Most Wanted 26/11 Mastermind Hafiz Muhammed Saeed Shapes Pakistan Policy towards India
New Age Islam News Bureau
3
Dec 2013
An Iraqi man walks past a billboard in a street in central Baghdad on December 1, 2013. (AFP)
India
• Most Wanted 26/11 Mastermind Hafiz Muhammed Saeed Shapes Pakistan Policy towards India
• India offers $1m in aid, experts to destroy Syria's chemical weapons
• Floating armouries can lead to 26/11-type attack: Navy chief
• Muzaffarnagar riots survivors withdrawing complaints under pressure
• 'Motu Doctor', brother of Glasgow bomber, wanted in 'LeT plot'
Europe
• Experts urge all-out struggle against radical Islam in Russia
• NATO says Karzai failure to sign pact would end Afghan mission
• Questions of loyalty force focus on Spanish Muslim soldiers
• UN evidence on Syria war crimes implicates Assad, Pillay says
• Arab League pessimistic on date of Syria peace conference
• A million Syrians lack food: Red Cross
Arab World
• Egypt: Investigators looking into possible links between Morsi, jihadists
• Attack on Iraqi government complex kills nine: Police, medics
• Suicide blast kills 4 in Damascus; rebels seize 12 nuns
• ISIL Kills All Members of Rival Armed Group in Reef Idli
• New Egyptian Constitution Would Curb Islamists, Enshrine Privileged Status of Military
• Salafi leader: Nour Party partook in drafting constitution to prevent ‘blatant infidelity’
• Al-Qaeda Clears Christianity off Raqqa Church, Makes New Office
• In Egypt, ideas of a radical Islamist make comeback
• Iraq must make radical shift to combat unrest: Experts
• Police arrest alleged Sydney ringleader of network sending Australian fighters to Syria
• Syria: German Muslim Convert in Propaganda Video
Southeast Asia
• North Sumatra: Hundreds of Islamists attack Protestant community during prayer service
• Police Chief Sutarman Plays Down Talk of a Rift Over Headscarves
Mideast
• Mujahideen Shura Council in Jerusalem praises 3 Salafi jihadists killed in West Bank
• Deal with West not a zero-sum game, Iran reassures Saudi Arabia
• Israelis, Saudis plotting new Stuxnet worm to sabotage Iranian nuclear program - report
• Jewish activists want to pray on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, raising alarm in Muslim world
• Iran opposes US security deal with Afghanistan
South Asia
• 2014 will be bumper year for Taliban: UN report
• Taliban urge Afghan president Hamid Karzai to reject US security deal
• India reported to be releasing further credit to Maldives
• Another Bangladesh party boycotts polls as death toll mounts
• Maldives Media Council slams Defence Ministry over threats to media
Pakistan
• New Taliban chief returns to Pakistan's tribal areas: Spokesman
• With calm on LoC, Pakistan hopes ties with India will improve: Salman Bashir
• Another ultimatum: SC orders recovery of 33 missing persons today
• Pakistan, Afghanistan agree on ‘border commission’
• PML-N won't leave Kashmiris in the lurch
• Ulema demand reorganisation of CII
Africa
• Islamic militants brutally attack Nigerian air force base
• Lawmakers vote to oust Somalia's prime minister after 14 months in office
• Hackers Protest against Angola Allegedly Banning Islam
• Bomb blast kills Tunisia officer near Algeria border
North America
• Guantánamo Bay detainees claim Poland allowed CIA torture
• Egyptian people will decide the fate of draft constitution: US
• Kerry: With global anti-Semitism on the rise, Israel's voice must be heard everywhere
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/most-wanted-26-11-mastermind/d/34704
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India
Most Wanted 26/11 Mastermind Hafiz Muhammed Saeed Shapes Pakistan Policy towards India
Dec 03, 2013
NEW DELHI: It's not such a Sharif government in Pakistan after all. An intelligence assessment sent to South Block by the Indian mission in Pakistan and accessed by Mail Today says that 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Muhammed Saeed has intensified his anti-India propaganda and operations to the point of setting the tone of Islamabad’s policy towards its larger neighbour.
All this is being done with the blessings of the Nawaz Sharif government.
The memo says that Pakistan’s notorious intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), 'listens' to Saeed and 'follows his diktats'. Since the ISI is the cutting edge of Pakistan’s India policy, Saeed has thus manoeuvred himself into a position from where he can leave his diabolic imprint on it.
According to the report, the big change now is that Saeed, who was running his propaganda machine from the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) headquarters in Muridke, is using Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi as the base of his operations. The JuD is the ‘spiritual mentor’ of terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, which had carried out the Mumbai terror attacks, and is opposed to India and the US. The memo comes days after India mourned the martyrs of the 2008 attacks, whose perpetrators remain at large. Even the seven low-level LeT operatives being tried in connection with crime may get away as the Pakistan government is doing precious little to expedite the trial.
The internal assessment on Saeed’s activities notes that “JuD Amir Hafiz Muhammad Saeed has been playing a crucial role in promoting the anti-India agenda smoothly with the assistance and support of the Pakistan government. There seems to be an underlying arrangement between the government and the JuD to provide Saeed some space for promoting his agenda of fanning anti- India sentiment in Pakistanis.”
