Mid East Hour
New York Man Built 200-Pound Bomb To Detonate On Election Day: Feds
A New York state man built a 200-pound bomb in his basement and planned to detonate it in Washington on Election Day, according to federal authorities who arrested him.
Paul Rosenfeld, 56, of Tappan, intended to kill himself in the explosion and draw attention to his political beliefs, prosecutors said. They said Rosenfeld is a proponent of “sortition,” an ancient political system in which government officials are randomly selected.
“Rosenfeld concocted a twisted plan to draw attention to his political ideology by killing himself on the National Mall in Washington, D.C — risking harm to many others in the process,” Geoffrey Berman, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement. “Rosenfeld’s alleged plan for an Election Day detonation cut against our democratic principles.”
Rosenfeld sent letters and text messages to a person in Pennsylvania ― identified by NBC News as a reporter ― in which Rosenfeld detailed his plan to blow himself up, authorities said. The person contacted law enforcement, and on Tuesday, Rosenfeld was pulled over by police and arrested.
Authorities said Rosenfeld admitted to ordering large quantities of explosive black powder over the Internet, which he’d transported from New Jersey to his home in Tappan. He said he used the substance to construct a large bomb in his basement.
He told investigators he installed “certain components in the explosive device to ensure that he was killed in the blast,” which he planned for Nov. 6 on the National Mall.
Rosenfeld also admitted to building smaller bombs and conducting test detonations, prosecutors said.
The Journal News reported that Rosenfeld’s home was searched Tuesday by law enforcement officials, who discovered what “appeared to be a bomb weighing about 200 pounds.” The explosive was removed by FBI bomb technicians and transported to a safe location.
Rosenfeld made his first appearance in federal court in New York on Wednesday, charged with unlawfully manufacturing a destructive device and also interstate transportation and receipt of an explosive. He faces up to 20 years behind bars if convicted.
Officials said they believe Rosenfeld acted alone and was not part of a larger terror organization. “Rosenfeld’s stated reason for these acts was to draw attention to his political belief in ‘sortition,’” Berman’s office said in a statement.
Sortition was “the main system for choosing political officials in ancient Athens,” The Daily Beast wrote in a 2014 explainer about the ideology, which noted there were some advocates in the United States.
Turkey sets free American pastor
IZMIR, Turkey — American pastor Andrew Brunson walked out of court a free man today after 24 months of imprisonment, including house arrest.
A Turkish judge convicted Brunson on charges of “providing aid to terrorist groups without being a member,” while sentencing him to time served and lifting a ban on foreign travel, clearing the way for his return to the U.S.
Brunson hugged his wife and shed tears of joy as he left the courtroom flanked by an American delegation. Making a statement in perfect Turkish, the Evangelical Presbyterian minister, who moved to Turkey in 1993, said, “I’m an innocent man — I love Jesus, and I love this country.”
Brunson’s release ends a sore diplomatic saga between Turkey and the U.S. Both President Trump and Vice President Pence have been outspoken in their calls for Turkey to release the pastor. After repeated attempts to negotiate a deal to secure Brunson’s release, the U.S. responded with sanctions against Turkey, worsening an economic crisis that has seen the Turkish lira lose nearly 40 per cent of its value this year. Brunson’s final hearing also came at an opportune time for Turkey as investigators continue probing the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.
Brunson, who had maintained his innocence throughout the the trial, ran a small Evangelical Presbyterian parish in the coastal city of Izmir with about 50 members. He was active in humanitarian aid projects to serve Syrian refugees, and that’s where Turkish investigators say he came in contact with members of terrorist groups.
He was jailed in October 2016 amid accusations of having links to groups Turkey blames for a bloody coup attempt three months earlier. Several of Brunson’s parishioners testified as witnesses, both for and against him.
The final courtroom drama played out in a series of bizarre and dramatic surprises as several witnesses for the prosecution recanted their testimonies.
One woman said she did not personally know Brunson. Two men contradicted their past assertions. When the newly appointed prosecutor asked them about past statements they made asserting that a parishioner — a member of the blacklisted Kurdistan Workers Party — was building bombs, both men said that the statements were rumors they had heard from the other.
One witness accused another who testified against Brunson of holding a vendetta after he was kicked out of the congregation.
Another witness was asked by the prosecutor why he believed Brunson was connected to terrorist groups. The man replied, “I never saw any bombs or bombers, but I’m a Turkish nationalist — to me, all Syrians are terrorists.”
Australian law allows religious schools to reject gay students, PM says
(CNN)Prime Minister Scott Morrison said religious schools in Australia are already legally allowed to deny students a place based on their sexual orientation, following criticism of a leaked report that proposes allowing schools to bar them.
