Study: Europe's Muslim population to grow, migration or not

November 30, 2017

BERLIN (AP) — Europe's Muslim population will continue to grow over the next several decades even if all immigration to the continent should stop, according to a study published Thursday. The Pew Research Center report modeled three scenarios for estimating the number of Muslims who would be living in Europe by 2050. All three used a mid-2016 estimate of 25.8 million as a baseline, but assumed different future migration rates.

Under the "zero migration" scenario, an estimated 30 million Muslims would make up 7.4 percent of Europe's population by 2050 compared to the 4.9 percent they comprised last year, the report projected. The researchers said that is mostly because Muslims are on average 13 years younger than other Europeans and also have a higher birthrate, the Pew researchers said.

The study estimates 58.8 million Muslims would account for 11.2 percent of the population in a "medium migration" scenario that has migration maintaining a "regular speed" — defined by the Pew researchers as migration motivated by economic, educational and family reasons — but not for seeking asylum as a refugee.

In the "high migration" scenario, the study projects that the record flow of migrants who came to Europe between 2015 and 2016 would continue indefinitely, resulting in 75 million Muslims in Europe, a 14 percent increase, by the middle of the century.

Even with the most immigration, Muslims would "still be considerably smaller than the populations of both Christians and people with no religion in Europe," the researchers concluded. Muslim immigrants have been a politically sensitive topic in Europe following the influx of newcomers in 2015 and 2016. Some countries have seen backlashes that have included populist parties campaigning on anti-Islam messages.

The study was based on census and survey data, population registers, immigration data and other sources. The 30 countries it covered include the 28 European Union members, plus Norway and Switzerland.

Not all countries would be affected evenly by future immigration, according to the Pew report. In the high migration scenario, Germany and Sweden would have the biggest increases because both countries took in the most asylum-seekers during the height of the refugee crisis two years ago.

While Muslims made up 6 percent of Germany's population last year, their proportion would go up to 20 percent by 2050. Sweden's Muslims, who were at 8 percent in 2016, would account for 31 percent of the population in that same scenario.

Meanwhile, some countries that had comparatively few Muslim residents in 2016 would continue to have few by 2050 in all three scenarios.

UK extradition hearing to start for tycoon sought by India

December 03, 2017

LONDON (AP) — Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya is set to face an extradition hearing in London that should determine whether he is sent back to India to face money laundering allegations related to the collapse of several of his businesses.

The Westminster Magistrates Court hearing, which begins Monday and is due to last about eight days, will be widely followed in India, where Mallya is known for his flashy lifestyle and lavish parties attended by fashion models and Bollywood stars.

Mallya, who denies the allegations, was once hailed as India's version of British entrepreneur Richard Branson for his investments in a liquor company, an airline, a Formula One team and an Indian Premier League cricket club.

In November, he called the allegations "baseless and fabricated." Asked by reporters outside the courthouse why he didn't return to India to answer the charges, he snapped back: "That's none of your business."

The 61-year-old was also a politician for six years before resigning from the upper house of India's parliament last year, a day before an ethics committee was set to recommend his expulsion. Mallya launched Kingfisher Airlines in 2005 and the carrier set new standards for quality and service, forcing competing airlines to improve. But it ran into trouble as it expanded. The Indian government suspended the airline's license in 2012 after it failed to pay pilots and engineers for months.

That triggered the collapse of several more of Mallya's businesses. He left India last year after a group of banks demanded he pay back more than $1 billion in loans extended to his airline. He has been living in Britain since March 2016 and has refused to return to India to face trial in the Kingfisher Airlines case. India canceled his passport and began an extradition process.

In May, India's Supreme Court ruled Mallya had disobeyed its order barring him from transferring $40 million to his children. Gurcharan Das, a New Delhi author and former chief executive of Procter & Gamble India, said Mallya was an excellent salesman who built a great brand that included one of the nation's favorite beers and a high-performing airline.

He said that Mallya, like many others, tried to expand too quickly, buying a no-frills airline that wasn't a good fit with his company. He said Mallya's political connections have made him a national symbol of the perils of crony capitalism.

"I see it as a bit of a tragedy. He is somebody who had quite outstanding talents," Das said. "What hurt him was his flamboyant lifestyle. He didn't bother to hide it. He flaunted it. That, too, in the public imagination has made him a villain."

