New Zealand terror attack
An anti-Muslim terrorist attack took place in New Zealand. Two mosques were attacked, and 50 people were killed. According to New Zealand media, those killed were between 2 and 77 years old.
Brenton Tarrant, who is accused of committing the terrorist act, sent a 74-page Manifesto by e-mail to more than 30 recipients nine minutes before the first attack. The manifesto discussed his plans, criticized migration, openly discussed the author’s racist views and plans to kill political leaders (Angela Merkel, Recep Tayyip Erdogan). Tarrant also mentions that he was inspired by Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik, who killed dozens in June 2011. He was arrested along with four accomplices.
Meanwhile, Facebook has deleted 1.5 million upload of the attack on the congregation in Christchurch which Tarrant filmed and streamed live. More than 1.2 million of these were blocked at the time of upload, the company said in a statement.
The alleged terrorist had repeatedly visited Europe. The Bulgarian authorities intend to study Tarrant’s activities during his visit to the country in November 2018. He also visited Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ankara will also investigate several visits by the alleged perpetrator, including one in 2016.
Turkey (which was mentioned and criticized in Tarrant`s Manifesto) strongly condemned the terrorist attack.
“We express deep sorrow in connection with the news of the large number of victims and wounded as a result of the terrorist attack in two mosques in the city of Christchurch in New Zealand. We strongly condemn this brutal attack, ” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Slovak presidential elections
Zuzana Caputova won the first round of presidential elections in Slovakia. The deputy head of the non-parliamentary party “Progressive Slovakia” won over 40.5% of the vote. Caputova is a liberal lawyer with no experience in politics, but in Slovakia she is known as an anti-corruption candidate and liberal activist.
The candidate from the ruling party Direction – Social Democracy (Smer), Deputy Head of the European Commission Maroš Shefchovic, also passed into the second round despite his rivals significant lead. He pulled in only about 18.66% of the voter.
Robert Fico resigned from the post of prime minister a year ago in the wake of protests involving corruption scandals and the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak.
The second round of the presidential elections in Slovakia will take place on March 30.
Macron’s failure
French President Emmanuel Macron spent some quality luxury time in the Pyrenees – meanwhile, the Yellow vest protesters occupied streets in Paris’ city center, as demonstrators clashed with police and businesses burned.
Macron said that Yellow vests want to destroy France and promised to take “decisive measures” against the participants.
“These people want to destroy the Republic. Everyone who was there is complicit in what happened”, he said
Beaucoup de choses ont été faites depuis novembre, mais la journée d’aujourd’hui montre que sur ces sujets-là nous n’y sommes pas. Je veux qu’on prenne dans les meilleurs délais des décisions fortes pour que cela n’advienne plus.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 16, 2019
Meanwhile, although Macron accuses the protesters of destruction, he takes no measures to alleviate their economic burden or meet any of the protesters’ demands in a substantial way. Read more about the strength of the yellow vest’ protests on UWI.
Protests in Algeria
On Friday, tens of thousands took part in protest actions in different cities of Algeria to express dissatisfaction with the policies of the country’s 82-year-old president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, AP reports.
The largest manifestation took place in the capital city of Algiers. Crowds of locals gathered in the streets and squares holding the Algerian flag. The protesters shouted: “Go away, Bouteflika”, “Gang of thieves”, and “free and democratic Algeria“
The discontent of those who participated in Friday’s protests is connected, in particular, with Bouteflika’s decision to postpone the country’s presidential elections. The protestors feel that the president took this step to keep hold on power.
Meanwhile, consultations on the formation of a new government began, led by Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui with the participation of the Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra.