Pakistan Bans Radical Group For Seeking French Ambassador Expulsion
LAHORE, Pakistan — Pakistan’s acquiescence to the demands of far-right radical Islamist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) reached a tipping point last week, leading to a formal ban on the group on April 15. The group, which seeks the expulsion of the French ambassador Marc Barety , escalated nationwide violence that resulted in the deaths of four police officers apart from infrastructure damage. The group is irate with the French satirical publication “ Charlie Hebdo ” for publishing Prophet Muhammad’s caricatures. But some analysts believe that like other proscribed radical Islamist groups in Pakistan — most notably Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (now called Millat-e-Islamia) — the TLP could resurface under a new banner. The TLP’s latest pushback comes after “Charlie Hebdo” decided to republish caricatures of Prophet Muhammad, coinciding with the trial of abettors of the 2015 jihadist attack on the publication.
thewestsidegazette.comUnited Arab Emirates to launch spacecraft to moon in 2024
Sheikh Mohammed made the announcement Tuesday on Twitter that his country plans to send an unmanned spacecraft to the moon in 2024. Already, an Emirati space probe is hurtling through space on its way to Mars while last year it sent its first astronaut to the International Space Station. Sheikh Mohammed said the rover would be named “Rashid,” the same name of his late father, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. Sheikh Rashid was one of the original founding rulers of the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. ___Associated Press writers Isabel DeBre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.