Tucson Home invasion suspects wanted - Phoenix suspects wanted ?

TUCSON- The Tucson Police Department is asking for the public's help identifying a suspect in connection to a home invasion Monday afternoon.

According to TPD, a female was returning to her house near North 1st Avenue and East Fort Lowell around 3:45 p.m., when a man forced her inside at gunpoint.

PHOENIX -- Phoenix police are asking the public to help identify two suspects in a residential burglary.

Read more: http://www.azfamily.com/news/Phoenix-police-need-help-identifying-burglary-suspects-288745641.html#ixzz3OwCoTxFl

Phoenix suspects wanted burglary ?

The30-year-old woman was bound, while the suspect stole items from her purse, TPD said.

"There were threats to my life, he said he would kill me, he would kill my dogs," said the victim." "Yeah, multiple threats during that time."

TPD detectives learned the suspect attempted to use the woman's stolen credit card an hour after the home invasion at the Fry's Supermarket at 555 E. Grant Road.

Police say the suspect is a Hispanic male between 25 to 35 years old, with short brown hair. He is 5-foot-9-inches tall and between 190 and 200 pounds.

The man was last seen wearing a red, long-sleeve hooded shirt with an unknown woman.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or 88-CRIME.

Ex-Chief of Dominican Drug Squad Charged in Theft of Cocaine

SANTO DOMINGO – The Dominican Republic’s former top counter-narcotics official and 24 other people were arrested Tuesday in connection with the theft of more than a ton of cocaine from a police storeroom, Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito said.

Facing charges along with the erstwhile chief of the DICAN agency, Carlos Fernandez Valerio, are 20 police officers, three prosecutors and a civilian, Dominquez Brito told a press conference.

The group is accused of stealing cocaine confiscated in a DICAN operation and then selling the drugs back to the traffickers who were the target of the original raid.

Investigators found that Fernandez Valerio and DICAN’s then-head of operations, Felix Humberto Lopez Paulino, distributed large sums in cash to the other suspects, who subsequently confessed to their part in the crime, the attorney general said.

“About this matter there is a very clear message: we can never allow he who is called upon to pursue crime, to combat crime, to seek peace in society, to ally himself with crime,” Dominguez Brito said.

Mexico - Former Iguala mayor formally charged with the kidnapping of 43 students

by Lucio for Borderland Beat

There has been a formal arrest warrant issued for former Iguala, Guerrero mayor, Jose Luis Abarca, along with 44 others for charges of kidnapping of 43 kidnapped and missing normalistas (students) on September 26th 2014.

This was announced by Tomas Zeron, of the federal general attorney’s office.  He did not state when the warrant was issued.  

Although Abarca was charged with crimes connected with organized crime activities, these are the first charges that are directly related to the September Iguala attacks, and kidnapping of the 43 students.

It is suspected that .Abarca directed the municipal police, in conjunction with the organized crime group Guerreros Unidos,  to attack and kidnap the students.  

There is no mention of the other deaths in the attacks of the night of September 26th.
   

Those attacks resulted in the deaths of 8-9 people, one being a young 15 year old soccer player who was  traveling on the team bus.

Another normalista, Julio Mondragon was taken, murdered,  his face flayed, and his corpse dumped in the street close to the location of the second attack.  

He is not counted with the  43.

It is peculiar that with the world wide publicity and attention of the Iguala 43, almost zero has been paid to the others that were killed and injured in the same attacks.  

As for Abarca’s wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda, on Monday, the federal courts spokesman said a judge had ruled Abarca's wife will stand trial for links to organized crime. 

In evidence are records of bank deposits into her account originating from Guerreros Unidos.

There are doubts that she will be charged with the attacks and kidnapping of the normalistas, and there have been no announcement either way as of yet.

Saudi Arabia ( Blogger to receive his second flogging ) Photo

Saudi Arabia's history of hypocrisy we choose to ignore

On Thursday, a Saudi blogger will receive his second flogging for 'insulting Islam'. Robert Fisk looks at a barbaric regime with a brutal record

US must halt appeasement to ‘tyrannical’ Iranian regime, Senator Cotton demands

The United States must cease all appeasement towards the 'tyrannical' Iranian regime which is the world's greatest state-sponsor of terrorism, US Senator Tom Cotton has demanded.

