A Baltimore man named Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley shot and wounded his girlfriend, and then traveled to Brooklyn, where he shot and killed two police officers sitting in their parked patrol car. After the shooting he fled to a nearby subway station, where he shot and killed himself. Before executing the police, Mr. Brinsley had posted threats on social media, along with photographs of quotes from the Koran.

In other news, the Central Council of Jews in Germany is warning about the dangers of PEGIDA, the grassroots anti-Islamization movement. The chairman of the council says that German Jews should come to the defense of Muslims in Germany.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, K, Srdja Trifkovic, Steen, Vlad Tepes, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

ECB Vice President Expects Negative Eurozone Inflation in Coming Months

A senior official with the European Central Bank has said that he expects the inflation rate in the eurozone to turn negative next year. However, he also said he didn’t expect this to develop into a long-term problem.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Black Muslim Who Quoted Koran Murders 2 NYPD Cops as “Revenge for Garner”

by Daniel Greenfield

Here’s what race baiting leads to. The blood of these police officers is on the hands of Bill de Blasio. It’s on the hands of Obama. It’s on Al Sharpton’s hands (but his hands are covered in blood from Crown Heights and Freddy’s) and they’re on the hands of a media that helped whip up the racist rants.

Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley announced on Instagram, They Take 1 Of Ours … Let’s Take 2 of Theirs. And murdered two police officers.

He apparently spoke Arabic and his Facebook page from March 17 included this screenshot of the Koran.

Man Who Executed Two Cops Shot His Girlfriend in Baltimore Then Traveled to New York and Bragged on Instagram That He Was Going to Get Revenge for Eric Garner and Mike Brown Before Launching Deadly Attack and Finally Killing Himself

This is the man who shot dead two police officers in a sickening act of revenge for the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown.

Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley, 28, shot his girlfriend in Baltimore on Saturday morning then traveled 190 miles to Brooklyn where he fired a fatal round of bullets at recently-married officer Wenjian Liu and father-of-one Rafael Ramos — before turning the gun on himself.

According to witnesses, Brinsley walked out of a home with a gun in his hand at 3pm, crept up behind the officers’ patrol car, and systematically shot both men in the head through the passenger window.

He then walked to the Myrtle/Willoughby G train subway station where he shot himself in the head.

It came two hours after he posted a picture of a gun on Instagram with the chilling message: ‘I’m Putting Wings On Pigs Today. They Take 1 Of Ours… Let’s Take 2 of Theirs #ShootThePolice #RIPErivGardner (sic) #RIPMikeBrown. This May Be My Final Post. I’m Putting Pigs In A Blanket.’

Tragically, Baltimore police had tried to apprehend Brinsley by alerting the NYPD after his morning shooting — but by the time a wanted flyer was issued, his attack was already under way…

Sources: Baltimore Man Suspected in Fatal Shooting of 2 NYPD Officers

NEW YORK (AP) — An armed man, allegedly from Maryland, walked up to two New York Police Department officers sitting inside a patrol car in Brooklyn, NY and opened fire Saturday afternoon, killing both before running into a nearby subway station and committing suicide, police said.

Our CBS affiliate in New York says police sources believe the suspect is a 28-year-old Baltimore man.

The shooting took place in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, where streets are now blocked off. Both officers were rushed to Woodhull hospital, where one was pronounced dead. Police had said at least one of the officers was shot in the head.

Authorities say the suspect fatally shot himself inside the station…

Two NYPD Officers Shot Dead in ‘Ambush’ Sitting in Patrol Car in Brooklyn by Gunman Who Boasted on Instagram About ‘Revenge’ Killing Cops (Graphic Images)

Ismaaiyl Brinsley fired at the officers in their squad car outside of the Tompkins Houses in Bedford-Stuyvesant sources said. Hours earlier, Brinsley reportedly shot his girlfriend in Baltimore and boasted in social media about wanting to kill cops. Both officers later died at Woodhull Hospital.

Two NYPD cops were executed Saturday after a gang member from Baltimore drove to the city to kill police officers after wounding his girlfriend, sources told the Daily News.

The shooter, identified as Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, boasted about wanting to kill cops in the hours before he ambushed the officers outside the Tompkins Houses in Bedford-Stuyvesant about 3 p.m. Saturday.

“I’m Putting Wings On Pigs Today. They Take 1 Of Ours…Let’s Take 2 of Theirs,” Brinsley wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of a silver handgun and a series of hashtags referencing the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown.

Brinsley made good on his promise, firing several rounds into the patrol car parked near Myrtle and Tompkins Aves., witnesses said…

Bulgarian Parliament Ratifies 1.5 Bln Euro Loan Agreement

Aimed for financing growing budget deficit, Insurance Fund

(ANSA) — TRIESTE — The Bulgarian Parliament ratified the 1,5 bln euro Loan Agreement with HSBC Bank, Societe Generale, CitiBank, N.A. (London Branch), and UniCredit. The loan will be used to finance the country’s growing deficit, the Deposit Insurance Fund and to ensure liquidity of the banking sector.

Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party (GERB), the Reformist Bloc, the Patriotic Front and Alternative for Bulgarian Revival (ABV) voted in favor of the bill. Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP)-Left Bulgaria and Ataka voted against, while the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and Bulgarian Democratic Centre abstained.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Franciscan Order in ‘Grave’ Financial Trouble After Massive Fraud

The Franciscan Order founded by Saint Francis of Assisi, who advocated a life of poverty, is in deep financial trouble following the discovery of massive fraud and is appealing for help.

Italy’s Panorama magazine said the 800-year-old order had invested tens of millions of euros in suspect firms currently under investigation in Switzerland for dodgy practices.

The Italian press has also questioned the order’s financial wisdom in spending millions of euros on renovating Il Cantico, a luxury hotel it owns in Rome.

In a rare open letter, the American head of the order, Michael Perry, admitted the situation was “grave.”…

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



French Police Shoot Dead Knifeman Who Was Shouting Islamic Slogans

Investigation under way after man attacks officers in police station in central France

French police on Saturday shot dead a man who attacked them with a knife in a police station while shouting “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great” in Arabic), a source said.

The man injured the face of an officer at the entrance to the police station in Joue-les-Tours near the city of Tours in central France and injured two other before he was shot, the interior ministry said.

Anti-terrorist investigators were probing the incident, a judicial source said.

The perpetrator was a French citizen born in Burundi in 1994 and known to police for common crimes, a source close to the case told AFP, adding that the attacker “shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ from the moment he entered until his last breath.”

According to a statement by the interior ministry, the assailant was around 20 years of age, and was “killed (by) police officers present using their issued firearms.”…

Gentiloni Warn of Danger of Returning Italian Jihadists

Risk higher as ISIS undergoes military defeat, says minister

(ANSA) Rome, December 19 — Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni cautioned Friday that dozens of Italian jihadists fighting with militant Islamist group ISIS could threaten Italy’s security if they start coming home in the wake of military defeats.

“According to our intelligence services the Italian fighters active in these theatres are only dozens and not hundreds,” the foreign minister told State broadcaster RAI.

“The return phenomenon … paradoxically can multiply as the international coalition obtains results.

“Controls must be very, very serious,” given that “to create threats against our security” it would be sufficient to have “isolated situations” or lone attackers, he added.

“Italy is luckily a country with brilliant intelligence services, very active law and order forces, and good international relations,” Gentiloni said.

“This has often kept us away from risks compared to other countries but the concern and attention must be at a maximum at this moment”.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



German Council of Jews Chairman Condemns “Immensely Dangerous” PEGIDA Movement

In light of recent marches by the controversial PEGIDA movement, Germany’s Central Council of Jews (ZdJ) has come to the defense of Muslims in Germany. Chairman Josef Schuster has warned to not underestimate the group.

The newly-elected chairman of the council, Josef Schuster, said in Saturday’s edition of the German newspaper Die Welt that fear of Islamistic terrorism is being “exploited” to vilify an entire religion. “This is completely unacceptable,” said Schuster.

At the same time, however, Schuster expressed his deep concerns over the demonstrations led by PEGIDA, which loosely translates as the “Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West,” and warned against underestimating the movement. They are “immensely dangerous,” he said.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Italy: Interior Minister Wants Law to Encourage Corrupt to Repent

Alfano says ready to support parliamentary bill

(ANSA) Rome, December 19 — Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said Friday he will support a parliamentary bill to give legal protection to corrupt officials and politicians who repent and turn state’s evidence.

“I am sure we will get wide support,” Alfano said during a conference presenting the budget of the DIA anti-mafia department.

“I am ready to support in Parliament a measures that favours repentants in corrupt systems.

“Corruption is a cancer that we want to unroot and I am sure that Italy has the moral energy to do it”.

“We need incentives so that people tell the state who the corrupted and corruptors are and those who speak must be rewarded by the State,” Alfano said.

“We will be very tough — we want stiffer terms, to favour penitents, confiscation of assets and restitution of swag”.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Some 100 Mn Seized From Suspect in Rome Mafia Probe

Guarnera among dozens arrested as part of huge investigation

(ANSA) — Rome, December 19 — Finance police on Friday seized assets worth a total of around 100 million euros from Cristiano Guarnera, a businessman who is among dozens of people arrested as part of a massive probe into allegations a mafia organization muscled in on city of Rome contracts. Stakes in companies, three plots of land and 179 properties were among the assets confiscated from Guarnera. Around 100 people are under investigation as part of the so-called Mafia Capitale probe, including the city’s former centre-right mayor Gianni Alemanno.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy’s EU Presidency Achieved Unprecedented Results: Renzi

Renzi hails reform record during EU rotating chairmanship

(ANSA) — Brussels, December 18 — Premier Matteo Renzi said Thursday that Italy has made unprecedented progress during its current chairmanship of the European Union.

