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Partyveranstalter Reto Hanselmann lädt dieses Wochenende wieder zu seiner Halloween-Party – und hat sich eine blutige Vorbereitung ausgedacht.

Wer schön sein will, muss bekanntlich leiden: Das sagt sich auch Reto Hanselmann (37). Der Zürcher Partyveranstalter will zu seiner Halloween-Party «Season of the Witch» diesen Samstag im Kaufleuten-Club in Zürich blendend aussehen. Dafür lässt sich der Beau mit einem sogenannten «Vampir-Lifting» auffrischen. Ein Eingriff, der allein schon vom Namen her perfekt zum Grusel-Event passt (siehe Video).

«Dabei wird mit Eigenblut die Hautregeneration des Patienten angeregt», wie Dr. med. Christian Köhler (44), Geschäftsführer des Prevention Centers Zürich, BLICK erklärt: «Damit bringt man besonders gut kleine Fältchen unter den Augen weg. Und es ist körpereigen, was es sehr gut verträglich macht.» Hanselmanns Arzt ergänzt: «Der Patient sieht nach der erfolgreichen Behandlung bis zu 10 Jahre jünger aus.»

«Eine solche Dekoration sieht man sonst nirgends»

Blutsauger mit Vampir-Zähnen sind denn auch das diesjährige Motto von «Hanselmann's Season of the Witch»-Party: «Wer im Dracula-Look kommt, passt wunderbar zum Thema», sagt Reto Hanselmann zu BLICK. «Aber man darf sich auch gerne als Cowboy oder Indianer verkleiden – alles, was Spass macht, ist erlaubt.»

Auch dieses Jahr will der It-Boy seine Gäste mit einem «Grusel-Event der Superlative» überraschen: «Eine solche Halloween-Dekoration sieht man sonst nirgends in der Schweiz», verspricht Hanselmann. Teile davon werden von den Universal Studios in Los Angeles gefertigt und in die Schweiz geschickt. «Es ist unser Ziel, unsere Gäste mit unvergesslichen Eindrücken nach Hause gehen zu lassen.»

Gewinnen Sie 2 VIP-Tickets für «Season of the Witch»

Senden Sie ein SMS mit HALLOWEEN an die Nummer 797 (1.50 Fr./SMS). Chancengleiche Teilnahme via Mobile Internet (WAP) ohne Zusatzkosten: http://win.wap.my797.ch.

BLICK-Leser haben die Möglichkeit, exklusiv bei Hanselmanns Halloween-Party dabei zu sein. Wir verlosen 3 x 2 VIP-Tickets im Wert von je 180 Franken für «Season of the Witch» diesen Samstag, 27.10., im Zürcher Kaufleuten.

Teilnahmeschluss ist am 26. Oktober 2018 um 16 Uhr. Die Gewinner werden anschliessend informiert. Teilnehmer müssen mindestens 23 Jahre alt sein. Die Tickets sind nicht übertragbar, kann der Gewinner nicht selbst teilnehmen werden die Tickets weiterverlost. Mit der Teilnahme erklären Sie sich mit den AGB und Datenschutzbestimmungen einverstanden.

ZÜRICH/BERN - Sie wollen in der Schweiz Asyl beantragen: 20 kurdische Flüchtlinge leben seit teils sieben Wochen in der Transit-Zone des Flughafens Zürich – unbemerkt von der Öffentlichkeit.

Der öffentliche Wartebereich hinter der Passkontrolle der Gates B und D am Flughafen Zürich: Hier leben teils seit sieben Wochen 20 kurdische Asylbewerber. Aufnehmen oder abschieben? Es ist das bange Warten der Flüchtlinge am Flughafen Zürich. Acht Männer, vier Frauen sowie acht Teenager und Kinder – das jüngste von ihnen ist ein gerade mal einjähriges Mädchen. Sie alle haben in der Transit-Zone ihr vorübergehendes Zuhause.

 

Untergebracht sind die Asylbewerber in Räumen ohne Fenster – in einem schlafen die Männer, im anderen die Frauen und Kinder. Einer von ihnen ist der türkisch-kurdische Journalist Mustafa Mamay. Insbesondere den Kindern mache das Eingeschlossensein zu schaffen. «Sie müssen oft weinen und sehnen sich danach, draussen spielen zu können», sagt Mamay zu «Watson».

 

Asylbewerber mü ssen bis zu 60 Tage im Transit verharren

Hier angekommen, haben sie Asyl beantragt. Er und die anderen kurdischen Flüchtlinge sind in die Schweiz gekommen in der Hoffnung auf ein besseres Leben. Mamay wurde aufgrund seiner Arbeit als regimekritischer Journalist in der Türkei zu sechs Jahren und drei Monaten Gefängnis verurteilt. Er floh aus seiner Heimat ins Exil nach Syrien, von dort via Südafrika in die Schweiz. 

Mamay und die anderen Flüchtlinge stellten ein Asylgesuch. Bis ein solches geprüft und ein Entscheid getroffen ist, dauert es. De facto dürfen Asylbewerber laut Gesetz bis zu 60 Tage in der Transit-Zone festgehalten werden. Währenddessen sind die Flüchtlinge in der von der Asylorganisation Zürich (AOZ) im Auftrag des Staatssekretariats für Migration (SEM) betriebenen Asylunterkunft im Transit untergebracht.

2015 wurden im Transit 247 Asylgesuche gestellt

In der Unterkunft gibt es insgesamt 58 Betten. Durchschnittlich sind zwischen fünf und 15 Asylsuchende dort untergebracht. «Die Anzahl der Personen, die am Flughafen Zürich im Transit ein Asylgesuch stellen, hat in den vergangenen Jahren deutlich abgenommen», sagt Daniel Bach, Sprecher des Staatssekretariats für Migration, zu BLICK. Waren es im Jahr 2015 noch 247 Gesuche, sind es im 2018 bis anhin nur 89 gewesen.

Während ihrer Zeit im Transitbereich haben die Asylbewerber Zugang zu einem im Flughafen angesiedelten ärztlichen Dienst. Laut Bach können sie sich zudem im Transitbereich frei bewegen, haben Zutritt zur Terrasse.

Einreise über sichere Drittstaaten in die Schweiz

Laut Bach gibt es auch Einzelfälle, in denen die 60-tägige Frist nicht eingehalten werden kann. «Dann werden die Asylbewerber einem Kanton zugewiesen. Dieser entscheidet, wo sie untergebracht werden, bis ein Entscheid gefällt wurde», sagt Bach.

Insbesondere wenn Flüchtlinge über sichere Drittstaaten wie Südafrika einreisen, stehen die Chancen, in der Schweiz bleiben zu dürfen schlecht. Denn theoretisch hätte im Drittstaat ein Asylgesuch gestellt werden können. Doch in Südafrika werden nur vier Prozent aller Asylgesuche bewilligt.

Zukunft kurdischer Flüchtlinge bleibt ungewiss

In der Transit-Zone am Flughafen Zürich herrscht im Fall des Journalisten und bei zwei der vier kurdischen Familien Ernüchterung: Das SEM ist auf ihre Asylgesuche nicht eingetreten. Mamay bleibt jetzt nur noch der juristische Weg einer Beschwerde ans Bundesverwaltungsgericht.

Für die beiden Familien ist ein Wiedererwägungsgesuch die letzte Option – doch damit ist eine Ausschaffung nicht abgewendet. Denn das Gesuch hat keine aufschiebende Wirkung. Die Zukunft der kurdischen Flüchtlinge im Transit des Flughafens Zürich bleibt ungewiss.

Die Stadt Grovetown im US-Bundesstaat Georgia sorgt mit einer ungewöhnlichen Aktion für Aufruhr: Alle in der Region wohnhaften Sexualstraftäter müssen sich versammeln.

Der Bürgermeister von Grovetown, Gary E. Jones, kündigte es auf Facebook an: «Um die Sicherheit unserer Kinder zu gewährleisten, werden alle registrierten Sexualstraftäter (auf Bewährung) in der Stadt an Halloween für drei Stunden im Rathaus untergebracht.» 

Der Bürgermeister sagte, das betreffe zwischen 25 und 30 Personen. Diese würden während dieser drei Stunden von einem Polizisten und Personen aus der Sozialbehörde beaufsichtigt. 

Aktion spaltet die Bürger

Die Stadt im ultrakonservativen Staat Georgia verfüge über die gesetzlichen Grundlagen, schreibt «USA Today». Registrierte Sexualstraftäter auf Bewährung können zu speziellen Zeiten an Halloween an vorgegebene Orte aufgeboten werden. 

