Sociological Changes

[Gerard Zwaan]

February 23, 2011. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/ahmadinejad-predicts-mideast-unrest-coming-to-america/ Iran's president said Wednesday he is certain the wave of unrest in the Middle East will spread to Europe and North America, bringing an end to governments he accused of oppressing and humiliating people. "The world is on the verge of big developments. Changes will be forthcoming and will engulf the whole world from Asia to Africa and from Europe to North America," Ahmadinejad told a news conference. Ahmadinejad said the world was in need of a just system of rule that "puts an end to oppression, occupation and humiliation of people." [and from another] This correlates with what the Zetas said about the 8 of 10, "These sociological and political dramas are part of the 8 of 10 scenarios, as well as geological and astronomical features. This is the next chapter." https://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blogs/zetatalk-fame The Zetas did say that Ahmadinejad is STO . Did he got his information from reading ZT or is there more too it?

 

Ahmadinejad is speaking as a leader of a Muslim country, viewing the Arab Spring as an uprising against colonialism, imperialism, and western corporate influence. This stance is expected of him because of his political role in Iran. The article makes much of Ahmadinejad's criticism of Gaddafi and his brutal treatment of his people. This is to differentiate between an Arab leader who was considered a puppet, as was Mubarak, and Gaddafi who was considered a leader who resisted western influence and control and thus should be a brother to his people. Does Ahmadinejad read ZetaTalk and have an inside track on the Transformation, the pending 8 of 10 scenarios? Yes on both fronts, as despite disbelief that Ahmadinejad is a Service-to-Other individual, he is a sleeper like Obama, awaiting his opportunities to make a difference in the world. He gives a hint as to the sequence of revolt and discontent - from the Arab Spring to Asia, then Africa, then Europe and thence to N America.

Source: ZetaTalk for June 18, 2011

 

Note: This blog is about his prediction. Keep in mind that political debates are not allowed on the poleshift ning.

[Tracie Crespo]

www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/police-at-least-11-dead-in-violence-ar...

Police: At least 35 dead in Paris attacks; hostages taken

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Rescue workers and civilians leave the scene near Place de la Republique square in Paris, on Nov. 13, 2015. Multiple people were killed in several shootings and explosions in Paris, police said.

PARIS (AP) — At least 35 people were killed Friday in shootings and explosions around Paris, many of them in a popular concert hall where patrons were taken hostage, police and medical officials said.

A police official said 11 people were killed in a Paris restaurant in the 10th arrondissement, and others said at least twice that number died elsewhere, primarily in the Bataclan concert hall, where the hostages were taken. It was unclear how many people were in the hall; one official said there were around 100 while another said there were far fewer.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be publicly named in the quickly moving investigation.

Also late Friday, two explosions were heard outside the Stade de France stadium north of Paris during a France-Germany friendly football match.

A police official confirmed one explosion in a bar near the stadium. It was not known if there were casualties.

An Associated Press reporter in the stadium Friday night heard two explosions loud enough to penetrate the sounds of cheering fans. Sirens were immediately heard, and a helicopter was circling overhead.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be publicly named.

The attack comes as France has heightened security measures ahead of a major global climate conference that starts in two weeks, out of fear of violent protests and potential terrorist attacks.

Emilioi Macchio, from Ravenna, Italy, was at the Carillon bar near the restaurant that was targeted, having a beer on the sidewalk, when the shooting started. He said he didn't see any gunmen or victims, but hid behind a corner, then ran away.

"It sounded like fireworks," he said.

France has been on edge since deadly attacks by Islamic extremists in January on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery that left 20 dead, including the three attackers.

The restaurant targeted Friday, Le Carillon, is in the same general neighborhood as the Charlie Hebdo offices, as is the Bataclan, among the best-known venues in eastern Paris, near the trendy Oberkampf area known for a vibrant nightlife.

The country remains on edge after January attacks on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, which had caricatured the Prophet Muhammad, and a kosher grocery. The Charlie Hebdo attackers claimed links to extremists in Yemen, while the kosher market attacker claimed ties to the Islamic State group.

The country has seen several smaller-scale attacks or attempts since, including an incident on a high-speed train in August in which American travelers thwarted an attempted attack by a heavily armed man.

France's military is bombing Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq and fighting extremists in Africa, and extremist groups have frequently threatened France in the past.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Friday's attacks.

