Isis Gave Away Sex Slaves as Prizes in Quran Contest
New Age Islam News Bureau
25
Jun 2015
“We testify that all mujahedeen of the Caucasus... are united in this decision and there are no disagreements among us on this issue,” the male voice says, listing the four Russian regions. (File photo: AFP)
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Arab World
• Isis Gave Away Sex Slaves as Prizes in Quran Contest
• Russia’s Caucasus Islamists ‘Pledge Allegiance’ To Isis
• 14 Killed In Iraq Suicide Bombing Claimed By Isis
• ISIS suicide bombers kill 10 Syria soldiers: monitor
• ISIS Coins: First Look Revealed On Social Media
• ISIS battles Kurds to renter Syria’s Kobane
• Saudi, Emirati soldiers killed on Yemen border
• Rebels attack regime-held parts of Syria's Daraa
• ISIS seizes parts of Syria’s Hasakeh
• Saudi-led jets strike Houthis in heavy raids
• Syria’s Nusra Front underlines Al-Qaeda link in audio message
• U.S.-led coalition targets ISIS in nine air strikes in Syria, Iraq
• U.S., Shiite fighters not working together at Iraq base: Pentagon
• Houthis disrupted Geneva talks: Jubeir
• Civilians in ISIS 'Capital' Raqqa Trapped Between ISIS Brutality and Syrian Kurdish Fighters' Advances
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Europe
• Takfiri Militants in Russia's Caucasus Pledge Allegiance to ISIL
• Russian Authorities Target Muslim Group in Dagestan Unjustly
• Russia very concerned over militants influence in Afghanistan
• France, Saudi Arabia to sign contracts worth $12 bln
• EU launches counter-terrorism training across E. Africa
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Southeast Asia
• Don’t Show-Off with Post-Prayer Selfies, You’ll Lose ‘Reward Points’, Muslims Told
• Ethnic Chinese Embrace Islam, But Keep Names to Resist ‘Becoming Malay’
• Malaysian Muslims seem to have very weak faith
• Citing Islamophobia, Malay Muslims Launch Petition Against News Portal
• Non-Muslim Hawkers Also Welcome At Ramadan Bazaars
• Bangladesh hopes to send 500,000 workers to M’sia
• Appeals Court orders return of CD with "Allah" word to Sarawakian
• ‘Meugang’: Aceh’s way of welcoming Ramadhan
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Africa
• 40 Killed In Boko Haram Attacks in Nigeria
• Nine Killed In Shabab Attack on UAE’s Somalia Mission Convoy
• Al-Shabab Car Bomb, Targeting UAE Officials, Kills At Least 3 In Mogadishu
• Libya's elected parliament backs UN peace plan
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Pakistan
• Restraining Child Marriages: Religious Groups against Raising Minimum Age
• Pakistan Rejects Afghan Claims of ISI Involvement in Parliament Attack
• Establishment to Seek Treason Trial against Altaf
• We Are Pakistani Hindus; Do Not Equate Us with Indians: MNA
• Gangs Looting Expats in FIA, Police Uniform ‘Busted’
• Five Thai students detained in Pakistan return home
• SC shown video clips of militants’ acts of savagery
• Sindh CM, lawmakers’ stage sit-in against KE, federal govt
• India provided funds to MQM, claims BBC report
• Heat wave death toll in Sindh tops 1,000
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Mideast
• Document Outlines Big-Power Nuclear Help to Iran
'• Yemen Retaliatory Attacks Kill 3 Saudi, 1 Emirati Troopers'
• Turkey denies Daesh attacked Syria's Kobani from Turkish territory
• U.N. urges Israel to ease travel for Palestinians
• Israel arrests several Druze after ‘lynching’ of Syrian
• Turks unlikely to change their vote for snap election: pollster
• Iran says will agree to nuclear talks rollover if 'good deal' in making
• Arab League urges release of Palestinian detainees
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India
• Tahir ul Quadri Launches Anti-Isis Curriculum in India, Pakistan and UK
• Akhilesh Yadav Plans Joint Hindu, Muslim Pilgrimage In UP
• Children Forced To Drink ‘Siddha Medicine’ When They Were On Ramzan Fast
• Christians deliver Cardinal’s Ramadan Message to Muslim scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
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South Asia
• Daesh Ask People in Parts of Nangarhar to Take Issues to Their Judiciary
• NATO Defense Ministers to Discuss Long Term Support for Afghanistan
• Taliban Dissociate Themselves from Afghan Peace Move
• NDS says ISI was behind recent Kabul attack
• Afghan government prepares “Map of War”
• 2 militants held with explosives in capital
• BGB delegation in Myanmar over Razzak’s return
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North America
• ISIS, Al Qaeda Exploit Social Media to Spread ‘Distorted Ideology,’ Internet Companies Must Respond: UN
• New York transportation authority bans anti-Islam ads on subways, buses
• CIA Torture Report: Human Rights Write Letter Urging Attorney General to Pursue Criminal Investigations
• Home-grown Extremists Tied to Deadlier Toll than Jihadists in U.S. Since 9/11
• US Muslim Media Redeems Islamic Image
• Boston bomber apologises, sentenced to death
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/isis-gave-away-sex-slaves/d/103645
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Arab World
ISIS Gave Away Sex Slaves as Prizes in Quran Contest
By Fox News June 23, 2015
ISIS has already committed countless unspeakable acts on Yazidi and Christian girls and women in Iraq, but the terrorist army may have reached a new low with a twisted new contest in which female slaves captured in war are given away as “prizes” to fighters who show they have mastered the Quran.
The shocking practice of giving away human beings as prizes, called “sibya,” was organized by the Da’wa and Mosques Department in Al-Baraka province in Syria in honor of the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan and was announced June 19 on ISIS Twitter accounts, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute and the Clarion Project, two independent research institutes that track social media accounts linked to terrorist groups.
An announcement on Twitter “begins with congratulations to ISIS soldiers and departments in the province upon the beginning of the month of Ramadan,” MEMRI wrote. “It then announces the upcoming Koran memorization competition, at which it says participants will be tested and given prizes accordingly.”
The statement lists the prizes planned for the top 10 competitors, with the top three to each be awarded a female slave: “Winner of the first place [will be granted] (sibya) [a female slave who was captured at war],” the translation by MEMRI read.
The contest in Syria plays upon two major ISIS themes, said Ryan Mauro, national security analyst for the New York-based Clarion Project: They are the ones who most closely follow “true” Islam and the Islamic State is a “legitimate” state. The contest and its underlying competition demonstrate that fighters are studying the Quran, and that ISIS is not affected by international condemnation.
“By showcasing its slavery, ISIS is boasting that it practices Islam in its most literal interpretation, doesn’t capitulate to public opinion and rejects modern interpretations,” Mauro said. “It is also showing it has a functional Islamic educational system and therefore is a real caliphate.
“The timing of the announcement is significant as Ramadan is a time of year where Muslims are charged with rejuvenating their faith.
“Memorizing the Koran is considered a pious and worthy thing to do and many memorization competitions are held around the world, especially during Ramadan,” the Clarion Project said in its June 21 report. “It is believed to be the month during which Mohammed received the Koran.”
The chapters that the Islamic State challenged its followers to memorize include “some of the most warlike passages in the entire Koran.”
The announcement told the competitors to come to one of four mosques including the “Mosques of Abu Bakr el-Sadiq, The Mosque of Osama Bin Laden, The Mosque of Abu Musab el-Zarqawi or The Mosque of el-Taqwa,” and listed prizes, including “slave girls” and Syrian currency amounting to $500 or less.
“We ask the great lord to make your life easier and to grant you with what he loves and what pleases him,” the announcement concludes.
The treatment of girls and women captured by ISIS has become increasingly horrific and alarming, numerous human rights activists said.
In 2014, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, reported 300 Yazidi girls and women captured in Iraq were forced to convert to Islam and sold to ISIS jihadists in Syria for $1,000.
Last November, ISIS reportedly unveiled a menu of sorts for women and children for sale, with women 40 to 50 years old sold for just $40, girls between 10 and 20 years old auctioned for $129 each, and children under 10 commanding higher prices. A Human Rights Watch report issued in April documented continued organized rapes, sexual assault and other horrific crimes against Yazidi women and girls kidnapped from their homes and held as captives in Iraq and Syria.
The United Nation envoy on sexual violence reported in June that girls and women are being traded for as little as a pack of cigarettes, citing testimony from girls and women who were able to escape their captors.
https://www.google.co.in/search?q=ISIS+to+Give+Away+Sex+Slaves+To+Winners+of+Quran+Contest+in+Ramadan&oq=ISIS+to+Give+Away+Sex+Slaves+To+Winners+of+Quran+Contest+in+Ramadan&aqs=chrome..69i57.623j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=0&ie=UTF-8
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Russia’s Caucasus Islamists ‘pledge allegiance’ to ISIS
24 June 2015
Islamist militants in four regions of Russia’s Caucasus have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, according to a recording which was welcomed by ISIS after being posted online.
The voice recording posted on YouTube Sunday said militants in Russia’s Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria regions had all swore fealty to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, head of the feared jihadist group.
“Obeying the order of Allah... we are declaring our allegiance to Caliph Ibrahim ben Awwad ben Ibrahim al Badri al-Qoureishi al Husseini for obedience and subordination,” the recording in both Arabic and Russian says, referring to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
“We testify that all mujahedeen of the Caucasus... are united in this decision and there are no disagreements among us on this issue,” the male voice says, listing the four Russian regions.
A spokesman for ISIS group, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, on Tuesday welcomed the news in a recording of his own.
“We congratulate the soldiers of Islamic State in the Caucasus... we congratulate them for making allegiance to the Caliph. He accepts your allegiance and names Sheikh Abu Mohammad al-Qadari as (governor) of the Caucasus.”
Russian officials maintain that thousands of Russians, many of them from the Caucasus, have travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside the Islamic State group.
On Wednesday, the deputy secretary of Russia’s security council put the figure at “up to 2,000.”
Some jihadists from the region have already issued videos supporting al-Baghdadi.
Their return, usually through Turkey where they “pretend to be tourists who lost their documents” will “pose a problem,” he was reported as saying by Interfax.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/24/Russia-s-Caucasus-Islamists-pledge-allegiance-to-ISIS-.html
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14 killed in Iraq suicide bombing claimed by ISIS
24 June 2015
A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at a gathering of Iraqi Sunni tribal leaders, killing 14 people in an attack claimed Wednesday by the Islamic State group, police said.
“Fourteen people were killed and at least 24 wounded,” a police captain said of the Tuesday night bombing in the Baladruz area of Diyala province, north of Baghdad.
A medical source at the Baladruz hospital confirmed the toll.
The bomber struck “a gathering of notables and figures, most of them from the Al-Nida tribe,” the officer said.
An army colonel said that the Al-Nida -- a major Sunni tribe in Diyala province -- had supported the government against Islamic State (IS) group jihadists.
ISIS claimed the suicide bombing in an online statement Wednesday, saying a Tajik man carried out the attack.
The jihadist group is made up of Sunni Muslims, but does not hesitate to attack Sunnis who oppose it.
Iraq announced in January that Iraqi forces had “liberated” Diyala, significant parts of which had been overrun by IS after the jihadists launched a brutally effective offensive last June.
But even if IS no longer fully controls towns in Diyala, jihadists can still carry out deadly bombings in the province, as they have for years.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/24/14-killed-in-Iraq-suicide-bombing-claimed-by-ISIS.html
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ISIS suicide bombers kill 10 Syria soldiers: monitor
24 June 2015
Two suicide bombers from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group have killed 10 Syrian soldiers in the northeastern city of Hasakeh, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday.
