China Executes Eight in Xinjiang, Including Tiananmen Attackers
New Age Islam News Bureau
24
Aug 2014
PTI supporters in Islamabad - Photo by Reuters
South Asia
• China Executes Eight in Xinjiang, Including Tiananmen Attackers
• Taliban commanders among 80 killed during joint operations in Aghanistan
• Suicide attack targets NATO troops convoy in Afghanistan
• Afghan forces ordered to retaliate against Pak forces provocative moves
• War criminals ‘staging drama’ to get bail
Arab World
• Syria: 50 Militants Killed in Army Ambush in Deraa
• Syrian Forces Kill Scores of Militants in Raqqa
• Syrian tribesmen kill 18 IS fighters
• Scholars Underscore Role of Media in Tackling Extremism
• Iraq and Iran discuss need for global action against Islamic State
• Islamic State jihadists turn their sights back on Syria
• IS terrorism focus of Jeddah dialogue
• Qatar hits back at claims it backs Islamic State
• Al-Nusra fighters posts video of kidnapped Lebanese police
Mideast
• Hamas executes four more suspected Israeli spies in Gaza
• Gaza offensive to continue as long as necessary: Netanyahu
• Yemen talks with Shia rebels 'fail': President Envoy
• Iran FM visits Iraqi neighbour at war with IS
• Palestinian Authority slams Hamas executions
• Israel air strike kills two in Gaza after Egypt calls talks
• Iran unveils new short-range missiles, drones
India
• Pak Protester Cleric Tahir ul-Qadri’s Indian Link: 10,000 Supporters and Growing
• Kerala Prohibition Takes Communal Turn: Hindu Groups See Christian, Muslim Hand
• 4 militants, one Jawan killed in encounter in J&K
Africa
• Libya Islamists say Egypt, UAE carried out Tripoli raids
• 35 Nigeria police ‘missing’ after Boko Haram raid
• Niger minister arrested in scandal involving babies trafficked from Nigeria
• Islamists branded 'terrorists' after fall of Tripoli airport
Europe
• UN urges intl’ community to save Iraqi town besieged by ISIS
• British MP offers EU carrot to Turkey in return for stronger fight against ISIL
• British rapper ‘L Jinny’ suspect in Foley killing
Pakistan
• Weekend Swells Tsunami, Inquilab Looks Worn Out
• Army will never utilise ‘musical show’ for power, says Maulana Fazl ur Rehman
• Shrine caretaker among 12 killed in violence across Karachi
• PTI flayed for instigating Pashtun youth to violence
• Zardari: Pakistan Premier Sharif 'need not resign'
• Pakistan government rejects protesters’ demand; talks failed to end logjam
• Cannot think of marriage before Naya Pakistan: Imran
• Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Warns Of ‘Third Force’ Intervention
• Pakistani Youth uneasy about political impasse
North America
• Canadian Jihadi welcomes Israeli Jews to join ISIS... if they convert
• Obama again faces tug of military action in Syria
• CAIR Seeks Probe of Bias Motive for Attack on Muslim Woman in Indiana
Southeast Asia
• United in grief, but still a nation divided: Malaysian PM
• Khalid has many positive traits but he was insensitive, says Anwar
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/china-executes-eight-xinjiang,-including/d/98708
-----------
South Asia
China Executes Eight in Xinjiang, Including Tiananmen Attackers
August 24, 2014
China has executed eight people in the north-western region of Xinjiang, for what it calls "terrorist" attacks, reports the state news agency Xinhua.
Three of those executed had been convicted of an attack in Tiananmen Square in Beijing last October, in which five people died, Xinhua said.
The others were found guilty of crimes including bomb-making and arson.
The government has accused separatist militants based in Xinjiang of carrying out a string of recent attacks.
Xinjiang is the traditional home of Muslim Uighurs, who speak a distinct language and have different customs to the majority Han population elsewhere in China.
'Masterminds'
Huseyin Guxur, Yusup Wherniyas and Yusup Ehmet were "deprived of political rights for life" because of their role in the deadly car crash on Tiananmen Square in October 2013, Xinhua said.
"They masterminded the terrorist attack," the news agency added.
In the incident, a car rammed into bystanders on the politically important Beijing square before bursting into flames.
Two tourists died, along with three of the attackers.
Xinhua named some of the other men who were executed along with the Tiananmen attack perpetrators:
Rozi Eziz, convicted of an attack on police in 2013
Abdusalam Elim, found guilty of leading a terrorism organisation
Memet Tohtiyusup, who was found to have killed someone and watched videos on religious extremism
Abdumomin Imin, described as a "terrorist ringleader"
Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uighur Congress exile group, called the executions "a typical case of the law serving political ends".
Chinese officials often attribute attacks in Xinjiang to Uighur separatists, accusing them of seeking to establish an independent state called East Turkestan.
Beijing has recently blamed them for an attack in May at a market in Urumqi, that left at least 31 people dead.
It also accused them of being behind a mass knife attack in the southern province of Yunnan in March, in which 29 were killed and more than 130 injured.
Uighur leaders deny they are co-ordinating a terrorist campaign.
They say the government's repressive policies in Xinjiang have provoked the unrest.
Uighurs and Xinjiang
Uighurs are ethnically Turkic Muslims
They make up about 45% of the region's population; 40% are Han Chinese
China re-established control in 1949 after crushing short-lived state of East Turkestan
Since then, there has been large-scale immigration of Han Chinese
Uighurs fear erosion of traditional culture
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-28917604
-----------
Taliban Commanders among 80 Killed During Joint Operations in Afghanistan
Aug 24 2014
At least 80 Taliban militants were killed following counter-terrorism operations in various provinces of Afghanistan in the past 24 hours.
The ministry of interior of Afghanistan (MoI) following a statement said the operations were jointly conducted by Afghan national police, Afghan national army and Afghan intelligence – national directorate of security (NDS) operatives.
The statement further added that the operations were conducted in Kunar, FAryab, Kandahar, Maidan Wardak, Logar and Helmand provinces.
Interior said majority of the militants were killed during operations in Faryab province and numerous Taliban commanders are among those killed.
