181 bodies recovered at MH17 crash site

KIEV/ MELBOURNE/THE HAGUE: Rescuers have recovered as many as 181 bodies so far at the site of the Malaysian airliner crash in eastern Ukraine, an official at Kiev’s Foreign Ministry told a briefing on Friday. The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 was downed near the Russian border on Thursday, an area where pro-Moscow separatists have been fighting Ukrainian government forces since April. All 298 people on board of the plane were pronounced dead.

Andriy Sibiga said the bodies would probably be transported to the nearby Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, which is under the control of the central government.

Separatists have agreed to provide assistance to those investigating the crash of the plane and will ensure safe access for international experts visiting the site, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said. The world AIDS community was in mourning Friday with as many as 100 passengers reportedly on a crashed Malaysia Airlines plane heading to Australia for a global conference on the epidemic.

Besides AIDS researchers, the international passengers included soccer fans, a nun and a florist. Relatives, friends and colleagues paid tribute Friday to victims even before the airline released their names as it scrambled to contact the next of kin of the victims.

Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, which US officials believe was hit by a surface-to-air missile over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board, was due to connect with another flight to Melbourne. The Sydney Morning Herald said as many as 100 of those who died were delegates en route to Melbourne for the 20th International AIDS Conference, which is due to begin on Sunday.

The Australian broadsheet reported 108 attendees and family members were killed, including prominent former International AIDS Society president Joep Lange

Turkish Protestors Just Took The Israeli Embassy, Raised Palestinian Flag…

The Turkish people took to the streets in support of the Gazan civilians being attacked by the Israeli Defense Forces.

Only hours after Israel announce a ground offensive in Gazan, protestors in Istanbul stormed the gates of the Israeli embassy in Turkey.

As we speak, the Israeli embassy is burning. The extent of the damage is not yet confirmed.

The protestors have replaced the Israeli flag with the Palestinian flag.

Turkish police today fired tear gas at protesters outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, as demonstrators pelted the building with stones in condemnation of Israel’s ground offensive on Gaza

According to local media reports, the crowd chanted “Murderer Israel, get out of Palestine”, as they smashed windows, while anti-Jewish graffiti was scrawled across one of the building’s walls

Meanwhile, in the capital Ankara, demonstrators waved Turkish and Palestinian flags outside the Israeli embassy and chanted slogans. Windows were broken but police reportedly did not intervene.

Earlier in the week, Turkish newspaper the Daily Sabah reported that protesters left a black wreath at the embassy’s gate in Ankara and held a banner declaring: “Israel is killing again.”

And in Istanbul, activists gathered in the popular tourist spot Sultan Ahmet Square, to hand out pamphlets disparaging Israeli politics in Gaza.

17 imams face probe for ‘not condemning Sharura raid’

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs is investigating 17 imams in Riyadh for allegedly ignoring a government order to highlight and condemn the recent Sharura terror attack in their Friday sermons.

Most imams across the country had highlighted the incident and the dangers of terrorism in their Friday sermons, as ordered by the ministry.

The ministry stated on Friday that it would penalize the imams if the allegations are proven true.

Tawfiq Al-Sudairi, the ministry’s undersecretary, confirmed that 17 imams at mosques in Riyadh are under investigation for allegedly failing to highlight the incident in their sermons.

A Saudi newspaper, meanwhile, reported that 100 imams across the country allegedly ignored the ministry’s order to condemn the Sharura attacks.

Al-Sheikh Salman Al-Hadi, an imam in Jeddah, told Arab News that religious leaders play an important role in creating awareness of terrorist activities in the country.

He said people should be particularly aware of those who “deceive the young and convince them to fight against their country and society.”

The incident in the Kingdom’s southern governorate of Sharura took place two weeks ago when Al-Qaeda militants attacked the Wadia Saudi border post along the Yemeni border.

The terrorists killed the Saudi commander. Saudi security officers killed three of the assailants, and shot and captured two others.

This attack was preceded by an assault on the Yemeni side of the border post with the terrorists detonating a car bomb killing one Yemeni soldier and wounding another.

The suspected Al-Qaeda assailants were seeking to infiltrate Saudi Arabia from Yemen, possibly with the intention of carrying out further terrorist attacks.

Saudi security forces seized machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades from the vehicles used by the assailants.

Iraq ISIL terrorists asks Christians told to convert or Pay Jizya

The Islamic State group has threatened Christians in the Iraqi city of Mosul with death if they do not to convert to Islam or pay a tax, Al Jazeera has learned.

The Sunni rebel group issued the orders in a letter after Friday prayers. The document, obtained by Al Jazeera, states that the order was issued after Christian leaders failed to attend a meeting called by the group.

In response, the group says in the letter that Christians must either convert to Islam, pay a special tax on non-Muslims known as jiziya, or face death “as a last resort”.

Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, was overrun by the Islamic State group and allied rebel groups last month

The Iraqi army units stationed in the city, most of whom were Shia, fled after the group crossed from Syria and attacked the north of Iraq.

Before the attack, Mosul’s Christian community was estimated at 3,000. Many are believed to have already fled the city as part of an exodus of up to one-third of the population. Churches and Christian-owned shops in the city were reported smashed by those who fled.

The Islamic State’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, held a sermon in Mosul’s grand mosque two weeks ago, calling on all Muslims to unite behind his group.

The Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, has issued similar demands in areas in control in Syria, and has posted pictures of Christians being crucified for disobeying orders in Raqqa.

Church leader‎s in Iraq have not responded to the threats officially.

Nickolay Mladenov, the head of the UN assistance mission In Iraq, condemned the order.

“Any persecution of minorities constitutes a crime against humanity and we urge all sides to protect civilians. We have produced a report listing attacks on civilians ‎and have brought this up at the highest levels of the Iraqi government.”