Turkish football federation 'fined for sacking gay referee'

Yahoo – AFP, Stuart Williams, December 29, 2015

Hali Ibrahim Dincdag had been a referee in the Trabzon region in northern
Turkey but had his licence revoked in 2009 after publicly coming out as gay
(AFP Photo/Juan Mabromata)

Istanbul (AFP) - A Turkish court on Tuesday ordered the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) to pay thousands of dollars in compensation after it revoked the refereeing licence of a local referee on the grounds that he was gay.

The Istanbul court ordered the TFF to pay 23,000 Turkish Lira ($7,900) in material and moral compensation over its treatment of Halil Ibrahim Dincdag, the Dogan news agency reported.

However the sum was lower than the 110,000 Turkish Lira ($38,000) demanded by Dincdag's lawyers, in a case that had become a symbol of discrimination against gays and lesbians in largely conservative and overwhelmingly Muslim Turkish society.

The TFF had said that since he was exempt from military service due to his homosexuality, Dincdag fell into the army's classification of "unfit" and thus unable to do the job of refereeing.

Dincdag had been a referee in the Trabzon region on the Black Sea region but had his licence revoked in 2009 after publicly coming out as gay.

'Break the taboo'

"This lawsuit was a case in favour of all people who suffered injustice and discrimination," Dincdag told the Diken online news website.

"Winning this case was really something very important. The court has now confirmed that my fight was a right."

"I hope that this decision sets a precedent for similar cases. This is a victory."

However Dincdag and his lawyer Firat Soyle said that they would appeal the verdict to be awarded the full amount of compensation demanded in the lawsuit.

Turkish football referee Halil Ibrahim Dincdag, pictured in 2009 after he 

came out as a homosexual in a television broadcast (AFP Photo/Bulent Kilic)

"We are happy that justice has been done but we are going to appeal regarding the figure to be paid," the lawyer said, quoted by Turkish media. "Given the moral and material damages suffered, it is a small figure."

"December 29, 2015 is a victory in the fight against homophobia in football and also a victory for the LGBT movement in Turkey," he added. "We have to break the taboo on football over homophobia with this decision."

Turkish media said that Dincdag had been a football referee in Trabzon for 13 years when his license was revoked in 2009 and has been unable to officiate at any match since.

He also lost his job as radio presenter on a sports show on a local station.

The issue of homosexuality in football, by far the most popular sport in Turkey, remains a virtually untouched topic in the macho society.

The military's attitude to homosexuality has also been controversial, with gays needing to undergo nude examinations to prove they qualified for an exemption for military service due to their sexuality.

However Turkish media reports last month said that this requirement had now been dropped and only verbal declarations would now be taken into consideration.

Homosexuality has been legal in Turkey throughout the period of the modern republic and was also legalised in the Ottoman Empire from the mid-nineteenth century. But gays in Turkey regularly complain of harassment and abuse.

France opens access to Nazi-collaboration era archives

Yahoo – AFP, December 27, 2015

Marshal Philippe Pétain (1856-1951), the former French chief-of-state during
Nazi occupation of France, sits at his trial in July 1945 in Paris (AFP Photo)

Paris (AFP) - France will throw open access to police and legal archives drawn from one of the country's darkest hours, when the Vichy regime collaborated with Nazi occupiers during World War II, authorities said Sunday.

Starting Monday the archives can be "freely consulted" by the civil service, citizens and researchers "subject to the declassification of documents covered by national defence secrecy rules," according to a decree.

The Vichy regime, led by World War I hero Philippe Petain, collaborated with the invading German army from 1940-1944.

France has a painful relationship with this portion of its past, when the government helped the Nazis deport 76,000 Jews from its territory during the war.

The archives include documents from the foreign, justice and interior ministries as well as from France's provisional government after liberation.

Documents dating from as late as December 31, 1960 are also covered by the new rule, as long as the files relate to matters that happened between September 1939 and May 1945.

Under the new rules, documents related to the prosecution of war criminals in France, Germany and Austria as well as cases taken before military and maritime tribunals.

It will be up to top defence and security heads to decide whether classified documents in the archive will be made public.

