Thursday, 7 January 2016

The European Union Times

Cologne Mayor Blames German Women for Provoking Migrants' New Year Assaults

Posted: 07 Jan 2016 08:47 AM PST

Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker recommended that German women should change their behavior and follow a special set of rules to avoid sexual harassment, German media reported.
During an emergency meeting on Tuesday, she proposed a number of measures to prevent similar attacks in the future.
In particular, the mayor referred to a code of conduct for young women and girls. In her opinion, women should keep themselves at arm’s length from strangers. They also should immediately seek help of passers-by and the police as well as call on other people to bear witness to the attack.
Recker promised to strengthen security in Cologne during festivities, but warned young women against inappropriate behavior during public events where people are drinking.
The mayor also suggested the launch of an informational campaign for the refugees to explain them how they should behave during public celebrations.
“It is necessary to prevent confusion and explain the difference between the festive mood and behavior [on the one hand] and promiscuity [on the other],” the mayor said.
Reker’s statement caused strong criticism among local residents and journalists who accused the mayor of trying to shift the blame for sexual harassment to the victims.
The German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung was the first to react to Merkel’s words, releasing an article entitled “Women, hide”. The author accused Reker of an attempt to shift the responsibility to the victims of violence and called her stance “impudence.” Later, German TV channel N24 assumed that the Cologne mayor was “not in her right mind.”
Angry comments also flooded social media.
The idea of Lord Mayor Reker is finding support all around the world!
At arm’s length#? Then it is not my country anymore.
On New Year’s Eve, dozens of women in the German city of Cologne were robbed, threatened and sexually assaulted by a group of 1,000 aggressive men allegedly of Arab and North African origin.
The police received about 90 complaints and confirmed at least one case of rape.
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South Korea to restart propaganda loudspeakers on North's border

Posted: 07 Jan 2016 08:36 AM PST

South Korea says it will restart propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts along the border with the North, following Pyongyang’s claimed hydrogen bomb test.
The broadcasts will restart on Friday, South Korea’s presidential office says, calling the North’s bomb test a “grave violation” of an agreement in August between the two Koreas, which had aimed to ease tensions. At that time, the two traded artillery fire after Pyongyang had demanded a halt to the broadcasts.
Pyongyang has threatened to launch “strong military action” against loudspeakers broadcasting messages critical of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the Yonhap news agency reports, citing South Korean President Park Geun-hye who said: “North Korea could carry out a surprise provocation at any time in the current confrontational situation on the Korean Peninsula and we should be prepared for it.”
“Our military is at a state of full readiness, and if North Korea wages provocation, there will be firm punishment,” senior presidential national security official, Cho Tae-yong, said in the latest statement.
The Yonhap news agency announced it has decided to discontinue its “North Korea Newsletter” weekly service, making Thursday’s issue No. 395 the final one.
“We extend our gratitude to our readers for the deep interest and encouragement shown to the online service since its first publication in May 2008,” the agency wrote.
Seoul has already restricted access to Kaesong industrial park, the last significant joint project with Pyongyang providing jobs for 53,000 North Koreans.
The South Korean Unification Ministry’s new ban on entering Kaesong affects service providers and potential clients, who want to visit any of the 120 South Korean businesses operating in the North Korean border city. They are located in an industrial park, where small and medium-sized companies use cheap North Korean labor.
The Kaesong industrial park is believed to be the last remaining significant project created by the two Koreas, at a time when Seoul and Pyongyang practiced rapprochement policies.
The announced limited access to Kaesong is Seoul’s first practical reaction to North Korea’s alleged thermonuclear test earlier this week.
Many international monitoring stations detected an unusual 5.1 magnitude seismic event on the Korean peninsula. It appeared similar to North Korea’s last nuclear test carried out on February 12, 2013.
Yet so far there has been no official confirmation that the earthquake was caused by an explosion of a nuclear device and that radioactive emissions have been detected. When Pyongyang tested a nuclear device in 2013, it took more than 50 days to detect radioisotopes coming from underground after the explosion.
The alleged test has upset North Korea’s neighbors, with South Korea and Japan asking the US for confirmation of protection in case of conflict with Pyongyang.
President Barack Obama contacted the leaders of Japan and South Korea, reiterating “the unshakeable US commitment to the security” of both countries.
The UN Security Council should hold Pyongyang accountable for the announced nuclear test “by imposing a tough, comprehensive and credible package of new sanctions” on North Korea, Samantha Power, US ambassador to the UN, said in a statement issued shortly after an emergency UN session on Pyongyang’s nuclear test announcement.
The UN Security Council condemned North Korea’s nuclear test in the strongest terms as a “clear threat to international peace and security,” and in light of “the gravity of this violation” pledged to pursue new international sanctions against North Korea.
At the same time, Russia’s UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters it would be going “too far” to say Moscow supports new sanctions against Pyongyang, and that Russia has yet to see a UNSC draft resolution on the issue.
Source

