The husband of the murdered Labour MP Jo Cox has hit back after Nigel Farage 'blamed' Angela Merkel's immigration policy for the Berlin attack.
Following the suspected terror attack on the Christmas market in the German capital, the former UKIP leader tweeted: "Terrible news from Berlin but no surprise. Events like these will be the Merkel legacy."
Mr Farage was referring to the German Chancellor's open-door policy on welcoming immigrants fleeing Middle East war zones.
:: LIVE: Berlin Christmas market attack
In what was widely interpreted as a reference to the murder of his wife by a far-right terrorist during the EU referendum campaign, Brendan Cox quickly responded: "@Nigel_Farage blaming politicians for the actions of extremists? That's a slippery slope Nigel."
Following the exchange, Mr Farage defended his comments telling LBC radio: "Well of course he would know more about extremists than me, Mr Cox, he backs organisations like Hope Not Hate, who masquerade as being lovely and peaceful but actually pursue violent and very undemocratic means.
"And I'm sorry Mr Cox, it is time people started to take responsibility for what's happened. Mrs Merkel had directly caused a whole number of social and terrorist problems in Germany, it's about time we confronted that truth."
Mrs Cox was gunned down by extremist Thomas Mair on 16 June. As he launched his attack he said: "This is for Britain", "keep Britain independent" and "Britain first".
Brexiters have been accused of stoking hate crime after police figures showed an significant and sharp increase in the late stages of EU campaigning, and afterwards.
On the day of Mrs Cox's murder, Mr Farage launched a poster showing a long queue of refugees with the slogan "breaking point".
At the time, it was criticised by Remain campaigner and former chancellor George Osborne, who likened it to 1930s fascist propaganda, and Brexit campaigner and then justice secretary Michael Gove, who said it made him shudder.
Mrs Merkel has said that it would be "particularly sickening" if the Christmas market attacker is an asylum seeker.
Local media has reported the suspect arrested at the scene was a Pakistani who arrived in Germany in either 2015 or early this year. He was is believed to have been living at the Tempelhof refugee centre.
The far-right has been seeking to make political capital out of the attack in Berlin, which has left 12 people dead and 48 injured.
In a tweet sent just minutes after the attack, Eurosceptic MEP Marcus Pretzell described those who had been killed in the attack as "Merkel's dead".
The MEP for the right wing Alternative for Germany Party, which is making strong showing in Germany, wrote: "When will the German rule of law strike back? When will this cursed hypocrisy end? It is Merkel's dead!"
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Trump vs. Obama in the alleged war on Christmas: Ugliness in a season of joy
“Happy holidays,” the grocery clerk said to the customer in front of me the other day.
“You mean Merry Christmas,” the customer snapped back.
The clerk sighed.
A war on Christmas? Yes, please. Because Christmas — the way we play it — needs some help.
The season meant to celebrate joy, generosity, love and kindness is now an annual cultural battleground for our divided nation.
Think this isn’t real? Just look at the White House.
The incoming president — a man not known for his religious devotion — trumpeted his Christmas bona fides during his “Merry Christmas USA Thank You Tour.” Donald Trump’s stages were decorated with Christmas trees — 16 of them in Orlando — and he made not a single mention of Hanukkah or any other holiday Americans observe.
President Obama and his family, on the other hand, were once again flambéed online because of their take on the season.
Their crime? A family holiday card. Yup. Holiday card, not Christmas card. A subversive, rebel plan to overthrow the nation’s $655.8 billion December industry because they didn’t put the words “Merry Christmas” on it, for the eighth year in a row!
“ ‘Merry Christ . . . er . . . scratch that. ‘We Are the Obamas, and It’s Some Random Holiday!’ ” Sarah Palin tweeted, when she saw the new Obama family card this year.
[The Obamas: Refusing to give in to the haters after years of threats and abuse]
Oops. There are a few other holidays this time of year, and the folks who celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule, Saturnalia, Festivus and Ramadan — which does fall in December occasionally — are also citizens of America.
But never mind. More Christmas! Because the holiday that launches layaway plans in August and begins its relentless soundtracks in October is totally endangered.