The assessment notes that in Bahawalpur, Saeed warned those declaring Kashmir as an integral part of India that “India would disintegrate if Kashmiri people were not granted right of self-determination”. Then in Karachi, he alleged that the US was supporting the Indian Army and its intelligence agencies in Afghanistan for imparting training to terrorists for activities in Pakistan. In Hyderabad, he accused India of constructing dams to stop water flowing to Punjab and Sindh.
This only lends credence to reports that Saeed is now directing anti-India operations.
The Pakistan armed forces journal Hilal recently invoked the water issue to ramp up anti-India propaganda.
Saeed’s enlarged vengeance highlights two trends.
First, that the Sharif government is playing a double- game, professing peace through diplomatic channels while unleashing Saeed and the LeT against India. Second, Saeed's frequent outbursts may weaken the fledgling hopes of peace that the continuation of democracy in Pakistan has raised.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/most-wanted-hafiz-shapes-pakistan-policy-towards-india-051556975.html
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India offers $1m in aid, experts to destroy Syria's chemical weapons
PTI | Dec 3, 2013
NEW DELHI: India has decided to give $1 million to the trust of Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons at The Hague for destruction of Syria's chemical weapons and related facilities, a move that will strengthen its case for inclusion in Geneva-II talks next month.
Apart from the financial assistance, India has offered the services of its experts to help in the destruction of Damascus' chemical weapons arsenal and related facilities, a ministry of external affairs statement said.
Welcoming the progress on the time-bound safeguarding and destruction of Syria's chemical weapons and its accession to the chemical weapons convention, the ministry said, "India's assistance to the OPCW is a concrete demonstration of India's consistent position of support for the complete destruction and elimination of chemical weapons worldwide".
India has already expressed interest to be included in next month's Geneva-II, an international conference which seeks to bring together all warring parties, domestic and international, to stabilize Syria.
The MEA statement also said, "India would also offer the services of its experts to be used by the OPCW in the destruction verification activity as well as training slots for the personnel participating in the UN/OPCW mission for the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons.
"India is an original state party to the chemical weapons convention and as a possessor state it has completed the destruction of its chemical weapons in accordance with the convention," the ministry added.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-offers-1m-in-aid-experts-to-destroy-Syrias-chemical-weapons/articleshow/26788847.cms
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Floating armouries can lead to 26/11-type attack: Navy chief
PTI | Dec 3, 2013
NEW DELHI: Unregulated floating private armouries carrying combatants of certain countries are a matter of concern and can have serious security implications for the country including infiltration of terrorists that can lead to 26/11-type attacks, Navy chief Admiral D K Joshi warned on Tuesday.
Addressing the annual Navy Day press conference, he also sought a "reversal" of high risk areas for merchant ships plying in the piracy prone zones, saying such an extension in these zones has resulted in incidents such as the killing of four Indian fishermen by Italian marines near Kerala coast.
"Floating armoury is a matter of very serious concern. This is entirely unregulated... This has very serious security implications for us including the infiltration of terrorists.
"...If there are unregulated arms and ammunition on a vessel, the existence of weapons is not known as also where guards are transferring them and this could lead to such a situation on anybody's soil," Joshi said when asked if unregulated floating armouries can lead to a 26/11 attack.
The Navy chief was talking on the issue against the backdrop of seizure of the American floating armoury MV Seaman Guard Ohio off the coast of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu.
He said the government has also received reports about the presence of "combatants from some countries who on a temporary basis take up these employments and become private armed guards."
Asked if he meant that these combatants are from Pakistan, Joshi skirted a direct response, saying, "I am referring to what I am referring to."
He said over the years, these armouries providing escort to the merchant vessels plying in piracy prone areas have become a "loose-knit structure" and the "unregulated manner these ships are operating, there is no track of which ship is coming and what guards it has, what arms does it have and where they are going."
He said like the merchant vessels operating under the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) framework, these floating armouries have to be brought under the regulation and all the littoral states must be aware of the identity of such ships, the number of weapons and guards present on them.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Floating-armouries-can-lead-to-26/11-type-attack-Navy-chief/articleshow/26794932.cms
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Muzaffarnagar riots survivors withdrawing complaints under pressure
Ashish Tripathi & Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui,TNN | Dec 3, 2013
LUCKNOW: The quest for justice for survivors of Muzaffarnagar riots is getting tougher as many of them are being allegedly pressurized to withdraw their complaints. Some have already yielded to the pressure and taken back their cases. There are allegations that police, too, are encouraging such moves.
In a case pending with Kandla police, the complainant has given a clean chit to the accused and submitted an affidavit in this regard with the senior superintendent of police (SSP) Muzaffarnagar. The police, surprisingly, have not questioned the complainant's u-turn. In another case pending with Puwana police, the complainant has given a clean chit to the accused even after taking an interim relief of Rs 5 lakh from the government.
The first case, crime number 324/2013, was lodged with Kandhla police station of Muzaffarnagar by the Imam of a mosque in Nara village. The complainant identified himself as Alam, son of Samiuddin. The case is registered under IPC Sections pertaining to rioting, armed mob, dacoity, damage, criminal intimidation and insult.
In his complaint, Alam had accused local residents of desecrating the holy book and causing major damage to the mosque. He had named 16 accused and also provided their residential address. But now Alam has submitted an affidavit with SSP Muzaffarnagar claiming that the accused named in the FIR are innocent. It is suspected that he has withdrawn the complaint under pressure from the accused.
