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

Britain Must Ban Sharia "Kangaroo Courts", Say Activists

DAILY MAIL: LONDON, June 15 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Britain's new government must abolish Islamic sharia courts, campaigners said on Monday, describing them as "kangaroo courts" that deliver second-rate justice and trample over the rights of women and children.

They called for the government to stick to pre-election promises to hold an inquiry into sharia courts which first appeared in Britain in the mid-1980s.

"Over the years, we have witnessed with increasing alarm the influence of 'Sharia courts' over the lives of citizens of Muslim heritage," nearly 200 women's rights and secular campaigners said in a statement.

"Though the 'Sharia courts' have been touted as people's right to religion, they are in fact, effective tools of the far-right Islamist movement whose main aim is to restrict and deny rights, particularly those of women and children." » | Emma Batha | Reuters | Monday, June 15, 2015

Franklin Graham Says Sharia Law Should Be Banned in All Free Countries

CHRISTIAN TODAY: American evangelist Franklin Graham truly believes that the Sharia law should be banned in the United States and other countries that "cherish freedom and liberty."

After reading an article published by the BBC about life under radical Islam, Graham said his stand against the Sharia law became clearer than ever, and he shared his thoughts about it on his Facebook page.

"Some Western governments are actually considering allowing Sharia law in certain Muslim communities in their countries — can you believe it? ISIS is imposing Sharia law on hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Syrians who want to be free. Women are oppressed, Christians and minorities are persecuted and murdered, homosexuals are tortured and killed," he lamented. » | Czarina Ong | Saturday, June 13, 2015

Moroccan Gay Men to Be Tried for Violating 'Public Modesty' over Photo

THE GUARDIAN: Pair could be jailed for three years after being arrested for standing too close together at Rabat’s Hassan tower, say Moroccan LGBT activists

Two Moroccan gay men are set to go on trial for violating “public modesty” after holding each other for a photo at a historic site in Rabat, and could go to jail for up to three years.

Mohsine, a 25-year-old from Marrakesh, in the west of the country, and Lahcen, 38, from Rabat, were touring and taking pictures near Hassan tower, the capital’s famous minaret, earlier in June when they were arrested by the police for supposedly standing too close to each other, activists said. It is not clear if the men were in a relationship.

The pair are expected to appear in the court on Tuesday and if convicted, could face up to three years in jail under the country’s anti-gay laws. According to article 489 of Morocco’s penal code, homosexuality is punishable by six months to three years imprisonment.

The news of their arrest was initially announced by the state-run Al Aoula television channel which revealed their identities and photos in public in an attempt to shame them in the eyes of the country’s conservative society.

Activists condemned the move as reckless as it sparked demonstrations in front of their families’ houses. Aswat Collective, a prominent LGBT group in Morocco, told The Guardian that demonstrators shouted homophobic slurs without any intervention by watching police. » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan | Monday, June 15, 2015

TELQUEL: Edito – Vivre et laisser vivre » | vendredi 12 juin 2015

The Battle of Vienna, 1683 (Islam vs Christianity)

Oriana Fallaci, il ricordo sfida il tempo - Martin Mawyer - autore "Europe's Last Stand"

Europe's Last Stand – Trailer

British Doctor Urges Muslim Doctors from Britain and Sudan to Join ISIS in Syria

Burma's 'Great Terror' Moves a Step Closer as Taliban Urges Rohingya to 'Take Up the Sword'

The oppressed minority has been told only violent jihad will make a difference
THE INDEPENDENT: Burma’s worst nightmare came a step closer to reality when a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban’s most hardline faction called on the oppressed Rohingya to “take up the sword and kill in the path of God”.

Other attempts to improve the desperate position of Burma’s Muslim minority were futile, he said last week. “Protest demonstrations, marches [and] condemnation resolutions” were useless. Only violent jihad would make the difference.

This is the great terror of which Burma’s populist Buddhist preachers have for years been warning their congregations, with dire predictions. The hostile climate they have whipped up has led the government to treat the largely stateless Muslim minority in Arakan state ever more inhumanely; and as a result, those predictions could prove self-fulfilling. » | Peter Popham | Sunday, June 14, 2015

Hate and Extremism 'Not Islam' Says French PM Manuel Valls

THE ECONOMIC TIMES: PARIS: French Prime Minister Manuel Valls stressed on Monday there was no link between extremism and Islam, as he opened a conference aimed at improving ties with France's large Muslim community.

