LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

April 02/16

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.april02.16.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today

As the Father has sent me, so I send you
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 20/19-25:"When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’ But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit
Letter to the Colossians 02/08-15:"See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ.For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 02/16
Illusions… and Accusations/Ahmad El-Assaad/April 01/16
Pakistan's Execution Of Malik Mumtaz Qadri – The Ideology Of Blasphemy In Islam/MEMRI/Tufail Ahmad/April 01/16
Palestinians: Presidents for Life, No Elections/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/April 01/16
The oldest church in the UAE, and the roots of tolerance/Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/April 01/16
Will Palmyra turn the tables against ISIS/Maria Dubovikova/Al Arabiya/April 01/16
Let us heal from Islamophobia first/Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/April 01/16
Death from Kabul to Brussels/Fahad Suleiman Shoqiran/Al Arabiya/April 01/16

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on April 02/16

Illusions… and Accusations
Report: Controversial Files on Cabinet Agenda Next Thursday
Report: Diplomatic Mobility Focused on Army Support, Ending Vacuum and Easing Refugees Burden
Abdul Menhem Youssef Questioned over 'Embezzlement, Negligence'
Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq Reschedules Municipal Elections Due to Holidays
Doctor Confesses to '200 Abortions' after ISF Rescues 75 'Sex Slaves'
Hariri Holds Talks with Putin at Kremlin
Berri: Legislative Sessions Conform with National Pact
Protesters Storm Saudi Daily's Beirut Office over 'Lebanese Flag' Cartoon
1 Dead, Several Hurt in Fierce Ain el-Hilweh Clashes
Al-Arabiya TV Closes Office in Beirut
ISF Busts Lebanon's 'Most Dangerous' Human Trafficking, Prostitution Ring
General Security Arrests Terror Cell Recruiting Minors
Gemayel: Who Gave Sayyed Hassan Authorization to Choose Lebanon's President?
I Want Freedom in Europe', Says Baghdadi's ex-Wife in Lebanon
Syria Refugees Beg for a Living on Beirut Streets

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 02/16

Iran regime’s embassy ‘tried to recruit 200 dissidents’ in Saudi Arabia
Top Democrat in U.S. House opposes new Obama concession to Iran regime
Iranian Kurd sentenced to imprisonment after writing to UN
Syrian Held for Smuggling Migrants to Cyprus
U.S. 'Appalled' by Syria Regime Strikes that Killed More than 30
Russia, US discuss securing Syria ceasefire
US trains dozens of Syrians in new push against ISIS
Spectacular gas blast rocks central Paris apartment block
Turkey PM visits Kurdish city after attack
Sudan blocks activists from Geneva rights meet: rights groups
N. Korea Fires another Missile
Key Libya cities throw support behind unity govt
Hamas armed wing won't update Israel on captured soldiers
Briton found guilty of plotting ISIS-inspired attack on US troops
First Syrians due in Germany Monday under EU-Turkey pact
Obama calls on China to 'peacefully' address South China Sea: White House
Trapped civilians stall Iraqi forces battling ISIS
Hungary: more than 900 ‘no-go areas’ in Europe
Saudi, US impose sanctions on ‘terrorist financers’
Modi’s Saudi visit part of push to ‘de-hyphenate’ India from Pakistan
US reaffirms support to Iraqi leader Abadi
Russia: Syrians must decide Assad’s fate
Israel minister who served jail time faces new crime probe
Ex-UN climate chief Pachauri faces fresh harassment claim

Links From Jihad Watch Site for April 02/16
The Islamic State forbids remaining Christians from leaving Raqqa.
How many American politicians do the Saudis own?.
Video: White House censors French President saying “Islamist terrorism”.
Belgium wants migrants to sign pledge to integrate; Leftists enraged.
Brussels jihadis worked in airport where they killed infidels; 50 more Islamic State supporters still work there.
British convert to Islam added to US list of global terrorists for raising funds for al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Muslim found guilty of preparing Islamic State jihad mass murder attack on US forces in UK.
Fatwa: Chanting “Victory to Mother India” is un-Islamic.
Another fake “Islamophobia” claim: Muslima admits she lied about being slashed and called “terrorist” in NYC.
“The notion that Moroccan-Belgians suffer from widespread exclusion, discrimination, and suppression is ridiculous”.
Why Pope Francis shouldn’t have washed and kissed the feet of Muslim migrants.
Mississippi: Cheerleader converts to Islam, tries to join the Islamic State, pleads guilty to terror charge.
Belgium: Muslim terror hotline operator says of Israel: “It’s called Palestine, sir”.
Video: Robert Spencer on CAIR’s ties to Hamas.
Muslim cleric: Jews are “enemies of mankind” and “the worst of beasts in the sight of Allah”.
Hugh Fitzgerald: Fierce Hugs and Great Frittata Recipes.

Illusions… and Accusations
Ahmad El-Assaad/March 31/16/There is no doubt that the blood-filled, atrocious experiences that Lebanon has been through over the decades, caused by the Palestinian presence, are good enough reasons to cause a certain apprehension regarding the demands to prolong the refugees’ presence on Lebanese lands, encouraging them to stay longer. The Lebanese people have the full right to be reluctant to take any step of the sort, and to hesitate to respond to the International Community’s demand to give the refugees some facilities, like the right to work, because they fear that such steps would make the Syrians want to stay in Lebanon longer, even if they were capable of returning home. However, this doesn’t in any way mean that the Lebanese people have the right to accuse the International Community of working to have the Syrians settle in Lebanon, or that they can be under the illusion that there is a conspiracy being plotted in dark rooms! It is illogical for the Lebanese people to ask the International Community for aid to help with the Syrian refugees, and at the same time accuse international references that they mean to harm Lebanon! In any case, even if some international party had the will to settle the Syrians or the Palestinians, then the Lebanese people, across the board, refuse that. The Lebanese have experienced everything, and have learned. They’ve all made mistakes, and they’ve learned. None of them sees in Syrians or Palestinians a supportive element, or a promoter of Lebanon’s strength. On the contrary, everyone realizes the perils of settlement vis-à-vis the country, and its security, political and economicstability, even vis-s-vis its identity and the role it plays.

Report: Controversial Files on Cabinet Agenda Next Thursday
Naharnet/April 01/16/The cabinet session scheduled to convene next week has a number of controversial files on its agenda to tackle mainly the issue of the State Security agency, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday. The daily added that a suggested solution to create a six-member leader authority was not approved by all political parties and that it requires a draft-law to be presented at parliament. Christian cabinet ministers have been complaining over the alleged marginalization of the general-directorate of State Security. The directorate had sent a bill to the cabinet on March 20, 2014 asking for the creation of a six-member leadership authority under which the director-general of State Security, Maj. Gen. George Qaraa, a Catholic, would have the casting vote. But reports have said that the former secretary-general of the cabinet, Suhail Bouji, has paralyzed the plan by saying that the approval of the bill requires a draft-law to be adopted by the parliament unlike a decision made by the Shura Council. The Christian ministers are also complaining that Qaraa is being snubbed during meetings of the heads of the country's security agencies. The cabinet has also important issues on its agenda, including the airport security.It is also set to discuss from outside the agenda the visit of U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to Lebanon and the loans promised by the international community to help the country cope with the burden of Syrian refugees.

Report: Diplomatic Mobility Focused on Army Support, Ending Vacuum and Easing Refugees Burden
Naharnet/April 01/16/The overall initiatives and stances that were conveyed by international delegates to Lebanon lately have focused on three major issues including supporting the army, help ease the burden of Syrian refugees and ending the presidential vacuum, An Nahar daily reported on Friday. Sources following up closely on the international diplomatic mobility in Lebanon which intensified recently told the daily: “The overall initiatives, aid and stances that have been conveyed by delegates and representatives to Beirut focus mainly on three major issues that the whole western and international community agree on.” “The strong support of the Lebanese army is a fundamental pillar to preserve stability and confront terrorism. Pressuring the Lebanese officials to end the almost two-year presidential vacuum and to increase support in the case of Syrian refugees which is burdening Lebanon and threatening its infrastructure, its economy and social situation pending a proposed solution to Syria,” added the source on condition of anonymity. It added that the upcoming visit of French President Francoise Hollande to Lebanon on April 16 and 17 carries an essential message in reaffirming France's position in backing in light of the repercussions of the Syrian war. The daily anticipated that Hollande will not come to Lebanon empty handed and that he will bring some solutions or a road map to present to the Lebanese. On Thursday British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond visited Lebanon where he held a series of meetings with Lebanese officials. Last week on a two-day official visit, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had focused on the repercussions of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon and the refugee burden.
 

Abdul Menhem Youssef Questioned over 'Embezzlement, Negligence'
Naharnet/April 01/16/OGERO Telecom chief Abdul Menhem Youssef was interrogated Friday by the Central Inspection Bureau over charges of negligence and embezzlement, MTV reported. “Judge George Awwad has summoned Youssef to question him over several issues related to his negligence in preserving public funds in the Internet file and another case related to embezzling money from the employees' salaries under the excuse of the VAT tax,” MTV said. The embezzlement lawsuit was filed by former Telecom Minister Charbel Nahhas, the TV network said. “Judge Awwad has asked Abdul Menhem Youssef to provide answers regarding 45 reports filed against him,” MTV said.The Central Inspection chief is supposed to appoint an independent panel of experts to assess Youssef's answers once they are received by the Bureau, the TV network added. Youssef “will have a specific deadline to provide answers regarding the charges,” MTV said. “Lawsuits over Abdul Menhem Youssef's violations and embezzlement have been accumulating since 2009 and informed sources have said that Judge Awwad only received them from investigators in late 2015 amid unjustified delay,” the TV network added. On Thursday, An Nahar daily said four illegal internet stations have been proven to exist so far in the mountainous terrains of Dinniyeh, Oyoun al-Siman, Faqra and Zaarour. Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil has said that the smuggled internet costs the state around $200 million in lost revenues every year. Early in March, the media and telecom parliamentary committee unveiled that there is a “mafia” that is taking advantage of illicit internet services by installing internet stations that are not subject to state control. The owners of these stations are buying international internet bandwidth with nominal cost from Turkey and Cyprus which they are selling back to Lebanese subscribers at reduced prices, reports have said.
 

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq Reschedules Municipal Elections Due to Holidays
Naharnet/April 01/16/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq said on Friday that the upcoming municipal elections will kick off on May 15 instead of May 9 so they will not coincide with the holidays. He slammed reports that the elections have been postponed and emphasized that they were only rescheduled because they coincided with Labor Day and Easter holiday.Via Twitter, Mashnouq said that he took into consideration the fact that Labor Day and the Easter vacation coincide with the date of the elections that have been earlier set for May 8 in Mount Lebanon. In February, Mashnouq announced the dates on which the municipal and mayoral elections will be held in the various Lebanese regions. The municipal elections will be held in Mount Lebanon on May 1, in Beirut and the Bekaa on May 15, in South and Nabatiyeh on May 22, and in the North and Akkar on May 29. The government had approved the funding of the upcoming polls during a February 2 cabinet session. There have been fears that the municipal polls could meet the same fate of the parliamentary elections, which have been postponed two times in recent years over alleged security concerns.
 

