Sun Jan 19 2025, 02:15 PM

Islamic World News ( 4 Jun 2017, NewAgeIslam.Com)

Comment | Comment

London Bridge Terror Attackers Shouted 'This Is For Allah' As They Stabbed Strangers in Street

New Age Islam News Bureau

4 Jun 2017

Photo: A man on a stretcher is helped by authorities following the incident

--------

• Muslim Children Forced To Drop 'Religious' Names In Western China

• In This UP Village, Hindus and Muslims Decide To Remove Loudspeakers from Temples, Mosques

• Pakistan Works to Stay Off List of Terror-Friendly Nations

• IS Killed 120 Civilians in Western Mosul: Military

-----------

Europe

• London Bridge Terror Attackers Shouted 'This Is For Allah' As They Stabbed Strangers in Street

• Death Toll Rises to Six In London Attacks, Three Suspects Shot Dead

• London terror attacks: Two French citizens injured

• Pauline Hanson's anti-Islam post in wake of London attack slammed by Bill Shorten

• 'Unchecked multiculturalism is to blame': Australian sheikh backs Pauline Hanson's call to ban Muslim immigration after London terror attack

• Jihad in London: A Few Thoughts About ‘Love”

-----------

Southeast Asia

• Muslim children forced to drop 'religious' names in western China

• Seizing of Philippines City by Islamist Militants a Wake-Up Call for Southeast Asia

• Indonesia Says 1,200 Islamic State Operatives in Philippines

• Philippine casino attacker a gambling addict, not terrorist: police

• Residents shield Christians in bold exodus from Philippines city

• Myanmar Muslims face charges for holding Ramadan prayers

• Hotel serves lavish Ramadan spread

-----------

India

• In This UP Village, Hindus and Muslims Decide To Remove Loudspeakers from Temples, Mosques

• ISIS Failed In India despite Large Muslim Population: Home Minister

• Terror funding case: NIA conducts fresh raids in J&K

• Security beefed up for India-Pakistan Champions Trophy tie: Reports

• India rejects Pakistan's claim of killing five Indian soldiers along LoC

• PM Modi expresses anguish over London terror attacks

----------

Pakistan

• Pakistan Works to Stay Off List of Terror-Friendly Nations

• Accounts of Suspected Militants Frozen: Nacta Pakistan

• 'Unclean!' Pakistan Sewer Worker Dies of Ramadan Non-Treatment

-----------

Arab World

• 27 Dead As Yemen Army Closes In On Presidential Palace

• Over 70 ISIL Terrorists Killed in Syrian Army Missile Attack in Deir Ezzur

• ISIL Recruiting Fresh Fighters in Turkey

• Syrian Army Dispatches Advanced Military Hardware to Borders with Jordan

• People Drive Terrorists' Top Mufti out of Town in Northwestern Syria

• Syria: Jeish Al-Islam's Second Top Commander Defects Terrorist Group

• The regime forces keep trying to restore areas where the “Islamic State” organization advanced to in the vicinity of Deir Ezzor city

• Top IS leadership targeted in Mastung operation

• Over 1,200 ISIL Terrorists Killed in Syrian Army's Recent Advances in Eastern Aleppo

-----------

South Asia

• Explosions Rock Funeral In Kabul; At Least 6 Killed

• Taliban’s Shadow Deputy Governor and 10 Militants Killed in Kapisa

• Ghani admits reforms needed in security, other sectors as violence soars

• Noor strongly reacts to coordinated suicide attack targeting Kabul funeral

-----------

Mideast

• 50 Years On, Israel Keeps Tight Grip on Palestinian Economy

• Iran Mourns Demise Anniversary of Imam Khomeini

• Gold coin winners of the Ramadan Quiz Contest

• President underlines following Imam Khomeini’s aspirations

• Ramadan offers from NBK Automobiles on Mercedes

-----------

North America

• 'Saddam Befriended US Guards, Spent Final Days Telling Them Anecdotes'

• US's Trump Renews Call for Muslim Travel Ban after London Attack

-----------

Africa

• Islamic Cleric Faults FG, Nigerian Army over Recruitment Procedure

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/london-bridge-terror-attackers-shouted/d/111403

-----------

London Bridge Terror Attackers Shouted 'This Is For Allah' As They Stabbed Strangers in Street

Jun 4, 2017

A gang of at least three terrorists ploughed into pedestrians then got out and began knifing people

A gang of terrorists shouted 'This is for Allah' as they stabbed strangers near London Bridge last night.

At least seven are feared dead and 20 injured in the horrific events at around 10pm on Saturday night in the capital.

A van ploughed through pedestrians on the pavement at speeds of around 50mph before at least three men got at and began knifing people at random.

An eyewitness gave a harrowing account of the bloodshed.

Named only as Gerard, he told the BBC: "They were stabbing everyone.

"They were running up and going ‘This is for Allah’."

"The run up and stabbed this girl - I don’t know how many times - 10 times, maybe 15 times.

"She was going, ‘Help me, help me’ and I couldn’t do nothing."

London Bridge terror attack live: At least 7 killed and 20 injured in van and stabbing spree

"I threw something - there was a bike on the floor.

"I threw something at them like a bike or a chair."

It is believed the terrorists then targeted people in bars and restaurants in the popular Borough Market area.

Staff and customers hid in a cellar at one restaurant while there were reports of drinkers hurling chairs and pint glasses at the attackers.

Two attackers were killed by armed police who responded to the scene and a third may still be on the run, according to reports.

A picture posted online showed one of the suspects lying on the floor outside The Wheatsheaf pub with canisters strapped to a belt.

The Prime Minister Theresa May has confirmed the incidents are being treated as acts of terrorism.

There has been no official claim of responsibility but attention will inevitable focus on Islamic extremists.

It is less than two weeks since suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured more than 100 at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.

ISIS claimed responsibility for that attack.

London's Ambulance Service said at least 20 casualties have been taken to six hospitals following Saturday's incident.

London Ambulance Service said: "We can confirm we have taken at least 20 patients to six hospitals across London following the incident at London Bridge.

"We have also treated a number of people at the scene for less serious injuries.

"We have declared a major incident and continue to work closely with other members of the emergency services.

"Our priority is to ensure patients receive the medical help they need as quickly as possible."

-----------

Muslim children forced to drop 'religious' names in western China

Muslim children in China’s far western Xinjiang region are being forced to change their “religious” names and adults are being coerced into attending rallies showing devotion to the officially atheist Communist party.

During Ramadan, the authorities in Xinjiang have ordered all children under 16 to change names where police have determined they are “overly religious”. As many as 15 names have been banned, including Islam, Quran, Mecca, Jihad, Imam, Saddam, Hajj, Medina and Arafat, according to Radio Free Asia.

In April authorities banned certain names for newborns that were deemed to have religious connotations, but the new order expands forced name changes to anyone under 16, the age at which Chinese citizens are issued a national identity card.

The order coincided with millions gathering at 50,000 individual rallies across Xinjiang this week to pledge allegiance to the Communist party. More than a quarter of the region’s population sang the national anthem at 9am on 29 May and pledged allegiance to the Communist party, according to state media reports.

Xinjiang’s Muslims mostly belonging to the Uighur ethnic group, a Turkic people. The region has occasionally seen sporadic violence which China blames on international terrorist groups. But overseas observers say the vast majority of incidents are a result of local grievances.

“Terrorists are the scum of the Uighur people, they are the common enemies of the people of all ethnic groups,” said a Communist party cadre leading one of the rallies in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang. “We must treat the enemy harshly and brush away the old to make a clean sweep, we should raise our swords high and in no way be lenient.”

State media accounts of the mass rallies gave no indication as to a reason for the sudden display of patriotism. Photos of some rallies showed paramilitary troops in full body armour armed with assault rifles attending the ceremony.

