Badr Organization: Any Threat to Karbala Will Turn Anbar to ISIL Mass Grave
ISIL Is More than Just a Police State
Arab World
Badr Organization: Any Threat to Karbala Will Turn Anbar to ISIL Mass Grave
Car Bombings in Iraq's Capital Kill At Least 20 Civilians
Defence Bill Recognizes Iraq's Kurdish, Sunni Militias as A 'Country'
50K Twitter Accounts Luring Saudis to Join Terror Groups
Administrative Court Bans Non-Specialists from Issuing Religious Edicts
Two stoned to death for adultery in Iraq, claims IS
Syrian Army Marching on Insurgents' Concentration Centres in Hama Province
Foreign domination in Yemen ‘not acceptable’: King Salman
Former Lebanese PM: Aggressive action beyond Yemen to counter Iran
Egypt military court sentences Brotherhood leaders to life in prison
Egypt's Sisi says country will take 2 years to "get back on its feet"
Mideast
Saudi Arabia Annihilating Yemeni Historical Monuments
Saudi Warships Target Aden with Missiles, Kill Dozens
Saudi Airstrikes Kill Scores in Yemen's Hudaydah
Islamist newspaper confuses The Beatles with Gezi Park protesters
Rouhani: Police Should Not Enforce Islam
Riyadh to mediate reconciliation between Egypt, Qatar & Turkey: Hamas
Erdoğan engages in war of words with new Turkish Cypriot leader
Africa
Tunisian Students Spark Outrage by Unfurling I S and Nazi Banners at School
ISIS Kills Five Libyan TV Journalists
Hundreds found dead as details of fresh attack by Boko Haram emerge in Nigeria
5 feared dead in Nigeria radio station blast
Mali pro-government militias seize northern town amid clashes
Nigeria's Buhari: Boko Haram is a 'fraud'
South Asia
Top Taliban Commander Killed With His 27 Men in Kunduz
Three terrorists arrested, homemade bombs seized
Awami Leagu: BNP's quitting poll preplanned
Europe
An Attack on Ireland by ISIS or Al Qaeda Could Happen At Any Time
ISIL Is More than Just a Police State
Gunman kills Bosnian policeman in apparent Islamist attack
Rushdie chastises authors protesting Hebdo tribute
Israel responsible for Gaza shelter attacks: UN report
Russia, Syria Sign Deal on Combating Terrorism
Tajik president invites Peshawar school students
‘Good year in Pakistan’: Dutch stand by Pakistan in war on terror, says envoy
Pakistan
Altaf Wants a Good Name for ‘New Province’
Peshawar Massacre Victims Remembered: ‘Book and Peace Go Together’
No headway in Sabeen Mahmud murder probe as free-speech fears grow
Security official killed, three injured in DI Khan attack
Teenage ‘terrorist’ arrested in Multan
Spreading the light: Balochistan govt launches five-year education plan
Baloch militants no threat to govt: Bizenjo
North America
U.S. Blames Houthi Moves for Renewed Saudi Strikes
Authors Protest PEN Award for Charlie Hebdo
Kerry: Closer than ever to historic Iran deal
Reporters caught between terrorists, govts: watchdog
US, allies conduct 31 air strikes in Syria, Iraq: US military
Senator calls for shifting drones from CIA to US military
India
India to Continue Support for Capacity-Building of Afghan Security Forces: PM Modi
Urdu Classes for Non-Urdu Speaking Persons at Belgaum
‘Ghar Wapsi’ Will Continue: VHP International President
Southeast Asia
Perlis Mufti: Muslim Husbands Can’t ‘Pull Out’ During Sex without Wife’s Consent
Democracy forces Islamists to work with infidels, hard-line group says
Child Protection Commission Concerned for Youths Targeted by Drug Traffickers
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
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Arab World
Badr Organization: Any Threat to Karbala Will Turn Anbar to ISIL Mass Grave
28 April, 2015
A senior member of Iraq's popular Badr Organization warned the ISIL Takfiri terrorists not to even think of attacking the holy city of Karbala that hosts the shrine of Shiite Islam's third Imam Hossein Ibn-e Ali (AS).
"ISIL is threatening regions around 180-200 kilometers away (from Karbala), if the Takfiri terrorists think of getting close to Karbala, Al-Anbar desert will turn into their mass grave," al-Sumeriya news website quoted Hamed Saheb al-Karbalaei, Head of Badr Organization's Karbala Branch, as saying on Tuesday.
He noted that Badr Organization's military branch is reinforcing its forces in Nakhib, Hebariya, Rahaliya and Point 160 in Anbar province, adding that Badr's highly-trained and well-equipped regiments are ready for action in Anbar province.
"Badr forces are now on the offensive, and not on the defensive, and are, thus, ready to confront the ISIL in all regions," he concluded.
On April 25, Saheb al-Karbalaei announced that hundred of volunteer forces have joined Badr Organization to drive the ISIL out of Iraqi cities.
On Sunday, Iraq's president, prime minister and parliament speaker in a joint meeting in Baghdad decided to arm all forces in Nineveh and Al-Anbar provinces to prepare them for war against ISIL.
During the meeting in Baghdad, Iraqi President Fouad Massoum, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi and Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri underlined the need for helping the Iraqi army and popular forces in their fight against the ISIL.
The ISIL Takfiri terrorists currently control shrinking swathes of Syria and Iraq. They have threatened all communities, including Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians, Ezadi Kurds and others, as they continue their atrocities in Iraq.
Senior Iraqi officials have blamed Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and some Persian Gulf Arab states for the growing terrorism in their country.
The ISIL has links with Saudi intelligence and is believed to be indirectly supported by the Israeli regime.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940208000985
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Car bombings in Iraq's capital kill at least 20 civilians
28 April, 2015
A series of car bombings targeting busy commercial areas in Iraq's capital killed at least 20 civilians Monday, officials said.
The deadliest attack took place Monday night when a car bomb exploded on a commercial street in Baghdad's western district of Mansour, killing 10 people and wounding 25, police said. Security forces sealed off the area, which is often packed with nighttime shoppers.
At least 20 cars were set on fire by the blast, which damaged several shops and restaurants. Police said four children were among the wounded.
An hour later, a car bombing on a commercial street killed three people and wounded 12 in Baghdad's Amil neighborhood, police said.
Earlier Monday, another car bomb exploded in Baghdad's Bayaa district near a real estate office in an area where dozens gather every day. A police official said that blast killed seven people and wounded at least 16.
Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.
Nobody claimed responsibility for the attacks. Baghdad has seen near-daily attacks as security forces struggle to dislodge the Islamic State group from vast areas in northern and western Iraq seized by the extremists during a stunning blitz last summer.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/128814/World/Region/UPDATED-Car-bombings-in-Iraqs-capital-kill-at-leas.aspx
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Defence bill recognizes Iraq's Kurdish, Sunni militias as a 'country'
28 April, 2015
Republican war-policy writers are demanding that the United States recognize Kurdish and Sunni militias as their own “country” amid growing concerns about Iran’s influence over Baghdad.
