Africa agrees to send 7,500 troops to fight Boko Haram

ADDIS ABABA: African leaders have agreed to send 7,500 troops to fight the Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria, an African Union official said Saturday.

The move came after the council urged heads of state to endorse the deployment of troops from five West African countries to fight the terror group, said the head of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, Samil Chergui.

African leaders who are members of the 54-nation African Union are meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa for a two-day summit that ends Saturday.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon earlier said he support the AU’s move to send a force to fight Boko Haram. Boko Haram is increasing its attacks as Nigeria prepares for Feb. 14 elections. Thousands have been killed in the 5-year insurgency.

African nations have opened up a new international front in the war on terror. On Thursday, neighboring Chad sent a warplane and troops that drove the extremists out of a northeastern Nigeria border town in the first such act by foreign troops on Nigerian soil.

Chad’s victory, and the need for foreign troops, is an embarrassment to Nigeria’s once-mighty military, brought low by corruption and politics. The foreign intervention comes just two weeks before hotly contested national elections in which President Goodluck Jonathan is seeking another term.

Chergui said Chad’s operation against Boko Haram was a result of a bilateral arrangement between the Chad and Cameroon.

“It is conducted as part of a bilateral agreement and arrangement between the two countries. The AU, however, will launch the force in the future,” he said.

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Shocking attack on churches and Christians cause of concern: Catholic Bishops’ conference

Submitted by TwoCircles.net on 31 January 2015 – 7:49pm

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

New Delhi: Special Consultation held by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) in New Delhi has expressed concern over recent controversies in the name of religious reconversions and ‘shocking’ incidents of attacks on minorities, particularly churches and Christians.

CBCI said that the “untoward incidents” that happened in the past few months in various parts of our country have “wounded the sentiments” of the minority community especially the Christian community and has shaken the faith in the secular fabric of our Nation.

“The shocking incidents that have taken place against Churches, clergy and laity in Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have caused great concern for the Christian community,” a press note released recently from the office of the CBCI said, adding, “The recent controversies in the name of religious reconversions portray a negative image of India. Communal polarization and the bid to homogenize India are posing threat to all minorities – women, dalits, and all linguistic, cultural and religious minorities.”

The CBCI was attended by the four Cardinals of India, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Cardinal George Alencherry, Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, and CBCI President Cardinal Baselios Cleemis and other Office-Bearers, representatives of the Catholic Council of India (CCD), the Conference of Religious India (CRI), A11 India Catholic Union (AICU), Indian Catholic Youth Movement (ICYM), Legal Experts, Human Rights and Social activists. This was followed by a Meeting with the leaders of other Christian Churches (I{CCI & EFI), based in Delhi.

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RSS song is part of 472 schools in the Ahmedabad

Written by Ritu Sharma | Ahmedabad | Posted: January 31, 2015 12:23 am

On Friday, an unusual song rang out from FD High School in the Muslim-dominated Juhapura area in Ahmedabad rural district. The students were singing ‘Manushya tu bada mahaan hai’, a song closely linked to the RSS.

The song was among two handed over by educational officials to the 472 schools in the district — granted, private and government secondary and higher secondary —- as part of a new mandatory morning ritual of students singing motivational songs.

The other song was ‘Vaishnava jan to’, which is considered as one of Mahatma Gandhi’s favourites.

“In a recent meeting with the principals, it was decided to include these motivational songs in the morning assembly — three days a week,” said DEO (Rural) M I Joshi.

“Not only this, the teachers have to explain the meaning of each word in these songs during the assembly to students. It is for the betterment of students who should be get value education, and one cannot think of any better songs than these,” he added.

The initiative kicked off to coincide with a state-wide painting competition on “Mahatma Gandhi and Cleanliness” to mark Gandhi’s 67th death anniversary.

But the inclusion of the RSS-linked song has drawn criticism from a senior office-bearer of the FD Education Society which runs 24 schools in Urdu, Gujarati and English medium, mostly in areas with a significant Muslim population such as Juhapura, Jamalpur and Dariyapur.

Shafee Maniar, vice chairman of F D Education society, said, “Songs with religious notions attached should not be forced upon schools like ours which have an entire population from a particular religion. What if we had students from other religions and asked them to follow our prayers and rituals?”

Mohammad Hussain Gena, principal of FD High School, Juhapura, said, “These two songs — ‘Manushya tu bada mahaan hai’ and ‘Vaishnav jan to’ — were given to us by the DEO’s office in a pen drive so that these could be played for students. Since these songs are new to the children, we arranged a workshop where a teacher explained the meaning of these songs to them. Now, these would be incorporated in our morning assembly schedule.”

Apart from schools in the rural district, municipal schools in Ahmedabad too have been asked to follow this routine. “Our students are well-versed in these songs so we do not face any problem in them reciting ‘Manushya tu bada mahaan hai’ that is now a part of almost every big or small event,” said Ahmedabad Municipal Council (AMC) school board chairman Jagdish Bhavsar.

DEO Joshi confirmed that the “entire DEO office was on inspection rounds across schools” to ensure that the new directives were implemented.

“I myself visited ten schools. Other officials have been deputed to visit schools in various areas,” said Joshi.

An official who was part of one such inspection team on Friday said that district officials would submit a report on the initiative to the Gujarat Education Department.

– See more at: http://bit.ly/1wPhnR0

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Turkey censures Israel’s new settlement plan

Turkey has censured the Tel Aviv regime’s plan to construct more illegal settler units in the occupied West Bank.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry in a statement released on Friday condemned Israel’s plan to build some 430 new illegal settler units in four existing settlements across the West Bank.

“Israel’s illegal decision is unacceptable for us and the international community,” said the statement, adding, “This Israeli action shows that they neglect the Palestinians’ recent international initiative.”

Under Israel’s new settlement expansion plan, 112 new illegal settler units will be built in Geva Binyamin, also known as Adam, 156 in Elkana, 78 in Alfei Menashe and 84 in Kiryat Arba settlements.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has denounced the move with Wassel Abu Yusef, a PLO official, saying that the expansion of settlements amounted to a “war crime.”

“What the Israelis announced is part of a wider war… against the Palestinian people,” Abu Yusef added.

He warned that the Israeli settlement issue would be taken to the International Criminal Court.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recently said that Palestine would formally join the ICC on April 1, where it plans to file complaints against Israeli crimes.

More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, including East al-Quds (Jerusalem), in 1967.

The Israeli settlements are considered to be illegal by much of the international community because the territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967 and are thus subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbid construction on occupied lands.

MP/HSN/SS

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Bomb blast at Shiite mosque in Pakistan kills 56

ISLAMABAD: A bomb blast ripped through a Shiite mosque in southern Pakistan as worshippers gathered for Friday prayers, killing at least 56 people and wounding dozens more, in the deadliest act of anti-Shiite violence in two years.

The attack compounds Pakistan’s security challenge to contain a surge in militancy following last month’s killing of 150 people, mostly children, at a Peshawar school.

The militant Sunni group Jundullah claimed responsibility for Friday’s bombing in the city of Shikarpur in Sindh province, 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of the port city of Karachi.

That area of Pakistan has suffered comparatively little violence in contrast to the northwestern tribal areas bordering Afghanistan and in Karachi. Friday’s bloodshed raised fears that extremists could be gaining a foothold in the region.

Hadi Bakhsh Zardari, the deputy commissioner of Shikarpur district, said 56 had died and 31 were hospitalized. Dr. Shaukat Ali Memon, director of the hospital in Shikarpur, appealed on Pakistan’s state television for residents to donate blood.

Pakistani television showed residents and worshippers frantically ferrying the dead and wounded to the hospital. Local media reported that parts of the roof had collapsed on the worshippers, and some people had been trapped inside.