Nicht, dass an Halloween bereits etwas passiert wäre. Laut Bürgermeister Gary E. Jones handelt es sich um eine «vorbeugende Massnahme». Auf Facebook spaltet die Aktion die Bürger. Eine Frau schreibt: «Diese Täter haben ihre Schuld an die Gesellschaft bereits beglichen, sie in ein Gebäude wie Kriminelle zu bringen, ist falsch.» 

Laut einer Statistik, die «USA Today» zitiert, ist nicht bewiesen, dass Kinder an Halloween öfter Opfer eines sexuellen Verbrechens werden. Hingegen ist die Wahrscheinlichkeit, von einem Auto überfahren zu werden, doppelt so hoch. (neo) 

Trois avions affrétés par l’UNICEF sont arrivés à Tripoli, en Libye, contenant 4,7 millions de doses de vaccins contre la rougeole, la rubéole et la polio, ainsi que 2,75 millions de doses de supplément de vitamine A et des seringues.

Die ZSC Lions liegen nur auf Platz 8, verärgern ihre Fans. Und es sind die grossen Stars, die bisher viel zu wenig bieten.

Es ist ein Luxus-Kader, das die ZSC Lions für diese Saison präsentierten. Das Meister-Team wurde noch veredelt. Noch während der letzten, äusserst durchwachsenen Qualifikation, als der Handlungsbedarf noch sehr gross erschien, wurden die Transfers der Nati-Stürmer Denis Hollenstein (von Kloten) und Simon Bodenmann sowie Offensiv-Verteidiger Maxim Noreau (beide aus Bern) und unter Dach und Fach gebracht. Im Sommer holte Sportchef Sven Leuenberger mit Roman Cervenka (von Fribourg) noch einen Offensiv-Tenor.

Ein grandioses Star-Ensemble war angekündigt, zu sehen sind aber jämmerliche Auftritte. Weniger Tore als der Meister (24) haben nur Aufsteiger SCRJ Lakers (14) und der kriselnde HC Davos (20) erzielt.

Nur die Chorknaben treffen bisher den Ton

Dabei haben die Chorknaben bei den Zürchern gar die Erwartungen übertroffen: Frechdachs Jérôme Bachofner ist mit 5 Toren und 8 Punkten Topskorer, Raphael Prassl erzielte seine ersten beiden NL-Tore und Mattia Hinterkircher hat auch schon einen Treffer auf dem Konto.

Gleiches lässt sich von Cervenka nicht sagen. Der Center wartet in der Liga immer noch auf sein erstes Tor im ZSC-Dress. Nachdem er anfänglich wegen Rückenproblemen fehlte, wirkt er wie ein Fremdkörper. Schlampige Fehlpässe und Strafen als Folge von Nachlässigkeit sind dabei noch fataler das Ausbleiben von Toren. Nur im Powerplay, in dem er 4 seiner 5 Assists verbuchte, war der 32-Jährige halbwegs erfolgreich.

Dem ZSC-Angriff fehlen die Ideen

Doch der Tscheche ist längst nicht der einzige der Star-Tenöre, der keinen Ton trifft. Fredrik Pettersson, mit 26 Treffern der NL-Top-Torschütze der letzten Saison, sucht verzweifelt seinen Rhythmus. Der Schwede hat bisher einmal (ins leere Tor) getroffen. Und der Scharfschütze kommt auch kaum mehr zum Abschluss. Letzte Saison brachte er in der Quali 4,67 Schüsse pro Spiel aufs Tor, in dieser bisher nur 1,8, was auch mit der Verpflichtung des schussgewaltigen Verteidigers Noreau (4 Tore) zusammenhängen könnte.

Und die Schweizer Stars? Hollenstein und Bodenmann haben je zwei Tore auf dem Konto. Roman Wick und Pius Suter, die nun auch noch verletzt ausfallen, konnten bisher gar erst je ein Goal bejubeln.

Der Mangel an Toren kann nicht erstaunen, wenn man sieht, wie uninspiriert und ideenlos die Zürcher spielten. Unter dem neuen Trainer Serge Aubin sind die Jubelarien des Frühlings weit, weit weg.

