Greece imposes capital controls as crisis deepens

'V for Varoufakis!' Greek finance minister burns EU with laser eyes (VIDEO) Published time: February 26, 2015 12:32 Edited time: February 26, 2015 20:37 Get short URL Still from Youtube video Still from Youtube video Tags Art, Bailout, EU, Economy, Germany, Government Spending, Greece, Media, Music, Politics As Greece’s finance minister clashes with the EU and his German counterpart over Athens' debt to the Troika of European lenders, a German show has uploaded a YouTube video spoof of the economic standoff between them, entitled ‘V for Varoufakis’. READ MORE: Eurozone backs Greek reforms, enabling €172bn rescue extension “He’s the lost son of Zeus with a heart made of stone!”… "his body screams of sex”… “his leather jacket is made of skin from German shepherd puppies”… “He doesn’t negotiate, he simply kicks ass”. These are just some of the lyrics to the awfully catchy metal tune about Yanis Varoufakis that is taking YouTube by storm, with 6,300 views in just four hours. The video, courtesy of Now Magazine Royale, proudly, and in an almost mock-Germanic tone, lists the Germany’s achievements – the positive (like the economy, the large gold reserves etc.) and the negative ones (like starting two world wars and "almost" winning). All the while, tense and poignant music plays in the background, while a slender military-looking German with a mustache proudly recites the achievements. This is all done to tongue-in-cheek montage of Oktoberfest girls carrying beer and other traditional symbolism, interlaced with Germans doing back-up singing to the music, “Varoufakis! Relentless Varoufakis!”, as the whole thing descends into a heavy metal song. It’s topped off with a devilish Varoufakis, grinning away, his bald head gleaming in the dark as he plays the bouzouki like an electric guitar. “Dear Greek Folks, the time has come: we surrender! Take all our money, you may also take Helene Fischer, but please, keep this financial Hercules off us. We could only just bear with Costa Cordalis [a German singer of Greek origin], so this is clearly way too much!” the description to the video reads. The current economic standoff reached a new high, as Varoufakis claimed his country’s acceptance of Brussel’s bailout strategy for Greece amounted to a “sell-off of family silver at rock-bottom prices and in a way that doesn’t lead to development for the economy.” ================== Athens (AFP) - Strapped for cash in crisis-hit Greece but desperate to visit the Acropolis? Tourists faced with empty ATMs need not despair, visitors to the ancient site can now pay by card for the first time. People have long been asking to be able to use debit or credit cards to purchase the 12 euro ($13.5) entrance tickets to Athens's hill-top citadel, the culture ministry said Monday, insisting that families wanting to admire the Parthenon up close would not be penalised for running short on cash. Long queues have sprung up at ATMs around the city after Greece imposed capital controls and closed banks across the country, hoping to prevent a run on banks following a breakdown in its bailout talks. Cash machine withdrawals have been capped at 60 euros per day, per card. Cards issued by foreign banks are exempt, but some tourists were coming up short Monday as ATMS across the city began to run dry. The ministry said tour operators could also buy entry passes to the site on an IOU basis, with the money to be paid once the banks re-open. The 2,500-year-old temple complex was used by ancient Greeks to worship Athena, the goddess of wisdom. =================== Nobody in the halls of the International Monetary Fund in Washington has any illusion: Greece is going to default Tuesday, delivering a new blow to the global crisis bank's credibility. Just weeks ago, the Fund refused to accept the idea that Athens, which has received some 32 billion euros from the IMF to rescue its economy since 2010, would be unable to make the 1.5-billion-euro ($1.7 billion) payment. At the beginning of June, Managing Director Christine Lagarde insisted she had the assurance of Greek leader Alexis Tsipras. "The prime minister said 'do not worry,'" she said confidently. A Fund spokesman reiterated that confidence again last week. But Tsipras's announcement of a referendum on an adjusted bailout plan -- which he urged his people to reject -- made clear that the country is not going to reach a deal with official creditors in time to finance any new debt payment. How "is it possible the creditors are waiting for the IMF payment while our banks are being suffocated?" Tsipras asked. Greece will be the first country to default on the IMF since Zimbabwe in 2001, and in terms of standards of living, the wealthiest. The IMF will undoubtedly wait to the final minute before declaring Athens "in arrears," but then the country will be immediately cut off from further IMF aid, including disbursements planned on the existing bailout program. - Reputation, resources at stake - The IMF has less at stake than Greece in that event, but still stands to lose, experts told AFP. "A default by Greece, even if a short-lived one, would stain the reputation of the IMF and make it less likely future IMF programs would trigger private (capital) inflows into troubled countries," said Eswar Prasad, a former Fund official. It is not the first time that the IMF, traditionally called on by economically troubled governments to help when they run short of liquidity, faces the breakdown of a bailout program. And it has already confessed errors in prescribing austerity as a cure when that ended up stifling economic growth. The institution has been criticized from outside as well as inside. Some member states have objected to the way rules have been bent to keep supporting Greece. They note that the Fund can only lend to a country if its debts are judged sustainable, and Greece's clearly are not. A default by Athens will only aggravate that open wound. "Non-payment would signal in a way that is clear to the person in the street worldwide that IMF engagement with the euro and Greece has gone very badly wrong," said Peter Doyle, who used to work for the IMF European Department. What happens with Greece could also impact the IMF's likewise high-risk loan program for Ukraine, said Doyle. In March, Kiev obtained a new lifeline from the IMF amid huge questions over whether its debt load is sustainable. The fund has more to guard than its image: it needs to protect the hundreds of billions of dollars provided it by its 188 members. It has been able to, without much controversy, write off loans made to certain countries, mainly those in the most dire circumstances. That includes Haiti, whose $268 million in debt was forgiven after the devastating 2010 earthquake, and $100 million written off for the West African countries hardest hit by Ebola last year. But the Greek case is different. The size of the loans is many times larger and the losses would impact the IMF's financial integrity. The Fund needs Greece to keep going and eventually pay up, but "has few cards left to play," Prasad said. "It's in no one's interest to escalate the implications of this missed payment," said Domenico Lombardi, a former board member of the IMF. "They're going to play that down in the hope that this is not going to jeopardize the start of future negotiations." Lagarde clearly understands that. Over the weekend, with Greece's default in motion, she took a measured approach, withholding criticism and saying the Fund "stands ready to provide assistance as needed." Greece imposes capital controls as crisis deepens Sun, Jun 28 21:36 PM EDT image 1 of 15 By Lefteris Papadimas and George Georgiopoulos ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece moved to check the growing strains on its crippled financial system on Sunday, closing its banks and imposing capital controls that brought the prospect of being forced out of the euro into plain sight. After bailout talks between the leftwing government and foreign lenders broke down at the weekend, the European Central Bank froze vital funding support to Greece's banks, leaving Athens with little choice but to shut down the system to keep the banks from collapsing. Banks will be closed and the stock market shut all week, and there will be a daily 60 euro limit on cash withdrawals from cash machines, which will reopen on Tuesday. Capital controls are likely to last for many months at least. "The more calmly we deal with difficulties, the sooner we can overcome them and the milder their consequences will be," a somber-looking Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a televised address. He promised bank deposits would be safe and salaries paid. Even as Tsipras spoke late on Sunday, lines forming at petrol stations and in front of the dwindling number of bank machines that still contained cash highlighted the scale of the disaster facing Greeks, who have endured more than six years of economic decline. The failure to reach a deal with creditors leaves Greece set to default on 1.6 billion euros of loans from the International Monetary Fund that fall due on Tuesday. Athens must also repay billions of euros to the European Central Bank in the coming months. The impending default on the IMF loans leaves Greece sliding toward a euro exit with unforeseeable consequences for Europe's grand project to bind its nations into an unbreakable union by means of a common currency. It also carries broad implications for the global financial system. After months of wrangling, Greece's exasperated European partners have put the blame for the crisis squarely on Tsipras' shoulders. The 40-year-old premier caught them by surprise in the early hours of Saturday by rejecting the demands of lenders and calling a referendum on the bailout. The creditors wanted Greece to cut pensions and raise taxes in ways that Tsipras has long argued would deepen one of the worst economic crises of modern times in a country where a quarter of the workforce is already unemployed. After announcing the referendum, Tsipras asked for an extension of Greece's existing bailout until after the July 5th vote. Euro zone officials refused, and in his televised address Tsipras bemoaned the refusal as an "unprecedented act". Despite the hardening of positions, officials around Europe and the United States made a frantic round of calls and organized meetings to try to salvage the situation. U.S. President Barack Obama called German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and senior U.S. officials including Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, who spoke to Tsipras, urged Europe and the IMF to come up with a plan to hold the single currency together and keep Greece in the euro zone. The German and French governments announced emergency political meetings. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls urged the Greeks to come back to the negotiating table. "I cannot resign myself to Greece leaving the euro zone ... We must find a solution," Valls told Europe 1, Le Monde and iTELE in a joint interview. SAFE HAVENS SOUGHT The euro fell sharply against the dollar and safe-haven U.S. government debt futures rallied as investors exhibited fears of a Greek default and exit from the euro zone. "That is going to have a real big impact on markets and that will generate increased volatility," said Ian Stannard, European head of FX strategy at Morgan Stanley in London. The euro EUR= fell nearly 2 U.S. cents to a one-month low in early Asia Pacific trade. The fear of contagion produced a sharp move into safe-haven government debt. U.S. 10-year Treasury futures rose 1 27/32 in active trading early. The bank holiday announced by Tsipras will last at least until Monday, July 6, the day after the planned referendum, an official said after a late-night meeting of the cabinet. The Athens stock exchange will be closed as the government tries to manage the financial fallout. It remains unclear how long capital controls will remain in force. In Cyprus, which imposed similar measures in 2013, they were not fully lifted until April this year. Tsipras faces growing political pressure with some opinion polls suggesting a majority of Greeks could turn their back on his call to reject the bailout and instead decide to support the lenders' package in next Sunday's referendum. If they do, he would face pressure to resign, leaving the way open for new elections. Former conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who on Sunday met Greek head of state President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, said Tsipras should drop the referendum plans and return to the negotiations or make way for a government of national unity. As speculation of capital controls have increased over the past two weeks, Greeks have pulled billions of euros out of their accounts. Long queues formed in supermarkets on Saturday as shoppers stocked up on essentials. Greece's top refiner, Hellenic Petroleum, said it had enough fuel reserves on hand to last for many months, but there were reports of long queues forming at petrol stations as motorists rushed to fill up. The broader consequences for Greece's economy, now back in recession, are likely to be severe, with the tourism sector, which accounts for almost a fifth of economic output, about to start its vital summer season. Anxious to reassure tourists, the government said the 60 euro cash withdrawal limit would not apply to people using foreign credit or debit cards. Travel companies had been warning tourists for some weeks that they should be prepared to take extra cash, given the likelihood of problems with the system. But the sight of cash machines that had run dry was a visible shock to many tourists. "I am trying to go over to the bigger banks," said Cassandra Preston, a Canadian tourist who was searching around in central Athens for a machine that had cash. "I am here for another month and I would like to make sure I have some cash on me." Many leading economists have voiced sympathy with the Greek government's argument that further cuts in spending risk choking off the growth that would give Greece some prospect of servicing debts worth nearly twice its annual national income. However, in economic powerhouse Germany, other southern states that have endured austerity in return for EU cash and poor eastern countries with living standards much lower than Greece's, many voters and politicians have run out of patience. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble openly questioned the solvency of Greek banks, a key condition to qualify to receive such finance. "The ECB has always said that as long as Greek banks are solvent, then emergency loans, the ELA, can be granted," he said on Saturday. "And now there is naturally a new situation that because of the developments the liquidity and solvency of Greek banks, or some Greek banks, could be in doubt." (Additional reporting by Deepa Babington, George Georgiopoulos, Karolina Tagaris, Michele Kambas, Lefteris Karagiannopoulos, Matthias Williams in Athens; Writing by Anna Willard and James Mackenzie; Editing by Alastair Macdonald, Janet McBride, Alessandra Galloni, Toni Reinhold) =================== Greece in shock as banks shut after snap referendum call Mon, Jun 29 07:27 AM EDT image 1 of 15 By Karolina Tagaris and Michele Kambas ATHENS (Reuters) - Greeks struggled to adjust to shuttered banks, closed cash machines and a climate of rumors and conspiracy theories on Monday as a breakdown in talks between Athens and its creditors plunged the country deep into crisis. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who blindsided creditors by calling a referendum on the austerity cuts in the aid package proposed by the creditors, appeared on television on Sunday night to announce capital controls to prevent banks from collapsing. Their imposition capped a dramatic weekend for Greece that has pushed the country towards a likely default on 1.6 billion euros ($1.77 billion) of International Monetary Fund loans on Tuesday and closer to an exit from the euro currency bloc. French President Francois Hollande appealed to Tsipras to return to the negotiating table and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was willing to talk to the 40-year-old Greek leader if he wanted. "There are a few hours before the negotiation is closed for good," Hollande said after a cabinet meeting on Greece. But with Greece's bailout program expiring in less than 48 hours, hopes of a last-minute breakthrough were fading fast. Greeks - used to lengthy talks with creditors before a eleventh-hour deal materializes - were left stunned. "I can't believe it," said Athens resident Evgenia Gekou, 50, on her way to work. "I keep thinking we will wake up tomorrow and everything will be OK. I'm trying hard not to worry." European officials sent confusing signals about their next move. A spokesman for the European Commission told French radio that Brussels would not make any new proposals on Monday, appearing to contradict comments by EU Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici. He said a new offer was forthcoming and that the two sides were "only a few centimeters" away from a deal. European bank shares fell sharply on Monday. Top banks in Spain, France and Germany were down more than 6 percent as the risk of a spillover to banks in other peripheral euro zone countries spooked investors. The Greek government will keep banks shut at least until after July 5, the date of the referendum, and withdrawals from automated teller machines were limited to 60 euros a day when they reopened at midday. The stock exchange will also stay shut. After months of talks, Greece's exasperated European partners have put the blame for the crisis squarely on Tsipras's shoulders. The creditors wanted Greece to cut pensions and raise taxes in ways that Tsipras has long argued would deepen one of the worst economic crises of modern times in a country where a quarter of the workforce is already unemployed. As Tsipras announced the emergency measures late on Sunday, there were long queues outside ATMs and petrol stations as people raced to take out cash before it was too late. Lines of over a dozen people formed at ATMs when they reopened on Monday. "I've got five euros in my pocket, I thought I would try my luck here for some money. The queues in my neighborhood were too long yesterday," said plumber Yannis Kalaizakis, 58, outside an empty cash machine in central Athens on Monday. "I don't know what else to say. It's a mess." "DRAMATIC HOURS" Newspapers splashed pictures of long lines outside cash machines on their front page. The Nafetemporiki daily headlined Monday's edition "Dramatic hours" while the Ta Nea daily simply said: "When will the banks open". The conservative-leaning Eleftheros Typos newspaper accused Tsipras of announcing the referendum as a ruse to tip the country into early elections in the hopes of winning them. "Mr Tsipras's decision to call a referendum and a possible euro exit constitutes a premeditated crime," it said in an editorial. "It is clear that Mr Tsipras has lost the trust of citizens. That's obvious from the queues at ATMs and petrol stations, and it will become obvious at next Sunday's ballot." As rumors flew about, dozens of pensioners queued outside at least two offices of the National Bank of Greece (NBGr.AT) on Monday after hearing they could withdraw pensions from some branches. They were turned away, Reuters photographers said. "I've worked all my life, only to wake up one morning to a disaster like this," said one shop owner, who was there to collect his wife's pension. Despite the financial shock, parts of daily life went on as normal, with shops, pharmacies and supermarkets in the city opening and Greeks meeting to discuss their country's fate at cafes and restaurants. Tourists gathered as usual to watch the changing of the presidential guard outside parliament. A rally called by Tsipras's Syriza party to protest against austerity measures and urge voters to say "No" in the referendum on bailout terms is expected later on Monday. Officials around Europe and the United States made a frantic round of calls and organized meetings to try to salvage the situation. U.S. President Barack Obama called Merkel, and senior U.S. officials including Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, who spoke to Tsipras, urged Europe and the IMF to come up with a plan to hold the single currency together and keep Greece in the euro zone. "While the program is active until Tuesday, they aren't providing the necessary liquidity for Greek banks just to blackmail and to terrorize us," Administrative Reforms Minister George Katrougalos told Antenna television. "If we vote a yes, they will demolish pensions, you will have to pay for medicare in public hospitals. When your kids can't go to school you will say 'thanks' and they will say 'you asked for it'. "But if you say no you have the ability to fight for a better future." ($1 = 0.9026 euros) (Additional reporting by Deepa Babington, Lefteris Karagiannopoulos, Yannis Behrakis and Alkis Konstantinidis; Writing by Matthias Williams and Deepa Babington; Editing by Anna Willard) =========================== Sailor Benny Good! They will leave the euro, the new dracma crashes 80 percent. An then begin to recover. Under the austerity system they would have never recovered and never stopped having to pay. This is a good thing. Sad that it will lead to possible extremist right wing party's gaining more ground though. People will blame Syriza for the inevitable part where things get worse before they begin to get better. So they will swing to the other extreme, that's historically when the extreme right wins support. When people stop thinking what's best for the country/society and can only afford to think about themselves and their immediate families. I dont think it's going to be a short crisis. 5+ Years before recovery really begins I would predict!Well they aren't doing a whole lot of recovering at the moment Bindy peppercorn! Funny that the rhetoric coming from the EU is that 'they are going to let grandma vote on economic policy, what would she know?' .. Seems they believe people only deserve a vote in a democratic society when you can't effect any real change, or something. Damien Cruickshank A short crisis, then recovery? That's what austerity promised. Funding a lifestyle on debt promises long-term pain when struggling to pay back creditors. There was a 1922 crisis in the US, by all metrics promising to be worse than the 1929 one.. nothing was done, no spending, no debt.. it disappeared in less than 2 years according to current research. Greece being mugged? No, Greece had been dipping into the savings of caring friends.. who are now getting nasty because they realise they're not going to be paid back. I would say it's the fault of both parties. They all knew Greece would struggle. Austerity would have been softer back then. for individual citizens it's not a boring case of currency monopolies and productivity differences.. but if Greek politicians listened to both proper economists and common sense, they would have seen the case for deficit reduction, grexit, and there would be no crisis now. This is a textbook example of how not to live off neighbours until even the country's future wealth is spent. Between Greek government debt spending, and US government interest bubbles / bad debt encouragement... Truly free markets are the only solution. Everything government touches becomes a Greek Tragedy... Literally. Edit: to prevent folks claiming the GFC was caused by "the free market economy" I must point out the Australia has a freer economy than the USA. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/.../Economic_Freedom_of_the_World Xenia Ambatzidis Mugged and bullied, it's disgusting what they're doing to the Greek people! Paying off a debt of which they have only received 1% of the money but being charged interest for the whole amount? It's disgusting, unethical and illegal! Shame to the previous greek governments and politicians, shame to all who support this! I hope they vote NO and stand up against the bullies and pave the way for Italy and Spain etc. Make no mistake, Greece is not alone. “A boring case of…?”