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Iraqi Militant Executed After IS Murders Pilot

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 04 Februari 2015 | 20.18

Iraqi Militant Executed After IS Murders Pilot

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Jordan has executed two prisoners after Islamic State murdered one of their pilots, a government spokesman has said.

One of those executed was Iraqi would-be suicide bomber Sajida al Rishawi, who was on death row for her role in a hotel attack that killed 60 people.

The other was Ziad al Karbouli, who had been an aide to the late former leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, and who was sentenced to death in 2008 for plotting terror attacks on Jordanians in Iraq.

Jordan had promised a swift and lethal response after IS released a video showing captured pilot Mu'ath Al Kassasbeh being burned alive in a cage.

Since news of his death emerged, #IAmMuath has been trending on Twitter, with protesters chanting the slogan outside King Abdullah's palace in Amman.

The pilot's father, Safi, has said he "considers Mu'ath a martyr to God", and called on the Jordanian government "to take revenge for Mu'ath's blood".

1/6

  1. Gallery: Everything We Know About Sajida Al Rishawi

    Sajida Al Rishawi, believed to be in her 40s, was known as the 'would-be bomber'. She was executed in Jordan following the murder by IS of Jordanian pilot Mu'ath Al Kassasbeh

She and her husband were involved in the 2005 Amman bombings, a plot to attack a string of Jordanian hotels

]]>

  • Sixty people were killed and 115 injured after other suicide bombers targeted three hotels. Al-Rishawi's device, which was packed with ball bearings, failed to detonate

    ]]>

  • She and her husband targeted a wedding party at the Radisson SAS hotel - the fathers of the bride and the groom were both killed

    ]]>

  • In 2005 Al-Rishawi released a televised confession while in Jordanian custody. She was sentenced to death and lost an appeal against the conviction in 2007

    ]]>

  • He added: "The blood of Mu'ath is this country's blood. The country has to take its revenge, and I call for no one to remain alive from Islamic State, I call for revenge by executing prisoners, and I call to erase the Daesh organisation."

    IS had demanded the release of Rishawi in exchange for Mr Al Kassasbeh and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, who the militant group killed in a video posted online three days ago.

    Jordan had agreed to the swap, but called off the deal after saying it had received no proof that the pilot was still alive.

    Some Arab commentators had suggested jihadist Al Karbouli could also have formed part of a prisoner swap.

    The two jihadists were hanged in Swaqa prison, a large facility 70km (45 miles) south of the capital, Amman, just before dawn, a security source told Reuters.

    "They were both calm and showed no emotions and just prayed," the source added.

    The killing of the pilot outraged Jordanians and drew worldwide condemnation, including from President Barack Obama and the UN Security Council.

    Mr Al Kassasbeh was captured by the militants in December when his F-16 crashed near Raqqa, Syria, the de facto capital of the Islamic State group's self-styled caliphate.

    The 26-year-old's murder appeared to be aimed at pressuring the government of Jordan - a close US ally - to leave the coalition that has carried out months of airstrikes on IS positions in Syria and Iraq.

    But observers say the extremists' brutality against a fellow Muslim could backfire and galvanise other Sunni Muslims in the region against them.

    King Abdullah II, Jordan's leader, has portrayed the campaign against the extremists as a battle over values.

    In a speech on Jordanian state television, he urged his countrymen to unite.

    "It's the duty of all of us to stand united and show the real values of Jordanians in the face of these hardships," the monarch said from Washington. 

    In a statement before a meeting King Abdullah, US President Barack Obama vowed the pilot's death would "redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of our global coalition to make sure they are degraded and ultimately defeated".

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    • Iraqi Militant Executed After IS Murders Pilot

    We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

    Jordan has executed two prisoners after Islamic State murdered one of their pilots, a government spokesman has said.

    One of those executed was Iraqi would-be suicide bomber Sajida al Rishawi, who was on death row for her role in a hotel attack that killed 60 people.

    The other was Ziad al Karbouli, who had been an aide to the late former leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, and who was sentenced to death in 2008 for plotting terror attacks on Jordanians in Iraq.