“Fundamentally these rallies are just a show of force, and part of the audience is the Han Chinese population in Xinjiang, to show the power of the state,” said Michael Clarke, a political science professor at the Australian National University and expert on Xinjiang. “But in terms of the Uighur population, it’s difficult to see how these kinds of mass rallies will win the hearts and minds over average Uighurs, and will likely do quite the opposite.”

Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi, is more than 3,000km away from Beijing.

Human rights groups accuse China of restricting Uighurs’ freedom of religion and expression and authorities routinely deny passports to members of the ethnic group. The government has also encourages mass migration by Han Chinese to the area and they now make up roughly 45% of the population.

Xinjiang has seen an increasingly invasive security state since president Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, Clarke added, including hiring thousands of police.

The region is at the centre of Xi’s Belt and Road initiative, a $900bn development aimed at building closer ties within Asia and beyond by constructing large-scale infrastructure.

In recent months authorities began confiscating Qur’ans published before August 2012, declaring them illegal for containing “extremist content”, according to a report by US-funded Radio Free Asia.

On the same day as the mass rallies, officials in Xinjiang announced they had expelled a Communist party member for attending religious activities at a local mosque. It was not clear if the man was a government official or simply a private citizen who was also a party member.

Rules announced last year also forbid retired officials from attending religious ceremonies and ban them from holding and beliefs.

Additional reporting by Wang Zhen

theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/03/muslim-children-forced-to-drop-religious-names-in-western-china

-------

In This UP Village, Hindus and Muslims Decide To Remove Loudspeakers from Temples, Mosques

04 JUNE 2017

In what could be seen as a step to restore communal harmony in restive Moradabad village of Uttar Pradesh, villagers have decided to remove loudspeakers from temple and mosques.

According to a report by The Times of India, both Hindus and Muslims agreed to remove loudspeakers after tension simmered in the village for 3 years.

Advertisement opens in new window

Speaking to the newspaper, Circle officer (rural) Chakramani Tripathi told, “Police and district administration of Moradabad are full of praise for the initiative taken by the elders of both the communities who amicably resolved the issue in the holy month of Ramzan.”

In Uttar Pradesh, there have been multiple incidents of violence reported in the past over the use of loudspeakers on places of worship of both the communities.

Last year, at least 20 people were injured after Hindus and Muslims clashed over the use of loudspeakers for ‘azaan’ or call for namaz in a mosque, reported Hindustan Times.

Following an argument, the groups indulged in stone-pelting and firing, the report said quoting sources.

Advertisement opens in new window

Earlier this year, Bollywood playback singer Sonu Nigam, had found himself amidst a controversy for criticising sermons from the loudspeakers.

The 43-year-old singer had described the loud sermons from the loudspeakers as hooliganism in a series of tweets following which a fatwa was issued against him by a Kolkata-based cleric.

outlookindia.com/website/story/in-this-up-village-hindus-muslims-decide-to-remove-loudspeakers-from-temples-mos/299195

-----------

Pakistan works to stay off list of terror-friendly nations

AP | Updated: Jun 3, 2017

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has frozen the accounts of 5,000 suspected terrorists, taking about $3 million out of their pockets+ , but Islamabad could still come under scrutiny at a crucial June meeting of an international watchdog that tracks terror financing.

Analysts and government officials say political foot-dragging and sympathetic supporters throughout Pakistan makes it difficult to cut off the money supply to banned terrorist groups.

Next month in Spain, the Financial Action Task Force will update its assessment of "high-risk and non-cooperative jurisdictions," Alexandra Wijmenga-Daniel of the task force's communications department said in an email. She did not offer any specifics.

The 35-nation intergovernmental organization was formed in 1989 to combat money laundering. After 9/11, it also took on the role of fighting the financing of terrorism. Getting on the task force's "black list" could hurt a country's ability to borrow, if its banking system is considered a money laundering haven.

In 2015, Pakistan was exempted from its scrutiny after a similar session applauded the country's progress in tackling both money laundering and terrorist financing.

However, concerns have been raised by the resurrection of banned groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba under new names. Also worrying is the relative ease with which groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed appear to operate+ , openly running Islamic seminaries and fundraising.

"The government has to find a way to completely ban individuals and groups (suspected of terrorist activity) from operating. This is the only way," said Muhammad Amir Rana, director of the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies.

Still, Pakistan's National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) has begun the painstaking work of devising anti-terror financing policies, freezing bank accounts of known terrorist groups and identifying those that have resurfaced with different names, according to its director, Ishan Ghani.

NACTA was established in 2013 through an act of Parliament; four years later, Ghani says it is "still in its formative stage."

When he took over NACTA 18 months ago, it had a staff of only 25, including drivers, despite a government promise to bring in about 800 people with the job of curbing money laundering and terrorism financing. Ghani blamed the slow start on a lack of government commitment and jurisdictional battles within the bureaucracy.

Since taking over, Ghani has increased his staff to 100, gotten a budget of 1.8 billion rupees ($15.7 million) and is updating a list of individuals suspected of terrorism. He also has devised a sweeping policy on which new, stricter laws can be enacted.

He said its current lists are outdated, with several suspected terrorists either dead or in jail, and the job of identifying individuals suspected of links to terrorism rests with Pakistan's four provinces.

The names have been slow in coming, Ghani added, blaming outdated systems, political foot-dragging and a lack of focus on counterterrorism+ despite military and police operations against suspected hideouts - particularly in Pakistan's tribal regions that border Afghanistan.

Politicians have been reluctant to shut down some of the reconstituted terrorist groups+ because of the local support they enjoy and the votes they bring in. Other groups, whose stated purpose is to wage war with neighbour India over the disputed Kashmir region, survive because of their suspected links to Pakistan's military and intelligence.

A Pak official shows a list of banned organizations, issued by the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), in Islamabad.

Still, Ghani said he has had some success pressing provincial lawmakers into action.

Ghani recounted an incident last year during the holy month of Ramadan, when devout Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset and fundraising often goes into high gear. He received reports that outlawed groups with terror links were openly raising cash. He put all four provinces on notice, warning them to stop the fundraising.

This year, NACTA is circulating a list of acceptable charities to which the faithful can donate those "not affiliated with terrorism," he said.

Hasan Akbar, executive director of the Islamabad-based Jinnah Institute, said Pakistan has made some progress tackling money laundering, "shutting down businesses that had a sweep not just in Pakistan but in Dubai and the United States."

There even has been progress against those groups that resurface under a new name.

"Organizations have been banned, but also in the last year funds have been seized of even those groups emerging as replacements for the banned groups," Akbar said.

Still, individual donations and support from small businesses provide a steady income to banned outfits that is difficult to track, he said.

"Challenges still remain in sectarian and jihadi groups where they get individual donations from traders and merchants in urban and rural areas," he said. "How do you stop that? That base of support is still there. This is hard to document."

Rana, of the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, said banned organizations also collect money in mosques outside the country, then return home with the funds. Saudi Arabia is particularly lucrative, and the fundraising by outlawed sectarian, anti-Shiite groups is done openly, he said.

"Many banned organizations have very traditional methods of collecting money. They go to Saudi Arabia or the United Kingdom, for example, and go into mosques," he said, adding that the fundraiser usually is given a few minutes to speak to the congregation and asks for donations.

Ghani said that among the policies he is crafting is one to regulate cash transfers, a widely used practice in Pakistan. The policy will require anyone transferring 1 million rupees ($10,000) or more to identify the origins of the money.

"Today, you could carry 50 million rupees around in your car and no one would say anything, but we are coming up with a policy and laws that will require an explanation and the disclosure of the money trail," Ghani said.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pakistan-works-to-stay-off-list-of-terror-friendly-nations/articleshow/58973455.cms

-----------

IS killed 120 civilians in western Mosul: Military

03 Jun 2017

MOSUL, Iraq: Islamic State has killed 120 civilians over the past 48 hours in western Mosul, according to an Iraqi army officer on Friday.