At least 47 militants were also injured during the operations, MoI said, adding that Afghan national security forces confiscated various types of heavy and light weapons along with the ammunition.
Afghan national police forces discovered and seized 10 improvised explosive device (IED) during the same operations, MoI said.
Interior ministry said the improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were recently planted by Taliban militants for the insurgency activities.
The anti-government armed militant groups have not commented regarding the report so far.
http://www.khaama.com/taliban-commanders-among-80-killed-during-joint-operations-moi-8487
-----------
Suicide attack targets NATO troops convoy in Nangarhar province
By GHANIZADA - Sun Aug 24 2014,
A suicide bomber targeted a convoy of the NATO-led coalition security forces in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.
According to local government officials, the incident took place in Behsud district after a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into the convoy of the coalition forces.
Provincial police spokesman, Hazrat Hussain Mashriqwal, said the area has been cordoned off and further details regarding the incident will be released later.
In the meantime, a local security official said at least five foreign troops were injured following the explosion.
Taliban group claimed responsibility behind the incident and said heavy casualties were incurred to American forces who were targeted in the attack.
http://www.khaama.com/suicide-attack-targets-nato-troops-convoy-in-nangarhar-province-8492
-----------
Afghan forces ordered to retaliate against Pak forces provocative moves
By GHANIZADA - Sun Aug 24 2014
The Afghan national security forces were ordered to retaliate against any provocative move by Pakistani forces and militia across Durand Line.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said Sunday that the border protection forces were instructed to immediately respond against any provocative move by Pakistan forces in across the Durand Line.
Afghanistan also rejected Pakistani claims that terrorists had crossed to Pakistan from Afghanistan and called the allegations as baseless.
MoI said Pakistani militia forces suffered casualties after local residents of Shak Kalai, located on the other side of Durand Line, started clash with Pakistani forces while they were digging ditches.
According to Interior Ministry, Shak Kalai is located on the bordering region with Maruf district of southern Kandahar province.
This comes as the Pakistani forces started shelling Maruf district of southern Kandahar province on Friday and continued to cross-border shelling until Saturday.
According to local government officials, at least three civilians including a woman were killed following the shelling an numerous houses were damaged.
http://www.khaama.com/afghan-forces-ordered-to-retaliate-against-pak-forces-provocative-moves-8488
-----------
War criminals ‘staging drama’ to get bail
August 24, 2014
Since the very beginning of the war crimes trials in 2010, most of the accused have been trying to secure bail on different grounds, apparently to get the mercy of the International Crimes Tribunal judges.
To ensure bail, they have allegedly been staging dramas to establish “old-age complications.”
The International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973 does not have a provision for bail.
However, sources say the upcoming amendment proposal to revise the ICT Act may include the provision – a move opposed by the war trial campaigners. Some prosecutors involved with the trial process are also against the change, but they think it would stop such dramas.
So far, only two persons – BNP leader Abdul Alim and former Jatiya Party state minister Syed Mohammad Qaisar – got bail for their physical conditions.
The last drama, mentioned by the prosecution, was staged by Qaisar who, throughout the trial processs, wanted to get the mercy of the tribunal. His trial ended last week and the case has been placed for verdict.
The prosecution claims that Qaisar started to use a wheelchair when he pleaded for bail and later he tried to establish that he was sick.
When Alim got the privilege for his old age, Qaisar followed the same technique and was caught red handed by the tribunal on several occasions.
On August 20, at the end of the trail against him, prosecutor Rana Dasgupta informed the tribunal about the techniques used by Qaisar. “The accused is not as sick as he tried to show during the trial period,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/crime/2014/aug/24/war-criminals-%E2%80%98staging-drama%E2%80%99-get-bail#sthash.0zEr0TRw.dpuf
----------
Arab World
Syria: 50 Militants Killed in Army Ambush in Deraa
August 24, 2014
The Syrian army killed a large number of foreign-backed terrorists in Deraa countryside in the Southern parts of the country.
At least 50 militants of the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front were killed in an ambush of the Syrian army in Deraa city.
Meantime, the army units made major advances in the town of Arabeen in Eastern Ghouta, killing at least 35 terrorists in fierce clashes.
On Friday, a military source announced that the Syrian forces have gained the upper hand over the foreign-backed militants across the outskirts of Deraa.
A large number of militants were killed and wounded and so many others fled the battlefronts after Syrian soldiers' massive attacks against their strongholds in al-Jubailiyeh area and cement factory in Aleppo.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13930602000437
-----------
Syrian Forces Kill Scores of Militants in Raqqa
August 24, 2014
Syrian forces inflict heavy losses upon foreign-sponsored rebels in the Northern province of Raqqa, killing and injuring scores of them.
The militants were killed as they engaged in heavy clashes with Syrian forces over the control of the Tabqa military airport late on Saturday, SANA reported.
Tens of dead bodies of the rebels are lying on the ground all along the area surrounding the strategic airport in the Northern province.
The conflict in Syria started in March 2011, when sporadic pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of western and regional states.
The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle-East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history.
As the foreign-backed insurgency in Syria continues without an end in sight, the US government has boosted its political and military support to Takfiri extremists.
Washington has remained indifferent to warnings by Russia and other world powers about the consequences of arming militant groups.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13930602000552
-----------
Syrian tribesmen kill 18 IS fighters
August 24, 2014
Syrian tribesmen killed 18 Islamic State (IS) fighters in the oil-rich province of Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria on Saturday, media reports said. The Ukaydat tribesmen succeeded in freeing their leader Sheikh Khalil Jadan, who was kidnapped by IS fighters earlier in the day, and killing 18 of his captors, Xinhua reported citing the country’s national television.
Earlier on Saturday, the state news agency SANA said IS fighters ambushed the Ukaydat leader who was en route from Deir al- Zour to the capital Damascus. It said that Jadan had previously served as a parliamentarian.