"We must say all of this is not Islam," said Valls. "The hate speech, anti-Semitism that hides behind anti-Zionism and hate for Israel... the self-proclaimed imams in our neighbourhoods and our prisons who are promoting violence and terrorism." » | AFP | Monday, June 15, 2015

ISIS Threaten Pamela Geller by Posting Anti-Muslim Activist's New York City Apartment Address with Message to #GoForth

MAIL ON SUNDAY: A Twitter account connected to British jihadi Abu Hussain al-Britani tweeted the death threat on Friday / That account has since been suspended by Twitter

Pamela Geller's life is at risk yet again from ISIS, after a leader of the radical Islamist terrorist group tweeted her address.

On Friday, a twitter account connected to British-born jihadi Abu Hussain al-Britani posted the address of Geller's apartment in New York City - complete with apartment number - with the message #GoForth.

That account has since been suspended by Twitter. » | Ashley Collman for DailyMail.com | Sunday, June 14, 2015


JIHAD WATCH: Islamic jihadists tweet Pamela Geller’s home address, call for her murder : Islamic jihadists want to make an example of Pamela Geller, showing that they will enforce Sharia’s death penalty for blasphemy upon non-Muslims with impunity. U.S. authorities, in response, are busy kowtowing, instead of declaring that Pamela Geller will be protected and the freedom of speech defended. Capitulation is the order of the day — but the cowards call it “respect” and “refraining from deliberate provocation.” » | Robert Spencer | Sunday, June 14, 2015

THE INDEPENDENT: Extremists tweet home address of US liberties campaigner Pamela Geller: Pamela Geller, the President of the American Freedom Defence Initiative (AFDI), has been targeted by Islamic extremists after they tweeted her home address in New York. » | Alexander Ward | Sunday, June 14, 2015

UK Waterpark Bans Bikinis and Orders Visitors to Wear 'Islamically Appropriate' Clothes

This advert advises attendees to wear full-length clothing

SUNDAY EXPRESS: A BRITISH waterpark has sparked fury by banning bikinis and ordering visitors to cover up in "Islamically appropriate" clothing.

WaterWorld in Stoke-on-Trent plans to black out windows and provide a prayer room during a women-only night aimed at Muslims.

Only female lifeguards will patrol the park during the event, which has triggered a flood of complaints.

Staff will also "guard" the front entrance to "make sure that no males enter the facility".

Conservative MP Philip Hollobone said: ‘I imagine there would be a lot of outrage if the boot was on the other foot and swimmers were told they had to dress appropriately in respect of Christians. I don’t see how this is different."

One invitation to the "Sisters Only Funday" advises attendees to cover their "awrah" (nudity) by wearing full-length jogging bottoms and a dark-coloured t-shirt. » | Scott Campbell | Sunday, June 14, 2015

Shock Warning: Terror Threat to Millions of Holidaymakers as ISIS target Turkey

SUNDAY EXPRESS: MILLIONS of sunseekers visiting Turkey are at serious risk of being attacked by terrorists hungry for British blood.

Terrifying new travel advice has been issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, warning Britons of active terrorist groups plotting attacks in the Mediterranean country.

Holidaymakers visiting beach resorts, particularly those from Britain, are at risk of kidnap, suicide bombings, car bombings, rocket attacks and improvised explosives.

More than 2.5 million Britons visit Turkey every year and this year is expected to be as popular as ever, with the pound rocketing by more than 16 per cent against the lira in the last 12 months.

But the nation, which has a 98.9 per cent Muslim population, has also been rocked by western Islamic fanatics attempting to enter Syria to join Islamic State, as well as homegrown terror groups striking in acts of rebellion against the government, police and judiciary.

Istanbul, which attracts 7.5 million tourists every year, has been listed as a specific potential target by the Foreign Office, which has described the threat of terrorism there as ‘high’.

Raffaello Pantucci, of defence think tank Royal United Services Institute, said: “Turkey and Syria are very dangerous environments. » | Helen Barnett Exclusive | Sunday, June 14, 2015

Former US President George Bush Calls for Another War in Iraq

SUNDAY EXPRESS: GEORGE W Bush is calling for US troops to wage another ground war in Iraq to defeat Islamic State militants.

