John comments

French President Emmanuel Macron criticized Friday what he called “Islamic separatism” in his country and those who seek French citizenship without accepting France’s “right to commit blasphemy.”

Lullababy Politics...If Islam sounds ugly to some, this shouldn't have given people a right to make a mockery of it. When you make fun of your friends' looks, 99% of the time they get offended by your comments and their reactions may vary from being sad to furious. In this regard, blasphemy is a crime and punishable by law in many countries including European ones:

In Germany, religious defamation is covered by Article 166 of the Strafgesetzbuch, the German criminal law. If a deed is capable of disturbing the public peace, defamation is actionable.

Articles 198, 199, and 201 of the Greek Penal Code create offences which involve blasphemy.

In Italy, under article 724 of the Penal Code, blasphemy in public is considered an "administrative offense" and punished with a fine ranging from €51 to €309. 

In Poland whoever offends religious feelings of other people by publicly insulting an object of religious cult or a place for public holding of religious ceremonies, is subject to a fine, restriction of liberty or loss of liberty for up to 2 years.

In Switzerland, Article 261 of the penal code titled "Attack on the freedom of faith and the freedom to worship" (Störung der Glaubens- und Kultusfreiheit) criminalizes public and malicious insult or mockery of religious convictions of others...

In England the blasphemy law is needed to uphold the national law, which is based on Christianity. Thus, targeting Christianity is targeting the very foundation of England.

So in the light of the above can France explain why they don't impose their rules/laws on other European nationals when they seek to become French citizens?

Also, I would like to know, if it is all about freedom of speech, why the Fourth Generation Turkish/French citizens are being prosecuted in France when they say they don't agree with the French politicians/historians who claim Turkey committed genocide back in 1915. Turkey indeed hadn't even existed as a country at the time and considering that the Spanish Flu (AKA Kansas Flu) killed millions at the time I don't understand why their views are silenced and they are fined or arrested...

What muslims are going through in France is no different than what black people are going through in the US. That said, any terror attack committed by war lords and missioners outside the muslim countries are immediately and misleadingly labelled as Islamic terror by western govs and often by terrorists /war lords themselves. However, such labelling of terror attacks not only creates the conditions for Islamphobia across the world, it also allows certain govs to use such terror attacks as a pretext for their military occupations and exploitations of oil and gold rich countries especially in the Middle East. And in this regard France has a lot of interest in both Iraqi oils and Eastern Mediterranean gas reserves...

I don't know why we had to host the olympics. It is too expensive and stressful. This event will put the Japanese athletes and organisers under greater pressure and distress as it is our job to keep the venues safe and clean, and win as many medal as we can as a host contry. We should have postponed the event indefinetely or let the other candidate cities such as Istanbul have it at their own risk.

It sounds like a joke...This grandpa cannot even kill a fly- or can he???

With the development of new generation quantum computers, the nano technology that we have heard of today will gain momentum and entirely revolutionise the future after 2040. By 2050 there will be no need for medicines and vaccines. T-robots and our own T-cells will kill any foreign agent that tries to invade a human body. After 2070 most deaths will be caused by human errors, old age, wars, conflicts, natural disasters, climate change, food and water shortages.

"The woman Zoe Buhler, told local media Thursday that she had posted the protest plans without knowing it was illegal in the locked-down state of Victoria, which is battling a major outbreak of Covid-19."

If she believed in what she posted continually on the social media, how come she did NOT set an example for people in her country by LEAVING her home and mingling up with her friends??? I would have had sympathy for her if somehow she had stupidly and genuinely believed that lock-down was not necessary and the virus was a hoax. However, it appears that she was staying home herself and was able to make arrangements in relation to her hospital appointment/s- so she was aware that despite the lockdown people were allowed to go out when it was necessary and in this sense she was aware that lockdown did not entirely imprisoned people to their homes. Under such circumstances it is then a HYPOCRISY and indeed a CRIME to tell people the virus was a hoax and they should defy the preventative measures.

(This lady in all likelihood was making considerable amount of money on social media platforms by misinforming people and inciting insurrection.)

While Trump encourages the white supremacists to vote twice, many black Americans are NOT allowed to vote even once...Just search "Black Americans still face obstacles to voting at every step of the process". How evil and unfair. Speaking of which, this is the country who has invaded many other countries with the aim of bringing a US-style democracy. No wonder why there is still no peace in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan....

Turkey supplies 98% of borate that the EU needs but 99% of all the large-size mining companies in the country are either owned by an EU or a Canadian-American company. Turks make hardly any money from borate minarels although boron compounds are not found in abundance elsewhere in the world, and it is widely used in almost every electronic, medical and chemical goods. I think it is time the Turks kicked the back stabbing, blood sucking western companies out of the country and decide on a fair price for their raw materials- the same applies to China, Chile, SA...