Die Tabelle   Spiele Torverhältnis Punkte 1. Biel 13 49:26 30 2. Zug 12 35:26 24 3. Bern 11 32:16 23 4. Tigers 12 33:24 21 5. Ambri 12 32:32 20 6. Genf 13 28:31 20 7. Fribourg 13 29:31 20 8. ZSC Lions 11 24:25 18 9. Lausanne 13 29:35 13 10. Lugano 11 28:29 12 11. Davos 11 20:41 9 12. Lakers 12 14:37 6

 

Euronews-Interview mit Außenminister Péter Szijjártó

Mitgliedsstaaten sollen Beispiel Deutschlands folgen

Rahti Begum a fisherwoman sells fish on a roadside in Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir state in India. She says she will be the last woman in her clan to do to sell fish. Credit: Umar Manzoor Shah/IPS

By Umar Manzoor Shah
SRINAGAR, India, Oct 25 2018 (IPS)

Much has changed since Rahti Begum, a fisherwoman in Kashmir, now in her late 60s, first began wandering the streets with a bucketful of fish on her head. She was 17 when her father roped her into the business that became the source of her livelihood for the remainder of her life.

Living in a houseboat on Dal Lake, one of Kashmir’s famed water bodies, Rahti says catching fish and selling it to people has been the sole source of income of her family for centuries.

“Even when I was a child, I knew I was going to sell fish. Every one in our family does that. The lake on which we live was been fulfilling all our needs,” she says. 

Her family belong to a tribe in Kashmir called ‘Hanjis’ who live in houseboats and eke out a living from the lakes and rivers the region had in abundance. A majority of the members of the tribe are involved in tourism as they take tourists in the lavishly decorated boats called ‘Shikaras’ to explore the beauties of the rivers and lakes.

Others amongst the tribe catch fish and sell it directly to the public. Rahti belongs to the latter group. The men during the early hours of the morning cast nets into the lake, catch fish and pass on the stock to their women who sell it by roaming around in different areas.

“When my father asked me join him, I was reluctant to say yes but there wasn’t anything else through which we could have earned a living. Gradually, selling fish became an integral part of my life and hence the family legacy continued,” she tells IPS. 

However Rahti, now afflicted with ailments that come with old age, is confident that she is going to be the last woman in her tribe to sell fish.

“My death will end the legacy for ever. No one wants to do this business again as the lake has all of a sudden turned monstrous for us; it is becoming a cesspool and fishes underneath its belly are vanishing with each passing day,” Rahti explains. 

Fish production and agricultural activities in this Himalayan region contribute 23 percent of GDP and are the mainstay of the economy.

According to a study conducted by researchers Neha W Qureshi and M Krishnan, the total fish production in Dal Lake registered a negative compound growth rate (CGR) of -0.34 percent for the period 1980-1990. But for the period 2000-2010, fish production in Dal Lake showed a negative compound growth rate of -2.89 percent. Wullar Lake showed a negative compound growth rate of -8.78 percent from 2000-2011

The study blames the decline in numbers on the negative externalities of tourism, excessive fertilisation of vegetable crops on floating gardens that lead to algal blooms, and the spike in pollution due to the dumping of waste in both lakes.

These have all led to a consistent decline and destruction of the breeding grounds of the local fish species schizothorax.

Furthermore, the consumption of fish has outnumbered actual fish production in the region.

While the annual consumption is 25,000 tons of fish, production stands at 20,000 tons per year in both lakes combined. Of this, Dal Lake produces no more than 5,000 tons a year. 

Rahti, who now struggles to earn enough for one full meal a day, says she vividly remembers the times when during her childhood, fish under the diamond-like transparency of the lake used to swim in shoals and flocks of ducks with emerald necks used to swim on the surface.

“Those were the days when we used to earn a decent livelihood and the lake produced no less than 15 thousand tons of fish every year. It is now a thing of a past,” she rues. 

Rahti, who has two daughters and a son, says the reason that her children wouldn’t go into the business of selling fish is the dreadful decline in fish production in the lake. Her daughters are homemakers and her son has a job at a local grocery store. Her earnings, Rahti says, have declined from 500 dollars a month to a mere 100 dollars a month at present.

“There isn’t enough produce that I could sell and with merge income in hand, why would I push my children to the precipice of a disastrous living?” Rahti tells IPS. 

Another fisherwoman, Jana Begum, has similar fears. In her 50s now, Jana says her only concern is how the family would survive if the situation were to remain the same.

“Our sole income is selling fish. My husband, a fisherman catches fish and I sell it. We have been doing this for 30 years but it looks like the difficult times have begun to dominate poor people like us,” Jana tells IPS. 

She says almost every day, her husband returns home with empty nets and a glum face as there aren’t any fish left to be caught in Wullar Lake — another famous water body located in the north of Kashmir.

“Why would my daughters do this business? What is left for them to earn. With us, the profession shall end and we are already long dead,” says Jana. 