“Now we can take Italy back to where it should be,” he said during Italy Innovation Day in Brussels, recalling the packet of reforms his government has implemented as well as those still in the pipeline.

“There are many problems that have to be faced up to, we are dealing with them,” he said.

“In nine months we made an important package,” of legislation, Renzi added.

“No country in Europe has ever done so much altogether,” Renzi declared.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy’s Tobacco Execs Arrested in Alleged Smuggling Ring

Contraband cigarettes worth 100 million euros found

(ANSA) — Ancona, December 16 — Two executives with Manifattura Italiana Tabacco MIT, an Italian tobacco manufacturer, were arrested Tuesday during a probe into allegations of a cigarette smuggling ring, executives said.

Finance police arrested the MIT executives along with four other people in the Italian coastal city of Ancona, following an investigation.

Police say they uncovered a 100-million euros cigarette smuggling ring.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Montereale Testifies ‘Berlusconi Paid 5,000 Euros for Sex’

Witness in Bari escorts trial paid 1,000 to be in parties

(ANSA) — Bari, December 15 — Women who slept with Berlusconi allegedly got paid as much as 5,000 euros, a witness testified Monday at an ongoing prostitution trial in the southern city of Bari. “I don’t know if it was true but that’s what (escort) Patrizia D’Addario and (defendant) Gianpaolo Tarantini told me,” Barbara Montereale told the court.

D’Addario, 47, is a witness for the prosecution in the case against Tarantini and six others — including showgirl Sabina Beganovic, known as the “queen bee” for her role in organizing so-called bunga bunga sex parties at Berlusconi’s homes on charges of criminal association and running an escort ring.

They stand accused of supplying a total of 26 women, including working girls, to the former premier in 2008 and 2009.

Montereale added she was paid 1,000 euros to show up at parties given by the former premier.

She also testified that Berlusconi gave her 10,000 euros after she told him she couldn’t make ends meet as a young single mother.

After the parties, D’Addario called her “almost every day, complaining that Berlusconi hadn’t paid her and threatening to go public if he didn’t keep his promises”.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Italy: Priest Installs Cell-Phone Blocker in Naples Church

Shopkeepers blame priest’s device for digital woes

(ANSA) — Naples, December 15 — A priest in Naples has installed a device in his church blocking cellular phones, after he tired of telling parishioners to shut them off, the newspaper Il Mattino reported Monday.

The young high tech priest, Don Michele Madonna, has headed the church Santa Maria a Montesanto, located in a commercial hub of downtown Naples, for the last two years.

Madonna’s initiative received applause from many parishioners but also complaints from many shopkeepers near the church.

“For a number of months, we have had problems with debit cards, which go haywire, as do tablets and cellular phones,” said one shopkeeper.

Shopkeepers claim Madonna’s tech device has also sabotaged business by interfering with a common practice among merchants to gather customer orders via cell phone.

The priest denies any blame for the digital mishaps.

“When I installed (the device) a number of months ago, there was a Whatsapp blackout, and they blamed it on me. Instead, the block was a national phenomenon,” Madonna told the paper. “I had the prosecutor’s office process my request to use the device that I bought in a specialized shop,” added the priest. “It works exclusively within the 40 square meters of the church”.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



‘Life in Romania Worse Than During Ceausescu’, Poll Shows

Citizens aged over 50 the most disappointed

(ANSA) — TRIESTE — According to the opinion poll published in the Inscop research centre in Romania, more than 40% of Romanians thinks that the situation in the country is worse today than during the communist regime lead by Nicolae Ceausescu. According to this poll, only 33% of the questioned thinks that the current situation is better than in 1989, while 17% finds that things have remained the same.

The Inscop analysts explained that such results are not a sign of a nostalgic wave towards the communist regime, but more a reaction to the negative circumstances — in terms of possibility of finding a permanent job, or poor health and education system — considered worse than before 1989. The most disappointed are Romanians over 50 years old.

Namely, 45,8% of the questioned in this age group retains that living conditions in Romania today are worse than 25 years ago.

The poll has been commissioned by the Adevarul daily.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Löfven Launches Swedish “American Dream”

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven used his Christmas speech on Saturday to launch his idea of the “Swedish Promise”, the Scandinavian country’s equivalent of the more familiar “American Dream” has its “American Dream”.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Over 70 Castles on Sale in Italy

Manors on the market from north to south

(ANSA) — Florence, December 15 — From northern to southern Italy, rising taxes and high maintenance costs have driven dozens of private castles onto the market, Florence-based Lionard Luxury Real Estate said Monday.

“On our website alone we have 37 castles on sale, but we have over 70 across Italy in our portfolio,” said Lionard CEO Dimitri Corti. Prices range from 1,200 to 8,500 euros a square meter, with foreign buyers as the prime investors in this type of real estate. Deals can be found in Emilia Romagna, Lazio, Liguria, Piedmont, Tuscany, and Umbria.

