Month: May 2021

Switzerland: Young couple with two small children attacked by two Orientals with a knife

On May 26, 2021, at about 10 p.m., a young couple was attacked on the street Bruderholzstrasse in Basel, at the level of the street Schillerstrasse.

The 25-year-old man was injured.

Investigations by the criminal investigation department of the public prosecutor’s office so far found that the couple was on their way home with their two small children when they were abruptly attacked by two unknown persons. In the ensuing altercation, the man was slightly injured with a stabbing weapon. The perpetrators fled in an unknown direction. A search was unsuccessful. The man was taken to the emergency ward by the police.

Wanted:

1st unknown, 25-30 years old, approx. 175 cm tall, brown complexion, dark brown short hair, wearing black T-shirt, light blue jeans, red trainers and black leather jacket.

2nd unknown, no further information on the perpetrator could be given.

According to the victims, the perpetrators spoke Turkish or Arabic.

The exact course of events and the reason for the attack have not yet been clarified and are the subject of investigations by the criminal investigation department. Persons who can provide relevant information are asked to contact the criminal investigation department of the public prosecutor’s office, by calling 061 267 71 11, or the nearest police station.

https://newsinside.ch/2021/05/27/junges-paar-mit-zwei-kleinen-kindern-angegriffen-polizei-news/

Head of French armed forces: ‘We’re heading towards a reorganization of the world order

A top general in France has warned that the world order is undergoing a monumental reorganization process, and that the European Union must steer clear of a scenario that would force it to pick sides between the world superpowers of the United States and China.

During an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro, General François Lecointre, France’s chief of the defense staff (CEMA), touched on a variety of issues, including the difficult task of forging a “common political identity” between EU member states, the reorganization of the current world order, France’s role in Africa, and the growing military might of countries like Russia and China.

“We are heading for a reorganization of the world order that is structured around the competition between the US and China,” Lecointre said, adding that every nation on earth would face the challenge of having to decide which side to take.

“It will be very difficult precisely because neither France nor Europe are interested [in choosing a side]. While our relations with the United States must not be called into question, we must not allow ourselves to be drawn into an unbalanced confrontation between China and the United States.”

Lecointre’s sentiments echo similar statements made by French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year, where he concluded that it would be “counterproductive” for the EU to stand explicitly on the side of the US in its contest with China.

“A situation to join all together against China, this is a scenario of the highest possible conflictuality [sic]. This one, for me, is counterproductive,” Macron said, while speaking in English at a discussion broadcast by Atlantic Council, a US think tank.

Lecointre also spoke about the dangers supposedly posed by powers which seek to challenge the global stability and international law — particularly Russia, China, and Iran.

In the past few years, the US and China have clashed with one another over serious policy differences in trade, emerging technologies, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Officials from the US have urged its partners in Europe, among other things, to force Chinese telecommunications technology — namely Huawei 5G infrastructure — out of their markets.

When asked if the 27 member bloc would achieve some kind of “strategic autonomy” that’s often called for by EU technocrats, Lecointre noted that the EU was initially built around economic relations, and that forming a common political identity would, at least in the short term, be an arduous task.

“We are at a turning point. Europe will either stay where it is today and eventually disappear from the international scene, or it will be able to meet the security expectations of its citizens,” the general said.

Before accusing Moscow of “continuing to weaken [the West’s] democratic model by acting in the digital realm and in the realm of influence,” Lecointre stated that Russia, like China, is becoming “an extremely dangerous competitor” in the military arena, especially with respect to submarines and ballistic missile technology.

At the same time, the general noted that countries like Russia, China, and Turkey are increasingly competing with France in Africa.

“Today the presence of Russia, Turkey or China in Africa is worrying and destabilizing,” he said.

Presently, some 300 Russian military instructor and advisers are carrying out operations in the Central Africa Republic (CAR) — a former French colony — where they are supporting the state’s military fight against armed rebel groups. Moscow contends that its military presence in the CAR is merely due to the fact that the local government had requested assistance from Russia’s armed forces.

https://rmx.news/article/article/head-of-french-armed-forces-we-re-heading-towards-a-reorganization-of-the-world-order

Number of attacks on public transport rises to a record high in Berlin, Marseille

The number of sexual offenses in Berlin reached a new high in 2020. Some 4 468 people have been victims of a sexual offense, according to a response to a parliamentary question by MP Marcel Luthe (Free Voters). A leaked study from the south of France, showed a similar rise.

