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The Croatian Ministry of Defense demanded that Ukraine replace the poorly repaired MiG-21 aircraft with new fighters. According to the newspaper Jutarnji list, citing an informed source in the defense ministry, it is about replacing a minimum of four aircraft. The scandal with the "fake" MiGs flared up in Croatia in 2016, when it turned out that most of the 12 Ukrainian planes repaired by Ukrspetsexport were unsuitable for flights.

The Association of German Criminal Officers (BDK) has spoken out in favor of ending the ban on cannabis, and has called for the decriminalization of all use of the drug. “The prohibition of cannabis has historically been seen as arbitrary and has not yet been implemented in an intelligent and effective manner,” the head of BDK, André Schulz, told Bild newspaper on Monday. “In the history of mankind, there has never been a society without the use of drugs; this is something that has to be accepted,” he added. “My prediction is cannabis will not be banned for long in...

The number of Germans who have acquired weapons permits has risen considerably over the past two years. Having the requisite documentation allows people in the country to carry things like non-lethal gas pistols in public. In January 2016, just under 301,000 people had such a permit; in December 2017 there were over 557,000. Weapons retailers say that defensive blinding flashlights, stun guns and gas spray are selling so well they are having trouble keeping shelves stocked. Self-defense courses are also increasingly popular. Classes at Taekwondo clubs, fitness studios, and even municipal community centers are attracting more and more participants. A...

This is what a police force run through cultrural marxism looks like, against a police force run through power and agression.

The US embassy in Dublin is under fire and facing fierce questioning from Irish applicants, US-based immigration attorneys and Irish politicians over claims that embassy staff is making “rogue” decisions on visa petitions. Cases heard by Irish Central in particular reference petitions made for E-2 investor visas and O-1 extraordinary ability visas, with one applicant even resolving to travel to another European embassy to have their O-1 petition processed. They did so on the advice of an immigration attorney concerned about the current manner in which their clients are being “aggressively” treated by the Dublin base. “I have been speaking...

A member of Germany’s far-right and anti-Muslim Alternative for Germany party (AfD) who recently converted to Islam has said he did so in protest at what he sees as the “moral decline” of the Protestant church. Arthur Wagner, 48, until recently a leading party member in the state of Brandenburg, told the Bild newspaper on Wednesday that his decision was in part sparked by the church’s acceptance of same-sex marriage and the presence of priests at gay pride marches. “One of the reasons (for the conversion) is tied to changes that have taken place in the church, which no longer...

Airbnb has unveiled a new ad in advance of Tuesday's State of the Union address, calling for the United States to 'open doors, not build walls.' The ad throws subtle jabs at President Donald Trump for his recent comments about 's***hole' countries in the Third World. 'We heard there's been some expletive-filled interest in these beautiful destinations,' the ad begins, showing scenes from Haiti, El Salvador and Africa. 'We also know a few people who would love to show you around,' the ad says. 'Let's open doors, not build walls.'

Irish women are having abortions regardless of a near-total constitutional ban on terminating pregnancies, the country’s health minister said Tuesday in defense of a planned referendum that will ask voters whether the amendment should be repealed. Health Minister Simon Harris said on Ireland’s RTE television that he is beginning work on a proposed abortion law that would be submitted to parliament if the May referendum removes the constitutional ban. The legislation would allow abortions during the first trimester, he said. “Whether the Eighth Amendment is in our Constitution, or indeed not in our Constitution, abortion is a reality for Irish...

European ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday have rubber-stamped the EU-27's negotiating position for the Brexit period. The instructions for Michel Barnier, the block's chief negotiator with Britain, set a deadline for December 31, 2020, for the end of the transition, but with the caveat that this period can last longer if necessary. That's highly problematic because the EU demands that Britain accepts all EU laws and the supremacy of the European Court of Justice during this transition. Britain must even abide by the EU's trade policy. This means that while Britain can negotiate trade deals with other countries during...

