129/2018 • 09 JUNE, 2018 WEEKEND ISSUE
DAILY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Austria to expel clerics in crackdown on political Islam Several mosques are also in line to be closed
Austriaʼs government on Friday said it would potentially expel dozens of imams and close several mosques in a move to tackle political Islam and stem the foreign financing of mosques. Chancellor Sebastian Kurzsaid the government was shutting down a hardline Turkish nationalist mosque in the capital, Vienna, and dissolving a group called the Arab Religious Community, which runs an additional six mosques. The chancellor said the initiative followed an investigation into images that emerged in April of young boys wearing Turkish uniforms marching, saluting, playing dead and waving Turkish flags. The pictures were found to have come from the Cologne-based Turkish-Islamic Cultural Associations (ATIB) organization, a branch of Turkeyʼs Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet). "There is no space in our country for parallel societies, political Islam and radical tendencies," said Kurz, whose conservative Austrian Peopleʼs Party (VPÖ) rules in coalition with the right-wing nationalist Freedom Party of Austria (ÖFP). Interior Minister Herbert Kickl said the residence permits of dozens of clerics were being investigated to see if they transgressed laws introduced in 2015 that prevent
religious communities from receiving funding from abroad. Two had already had their permits revoked, while five more were denied firsttime permits. Of those imams being investigated, 40 were employed by ATIB, but Kickl said the probe went far further. "The circle of people possibly affected by these measures — the pool that weʼre talking about — comprises around 60 imams," he said. The interior minister added that a total of 150 people risked losing their right to stay in Austria. Kurz became chancellor in December last year. His party, like the ÖFP, had campaigned on a ticket of tougher immigration controls, stricter asylum policy,and a crackdown on political Islam. Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin blasted Austriaʼs decision as an "anti-Islam" and "racist" move. "Austriaʼs decision to close down seven mosques and deport imams with a lame excuse is a reflection of the anti-Islam, racist and discriminatory populist wave in this country," Kalin said. The Austrian government recently announced plans to banpupils in elementary schools and kindergartens from wearing headscarves, further adding to existing restrictions on religious headwear.
Vietnam expels dissident lawyer to Germany
HIV self-testing kits to go on sale in Germany
Nguyen Van Dai, a longtime advocate for democracy, has been released from prison. He has flown to Germany, where he was awarded a human rights prize last year. Prominent Vietnamese human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai was freed from jail and flown to Germany on Friday, just two months after he was given a15-year prison sentencefor plotting to overthrow the government. Dai was released alongside fellow dissident Le Thu Ha, who traveled to Frankfurt early on Friday.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn has said he wants people to be able to buy a test they can use at home to check for the immune-deficiency virus HIV. The proposal has been welcomed by a major German AIDS charity. Germanyʼs Health Ministry said it intends to make HIV self-testing kits available for purchase so people can more quickly, easily and privately ascertain whether they are infected with the immune-deficiency virus and seek treatment if necessary.
Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain dead at 61
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has said his country will force several foreign-funded imams to leave the country in a crackdown on political Islam.
US war photographer David Douglas Duncan dies, aged 102 The renowned photographer David Douglas, whose pictures of the plight of soldiers in Korea and Vietnam helped change the role of war photography, has died at the age of 102. Douglas also famously caught Picasso on film. The veteran photographer died in a French hospital on Thursday, suffering from complications after a lung infection. Duncan had lived in the French Riviera since the 1960s, with a home outside Cannes.
Anthony Bourdain, a celebrity chef, food critic and the host of a CNN food and travel program, has died at the age of 61. The cause of death was suicide, according to the US broadcaster. US celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain was found dead in a hotel room in Strasbourg on Friday, network CNN has announced. Bourdain, 61, was in France working on an upcoming episode of his CNN food and travel show, Parts Unknown, which he had hosted since 2013.