Despite acknowledging that the 2003 invasion of the country was his “biggest regret”, the former president has again insisted the solution to Islamic extremism in the Middle East is “boots on the ground”.

Mr Bush took the US to war in two separate conflicts over his eight-year presidency – first in Afghanistan in 2001 and then in Iraq two years later.

The Iraq invasion was widely condemned at the time as being ill-thought out – and it resulted in a huge cost both financially and in human lives.

But in an interview with an Israeli magazine, he appeared once again to be on the warpath.
>br /> Asked about how the US should tackle ISIS, he said: “My position was that you need to have boots on the ground." » | Tom Batchelor | Sunday, June 14, 2015

Mariage de Carl Philip de Suède et Sofia : Le défilé des têtes couronnées

PARIS MATCH: Lire l’article ici »

The Queen Mocked Margaret Thatcher for Her Accent, New Book Reveals

The Queen and Margaret Thatcher had a difficult relationship

SUNDAY EXPRESS: The Queen mocked Margaret Thatcher’s accent and tried to undermine her with “petty class put-downs”, a new book chronicling the pair’s relationship reveals.

The Monarch also referred to the then prime minister as “that woman” to Commonwealth leaders and made jokes about her behind her back, it was claimed.

As the Queen celebrates her official birthday this weekend, author Dean Palmer told how the two most powerful women in recent history had repeated disagreements that were “very personal, class driven and distinctly female”.

In The Queen And Mrs Thatcher: An Inconvenient Relationship, the fi rst published analysis of their lack of rapport, Palmer claims the two female figureheads “met and disliked each other on sight”.

The book tells how Mrs Thatcher’s “entire character was anathema” to the Queen. It also reveals how she mocked Thatcher’s accent, which she described as “Royal Shakespeare received pronunciation from circa 1950”. Meanwhile, Thatcher loathed trips to Balmoral, considering them a “tedious waste of time”.

The Falklands War also caused further resentment between the pair as Thatcher became lauded as “mother of the nation” and the “public face of Britain abroad”. Veteran television producer Mr Palmer, who has made documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV, writes: “For over a decade they quietly waged a war against each other on both a personal and political stage, disagreeing on key issues including sanctions against South Africa, the miners’ strike and allowing US planes to bomb Libya using British military bases.

Elizabeth found the means to snub and undermine her prime minister through petty class put-downs and Press leaks.” » | Camilla Tominey | Sunday, June 14, 2015

The Queen And Mrs Thatcher: An Inconvenient Relationship by Dean Palmer is published by The History Press, £20.

Eine Adelshochzeit wie der Eurovision Song Contest

DIE WELT: Rihanna-Klänge, Tattoo-Blitzer und Twitter-Lästereien: Prinz Carl Philip hat seine Sofia geheiratet. Und nebenbei gezeigt, dass Schweden nicht ohne Grund Rekordsieger beim Eurovision Song Contest ist.

Trooping the Colour und Prinzen-Hochzeit an einem Datum – für Freunde von Europas Königshäusern stellte dieser Samstag so etwas wie das royale Champions-League-Finale dar.

Die erste Halbzeit kam mittags aus London: Hunderte Soldaten in roter Uniform und Bärenfellmütze marschierten vor dem Buckingham Palast zu Ehren des 89. Geburtstags von Queen Elizabeth II. auf. Eigentlich ist der bereits am 21. April. Aber Sie wissen ja, das englische Wetter ... Da ist der zweite Juni-Samstag die sonnentechnisch zuverlässigere Option.

Gatte Prinz Philipp ritt trotz seiner 94 Jahre hoch zu Ross bei der Parade mit, ebenso Thronfolger Charles, dessen Schwester Anne und Sohn William. Die jeweiligen Ehepartner fuhren Kutsche.

Eine zackige Veranstaltung mit präzisem Zeremoniell. Kinder sind da nicht vorgesehen. Der knapp zwei Jahre alte Prinz George durfte lediglich durchs Palastfenster das Treiben verfolgen. Erst fürs Familienfoto auf dem Balkon war er dabei.