Amid the chaos following the explosion, victims were shuttled to the hospital on motorcycles and rickshaws, according to hospital official Imtiaz Hussain.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the violence and called it a suicide bombing, but Zardari and other officials said they were still investigating the cause.

“Explosive experts and police are still debating whether it was a planted bomb or a suicide attack due to conflicting evidence on either side,” Zardari said.

Jundallah spokesman Fahad Mahsud claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to The Associated Press, but gave no details about how it was committed. The militant group previously has claimed responsibility for attacks on Shiites and other religious minorities, including a 2013 double suicide bombing of an Anglican church in Peshawar that killed 85 people.

Many Sunni extremists do not consider Shiites, who represent 10 percent to 20 percent of Pakistan’s population, to be true Muslims. Sunni militants in Pakistan have bombed Shiite mosques, killed Shiite pilgrims traveling to neighboring Iran and assassinated Shiite religious figures and community leaders.

Friday’s death toll was the worst against Shiites since January 2013, when a bomb in the neighboring province of Baluchistan killed 81 people in a Shiite area of Quetta. Human rights groups have faulted the government and security services for failing to protect Shiites adequately or pursuing those responsible with sufficient effort.

While Karachi has been the site of repeated bombings blamed on militant groups such as the Pakistani Taleban, much of the rest of Sindh province has been much more peaceful — but experts warn this could be changing rapidly.

An American think tank, the United States Institute of Peace, reported earlier this week that sectarian groups targeting Shiites are building a power base in the traditionally harmonious north.

“The province is at a tipping point. Extremist groups are increasingly active in the central and northern districts, disrupting the pluralistic culture that has long defined the province,” the report found.

In July 2013, suicide bombers and gunmen attacked a compound in Sukkur that houses government agencies including the regional offices of the military’s powerful spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, killing three people and wounding dozens more.

The attack Friday comes less than two months after the Peshawar school attack by the Pakistani Taleban shocked the country and spurred the government and military to step up their campaign against militants. The military has been hammering militants in the country’s northwest, and the prime minister suspended a moratorium on the death penalty in cases related to terrorism.

Military courts also are being given responsibility for handling terrorism-related cases in a bid to speed up prosecutions. Terrorism cases often have stalled in civilian courts because of weak investigations and the intimidation of witnesses and judges, experts say.

__

Associated Press reporters Adil Jawad in Karachi and Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan contributed to this report.

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Hamas vows to protect UN premises in Gaza

Hamas described the attack on the United Nations’ offices in the Gaza Strip as “unacceptable”, stressing that it will not allow any further assaults on the international organisation’s offices in the enclave, the Anadolu Agency reported.

A senior member of Hamas’s political bureau, Mousa Abu-Marzouk said in a statement yesterday that the actions of protesters who stormed UNRWA’s offices in Gaza were “unacceptable”.

Abu-Marzouk said the security services in Gaza will put an end to “these abuses” and will not allow them to happen again.

“The security services in Gaza are responsible for protecting international staff and providing for them,” he added.

However, he added: “Displaced Palestinians were frustrated by the United Nations’ shortcomings and this caused them to attack UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza.”

The United Nations Special Coordinator for the peace process in the Middle East Robert Serry threatened to “conduct an urgent review of United Nations operations in the Gaza Strip, in response to angry Palestinians storming of UNRWA headquarters in the enclave.”

In a statement yesterday, the UN said that Hamas is fully responsibility for the safety and security of all United Nations personnel and operations in Gaza.

On Wednesday, angry Palestinians stormed the UN headquarters in the Gaza Strip over its decision to suspend aid.

UNRWA announced on Tuesday that it will stop providing financial aid to Palestinians whose homes were destroyed during the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip in the summer last year “due to lack of funding”.

It said that it received only $135 million out of the $724 million it had requested during the Gaza reconstruction conference in Cairo, warning that displaced families might have to experience displacement for a second time due to lack of funding.

According to UN data, the Israeli war caused the displacement of some 100,000 Palestinians, a majority of them are staying with relatives or renting homes, while another 15,000 are staying in UNRWA schools which are being used as shelters.

MEMO photographer: Mohammad Asad

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I’m no sultan, but more like British Queen: Erdogan

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan brushed off criticism that he’s trying to amass sultan-like powers, saying he really just wants to be more like Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II. Erdogan told state-run TRT channel on Thursday that his desire for an expanded presidential role would not undermine democracy and he pointed to the UK as an example.

“In my opinion, even the UK is a semi-presidency. And the dominant element is the Queen,” Erdogan said. The UK is a constitutional monarchy, governed by a parliamentary system, but its hereditary monarch wields only symbolic power. Erdogan’s comments came after fresh criticism from the opposition that he would act like an “Ottoman sultan” once his presidential role has been boosted.

Erdogan said that leaders of presidential systems in the US, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico are not accused of acting like monarchs.

“I mean, why is it only a monarchy when an idea like this is floated in Turkey?” Erdogan asked.

“We need to speed up to close the gap in this race,” he said. “The biggest advantage… would be in abolishing policy-making through multiple channels.”

Erdogan became president in August after more than a decade as prime minister, but the opposition accuses him of transforming the state by imposing a gradual Islamisation and riding roughshod over democracy.

The August elections were the first time a Turkish president, traditionally a ceremonial role, has been directly elected by the people. In the wake of his victory, Erdogan insisted he now has a popular mandate to be an active and powerful leader.

Turkey is set to hold parliamentary elections in June, with the pro-Erdogan ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) aiming for a thumping majority to change the constitution and boost Erdogan’s presidential powers.

“A new constitution is a must for a new Turkey,” Erdogan said

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Godse bust bid foiled, Hindu Mahasabha plans a library

Written by Amit Sharma | Meerut | Posted: January 31, 2015 12:29 am

After the local administration foiled the Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha’s plans to install a statue of Nathuram Godse, the saffron outfit on Friday decided to set up a library here as a memorial to the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi.

The Mahasabha had decided to unveil a bust of Godse on its office premises after the police, acting on Chief Judicial Magistrate’s order, cordoned off the area where it had earlier planned to install the statue.

However, police personnel in large numbers at the Mahasabha office foiled the saffron activists plan to unveil the bust of Godse on the 67th death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

“We faced a curfew-like situation as there were police guards everywhere inside the party office. We could not move out and could not get the statue installed. We will now move the Allahabad High Court once we get the magistrate order not allowing us to install the statue and sealing off the chosen area,” said Ashok Sharma, a member of the central working body of the Hindu Mahasabha.

The Mahasabha’s national general secretary, Munna Kumar Sharma, told The Indian Express that though the local administration foiled the group’s efforts to put up a Godse statue, “no one will stop us from opening a library on Godse at the place where books highlighting his life will be kept so that people may know him as a person.”

The local administration had imposed prohibitory orders on Thursday under the CrPC Section 144 in the area under Brahmpuri police station.

Meanwhile, volunteers of the Priyanka-Rahul Brigade led by Uttarakhand minister Dhirendra Pratap Singh staged a “satyagrah” at Commissionery Park here for two hours in the morning and “resolved” not to let anyone install the statue of Godse.

“His statue will be a disrespect to the Father of Nation and we will not let this happen at any cost. We have also submitted a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which we have urged him to intervene in the issue,” Singh said

– See more at: http://bit.ly/1wN3Ucw

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11 Christians convert to Hinduism in Tamil Nadu: Hindu outfit

Submitted by IANS on 30 January 2015 – 11:46am

Chennai : Eleven Christians – five men and six women – converted to Hinduism during a programme organised by the Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK) here Friday, said its leader.

“Despite the attempts by the city police to thwart the voluntary conversion to Hinduism, 11 Christians came back to their mother religion,” HMK president Arjun Sampath told IANS.

He claimed as many as 162 people had come here to participate in the conversion programme though they had announced conversion of 108 people.