According to a study by Imtiaz Ahmed, Zubair Ahmad and Ishtiyaq Ahmad, Department of Zoology, University of Kashmir, the main reasons for the depletion of fishery resources in these water bodies are over-fishing and encroachment.

It suggested that the entry of domestic sewage, solid wastes and agricultural wastes into these water bodies needs to be controlled and properly managed.

“Also aquatic weeds present in these aquatic ecosystems must be  cultivated and  should be  properly utilised because  of its  high  nutritional  values  and  economic  values. A separate  authority  needs  to  be  established  to  monitor the physico-chemical and biological characteristics of Dal Lake.” 

The director of the Department of Fisheries, Ram Nath Pandita, gives similar reasons for the decline in fish production in Kashmir’s lakes and rivers, attributing it to increasing pollution and encroachment.

He says because of the dumping of waste in water bodies, fish larvae do not grow into fry, resulting in the decline.

Pandita tells IPS that in order to address the decline in fish production, the government is supplying larvae to the water bodies and is continuously monitoring the process.

“The government is keeping closer watch on the entire process of increasing the fish production in Kashmir’s lakes and besides increasing the supply of larvae, it is also ensuring that no illegal fishing is allowed,” Pandita says.

He added that due to the massive floods that occurred in Kashmir in 2014, a large quantity of silt and sewage accumulated in the lakes, affecting fish production directly.

Pandita said awareness campaigns are being carried out about the importance of keeping the water bodies clean and not dumping household solid and liquid wastes in them.

“There are even seminars and road shows being conducted by the government in which people from cross sections of the society are educated that the fish can turn poisonous and will extinguish if water bodies aren’t protected through the unanimous efforts of the people and the government,” Pandita tells IPS. 

The government in February banned any illegal fishing in Kashmir’s water bodies and claims that the law will help curb the decline in fish production and help secure the livelihood of people involved in the sector.

Under the new law, only those permitted by the government can fish in the water bodies and any one found violating the norm shall be liable to three months of imprisonment and a fine of 500 Indian Rupees (about 90 dollars.)

The Department of Lakes and Water Ways development authority – a government department tasked with the protection of lakes in Kashmir – reports that various plans are underway to save Dal Lake and various species that live in it.

The department is uprooting water lilies with traditional methods and is de-weeding the lake with the latest machinery so that the surface of the lake is freed from weeds and fish production will rebound.

However, according to a study by Humaira Qadri and A. R. Yousuf from the Department of Environmental Science, University of Kashmir, despite the government spending about USD170 million on the conservation of the lake so far, there is no visible improvement in its condition.

“A lack of proper management and restoration plan and the incidence of engineered but ecologically unsound management practices have led to a failure in the conservation efforts,” says the study.

It concluded that the lake is moving towards its definite end and that conservation efforts have proved to be a total failure. It adds that official apathy and failure to take the problems seriously on the part of the managing authorities have deteriorated the overall condition of the lake.

The study says a united effort is needed by the government as well as the people so that instead of turning the water bodies into waste dumping sites, they are saved for the greater common good of Kashmir.

But Pandita is optimistic that the lakes can be restored to their past glory. Though, he admitted, that due to the high level of pollution in the lakes, it is feared that they may turn into cesspools. However, he said the government was working to combat this through various methods, which included awareness campaigns and lake clean-up drives.

But among the uneducated communities living around the lakes, many do not understand the measures taken by the government. When IPS spoke to local community members, all they talked about were the lack of fish. They were unaware about whether the government’s efforts will bring about any change in the lake.

As IPS asked fisher-person Jum Dar whether the government’s measures were bringing any positive change, Dar said he has seen many government agencies taking water samples for research from the lake and but there hadn’t been any visible change. His livelihood, he says, continues to remain in danger.

As IPS spent an entire day with Dar, and he only caught two fish which weighed no more than half a kilogram.

“See yourself the hard times we encounter everyday. How could we survive when such a catastrophe has engulfed our lives?”

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The post Kashmir’s Fisherwomen Live Between Hope and Despair appeared first on Inter Press Service.

DRAFT RECOMMENDATION on the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Strategic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Japan, of the other part
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Alojz Peterle

Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi expressed his confidence on Thursday (25 October) about the likelihood of an agreement between the European Commission and the Italian government over Rome's spending plan for next year.

Verhandlungsführer Raab zeichnet im Unterhaus düsteres Bild zur Lage

Le360 Afrique - Aller vite, c’est ce que veulent justement faire le géant BP attributaire des champs Tortue, à cheval entre le Sénégal et la...

