Category: Agama

Benjamin Netanyahu Slams John Kerry’s Speech, Thanks Donald Trump For Friendship

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took parting swipes Wednesday at the Obama administration, calling John Kerry’s earlier speech “unbalanced” but saying he had “no doubt” the alliance between the countries would endure despite disagreements.

Earlier Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry defended the Obama administration’s decision to abstain from voting on a U.N. resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity in areas Palestinians seek for a state. Allowing it to pass was seen by some as a slap to Israel. He questioned Netanyahu’s commitment to Palestinian statehood, which has been the basis for serious peace talks.

“If the choice is one state, Israel can either be Jewish or democratic, it cannot be both, and it won’t ever really be at peace,” Kerry said.

Kerry’s speech came amid the final days of an administration that has had tense relations with Israel. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to repair the relationship. Trump has condemned Obama for allowing the resolution to pass and said Wednesday that the current president has put up “roadblocks” for Trump’s transition.

Trump’s comments on U.S.-Israeli relations clash with past precedent in which presidents-elect did not comment on foreign policy until they took office.

Netanyahu on Wednesday thanked Trump on Twitter for his “warm friendship” and “clear-cut support for Israel” after the president-elect tweeted that Israel should “stay strong” as his administration approaches.

Netanyahu said Kerry’s speech was “almost as unbalanced” as the U.N. resolution, which he harshly criticized. He said that peace will not be achieved through speeches or U.N. resolutions but through direct talks.

“Israel remains committed to resolving the outstanding difference between us and the Palestinians with direct negotiations,” Netanyahu said.

He also contended that Kerry spent “most of his speech blaming Israel for the lack of peace.”

In his speech, Kerry stressed that Obama’s commitment to Israel has been as strong as previous presidents, giving assurances that the Obama administration is not planning any other parting shots at Israel and saying it would not recognize Palestinian statehood. He did not focus only on Israel’s failings in the peace process, criticizing Palestinian leaders’ “incitement” of violence.

Obama has expressed frustration about the growth of Israeli settlements, and Israel’s government has argued that curbing them should not be a precondition to peace talks.

Source: www.cnbc.com

December 29, 2016
Parents Didn’t Want To Think, Son Named “Slamet Hari Natal”

JAKARTA (JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – A 54-year-old man living in East Java was named Slamet Hari Natal, meaning Merry Christmas, by his parents because he was born on Dec 25, 1962.

“Yes, that’s my name,” the man said as quoted by tribunnews.com on Tuesday (Dec 27).

He showed his ID card and family card, which said his name was “Slamet Hari Natal”.

“It was supposed to be Selamat Hari Natal, but because we are Javanese, it became Slamet,” he said.

He said his mother gave birth to him in the house of the midwife, named Akas Kiyo, in Tumpang, Malang. The midwife was Christian and suggested his parents to name him Selamat Hari Natal, the Indonesian Christmas greeting.

His parents, although Muslims, decided to accept the suggestion but named him Slamet instead. Slamet is a common Javanese name and loosely translates to “safe”.

“They said they didn’t want to think hard for the name, and they had that name ready, so they accepted the suggestion,” he said.

He has one sister named Mujiati.

Although his name is Slamet Hari Natal and he is a Muslim, he said he never received any criticism from his neighbours.

“No, never. We practice tolerance here,” he said.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

December 28, 2016
Boy Loses Part Of Penis After Botched Circumcision By Foreign Doctor At Unlicensed Clinic

KUALA LUMPUR: What was supposed to have been a routine circumcision went disastrously wrong for a 10-year-old boy when the doctor accidentally sliced off the head of his penis. The incident occurred on Dec 20 at a clinic in Taman Cheras Utama at 8.15pm.

It was learnt that the boy’s father had brought his son to the clinic for the surgery. However, during the surgery, the doctor, using a laser, inadvertently sliced off the glans (head) of the boy’s penis.

The doctor informed the father of his mistake, and they then rushed the boy to the Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Doctors there then transferred the boy to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital for him to undergo surgery to reattach the head of the penis.

It is unknown at press time as to whether the reattachment surgery was a success.

Upon advice, the boy’s father lodged a police report at the hospital. It is learnt that the clinic where the accident took place had been in operation for 15 years. The doctor in question has 21 years experience, and is a graduate of the University of Karachi, Pakistan.