Lt. Dargam al-Haydari with Iraq's Rapid Response Division told Anadolu Agency that some of the civilians were killed as they attempted to flee the clashes between Iraqi security forces and IS terrorists in the region.

"Some others were executed by the organization, while others were killed in bomb attacks carried out by the group," Al-Haydari said.

Over 150 civilians including 70 women and children were evacuated from IS-held Zanjili district by the Iraqi forces, he added.

Iraqi federal police said in a statement that the security forces had taken 40 percent of the district under control, and opened safe corridors for the evacuation of civilians.

Karim Ziyab, an officer with the federal police, said more than 400 civilians stuck in Zanjili district had been rescued by the security forces since Thursday evening.

Nearly 800,000 civilians have fled northern Iraq’s Mosul city since the start of the military operation in February while an estimated 180,000 others remain in IS-controlled areas, according to UN figures on Tuesday.

Iraq has been roiled by violence since IS seized vast swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq in 2014. Iraqi forces, backed by air cover from a U.S.-led coalition, are currently engaged in a widespread offensive to dislodge IS from Mosul, the terrorist group’s last stronghold in Iraq.

thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/03/06/2017/IS-killed-120-civilians-in-western-Mosul-Military

-------

Europe

London Bridge Terror Attackers Shouted 'This Is For Allah' As They Stabbed Strangers in Street

Jun 4, 2017

A gang of at least three terrorists ploughed into pedestrians then got out and began knifing people

A gang of terrorists shouted 'This is for Allah' as they stabbed strangers near London Bridge last night.

At least seven are feared dead and 20 injured in the horrific events at around 10pm on Saturday night in the capital.

A van ploughed through pedestrians on the pavement at speeds of around 50mph before at least three men got at and began knifing people at random.

An eyewitness gave a harrowing account of the bloodshed.

Named only as Gerard, he told the BBC: "They were stabbing everyone.

"They were running up and going ‘This is for Allah’."

"The run up and stabbed this girl - I don’t know how many times - 10 times, maybe 15 times.

"She was going, ‘Help me, help me’ and I couldn’t do nothing."

London Bridge terror attack live: At least 7 killed and 20 injured in van and stabbing spree

"I threw something - there was a bike on the floor.

"I threw something at them like a bike or a chair."

It is believed the terrorists then targeted people in bars and restaurants in the popular Borough Market area.

Staff and customers hid in a cellar at one restaurant while there were reports of drinkers hurling chairs and pint glasses at the attackers.

Two attackers were killed by armed police who responded to the scene and a third may still be on the run, according to reports.

A picture posted online showed one of the suspects lying on the floor outside The Wheatsheaf pub with canisters strapped to a belt.

The Prime Minister Theresa May has confirmed the incidents are being treated as acts of terrorism.

There has been no official claim of responsibility but attention will inevitable focus on Islamic extremists.

It is less than two weeks since suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured more than 100 at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.

ISIS claimed responsibility for that attack.

London's Ambulance Service said at least 20 casualties have been taken to six hospitals following Saturday's incident.

London Ambulance Service said: "We can confirm we have taken at least 20 patients to six hospitals across London following the incident at London Bridge.

"We have also treated a number of people at the scene for less serious injuries.

"We have declared a major incident and continue to work closely with other members of the emergency services.

"Our priority is to ensure patients receive the medical help they need as quickly as possible."

-----------

Death Toll Rises To Six In London Attacks, Three Suspects Shot Dead

Reuters | Updated: Jun 4, 2017

LONDON: At least six people were killed by attackers near London Bridge on Saturday, police said.

Police said three attackers drove a vehicle into pedestrians+ on London Bridge and then stabbed people in Borough Market.

"Armed response officers then responded very quickly and bravely and confronted the three male suspects who were shot and killed on Borough Market," Mark Rowley, Britain's top anti-terrorism officer, said.

"Sadly, six people have died in addition to the three attackers shot by police," he said.

"The suspects had been confronted and shot by police within eight minutes of the first call. The suspects were wearing what looked like explosive vests but these were later established to be hoaxes," he said.

The attacks come days ahead of a June 8 election and less than two weeks after a suicide bomber killed 22 people at a pop concert by U.S. singer Ariana Grande in Manchester in northern England. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The BBC showed a photograph of two possible London attackers shot by police, one of whom had canisters strapped to his body. Hours after the attack the area remained sealed off.

The London ambulance service said at least 30 people had been taken to six hospitals across the city. Three major London hospitals said that they were on lockdown to keep patients and staff safe.

A Reuters reporter said some time after the attack began that he had heard loud bangs near the Borough Market area.

Streets around London Bridge and Borough Market, fashionable districts packed with bars and restaurants, would have been busy with people on a Saturday night out. BBC showed dozens of people, evidently caught up in the attack, being escorted through a police cordon with their hands on their heads.

Witnesses described a white van careering into pedestrians near London Bridge and knocking over several people.

"It looked like he was aiming for groups of people. I froze beacause I didn't know what to do," Mark Roberts, 53, a management consultant, told Reuters. He saw at least six people on the ground after the van veered on and off the pavement.

"It was horrendous," he said.

A taxi driver told the BBC that three men got out of the van with long knives and "went randomly along Borough High Street stabbing people."

Witnesses said people ran into a bar to seek shelter.

"People started running and screaming, and the van crashes into the railing behind. We went towards Borough Market and everyone went inside (the bar). Everyone in the bar started pushing people from the exits," one witness who gave his name as Brian, 32, told Reuters.

Another witness, who declined to be named, his white top covered in blood, described a scene of panic in the bar.

"They hit the emergency alarm. There was a line of people going down to the emergency exit. And then people started screaming coming back up," the 31-year-old said.

"Around the corner there was a guy with a stab wound on his neck ... There was a doctor in the pub and she helped him. They put pressure on the stab wound."

BBC radio said witnesses saw people throwing tables and chairs at the perpetrators of the attack to protect themselves.

ISLAMIC STATE CALL

Islamic State earlier on Saturday sent out a call on instant messaging service Telegram urging its followers to launch attacks with trucks, knives and guns against "Crusaders" during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Similar attacks, in Berlin, Nice, Brussels and Paris, have been carried out by militants over the past couple of years.

"Following updates from police and security officials, I can confirm that the terrible incident in London is being treated as a potential act of terrorism," Prime Minister Theresa May said.

London's Thames river police said it was working with the lifeboat rescue service to help evacuate people caught up in the attack, described by police as a terrorist incident.

U.S. President Donald Trump took to Twitter to offer U.S. help to Britain. The White House said he had been briefed on the incidents by his national security team.

Donald J. Trump ? @realDonaldTrump

Whatever the United States can do to help out in London and the U. K., we will be there - WE ARE WITH YOU. GOD BLESS!

4:54 AM - 4 Jun 2017

44,418 44,418 Retweets 155,668 155,668 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy

One woman told Reuters she saw what appeared to be three people with knife wounds and possibly their throats cut at London Bridge at the Thames river. Reuters was unable to immediately verify her account.

STABBINGS ON THE STREET

The incident bore similarities to a March attack on Westminster Bridge, west of London Bridge, in which a man killed five people after driving into a crowd of pedestrians before stabbing a police officer in the grounds of parliament.

Several witnesses also reported hearing gunshots around London Bridge.

"We were in an Uber (taxi) going towards London Bridge and suddenly we saw people running. The Uber stopped, we asked people what was going on - people said there was shooting," said Yoann Belmere, 40, a French banker living in London.

"Now the area is completely closed with police cars going one way and ambulances going the other," he told Reuters.

A witness told CNN two men had entered a restaurant in the Borough Market area and stabbed two people inside. He said a waitress was stabbed in the throat and a man was stabbed in the back.

