Dr. Patrick Slattery’s News Roundup
A service of DavidDuke.com
From Russia Today
German swimming pool closed to male refugees after assaults on women
Published time: 15 Jan, 2016 22:56
In a first, male migrants were banned from a leisure center in a German town for sexually harassing female visitors, while authorities in a different German town chose to step up security at a center for similar reasons.
Male asylum-seekers currently living in a hostel in Bornheim, a town on the outskirts of Bonn, were banned from visiting a local swimming pool after the number of complaints of sexual harassment from female bathers became alarmingly high, the town’s authorities said on Friday.
None of the episodes can be regarded as criminal offences, but the men’s behavior was more than inappropriate, Markus Schnapka, Bornheim’s social welfare chief said, as cited by Die Welt.
The ban is a temporary measure. The men can regain access to the swimming pool once they reconsider their behavior, according to local officials.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Key Pentagon official in Jerusalem to discuss maintaining Israel’s military edge
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. deputy defense secretary met in Israel with its senior military officials to discuss sustaining Israel’s qualitative military edge in the Middle East.
This week’s visit by Bob Work came as Israel and the United States are finalizing another 10-year memorandum of understanding extending the defense assistance relationship.
“Their discussions focused on shared national security interests, regional security trends and ways to further strengthen Israel’s qualitative military edge,” Navy Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Hillson said, according to a Pentagon release.
The current defense assistance agreement, due to lapse in 2018, provides Israel $3 billion a year in defense assistance.
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From PressTV
US, UK, France politicizing Syria crisis, Russia says
Russia has accused the United States, Britain and France of politicizing the humanitarian crisis in Syria, saying it risks derailing the peace process.
Russia’s Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Vladimir Safronkov made the remarks Friday at a Security Council meeting called by the three countries to discuss the Syria situation.
Safronkov questioned the motives of Britain, France and the US in calling for the meeting, saying it was “unnecessary noise” that politicizes a humanitarian crisis.
He said the insistence on holding the meeting “gives the impression that attempts are being made to undermine the launch of the inter-Syrian dialogue scheduled for Jan. 25” in Geneva.
“As the date for the launch draws closer there is all this unnecessary noise,” he said.
Safronkov also accused the three countries of “double standards” by focusing on the suffering in Madaya, while saying “not a word” about plight in towns under siege by militants.
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From Russia Today
Western-imposed sanctions against Tehran to be lifted Saturday – Iranian FM
Published time: 16 Jan, 2016 09:20
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. © Andrea Comas / Reuters
International sanctions against Iran are due to be lifted Saturday, according to Tehran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The move will take effect when the International Atomic Energy Agency has issued its final report concerning Iran’s nuclear program.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to release a final report in the Austrian capital of Vienna, which will confirm that Iran has stuck to its end of the bargain in regard to honoring the nuclear deal, which was struck between Tehran and six world powers last year.
“Today with the release of the IAEA chief’s report the nuclear deal will be implemented, after which a joint statement will be made to announce the beginning of the deal,” Zarif was quoted as saying by state news agency ISNA, as cited by Reuters.
The nuclear deal, which was signed on July 14, 2015, saw Iran agree to shrink its atomic program. In return, the US, EU and UN said they would lift sanctions that have hampered Tehran’s economic growth.
“Today is a good day for the Iranian people as sanctions will be lifted today,” the ISNA cited Zarif as saying. The Iranian foreign minister is also due to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry later Saturday.
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From Russia Today
Austria deploys army to halt migrants intending to transit through Germany
Published time: 16 Jan, 2016 06:36
Austria is set to use its army to stop refugees intending to transit through Germany and not apply for asylum there, as hundreds are being rejected at the German border. More than 1,000 migrants with forged IDs are being turned around at the Austrian border each week.
The new regulations issued by the Austrian Defense Ministry came into effect Saturday.
Now migrants coming to Austria to travel through Germany and beyond will be denied access and sent back home, Austrian authorities said on Friday. Slovenia is expected to resort to similar measures in order to avoid becoming a refugee bottleneck.
“What is the situation currently on the German-Austrian border? That only those who want asylum in Germany are being let through, and those who want to travel onward are sent back,” Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner told state broadcaster ORF, as quoted by Reuters.
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From Russia Today
Internet protests all-white Oscar acting nominees for 2nd yr in row
Published time: 15 Jan, 2016 12:33
The hashtag #Oscarssowhite has been revived following this week’s Oscars announcement of all-white acting nominees.