In Tuscany, the 5,000-square-meter newly renovated 19th-century Castello di Acquabella, in the splendid natural reserve of Vallombrosa near the abbey by the same name, is on sale for just over 1,000 euros a square meter. About seven kilometers from Siena, the Castle of Sapia is also on sale for 2.5 million euros. In the Chianti countryside near Florence, the imposing Castello di Tavolese, which belonged to the house of Farinata degli Uberti, the family of Petrarca’s mother, is also on sale.

It measures 7,676 covered square meters and has 67 hectares of park, a church, and farms.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Pope Sacks Bertone, Cardinal Tauran New Camerlengo

(AGI) Vatican City, Dec. 20 — Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone is no longer Camerlengo of the Holy Church of Rome. Pope Francis has replaced him with Cardinal Jean Louis Tauran, the memorable Foreign Minister of Pope John Paul II and currently president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Bertone turned 80 last Dec. 2 and therefore could not eventually participate in a Conclave. As Protodeacon, Cardinal Tauran announced the election of Pope Francis on March 13, 2013.

During the last few month, he closely collaborated with the Pontiff, especially in cleaning up the Vatican’s financial sector and the IOR Vatican bank in particular. Born in Bordeaux, Cardinal Tauran is now 71 years old. He was conscientious objector, refusing to serve in the army and, before entering the seminary, he did civil service as voluntary aid worker and taught in a Catholic school in Lebanon. Ordained in 1969, Tauran worked as a curate in the Archdiocese of Bordeaux while he studied Canon Law at the Catholic University of Toulouse. After he moved to Rome in 1973, he studied at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, where the Holy See’s diplomats are trained, and at the Pontifical Gregorian University, where he graduated in Canon Law. He took office in the Vatican’s diplomatic service in 1975. He was secretary of the nunciature to the Dominican Republic from 1975 to 1979, and was later transferred to the Apostolic Nunciature of Lebanon, where he remained till 1983, when he was called to join the Council for the Public Affairs of the Church. From 1990 to 2003 he was Secretary for Relations with States. During these 13 years, Cardinal Tauran went on several missions abroad and led the Vatican delegation in numerous international conferences.

He was created Cardinal-Deacon by Pope John Paul in the consistory of 21 October 2003 and was concomitantly named Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church. Pope Benedict XVI later appointed him president of the of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in June 2007. Affected with Parkinson’s disease, he is widely admired for the heroic attitude with which he continues his apostolic activities despite his obvious difficulties, just like John Paul II.

THE CAMERLENGO IS THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE CHURCH’S PROPERTY AND GOVERNS THE CHURCH DURING THE ‘SEDE VACANTE’

The Camerlengo is the administrator of the property and revenues of the Holy See during the Sede Vacante or during the absence of the Pope, but he must do so in a way as to preserve the property, without taking extraordinary initiatives. If the Pope dies, he has the task of certifying the death and informing the Cardinal Vicar of Rome, who is entrusted with the task of revealing the news to the people. The Camerlengo takes possession of the Ring of the Fisherman and cuts it and all other papal seals with shears. He then seals off the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, in the Lateran Palace and in Castelgandolfo. This marks the beginning of the Sede Vacante, when the Camerlengo starts preparing the funeral and the subsequent nine days of mourning, or ‘novendialis’. He then starts preparing the Conclave to elect a new Pope through the General Congregations, which are chaired by the Cardinal-Deacon: 87-year-old Angelo Sodano who was appointed to this office in 2005. During the Sede Vacante, the coat of arms of the Camerlengo, although it is stil made up of 30 red ribbons like all cardinals, it is topped with the banner of the Pope with two crossed keys surmounted by the papal tiara.

During this period, the Camerlengo can also mint new coins that, even if they have legal tender, will never be put in circulation as they are exclusively intended for collectors.

The coins portray his coat of arms, with the saying ‘Sede Vacante’ and the year of issue or the fineness of the precious metal, expressed as one thousand part.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Sweden: More Needs to be Done to Fight Hate Crime, Says Police Chief

Hate crimes need to be prioritised by police and clear efforts need to be made when the new national police organisation is created in the new year.

That is according to Håkan Sandahl, currently police chief in Jönköping county, given the task by the previous centre-right government to see what can be done to fight crimes targeted at specific groups in society. These include crimes with homophobic, racist or anti-semitic motives.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Sweden: Still No Suspects in Malmö Bomb Blasts

Malmö police have confirmed that bombs were the cause of two large explosions in the Rosengård district of the city last night.

No-one was hurt in the blasts, and police do not yet have any suspects. One car exploded and the other blast was targeted an office.

“Our bomb technicians say the explosive devices at both places were pretty big. We have found pieces of tyre fifty metres away from the site of the car bomb. That’s a sign of a pretty big device detonating”, Linda Pleym from the local police in Malmö tells Swedish Radio in the city.

Police say they do not yet know if the two explosions are linked, and have not yet located any witnesses.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Vatican Uses Praise to Heal Rift With US Nuns

A much-anticipated Vatican report on the lives of American nuns was published Tuesday with the Church praising their social activism while gently reminding them to “remain in harmony with Catholic teaching.”

