Ukraine war: EU Parliament - Votes and agrees on naming Russia a State sponsor of terrorism

The deliberate attacks and atrocities carried out by the Russian Federation against the civilian population of Ukraine, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and other serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law amount to acts of terror against the Ukrainian population and constitute war crimes," MEPs said in a non-binding but highly symbolic resolution.

"In the light of the above, (the European Parliament) recognises Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and as a state which uses means of terrorism."

Read more at: https://www.euronews.com

NATO: Why does Turkey want to block Finland and Sweden from NATO?

The Turkish government's assertion that they have issues agreeing to let Finland and Sweden join NATO has raised eyebrows in Helsinki and Stockholm in a week where the Nordic nations are submitting historic letters requesting NATO membership.

All 30 members of the military alliance must agree on admitting new members.

But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described Finland and Sweden as a hatchery for terror groups.

Read more at: Why does Turkey want to block Finland and Sweden from NATO? | Euronews

The Ukraine crisis: how to respond? by : Mary Kaldor

Ukraine. It has recognised as independent the eastern republics of Donetsk and Luhansk and is preparing to send troops there. Russia did the same thing in Georgia—recognising the republics of Abkhazia and Ossetia, dispatching troops and issuing Russian passports to the inhabitants. It has also illegally annexed Crimea. There are likely to be more military clashes on the border with the Ukrainian-controlled parts of eastern Ukraine and further incursions. Even a full-scale conventional invasion seems possible. Up to now, conventional war has not been the style of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. The Russians have previously talked about a ‘new type of warfare’ or ‘non-linear war’, which involves special forces, local militias and what they call ‘political technology’—for example, cyberwar or disinformation campaigns on ‘social media’. These have all present in the Donbass region. Ukraine. It has recognised as independent the eastern republics of Donetsk and Luhansk and is preparing to send troops there.

Russia did the same thing in Georgia—recognising the republics of Abkhazia and Ossetia, dispatching troops and issuing Russian passports to the inhabitants. It has also illegally annexed Crimea. There are likely to be more military clashes on the border with the Ukrainian-controlled parts of eastern Ukraine and further incursions. Even a full-scale conventional invasion seems possible.

Up to now, conventional war has not been the style of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. The Russians have previously talked about a ‘new type of warfare’ or ‘non-linear war’, which involves special forces, local militias and what they call ‘political technology’—for example, cyberwar or disinformation campaigns on ‘social media’. These have all present in the Donbass region.

Read more at: The Ukraine crisis: how to respond? – Mary Kaldor

Canada: Muslim family ID'd in fatal truck attack in London, Ont., known for commitment to community

The Muslim family identified as the victims of a hit and run Sunday in what police are calling a hate-motivated attack in London, Ont., were deeply involved in the community and committed to their faith, friends and family say.

Salman Afzaal, 46, his wife Madiha Salman, 44, their 15-year-old daughter Yumna Afzaal and Salman Afzaal's 74-year-old mother, Talat Afzaal, were killed after a black truck slammed into them as they took an evening walk.

Read more at: Muslim family ID'd in fatal truck attack in London, Ont., known for commitment to community | CBC News

Belarus: Angela Merkel says Belarus′ story ′completely implausible′

Chancellor Merkel on Monday dismissed Minsk's explanation for having forced an airliner to land in Belarus and arresting a dissident on board.

"We have seen a forced landing that led to the arrest," Merkel said as she arrived at an EU summit where sanctions will be discussed. "All other explanations for the landing of this Ryanair flight are completely implausible."

Merkel's comments came after Germany joined a list of European countries to summons their Belarusian ambassadors, amid shock over Minsk's forced landing of a plane and subsequent arrest of a dissident journalist.

Read more at: Angela Merkel says Belarus′ story ′completely implausible′ | News | DW | 24.05.2021

USA: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport Reopened After ‘Suspicious Wires’ Cause Evacuation, Delays

All entrances to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport were closed for over five hours Thursday morning while police investigated "suspicious wires" found in a vehicle, leading to evacuations and a massive law enforcement response.

Broward Sheriff's Office officials said deputies received information about the suspicious wires in the vehicle that was in a parking garage near Terminals 2 and 3 just after

Deputies responded to the scene and quickly closed the roadways and secured the area around the vehicle located on the upper level of the garage, evacuating people in the vicinity.

