Updated: Two Swedes shot dead in Brussels, Belgium raises terror alert to top level
Updated: 11:30am (AEDT)Brussels, BelgiumReuters Two Swedish nationals were shot dead and a third wounded in central Brussels on Monday night, and a man who identified himself as a member of Islamist State claimed responsibility in a video posted online. The suspected assailant fled the scene after the shooting as a football match between Belgium and […]
Sweden’s Carl XVI Gustaf celebrates 50 years as King
Stockholm, SwedenReuters Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf celebrated 50 years on the throne on Friday with ceremonies throughout the capital, including gun salutes, speeches and a lavish dinner with other heads of state. Friday is the culmination of a four-day celebration and the public was invited to the Stockholm palace courtyard to congratulate the 77-year-old […]
Essay: Three anniversaries will force issues of religious persecution at the UN General Assembly
Whether world leaders grapple with interconnecting issues of religion and global affairs remains to be seen, but, KNOX THAMES, a former special envoy for religious minorities at the US State Department and senior fellow at Pepperdine University, says they cannot afford to ignore them…
Millions swelter across Iberian Peninsula…while storm continues to sweep over the Nordics
Lisbon, Portigal/Madrid, Spain Reuters Millions of people in parts of Portugal and Spain opted to stay inside on Tuesday on the second day of a heatwave sweeping the Iberian Peninsula during peak tourist season that has spurred the spread of wildfires. People queue in the sun outside Almudena Cathedral as they wait to enter the […]
Denmark to look for “legal tool” to prevent Quran burnings
Copenhagen, DenmarkReuters The Danish Government will seek to “find a legal tool” that would enable authorities to prevent the burning of copies of the Quran in front of other countries’ embassies in Denmark, Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told the national broadcaster DR on Sunday. “The burnings are deeply offensive and reckless acts committed by […]
Swedish PM “extremely worried” what could happen if further Quran burnings go ahead
Stockholm, SwedenReuters Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is “extremely worried” about the consequences if more demonstrations go ahead in which the Quran is desecrated, he said on Thursday, amid growing Muslim anger at a series of attacks on Islam’s holy book. Attacks on the Quran in Sweden and Denmark have offended many Muslim countries including […]
Iraq expels Swedish ambassador over planned Quran burning
Baghdad, Iraq/Stockholm, Sweden Reuters Iraq expelled the Swedish ambassador on Thursday in protest at a planned burning of the Quran in Stockholm that had prompted hundreds of protesters to storm and set alight the Swedish embassy in Baghdad. An Iraqi Government statement said Baghdad had also recalled its charge d’affaires in Sweden, and Iraq’s state […]
Swedish embassy in Baghdad stormed, set alight – source, witness
Baghdad, IraqReuters Hundreds of protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in central Baghdad in the early hours of Thursday morning, scaling its walls and setting it on fire in protest against the expected burning of a Quran in Sweden. A source familiar with the matter said no embassy staff had been harmed and declined to elaborate […]
Muslim states demand action at UN after ‘Islamaphobic’ Quran burning
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters Muslim states including Iran and Pakistan on Tuesday said desecration of the Koran amounted to inciting religious hatred and called for accountability, as the UN rights body debated a contentious motion in the wake of a Quran burning in Sweden. The motion, brought by Pakistan in response to last month’s incident, seeks a […]
Biden begins three-nation tour with stop in London
Stansted, England, UKReuters US President Joe Biden arrived in Britain on Sunday, starting a three-nation trip that will be dominated by a NATO summit in Lithuania aimed at showing solidarity with Ukraine in its fight against Russia while not yet accepting Kyiv as a member of the alliance. But the challenges of forging solidarity among […]