In the second incident, Salim had lodged a complaint with Kandla police accusing a mob of locals of rioting, arson and dacoity and setting his house on fire along with that of others belonging to his community. Initially lodged against a zero crime number with Kandhla police, the case was later transferred to Puwana police station. On the basis of the FIR, Salim had also claimed Rs 5 lakh as compensation from the government.
Now, Salim has submitted a written application to the investigating officer (IO) stating that the accused were wrongly identified. Salim's statement will prove detrimental to those whose houses were destroyed along with his own and had received compensation for it as well and do not want to let the accused off the hook.
Reports say in several other cases, accused along with police are trying to hush up the investigations to the extent that cases become redundant.
Jamil (name changed), a riot survivor from Phugana, whose wife was gang-raped, had claimed that rapists were his neighbours who were now giving him life threats. Mohammad Dawan, a survivor from Nara village, told TOI that the authorities had allegedly forced many locals to perform the last rites of those killed in the riots without postmortem. It would now be difficult for survivors to prove that their kin were killed in the riots for any ex gratia, he added.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Muzaffarnagar-riots-survivors-withdrawing-complaints-under-pressure/articleshow/26758359.cms
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'Motu Doctor', brother of Glasgow bomber, wanted in 'LeT plot'
Dec 03 2013
Bangalore : A Medical doctor from Bangalore who was accused in the 2007 plot to bomb Glasgow airport — but released and deported to India after he admitted withholding information — has now been named in an NIA investigation into an alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba-linked conspiracy to recruit young Muslims for “jihadi activities”.
Sabeel Ahmed, now 32, was accused by British authorities of withholding information about his aeronuatical engineer brother Kafeel Ahmed’s June 2007 suicide mission to drive a jeep with explosives into the Glasgow airport.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-motu-doctor--brother-of-glasgow-bomber-wanted-in--let-plot-/1202503/
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Europe
Experts urge all-out struggle against radical Islam in Russia
Russia and India Report
Dec 03, 2013
The detention of militant Islamists in Moscow last week has dealt a hard blow on terrorism, but experts believe tougher fight against militant religious groups is an urgent need. They do not exclude one of the reasons why extremism has scaled up is some terrorists seek to avenge Russia for its firm stance on Syria.
On Wednesday night Moscow police detained 15 armed Islamic terrorists, members of the outlawed extremist organization At-Takfir Wal-Hijra. They were armed with three explosive devices, handguns, hand grenades, cartridges and extremist literature.
The police traced the terrorists after detaining a number of members of ethnic criminal communities that had given money to buy weapons and explosives for the now arrested fanatics. The terrorist group consisted of natives of the North Caucasus republics of Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, and also of Turkmenistan. According to the police, they had been recruiting new members, including Slavs (neophytes), for their further conversion to Islam. The police have found out that at least one of the group's members had come to Moscow from an Arab state, where he had had a long course in Islam. He established a jamaat (underground organization) in Moscow and recruited some natives of the North Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Central Asia and also ethnic Russians.
Full report at:
http://indrus.in/society/2013/12/01/experts_urge_all-out_struggle_against_radical_islam_in_russia_31279.html
http://europenews.dk/en/node/74801
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NATO says Karzai failure to sign pact would end Afghan mission
Reuters | Dec 3, 2013
BRUSSELS: NATO would have to pull all its troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014 if Afghan President Hamid Karzai does not sign a security pact with the United States, alliance chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Monday.
An assembly of Afghan elders, the Loya Jirga, last month endorsed the security pact intended to shape the US military presence in the country beyond 2014. But Karzai said he might not sign it until after elections in April.
The NATO -led force currently has around 80,000 troops in Afghanistan, the majority American. NATO is winding down combat operations, handing responsibility for fighting Taliban insurgents to the Afghans, before most foreign combat forces pull out by the end of 2014.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/NATO -says-Karzai-failure-to-sign-pact-would-end-Afghan-mission/articleshow/26756630.cms
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Questions of loyalty force focus on Spanish Muslim soldiers
Dec 03, 2013
Concerns about creeping radicalism in Spain's North African enclaves have made military commanders question the loyalty of Muslim soldiers recruited from those regions, prompting staff shifts and worries about religious tolerance.
The doubts - focusing on whether recruits from the two enclaves on the Moroccan coast would follow orders in the event of a dispute with Morocco - have reportedly led the army not to renew some contracts and sparked protests for the rights of Muslim soldiers.
Muslim soldiers' ties with neighbouring Morocco are "a subject of worry among many military commanders," the daily El Pais writes.
Full report at:
http://europenews.dk/en/node/74800
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UN evidence on Syria war crimes implicates Assad, Pillay says
Dec 03, 2013
GENEVA: Evidence collected by UN investigators probing Syrian war crimes implicates President Bashar Assad, UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said.
Pillay later denied having direct knowledge of their secret list of suspects, but her revealing remarks about the head of state were at odds with a policy of keeping the identity of alleged perpetrators under wraps pending any judicial process.
The UN investigators, who collect testimony in utmost secrecy and independently from Pillay, have previously said the evidence points to the highest levels of Syria’s government, but have not named Assad or any other officials publicly.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/486411
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Arab League pessimistic on date of Syria peace conference
Dec 03, 2013
"Top-level" meetings between US, UN and Russian officials will take place in Geneva on 20 December to discuss the required arrangements for the Geneva II peace conference on Syria which will take place in January, the Arab League's deputy secretary-general said on Monday.
Ahmed Ben Helli, however, expressed doubts concerning the holding of the international conference, scheduled for 22 January, due to the non-finalisation of some political measures.