“However police stopped their vehicles and turned them away. Despite the police attempts to stop them, some people had reached the venue and embraced Hinduism,” claimed Sampath.

He accused the Tamil Nadu government of preventing voluntary conversions to Hinduism and added that he would seek legal recourse.

“I have been kept under house arrest in Anna Nagar here since morning. Large numbers of police have been deployed outside the house where I am staying,” Sampath said.

He said they first wanted to have the programme in the famed Triplicane Sri Parthasarathy temple but were denied permission. “The temple authorities refused permission in writing. The temple is administered by the government. When churches and mosques permit conversion, why not government-managed temples,” Sampath said.

“Does the government think of Hindu temples as revenue generating organisations and nothing more,” he asked.

With the permission denied by the Triplicane temple, HMK decided to have the conversion programme at a private temple in West Mambalam here

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Angelina Jolie Writes Impassioned New York Times Op-Ed About Iraq Trip, Syrian Refugees: “I Was Speechless”

Days after Angelina Jolie was photographed on a visit to northern Iraq, the Unbroken director has written an impassioned op-ed about her trip for the New York Times. In it, she describes the devastation she witnessed in refugee camps and calls for action to help the millions of displaced Syrians and Iraqis who no longer have a home.

“I have visited Iraq five times since 2007, and I have seen nothing like the suffering I’m witnessing now,” she writes in the op-ed, published by the Times on Tuesday, Jan. 27.

“For many years I have visited camps, and every time, I sit in a tent and hear stories,” she explains. “I try my best to give support. To say something that will show solidarity and give some kind of thoughtful guidance. On this trip I was speechless.”

As previously reported, the mom of six visited the Khanke Camp for Internally Displaced People on Sunday, Jan. 25. While there, she spoke with victims of ISIS — some of whom she describes in her Times op-ed.

“What do you say to the 13-year-old girl who describes the warehouses where she and the others lived and would be pulled out, three at a time, to be raped by the men?” the Maleficent star and U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees questions. “When her brother found out, he killed himself.”

She continues: “How can you speak when a woman your own age looks you in the eye and tells you that her whole family was killed in front of her, and that she now lives alone in a tent and has minimal food rations?”

The piece goes on to detail the increasingly dire situation in Syria, noting that neighboring countries “have taken in nearly four million Syrian refugees, but they are reaching their limits.”

With that in mind, Jolie calls upon the international community to take action. “What does it say about our commitment to human rights and accountability that we seem to tolerate crimes against humanity happening in Syria and Iraq on a daily basis?” she asks.

“It is not enough to defend our values at home, in our newspapers and in our institutions,” she writes. “We also have to defend them in the refugee camps of the Middle East, and the ruined ghost towns of Syria.”

Read Jolie’s op-ed in full at the New York Times

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Bahrain condemns Iran’s ‘blatant’ interference in its domestic affairs

Bahraini foreign ministry condemned Iran’s “blatant interference” in its internal affairs saying the kingdom categorically rejects it, the Anadolu Agency reported.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the ministry’s statement came in response to remarks issued by the Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham who condemned the Bahraini authorities’ arrest of the Al-Wefaq Islamic Society’s Secretary General Ali Salman.

The Bahraini foreign ministry called on Iran to “adhere to the principles of good neighbours and respect Bahrain’s national sovereignty and stop interfering in internal affairs”.

It also called on the Iranian officials to apply human rights principles and democracy to provide a natural and dignified life for Iranians.

Afkham condemned Salman’s detention after a court ruled to postpone his trial to 25 February.

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Gazans at breaking point following suspension of UN aid

The owners of destroyed homes have expressed their complete rejection of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)’s decision to end the aid provided to them. They have demanded that the agency assume its responsibilities and obligations towards those affected.

During a massive march that began after Friday prayers in the town of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, those affected urged all concerned parties to hasten the process of reconstructing what was destroyed by the occupation during its most recent attack on Gaza. They also called for finding a solution for the tragic conditions they are suffering in shelters and temporary accommodation centres.

In a speech the Mayor of Beit Hanoun Muhammad Al-Kafarneh warned that they are on the verge of a mass outbreak due to the delayed reconstruction.

Al-Kafarneh also condemned UNRWA’s position, considering it a means of tightening the blockade and suffocating the people of the Gaza Strip.

“Reconstruction is a humanitarian matter that must not be linked to politics,” he added. Al-Kafarneh also urged UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to speed up the reconstruction process in order to alleviate the suffering of the thousands of affected people.

He condemned “the silence adopted by the Palestinian government and Authority regarding the decision”, and called on them to stand by the Palestinian people in Gaza, and bear all responsibilities.

He also appealed to the Arab League and the international community to carry out their responsibilities towards the Gaza Strip. At the same time, Al-Kafarneh called on the Palestinian factions to pressure the government to hasten reconstruction.

MEMO Photogrpaher: Mohammad Asad

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Israel launches ground, aerial strikes against Lebanon

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Israeli military on Wednesday afternoon confirmed that they had launched numerous ground and aerial strikes against Lebanon in response to a Hezbollah attack on Israeli vehicles in the occupied Shebaa Farms.

The military said in a statement that the military had launched “combined aerial and ground strikes at Hezbollah operational positions.”

Lebanese security sources told AFP that Israeli tanks began shelling areas of southeastern Lebanon shortly after the attack on the convoy.

Two sources told AFP that more than a dozen shells had been fired on Lebanese border villages and that Israeli warplanes were flying over the area.

There was no immediate information on casualties.

“At least 15 shells have been fired against five villages in the south,” one security source said, adding that Majidiyeh village was hardest hit.

Another security source said the Israeli army was firing a shell into the area about every two minutes, and was using artillery as well as tanks.

The Lebanese army is deployed in all five villages that were shelled, but it was not immediately clear whether Hezbollah had a presence there.

Images broadcast from the scene on Israeli television showed large plumes of white smoke billowing across the area.

Police sealed off several roads close to the border in northern Israel.

The strikes came hours after Hezbollah launched an attack on Israeli military vehicles in Shebaa. The army said that at least four were injured in the attack, while security sources close to Hezbollah said that there were several Israeli fatalities.

Lebanese satellite channel Al-Manar reported that Hezbollah — which said the attack was carried out by its “Quneitra martyrs” in reference to a deadly Israeli air strike on the nearby Golan — targeted nine Israeli military vehicles and had killed “a large number” of troops.

Shortly after the hit on the convoy, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel would respond to any attack.

“The IDF (army) is ready to act with force on any front,” Netanyahu said.

Israel’s chief of staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz convened an emergency session of his top brass, the army said.

Wednesday’s attack is suspected to have been carried out in retaliation for Israel’s bombing of a Hezbollah convoy in Syria last week, which killed six Lebanese fighters — including the son of assassinated Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh — and one Iranian general.

The day before the raid, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened to retaliate against Israel for its repeated strikes on targets in Syria and boasted the movement was stronger than ever.

Israel occupied parts of southern Lebanon for 22 years until 2000 and the two countries are still technically at war.

In 2006, Israel launched a bloody assault against Hezbollah that killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and some 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

The Shebaa Farms area is a mountainous, narrow sliver of land rich in water resources measuring 25 square kilometers (10 square miles).

It has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East war.

Since Israeli troops withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000, the area has become an area of friction between Israel and Hezbollah.

Before it was seized by Israel, Syria and Lebanon both claimed ownership of the land. Hezbollah leaders have promised repeatedly to free the area from Israeli control, calling it the last strip of Lebanese territory still occupied by Israel.

Israeli warplanes also struck Syrian army targets on the Golan Heights early on Wednesday hours after rockets hit the Israeli-held sector.

Nobody was injured by Tuesday’s rocket fire from Syria, which Israel said was “intentional.”

The Israeli air force responded nearly 12 hours later by striking Syrian army targets at around midnight (2200 GMT).