The Manchester bombing on May 22 was the deadliest attack in Britain+ since July 2005, when four British Muslim suicide bombers killed 52 people in coordinated attacks on London's transport network.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/death-toll-rises-to-six-in-london-attacks-three-suspects-shot-dead/articleshow/58982627.cms

-----------

London terror attacks: Two French citizens injured

Reuters | Jun 4, 2017

PARIS: At least two French citizens have been injured in an attack in London on Saturday night, the French president's office said.

"French citizens are among the victims (of the London attack)," French President Emmanuel Macron's office said in a statement on Sunday.

A spokesperson at his office added that one of the two French citizens was seriously injured.

Late on Saturday night, militants drove a van at high speed into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing revellers on the street and in nearby bars, killing at least six people and wounding more than 30.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/london-terror-attacks-two-french-citizens-injured/articleshow/58984129.cms

-----------

Pauline Hanson's anti-Islam post in wake of London attack slammed by Bill Shorten

Updated 4 June 2017

Senator Hanson took to social media in the immediate aftermath of the attack to say "stop Islamic immigration before it is too late".

It was accompanied by a graphic mimicking the "Run, Hide, Tell" emergency message released by British police earlier in the day.

UK police were telling people to run to a safe place and hide if they were caught up in a terror attack, before calling emergency services.

One Nation's graphic recasts that slogan as a call for a sweeping immigration overhaul.

"Australia is tired of Labor, the Greens and the Liberals RUNNING their campaign that Islam is good for Australia," it reads.

It also says Australia will not hide the link between "Islamic teachings" and terrorism, and Australians are tired of telling politicians that Islam is not compatible with Australia.

Mr Shorten said it was "disgusting" that Senator Hanson was trying to stoke a debate about immigration "within hours" of the attack.

"I'd just say to Pauline and everyone else, hold your horses," he said.

"You're in politics, whatever point you want to make you might get that opportunity — but today it's crass, idiotic and disgusting."

He also said the attack reinforced the need for Australians to "stick together".

"The exact win for terrorists and violent criminals is when they see communities start to fray and become suspicious of others," he said.

Ms Hanson was quick to hit back at Mr Shorten on social media.

"Labor started this under Whitlam, Frazer (sic) was almost as bad. Rudd & Gillard opened the borders. Bill Shorten will make the same mistake," she tweeted.

"The people of Britain have been let down by their leaders. It's so frustrating to see fools like Bill Shorten making the same mistakes."

In the US, President Donald Trump promoted his controversial travel ban in a tweet as events were unfolding in London.

"We need to be smart, vigilant and tough. We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!" he wrote.

radioaustralia.net.au/international/2017-06-04/pauline-hansons-antiislam-post-in-wake-of-london-attack-slammed-by-bill-shorten/1676344

-----------

'Unchecked multiculturalism is to blame': Australian sheikh backs Pauline Hanson's call to ban Muslim immigration after London terror attack

4 June 2017

An Australian Muslim sheikh who campaigns against Islamist extremism says unchecked multiculturalism is to blame for the London terrorist attacks that have killed six people.

Adelaide Shia imam Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi posted his call on Twitter following the United Kingdom's third jihadist attack in 10 weeks.

'Terrorism in the UK is growing week after week. Having extremists within our societies is not multiculturalism, it's suicide,' he tweeted to his 34,200 followers on Sunday.

He also supports One Nation leader Pauline Hanson's call to ban Islamic migration.

The Iranian-born religious leader, who moved to Australia from Iraq aged 12, later told Daily Mail Australia 'unmonitored multiculturalism is to blame'.

'We need to make sure that those coming into the West really want to be part of the West,' he said.

His calls comes after police in London shot dead three jihadist terrorists who had killed six people and injured at last another 30 during a knife rampage in central London.

The sheikh took to social media as Senator Hanson tweeted: 'Stop Islamic migration before it is too late.'

Asked about her call, Sheikh Tawhidi said the idea had merit although he stopped short of advocating a ban on all Muslims.

'I support a temporary ban on Muslims coming from the Middle East,' he said.

Sheikh Tawhidi said jihadists had a history of attending mosques that promoted sharia law - hardline Islamic law derived from the Koran and the Hadith, covering the life of the Prophet Mohammad.

'The majority of mosques advocate for sharia law without removing the violent parts,' he said, adding the imam who preached to the three London terrorists needs to be held responsible.

'You need to investigate and shut down the mosque that this terrorist used to attend.'

The 34-year-old imam said the political Left in the United Kingdom had allowed London to turn into Baghdad.

'The Left wants us to believe that terrorism is the result of unemployment,' he said.

'Since when did humans blow themselves up for not having a job?'

Armed police swooped on the London Bridge area of the UK capital after two incidents, which saw six people killed and dozens injured.

It came after three jihadi terrorists killed six people and injured at least another 50 others during a knife rampage.

The men 'of Mediterranean origin' had shouted 'This is for Allah' after they had mowed down 20 revellers in a white van hurtling across the London Bridge.

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4570170/Sheikh-backs-Pauline-Hanson-s-call-ban-Muslim-migration.html#ixzz4j19ANkqx

-----------

Jihad in London: A Few Thoughts About ‘Love”

June 4, 2017

This just happened in London: A van driving at high speed mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge late Saturday night before the occupants got out and began stabbing patrons at nearby bars and restaurants, witnesses said in an attack that police described as the latest in a string of deadly terrorist strikes to hit Britain this spring. Witnesses described a rampage that left a trail of bloodied bodies on the bridge and in the adjacent Borough Market — both of which are London landmarks. The low-tech but high-profile attack will raise questions about how British security services failed to stop yet another mass casualty strike after years of thwarting such attempts. Police said in a 4 a.m. news conference on Sunday that six people had been killed, and that officers had shot dead the three attackers. London Ambulance Service issued a statement saying it had taken more than 30 patients to five hospitals. If the past is any guide, the next few days will feature (once again) a lot of talk about love, including lots of folks saying that “love will triumph over hate” or that “love can’t give in to hate.” A bit of moral clarity is in order. It is right and necessary to cover the victims and their families with love and support — not just tomorrow but in the days and weeks and years to come. Innocent men and women will be scarred and traumatized for the rest of their lives. They should be loved and supported for the rest of their lives. It is right and necessary for individuals to continue to love their neighbors, but they should not be naive about their neighbors — some of them are jihadist murderers or support jihadist murderers. Consequently, it is also “loving” to wake up to the reality of jihad and its pervasiveness within certain Muslim communities. You are not loving your neighbor if you believe lies, and your belief of lies makes you and your nation more vulnerable to evil. Finally, a nation that refuses to adequately protect its citizens does not love its citizens. Britain is a great nation, and there was a time when its greatness manifested itself in decisive and courageous force against the most terrible foes. There is much courage in Britain still. Will its government care enough about its citizens to unleash that courage against its mortal enemies?

nationalreview.com/corner/448264/jihad-london-few-thoughts-about-love

-----------

Southeast Asia

Muslim children forced to drop 'religious' names in western China

Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi, is more than 3,000km away from Beijing.

Xinjiang has seen an increasingly invasive security state since president Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, Clarke added, including hiring thousands of police.

The region is at the centre of Xi’s Belt and Road initiative, a $900bn development aimed at building closer ties within Asia and beyond by constructing large-scale infrastructure.

Rules announced last year also forbid retired officials from attending religious ceremonies and ban them from holding and beliefs.

Additional reporting by Wang Zhen

theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/03/muslim-children-forced-to-drop-religious-names-in-western-china

-------

Seizing of Philippines city by Islamist militants a wake-up call for Southeast Asia

JUN 4, 2017

MARAWI, PHILIPPINES – At the beginning of the battle that has raged for the past 12 days in Marawi City at the southern end of the Philippines, dozens of Islamist militants stormed its prison, overwhelming the guards.