Separately, at least 13 civilians were killed in a car bomb attack against a mosque in a village near the capital Damascus, the monitor said.
All three incidents occurred Tuesday night.
"Ten soldiers were killed and 16 others injured in two suicide attacks carried out by ISIS against army positions in Hasakeh," the Britain-based Observatory said.
"The first attack was carried out by three jihadists against a military barracks in the center of town, while the second was carried out by one suicide bomber against a checkpoint near a children’s hospital."
A third suicide bomber hit a post manned by the Kurdish security forces in the city, causing serious damage to buildings in the area but no deaths.
Control of Hasakeh, which is ethnically mixed, is divided between Syrian troops and Kurdish forces.
On May 30, ISIS launched a bid to enter the city, but was pushed back after violent clashes with Syrian troops and Kurdish fighters.
Elsewhere in the country, the Observatory said 13 civilians were killed when a car bomb exploded in front of a mosque in the village of al-Tall as worshippers were leaving prayers.
State news agency SANA reported the "terrorist" blast that targeted the mosque, but gave no precise toll.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack in the town, which lies just north of the capital, where a truce is in place between rebel forces inside and regime troops outside.
More than 230,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began with anti-government protests before spiraling into a war after a regime crackdown.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/24/ISIS-suicide-bombers-kill-10-Syria-soldiers-monitor-.html
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ISIS Coins: First Look Revealed On Social Media
By Sounak Mukhopadhyay on June 24 2015
The self-declared Islamic State is issuing its own currency, and some of the coins supposedly are worth as much as $139.
The first images of the ISIS coins were shared online by an anti-ISIS activist in Syria. It was Abu Ibrahim al-Raqqawi who shared the images on Twitter. The pseudonymous activist is the founder of Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently. He said ISIS militants were going to use the coins soon.
The Mirror reported that the coin in the photograph had seven wheat stalks on one side and Arabic script on the other. The Arabic inscriptions mean “The Islamic State” and “A caliphate based on the doctrine of the prophet.”
The coin in the photograph is said to be worth five dinars. The ISIS coin has a world map on one of its side.
It was in November 2014 that ISIS announced it would issue copper, silver and gold coins and released the first designs. The militant group said that it would use silver dirham and gold dinar.
Full report at:
http://www.ibtimes.com/isis-coins-first-look-revealed-social-media-1982480
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ISIS battles Kurds to renter Syria’s Kobane
25 June 2015
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria fighters reentered the Syrian Kurdish battleground town of Kobane on Thursday, a group monitoring the Syrian war has said.
ISIS militants detonated a suicide bomb and are battling Kurdish YPJ militia near the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Right said.
"[ISIS] detonated a suicide bomb in the area near the border crossing with Turkey, killing at least five people," said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman, according to Agence France-Presse.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/25/ISIS-battles-Kurds-to-renter-Syria-s-Kobane-.html
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Saudi, Emirati soldiers killed on Yemen border
25 June 2015
Three Saudi soldiers and an Emirati have been killed on Saudi Arabia’s border with Yemen, where Riyadh is a leading a bombing campaign against Iran-backed militia, state media said Thursday.
Two Saudi troops were killed at sunset Wednesday when a rocket landed in the Jizan region, the Saudi-led coalition said in a statement carried by the SPA state news agency.
It did not specify the source of fire but cross-border shelling by Yemeni Shiite Houthi militia has become frequent since Riyadh launched an air campaign against them late March.
The statement said a Saudi border guard was also killed at the Alab crossing point in the Asir region, without elaborating.
On Monday, an Emirati soldier died in a border skirmish with Huthi fighters, the statement added.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/25/Three-Saudi-soldiers-one-Emirati-killed-on-Yemen-border-.html
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Rebels attack regime-held parts of Syria's Daraa
25 June 2015
A rebel alliance, including Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate Al-Nusra Front, attacked government-held parts of the southern city of Daraa on Thursday, a monitoring group said.
The alliance, also involving powerful Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham, bombarded loyalist positions with mortar and artillery fire, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Syria’s official SANA news agency said “terrorists hit neighborhoods of Daraa city with mortar rounds and gas canister bombs,” adding that there were reports of casualties.
“Army units foiled attempts by terrorist groups to attack several military positions in Daraa province destroying several armored vehicles and killing dozens of terrorists,” state television said.
It made no mention of fighting inside Daraa city, parts of which are already under rebel control.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/25/Rebels-attach-regime-held-parts-of-Syria-s-Daraa.html
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ISIS seizes parts of Syria’s Hasakeh
25 June 2015
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group fighters entered the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh overnight, seizing two neighborhoods from government forces in heavy clashes, a monitoring group said on Thursday.
At least 30 regime loyalists and 20 ISIS jihadists were killed in the fighting, which continued into Thursday morning, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Britain-based group said the ISIS attack began late on Wednesday, with the jihadist group using at least one suicide bomber against a militia checkpoint during its advance.
"Heavy fighting is continuing, with shelling by both sides," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.
He said ISIS had taken control of two southern districts of the city.
"Civilians in those areas and nearby are fleeing to the northern parts of the city," he added.
Control of Hasakeh, a provincial capital, is divided between Kurdish militia and government loyalists.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/25/ISIS-seizes-parts-of-northeast-Syria-city-Hasakeh-.html
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Saudi-led jets strike Houthis in heavy raids
24 June 2015
Warplanes from the Saudi-led Arab coalition have launched heavy raids against militia positions in seven Yemeni provinces, witnesses and military sources said Wednesday.
The attacks that began overnight and continued Wednesday were the most intensive since the beginning of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan last week, witnesses said.
Positions were targeted in the northern region of Saada, which is the main stronghold for the Iran-backed Houthi militia, as well as Hajja on the border with Saudi Arabia, residents said.
The warplanes also raided positions in the western province of Hodeida, and the provinces of Baida, Daleh, Lahj and Aden, in the south.
The targets included Houthis as well as troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has allied himself with the rebels against the government of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
The warplanes hit rebels near the airport of Aden, where heavy fighting continues between rebels and southern fighters allied with Hadi, military officials loyal to Hadi said.
Four civilians, including two women, were killed in clashes in Aden, an official said.
Houthis who overran the capital Sanaa in September have since expanded their control to several other regions. In March they advanced on Aden, where Hadi had taken refuge before fleeing to Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi-led coalition launched a bombing campaign against the rebels late March in support of Hadi.
More than 2,600 people have been killed in Yemen since March, according to U.N. figures, and almost 80 percent of the population -- 20 million people -- are in need of urgent humanitarian aid.
U.N.-brokered peace talks between the rebels and government officials ended in Geneva last week without agreement.
U.N. appeals for ceasefire
Meanwhile, the U.N. envoy for Yemen on Wednesday urged warring sides to agree to a ceasefire as fighting pushed the poor Arab country closer to famine and deeper into humanitarian crisis.
Mauritanian diplomat Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said a ceasefire was a priority after reporting to the Security Council on his failed peace talks in Geneva last week.
“It is imperative for all the parties -- and for me everybody is responsible -- to find a truce,” the envoy told reporters.
He called for the ceasefire to take hold before the end of Ramadan on July 17.
“We are one step away from famine,” said Ould Cheik Ahmed. “We want to really find a way to lessen the suffering of the population.”
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/24/Saudi-led-warplanes-bomb-rebels-across-Yemen.html
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Syria’s Nusra Front underlines Al-Qaeda link in audio message
24 June 2015
The head of Syria’s Nusra Front militant group mourned the death of al Qaeda’s deputy leader in an audio message that underlined the organisations’ close relationship and appeared to counter recent reports that it might split from the global network.
Nusra is al Qaeda’s wing in Syria, but sources close to and in the organisation told Reuters this year it was considering distancing itself from the parent group so that it could attract funding from a wider range of donors.
The audio message from Nusra’s Abu Mohamad al-Golani, posted on YouTube overnight, mourned Nasser al-Wuhayshi who was killed in a U.S bombing in Yemen in June, urged his followers not to despair and advised his successor to be cautious.
Nusra is one of the most powerful forces fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in an increasingly complex conflict.
Western diplomats, who see it as a dangerous hardline group, have been closely following its actions and international allegiances as it attempts to cast itself to an Arab audience as a Syrian national ovement.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/24/Syria-s-Nusra-Front-underlines-Al-Qaeda-link-in-audio-message.html
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U.S.-led coalition targets ISIS in nine air strikes in Syria, Iraq
24 June 2015
The United States and its coalition allies staged nine air strikes in Iraq and Syria in the latest round of daily attacks on Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group on Tuesday, a Command Joint Task Force statement said.
Eight of the strikes were near the Iraqi cities of Bayji, Haditha, Sinjar and Tel Afar, striking tactical units, vehicles, buildings and a mortar position, the statement released on Wednesday said.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/24/U-S-led-coalition-targets-ISIS-in-nine-air-strikes-in-Syria-Iraq.html
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U.S., Shiite fighters not working together at Iraq base: Pentagon
24 June 2015
The Pentagon said Tuesday that there are some Shiite fighters at an Iraqi military base where Washington just sent 450 reinforcements, but they were not working with U.S. forces, underscoring concerns over links with the sectarian fighters.
Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said that while there is a “small group” of Shiite fighters at the Taqaddum base, there numbered only in the lower double digits, did not form full units and did not interact with U.S. forces.
Taqaddum is a key area in the fight to retake the city of Ramadi and the Sunni province of Al-Anbar from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group.
Shiite and Kurdish fighters have been critical in bolstering a weakened Iraqi military in efforts to fight ISIS. But the United States is hesitant to see Shiite militias involved in its efforts to battle ISIS, despite their battle readiness.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/24/U-S-Shiite-fighters-not-working-together-at-Iraq-base-Pentagon-.html
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Houthis disrupted Geneva talks: Jubeir
June 25, 2015
PARIS – Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir blamed Houthi rebels for the failure of Geneva peace talks.
“The Geneva meeting was a first step that proved that Houthis were not serious about reaching a peaceful resolution of the issue with the legitimate government of Yemen. On the other hand, it was evident that they wanted to disrupt talks and continue their illegal domination over the Yemeni territories,” he said, adding that this is not at all acceptable to Yemenis or neighboring states or the international community.
Al-Jubeir was addressing a joint press conference with the French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius after their meeting here on Wednesday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Al-Jubeir said that the Kingdom is optimistic about solving the Yemen problem peacefully. “The failure of first Geneva meeting does not mean that it is the end of the road. We hope that Houthis would come to wisdom and realize that the only way out of the current crisis in Yemen is through peaceful means,” he said, emphasizing that the solution to Yemen crisis must be based on the GCC initiative, the outcome of Yemen national dialogue and UN Security Council Resolution No. 2216.
Replying to a question regarding the outcome of the visit of deputy crown prince to Moscow, Al-Jubeir said: “We are meeting and consulting with our allies about the region’s issues, and we are coordinating our stances towards these issues. The deputy crown prince’s visit to Russia was a bilateral visit where we discussed means of enhancing bilateral relations between the Kingdom and Russia. It was also an opportunity to consult with the Russian side on issues of mutual concern in the region, including Syria, Iran’s negative acts in the region, the situation in Yemen and other issues.”
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150625248429
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Civilians In ISIS 'Capital' Raqqa Trapped Between ISIS Brutality And Syrian Kurdish Fighters' Advances
By Alessandria Masi
June 24 2015
Abu Mohammed knew he had to get his family out of Raqqa as soon as he heard the news. Militants in the Islamic State group’s de facto headquarters beat and tortured with electric shocks one of his fellow Syrian activists’ 49-year-old father, for 77 days. Then they executed him in one of their prisons on Monday. And that was happening just as Syrian Kurdish fighters, who have a history of alleged atrocities against Arabs, were closing in on Raqqa. If they reached the militants’ “capital,” then Mohammed’s mother, father and brothers were in danger not only at the hands of the Islamic State group or ISIS, but also from the militias fighting it.