French authorities are particularly concerned about the threat from hundreds of French Islamic radicals who have travelled to Syria and returned home with skills to stage violence.

___

AP writers Greg Keller and Jerome Pugmire contributed to this story.

[KM]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3315796/Migration-crisis-tr...

Are Europe's open borders on the brink of collapse? EU leaders warn of 'race against time' to save passport free travel zone as migration crisis spirals out of control 

• European Council President Donald Tusk warns: 'The clock is ticking'
• End of Schengen Agreement allowing free movement is under threat
• Sweden has stunned allies by reintroducing passport checks at borders
• For more on the EU migration crisis visit www.dailymail.co.uk/migrantcrisis

The European Union is in a ‘race against time’ to stop the impending collapse of its border-free travel zone as its leaders admitted they had lost control.

Countries across Europe are poised to bring back checkpoints as one of the most senior EU officials admitted the ‘clock was ticking’ on the end of the Schengen Agreement.

Sweden slammed shut its borders warning it could no longer continue its tradition of welcoming migrants as it cannot cope with the vast numbers coming in.

European Council president Donald Tusk said it is a 'race against time' to save the EU's Schengen travel zone

A major migration summit this evening descended into an acrimonious farce as African leaders angrily rejected a deal to take back tens of thousands of failed asylum seekers and accused Europe of causing their problems. It came on a day of chaos as:

• European Council president Donald Tusk said it was a ‘race against time’ to save the EU’s Schengen travel zone.
• Denmark said it stood ready to follow Sweden and bring back checkpoints on its border.
• Slovenia began work erecting a razor-wire fence along its border with Croatia
• Angela Merkel’s finance minister and close ally compared her managing of the migrant crisis to a ‘careless skier’ who triggers an ‘avalanche’
• It emerged European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker had told Britain to stump up £275million to help refugees in Turkey.

Sweden's prime minister Stefan Lofven today defended his decision to reintroduce passport checks, saying it was no longer possible to properly control the country's borders.

The Swedish move was seen as particularly significant as the Scandinavian country has been one of the most hospitable to migrants with the highest number per capita in any of Europe, but its officials said it is now over-stretched.

‘When our authorities tell us we cannot guarantee the security and control of our borders, we need to listen,’ Mr Lofven said.

‘We need to make sure that we have control... We have to make sure we know who is coming to Sweden.’

He called for an overhaul of the Schengen Agreement, saying the EU needed ‘to discuss what the rules should look like. We need another system. That is obvious.’

Leaders from a number of African nations were present at the conference to discuss migration with their European counterparts. Pictured left to right are Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande

Mr Tusk said the travel zone was destined to fail without radical action to secure Europe’s external border as he became the most senior EU leader to give such a pessimistic diagnosis.

‘Let there be no doubt, the future of Schengen is at stake and time is running out,’ the former Polish prime minister said.

‘The clock is ticking, we are under pressure, we need to act fast.

‘Saving Schengen is a race against time, and we are determined to win that race.’

Mr Tusk, who chairs the meetings of all 28 EU leaders, said urgent measures needed to be implemented. ‘This includes, first and foremost, restoring external border control,’ he said.

‘Without effective border control, the Schengen rules will not survive. We must hurry, but without panic.’

Danish prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said he had put in contingency plans so they could bring in border controls at a moment’s notice.

[SongStar101]

Million Mask March London 2015 Live: Bonfire Night Chaos Ensues As Three Police Injured And Patrol Car Set Ablaze

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/11/05/million-mask-march-londo...

Three police officers were treated in hospital on Thursday after being injured during an anti-capitalist march which also resulted in a patrol car being torched.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators clad in Guy Fawkes masks descended on central London to protest capitalism and digital privacy incursions by state security services. Some 49 people were arrested and early in the evening police apprehended three men carrying knives, gas canisters and lock picks in Trafalgar Square.

One of the injured officers is believed to have been thrown from a police horse near Buckingham Palace. A police car at Green Park was set ablaze. Anarchists were later filmed jumping on and attacking the car.

Bonfire Night's 'Million Mask March' was organised by hacktivist collective 'Anonymous', and saw marches being held in 650 other cities across the globe.

