Austria Says Migrant Redistribution ‘Has Failed’, Refuses Asylum Seekers

/0 Comments/in , /by

Austria’s Europe minister has said that the EU’s compulsory migrant redistribution scheme “has failed” and member-states should be able to choose whether to accept migrants or not.

While some 150 non-governmental organisations have put pressure on Austria to accept Middle Eastern migrants stuck in Greece because of the worsening coronavirus pandemic, two government spokesmen have said that Austria will maintain its current policy and not accept any more asylum seekers.

“It remains a no,” confirmed Claudia Türtscher, the spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), according to Kronen Zeitung.

Ms Türtscher referred the media back to Chancellor Kurz’s remarks from last month when he warned against the European Union transferring any migrants from Greece and attempting to redistribute them across the political bloc.

“If the European Union allows these people to enter, millions will be on their way,” the 33-year-old Austrian premier said last month, insisting that the best course of action for his country is “to support Greece as best as possible and to send a clear message as an EU”.

(Read more from “Austria Says Migrant Redistribution ‘Has Failed’, Refuses Asylum Seekers” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Iranian Citizen Accused of Trying to Sneak U.S. Military ‘Sensitive Parts’ to Iran

/0 Comments/in , /by

A 38-year-old Iranian citizen has been taken to Texas after his arrest in Georgia to face federal charges for a scheme to obtain “military sensitive parts” and ship them to Iran. . .

The military parts that Merdad Ansari is accused of trying to send to Iran “had dual-use military and civilian capability and could be used in such systems as: nuclear weapons, missile guidance and development, secure tactical radio communications, offensive electronic warfare, military electronic countermeasures (radio jamming), and radar warning and surveillance systems,” authorities said.

“As alleged, the defendant helped Iran to develop its weapons programs by obtaining military parts in violation of the Iranian Trade Embargo,” Demers said.

Ansari and co-defendant Mehrdad Foomanie of Iran are charged in a federal grand jury indictment with conspiracy to violate the Iranian Transactions Regulations, conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. . .

“According to the indictment, Foomanie also bought or attempted to buy items in the U.S. and arranged to have them unlawfully shipped to Iran through his companies in Iran (Morvarid Shargh Co. Ltd.); in Hong Kong (Panda Semiconductor and Foang Tech Inc., aka Ofogh Electronics Co.); and, in China (Ninehead Bird Semiconductor). The indictment also alleges that Ansari attempted to transship and transshipped cargo obtained from the U.S. by Yip and Foomanie using Ansari’s company, Gulf Gate Sea Cargo L.L.C., located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,” prosecutors explained. (Read more from “Iranian Citizen Accused of Trying to Sneak U.S. Military ‘Sensitive Parts’ to Iran” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Why Russia Fears Sweden’s Deadly Submarines

/0 Comments/in , /by

For decades, submarines came in two discrete flavors: traditional diesel-electric submarines that need to surface every day or two to recharge their noisy, air-breathing diesel engines, and nuclear-powered submarines that could quietly hum along under the sea at relatively high speeds for months at a time thanks to their nuclear reactors.

The downside to the nuclear-powered variety, of course, is that they cost many times the price of a comparable diesel submarines and require nuclear propulsion technology, which may not be worth the trouble for a country only interested in defending its coastal waters. A diesel submarine may also run more quietly than a nuclear submarine by turning off its engines and running on batteries—but only for a very short amount of time. Still, there remains a performance gap in stealth and endurance that many countries would like to bridge at an affordable price.

One such country was Sweden, which happens to be in a busy neighborhood opposite to Russian naval bases on the Baltic Sea. Though Sweden is not a member of NATO, Moscow has made clear it might take measures to ‘eliminate the threat,’ as Putin put it, if Stockholm decides to join or support the alliance. After a Soviet Whiskey-class submarine ran aground just six miles away from a Swedish naval base in 1981, Swedish ships opened fire on suspected Soviet submarines on several occasions throughout the rest of the 1980s. More recently, Russia has run an exercise simulating a nuclear attack on Sweden and likely infiltrated Swedish territorial waters with least one submarine in 2014. . .