Republican Tom Cotton said America should begin with 'immediate and crippling sanctions' in place of 'sham nuclear negotiations' to make the US military threat more credible.

In a speech at the US Heritage Foundation, he said: "Iran is a radical, Islamist tyrannical regime... that has been killing Americans for 35 years.

"Iran is at war with the West just as the Islamic State is. While operating a repressive totalitarian state at home, the Iranian regime conducts many of these operations against America and our allies through terrorist proxies, as Iran remains the worst state sponsor of terrorism in the world, according to President Obama’s own State Department.

"Iran is a lead financer and arms supplier of Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, vile terrorist organizations dedicated to destroying Israel.

"While Iran likes to boast that it has joined the fight against the Islamic State, it’s done so only to protect Assad, and has threatened to attack US forces currently fighting against the Islamic State if they target the Assad regime."

Cotton also warned about Iran acquiring nuclear weapons and stressed that appeasement by the US would only help the regime obtain them.

He added: "US negotiators have surrendered repeatedly to Iran’s demands, conceding a right to enrich uranium, allowing Iran to keep its plutonium-producing reactor, asking only that its centrifuges be disconnected instead of dismantled.

"In return for these concessions to Iran, the US has given and will give Iran billions of dollars more in sanctions relief.

"What started as an unwise policy has now descended into a dangerous farce. One can only suspect an unspoken entente between the Obama administration and Iran: the US won’t impose new sanctions on Iran and will allow it to develop threshold nuclear capabilities, while Iran won’t assemble a bomb till 2017."

Mr Cotton called for a clear policy of regime change, adding: "Cease all appeasement, conciliation, and concessions toward Iran, starting with these sham nuclear negotiations.

"Enact immediate, crippling sanctions; and make our military threat more credible."

Israel buries Jews slain in Paris attack

 JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israel held a funeral Tuesday for four Jews killed by a gunman in Paris, with thousands turning out to mourn the victims of an attack that shook the Jewish community.

Shock and sorrow was palpable in the crowd as family members and top Israeli officials stood to pay tribute to the four men who were shot dead on Friday when an Islamic extremist stormed a kosher supermarket.

They were among 17 people gunned down in Paris during three days of bloodshed that began with a grisly attack on the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, in violence that convulsed France and sent shock waves through its Jewish community, the third-largest in the world.

The four bodies were flown to Israel early on Tuesday for a joint funeral, after which they were laid to rest in a more private ceremony at the sprawling Givat Shaul cemetery on the western outskirts of Jerusalem. 

"This is not how we wanted to welcome you to Israel," said President Reuven Rivlin, addressing the victims by name during the ceremony attended by more than 2,500 people including Israeli political leaders.

"We wanted you alive."

Rivlin said that it was unacceptable that Jews were once again living in fear in Europe.

"We cannot allow that in 2015, 70 years since the end of World War II, Jews are afraid to walk in the streets of Europe" wearing a skullcap and prayer shawl, he said. 

On a sunny but freezing winter morning, French flags were flying across the city alongside signs reading: "Jerusalem is with the French people, we are all Charlie."

The attack on the supermarket, which killed Yoav Hattab, 22, Philippe Braham, 45, Yohan Cohen, 23, and Francois-Michel Saada, 64, has left the Jewish community in both France and Israel badly shaken. 

'Crying with me'

Speaking in Hebrew, Valerie Braham paid tribute to her husband Philippe. 

"I am crying but I know that you're all crying with me," she said.

Gary Buchwald, a friend of the Brahams who flew in from Paris with the family, told AFP the impact of the attack was devastating.

"His wife is in pieces. They had to literally carry her to the plane. I am in shock like all of the French community in France," he said.

"She won't get over this. It is not three million people marching in the street who will change this reality: other attacks will happen," he said. 

"We only have two choices: either we fight back or we run."

French Ecology Minister Segolene Royal, who was representing Paris at the funeral, sought to reassure the Jewish community, saying anti-Semitism "has no place in France."