Some of the tribes in the Deir al-Zour province have been deadlocked in battles with the IS which now controls large swathes of that oil-rich province. Earlier this month, the IS killed some 700 tribesmen in two weeks. SANA said IS militants on Saturday killed four people from the Ghranij town in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour and mutilated their bodies after beheading them at the town’s main square.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/syrian-tribesmen-kill-islamic-state-fighters/article6346441.ece
-----------
Scholars Underscore Role of Media in Tackling Extremism
August 24, 2014
JEDDAH — A number of prominent scholars underscored the media’s pivotal role in effectively combating deviant thoughts and extremism. They emphasized the need for working out a joint charter by eminent scholars and media figures aimed at presenting the true image of Islam and a rejection of extremist ideas.
The scholars commended Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Asheikh for his recent clarification that Islam upholds principles of moderation, tolerance and peaceful coexistence. They underlined the principles of Islam that call for peace, security, interaction and cooperation among different sections of society.
Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdullah Bin Humaid, adviser at the royal court and former chairman of the Shoura Council, said there should be a comprehensive view in confronting problems like terrorism and extremism at the grass roots level. He said quick solutions to address this phenomenon would prove to be ineffective.
“The concept of intellectual security represents protecting individuals as well as society from impacts of behavioural, cultural and intellectual deviations, in addition to standing united against those who try to undermine the fundamentals of religion, values and capabilities of the nation, and Islamic traditions and customs. It also encompasses all aspects of social, moral and behavioural reform,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20140824215694
-----------
Iraq and Iran discuss need for global action against Islamic State
August 24, 2014
Iraqi's new prime minister Haider al-Abadi and visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif today discussed the need for international efforts to eliminate Islamic State, the group which has taken over large areas of Syria and Iraq.
Abadi's office said in a statement the prime minister stressed the dangers Islamic State posed to the region.
The advance of Islamic State through northern Iraq has alarmed the Baghdad government and its Western allies, drawing the first US air strikes in Iraq since US occupation forces pulled out in 2011.
The Sunni Muslim militant group sees Shi'ite Muslims as infidels who deserve to be killed and has driven thousands of non-Muslims from their homes.
Bombings across Iraq killed at least 35 people in attacks yesterday that appeared to be revenge for an assault on a Sunni mosque that has deepened sectarian conflict.
Shi'ite Iran, a regional power broker, is likely to have influence over the formation of Iraq's new Shi'ite-led government.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/world/article/iraq-and-iran-discuss-need-for-global-action-against-islamic-state#sthash.QYoD2eoQ.dpuf
-----------
Islamic State jihadists turn their sights back on Syria
August 24, 2014
Islamic State extremists rampaging through Iraq have now turned their sights back towards Syria, where only a besieged airbase stands between the terror group and a rush for the Mediterranean coast that could split the country in two.
The attack on the Tabqa airbase in eastern Syria comes as IS continues to move back towards areas it controlled north of Aleppo until February. Using weapons the group looted from abandoned Iraqi military bases, IS has returned with a vengeance to the area, stunning regional powers with its rapid advances.
Less than three months after taking Iraq’s second and fourth biggest cities, much of Anbar province and the Syrian border, the group is establishing itself with extraordinary speed as a regional power that will determine the fate of both countries. There are growing fears across the Middle East that no regional military can slow the group’s momentum.
“The Islamic State is now the most capable military power in the Middle East outside Israel,” a senior regional diplomat has said. “They can determine outcomes in a few days that the Syrian rebels took two years to influence. Their capacity is in sharp contrast to the Syrian regime, which is only able to fight one battle at a time and has to fight hard for every success.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/islamic-state-jihadists-turn-their-sights-back-on-syria/article6345367.ece
-----------
IS terrorism focus of Jeddah dialogue
August 24, 2014
The Kingdom will host foreign ministers from Arab countries at a meeting to be held today to discuss pressing regional developments, a senior official from the Foreign Affairs Ministry told Arab News on Saturday.
Osama Nugali, director of the information department at the ministry, said that the meeting will take place in Jeddah.
Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the UAE are to take part in talks.
According to a statement made by the Foreign Ministry in Cairo, the meeting will focus on the Syrian conflict and the rise of Islamic State (IS) militants.
“The threat posed by IS to regional security prompted this meeting, which will come up with political solutions to the problem,” said the statement, cited by news agencies. It added that the rise of IS meant that the “search for a political solution to the Syrian crisis is needed more than ever.”
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/featured/620081
-----------
Qatar hits back at claims it backs Islamic State
August 24, 2014
The Gulf nation of Qatar is hitting back at suggestions that it supports the Islamic State extremist group, saying that "determined, collective action" is needed to end sectarian violence gripping Iraq and Syria.
The energy-rich OPEC member has come under renewed scrutiny over its ties to militants, including the Palestinian Hamas and Syrian rebel groups. A German official last week suggested that Qatar may also play a role in funding the Islamic State group, which is fighting in Iraq and Syria and was behind the recent beheading of American journalist James Foley.
Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah unequivocally denied funding the extremist group.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/109102/World/Region/Qatar-hits-back-at-claims-it-backs-Islamic-State.aspx
-----------
Al-Nusra fighters posts video of kidnapped Lebanese police
August 24, 2014
BEIRUT — The Al-Nusra Front has posted a video showing kidnapped Lebanese security personnel calling on the Hezbollah movement to withdraw its fighters from Syria.
The nine men, who appear to be eight Lebanese policemen and a soldier, are among 24 security forces still in the hands of this group after fighting erupted on the Syrian border earlier this month.
In the video posted Friday night on Islamist websites, the men are seated in front of a black flag with the logo of Al-Nusra, the Syrian affiliate of Al-Qaeda.
Although the men say they are speaking freely, they use the language of Al-Nusra and other Sunni Muslim extremist groups in referring to the Shiite movement Hezbollah.
They call on their family members to stage demonstrations and block roads in Lebanon to protest Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria, where the Shiite group is fighting alongside the regime to put down a Sunni-dominated uprising.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20140824215664
-----------
Mideast
Hamas executes four more suspected Israeli spies in Gaza
Press Trust of India | Gaza Strip | August 24, 2014
Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, continued with its executions of “collaborators”, killing four more Palestinians suspected of spying for Israel.
Masked Hamas militants fatally shot the Palestinians in the courtyard of a mosque in the Jabaliya refugee camp on charges of spying for the enemy yesterday.
