Bundeswehreinsatz in Syrien: Von der Leyen schließt Kooperation mit Assad aus

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Ursula von der Leyen kann sich zwar grundsätzlich eine Zusammenarbeit mit syrischen Truppen vorstellen. Ein Sprecher der Ministerin stellte jetzt aber klar: Eine Kooperation mit Machthaber Assad werde es nicht geben.

Bei ihrem geplanten Anti-Terror-Einsatz in Syrien hat die Bundesregierung eine Kooperation mit Truppen unter dem Kommando des syrischen Machthabers Baschar al-Assad ausgeschlossen. "Jetzt wird es keine Zusammenarbeit mit Assad geben und auch keine Zusammenarbeit mit Truppen unter Assad", sagte der Sprecher des Verteidigungsministeriums, Jens Flosdorff, in Berlin. Das habe auch Ministerin Ursula von der Leyen klargemacht. » | kev/dpa | Montag, 1. Dezember 2015

Refugee-welcoming Germany Could Soon Ban the Burqa as It ‘Doesn’t Fit’ Society

EXPRESS: Lawmakers in Germany's biggest state Bavaria want a new law making the wearing of the burqa illegal in the whole of the country.

The conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), which is the sister party in the state to the ruling CDU of Chancellor Angela Merkel, is pressing Berlin to support the measure.

Ilse Aigner, finance minister in Bavaria, said: “The law on a burqa ban should be quickly passed by the government.

“It is first and foremost about showing one’s face. It’s about living together as a society and seeing one another. It doesn’t fit to our society to hide oneself, and it contradicts our idea of sexual equality.” » | Allan Hall | Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Ankara's Decision to Shoot Down Russian Plane Was Wrong, Says Leading Turkish Politician

Figen Yuksekdag, co-chairman of pro-Kurdish HDP, criticised
Turkey's shoot down of a Russian war plane as "wrong"

THE TELEGRAPH: Exclusive: Figen Yuksekdag, Turkey's most powerful female politician, says Ankara wrongly hit Russia, an ally in the fight against Isil, and the shoot down could risk further tension in the region

Ankara's decision to shoot down a Russian fighter jet has escalated tensions in an already fragile region and undermined efforts to build a global coalition against Isil, according to Turkey's leading opposition politician.

Figen Yuksekdag, Turkey's most powerful female politician and co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), said shooting the warplane meant that Ankara hit an ally in the fight against Isil.

Russia is not part of the US-led coalition bombing Isil positions. However, after the Paris terror attacks on November 13 which killed 130 people, the EU and other countries are seeking a worldwide anti-Isil coalition including Moscow after a UN resolution called for "all necessary measures" to tackle the Islamic extremist threat. » | Raziye Akkoc | Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Muslim Taxi Driver Shot by Passenger Who Asked Him about the Islamic State

THE TELEGRAPH: Campaigners say attack is the latest in a spike in anti-Muslim crimes after the Paris attacks and demand it be investigated as a hate crime

A Muslim taxi driver was shot in the back by a passenger who joked about the Prophet Mohammed and talked about the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), according to the victim and his supporters.

A Muslim rights group said the attack, during the Thanksgiving holiday, was a hate crime and part of backlash after the Paris attacks.

The driver, a 38-year-old Moroccan immigrant who requested anonymity, needed hospital treatment in Pittsburgh for his wounds. » | Rob Crilly, New York | Monday, November 30, 2015

US State Department Refuses to Openly Confirm Russian Jet Was Hit in Syrian Airspace

The downing of Russia’s bomber by Turkish fighter jets in Syrian airspace last week has been dominating world news. RT’s Gayane Chichkyan has been following the US reaction.

France: Le Pen Blasts EU Hypocrisy over Gulf States in War against IS

Leader of the Front National Marine Le Pen hit out at EU handling of foreign and migrant policy during a rally in Lille, Monday, as part of her campaign for upcoming French regional elections on December 6 and 13. Le Pen is running as the Nord-Pas-de-Calais regional presidential candidate.

Germany: PEGIDA Decry Migrant Policies at Monday Dresden Rally

Hundreds of supporters of the anti-Islamist group PEGIDA rallied through the centre of Dresden, Monday, to protest against the German government's migration policy.

Almost Half of Germans 'Don't Want Angela Merkel to Serve Another Term'

Only 44% of voters surveyed were in favour of Mrs Merkel
remaining in power

THE TELEGRAPH: Some 48 per cent of those questioned in a survey for Bild newspaper say they do not want Mrs Merkel to continue in office after the next German election in 2017

Almost half of German voters do not want Angela Merkel to serve another term as chancellor, according to a new poll.

Some 48 per cent of those questioned in the survey for Bild newspaper said they did not want Mrs Merkel to continue in office after the next German election, which is due to be held in 2017.

Forty-four per cent were in favour of Mrs Merkel remaining in power.

The findings are an indication of how dramatically Mrs Merkel’s public support has fallen in recent weeks following opposition to her “open-door” refugee policy.