Above, masked demonstrators pose with an 'A for anarchy' flag, blow thousands more gather outside National Gallery

Police ramped up numbers in a bid to curb violence and anti-social behaviour, but Scotland Yard told The Huffington Post UK that 49 people had been arrested, some three and a half hours after the demonstration was due to end.

27 of these were for public order offences, three for possession of an offensive weapon, two on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, while three others were arrested on separate counts of criminal damage, common assault and drug offences, respectively.

14 other attendees were also arrested, the Met confirmed.

#MillionMaskMarch letting off fireworks at the police horses. @vicenews pic.twitter.com/7En4bqpH4G

— Charlotte Meredith (@chmeredith) November 5, 2015

November 5's annual festivities officially kicked off at 6pm on Thursday, with demonstrators carrying placards, including some saying: "One solution, revolution."

A curfew was issued for marchers, in anticipation that the event could turn violent, as had been the case in previous years.

Protester poses with police car set ablaze

Police-set protest confinements

Police only allowed static protest at three points - outside the National Gallery, opposite the Prime Minister's residence of 10 Downing Street and on the lawns outside the Houses of Parliament, which was the setting of Guy Fawkes' gun powder plot exactly 410 year ago today.

Chief Superintendent Pippa Mills spoke out about the event - also dubbed 'Operation November 5'.

Met police blocking by the Thames at the #MillionMaskMarch #Nov5th pic.twitter.com/3OSVAC0kbj

— #MɪʟʟɪᴏɴMᴀsᴋMᴀʀᴄʜ (@Anon_Online) November 5, 2015

She said: “This year we have strong reason to believe that peaceful protest is the last thing on the minds of many of the people who will come along.

Mills also claimed that in 2014 "hundreds of people on their way home from work, or out enjoying an evening in the capital, were surrounded by people causing them huge concern".

One protester dressed as Batman's 'The Joker'

But her comments were rebutted by the march's organisers in a statement on Facebook, who said the event was to call for a "positive change in the world".

"We have seen the abuses and malpractice of this government, and governments before it, we have seen the encroaching destruction of many civil liberties we hold dear," they wrote.

Demonstrators pose with a "we are not animals - don't cage us in" sign

"We have seen the pushes to make the internet yet another part of the surveillance state, we have seen the government's disregard for migrants, for the poor, the elderly and the handicapped.

"We have seen the capital, profit and greed of the few put before the well-being of the many and we say enough is enough."

A map of organised events taking place in conjunction across the globe

They invited fellow activists, workers, students, doctors and nurses - and "all those that want to see a positive change in the world", to join them on the November 5th march.

"The government and the 1% have played their hand," they concluded, adding: "Now it is time to play ours."

[KM]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3302211/Chaos-Cyprus-migran...

Chaos in Cyprus as migrants threaten suicide, burn tents and clash with police as they complain about their treatment after arriving at British military base

• The 114 refugees came ashore at the RAF base on Cyprus last month
• Videos show their growing frustration with staying at the UK base
• One man is shown trying to hang himself, another climbing wire fence 
• It is down to Cyprus to handle asylum, but process has only just started
• See more on the migrant crisis at www.dailymail.co.uk/migrantcrisis 

Police armed with Tasers had to quell disturbances involving migrants at a British military camp in Cyprus after tents were set on fire.

Some of the migrants – who are angry they are being forced to remain on the Mediterranean island and want permission to come directly to Britain – likened their detention to Guantanamo Bay.

'We are people, not animals,' one shouted.

A line of British police, some carrying Tasers and handcuffs, tried to block the path of one man who scaled a fence at RAF Dhekelia, which is the temporary home of 114 migrants who landed at another UK base on the island, RAF Akrotiri, in two boats a fortnight ago. 

Up in flames: Migrants set fire to tents at the British Royal Air Force base in Dhekelia, Cyprus, in protest over their treatment after they landed at another RAF base on the island last month seeking asylum in Europe

Chaos as migrants threaten suicide and clash with police

The 67 men, 28 children and 19 women were bussed from RAF Akrotiri to the Dhekelia garrison near Larnaca last week. 

Last night, it emerged 14 had been handed over to Cypriot authorities. However, the rest remain in limbo.

The disturbances happened on Monday night when tensions boiled over and two tents in the temporary facility on the base were set ablaze.

