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Showing posts from June 28, 2020

'Liberate Us': Hong Kong Man Accused of Terrorism in First Use of New China Security Law

Beijing imposed the legislation on the former British colony earlier this week despite protests from Hong Kongers and Western nations, setting China's freest city and a major financial hub on a more authoritarian track. A man carrying a "Liberate Hong Kong" sign as he drove a motorcycle into police at a protest against the territory's Chinese rulers became on Friday the first person charged with inciting separatism and terrorism under a new security law. Beijing imposed the legislation on the former British colony earlier this week despite protests from Hong Kongers and Western nations, setting China's freest city and a major financial hub on a more authoritarian track. Critics say the law - which punishes crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison - is aimed at crushing dissent and a long-running campaign for greater democracy. Police say 23-year-old Tong Ying-kit rammed and injured some officers at an i

Italian Police Smash Nationwide Child Pornography Ring, Over 50 Under Probe

Police said in some cases the pornography was produced at home. Material was exchanged on an instant messaging platform that investigators didn’t publicly identify except to say it was “well-known.” News18 Italian police say they have broken up a child pornography ring involving sharing of illicit material, including photos of newborns, via an instant messaging platform. Police on Saturday said the crackdown involved dozens of search warrants and led to the arrests of three people for allegedly possessing what was described in a statement as “huge quantities of pornographic material depicting minors.” They said some 50 people are under investigation. The police statement said postal police investigators discovered photos of nude minors and other “horrifying content, depicting actual sexual violence where the victims were often newborns.” Police said in some cases the pornography was produced at home. Material was exchanged on an instant messaging platform that investigators didn’t publ

The UN intervenes in Libya as Haftar’s mass graves are uncovered

The GNA makes alarming discovery of bodies - including women and children - that Haftar’s militias have seemingly left in their wake in former strongholds On Thursday, Libyan officials from the UN-backed government announced that six more bodies had been discovered in the western city of Tarhuna. In a statement, the Government of National Accord, who were conducting investigations in the area, said that they came across the bodies during excavation work.  Since the UN-backed GNA forces captured warlord Khalifa Haftar’s stronghold in the city of Tarhuna earlier last month, hundreds of bodies in mass graves have been discovered by GNA forces. Authorities announced that so far they have found at least eleven mass graves in liberated areas in which 208 bodies lay. Furthermore, according to the GNA, women and children are included in these numbers, while at l

Gun Violence: 1 Killed, 3 Injured in Shooting at Mississippi Sports Bar

The sheriff's office shared images on Twitter of the shooting suspect, seeking help identifying the person and saying gunfire broke out after an altercation. A man was fatally shot and three others were wounded in a shooting early Saturday at a nightclub in Mississippi's capital, an official said. The shooting happened at M-Bar Sports Grill in Jackson, Hinds County Capt. Tyree Jones told The Associated Press. Cortez Shelby, 41, was shot in the neck and died at the scene, Jones said in a news release. A woman and two men were also shot and taken to a hospital. Their wounds were not considered life-threatening. The sheriff's office shared images on Twitter of the shooting suspect, seeking help identifying the person and saying gunfire broke out after an altercation. The suspect left the bar and was not in custody. Source:  https://www.news18.com/news/world/1-killed-3-injured-in-shooting-at-mississippi-sports-bar-2701363.html

US under siege from 'far-left fascism', says Trump in Mount Rushmore speech

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Standing beneath Mount Rushmore on the eve of American independence day, Donald Trump staged a defiant celebration of what critics say is white identity politics and warned the nation’s history is under siege from “far-left fascism”. The US president defended the symbolism of statues and monuments before a packed crowd at an event that revelled in political incorrectness calculated to enflame the country’s current divisions and enrage liberal critics. There were few face masks and even fewer people of color on stage or in the stands. Related:  Trump has 'gone awol' as president amid coronavirus pandemic, says ex-CIA director “Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children,” Trump said. “Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our founders, deface our most sacred memorials and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities.” Donald Trump, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, at Mou

French Islamic convert & ISIS terrorist sentenced for 30 years the first such trial

PARIS (Reuters) - A Frenchman who converted to Islam and went abroad to fight for Islamic State was sentenced by a Paris court on Friday to 30 years in prison in France's first successful prosecution of an Islamist militant for crimes committed in Syria. Tyler Vilus, 30, was arrested in Turkey five years ago as he prepared to catch a flight to Prague. Prosecutors told the court he wanted to lead the squad of gunmen and suicide bombers which attacked Paris in November 2015, but were unable to prove this. The judges ruled the sentence carried a minimum 20 years in jail. "By not choosing a life sentence, the court decided to leave you a glimmer of hope for you to evolve," chief judge Laurent Raviot said. Vilus, who turned to Islam aged 21, denied any link to the Nov. 13, 2015 attacks but acknowledged for the first time that he left the Syrian battlefield to "die with weapons in his hands." "Deep down, I know that when I leave I am going to die. It's a path