Read more at: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport Reopened After ‘Suspicious Wires’ Cause Evacuation, Delays – NBC 6 South Florida

Terrorism: Canada declares the US Proud Boys a terrorist organization - by N'dea Yancey-Bragg

The Canadian government added the Proud Boys, an extremist group with ties to white nationalism, to its list of terrorist organizations.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced Wednesday the Proud Boys were one of 13 groups now designated as terrorist organizations, including the Russian Imperial Movement and two neo-Nazi groups — the Atomwaffen Division and The Base.

“Canada will not tolerate ideological, religious or politically motivated acts of violence,” Blair said. Amid much debate about the impact of digitalisation in a globalised world, women have been largely invisible. The EU is the global actor that could change that.

Read more at: Canada declares the Proud Boys a terrorist organization

USA: Donald Trump, the leader of the insurgent and domestic terrorist group which planned, encouraged and invaded the Capital Building must be removed from office - by RM

The leader of the disgraceful insurrection yesterday at the Capital building storming, who is completely delusional , but still sitting in the White House with incredible powers at his disposal, must immediately be removed from office, based on US laws as described in the US Constitution re 25th Amendment.

It also must be noted that an investigation has to be started why there was no adequate protection deployed at the Congress, even though news of this potential insurrection was know far in advance? Hopefully given the fact many of insurgents can be identified, as they carried out acts of vandalism , the Police and FBI will be able to find them and prosecute them.

As a note of comparison -- if this had been a demonstration by "black lives matter" the area would have been crawling with security forces and vandalism would have cost many demonstrators lives.

The combined session of Congress, after the building was cleared confirmed Joe Biden as the 46th President of the USA.

EU-Digest

The Netherlands: Man arrested for teen stabbings on Hague shopping street

Police in the Netherlands arrested a 35-year-old man in connection with the stabbings of three teenagers on the Grote Marktstraat in Den Haag. The man, with no fixed address, was being taken to a police station where investigators planned to interrogate him, Den Haag police said in a statement. No suspected motive was released immediately after the arrest. Earlier on Saturday,

Read more at
https://nltimes.nl/2019/11/30/man-arrested-teen-stabbings-hague-shopping-street

The Netherlands - terrorist attack : Dutch police arrest Turkish man suspected of killing 3 in tram shooting

37-year-old Gokmen Tanis arrested

Dutch police arrested a Turkish man suspected of shooting dead three people and wounding five on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht on Monday.

Utrecht police announced the suspect, 37-year-old Gokmen Tanis, had been taken into custody.

The city was put into lockdown after the shooting, shortly after the morning rush hour, which authorities initially said was an apparent terrorist attack. Police conducted raids in several locations.

But hours after the shooting, the gunman's motive remained unclear. A prosecutor said it could be for "family reasons" and Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency, quoting relatives of the gunman, said he had fired at a relative on the tram and had then shot at others who tried to help her.

Helicopters hovered over the usually quiet medieval town.

Authorities had raised the terrorism threat in Utrecht province to its highest level, schools were told to shut their doors and paramilitary police increased security at airports, other vital infrastructure and at mosques.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte convened crisis talks immediately after the incident, which came three days after a lone gunman killed 50 people in mass shootings at two mosques in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand.

"Our country has today been shocked by an attack in Utrecht... A terrorist motive cannot be excluded," Rutte said.

Note EU-Digest: As to the people who are now arguing if this can be called a terrorist attack, they should realize that if you are white, brown, black or yellow, male or female, Christian, Muslim, or whatever religion, that going into a public transportation system and killing innocent people is an act of terrorism - no but's or if's.

Read m,ore at: Dutch police arrest Turkish man suspected of killing 3 in tram shooting

Radicalism and Terrorism - Time to call a spade a spade:Radical right-wing white supremacists who kill people are terrorists just like radical Muslims who kill people - by RM

Populism is dangerous and destructive and the wrong way to go

What a horrible and despicable act of  terrorism it was, committed by this white supremacist on innocent Muslim worshipers in New Zealand

This has to stop.  
 
