US Interceptor Missile Shot Down ICBM Over Pacific

(Courtney Kube’s article direct from The NBC NEWS on 29 May 2017.)

US interceptor missile launched from Vandenberg Air Base.

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon successfully tested a U.S. long-range interceptor missile over the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday in an exercise aimed at helping gauge American readiness to counter a potential threat from North Korea.

During the test, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency launched an interceptor rocket from an underground silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The interceptor hit and destroyed an intercontinental-range missile fired from a test site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific, the Pentagon announced.

U.S. Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. Jim Syring called the test a "critical milestone" in a statement. "This system is vitally important to the defense of our homeland, and this test demonstrates that we have a capable, credible deterrent against a very real threat. I am incredibly proud of the warfighters who executed this test and who operate this system every day," Syring said.

Hatred Of Women Is (Islam's) Jihadism’s First Pillar

(Nina Burleigh’s article direct from The NEWSWEEK on 10 January 2016.)

Conservatives, jihadis and atheist Islamophobes often preach that we are engaged in a war of civilizations between the post-Enlightenment West and Islamic religious extremists. Such apocalyptic talk only feeds the Islamic State (ISIS) death-cult’s recruitment.

A meme with the national security punditocracy on jihadis is that they hate our freedom. Of course, the vast majority of Muslims on the planet are not at war with the West. On the contrary, tens of millions are voting with their feet right now, for the West.

But there is one of our freedoms that some of the jihadis do want to crush. How many Colognes and Tahrir Squares, how many ISIS sex slave fatwas, how many Afghan and Pakistani schoolgirls shot or threatened, and how many Saudi prison sentences for gang-rape survivors will it take before people start to understand that hatred of feminism is the first pillar of modern jihadism?

Why Do Islamists Kill? Because They Hate Women!

(Douglas Murray’s article direct from The SUN UK on 30 May 2017.)

DOUGLAS MURRAY: Why do Islamists kill? Because they hate women… so where does this hatred come from? It's in Islam's origins and too few people are willing to admit it. EVEN after all these years, all these attacks and all these dead, the West still keeps asking the same question: “Who would do such a thing?”

The answer is always the same. Disdain for women is a constant of Islamic history. Sometimes the culprits are home-grown. Sometimes they are recent arrivals. Sometimes they have been in the West for generations, eat fish and chips and play cricket. Sometimes the perpetrator is a lone wolf, unknown to the authorities. More often it turns out to be a “known wolf”, in the peripheral vision of the security ­services.

Yet still our society wonders: What would make someone do such a thing? The tone of bafflement is strange — like a society that keeps asking a question, but keeps its fingers lodged firmly in its ears whenever it is given the answer.

Leaked Phone Call Script From Trump To Duterte

(Breaking news article direct from The BANGKOK POST on 24 May 2017.)

The following is apparently the full transcript of the phone call initiated April 29 by US President Donald Trump to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The transcript, from a document classified 'Confidential' was first obtained by the website The Inercept.

The transcript below is directly from the Confidential document, including typos, short forms, etc. Note: POTUS is "president of the United States". PRRD is "Philippines Republic [President] Rodrigo Duterte"

PRRD: This is PRRD speaking. Yes, speaking.

US operator : Yes, Sir, just one moment for President Trump pls.

PRRD: Thank you.

23,000 Jihadis In UK: Ready To Die & Kill For Allah

(Jamie Micklethwaite’s article direct from The DAILY STAR UK on 28 May 2017.)

Will anyone believe this is Manchester, not Karachi?

AROUND 23,000 terrorist extremists are currently living in Britain and are poised to attack – according to intelligence figures. More than 3,000 people from this group are being actively monitored and are judged to pose a threat to national security.

The other 20,000 were previously monitored or investigated and are believed to pose a “residual risk”. This news comes after coward Salman Abedi, 22, blew himself up in a sickening suicide bombing at the Manchester Arena on Monday, killing 22 people.

Security minister Ben Wallace told The Times: “The figures reveal the scale of the challenge from terrorism in the 21st century. “Never has to been more important to invest in intelligence-led policing.”

Activist Judges Freeing Muslim Child-Rapists In Europe

(Indra Warnes’s articledirect from The UK EXPRESS on 23 October 2016.)

