Blind Jihadist Pictured Fighting Alongside ISIS Urges Others to Join Him
New Age Islam News Bureau
23
Jul 2014
Smoke and fire billow in Gaza City on Tuesday, as Israeli airstrikes pummelled a wide range of locations along the coastal area.
Arab World
• Blind Jihadist Pictured Fighting Alongside ISIS Urges Others to Join Him
• ISIS tells Iraqi shops to veil mannequins
• Jihadists organise tours in their Syria, Iraq 'caliphate'
• Iraq violence: Suicide car bombs kill 21 in Baghdad
• Iraq says Jordan's hosting of Sunni critics 'unacceptable'
• ISIS crushes, coerces resistance in its way
• Iraqi Police Use Detentions to Blunt Militants
• Qatar seeks to pull Hamas away from Iran
• KSA flays Israeli savagery in Gaza Strip
• Syria strike kills ‘six children from same family’
• Syrian opposition coalition dissolves interim govt
South Asia
• Sri Lankan hard-line Buddhist links Dalai Lama to Islam
• 37 militants killed, leaders arrested during Afghan army operations
• 6 suicide bombers blown up by own explosives in Logar
• 1050 kg of poisonous explosives seized in Kabul by Afghan intelligence
• Religion-based parties create obstacles: PM Sheikh Hasina tells Girl Summit
• PM Sheikh Hasina seeks more investment from Bangladeshi expats in UK
India
• Alienated Youth Running Away To Join the Global Jihad
• ‘Pak Punjab governor informed me about Mumbai attacks’: Ved Pratap Vaidik
• Outrage on Twitter after report on Sena MPs forcing Muslim staffer to eat during Ramzan
Pakistan
• No martial law till three polls: US, UK, UAE & ex-ISI chief had guaranteed
• 13 suspected militants killed in fresh North Waziristan airstrikes
• Pakistan condemns Israel's aggression against Palestine
• Elders vow to establish writ of govt in Bajaur
• ‘Monarchy’ to be replaced with democracy: Imran
• World journalists’ body sees bid to silence Geo News
Mideast
• Dozen Palestinians, 2 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza
• Turkey's religious head calls new Islamic 'caliphate' illegitimate
• Al Qaeda in Yemen imposes strict Shariah law on residents
• Turkish PM Erdoğan hits out at Egypt for ‘silence’ over Palestine
• 2,000 mercenaries fighting alongside Israel
• Lift Gaza 'siege' as part of ceasefire: Palestinian PM
• Iranian Leader’s Nuclear Ban Ruling (Fatwa) Remains Elusive
• It's like 1938, says Israeli ambassador to Germany: Outbreaks of anti-Semitism on the rise across Europe
• Civilian deaths in Gaza refute Israel’s claims to morality
Europe
• Muslims Plotted To ‘Islamise’ State-Run Schools, Claims UK Inquiry
• Scientists, doctors write an open letter condemning violence in Gaza
• BBC Arabic television reporter is attacked on air 'by angry Israeli
• UK ambassador to Israel blames Hamas for Gaza war
• "No safe place for civilians" in Gaza, UN says
• German engineer embraces Islam
Africa
• Central African Republic Muslim rebels demand partition
• Nigeria: President Meets with Parents of Schoolgirls Captured by Militants
• Clashes between Libya army, Islamists kill 16: Medical sources
• S. Sudan rebel delegation shunned by Uganda’s Museveni
North America
• US Think Tank: Kurdish Statehood Coming “sooner rather than later”
• Washington’s key role in Israel’s military offensive
• U.S. House move to block Hezbollah funding
• CAIR Collects 1,000+ Letters Urging Md. Senators to Call for End to Killing in Gaza
• Sectarian Crisis in Middle East: Legacy of western imperialism
• Oklahoma Jewish, Muslim communities express concern over Middle East violence
• U.S. Military Is Scrutinized Over Trash Burning in Afghanistan
• After 13-year struggle, US faces counter-terror fatigue
• Kerry lands in Israel on Gaza truce mission
Southeast Asia
• Ex-chief justice a liar, racist and extremist, says Guan Eng
• Prabowo Calls on World Leaders to ‘Withhold Congratulatory Statements’ to Jokowi
• Islam in its prime in Pakatan-led Penang, says executive councillor
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/blind-jihadist-pictured-fighting-alongside/d/98264
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Arab World
Blind Jihadist pictured fighting alongside ISIS urges others to join him
July 23, 2014
A blind jihadist pictured fighting alongside ISIS militants in Syria has reportedly urged others to join the Islamist militants, saying having a disability is no excuse.
Taymullah al-Somali, a Dutch national who is believed to have travelled to the Middle East earlier this year, has been photographed numerous times alongside ISIS militants and is believed to be based in the capital of the self-declared caliphate, Raqqa.
The Somalia-born militant has been quoted on known Islamist social media accounts urging Muslims to join ISIS, reportedly saying: 'Being blind didn't stop me from coming to #Syria, what's your excuse?
Numerous images of al-Somali have recently emerged, showing him posing alongside an international group of jihadists - including at least two from Belgium, one of whom is reportedly named Hicham Chaib.
One image shows him posing with an anti-aircraft weapon while dressed in combat fatigues, while another chilling photograph shows him among a group of gun-toting militants holding a young child.
Another shot shows al-Somali outside an apparent sharia law court in the city of Raqqa, adorned with the black jihadist flags that have become symbolic of ISIS' reign of terror in the Middle East.
Al-Somali, who is often pictured smiling, has become something of a poster boy for jihadists in the Middle East, who use his disability as a rallying cry that nobody is beyond joining ISIS' ranks.
One of those retweeting images of al-Somali is Abu Uthmaan al-Britanni, who is understood to be a 24-year-old former shop worker from Britain who travelled to Syria from the town of Portsmouth.
An ISIS-affiliated social media account quoted al-Britanni praising al-Somali, saying: 'He is a wonderful friend Mujahid [fighter]. Although his eyes are blind, he is always smiling.'
Images of al-Somali first emerged on an account believed to be maintained and updated by the militant himself, although it likely someone else actually posts the messages on his behalf.
One photograph he shared was uploaded with the caption: 'Being blind did not stop me. What is your excuse for staying behind?'.
Another post urging more jihadists to join ISIS added: 'My beloved brothers, if there is anyone with a valid excuse to reframe [sic] from jihad, it's me. I am blind!'
Although al-Somali's true identity cannot be be confirmed, at least one Islamist website named him as Bashir Abu Mu'adh, who arrived in the Netherlands as a child in the early 1990s.
Earlier today Turkey's top Islamic cleric and the successor to the last Muslim caliph's most senior imam said ISIS' declaration of a caliphate 'has no legitimacy whatsoever'.
Mehmet Gormez, the head of the Religious Affairs Directorate - the highest religious authority in Turkey, added that ISIS' death threats against Christians were a threat against all civilisation.
'Since the caliphate was abolished ... there have been movements that think they can pull together the Muslim world by re-establishing a caliphate, but they have nothing to do with reality, whether from a political or legal perspective,' he said.
'The statement made against Christians is truly awful. Islamic scholars need to focus on this [because] an inability to peacefully sustain other faiths and cultures heralds the collapse of a civilisation,' he added,
Since ISIS' advance across northern Iraq in June, Christians have fled the city of Mosul, where the militants are based, after they were given the choice to convert, pay a religious tax or be executed.