Hamas-affiliated Al-Majd website quoted security sources as saying that the four were executed in a “revolutionary” way after “legal measures were completed”.
The website has warned that future collaborators would be dealt with in the field to create deterrence.
The Islamist faction declined to release the names or pictures of the executed for the sake of social stability, fearing backlash against their families.
The executions raise the total number of Palestinian “suspects” paraded to their deaths to 25; 18 of them were executed on Friday and three on Thursday.
Hamas has warned that Israel will “pay the price” for killing three top leaders of its military wing – the Qassam Brigades.
Full report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/asia/suspected-shebab-islamists-militants-behead-kenyan-driver/
-----------
Gaza offensive to continue as long as necessary: Netanyahu
August 24, 2014
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his ministers on Sunday that the military campaign against Gaza militants would continue until peace is restored to southern Israel.
"Operation Protective Edge will continue until its aims are achieved... it may take time," he said of the Gaza offensive launched on July 8, in remarks broadcast by public radio.
At a special session of the cabinet, held at the defence ministry in Tel Aviv, he repeated a warning of harsh retribution for the death of an Israeli child on Friday in a rocket strike on a kibbutz near the Gaza border.
"Hamas is paying, and will continue to pay, a heavy price for the crimes it carries out," Netanyahu said.
"I call on residents of Gaza to immediately leave any structure from which Hamas carries out terror activity against us. All such sites are a target for us."
He added a veiled warning to neighbouring Lebanon and Syria after overnight rocket fire into Israeli territory.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/gaza-offensive-to-continue-as-long-as-necessary-netanyahu.aspx?pageID=238&nID=70824&NewsCatID=352
--------
Yemen talks with Shia rebels 'fail': President envoy
August 24, 2014
Talks with Shia rebels, who have set up armed protest camps in the Yemeni capital, have "failed" after they rejected a proposed government of technocrats, the president's negotiating team said Sunday.
The rebels "rejected all the proposals presented to them," the team's spokesman Abdulmalek al-Mikhlafi said.
"Negotiations in Saada have failed," he said, referring to the rebels' stronghold in the mountains of the far north.
"It seems like the Huthis have intentions for a war," he added, referring to the Zaidi Shia rebels who have been fighting government troops in the northern mountains on and off since 2004.
The envoys of President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi had been holding talks with rebel commander Abdulmalik Al-Huthi in Saada since Thursday in a bid to persuade him to abandon the protests organised by his supporters in a bid to oust the current government and reverse fuel price increases.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/109097/World/Region/Yemen-talks-with-Shia-rebels-fail-President-envoy.aspx
-----------
Iran FM visits Iraqi neighbour at war with IS
August 24, 2014
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday began a two-day visit to Iraq, which is fighting a Sunni Muslim insurgency led by Islamic State jihadists, state news agency IRNA reported.
It said he was to meet his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari as well as the prime minister-designate, Haidar al-Abadi, with the issue of the Iran-Iraq border demarcation also on the agenda.
Iran, which like Iraq is predominantly Shiite, was a longtime backer of the outgoing premier, Nuri al-Maliki, before dropping its support of the divisive leader in favour of Abadi.
Tehran has called for Iraqi parties to unite in the face of the Islamic State which has seized large swathes of the country and says it is providing advice to Iraqi Kurds fighting the jihadists.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/109096/World/Region/Iran-FM-visits-Iraqi-neighbour-at-war-with-IS.aspx
-----------
Palestinian Authority slams Hamas executions
August 24, 2014
Top Fatah official calls executions "cold-blooded," says they don't comply with law.
As Hamas carried out a string of public executions against 18 Palestinians in Gaza – the first of its kind since the 1990s – members of the Palestinian Authority voiced concern over the practice.
Tayeb Abdel Rahim, the secretary-general of the Palestinian Authority presidency, condemned the Hamas-ordered "random executions" of suspected collaborators with Israel on Saturday. He called the militant group's tactics unlawful and offensive "to our people and our families," adding that they were not within the scope of the law. The suspects, many of whom were serving long prison sentences, did not undergo a fair judiciary process, he said.
The Palestinian official slammed Hamas's claims that Friday's public killings were done "in accordance with the law" as "absolutely not true," and said that gunning down 18 people, including women, in broad daylight as onlookers passed by, was "cold- blooded."
Full report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/PA-slams-Hamas-executions-372087
-----------
Israel air strike kills two in Gaza after Egypt calls talks
August 24, 2014
An Israeli air strike killed two Palestinians in Gaza Sunday as militants kept up rocket fire, a day after an Egyptian call for an open-ended ceasefire to enable new truce talks.
The pace of Israeli raids was slower than Saturday when at least 60 strikes pounded Gaza, killing 10 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and bringing down a 12-storey apartment block.
But there was no immediate sign of either side adopting the ceasefire Egypt appealed for on Saturday to allow negotiators from the two sides to return to Cairo to thrash out the details of a durable truce.
Israeli aircraft hit 20 "terror targets" in Gaza during the morning, while militants fired at least 20 rockets or mortar rounds at Israel, the army said.
An Israeli strike on the western side of Gaza City killed two Palestinians and wounded five, emergency services said.
Since a previous round of frantic Egyptian diplomacy collapsed last Tuesday, shattering nine days of calm, 88 Palestinians and a four-year-old Israeli boy have been killed in the violence.
In its statement on Saturday, the Egyptian foreign ministry called on "concerned parties to accept a ceasefire of unlimited duration and to resume indirect negotiations in Cairo".
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/israel-air-strike-kills-two-in-gaza-after-egypt-calls-talks.aspx?pageID=238&nID=70819&NewsCatID=352
-----------
Iran unveils new short-range missiles, drones
August 24, 2014
Iran unveiled a new generation of short-range marine missiles and aerial drones on Sunday, as President Hassan Rouhani said its military doctrine was based on deterring and countering threats from unnamed foreign powers.
The official IRNA news agency said the Ghadir missile, with a range of 100 kilometers (62 miles), is designed to destroy marine targets. It did not give a range for the Nasr-e Basir cruise missile, but said it could “operate in silence,” without elaborating.