“They said ‘surrender the Christians,’ ” said Faridah P. Ali, an assistant director of the regional prison authority. “We only had one Christian staff member so we put him with the inmates so he wouldn’t be noticed,” he said.

Fighters from the Maute group, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS), menaced the guards and shouted at prisoners: but no one gave up the Christian man. “When they freed the inmates, he got free,” said Ali.

It was a brief moment of cheer, but over the next few hours the militants took control of most of the city, attacked the police station and stole weapons and ammunition, and set up roadblocks and positioned snipers on buildings at key approaches. The assault has already led to the death of almost 180 people and the vast majority of Marawi’s population of about 200,000 has fled.

The seizing of the city by Maute, with its allies on the island of Mindanao, is the biggest warning yet that the Islamic State is building a base in Southeast Asia and bringing the brutal tactics seen in Iraq and Syria in recent years to the region.

Defense and other government officials from within the region said evidence is mounting that this was a sophisticated plot to bring forces from different groups who support the Islamic State together to take control of Marawi.

The presence of foreigners — intelligence sources say the fighters have included militants from as far away as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Chechnya and Morocco — alongside locals in Marawi, has particularly alarmed security officials.

For some time, governments in Southeast Asia have been worried about what happens when battle-hardened Islamic State fighters from their countries return home as the group loses ground in the Middle East, and now they have added concerns about the region becoming a magnet for foreign jihadis.

“If we do nothing, they get a foothold in this region,” said Hishammuddin Hussein, the defense minister of neighboring Malaysia.

Defense and military officials in the Philippines said that all four of the country’s pro-Islamic State groups sent fighters to Marawi with the intention of establishing the city as a Southeast Asian “wilayat” — or governorate — for the radical group.

Mindanao — roiled for decades by Islamic separatists, communist rebels, and warlords — was fertile ground for Islamic State’s ideology to take root. This is the one region in this largely Catholic country to have a significant Muslim minority and Marawi itself is predominantly Muslim.

It is difficult for governments to prevent militants from getting to Mindanao from countries like Malaysia and Indonesia through waters that have often been lawless and plagued by pirates.

The Combating Terrorism Center, a West Point, New York-based think tank, said in a report this week that Islamic State is leveraging militant groups in Southeast Asia to solidify and expand its presence in the region. The key will be how well it manages relations with the region’s jihadi old guard, CTC said.

The Maute group’s attack is the biggest challenge faced by Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte since coming to power last June. He has declared martial law in Mindanao, which is his political base.

His defense forces were caught off guard by the assault and have had difficulty in regaining control of the city — on Saturday they were still struggling to wipe out pockets of resistance.

On Monday, Brigadier-General Nixon Fortes, the commander of the army brigade in Marawi, was sacked.

An army spokesman said this was unrelated to the battle. But a military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters on Friday that Fortes was dismissed because not all his forces were in the city when the rebels began their rampage, even though military intelligence had indicated that Islamist militants were amassing there.

The assault came just months after security forces attacked the mountain lair of Isnilon Hapilon, a long-time leader of Abu Sayyaf, or “Father of the Sword,” a notorious Islamist militant group known for kidnapping. He swore allegiance to Islamic State in 2014, and quickly got other groups to join him. Most important among them was the Maute group, run by brothers Omar and Abdullah Maute from a well-known family in Marawi. In a video that surfaced last June, a Syria-based leader of the group urged followers in the region to join Hapilon if they could not travel to the Middle East. Hapilon was named IS leader in Southeast Asia last year. The Philippines military said Hapilon was likely wounded in the raids but managed to escape to Marawi, where he joined up with the Maute group. According to a statement on a social media group used by Maute fighters, the group wants to cleanse Marawi of Christians, Shi’ite Muslims, and polytheists — who believe in more than one God. It also wants to ban betting, karaoke and so-called “relationship dating.”

Some officials said Philippines security forces became complacent about the threat from IS after the January raids.

“We did not notice they have slipped into Marawi because we are focusing on their mountain lairs,” Philippines Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters.

Over the past few months, Philippine and Indonesian intelligence sources said, Hapilon’s forces were swelled by foreign fighters and new recruits within Marawi. Many of the outsiders came to Marawi using the cover of an Islamic prayer festival in the city last month, said Philippines military spokesman Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera.

Lorenzana said that Hapilon brought 50-100 fighters to join Maute’s 250-300 men, while two other groups, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the Ansar Al-Khilafah Philippines, together brought at least 40 militants with them.

On May 23, four days before the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, they launched their attack when Philippine forces made an abortive attempt to capture Hapilon inside Marawi.

After the military retreated in the face of a phalanx of armed guards, about 400 militants quickly fanned out across the city, riding trucks mounted with 50-caliber machine guns and armed with rocket-propelled grenades and high-powered rifles.

Within hours, they attacked the jail and nearby police station, seizing weapons and ammunition, according to accounts from residents.

The Dansalan College, a Protestant institution, and the Catholic Cathedral of Maria Auxiliadora, were both razed, and a priest and about a dozen other parishioners captured. They remain hostages.

A Shi’ite mosque was also destroyed, and a statue of Jose Rizal, the Philippines hero of the uprising against Spanish rule, was beheaded.

Herrera said the attack had the hallmarks of a professional military operation. “There was a huge, grand plan to seize the whole of Marawi,” he said. After the initial battle, IS flags flew across the city and masked fighters roamed the streets proclaiming Marawi was theirs, using loud-hailers to urge residents to join them and handing out weapons to those who took up the offer, according to residents. The military brought in helicopters to fire rockets at militant positions as ground troops began to retake key bridges and buildings, though some residents this has also led to the deaths of civilians.

“ISIS people were running on the street, running away from them. They were bombing them in the street (but) it hit our house and the mosque. Many other houses too,” said Amerah Dagalangit, a pregnant 29-year-old in an evacuation center near Marawi.

“Many people died when the bomb exploded,” she said, adding that a Muslim priest and children were among the victims.

Military officials said they had not received any report of the incident. Reuters could not independently verify the account.

The military has said 20 civilians have been killed in the fighting and that all were at the hands of the militants. It also says 120 rebels and 38 members of the security forces have been killed, including 10 soldiers who died from friendly fire in an airstrike.

Officials in neighboring Indonesia worry that even if the Filipinos successfully take back Marawi in coming days, the threat will still remain high.

“We worry they will come over here,” said one Indonesian counter-terrorism official, noting that Mindanao wasn’t very far from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

More than 2,000 people remain trapped in the center of Marawi, with no electricity and little food and water. Some are pinned down by the crossfire between the military and the militants, while others fear they will be intercepted by the militants as they flee, according to residents.

The bodies of eight laborers who had been shot in the head were found in a ravine outside Marawi last Sunday. The police said they had been stopped by the militants while escaping the city.

There will most likely be more civilian casualties in retaking the city, the military said.

“We are expecting that people will get starved, people will get hurt, people will get killed,” said Herrera, the military spokesman. “In these types of operations, you can’t get 100 percent no collateral damage.”

japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/06/04/asia-pacific/seizing-philippines-city-islamist-militants-wake-call-southeast-asia/#.WTO2sZKGN1t

-----------

Indonesia says 1,200 Islamic State operatives in Philippines

04 Jun 2017

SINGAPORE: There are about 1,200 Islamic State (IS) group operatives in the Philippines, including foreigners of whom 40 are from Indonesia, the Indonesian defence minister told an international security forum Sunday (Jun 4).

Speaking in Singapore amid a bloody standoff between Philippine troops and militants fighting under the IS flag in Marawi city, Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu called the militants "killing machines" and urged full-scale regional cooperation against them.

