International News
Koran-Burning Activist Shot Dead In Sweden, Five Suspects Detained
Salwan Momika, the Iraqi-born Christian activist known for repeatedly burning the Koran in 2023, was shot and killed in Södertälje, south of Stockholm, late Wednesday.
His death comes amid an ongoing trial where he faced charges of inciting ethnic hatred.
Prosecutor Rasmus Oman confirmed to AFP on Thursday that an investigation had been opened into the killing of the 38-year-old, with five individuals detained in connection with the crime.
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“We’re in the very early stages … there’s a lot of information gathering. Five people have been detained suspected of involvement in the crime,” Oman stated.
Swedish police responded to reports of a shooting in an apartment building where Momika lived. Officers found a man with gunshot wounds, who was transported to a hospital but later succumbed to his injuries.
Several media outlets reported that the attack may have been broadcast live on social media. Aftonbladet suggested the assailant gained entry to the building via the roof, though authorities have not confirmed this detail.
Momika’s killing occurred just a day before a Stockholm court was set to deliver a ruling on his trial for “agitation against an ethnic group.” The court has since postponed its decision until February 3 following his death.
Momika gained international attention in 2023 after publicly desecrating the Koran, including burning copies of Islam’s holy book outside a Stockholm mosque.
He, along with co-protester Salwan Najem, was charged with inciting hatred against an ethnic group on four occasions that summer.
Their actions sparked outrage across the Muslim world and led to diplomatic tensions between Sweden and several Middle Eastern countries.
Recall that in July 2023, angry protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice, setting fires within the compound during the second demonstration.
In response to the escalating backlash, Sweden’s intelligence agency, Säpo, raised the country’s terror threat level to four on a five-point scale, citing the Koran burnings as a factor that made Sweden a “prioritised target.”
Despite the controversy surrounding his protests, Momika insisted that he had no ill intentions toward Sweden.
“I don’t want to harm this country that received me and preserved my dignity,” he told Aftonbladet in April 2023.
Momika had been living in Sweden since 2018, but in October 2023, the Swedish Migration Agency revoked his residency permit, citing false information in his original application.
However, authorities granted him a temporary permit, stating that there was an “impediment to enforcement” of his deportation to Iraq.
The month before, Iraq had formally requested his extradition in response to his Koran-burning demonstrations.
In March 2024, Momika left Sweden for Norway, where he sought asylum, claiming that Sweden’s commitment to free speech and human rights was “a big lie.” However, Norwegian authorities deported him back to Sweden a few weeks later.
Before moving to Sweden, Momika had a controversial political history in Iraq. His social media activity indicated links to a Christian armed faction that fought against the Islamic State, as well as the creation of an obscure Syriac political party.
He also had public rivalries with influential Christian paramilitary groups and was briefly arrested.
In 2019, he joined Iraq’s anti-corruption protests, which were met with a violent crackdown that left over 600 people dead nationwide.
Momika’s case is among the first in Sweden to test the boundaries between free speech and inciting hatred.
While Swedish law generally protects acts of religious criticism, prosecutors argued that the context and rhetoric surrounding Momika’s actions could constitute “agitation against an ethnic group.”
In October 2023, a Swedish court convicted another man of inciting ethnic hatred for a 2020 Koran burning, marking the first legal ruling of its kind in the country.
Pope Francis will on Sunday be discharged from Rome’s Gemelli hospital, where he has been receiving treatment since February 14 for breathing difficulties and pneumonia.
The 88-year-old pontiff will return to his residence at Saint Martha’s House in the Vatican, where doctors have advised that he undergo “a long convalescence… of at least two months.”
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Dr. Sergio Alfieri explained that while the pope’s health is improving, further recovery is best achieved at home.
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“Further progress will take place at his home, because a hospital — even if this seems strange — is the worst place to recover because it’s where one can contract more infections,” Alfieri said.
Dr. Luca Carbone, another physician at Gemelli, added that there are positive signs in the pope’s condition. “We hope that he will soon be able to resume his normal activities,” he stated.