Catalonia enforced a new lockdown on more than 200,000 people

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's north-eastern region of Catalonia enforced a new lockdown on more than 200,000 people on Saturday, after several new outbreaks of the coronavirus were detected. Residents in Segria, which includes the city of Lleida, will not be able to leave the area from 12 noon (1000 GMT) on Saturday, but will not be confined to their homes as was the case in Spain's original strict lockdown in March. "We have decided to confine Segria due to data that confirm too significant a growth in the number of COVID-19 infections," Catalan regional president Quim Torra told a news briefing. Regional health ministry data showed there were 3,706 cases in the Lleida region on Friday, up from 3,551 the previous day. Movement for work will be permitted, but from Tuesday workers entering or leaving the area will have to present a certificate from their employer. Spain has registered 205,545 coronavirus cases and 28,385 deaths, making it ne of the worst affected countrie

NIA Makes Sixth Arrest in Pulwama Terror Case, Budgam Youth Accused of Facilitating Attack

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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) made its sixth arrest in connection with the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed last year. Iqbal Rather, 25, a resident of Budgam in the Union territory, was taken into custody by NIA for facilitating the attack, an NIA statement said. The NIA has accused Rather of helping key conspirator Muhammad Umar Farooq reach Kashmir after he allegedly infiltrated through the International Border in Jammu. "Mohammed Iqbal Rather was part of the transportation module of Jaish e Mohammed. He facilitated movement of Muhammed Umar Farooq, the JeM terrorist and a key conspirator in the case, after he infiltrated into Indian territory in April 2018 from the national highway near international border to south Kashmir," the NIA said. Farooq had allegedly assembled the IED that was fitted to the vehicle which bombed the convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in February 2019 killing 40 of it

Suicide car bomber hits checkpoint at Somalia's Mogadishu port

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - An explosion shook parts of the Somali capital of Mogadishu early on Saturday as a suicide car bomber drove into a checkpoint just outside the port, witnesses said, but police made no immediate comment on casualties. "Metal debris fell all over us inside the port and we heard gunfire," said a port worker who sought anonymity for security reasons. "Security forces have surrounded the area." The blast shoook the ground, said Mohammed Ali, a shopkeeper in the area. At the city's Madina hospital, a nurse, Halima Nur, said it had received five people injured in the blast for treatment. Somalia has been mired in conflict since 1991, when clan warlords overthrew dictator Siad Barre and then turned on each other. Since 2008, the Islamist militant group al Shabaab has been fighting to overthrow the central government and establish its rule based on its own harsh interpretation of Islam's sharia law. Source:  https://in.news.yahoo.com/loud-explos

After Stoking 30 Years of Bloodshed in Kashmir Valley, Syed Ali Shah Geelani Has Realised His Mistake

Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani surprised many people in Kashmir and across the country by announcing his resignation from his faction of the Hurriyat Conference, which he headed for more than two decades. Many people believe his resignation would pave the way for the end of anti-India politics in Kashmir as separatism has lost its address in the Valley. Geelani in his resignation mentioned that the so-called “freedom movement of Kashmir” has become the “movement” of Pakistan’s interest and the young generation of Kashmir has been turned into drug addicts. The Jammu and Kashmir Police in the recent past have arrested many militant aides with narcotics and huge amounts of cash. The blocking of Hawala channels has led to the separatist funding getting choked from all sides. To overcome the curbs, the people sitting across the Line of Control (LoC) have taken refuge in drugs to sponsor militancy and separatism in Kashmir. After Geelani tendered his resignation, people in Kashmir

Son of Hezbollah official films rape, torture of Syrian boy

Three Lebanese youths, including a son of a senior  Hezbollah  official, filmed themselves beating and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old Syrian refugee in east Lebanon, multiple Arab media sources reported this week. According to reports, the names of the perpetrators are Hadi Qamar, Mustafa Sha'shoua and Hassan Sha'shoua. The video, showing the three man verbally and physically abusing the boy, went viral on social media, with Syrian and Lebanese users calling for the perpetrators' arrest and prosecution. "Three Lebanese men raped a 13-year-old Syrian refugee, taking pictures as they took turns abusing him," a Twitter user posted under the hashtag #العدالة_للطفل_السوري (Justice for the Syrian boy). "Until they are arrested, here are the pictures of these fanatic monsters. I hope everyone posts them," the tweet said. "May who[ever] decides to burn a little child's soul like that burn in hell and suffer for the rest of their life," another u

