The Chinese government is claiming that at least 13 of 109 Uyghur Chinese nationals repatriated from Thailand last week were “on the way to jihad,” attempting to reach Syria and Iraq and fight with the Islamic State.
The United Nations special envoy for Ebola warned today that the outbreak that has taken more than 11,000 lives in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea is far from over, with 30 people a week being diagnosed with the disease on average. The UN warned that, while the figure appears low compared to the number this time last year, the fact that most cases are people not on watch lists indicates the threat is much larger than it appears.
The government of Chad is warning that anyone seen sporting a burqa–a full-face Islamic veil–will be arrested on sight following a terrorist attack orchestrated by the Islamist group Boko Haram by a man disguised as a woman in a burqa. The attack left 15 people dead and 80 injured in N’Djamena, the nation’s capital.
A Chavista union demanding higher wages, combined with difficulties in importing necessary ingredients, are threatening to leave Venezuela without beer. The potential scarcity of the extremely popular beverage is just the latest in a string of increasingly difficult to find common goods in the socialist nation.
Turkey opened its trial against two journalists on Thursday for publishing the cover of French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo following the terrorist attack that took the lives of 11 people at the magazine’s headquarters. Hundreds of plaintiffs are alleging that, as Muslim readers, their personal offense at the images of Muhammad constitute a crime by the publishers.
A Bloomberg reporter, presumably in Athens to cover the developing Greek debt crisis, received quite a surprise with the bill: a charge in the Greek drachma, a long-defunct currency looming its head as the possibility of Greece leaving the euro behind grows with every day its government fails to make a debt payment to Europe.
Tourists planning a luxury getaway to the Greek isles are being increasingly hesitant to keep their bookings, thanks to both an economic crisis plaguing the nation’s banks and the Greek government’s inability to process thousands of illegal migrants sailing into island ports from Turkey. In order to keep revenue up, companies are offering steep discounts and encouraging tourists not to cancel trips.
The leader of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) excused a mistaken attack on Korean tourists by Turks attempting to protest the Chinese government by claiming the protesters were “young people” confused by Asians’ “slanted eyes.” Turkish nationalists have organized protests against China for its crackdown on Islam in Turkic Uyghur communities.
A gruesome attack on villages near Lake Chad this week left 26 dead, as Boko Haram burned homes to the ground and slit the throats of anyone who stood in their way. The attack is the latest in a string of escalating violence in Nigeria and Chad exacerbated by Islamic State calls for more death during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
A new “cluster” of Ebola cases in a coastal region of Liberia has been identified, after a 17-year-old boy, initially misdiagnosed with malaria, was confirmed dead of the virus. Experts have failed to find the source of this new outbreak and are treating it as a separate set of incidents from the massive outbreak that has taken more than 10,000 lives in West Africa since February 2014.
An Islamist group identified as “Young Islamic Defense” has flooded Turkey’s capital Ankara with posters allegedly quoting a Muslim teaching that calls for Muslims to “kill the perpetrator and the receiver on sight” should they ever see an LGBT person.
Spanish police announced the arrest of a woman identified only as “Silvia C.” on Tuesday, believed to have been in contact with Islamic State jihadists in Syria and responsible for recruiting women and girls as “sex slaves” for jihadis in the Middle East. The Spanish Ministry of the Interior released few details, stating the investigation that led to her arrest remains ongoing.
As the Shiite Houthi rebels who have taken over Sanaa continue to wage war against troops loyal to deposed Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, the Sunni Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group has taken credit for another Shiite mosque bombing, stating that they plan to “take revenge” upon the Houthis for attempting to control the country.
A new survey published in Chinese state-run newspaper, the Global Times, finds young Chinese nationals increasingly attracted to religion, with Islam the most popular religion among people under 30 and Protestantism the religion with the largest number of places of worship in the country.
Venezuelan socialist head of state Nicolás Maduro has recalled his nation’s ambassador to neighboring Guyana after statements by the latter government that Venezuela was excessively intruding into Guyanese maritime territory.
Turkmen groups in western Syria, close to the border with Turkey, are working to create an independent militia to combat both the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) and any advances made by the Kurdish YPG forces, which have been the only group to enjoy success in keeping ISIS from sweeping through Syria’s border towns.
The Greek island of Lesbos, typically a popular European vacation destination, has received such a prodigious influx of refugees attempting to enter Europe by crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey that immigration offices on the island are remaining open 24 hours a day to process them, and are still woefully behind on the procedure.
As part of its National Army Day, Nigeria released 182 prisoners Monday–men, women, and children, all suspected of having ties to the radical jihadist group Boko Haram. Military officials confirmed that they were released in northeastern Borno State, birthplace of Boko Haram, and that they had been cleared of wrongdoing.
A special advisor to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari told BBC over the weekend that the government “can’t rule out” the possibility of negotiating with jihadist terror group Boko Haram, following a string of bombings and village raids in the northeast of the country.
The Chinese embassy in Istanbul has released an advisory to Chinese nationals planning to travel to Turkey, warning that they may face violence following attacks on suspected Chinese nationals by Turkish national protesters this weekend. Those attacks may be a statement against the Chinese government’s attempts to ban the practice of Islam among Western ethnic Uyghurs, who largely subscribe to the faith.
Antonis Samaras, the head of Greece’s conservative New Democracy party, has resigned from leadership following the nation’s resounding rejection of Eurozone debt repayment terms in a referendum on Sunday. Samaras will be remembered most for being the only prime minister in the last decade to accept austerity measures and attempt to curb Greece’s spending during the current crisis.
A new video released by the jihadi terror group, the Islamic State, depicts children abducted and trained to kill by ISIS executing 25 men identified as soldiers for the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. The massacre occurs in the historic amphitheater at Palmyra, an ancient Roman city cited as a UNESCO World Heritage Site that has recently been overrun by ISIS terrorists.
As the ruling Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) vocally demands the Greek people vote “no” on a referendum regarding European Union debt repayment terms on Sunday, an unlikely voice has emerged representing the opposition “yes” vote, interpreted as a vote in favor of keeping the Euro as currency and remaining in the Euro: electro-pop megastar Sakis Rouvas.
The United Nations has upgraded the humanitarian crisis in Yemen to a Level 3 emergency, the most dire possible scenario on the UN scale. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is calling for an immediate ceasefire to allow for food, water, and medicine to enter the nation, as more than 80% of the population is entirely dependent on foreign aid to live.
As a variety of Kurdish forces continue containing the Islamic State’s advance in Syria and Iraq, leaders are becoming increasingly vocal about the establishment of an independent Kurdistan, with some sources close to the ground telling Fox News that Kurds are dedicated to the formation of a new state “whether the U.S. likes it or not.”