"I am not optimistic about this date. The Arab League exerts huge efforts to include as many political currents as possible under the Syrian National Coalition's delegation. The aim is to achieve credibility whether inside or outside Syria," he said.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/88108/World/Region/Arab-League-pessimistic-on-date-of-Syria-peace-con.aspx
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A million Syrians lack food: Red Cross
Dec 03, 2013
At least a million Syrians are going hungry, as fighting and checkpoints prevent aid deliveries, the international Red Cross warned on Monday.
"A conservative estimate is a million people without food," said Simon Eccleshall, crisis management chief at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
The IFRC's local member, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), is the key player in international operations in Syria, where around one third of the pre-war population of 21 million now relies on aid to survive.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/88118/World/Region/A-million-Syrians-lack-food-Red-Cross.aspx
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Arab World
Egypt: Investigators looking into possible links between Morsi, jihadists
Dec 03, 2013
CAIRO – During his year as president, Egypt's Mohammed Morsi cultivated ties with Islamic radicals, making them a key support for his rule by pardoning dozens of jailed militants, restraining the military from an all-out offensive against jihadis in Sinai and giving their hard-line sheiks a platform to spread their rhetoric.
Now with Morsi ousted and imprisoned, investigators are looking into possibly putting him on trial for links to jihadis, accusing him and his Muslim Brotherhood of being behind a wave of violence by Sinai-based militants in retaliation for the July 3 military coup that removed the Islamists from power, military and security officials say.
Since Morsi's ouster, violence by jihadi groups has escalated into a full-fledged insurgency, with increasing shootings, bombings and al-Qaida-style suicide attacks against troops and police in Sinai. The attacks have spread outside the restive peninsula with bombings and assassinations in the capital, Cairo, and other parts of the country.
Full report at:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/12/03/egypt-investigators-looking-into-possible-links-between-morsi-jihadists/
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Attack on Iraqi government complex kills nine: Police, medics
Dec 03, 2013
Nine people were killed and 17 wounded in a suicide and mortar attack on a government compound in the northern Iraqi town of Tarmiya on Tuesday, police and medics said.
One attacker wearing an explosive belt blew himself up at the structure, which held the mayor's office, the town's police station and other government organisations, officials told Reuters.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/88174/World/Region/Attack-on-Iraqi-government-complex-kills-nine-Poli.aspx
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Suicide blast kills 4 in Damascus; rebels seize 12 nuns
Dec 03, 2013
DAMASCUS: A suicide bomber killed at least four people and wounded 17 in central Damascus on Tuesday, Syrian state television reported.
“Four dead, 17 injured in a suicide bombing in the Jebbeh district of Jisr Al-Abyad,” state television said in a breaking news alert.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said the target of the attack appeared to be a government building.
Suicide bombers have repeatedly targeted the capital in the bloody 33-month conflict pitting forces loyal to President Bashar Assad against rebels seeking his ouster.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/486801
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ISIL Kills All Members of Rival Armed Group in Reef Idli
Dec 03, 2013
TEHRAN (FNA)- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) killed all members of another militant group in Reef (countryside of) Idlib in Northwestern Syria on Monday.
The heavy clashes erupted after ISIL came under the group’s attacks in Hazano in Reef Idlib.
Last week, ISIL clashed with an armed rebel group in Saraqeb town in Reef Idlib and a large number of militants from both sides were killed in heavy fighting.
The heavy clashes erupted in Reef Idlib after the ISIL kidnapped nine armed rebels and executed them.
After more than two years of fighting side-by-side and leading one of the bloodiest conflicts in the recent history of the Middle-East, the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) and al-Qaeda affiliated groups have been making growing moves against each other to take charge in battle zones following West’s official announcements about its arms and logistic supports for anti-government forces in Syria.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13920911000583
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New Egyptian Constitution Would Curb Islamists, Enshrine Privileged Status of Military
By Tamer El-Ghobashy, Reem Abdellatif
Dec 03, 2013
CAIRO—Egypt’s amended constitution, set to be presented to the president on Tuesday, would scale back the influence of Islamic law, enshrine the privileged status of the military and do little to check the resurgent power of police.
The major changes in the document appear intended to prevent another Islamist surge in politics and to grant the military and security forces powers to temper civilian rule. Experts said it essentially reverts back to the old order, adding some updated language with vague assurances on political freedoms such as protesting.
The rewriting of Egypt’s constitution has been at the center of the country’s political power struggles since the ouster of longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak nearly three years ago.
Full report at:
http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-395474/
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Salafi leader: Nour Party partook in drafting constitution to prevent ‘blatant infidelity’
Dec 03, 2013
Deputy leader of the Salafi Daawa, Sheikh Yasser Borhamy, said that the group’s political arm, Nour Party, participated in the current constitution-writing committee in order to prevent “blatant infidelity,” as he put it.
On his website, Salafi voice, Borhamy said the Salafi Daawa and Nour Party are not siding with “enemies of religion,” explaining the party’s participation in amending the 2012 constitution as aimed to “prevent blatant infidelity rather than to side with secularists.”
The party has been under fire by the Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist allies for taking part in what they consider an illegitimate constitution-amending process that followed the ouster of Egypt’s first elected president Mohamed Morsy in July.
