The Daily Mirror of Sri Lanka produced a deep dive into the background of suspected Easter Sunday bombing mastermind Mohamed Zaharan Hashim that includes assertions by the Islamist group National Towheeth Jamaath (NTJ) that Hashim was long ago expelled for preaching hatred and violent extremism.
A study from the U.K. Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies (RUSI) found North Korea using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to circumvent international sanctions. The authors warned Pyongyang’s cybercrime network could “become a sustained security challenge” as it seeks more untraceable methods of laundering money and keeping its business secret from international regulators.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday appointed a new leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the U.S. recently designated a foreign terrorist organization.
The referendum to approve constitutional amendments that extended Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s term, granted permission for him to run for another six years in 2024, and increased the powers of his office has passed with over 88% of votes cast in favor, according to the Egyptian election commission.
Officials from other nations are disputing, or at least declining to support, Sri Lankan Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene’s contention that the Easter Sunday terrorist bombings in his country, which killed 359 people as of the latest count, were intended as retaliation for the shootings at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March.
China’s Global Times on Monday said the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka should inspire Asian countries to “strengthen coordination” on terrorism and offered China’s leadership on the issue, citing China’s history as a “victim of terrorism.”
A referendum is in progress in Egypt to approve amendments to the constitution that will increase the powers of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and allow him to remain in office until 2030.
The government of Sri Lanka responded to the horrific Easter Sunday bombings by restricting access to social media sites such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat. Officials said they would keep the sites blocked until the counter-terrorism investigation concludes.
The Islamic State issued a statement on Tuesday morning claiming responsibility for the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.
China’s state-run Global Times was in high dudgeon on Sunday over “sexually suggestive marketing posts” from condom maker Durex, which previously enjoyed a “high reputation among Chinese netizens for its witty posters that track trending topics.”
The South China Morning Post reported Monday on Chinese businessmen complaining that Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is generating too many profits for foreign firms and subjecting Chinese companies to increased competition.
No individual or group has made a formal claim of responsibility as of Monday morning for the horrific Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, which killed almost 300 people at the latest count, but the Sri Lankan government considers a radical Islamist group called National Towheeth Jamath (NTJ) and its leader, imam Moulvi Zahran Hashim, the prime suspects.
The White House announced on Monday that it would terminate waivers from U.S. sanctions granted to some of Iran’s biggest oil customers, in a major step towards the administration’s goal of reducing Iranian oil exports to zero.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi previewed the third annual Belt and Road Forum by defending China’s infrastructure plan as a constructive program, rather than the string of debt traps depicted in U.S. criticism. He prodded the U.S. to stop interfering with Belt and Road by persuading prospective members to back away from the project.
The city of Guangzhou in southern China is offering a substantial cash reward, worth about $1,500 in U.S. dollars, to citizens who report “illegal religious activities” and help the authorities crack down on underground churches. Warm approval for the program by Chinese media suggests the practice will spread to other cities as the Communist Party works to “Sinicize” – in other words, subdue and control – all religions.
Qualcomm Inc., the U.S. company that makes the chips used in many popular smartphone models, has decided to terminate a joint venture with the government of China’s Guizhou province. The company established by this venture in 2016, Huaxintong Semiconductor Technologies (HXT), will reportedly cease operations by April 30.
China’s state-run Global Times on Wednesday pushed back against India’s informal boycott of Chinese products by telling Indians to adopt the brutal “996” work schedule to “catch up” with China’s tech industry instead of resorting to protectionism.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai recommended on Wednesday that China Mobile should not be allowed to operate in the United States because the Chinese telecom giant poses “substantial and serious national security and law enforcement risks.”
Felix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), found it necessary on Tuesday to assure rural citizens of his country that Ebola is “not an imaginary disease” and foreign aid workers are there to help.
North Korean state media on Wednesday announced the test of a “new tactical guided weapon” with a “powerful warhead,” personally supervised by dictator Kim Jong-un. It was North Korea’s first weapons test since the second summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump.
United Conservative Party (UCP) candidate Jason Kenney defeated Rachel Notley and the left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) in Alberta on Tuesday, ending four years of NDP rule in the conservative-leaning province and moving oil-rich Alberta into the coalition lined up against scandal-plagued Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the upcoming national election.
Indonesia’s presidential election on Wednesday – the largest single-day election in history, with almost 193 million eligible voters casting ballots for 245,000 candidates spread across 17,000 islands – appears to have returned incumbent President Joko Widodo to office. The race was strongly influenced by Indonesia’s slide into hardline Islamism.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a report on Tuesday that said satellite photos have uncovered possible uranium reprocessing at North Korea’s Yongbyon reactor. If such activity is indeed underway, it would suggest North Korea is preparing to create more nuclear warheads.
Facebook-owned social media platform Instagram announced on Tuesday it blocked the accounts of numerous Iranian officials, including commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in compliance with U.S. sanctions.
A coalition of Taiwanese student groups announced the creation of the “Youth Front for Boycotting Fake News” over the weekend. The organization intends to challenge Chinese efforts to influence Taiwanese culture and politics with propaganda.
The Philippine government announced on Monday that it will take legal action against China for harvesting giant clams at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.
Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), warned on Tuesday that 800,000 more migrants could be driven into Europe unless the assault on Tripoli by warlord Khalifa Haftar ends soon.
A nonprofit organization called FBI National Academy Associates (FBINAA) confirmed on Sunday that hackers breached its servers and stole several databases containing personal information, including names and email addresses, for 23,000 people.
China lashed out angrily on Monday at U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for criticizing Chinese policy in South America. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Pompeo’s remarks were “lies” and accused him of using “wantonly slanderous, deliberately instigating, irresponsible, and unreasonable” rhetoric.
U.S. envoy Brent Christensen, the de facto American ambassador to Taiwan, on Monday pledged continuing U.S. support for Taiwan to join international organizations like Interpol and the World Health Organization (WHO) despite China’s campaign to isolate the island nation.
