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Showing posts from December 2, 2018

Afghan 'Messi Boy' Forced to Flee Home After Deadly Taliban Attack

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Kabul:  The family of an Afghan boy who gained brief Internet fame after being photographed in a shirt improvised from a plastic bag in the colours of his hero, Argentine soccer idol Lionel Messi, has been forced to flee his home after a Taliban attack. Murtaza Ahmadi, now aged 7, grabbed world headlines two years ago when his brother made him a shirt out of a blue and white plastic bag, with Messi's name and number 10 playing number. His sudden fame won him a meeting with his hero but caused problems for his family, members of the Hazara ethnic minority from Jaghori district in the central province of Ghazni."Murtaza became famous around the world and we are not able to walk free and go anywhere. Murtaza and my other children were not able to go to school," his mother Shafiqa Ahmadi said in the home in Kabul where the family is staying. Murtaza Ahmadi, 7, an Afghan Lionel Messi fan and his mother Shafiqa Ahmadi, 38, pose for a picture at their house in K

Imran Khan admits 2008 Mumbai attacks were led by Pak-based LeT; Indian Army Chief Bipin Rawat says knew it

Khan acknowledged that the attacks were 'an act of terrorism'. NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan admitted to international media that banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba, led by Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, was behind the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.  Acknowledging that the attacks were “an act of terrorism”, Khan said he's asked his government find out the status of the case.  During an interview to American daily  The Washinton Post , journalist Lally Weymouth asked Khan, “India really wants to see the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai bombing prosecuted. The mastermind, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, a leader of the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, was released on bail in Pakistan while a nine-year trial has dragged on for six other suspects, with no results.” To this Khan  responded , “We also want something done about the bombers of Mumbai. I have asked our government to find out the status of the case. Resolving that case is in our interest because it w

Jharkhand to Add 20 Maoists to Bounty List

Ranchi: Jharkhand will add the names of 20 Maoists to the bounty list, police said on Tuesday. “The names of the 20 Maoists have been sent to state Home Department for approval, after which they will be made public,” a police official told IANS, adding that the names include one of Prayag Manjhi who is carrying a reward of Rs 1 crore. Manjhi is a central committee member of banned Maoist outfit, Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist). Police have initiated the process to seize the properties of those to be added to the list. Earlier, the state government had approved a list containing the names of 210 Maoists. The state government announces the reward amount to get information about the Maoists so that they can be arrested. (IANS) Source: https://www.sentinelassam.com/news/jharkhand-to-add-20-maoists-to-bounty-list/

IS Signals Re-Emergence in Parts of Iraq

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While this month marks the first anniversary of the Iraqi-proclaimed victory over the Islamic State (IS) terror group, U.S.-backed Iraqi forces are still trying to hunt down remaining IS militants as the extremist group returns to its insurgent roots. In a televised address on December 9, 2017, former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi announced the defeat of IS and the end of Iraqi campaign to recapture its territory. While many considered IS obliterated following the declaration, recent reports show the militant group is still active in parts of the country and increasingly has been assassinating important figures, bombing Iraqi forces and kidnapping civilians. On Tuesday, security forces said IS militants disguised in Iraqi uniforms entered al-Amrini, 20 kilometers south of Mosul, and killed its "mukhtar," or leader, al-Shaeikh Raghib Abid al-Hadi al-Badrani. His tribesmen protested the killing, saying the lack of Iraqi army patrols gave IS milit

On extremism and democracy in Europe: three years later

I will never forget the day that I sent off the final manuscript of the English edition of On Extremism and Democracy in Europe . It was Friday November 13, 2015. Elated at having finally finished a task I thought would take much less time, I came home to celebrate with my wife. Barely inside the house, she asked me, “did you hear about Paris?” I had not, having been totally immersed in finishing the manuscript: but I knew it was not good news. The last time Paris was big news was at the beginning of that year, when two brothers attacked the headquarters of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo , killing twelve people, including most members of the editorial staff, including the famous cartoonists Jean Cabut (Cabu) and Stéphane Charbonnier (Charb). This time it was even worse. A small group of homegrown Jihadi terrorists had conducted a series of coordinated attacks at three diverse but highly public sites in Paris, killing 130 civilians and injuring 413. It was one of the da