    Jordan had promised a swift and lethal response after IS released a video showing captured pilot Mu'ath Al Kassasbeh being burned alive in a cage.

    Since news of his death emerged, #IAmMuath has been trending on Twitter, with protesters chanting the slogan outside King Abdullah's palace in Amman.

    The pilot's father, Safi, has said he "considers Mu'ath a martyr to God", and called on the Jordanian government "to take revenge for Mu'ath's blood".

    1/6

    1. Gallery: Everything We Know About Sajida Al Rishawi

      Sajida Al Rishawi, believed to be in her 40s, was known as the 'would-be bomber'. She was executed in Jordan following the murder by IS of Jordanian pilot Mu'ath Al Kassasbeh

    She and her husband were involved in the 2005 Amman bombings, a plot to attack a string of Jordanian hotels

    ]]>

  • Sixty people were killed and 115 injured after other suicide bombers targeted three hotels. Al-Rishawi's device, which was packed with ball bearings, failed to detonate

    ]]>

  • She and her husband targeted a wedding party at the Radisson SAS hotel - the fathers of the bride and the groom were both killed

    ]]>

  • In 2005 Al-Rishawi released a televised confession while in Jordanian custody. She was sentenced to death and lost an appeal against the conviction in 2007

    ]]>

  • He added: "The blood of Mu'ath is this country's blood. The country has to take its revenge, and I call for no one to remain alive from Islamic State, I call for revenge by executing prisoners, and I call to erase the Daesh organisation."

    IS had demanded the release of Rishawi in exchange for Mr Al Kassasbeh and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, who the militant group killed in a video posted online three days ago.

    Jordan had agreed to the swap, but called off the deal after saying it had received no proof that the pilot was still alive.

    Some Arab commentators had suggested jihadist Al Karbouli could also have formed part of a prisoner swap.

    The two jihadists were hanged in Swaqa prison, a large facility 70km (45 miles) south of the capital, Amman, just before dawn, a security source told Reuters.

    "They were both calm and showed no emotions and just prayed," the source added.

    The killing of the pilot outraged Jordanians and drew worldwide condemnation, including from President Barack Obama and the UN Security Council.

    Mr Al Kassasbeh was captured by the militants in December when his F-16 crashed near Raqqa, Syria, the de facto capital of the Islamic State group's self-styled caliphate.

    The 26-year-old's murder appeared to be aimed at pressuring the government of Jordan - a close US ally - to leave the coalition that has carried out months of airstrikes on IS positions in Syria and Iraq.

    But observers say the extremists' brutality against a fellow Muslim could backfire and galvanise other Sunni Muslims in the region against them.

    King Abdullah II, Jordan's leader, has portrayed the campaign against the extremists as a battle over values.

    In a speech on Jordanian state television, he urged his countrymen to unite.

    "It's the duty of all of us to stand united and show the real values of Jordanians in the face of these hardships," the monarch said from Washington. 

    In a statement before a meeting King Abdullah, US President Barack Obama vowed the pilot's death would "redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of our global coalition to make sure they are degraded and ultimately defeated".

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    • 20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More
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    Dead Prosecutor Considered Fernandez Arrest

    An Argentinian prosecutor found dead from a gunshot wound had drafted a document requesting the arrest of the country's president.

    Alberto Nisman's body was discovered in his bathroom just hours before he was due to appear in front of Congress.

    He was expected to detail his allegations that President Cristina Fernandez agreed to protect the people behind the bombing of a Jewish community centre in 1994, a claim she denies.

    Nobody has been convicted in the attack, in which 85 people were killed.

    The Chief Investigator into Mr Nisman's death initially denied the existence of the arrest warrant.

    It then appeared in a newspaper, forcing Viviana Fein to admit  the document had been found in a garbage bin in the dead man's apartment.

    However, Ms Fein claimed that it "is not important enough to change the course of the investigation".

    The papers, which were dated June 2014, were never submitted by Mr Nisman.

