Five Dead in Attack in Christian Neighborhood in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - At least five people were killed Friday, including four insurgents, in an attack against a neighborhood of the Christian minority in Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan, according to officials.

"Terrorist attacked Christian Colony Warsak Road, Peshawar. Sec forces promptly responded, all 4 suicide bombers killed. Search in progress," said Asim Bajwal, Director General of the army's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in an official tweet.

Peshawar police spokesman Mohamed Usman told EFE that a Christian person had also died in the attack, and one security guard was wounded, although the spokesman cited three dead attackers.

According to Usman, the attack began at 6am local time (3am GMT) when a group of insurgents wearing explosive vests entered the neighborhood, hurled two grenades at an church and engaged in a shootout with the police and the army that lasted over an hour.

Images broadcast by local television channels showed a large number of police officers patrolling Peshawar and helicopters flying above the city.

No insurgent group has claimed the attack so far.

Pakistan's Christian minority population, comprising less than 4 million people in a country of almost 200 million, endures longstanding discrimination and has been frequently targeted by attacks over the years.

In March, 71 people were killed in a suicide attack in a park in the eastern city of Lahore.

Pakistani Taliban group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar had claimed responsibility for that attack and said it was directed against Christians who were celebrating Easter.

Friday's attack comes less than a month after another suicide attack in Quetta claimed the lives of 71 people and wounded another 128.

Argentine President Gets Extra Protection amid Threats

BUENOS AIRES – The Argentine government announced Tuesday the expansion of protection for President Mauricio Macri and other senior officials in response to an increase in threats.

The head of state and other members of the executive branch will receive round-the-clock protection when necessary, according to the resolution signed by Security Minister Patricia Bullrich.

Decisions about security needs will be based on “objective criteria,” such as the nature of the official’s position and the perception of “real threats.”

Macri, Vice President Gabriela Michetti and Buenos Aires provincial Gov. Maria Eugenia Vidal have been the target of anonymous threats in recent weeks.

On Aug. 12, protesters threw stones at Macri’s motorcade as the president was leaving the resort city of Mar del Plata following a public event.

The new regulation established three descending levels of protection.

Level one applies to the president, vice president and their families, while the Cabinet chief, security minister and security secretary are in the second tier.

The third tier comprises former presidents along with select Cabinet ministers and officials thought to be at risk.

Trump’s Visit to Mexico Mocked on Social Media

MEXICO CITY – Social-networking sites have been inundated in recent hours with tweets and posts ridiculing Wednesday afternoon’s scheduled private meeting between Republican Party presidential nominee Donald Trump and Mexican head of state Enrique Peña Nieto, the leader of a country he has heaped scorn upon throughout his campaign.

Internet memes that employed both subtle irony and course humor and mocked both politicians began appearing on social media shortly after Trump made his surprise announcement on Tuesday night.

One the most-liked was a poster of the comedy classic “Dumb and Dumber” with images of Trump and Peña Nieto, both of whom have been criticized and mocked for a lack of basic knowledge and intellectual curiosity, superimposed on actors Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels.

Also going viral was an image of the Republican nominee, who has branded Mexican immigrants as “rapists” and vowed to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, dressed from head to foot in an anti-contamination suit with the caption “Donald Trump arriving in Mexico.”

Yet another image shows Trump arriving in the country dressed as a sombrero-wearing member of a mariachi band.

Mexican political analyst and writer and university professor Denise Dresser gave her nearly 3 million Twitter followers a multiple choice question to answer.

Dresser asked them to choose one of the following options: “Peña Nieto is inviting Trump to: a) have Higa (a construction company that has won contracts from different Peña Nieto administrations) build the wall, b) talk about toupees, c) tell him about the “good things” about his administration or d) give him his (partially plagiarized law school) thesis.”

Peña Nieto, whose approval ratings have plunged in recent months, on Friday invited both Trump and Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton to come to Mexico and meet with him privately.

Drivers pull woman from burning car after 10 vehicle pile up

Iran - Killed Blogger's sister (Now missing ) WTF ?

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NCRI – There is still no news about the fate of Iranian human rights activist Sahar Beheshti who was arrested yesterday at a ceremony remembering her brother, a dissident blogger who was killed under torture by the mullahs’ regime.

On Friday August 26, suppressive forces raided the family home of martyr Sattar Beheshti, who was arrested in November 2013 and was martyred under brutal torture. His family and friends had gathered at a ceremony to mark his birthday.

During the attack, the regime’s suppressive forces harshly beat Ms. Sahar Beheshti, Sattar’s sister and her husband, and arrested them and a number of participants in the event. Sahar Beheshti was transferred to an unknown location. A number of detainees including her husband were subsequently released with a summons to be called by repressive organs.

Last night the mother and husband of Sahar Beheshti went to various police stations and jails in search of her. The authorities in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison told other members of their family and friends that Sahar was not being kept there. The regime’s judiciary and prison service in Robat Karim, Parand and Tehran are failing to accept responsibility for her arrest.

Sahar’s mother, Ms. Gohar Eshqi, is believed to be in a very poor state of health and is suffering from a heart condition.
Following Sahar’s arrest, Ms. Eshqi said: “My son was sacrificed for Iran, and I’m prepared to lose my daughter in the path of Iran’s freedom as well.”

The Iranian Resistance on Friday called on international human rights authorities to take immediate action to release Sahar Beheshti. The religious fascism ruling Iran in fear of an outburst of public anger and disgust, cannot even tolerate the martyrs’ memorial ceremonies. 