Mosul's Christian community is one of the world's oldest in the world, tracing its roots back two thousand years.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2701334/Blind-faith-Jihadist-pictured-ISIS-militants-Syria-urges-join-saying-disability-no-excuse-not-fight.html#ixzz38H4vkDFR
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ISIS tells Iraqi shops to veil mannequins
July 23, 2014
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has reportedly given shopkeepers in the Iraqi city of Mosul strict instructions to cover the faces of mannequins, months after seizing control of the country’s second largest city.
According to The Associated Press, Mosul shop owners said they had been told to cover the faces of both male and female mannequins, apparently in line with strict interpretations of Shariah law that forbid statues or artwork depicting the human form.
ISIS, which earlier this month declared an Islamic State spanning parts of Iraq and Syria under its so-called “caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, seized control of Mosul on June 10 as part of its campaign against the Baghdad government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The militant group has imposed other restrictions in the city, the home to some of the most ancient Christian communities in the region, most recently ordering Christians to convert to Islam, pay a tax or face death. Many from the ancient community have fled as a result.
(With The Associated Press)
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2014/07/22/Veil-your-mannequins-ISIS-tells-Iraqi-shopkeepers.html
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Jihadists organise tours in their Syria, Iraq 'caliphate'
July 23, 2014
BEIRUT: Known for kidnapping, public stonings, lashings and executions, the Iraq and Al Sham (ISIS) is now expanding into tourism, taking jihadists on honeymoon and civilians to visit other parts of its “caliphate”.
Running twice-weekly tours from Syria's Raqa to Iraq's Anbar, ISIS's buses fly the group's black flag and play jihadist songs throughout the journey.
One of the first clients was Chechen jihadist Abu Abdel Rahman al-Shishani, aged 26, who took his new Syrian wife on honeymoon, according to activist Hadi Salameh.
“Just after they got married, he took her to Anbar. These jihadists are very romantic,” Salameh joked.
But the two weren't able to sit together, because “women sit in the back, and men at the front. The bus driver plays jihadist songs all through the ride, and the ISIS black flag flies over the bus. ISIS proclaimed a 'caliphate' last month straddling Iraq and Syria. According to a rebel from eastern Syria, the tours started operating immediately afterwards.
It firmly controls large swathes of northern and eastern Syria, the Iraq-Syria border, and parts of northern and western Iraq.
Salameh said the group's tour buses “start their journey in Tal Abyad (on Syria's Turkish border) and end in Iraq's Anbar. You can get off wherever you want, and you don't need a passport to cross the border. “The activist, who lives in Raqa and uses a pseudonym to avoid retribution from ISIS, told AFP via the Internet the company is for profit.
“Of course it's not free. The price varies, depending on how far you go on the bus,” Salameh said.
Armed escorts
Syrian rebel Abu Quteiba al-Okaidi, who is from the border province of Deir Ezzor, said most of those who use the buses are foreign jihadists.
“Most of them are foreigners. They communicate in English, and wear the Afghan-style clothing preferred by jihadists,” Okaidi told AFP by telephone.
“There is a translator on the bus, who explains to them where they are going. The men on the bus are not armed, but vehicles carrying armed escorts accompany the bus,” he added.
ISIS has its roots in Iraq, but spread into Syria in late spring last year.
It gradually took over Raqa city in northern Syria, and transformed it into its bastion.
In June, ISIS spearheaded a lightning offensive in Iraq that saw large swathes of the north and west of the country fall from Iraqi government hands.
Abu Ibrahim al-Raqawi, another activist living in Raqa city, said “tour buses run twice a week, on Wednesday and Sunday. It works like any bus company would, except that it treats areas under ISIS control in Iraq and Syria as one state. “He also said the bus company is “popular” among those with relatives in Iraq.
“Many people living in this area (northern Syria through western Iraq) have tribal ties stretching across the border. So they use these buses to visit their families,” said Abu Ibrahim.
Speaking to AFP via the Internet, Abu Ibrahim also said others take the bus “to do business, while some just want to take a break from the shelling in Syria”.
Syria's war began as a peaceful movement for democratic change, but was transformed into a war after Damascus unleashed a brutal crackdown on dissent.
Many months into the fighting, jihadists began streaming into Syria.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1121060/jihadists-organise-tours-in-their-syria-iraq-caliphate
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Iraq violence: Suicide car bombs kill 21 in Baghdad
July 23, 2014
A suicide bomb has killed at least 21 people in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, police and medical officials have said.
At least 13 civilians were killed in the attack, which took place at a police checkpoint at the entrance to the Kadhimiya district.
Many of those killed were reportedly on their way to a Shia shrine in the area.
Iraq is experiencing an upsurge in instability. The government is battling Islamist militants, who have seized cities in the country's north-west.
At least five of those killed in the bombing were policemen, security sources said.
The area is home to the Musa al-Khadim shrine, a site of pilgrimage for many Muslims.
Fallujah airstrikes
In a separate incident, at least 14 people were killed in Iraqi air strikes near the city of Fallujah.
The Iraqi government has been fighting rebels in the city for several months.
Isis militants seized Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, in June.
They have since taken over areas of the north-west and closed in on cities near Baghdad.
The current conflict in Iraq has acquired strong sectarian overtones, with disputes between the Kurds, the Sunnis and the Shia.
The Shia-led government is struggling against predominantly Sunni Isis fighters, and other Sunni rebel groups.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28431941
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Iraq says Jordan's hosting of Sunni critics 'unacceptable'
23 July 2014
Baghdad on Tuesday said Jordan's hosting of a meeting of Sunni Iraqis opposed to the Shiite-led government was "unacceptable."
On Friday Iraq recalled its envoy to Amman without giving a reason, but the move came days after a meeting of some 300 Sunni clerics, tribal leaders, insurgent commanders and businessmen in the Jordanian capital.
Delegates described a Sunni Islamist insurgency that has taken hold of swathes of Iraq in recent weeks as a "popular revolt.”
Islamic State jihadists are spearheading the campaign, which began in the Iraqi city of Mosul on June 9 and has since swept large parts of the country's northern and western provinces.
The Iraqi government described those attending the meeting as "enemies of the political system and social fabric of Iraq".
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/07/23/Iraq-says-Jordan-s-hosting-of-Sunni-critics-unacceptable-.html
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ISIS crushes, coerces resistance in its way
Jul 23, 2014 | Reuter
Using its own version of “soft” and “hard” power, the Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS, is crushing resistance across northern Iraq so successfully that its promise to march on Baghdad may no longer be unrealistic bravado.
While conventional states try to win hearts and minds abroad before necessarily resorting to military force, the jihadist group is also achieving its aims by psychological means backed up by a reputation for extreme violence.
The Islamic State, which in June captured a vast stretch of territory in the north including the largest city Mosul, used this strategy when its fighters met armed resistance from the town of al-Alam for 13 days running.
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/isis-crushes-coerces-resistance-its-way-457
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Iraqi Police Use Detentions to Blunt Militants
July 23, 2014
BAGHDAD — The Iraqi security forces said they had briefly detained a woman near the city of Samarra who was said to be a relative of the leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, in part of intensifying campaign to find a lever against the advancing militant group.
At the same time, militants with the group, known as ISIS, appeared to have slowed efforts by the Iraqi security forces to retake Tikrit and themselves took several small villages southwest of Baghdad, where the Iraqi military and militias have been fighting to stop them.
At least six soldiers were killed in that fight, according to officials at the hospital in the town of Mussayib. But a militia leader fighting there said on Monday that 10 had been killed and 30 wounded.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/world/middleeast/iraqi-police-use-detentions-to-blunt-militants.html
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Qatar seeks to pull Hamas away from Iran
July 23, 2014
The Gulf Arab state of Qatar, with just over two million people, is playing an outsized role on the world stage these days, dipping its fingers into various conflicts in the region.