Good luck to the EU if they are sincere with their plans- but something tells me they will never abondon their colonial ways...

"The United States plans to leave the Geneva-based WHO on July 6, 2021, after President Donald Trump accused it of becoming a puppet for China during the coronavirus pandemic."

Trump is lying but I am so glad that the US is leaing the WHO...That measly $80m they owe, Trump can shove that up where the sun doesn't shine. The WHO can raise that sort of in a couple of days thanks to its supporters....Speaking of leaving, both Obama and Trump govs promised to withdraw their armies from Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. I guess they lied everytime and the oils of Iraq and the golds of Afghanistan are too much of a lucrative business for the US businessmen and gov to leave. For reasons as such the US has lifted the arms sanctions and are now too busy selling weapons to Southern Cyprus- a small island which is known for its beauty and trainquality.

The anniversary of whatever harbour event is another silly attempt to justify Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As long as I live, I will NOT forget what the US did to the innocent people of Japan i.e. "genocide"! Japan attacked Pearl Harbour for a reason. At the time the US was sending military aid to its allies (and Japan's enemies) from such harbours and encouraging other countries to join the war against the Axis. Japan didn't specifically target and kill innocent civillians in the US. If the aim was causing deaths and hurting the US, there were way easier targets in the US.

I am simply sick of Israel, what a nasty nation!

This is not how you encourage people wear masks...She should have commented on how we can wear masks at work places and outside.

Vaccines will NOT be 100% effective against this virus. It has spread all around the world now and even if a country comes up with a vaccine 90% effective, that means millions of people (most likely the elderly and those with underlying conditions) will probably remain valnurable to the virus. The biggest challange here is that no medicine can alter already very valnurable immune systems and bring them up on a similar level with a teenager's healthy, dynamic immune system. When virus is specifically attacking at those with underlying conditions and/or certain age, a vaccine that doesn't address the needs of such specific groups will be waste of time unless the aim is letting the old forest burn and saving the remaining.

Even if a vaccine works 99% effectively and on everyone, another challange of course is how quickly such a vaccine can be distributed around the world. Trump has already said "America First" and sod the WHO. So whatever the vaccine the US produces (with its allies) will NOT benefit the rest of the world in any foreseeable future. If this happens, then countries like Brasil, India, China, Turkey, SA, Mexico etc should produce generic version of the vaccine in a co-ordinated and timely fashion.

Does anyone remember the USA testing the largest non-nuclear bomb on Afghan peaople? Does anyone know the USA's nuclear missiles are now a ticking bomb under the Greenland ice sheet? Does anyone know the USA keep their useless, dangerous, the old cold war nuclear weapons in countries like Turkey, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany...?

Another joker, pardon a world leader...

Good luck to Russia, I hope their vaccine works.

Trump has got to go. His ideology is no better than Hitler's.

I don't see China as a threat to world peace, culture and economy but I cannot say the same for the US, France, Germany, UK, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Greece..Come to think of it, as of yesterday the US lifted the military sanctions on Southern Cyprus (the Greek side) and now these countries are threatening Turkey and Northern Cyprus (after Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya)...And the Australian gov are moaning about China interfering with campus life of university students? Get a grip!

Australia should be more worried about false news and far right ideology that is spreading from the west. I am personally sick of reading / hearing about the tweets that xxxxx world leader posts almost everyday. What did the Australian gov do to stop the far right movement and spread of false news in the country? Hardly anything! Yes, go put the blame on the Chinese gov for everything. It has become a trend in the US and now its allies are following the suit.

“I threw sand at her because she didn’t want to have anything to do with me." Poor soul. He needs counselling, I am sure this wasn't the first time he was rejected...

"25 poisoned, 5 critically, at Norway illegal rave party" ...serves them well! Idiots!

Facebook and Instagram don't take any responsibility for their users' actions. Because of this they have become a haven for the far right groups, fake story makers and animal cruelty supporters across the world. Just the other day I watched a horrible video that was posted on Instagram 2 months ago. In this video two women killed two little kittens by sitting on them...And I still remember the Christ Church shootings during which the terrorist stayed live on Facebook for more than half an hour. Despite numerous complaints Facebook did not do anything about the broadcast. If I were a victim's relative, I would have sued Facebook. I am surprised NZ gov did nothing about this company at the time. I suppose governments had to allow such US tech giants to dictate their T&Cs over their own national laws amidts fears of US sanctions. In that regard, I note that the US has unfairly prevented Tik Tok and Huawei from operating freely across the world and continues to bully rivalling non-US Asian tech giants.

