US: Egypt violence 'serious blow' to peace efforts - Source AP

WASHINGTON: In a stern warning to Egypt's leaders, Secretary of State John Kerry said the escalating violence throughout the country Wednesday had dealt a "serious blow" to political reconciliation efforts between the military-backed interim government and supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.

Still, Obama administration officials signaled no change in U.S. policy toward Egypt or clear consequences for the mounting violence. The U.S. has avoided declaring Morsi's ouster a coup, a move that would force the administration to suspend $1.3 billion in annual military aid to the strategically important nation, and officials said they continued to believe that step is not in America's national security interests. They said they were engaged in a continual review of policy toward Egypt but stressed that there were no changes to announce.

Kerry, during a surprise appearance at the State Department, condemned the violence that killed at least 149 people nationwide and the reinstatement of emergency rule. He called it "deplorable" and urged Egypt's interim leaders to take a step back and calm the situation.

"It's a serious blow to reconciliation and the Egyptian people's hopes for a transition towards democracy and inclusion," he told reporters.

Kerry added that he and other administration officials had for the past week been urging the military and interim government to respect freedom of speech and assembly. But neither he nor other officials could or would outline or even hint at any consequences the failure to heed those calls would bring.

Instead, Kerry and other officials repeated their appeals for a return to dialogue.

"This is a pivotal moment for all Egyptians," Kerry said. "The path toward violence leads only to greater instability, economic disaster and suffering."

Wednesday's assault came after days of warnings by the interim administration that replaced Morsi after he was ousted on July 3. The two sit-in camps at two major intersections on opposite sides of the Egyptian capital began in late June to show support for Morsi. Protesters - many from Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood - have demanded his reinstatement.

Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and pro-reform leader in the interim government, resigned in protest over the assaults as the military-backed leadership imposed a monthlong state of emergency and nighttime curfew.

Kerry spoke Wednesday with ElBaradei and Egypt's foreign minister, as well as other top officials in the Middle East. He insisted that a political solution remains a viable option in Egypt, though he conceded that path was made "much, much harder" by the recent events.

Kerry did not elaborate on his call with ElBaradei, which took place after the latter had resigned. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that ElBaradei's resignation was "a concerning development" but added that Kerry had not urged ElBaradei to reconsider his decision.

President Barack Obama, on a weeklong vacation in Martha's Vineyard, Mass., was briefed on the deteriorating situation by national security adviser Susan Rice.

White House and State Department officials said the U.S. role was largely to encourage the interim government to fulfill its promises to enact political reform. The military-backed government has pledged to amend the Islamist-backed constitution adopted last year and holding parliamentary and presidential elections early next year.

"Figuring out how to encourage the interim government to make good on their promise to transition to a democratically elected government there is something that we're working on," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. "Hopefully it's something they're working on."

The turmoil was the latest chapter in a bitter standoff between Morsi's supporters and the interim leadership that took over the Arab world's most populous country. The military ousted Morsi after millions of Egyptians massed in the streets at the end of June to call for him to step down, accusing him of giving the Brotherhood undue influence and failing to implement vital reforms or bolster the ailing economy.

Morsi has been held at an undisclosed location. Other Brotherhood leaders have been charged with inciting violence or conspiring in the killing of protesters.

At least 250 people have died in previous clashes since the Morsi's overthrow. -- AP

44 gunned down in Nigeria mosque

MAIDUGURI (Nigeria): Suspected Islamic militants wearing army fatigues gunned down 44 people praying at a mosque in northeast Nigeria, while another 12 civilians died in an apparently simultaneous attack, security agents said Monday.

Sunday’s attacks were the latest in a slew of violence blamed on religious extremists in this West African oil producer, where the radical Boko Haram group, which wants to oust the government and impose Islamic law, poses the greatest security threat in years. 
 

It was not immediately clear why the Islamic Boko Haram would have killed worshipping Muslims, but the group has in the past attacked mosques whose clerics have spoken out against religious extremism. Boko Haram also has attacked Christians outside churches and teachers and schoolchildren, as well as government and military targets.    

Since 2010, the militants have been blamed for the killings of more than 1,700 people, according to a count by The Associated Press.  

The news about Sunday’s violence in Borno state, one of three in the northeast under a military state of emergency, came as journalists received a video featuring Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, who gloats over recent attacks, threatens more, and even says his group is now strong enough to go after the United States.  