He said Mallya kept up to a dozen homes with full staff as well as buying private jets and yachts, all in a poor country where most rich people tend to hide their wealth. But Das said Mallya's biggest mistake was to leave India.

"He should have just toughed it out here," Das said. "There are a number of other businessmen who owe far more money to the banks than he does. He just got scared and skipped out." Mallya has argued that Britain has long been a second home for him.

India's government this month rejected Mallya's argument that he wouldn't be safe in an Indian jail if he was sent back, and was planning to tell that to the London court, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

Nick Perry reported from New Delhi.

Japan sets Emperor Akihito's abdication date for April 30, 2019

By Daniel Uria
Nov. 30, 2017

Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Japan's Imperial House Council set a date for when Emperor Akihito will step down and open a path for his son to succeed him.

The panel, led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, announced Friday Akihito, 83, will abdicate on April 30, 2019, and his 57-year-old son Crown Prince Naruhito will succeed him on May 1.

The Japanese Cabinet approved a bill granting Akihito to power abdicate in May of this year, after he curtailed public appearances due to his declining health.

The Imperial House Council, which consists of politicians, the judiciary and Imperial family members, initially considered setting the abdication date for December 2018, but delayed it to April to avoid scheduling issues with important year-end and New Year Imperial events.

Akihito's younger son, Prince Akishino, was replaced on the panel by the emperor's brother, Prince Hitachi, because he will become first in line to the throne after his father's abdication.

Japan's constitution defines the emperor as "the symbol of the state" and the position holds no political power.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/11/30/Japan-sets-Emperor-Akihitos-abdication-date-for-April-30-2019/3261512101215/.

China to deploy 'Night Tigers' to Syria in support of Assad's forces

29 November, 2017

China will deploy troops to Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad's forces, as the East Asian country becomes increasingly concerned about the presence of Islamic militants in its far western region of Xinjiang.

The Chinese Ministry of Defense intends to send two units known as the "Tigers of Siberia" and the "Night Tigers" from the Special Operations Forces to aid regime troops against militant factions, New Khaleej reported, citing informed sources.

Some 5,000 ethnic Uighurs from China's violence-prone region of Xinjiang are fighting in various militant groups in Syria, the Syrian ambassador to China said earlier this year.

Chinese state media has blamed violence in Xinjiang on extremists who were trained in Syria.

Hundreds of people have been killed in Xinjiang in the past few years, most in unrest between Uighurs and ethnic majority Han Chinese. The government blames the unrest on Islamist militants who want a separate state called East Turkestan.

Uighurs themselves complain of discrimination and say their traditional and religious way of life is being eroded by Chinese domestic policy and an influx of settlers from elsewhere in China.

China has said that "East Turkestan terrorist forces" had posed several threats against the government.

Assad has previously praised "crucial cooperation" between Syria and Chinese intelligence against Uighur militants, adding ties with China were "on the rise".

Chinese military personnel have been on the ground in Syria since at least last year, training Syrian forces to use China-made weapons.

China has also joined Russia in blocking resolutions critical of the regime at the United Nations Security Council, as one of the five vetoing powers on the panel.

Source: The New Arab.
Link: https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/11/29/china-to-deploy-night-tigers-to-syria.

Police question Israeli leader's ally on corruption charges

December 03, 2017

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police on Sunday questioned a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges dating to his pre-parliament days as he was pushing for pro-Netanyahu legislation widely seen as stifling police investigations.

Coalition whip David Bitan was grilled in relation to accusations that he promoted the interests of criminals in return for debt relief while he was a municipal politician years ago. Bitan is the driving force behind a legislation push seen as aiding the beleaguered Netanyahu, who faces multiple corruption accusations. Bitan's so-called "recommendations bill" would end the police's current practice of recommending to the state prosecution office whether to indict suspects upon completing their investigations.

It also aims to stem leaks from the investigations themselves, stating that no police recommendations be made public and penalizing those found leaking to the media. Netanyahu's Likud party was set to bring the bill for a parliamentary vote on Monday, but appears to be short on numbers and will likely delay it. Their hope is to move the bill forward quickly so that it will also apply to investigations currently taking place regarding Netanyahu.

