Briefsfromshittu

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Feds investigating arrest of Muslim teen for bringing homemade clock

IRVING, Texas – U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch says the Department of Justice is investigating the brief arrest of a Muslim teenager who brought a homemade clock to his suburban Dallas high school.

Lynch confirmed Thursday that the department was investigating Ahmed Mohamed's arrest.

Mohamed was detained, but quickly released, after police became suspicious of a clock he brought to school. His family questioned whether he was mistreated due to his religion.

The Dallas Morning News reports (http://bit.ly/1lBOjOP ) that the Irving school district has refused to release an inquiry sent by the Justice Department.

Mohamed's family eventually left Irving after reporting threats and now lives in Qatar. His lawyers have threatened the city and the school district with a lawsuit.

Eight civilians killed in CAR attack on IDP camp

Central African Republic turned violent in early 2013 when armed rebels seized power in the country [AP]

Mexican police arrest three 'low-level drug dealers

Three people have been arrested and police are still searching for two other suspects believed to be connected to the murder of two Australian surfers who went missing last month in Mexico.

Members of a local gang, who are known to police as 'low-level drug dealers', have confessed to killing two tourists after they fought back during an attempted robbery, reports the BBC.

The van of missing tourists Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman was found firebombed with two charred bodies inside that were riddled with gunshot wounds.

The pair both lived in Golden Bay, Western Australia, though Mr Coleman moved to the country from Britain when he was seven.

The men were arrested on low-level drug-dealing and weapons charges and were allegedly robbing motorists on a stretch of highway leading south through Navolata, Sinaloa prosecutors said Friday.

Sinaloa state prosecutor, Marco Antonio Higuer said he expects homicide charges to be filed against them soon.

'This is just a gang of five people who committed highway robberies. They don't have links to drug cartels,' Higuera said.

Prosecuters also acknowledged that one of the accused has previously been investigated for a robbery that resulted in the death of a man.

After forcing the van to stop the thieves are believed to have shot the pair after Mr Coleman resisted the robbery.

The van was then driven to a rural road where it was set alight with gasoline.

The bodies are yet to be identified but DNA testing is under way.

A shotgun, pistols, 124 small bags of methamphetamine and jackets with police logos on them were all presented as evidence

It was unclear whether they were wearing the police jackets at the time they allegedly stopped the van.

According to prosecutors, a lookout for the gang spotted the pair's van before it got to Navolato and advised his accomplices it was a likely target.

The thieves are believed to have stopped the van after it passed a toll booth, as the two Australians drove south through Sinaloa toward Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city.

Julio César González, 27, allegedly discharged his weapon at the victims and Sergio Simón Benítez González, 37, and Martín Rogelio Muñiz, 27, are alleged to have participated by intercepting the van.

The hunt is still on for Luis Enrique, 38, who allegedly discharged his weapon at the victims and set the van alight and the youngest suspect, Jesus Uriel Camacho, 20, who is believed to have ambushed the victims.

Coleman and Lucas were travelling from Edmonton, Alberta, and failed to arrive to their destination Guadalajara on November 21.

They were last seen leaving a ferry from the Baja California peninsula at Topolobampo, Sinaloa, at about 10:30 p.m. on November 20.

The burned-out van was found the next day by local Mexican authorities.

Although results of the DNA testing are yet to conclude, the families of the pair have little doubt the victims in the van are their loved ones.

A fundraising page on gofundme was launched to help aid the families of Mr Lucas and Mr Coleman, to conduct the necessary tests and funeral costs in helping bring them back to Western Australia.

Friends shared moving tributes to Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas on Wednesday after the burned-out van was discovered.

And Mr Lucas's devastated partner Josie Cox said she would complete his long-awaited holiday.

'Doing what Dean Lucas would've wanted, finishing his surf trip off,' wrote Ms Cox, who has travelled to Mexico in search of answers.

'See u at the ocean Hun! Love and miss u soooo [sic] much.'