The fact is that right-wing, white supremacists radicalism, based on Islamophobia, race, culture and adversary-immigration policies, is just as radical as Muslim radicalism, but unfortunately not defined as such, or confronted and fought openly by governments and the press, in the same way as Muslim radical  extremism is. 

Both extremists groups, once they get involved in violent acts, whereby innocent people get killed, are terrorists.  There is no difference between the two.

In Europe and the US, radical right-wing, white supremacists movements are usually still labeled as either nationalist, or populist movements by the media and  politicians, including Donald Trump in the US, Marianne Le Pen in France, Geert Wilders and Thiery Baudet in the Netherlands, Victor Orban in Hungary, Jörg Meuthen and Alexander Gauland, in Germany, Matteo Salvin in Italy, Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson in United Kingdom, Michał Marusik in Poland, and Ulrich Schlüer and Pascal Junod in Zwitserland. 

In this context let us also not forget that all of the European politicians mentioned in the paragraph above are being cheered on by their "big brother",  Donald Trump on the other side of the Atlantic ocean, and sad to say, the "love" is mutual.

Unfortunately, this political right-wing alliance has resulted in some extremely negative effects on the well-being of many people around the planet, causing racial and religious tensions, a lack of direction in the area of the environment (the Paris Agreement), nuclear proliferation (the Iran Nuclear Deal framework), a British political debacle (Brexit),  and tariff wars..    

Democracy, as we knew it, is just about non-existent anymore. The Populist radical charade needs to be exposed for what it really is, before many more people lose their lives, as a result of terrorist acts committed by these white supremacists.

It is high time for Governments, politicians, and the press to take their heads out of the sand and call a spade a spade.A terrorist is a terrorist, if he is white, black, brown, or yellow, Christian, or Muslim, or whatever religion he or she professes.

EU-Digest

NEW ZEALAND: World leaders react to New Zealand terrorism by white supramists and rising racism and Islamophobia

'Latest example of rising racism and Islamophobia': World leaders react to New Zealand mosque shootings

 View

Read more at: 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/new-zealand-shooting-world-reaction-1.5057907

NEW ZEALAND:Terrorism does not discriminate

Opinion: Terrorism does not discriminate

Read more at:
https://p.dw.com/p/3F9M4

France - Terrorism - Strasbourg : Trump uses terror attack in France to push U.S. border wall even though no terrorists have ever entered US via US-Mexico Border

President Trump on Wednesday seemed to suggest the deadly shooting at a Christmas market in Strasbourg, France, is evidence that the United States needs stronger border security.

“Another very bad terror attack in France,” Trump tweeted. “We are going to strengthen our borders even more. Chuck and Nancy must give us the votes to get additional Border Security!”

Witnesses said the gunman, identified by police as 29-year-old Cherif Chekatt, yelled out “Allahu Akbar” as he opened fire, killing at least two people and wounding seven others. Police believe Chekatt, a Strasbourg native, may have become radicalized while in jail.

Trump’s tweet came a day after he clashed with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi over funding for border security measures — including the president’s long-promised wall along the U.S. southern border — during a contentious Oval Office meeting.

The president said he is willing to shut down the government if Democrats don’t appropriate funding for his proposal to provide $5 billion for a wall along the Mexico border next year.

At one point during their exchange, the president suggested — without evidence — that “10 terrorists” were recently apprehended trying to enter the United States.

Records show this another of Trump's many untruths - because records show no terrorists have come through the US  Southern border.

Read more: Trump uses terror attack in France to push U.S. border wall - AOL News

Migrants: contrary to what populists think they are not part of the terrorists problem

Via euronews: What populists get wrong about migrants and terrorism |

Read more at:
https://www.euronews.com/2018/10/30/what-populists-get-wrong-about-migrants-and-terrorism-view

The Netherlands: Dutch Police seven over plot to attack large event

Dutch police arrest seven over plot to attack large event

Read full report at:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/27/dutch-police-arrest-seven-over-plot-to-attack-large-event?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

Canada - terrorism: Toronto collision leaves 9 dead, 16 injured; suspect in custody

Nine people are dead and 16 are injured after the driver of a van plowed into multiple pedestrians in Toronto on Monday, Acting Police Chief Peter Yuen said.