“Shocker, Obama’s final White House ‘Christmas card’ DOESN’T mention Christmas. . . . That’s ok, Trump has Merry Christmas all over his podiums,” tweeted another supposed Christian who somehow believes that the spirit of Jesus or Saint Nicholas comes alive in podium slogans.
It was a little more than a year ago that Trump, in one of his many campaign promises, vowed to win the alleged war on Christmas.
Last year, he took on this pressing American crisis when Starbucks unveiled its holiday paper cup as an ombre red number, without snowflakes or reindeer or snowmen, the things that would’ve surely cemented a company’s dedication to the only son of God.
[The phony ‘War on Christmas’ is back, fueled by those Starbucks Jesus haters]
Plenty of self-described holy folks were outraged at the design aesthetic, and Trump suggested a Starbucks boycott to a crowd in Springfield, Ill., promising: “If I become president, we’re all going to be saying ‘Merry Christmas’ again. That I can tell you.”
Because he’s going to repeal HB 666, the bill that makes it a crime to say “Merry Christmas”? I missed that one.
Never fear, Trump’s launched a Merry Christmas victory tour so the Christmasers can keep winning.
There isn’t and never was a war on this thing we think is Christmas. You can’t swing a cat anywhere in America today and not hit a piece of tinsel. Don’t worry, you’re covered if that’s what Christmas means to you.
Even most of the folks who described themselves as deeply religious told the Public Religion Research Institute in its 2013 survey that they don’t mind hearing “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greetings” this time of year.
This isn’t about religion. It’s about politics. Again.
I said it last year, and I’ll say it again this year. Yes, there is a war on Christmas. The real Christmas.
If the real Christmas is about honoring the birth of a child to a humble couple far from home who must eventually flee a tyrant to keep their baby safe, then, yes, there is a war on Christmas.
If Christmas is about peace, joy, generosity, thankfulness and goodwill among people, then yes, there is a war on Christmas.
If Christmas is about honoring the spirit of Saint Nicholas — Nikolaos the Greek bishop of Myra — the young man born into wealth who gave all his riches to the poor by tossing bags of gold coins through windows of struggling, impoverished families in his home town, which is now part of Turkey, then yes, there is a war on Christmas.
The tragedies of that time that spurred men like Saint Nicholas and Jesus into action? They’re with us today.
There is a gruesome massacre underway in Aleppo, Syria, recorded on video and shared on social media in real time every day. In our country, 21 percent of American children live in poverty and half a million Americans are homeless.
Nicholas rescued children from slavery, death and poverty. Jesus fed the hungry, cured the sick and comforted the afflicted.
But our answer to the contemporary suffering we see before us?
We’re going to fight over whether we say Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas. Saint Nick and Jesus would be horrified.
Come on, America. We’ve got to be better than this.
NHS left with 'shocking' £30m bill by overseas patients
Overseas patients left the NHS with an unpaid bill of £30m in one year, an investigation has found.
Patients not entitled to free treatment on the health service owed £29,530,378 in 2015/16, according to data obtained by the Press Association under the Freedom of Information Act.
More than 120 NHS trusts were asked for details on overseas patients who were billed for NHS care and not covered by reciprocal arrangements with the UK.
Results from 104 trusts across England that responded suggested the unpaid bill is rising year on year.
The amount outstanding last year was equivalent to 0.03% of the annual NHS budget of £116bn.
:: NHS patients could have to show passports for treatment
The most commonly used departments included maternity and general medicine - with just over £21m recovered from overseas patients in 2015/16.
Some trusts are still trying to chase patients for the money owed, while others have written off a portion as bad debt.
The true amount owed could be far higher as the figure does not include overseas patients who are never asked to pay - for example those who can provide a UK address.
Eight London trusts are owed more than £1m for 2015/16, while a further 21 across England are owed at least £100,000 - including hospitals in Liverpool, Birmingham, Oxford and Sheffield.
Barts and The London NHS Trust had the biggest bill last year, with £4,987,190 and is owed £10,340,322 for the last four years.
The trust managed to recover £6,754,000 last year.
St George's Hospital in Tooting, South London - which hit the headlines after pregnant health tourists went there to give birth - managed to recover £159,012 in 2015/16 but had an unpaid bill of £347,019.
In total, it is owed £2,550,059 from the last four years.
