1. Police station rocked by huge explosion; area on lockdown after “hand grenade attack”

The explosion was caused by a hand grenade according to local news reports. The police have released a statement to say they were called by several people due to a loud bang. Police spokeswoman Anna Goransson said to the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet: “The place is locked off and the bombing group is on its way.” “Fortunately, no people have been injured, but cars, I cannot say how many, have been damaged.”

Kobo-Read video with photos:



2. Turkey is moving a significant amount of military assets within Syria as preparation to attack Kurds in Afrin, and warns the US not to defend them

The YPG mentioned in the video, are the People's Protection Units of the Kurdish people in Syria.



3. Quran teacher in Oregon is arrested for “sexually abusing two girls under 14 while giving them lessons”

A Quran instructor in Oregon has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing teenage girls. Muhammad L. Hasan, 50, was taken into custody on Wednesday on seven counts of sex abuse after two girls under the age of 14 reported him. The abuse allegedly started in 2016 when the girls were clients of Hasan. Hasan operates a business called AICQ, which provides private instruction on the Quran out of a storefront office in Tigard near Portland. The two alleged victims say Hasan kissed them on the mouth on several occasions starting in 2016, according to court documents. He also allegedly touched one girl's breasts.



4. Swedish PM does not rule out use of army to end gang violence

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden will do whatever it takes, including sending in the army, to end a wave of gang violence that has seen a string of deadly shootings, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said in Wednesday. Sweden’s murder rate is relatively low in international terms, but gang violence has surged in recent years and Swedes are worried that the police are unable to cope. In 2016, the latest year for which official statistics are available, 106 people were murdered in Sweden, a country of 10 million. But Swedish TV reported there were over 300 shootings, mostly in turf battles between gangs over drugs, protection rackets and prostitution. Four people were shot dead in the first week of this year. One man died after picking up a hand grenade outside a subway station in a suburb of Stockholm.

Related:

Spring 2017: Swedish police beg for help

Spring 2016: Swedish police admit that they cannot protect women in some areas of Sweden



5. Trump Awarded Gold Medal of Bravery by 300 Afghan Elders For Cutting Aid to Pakistan

President Donald Trump received an honorable Medal of Bravery from 300 village elders in Logar province, Afghanistan, for his recent tough talk regarding Pakistan and his decision to suspend financial aid to the country. Tribal leaders in Logar province chipped in 45,000 afghanis (about $650) to pay for a handmade gold medal, which was in turn presented to the US Embassy over the weekend in addition to a letter of appreciation for taking a tough stance on Pakistan’s suspected support for Islamic terrorists operating in Afghanistan. One village elder said they have been “waiting 16 years” for a US administration to get tough on Pakistan. The medal is inscribed with the following: “For bravery, from the Afghan people to Donald Trump, president of the United States of America.”

Other sources for this story include:

Times of India and The Washington Examiner.

6. Muslim beauty blogger refuses Revlon award because of “Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot

Muslim beauty blogger Amani Al-Khatahtbeh is rejecting a Revlon award because Gal Gadot is the brand ambassador. Al-Khatahtbeh, founder of MuslimGirl.com, was given the Changemaker award from Revlon’s new @LiveBoldly campaign, an initiative to “inspire women to express themselves with passion, optimism, strength and style” the brand’s website says.

Video of Gal Gadot biography

Wonder Woman trailer:



7. Gunmen kill 2 polio workers in Pakistan, mother and daughter

Gunmen shot and killed a mother and her daughter who were working for an anti-polio campaign underway in Pakistan's southwestern city of Quetta on Thursday, police said. The attack took place as hundreds of polio teams were vaccinating children against the crippling disease, police official Naseeb Ullah said. Pakistan this week launched a drive against polio across the country. In a separate attack in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, assailants killed two policemen. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi condemned the attacks. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the only three countries in the world where polio is endemic and has not been eliminated.

8. Migrant Crisis: 77 Per Cent of Belgians “No Longer Feel at Home”

The massive rise in the proportion of Muslim migrants in the country has resulted in two-thirds of Belgians feeling their nation is being “increasingly invaded”, according to a new study. This sentiment was especially marked among respondents to the detailed survey aged 65 and over, 84 per cent of whom likened the influx of migrants and refugees to an invasion. Overall, two-thirds of the 4,734 people polled believe there are “too many immigrants in Belgium”, while 77 per cent agreed with the statement, “Today we no longer feel at home as we did before [mass migration]”.

9. British Army recruitment video:



10. Italy: Trainee lawyer ejected over Muslim veil in Bologna