. Last night I spoke to my mum who lives in Greece. She is an older lady and was crying because she is scared. Next time I speak to her I’ll make sure I pass on your comment of “boring case of…” I’m sure she (or anyone else in Greece) doesn’t see it as a boring case of anything. Do you know what they see? They see their family homes and shops sold for next to nothing so they can feed their kids. They see their 70+ year old parents crying for the first time in their lives out of shame because they have to ask their children for money to buy a loaf of bread. They see older people having their fingerprints taken etc by police because they couldn’t afford to pay the latest tax. They see people everywhere trying to feed a 4 member family on one part time job (and that’s a good case scenario). I can’t believe you see it as boring case of anything. Some people have been living without electricity (in winter that means no heating) to say the least. Children have died from cold. Some people work and don’t get paid for 5-6 months. How do they feed their families? Don’t ask. Have you read the reports of people looking through rubbish? Yep. That would be them. I am so ashamed of the fact that in the past when people would discuss Greece with me and referred to the Greeks as lazy etc I would nod. Do you know why I nodded? Because I couldn’t be bothered setting them straight. I thought ‘let them believe what they want, whatever…’. I’m setting things straight now. I am 38 years old and I only have ever met one lazy Greek person in Greece. Yes they enjoy their outings for coffee with their friends etc. But they drink that same coffee/drink for 2-3 hours….because that’s all they can afford. The important thing is to catch up with their friends. I’m envious. Why? Because as I go on with my life here and spend $250 every time I visit my psychologist to get things off my chest, they don’t need to do that. Because they catch up with each other on a daily basis. The only thing you can blame the Greek people for, is voting for incompetent and corrupt politicians in the past (Current government not included). Even then, how much can you blame them? Do you know a lot of them the last few elections didn’t know who to vote for? They saw all politicians and political parties pretty much the same. Yet they had no other choices! Do you know with what criteria they voted? By trying to judge who is the LEAST CORRUPT! Can you imagine having to make that choice? Knowing they are all corrupt, pocketing bribes left, right and centre and still having to vote for someone? I am not an economist or an expert on politics. I can only say that I see the current government in Greece as truly trying to help the Greek people. At the very least, they are giving people back their dignity and their pride. They are giving people hope that not all politicians are the same. They are at least making people such as myself who have never had any interest in politics in the past (re: Greece) interested. My generation in its majority grew up (in Greece) having an off button when it comes to politics. As soon as any political conversation started, we would be ‘they’re all the same, there’s no hope’. So making even us interested is a huge feat in itself. They are ruling with transparency and accountability, which has not happened for a very long time in Greece, if ever. Again, that is a huge step forward. The unfairness of it all chokes me. I will not rest until all the past politicians of Greece who stole money, were bribed, etc are in prison for treason. If Greece were able to get that money back out of all the overseas bank accounts in which they have been stashed, they would have a left over amount after they paid off their debts. Clearly and realistically, that is not to be but we can dream… As for conspiracy, let’s address that. I can think of one conspiracy. In fact, it’s already happening… Greeks have to sell their homes, land etc so they can afford to eat and pay the huge taxes that are constantly introduced. Other Greeks can’t afford to buy…so guess who buys the land? Greece’s richest neighbours, Germany. And is it so hard to believe that once they own a large chunk of Greece they will then claim its natural resources for their benefit? Do you know that a previous Greek government has sold the sun to the Germans? That’s simplifying it I know…but still. They sold the freaking sun! I could seriously keep going with my rant but I won’t. The Greeks may starve in the next few months but at least they’ll starve with their head held up high. Lachlan Wells Err, Xenia Ambatzidis you're deliberately taking what I said out of context. I don't appreciate being construed in such a way. Plight of Greeks is anything but boring. The economic theories behind how they got there is well-known and textbook-worthy. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimum_currency_area Also you'll never see me claiming Greeks are lazy (nor did I say it in the above explanation). In fact in the OECD they work more hours / year that the average (and a staggering amount more than the Germans!). See http://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?DataSetCode=ANHRS Never did I once brush this off in the manner you are describing I did. I suggest you re-read my comment if you think that is true. Daniel Mclachlan They just need to stop spending work longer and return later or pay allot more tax Ron James Yep ... the euro politicians are afraid that Putin will offer to bail them out in exchange for a warm water navy base, the new Greek leader was playing this as a bluff card, but the bankers called his bluff ...now when the Poms vote to leave the Eurozone ... shame really ... could have been a great force but politicians setting up an economic block was never going to succeed when 'photo ops and signing ceremonies' take precedence over fiscal rigor. Except there's no logic to that at all. If the proposition of going it alone was better than staying in the EU/eurozone they would have done it already. No, they want to have their cake and eat it too. There's no obligation for the ECB, IMF and the EU's stronger members to lend to Greece; without those loans they would have had to balance the books much quicker and harsher (read: more severe austerity) since nobody would fund their deficit. There's no grand conspiracy here; it is quite a boring case of non-optimal currency areas and misaligned productivity levels. Greece is in a trap due to its currency situation. It's best long-run strategy is to leave the euro, but no politician wants to be the one presiding over the depression that such a transition entails. Michael Wilson Bankruptcy and a euro exit won't solve the structural problems in Greece (no one bothers to pay taxes or keep govt spending within sensible limits). They'll have to find money from somewhere, and most likely that'll be Russia. So Greece will end up either a 4th rate basketcase state on the edge of Europe, or a 2nd rate basketcase state allied with Russia. In the long term, structural changes may occur, but that's a very long way off. In the short term there'll be serious poverty and unrest in Greece, and in the medium term, Russia will have an extra ally. A great result all round then... NOT. Paul Mccluskey Give it a rest ABC !Greece is being mugged by the EU ! Greece will have a referendum next Sunday to ask its people what they think of the latest bailout ( real democracy) but the f*ckers in the IMF don't want this ! (Profit before people ) Syriza scares the f*ck or of Europe because finally a govt has stood by its own mandate to protect its population from Austeriry ! Rebecca Mcintosh 2 or 3 of the bigger banks will be lucky to survive. Some people will lose everything but never fear the smart and rich got their money out of Greece a long time ago. This should only affect the poor. Rebecca Mcintosh 2 or 3 of the bigger banks will be lucky to survive. Some people will lose everything but never fear the smart and rich got their money out of Greece a long time ago. This should only affect the poor. Yllek Notlim That article doesn't explain how Greece got into so much debt in the first place. "Finance is global and the linkages are often hazy, breeding suspicion and fear about who is exposed and for how much. When that happens, no-one will lend and finance grinds to a halt. The merest hint of bank collapses sends fear through financial markets." This indicates that people running our economies do so without much of a clue as to what they're doing and don't care. The Greek debt crisis is escalating. Business editor Ian Verrender explains what it might mean, who will be worst affected, and how we got here in the first place. Austin Dewey All you need to know...led RADICAL LEFT to power. Closing banks, restricting amount of own money citizens can withdraw and stubbornly failing to negotiate with those indebted to... Michael Michellis Puerto Rico is an unincorporated state of the USA and has just been declared "INSOLVENT" and about to collapse like Greece due to austerity measures failing to arrest it Marilyn Hunt Just make Greece (and Italy) an electronic-only economy for a while. Then the economy can be tracked and fixed. The repayments can be made when people pay taxes rather than operating as a cash/barter economy riddled with tax dodgers at every (EVERY) level. Try asking for a receipt in either country! It is a beautiful country, But you can see the poverty everywhere! I was there in May and I thought things I bought were a reasonable price. The food was beautiful along with the scenery... I hope this country sorts its finances soon. Zoran Mitrevski They should not have to be a part of EU anyway. Look at the different wage structure and the earnings for each country but the difference in the cost of living is not that big. What Germans can afford, Greeks can not. Brett Archer Sounds like zero interest rates. Where by depositors, were paying banks to keep money, in deposits. Called a bail in. When depositors take their money out called a bail out. Can happen here too. Where depositers are offered ridiculous interest rates, for deposits, and then pay tax on that interest. Bail outs occur. Judy Green Reminds me of stables and closing doors!! He's run out of money so now he's going to grab everybody's savings???? James Carthew Government should only be involved in the economy to provide progresssive taxation, regulate environmental issues, protect customers, and bust monopolies when market share is over 85% and income is over $1 billion AUD. Government should not be involved in business subsidies for large businesses at all. Brett Archer Royalty has an affect on price of gold, as soon as Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth touched German ground, Gold fell $30 AU / ounce. Immediately. Deborah Snavely Austerity = betraying one's citizens with failed pensions and 50% unemployment while kowtowing to the bankers who drove the world off a cliff once ALREADY, in just the past decade! Mitch Andrews Just opened my money lending store in Athens...#capitalism all the way Ben: Because people are drawing to much money out ... most money is digital . there's never even close to enough money if there is any kind of bank run ... same will happen here as soon as people figure it out ... Danny Hughes Not so sure it's as easy as leaving the euro, reinstating the drachma and heading to recovery in the modern world. If they don't want to pay back the debt, who will want to do business with them? Powerhouses of Europe will shun them, and rightly so ============================ Athens (AFP) - Strapped for cash in crisis-hit Greece but desperate to visit the Acropolis? Tourists faced with empty ATMs need not despair, visitors to the ancient site can now pay by card for the first time. People have long been asking to be able to use debit or credit cards to purchase the 12 euro ($13.5) entrance tickets to Athens's hill-top citadel, the culture ministry said Monday, insisting that families wanting to admire the Parthenon up close would not be penalised for running short on cash. Long queues have sprung up at ATMs around the city after Greece imposed capital controls and closed banks across the country, hoping to prevent a run on banks following a breakdown in its bailout talks. Cash machine withdrawals have been capped at 60 euros per day, per card. Cards issued by foreign banks are exempt, but some tourists were coming up short Monday as ATMS across the city began to run dry. The ministry said tour operators could also buy entry passes to the site on an IOU basis, with the money to be paid once the banks re-open. The 2,500-year-old temple complex was used by ancient Greeks to worship Athena, the goddess of wisdom.

Train drivers will walk off the job from 10am today. Picture: Stephen Laffer/The Advertis Train drivers will walk off the job from 10am today. Picture: Stephen Laffer/The Advertiser TRAIN users have been warned to brace for “tremendous inconvenience” today as drivers walk off the job between 10am and 2pm amid an ongoing pay dispute with the state government. The strike action will halt all train lines and officials warned some commuters may still be caught short despite substitute buses on offer. University students sitting midyear exams at the Wayville showgrounds this morning have been advised to find alternative transport and allow more time for their commute. The Pulse has this story, plus all your other breaking news, sports, traffic and weather updates. Join the conversation by tweeting us using the hashtag #newsADL or leaving a comment below. Remember, if you can’t find the story you’re looking for, scroll down. We’re blogging live from 6am to 10am every weekday.