“I'm looking for some way to get them out. Every day ISIS arrests some young people and the families are scared,” said Mohammed, an activist with the anti-ISIS monitoring group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, who uses a pseudonym for security reasons. “ISIS has spies everywhere,” he said -- and is also arresting people trying to run away.
Mohammed’s family was just one of hundreds looking for a way out of Raqqa before a rapidly approaching battle begins between ISIS and the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG. Civilians in Raqqa have lived under brutal ISIS rule for more than a year, but now they also fear the incoming Kurdish fighters.
“They don’t like ISIS and they don’t like YPG,” said Abu Ibrahim al-Raqqawi, a spokesman for the group, who is based outside Syria and also uses an assumed name for safety. “If the battles will be close to Raqqa, I think most of the people will leave and go to another place.”
Al-Raqqawi’s family still lives in Raqqa. So does the family of Hamoud Moussa, another member of the group. Moussa’s father is the man ISIS executed last week. ISIS accused the father of communicating with Moussa, a violation of ISIS rules as Moussa is a known opponent.
All three activists from the group who spoke to International Business Times said their families will try to run from Raqqa if the YPG reaches the city, but fleeing will not be easy. A taxi from Raqqa to the Turkish border can now cost up to 50,000 Syrian pounds, roughly $265.
Their families fear that the YPG “will kill people and burn the houses,” al-Raqqawi said.
Kurdish fighters have seen some of their greatest successes recently, with the help of airstrikes by a U.S.-led coalition, of all the Syrian and Iraqi militias fighting ISIS, and have managed to take some territory in Syria’s northeast. (ISIS remains well entrenched elsewhere, including in the biggest city it holds, Mosul, in the north of Iraq.) However, as in Raqqa, many civilians there feared the YPG fighters. Last week, the YPG pushed ISIS militants out of the town of Tal Abyad, cutting off a key supply route from Turkey to Raqqa. The YPG’s advances in Tal Abyad forced thousands of civilians to flee the city and attempt to cross the border into Turkey.
Full report at:
http://www.ibtimes.com/civilians-isis-capital-raqqa-trapped-between-isis-brutality-syrian-kurdish-fighters-1982078
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Europe
Takfiri militants in Russia's Caucasus pledge allegiance to ISIL
Jun 24, 2015
Takfiri militants in four regions of Russia’s Caucasus have taken oath of allegiance to the ISIL terrorist group operating in Iraq and Syria, according to a recording recently posted online.
Based on the voice recording which emerged on video sharing website YouTube on Sunday, militants in Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria regions have all pledged allegiance to ISIL leader Ibrahim al-Samarrai aka Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, AFP reported on Wednesday.
Listing the four Russian regions in the recording both in Arabic and Russian, a male voice says all the militants “of the Caucasus... are united in this decision and there are no disagreements among us on this issue.”
The move was warmly welcomed by the terror group, with Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, an ISIL spokesman, naming a local militant as the group’s Caucasus leader.
He said in a recording of his own that Baghdadi accepts the allegiance and “names Sheikh Abu Mohammad al-Qadari as (governor) of the Caucasus.”
Reports identified Qadari as Rustam Aselderov, a militant who swore fealty to ISIL in December 2014.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.in/Detail/2015/06/24/417364/Russia-ISIL-Dagestan-Chechnya-Ibrahim-alSamarrai-
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Russian authorities target Muslim group in Dagestan unjustly
June 25, 2015
An HRW report finds Russian authorities treat adherents of Salafism, a form of Sunni Islam, as criminal suspects despite the absence of any grounds.
Russia: Abusive counterinsurgency tactics in Southern Republic
The government's response to a decade-long insurgency in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan has been marked by serious human rights violations, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a recent report. Insurgents have also attacked civilians.
The abuses are set against a background in which authorities treat adherents of Salafism, a fundamentalist interpretation of Sunni Islam that is increasingly popular in Dagestan, as criminal suspects despite the absence of any grounds to suspect them of a specific offence.
The report, titled Invisible War: Russia's Abusive Response to the Dagestan Insurgency, documents human rights violations in counterinsurgency efforts as well as crimes by insurgents in Dagestan from 2012 to 2014.
"Many Salafi Muslims in Dagestan experience persistent, invasive harassment by law enforcement and security officials," says HRW Russia programme director Tanya Lokshina. "This abusive treatment alienates and marginalises Salafi communities, and their resulting mistrust of the government plays into the hands of Islamist insurgents."
Human Rights Watch interviewed close to 80 people in Dagestan from 2012 through 2015, including victims of abuse and their relatives, lawyers, police and government officials, human rights defenders and journalists.
Police put Salafis on special watch lists and frequently detain and question these religious group members for no specific reason They repeatedly photograph and fingerprint them and in some cases carry out forced DNA sampling.
Human Rights Watch also detailed several counterinsurgency operations that extensively destroyed or damaged civilian property – for which the owners have not received adequate compensation and none at all in some cases.
"Counterinsurgency operations may well be warranted to protect the public, but what is never warranted is for security forces to conduct these operations without regard for human rights standards," Lokshina said.
Full report at:
http://mg.co.za/multimedia/2015-06-24-russian-authorities-target-muslim-group-in-dagestan-unjustly
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Russia very concerned over militants influence in Afghanistan
By ZABIHULLAH MOOSAKHAIL - Thu Jun 25 2015
Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed serious concern over the influence of the militant groups in Afghanistan.
Putin in a meeting with Afghanistan’s former president Hamid Karzai has said that the sharp rise in Taliban attacks after NATO ended its combat role and that activities of the so-called Islamic State group are more worrying.
“We are witnessing processes that cause serious concern…Taliban is actively spreading its influence, controlling a large part of [Afghan] territory, many border crossing points. What is more worrying, however, is the fact that the so-called Islamic State organization is working more and more actively in Afghanistan, feeling more comfortable there,” Putin said.
Putin has also said that the Islamic State, Daesh, is currently operating in 25 provinces of Afghanistan out of 34.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/russia-very-concerned-over-militants-rising-influence-in-afghanistan-3547
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France, Saudi Arabia to sign contracts worth $12 bln
24 June 2015
France and Saudi Arabia plan to sign $12 billion of deals on Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters during a visit by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in deals highlighting Paris' growing commercial ties in the Middle East.
The contracts include 23 Airbus H145 helicopters worth $500 million, Fabius told reporters. The H145, previously known as the EC145, is a light twin-engined helicopter typically used for emergency services or border patrols. A military version is used by the U.S. Army.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said he was still discussing the price for a contract for French naval patrol boats, built by DCNS. Saudi Arabia also plans to sign a feasibility study for two EPR reactors built by Areva , Fabius added.
Full report at:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/europe/161141/france-saudi-arabia-to-sign-contracts-worth-12-bln
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EU launches counter-terrorism training across E.Africa
24 June 2015
The European Union said it will offer counter-terrorism training to help east African security agencies improve cross-border investigations and prosecutions in a region hit by deadly raids carried out by militants.
Fearful militants trained in Africa may strike closer to home, Western powers have trained and equipped security agencies of many east African nations whom they see as a bulwark against the spread of radical Islam, especially from warn-torn Somalia.
The new programme, to be implemented later this year or early 2016 across Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda and Yemen, will cost 11 million euros ($12 million) over five years, an EU official said on Wednesday.
Uwe Wissenbach, the EU's head of political section in Kenya, said the programme would focus on training local law enforcement agencies and judiciaries in how to carry out cross-border investigations and construct criminal prosecutions.
"We want to bring together terrorism related law enforcement agencies and help people understand counter-terrorism investigations across borders," Wissenbach said, adding that EU experts would be brought to assist local agencies.
Wissenbach spoke ahead of a three-day "Countering Violent Extremism" conference, due to start on Thursday in Nairobi.
Full report at:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/europe/161139/eu-launches-counter-terrorism-training-across-eafrica
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Southeast Asia
Don’t Show-Off with Post-Prayer Selfies, You’ll Lose ‘Reward Points’, Muslims Told
June 25, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 ― Muslims will have their “pahala” (reward points) forfeited if they take selfies to be uploaded on social media to “show-off” after praying at the mosque, a Johor Islamic authority said.
According to a report on Astro Awani, Johor Islamic Religious Council (MAINJ) chairman Datuk Nooh Gadut said Muslims should focus on praying instead of on broadcasting their devotion to Allah to the world.
“What is our goal of going to the mosques? Do we just want to post a selfie at the mosques?
“Don't you think that is just to show one’s lack of sincerity in carrying out their duties during the Ramadan month?” he told the news portal.
Nooh was commenting on Muslims who appear to be obsessed with snapping photographs of themselves at the mosques after performing their Taraweeh prayers and subsequently uploading the images on social media sites.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/dont-show-off-with-post-prayer-selfies-youll-lose-pahala-muslims-told
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Ethnic Chinese embrace Islam, but keep names to resist ‘becoming Malay’
June 24, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 — Chinese Muslims converts are baulking at taking Malay or Arabic names upon embracing Islam, claiming the discriminatory practice forces them to abandon their culture and traditions.
Several Chinese Muslims in Malaysia are fighting for the right to keep their original names, in defiance of the convention of replacing their surname with ‘Abdullah’, in a bid to keep their culture alive.
“I will not change my ethnicity. I was born Chinese and I will die Chinese, I will not become Malay.
“I did not want to change my name to show that Islam is a universal religion for all nations, not just for the Arabs or Malays only,” the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association (MACMA) Malacca president Lim Jooi Soon told the BBC in a recent interview.
Like Lim, several other Chinese Muslims view changing their names to include Arabic or Malay names to be unnecessary as they were adopting a new faith, not a new race.
“My name may change but my face remains the same. Here, Malaysians say that if someone converts to Islam it means they’re becoming Malay. If I did not change my name, then I remain Chinese,” Ting Swee Keong said, also having kept his Chinese name after converting to Islam.
Even the practice of celebrating Chinese festivals are at risk, Muslim convert Nur Caren Chung Yock Lin said, despite celebrations like Chinese New Year or Mooncake Festival not being rooted in faith.
“This cultural celebration does not go against Islamic law; the Mooncake Festival, the Dumpling Festival, the Chinese New Year celebrations, these are more cultural than religious.
“Judging from history when Ibn Waqas preached in China, he easily accepted the culture since Islam did not kill the culture; the faith changed, not the culture,” she said.
Although the convention of changing an individual’s name when converting into Islam is not in Malaysian legislature, it is commonly practised by all Islamic authorities, the BBC reports.
Lim was the first Chinese Muslim in Malaysia allowed to keep his original name, a right he earned after battling Islamic authorities for five years.
“Five years to talk, debate and discussion, as well as showing strong evidence in favour of me keeping my Chinese name. After that, it made it easy for many people to embrace Islam,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/ethnic-chinese-embrace-islam-but-keep-names-to-resist-becoming-malay
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Malaysian Muslims seem to have very weak faith
Zan Azlee, Astro Awani | Updated: June 25, 2015
I have been fasting in full every Ramadan for many years now and I admit, I do feel hungry and thirsty during the day and it isn’t totally comfortable all of the time.
But of course, like anything you do, if you put your mind to it and persevere, it eventually stops being a problem.
You get used to fasting and it actually makes your body feel good. But I won't be talking here about the benefits of fasting on your health and well being.