Die zweite Halbzeit folgte wenige Stunden später aus Stockholm – und hätte keinen stärkeren Kontrast bilden können. » | Von Inga Catharina Thomas, Redakteurin News | Sonntag, 14. Juni 2015

Pop Culture and Royal Weddings Meet »

Islam No Joking Matter, Malaysian Stand-up Comics Say amid Creeping Conservatism

Comedian Harith Iskander speaking at The Cooler Lumpur
Festival in Kuala Lumpur, June 13, 2015.

MALAY MAIL ONLINE: KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — Jokes about race, religion and sex often form the magic bag of comedians worldwide but Malaysian comics are giving Islam a wide berth for fear of arrest and even death, as conservatism takes roots in this multicultural nation.

Comedian Jason Leong said he and fellow comics have lampooned Christianity and Buddhism, but not Islam, the predominant religion in Malaysia.

“What is difficult is making jokes about Islam, or as my friend calls it, Muslimism; we don’t wanna get arrested, we don’t wanna die,” Leong told a packed audience at a session titled “Killing Sacred Cows: Comedy in the Age of Offence” at the Cooler Lumpur Festival here yesterday.

Another popular comedian Harith Iskandar, who was also at the session, said topics related to Muslim culture would have to be packaged in layers so as to have safeguards.

“If someone is videotaping it, we could get into serious trouble, regardless of whether I myself am a Malay-Muslim,” he said. » | Boo Su-Lyn | Sunday, June 14, 2015

Gay in Putin's Moscow: Why the City Is Pinker Than You Think

Russian men kiss in Moscow 2012, a year before the 2013
law banning 'gay propaganda'.

THE GUARDIAN: LGBT nights are easy to find and Grindr reaches into the heart of the Kremlin itself. But two years after the law banning ‘homosexual propaganda’, can being gay in the Russian capital really be much fun?

“Moscow is like a small European city in the mid-90s,” says Anton Krasovsky. “Everybody knows everybody. Everybody knows who’s gay, even if nobody’s out.”

Well, not nobody. In 2013, when the Duma was debating a new law outlawing “gay propaganda”, Krasovsky was a beloved Russian TV personality, working for a news channel he’d co-founded called Kontr TV. At the end of a wide-ranging discussion on the proposed legislation, Krasovsky said, on air: “I’m gay. And I’m just as much a human being as President Putin, or Prime Minister Medvedev, or the members of the Duma.” Less than a week later, Krasovsky was no longer working for Kontr TV, the clip was removed from the archives and his face had been scrubbed from the website.

And yet ask him and his friends what it’s like to be gay in Moscow and they shrug. “Moscow attracts gay men from all the villages, so there are more gay people in Moscow than anywhere else in Russia. And they all just want what everyone else wants: somebody to love.” » | Chris Michael, Judith Soal and Maeve Shearlaw in Moscow | Saturday, June 13, 2015

David Cameron Orders Crackdown on Summer Surge of FGM Cases

THE GUARDIAN: PM attacks ‘cruel, barbaric practice’ of female genital mutilation as ministers are told to rush through new powers to seize passports

New laws aimed at preventing young girls being taken abroad to undergo female genital mutilation are to be fast-tracked within weeks, amid fears that the number of cases could soar during the summer holidays.

David Cameron has ordered ministers to rush through measures before schools break up next month.

The measures will enable local authorities, social workers or police to apply directly to courts to ensure that any individual they suspect of trying to take someone abroad for FGM will have to surrender their passport and other travel documents with immediate effect. » | Toby Helm Political editor | Saturday, June 13, 2015

Pop Culture and Royal Weddings Meet: Prince Carl Philip of Sweden & Sofia Hellqvist – Wedding Ceremony

Fury as Schools BAN Muslims from Fasting during Ramadan

DAILY EXPRESS: A GROUP of schools has banned Muslim pupils from fasting during Ramadan due to concerns over their health.

Four primary schools in London, run by the Lion Academy Trust, announced the controversial ban in a letter to parents earlier this week.

Barclay Primary School in Leyton said that pupils have "fainted" and "became ill" after fasting for 18 hours in previous years.

The school added: "We are reliably informed that in Islamic Law, children are not required to fast during Ramadan, only being required to do so when they become adults."

The other schools affected by the ban are Sybourn Primary School in Waltham Forest, Thomas Gamuel Primary School in Walthamstow, and Brook House Primary School in Tottenham.