Belgian imam wages Flemish jihad against foreign fighters

Confidently delivering a Friday sermon at El Mohsinien Mosque, Sheikh Sulayman Van Ael exhorts his faithful listeners to help young Muslims stake out paths of peace. Yet in the Berchem suburb of Antwerp, Belgium, it is a difficult struggle. About 80 young men have left the city to join various rebel groups fighting in Syria’s brutal civil war.

“We leave them to the Internet. We leave them to social media. We leave them to reading books,” he preaches, in Flemish mixed with Arabic verses. “But we’re not sure they’ll understand [those sources] correctly.”

“And after a while, it’s possible that the person,” he continues, “suddenly doesn’t show up anymore, has made other friends, went a different direction or whatever.”

Many Muslims say they feel unwelcome by Belgian society, with politicians and media often leveling hostile accusations at the Islamic faith as a whole. Van Ael says they are wrong. “What we have to teach people is that it’s perfectly possible for them to be Muslim here,” he says. “People think in terms of Islam or this [mainstream life]. I think both can be perfectly harmonized.”

He points out that the battlefields of Syria can turn out to be very different from anticipated. “Often people who get [to the battlefield] there are used or abused,” he adds. “The reality is often completely the contrary” of what initially allured them.

Muslims in Belgium, who make up about 6 percent of its population, have come under increased scrutiny recently, with the country contributing more fighters per capita to the civil war in Syria than any other European nation. An estimated 500 fighters means about 40 for every 1 million residents.

Recently the working-class Brussels area of Molenbeek became the focal point in the massive search for Salah Abdesalam, suspected of involvement in the Nov. 13 Paris attacks that resulted in at least 130 deaths. Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the deceased Belgian believed by police to be the mastermind of those attacks, grew up in immigrant-heavy Molenbeek.

Several others — including Mehdi Nemmouche of the Brussels Jewish Museum shooting and Amedy Coulibaly, the kosher-supermarket attacker who struck in conjunction with the Charlie Hebdo shooting — purchased their guns in Molenbeek.

Moad El Boudaati, a young Belgian Muslim who works with the local government in the town of Vilvoorde, says the reasons for the current identity crisis in his community are twofold.

First, he traces perceptions of government intolerance to a 2011 law against full face veils for women. In the Muslim community, some of the more religious men report feeling stigmatized if they sport a long beard or traditional Islamic garb. “It’s unlivable here. ‘You can’t live here as a Muslim.’ That’s how young people perceive it,” he says.

Second, he explains the impact of the war in Syria on local youths, especially those exposed to “horrible images of [President Bashar al-] Assad, who massacres his own people.”

Boudaati says the combination of domestic political pressure and the Syrian conflict radicalized a substantial number of his peers. He cites the fact that eight young men left for Syria from one block, among 28 total from the town. “Everyone in Vilvoorde knows someone who left,” he adds. “They were just people like us.”

He says the responsibility for the problem is shared by the whole of society. “The City Council, the mosques, parents, everyone made mistakes,” he says. “There was nowhere for young people to take their problems, their questions on religion or school.”

Van Ael talks to a young audience at a school in Antwerp and introduces himself by asking the young pupils to guess whether he is originally from Morocco or Turkey, in a nod to their predominant countries of origin. The answer, they soon find out, is somewhere else entirely. The man was born into a family neither Muslim nor Arab and was drawn to the faith 18 years ago while “looking for the meaning of life,” he says.

He is no stranger to controversy either, having taken a strong line against the actions of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. In May, after threats from the group, he announced in a statement that he would take himself out of the public eye. But, with a Facebook page full of fans and an outpouring of support, he re-emerged, defiant against any threats.

Last month, a fellow imam from Antwerp reportedly left to fight in Syria — which Van Ael roundly condemned. He concedes that efforts to persuade the new generation may be tougher than ever.