Doctor Confesses to '200 Abortions' after ISF Rescues 75 'Sex Slaves'
Naharnet/April 01/16/A detained doctor has confessed to carrying out “nearly 200 abortions,” the Internal Security Forces has said in a statement, a day after it said it busted Lebanon's largest known sex trafficking ring and freed 75 mainly Syrian women. "This is the largest sex trafficking ring we've uncovered since the outbreak of the Syrian war," a Lebanese security source told AFP. Security forces also arrested a doctor and a nurse who worked for the traffickers. "During their interrogation, the doctor admitted to performing nearly 200 abortions" for the captive women, the ISF said in a statement. The security source also said that "an eight-month-old baby, likely the child of one of the rescued women" was found during the raid. Even before the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, Syrian women had been pushed into the illicit sex trade in neighboring Lebanon. "However, as with any war, conflict has made Syrian women and children even more vulnerable," the security source said. "They pay the highest price."On Thursday, the ISF said the members of the ring were arrested in the Jounieh region. It said the freed women had suffered “beating and psychological and physical torture” and were “forced to work in prostitution under the threat of having their naked pictures distributed, and other tactics.” “Detectives raided the nightclubs and apartments where the women were being held and liberated them, arresting 10 men and eight female workers,” the ISF said.It noted that the eight female workers were acting as “guards” and that they were “guarding and managing these apartments.” “Two of the ring's masterminds are still n the run while the freed women were handed over to a number of NGOs at the request of the relevant judicial authorities,” the ISF said.

Hariri Holds Talks with Putin at Kremlin
Naharnet/April 01/16/Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri met Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow. Hariri was accompanied by Interior Minister Nouhad Mashnouk, ex-MP Ghattas Khoury, Hariri's chief of staff Nader Hariri and his adviser for Russian affairs George Shaaban. On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. The one-hour talks involved a closed-door meeting between Hariri and Putin and the discussions tackled “the current situations in Lebanon and ex-PM Hariri's efforts to end the presidential void and elect a new president,” Hariri's office said. Talks also addressed “the developments in the region, especially in Syria, and the efforts that are being exerted by Russia to resolve the Syrian crisis.” The ex-PM had met Wednesday in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Interfax news agency quoted Hariri as saying Wednesday that Lebanon is ready for cooperation with Russia in the military and other fields. He also said Syria should remain a unified state and Syrian President Bashar Assad cannot be part of the final solution to the Syrian crisis. Al-Liwaa daily quoted a Russian diplomatic source as saying that the preparations for the previously unannounced visit to Russia began almost two weeks ago as part of Russian-U.S. cooperation to come up with a roadmap to end the presidential vacuum in Lebanon. Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who was in Moscow last week, have agreed to contact the heads of prominent Lebanese parliamentary blocs, said the sources. They have also agreed to create diplomatic contacts with Riyadh, Tehran, the Vatican and Paris to “end the reasons that have so far delayed the election of a president,” the sources told al-Liwaa. Lebanon has been without a head of state since May 2014 when the term of President Michel Suleiman ended. The presidential race is mainly confined to Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun and Marada leader MP Suleiman Franjieh. There is also centrist candidate MP Henri Helou. However, not a single candidate is able to garner the needed votes to be elected president. Sessions aimed at electing a head of state are being adjourned over lack of the required two-thirds quorum of the 128-member parliament.

Berri: Legislative Sessions Conform with National Pact
Naharnet/April 01/16/Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Friday that he is adamant to revive the parliament legislation emphasizing that the step in in line with the national pact and that the country needs this measure at the current stage, al-Joumhouria daily reported. Speaking to his visitors, Berri was quoted as saying that “the parliament session that he will call for is in line with the national pact,” and that he plans to hold “several sessions not just an orphan one.” “The country needs this at the current stage,” the Speaker said. He pointed out that nothing prevents the parliament from carrying out its legislative work despite the presidential vacuum. On the national dialogue session that was postponed on Wednesday because of the death of PM Tammam Salam's mother, Berri set April 20 for a new session. The revival of parliament legislation came back to the spotlight this week as some parliamentary blocs said they were in favor of such a move while others totally rejected it in the absence of a president. Speaker Nabih Berri is seeking to get the legislature functioning after its regular term began this month. Parliament convenes twice a year in two ordinary sessions -- the first starts mid-march until the end of May and the second from the middle of October through the end of December. But the legislature and the government have been paralyzed as a result of the vacuum at the presidential palace.

Protesters Storm Saudi Daily's Beirut Office over 'Lebanese Flag' Cartoon
Naharnet/April 01/16/A group of young men on Friday stormed the Beirut offices of the Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat in protest at a cartoon deemed insulting to Lebanon. A video posted on social media shows the protesters arguing with Lebanese employees and asking them to stage a strike to condemn the published cartoon. Some of the protesters then move to the office's desks and start pushing stacks of newspapers to the ground, unfazed by the employees' appeals. The protesters were led by well-known social media activists Pierre al-Hashash and Abbas Zahri. Hashash posted a video of the incident on his Facebook page. According to the video and state-run National News Agency, the protesters also included civil society activists Hassan Qteish, Bilal Allaw, Mohammed Hirz and a man from the Zeineddine family who is a cameraman at al-Jadeed TV. Security forces arrived at the scene later and listened to the testimonies of three employees who were at the offices on the eleventh floor of central Beirut's Burj al-Ghazal tower. “Detectives took pictures of the storming's aftermath and Beirut's public prosecution office will be informed of the details,” NNA said. “The rioters will be prosecuted and arrested at the request of the judiciary,” the agency added. The cartoon published Friday by Asharq al-Awsat shows Lebanon's flag and the words “The Lebanese State: An April Fools' Lie.” The development comes hours after the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel shut down its Beirut offices, citing “difficult circumstances” and “safety” concerns. Al-Arabiya's move comes amid tensions between the kingdom and Lebanon's Hizbullah and follows a series of Saudi measures against Lebanon and the Iran-backed party.

1 Dead, Several Hurt in Fierce Ain el-Hilweh Clashes
Naharnet/April 01/16/One person was killed and several people were wounded on Friday as heavy clashes broke out at the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh in Sidon, state-run National News Agency reported. It identified the slain man as Hussein Othman, saying the sounds of heavy gunfire and RPG blasts were echoing across the camp. Meanwhile, al-Mayadeen television said dozens of families were fleeing the camp as a result of the clashes that erupted between “members of the Fatah Movement and Islamist militants.”NNA said the fighting broke out in the wake of a brawl between young men from the al-Sifsaf and al-Braksat neighborhoods. “Palestinian-Lebanese contacts are underway in a bid to pacify the situation and contain the tensions,” the agency added. Al-Jadeed television meanwhile said members of the Joint Palestinian Security Force have deployed at the camp's al-Sifsaf neighborhood in a bid to bring the situation under control. Two people were killed at the camp on Monday also in clashes between Fatah and Islamist militants. It was not immediately clear if there is a connection between the two rounds of violence. Such incidents have become frequent in recent years in Ain el-Hilweh, the largest of Lebanon's 12 Palestinian refugee camps. By long-standing convention, the Lebanese army does not enter the Palestinian camps in the country, leaving the Palestinian factions themselves to handle security. That has created lawless areas in many camps, and Ain el-Hilweh has gained notoriety as a refuge for extremists and fugitives.

Al-Arabiya TV Closes Office in Beirut
Naharnet/April 01/16/Saudi owned al-Arabiya television news channel said on Friday that it has shut down its office in Beirut citing security reasons. Al-Arabiya and its partner company al-Hadath closed office located in Riad el-Solh square in downtown Beirut after informing the employees through the Director of Personnel and the station's lawyer Elie Danniel of the decision. The lawyer had a list of 27 names including, workers, journalists and technicians who were laid-off from service, reports said. They added that the station will likely keep its reporters in Lebanon despite the closure of the office in Beirut. Information Minister Ramzi Jreij expressed astonishment at the decision and said: “We regret that this has happened particularly that there is no security justification for closing the station's office. I wonder if this decision stems from a political stance against the backdrop of the tense relations between Lebanon and Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia?”He emphasized saying: “We must overcome the crisis, maybe through direct contacts between Prime Minister Tammam Salam and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz during the conference that will be held in Turkey.”Relations between Riyadh and Lebanon deteriorated in February, when Saudi Arabia halted a grant to the army in protest against Hizbullah's virulent criticism of the kingdom and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil's abstention from voting in favor of Arab League resolutions condemning attacks against the Saudi embassy in Iran in January. The kingdom urged its citizens against traveling to Lebanon. Gulf countries also issued similar advisories. Furthermore, in March the Arab League declared Iran ally Hizbullah a "terrorist" group, after Gulf monarchies adopted the same stance over the movement's support for the regime in Syria's war.

ISF Busts Lebanon's 'Most Dangerous' Human Trafficking, Prostitution Ring
Naharnet/April 01/16/The Internal Security Forces on Thursday announced busting what it called the “most dangerous” human trafficking and prostitution ring in Lebanon. “Following investigations and close monitoring, the Mount Lebanon investigations department carried out a special operation and managed to unveil the identities of the members of the most dangerous human trafficking ring in Lebanon and to arrest them in the Jounieh region,” an ISF statement said. “Seventy-five women, mostly Syrian nationals, were liberated” in the operation, the ISF added. It said the freed women had suffered “beating and psychological and physical torture” and were “forced to work in prostitution under the threat of having their naked pictures distributed, and other tactics.” The arrests were carried out in two separate raids on Sunday and Tuesday, the ISF added. “Detectives raided the nightclubs and apartments where the women were being held and liberated them, arresting 10 men and eight female workers,” the ISF said. It noted that the eight female workers were acting as “guards” and that they were “guarding and managing these apartments.”“Two of the ring's masterminds are still on the run while the freed women were handed over to a number of NGOs at the request of the relevant judicial authorities,” the ISF said. “Investigations are still underway to arrest the rest of the gang's members,” it added.

General Security Arrests Terror Cell Recruiting Minors
Naharnet/April 01/16/The General Security arrested on Friday four Lebanese and a Syrian after forming a terror network of minors that they tasked with carrying out attacks against the Lebanese army and security apparatuses. "Within its framework to follow up on the activities of terrorist and sleeper cells, the General Security arrested Lebanese Kh.Kh., B.S., A.M., A.M and Syrian M.G. For forming a network that has links to a terror group,” the General Security said in a statement. “During interrogations, the suspects confessed to belonging to the Islamic State terror group,” added the statement. “They said that they are active in the field of recruiting people, mainly minors, in order to task them with the implementation of bombings against the Lebanese army and the security forces,” it said. “The suspects were referred to the related judicial authorities and the efforts continue to arrest those involved.”

