billion) debt repayment, senior German politicians warned that “enough is enough”.

London’s FTSE 100 slipped 1.1 per cent to a three-month low on Monday as investors reacted to Greece’s failure to reach a deal with its creditors.

Global oil prices also fell after negotiations collapsed after just 45 minutes on Sunday, amid fears that Greece is now heading towards financial catastrophe.

As the crisis intensified, it emerged that George Osborne, the Chancellor, will later this week chair an emergency meeting as ministers seek to protect Britain’s economy from a potential Greek exit from the single currency - dubbed a Grexit.

Officials want to ensure that the Government has “contingency plans” in place to ensure that UK businesses are not damaged by a Greek withdrawal. » | Peter Dominiczak, Political Editor | Tuesday, June 16, 2015


THE TELEGRAPH: Enough is enough, Greece must leave the euro: The Greek debt crisis is now five years old, and still there is no workable settlement in sight. One apparent denouement follows another, lending Europe a sense of permanent crisis and conflict, not so dissimilar to an outright war, at least in terms of the entrenched positions adopted and the vitriol of the language. » | Telegraph View | Tuesday, June 16, 2015

DIE WELT: Merkel will "alles tun", um Griechenland zu halten » | Mittwoch, 17. Juni 2015

Blogger Pamela Geller On 1010 WINS: I Will Not Let Violent Threats Silence Me

CBS NEW YORK: NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Pamela Geller, the conservative blogger known for provoking Muslims, said she will remain under heightened security for the foreseeable future in lieu of recent threats, but insists she is not in hiding.

Geller upped her security after an ISIS sympathizer tweeted out her Upper East Side address Friday, days after it was revealed that she was the supposed target of a beheading in a foiled terror plot in Boston.

“I’m a free person and I’m fighting for freedom,” Geller told 1010 WINS Tuesday. “The last thing I’m going to do is go into hiding.”

The Twitter account that published her address has been suspended.

Despite the recent threats, Geller said she will not be stopped from speaking out or organizing future events. (+ audio) » | Tuesday, June 16, 2015