Syria’s Nusra line controlled by al-Qaida
By Mariam Karouny/Reuters
BEIRUT – The most feared and effective rebel group battling President Bashar al-Assad, the Islamist Nusra Front, is being eclipsed by a more radical jihadi force whose aims go far beyond overthrowing the Syrian leader.
Al Qaida’s Iraq-based wing, which nurtured Nusra in the early stages of the rebellion against Assad, has moved in and sidelined the organization, Nusra sources and other rebels say.
Al Qaida in Iraq includes thousands of foreign fighters whose ultimate goal is not toppling Assad but the anti-Western jihad of al Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri – a shift which could extend Syria’s conflict well beyond any political accord between Assad and his foes. The fighting has already cost 90,000 lives.
The break-up of an important part of Syria’s opposition, already splintered into hundreds of armed groups, worsens the dilemma faced by the West as it debates whether intervention to support the rebels will result in arms being placed in the hands of hostile Islamist militants. And the if the West were to intervene, it may now be under pressure to attack al Qaida opposition forces rather than Assad.
For the rest of the story…
http://preview.reuters.com/2013/5/17/insight-syrias-nusra-front-eclipsed-by-iraq-1
Assad prepares to retaliate if Israel strikes Syria again
By Haaretz
Syria is making preparations to strike Tel Aviv in case Israel launches another attack on its territory, The Sunday Times reported on Sunday.
The Syrian army has begun deploying advanced surface-to-surface missiles, the report said, adding that it has received orders to strike central Israel in case additional attacks against Syria are carried out.
The Sunday Times said that the information was obtained by reconnaissance satellites that were tracking the Syrian forces. According to the report, Syria was deploying advanced Tishreen missiles which are capable of carrying a holf-ton warhead.
Israel, foreign media reported, was behind three attacks against targets in Syria in the past five months. The air raids, it was said, targeted shipments of weapons heading to Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
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Kidnapping looks like act of ‘jihad’
By Michael Carl/WND
Analysts say the recent kidnapping of an aid worker in Kenya, who apparently is being held for ransom, has the marks of al-Shabaab, a group of Islamists who have terrorized the region of Africa that also includes Somalia.
Authorities say the relief worker, Julia Juincy, of the U. S. Agency for International Development, was taken when her car broke down while she was traveling from Garissa to Habesein in northern Kenya.
Police spokesman Emmanuel Chiluma reported that Juincy called to say she was leaving Garissa, but never arrived at her destination. Her car was found along the highway.
Detectives say her cell phone has been traced to the Kenyan village of Nkubu.
International Christian Concern’s Africa analyst William Stark says the incident bears the marks of the Islamist group.
“Al-Shabaab has been known to kidnap Western aid workers and did so in October of 2011,” Stark said. “That’s one of the factors which prompted Kenya to make a military incursion into Somalia.”
For the rest of the story…
http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/kidnapping-bears-marks-of-islamists/
Islamic army falters in war on Christians
By Michael Carl/WND
Sudan’s Islamic government was dealt a blow this week when its attempted strike against rebel groups Sudan Revolutionary Front and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North was beaten back.
The strike was in retaliation for the SRF’s successful campaign to capture the North Kordofan village of Um Buwaba. One report says the Sudanese army lost over 400 soldiers in the counterattack.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide, USA President John Eibner says the victory is big: “The SPLA-N scored a significant military success on the ground.”
International Christian Concern’s Africa specialist William Stark told WND that despite efforts by Sudan President Omar al-Bahir to paint the rebels as Christian troublemakers, the SPLA-N and the SRF aren’t completely Christian.
“In Sudan, the SPLA-N situation is primarily a political conflict that has some religious elements,” Stark said.
Yet Open Doors-USA spokesman Jerry Dykstra says the Sudanese government is calling for a holy war against the rebels and increasingly turning the teeth of its attacks on Christians.
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http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/islamic-army-falters-in-war-on-christians/
Christian group’s prayer effort for Syria answered with bombs
By Michael Carl/WND
A Christian human rights group’s effort to bring peace to Syria’s Christians through prayer has been answered by bombs and rockets.
That’s the assessment of Open Doors spokesman Jerry Dykstra, who says there were multiple attacks.
“Dozens of rockets, shells, and mortars exploded near places set aside for a day of prayer in Syria. Unsecured roads made it difficult for Christians to travel to the sites set aside for public prayer services,” Dykstra said.