What I do want to talk about is the fact that there are so many weak Muslims in Malaysia who can’t take fasting. I’m usually not one to judge, but well, this time I am going to!
We have a teacher in a school who asks his non-Muslim students to go to the toilet to drink during Ramadan, just so Muslim students won’t see them drinking.
It is ridiculous how some school canteens are instructed to close during the fasting month because it would mean non-Muslim students eating in view of Muslim students.
This issue of non-Muslims having to go out of their way, in the name of being respectful to those who are fasting, crops up every time Ramadan comes around.
I don’t understand how this is respect. All I can conclude from this is that some Malaysian Muslims are just too weak, and when they see someone drink water, their will to fast disappears.
Full report at:
http://english.astroawani.com/malaysia-news/malaysian-muslims-seem-have-very-weak-faith-63617
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Citing Islamophobia, Malay Muslims Launch Petition Against News Portal
BY YISWAREE PALANSAMY
June 24, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 — Over 2,000 Muslims have signed a petition demanding an apology from Malaysiakini over a reader’s comment published by the news portal that they claim mocked their religion.
The comment appeared in the portal’s “Yoursay” section, and allegedly belittled Muslims over Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria’s comments regarding sex in Muslim marriages.
The section curates comments from the news portal’s readers on issues of the day.
In the petition, the Muslims claimed that the particular comment was mischievously titled “Having sex on camel needs gymnastic skills, no?”, made in reference to Harussani’s remarks that Muslim wives were obligated to provide sex to their husbands even upon the backs of camels and another saying that Muslim women should not participate in gymnastics.
The petition started anonymously on June 23 and titled “Malaysians Against Malaysiakini’s Islamophobia” accused the news portal of deliberately allowing Islamic teachings to be ridiculed and that the comment was deliberately “engineered” to insult Islam.
“In publishing the aforementioned column, Malaysiakini had failed to observe due respect towards the Muslim community as well as Islam, the religion of the federation, whose adherents comprised from the large majority of Malaysians of the Malay ethnicity,” read the petition.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/citing-islamophobia-muslims-launch-petition-against-news-portal
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Non-Muslim hawkers also welcome at Ramadan bazaars
FMT Reporters | June 25, 2015
MALACCA: Race is not an issue for those who want to set up stalls at Ramadan bazaars, said the Hang Tuah Jaya Municipal Council, whose president, Mansor Sudin, has invited hawkers of all races to set up stalls in any of the 10 Ramadan bazaars under its purview.
The only requirement for a hawker to do business there was to sell only halal food, a report on The Star Online said.
State assemblyman Khoo Poay Tiong was pleased to note this positive development in view of the increasing racial polarisation in Malaysia.
“Our policy regarding Ramadan sites is open. We have no issue inviting non-Muslim traders to earn extra income during Ramadan,” said State Housing, Local Government and Environment Committee chairman Ismail Othman.
Full report at:
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/06/25/non-muslim-hawkers-also-welcome-at-ramadan-bazaars/
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Bangladesh hopes to send 500,000 workers to M’sia
FMT Reporters | June 25, 2015
DHAKA: Bangladesh expects to recruit 500,000 workers over the next six months to work in Malaysia under a new recruitment agreement hammered out by the two countries on Wednesday.
The workers would be offered a three-year contract with the option to extend it by another year.
The new agreement was hastened by the recent influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar by boat that precipitated a humanitarian crisis that attracted international attention.
According to an official of Bangladesh’s expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment ministry, the earlier government-to-government (G2G) system, agreed upon in November 2012, “failed to live up to the Bangladeshi workers’ expectation”.
Over 100,000 Bangladeshis were reportedly victims of manpower touts and human traffickers in the last two years.
“Under the new agreement, called Business-to-Business (B-B) mechanism, recruitment can be run through private recruitment agencies of the two countries,” said Kazi Abul Kalam, joint secretary of the ministry, in a report carried in The Daily Star yesterday.
Bangladesh Expatriates Welfare Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain and Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi signed the agreement in Putrajaya.
Zahid said legal workers from Bangladesh are welcome in Malaysia and applications for employment would be received online and monitored by local government agencies.
Khandker said the new agreement would ensure that would-be workers were not exploited or charged unreasonable fees, while employers would be made responsible for the welfare and security of the workers.
Full report at:
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/06/25/bangladesh-hopes-to-send-500000-workers-to-msia/
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Appeals Court orders return of CD with "Allah" word to Sarawakian
Bernama | Updated: June 24, 2015
PUTRAJAYA: Sarawakian Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill can have back her eight religious CDs with the word "Allah" as the Court of Appeal here on Tuesday upheld the High Court's order for the home ministry to return the materials to the Christian woman.
Justice Tengku Maimun, who chaired a three-member panel, ordered the Home Ministry to return the CDs to Jill within one month's time from Tuesday.
The panel unanimously dismissed the appeal brought by the Home Ministry and the government.
Justice Tengku Maimun briefly read the judgment which was written by Justice Datuk Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim who presided on the panel with her (Justice Tengku Maimun) and Datuk Seri Zakaria Sam.
She said that the letter dated July 7, 2008 signed by Customs senior officer Suzanah Muin to confiscate Jill's CDs, was bad in law and was done ultra vires Section 9 of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.
She said Suzanah was not the person who was envisaged by Parliament as the competent person who was empowered to make the confiscation order.
Justice Tengku Maimun, however, said the court partly allowed Jill's cross-appeal against the High Court's decision in not granting the declaratory reliefs sought by her.
She remitted the matter back to the High Court, to be heard by another judge on Jill's bid for declaration on her rights under Article 8 and 11 of the Federal Constitution on the freedom to practice one's religion and equality before the law.
Justice Tengku Maimun also fixed a mention date on July 2 for parties to appear before the High Court.
Full report at:
http://english.astroawani.com/malaysia-news/appeals-court-orders-return-cd-allah-word-sarawakian-63464
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‘Meugang’: Aceh’s way of welcoming Ramadhan
June 25 2015
For Acehnese people, beef is the most sought-after meat a day before the holy month of Ramadhan kicks off.
On Wednesday morning, more than 12 butchers were busy serving shoppers at their booths in the coffee shop- and food stall-lined area along Jl. T. Nyak Arief in Kuta Alam district, Banda Aceh.
The food stalls and coffee shops, which mostly operate 24 hours, were closed that day.
Big hunks of fresh beef lying on wooden tables and hung on metal hooks under tarps attracted passersby to visit. They continued to flock to the shops for meat throughout the day.
“Today [June 17], we are celebrating meugang,” said butcher Usman Amin.
Meugang is a tradition that remains in Aceh, which is home to more than 4.8 million people.
In this tradition, people stay at home, cooking beef and enjoying it with family members to welcome the holy month in the 58,376-square-kilometer province, located at the north-western tip of Sumatra.
Beef can be replaced with buffalo or goat meat. “Chicken is not allowed,” Usman said about meugang, which is also held a day before Idul Fitri and Idul Adha.
Chop: Butchers prepare cuts of beef in makeshift shops at roadsides during meugang.
Chop: Butchers prepare cuts of beef in makeshift shops at roadsides during meugang.
According to the Koran and Sunnah, Ramadhan is good news for Muslims because God will multiply rewards for those who worship Him. Therefore, it is a special month for people in Aceh, the only sharia-based province in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.
For the occasion, Usman slaughtered five cows in a slaughterhouse at Peunayong traditional market, which is around 7 kilometers from Jl. T. Nyak Arief. He did not remember how many cows were slaughtered at the house, but he said that there could be hundreds.
Meugang is the event Usman has been waiting for because rising demand of beef makes the price higher than usual.
For the occasion, one kilogram of beef was sold at Rp 150,000 (US$11), up 50 percent from Rp 100,000 on previous days.
Usman said that such prices were also applied at other spots in the city, such as Peuniti market in Baiturrahman district and Lamnyong market in Syiah Kuala district.
Early meat: Butchers tend to their shops, which open as early as 5 a.m.
Early meat: Butchers tend to their shops, which open as early as 5 a.m.
Usman served 12 buyers as of 9 a.m., four hours after he and other butchers set up the booths.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/06/25/meugang-aceh-s-way-welcoming-ramadhan.html
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Africa
40 killed in Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria
24 June 2015
About 40 people have been killed by suspected Boko Haram militants who torched houses and shot people as they fled in two villages in northeast Nigeria's Borno state, witnesses told Reuters on Wednesday.
The attackers, who arrived on motorcycles and vehicles mounted with guns, shot residents and looted shops in the villages of Debiro Biu and Debiro Hawul late on Monday night and into Tuesday morning, the witnesses said.
Full report at:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/europe/161132/40-killed-in-boko-haram-attacks-in-nigeria
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Nine Killed In Shabab Attack on UAE’s Somalia Mission Convoy
June 25, 2015
MOGADISHU: Nine people were killed on Wednesday after a suicide bomber tried to ram his explosives-laden car into a convoy of vehicles transporting Emirati diplomats in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, a police official said.
The diplomats from the United Arab Emirates were unharmed and most of the victims were Somali civilians caught up in the blast, said Capt Mohamed Hussein.
Anwar Gargash, the UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, confirmed that the targets of the attack were unharmed and safe, and he extended his sorrow at the loss of Somali lives in the incident, adding that the “cowardly terrorist attack” will not deter UAE support to Somalia.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes as civilians fled through nearby alleys while soldiers fired in the air to prevent a crowd from gathering. Civilians carried wounded victims to nearby hospitals. “We die like insects every day”, said Ahmed Mohamed, whose wife was wounded in the attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack bore the hallmarks of al-Shabab, the Somali Islamic extremist group that has vowed to step up attacks against the government and African Union forces during the holy month of Ramazan.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1190228/bomb-attack-kills-nine-in-somalia
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Al-Shabab Car Bomb, Targeting UAE Officials, Kills At Least 3 In Mogadishu
By Aditya Tejas
June 24 2015
A car bomb in the Somali capital of Mogadishu killed at least three people and wounded seven, police officials said Wednesday. The militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attacks.
"The suicide car bomb hit a military car. So far three people were killed, including civilians. Seven others were injured and rushed to hospital," Major Farah Abdikadir, a police officer, told Reuters.
The explosion was reportedly heard near the Turkish embassy in the city, and targeted officials from the United Arab Emirates.
"We targeted enemy delegates from the UAE and we inflicted casualties upon them and their forces," al-Shabab spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told Reuters. However, the identities of those killed or injured in the explosion had not yet been confirmed.
Wednesday's attack comes after a long string of deadly bombings and assaults by the terror group in the East African country.
On Sunday, fighters affiliated with the Islamist group blew up a car bomb in the capital and fought their way into a national intelligence agency compound. On Saturday, the group’s fighters killed eight police officers in a separate raid on a station near the capital. Last Thursday, al-Shabab stormed a military base in the country’s southwest, killing 16 soldiers, just hours after a separate attack in central Somalia.
In January, the group claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb in front of a Mogadishu hotel where Turkish delegates were meeting a day ahead of a visit by Turkish President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan.
Full report at:
http://www.ibtimes.com/al-shabab-car-bomb-targeting-uae-officials-kills-least-3-mogadishu-1981326
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Libya's elected parliament backs UN peace plan
24 June 2015
Libya's elected parliament has voted to stay in United Nations peace talks after calling for amendments to a proposed power-sharing deal aimed at ending the conflict between the country's two rival governments.
Western governments are pushing the two factions to agree to the U.N. deal as the only way to end a crisis that threatens to split the North African OPEC state four years after an uprising ousted strongman Muammar Gaddafi.