Before leaving the hospital, Pope Francis is expected to greet the public and offer a blessing from a hospital balcony after the Angelus prayers on Sunday, marking his first appearance in weeks.
Speculation about a possible resignation has been circulating due to the pope’s prolonged absence from public duties, but Vatican officials have firmly denied such claims.
When asked if the topic had been discussed, Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin was clear in his response: “No, no, no, absolutely not.”
The pope, who had part of a lung removed in his youth, has received an outpouring of prayers and well-wishes from Catholics worldwide.
Supporters have been gathering outside Gemelli hospital, leaving flowers, candles, and messages of encouragement.
His hospitalization, the longest of his papacy has led to questions about how Easter celebrations will be handled in his absence.
However, Vatican officials remain optimistic about his gradual return to his duties in the coming weeks.
A Memphis man was accidentally shot by his own dog after the pet jumped onto his bed and triggered a loaded firearm, police confirmed on Wednesday.
The incident occurred early Monday morning while the man was asleep alongside his female partner.
According to police reports, the couple’s one-year-old pit bull, Oreo, inadvertently discharged the weapon after getting its paw stuck in the trigger guard.
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The bullet grazed the man’s left thigh, causing a minor injury that was treated at a local hospital.
The victim’s girlfriend, who spoke to Fox 13 Memphis, described Oreo as a playful dog and recounted the shocking moment the firearm discharged.
“The dog is a playful dog, and he likes to jump around and stuff like that, and it just went off,” she said. Reflecting on the incident, she added: “Keep the safety on or use a trigger lock.”
Police have classified the case as an “accidental injury” and have not disclosed the type of firearm involved.
Although gun-related incidents are frequent in the United States, cases involving animals firing weapons are rare.
In a similar case in 2023, a Kansas man was killed when his German shepherd stepped on a hunting rifle.
A comparable incident in 2018 saw an Iowa man accidentally shot in the leg by his pit bull-Labrador mix.
Authorities are using the Memphis case as a reminder of firearm safety, urging gun owners to secure their weapons properly to prevent unintended discharges.
A deadly measles outbreak in the southwestern United States has claimed two lives and infected at least 228 people, prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue a travel advisory.
The outbreak has hit Texas the hardest, with 198 reported cases, while New Mexico has confirmed 30.
READ MORE: Rivers communities lose 50 children to measles
Health officials say both fatalities involved unvaccinated individuals—a child in Texas and an adult in New Mexico who tested positive for measles posthumously.
The CDC has classified both as measles-related deaths.
As the outbreak continues to grow, the CDC is warning that more cases are likely. In a recent Health Alert Network advisory, the agency urged healthcare professionals and public health officials to take precautions.
“With the spring and summer travel season approaching in the United States, CDC emphasizes the important role that clinicians and public health officials play in preventing the spread of measles,” the advisory stated.
“They should be vigilant for cases of febrile rash illness that meet the measles case definition and share effective measles prevention strategies, including vaccination guidance for international travelers.”
Measles, a highly contagious disease, spreads through respiratory droplets and can remain airborne for up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area.
It causes fever, respiratory symptoms, and a characteristic rash but can also lead to serious complications such as pneumonia, brain inflammation, and death.
Despite the effectiveness of the measles vaccine—providing 93% immunity after one dose and 97% after two—vaccination rates in the U.S. have been on the decline.
The CDC recommends a 95% immunization rate for herd immunity, but coverage among kindergartners fell to 92.7% in the 2023-2024 school year.
The outbreak’s epicenter is in a west Texas county with a large Mennonite community known for vaccine hesitancy.
Religious exemptions have been rising nationwide, contributing to lower immunization rates.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who previously promoted discredited claims linking the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism, has recently shifted his stance.
While he now encourages vaccination, he also continues to advocate for alternative treatments like vitamin A and steroids.
Health experts warn that emphasizing such treatments could divert attention from the urgent need to improve immunization coverage.
The last measles-related death in the U.S. occurred in 2015, when a Washington state woman with a suppressed immune system died from virus-induced pneumonia. Before that, the previous fatality was recorded in 2003.
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