AFP's person of the year: Angela Merkel

Yahoo – AFP, December 28, 2015

AFP journalists have chosen Angela Merkel as the most influential figure of
 2015 after the German chancellor stamped her mark on the European migrant
and Greek financial crises (AFP Photo/John MacDougall)

Paris (AFP) - AFP journalists have chosen Angela Merkel as the most influential figure of 2015 after the German chancellor stamped her mark on the European migrant and Greek financial crises.

The vote by editorial staff from all services and languages across the world put Russian President Vladimir Putin as number two on a list of people who most influenced world affairs over the year.

Putin had the top spot in the agency's 2014 vote.

Here are this year's top 10:

ANGELA MERKEL - The chancellor's open-door policy brought around a million refugees to Germany over 2015. The flood of migrants, a consequence of the devastating war in Syria, was the biggest in Europe since World War II and put the continent under huge strain, exposing its fault lines.

For hopeful Syrian and Afghan refugees she was "Mama Merkel"; some of her European counterparts and party colleagues were less welcoming, even openly critical.

Merkel's authority as the de facto leader of Europe was also on display during Greece's protracted financial saga, when she stood firm as the country's far-left government pushed back against austerity measures intended to save its economy and place in Europe.

Merkel was also voted Time magazine's Person of the Year.

VLADIMIR PUTIN - He was shunned by world leaders and put under sanctions for Russia's role in the 2014 standoff in Ukraine. But Putin was still able to impose himself on this year's most pressing problems, returning to the diplomatic centre stage over the Syrian conflict.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad owes his political survival to Putin's military backing, and the two allies have made themselves indispensable to efforts to end the four-year war that only started taking shape late this year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was able to impose himself on 2015's most

 pressing problems, returning to the diplomatic centre stage over the Syrian 

conflict (AFP Photo/Maxim Shipenkov)

POPE FRANCIS - From the US-Cuba reconciliation to progress towards peace in Colombia, the Argentinian pope continues to influence the weighty issues of his home region. He also remained active more globally, for example with a courageous visit to volatile Central Africa, while pursuing his drive to modernise and open up the Catholic Church.

PARISIANS - They were 1.5 million to take to the streets of the French capital after the January attacks on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine and a kosher supermarket that left 17 people dead.

Paris was hit again before the year was out when jihadists linked to the Islamic State group mowed down 130 people in cafes and the Bataclan concert hall, venues emblematic of the city's way of life and now of resistance to terrorism.

ABU BAKR AL-BAGHDADI - While Baghdadi remained largely invisible over the year, the Islamic State group that he heads extended its murderous campaign beyond the territory it controls in Iraq and Syria, growing its presence in Libya and claiming the downing of a Russian airliner in Egypt.

AUNG SAN SUU KYI - After a near 30-year struggle with a stubborn junta for democracy, "The Lady" stands on the threshold of power in Myanmar following her party's landslide win in November's legislative elections.

DONALD TRUMP - Just a few weeks out from the primaries, the conservative and provocative businessman seems unshakeable from the top of the Republican polls and could well find himself opposite Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 US presidential elections.

ALEXIS TSIPRAS and YANIS VAROUFAKIS - The Greek prime minister and his former finance minister symbolised resistance to the austerity policies prescribed for Greece as a cure for years of disastrous financial mismanagement. Even if Tsipras had to back down from key electoral pledges, his Syriza party became a model for Europe's far left, today represented by Spain's Podemos.

SEPP BLATTER - This year world football has been hitting headlines for all the wrong reasons, with the FIFA corruption scandal and its powerful president overshadowing any sporting fixture or achievement by far.

JOHN KERRY and MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF - Sometimes diplomacy, patience and perseverance can find a way out of the most complex of issues. This was the feat of the US and Iranian foreign ministers who, in marathon meetings in Geneva and Vienna, reached a historic compromise to defuse stubborn tensions over Iran's nuclear programme.

Related Article:

Time names Merkel as its 'person of 2015'

Cypriot leaders issue joint festive peace message

Yahoo – AFP, December 25, 2015

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades (L) and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa
 Akinci, pictured on July 28, 2015, expressed hopes for reunification in a Christmas Eve
televised message which was also posted on YouTube (AFP Photo/Stavros Ioannides)

Nicosia (AFP) - Rival Cypriot leaders have issued a joint festive message across the divided island in each other's language, in a show of unity as they push for peace in 2016.

Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Mustafa Akinci expressed hopes for reunification in the Christmas Eve televised message which was also posted on YouTube.

"I wish the new year will allow us... to live once more peacefully in a reunited country," Anastasiades said in Turkish, the first time he has spoken the language in public.

Standing beside him, Akinci said in Greek: "I wish the new year will bring lasting peace, serenity and prosperity to all Cypriots".

EU Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas praised their statement, tweeting: "Joint Christmas wishes best symbol of hope for a great European #Cyprus in 2016".

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops occupied its northern third in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece.

Last week Cypriot leaders wrapped up UN peace negotiations for 2015 saying they hoped next year would bring an elusive reunification deal for the divided island.

Their next meetings are planned for January 7, 14 and 29 with the aim "of reaching a comprehensive settlement as soon as possible".

Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi (R) shakes hands with Pakistan

 Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif upon his arrival in Lahore on December 25,

2015 (AFP Photo)

Related Article:

India's Modi on surprise 'goodwill' Pakistan visit

Germany's integration commissioner proposes multilingual subtitles for Merkel, Gauck speeches

Arabic subtitles should be added to Christmas and New Year's speeches by Germany's president and chancellor, according to integration commissioner Aydan Özoguz. She has suggested six language subtitles to help refugees.

Deutsche Welle, 23 December 2015

Özoguz suggested Wednesday that multilingual subtitles be added to video downloads of the speech to be televised at Christmas from President Joachim Gauck and then Chancellor Angela Merkel's New Year's address.

The Social Democrat (SPD) Özoguz, who is states' secretary for integration in Merkel's grand coalition cabinet told the German news agency DPA that Germany's large intake of refugees was "THE topic of the year 2015.

Ozoguz visiting a refugee camp in
Jordan with German Vice-Chancellor
Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) in September

"Therefore it would be good, if the refugees could also comprehend how we in this country [traditionally] experience the situation - for example, the addresses given by the federal chancellor and president at Christmas and New Year's," Özoguz said.

"Perhaps a few other EU heads of state will listen more closely," Özoguz quipped, referring to leaders of other EU nations.

Appeals from German leaders

Gauck, the ceremonial head of state, told Germany in September as migrant inflows reached 10,000 per day, that "hearts" in Germany were open to building extra accommodation and schools, teaching the German language and law, and providing vocational training, even if "our capabilities are finite."

Addressing issues, Gauck in
Frankfurt in October

Merkel survived a backlash from conservative ranks by telling voters "we will somehow manage this" and then winning over her Christian Democratic (CDU) party's main conference by pledging a decline in migrant numbers through a multi-pronged approach, including providing funds for refugee camps in the Middle East.

Video database

Özuguz said online video databases provided by Germany's regional and federal broadcasters should also offer subtitled translations of the speeches to be given by Merkel and Gauck.

Referring to key languages used by new arrivals from crisis and war regions, Özugun suggested Arabic [for Syrians], Farsi [for Iranians], Pashtu [for Afghans], Tigrinya [for Eritreans], "or also English and French."

Multilingual online advice for migrant newcomers on living in Germany has been boosted by Deutsche Welle, which operates in 30 languages - alongside offerings by other media outlets and institutions.

Arabic already available

Reacting to Özugoz' remarks, Deutsche Welle management on Wednesday said Merkel's New Year's speech would be translated into Arabic for DW's Arabic satellite service to the Middle East. Since last week, this Arabic-language satellite signal could also be easily received in Germany and other parts of western Europe via Astra 1M.

Gauck's televised Christmas address would be translated into Englisch, DW added.

Silent majority urged to speak up

Reacting to a number of arson attacks across Germany on hostels intended for - or already used by - asylum seekers, Federal Justice Minister Heiko Maas on Wednesday urged the "silent majority" to show more civil courage.

Maas (R) and prominent German TV
 presenter Dunja Hayali highlighted
asylum rights in August

People who spoke out "resolutely so that our societal debate is not poisoned by incitement and hate," were needed, Maas told the "Saarbrücker Zeitung newspaper, referring to xenophobic sentiment emerging at far-right rallies and in social media.

Counteracting this rhetoric was a task for everyone "in our everyday lives, whether in the commuter train, at work or at the sports club," Maas said.

