MIK NEWS

Pakistan to meet Facebook over 'blasphemy' posts Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan, but critics say it is being used to muzzle government critics. Pakistan will punish social media companies that fail to take action against online blasphemy, the interior minister said, adding that he had requested a meeting with Facebook to discuss the issue. Pakistan's government wants social media networks to remove material deemed insulting to Islam or the Prophet Muhammad, and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif last week warned those posting such content would be "strictly punished". "[Blasphemy] is not only a problem for Pakistan. This is an issue about the honour of every Muslim," said Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who is also seeking to meet ambassadors from other Muslim countries to tackle the problem. "If we do not get a response from social media, I do not care about anyone, there is nothing greater than our faith. If social...

UK police: Seven arrests over Westminster attack Six homes raided in London, Birmingham and elsewhere in the UK, police say, revising down number of victims to three. Seven people have been arrested after overnight raids on six homes over an  attack  outside the British parliament in London, according to UK police,. Mark Rowley, acting deputy commissioner at the Metropolitan police, on Thursday revised down the number of victims from Wednesday's rampage  to three from four people  Rowley said police had searched addresses in London, Birmingham and other parts of the country in their investigation over an attack , in which a man ploughed into pedestrians in a car and then went on a stabbing spree before being shot dead. "It is still our belief that the attacker acted alone was inspired by international terrorism," Rowley said. Some 40 people were wounded in the attack, 29 of whom were being treated in hospital, he added. Seven were still in critical c...

US police probe gang-rape streamed on Facebook Teenage victim may have known her attackers, who are believed to be all minors who 'terrorised' her neighbourhood. Chicago police were questioning several individuals on Wednesday who allegedly gang-raped a teenage girl and broadcast the assault on Facebook Live. The victim was a 15-year-old girl who went missing on Sunday in the crime-plagued city in the US Midwest. She was found on Tuesday and taken to a children's hospital for treatment. It was the latest in a series of troubling incidents in which violent acts have been streamed live on Facebook, including two fatal shootings and  the kidnapping and torture of a disabled 18-year-old. Authorities said on Wednesday they were investigating the incident as a criminal sexual assault. The live online video of the alleged gang-rape attracted as many as 40 viewers at one time, but no one contacted police, according to reports. The video was later taken down. Th...

Westminster attack: Car-and-knife rampage kills four Scenes of carnage on Westminster Bridge near parliament in London after car-and-knife attack also wounds at least 20. Four people were killed and at least 20 wounded in London on Wednesday after a car ploughed into pedestrians and an attacker went on a stabbing spree with a knife before being shot dead close to the British parliament. London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley told reporters a "full counter-terrorism investigation" into the attack was under way. He said the violence started when a car was driven over Westminster Bridge, hitting and injuring a number of civilians and three police officers on their way back from a commendation ceremony. The car then crashed close to parliament where at least one man armed with a knife continued the attack and tried to enter the building.  Many people were lying on the ground - some bleeding heavily and apparently unconscious - on Westminster Bridge n...

North Korea 'fails' in new missile test: South South Korean and US officials say they have detected a failed missile launch attempt by North Korea. A new  North Korean missile test appeared to have ended in failure, according to South Korean and US officials. The reported failed launch on Wednesday came  during large-scale annual military drills involving US and South Korean forces  that the North has called a rehearsal for an invasion. Seoul's defence ministry said in a statement that  Pyongyang fired one missile from an air base in the eastern port of Wonsan but the launch  The statement came after Japan's Kyodo news service, citing an unidentified government source, said the North might have launched several missiles and that they were a failure. A US military spokesman also said they had detected a failed North Korean missile launch attempt, with a missile exploding within seconds of its launch. "US Pacific Command detected what we...

Britain follows US in electronics ban on flights UK authorities to prohibit large electronic devices on direct flights coming from six Muslim-majority countries. Britain will follow the United States in banning carry-on electronic goods from passanger cabins on some inbound flghts from Middle Eastern and North African nations.  Prime Minster Theresa May's office announced on Tuesday that laptops and other larger electronic devices would be banned on direct inbound flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia. Earlier in the day, the United States imposed similar restrictions on planes coming from 10 airports in Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa in response to unspecified security threats.

FBI head James Comey confirms Russia election probe FBI director says bureau is investigating possible ties between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia. FBI Director James Comey has confirmed for the first time that the bureau is investigating possible ties between Republican Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia. Comey and Admiral Mike Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency, made clear on Monday that their investigation of Moscow and November's US elections could last for months. The two officials spent more than five hours before the  House of Representatives Intelligence Committee  in testimony marked by starkly partisan divides between the panel's majority Republicans and Democrats. Comey refused to back away from his claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not simply want Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to lose the election; he wanted Donald Trump to win. The committee is one of several ...