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California massacre by Pakistani-origin couple seen as ‘act of terrorism’

Published

9 years ago

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Washington: The FBI is investigating the California massacre as “an act of terrorism,” after a revelation that the Pakistani-American female shooter posted a pledge of allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Facebook during the shooting.

Tashfeen Malik, who with her US born Pakistani origin husband Syed Rizwan Farook, shot dead 14 people and wounded 21 others during a holiday party in San Bernardino, California, Wednesday made the post on an account with a different name.

Officials did not explain how they knew Malik made the post, CNN said. But hours later FBI official David Bowdich announced Friday that Wednesday’s mass shooting is now being investigated as “an act of terrorism.”

FBI had “uncovered evidence … of extreme planning,” said Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI office in Los Angeles, and some phone conversations between at least one of the shooters and other people are being investigated.

A Facebook official told CNN that a post that went up about 11 a.m. Wednesday that violated the company’s community standards that prohibit the promotion of terrorism or the glorification of violence. It was taken down Thursday.

The mass shooting may have been inspired by ISIS, a law enforcement official cited by CNN said, but none of the officials said ISIS directed or ordered the attack.

“This is looking more and more like self-radicalization,” a law enforcement official said.

Neither Farook nor his wife was on any list of potentially radicalized people, according to police. But it’s not known what connections Malik, who was born and raised in Pakistan and moved to Saudi Arabia about the age of 19, had with any terrorists or groups.

Malik, 27, arrived in the US on a K-1, or fiancée, visa and attained permanent resident status by virtue of their marriage two years ago.

Farook, 28, who was born in Chicago, and Malik, 27, were killed in a shootout with police a few miles away more than four hours after the rampage.

Authorities said they are still trying to determine why Farook and his wife attacked the Inland Regional Centre.

“There was obviously a mission here,” Bowdich said. “We do not know why. We do not know if this was the intended target or something triggered him.”

NBC News cited unnamed officials as saying that Farook appeared to have been radicalized. They said he had been in touch with people in the Los Angeles area who have expressed jihadi-oriented views.

Intelligence sources told NBC News that Farook appeared to have been in some form of communication with people overseas who are persons of interest to US authorities.

In May, Farook and Malik had a baby, whom they left with Farook’s mother, claiming they they had a doctor’s appointment, said Farhan Khan, Farook’s brother-in-law.

The grandparents first became worried when they got a call from the media about 2 p.m. asking whether they knew that Farook was a suspect, Khan, who is married to Farook’s sister, told NBC News.

A profile under the user name “farooksyed49” on the dating website iMilap.com, which describes itself as a “Site for People with Disabilities and Second Marriage,” featured a picture of Farook, which Khan confirmed was his brother-in-law.

The user said he was from a “religious but modern family” and listed “Eastern and Western Mix” under family values.

“Enjoy working on vintage and modern cars, read religious books, enjoy eating out sometimes travel and just hang out in back yard doing target practice with younger sister and friends,” according to the profile.

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Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists

Published

2 years ago

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June 25, 2022

By

PureWin Online Betting

The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index

Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.

The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports

Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.

All for the Tourists

The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.

“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.

To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.

Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market

With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.

Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.

Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.

Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting

Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.

Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.

The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.

If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.

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