Latest news with #Iraqi-born
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Barber becomes fourth man from pro-Islamic State WhatsApp group to be jailed
An Iraqi-born barber jailed for four years for sending terrorist propaganda videos is the fourth man from a pro-Islamic State WhatsApp group to be sentenced, it can now be reported. Mohammed Hamad, 30, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court, to two counts of disseminating terrorist publications from the so-called Islamic State (IS), also known as Daesh. At his sentencing hearing on Friday, the court heard Hamad was in a WhatsApp group with people who shared his beliefs and support for IS, described as a 'terrorist organisation that encourages and glorifies religious and political violence'. Also in the group was Roshman Saaed, 30, who was jailed for 12 years after he was found guilty following a trial in Birmingham last year of six counts of dissemination of a terrorist publication – three of which were shared to the same messaging group – and one count of entering into a terrorist funding arrangement. Tshko Mohamad, 33, from West Bromwich, was jailed for seven years after he was convicted of entering into a terrorist funding arrangement and Omar Ahmadi, 24, from Sheffield, was jailed for five years and seven months after pleading guilty to the same offence. Their convictions could not be reported until restrictions were lifted on Friday. David Earl, prosecuting, said Hamad had come to the UK illegally from Iraqi Kurdistan in 2016. He told authorities his life would be in danger and he would be arrested if he returned to his home country, the court heard. Hamad said he had been a student of preacher Mullah Shwan, who he said used to teach him the Koran but had recently 'joined Daesh'. He told interviewers: 'Because I was his student, police called me to attend a meeting so I've run away for my life.' The court heard in June 2022 Mohamad sent a voicenote to Saaed telling him to set up the group with 'trusted brothers of the same belief and agenda'. The group, which included Hamad, was set up later that day with the introductory message: 'Swearing by the almighty Allah, we have given a pledge of allegiance to almighty Allah that we will come to you under the flag of the Islamic State caliphate in whatever hole you are in this world. 'Otherwise we will, by Allah, separate your head from your body.' Hamad shared a 'pro-Islamic State mindset' with others in the group, the court heard. One video shared by another user showed a shackled soldier on fire with the caption: 'It contains roasting. It is very tasty.' The court heard Hamad sent two videos in the group. Mr Earl said the first, sent on December 9 2022, showed someone who claimed to be a student of Mullah Shwan, who appeared in numerous IS videos before he was killed, alongside other IS fighters, in 2015. The video referred to soldiers of the so-called Islamic State and to 'brothers' being skilled in 'IED', meaning improvised explosive devices, Mr Earl said. A second video was sent by Hamad on January 18 and showed three prisoners being beheaded in the street. In a speech before the beheading, the man in the video said he was acting in revenge for an attack on Muslim people and promised: 'We will slaughter you one by one.' Mr Earl said: 'The videos were sent intending them to be a direct or indirect encouragement or other inducement to the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.' The group was discovered in March 2023 when Ahmadi was arrested at Stansted Airport on his way to Turkey, with £7,000 hidden in baby milk powder tins. When Hamad, who had a Kurdish Sorani interpreter in the dock, was arrested at his home in Wavertree, Liverpool, in March last year, he told officers: 'I lost my phone a long time ago. I want a solicitor.' Kate O'Raghallaigh, defending Hamad, said: 'The court has seen evidence which is entirely consistent with this man being, in his real life, consistently a hard-working local barber in Liverpool who is not religious, not devout, leads a typical western lifestyle, attends nightclubs and so forth.' Judge Neil Flewitt KC asked: 'Doesn't it rather beg the question, which is the real life?' Photographs of Hamad at social events, including his own wedding, were submitted to the court along with a letter from his wife, who sat in the public gallery. Sentencing, Judge Flewitt said: 'It is said that you live a characteristic western lifestyle, with many gay and lesbian friends, respecting everyone equally. 'On that basis, it is submitted that these offences represent an aberration in your life and undermine any suggestion that you are a committed ideologue. 