From Russia Today
Russia to give strongest air support to Syrian army in Aleppo area – Lavrov
Published time: 6 Jun, 2016 12:32
© Igor Kovalenko / Sputnik
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Russia will provide “the most active” air support for Syrian ground troops in and around the city of Aleppo to prevent terrorists from seizing it.
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From PressTV
Israel plans massive settlement expansion
Israel is planning to build over 15,000 new settlement units on the site of a disused airport between the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
The units are scheduled to be constructed on the site of Atarot airport located in northern al-Quds.
The plan awaits approval by a local planning and building committee in order to launch, Israel’s Hebrew-language Walla website reported.
A member of the Israeli Knesset, Nachman Shai, warned on Sunday that the expansion would draw a fresh wave of international condemnation.
Israel’s planning committee chair Meir Turgeman, however, said he didn’t “see a problem from a political standpoint.”
The Ir Amim organization, which describes itself as a non-profit focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, also denounced the plan as “a shame.”
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From PressTV
Israeli settlers stage controversial march in East al-Quds
Thousands of Israeli settlers have staged a controversial march in the Israeli-occupied Old City of al-Quds (Jerusalem), sparking tensions in the area.
The march was held on Sunday on the eve of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, and was controversially planned to coincide with the 49th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of East al-Quds’ Old City. It is held on the same day every year.
Scuffles erupted between the settlers and some local Palestinians as the extremist Israelis chanted slogans, vowing to burn down the al-Aqsa Mosque, a holy site highly regarded by Palestinians.
Palestinian shopkeepers were ordered to close their stores along the route of the march, but some refused to comply.
“I am not afraid. This is my shop. This is my Jerusalem. I am not closing,” said Ahmed Dandes, a tailor who sells men’s trousers at the Damascus Gate.
An Israeli court on Thursday had rejected a petition by the Ir Amim non-profit group and Amir Cheshin, a former Arab affairs adviser to Jerusalem’s mayor, to ban the march from passing through the Muslim Quarter in the Old City of al-Quds to avoid possible clashes with Palestinians, according to Israeli Haaretz newspaper.
Israeli human rights attorney Itay Mack, the representative of the petitioners, said, “This decision [on the route] is extremely unreasonable and seriously impinges on basic rights… of residents and merchants within the Muslim Quarter and outside it.”
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From The Independent
Nigel Farage accused of ‘blatant scaremongering’ over migrant sex attack EU referendum claim
‘I do not approve of that sort of campaigning, I do not believe in outright blatant scaremongering so I think it’s really, really regrettable’
From Ynet News
Arab League secretary: US toned down Paris summit statement
Nabil Elaraby says US delegation opposed a more firm communiqué following peace conference last week; he added that despite Netanyahu’s claims to the contrary, no changes have been made to the Arab peace initiative.
Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby on Monday accused the United States of toning down the joint communiqué issued following the Paris peace conference.
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Netanyahu acknowledges receiving $40,000 from Frenchman on trial for fraud
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged in a statement from his office that he received $40,000 from a French businessman on trial for fraud.
Arnaut Mimran gave Netanyahu the money in 2001 when Netanyahu was a private citizen and traveling for public diplomacy, according to the statement.
Mimran last month told a Paris court, where he is standing trial for allegedly defrauding the European Union of about $315 million along with several partners, that he donated 1 million euro, slightly more than $1 million, for a Netanyahu election campaign. Netanyahu flatly denied the claim after it was made in court.
“In August of 2001, when Mr. Netanyahu was a private citizen, Mimran donated $40,000 to a fund for public activities by Mr. Netanyahu, which included media appearances and numerous public diplomacy travels for the benefit of the State of Israel, and was done in accordance with the law,” the statement issued Monday from the Prime Minister’s Office said.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Netanyahu on way to Russia to meet with Putin
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Sept. 21, 2015. (Dmitri Azarov/Kommersant Photo via Getty Images)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel left Monday on an official visit to Russia to mark the 25th anniversary of the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet Wednesday at the Kremlin. It will be the fourth time that Netanyahu and Putin have met in recent months, including Netanyahu visits to Moscow last September and in April, and a meeting in November during the Paris climate conference.
The leaders will discuss regional issues including the global fight against terrorism; the situation in and around Syria; the diplomatic horizon between Israeli and the Palestinians; bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and the strengthening of cultural and humanitarian ties, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
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From Russia Today
‘We need to help refugees nearer to their homes’: Migrant-refusing Swiss village to RT
Published time: 6 Jun, 2016 15:13
Oberwil-Lieli © wikipedia.org
RT caught up with the mayor of the ultra-rich Swiss municipality that would rather pay a large fine than host 10 refugees. Although he previously talked of “barbed wire,†the reasons for not hosting refugees now seem to be humanitarian in nature.