A radical minority should not be allowed to destroy free and open society, he added.

ipj/jm (dpa, KNA, epd)

Related Articles:

Time names Merkel as its 'person of 2015'

"The New Human P1" - Sep 19-20, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

"Return of the Masters" - Apr 11-12, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

Italian football star Vincenzo Iaquinta to be tried for mafia links

An Italian judge has ordered more than 140 people to stand trial over alleged ties to 'Ndrangheta mafia. The officials suspect ex-Juventus striker and national team member Vincenzo Iaquinta of intending to aid the clan.

Deutsche Welle, 22 December 2015

Iaquinta was indicted for illegal possession of firearms, aggravated by intention to help the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta organization, his lawyer Carlo Taormina said on Monday.

The footballer's father, businessman Giuseppe Iaquinta, faces a more serious charge of mafia association, according to Taormina.

The 36-year old Iaquinta played for several Italian clubs, including the famous Juventus, and was part of Italy's national team which won the World Cup in 2006.

Hoy cumple 36 años el futbolista italiano Vincenzo Iaquinta pic.twitter.com/qL2zw37eUN

— Roy N'Coma (@RodrigoCornell) November 22, 2015

The Italian court ordered the Calabrian-born athlete and more than 140 other people to stand trial for their aiding or joining 'Ndrangheta, Italy's most powerful organized crime network.

A number of the suspects allegedly aided 'Ndrangheta to in their bid to infiltrate the country's north, where the influence of the mafia is traditionally weaker.

The trial is set to start in March 2016.

The Calabrian clan is rumored to control most of Europe's cocaine trade. Their name - 'Ndrangheta - comes from the Greek word for courage or loyalty, and prospective members are required to take an elaborate oath in order to join the organization.

IAAF deputy general secretary steps aside over leaked email

Yahoo – AFP, 22 December 2015

Nick Davies, deputy general secretary of the IAAF, pictured on November 9,
2015, steps down from his role (AFP Photo/Adrian Dennis)

Paris (AFP) - The IAAF's deputy general secretary Nick Davies confirmed on Tuesday that he has stepped down from his role pending an investigation into a plot to delay the naming of Russian drug cheats.

"I have decided to step aside from my role with the IAAF until such time as the Ethics Board is able to review the matter properly and decide if I am responsible for any breach of the IAAF Code of Ethics," Davies said in a statement released by the International Association of Athletics Federations.

French newspaper Le Monde and the BBC reported on Monday that Davies had discussed the plan in an email sent before the 2013 Moscow World Championships to Papa Massata Diack, who worked as an IAAF marketing consultant at the time and is the son of former IAAF president Lamine Diack.

"What has become apparent today is that I have become the story," added Davies, who is the closest aide to current IAAF president Sebastian Coe.

"In order to demonstrate that I am willing to have all allegations of unethical behaviour on my part in 2013 properly and fairly investigated I have referred my emails to Papa Massata Diack in 2013, my statements and the circumstances of the emails to the IAAF Ethics Board."

Le Monde and the BBC reported on Monday that, in the email, which was sent just weeks before the 2013 World Championships, Davies wrote he needed to sit down with the anti-doping team to discuss "Russian skeletons in the cupboard".

Davies stressed in the email that any Russians already caught cheating "should NOT" be in the Russian team in Moscow and that this should be made clear to Valentin Balakhnichev, then president of the Russian athletics federation and IAAF treasurer.

"If the guilty ones are not competing, then we might as well wait until the event is over to announce them," Davies said according to the report.

"Or, we announce one or two BUT AT SAME TIME as athletes from other countries.

"Also, we can prepare a special dossier on IAAF testing which will show that one of reasons why these Russian athletes come up positive is that they get tested a lot!!!"

Last month, Russia was provisionally suspended from track and field over accusations of "state-sponsored" doping as the IAAF scrambled to salvage the sport's credibility just nine months out from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Lamine Diack resigned from his position on the International Olympic Committee in November after being charged with corruption, money laundering and conspiracy.

On Monday the 82-year-old Senegalese was hit with new corruption charges linked to doping cover-ups in world athletics, a source close to the inquiry told AFP.

Lamine Diack served as head of the IAAF for 16 years until August, when he was succeeded by Coe.