According to crime statistics, 4 468 people were victims of sexual offenses in Berlin last year. This is an increase compared to 2019 (4438 victims) and a significant increase compared to 2018 (4040 victims). At least 610 people suffered physical injuries, 15 people were seriously injured and one person killed.

“While minor offenses are decreasing in Berlin, the so-called victim offenses that cannot be ignored have continued to increase,” Luthe told German newspaper Die Welt. In his opinion, victims of rape in particular should receive special attention from law enforcement. “Protecting citizens from violence and securing their freedom is the central core task of the state, which Berlin obviously does not fulfill,” Luthe added.

According to the police, there were particularly many attacks in three places. These include Alexanderplatz, where 146 crimes took place, Wedding Zentrum with 86 reported crimes and Tempelhof with 85 crimes. Since crime on Alexanderplatz has increased in recent years, there has been a dedicated police station opened in the middle of the square.

Of the 3121 suspects identified, 94,9 percent were male, while 35,8 percent did not have German citizenship. According to the Senate Department for Home Affairs, no figures are available for the proportion of suspects with a migration background. This information is not included in the statistics, a Senate spokesman confirmed. The proportion of suspects under the age of 21 was 23,6 percent.

According to the newspaper, the most significant increase in the statistics for victims of sexual offenses has so far been from 2016 (2669 victims) to 2017 (3654 victims). At that time, sexual criminal law was tightened by introducing the criminal offense of sexual harassment. Since then, not only forced sex with violence or threats of violence has been punishable, but also when a perpetrator disregards the victim’s “recognizable will” which could mean five years imprisonment if ignored.

In 2020, the security service of the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe registered a significant increase in the number of sexual offenses, even though there had been a lower number of visitors on the trains in the past year. Some 150 sexual assaults were counted in 2020.

Similarly, French confidential documents reportedly showed the explosion of insecurity in stations and trains in the south of France, especially in the metropolitan area of Marseille, located in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, commonly shortened to the PACA region.

The documents, presented during a round table devoted to transport security on June 25 and 26, 2020, established the rise of  such “acts” noted by the French railway, the SNCF’s security department. They show a general surge in attacks before containment, with an overall increase of 59 percent in 2019, and 23 685 facts recorded in stations, connections and a train and coach service operated by SNCF and regional governments across France, known as the TER. Le Figarocontacted the company, but they did not want to speak to the media.

The acts mentioned include all attacks and thefts. Attacks against persons are a worrying category, having increased by 40 percent with 2 233 incidents recorded in 2019. Some 1158 insults and threats against people were noted in 2019. Similarly, 259 acts of willful violence (+72 percent) and 97 sexual assaults were also registered (+ 62 percent), that is to say almost one act per day when regrouping these two categories.

This is without counting thefts with violence or under threat (78 acts in 2019, + 16 percent). For attacks on people in general, SNCF agents constituted 57 percent of the victims. Finally, a category is devoted to the terrorist risk: At least 15 “threats of attack” were reported in 2019, and 276 procedures for abandoned objects, also on the increase.

The documents also establish a list of the stations most affected by the increase in this delinquency and incivility. With an increase of 156 percent of incidents (921) in 2019, it is the Nice-Saint-Augustin station, near the airport, which has become the most dangerous. Nice station in the city centre, with 6128 incidents (+ 63 percent), is however ahead of Marseille Saint Charles (4273 incidents, + 87 percent). Also worrying, is that train stations previously considered “quieter” also recorded significant increases, such as Cannes (2128 incidents, + 52 percent), Antibes (1271 incidents, + 95 percent) or Mouans-Sartoux (547 incidents, + 123 percent).

In Marseille in 1999 already 41,8 percent of young people under 18 had at least one immigrant parent (including 23 percent of North African, sub-Saharan or Turkish origin ). And this proportion exceeded 50 percent (including 40 percent of Algerian origin) in 2005 in the first three districts of the city according to French demographer Michèle Tribalat.

https://freewestmedia.com/2021/05/31/number-of-attacks-on-public-transport-rises-to-a-record-high-in-berlin-marseille/