The House Armed Services Committee on April 27 released an annual Defense bill that authorizes $715 million in aid to Iraqi forces fighting the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS). The bill, which is scheduled to be debated and voted on in committee on April 29, carves out at least 25% of that aid for the peshmerga, the Sunni tribal militias and a yet-to-be-established Iraqi Sunni National Guard.
The bill “would require that the Kurdish peshmerga, the Sunni tribal security forces with a national security mission, and the Iraqi Sunni National Guard be deemed a country,” according to a bill summary. Doing so “would allow these security forces to directly receive assistance from the United States.”
The Obama administration has expressed some degree of support for giving Iraqi minorities more autonomy, with Secretary of State John Kerry and the president himself applauding the idea of a National Guard. A senior administration official, however, told Al-Monitor that the Defense bill proposal goes too far.
The draft bill from Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, goes on to require the State and Defense secretaries to certify that the central government in Baghdad is giving non-Shiite minorities a greater say in how the country is run. If progress on certain conditions isn’t apparent within three months of the bill’s passage — political inclusiveness, authorization the National Guard, ending support for Shiite militias — the remaining 75% of the aid would be withheld from Baghdad and at least 60% of it would go straight to the Kurds and Sunnis.
In addition, the bill would authorize $600 million for FY 2016 to train and equip vetted Syrian rebel groups to fight IS and another $300 million to help Jordan defend its borders with Iraq and Syria. The Senate Armed Services Committee under Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., is expected to release its bill sometime next month.
While the bill doesn’t attempt to put new roadblocks in the Obama administration’s nuclear talks with Iran, the aid restrictions appear aimed in part at countering Tehran’s increasing influence throughout the region, which lawmakers fear will only grow if sanctions are lifted. A separate part of the Defense bill denounces Iran’s “malign military activities” and “grave threat to regional stability and the national security interests of the United States and its allies and partners.”
“Iran continues to support Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, Shia militias in Iraq, Hamas in Gaza, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and other terrorist organizations and extremists globally,” the bill states.
The Iraq aid provisions follow a lobbying blitz by both the Kurdistan Regional Government and Sunni tribes demanding more autonomy. They argue that conditions have improved since the departure of sectarian Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, but that direct US support remains vital.
The Kurds in particular argue that the US weapons they need to combat IS are being held up in Baghdad. The chairman and top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee — Reps. Ed Royce, R-Calif., and Eliot Engel, D-N.Y. — have introduced legislation to authorize the Obama administration to arm the Kurds directly, which would violate current US law that requires the federal government to deal with Baghdad exclusively.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/04/ndaa-recognize-kurdish-sunni-country-is-funding-baghdad.html#ixzz3YbGGgWMn
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50K Twitter accounts luring Saudis to join terror groups
28 April, 2015
A recent study has found the existence of over 50,000 fake Twitter accounts enticing young Saudi men to join terrorist groups.
The study, done by Brookings Institution and funded by Google Ideas, covers the period between September and December 2014.
A total of 46,000 accounts were used by ISIS supporters, the study revealed, with most of the participants residing in areas under the organization’s control in Syria and Iraq.
Shoura Council member and researcher on Internet technology use, Fayez Al-Shiri, views electronic terrorism as equally dangerous and harmful as traditional terrorism.
“Although electronic terrorism is in a different form, the aims and objectives are equally devastating as modern techniques are used to transform and manifest social, political and economic system,” he said.
According to Al-Shiri, the Kingdom has been exposed to fierce levels of cyber-terrorism, including attempts to penetrate public and private networks, propaganda and efforts to recruit young members via Facebook and Twitter.
The growing prevalence of social networking, as well as the ease of opening such accounts and communicating electronically, means no individual is immune to exposure to extremist ideas, he said.
“Increased public awareness on the role of an individual in his community and his duty toward his country, as well as laws that ensure the reduction in the negative effects of such online activities without compromising individual freedom, is essential to counteract such efforts.”
Idtidal Ateewi, a psychologist, advised families to monitor their children as they use computers with open access to all sites, especially as they can easily fall prey to extremists and terrorists.
http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/738886
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Administrative court bans non-specialists from issuing religous edicts
28 April, 2015
An Alexandria administrative court banned non-specialists from issuing Islamic fatwas (religious edicts) and preaching earlier Monday in the first lawsuit of its kind in Egypt.
The lawsuit was filed by a preacher in Beheira governorate, North Delta, against the decision of the minister of religious endowments not to renew his permit. He was banned from administering sermons because he is accused of belonging to ideologically radical religious groups in the governorate.
The court supported the decision of the minister of religious endowments not to renew the permit of the preacher which allowed him to issue fatwas and administer sermons.
The court revealed that there was an urgent need for Egyptian legislation to identify legally what defines “Al-Mujtahid” (Islamic scholar). An Islamic scholar is qualified to interpret the Islamic Sharia according “Ijtihad” (which means the process of making a legal decision or fatwa by an independent interpretation of the Quran and Sunnah).
The administrative court added that there was a pressing need for legislators to draft laws in order to regulate the issuing of fatwas in Egypt.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/128778/Egypt/Politics-/Administrative-court-bans-nonspecialists-from-issu.aspx
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Two stoned to death for adultery in Iraq, claims IS
28 April, 2015
BAGHDAD: The self-styled Islamic State jihadist group said it has stoned two men to death for adultery in the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh, according to a series of photos posted online.
One man is shown kneeling blindfolded in front of a group of men who hurl large stones at him until he is lying face down on the ground, blood running from his head.
A second man is then killed in the same way, as a crowd including children looks on.
It is not known when the stonings took place, and the authenticity of the pictures could not be immediately confirmed.
The IS group led an offensive last June that overran large areas north and west of Baghdad, sweeping security forces aside.
IS has carried out a string of atrocities including videotaped beheadings and mass executions, rape and enslavement in areas it controls in Iraq and neighbouring Syria.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1178567/two-stoned-to-death-for-adultery-in-iraq-claims-is
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Syrian Army Marching on Insurgents' Concentration Centers in Hama Province
28 April, 2015
An informed military source said that the Syrian Armed Forces have staged massive attacks against the militants' strongholds in different parts of the Central Hama province, adding hundreds of the rebels were killed, wounded and captured in the army's operations.
The source told FNA that a large number of the rebels were killed and injured in the army's operations in al-Hweija, Bab al-Taqa, Kherbet al-Naqous and Kafar Zeita in the Hama countryside.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940208000978
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Foreign domination in Yemen ‘not acceptable’: King Salman
28 April, 2015
The Saudi-led coalition forces are now focusing on rebuilding Yemen, with a commitment to remove all traces of foreign forces attempting to dominate and divide the country.
The Council of Ministers took this decision at its weekly meeting at Al-Yamamah Palace on Monday, which was chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.