‘He didn’t know the boy didn’t want to be raped’ court throws out migrant child sex charge: An Iraqi asylum seeker who confessed to anally raping a 10-year-old boy in an Austrian  swimming pool, claiming it was a "sexual emergency", has had his conviction overturned.

In a truly shocking twist the Suptreme Court decided the grown Iraqi man may not have realised the 10-year-old Austrian boy did not want to be sexually abused by him. Amir A, 20, was visiting the Theresienbad pool in the Austrian capital of Vienna last December as part of a trip to encourage integration. When the youngster went to the showers, Amir A. allegedly followed him, pushed him into a toilet cubicle, and violently sexually assaulted him.

Following the attack, the accused rapist returned to the pool and was practising on the diving board when police arrived, after the 10-year-old raised the alarm with the lifeguard. The child suffered severe anal injuries which had to be treated at a local children's hospital, and is still plagued by serious post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mohammad Bin Qasim: The First Pakistani?

(Nadeem Paracha’s article direct from The DAWN Magazine on 12 April 2015.)

The first Pakistani? Ever since the early 1970s, the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), has been frequently organising ‘Yaum Babul Islam’ — an event in which the party celebrates the conquest of Sindh by Arab commander Mohammad Bin Qasim (in the 8th century CE), explaining it as the ‘advent of Islam in South Asia’.

Speakers at this event also describe Qasim as the ‘first Pakistani’ and then trace and place the creation of Pakistan to the arrival of the Arab commander 1,300 years ago. Overplayed or underplayed by historians and scholars, this general from Arabia remains a mystery to many.

Curiously, the JI was originally opposed to the man who actually created Pakistan (in 1947): Mohammad Ali Jinnah. JI’s founder, Abul Ala Maududi, had found Jinnah to be steeped in the ‘Western notion’ of nationalism and too Westernised to deliver and head a Muslim state.

Breast Ironing In UK: As Widespread As FGM In Muslims

(Anthony Bond’s article direct from The MIRROR UK on 10 April 2016.)

Breast-ironing to be banned in UK.

Hundreds of British mums 'breast-ironing' their daughters using red-hot rocks, hammers and spatulas. There are now calls for it to be made a criminal offence after revelations about the barbaric ritual emerged this week

Hundreds of British mums are "breast-ironing" their daughters using (heated) rocks, hammers and spatulas - with an MP now calling for the practice to be made a criminal offence. It is thought more than 1,000 women across the UK have been subjected to the barbaric ritual.

The sickening act is commonplace in parts of Muslim Africa, but those at the ­frontline of child protection say it is also happening in African Muslim communities in the UK. It has now resulted Conservative MP Jake Berry calling for "breast-ironing" to be made a criminal offence.

Manchester: Muslim Suicide-Bomber Killed Many Children

(Breaking news articles direct from various online sources on 23 May 2017.)

Manchester bombing: 22 people dead, 119 injured in suicide attack: At least 22 people, including many children, have died in an explosion outside a concert venue in Manchester, England, which police believe was a suicide bombing attack.

Another 59 people are being treated for injuries in eight hospitals after the suicide-bombing blast just outside the Manchester Arena, where an Ariana Grande concert had just concluded at around 10:30 p.m. local time on Monday. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Reuters.

“We have been treating this as a terrorist incident and we believe, at this stage, the attack last night was conducted by one man. The priority is to establish whether he was acting alone or as part of a network,” Ian Hopkins, chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, said in a statement Tuesday. The police chief said the attacker was carrying an “improvised explosive device” that he detonated at the scene, causing the deaths and injuries. The attacker died at the site, Hopkins confirmed.

Hellish Tales Of Vietnamese Gamblers In Cambodia

(News articles from various online sources in 2016-2017.)

Horror Stories For Vietnamese Gamblers in Cambodia: This past week, disturbing news has emerged from the border town of Bavet in Cambodia, where four employees of the New World Casino & Hotel have been arrested.

The Khmer Times reported that local police confirmed the discovery of a body, which has been identified as 42 year old Vietnamese national. The report goes on to say that the man was discovered in his hotel room at the casino, and that the serious wounds to his throat and body left police in no doubt that he had been murdered.

