Thursday 25 August 2016
Thursday 28 July 2016
Angela Merkel defends Germany's refugee policy after attacks
Angela Merkel has delivered a staunch defence of her open-door policy towards refugees, insisting she feels no guilt over a series of violent attacks in Germany and was right to allow hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees to arrive last summer.
“A rejection of the humanitarian stance we took could have led to even worse consequences,” the German chancellor said, adding that the assailants “wanted to undermine our sense of community, our openness and our willingness to help people in need. We firmly reject this.”
Repeating her wir schaffen das (we can manage it) mantra delivered last summer at the peak of the refugee crisis, Merkel said: “I didn’t say it would be easy. I said back then, and I’ll say it again, that we can manage our historic task – and this is a historic test in times of globalisation – just as we’ve managed so much already, we can manage it.”
“Germany is a strong country,” she added.
Within the space of a week, Germany has been rocked by an axe attack on a train, a mass shooting in Munich that left nine dead, a machete attack in which a pregnant woman was killed and a suicide bomb in Ansbach.
Three of the attacks were carried out by refugees, and two of them – the axe attack in Würzburg in which four people were injured, and the suicide bombing in Ansbach – are believed to have an extremist motive.
The teenager who carried out the Munich shooting, meanwhile, was a German-Iranian who prided himself on sharing a birthday with Adolf Hitler and appeared to have targeted foreigners.
Thursday’s press conference, which was brought forward by a month so Merkel could confront critics who have accused her of being too silent on the security threats facing Germany, was dominated by the attacks, which she called “shocking, oppressive and depressing”.
She said the attacks carried out by refugees who had “sought protection in Germany – or at least made out that they sought protection” were an “affront to the country that took them in, and an affront to all those who have volunteered to help them, as well as to the many law-abiding refugees”.
She said it was irrelevant whether the refugee attackers “had come to Germany before or after 4 September” a reference to her historic decision on that night in 2015 to open the German border to more than 10,000 refugees who were stranded in Hungary. In the following weeks tens of thousands arrived in Germany.
While insisting Germany would remain open to those in need of asylum, the chancellor acknowledged that Islamic State had sought to take advantage of the refugee influx.
Isis “used the refugee movement to smuggle terrorist forces [into Europe], as we’ve seen in France”, Merkel told the annual press conference. “That we should check all the ways [they use] has been clear for a long time, which is why internal and external security can no longer be distinguished from each other. We unfortunately have to accept that many Islamist fighters from Europe have gone to Syria.”
Appearing resolute and unruffled by the events of recent days, Merkel, who had interrupted a summer walking holiday in South Tirol to attend the press conference, insisted authorities were carrying out detailed analysis of the attacks, and would announce concrete measures that would be taken as a result of them.
She said she recognised how fearful people were about their personal safety. “We’re doing everything humanly possible to ensure security in Germany,” she said, acknowledging the “huge degree of insecurity people feel as a result of the recent events, that people are scared”. But, she said, “fear cannot be a counsel for political action”.
She also outlined a nine-point plan to increase security in Germany, which would include: an office for information technology that would concentrate on decoding internet communications between would-be attackers and terror groups; an increase in personnel at Germany’s intelligence agencies; a national register to monitor people entering and leaving the country; a lower threshold for deporting asylum seekers who break the law; regular joint exercises with the police and military to practice measures necessary in case of a terror attack; and an “early-warning system” to flag up radicalisation among refugees.
Following the Ansbach suicide attack perpetrated by a 27-year-old Syrian, political leaders in Bavaria declared that “Islamic terrorism has finally arrived in Germany.”
On Thursday Merkel rebuffed such rhetoric. “I think it arrived some time ago already,” she said, citing previous recent attacks on US soldiers at Frankfurt airport and an attack on a policeman in Hanover, both of which are believed to have had Islamic extremist motives.
“We are facing a huge test – that applies to Germany as well as to Europe,” she said, making repeated reference to the recent attacks in France, as well as incidents of deadly violence in Belgium, Turkey and the US state of Florida.
“Taboos of civilisation are being broken,” she said. “These acts happened in places where any of us could have been.”
She said it was the goal of terrorists to “undermine the way in which we live our lives. They sow hate and fear between cultures and they sow hate and fear between religions.”
Asked how she coped with the onslaught of global challenges that have only risen in weight and scope since she took office 11 years ago, Merkel said: “I do sometimes enjoy being able to go to bed at night – put it this way, I am not under-stretched”.
