Government & Politics – Page 64

Al-Hol relatives may seek compensation from Finnish state Three Finnish children remain at the displacement camp in northern Syria, with a UN committee reprimanding Finland for delaying their repatriation.

October 22, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Yle) Relatives of Finnish children living in the Al-Hol displacement camp in northern Syria are investigating the possibility of receiving compensation from the Finnish government. The move comes after the UN Child Rights Committee (CRC) last week issued a severe reprimand to […]

Don’t exploit her, parents of slain girl tell French politicians

October 21, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AFP) The parents of a French schoolgirl whose gruesome murder has shocked the country on Friday urged right-wing politicians to stop exploiting her death for political ends. A 24-year-old woman from Algeria with a history of psychiatric disorders has been charged with […]

Animal welfare, religious slaughtering practices in spotlight at European Union session

October 20, 2022 Mark A. Kellner

(Washington Times) An American diplomat said European laws governing the humane treatment of animals must include religious exemptions for Jewish and Islamic slaughtering practices, lest nations be seen as hostile to religious minorities. “Laws limiting Jews from practicing their religion, including laws […]

Somali Americans, many who fled war, now seek elected office

October 20, 2022 Samantha Hendrickson and David Sharp

(AP) It’s a busy Friday afternoon at a Somali restaurant on the northeast side of Columbus, home to [the] second-largest Somali population in the United States. The smell of spices is just as robust as the loud conversation, and the East African […]

Spain court approves deportation of ‘Salafist’ to Morocco

October 20, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AFP) A court in Spain has approved the deportation of [a] Moroccan Muslim activist, who is accused of being one of the “main advocates” in Spain of the Salafist movement of ultra-conservative Islamism. Police arrested Mohamed Said Badaoui on Tuesday in the […]

Germany, EU push to curb migration via Balkan route

October 20, 2022 Kirsten Grieshaber

(AP) Germany on Thursday hosted a meeting with representatives of the European Union and several European countries — including from the western Balkans — in an effort to curb migration via the so-called Balkan route. “We want to protect the people who […]

France repatriates 55 from Syria camps

October 20, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AFP) France has repatriated 40 children and 15 women from camps in Syria holding family members of suspected Islamic State jihadists, the foreign ministry said on Thursday. It marked the largest such repatriation in three months and came a week after a […]

Urgent conference on religious slaughter to be held by European Commission In a document that the participants received, obtained by the Post, the European Commission elaborated that it 'is committed to ensuring freedom of religion or belief in the EU.'

October 19, 2022 Zvika Klein

(Jerusalem Post) The European Commission (EC) will hold an urgent conference on Thursday about religious slaughter titled “Freedom of religion with regard to religious slaughter,” the Jerusalem Post has learned. The participants were asked to keep a low profile and not speak […]

Terrorism laws to be expanded, targeting imprisoned individuals like Christchurch shooter

October 19, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Radio NZ) The Christchurch mosque shooter’s designation as a terrorist entity would be less likely to be revoked or automatically expire under proposed new law changes. Removal of the designation would allow people to legally provide him with support, including funding. As […]

French govt under pressure on immigration after girl’s killing

October 19, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AFP) France’s government acknowledged Wednesday that it had to “do better” on illegal immigration after it emerged that an Algerian woman charged with the murder of a 12-year-old girl had been ordered to leave the country. The brutalised body of the victim, […]

Mehmet Oz faces backlash from Pennsylvania’s Armenian community over Turkish ties Would-be Republican senator's refusal to recognise genocide has made him persona non grata for many Armenian voters

October 18, 2022 Joyce Karam and Katarina Holtzapple

(National-UAE) For many of the roughly 40,000 Armenian Americans living in Pennsylvania, the Senate race between Democratic candidate John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz is personal and has become focused on a genocide that occurred during the First World War. Oz, a […]

Paris murder: Killing of Lola, 12, sparks immigration row in France

October 18, 2022 Paul Kirby

(BBC) Grief and outrage in France over the murder of a 12-year-old girl found dumped in a plastic trunk in Paris has turned into a political row over the migrant status of the suspect. Lola’s body was found last Friday in a […]

British women take bid for release from ‘appalling’ Syrian camp to High Court The hearing is due to conclude on Wednesday

October 18, 2022 Soraya Ebrahimi

(National-UAE) Two British women who had their request for release denied by the UK government are facing indefinite detention in “appalling” conditions at a Syrian camp, the High Court has been told. The two mothers, who can only be identified as C3 […]