North Korea's hydrogen bomb test triggers earthquake in China

Posted: 07 Jan 2016 08:28 AM PST

North Korea tested a hydrogen bomb, which, according to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, ended successfully.
Many Chinese people could feel the consequences of the tests of the North Korean hydrogen bomb. The test triggered an earthquake in China. Residents of several Chinese settlements had to be urgently evacuated.
The magnitude of the earthquake made up 5.1 on Richter scale.
“The North Korean nuclear program is being implemented by the state that shares a common border with Russia. The distance between Pyongyang and Vladivostok is less than 700 kilometers. Any actions of the DPRK in this area directly affect the national security of our country,” the head of the International Committee of Russia’s Federation Council, Konstantin Kosachev said.
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China’s legendary Harbin Ice and Snow Festival kicks off

Posted: 07 Jan 2016 08:14 AM PST

The legendary Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival has kicked off in China where over a million people are expected to visit the gigantic ice structures displayed in ethereal lights.
The annual event, the 32nd of its kind, opens in December and ends in February with an official opening ceremony held each year on January 5.
The event, which draws visitors and tourists from around the world, is comprised of various themed zones such as a lantern fair and a sculpture exhibition. This year’s festival is spread out over 750,000 square meters and required over 330,000 cubic meters of ice and snow to build.
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ISIS Knife-wielding man shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ shot dead in Paris on Charlie Hebdo anniversary

Posted: 07 Jan 2016 08:11 AM PST

Police in Paris have shot a man dead who tried to enter a police station armed with a knife, shouting “Allahu Akbar.” The man was found to be carrying a cellphone and a paper with an Islamic State flag, the Paris prosecutor says.
The shooting took place at the Goutte d’Or police station in Paris’ 18th district. Anna Polonyi, a journalist from the New York Times, witnessed the events unfolding and published a photo of a man lying on the ground outside the building. She also tweeted a photo of what appeared to be a robot inspecting the body.
Another eyewitness said two or three shots were heard, AFP reported. Police sealed off the area.
The man armed with a knife apparently attacked on-duty policemen, with one officer receiving injuries, according to local media reports.
Police union sources told Reuters the knife-wielding attacker was shot and killed.
There were also reports that the man was believed to have shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he tried to gain entry to the station. There were fears that he could have been wearing a suicide belt, but police sources later confirmed it was a fake.
Following the shooting, police found the man had been carrying a sheet of paper bearing an Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) flag, according to the Paris prosecutor. Police say they also found a handwritten note written in Arabic claiming responsibility for the attack.
“A mobile phone and a piece of paper, on which appear the Daesh flag and a clearly written claim in Arabic, were found on the individual,” Francois Molins said, referring to the Arabic acronym for Islamic State, according to Reuters.
The incident comes as Paris marks the first anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, which killed 12 people on January 7, 2015.
Thursday’s shooting occurred minutes before French President Francois Hollande paid tribute to police officers, who have been killed in the line of duty. He said there would be an unprecedented strengthening of French security, which would include a further 5,000 police officers.
The incident comes less than two months after the Paris attacks on November 13, which killed 130 people. Alain Corvez, a former adviser to the French Interior Ministry, told RT he believes Paris could be subject to more terror attacks in the future.
“What I am sure of is that such attacks could occur again and again because the problem of terrorism is not solved and we have to be very cautious,” Corvez said. “The president is doing his job, but the problem is different. It is not with words that you fight against terrorism.”
Corvez mentioned the 18th district where the attack took place is a mixed area, which is home to people from a number of different nationalities. However, he warned that future attacks could take place anywhere in the capital.
“You can take all these measures to counter these attacks, but there will be places for terrorists to [commit] attacks.”
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