Angela Merkel has delivered a staunch defence of her open-door policy towards refugees, insisting she feels no guilt over a series of violent attacks in Germany and was right to allow hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees to arrive last summer.
“A rejection of the humanitarian stance we took could have led to even worse consequences,” the German chancellor said, adding that the assailants “wanted to undermine our sense of community, our openness and our willingness to help people in need. We firmly reject this.”
Repeating her wir schaffen das (we can manage it) mantra delivered last summer at the peak of the refugee crisis, Merkel said: “I didn’t say it would be easy. I said back then, and I’ll say it again, that we can manage our historic task – and this is a historic test in times of globalisation – just as we’ve managed so much already, we can manage it.”
“Germany is a strong country,” she added.
Within the space of a week, Germany has been rocked by an axe attack on a train, a mass shooting in Munich that left nine dead, a machete attack in which a pregnant woman was killed and a suicide bomb in Ansbach.
Three of the attacks were carried out by refugees, and two of them – the axe attack in Würzburg in which four people were injured, and the suicide bombing in Ansbach – are believed to have an extremist motive.
The teenager who carried out the Munich shooting, meanwhile, was a German-Iranian who prided himself on sharing a birthday with Adolf Hitler and appeared to have targeted foreigners.
Thursday’s press conference, which was brought forward by a month so Merkel could confront critics who have accused her of being too silent on the security threats facing Germany, was dominated by the attacks, which she called “shocking, oppressive and depressing”.
She said the attacks carried out by refugees who had “sought protection in Germany – or at least made out that they sought protection” were an “affront to the country that took them in, and an affront to all those who have volunteered to help them, as well as to the many law-abiding refugees”.
She said it was irrelevant whether the refugee attackers “had come to Germany before or after 4 September” a reference to her historic decision on that night in 2015 to open the German border to more than 10,000 refugees who were stranded in Hungary. In the following weeks tens of thousands arrived in Germany.
While insisting Germany would remain open to those in need of asylum, the chancellor acknowledged that Islamic State had sought to take advantage of the refugee influx.
Isis “used the refugee movement to smuggle terrorist forces [into Europe], as we’ve seen in France”, Merkel told the annual press conference. “That we should check all the ways [they use] has been clear for a long time, which is why internal and external security can no longer be distinguished from each other. We unfortunately have to accept that many Islamist fighters from Europe have gone to Syria.”
Appearing resolute and unruffled by the events of recent days, Merkel, who had interrupted a summer walking holiday in South Tirol to attend the press conference, insisted authorities were carrying out detailed analysis of the attacks, and would announce concrete measures that would be taken as a result of them.
She said she recognised how fearful people were about their personal safety. “We’re doing everything humanly possible to ensure security in Germany,” she said, acknowledging the “huge degree of insecurity people feel as a result of the recent events, that people are scared”. But, she said, “fear cannot be a counsel for political action”.
She also outlined a nine-point plan to increase security in Germany, which would include: an office for information technology that would concentrate on decoding internet communications between would-be attackers and terror groups; an increase in personnel at Germany’s intelligence agencies; a national register to monitor people entering and leaving the country; a lower threshold for deporting asylum seekers who break the law; regular joint exercises with the police and military to practice measures necessary in case of a terror attack; and an “early-warning system” to flag up radicalisation among refugees.
Following the Ansbach suicide attack perpetrated by a 27-year-old Syrian, political leaders in Bavaria declared that “Islamic terrorism has finally arrived in Germany.”
On Thursday Merkel rebuffed such rhetoric. “I think it arrived some time ago already,” she said, citing previous recent attacks on US soldiers at Frankfurt airport and an attack on a policeman in Hanover, both of which are believed to have had Islamic extremist motives.
“We are facing a huge test – that applies to Germany as well as to Europe,” she said, making repeated reference to the recent attacks in France, as well as incidents of deadly violence in Belgium, Turkey and the US state of Florida.
“Taboos of civilisation are being broken,” she said. “These acts happened in places where any of us could have been.”
She said it was the goal of terrorists to “undermine the way in which we live our lives. They sow hate and fear between cultures and they sow hate and fear between religions.”
Asked how she coped with the onslaught of global challenges that have only risen in weight and scope since she took office 11 years ago, Merkel said: “I do sometimes enjoy being able to go to bed at night – put it this way, I am not under-stretched”.
Tuesday 26 July 2016
hyena man' paid to have sex with adolescent girls
Hyena man paid $3 each to have sex with underage girls
Malawi police have arrested an HIV-infected man who was paid to have sex with more than 100 adolescent girls as part of a traditional ritual cleansing marking their passage to womanhood, officials said Tuesday.