The mosque slayings occurred Sunday morning in Konduga town, 35 kilometres (22 miles) outside Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria’s Borno state.    

A state security service agent and Usman Musa, a member of a civilian militia that works with the military, said Monday they counted the bodies at the mosque after the attack. Musa said four members of his group — known as the Civilian Joint Task Force —also were killed when they reached Konduga and encountered “fierce resistance from heavily armed terrorists.”  

Musa and the security service agent said the attackers wore military camouflage uniforms used by the Nigerian army, which they may have acquired in one of their attacks on military bases.  

On their way back from Konduga, the security forces came upon the scene of another attack at Ngom village, 5 kilometres (3 miles) outside Maiduguri, where Musa said he counted 12 bodies of civilians. 

Twenty-six worshippers at the mosque were hospitalised with gunshot wounds, said a security guard at the emergency ward of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. He and the state security agent both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to give information to reporters.  

Nigeria declared a state of emergency in much of the northeast on May 14 to fight the onslaught after Boko Haram fighters took over several northeastern towns and villages in this nation of more than 160 million people, which is divided almost equally between the predominantly Muslim north and the mainly Christian south.   

In the video received by journalists Monday, Shekau brushes off any gains asserted by the security forces.  

“You soldiers have claimed that you are powerful, that we have been defeated, that we are mad people,” Shekau says, speaking in the local Hausa language. “But how can a mad man successfully coordinate recent attacks in Gamboru, in Malam Fatori, slaughter people in Biu, kill in Gwoza and in Bama, where soldiers fled under our heavy fire power?   

“We have killed countless soldiers and we are going to kill more.”  

He further insists the extremists’ “strength and firepower has surpassed that of Nigeria. ... We can now comfortably confront the United States of America.”  

Shekau also said Nigeria’s military is “lying to the world” about its casualties. “They lied that they have killed our members, but we are the ones that have killed the soldiers.”  

He apparently was referring to Aug. 4 attacks on a military base at Malam Fatori and a police outpost in Bama, both near the border with Cameroon. Joint Task Force spokesman Lt. Col. Sagir Musa told reporters 32 extremists, two soldiers and one police officer were killed. But when the Borno state governor called on the head of the task force to commiserate, Maj. Gen. Jah

Ewansiah told him in front of reporters that they lost 12 soldiers and seven policemen. Nigeria’s military regularly lowballs casualty figures of civilians and military.  

Under orders from the military, cellphone and Internet service has been cut in Borno, making communications difficult. The military says the extremists were using cellphones to coordinate attacks. But some government officials argue that the lack of communication prevents civilians from informing them of suspicious movements and getting help when they are attacked.  -- AP

Israeli-born father kills son, himself in US

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MANCHESTER, New Hampshire: An Israeli-born software engineer who shot his 9-year-old son to death before killing himself in the U.S., was upset over custody arrangements and had warned his wife that he would kill either her or himself and the boy, court documents say.




The shootings occurred during supervised visitation with the boy on Sunday. A supervisor was present when Muni Savyon, 54, took out a handgun and shot 9-year-old Joshua Savyon before shooting himself, the New Hampshire attorney general’s office said.  
 
The father had sent an email to a friend suggesting he was suicidal before the shootings, said Rabbi Levi Krinsky of Chabad Lubavitch in Manchester.
 
Krinsky said Muni Savyon had been depressed after recently returning from his brother’s funeral in Israel, but he saw him last week and had no concerns he would harm himself or someone else.  
 
“What would provoke him to take his life and his son’s life? I don’t think anyone can figure that out,” said Krinsky, who said Savyon attended synagogue occasionally. “My heart goes out to the family.”  
 
On Sundays, the Young Women’s Christian Association center is open for supervised child visitation and custody exchanges. Krinsky said Savyon and the boy’s mother shared custody of the boy after parting ways years ago.
 
The couple’s marital status wasn’t clear; Krinsky said the couple was divorced, but law enforcement officials said the two were separated.  
 
Law enforcement officials said the relationship had been contentious at times, and Muni Savyon had previously threatened to kill himself, his son’s mother and their son.  
 
WMUR-TV reported that the mother was granted a protective order against Savyon last year, saying “I am afraid for the safety of me and my son.”  
 