The Sunni country backs a number of Islamist groups in the region, including some of the ones fighting in Syria, the Muslim Brotherhood movement, and its Palestinian branch, Hamas.
Qatar uses its Al Jazeera media company to project influence on the “Arab street”; at present, it is using it to support Hamas’s narrative and to counter fellow Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, that oppose the Muslim Brotherhood.
Shi’ite Iran is perhaps Qatar’s greatest adversary in the Middle East, and amid sectarian strife raging in the region, Qatar wants to prevent Iran from intruding on its turf.
Hamas is a case in point, as the Gulf country is seeking to woo it solidly into the Sunni camp and away from Iran.
Full report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Qatar-seeks-to-pull-Hamas-away-from-Iran-368553
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KSA flays Israeli savagery in Gaza Strip
July 23, 2014
Saudi Arabia has denounced the brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the Jewish state’s war crimes against unarmed Palestinians.
It urged the international community to shoulder its responsibility in protecting the Palestinians from Israeli genocide.
In a meeting on Monday, the Cabinet welcomed the resolutions adopted by Arab foreign ministers following an extraordinary meeting in Cairo, stressing that the world community must move quickly to protect the Palestinians from Israeli aggression.
US Secretary of State John Kerry urged Hamas to stop spurning an Egyptian plan to halt fighting with Israel that has killed more than 600 people.
Egyptian security officers checked Kerry and his top aides with a metal detector as they arrived for a meeting with President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi, an unusual screening for a senior State Department official.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/featured/606316
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Syria strike kills ‘six children from same family’
23 July 2014
Six children from the same family were killed in an air strike by government forces on a village in the northern province of Aleppo, a monitoring group said Wednesday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, citing local residents, said three boys and three girls from the Moslem family died in Tuesday's raid on Wahshiyeh.
The village is located in a rebel-held area of Aleppo province that has come under constant aerial bombardment since late last year.
Rights groups have repeatedly slammed the regime for its air strikes, saying them fail to discriminate between military targets and civilian areas.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/07/23/Syria-strike-kills-six-children-from-same-family-.html
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Syrian opposition coalition dissolves interim govt
July 23, 2014
BEIRUT – The Syrian National Coalition (SNC) opposition members said on Tuesday it had voted to force out its “interim government” and form a new one within a month.
Attempts to form a viable government-in-exile for Syria’s opposition have been hamstrung by rivalries between its backers and among its members as well as by its inability to establish itself inside Syria.
The National Coalition is designated as the main body representing the opposition by the United States and other major powers but it has little influence over rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar Al-Assad.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20140723212393
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South Asia
Sri Lankan hard-line Buddhist links Dalai Lama to Islam
World Bulletin/News Desk
Jul 23, 2014
A hard-line Sri Lankan Buddhist monk leading an anti-Muslim campaign accused the Dalai Lama on Tuesday of being influenced by Islam and said the Tibetan could not be accepted as a world Buddhist leader.
Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, the secretary general of the Sri Lanka's hard-line group Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), or "Buddhist Power Force", spoke out after the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader called on monks in Myanmar and Sri Lanka to end violence towards Muslims in their countries.
Clashes broke out in two Sri Lankan towns with large Muslim populations in June during a BBS-led protest. Early this month, hundreds of Myanmar Buddhists threatened to kill Muslims in the country's second-largest city of Mandalay.
Reacting to the Dalai Lama's comments made in India, Gnanasara told reporters: "Like Pope for Christians, he is considered as the leader for all Buddhists by the West. But we don't accept him as the leader of the Buddhists."
Full report at:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/headlines/141178/sri-lankan-hardline-buddhist-links-dalai-lama-to-islam
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37 militants killed, leaders arrested during Afghan army operations
July 23, 2014
At least 37 Taliban militants were killed during military operations by Afghan national army soldiers during the past 24 hours.
Defense ministry spokeman, Gen. Zahir Azimi said the operations were conducted in various provinces of Afghanistan.
Azimi further added that three leaders of the anti-government armed militants were also arrested during the operations.
He said various types of weapons, ammunition and explosives were discovered and confiscated by Afghan army soldiers during the same operations.
Azimi also added that Afghan army soldiers neutralized 14 rounds of improvised explosive device (IED) planted by anti-government armed militants.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/37-militants-killed-leaders-arrested-during-afghan-army-operations-8357
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6 suicide bombers blown up by own explosives in Logar
July 23, 2014
At least six suicide bombers were killed in a premature explosion in eastern Logar province of Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said Wednesday that the incident took place on Tuesday morning in Pul-e-Alam, the provincial capital of Logar province.
MoI following a statement said the suicide bombers were looking to transport the suicide bombing vests in Pul-e-Alam city when the incident took place.
The statement further added that the group was looking to carry out coordinated attacks in Pul-e-Alam city.
MoI also added that no one else was killed or injured following the explosion.
The anti-government armed militant groups have not commented regarding the report so far.
http://www.khaama.com/6-suicide-bombers-blown-up-by-own-explosives-in-logar-8359
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1050 kg of poisonous explosives seized in Kabul by Afghan intelligence
July 23, 2014
The Afghan Intelligence – National Directorate of Security (NDS) said Wednesday that the Afghan intelligence operatives foiled numerous terrorist attack plots in capital Kabul and other provinces.
Haseeb Sediqi, spokesman for the National Directorate of Security (NDS) told reporters that the attack plots were thwarted in the past one month.
Sediqi further added that the terrorist groups were looking to carry out at least 25 major attacks on key installations in the capital and other provinces.
He said Afghan intelligence thwarted a deadly attack plot in capital Kabul by confiscating 1,050 kg of explosives containing toxic materials from the 8th police district of Kabul city.
According to Sediqi, the explosives were transported to capital Kabul from Karachi port of Pakistan.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/1050-kg-of-poisonous-explosives-seized-in-kabul-by-afghan-intelligence-8362
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Religion-based parties create obstacles: PM Sheikh Hasina tells Girl Summit
July 23, 2014
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said her government is addressing child marriage problem in a holistic manner though it faces significant opposition from religion-based political parties such as Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
Jamaat also opposed Bangladesh's National Women Development Policy 2011 and threatened to scrap it, she told a High-Level Session of the maiden Girl Summit 2014 at Walworth Academy here.
“Child marriage certainly deserves our focused attention, but it can't be treated in isolation. In Bangladesh, we, therefore, are addressing the issue in a holistic manner which helped us achieve a sustained decline in the last two decades,” she added.
“Second is strong legislations. We've had in place a Child Marriage Restraint Act dating back to 1929. We're currently updating the law to provide harsher penalties and prosecution,” mentioned the PM.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/religion-based-parties-create-obstacles-34505
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PM Sheikh Hasina seeks more investment from Bangladeshi expats in UK
July 23, 2014
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called upon the Bangladeshi expatriates, especially that of Sylhet diaspora, to invest more in Bangladesh, including the energy sector.
She made the request when a five-member delegation of All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), led by Lord Sheikh, met her at Hotel Hilton on Park Lane in London yesterday afternoon.
In a joint press briefing after the meeting, PM's Press Secretary AKM Shamim Chowdhury and Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque told reporters that the meeting discussed how to increase trade with and investment in Bangladesh from the Sylhet community living in the UK.
Referring to the maritime boundary verdicts over Myanmar and India, Hasina said such verdicts have opened up the new door of investment, especially in the energy sector. “The UK companies are equally welcomed to participate and compete for gas and oil exploration in the Bay of Bengal,” she said.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/pm-seeks-more-investment-from-bangladeshi-expats-in-uk-34567
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India
Alienated Youth Running Away To Join The Global Jihad
Dalip Singh, New Delhi,
July 23, 2014
News reports of radicalised Muslim youths from the country taking up ‘jihad’ particularly in Syria and Iraq are now regularly figuring in media, raising concerns as India has always taken pride in not exporting human resources for global terror machines.