Train drivers will walk off the job from 10am today. Picture: Stephen Laffer/The Advertis Train drivers will walk off the job from 10am today. Picture: Stephen Laffer/The Advertiser TRAIN users have been warned to brace for “tremendous inconvenience” today as drivers walk off the job between 10am and 2pm amid an ongoing pay dispute with the state government. The strike action will halt all train lines and officials warned some commuters may still be caught short despite substitute buses on offer. University students sitting midyear exams at the Wayville showgrounds this morning have been advised to find alternative transport and allow more time for their commute. The Pulse has this story, plus all your other breaking news, sports, traffic and weather updates. Join the conversation by tweeting us using the hashtag #newsADL or leaving a comment below. Remember, if you can’t find the story you’re looking for, scroll down. We’re blogging live from 6am to 10am every weekday.

CBA lowers its home loan assessment rate

Jonathan Chancellor | 25 June 2015 CBA lowers its home loan assessment rate CBA lowers its home loan assessment rate The Commonwealth Bank has surprised the market in lowering its home loan assessment rate. The interest rate used to work out whether a customer can service the debt of the home loan if rates rise was 7.4%; but now that rate is 7.25%, according to Sophie Elsworth, the News Ltd personal finance writer. The analysis from mortgage broking firm homeloanexperts.com.au showed the drop to assessment rates applied to owner occupiers and investors. However CBA has recently tightened other serviceability requirements including only allowing maximum loan-to-value borrowings of 95% for owner occupiers. It had previously allowed borrowings of up to 97% including the cost of mortgage insurance. All home loan lenders assess a loan application using their own mortgage assessment rate, which is a buffer they add into the interest rate. Both the lender and the borrower can have confidence that the loan repayments can be made without undue hardship. The mortgage assessment rate varies between each lender, though typically from 1.0% to 2.5% above the variable rate. This allows the lender to assess the borrower's ability to repay the loan, should the Reserve Bank cash rate rise during the term of the loan. ============================= Australian Tax Office to target investment property owners in 2015 DateJune 7, 2015 Mark Chapman Some holiday-home owners are claiming their properties are available for rent when they are not. Photo: Jessica Shapiro The Australian Tax Office is targeting the 1.8 million people – or about 8 per cent of the population – who own an investment property in 2015. With interest rates remaining at a record low, evidence suggests the current boom in property investment is not about to end any time soon. Investment property ownership throws up particular challenges for the ATO, both in making sure that they know exactly who owns what and also in making sure that taxpayers aren't rotting the system. Mark Chapman. The latest ATO figures reveal that investment property owners claim on average $25,717 in deductions covering interest on loans, the write-off on capital works and other items. In more than two-thirds of cases, that's enough to produce a net loss which taxpayers are then offsetting against their other income. Given that the amounts at stake are increasing every year, it's not surprising the ATO is worrying about the loss of revenue. Whether it's a commercial property, a city pad rented out long term or a holiday retreat for family, friends and holidaymakers, the ATO has signalled a big push to check that people aren't over-claiming tax deductions. At the forefront of the campaign, the ATO has recently stated that it will be writing to property investors who own properties in popular holiday areas to remind them to claim only the deductions to which they are entitled. Rental property owners should only claim for the periods the property is rented out or is genuinely available for rent. Periods of personal use cannot be claimed. This is particularly important for holiday homes, where the ATO regularly finds evidence of home-owners claiming deductions for their holiday pad on the grounds that it is being rented out, when in reality the only people using it are the owners, their family and friends, often rent-free. Also, the costs to repair damage and defects existing at the time of purchase or the costs of renovation cannot be claimed immediately. Instead, these costs are deductible over a number of years. Expect to see the ATO checking such claims and pushing back against claims which do not stack up. The ATO is concerned that husbands and wives are in some cases splitting income and deductions so the bulk of the tax benefit goes to the higher-earning spouse, even though the property is actually owned 50:50. Importantly, the ATO now has access to numerous sources of third party data, including popular rental listing sites for both long term and holiday rentals, so it is relatively easy for them to establish if a claim that a property was "available for rent" is correct. In all cases, be careful – don't claim what you're not entitled to and make sure you have records to support and justify every item. Mark Chapman is director of Tax Communications, H&R Block. ========================

Aden oil refinery ablaze as Houthis shell Yemen port

Aden oil refinery ablaze as Houthis shell Yemen port #YemenCrisis Houthi militia shell port to prevent Qatari ship carrying aid from docking A Yemeni fighters of the southern separatist movement walks next to an oil refinery in the port city of Aden on 27 June, 2015, as smoke billows following shelling by Shia Houthi militia (AFP) MEE and agencies's picture MEE and agencies Saturday 27 June 2015 19:18 UTC Last update: Saturday 27 June 2015 19:21 UTC 14 2googleplus0 24 Topics: YemenCrisis Tags: Aden; Houthi militia; President Hadi Show comments Fire erupted at Aden's oil refinery on Saturday when Shia Houthi militia shelled the nearby port to prevent a Qatari ship carrying aid for Yemen's devastated second city from docking, officials told AFP. "The rebels fired artillery rounds at the area and one hit an oil tank at the refinery, sparking a fire," said an official at the Aden Refinery Company. An AFP reporter saw flames raging as pillars of smoke billowed into the skies over the southern city. A government official told AFP the Houthi militiamen had targeted a Qatari vessel carrying food supplies from Djibouti, a hub for Yemen-bound humanitarian aid, and that the attack forced it to turn back. Both the port and the refinery in Aden's Buraiqa district are controlled by pro-government fighters, and the area has seen fierce clashes between rival forces. The refinery has not been receiving any oil via the port, but it still has 1.2 million tonnes of crude in storage and also gas tanks. Houthi militiamen who overran the capital Sanaa in September have since expanded their control to several other regions. In March they advanced on Aden, where President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi had taken refuge before fleeing to Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition began a bombing campaign against the militia and in support of Hadi in late March. Coalition warplanes carried out "at least 15 air raids" across several parts of Aden on Saturday, a pro-Hadi military official said. Meanwhile, five pro-government fighters and two civilians were killed in clashes rocking Aden on Saturday, medics and sources loyal to Hadi said. More than 2,600 people have been killed in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country since March, according to UN figures. Almost 80 percent of the population -- 20 million people -- need urgent humanitarian aid. The situation is particularly serious in Aden, where residents complain of food and water shortages and health officials warn of disease spreading. Earlier this month, a UN-chartered ship carrying humanitarian supplies bound for Yemen was targeted by shelling as it approached Aden. In another southern province, Shabwa, tribesmen killed nine militiamen in an attack on a troop carrier on Saturday, a military source close to the Houthis told AFP. Anti-government forces comprise both Houthi militiamen and renegade troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. - See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/aden-oil-refinery-ablaze-houthis-shell-yemen-port-240931619#sthash.8oLckjkq.dpuf

Ramadan ding-dong

Ramadan ding-dong Foreign conflicts stoke sectarian squabbles among British Muslims Jun 27th 2015 | BRADFORD | From the print edition The crescent and the cross BY THE bloody standards of Middle Eastern sectarianism, it is a slight affair. On the fourth day of Ramadan, dawn worshippers in Bradford found the wall of their husseiniya, or Shia mosque, daubed with the word “KAFIR” (infidel). But flare-ups, once rare, between Britain’s 400,000-odd Shias and 2.3m Sunnis are on the rise. Safdar Shah, one of the husseiniya’s founders, says that 30 years ago, when most of the city’s Sunnis and Shias arrived from the Pakistani side of Kashmir, they often prayed together. But over the past year leaflets denouncing Shias have circulated on city buses, and Sunnis have launched a boycott of two Shia-owned takeaways in Little Horton, a neighbourhood where over half the population is Asian. A flurry of tweets enjoin Sunnis to “stay away from Shia”. Community elders fear the identity politics sweeping the Middle East are seeping into Britain’s school playgrounds, prisons and mosques. “We all condemn atrocities in Palestine, but Sunnis just shrug when Shias in Pakistan are massacred in their mosques,” says a teacher who is Shia. He complains of heckling by Sunni students, including the 12-year-old son of one of three Bradford sisters who recently took their children to join Islamic State’s “caliphate”. Some Muslim organisations like TELL MAMA, which campaigns against Islamophobia, have been quick to argue for a proactive response, but the largest are sluggish and reactive. The Muslim Council of Britain, an umbrella group, released a denunciation of the Bradford graffiti only after a call from this newspaper. Opinion is divided over the cause of the surge in identity politics. “When people are unhappy, have no jobs and are disaffected they need a pastime,” says Nussrat Mohammed, a Labour councillor. Unlike the gleaming glass towers of nearby Leeds, Bradford’s squat skyline of sandstone seems stuck in the time-warp of the Industrial Revolution (bar the minarets). Residents accuse the council, the government and above all Britain’s sometimes histrionic media for portraying the city as a trough of extremism. Others say preachers stoke the division. Most of the country’s 27 Muslim seminaries are Deobandi, a purist form of South Asian Islam. Once a minority among Pakistanis in Britain, with the young this puritanical tendency is gaining ground against the Barelvi tradition, whose colourful customs reflect the popular religious practices of Pakistan. Sectarian battles in Pakistan and the Gulf ripple back to Bradford. Outside the town hall, Sunnis and Shias have staged protests against rival factions in Syria’s civil war. “The politics there are played out here,” says Amjad Pervez, a leading local businessman, who worries that Kashmiri politicians join the campaign trail in Bradford’s elections. “The monsters fed from abroad have grown too big to be handled by one organisation—even the British government,” he says. Tensions seem containable. Thousands of Shias from across northern England each year commemorate Ashura, the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, by marching through Bradford’s streets beating their chests, to only mild abuse from a few Sunnis. And in death more than life, Sunnis and Shias go side by side. The headstones and piles of flowers at the Scholemoor cemetery seem to get larger by the year, despite a Wahhabi rejection of the practice as ancestor worship. But outside school gates Shia parents waiting for their children are worried. A seven-year-old returned home complaining that classmates had threatened to “slaughter you when you grow up”. Three of the four London suicide-bombers a decade ago came from Yorkshire; so did the 17-year-old who blew himself up earlier this month in an IS attack in Syria, worries a Bradford mother. She wants police to protect her husseiniya and wonders whether she should keep the felt stencil of Imam Ali, underlined with a sword, swinging from the car mirror. “We used to say the attacks sweeping the Muslim world could never happen here,” she says. “I’m no longer sure.” Editor’s note: the Muslim Council of Britain has told us that it had drafted a statement condemning the vandalism before being contacted by The Economist, though it issued no statement until the following day. We are happy to clarify this.