"I want to assure you of the unfailing determination of the French government to fight against all forms and acts of anti-Semitism," she told mourners.

The Jewish community in France numbers 500,000 to 600,000 people.

French migration to Israel hit a record high last year of 6,600 people, and many believe the trend will accelerate, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu making a personal appeal to the Jews of France, saying Israel is their "home."

Among the crowd there was a clear sense that the threats facing Jews in France were not yet over.

"The grief is profound, the families are broken," top French Jewish official Joel Merghi told AFP. 

"The Jewish community has survived (other attacks) many times in history but it will be very difficult to recover this time," he said.

Man Tries to Cross Chinese Border with 94 iPhones Taped to His Body

BEIJING – A man tried to cross the border between Hong Kong and China with 94 iPhones of models 6 and 5S taped to his body with plastic and duct tape, the local daily South China Morning Post reported Tuesday.

The alleged “i-smuggler,” a Hong Kong citizen, was arrested by the police in Futian when the officers noticed that he was having difficulty walking.

On searching him, they found nearly 100 phones underneath his suit.

The iPhones, fastened with duct tape, were placed like armor plating as can be seen in the photos released by the border police.

Investigators have estimated the phones to be worth around $50,000. However, they have not yet figured out where the smuggler intended to resell them or if he wanted them for some other purpose.

Although Hong Kong has been a part of China since 1997, both have independent economies and trade, and their common border is a major smuggling point, especially for electronic goods.

Apple products, including iPhones and iPads, that tend to be cheaper in Hong Kong than in China are among the most common smuggled goods.

In the past, smugglers have been caught with these Apple products trying to evade border controls using other unorthodox schemes such as tunnels under the police checks or catapults that throw iPhones or iPads from one side of the border to the other

U.S. Central Command’s Twitter Account Reopens after Being Hacked by IS

WASHINGTON – The Twitter account of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), responsible for operations in Iraq and Syria, is back in action after being allegedly hacked by the Islamic State jihadist group.

“We’re back,” were the first words of the Central Command late Monday after their accounts on Twitter and YouTube were suspended following the attack by a group of hackers going by the name CyberCaliphate.

However, the YouTube account where the Central Command posted videos of their offensive against IS continues to be out of service.

In the 30 minutes that the accounts of CENTCOM on Twitter and YouTube accounts were compromised, hackers posted extremist messages and the personal data of Pentagon members.

The Central Command said that the attack, which was seen as a case of cyber-vandalism and the leakage of privileged information, did not have any effect on military operations.

The hackers disrupted the entire Central Command’s Twitter account and changed its profile picture to a person with his face covered with a ‘kufiya’, the traditional Arab scarf, and the IS flag.

Threats were issued to U.S. soldiers: “American soldiers, we are coming, watch your backs,” read one of the messages signed ISIS, one of the acronyms used by the IS.

“We know everything about you, your wives and children,” they threatened in one of the messages.

In addition, hackers published a list of addresses, phone numbers and names of generals, Central Command soldiers based in Florida, and retired military personnel with private information.

“ISIS is already here, we are in your PCs, in each military base. With Allah’s permission we are in CENTCOM now,” continued the message.

Before being suspended, the YouTube account showed Islamist videos, including “Flames of War,” a Sunni extremist propaganda video with which they threatened the United States and which showed pictures of executions.

Blogger given first 50 of 1,000 lashes as Saudis deny mercy

A young Saudi blogger has been flogged in public for insulting Islam as the kingdom defied international condemnation and calls from western allies to halt the punishment.

Before a large crowd after Friday prayers, Raif Badawi, 27, was bound and whipped 50 times in front of a mosque in the Red Sea port of Jeddah.

Convicted of cybercrime and insulting Islam after setting up a liberal online forum that infuriated the Saudi authorities, he was sentenced to 1,000 lashes, ten years in jail and fined one million rials 

Border officials: Douglas man had an M-4 rifle taped to body

DOUGLAS, AZ - Authorities say a Douglas man is accused of trying to cross into Mexico with an M-4 carbine strapped to his body.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers doing routine outbound inspections at the Douglas crossing stopped the man last Saturday.

The officers say they discovered the rifle taped to the sides of the man's body in two sections.