UKIP: Scottish leader David Coburn quits over 'extremism'

UKIP's leader in Scotland has quit the party after accusing it of promoting anti-Islamic policies. David Coburn's resignation is the latest to hit UKIP leader Gerard Batten after he appointed English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson as an advisor. In a letter, Mr Coburn said UKIP had been "infiltrated by people with an alternative agenda". The MEP said the party was now running on an "anti-Islam platform". Mr Coburn's announcement came as UKIP MEP and former leader Paul Nuttall also quit over the direction it is taking under Mr Batten. Another former leader, Nigel Farage, announced earlier this week he was leaving the party - which he accused of turning a blind eye to extremist policies . Mr Batten has defended his association with Mr Robinson, claiming he was a "high profile" figure who had been "persecuted by the state because of his views".

Yemen Rebels to Decide Friday If Peace Talks Are Serious

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Yemen's Houthi rebels say they will decide Friday whether the government is serious about peace talks. "We have no problem holding talks with the other side. We will judge whether the Stockholm talks are serious or not tomorrow," a rebel spokesman told an Arabic language television network. The U.N.-sponsored talks opened Thursday in Rimbo, Sweden, north of Stockholm. WATCH: UN Envoy: Success of Yemen Talks Depends on Warring Sides Embed share UN Envoy: Success of Yemen Talks Depends on Warring Sides Embed share The code has been copied to your clipboard. width px height px Share on Facebook Share on Twitter The URL has been copied to your clipboard No media source currently available 0:00 0:02:09 0:00 Direct link These are

Left wing Extremism: Maoist boss Ganapathy may have fled to Philippines

Bhopal: Top Naxal leader Ganapathy who has recently relinquished his position as Maoist general secretary due to ill health, was suspected to have fled to the Philippines. Naxal commander Mupalla Laxman Rao alias Ganapathy escaped to Nepal and then fled to the Philippines from there, a senior police officer of Chhattisgarh disclosed to this newspaper on Friday requesting anonymity “We are keeping a watch on the development. Phone calls of senior Naxal leaders believed to be in touch with Ganapathy are being intercepted to trace his hideout in the Philippines”, the Intelligence officer of the Chhattisgarh police said. Intelligence sources said he was undergoing treatment in his hideout in the Philippines. Ganapathy, 71, has a long association with People’s War Group (PWG), which later took the form of Maoists following mergers with other wings. The Naxal commander who carried a bounty of Rs 2.52 crore by several state governments and Central forces, was elected ge

Airstrike, Taliban Raid Kill More Than 21 Afghan Security Forces

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ISLAMABAD —  The Taliban has killed at least 14 Afghan soldiers and taken more than 20 others hostage in the western Afghan province of Herat, which borders Iran, officials confirmed Friday. Separately, a counter-Taliban airstrike in central Uruzgan province killed at least seven Afghan security forces. The latest violence coincided with a Taliban statement defending and boasting about its five-year Islamist rule in Afghanistan, which was ended 17 years ago by a U.S.-led military invasion. A spokesman for the Herat government, Jailani Farhad, told VOA that insurgents stormed and captured the Afghan National Army (ANA) base manned by the soldiers in the Shindand district. There were injured soldiers among the hostages, confirmed Taliban and Afghan officials. The Taliban also released a video allegedly of the captive soldiers, though the authenticity of the footage could not be verified immediately. Officials in Uruzgan explained the deadly airstrike had a

Attacks Continue as Iraq Marks One Year Since Islamic State Victory

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MOSUL, IRAQ —  In the desert outside Mosul there is a giant sinkhole, once thought a natural wonder, with stories about it going back for generations. There are believed to be as many as 10,000 or more bodies decomposing inside, unceremoniously dumped by Islamic State militants, after or during the killings. And as Iraq marks the first anniversary of its victory over IS, this area is still strewn with so many bombs that authorities do not expect to recover those remains soon, if at all. ​But in places formerly controlled by IS, locals say they are more worried about their future than the past. Militants may have lost almost all of their territory, but attacks continue and residents fear the group will once again rekindle its campaign of all-out violence. “We know where the explosives are, so we are not afraid of them,” explains Sarhan, a 15-year-old shepherd who guides us toward the sinkhole. “But we are afraid of militants coming back, so we have guns now.” Las