Culture and Information Minister Adel Al-Toraifi said in a statement after the meeting that the objectives of Operation Decisive Storm have been achieved and the focus is now on Operation Restoring Hope.
The Cabinet said the coalition members wanted the Yemeni people to “restore their security and stability away from foreign domination and interventions aimed at inciting sedition and sectarianism,” so that the country can take its rightful place among its Arab neighbors, said Al-Toraifi.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/738966
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Former Lebanese PM: Aggressive action beyond Yemen to counter Iran
28 April, 2015
Albeit a power-sharing government, and a dialogue that is in play between his party and Hezbollah, but former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is leaving no room for doubt when it comes to the new “united Arab front in countering the Iranian influence.” Coordinating some form of a safe zone in Syria and arm-twisting measures across the greater Middle East are in the works Hariri says, in what experts interpret as a direct reaction to “U.S. abandonment” of the region.
In a closed meeting with Arab journalists during his current visit to Washington, Hariri said “Operation Decisive Storm,” which Saudi Arabia and a regional coalition launched in Yemen on March 25, is “the beginning of a united Arab front against Iranian influence.” The Lebanese leader, who met U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Friday and was received by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz prior to arriving in DC, laments that “the international community will stand with the strong, and this is a fact we have realized in Yemen and beyond,” adding: “we have to be as aggressive to counter Iran.”
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/analysis/2015/04/27/Hariri-Aggressive-action-beyond-Yemen-to-counter-Iran.html
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Egypt military court sentences Brotherhood leaders to life in prison
28 April, 2015
A Suez military court has sentenced four leaders from the banned Muslim Brotherhood group to life in prison in absentia, on charges related to using violence and terrorising citizens, MENA reported.
The court ordered 15 to 25 years in prison for each of the defendants.
An anonymous source told the state news agency that the convicted included Ahmed Mahmoud, Mohamed Shabana and Abdel Rahman Ibrahim, all well-known figures from the Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood during their one-year rule.
The military prosecution charged the defendants of joining an outlawed group, inciting violence, using force and possessing weapons in the case, related to 2014 clashes in Egypt's coastal city of Suez.
Since Morsi's ouster, courts have issued mass death sentences in a number of cases against Morsi loyalists, most of which were either revoked or are being appealed.
Brotherhood supreme guide Badie was sentenced to death in two other cases, with one overturned by an appeals court and the second rejected by the Grand Mufti, who has to approve all death sentences in Egypt.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/128797/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-military-court-sentences-Brotherhood-leaders.aspx
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Egypt's Sisi says country will take 2 years to "get back on its feet"
28 April, 2015
Egypt's president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Monday said that the country would take two years to "get back on its feet", during Labour Day celebrations at Cairo's Police Academy.
Egyptians should tell families, colleagues and neighbours to be patient and give the government two years to show positive results, he said.
The president added that every citizen should help the government to combat terrorism.
He said that efforts were ongoing to set minimum and maximum wages in Egypt.
El-Sisi also stated that parliamentary elections would not take place before the holy month of Ramadan, which ends in mid-July.
On 1 March, Egypt's High Constitutional Court ruled that the country’s Elections Constituency Division Law was unconstitutional, thus postponing the polls previously set to begin on 21 March.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/128794/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-Sisi-says-country-will-take--years-to-get-b.aspx
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Mideast
Saudi Arabia Annihilating Yemeni Historical Monuments
28 April, 2015
The Wahhabi Saudi regime, the main supporter of ISIL, targeted Yemen's historical monuments in its air strikes on the impoverished nation as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) Takfiri terrorist group has done in Syria and Iraq.
Among the most prominent historical monuments that the Saudi-led air strikes targeted are:
1. The mosque and the shrine of the orator Imam Abd al-Razzaq bin Humam al-San'aani, Sheikh Ahmed bin Hanbal and Sufyan bin A'ayena who died in 211 (AH) in al-Hamraa area in Dar al-Hadeed village which lies in Sanahan district in the province of Sanaa.
2. The old fence, market and buildings of Saada as well as al-Qishleh Fort which was constructed in the third century (AH).
3. The ancient Sirah Fortress which was built in Aden province in the tenth century (AH).
4. Ogaal Temple in Sarwah district in Ma'rib province which dates back to the era of the Saba State before Islam.
5. The historical city of Zbeid in al-Hadida province which has been considered a moderate educational beacon whose light radiates all over the world. It was constructed in the thirteenth century (AH).
6. The monumental Dar al-Hasan in Damat district in al-Dalei province. The influential role of Damat dates back to the pre-Islamic centuries.
7. The historical Fajj Attan fort on Attan mountain in Sanaa. It is considered one of the most important forts in that area.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940208000970
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Saudi Warships Target Aden with Missiles, Kill Dozens
28 April, 2015
Saudi warships fired a number of missiles on the coastal areas of the South-western seaport city of Aden, killing dozens of people in neighbouring areas.
The Saudi military ships fired at the coastal regions of Abyan and Khur Maksar in Aden and claimed the lives of large groups of people in the nearby areas.
Saudi Arabia launched its bombing campaign against Yemen on March 26 in an attempt to restore power to fugitive President Mansour Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.
Hadi stepped down in January and refused to reconsider the decision despite calls by Ansarullah revolutionaries of the Houthi movement.
Despite Riyadh's claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi warplanes are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.
According to FNA tallies, the Monarchy's attacks have so far claimed the lives of at least 3,018 civilians, mostly women and children.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940208000405
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Saudi Airstrikes Kill Scores in Yemen's Hudaydah
28 April, 2015
Dozens of people were killed and many more injured as Saudi warplanes targeted residential areas in Yemen's Hudaydah province.
The Saudi airstrikes conducted a series of attacks on civilian areas in Salif district in the Arab country's strategic Western province of al-Hudaydah, killing scores of people.
Saudi Arabia launched its bombing campaign against Yemen on March 26 in an attempt to restore power to fugitive President Mansour Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.
Hadi stepped down in January and refused to reconsider the decision despite calls by Ansarullah revolutionaries of the Houthi movement.
Despite Riyadh's claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi warplanes are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.
According to FNA tallies, the Monarchy's attacks have so far claimed the lives of at least 3,023 civilians, mostly women and children.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940208000401
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Islamist newspaper confuses The Beatles with Gezi Park protesters
28 April, 2015
An Islamist newspaper in Turkey has confused The Beatles with Turkish high school students after misunderstanding a poster calling for people to take to the streets on May Day.
“The United June Movement [BHH] has undertaken a fresh provocation for May Day,” daily Vahdet claimed on April 27, referring to an umbrella organization that took part in the Gezi Park protests in 2013.
“Gezi activists, who are calling the youth to the streets on May Day, hung posters in several neighborhoods of Istanbul and wrote slogans on walls,” daily Vahdet claimed, adding that one of the posters featured “uniformed high school students.”