After further investigations were made, the four employees were arrested. The local police force stated that the deceased had crossed over from Vietnam into Cambodia in order to gamble, and having lost his money, had taken a loan from the suspects currently in custody.

President Pence: Trump’s VP Now Sounds Like Obama

(Three articles from The GATESTONE, SMH, & POLITICO on 21 April & 17 May 2017.)

When U.S. Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Indonesia on the night of April 19 for his first state visit abroad, he clearly did not intend for his positive gestures and kind words to be construed as controversial by the very people at whom they were aimed.

"In your nation, as in mine, religion unifies, it doesn't divide," Pence said to Indonesian President Joko Widodo the following morning at the Jakarta Palace. Pence lauded Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country, for "its tradition of moderate Islam," which he called "an inspiration to the world."

He also toured the Istiqlal Mosque, designed by North Sumatran Christian architect Frederich Silaban for Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, who insisted it be built near the Jakarta Cathedral and Immanuel Church as a symbol of religious harmony. (Pence even managed to force his wife and two daughters to put on ugly headbags as hijabs.)

Blasphemy: Muslims' Catchall Phrase To Repress Dissent

(James Dorsey’s article direct from The HUFTPOST on 02 May 2017.)

‘Blasphemy’ And ‘Terrorism’ Are Catchall Phrases To Repress Dissent: Assertions of both have become favorite terms employed by authoritarian and autocratic leaders. “Blasphemy” has joined “terrorism” as a catchall phrase to intimidate, incarcerate and kill critics and political opponents, as well as stifle unfettered debate and settle scores.

There is, however, one difference: terrorism is a justification for curbing freedom of expression often used by governments irrespective of how democratic or undemocratic they may be. Blasphemy serves not only as a tool for governments but has also empowered religious ultra-conservatives, frenzied mobs, and extremist groups and individuals.

A four-decade long, massively funded Saudi public diplomacy campaign has created an enabling environment in Muslim-majority countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh, where alleged blasphemers and atheists have been kidnapped, abused and sometimes killed in recent months and years.

Will China’s OBOR Initiative Reach Southeast Asia?

(Richard Heydarian’s article direct from The ASIA TIMES on 17 May 2017.)

China's ambitious One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR).

Will OBOR really reach Southeast Asia? China has dangled various rich infrastructure initiatives to the region, but few so far have commenced due to tussles over costs, labor and sovereignty.

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged at least US$113 billion in additional funds for his US$1.3 trillion One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, also known as the new Silk Road, at a recently concluded summit held in Beijing. But how much of those pledged Chinese funds will actually be delivered to neighboring Southeast Asia?

Asia confronts an astounding US$8 trillion infrastructure-spending gap over the next decade, according to Asia Development Bank projections. Despite fast economic growth, most Southeast Asian nations lack the resources to meet those needs and are eagerly seeking external assistance for meet the financial shortfall.

Year 1199: The Beginning Of Rohingya Crisis In Burma

(Farang Chronicler’s article direct from The NATION-MULTIMEDIA on 20 May 2017.)

The immediate cause of the almost complete disappearance of organised Buddhism from northern India after the 12th century was without doubt its persecution during the Islamic invasions between the years 1001 and 1199.

The first Muslims to invade were Arabs under the leadership of Muhammad bin Kasim, who conquered Sindh in about 712, systematically destroying its Buddhist institutions, persecuting the religion’s followers and gradually converting the local populace to Islam.

(Kasim is well known in Pakistan as "The First Pakistani", for he and his army of Arab-Muslim men killed all native Buddhist and Hindu men and took their women and girls and started a new breed the Pakistanis in then Northern India.)

The next Muslim invaders were the Yamini Turks led by Sultan Mahmud, who between 1001 and 1027 launched at least 17 military incursions into India from Afghanistan with devastating consequences endured particularly by the Buddhist community.

The next large Muslim invasion took place in 1175 under Muhammad Ghuri, who made it as far as Thanesar just north of Delhi before being blocked by the united armies of the Hindus in 1191. He returned a year later and completely overwhelmed the Indians, sweeping away resistance to his eastward march.

North Korea Unleashed The Global Ransomware Attack?

