Isis Shuts Down Women's Clinics in Raqqa to Prevent Male Gynaecologists Treating Female Patients

THE INDEPENDENT: Activist networks report doctors are being threatened with death, and most have fled

Isis is believed to have ordered the closure of all women’s clinics supervised by male doctors in its Syrian heartlands, in the latest assault on the health and rights of women in the territories controlled by the militant group.

A culture of rape, forced marriages for child brides, the persecution of doctors and the exclusive use of medicines for militants have resulted in a crisis for women’s health under Isis’s brutal regime.

According to activists, Isis has drastically restricted the work of male gynaecologists in accordance with its leaders’ belief that men and women should be kept apart at all costs. Read on and comment » | Adam Withnall | Thursday, October 29, 2015

Wähler laufen Union wegen Flüchtlingskrise in Scharen davon

In Sorge: Kanzlerin Angela Merkel gerät wegen ihrer
Flüchtlingspolitik immer stärker unter Druck. In der
Wählergunst sackt ihre Union rapide ab.

STERN: Angela Merkel sagt zur Bewältigung der Flüchtlingskrise zwar "Wir schaffen das", die Wähler sehen das aber anders. Die Zustimmung zur Union sinkt rapide. Und viele Bundesbürger stimmen inzwischen sogar Pegidas "Lügenpresse"-Vorwurf zu.

Die Beunruhigung angesichts der anhaltenden Flüchtlingskrise lässt die Union im Vergleich zur Vorwoche gleich um zwei Prozentpunkte abrutschen. Im stern-RTL- Wahltrend kommen CDU/CSU jetzt nur noch auf 36 Prozent - 5,5 Prozentpunkte weniger als bei der Bundestagswahl 2013. Das ist ihr schlechtester Wert seit drei Jahren. » | Werner Mathes | Mittwoch, 28. Oktober 2015

AfD mobilisiert: Tausende Asylgegner demonstrieren in Erfurt

FRANKFURT ALLGEMEINE: Wieder gehen in Erfurt über 4.000 Asylkritiker auf die Straße. Und abermals wirft AfD-Hauptredner Björn Höcke der Kanzlerin in der Flüchtlingskrise politischen Amoklauf vor.

Die Thüringer AfD hat am Mittwochabend in Erfurt abermals mehrere Tausend Teilnehmer zu einer asylkritischen Kundgebung auf dem Domplatz mobilisiert. Die Polizei sprach bei der nunmehr sechsten Demonstration von 4.200 Menschen und damit von einer ähnlich großen Beteiligung wie vor einer Woche mit 4.000 Teilnehmern. Die Zahl der Gegendemonstranten wurde mit etwa 2.000 angegeben und war damit etwas geringer als in der Vorwoche. » | Quelle: epd-bas | Mittwoch, 28. Oktober 2015

Gaddafi Son Speaks from Jail: Solitary Confinement, Windowless Cell, Abuses & Violations

Human Rights Watch has revealed they were allowed access to Saadi Gaddafi, the jailed son of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. He's been in prison in Tripoli since 2014 and its apparently the first time he's been visited by an international human rights organization. In the interview Saadi Gaddafi said he was refused private meetings with his lawyers - over, as authorities say, 'security concerns'.

Österreichs Zaun könnte Dominoffekt auslösen

DIE PRESSE: Präsident Fischer zeigt Verständnis für Pläne, eine Absperrung bei Spielfeld zu bauen. Slowenien entscheidet in den nächsten zwei Tagen über den Grenzzaun. Der Ton zwischen Berlin und Wien wird schärfer.

Wien/Berlin. Am Montag, dem Nationalfeiertag, versuchte Heinz Fischer noch zu besänftigen: Österreichs Bevölkerung solle sich in die Lage der Flüchtlinge versetzen. Es sei keine anonyme Masse, die durch das Land ziehe. „Sondern einzelne Menschen mit individuellen Schicksalen.“ Zwei Tage später wählte der Bundespräsident allerdings ungewohnt deutliche Worte: Österreich sei „an die Grenzen der Kapazitäten gestoßen“, sagte Fischer während seines Besuchs im Kosovo. Allein die tausenden Menschen, die durch Österreich nach Deutschland marschierten, „schaffen große organisatorische und logistische Probleme“. Was nun besonders wichtig sei, sei, die „Außengrenzen besser zu kontrollieren“ und eine gerechte Verteilung auf die europäischen Länder zu erreichen. » | Von Iris Bonavida, Julia Raabe, Christian Ultsch und Rainer Nowak (Die Presse) | Mittwoch, 28. Oktober 2015

Nach Grenzzaun- Bau: Schutz für Orban verstärkt

KRONEN ZEITUNG: Nach der Errichtung von Grenzzäunen zu Serbien und Kroatien wegen der Flüchtlingskrise hat die ungarische Anti-Terror-Einheit TEK den Personenschutz für Ministerpräsident Viktor Orban und dessen Angehörige verstärkt. Die ungarische Regierung habe sich "den Zorn des Islamischen Staats und anderer Terrororganisationen zugezogen", berichtete die regierungsnahe Zeitung "Magyar Idök" am Mittwoch.

