Islamic State Militants 'Smuggled to Europe'

Smugglers hide IS militants on boats filled with migrants,
Abdul Basit Haroun says

BBC AMERICA: Islamic State (IS) fighters are being smuggled into Europe by gangs in the Mediterranean, a Libyan official has told the BBC.

Government adviser Abdul Basit Haroun said smugglers were hiding IS militants on boats filled with migrants.

He based his claim on conversations with boat owners in parts of North Africa controlled by the militants.

He alleged that IS was allowing them to continue their operations in exchange for 50% of their income.

The UN estimates that 60,000 people have already tried to cross the Mediterranean this year. » | Sunday, May 17, 2015

ISIS Barbarism. When Will the Civilised World Put a Stop to This Crap?

Read the Daily Mail article here | Jay Akbar for MailOnline | Saturday, May 16, 2015

Bill Maher Asks Ayaan Hirsi Ali Why Liberals 'Blame the Victim' When It Comes to Radical Islam

HBO "Real Time" host Bill Maher criticized liberals on Friday for "blaming the victim" when it comes to radical Islam. Speaking with author Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mr. Maher asked why so many liberals, who normally "hate blaming the victim," do so when it comes to radical Islam. He cited liberals who criticized the Muhammad cartoon contest…

Pope Calls Palestinian Leader Abbas 'Angel of Peace' at Vatican Meeting

Pope Francis meets Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas
during an audience in the Vatican

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Meeting comes days after Vatican recognises "Palestinian state" in treaty, and precedes canonisation of first Palestinian Arab saints

Pope Francis met Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority leader, in the Vatican on Saturday, calling him "an angel of peace".

The meeting between the Pope – who visited both Israel and the occupied West Bank a year ago – and Mr Abbas came days after the Vatican confirmed it had concluded a treaty which effectively recognises Palestinian statehood.

The treaty – which has yet to be signed – states that the Vatican has switched its diplomatic relations from the Palestine Liberation Organisation to the "state of Palestine", thus giving further impetus to growing international calls to recognise a Palestinian state. » | AFP | Saturday, May 16, 2015

Iranian Official Says Saudi King 'Traitor to Islam,' Iterates Support for Assad

Saudi King Salman

THE JERUSALEM POST: "He should be called the traitor of the Islamic nation and against all the teachings," Iranian official says.

DAMASCUS - A senior Iranian official branded Saudi Arabia's King Salman a traitor to Islam on Thursday and equated the Gulf state's military assault on Iranian-allied fighters in Yemen with Israeli actions against Palestinians.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of Iran's national security and foreign policy committee, speaking in Damascus, also reiterated his country's support for the Syrian government, which is battling an insurgency backed by Saudi Arabia.

Shi'ite Islamist Iran has been a vital ally for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the four-year Syrian war, providing crucial military and economic support.

Syria is a focal point in a wider regional struggle between Tehran and Riyadh and which is also playing out in Yemen.

"We are here to announced anew that our support for Syria - government and nation - is solid and continuous, and we are proud of this support," Boroujerdi said, according to a report on the Syrian state news agency SANA.

In fierce rhetoric, Boroujerdi said "God would take revenge" against the Saudi monarch for serving what he called US-Israeli interests in the war against the Shi'ite Houthi rebels. » | Reuters | Thursday, May 14, 2015

Rachida Dati Embroiled in Row over Thousands Spent on Luxury Clothes and Gifts While Justice Minister

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: France's state auditor refuses to validate €9,000 spent on luxury clothes, accessories, gifts and food and drink while Rachida Dati was justice minister as the glamorous MEP claims she is the victim of a "political cabal".

Rachida Dati, France's glamorous former justice minister, has hit back at the country's state auditor after it refused to pay for almost €9,000 (£6,500) her ministry spent on luxury clothes, scarves, "gifts", restaurants and patisserie while she was in office.