“You can’t talk to anyone about [Islamic identity issues], because they’re not interested,” says a 17-year-old recent Belgian convert to Islam in an hourlong session with Van Ael and Soufian, a counselor at Al-Miezaan psychosocial center.

“It’s like leading a double life,” the young man says, explaining his search for a balanced identity in a society that is at best apathetic, if not simply bigoted. “Are you a Muslim, or are you not a Muslim? ... You’re living in a system of two worlds.”

The teenager articulates feeling revolted by the excesses of Western pop culture and being rejected by Belgian society, saying, “They look at you as if you were an idiot.” He suggests that he has no long-term connection to Belgium and would consider moving to Saudi Arabia if he didn’t anticipate missing his mother.

‘It’s like leading a double life … Are you a Muslim, or are you not a Muslim? … You’re living in a system of two worlds.’

Belgian convert to Islam

“You should try sometimes to put yourself in other people’s position, even if you disagree with them,” Van Ael tells the young man, advocating a balanced approach to being Muslim and living in Belgium. “If you don’t and you focus only on your own point of view, you will end up not understanding people’s reactions.”

Van Ael says after the session, “People do listen, but they need to be handled right. We’ve reached a point where we need to give clear, unambiguous answers and not beat around the bush. Simply say how it is and [not] how it should be.”

One of Van Ael’s loyal followers is Imad Ben, a Palestinian-Belgian who has also distanced himself from hard-line religious interpretations espoused by Salafist literature. “I’m not saying it’s bad, but it gives you only one [school of thought],” he says.

“Before you know it, you’re a sheep,” he continues. “You see what’s different as a threat, and it fills you with aversion. You really reject it, aggressively sometimes.”

“That is wrong,” Ben says. “There’s no tolerance, no sympathy for other visions.”

Burundi facing real possibility of civil war: US envoy

President Pierre Nkurunziza won a disputed election in July, setting off demonstrations [AP]

Burundi is on the brink of civil war and will need regional mediation to establish a peace process between the government and opposition to prevent further bloodshed, a US envoy said.

Thomas Perriello, the US special envoy for Africa's Great Lakes region, said on Thursday that Burundi was "facing a real possibility of civil war," though there is still "a window, no matter how small, to get a peace process going".

"The most urgent thing is a regionally mediated dialogue that will deal with the crisis itself," he said.

But regional efforts to cool Burundi's crisis have stumbled, despite calls by the African Union and East African states for dialogue.

Perriello said the international community has kept a close watch on Burundi and the extension of sanctions and the preparation of a peacekeeping force are among the options.

"We've learned way too painfully from the past that you don't want to wait until after a genocide has started to be doing things to prevent it from happening," Perriello said.

The peace process, led by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and backed by the US and others, has so far failed to bring the two sides to the negotiating table.

"We certainly feel that President Museveni holds the ball on this right now, and therefore some of the consequences if the talks don't get started," Perriello said.

Critics have questioned the suitability of Museveni, who is currently running to extend his 30-year tenure as president for another five years.

Last month, the US imposed sanctions on four current and former Burundi officials, citing reports of targeted killings, arbitrary arrests, and torture.

Three killed in failed attack

Meanwhile, police in Burundi said on Friday that they shot dead three attackers and arrested three others when they foiled an attempt to ambush and assassinate a top police officer in the capital Bujumbura.

Police chief Domitien Niyonkuru said the attackers were wearing police uniforms, while weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades and rifles, were recovered.

Niyonkuru said the foiled attack had targeted a car belonging to Christophe Manirambona, the head of the police bureau responsible for special units.

"Fortunately he was not in his car and those who were inside are safe," Niyonkuru was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

Burundi, which emerged from a 12-year civil war a decade ago, began spiralling into chaos in April when President Pierre Nkurunziza's announcement that he would seek a third term sparked months of protests in the capital Bujumbura and a failed coup.

Civil society groups say more than 240 people have been killed since then.

Nkurunziza won a disputed election in July.