Diese Kräfte betrachten den ungarischen Ministerpräsidenten und sein Umfeld seitdem als Feinde", zitierte das Blatt den früheren Vizechef der ungarischen Militärabwehr, Jozsef Horvath. Das ungarische Militär hatte auf Weisung Orbans die Zäune an der Grenze zu Serbien und - einen Monat später - zu Kroatien errichtet, um den Flüchtlingsstrom vom Land abzuhalten. » | red/AG | Mittwoch, 28. Oktober 2015

'Like a Poison': How Anti-immigrant Pegida Is Dividing Dresden

Lutz Bachmann, leader of the Pegida movement.

THE GUARDIAN: A year since its launch, German protest group has evolved into slick operation whose polarising rhetoric is increasingly blamed for attacks on refugees

…

The wrath at Pegida rallies is reserved almost exclusively for Angela Merkel, who is repeatedly referred to as a “traitor of the people”. The German chancellor – whom many hold responsible for the crisis, namely for her “open door” policy towards asylum claims – is depicted as everything from a euro dictator, dressed in a Nazi-style uniform with red arm bands showing euro signs instead of swastikas, to a state security informant called Erica.

In between speeches the crowds chant “Merkel raus!” (Merkel out), “Widerstand” (resistance) and “Wir sind das Volk” (We are the people) – a rallying cry stolen from the 1989 dissident protests that were crucial in bringing down the Berlin Wall. Alongside German flags, scores are waving what under the bright lights initially looks like the Norwegian flag but is the black, red and gold cross emblem of the Nazi resistance movement led by Claus von Stauffenberg – who was executed after his failed attempt to assassinate Hitler on 20 July 1944.

“We are resistance fighters like him,” an elderly woman trying to push a bike through the crowds says. “We have hardly ever been so vulnerable in our history as we are now, with the borders open and everyone and anyone, including suicide bombers and economic freeloaders, pouring in.” Like many here, she declines to give her name or any other details that might identify her.

…

Read the whole article and comment » | Kate Connolly in Dresden | Tuesday, October 27, 2015

THE GUARDIAN: Bavaria threatens legal challenge to Merkel's open door refugee policy: State’s leader Horst Seehofer has been at loggerheads with the chancellor for weeks and blames her for the scale of the refugee crisis in Germany » | Kate Connolly in Berlin | Friday, October 9, 2015

Bavarian PM Gives Merkel Deadline to Close 'Open Door' for Refugees

Slovenia and Austria are ready to build the fence between countries to slow down the flow of refugees. Meanwhile, the crisis is apparently causing a rift in the German government. The Prime Minister of Bavaria - one of Merkel's key coalition partners - says the Chancellor has to end her open door policy. Horst Seehofer has given Merkel until Sunday to put an end to the influx of refugees.

Germany Says Austrian Handling of Refugees 'Out of Order

THE TELEGRAPH: German government accuses Austria of driving refugees to the border after dark so they can cross into Germany

The German government accused Austria on Wednesday of driving refugees to the border after dark so they could cross into Germany and said it expected Vienna to return to an orderly processing of migrants immediately.

"The behaviour of Austria in recent days was out of order," Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told a news conference in Berlin, in the strongest public criticism of its neighbour since the refugee crisis deepened two months ago. » | Agencies | Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Stephen Harper As You’ve Never Seen Him Before: Singing Sweet Caroline at a 2015 Stampede Barbecue, Acting in Murdoch Mysteries

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Vans Cats perform Sweet Caroline at his riding association's annual Stampede barbecue in 2015.


Five exciting new career opportunities for outgoing Canada PM Stephen Harper: Harper has resigned as Conservative party head, and everyone is wondering what he’ll do next. The Guardian has handpicked possible jobs to keep him occupied based on his musical talents, hockey knowledge and love of cats »

Muslim Leaders in UK Warn of 'Worrying' Levels of Islamophobia

Tell MAMA, an organisation that monitors anti-Muslim attacks,
said women wearing headscarves were more likely to be the
target of Islamophobia.

THE GUARDIAN: Muslim Council of Britain expresses concern at figures showing anti-Muslim attacks in London increased by 70% in year up to July

The Muslim Council of Britain has warned of increasing levels of Islamophobia in the UK after recent videos showing anti-Muslim abuse on public transport were posted online and police forces in England and Wales were ordered to treat such attacks in the same vein as antisemitism.