The move has been slammed by the Muslim community, including the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), which said there are "sufficient and stringent rules within Islam" protecting those who are too young to fast. » | Tom Parfitt | Friday, June 12, 2015

Le roi retire le titre de duchesse à l'infante Cristina

De gauche à droite, le prince Felipe, l'infante Cristina et son
mari Iñaki Urdangarin.

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: La sœur du roi, l'infante Cristina, est accusée de délits fiscaux dans un scandale de corruption impliquant aussi son époux.

Le roi d'Espagne Felipe VI a décidé de retirer le titre de duchesse à sa sœur, l'infante Cristina, a annoncé jeudi le Palais Royal. Cette dernière est accusée de délits fiscaux dans un scandale de corruption impliquant aussi son époux.

«Le Bulletin officiel de l'Etat publiera demain un Décret Royal par lequel Sa Majesté le Roi révoquera l'utilisation du titre de Duchesse de Palma de Majorque par l'Altesse royale, l'infante Cristina», a indiqué le palais dans un communiqué. » | vendredi 12 juin 2015

THE GUARDIAN: Spanish king strips sister of duchess title amid tax evasion scandal: King Felipe VI relieves his sister Princess Cristina of her title, Duchess of Palma » | Agence France-Presse | Thursday, June 11, 2015

A Fourth Reich In The Sun? – Hitler's Escape to Argentina

Patrick Henningsen interviews Gerrard Williams, the former Duty Editor at Reuters Television and Foreign Duty Editor at The BBC, Sky News and APTN and author of the book Grey Wolf. Patrick and Gerrard take a deeper look into one of the greatest the untold stories of World War II, where Adolf Hitler and many other top Nazis including Martin Bormann, escaped to Argentina after the Fall of Berlin in 1945.

In addition, they investigate the active role of many top US and German international corporations had in supporting the Nazi war machine during the war, as well as top Nazi involvement in the formation of the Bilderberg Group after WWII.

Independent journalist Patrick Henningsen, is the managing editor of 21st Century Wire, which delivers news and exposés on intelligence, foreign policy, media propaganda, climate change, the war on terror, technology, Wall Street and the Geo-Political agenda of the global elite.


Related »

Revealed: Hitler in Argentina

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New Film Reveals Hitler Fled to Argentina – Noam Shalev

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Hitler DID Escape Germany in 1945: Staggering New Claims Point to Huge Nazi Cover-up

Hitler and Eva Braun in Germany in 1940

DAILY EXPRESS: ADOLF Hitler did not commit suicide but escaped before his death was faked in a massive cover up by the Nazis, historians have sensationally claimed.

In allegations set to debunk one of the biggest slices of world history, Russia is also accused of hiding vital evidence proving the Fuhrer and his wife Eva Braun fled in disguise.

Two corpses found after the Second World War reported to be those of Hitler and Braun were in fact murdered body doubles.

The claims due to be aired in an explosive television expose tomorrow will blow wide open theories of what happened to the world’s most infamous mass murderers.

The programme claims Hitler did not die at the end of the war and threatens to expose the foundation of post-Second World War history as nothing more than a tissue of “lies”.

Official records hold the brutal dictator, shamed in defeat in April 1945, shot himself in the head in a bunker in Berlin while his wife took a lethal cyanide pill.

But their bodies were swiftly burned with reports confirming their deaths based on what is now claimed to be dubious eyewitness evidence.

Journalist, author and historian Gerrard Williams claims two innocent lookalikes were murdered with the world falling victim to a “duplicitous deception”.

He said: “I believe that in April 1945 the real Hitler along with Eva Braun were spirited out of the bunker where they escaped.

“They did not die, we were lied to, we’re still being lied to.” Read on and comment » | Nathan Rao | Thursday, June 11, 2015

Australia PM Tony Abbott Urges Regional Action against IS

Australia has introduced new national security measures
including criminalising travel to terror hotspots

BBC AMERICA: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has urged Asia Pacific nations to fight jihadist groups, saying Islamic State (IS) has global ambitions.

At a conference in Sydney on countering terrorist propaganda, he said IS was a death cult with far-reaching tentacles.

Australia says more than 100 of its citizens are fighting with militant jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq.

Last year, Australia raised its threat level to high and has conducted a series of counter-terrorism raids.