Turkey, Greece trade accusations over 92 naked migrants

October 17, 2022 Suzan Fraser

(AP) Turkey and Greece on Monday exchanged more mutual recrimination over 92 migrants who were found stripped naked by Greek authorities at the two countries’ joint border, a day after the United Nations called for an investigation into the incident. Greek migration […]

Turkey calls Greek claims on migrant mistreatment fake news

October 16, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AP) Turkish officials on Sunday shot back at Greek allegations that Turkey forced 92 naked migrants into Greece, calling it “fake news” and accusing Greece of the mistreatment. Greek migration minister Notis Mitarachi was “sharing false information” after the official tweeted a […]

Muslims suing over watch-list status say U.S. tactics block scrutiny Those challenging the constitutionality of the ‘No-Fly List’ and Terrorist Screening Database say that when they sue, they get removed, making it impossible to have their concerns heard in court

October 16, 2022 Rachel Weiner

(Washington Post) Saadiq Long was only allowed to visit his mother after FBI agents questioned her. He was strip-searched at an airport in Amsterdam and arrested when visiting Turkey. He was banned from two Persian Gulf states and fired from a trucking […]

Mosque denounces call against LGBTI+ violence by the municipality of Amsterdam

October 16, 2022 Unlisted Author

(NL Times) The board of the Blue Mosque in Amsterdam is angry about a letter from the municipality. In it, Mayor Femke Halsema asks mosque authorities to sign a statement of support calling for the condemnation of violence against LGBTI+ people. The […]

Georgia’s Muslim community seeking more political engagement in midterm election The Georgia Muslim Voter Project is working to make sure members of their community are prepared for the upcoming midterm election.

October 15, 2022 Karys Belger

(WXIA) The last few weeks have been busy for Shafina Khabani, the staff and the volunteers at the Georgia Muslim Voter Project. Saturday was no different as people unfolded tablecloths and displayed merchandise in preparation for a candidate forum at the Masjid […]

Pennsylvania Armenians decry Oz’s failure to recognize the Armenian Genocide 'It’s not just genocide denial, it’s the reason why he’s doing it,' said Lorig Baronian, volunteer for the Armenian National Committee of Pennsylvania.

October 14, 2022 Massarah Mikati

(Philadelphia Inquirer) For Lorig Baronian, the Armenian Genocide is a century-old piece of history that still affects her life today. The descendant of survivors of the genocide, Baronian grew up hearing about the atrocities her ancestors experienced: her great-grandparents meeting in an […]

French education minister to ‘limit’ Muslim clothing in schools

October 14, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Arab News) A French government minister has pledged to confront an increase in clothing associated with Muslim cultures in French schools, which, he says, is counter to French values of secularism. Pap Ndiaye, the minister of education, described the phenomenon as a […]

Tlaib-linked Dem fundraiser placed on leave over anti-Semitic posts Abdelqader has campaigned with multiple Democrats across America

October 14, 2022 Houston Keene

(Fox) The New York Democrat fundraiser linked to “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., was placed on administrative leave from his job after reports of his anti-Semitic social media posts. New York engineering firm AI Engineers (AIE) president Abul Islam announced that […]

Prominent mosque in Germany sounds 1st public call to prayer

October 14, 2022 Martin Meissner and Geir Moulson

(AP) The Islamic call to prayer was sounded in public for the first time from one of Germany’s biggest mosques on Friday, but at limited volume, as part of a project agreed with authorities in Cologne, which has one of the country’s […]

CSIS alerted British intelligence that operative had smuggled three teens into Syria in 2015, sources say

October 13, 2022 Robert Fife

(Globe and Mail) Canada’s spy agency informed British intelligence within 48 hours of learning, in 2015, that an operative had smuggled three British schoolgirls into Syria to join the Islamic State, two sources say. Scotland Yard was frantically searching for the missing […]

Fear of being Islamophobic silencing Western feminists on Iran — activist

October 13, 2022 Molly Swift

(Newshub) A Kiwi Iranian activist says the deadly fight for freedom in Iran hasn’t received the Western attention it deserves — believing the fear of being Islamophobic is silencing Western feminists. Iranians across the world are calling for world leaders, including New […]

Latvia calls watchdog’s migrant mistreatment claims ‘absurd’

October 13, 2022 Jari Tanner

(AP) Latvia on Thursday rejected as “absurd” claims by Amnesty International that it is violently mistreating migrants attempting to enter the European Union member country through Belarus. The human rights watchdog said in a report released Thursday that Latvian authorities have violently […]

Britain repatriates first adult held from Syrian detention camp

October 13, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Arab News) A British woman has been repatriated from a Syrian detention camp, becoming the first detained adult to return to the UK since the defeat of Daesh. The Foreign Office said that policy towards others still in Syria was unchanged, but […]

Ministry: Finland has done everything possible to repatriate Finnish children from Syria Finland takes the ruling by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 'very seriously,' according to a senior Foreign Ministry official.