The rifle is commonly used by the U.S. military.

It was seized and the 21-year-old man was turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.

The name of the man hasn't been released.

Paris had asked Netanyahu ‘not to attend’ rally

Monday, 12 January 2015

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was asked not to attend yesterday’s Paris rally as per a message sent by French President Francoise Hollande’s office, the Haaretz newspaperreported on Monday.

Hollande wanted to keep the rally’s focus on solidarity with the victims rather than Jewish-Muslim relations or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a source familiar with the correspondence between the Elysee Palace and the Netanyahu’s office told the Israeli daily.

Jacques Audibert, the French president’s national security adviser said he hoped Netanyahu would understand the difficulties his arrival may impose, adding that he hoped the PM would announce that he would not be attending.

Netanyahu obliged and said he will not be flying to Paris for the rally.

Additionally, the source revealed that the French feared Netanyahu would capitalize on his attendance for political purposes, making speeches about French Jews, which Paris believed would hurt the purpose of the rally.

These concerns were not included in the message sent to the PM’s office.

However, upon realizing that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett would be attending the rally, Netanyahu reversed his statement and announced his intent to be in Paris for the rally.

When the Israelis informed Audibert of Netanyahu’s intentions, the source said the security advisor responded in anger saying that the PM’s decision would leave a negative impact on ties between France and Israel.

Ex-French official blames Iranian regime for extremism that triggered Paris attacks

The Iranian regime has inspired the religious fundamentalism that has contributed to the rise of Islamic State terrorists and lead to the massacre in Paris last week, former advisor to French Foreign Minister has told a conference in France.

Mrs Rama Yade, former advisor to French Foreign Minister on Human Rights, branded the barbaric attacks in Paris as the work of 'psychopaths and extremists' and said the West must not compromise in its dealings with the Iranian regime.

She told the gathering entitled “In 2015, all for tolerance and democracy against religious extremism” held north of Paris on Sunday: "2014 was marked by the emergence of the Islamic state in the heart of the Middle East, which is again burning after the hopes raised by the Arab Spring. The crimes committed by this Caliphate are numerous.

"Extermination of populations, kidnapping and raping women. France is concerned not only because it is engaged militarily in the international coalition, but because in the ranks of the Islamic State there are many young French, the largest European contingent of jihadists.

"The terrorists who struck Paris this week have claimed to belong to Islamic State. This is a major factor in what is now happening in France. Never has the situation in the Middle East so influenced the destiny of the French nation."

Mrs Yade asked why the West made allies of Syria and Iran following the rise of the Islamic State, and said the consequences of that choice were now 'serious, dangerous and already visible."

She said there were now two solutions, adding: "First we must not compromise ourselves with Iran under any circumstances. Iran has inspired religious fundamentalism since 1979. Through its diplomatic alliances, the country has contributed to the current unrest in the Middle East. And that is a profound mistake to think that it can be a voice to eliminate Islamic State.

Then we have to help, support and assist those fighting for a democratic and tolerant Islam. For the present crimes are not the work of Muslim but psychopaths extremists who mess that religion. Faith is not murder, it's not torture, it is not the slaughter, not execution. Faith is tolerance, modesty, piety, peace."

She also praised Iranian Resistance leader Maryam Rajavi as an 'international leader', and said: "The message you bring should be supported by all those who fight for the promotion of human rights."

Ms Yade urged Camp Liberty residents to continue their fight for freedom, adding: "All have suffered the atrocities of the Iranian regime. Especially women who are mothers, who are wives, who are girls, who have proven their courage.

"They refuse medieval laws. They refuse sexist laws established by an Iranian theocracy that uses Islam to establish a theocracy in otherwise tolerant message of Islam.

"Many Muslims do not recognize themselves in these laws. They come from families who cherish Islam, families who taught them that Islam is a religion of peace and should not be equated with fundamentalism, let alone terrorism.

"Unfortunately, the test France is going through is painful. But one certainty is that nothing will be as before. And I hope with all my heart that many French will be there to support you in your battles."