It is learnt that the clinic, however, is not registered under the Health Ministry. It is learnt that the doctor concerned had also lodged a police report and had admitted that it was an accident.

Kajang police chief Assistant Commissioner Othman Nanyan confirmed the case.
Source: www.nst.com.my

December 27, 2016
Grabhitch Nightmare: Stuck With Obnoxious Driver, Male Muslim Passenger Also Gets Bitten By Driver’s Chihuahua

Hello everyone, I have a personal story to share with you. It’s an extremely important one if you are a frequent user of apps such as Grab or Uber.

On 25 Dec, after my work had ended during my shift during X’mas eve, in the wee early morning of about 2am, I decided to take on Grabhitch (cos you know 50% off). Within minutes, my booking was accepted, and I received a call directly from the driver. But during the call, these were messages that he had conveyed to me:

1) Firstly, he does not know where Harbourfront Centre taxi stand is, and insisted that I walk to him. He was all the way at the other side of Vivocity (near to St James Powerhouse). Mind you, I have been on my feet for the past 9.5 hours.

2) Secondly, during the tele-conversation, he also mentioned that he is not driving the stated Mercedes-Benz car (plate number: SJV6527Z) in my booking screen. Instead, he was driving a silver Cheverolet.

Eventually, the driver and I decided to make a compromise, and picked me up at the bus stop in front of Vivocity, which is somewhat far from where I was. But I didn’t want to waste time further as I was so exhausted. As I walked to the car, I saw a dog, which initially I thought was a soft toy. As I got closer, I realised the driver had a REAL LIVING DOG (It was a small chihuahua as I got to know later) with him inside the car! While I was shocked, I didn’t want to kick up a fuss out of it. I really wanted to just get home.

I mean I know it’s Grabhitch but it is just plain unprofessional to do that. I know there are many animal lovers out there who wouldn’t mind this. But I thought it’s just very basic courtesy to at least inform your passenger especially with a muslim-sounding name if he might be okay with it?

So many lines crossed here; safety issues, health related issues, religious and cultural issues etc. Yes, I’m very much Muslim. However, at that point of time, I thought to myself that it’s just a dog, and the driver should probably have the dog well tamed to be comfortable with strangers. But I later realised that the driver is the one that needed taming.

Throughout the entire trip, the driver didn’t stop being obnoxious. He lectured me about the ‘hitch culture’, and remained adamant about how he thought his way of “educating” me about the hitch culture was appropriate. He claimed that as passengers taking the Grabhitch option, it isn’t right to sit at the back and treat the owners of the car as our “cheapest drivers to get to our destination”.

He further said that he was “doing a service to the community by allowing people to sit in his car at a very small fee and helping people reach their destinations”. He added on saying that many people don’t want to perform Grabhitch because of people like me. Like seriously?!!

When I asked him if his dog is generally okay with strangers, he defensively lashed back at me and said,”My dog never disturb you, why you so concern about the dog?!!

As I was trying to unbuckle the seat belt, the sound I made probably riddled the dog. The DOG THEN JUMPED AND BIT ME!

I immediately told the driver I’m leaving, opened the door and slammed it shut. He didn’t even apologised or offered to take a look at my arm. I walked away quickly as I wanted to get away from the possible danger – like getting mauled by a ferocious dog.

This all happened in the wee hours of Sunday morning after a tiring day at work. Like I said, all I wanted was to go home and get some sleep. And such luck had to strike me. Nevertheless, I have taken necessary steps to this whole issue and have approached the proper authorities.

I have gone to the doctor at NUH who was very caring and concern while I was consulted by her. She even ensured that I ascertain if the dog is approved by the authorities by allowing me to call the Grab customer service hotline in the room, and patiently waited before making a decision to give me a rabies shot or not. It was not administered as we found that the dog was certified healthy, according to the driver who admitted that there was his dog in his car but denied that it has bitten me. Come on la, the mark is on my arm already. Whatever it is, his pet has already caused harm and injury to me.

I have also gone to the police who have referred my case to Agri-food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA). Officers on both sides had handled the matter professionally and quickly. I even received a phone call from AVA the very afternoon, which was after Sunday and on Christmas.