The Swedish firm has unveiled concept art depicting a submarine with a ‘chinned’ sail, X-shaped tail fins for greater maneuverability in rocky Baltic waters, and four 533-millimeter torpedo tubes can fire both heavyweight torpedoes, back up by two 400-millimeter tubes, all of which would use wire-guided torpedoes. The vessel’s four Stirling engines apparently allow allowing for higher sustainable underwater cruising speed of 6 to 10 knots. . .

Sweden’s two A26s should be completed between 2022 and 2024, at which point it will be possible to gauge whether they can meet their ambitious performance parameters. In general, advancements to AIP submarines are allowing countries across the globe to acquire capable short and medium-range submarines at an affordable price. (Read more from “Why Russia Fears Sweden’s Deadly Submarines” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Report: Videos Show China Using Slave Laborers to Kickstart Economy

/0 Comments/in , /by

China apparently is turning to slave labor to kickstart its economy, following the catastrophe created by the coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan.

Videos from Xianjiang province distributed by the social media platforms TikTok and DouYin in the past two weeks confirm fears that the communist government is using members of the Muslim Uyghur minority and other Turkic youth as slave laborers, reports Bitter Winter, an online magazine that focuses on religious liberty and human rights in the country.

The report says: “Given that the nation is only just getting back on its feet after months of lockdown, and experts still have yet to give the all clear regarding the virus, the clips showing hundreds of corona-masked Uyghurs being amassed at transport hubs around the region with marching orders to work in factories in inner China, are giving Uyghur activists deep concern.”

Videos on the Chinese video-sharing site DouYin Chinese have been collected by Uyghur exile Alip Erking, who posts them on his Twitter feed called Uyghur Bulletin.

They also are appearing on Radio Free Asia, where Alim Seytoff noted the “mass movement of young people out of the province coincided with China’s widespread coronavirus lockdown, when other Chinese were forbidden to leave their homes.” (Read more from “Report: Videos Show China Using Slave Laborers to Kickstart Economy” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

90 Suspects Identified in Major Online Child Sexual Abuse Operation

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Police around the world have taken down a global child abuse ring with links to over 40 countries through a Belgian investigation supported by Europol. 4 suspects have been convicted today by a Belgian court.

This case was sparked by the Belgian East Flanders Federal Judicial Police (Federale Gerechtelijke Politie Oost-Vlaanderen) after more than 9 million pictures and videos of the abuse of thousands of children from around the world were found there during a house search.

The vast majority of this footage had never been seen in circulation before by law enforcement. Suspecting they were producing their own, the Belgian investigators launched Operation GARGAMEL together with Europol across Europe and beyond . The image and video data seized during this investigation has been used for Victim Identification Task Forces hosted by Europol through which 70 children and 30 suspects have been identified. The Belgian Federal Judicial Police succeeded in identifying 60 suspects (of which 24 in Belgium) and 40 victims, which brings the actual total to 90 suspects and 110 victims.

Some suspects have already appeared before court in a number of other countries. In Australia, a suspect was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

More arrests and rescues are expected globally as police in over 40 countries examine the intelligence packages compiled by Europol and information from the Belgian Federal Judicial Police.

(Press release originally appeared HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Report: Only India, China Will Survive Coronavirus, Rest of the Entire World Economy Will Go Into Recession

/1 Comment/in , /by

With two-thirds of the world’s population living in developing countries facing unprecedented economic damage from the COVID-19 crisis, the UN is calling for a USD 2.5 trillion rescue package for these nations.

The world economy will go into recession this year with a predicted loss of trillions of dollars of global income due to the coronavirus pandemic, spelling serious trouble for developing countries with the likely exception of India and China, according to a latest UN trade report.

With two-thirds of the world’s population living in developing countries facing unprecedented economic damage from the COVID-19 crisis, the UN is calling for a USD 2.5 trillion rescue package for these nations.