Just a few months ago she seemed unassailable as Germany’s leader, and her Christian Democrat party was even daring to contemplate the possibility of an overall majority in the 2017 election. » | Justin Huggler in Berlin | Monday, November 30, 2015

Verwandt »

PEGIDA Dresden: Live vom Theaterplatz (30.11.2015)

PEGIDA Abendspaziergang

Inside The Heart Of The IS Caliphate

The Head of the Snake: A look at the secretive leader of the Islamic State

Belgium: No Turkish PM or President Will Apologise for Doing Duty - Davutoglu

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that protection of Turkish borders and airspace is "not only a right, but a duty for my government," and therefore "no Turkish Prime Minister, or President or authority will apologise because of doing our duty," following the downing of a Russian military jet by the Turkish airforce, ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, in Brussels, Monday.

Obama: Paris Talks a Turning Point for Climate Threat

Barack Obama says on Monday in Paris that the growing threat of climate change could define this century. The US president says the world should be optimistic, as the Paris climate conference was a turning point as nations share a sense of urgency about the challenge and understand it is within their power to take action

Read and comment on the Guardian article here
My comment:

Surreal! Can anyone imagine Churchill hosting a climate change conference as an act of defiance in the face of a Nazi invasion during the Forties, in the face of the Blitz?

What planet are these guys living on? François Hollande stated today that the war on global warming is every bit as important as the war of terror. Can this ‘marshmallow’ be serious?

I can just hear it now:

We shall fight with eco light bulbs, we shall fight with eco taxes, we shall fight with green energy, we shall fight with solar panels, we shall fight with low energy appliances, we shall fight with all that is at our disposal, in the fields, in the streets, in the hills; we shall never surrender.

This comment also appears here

London-Based Egyptian Preacher Hani Al-Sibai: I Foresee the Europeans Banishing the Muslims; We Deserve Compensation Like the Jews

'Iran and Russia Have Replaced America's Hegemony'

ARUTZ SHEVA: Ex-Lebanese general tells Iranian media that greater cooperation between Moscow and Tehran has eclipsed US worldwide.

Retired Lebanese General Walid al-Zaitouni told the semi-official Iranian Fars News Agency on Saturday that the growing Iranian and Russian alliance is creating a new "hegemony" in the Middle East, and has effectively ended American influence in the region.

The Lebanese military analyst opined to the Iranian paper that the growing military involvement of Moscow and Tehran in the internecine civil war in Syria, where the two are propping up the autocratic leader Bashar al-Assad, is challenging "US hegemony in the world." » | Arutz Sheva Staff | Saturday, November 28, 2015

Justin Trudeau on Syria, Republicanism, and Being a Sex Symbol - Newsnight

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, gives an exclusive interview to Newsnight's Evan Davis, covering republicanism, Syria, handsomeness in politics, and his family name.

‘Bonkers Bureaucracy’: EU New Law on How to Use Candles

Modern times and the massive issues facing Europe demand careful and insightful decision-making from the continent's leaders. But as RT's Peter Oliver now reports their focus sometimes leaves people bewildered.

France: Climate Change as Much a Priority as the War on Terror - Hollande at COP21

Tackling climate change alongside terrorism is among the major global challenges that must be overcome, said French President Hollande in Paris, Monday, adding "we must leave our children more than a planet free of terror."

France: Fabius and Prince Charles Plead for World Leaders to Tackle Climate Change

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and Prince Charles of Wales gave emotive opening speeches to the 2015 UN COP21 Climate Change Conference in Paris on Monday.

‘Christian State’ Threatens to Kill Muslims in Belgium

THE JEWISH PRESS: An anonymous group has sent threatening letters to Belgian mosques, warning Muslims "will be slaughtered like pigs and crucified as our Lord converts their souls.”

The Islamic State now has competition, called the “Christian State.”

The anonymous “Christian State” group has sent a threatening letter to Belgium’s major mosque and two other mosques, warning that it will murder Muslims.

The precise language of the letter is:

No mosque and none of your businesses will be safe. Brothers [Muslims] will be slaughtered like pigs and crucified as our Lord converts their souls.

Belgian Muslim leader Jamal Habbachich said he will file a complaint with the police over the threatening letters,, which he called “very serious.” » | Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu | Saturday, November 28, 2015

Turkey and Its 75m People on the Brink of Being Allowed into EU

EXPRESS: TURKEY appeared to be on the brink of joining the EU last night, giving its 75 million citizens free access to Europe.

The daunting prospect of millions of Turks moving to Britain arose after EU leaders tabled a deal in exchange for help stemming the flood of migrants into Europe.

They are offering the huge country £2billion in cash, visa-free travel for its citizens and speeded up membership talks if it clamps down on people trafficking and migration across its borders.

The deal was expected to be signed off by political leaders at a summit in Brussels last night, European Council president Donald Tusk said.

The plan, spearheaded by German chancellor Angela Merkel, will make Muslim-dominated Turkey the EU’s 29th member state.

The deal has provoked anger and prompted fears that Europe’s doors will be left wide open to Islamic extremists. » | Anil Dawar | Sunday, November 29, 2015