Samsung willing to pay Apple $548M over patent claims, but fight drags on

Samsung and Apple have finally settled on the amount of money the former owes the latter for damages in a long-running patent case. But the battle continues.

In a court document filed Thursday by both companies, Samsung said it would pay Apple $548 million in damages awarded to the iPhone maker following a 2012 decision that found that Samsung had violated key Apple patents. At the time, the jury came up with an award of more than $1 billion in damages, but that has since been whittled down to almost half the amount.

The legal battle is just one aspect of a tangled history between Apple and Samsung, the most dominant companies in the smartphone market. The contest is as much about legacy as it is about unit sales, market share and who owes whom how much. And the relationship between the companies goes deeper: Samsung, for instance, has been a supplier of processors and screens for the Cupertino, California, company's iPhones and iPads. So the two companies continue to work as partners despite being courtroom rivals.

Although Apple and Samsung last year dropped all litigation overseas, their battles have continued in the US. Along with the 2012 case, the two also faced off in court in early 2014. The second verdict was more mixed for the companies, with Apple winning some claims but losing others. The jury also ruled Apple infringed one of Samsung's patents.

Storm Desmond: 'Danger To Life' Warning

Keswick glass panels holding back water from Storm Desmond Pic: @EnvAgencyNW

The Met Office said "in excess of 150 to 200mm" of rain could fall on Cumbria as Storm Desmond swept in.

"In view of flooding and further disruption to transport being expected take action to remain safe and protect property," it said in its red warning.

Sixty-one flood warnings for elsewhere in the north of England have also been issued by the Environment Agency.

In Scotland, Desmond has already caused flooding and a landslides, closing roads some roads. Flood warning have been issued for the majority of its rivers.

A 15-mile stretch of the A82 was shut after at least 200 tonnes of debris slipped from a hillside above Altura in the Highlands. Several areas of the road were also flooded.

Sky's weather presenter Nazaneen Ghaffar said Scotland, northern England, Ireland and northwest Wales would "remain wet all day".

"The winds will be disruptive and damaging today as well, with gusts up to 60mph for inland areas, and maybe in excess of that around exposed coasts and across hills."

Among the other Scottish roads affected by the weather are:

:: The A924 slip road into Pitlochry from the A9 was closed after the River Tunnel burst its banks.

:: The M8 at Bathgate, West Lothian, was closed after a jack-knifed FedEx truck hit the central reservation.

:: There has been flooding on the A85 at Loch Lubhair. The road is passable with care but the water level of the loch continues to rise.

::The M90 was closed between junctions 8 and 9 due to flooding near Glenfarg in Perthshire. Traffic was diverted via the A91 and A912.

:: The M9 was closed eastbound from junction 11 at the Keir Roundabout to junction 9 due to flooding.

:: There is heavy surface water and flooding on the A977 on the approach to the Clackmannanshire Bridge at the Gartarry Roundabout.

Bear Scotland, which operates trunk roads in the region, said staff were out overnight dealing with numerous reports of flooding, debris on the road and fallen trees.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams saying that anyone driving in Scotland on Sunday may continue to be faced with "extremely challenging conditions" - possible flooding, wind damage debris and more high winds.

"Motorists encountering floodwater on the road should think twice before trying to drive through. Water getting sucked into engines can cause catastrophic damage which could lead to a frightening repair bill at the most expensive time of year or even an insurance write-off.

"If you are at all unsure how deep a flood is, the best advice is to err on the side of caution and take another route."

Highways England issued a severe weather alert for high-sided vehicles, caravans and motorcycles in the north.

The A66 was closed to high-sided and vulnerable vehicles between junction with the A67 near Bowes in County Durham and the A685 at Brough in Cumbria.

The A19 Tees Viaduct in Middlesbrough was closed to high-sided traffic in both directions between the A66 and A1046 after reports of strong winds. There are local diversions.

In Dublin, some UK and international flights were cancelled and customers were advised to visit airline or Dublin Airport websites for further flight information.