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When last we heard about Tariq Ramadan, at one time the most famous Muslim “public intellectual” in the Western world, he had fallen from grace. The curtain was pulled back and as one woman after another came forward to charge him with rape, he was revealed to be not only a serial rapist, but one who enjoyed humiliating – and physically hurting – his victims. He has been allowed out of prison, and awaits trial in Paris. He may also have to face trial in Geneva, with a different set of accusers. In the wake of these charges, he was...

BERLIN (AP) — Members of Germany's biggest opposition party, the center-right Christian Democratic Union of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, have chosen prominent conservative Friedrich Merz as its new leader, the party said Friday. Merz's election with a strong mandate appears to mark at least a symbolic break with the Merkel era. Making his third run for the CDU's top post, he took 62.1% support in a ballot of the party's membership to beat two centrist contenders. A party convention next month will have to sign off officially on the membership vote, but that should only be a formality. Armin Laschet,...

The biggest domestic Irish companies, as well as major multinationals, would face a new minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent, under plans to be put forward by the European Commission on Wednesday. The move comes in a draft directive to be published in Brussels to mandate the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) plan for a minimum corporate tax rate across the Union.Earlier this week the OECD published detailed proposals for its proposed minimum effective corporate tax rate of 15 percent, to apply to multinationals with a turnover of over €750 million. Ireland had earlier signed up to...

Rostock-In several cities, people protested against the federal government's corona policy on Monday evening. According to the police, up to 10,000 demonstrators gathered in Rostock to protest against corona measures and mandatory vaccination. At first there was no demonstration. Several hundred people came together on the market square and asked Mayor Claus Rueh Madsen (non-party) to show up. It was unclear whether he was in the town hall at all. Later, up to 10,000 demonstrators at the city harbor moved back into the city center. The police announced through loudspeaker announcements that this was an unauthorized event. There were minor...

LONDON (AP) — Nations across Europe are moving to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of COVID-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible omicron variant, triggering calls for protests from Paris to Barcelona. As case numbers escalated, alarmed ministers in France, Cyprus and Austria tightened travel restrictions. Paris canceled its New Year’s Eve fireworks. Denmark closed theaters, concert halls, amusement parks and museums. Ireland imposed an 8 p.m. curfew on pubs and bars and limited attendance at indoor and outdoor events. But the moves are causing anger. Crowds protesting British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s latest coronavirus restrictions flooded...

"An attempt by the U.N. Security Council to pass what would have been the first-ever standalone resolution linking climate change and the council’s primary mandate of maintaining international peace and security was torpedoed Monday by Russia. Russia used its veto power to kill the resolution drafted by Ireland and Niger. India also voted “no” while China abstained. ..."

Six police were injured after around 2,000 people gathered in Mannheim to protest coronavirus restrictions, police said late Monday. The rally, which had been organized since last week on the encrypted Telegram chat app, surprised police in its size. Police told local media the “Querdenker” movement, which roughly translates as “lateral thinkers,” was behind the protest action. About 120 people who refused to comply with police orders were arrested, and a total of 121 were charged with violations of the law of assembly. Three individuals are facing criminal proceedings for various offenses. …

So is every top Democrat who accused President Trump of Russian collusion. “A single, ominous question now hangs over the White House: What could possibly cause President Trump to put the interests of Russia over those of the United States?” Senator Schumer insinuated in 2018. Why is Schumer putting Russia’s interests ahead of those of the United States by blocking Nord Stream 2 sanctions on Putin’s pet pipeline into Europe? Schumer, along with a number of other top Democrats, is a beneficiary of campaign contributions from top Democrat fundraiser Vincent Roberti whose lobbying firm was paid over $8.5 million by...

HORRIFIC clashes have been caught on camera as French riot police beat anti-vaccine mandate protesters in Paris as demonstrations spiral out of control. Footage on social media shows violent clashes between police and protesters taking a stand against mandatory vaccines in France as the nation spirals out of control. vid at link also here vid running battlesLink

LIVERPOOL, England, Dec 12 (Reuters) - While Russian President Vladimir Putin keeps the West guessing over Ukraine, it was the might of Chinese President Xi Jinping that garnered the long-term strategic focus when the diplomats from the Group of Seven richest democracies met this weekend. The United States and its other G7 allies are searching for a coherent response to Xi's growing assertiveness after China’s spectacular economic and military rise over the past 40 years.