October 13, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Yle) The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has reacted to Wednesday’s ruling against Finland by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The committee declared that Finland had violated the rights of Finnish children in northern Syria by not repatriating them […]

Cologne’s mega mosque to start calling Muslims to prayer

October 13, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Germany’s largest mosque will for the first time broadcast the call to prayer on Friday after city authorities in Cologne gave the go-ahead for a pilot project, under strict limits. Cologne’s Central Mosque, an imposing building in the western city’s Ehrenfeld […]

UK government in push to overhaul 650-year-old treason laws

October 12, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Arab News) Ministers in the UK government are planning to expand the country’s treason laws to prosecute people who aid a state or organization in war against Britain. The move looks to target Islamists who traveled to Syria to join Daesh during […]

Swiss plan fines for those breaking ‘burqa ban’

October 12, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Swiss Info) The Swiss government wants fines of up to CHF1,000 ($1,000) for people who break a ban on face coverings in public places. This is part of a bill sent to parliament on Wednesday to implement the so-called “burqa ban” proposed […]

Finland violated rights of Finnish children in Syria, UN committee finds Three remaining children, aged 5-6, are still being detained 'in closed camps in a war-like zone,' the UN Child Rights Committee said.

October 12, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Yle) Finland’s failure to repatriate Finnish children living in Syrian camps was a violation of children’s rights, according to a decision by the UN Child Rights Committee (CRC) published on Wednesday. The committee said its decision was based on a case filed […]

CSIS violated its own rules in smuggling of British teens

October 11, 2022 Robert Fife

(Globe and Mail) An informant working for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, who smuggled three British schoolgirls into Syria for the Islamic State in 2015, breached the spy service’s rules that prohibit paid recruits from engaging in illegal activities including human trafficking. […]

Germany extends checks at Austrian border as migrant numbers rise

October 11, 2022 Alexander Ratz

(Reuters) Germany is extending border checks at crossings from Austria for six months from November given a recent rise in the number of migrants arriving via the Western Balkans route, German interior minister Nancy Faeser said on Tuesday. “Significantly more people are […]

Manchester Arena bombing victim’s mother fears new terror law will leave ‘loopholes’ open Five years on from attack that killed 22 people, grieving parent still fighting for change of legislation

October 11, 2022 Laura O'Callaghan

(National-UAE) A woman whose son was killed in the Manchester Arena bombing on Tuesday voiced an evocative “mother-to-mother” message for Prime Minister Liz Truss, as she continues to battle for a change of law five years on. Figen Murray said the killing […]

France’s ex-president: Bastille Day attack was ‘terror act’

October 10, 2022 Nicolas Vaux-Montagny and Barbara Surk

(AP) Former French President François Hollande told a special terrorism court on Monday that the man who drove a truck into a crowded beachfront in Nice on Bastille Day six years ago, killing 86 people, was a terrorist who had gone undetected […]

Islamophobic hate crime rising as UK government tries to ‘appease far-right’: head of Muslim group Anti-Muslim hate crimes rose 42% in England, Wales for year ending March 2022: British Home Office

October 8, 2022 Ahmet Gürhan Kartal

(Anadolu) Hate crimes in the UK are on the rise because the government “tends to try to appease the far right by adopting some of their positions,” according to a prominent Muslim scholar. Anas Altikriti, CEO of Cordoba Foundation, told Anadolu Agency […]

EU nations: Migrant departures should be stopped abroad

October 8, 2022 Menelaos Hadjicostis

(AP) Several Mediterranean nations said Saturday the European Union’s border agency Frontex needs to work inside third countries to stop smugglers from endangering the lives of migrants by sending them off to Europe on risky boat trips. Top officials from Spain, Greece, […]