For just the second time since the late 1990s – and the second year in a row – no actors of color were nominated for the Oscar’s acting awards.
The internet objected to the absence of Michael B Jordan, star of the Rocky sequel Creed, even though Sylvester Stallone was nominated for best supporting actor. Sly won a Golden Globe for his performance earlier this month.
Stars of the NWA biopic Straight Out of Compton and Concussion star Will Smith also missed out.
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From Ynet News
Claims of Russian arms transfers to Hezbollah worry Israel
Hezbollah feared to now pose a greater threat to Israel since Russia entered the Syrian fray; analysts say, however, that Hezbollah is bogged down in Syria and it’s unlikely that Russia would directly transfer weapons to the terrorist organization.
Lebanon-based Hezbollah is growing stronger as a result of weapons’ shipments from the Russian military, two mid-level commanders in the organization have said. According to the story, first circulated in The Daily Beast, Russia is directly transferring artillery and anti-tank munitions to Hezbollah without any caveat as to what they are used for, despite Russia’s close relationship with Israel.
This begs the question whether the threat to Israel from the Shi’ite organization has intensified since Russian jets started to bomb Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s enemies. However, Hezbollah is still bogged down in the Syrian conflict and is unlikely to be supported in any way by Russia in a future conflict with Israel, analysts say.
Iran’s proxy actor, Hezbollah has enjoyed funding and training that allowed the organization to become a powerful militant force with vast arsenals of artillery rockets and a sophisticated organizational structure. A frosty standoff has endured between Hezbollah and Israel since the two fought a costly war in the summer of 2006. Heavily committed to propping up the ailing Assad regime, Hezbollah has lost strength in recent years, but remains formidable.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
What Pope Francis synagogue visit says about Catholic-Jewish relations
John Paul II’s visit 30 years ago marked a dramatic watershed in Catholic-Jewish relations. By crossing the threshold of the Tempio Maggiore, warmly embracing Rome’s then-chief rabbi, Elio Toaff, and famously referring to Jews as Christianity’s “older brothers,” the Polish-born pontiff broke down barriers that stretched back nearly 2000 years.
The visual impact alone of the pontiff and the chief rabbi embracing sent out a powerful message of reconciliation.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
2 Palestinians reported killed in riots near Gaza-Israel border
(JTA) — Israeli troops shot and killed two Palestinians during riots near the fence that separates the Gaza Strip from Israel, Palestinian officials said.
The incident occurred Friday afternoon during clashes near al-Breij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, medical sources told Maan news.
Doctors told Ma’an that 19-year-old Muhammad Abu Zayed had been shot in the head. Hours later, a second Palestinian, Muhammad Majdi Qaita, 26, died after being shot in the stomach during clashes in the same area.
Medics added that at least 10 other Palestinian youths had been shot and wounded with live fire during the clashes.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Netanyahu: Time to ‘reset’ relations with EU
“We have to reset our relationship with the European Union. I hope we can do this on better terms,” the prime minister told foreign journalists in Jerusalem Thursday. He added that he had recently discussed the tense bilateral ties with the E.U.’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini. “I said we have to figure out a way to resolve and set things on the right course,” he said.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
EU extends freeze on Iran sanctions ahead of pending removal
(JTA) — The European Union extended a freeze on sanctions against Iran, clearing the way for the removal of the economic penalties if Tehran is found to be complying with a deal on its nuclear activity.
The European Council “extended until 28 January 2016 the suspension of certain E.U. restrictive measures against Iran specified in the Joint Plan of Action of November 2013,” the Union’s foreign affairs service said in a statement Thursday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, is expected to announce its findings on Iran’s compliance with the terms of that plan Friday, AFP reported on Thursday.
“As soon as the IAEA confirms that Iran has taken the nuclear measures,” the Council added, the European Union “will give effect to the lifting of all E.U. economic financial sanctions taken in connection with the Iranian nuclear program, which will supersede the limited sanctions relief extended today.”
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From PressTV
Syria fighters ready for operation to liberate Aleppo
The Syrian army is preparing for its biggest operation since the beginning of the conflict to recapture the country’s second city of Aleppo.
Aleppo, formerly Syria’s commercial hub, is now divided between government control in the west and militant control in the east.
Daesh and al-Qaeda affiliate, Al-Nusra Front, are based in the areas ruled by foreign-backed terrorists.
By recapturing Aleppo, the Syrian army plans to broaden its security zone around the city and and prevent terrorists from receiving supplies and reinforcements from the suburbs.