Leaked cables show Gulf leery of Shiite expansion

استنكر زعيم التيار الصدري السيد مقتدى الصدر تفجير مسجد الامام الصادق "ع" في الكويت ، داعيا المجاهدين في العراق الى تصعيد عملهم الجهادي ضد " الاراذل" من اتباع ابو بكر البغدادي. وقال الصدر في بيان ، مخاطبا ابو بكر البغدادي" اما ان تدعو لربك الحكمة والموعظة الحسنة واما قومناك ومن اتبعك بالسيف والسلاح ورجمناك ونبذناك انت ومن معك من الارهابيين وذوي العقول المتخلفة ممن ينظرون الى الاسلام بأنه دين القتل والترهيب". واضاف " نحن اذ نستنكر كل اعمالك الارهابية .. وبالخصوص ما قمتم به ضد المصلين في الكويت الجارة ، فاننا في نفس الوقت سنوعز لأحبتنا المجاهدين في العراق لتصعيد العمل الجهادي ضد الاراذل من اتباعك ، الا اذا اعلنت التوبة والموالاة ولله ولرسوله واهل بيته ، ولا أظن ان الله يغفر لأمثالك". ودعا الصدر شيعة الكويت الى التمييز بين "السني المعتدل والسني الارهابي"، مشددا على "عدم ذهاب تلك الدماء بلا رادع". انتهى === The conduct of #Kuwait's Emir, Sheikh Sabah, in the wake of the terror attack has been admirable. (1) pepe del rey ashrafquazi Andrew Turvey The Ghan ن Ms_Looks Dr Nazreen Kadir Zahra Mustafa al-Najafi يا فاطمه الزهراء This sets #Kuwait apart from the rest of #GCC. Kuwaiti #Shia have always proven their patriotism &the ruling family recognized that. To maintain tranquil social relations in #Kuwait, serious crackdown on #Wahhabi-inspired extremist ideology is in order now. (3) Graham E. Fuller, an American author and political analyst who specializes in Islamic extremism, published in 1999 a book titled “The Arab Shi’a: The Forgotten Muslims,” in which he focused on the Shiite communities in the Arab world, from the Gulf states to Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. Today, Arab Shiites are no longer ignored, as they were throughout the long history of the region, thanks to the rise of the Shiite political identity in Iraq, establishing a bridge between Iranian and Arab Shiites. Summary⎙ Print The Gulf states are concerned about the growing influence of Shiites in neighboring countries, expressing their fears of the relations established between the Shiites of Iran and Iraq and their own Shiite communities. Author Ali Mamouri Posted June 26, 2015 TranslatorPascale el-Khoury Given the geopolitical situation of Iraq, Iraq's Shiites have long-standing historical ties with Iran’s Shiites on one side, and with Arab Shiites in other Arab countries, such as Kuwait, Bahrain and Lebanon, on the other. The most important and oldest Shiite religious institution, the Najaf seminary south of Baghdad, brings together Shiite clergy from the Indian subcontinent to Iran and the Arab world. The Shiites of Iraq have close relationships with the Gulf states, mainly Kuwait and Bahrain, given the historical neighborly relations between them and their common affiliation to the most prominent Arab clans and tribes, such as the Rabiah and Khaz’al tribal groups. This major force poses a significant challenge to the Sunni regimes in the Arab world, especially in the countries neighboring Iraq and Iran. The challenge is not only limited to religious differences, as the rise of sectarianism within competing political projects between Iran and Saudi Arabia led to the collision between these regimes and their Shiite components. The "Saudi Cables," which were made public June 19 by WikiLeaks, revealed the concerns of the Arab regimes — including the Gulf states and particularly Saudi Arabia — of the rise of Shiite identity in the region. The leaks also revealed concerns about the connections between the Shiites of the various Arab countries and those in Iraq and Iran. According to the leaks, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates had informed US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz on Dec. 17, 2009, that Iran is establishing Shiite emirates in various regions of the Islamic world, from southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip to the Gulf states and Yemen. In another document dated April 9, 2009, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed revealed that Saudi Arabia fears Asif Ali Zardari’s ascent to the Pakistani presidency, since he is a Shiite and will seek to create a Shiite triangle with those of Iran and Iraq. The documents in general show that the Shiite political force, headed by Iran, is a major concern to Saudi Arabia and most Gulf states. Moreover, they focus on the connection between the Shiite communities in the Gulf region with their counterparts in Iran and Iraq. Concerns rose substantially after the crisis in Yemen. It seems from these leaks that the Gulf states feel that the risk of Shiite alliances forming is knocking on their doors, especially with the Shiite Houthis fighting Saudi Arabia and its allies in Yemen. The Gulf media widely published propaganda against Shiite alliances aiming to restrict relations between the Shiites of the Gulf and the Shiites of Iraq and Iran. It seems that the purpose behind this move was to safeguard the last impregnable fortresses against Shiite extension, according to the Gulf view. On June 11, Al Khaleej published a report indicating that when the Shiites of the Gulf make religious visits to Iraq, they find themselves pushed to join the Shiite militias of the various parts of the region. On its website, the news outlet claimed that a systematic campaign is led by the Shiite communities in Najaf to attract the Gulf Shiites to go to Iraq and participate in religious pilgrimages leading to their integration in militias managed by Iran. This campaign aims to deploy these militias in the various Arab countries to spread instability and implement Iran's regional policies. The report also confirms the control of Iranians over the various sectors in the city of Najaf and the exploitation of Shiite religious shrines and institutions for political purposes linked to Iran. However, Al-Monitor did not find any evidence in the city of Najaf to confirm these allegations. The publication of such reports has led to more restrictions on Shiites in some Gulf countries, to discourage or prevent them from visiting Iraq. Zainab, a Bahraini university professor who preferred not reveal her full name, told Al-Monitor that Shiite visitors often face interrogation and prosecution by Bahraini officials after their return from Iraq. The concerned Gulf states are unable to properly deal with the Shiite communities in their country because of the policy of "non-openness" toward the Shiites of Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. This restricted policy toward Shiites paved the way for Iran to interfere in Iraq and expand in the region, under the pretext of assistance and support for Shiites, and led to the loss of trust between the Shiite communities and the Gulf states. The Gulf militancy against the moderate Shiite parties and communities in the Gulf aggravated the situation in favor of Iran’s agenda and the groups associated with it. In this context, a conviction was issued June 10 for Ali Salman, the secretary-general of the Bahraini Al Wefaq Party — known for its patriotic and moderate speech — ordering his imprisonment for four years on trumped-up political charges, according to Human Rights Watch, which demanded his immediate release. On March 27 from his prison cell before the start of his trial, Salman urged his supporters to commit to peaceful means of protest and stressed that his party has no demands other than abiding by the constitutional regime of the kingdom. Recent years' developments show that the Sunni regime’s ongoing marginalization policies against Shiites are useless and aggravate the situation in favor of Iran. These regimes have to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth planning for the integration of the Shiite communities in their societies and give these communities equal rights and dignity, as well as a sense of belonging to their countries. Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/06/gulf-fears-shiite-expansion-wikileaks-saudi-arabia-iran.html#ixzz3eIQfwU8f

27, wounds 227 in Kuwait mosque KUWAIT | BY AHMED HAGAGY

Khamenei adviser: IS warned about Iraq shrines Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's military adviser, Gen. Yayha Rahim Safavi, talked about Iran’s involved in Iraq and Syria and said that Iran had sent a warning to the Islamic State (IS). Summary⎙ Print The military adviser for Iran's supreme leader said the Islamic State was warned about approaching Shiite shrines. AuthorArash KaramiPosted June 30, 2015 “Daesh [IS] wanted to come toward the holy shrines," Safavi said during a June 28 speech in Karaj just outside of Tehran. "We gave them a message that if they come close to holy shrines, we will enter the battle directly and you know you do not have the ability to confront Iranian Basiji.” Safavi did not say when this message was issued or how. Iraq is home to a number of Shiite shrines that are an important symbolic presence for Iranians and a destination of pilgrimage for millions of Iranians each year. When IS forces began taking over large parts of Iraq in June 2014, many Iranian officials were alarmed about how close IS fighters came to the Iranian border. They immediately helped arm forces both through the central government in Baghdad and forces in the Kurdish Regional Government. It was unlikely many of Iraq’s shrines would be taken over by IS, given that most of them are located in Shiite majority areas. Perhaps the only shrine that caused some alarm for Iranians and Iraqis was the al-Askari shrine north of Baghdad in Samarra, which has a large Sunni population. Iran has already sent a number of advisers into Iraq, some of who have been killed by IS fighters. Safavi, in these remarks, appears to be discussing sending thousands of fighters perhaps, if necessary. While the comment may just be rhetoric, it reflects Iran’s growing concern about how their involvement in Iraq and Syria is viewed domestically. Safavi acknowledged this concern when he said that some youth ask him why Iran is involved in the wars in Iraq and Syria. “Some youth ask us why me must support Syria and Iraq and I answer: If we do not fight the criminal Daesh on those borders and we do not safeguard our country’s security in those regions, then we must fight these terrorists on our borders.” The argument that Iran must “fight the terrorists there so they don’t fight them here” has been used before by various officials. With the rise of IS close to Iran's western border, this argument has a higher level of urgency. To highlight their involvement in Syria and Iraq, conservative Iranian media is also giving more coverage to Iranians killed in Syria and Iraq. Though some conservative websites would always acknowledge that names of those killed, today, there are more details shared about these individuals, their funerals are highlighted and more of their personal stories are shared. One recent example of this extensive coverage for those killed in Syria and Iraq is the June 29 commemoration of four fighters killed in Syria where the widow of one of the fighters told Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, “If necessary I too am ready to give my life in this war.” The comment was published in a number of conservative websites, all of which support Iran’s involvement in the Syrian civil war, which is in it’s fourth year. Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/06/iran-warned-islamic-state-shrines.html#ixzz3eabzAwkL ============== REUTERS - Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for Kuwait's worst militant attack last Friday, has built a network of militants in Gulf Arab states responsible for a campaign of suicide bombings against the Arabian Peninsula's Shi'ite minority. Some of the Sunni Muslim group's leaders hail from the Gulf, and its Saudi branch, called Wilayat Najd (Najd province), has called for clearing Shi'ites from the Peninsula and especially from Saudi Arabia, its largest country and home to Islam's holiest places. Islamic State subscribes to a puritanical school of Sunni Islam that considers Shi'ites as heretics and wants to sweep away a hereditary monarchy it regards as un-Islamic. Following are details about Gulf Arab nationals belonging to Islamic State, recent attacks claimed by the group in the Peninsula, and a note on militant financing. GULF ARABS AT SENIOR LEVELS IN ISLAMIC STATE: Turki al-Bin'ali: From the Sunni-ruled kingdom of Bahrain, this prominent ideologue and recruiter for the group has stridently denounced its many Muslim critics and defended its status as a state. He issued a treatise soon after Islamic State declared a "caliphate" based in Iraq and Syria a year ago rallying Muslims to the cause. According to a biography by one of his students, Bin'ali, about 30, has been banned from several Gulf States as well as Egypt. Mohammed Emwazi: Reported by Western officials to be "Jihadi John", the group's most notorious executioner, was born in Kuwait, although he moved to Britain at age 6, later graduating with a computer programming degree from the University of Westminster. Emwazi, identified as the masked man wielding a knife over Western hostages such as James Foley and Stephen Sotloff, is a 'bidoon', an underclass of stateless people in Kuwait that numbers tens of thousands. A lawyer representing Emwazi's father has said Western officials have presented no proof his client's son is "Jihadi John". [ID:nL5N0W63IA] Bandar bin Shaalan: A former officer in the Saudi security services, helped organise Islamic State and encourage religious scholars to endorse the group. According to an unverified series of leaks on Twitter from an alleged militant insider in Syria, bin Shaalan played an important role when Islamic State and al Qaeda's Nusra Front parted company, soliciting loyalty oaths and donations from jihadi figures in the Gulf. Omar "Abu Bakr" al-Qahtani: A Saudi Islamic scholar, was appointed as one of the group's three principal leaders for Islamic Law affairs. Othman al Nazeh al-Asiri: A Saudi who travelled to fight in Syria in 2013, was a prominent voice advocating membership of Islamic State during its split with the Nusra Front. He was reported to have been killed in Syria in January. A total of 2,284 Saudis have joined militant groups in Syria since the conflict began in 2011, Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Mansour Turki told Reuters in March, of whom 645 had returned to the kingdom and about 570 had been killed. MILITANT FINANCING The United States suspects that some of the Islamic State's financing comes from private donations by wealthy Gulf Arabs. In a March 2014 speech, U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen described Kuwait as "the epicentre of fundraising for terrorist groups in Syria." In an Oct. 2014 address, Cohen said that while the group does not rely heavily on external donor networks, "it maintains important links to financiers in the Gulf." IDEOLOGY Saudi Arabia's strict official Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam differs from the ideology of Islamic State in outlawing rebellion against governments it regards as legitimate and opposing attacks on non-Muslims in most circumstances. Saudi top clerics have decried militants as "deviants", but most refuse to acknowledge Shi'ites as being Muslims or to repudiate the teachings of earlier Wahhabi thinkers who argued for permanent jihad against heretics and infidels. ATTACKS IN SAUDI ARABIA The attacks have targeted members of the Shi'ite Muslim minority, policemen and Western expatriates, and represent the most serious militant threat inside the kingdom since it ended an al Qaeda campaign that lasted from 2003 to 2006. Two suicide bombings on Shi'ite mosques in Saudi Arabia's eastern region killed 24 people in May, carried out by Saudi militants and claimed by Islamic State. The first attack in al-Qadeeh village on May 22 killed 21 worshippers and wounded nearly 100 in the bloodiest militant attack in the kingdom, the world's top oil exporter, in years. An Islamist militant suicide bomber disguised as a woman blew himself up outside a Shi'ite mosque in the city of Dammam the following Friday, killing himself and three other people. The Interior Ministry said there was evidence of a link between Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and a militant cell in Saudi Arabia that had included the al-Qadeeh bomber. An unidentified subordinate of Baghdadi communicated with five Saudi men, now in Saudi custody, belonging to the same cell as the suicide bomber, Saleh bin Abdul Rahman Saleh Qashimi, ministry spokesman Bassam al-Attiyeh said in May. ATTACKS IN KUWAIT A suicide bomber killed 27 people when he blew himself up inside a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Kuwait city on June 26, in the worst militant attack in the Gulf state. Kuwait identified the bomber as a Saudi citizen, Fahd Suliman Abdul-Muhsen al-Qabaa. According to the U.S. State Department's annual report on terrorism released this month, Kuwait foiled several Islamic State bomb plots in 2014 and beefed up its border defences against infiltration by militants in Iraq. In December 2014, Kuwait arrested a 12-person cell, among them two former police officers planning bomb attacks on civilian and government targets.The interior ministry said in May that seven members of an alleged militant cell affiliated with the Islamic State were arrested in May for seeking to carry out sectarian attacks. (Sources: U.S. State Department, IHS Jane's Intelligence Review, Soufan Group, Reuters, Jihadica website; Writing by Noah Browning and Sami Aboudi, Editing by William Maclea Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 2h The Shah allowed Israel to construct a nest of spies at their Embassy in Tehran which Khomeini closed and handed its keys to Yasser Arafat. View details · Reply Retweet Favorite Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 2h Unlike Pro-Israeli Shah, the Islamic Revolution of Iran stands firmly with all Sunnis and Shiites who carry arm and fight criminal Israelis. View details · Reply Retweet Favorite Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 2h All authentic non-adultered Arab and Muslim struggle must Begin, Passes through and End with the Liberation of Palestine and Holy Jerusalem. View details · Reply Retweet Favorite Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 3h To reduce recruitment for ISIS, the US should insist on having Israel signING the Nuclear Non-Proliferation program and dismantle its Nukes. View details · Reply Retweet Favorite Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 3h To Geography-Ignorant Saudi Kings, the Liberation of Holy Jerusalem doesn't pass through Tehran. View details · Reply Retweet Favorite Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 3h Besides being in breach of UN charter, the deployment of Turkish troops into Syria will meet Kurdish, Syrian and Hizbollah fighters. View details · Reply Retweet Favorite Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 4h Turkish double standards: Erdogan supports Barzanistan in North Iraq but rejects the establishment of similar Kurdish entity in North Syria! View details · Reply Retweet Favorite Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 4h One of the most effective measures to slow the recruitment for ISIS is for the US to force the Israelis to go back to 1948 borders. View details · Reply Retweet Favorite Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 4h Turkey and Erdodan must understand that Putin and Russia will protect Syria the Way Kruschev and the CCCP protected the sovereignty of Cuba. View details · Reply Retweet Favorite Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 4h After their Special Forces had failed to effectively support ISIS, the Turks are moving armoured divisions across the border into Syria! View details · Reply Retweet Favorite Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 4h It isn't in the interest of Saudi King, Guardian of Holy Places, Islam labelled a Murderous Religion and Jerusalem desecrated by Israelis. View details · Reply Retweet Favorite Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 5h The Royal Families of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Morocco are either being intimidated or bribed by USraelis to support Inter-Arab fighting. View details · Reply Retweet Favorite Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 5h WHA'S TO BE DONE? Arab-Muslim Brotherhood united against Israeli crimes and rejecting the premise "Israel is a Friend, Iran is the Enemy" View details · Reply Retweet Favorite Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 6h WHAT'S TO BE DONE: People must expose Media, Politicians and Preachers trying to make Arabs and Muslims kill each other as USraeli agents. View details · Reply Retweet Favorite Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 6h WHAT's TO BE DONE? 3. The Barbaric crimes by Islamists are not being blamed on USraeli-recruited mercenaries but on MURDEROUS ISLAM. View details · Reply Retweet Favorite Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 7h WHAT's TO BE DONE? 2. ISIS, Al-Nusrat Front and other Islamist groups are armed and financed by USraeli-led West and Arab and Muslim allies. View details · Reply Retweet Favorite Adnan Darwash Adnan Darwash @AdnanDarwash 7h WHAT'S TO BE DONE? 1. Led by Saudi Arabia, current Arab leadership changed the Arab-Israeli conflict into an Arab-Iranian one. ================== Wahhabism: Religious deviance and fountainhead of radicalism & extremism Catherine Shakdam is a political analyst, writer and commentator for the Middle East with a special focus on radical movements and Yemen. Get short URL Published time: June 28, 2015 16:08 Reuters / Stringer Reuters / Stringer Trends Islamic State Tags Middle East, Politics, Religion, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism, Violence Muslims are caught in the eye of a ferocious storm as Islamic State’s legions spread fear across three continents. But anger has been misplaced as the real face of terror lies not with Islam but hidden in Saudi Arabia, where Wahhabism reigns all powerful. If the world ever needed a reminder that terror truly stands as an enemy of civilization and of all people - beyond class, faiths, ethnicity and political affiliation - the triple attacks this week by extremists in Lyon (France), Sousse (Tunisia) and Kuwait should stand as testimony to the evil that has besieged us all. Western politicians will likely exploit France's attack to push forth their own security agenda, calling on the Western world to fear and abhor Muslims as they themselves plot to encroach further on civil liberties and trample over human rights. However, many will fail to recognize where the true monster really lies. To reduce the world's terror crisis to Islam on account of a few twisted and psychotic individuals, who have decided to brand themselves Muslims, is as ridiculous as blaming the Bible or the whole of Christianity on the abuses of the Spanish Inquisition. There are over one billion Muslims in the world, of which less than half a percent have pledged themselves to the black flag of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). Branding 23 percent of the world’s population as religious criminals is a rationale of discrimination and prejudice that terror ideologues have used to build their army - exclusion is an epidemic which has cost the world too much blood already for it to be allowed to perpetuate. Read more France terrorist attack suspect took selfie with beheading victim Historically, men have long abused the name of God and religion to serve their own selfish goals, claiming holiness as a shield against criticism while perverting the Holy Scriptures