An internationally recognized government and elected House of Representatives operates in the east while a self-declared government and the re-instated former parliament known as the General National Congress or GNC holds the capital Tripoli.
"The House of Representatives agreed on amendments of the last draft by the U.N. with 66 out of 76 members voting," lawmaker Tareq al-Jouroushi told Reuters on Wednesday.
Libya has been sliding deeper into chaos, worrying Western powers who fear it will become a failed state just over the Mediterrean sea from mainland Europe. Militants allied to ISIL have also gained ground in the chaos.
After months of negotiations in Europe, Algeria and Morocco, the U.N. talks are at a delicate stage with fighting continuing on the ground.
Earlier this month, the House of Representatives split over whether to continue with the U.N. negotiations after disagreements over parts of the power-sharing accord, which calls for creation of a second chamber.
Full report at:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/africa/161152/libyas-elected-parliament-backs-un-peace-plan
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Pakistan
Restraining child marriages: Religious groups against raising minimum age
By Amel Ghani: June 25, 2015
LAHORE: Provincial Assembly Member (MPA) Mary Gill of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said on Tuesday that the Parliamentary Youth Caucus wanted to raise the minimum age stipulated in the Child Marriage Restraint Act.
Gill expressed her reservations regarding the Act at the 13th meeting of the caucus. She said this was something the caucus had wanted to do but was not been able to in the past. Gill said the caucus wanted to make CNICs mandatory for registration of marriages in a bid to ensure that both individuals were adults.
She said an amendment to this effect had not been introduced due to the influence of religious organisations. “The Act was passed in its original shape dating back to 1929 with the exception of a few changes. It is crucial to keep on amending it in accordance with the needs of changing times,” Gill said.
Other lawmakers present on the occasion concurred with her saying using the medium of the caucus would garner more support on this account. MPA Nabila Hakim of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) said the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) had opposed raising the minimum age in the Act. She expressed her support for the proposal saying such a move would significantly benefit women’s health. “A large number of women die during childbirth as they are too young to give birth to children,” Hakim said. She said raising the minimum age would also play a pivotal role in making women financially independent.
The lawmakers also expressed concern over the fact that no concrete vision statement or work agenda of the caucus had been formulated despite the passage of over a year since its inception. They observed that the exercise ought to be more result-oriented.
MPA Makhdoom Jawan Bakht of the PML-N said the caucus should define four to six key objectives and formulate a plan to realise these by 2018.
He said it was crucial to ensure that research was carried out to identify important issues Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/909264/restraining-child-marriages-religious-groups-against-raising-minimum-age/
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Pakistan rejects Afghan claims of ISI involvement in parliament attack
By Web Desk / Tahir Khan: June 25, 2015
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday dismissed Afghan intelligence claims that an officer of Pakistan’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, and the Haqqani Network were involved in the attack on the Afghan parliament earlier this week.
Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), alleged on Wednesday that the brazen attack on the parliament building in Kabul was planned in Peshawar.
“We reject these allegations. These allegations have been levelled against ISI and its officers in the past as well,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said.
“Pakistan is a well-wisher of Afghanistan and we are committed to good neighbourly relations and commitment to our relations with Afghanistan,” Qazi said, while responding to a questions regarding the NDS’s allegations reported by the Associated Press.
Taliban had claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack that had killed two people. No MP was hurt in the three-hour standoff.
“Mawlawi Shireen, the military commander of Haqani network, masterminded the attack and Bilal, an officer of the ISI provided financial and logistical support for it,” NDS spokesperson Haseeb Sediqi told the media.
Sediqi could not provide any proof to substantiate his allegations and also claimed that about Rs7.5 million were spent on the attack.
The FO spokesperson said Pakistan and Afghanistan have been interacting at the highest level. “We have said in the past and I want to reiterate that enemies of Afghanistan are the enemies of Pakistan and a guiding principle of our relationship is that we will not allow our soil to be used against others.”
Responding to a question about a recent meeting between the Afghan Taliban leaders and the Kabul-backed peace council in the Chinese city of Urumqi, Qazi said Pakistan had facilitated the meeting.
“Will facilitate an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process,” the spokesperson reiterated.
India trying to politicise UN with unfounded allegations: FO
Foreign Office said on Thursday India is trying to politicise the United Nations Security Council’s Sanctions Committee by making unfounded allegations against Pakistan.
“A recent complaint by India against Pakistan was discussed in one of the regular meetings of the Sanctions Committee on purely technical ground and the committee decided not to take any action on the Indian allegations,” Khalilullah said.
Khalilullah added, “Pakistan therefore rejects any insinuations and politically motivated moves and attempts that question its commitment to the UN Security Council’s decisions.”
“Pakistan in fact supports and respects the decisions of the Security Council while India on the other hand is in open violation of its various resolutions particularly relating to Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” the spokesperson upheld.
Khalilullah’s statement comes days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi voiced concerns over China’s move to veto a UN action against Pakistan for releasing alleged Mumbai terror mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
Modi’s outburst came after China blocked India’s move in the United Nations for action against Pakistan.
As the UN Sanctions Committee met at India’s request, a clarification was to be sought from Pakistan over Lakhvi’s release in the Mumbai attacks trial but the Chinese representatives blocked the move on grounds that New Delhi did not provide sufficient information, official sources said.
In a letter to the current chair of the UN Sanctions Committee Jim McLay, India’s permanent representative to the UN Asoke Mukherjee last month had said Lakhvi’s release by a Pakistani court was in violation of the UN Resolution 1267 dealing with designated entities and individuals.
The sanctions measures apply to designated individuals and entities associated with terror groups including al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), wherever located. The Sanctions Committee has five permanent and 10 non-permanent UN member states.
The release of Lakhvi had also raised concerns in the United States, UK, Russia, France and Germany with Washington calling for him to be re-arrested.
Lakhvi, 55, was arrested in December 2008 and was indicted along with six others on November 25, 2009 in connection with the 26/11 attack case. The trial has been underway since 2009. The Lahore High Court on April 9 ordered to set free Lakhvi.
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Establishment to seek treason trial against Altaf
By Kamran YousafPublished: June 25, 2015
ISLAMABAD: The country’s security establishment will seek registration of a treason case against Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain in the wake of BBC’s claim that his party received funds and training from India.
“It is time the government should move against him [Altaf Hussain] in the light of the BBC report on the MQM-India nexus,” said a source in the security establishment. It is believed the security establishment has decided to persuade the federal government to ban the MQM and file a treason case against its chief Altaf Hussain.
The source said a ‘dossier’ will be prepared on ‘MQM-India nexus’ in view of the BBC report. “The government will be asked to formulate a response to be given to India on its interference in Pakistan through its proxy Altaf Hussain and his close aides,” the source revealed.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/909347/establishment-to-seek-treason-trial-against-altaf/
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We Are Pakistani Hindus; Do Not Equate Us with Indians: MNA
June 24, 2015
I’m a Pakistani Hindu—and I am fed up with the unending list of unaddressed complaints regarding discrimination, marginalisation and hatred spewed against Hindus in books taught at our schools for the last 68 years.
A few days back, Lal Malhi, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s member of the national assembly (MNA) on a minority seat seemed to have addressed a similar point.
He commented on how insensitive and outright offensive our parliamentarians usually are when in their rhetoric of jingoism they want to condemn and criticise India, and instead start blaming and hurling abuses at Hindus.
A number of Muslim MNAs, he said, have mocked Hindus for worshiping cows. In their mindless hate-spewing, they ignore the fact that four million Hindus live in Pakistan, and their derogatory words hurt the religious sentiments of the local Hindu community. Perhaps, they need to be sensitised and educated that all Hindus are not Indians, and all Indians are not Hindus. India has over 200 million Muslims and other minority groups as well.
In the current scenario, I wish I had a prodigious political consciousness during my childhood so that I could have asked my grandparents why they and their ancestors preferred this part of the border in 1947, when many Hindus were fleeing to India.
Although I have as much of a right as any other Pakistani to seek better opportunities by fleeing abroad—to anywhere, India or not—and adding my name to the brain-drain list, the thought of leaving my motherland has never occurred to me. Despite the insecurity, the threats, the oppression and the marginalisation, we, members of the local Hindu community, are proud Pakistanis.
Every time there is an incident of violence against my community, an attack on a temple, or a forced conversion, my fellow citizens argue: “Don’t you see the atrocities against Muslims in India, especially in Kashmir and the 2002 Gujarat riots?”
I want to tell these people that as a minority rights activist, I feel deep pain at the atrocities against the Muslims living in India. But attacks on Muslim minorities in India in no way justify the atrocities committed against the Hindu minority living in Pakistan. Two wrongs cannot make a right.
Full report at:
http://qz.com/435699/i-am-a-hindu-and-a-proud-pakistani/
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Gangs looting expats in FIA, police uniform ‘busted’
June 25, 2015
LAHORE: Police claimed on Wednesday to have busted two robbery gangs and arrested their nine members, who would specially target expatriates in Federal Investigation Agency uniform, recovering looted cash and stolen vehicles worth Rs15 million from them.
Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Amin Wains told a press conference held at Qila Gujjar Singh Police Lines that the gangs were also involved in dacoity and vehicle snatching.
Acting DIG (investigation) Rana Ayaz Saleem, Civil Lines SP Faisal Mukhtar, Sadar division SP Amara Ather, Model Town SP Dr Rizwan and SP Umar Riaz Cheema were also present.
The CCPO said the gangs were operating in police and FIA uniforms, adding that illegal arms and booty worth Rs15 million were recovered from the criminals.
He said three members of “Tiger gang” were arrested with their ringleader, Akhtar Husain alias Tiger, Aslam Khan and Ali Javed, who also confessed to have committed robberies in Greece and Italy.
He said the accused during investigation admitted committing more than 80 robberies in different areas of the city. He said they would mostly target people outside money exchange shops, banks and overseas Pakistanis leaving airport.
Mr Wains said Satto Katla police recovered two cars, foreign currency in dollars, pounds, Saudi riyals, local currency, mobile phones, I-Pads, bogus identity cards and number plates, besides illegal weapons from the suspects.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1190299/gangs-looting-expats-in-fia-police-uniform-busted
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Five Thai students detained in Pakistan return home
June 25, 2015
BANGKOK: Five Thai students detained in Pakistan for trying to board a plane with a pistol and ammunition have been freed and returned to Bangkok on Thursday, said Thailand's foreign ministry.
The men, who were studying at a religious school in Pakistan, were trying to catch a Thai Airways flight on June 8 when they were intercepted.
Thailand's government said an investigation into the students found the men had no links to the Islamic State militant group or any criminal organisation.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1190347/five-thai-students-detained-in-pakistan-return-home
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FIA allowed to shift Axact CEO to Islamabad
June 25, 2015
KARACHI: A sessions court on Wednesday allowed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to shift the detained chief executive officer of a software company and four members of the management to Islamabad for investigation of another fake degrees and money laundering case.
The FIA had arrested Axact CEO Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh and four members of his management team — Viqas Atique, Zeeshan Anwar, Mohammad Sabir and Zeeshan Ahmed — on May 27 after lodging a case in Karachi and also arrested some other officials of the company earlier this month for allegedly preparing and selling fake degrees, diplomas and accreditation certificates of fictitious schools/universities through a fraudulent online system and illegally minting millions of dollars.
After remaining in FIA custody on remand for questioning, all the suspects were sent on June 8 to prison on judicial remand.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1190215/fia-allowed-to-shift-axact-ceo-to-islamabad
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SC shown video clips of militants’ acts of savagery
NASIR IQBAL
June 25, 2015
ISLAMABAD: The presence of heartbroken parents and the screening of video clips showing militants’ acts of savagery were the two distinct features of Wednesday’s hearing by a 17-judge full court of petitions challenging the establishment of military courts.
