UK teen runaway who joined Daesh ‘wants to come home’

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Renu Begum holds a picture of her younger sister Shamima Begum after she went missing in 2015. The British teenager fled to join Daesh in Syria. (AFP)
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Shamima Begum, right, ranaway with two other girls from her school in 2015 to join Daesh. (AFP)
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Shamima Begum told The Times newspaper that she wants to return to the UK. (AP)
Updated 14 February 2019
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UK teen runaway who joined Daesh ‘wants to come home’

  • She is one of the three other British school girls who ran away to join Daesh in 2015
  • The girl said she does not regret her decision, and left because she was “weak” and could not handle the hardships

LONDON: An unrepentant British teenager who joined Daesh in Syria said in an interview Thursday that she wants to come home, highlighting the challenge for Western governments on how to deal with returning extremists.
Shamima Begum, who ran away from London with two school friends in 2015, spoke to The Times from a refugee camp where she had fled the collapse of the   group’s self-proclaimed “caliphate” in eastern Syria.
Now 19, she expressed no regrets about joining the extremists but said that two of her children were dead and she was now heavily pregnant.
“I just could not endure any more,” she told the newspaper.
She added: “I was also frightened that the child I am about to give birth to would die like my other children if I stayed on.
“So I fled the caliphate. Now all I want to do is come home to Britain.”

Begum made headlines around the world when, aged just 15, she left to join Daesh with friends from Bethnal Green in east London. Another girl from the same school had run away the year before.
One girl, Kadiza Sultana, has been reported killed.
Begum said the other two, Sharmeena Begum — no relation — and Amira Abase stayed on in Baghouz, where Daesh fighters are making their last stand to hold on to the proto-state they declared in 2014.
“They were strong. I respect their decision,” Begum said of her friends.
She added: “I’m not the same silly little 15-year-old schoolgirl who ran away from Bethnal Green four years ago. And I don’t regret coming here.”
The British authorities estimate around 900 Britons traveled to Syria and Iraq to join the conflict, of whom around 300-400 have since returned — and 40 have been prosecuted.
As of last month, around 200 were believed to still be alive and in the region.
Speaking to Sky News, Security Minister Ben Wallace said it was “worrying” that Begum had not expressed regret about going to Syria.
He also noted the difficulties faced by many governments of how to deal with those returning from abroad.
“It is a challenge for all of us,” he told BBC radio.
“Some of them were groomed... when they were young but are now adults and some of them are hardened fighters.
“We have successfully prosecuted a number of them in the last few years when they have come back and the others should expect the same if they return.”
The United States had said it is ready to help countries repatriate IS jihadists detained in Syria but that ultimately it is up to their home governments to come up with solutions.
Under new anti-terrorism legislation adopted in Britain this week, British nationals spending time in Syria face arrest and up to 10 years in prison on their return.
The law toughens previous legislation that required authorities to prove returning nationals had engaged in terrorist activities while abroad.
A lawyer who represented the families of Begum and her two friends four years ago, Tasnime Akunjee, told The Times he was “thankful she’s alive.”
He noted that when they ran away, “there was an understanding that as long as they had committed no further offense they will not be prosecuted and be come to seen as victims.”
Begum married a Dutch fighter soon after arriving in Syria.
“Mostly it was normal life in Raqqa, every now and then bombing and stuff,” she told The Times.
“But when I saw my first severed head in a bin it didn’t faze me at all. It was from a captured fighter seized on the battlefield, an enemy of Islam.
“I thought only of what he would have done to a Muslim woman if he had the chance.”
Begum said she was nine months pregnant.
She said her two previous children had died in the past three months — a daughter, Sarayah, became ill, and a son, Jerah, whose death was linked to malnutrition.
“In the end, I just could not endure any more,” she said of her desire to get out.
Begum fled with her husband, but he surrendered to a group of Syrian fighters allied to the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
“The caliphate is over,” she said, adding that “there was so much oppression and corruption that I don’t think they deserved victory.”
She acknowledged her notoriety but said: “I’ll do anything required just to be able to come home and live quietly with my child.”


UK court awards Manchester bomb victims £45,000 over hoax claims

Updated 7 sec ago
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UK court awards Manchester bomb victims £45,000 over hoax claims

Martin Hibbert and his daughter Eve sued Richard Hall over claims made in videos and a book that they were “crisis actors“
Judge Karen Steyn called Hall’s behavior “a negligent, indeed reckless, abuse of media freedom”

