“Members of Egypt’s security services were due to be questioned on Sunday by defence lawyers over their claims that the Al-Jazeera English journalists had conspired with terrorists to falsify news reports. But for the second hearing in a row, the witnesses failed to attend court” …
… while a man “[s]ecurity sources have described … as a ‘radical Islamist’ who is not officially a Brotherhood member” is hanged:
- Egypt Executes ‘Supporter’ of Muslim Brotherhood (Al-Jazeera)
“The pledge of allegiance offered to Islamic State (Isis) by the Nigerian terrorist group, Boko Haram over the weekend … may …Â be more of a cry for help, given a recent string of defeats sustained by Boko Haram”:
Netanyahu spoke “of Haman – (of ancient Persia) who tried to wipe out the Jews … [but] he didn’t mention Cyrus, the potentate … who … liberated the Jews from the Babylonian captivity” nor of the “Palestinian children that he himself has blown up while he’s having peace talks with the” PA:
The one-two punch of Iranian-back militias and Iraqi government troops is likely to prevail in the unfolding battle for Tikrit …
- US General: Iraq Will Retake Tikrit with Iran’s Help, but then What? (Christian Science Monitor)
… “Sunni farmer Marwan al-Bayati fled his home to the nearby city of Kirkuk when Shiite militiamen approached his militant-held village last September. As he prepared to return a month ago, he received anonymous phone calls warning that death awaited him if he and his family returned”:
- Iraqis Living Under IS Rule Fear Liberation Means Reprisals (AP / abc News)
“The attack on antiquities by ISIS militants at the Nineveh Museum in Mosul, Iraq, last week might not have been as damaging as appears in the video. Experts say many of the statues destroyed in the propaganda piece were actually replicas”:
- Did ISIS Destroy Replicas at Mosul Museum? (Artfix daily)
Tawfiq Abu Riala, 32, was killed and two other Gaza fishermen were arrested” for having “deviated from the designated [and overfished] fishing zone” close to shore:
- Palestinian Fisherman Fatally Shot by Israeli Gunboat (Christian Science Monitor)
“In 2007, when she was just 18, Saarah enrolled with a flying school in the US. ‘Those days most Muslim students were being denied US Visas. When she got the Visa without any trouble I saw it as a final message from God,’ says the deeply religious Ahmed:
- An Inspirational Message from India’s Only Woman Muslim Pilot (Hindustan Times)
Questionable motives. “Campaigning for re-election, world soccer body FIFA president Sepp Blatter … [called] on Iran to lift its ban on women attending male sports events in stadia [while ignoring] Saudi Arabia, which is even more restrictive given its refusal to promote woman’s sports”:
- The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer (Mideast Soccer)
“Raif Badawi was arrested in 2012 after writing articles critical of Saudi Arabia’s clerics on a liberal blog he created…. His lawyer, prominent human rights defender Waleed Abul-Khair, is serving a 15-year sentence for insulting the judiciary, among other charges related to his political activism.”
- Merkel Deputy: Flogging Case Strains Saudi-German Relations (AP / abc News)
Leave a Reply