Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Six In The Morning Wednesday June 7

Gunmen attack Iran's parliament, Khomeini shrine


At least one killed and several wounded in attacks inside parliament and the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran.


Armed men have launched two attacks in Iran's capital, killing a guard at the parliament building and wounding several people in the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in southern Tehran, state media reported.
State broadcaster IRIB and the Fars news agency said one armed man was inside the mausoleum.
Lawmaker Elias Hazrati told state television three attackers, one with a pistol and two with AK-47 assault rifles, raided parliament on Wednesday.




Christian preachers' disappearance in Malaysia stokes fears of crackdown on religious minorities

Months after they were abducted, human rights activists say police appear to have taken an uncharacteristically ‘casual’ approach to their cases

The disappearance of three Christians and a man accused of spreading Shia Islam in Malaysia has prompted fears that authorities are targeting religious minorities with extrajudicial detention.
Video and witness evidence indicate that highly organised groups carried out abductions in public. Months after the men disappeared, family members have learned nothing about their whereabouts and human rights activists say police have taken an uncharacteristically “casual” approach to the cases.
“Do I think the state is linked to this? It is a difficult question to answer,” said Suzanna Liew, wife of pastor Raymond Koh, who went missing on 13 February. “But can I rule out the possibility that people in power are linked to this or know more than they are admitting? No, I cannot.”

Battle to liberate Raqqa from Isis 'will be over quicker than Mosul'

Exclusive: Speaking to The Independent, an SDF fighter on the front line says the geographical nature of Isis's de facto capital in Syria will make it harder for the jihadis to defend



I do not think the siege of Raqqa will be as long as Mosul,” says Awad, an Arab fighter in the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who belongs to a military unit attacking Raqqa, the de facto capital of Isis in Syria. In an exclusive interview with The Independent, he says that “we are advancing quickly and the geographical nature of Raqqa is different from Mosul”.  
The SDF has launched the crucial battle for Raqqa, a city with a population of 300,000 on the north bank of the Euphrates, after a long delay imposed by threats of military intervention by Turkey, which denounces the 45,000-strong SDF as “terrorists” dominated by the Syrian Kurds. The Turkish priority is to prevent the consolidation of a quasi-independent Kurdish statelet in northern Syria. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim today hinted strongly at Turkish military intervention, saying that “we will immediately give the necessary response if we come across a situation in Raqqa ... that threatens our security”.

US state of California signs accord with China for green technology development

The agreement comes less than one week after US President Donald Trump said the US was leaving the Paris climate accord. California governor Jerry Brown agreed to develop more green technology.
California governor Jerry Brown met with Chinese leaders on Tuesday in Beijing and signed a memorandum of understanding to develop more green technology and reduce greenhouse emissions. The agreement builds on subnational pacts Brown signed with officials in Sichuan and Jiangsu provinces earlier this week. 
"I have proposed that California will cut its greenhouse gases 40 per cent below 1990 levels and that we'll have 50 per cent of our electricity from renewables," Brown told President Xi Jinping in a 45-minute meeting. 
"To keep that goal, we need a very close partnership with China - with your businesses, with your provinces, with your universities," Brown said.  


New age war on terror for Southeast Asia

The ongoing siege of Marawi City in the Philippines marks the start of a volatile new phase in the region's long battle with violent Islamic extremism

 JUNE 7, 2017 9:00 AM

When Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law over the southern island of Mindanao to combat an Islamic State-linked militant attack on Marawi City, it marked the start of a new phase of Southeast Asia’s long battle with Islamic terrorism – one with dangerous new international dimensions.
Reports from the front-lines indicate foreign fighters from countries as far-flung as Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Chechnya, India, Malaysia and Indonesia are battling with the local IS-linked Maute Group in an ongoing battle Filipino security forces have clearly struggled to contain.















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