The May Day poster in question, however, featured the Beatles’ iconic “jump photo” from the cover of their album “Twist and Shout” and not Turkish high school students.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/islamist-newspaper-confuses-the-beatles-with-gezi-park-protesters.aspx?pageID=238&nID=81646&NewsCatID=338
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Rouhani: Police Should Not Enforce Islam
28 April, 2015
Conservative clerics and media have criticized President Hassan Rouhani for saying that police should focus on enforcing the law rather than Islam.
At a gathering of Iranian police commanders April 25, Rouhani said: “Police do not have a duty to enforce Islam. No police officer can do something and say he did it because God commanded it, or the Prophet had said so. It has nothing to do with the police.”
He continued, “The police only have one duty: to implement the law. That’s it.” He explained, “Some religious commandants are in the law, identically. And some are laws that parliament has approved which are not opposed to religious law. This is enough.”
As an example, Rouhani said that in Islam there is no commandment on whether someone should pray slow or fast. He said: “Can police interfere in this? Can he come into a bank and tell the bank’s president, ‘Close your doors, it’s noon and it’s the call to prayer.’ If someone is praying, can they go to him and say ‘Why did you pray fast?’ This has nothing to do with the police.”
Full report at:
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/04/iran-police-enforce-islam-rouhani.html#ixzz3Yb0xwL1W
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Riyadh to mediate reconciliation between Egypt, Qatar & Turkey: Hamas
28 April, 2015
A leading figure in the Hamas Islamist movement has unveiled Saudi endeavors aimed at achieving political reconciliation between Turkey, Qatar and Egypt.
Speaking to the Palestinian Ma'an news agency on Sunday, Ahmed Youssef stated that such efforts will "definitely improve relations between Hamas and Cairo."
Youssef added that Saudi Arabia will also seek to improve Hamas-Egypt relations after the end of the ongoing war in Yemen in which Riyadh is leading an Arab military coalition against Houthi militants.
He mentioned that Egypt's intelligence officials assured Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk of the willingness of Cairo to open a new chapter in relations.
"Qataris and Turks have spoken to Saudi King Salman over mediation in the issue of opening the Rafah crossing. We are waiting for Saudi Arabia to finalise its preoccupations in Yemen to start acting on the Palestinian issue," said Youssef.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/128762/World/Region/Riyadh-to-mediate-reconciliation-between-Egypt,-Qa.aspx
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Erdoğan engages in war of words with new Turkish Cypriot leader
28 April, 2015
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has engaged in a war of words with the newly-elected leader of Turkish Cypriots over the nature of the relationship between the two countries.
“Do his ears hear what he says?” President Erdoğan said during a press conference on April 27 after being asked by a journalist if he approved of a recent statement by Mustafa Akıncı, the new president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
Akıncı, a leftist moderate who has promised to press for a peace deal in ethnically-split Cyprus, was elected the TRNC’s president in a run-off on April 26. He had reiterated his position that the status of the relationship between Turkey and Turkish Cyprus should change. “It should be a relationship of brothers/sisters, not a relationship of a motherland and her child,” he had said.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/erdogan-engages-in-war-of-words-with-new-turkish-cypriot-leader.aspx?pageID=238&nID=81607&NewsCatID=510
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Africa
Tunisian Students Spark Outrage by Unfurling I S and Nazi Banners at School
28 April, 2015
Every year in Tunisia, high school students across the country undergo "sports exams," a sort of rigorous gym class where they are tested on their knowledge and skills in a variety of athletic contests. The exams are followed by a celebration known as "Dakhla," which features huge football stadium-style banners handmade by the future graduates. The festivities are usually innocuous — except when the Islamic State (IS) and Hitler get involved.
Students at an all-girls high school in Kairouan, a city located about 100 miles south of the capital Tunis, put an image of sword-wielding IS executioner on their banner next to drawings of hostages in orange jumpsuits, some with slit throats. The banner also featured an illustration of a man being engulfed in flames, an apparent reference to the Jordanian fighter pilot who was burnt to death by IS in January 2015.
Two high schools in the north-western Jendouba Governorate also face scrutiny after students unveiled banners depicting Nazi and IS propaganda. The teens at one school waved the black IS flag next to pictures of militants and messages such as "We only obey God's power," and "Al Qods [Jersualem], here we come." Giant portraits of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were also involved, though it's still unclear why. Students at the other high school adorned their celebratory banner with a huge drawing of Adolf Hitler making the Nazi salute next to a German flag.
Full report at:
https://news.vice.com/article/tunisian-students-spark-outrage-by-unfurling-huge-islamic-state-and-nazi-banners-at-school
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ISIS kills five Libyan TV journalists
28 April, 2015
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants have slit the throats of five journalists working for a Libyan TV station in the eastern part of the country, an army commander said on Monday.
The reporters had been missing since August, when they left the eastern city Tobruk after covering the inauguration of the country’s elected parliament to travel to Benghazi. Their route took them through Derna, a militant Islamist hotspot.
Faraj al-Barassi, a district army commander in eastern Libya, said militants loyal to ISIS were responsible for the killing of the journalists, whose bodies were found outside the eastern city of al-Bayda.
“Five bodies with slit throats were found today in the Green Mountain forests,” Barrasi told Reuters, referring to a sparsely populated area east of Benghazi. He did not say when the five journalists were believed to have been killed.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/africa/2015/04/27/ISIS-kills-five-journalists-working-for-Libyan-TV-station.html
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Hundreds found dead as details of fresh attack by Boko Haram emerge in Nigeria
28 April, 2015
Hundreds of people have been found dead in the north-east Nigerian town of Damasak, apparently victims of the Boko Haram insurgency, as details emerged on Monday of fresh attacks by the militants.
Reports of decomposing bodies littering the streets of Damasak came as the president elect, Muhammadu Buhari, denounced the Islamists as a bogus religious group and vowed a hard line against them when he comes to power at the end of next month.
North-east Nigeria has been relentlessly targeted throughout the jihadists’ six-year uprising but there had been a lull in violence in recent weeks.
A coalition of troops from Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria has claimed major victories since February, reportedly flushing the militants out of areas they previously controlled.
The discovery of hundreds of bodies, including women and children, and the latest attacks underline both the brutality of the conflict and the continuing threat posed by the extremists.
The grim find in Damasak “far outnumbered” that of about 100 bodies found in a mass grave under a bridge after the town was liberated in early March by Chadian forces, said local resident Kaumi Kusur.
Full report at:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/28/hundreds-found-dead-as-details-of-fresh-attack-by-boko-haram-emerge-in-nigeria
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5 feared dead in Nigeria radio station blast
World Bulletin / News Desk
28 April, 2015
Five people were feared dead on Monday after a blast ripped through a private radio station in Okene town of central Nigeria's Kogi State, according to locals.
"Five people are dead at the moment but the casualties could rise," Ladi Umaru, a resident of the area, told.
The blast ripped through Tao FM, a private station, about 8:30pm local time, he added.
"Security agents have cordoned off the area," Umaru said.