Morrison was commenting on the contents of a leaked report on religious freedoms, reigniting debate about what constitutes unlawful discrimination against gay people just months after Australia's Parliament voted to legalize same-sex marriage.
Fairfax Media reported Wednesday it had seen contents of the report, which recommended amendments to a federal law that allows religious schools to discriminate against students "on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or relationship status."
When asked if he thought religious schools should be able to turn away students on the basis of sexual orientation, Morrison demurred twice, saying "that is the existing law."
The Prime Minister's office said he was referring to a section in the federal Sex Discrimination Act that exempts religious educational institutions from some discrimination requirements. However, some states have passed their own discrimination laws and do not allow religious schools to reject students on the basis of sexual orientation.
"We're not proposing to change that law to take away that existing arrangement that exists," Morrison said.Morrison, who opposed the same-sex marriage bill and abstained from the final vote in December 2017, vowed to change the law to protect religious freedom in an interview last month, shortly after the sudden ouster of former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. But Morrison said any new laws would take into account the religious freedom review, which Turnbull commissioned in order to assuage the concerns of marriage equality opponents who said the new law infringed on their religious rights.
The report was compiled after a public consultation period that attracted 15,000 submissions and submitted to Turnbull in May, but the government has yet to formally release it, Fairfax reported.
"We have a report that's been provided to the government. It's a report to government, not from government. It's a report that the government will be considering and developing a balanced response to, and we will do that in our orderly process, taking it through Cabinet," Morrison said Wednesday.
Critics, including civil liberty groups, members of the opposition Labor Party and gay rights advocates, said the government should not be proposing avenues for discrimination.
"The fact of the matter is that every child is entitled to human dignity. We shouldn't even be having this debate," opposition leader Bill Shorten said.
Alex Greenwich, an MP from Sydney and a gay rights activist, said he was concerned about the divisiveness of the report.
"One of the tragic things out of this report is it seeks to establish a narrative of gay versus God," he told Sky News Australia. "The faith community is largely supportive of the LGBTQI community and the LGBTQI community is very supportive and respective of the faith community."
According to Fairfax, the panel rejected the idea put forward by Australian conservatives that religious freedom was in "imminent peril."
It also found that businesses should not be allowed to refuse service to customers on religious grounds because it would "unnecessarily encroach on other human rights" and "may cause significant harm to vulnerable groups," Fairfax reported.
Australian Attorney-General Christian Porter said in a statement Wednesday that the report does not propose creating any new exemptions for religious schools to discriminate on the basis of sexuality, nor does it make any changes to the regime currently in place. The law was last amended in 2012, when the opposition Labor party was in power.
"The exemption that allows schools to make employment and student admission decisions in a way consistent with the tenets of their religion already exists for religious schools," he said.
Morrison said the report has not been considered by the Cabinet, but would be released "in due course."
"It will be released with a response from the Government, once we're in a position to advise our comprehensive response to that report, and once we've carefully considered and respectfully considered all the measures and recommendations and proposals that have been put forward," he said.
Mohammad Shakeel of Faisalabad annoyed the new way to stop the wife going out
Mexican couple arrested with body parts in stroller may have killed 20
(CNN)A couple arrested in Mexico while pushing a baby stroller filled with human body parts may have killed up to 20 women, according to the chief investigator on the case.
The man and woman were detained Thursday in the Mexico City suburb of Ecatepec on suspicion of murdering 10 female victims. However, the male suspect has since claimed that they are responsible for twice as many deaths.
Police arrested the pair, identified only as "Juan Carlos N." and his wife "Patricia "N.," during an investigation into the disappearance of three women and a two-month-old baby. The man gave detailed accounts of the original 10 deaths. He also told police that he and his wife had killed a further 10 people, according to State of Mexico Prosecutor Alejandro Gomez and reported by AFP.
Police found eight plastic buckets full of dismembered body parts and cement in the couple's house, Gomez revealed in a Facebook post on Sunday. More remains were found in a refrigerator, wrapped in plastic bags. Tests are now being carried out on the grisly evidence.
The couple, who live with their three children, were arrested while pushing the baby carriage through Ecatepec. The police had expected to find the missing baby inside, but instead found human remains.
It is now down to the prosecution to establish whether these claims are founded or whether they are just boasts by a "psychopath" or "serial killer," according to Gomez.
"He described it in a completely natural way ... I would say he actually seemed happy to have done this," Gomez told Mexican radio network Formula, AFP reported. "He wants people to see his picture, to know his name ... I would obviously classify this person as a murderer, a serial killer."
The suspect also admitted to selling the two-month-old baby of one of their victims, Reuters reported.
The grim case has sent anger and shock through Mexico. Hundreds of people protested in Ecatepec on Sunday, AFP reported. Demonstrators carried candles and white flowers to demand action by authorities on deadly violence against women and girls.
In 2016, seven women and girls were killed in Mexico every day, according to UN Women figures.
A 2017 report from Mexico's Interior Department, the National Women's Institute and UN Women found that 52,210 killings of women were recorded between 1985 and 2017. Nearly a third occurred in the last six years of that 32-year period.
Michael's not done yet -- path of destruction stretches north from Florida
(CNN)Hurricane Michael's deadly trail of devastation now stretches from the Florida Panhandle, where it wiped away a coastal city, to the Carolinas, where it triggered flash floods that turned roads into rivers. And the threat continues overnight.
Now a tropical storm with winds of 50 mph, Michael is expected to gain strength as it passes into Virginia and moves into the western Atlantic Ocean overnight, bringing damaging winds and life-threatening flash flooding over parts of North Carolina and Virginia.
Six people are dead in the storm's path, and authorities fear the toll could climb higher as search-and-rescue efforts continue. So far, Coast Guard crews in Florida have rescued 40 people and assisted 232.
Hurricane Michael carried a home across a road and slammed it against a condo complex in Mexico Beach.
Conditions remain precarious in hard hit areas, especially Mexico Beach, Florida, where Michael reduced buildings to rubble and snapped trees in half. A councilwoman from there issued an urgent plea to anyone thinking of returning.
- "Please don't come down," Linda Albrecht said. "The more people that return, it's just going to get in the way."
- Key developments
- • Where is Michael? As of Thursday evening, the storm was centered about five miles northwest of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph.
- • Power outages are on the rise: 1.3 million customers in six states are without power, including 604,831 in North Carolina.
- • Victims identified: The dead include four people in Florida, a child in Georgia and a man in North Carolina.
- • Public health emergency declared in Georgia: The declaration will help ensure those who rely on Medicare and Medicaid have access to the care they need, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said.
Our lives are gone here'
Catastrophic scenes have emerged across the Florida Panhandle, but none perhaps worse than in Mexico Beach, ground zero of the devastation.
Receding floodwater are just starting to reveal the extent of damage. What used to be a gorgeous beachfront city now looks like an apocalyptic mess.
"First the cars started floating by, and all the debris was in the air," Mexico Beach resident Scott Boutwell said. "When the water came in, houses started floating in front of our home."
A firefighter searches door to door after Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach.
When Boutwell returned to his own house, he discovered furniture in his house that wasn't his. The walls had collapsed and "the only thing I could find of ours was my briefcase," he said.
As he looked around, a new reality set in: "Our lives are gone here. All the stores, all the restaurants, everything. There's nothing left here anymore."
Tracking Michael
Category Projected path Traveled path
Albrecht, the Mexico Beach councilwoman, would like to return home, but she says the roads are impassible. She's desperate for news about the condition of her home, but she can't reach anyone, she says.
She chokes up talking about it. "I just need to know."
School that helped Hurricane Maria victims is now destroyed
The students and staff at Jinks Middle School have dealt with disaster before. Last year, they welcomed children who were displaced by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
This time, the Panama City school was ripped apart by Michael. The debris-covered floor of the school's gymnasium is now fully visible from outside.
Principal Britt Smith choked up as he looked at images of the decimated building.
"You can't make sense of it, but what you do is you take the situation, and what we have to make certain that our kids know is that we must be resilient," Smith said.
"Resiliency is important, and it's an important life message that we all have to learn. ... But at this point, there's really no making sense. It's just how do we get together, how do we recover?
Dorian Carter searches for his missing cat after several trees fell on his Panama City home Wednesday.
In Seminole County, Georgia, a metal carport crashed through a roof, hitting a girl's head. Several hours passed before emergency officials could reach the unincorporated area where the girl was killed, county emergency management director Travis Brooks said.
The county coroner identified the girl as 11-year-old Sarah Radney. "She loved God, she was Christian. When the doors to the church were open she would want to be there," her father Roy Radney said. When her parents couldn't make it to church, Sarah would get up early and call her aunt for a ride, he said.
One of the four victims from Florida has been identified as Steven Sweet, the Gadsden County sheriff's office said. Sweet died after a tree fell on a home near Greensboro.
Megan McCall says her brother Jeff and his family were riding out the storm in the Panhandle. No one has heard from them since Wednesday afternoon.