Dykstra adds that weather conditions also created a challenge.
“Also, unusual rain, lightening, and a sudden drop in temperature further hampered the events,” Dykstra said. “However, our sources in Syria tell us that prayer services went forward anyway.”
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http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/ministry-says-bombs-rockets-target-time-of-prayer/
Iran uses loophole to get money through Turkey
By Jonathan Schanzer/FDD
Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has arrived in Washington, D.C. for a much-anticipated summit with President Barack Obama. The timing of the visit — amid reports of chemical weapons usage in Syria and an attack against a Turkish border town by alleged Syrian agents — will make it hard to talk about anything other than the civil war in Syria.
But some members of Congress want to draw attention to a less-obvious issue. Last month, a bipartisan group of 47 members of Congress penned a letter to Secretaries John Kerry and Jack Lew calling for clarification on Turkey’s financial dealings with Iran. Under the initiative of South Carolina Republican Representative Jeff Duncan, the letter expressed deep concerns over Turkey’s gold dealings that have helped Iran skirt Western sanctions designed to curtail Tehran’s illicit nuclear program.
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http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/how-iran-benefits-from-an-illicit-gold-trade-with-turkey/
North Korea ‘light water’ reactor, potential nuke producer, almost ready
By East-Asia Intel
A light-water reactor that could be used to strengthen North Korea’s nuclear weapons program is nearing its completion, the latest satellite images show.
Construction on the reactor began in 2010, and it has been intensely monitored by satellites operated by various countries and organizations. Among them is the Washington, D.C.-based U.S.-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.
For the rest of the story…
http://www.east-asia-intel.com/eai/2013/05_08/1.asp
Confusion in US-Israel relations sets groundwork for attack on Israel
By Debka File
Four days after a “senior Israeli official” warned Assad through The New York Times of Wednesday, May 15 that he risks forfeiting power if he retaliates for Israeli attacks on weapons supplies to terrorists, “Israeli officials” were telling theLondon Times of Saturday, May 18 something quite different: “An intact, but weakened, Assad regime would be preferable,” they said.
“Better the devil we know than the demons we can only imagine if… extremists from across the Arab world gain a foothold there.”
The night before this report, Fox News aired footage appearing to show Israeli commandos inside Syria racing back on foot to Israeli territory.
Without going into whether the two sets of “Israeli officials” were one and the same, their utterances are clearly making Israel’s policy-makers and defense leaders look muddled and uncertain – or, worse, unable to think clearly – about how to cope with the menace building up on the Syrian Golan.
This could take the form of a Syrian war of attrition and/or a Hizballah offensive against Upper and Western Galilee.
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Judge OKs Muslim violence against Christians–in the U. S.
By Western Journalism Centre
If you want to experience the Middle East, you only have to travel as far as Dearborn, Michigan. This western suburb of Detroit has a population of close to 100,000. Over 40,000 of them are Arab or of Arab descent, giving Dearborn the distinction of having the largest Muslim population of any city in the United States.
The Muslims have been taking over many of the cities elected positions and have instituted many Muslim friendly ordinances. In fact the Muslim influence is so strong in Dearborn that the local high school held a girl’s only prom, since their religion does not allow girls and boys to dance or socialize together. If any other school in America did something similar based on Christian or Jewish beliefs, the ACLU and other groups would be circling the school waiting their turns to file lawsuits for violation of church and state. But these legal groups were nowhere to be seen in Dearborn.
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http://www.westernjournalism.com/judge-says-its-ok-for-muslim-violence-against-christians/
Egypt puts Copt teacher on trial for ‘insulting Islam’
By AFP
CAIRO — A Coptic Christian teacher in an Egyptian primary school will stand trial after colleagues and the parents of students accused her of insulting Islam and evangelising, a judicial source said on Tuesday.
The trial of Dimyana Ubeid Abdel Nour will begin on May 21, the judicial source said. She has been freed on bail of 20,000 Egyptian pounds ($2,900) ahead of the hearing.
According to London-based rights watchdog Amnesty International, the complaints arose after some students alleged the teacher in the southern city of Luxor said she “loved Father Shenuda”, the late Coptic Pope Shenuda III.
She was also alleged to have “touched her knee or her stomach when she spoke about the Prophet Mohammed in class,” Amnesty said in a statement that demanded her release.
A judicial source said a complaint signed by some of her colleagues and parents of her students accused her of insulting Islam and proselytising to fourth grade students.
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