The explosion took place in the industrial zone of the capital at about 8 am local time (03:30 GMT). The suicide bomber attacked the convoy with a car packed with explosives, according to local officials. The blast was powerful enough to set a nearby building on fire.Six people died and 37 were wounded, according to the Afghan Health Ministry, which adds that some of the bodies are unidentifiable.NATO confirmed “an explosion occurred on a coalition convoy in Kabul”, according to spokesman Lt Quenton Roehricht, cited by AP. The Hezb-e-Islami insurgent group, with links to the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the blast.”We planned this attack for over a week, our target was American advisers,” Hezb-e-Islami spokesman Haroon Zarghoun told Reuters by telephone, adding that the bomb killed 12 Americans. Officials however warn that insurgents tend to exaggerate death tolls. The group carried out a suicide attack on a minibus in September 2012, killing 14 people. Russian and South African pilots were among casualties of the explosion, which Hezb-e-Islami claimed was in response to a film mocking the prophet Muhammad.Hezb-e-Islami means Islamic Party and is a radical militant group sharing much of the Taliban ideology.The last major suicide bombing took place in the capital in March, when a man blew himself up next to the Defense Ministry, leaving nine Afghans dead. It happened during the state visit by US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. … Read More
Deadly anti-blasphemy protests in Bangladesh prompt national shutdown
The strike, effective Wednesday is organized by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its Islamist allies in protest of “mass killing” during the clashes on Sunday and Monday when police attacked a mass rally in central Dhaka. “We have called two days of nationwide strike to protest the mass killing of Hifajat-e-Islam workers and supporters on Sunday and Monday,” BNP spokesman Khandaker Mosharraf told the AFP on Tuesday. At least 38 people have been killed according to the AFP and hundreds more injured leading the police to ban all rallies in the Bangladeshi capital. The opposition puts the death toll in the hundreds. Meanwhile 194 activists of the Hefajat-e-Islam (Protectorate of Islam), a hardline Islamic group behind the violence were indicted by the police. TV stations which broadcasted the violence, Diganta Television and Islamic, were taken off the air. There are also reports of the government cutting off electricity and approaching the protesters with weapons. The government of Bangladesh has rejected the Hefajat-e-Islam demands and a May 5 deadline to introduce a new blasphemy law, reinstate the role of Allah in the constitution, make Islamic education mandatory and ban women from mixing with men.The violence began on Sunday as some 200,000 Islamist supporters marched in Dhaka demanding of the government to introduce a new blasphemy law and execute bloggers whom they accuse of having insulted the Prophet Mohammed. Chanting “Atheists must be hanged”, activists blocked at least six highways cutting Dhaka off from the rest of the country. On Monday the protests intensified when supporters of the Hifazat-e-Islam organization lined roads with burning tires, setting fire to vehicles and storming a police post, igniting clashes which lasted for more than five hours. Law enforcement used flash-bang grenades, water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets to quell a crowd of at least 70,000 protesters who responded with force.”We were forced to act after they unlawfully continued their gathering at Motijheel. They attacked us with bricks, stones, rods and bamboo sticks,” Dhaka police spokesman Masudur Rahman told AFP. Violence also flared up in other parts of the country. Country’s Information Minister accused the religious institutions of encouraging “terrorist activities” by sending their pupils to the rallies.“The madrassa superintendents who are encouraging their students to take part in terrorist activities will be tried,” Hasanul Haque Inu said.On Monday, UN chief Ban Ki Moon, encouraged the government and the opposition to come into terms. “The Secretary-General calls on all concerned to stop the violence, to respect the law and to express their views peacefully,” a statement read. Overall Bangladesh has been locked in political and secular division since January, after the government created a tribunal to investigate crimes during a 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. Three leading figures have so far been convicted for their role in during the independence struggle.The opposition party at the time opposed Bangladeshi independence from Pakistan in the war and now refuses to acknowledge its role in the alleged murder, rape and torture during the conflict. There is a “proxy war” raging between the opposition and the government and both sides are using “different pretext to wage this war,” independent journalist Haroon Siddiqui explained to RT.“The government is accused of using the court to get level with the opposition. The opposition is using Islam and blasphemy to get back at the government,” Siddiqui says. … Read More
Bangladesh – Call for detained blogger’s immediate release
Reporters Without Borders condemns the baseless judicial proceedings brought against the detained blogger Asif Mohiuddin, who could be tried and convicted on a charge of blasphemy and “hurting religious sentiments” at his next hearing, scheduled for 15 April. “Keeping Mohiuddin in detention is unacceptable, especially as his family says his health has deteriorated,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The authorities must stop trying to appease the extremists and must end this persecution of (…) … Read More
Swedish artist to continue painting Prophet Mohammed even after death threats
A Swedish artist who received death threats after depicting the Prophet Mohammed as a dog said Wednesday he would display new paintings of the prophet at an exhibition in the immigrant-heavy city of Malmoe later this year. “It’s important to continue because if you yield to the threats…
Christian TV ‘prophet’: Long-lasting shoes are proof of supernatural miracles from God
Most Americans probably think that companies like Vibram and Dow Chemical are responsible for the technology behind long-lasting shoes, but self-proclaimed prophet Cindy Jacobs is asserting that durable kicks are really a “supernatural” miracle from God. During the Tuesday episode of…
Kuwait Twitter User Sentenced To 2 Years In Prison For Insulting Emir
KUWAIT, Jan 6 (Reuters) – A Kuwaiti court sentenced a man to two years in prison for insulting the country’s ruler on Twitter, a lawyer following the case said, as the Gulf Arab state cracks down on criticism of the authorities on social media. According to the verdict on Sunday, published by online newspaper Alaan, a tweet written by Rashid Saleh al-Anzi in October “stabbed the rights and powers of the Emir” Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. Anzi, who has 5,700 Twitter followers, was expected to appeal, the lawyer, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. Kuwait, a U.S. ally and major oil producer, has been taking a firmer line on politically sensitive comments aired on the Internet. In June 2012, a man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was convicted of endangering state security by insulting the Prophet Mohammad and the Sunni Muslim rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on social media. Two months later, authorities detained Sheikh Meshaal al-Malik Al-Sabah, a member of the ruling family, over remarks on Twitter in which he accused authorities of corruption and called for political reform, a rights activist said. While public demonstrations about local issues are common in a state that allows the most dissent in the Gulf, Kuwait has avoided Arab Spring-style mass unrest that toppled three veteran Arab dictators last year. But tensions have intensified between the hand-picked government, in which ruling family members hold the top posts, and the elected parliament and opposition groups. (Reporting by Mahmoud Harbi; Writing by Mahmoud Habboush; Editing by Jason Webb)Read More…
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French paper to publish comic book life of Mohammed
A French weekly known for publishing cartoons of the prophet Mohammed to the ire of conservative Muslims said Sunday it plans to release a comic book biography of Islam’s founder that will be researched and educational. Satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo has on several occasions depicted…