Gemayel: Who Gave Sayyed Hassan Authorization to Choose Lebanon's President?
Naharnet/April 01/16/Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel stressed Thursday that the Lebanese have not given Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah an “authorization” to choose their president. “When did we give Sayyed Hassan an authorization to choose Lebanon's president and why would we accept to give him such an authorization,” Gemayel asked rhetorically during a meeting with Kataeb's cadres in Northern Metn.“Sayyed Hassan is a partner in choosing the president and we are all partners. There is only one way in the Constitution for picking a president: holding a vote,” Gemayel added. “Sayyed Hassan has declared that we either elect his candidate, (Free Patriotic Movement founder) General (Michel) Aoun, or else there won't be a president, and this is what has been happening for the past two years,” Gemayel lamented. He warned that if the Lebanese “agree to his demand, and General Aoun becomes president, six years from now presidential candidates will form a line from Dahieh to Jounieh to seek Sayyed Hassan's approval, because he would decide the identity of the next president.”Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and the FPM, Hizbullah and some of their allies have been boycotting the electoral sessions. Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri launched late in 2015 a proposal to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his suggestion was rejected by the country's main Christian parties, including Kataeb, as well as Hizbullah. Hizbullah and the FPM, as well as March 14's Lebanese Forces, have argued that Aoun is more eligible than Franjieh to become president given the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.

I Want Freedom in Europe', Says Baghdadi's ex-Wife in Lebanon
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 01/16/An ex-wife of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, with whom he had a daughter, wants to live in Europe "in freedom," she told Swedish daily Expressen in an interview published Thursday. "I want to live in a European country, not an Arab country," Saja al-Dulaimi said in the interview filmed in Lebanon. Dulaimi was freed several months ago from a Lebanese prison, where she had been held since 2014 with her children on suspicion of links to extremist organizations. "I'm branded a terrorist but I'm far from all that," lamented Dulaimi. "I want to live in freedom," the 28-year-old said, while praising Islamic Sharia law which she said provided "freedom and rights for women." Her seven-year-old daughter, Hagar, said she wanted to go to Europe to "study." A DNA test conducted by Lebanese authorities confirmed she was Baghdadi's child. Born into a well-heeled Iraqi family, Dulaimi said she had been married to an Iraqi member of Saddam Hussein's personal guard. They had twins together. Widowed, she married again in 2008, on the advice of her father, to Bagdhadi.  Dulaimi described Baghdadi, who also had children from an earlier marriage, as "a normal family man" and university professor adored by his offspring. Baghdadi was at the time fighting in the ranks of Al-Qaida in Iraq, from which the Islamic State group was born. In 2010, he took over the reins of IS.Washington has put a $10-million bounty on his head. Dulaimi said she left him after just three months of marriage, when she was pregnant with their daughter. "How he could become emir (caliph) of the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world is a mystery," she said. "The last conversation we had was in 2009. He asked me if I wanted to come back. But I'd made my decision," she said. "Where is my guilt? I was married to him in 2008. We're divorced now," she said. She has since remarried, to a Palestinian man with whom she also has a child.
 

Syria Refugees Beg for a Living on Beirut Streets
Associated Press/Naharnet/April 01/16/ A Syrian teenager with dark curly hair spends his days hanging around a busy thoroughfare in western Beirut, chasing motorists and following shoppers to ask for money. Further down on Hamra Street, his mother and three younger siblings also have their spots, begging for a living. Mohammad Hussein, 13, is among the hundreds of thousands of Syrians who fled their country's devastating civil war, now in its sixth year, for refuge next door in tiny Lebanon. Many of the youngest are now out of school and have to work or beg to support their families. Their plight is one of the most visible signs of the unprecedented refugee crisis that has put an immense strain on neighboring Mideast countries and destabilized Europe. On shopping streets, roundabouts and traffic lights in Beirut and elsewhere in Lebanon, child beggars are seen, pressing their small faces against car windows, stretching their hands out for money or selling chewing gum or flowers for a few coins. "I wish I could go back to school, I liked school when I was in Syria," Hussein says. "But now I can't, I am the eldest and I must support my mother and sisters." Not only is begging dangerous — Hussein was recently detained by police for 10 days — but he also sometimes has to suffer insults from strangers he begs from. "Some people ... curse me and my people and my country," he says. Lebanon is home to more than 1 million registered Syrian refugees — equal to about a quarter of the Mediterranean country's 4.5 million people. It's the highest refugee population in the world per capita. Lebanon says that another half a million Syrians live in the country as well, unregistered, and officials say their presence has generated a severe burden that Lebanon can no longer handle alone. A study published last year by the International Labor Organization, UNICEF and the Save the Children charity found that more than 1,500 children live or work on Lebanon's streets, nearly three quarters of them Syrians who mostly beg for money or sell trinkets by the roadside. Hussein's family fled their home in the mountains of Syria's Latakia province three years ago. He says he is happy in Lebanon but wishes he could go back to play with his neighborhood friends. In Beirut, the teen says he makes between 15 and 20 dollars a day, depending on his luck that day. "Nobody gives me work because I am too young," he says. "This way I can make more money than if I had a job."

Iran regime’s embassy ‘tried to recruit 200 dissidents’ in Saudi Arabia
National Council of Resistance of Iran/Friday, 01 April 2016/The Iranian regime's embassy in Riyadh was involved in a plot to recruit 200 dissidents in Saudi Arabia to launch operations that would undermine the country’s security, including spying for Tehran, Arab News reported on Friday. "This was one of the main charges announced by the state prosecution recently in the case involving two defendants who had been arrested for being part of a spy cell operating in the Kingdom on behalf of Iran," Arab News wrote. "Defendant No. 21 was accused of using his house as a base to hold meetings with three Iranian intelligence agents working at the Iranian Embassy in Riyadh, and supplying them with top secret intelligence reports and information on the Kingdom in exchange for money.""The defendant is also charged with providing Iranian intelligence operatives with an electronic device or computer used for espionage, and traveling to Turkey to meet with several others where he provided them with security information related to the Kingdom.""The prosecution also alleged that the defendant provided Iranian intelligence with reports on some public and private cases in the Kingdom, information on university students and unrest in one of the provinces. He also allowed an Iranian intelligence official to copy several pieces of vital information from his computer.""The defendant is accused of providing Tehran the names of 200 terrorists who turned against their country to support Iran, economic reports about the Kingdom and the names of Shiite families living here," the English-language daily added.

Top Democrat in U.S. House opposes new Obama concession to Iran regime
National Council of Resistance of Iran/Friday, 01 April 2016/The No. 2 Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Minority Whip Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), has expressed concern over reports that the Obama administration might allow Iran's regime access to the U.S. banking system, something not required under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and something the administration has previously vowed not to do. Rep. Hoyer released the following statement on Thursday in response to reports that the U.S. Treasury Department is considering allowing the use of the U.S. dollar for business transactions involving Iran: “I am concerned about reports that the Treasury Department is considering mechanisms that would allow the use of the U.S. dollar for business transactions involving Iran. The power and central role of the U.S. banking system remains a critical tool toward combatting global terror finance and illicit trade, and it should remain that way. “Given these reports, I want to make clear my concerns that the Administration had indicated that there would be no further concessions beyond those specifically negotiated and briefed to Congress. I do not support granting Iran any new relief without a corresponding concession. We lose leverage otherwise, and Iran receives something for free. Only when Iranian banks fully absolve themselves of involvement in terror financing and missile procurement, when Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps ceases its saber-rattling against America’s allies, and Iran’s leadership ends its despicable threats against Israel and the Jewish people – only then, perhaps, should the international community consider additional steps with regard to Iran’s reintegration into the global economy beyond concessions pursuant to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Until such a time, I think we ought to go no further than fulfilling only our obligations as laid out in the JCPOA, and I look forward to being briefed on what the Administration has planned.”

Iranian Kurd sentenced to imprisonment after writing to UN
National Council of Resistance of Iran/Friday, 01 April 2016/Iranian Kurdish farmer Yousef Kakehmami, already serving nine years in an Iranian prison after two unfair trials, has been sentenced to a further five years in prison after writing a letter to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran. Yousef Kakehmami, 38, is a farmer from Iran’s Kurdish minority serving a nine-year sentence in Oroumieh Central Prison, West Azerbaijan Province. The prison’s branch of the Office for the Implementation of Sentences told him on January 18 that he had been sentenced to a further five years in prison for “acting against national security" through collaboration with a Kurdish opposition group. "He had received an unfair trial on 12 January, where he had no legal representation and there was only one hearing, before Branch One of the Revolutionary Court of Mahabad. The court did not provide him with a state-appointed lawyer, though it had said it would do so before the trial began. He has not received the written verdict. Yousef Kakemami had been convicted of the same charge after two unfair trials in 2006 and 2008, in which he received three- and six-year sentences, respectively," Amnesty International said in an Urgent Action appeal on Tuesday. "Yousef Kakehmami, 38, was taken to Branch Six of the Office of the Prosecutor in Oroumieh several times in 2015, and questioned, without a lawyer present, in connection with charges of an entirely different nature. He was told he had been charged with 'spreading propaganda against the system' and 'communicating with foreign media and organizations', and questioned about a letter he had written in March 2015 to Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, detailing his recent transfer to a detention facility run by the Revolutionary Guards, where he said he had been tortured and otherwise ill-treated. He was also taken to a Ministry of Intelligence office in Oroumieh in April 2015 for questioning over these charges," Amnesty said. When he appeared in court on January 12, 2016, however, he found he was being tried once again on a charge of “acting against national security" through his collaboration with the Kurdish opposition group. According to Amnesty International, despite this new charge, the regime's prosecutors presented his letter to the UN Special Rapporteur as evidence against him, and the judge questioned him about his communication with human rights organizations. "His latest conviction appears to be a reprisal for his communication with UN human rights mechanisms. His appeal hearing will be held on 16 April, before Branch Two of the Court of Appeal in Oroumieh," Amnesty said. Mr. Kakehmami, who is from the village of Ghareh Balagh, near the city of Mahabad in West Azerbaijan Province, was first arrested by officials of the Iranian regime's notorious Ministry of Intelligence and Security on August 20, 2006.

Syrian Held for Smuggling Migrants to Cyprus
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 01/16/A Syrian was remanded in custody in Cyprus on Friday on suspicion of smuggling migrants after coastguards rescued 28 people from a small boat that had been adrift for days. The 41-year-old suspect was among the mostly Syrian people who were brought safely to shore on Thursday evening after patrol vessels responded to a distress call off the island's west coast. He appeared in court on Friday and was remanded in police custody for eight days on suspicion of migrant smuggling and helping third country nationals enter the island illegally.Police said the boat had left the Turkish coastal town of Alanya for Cyprus on Tuesday but had run out of fuel. The Turkish captain, who had been paid 2,000 euros ($2,200) a head for the voyage, had abandoned ship, the refugees said. The 27 passengers -- 18 men, six women and three children, all said to be in good health -- are being cared for at a reception centre outside the capital Nicosia. Although it lies just 100 kilometres (60 miles) off the coast of Syria, EU member Cyprus has so far avoided a mass influx of refugees from the war-torn country. But as Greece prepares to start sending migrants back to Turkey on Monday under a controversial March 18 deal between the EU and Ankara, there have been concerns that other migration routes will open up.