“This will be the biggest military operation in Syria since the beginning of the war,” the French news agency AFP quoted one Syrian army commander as saying.
He said the army is battling on seven fronts around the city to choke up militant supply lines and surround them on the eastern part of the city.
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From PressTV
Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in Gaza Strip
From PressTV
US, UK are in Saudi ‘command center’ in war against Yemen: Riyadh
Saudi Arabia says the US and UK military advisers are in command room with Riyadh in its war against Yemen, and are working alongside the Saudi forces in bombing the impoverished country.
Following a meeting with a number of British ministers and US Secretary of State John Kerry in London, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir noted that the military officials are well aware of the so-called “target lists.”
“We have British officials and American officials and officials from other countries in our command and control center. They know what the target list is and they have a sense of what it is that we are doing and what we are not doing,” the Saudi foreign minister told journalists on Thursday.
Saudi authorities “pick” the targets, not them, Jubeir further said, adding, “I don’t know technically exactly what part of the process they are in, but I do know they are aware of the target lists.”
He also said the Riyadh government is “transparent” in sharing the public with what it is doing in Yemen. “We have nothing to hide.”
The Saudi foreign minister also rejected claims that the Arab kingdom’s military campaign was meant to bomb “civilians indiscriminately,” saying the claim was not supported by “facts.”
However, the United Nations, Amnesty International, and many other rights groups have provided various documents supported by facts and figures to prove that thousands of civilians have been the direct target of the Saudi war machine.
In a Tuesday report, for instance, the UN said that between March and December last year the civilian casualties in Yemen reached 8,119. It also reiterated that Saudi warplanes used the banned cluster bombs on Yemeni people during the course of war. Last Friday, UN chief Ban Ki-moon also slammed the use of cluster munitions “in populated areas” and called it a “war crime” due to their indiscriminate nature.
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From Russia Today
Norway to stop sending refugees back to Arctic Russia on bikes
Published time: 15 Jan, 2016 21:02
Refugees and migrants gather near a check point on the Russian-Norwegian border outside Nickel (Nikel) settlement in Murmansk region, Russia © Fyodor Porokhin / Reuters
Norway will allow migrants and refugees that entered the northern European country on bicycles to return to Arctic Russia on buses. Immigration authorities had previously sent them back the way they came.
“Russian authorities recently confirmed that foreign citizens with permanent residency or a multiple-entry visa can be sent back by bus,” Norwegian police said in a statement, as cited by AFP.
The agreement was reached a day after Norwegian police ordered that newcomers be sent back on the bicycles they had used to enter Norway, which were abandoned at the Storskog border crossing about two hours’ drive from Russia’s Arctic City of Murmansk.
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“We asked that they bikes that were left behind or claimed by the police be gathered up for use by the foreigners who will be returned to Russia,” said Jan Erik Thomassen, a Police Directorate section head. “I can understand that it feels a bit awkward and odd,” he added.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
US Navy reverses decision, grants clearance to dentist
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. Navy reversed its decision to deny security clearance to a dentist because of his family in Israel.
The Navy informed Gershon Pincus of its reversal on Jan. 7, the Albany Times Union reported Thursday.
Pincus, 62, told the newspaper he was “overjoyed.” He commutes 400 miles one day a week from his New York City home to Saratoga Springs, New York, where he treats sailors serving at the nearby U.S. nuclear submarine propulsion program.
Pincus had initially been denied clearance because of his weekly phone contact with his mother and brother in Israel.
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From Russia Today
‘Anti-Islamic’: Pakistan rejects bill banning child marriage
Published time: 16 Jan, 2016 06:01
A bride and groom wearing traditional garlands, made of beads and cotton threads, on their foreheads, wait for their wedding to start during a mass marriage ceremony in Karachi © Akhtar Soomro / Reuters
Legislation to ban child marriages was struck down in Pakistan as the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) said it was “anti-Islamic” and “blasphemous.” The new law failed at the first stage of the legislative process.
The Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Bill 2014, which would have made it more difficult for children to marry, was quickly withdrawn on Thursday by Marvi Menon of the Pakistan Muslim League party.
The decision to pull the plug on the anti-pedophilia bill was triggered by CII speaking out against the idea. The council provides advice for lawmakers on whether the newly proposed laws comply with Sharia laws.
The proposed legislation was shut down in its infancy on “purely religious grounds,” The Express Tribune reported.
CII Chairman Mohammad Khan Sheerani said the proposed law contradicted Islamic teachings.