Dr Tom Adaba, board chairman of the radio station, confirmed the blast.
"The report of the bomb blast is true," Adaba told by phone, declining to give further details.
A staff of the radio station said the blast went off shortly after he left the building.
"I just left the compound a few minutes before the blast which killed some of my colleagues. I don't have exact figure yet," he said, requesting anonymity.
The cause of the blast remains unclear.
Authorities have yet to comment on the report.
Kogi has hardly been targeted by the Boko Haram members who have operated in the northeast since 2009.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/158435/5-feared-dead-in-nigeria-radio-station-blast
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Mali pro-government militias seize northern town amid clashes
28 April 2015
Pro-government armed groups in Mali seized the northern town of Menaka from Tuareg separatists on Monday during fierce fighting, a spokesman for the group and a resident said.
The clashes come after months of relative calm and risk derailing a fragile United Nations peace process that aims to settle the future of Mali’s desert north, known by separatists as Azawad.
The vast region has been hit by insurgencies over the last five decades, with rebels fighting for independence or a form of self-rule from the government in the south.
The most recent uprising in 2012 came when Tuareg rebels formed an alliance with Islamist militants to briefly seize control of the northern two-thirds of Mali.
Militants from the Gatia pro-government group and the Arab Azawad Movement (MAA), a faction of a northern Arab militia also favourable to the government camp, attacked the town on Monday morning, a Gatia spokesman said.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/africa/2015/04/28/Mali-pro-government-militias-seize-northern-town-amid-clashes-.html
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Nigeria's Buhari: Boko Haram is a 'fraud'
World Bulletin / News Desk
28 April, 2015
Nigeria's President-elect Muhammadu Buhari on Monday branded the Boko Haram armed group as a "fraud".
"The fraud called Boko Haram can be defeated by denying it a recruitment base," Buhari, a fierce critic of the armed group, told some politicians from north-central Nasarawa State.
"No religion allows for the killing of children in school dormitory, in markets and places of worship," he said.
"They [Boko Haram] have nothing to do with religion. They are terrorists and we are going to deal with them as they deal with terrorists anywhere."
Full report at:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/headlines/158436/nigerias-buhari-boko-haram-is-a-fraud
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South Asia
Top Taliban commander killed with his 27 men in Kunduz
Apr 28 2015,
A prominent Taliban commander was killed following a military operation by the Afghan security forces in northern Kunduz province of Afghanistan.
The operation was conducted late on Monday night in Imam Sahib district, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, Sediq Sediqi said.
He said at least 27 militants were also injured during the operation along with the prominent Taliban commander who was identified as Mullah Mustafa.
The anti-government armed militant groups have not commented regarding the report so far.
The death of Mullah Mustafa is considered a major blow to the anti-government armed militants who are currently engaged in a fierge gun battle with the Afghan security forces in a number of districts of Kunduz province.
http://www.khaama.com/top-taliban-commander-killed-with-his-27-men-in-kunduz-9401
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Three terrorists arrested, homemade bombs seized
Apr 28 2015
National Directorate of Security (NDS) – Afghanistan’s intelligence agency – has arrested three terrorists and seized bombs during separate operations in three provinces.
A statement issued Tuesday by NDS identifies the arrested terrorists as Asmatullah S/O Khan Meer – a resident of Orgun District of Paktika province and member of Qari Sayed Ahmad group, Lal Jan S/O Maluk Jan and Samar Gul alias Hashiemi S/O Bakht Mohammad residents of Zurmat District of Paktia province.
According to NDS statement the terrorists were busy in terrorist activities in Paktia and Paktika provinces and arrested “red handed with an AK47 and its five magazines and an ICOM Radio.”, the statement adds.
In a separate operation NDS personnel seized 10 homemade devastating bombs in Logar province.
The depot belonged to Mullah Janat Gul and discovered from Barg area of Mohammad Aghe District.
NDS statements usually do not contain the exact date of the achievement but their statements come after recent activities.
http://www.khaama.com/senior-taliban-commander-mullah-mustafa-among-28-in-killed-kundoz-3238
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Awami Leagu: BNP's quitting poll preplanned
28 April, 2015
Trashing the allegations of vote manipulation, Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif has said the BNP's announcement of quitting polls was preplanned.
He made the remarks while expressing his party's reaction over BNP's announcement of rejecting the polls in both the city corporations under Dhaka at a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon.
Claiming that the BNP is trying to create a new issue for conducting nationwide violence, He said: “The BNP has boycotted the polls as it understood that it would lose the race. It was preplanned.”
“The BNP leaders do not want peace. They are looking for a new issue to affect the ongoing peaceful situation in the country.”
http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2015/apr/28/al-bnps-quitting-poll-preplanned#sthash.X9YD3saP.dpuf
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Europe
An attack on Ireland by ISIS or Al Qaeda could happen at any time
28 April 2015
The president of the Garda Representative Association Dermot O’Brien told the 37th annual conference that officers need more weapons because religious fundamentalists may attack.
The Sun reports that the GRA chief demanded gardai be armed to deal with the terror threat.
“Something that hasn’t hit the shores of this country but that is not maybe too far away is the potential of a religious fundamentalist attack,” said Mr O’Brien.
“Our members are going to be the first at the scene in relation to any such attacks. We have no less lethal form of protection.
“We have the asp baton, we have pepper spray and then we have the gun – we have nothing in between,” he continued.
“We need a less lethal form of protection for our members, such as a taser. This may be a deterrent.
Mr O’Brien reminded those present that Ireland is not inside a bubble and is open to attack.
“Because it’s happening elsewhere, you have to be conscious of the fact.
“We don’t live in a bubble on the western seaboard of Europe and think that we are not going to experience anything of this kind.”
Full report at:
http://www.sundayworld.com/news/an-attack-on-ireland-by-isis-or-al-qaeda-could-happen-at-any-time
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ISIL is more than just a police state
28 April 2015
An analysis of 31 pages of recently discovered documents from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) argues that the organization is best understood not as an apocalyptic revolution but rather as a secret police state.
“In a sense, the documents are the source code of the most successful terrorist army in recent history,” writes Christoph Reuter for the German magazine Der Spiegel. To him, the documents are “not a manifesto of faith but a technically precise plan for an ‘Islamic intelligence state’ — a caliphate run by an organization that resembled East Germany’s notorious Stasi domestic intelligence agency.”
These documents, taken from the papers of a now deceased ISIL sheik, help explain the group’s success in recruiting and disciplining fighters as well as the fundamentals of how to use espionage, abduction, murder and terror to subdue a village or region. But the documents do not adequately describe the genuine fervor of the recruits from many countries who rush to ISIL in Syria, Libya, Nigeria or Afghanistan to throw themselves into enslavement and self-destruction. Nor do the documents illustrate the important distinction between terror in the service of building or maintaining a state, such as Stasi for East Germany, and ISIL’s ambition to shatter states in order to create a vast transcontinental, even global, caliphate.