A number of close relatives of the students who had lost their lives in the Dec 16, 2014, attack on the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar and some members of the APS Shuhada Forum attended the hearing.
The video clips showed Mullah Fazlullah inciting violence in Pushto language and asking people to wage war against Pakistan, and Daesh leaders referring to different cities of Pakistan in Arabic language with the seal of the Holy Prophet in a black background. Other clips showed militants putting personnel of the armed forces before a firing squad, beheading them and playing football with their heads.
Parents of school attack victims attend hearing of petitions against military courts
The parents later told Dawn that they had come to the court to support the 21st Amendment under which military courts were set up to try hardened terrorists.
“We want speedy justice by military courts and demand that the terrorists who were arrested after the Peshawar carnage should be among the first to be hanged,” Raheem Afridi, the coordinator of the APS Shuhada Forum, said, adding that 50 parents and members of the forum had attended the court proceedings.
Asked who had invited them, he said they had met Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt and were told that they could come and watch the hearing.
Shahana Ajoon, mother of slain Asfand, said: “We are satisfied with what the military courts are doing.”
After the showing of video clips, the attorney general said these militants had declared a war against Pakistan and that was the reason the Pakistan Army Act (PAA) 1952 had been amended and military courts established under the 21st Amendment to try people like these.
“They are neither loyal to the state of Pakistan as commanded by Article 5 of the Constitution nor they recognise the country,” he contended.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa said he wondered what the state was doing when these people were declaring themselves Amirul Momineen or Khalifa and asked whether the government had declared Daesh as a proscribed organisation. If the answer was in the affirmative then why they were
not being criminalised and, if the answer was in the negative, then why, he asked.
The AG said he would produce before the court the notification describing Daesh as a proscribed outfit.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1190266/sc-shown-video-clips-of-militants-acts-of-savagery
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Sindh CM, lawmakers stage sit-in against KE, federal govt
HABIB KHAN GHORI
June 25, 2015
KARACHI: Members of the provincial assembly, led by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, ministers and other lawmakers on Wednesday set a precedent by staging a sit-in on a footpath opposite the assembly building against K-Electric and the federal government’s ‘unjust policies’ causing prolonged loadshedding in the current heatwave in Sindh.
During the half-an-hour-long sit-in, the protesters raised slogans such as Sindh ke sath zulm bund karo; Jeena hoga marna hoga, dharna hoga dharna hoga; Bijli do pani do, warna kursi chhor do.
The chief minister told the media that the federal government was responsible for the deaths which multiplied in the current heatwave due to prolonged loadshedding. He demanded an end to loadshedding in Karachi and other parts of Sindh that provided the largest share of gas to the country.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1190223/sindh-cm-lawmakers-stage-sit-in-against-ke-federal-govt
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India provided funds to MQM, claims BBC report
June 25, 2015
KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has received funding from Indian authorities, claims a startling report published by the BBC on Wednesday.
According to the report which quotes an unnamed "authoritative Pakistani source", officials in MQM have told UK authorities that they received Indian government funds.
The report further states that UK authorities investigating MQM for alleged money laundering also found a list of weapons in an MQM property.
Explore: Big brother is watching
MQM Coordination Committee Member Wasay Jalil in response to the report posted a short statement to Twitter, rejecting BBC's allegations.
In response to a question on Twitter about a confessional statement available with Scotland Yard, Jalil said, "We have seen these confessions since '92".
The report also said that British authorities held formal recorded interviews with senior MQM officials who told them the party was receiving Indian funding.
It also said that a Pakistani official has told the BBC that India has trained hundreds of MQM militants in explosives, weapons and sabotage over the last 10 years in camps in north and north-east India.
"A Pakistani official has told the BBC that India has trained hundreds of MQM militants over the last 10 years," the report says.
The report says, "Before 2005-2006 the training was given to a small number of mid-ranking members of the MQM, the official said."
"More recently greater numbers of more junior party members have been trained."
MQM responds
The MQM called an emergency meeting of its coordination committee after the BBC report was made public.
The party rejected all allegations made in the BBC report in a statement published on its official website.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1190175/india-provided-funds-to-mqm-claims-bbc-report
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Heat wave death toll in Sindh tops 1,000
HASAN MANSOOR
June 25, 2015
KARACHI: While the punishing heatwave gripping Karachi since Saturday showed signs of subsiding, the death toll across Sindh rose to 1,011, with at least 229 fatalities reported on Wednesday by government and private hospitals.
Wednesday’s figures included the five-day tally of 23 deaths reported by a private hospital which had not released it earlier.
Officials said that about 40,000 people had suffered heatstroke and as many as 7,500 of them were treated in Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), where 311 people died.
“More than 1,000 of the 40,000 heatstroke victims have died since Saturday evening, of which 950 deaths were reported in Karachi alone,” said a senior official.
According to the figures collected from various hospitals, of the 950 deaths in Karachi, 729 were recorded in government-run health facilities and 221 in private hospitals.
The officials said the number of patients arriving in hospitals had ‘significantly’ dropped with the weather getting better, yet there were thousands of patients being treated in different health facilities.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1190267/heatwave-death-toll-in-sindh-tops-1000
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Mideast
Document outlines big-power nuclear help to Iran
24 June 2015
The United States and other nations negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran are ready to offer high-tech reactors and other state-of-the-art equipment to Tehran if it agrees to crimp programs that can make atomic arms, according to a confidential document obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press.
The draft document - one of several technical appendices meant to accompany the main text of any deal - has dozens of bracketed text where disagreements remain. Technical cooperation is the least controversial issue at the talks, and the number of brackets suggest the sides have a ways to go not only on that topic but also more contentious disputes with little more than a week until the June 30 deadline for a deal.
With that deadline looming, Iran’s top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Tuesday rejected a long-term freeze on nuclear research and supported banning international inspectors from accessing military sites. Khamenei, in comments broadcast on Iranian state television, also said Iran will sign a final deal provided all economic sanctions now on Iran are first lifted - in a sign the Islamic Republic may be toughening its stance ahead of the deadline.
The West has always held out the prospect of providing Iran peaceful nuclear technology in the nearly decade-long international diplomatic effort designed to reduce Tehran’s potential ability to make nuclear weapons. But the scope of the help now being offered in the draft may displease U.S. congressional critics who already argue that Washington has offered too many concessions at the negotiations.
Iran denies any interest in nuclear weapons but is prepared to make concessions in exchange for relief from billions of dollars in economic penalties. Beyond a pact limiting Iran's ability to make a nuclear weapon for at least 10 years, the U.S. and its negotiating partners hope to eliminate any grounds for Iran to argue that it needs to expand programs that could be used to make such arms once an agreement expires.
To that end, the draft, entitled “Civil Nuclear Cooperation,” promises to supply Iran with light-water nuclear reactors instead of its nearly completed heavy-water facility at Arak, which would produce enough plutonium for several bombs a year if completed as planned.
Reducing the Arak reactor’s plutonium output was one of the main aims of the U.S. and its negotiating partners, along with paring down Iran’s ability to produce enriched uranium - like plutonium, a potential pathway to nuclear arms.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/24/Document-outlines-big-power-nuclear-help-to-Iran.html
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'Yemen retaliatory attacks kill 3 Saudi, 1 Emirati troopers'
Jun 25, 2015
The Saudi military says three of its soldiers and one from the United Arab Emirates have been killed in Yemeni rocket attacks on border areas.
The Saudi military on Thursday confirmed that Sergeant Farhan Ahmad al-Haqvi, and Private First Class Ahmed Musa Motmi, both serving with the country's ground forces lost their lives on Wednesday evening as rockets fired by Ansarullah fighters and members of allied Popular Committees struck the southwestern region of Jizan.
Yemen's retaliatory rockets also claimed the life of Private First Class Ali Saeed al-Zahrani from frontier corps in the kingdom's southwestern Asir region.
Meanwhile, the General Command of the UAE Armed Forces has confirmed the death of Officer Hazim bin Obaid al-Ali in attacks on the Saudi border city of Najran, located 844 kilometers (524 miles) south of the capital, Riyadh, on Monday.
The news comes after Saudi forces launched a number of artillery rounds on the al-Modahasha, al-Jamarek and al-Mojbar areas in the Haraz district of Yemen’s northern province of Hajjah. There were no immediate reports of possible casualties and the extent of damage inflicted.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.in/Detail/2015/06/25/417403/Yemen-Emirati-Saudi-soldiers-killed
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U.N. urges Israel to ease travel for Palestinians
25 June 2015
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon urged Israel on Wednesday to ease restrictions on travel for Palestinians between the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank for Ramadan prayers.
Israel has eased restrictions on Palestinians seeking to enter Jerusalem for Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third-holiest site, for Ramadan.
But the Jewish state announced earlier Wednesday that it was revoking permits for 500 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to enter Jerusalem for prayers during the holy Muslim month because of rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave.
Ban "welcomes Israel's measures to ease some restrictions on Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza," Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman told the Security Council.
"He encourages Israel to sustain and expand these confidence-building measures which enable the legitimate movement of people and goods in and between Gaza and the West Bank including East-Jerusalem, and improve the quality of life of Palestinians."
Gaza, ruled by the Islamist movement Hamas and ravaged by three wars in the past six years, is under a blockade, with Israel maintaining strict control over the entry and exit of goods and people.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/25/U-N-urges-Israel-to-ease-travel-for-Palestinians.html
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Israel arrests several Druze after ‘lynching’ of Syrian
24 June 2015
Israeli police said Wednesday they had carried out a wave of arrests of suspects involved in two attacks by Druze on military vehicles transporting wounded Syrians to hospital.
Israeli media said nine Druze were arrested over the attacks Monday, when a mob killed a Syrian and wounded another in the Golan Heights and an ambulance was stoned in the Galilee town of Hurfesh.
“An extensive wave of arrests was conducted overnight of suspects involved in two incidents of attacking military ambulances near Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights and near Hurfesh,” a statement said.
Further details of the investigations into both incidents remain under a gag order.
Syria’s Druze minority are traditional allies of President Bashar al-Assad, and the rioters on Monday probably believed the men in the ambulance were rebels fighting to unseat him.
On June 10 at least 20 Syrian Druze were reportedly killed in an unprecedented shoot-out with Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front in northwestern Syria.
Syria has said the two men attacked in the ambulance were members of Al-Nusra Front. Israel says they were civilians.
Druze leaders have pressed Israel to take a more active role in the Syrian war, but Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon reiterated that no internal pressures or acts of violence would “drag us into a war that is not ours.”
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/24/Israel-arrests-several-Druze-after-lynching-of-Syrian.html
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Turks unlikely to change their vote for snap election: pollster
24 June 2015
Turks are unlikely to change their vote in any snap election soon, pollsters said on Wednesday, even after the June 7 election deprived parliament of a single-party government and raised the possibility of coalition politics.
Analysts, politicians and at least one previous poll have suggested the governing AK Party would win stronger support in the case of a snap election, citing wide discomfort in the electorate with the prospect of a coalition government.
However, according to the results of a survey by a major polling firm carried out during the week following the June 7 vote, support for AKP stood at 41.6 percent, compared to the 40.7 percent it received at the election.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/24/Turks-unlikely-to-change-their-vote-for-snap-election-pollster.html
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Iran says will agree to nuclear talks rollover if 'good deal' in making
Jun 24, 2015
The Islamic Republic will agree to an extension of the nuclear talks with the P5+1 group of world countries if it believes that the negotiations can lead to a "good agreement," the spokesman of the Iranian administration says.
