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Author: Vijeta Uniyal

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Vijeta Uniyal

Vijeta Uniyal is an Indian journalist based in Germany. He is Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Gatestone Institute.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on May 16, 2017 10 Comments
The latest polls suggest that UK’s Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn might be leading his party to a historic defeat in next month's general election. The Conservatives, under the leadership of Prime Minister Theresa May, "are set to become the biggest party in almost every area of Britain including traditional Labour strongholds," British newspaper The Sun reported on Monday. Labour has already been battered in local elections held earlier this month, “losing hundreds of seats and the control of stronghold councils defended by Labour for decades” -- as the British newspaper Independent described it. Sensing an impending electoral drubbing, Corbyn admitted that his party faces "challenge on historic scale" in this general election.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on May 11, 2017 3 Comments
The governments of Hungary and Slovakia have filed a case against the EU's refugee distribution plan. "Hungary and Slovakia have accused the EU of negligence and violations with regard to its decision to distribute up to 120,000 refugees across Europe," German newspaper Die Welt reported. Defending his government’s decision to challenge the EU's migrant policy in the European Court of Justice (ECJ), Hungary's Justice Minister Laszlo Trocsanyi told Die Welt, "We have compiled a ten-point list of reasons we believe this decision to be illegal." Minister Trocsanyi criticised EU's plans of redistributing migrants for incentivising illegal immigration. The EU was telling migrants to "go ahead and come to Europe, and we will handle the distribution," Trocsanyi said.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on May 08, 2017 14 Comments
Nowhere has the victory of the establishment candidate Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential election been cheered more fervently than in Berlin and Brussels. Last night, President-elect Macron received a ‘warm call’ from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French news agency AFP reported. "Congratulations, Emmanuel Macron. Your victory is a victory for a strong and united Europe and for French-German friendship," Merkel's spokesman said on Twitter. Merkel's Chief of Staff Peter Altmaier was quoted saying “[Macron’s] success is a great opportunity for Franco-German friendship.”

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on May 04, 2017 17 Comments
"France will be led by a woman, either me or Angela Merkel," Marine Le Pen said last night as she clashed with the pro-EU candidate Emmanuel Macron in the final debate ahead of Sunday's presidential run-off. Le Pen's statement points to the long shadow of the German Chancellor that looms large over the establishment candidate Macron. Merkel, hoping to boost Macron's chances, had endorsed him last week, praising his "consistently pro-European policy." "I would be very pleased if Emmanuel Macron were to win, because he stands for consistently pro-European policy," Merkel said in an interview last week, claiming that he will be a "strong president for France" and "his victory would be a good sign for the political center, whose strength we would like to maintain here in Germany, as well."

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on May 03, 2017 3 Comments
With the recent flaring of violence in India’s Muslim majority region of Kashmir, leaders of the Muslim world and the Western mainstream media have rushed to defend the violent Islamist mobs running amok in the Himalayan province. Earlier this week, Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan called for "multilateral dialogue" with his direct involvement to settle the question of Islamist separatism in Kashmir. After last year's power grab in Ankara, Erdogan speaks in his newly acquired capacity as the ruler of Turkey, who wants to take his country back to the days of Ottoman Caliphate, when Turkey claimed to speak for the entire Islamdom. Erdogan promotes a ‘Kashmir group’ within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to air Islamic grievances. OIC is a forum for Islamic countries -- an exclusive club of military despots and Islamic theocrats -- to bash India. India with all its flaws is at least a democracy.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on May 02, 2017 6 Comments
Lebanon-based terrorist outfit Hezbollah is in the middle of a financial crisis, recent intelligence assessments reveal. "Tehran's vassal is on the verge of bankruptcy," leading German newspaper Die Welt reported citing Western intelligence sources. Despite a steady flow of funding from Iran, the “Party of Allah,” as the terrorist group is called in Arabic, seems to have overstretched itself by venturing into the Syrian Civil War. In 2011, Iran had ordered Hezbollah to march into Syria, extending its base of operation beyond Lebanon, to keep the Assad Regime in power. German newspaper Die Welt reports:

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 26, 2017 25 Comments
In what should be a new low for women rights in Europe, Austria's leftist President Alexander van der Bellen has called on "every woman to wear headscarf" in order to fight growing "Islamophobia," Austrian media reported today. Going by the Austrian media coverage, the otherwise perpetually-offended feminist groups in Austria and Europe have failed to respond to this outrage. "[I]f it goes on like this, with the rampant Islamophobia, a day will come when we will have to ask every woman to wear a headscarf," President Van der Bellen, Austria’s recently elected Head of the State could be seen saying in a video clip addressing young students.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 25, 2017 10 Comments
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called off talks with the visiting German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel over his insistence on meeting anti-Israel NGOs. Netanyahu had previously urged Gabriel not to meet with organizations that are involved in anti-Israel activism. According to German newspaper Die Zeit, “Netanyahu tried to reach Gabriel on the phone on Tuesday, but the Foreign Minister refused to talk.” Disregarding his host's request, Gabriel went ahead with his plans to meet the representatives from Breaking the Silence and B'Tselem, two groups fueling anti-Israel activism and the boycott campaign. Gabriel, who also holds the position of Germany’s Vice Chancellor, serves as the chairman of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) -- Chancellor Angela Merkel’s junior coalition partner.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 24, 2017 8 Comments
The European Union and German establishment are rallying behind French centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron after he emerged as the front runner in the first round of the French presidential vote. Pro-EU Macron and nationalist candidate Marine Le Pen have both advanced to the presidential runoff set for May 7, secured 23.7 and 21.7 percent of votes respectively. Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman praised Marcon's "firm course for a strong EU" and congratulated him on his preliminary victory, wishing him "all the best for the next two weeks." German Foreign Minister Sigmar endorsed Marcon saying, "I am sure that he will be the next French president." Minister Sigmar called him the “only pro-European candidate” in the French presidential race.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 23, 2017 19 Comments
Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron and Front National's Marine Le Pen have qualified for the second round in the French presidential election securing 23.7 and 21.7 percent of votes respectively, French news agency AFP reports. Conservative François Fillon conceded defeat after getting 19.5 percent of the votes. Fillon endorsed Macron and called his supporters to vote for his rival in the final round. A fact that should cheer liberals and feminists alike: with today's result, France is just one step away from getting its first female president.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 20, 2017 6 Comments
With the change of administration in Washington, the U.S. and India are strengthening their defense and strategic ties. National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior members of his government in New Delhi this week to talk bilateral cooperation in the defense sector and combatting global terrorism. “The United States and India reaffirmed a strategic partnership that involves not only a growing defense relationship but also shared perspectives of the region.” Indian newspaper Economic Times reported. Last month, India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was in Washington to meet the U.S. Secretary of Defence James Mattis. These high level visits are expected to lay the groundwork for Prime Minister Modi's visit to the Washington later this summer. New Delhi-based Economic Times writes:
The United States and India reaffirmed a strategic partnership that involves not only a growing defence relationship but also shared perspectives of the region.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 18, 2017 7 Comments
As France heads to the first round of presidential elections on Sunday, Front National's candidate Marine Le Pen vows to put an end to the Open Borders Policy for illegal migrants. "Mass immigration is not an opportunity for France, it's a tragedy for France," Le Pen told her supporters. "The French sometimes have fewer rights than foreigners -- even illegal ones." Defending her campaign promise to take France out of the European Union, Le Pen said, "France has the right to regain its national sovereignty, its freedom to decide for itself."

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 13, 2017 5 Comments
The probe into Tuesday's triple bomb blasts in the city of Dortmund has led the German police to the refugee circles. Investigators detained a known Islamist holding a German passport and an asylum seeker from Iraq on suspicions of carrying out coordinated bomb attacks on the Borussia Dortmund soccer team bus, injuring one player. Three explosive devices went off near the soccer team's bus as it left the hotel for to the Champions League quarterfinals against AS Monaco. German authorities are treating the incident as a terrorist attack. German Police recovered a note near the site of explosions that began with "the name of Allah, the merciful," German newspapers Süddeutsche Zeitung reported. The note further calls for Germany to close the Ramstein airbase that serves as the headquarters for the U.S. Air Force in Europe:

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 11, 2017 9 Comments
With her book The Veiled Threat dealing with the plight of Muslim women in Europe, former radical feminist Zana Ramadani has kicked the Islamist hornets’ nest in Germany. Being born a Muslim herself, Ramadani is fearful of her life after receiving countless death threats from radical Muslims in Germany. German authorities have not granted her police protection yet. Ramadani gained public prominence in Germany five years ago when she founded the German chapter of the radical feminist group Femen. Once a darling of the left, Ramadani quickly fell out of favour with German liberals once she started criticising the oppression of women within Islam. Her fellow feminists accused her of being a racist and forced Ramadani out of the group which she founded.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 07, 2017 4 Comments
In what is being described as the largest single defense deal in Israel’s history, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has secured a defense contract worth almost $2 billion from India. Under the contract, IAI will equip the Indian Armed Forces with long and medium-range missile defense systems that have been developed through a joint Israeli-Indian partnership. IAI has been supportive of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to strengthen the Indian manufacturing base, also known as ‘Make in India’ initiative. "The current contracts represent an enormous expression of confidence by the Government of India in IAI's capabilities and advanced technologies which are being developed with our local partners as part of the Indian Government's 'Make in India' policy." IAI's CEO Yossi Weiss said.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 06, 2017 16 Comments
The government of Angela Merkel has approved draft legislation that seeks to combat certain content on the social media. The proposed law will force social media companies to remove content that German government may find offensive or 'false'. In its broadly defined parameters the law wants social media companies to act against hate speech, and other contents that may be "in breach of German laws", Bonn-based public broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported. Companies could face up to €50 million, or $53 million, in fines if they fail to remove 'criminal content'. All the major social media providers are based in the U.S. and by enacting this law Merkel government clearly wants to circumvent the free speech rights granted under the U.S. Constitution.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 04, 2017 18 Comments
President Donald Trump's latest executive orders on foreign trade have irked Chancellor Angela Merkel's government, prompting tough talk from Berlin. On Friday, President Trump signed two orders seeking to identify trade abuse and other malpractices carried out by foreign governments in order to lower the U.S. trade deficit. Merkel's second-in-command, German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, described Trump's moves as unlawful, claiming that he wants to "favour American companies, even if it contradicts international law." Germany's Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said that President Trump was taking the U.S. in  "completely the wrong direction" and "moving away from free trade" by signing those executive orders. Minister Zypries had previously threatened to take the U.S. to court if the Trump administration were to impose import duties on German products.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on March 29, 2017 3 Comments
Germany's biggest sports body, German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), has cancelled its cooperation with Palestinian Football Association (PFA), the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung (TAZ) reported. The German decision came after concerns raised by Jerusalem-based Simon Wiesenthal Center following an exposé released by the media watchdog Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). In an exposé release early February, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) had highlighted the role of Palestinian Football Association’s President, Jibril Rajoub, in promoting Jihad and martyrdom against unarmed Israeli citizens.
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