Ultimately, this is a story of how my $6 Grabhitch ride became into $123.40 matter as I had incurred $117.40 worth of medical bill, that included a tetanus shot and antibiotics. This story is very much real, and has happened to me. It is no joke. So please be safe.

Source: Rushdan Eilyaas

December 27, 2016
Indonesia’s Elite Police Turning Tide On Militants

JAKARTA (Reuters) – As the world battles a spike in assaults and plots by Islamist militants, Indonesia’s anti-terrorism unit is drawing praise for stemming a wave of bloody attacks in the sprawling Muslim-majority nation.

Indonesia has foiled at least 15 attacks this year alone and made more than 150 arrests, disrupting plots ranging from suicide attacks in Jakarta to a rocket attack from Indonesia’s Batam island targeting Singapore.

Going back to 2010, a Reuters analysis of data shows the elite unit, Special Detachment 88 (Densus 88), has prevented at last 54 plots or attacks in the nation of 250 million people, the world’s fourth largest.

“Densus 88 has become better than pretty well any other counter-terrorism group in the world,” said Greg Barton, a terrorism export and research professor in Global Islamic Politics at Alfred Deakin Institute in Melbourne.

“They have had an incredible workload and they have become remarkably good at what they do.”

In the last six years, there has been only one major attack in Indonesia that caused civilian deaths, when assailants hit a Jakarta mall and police post with gunfire and bombs, resulting in the deaths of three Indonesians and a dual Algerian-Canadian national. All four attackers were also killed in the January 2016 attack.

Between 2002 to 2009, there were nine major attacks by militants, leaving 295 dead and hundreds of others wounded.

Since its formation in 2002, the unit has put a premium on clandestine intelligence gathering. Now much of that intelligence work is done online, by infiltrating and monitoring chat rooms, social media and messaging apps popular with militants.

SELF-SUFFICIENT

Few details about Densus 88 are publicly available.

“We built our organization to learn from the enemy,” said a senior counter-terrorism officer who provided some insight into the working of the unit but spoke on condition of anonymity.

Created in the aftermath of the deadly 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people, Densus 88 has about 400 to 500 members, state-of-the-art weaponry and training, said another official. It has received more than $200 million of funding from Western allies such as Australia and the United States.

The unit is headed by a task force, a core of 30 or so senior members, said the Indonesian law enforcement source.

“Many of them possess doctorates and have specialties like psychology and social behaviour,” the source added. “They are not like regular police.”

The black clad, heavily armed members of Densus 88 sometimes seen during raids on suspected militant hideouts make up a small proportion of the unit, officials say.

Far more personnel are dedicated to gathering intelligence in the field and monitoring communications and online activity. There is also a large team of investigators analysing that intelligence and forensically examining explosives and other evidence.

Sidney Jones, the director of Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), said the key to Densus 88’s success lies in its intelligence gathering.

“They know the radical networks and have a good set of informers,” she said. “It is unparalleled in terms of its ability to understand the sources of possible threats.”

Despite Densus 88’s recent successes, the worry is that the militant threat to Indonesia is mounting as Islamic State fighters return battle-hardened from Syria and Iraq. The ultra-radical group also commands support from some Indonesians who have stayed at home.

About 800 Indonesians have travelled to Syria to join Islamic State and 169 have been stopped en route and deported, according to Indonesia’s national counter-terrorism agency.

In the past two months alone, there have been 40 arrests, and at least six attacks foiled, according to the Reuters study, which collated data with the assistance of IPAC staff. At least two of the attacks were planned for New Year’s Eve, police said.

Many of these plots have been linked to Islamic State, with police alleging they were inspired, if not directed, by Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian militant who fled to Syria about two years ago.

“These new homegrown terrorists and the local jihadists have never gone abroad. But with the advent of the Internet age and technologies like social media, it’s easier to make bombs and explosives to do operations,” said the law enforcement source.

Authorities remain deeply worried about an attack during the holiday season.

In the longer term, the worry is the possible return of hardened Islamic State fighters like Naim to the region.

“They will be a different type of terrorist and the police are going to have a lot more problems,” said Indonesian analyst Rakyan Adibrata.

Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com

December 27, 2016