The migrants told the Mail that if the UK will not let them in, they should be permitted to go to Greece, their original destination, or another mainland European country.

The migrants, living in a fenced-off camp in Dhekelia, insist they do not want to remain in Cyprus and say they should be brought to the UK as they are on British soil. 

[KM]

http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151020/1028808248/saudi-arabia-re...

Rising Storm: Coup, War, Chaos Signal Risk of 

Instability in Saudi Arabia

A black hole that has opened up in the region after the US fiasco in Iraq and overthrow of Saddam Hussain is apparently beginning to drag down Saudi Arabia.

In the last few months the debates about the future of the Saudi regime have been gaining momentum. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil exporter and one of the leading consumers of high-tech weapons of the US. If the Saudi regime falls, the oil markets will turn over upside down, and Saudi weapons will disperse throughout the world, Ergin Yıldızoğlu wrote.

 

The Mecca stampede that killed at least 2,177 pilgrims during the annual period of Hajj last month has seriously cast doubts over the ability of the Saudi regime to carry out its functions of providing safety to Muslims while performing the pilgrimage.

The rise of the terrifying ISIL which is based on the Wahhabi school of thought and Salafi Islamist terrorism has resulted in the Saudi regime being firmly linked with international terrorism.

The falling popularity of the Saudi regime is also linked to the war in Yemen. It was started without any consideration of the consequences mainly due to Saudi Arabia’s 'Iran-phobia'. This war as experts have noted, has not given any results and continues to have a heavy impact on the Saudi treasury. It has also called into question the decision-making abilities of the regime, Yıldızoğlu wrote for Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet.

If that was not enough, the House of Saud is also facing a losing battle in its oil business. It is trying too hard to maintain a high price on the oil in order to sideline the American oil producers from the market. The price of a barrel of oil is $90 whereas; the actual price is almost two times lower than that. The treasury revenues, which are 80-90% dependent on oil exports, are gradually declining, Yıldızoğlu noted.

 

According to secret documents (leaked to the press last week) that indicate economic and public expenditures being reduced by King Salman, one might think that the effects of the economic pressure are beginning to show in the country.

But the biggest threat of all may well be the instability within the royal family itself. According to the documents that were published a few weeks ago by The Guardian, a prince of the royal family (whose name was undisclosed), wrote a letter of appeal to the palace to conduct a coup against the king and his son Salman.

Allegedly, the letter received broad support among other members of the family and nation.

The rising tension with Iran and ISIL’s threats that have directly started to take aim at the Saudi regime all add up to the Saudis being in an extremely dangerous geopolitical situation.

Just until recently the House of Saud in the face of all these geopolitical risks relied on the protection of the US administration. However, today, the United States and Iran are improving their ties and that is yet another heavy blow to the shaken Saudi regime.

[Caryn D]

Refugee relief effort needs funds, UN official says

Refugee relief effort needs funds, UN official says

Posted: Oct 05, 2015 8:11 PM EDTUpdated: Oct 05, 2015 8:23 PM EDT

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The United Nations refugee chief says the organization is no longer able to meet the minimum requirements to provide life-saving support. (Source: UN/CNN)

GENEVA (CNN) - While speaking to the executive committee for the United Nation's High Commission for Refugees on Monday, Commissioner António Guterres addressed the global refugee crisis that the UN and other agencies are struggling to handle.

Guterres said though the humanitarian system is not broken, it is financially broke. 

He says the organization is no longer able to meet the minimum requirements to provide life-saving support.

"The humanitarian system is not broken, as some try to argue. It is even far more effective than many others from development to security area,”   Guterres said. “But the humanitarian system is financially broke. We are no longer able to meet even the absolute minimum requirements of core protection and lifesaving assistance to preserve human dignity of the people we care for."

He said there are now 60 million refugees worldwide as opposed to 38 million a decade ago. The UN official cited conflicts and persecution as primary reasons for the uptick.  

Copyright 2015 CNN. All rights reserved.  

[Stanislav]

More than 150 million workers’ in India strike over economic reforms

Indian police try to close the gate of a police van as arrested trade union activists try to force it open during a protest in Kolkata on September 2, 2015. Millions of workers across India held a 24-hour strike in protest at right-wing prime minister Narendra Modi's economic policies, which they say will put jobs at risk and hurt ordinary people. Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Photo

Millions of workers across India went on strike on Wednesday in protest at Narendra Modi’s economic policies.