Officials in Europe said this week that the Omicron coronavirus variant could overtake Delta in becoming the dominant strain of the virus in just a matter of days, and warned of a possible "tsunami" of new infections. "We expect it to overtake Delta within days, not weeks," First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon said Friday, according to the Washington Post. The U.K. Health Security Agency issued a similar warning, noting that Omicron has a "high growth rate," over Delta and that it will likely become the dominant version of the virus in Great Britain by mid-December. Meanwhile, in Denmark, researchers...

Germany’s incoming government, led by the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), were pressed to clarify their foreign policy priorities at a press conference on Tuesday. Having officially signed a three-party coalition agreement, Chancellor-designate Olaf Scholz and the rest of his Cabinet members are expected to take office on Wednesday after a vote and swearing-in ceremony in the German parliament. Scholz put Europe in focus as he fielded questions on Russia, China and the United States alongside Greens co-leader and incoming vice chancellor Robert Habeck as well as Free Democrat (FDP) chief and incoming Finance Minister Christian Lindner. Strengthening the European Union...

The Social Democratic Party’s Olaf Scholz has been elected Chancellor of Germany, marking the end of Angela Merkel’s 16-year reign. Olaf Scholz, who was elected Chancellor of Germany on Wednesday, will lead a so-called “Traffic Light” coalition of left-wing parties, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD, red), the Green Party, and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP, yellow).

The Biden administration is exploring options for a potential evacuation of US citizens from Ukraine if Russia were to invade the country and create a dire security situation, half a dozen sources tell CNN.

President Joe Biden is ready to warn Vladimir Putin during a video call Tuesday that Russia will face economy-jarring sanctions if it invades neighboring Ukraine as the U.S. president seeks a diplomatic solution to deal with the tens of thousands of Russian troops massed near the Ukraine border. Biden aims to make clear that his administration stands ready to take actions against the Kremlin that would exact “a very real cost” on the Russian economy, according to White House officials. Putin, for his part, is expected to demand guarantees from Biden that the NATO military alliance will never expand to...

The European Central Bank (ECB) said on Monday that it plans to give euro banknotes a new look, with the general public in the 19-member eurozone to be asked for its input on the redesign. The euro was introduced in cash form in 2002. The banknotes currently feature windows, doorways and bridges of a generic character from different epochs, with no specific locations represented. […] A decision on the new designs is expected in 2024, the ECB said. The current banknotes do not feature depictions of people, but it is unclear whether that will remain the case. The ECB has...

Italy is rolling out its ‘Super Green Pass’ today, barring the unvaccinated from a variety of events and amenities, even if they have a negative COVID test. Unvaccinated individuals are now barred from eating indoors at restaurants, attending sports events, concerts, theatres, and other public events, regardless of whether or not they have tested negative for the Chinese Coronavirus, reports Italian newspaper Il Giornale.

The United Kingdom’s worsening drug problem intensifies as evidence of cocaine was discovered in toilets near the private office of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. A recent investigation into 12 locations within the Palace of Westminster found that 11 locations returned positive results for cocaine evidence, including Johnson’s office, according to the Sunday Times.

German physician-scientists reported Monday that not a single healthy child between the ages of 5 and 18 died of Covid in Germany in the first 15 months of the epidemic. Not one. Even including children and adolescents with preexisting conditions, only six in that age range died, the researchers found. Germany is Europe’s largest country, with more than 80 million people, including about 10 million school-age children and adolescents. Serious illness was also extremely rare. The odds that a healthy child aged 5-11 would require intensive care for Covid were about 1 in 50,000, the researchers found. For older and...

[H/T EasySt]Ursula Van Der Leyen, the head of the EU commission, told the press on Wednesday that she is in favour of scrapping the long-standing Nuremburg Code and forcing people to get vaccinated against COVID. "Hey, it's just the Nuremberg code. Only what we learned from the Nazi atrocities, not least those that were medical," sarcastically notes esteemed professor, lecturer and podcaster Dr. Jordan Peterson:Dr Jordan B Peterson on Twitter: "Hey, it's just the Nuremberg code. Only what we learned from the Nazi atrocities, not least those that were medical." / TwitterIn Austria, people over 12 who are not vaccinated...