Haji Bakr’s vision
Full report at:
http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/4/isil-is-more-than-just-a-police-state.html
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Gunman kills Bosnian policeman in apparent Islamist attack
28 April 2015
A gunman shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) attacked a police station in eastern Bosnia on Monday, killing one police officer and wounding two before he was shot dead, a police spokeswoman said.
The attack occurred at around 7 p.m. (1700 GMT) in Zvornik, a town in Bosnia’s Serb-dominated autonomous region, the Serb Republic, which together with the Bosniak-Croat Federation makes up the Bosnia that emerged from the 1992-95 war.
“This is the worst terrorism attack that could happen in the Serb Republic,” regional Interior Minister Dragan Lukac told local television, adding that security levels had been raised after the attack.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2015/04/28/Gunman-kills-Bosnian-policeman-in-apparent-Islamist-attack.html
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Rushdie chastises authors protesting Hebdo tribute
28 April, 2015
Salman Rushdie defended the PEN American Center's plans to honor the magazine Charlie Hebdo, saying the decision of six writers to skip the PEN gala in protest will encourage intimidation.
Rushdie said in an email to The Associated Press that PEN is "quite right" to honor the Charlie Hebdo artists killed during a January shooting at the magazine's Paris offices.
Rushdie is a former president of the PEN American Center, a literary and human rights organization. He was forced into hiding for years over death threats related to his novel,
"The Satanic Verses," which Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini condemned as anti-Muslim.
"The Charlie Hebdo artists were executed in cold blood for drawing satirical cartoons, which is an entirely legitimate activity. It is quite right that PEN should honour their sacrifice and condemn their murder," Rushdie wrote.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentP/18/128822/Books/-Rushdie-chastises-authors-protesting-Hebdo-tribut.aspx
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Israel responsible for Gaza shelter attacks: UN report
28 April, 2015
UNITED NATIONS: A United Nations inquiry on Monday blamed the Israeli military for seven attacks on UN schools in Gaza that were used as shelters during the 2014 war.
“I deplore the fact that at least 44 Palestinians were killed as a result of Israeli actions and at least 227 injured at United Nations premises being used as emergency shelters,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a letter to the Security Council.
“It is a matter of the utmost gravity that those who looked to them for protection and who sought and were granted shelter there had their hopes and trust denied,” Ban added as he presented a summary of the report.
The UN chief vowed to “spare no effort to ensure that such incidents will never be repeated”. The board of inquiry investigated the attacks on the schools run by the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA from July 8 to August 26 last year, but it also shed light on the discovery of weapons caches at three schools.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1178564/israel-responsible-for-gaza-shelter-attacks-un-report
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Russia, Syria Sign Deal on Combating Terrorism
28 April, 2015
Russia and Syria have inked a cooperation agreement to set new mechanisms to fight and eradicate terrorism, a report said.
Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev and his Syrian counterpart Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar signed the agreement in the Russian capital, Moscow, on Monday during Shaar’s visit to the European country, SANA reported.
The agreement provides a new legal springboard to reinforce the Russian-Syrian relations, which are developing on a steady pace, Kolokoltsev said following the agreement’s signing ceremony.
Shaar, for his part, said that countering terrorism and extremism is a top priority for the two sides.
The Syrian minister further expressed his gratitude to Russia for its support during the four-year-old crisis in his country.
Syria has been gripped by deadly violence since 2011. Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey -- are reportedly supporting the militants operating in Syria.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940208000821
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Tajik president invites Peshawar school students
28 April, 2015
ISLAMABAD – Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon has invited a group of Peshawar Army Public School victim students to visit to Tajikistan for convalescence.
According to the directions of the president, various ministries and agencies have chalked out a comprehensive programme for students of Peshawar Army Public School, said a press release issued by the Embassy of Tajikistan.
The programme includes cultural performances and trip to historical places in Tajikistan. The purpose of President Emomali Rahmon’s initiative is to share grief of these students and their families and help them recover from the traumatic situation they have been facing ever since that horrible incident took place.
Tajikistan, after China, is the second country, which has invited students to Tajikistan. Meanwhile the social and political circles of Pakistan have greatly applauded the goodwill gesture of the Tajik president and hoped other countries would also come forward to share grief of the students.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/28-Apr-2015/tajik-president-invites-peshawar-school-students
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‘Good year in Pakistan’: Dutch stand by Pakistan in war on terror, says envoy
28 April, 2015
ISLAMABAD: The Dutch government has assured Pakistan that it stands ready to work with the country in the fight against extremism. Its top diplomat in Pakistan, Marcel de Vink, pointed out that the improved security situation will help in attracting new investors to the country.
“It is not an easy task and the fight against extremism will be long and hard. But Pakistan is not on its own, the Netherlands stands ready to work with Pakistan in this field,” Marcel de Vink, ambassador of the Netherlands, told The Express Tribune during an interview on the occasion of the King’s Day celebration marked as a ‘Good year in Pakistan’.
“Improving the security situation will be helpful in attracting new investors,” he said, adding that as Pakistan’s exports to the Netherlands have increased 24% in the past six months, the focus had to shift from aid to trade for further improving the bilateral trade and investment in Pakistan.
The envoy recalled that the Netherlands had recognised Pakistan very early and established an embassy in Karachi in 1948. Since then, he said, as the Dutch grew to be among the 20 biggest economies in the world, it has also become the 9th largest trading partner of Pakistan.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/877068/good-year-in-pakistan-dutch-stand-by-pakistan-in-war-on-terror-says-envoy/
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Pakistan
Altaf Wants a Good Name for ‘New Province’
28 April, 2015
KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on Monday said people living in urban areas of Sindh look forward to a new province.
“People say creation of a new province, whether it is called Karachi province, urban province, Sindh One or Sindh Two has become their destiny.”
Talking to MQM Coordination Committee in London and Pakistan and members of different wings of party at Nine Zero, he said, “People of urban Sindh, who have been ignored and discriminated against by successive Sindh governments for past 67 years are saying they should have a separate province. This demand has become heart throb of people, whether Sindhis, Balochis, permanently settled Punjabis, Pakhtun, Hazara, Seraiki, Gilgiti, Baltistani or Kashmiris, who are living in urban Sindh.”
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/sindh/28-Apr-2015/altaf-wants-a-good-name-for-new-province
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Peshawar massacre victims remembered: ‘Book and peace go together’
28 April, 2015
ISLAMABAD: To pay rich tribute to the martyrs and survivors of the Army Public School (APS) Peshawar massacre, GSIS School and College organised an event “Book and peace go together” here at the Pak-China Friendship Centre as a part of the National Book Day festival.
Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) Chairman Dr Saeed Elahi graced the occasion as the chief guest. The ceremony kicked off with a beautiful tableau “Kitaab Ka Irtika” reflecting the different stages of book evolution from ancient to this modern world with their traditional attire of different centuries.