Related Article:

Van Praag calls for football to clean up its act in wake of Blatter scandal

Van Praag calls for football to clean up its act in wake of Blatter scandal

DutchNews, December 21, 2015

The chairman of the Dutch football association has said the sport’s governing bodies must clean up their act following the suspensions of Fifa president Sepp Blatter and his Uefa counterpart Michel Platini. 

Michael van Praag said the strong punishments showed that Fifa had the capacity to put its house in order and pressed for anti-corruption measures to be put in place. 

Blatter and Platini were both banned from all football-related activities for eight years following an ethics committee inquiry into a €1.8m ‘disloyal payment’ made by Blatter to Platini in 2011. 

The 79-year-old Swiss and 60-year-old former French national team captain were also fined €37,000 and €73,000 respectively.

In a statement, the KNVB described the development as ‘the latest low point in the activities and the perception of Fifa in particular, but also Uefa, because of Platini’s personal involvement’.

Vacancy

Van Praag, who is vice-president of Uefa, said there was a momentum for change in the way world and European football was governed. ‘But we need to follow through on that front,’ AD reported him as saying.

‘I can see a number of real intentions on Fifa’s agenda to clean up and modernise the organisation. I am pleased to recognise more or less the whole of the plan I put forward during my campaign to become Fifa chairman. I have confidence that when Fifa’s internal elections are held on February 26, that plan will be implemented.’ 

Van Praag declined to say what Platini’s suspension would mean for Uefa. ‘On January 21 we have a board meeting and any vacancy that arises as a result of Platini’s departure will probably be discussed then,’ he said. 

Blatter has dismissed the tribunal process as a ‘masquerade’ and he had been used as ‘a punching ball’ for the problems of world football. Both men said they intend to appeal to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration in Sport.

Related Articles:

'Punching ball' Blatter vows to fight eight-year FIFA ban

Italian football star Vincenzo Iaquinta to be tried for mafia links - New

Spain PM battles to stay in power as new parties emerge

Yahoo – AFP, Marianne Barriaux, December 21, 2015

Spanish Prime Minister and Popular Party (PP) leader Mariano Rajoy waves

 alongside his wife Elvira Fernandez (2ndR) at the PP's headquarters after the

 results of Spain's general election in Madrid on December 20, 2015 (AFP

Photo/Jose Jordan)

For more than 30 years, Rajoy's Popular Party (PP) and the Socialists had alternated power, but millions of Spaniards exasperated with austerity and corruption scandals voted relative newcomers Podemos and centre-right Ciudadanos into third and fourth place.

While it took the largest share of the vote on Sunday, the PP lost its absolute majority in parliament and Rajoy now has the challenge of forming a stable government -- a task that the runners-up were unwilling to make easy.

"On no account will Podemos allow the PP to govern," Pablo Iglesias, the 37-year-old pony-tailed chief of the far-left anti-austerity party told reporters.

The Socialists (PSOE) followed suit, with number two Cesar Luena saying his party would block any government led by Rajoy, whose drastic spending cuts, tax rises and health reforms over the past four years have proved deeply unpopular.

"As far as I know, the PP is going to put forward Rajoy, and so the PSOE will vote no to the PP and Rajoy," he said.

And with the upstart Ciudadanos also ruling out backing Rajoy, the austere 60-year-old premier appears increasingly beleaguered and alienated.

How the new Spanish parliament looks after Sunday's election. 90 x 74 mm

(AFP Photo/Jonathan Jacobsen)

'Political uncertainty'

The outcome of the most-closely fought election in Spain's modern history has plunged the country into turmoil as it was just starting to recover from a devastating financial crisis.

And the prospect of weeks of political uncertainty saw the Spanish stock market slump 2.5 percent in afternoon trade.

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said he hoped political leaders would succeed in forming a stable government in the eurozone's fourth largest economy.

Official results showed the PP won 123 seats -- 63 less than in 2011 when it roared to victory with an absolute majority -- with almost 29 percent of the votes.

The PSOE followed with 90 seats and 22 percent of the vote, then Podemos with 69 seats and almost 21 percent, and finally the centrists Ciudadanos with 40 seats or nearly 14 percent.

The results mean parliament will be made up of four main groupings with significant clout, as opposed to the usual PP and Socialists tandem -- putting an end to Spain's traditional two-party system.