LONDON: Two survivors of the 2017 bomb attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, on Friday won £45,000 ($58,000) in damages from a former TV producer who claimed the attack was a hoax.
Martin Hibbert and his daughter Eve sued Richard Hall over claims made in videos and a book that they were “crisis actors” employed by the state as part of an elaborate deception.
Hibbert sustained a spinal cord injury in the attack, and his daughter suffered severe brain damage.
Hall argued that he was acting in the public interest by filming Hibbert’s daughter outside her home, but the High Court in London agreed with Hibbert’s claim for harassment.
Judge Karen Steyn called Hall’s behavior “a negligent, indeed reckless, abuse of media freedom” and on Friday ordered him to pay Hibbert and his daughter each £22,500 in damages.
Hall must also pay 90 percent of their legal costs, currently estimated at £260,000.
“The claimants are both vulnerable. The allegations are serious and distressing,” said the judge.
Jonathan Price, lawyer for the claimants, said that Hall “insisted that the terrorist attack in which the claimants were catastrophically injured did not happen and that the claimants were participants or ‘crisis actors’ in a state-orchestrated hoax, who had repeatedly, publicly and egregiously lied to the public for monetary gain.”
Hibbert welcomed the ruling, adding: “I want this case to open up the door for change, and for it to protect others from what we have been put through.
“It proves and has highlighted... that there is protection within the law, and it sends out a message to conspiracy theorists that you cannot ignore all acceptable evidence and harass innocent people.”
Islamic extremist Salman Abedi, aided by his brother, Hashem Abedi, killed 22 people and injured 1,017 during the suicide bombing at the end of the concert by the US singer.

US charges Iranian man in plot to kill Donald Trump

Updated 08 November 2024
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US charges Iranian man in plot to kill Donald Trump

  • Shakeri told the FBI he didn’t plan to propose a plan to murder Trump
  • The plot reflects what federal officials have described as ongoing efforts by Iran to target US government officials

WASHINGTON: The Justice Department on Friday disclosed an Iranian murder-for-hire plot to kill Donald Trump, charging a man who said he had been tasked by a government official before this week’s election with assassinating the Republican president-elect.
Investigators learned of the plot to kill Trump while interviewing Farhad Shakeri, an Afghan national identified by officials as an Iranian government asset who was deported from the US after being imprisoned on robbery charges.
He told investigators that a contact in Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard instructed him this past September to put together a plan within seven days to surveil and ultimately kill Trump, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in Manhattan.

Two other men who the authorities say were recruited to participate in other assassinations, including a prominent Iranian American journalist, were also arrested Friday. Shakeri remains in Iran.
“There are few actors in the world that pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as does Iran,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement.
The plot, with the charges unsealed just days after Trump’s defeat of Democrat Kamala Harris, reflects what federal officials have described as ongoing efforts by Iran to target US government officials, including Trump, on US soil. Last summer, the Justice Department charged a Pakistani man with ties to Iran in a murder-for-hire plot.


Russia says summoned Canadian diplomat to reject Western sabotage accusations

Updated 08 November 2024
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Russia says summoned Canadian diplomat to reject Western sabotage accusations

  • Moscow said the Canadian diplomat “was told that these speculations” were being spread in a “coordinated manner, in the context of the hybrid war” being waged against Russia
  • Russia blasted the allegations as “false,” “unacceptable” and part of a “provocation” being led by the US

MOSCOW: Moscow summoned a Canadian diplomat on Friday to rebut Western allegations that Russia’s secret services had orchestrated a campaign to mail explosive packages to addresses in NATO countries, including Canada.
After a series of fires at DHL depots in Britain and Germany this summer, Russia was accused of being behind a brazen plot to ship explosive parcels via commercial airliners.
Ottawa expressed its concern earlier this week to Russian officials after Poland and Lithuania announced several arrests as a result of a probe into attempts to send parcels packaged with explosives on cargo flights to the United States and Canada.
“The deputy head of the Canadian diplomatic mission in Moscow was summoned and handed an official note in connection with the false accusations of alleged planned ‘Russian sabotage’ against NATO countries,” Russia’s foreign ministry said.
Moscow said the Canadian diplomat “was told that these speculations” were being spread in a “coordinated manner, in the context of the hybrid war” being waged against Russia by the West.
Russia blasted the allegations as “false,” “unacceptable” and part of a “provocation” being led by the United States.
Canada’s public safety ministry said Ottawa is “aware of and deeply concerned with Russia’s intensifying campaign, from cyber incidents and disinformation operations to sabotage activities.”
It confirmed the Canadian government had “expressed this concern directly to Russian officials and unequivocally stated that any threat to the safety and security of Canadians is unacceptable.”
The ministry added there was “no imminent threat” to the public but said Canada “will continue to monitor the situation very closely.”
Canada’s Transport Minister Anita Anand told reporters on Wednesday that she required “more information” on the alleged plot but said she would taking “additional steps” to ensure the safety of passengers and packages, without providing details.
The reported plot, involving civilian airlines, comes amid growing concern in the West at what it sees as Russia’s increasingly reckless espionage and sabotage operations inside NATO countries.
“Russian intelligence services have gone a bit feral, frankly,” Richard Moore, head of Britain’s MI6 secret intelligence service said in September in rare public remarks.