    Instead, he chose to request the president and Foreign Minister Hector Timmerman appear in court to answer questions.

    Mr Nisman believed that Ms Fernandez agreed to cover up Iranian involvement in the attack in return for beneficial trade agreements, including oil deals.

    The prosecutor's death has been the subject of numerous conspiracy theories.

    Initially the authorities said it was likely that he had committed suicide but his friends and supporters dismissed that claim.

    He had been assigned 10 federal police officers for protection but had told a friend he did not trust them.

    Ms Fernandez herself had gone so far to suggest that rogue elements of intelligence services may have been behind the attack and that his death could not be suicide.

    Argentina's Congress is now debating reform of its spy agency.

    A bill put forward by Ms Fernandez calls for greater presidential control over the agency and increased punishments for intelligence officers found to be acting illegally.


    20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More
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    Jordan Will Have Revenge For Murdered Pilot

    Jordan Will Have Revenge For Murdered Pilot

    We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

    It's slickly produced with iconography and graphics fitting for a thriller or spy movie.

    It even uses 'flashbacks' as the condemned man looks into the sky and contemplates just how justified his punishment is going to be compared to the 'crimes' he has committed.

    The latest murder video from the death cult that calls itself Islamic State is revealing not for the visible 'power' of the movement but for its weakness.

    Indeed the whole saga of the Japanese hostages and murder of flight lieutenant Mu'ath Al Kassasbeh begins to reveal a picture of an organisation that is losing its grip.

    It has already abandoned Kobani after losing 1,200 men. It has been driven from some key towns and villages in the east of Iraq, and now it would appear to be incoherent in its kidnap policy.

    Last year it made about £30m ($45m) from negotiating the release of foreigners.

    It murdered Britons and Americans on camera because the shocking snuff movies of their deaths generated a level of publicity that outweighed the profits it might have raised from desperate families.

    Throughout the talks aimed at swapping Sajida al Rishawi, a failed suicide bomber on death row in Amman, IS was unable to provide proof that Flt Lt Kassasbeh was alive.

    Activists in Raqqa said on 8 January that they believed he had been killed.

    1/11

    1. Gallery: Tension Mounts Over IS Hostages' Plight

      Japanese television networks reveal the plight of hostage Kenji Goto, whose release in exchange for freedom for a jailed female jihadist is being negotiated through the Jordanian capital Amman

    Supporters of Mr Goto take part in a vigil outside Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Tokyo office

    ]]>

  • A Japanese journalist at the protest headquarters in Amman for the family of pilot Muath al Kasaesbeh, who has been held hostage by IS since December

    ]]>

  • The father of the missing pilot has led the campaign for his son's release

    ]]>

  • Public protest is increasing in Jordan over the pilot's fate, with pressure growing on King Abdullah, as supporters continue to revere his father King Hussein

    ]]>

  • During the same period, when negotiating over a $200m ransom for the two Japanese citizens, the usual videos were replaced with print-outs of photos of the murder of Haruna Yukawa who was killed first.

    His friend Kenji Goto was beheaded on video - but not in the open location that previous crimes had been committed.

    One could over-interpret such clues, it is true. But so-called IS appears to be having to keep its hostages on the move, rush out its demands, and has resorted to a form of murder that could galvanise support against them in the very communities they most need it.

    The aim of the latest killing is to force a wedge between King Abdullah II of Jordan and the Bedouin tribes who traditionally support him.

    There have been small elements within them, especially in the south, that have drifted towards the ideology of Salafism, the Islamo-fascist creed of al Qaeda and IS.

    Some Jordanians are dismayed at their country's involvement in fighting IS in Syria and Iraq.

    The hostage killers want these people to blame their kind for his death.

    But this is a gamble. Bedouin tribes have already been fighting IS in Syria. And now the large Kasasbeh clans are locked in a blood feud.

    As Jordan's army has already sworn - it will have revenge.

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    • Jordan Will Have Revenge For Murdered Pilot

    We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

    It's slickly produced with iconography and graphics fitting for a thriller or spy movie.