The two-day regional security summit includes ministers from 25 countries and executives from Google, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites.

"Daesh [IS] is coming, if it can, for every person and for every government with a simple message: 'Submit or die','" Mr Abbott said in his opening remarks. "You can't negotiate with an entity like this, you can only fight it."

"This is not terrorism for a local grievance, this is terrorism with global ambitions." » | Thursday, June 11, 2015

Die Queen besucht Deutschland, den Ort ihrer Wurzeln

Die Queen in ihrer zeremoniellen Kutsche in London

DIE PRESSE: Für die 89Jährige ist der Besuch Ende Juni bereits der fünfte Staatsbesuch in jenem Land, dem viele ihrer Ahnen entstammen. Auf dem Programm stehen unter anderem Berlin, Frankfurt und das KZ Bergen-Belsen.

Die britische Königin Elizabeth II. scheut auch im gesegneten Alter von 89 Jahren keine größere Tour: Von 23. bis 26. Juni wird die Queen Deutschland besuchen, und damit jenes Land, wo im Grunde die Wurzeln ihrer eigenen Familie, des Hauses Windsor, liegen. Für die Queen ist Deutschland tatsächlich auch schon ein ziemlich vertrauter Ort: Neben bereits vier formellen Staatsbesuchen (1965, 1978, 1992 und 2004) und offiziellen Visiten (1987 und 2000) reiste sie mehrmals an, um die britische Rheinarmee zu besuchen:[sic]

Diesmal stehen auf dem Besuchsprogramm unter anderem das Berliner Scholss Bellevue, Amtssitz des deutschen Bundespräsidenten; das Brandenburger Tor; die Paulskirche in Frankfurt, im 19. Jahrhundert Tagungsort der Deutschen Nationalversammlung; und das ehemalige KZ Bergen-Belsen nahe Celle am Niederrhein, wo von 1941 bis 1945 mehr als 70.000 Menschen umkamen.

Elizabeth besucht damit auch ein Land, das sie selbst noch gut als Gegner im Zweiten Weltkrieg in Erinnerung hat. Als die damals 14 Jahre alte Elizabeth sich am 13. Oktober 1940 vor ein Mikrofon der BBC setzte und eine Rede an die Kinder Großbritanniens und des ganzen Empires hielt, machte sie damit Millionen Menschen Mut inmitten des Kriegs. "Gott wird sich um uns kümmern und uns Frieden und Sieg schenken", sagte das junge Mädchen, das nach dem Tod ihres Vaters George VI. 1952 im Juni 1953 zur Königin gekrönt wurde. » | DiePresse.com | Mittwoch, 10. Juni 2015

Obama's Smoking Struggle

THE GURADIAN: Obama photo ignites rumors that the president has rekindled smoking habit: The photo appears to show the president holding a packet of cigarettes during last weekend’s G7 summit. Unless it’s gum. But who steps outside to chew gum? » | Tom McCarthy in New York | Tuesday, June 09, 2015

Secrets of Althorp – The Spencers (Full Documentary)

Althorp, childhood home and final resting place of Princess Diana, is currently the home of Diana’s brother, Charles, the 9th Earl Spencer. Nineteen generations of Spencers have presided over this grand estate for more than 500 years. The Spencer dynasty has produced politicians, military heroes, dukes and duchesses and will one day furnish Britain with a king: Diana’s son, Prince William.

Iranian Refugee Case Could Test Religious Freedom Laws, Experts Say

ABC: A group of Iranian asylum seekers whose claims for protection have been rejected are appealing against the decision in the Federal Court, in what constitutional experts say could test Australia's protection of religious freedom.

The ABC understands the seven asylum seekers have all converted from Islam to Christianity and fear persecution if they return to Iran.

Human rights lawyer David Manne, who heads the Refugee and Immigration Law Society said in Iran, said apostasy - which is defined as the deliberate abandonment of Islam by a Muslim - is punishable by death.

"The evidence is crystal clear that [such] conversions to Christianity can result in serious human rights abuses, including execution," he said.

"Although the criminal code doesn't proscribe apostasy, they draw upon Islamic law to impose it.

"It's considered to be an offence against sharia law, which is punishable by death." » | Stephanie Dalzell | Thursday, May 28, 2015