401108 Communication and Media Relations Section

A dedicated team of first responders in Catania, Italy, shared their practices in tackling trafficking of migrants through a multi-agency approach that combines effective investigative measures with victims’ protection, at an OSCE workshop held in this Sicilian port town on 11 October.     

The event was the final in a series of OSCE workshops leading to the development of guidelines for better co-ordinated and victim-centred identification of human trafficking cases among mixed migration flows.

Co-organized by the Office of the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and the 2018 Italian OSCE Chairmanship, the workshop took place with the active support and participation of Prosecutor Lina Trovato, who co-ordinates the day-to-day operations of the local team of anti-trafficking practitioners, as well as by Heracles Moskoff, National Anti-trafficking Co-ordinator of Greece.

“The consultations we have had so far with a wide range of practitioners from across the OSCE region reaffirm the need for a coherent, multi-disciplinary response to human trafficking of migrants, starting with the reception and identification phase,” said OSCE Acting Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Valiant Richey. “Our job is to elevate role model practices such as the one in Catania, and make them accessible to all our participating States and Partners for Co-operation so that multiagency approaches become uniform and widely adopted”.

Participants included representatives from law enforcement, migration agencies, public social services and civil society organizations providing assistance to victims. Particular emphasis was placed on the safeguards required to effectively counter cases of child trafficking in mixed migration flows, including legal guardianship for the protection of unaccompanied minors.

Sharing his country’s most promising practices in adopting a more comprehensive anti-trafficking strategy, Heracles Moskoff noted how critical it is for presumed victims to have access to health and welfare services regardless of their willingness to co-operate in criminal proceedings.   

The OSCE will publish its guidelines for victim-centred identification of human trafficking cases, which aim to prevent potential victims of trafficking from being exploited by trafficking syndicates, later this year. 

On Monday, July 22, 1946, the Irgun set off an explosion that destroyed part of the King David Hotel used by the British military, killing 91 people and injuring 46.

King David Hotel after the explosion. Public Domain


An article in The New York Times in 1981 reported on a reunion of some of those involved in the attack. It gives background on what led to the attack, noting that the Haganah, the Irgun and Lehi all endorsed the plan:

They were provoked by a British Army action against Jewish leaders and settlements on June 29, 1946. On that ''Black Saturday'' about 25,000 troops smashed into homes and kibbutzim, arresting 2,500 Jews and confiscating weapons.

''One search party marched into the dining hall at Givat Brenner shouting 'Heil Hitler!' Mr. Clarke wrote. ''Another party scrawled red swastikas on the walls of the settlement's classrooms. While searching the Bank Hapoalim in Tel Aviv, a British officer shouted at one of the clerks, 'What you need is the gas chamber!'''This 4-minute excerpt from the documentary "Pillar of Fire" gives more background, both on what led to the bombing of The King David Hotel and the conflicting stories on whether there was any warning given:



The attack and its severity have come to be accepted as proof that Menachem Begin and his followers were terrorists, no better than Palestinian terrorists. In 2006, historian Tom Segev went so far as to write:
The terror attack on the King David Hotel in Jerusalem was in its day the equivalent of the Twin Towers.In his rebuttal of Segev, Yisrael Medad - an unofficial spokesperson for the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria - notices a couple of significant differences:

• No civilian casualties were intended. 
• No suicide mission was planned.

Specifically:
There was a telephoned warning. It was received. Flash grenades and a petard were set off. Phone calls from within the hotel from a signals officer who witnessed the shooting of a British Major were made to three separate security stations. The British troops on the roof opened fire for a few minutes on the escaping Irgun soldiers. Nothing set off alarm bells but we do have testimonies that the Brits all thought it was a bluff. [emphasis added]One of those testimonies comes from Adina Hay-Nissan, who at the time was a teenage girl with the job of calling in the warning. At the reunion, she recalled that she called up the British command that was stationed in the hotel and warned them, ''This is the Hebrew resistance uprising. We planted bombs in the hotel. Please vacate it immediately. See, we warned you.''

There is corroboration of this, delivered before the British Parliament on May 22, 1979, by Lord Greville Janner. At the time, Prime Minister Begin was visiting England and comments were being made about his responsibility for the King David Hotel attack. Lord Greville addressed Parliament about the issue:
As your Lordships know, I am against terrorism of any kind and for any purpose. But I think we must be fair. I was informed that on a radio interview Mr. Begin a few days ago explained the line that his friends took when he said that under no circumstances did they plan attacks on women, children or civilians.