In an early bid to soothe concerns, Rajoy had said he would do all he could to form a government, standing on a podium in Madrid marked "Gracias" ("Thank you") and speaking down to cheering supporters.

"Spain needs a government that has the support of parliament," he said.

Leader of Spanish left wing party Podemos and general election candidate 

Pablo Iglesias speaks during a press conference about the results of Spain's

general elections in Madrid on December 21, 2015 (AFP Photo/Gerard Julien)

Scarred by financial crisis

The outcome caps a year of electoral change in southern Europe after Syriza swept to power in Greece in January and a coalition of leftist parties in Portugal pooled their votes in parliament to unseat the conservative government after an inconclusive election in October.

Sky-high unemployment, inequality, corruption and an ever-rising separatist drive in the northeastern region of Catalonia were just some of the issues at stake in a country deeply scarred by the financial crisis and fed up with what many considered a staid political scene.

"This result will... likely usher in weeks of political uncertainty, as the various parties try to hammer out a working arrangement in a country that has a limited history of multi-party government," said Eurasia Group analyst Federico Santi.

After holding talks with the leaders of each party that has won seats in parliament, King Felipe VI, the head of state, will nominate a prime minister -- most likely Rajoy.

The nominated leader must then win a vote of confidence in parliament in order to take office.

Ciudadanos has said it will abstain in the vote, and while the PSOE has rejected Rajoy, it could agree not to vote against a conservative government that excludes the incumbent premier, said Fernando Vallespin, politics professor at Madrid's Autonomous University.

If there is still a deadlock within two months of the first vote, the king must call new elections.

Rajoy had positioned himself as a safe pair of hands who dragged the country away from economic collapse when he took power in 2011 and put it on the path of recovery.

Preliminary results: Slovenians reject same-sex marriage law in referendum

Slovenians have voted against granting equal rights to same-sex marriages, according to near-complete results. While Slovenia is among the most liberal ex-socialist countries, gay rights remain a controversial issue.

Deutsche Welle, 20 December 2015

Preliminary results show that 63 percent voted against the government's bid to redefine marriage as a union of two adults, while 37 percent were in favor, the country's electoral commission said on Sunday.

Only 35.6 percent of registered voters turned out at the polls in the predominantly Catholic nation of two million people.

Slovenia's parliament had approved legislation in March defining marriage as a "union of two" instead of being a "union of a man and a woman," effectively granting homosexual couples equal rights to marry and the right to adopt children.

Following the decision, a Catholic Church-backed movement calling itself "Children Are At Stake" quickly gathered the 40,000 signatures necessary to put the question to the public in a referendum for the second time since 2012. The previous effort to allow same-sex marriage was also rejected.

If the "no" camp prevails in the final count, then the civil code would be changed back, although existing legislation, which allows registered civil partnerships but not the adoption of children, would remain in force.

President Borut Pahor and Prime Minister Miro Cerar's ruling Modern Center Party (SMC) support the "yes" camp, saying gay marriage would eliminate discrimination and grant equal rights to all Slovenians.

Janez Jansa, the former center-right prime minister from the opposition Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), came out against the move.

"Erasing the gender from the marriage (definition) gives ground to human rights' violations against our most precious -- our children."

Same sex marriage has already been legalized in 18 countries around the world, 13 of them in Europe.

dj/jlw (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)

Thousands attend 'pro-democracy' demonstrations in Poland

Tens of thousands of Poles have rallied across the country to protest the country's new right-wing government and its tightening grip on power. The central rally in Warsaw was interrupted early due to a bomb threat.

Deutsche Welle, 19 December 2015

Politicians and artists, as well as former anti-communist dissidents, joined the protests held in around 20 Polish cities on Saturday.

Locals protested the government's bid to install five of its alleged supporters in the 15-member Constitutional Tribunal.

"The ruling party is going to destroy the Constitutional Tribunal," said blogger and activist Marcin Skubiszewski, protesting at the central rally in Warsaw.

"This situation is really dangerous. Poland can go from democracy to either illiberal democracy or dictatorship," he added.

Organizers were forced to halt the central protest after two hours, due to an anonymous bomb threat. The threat turned out to be a hoax.

Some 20,000 people attended the Warsaw event, with smaller rallies also organized in Brussels, Berlin, London and Tokyo.