    It even uses 'flashbacks' as the condemned man looks into the sky and contemplates just how justified his punishment is going to be compared to the 'crimes' he has committed.

    The latest murder video from the death cult that calls itself Islamic State is revealing not for the visible 'power' of the movement but for its weakness.

    Indeed the whole saga of the Japanese hostages and murder of flight lieutenant Mu'ath Al Kassasbeh begins to reveal a picture of an organisation that is losing its grip.

    It has already abandoned Kobani after losing 1,200 men. It has been driven from some key towns and villages in the east of Iraq, and now it would appear to be incoherent in its kidnap policy.

    Last year it made about £30m ($45m) from negotiating the release of foreigners.

    It murdered Britons and Americans on camera because the shocking snuff movies of their deaths generated a level of publicity that outweighed the profits it might have raised from desperate families.

    Throughout the talks aimed at swapping Sajida al Rishawi, a failed suicide bomber on death row in Amman, IS was unable to provide proof that Flt Lt Kassasbeh was alive.

    Activists in Raqqa said on 8 January that they believed he had been killed.

    1/11

    1. Gallery: Tension Mounts Over IS Hostages' Plight

      Japanese television networks reveal the plight of hostage Kenji Goto, whose release in exchange for freedom for a jailed female jihadist is being negotiated through the Jordanian capital Amman

    Supporters of Mr Goto take part in a vigil outside Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Tokyo office

    ]]>

  • A Japanese journalist at the protest headquarters in Amman for the family of pilot Muath al Kasaesbeh, who has been held hostage by IS since December

    ]]>

  • The father of the missing pilot has led the campaign for his son's release

    ]]>

  • Public protest is increasing in Jordan over the pilot's fate, with pressure growing on King Abdullah, as supporters continue to revere his father King Hussein

    ]]>

  • During the same period, when negotiating over a $200m ransom for the two Japanese citizens, the usual videos were replaced with print-outs of photos of the murder of Haruna Yukawa who was killed first.

    His friend Kenji Goto was beheaded on video - but not in the open location that previous crimes had been committed.

    One could over-interpret such clues, it is true. But so-called IS appears to be having to keep its hostages on the move, rush out its demands, and has resorted to a form of murder that could galvanise support against them in the very communities they most need it.

    The aim of the latest killing is to force a wedge between King Abdullah II of Jordan and the Bedouin tribes who traditionally support him.

    There have been small elements within them, especially in the south, that have drifted towards the ideology of Salafism, the Islamo-fascist creed of al Qaeda and IS.

    Some Jordanians are dismayed at their country's involvement in fighting IS in Syria and Iraq.

    The hostage killers want these people to blame their kind for his death.

    But this is a gamble. Bedouin tribes have already been fighting IS in Syria. And now the large Kasasbeh clans are locked in a blood feud.

    As Jordan's army has already sworn - it will have revenge.

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    • 20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More
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    Nasa Mission To Find Life On Jupiter's Moon

    Nasa is planning to send a spacecraft to one of Jupiter's moons which may hide a vast ocean under its icy surface.

    Scientists suspect that Europa has an ocean underneath its surface, and vapour plumes have been spotted venting from its south pole.

    Nasa administrator Charles Bolden said: "Looking to the future, we're planning a mission to explore Jupiter's fascinating moon Europa, selecting instruments this spring and moving toward the next phase of our work."

    The White House has proposed an $18.5bn (£12.2bn) budget for Nasa in 2016, including $30m (£19.8m) to go towards the Jupiter mission.

    Some $100m (£65.9m) has been previously committed to the project - a fraction of the $2.5bn (£1.65bn) spent on the Mars Curiosity rover.

    However, additional cash is likely to be allocated over several years, bringing total spending to $2bn (£1.32bn).

    The mission is likely to take place in the early 2020s.

    One possible mission concept is to send a spacecraft into orbit around Jupiter on a path that would let it fly close to Europa.