Young students of grades 6 and 7 received appreciation and high applaud for their play “Kitaab aur Amun” highlighting the life of students, who love book reading, parallel to the students who are involved in social evils.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/28-Apr-2015/peshawar-massacre-victims-remembered-book-and-peace-go-together
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No headway in Sabeen Mahmud murder probe as free-speech fears grow
28 April, 2015
KARACHI: Investigators have found no match for casings of bullets that killed prominent human rights activist Sabeen Mahmud, dashing hopes for quick answers to a murder is raising fears for the safety of dissenting voices.
Gunmen on a motorcycle attacked Mahmud late last Friday in Karachi, as she was leaving her cafe The Second Floor (T2F), where she held art exhibitions and talks. She had just hosted a discussion on disappearances in Balochistan, where the army is fighting a separatist insurgency, and, rights workers say, overseeing a campaign of killing opponents.
The army denies rights abuses.
Investigators recovered bullet casings from the scene but drew a blank.
"That suggests that a new group or new weapon has been used in the killing," a law enforcement official involved in the case, who declined to be identified because the topic is sensitive, said late on Monday.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1178696/no-headway-in-sabeen-mahmud-murder-probe-as-free-speech-fears-grow
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Security official killed, three injured in DI Khan attack
28 April, 2015
PESHAWAR: The proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) claimed responsibility for an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast that killed at least one security official and injured three others in Dera Ismail Khan Tuesday.
According to security sources, the security personnel came under attack when militants targeted their vehicle as it was travelling from D.I. Khan to Kulachi.
As a result of the IED explosion in Atala area, subedar Khalid was killed and three others sustained injuries.
The injured were shifted to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) D.I. Khan.
In a statement released by TTP spokesman Muhammad Khorasani, the group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Police cordoned off the area immediately after the blast and started an investigation into the incident.
Earlier on Friday, the TTP claimed responsibility for an IED blast on a van of the police's Quick Response Force which injured five security personnel in Peshawar.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1178697/security-official-killed-three-injured-in-di-khan-attack
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Teenage ‘terrorist’ arrested in Multan
28 April, 2015
MULTAN: Police claimed to have arrested a suspected terrorist from outside a private school at Chungi No 9 on Monday. According to sources, police received information about a suspicious teen wandering near La-Salle Higher Secondary School. Police arrested him and started investigation. During interrogation, the boy named as Hassnain said that some criminals abducted him the other day from his Mian Channu. He said that they locked him in a mini van over the night in Multan. The source said that they forced him to place explosive bags outside the school and General Bus stand. He said when he was placing the bag outside the school people held him. The terrorists, however, fled from the scene, source added. Further interrogation was underway.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/28-Apr-2015/teenage-terrorist-arrested-in-multan
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Spreading the light: Balochistan govt launches five-year education plan
28 April, 2015
QUETTA: Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch launched a five-year education sector plan on Monday with a pledge that his coalition-led government would use all available resources to change the province’s educational structure.
“We should not blame others. Instead, we should make earnest efforts to improve our education and get rid of poverty and backwardness,” the chief minister said.
Federal Education Minister Engineer Balighur Rehman, Education Ministers of all provinces, Education Secretaries, educationists, teachers and people from different segment of life attended the conference.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/877103/spreading-the-light-balochistan-govt-launches-five-year-education-plan/
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Baloch militants no threat to govt: Bizenjo
28 April, 2015
WASHINGTON: Baloch militants cannot defeat the government, says Mir Hasil Bizenjo but also urges the government to use peaceful means to resolve the issue.
“Like everywhere else, the military option is no option,” said the National Party leader and the son of the late Baloch politician, Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo.
“Successive governments made huge blunders in Balochistan, which led to the present crisis,” he added.
In an interview to Dawn during his visit to Washington, the senator from Balochistan, who is respected across the political spectrum for his candid views, explained that there have been two streams in Baloch politics since the 1970s: Those who want a peaceful solution within the Pakistani federation and those who opted for an armed struggle for a free Balochistan.
Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo headed the groups that wanted a peaceful resolution of the Balochistan issue while Nawab Khair Bakhsh Murree headed the other faction.
“The divide continues. There are those who believe we can have our rights within the Pakistani federation and those who think that the Baloch cannot survive within the federation,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1178476/baloch-militants-no-threat-to-govt-bizenjo
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North America
U.S. blames Houthi moves for renewed Saudi strikes
28 April 2015
The United States squarely blamed Houthi militias on Monday for renewed Saudi-led bombings, accusing them of using a relative lull in airstrikes meant to help set the stage for peace talks to instead pursue battlefield advances.
Saudi-led aircraft pounded Iran-allied Houthi militiamen and rebel army units on Monday, dashing hopes for a pause in fighting to let aid in as relief officials warned of a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he would discuss the conflict with Iran’s foreign minister later on Monday, adding: “I will certainly urge that everybody do their part to try to reduce the violence and allow the negotiations to begin.”
Kerry and other U.S. officials said Houthis had sought more gains since Riyadh’s announcement last week that it was ending its nearly five-week-old bombing campaign, except in places where the Houthis were advancing.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/04/28/U-S-blames-Houthi-moves-for-renewed-Saudi-strikes.html
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Authors protest PEN award for Charlie Hebdo
28 April, 2015
Michael Ondaatje, Francine Prose and at least four other writers have withdrawn from next month’s PEN American Center gala, citing objections to the literary and human rights organisation’s honouring the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Hebdo’s portrayal
PEN announced on Sunday that the writers were upset by Charlie Hebdo’s portrayals of Muslims and “the disenfranchised generally.” The Paris-based magazine, where 12 people were killed in a January attack at its offices, is to receive a Freedom of Expression Courage Award at the May 5 event in Manhattan. Much of the literary community rallied behind Charlie Hebdo after the shootings, but some have expressed unhappiness with its scathing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad and other Muslims.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/authors-protest-pen-award-for-charlie-hebdo/article7147573.ece
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Kerry: Closer than ever to historic Iran deal
28 April 2015
The United States and five other major powers are closer than ever to a deal with Iran that would end a 12-year-old standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program, though more tough negotiations lie ahead, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday.
Kerry spoke at the United Nations on the opening day of a month-long conference taking stock of the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and ahead of a meeting in New York with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, their first face-to-face encounter since recent marathon talks in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Zarif and Kerry met later on Monday at the Iranian U.N. ambassador’s residence across from Central Park and discussed efforts to secure a final agreement between Iran and the six powers by a June 30 deadline.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/04/28/Kerry-Iran-world-powers-closer-than-ever-to-historic-deal.html
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Reporters caught between terrorists, govts: watchdog
28 April, 2015
Journalists are under threat from terror groups and governments who restrict civil liberties in the name of fighting terrorism, a U.S.-based media watchdog said in a new report released Monday.
“Journalists are being caught in a terror dynamic, in which they are threatened by non-state actors who target them and governments that restrict civil liberties including press freedom in the name of fighting terror,” said Joel Simon, CPJ’s executive director.