Netanyahu has been questioned in two cases and police say they suspect him of being involved in bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Police have already grilled him six times regarding gifts he received from Hollywood and business figures, and in another probe about secret talks with the publisher of a major Israeli newspaper in which Netanyahu allegedly requested positive coverage in exchange for reining in a free pro-Netanyahu daily. One of his closest former aides has become a state's witness against him.

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and calls the accusations a witch hunt orchestrated by a hostile media. Another investigation has engulfed his close associates and dominated news in Israel. The probe relates to a possible conflict of interest involving a $2 billion purchase of German submarines.

Netanyahu's personal attorney, who is also his cousin, represented the German firm involved and is suspected of trading his influence over the prime minister in return for a hefty cut of the deal. A former Cabinet minister and top former navy and security officials have been questioned by police. Netanyahu has yet to be named a suspect in that probe.

Bitan's questioning comes a day after tens of thousands of Israelis poured into the streets of Tel Aviv Saturday night for an anti-corruption rally calling on Netanyahu to resign. It was one of the largest demonstrations yet against Netanyahu's lengthy rule.

"I think the time has come to change the government. The government is corrupt. We're sick of the corrupt," said protester Avi Elmozlinu. Organizers are hoping that the grassroots movement picks up steam and becomes a regular Saturday night ritual that eventually forces Netanyahu from power.

IOC: Russians can compete at Olympics, but without flag

December 06, 2017

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Russian athletes will be allowed to stand on the medal podium at the Winter Olympics — just not with their anthem playing or their nation's flag rising above them. The International Olympic Committee barred Russia and its sports leaders from the upcoming games in South Korea after its lead investigator concluded members of the Russian government concocted a doping scheme at the 2014 Sochi Games that "caused unprecedented damage to Olympism and to sports."

Not welcome in Pyeongchang next year will be any sign of the Russian Olympic Committee or any member of its sports ministry, which was responsible for what investigators concluded was a top-to-bottom scheme of "manipulation and cheating" to ensure Russians could dope at the Olympics on their home turf and not get caught.

The IOC punishment did leave room for many Russians to compete under the name "Olympic Athlete from Russia" or OAR. They would have to pass drug tests to prove they were clean and also did not benefit from the Sochi scheme.

If they win, the Olympic flag would be raised and the Olympic anthem played to honor their victories. That is, if Russian President Vladimir Putin allows them to go to the Feb. 9-25 games. He previously has said it would be humiliating for Russia to compete without its national symbols.

"An Olympic boycott has never achieved anything," IOC President Thomas Bach said at a news conference. "Secondly, I don't see any reason for a boycott by the Russian athletes because we allow the clean athletes there to participate."

Alexander Zhukov, the Russian Olympic Committee president who also was suspended from his IOC membership, told TV reporters in Lausanne that one key was preserving the name "Russia" in the team name. "They'll be called Russian athletes and not some kind of neutrals ... that's very important," Zhukov said.

If it was a victory to have the word "Russia" in the team name and invite some Russian athletes to compete, it came at a cost. The IOC also suspended the Russian Olympic Committee until at least the start of the closing ceremony in South Korea.

In an embarrassment for Russia's hosting of the 2018 World Cup, the IOC also banned Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko from the Olympics for life. Mutko heads the organizing committee of soccer's next World Cup. As sports minister in 2014, he was deeply implicated in the Sochi doping plot by two IOC commissions and a World Anti-Doping Agency investigation.

"The IOC executive board has made its positon to the responsibility of Mr. Mutko very clear," said Bach, who would not comment if it was appropriate for soccer's governing body FIFA to continue working with an official who is also president of Russia's soccer federation.

At the State Kremlin Palace on Dec. 1, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said at a joint news conference with Mutko that the IOC's decision would not affect the World Cup. That message was repeated Tuesday by FIFA in a statement which noted that its ethics and disciplinary committees could still open cases against Mutko and Russian soccer players implicated in doping cover-ups.

The IOC also imposed a fine of $15 million on the Russian Olympic Committee to pay for its two investigations into the case and toward future anti-doping work. The sanctions could be challenged at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Any Russian athlete hoping to earn invitations to Pyeongchang will have to come through a stricter-than-usual testing regime and not have a doping violation on their record. Invitations will be decided by an IOC panel chaired by former France Sports Minister Valerie Fourneyron.