I think the House is entitled to know some facts that I came across in the course of some professional inquiries I have been making in respect of what happened at the time of the King David Hotel incident. I came across them not very long ago; I am saying this with the consent both of the people who have been in touch with me and also of the doctor concerned. I want to wipe away the suggestion that no warning was given. I propose to read a letter from a Dr. Crawford in Bournemouth. I quote:
"It was very kind of you to phone me today and I sat down at once to write to you". I met Dr. Crawford at another venture of Israel which is well known to many people—the Magem [sic] David, which is the Shield of David Ambulance and Health Services. I happened to meet him at a conference held in Bournemouth. Casually he told me that he knew something about this.

He says in his letter:
Further to our recent conversation in Bournemouth, I am writing to confirm that the officer"— he spoke about an officer whose name, I am sure, is known to those who were in Palestine— who wrote to me in 1946 concerning the King David Hotel 'incident' was Major-General Dudley Sheridan Skelton, CB, DSO, FRCS, formerly DGMS in India, Hon Physician to HM The King and to HE the Viceroy of India. He retired from the forces about 1937"— I think that it is of great importance that this attack should be properly and effectively met— when he was given the rank of Brigadier and was ADMS in the SE Command. It was in this area that I met him in the course of my duties as Assistant Medical Director of the Emergency Medical Services Hospital at Preston Hall Sanatorium, Maidstone, and I worked with him until my transfer to Bournemouth as Medical Superintendent of Douglas House Sanatorium in 1943, but we remained in contact with each other for some years. In 1946, he was head of a hospital in Palestine near Jerusalem and was a frequent visitor to the King David Hotel; apparently he was there on the very day of the explosion and he wrote me that 'a warning' was passed on to the officers in the bar in rather jocular terms, implying it was 'Jewish terrorist bluff'. But despite advice to 'ignore the bluff' he decided to leave and thus was out of the hotel when the explosion took place. I kept his letter for many years, but unfortunately, after the death of my wife in 1970 and my own severe illness in 1971, I sold my house and went into a flat and because of limited space I unwisely threw away a lot of my accumulated papers and correspondence, so the letter is no longer available; and Brigadier Skelton has long since died. I hope these facts will be of some help to you. Many of my friends knew this story at the time but few have survived; my sister-in-law will remember it clearly as she was friendly with the Brigadier and lived with us at the time. If you think it worth-while, I could contact her" [emphasis added]— I did ask him to contact her and she wrote a letter confirming what Dr. Crawford said.

As your Lordships are well aware, I do not approve of terrorists of any kind. The Prime Minister of Israel explained a few days ago what happened and I hope that the letter I have read out now will, in all fairness, answer the accusation that has been made about this incident. I am very grateful for the attention the House has given me...Lord Janner of Braunstone. Source: GibnewsIn his book "Palestine Investigated: The Criminal Investigation Department of the Palestine Police Force, 1920-1948," Eldad Harouvi writes that Chief Secretary John Shaw, who claims in the video above that there was no warning, was blamed by some for the casualties:
In his book, Harouvi reveals some interesting facts: First, the CID had intelligence showing the Hotel as a possible target for attack by the Irgun in December 1945 – 6 months prior to the attack. The CID asked to raise security in the hotel, including putting armed soldiers at the 'Regence' restaurant at the entrance of the hotel. The Chief Secretary refused to consider these suggestions, with the justification that there were not many places for recreation and fun in Palestine, and he did not want to foreclose another. He continued to refuse to take action (or even to pass on the information to the High Commissioner of Palestine) when the CID approached him again with newer information on the attack plan (the CID had the plan of attack, but did not know exactly when it would be carried out). Second, another fact that is not common knowledge is that the Irgun carried out a diversion bombing minutes after the bombs were planted in the King David Hotel, in which a wagon with explosives was blown outside shops next to the hotel. The CID's assessment was that this second bombing (which broke windows, but did not hurt anyone) was intended to cause panic and encourage evacuation of the building. One of the CID officers Harouvi interviewed for his book flatly blames Shaw for the death of so many, since he could have evacuated the building on time (pages 293-297).


This photo, described by Wikimedia Commons as "the explosion of a second bomb at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem," could be a photo of the first bomb that served as the diversion.

