An Iranian court last Friday sentenced seven people to prison for making a viral video earlier this year in which they danced to American singer Pharrell Williams’ hit song “Happy”. Last Wednesday, a defense attorney explained that six of the defendants were handed six-month jail sentences and 91 whiplashes as punishment. Additionally, the seventh defendant was given a year-long prison …
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On Tuesday, Israel shot down a Syrian warplane over Golan Heights airspace, the first such incident in over three decades, and warned that it will respond “forcefully” in case of any security threat. The last time Israel had shot down a Syrian warplane was in 1985, drawing a sharp response from the then Syrian government. Israel has said that the …
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A political coalition on Monday said that an Iranian lawmaker, a close associate of Ali Hosseini Khamenei, made remarks which revealed the regime’s role in developments in Yemen and plans for “exporting terrorism and fundamentalism”. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) quoted Alireza Zakani referring to the Islamic Republic’s plan of “’unifying Muslims by Islamic Revolution”. On its …
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The United States, along with its Arab allies, on Tuesday unleashed deadly missile and bomb strikes on Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria, opening a new battlefront for the extremist group. Several dozens of al-Qaeda and IS were reportedly targeted in the raids, which the US has said partly targeted militants plotting an “imminent attack” against the West. The United …
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Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, spokesman for extremist group Islamic State (IS) threatened Canada, among other Western powers, in a global call for Muslims to kill citizens of countries joining the fight against his group. In a long-winded, 42-minute audio message, he makes mentions of Canada, and said that the US-led coalition won’t defeat the IS. “If you kill a disbelieving American …
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On Monday, France urged French citizens living in or travelling to certain countries to exercise “utmost caution” after extremist group Islamic State (IS) called on Muslims all over the world to kill citizens of countries whose government are a part of the coalition against the group. The French Foreign Ministry said sent a warning to its embassies “in around 30 …
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Eleven Iranians who have been accused of sending insulting texts about Islamic republic founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini were arrested in the province of Shiraz on Monday. “After monitoring social network applications on mobile phones like WhatsApp, Viber, Line and Tango… 11 people were arrested”, General Esmail Mohebipour, the provincial Revolutionary Guards chief”, said. “They recognized the error of their ways”, …
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On Friday, around 2,000 mosques in Germany were called on by top Muslim clerics in the country to use the Friday’s rituals to rally support against extremist group Islamic State (IS) and speak out against the beheadings in Iraq and Syria. Aiman Mazyek, the chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, urged the nation’s Muslim population to speak …
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Several Palestinians who had been rearrested in Israel after being freed because of a prisoner exchange are going to stage a hunger strike on Tuesday, Ramallah-based Prisoners’ Club said on Monday. The strike will be observed by 63 of the 1,027 prisoners who were freed by a swap arrangement in 2011. Since June, when 3 Israeli teens were allegedly kidnapped …
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Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus on Monday said that around 130,000 Syrians have flooded across the border in Turkey as Kurdish soldiers continued battling the Islamic State (IS) in their attempts to capture the strategically located town of Ain al-Arab. A spokesman for the IS in a statement issued by the group urged Muslims all over the world to …
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