The Cour des Comptes ruled the state should not pay for Hermès scarves, ties and other luxury items, and also rejected a further €180,000 Ms Dati's ministry spent on "communication consulting" between 2007 and 2010 – most of it going to a company run by a friend of then-president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Ms Dati, whose love of designer clothes saw her appear in a Dior dress and fishnet stockings on the front page of Paris Match while in office, furiously denied any of the luxury garments were for her, saying they were all "presents" for foreign judicial dignitaries. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Thursday, May 14, 2015

Schwuler EU-Regierungschef: Luxemburgs Premier Bettel heiratet langjährigen Freund

Ehemänner Destenay, Bettel: Hochzeit in der
luxemburgischen Hauptstadt

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Xavier Bettel hat als erster Regierungschef in Europa einen Ehemann: Der luxemburgische Premier hat seinen langjährigen Partner Gauthier Destenay geheiratet. Die Flitterwochen fallen allerdings aus.

Luxemburgs Ministerpräsident Xavier Bettel hat seinen Lebensgefährten Gauthier Destenay geheiratet. Das Paar trat am Freitagnachmittag nach der standesamtlichen Trauung vor das Rathaus der luxemburgischen Hauptstadt. Es folgte ein Fotoshooting, anschließend wurde im privaten Kreis gefeiert. Die Eheschließung übernahm die Bürgermeisterin der Stadt, Lydie Polfer. » | mxw/dpa/AFP | Freitag, 15. Mai 2015

Verwandt »

Le Congrès des Etats-Unis va contrôler Obama sur l’Iran

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Accord sur le nucléaire – Une loi approuvée jeudi permet aux parlementaires de refuser, sous certaines conditions, un accord sur le nucléaire iranien

Le Congrès américain s’est offert jeudi un droit de regard sur l’accord nucléaire avec l’Iran. La Chambre des représentants a accepté à une large majorité (400 voix contre 25) un projet de loi qui empêchera Barack Obama de lever les sanctions visant Téhéran pendant les trente jours suivants la signature de l’accord. La démarche a pour but de permettre aux parlementaires d’accepter ou de désapprouver le deal. » | Par Jean-Cosme Delaloye | vendredi 15 mai 2015

Mayor Wants to BAN Islam 'To Solve the Country's Problems'

Robert Chardon is the mayor of Venelles,
a town in southern France

DAILY EXPRESS: A MAYOR is pushing for a law to ban Islam – explaining that it is "the only solution for most of France's problems".

Robert Chardon, mayor of Venelles, a town in the south of France, tweeted: "We must ban the Muslim faith in France."

He called for the country to removal a secularism law dating back to 1905 – and instead "promote the practice of the Christian faith".

Chardon added: "We also need a Marshall Plan to send Muslims to countries where the religion is practiced." » | Tom Parfitt | Saturday, May 16, 2015

Luxemburger Regierungschef heiratet seinen Freund

Frischvermählt: Xavier Bettel (r.) mit seinem Mann
Gauthier Destenay

DIE WELT: Erst seit Kurzem erlaubt Luxemburg die Ehe auch für gleichgeschlechtliche Paare. Nun nimmt Regierungschef Bettel das neue Recht in Anspruch: Er gibt seinem belgischen Lebenspartner das Ja-Wort.

Luxemburgs Ministerpräsident Xavier Bettel (42) hat seinen Lebensgefährten Gauthier Destenay geheiratet. Das Paar trat am Freitagnachmittag nach der standesamtlichen Trauung vor das Rathaus der luxemburgischen Hauptstadt.

Es folgte ein Fotoshooting, anschließend wurde im privaten Kreis gefeiert. Die Eheschließung übernahm die Bürgermeisterin der Stadt, Lydie Polfer. In Luxemburg können sich homosexuelle Paare seit Anfang des Jahres das Jawort geben. Bettel und der belgische Architekt Destenay waren seit August verlobt, seit 2010 lebten sie in einer eingetragenen Partnerschaft. » | dpa/AP/mak | Freitag, 15. Mai 2015

Islamists Eat Your Bloody Hearts Out! Heidis Erben - Mein Vater ist ein Wandersmann / Wo ist die Kokosnuss

Slain Charlie Hebdo Editor's Lover Releases Book Criticising Islamists' Treatment of Women

The partner of slain Charlie Hebdo editor Charb, Jeannette Bougrab

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Jeannette Bougrab, ex-lover of Charlie Hebdo editor Charb, claims her dead partner's entourage cut her out because her Right-wing credentials didn't fit his image as a Leftist "womanising bachelor"

Jeanette Bougrab, the ex-lover of slain Charlie Hebdo editor Charb, has released a book criticising Muslim countries’ treatment of women and Islamists who brandish the Prophet Mohammed's marriage to a child as sanctioning child brides.

