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Special to the tribune
Moscow won’t let Ukraine rebels ‘fail’
Church of England allows female bishops
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Czechs mark 25 years of Velvet Revolution
Riots in Jerusalem after Palestinian found hanged
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Two more British Muslims join long list of jihadists
Shyam Bhatia in London Two more names of British Muslims have cropped up among the would-be UK jihadists rallying to extremist Islamic causes outside Europe. Dr Tariq Ali, a former Pakistan army doctor who later qualified as a surgeon with Britain’s National Health Service, has appeared in a video released by a Pakistani Taliban faction, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaatul Ahrar (TTPJA), led by Omar Khalid Khorasani. Dr Ali, who was charged with violent disorder at an extremist rally in the UK and later sentenced to 15 months in absentia for hitting a bystander with a pole, is now editor of the TTPJA magazine called Ihya-e-Khilafat. He is among more than 500 British jihadis thought to have left the UK to lend their support to extremists groups in Pakistan and the Middle East. In the TTPJA video seen by the Western media, Ali speaks about his nine years in the UK, how he studied surgery in London and Cambridge and how he was arrested in Croatia on his way to Iraq where he sought to join the Islamic State (IS) forces led by Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi. “I emigrated to London,” he is quoted as saying. “There I did general surgical training in London and Cambridge and at the same time I called the non-Muslims to Islam.” Even more shocking for the British public is the disclosure that a British medical student of Yemeni origin seems to be among 16 jihadis filmed in the process of beheading Syrian soldiers. The video of the beheadings, which also shows the decapitated body of 26-year-old American aid worker Peter Kassig, was posted for an hour on YouTube on Sunday morning. The father of 20-year-old Nasser Muthana has been quoted in the British media as saying, “I cannot be certain but it looks like my son. He must fear Allah now for killing people. How can he expect to face Allah if he is killing human beings?’ Ahmed Muthana goes on to say about his son, “he must be mentally ill – either that or there is something else not right.” Two months ago Nasser, who went to school in the Welsh capital, featured in the first IS recruitment video where he boasted of his expertise in blowing up a Syrian army base. In a Twitter message (posted on his Twitter page @abulmuthanna313) he also warned of how the UK authorities should be afraid of his newly acquired bomb making skills. It is understood that Nasser has now been joined by his younger brother, 17 year old Aseel, who has also spoken of his willingness to die fighting for IS. According to AFP, he later told the BBC, after looking at the pictures again: "It doesn't look like him, much difference. This one's got a big nose, my one has a flat nose." The latest murders of the Syrian army hostages, as well as Kassig, have been described by US President Barack Obama as “pure evil.” Former British Prime Minister John Major characterised these as 13th century barbarism. British Prime Minister David Cameron condemned “depraved” terrorists for the ‘deplorable depths’ they were prepared to go in carrying out the beheadings. French citizen ‘very likely’ in beheading video
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Moscow won’t let Ukraine rebels ‘fail’
Moscow, November 17 Putin's statement in an interview with German ARD television came as European Union foreign ministers met in Brussels to discuss a response to the continuing fighting in Ukraine and German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that the conflict was not just about Ukraine but about peace across Europe. In the interview broadcast late yesterday, Putin said he still believes in the success of peace efforts in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian rebels have been battling Kiev's troops in a conflict that has claimed more than 4,000 lives. The Russian leader blamed the fighting on the failure by both the rebels and Ukrainian troops to pull back from the front line â€" a key requirement under a September cease-fire. In the rebel-held stronghold of Donetsk, officials said today that one civilian had been killed and eight injured in fighting over the weekend. After Ukraine announced Friday that it would suspend banking services in rebel-held areas, Donetsk residents huddled outside banks today, waiting to withdraw their dwindling cash.
— AP |
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Church of England allows female bishops
London, November 17 The general synod, the law-making body of the Church of England, had voted to back plans for female bishops back in July and following today's decision, the first female bishops will be in place by early next year. Women priests were ordained in 1994 but to date they have not been able to take on the Church's most senior roles. Divisions remain between Anglicans who feel it is consistent with their faith and traditionalists who disagree. A prior move to allow women to stand as bishops was defeated in 2012 by six votes cast by lay members of the general synod. The decision has been welcomed by long-term campaigners for change, who see it as step towards widening female participation in the Church. The Very Reverend Jane Hedges, the first female dean of Norwich, said she had previously thought she would not have seen it happen until after her retirement.
— PTI |
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Czechs mark 25 years of Velvet Revolution
Prague, November 17 The centre of the rally was a street in downtown Prague where the police cracked down on a peaceful anti-communist student march that came a week after the collapse of the Berlin Wall on November 17, 1989. The demonstrations began with fiery speeches against the hardline communist regime at a university campus, prompting thousands of students to march downtown. The police blocked the street from both sides, squeezing the protesters with armed vehicles before attacking them with truncheons; hundreds were injured. On December 29, 1989, dissident playwright Vaclav Havel became Czechoslovakia's first democratically elected president in a half-century. Under his leadership, the country became a champion of human rights and many Czechs believe Zeman has betrayed that legacy.
— AP |
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Riots in Jerusalem after Palestinian found hanged
Jerusalem, November 17 Palestinian press reports identified the driver as Yusuf Hassan Ramuni, 32, a father of two, and said he was killed by Jews. His body was found Sunday night in an industrial area in West Jerusalem and Israeli police ruled that his death was a suicide as his body showed no signs of violence. However, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told Efe news agency that Ramuni's remains would undergo an autopsy to clarify any doubts. The Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported that Ramuni was killed by Jewish settlers, while Jerusalem's Al-Quds newspaper reported that the driver was lynched by six Jews. Palestinian bus drivers complain they have long been subjected to violence by Jews.
— IANS |
Pak test-fires nuclear capable ballistic missile
2nd Ebola death in US as Sierra Leone doc succumbs Indian student among 5 killed in UK car crash Saudi man divorces wife for ignoring his message UK Parliament evacuated after bomb scare Malaysian court to review appeal on use of word Allah Burkina Faso chooses Kafando as interim President
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Two more names of British Muslims have cropped up among the would-be UK jihadists rallying to extremist Islamic causes outside Europe.
Prague, November 17
Rioting occurred overnight in the Arab districts of East Jerusalem after the body of a Palestinian driver was found hanging in a bus belonging to an Israeli company, media reported Monday.
Palestinian press reports identified the driver as Yusuf Hassan Ramuni, 32, a father of two, and said he was killed by Jews.