The IOC also will bar Russian officials who were team leaders at Sochi, and coaches or medial staff who have been linked to doping athletes. The CEO of the Sochi Olympics, Dmitry Chernyshenko, also had his place on an Olympic panel overseeing the 2022 Beijing Winter Games withdrawn by the IOC.

Russia has repeatedly refused to accept that a state-sponsored doping program existed. Such denials helped ensure bans on its track federation and anti-doping agency have not been lifted. Instead, Russia blames Grigory Rodchenkov, the former director of Moscow and Sochi testing laboratories, as a rogue employee. It wants the scientist extradited from the United States, where he is a protected witness.

The executive board reached its decision Tuesday after a scheduled 4½-hour debate when it heard from a Russian delegation that included world figure skating champion Evgenia Medvedeva. The delegation was led by Zhukov, who was later suspended.

Two IOC commission leaders — appointed after WADA investigator Richard McLaren upheld Rodchenkov's doping claims in July 2016 — also reported to the Olympic board. The report by IOC-appointed investigator Samuel Schmid, the former president of Switzerland who was asked to verify an "institutional conspiracy," included a 50-page sworn affidavit from Rodchenkov, who was also a key witness for McLaren and an IOC disciplinary commission.

The chairman of that disciplinary panel, Swiss lawyer Denis Oswald, reported about prosecuting Russian athletes implicated in cheating at Sochi. By Monday, 25 Russians had been disqualified from the Sochi Games and banned from the Olympics for life, and 11 medals were stripped. One Russian was cleared.

Russia no longer leads the Sochi medals table. Even before the IOC reallocates the stripped medals, the United States has the most total medals and Norway has the most golds. The banned Russian athletes have said they will appeal the Oswald judgments at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Any sanctions imposed by the IOC can also be challenged at CAS, and later at Switzerland's supreme court, which can intervene if the legal process has been abused.

1st panda born in France gets name from China, first lady

December 04, 2017

BEAUVAL, France (AP) — France's first baby panda has a name four months after his birth: Chinese dignitaries and French first lady Brigitte Macron chose Yuan Meng, which fittingly means "the realization of a wish" or "accomplishment of a dream."

A naming ceremony held Monday at the Beauval Zoo south of Paris was an important diplomatic moment, but the young male panda had other priorities. Yuan Meng growled and jumped when zoo director Rodolphe Delord reached over his glass-walled enclosure to offer a pet.

The first lady, who was standing next to Delord, recoiled slightly, but with a smile. Yuan Meng's parents are on loan to Beauval from China, and the cub will be sent to a Chinese panda reserve when he is weaned.

Tradition holds that China retains the right to name panda cubs born in captivity. Brigitte Macron — considered the panda's "godmother" — officially announced the name. Over 100 reporters attended the ceremony.

"Yuan Meng and his parents represent the bond between the countries which have a lot to share," Macron said, who was making her first official remarks since President Emmanuel Macron took office. The pandas "are the illustration of an always productive dialogue between our two people, who for centuries have looked at each other, listened to each other and understood each other," the first lady said.

Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Yesui read a message from China's first lady, Peng Liyuan. "The birth of the baby panda is a symbol of the bright prospects of the Franco-Chinese relationship. I express the sincere hope that little Yuan Meng grows up in the best conditions, that he brings happiness to the French people, especially to the French children," the message said.

There are about 1,800 pandas living in the wild in China and about 400 in captivity worldwide. Baptiste Mulot, chief veterinarian at the Beauval Zoo, said Yuan Meng has learned to move on all fours and "he's starting to behave really like a child, so he tries to escape from where he's supposed to be."

The cub was pink and hairless when he was born, weighing just 142 grams (5 ounces.) He spent much of his first month in an incubator. Now, he weighs 8 kilograms (almost 18 pounds) and his fur has the black and white coloring for which patches are known.

Yuan Meng's mother, 9-year-old Huan Huan, was artificially inseminated with sperm from partner Yuan Zi this spring. Both are at Beauval on a 10-year loan from China, and their offspring officially belong to the Chinese government.

Indifferent to the excitement at the zoo on Monday, they slept during their child's naming ceremony. Yuan Zi will probably never meet his son, since the zoo tries to respect the habits of animals in the wild.

China for decades gifted friendly nations with its unofficial national mascot in what was known as "panda diplomacy." More recently the country has loaned pandas to zoos on commercial terms.