Ms Bougrab, 41, a minister of Algerian origin in the previous administration of conservative president Nicolas Sarkozy, also hit back at the entourage of Charb, whose real name was Stéphane Charbonnier, saying they had excommunicated her after his death because she was a Right-winger.

In Maudites (Cursed), out on Wednesday, Ms Bougrab wrote about what she says is the misfortune of many girls born in Muslim countries, from Yemen to Pakistan. She paid tribute to a series of women including her mother, Zohra Trari, who was forcibly married at 13, abused, and today has terminal cancer.

“Is it blasphemy to say we should move away from the archaic practices of seventh century Arabia?,” she asked, referring to the Prophet Mohammed’s marriage to Aisha, adding that she has no intention of dropping her fight for secularism and women’s rights. Charlie Hebdo was targeted by Islamists after publishing front page cartoons depicting the Prophet. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Friday, May 15, 2015

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Gets Death Penalty in Boston Marathon Bombing

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

THE NEW YORK TIMES: BOSTON — Dzhokhar Tsarnaev sat stone-faced in a federal court here on Friday as a jury sentenced him to death for setting off bombs at the 2013 Boston Marathon that killed three people and injured hundreds more in the worst terrorist attack on American soil since Sept. 11, 2001.

The jury of seven women and five men, which last month convicted Mr. Tsarnaev, 21, of all 30 charges against him, 17 of which carry the death penalty, took more than 14 hours to reach its decision.

In reaching its decision, the jury found that Mr. Tsarnaev had shown no remorse for actions, and it rejected the defense argument that his older brother, Tamerlan, had brainwashed him into joining in the bombings.

It was the first time a federal jury had sentenced a terrorist to death in the post-Sept. 11 era, according to Kevin McNally, director of the Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel Project, which coordinates the defense in capital punishment cases.

Prosecutors portrayed Mr. Tsarnaev, who immigrated to Cambridge, Mass., from the Russian Caucasus with his family in 2002, as a coldblooded, unrepentant jihadist who sought to kill innocent Americans in retaliation for the deaths of innocent Muslims in American-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. » | Katharine Q. Seelye | Friday, May 15, 2015

Nicolas Sarkozy's #NSDIRECT Twitter Q&A Backfires Wildly

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Nicolas Sarkozy's bid to harness the power of Twitter backfires when his #NSDIRECT account is flooded with spoofs and a call by a fellow Right-wing mayor to ban Islam in France

Nicolas Sarkozy’s bid to engage with public via a Twitter chat backfired wildly on Friday after his account flooded with trolls and a Right-wing mayor dropped an unwanted bombshell by calling for Islam to be outlawed in France[.]

The communications team of France’s former president and current leader of the centre-Right UMP opposition thought it would a good idea to spruce up his image by asking the public to pose questions via Twitter, ahead of a key party conference on May 30.

However, it appears they got more than they bargained for when the #NSDIRECT hashtag - where Twitter users were told to pose their questions - was inundated with tens of thousands of spoof questions, jokes and cartoons - many of them unflattering to say the least. » | Henry Samuel | Friday, May 15, 2015

Islamic State Crisis: Militants Seize Ramadi Stronghold

BBC AMERICA: Islamic State militants have seized the main government building in Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's largest province.

As many as six suicide car bombs and mortars were used in the assault on the compound that houses the main police HQ and governor's office.

At least 50 security personnel are reported to have been taken prisoner at the site.

IS and Iraqi troops have been battling for months to take control of the strategically important Anbar province.