    Radar and topgraphic cameras would then be used to learn more about the moon, helping them to determine whether there is a hidden ocean beneath the surface that could host life.

    However, a more ambitious option would be to place a lander on the ice.


    20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More
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    Egypt Could Free Al Jazeera Journalist Today

    Written By Unknown on Selasa, 03 Februari 2015 | 20.18

    Egypt Could Free Al Jazeera Journalist Today

    We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

    A second Al Jazeera journalist could be freed from his Egyptian jail cell within hours, his Qatar-based news channel has reported.

    Mohamed Fahmy, an Egyptian and Canadian national, has revoked his Egyptian citizenship and this would pave the way for his release and deportation under a presidential decree, his family have said.

    Fahmy was arrested in December 2013 along with Al Jazeera English colleagues Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed on charges of collaborating with the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned group in Egypt.

    All three denied the charges and their trial was widely described as a sham.

    1/9

    1. Gallery: Al Jazeera Journalists' Journey To Freedom

      Peter Greste has posted this photo on Twitter of him celebrating his freedom in Cyprus en route to his home in Australia. Greste along with Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were jailed in Egypt, accused of aiding a banned political group

    Juris Greste, father of Peter Greste, Peter's brother Andrew Greste and mother Lois Greste are all smiles at a press conference in Brisbane following news of Greste's release on Sunday.

    ]]>

  • Marwa Omara, fiancee of Mohamed Fahmy, who is expected to be released later today

    ]]>

  • Mohamed Fahmy, Al Jazeera's Cairo bureau chief, addresses the Egyptian court

    ]]>

  • Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed appear in an Egyptian court

    ]]>

  • In June, Fahmy and Greste were sentenced to seven years in jail and Mohamed to 10 years, sparking international outrage.

    Their convictions were overturned on 1 January but they had been kept in custody pending a retrial.

    But on Monday night Canadian foreign minister John Baird said Fahmy's release was "imminent".

    Mr Greste, an Australian, was released unexpectedly on Sunday and later told reporters of his "incredible angst" at leaving his two colleagues behind in jail.

    He took to Twitter on Tuesday morning, celebrating his freedom by posting photos of him and his brother Mike in Cyprus en route to his home in Australia.

    He wrote: "Free in Cyprus! Feels sweet. Peter back online for first time in 400+ days. 

    "Brother Mike and I due to head home to Australia shortly. Can't wait for the family reunion. Keep shouting #FreeAJStaff

    "Special thanks to all who've supported us over the past year. MUST NOT FORGET THOSE STILL IN PRISON."

    There are still concerns for the future of Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed, who does not hold nationality of another country.

    According to campaign group Reporters Without Borders, there are currently 165 journalists imprisoned around the world, including 15 in Egypt.

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    • Egypt Could Free Al Jazeera Journalist Today

    We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

    A second Al Jazeera journalist could be freed from his Egyptian jail cell within hours, his Qatar-based news channel has reported.

    Mohamed Fahmy, an Egyptian and Canadian national, has revoked his Egyptian citizenship and this would pave the way for his release and deportation under a presidential decree, his family have said.

    Fahmy was arrested in December 2013 along with Al Jazeera English colleagues Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed on charges of collaborating with the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned group in Egypt.

    All three denied the charges and their trial was widely described as a sham.

    1/9

    1. Gallery: Al Jazeera Journalists' Journey To Freedom

      Peter Greste has posted this photo on Twitter of him celebrating his freedom in Cyprus en route to his home in Australia. Greste along with Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were jailed in Egypt, accused of aiding a banned political group

    Juris Greste, father of Peter Greste, Peter's brother Andrew Greste and mother Lois Greste are all smiles at a press conference in Brisbane following news of Greste's release on Sunday.

    ]]>

  • Marwa Omara, fiancee of Mohamed Fahmy, who is expected to be released later today

    ]]>

  • Mohamed Fahmy, Al Jazeera's Cairo bureau chief, addresses the Egyptian court

    ]]>

  • Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed appear in an Egyptian court

    ]]>

  • In June, Fahmy and Greste were sentenced to seven years in jail and Mohamed to 10 years, sparking international outrage.