(Chris Perez’s article direct from The NEW YORK POST on 15 May 2017.)

Fat Kim made measly $30,000 from global cyber-attack.

North Korean hackers may be behind global cyberattack: A North Korean hacking group is suspected of being behind the massive “ransomware” cyberattack that hit countless countries and computers across the globe over the past few days.

The cybersecurity firms Symantec Corp. and Kaspersky Lab are investigating the alleged ties and looking into technical evidence that possibly suggests the North’s involvement, according to Reuters. The companies claim to have found some code in an earlier version of the WannaCry ransomware that had also been used in programs deployed by the Lazarus Group, which is reportedly run by the Hermit Kingdom.

An estimated 300,000 computers — in more than 150 countries — are believed to have been affected by the cyberattack, which showed no signs of slowing down on Monday. The assault is said to come by email, in the form of a malware (malicious software) program known as WannaCry, which locks users out of their computers and threatens to destroy all of their data if a ransom is not paid in full.

Murdered Staffer Leaked DNC Emails To WikiLeaks

(Tyler Durden’s article direct from The ZERO HEDGE on 16 May 2017.)

WikiLeaks's Assange offered reward for Rich killers.

Murdered DNC Staffer Seth Rich Shared 44,053 Democrat Emails With WikiLeaks: For the past several months, Democrats have based their "Resist 45" movement on unsubstantiated assertions that the Trump campaign coordinated with Russian intelligence officials to undermine the 2016 Presidential Election thereby 'stealing' the White House from Hillary Clinton. 

Day after day we've all suffered through one anonymously sourced, "shock" story after another from the New York Times and/or The Washington Post (the fake news media) with new allegations of the 'wrongdoing'.

But, new evidence surfacing in the Seth Rich murder investigation may just quash the "Russian hacking" conspiracy theory.  According to a new report from Fox News, it was former DNC staffer Seth Rich who supplied 44,053 DNC emails to WikiLeaks and not some random Russian cyber terrorist, as we've all been led by the Democrat Party to believe.

According to Fox News, though admittedly via yet another anonymous FBI source, Rich made contact with WikiLeaks through Gavin MacFadyen, an American investigative reporter and director of WikiLeaks who was living in London at the time.

Pakistan Gone Mad With Blasphemy Jailings & Lynchings

(Raymond Ibrahim’s article direct from The GATESTONE INSTITUTE on 14 May 2017.)

A few days ago in Pakistan, a Christian pastor who has been "tortured every day in prison" since 2012 when he was first incarcerated, was sentenced to life in prison. Zafar Bhatti, 51, is accused of sending "blasphemous" text messages from his mobile phone; but human rights activists contend that the charge "was fabricated to remove him from his role as a Pastor."

His wife, Nawab Bibi, says: "Many Muslim people hated how quickly his church was growing; they have taken this action to undermine his work. Yet despite their actions the church grows. I wish our persecutors would see that Christians are not evil creatures. We are human beings created by God the same God that created them although they do not know this yet."

She adds, "There have been numerous attempts to kill my husband — he is bullied everyday and he is not safe from inmates and prison staff alike." In 2014, he "narrowly escaped assassination after a rogue prison officer," Muhammad Yousaf, went on a shooting spree "to kill all inmates accused of blasphemy against Islam."

Bhatti is one of countless Christian minorities to suffer under Pakistan's blasphemy law, which has helped make that country the fourth-worst nation in the world in which to be Christian. Asia Bibi, a Christian wife and mother, has been on death row since 2010 on the accusation that she insulted the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

China Spending $500 Billion To Reshape The World

(News article direct from The BLOOMBERG NEWS on 12 May 2017.)

China's Spending $500 Billion to Reshape the World in Its Image: China is one of the few countries in the world today with money to spend, and Xi Jinping is ready to write some checks.

China’s president will host almost 30 world leaders in Beijing on Sunday at the first Belt and Road Forum, the centerpiece of a soft-power push backed by hundreds of billions of dollars for infrastructure projects. More than 100 countries on five continents have signed up, showing the demand for global economic cooperation despite rising protectionism in the U.S. and Europe.