According to the new analysis from United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN trade and development body titled ‘The COVID-19 Shock to Developing Countries: Towards a ‘whatever it takes’ programme for the two-thirds of the world’s population being left behind’, commodity-rich exporting countries will face a USD 2 trillion to USD 3 trillion drop in investments from overseas in the next two years.

The UNCTAD said that in recent days, advanced economies and China have put together massive government packages which, according to the Group of 20 leading economies (G20), will extend a USD 5 trillion lifeline to their economies. (Read more from “Report: Only India, China Will Survive Coronavirus, Rest of the Entire World Economy Will Go Into Recession” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Chinese Student Disappears After Demanding XI Jinping Resign

/0 Comments/in , /by

A Chinese student who called for Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping to step down in a message posted to social media on Monday has gone missing. On Tuesday, reports suggested he was in police custody for his remarks.

Zhang Wenbin, a university student in eastern Shandong province, wrote on social media on March 30 that the police had already summoned him for the post, and that he would be detained for five days. Since then, he has not made any further posts. On March 31, he was no longer accessible via social media. . .

On Monday, Zhang posted a video of his message, which has been viewed 175,200 times so far.

In the video, Zhang says he was once a young supporter of the ruling CCP, referring to himself as a former “little pink,” a term to describe youths indoctrinated by the regime. However, after bypassing the government’s internet censorship, he discovered the truth about the CCP and its “sinister” history. In his statement, Zhang referred to his enlightenment as scaling the “Great Firewall” of CCP internet censorship:

Since I scaled the Great Firewall, I gradually came to the realization that the Chinese Communist Party has extended its dragon claws into every corner of the world, including the collective farming [1950s], the Cultural Revolution [1966-1976], the Great Famine [1958-1961], the One-Child Policy, the Tiananmen massacre [1989], as well as the persecution of the Falun Gong [spiritual movement], and the peoples of Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

(Read more from “Chinese Student Disappears After Demanding XI Jinping Resign” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Chinese Scientists Seeking Potential COVID-19 Treatment Find ‘Effective’ Antibodies

/0 Comments/in , /by

By Reuters. A team of Chinese scientists has isolated several antibodies that it says are “extremely effective” at blocking the ability of the new coronavirus to enter cells, which eventually could be helpful in treating or preventing COVID-19.

There is currently no proven effective treatment for the disease, which originated in China and is spreading across the world in a pandemic that has infected more than 850,000 and killed 42,000.

Zhang Linqi at Tsinghua University in Beijing said a drug made with antibodies like the ones his team have found could be used more effectively than the current approaches, including what he called “borderline” treatment such as plasma.

Plasma contains antibodies but is restricted by blood type.

In early January, Zhang’s team and a group at the 3rd People’s Hospital in Shenzhen began analysing antibodies from blood taken from recovered COVID-19 patients, isolating 206 monoclonal antibodies which showed what he described as a “strong” ability to bind with the virus’ proteins. (Read more from “Chinese Scientists Seeking Potential COVID-19 Treatment Find ‘Effective’ Antibodies” HERE)

_________________________________________________________

Top NY Blood Center Doctor Says Plasma Coronavirus Treatment Looking ‘Promising’

By Fox News. r. Beth Shaz, chief medical and scientific officer at the New York Blood Center, joined “The Story” Wednesday night to discuss “promising” efforts to treat coronavirus using the blood plasma of recovered patients.

“Right now we have a handful [of donors],” Shaz told host Martha MacCallum. “You have to be at least 14 days after [having] symptoms. With the first cases in the New York area [confirmed] on March 1, we are just beginning to get there.”

Prior to bringing Shaz on the show, MacCallum spotlighted a New York Post report about Long Island mother Diana Berrent, who became one of the first people in New York to donate her blood plasma for treatment efforts.