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Israel would not tolerate any fire on its territory and would respond to any attack, whether by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or any other group.

“The overnight attack by the air force against regime targets in an area under Assad’s control in Syria is a clear message that we will no put up with any fire at Israeli territory or any breach of our sovereignty, and we will respond with force and determination,” he said in a statement.

Source: MAAN

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British mosques to hold open door event for public

Mosques in the UK are to open their doors to the general public in an attempt to reach out to British citizens, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) says.

The MCB announced on Wednesday that the event would take place in mosques across the country on Sunday.

“Mosques will also be inviting inter-faith leaders as well, and all will be invited to come together to demonstrate unity and solidarity during what has been a tense time for faith communities,” the MCB said.

The group added that apart from sharing tea and cakes, the daily goings-on of Muslims’ places of worship will be introduced to people.

“#VisitMyMosque day is part of a national initiative by Muslims to reach out to fellow Britons following tensions around terrorism.”

The upcoming open day will not be the first of such to be organized in Britain’s mosques.

Over the last few years, similar gatherings have been organized to dispel misunderstandings about Muslims.

The council organized the event around three weeks after the recent terror attacks in Paris which claimed 17 lives.

Controversial letter

After the attacks, the UK government wrote a controversial letter to mosques asking imams to be more active in halting radicalization in their own communities.

“You have a precious opportunity, and an important responsibility: in explaining and demonstrating how faith in Islam can be part of British identity,” said the letter from Communities Secretary Eric Pickles.

“There is a need to lay out more clearly than ever before what being a British Muslim means today: proud of your faith and proud of your country,” it added.

The letter was slammed by the MCB who accused Pickles of promoting Islamophobia by contrasting religious and national identities.

According to a 2011 survey, around 2.8 million Muslims live in the UK, making Islam the second most prominent religion in Britain after Christianity.

Paris attacks

On January 7, the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo were attacked, leaving 12 people dead. The shooting assault was carried out by al-Qaeda affiliates.

On January 9, police ended a hostage-taking at a supermarket in the eastern Porte de Vincennes area of Paris, killing armed hostage-taker Amedy Coulibaly, who was also a suspect in the killing of a policewoman in southern Paris a day earlier. Coulibaly killed four hostages before his death.

SRK/AS/MHB

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King Salman left Super Power Obama alone on his arrival in Saudi Arabia to perform Asr Salah

January 29:

On his way back to US, President Barack Obama landed in Saudi Arabia to offer his condolences to the royal family on the demise of King Abdullah. When Obama reached there, King Salman left the ceremony to welcome Barack Obama midway to offer Namaz. In the video, Barack and Michelle Obama arrive at the airport where Saudi officials welcome him. Saudi King Salman also shares a handshake with the couple.

[embedded content]

But before Obama could walk the red carpet, King Salman leaves the place for performing evening Namaz. He does not forget to greet Obama but then leaves in a rush. He might have given an excuse for leaving the ceremony in between. Obama later walks the red carpet and then moves to the scheduled place in his car.

Obama might have found this behaviour unusual because whenever the US President visits any country, the emperor or head of the country greets him with exceptional hospitality. So did Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But the Saudi King Salman preferred religious responsibility over the official ceremony to welcome Barack Obama.

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Israeli forces injure 3 Palestinians during clashes in al-Ram

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Three Palestinians were injured with rubber-coated bullets in clashes with Israeli forces northeast of Jerusalem on Tuesday, a Ma’an reporter said.

Dozens of Palestinians were protesting the closure of the main entrance of the village of al-Ram when Israeli forces fired stun grenades, tear gas, and rubber-coated bullets at them.

Youths threw stones and empty bottles and shot fireworks at Israeli forces, preventing them from deploying at the top of a nearby hill.

Several Palestinians in the area suffered excessive tear gas inhalation.

Early Tuesday, Israeli forces used cement blocks to close the main entrance of al-Ram.

The Israeli occupation systematically limits the freedom of movement of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza through a system of checkpoints and permits

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Israeli forces shoot, injure Palestinian teen near Joseph’s Tomb

NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli troops shot and injured a Palestinian teenager during clashes Tuesday morning near Joseph’s Tomb near Balata refugee camp in Nablus in the northern West Bank.

Palestinian security sources told Ma’an that several buses loaded with ultra-orthodox Jews and settlers arrived to Joseph’s Tomb escorted by more than 15 military vehicles at around 2:30 a.m.

They then performed religious rites at the holy site.

The sources added that clashes then broke out in the nearby Balata and Askar refugee camps between young Palestinian men and Israeli soldiers.

They said dozens of young men hurled stones at the Israeli soldiers who fired tear-gas canisters, stun grenades, rubber-coated bullets as well as live ammunition at the protesters.

As a result, a teenage boy was shot in the foot. The sources identified him as 16-year-old Basim Zakariyya Suleiman and said that he was evacuated to Rafedia public hospital for treatment.

The sources said Israeli troops and worshipers withdrew from the area in the early morning hours.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said forces opened fire at a Palestinian rolling a burning tire. She said they forces fired at his lower extremities and identified a hit

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Words ‘secular’ ,’socialist’ must be removed from Constitution, India belongs to Hindus, says Shiv Sena

Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party led government at the Centre is facing yet another controversy after its ally Shiv Sena said it wants the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ removed from the Preamble of the Constitution of India.

“Removing the words socialist and secular is not controversy but the feeling of crores of Indians,” Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said. He even went on to say that crores of Indians want the words removed as the country belongs to Hindus. “The country is of Hindus and belongs to them. People of all religions can live in India but Hindus will dominate,” he said.

The controversy began after the government on Republic Day published an advertisement which had the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ missing from an excerpt of the Preamble.

Slamming the government and its ally Shiv Sena, the opposition parties condemned the statement. “This is a secular country and not a Hindu country. The word secular cannot be removed arbitrarily on its own. This is an attempt to undermine the Constitution of the country,” Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyer said.

The Nationalist Congress party (NCP) also said that the BJP only wants a Hindu nation. “BJP does not want a socialist, secular state, they want a capitalist Hindu state,” NCP leader Nawab Malik said.

However, the government defended itself and stated the words secular and socialist were included only after 1976. “The words were included in the Constitution after an amendment in 1976. It doesn’t mean that we are saying that before 1976 governments were not secular, we were just respecting the Preamble made at that time and used the same picture which was first made during the year of first Republic Day,” Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said.

The words socialist and secular were not a part of the Preamble of the Constitution of India which was adopted in 1949. The two words were added by the 42nd amendment in 1976.

Below is the Preamble of The Constitution of India

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

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Israel expels 43 intelligence veterans who refused to spy in Palestinian territories

Israel’s top military electronic surveillance unit expelled dozens of veterans on Monday for refusing to spy on Palestinians living under occupation, Army Radio said.

The commander of Unit 8200, named as Brigadier-General “A”, barred the 43 reserve soldiers who wrote to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top army chiefs in September, saying they could no longer serve in the unit, the radio said.

Coming a few weeks after Israel’s 50-day war against Islamist militants in the Gaza Strip, the letter was seen as an unprecedented rebuke of Netanyahu’s security policies but the military dismissed it as a publicity stunt by a small fringe.

By decrying the sweep of eavesdropping on Palestinians, and the role such espionage plays in setting up air strikes that have often inflicted civilian casualties, the move opened a window on clandestine practices.

“We refuse to take part in actions against Palestinians and refuse to continue serving as a tool for deepening military rule in the occupied (Palestinian) territories,” the Yedioth Ahronoth daily quoted the letter as saying.

No signatories’ names were published, in apparent keeping with their non-disclosure commitments to Unit 8200, which monitors enemy Arab states and Iran as well as the Palestinians.

Several were interviewed anonymously in the Israeli media, however, and complained about what they described as the gathering of Palestinians’ private information – for example, sexual preferences or health problems “that might be used to extort people into becoming informants”.