St George's said it expected the bill to rise "year on year" and estimated that overseas patients who do not pay actually cost in the region of £4m to £5m per year.
Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: "It is shocking that so many costs are left unpaid by overseas patients using the NHS.
"If this money was reinvested in the NHS it could mean the difference between hiring more nurses or paying for additional equipment."
A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "The NHS is a national - not an international - health service and we are determined to stamp out abuse of the system to ensure it remains free at the point of need in this country."
Patients not entitled to free treatment on the health service owed £29,530,378 in 2015/16, according to data obtained by the Press Association under the Freedom of Information Act.
More than 120 NHS trusts were asked for details on overseas patients who were billed for NHS care and not covered by reciprocal arrangements with the UK.
Results from 104 trusts across England that responded suggested the unpaid bill is rising year on year.
The amount outstanding last year was equivalent to 0.03% of the annual NHS budget of £116bn.
:: NHS patients could have to show passports for treatment
The most commonly used departments included maternity and general medicine - with just over £21m recovered from overseas patients in 2015/16.
Some trusts are still trying to chase patients for the money owed, while others have written off a portion as bad debt.
The true amount owed could be far higher as the figure does not include overseas patients who are never asked to pay - for example those who can provide a UK address.
Eight London trusts are owed more than £1m for 2015/16, while a further 21 across England are owed at least £100,000 - including hospitals in Liverpool, Birmingham, Oxford and Sheffield.
Barts and The London NHS Trust had the biggest bill last year, with £4,987,190 and is owed £10,340,322 for the last four years.
The trust managed to recover £6,754,000 last year.
St George's Hospital in Tooting, South London - which hit the headlines after pregnant health tourists went there to give birth - managed to recover £159,012 in 2015/16 but had an unpaid bill of £347,019.
In total, it is owed £2,550,059 from the last four years.
St George's said it expected the bill to rise "year on year" and estimated that overseas patients who do not pay actually cost in the region of £4m to £5m per year.
Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: "It is shocking that so many costs are left unpaid by overseas patients using the NHS.
"If this money was reinvested in the NHS it could mean the difference between hiring more nurses or paying for additional equipment."
A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "The NHS is a national - not an international - health service and we are determined to stamp out abuse of the system to ensure it remains free at the point of need in this country."
Donald Trump's White House win confirmed by Electoral College
Donald Trump's election as the 45th president of the United States has been confirmed by the Electoral College.
The billionaire sailed past the 270 votes needed to make his victory official clearing the way for him to succeed Barack Obama on 20 January.
Mr Trump said in a statement: "I thank the American people for their overwhelming vote to elect me as their next president of the United States.
"With this historic step we can look forward to the bright future ahead.
"I will work hard to unite our country and be the president of all Americans."
With Hawaii still to vote, Mr Trump had 304 votes and Hillary Clinton had 224.
It takes 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency. Texas put Trump over the top, despite two Republican electors casting protest votes.
On 6 January a joint session of Congress will certify the results of the Electoral College vote.
Once that happens, the winner - almost certainly Donald Trump - will be sworn in on 20 January.
Six people detained after Russian ambassador killed in Turkey
Six people have been detained in Turkey in connection with the killing of the Russian ambassador to the country, state media has reported.
Andrey Karlov was killed by off-duty policeman Mevlut Mert Altintas, who shouted "don't forget Aleppo" after shooting him.
The state-run Anadolu news agency said Altintas' mother, father, sister and two other relatives had been held in the western province of Aydin.
Police also detained his flatmate in Ankara.
Altintas, 22, had been working for the riot police squad in Ankara for the past two-and-a-half years.
Mr Karlov, 62, had been attending an art exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Centre in the Cankaya area of Ankara, along with other dignitaries and media.
Later today, Russian and Turkish foreign ministers will meet to discuss the situation in Syria.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "We are sure that those who staged that barbaric crime were seeking to derail the process of normalising Russia-Turkey ties primarily with a goal to prevent an efficient fight against terrorism in Syria.
"This attempt is futile."
US Secretary of State John Kerry called the assassination a "despicable attack", while President-elect Donald Trump said it was a "violation of all rules of civilised order" and must be "universally condemned".
The UN Security Council condemned the assassination of Mr Karlov "in the strongest terms" and called for the perpetrators, organisers and sponsors to be brought to justice.