Iran: Five Christian citizens arrested in Firoozkooh

NCRI - Friday 23 August 2016 five converted Christians who had gone for sightseeing and fishing with their families were detained by the agents of Intelligence Ministry. The whereabouts and condition of them is unknown.

According to news sources from inside Iran, Ramil Bet Tamraz, Amin Naderafshar, Hadi Askari, M Dehnavi and Amirsina Dashti with their wifes and children went to the city of Boroujerd in the province of Tehran for fishing and picnics. Around half past one in the afternoon, they were attacked by security forces, men and women were separated and then Amin Nadrafshar who asked them to show the arrest warrant was severely beaten.

A source close to the families stated: “The security forces detained and transferred men to an undisclosed location, and families are unaware of their condition.”

Ramil Bet Tamraz, is the son of Victor Bet Tamraz the Assyrian priest who was arrested at his home on Christmas celebrations on 5 January 2014.

Rev. Victor was verbally accused of "illegal missionary activities, running a Christian house church, and publishing and distributing the Bible". He was released on bail on 10 March 2014. And is waiting a summons from the court to defend the charges related to his Christian activities.

It is feared that the intelligence agents coerce them to false confessions as is common in Iran prisons.

Iran - shots fired from .50-caliber machine gun in (Gulf )

Anyone concerned by a perceived warming of relations between the U.S. and Iran can rest somewhat assured as of this week: The two countries' interactions, particularly on the high seas, most definitely remain hostile.

Recent days have witnessed repeated incidents in which boats belonging to the navy of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps harassed and – according to the U.S. Navy – acted outright dangerously in close proximity to American ships in the Persian Gulf. It remains unclear specifically what Iran hoped to achieve with the encounters. But regardless of what prompted the provocations, the outcome the Iranians sought was all but certain.
'They knew they were going to provoke a response, they just went as far as they could,' says Anthony Cordesman, with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 'The clear message is, 'We're here. We are a significant threat. We can demonstrate to everyone in the Gulf that we are capable of doing this and willing to do it.''
Iran could be airing continued grievances or sending a larger message to its adversaries on any one of a series of issues.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, for example, believes the U.S. has not followed through on commitments to the deal it struck with Tehran over its nuclear program. The U.S. continues a military build-up of sorts through massive arms deals with its traditional partners in the Middle East, which also happen to be Iran's sworn enemies.
Tehran also might feel empowered by its strengthened relationship with Moscow, as shown through Russia's temporarily deploying warplanes to an airbase in Iran for operations in Syria.
The U.N. General Assembly begins in New York a few weeks, where Iran will likely continue its traditional arguments for greater influence in world affairs. And, more generally, Iran is expected to continue its years long campaign to prove it can, and should, serve as the principal power in its neighborhood.
Whatever the reason behind this latest activity, it arguably achieved its goal.
'You do not necessarily need to turn this into a publicity issue because you don't have to. Is there any place that didn't get the news?' Cordesman says.
The encounters provoked sharp responses from the Department of Defense and the ships themselves, one of which fired warning shots in response. A U.S. Navy spokesman called it 'a dangerous, harassing situation that could have led to further escalation.'
On Tuesday, four high-speed IRGC vessels came within 300 yards of the U.S. destroyer Nitze while it was exiting the very narrow Strait of Hormuz. The ship exercised the U.S. Navy's typical escalation of warnings, from blasting its horn and sending radio warnings to firing flares.
On Wednesday, Iranian vessels approached the U.S. coastal patrol ships Tempest and Squall in the northern Gulf, and did not respond when hailed by the two ships' radios. The Tempest fired warning flares, and the vessels came close enough to the Squall for it to fire warning shots from its .50-caliber machine gun.
The Navy said the warning shots did not cause any damage.
'This situation presented a drastically increased risk of collision, and the Iranian vessel refused to safely maneuver in accordance with internationally recognized maritime rules of the road, despite several request and warnings via radio, and visual and audible warnings from both U.S. ships,' Navy Cmdr. Bill Urban, a spokesman for the Navy's 5th Fleet, told the U.S. Naval Institute. He said the Iranian ships' high rate of speed as they approached the U.S. ships in international waters, along with their bow crossings at short range and disregard of multiple warning attempts, 'created a dangerous, harassing situation that could have led to further escalation.'
The circumstances of these latest incidents, particularly the swarming effect the Iranian navy vessels hoped to achieve, remain a central concern of American Navy commanders whose ships represent high-profile targets in contentious parts of the world.
Experts in these kinds of military encounters say the U.S. Navy maintains the ability to defend its vessels from an attack like these, particularly if its ships were operating in a situation in which they didn't have to exercise an abundance of caution, as was the case this week.
'This just may be an IRGC decision to periodically test the U.S. Navy and its rules of engagement,' says Paul Hughes, an expert in international security in the Middle East and Africa with the U.S. Institutes of Peace. 'They're trying to do that in a very constrained way, and in a very constrained place, itself – the Straits of Hormuz.'
'It will continue,' Hughes adds. 'This is not a new phenomenon. They have been doing this for a long time, and it's just another test of the Navy, to see how the U.S. responds, and, 'Maybe if we're lucky we can scare the ship's captain to divert off its course and then we have a big propaganda victory there.''

Source: U.S. News & World Report, 27 Aug. 2016