(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) Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s coalition government collapsed Friday over “insurmountable” differences on how to tackle migration, with elections expected in November. Rutte, 56, the Netherlands’ longest-serving leader and one of Europe’s most experienced politicians, said days of crisis talks between […]
(AP) Poland’s lawmakers on Friday approved law amendments that open the way for a national referendum on accepting migrants to be held in conjunction with the country’s general election, which is expected this fall. Poland’s conservative government has vetoed the European Union’s […]
(AP) Nine people from Central Asia were arrested in Germany and the Netherlands on Thursday over alleged plans to carry out attacks in Germany and for collecting money for the Islamic State group, authorities said. Seven men arrested in Germany were accused […]
(AP) A Quran burning and a string of requests to approve protests involving the destruction of more holy books have left Sweden torn between its commitment to free speech and its respect for religious minorities. The clash of fundamental principles has complicated […]
(AP) The European Union should put a priority on stopping illegal migration instead of trying to persuade the 27 member nations to share responsibility for people who arrive without authorization, the prime ministers of Italy and Poland said Wednesday. Italy’s right-wing leader, […]
(AP) Turkey’s foreign minister said Tuesday that Swedish authorities’ failure to prevent Quran-burning protests in their country is raising security concerns and questions about Sweden’s credentials for possible NATO membership. But Hakan Fidan said Turkey would still approve Sweden’s membership in the […]
(Reuters) Poland will demand the reform of the European Union’s border agency Frontex and more funds for dealing with migrants, the prime minister said on Thursday, as he prepared to oppose a migration deal at an EU summit in Brussels. Under the […]
(AP) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday condemned a Quran-burning protest in Sweden, signaling that this would pose another obstacle to the country’s bid for NATO membership. Speaking to members of his Justice and Development Party, Erdogan equated “those who permitted […]
(European Conservative) The terror threat from Islamic extremists remains high in Germany, according to the country’s Federal Ministry of the Interior. Department officials said in a press release this week that they must continue to approach this issue with the “greatest vigilance.” […]
(AP) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday defended a deal to stop migrants from entering the European Union until their chances of getting asylum have been reviewed, arguing that the bloc’s existing arrangement is “completely dysfunctional.” Speaking to lawmakers in Berlin, he […]
(Turkish Minute) The Republic of Turkey was one of five main countries actively engaged in espionage activities in Germany in 2022, Deutsche Welle Turkish service reported on Tuesday, citing a report by Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV). […]
(AFP) A Turkish citizen appeared in a Swedish court on Tuesday accused of “attempted terrorist financing” of the pro-Kurdish PKK, a first in the Scandinavian country seeking Ankara’s approval to join NATO. Turkey has accused Sweden of being a haven for “terrorists,” […]
(Brussels Times) Around 2,000 representatives from 600 cities around the world flocked to Brussels today to attend the Brussels Urban Summit 2023. But one participant garnered particular attention. Alireza Zakani, the ultra-conservative mayor of the Iranian capital of Tehran, was spotted among […]
(AFP) Hundreds of people protested in Stockholm on Sunday against new anti-terror legislation that was passed to address Turkey’s opposition to Sweden joining NATO. The demonstration was organised by groups close to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), outlawed by Turkey, which this […]
(AP) Germany saw a 28% increase in the number of people gaining its citizenship last year, with people from Syria accounting for more than a quarter of those who were naturalized, official data showed Tuesday. Preliminary figures show that about 168,500 people […]
(Christian Science Monitor) Cenk Auth is a Berlin hairstylist with Turkish flair and a German passport. Born in Germany to Turkish German parents, Mr. Auth is part of a Turkish diaspora spread across Europe that keenly feels the tug of two places. […]
(Politico) EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson criticized Greece for reportedly forcing migrants onto an emergency raft and abandoning them in the Aegean Sea. In an interview with POLITICO, Johansson said the episode was more than a pushback — when migrants are […]
(Canadian Jewish News) Linda Frum says she consulted with security experts in the United States — and had them conduct a risk assessment — before she decided to fight a defamation lawsuit filed by an Arabic-language newspaper. The former senator tweeted that […]
(NY Times) Salman Rushdie walked onstage at PEN America’s annual gala on Thursday night, his first public appearance since he was stabbed and gravely wounded in an attack last August at a literary event in Western New York. His appearance at the […]
(AFP) France’s highest court ruled Friday that the country can try foreign suspects under the universal jurisdiction principle, greenlighting inquiries into two Syrians accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The ruling was welcomed by rights groups who said it would also […]
(National-UAE) Masih Alinejad, an Iranian-American journalist and activist, was given a Metropolitan Police protection team on Tuesday evening after her appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored. Ms Alinejad spoke at the Sir Harry Evans Global Summit on Investigative Journalism in central London on […]
(National-UAE) Belgian police this week arrested seven alleged ISIS supporters — almost all Chechens — who were accused of attempting to plan a terrorist attack within the country. The men were believed to have been searching for weapons. The arrests brought renewed […]
(AP) The person who operates the Twitter account claims to be an Islamic fundamentalist living in Spain, empathizing with violent extremists and longing for the days, more than six centuries ago, when Muslims ruled the country. The views are as fake as […]
(AFP) Belgian police on Thursday arrested seven people suspected of supporting the Islamic State (IS) group and plotting a “terrorist attack,” prosecutors said. Almost all the suspects are ethnic Chechens, and three of them possess Belgian nationality, prosecutors said in a statement. […]