Just as some 70 percent of Swiss backed a proposal to speed up the country’s asylum procedures, and as Switzerland is asked to play an increasing role in solving the crisis, one of its villages is running in the other direction.
The municipality of Oberwil-Lieli would rather pay a fine of $300,000 per year to prevent any Syrians from setting foot in the quaint little community. And they can afford to – with a staggering 300 millionaires among its 2,000 residents.
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From Russia Today
Indian court convicts 5 men of gang-raping 52yo Danish tourist, 3 others investigated
Published time: 6 Jun, 2016 13:04
© Adrees Latif / Reuters
A Delhi court has convicted five men of kidnapping, gang-raping and robbing a Danish tourist in 2014. The ruling is the latest to highlight India’s high rate of sexual violence against women.
The Monday verdict, announced by Additional Sessions Judge Ramesh Kumar, found all five men guilty of robbing and raping the 52-year-old woman at knife-point on the night of January 14, 2014, after leading her to a secluded spot near New Delhi Railway Station.
The woman, who was traveling alone at the time, was attacked as she approached the group of men for directions after becoming lost on the way back to her hotel.
“I pronounce all the accused guilty. Arguments [on sentencing] to be held on June 9,” Kumar told the court on Monday, The Times of India reported.
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From Russia Today
From partner to rival: Germany to designate Russia ‘a security challenge’ – report
Published time: 5 Jun, 2016 11:09
© Michaela Rehle / Reuters
In the upcoming government security policy guidebook currently being prepared by the German Defense Ministry, Russia will be designated one of 10 major challenges on par with terrorists, migrants and global climate change, reported Die Welt.
The so-called White Paper is to be released sometime after the British referendum on EU membership, an event that that Berlin does not want to affect by releasing the 80-page document. The previous security policy overview was published in Germany in 2006 and the previous version came in 1994.
The new document is expected to downgrade Germany’s attitude toward Russia from calling it a partner, as was the case a decade ago. According to Die Welt, the move may be quite dramatic. White Paper 2016 will label Russia one of 10 global threats on par with international terrorism, migrant crises, right-wing extremism, cyberattacks and global climate change, government sources told the newspaper.
Moscow is now Germany’s rival, which uses “hybrid instruments to blur the boundaries between war and peace” and “undermine other states,” authors of the document reportedly said. Russia’s influence on global public opinion through traditional outlets and social media are of particular concern for the German military, according to the report.
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From Russia Today
Massive far-right demo, counter-protests sweep German city of Dortmund
Published time: 4 Jun, 2016 20:41
Far-right supporters take part in a demonstration march in Dortmund, Germany, June 4, 2016 © Wolfgang Rattay / Reuters
Hundreds of far-right activists gathered in the western German city of Dortmund for an annual demonstration against immigration and the government’s policy of multiculturalism. The event was met with numerous counter-protests.
Activists from various German far-right and neo-Nazi movements marched through the center and the western districts of Dortmund. According to police estimates, about 900 people took part, while some witnesses and local media claim the number of anti-migrant protesters reached 1000.
Members of the radical Hogesa (Hooligans against Salafists) group were reportedly among the far-right protesters.
The far-right rally in Dortmund, held under the slogan “A Day of the German Future,” was an annual event organized by various far-right organizations throughout Germany and is often closely associated with neo-Nazi groups. The demonstration was initiated by Michael Bruck, who is member of the small radical Die Rechte (The Right) party and also a member of Dortmund’s city council.
According to the event’s official website, the demonstrators were protesting against what they called “over-foreignization,” by which they mean mass immigration, the German government’s open-door asylum policy, the ongoing refugee crisis, and the concept of multiculturalism.
The organizers first planned to hold the rally in the northern district of Dortmund where many migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers live, but city authorities banned the far-right groups from marching there, citing security concerns.
Meanwhile, an anti-refugee rally was staged in the central German city of Erfurt. Hundreds of people joined the demonstration to protest multiculturalism and decry the arrival of refugees to Europe.
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From The Times of Israel
Clinton says Trump rhetoric ‘hateful, very prejudicial’
GOP candidate’s talk of deporting millions of migrants means ‘ripping apart families,’ Democratic frontrunner charges
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Calling immigration a key issue in the presidential race, Hillary Clinton is attacking Donald Trump for talking in “hateful, very prejudicial, really unacceptable ways.”
At a campaign event focused on immigration, Clinton continued her criticism of the likely Republican nominee, saying that when he “talks about deporting 11 million immigrants, he’s talking about ripping apart families.”