It is understood that Altintas entered the building using his police ID and opened fire on the ambassador as he made a speech.
A video showed him shouting: "Don't forget Aleppo, don't forget Syria!
"So long as our brothers are not in safety, you will not taste safety either. Only my dead body will leave here.
"Whoever is involved in this cruelty, one by one, you will pay for it."
The gunman also shot three other people, although none were seriously injured, according to Turkey's interior ministry.
He then climbed to the second floor of the building before a 15-minute shootout with police, during which he was killed.
Monday, December 19, 2016
Security expert: 'Christmas markets should have been shut'
Authorities should have done more to protect people in Berlin if they had intelligence providing clear information about a threat, a security expert has told Sky News.
Professor Anthony Glees, of Buckingham University, said if German police had the same intelligence as that possessed by the US, they should have taken firmer action.
It remains unclear whether terrorism was behind the crash, in which at least nine people died after a truck drove into a busy Christmas market in Berlin.
But the US State Department issued a warning in late November telling American citizens to exercise caution at "holiday festivals, events and outdoor markets".
The warning said: "Credible information indicates the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or Da'esh), al-Qa'ida, and their affiliates continue to plan terrorist attacks in Europe, with a focus on the upcoming holiday season and associated events.
"US citizens should also be alert to the possibility that extremist sympathisers or self-radicalised extremists may conduct attacks during this period with little or no warning."
Prof Glees said: "Forgive me for saying this on such a tragic evening, it is mealy-mouthed to tell individual citizens to be careful when they go to Christmas markets.
"It is the job of the state and agencies of the state, the intelligence of security agencies, to keep people safe.
"If there was clear intelligence that a Christmas market was going to be attacked, then all Christmas markets should have been shut until that danger was dealt with.
"You cannot tell people to watch out for a truck that might be driven by terrorists in their direction. You cannot do it that way."
Berlin Christmas market lorry crash a 'probable terror attack'
A lorry was "intentionally" driven into a Christmas market in Berlin, resulting in the deaths of at least 12 people, police believe.
Police have appealed for video and images taken of Breitscheidplatz on Monday night to be sent to them as they try to reconstruct what happened.
Witnesses described the moment of terror when the articulated truck smashed through the popular tourist spot.
A tweet from the Berlin police force said: "Our investigators assume that the truck has been intentionally controlled into the crowd at the Christmas market on the #Breitscheidplatz.
"All police measures on the probable terrorist attack at #Breitscheidplatz are being carried out with high pressure and the necessary care."
Analysis by the Polish owners of the truck found that it appeared to have been started and stopped several times in the afternoon before the 'attack', German media reported.
Der Spiegel, citing Polish website money.pl, said that GPS data showed the lorry's engine was started at 15.44, 16.52 and 17.37.
It finally got under way at 19.34. At around 8pm, the lorry careered into the Christmas market, leaving a dozen dead and injuring a further 48, several seriously.
A man found dead in the lorry's cab was later revealed to be a Polish citizen.
Police said this man, who has not been named, was not the driver when the crash happened.
A second man who escaped from the cab was arrested near the Victory Column, about 2km (1.3 miles) from the Christmas market shortly afterwards, Der Spiegel said.
No details have been released about the man in custody but several German newspapers are reporting that he arrived in German last February as a refugee, either from Pakistan or Afghanistan, with some reports saying he travelled via Passau, in lower Bavaria.
Tagesspiegel claimed the arrested man is a "small criminal" who is known to police, Bild reported.
There were conflicting reports over whether the truck had been stolen with police tweeting they were investigating reports it had been taken from a construction site in Poland but the boss of the firm that owned the truck said it had gone to Berlin with a load of steel beams.
Ariel Żurawski said he was confident the driver who was using the vehicle was not driving at the time of the crash and claimed someone must have hijacked the vehicle and used it to cause carnage.
He told Reuters: "I can vouch for my driver. I see it that they did something to him and hijacked his truck that was practically in Berlin centre... It was not my driver. They simply did something to him, God forbid, so it looks.
"He is my cousin... I have known this man from birth. I can guarantee, it was not our driver who did it. Why would he drive in Berlin centre, if he was waiting for unloading. He was packed with steel, 25 tonnes of it. It would be illogical.