Mexican soldiers killed 12 alleged drug cartel members

MONTERREY (Reuters) - Mexican soldiers killed 12 alleged drug cartel members wearing military gear in the violent border city of Nuevo Laredo on Friday, Tamaulipas state security officials said, in another instance of mass murders that have driven Mexico's homicides. Officials said armed gunmen clad in military-style uniforms attacked soldiers from the 16th Regiment in a neighborhood near the airport around dawn. The military seized eight AR-15 type weapons, one AK47, and two .50 caliber Barrett sniper rifles at the scene, officials said in a statement. Images published by local news outlets appeared to show corpses piled in the back of a pickup truck and lying on a roadside in pools of blood. A thirteenth man was found dead later in the day, according to officials, who said his death was related to the early-morning confrontation in Nuevo Laredo, opposite the city of Laredo in Texas. Local news outlets reported the victims were likely members of the Cartel of the Northeast, a regi

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Approves Controversial Anti-terror Bill

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte approved tough anti-terrorism legislation on Friday that critics fear will be used to target his opponents, stifle free speech and promote authoritarianism in one of Asia's most liberal democracies. The law grants police and military sweeping powers to tackle security threats, but legal experts warn its overly broad articles could open the door to discriminatory enforcement, privacy infringements and suppression of peaceful dissent, including social media comments. The law, which Duterte, 75, fast-tracked through both houses of Congress during a coronavirus outbreak, has been condemned by activists, while the UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet this week urged him not to sign it. Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said Duterte had "pushed Philippine democracy into an abyss". The law will, he said, "give a green light to the systematic targeting of political critics and opponents, as well as ordinary Filipinos who

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Nathan Law leaves homeland after China passes security law

Hong Kong, July 3 (ANI): With China imposing the national security law in Hong Kong, several pro-democracy activists are fleeing their homeland. Nathan Law, a former lawmaker, and pro-democracy activist, on Thursday, announced on his Facebook that he has left Hong Kong, CNN reported. Though he did not mention where he had gone or will he return to his homeland, he said that he had left the city to continue his movement at the international level. Nathan Law was elected as a lawmaker in 2016 but was soon disqualified from office by the Hong Kong court as his oath was seen as "insincere" according to China's rule on how legislators took their oaths of office. Hours after Beijing passed the controversial national security legislation for Hong Kong, activists Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, Jeffrey Ngo and Agnes Chow step-down from the pro-democracy group Demosisto. They made the announcement on Facebook, around two hours after China's top legislative body passed a law that is s

Simon Wiesenthal Center asks EU to focus on ISIS, not Israel

The letter, sent by The Simon Wiesenthal Center, asks the EU to stop focusing on Israel and instead focus on ISIS jihadists. The Simon Wiesenthal Center  sent a letter to the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Joseph Borrell, in which Director for International Relations of the center, Dr. Shimon Samuels, suggested that the EU should stop its focus on Israel, and instead turn its attention to a Turkish ratline that is allegedly bringing former  ISIS  volunteers into Europe.  In the letter, Samuels said that people in their 20s and 30s who have embraced an extreme Islamist ideology and are now coming back to Europe pose a possible threat. The main cause for concern cited in the center's press release in the French Daily paper  Le Parisien , is that due to "instability in Syria and the vulnerability of the Kurdish camps, intelligence agencies fear that [ISIS] combatants are secretly reaching European soil." "One might add the mas

Saudi-led coalition says destroyed four drones launched by Yemen's Houthis

The conflict is largely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Saudi-led military coalition battling the Houthis in  Yemen  said on Friday it had destroyed four explosive-laden drones launched by the Iran-aligned group in the direction of Saudi Arabia, the official Saudi news agency reported. The drones were intercepted over territory controlled by the  Houthis  in Yemen, the Saudi Press Agency said, citing a statement from the command of the coalition, which is made up mainly of Saudi and United Arab Emirates forces. The Western-backed coalition announced on Wednesday the launch of a new military operation against the Houthis after they stepped up cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia. Last week, Houthi fighters fired missiles that reached the Saudi capital Riyadh in the first such assault since a six-week ceasefire prompted by the novel coronavirus epidemic expired in late May. The coalition said it intercepted the attack. The coalition