It was the biggest show of strength by trade unions since the right-wing prime minister took office.

They say labour law reforms planned by Mr Modi’s government will put jobs at risk, and are demanding it scrap changes that would make it easier to lay off workers and shut down unproductive factories.

The secretary of All India Trade Union Congress, Gurudas Dasgupta, said the response had been “magnificent” and estimated over 150 million workers participated in the strike.

The numbers could not be independently confirmed.

The strike – the biggest in India for more than two years – included staff at state-run banks and mines as well as factory, construction and transport workers.

“This strike is a reminder to the government that it must consult the millions of employee [affected] before changing the labour laws,” striking bank worker Amit Khanna said in New Delhi.

Most cities remained peaceful, but clashes between police and activists broke out in the eastern state of West Bengal, which has a long history of union activism.

Television footage showed police baton-charge protesters in state capital Kolkata and drag away women who had staged a sit-in, while protesters threw stones and smashed vehicles.

Banks, shops and other businesses remained closed in the city, stranding commuters and travellers at the main station, while dozens of flag-waving protesters halted suburban trains.

In New Delhi, long queues formed at bus stops on Wednesday, while passengers were stranded at airports as taxis and rickshaws stayed off the streets.

Some protesters forced autorickshaw and taxi drivers off the roads and vandalised their vehicles.

“I told them [protesters] that I am going to the hospital, but these people said ‘there’s a strike today’ and beat me up,” an autorickshaw driver in New Delhi told TV reporters as he stood in front of his damaged yellow and green vehicle.

Mr Modi has promised business-friendly reforms to attract foreign investment and revive Asia’s third-largest economy.

His government wants to simplify India’s myriad of sometimes archaic labour laws, which date back to the British Raj, and create a single code for industry.

Businesses argue that conforming to India’s 44 national and more than 150 state labour laws is not only costly and time-consuming, but has also deterred foreign investors.

The government’s proposals would make it easier for firms with 300 or more workers to fire employees and make it more difficult to create new unions.

Although trade unions agree reforms are overdue, they oppose the bills, saying saying they would leave workers with less job security while the level of legal protection on pay and other conditions would be reduced.

The bills have also come up against opposition in the upper house of parliament where the government does not have a majority.

The unions went ahead with the 24-hour strike after talks with finance minister Arun Jaitley broke down.

Last month they demanded the government improve social security measures and set a national minimum wage of 15,000 rupees (Dh830), up from current state set standards that range from 5,000 to 9,000 rupees.

Those demands are supported by hawkers, domestic workers and daily wage labourers who also joined Wednesday’s strike.

India’s economy grew by a slower than expected 7 per cent in the first quarter of the financial year and experts say reforms are needed to create jobs for millions of young people.

Previous strikes have shut down cities and cost the Indian economy millions of dollars in lost production.

Source: thenational.ae

[Tracie Crespo]

www.rt.com/news/313165-lebanon-clashes-beirut-teargas/

http://www.rt.com/news/313165-lebanon-clashes-beirut-teargas/

Tear gas, water cannon, ‘gunfire heard’ in Lebanese capital Beirut on day 2 of clashes

Published time: 23 Aug, 2015 18:06Edited time: 23 Aug, 2015 18:57

Lebanese protesters chant slogans as riot police fire water cannons following a demonstration, organized by "You Stink" campaign, to protest against the ongoing country's trash crisis on August 23, 2015 in the capital Beirut 

Protests about a waste collection crisis in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, have ended up calling for the government to resign and gone into the second day after police used teargas and water cannon against demonstrators on Saturday night.

The clashes between police and protesters continued in Beirut on Sunday evening as 10,000 people gathered on Beirut's Riad al-Solh Square near the government’s Grand Serail palace.

The rally started peacefully, but then a group of aggressive youths attempted to remove the barbed wire which circled the square, TASS reported.

Police responded by using water cannon and tear gas, forcing the demonstrators to retreat from the area near the palace.

A witness told Reuters that gunfire was heard as security forces fired in the air in an effort to drive protesters away from government offices.

The protesters kept throwing stones and bottles at the police, who remained behind protective barriers and did not engage the crowd.