    Their convictions were overturned on 1 January but they had been kept in custody pending a retrial.

    But on Monday night Canadian foreign minister John Baird said Fahmy's release was "imminent".

    Mr Greste, an Australian, was released unexpectedly on Sunday and later told reporters of his "incredible angst" at leaving his two colleagues behind in jail.

    He took to Twitter on Tuesday morning, celebrating his freedom by posting photos of him and his brother Mike in Cyprus en route to his home in Australia.

    He wrote: "Free in Cyprus! Feels sweet. Peter back online for first time in 400+ days. 

    "Brother Mike and I due to head home to Australia shortly. Can't wait for the family reunion. Keep shouting #FreeAJStaff

    "Special thanks to all who've supported us over the past year. MUST NOT FORGET THOSE STILL IN PRISON."

    There are still concerns for the future of Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed, who does not hold nationality of another country.

    According to campaign group Reporters Without Borders, there are currently 165 journalists imprisoned around the world, including 15 in Egypt.

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    • 20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More
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    Cocktail Of Misery Feeds French Radicalisation

    Anxiously eyeing the upper floors of a tower block, the gendarme admitted: "I don't want to stay here long".

    Why not?

    "Someone might drop a washing machine on my head," he replied.

    This comic-book image provoked an unstifled snigger.

    But what France's Gendarmerie and police now face, according to their own Prime Minister, is operating on the front lines of decades of a failed philosophy of ethnic integration.

    Major Denis Mottier is a combat veteran of Afghanistan. Now he's in L'Ariane, a suburb of Nice, dealing with crime and the steady infiltration of extreme Islamist ideology.

    He explains that the area, which sits just two miles up an industrial valley from the centre of Nice, faces severe unemployment, drugs, and organised crime - a cocktail of misery that can feed the radicalisation of young people, especially immigrants.

    In France, until about 10 days ago, there was no such thing as community.

    No Tunisian community. No communities of Congolese, Senegalese, Chechens or Libyans.

    France, it was deeply believed, had a unifying culture that was as indomitable as Asterix and inclusive of all.

    "We have a different approach to Britain," said colonel Gael Marchand, the commander of the Gendarmerie for the Alpes-Maritime region.

    "There you have multiculturalism. You have communities from all the immigrant groups. Differences are celebrated. Here we see everyone as French. Just French."

    Partly derived from the French colonial approach which favoured assimilation of races over separation, the French mono-cultural view has been the bedrock of policy throughout the Fifth Republic.

    Until Prime Minister Manuel Valls dropped an A-Bomb. He admitted the unthinkable.

    France, he said, had become an apartheid state that had confined people to the urban fringes and excluded them from the mainstream of life because of their skin colour, their surnames or their sex.

    The problems of immigrants in the banlieues were not new. Thousands rioted in 2005 after a group of young people died while allegedly being chased by police in Paris.

    But the evolution of Islamo-fascism alongside the alienation of young men and women of immigrant stock has grown and born bloody fruit in the form of the Charlie Hebdo slaughter - killings carried out by men born French but feeling other.

    Children in the Nice banlieues often drop out of school at 13. They are easy prey for radical preachers who have a political and theological explanation for why hope fades for many in their teens.

    As in England and across Europe vulnerable young people are told they are "hated" by the indigenous communities and that the West is a decadent brothel-cum-casino that should be purged.

    These arguments combined with the prospect of getting into gunfights and the thrill of Holy War, are powerful magnets that have drawn thousands from Europe to the ranks of terror groups in Syria.

    Many dozens have travelled from Nice. Now 64 ghettos have been officially identified in across France. Six are around Nice, including L'Ariane.

    Nearly half of young people living in them are unemployed and the average income is about €11,000 (£8,300) and more than half of families have a single parent.

    So France has admitted it has a problem. It's just the solution that eludes the Republic - just as it does the United Kingdom.