Eric Aniva, from the southern district of Nsanje, was held after giving a media interview in which he confessed that he slept with the girls for a fee of between four and seven dollars, paid by each of their families.
The little-known local practice lasts three days and is performed in southern Malawi by men known as "hyenas" at the request of a girl's parents after her first menstruation.
The ritual is believed to train girls to become good wives and to protect them from disease or misfortune that could fall on their families or their village.
"Aniva was arrested on Monday after he was summoned to my office," district commissioner Gift Lapozo told AFP.
In a BBC interview broadcast last week, Aniva confessed to being infected with HIV and sleeping with at least 100 girls without using protection.
"Some girls are just 12 or 13 years old, but I prefer them older," he said.
"All these girls find pleasure in having me as their hyena. They actually are proud and tell other people that this man is a real man, he knows how to please a woman."
PRESIDENT'S ARREST ORDER
It was unclear over how many years Aniva had been a "hyena".
Malawian President Peter Mutharika had earlier issued a statement ordering Aniva's arrest and calling for an inquiry into the role of the parents involved.
Aniva should "be investigated for exposing the young girls to contracting HIV and further be charged accordingly," Mutharika added.
"Harmful cultural and traditional practices cannot be accepted."
The sexual cleansing ritual is also performed on bereaved widows in Nsanje district to exorcise villages of evil spirits or to prevent another death occurring.
Aniva, who has two wives and was reported to be in his 40s, said a "hyena" was selected by the community based on good morals and that custom did not allow him to use condoms.
"There was nothing else I could have done," one girl told the BBC.
"I had to do it for the sake of my parents. If I'd refused, my family members could be attacked with diseases — even death — so I was scared."
Malawi, which has one of the highest HIV infections in the world, criminalises sex with a person under the age of 16.
If found guilty of underage sex, Aniva could be imprisoned for life.
50 Cent Auditions for Role of Han Solo on ‘Conan’
It’s no secret that 50 Cent has some acting chops. Recently, entatainmentthe New York rapper/actor/businessman appeared on Conan to audition for the role of Han Solo in hilarious fashion.
Fif’ tried out for the role alongside other actors Adam Sandler, Will Arnett, Jodie Foster, Melissa McCarthy, Kumail Nanjiani and Jeff Goldblum. The Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ artist garners a bunch of laughs in his audition by failing to hold his weapon the right way. Unfortunately, 50 didn’t ultimately obtain the Star Wars role.
The Power of the Dollar rapper is becoming somewhat of a regular on Conan. In case you missed it, be sure to check out his interview on the show from a few weeks back. Throughout the conversation, 50 and O’Brien discuss Trump’s presidential campaign and the possibility of Kanye West running for commander-in-chief in 2020.
50 tells Conan “I like the idea of him running,” to which the TV host replies, “You don’t think Kanye would make a great president.” Fif responds, “I just – that’s a lot of responsibility. It’s the same thing with Trump.” O’Brien then says, “You think there’s really no difference between Kanye running and Trump running, is what you’re pretty much saying.” 50 replies, “I am saying that.”
Of course, 50 has appeared in a number of films and now has his own hit TV show, Power. Scroll down to the bottom of the post to view an exclusive interview with 50, in which he talks about his popular Starz Network program.
A Gun Man Killed A Doctor And Shoot Himself In Benjamin Franklin Hospital In Germany
A doctor at a Berlin hospital has died after being shot by a gun-wielding patient this afternoon.
The gunman launched his attack at around 1pm local time at the Benjamin Franklin hospital campus in the Steglitz district of the city.
A doctor was critically injured in the shooting and taken to intensive care where he was later pronounced dead.
Germany Special police Outside The Hospital
Local media reported the shooting took place at a fourth floor dental surgery where the doctor was a senior physician.
After the shooting, the gunman then killed himself, Berlin Police said.
German newspaper Bild reported an anti-terrorist unit and special police task force were sent to the scene.
German police at the crime scene
Bild reported witnesses heard several shots and some staff were told to stay in their rooms and lock the doors.
But police said this afternoon there were "no signs at all" of a terrorist link to the shooting and there was no evidence of any other injured people or perpetrators.
Today’s shooting follows a spate of violent incidents in Bavaria which have shaken Germany.
On Sunday, a failed asylum seeker who pledged allegiance to Isis blew himself up after being turned away from a music festival in Ansbach, injuring 12 people.