Although the report included emphasis on the Vatican’s authority and stressed the need for a review of thinking in some unidentified orders, the overall tone of the report was in line with the conciliatory style of Pope Francis, who inherited the controversial and divisive process from his predecessor.

As such it appeared an attempt to draw a line under one of the most controversial episodes in the Church’s recent history…

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Young People Massively Leave Kosovo and Head to Europe

PRISTINA — Mostly young people, but also couples with children, are leaving Kosovo through Belgrade and Hungary because, as they say, the life in the area has become very difficult, writes Pristina “Blic”.

Last night, writes the daily, three buses, full with young Albanians, women and children, left Pristina in the direction of the West, where these people are headed “in search of bread”. Their route is via Belgrade and Hungary, and from there to cities across Europe.

All of them, as stated, have the same goal: to get away as far as possible from Kosovo in search of a better place to live.

Although they did not want to speak in front of cameras, behind them they said that life in Kosovo has become so difficult that they have to look for something better in the West. The daily cites the example of a family who sent their only son into the world, and he did not even know the final destination.

The family, however, said:” Let our son go where others go”, reported agency Kosovapress.

Most of them went on “the road without an address”, with a hope that somewhere, anywhere, they will find a better life than the one they are offered in Kosovo.

Buses were full, it is said, and only the person who booked the ticket in advance could go with them. Those who did not have a reservation, they said, will wait for another opportunity, writes Pristina “Blic”.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Zitouna Moderate Islam on Tour in Tunisia

The Peace Caravan travelling against extremism

(ANSAmed) — TUNIS, DEC 16 — University theology professors, sheikhs and sage men from the Zitouna Mosque in Tunis, a renowned centre of Islamic thought of the Malekite school, have embarked on a bus tour that will take them to different Tunisian governorates to spread tolerance and other Muslim values. The goal of the “Peace Carovan”, the name given to the initiative, the first of its kind in Tunisia, is to raise public awareness towards values such as tolerance and respect for others in order to offset the sirens of extremism. During the tour the caravan will visit mausoleums and invite citizens to partecipate to meetings and debates. Zouhir Latif, director of Telvza TV promoted the initiative together with Zitouna religious personalities. Latif also created the slogan: “Une Patrie pour tous; la Tunisie à tout le monde” (‘a country for all, Tunisia to all’), in a bid to remind Tunisians of the importance of their union under a same flag and harmonious co-existence in accordance with the noble teachings of Islam. On its journey through the country, the Peace Caravan will pass through the governorates of Kairouan, Gabes, Kebili, Douz, Tozeur, Gafsa e Sidi Bouzid.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



American Troops Battle ISIS for First Time as They See Off Attempted Attack by Militants on Iraqi Base

A number of militants have been killed in Islamic State’s very first battle with U.S. ground troops after the extremists attempted to overrun an Iraqi military base.

The militants attacked Ein al-Asad military base on Sunday where more than 100 U.S. military support troops are based.

Despite launching the surprise attack just after midnight, ISIS’s offensive was swiftly repelled when U.S. troops and F18 jets joined in the skirmish in support of the Iraqi Army…

— Hat tip: K [Return to headlines]



IS Said to Execute 100 Foreign Fighters Who Wanted to Quit

The Islamic State extremist group has executed 100 of its own foreign fighters who tried to flee their headquarters in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the Financial Times newspaper said Saturday.

An activist opposed to both IS and the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is well-known to the British business broadsheet, said he had “verified 100 executions” of foreign IS fighters trying to leave the jihadist group’s de facto capital.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



ISIS Reportedly Selling Christian Artifacts, Turning Churches Into Torture Chambers

The Islamic State is turning Christian churches in Iraq and Syria into dungeons and torture chambers after stripping them of priceless artifacts to sell on the black market, according to reports.

Ancient relics and even entire murals are being torn from the houses of worship and smuggled out through the same routes previously established for moving oil and weapons in and out of the so-called caliphate, a vast region the jihadist army has claimed as sovereign under Sharia law.

“ISIS has a stated goal to wipe out Christianity,” Jay Sekulow, of the American Center for Law and Justice and the author of “Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can’t Ignore,” told FoxNews.com. “This why they are crucifying Christians — including children — destroying churches and selling artifacts. The fact is, this group will stop at nothing to raise funds for its terrorist mission.”

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Killing Top IS Leaders Not Enough to Cripple Group, Say Experts

The Pentagon has hailed the deaths of several top leaders of the Islamic State group, but experts say this is far from enough to cripple what has proven to be a resilient organisation.

US officials say air strikes have killed several senior and mid-level jihadists including Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, the right hand man of IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, dealing a serious blow to the group’s operations.