The driver, who authorities said hit pedestrians on a busy street north of downtown Toronto, was in custody after leaving a trail of destruction stretching up to a mile, officials said. The van has been located, Toronto Police media representative Gary Long said.

Authorities have not said publicly if the vehicle collisions were intentional. But a law enforcement official briefed on the situation in Toronto told CNN the incident is believed to be deliberate.

The incident happened in the North York area at the intersection of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue, police said.

The suspect covered between a half-mile and a mile in the vehicle, said Stephen Powell, district chief for Toronto Fire.

Read more: Toronto collision leaves 9 dead, 16 injured; suspect in custody

Turkey: Four people killed in a shooting at Turkish university - Al Arabiya English

Reuters reports that Four people were killed on Thursday ( March 5) in a shooting at the Osmangazi University in Turkey’s northwestern province of Eskisehir, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.

The shooter, a researcher at the university, shot dead the assistant dean, faculty secretary, lecturer, and a staff member from the education faculty of the university, Anadolu said.

Police had detained the shooter,

Report: Four people killed in a shooting at Turkish university - Al Arabiya English

France - Extremism: the challenge of tracking 20,000 suspected extremists

France's interior ministry compiles something known as the "S file" (the "S" stands for security) which contains anyone suspected of being a radical, including potentially dangerous leftist and far-right activists.

There is also a separate list, the File for the Prevention of Terrorist Radicalisation (FSPRT), for people judged to be terror threats.

Radouane Lakdim, the gunman involved in last Friday's shooting spree in the southern French towns of Carcassonne and Trebes, was listed in the S File in May 2014 and the FSPRT in September 2015.

The file includes people who represent varying degrees of threat, from someone who is reported by his boss for not shaking hands with women to a minor who has recently converted to Islam.

But there are more serious cases of people in contact with members of the Islamic State (IS) group, or others who have left for or wanted to travel to areas controlled by IS in Iraq or Syria.

Once listed, a person will remain on the list for five years but might not be actively monitored. The file also contains records of potential links between suspects.

It updates gradually, as cases are reported by the security services or via calls to the toll-free tipline that launched in April 2014.

Read more: France and the challenge of tracking 20,000 suspected extremists - France 24

The Netherlands: Syrian ISIS member spotted in Amsterdam - by Janene Pieters

The NL Times reports that a Syrian man who fought for terrorist organization ISIS is living in the Netherlands with false papers, the Volkskrant reports. He was at a meeting in De Balie in Amsterdam in September, where activists of civilian collective "Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently" recognized him.

According to the newspaper, the activists were meeting in De Balie on September 14th following a showing of a film about their work. The 31-year-old ISIS member was there and one of the members immediately recognized him as an ISIS fighter. "We tried to take a picture of him, but he did not want to. He fled outside", Hossam Eesa of the group told the  Dutch newspaper "De Volkskrant". How the man knew about the meeting in De Balie is unclear. It was not listed on De Balie's agenda for safety reasons.

A security guard from De Balie chased after the man, but could not stop him. The police were called, who gathered the activists and their families in a separate room. The police stayed there until the activists could leave the premises safely, according to the newspaper. The activists stay in secret locations in the Netherlands and Germany, because they've been seriously threatened by ISIS for some time.

As far as is known, this is the first time a Syrian ISIS member was signaled in the Netherlands. Sources around the Dutch intelligence and security services confirmed the incident to the Volkskrant, and said hat the AIVD has been watching the man for months.

After years of fighting, ISIS lost almost all of its territory in Syria. Research agency Soufan says that about 30 thousand non-Syrian people joined the terrorist group, including about 280 Dutch. What they will do now is not clear, though it seems plausible that at least some will return to their home countries. About a third of European jihadists already did so, according to the research agency. 

Note EU-Digest: Several Dutch newspaper editors and commentators noted that although Dutch intelligence said they have been watching this ISIS member for months, it seems strange that this man, who has been in the Netherlands now for months illegally, is able to attend a non-publicized anti-ISIS meeting at De Balie in Amsterdam. The other amazing thing is that this ISIS sympathizer, was never arrested, even after the AIVD, as they say, followed him around for several months. This is specially disturbing,  as  the Netherlands terrorism threat level remains high at 4 out of 5. 

EU-Digest