Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) on Monday claimed responsibility for an attack on policemen in the city of Kaspiisk in the Russian Republic of Dagestan, according to monitoring group SITE. Unidentified men reportedly attacked policemen with knives at a gas station on Monday morning. One police officer was killed and another was injured. The attackers were shot and killed with return fire. A criminal case was initiated over an attempt on the life of a law enforcement officer.
The founder of the internet’s oldest white supremacist site said he was trying to get back online Monday after a company revoked its domain name following complaints that it promotes hatred and is linked to dozens of murders. Don Black, a former Ku Klux Klan leader who has operated stormfront.org since 1995, said he didn’t receive any warning before Network Solutions blocked the use of the stormfront.org name on Friday. Stormfront.org had more than 300,000 registered users, Black said, with traffic increasing since a violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Popular with the KKK and neo-Nazi groups, the site included forums where users sometimes promoted white power events. (AP)
The UN refugee agency has denounced “xenophobic debates” in Austrian politics ahead of a parliamentary election in October, calling on political parties to set a more inclusive tone and do more to help those seeking sanctuary. “In recent years a considerable amount has been achieved in Austria in taking in, providing for and integrating refugees,” the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement posted on its Austrian arm’s website on Monday. “At the same time, however, we view xenophobic debates and exclusionary tendencies with concern. We call on all democratic parties to carry out political debates thoughtfully and to put what unites above what divides,” it added. (Reuters)
The new Gaza leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas says it has restored relations with Iran and is gearing up for renewed hostilities with Israel. Yehiyeh Sinwar said Monday that Iran is now “the largest backer financially and militarily” to Hamas’ armed wing. It was his first meeting with journalists since taking up his post in February. Iran was once Hamas’ largest backer. But relations cooled after Hamas refused to back Iran’s close ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad, in his country’s civil war. Sinwar says that with Iran’s help, Hamas is “accumulating” its military powers in preparation for a battle meant for “the liberation of Palestine.” Hamas, a militant group that seeks Israel’s destruction, has fought three wars with Israel since seizing control of Gaza in 2007. (AP)
An Indian judge sentenced a self-styled “godman,” whose followers went on a deadly rampage after he was convicted of rape last week, to 20 years’ jail on Monday, but a shoot-to-kill order, curfew and heavy police presence kept protesters at bay. A spokesman for the Central Bureau of Investigation said late on Monday that Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh would serve two consecutive 10-year-terms for the two rape convictions. Media had earlier quoted government officials and lawyers as saying that the twin sentencing would run concurrently for 10 years. Tens of thousands of police enforced a lockdown in large parts of the northern states of Haryana and Punjab where Singh, 50, has a mass following. (Reuters)
An Iranian-American businessman and his father, who are serving 10-year prison sentences in Iran over their ties to the US, have lost a court appeal, a lawyer said Monday. Siamak Namazi and his 81-year-old father Baquer, who are among several dual nationals detained in Iran, learned Sunday that the Tehran Appeals Court denied their appeal, Washington-based lawyer Jared Genser said. Iranian officials and state media did not immediately acknowledge the failed appeal. The court’s decision comes as both Baquer and Siamak suffer health problems related to their incarceration at Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, which holds political detainees, Genser said. Siamak Namazi has spent much of his time in solitary confinement, the lawyer said. (AP)