The government doesn’t seem to have the exact number of such ‘missing’ alienated, gullible minority community youth given that different numbers are figuring in published articles.
But many of them quote that at least 18 Muslims are suspected to have gone to Iraq and Syria to fight the religious war.
A few authentic instances reported include that of Haja Fakkurudeen and Arif Fayyaz. Fakkurudeen, 35, from Tamil Nadu wrote to his family confirming that he had joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Syria.
ISIS chief Abubakr Al-Baghdadi, who has called for establishing Caliphate in west Asia, had reportedly appealed to Muslim youth, essentially Sunnis from across the globe including India to join his outfit.
Similarly, Mumbai-based Ejaz Badruddin Majeed went public about his son Arif Fayyaz leaving for Iraq without their consent since he stated in a letter to their parents that “fighting has been enjoined upon you”. The engineering dropout student is suspected to be in Iraq along with three other residents of his locality in Kalyan.
Full report at:
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/421006/alienated-youth-running-away-join.html
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‘Pak Punjab governor informed me about Mumbai attacks’: Ved Pratap Vaidik
By Anup Datta in Bhopal
July 23, 2014
HINDI Press columnist Ved Pratap Vaidik could be on a verge of starting another controversy after M AIL T ODAY on Tuesday gained access to a video of his speech in which he claimed Pakistan’s Punjab governor called him up to inform about the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
“ Mumbai mein jab aatankwaadiyo ne kabja kiya hamare hotel par toh sabse pehle Lahore se governor ne phone kara mujhe aur bole ki TV on kijiye… hamare yaha ke gunday aapke yahan ghus gaye hain… maine kaha apkey gunday? Bole ki who jo boli bol rahe hain who hamari hi boli hai jaise ki Punjabiyo ki hoti hai… aap prime minister se kahiye ki unn par sakht karyawahi kare… who Lahore ke hain toh iska matlab yeh nahi ki hamare agent hai...” ( When terrorists captured a hotel in Mumbai, the Lahore governor called me up and said… please switch on your TV… hooligans from our country have entered your territory… I asked your hooligans? He said, the language they are speaking is of Punjabis ( Sindh)... you tell your prime minister to take strict actions against them… just because they are from Lahore, it doesn’t mean that they are our agents…” Vedik said while addressing a symposium ‘ Bharat Ke Bhavishya Ki Rajniti’ ( Politics of India’s Future) on January 4, this year, at Agar Malwa district headquarters in Madhya Pradesh.
Full report at:
Mail Today
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Outrage on Twitter after report on Sena MPs forcing Muslim staffer to eat during Ramzan
Express News Service | New Delhi | July 23, 2014
There has been widespread uproar after The Indian Express reported that a group of around 11 Shiv Sena MPs, apparently angry over not being served Maharashtrian food, allegedly forced a Muslim catering supervisor, who was fasting for Ramzan, to eat a Chapati at the new Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi last week.
While there were statements both for and against over the issue from across party lines, there were several reactions on social media as well. Here are some such reactions from Twitter:
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/outrage-on-twitter-after-express-report-on-sena-mps-forcing-muslim-staffer-to-eat-during-ramzan/
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Pakistan
No martial law till three polls: US, UK, UAE & ex-ISI chief had guaranteed
July 23, 2014
LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Shehla Raza has disclosed that it had been agreed under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) that no martial law would be imposed till three general elections in the country.
Speaking on the Geo News programme ‘News Room’, she said at the time of the implementation of the NRO, the US, the UK, the UAE, and the then ISI chief had assured that no martial law would be imposed till the holding of three general elections in the country. “America, Britain, the UAE and the then ISI chief had held out their guarantees,” Shehla Raza told anchorperson Aisha Bakhsh during the programme.
The PPP leader said that recently, her party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, along with former interior minister Rehman Malik and nine other party leaders, had proceeded to the US to remind all the stakeholders of their past promises.
She said the US had extended protocol to the ex-president and the Pakistani ambassador to the US had also met Asif Zardari in the US. She said the guarantee not to impose the martial law during at least three general elections was a ‘silent clause’ in the NRO.
“Political activists will be used to derail democracy by those who are busy enjoying cricket matches and foreign nationals who arrived here on the call of someone else.”She said it was very important to remind all the stakeholders of their promises that they could not use the masses in our country to derail democracy.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-31776-No-martial-law-till-three-polls-US-UK-UAE-&-ex-ISI-chief-had-guaranteed
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13 suspected militants killed in fresh North Waziristan airstrikes
July 23, 2014
PESHAWAR: At least 13 suspected militants were killed and their hideouts were destroyed Wednesday in air strikes carried out by fighter jets in the Shawal tehsil of North Waziristan.
Sources claimed that the jet strikes destroyed at least six hideouts in the Shawal mountains and the area near Dattakhel.
However, these claims could not be independently verified.
Air strikes were also carried out late on Tuesday.
The media has no access to the tribal region, making it difficult to verify the claims of military as well as militant sources.
The military operation named Zarb-i-Azb was launched by the Pakistan Army on June 15 following a brazen Taliban-claimed attack on Karachi's international airport and failure of peace talks between the government and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan negotiators.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1121056/13-suspected-militants-killed-in-fresh-north-waziristan-airstrikes
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Pakistan condemns Israel's aggression against Palestine
July 23, 2014
New York- Pakistan has condemned the continued Israeli aggression against the Palestinians in Gaza.
In a statement, Pakistan's permanent representative, Masood Khan urged the organization to play its role for ending the siege of Gaza.
He said the entire world has expressed its dismay over the Israeli aggression. Masood Khan regretted that the innocent Palestinians are being victimized in the presence of mass media. He said that one-fourth of the martyrs were children. The Pakistani representative stressed that peace in the region is possible only when Palestine is granted an independent status.
http://www.nation.com.pk/national/23-Jul-2014/pakistan-condemns-continued-israeli-aggression-against-palestine
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Elders vow to establish writ of govt in Bajaur
July 23, 2014
KHAR: The elders of Salarzai tribe in Bajaur Agency on Tuesday assured the political administration and security forces to establish writ of the government in the region.
During a jirga here on Tuesday, the tribal elders pledged to step up their efforts against militants to stop cross-border attacks in the area.
A large number of tribal elders belonging to various sub tribes, leaders of peace committees, Brig Ghulam Haider, Political Agent Syed Abdul Jabar Shah and other senior officials attended the jirga.
The participants of the jirga discussed issues related to law and order situation in the region, militant activities along the border areas, working of village defence committees, strategy for countering anti-social activities and cross-border attacks.
Addressing the jirga, the political agent said that administration was committed to maintaining peace and writ of the government in the agency. Unfortunately law and order situation in the region remained unsatisfactory for the last several weeks, he added.
The official said that occurrence of several unpleasant incidents in the agency particularly in the border areas was reaction to military operation against militants in North Waziristan Agency.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1121035/elders-vow-to-establish-writ-of-govt-in-bajaur
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‘Monarchy’ to be replaced with democracy: Imran
July 23, 2014
PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has claimed that his party is ready to do away with ‘monarchy’ and establish ‘genuine democracy’ in the country.
“There is total monarchy in the country in the garb of democracy. We are coming out on Aug 14 with full force to send ‘Badshahat’ packing and replace it with true democracy,” he said.