Full report at:
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/salafi-leader-nour-party-partook-drafting-constitution-prevent-%E2%80%98blatant-infidelity
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Al-Qaeda Clears Christianity off Raqqa Church, Makes New Office
Dec 03, 2013
TEHRAN (FNA)- An Al-Qaeda fraction in Syria cleared all signs of Christianity off a church in the Eastern city of Raqqa and turned it to an advertisement and commanding centre for themselves.
Pictures have emerged on the internet and social media showing Al-Qaeda’s ‘Raqqa bureau’ set by the terrorist group of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIS) in the historic church of Raqqa, Al-Alam reported.
Websites close to militants say all the exterior and interior symbols and signs showing the building is church have been cleared.
Many churches and mosques have been destroyed by militants in different towns and villages in Syria.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13920911001197
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In Egypt, ideas of a radical Islamist make comeback
Reuters | Dec 3, 2013
ALEXANDRIA/CAIRO: Young Egyptian Islamists seeking a way to confront the military-led state are turning to the ideas of a radical ideologue who waged the same struggle half a century ago and later became a source of inspiration for al Qaida.
The revolutionary ideas of Sayyid Qutb, a Muslim Brotherhood leader executed in 1966, are spreading among Islamists who see themselves in an all-out struggle with generals who deposed President Mohamed Morsi in July.
Their radical conclusions underline the risks facing a nation more divided than ever in its modern history: after Mursi's downfall, the state killed hundreds of Islamists, and attacks on the security forces have become commonplace.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/In-Egypt-ideas-of-a-radical-Islamist-make-comeback/articleshow/26755226.cms
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Iraq must make radical shift to combat unrest: Experts
Dec 03, 2013
Iraq must make radical changes in how it handles security and its Sunni minority to combat a surge in bloodletting but major steps are unlikely with elections looming, experts say.
With violence at its worst since 2008 and the country appealing for international help in combatting militancy, officials have trumpeted operations targeting militants and some concessions to disaffected Sunnis.
But, analysts say, those measures do not go far enough when confronted with bloodshed that has left more than 6,000 people dead already this year and has sparked fears Iraq is slipping back into all-out sectarian war.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/88167/World/Region/Iraq-must-make-radical-shift-to-combat-unrest-Expe.aspx
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Police arrest alleged Sydney ringleader of network sending Australian fighters to Syria
Dec 03, 2013
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA – The alleged Sydney ringleader of a criminal network that sends Australians to fight in Syria has been arrested, police said Tuesday.
Police estimate that about 100 Australian residents and citizens have traveled to Syria to fight in contravention of Australian law, some taking up arms with terrorist-linked militias.
Two Sydney men became the first suspects to be arrested by a four-month-old joint federal and state police counter-terrorism investigation into Australian citizens attempting to travel to Syrian to fight in the civil war, Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Peter Drennan said.
Full report at:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/12/02/police-arrest-alleged-sydney-ringleader-network-sending-australian-fighters-to/
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Syria: German Muslim Convert in Propaganda Video
Dec 03, 2013
Al Qaeda-associated "Da'ash" organization has released a video in which a young German who converted to Islam 4 years ago urges German Muslims to join the jihad in Syria and establish an Islamic Caliphate system to rule the world.
The convert is one of thousands of foreign jihadists coming to Syria to join the rebels fighting President Bashar Assad's regime. Just recently a German convert to Islam and former player on the German national soccer team was killed after he joined the fighting in Syria.
In the Da'ash video German convert "Abu Osama," a name he picked because he "loves Osama bin Laden," speaks in German, exhorting Muslims worldwide to come to Syria and establish a caliphate to impose Islamic law on the entire globe.
Full report at:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/174648#.Up49ydJDsqN
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Southeast Asia
North Sumatra: Hundreds of Islamists attack Protestant community during prayer service
Dec 03, 2013
Jakarta (AsiaNews) - A group of extremists belonging to the Islamic Defenders Front attacked and disrupted the Sunday services of the Tandemn Huria Kristen Batak Protestant ( Hkbp ) community in the city of Binjai , the Indonesian province of North Sumatra . hundreds of faithful of the local Christian community had to abandon their church - official and recognized - and close traditional weekend services early because of the threats made by the fundamentalists. The faithful returned to their homes, escorted by police in riot gear.
Eyewitnesses reported that the assault yesterday morning against the Protestant Christian community was led by hundreds of FPI members, supported by some local Islamist groups . The assailants shouted loudly that the "church" is not legal , the authorities in the area, according to the extremists , have not take any decision on the legitimacy of any " activities of worship " in the building .
Full report at:
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/North-Sumatra:-Hundreds-of-Islamists-attack-Protestant-community-during-prayer-service-29690.html
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Police Chief Sutarman Plays Down Talk of a Rift Over Headscarves
Dec 3, 2013
National Police chief Gen. Sutarman has played down comments indicating that his relationship with his deputy, Comr. Gen. Oegroseno, was strained, after the latter postponed plans to allow policewomen to wear Islamic headdress while on duty.
Sutarman insisted he had ordered Oegroseno to issue the postponement.
“There is no problem. I was the one who ordered [the letter] because I was on a work trip to Papua.”
“[It was postponed] because of uniformity reasons and this indeed has to be part of a uniform. This regulation has to be carefully formulated because it also has to do with the budget. The faster it is discussed, the better,” Sutarman said on Tuesday.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/police-chief-sutarman-plays-down-talk-of-a-rift-over-headscarves/
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Mideast
Mujahideen Shura Council in Jerusalem praises 3 Salafi jihadists killed in West Bank
Dec 03, 2013
In a statement released to jihadist forums on Nov. 29, the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem (MSC), a Gaza-based Salafi jihadist group, issued a eulogy for three Salafi jihadists killed during clashes with Israeli forces near Hebron on Nov. 26.