On Sunday, thousands of people gathered near the government headquarters in Beirut chanting anti-government slogans and calling for a larger protest later on the day.

The police again used teargas and water cannon against the crowd, with protesters responding by throwing rocks at the officers.

People in the town of Dahr el Baidar have blocked the main road leading from Beirut to Damascus, with cars only moving in the direction of the Lebanese capital, NNA agency reported.

There were also reports of people taking to the streets in the towns of Tripoli, Nabatieh and elsewhere in the country.

Earlier, the Lebanese Prime Minister, Tammam Salam, described force used against protesters as “excessive” and promised that those responsible would be held to account.

“I warn that we are going towards collapse if matters continue. Frankly, I have not and will not be a partner in this collapse. Let all officials and political forces bear their responsibilities,” Salam said in a televised address Sunday.

The police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse the rally on Saturday. At least 100 people, both police officers and protesters, were injured in the clashes, according to AP.

People in Beirut took to the streets after piles of rubbish began to appear on the streets of the Lebanese capital.

Beirut's main landfill was closed about a month ago and the authorities have yet to decide how to replace it.

Amid the unrest, some were shouting slogans used during the Arab Spring protests like “The people want to topple the regime!”

RT contacted one of the organizers of the rally, who said that the protest was initially peaceful, not calling for a violent change of power.

“We were very peaceful protesters. We were just demanding the resignation of the minister of environment,” the activist, who opted not to disclose his name, said.

Protesters start a fire during a protest against corruption and against the government's failure to resolve a crisis over rubbish disposal, near the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon August 23, 2015 © Mohamed Azakir / Reuters

He described the response to the protest by the police as “brutal,” saying that the “the army beat us… brutally with tear gas and with bullets – with real bullets.”

“Now we’re demanding the resignation of the whole government, immediately,” the activist said, adding that the parliamentary election must be announced “as soon as possible” in the country.

READ MORE: Tear gas, water cannon: Dozens injured as police clash w...

The political balance in Lebanon is extremely fragile due to legislators having been unable to pick a new president for more than a year.

The principle of ‘confessional distribution’ of parliamentary seats leaves governing divided among 18 religious groups.

Regional threats, like the war in neighboring Syria and the growing influence of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), are adding fuel to the instability in Lebanon.

The editor of the Pan-African News Wire, Abayomi Azikiwe, told RT that the situation could easily get worse, affecting Lebanon and adding even more tension to the region.

“There’s a political vacuum inside the country. The presidency has been vacant now for over a year. They had the same government since 2009. There was supposed to be an election in 2014, however, because of the political division inside the country the election has been postponed for another two years,” he said.

According to Azikiwe, the deadlock in the Lebanese power is caused by the ongoing civil war in Syria.

“You have political parties on Lebanon, who support the opposition in Syria, and the other political parties, who support the Syrian government in Damascus,” he explained.

“It may appear to be a domestic situation but it can easily deteriorate into a clash that may not necessarily be controllable by the existing government and security forces inside the country.”

[Tracie Crespo]

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33972632

Europe migrant crisis: Surge in numbers at EU border

The number of migrants at the EU's borders reached a record high of 107,500 in July, officials say, as a sharp surge in expected asylum requests was reported in Germany.

Germany has seen a wave of migration from Syria and the Balkans, and now says it could receive as many as 750,000 asylum seekers this year.

The EU has been struggling to cope with migrant arrivals in recent months.

France and the UK say they will sign a deal to tackle the crisis in Calais.

Over the summer, thousands of migrants have sought to get to the UK through the Channel Tunnel from makeshift camps around the northern French city.

France's Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and his British counterpart, Theresa May, say they will sign a deal there on Thursday to strengthen their countries' co-operation on security, the fight against criminal smugglers, human traffickers, and clandestine immigration.

In early August, the UK pledged to add €10m (£7m) to a fund established in September 2014 to secure the port of Calais, and initially endowed with €15m over three years.

EU border agency Frontex said the number of migrants surpassed the 100,000 mark in a single month for the first time since it had begun keeping records in 2008.

The Warsaw-based agency said in a statement that the figure of 107,500 migrants for July was the "third consecutive monthly record, jumping well past the previous high of more than 70,000 reached in June".

The German government had earlier forecast that 450,000 asylum seekers could arrive in 2015, but is now set to increase that to 650,000 or higher.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said more countries in Europe should share the burden.

