Forty-Five Churches Torched In Hebdo Protest

Written By Unknown on Senin, 19 Januari 2015 | 20.48

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Gallery: Niger: Churches Burned Over Cartoon

A ransacked church in Zinder, Niger, that was set on fire on 16 January, 2015, after thousands of protesters gathered following Friday prayers to vent anger at publication of a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed in the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo

Four people, a policeman and three civilians, were killed and 45 injured on Friday. Continue through for more images

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Forty-five churches have been torched in Niger over the use of a Prophet Mohammed cartoon on the cover of Charlie Hebdo magazine.

At least five people died and 128 were injured in the capital Niamey during protests against the image on the front of the satirical publication.

The controversial magazine ran a caricature showing the prophet under the headline "All is forgiven" just days after an Islamist attack on its offices in Paris that left 12 people dead.

The physical depiction of Mohammed is considered blasphemous by many Muslims.

Several hundred thousand people also protested in the Chechen capital Grozny at a state-organised rally.

The region's strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov told the rally in the capital Grozny: "This is a protest against those who support the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.

"This is a protest against those who insult the Muslim religion."

Demonstrators chanted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) and released balloons into the sky at the event which was described by observers as highly-choreographed.

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Gallery: Massive Crowds Protest In Chechnya

People attend a rally to protest against satirical cartoons of prophet Mohammad, near the Heart of Chechnya mosque in Grozny

Hundreds of thousands of people staged the rally on Monday in Chechnya against French magazine Charlie Hebdo's cartoons of the prophet

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A member of law enforcement forces stands guard during the rally. Continue through for more images

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Those who spoke to the crowd harangued Western governments for allowing publications to print caricatures of the prophet.

Russian TV showed live footage of people streaming into Grozny's main square shortly before the speech by Mr Kadyrov - a loyalist of President Vladimir Putin.

It came just over a week after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took part in the march for unity in Paris following the end of the city's sieges.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people in Afghanistan demonstrated against the magazine's actions by burning a French flag and calling for the government to cut diplomatic relations with France.

It came as German group PEGIDA, protesting what it calls "the Islamisation of the West", vowed it would not be silenced after its weekly rally was cancelled following an alleged terrorist threat against one of its organisers.

At total of 17 people were killed in and around Paris over three days after the attack on the magazine office on January 5.

The attacks by brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi and Amedy Coulibaly shocked the country and sparked an outpouring of international support, with many newspapers and magazines around the world reprinting earlier Charlie Hebdo cartoons.

But the decision by the magazine to place a new cartoon on its front has resulted in outrage across the Muslim world.

Earlier protests left 10 dead in Niger and violent clashes also occurred between demonstrators and police in Pakistan, Jordan and Algeria.

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Cameron Defends 'Reasonable' Letter To Mosques

David Cameron has rejected criticism by some Muslims of a letter sent to mosques in England urging them to do more to root out extremists and prevent young people being radicalised.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said it wanted Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to clarify the request - and asked if, like "members of the far right", he was suggesting that Islam is inherently apart from British society.

In the letter sent to more than 1,000 Islamic leaders, Mr Pickles and communities minister Lord Ahmad stressed that he was "proud" of the way Muslims in Britain had responded to the Paris terror attacks but added that there was "more work to do".

There are fears about the spread of terrorism after the attacks in the French capital that left 17 people dead and the arrest of more than two dozen people in anti-terror raids in Belgium, Germany and France.

Mr Cameron has stepped in to defend the letter.

Answering questions after a speech in Ipswich, the Prime Minister said: "I think it is absolutely right to write this letter, to say that we all have a responsibility to fight extremism.

"Anyone who reads this letter - and I've read the letter - will see that what he is saying is that British Muslims make a great contribution to our country, that what is happening in terms of extremist terror has nothing to do with the true religion of Islam. It's being perverted by a minority who have been radicalised.

"But everyone needs to help with dealing with this problem of radicalisation.

"Anyone, frankly, reading this letter, who has a problem with it, I think really has a problem. I think it is the most reasonable, sensible, moderate letter that Eric could possibly have written.

"Frankly, all of us have a responsibility to try to confront this radicalisation and make sure that we stop young people being drawn into this poisonous fanatical death cult that a very small minority of people have created."