U.S. 'Appalled' by Syria Regime Strikes that Killed More than 30
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 01/16/The United States said Thursday it was "appalled" by Syrian government air strikes Thursday that killed more than 30 people -- including children -- in a key rebel bastion east of the capital of Damascus. The raids took place in Deir Al-Assafir, a town in the opposition stronghold of Eastern Ghouta, one of the areas in Syria where a fragile ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and Russia has been in place since February 27. "The United States is appalled by aerial strikes March 31, reportedly by the Assad regime, on a school and hospital in the Damascus suburb of Deir Al Asafir," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. "We condemn in the strongest terms any such attacks directed at civilians," he added. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, has reported that 33 people died in the attacks, including 12 children, updating its earlier toll of at least 23 fatalities.While there have been occasional incidences of violence, some of them deadly, the ceasefire has largely been hailed as a success by the United Nations. "In joining the cessation of hostilities, even apart from its commitments to avoid attacking groups participating in the cessation of hostilities, the regime committed to full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which called for an immediate end to any attacks against civilians and for all parties to comply with their obligations under international law," Kirby said. "Any attacks directed at civilians must stop immediately," he added, calling on all parties to the ceasefire to comply with its terms and observe international law.

Russia, US discuss securing Syria ceasefire
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 1 April 2016/Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on Friday with US Secretary of State John Kerry about measures that could be taken to strengthen the fragile ceasefire in Syria, the Russian ministry said, the day after airstrikes killed 30 in a district of the capital Damascus. The two top diplomats discussed taking “concrete measures aimed at strengthening the ceasefire process in Syria” which was established in late February and has generally been holding, the foreign ministry statement said in a statement. The measures would include steps to improve access to humanitarian aid and to fight against acts of terrorism in the country. The telephone conversation between Lavrov and Kerry “took place on April 1 at the Americans’ initiative,” the statement added. Lavrov also reiterated Russia’s call to close the Turkish-Syrian border which Moscow says is “actively used” to send Islamist fighters to Syria via Turkey. According to Russia’s foreign ministry “Lavrov once again drew attention to the Turkey-Syria border which still has holes and, according to our data, is actively being used to transfer militants via Turkey to Syria.” This issue calls for “agreement on the necessary actions as quickly as possible, including via the UN Security Council,” the statement said. Russia has repeatedly accused Turkey of backing Islamist groups opposed to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, Moscow’s ally in the five-year war. The ceasefire reached in late February, led by Russia and the United States, is between the Assad regime and the rebels but does not include the jihadist groups Islamic State and the Al-Nusra Front. UN-led talks on a peace deal are due to resume in Geneva soon, but the sides are deadlocked over the fate of Assad, whom the opposition insists must leave power before a transitional government is agreed. Assad has said that any transitional government should include both the regime and opposition, without specifying which opposition groups should take part.
Heavy toll
Meanwhile, the death toll from airstrikes in a district southeast of Damascus has risen to more than 30, mostly women and children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the White Helmet civil defence group. The strikes on Thursday, which the Observatory monitoring group said were carried out by Syrian aircraft, came despite a month-long “cessation of hostilities” in Syria between government forces and their opponents, excluding ISIS and al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front. Airstrikes continued in the area on Friday. Two strikes hit the outskirts of Deir al-Asafir and at least seven hit the village of Bala, just north of Deir al-Asafir, the Observatory said. The U.S. State Department said it was appalled by the reported air strikes. “We condemn in the strongest terms any such attacks directed at civilians,” spokesman John Kirby said. France condemned the attack on Friday and said it violated the truce. “This abject act is designed to terrorize the Syrian people and sap efforts by the international community to find a political solution,” French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said.(With AFP and Reuters)

US trains dozens of Syrians in new push against ISIS
Agencies Friday, 1 April /The US military said on Friday it had started training “dozens” of Syrian opposition fighters to battle ISIS as part of a revamped program that aims to avoid mistakes that doomed its first training effort in Turkey last year. US Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the US-led coalition battling ISIS, told Pentagon reporters that no Syrian fighters had graduated yet from the new program. In a related story, the death toll from airstrikes in the Deir al-Asafir district southeast of Damascus has risen to more than 30, mostly women and children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the White Helmet civil defence group.
The strikes on Thursday, which the Observatory monitoring group said were carried out by Syrian aircraft, came despite a month-long “cessation of hostilities” in Syria between government forces and their opponents, excluding ISIS and al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front. The strikes were condemned both by the US and France. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday signalled that the Kremlin's position on President Bashar al-Assad had not changed, saying that his fate must be decided only by people of Syria, including in free and democratic elections. Another Russian government source said on Friday it hoped the Syrian government delegation would show flexibility at peace talks with the opposition. (With Reuters, AFP)
 

Spectacular gas blast rocks central Paris apartment block
AFP | Paris Friday, 1 April 2016/A massive gas explosion destroyed the top floors and roof of a residential building in central Paris on Friday, injuring 17 people, rescuers and police said. The blast near the Jardin de Luxembourg park caused jitters in the French capital, which remains on edge after the Paris attacks in November and the Brussels bombings last month. It was traced to a fire that caused a gas stove to blow up, sending a thick cloud of smoke into the sky, police said. “People were scared, they thought it was a bomb,” an employee of the nearby Ferrandi culinary institute told AFP. The force of the blast blew out some of the windows at the prestigious school, a witness said. A fireman was seriously injured in the blast and another 16 people were also hurt, including 10 firefighters. “I was at home, the windows shook in my building two streets away... We thought it was an attack,” said local resident Sylvie Guillaumin, 51, adding that gas supplies had been cut in the area. The blast came more than four months after the militant attacks in the French capital in November that claimed 130 lives and more recently the March 22 attacks in Brussels.

Turkey PM visits Kurdish city after attack
AFP, Diyarbakir Friday, 1 April 2016/Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Friday made a rare visit to the Kurdish-dominated city of Diyarbakir, declaring he was “not scared” after an attack blamed on rebels that killed seven police. Officials pointed the finger at the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for the car bomb attack on a police bus in Diyarbakir Thursday that underlined the precarious security situation in the main city in Turkey’s southeast. Turkish security forces have since the summer waged a relentless campaign to drive PKK militants out of urban centers in the southeast, leading to ferocious clashes that show no sign of abating. Davutoglu began his visit -- which took place under heavy security -- by attending a funeral ceremony for the police killed. In a symbolic move, he then took part in Friday prayers outside the Great Mosque in the central Sur district. “They thought that we would be scared. But we are not scared, we will not waver and we will go right to the end,” he said. Pictures showed army snipers in position on the roof of the mosque. “Perhaps they thought ‘Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will not come to Diyarbakir for fear of these attacks’. But dear people of Diyarbakir, are you scared of them?” he added. Parts of Sur have been under curfew since the military launched a major operation against the PKK in the area on December 2, with the clashes causing widespread destruction to the historic district.The premier’s visit was his first to Diyarbakir since the operation began. He last visited on the eve of November elections. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week that 355 members of the security forces had been killed in fighting with the PKK since a two-year truce collapsed last summer. He also claimed 5,359 members of the PKK had been killed but it was not possible to confirm that toll. Erdogan, currently on a high-stakes visit to NATO ally the United States, said the Diyarbakir attack showed the world the true nature of the PKK. “We cannot tolerate this any more,” he said.

Sudan blocks activists from Geneva rights meet: rights groups
AFP, Khartoum Friday, 1 April 2016/Sudanese security agents have blocked four civil society representatives from attending a meeting with diplomats in Geneva about human rights in Sudan, a coalition of rights groups said on Friday. The meeting in Geneva on Thursday was organized by an international NGO ahead of a United Nations-led review of the human rights situation in Sudan. “Four representatives of Sudanese civil society were intercepted by security officials at Khartoum International Airport on their way to a high level human rights meeting with diplomats which took place in Geneva on 31 March,” the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said in a joint statement with 35 international and Sudanese rights groups. Agents from Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) stopped the individuals as they tried to travel from Khartoum to Geneva via different routes between March 23 and March 28 and confiscated their passports, the statement said. The four were named as lawyers Salih Mahmoud Osman, professor Muawia Shaddad, civil society activist Sawsan Elshowaya, and head of the Sudanese Solidarity Committee Siddig Yousif. NISS gave no reason for the travel bans and the rights groups urged the security services to return the passports. “The recent flagrant actions of the NISS are symptomatic of a broader strategy to intimidate and harass human rights defenders and independent civil society actors who may be critical of the human rights situation in the country,” the statement said. Sudan’s security forces have been accused of harassing and detaining rights activists, opposition politicians and journalists. The country regularly ranks near the bottom of international human rights indexes. President Omar al-Bashir is also wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide related to the conflict in the western Darfur region.
Bashir denies all charges by the ICC.
 

N. Korea Fires another Missile
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 01/16/North Korea appeared to have fired another ballistic missile off its east coast on Friday, South Korean officials said, as regional leaders met in Washington to discuss the threat of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. It was the latest in a series of North Korean missile launches during what has been an extended period of elevated military tension on the Korean peninsula, triggered by Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test on January 6. South Korea's defense ministry said the missile was fired at around 12:45pm (0345 GMT) from the eastern city of Sondok. The range and trajectory could not immediately be confirmed, a ministry official said. The launch came in the middle of a two-day nuclear security summit being hosted by Barack Obama in Washington, at which North Korea has been the focus of the US president's talks with the leaders of China, South Korea and Japan. Obama spoke Thursday of the need to "vigilantly enforce the strong UN security measures" imposed on the North after its latest nuclear test and subsequent long-range rocket launch. Pyongyang's state media has labelled the summit a "nonsensical" effort to find fault with the North's "legitimate access to nuclear weapons."Existing UN sanctions ban North Korea from conducting any ballistic missile test, although short-range launches tend to go unpunished. Last month, the North upped the ante by test-firing two medium-range missiles, which were seen as far more provocative given the threat they pose to neighbors like Japan.

Key Libya cities throw support behind unity govt
AFP Friday, 1 April 2016/Ten Libyan cities which were under control of the non-recognized government of Tripoli have broken away and pledged their support to the UN-backed government, one of the municipalities announced online Thursday. The news is a major blow to the unrecognized authority in Tripoli that is refusing to give up power. The announcement came in a statement on the official Facebook page of the Sabratha municipality, 70 kilometers west of Tripoli, after a meeting for the heads and representatives of the 10 coastal cities in the west of Libya, located between Tripoli and the border with Tunisia.
The UN Security Council unanimously welcomed the Libyan unity government’s move and said it was time to cut off ties with rival administrations. The statement came after prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj made his first public appearance in the Libyan capital, two days after his arrival angered the Tripoli-based government. The council said Sarraj’s arrival in Tripoli “was an important step towards bringing stability to the country and bringing the political process back on track.”Council members renewed their appeal to world governments “to cease support to and official contact with parallel institutions that claim to be the legitimate authority but are outside of the Libyan political agreement.” Sarraj was picked by the United Nations in October to lead the new unity government, but faced much resistance from Libya’s myriad political factions and armed groups. Libya has had two rival administrations since mid-2014 when a militia alliance overran the capital, setting up its own authority and forcing the internationally recognized parliament to flee to the country’s east. After his arrival by sea on Wednesday, the Tripoli administration demanded that Sarraj leave or surrender. The rival group had denied him permission to fly into the capital. Sarraj and a number of his ministers turned up at a Tripoli mosque for Friday prayers after winning support from 10 western cities and guards who secure the country’s key oil terminals.