Return of Kaczynski

Warsaw is also set to pass new legislation on Monday, which would require a two-thirds majority for a valid verdict of the country's top court.

Poles protests at Salt Square in Wroclaw

The judiciary is one of the last remaining checks on government's power, with the conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) already holding the presidential post and absolute majority in both houses of parliament.

The party is led by staunch conservative Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a former prime minister and the twin brother of the late president Lech Kaczynski.

The ex-prime minister recently described the government's critics as "the worse kind of Poles with betrayal written in their genes," and descendants of the Gestapo.

The Law and Justice party's approval ratings have slid to 27 percent, compared to 42 percent at the start of December, according to a TNS Institute poll published in the daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza.

Some 50,000 people also marched in Warsaw last Saturday, followed by a pro-government rally a day later.

dj/jlw (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)

UN unanimously adopts resolution targeting IS finances

Yahoo – AFP, 17 December 2015

US Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew (R) votes yes on a wide-ranging draft

 resolution aimed at ramping up sanctions against the Islamic State group as

 finance ministers gather at the United Nations Security Council on December 17,

2015 (AFP Photo/Timothy A. Clary)

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Finance ministers from the UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously backed a resolution aimed at ramping up sanctions against the Islamic State group and cutting off its revenue flows.

US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew led the council's first-ever meeting of finance ministers, shoring up a major diplomatic push to end the war in Syria, where IS jihadists control a large swathe of territory and have installed their de facto capital.

Drafted by the United States and Syrian ally Russia, the measure will update an Al-Qaeda blacklist by renaming it the "ISIL (Daesh) and Al-Qaeda sanctions list" to signal the UN's focus on the IS extremists.

The resolution urges countries to "move vigorously and decisively to cut the flow of funds, and other financial assets and economic resources" including oil and antiquities to IS, and to "more actively" submit names to the sanctions list.

It calls on governments to ensure they have adopted laws that make the financing of IS and of foreign fighters who join its ranks a serious criminal offense.

A Russian-drafted resolution on cutting off the extremists' revenue streams was adopted in February, but countries have been slow to take action to choke off funding channels.

"While we are making progress to financially isolate ISIL, if we are to succeed we all must intensify our efforts, on our own and together at the international level," said Lew.

The latest measure would require all countries to report within 120 days on steps taken to target IS financing.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be asked to prepare a sweeping report in 45 days on the IS threat and its revenue streams, focusing also on funding for foreign fighters.

A UN sanctions committee made up of the 15 Security Council member states can impose an assets freeze, travel ban and arms ban on individuals and entities linked to IS extremists.

About half of the Islamic State group's revenues come from extortion and looted
property, 43 percent from oil sales and the remainder from drug smuggling,
electricity sales and donations, according to IHS analysis firm (AFP Photo)

IS earning millions

According to the London-based IHS analysis firm, the Islamic State group is pulling in $80 million per month, but Russian and US coalition air strikes on oil facilities are putting a strain on its finances.

About half of IS revenues come from extortion and looted property, 43 percent from oil sales and the remainder from drug smuggling, electricity sales and donations, according to IHS.

French Finance Minister Michel Sapin recalled that the gunmen behind the November 13 attacks in Paris resorted to online financial services to make anonymous payments and avoid detection by financial watchdogs.

"It is vital that information be better shared, as completely and rapidly as possible. Sometimes, a few hours can make the difference in preventing an attack," Sapin told the council.

"We must do everything in our power to choke off terrorism," he said.

British finance minister George Osborne called for widening the net, to "target the traders and middle men" involved in oil smuggling, which has generated $500 million to IS so far.

After the finance ministers' meeting on Thursday, the Security Council on Friday will bring together foreign ministers to adopt a separate resolution endorsing steps toward a political transition in Syria to end the nearly five-year war.

Related Articles:

2015 Kryon Kundalini Tour (Cusco #2, Peru) - Nov, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - New (Reference to Paris/ISIS/Dark-Old Energy/USA+Warning for Governments around the World !!!)