I deleted my facebook and instagram account last month. I am NOT happy with their T&Cs and I refuse to share my personal info with them. They are tracking my every movement on the internet no matter what...I have recently switched to duck duck browser to stop Google. Since I have deleted my social accounts, I am stress free and not bothered / bullied by anyone.

In what ways vending machines will be any different to water basins if people have to press a button? Why can't we have a vending machine without a button in the first place? Motion sensors are widely used on such machines and I don't see the point of fitting them with a button- it actually defies the idea of being safe.

Japan has to improve its relations with China, India, SK, Indonesia, Russia, Iran and Turkey. These are the key countries that will help boost the Japanese economy and world peace in the future. Perhaps it is time Japan apologised SK and China for what happened during WWII. There is grace in that. In terms of investments I don't see any better country than Indonesia and Turkey at the moment. And yes, ASEAN should grow stronger and unite countries across Asia. Otherwise we will be dependent on the US and EU. Japanese economy cannot survive another Trump. As it is the EU and US are far too difficult to sell anything due to their protective policies and God knows what these economies will do after the pandemic- surely they will further introduce measures that stimulate domestic production & consumption but restrict / minimise imports.

At the moment perhaps such technology has some uses for space, military and medical research or in risk zones but definetely not in a work place where work needs to be done quickly.

Those who have interest in the Eastern Mediterranean gas reserves need to unite against Turkey. So I am not surprised that after Egypt and Saudi Arabia, UAE joined the bullier's club. In that regard I note that Greece has started militarising the Aegean islands and many of these islands are only about 2 - 10km to Turkey. This attitude of Greece is not only hostile but is against the international law since Greece had accepted not to arm the Aegean islands by the treaties of Lousanne and Paris.

"Crime Minister" How dare you! Don't be anti-Semitic! :) If this article had been published in the UK, the editor would have been accused of being anti-Semitic. They destroyed the opposition party Labour with their non-sensical anti-Semitism propoganda against its MPs. I am glad to see this is now happening in Israel and their own politicans are being criticised by their own people. But I don't hold my breath because Netanyahoo will find a way for sure.

Dirty politics...Boris initially thought people in the UK would choose domestic holidays over the European ones (and thus they would revive the UK's economy.) After Spain the next countries will be Turkey and Italy.

@Vanessa Carlisle

It is truly a shame for Turkish Muslims to have to steal a cathedral designed by Greek Christians and call it a Turkish mosque.

It is estimated that there are over 10,000 artifacts and monuments from Turkish-Islamic architecture in Greece.

Built in 1468 in Thessaloniki, Hamza Bey Mosque was used as a place of worship for a while after Greece gained its independence. In the following years, the minaret of the mosque, made of cut stone, was destroyed, the pencil works on the dome and the writing plates were removed, and the interlocking wooden pulpit inside was destroyed.

The mosque, owned by the National Bank of Greece in 1927, was later sold privately, divided into a shop and a cinema and used for showing adult movies until the 1980s.

The Faik Pasha Mosque in the city of Narda (Arta) in the Ioannina region was turned into a church after the population exchange between Turkey and Greece in 1923. It is known that the mosque, which was later abandoned, was used as a bar-pavilion in the 1970s. The mosque, which seems to have been built as the center of a complex in the 15th century, is now in ruins.

On the other hand, mosques and historical buildings in many important cities, including the capital Athens, Ioannina, Giannitsa, Crete, Larisa and Kavala, continue to share the same fate.

Mosques have been and are being used as churches in many other countries such as Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Spain too.

@Zaphod

People who support Ataturk and his ideas don't like being called Kemalist since the term Kemalist is associated with British colonialism that the Turks had to fight during WWI and after. But they don't min the term pro-Ataturk / Ataturk-chu

Erdogan couldn't be happier that Greece and some other countries reacted to his decision. 20-30% of Erdogan's supporters are wahhabi scumbags who were demanding from him that he reverted Hagia Sophia into a mosque again. The timing of his decision is very clever because Turkey is suffering from an ongoing economic turmoil and the current pandemic is not helping the economy and Erdogan at all. Rumours have it the next general election will be held in the country sooner than expected so Erdogan needed to come up with a strategy that would help him win the elections- when I say win not really a win in the sense that if the elections were fair and transparent in Turkey Erdogan couldn't have won a single election...

Having read some of the comments I now believe that some people honestly enjoy this pandemic. Masks are effective way of stopping the spread of viruses as long as both the infected and uninfected wear them. Social distancing is also another way of stopping this virus but no power can stop the idiots out there. Yep, go on, mingle with your friends...I have to work to feed my family is not an excuse when you think a lot can be done to stop the spread of the virus in work places: UV lights, hand sanitisers, masks, visors etc can effectively stop this virus. Corona is not invincible but the idiots out there make it invincible.