Despite the efforts of the Palestinian Authority security forces to pursue "the good Mujahideen," the MSC boasted that "a group of Mujahideen arose to declare it clearly that jihad is ongoing in the West Bank." This group will bring "new distinguishing factors that will make the Jews taste death with the flavour of Salafi Jihad," the MSC claimed, in a statement translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.
Full report at:
http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2013/12/msc_in_jerusalem_praises_salaf.php#ixzz2mPH9Uz2r
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Deal with West not a zero-sum game, Iran reassures Saudi Arabia
ATUL ANEJA
Dec 3, 2013
Iran has reached out to Saudi Arabia, by reassuring its regional rival that Tehran’s budding rapprochement with the West in the aftermath of the recently signed Geneva accord did not pose any threat to Kingdom.
During a whirlwind visit of a string of Persian Gulf monarchies, Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif invited Saudi Arabia to “ work together in order to promote peace and stability in the region”. “We look at Saudi Arabia as an important and influential country in the region”, AFP quoted Mr. Zarif as saying during his stop in Kuwait city.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/deal-with-west-not-a-zerosum-game-iran-reassures-saudi-arabia/article5414804.ece
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Israelis, Saudis plotting new Stuxnet worm to sabotage Iranian nuclear program - report
Dec 03, 2013
Israel and Saudi Arabia are reportedly collaborating to create a new destructive computer worm to "spy on and destroy the software structure" of Iran's nuclear program, the semi-official Iranian news agency Fars said over the weekend.
Fars quoted "an informed source" close to the Saudi secret service as saying that Saudi spy chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan and Mossad head Tamir Pardo each sent a representative to Vienna on November 24 with the purpose of increasing the "'two sides' cooperation in intelligence and sabotage operations against Iran’s nuclear program."
Full report at:
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_12_02/Israelis-Saudis-plotting-new-Stuxnet-worm-to-sabotage-Iranian-nuclear-program-report-5179/
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Jewish activists want to pray on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, raising alarm in Muslim world
Dec 03, 2013
JERUSALEM — A small but growing movement by Jewish activists demanding the right to pray at the site of their destroyed temple, in the heart of this disputed capital’s Old City, is creating a potentially explosive clash with the Muslim world, which considers the spot holy and bans Jews from public worship there.
Each week, hundreds of Jews ascend the creaky wooden ramp built above the Western Wall and enter what is often called the most contested real estate on Earth. Many then embark upon a game of hide-and-seek with their police escorts — whispering forbidden prayers while pretending to talk into cellphones, and getting in quick but banned bows by dropping coins and then bending to pick them up.
Full report at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/jewish-activists-set-sights-on-jerusalems-temple-mount-raising-alarm-in-muslim-world/2013/12/02/d0561dc4-4e00-11e3-97f6-ed8e3053083b_story.html
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Iran opposes US security deal with Afghanistan
Dec 03, 2013
Iran's foreign ministry says a U.S. security deal with Kabul is not "useful" for Afghanistan, and also impact "regional issues" negatively.
The Bilateral Security Agreement with the United States would keep thousands of troops in Afghanistan past a 2014 deadline. Iran is concerned about a U.S. military presence on its borders.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/88155/World/Region/Iran-opposes-US-security-deal-with-Afghanistan.aspx
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South Asia
2014 will be bumper year for Taliban: UN report
Dec 03, 2013
One of the most striking failures of counter terror finance since 9/11 has been the international inability to de-fund the Taliban. The Taliban has maintained robust, balanced revenue sources that haven’t changed too much from the type and amount of money they collected to propel them to power in the 1990s. As ISAF troops depart, the Taliban is poised to profit even more, according to a new UN report reviewed by The Guardian:
…The Taliban remains a powerful and well-funded force, the report says, with the movement raising $155m in 2012 from illegal opium production.
Full report at:
http://europenews.dk/en/node/74788
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Taliban urge Afghan president Hamid Karzai to reject US security deal
3 December 2013
The Taliban have urged the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, to turn a delay in signing a long-term security deal with the United States into outright rejection, in an unusually polite statement directed at a leader the insurgents have repeatedly denounced as a US puppet.
Karzai last month called a national assembly to vote on the bilateral security agreement (BSA) and then shocked most of the country, including some of his closest advisers, by ignoring the advice of the handpicked group that he sign as soon as possible.
Full report at:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/02/taliban-hamid-karzai-us-security-deal
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India reported to be releasing further credit to Maldives
Dec 3, 2013
Indian media has reported that the country will re-open its US$100million standby credit facility to the Maldives during the scheduled visit of newly elected President Abdulla Yameen later this month.
Whilst the President’s Office was unable to comment on the validity of the story, the New Indian Express has today reported that the Indian Government is expected to “unfreeze” the remaining part of the loan.
The Indian government agreed to grant the facility during an official state visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2011, in order to help the Maldives meet short-term budgetary needs.
Full report at:
http://minivannews.com/politics/india-reported-to-be-releasing-further-credit-to-maldives-72579
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Another Bangladesh party boycotts polls as death toll mounts
AFP
2013-12-03
DHAKA: Another major Bangladesh political party Tuesday announced a boycott of the upcoming general election, declaring the country was on the “brink of disaster” as seven more people were killed in poll protests.