Imran Khan’s agitation
Speaking at a ceremony here on Tuesday to launch the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s initiative to give a subsidy of Rs600 each per month to a poor family on wheat flour and ghee, Mr Khan said the programme would cost Rs7 billion in one year and benefit more than 350,000 families.
He said politics should revolve around the people’s welfare and reiterated his claim that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be purged of corruption and people would get rid of politicians and officials who did not serve them.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1121013/monarchy-to-be-replaced-with-democracy-imran
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World journalists body sees bid to silence Geo News
July 23, 2014
PARIS: Reporters Without Borders has condemned the use of intimidation and violence as a new way to silence the embattled TV news station Geo News after unidentified gunmen torched cable TV operator WorldCall’s premises in Karachi on July 19.
WorldCall had only recently resumed the transmission of Geo News, which a government agency suspended for 15 days last month.“This attack was an illegal act of censorship and an unacceptable act of intimidation of cable operators, who play a key role in freedom of information,” said Benjamin Ismail, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific desk.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-154715-World-journalists-body-sees-bid-to-silence-Geo-News
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Mideast
Dozen Palestinians, 2 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza
July 23, 2014
At least a dozen Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed overnight in the Gaza Strip.
The death toll on the 16th day of an Israeli offensive climbed to 639, Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said. More than 4,000 have been injured.
Twenty-nine Israeli soldiers have died during six nights and days of ground fighting, the military said.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/dozen-palestinians-2-israeli-soldiers-killed-in-gaza/article6240787.ece
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Turkey's religious head calls new Islamic 'caliphate' illegitimate
July 23, 2014
The declaration of a “caliphate” by Islamist militants in Iraq lacks legitimacy and their death threats to Christians are a danger to civilization, the head of Turkey’s religious authority has said.
The Islamic State, an armed group that has captured territory across Iraq, declared its leader, Ibrahim al-Baghdadi, “caliph” last month.
“Such declarations have no legitimacy whatsoever,” said Mehmet Görmez, the head of Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate. “Since the caliphate was abolished there have been movements that think they can pull together the Muslim world by re-establishing a caliphate, but they have nothing to do with reality, either from a political or legal perspective.”
Görmez also said death threats against non-Muslims made by the group, formerly known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), were "hugely damaging."
“The statement made against Christians is truly awful. Islamic scholars need to focus on this [because] an inability to peacefully sustain other faiths and cultures heralds the collapse of a civilization,” he told Reuters.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-religious-head-calls-new-islamic-caliphate-illegitimate.aspx?pageID=238&nID=69478&NewsCatID=393
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Al Qaeda in Yemen imposes strict Shariah law on residents
July 23, 2014
ADEN/DUBAI // Yemen’s Al Qaeda wing has ordered men and women in the east to obey its strict interpretation of Islamic law, saying it aimed to set up an emirate in the remote area, local media and a resident said.
The announcement by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) will stoke concerns about the territorial ambitions of militant groups weeks after Al Qaeda offshoot Islamic State declared its own caliphate across parts of Syria and Iraq.
AQAP — one of the most active branches of the global militant network — has been shifting its operations to Yemen’s eastern Hadramout province after the army, backed by US drones, helped drive it out of southern strongholds this year.
The impoverished country neighbouring the world’s biggest oil producer, Saudi Arabia, is also facing southern separatists, northern rebels and political turmoil that surged after 2011 protests unseated president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Full report at:
http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/al-qaeda-in-yemen-imposes-strict-shariah-law-on-residents#ixzz38DXKRXfi
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Turkish PM Erdoğan hits out at Egypt for ‘silence’ over Palestine
July 23, 2014
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan once again hit out at the international community, particularly Egypt, for “remaining silent” against the ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza, while addressing his parliamentary group July 22. During the speech, Erdoğan wore a scarf resembling a keffiyeh across his shoulders, symbolizing solidarity with the Palestinians.
“Israel continues to occupy Palestine step by step, while killing Palestinians. Neither the United Nations, nor Western countries, nor Islamic nations are reacting seriously. The world is just watching children die. The world is just watching attacks on hospitals and houses of worship. But as states are taking such a stance, the people [of the world] are reacting and taking to the streets,” he said, saluting all countries where anti-Israel demonstrations have recently taken place.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-pm-erdogan-hits-out-at-egypt-for-silence-over-palestine.aspx?pageID=238&nID=69450&NewsCatID=510
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2,000 mercenaries fighting alongside Israel
July 23, 2014
GAZA – The two Americans killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip followed in the footsteps of scores of Jews from around the world who have volunteered to fight for Israel.
Israel calls them the ‘lone soldiers’: They are men and women in the prime of their lives who have left their parents and often comfortable lives behind in places like Sydney, London, Los Angeles and elsewhere to join the Israel Defense Forces.
There are about 2,000 “lone soldiers” currently serving in the military, said Marina Rozhansky, spokeswoman at the Israel Consul General in Los Angeles. Groups for families of ‘lone soldiers’ have recently started in Los Angeles and other cities, providing a support network as the fighting intensifies.
For Jews who left Israel before the age of 15 or who never lived there, their service is voluntary. For many, it is a calling, a way to get back to their roots and unite the world’s Jewish population. Some have dual citizenship. Others speak little to no Hebrew and have only recently been to Israel.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20140723212391
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Lift Gaza 'siege' as part of ceasefire: Palestinian PM
July 23, 2014
The lifting of the economic blockade of the Gaza Strip must form part of any ceasefire deal, the Palestinian prime minister has said.
Speaking during a visit by the UN secretary-general, Rami Hamdallah said it was time for the "siege to stop".
More than 630 Palestinians and 30 Israelis have been killed in the past 15 days of fighting, officials say.
The Israeli bombardment of Gaza is aimed at stopping rockets being fired into Israel by Palestinian militants.
Both Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry are in the region to try to put an end to the fighting.
They both called for an immediate end to hostilities and for the underlying causes of the conflict to be addressed.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/lift-gaza-siege-as-part-of-ceasefire-palestinian-pm-34543
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Iranian Leader’s Nuclear Ban Ruling (Fatwa) Remains Elusive
July 23, 2014
The Iranian regime claims that it does not want to use nuclear energy for military purposes and in order to prove this point they refer to a Fatwa or religious ruling of the Iranian Supreme Leader which allegedly forbids the weapons of mass destruction. Javad Zarif, the foreign minister of Iran, has said that Iran will turn this fatwa into law in order to assure others about Iran’s nuclear intentions.
On 26/10/1391, the spokesperson of the Iranian foreign ministry is asked : “Noting the recent interview of the Iranian Foreign Minister with Foreign Policy and declaring that Tehran is ready to register the Fatwa of Ayatollah Khamenei as a mandatory [!?] Document of the UN, has this happened and have you presented this proposal to the members of the P 5+1?”
To which he responded: “The Islamic Republic is against the use of WMD…for us nothing is more important than implementing the fatwa of the leader…but the Western countries have not a clear understanding of our Islamic beliefs and the fatwas of our Islamic scholars.” (1)
In other words, the foreign ministry does not answer any of those questions.
Full report at:
http://iranian.com/posts/iranian-leader-s-nuclear-ban-ruling-fatwa-remains-elusive-35787/jumpto/idcomment-59144
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It's like 1938, says Israeli ambassador to Germany: Outbreaks of anti-Semitism on the rise across Europe
July 23, 2014
Jewish people are being attacked and abused on the streets of Germany as though the country were back in the Nazi era, political and religious leaders warned yesterday.
Escalating violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has prompted a disturbing rise in anti-Semitism in Europe in the last few days.