Channel 1 TV quoted from Unit 8200 commander’s dismissal letter: “You have crossed a red line and acted inappropriately and in light of what you have written, we part company with you.”

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Modi Govt uses Constitution Preamble without ‘secular’ word

Written by Liz Mathew , Raghvendra Rao | New Delhi | Posted: January 28, 2015 12:00 am| Updated: January 28, 2015 1:22 pm

On a day the BJP-led government came under attack for one of its Republic Day advertisement using an image of the Preamble of the Indian Constitution without the words “socialist” and “secular”, officials said that “the new rendering of the Amendment is not available”.

The advertisement, which appeared in newspapers on January 26, issued by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, has a backdrop with the Preamble stating “We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign Democratic Republic.” The Preamble, which was changed through 42nd Amendment in 1976, reads “We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic…”

Activists, who have taken on the government on social media, and the Congress demanded an explanation as well as action against the officials involved.

Officials, however, argued that the advertisement was not incorrect. “This ad is not incorrect. It is an artistic depiction of an original historical document as it is,” Press Information Bureau’s Director General Frank Noronha told The Indian Express. “I believe that the new rendering of the amendment is not available. Also, it has been used as a watermark to give an aesthetic sense to the design,” Noronha added.

Congress leader Manish Tewari said “stifling and trampling” with the Constitution is an “unforgivable sacrilege”. He said, “The Constitution of India, as it stands today, is very clear that India would be a ‘Sovereign Democratic Secular and Socialist Republic’. To remove the world ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ is actually is an undoing of the will of power as expressed through the 42nd Amendment.” The 42nd Amendment was enacted during the Emergency in 1976-77.

“It’s not only serious insidious. Action should be take against the officers involved and the minister should explain how it has happened,” he added.

Activist Kavita Krishnan has launched a signature campaign against what she termed as an attempt to “tamper the Constitution.” Krishnan posted on Twitter: “[Sic] Pl sign petition. Shocking Govt ad on R-Day that cut ‘secular’ & ‘socialist’ from Preamble of Constitution of India”

Clarifying, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said: “Let me assure you, we are celebrating the 66th Republic Day, that is, we are celebrating an anniversary of the Preamble that was made way back then. The photograph that we have put is of the first Preamble that our great leaders had made at that point of time.” Adding that “socialist” and “secular” were added in 1976, he said: “Are we to say that the governments before 1976 were not secular? That’s not the point. We were secular we will always be secular. We are honouring the first Preamble, hence this picture for the advertisement.”

Sources in the ministry said that the decision to use an image of the Preamble from the original Constitution was a “conscious” one. “It was a conscious decision. We are celebrating continued…

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El Baradei: ‘Islamists must not be removed from political arena’

Former Egyptian Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei said that Islamists “must not be removed from the political arena” in Egypt and it is a “mistake to push them underground”.

Speaking to the Austrian newspaper Die Presse, he advised Egyptian coup President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi: “If you want to be moderate, you need to include the Islamists. The one who pushes them to work underground will reap violence and extremism.”

He said that this is the main lesson of the Arab Spring. “We need national unity that includes all colours,” the former official, who once was one of the most outspoken critics of the Islamists.

ElBaradei mentioned Tunisia as an example for his idea. “Islamists entered the parliament in Tunis,” he said, “and this is the only choice. We cannot carry on defaming their image as has been done in Egypt.”

He said that the youths who led the revolution are now “embarrassed” as they have not yet achieved their goals of “freedom, social justice, gender equality and the end of corruption”. Adding that they saw “oppressive” laws enacted that supressed freedom of movement and demonstration and detention for “fake” reasons.

Regarding the unrest in the Middle East, he said: “May be we were overambitious… The problem with any revolution is the agreement on what is coming afterwards. No one starts from an empty place. In Egypt, only the Muslim Brotherhood were organised, then the army refused to concede its rights.”

“The Arab world has been seeking dignity for 20 years,” he said, “there is no way to forgive the oppressive regimes. The world has changed and the young generations need freedom.”

The removal of the Islamist from Egyptian political arena “is not the end of the story. Bloody wars in Europe continued for three centuries until the Europeans reached democracy,” he explained.

Some of the individuals and ideas from former President Hosni Mubarak’s era have already returned, he warned, but the full return of his regime is “impossible”.

Regarding his support for the removal of President Mohamed Morsi, ElBaradei said: “I supported the call for early presidential elections in cooperation with the EU, the US, UAE and Qatar, but Morsi refused this.”

He stressed that in a country without democratic traditions such as Egypt, everyone needs to work together. “I hope that Tunisia is an example to be followed,” he said

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Clashes in Shufat after undercover Israeli police detain 10-year-old

JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli undercover police late Monday detained a 10-year-old Palestinian boy near his home in the Shufat neighborhood of East Jerusalem, leading to clashes between locals and Israeli forces, family said.

Muhammad Said Oweida, 10, was returning home from a nearby shop when Israeli forces assaulted him and arrested him, his uncle told Ma’an.

The uncle said Israeli undercover officers in civilian clothes arrested Muhammad, and that some locals initially thought they were Israeli settlers.

Clashes broke out in the area, with Israeli forces firing stun grenades.

An Israeli police statement said Muhammad was detained for throwing stones at the light rail train in the neighborhood.

In July 2014, a group of right-wing Israelis kidnapped and murdered 16-year-old Shufat local Muhammad Abu Khdeir, leading to days of protests and clashes with Israeli forces in the neighborhood.

Israeli forces regularly arrest minors in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, usually on the pretext of stone-throwing.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed the internationally recognized Palestinian territory in a move never recognized abroad

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More than 500 on Egypt’s revolution anniversary

Police have arrested hundreds of Egyptian people on the third anniversary of the 2011 revolution.

Authorities announced Monday they have arrested 516 people on suspicion of supporting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

“Yesterday, we arrested 516 elements from the Muslim Brotherhood group who were involved in firing ammunition, planting explosives and bombing some facilities,” Egypt’s Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim told reporters.

Egyptians ousted long-time dictator, Hosni Mubarak, on January 25, 2011, after weeks of protests and confrontation with security forces across the Arab country.

Egyptian military-backed government has been involved in a heavy-handed crackdown on supporters of Muslim Brotherhood since the incumbent President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi deposed the Arab country’s first democratically-elected president, Mohammed Morsi, in July 2013.

At least 20 people, including two policemen, were killed during clashes that erupted between police and protesters on Sunday. Officials announced most of the victims were from a northern district of Cairo where police and demonstrators engaged in clashes that lasted for more than 12 hours. Dozens of people were reportedly arrested in the protests, including eight journalists covering the events.

Security officials announced Monday that two sons of Mubarak, Alaa and Gamal, were due to be released from prison, despite the fact that they still face a trial on corruption charges. Their release from prison is expected to spark more protests across the North African country.

Mubarak is still held at a military hospital in a southern suburb of Cairo.

MS/HMV/SS

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Value Religious Tolerance and Freedom: US President Barack Obama’s Parting Shot to India

US President Barack Obama made a strong appeal for religious freedom at a town hall-style meeting in Delhi on Tuesday, weighing in on one of India’s most controversial topics as he wound up a three-day visit.

“India will succeed as long as it’s not splintered along religious lines…nowhere is it more important to uphold religious freedom than in India,” President Obama said while addressing 2,000 young people at the Siri Fort auditorium.

“Your Article 25 (of the Constitution) says that all people are ‘equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion,” President Obama said, adding, “In both our countries, in all countries, upholding this fundamental freedom is the responsibility of government, but it’s also the responsibility of every person.”

The US President’s remarks are significant at a time Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has been accused by rival political parties of not checking pro-Hindu activists and groups seen to have been emboldened by the BJP’s rise to power in May last year

PM Modi had last year warned lawmakers from his party against making provocative statements seen to divert attention from his government’s agenda of economic reforms.