A number of political figures participated in the conference offered speeches in Sundays gathering. Among them: Sid Ahmed Ghozali, former Prime Minister of Algeria; Jean-Pierre Béquet, member of Val d’Oise provincial council; Anissa Boumediene, Islamic scholar, jurist and former First Lady of Algeria; as well as legislators from various European countries, including Dominique Lefebvre from France, Senator Antonio Razzi from Italy, Edidijus Vareikis from Lithuania, Senator Kees De Lange from Netherlands, Stanislav Polcak from the European parliament, Peter Mathews from Ireland, Ardelean Ben Oni from Romania; along with a number of French mayors, including Jean-Pierre Muller and Sylvie Fassier; and personalities such as progressive Bishop Jacques Gaillot from France, Dr. Taissir Al-Tamimi, former Chief Justice of Palestine; Paulo Casaca, former member of European parliament; Gilles Paruelle, former head of bar association in Val d’Oise; and Khalil Meroun, Head of d'Evry Mosque.

Charlie Hebdo: Anonymous declares 'war' on jihadists in retaliation for Paris massacre

Maryam Rajavi: Terrorist attacks in Paris fundamentally incongruent with Islam

 

Gathering titled “In 2015, all for tolerance and democracy against religious extremism”

Maryam Rajavi: Terrorist attacks in Paris fundamentally incongruent with Islam that advocates tolerance and coexistence.

The only path to confront fundamentalism and terrorism is to stand against the Iranian regime which is the driving force and inspirer of all extremist currents under the banner of Islam

NCRI - In a gathering titled “In 2015, all for tolerance and democracy against religious extremism”, Maryam Rajavi expressed solidarity with the people of France and deep regret for the criminal attack against Charlie Hebdo magazine. On behalf of the Iranian Resistance that 120,000 of its members have lost their lives to the fight against religious fascism, she expressed solidarity with the families of the victims. 

She also underscored the solidarity of the Iranian people with the great demonstration of people of France on Sunday.

Rajavi condemned the silence of Iranian regime’s leaders regarding this dreadful crime and their attempt to use this slaughter to blackmail and make deals.

Rajavi emphasized on the coexistence among followers of religions and noted: “Those who propagate despotism and ruthlessness under the veneer of Islam are the worst enemies of Islam. Those who massacre journalists under the pretext of defending the Prophet of Islam have no understanding of Islam whatsoever. Neither the abduction of school girls in Nigeria, nor the murder of children in Pakistan, nor the everyday hanging of prisoners, nor splashing acid on the eyes and faces of women in Iran, nor beheading western nationals, nor the cleansing of Sunnis in Iraq and nor the massacre in Paris have anything to do with Islam.”

In this conference held north of Paris at the presence of political dignitaries and parliamentarians from various countries throughout the world, Rajavi underscored: “Indeed, the existence of the rule of terror, barbarism and fundamentalism in Tehran is the driving force behind all extremist currents who invoke the name of Islam. From Iraq and Syria to Yemen and from Afghanistan to France, the political and ideological backbone of extremism under the banner of Islam is the Iranian regime.”

Similarly, the “attack on journalists and writers… is a barbarity that Khomeini laid the basis for by the fatwa against British writer Salman Rushdie.”

Rajavi called the international crisis caused by the rise of ISIS and the fanaticism under the banner of Islam a product of the Iranian regime and the policy of appeasement with this regime and added: “Mullahs of Iran and their lobbies are trying to take advantage of the coalition formed against ISIS to get their regime out of its crisis although the Iranian regime is itself the biggest source of instability in the region and its eviction is indispensable to stability, especially in Iraq and Syria.”

She stipulated that the regime of velayat-e faqih is the epicenter, inspirer, political refuge or the financial bankroller and arms provider to extremism whether under the banner of Shia or Sunni. She thus called for support for a unified front against Islamic fundamentalism; specifically against the regime of velayat-e faqih is Iran. She accentuated that the intellectual, cultural and root solution to fundamentalism is the democratic and tolerant Islam that in Iran is represented by the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

Rajavi referred to the two decades of appeasement of the religious fascism ruling Iran and conversely the suppression and listing of PMOI as a significant parameter in the expansion of Islamic fundamentalism and extremism and the terrorism stemming from it.