Murderous slogans dating back to the days of Hitler have been chanted at pro-Palestinian rallies in Germany. Jewish-owned shops were attacked and burned in riots in France at the weekend.
The Israeli ambassador to Germany, Yakov Hadas-Handelsman, said: ‘They pursue the Jews in the streets of Berlin… as if we were in 1938.’
Jewish groups expressed disgust over the tide of hate crimes and warned of ‘a new level of hatred and violence in all of Europe’.
Foreign ministers from Germany, France and Italy yesterday issued a joint statement condemning the rise in anti-Semitic protests and violence and vowed to combat hostility against Jewish people.
Full report at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2701365/Anti-Semitic-attacks-rise-Europe-German-French-Italian-foreign-ministers-condemn-growing-hostility-against-Jews-wake-Gaza-conflict.html#ixzz38H4Gydj5
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Civilian deaths in Gaza refute Israel’s claims to morality
National Editorial
July 23, 2014
The bloody assault on Gaza ought to finally refute the Israel Defense Forces’ persistent claims to be “the most moral army in the world”. For all the spin about taking extraordinary steps to avoid civilian casualties, the figures emerging from Gaza tell the truth: the vast majority of the 550-plus victims so far have been civilians and many of them children.
No neutral observer who watches massive bombs explode in densely populated urban areas of the Gaza Strip can honestly believe that these are the “pinpoint” attacks of Israeli propaganda. For all the talk about sending text messages warning families to vacate their homes and then sending a shell without a payload as a warning, on several occasions entire families have been obliterated.
Full report at:
http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/civilian-deaths-in-gaza-refute-israels-claims-to-morality#ixzz38GTUEIIk
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Europe
Muslims plotted to ‘Islamise’ state-run schools, claims UK inquiry
July 23, 2014
LONDON: A report commissioned by the British government-claimed on Tuesday that it had found evidence of a coordinated effort to Islamise state-run schools in the city of Birmingham by taking control of their governing bodies.
The investigation into allegations of a hardline Muslim “plot” at state-run schools said people in positions of influence had either supported or failed to challenge efforts to introduce “aggressive” Islam.
But the damning report said it had neither looked for, nor found, evidence of violent extremism, terrorism of radicalisation in the schools in England’s second city.
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan told lawmakers the report by former police counter-terrorism chief Peter Clarke was “disturbing” and announced measures to regulate more closely who was involved in running schools.
“There has been coordinated, deliberate and sustained action, carried out by a number of associated individuals, to introduce an intolerant and aggressive Islamic ethos into a few schools in Birmingham,” Clarke’s report said.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1120927/muslims-plotted-to-islamise-state-run-schools-claims-uk-inquiry
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Scientists, doctors write an open letter condemning violence in Gaza
R. PRASAD
July 23, 2014
A strongly worded open letter signed by 24 doctors and scientists condemning Israel’s continued aggression of Gaza and the unspeakable atrocities committed on innocent people, including women and children, was published by The Lancet on July 22.
Among others, the letter has been signed by Prof. Paola Manduca, Professor of Genetics, University of Genoa, Italy; Sir Iain Chalmers, James Lind Library, Oxford, UK; Prof. Derek Summerfield, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College, London and Mads Gilbert, Professor and Clinical Head, Clinic of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital of North Norway
“We ask our colleagues, old and young professionals, to denounce this Israeli aggression. We challenge the perversity of a propaganda that justifies the creation of an emergency to masquerade a massacre, a so-called "defensive aggression". In reality it is a ruthless assault of unlimited duration, extent, and intensity,” they write.
“They kill all the time and nothing is said about Israel,” Prof. Summerfield told this Correspondent over phone from London. “Israel has been given a special status by the West. Israel is not a normal country. It is intrinsically a part of the Western order... There is a collusion of the West in this crime.”
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/scientists-doctors-write-an-open-letter-condemning-violence-in-gaza/article6239117.ece
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BBC Arabic television reporter is attacked on air 'by angry Israeli
July 23, 2014
A BBC reporter has been attacked live on air by an 'angry Israeli' as he reported from the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Feras Khatib was speaking from the Israeli city of Ashkelon this morning when without warning he was hurled sideways by an unidentified assailant.
Colleagues of the BBC Arabic correspondent restrained the man and pulled him out of shot as Mr Khatib regained his composure, continuing to speak within just one second.
The attacker soon left and was not arrested, while the reporter - who was speaking Arabic during his broadcast at 10.30am British time - was unharmed.
The incident highlights the level of tension in Israel as international outrage builds over the two-week war which has so far killed more than 600 Palestinians and 29 Israelis.
Gaza's Health Ministry says at least 609 Palestinians have been killed in the territory, while the U.N. office of humanitarian affairs estimates at least three quarters were civilians, Reuters reported.
Full report at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2701656/BBC-Arabic-television-reporter-attacked-air-angry-Israeli-composes-carry-on.html#ixzz38H4dKbfP
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UK ambassador to Israel blames Hamas for Gaza war
July 23, 2014
The United Kingdom blames Hamas for the IDF’s military operation against Gaza and supports Israel’s right to defend itself, its ambassador Matthew Gould told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.
“This was a conflict triggered by Hamas raining down on Israel hundreds and hundreds of rockets fired indiscriminately at Israeli towns and cities. Israel has a right and indeed an obligation to defend its citizens,” Gould said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron delivered the same message to his parliament on Monday, Gould said, adding that Cameron said that Israel’s critics should ask themselves what they would do if their country was attacked.
He spoke during a visit to the South to see the situation first-hand. Although rockets have landed in the center of the country where he lives, the situation is much more acute in the south of the country.
Gould said he understood that just a short distance from where he sat in Sderot, innocent Palestinians in Gaza had been killed in the fighting.
Full report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/UK-ambassador-to-Israel-blames-Hamas-for-Gaza-war-368563
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"No safe place for civilians" in Gaza, UN says
July 23, 2014
Palestinian civilians in densely-populated Gaza have no place to hide from Israel's military offensive and children are paying the heaviest price, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
"There is literally no safe place for civilians," Jens Laerke, spokesman of the UN Office for Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA), told a news briefing in Geneva.
More than 600 people have been killed in the coastal enclave which has an estimated 4,500 people per square kilometer, Laerke said. The priority for aid agencies was protecting civilians and evacuating and treating the wounded.
Nearly 500 homes have been destroyed by Israeli air strikes and 100,000 people have sought shelter in schools of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), where they need food, water and mattresses, he said.
Israel began air strikes on the coastal strip on July 8, saying it wanted to halt missile fire out of Gaza by Hamas militants, and launched a ground offensive last Thursday. Israel pounded targets across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, dashing hopes of a pause in the fighting. Hamas rejected an Egyptian ceasefire proposal last week.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/106845/World/Region/No-safe-place-for-civilians-in-Gaza,-UN-says.aspx
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German engineer embraces Islam
July 23, 2014
MAKKAH — A German engineer embraced Islam after he was convinced its teachings and its suitability for all times.
The 69-year old engineer changed his name to Sami Shafeeq.
He said he has been thinking about reverting to Islam for a while and reverted after getting convinced that Islam was a true religion.
He explained he was curious about Islam and on a trip to Jeddah he met with a person who explained Islam and its teachings, and recited Surah Al-Fatihah (the opening chapter of the Qur'an to him.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20140723212450
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Africa
Central African Republic Muslim rebels demand partition
World Bulletin/News Desk
July 23, 2014
Seleka rebels have demanded that Central African Republic be partitioned into a Muslim north and a Christian south, a surprise move at talks aimed at halting religious violence, sources at the meeting said on Tuesday.