But Ellen Savyon Vig, who was once married to Savyon and had remained friends with him after their 1997 divorce, described him as kind-hearted. She said he was especially close to his brother and he loved his son.  
 
“He was nonviolent. He would try to help anyone he could. He was a really nice guy,” she said.  
 
New Hampshire’s attorney general said the center had used a metal detector on Savyon in the past but did not use it Sunday.  
 
WMUR-TV reported that the hand-held metal detector wasn’t used on Savyon, but it wasn’t clear why.   
 
Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeffery Strelzin said because of budget cuts, there was no other security in the building Sunday. AP
Read more: Israeli-born father kills son, himself in US - Latest - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/israeli-born-father-kills-son-himself-in-us-1.336942#ixzz2bnrzCA9e
Read more: Israeli-born father kills son, himself in US - Latest - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/israeli-born-father-kills-son-himself-in-us-1.336942#ixzz2bnrzCA9e

Spanish train driver faces ‘reckless homicide’ charges

Spain’s Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz says the driver of a speeding train that derailed last Wednesday killing nearly 80 people, faces “reckless homicide” charges.

"There are reasonable grounds to consider that he may have been responsible for what happened, which must be established by a judge and the investigation which has been opened," Fernandez Diaz said on Saturday. 

The 52 year old Jose Garzon Amo was detained on Thursday and held under police guard at the hospital where he received treatment for his injuries. 

Officials say he refused to answer police questions, while at the hospital. 

He was then taken to a police station after being discharged from the hospital, on Saturday. 

Under Spanish law, a suspect can be held for a maximum of 72 hours before being heard by a judge. According to authorities, a judge will question the driver on Sunday. 

The train crash took place on Wednesday, July 24, in the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela, claiming the lives of 78 people and leaving 178 others injured. 

Doctors are still trying to identify the last three victims of the crash. 

Shortly after the derailment, the driver told railway officials by radio that he had taken a curve in the road at 190 kilometers (118 miles) per hour. The speed he was traveling was twice the speed limit on the section of the track. 

According to state railway company, Renfe, the train had no technical problems and had been inspected on the morning of the accident. 

The train was transporting 218 passengers and five crewmembers from Madrid to the shipbuilding city of Ferrol on the Galician coast. 

SZH/SS

Jasad mujahideen diperlakukan dengan sangat kejam

Syria - Mujahideen di Syria akan menguruskan jenazah musuh-musuhnya secara baik dengan mengebumikan mereka, tetapi anda lihatlah sendiri bagaimana jasad mujahideen diperlakukan dengan sangat kejam oleh tentera-tentera syiah Basyar.

Ini adalah salah satu perbezaan utama antara mujahideen dan syabiha

Via: 

Tangisan Syria Di Bumi Jordan

Video Suasada di Hospital Rabiah Adawiyyah

Via:

Mesir Kini

Indian court delays verdict on youngest gang-rape suspect

Police try to stop supporters of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party as they march towards the residence of the chief of India's ruling Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, during a protest rally in New Delhi on April 21, 2013.

Thu Jul 25, 2013 12:51PM GMT

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An Indian court has delayed a ruling against a teenager allegedly involved in last year’s gang-rape of a student, which led to her death.

Officials say the verdict which was expected to be handed down on Thursday has been adjourned until August 5.

The delay is due to a challenge pending in the Supreme Court seeking to change the legal definition of a juvenile. The teenager has pleaded not guilty.

If convicted, he can be sent to a correctional facility for a maximum three-year term.

He and five other men are accused of beating and raping a 23-year-old medical student on a moving bus back in December last year. The victim later died of internal injuries. The horrific nature of the crime shocked Indians and sparked mass protests across the country.

The victim’s family recently called on the court to try the teenager as an adult, alongside five other men initially arrested and put on trial following the assault.

“He committed the worst crime and even if he is a minor, the accused should not be allowed to walk free after three years,” the victim’s father said.

The five males and the juvenile were charged with murder, rape, kidnap, robbery and conspiracy. However, one of the adults died while in prison from a suspected suicide in March.

The four adults, on trial in a separate court, face a maximum death penalty if convicted.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, one woman is raped every 20 minutes in the world’s second-most-populous country.

JR/KA