Clinton kicked off a long day of California campaigning at Los Angeles Mission College in Sylmar, where she addressed a largely Asian and Latino crowd.
Clinton listened to the personal experiences of several immigrants and stressed her commitment to immigration reform.
Clinton has upped her attacks on Trump in recent days, starting with a speech slamming his foreign policy Thursday. She is hoping to officially lock up the Democratic nomination in the coming days.
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From PressTV
Terrorist attack kills 5 Jordan intelligence officers near Amman
At least five Jordanian intelligence officers have lost their lives in a deadly attack outside a Palestinian refugee camp close to the Jordanian capital, Amman, a government spokesman says.
Mohammad al-Momani said on Monday that the assault, which targeted a security office near Baqa’a refugee camp on the outskirts of Amman, was a “terrorist attack.”
“The intelligence agency office in the Baqa’a camp was the target of a cowardly attack shortly before 7:00 am (0400 GMT) today that left five agents dead,” the spokesman said, adding that law enforcement agencies have launched a probe into the attack.
Meanwhile, a security source said preliminary findings suggest that the attack was carried out by a lone gunman who opened fire before escaping. It is still unclear whether the gunman was a camp resident or an outsider.
The Baqa’a camp, which hosts around 100,000 of Jordan’s two million Palestinian refugees, is the largest of the kingdom’s 10 official Palestinian refugee camps.
Back in 2010, three Jordanian terrorists were sentenced to prison terms of between three years and life for plotting to kill intelligence officers in the same camp.
Jordan has seen spillover from the ongoing conflicts in neighboring Iraq and Syria in the past.
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From Russia Today
Zika breakthrough: Human protein connection brings cure step closer
Published time: 6 Jun, 2016 16:17
© Ivan Alvarado / Reuters
A protein found in humans common in Micronesia and Asia could hold the key to curing Zika. Scientists in Texas have found that the interferon-induced protein 3 (IFITM3) increased the body’s defence against the virus.
Trials on human and mouse cells found that the presence of IFITM3 led to cells swallowing up and quarantining the virus, preventing its spread.
“IFITM3 pretty much keeps Zika virus stuck in no man’s land, where it can’t do anything to harm us,” George Savidis who was involved in the trials told UMass Medical School Communications.
Savidis and a team of scientists from the University of Massachusetts Medical School published their findings on Saturday, eight weeks after receiving their first sample of Zika virus to study.
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From Russia Today
Syrian parliament elects 1st female speaker
Published time: 6 Jun, 2016 14:49
Members of the Syrian parliament © SANA / Reuters
A woman has been chosen as Syria’s new parliament speaker for the very first time, in a historic move for the war-torn country. Hadiyeh al-Abbas secured an uncontested victory during the first session of the People’s Assembly.
Abbas, 58, previously served as a member of parliament from 2003 to 2007. Prior to that, she served as part of the governing body of the regional branch of the ruling Arab Baath Socialist Party for a decade, from 1988 to 1998.
The female politician holds a PhD in agricultural engineering and was a professor at al-Furat University in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour. She has also worked with the National Union of Syrian Students.
The move is a historic one for Syria. Although the country’s parliamentary history dates back to 1919, women only gained the right to vote and run for parliament under the constitution in 1953.
The seat was won by Abbas at the first session of the People’s Assembly, which was elected in April.
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From Russia Today
All 18,600 US sailors in Japan slapped with full drinking ban, confined to base
Published time: 6 Jun, 2016 11:20
© Mike Blake / Reuters
Three separate scandals involving American servicemen and contractors in a highly-controversial Navy base in Japan’s Okinawa have finally resulted in an all-out alcohol ban on all the 18,600 sailors. The measure is the latest and comes after a Marine’s drunk-driving stunt.
Adding to the two cases involving murder and rape of two young Japanese women, a third incident saw a US sailor with six times the legal alcohol limit go on a joyride, hitting two cars in the wrong lane. The officer, Aimee Mejia, who was assigned to Kadena Air base, is now being held by Japanese police.
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From Russia Today
‘Screw for Denmark’ sex campaigns produce baby boom in months
Published time: 5 Jun, 2016 18:37
© Spies Rejser / YouTube
A racy ad campaign, started only nine months ago, has really hit the spot for Denmark’s campaign for more baby-making. The country now expects booming birth rates this summer.
According to research by Denmark’s Politiken newspaper, the summer months of June-August this year will produce 1,200 more Danes than last summer. In total, some 16,200 babies are due to be born.
“I’ve never experienced a boom like this in my time as a midwife,” said Ann Fogsgaard, who’s been on the job 33 years.
“Normally, there are more births during the summer compared to the winter, but an increase like this is crazy.”
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