US fails to condemn Hamas at UN General Assembly

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A US-sponsored draft resolution seeking to condemn Palestinian resistance group Hamas at the United Nations General Assembly has failed to gain a majority vote. The 193-member UNGA voted 87-57 in favor of the resolution Thursday while 33 members chose to abstain, leaving Washington with a plurality vote that fell short of the two-thirds requirement to adopt the resolution. The US had originally called for a simple majority vote, but the world body opted for a two-third majority instead after a narrow 75-72 vote, with 26 abstentions. The resolution attempted to condemn Hamas for carrying out rocket attacks against Israel and using "airborne incendiary devices" against Israelis living in occupied Palestinian lands. PressTV-Hamas possesses game-changing missiles: Israeli sources Israeli intelligence sources admit Hamas is in control of new, game-changing missiles. The resolution came weeks after Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups fired

Larijani: US took Daesh terrorists to Afghanistan

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Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says the United States has transferred a large number of Daesh terrorists to Afghanistan over the past years. Speaking in Tehran on Thursday, Larijani said this could bring about a replay elsewhere in Asia of the crisis, which was suffered by Iraq and Syria during the Takfiri terror group's three-year reign in the Arab countries, Tasnim News Agency reported. Cooperation among Iran, China, Pakistan, Turkey, Russia, and Afghanistan would be of "great significance," he told Chen Zu, the visiting vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress. The remarks echoed similar ones in January by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. PressTV-‘US relocating Daesh to Afghanistan to justify presence’ Ayatollah Khamenei says the US is seeking to legitimize its presence in the region by moving the terrorists from Iraq and Syria to Afghanistan. The Ch

Over 7,500 Myanmar Women Trafficked to China, Forced Into 'Giving Birth': Study

Bangkok: Thousands of vulnerable women and girls from northern Myanmar are being trafficked to China and forced to marry, a study said Friday, offering a rare look at an issue that grips the conflict-hit borderlands. China has around 33 million more women than men due to the decades-long one-child policy. To plug the gap tens of thousands of poor women from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam are sold as brides each year, some going willingly, while others are tricked or trafficked In the first research of its kind, a report by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health estimated 7,500 women from war-torn Kachin and northern Shan states have fallen victim to forced marriage in China. Based on interviews with scores of people who escaped and returned to Myanmar, and others still inside China, the study found that the majority of those trafficked were also forced to carry a child for their husband. Women leave Myanmar because of "conflict, displ

Study highlights the complex factors pushing people to extremism

What drives certain individuals to shun society and embrace violent extremism? Terrorist attacks like last month's incident in Melbourne's Bourke Street leave families and authorities searching for answers as to what drives the perpetrators. Police say that attacker was inspired by Islamic State, but it's not yet clear what led him down that path. Now, a ground breaking report detailing the views of families of extremists shows just how complex the causes can be. Duration: 3min 36sec Broadcast: Tue 4 Dec 2018, 8:10am Source: https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/am/study-highlights-the-complex-factors-pushing-people-to-extremism/10579984

Hacking Tools, Techniques Used in Marriott Data Theft Point to Chinese Hand: Sources

Washington: Hackers behind a massive breach at hotel group Marriott International Inc left clues suggesting they were working for a Chinese government intelligence gathering operation, according to sources familiar with the matter. Marriott said last week that a hack that began four years ago had exposed the records of up to 500 million customers in its Starwood hotels reservation system Private investigators looking into the breach have found hacking tools, techniques and procedures previously used in attacks attributed to Chinese hackers, said three sources who were not authorized to discuss the company's private probe into the attack. That suggests that Chinese hackers may have been behind a campaign designed to collect information for use in Beijing's espionage efforts and not for financial gain, two of the sources said. While China has emerged as the lead suspect in the case, the sources cautioned it was possible somebody else was behind t