"Revelations of Darkness" - Oct 1, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“ .. Do Not Despair

There's too much information to give you in one channelling, in one sitting, so I refer to past messages for you to better understand and reference the information in order to get the bigger picture. So I wish to remind you of something I also told you in a recent channelling called Do Not Despair. You're winning! It's because you're winning that the dark consciousness on this planet is feeling it, and the humanity that represents darkness is pulling out everything it has to survive.

It Has Always Been There

Let's look at it, because it's all over the news. Are you shocked at the sudden existence of the organization that will remain unnamed [for this channelling]? Where did it come from? How could it be so organized? How could it be so well funded? This organization could have its own country soon! They might as well name it, “The Old Energy Dark Country”, for that's what it will represent.

The barbaric past of humanity comes forward to show its face. It has always been there, hiding under the rocks and between the cracks of civilized humanity. It couldn't show itself until now, but now it has to. It's ugly and it's not for the faint at heart, is it, dear ones? Seeing evil personified in Human action is abhorrent. It is so ugly and so dark that you cannot look upon it with a gentle heart. God is not a part of it and this is obvious.

You're winning! Light is winning! The uprising of dark consciousness would not have shown itself with this strength, or this quickly, if this were not so. This is exactly what I told you to look for, and it is proof that those representing this dark consciousness are in trouble. Dear ones, dark consciousness has always had a tried-and-true system. It lurks in the shadows and influences all the power places of the planet - government, commerce, finance. Suddenly, it can't hide there as well anymore and it's out in the open.

Where is the funding coming from? It is coming from a storehouse that has always been there, dear ones. It uses income that has been generated from low consciousness acts, collected for a very long time. Funding didn't just appear. It has been stored, waiting to be used in order to spread fear and darkness to save what they believe is their way.

Who Will Win?

Dear ones, they haven't got a chance! But it looks like they do, doesn't it? Everything that they are doing is calculated to scare you into submission. Are they winning? Now, that's a question I want you to take from here and examine every day.

Fear is black. If you're in fear, there is no light. You can be the grandest Lightworker, or even be the channeller, but if you're in fear, it doesn't matter how many years you've done light work, or how much light you've accumulated personally. It all goes away with fear, and then they've won the battle for your mind. Do you understand this?

The Strength of the Old Soul - YOU

Old souls, Lightworkers reading this, the experiences you have had over lifetimes and lifetimes are incredible! The old soul knows fear. I don't want to be too graphic, but I want you to understand! What was it like when you put your head in the guillotine because you talked about God in a way that was inappropriate? What was it like to be bound hand and foot when they lit the match at your feet? Old soul, that's fear! You carry those experiences in your Akash.

I want to tell you they haven't got a chance to scare you! You absolutely know what fear is, and they haven't got a chance as long as you cling to that part of you that is the strength of God. You've been through it all. That means you've got the weapons of truth, wisdom and light. Don't forget it. Don't forget who you are!

Do you see how fast they assembled? It seemed like only yesterday that there was no organization at all. Where did they come from? Have you noticed a certain hesitancy to fight them? Why is it that the citizens of the lands that they are invading are hesitant to fight them? Instead, these leaders are calling on others to help. Why is it that the others are also hesitant? I want to show you that there are some anomalies of logic that are not making sense, because this is a battle you have never seen before on this planet. We've expected it, but you haven't. It's about consciousness, not land or resources.

How to Win?

We gave you the secret before of how to defeat them without taking even one life: Simply take away their funding. They cannot exist without their funding. The funding has to be organized, stored, and distributed. It has to be generated in such a way that it must also go through institutions. Did you hear that? All you have to do is stop the system. Winning won't be done with bombing. It's going to be done with intelligence, clever thinking and financial forensics. It's time to get smart on some of these things and not to be afraid to look at this puzzle differently than you have before. Do not apply the energy they are using in order to fight them, because you won't win. Figure it out. It's the last bastion of organized darkness and evil thinking on this planet coming together to try to survive the assault of your light. Don't be afraid to look at the funding trail, no matter where it takes you.

Fear is Their Weapon

I want you to know something as you look at your news. It may appear that you are unable to stop them. In many places, they will gain strength as they create fear. The fear is easily created in those who are not old souls and who don't know fear like you do and who don't have the armor of your spiritual experiences. This puts you in the front line, dear one. Did you realize that? But you don't have to go fight them on their terms. All you have to do is broadcast light. High consciousness will beat fear any day.. .”