"It is unsustainable in the long run that only two EU countries, Germany and Sweden, take in the majority of refugees," he told German daily Die Welt.

Hungary's southern border marks the edge of the EU's Schengen zone of passport-free travel and is thus a target for migrants seeking to enter the EU.

Its government has said it will send thousands of police officers to its southern ... with Serbia in its latest step to stem the flow of migrants.

Helping the refugees - by Jenny Hill, BBC Berlin correspondent

Squatting on a kerb, Barakat smiles as a volunteer hands his young son and daughter some second-hand clothes.

The family are Yazidis and fled Iraq. "They were killing all the women - what were we supposed to do?"

Nearby, hundreds of people queue outside a grey concrete building. Every so often an official comes out and shouts instructions through a megaphone.

This is Berlin's reception centre, where refugees come to register for housing and benefits. But it is volunteers who provide food, water, clothing and medical help. A doctor holds a makeshift surgery in a tent.

"It shouldn't be volunteers doing this," he says. "But the authorities never expected this many people to arrive so suddenly."

As I leave, I pass an old lady slowly pushing a trolley towards the centre. "I've come to donate clothes," she tells me. "Why wouldn't you help these people?"

More than 240,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean already this year, arriving on the shores of Greece and Italy before travelling on to other destinations.

In the past week alone, 21,000 migrants have arrived in Greece, according to the UN.

Greece has become the main arrival point for migrants heading for the EU

Germany's latest projected figures were due to be confirmed by Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere on Wednesday and Handelsblatt reported that the number of refugees seeking accommodation around the country was surging.

Last month alone, 5,700 people applied for asylum in the northern city of Hamburg and 7,065 in the south-western state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.

"I would have to build a block of flats every day to accommodate them", Stuttgart Integration Minister Bilkay Oeney told Handelsblatt.

Thousands have marched in eastern Germany against the housing of asylum seekers

The numbers are far higher than the record 438,000 asylum applications in 1992 during the Bosnian crisis.

German towns have been housing refugees in tent cities and converted gyms, but as tensions increase, there has been a rise in attacks on asylum seekers.

In the east, thousands of people have marched in towns and cities in protest at asylum seekers being housed in their areas and against what they call the "Islamisation of the West".

Last month, EU member states agreed to take in 32,000 asylum seekers arriving in Italy and Greece over the next two years - fewer than the 40,000 target.

The UK is exempt from the agreement.

[SongStar101]

Understanding the Mega-Crisis in Malaysian Politics

The country’s politics is at an inflection point.

http://thediplomat.com/2015/07/understanding-the-mega-crisis-in-mal...

Malaysian politics is at an inflection point. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say it is in a mega-crisis. Prime Minister Najib Razak has just countered his critics over the massive 1MDB scandal by sacking his vocal deputy prime minister and the Attorney-General who led a high-level probe. This latest twist has left the country bracing for a backlash of uncertainty. Yet it is not just the ruling UMNO-led Barisan Nasional (BN) government that is in trouble; the opposition coalition is also grappling with its own survival.

It is significant that both sides of the political divide are reeling from unprecedented pressure in disarray – simultaneously. What will come out of this? But it is the crisis in BN that is more critical, given the repercussions reverberating throughout the system due to UMNO’s defining role as the ruling coalition’s anchor party. The latest crisis in UMNO is equally without precedent.

Leadership Crisis in UMNO

Prime Minister Najib Razak is fighting for his political life in the face of severe criticisms arising from the scandal in the 1MDB investment fund which he advises. Never before has a sitting prime minister been openly pressured to step down amid a high-level probe. Never before has there been serious investigation into the dealings of a government-linked investment fund whose chief adviser is the finance minister, who is also prime minister.

While the sacking of Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has not come as a surprise given his outspoken criticism of the Prime Minister’s handling of the 1MDB scandal, the premature replacement of Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail ‘on health grounds’ – three months before his retirement – has raised questions. As he was leading the legal team in the special taskforce probing the 1MDB scandal, speculation is rife that his exit is meant to delay the investigation. Gani’s replacement was announced by the government just before Najib’s own unveiling of the cabinet reshuffle that elevated his strongest ally, Home Affairs Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, as the new deputy prime minister.

