(Reuters) Only the whine of mosquitoes mars the tranquility of this idyllic spot amid the rolling forests and blue lakes of eastern Finland, on the European Union’s longest border with Russia. But Finnish authorities fear the peace and quiet of places like […]
(VOA) There are new warnings about potential attacks aimed at disrupting the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Paris, including the potential for more terror plots like the one disrupted last week by French officials. A report released Tuesday by the cybersecurity firm […]
(AP) Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Wednesday that its forces would further fortify the border with Belarus and can use “all available means” to defend the NATO nation’s frontier, after a soldier was seriously wounded with a knife by a migrant. […]
(Reuters) Finland’s government proposed emergency legislation on Tuesday to block asylum seekers entering across its vast and often snow-bound border with Russia which it believes Moscow is promoting due to political antagonism since the Ukraine war. Finland shut the 1,340-km (830-mile) frontier […]
(Reuters) Finland will propose a law next week allowing border agents to block asylum seekers trying to enter from Russia, the prime minister said on Sunday, a decision that could cause Helsinki to temporarily breach its international commitments. Finland shut its border […]
(Reuters) The incoming Dutch government led by nationalist Geert Wilders’ PVV party will aim to pursue its curbs on immigration by opting out of European Union migration rules, setting up a clash with Brussels before it has even taken office. Wilders won […]
(European Conservative) Snipers are being deployed on rooftops this week ahead of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, with security forces scrambling to protect Israel’s delegation from Islamist threats. Planned demonstrations from the city’s large and militant Muslim community threaten to tear apart […]
(Hill) The deadly ISIS-K attack on a Moscow concert hall last week is raising concerns that plots by the terrorist group, once restricted to Afghanistan, could be carried out in the United States and Europe — and sooner than thought. Islamic State […]
(AP) An Iraqi man who carried out several Quran burnings in Sweden told a newspaper on Wednesday that he would seek asylum in neighboring Norway in the wake of a deportation order by authorities in Stockholm. Salwan Momika, 37, has staged several […]
(BBC) A man who claims that the Manchester Arena bombing was fake has been denied a chance to challenge a ruling that his theory is “absurd and fantastical.” Richard Hall is being sued by bombing survivors Martin and Eve Hibbert for harassment, […]
(AP) Sweden’s Security Service said Thursday it had arrested four people on suspicion of preparing “terrorist offenses” with links to Islamic extremism and organized crime. The service did not say where or when the alleged attacks were to have taken place, but […]
(Dutch News) A cyber attack on vital infrastructure, such as the provision of energy or banking services, is top of the list of fears among the Dutch, according to the latest edition of the Clingendael Institute’s foreign affairs barometer. The research, carried […]
(Anadolu) Banning images of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed head of the PKK terrorist group, is in line with laws and regulations, a German regional court ruled on Monday. The Higher Administrative Court in North Rhine-Westphalia turned down a complaint filed by a […]
(European Conservative) New German citizenship laws that expand voting rights to up to 2.5 million recent migrants are unnerving even the usually complacent CDU, with one conservative lawmaker airing fears that the new arrangement could enable a potential Islamist bloc to attain […]
(AP) A new law was passed in Denmark’s parliament on Thursday that makes it illegal to desecrate any holy text in the country, after a recent string of public desecrations of the Quran by a handful of anti-Islam activists sparked angry demonstrations […]
(Local) Russian intelligence last year suggested staging Quran burnings, as well as mounting protests and spraying graffiti insulting Turkey’s president, as a way of delaying Turkey’s ratification [of] Sweden’s Nato bid, a Finnish documentary has claimed. The documentary cites the Dossier Center, […]
(Yle) Russia made plans to disrupt Finland and Sweden’s accession to joining Nato, according to a secret intelligence report obtained by an Yle MOT investigation. The report found that a Russian intelligence service planned to organise disruption campaigns disguised as demonstrations before […]
(Politico) A growing number of asylum seekers arriving on the EU’s eastern frontier is forcing Baltic countries to consider border closures with Russia, due to fears the Kremlin is weaponizing desperate people to create a migration crisis on the continent. Latvia, Lithuania […]
(NL Times) Many PVV voters don’t support the far-right party’s more radical views — “pushing back Islam” and the Netherlands leaving the European Union. They expect their party will have to water down its standpoints in order to govern, and most are […]
(AP) Finland said Tuesday it will close its last remaining border crossing with Russia amid concerns that Moscow is using migrants as part of “hybrid warfare” to destabilize the Nordic country following its entry into NATO. Finland already had shut seven of […]
(AFP) Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson denounced the leader of the far-right party propping up his government Monday after he called for some mosques to be torn down. Sweden Democrats (SD) leader Jimmie Akesson called for some mosques to be seized and […]
(Anadolu) A far-right Swedish politician proposing blocking new mosques and demolishing existing ones could undermine the country’s NATO hopes, warned a former Swedish diplomat on Sunday. Jimmie Akesson, leader of the country’s far-right Sweden Democrats, on Saturday proposed a ban on the […]
(AP) When Finland joined NATO earlier this year, Russia threatened retaliation. Now, hundreds of migrants from the Middle East and Africa have appeared at Finland’s border from Russia, seeking entry into the Nordic country. Finnish officials say the sudden surge in asylum-seekers […]
(Hill) Two Georgia Republicans moved to force votes on competing resolutions to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) on Monday, putting a spotlight on the internal disagreements over how to penalize Tlaib for her criticisms of Israel following Hamas’s deadly attack on the […]
(Free Beacon) The Biden administration earlier this year tapped the Council on American-Islamic Relations for an initiative to curb anti-Semitism. This week, the anti-Semitic group and its leaders defended Hamas attacks that have killed more than 1,000 Jews. The White House announced […]
