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Showing posts from September 23, 2018

Saudi Arabia, most infamous sponsor of terrorism in world: Iran

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Iran has rejected recent unfounded and hackneyed allegations made by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Ahmed al-Jubeir against Tehran, saying Riyadh is undoubtedly the most infamous sponsor of terrorism in the world. "The root cause of terrorism that has engulfed the entire world, particularly the Middle East, is nowhere but Saudi Arabia and the radical thoughts and ideologies that are promoted, spread and financed by this regime," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Saturday. Addressing the 73rd annual session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, Jubeir once again repeated his anti-Iran rhetoric and claimed that Tehran was continuing its “terrorist activities and hostile behavior” and added that peace and stability in the Middle East requires “deterring Iran’s expansionist and subversive policies.” He also said Saudi Arabia supports US President Donald Trump’s new strategy “in dealing with Iran." In res

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Kill Four Militants Near Pakistan Border

The Guards said two militants were also wounded in the clash in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, with the 'rest of the terrorists fleeing to the soil of the neighbouring country'. Tehran: Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Friday said they had killed four militants who had slipped across the border from Pakistan to try to carry out an attack. The Guards said two militants were also wounded in the clash in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, with the "rest of the terrorists fleeing to the soil of the neighbouring country". Sistan-Baluchistan has a large, mainly Sunni Muslim ethnic Baluchi community, which straddles the border into the Baluchistan province of neighbouring Pakistan. Sunni extremist group Jundallah (Soldiers of God) launched a bloody insurgency in the province in 2000, targeting the security forces and officials of Iran's Shiite-dominated government. The campaign peaked with a spate of deadly

Facebook security breach: Up to 50m accounts attacked

Facebook says almost 50 million of its users were left exposed by a security flaw. The company said attackers were able to exploit a vulnerability in a feature known as “View As” to gain control of people's accounts. The breach was discovered on Tuesday, Facebook said, and it has informed police. Users that had potentially been affected were prompted to re-log-in on Friday. Tech Tent: Facebook's family feud Facebook hate speech glitch investigated by firm The flaw has been fixed, wrote the firm’s vice-president of product management, Guy Rosen, adding all affected accounts had been reset, as well as another 40 million "as a precautionary step". Facebook - which saw its share price drop more than 3% on Friday - has more than two billion active monthly users. The company has confirmed to reporters that the breach would allow hackers to log in to other accounts that use Facebook's system, of which there are many. This means other major sites, such

China Defends Blocking India’s Bid to List Masood Azhar as ‘Global Terrorist’

Azhar is accused of several deadly terrorist attacks in India, including one on the Uri military base in Kashmir in 2016 in which 17 security personnel were killed. Washington: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has defended Beijing's repeated blocking of India's bids at the United Nations to list chief of Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)Azhar Masood as a global terrorist, arguing that the issue lacks "consensus" among the members of the UN Security Council as well as the "directly concerned" parties — India and Pakistan. Azhar is accused of several deadly terrorist attacks in India, including one on the Uri military base in Kashmir in 2016 in which 17 security personnel were killed.  A veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has repeatedly blocked India's move — supported by the US, Britain and France — to designate Azhar a terrorist under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Securit

Big Tech is overselling AI as the solution to online extremism

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Source:  http://theconversation.com/big-tech-is-overselling-ai-as-the-solution-to-online-extremism-102077 In mid-September   the European Union threatened to fine the Big Tech companies   if they did not remove terrorist content within one hour of appearing online. The change came because rising tensions are now developing and being played out on social media platforms. Social conflicts that once built up in backroom meetings and came to a head on city streets, are now building momentum on social media platforms before spilling over into real life. In the past, governments tended to control traditional media, with little to no possibility for individuals to broadcast hate. The digital revolution has altered everything. Terrorist organizations, most notably Islamic State (ISIS) militants,   have used social media platforms   such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for their propaganda campaigns, and to plan terrorist attacks against civilians. Far right groups, including ant

Kyrgyzstan’s Crackdown on Extremist Material: Further Reforms Needed

Kyrgyzstan should focus on genuine threats, not throw people in jail for the videos they watch or the books they read. “And what about the Amish?” a government security official in Kyrgyzstan asked, leaning forward intently. He was meeting in Bishkek with Human Rights Watch to discuss Kyrgyzstan’s crackdown on extremism. The official was noting similarities between the Amish, a traditionalist Christian group dedicated to the will of Jesus, and Yaqyn Inkar, an Islamic group dedicated to replicating the life of the Prophet Mohammed. The Amish eschew technology, travel by horse-drawn buggy, dress plainly in solid colors – women cover their heads – and educate their children themselves. Yaqyn Inkar members eschew technology, travel by foot, wear traditional white clothes, and educate their children themselves – boys and girls separately. In the United States, Amish communities are a popular destination for  school trips . In Kyrgyzstan, Yaqyn Inkar is  banned . Enjoying this ar

How British prisons became a breeding ground for Islamist extremism

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When Naweed Ali, Khobaib Hussain and Mohibur Rahman met up in Belmarsh prison in 2013, they had already broken  terror  laws. But it was not until after their beliefs were reinforced, as they mingled with fellow extremists in jail, that they turned their attention to wreaking bloodshed in the UK. Dubbing themselves as the  “Three Musketeers” , they were poised to strike police and military targets in the UK using a pipe bomb and meat cleaver until the security services intervened. The terror plot was not the first to have been spawned from extremist networks formed in Britain’s prisons, and experts fear it may not be the last, as  record number of terrorists are jailed . The government has been intensifying efforts to prevent jihadis from spreading their influence on the inside, and monitor them when they are freed, but the methods have not been tested. Rajan Basra, a research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at King’s College Lo

Why return of Left-wing extremism in Andhra Pradesh is a reason for worry

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Maoists killed sitting Telugu Desam Party MLA K Sareswara Rao and former legislator S Soma. After about 15 years, Left-wing extremists have targeted high-profile public representatives in the tribal backwoods of the scenic Araku valley in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam district. The outlawed CPI (Maoists) has signalled yet again that it can plan and strike at will by  gunning down  the sitting Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLA K Sareswara Rao and former MLA S Soma, also of the TDP. Rao and Soma were popular among fellow tribals, who lost no time in expressing their outrage by targeting and setting afire police stations in Dumbriguda and Araku. Supporters of TDP MLA K Sareswara Rao and former MLA S Soma set afire the assets of the police stations in Andhra Pradesh. (Source: Mail Today) The agitators were acutely aware of the last ghastly killing in the area that happened on March 18, 2004, when Venkataraju, the husband of the then Girijan welfare minister Mani Kumar,  was shot