In the letter, Mr Pickles insisted Whitehall could not combat jihadist ideology alone and Imams must explain to young people what it means to be British.

"You, as faith leaders, are in a unique position in our society. You have a precious opportunity, and an important responsibility: in explaining and demonstrating how faith in Islam can be part of British identity," he wrote.

"We believe together we have an opportunity to demonstrate the true nature of British Islam today.

"There is a need to lay out more clearly than ever before what being a British Muslim means today: proud of your faith and proud of your country.

"We know that acts of extremism are not representative of Islam; but we need to show what is."

But the letter immediately drew criticism from some Islamic leaders.

Harun Khan, deputy secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "We will be writing to Mr Eric Pickles to ask that he clarifies his request to Muslims to 'explain and demonstrate how faith in Islam can be part of British identity'.

"Is Mr Pickles seriously suggesting, as do members of the far right, that Muslims and Islam are inherently apart from British society?"

Lord Ahmad, who also signed the letter, also rejected the criticism.

He told Sky News: "This is a positive initiative from the Government, it's not seeking to target any particular community.

"It's reaching out across the board, across the country, to say we want to tackle this issue of extremism."

EU foreign ministers, including Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, are meeting today in Brussels to discuss the terror threat in Europe. Building an alliance - including with Muslim countries - is high on the agenda.

Mr Hammond said: "The Muslim countries of the world are the ones who have suffered the greatest burden of terrorism and they will continue to be in the frontlines.

"We have to work closely with them to protect both those countries and the EU countries."

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7/7 Widow Jailed For Stealing Son's Compensation

A widow of a 7/7 bombing victim has been jailed for two years and eight months for stealing £43,000 from her son's compensation.

Louise Gray, 42, spent £250,000 of her own compensation money before turning to her son Adam's fund, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Gray, 42, from Ipswich, is said to have frittered away the money on cars, clothes and luxury holidays.

She admitted stealing £43,000 between July, 2012, and November, 2013, at an earlier hearing.

Her husband, accountant Richard Gray, 41, was one of 52 people killed in the 2005 London bombings as he commuted to work.

Judge David Goodin told Gray: "The offence you have committed against your son, the trust you betrayed - a second hammer blow following the death of his father - is so serious it can only be met by a custodial sentence."

The judge added: "The theft of £43,000 is one thing. The theft of £43,000 by a parent from a young adult's trust is quite another, when that sum represented most - practically all - the compensation he received for his father's tragic death.

"It's an act of wickedness almost beyond belief.

"He has lost not one parent, but two."

Adam was 11-years-old when his father was killed by suicide bomber Shehzad Tanweer on a Circle line Underground train.

The children's money was placed in trust until their 18th birthdays, but Adam gave his cash to his mother to look after when he turned 18.

When he arranged to meet her in November 2013 to ask for the money because he was looking to buy a property, she confessed she had spent it, the court was told.

Adam took civil action to try to recover the cash and his mother was ordered by a county court judge to repay him the £43,000.

He also reported the matter to police and she was prosecuted for theft.

The court heard that Gray had offered to pay her son £10,000 followed by further monthly payments but the offer had been rejected.

Gray was supported in court by her partner, Umar Shamshoom, who is the father of her three-year-old daughter.

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Jobs Pledge From 'Party Of Roofers And Retailers'

David Cameron has been setting out his plan for full employment, promising to make Britain the "jobs factory of Europe" as the economy returns to health.

The Prime Minister, who was speaking in Ipswich, said the country is "coming out the other side" after a "tough few years".

With just months before the General Election, he has promised to treble start-up loans for young business people and urged voters to stick with his recovery plan.

Labour however, has said the Tories are out of touch if they think the economy is "fixed" and that most workers are now worse off.

In his speech, Mr Cameron said: "Our aim is very clear - our aim is for a Britain of full employment.

"What I mean by that is a higher rate of employment here in Britain than in any other advanced economy. Full employment means for me that anyone who wants a job is able to get a job in our country."

"We haven't solved all our country's economic problems, but the plan is working.

We are getting Britain back to work and increasingly with those jobs people can see a better living standard, better security for themselves and their families. That's what I want to continue with."