Iran also unveiled two new drones, the high-altitude Karrar-4 and the Mohajer-4. The latter can be used to generate maps for both military and civilian purposes, IRNA said.
At a ceremony marking the inauguration, Mr. Rouhani reiterated that his country was not seeking nuclear weapons but said it would not ignore threats.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/iran-unveils-new-shortrange-missiles-drones/article6347047.ece
-----------
India
Pak Protester Cleric Tahir ul-Qadri’s Indian Link: 10,000 Supporters And Growing
Written by Zeeshan Shaikh
Mumbai | August 24, 2014 , Nearly 1,600 km from Islamabad where Pakistani cleric Tahir ul-Qadri is spearheading a revolt against the Nawaz Sharif government, Javed Iqbal, 47, an engineer-turned-entrepreneur, espouses Qadri’s teachings in the crammed by lanes of the Muslim-dominated township of Mumbra on the outskirts of Mumbai.
“Whatever is happening in Pakistan is its internal matter and I would not comment on it. However, it is human nature to support someone who has the guts to take on the system the way Dr Tahir ul-Qadri is doing,” Javed Iqbal says, sitting in his 300 sq ft office. A part of his office is set aside exclusively to disseminate information and views of the Pakistani cleric.
Iqbal is one the thousands of Indians who are members of Qadri’s organisation, the Minhaj-ul-Quran. The Indian chapter of the organisation was floated in 2013 and now has more than 10,000 members.
Many of them refer to him as a “Mujaddid” known by the faithful as a man sent down at the turn of every century to revive Islam and restore it to its glory. Many say they are attracted towards him for his emphasis on creating inclusive societies and promoting inter-faith harmony.
Full report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/pak-protester-cleric-qadris-indian-link-10000-supporters-and-growing/99/
-----------
Kerala prohibition takes communal turn: Hindu groups see Christian, Muslim hand
Written by Shaju Philip | Thiruvananthapuram | August 24, 2014
The debate over a ‘liquor-free-Kerala’ has taken a communal turn with two powerful Hindu organisations questioning the Congress government’s steps towards imposing prohibition, which have found support from leaders of Christian and Muslim communities.
Vellappally Nateshan, the leader of backward Hindu organisation Sree Narayanad Dharma Paripalana Yogam, has said the government’s move would affect members of his community in the liquor business.
Taking on the Catholic bishops who had threatened to bring down the Congress government if steps for prohibition were not initiated, Nateshan has even asked whether the Church was ready to stop using wine during mass. He alleged that those bars which have been shut belonged to Hindus and those open belonged to Christians.
Archbishop Francis Kallarackal said Nateshan’s comment smacked of communalism. “Wine is used in mass as part of Christian faith. That practice will continue until the end of the world,” he said.
Full report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/kerala-prohibition-takes-communal-turn-hindu-groups-see-christian-muslim-hand/
---------
4 militants, one jawan killed in encounter in J&K
PTI | Aug 24, 2014
SRINAGAR: Four militants, whose identity is yet to be ascertained, and a soldier were killed on Sunday in an encounter near the line of control in Kupwara district of Jammu & Kashmir.
"Four militants have been killed in an operation in Kalaroos area of Kupwara district," an Army spokesman said here.
One soldier Naik Neeraj Kumar who was injured during the operation and later airlifted to 92 Base hospital in Srinagar, succumbed, he said.
The spokesman said the identity and group affiliation of the slain militants was not immediately known.
The operation was still in progress when reports last came in, he added.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/4-militants-one-jawan-killed-in-encounter-in-JK/articleshow/40858713.cms
-----------
Africa
Libya Islamists say Egypt, UAE carried out Tripoli raids
August 24, 2014
Libyan Islamists who say they have seized Tripoli airport accused the United Arab Emirates and Egypt on Saturday of involvement in two air raids against their forces in the past week.
"The Emirates and Egypt are involved in this cowardly aggression," a spokesman for the Fajr Libya (Libyan Dawn) operation said, reading out a statement to Libyan journalists in Tripoli.
He said the provisional Libyan government and the country's new parliament were accomplices to the raids.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/109085/World/Region/Libya-Islamists-say-Egypt,-UAE-carried-out-Tripoli.aspx
-----------
35 Nigeria police ‘missing’ after Boko Haram raid
August 24, 2014
Thirty-five Nigerian police officers deployed to a training academy in the remote northeast are missing after a Boko Haram attack on the facility earlier this week, a spokesman said Saturday.
The Islamists attacked the academy just outside the town of Gwoza on Wednesday. Boko Haram seized Gwoza earlier this month, but the military has said it is preparing an offensive to retake the town in Borno state.
"Thirty-five policemen who are still missing from the facility as a result of the latest attack are being searched for with very promising prospects of locating them," national police spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu said in a statement.
He separately told AFP that it was premature to speculate on whether the officers had been taken hostage by the militants who have kidnapped hundreds of people during a five-year uprising.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/africa/2014/08/24/35-Nigeria-police-missing-after-Boko-Haram-raid.html
-----------
Niger minister arrested in scandal involving babies trafficked from Nigeria
August 24, 2014
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — A relative says Niger's agriculture minister has been arrested over his alleged involvement in a baby-trafficking scandal that has shaken the country's political class.
Issa Ali said Abdou Labo was transferred Saturday to a prison in the town of Say, 70 kilometers south of the capital, Niamey. He was arrested Friday.
Labo's wife had already been arrested along with 16 other people over their suspected links to the network involving babies from neighboring Nigeria. The suspects have been scattered in prisons across the country.
A wife of National Assembly President Hama Amadou was also arrested, and there have been calls to lift his parliamentary immunity so he can be questioned.
Amadou is a political rival to President Mahamadou Issoufou, and his allies have decried the arrests as politically motivated.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2014/08/24/niger-minister-held-in-baby-trafficking-scandal
------------
Islamists branded 'terrorists' after fall of Tripoli airport
August 24, 2014
Libya's elected parliament has branded as "terrorists" the Islamist militias which announced their seizure of Tripoli airport after a weeks-long battle and are challenging its legitimacy.