Former dictator Hussain Muhammad Ershad said his Jatiya Party, the country's third largest and a key ally of the ruling Awami League, would not contest the January 5 elections, following in the footsteps of the opposition alliance.
“Since all parties are not contesting, so the Jatiya Party will also not participate in the polls,” Ershad told reporters, adding that a “proper environment” was absent for the elections.
“I am not going to contest the election. The country is at the brink of disaster. We're heading towards uncertainty,” Ershad added.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1060231/another-bangladesh-party-boycotts-polls-as-death-toll-mounts
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Maldives Media Council slams Defence Ministry over threats to media
Dec 3, 2013
The Maldives Media Council (MMC) has expressed concern over the Ministry of Defence’s threatening the media for criticizing the dismissal of nine soldiers.
In a statement on Saturday, the Ministry of Defence threatened to take action against any party who criticized the ministry’s “routine” disciplinary actions.
The MMC – an elected 15 member council with media and public representatives – said the ministry’s statement infringes on freedom of the press and stressed that the freedom of press cannot be limited any more than is stated in the constitution.
Full report at:
http://minivannews.com/politics/media-council-slams-defense-ministry-over-threats-to-media-72659
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Pakistan
New Taliban chief returns to Pakistan's tribal areas: Spokesman
AFP | Dec 3, 2013
MIRANSHAH, Pakistan: The new head of the Pakistani Taliban has returned to the country's tribal areas, a spokesman for the militants said on Tuesday, after several years based in Afghanistan.
Hardline cleric Maulana Fazlullah was elected as leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) last month after his predecessor was killed by a US drone.
Fazlullah has been based mainly in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan since 2009, when a military operation ended his followers' brutal two-year rule of Pakistan's northwest Swat valley.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/New-Taliban-chief-returns-to-Pakistans-tribal-areas-Spokesman/articleshow/26789045.cms
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With calm on LoC, Pakistan hopes ties with India will improve: Salman Bashir
December 2, 2013
NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s outgoing High Commissioner to India Salman Bashir announced on Monday that after a series of violence clashes, peace has been restored at Line of Control.
Bashir, who is expected to be replaced by career diplomat Syed Ibne Abbas, expressed hope that Pakistan and India ties will further improve in future and that he could see the “light at the end of the tunnel” of in diplomatic relations and predicted the improvement would survive next year’s Indian elections.
Talking to media persons in New Delhi Bashir said calm had returned to the Line of Control, the de facto border in the disputed Kashmir region after a deadly flare-up earlier in the year. Bashir’s announcement on Monday was the first indication that the commitment made by both sides to improve ties, was yielding results.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/640132/with-peace-on-loc-pakistan-hopes-ties-with-india-will-improve-salman-bashir/
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Another ultimatum: SC orders recovery of 33 missing persons today
December 3, 2013
ISLAMABAD: Rejecting the defence secretary’s explanation, the Supreme Court gave a last chance to defence authorities to present the 33 missing persons within a few hours or face legal consequences.
During Monday’s proceedings, Attorney General Munir A Malik informed the court that two of the 35 missing persons have died in custody.
Heading a three-judge bench, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry told the defence authorities to file a case against those who are responsible for the deaths of two missing persons. The ‘custodial death of two missing persons’ is a clear evidence that all the missing persons are in the army’s custody, he added.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/640412/another-ultimatum-sc-orders-recovery-of-33-missing-persons-today/
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Pakistan, Afghanistan agree on ‘border commission’
Dec 3, 2013
ISLAMABAD - In a significant development Islamabad and Kabul have agreed in principle to work towards setting up a ‘border commission’ with a common objective of enhancing border controls to curb militant activity.
This key understanding to secure the porous Pak-Afghan border was reached between the two sides during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Kabul last week.
The modalities and contours of the proposed commission will be worked out at the level of the Interior ministries of the two countries soon, it is learnt. A senior representative of the Afghan Interior ministry will be travelling to Pakistan next week for deliberations with his Pakistani counterpart on the proposed Commission, according to informed sources here.
Full report at:
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/editors-picks/03-Dec-2013/pakistan-afghanistan-agree-on-border-commission
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PML-N won't leave Kashmiris in the lurch
Dec 3, 2013
ISLAMABAD - Leader of the House in Senate Raja Zafar-ul-Haq has said that Kashmiri nation could not be divided by constructing the wall on Line of Control.
Expressing his views on the occasion of Azad Kashmir's workers' convention in Islamabad Sunday‚ he said that PML-N has a longstanding stance about the Line of Control and integration of Kashmir.
He said that it was military dictator Pervez Musharraf who had compromised on unity of Kashmir and allowed India to build fence along LoC. Earlier in the convention‚ Raja Zafar-ul-Haq said that Musharraf also did six verbal agreements with United States on telephone including drones‚ which worsened the circumstances in Afghanistan.
Full report at:
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/islamabad/02-Dec-2013/n-won-t-leave-kashmiris-in-the-lurch-zafar
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Ulema demand reorganisation of CII
Dec 03, 2013
ISLAMABAD - Chairman Pakistan Ulema-o-Mashaaikh Council, Allama Zubair Abid demanded of the government to reorganise Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) and peace-loving people should be included in it.
He was addressing a Press conference here at the National Press Club after expressing grief over the Rawalpindi incident with Maulana Amanullah and others. Allama Zubair Abid condemned the Rawalpindi tragedy. "Real peace can only be achieved by implementing Islamic laws throughout the country," he added.
