"A culture of fear and intimidation has taken grip" in Birmingham schools caught up in the Trojan Horse claims, says Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw.
Head teachers have been "marginalised or forced out of their jobs", said Sir Michael, as he delivered his findings on claims of hardline Muslim takeovers.
The Ofsted chief said there was evidence of an "organised campaign to target certain schools".
Leaders of one of the schools, Park View, firmly rejected the claims.
Ofsted has carried out inspections of 21 schools, following claims in an anonymous letter that hardline Muslims were trying to impose their views on a group of schools in Birmingham.
27 dead as militants take over Pakistan’s busiest airport
The assault on Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan’s sprawling commercial hub of 18 million people, all but destroys prospects for peace talks between the Pakistani Taliban and the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
It also deals a heavy blow to Sharif’s efforts to attract foreign investors to revive economic growth and raises questions about security at the country’s main installations.
The FBI says more Somali travelers have left Minnesota, possibly to fight against the regime of President Bashar Assad in Syria. Investigators believe those who left Minnesota were motivated by radical ideology, not nationalism.
SOURCE: 12 MINNESOTA SOMALIS HAVE LEFT FOR SYRIA
The FBI has not specified how many people are believed to involved, but a leader in the Minnesota Somali community told Fox 9 News a dozen men have left. The FBI confirmed they have "indications" that some recently traveled overseas. Now, they are reaching out to the large Somali population in Minnesota to learn more.
Egyptian Christian beaten, nearly blinded in prison for ‘contempt of religion’
An Egyptian human rights organization is calling for a complete investigation of the case of Cyril Shawqi Ghattas, a 29-year-old Coptic Christian man who was imprisoned on the accusation of blasphemy, or “contempt of religion” (against Islam).
Among other irregularities, human rights activists say that the Copt was both denied a lawyer, which is illegal, and that he was physically abused regularly during his incarceration.
He was also “blinded as a result of intense crying and suffered from night blindness.”
Cyril was arrested after he pressed “like” on a Coptic website posting on his Facebook page.
There are claims secret payments were made to help the desert state win the bid for the 2022 World Cup.
Former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind has told Sky's Murnaghan programme that if the corruption allegations surrounding Qatar's World Cup bid are true it throws the country's hosting of the tournament into doubt.
A former senior Fifa official allegedly paid $5m (£2.98m) in bribes to secure support for Qatar's successful 2022 World Cup bid.
Malaysia jet disappearance no accident, investigator says
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines
jet is believed to be solely responsible for the flight being taken
hundreds of miles off course and there is no evidence of a mechanical
failure or hijacking by a passenger, according to an law enforcement
official involved in the investigation.
A high-ranking officer
attached to a special investigative branch of the Malaysia police force
in Kuala Lumpur told USA TODAY on Wednesday that investigators are
pressing relatives of the pilot, Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, for
information on his behavior leading up to the March 8 flight.
The official could not speak on the record because he is not authorized to talk publicly on the investigation.
The
Boeing 777 was bound for Beijing when it vanished from civilian radar.
Malaysia says satellite data indicate the plane veered west about an
hour after takeoff and then flew south deep into the southern Indian
Ocean.
Bin Laden Son-in-Law Convicted at NYC Terror Trial
(NEW YORK) — Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law, the voice of fiery al-Qaida propaganda videotapes after the Sept. 11 attacks, was convicted Wednesday of conspiring to kill Americans for his role as the terror group’s spokesman.
The verdict came after about five hours of deliberation in the case against Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, the highest-ranking al-Qaida figure to face trial on U.S. soil since the attacks. The Kuwaiti imam had testified during a three-week New York trial that he answered bin Laden’s request in the hours after the attacks to speak on the widely circulated videos used to recruit new followers willing to go on suicide missions like the 19 who hijacked four planes on Sept. 11, 2001.
Facing increasing pressure from Egypt and deteriorating economic conditions in Gaza, Hamas has been flirting with the notion of re-entering the Iranian camp. Now,Al-Monitor is reporting that Iranian monetary aid has officially resumed to Hamas, but at a lower level than that it provided before ties between the two broke. The report also cited a source close to Hamas' political leadership who says Iran is planning to receive Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal. Qatar was mediating discussions between Iran and Hamas in an effort to restore ties, after a two-year hiatus.
U.S. spending bill restores aid to Egypt, includes $1.5 billion
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress' new spending bill would restore more than $1.5 billion in military and economic aid to Egypt, which had been largely cut off after Egypt's military ousted President Mohamed Mursi last summer.
The bill includes up to $1.3 billion in military assistance, and $250 million in economic support for Cairo, but ties the funding to the Egyptian government taking steps toward restoring democracy.
The funds also would only be available if the U.S. Secretary of State certifies to congressional appropriations committees that the Cairo government is sustaining its strategic relationship with the United States and meeting its obligations under the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty.