"The groups acting under the names of Fajr Libya (Lbyan Dawn) and Ansar al-Sharia are terrorist groups and outlaws that are rising up against the legitimate powers," parliament said in a statement issued on Saturday night.
The parliament, which sits in Tobruk, 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) east of the capital, said it was determined to deal with the challenge through the regular armed forces.
Fajr Libya is a coalition of Islamist militias, mainly from Misrata, east of the capital, while Ansar al-Sharia, which Washington also brands a terrorist group, controls around 80 percent of the eastern city of Benghazi.
"These two groups are a legitimate target of the national army, which we strongly support in its war to force them to halt their killings and hand over their arms," MPs said.
Fajr Libya said Saturday it had captured Tripoli's battered international airport from nationalist militiamen.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/islamists-branded-terrorists-after-fall-of-tripoli-airport.aspx?pageID=238&nID=70822&NewsCatID=357
-----------
Europe
UN urges intl’ community to save Iraqi town besieged by ISIS
August 24, 2014
The UN special representative to Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, has called on the international community to prevent “possible massacre” in the northern town of Amerli, which has been under siege by Islamic State militants for two months.
Amerli has no electricity and little food or medicine but unlike the US-led intervention to save the Yazidi community trapped on Mount Sinjar, there is no rescue plan at all for these people.
Nickolay Mladenov, special representative of the United Nations secretary-general for Iraq, has called on the international community to halt "the unspeakable suffering of Amerli's inhabitants. The situation of the people in Amerli is desperate and demands immediate action to prevent the possible massacre of its citizens," he said.
The town is besieged by ISIL [the Islamic State] and reports confirm that people are surviving in desperate conditions. I urge the Iraqi government to do all it can to relieve the siege and to ensure that the residents receive lifesaving humanitarian assistance, or are evacuated in a dignified manner. Iraq's allies and the international community should work with the authorities to prevent a human rights tragedy," he added.
Full report at:
http://rt.com/news/182364-un-besieged-town-isis/
-----------
British MP offers EU carrot to Turkey in return for stronger fight against ISIL
August 24, 2014
A British politician has floated the idea of facilitating Turkey’s stalled European Union membership bid in order to encourage the full membership candidate to put up a stronger fight against the jihadist militants.
“Former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said that Turkey had a ‘vital role to play in preventing the free passage of jihadists travelling to … join Islamic State,’” the U.K. daily newspaper Guardian reported over the weekend.
“Campbell, a member of the House of Commons intelligence and security committee, said there should be a ‘full-scale diplomatic initiative’ to draw Turkey closer towards the EU, and moves to offer it a faster route toward membership in return for its full cooperation in the fight against ISIS,” The Guardian said, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which recently renamed itsef the Islamic State (IS).
The U.K. daily also quoted shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander who underlined that Turkey, as a NATO ally, should play “a key role in developing a more effective regional response to Isis.”
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/british-mp-offers-eu-carrot-to-turkey-in-return-for-stronger-fight-against-isil.aspx?pageID=238&nID=70838&NewsCatID=351
-----------
British rapper ‘L Jinny’ suspect in Foley killing
August 24, 2014
A former British rapper who abandoned music to join the lines of ISIS is now being investigated by UK authorities following the execution of American journalist James Foley in Syria.
Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary reportedly left his home in London last year to fight in Syria.
He was originally known as L Jinny or Lyricist Jinn when his music career started, a report by the Independent said.
Some of his singles and videos were aired on BBC Radio in 2012, according to the newspaper.
The 24-year-old rapper came to national attention earlier this year when he tweeted a picture of himself “holding a severed head” in Syria, the newspaper said.
The horrific picture was accompanied with a message that said: “Chillin’ with my homie or what’s left of him.”
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en//features/2014/08/24/UK-investigates-rapper-suspected-in-Foley-s-murder.html
---------
Pakistan
Weekend Swells Tsunami, Inquilab Looks Worn Out
August 24, 2014
ISLAMABAD: On the eighth day of sit-ins on Constitution Avenue, exhaustion was writ large on the faces of many Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) participants who do not have the luxury of going back to their homes overnight.
However, the weekend brought glad tidings for the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), as their ranks swelled and, by Saturday evening, the crowd of PTI supporters stretched beyond the barricades separating Parade Lane from Blue Area.
Several PTI supporters Dawn spoke to said they were forced to park their vehicles either in Melody Market or Aabpara Market in Sector G-6.
Others who came down Margalla Road had to walk the length of Ata Turk Avenue as police had cordoned off the thoroughfare leading to the Red Zone and Blue Area.
Qadri’s supporters bored but still determined to stay on
At the sit-in, pop musician Salman Ahmed and DJ Butt kept the crowds in the high spirits.
Visible discomfort
Rows of tired and uncomfortable PAT supporters were laid out under the awning – erected to afford the demonstrators some defence against the elements – on Constitution Avenue on Saturday afternoon. But despite their predicament, they voiced hope that their hardship would bear fruit.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1127392/weekend-swells-tsunami-inquilab-looks-worn-out
-----------
Army will never utilise ‘musical show’ for power, says Maulana Fazl ur Rehman
August 24, 2014
PESHAWAR: Chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Maulana Fazl ur Rehman said on Saturday that the Pakistan Army would never utilise the ‘musical show’ in Islamabad to come into power.
“The Pakistan Army is a serious institution which will not try to come into power through the musical shows,” the Maulana said while commenting on the ongoing sit-in protest of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in Islamabad.
Addressing a press conference at the JUI-F provincial secretariat here, the party chief said that if someone could bring 5,000 people to occupy Islamabad, than there was no need of elections.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1127422/army-will-never-utilise-musical-show-for-power-says-fazl
-----------
Shrine caretaker among 12 killed in violence across Karachi
August 24, 2014
KARACHI: Twelve people, including a caretaker of a shrine, were killed and three others injured in different incidents of violence in the city on Saturday. Three persons were shot and injured when unidentified armed men opened fire near Nasir Jump in Korangi within the limits of Zaman Town Police Station. They were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for treatment where they succumbed to their injuries.
