Tehran has used the threat of capital punishment as a means to suppress and dissuade dissent in the wake of the recent protests sweeping the country. At least 209 people were executed in five months in response to the protestation, according to the UN. Groups such as Human Rights Activists News Agency say that the use of televised confessions before executions typically involves torture and the extraction of confessions under duress. Among those facing execution are Majid Kazemi, Saeed Yaqoubi and Saleh Mirhashemi in connection with the Isfahan House murders in November.
Private school enrolments in Australia have risen by 35% over the past 10 years, driven by a surge in student numbers at faith-based institutions, a report has found. In 2021, the number of independent enrolments grew to 688,638, up from 456,460 in 2011. Over the same period, enrolments at Christian schools grew by 50%, while Islamic school numbers doubled to 46,278 students. Independent Catholic schools were one of only two types of school to see numbers fall. The total percentage of students attending private schools surged from 4.1% in 1970 to 17.1% in 2021.
A man who killed eight people and injured 18 others in a truck attack on a Manhattan bike path in October 2017 has been given eight consecutive life sentences and another 260 years in prison. Sayfullo Saipov was sentenced after being found guilty by a jury in March, which rejected the death penalty. Among those killed were five tourists from Argentina, two Americans and a Belgian woman. Relating to Saipov’s statement in court that his victims’ tears were less significant than those of the wider Islamic community, Judge Vernon S Broderick said: “Your self-perceived sense of jihad… led you to this day”.
French architecture firm Studio KO has curated Uzbekistan's national pavilion at this year's Venice Architecture Biennale, exploring the tension between archaism and modernity. The practice is known for finding its inspiration in constructions that it finds at local sites, and for embracing local conditions. The Uzbek pavilion, titled Unbuild Together, is a labyrinth of bricks in the form of structures from ancient pre-Islamic qala fortresses in the Karakalpakstan region of the central Asian nation.
India’s ruling BJP has lost its only southern stronghold. What does it mean for Modi?
CNN
23-05-18 02:47
India's ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), lost control of the state of Karnataka in recent local elections, marking its only stronghold in the south of the country. The defeat could weaken the BJP's position for India's general election next year. Local analysts claim that although the BJP has succeeded with its right-wing Hindu nationalist platforms in national elections, it has failed to replicate this at a state level. Karnataka is one of five Indian states holding elections this year, and is seen as a test of public sentiment. The defeat has been seen as a personal blow to Prime Minister Modi, especially as he invested so much time in campaigning in the state. Meanwhile, it has been a boost for the opposition Congress party, which won 135 seats in the state's legislative assembly, compared to the BJP's 66.
Israel's recent airstrikes in Gaza using "proportional response" tactics aimed solely at Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) have been highly strategic in nature. Israel is trying to ensure that Hamas, which is a larger Islamist militant group, stays out of this conflict. Since Hamas has a much larger arsenal of rockets, which can paralyze life in Israel much more efficiently, Israel wants to weaken PIJ, funded by Iran, and drive a wedge between two Iranian allies on its borders. This strategy seeks to set back Iranian efforts to use its proxies to advance its regional ambitions and indirectly attack Israel and America.
The ideals of Traditionalism, a belief system that claims that there exists a primordial order beyond the visible world to which only certain individuals may be initiated, have resurged in recent years, according to a new survey by author Mark Sedgwick. Traditionalism's emphasis on the contrast between sacred order and modern disorder is fueling the resurgence. A combination of critique and alternative understanding of reality in response to modernity's perceived flaws has made Traditionalism attractive to political figures who support it, such as Aleksandr Dugin, said to be the ideologue behind President Putin, noted Sedgwick.
Court lifts India state's ban on Islamic State film
BBC
23-05-18 10:51
India's Supreme Court has lifted the West Bengal government's ban on the screening of a controversial film that features three women from the country joining Islamic State. However, the court has asked makers of The Kerala Story to add a disclaimer to the film stating it is "a fictionalised version of events". Southern state Tamil Nadu had also pledged to stop screening the film. Security measures have now been ordered to be put in place at all regional theatres to allow the film to be seen. The court will watch the film before hearing further petitions against it in July.
The annual Israeli flag march through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem has sparked condemnation. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh described the event as “provocative” and “absurd,” whilst alleged ultra-nationalist Israelis were heard chanting “Death to Arabs” and “May your village burn”. The march is an attempt to affirm Israel’s ownership of the eastern half of the city, captured in the 1967 war and annexed in a controversial move not recognised by the international community. Palestinian youths, however, are calling for a campaign to raise the Palestinian flag in various towns to coincide with the event, which continues to damage Israel’s relations with the Palestinians.
Israeli forces used live fire and tear gas against Palestinians participating in a protest on the eastern border of the Gaza Strip with Israel. The protest was in response to a so-called flag march by far-right Israelis in Jerusalem, during which they closed several Palestinian throughfares. The Gaza demonstration condemned the flag march, and called for an end to Israeli attacks in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Twitter cannot be held liable for allowing an attack on an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39, according to the Supreme Court. Twitter was accused of violating the Anti-Terrorism Act because it gave ISIS a platform to release propaganda that spark the attack. A group of Americans who were relatives of a Jordanian killed in the attack filed a suit against Twitter, which a court of appeal had revived in 2021 but the US Supreme Court has ruled cannot proceed. The ruling shows that social media companies cannot be held responsible for user-generated content, a decision widely welcomed by other internet giants.