President Obama in his speech referenced his own experience as a minority in America.

“There were moments in my life where I’ve been treated differently because of the colour of my skin…There have been times where my faith has at times been questioned by people who don’t know me, or they’ve said that I adhere to a different religion, as if that were somehow a bad thing,” he said, noting persistent rumours that he is a Muslim, not a Christian.

“Every person has the right to practice their religion and beliefs and not practice it if they choose so without any persecution,” he added

For More:

http://bit.ly/1JVLVYt

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Ex-CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling convicted in Iran-related leak case

A former CIA officer involved in the US spy agency’s covert operation aimed at sabotaging Iran’s nuclear program over a decade ago has been convicted of espionage charges, for giving classified information about his work to a New York Times reporter and author.

Jeffrey Sterling, 47, who was fired from the CIA in the early 2000s, was convicted on Monday of nine counts of unauthorized disclosure of US national defense information and other related charges. He faces years in prison.

Sterling was charged under the Espionage Act for revealing classified information about the CIA mission. Judges in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, allowed Sterling to remain free on bond until his April 24 sentencing.

Prosecutors said Sterling, an African American, disclosed the CIA’s cloak-and-dagger mission to journalist James Risen to get revenge against the CIA for “perceived” mistreatment. Sterling had earlier filed a racial discrimination complaint against the agency.

When the guilty verdict was read by judges, Sterling “stared expressionless at jurors” and “hugged his sobbing wife afterwards,” the Washington Post reported.

The case revolved around the CIA mission in which a Russian-born scientist, who was reportedly a CIA asset nicknamed Merlin, provided Iran with intentionally flawed nuclear component schematics.

Risen disclosed the secretive operation in his 2006 book “State of War,” terming it a mismanaged, potentially reckless mission.

According to the New York Times, the conviction is a victory for the US government, which has clampdown on administration officials who speak to journalists about security issues without the administration’s endorsement.

Citing an anonymous source in his book, Risen elaborated on the operation, saying the CIA had fed deliberately flawed nuclear blueprints to Iran in hopes of gaining more information and impeding Tehran’s nuclear activities.

Risen wrote that the operation was approved by former US President Bill Clinton in 2000 and later endorsed by his successor George W. Bush.

Sterling has denied the allegations, with his lawyers saying Washington has wrongfully leveled the accusations against him because he had sued the CIA for racial discrimination.

Former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice recently testified that the mission was one of the most secretive programs.

Rice said that she asked the New York Times not to publish Risen’s story and to get rid of any evidence it had obtained.

GJH/GJH

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US drone strikes al-Qaeda amid Yemen political crisis

The US has launched a fresh drone strike targeting al-Qaeda fighters in Yemen, signaling Washington’s determination to keep fighting the armed group despite the Gulf Arab country’s political turmoil caused by a power grab by Shia rebels known as the Houthis.

Yemeni tribal and security officials in the central province of Marib said the missile hit a vehicle carrying three men near the boundary with Shabwa province, an al-Qaeda stronghold, on Monday.

The strike killed two Yemeni fighters and a Saudi fighter, an al-Qaeda member told The Associated Press news agency. A boy was also reportedly killed in the attack.

Despite the renewed drone campaign, Yemeni officials and analysts say an effective US-backed ground strategy against the al-Qaeda affiliate has been undermined by the rapid disintegration of the Yemeni armed forces, which has received millions of dollars in US military aid.

The prospect of a leaderless Yemen has raised concerns about Washington’s ability to continue targeting Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, as the Yemeni branch is known. The armed group claimed the recent attack on a French satirical weekly and has mounted several failed attacks in the US.

The drone strike was the first since Yemen’s US-backed President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi resigned along with his Cabinet on Thursday rather than agree to the demands by the Shia rebels, known as Houthis, for more power. The Houthis continue to hold Hadi and his government ministers under house arrest, and what comes next is unclear.

US Pentagon spokesman Steve Warren stressed on Monday that the counter-terrorism operation will continue, including training of Yemeni forces, though “they are curtailed in some cases”. He did not give details.

‘Loss of faithful partner’

According to other US officials, intelligence gathering has not been curtailed or shifted to other countries. And although the Houthis chant anti-American slogans, one hopeful sign for Washington is that they are also staunch opponents of al-Qaeda.

Nevertheless, experts said that both ground operations and intelligence gathering will suffer in addition to the loss of a faithful partner in Hadi. Yemen’s president was a vocal proponent for the US war against al-Qaeda, saying at one point that he approved each strike at a time.

“(President) Hadi was an extraordinary important,” said Bill Roggio, the managing editor of Long War Journal, which tracks militant groups’ activities.

“He made it easy to cooperate with Yemeni military and intelligence. His loss is a major loss for US side.” Roggio added that the “upheaval will make it more and more difficult to get intelligence.”

The Houthis, who seized the capital of Sanaa in September, say they want their fair share of power, which they feel they have been denied. Shias make up one-third of Yemen’s population.

Critics say the Houthis want to retain Hadi as a figurehead president and that they want to rule the country from behind the scenes. They also accuse the Houthis of being a proxy of Iran, an allegation the rebels deny.

Over the past several weeks, Houthi rebels overran the presidential palace, military camps and air force bases and occupied security and intelligence offices in Sanaa

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Right wingers targets Vice-President of India Hamid Ansari, question his patriotism

The News Minute| January 26, 2015| 8.30 pm IST

Vice President Hamid Ansari trended on Twitter on Republic Day as right wing Twitterati questioned his patriotism.

The outrage was over Ansari not saluting the national flag during the Republic Day parade. A picture of Ansari and his wife standing next to American President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee, all saluting the flag was doing the rounds since morning.

The attack was on the basis that Ansari being a Muslim was disrespectful of the Indian flag.

Those who questioned Ansari did not hesitate to use the choicest of words against him like ‘Jihadi’, ‘Anti-Indian’ and ‘anti-nationalist.’

MP from Telangana and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi wrote an opinion piece on this and asked, “It seems that no matter how many times a Muslim swears his allegiance to the Indian nation, no matter how successful he becomes in the country, there will always be doubts over his patriotism. Even if you are the vice-president of India, if you are a Muslim, you still have to prove your love for the country.”

This is where all those who outraged went wrong. Section VI of the Flag Code of India says, “During the ceremony of hoisting or lowering the flag, or when the flag is passing in a parade or in a review, all persons present should face the flag and stand at attention. Those present in uniform should render the appropriate salute.”

This has been further explained by Gurdeep Singh Sappal, Officer on Special Duty to the Vice President of India CEO & Editor-in-Chief, Rajya Sabha TV through his tweets.

No wonder then that many are finding Owaisi’s question legitimate.

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Abandoned as a child bride, wife of Narendra Modi hopes he calls

By Annie Gowen

NEW DELHI — She’s waiting for him, as she has been all her life. But when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi dined with Barack and Michelle Obama at a glittering banquet Sunday night, his wife wasn’t by his side.

Modi, 64, kept his teenage marriage a secret for decades during his political ascent and only last year admitted that his wife exists.

The wife, Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, is a retired teacher who lives in a small town in Modi’s home state of Gujarat. Although she had not heard from her husband in years, she says she still hopes to join him one day in the capital as his spouse.

“If he calls me, I will go,” she said in an interview. “I hear all his speeches on TV. I feel very good when I hear him speak. I want him to fulfill all his promises to the people. That’s my prayer to God.”

Narendra Modi, the son of a man who sold tea in a railway station, comes from a lower caste called Ghanchi. He and his wife were promised to each other as young adolescents in keeping with the traditions of their community. They were then married in a small ceremony when she was 17 and he was 18.