Seleka's head of delegation to the three-day forum in Brazzaville, General Mohamed Moussa Dhaffane, told a session it was time to formalise the split after tens of thousands of Muslims had fled the south.
The talks, bringing together 169 delegates from the transitional government, civil society and armed groups, are aimed at reaching a ceasefire and disarmament of the mostly Muslim Seleka rebels and 'anti-balaka' Christian militia.
Thousands have been killed and more than a million forced from their homes by months of sectarian violence in the country which erupted after Seleka leader and interim president Michel Djotodia stepped down under international pressure.
The Christian militias stepped up revenge attacks on Muslims, driving the rebels along with Muslim civilians northwards, creating a de facto partition.
Full report at:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/headlines/141173/central-african-republic-muslim-rebels-demand-partition
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Nigeria: President Meets With Parents of Schoolgirls Captured by Militants
July 23, 2014
President Goodluck Jonathan met for the first time on Tuesday with parents of several hundred schoolgirls kidnapped from the town of Chibok and dozens of classmates who escaped their militant captors. Mr. Jonathan assured the group of his determination that the captives would be “brought out alive,” a presidential spokesman told reporters afterward. At least 11 of the parents have died since the kidnappings by Boko Haram in April — seven in a village attack and four of health problems, residents said. Tuesday’s meeting came after some parents refused to meet Mr. Jonathan last week. For months the parents had been asking to see him, and he finally agreed to do so after a request from the young Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/world/africa/nigeria-president-meets-with-parents-of-schoolgirls-captured-by-militants.html
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Clashes between Libya army, Islamists kill 16: Medical sources
July 23, 2014
Sixteen people, most of them soldiers, were killed and 81 injured in clashes between the Libyan army and Islamist fighters in the eastern city of Benghazi, medical and military sources told AFP Tuesday.
"Most of the dead and injured are soldiers. Three civilians, including an Egyptian, were killed when a rocket hit their house," a hospital source said on condition of anonymity.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/106825/World/Region/Clashes-between-Libya-army,-Islamists-kill--Medica.aspx
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S. Sudan rebel delegation shunned by Uganda’s Museveni
World Bulletin / News Desk
July 23, 2014
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni rejected to meet a delegation representing South Sudanese rebel group who arrived in Kampala for “preliminary” talks with the Ugandan leader, the group’s representative in Addis Ababa Goy Yooyul Yol said.
“The delegation of the South Sudanese Peoples’ Liberation Movement in Opposition flew to Kampala on Monday to hold preliminary talks with the Ugandan president,” Yol told Anadolu Agency, noting that the trip came in response to an invitation from Museveni who asked to meet the group’s leader Riek Machar.
“Museveni had asked to meet Machar through a messenger in the person of former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo,” he said, adding that Machar accepted the offer but demanded preliminary talks for security assurances.
Full report at:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/141188/s-sudan-rebel-delegation-shunned-by-ugandas-museveni
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North America
US Think Tank: Kurdish Statehood Coming “sooner rather than later”
July 23, 2014
NEW YORK—Recent shifts in the political landscape of the Middle East mean that Iraq’s Kurds will gain independence “sooner rather than later”, according to Steven Cook, an analyst for the US think tank the Council on Foreign Relations.
“There is a certain inevitability here. I don’t know the date for Kurdish independence in Iraq but it’s coming sooner rather than later,” Cook said during a seminar on Israeli-Palestinian violence and the takeover of swathes of Iraq and Syria by the hardline Islamic State.
“They are not committed to a unified Iraq, which they call a fiction. They are going through the political process in Baghdad to prove to everybody that they are not to be blamed for the breakup of Iraq. When this political process comes to an end – without anybody’s satisfaction – the Kurds will ultimately make moves to go their own way.”
Cook spoke from Washington on Tuesday as the Islamic State, an al-Qaeda offshoot that has also been called ISIS and ISIL, continued to threaten Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, having won stretches of northern Iraq during a lightening advance from neighboring Syria in June.
Cook, a scholar who visited the Kurdistan Region last month, said the goal of Kurdish independence was bolstered by the autonomous region’s growing oil exports and less hostility from Turkey towards the creation of a Kurdish state.
Full report at:
http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/23072014
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Washington’s key role in Israel’s military offensive
Jonathan Cook
July 23, 2014
Two reporters for major US TV channels were summarily “removed” last week from covering Israel’s attack on Gaza, moments before Israel launched a ground invasion.
NBC pulled out Ayman Mohyeldin, who has been widely praised for the even-handedness of his reporting from Gaza, just as he landed a harrowing scoop. He had kicked a football with four boys who were killed moments later by an Israeli missile.
Mr Mohyeldin managed a few tweets before being removed, allegedly on “security” grounds. But why then did NBC immediately send in a replacement? After a public outcry, Mr Mohyeldin was reinstated, but no proper explanation has been provided about the original decision.
Shortly afterwards, CNN “reassigned” Diana Magnay, its reporter in Israel, after she labelled an Israeli mob as “scum” in a tweet having filmed them celebrating missile explosions in Gaza. They had threatened her with violence.
Full report at:
http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/washingtons-key-role-in-israels-military-offensive#ixzz38GRk4SXu
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U.S. House move to block Hezbollah funding
23 July 2014
U.S. lawmakers voted Tuesday to thwart efforts to fund Hezbollah by punishing banks and other financial organizations that help the funneling of money to the Lebanese Shiite militant group.
The House of Representatives voted unanimously to broaden financial sector sanctions on Hezbollah and allow the U.S. Treasury more power to “relentlessly” pursue foreign banks, including central banks, that do business with the group that Washington designated a foreign terrorist organization in 1995.
The Senate would need to pass the legislation before President Barack Obama signs it into law. The bill has yet to be placed on the Senate calendar.
“This bill builds on the existing sanctions regime by placing Hezbollah’s sources of financing under additional scrutiny, particularly those resources outside of Lebanon,” House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce said shortly before the vote.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/07/23/U-S-House-move-to-block-Hezbollah-funding.html
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CAIR Collects 1,000+ Letters Urging Md. Senators to Call for End to Killing in Gaza
July 23, 2014
The Maryland Outreach Office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced today that it has collected more than 1,000 letters signed by members of that state's Muslim community at Ramadan-related events over the weekend calling for an immediate end to Israel's targeting of civilians in Gaza. [NOTE: During the month-long fast of Ramadan, Muslims hold special prayers and other activities at mosques nationwide.]
Other CAIR chapters around the nation are launching similar campaigns.
"American taxpayers are funding Israel's use of excessive, inhumane force against Palestinian civilians in Gaza," said CAIR Maryland Outreach Manager Zainab Chaudry. "We urge Senators Mikulski and Cardin to intervene and call for an immediate halt to the targeting of innocent civilians - especially children - by the Israeli military."
Full report at:
http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/12572-cair-collects-1000-letters-to-maryland-senators-on-gaza-killing.html
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Sectarian Crisis in Middle East: Legacy of western imperialism
July 23, 2014
The sectarian conflicts raging in Iraq and Syria will be lasting and cause significant damage, noted historian from Rice University of the USA Ussama Makdisi said at a seminar in Dhaka yesterday.
“The various problems of sectarianism in the Middle East, in other words, have been manufactured by Western, Israeli, Iranian and Arab actors using readily available social and political and historical material,” he said.
Ussama, the first holder of the Arab-American Educational Foundation Chair of Arab Studies at Rice University in Texas, USA, gave a lecture on “The Historical Roots of the Current Sectarian Crisis in the Middle East” at Brac University.