Zaman Town Police Station SHO, Asadullah Mangi said that unidentified armed bike riders opened fire on the Nazar Shah Shrine near Nasir Jump area. As a result three persons Zakir Hussain Shah (50), Nawaz (45) and Younus (35) were shot dead. He said that Zakir Hussain Shah was the shrine’s administrator.
Separately, two persons, Shakeel (35) and Asif (28) were shot dead by unidentified armed men at Drigh Road along Shahrah-e-Faisal. The bodies were shifted to JPMC for medico-legal formalities.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/sindh/24-Aug-2014/shrine-caretaker-among-12-killed-in-violence-across-city
-----------
PTI flayed for instigating Pashtun youth to violence
August 24, 2014
ISLAMABAD - Pashtun rights activists and writers have criticised Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) for instigating Pashtun youth to violence.
They while talking to The Nation on Saturday said that during the ongoing Azadi March the PTI leadership is continuously calling the youth of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as 'Pashtun tigers, Pukhtana Zmaryan and Pukhtana Prangaan' and all these names are symbols of violence.
On Thursday last, Syed Muhammad Ishtiaq, PTI's MPA and advisor to chief minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on environment, while appealing to Pashtun participants of Azadi March in their mother tongue said, "I am going to show to Gullo Butts of Punjab how powerful Pathans are. I foresee unpleasant situation but my courageous and dreaded Pashtuns will be in the frontline if the government opts the use of force." The short and fiery speech of Ishtiaq was followed by a Pashtu song "waya waya da Pakhtano sandari waya" (sing the songs of Pashtuns). Despite scorching heat, the emotional Pashtuns, who were resting under the shades of trees, rushed to the stage area and started dancing with the music. The speech and song were enough to give new life and vigour to Pashtun activists who had reached Islamabad city ahead of all other workers of PTI.
Full report at:
http://www.nation.com.pk/islamabad/24-Aug-2014/pti-flayed-for-instigating-pashtun-youth-to-violence
-----------
Zardari: Pakistan Premier Sharif 'need not resign'
August 24, 2014
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif tried on Saturday to rally political support from rival and former President Asif Ali Zardari as protests demanding his resignation continued in front of the country’s Parliament.
Imran Khan and Tahirul-Qadri have led thousands of supporters demonstrating outside the legislature this week calling for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to go.
Zardari, political supremo of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), threw his weight behind the continuation of the present Parliament.
He said democracy “should not be derailed,” a rebuke to the protest movement aimed at unseating Pakistan’s premier.
Briefing journalists after Zardari-Nawaz meeting, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said Zardari had assured his full support to Sharif in resolving the crisis within the limits of the constitution and law.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/world/619986
----------
Pakistan government rejects protesters’ demand; talks failed to end logjam
PTI | Islamabad | August 24, 2014
With Pakistan government rejecting the protesters’ demand that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif step down for 30 days to allow an independent probe into the alleged rigging in last year’s polls, the political deadlock entered the 11th day today with no breakthrough in sight.
The third round of talks between government negotiators and Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) last night failed to break the logjam.
Khan’s party demanded that Prime Minister Sharif step down for 30 days for an independent probe into the alleged rigging in last year’s polls but this was outright rejected.
After the meeting, Khan’s chief negotiator Shah Mehmood Qureshi told reporters that if proved innocent Sharif can return to power.
Government representative Ahsan Iqbal said the demand for resignation of the Prime Minister was not acceptable.
Thousands of supporters of PTI chief Khan and firebrand cleric Tahir-ul Qadri continued to camp outside the Parliament building here as their protests enetered the 11th day today.
Pakistani media said government has suspended mobilephone services in the Red Zone in and around the National Assembly citing security reasons. There are also reports of fresh efforts to block arterial roads leading to the protest site to prevent supporters of Khan and Qadri reaching there.
Full report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/asia/pakistan-government-rejects-protesters-demand-talks-failed-to-end-logjam/
-----------
Cannot think of marriage before Naya Pakistan: Imran
August 24, 2014
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan clarified his bizarre remarks regarding marriage in his last speech, stating that he could not even think of getting married "till Naya Pakistan comes into existence".
Speaking to a cheering crowd of supporters, the PTI chairman addressed former president Asif Ali Zardari over his recent meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Khan lamented the fact that even though Zardari, during a telephonic conversation held with the PTI chief when he was bed-ridden due to an injury last year, had termed the May 2013 general elections as RO(Returning Officers)-elections he still accepted Nawaz Sharif as the legitimate prime minister.
The PTI chairman said containers cannot help the current rulers to save their seats and addressing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif he said that "your time is up Nawaz and you cannot stop the 'Naya Pakistan' from coming into being."
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1127444/cannot-think-of-marriage-before-naya-pakistan-imran
-----------
Jamaat-i-Islami emir warns of ‘third force’ intervention
August 24, 2014
SARGODHA: Jamaat-i-Islami emir Sirajul Haq says it is the responsibility of the government and national leaders, particularly Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri, to manage an honourable exit from the deadlock, otherwise, nobody will be able to stop intervention of the third force and people will not forgive the politicians.
He was addressing a gathering of JI workers held to express solidarity with the Palestinian Muslims on Saturday.
Mr Haq said his talks with Asif Zardari were productive. He pledged to protect assemblies at all costs and that he would not support dissolution of assemblies.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1127351/siraj-warns-of-third-force-intervention
-----------
Pakistani Youth uneasy about political impasse
August 24, 2014
PESHAWAR: ‘Her time aik he tension, Azadi march kamyab hoga kay nahi,’ tweets a teenager.
‘Iss Azadi march ki tension say mainay hospital chalay jana hay… agar aisi he news milti rahen tu…,’ says a message posted another youngster on Twitter.
These tweets are enough to suggest how worried our young people are about the country’s political situation in light of the prolonged anti-government sit-ins in Islamabad.
Mostly at night when things hot up outside parliament house, they turn to private TV channels for updates on the Azadi and Inqilab marches, which had turned into separate sit-ins last Tuesday night.
The TV channels have regularly been covering the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek protests against the Pakistan Muslim-League-Nawaz-led federal government besides giving analysis on ‘what is going to happen next.’