That attack came after a shooting massacre in Munich on Friday and an Isis-inspired axe rampage on board a train in Wuerzburg two days earlier.
But police said this afternoon there were "no signs at all" of a terrorist link to the shooting and there was no evidence of any other injured people or perpetrators.
Today’s shooting follows a spate of violent incidents in Bavaria which have shaken Germany.
On Sunday, a failed asylum seeker who pledged allegiance to Isis blew himself up after being turned away from a music festival in Ansbach, injuring 12 people.
That attack came after a shooting massacre in Munich on Friday and an Isis-inspired axe rampage on board a train in Wuerzburg two days earlier.
Benjamin Franklin Hospital Campus
A doctor was critically injured in the shooting and taken to intensive care where he was later pronounced dead.
Local media reported the shooting took place at a fourth floor dental surgery where the doctor was a senior physician.
After the shooting, the gunman then killed himself, Berlin Police said.
German newspaper Bild reported an anti-terrorist unit and special police task force were sent to the scene.
German police at the crime scene
Bild reported witnesses heard several shots and some staff were told to stay in their rooms and lock the doors.
But police said this afternoon there were "no signs at all" of a terrorist link to the shooting and there was no evidence of any other injured people or perpetrators.
Today’s shooting follows a spate of violent incidents in Bavaria which have shaken Germany.
On Sunday, a failed asylum seeker who pledged allegiance to Isis blew himself up after being turned away from a music festival in Ansbach, injuring 12 people.
That attack came after a shooting massacre in Munich on Friday and an Isis-inspired axe rampage on board a train in Wuerzburg two days earlier.
But police said this afternoon there were "no signs at all" of a terrorist link to the shooting and there was no evidence of any other injured people or perpetrators.
Today’s shooting follows a spate of violent incidents in Bavaria which have shaken Germany.
On Sunday, a failed asylum seeker who pledged allegiance to Isis blew himself up after being turned away from a music festival in Ansbach, injuring 12 people.
That attack came after a shooting massacre in Munich on Friday and an Isis-inspired axe rampage on board a train in Wuerzburg two days earlier.
Catholic Priest Beheaded By Two ISIS Knifemen And Take Others Hostage During Church Service In France
Breaking News Late Father Jacques hamel
An 86-year-old priest has been 'beheaded' by two 'ISIS' knifemen who cut his throat after bursting into a French church and taking nuns and worshippers hostage before being shot dead by police.
Five people including the priest, two nuns and two parishioners were held by assailants who raided the church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen in Normandy at 9am.
http://fesitglobal.blogspot.it/p/breaking-news.htmlThe clergyman, named as Jacques Hamel, is believed to have been beheaded during the attack while another hostage is 'hovering between life and death' in hospital.
The two attackers have been 'neutralised' by elite marksmen in a dramatic police operation while the building is being searched for possible explosives. French president Francois Hollande said the men claimed to be from' ISIS.
There were reports the attackers shouted 'Daesh' – an alternative name for ISIS often used by the French government – as they ran into the church. At least one of the men was dressed in Islamic clothing, according to French media reports, and an anti-terrorist unit has already taken up the investigation.
It comes as it emerged that the place of worship was one of a number of Catholic churches on a terrorist 'hit list' found on a suspected ISIS extremist last April
Pope Francis has expressed his 'pain and horror' at the incident with a spokesman saying the Pontiff was appalled by the 'barbaric killing' because it happened in a sacred place.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Just Welby said: 'Evil attacks the weakest, denies truth and love, is defeated through Jesus Christ. Pray for France, for victims, for their communities.'
Footage from the scene shows emergency crews, including elite police squads, arriving at the Church of the Gambetta and one person being stretchered into an ambulance.
The clergyman, ordained in 1958, had his throat cut, said a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Paris.
The spokesman said the two men rushed into the church via a back entrance during a morning service, soon after 9am.
The two men seized the priest, two sisters from a local order, and two parishioners, said the spokesman
'A third nun escaped and raised the alarm, and anti-terrorists officers were on the scene within minutes,' said a source who lives locally.
'It appears that the priest who was celebrating the service was attacked first, and had his throat cut.
'The area around the church was sealed off, and then armed officers appeared with their weapons. I heard at least a dozen shots.'
The siege officially ended at around 11am, following the shooting of the two attackers.
Units attending including the elite RAID, the anti-terrorist unit that was heavily involved in the Paris attacks last year, in which almost 150 people were murdered.
Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said police were searching the church and its perimeter for possible explosives and terrorism investigators had been summoned.