to brainwash communities into absolute submission. Where religion offers freedom, bigotry has only ever enslaved and abused. Islam, like Judaism and Christianity before it, carries a message of peace and compassion. How people choose to interpret it takes nothing away from its message; if anything it says more about our ability, or rather inability as a people to respect the sanctity of faith. If religions are a reflection of the divine, our practice of it has proven to be inherently flawed, which has led to fanatics using God to breed dogmatism. This terror we have labeled as Islamic radicalism could not be further remote from Islam. Everything IS and its infernal sisters perpetrate, from the promises of bloody retributions to its militants' heinous crimes against humanity, are an abomination and a negation of Islam’s tenets. Read more Tunisia holds vigil for horrific beach massacre victims (PHOTOS) As hatred and fear are fast replacing reason and logic, it is time we all learn of the roots and driving forces behind this monstrosity - Wahhabism. If indeed our goal is to eradicate terror, we might want to start where it is bred, instead of appointing blame where it is not warranted. This Islam the world has come to loathe is in fact a perversion, which was born in the desert of Nejd in Saudi Arabia back in the 18th century. This ideology Muslims and non-Muslims alike have to come to fear and despise is but an engineered religious deviance rooted in hatred. Wahhabism is merely the misguided expression of one man’s political ambition - Mohammed Abdel-Wahhab, a bigot who was recruited by the British Empire to erode the fabric of Islam and crack the armor of the then-Ottoman Empire by breeding sectarianism and dissent. It is Abdel-Wahhab's alliance to the House of Saud that ultimately unleashed this now seemingly unstoppable evil we know today under the tag of Islamic radicalism. If not for the Al Saud Royals' billions and the silence of Western powers, Wahhabism would never have crossed the deserts of Saudi Arabia. If not for the kingdom's lavish sponsoring of the Wahhabi school of thought, extremism would never have come to be in the first place. Although exact numbers are not known, it is thought that Saudi Arabia has spent over $100 billion on exporting fanatical Wahhabism to various, much poorer Muslim nations worldwide over the past three decades, notwithstanding its efforts in the West. Islamic State’s obscene savagery epitomizes the violence inherent and central to Wahhabism and Salafism, its other radical branch. Let us all remember how eagerly the kingdom carries out death sentences by beheading or stoning and how generously its officials hand out lashings and other barbaric corporal punishments to its citizens before theorizing on the source of Islamic State’s murderous streak. IS is simply a studious disciple of Wahhabism. It learned its craft and its hate within its schools; it was force-fed its poison by a clergy which idolizes death and torture in the name of a misplaced and misguided understanding of what constitutes the holy. Ascetic, reactionary, murderous and cruel, Wahhabism is a terror that needs to be named before it can be defeated. Read more Fatal Friday: Scores dead after France, Tunisia & Kuwait hit by terrorist attacks More than any other people and religious community, Muslims have suffered as a consequence of the pain and suffering IS has inflicted. Naturally, they do not recognize this evil as having anything to do with their faith. And yet, Muslims continue to be blamed for the misery these Wahhabi legions wreak on the world. Would it not be better to admit that Wahhabism is not of Islam and thus free over a billion people from carrying such a collective burden of guilt? Ultimately, however drastic our security measures or violent our military interventions will be against radicals, it will all come to naught if we continue to allow Wahhabis to spew their poison through religious patronage? Terror will only end with the death of its ideology. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT. ================ ISIL Warns to Carry Out Terrorist Attack in Saudi Arabia Friday ISIL Warns to Carry Out Terrorist Attack in Saudi Arabia Friday TEHRAN (FNA)- Taraki al-Ben Ali, the leader of the ISIL terrorist group's Bahrain branch, announced that a terrorist attack similar to what happened in Kuwait City yesterday will take place in Saudi Arabia next week. "We will attack Saudi Arabia next Friday," al-Ben Ali wrote on his Twitter account on Sunday. Al-Ben Ali made a similar threat against Bahrain on Saturday. "After the Friday's explosion of Imam Sadiq (PBUH) mosque in Kuwait City, it will be Bahrain's turn next Friday," al-Quds al-Arabi quoted Taraki al-Ben Ali as saying on Saturday. On Friday, at least 27 people were killed and over a dozen more were injured in a bomb attack at Imam Sadiq (PBUH) Mosque in Kuwait City. The bombing was carried out during the weekly Friday prayers at the mosque in the Sawabir district of the Kuwaiti capital. The Takfiri ISIL terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Similar terrorist attacks were carried out by the ISIL in Tunisia and France on Friday. In Tunisia, At least 37 people were killed in an attack by two gunmen in the Port El Kantaoui tourist complex, 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) North of the town of Sousse. In France, a truck driver, reportedly carrying a flag of the ISIL Takfiri group, crashed into a gas factory located in the small town of Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the city of Lyon, and hung his employer's severed head on a factory garage. ====================================== Kuwait says mosque bomber was young Saudi man, detains driver . Reuters By Ahmed Hagagy 46 minutes ago Mourners hold flags as the bodies of victims of Friday's bombing are buried in Al Jafariya cemetery in Suleibikhat . View gallery Mourners hold flags as the bodies of victims of Friday's bombing are buried in Al Jafariya cemetery … . By Ahmed Hagagy Related Stories 1. Kuwait says mosque bomber was young Saudi man, detains driver Reuters 2. Kuwait says mosque suicide bomber was Saudi: state media Reuters 3. Kuwait arrests suspects in mosque attack, mourns dead Reuters 4. Islamic State suicide bomber kills 27, wounds 227 in Kuwait mosque Reuters 5. Kuwait Shiite mosque bomber was Saudi national AFP KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwait identified the suicide bomber behind its worst militant attack as a young Saudi Arabian man and said on Sunday it had detained the driver of the vehicle that took him to a Shi'ite Muslim mosque where he killed 27 people. The disclosure of the bomber's nationality is likely to focus the attention of authorities probing Friday's suicide attack on ties between Islamists in Kuwait and those in Saudi Arabia, a center of ultra-conservative Islamic thought. Kuwait's interior ministry named the bomber as Fahd Suliman Abdul-Muhsen al-Qabaa and said he flew into Kuwait's airport at dawn on Friday, only hours before he detonated an explosives-laden vest at Kuwait City's Imam al-Sadeq mosque. The Islamic State militant group issued an audio clip purporting to be a posthumous statement by the bomber, in which he criticizes Shi'ite Muslims, "especially in Kuwait", for what he terms insulting Islam. "Very, very soon you will see something unexpected, expect blood, expect death," the speaker says. Reuters was unable to verify immediately the authenticity of the statement. .. View gallery Bodies of victims of the Friday bombing are transferred … Mourners hold flags with names of Prophet Mohammad's family members as the bodies of victims of … Saudi Arabia said al-Qabaa was not previously known to security authorities and had flown out of the kingdom to the Bahraini capital Manama on Thursday, state news agency SPA quoted the interior ministry as saying. The timing of his arrival suggests he had a network already in place in Kuwait. The Kuwaiti interior ministry said it was searching for more partners and aides in this "despicable crime", adding that Qabaa had been born in 1992. Islamic State's Saudi Arabian arm claimed responsibility for the attack on the mosque, where 2,000 worshippers were praying at the time. It was one of three attacks on three continents that day apparently linked to hardline Islamists. The attack was the most significant act of Sunni militant violence in Kuwait since 2005, when an al Qaeda-linked group calling itself the Peninsula Lions clashed with security forces in the streets of Kuwait City. Nine Islamists and four security force members were killed in the gun battles. The bombing has sharply heightened regional security concerns because Islamic State appears to be making good on its threat to step up attacks in the holy fasting month of Ramadan. .. View gallery Son of the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Nasser Sabah al Ahmed … Son of the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Nasser Sabah al Ahmed al Sabah (C, 5th R) and Speaker of Parliament … The group, seeking to expand from strongholds in Iraq and Syria, says its priority target is the Arabian peninsula and in particular Saudi Arabia, home of Islam's holiest places, from where it plans to expel Shi'ite Muslims. Islamic State subscribes to a puritanical school of Sunni Islam that considers Shi'ites as heretics. The interior ministry said the driver of the Japanese-made car, who left the mosque immediately after Friday's bombing, was an illegal resident named Abdul-Rahman Sabah Aidan. "DEVIANT" IDEAS The ministry, which had earlier reported the vehicle owner's arrest, said Aidan, 26, was found hiding in one of the houses in the al-Riqqa residential area. .. View gallery Inspectors work at the Imam Sadiq Mosque after a bomb … Inspectors work at the Imam Sadiq Mosque after a bomb explosion, in the Al Sawaber area of Kuwait Ci … "Initial investigations showed that the owner of the house is a supporter of the deviant ideology," it said, employing a term often used by authorities in the Gulf Arab region to refer to hardline Islamist militants. The owner of the house, a Kuwaiti citizen, was also detained, the ministry said. Officials said the bombing was clearly meant to stir enmity between majority Sunnis and minority Shi'ites and harm the comparatively harmonious ties between the sects in Kuwait. Shi'ites are between 15 and 30 percent of the population of Kuwait, where members of both communities live side by side with little apparent friction. Kuwait is a conservative Muslim country where alcohol is banned, but it is less strict than Saudi Arabia on issues such as women's rights and freedom of religion. Kuwaitis reacted with outrage to the bombing. Some said citizens who fund Islamist armed groups fighting in Syria and Iraq were to blame for any militancy in Kuwait. Kuwait has been one of the biggest humanitarian donors to Syrian refugees through the United Nations, but it has also struggled to control unofficial fund-raising for opposition groups in Syria by private individuals. Abdulrahman al-Jeeran, a parliamentarian and member of the ultra-conservative Salafi branch of Islam, told Reuters lawmakers should stop "sectarian discourse" and be prevented from using sectarian issues for electoral gains. (Additional reporting by Rania el Gamal, Sami Aboudi, Noah Browning andf Taghreed al-Madani in Dubai; Writing by William Maclean; Editing by Ralph Boulton and Paul Tait) ===================== Kuwait says mosque bomber was Saudi, detains driver Sun, Jun 28 05:50 AM EDT image 1 of 5 By Ahmed Hagagy KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwait on Sunday identified a suicide bomber who carried out the country's worst militant attack as a Saudi citizen and said it had detained the driver of the vehicle that took him to a Shi'ite Muslim mosque where