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US Jury Convicts Chelsea Bomber
October 20, 2017
A US federal jury has convicted a New Jersey man, Ahmad Khan Rahimi, of all charges related to last year's bombing in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, with overwhelming material evidence that also suggested Rahimi was inspired by jihadist leaders whose works were mentioned in his personal journal.
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Fall of IS Stronghold of Raqqa Ends Caliphate in Syria
October 20, 2017
US-backed militia have captured the city of Raqqa, the Islamic State's (IS) de facto capital in Syrian territory, marking the formal defeat of the caliphate in Iraq and Syria and dealing a symbolic blow to the jihadi forces that had planned their Mideast expansion.
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Belgian Legislators Consider Transfer of Mosque Control
October 20, 2017
Belgian politicians are considering the transfer of control over the country's Great Mosque in Brussels from the current oversight by Saudi Arabia to a Belgian panel representing Belgium's diverse Muslim communities in an effort to thwart the influence of Salafist extremist thought imported to Belgium from Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Turkey.
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US Commission Condemns Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws
October 20, 2017
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom officially condemned Pakistan for using draconian blasphemy laws to target the country's Ahmadiyya religious minority community, following a Pakistani court decision condemning three Ahmadiyya to death as apostates from the country's majority Sunni version of Islam.
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UN Agent Calls for Free Access to "Pluralistic" Media
October 20, 2017
UN Human Rights Council Independent Expert Alfred de Zayas has called for the "democratization" of the media, signaling that governments must eliminate the dissemination of "fake news" to guarantee citizens' “free access to pluralistic information and opinion.”