Anti-terrorist judges immediately opened an investigation in to today's attack, as President Francois Hollande and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve attended the scene.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls tweeted that he was 'horrified at the barbaric attack' adding: 'All France and all Catholics are bruised.'
A number of shots were heard over a period of around 15 seconds as the incident came to an end.
Eulalie Garcia, who works in a beauty parlour, is on the same road as the church, and told reporters that she knew the priest, who had taught her the catechism as a young girl.
'My family has lived here for 35 years and we have always known him,' she said. 'He was someone who was treasured by the community. He was very discreet and didn't like to draw attention to himself.'
She said she was very shocked by the death of the priest, who lived opposite his church. 'It can happen to anyone,' she said.
Archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Rouen later confirmed that Father Jacques Hamel had been killed.
In a statement from Krakow, Poland, where Pope Francis was visiting, Lebrun says 'I cry out to God, with all men of good will. And I invite all non-believers to unite with this cry ... The Catholic Church has no other arms besides prayer and fraternity between men.'
The area around the church remained cordoned off and the old town was out of bounds.
The French Police Nationale gave no details about the situation but sent a Tweet urging media not to cross security tape at the scene or take pictures or video.
Saint-Etienne du Rouvray has a population of 30,000 and is around seven miles from Rouen.
The incident comes as France is on high alert after a Bastille Day attack that killed 84 people in Nice and a series of deadly attacks last year claimed by ISIS.
This morning it emerged Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray was one of a number of Catholic churches on a terrorist 'hit list' found on a suspected ISIS terrorist.
Sid Ahmed Ghlam, 24, was arrested in April 2015 after he called an ambulance in Paris after shooting himself in the leg.
Investigators believe he was a terrorist planning 'imminent attacks' in France on the instructions of ISIS leaders.
Investigators found an arsenal of weapons in Ghlam's car, which was parked nearby, and at his student accommodation. It included Kalashnikovs, a police-issue pistol, and a number of bullet-proof vests.
Documents found at his flat and in a search of his computer and telephone, suggested Ghlam was in contact with a French speaker in Syria whohad ordered him to carry out attacks on churches.
These included the Sacre-Couer basilica in Paris, and places of worship including the one in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray targeted today.
Ghlam is currently in a high-security prison while waiting trialfor 'murder, attempted murder, association with criminals with a view to commitcrimes against people' and for other infractions 'connected to a terroristorganisation'.
The computer student, who born in Algeria, was also charged with the murder of a 32-year-old woman, who was found in the passenger seat of her burning car after his arrest.
Dance instructor Aurelie Chatelain, a mother of one, who had just attended a Pilates class, died after she was shot three times in the head, in what police believe may have been an attempt by Ghlam to hijack
Saturday 23 July 2016
UK Economy Slows Down Dramatically After Brexit Vote
The UK economy has slumped at its fastest rate since the financial crisis in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the European Union, a report said.
The closely-watched Markit Flash UK Composite Output Index plummeted to its lowest level since April 2009, falling to 47.7 in July, compared to 52.4 in June.
A reading above 50 indicates growth.
The sharp contraction was triggered by falling output and orders for the first time since the end of 2012, while business optimism in Britain's powerhouse services sector hit a seven-and-a-half-year low.
The data, collected between July 12 and 21, provides a stark picture of the state of the economy following the Brexit vote, with City experts now warning that Britain could be heading for a recession.
Sterling was down 0.2% against the dollar at 1.318 US dollars after the report was published, while the pound also fell 0.3% against the euro at 1.195 euro.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said the update showed a "dramatic deterioration" in the UK economy and expects gross domestic product (GDP) to contract by 0.4% in the third quarter.
"The downturn, whether manifesting itself in order book cancellations, a lack of new orders or the postponement or halting of projects, was most commonly attributed in one way or another to Brexit."
He added: "Given the record slump in service sector business expectations, the suggestion is that there is further pain to come in the short term at least."
The study found that its flash UK services PMI (purchasing managers' index) hit an 88-month low of 47.4 this month, compared to 52.3 in June.
The flash UK manufacturing PMI was also in the doldrums, slipping to a 41-month low of 49.1 in July, after a reading of 52.1 the month before.
The flash UK manufacturing PMI output index also dropped from 52.9 to 49.1 over the period.
The report said the downturn in the services sector was "more marked" than in manufacturing, with services activity and new orders dropping at their quickest rate for seven years.
But while output and new orders also came under pressure in the manufacturing sector, its new export business rose for the second straight month, boosted in part by the sharp drop in sterling following the Brexit vote.