Miqdaad Versi of the Muslim Council of Britain said: “As a whole, we have to understand that the UK is a very tolerant society, with London one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, and thankfully these kinds of attacks are relatively rare. But they are on the rise.

“The growth in Islamophobia has reached levels which are very worrying. Most Muslims know someone who’s suffered some form of abuse, whether online, physical or verbal. We’re now in a very serious situation and have been for the past year.” » | Harriet Sherwood Religion correspondent and Alberto Nardelli Data editor | Monday, October 26, 2015

Bundesgericht gibt dem Islamischen Zentralrat recht

Das Bundesgericht heisst die Beschwerde des Islamischen Zentralrats gegen das Verbot seiner Jahresversammlung im Kanton Freiburg gut. Private Versammlungen unterlägen prinzipiell keiner Bewilligungspflicht, und die öffentliche Sicherheit sei nie konkret gefährdet gewesen. Das Gericht fällt das Urteil einstimmig.

Boots on Ground? US Considering ‘Direct Action’ against ISIS

The US could be set to deploy ground troops in Iraq and Syria - to fight Islamic State. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Washington - "won't hold back" from supporting its partners - including with direct action on the ground. RT's Gayane Chichakyan hare..

Ex-Vatican Official Krzysztof Charamsa: 'I'm a Gay Man. I'm Not a Monster'

THE GUARDIAN: Former Polish priest, who was sacked after revealing he was gay, on his decision to publicly announce his sexuality and his hopes for the Catholic church

Krzysztof Charamsa, the former Vatican official who was sacked and defrocked after publicly announcing he was gay, breaks out into a wide grin when he is asked whether he has plans to marry his boyfriend. His answer is coy, but his smile and giddy laughter seem to reveal his intentions.

“I understand many people who say ‘we don’t need the institution of marriage. Our love is free’. I am not in this part of society. For me, [marriage] is part of the dynamic of love and I thank God that I live in a century where it’s possible, thanks to the homosexual movement and thanks to many homosexual martyrs.”

It has been less than a month since the Polish 43-year-old, a former senior Vatican aide and monsignor, announced at a press conference that he was gay and in love as his Catalan boyfriend, Eduard, stood by his side. The admission, a day before the start of a contentious meeting of bishops in Rome to debate the church’s approach to modern “family issues”, including homosexuality, resulted in him getting immediately sacked.

The Vatican called the timing of the announcement “very serious and irresponsible” and said it was clear he could no longer work as a senior aide for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the office within the Vatican tasked with defending Catholic doctrine. Read on and comment » | Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome | Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Tony Abbott: 'Love Your Neighbour Leading Europe to Catastrophic Error' (Tony Abbott Delivers 2015 Margaret Thatcher Lecture)

During his Margaret Thatcher lecture at London’s Guildhall on Tuesday night, former prime minister Tony Abbott invokes the biblical commandment to ‘love your neighbour as you love yourself’ but goes on to say that: ‘no country can open its borders to all comers without fundamentally weakening itself’

Udo Ulfkotte: Bevorstehender Bürgerkrieg in Deutschland - Flüchtlinge

Harper Moving Back to Calgary after Election Defeat

Prime Minister Stephen Harper

THE GLOBE AND MAIL: Stephen Harper is moving back to Calgary following the Conservative Party’s defeat in the 2015 federal election, returning to his hometown with his wife Laureen and daughter Rachel.

A Conservative Party source says Ben Harper, the prime minister’s son, will remain in Ontario where he is attending Queen’s University in Kingston.

The Harpers have a family home in Calgary. » | Steven Chase | Ottawa | Tuesday, October 27, 2015

How Australia's Young Muslim Men Are Getting Radicalised (2014)

Dangerous Ground (2008): Young Australian Muslims are being made to feel like foreigners in their own country. Is Australia’s response to terrorism to blame?

Three US Women Claim Sexual Assault by Saudi Prince in Beverly Hills Mansion

THE GUARDIAN: The women who were hired as housekeepers in Majed Abdulaziz Al Saud’s home say the prince made sexual advances and harassed them and other staff

Three US women claim a Saudi prince assaulted them and held them captive during three days of sex- and drug-fueled partying at a Beverly Hills mansion.

The unidentified women, who have filed a civil suit in Los Angeles against Majed Abdulaziz Al Saud, 29, say they were hired by the prince as housekeepers in late September.

The suit, filed last Thursday, alleges that the prince terrorized the women and made sexual advances that included rubbing himself against one of them and asking another “to lick my entire body”.

At one point, he also ordered the staff, including security guards, to strip by the pool because he wanted to see everyone’s “naked pussy”. » | Agence France-Presse in Los Angeles | Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Germany: Thousands of PEGIDA Supporters Rally in Dresden

Around 10,000 PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident) supporters took to the streets of Dresden, Monday.