The myriad threats, “from surveillance and self-censorship to violence and imprisonment,” make it “the most deadly and dangerous period for journalists in recent history,” Simon added.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/media/2015/04/27/Reporters-caught-between-terrorists-govts-watchdog-.html
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US, allies conduct 31 air strikes in Syria, Iraq: US military
28 April, 2015
US -led forces targeted Islamic State group militants in Syria with five air strikes from Sunday to Monday morning and conducted 26 strikes against the group in Iraq, the US military said.
Four of the strikes in Syria hit targets in Kobani, striking an Islamic State group tactical unit, and destroying fighting positions and a heavy machine gun. The coalition forces also hit eight fighting positions with a strike near Al Hasakah, the military said in a statement on Monday.
In Iraq, eight air strikes near Fallujah destroyed Islamic State group fighting positions, mortar tubes, an excavator and a vehicle, and hit seven tactical units. Seven strikes near Bayji destroyed fighting positions, vehicles, a warehouse and a mortar system, and hit six tactical units. Strikes targeted the Islamic State near Al Asad, Mosul, Ramadi and Tal Afar, as well.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/128826/World/Region/US,-allies-conduct--air-strikes-in-Syria,-Iraq-US-.aspx
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Senator calls for shifting drones from CIA to US military
28 April, 2015
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK: A key US senator has demanded shifting the drone programme from the CIA to the American military even as media reports revealed that a presidential exemption allowed the agency to increase the air strikes in Pakistan.
Senator John McCain, who heads the Senate’s Armed Services Committee, told CNN that drone strikes against suspected enemy combatants on foreign soil should be run by the US military and not the Central Intelligence Agency.
“I think it should be conducted and oversight and administered by the Department of Defence,” said the senator, adding that he believed the military had the expertise to carry out these strikes more responsibly.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1178558/senator-calls-for-shifting-drones-from-cia-to-us-military
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India
India to continue support for capacity-building of Afghan security forces: PM Modi
TNN | Apr 28, 2015
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that "the relationship between India and Afghanistan is not just between two countries or governments. It is a timeless link of human hearts".
Addressing a joint press conference with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani in New Delhi, the PM said that "we admire the courage and resolve of the Afghan people to seek a future of peace and prosperity".
"The partnership between India and Afghanistan has blossomed despite barriers of geography and politics," PM Modi said.
"We have a shared interest in the success of an Afghan-led and owned process, within framework of the Afghan Constitution," the PM said, adding, "We hope to quickly conclude bilateral Motor Vehicle pact and I am also ready to take forward the Chabahar port project."
PM Modi also assured the Afghanistan president that India will "continue its support for capacity building of Afghan security forces".
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-to-continue-support-for-capacity-building-of-Afghan-security-forces-PM-Modi/articleshow/47081826.cms
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Urdu Classes For Non-Urdu Speaking Persons At Belgaum
28 April, 2015
Belgaum Urdu Academy will start Urdu Classes for non-Urdu speaking individuals from May 2. The programme will be held every Sunday between 10.30 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. at Islamia Urdu Medium High School in Camp area in the city.
Announcing this at a press meet here on Tuesday, academy Secretary Abdul Samad Khanapuri said a substantial number of non-Urdu speaking persons had expressed interest in the language. Retired Urdu teacher and calligrapher Khaleel Ahmed Soudagar has been appointed to teach the language.
Mr. Khanapuri said there could not be more secular language than Urdu which had grown into a global link language, read, written, spoken and admired by all sections of the global community.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/urdu-classes-for-nonurdu-speaking-persons/article7150292.ece
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‘Ghar Wapsi’ Will Continue: VHP International President
28 April, 2015
Claiming that the majority community was not safe in their own country, VHP International president Praveen Togadia on Monday defended ‘Ghar Wapsi’ aimed at re-converting members of other religious groups into Hinduism and said such events will continue in future too.
“Be it any part of the country, the Hindus are not safe,” he said at a function held in Deen Dayal Stadium here, without elaborating his views.
Defending the programme aimed at strengthening the majority community, Mr. Togadia said such events were going on as planned and would continue in future as well.-PTI
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/ghar-wapsi-will-continue-togadia/article7148343.ece?ref=tpnews
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Southeast Asia
Perlis Mufti: Muslim Husbands Can’t ‘Pull Out’ During Sex without Wife’s Consent
28 April, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin claimed today that a Muslim husband is obliged to fulfil his wife’s sexual desires, to the point that he should not even perform coitus interruptus without consent from the wife.
Weighing in on the marital rape debate, the Perlis mufti said that despite the obligation, sexual relations between husbands and wives must happen in a “harmonious situation” without physically harming each other.
“Rough and painful sex is forbidden in Islam. Therefore, all couples must find the best sexual method that fulfils the personal desires of both parties,” the mufti said on his official Facebook page.
“Although the act is allowed in the Hadith, it must receive consensus from the wife since the wife might have yet to savour the intercourse. This shows that forced and rough intercourse that is not enjoyed by one party is indeed forbidden in marriage,” Mohd Asri said of coitus interruptus.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/muslim-husbands-cant-pull-out-during-sex-without-wifes-consent-says-perlis#sthash.79e9juAE.dpuf
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Democracy forces Islamists to work with infidels, hardline group says
28 April, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — Ahead of the Permatang Pauh by-election, Hizbut Tahrir Malaysia (HTM) today claimed that democracy has trapped Islamists in a bind with “infidels” and secular parties, leading them to abandon their original goals.
In an apparent dig at PAS, the hardline group accused the Islamist party of shifting its opinions and stances while campaigning for the by-election just to obey its top leadership, despite the so-called infidels and secular parties staying their course.
“As observers, it is enough for us to see how the Islamic party can keep changing its opinions and stances, one by one, while infidel and secular parties keep to their own,” the group said on its website.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/democracy-forces-islamists-to-work-with-infidels-hardline-group-says#sthash.0zsWVeR0.dpuf
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Child Protection Commission Concerned for Youths Targeted by Drug Traffickers
28 April, 2015
Jakarta. Drugs trafficked by youths are reportedly increasing as the government receives international condemnation for implementing capital punishment as part of its fighting effort against narcotics.
The head of the Indonesian Commission for Child Protection (KPAI) says that the trend has increased twofold from 21 cases found in 2013 to 42 cases in 2014.
KPAI chairman Asrorun Ni’am Soleh said rehabilitation is the best choice to solve the drugs trade among youth, citing the 2009 Law on prohibited and addictive substance.
“[The law] is a good thing that can be used to protect kids. It is our job to bring the law to its fair enforcement,” Asrorun said after signing a memorandum of understanding with the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) on Monday.
During this time, Asrorun says, young traffickers are mostly imprisoned for using or selling drugs.
Full report at:
http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/child-protection-commission-concerned-youths-targeted-drug-traffickers/
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10:35 AM
Moderate Islamist here
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