"He has been a driver for 15 years... When I talked to him he said he was in such a district that he saw Germans only in offices. He bought a kebab because he was hungry. We shared some jokes.
"His phone does not answer. A moment ago my wife spoke to his wife. She could not get through to him since 1600 (GMT). Something is wrong. He should have answered, the more so that it was his wife calling."
Several witnesses said the crash appeared not to have been an accident, with one speaking of the vehicle "going through people" and "pulling everything down" as it tore through tables and wooden stands.
Witness Emma Rushton, who had been just several feet from the crash, told Sky News: "It wasn't an accident. It was going at 40mph through the middle of the market.
"There was no way it could have come off the road and it showed no signs of slowing down."
A Syrian refugee who was also visiting the market with friends told Deutsche Welle: "We wanted to have some gluhwein, have some fun, and we heard glass breaking and we saw people shouting, screaming, crying, some people with blood on their faces. It was a truck, it came through the people."
Police said the truck was undergoing forensic examination
Police have appealed for video and images taken of Breitscheidplatz on Monday night to be sent to them as they try to reconstruct what happened.
Witnesses described the moment of terror when the articulated truck smashed through the popular tourist spot.
A tweet from the Berlin police force said: "Our investigators assume that the truck has been intentionally controlled into the crowd at the Christmas market on the #Breitscheidplatz.
"All police measures on the probable terrorist attack at #Breitscheidplatz are being carried out with high pressure and the necessary care."
Analysis by the Polish owners of the truck found that it appeared to have been started and stopped several times in the afternoon before the 'attack', German media reported.
Der Spiegel, citing Polish website money.pl, said that GPS data showed the lorry's engine was started at 15.44, 16.52 and 17.37.
It finally got under way at 19.34. At around 8pm, the lorry careered into the Christmas market, leaving a dozen dead and injuring a further 48, several seriously.
A man found dead in the lorry's cab was later revealed to be a Polish citizen.
Police said this man, who has not been named, was not the driver when the crash happened.
A second man who escaped from the cab was arrested near the Victory Column, about 2km (1.3 miles) from the Christmas market shortly afterwards, Der Spiegel said.
No details have been released about the man in custody but several German newspapers are reporting that he arrived in German last February as a refugee, either from Pakistan or Afghanistan, with some reports saying he travelled via Passau, in lower Bavaria.
Tagesspiegel claimed the arrested man is a "small criminal" who is known to police, Bild reported.
There were conflicting reports over whether the truck had been stolen with police tweeting they were investigating reports it had been taken from a construction site in Poland but the boss of the firm that owned the truck said it had gone to Berlin with a load of steel beams.
Ariel Żurawski said he was confident the driver who was using the vehicle was not driving at the time of the crash and claimed someone must have hijacked the vehicle and used it to cause carnage.
He told Reuters: "I can vouch for my driver. I see it that they did something to him and hijacked his truck that was practically in Berlin centre... It was not my driver. They simply did something to him, God forbid, so it looks.
"He is my cousin... I have known this man from birth. I can guarantee, it was not our driver who did it. Why would he drive in Berlin centre, if he was waiting for unloading. He was packed with steel, 25 tonnes of it. It would be illogical.
"He has been a driver for 15 years... When I talked to him he said he was in such a district that he saw Germans only in offices. He bought a kebab because he was hungry. We shared some jokes.
"His phone does not answer. A moment ago my wife spoke to his wife. She could not get through to him since 1600 (GMT). Something is wrong. He should have answered, the more so that it was his wife calling."
Several witnesses said the crash appeared not to have been an accident, with one speaking of the vehicle "going through people" and "pulling everything down" as it tore through tables and wooden stands.
Witness Emma Rushton, who had been just several feet from the crash, told Sky News: "It wasn't an accident. It was going at 40mph through the middle of the market.
"There was no way it could have come off the road and it showed no signs of slowing down."
A Syrian refugee who was also visiting the market with friends told Deutsche Welle: "We wanted to have some gluhwein, have some fun, and we heard glass breaking and we saw people shouting, screaming, crying, some people with blood on their faces. It was a truck, it came through the people."
Police said the truck was undergoing forensic examination
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