(European Conservative) A Swedish man faces trial this week on charges of incitement to racial hatred for the burning of a copy of the Islamic Quran in what could become a precedent-setting case, as prosecutors have been reluctant to pursue charges against […]
(AP) A Swedish appeals court on Wednesday upheld a 4 1/2-year prison sentence for a Turkish man who was found guilty of attempted extortion, weapons possession and attempted terrorist financing, saying he was acting on behalf of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party. […]
(AFP) Muslim leaders addressing the United Nations on Tuesday berated the West over burnings of the Koran, denouncing the acts protected as free speech as discriminatory. Sweden has seen a series of burnings of the Islamic holy book, with the government voicing […]
(Reuters) Latvia’s government decided on Tuesday to close one of its two border crossing points with Belarus as the prime minister accused Minsk of again using illegal migrants as a “hybrid threat” to undermine the Baltic state’s security. In 2021, Latvia, Poland […]
(AFP) A Belgian court on Friday handed out sentences ranging up to life in prison to eight men for the 2016 jihadist bombings in Brussels, ending the country’s largest-ever criminal trial. The suicide bombings on March 22, 2016, at Brussels’ main airport […]
(National-UAE) A Belgian court on Wednesday rejected French terrorist Salah Abdeslam’s request not to be extradited to France, saying that his claim that it would be a breach of his human rights was not “sufficiently substantiated.” Abdeslam, 33, was transferred to Belgium […]
(AP) Latvia is growing worried over the increasing number of migrants attempting to cross over into the Baltic nation through the border with Belarus and has called up the military to assist border guards. Latvia’s State Border Guard said on Tuesday that […]
(Euractiv) A new far-right list will contest the 2024 European elections in France, led by former MP Marion Maréchal, under the colours of Éric Zemmour’s party, Reconquête!. “We are going to make the European elections on 9 June [2024] a referendum on […]
(National-UAE) French terrorist Salah Abdeslam, 33, told a Belgian court on Monday that his upcoming transfer to France would violate his human rights. “My future is in Belgium. Sending me back to France is like sending me to my death,” said Abdeslam, […]
(Prague Monitor) Sweden’s prospective entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is uncertain due to concerns arising from incidents of Quran burning, as highlighted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his return from Hungary. Erdogan’s remarks underscore a potential hurdle […]
(Deutsche Welle) Husam El Gomati scrolls through his phone and points at a long post in Arabic. “Mohammad Ahmad Ali, the most typical name, with some funny picture,” he notes. Scrolling through the post, El Gomati confirms what he expected: “Yeah, you’re […]
(Politico) Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen spoke out for the first time on the burning of the Quran in her country, saying that a potential ban on setting fire to the religious text would not limit freedom of expression. “I don’t consider […]
(Euronews) Two men set fire to a copy of the Quran on Monday in front of the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm, in a rally similar to previous events that provoked a diplomatic crisis between Sweden and the Muslim world. Smiling wryly, Salwan […]
(Reuters) Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday urged Sweden to take concrete steps to prevent burnings of the Koran, a Turkish foreign ministry source said. Sweden and Denmark have seen several protests in recent weeks where copies of the Koran have […]
(Reuters) The Swedish migration agency said late on Friday it is re-examining the residency permit of an Iraqi refugee who is behind several Koran desecrations in Stockholm in recent weeks, which have upset Muslims across the world. The man burnt a copy […]
(AFP) Sweden’s government on Thursday ordered 15 government agencies to strengthen the country’s ability to prevent terrorism, in response to a worsened security situation following protests involving desecration of the Koran. Tensions have flared between Sweden and several Middle Eastern nations after […]
(Reuters) Sweden is the target of a disinformation campaign by “Russia-backed actors” intended to hurt the image of the NATO-candidate country by implying it supported recent burnings of the Koran, its minister for civil defence said on Wednesday. Sweden’s bid to join […]
(AFP) A Brussels court on Tuesday convicted French citizen Salah Abdeslam and Belgian-Moroccan Mohamed Abrini for 2016 jihadist bombings in the Belgian capital that killed 32 people, after the country’s largest-ever criminal trial. The high-profile pair — already sentenced to life in […]
(European Conservative) Approximately 200 Muslim protestors gathered outside the European Parliament Wednesday, July 19th, as Islamic groups in Brussels rallied against the controversial burning of the Quran in Sweden. Shouts of “Allahu Akbar” were heard right outside the Parliament as an almost […]
(Reuters) There is limited political will in Sweden to ban Koran burnings that have upset large parts of the Muslim world and it would be complicated to do even if there were backing for such a move, experts and politicians said on […]
(AFP) In less than a month, Sweden-based Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika has twice stoked international outrage by desecrating the Koran at Stockholm protests. Despite his previous low profile, his past has been far from a quiet affair. In late June, the 37-year-old […]
(AFP) Swedish police said Wednesday they had granted a permit for a protest outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, with media reporting the organisers planned to burn the Muslim holy book. The protest, scheduled for Thursday, comes just weeks after a man […]
(Kathimerini) Greek officials said Friday that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis never discussed issues that concern Greek citizens or the country’s sovereign rights with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The officials were responding to claims by Erdogan that the “problems of Western Thrace” […]
(Kathimerini) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed that the “problems of Western Thrace” was the “main issue” he raised with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at their meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius on Wednesday. “We want to […]
(AP) The U.N. human rights chief used a special debate on Tuesday about burnings of the Quran in Sweden and other European countries to tread a fine line between freedom of expression and respect for religious beliefs, while broadening his call for […]
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