Full report at:
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/national/02-Dec-2013/ulema-demand-reorganisation-of-cii
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Africa
Islamic militants brutally attack Nigerian air force base
Dec 03, 2013
MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA – Hundreds of Islamic militants in trucks and a stolen armored personnel carrier attacked an air force base on the outskirts of a Nigerian city before dawn Monday, officials and witnesses said, possibly leaving scores of people dead in one of the insurgent group's most daring attacks ever.
A military official who was at the base said he saw three aircraft and several vehicles hit in the attack. The state government quickly ordered everyone to stay home and extended a night-time curfew to 24 hours in Maiduguri, the city near the air base which is also the birthplace of the extremist Boko Haram movement.
Explosions and automatic gunfire could be heard across the northeastern city from around 2:30 a.m. when the insurgents launched the attack with screams of "Allahu akbar," or "God is great."
Full report at:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/12/02/witnesses-islamic-militants-attack-nigerian-air-force-base-burn-planes-outside/
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Lawmakers vote to oust Somalia's prime minister after 14 months in office
Dec 03, 2013
MOGADISHU, SOMALIA – Lawmakers in Somalia have voted to oust the country's prime minister and his Cabinet after 14 months in office.
Parliament Speaker Sheik Osman Jawari said that lawmakers on Monday voted 184-65 to oust Full report at:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/12/02/lawmakers-vote-to-oust-somalia-prime-minister-after-14-months-in-office/
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Hackers Protest against Angola Allegedly Banning Islam
Dec 03, 2013
TEHRAN (FNA)- The group known as Moroccan Ghosts breached and defaced the website of Angola’s Embassy in Spain (embajadadeangola.com).
On the defacement page, the hackers urge the Angola government to "stop the suppression of Islam and the Muslims", Ahlul Bayt News Agency reported.
"Islam is a religion of tolerance, respect and full of mercy, where man plays a big role to contribute to the stability of any society judges and living together of different races. One of the duties of the Muslim as an individual is to respect the other, on the other hand, a Muslim must be able to exercise his faith," the hackers noted.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13920912000420
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Bomb blast kills Tunisia officer near Algeria border
Dec 03, 2013
A landmine killed a Tunisian army officer on Monday in the Mount Chaambi border region, where security forces have for months been hunting Al-Qaeda linked militants, the defence ministry said.
Captain Youssef Dridi, a military engineer, died in the blast, which occurred at the end of an "operational mission" and which lightly injured another soldier, the official TAP news agency quoted the ministry spokesman as saying.
Since last December, the security forces have been tracking jihadists holed up in the remote Mount Chaambi region that straddles the Algerian border.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/88126/World/Region/Bomb-blast-kills-Tunisia-officer-near-Algeria-bord.aspx
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North America
Guantánamo Bay detainees claim Poland allowed CIA torture
Dec 03, 2013
Lawyers for two men subject to extraordinary rendition by the CIA have on Tuesday told the European court of human rights (ECHR) that Poland, which permitted a secret 'black' site to operate on its territory, should also be held responsible for their torture.
Abd al-Rahim Hussayn Muhammad al-Nashiri, a Saudi Arabian national of Yemeni descent and Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, also known as Abu Zubaydah, a stateless Palestinian, maintain they were waterboarded during interrogation in Poland. Both men are currently held by the US in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
The Strasbourg court also heard a submission from Ben Emmerson QC, the UN special rapporteur on counter-terrorism, who argued that where gross or "systematic human rights violations are alleged to have occurred, the right to know the truth is not only an individual right that belongs to the immediate victim of the violation, but also a collective right that belongs to the whole of society".
Full report at:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/03/guantanamo-cia-rendition-torture-poland
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Egyptian people will decide the fate of draft constitution: US
PTI | Dec 3, 2013
WASHINGTON: The United States has said that it is the Egyptian people who would decide the fate of the draft constitution through a referendum as Washington continued to support the democratic transition process in the country.
"We continue to track the constitutional process with interest, and we'll examine the document carefully once it is finalised and sent to (interim Egyptian) President (Adly) Mansour," said the State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki.
This is expected to happen on Tuesday.
"The Egyptian people, of course, will decide the fate of the draft constitution in a referendum. We will continue to support a transition process that leads to an inclusive civilian government, selected through free, fair and transparent elections," Psaki said in response to a question.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Egyptian-people-will-decide-the-fate-of-draft-constitution-US/articleshow/26767975.cms
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Kerry: With global anti-Semitism on the rise, Israel's voice must be heard everywhere
Dec 03, 2013
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday welcomed Israel’s inclusion into the United Nation’s Western Eastern and Others Group in Geneva, a move that grants it national rights at the UN’s Human Rights Council.
"At a time when the scourge of global anti-Semitism is on the rise, it is more important than ever for Israel to have a strong voice that can be heard everywhere," Kerry said.
The secretary, who is due to arrive in Israel on Wednesday, issued his statement hours after the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem received a formal invitation to join WEOG.
Kerry welcomed Israel's restored ties with the UN Human Rights council.
Kerry's comments came in a statement welcoming Israel into the Western European and Others Group of nations in Geneva Monday- a move that grants it national rights at the Human Rights Council.
Full report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Kerry-With-global-anti-Semitism-on-the-rise-Israels-voice-must-be-heard-everywhere-333802
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/most-wanted-26-11-mastermind/d/34704