But analysts warn that disruptions of this type are often fleeting and that the US-led coalition needs to look beyond their military campaign to weaken the group that has become the world’s most feared jihadist organisation since proclaiming a “caliphate” straddling Syria and Iraq six months ago.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Moroccan F16s Join Anti-ISIS Coalition

Under UAE command; Rabat fleet most modern in Maghreb

(ANSAmed) — ROME, DECEMBER 17 — Morocco will officially join the international coalition to fight the Islamic State (ISIS) by sending an unspecified number of F16s to the conflict area in Iraq, Jeune Afrique quotes Moroccan sources as saying. The publication reports that the aircraft will be under the command of UAE forces, which are already engaged in the US-led coalition airstrikes. Since 2011, Lockheed Martin has delivered 24 F16s to Morocco, making the fleet the most modern in the Maghreb.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Turkey: Van Cats Poised to Escape Extinction at University

(ANSAmed) — ISTANBUL, DECEMBER 17 — The famous cats of the eastern Turkish province of Van appear set to escape extinction thanks to the efforts of the Van Cat Research and Application Center, which was formed under the auspices of Van Yuzuncu Yil University in the 1990s as reported by Anadolu Agency. The cats are known for their congeniality, silky fur, different eye colors and fascination with water. The center, which has been working for the sustainability of the Van cat breed, has attracted considerable national attention in recent years. The center raises new kittens in its cat house and has prohibited them from being removed from the town. The director of the center, Professor Abdullah Kaya, said they were enjoying a productive season full of useful research. “The number of cats that have eyes of one color each has increased to a great extent this year. If we continue in this way, the breed of Van cats will escape from the danger of extinction,” Kaya said. “Some 98% of new-born kittens were able to survive. We now keep the ones with two different eye colors under protection. The ones with the same eye color are given to people who are willing to protect them. We don’t turn down any families who want to own a Van cat,” he added.

— Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]



Manufacturers Face ‘Bloodbath’ In Russia, Says Renault Nissan Boss

The chief executive of Renault Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, has said that manufacturers in Russia are facing a “bloodbath” because of the plunge in the value of the rouble.

The currency has been dropping steadily for several months, but suffered very sharp falls earlier this week.

The two firms have stopped taking orders for some new models and raised prices on others.

Several rival manufacturers have taken similar steps.

However, Mr Ghosn said he was confident the situation would stabilise, eventually.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Ukraine is a Long-Term Affair

By Srdja Trifkovic

In the latest issue of the Russian magazine Russkiy Mir (“Russian World,” December 10) our foreign affairs editor considers the implications of the crisis in Ukraine for Russia’s geostratigic position in the years to come. (Translated from Russian by the author)

In Ukraine the United States presented Russia with its most serious challenge in the last quarter-century. Russia has not responded to that challenge in a timely manner. She proved unable to anticipate and then counter the Maidan scenario last winter, even though the grand rehearsal was presented with the “Orange Revolution” ten years ago. Now Russia’s relations with her strategically essential neighbor — Ukraine — are on the brink of rupture, or a painful restructuring for decades to come.

Normal US-Russian relations would require the recognition that Russia has legitimate interests in her near abroad. To understand the Washingtonian mindset, however, we need to recall a quote from President Obama’s graduation address at West Point in May 2014: “The values of our founding inspire leaders in parliaments and new movements in public squares around the globe.” Evidently he was alluding to the Maidan.

The Founding Fathers would turn in their graves to learn that, according to the president of the United States, their values have inspired Messrs. Tyahnibok, Yarosh, and other blood-soaked heirs of Stepan Bandera who now sit in the Parliament of Ukraine. The mindset is hardly new. In 1999 Senator Joseph Lieberman declared, “The United States of America and the Kosovo Liberation Army stand for the same values and principles. Fighting for the KLA is fighting for human rights and American values.”

“The United States is and remains the one indispensable nation,” Obama says. “That has been true for the century past, and it will be true for the century to come.” In reality it has never been true, it is not true now, and it never will be true. Madeleine Albright’s famous claim along those lines back in the 1990’s was a sign of her mental instability. It was reiterated in Bill Clinton’s 1996 speech on Bosnia. That Obama has chosen to recycle such inanities is a sign of intellectual and moral bankruptcy, not only his own but also that of a sizeable segment of the American foreign policy establishment. But the march goes on. If some country dares resist the will of the “indispensable nation,” then it is necessarily evil. Susan Rice thus condemned China and Russia at the UN for vetoing the U.S.-supported UN Security Council resolution to bomb Syria as “disgusting,” “shameful” and “unforgivable.” It’s psychotic.

A state’s political, military, economic, and moral resources are conventionally used in a balanced way to protect or enhance its security. The U.S. is practicing a different brand of diplomacy, which is in ample evidence in Ukraine. And Russia, in responding to the initial Maidan crisis, has made a severe miscalculation.

This error now needs to be corrected as part of Russia’s long-term strategy aimed at regime change in Kiev…

— Hat tip: Srdja Trifkovic [Return to headlines]



After Peshawar School Attack, Pakistan Resumes Executions

Pakistan has carried out two executions, the first since a death penalty moratorium was lifted after a deadly attack on a Peshawar school.