In addition to Mrs. Rajavi, a number of political figures participating in the conference offered speeches, including

Sid Ahmed Ghozali, former Prime Minister of Algeria; Jean-Pierre Béquet, member of Val d’Oise provincial council; Rama Yade, former Advisor to French Foreign Minister on Human Rights; Anissa Boumediene, Islamic scholar, jurist and former First Lady of Algeria; as well as legislators from various European countries, including Dominique Lefebvre from France, Senator Antonio Razzi from Italy, Edidijus Vareikis from Lithuania, Senator Kees De Lange from Netherlands, Stanislav Polcak from the European parliament, Peter Mathews from Ireland, Ardelean Ben Oni from Romania; along with a number of French mayors, including Jean-Pierre Muller and Sylvie Fassier; and personalities such as progressive Bishop Jacques Gaillot from France, Dr. Taissir Al-Tamimi, former Chief Justice of Palestine; Paulo Casaca, former member of European parliament; Gilles Paruelle, former head of bar association in Val d’Oise; and Khalil Meroun, Head of d'Evry Mosque.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
January 11, 2015

Iran parliament session suspended amid shouting matches

TEHRAN: An Iranian parliament session has descended into chaos as several hard-line lawmakers disrupted a speech by a moderate colleague criticizing the long-term house arrest of two opposition leaders.
Parliamentarian Ali Motahari was speaking out Sunday in open session against the detention orders, calling them “unconstitutional.” His remarks were disrupted by several lawmakers shouting “death to seditionists.”
Parliament vice-speaker Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabi-Fard adjourned the session, which resumed about a half hour later.
The two opposition leaders that Motahari was defending, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi, have been held without charges under house arrest since 2011 over their role in the widespread protests that followed the 2009 presidential elections.

US Central Command Twitter feed hacked by ISIS supporters ( Video )

Entire Police Force Held Over Kidnapping of Journalist

Reposted from an article on Vice News with additional material by Otis B Fly-Wheel

Police force held for questioning over kidnapping of Journalist Moises Sanchez Cerezo

Moises Sanchez Cerezo

All the Police Officers of a City in Mexico have been taken in for questioning over the disappearance of yet another Journalist in the Gulf Coast State of Veracruz, considered the most dangerous place in the country for Reporters.

According to the State Governor , the Police of Medellin de Bravo , more than three dozen officers - were held on Monday after unidentified armed men kidnapped Journalist Moises Sanchez Cerezo, known as critical of the local and State Government, from his home on Friday. Nine assailants traveling in three vehicles raided Sanchez's home, taking him , along with a computer , camera , and cell phone.

Sanchez had worked as a part-time Journalist and Photo-Journalist, funding his small weekly publication La Union with wages he earned as a Taxi Driver. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Sanchez sometimes operated as a source for other local Journalists in Veracruz.

Hamas condemns Charlie Hebdo attack

Published yesterday (updated) 10/01/2015 21:30

(MaanImages/file)

 

GAZA CITY (AFP) -- Palestinian Islamist group Hamas condemned Saturday the killing of 12 people in an attack on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo's offices by two French Islamists.

A statement in French said Hamas "condemns the attack against Charlie Hebdo magazine and insists on the fact that differences of opinion and thought cannot justify murder."

It also rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments, in which he compared the Paris attack to Hamas firing rockets from the Gaza Strip at civilians in Israel.

"Hamas condemns the desperate attempts by ... Netanyahu to make a connection between our movement and the resistance of our people on the one hand and global terrorism on the other," it said.

President Mahmoud Abbas called France's Francois Hollande to express condolences, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki told AFP.

He said that Abbas assured the French president of "the solidarity of the Palestinian people and leadership with France after this terrorist attack."

Maliki said that a delegation of Palestinian Muslim and Christian clerics would pay a solidarity visit to France "in the coming days."

The Palestine Liberation Organization called for a public rally to be held in Ramallah on Sunday "in solidarity with France against terrorism."

Anonymous Shutting Down Jihadi Websites for #OpCharlieHebdo

Two headless bodies found in Egypt’s Sinai

 France Presse, Cairo
Saturday, 10 January 2015

Two headless bodies were found in a village in Egypt's restive North Sinai region on Saturday, police said, the latest in a series of beheadings allegedly carried out by Islamist militants.