Hamas armed wing won't update Israel on captured soldiers
AFP | Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) Friday, 1 April 2016/The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas Friday said it would not provide information on Israeli soldiers held by the militant group unless Israel was willing to “pay a price”. The movement in January had raised the prospect of exchanging an Israeli soldier declared dead in Gaza’s 2014 war in return for Palestinian prisoners. “We guarantee that there is currently no exchange or discussions concerning prisoners,” Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a televised address Friday. He added that Israel would not be given information on the fate of “four soldiers” unless the Jewish state “pay a price” in return. Israeli soldiers, dead or alive, have in the past proved valuable bargaining chips for Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007.

Briton found guilty of plotting ISIS-inspired attack on US troops
AFP | London Friday, 1 April 2016/A British man could face a life sentence after being found guilty on Friday of plotting to kill US servicemen based in Britain. Junead Ahmed Khan, 25, scouted US Air Force bases in eastern England using his job as a delivery driver as cover, a London court heard.
Police found online messages between Khan and an ISIS fighter in Syria calling himself Abu Hussain, whom prosecutors claimed was in fact British-born Junead Hussain. He was later killed in a US drone strike in the ISIS stronghold of Raqa in Syria. Khan told Hussain that he wanted to carry out an attack similar to the one on British soldier Lee Rigby, who was hacked to death by an Islamist on a London street in 2013, the trial heard. Following his arrest last July, detectives also found pictures of Khan posing with an ISIS-style black flag in his bedroom. He was convicted of preparing for an act of terrorism and on a second charge of planning to travel to Syria to join ISIS. “Through early detection and prosecution of these individuals, more serious crimes have been avoided which could have had devastating consequences in the UK or Syria,” said prosecutor Sue Hemming. Khan’s 23-year-old uncle Shazib Ahmed Khan was also convicted of planning to join ISIS militants in Syria.

First Syrians due in Germany Monday under EU-Turkey pact
AFP | Berlin Friday, 1 April 2016/The first Syrian refugees will arrive in Germany Monday under a controversial EU-Turkey pact seeking to stem the flow of migrants to the 28-member bloc, the interior ministry in Berlin said. Ministry spokesman Tobias Plate told AFP Friday that most of the arrivals in Germany would be families with children, putting the number in the “double-digit range”. Under the scheme agreed with the EU last month and set to go into effect Monday, one Syrian refugee will be settled in Europe legally in return for every migrant taken back by Turkey from EU member Greece. All irregular migrants who have landed on the Greek islands since March 20 face being sent back to Turkey -- although the deal calls for each case to be examined individually. Athens has struggled to manage the influx, while hundreds of migrants have drowned crossing the Aegean from Turkey to the Greek islands. Over 51,000 refugees and migrants seeking to reach northern Europe are already stuck in Greece, after Balkan states sealed their borders. Hundreds more continue to land on the Greek islands on a daily basis, despite the EU deal. The German interior ministry spokesman said the first group would likely arrive in the northern town of Friedland. Many of the details remained unclear but a European Commission source told AFP that Greece hoped to send 500 people back to Turkey Monday “barring a last-minute problem”. Aid groups have criticised the agreement on ethical grounds, warning that the Greek registration sites would become de facto detention centres for people slated to be sent back to Turkey after risking their lives and spending a small fortune just to reach Europe. Germany let in a record 1.1 million migrants in 2015, more than any other EU country. Around 40 percent of them were Syrians fleeing their country’s brutal civil war.

Obama calls on China to 'peacefully' address South China Sea: White House
Reuters | Washington Friday, 1 April 2016/U.S. President Barack Obama urged China to peacefully resolve its maritime disputes with neighboring countries and to maintain freedom of navigation in the region, a reference to the ongoing dispute in the South China Sea, the White House said in a statement on Friday. In talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping alongside the Nuclear Security Summit on Thursday, Obama discussed U.S. support for human rights in China and called for the ability of companies to be able to compete fairly in China, it said.

Trapped civilians stall Iraqi forces battling ISIS
AP, Baghdad Friday, 1 April 2016/Tens of thousands of trapped civilians have stalled Iraqi forces fighting ISIS in the country’s western Anbar province, the spokesman for Iraq’s elite counterterrorism forces told the Associated Press Friday. Iraqi forces re-launched an offensive on the town of Hit, 85 miles (140 kilometers) west of Baghdad, under cover of heavy coalition airstrikes early Thursday morning, Sabah al-Numan said. Over the past week the U.S.-led coalition launched 17 airstrikes in and around Hit, according to Pentagon statements. Hit lies along an ISIS supply line linking the group’s extremist forces in Iraq to those in Syria. Iraqi commanders say retaking the town is key to building on their current momentum after retaking Ramadi earlier this year and linking up government forces to the west and the north of Baghdad in preparation for an eventual push on Mosul. The counterterrorism forces, who are leading the Hit operation, reached within three kilometers of the city center Thursday before being forced to stop, al-Numan said. “The commanders are making a plan to evacuate these families,” Al-Numan said, adding that leaflets were dropped over Hit indicating which roads can be used to flee safely.
Iraqi forces encountered similar problems when trying to clear Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar, of ISIS fighters earlier this year. As government forces advanced across downtown Ramadi, the extremists pulled back and took civilian captives with them as shields. The tactic significantly slowed the advance of ground troops. While downtown Ramadi was declared under government control in December 2015, it wasn't until two months later that Iraqi and coalition forces said the rest of the city was “fully liberated.”
After storming across Iraq in the summer of 2014, over-running Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul, ISIS still controls large swaths of territory in the country’s north and west.

Hungary: more than 900 ‘no-go areas’ in Europe
AFP, Budapest Friday, 1 April 2016/Europe has more than 900 “no-go areas” with large immigrant populations, Hungary’s government claims on a hard-hitting new website aimed at drumming up opposition to an EU scheme to share out migrants around the bloc. In these areas “with a high number of immigrants”, for example in Paris, London, Stockholm or Berlin, the authorities have “little or no control” and “norms of the host society barely prevail,” the site says. Asked for the source of the information, government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs told AFP on Friday it came from “data publicly available on the Internet,” without giving further details. The website, launched this week ahead of referendum in Hungary in the second half of the year on the EU quota plan, also features a ticking clock representing a migrant entering Europe every 12 seconds. “The mandatory European quotas increase the terrorist risk in Europe and imperils our culture,” the website says. “Illegal migrants cross the borders unchecked, so we do not know who they are and what their intentions are. We do not know how many of them are disguised as terrorists,” it adds. Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government voted against an EU plan in September to distribute 160,000 asylum-seekers among member states via quotas, and in December joined Slovakia in filing a legal complaint. So far, only 1,100 have been relocated, with Hungary not taking a single one. If Hungarian voters reject the quotas in the referendum, as surveys suggest, this would be another blow for the troubled scheme. Orban, whose hardline in the EU’s migrant crisis saw him seal Hungary’s southern borders, announced the referendum in February, saying Brussels has no right to “redraw Europe’s cultural and religious identity.”The referendum question will ask: “Do you want the EU to prescribe the mandatory relocation of non-Hungarian citizens to Hungary without the approval of the Hungarian parliament?”

Saudi, US impose sanctions on ‘terrorist financers’
Saudi Gazette, Riyadh Friday, 1 April 2016/Saudi Arabia and the US Department of Treasury on Thursday jointly placed sanctions on four individuals and two organizations they linked to al-Qaeda, the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba. The groups “have a long history of inflicting violence on Americans and our allies throughout South Asia and the Middle East,” said Adam J. Szubin, acting undersecretary of Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, in a statement. The action “demonstrates the United States’ and Saudi Arabia’s shared resolve to target those who support terrorism,” he said.
Treasury said it used its counter-terrorism authorities to impose the sanctions, and that Saudi Arabia did so under its law against “terrorism crimes and financing.”James Alexander McLintock, a Scottish-born Pakistani national, was targeted for sanctions because he allegedly provided financing for all three groups, Treasury said. He’s the president, chief executive and chairman of Pakistan-based Al-Rahmah Welfare Organization, which was also hit with sanctions. The organization, Treasury said, is an Qaeda front used to finance it, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and other groups, providing financing to militants under the guise of helping orphans. Outside of the organization, McLintock has also personally supported multiple terrorist groups, Treasury alleged. A 2004 profile in The Scotsman dubbed McLintock the “Tartan Taliban,” and detailed his journey from a student in Scotland to radicalism in Afghanistan. The report says he was arrested in Afghanistan in 2001, and later released. He was arrested again in 2009 in Pakistan, according to a report at the time in The Independent. In addition, Treasury said Abdul Aziz Nuristani, and Jamia Asariya Madrassa, which Nuristani controls, were both placed under sanctions for providing support to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba. For years, Treasury said, terror groups have used the madrassa “as a financial conduit” to bring money into Pakistan. Nuristani has traveled to Gulf countries to raise money for the madrassa and a trust already under sanctions, Treasury said.
Treasury also imposed sanctions on Naveed Qamar, who it said has held multiple leadership positions in Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, and Muhammad Ijaz Safarash, a Saudi-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba member it said has provided funding and logistical support to the group. Saudi Arabia designated these individuals and entities under its Law of Terrorism Crimes and Financing and the Royal Decree A/44, as a result of this action, any property or interest in property of these designated individuals and entities under Saudi jurisdiction are also frozen, and Saudi citizens are generally prohibited from doing business with it, the Saudi Press Agency said.
 

Modi’s Saudi visit part of push to ‘de-hyphenate’ India from Pakistan
Reuters, New Delhi Friday, 1 April 2016/Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia on Sunday is part of a broader diplomatic offensive to put pressure on arch rival Pakistan by forging ties with some of Islamabad’s closest allies, Indian ruling party and government officials said. Modi is expected to sign trade agreements, including contracts to secure investment for infrastructure projects, and offer security and military cooperation, such as training and joint exercises, they said. The visit comes just months after he traveled to another Pakistan ally, the United Arab Emirates, and signed a security cooperation agreement that includes regular meetings between top security advisers. “It’s simple. We have to do everything to deal with Pakistan - use economics, strategy and emotional ties to win the hearts of Islamabad’s friends,” said Ram Madhav, national general secretary of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over Kashmir. New Delhi has long accused Islamabad of sponsoring a separatist movement and militancy in the Himalayan region. Pakistan denies the charge and accuses India of occupying Kashmir and fomenting trouble in its restive provinces, like Baluchistan. Stronger relationships with Pakistan’s allies like Saudi Arabia and the UAE can help India get a more sympathetic hearing on global and regional forums and put pressure on Islamabad to rein in militants. On Thursday, Saudi Arabia and the United States imposed joint sanctions targeting the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group blamed for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai. Government officials described Modi’s diplomatic push as an effort to “de-hyphenate” India from Pakistan, especially as New Delhi tries to play a bigger geopolitical role in Asia to counter China’s influence.
Right timing
Until now, India’s relationship with Saudi Arabia has been driven primarily by trade and the Indian diaspora in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is India’s top energy supplier and home to more than 3.5 million Indian expatriates. Over the past few years, there has been some cooperation on security between the two countries, with Riyadh deporting four most wanted fugitives to India. Modi will look to broaden those ties, with one foreign ministry official saying healthcare, education, religious tourism and labor reforms would also be key talking points.