Governor Koike discusses areas of cooperation with Egyptian Prime Minister Madbouly

Updated 08 November 2024
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Governor Koike discusses areas of cooperation with Egyptian Prime Minister Madbouly

  • Dr. Mostafa Madbouly congratulated Koike on her re-election as Governor of Tokyo
  • The Prime Minister also lauded Japan’s contribution to implementing the Japanese Tokkatsu educational system

TOKYO: Governor of Tokyo, Koike Yuriko, who is visiting Cairo, met Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly on Friday at the government headquarters in the New Administrative Capital and discussed several cooperation initiatives, Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) officials told Arab News Japan.
The officials said Dr. Amr Talaat, Egypt’s Minister of Communications, and Information Technology; Ambassador Ahmed Shahin, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Asian Affairs; Mr. Katsunobu Takada, Chargé d’Affaires at the Japanese Embassy in Cairo, and Governor Koike’s accompanying delegation attended the meeting.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Prime Minister warmly welcomed Governor Koike and her delegation. He underscored the strategic and historical relations between Egypt and Japan, a testament to the enduring bond that continues to flourish in various fields.
Dr. Mostafa Madbouly congratulated Koike on her re-election as Governor of Tokyo in July for the third consecutive term and expressed his hopes for continued close coordination on various areas of bilateral cooperation.
The Prime Minister also expressed his fervent hope that Japan’s Prime Minister, alongside Governor Koike, will grace the official opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum once the project is finalized. He also extended his gratitude for Japan’s substantial contributions to major development projects in Egypt, including the museum.
Dr. Madbouly highlighted the Grand Egyptian Museum project as one of the foremost examples of cooperation between Cairo and Tokyo, along with the Egyptian Japanese educational partnership, exemplified by the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology and Japanese Egyptian schools.
The Prime Minister also lauded Japan’s contribution to implementing the Japanese Tokkatsu educational system, affirming that Egypt is planning to expand this system. He attributed this decision to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s directive, acknowledging the system’s remarkable success and high quality.
Dr. Madbouly also highlighted the ongoing cooperation between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and TMG through the “SUSHI Tech Tokyo” initiative, a platform for promoting technological innovation, and the “Tokyo Innovation Base” platform, a hub for fostering entrepreneurial activities and technological advancements.
In turn, Governor Koike praised the bilateral cooperation between Egypt and Japan, expressing her happiness to visit Egypt, where she has unforgettable memories, having studied at Cairo University.
Koike also commended the well-organized 12th World Urban Forum, a global platform for discussing urban issues and solutions, which attracted a wide global audience.
In the meeting, Tokyo Governor Koike invited the Prime Minister, the Minister of Communications, and other Egyptian entities to participate in the upcoming “SUSHI Tech Tokyo” forum, scheduled for the first half of 2025. She noted that Japan has worked over the years to establish itself as a hub for startups and a welcoming environment for entrepreneurs.
Dr. Amr Talaat discussed several collaborative programs with Koike in information and communication technology, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and entrepreneurship. They explored the potential for experience exchange in business incubators for small projects across various sectors, including financial services, health care, and education.
Talaat highlighted that one of the main areas of cooperation with Tokyo’s government is in the startup and entrepreneurship sectors.
Governor Koike is in Egypt on the first leg of a tour of the region that includes Abu Dhabi of the UAE.


Germany brushes off Musk calling Scholz a ‘fool’

Updated 08 November 2024
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Germany brushes off Musk calling Scholz a ‘fool’

  • Government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann took a playful dig at the US tycoon, saying that “on X, you have Narrenfreiheit,” which translates to the freedom to act like a fool
  • A tight-lipped Scholz simply called it “not very friendly“

BERLIN: German officials on Friday brushed off tech billionaire Elon Musk labelling Olaf Scholz a “fool” on his social media platform X after the dramatic collapse of the chancellor’s coalition government.
In a comment Thursday above a post about the implosion of Scholz’s long-troubled coalition, the world’s richest man tweeted in German: “Olaf ist ein Narr” — “Olaf is a fool.”
Asked about Musk’s comment, government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann took a playful dig at the US tycoon, saying that “on X, you have Narrenfreiheit,” which translates to the freedom to act like a fool.
The word refers to revellers during Germany’s traditional carnival season, which starts next week, having the freedom to act without inhibitions.
Historically, the term echoes the notion of the “jester’s privilege” — the right of a court jester to mock those in power without being punished by the king.
Asked later about the comment, a tight-lipped Scholz simply called it “not very friendly,” adding that Internet companies are “not organs of state so I did not even pay it any attention.”
Musk strongly supported US election winner Donald Trump, and is now positioned to take up a role in his administration as a deputy tasked with restructuring government operations.
It is not the first time the Tesla boss has had run-ins with German officials online.
Last year he said Berlin-funded migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean could be seen as an “invasion” of Italy, sparking a terse response from the German foreign ministry.
He has also expressed sympathy for some of the positions of Germany’s far-right AfD party, which has notched up a string of recent electoral successes and is riding high in the opinion polls.