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http://wapo.st/1JUkvSW

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Egypt police arrests 16-year old son of a senior Muslim Brotherhood leader

The son of a senior Muslim Brotherhood leader was arrested by police, the leader’s family has said.

The family of Mohamed Al-Beltagi, who used to be the head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s party’s office in Egyptian capital Cairo, said in a statement on Saturday that his son, Khaled, was arrested by policemen.

It added that police had raided Al-Beltagi’s house in Cairo on Friday and arrested Khaled, who is 16 years old.

“This is a vengeful act against the rest of the family,” the family said in the statement.

Al-Beltagi himself has been in jail for more than a year now, facing charges of inciting violence. His elder son Anas is also in jail.

Al-Beltagi’s daughter, Asma, was killed in August of 2013 when Egyptian police violently evicted an eastern Cairo protest camp in support of ousted President Mohamed Morsi.

A judicial source, meanwhile, said that Khaled faced multiple charges, including inciting riots, theft, and joining a terrorist organisation.

“He was arrested during a protest by the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood organisation,” the source told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity.

He noted that a laptop was found with Khaled at the time of his arrest along with fliers calling for staging protests during the January 25 revolution anniversary on Sunday.

Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president, was ousted by the military in July of 2013 following massive opposition protests.

While Morsi’s supporters describe his overthrow as a “military coup,” opponents term it a “military-backed revolution.”

Ever since Morsi’s overthrow, Egyptian authorities have maintained a harsh crackdown on his supporters, detaining thousands and killing hundreds.

In December of 2013, Egyptian authorities branded the Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which Morsi hails, a “terrorist” group

Source: MEMO

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35 suspected terrorists killed in Pakistan air strikes

Islamabad, January 25:

At least 35 suspected terrorists were killed when military planes shelled their hideouts in Pakistan’s North Waziristan Agency Sunday.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the air strikes were conducted in Dattakhel tehsil, Dawn reported.

The conflict zone is off-limits to journalists, so there is no way to independently verify the number and identity of those killed.

Officials said that over 1,200 suspected militants had been killed since the army launched Operation Zarb-i-Azb in North Waziristan in June 2014.

The administration lifted curfew from the area after 20 days Friday.

–IANS

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The day Prime Minister Narendra Modi wore his name on his suit

That Prime Minister Narendra Modi loves to pack a punch with his sharp taste in clothing and his love for colours is well known. On Sunday, there were more stories about the PM’s attire than even First Lady Michelle Obama, who is otherwise considered a fashion icon in her own right.

However, Modi outdid himself on Sunday evening during his famous Hyderabad House interaction with US President Barack Obama when he sported a dark blue pin stripe suite with, hold your breath, his name stitched a thousand times across the fabric.

Zoomed images of the suit, claimed to be worth 4000 pounds on Twitter, were being shared widely on the microblogging site. Have a look:

But the Indian prime minister is not the first one to don his own name on the fabric of his suit. Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had already accomplished the feat as per this photo.

Read more at: http://bit.ly/1DbermZ

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Four Hindu spiritual leaders conferred Padma award

News Delhi : Jagat Guru Ramanandacharya Swami Rambhadracharya and three other spiritual leaders, including a NRI in Portugal, were Sunday conferred with Padma awards.

Swami Rambhadracharya, from Uttar Pradesh, was among the nine awarded India’s second highest civilian honour, the Padam Vibhushan.

Swami Satyamitranand Giri from Uttar Pradesh, and Shivakumara Swami from Karnataka were among the 20 recipients of the Padma Bhushan, a home ministry release said.

Jagat Guru Amrta Suryananda Maha Raja, who is based in Portugal, was among the 75 recipients of the Padma Shri award.

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Four bomb blasts in Imphal during Republic Day celebrations

Imphal, January 26:

Four powerful bombs exploded today morning in Manipur’s capital, Imphal during the Republic Day celebrations. No casualities have been reported yet.

The first explosion was reported at around 8 am near the Deputy Commissioner’s office in East Imphal. The area is close to the chief minister’s residence. The second blast took place just 80 metres away from the first, near a public playground at 9 am.

The third blast took place at Sangakpham around 10 am and the fourth near Singjamei.

Paramilitary and police forces have been deployed in large numbers around the area.

Police sources said bomb experts of the police were checking various areas in the city for explosives that may have been planted by the militants.

–PTI

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Dresden braces for anti-Islam protest

DRESDEN: A group that has staged regular anti-Islam protests in Germany’s eastern city of Dresden is holding its first march since canceling its previous demonstration over a terror threat.

The group calling itself Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, or PEGIDA, was mentioned as a possible target in an online posting. Dresden authorities last Monday in response banned all protests for security reasons.

The threat identified PEGIDA’s co-founder Lutz Bachmann. He since has resigned after German media published Facebook messages in which he called refugees “dirty” and posed as Adolf Hitler.

On Saturday night, about 1,000 people from a group calling itself Patriotic Europeans Against the Americanization of the West, or PEGADA, clashed with 600 counter-protesters in the nearby city of Erfurt

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Erdogan: The hero of Somalia

There was never any doubt that Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would receive a hero’s welcome in Somalia. On Thursday, he vowed to go ahead with the trip despite a bomb attack at a hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on the eve of his planned visit. Later his office announced he would delay it by a couple of days in order to attend the funeral of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

Still, Erdogan’s resolve to visit the Horn of Africa nation so soon after the deadly attack has only heightened his popularity. He landed at Mogadishu airport on Sunday morning and was greeted warmly by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

But how does someone currently facing a barrage of allegations – on account of corruption, delusions of grandeur, dictatorial tendencies, and polarising rhetoric – by both Turkish and western media, earn such an enviable stature in Somalia?

The fact is, Erdogan has done for Somalia what no other world leader has done in decades.

In August 2011, when Erdogan was still prime minister, he ignored the prevalent narrative of Mogadishu as a no-go zone and flew in with his family, senior cabinet members, and representatives from non-governmental organisations and the business sector.

His visit was the first by a non-African leader to the famine-hit Somali capital in two decades and came during the holy month of Ramadan to stress that Ankara was not going to abandon “their Muslim brothers and sisters”.

New paradigm

Defying pressure from the international community, Erdogan resisted Nairobi’s magnetic field of international corruption.

From 1991 to 2011, the UN and its affiliated international institutions – mostly based in neighbouring Kenya – collected an estimated $55bn on behalf of Somalia. Dubiously, the nation in whose name this hefty sum was collected, has not gained any substantive infrastructure-related or any other sustainable project

For More;

http://bit.ly/15Kmv3y

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Turkish president denounces attacks against Islam

Turkey’s president has denounced attacks on the Muslim world during his visit in Djibouti.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments came during a joint press conference Saturday with Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh.

“There are serious games being played with the Islamic world and one of them is Islamophobia,” said Erdogan.

Another was the “clash of civilisations,” he said.

He gave as proof “the hundreds and thousands” of deaths in Iraq, deaths in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Syria and Egypt.

“It doesn’t matter what faith a terrorist is, a terrorist is a murderer,” added Erdogan. “If he is a Muslim he is still a killer, if Christian still a killer or if he is a Jew then he is still a killer.”

“Because, after all, innocent people are dying,” he said.

Meanwhile, Erdogan said Turkey was engaging Europe to see if it could tolerate a Muslim-populated country, referring to its EU membership bid.

“There is a theory that ‘the European Union is a Christian entity,'” said Erdogan, adding that should Turkey be accepted in the EU, that theory would have to go.

“Turkey is in NATO, Turkey is in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), Turkey is a member of many organizations,” he said. “Why aren’t you accepting Turkey into the European Union? This means there is a different problem.”