In an interview with IRNA on Wednesday, Mohammad-Baqer Nobakht expressed hope that Iran and its negotiation partners would complete the nuclear talks in time and reach a “favorable” final comprehensive accord before the self-imposed June 30 deadline.
“If the good deal that is sought by the Islamic Republic is not struck and there remain obscurities that could be settled with the extension of talks, we will naturally agree to the extension,” Nobakht said.
On June 22, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told Press TV that reaching a good deal with the P5+1 on Tehran’s peaceful nuclear activities has priority over meeting the self-imposed June 30 deadline.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.in/Detail/2015/06/24/417365/Iran-Tehran-Nobakht-Zarif-P51-Nucle
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Arab League urges release of Palestinian detainees
Jun 25, 2015
The Arab League has condemned acts of torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian prisoners at Israeli jails, calling for the release of all inmates who have been held without charge.
The 22-nation Arab body said Wednesday that Israel should release all Palestinian detainees who have been held hostage for extended periods of time without being able to defend themselves, including Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan, who has been on hunger strike for more than 50 days now.
The bloc further called on the international community to take effective measures to help secure the release of Adnan, a leader of the Palestinian resistance movement, Islamic Jihad, and a spokesman for the group.
Reports also say that the Islamic Jihad movement has given Tel Aviv a one-week ultimatum over Adnan's case.
In a statement on Wednesday, Daoud Shahab, the spokesman for the Palestinian movement, called on all Palestinians to stage protest rallies in solidarity with Khader Adnan.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned about his deteriorating health, calling for any necessary measures to protect “the detainee's moral and physical integrity.”
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.in/Detail/2015/06/25/417412/Arab-League--Khader-Adnan-Palestine-Israel-prisoners
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India
Tahir ul Quadri Launches Anti-Isis Curriculum in India, Pakistan and UK
By Johnlee Varghese
June 24, 2015
A Muslim cleric in the UK has launched a first of its kind Islamic curriculum that confronts terrorist groups such as Islamic State (Isis) that brainwash youths using texts from Quran.
Muhammad Tahir ul Quadri, a prominent Islamic scholar, has penned down 10 books in English, Arabic and Urdu to counter the terror groups which use Islamic texts to radicalise Muslims.
UK based Islamic organisation Minhaj-ul Quran International (MQI) launched a set of books in the UK on 23 June as part of its campaign aimed at discouraging gullible teenagers from travelling to Syria and Iraq to join the Isis.
The anti-Isis book - Islamic Curriculum on Peace and Counter Terrorism - comes in separate editions for youngsters and Muslims Imams. "It's absolutely imperative that Imams, clerics and parents teach the counter-arguments as outlined in our curriculum to protect young Muslims from being brainwashed by their propaganda," Tahir-ul-Quadri told Asian Image.
Condemning the Isis, Tahir-ul-Quadri, who was among the first of the Muslim scholars to call suicide attacks in the name of jihad as wrong, observed that the militant group "is an enemy of humanity".
Full report at:
http://www.ibtimes.co.in/cleric-launches-anti-isis-curriculum-india-pakistan-uk-educate-muslim-youths-imams-636967
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Akhilesh Yadav plans joint Hindu, Muslim pilgrimage in UP
June 25, 2015
The Uttar Pradesh government has chalked out a first-of-its-kind plan to take a group of Hindus and Muslims on a joint pilgrimage.
The 'dharmarth karya' department has issued a government order (GO) in which 10 Muslim and Hindu devouts from each district will be taken on a pilgrimage in a single trip, including a visit to Pushkar and Ajmer Sharif in Rajasthan.
Pushkar is holy for Hindus while Ajmer Sharif is venerated by Muslims as well as people of other faiths.
Principal Secretary (Religious Works) Navneet Sehgal told IANS that the process of receiving applications and subsequently sorting them out has begun in all the 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh.
"The idea is not only to provide better travel opportunities to the residents of UP and the elderly but also to promote communal harmony," the official said.
The tour will be conducted by the state government, under the ongoing Samajwadi Shravan Yatra - a state sponsored pilgrimage started a few months back, with help of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).
A special train with arrangement for 1,044 berths has been booked for the pilgrimage.
The proposed date for the pilgrimage is July 23 and the department is working to ensure that the 'yatra' takes off on time, officials say.
This time the state government has also made online registration facilities available for people. The devout will have to submit documents required for availing the trip along with an application.
Full report at:
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/akhilesh-yadav-pilgrimage-hindu-muslim-yatra/1/446981.html
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Children Forced To Drink ‘Siddha Medicine’ When They Were On Ramzan Fast
June 25, 2015
Teachers reportedly told them that it had nothing to do with fast
A group of Muslims, residing at Palakarai, on Tuesday laid siege to a government aided school in the city, claiming that Muslim children were forced to drink ‘nilavembu kashayam’ when they were on Ramzan fast.
It is said that the children of classes 6 and 7 of Holy Redeemer’s Girls Higher Secondary School were given the Siddha medicine as part of steps to combat dengue and other types of fever by the Tiruchirapalli City Corporation.
It was alleged that a few Muslim children were also given nilavembu kashayam.
When some children pointed out that they were on Ramzan fast, the teachers apparently insisted that the drink had nothing to do with fast and it was aimed at increasing their immunity.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/muslim-children-forced-to-drink-kashayam/article7352686.ece
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Christians deliver Cardinal’s Ramadan Message to Muslim scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Victor Edwin SJ
June 25, 2015
Father Thomas V Kunnunkal SJ, President of Islamic Studies Association (Delhi), along with Father T. K. John Professor Emeritus, Fr P.R. John SJ and Victor Edwin SJ of Vidyajyoti College of Theology visited Maulana Wahiduddin Khan 22 June 2015 at his residence in West Nizamuddin, Delhi and delivered the message that Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Commission for Interreligious Dialogue sent to Muslims to wish them a peaceful and joyful celebration of the month of Ramzan and Eid al-Fitr, the celebration that marks the end of Ramadan”.
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is a noted Islamic scholar and peace activist. He has received, among others, the Demiurgus Peace International Award, under the patronage of the former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev; the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour; the National Citizen’s Award, presented by Mother Teresa, and the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award. He has translated the Quran in simple and contemporary English and has written a commentary on the Qur’an. He gives lectures on ETV Urdu, Zee Salaam, Bridges TV, ITV, ARY Digital, QTV, Aaj TV, etc.
In his message, Cardinal Tauran noted that violence that causes suffering to others becomes even more heinous when it is sought to be justified in the name of religion. He stressed: “No one can kill another in the name of God …This would be a double crime: against God and against the person himself.” He added: “There is great need of our prayer: for justice, for peace and security in the world; for those who are far from the right path of life and who commit violence in the name of religion, that they might return to God and change [their] life; for the poor and the sick.”
The message ended with greetings: “With Pope Francis, we wish you that the fruits of Ramadan and the joy of ‘Id al-Fitr may bring about peace and prosperity, enhancing your human and spiritual growth.”
On receiving the letter, Maulana Khan greatly appreciated the efforts of the Catholic Church to establish friendly relations with Muslims. He told his Christian friends that the true spirit of dialogue is ‘mutual learning’. “In dialogue, we learn from one another … In debate, one tries to establish the supremacy of one’s faith. We live in an era of dialogue … The era of debate must end”, he said. One should have an objective mind and be willing to listen to others with patience in order to sustain peaceful and fruitful dialogue, he affirmed.
Maulana Khan further commented that the political interpretation of Islam is the root cause of present-day Muslim militancy. He said that political interpretation of Islam is totally wrong and that it violates the spirit of the Quran.
While a peace activist and traditional Islamic scholar like Maulana Khan insists that the spiritual interpretation of Islam is authentic, radical Islamists, too, claim the same. This causes difficulty for non-Muslims who are keen on dialogue with Muslims. Responding to this issue, Maulana Khan said the ideologues who invented the political interpretation of Islam were born in very politically turbulent times and thus their interpretation was affected by the times they lived and worked. He said that he would be happy to discuss the implications of this question in further detail on another occasion.
Maulana Khan offered a set of books and a copy of the Holy Qur’an to his Christian visitors. P.R. John, a member of the Christian delegation, said the meeting with Maulana was a deeply spiritual experience. Rajat Malhotra, secretary of Maulana Khan, kindly made all the necessary arrangements.
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South Asia
Daesh ask people in parts of Nangarhar to take issues to their judiciary
By KHAAMA PRESS - Wed Jun 24 2015
The newly emerged militant group, Daesh has asked people in parts of eastern Nangarhar province to refer to their judiciary if there are problems.
The militant group has issued warnings in areas where they are operating telling local elders not to organize Jirgas and if people have issues they need to refer to Daesh.
Daesh claims to have judges for making decision.
Provincial council members of Nangarhar province say that Daesh has also warned women not to leave their homes without veils such as Burqa and Hijab or a religious excuse.
According to the provincial council members, the militant group has prohibited snuff and cigarette and threatened consequences if one is caught not obeying the orders.
According to reports, Daesh has been operating under the name of Khoraasan province in parts of Shirzad, Khogyani, Shinwari, Bati Kot, Achin and Haska Mina ans some other districts of Nangarhar province.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/daesh-ask-people-in-nangarhar-to-refer-to-their-judiciary-for-issues-3541
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NATO Defense Ministers to discuss long term support for Afghanistan
By KHAAMA PRESS - Wed Jun 24 2015
The NATO defense ministers meeting formally kicked off in Brussels on Wednesday to hold two days of talks on the Alliance’s continued adaptation in the face of new security challenges.
The ministers will meet with the acting defense minister of Afghanistan Masoom Stanikzai to discuss NATO’s ongoing support for Afghanistan.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/nato-defense-ministers-to-discuss-long-term-support-for-afghanistan-1236
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Taliban dissociate themselves from Afghan peace move
BAQIR SAJJAD SYED
June 25, 2015
ISLAMABAD: The leadership of Afghan Taliban has disassociated itself from a process Pakistan has been facilitating to encourage the group’s dialogue with the government of Afghanistan for peace and reconciliation.
The militant group’s move has come as a setback for an interaction planned for this month. At the same time it has revealed a growing split within the Taliban ranks, which will make the task of reconciliation even more complex.
“If something as such has happened or is planned for the future then it is mere personal interaction which can in no way ever represent the Islamic emirate,” a statement emailed to journalists on Wednesday by Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid on behalf of what was described as “Leadership council of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” said.
The statement did not directly refer to a statement of Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz before the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this week, but the mention of “something happening in past or planned for future” left no doubt that the militant group was responding to him.
Mr Aziz told the committee that Pakistan had facilitated last month a meeting of Afghan High Peace Council Secretary Masoom Stanekzai with Taliban representatives in the Chinese city of Urumqi and another meeting was planned this month.
Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif, during his visit to Kabul in February, had told Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that Taliban were ready for talks with his government.
The group clarified that its political office based in Qatar was authorised to undertake contacts in this regard. “Ever since the inauguration of this political office, no one else has been granted permission to meet and discuss political affairs with anyone as a representative of the Islamic emirate without receiving prior authorisation by either the leader of Islamic emirate or the political office itself,” the statement from the Taliban leadership said.
Through statements the militant group has acknowledged contacts with Afghan lawmakers, notables and officials in Norway, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, but their silence on the Urumqi meeting and its tacit dismissal as unauthorised in the latest statement reflect their disquiet over the process facilitated by Pakistan.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1190262/taliban-dissociate-themselves-from-afghan-peace-move
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NDS says ISI was behind recent Kabul attack
By KHAAMA PRESS - Thu Jun 25 2015
The National Directorate of Security (NDS) – Afghanistan’s intelligence agency says that the recent attack on Parliament building in Kabul was orchestrated in Peshawar city, provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
NDS spokesman Haseeb Sediqi said on Wednesday that the attack was carried out by Haqani terrorist network with the support from Pakistan’s spy agency, Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI). It left five people killed and 30 others wounded.