'I have some difficulty with that submission because another interpretation of that material is that it demonstrates the hypocrisy of a person who is willing publicly to embrace a western lifestyle while privately supporting a terrorist organisation whose objective is to destroy it.' Detective Superintendent Annie Miller, from Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands, said: 'It's clear all these men were involved in supporting Islamic State. 'The group chat was used to promote propaganda and arrange to raise money in the UK to then send to IS to support their activities. 'It is entirely unacceptable to promote terrorism and we will not hesitate to investigate online behaviour or content which breaches terrorism or other criminal legislation.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Barber jailed for four years for sharing Islamic State videos
An Iraqi-born barber has been jailed for four years for sending propaganda videos from the terrorist group calling itself the Islamic State to a WhatsApp group. Mohammed Hamad, 30, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court, to two counts of disseminating terrorist publications from the so-called Islamic State (IS), also known as Daesh. At his sentencing hearing on Friday, David Earl, prosecuting, said Hamad had come to the UK illegally from Iraqi Kurdistan in 2016. He told authorities his life would be in danger and he would be arrested if he returned to his home country, the court heard. Hamad said he had been a student of preacher Mulla Shwan, who he said used to teach him the Koran but had recently 'joined Daesh'. He told interviewers: 'Because I was his student, police called me to attend a meeting so I've run away for my life.' The court heard in June 2022, a WhatsApp group was set up, including Hamad, with the introductory message: 'Swearing by the almighty Allah, we have given a pledge of allegiance to almighty Allah that we will come to you under the flag of the Islamic State caliphate in whatever hole you are in this world. 'Otherwise we will, by Allah, separate your head from your body.' Hamad shared a 'pro-Islamic State mindset' with others in the group, the court heard. One video shared by another user showed a shackled soldier on fire with the caption: 'It contains roasting. It is very tasty.' The court heard Hamad sent two videos in the group. Mr Earl said the first, sent on December 9 2022, showed someone who claimed to be a student of Mulla Shwan, who appeared in numerous IS videos before he was killed, alongside other IS fighters, in 2015. The video referred soldiers of the so-called Islamic State and to 'brothers' being skilled in 'IED', meaning improvised explosive devices, Mr Earl said. A second video was sent by Hamad on January 18 and showed three prisoners being beheaded in the street. In a speech before the beheading, the man in the video said he was acting in revenge for an attack on Muslim people and promised: 'We will slaughter you one by one.' Mr Earl said: 'The videos were sent intending them to be a direct or indirect encouragement or other inducement to the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.' When Hamad, who had a Kurdish Sorani interpreter in the dock, was arrested at his home in Wavertree, Liverpool, in March last year, he told officers: 'I lost my phone a long time ago. I want a solicitor.' Kate O'Raghallaigh, defending, said: 'The court has seen evidence which is entirely consistent with this man being, in his real life, consistently a hard-working local barber in Liverpool who is not religious, not devout, leads a typical western lifestyle, attends nightclubs and so forth.' Judge Neil Flewitt KC asked: 'Doesn't it rather beg the question, which is the real life?' Photographs of Hamad at social events, including his own wedding, were submitted to the court along with a letter from his wife, who sat in the public gallery. Sentencing, Judge Flewitt said: 'It is said that you live a characteristic western lifestyle, with many gay and lesbian friends, respecting everyone equally. 'On that basis, it is submitted that these offences represent an aberration in your life and undermine any suggestion that you are a committed ideologue. 'I have some difficulty with that submission because another interpretation of that material is that it demonstrates the hypocrisy of a person who is willing publicly to embrace a western lifestyle while privately supporting a terrorist organisation whose objective is to destroy it.' The judge also made Hamad subject to notification provisions of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 for 10 years.