"I was advised last night, 1,200 ISIS in the Philippines, around 40 from Indonesia," Ryacudu told the Shangri-La Dialogue, using another name for the IS group.

The threat of heightened terrorism, including the impending return of hundreds of Southeast Asian fighters who fought with IS in Syria and Iraq, has been a hot-button issue at the three-day Singapore summit also attended by US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

Hundreds of Islamist gunmen rampaged through Marawi, a largely Muslim city of 200,000 in the south of the mainly Catholic Philippines, on May 23 after government forces attempted to arrest their leader, Isnilon Hapilon.

Up to 50 gunmen are still controlling the city centre nearly two weeks after the start of fighting that has killed 177 people including 120 militants.

"How can we tackle these foreign fighters? We have to be comprehensive," said Ryacudu, a retired general.

"We have to find... complete ways but we must exercise caution, they are killing machines. Their aim is to kill other people so that's why it's our responsibility that we have common understanding, consensus and common proceedings on how to fight these foreign fighters."

Philippine Defense Undersecretary Ricardo David, speaking at the same forum, said the 1,200 figure for total IS fighters in the Philippines mentioned by Indonesia was new to him.

"I really don't know, my figure is about 250-400, a lot less," he told reporters.

But David said there were 40 foreign IS fighters among those who seized parts of Marawi, eight of whom have been killed by government forces.

Earlier, Philippine officials said the slain foreign fighters were from Malaysia, Indonesia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Chechnya.

"Our intelligence estimates that there are about 40 foreigners that fought in the Marawi incident," David said.

The Philippine official added that the foreign fighters used "back channels" in the Sulu and Celebes Seas near the borders of the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia to enter the southern island of Mindanao and link up with local terror groups.

"That's why they were able to muster the operations in the area of Marawi," David said.

channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/indonesia-says-1-200-islamic-state-operatives-in-philippines-8910832

-----------

Philippine casino attacker a gambling addict, not terrorist: police

An armed man who killed 37 people when he set fire to a casino in the Philippine capital was a father-of-three from Manila motivated by heavy gambling debts and not terrorism, police said Sunday.

The identification of the assailant as Jessie Javier Carlos, a Catholic, proves that claims by the militant Islamic State (IS) group that it was responsible for Friday's attack were false, Manila police chief Oscar Albayalde told reporters.

“We reiterate that this is not an act of terrorism but this incident is confined to the act of one man alone,” Albayalde said as he sat alongside Carlos's parents and wife at a press conference held to announce the identity of the attacker.

Albayalde said Carlos was aged 43, had three children and had been banned from all casinos in April by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) following a request from his family because of his gambling addiction.

“He is heavily indebted due to being hooked to casino gambling. This became the cause of misunderstanding with his wife and parents,” Albayalde said.

“He was barred by Pagcor from all casinos because of the request of next of kin. This could have probably triggered him. That's why he was so mad at casinos.”

Carlos walked into the Resorts World casino and hotel complex in Manila on Friday with an M4 automatic rifle and a bottle of petrol, before setting alight a number of different rooms in the complex, according to police accounts.

Thirty-seven people died in the fires, dozens more were injured in a stampede to escape, and Carlos was found dead about five hours later in a hotel room after committing suicide by setting fire to himself, police had said.

Security film of the incident released on Saturday showed the gunman calmly and slowly walking through the casino and firing into the air most of the time, apparently as warning shots for people to leave.

At one point he fired at security guards when they confronted him, but missed. After they ran away, he calmly walked up some stairs.

The video also showed him breaking into a secure room where chips and money were being kept, apparently intent on stealing what he could.

Carlos set alight many gambling tables, which police said was probably an attempt to create a diversion so he could escape.

Begging for forgiveness

At Sunday's press conference, Carlos's tearful mother said he had been a good man who committed the violence because of his gambling addiction.

“We ask for forgiveness. My son was a good child to us. But since he started playing at the casinos, that's all he did. He did not visit us. It was painful for us not to see him,” said his mother, Teodora Carlos.

Albayalde said Carlos had worked in the Department of Finance but had been sacked because he had lied on official forms about unexplained assets and properties.

A 2014 government press release explaining the sacking described Carlos as a tax specialist, who had been fired for not declaring properties and for taking mysterious loans far more than a bank would lend.

Authorities had repeatedly insisted on Friday and Saturday the attack was not terrorism-related but a bizarre robbery attempt by a deranged man.

But IS claimed responsibility, with a report on its self-styled Amaq news agency saying its “fighters” carried out the attack.

President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly warned that IS is gaining a greater foothold in the mainly Catholic Philippines.

Those concerns escalated when militants flying black IS flags rampaged through the Philippines' main Islamic city in the south nearly two weeks ago, triggering clashes that are still continuing and have left roughly 200 people dead.

Duterte declared martial law in the south of the Philippines on May 23 in a bid to quash the rising IS threat, and said he was prepared to impose military rule nationwide if terrorism spread.

However Duterte and his police chiefs insisted that the casino attack was not terrorism-related.

After identifying Carlos as the attacker on Sunday, Albayalde repeatedly sought to discredit IS.

“We will not allow people or any threat group to use this situation to advance their propaganda or personal causes, whether foreign or local,” Albayalde said.

dawn.com/news/1337371/philippine-casino-attacker-a-gambling-addict-not-terrorist-police

-----------

Residents shield Christians in bold exodus from Philippines city

4 June 2017

More than 160 civilians walked out of the besieged Philippines city of Marawi just after dawn on Saturday, deceiving Islamist fighters they encountered by hiding the identity of the many Christians among them.

The audacious exodus came after text message warnings that a major assault by Philippines aircraft and ground troops was imminent in the centre of the southern city, where some 250 militants and more than 2,000 civilians remain trapped.

“We saved ourselves,” said Norodin Alonto Lucman, a well-known former politician and traditional clan leader who sheltered 71 people, including more than 50 Christians, in his home during the battle that erupted on May 23 in the town of more than 200,000 on the southern island of Mindanao.

“There's this plan to bomb the whole city if ISIS don't agree to the demands of the government,” he said, referring to local and foreign fighters who have sworn allegiance to the ultra-radical militant Islamic State (IS) group.

Many evacuees told Reuters they had received text messages warning of a bombing campaign.

“We had a tip from the general commander that we should go out,” said Leny Paccon, who gave refuge to 54 people in her home, including 44 Christians. “When I got the text, immediately we go out ... about 7 o'clock.”

By then, Lucman and his guests had begun their escape march from another area, holding white flags and moving briskly.

“As we walked, others joined us,” he told reporters. “We had to pass through a lot of snipers.” Some of the civilians were stopped and asked if there were any Christians among them, said Jaime Daligdig, a Christian construction worker.

“We shouted 'Allahu akbar',” he told Reuters, adding that thanks to that Muslim rallying cry they were allowed to pass.

Those who fled included teachers from Dansalan College, a protestant school torched on the first day of the battle.

Christians have been killed and taken hostage by the militants, a mix of local fighters from the Maute Group and other Islamist outfits, as well as foreigners who joined the cause under the IS banner.

Explore: Foreigners involved in deadly Philippine urban battle: govt

The vast majority of Filipinos are Christian, but Mindanao has a larger proportion of Muslims and Islam is followed by the vast majority in Marawi City.

Rotting bodies, debris

Lucman said that many of those trapped were on the verge of starvation, which also gave them the courage to leave.

He described a scene of devastation in the town centre, where the streets were strewn with rotting bodies and debris. “I almost puked as we were walking,” Lucman said, estimating that there were more than 1,000 dead.

Official government estimates recorded 120 militants, 38 government forces and 20 civilians as dead on Saturday.

Lucman and Paccon said militants had knocked on their doors while they sheltered the terrified Christians. They shooed them away saying there were women and children inside.