he killed 27 people. The interior ministry named the bomber as Fahd Suliman Abdul-Muhsen al-Qabaa and said he flew into Kuwait's airport at dawn on Friday, only hours before he detonated explosives at Kuwait City's Imam al-Sadeq mosque. Militant group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing at the mosque, where 2,000 worshippers were praying at the time. It was one of three attacks on three continents that day apparently linked to hardline Islamists. "The interior ministry will continue its efforts to uncover the circumstances of this explosion," interior ministry spokesman Adel Hashash told Kuwait state television. The bombing has sharply heightened regional security concerns because Islamic State appears to be making good on its threat to step up attacks in the holy fasting month of Ramadan. The group, seeking to expand from strongholds in Iraq and Syria, says its priority target is the Arabian peninsula and in particular Saudi Arabia, home of Islam's holiest places, from where it plans to expel Shi'ite Muslims. Islamic State subscribes to a puritanical school of Sunni Islam that considers Shi'ites as heretics. The ministry said the driver of the Japanese-made car, who left the mosque immediately after Friday's bombing, was an illegal resident named Abdul-Rahman Sabah Aidan. "DEVIANT" IDEAS The interior ministry, which had earlier reported the vehicle owner's arrest, said Aidan, 26, was found hiding in one of the houses in al-Riqqa residential area. "Initial investigations showed that the owner of the house is a supporter of the deviant ideology," the ministry said, employing a term often used by authorities in the Gulf Arab region to refer to hardline Islamist militants. The owner of the house, a Kuwaiti citizen, was also detained, the ministry said. Officials said the bombing was clearly meant to stir enmity between majority Sunnis and minority Shi'ites and harm the comparatively harmonious ties between the sects in Kuwait. Shi'ites are between 15 and 30 percent of the population of Kuwait, a mostly Sunni country where members of both communities live side by side with little apparent friction. Kuwait is a conservative Muslim country where alcohol is banned, but it is less strict than Saudi Arabia on issues such as women's rights and freedom of religion. Kuwaitis reacted with outrage to the bombing. Some said citizens who fund Islamist armed groups fighting in Syria and Iraq were to blame for any militancy in Kuwait. "The wrath of God will come upon ISIS and everyone who is supporting them and collecting funds for them under the cover of helping refugees and orphans," wrote Hamad al-Baghli, a Kuwaiti, on Twitter. "Everyone who is funding and donating to ISIS should be charged with treason because they want to burn Kuwait," tweeted Asmaa Asiri. In other attacks on Friday, a gunman in Tunisia killed 37 people including Western tourists on a beach, and in France a decapitated body was found after an attacker rammed his car into a gas container, triggering an explosion. There was no evidence Friday's three attacks were coordinated. But coming so close together, they appeared to underscore the far-reaching, fast-growing influence of Islamic State. (Additional reporting by Rania el Gamal in Dubai; Writing by William Maclean; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) ===================== Kuwait to bury 26 victims of country's first mosque attack #IslamicState Kuwait's largest Sunni mosque will be open for three days of condolences as an act of solidarity with the Shia community Kuwaitis carry a man on a stretcher after a suicide bombing targeted Al-Imam al-Sadeq mosque (AFP) MEE and agencies's picture MEE and agencies Saturday 27 June 2015 10:12 UTC Last update: Saturday 27 June 2015 10:26 UTC 158 51googleplus0 212 Topics: IslamicState Tags: Kuwait, Islamic State, Attack Show comments Kuwait is to hold a mass funeral on Saturday for 26 people killed in a suicide bombing at a Shia mosque claimed by the Islamic State group. The interior ministry said in a statement early on Saturday that 26 people and the bomber were killed and 227 others wounded in one of the country's worst bombings and its first ever on a mosque. The attack targeted Al-Imam Al-Sadeq mosque in the capital Kuwait City during Friday noon prayers. The mosque authorities said in a statement that "Kuwait martyrs" will be laid to rest at the Shia cemetery, west of the capital, at 4pm (1300 GMT). It said that condolences would be accepted for three days starting on Saturday at the Grand Mosque, the largest place of worship for Sunni Muslims, in a show of solidarity. Kuwait's emir, the government, parliament and political groups and clerics have said the attack was aimed at stirring sectarian strife in the emirate. Sunni religious and political groups were quick to condemn the attack carried out by the Islamic State, a radical Sunni group which considers Shia Muslims to be heretics. Shia form a third of Kuwait's 1.3 million native population. The interior ministry has said an unspecified number of suspects were held for questioning in connection with the attack that shocked the small oil-rich Gulf state. No details were provided. The cabinet announced after an emergency meeting on Friday that all security agencies and police had been placed on alert to confront what it called "black terror". It also declared Saturday a day of mourning. Shia activist Abdulwahed Khalfan told AFP that security at Shiite mosques had been beefed up and citizens' committees have been formed. The IS-affiliated group in Saudi Arabia, calling itself Najd Province, said militant Abu Suleiman al-Muwahhid bombed the mosque, which it claimed was spreading Shia teachings among Sunni Muslims. The emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who immediately visited the site of the bombing, said that the "criminal attack is a desperate and evil attempt targeting Kuwait's national unity". Kuwaiti newspapers said the attack aimed to undermine national unity by fanning sectarian tensions. "It is a black day ... in which Kuwait woke up to a spiteful bombing that aimed foremost to undermine its national unity and social structure," said Al-Qabas in a front-page editorial. Al-Anbaa newspaper agreed that the aim of the bomber was to divide society. "The message of the despicable terrorist who blew himself up is clear: an attempt to ignite hateful strife between the Kuwaiti people," said the daily. However, prominent Arab activist Iyad al-Baghdadi criticised the state for prioritising a crackdown against civil society rather than targeting those responsible for spreading sectarian hatred in the Gulf state. Kuwaiti activist Rana Jasem al-Sadoun was sentenced in absentia on 22 June to three years in prison for republishing to YouTube a speech by opposition leader Musallam Al-Barrak. - See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/kuwait-bury-26-victims-countrys-first-mosque-attack-303475787#sthash.xXfIsNtN.dpuf ============================ A suicide bomber killed 27 people when he blew himself up inside a packed Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Kuwait city during Friday prayers, the health ministry and witnesses said, the first attack of its kind in the major oil-exporting state. The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, which also wounded 227 people according to the interior ministry, in the district of Sawaber in the eastern part of the Kuwaiti capital. Parliament member Khalil al-Salih, who was at the mosque when the attack occurred, said worshippers were kneeling in prayer when the bomber walked into the Imam al-Sadeq Mosque and detonated his explosives, destroying walls and the ceiling. "It was obvious from the suicide bomber's body that he was young. He walked into the prayer hall during sujood (kneeling in prayer). He looked ...in his 20s, I saw him with my own eyes," he told Reuters by telephone. "The explosion was really hard. The ceiling and wall got destroyed," he said, adding that more than 2,000 people from the Shi'ite Ja'afari sect were praying at the mosque. The mosque preacher was quoted by state news agency KUNA as saying that the attack targeted worshippers at the back of the mosque, towards the end of the Friday prayers. It was the first suicide bombing at a Shi'ite mosque in Kuwait and worst militant attack in the country for many years. Shi'ites comprise between 15 and 30 percent of the predominantly Sunni Muslim Gulf Arab state, where members of both communities are known to live side by side with little apparent friction. Security forces quickly sealed off the perimeter of the mosque while rescue workers carried the wounded to hospital. RELATED COVERAGE › Suicide bombing an attempt to threaten Kuwaiti national unity: PM Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) spokesman Khaled al-Asousi told Reuters that the company was carrying out "extra monitoring and searches" to boost security around oil facilities after the attack. Islamic State named the bomber as Abu Suleiman al-Muwahed and said in a statement posted on social media that he had targeted a "temple of the rejectionists" -- a term it generally uses to refer to Shi'ites, whom it regards as heretics. Islamic State had urged its followers on Tuesday to step up attacks during the Ramadan fasting month against Christians, Shi'ites and Sunni Muslims fighting with a U.S.-led coalition against the ultra-hardline jihadist group. Also on Friday, a gunman killed 37 people including Western tourists at a beach resort in Tunisia, and in France a decapitated body covered in Arabic writing was found after an attacker rammed his car into a gas container, triggering an explosion. There was no evidence the three attacks were deliberately coordinated. But coming so close together on the same day in three countries on three different continents, they underscored the far-reaching, fast-growing influence of Islamic State, Western politicians said. BLOOD DONATIONS The Health Ministry said Kuwait's blood bank had opened additional centers to receive blood donations and it urged citizens with non-urgent medical needs to avoid the emergency units. Pictures posted on social media and Kuwaiti news websites showed men in traditional white robes smeared with blood outside the mosque. A second photo showed a row of victims wrapped in white body bags and a third the collapsed ceiling of the mosque. Kuwait declared Saturday a day of mourning. Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, who visited the damaged mosque after the attack, said the bombing violated the sanctity of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as well as Islamic law forbidding the shedding of the blood of innocents. "National unity is a protective fence for the security of the nation," Sheikh Sabah said. Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah, who visited the wounded at the Emiri Hospital, also condemned the bombing as an attempt to jeopardize Kuwait's national unity. "This incident targets our internal front, our national unity," Sheikh Jaber told Reuters outside the hospital. "But this is too difficult for them and we are much stronger than that." Islamic State has recently twice targeted Shi'ite mosques in neighboring Saudi Arabia and carried out attacks against members of the sect's Zaydi branch in Yemen. Kuwait recently approved legislation allowing for security cameras to be placed at public places. Yaqoub Al-Sanea, the minister of justice, religious endowments and Islamic affairs, said that despite Friday's attack, "Kuwait will remain an oasis of security for all groups of Kuwaiti society and all sects. The government is taking many procedures to protect prayers and mosques." (Additional reporting by Hadeel al-Sayegh and Omar Fahmy; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by William Maclean, Mark Heinrich and Andrew Hay)