Barnabas Fund has given thanks in its prayer update for a new draft of the Egyptian constitution that grants additional rights to Christians and marks a significant move away from the fundamental Islamic laws that have dominated in the past.
The organisation said the new draft was "good news" for the country's Christians, who have suffered a wave of attacks since the revolution in 2011.
First written during the rule of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, the previous constitution threatened basic human rights, in particular the freedom of religion. The situation has been aggravated by the fact that Egypt is currently struggling with a weakened and unstable political system.
Georgetown University has come under fire for inviting a founder of the Egyptian Nazi Party to a conference planned for December on the future of Egypt, which will feature a keynote speech by Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim member of the United States Congress, and Dalia Mogahed, a former adviser to President Obama.
Egypt's new constitution to guarantee absolute religious freedom: Salmawy
Spokesperson of 50-member constitutional committee says majority in favour of absolute religious freedom in constitution, denies article 219 back on table for discussion
A majority of the committee tasked with amending the suspended 2012 constitution has voted to revise article 47, which guarantees the free exercise of religion for all citizens, committee media spokesperson Mohamed Salmawy said on Monday.
Deputy Chariman The Egyptian Committe for the defence of the Secular State
To the MEPs in the European Parilament CPG
Ladies and gentlemen, members of the European Union,
Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you. This is a quick attempt to summarise some of the issues that are pertinent to possible misunderstandings of the Egyptian situation in the current crucial time in the Middle East. I cannot get into the details since I have ten minutes or so.
On 25th January the Egyptian people rose up against three evils; and sought three goals. The three evils were the corruption of the governing regime, its oppression, and its plans to pass the presidency on to Mubarak’s son Gamal. The three goals were bread, freedom, and social justice, which were chanted in Tahrir Square and all over the country. The Egyptian people never sought a religious state. After Mubarak stepped down, the lack of clear leadership enticed various forces to seek to dominate the outcome – not least the Islamists, including the Muslim Brothers and the Salafis.
UNITED NATIONS—When hundreds were killed in Egypt after
interim authorities cleared out antigovernment protest camps in August, the
country's political crisis moved front-and-center of the world stage.
U.S. President Barack Obama suspended joint military
exercises with Egypt. European foreign ministers rushed back from summer
vacations for an emergency meeting. Iran's foreign ministry said Egypt was
drifting toward civil war.
Six weeks later, at the annual United Nations General
Assembly meeting in New York, Egypt's crisis has seemed a side issue, a
regrettable irritant that needs mentioning but not tackling.
That is partly because of the magnitude of other news
here this week, including the highest level U.S.-Iranian diplomacy since the
1979 revolution and a much-prized U.N. Security Council deal ordering Syria to
hand over or destroy its chemical weapons by mid-2014.
Saudi Arabia blamed the United States and other allies for failing to support Mr. Mubarak in 2011 when Egyptians took to the street provoking his ouster. But their criticism was mostly in private, and low-key. Even after the Muslim Brotherhood-backed government of Mr. Morsi was elected, the kingdom responded quickly to keep the treasury solvent with a substantial $5 billion in aid.
By July 10, one week after the military takeover, the Saudis had put together a package of aid totaling $12 billion: $5 billion from the kingdom, $3 billion from the United Arab Emirates and $4 billion from Kuwait.
Unlike American aid, much of the Saudi assistance goes directly into Egyptian coffers with no strings attached. Much of it is cash transferred directly to the Egyptian Central Bank, with the rest grants of free or subsidized oil products, which free an equivalent amount of money for Egypt to budget as it wishes.
Jerome R. Corsi, a Harvard Ph.D., is a WND senior staff reporter. He has authored many books, including No. 1 N.Y. Times best-sellers "The Obama Nation" and "Unfit for Command." Corsi's latest book is the forthcoming "What Went Wrong?: The Inside Story of the GOP Debacle of 2012 … And How It Can Be Avoided Next Time."
U.S. Republican Senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
NEW YORK – The son of a jailed Muslim Brotherhood leader in Egypt is claiming his father has evidence that will land President Obama in prison.
The claim came as the Obama administration, with the assistance of Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and the open involvement of the No. 2 man at the U.S. State Department, made a concerted effort to see Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Egypt released.
An Egyptian human rights organization is calling for a complete investigation of the case of Cyril Shawqi Ghattas, a 29-year-old Coptic Christian man who was imprisoned on the accusation of blasphemy, or “contempt of religion” (against Islam).
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines
jet is believed to be solely responsible for the flight being taken
hundreds of miles off course and there is no evidence of a mechanical
failure or hijacking by a passenger, according to an law enforcement
official involved in the investigation.
(NEW YORK) — Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law, the voice of fiery al-Qaida propaganda videotapes after the Sept. 11 attacks, was convicted Wednesday of conspiring to kill Americans for his role as the terror group’s spokesman.
Charities linked to the Brotherhood, including hospitals, could be affected 