US reaffirms support to Iraqi leader Abadi
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 1 April 2016/US Vice President Joe Biden offered Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi the support of the United States in the country’s political reform efforts, the White House said on Friday. It said that in a phone call with Abadi, Biden “also underscored the critical importance of sustaining momentum” in fighting ISIS and “reviewed ongoing U.S. efforts to support Iraqi Security Forces.”The prime minister proposed a new Cabinet lineup to the country’s lawmakers on Thursday, after weeks of pressure from supporters of a radical Shiite cleric who have staged rallies in the Iraqi capital and a sit-in next to the government headquarters to demand reforms. The political crisis has rocked Baghdad and put a significant burden on Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, threatening to become a more destabilizing factor - at least in the eyes of the domestic audience - than the authorities’ battle against ISIS. Abadi came before the parliament on Thursday to tell lawmakers that he has reduced the number of Cabinet ministers to 16, from the previous 21-member government. He submitted the names of nominees for 14 ministerial positions, but said he would not replace the current defense and interior ministers, “given the current hard situation.”The parliament now has 10 days to confirm Abadi’s nominees - or potentially gridlock the process further. Yet Abadi's moves to get a new cabinet together have not been smooth sailing. Abadi's nominee for the oil minister, Nizar Saleem Numan, said on Friday he is no longer seeking the position as there is no political agreement on the shape of the new government.The government crisis comes against the backdrop of weeks of protests by thousands of followers of the influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. His supporters have continued their sit-in outside the Iraqi capital’s heavily fortified Green Zone, following the cleric’s calls for political reform and an end to corruption. On Sunday, al-Sadr ramped up the pressure on the government by himself launching a separate sit-in inside the Green Zone, which is home to key government offices and foreign embassies.(With Reuters and the Associated Press)

Russia: Syrians must decide Assad’s fate
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Friday, 1 April 2016/Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday signalled that the Kremlin's position on President Bashar al-Assad had not changed, saying that his fate must be decided only by people of Syria, including in free and democratic elections. Another Russian government source said on Friday it hoped the Syrian government delegation would show flexibility at peace talks with the opposition. “We hope this participation (of the Damascus delegation) will continue in a constructive way ... and necessary flexibility will be displayed - of course, within possible limits,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with journalists. “These negotiations should be only inclusive ... including Kurds, to find a really lasting solution ... and to enable Syrians themselves to decide their destiny.”(With Reuters and AFP)

Israel minister who served jail time faces new crime probe
AFP, Jerusalem Friday, 1 April 2016/Israeli authorities are to conduct a criminal investigation into new corruption allegations against Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, an ultra-Orthodox party leader who has already served prison time for graft. “At the conclusion of a meeting held today by the attorney general (Avichai Mandelblit) regarding the examination relating to minister Deri and others... the attorney general decided to move from an examination to a criminal investigation,” the justice ministry said late on Thurday. It did not elaborate, other than to remind journalists of a court order barring publication of details of the probe into Deri, who has previously served 22 months in prison on graft charges. Hebrew-language daily Maariv said that police were expected to question him under caution in the next few days. The minister has said he is ready to “respond to all questions.”Deri, who heads Sephardi ultra-Orthodox party Shas, became interior minister in January after the resignation from the post of Silvan Shalom following allegations of sexual harassment. Shas is vital to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing governing coalition, which holds a one-seat majority in parliament. Deri, who had served as interior minister from 1988 to 1993, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2000 for taking $155,000 in bribes, though his sentence was reduced by a third for good behaviour. He resigned as economy minister in November after refusing to overrule anti-trust authorities’ objections to a major natural gas deal being pushed by Netanyahu. His resignation allowed Netanyahu to take over the economy minister post himself and move ahead on the gas deal. In January, critics of his appointment as interior minister said the post should not be granted to someone who had been convicted for corruption. Others argued that Deri had paid his debt to society. The interior ministry oversees local government and efforts to prevent illegal immigration. The police fall under a separate ministry.

Ex-UN climate chief Pachauri faces fresh harassment claim
AFP | New Delhi Friday, 1 April 2016/A third former employee of Rajendra Pachauri has accused the ex-head of the UN climate panel of sexual harassment, after he was charged last month over a similar complaint. The woman, who has not taken her allegations to police, says she suffered harassment when she worked at the New Delhi-based Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) which Pachauri headed until this year. "From the beginning Pachauri would put his hands on my waist repeated times, he would hug me longer than felt comfortable, kissed me on the cheek and inquired about my private life," she said in a statement emailed to AFP on Friday by her lawyer Vrinda Grover. "The tipping point came when he said that I should join him in his summer house outside of the city for the weekend... he made it very clear that his wife was out of town."Her allegations, which date back to 2008, came a month after Indian police charged the 75-year-old with sexually harassing a young female employee at TERI. The complainant, who cannot be named, accused him of repeatedly sending inappropriate emails, text and WhatsApp messages. Pachauri, a leading voice on the dangers of global warming, denies the accusations and has said his email and phone were hacked. His lawyer Ashish Dixit accused Grover, who also represents the complainant in the legal case against Pachauri, of waging a "prejudiced, biased campaign" against his client. "If you are serious about such grave allegations, then go to police, take the matter to court. Why email them to media and then do nothing about it?" he told AFP. "This is all done for publicity and media attention, nothing else."Pachauri was forced to quit as chairman of the Nobel Prize-winning UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in February 2015 after the former employee filed her complaint with police. Then last July TERI announced it was replacing Pachauri after a backlash over his return to work while facing the allegations, although he continued to work for the organisation until a replacement was appointed. The emergence in February of a second female employee who accused Pachauri of "sexually-loaded" behaviour sparked outrage over his continued presence at the organisation which put him on indefinite leave, though her complaint was not registered with police.
The latest complainant said she decided to speak out after reading an interview published in The Guardian newspaper in which Pachauri reiterated his innocence.