Adding to the anxiety, both said they were within 100 metres of militant command posts. Although the Philippines military knew civilians remained in their homes, ordnance exploded nearby repeatedly over the past week.

Resident Asnaira Asis said militants knocked on her door too, offering money or food if she handed over her 11-year-old son. “They wanted him to be a fighter,” she told Reuters after joining the morning exodus. “I said no.”

After an impromptu ceasefire as the civilians evacuated, bombing and ground skirmishes continued on Saturday, and FA50 fighter jets dropped bombs on the town centre.

Philippines Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the conflict would be over soon but he gave no operational plans. He said there were 250 militants still in the town, far more than the 20-30 cited by the military on Friday.

“They can still put up a good fight. That's why it's giving us difficulty in clearing the area,” he told a news conference.

Lorenzana said there was still a big cohort of foreign fighters in Marawi.

Officials have said militants from as far away as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Chechnya and Morocco joined the battle, raising concerns that IS is seeking to establish a regional foothold there.

dawn.com/news/1337198/residents-shield-christians-in-bold-exodus-from-philippines-city

-----------

Myanmar Muslims face charges for holding Ramadan prayers

Friday 2 June 2017

Authorities in Myanmar have charged three Muslim men for holding Ramadan prayers in the street after the local school where they used to worship was shut down by a nationalist mob.

Police brought the charges after about 50 Muslims gathered to pray on Wednesday on a road in Yangon’s Thaketa township, the site of one of a growing number of raids by Buddhist hardliners on Islamic events.

Two nearby Islamic schools were closed in late April after ultra-nationalists complained that local Muslims were illegally using them to conduct prayers.

Authorities have said the closure is temporary, but have given no timeline for when they may be reopened.

“We feel sorry. This month is important for us,” said the local Muslim leader Zaw Min Latt, referring to the holy month of Ramadan, which began last week.

“We used those schools for prayer for decades. These restrictions have been brought in after more than 60 years.”

Local authorities issued a statement saying the prayer session threatened “stability and the rule of law” in the mainly Muslim neighbourhood in the east of Myanmar’s commercial capital.

A police officer who asked not to be named confirmed the charges.

Two officers tried to stop AFP journalists from filming when they visited one of the madrasas on Friday.

“It’s our mosque as well as our school. We don’t know when it will be reopened,” Khin Soe, a local resident in his 50s, said as he set off to pray in another part of town.

The case comes as Myanmar’s government has been seeking to clamp down on hate speech after a spike in anti-Muslim actions by hardliners from the country’s Buddhist majority.

Religious tensions have soared since a group of Rohingya Muslims attacked police posts in Rakhine state in October, sparking a bloody military crackdown that has drawn widespread international condemnation.

Last week Myanmar’s top Buddhist authority officially banned the Ma Ba Tha, an ultra-nationalist movement affiliated with the firebrand cleric Wirathu, which responded by simply changing its name.

The move came after nationalists this month clashed with Muslims in another Muslim neighbourhood in Yangon, after pushing police to raid a house there in search of illegal Rohingya Muslim hideouts.

theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/02/myanmar-muslims-face-charges-for-holding-ramadan-prayers

---------

Hotel serves lavish Ramadan spread

3 June 2017

KUCHING: An array of gastronomic delights, ranging from local to western and Italian food, are available at Merdeka Palace Hotel and Suites Ramadan buffet.

The annual buffet in conjunction with Ramadan month will be held from May 27 till June 24, 6pm till 9.30pm, at its Aurora Court and Ristorante Beccari restaurant.

The hotel’s culinary team would present more than 100 varieties from local favourites to international specialties aside from its signature spit-roasted whole lamb.

“Our Ramadan buffet spread starts with sweet Tunisian dates and appetiser counters filled with various types of fresh ulam-ulaman, jeruk (pickles), acar, umai and assortment of kerabu, and lots more.

“Among the must-try hot dishes are bubur pedas, nasi briyani gam with mutton, umbat kelapa masak lemak, honey chicken masak merah, kuzi kambing, deep fired Telapia with sweet chili sauce,” Merdeka Palace Integrated Marketing and Communications manager Mohd Arshad Hasseri said.

He added that there would also be live-cooking stations and live kitchen stalls, where food would be freshly prepared right in front of the guests. Among the dishes included Sarawak laksa, lok-lok, mini burger and Roti John.

Italian and western fares such as its well-known wood-oven pizzas and pastas with sauces such as carbonara, bolognese and napolitana are also available at the Ristorante Beccari, which will be open for the Ramadan buffet by June 5.

“Do indulge in our DIY (do-it-yourself) counters and make your very own ais kacang. Lastly, round up your meal with assorted French pastries, traditional deserts namely bubur kacang hijau, pengat pisang and bubur cha cha,” Arshad added.

The buffet is priced at RM90 per adult, while for children aged 4 to 12 years is RM40. Senior citizens aged 60 years and above enjoy a price of RM75.

For enquiries on the Ramadan buffet, contact the hotel at 082-258000 (ext 8061 for Aurora Court or ext 8004 for the F&B office between 8.30am and 5pm), or visit its website at merdekapalace.com or Facebook page.

thestar.com.my/metro/community/2017/06/03/hotel-serves-lavish-ramadan-spread-annual-buffet-to-present-over-100-dishes-of-local-and-internation/#Dqt6kH8gocK5bmAo.99

-----------

India

In This UP Village, Hindus and Muslims Decide To Remove Loudspeakers from Temples, Mosques

04 JUNE 2017

In what could be seen as a step to restore communal harmony in restive Moradabad village of Uttar Pradesh, villagers have decided to remove loudspeakers from temple and mosques.

According to a report by The Times of India, both Hindus and Muslims agreed to remove loudspeakers after tension simmered in the village for 3 years.

Advertisement opens in new window

In Uttar Pradesh, there have been multiple incidents of violence reported in the past over the use of loudspeakers on places of worship of both the communities.

Last year, at least 20 people were injured after Hindus and Muslims clashed over the use of loudspeakers for ‘azaan’ or call for namaz in a mosque, reported Hindustan Times.

Following an argument, the groups indulged in stone-pelting and firing, the report said quoting sources.

Advertisement opens in new window

Earlier this year, Bollywood playback singer Sonu Nigam, had found himself amidst a controversy for criticising sermons from the loudspeakers.

The 43-year-old singer had described the loud sermons from the loudspeakers as hooliganism in a series of tweets following which a fatwa was issued against him by a Kolkata-based cleric.

outlookindia.com/website/story/in-this-up-village-hindus-muslims-decide-to-remove-loudspeakers-from-temples-mos/299195

-----------

ISIS Failed In India despite Large Muslim Population: Home Minister

PTI | Jun 3, 2017

NEW DELHI: India has the largest Muslim population in the world but ISIS had been unable to establish itself in the country, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said here on Saturday.

Singh was giving a report card of his ministry on the completion of three years of the Narendra Modi government.

"We have strived to provide security for the nation, with full responsibility," he said at a press conference.

He said 90 ISIS sympathisers had been arrested across the country, adding that ISIS and Ansar Ul Ammah have been included in the list of terrorist organisations.

According to the minister, there had been a 25 per cent reduction in Naxal attacks in 2014-17 as compared to 2011-14 (UPA tenure). He also said three years of NDA government had seen a 42 per cent reduction in deaths in Naxal attacks as compared to last three years of the UPA.

Singh said there was 45 per cent reduction in infiltration from Pakistan in the six months post-surgical strike at the Line of Control in September last year as compared to the corresponding period previous year.

The minister said the government would put an end to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and ensure peace in Jammu and Kashmir.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/isis-failed-in-india-despite-large-muslim-population-rajnath-singh/articleshow/58973903.cms

-----------

Terror funding case: NIA conducts fresh raids in J&K

TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Updated: Jun 4, 2017

NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday carried out fresh raids across Jammu and Kashmir in a case involving terror funding meant to fuel unrest in the valley.