For Xi, the initiative is designed to solidify his image as one of the world’s leading advocates of globalization while U.S. President Donald Trump cuts overseas funds in the name of “America First.” The summit aims to ease concerns about China’s rise and boost Xi’s profile at home, where he’s become the most powerful leader since Deng Xiaoping died in 1997.

Hilary Pressured Bangladesh PM To Rehire Donor Yunus

(Three news articles from ASIA SENTINEL, DAILY SATR, & BREITBART NEWS in 2017.)

Hilary Clinton and her big donor Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

Fired Grameen banker and the 2006 Nobel-Peace-Prize winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus used Clinton influence to stop the Padma River Bridge funding from the World Bank after Bangladehi Government rejected Hilary Clinton’s demand to reinstate Yunus as the Managing Director at Grameen Bank, Bangladesh PM Hasina charges.

In 2012, the World Bank pulled out of its US$1.2 billion commitment to fund Bangladesh’s biggest infrastructure project, a 6.1 km. multimodal bridge over the Padma River, because of clear evidence of high-level corruption. But when Bank officials went to the government, they were ignored.

Today, however, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed is charging that World Bank officials acting at the behest of the family of former US President Bill Clinton attempted to blackmail her into allowing former Grameen Bank President Muhammad Yunus to return to the bank, or the World Bank’s portion of the funding for the US$3 billion Padma Bridge, the country’s biggest, would be turned off.

The World Bank decision to pull out of the project, which is now about 25 percent completed, forced Bangladesh to find other funding sources. The bank said it had found a high-level corruption conspiracy among Bangladeshi government officials, the Canada-based SNC-Lavalin executives, and private individuals. “The World Bank cannot, should not, and will not turn a blind eye to evidence of corruption,” the bank said when it cancelled the loan.

South Korea Has Fallen: Moon A North Korean Appeaser

(Breaking news articles from various sources in April-May 2017.)

South Korea elected a left-leaning president for the first time in a decade on Tuesday, in a landslide that could lead to peace talks with the pariah North Korean regime and a potential clash with America.

The election of Moon Jae-in, 64, a former human rights lawyer and leader of the liberal Democratic Party, will radically change the political landscape of Asia’s fourth largest economy just two months after the impeachment of conservative President Park Geun-hye on corruption charges.

“I will be a president for all the people” Mr Moon told his celebrating supporters at midnight in the capital, Seoul, ahead of the official results. Early exit polls showed him with a 41.4% lead and he is expected to be sworn-in today [Wednesday].

Over 77% of South Korea’s 42.4 million eligible voters cast their ballots, eager to fill a power vacuum that had left Seoul directionless during an escalating standoff in recent weeks between Pyongyang and Washington. With South Korea on the frontline of any future military conflict, Mr Moon will immediately face domestic pressure to ease those tensions.

WW3 Coming Soon: US Test-firing Minuteman III ICBMs

(Breaking-news articles direct from various sources in April 2017.)

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA – An unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from California early Wednesday in a test of the weapon system that is part of the U.S. nuclear force.

The nuclear-capable missile blasted off from a silo at 12:03 a.m. from Vandenberg Air Force Base and delivered a single re-entry vehicle to a target approximately 4,200 miles (6,759 km) away at Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, the Air Force Global Strike Command said. The launch command was issued via an air launch control system aboard a Navy E-6 Mercury jet.

“Tonight’s launch was an important demonstration of our nation’s nuclear deterrent capability,” Col. John Moss, commander of Vandenberg’s 30th Space Wing, said in a statement. “Test launches like this one are vital to validating the effectiveness and readiness of our operational nuclear systems, so it is critical that they are successful.”

MS-13: Deadly Machete-Wielding New-York Latino Gang

(Mark Morales’s article direct from The NEWSDAY on 05 May 2017.)

The recent eruption of gang violence on Long Island in New York City— highlighted by the discovery of the mutilated bodies of four young men in a public park — fits what experts and sources say is a new and more deadly profile of MS-13.

At the heart of that profile are newcomers from Central America eager to make their mark within an immigrant gang already known for its code of brutality and its weapon of choice, the machete, the sources say.

They represent a very small but dangerous cohort among the thousands of young people under 18 who, according to federal statistics, have illegally entered the United States unaccompanied by adults but let in by the Obama Administration since 2015.