Telegraph
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The 2025 Turner Prize shortlist has been announced – and there's one clear favourite
Last year, when the Turner Prize turned 40, there were calls for it to be retired. While they were excessive – the 2024 edition was hardly egregious, and I relished the energy provided by the winner, Jasleen Kaur – there is a legitimate sense that the annual, £25,000 award is in the doldrums of a midlife crisis, and nowadays attracts mostly lukewarm enthusiasm, or, worse, indifference. This year's shortlist – announced on April 23, the 250th birthday of the radical British artist, JMW Turner (after whom the prize is named) – may not allay such concerns. It's respectable and hard to fault, rather than controversial. And, with four artists nominated for far-flung shows and presentations in Barcelona, Sharjah, Berlin, and (unusually, for an award supposedly celebrating contemporary art's cutting edge) at Blenheim Palace, the 18th-century Oxfordshire seat of the Dukes of Marlborough, I worry that it may reflect a view you often hear these days: that London's pre-eminence as an international centre for contemporary art has dissipated. Chosen for After the Storm, a first-rate show at Blenheim dealing with war's spectral repercussions, the 40-year-old, Iraqi-born, London-based painter Mohammed Sami is the frontrunner; he'd be a popular winner, too, given that, as an artist, he so clearly operates within the tradition of Western European painting. His inclusion this year also makes up for the fact that he was short-changed last time around, when he should have been nominated for another brilliant solo exhibition, at Camden Art Centre in 2023. When, though, push comes to shove, and it's time to select a winner, will he seem like an unduly conservative choice to the curators on the jury, who may pride themselves on being more avant-garde in their tastes? The surreal paintings of the 41-year-old Canadian-born Zadie Xa – who also produces fabric pieces inspired by the patchwork aesthetic of traditional Korean textiles, in homage to her heritage – are less sad and wistful, and, in a sense, more 'now'. As a 'nonverbal' artist, the 58-year-old Glaswegian-born Nnena Kalu – nominated for an installation of exuberant suspended sculptures at a biennial in Barcelona, as well as a presentation of swirling graphic works that were shown in Liverpool – will attract attention. She also extends a trend since the prize was expanded in 2017 (to include artists over the age of 50) to nominate older, and previously overlooked, black female artists – including two, in Lubaina Himid and Veronica Ryan, who went on to win. Yet, it would be unfair to describe Kalu's inclusion as a box-ticking exercise, given the bold, beguiling energy of her work. Which leaves 27-year-old Rene Matić, who's about to open a show of new work at London's Arcadia Missa gallery. They (Matić's preferred pronoun) were a rare ray of excellence and hope illuminating Tate Britain's otherwise benighted rehang of its permanent display in 2023. While their photography may be in thrall to that of a former Turner Prize-winner, Wolfgang Tillmans, it has a mesmerising, frisky informality, and electrifying grasp of the effects of colour. I'll be delighted if they carry off the prize, if Sami doesn't bag it.
New York Post
21-04-2025
- Business
- New York Post
‘Mansion in the sky' Miami penthouse in Pritzker-winning architect Zaha Hadid's final building asks $24M
A Miami penthouse in One Thousand Museum, the final architectural masterpiece of the late Zaha Hadid, has listed for $24 million, The Post has learned. The 51st-floor residence, owned by Loren Ridinger, co-founder and CEO of Market America — a marketing company founded in 1992 — is the largest residence currently available in the building. It out-sizes units inside owned by billionaire Ken Griffin, singer Marc Anthony and soccer legend David Beckham. The full-floor penthouse, represented by Seth Semilof of HL Real Estate Group, spans 10,338 square feet with a 1,200-square-foot patio, offering panoramic views of Biscayne Bay, the Miami skyline and the Atlantic Ocean. Advertisement 16 The building was completed in 2019 and boasts 62 stories. Legendary Productions 16 The unit is currently listed for $24 million. Legendary Productions It boasts five bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms, a private theater, a wet bar, his-and-hers bathrooms and closets, a wine cellar and custom audio-visual systems. Advertisement Hadid, the Iraqi-born British architect who became the first woman to win the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004, left an indelible mark with her daring deconstructivist designs, seen in landmarks like the Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan — and Rome's MAXXI museum. 16 The wet bar. Legendary Productions 16 The kitchen. Legendary Productions One Thousand Museum, her last project before her sudden death in 2016, redefined Miami's skyline with its sculptural exoskeleton and futuristic aesthetic. Advertisement 'What's unique about it is bringing someone like Zaha Hadid to Miami,' Semilof said. 'You really never have had that type of an architect … This building started construction pre-COVID — before the time of [big-time] architects coming down to Miami — that to me is kind of what makes this building very special.' 16 Zaha Hadid's final project before her death was the One Thousand Museum building in Miami.16 The building is only made up of half-floor and full-floor units. Legendary Productions 16 A view of the open floor plan. Legendary Productions Advertisement The building's exclusivity draws high-profile residents, with only 84 units across its 61 floors. 'It's a little bit different in terms of product,' Semilof said. This rarity, combined with Hadid's visionary design, has made the tower a magnet for the elite seeking discretion and luxury. 16 The unit has plenty of room for art display. Legendary Productions 16 An office. Legendary Productions The penthouse's $24 million price tag positions it as the priciest unit currently listed in the building, edging out another at $23.75 million. Semilof highlighted its scale: 'Most of the units in the building are half floors, two per floor, and then from floors 50 to 60, they're full-floor units. Our unit is the biggest unit. It's on the 51st floor, it's 10,300 square feet and then [Ken Griffin's], which is on the 58th floor, is about 9,000 square feet.' He described it as 'basically a mansion in the sky,' adding, 'It's Zaha Hadid's last building and it's really the only 10,000-square-foot apartment you could get in all of downtown that's built within the last 10 years.' Advertisement 16 Ken Griffin currently owns two units in the building — one of which was undeveloped and briefly listed on the market, sources tell The Post. AFP via Getty Images 16 The largest penthouse currently available in the building, it boasts 360-degree views of Biscayne Bay. Legendary Productions 16 The unit spans its whole floor. Legendary Productions 16 The primary suite. Legendary Productions Advertisement 16 One of five bedrooms. Legendary Productions 16 There's space for a screening room. Legendary Productions 16 Marc Anthony also owns a unit in the building, which he is listing for $9.9 million. Getty Images HL Real Estate Group, the boutique real estate arm of Haute Living, also brokered Ridinger's original $19 million purchase of the penthouse in 2021. Advertisement The penthouse joins a dynamic market within One Thousand Museum. Marc Anthony's unit is listed for $9.9 million, while Griffin briefly put his own on the market before withdrawing it days later — one of two he owns in the building, a source told The Post.