SP Hinduja, patriarch of one of Britain’s wealthier families, has died aged 87. With an estimated wealth of $15bn, the influence of Hinduja and his family was as much evident through their high-ranking connections as through their business portfolio. Hinduja, known as SP, was diplomatic in all of his dealings, including with Prime Ministers, ambassadors and commercial envoys, and occasionally at banquets at Buckingham Palace. He was a regular philanthropist and through the Hinduja Foundation, S.P. helped set up scholarships, build a Hindu temple in England and the opening in 1999 of the Hinduja Group-funded “Spirit Zone” at the Millennium Dome in Greenwich.
A 42-year-old man has been arrested and jailed after deliberately setting fire to a mosque in St. Paul, Minnesota. This marks the sixth attack on Muslim houses of worship in the state this year. The Oromo American Tawhid Islamic Center was severely damaged in the fire along with a community center. No one was inside the mosque at the time and no injuries were reported. The executive director for the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has called for mosques across Minnesota to increase their security and for police to bolster patrols around them.
Sydney is set to run out of burial space for people of different faiths in less than three years, due to an acute cemetery shortage, according to an audit conducted by the NSW Planning Department. The findings add to the pressures of finding solutions for the decay of human remains through toxins leaching into groundwater and methane gas release. NSW Lands Minister Steve Kamper has adopted a “two operator” model to address the acute shortage of burial space in Sydney, which includes the creation of an entity called a Metropolitan Cemeteries and Crematoria Land Manager.
88-year-old Australian freed 7 years after being kidnapped in West Africa
CBC
23-05-19 00:45
An Australian doctor who had been held captive in West Africa by Islamic extremists for over seven years has been released. Kenneth Elliott and his wife Jocelyn were kidnapped in Burkina Faso in January 2016 while running a medical clinic, but his wife was freed a month later. According to Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, Mr Elliott was safe and well, and had been reunited with his wife and family. No details of the man's release have yet been released.
An 88-year-old Australian doctor who was held captive in West Africa for more than seven years has been released, according to the Australian government. Kenneth Elliott, from Perth, and his wife Jocelyn were kidnapped by Islamic extremists near the border with Mali and Niger in January 2016, where they were running a medical clinic. Jocelyn Elliott was released a month later. The family said the 88-year-old now needed time and privacy to rest and rebuild strength.
’No one feels safe’: The Taliban promised to provide security to Afghans. New data shows threat from ISIS is growing
CNN
23-05-19 04:02
ISIS-K has become increasingly bold in its targeting of high-profile and symbolic targets in Afghanistan, according to David Osborn, team leader of Afghan Witness. In August 2021, the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, but since then ISIS-K has claimed 70 attacks, killing at least 670 people and injuring 1,200, according to the group. The Taliban insist they have full control over ISIS-K. However, in reality, ISIS-K has been scaling up the complexity of its attacks across the country and its activity is a growing concern for Afghanistan’s new government and the West, as there are fears it poses a serious threat internationally. ISIS-K and the Taliban are enemies with differing ideologies who are fighting each other for control over parts of the country and for recruits.
ISIS-K and the Taliban are Sunni Islamist extremist groups, but differ in their interpretations of Islam and how to govern followers. The Taliban had promised a more moderate form of rule compared to their previous one two decades ago, but since then have reintroduced harsh measures in line with their strict interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia. The group has widely been recognized for brutality toward women and minorities. ISIS-K has been continuously targeting Afghan civilians, particularly from the Hazara community and Shia Muslims in different cities, including Kabul. Nearly half of the attacks verified by Afghan Witness hit crowds gathered in public spaces, including markets, schools, hospitals, funerals, weddings and religious services.
China brokered a diplomatic deal between long-term rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia that threatens the US's decreasing role in the Middle East. The move by China into Middle East diplomacy has cemented its role as a rising global force, a trend that has seen it gain influence in developing countries over the US. China has exploited a lack of US involvement in the Middle East, accentuated by President Biden's disastrous 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, an appeasing approach to Iran, and a public castigation of Saudi Arabia despite its importance as a US regional security partner. Saudi Arabia's move has created a shift in the Middle East balance of power, causing alarm for the US and Israel in their effort to counter Iran.
Al-Qaida-linked militants have released an Australian doctor after his more than seven-year-captivity in West Africa. The 88-year-old doctor Kenneth Elliott from Perth was freed and reunited with his family and his wife, Jocelyn, who was released several weeks after they were both kidnapped. Elliott was taken by Islamic extremists in 2016 after 40 years of running a 120-bed medical clinic with his wife close to the borders of northern Burkina Faso and Mali. His wife was freed in neighbouring Niger shortly after.
Syria’s return to the Arab League, with President Bashar al-Assad attending the summit in Saudi Arabia, represents an important shift in how regional actors view the survival of al-Assad’s government as well as a pragmatic move. Arab states see Syria’s crisis as an Arab problem and need to pursue strategies to mitigate the conflict’s toxic and destabilising impacts on the region, including drug trafficking networks, refugee crises, weakened border security, and Iran’s intensified role in Syria. The Arab consensus is that addressing Syria’s problems requires engaging with Damascus. Although some Arab states, such as Qatar, Kuwait and Morocco, still maintain that al-Assad’s government is illegitimate, Riyadh used its influence on the Arab and Islamic world to persuade them not to obstruct Syria’s re-entry. Experts suggest that without Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members being able to invest in Syria, Damascus is unlikely to distance itself from Iran.