One of those executed was convicted over an attack on Pakistan’s Army HQ in 2009, the other over an assassination attempt on ex-leader Pervez Musharraf.

The UN had earlier urged Pakistan not to resume its executions.

Some 141 people, all but nine of them children, died in the Taliban attack on the Army Public school in Peshawar.

Pakistan’s military carried out operations against Taliban units in areas near the border with Afghanistan on Friday, saying it had killed 59 militants.

‘Different crimes’

The two executions were carried out in the central city of Faisalabad late on Friday, officials said.

Pakistani media named the two executed men as Aqeel, alias Dr Usman, and Arshad Mehmood.

Usman was arrested during the raid on the Rawalpindi HQ and sentenced to death in 2011.

— Hat tip: K [Return to headlines]



India Launches Biggest Ever Rocket Into Space

India successfully launched its biggest ever rocket on Thursday, including an unmanned capsule which could one day send astronauts into space, as the country ramps up its ambitious space programme.

The rocket, designed to carry heavier communication and other satellites into higher orbit, blasted off from Sriharikota in the southeast state of Andhra Pradesh.

“This was a very significant day in the history of (the) Indian space programme,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K.S Radhakrishnan said from mission control as fellow scientists clapped and cheered.

ISRO scientists have been riding high since an Indian spacecraft successfully reached Mars in September on a shoe-string budget, winning Asia’s race to the Red Planet and sparking an outpouring of national pride…

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



China: Mongolian Rights Activist Hada Released After 20 Years

Considered a prisoner of conscience by major human rights groups, he slams Chinese authorities for torturing him and for persecuting his family. He said he would “continue to fight against the oppression of the Mongolian nationality”. Like Tibet and Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia has suffered for decades from the arrival of Han Chinese settlers, whose immigration is undermining local traditions and beliefs.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) — Hada, an ethnic Mongol dissident and one of China’s longest-serving political prisoners, was released last week. During his time in jail, he was tortured; since he was let out, he has been threatened.

The Mongolian activist has spent much of the last two decades behind bars, including the last four years in an extrajudicial “black jail”, a detention facility in which people are held incommunicado under police custody without a court order.

Hada was first arrested in in 1996. After his trial, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for separatism, spying and supporting the Southern Mongolian Democratic Alliance, an organisation that seeks greater rights for ethnic Mongolians in China, but which Beijing considers a “terrorist” group”.

According to the dissident, the charges against him were trumped up. For various NGOs and international organisations, he was and remains a “prisoner of conscience”.

In his native province, decades of migration by China’s dominant Han community have left Chinese Mongolians a minority in their own land. Officially, they now make up less than a fifth of Inner Mongolia’s almost 24 million people.

In view of the situation, the Mongolian community has been demanding greater rights and protection for its traditions, something that Beijing has regularly ignored, like in Tibet and Xinjiang.

Despite ongoing threats, Hada plans to continue his struggle. “During these 19 years, in an effort to force me to abandon my beliefs, I was cruelly mistreated and subjected to various forms of tortures and ploys,” Hada said.

“In particular, my wife and son have been subjected to false accusations, enormous persecution and suffering. I myself have been disabled as a result of torture and brutality”.

Yet, “My next step is to arrange my life and study, to continue to fight against the oppression of the Mongolian nationality.”

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Italy Runs Training Course for Olive Oil Tasters in Japan

(AGI) Osaka, Dec 19 — A training course for professional olive oil tasters is to be held at the Italian Cultural Institute in Osaka, Japan, from Saturday, Dec. 20 to Tuesday Dec. 23. The course was organised by the Italian Consulate General with the Italian regions of Campania and Calabria. Students will learn the art of olive oil tasting from Giuseppe Antonio Lauro of the Calabria region’s Agriculture Department, Lassandro Alfredo and Grazia Stanzione of the Department of Health and Natural Resources of the Campania region, and Raffaele Sacchi, professor of Food Science and Technology at Naples University.

Professor Hayakawa of the Faculty of Agriculture of Kagawa University will be the guest speaker. The date of the next course, to be held in Fukuoka, will be announced by two Italian experts on Saturday, Dec. 27.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Italy’s Ambassador to Luanda Meets Defence Minister

(AGI) — Luanda, Dec 19 — Italy’s ambassador to Luanda, Giorgio Di Pietrogiacomo, and Angola’s defence minister, Joao Lourenco, have met again for talks on military cooperation. Mr Di Pietrogiacomo told AGI that they had discussed their plans for the sector for next year, especially as Angolan soldiers would be studying at academies in Italy and were already taking Italian courses promoted by the embassy. They also discussed the Italian minister of defence’s projected visit to Angola in 2015, along with a technical delegation. Mr Lourenco had visited Italy, touring various military establishments and the Finmeccanica factory. They talked about current international political issues, especially African ones. Angola is a very important country for Italy, Mr Di Pietrogiacomo said, and a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, so the relationship needs to take account of Angola’s new realities. This is the second time in three months that the Italian ambassador has met the Angolan defence minister; they previously met on Sept. 23, when the Angolan Naval Chief of Staff was on a trip to Italy. Italy was the first Western European country to recognise Angola’s independence on Feb. 18 1976, and diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on June 4 the same year.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Kenya: Illegal Ivory Trade ‘Out of Control’ Due to Chinese Demand, Elephants Could Disappear