A marriage counselling service could be forced to close unless it accepts same-sex spousesThe Irish government has threatened to stop funding the bishops’ marriage counselling agency unless it changes its policy to accept gay couples. Accord, an agency of the Irish bishops’ conference, received £1.4 million in state funding last year and could potentially be forced to close if such funding is withdrawn. said that Tusla, the government’s childcare agency, has said that any agency it funds must make its services “accessible to everyone”. A new agreement has been sent to state-funded counselling services including Accord. In England and Wales...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned of rising anti-Semitism in her country on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, calling the need to protect Jewish buildings “shameful”. It is important to remember the millions of Holocaust victims because “anti-Semitism, racism and the hatred of others are more relevant” recently, Merkel said in her weekly podcast on Saturday. “It is inconceivable and shameful that no Jewish institution can exist without police protection, whether it is a school, a kindergarten or a synagogue,” she said. …

Her eurosceptic rhetoric sounds a lot like that of former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, even telling of her admiration for the 53-year-old’s Brexit campaign as she told supporters to “take their country back”. She said: “I look at Nigel Farage’s example. It took 17 years, but Brexit came. “I don’t plan to wait that long.” She claims the EU has turned “Finland into its province” and has railed against the country’s political elite, who she argues do not represent the working class.

The percentage of GDP spent by Norway on defense has decreased, despite NATO obligations for member countries to increase spending in the area to two percent by 2024. The reduction in spending was reported by newspaper VG on Thursday. Defense minister Frank Bakke-Jensen said in a written response to a parliamentary question that government spending on defense would reach 1.56 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year. It will then fall further to 1.5 percent in 2020 and remain at that level until 2024, according to the report. […] According to NATO’s own figures, Norway spent 1.59 percent of...

German security authorities are increasingly using mobile phones to secretly locate suspects, according to a media report published on Tuesday. More and more, in order to determine the location of suspects, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) are using mobile phones to send out hidden text messages, according to a report in Handelsblatt. In the second half of 2017 alone, the BfV sent out around 180,000 such messages. In the same period the previous year, the BfV did this about 144,000 times. By using this technique, security authorities can...

It’s better here: That was the message of a panel of experts considering the rise of the extreme right and of anti-Semitism in the United States and Europe. That was the good news at the forum Monday sponsored by Georgetown University’s Center for Jewish Civilization. No one, however, could quite pin down why Americans were more resistant to anti-Semitism than Europeans. “It’s far from perfect,” said Ira Forman, until January the international anti-Semitism monitor for the State Department. “We do it now better than we did 50 years ago, there’s no guarantee we will continue to do it, and frankly,...

Irish feminists have hit out at a group of British trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs) who have organized a meeting in Ireland as part of their campaign to oppose Britain’s proposed Gender Recognition Act (GRA). The proposed GRA would end the requirement that trans people obtain a doctor’s diagnosis before they can officially change their gender. In 2015, Ireland passed a similar act that allows self-identification — namely, gives an individual the right to change their gender and apply for a new birth certificate without medical treatment. At the time, Ireland was hailed by Human Rights Watch as a “global transgender...

France failed to meet its targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in 2016, the government said Monday, just a month after President Emmanuel Macron warned that “we are losing the battle” against global warming. The environment ministry said the country emitted 463 tons of greenhouse gases, measured as carbon dioxide equivalents, or 3.6 percent more than its goal. It attributed the slip in part to lower oil prices, which can prompt people and businesses to consume more in areas such as transportation or heating. But emissions were down 15.3 percent from 1990 levels. […] … [T]he disappointing 2016 results show...

The number of deportations from Sweden to Morocco has increased thanks to the use of fingerprint records in the identification process. Swedish authorities now have access to the records thanks to a new partnership with Morocco, making it easier to identify people who have been given a deportation order then send them to the country, public broadcaster Sveriges Radio reports. The number of deportations carried out to Morocco increased from 75 in 2016 to 135 in 2017. …

The Paris authorities have announced new measures to tackle the scourge of sexual harassment and abuse on the city’s public transport system. It’s a problem many, many people in Paris are familiar with. And now President of the greater Paris region of Île-de- France and leader of the greater Paris region of Île-de-France, Valerie Pecresse, is determined to put a stop to it. From February, the city will experiment a new measures which will allow people on certain buses the chance to hop off at night even when the vehicle isn’t at a designated stop. The measure, which Pecresse said...

Slovenia is expected to recognize the “state of Palestine” in the coming weeks in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, senior officials in Jerusalem told Israel’s Channel 10 News on Sunday. According to those officials, three other European countries are considering the same move. About a week ago, according to the report, the Slovenian government convened to promote the recognition of “Palestine” as a state, and the Slovenian government passed the issue to parliament, which is the body authorized to recognize other countries. On January 31, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Slovenian Parliament...