Mr Cameron said he regards the Conservatives as the party of the roofers and the retailers; the builders and the businesswomen.

His plans to boost jobs included: three million more apprenticeships; controlling immigration and migrant benefits to get more Britons back to work; extra support for small business, such as cutting red tape and keeping taxes low; investment in infrastructure.

The Prime Minister said the boost in start-up loans - which are typically around £5,000 - will create at least 100,000 jobs by 2020.

In a wide ranging speech and question and answer session afterwards, he also said it was the government's ambition to lift the amount people had to earn before they paid tax to £12,500, and to cut the benefits cap to £23,000 from £26,000.

Labour has hit out at the PM's boasts about a healed economy, saying it shows they are out of touch with normal working people.

Labour shadow Chancellor Ed Balls responded to Mr Cameron's speech by saying: "We want to have a job for all.

"But I think David Cameron's speech today will seem like empty words to people who've been struggling in the last few years with wages not keeping pace with prices, many people forced to work part time, zero hours contracts meaning that often people don't know if they'll work when they wake up in the morning.

"This is not the way to run an economy and what Labour says is 'let's have a plan to make sure our economy works for all working people, not just a few'. David Cameron's had five years and he's not delivered."

The Prime Minister's jobs pledge comes as the gap between Britain's best and worst-performing cities has "dramatically widened", according to a new study.

The Centre for Cities research group says for every 12 jobs created since 2004 in cities in southern England, only one was created in cities in the rest of the country.

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Written By Unknown on Minggu, 18 Januari 2015 | 20.49

Fresh Travel Misery For Eurostar Customers

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Eleven Eurostar services are to be cancelled today because of "power supply problems" - meaning more headaches for stranded passengers.

Services between London, Paris and Brussels have been hit by continuing delays after a lorry fire led to the closure of the Channel Tunnel on Saturday.

Now Eurostar has said six trains that were due to leave from London between 2pm and just after 8pm, along with five leaving from Paris and Brussels, will be cancelled.

The company said that one of the two tunnels used by its trains will remain closed all day.

"In addition, Eurotunnel experienced new power supply problems this morning which meant that both tunnels were again closed for two hours," it said in a statement.

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Gallery: Travel Chaos In London And Paris

This was the scene at St Pancras International station in London as Eurostar services are cancelled in both directions on Saturday

The company said trains would not be running on that day

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Large queues of passengers formed - but they were told they would be unable to travel

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It was a similar scene at Gare du Nord station in Paris - this board shows all services were cancelled

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Passengers had to make alternative arrangements

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"This closure was a separate incident, unrelated to the problems experienced yesterday."

The services departing from London at 2.04pm, 3.31pm, 5.04pm, 6.04pm, 6.31pm and 8.04pm have been cancelled.

In Paris, the services leaving the French capital at 4.43pm and 6.43pm will not be running, while in Brussels, the 3.56pm, 5.56pm and 6.56pm trains have been cancelled.

Eurostar and the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle car service were stopped on Saturday after the fire on the French side of the railway's south tunnel.

The incident led to long queues at St Pancras station in London as services were cancelled for most of the day.

Queues formed again at the station this morning, where Eurostar services resumed after 8am.

There were similar scenes in Paris and Brussels.

Eurostar had earlier said it would run a full service today, but only "for passengers who have an existing reservation for this date".

People were warned that trains could be delayed by between 30 minutes and an hour.

Eurostar advised people whose trains were cancelled on Saturday not to arrive at stations unless they had already been re-booked.

People booked on the services cancelled on Sunday have been asked to "postpone their travel and rebook for an alternative date".

Eurotunnel services resumed at 2.45am UK time.

Eurotunnel spokesman John O'Keefe said a "smouldering load" was found in the trailer of the lorry.

The alarm was triggered after CO2 detectors were activated in one tunnel, Eurotunnel said. No one was injured.

In March, hundreds of Eurostar passengers were delayed after a lightning strike triggered a fire in a building close to the entrance to the tunnel in Kent.

Although there was no damage to the track, four trains in and out of England were affected.

Three eventually reached their destination but the fourth, which had been heading to Paris, was forced to turn back to London.

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