Prior to the reshuffles, Najib’s political position had been in doubt. There had been rumours of actions about to be taken by the taskforce, even predictions of a new prime minister by next month. By removing his deputy and the attorney-general, Najib has clearly shown that he intends to stay on top of the crisis. Interestingly, the reshuffles led to the induction into cabinet of Nur Jazlan Mohamed, the equally outspoken chair of the bipartisan Public Accounts Committee, which is also involved in the probe, along with three other UMNO members of the committee. Will the PAC investigation now be muted?

While Najib appears to have strengthened his hand, which he claims is to preserve cabinet cohesion, it remains to be seen if this is enough to fundamentally resolve one of Malaysia’s most sensational political crises. Muhyiddin has strong support within UMNO where he is deputy president. There is talk of his further purge, which will deepen the split in UMNO. Equally important is the response of Najib’s chief critic, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. Should there be a major counter-push by Mahathir, Muhyiddin and other forces, Malaysia’s political crisis will become more explosive.

Yet, the crisis in the ruling coalition has only just begun. More revelations may emerge and more heads are likely to roll. This latest episode in Malaysian politics is proving to be bruising. Even if Najib survives this, it is hard to imagine how he would emerge unscathed. More worrying for UMNO and BN is whether the ruling coalition will be able to retain power in the next general election, having lost the popular vote at the last polls in 2013 despite winning more than half the parliamentary seats. Muhyiddin made a telling blow when he warned at an UMNO meeting that BN would lose if elections were to be called tomorrow.

Crisis in the Opposition

It is fortuitous for UMNO and BN that their political crisis has come at a time when the opposition is in total disarray. The loose opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat (PR), long known to be fragile, has finally come unstuck. Its leader, Anwar Ibrahim, is in jail, while its three coalition partners are in a hyper-fluid state of mutual repositioning. And it’s all because of recrimination over hudud (Islamic criminal code) between PAS and DAP, two long-standing ideological foes who tried in vain to be friends, leaving the third – Anwar’s own party PKR – caught between a rock and a hard place.

The PR is now dead, a victim of the crisis that first began in the Islamist party PAS which led to the dominance of the conservative faction and ouster of its professionals wing. Two other partners – the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Anwar’s People’s Justice Party (PKR) – are trying to reinvent the alliance with a “PR 2.0”, linking up with the purged faction but minus the increasingly conservative PAS proper. The final shape of this reinvented opposition coalition is still unclear, but promises to be appealing to a multi-ethnic electorate – and is likely to be led once again by the unifying figure of Anwar, from behind bars.

What we are witnessing is a reconstruction of the opposition landscape. But no matter how it turns out, the opposition forces will be divided into two blocs – for as long as the original PAS remains outside PR 2.0. This leaves open the possibility of PAS linking up with Najib’s UMNO to create a Malay-Muslim political alliance in a so-called “unity government”.

At this point, an UMNO-PAS linkup is only a theoretical possibility; even the new PAS – the more conservative version – has rejected the notion of a unity government with UMNO. But this position may change depending on how the political equation evolves, both on the opposition front and on the UMNO/BN side. What this all means is that Malaysian politics is entering yet another phase of unpredictability.

What Next?

All this is happening at two crucial junctures: Firstly, the country is three years away from the next general election. While this may seem like a long time, it is actually very short given the depth of the crisis on both sides of the political divide. Will they be able to recover in time – if at all – to position themselves for GE14 to capture power? On the BN side, UMNO, as the pillar party, will have to shake off the severe damage from the political tremors surrounding Najib. It must be said, however, that should he survive the 1MDB crisis, Najib would be very hard to defeat politically.

Secondly, this mega-crisis is five years away from 2020 – the epochal timeline which will mark Malaysia’s entry into developed economy status. Ironically it is a visionary deadline set by Dr Mahathir, the man who is now leading the charge to remove Najib. Mahathir would be writhing in ironic chagrin if Najib survives to be the one who delivers Vision 2020 – assuming the economy is unaffected by the political crisis. Mahathir would be happier if it is anyone but Najib as prime minister come 2020. Najib has just shown that he intends to deny his former boss that wish.

Whatever happens going forward, the larger event to watch is the outcome of the “collision of coalitions” in Malaysian politics. Will the system stay the same, or will a new political model emerge from the debris?