The update comes after the Bank of England said on Wednesday that business uncertainty had ''risen markedly'' since the referendum result - but there was ''no clear evidence'' of a sharp economic slowdown.
However, Neil Wilson, markets analyst at ETX Capital, said the flash PMI data showed that Britain should be bracing itself for another recession, while the Bank of England should move to cut interest rates in August.
"The readings suggest we are heading for a recession again and it is almost certain the Bank of England will pull the trigger on aggressive stimulus to boost aggregate demand.
He added: "The Bank will throw the kitchen sink at this now."
Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "The collapse in the composite PMI to its lowest level since April 2009 provides the first major evidence that the UK is entering a sharp downturn."
He added: "The chart shows that the composite PMI has fallen to a level that has persuaded the (Bank's) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to cut interest rates by about 50 basis points in the past."
Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson said the report did not mean a recession was inevitable.
"It's a useful piece of information, but, as ever, one should be careful of over-interpreting one single piece of information.
"It certainly hit a trough during the 2009 recession in the way that you would expect it to do. It also went down a lot in the wake of the dot com crash, and indeed, after 9/11, and that didn't presage recession.
"It is investment which is going to be the key determinant of how we get through this next period. And if people aren't confident to invest in the new machinery, or invest in training, or whatever, then that's not just going to have a short-run, but potentially, a long-run effect on the economy," Mr Johnson told BBC Radio 4's World At One.
The closely-watched Markit Flash UK Composite Output Index plummeted to its lowest level since April 2009, falling to 47.7 in July, compared to 52.4 in June.
A reading above 50 indicates growth.
The sharp contraction was triggered by falling output and orders for the first time since the end of 2012, while business optimism in Britain's powerhouse services sector hit a seven-and-a-half-year low.
The data, collected between July 12 and 21, provides a stark picture of the state of the economy following the Brexit vote, with City experts now warning that Britain could be heading for a recession.
Sterling was down 0.2% against the dollar at 1.318 US dollars after the report was published, while the pound also fell 0.3% against the euro at 1.195 euro.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said the update showed a "dramatic deterioration" in the UK economy and expects gross domestic product (GDP) to contract by 0.4% in the third quarter.
"The downturn, whether manifesting itself in order book cancellations, a lack of new orders or the postponement or halting of projects, was most commonly attributed in one way or another to Brexit."
He added: "Given the record slump in service sector business expectations, the suggestion is that there is further pain to come in the short term at least."
The study found that its flash UK services PMI (purchasing managers' index) hit an 88-month low of 47.4 this month, compared to 52.3 in June.
The flash UK manufacturing PMI was also in the doldrums, slipping to a 41-month low of 49.1 in July, after a reading of 52.1 the month before.
The flash UK manufacturing PMI output index also dropped from 52.9 to 49.1 over the period.
The report said the downturn in the services sector was "more marked" than in manufacturing, with services activity and new orders dropping at their quickest rate for seven years.
But while output and new orders also came under pressure in the manufacturing sector, its new export business rose for the second straight month, boosted in part by the sharp drop in sterling following the Brexit vote.
The update comes after the Bank of England said on Wednesday that business uncertainty had ''risen markedly'' since the referendum result - but there was ''no clear evidence'' of a sharp economic slowdown.
However, Neil Wilson, markets analyst at ETX Capital, said the flash PMI data showed that Britain should be bracing itself for another recession, while the Bank of England should move to cut interest rates in August.
"The readings suggest we are heading for a recession again and it is almost certain the Bank of England will pull the trigger on aggressive stimulus to boost aggregate demand.
He added: "The Bank will throw the kitchen sink at this now."
Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "The collapse in the composite PMI to its lowest level since April 2009 provides the first major evidence that the UK is entering a sharp downturn."
He added: "The chart shows that the composite PMI has fallen to a level that has persuaded the (Bank's) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to cut interest rates by about 50 basis points in the past."
Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson said the report did not mean a recession was inevitable.
"It's a useful piece of information, but, as ever, one should be careful of over-interpreting one single piece of information.
"It certainly hit a trough during the 2009 recession in the way that you would expect it to do. It also went down a lot in the wake of the dot com crash, and indeed, after 9/11, and that didn't presage recession.
"It is investment which is going to be the key determinant of how we get through this next period. And if people aren't confident to invest in the new machinery, or invest in training, or whatever, then that's not just going to have a short-run, but potentially, a long-run effect on the economy," Mr Johnson told BBC Radio 4's World At One.
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