18-year-old arrested on charges of trying to aid IS HOUSTON, December 12 (AP): A Houston 18-year-old has been arrested and charged with illegally distributing explosive-making information and attempting to support the Islamic State organization. The U.S. Justice Department said Monday that Kaan Sercan Damlarkaya, a U.S. citizen, was arrested on Dec. 8 following an undercover FBI operation. A statement says Damlarkaya said he intended to travel overseas and fight for IS and said he tried to get to Syria twice. He told agents that he would commit a U.S. attack if efforts to travel overseas failed. It also says Damlarkaya provided to alleged IS supporters a formula for explosive Triacetone Triperoxide and instructions how to use it in a pressure cooker device containing shrapnel. If convicted, he faces a possible 20-year maximum prison term. The U.S. has designated IS as a terrorist organization. Chinese indulging in crime will be tried in Pakistan Islamabad, December 12 (IANS): Chinese expatriates involved in criminal activities in Pakistan will face punitive action, officials said. Pakistan has witnessed a rapid increase in the number of Chinese nationals due to development projects and joint ventures under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Some Chinese expatriates, however, were found to be involved in criminal activities including fraud, Dawn online reported. The matter was discussed at a joint meeting of the Home Department and the Vice Consul General of China. The consul said Beijing had no objection if legal action was taken against Chinese nationals for involvement in criminal activities. A police official said no major offence committed by Chinese nationals had come into notice so far. But minor offences like getting drunk was common. In March, two Chinese were arrested in Pakistan for ATM skimming fraud. Hundreds of thousands in Israel mourn 104-year-old ultra-Orthodox rabbi BNEI BRAK, December 12 (Reuters): Hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews crammed into the streets of a Tel Aviv suburb on Tuesday to mourn a 104-year-old rabbi who had significantly influenced a succession of Israeli coalition governments. Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman led a council of sages that controlled the small Degel Hatorah lawmakers’ faction, part of the United Torah Judaism party, which has often held the balance of power in Israel. In particular, Shteinman broke with tradition by giving tacit consent to the enlistment of religious soldiers in the first ultra-Orthodox unit set up by the Israeli military. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government includes ultra-Orthodox political parties, said the Jewish people had “lost a central beacon of spirit, heritage and morality”. Special buses and trains ferried mourners to Bnei Brak, a religious town on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. Police estimated that several hundred thousand people gathered for the funeral procession, dressed in traditional black ultra-Orthodox garb. Shteinman, born in what is now Belarus, had led his community of Lithuanian-rooted ultra-Orthodox Jews since 2012. Magnitude 6.2 quake hits Kerman province in Iran BEIRUT, December 12 (Reuters): An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 hit Kerman province in southeast Iran on Tuesday, state media reported, giving no initial details of possible casualties. The quake struck near the town of Hojdak, according to state TV. The U.S. geological survey recorded its magnitude as 6.1 and said it struck at a depth of 57 km (35 miles). Another quake, which Iranian state media reported at 6.0 and the USGS reported at 5.4, hit western Iran on Monday, in the same region where a magnitude 7.3 earthquake killed at least 530 people last month. There have been no reports of deaths or injuries from Monday’s quake. President Hassan Rouhani has highlighted his government’s efforts in bringing aid and temporary housing to the victims of last month’s quake. Hardline rivals say the government’s response was not quick enough or adequate.