During a news conference in Nairobi, Iain Hamilton, founder of the organization Save The Elephants, estimated that 100,000 wild elephants had been killed in Africa over the past three years for their ivory. China remains the “key” to the future of elephants.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) — A Kenya-based animal protection group said wild elephants could disappear within the next generation unless the Chinese government takes immediate steps to crack down on the illegal ivory trade.

In a report, Save The Elephants said China’s illegal ivory trade has spiraled out of control due to voracious demand.

During a news conference in Nairobi, Iain Hamilton, founder of the organization, estimated that 100,000 wild elephants had been killed in Africa over the past three years for their ivory. China remains the “key” to the future of elephants, he said.

According to the report, the average wholesale price of raw ivory in China increased threefold over the four years from 2010. The average retail price increased 13.5 times in Beijing and eight times in Shanghai between 2002 and 2014.

An investigation into 275 retailers that deal in ivory in the two cities found that more than 78 percent of stores in Beijing and over 89 percent of stores in Shanghai were dealing in illegal products.

The report said the illicit trade began to explode in China after 2008 when the import of 62 tons of ivory, mainly from elephants that died from natural causes, was approved in an exceptional case.

It drove demand for ivory, which is a status symbol in China. The growing demand comes mainly from the rapidly expanding affluent population, the report said.

— Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]



Report: Muslims Are Destroying Christian Churches in Ethiopia and Are Threatening Believers to Convert, Abandon Their Homes, Or Face Death

Yet another Christian church was destroyed by Muslims in Ethiopia—this time by local authorities.

Heaven’s Light Church, which served some 100 evangelical Christians, was demolished last November 28. The church had stood and functioned in the Muslim-majority city of Harar for five years. In the days preceding the destruction, officials forcibly removed the church’s exterior sign and warned believers not to worship there, citing complaints by a local Muslim. Officials further told church members who had previously congregated at the church “not to gather under what remains of the church building.” Accordingly, Christians are now meeting in homes of individual believers.

Prior to the demolition of the church, when some Christian leaders protested, they were illegally detained, released only after community members, “outraged by the wrongful detentions,” called “for their immediate release,” reported International Christian Concern, a rights advocacy group supporting the Christians:

These are no isolated incidents, explained ICC, adding that it had documented “numerous ongoing land rights battles between churches and their local governments across Ethiopia.”

In many cases, ICC said, “churches have been operating peacefully for decades on land given to them by now-deceased former congregants.”

However efforts by local majority Muslim populations to “eliminate the public presence” of churches resulted in the forceful closure, destruction and demolition of several church buildings in recent years, according to ICC investigators.

— Hat tip: K [Return to headlines]



Cuba ‘Will Not Change’ Communist System, Despite Thaw With US

Cuban President Raul Castro has hailed a recent US move to normalise bilateral relations, but stressed that Havana will not change its political system.

He also warned that Cuba faced a “long and difficult struggle” before the US removed its economic embargo.

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama announced a “new chapter” in US ties with communist-run Cuba.

He said the changes were the “most significant” in US policy towards Cuba in 50 years.

Mr Castro said he was open to discussing a wide range of issues with Washington, but stressed that Cuba would not give up its socialist principles.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Cuba Says U.S. Must Respect Its Communist System

President Raul Castro demanded on Saturday that the United States respect Cuba’s communist rule as the two countries work to restore diplomatic ties, and warned that Cuban-American exiles might try to sabotage the rapprochement.U.S. President Barack Obama this week reset Washington’s Cold War-era policy on Cuba and the two countries swapped prisoners in a historic deal after 18 months of secret talks.

Cubans have treated the end of open U.S. hostility as a triumph, especially the release of three Cuban intelligence agents who served long U.S. prison terms for spying on Cuban exile groups in Florida.

Castro said he is open to discussing a wide range of issues but that they should also cover the United States and he insisted Cuba would not give up its socialist principles.

“In the same way that we have never demanded that the United States change its political system, we will demand respect for ours,” Castro told the National Assembly.

— Hat tip: Fjordman [Return to headlines]



Obama Apologizes to Castro

Barack Obama apologized to Cuban president Raul Castro during their phone conversation after the American commander in chief’s opening remarks. Speaking to reporters at his final White House press briefing of 2014 Friday afternoon, Obama gave more details about his phone call with the communist leader of Cuba earlier this week before the announcement of a change in U.S. policy on the Caribbean island nation.

Obama began the phone call with Castro with what he described as 15 minutes of opening comments. It was the first conversation between the heads of state in both countries since 1961.