“Take my blood. Take my plasma,” Berrent said in the first-person story. “Swab my nasal passage over and over again. If it can potentially save a single life it would be nothing less than a miracle. (Read more from “Top NY Blood Center Doctor Says Plasma Coronavirus Treatment Looking ‘Promising'” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Chinese Government Finally Acknowledges Underreporting Coronavirus Cases; Coronavirus Is Latest in China’s History of Trying to Cover up Negative Info

/0 Comments/in , /by

By Daily Caller. A top Chinese health official said Wednesday that the government will begin counting coronavirus patients without symptoms in its official tally of cases of the virus, in what is a tacit acknowledgement that Beijing has underreported data on the pandemic.

China’s National Health Commission disclosed that the government is monitoring 1,541 people who have tested positive for coronavirus but have no symptoms.

Chang Jile, the head of the health agency, said at a press conference in Wuhan that the government will start reporting asymptomatic patient numbers Wednesday.

“From April 1, we will publish reports, outcomes and management of asymptomatic people in daily epidemic notifications, and respond to social concerns in a timely manner,” Jile said, according to CCTV.

Jile’s statement is the first time that the government has officially acknowledged that it has undercounted patients. (Read more from “Chinese Government Finally Acknowledges Underreporting Coronavirus Cases” HERE)

____________________________________________________

Coronavirus Is Latest in China’s History of Trying to Cover up Negative Info

By Fox News. Months after the coronavirus began to surface in China, the outbreak has spread across the world, killing thousands and prompting governments to enact unprecedented containment measures.

Beijing says it’s slowly beginning to emerge from the crisis that originated on its soil, while putting its propaganda machine to work to craft a favorable narrative. Weeks after announcing the outbreak, some governments — particularly the United States — are accusing China of purposely failing to inform the public, thereby exacerbating the crisis.

A Chinese doctor who has since died of the virus tried sounding alarms during its early stages. Li Wenliang — who worked in a Wuhan hospital and has since been hailed as a hero — was detained with eight other doctors for posting information about patients with respiratory problems on WeChat, a Chinese messaging platform.

Authorities claimed the doctors were spreading “unverified information” as reason for their detention. Other doctors were reprimanded and told to stop posting online about the virus. Li was released after signing a document admitting he committed “illegal acts.” (Read more from “Coronavirus Is Latest in China’s History of Trying to Cover up Negative Info” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

New Photos From Wuhan Reignite Doubts That Communist China Is Being Honest About Coronavirus

/0 Comments/in , , /by

By The Blaze. A new development in China is refueling theories that China’s communist government is not being honest with the world about the coronavirus.

This week, families in Wuhan — the Chinese city of about 11 million people where the COVID-19 pandemic originated — were allowed to begin picking up the cremated remains of loved ones who succumbed to COVID-19.

According to reports, some people had to wait in line for five hours to received their loved one’s ashes. But what is especially notable is that thousands of urns were shipped to the city, many thousands more than necessary for the 2,535 people that China claims died in Wuhan due to COVID-19. . .

(CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PHOTOS)

Despite global suspicions, China lifted the lockdown in Wuhan that had been in place since January. China also claims the area is not seeing any new cases of COVID-19. (Read more from “New Photos From Wuhan Reignite Doubts That Communist China Is Being Honest About Coronavirus” HERE)

_______________________________________________________

Estimates Show Wuhan Death Toll Far Higher Than Official Figure

By Radio Free Asia. As authorities lifted a two-month coronavirus lockdown in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, residents said they were growing increasingly skeptical that the figure of some 2,500 deaths in the city to date was accurate.

Since the start of the week, seven large funeral homes in Wuhan have been handing out the cremated remains of around 500 people to their families every day, suggesting that far more people died than ever made the official statistics.

“It can’t be right … because the incinerators have been working round the clock, so how can so few people have died?” an Wuhan resident surnamed Zhang told RFA on Friday.

“They started distributing ashes and starting interment ceremonies on
Monday,” he said.

Seven funeral homes currently serve Wuhan — a huge conurbation of three cities: Hankou, Wuchang and Hanyang. (Read more from “Estimates Show Wuhan Death Toll Far Higher Than Official Figure” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE