Egypt policemen shot dead in Giza in IS-claimed attack

Gunmen have killed two Egyptian police in the city of Giza, officials said.

The so-called Islamic State (IS) group said it was behind the attack.
The incident came hours after three foreign tourists were stabbed by suspected IS militants who stormed a hotel in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada on Friday.
Egypt is battling an insurgency largely based in the Sinai Peninsula which became more active after the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
Hundreds of security force members and government personnel have been killed, with attacks creeping closer to the capital Cairo.
The instability has threatened Egypt's important tourism industry.

Egypt is battling Islamist militants based in the Sinai peninsula 

Survivor speaks

Those injured in the attack in Hurghada - two Austrians and a Swede - are said to be in a stable condition.
Security forces shot dead one of the attackers and wounded the other.
Both were armed with knives and reports say they raised the IS flag.
"Everything happened so quickly," said the wounded Swedish tourist, Sammie Olovsson. "I thought I would bleed to death."
Egypt's ambassador to the UK, Nasser Kamel, said his country was no less safe than other countries, adding there was no reason to stop visiting.
"We are facing the exact same threat in Paris, unfortunately in London, all over the world," he said.
IS has an affiliate based in the Sinai Peninsula, known as Sinai Province.
It said it was behind the downing of a Russian jet last year that killed 224 people.

Egypt attack: Three tourists stabbed at Hurghada hotel

  

The Bella Vista Hotel is popular with foreign tourists 

Three foreign tourists have been stabbed by two suspected Islamic State militants who stormed into a hotel in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Hurghada.

The attackers, armed with knives, were shot by police at the Bella Vista hotel after they attacked two Austrian guests and a Swede, officials say.
One assailant was killed and the other injured, officials say.
The attackers were aiming to kidnap tourists, officials told the BBC. Reports say they raised the IS flag.
Security forces are still searching for possible further attackers.
Officials earlier reported that both the attackers had been killed.
Egypt is battling Islamist militants based in the nearby Sinai peninsula, including an Islamic State affiliate.
That group said it downed a Russian plane which crashed in October 2015, with the loss of 224 lives.
A spokesman for the UK Foreign Office said they were "urgently investigating" the reports from Hurghada.
He did not know whether any Britons might be affected.

Analysis: Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent

Sadly for Egypt, this is only the latest incident in a growing list of sporadic terrorist attacks carried out by jihadist fanatics, aimed at harming the government and driving away much-needed foreign investment and tourism.
The most potent threat emanates from the Egyptian affiliate of the so-called Islamic State, based in the northern Sinai Peninsula across the Red Sea from where Friday's hotel attack took place.
But ever since bombers attacked the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in 2005, the authorities have gone to great lengths to secure the country's Red Sea resorts.
Until last October's downing of a Russian passenger plane - which Russia and Britain believe was caused by a bomb - the coastal resorts had remained largely free from terrorism for years.
Egypt was able to deal swiftly and effectively with this latest attack in Hurghada, but the authorities will want to establish where it was launched from and what further precautions they now need to take.

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An attack on a bus at a hotel near the Giza pyramids on Thursday was claimed by IS, which said it was targeting "a tourist bus carrying Jews".
Egyptian officials said no-one was hurt in the attack, near Cairo. Arab Israeli tourists were staying at the hotel, reports said.
After the loss of the Russian plane in October, the UK and other European countries halted flights to Sharm el-Sheikh, citing security fears.
Russia also stopped all flights to Egypt.
The departures board on Hurghada airport's website shows foreign tourists travelling to the resort this week have come from Turkey, Germany, Sweden and the UK.

Sian Blake: Partner held in Ghana over EastEnders actress murder

Arthur Simpson-Kent was arrested hidden amongst some rocks along the coast of Ghana  

The partner of a former EastEnders actress who was murdered alongside her two young sons has been arrested in Ghana.

Arthur Simpson-Kent, 48, was detained earlier, two days after the Ghanaian police began their hunt for him.
The bodies of Sian Blake, 43, Zachary, eight, and Amon, four, were discovered in the garden of their London home on Tuesday.
The family had been reported missing on 16 December. he Met Police said it had been "made aware of an arrest in Ghana" and was "working alongside the Ghanaian authorities but is not in a position to discuss further at this time".
BBC correspondent Alistair Leithead, who is in Ghana, said Mr Simpson-Kent was arrested in a coastal area popular with tourists.
"Around 10 police officers went down to the beach where he was spotted hiding amongst some rocks and the police, who were all armed, called out to him," he said.
"He gave himself up and they found that he had a knife on him, but he didn't use it in a threatening way.
"He was then taken to a nearby village where police thanked the people who had informed them he was in this area."
Mr Leithead said the arrest involved Met and Ghanaian Police as well as officers from Interpol.
Mr Simpson-Kent, the children's father, arrived in Ghana on 19 December, with the country's police force becoming involved in the hunt for him on Thursday.
Ghanaian Police had initially been sent to the Cape Coast in the south of the country - where the extended Simpson family is from - as well as to other parts of the Atlantic shoreline.
Ms Blake and the couple's sons had not been not seen at their south-east London home since 13 December and a missing persons inquiry launched on 16 December, after the NSPCC had raised concerns about their welfare.

---

Timeline

• 13 December: Sian Blake is last seen in Waltham Forest, east London, with her sons Zachary, eight, and Amon, four.
• 16 December: Police visit her home in Erith and speak to Mr Simpson-Kent. This is the last time he is seen.
• 3 January: Miss Blake's car is found in Bethnal Green, east London
• 5 January: Bodies found at her home in Erith, south east London
• 6 January: Police announce Mr Simpson-Kent is thought to have travelled to Ghana
• 8 January: Sian Blake and her two sons are confirmed dead

---

The Met Police spoke to Mr Simpson-Kent on 16 December, but that was the last time he was seen.
A subsequent search of the family home in Erith, south east London, on 5 January uncovered three bodies in the garden.
The actress and her two sons had died from neck and head injuries, post-mortem tests revealed.
Ms Blake's sister Ava Blake spoke last week about how she believed the actress had wanted to leave her boyfriend.
She said: "It's my nephews more than anything. My brother is angry. My cousins are angry.
"They are angry about Sian, but the boys have devastated us. We have lost a generation. We can never replace them."
She said her sister had been "a lot more quiet" over the past year and had asked to move back home.
"In our opinion the relationship had already come to an end but she hadn't quite made that break or that decision to leave Arthur," she said.
Ms Blake, who had motor neurone disease, had played Frankie Pierre in 56 episodes of EastEnders between 1996 and 1997.
The Met has been criticised over delays in its investigation and is being investigated by the police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Local heroes: Unsung women of Africa

 There are lots of women that have being on the fore fronts of great struggles for , and we have carefully selected some ;

Child marriage terminator

 

Brenda Iyoha nominated Inkosi Kachindamoto, who is a chief in the district of Dedza in Malawi. She annulled 330 child marriages last year, sending the children back to school.
"This is a bold step and a statement of intent in the fight to end child marriages," said Ms Iyoha.

Sanitary pad campaigner

 

Chi Yvonne nominated Marie-Claire Nabila Kuja, saying the Cameroonian campaigner "is on an unquenchable quest to ignite change in the lives of women and youths in Africa and beyond".
"Her KujaPads initiative has gone a long way to improve the menstrual hygiene of thousands of girls in Cameroon."
According to Ms Kuja, more than 80% of female students in the North West region of Cameroon have limited access to sanitary pads.

Life-saving community nurse

 

Udk Kalimalwanyo nominated Charity Salima, a community nurse in Malawi, because she "has volunteered for years to help women in maternal health through her community clinic Achikondi in Area 23, Lilongwe.
"She is my unsung hero."
Ms Salima founded her clinic in the impoverished district in 2008, offering affordable pre- and post-natal care, and has since delivered thousands of babies.

 Waging War Against The Menace Of Child Abuse And Violence Against Women

Mrs. Esther ogwu stands firmly  against the menace of child abuse, violence against women and infringement on human rights.She is strongly against Parents who had little or no time for their children.

She organized programs in popular eateries, schools and churches in all areas where she hosted numbers of Parents for seminars on child care and child abuse.

Esther Child Right Foundation became known all over the area.At this point she moved her activities to health centers where she addresses over 500-600 women in a week on issues that borders on child abuse, child rape and neglect.

 

Mother for orphans

Brenda Iyoha nominated Mary Mangwiza for "tirelessly supporting orphans of HIV/Aids in Malawi".
"With very few resources, she offers love and the chance of a meal and early education for children who would otherwise not get any," she says.
Mother Mary's Children Centre looks after more than 900 orphans and other vulnerable children, particularly in the districts of Zomba and Chikwawa.

 

 

 

 

 

French mosques extend open invitation

French mosques have invited non-Muslims in to try to create greater understanding of Islam in France.

Visitors are being offered hot drinks, pastries, calligraphy demonstrations and discussion during the "open-house" weekend.
The country's leading Muslim body, the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), seeks to distance mainstream Islam from recent jihadist attacks.
The initiative comes a year after the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris.
Jihadist gunmen killed 17 people at different Paris sites, including the offices of the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine and a kosher supermarket.
Marking the anniversary of the killings, President Francois Hollande unveiled a plaque on Saturday in tribute to one of those who died, policewoman Clarissa Jean-Philippe.
France also remembered the four Jewish hostages killed at the supermarket.
France is still under a state of emergency after November's Paris attacks, carried out by gunmen linked to the Islamic State group, which killed 130 people.
Hundreds of French mosques are taking part in the open-house event, dubbed a "brotherly cup of tea".
"The objective is to create a space where people can be together and meet normal Muslim worshippers and all of our fellow citizens," CFCM President Anouar Kbibech told AFP.
He said the CFCM wanted to use the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks to "highlight the real values of Islam, to set straight the cliches about links to violence and terrorism".

Merkel under pressure

Angela Merkel's challenge is to reassure an increasingly pessimistic public that she has a long-term plan. The chancellor showed compassion when she welcomed more than a million refugees and migrants into Germany in 2015. Now she is under pressure to make clear there are limits to German tolerance.

Anti-immigration campaigners have seized on the Cologne incident as an example of what they see as the failure of the country's asylum policy. The prominence of the far-right Pegida movement was fading. It is now using the attacks as a propaganda tool.
On the other side of what is a widening chasm, established Islamic groups here have expressed fears that the actions of a few may jeopardise the future of many.
With tension rising and tolerance waning, Germany's doors remain open, but many here are increasingly asking: For how long and at what cost?

Germany has accepted more than a million migrants and refugees in the past year.
Officials have warned that anti-immigrant groups have been trying to use the attacks to stir up hatred.

Similar attacks to those seen in Cologne were also reported in Hamburg and in Stuttgart on New Year's Eve. In Bielefeld, hundreds of men tried to force their way into nightclubs, Die Welt reports (in German).
Police said several women had alleged sexual assault.
On Friday, the chief of police for North Rhine-Westphalia was suspended. Wolfgang Albers had been accused of holding back information about the attacks, in particular about the origin of the suspects.

Cologne attacks: Merkel proposes tougher migrant laws

 

The refugee policy has come to define Mrs Merkel's leadership 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has proposed changes to make it easier to deport asylum-seekers who commit crimes, after the New Year's Eve sex attacks on women in Cologne.

The attacks, which victims say were carried out by men of North African and Arab appearance, have called into question her open-door migrant policy.
The police's handling of the events has also been sharply criticised.
Later, there were clashes at an anti-immigrant protest in Cologne.
Police used water cannon and pepper spray to disperse protesters from the the right-wing anti-immigrant Pegida movement as violence flared after a rally which heard condemnation of Mrs Merkel's policies.
Reports say bottles and firecrackers were hurled at police lines.

Saturday also saw protests by feminist groups over violence against women in the city, and a left-wing anti-Pegida counter-demonstration.
Meanwhile, police in Cologne have said the number of cases of reported violence on New Year's Eve has risen substantially.

'Consequences'

Mrs Merkel, speaking after a meeting of her Christian Democrat party leadership in Mainz, proposed tightening the law on denying the right of asylum for those who have committed crimes.
Under the new plans, those on probation could be deported too.
"When crimes are committed, and people place themselves outside the law... there must be consequences," she told reporters after the meeting.
Under current German laws, asylum seekers are only forcibly sent back if they have been sentenced to at least three years' imprisonment, and providing their lives are not at risk in their countries of origin.
The move, which will still need parliamentary approval, follows the New Year's Eve attacks, which sparked outrage in Germany.
Victims described chaos as dozens of sexual assaults and robberies were carried out with little apparent response from the authorities around Cologne station.
A statement issued by Cologne police on Saturday, quoted by AFP news agency, said the number of reported violence cases had reached 379 - 40% of which were cases of sexual assault.
"Those in focus of criminal police investigations are mostly people from North African countries. The majority of them are asylum-seekers and people who are in Germany illegally," the statement says.

Some Online Shopping Cart Solutions for Small Businesses

Online accessibility is an essential to today’s businesses. To remain viable, open, noticed and easily reached by customers, your business has to be optimized for web and mobile to capitalize on an audience level spanning worldwide. The technology offered to merchants has evolved from simple online carts to full-blown CRM, email marketing, and search engine optimization. So whether you’re a web development guru, a serial entrepreneur, or a startup merchant who wants the ball rolling ASAP, here is a list of online shopping cart solutions to help you optimize your small business web store:

Volusion is an all-in-one e-commerce package (website, store and hosting) and is currently ranked #2 on TopTenReviews. It is mobile responsive and can be connected via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. They have a free 14-day trial, and their plans start at $19 per month.

Weebly is well-loved by small business owners as it allows them to build websites quite easily, complete with blogging, shopping cart and coupon-creation capability. Weebly’s business hosting allows store owners to sell unlimited products for only $25 a month.
1ShoppingCart offers targeted customer advertising and email marketing, if you’re too busy to do them yourself. 1ShoppingCart has a free four-week trial period, and their packages start at $34 a month.
igCommerce is among the first to offer social e-commerce tools to online merchants. They also have what they call the Success Squad, a “group of experienced e-commerce entrepreneurs, certified marketing experts, and masters of online selling,” whose help and advice can be tapped by clients. BigCommerce has a 15-day free trial, and monthly plans start at $29.95 all the way up to $199.95.

Content Shelf has a great set of more than 50 features, but it’s their reasonable rates (free version, and premium plans at $14 and $29 per month) and essential apps integration with payment processors such as PayPal, Stripe.com, 2Checkout and even BitPay, as well as email marketing vendors like MailChimp, Aweber and iContact that makes them stand out. FoxyCart is a good choice if you’re looking for an enhanced, feature-rich site that needs more complex and customized development. Their pricing starts at $15 per month and can go up to a whopping $2,000 per month depending on your e-commerce site’s tweaking needs.

 

 

Donald Trump's romance with Vladimir Putin

If Donald Trump looked into Vladimir Putin's eyes, what would he see?

For nearly every other Republican politician -- from the party's past two presidential nominees to the current field of GOP hopefuls -- the answer is pretty clear.

"He's a bully," Jeb Bush said in June.

"Gangster and thug," intoned Marco Rubio in an October foreign policy speech.

And two cycles ago, it was the GOP's presidential nominee John McCain who famously stated that he had stared into Putin's eyes and "saw three letters: a K, a G and a B," a reference to Putin's past as an agent of the ruthless Soviet intelligence agency.

But Trump, the 2016 Republican presidential front-runner, is bucking his party yet again -- choosing to bear hug the Russian strongman rather than vilify him.

For months, Trump has embraced Putin as a world leader he would "get along very well with," a relationship that would be rooted in the two men's similar outlook, personas and, in some cases, overlapping policy goals. It's an international bromance that's driving GOP establishment figures to call out Trump's ideological incompatibility with the Republican Party in yet another arena.

After Putin praised Trump on Thursday as "bright and talented" and "the absolute leader of the presidential race," the billionaire trumpeted Putin's praise as a "great honor" and even shrugged off widespread allegations that the Russian president has ordered the killing of journalists and political dissidents.

"He's running his country and at least he's a leader, unlike what we have in this country," Trump said Friday morning on MSNBC. "I think our country does plenty of killing also."

Mitt Romney, who called Russia America's top geopolitical foe during the 2012 presidential race, took to Twitter to slam Trump on Friday.

"Important distinction: thug Putin kills journalists and opponents; our presidents kill terrorists and enemy combatants," Romney tweeted.

John Kasich's campaign went so far as to release a mock press release Saturday announcing that Trump named Putin as his running mate, dubbing the two a "dictatorial duo."

Trump on Saturday shrugged off the criticism from other Republicans, saying, "They're jealous as hell because he's not mentioning" them.

"If he (Putin) says something positive, that's a good thing. That's not a bad thing. They try and turn it around and it's not to be turned around. This would be good, this would be a great start," Trump said, suggesting the U.S. and Russia should work together more closely.

McCain, meanwhile, joked Thursday about Putin's praise of Trump, mocking the pair as "a match made in heaven."

McCain isn't the only one comparing the two men.

A similar style

"Stylistically, they are quite similar," said Masha Gessen, a Russian-American journalist who authored the book "Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin."

"There's a really aggressive posture to both men. Putin respects fighters and he respects aggression and he doesn't respect sort of calm and deliberation," Gessen said. "He wants a manly adversary. He wants somebody he can understand."

Trump and Putin, two men who have carefully crafted their public image over the last two decades, are both known for their blunt manner and bravado.

For Putin, strength is the name of the game and the basis of the image he's cultivated at home and on the international stage.

His press shop has released photos of him doing a range of outdoor activities -- often topless -- from hunting to fishing to horseback riding. And at international forums with foreign leaders, Putin seems to do his best to project a confident air of nonchalance, letting others know he'd rather be elsewhere as he slouches into his chair.

Meanwhile, as Trump entered the presidential race last summer, he immediately sought to project his testosterone-infused candidacy as the image of strength and quickly cast his opponents as "weak" and "low energy."

Building his political rise on one controversial comment after the next, Trump has never backed down.

35 photos: Russian President Vladimir Putin

To hear Trump describe it, his administration's international posture would have echoes of Putin's: a leader defined by his fortitude, brashness and brinkmanship.

As Trump frequently says on the trail, "I would be so tough, you wouldn't believe."

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

And both Trump and Putin appear to view the world through a similar prism: that of a zero sum game full of winners and losers -- and of adversaries lurking around every corner.

"Putin sincerely believes that Russia is surrounded by enemies and the job of a president is to be scary enough to scare them off," Gessen said, adding that Putin embodies a "long Russian tradition" of viewing the outside world as a collection of antagonists.

Trump also sees the U.S. as facing a world of enemies and opponents whose leaders are "much, much smarter" than America's.

"China is killing us. Mexico is killing us. Japan is killing us," Trump has said at numerous rallies over the last six months while talking about trade, one of his primary issues. "They're eating our lunch."

That helps explain why Putin's image -- and the contrast it offers to the more diplomatic-minded President Barack Obama -- appeals to Trump.

Projecting strength

"He's trying to make the point that Putin is strong and it takes somebody strong to deal with him," said Charlie Black, a top adviser to McCain's 2008 presidential bid.

But the connection Trump is seizing on, Black said, ignores Putin's track record -- and the GOP's, consistent since McCain, of eyeing Putin as a bad actor on the world stage.

While George W. Bush had heaped praise on the Russian leader after meeting with him in 2001, making the now much-derided remark that he'd "looked the man in the eye" and "was able to get a sense of his soul," Bush himself later hardened his stance toward Putin and so have Republicans ever since.

"It just goes to show that Donald's a celebrity first and not a serious proposer of policy or observer of the international scene," Black added.

Where Trump does delve into the realm of policy, he finds himself lining up with Putin in some notable international hotspots, especially Syria.

Putin has stepped up Russia's military involvement there in recent months, which many in Washington view as Putin challenging the U.S. presence in the region.

While nearly all of Trump's fellow Republican presidential contenders have slammed Obama as too meek in combatting ISIS and called for boosting U.S. military engagement in Syria, Trump has argued the opposite.

Despite brash rhetoric that he would "bomb the s---t out of ISIS" in Iraq, Trump has argued against deepening American involvement in Syria in favor of a greater role for his new friend in the East.

"Russia wants to get rid of ISIS. We want to get rid of ISIS. Maybe let Russia do it. Let them get rid of ISIS. What the hell do we care?" Trump said in September in a "60 Minutes" interview that aired alongside the program's interview with Putin -- a joint appearance that Trump has repeatedly referenced on the campaign trail, calling himself "stablemates" with Putin.

But Russian bombing runs have largely hit non-ISIS rebels and Putin's government hasn't sought to conceal its primary objective in Syria: bolstering the regime of Syrian President Bashar el-Assad, who is accused of barrel bombing his own people and committing widespread war crimes. That hasn't sat well with the Obama administration, which has called for Assad's removal.

And in Ukraine, where Russia has taken an aggressive posture supporting separatist rebels after first annexing Crimea, Trump has also called for a lighter U.S. footprint despite the bulk of his party urging stronger action there.

Trump on Friday argued that the U.S. should "do a little following" in Ukraine -- where the U.S. has sought to back up Kiev in the face of Moscow's aggression -- calling instead for European allies like Germany to take up a leadership role.

Germany, though, has been one of the central players in brokering a peace settlement in the conflict. Trump's statement also ignores Washington's concerns that Russian aggression, if left unchecked, could push further, threatening key Eastern European allies like Poland.

In both Syria and Ukraine, Trump's foreign policy proposals could leave Putin with a freer hand.

"Why wouldn't Putin like him?," said Leon Aron, the top Russia adviser to Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential bid. "Here's a man who knows nothing about Russian history, Putin's trajectory, Putin's domestic politics, what happened since 2000 in Russia when Putin took over and who presumably concentrates only on what he reads in the headlines."

He concluded, "That would be a wonderful U.S. president for Russia to have."

Silently protesting Muslim woman ejected from Trump rally

A Muslim woman wearing a hijab was escorted out of Donald Trump's campaign event on Friday by police after she stood up in silent protest during Trump's speech.

Rose Hamid, a 56-year-old flight attendant sitting in the stands directly behind Trump, stood up Friday during Trump's speech when the Republican front-runner suggested that Syrian refugees fleeing war in Syria were affiliated with ISIS.

Trump has previously called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S.

Despite her silence, Trump supporters around her began chanting Trump's name -- as instructed by Trump campaign staff before the event in case of protests -- and pointed at Hamid and Marty Rosenbluth, the man alongside her who stood up as well.

As they were escorted out, Trump supporters roared -- booing the pair and shouting at them to "get out." One person shouted, "You have a bomb, you have a bomb," according to Hamid.

"The ugliness really came out fast and that's really scary," Hamid told CNN in a phone interview after she was ejected.

Major Steven Thompson of the Rock Hill Police Department told CNN Hamid was kicked out of the event because the campaign told him beforehand that "anybody who made any kind of disturbance" should be escorted out.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment asking why Hamid was escorted out of the venue.

After Hamid and three others, all wearing stars reminiscent of those worn by Jews during the Holocaust, were escorted out by police and Trump campaign officials, Trump commented on the disturbance.

"There is hatred against us that is unbelievable," Trump said. "It's their hatred, it's not our hatred."

Before the event, Hamid told CNN that she didn't plan to shout or disrupt the event -- she simply wanted to give Trump supporters a glimpse of what Muslims are like.

"I figured that most Trump supporters probably never met a Muslim so I figured that I'd give them the opportunity to meet one," she said, wearing a shirt that read "Salam, I come in peace." "I really don't plan to say anything. I don't want to be disrespectful but if he says something that I feel needs answering I might -- we'll just see what strikes me."

Hamid joined a group of people -- some friends, others strangers -- who wanted to silently protest Trump's Islamophobic proposals.

Several of those other people attended Trump's rally in Aiken, South Carolina, last month, including Jibril Hough.

Unlike Hamid, Hough did not stay silent, shouting "Islam is not the problem" as Trump spoke about radical Islamic extemism.

Despite her early exit, Hamid did manage to speak with the Trump supporters sitting around her in the stands, several of whom held her hand and said "sorry" as she was forced to leave the venue.

"The people around me who I had an opportunity to talk with were very sweet," she said. "The people I did not make contact with, the people who Trump influenced were really nasty."

One woman Hamid spoke with in line remarked that she "didn't look scary," but "like a good one."

"People don't have a chance to see anything other than the Muslims they see on TV," Hamid said, pointing to footage of terrorists and Islamist militants.

Hamid said before the event that she was not concerned for her safety, explaining her ardent belief that "people are mostly decent."

After her chaotic exit, Hamid remained optimistic about the character of most people -- even those who shouted at her to "get out" -- instead blaming Trump's heated rhetoric and outsized influence.

"This demonstrates how when you start dehumanizing the other it can turn people into very hateful, ugly people," she said. "It needs to be known."

5 Free Online Marketing Tools for New Entrepreneurs on a Budget

Peter Drucker, otherwise known as the father of business consulting, once famously said:
“Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two – and only two – basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs.”
For new entrepreneurs on a budget, there’s always this dilemma: What if there’s not enough dollars to spend on marketing?
Looking into what free marketing tools can do is an option to consider.
Here are five to get you started:

Bitrix24

CRM, email management, client management, telemarketing, quotes, invoices, file sharing – there’s a ton of things involved in marketing.
If you’re the modern marketer, you know the importance of having technology on your side to automate certain tasks and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
But … freelancer management, email marketing, telemarketing, CRM, file sharing, task tracking, internal communication, collaboration – that’s a lot of tools to worry about!
Enter Bitrix24, a social collaboration platform equipped with 35+ work tools to help with your marketing efforts.
It comes with:

• an activity stream so your entire team is on the same page as to the status of your marketing activities,
• CRM for client and contact management,
• time in/time out functionality to track logged hours,
• chat and video tools,
• task templates,
• reports,
• document management system,
• calendars,
• and so much more.

Bitrix24 is free for up to 12 team members and 5 GB of online storage. The Standard plan for unlimited users and 100 GB of storage is at $99 per month. 

Instapage

Landing pages are an essential part of a winning inbound marketing strategy.
You don’t only want qualified traffic to your site; you also want your visitors to convert into leads, then, paying customers, and ultimately, brand ambassadors.
And that’s what landing pages help to accomplish.
Instapage allows marketers, regardless of their design know-how, to create functional landing pages within minutes.
Its template library carries 70+ landing page designs you can customize at will, and its WYSIWYG editor lets you instantly visualize how your landing page would look like.
The app has the necessary tools to effectively A/B test your landing pages, and ready-made integrations with business tools such as MailChimp, Google Analytics, Qualaroo, Salesforce, and Twitter make it easy to gain insights into your customer base.
Instapage has a completely freemium option, and paid plans depend on your monthly unique visitors.

MailChimp

It’s one of those rare things that people claim to have lived and died, and lived yet again.
Email isn’t dead, and email marketing is very much alive and well, as evidenced by the following statistics:

• For every $1 investment on email marketing , the average ROI is $44.25. (Source: Email Expert)
• 73% of marketers consider email marketing as core to their businesses. (Source: Salesforce)
• According to 40% of B2B marketers, leads generated via email marketing are high quality. (Source: Mark the Marketer)

MailChimp is an email marketing service that:

• enables you to design your email newsletters,
• send and save your email templates,
• perform A/B testing to identify the best techniques or email formats,
• gauge your email marketing performance through reports, among others.

The app is yours to use forever as long as you have fewer than 2,000 subscribers. Up to 12,000 emails can also be sent per month. 

Bananatag 

You sent a prospective client an email. A week and two follow-ups later, you’re still not getting any reply.
You don’t want anybody, let alone a prospect, to brand you as the obnoxious type, so you decide against sending another follow-up.
Still … whatever the heck happened to your emails?
Bananatag is an email tracking service that takes the guesswork out of the emails you send by notifying you of opens and clicks.
When an email is opened, you know that:

• first, your email was successfully delivered,
• and second, your email subject line did what it’s supposed to.

When a link is clicked, you know that your message has been acted upon.
Bananatag offers three options to track your emails: Gmail or Google Apps, Microsoft Outlook, and all other email clients including mobile email.
The app is free for up to five email tags per day. Paid plans start at $5 per month for up to 100 tags per day. 

Pixabay 

Just how important are images to your content?
As per this infographic by MDG Advertising:

• Articles with relevant images generate 94% more views than those without.
• In selecting and purchasing products on an ecommerce site, 67% of consumers say that the product image’s quality is “very important.”
• 60% of consumers are highly likely to contact a business with an image showing up in local search results.

And then, there’s harnessing the power of photo-sharing sites like Pinterest and Instagram.
So yes, without a doubt, images are very important.
Pixabay is an international community that shares public domain images. It’s where you can obtain high-quality copyright-free images to accompany your blog posts, articles, and other content.
The site carries 380,000+ free images that you can use in printed or digital form, and even for commercial purposes.

Final word

While it’s true that you can’t afford to scrimp on your marketing spending to get the word out about your product or service, it’s also true that what you don’t have you can’t spend.
Until you have some serious cash to fund your online marketing initiatives, the above free tools are worth looking into.

Islamic State terrorist group sympathizer shoots Philadelphia cop in 'chilling' ambush

 
A man claiming allegiance to the Islamic State extremist group shot and seriously wounded a policeman in Philadelphia, opening fire multiple times at point-blank range with a stolen police gun before he was arrested, officials said Friday.

The apparent assassination attempt comes amid heightened security in the United States following last month's assault by a radicalized Muslim couple in California that killed 14 people, and the November terror attacks in Paris.

Policeman Jesse Hartnett, 33, was shot three times in his left arm as he sat in his patrol car late Thursday in the northeastern city. "I'm shot. I'm bleeding heavily," he yelled in a dispatch call.

Authorities said they were astonished he survived.

Philadelphia police commissioner Richard Ross called the attack "absolutely chilling" and described the officer's injuries as "very, very serious."
Stills captured from video surveillance and released to the press show the suspect opening fire as he walks towards the patrol car, extending his arm into the vehicle and then continuing to fire as he flees on foot.
"If that doesn't just make the hairs on your neck just rise when you see that, it's scary," Ross told reporters.

This photo obtained January 8, 2016 courtesy of the Philadelphia Police Department, shows shooting s …

The officer got out of his vehicle, despite being injured, and managed to return fire, hitting the suspect, who was quickly arrested.

"He stated that he pledges his allegiance to Islamic State, follows Allah and that is the reason he was called upon to do this," homicide police Captain James Clark told a news conference.

Police said the suspect, named as Edward Archer, 30, has a criminal record, but that it was unclear whether he acted alone or as part of a wider conspiracy.

"He doesn't appear to be a stupid individual, just an extremely violent one," said Ross.

Ross, said he was "absolutely amazed" that Hartnett, an officer with five years experience, had survived. "This man fired at least 11 shots from a nine millimeter at close range," he said.

- 'Nothing to do with Islam' -

This undated photo obtained January 8, 2016 shows Philadelphia police officer Jesse Harnett (AFP Pho …

Police said it was unclear how the suspect obtained the firearm, which was stolen from police in October 2013.
"That is one of the things that you absolutely regret the most, that an officer's gun is stolen and it is used against one of your own," Ross said.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney praised Harnett's bravery but urged people to draw no link between the criminal act and Islam.
"That is abhorrent, it's terrible and it does not represent the religion in any way, shape or form or any of its teachings," Kenney said.
"This is a criminal with a stolen gun trying to kill one of our officers. It has nothing to do with being a Muslim."
Thursday's shooting is likely to raise further concerns about the threat posed by homegrown extremists within the United States, inspired to act by IS jihadists based in Iraq and Syria.
Muslim community activists have already decried what they call an unprecedented anti-Muslim backlash in the wake of the Paris attacks.

Elsewhere on Friday, two suspects with alleged ties to the IS group were due to appear in court in California and Texas.

Aws Mohammed Younis al-Jayab, an Iraqi-born Palestinian, was arrested on Thursday and came to the United States from Syria as a refugee in 2012.

He is accused of fighting in Syria for various terror groups.

Another Iraqi-born Palestinian, Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, was due to make an initial court appearance after being indicted in Texas for providing material support to the IS group.

The head of the FBI, James Comey, told lawmakers last year that upwards of 200 Americans have traveled or attempted to travel to Syria to join IS extremists.

LeBron questions Curry’s status as NBA’s top point guard

It was meant as praise for Kyrie Irving’s 32-point outburst in the Cavaliers’ win Wednesday night over the Wizards.
But what came out of LeBron James’ mouth was nothing less than questioning whether Stephen Curry — reigning MVP, unparalleled maestro of the 33-2 Warriors, league-leading scorer at 29 points per game — really is the NBA’s top point guard.
James said of Irving, via ESPN: “He’s, if not the best, one or two best point guards in our league along with Steph.”
Irving scored 21 of his season-best 32 in the fourth quarter, including 10 in a row at one point. “It was nuts,” said J.R. Smith.
Can you blame James for getting excited about Irving’s most dynamic showing in his seven-games-deep return from offseason knee surgery, after floundering without the 23-year-old playmaker in the Cavs’ NBA Finals loss to the Warriors last June? Not exactly.
Can you blame him for playing mind games with Curry, who has supplanted James in many observers’ estimates of the top NBA player, period, and whose Warriors loom above the Cavs in anyone’s power rankings? Come to think of it, guess that’s another no.
Russell Westbrook might have something to say about this point guard pecking order, too, by the way.

6 Ways a relationship can actually work better the second time around

What actually makes an on-again-off-again relationship finally work 

 

Sometimes we fall in love, it doesn't work out, and everyone's fine to leave it at that. However, occasionally, one or both parties can't quite let the other go completely.

This often results in years of wondering what would have happened if you had tried to work things out and stayed together? Wondering then turns into pining, and then suddenly, that person becomes your Moby Dick. The one that got away.

After years of ruminating on this past relationship, many couples opt to give it another go, and surprisingly, a lot of them make it for the long haul this time. According to Dr. Jane Greer, New York-based relationship expert and author of What About Me? Stop Selfishness From Ruining Your Relationship, they last about 40 percent of the time. That's a pretty large percentage when you consider how many people give it another go for the wrong reasons.
But what does it mean to get back together for the right reasons? How do you know it's going to work out this time? Relationship experts Dr. Greer and Hunt Ethridge along with a number of happy second time around couples have some great advice on the subject.

1. You have to realize their importance in your life

Getting back together with someone just because you miss them is not nearly strong enough of a reason. Dr. Greer told SheKnows, "There must be an awareness of how much the person means to you and how important they are in your life. You have to realize how attached you are to them, and that you want to continue to share your life and be involved with them. This awareness is crucial because it will motivate you to work harder the second time and be more willing to compromise and respond to each other's needs."

2. Time (and maturity) can change everything

For some couples who got together when they were young, sometimes a chunk of time passing can be enough to wipe the slate clean, so to speak. Jessica, an attorney from California told us, "Currently creeping up on a very wonderful year with a girl I dated 10 years ago in college. So far so great. Pretty much everything is way better when you're not two moron babies in your early 20s..."

3. You need to fix what wasn't working before

The only way a rekindled romance lasts is if both parties address the thing that made them break up in the first place. Hunt Ethridge, an international dating and relationship expert, said, "Whatever it was that wasn't working before needs to be fixed. That can be timing, emotional maturity, distance, an individual failure (cheating, lack of connection, etc.) or just the unfortunate slow death of romance." If the original problem isn't attended to, the new relationship will likely fall apart as quickly as it blossomed.

4. The rubber band effect

Full disclosure: This is how my fiancé and I got back together. We dated on and off throughout college and for a little bit afterwards. Then we split because he had to go "find himself" in Europe. A year after his return, we saw each other at a wedding, and everything clicked back into place. Eight years later, he popped the question, and now we're getting married in October.
Ethridge calls this "the "rubber band effect" of one person seeking out greener pastures, or not thinking that they are truly meant to be together, and then realizing what they had that they had given up, regretting it and snapping back stronger and more sure than they had before. Many times this can be the wake-up call that truly makes someone sure that this is the person that they want to be with."

5. You can't go back, only forward

According to Ethridge, "If you want to try to rekindle something, you have to start at the beginning again. Many times, couples try to jump back to where they left off, without going back and trying to patch the holes that caused it to fracture." Simply put, you have to want to build off of what you had, not go back and try to recreate the "good" parts of your past relationship without acknowledging the bad.

Catherine, a New York film editor told us, "My ex and I got back together after two years apart, but it was really just because we were both lonely. Neither of us were really willing to put in the work, we just wanted to be reminded of the good times we had together. The relationship lasted about a month."

6. Communication is key

If you're not willing to talk out the nitty gritty of the breakup, why you did the things you did and what you're going to do differently from now on, you might as well not even bother trying again. Dr. Greer says, "There also must be a level of trust that they'll communicate as openly and honestly as possible moving forward." For many couples, a lack of honesty is a part of what broke them up in the first place, so if that doesn't improve, you can assume the relationship won't either.

Israel police says Tel Aviv gunman killed in police shootout

An Arab gunman who killed three Israelis in Tel Aviv last week was killed on Friday in a shootout with police, following a massive manhunt that put Israelis on edge while the killer was on the loose.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the gunman "was found in a building" on Friday. She said he came out shooting at the special forces and "was then shot and killed."

The gunman was identified earlier as Nashat Milhem, an Arab from the northern Israel. He opened fire at a bar on a busy street in Tel Aviv last Friday, killing two people and wounding several others. He later also shot and killed an Arab taxi driver.
The incident came amid more than three months of near-daily Palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers.
Samri said Milhem had opened fire at the police with the same gun he used in the attacks in Tel Aviv. Police said Milhem was found near the Arab village of Arara in northern Israel where he is from.
Hakim Younis told Channel 10 TV that he witnessed some of the incident from his home.
"I was sitting on my balcony with my cousin ... when suddenly, shooting began, hundreds of bullets, like in a war," Younis said, adding that he then went inside and didn't see anything further.
Israelis are used to quickly resuming their daily routines following attacks because assailants are usually swiftly captured or killed. But the Tel Aviv shootings left Israelis jittery because Milhem, who was considered armed and dangerous, was on the loose for a week.

Milhelm's relatives had said he was "traumatized" after a cousin was shot dead in a 2006 police arrest raid. At the time, police said they were searching for weapons and claimed the shooting was in self-defense.

Milhelm served time in an Israeli prison after being convicted of attacking a soldier and trying to steal his weapon. But he was also described by residents of the upscale Tel Aviv neighborhood where he worked as a grocery store delivery man as being well-liked and trusted.

Israeli Arabs, who make up a fifth of the country's 8.4 million people, enjoy full rights but have long complained of unfair treatment in areas such as housing and employment opportunities. Many identify more with their Palestinian brethren in the West Bank and Gaza and with Palestinian nationalism rather than with Israel.

The near-daily Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers have killed 21 Israelis, mostly in stabbings, shootings and car-ramming assaults. At least 134 Palestinians died by Israeli fire, including 93 said by Israel to be attackers. The rest were killed in clashes with troops. These figures do not include Milhelm's victims.

Grandmother gives birth to her own grandchild at age 54

Mom gives birth to her daughter's baby in ultimate gift of love

Here’s all the proof you need that miracles do happen — medical miracles, at least. A 54-year-old Texas woman has successfully given birth to her own granddaughter, serving as a surrogate for her daughter and husband, who could not conceive.

After three years of trying to conceive naturally, Kelley McKissack, 28, and her husband were ready to try infertility treatments. While McKissack was able to conceive three times through these treatments, all her pregnancies ended in miscarriage, with the last falling on Christmas 2014. Unable to find any medical explanation for why she couldn’t carry a pregnancy to term, McKissack turned to her mother, Tracey Thompson, for support. Thompson offered to serve as a surrogate for her daughter and was successfully impregnated with one of the couple's remaining four fertilized embryos from their last round of in vitro. Thompson, who had to undergo hormone therapy to conceive in her postmenopausal state, gave birth to her granddaughter, Kelcey, on Jan. 6.
Even sweeter, Kelcey’s name is a combination of Mom's and Grandma's names, "Tracey" and "Kelley."
Surrogacy often makes the news, but never for such a beautiful reason as this. In most cases of surrogacy, we see an unfortunate legal battle because of the murky and often contradictory surrogacy laws overseas and state to state. In this story, we see one of those rare cases of surrogacy success, where a relative was not only willing but able to successfully conceive a child for another member of the family.

When you think about the fact that upward of 6 percent of married women are unable to get pregnant after one year of trying, it makes sense that family members are so willing to participate. We’ve seen several standout cases like Thompson’s before, where grandmothers have served as surrogates for daughters struggling with infertility and have even birthed twins. Sisters as surrogates are another increasingly common occurrence.
While these stories present a touching and often tear-jerking picture, it’s not so easy to get from point A to point B, even if it’s a family member offering to carry a baby for you. Securing a traditional surrogate is a long and arduous process that often requires the intervention of a surrogacy agency. Using a family member as a surrogate still requires lengthy communication and legal guidance, and on top of that, there’s still no guarantee a surrogate will conceive.

Writing for The Organization of Parents Through Surrogacy, Shelley M. Tarnoff, JD, LMFCC, agrees that a family member who offers up their “oven” may seem like a dream come true — not to mention a money-saver. Still, Tarnoff cautions, a successful surrogacy agreement with a family member should include some kind of reimbursement or compensation and will require a written agreement that details guardianship rights. Family counseling is also recommended. New Beginnings Surrogacy Services of New Jersey says a surrogacy agency can also facilitate this process with a family member to make sure a surrogacy contract is up to standard.
As with any surrogacy agreement, laws governing the use of a family member as a surrogate will vary greatly from state to state. The Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine agrees that using a family member as a sperm donor or surrogate can be ethical in many cases, with a few exceptions, where sister-for-brother or daughter-for-father gestational surrogacy may be frowned upon.

Successful surrogacy with a family member can be a beautiful thing, as long as all the legalities and medical concerns are taken care of leading up to the main event. As we saw in Thompson’s case, the family member who is willing to go this distance for a loved one — and cut through the red tape — is truly giving one of life’s most precious gifts.

 

What are the Saudis up to with those executions? Regional dominance

Saudi Arabia had a difficult year. Despite Saudi Arabia’s best efforts at restoring order in neighboring Yemen, the Kingdom’s efforts to pummel its way to peace have largely failed. Near Saudi Arabia’s northern borders, Syria and Iraq continue to struggle through maddening states of chaos and civil war. Internally, Saudi Arabia is battling domestic terror cells, ISIS recruiters, and Shiite protesters. Finally, its American partner, in Saudi Arabia’s eyes, all but abandoned the Kingdom by signing the nuclear deal that resulted in greater economic and political power for its long time rival, Iran.

Saudi Arabia’s recent executions and the subsequent tension with its rival, Iran, were calculated moves, designed to send a clear message to opponents at home and abroad that Saudi Arabia remains in control. Simultaneously, the executions forced Iran to engage in a no longer subtle political battle for regional dominance.

The 47 executions carried out last Saturday in Saudi Arabia came as a surprise. After Saudi Arabia’s year of difficulties, its controversial decision left many puzzled as to why the Saudis would exacerbate existing sectarian tensions. It was the largest round of executions in Saudi Arabia since 1980, though received worldwide attention because Saudi Arabia’s prominent Shiite cleric, and accused Iranian sympathizer, Nimr al-Nimr was among those executed.

For Saudi Arabia, the executions served a dual purpose. First, Saudi Arabia sent a strong message to all opposition within the Kingdom. It does not matter who you are or where you come from if you are compromising national security. Among those convicted were dozens of Sunnis, four Shiites, an Al Qaeda ideologue, an Egyptian, and a Chadian, among others. The Saudis’ bold move was likely offensive, determined to quell any notions of a weak government, with ISIS attacking Shiites, recruiting conservatives in the Kingdom, and trying to delegitimize the Al-Saud monarchy while Shiite protesters demonstrated in the Eastern Provinces. Coupled with sagging oil prices and a newly shuffled, and younger, redistribution of power in the government, the Saudis needed to send a clear signal to resistance movements within the Kingdom: opposition to the royal family will not stand. Saudi Arabia’s primary goal remains protecting the regime.

Second, Saudi Arabia’s decision signaled to Iran that Saudi Arabia would challenge any increase in Iranian influence, despite its new deal with the United States. As Saudi Arabia likely predicted, the U.S. security relationship with Saudi Arabia remained unchanged after the executions, with weapons sales moving forward and intelligence cooperation in full swing. Saudi Arabia recognizes its unique, critical role in assisting U.S. military efforts in the region. Saudi Arabia’s decision also emphasized the widening political crevice between the U.S. and the Kingdom, with Saudi authorities blatantly pursuing their national security interests without regard to U.S. interests, regional repercussions, or human rights. While the political divide has undoubtedly widened in the years after 9/11, the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the U.S. pivot to Asia, Saudi Arabia was particularly unnerved by the U.S. deal with Iran, leaving the Saudis doubting the loyalty of its longtime partner. The Saudis hoped a bold statement would force the U.S. to show its support for the Kingdom or risk Saudi opposition.

What the House of Saud underestimated was the strength of Shiite backlash. Incensed by al-Nimr’s death, Iranians stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran and the consulate in Mashad. In Bahrain, a minority Sunni-led nation, Shiite activists protested by burning tires and hurling petrol bombs. In Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, Shiites demonstrated nightly. Pakistani and Indian Shiites, too, protested in the streets of Karachi and Srinagar. Widespread Shiite outrage left sectarian tensions simmering and governments scrambling to restore peace. Intentionally provoking the Shiite community in Saudi Arabia indicates either a warning about repercussions for opposition leaders or an attempt to identify remaining opposition cells.

In contrast, to protest the storming of the Saudi embassies, the Sunni-led nations of Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE, recalled their ambassadors from Tehran, while Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Sudan cut diplomatic ties with Iran. The clearly divided sectarian lines in the region today are neither eternal nor inherent to Islam, but rather a result of strategic political maneuvering created by power vacuums in the last few decades. Iran and more recently Saudi Arabia have risen as the strongest leaders of the two political, albeit sectarian camps.

Saudi Arabia’s short-term strategy of provoking Iran before it becomes economically stronger, post sanctions, aids its long-term strategy of regional dominance. After nearly a decade of proxy wars and funding rebel groups and regimes in Iraq and Syria, Saudi Arabia accelerated its competition for regional dominance. The recent chain of events and resulting tension can only be viewed in the context of a regional power dispute. For the first time since the early 2000s, Iran is on a path to economic resurgence, while Saudi Arabia’s oil-dependent economy is struggling. Saudi Arabia’s message and the strong show of Sunni Arab support suggests the nascent formation of a Sunni coalition responding to growing Iranian influence. The Saudis are striking while Iran attempts to rise. How Iran and its Shiite partners respond will determine whether the ripples caused by Saudi Arabia’s executions become a regional tidal wave.
The U.S. has remained relatively neutral, evidenced by Secretary Kerry’s calls to leaders from both nations. This is not the United States’ fight. However, the repercussions of a widening rift between Sunni and Shiite-led nations may significantly affect efforts for peace in Syria and Iraq. U.S. leaders should continue to push for diplomatic engagement, as there are few if any candidates from the Middle East who are able to act as a neutral mediator in a political conflict divided by sectarian lines. Withholding arms or defense cooperation from Saudi Arabia would only cause further withdrawal from the Saudis. Reneging on the Iran deal is not a politically viable option. Appealing to Iran’s desire to rejoin the international community is the best option available: a UN-led call for peace between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the best way for Iran to save face, gain goodwill, and achieve its short-term goals of economic reintegration into the global economy. The U.S. should focus its efforts on building a diverse coalition committed to reinstating a tenuous peace between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Khloé Kardashian reveals where she and Lamar Odom stand

Khloé Kardashian gets candid on her thoughts about Lamar Odom's recovery

 

Khloé Kardashian shares an update about estranged husband Lamar Odom's recovery.

Lamar Odom continues to fight for his life and his estranged wife, Khloé Kardashian, is proud of him for it.
According to People, while talking to reporters at a TCA panel promoting her upcoming FYI network talk show Kocktails with Khloé, she said, "Because it's not my story to tell, I try to respect that and I want him to be able to tell that story. I'm just there to support and care for him." She added that Odom is "doing amazing."
"I'm so proud of the strength that he has to fight this battle that's his battle and I'm so grateful for everybody's love and concern, because I think it is coming from a good place," Kardashian said.
Odom was found unconscious in a Nevada brothel in October. Kardashian rushed to the hospital and helped transport him to Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles. Since their divorce wasn't final at the time of the incident, Kardashian has been overseeing Odom's care and recovery.
Kardashian's update on Odom's health comes as a source told People that Odom will soon be moving to a live-in rehabilitation center.
"The plan is for him to move in the next few days," the source said. "At the center, Lamar will continue to receive amazing therapy. He still has many challenges but is making progress. He is a fighter!"
Odom was reportedly near death back in October, so it's amazing that he's been able to recover. It sounds like the road ahead will still be tough, but after spending Christmas with his kids, and with Kardashian in his corner, it looks like he's well poised to make a comeback and inspire many others.

 

Syria jihadist 'kills mother' after she asked him to leave IS

An Islamic State jihadist killed his mother in a public square in the Syrian city of Raqa who begged him to leave the organisation, a monitor said Friday.

Ali Saqr, 20, had reported his mother, Lina, to IS authorities in Raqa "because she tried to persuade him to leave IS and flee the city," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Authorities subsequently arrested the woman and accused her of apostasy, the monitoring group said.

On Wednesday, she was shot to death by her son "in front of hundreds of people close to the mail service building in Raqa city," the Observatory added.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said the woman, who was in her forties, was living in the nearby town of Tabaqa but worked in Raqa city.
The incident was widely condemned online by social media users.
Raqa is the de facto Syrian capital of IS's so-called "caliphate," the territories it controls in Syria and Iraq where it imposes its harsh interpretations of Islamic law.
Among the crimes that warrant a death sentence in IS territories are homosexuality, "exposing jihadist genitalia," adultery and intercourse with animals, according to the Observatory.
Other acts punishable by death range from blocking roads to "betraying Muslims" and working with anti-IS groups including the "crusader" US-led coalition.
Even capturing and torturing an anti-IS activist or fighter without proper authorisation from jihadist authorities could be met with a death sentence.
But in IS-held territories, using child soldiers and "owning slaves", which are typically sexually abused, are both legal.
And the extremist group has been accused of carrying out mass killings, torture, rape and sexual slavery.
A US-led coalition has been striking the jihadists in Syria and Iraq for over a year.

More than 260,000 people have been killed in Syria's war since it erupted in March 2011.

US missile disappears, turns up in Cuba: WSJ

A US Hellfire missile has turned up in Cuba after going missing in a fiasco that has left American officials worried the technology may be shared with China, Russia or North Korea, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Though the missile was not carrying a warhead, the alarming diversion while it was in transit from Europe has spurred US investigators to probe whether its arrival on the communist island was the result of criminal activity or merely a series of mistakes, according to the newspaper.

And despite a historic thaw in ties with Cuba over the past year, Washington has been unsuccessful in its push to get the missile back, the WSJ said, citing unnamed sources.

It reported that American officials were not concerned that Cuba would take apart the Hellfire -- an air-to-ground missile often carried by helicopters -- but were worried that Havana would share the technology with US rivals China and Russia, as well as North Korea.

The missile's far-flung journey began in early 2014 when it was sent from Orlando International Airport by arms firm Lockheed Martin to Spain, where it was used in a NATO military exercise.

From Spain it began a journey that was supposed to see it arrive back in the United States, and was passed between several shipping firms on the first leg of its trip.

- Flying to Havana -
Officials loading a flight that was to carry the missile out of Madrid first noticed that it was missing, the Journal said.
They then determined that it had been put on a truck operated by Air France, which took it to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, where it was loaded onto one of the company's flights to Cuba.

By the time the missile was tracked down, it was already en route to Havana where an official noticed the labeling on its crate and seized it.

Lockheed Martin notified the State Department of the incident when it realized the missile was missing around June 2014, the WSJ said.

The US Justice Department is investigating the matter.

If the missile was purposefully diverted to Havana, the incident could be a violation of the Arms Export Control Act and even sanction laws against Cuba, the Journal said.

The bungled missile delivery comes with Washington and Havana working to build on their restoration of full diplomatic relations, a move first announced in December 2014.

The United States and Cuba formally restored diplomatic relations in July and re-opened embassies in each other's capitals.
Obama said he had made the decision because he concluded that 50 years of trying to encourage democratic and economic change in Cuba through isolation had failed.

It also comes with the US pushing for greater pressure on North Korea over an alleged hydrogen bomb test this month, and with Washington at loggerheads with Moscow and Beijing over a litany of issues ranging from the civil war in Syria and the conflict in Ukraine to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

Special Forces Raiding Islamic State Positions, Says Iraqi Official

Foreign special forces, reported by Arab media to be U.S. troops, have been carrying out raids against Islamic State targets near Hawija, Iraq, Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Salim al-Jabouri told Reuters. “These operations are bearing fruit,” Jabouri said, saying that they were done in collaboration with Iraqi forces and part of a plan to prepare for larger operations to retake Mosul.

A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition denied that U.S. Special Forces are involved in the strikes. The claim is part of an “Iranian disinformation” campaign and U.S. forces have been involved in direct action since a raid on an Islamic State prison in October, Col. Steve Warren told reporters.

Saudi Arabia Considering Selling Shares of Oil Producer

Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest producer of crude oil, issued a statement yesterday confirming that it is considering an initial public offering of shares in the company. The prospect was first mentioned by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in an interview in the Economist published on Wednesday. “I believe it is in the interest of the Saudi market, and it is in the interest of Aramco, and it is for the interest of more transparency, and to counter corruption, if any, that may be circling around Aramco,” he said. The company could be worth as much as $2.5 trillion, according to financial analysts.

Headlines

• Turkish police raided an Istanbul office of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), a major opposition party with a pro-Kurdish platform, and detained several party officials; Turkish press said the raid was part of a crackdown on elements of the Kurdish Workers’ Party, which is a designated as a terrorist group.

• The Syrian government has agreed to allow aid from the U.N. World Food Programme to reach the besieged city of Madaya, where much of the population is on the brink of starvation; food supplies could reach the city as early as Monday.

• Residents of Sanaa, Yemen, said that the city is being bombarded with the heaviest airstrikes of the war this week after Saudi Arabia concluded a ceasefire earlier this week; Human Rights Watch issued a new report documenting the use of cluster bombs, which are banned by most countries, in densely-populated portions of the city.

• Syrian opposition groups expressed skepticism about upcoming peace talks during a meeting with the U.N.’s Syria envoy and called on the Assad regime to make goodwill gestures, including releasing rebels held prisoner, before the start of negotiations.

• In the group’s latest brutal stunt, the Islamic State staged a public execution in Raqqa in which a 21-year-old recruit killed his own mother because she asked him to leave the terrorist group.

Arguments and Analysis
“A Constitution for Libya: A Futile Debate?” (Fadel Lamen and Karim Mezran, MENASource)
“The fear of repeating this mistake should compel Libya’s political elite and its foreign advisors to pause and reflect — without rushing to empower one actor over the others. Unfortunately, given the volatile security climate, a broad, inclusive debate on the terms of citizenship is practically impossible. Still, for the sake of the success of the UN-led negotiation and the establishment of the new government to bring order and security in the country, a point of reference to unite all Libyans around a shared identity should be found. The national anthem and the flag chosen the day after the revolution of 2011 represent a positive start, but remain insufficient. The Constitutional Declaration enacted by the provisional National Transitional Council in August 2011 — rushed and redacted to fill the post-Qaddafi void — also lacks the transparency or inclusiveness needed to provide a unifying reference point. The 1951 Constitution, as amended by Law No. 1 of 1963 which repealed the federal character of the political system and declared the Kingdom of Libya, does offer an opportunity around which Libyans could rally.”

“What is the future of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State?” (Barak Mendelsohn, Markaz)

“Rather than pursue an economic plan that would guarantee the caliphate’s survival, the Islamic State has linked its economic viability to its military expansion. At present, ISIS relies on taxing its population and oil sales to support its flailing economy. But these financial resources cannot sustain a state, particularly one bent on simultaneously fighting multiple enemies on numerous fronts. Ironically, rather than taming its aspirations, the Islamic State sees conquest as the way to promote its state-building goals. Its plan for growing the economy is based on the extraction of resources through military expansion. While this plan worked well at first—when the Islamic State faced weak enemies — it is not a viable solution any longer, as the self-declared caliphate can no longer expand fast enough to meet its needs. Consequently, this strategy is undermining ISIS rather than strengthening it.”