The bodies of two men, believed to be civilians in their 30s, were found near the town of Sheikh Zuweid.

It was not immediately clear who had killed them.

Egypt's deadliest Islamist organization, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, has previously claimed several beheadings of men it said were working for the Egyptian army or Israel's Mossad spy agency.

The Sinai-based group, which last year pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has regularly released video footage showing the executions of alleged informants, often by beheading.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Partisans of Jerusalem) has targeted Egyptian security forces since the army ousted Islamist President Mohammad Mursi in July 2013.

Militant attacks have killed scores of security personnel, with Islamist groups claiming they are retaliating for a government crackdown on Mursi supporters. 

Egypt's military has launched a widespread offensive against Islamist groups in the Sinai Peninsula.

Last Update: Saturday, 10 January 2015 KSA 17:09 - GMT 14:09

Delta - Lost " Dog on Flight " Vanished ?

jackie romano

glendale, CA

Delta lost and never found our dog Ty. Since losing our beloved family member, they have yet to provide us the report detailing what happened, admit to negligence, or help in our efforts to find Ty. We are calling on Delta to release their report to the Federal Aviation Administration on what happened to Ty, apologize for their wrong-doing, and state how they will prevent this from happening again.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has strict rules on airline travel and animals. We felt confident Ty could be entrusted to Delta to fly safely with our son Frank from Los Angeles to our new home in Tampa. Ty had been checked by our vet and transported in an airline approved crate. Delta confirmed everything was in order prior to assuming responsibility for Ty. When we said our goodbyes to Ty, his tail wagging, we never imagined it would be for the last time.

Prior to takeoff, Frank was removed from the plane and told Delta couldn’t find Ty. Our son was confused and horrified listening to Delta’s story. One minute Delta had the dog, and the next he was gone. They claimed there were no witnesses. Eventually Delta would state Ty had “compromised the kennel on his own”. When we got the crate back there were no bite marks, scratches, or other damage inside that would corroborate Delta’s story. All we found was a crack on the outside of the kennel that wasn’t there when Delta checked Ty into their custody.   

After Delta lost a member of our family all we asked for was help searching for Ty. Delta denied our requests in helping provide resources for the search effort. Instead, we had to rely on many kind-hearted volunteers who spent weeks searching, putting up posters, and talking to people in the area.

To add insult to injury, a Delta employee at LAX commented on a local news story about Ty’s disappearance. The employee accused our family of animal abuse because we didn’t drug Ty prior to the flight and claimed to have seen Ty run across the tarmac and into a neighborhood, adding “Hopefully to a better home, who actually CARE for him.” Delta had lost our dog and we were being treated horribly.

We believe that in an age of heightened security, regulation, and surveillance at airports, Delta has no excuses for losing Ty. Not only do they owe our family the truth and an apology, they owe their valued customers assurances that they have a plan to ensure this never happens to another family. Pets are family members and irreplaceable, not to be treated as just another piece of luggage. Please join us in calling on Delta to release their official report, apologize to our family, and put in place a plan to prevent future pets from being lost. Please sign and share our petition today.

Iran: Messaging services LINE, WhatsApp and Tango blocked

NCRI – The Iranian regime’s judiciary has ordered three personal communication apps to be blocked.

The services are popular among Iranians because they allow inexpensive or free communication with people in Iran and abroad.

Also, the messaging services circumvent the state-controlled Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI).

Social websites including YouTube, Twitter and Facebook have already been blocked by censors, though many young and web-savvy Iranians use proxy servers or other workarounds to bypass the controls.

The government of Hassan Rouhani is implementing what it calls a ‘Smart filtering’ system.

Mahmoud Vaezi, the Communications and Information Technology Minister said on December 28 that implementing the ‘Smart filtering’ system does not mean that ban on already blocked websites and social networks will be removed.

He said that the ban on “the already blocked web sites such as Facebook and YouTube” will not be lifted.

The regime in Iran has set up one of the strictest controls on Internet access in the world and has blocked hundreds of thousands of websites and social networks.