Migrants face tougher times in Meloni’s Italy

October 7, 2022 Crispian Balmer

(Reuters) Life is tough for asylum seekers in Italy — most are denied refugee status, barred from legal employment and, polls suggest, face discrimination. Now things look set to get even worse. Fresh from her election victory, Giorgia Meloni is expected to […]

NY Gov. Hochul pictured with Dem fundraiser who shared Holocaust denial, other anti-Semitic content Hochul is facing down Republican candidate Lee Zeldin, who is Jewish, for the governor's mansion

October 7, 2022 Houston Keene

(Fox) New York Governor Kathy Hochul took several pictures with a Democrat donor who has a history of sharing anti-Semitic content online, including propagating the conspiracy that six million Jews were not killed in the Holocaust. Hochul, the Democrat governor running for […]

Truss and Macron signal progress on tackling Channel migrant crisis UK prime minister also took the opportunity to hail French leader as 'a friend'

October 6, 2022 Soraya Ebrahimi

(National-UAE) The UK and France will work together more closely to tackle the migration crisis gripping both countries, British Prime Minister Liz Truss and French President Emmanuel Macron said during a meeting on Thursday. The pair met outside the first summit of […]

Austria, Hungary equipping Serbia to curb border crossings

October 6, 2022 Jovana Gec

(AP) Austria and Hungary will help Serbia curb migrant crossings at its southern border, Hungary’s foreign minister said Thursday, citing an “explosion” in the number of people entering European countries without authorization in recent months. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Hungary […]

Turkish vessel shown pushing dinghy away

October 5, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Kathimerini) Greece on Wednesday published a video that appears to show officers of the Turkish Coast Guard hitting migrants and pushing their rubber boat away from the former’s vessel. Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis, who posted the video on his Twitter account, said […]

Germany repatriates 12 citizens from Syrian jihadist camp

October 5, 2022 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Germany on Wednesday said it had resolved “almost all known cases” of its citizens stuck in Syrian jihadist camps, after announcing the repatriation of 12 people. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock released a statement announcing that seven children and four women returned […]

Abubaker Deghayes: Probe into ‘encouraging terrorism’ mosque

October 5, 2022 Unlisted Author

(BBC) The Charity Commission has launched a probe into a Brighton mosque after a former trustee was jailed for encouraging terrorism. The body has also appointed an interim manager at the Brighton Mosque and Muslim Community Centre. Abubaker Deghayes had called for […]

Court OKs Iran prisoner exchange

October 4, 2022 Colin Clapson

(VRT) The court of first instance in Brussels has thrown out a request to stop Belgium from handing over the convicted Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi to Tehran saying the request is unfounded in law. The decision means that in principle the Belgian […]

Former head of Alberta Human Rights Commission sues government for firing him Collin May seeking $2.1M in damages and lost salary for alleged wrongful termination

October 4, 2022 Elise von Scheel

(CBC) The man recently fired from the top job at Alberta’s Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is suing the provincial government, specifically the justice minister, for what he alleges was a wrongful termination, malicious treatment and collusion that led to his removal from […]

Home Secretary Suella Braverman to change law to stop Channel migrants

October 4, 2022 Unlisted Author

(BBC) The home secretary said she will change the law to stop migrants crossing the Channel in small boats. Suella Braverman told the Conservative party conference on Tuesday she will prevent modern slavery laws being “abused” by people smugglers. The government needs […]

France’s far-right leader demands more mosque closures Marine Le Pen calls for deportation of all Muslims who have 'radical rhetoric'

October 4, 2022 Alaattin Dogru

(Anadolu) France’s far-right politician Marine Le Pen has demanded more mosques be closed in the country. Her demand comes despite the closure of 24 mosques in France in the past two years upon the order of Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin. In an […]

Muslims in Germany’s Cologne welcome Friday call to prayer over loudspeaker First call to prayer over loudspeaker in Cologne expected to be held on Oct. 14, says Muslim leader

October 4, 2022 Mesut Zeyrek

(Anadolu) Muslims in Germany’s city of Cologne welcomed the permission granted to them for two years to announce the call to prayer every Friday on loudspeaker. Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Abdurrahman Atasoy, the acting president of the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs […]

Merkel wins UN refugee agency award over welcome of Syrians

October 4, 2022 Jamey Keaten

(AP) The U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday it’s giving its highest award to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her efforts to welcome more than 1 million refugees — mostly from Syria — into Germany, despite some criticism both at home and […]