The professor who was born in the USA but raised in the Arab world observed that sectarianism found in today's Middle East was a legacy of Western imperialism that had done enormous and lasting damage to the inhabitants of the region.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/city/legacy-of-western-imperialism-34483
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Oklahoma Jewish, Muslim communities express concern over Middle East violence
July 23, 2014
The escalating violence in the Gaza Strip is heart breaking, several leaders in the local Jewish and Muslim communities said recently.
And each faith community has held gatherings to offer prayer and calls for peace for those affected by the Middle East hostilities.
A few days before the Fourth of July holiday, many members of the local Jewish faith community held a prayer vigil at Stars and Stripes Park at Lake Hefner. Rabbi Vered Harris, religious leader of Temple B’nai Israel, said the temple joined with members of Emanuel Synagogue to pray for the families of the three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped and killed, reportedly by the terrorist group Hamas.
She said it is important to note that the Jewish community also prayed for an Arab-American youth who was killed after the three Israeli teens were slain. One of the Israeli teens also had U.S. citizenship.
Full report at:
http://newsok.com/oklahoma-jewish-muslim-communities-express-concern-over-middle-east-violence/article/5011726
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U.S. Military Is Scrutinized Over Trash Burning in Afghanistan
July 23, 2014
The United States military spent millions of dollars on garbage incinerators in Afghanistan that went unused as tons of trash burned in open piles, wafting toxic smoke over thousands of troops, according to a report released Tuesday by an American watchdog agency.
The new report focused on Shindand Air Base in western Afghanistan but echoed the findings of three previous reports by the agency, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, since April 2013. All found that the Defense Department wasted millions of dollars on incinerators at major bases that operated at a fraction of capacity — if at all — while the open burning of toxic material continued.
The reports also concluded that the military in Afghanistan violated regulations put in place by Congress and the Pentagon to end large-scale open-pit trash burning after the health risks of the practice gained national attention during the war in Iraq.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/us/us-military-is-scrutinized-over-trash-burning-in-afghanistan.html
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After 13-year struggle, US faces counter-terror fatigue
July 23, 2014
WASHINGTON : After 13 years of struggle, Americans are showing a growing public fatigue and waning sense of urgency over terrorism, an attitude that threatens US security, members of the panel that investigated the Sept 11 attacks said in a report on Tuesday.
A decade after issuing the official account of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, the former members of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission issued a new report warning that, while the world has changed dramatically, the threat from terrorism remains and has "entered a new and dangerous phase."
"Many Americans think that the terrorist threat is waning - that, as a country, we can begin turning back to other concerns. They are wrong," the report said. "The threat remains grave and the trend lines in many parts of the world are pointing in the wrong direction."
"Al Qaeda-affiliated groups are gaining strength throughout the greater Middle East," it added. "While the various al Qaeda spinoffs are primarily focused on regional conflicts, they hate the United States and will not forego opportunities to strike at the US homeland."
Full report at:
http://www.nation.com.pk/international/23-Jul-2014/after-13-year-struggle-us-faces-counter-terror-fatigue
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Kerry lands in Israel on Gaza truce mission
July 23, 2014
Washington's top diplomat flew into Tel Aviv Wednesday, defying a US flight ban, to try to broker an end to violence in Gaza, which has killed hundreds and hobbled Israel's main airport.
Secretary of State John Kerry jetted in from Cairo to Ben Gurion airport, with reporters banned from reporting the trip until his custom Boeing 757 touched down.
He immediately set off for Jerusalem where he was to meet visiting UN chief Ban Ki-moon, after which he was to travel to the West Bank city of Ramallah for talks with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, a State Department official said.
He was later to return to Tel Aviv for talks at the defence ministry with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the official said, adding that Kerry had been engaged in phonecalls with regional foreign ministers until the early hours of Wednesday.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/kerry-lands-in-israel-on-gaza-truce-mission.aspx?pageID=238&nID=69494&NewsCatID=359
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Southeast Asia
Ex-chief justice a liar, racist and extremist, says Guan Eng
July 23, 2014
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has hit out at a former chief justice for claiming that Islam was under threat in the state, calling the latter a "liar, racist and an extremist".
In slamming Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad, Lim said that the state has allocated more funds to Muslims for their activities compared with the previous Barisan Nasional administration.
"This ex-CJ has exposed himself to be a racist, an extremist and a liar. He said that we are neglecting Islam but he is blind to fact that we have increased allocations for them.
"In fact, we have given more to Muslims than BN ever did, so much so that Gerakan attacked us for giving so much to Muslims. Yet, at the same time, Umno attacks us for neglecting Islam," he said today.
He said although Gerakan and Umno were in the BN coalition together, they had been inconsistent in their accusations against the Penang government, proving that this was politically motivated.
"Why is there a contradiction? Gerakan says we give too much and Umno says otherwise."
Hamid had said, in a speech obtained from his website, that the position of Islam as the official religion of the federation was under threat in Penang, adding that many non-Muslims wanted their own religions to be granted the same status.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/ex-chief-justice-a-liar-racist-and-extremist-says-guan-eng#sthash.7GNK6D90.dpuf
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Prabowo Calls on World Leaders to ‘Withhold Congratulatory Statements’ to Jokowi
July 23, 2014
Jakarta. The campaign team of Prabowo Subianto has called on the international community to withhold congratulatory statements to president-elect Joko Widodo until the losing presidential candidate has resolved accusations of electoral fraud in the Constitutional Court.
“Prabowo never withdrew from the election process,” spokesman Tantowi Yahya said at the InterContinental Hotel in Central Jakarta on Wednesday. “He withdrew from the recapitulation process.”
This morning’s press conference was attended by Tantowi, lawyer Mahendrata and Prabowo’s chief adviser and patron, Hashim Djojohadikusumo. The conference was announced last night to address whether or not Prabowo had formally withdrawn his candidacy to become Indonesia’s next president.
Prabowo addressed reporters on Tuesday just hours before the official announcement of the vote count and said that he was withdrawing from the counting process — an unexpected spanner in the works that was widely interpreted to mean he was canceling his candidacy.
Joko Widodo was confirmed as president on Tuesday night by the Indonesian General Election Commission (KPU). Joko won 53.15 percent of the vote, while Prabowo received 46.85 percent.
Prabowo has steadfastly refused to yield to the official result, and has maintained throughout that “massive” electoral fraud tainted the 2014 election to the point where the vote, in his view, cannot be regarded as fair.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/prabowo-calls-world-leaders-withhold-congratulatory-statements-jokowi/
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Islam in its prime in Pakatan-led Penang, says executive councillor
July 23, 2014
Perplexed by Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad's allegation that Islam was under threat in Penang, the executive councillor in charge of religion described the outburst as "sheer nonsense, absurd and ridiculous".
Datuk Abdul Malik Abul Kassim expressed shock over Hamid's claims and said the examples given by the former chief justice to support his "Islam under threat in Penang" statement, were absurd.
"We have facts and figures to prove that Islam is in its prime under the Pakatan Rakyat's administration since March 2008.
"I am annoyed that as a former chief judge, Hamid seems to have ignored the facts by making such assumptions," he said at a press conference in his Komtar office today.
To prove his point, Malik listed the various allocations given out to mosques, religious schools, religious teachers and Islamic programmes to strengthen Muslims' faith in the state.
Hamid, in a speech obtained from his website, had said that the position of Islam as the official religion of the federation was under threat in DAP-led Penang.
He said many non-Muslims in Malaysia wanted their own religions to be granted the same status.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/islam-in-its-prime-in-pakatan-led-penang-says-exco#sthash.PWkLqLkx.dpuf
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/blind-jihadist-pictured-fighting-alongside/d/98264