Sediqi added that Mawlawi Shireen the military commander of Haqani network masterminded the attack and Bilal who is an officer of the ISI provided financial and logistic support for it.
He further said that about 7.5 million Pakistani Rupees were spent on this attack.
The NDS spokesman added that this was third attack planned to target the Afghan parliament this year but the other two were foiled.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/nds-says-isi-was-behind-recent-kabul-attack-3544
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2 militants held with explosives in capital
Kamrul Hasan
june 25, 2015
A team of Detective Branch (DB) of Police has detained two suspected militants with explosives from the capital's Mohammadpur area.
DMP Additional Deputy Commissioner Jahangir Alam Sarkar confirmed the matter to the Dhaka Tribune.
He, however, said the identities of the detainees could not be ascertained yet.
The suspected militants were detained in a drive conducted on Wednesday night, the police official said.
Full report at:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2015/jun/25/2-suspected-militants-held-explosives
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BGB delegation in Myanmar over Razzak’s return
june 25, 2015
Zahid is leading the seven-member BGB delegation while BGP is attending the flag meeting with10 members.
On Wednesday, BGB Director General Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune that Abdur Razzak would be brought back from Myanmar within a day or two as the two frontiers are set to hold a meeting on the matter on Thursday day at Mongdu of Myanmar.
During a press conference at the paramilitary force’s Pilkhana Headquarters, the BGB chief also read out a letter sent by BGP number 2 battalion Commander Lt Think Ko.
“The BGP said they will not give any condition for his release. They asked for names of our delegation attending the flag meeting,” Aziz said.
Full report at:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2015/jun/25/bgb-team-myanmar-over-razzaks-return
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North America
ISIS, Al Qaeda Exploit Social Media To Spread ‘Distorted Ideology,’ Internet Companies Must Respond: UN
By Kukil Bora
June 25 2015
A United Nations panel has urged Internet and social media companies to crack down on the exploitation of their services by extremist organizations such as al Qaeda and the Islamic State group, who use the web extensively to spread their propaganda and recruit fighters. The panel also warned that further exploitation of the Internet could lead to a greater threat from extremists.
The U.N. panel of experts, who advise the Security Council, said in a report Wednesday that Internet companies should brief the council’s committee monitoring sanctions against ISIS, al Qaeda and its affiliates, on measures the companies are taking to tackle the exploitation of their services by the extremist groups, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
“A worrisome trend over the past year has been the growth of high-definition digital terror: the use of propaganda, primarily by (the Islamic State group) and its sympathizers, to spread fear and promote their distorted ideology,” the panel said in its report to the Security Council.
Full report at:
http://www.ibtimes.com/isis-al-qaeda-exploit-social-media-spread-distorted-ideology-internet-companies-must-1982937
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New York transportation authority bans anti-Islam ads on subways, buses
June 25, 2015
New York’s metropolitan transportation authority (MTA) has put a stop to political advertising in subways and on buses.
A federal court in New York affirmed that the city bus system could indeed ban offensive advertisements.
The move puts off on hold aggressive ads by political activist Pamela Geller’s American Freedom Defense Initiative, which includes one of a threatening looking man wearing a mask alongside a quote from “Hamas MTV” and the slogan: “That’s his Jihad. What’s yours?” A similar ad shows the image of Faisal Shehzad, a Pakistani-American citizen who was arrested for attempting to bomb Times Square.
Geller, who is known for her anti-Islam agenda, is a political activist and former news editor.
Although Geller has been arguing that her group’s aim is to educate the public about radical Islam and was supported by a US district Judge John Koeltl who ruled that such ads could not be prohibited from public display, the MTA contested that such ads incite aggression and ruled by a 9-to-2 vote to ban all forms of political initiatives.
Charles Moerdler, one board member who supported the ban, said then: “Hateful speech with its odious appeal to intolerance is the incendiary that ignites violence. It does not take much to move the passions of hatred. … Our riders and the public need not have their safety or serenity violated,” the New York Daily News reported.
Full report at:
http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2015/06/24/foreign/new-york-transportation-authority-bans-anti-islam-ads-on-subways-buses/
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CIA Torture Report: Human Rights Write Letter Urging Attorney General to Pursue Criminal Investigations
By Clark Mindock
June 23 2015
A joint letter sent by human rights groups to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Tuesday called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the Central Intelligence Agency’s use of enhanced interrogation techniques revealed by a Senate report released late last year. The letter, signed by Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International, asked Lynch’s office to investigate “torture and other violations of U.S. law” in connection to the programs.
A petition with 111,788 signatures was attached to the joint letter. In the six months since the Senate report was released, the letter says, the Obama administration hasn’t taken any steps to criminally investigate the interrogation practices.
“The Justice Department has a clear responsibility to carry out a credible and comprehensive criminal investigation into the overwhelming evidence that U.S. officials used torture in violation of U.S. law,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, in a press release. “The Obama administration’s continued failure to act in the face of this mountain of evidence risks sending the message that torture is a valid policy option rather than the crime that it is.”
The Department of Justice, in a statement provided to International Business Times, said that it looked into the programs in both 2009 and again after the torture report was released.
"In 2009, the Attorney General directed a preliminary review of the treatment of certain individuals alleged to have been mistreated while in U.S. Government custody subsequent to the 9/11 attacks. That review generated two criminal investigations, but the Department of Justice ultimately declined those cases for prosecution because the admissible evidence would not be sufficient to obtain and sustain convictions beyond a reasonable doubt," a spokesman said in an email. "Those investigators have also reviewed the Senate Committee’s full report and did not find any new information that they had not previously considered in reaching their determination. This inquiry was extraordinarily thorough and we stand by our previously announced decision not to initiate criminal charges."
The Senate report, released in December, detailed a program that began soon after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. An initial memo authorized the CIA with considerable discretion over whom to detain in intelligence-gathering operations. From there, and through subsequent memos, the CIA and U.S. intelligence operations were able to establish secret detention centers. Under the rationale that the combatants captured in the war on terror were not protected as prisoners of war under the Geneva convention, a set of so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" such as waterboarding were used to force information from prisoners. The interrogation techniques were discontinued through executive action soon after President Barack Obama took office.
Full report at:
http://www.ibtimes.com/cia-torture-report-human-rights-groups-write-letter-urging-attorney-general-loretta-1980488
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Home-grown Extremists Tied to Deadlier Toll than Jihadists in U.S. Since 9/11
By SCOTT SHANEJUNE 24, 2015
WASHINGTON — In the 14 years since Al Qaeda carried out attacks on New York and the Pentagon, extremists have regularly executed smaller lethal assaults in the United States, explaining their motives in online manifestoes or social media rants.
But the breakdown of extremist ideologies behind those attacks may come as a surprise. Since Sept. 11, 2001, nearly twice as many people have been killed by white supremacists, antigovernment fanatics and other non-Muslim extremists than by radical Muslims: 48 have been killed by extremists who are not Muslim, including the recent mass killing in Charleston, S.C., compared with 26 by self-proclaimed jihadists, according to a count by New America, a Washington research center.
The slaying of nine African-Americans in a Charleston church last week, with an avowed white supremacist charged with their murders, was a particularly savage case.
But it is only the latest in a string of lethal attacks by people espousing racial hatred, hostility to government and theories such as those of the “sovereign citizen” movement, which denies the legitimacy of most statutory law. The assaults have taken the lives of police officers, members of racial or religious minorities and random civilians.
Non-Muslim extremists have carried out 19 such attacks since Sept. 11, according to the latest count, compiled by David Sterman, a New America program associate, and overseen by Peter Bergen, a terrorism expert. By comparison, seven lethal attacks by Islamic militants have taken place in the same period.
If such numbers are new to the public, they are familiar to police officers. A survey to be published this week asked 382 police and sheriff’s departments nationwide to rank the three biggest threats from violent extremism in their jurisdiction. About 74 percent listed antigovernment violence, while 39 percent listed “Al Qaeda-inspired” violence, according to the researchers, Charles Kurzman of the University of North Carolina and David Schanzer of Duke University.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/25/us/tally-of-attacks-in-us-challenges-perceptions-of-top-terror-threat.html
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US Muslim Media Redeems Islamic Image
24 June 2015
CAIRO – Offering a window into Muslims' life in Ramadan, a recently-founded Dearborn company has produced its first Ramadan commercial, showcasing a glimpse into Muslim lives and traditions during the holy month.
“A part of the message is to show that Islam is very diverse,” Wissam Bazzi, of Dearborn Heights and founder of Piximotion, told Press & Guide.
“Islam in the mainstream media is not the only perspective.”
The short clip, only 30 seconds, features Muslims of various backgrounds, including scenes of families gathering for iftar, the time to breakfast.
The commercial highlights thankfulness, discipline and family as some of the key components of what makes Ramadan a special time for Muslims.
The commercial, which can be viewed at www.itsramadan.org, ends with the message: “It’s Ramadan. A month of human values. From your Muslim friends and neighbours, happy Ramadan.”
Featuring the special time of Ramadan, the project shows the humanity of Muslims, Bazzi added.
Dearborn company Piximotion commercial comes at the time Muslims in the west are been shown as behind terrorist activities, a cause for the continue Islamophobic harassment in public.
The Ramadan commercial it presented covers the real image of the American Muslims and a glimpse into their lifestyles during the holy month of Ramadan.
It followed a crowdfunding campaign to raise $5,000 in funds for the commercial through site LaunchGood. About $25,000 were raised altogether.
“It’s a beautiful effort of our whole community coming together. The unification of so many different individuals,” Bazzi said.
Although there are no official figures, the United States is believed to be home to between 6-8 million Muslims.
A study has found that US mainstream media outlets are dominated by anti-Islam groups to shape the distorted public discourse about the Islamic faith since the 9/11 attacks.
In August 2011, a US report was issued depicting a group of foundations, think tanks and bloggers as the main players behind the 10-year-old campaign to promote fear of Islam and Muslims in the US.
Full report at:
http://www.onislam.net/english/news/americas/488137-us-muslim-media-redeems-islamic-image.html
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Boston bomber apologises, sentenced to death
June 25, 2015
BOSTON: Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Wednesday apologised in court for the first time to his victims for the suffering he caused, moments before being formally sentenced to death by a federal judge.
The US citizen of Chechen descent was sentenced to death on six counts over the 2013 bombings, one of the worst assaults on US soil since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
“I would like to now apologise to the victims and to the survivors,” said the 21-year-old former university student in his first public remarks since the April 15, 2013 bombings that killed three people.
“I am guilty,” he said, standing pale and thin in a dark blazer. “Let there be no doubt about that.”
Tsarnaev said he listened throughout the 12-week trial as he learnt about the victims from often harrowing testimony.
“I am sorry for the lives I have taken, for the suffering, the damage that I have done,” he said, beginning his remarks in the name of Allah and asking for God's forgiveness.
“I pray to Allah to bestow his mercy upon the deceased,” he said. “I ask Allah to have mercy upon me, upon my brother, upon my family.”
Judge George O'Toole officially imposed the death sentence, which had been reached unanimously by the 12-person jury on May 15.
“I sentence you to the penalty of death by execution,” O'Toole told Tsarnaev, before he was led away by US Marshals.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1190220/boston-bomber-apologises-sentenced-to-death
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/isis-gave-away-sex-slaves/d/103645