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    France Targets 'Ghettos' In Anti-Terror Fight

    By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

    Counter-terrorism operations have been launched across France in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, with the Prime Minister declaring the country has collapsed into "apartheid".

    A total of 64 suburbs in many major cities have been identified as ghettos and Manuel Valls' admission that geographic, social and ethnic apartheid exists in France signals a seismic change in the country's approach to immigration

    It also highlights the scale of the problem.

    France has not been able to concede that significant proportions of its population were being left behind economically, marginalised into ethnic enclaves, leaderless and vulnerable to Islamist radicalisation.

    Because until now French political thought refused to recognise the notion of the nation having different communities within it.

    But the 64 ghettos identified in dozens of cities share startling statistical characteristics.

    Unemployment is at 23% in the banlieues. Among the young that figure soars to 45%.

    The average income is €11,000 (£8,300) a year. Between a third and half of all families are single-parent and about half are made up of immigrants or their children.

    Meanwhile, the French interior ministry has designated around 15 Priority Security Zones across the country, which have been seen to be hotbeds of crime and potential hot houses of jihadism.

    These zones have been reinforced by extra intelligence and uniformed officers, as well as quick-reaction units which set up road blocks and random checks to look for drugs and weapons.

    "There is a very blurred and small gap between organised crime and terrorism," said colonel Gael Marchand, head of the Gendarmerie for the Alpes-Maritime region.

    "Terrorists need funding and they are often recruited in prisons. If you're a terrorist and a former criminal you know where and how to get weapons."

    He said guns were easily obtained via smuggling routes through Italy from eastern Europe.

    France has launched an internet campaign attacking Islamic State's online recruitment drive and warning potential jihadis they will die a "lonely death far from home".

    But the colonel said the majority of the most effective indoctrination was conducted by individual preachers who were able to speak directly to potential recruits beyond the scrutiny of members of mosques and prayer rooms.

    Anne Mamadou lost his son to jihad. He was radicalised by Omar Omsen, a notorious Muslim convert, originally from Senegal, who settled in Nice and took "dozens" of volunteers with him when he went to fight in Syria.

    "It's been very hard to get hold of him," he said.

    "The last I heard is that he was fighting somewhere near Kobani in the north.

    "He was brought up a Muslim in the correct way. He got a good education and then he suddenly disappeared - just after getting married and having his first baby.

    "He's probably too proud to come back and say: 'Daddy, I made a mistake'."

    Bekri Boubekeur is an Imam and member of the local Muslim council who was part of a group that built and funded the first mosque in the region, which sits across the road from a drug den in L'Ariane, a ghetto on the outskirts of Nice.

    He said young people who signed up for Jihad were "committing slow suicide".

    "They probably don't know they're doing it at the time, but they are," he said.


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    Mohammed Cartoon To Be Investigated: Abbas

    Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called for an investigation into a cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed.

    The cartoon appeared in official West Bank-based newspaper al-Hayat al-Jadidah on Sunday and showed a robed man reaching into a pouch to scatter seeds of love over the world.

    It was accompanied by the caption: "Our Prophet Mohammed".

    Islam frowns on any depictions of Mohammed and strict interpretation of Islamic scripture bans any depictions of sentient beings.

    The cartoonist Mohammed Sabanneh, who is a Muslim, said he meant no harm by drawing the cartoon, adding that the figure was not Mohammed but "a symbol of humanity enlightened by what the Prophet Mohammed brought".

    But Mr Abbas ordered "an immediate investigation" into the cartoon, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said.

    It quoted him as citing "the need to take deterrent actions against those responsible for this terrible mistake, out of respect for sacred religious symbols and, foremost amongst them, the prophets".

    Mr Abbas' words comes less than a month after he joined world leaders marching for free speech in Paris after the deadly attacks on Charlie Hebdo.

    The French satirical magazine had attracted criticism for publishing cartoons of Mohammed.

    It is not the first time Sabaaneh has tested free speech, having been jailed in Israel for five months and fined last year for "being in contact with hostile parties".