There were claims that Shaw not only knew about the warning but deliberately refused to act on it. Nothing was ever proved. In 1948 both a newspaper and a book repeated the accusation -- and in both cases were forced to retract and apologized because of lack of proof. Begin repeated the accusation in his book "The Revolt," but Shaw did not sue him on the advice of lawyers that since Begin did not refer to him by name but instead to a "high official" there was not enough basis for a claim of personal defamation.

Here is a letter to The Jerusalem Post, indicating that warning was given, while also supporting Shaw's claim that there was never any warning. [Hat tip: Yisrael Medad]



Yet years later, neither the letter that Lord Janner read, back in 1979, nor the other facts about the advance warning and possible negligence by the British themselves have made a dent in the efforts of those who want to tar Menachem Begin as a terrorist on a par with the Palestinian terrorists who target unarmed men, women and children.

Note that The New York Times at the time also reported the warning [Hat tip: Charlie in NY; DG].

...
What appears to have once been established fact has long gone down the memory hole.

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The critical role of the security sector in countering trafficking in human beings and strengthening the rule of law was the focus of the first of four two-day workshops organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the Montenegrin National Coordinator’s Office in Berane on 23 and 24 October.

Additional workshops are planned in Bijelo Polje on 25 and 26 October, Budva on 30 and 31 October and Podgorica on 1 and 2 November.

Some 50 practitioners, representatives of the State Prosecutor’s Office, the Police Directorate, and the judiciary will participate in the four workshops. They will strengthen their capacities to ensure that the rights of human trafficking victims are respected by exploring mechanisms to identify victims and investigate and process cases, including by examining relevant case studies.

These workshops are a part of the Mission’s ongoing efforts to support the government in the area of protecting, identifying, and/or assisting potential victims of trafficking in human beings. It is currently supporting the development of the Strategy for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings 2019-2024 and the Action Plan for 2019.

read more

The critical role of the security sector in countering trafficking in human beings and strengthening the rule of law was the focus of the first of four two-day workshops organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the Montenegrin National Coordinator’s Office in Berane on 23 and 24 October.

Additional workshops are planned in Bijelo Polje on 25 and 26 October, Budva on 30 and 31 October and Podgorica on 1 and 2 November.

Some 50 practitioners, representatives of the State Prosecutor’s Office, the Police Directorate, and the judiciary will participate in the four workshops. They will strengthen their capacities to ensure that the rights of human trafficking victims are respected by exploring mechanisms to identify victims and investigate and process cases, including by examining relevant case studies.

These workshops are a part of the Mission’s ongoing efforts to support the government in the area of protecting, identifying, and/or assisting potential victims of trafficking in human beings. It is currently supporting the development of the Strategy for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings 2019-2024 and the Action Plan for 2019.

read more

The critical role of the security sector in countering trafficking in human beings and strengthening the rule of law was the focus of the first of four two-day workshops organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the Montenegrin National Coordinator’s Office in Berane on 23 and 24 October.

Additional workshops are planned in Bijelo Polje on 25 and 26 October, Budva on 30 and 31 October and Podgorica on 1 and 2 November.

Some 50 practitioners, representatives of the State Prosecutor’s Office, the Police Directorate, and the judiciary will participate in the four workshops. They will strengthen their capacities to ensure that the rights of human trafficking victims are respected by exploring mechanisms to identify victims and investigate and process cases, including by examining relevant case studies.

These workshops are a part of the Mission’s ongoing efforts to support the government in the area of protecting, identifying, and/or assisting potential victims of trafficking in human beings. It is currently supporting the development of the Strategy for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings 2019-2024 and the Action Plan for 2019.

read more

The critical role of the security sector in countering trafficking in human beings and strengthening the rule of law was the focus of the first of four two-day workshops organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the Montenegrin National Coordinator’s Office in Berane on 23 and 24 October.

Additional workshops are planned in Bijelo Polje on 25 and 26 October, Budva on 30 and 31 October and Podgorica on 1 and 2 November.

Some 50 practitioners, representatives of the State Prosecutor’s Office, the Police Directorate, and the judiciary will participate in the four workshops. They will strengthen their capacities to ensure that the rights of human trafficking victims are respected by exploring mechanisms to identify victims and investigate and process cases, including by examining relevant case studies.

These workshops are a part of the Mission’s ongoing efforts to support the government in the area of protecting, identifying, and/or assisting potential victims of trafficking in human beings. It is currently supporting the development of the Strategy for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings 2019-2024 and the Action Plan for 2019.

read more

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