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1127417/youth-uneasy-about-political-impasse
-----------
North America
Canadian jihadi welcomes Israeli Jews to join ISIS... if they convert
August 24, 2014
A Canadian Jihadi fighting with the Islamic State (formerly ISIS) in Syria has said that he believes Israeli Jews would be allowed to join the faction and could even fight in Syria - if they converted to Islam first.
The Jihadi, who goes by the nickname Abu Khalid al-Kanadi (“Abu Khalid the Canadian”) made the remark this week in response to a question asked him via social networking site Ask.fm.
Al Kanadi says he converted to Islam in 2010 and that it was not difficult for him to leave his family in Canada to go to Syria. “They reacted mainly with confusion, not understanding why someone would leave Canada to go to a land of war,” he told his Ask.fm followers.
The Canadian-born Islamic convert is also active on Twitter, where he frequently expresses violent, anti-American and anti-Semitic views. In recent tweets, he dubbed the United States “a nation of evil” and the “land of the immoral and home of the cowards”, warning that the flag of the Islamic Caliphate would soon fly over the White House. Regarding the Jews, al-Kanadi tweeted, “There has never been a people more racist in human history than the Jews.”
Al-Kanadi has urged other Westerners to follow his lead and convert to Islam.
“I was one of you, a disbeliever living in the West. Then I converted to Islam and joined ISIS. Praise be to Allah!” he tweeted earlier this month. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) estimates that at least 30 Canadians are fighting with extremist groups in Syria, and warned that they pose an “immediate” threat to Canadian national security
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Canadian-jihadi-welcomes-Israeli-Jews-to-join-ISIS-if-they-convert-372105
-----------
Obama again faces tug of military action in Syria
August 24, 2014
President Barack Obama has resisted the pull of potential U.S. military action in Syria for three years.
He has held firm even as the civil war's death toll climbed toward 200,000, the Syrian government used chemical weapons against civilians and Islamic State militants strengthened amid the chaos.
Now Obama must decide whether the extremist group's murder of American journalist James Foley, as well as the broader threat the group could pose to U.S. interests, should change his cautious calculus.
Pressure is coming from his own military leaders to go after the Islamic State inside Syria. But he must weigh that against his aversion to the risks that could come with plunging the United States into a country torn apart by an intractable internal conflict.
White House officials have suggested that airstrikes in Syria are an option, though the officials say specific military proposals has not yet been presented to the president.
“We're actively considering what's going to be necessary to deal with that threat, and we're not going to be restricted by borders,” said Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser. “We've shown time and again that if there's a counterterrorism threat, we'll take direct action against that threat, if necessary.”
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2014/08/23/Obama-again-faces-tug-of-military-action-in-Syria.html
-----------
CAIR Seeks Probe of Bias Motive for Attack on Muslim Woman in Indiana
August 24, 2014
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 8/23/14) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on law enforcement authorities to investigate a possible bias motive for an attack on a Muslim woman in Indiana.
A man allegedly struck the woman, who is of Moroccan heritage and wears an Islamic head scarf, from behind near the entrance of a Wal-Mart in Avon, Ind., during the recent Muslim fast of Ramadan. Police say store surveillance video confirms the story. The suspect fled and has not been arrested.
“Without an alternative theory for the motive of the attacker, anti-Muslim bias based on the victim’s ethnicity and religious attire must be investigated by law enforcement authorities,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.
Hooper added that CAIR recently asked law enforcement authorities to investigate a possible bias motive for vandalism targeting a Virginia mosque.
Last month, CAIR's New York chapter held a news conference at the Islamic Center of Bay Ridge in Brooklyn in reaction to hate incidents, including one in which individuals holding Israeli flags out of a car window screamed at and antagonized worshippers in front of the mosque as worshippers gathered for morning prayers. Police later arrested a suspect in the case.
In response to previous attacks on American mosques and individuals, CAIR published a booklet called "Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety" designed to be used by mosque officials, Muslim school administrators and other community leaders and activists who seek to identify and eliminate vulnerabilities to bias-motivated attacks.
Community leaders may request a free copy of CAIR's "Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety," by clicking HERE.
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
--------
Southeast Asia
United in grief, but still a nation divided: Malaysian PM
August 24, 2014
Yes, Malaysians are united in grief over the twin tragedies of Flight MH370 and Flight MH17. How could anyone not be moved to tears and feel a sense of hollowness by the numbing loss of both these incidents?
But let us not demean this period of mourning and introspection by milking the shooting down of the aircraft for cheap political gain or gimmicky headlines. There has been no shortage of attempts by Barisan Nasional politicians and the mainstream media to turn the Flight MH17 tragedy into the coming out party for the Najib administration; supposedly a showcase of the Prime Minister's empathy, diplomatic skills and great skill at uniting this nation.
Lost in all the mulch has been the fact that Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been prime minister of Malaysia for more than five years, and not three months.
Mingguan Malaysia, the weekend edition of the Umno mouthpiece, trumpeted Najib's handling of the Flight MH17 tragedy as an example of the government's upward trajectory. The PM himself today said that the government's policy of neutrality helped it to broker a deal with the separatists in Ukraine – the same separatists who may have blown Flight MH17 out of the sky.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/united-in-grief-but-still-a-nation-divided#sthash.8NiyvEH6.dpuf
-----------
Khalid has many positive traits but he was insensitive, says Anwar
August 24, 2014
Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim had to be removed because he was insensitive towards the needs of the Selangor people, said de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Acknowledging that the embattled two-term Menteri Besar had many positive traits, Anwar said Khalid's lack of sensitivity to the concerns of ordinary people had caused much unhappiness.
"He has made a lot of contributions, he is honest and transparent, but what we are also concerned about is his insensitivity.
There is no point in having a surplus of RM800 million in road repairs fund when there are potholes all over the place. In Kajang, for instance, there are potholes everywhere and garbage collection is still a problem," he said, in his special address at the PKR Congress in Shah Alam today.
Khalid was sacked from PKR after defying party orders to step down for PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is Pakatan Rakyat's choice for the post.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/abdul-khalid-has-many-positive-traits-but-he-was-insensitive-says-anwar#sthash.wRl54grz.dpuf
-----------
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/china-executes-eight-xinjiang,-including/d/98708