Erdogan added that Turkey was now a powerful country that will not “beg to come to your doors.” “If accepted, it will enter the EU, if not, it will draw its own path,” he said

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Egyptian forces kill two young women – 17 and 28 years old

History insists but to repeat itself with all the details. Four years ago, on very similar days to the ones we live now, Sayyid Bilal and Khalid Said were killed by the Egyptian security authorities which went on to crack down so brutally on protesters provoking widespread outrage. That was one of the reasons for the 25 January revolution in 2011. Today, on the eve of 25 January 2015, the same perpetrators have killed two young women: Sundus Abu Bakr who is 17 years old and Shaymaa Al-Sabbagh who is 28 years old. The question, however, is: will history also repeat itself so as for another revolution to erupt against the coup in Egypt?

The martyrdom of the two girls stirred up outrage among the Egyptian youth and among those who have been following events including politicians, lawyers and journalists. There was so much rage especially in the aftermath of the circulation of the video clip showing Shaymaa’s last minutes alive in the arms of her husband while several pedestrians stood by watching and doing nothing to help.

A hashtag attached to her name took the lead in the last few hours and surged across the Arab world. Many users shared her picture, the picture of her son and pictures of her in the peaceful rally held in Talaat Harb Square just moment before she was murdered.

Seventeen years old Sundus Abu Bakr was martyred on Friday following Asr prayers. She received a bullet in the head and another in the neck that ended her life. The incident happened after the Egyptian security forces dispersed a demonstration that came out following Friday prayers in Al-Asafrah district of Alexandria. The martyr’s own aunt, Fatmah Abu Bakr, was martyred three months ago, again murdered by the Egyptian security forces.

The last thing Sundus had written on her Facebook page was “you keep walking in Heaven and suddenly you meet the Prophet #together_until_Heaven”.

Martyr Shaymaa Al-Sabbagh was the mother of six years old Bilal. She departed at the age of 28. She was one of the youth leaders within the Socialist Popular Alliance in Alexandria. She held the position of Mass Action Secretary within the party in Alexandria until she passed away. She travelled to Cairo together with her colleagues in order to take part with the party leaders in a symbolic sit in to commemorate the 25 January revolution anniversary. She walked with them from the quarters of the party in Huda Shaarawi Street to Talaat Harb Square where they observed a peaceful sit in. However, within minutes the peacefulness of the event was disrupted and turned upside down upon the attack launched by the security forces. Shaymaa received a fatal gunshot directly in the face from a distance less than two meters away according to eye witnesses from among her colleagues who were with her.

Al-Sabbagh was active in defending the rights of the workers. She stood by many workers who were dismissed from their jobs and struggled on their behalf until many of them were compensated or regained their jobs. She united their ranks and founded several workers syndicates in Alexandria.

The last thing Shaymaa wrote on he Facebook page was “This country is now causing us pain and is devoid of warmth. May its soil be more comfortable and the embrace of its earth more expansive than the sky”. Her life came to an end while she was still shouting the slogan: “Bread, Freedom and Social Justice”.

Four years after the revolution, and like all supporters of the leftist current, Shaymaa found that the revolution had not yet accomplished its goals, especially after Mubarak was declared innocent and the continued insistence on not applying the minimum wage rule let alone the continuation of the workers’ grievances across the country. This state of affairs is what motivated Shaymaa to take part in her party’s rally at Talaat Harb Square in the hope of reviving the spirit of the 25 January revolution.

Activist Muna Sayf has been quoted by an eyewitness journalist speaking to a local news website as saying about the martyrdom of Shaymaa Al-Sabbagh: “I swear by God, the officer shot the girl in front of us from less than two meters away. He could see her very well. He was watching them for a while and he could see them standing doing nothing. All they were carrying in their hands was placards and roses.” She added: “A peaceful rally with nothing but placards and roses in Tahrir Square was fired at with shotguns. People were hit and a girl was martyred. Just placards and roses, you people!”

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Sisi kills 11 protestors at revolution anniversary

At least 11 people have been killed across Egypt on Sunday during protests marking the fourth anniversary of the Jan. 25 revolution, which ended the autocracy of longstanding President Hosni Mubarak.

In a statement, the Egyptian Health Ministry said 11 people were killed and 30 other people were injured.

A security source, meanwhile, told Anadolu Agency that 12 people had been killed in events marking the revolution anniversary in a number of Egyptian provinces.

Nevertheless, the National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, the main bloc backing ousted President Mohamed Morsi, said ten of its supporters were killed during clashes with policemen.

An alliance source told AA that one protester was killed in the northern coastal city of Alexandria; two in the Nile Delta province of Beheira; three in capital Cairo, and four in Giza province.

Four years to Sunday, thousands of Egyptians took to the streets and eventually descended on Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo to protest police brutality.

With many protesters killed and wounded by security forces, the demonstrations soon developed into a full-fledged popular uprising nationwide that demanded regime change.

Mubarak had to step down on Feb. 11 of the same year under public pressure, handing over power to the military.

A transitional phase ended with the election of Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected leader.

Morsi was removed by the military on July 3 of 2013 following mass demonstrations against his one-year rule.

His supporters, however, describe his removal as a military coup while others insist it was a popular military-backed uprising.

Thousands of Morsi supporters have since been killed or jailed amid a massive crackdown on dissent in general

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NIA clears Liaquat Shah of terror charges

The agency files charge sheet against a “missing” police informer.

The National Investigation Agency on Saturday filed charge sheet against a fugitive police informer, exonerating a Jammu and Kashmir resident whom the Delhi Police Special Cell had arrested about two years ago on charges of being a Hizb-ul Mujahideen member.

NIA investigations have revealed that the police informer, identified as Sabir Khan Pathan alias Munna, had been living in the Lodhi Colony barracks of the Special Cell in South Delhi for the past eight years. He was allegedly instrumental in planting weapons to implicate Sayyad Liaquat Shah, a resident of Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir.

“We will submit a report on the role of Special Cell officers to the Union Home Ministry. It is up to the Ministry to decide further course of action,” said an NIA official, indicating that the agency has gathered evidence indicting some police officers in the matter.

The NIA probe revealed that the Special Cell charges against the accused were not proved and that he was coming into India to obtain the benefit of the surrender policy of the Jammu and Kashmir government. While further investigations into the conspiracy to frame Liaquat is under way, the agency has charge-sheeted the police informer under Sections 25(1-A) and 25(1-B) of the Arms Act, Section 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, and Sections 465, 471 and 174-A of Indian Penal Code.

In March 2013, the Special Cell had shown Liaquat’s arrest from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, claiming that he was a Hizb member and that he was intercepted when he was trying to sneak into the country through the Nepal border. The unit claimed to have seized an AK-56 rifle, three hand-grenades and some other articles from a guesthouse in the Walled City of Delhi at his instance.

The Special Cell alleged that Liaquat was part of a conspiracy to avenge Afzal Guru’s execution through fidayeen attacks in the Capital.

However, while being taken to court, Liaquat broke down before the media saying he was being framed. Although the then Delhi Police chief Neeraj Kumar defended the Special Cell operation, days later the Union Home Ministry handed over the case to the NIA after the Jammu and Kashmir Government lodged a protest stating that Liaquat was on his way to surrender under the State’s rehabilitation policy.

The NIA court soon enlarged Liaquat on bail, following which he returned home (Kupwara). He told the media that he had crossed over to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in 1997. While he was married to two Kashmiri women, he had also married a Pakistani woman at Mansehra. He was crossing the Indo-Nepal border at the Sanauli post along with his wife Akhtar-un-Nissa and a stepdaughter when the Special Cell arrested him on March 20, 2013.

During investigations, the NIA found the person who had planted the AK-56 and hand-grenades in the Old Delhi guesthouse was a Special Cell informer. The agency has already obtained CCTV footage of the guesthouse which shows a man, suspected to be police informer Sabir Khan Pathan, wearing a cap and carrying a backpack. The accused, a permanent resident of Shajapur in Madhya Pradesh, vanished from the scene after the NIA took over the case

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