Pakistan's Execution Of Malik Mumtaz Qadri – The Ideology Of Blasphemy In Islam
Tufail Ahmad/April 01/ 2016 MEMRI Daily Brief No.86
Introduction
On February 29, the Pakistani government executed Malik Mumtaz Qadri, an elite commando who assassinated Salman Taseer, the liberal governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, for advocating reforms in Pakistan's blasphemy laws. As soon as the report of Mumtaz Qadri's execution emerged, protests were organized by Islamic clerics across Pakistan, especially in the cities of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Nawabshah, Quetta, Peshawar, Muzaffarabad and others.[1] Mumtaz Qadri was a member of the Elite Force of Punjab police when he was deployed to protect Governor Salman Taseer but instead assassinated him on January 4, 2011.
Large crowds turned out for the funeral of Mumtaz Qadri
Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws
In 2011, when a Pakistani court sentenced Mumtaz Qadri to death for the assassination, large-scale protests broke out across Pakistan, led by Sunni Islamic organizations.[2] On the issue of blasphemy, the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) – a group of Barelvi Sunni organizations that emerged in the last decade with some funding from the United States, as revealed by WikiLeaks[3] – holds views similar to jihadis, Deobandis, the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS). After Mumtaz Qadri was sentenced to death, the SIC declared: "The judge who awarded [death] penalty to Mumtaz Qadri committed Kufr [act of an infidel]."[4]
Under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), there are several blasphemy laws: "Section 295-C: Use of derogatory remarks regarding the Holy Prophet of Islam" carries the death penalty and has been a subject of controversy in recent decades. Other blasphemy laws include: Section 298-C, which prohibits Ahmadi Muslims from calling themselves "Muslims" or preaching their faith; Section 295: Harming or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult a religion; Section 295-A: Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any section of society by insulting its religion or religious beliefs; Section 295-B: Defiling the Holy Koran; Section 296: Disturbing religious assembly; Section 297: Trespassing on burial places; Section 298: Uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings; Section 298-A: Use of derogatory remarks regarding holy personages; Section 298-B: Misuse of epithets, descriptions and titles reserved for certain holy personages or places; Section 298-C: Person of Ahmadi group calling himself a Muslim or preaching or propagating his faith.[5]
The definitions of blasphemy outlined in the above sections of the Pakistan Penal Code are agreed on by almost all sects of Islam. On March 9, 2016, Pakistani writer Aamir Mughal noted in an Urdu-language tweet that Islamic clerics of all sects participated in the funeral prayers for Mumtaz Qadri, stating: "Those [clerics from different Islamic sects] who call each other kafir and wajib-ul-qatl [liable to be killed for religious reasons] offered joint funeral prayers for Mumtaz Qadri..."[6] Mumtaz Qadri, a member of the Barelvi group Dawat-e-Islami, assassinated Salman Taseer because he thought the governor blasphemed the Prophet Muhammad by advocating reforms in the blasphemy laws. The blasphemy issue is not limited to Muhammad, but also all critical acts against the Koran or against Islamic caliphs and other historical personalities can be deemed blasphemous, as discussed in various sections of the PPC.
The Consensus On Blasphemy
On the issue of blasphemy, there are no real differences of opinion between various sects of Islam – whether between Barelvi and Deobandi sects of Sunni Islam, or between Shi'ites and Sunnis – though for reasons of expediency, some of them may differ on a certain case. Much like Mumtaz Qadri, the Shi'ite clerics in Pakistan have also opposed any likely reforms in Pakistan's blasphemy laws. On December 16, 2010, a group of Shi'ite scholars told their followers in Karachi that the Pakistani government cannot amend the blasphemy laws. A media report quoted Shi'ite cleric Maulana Shahanshah Hussain as telling the crowd: "Muslims in Pakistan will not accept any amendments to the blasphemy law."[7]
Between Sunni jihadist organizations like Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and the Islamic State (ISIS) on the one hand, and the Shi'ite clerics across the world on the other, there is unanimity on the issue of blasphemy. To illustrate this point, much like Mumtaz Qadri, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini thought that British-Indian author Salman Rushdie committed blasphemy by writing The Satanic Verses and therefore he issued the infamous 1989 fatwa calling to kill him. In February 2016, it emerged that forty Iranian state-run media companies pulled together to raise a bounty of $600,000 to enforce the 1989 fatwa for the killing of Salman Rushdie.[8] Indeed, it was Imam Khomeini who started the global jihad in modern times.
In July 2015 I wrote: "While the jihadist groups were focused previously on a specific territory, the idea of an 'Islamic Internationale' seems to have originated in the following: the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran led by Ayatollah Khomeini, the rise of Al-Qaeda and now of the Islamic State, which is practically a new version of Al-Qaeda itself."[9] On June 25, 2015, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) released a special issue of its magazine Resurgence, based exclusively on a lengthy interview with Adam Yahiye Gadahn, Al-Qaeda's American-born spokesman. In the posthumously published interview, Gadahn said: "Al-Qaeda from its inception has always been an 'Islamic Internationale.'"[10] There cannot be any doubt that Imam Khomeini's fatwa against Salman Rushdie strengthened the blasphemy movement in Islam across the world.
On January 7, 2015, jihadi brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi murdered staffers of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo following their theological conclusion that the editors had committed an act of blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad. In the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, Islamic cleric Maulana Naseeruddin led a funeral prayer in absentia for the two brothers on January 13, 2015.[11] I examined the responses from among young Indian Muslims on Facebook towards the two jihadi brothers in January 2015, concluding: "The ideas that drove the jihadists to kill the cartoonists and editors of Charlie Hebdo are very much alive in the streets of towns across India. A review of Facebook comments made by Muslim youths on the Paris shooting reveals that the geography of this radicalization in India is indeed wide, fertile and raw."[12]
Avenging Blasphemy
Whether it is the Khomeini fatwa against Salman Rushdie, the jihadi attack on Charlie Hebdo, or Mumtaz Malik's assassination of Punjab governor Salman Taseer, the Shi'ite clerics, as well as the Deobandi and Barelvi clerics of Sunni Islam, are united on the blasphemy issue. In a retort to a Muslim politician in India's Uttar Pradesh state last November, Hindu leader Kamlesh Tiwari described the Prophet Muhammad as "the world's first homosexual."[13] Consequently, anti-blasphemy protests were organized by Barelvi and Deobandi clerics across India. In the northern town of Bijnor, a cleric issued a death threat to Kamlesh Tiwari, saying: "Muslims of Bijnor have announced that 5.1 million rupees will be given for his beheading. The Muslims of Bijnor will give 5.1 million rupees to anyone who will behead him."[14]
There is a broad ideological movement in Islam for the support of blasphemy laws, which require Muslims to take the law into their own hands to kill a person who is accused of blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad. After the Charlie Hebdo attacks, leading Urdu-language Pakistani daily Roznama Ummat published a 43-part series titled "Martyrs of the Prophet's Honor." A review of the series I had conducted revealed that the streets of Lahore in the 1920s and 1930s look liked the streets of Paris today – for similar reasons. The review revealed that those who avenged blasphemy included lone wolves such as Qazi Abdur Rasheed in December 1926 and Ghazi Ilmuddin in April 1929; Ghazi Murid Hussain, a lone wolf jihadi from the Sufi school of Islam; Ghazi Miyan Muhammad, a soldier who killed his soldier-colleague long before Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan did the same; and Babu Merajuddin, a soldier who stabbed a Sikh officer, among others.[15]
The Taliban and Al-Qaeda's position on this important theological principle, which is that anyone blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad must be killed, is no different. In March 2012, Ustad Ahmad Farooq, a top Pakistani Al-Qaeda official, defended the theological understanding that a person committing blasphemy must be killed by citing a case involving the Prophet Muhammad himself. After the Victory on Mecca, the Prophet had reportedly issued a general amnesty. However, Farooq said: "On the Day of Victory of Mecca, when all people were granted amnesty, the Prophet was informed that there were about 10 people, including women, who had committed blasphemy against him. He ordered that even if they are found hanging by the curtains of the Kaaba (the Holy Mosque of Mecca), they deserve no respect, and their blood should be spilled; and indeed it was spilled."[16]
It is therefore not surprising that a large number of Pakistanis turned took to the streets to protest the execution of Mumtaz Qadri on February 29. On March 1, the day after his hanging, large masses of people offered funeral prayers for Mumtaz Qadri, declaring him a martyr, though there was near-total blackout of the funeral by Pakistani television channels. To confront the menace of jihadist terrorism in Pakistan's social mainstream, television channels have in recent years stopped providing a pulpit to jihadist forces. Despite the media blackout, social networks such as Twitter and foreign news media carried reports indicating that Pakistanis turned out in large numbers in support of Mumtaz Qadri and attended his funeral, as the following images reveal.
* Tufail Ahmad is Director of South Asia Studies Project at the Middle East Media Research Institute, Washington DC. He is the author of "Jihadist Threat To India – The Case For Islamic Reformation By An Indian Muslim."
Endnotes
[1] Roznama Jang (Pakistan), March 1, 2016.
[2] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 4193, Sunni Organizations in Pakistan Protest Against Death Sentence For Assassin of Liberal Governor Salman Taseer, October 9, 2011.
[3] The Express Tribune (Pakistan), January 12, 2012.
[4] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 4218, Sermon By Pakistani Cleric That Led To Assassination of Liberal Punjab Governor Salman Taseer; Former Chief Justice Defending Assassin, October 20, 2011.
[5] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 4193, Sunni Organizations in Pakistan Protest Against Death Sentence For Assassin of Liberal Governor Salman Taseer, October 9, 2011.
[6] Twitter.com/mughalbha, March 9, 2016.
[7] The Express Tribune (Pakistan), December 17, 2010.
[8] Theguardian.com, February 22, 2016.
[9] Open (OpenTheMagazine.com), July 3, 2015.
[10] Resurgence, Special Issue, Summer 2015.
[11] See MEMRI TV Clip #4721 - Indian Islamic Cleric Leads Memorial Prayer for Charlie Hebdo Attackers, January 13, 2015.
[12] Open (OpenTheMagazine.com), January 16, 2015.
[13] See MEMRI Daily Brief No. 83, The Kamlesh Tiwari Blasphemy Case – Mass Protests, Rioting By Islamists In India's West Bengal State, March 6, 2016.
[14] See MEMRI Daily Brief No. 83, The Kamlesh Tiwari Blasphemy Case – Mass Protests, Rioting By Islamists In India's West Bengal State, March 6, 2016.
[15] See MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No. 1154, Urdu Daily Publishes 43-Part Series On Islam's Blasphemy Laws – 'Martyrs Of The Prophet's Honor', April 19, 2015.
[16] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 4550, Al-Qaeda Official Ustad Ahmad Farooq: Upon His Victory in Mecca, The Prophet Muhammad Ordered The Blood of Those Who Were Against Him To Be Spilled, March 6, 2012.

Palestinians: Presidents for Life, No Elections
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/April 01/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7727/abbas-president-for-life

We hear often that Mahmoud Abbas is keen on having Palestinians vote in a democratic election. Yet Abbas turned 81 last week and appears ready to remain at the helm until his last day -- free elections for Palestinians be damned. That makes sense: Hamas could easily best Abbas in such an election.
Hamas and Abbas's Fatah are still far from achieving any form of reconciliation. This, despite all the talk about "progress" that has been reportedly achieved in talks between the two parties taking place in Doha, Qatar.
Hamas is also cracking down on journalists, academics, unionists and even lawyers in the Gaza Strip.
Yet Abbas's West Bank rivals Hamas in Gaza, in terms of a lack of human rights and freedom of speech. The idea of free and democratic elections there is a joke. Abbas will leave a legacy of chaos.
Best birthday wishes to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, who turned 81 last week. The octogenarian appears ready to remain at the helm until his last day -- free elections for Palestinians be damned.
Abbas has inherited a tradition of tyranny. His predecessor, Yasser Arafat, was also president for life. Both have plenty of company, joining a long list of African presidents who earned the notorious title of "President for Life" - in Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Chad, Eritrea and Gambia. And let us not forget the Arab dictators in these ranks.
One might hope for at least a deputy -- someone to fill the impending and inevitable power vacuum in the PA. Not likely.
Abbas has fiercely resisted demands from leaders of his ruling Fatah faction to name a deputy president or a successor. His reasoning: the time is not "appropriate" for such a move. Palestinians should instead concentrate their energies on rallying international support for a Palestinian state.
The PA president acquired his "private fiefdom," as it is called by his detractors, in a January 2005 election, when Abbas was given a four-year mandate.
Such mandate seems to have been rewritten by the standing president. January 2016 marked the beginning of the eleventh year of Abbas's four-year term in office. But it is business as usual in Ramallah.
We hear on a monthly basis that Abbas is keen on having Palestinians cast their ballots in a free and democratic vote. Yet we have seen no evidence to this effect. That make sense: Hamas could easily best Abbas in such an election. Despite his advancing age, Abbas still has clear memories of January 2006, when Hamas was permitted to run in the parliamentary election and won.
Abbas is also acutely aware that Hamas, which holds hostage nearly two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, would never allow a free vote there -- especially for Abbas loyalists who have been seeking to undermine its rule.
Just a few days ago, a Hamas "military" court in the Gaza Strip sentenced two senior Palestinian Authority security officers, Sami Nisman and Naim Abu Ful, to 15 and 12 years in prison respectively, on charges of spying for the Palestinian Authority and plotting terror attacks against Hamas targets.
The verdicts are yet another sign that Hamas and Abbas's Fatah are still far from achieving any form of reconciliation. This, despite all the talk about "progress" that has been reportedly achieved in talks between the two parties. Unconfirmed reports earlier this week leaked details of sticking points between Hamas and Fatah negotiators, have been meeting in Doha, Qatar, under the auspices of the Gulf state, towards forming a new unity government and holding new presidential and parliamentary elections. Qatar is the largest source of funds for the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoot, Hamas.
Abbas's fear of holding elections in the Gaza Strip is not without justification. In addition to the crackdown on his loyalists and security officers there, Hamas is also cracking down on journalists, academics, unionists and even lawyers.
Last week, Hamas security forces raided the offices of the Palestinian Bar Association in Gaza City and confiscated computers. The raid came as a result of the controversy surrounding the Bar Association not submitting lawyers' financial and administrative records, in addition to complaints filed by some lawyers against the Bar Association, according to a statement released by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR). The raid, some Palestinians claim, is in the context of Hamas's effort to crack down on lawyers who are affiliated with the rival Fatah faction.
Yet Abbas's West Bank rivals Hamas in Gaza, in terms of a lack of human rights and freedom of speech. The president's security forces are in the midst of a massive and ongoing crackdown on political opponents of all stripes, making the idea of free and democratic elections there a joke. Abbas cannot tolerate the idea of having a deputy: how would he consider the establishment of a new party or the emergence of a potential candidate for the presidency.
Senior figures who have dared to challenge Abbas's autocratic rule have already found themselves targeted by the president and his men. Ask former Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who had his organization's bank accounts seized by Abbas, or Mohamed Dahlan, the former Fatah commander and minister who was forced to flee the Palestinian territories after falling out with Abbas and his sons. Perhaps deposed PLO Secretary-General Yasser Abed Rabbo, who overnight was stripped of his powers and thrown to the dogs for speaking out against the president, would have a word to say. In Ramallah, they call them the "Abbas victims."
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (left), who turned 81 last week, has fiercely resisted demands from leaders of his ruling Fatah faction to name a deputy president or a successor. Senior figures who have dared to challenge Abbas's autocratic rule have been targeted by the president -- such as Mohamed Dahlan (right), the former Fatah commander and minister who was forced to flee the Palestinian territories after falling out with Abbas and his sons. (Image sources: U.S. State Dept., M. Dahlan Office)
We would need a crystal ball to know what will happen the day after Abbas disappears from the scene. Perhaps, say some, we shall witness a scene reminiscent of the old days of the Soviet Union "Politburo," with the next president chosen by a group of Fatah and PLO leaders who will meet in Ramallah. This seems the most likely scenario, in the absence of any chance of free and democratic elections, and in light of the continued split between the two Palestinian entities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
We do not need a crystal ball, however, to know that Abbas will leave a legacy of chaos. His adamant refusal to name a deputy or even discuss the issue of succession in public has already created tensions among the top brass of the PLO and Fatah. The Palestinian public, for its part, has precious little confidence in its leaders.
The behind-the-scenes power struggle that has been quietly raging in Ramallah for the past few months is likely to lead to a state of paralysis in the Palestinian arena and leave the Palestinians without an acceptable leader. Or, as senior Fatah official Tawfik Tirawi put it, Abbas will be the last president for the Palestinians. Palestinians are plagued with leaders who desire one thing: personal power. The Palestinians are marching away from achieving a state, partly because they seem incapable of the fundamental political principle of free and democratic elections. The day after does not look promising.
**Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