"NIA raids continue against Hurriyat leaders, at three locations of Srinagar and one in Jammu," news agency ANI said citing sources on Sunday.

ANI ✔ @ANI_news

NIA raids continue against Hurriyat leaders, at three locations of Srinagar and one in Jammu: NIA Sources

11:20 AM - 4 Jun 2017

50 50 Retweets 112 112 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy

According to ANI, Syed Ali Shah Geelani's close aide Azaz Akbar's house was raided early morning today.

ANI ✔ @ANI_news

NIA raids continue against Hurriyat leaders, at three locations of Srinagar and one in Jammu: NIA Sources

ANI ✔ @ANI_news

J&K: NIA raids Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar's residence in Srinagar. pic.twitter.com/i4SOQ3U5lT

12:09 PM - 4 Jun 2017

View image on TwitterView image on TwitterView image on Twitter

18 18 Retweets 46 46 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy

Yesterday, NIA chief Sharad Kumar had told TOI+ that said 22 locations, including 14-15 in Kashmir and seven in Delhi, were raided since early morning.

The raids follow days after NIA converted a preliminary enquiry into the terror funding, allegedly involving Hurriyat leaders, into a regular case

"The searches have so far led to the recovery of cash amount of over Rs 1.15 crore, property-related documents, letterheads of banned terrorist organisations such as LeT and HM, pen-drives, laptops, and other incriminating documents," an NIA spokesperson had said.

Prominent among those who were raided by the NIA on Saturday were Hurriyat Conference (G) leader, Altaf Ahmad Shah alias Altaf Funtoosh at Qamarwari, Salvation Movement chairman Zaffar Akbar Bhat at Bagh-e-Mehtab, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) senior leader Noor Muhammad Kalwal at Nowgam, National Front (NF) chairman Nayeem Khan at Ibrahim Colony Natipora, JKLF (R) leader Farooq Dar alias Bitta Karatay at Guru Bazar Shaheed Gunj and Hurriyat (M) Media Advisor Shahid-ul-Islam at Sanat Nagar.

The businessmen whose houses were raided include Zahoor Ahmad Watali at Barzullah, Raja Zahoor Khan at Hyderpora, Muhammad Sultan Tangnuu at Azad Basti Natipora, Nazir Ahmad Mir alias Nazir Gas at Shamsabad Batamaloo, Farooq Ahmad Wani at Shamsabad Batamaloo, Muhammad Sultan Chandu at Natipora and Retired Dr Bashir Ahmad Bhat at Sheikhul Aalam Colony Nowgam.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/terror-funding-case-nia-conducts-fresh-raids-in-jk/articleshow/58984224.cms

-----------

Security beefed up for India-Pakistan Champions Trophy tie: Reports

TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Updated: Jun 4, 2017

The UK intelligence have reportedly been informed of a possible terror attack at Edgbaston

This comes after a terrorist attack in Central London where a van rammed into a pedestrial killing six people

This is the second time in less than two weeks that London has come under a terrorist activity

Edgbaston, venue for the India-Pak tie is 208 kms away from the sight of attack in Central London (Getty Images)Edgbaston, venue for the India-Pak tie is 208 kms away from the sight of attack in Central London (Getty Images)

NEW DELHI: In the aftermath of a terrorist incident in Central London Saturday night, where six people were killed and three attackers shot dead by police, security has been beefed up for the Champions Trophy match featuring India and Pakistan on Sunday. Speculations are rife that the United Kingdon intelligence have been alerted about a possible attack during the match in Edgbaston, despite the venue being a good 208 km away from the sight of incident.

Cricket boards of both countries - BCCI and PCB have been duly informed and asked to remain panic free by the UK intelligence. This is the second time in less that two weeks that London has been a victim due to a terrorist act following the suicide bombing during a concert in Manchester on May 22 where 23 people lost their lives. A source close to the BCCI assured that there was nothing to worry as the secuity for the match has been covered from all bases.

"Several BCCI and PCB officials were told last night about a potential terrorist attack in Edgbaston," the source said. "There is nothing to worry about but since the intelligence units don't want to take any risk after the Manchester attack last month, they have told the officials from both teams to not talk to the media about it because it may create panic. They don't want to take any risk, however."

The ICC then sent out a statement that further assured that there was nothing to worry as all possible measures have been taken to ensure top-notch security. "We will continue to work with authorities over the coming hours and days and review our security in line with the threat levels," the ICC statement said. "The security situation has been very much front and centre of our preparations and we constantly review our procedures to guarantee they are as effective as possible to keep everyone safe."

A couple of members from the Pakistan team management condemned these terrorist activities. "It is very tragic what happened in Manchester. Our minds and hearts go out to the families of the victims," said Talat Ali, team manager of Pakistan.

"It's not just a game of cricket, it's a lot more than that," said Asif Iqbal, former skipper of Pakistan, before the high voltage match. Let's hope at the end of the day, it is the performances on the field that is being talked about after the match.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/champions-trophy-2017/top-stories/security-beefed-up-for-india-pakistan-champions-trophy-tie-reports/articleshow/58982750.cms

-----------

India rejects Pakistan's claim of killing five Indian soldiers along LoC

TNN | Updated: Jun 4, 2017

Senior Army officers dubbed as "completely false" the Pakistan army's statement

There has been no casualty on our side, said an officer

File photo used for representational purposeFile photo used for representational purpose

NEW DELHI India on Saturday categorically rejected Pakistan's claims of having killed five Indian soldiers in Tatta Pani-Krishna Ghati sector, even as the two armies continued to exchange heavy cross-border firing along the volatile LoC.

Senior Army officers dubbed as "completely false" the Pakistan army's statement in the afternoon that it had "violently responded" to "unprovoked ceasefire violation at Tatta Pani along the LoC", which is faced by the Krishna Ghati sector on the Indian side, to kill five Indian soldiers and injure many others while "destroying Indian bunkers".

"There has been no casualty on our side. Two civilians, including a woman, however sustained injuries in the ceasefire violation by Pakistan, which began at 11 pm on Friday and continued till Saturday afternoon. We strongly reacted to it," said an officer.

Pakistan's latest claim on Saturday came in the backdrop of widespread reports, though unverified, that five of its soldiers were killed and six injured in "retaliatory fire assaults" by the Indian Army across the Poonch and Naushera sectors along the LoC last Thursday, as was then reported by TOI.

Meanwhile, Army chief General Bipin Rawat visited some battalions deployed along the LoC in North Kashmir on Saturday. "During his visit on Saturday, Gen Rawat was briefed on all aspects of operational and logistical preparedness. He was appreciative of the measures put in place to meet any challenge," said an officer.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-rejects-pakistans-claim-of-killing-five-indian-soldiers-along-loc/articleshow/58981567.cms

-----------

PM Modi expresses anguish over London terror attacks

PTI | Jun 4, 2017

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday condemned the attacks in London, terming them as "shocking".

Two terror attacks at central London landmarks left at least six persons dead and 30 others injured. Three terror suspects were shot dead by the police.

"Attacks in London are shocking & anguishing. We condemn them. My thoughts are with families of the deceased & prayers with the injured," the Prime Minister said in a tweet.

Narendra Modi ? @narendramodi

Attacks in London are shocking & anguishing. We condemn them. My thoughts are with families of the deceased & prayers with the injured.

9:23 AM - 4 Jun 2017

2,259 2,259 Retweets 7,224 7,224 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy

The attack took place at London Bridge and Borough Market.

It was the third terror attack to strike the UK this year, after a man drove a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge in March and the bomb attack on an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester two weeks ago.

On 22 May, 22 people were killed and 116 injured in a suicide bombing at Manchester Arena.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/pm-modi-expresses-anguish-over-london-terror-attacks/articleshow/58983344.cms