Maryam Rajavi welcomes French president’s call for Paris mass rally

The National Council of Resistance of Iran strongly welcomes and supports President Francois Hollande’s call for attending the Paris mass rally on Sunday.

As Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, has stated the Iranian people and their Resistance have been on the side of the people of France from a long time ago in the fight against terrorism and fundamentalism and defending the separation of religion and state.

Since three decades ago, the Iranian Resistance has declared that the epicenter of fundamentalism, export of terrorism, and retrogression is the religious caliphate ruling in Tehran, which is the spiritual godfather of the ISIS and is the world’s leader in execution, terrorism, and barbarism in the contemporary times.

Mrs. Rajavi described the remarks of President Hollande who reiterated that the terrorist crimes have no relevance to Islam as encouraging for all Muslims and nations of the region such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen that are the main victims and the primary enemies of Islamic fundamentalism.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
January 9, 2015

Tennessee mother and 2 yr old feared kidnapped in Matamoros, Mexico

by lucio using material from el manana and face book

A search is underway for two American citizens believed to have been kidnapped while in the border city of Matamoros, México.   

Matamoros is the location of  the last verifiable sighting.

Tennessee residents, twenty-four year-old Kelly Jean Shumake and her two year-old daughter went missing, on December 30th. Family members have filed a report with  police, of  the  disappearance,  prompting a multi-agency investigation. 

The family traveled to Brownsville, then to Matamoros, to distribute posters and file missing person’s reports there.

J.J. Treviño,  Brownsville police spokesman, confirmed that a complaint was received and filed regarding  the search for an American woman and her child, and he confirmed a complaint was also filed  in the city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas.

"We cannot do much in these cases, it isn’t  under our jurisdiction, so this limits us in investigation, we reply on what is provided to us." said Trevino.

The U.S. Consulate in Matamoros recently released a warning to American citizens traveling to or through the state of Tamaulipas, given recent reports of express kidnappings happening near commercial areas in broad daylight.

U.S. Priest Who Scuffled with Colleague to Enter Treatment

NEW YORK – A Catholic priest in New Jersey accused of attacking another cleric with a metal crucifix entered a one-year program of probation and counseling, the U.S. press reported.

Successful completion of the pre-trial intervention program will enable the Rev. Frank Hreno, 51, to have the charges against him dropped.

The incident occurred last April during an argument between Hreno and 37-year-old Rev. Emeka Okwuosa at the Vocationist Fathers Retreat and Conference Center in Florham Park, New Jersey.

The two priests were quarreling about an automobile that Hreno had leased.

Okwuosa said Hreno struck him on the arm with a metal staff 1.2 meters (almost 4 feet) long bearing a crucifix, leaving a cut that required 29 stitches.

Because it was Hreno’s first offense, the judge was amenable to his entering the pre-trial intervention, defense attorney Peter Gilbreth told the Daily Record newspaper.

Paris Shooting Attack: Kourachi Brothers Are Dead

Shortly after 5 p.m. in France, two simultaneous hostage standoffs came to dramatic conclusions amid gunshots and explosions. 
The mayor of the town of Dammartin-en-Goële announced that Said and Cherif Kourachi – the brothers suspected of being behind Wednesday's attack in Paris on the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo that killed 12 – were themselves dead. 

Early Friday, the two had been trapped in a Dammartin-en-Goële printing plant within a vast warehouse complex. The town is near Charles de Gaulle Airport, 25 miles north of Paris. 

The mayor also said that a hostage, believed to be female, whom the brothers had taken before the standoff, is unhurt and has been freed. 

Also on Friday, a gunman opened fire at a kosher supermarket in eastern Parisand took at least five people hostage. Police officials say at least four people, including the shooter, are dead. 

Police said the gunman, who has been identified as 32-year-old Amedy Coulibaly, had links to the Kourachi brothers. They also blamed the hostage-taker for Thursday's murder of a French policewoman who was gunned down during an unrelated traffic stop on a Paris street. One of the two suspects in that shooting, a female identified as 26-year-old Hayat Boumeddienne, is still at large. 

Paris - police searching neighborhood for suspects (video )