    Sabaaneh, a famous cartoonist in Palestine, where cartoons are often used as a medium to criticise Israel, has not received any public threats and thanked his supporters online.

    He wrote: "Despite facing a committee of inquiry, I love this country." 


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    Greece In New Debt Deal Talks With Osborne

    Written By Unknown on Senin, 02 Februari 2015 | 20.18

    Greece's finance minister is due to meet British counterpart George Osborne, as Athens launches its drive to secure a new debt agreement.

    Yanis Varoufakis is in London after holding talks in Paris, where he compared Greece to "drug addicts craving the next dose" of loan tranches.

    Greece wants to end its existing arrangement with the European Union, the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund "troika" when its aid deadline expires on 28 February.

    Mr Varoufakis said it was time for his country to go "cold turkey".

    "For the last five years, Greece has been living for the next loan tranche," he said.

    "We have resembled drug addicts craving the next dose. What this government is all about is ending the addiction,"

    Greece has begun to roll back on austerity measures imposed under its existing bailout deal and France says it will try to help the country's new government find a debt agreement.

    French finance minister Michel Sapin ruled out cancelling the debt but said Athens was right to be concerned about the burden of its repayments.

    "France is more than prepared to support Greece in this approach," he said.

    "I am confident that Greece will be in a position to overcome the present challenges. I am confident that the Greek government will be in a position to produce indispensable reforms.

    "Anything that can alleviate the Greek debt burden will be welcome... but of course there is no question of cancelling the Greek debt."

    Mr Osborne said: "I welcome this opportunity, so soon after the Greek election, to discuss face to face with Yanis Varoufakis the stability of the European economy and how to boost its growth."

    Prime Minister David Cameron initially responded to Syriza's rise to power by warning it would increase "economic uncertainty across Europe" but later offered the new leader UK help on tax collection.

    Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras wants to agree a bridging deal with the troika to gain breathing space.

    He hopes a new deal can be negotiated to reduce Greece's unmanageable public debt burden of more than 175% of its economic output, or €320bn (£240m).


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    Ex-IMF Head Strauss-Kahn On Trial For Pimping

    Disgraced former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn goes on trial in France accused of aggravated pimping as part of a prostitution ring.

    If convicted, the one-time presidential contender, known as DSK in France, faces up to 10 years in prison and a €1.5m (£1.1m) fine.

    Strauss-Kahn and more than a dozen other French and Belgian businessmen will be tried in the northern city of Lille.

    Luxury hotel managers, police, freemasons and a brothel owner nicknamed "Dodo the Pimp" are also standing trial.

    "Specifically the charges against Mr Strauss-Kahn can be translated best as aggravated pimping, so participating in a structured prostitution ring involving a number of women operating both in France and in Belgium," said lawyer Christopher Mesnooh.

    Prostitutes questioned in the case said they had sex with Strauss-Kahn during 2010 and 2011 at a luxury hotel and a restaurant in Paris and also in Washington, where he lived while working for the International Monetary Fund, and in Brussels.

    His lawyers said he had attended "libertine" gatherings, but denied knowing the women were paid.

    In France, it is not against the law to pay for sex, but is illegal to solicit or run a prostitution business.

    During the high-profile three-week trial, lurid details of group sex and high-end prostitution are expected to emerge.

    Prosecutors have been divided over whether there was enough evidence for Strauss-Kahn to stand trial.

    State prosecutor Frederic Fevre called for the charges to be dropped in 2013.

    But investigating judges overruled him and ordered Strauss-Khan to face trial.

    Strauss-Kahn's financial and political career ended four years ago amid accusations he sexually assaulted hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo in New York.

    Diallo told police he forced her to perform oral sex, tried to rape her and tore a ligament in her shoulder after she arrived to clean his luxury hotel suite.

    Strauss-Kahn, who was forced to resign as head of the IMF due to the scandal, said the sex was consensual but described it as "a moral failing."

    New York prosecutors dropped the case three months later because they said Diallo had lied about her background and changed her account of her actions after the alleged attack.


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