The oldest church in the UAE, and the roots of tolerance
Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/April 01/16
gWhen Peter Hailer stood on the theater for the winners of the Abu Dhabi Theater Award in 2013, he had spent about 40 years in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), fulfilling his passion for antiquities and working in the journalistic and cultural fields. He recalled one of his hardest nights in the country, when he could not sleep. It was in 1992, and he was in the company of UAE founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan on Sir Bani Yas island, where Sheikh Zayed was leading a team to develop it. Hailer discovered with the team a church that was founded in the seventh century AD. He asked himself: “How will the leader of a Muslim country react to the archaeological discovery of a church? Do I tell him or keep it a secret?” The following day, Sheikh Zayed noticed the fatigue and anxiety on the face of Hailer, who revealed the discovery to him. Sheikh Zayed, who ordered its preservation, asked him: “What prevents our ancestors from being ancients Christians before Islam?”
Clear vision
The vision was clear to Sheikh Zayed: There is continuity between different cultures, and the rupture between them is just a presumption adapted by extremists in every culture. This confirms that tolerance in the UAE is routed in history and has a solid basis. The UAE has gained international recognition for fostering coexistence between 200 nationalities of all religions and sects, all of them residents. I have read two studies citing historical examples of tolerance in the country - one by Dr Fatima al-Sayegh, the other by Omar al-Hammadi. For example, Indian businessman Vijay Bhatia recalls that Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed, ruler of Dubai from 1958 until 1990, used to visit the Indian community during their religious festivals, celebrating and eating whatever they were eating. This reflects the religious tolerance of UAE rulers. The country has gained international recognition for fostering coexistence between 200 nationalities of all religions and sects, all of them residents. In Sept. 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his appreciation to the UAE for facilitating the establishment of a Russian Orthodox church. In April 2007, UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan welcomed Pope Shenouda III on the occasion of the opening of the Coptic Orthodox church in Abu Dhabi. UAE law rejects all forms of discrimination. The hope is that such tolerance will spread to other Arab countries.

Will Palmyra turn the tables against ISIS?
Maria Dubovikova/Al Arabiya/April 01/16
The Syrian truce has made it possible to concentrate all forces on a common enemy, and to negotiate to solve the Syrian conflict. This had not happened before, and the first signs of progress on both fronts are visible. The liberation of Palmyra is significant in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). It should be acknowledged that this breakthrough was due to the Syrian Arab Army with Iranian and Russian backing. It was clear from the start of the US-led coalition operation that fighting ISIS only from the air would be impossible, and that Syrian rebels could never become a reliable force against the group. Their main goal is to topple President Bashar al-Assad. Their fight with ISIS has mostly been a limited fight for survival. Their military capacities are insufficient to fight on two fronts simultaneously with the same strength, so they had to choose the one they considered more important - that against Assad. However, even if they succeeded in taking the capital, they could not unite forces against ISIS. The Syrian army - united, systematic, organized, loyal to one leader and strongly backed by Russia’s military - is the most relevant ground force against the group.
Mutual benefit
There is no need to rehabilitate Assad or shake hands with a bloody dictator. On the contrary, the international community can benefit from Russia doing the “dirty” work. Moscow’s policy appears to be in the interest of most of the players involved. It saves the West from the humiliation of having to work with Assad against ISIS. ISIS, which once seemed unstoppable, now appears much weaker, and Palmyra represents an opportunity to unite all players to finish off the group on the ground once and for all. Having achieved relative balance between Damascus and the rebels, Russia can concentrate on fighting the group by direct military support for the Syrian army via airstrikes, advisers, instructors and limited personnel. Palmyra is proof of the successful course taken by Russia, which helped save one of the world’s greatest historical treasures. Its liberation will be followed by an offensive on Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and Sukhan.
The battles will not be easy, but victory does not seem illusory. ISIS, which once seemed unstoppable, now appears much weaker, and Palmyra represents an opportunity to unite all players to finish off the group on the ground once and for all. Cooperation and coordination of all forces would greatly increase the chances of successfully liberating ISIS’s stronghold Raqqa. This would be an extraordinary and vital breakthrough.

Let us heal from Islamophobia first
Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/April 01/16
The hostility and insults against Arabs and Muslims following terror attacks in the West seem to no longer get to us. Have we gotten used to the idea of others rejecting us as individuals and as a culture, or are we just busy with our domestic struggles and the hatred spread among our religions, sects and races?
Are we not embarrassed to criticize the detestable anti-Muslim rhetoric of U.S. presidential candidates, when similar figures who fuel our environment with poisonous insults and incite against other religions, sects and nationalities live among us? We have gradually lost the right to criticize those inciting against Muslims and Arabs, because we have fallen into the same trap. We are observers, especially since those who respond to hatred and Islamophobia are also from the West. The hashtag “Stop Islam,” which went viral following the Brussels attacks, quickly turned into a campaign of solidarity with Muslims due to Westerners who rejected anti-Muslim rhetoric. Meanwhile, American police officials have eloquently and decisively condemned Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz’s call for patrols of Muslim areas.
Solutions
The problems in our countries will not be solved before we address how we view our identity and our relations with others. Belgian media have begun to speak of divisions in Belgian society and the weakness of integration policies. They have also noted that social and familial divisions resulted in the delinquency of the young men who committed these terror attacks. We have gradually lost the right to criticize those inciting against Muslims and Arabs, because we have fallen into the same trap. Their “Islam” is merely the last stop in this lawlessness. I am not saying religious extremism does not play a role, but there is more to this matter and the West has begun to discuss it in depth. It is our responsibility to look into the reasons for our divisions, and look beyond shallow justifications that they are because we are Sunni and Shiite, or sons and daughters of different races and nationalities. We must thoroughly look into our political and social circumstances - maybe then we will heal from Islamophobia.

Death from Kabul to Brussels
Fahad Suleiman Shoqiran/Al Arabiya/April 01/16
Media outlets have recently circulated footage of right-wing protests in Europe, which is in a state of war amid attacks and threats against it that have changed perceptions of identity, coexistence and integration. Belgium, which throughout its history has been an example of ethnic coexistence, was ferociously attacked last week. It is one of the countries that hosted the biggest number of refugees from North Africa and Turkey. Its constitution is fair to Muslims, and it has set many laws to facilitate their lives there. Nonetheless, Belgium - a symbol of European diversity, and host to major institutions such as the EU and NATO - was struck in the heart.
History of terror
Since the mid-1990s, fundamentalist groups from other countries began to take root in Belgium. Meanwhile, following the U.S. war on Iraq in 2003, the transformation that Al-Qaeda wanted was represented in the domination over fighting groups in the Arab Maghreb. The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat managed to revive trust with Al-Qaeda following the misunderstanding between the latter’s late leader Osama bin Laden and the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria during his stay in Khartoum, particularly in 1994 after the group’s leader Djamel Zitouni refused to participate in the war against the Algerian regime. The terrorist attacks against Belgium represent a culmination of two decades of arrangements and deals between armed groups whose presence extends from Afghanistan to the Maghreb. Back then, Zitouni had recruited 3,000 fighters. Bin Laden took this into consideration as he had failed to mobilize as many fighters for Al-Qaeda at the time. After the group submitted to Al-Qaeda in the summer of 1998, bin Laden changed its name to the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, and integration began with the famous negotiations between Hassan Hattab and Ayman al-Zawahiri.
The rapprochement formed the basis for uniting several organizations under the name Al-Qaeda in the Arab Maghreb. All this fundamentalism that had been circulating since the 1990s until 2009 found its way to Europe, with Belgium being used as a launch pad for activities in other countries. An example is the Tarek Maaroufi cell, which assassinated Afghan political and military leader Ahmad Shah Massoud on Sept. 9, 2001. Al-Qaeda embraced sympathetic students, and gained influence in communities that it considered potential providers of sleeper cells. With the onset of the Syrian crisis, there was contradictory data regarding the number of Belgians belonging to groups there, particularly the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Al-Nusra Front. Belonging to these groups, and fighters’ return to their countries, contributed to recruiting and mobilizing more people.
Transformation
The Paris attacks in 2015 and the recent Brussels attacks expose a different dimension to terrorism, linked to crime, drugs and sex. Paris-attack suspect Salah Abdeslam was a thief who drank alcohol and was addicted to hash, according to his sister in law. One of those involved even owned a pub.
This transformation has complicated the work of security institutions, and resulted in a wave of criticism against Belgian intelligence. The attacks in Belgium marked an ISIS victory that threatens other European countries, and perhaps even the United States. The Syrian conflict influenced the planning of the terrorist attacks against Belgium. However, they represent a culmination of two decades of arrangements and deals between armed groups whose presence extends from Afghanistan and Chechnya, through Iraq to their biggest operation base in the Maghreb. Perhaps this is only the beginning of the war, as French President Francois Hollande said. Sixteen years ago, what happened in Kabul began from Brussels. The situation is now more dangerous as terrorist groups are more powerful. The night before he was killed, Massoud had an appointment with Belgian journalists. Prior to the meeting, his friend Massoud Khalili read out to him as usual the poetry of Hafez Shirazi. They had a habit of randomly choosing a page from a book of a collection of Shirazi’s poetry. Khalili read: “Enjoy this night which we will spend together. Days pass by, months go by and years come to an end, and you will never get to live this night again.” Nine hours later, Massoud’s brain was scattered on the carpet after an Arab-Belgian man set off explosives hidden in a camera.