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From Russia Today
Al-Qaeda branch threatens to ‘recover’ Spanish exclaves in Africa
Published time: 15 Jan, 2016 19:07
© Yaser Al-Khodor / Reuters
One of the leaders of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has called for the “recapture” of the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla, located on the border with Morocco.
In a 20-minute long video, Abu Obeida Yusuf Annabi, an Algerian national, called for the taking of both cities, Europa Press news agency reported. He has also reportedly addressed Libyans, calling on them to “reject the establishment of pseudo-democracy and not to connect terrorism to the activity of Islamic groups.”
Francisco Martinez, Spain’s security minister, said the video was “known, analyzed and investigated,” speaking to reporters Friday. Martinez also said that Spain would not raise its level of alert from 4 to the maximum of 5 because of this latest Al-Qaeda scare.
However, meetings of the terrorist threat evaluation committee will take place “at least once a week.”
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From Russia Today
0% of Icelanders aged 25 or younger believe world was created by God – poll
Published time: 15 Jan, 2016 16:15
No Icelanders taking part in a new poll who were aged 25 or younger and identify themselves as Christians believe the world was created by God.
The poll, commissioned by the Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association, an association of atheists, documented that a record low number of Icelanders – 4.4 percent – say they are religious.
In general, 61.1 percent of Icelanders believe in God, but the share of non-believers rises dramatically in younger age groups.
The generation gap was particularly noticeable when respondents were asked about their views on the creation of the world. In all age categories except the oldest, the majority believe the world originated as a result of the ‘Big Bang.’ Among Icelanders aged between 25 and 44 years, 77.7% support this theory, while in the category of 25 and under an overwhelming 93.9% back the scientific version, and 0.0% think it was God who created the Earth.
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From Russia Today
Russian army launches humanitarian op in Syria – General Staff
Published time: 15 Jan, 2016 10:45
FILE PHOTO. Unloading Russian EMERCOM plane with humanitarian aid which arrived to Latakia Airport in Syria. © Andrey Stenin / Sputnik
The Russian military is maintaining logistics support for a humanitarian operation in Syria aimed to provide the civilian population with basic needs. International humanitarian missions have so far been providing aid to regions which remain under terrorist control.
Although a number of non-governmental organizations have been providing humanitarian aid on Syrian territory, most of the supplies sent have ended up on territories controlled by terrorists.
“The extremists used most of that aid for the supply of [terrorist] gangs,” Lieutenant General Sergey Rudskoy, chief of the main operations department of the Russian General Staff, said during a press briefing in Moscow.
“On top of that, multiple attempts have been registered to deliver arms and munitions, and to evacuate wounded militants under the guise of humanitarian convoys,” Rudskoy stressed. According to the general, these issues with the foreign aid sent so far have led to Russia taking the decision to launch a humanitarian operation of its own in Syria.
A Syrian Ilyushin Il-76 jumbo jet has already delivered the first batch of humanitarian aid to the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, Rudskoy said. At present, most of the aid is being channeled to Deir ez-Zor, which was under siege by terrorists for a long period of time, Rudskoy said. The first 22 tons of humanitarian aid have been airdropped from a Syrian Il-76 using Russian parachute platform airdrop systems. Supplies are set to continue, Rudskoy said, stressing that Russia will provide the Syrian people with all possible help to liberate the country from extremists and return peace to the nation.
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From Russia Today
Mammoth hunt shows humans active in Arctic 45,000yrs ago – Russian scientists
Published time: 15 Jan, 2016 09:36
Scientists in the far north of Russia have found evidence that humans were active in the Arctic about 45,000 years ago. Marks on mammoth bones found in the region showed that hunters stabbed and butchered the animals.
The researchers, from the Russian Academy of Sciences, made the find in Siberia near the Kara Sea, which was the northern-most point of human activity in Eurasia 40,000 years ago. However, with the evidence they were able to uncover, it is now believed that human activity extends the record of human presence in the Arctic by another 5,000 years.
The tip of a mammoth tusk was also damaged, which showed that humans in the area could have used them as ivory tools, the research team stated in a paper released in the journal Science.
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Daniel Fisher, a mammoth expert at the University of Michigan, who did not take part in the Russian-led study, said that the evidence of the markings on the bones did provide strong indications that there was human activity in the area.
However, Robert Park, an archaeologist at the University of Waterloo in Canada, was skeptical of the find, saying that the evidence of human hunting was “pretty marginal.”
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