These newcomers have found a niche in MS-13 on Long Island — replacing those who have been arrested — and are focused on proving themselves to be even more violent than established gang members.

Macron Wins With Secret Plan For Islamization of France

(News article direct from The DMF on 06 May 2017.)

Just one day before the French election, a massive pile of emails and documents were released about the left-wing candidate Emmanuel Macron. The Macron Leaks contain secret proposals that would lead to the Islamization of France and Europe, prepared by the IM [Institut Montaigne] and Hakim El Karoui.

The document recommends the introduction of Arabic teaching to French schools, including bi-lingual classes. This is justified with the claim that Muslims are currently getting their “Arabic fix” from mosques, where they risk being radicalized. The French must accept Islam. The refusal of multiculturalism is treason.

In other words, “soft islamization” is being advocated as the remedy for “hard islamization” and that this represents a kind of de facto reward being offered to jihad violence. Jihad gets results. It leads to societies being islamised, one way or the other.

Other plans for measures to islamize France include facilitating mosque construction by making it easier to arrange finance for it and providing reserved Muslim areas in municipal cemeteries. Again this is justified by claiming that it will lead to the emergence of a “French Islam”. There is also a proposal, unfortunately not specified in detail, to finance Islam by taxing halal consumption.

Muslim Brotherhood’s Desperate Campaign In US

(Ran Meir’s article direct from The CLARION PROJECT on 04 May 2017.)

The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is mounting a desperate campaign in the U.S. to avoid being designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, according to The Seventh Day, one of Egypt’s largest news outlets.

The political winds have changed in Washington and the Brotherhood is running scared. U.S. President Donald Trump has made clear his support of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, announcing he stands with the Egyptian president in his fight against terror and extremist groups that are threatening one of America’s key allies in the Middle East.

After tens of millions of Egyptians took to the streets to protest the abuse and power grabs of former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi (a member of the Brotherhood’s political party) in the summer of 2013, El-Sisi and the military took control of Egypt. He was elected president in 2014.

El-Sisi’s recently successful meeting with Trump in Washington set a Brotherhood plan in motion to gain support of members of Congress and academia to block a move to designate the organization as terrorists.

Hindu Militia Killing Muslim “Love Jihadis” In India

(Rupam Jain’s article direct from The REUTERS on 03 May 2017.)

Yuva Vahini Hindu Militia.

NEW DELHI: Police have detained four members of a hardline Hindu militia founded by the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh on suspicion of killing a Muslim man who had helped an interfaith couple elope, an investigating official said on Wednesday.

A 60-year-old Muslim farmer was killed on Tuesday by a mob that included members of the Hindu Yuva Vahini, or Hindu Youth Force, set up by Yogi Adityanath, a priest recently named by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead India's most populous state.

Adityanath, backed by his volunteer force, spearheaded the campaign of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in this year's Uttar Pradesh state polls, helping to secure a landslide victory in the northern state.

Since his appointment, units of the Hindu Yuva Vahini have ramped up their anti-Muslim rhetoric and launched a campaign against so-called "Love Jihad" - what they regard as an Islamist strategy to convert Hindu women through seduction and marriage.

Saudi Arabia’s Gift To Indonesia: Radical Wahabi Islam

(Mohshin Habib’s article direct from The GATESTONE INSTITUTE on 29 April 2017.)

Prior to Saudi Arabia's attempts to spread Salafism across the Muslim world, Indonesia did not have terrorist organizations such as Hamas Indonesia, Laskar Jihad, Hizbut Tahrir, Islamic Defenders Front and Jemmah Islamiyah, to name just a few. Today, it is rife with these groups.

A mere three weeks after the Saudi king wrapped up his trip, at least 15,000 hard-line Islamist protesters took to the streets of Jakarta after Friday prayers, calling for the imprisonment of the capital city's Christian governor, who is on trial for "blaspheming the Quran."

In a separate crisis, crowds were demanding that Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (known familiarly as Ashok) be jailed for telling a group of fishermen that, as they are fed lies about how the Quran forbids Muslims from being governed by a kafir (infidel), he could understand why some of them might not have voted for him. If convicted, Ashok stands to serve up to five years in prison.