Gist Coven

Iceland is poised to become the first European country to outlaw male circumcision amid signs that the ritual common to both Judaism and Islam may be a new battleground over religious freedom. A bill currently before the Icelandic parliament proposes a penalty of up to six years in prison for anyone carrying out a circumcision other than for medical reasons. Critics say the move, which has sparked alarm among religious leaders across Europe, would make life for Jews and Muslims in Iceland unsustainable. One in three men globally is thought to be circumcised, the vast majority for religious or cultural reasons. Many Jews and Muslims fear the issue of circumcision could become a proxy for antisemitism and Islamophobia, pointing to similar tensions over religious dress and the ritual slaughter of animals for meat. Muslim and Jewish leaders attacked the proposal, while Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the Catholic Church in the European Union, said the bill was a “da

                      Passengers who criticised him banned from using airline again A pilot was forced to make an emergency landing after a row caused by a passenger who refused to stop farting. The passenger apparently kept breaking wind on board a Transavia Airlines flight from Dubai to Amsterdam Schiphol last weekend. The two Dutchmen sitting next to him didn’t take very well to his flatulence, but the unashamed man was apparently not put off and refused to hold back. Members of the crew on the Dutch low-cost airline were apparently less than sympathetic and refused to do anything about it. Despite a warning from the pilot, a fight between the men then broke out, causing the flight to be diverted to Vienna Airport. Police boarded the plane with dogs and removed two sisters and the two men after the pilot made a report about ‘passengers on the rampage. The women are now taking the Dutch budget airline to court after being removed from the flight, and claim

Anti-corruption authorities in Latvia have arrested the governor of the country’s central bank, Ilmars Rimsevics, the government said Sunday, while assuring there is “no sign of danger” to the financial system. Rimsevics, who was appointed governor in 2001, was detained by officers from the Corruption Prevention Bureau (KNAB) on Saturday and questioned for seven hours before being taken to another location on Sunday, according to a journalist from the   Baltic News Agency . Local media said anti-corruption officers also raided the governor’s residence and his offices at the Bank of Latvia. Latvian Prime Minister, Maris Kucinskis, confirmed the arrest but insisted there was “no sign of danger for the Latvian financial system.” “For now, neither I (as prime minister) nor any other official has any reason to interfere in the work of the KNAB. “The office (KNAB) is working professionally,” Kucinskis told the Latvian news agency. “When KNAB considers it possible to give ad

A man out hunting kangaroos got more than he bargained for after an animal fought back and smashed his jaw. Joshua Hayden, 19, was hunting near Kellerberrin in Western Australia on Tuesday night when a kangaroo attacked. Hayden, hunting with his brother in their car, spotted three kangaroos in a paddock, so leant out of the window to shoot.           (Hayden Joshua after the encounter) He said one had disappeared from view, but as he was lining up the other two in his crosshairs, it suddenly appeared and attacked the car. The animal hit the side of the vehicle with such force it smashed the front window, before headbutting Hayden right in the jaw and breaking it. Hayden said: “It actually collided with the side of the car and smashed the front window. Then it bounced back onto me and headbutted me straight in the jaw.” Hayden was unconscious for around 30 seconds before he was rushed to hospitals at Kellerberrin, Northam and Perth. His face was too swollen t

Tragedy struck in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State on Sunday when a policeman attached to a yet to be identified firm shot and killed a taxi driver. The incident, which happened in Rumuokoro axis of the area, caused commotion as policemen cordoned off the scene of the incident and shot into the air at regular intervals. It was gathered that the policeman who allegedly shot and killed the taxi driver identified as Bright, was escorting a vehicle conveying frozen chicken and fish to an unknown destination. Sources said the taxi driver was by the side of the road when the mobile policeman suddenly jumped out of the truck, went to the driver and shot him in the neck at close range. It was also learnt that the driver of the truck carrying the frozen foods sped off immediately he realised what the policeman had done. “The taxi driver was shot in the neck by the mobile policeman, who had earlier jumped down from the back of a truck. “The driver of the truck