Her brother was able to tell a friend that his home was starting to get cracks in the walls and water was rushing in Wednesday. A neighbor told McCall that all the docks in the area were destroyed and many people are stuck in their homes as the roads have been blocked with debris.
"I just need to know he's OK," McCall said. "If the house and the cars are destroyed they can be replaced, but my niece needs her dad -- and as much as I sometimes can't stand him, I would do anything to just know he's OK."
Growing path of pain
After slamming Florida and lashing Georgia, Michael is now barreling through the storm-weary Carolinas.
Tornadoes, dangerous winds and more flooding are possible in many of the same areas still recovering from Hurricane Florence. Michael is expected to dump up to 7 inches of rain in parts of North Carolina and Virginia, the National Hurricane Center said.
A 38-year old man died when a large tree fell on his vehicle on Highway 64, East of Statesville, North Carolina, Iredell County Fire Marshall David Souther said.
In southwestern Virginia, Emily Waddell said the water level in a creek near her property in Simpsons already surpassed what it experienced during Florence. So far, she says she has lost a chicken coop and four of six of gardens due to Michael's fallout.
EGYPTIAN PASSPORT VISA FREE COUNTRIES 2018 LIST
LIST OF EGYPTIAN PASSPORT VISA FREE COUNTRIES 2018
There is a certain number of benefits available to the Egyptians citizens in the event of traveling around the world. Egypt has stood out to become one of the zenith priority of many outsiders for years now who prefer transacting business and exchange of good and services due to wonderful business climate and its uninterrupted power supply or also for some they prefer the passport just for tourist purposes. This post on Egyptian passport visa free countries list.Besides its enormous side attraction like Egyptian streets, cozy places, their food, culture especially “Herafeyyeen” and others, it has a good economic system that is favorable for trade which is boosted by a soothing atmosphere. An Egyptian passport holder has a good reason to be joyful about their flight escapade across the world.
Egyptian Passport Visa Free Countries
Ditto for long some passport holders never knew the countries they can access with free days and some without expiration, in this write up, we shall be digging dip to explore more on some countries accessible for Egyptian passport holders and days they are permitted to explore the country free of any charge and assault of any form.
EGYPTIAN VISA FREE COUNTRIES- EGYPTIAN PASSPORT VISA FREE COUNTRIES:
It is very important to talk on the various benefits Egyptian citizens are sure to enjoy while making a trip across the five continents of the world because many of the Egyptian citizens do not really have the knowledge of how privileged they are in the event of traveling across the world.
Egyptian passport has remained one of the most preferential and influential passports when ranked globally especially in Africa. It is in the third position in Africa and that alone has given the citizens of Egypt the chance to travel to many nations. Egyptian citizens have the right to enter the total of forty-nine countries without providing their visas, that is “visa-free countries” because of the superiority of the Egyptian passport.
Amazingly, Egyptian passport has been recognized internationally because of the “machine-readable passport” which has an ICAO Document 9303 with its conformance of 96.77% been introduced by the Egyptian government has made its usefulness outstrips that of many other nations. Also, due to the fact that it gives a guarantee to Egyptians visa-free across the forty-nine countries.
The list of the countries Egyptians citizens can enter without providing their visa will be highlighted here and also the periods of time limited for their stay in each country. In this write-up, each country will be listed based on its continent in order to make the list a comprehensive list.
FULL LIST OF EGYPTIAN PASSPORT VISA FREE COUNTRIES:
ASIA.
Asia continent has a total population of 4,462,676,731, that is why it is considered to be the largest and most populous continent on Earth. It constitutes 60% of the world’s population roughly. This continent (Asia) is being surrounded with three oceans which are the Pacific Ocean by the East, the Arctic Ocean by North and the Indian Ocean on South. Asia is notable for its vast barely populated regions and dense and large settlements. Asia continents have the Equatorial South in the hot desert of the Middle East, Continental Center to subarctic and polar areas of Siberia and temperate areas in the East as its mixture of different climates.
It is also noted for her beautiful clime and business sustainability for all who chose to visit or stay in this part of the country.
EGYPTIAN PASSPORT VISA FREE COUNTRIES FOR ASIA
The Asia countries Egyptian citizens can travel into without providing their visa are below
1. Nepal: Nepal is a South Asia country located in the Himalayas and also parts of the Indo-Gangetic plain. A travel permit from the authority is required for any Egyptians entering the country.
2. Laos: This country is located in the Southeastern part of Asia. It has 90 days of limited stay without a visa for any Egyptians.
Indonesia: Indonesia is in Southeast Asia. Jakarta is its capital and largest city. Some parts of 3.Indonesia like Poso, Irian Jaya/West Papua and Maluku are regions restricted which require an authorization from Indonesia authorities for Egyptians coming into the country. Normally, its limited duration is for 30 days.
4. Lebanon: This is a sovereign State that is in Western Asia. It is officially known as Republic. It has borders with Israel to the South, Syria to the North and Cyprus on the West across the Mediterranean Sea. Here, a Travel permit is required, and also Lebanon grants free entrance to Egyptians who do not have a visa but return flights with US$200 always stand as a proof.
5. Yemen: This is the country that is located in the Western Asian. Yemen grants free entry to who do not present any visa but however allowed them to remain in the country for not more than three months.
6. Myanmar: Egyptians who do not have visa are permitted to enter this country through Nay Pyi Taw or Mandalay airports, but must vacate within the twenty-eight of a visit.
7. Cambodia: Here, Egyptians with their passport are permitted to stay only one month one visa.
8. Iran: This is one of the Asian countries in which its limited time given to Egyptians with their passports is only three months.
9. Tajikistan: Egyptians entering Tajikistan on free visa basic are only given 45 days to stay.
10. Georgia: This is the country that is located in the Crossroads of western Asian. The maximum period given to Egyptians on free visa basic is only three months.
AFRICA:
Africa is the continent that is follow-suiting Asian continent in population size, also to say, it is the world’s second-largest continent. Black people with rich and diverse cultures dominated Africa. Its regions are being divided into four which are Western Africa, Southern Africa, Eastern Africa and Northern Africa which are mainly Arabs.
Africa is noted for her cultural heritage, cultural value, continent with distinction and which has served as focal point for most continent as it unfolds different event at different pace, also it is noted for her blessing and breathtaking mystical tourist center which has valuable knowledge and diverse economic and social benefit to tourist and citizen of this continent. Bless with mineral resources, yet untapped resources which make it a potential center for business mogul and those ready to tap into the potential of this continent.
EGYPTIAN PASSPORT VISA FREE COUNTRIES IN AFRICA
The Africa countries which Egyptians can enter freely on the basis of visa-free. Its maximum days of permission are:
- Togo. 7 days
- Djibouti. one month
- Zimbabwe. Three months
- Rwanda. 30 days
- Gabon. Application online is requested.
- Tanzania. Online application
- Mauritania. Online application
- Uganda. Application through online
- Guinea-Bissau. Online application
- Kenya. Three months.
ISLANDS:
This is a sub-continental whose major habitats contains one or more lake island called an AIT and a small island off the coast known as HOLM.
Below are the Island countries which Egyptian citizens can explore without their visas
- Comoros. Three months
- Antigua and Barbuda. Application online
- Seychelles. 90 days
- Cape Verde: One month but fees must be made in Euros
- Madagascar: 90 days
- Timor- Leste: One month
- The Dominican Republic: 21 days
- The Cook Islands: 30 days.
Egypt Visa Free Countries
OCEANIA:
This is the least continent that is grouped in the land area, and also it is the smallest in population follow- suiting Antarctica. Its regions are comprising of Polynesian, Melanesian, Australasia, and Micronesian.
Egyptian citizens who do not have visa can visit these Oceania countries below.
- Samoa. 60 days with a transit permit.
- Tuvalu. One month.
- Palau. One month.
EGYPTIAN PASSPORT VISA FREE COUNTRIES FOR AMERICA
SOUTH AMERICA:
This continent is situated in the Southern hemisphere of the globe, a relatively small portion of the Northern hemisphere and also share a line with the Western hemisphere. It is a sub-continent of the Americas. It has twelve sovereign states. Its borders are North America and the Caribbean Sea to the Northwest, the Pacific Ocean on the West, the Atlantic Ocean to the North and West.
The two countries Egyptian citizens can enter on the free visa basics are:
- Nicaragua. Three months.
- Bolivia. 90 days.
Other countries they can enter without providing their visa are:
- Haiti. 3 months.
- Hong Kong. 3 months.
- South Korea. 3 months.
- Jordan. 3 months
- Equador. Three months.
- Macau. Three months.
- Dominica. 21 days.
- Mauritius. 90 days.
- Saint Vincent and Grenadine. One month.
- Malaysia. 90 days with travel permit.
- Saint Kits and Nevis. Three months.
- Guinea. 90 days with travel permits.
- The Marshall Islands. Three months.
- Micronesian. One month.
- The Maldives. One month.
CONCLUSION:
The Egyptian passport that came into existence in 2008 which is renewable in every seven years is considered as one of the most beautiful travel documents in the world with its usefulness been elaborated above in this write-up. Also, it is of great importance to know, the countries you can access with this travel pass, and the days you can stay free before the expiration of your contract.
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