(AFP) Sweden’s parliament on Wednesday passed new legislation to ban activities linked to extremist groups, as it beefs up its terror laws, a key demand from Turkey to approve Stockholm’s NATO membership bid. With 268 votes in favour, the law — which […]
(CBS) The Biden administration is planning to allow tens of thousands of Afghans brought to the U.S. after the Taliban takeover of their homeland to apply to stay and work in the country legally for at least another two years, as efforts […]
(National Post) Tarek Fatah, the Toronto Sun columnist, has died at the age of 73, his family has said. In more than a decade writing columns for the Sun, Fatah, who identified as a secular Muslim, distinguished himself with his acidic opinions […]
(Local) Swedish police were wrong to reject the burning of the Quran outside the embassies of Turkey and Iraq on two occasions earlier this year, an administrative court has ruled. The decision not to grant a permit to the planned rallies in […]
(France 24) The timing couldn’t have been worse. Turkey had already threatened to derail Sweden’s NATO aspirations when a far-right extremist set fire to a Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. On Friday, Ankara issued its verdict on Sweden and Finland’s […]
(Local) Norway will not follow in the footsteps of neighbours Denmark and grant asylum to Afghan women based on their gender, Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl has said. Afghanistan is currently the world’s most oppressive country for women, according to the […]
(AP) Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Thursday that Germany will have to do a better job at clamping down on “irregular migration” and deporting those who don’t legally reside in the country. Scholz said that Germany, however, would continue to provide protection for […]
(AFP) France and Britain are working on a new deal to thwart migrants crossing the Channel, which could be agreed at a summit between leaders Emmanuel Macron and Rishi Sunak later this week, a French official said Wednesday. Macron is set to […]
(BBC) A new law set to go before Parliament later will introduce new measures aimed at removing migrants entering the UK on small boats. The Illegal Migration Bill is set to prevent those arriving illegally from claiming asylum, and will block them […]
(Detroit Free Press) Hamtramck city council this week approved a proclamation expressing support for Palestinians and opposing military aid to “all repressive governments.” The proclamation did not mention Israel, but appeared to criticize the country, drawing criticism from some residents and support […]
(AP) Nearly 1 million people applied for international protection in the European Union in 2022, according to data published Wednesday, bringing the number of asylum requests to a level not seen since the refugee crisis of 2015-2016. The EU Agency for Asylum […]
(National-UAE) The number of investigations by UK counter-terrorism police into state threats has quadrupled in the past two years, with several “close calls,” a senior officer has said. Matt Jukes, head of counter-terrorism policing, described the workload as “unprecedented” and said it […]
(AP) More than 8,400 Europe-bound migrants perished at sea while attempting to cross the Mediterranean over the past four years, a charity said Tuesday. Save the Children said in a report that about a half million people crossed or attempted to cross […]
(AFP) Swedish police on Wednesday denied permission for a protest involving the burning of a Koran, following a January demonstration that angered Turkey, putting Sweden’s pending NATO application on hold. Protests are rarely banned by Swedish police as they are considered as […]
(Reuters) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday called for European Union financing for border fences, reviving an idea long seen as inadmissible ahead of a summit of the bloc’s leaders to discuss curbing irregular immigration. The gathering of the 27 national […]
(National-UAE) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hit the campaign trail on Monday in a Berlin mayoral election marked by concerns over violence and integration. Ugly scenes on December 31 including attacks on police and buses led to fingers being pointed at Arab and […]
(AFP) Sweden’s government on Thursday proposed new legislation to ban activities linked to extremist groups, in a move to toughen anti-terror laws, a key demand from Turkey to approve Stockholm’s NATO bid. The proposed legislation widens the scope of activities that can […]
(AP) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed Wednesday that Turkey won’t allow Sweden to join the NATO military alliance as long as the Scandinavian country permits protests desecrating Islam’s holy book to take place. Turkey, which had already been holding off approving […]
(Deutsche Welle) Two weeks ago, a knife attack shook Germany when a man traveling on a regional train headed for Hamburg randomly stabbed passengers, killing two of them. The alleged perpetrator, 33-year-old Ibrahim A.*, was known to the police, as he had multiple prior convictions […]
(AP) Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Tuesday denounced activists who burned the Quran and hanged an effigy of Turkey’s president in Stockholm as “useful idiots” for foreign powers who want to inflict harm on the Scandinavian country as it seeks to […]
(AFP) Turkey summoned Denmark’s ambassador on Friday to condemn Copenhagen for allowing a far-right extremist to burn Korans over Ankara’s refusal to let Sweden and Finland join NATO. Anti-Islam activist Rasmus Paludan, a Danish-Swedish dual national, first burnt a copy of the […]
(AP) Turkey’s president cast serious doubt on NATO’s expansion Monday after warning Sweden not to expect support for its bid for membership into the military alliance following weekend protests in Stockholm by an anti-Islam activist and pro-Kurdish groups. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan […]
(AFP) Turkey on Saturday cancelled a visit by the Swedish defence minister over a demonstration by an anti-Islamic extremist in Stockholm, sparking a fresh crisis as Sweden tries to convince Ankara not to block its bid to join the NATO military alliance. […]
(AP) Sweden is bracing for demonstrations Saturday that could complicate its efforts to persuade Turkey to approve its NATO accession, which has already drawn Turkey’s ire. A far-right activist from Denmark has received permission from police to stage a protest outside the […]
(AFP) The hanging of an effigy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan showing him dangling by his legs from a rope in Stockholm does not warrant a criminal investigation, prosecutors said Monday. “A decision has been taken not to initiate a preliminary […]
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