The attack by IS militants began overnight when the suicide car bombs were driven into compound housing a number of government buildings, killing at least 10 people and wounding a number of others. » | Friday, May 15, 2015

BBC Reporter Slammed for Comparing Hate Preacher Anjem Choudary to Gandhi and Mandela

Mark Easton compared Anjem Choudary to Gandhi and Mandela

DAILY EXPRESS: THE BBC has come under fire after one of its chief reporters shockingly compared extremism preacher Anjem Choudary to civil rights heroes Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi.

Stunned viewers watched home affairs editor Mark Easton criticising the Government's plans to silence hate-mongers such as Choudary, who has refused to condemn the killing of Lee Rigby, by asking whether great historical figures would pass the proposed test.

The newsman carried on by saying extreme views were needed in order to "challenge very established values".

Speaking on BBC News at Ten last night, the home affairs editor went further and, following a news piece on Choudary, Mr Easton said: "It's one thing to ban someone for inciting hatred or violence, but quite another to pass a law that silences anyone who challenges established values.

"I was in Parliament Square today - a statue of Gandhi looking down at me who was jailed for being extremist; Mandela who was jailed for being an extremist.

"History tells us that extreme views are sometimes needed to challenge very established values that people at the time hold so dear."

Mr Easton's comments have provoked anger against the public service broadcaster.

There was also upset regarding the air-time given to Choudary on last night's news.

It is not the first time the BBC has been criticised for allowing the British-born extremist to promote himself. » | Rob Virtue | Thursday, May 14, 2015

Isil Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi 'Releases Audio Message'

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isil, addresses his followers
in Mosul in July 2014 - his one and only public appearance

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Islamic State leader has not been seen or heard from in months, amid rumours of his death or severe injury in a US-led air strike

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), appeared to urge Muslims to emigrate to his self-proclaimed “caliphate”, in what would be the jihadist leader’s first audio recording in six months.

“And we call upon every Muslim in every place to perform hijrah (emigration) to the Islamic State or fight in his land wherever that may be,” the voice, which cannot be verified as Baghdadi’s, said.

The recording calls Islam a “religion of war”, adding that “coexistence with Jews and Christians” is impossible. » | Louisa Loveluck, Cairo | Thursday, May 14, 2015

Related »

Alleged Audio of Al-Baghdadi Surfaces

Jean-Marie Le Pen condamne les homosexuels qui chassent en meute

Lors d’une interview de Ruth Elkrief, Jean-Marie Le Pen a reconnu qu’il y avait beaucoup de gens homosexuels à la direction du Front national. Jean-Marie Le Pen n’apprécie pas quand ils se conduisent comme hétérophobes.

Women Who Reject the Hijab Are ‘Stupid, Naïve and Ignorant’ Says Top Islamic Scholar

EGYPTIAN STREETS: The debate around Islamic headscarves (Hijab) and an Islamic dress code for women is still raging in Egypt. Sheikh Ali Gomaa, an internationally known Islamist jurist and Egypt’s ex-Grand Mufti (top interpreter of religious edicts issued by Muslim clerics), recently joined the debate with some very surprising and alarming comments.

On live television, Sheikh Gomaa not only reaffirmed that headscarves (Hijab) are mandatory in Islam; he labeled any woman who disputes this interpretation as an infidel. Moreover, he said women who reject the Hijab are “stupid, naive and ignorant.”

His comments have raised fears among non-Islamist Egyptians that supposedly moderate mainstream scholars are now giving their blessing to new institutionalized Islamism.

In Egypt, the dress code for women has been controversial for nearly 100 years. The controversy started in 1919, when many women took off their veils as a gesture of support for Egypt’s freedom from British occupation. Political Islamist groups, however, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, have always campaigned for a strict Islamic dress code that includes covering the head as a minimum requirement for Muslim women. The group’s supporters resorted to social coercion to spread their message, using fear tactics (such as threats of punishment in the afterlife) to ensure adherence to the dress code. Salafists have opted for an even blunter approach, with a sharper dose of social coercion against women in their social circles. » | Nervana Mahmoud | Doctor, Commentator and Writer on Middle East Issues | Wednesday, May 13, 2015