The National
14-03-2025
- Sport
- The National
'Ready for anyone': Ali Taleb steps up to PFL World Tournament to face Zebenzui Ruiz
Ali Taleb said he is ready to take on all comers after being promoted to the PFL's World Tournament. The Iraqi-born Swede won the promotion's Mena bantamweight title last November by knocking out Moroccan Rachid Haz in the first round in Riyadh. Taleb's performance did not go unnoticed, and the 27-year-old will make the step up in grade at the 2025 PFL World Tournament starting in April, where he is slated to meet Spaniard Zebenzui Ruiz in the newly introduced 135lb weight division. 'I can't wait for this day. I'm super excited. I have been training and preparing for this event ever since the PFL confirmed my spot in the World Tournament,' Taleb, 27, told The National in a Zoom interview. 'Yeah, that's what I have been doing all the time; training and preparing until the day of the fight. I plan to fly to the US for a camp ahead of the fight as soon as I receive my visa." Taleb has only one defeat in his 13-fight pro career while Ruiz also has 12 wins against three losses. 'I don't know much about this Spanish guy but I'm ready to take on anyone the promotion puts in front of me because if you want to be a world champ, you should be able to take on anyone to be the best,' Taleb said. The 2025 PFL World Tournament kicks off in April, with four weekly opening round events taking place on April 3, 11, 18 and May 1 at the Universal Studios Florida in Orlando. Taleb has won four of his five PFL fights with his solitary loss coming against Khurshed Kakhorov of Tajikistan in September 2023. His best win so far has been in UAE Warriors when he dethroned bantamweight champion Vinicius Oliveira – now in the UFC – in a third-round TKO. With that win under his belt, as well as crossing over to PFL and winning the Mena bantamweight crown in the inaugural season, Taleb has proven to be one of the top fighters in the region. 'To win the bantamweight belt was fantastic and now to step up to the world stage I believe was a natural process,' he said. 'I have gone though a lot in life. It has been a very hard and long journey for me. I'm glad about what I have achieved and where I have reached right now. But I want to go further.' Taleb has shown high-level skills and ability, including excellent boxing skills and crunching power punches. He began his professional career with two wins in the Fight Club Rush in Sweden – the first by TKO stoppage and the next by submission arm triangle choke. He went undefeated in the UAE Warriors, reeling off three wins in the Abu Dhabi promotion's Arabia event and two in the international event that culminated with the bantamweight title triumph over Oliveira in July 2022. 'Vinicius was 17-2 and I was 6-0 when I stopped him in the third round. Now he is in UFC and I signed for PFL, which was a big break for me,' Taleb said. 'I was undefeated in five UAE Warriors appearances and ended up with the bantamweight belt. I enjoyed my time with the Abu Dhabi promotion but I had to move on when the opportunities opened up.' Taleb moved with his family to Sweden in 2009 where he joined a martial arts school. He won five of his eight amateur MMA fights and turned pro in 2018. 'That has been my life ever since,' he added. 'I spend much of my time in training and when I'm at home I spend time with my family and play around with my two huskies. 'As a child, I played football and tried out a few other sports but it was MMA that I was attracted to and continued to pursue full-time. I think I have done pretty well so far in my chosen profession and obviously looking ahead for bigger goals. 'I want to put up a show on my first appearance on the world stage. I want to tell my friends and fans around the world to keep supporting me and I'll give them a good show every time I enter the arena.'
