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قضايا الدولة" تطالب رشيد وعز وعسل برد 660 مليون جنيه للدولة

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خالد سعيد رحمة الله عليه

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الرئيس الأمريكى باراك أوباما

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الدكتور محمد البرادعى

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الرئيس السابق حسنى مبارك

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الثلاثاء، مارس 26، 2013

Myanmar attacks staged with ‘brutal efficiency’: U.N. envoy

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Myanmar attacks staged with 'brutal efficiency': U.N. envoy

Myanmar Muslims living in Malaysia show banners and placards during a demonstration against the killings of Muslims in Meikhtila, in Kuala Lumpur March 25, 2013. (Reuters)

Muslim homes have been targeted with "brutal efficiency" in deadly new unrest in Myanmar, a UN envoy who has just been to the troubled country said Tuesday.

Envoy Vijay Nambiar said that "incendiary propaganda" had been used to stir unrest between Buddhist and Muslim communities which has erupted again in recent days.

Nambiar has just been on a visit to Myanmar during which he met President Thein Sein and was taken to Meiktila where mosques were burned and charred bodies left in the streets in violence that started March 20.

"It seemed to have been done, in a sense, in almost a kind of brutal efficiency," Nambiar told reporters at UN headquarters from Thailand.

He said he went to shelters in Meiktila where almost 9,000 people had sought protection. About 23 people have been detained in the town, which is about 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of the capital Naypyidaw, the envoy added.

"Most of the people I spoke to tended to suggest the attacks were perpetrated by people they did not really recognize, and they may have been outsiders. But clearly they were targeted," Nambiar said.

The envoy said some "inciteful" articles had been written by Buddhist elements. "Clearly there has been a fair amount of incendiary propaganda which has been going on amongst the various communities, which heightened the feeling between them," Nambiar added.

The UN official said Thein Sein had been "very firm in saying that firm action" would be taken against the perpetrators and to stop the spread of the violence.

Since the attacks in Meiktila, the Buddhist-Muslim violence has spread this week to towns closer to the main city of Yangon.
 

27 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/27/Myanmar-attacks-staged-with-brutal-efficiency-U-N-envoy-.html
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British soldier dies in Afghanistan attack

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A total of 441 British military personnel have died while serving in Afghanistan since US-led operations began there in October 2001, 398 of whom died as a result of hostile action. (AFP)

A British soldier died on Tuesday after an attack in southern Afghanistan, the first such death for more than two months, the Ministry of Defense in London said.

The soldier from 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment was injured by enemy action in the Nad-e Ali area of Helmand Province on Monday and flown to hospital, but he succumbed to his wounds.

A total of 441 British military personnel have died while serving in Afghanistan since US-led operations began there in October 2001, 398 of whom died as a result of hostile action.

In December, Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain would withdraw 3,800 of the country's 9,000 troops from Afghanistan this year, as NATO prepares for a full security handover to Afghan forces at the end of next year.
 

27 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/27/British-soldier-dies-in-Afghanistan-attack-.html
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From feminists to pacifists, demo marks Tunis forum debut

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At a women's rights gathering earlier, dubbed the "assembly of women fighting" against discrimination, feminists sharply criticized the policies of Tunisia's ruling Islamist party. (Reuters)

"Down with dictatorship, down with capital!" and "Solidarity with women around the world!" rang the chants of thousands marking the opening in Tunis Tuesday of the World Social Forum, an alternative to the elite annual event in Davos.

Anarchists, ecologists, pacifists and trade unionists rubbed shoulders with Sahrawi independence activists, veiled women and Arabs in traditional jellabas as they marched through the heart of the capital at the start of the anti-globalization event being held in an Arab country for the first time.

A carnival atmosphere reigned at the demonstration on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, the epicenter of Tunisia's Jasmine revolution just over two years ago that sparked Arab Spring uprisings across the region.

Slogans were chanted in a medly of languages and by people from a blur of different nationalities, with one group of Japanese, dressed in yellow, calling for an end to armed conflict, as others demanded "Freedom for Palestine."

Some of Tuesday's protesters waved portraits of Tunisian secular opposition leader Chokri Belaid, who was gunned down outside his home last month, demanding to know who the killers were.

Before the revolution of January 2011, a meeting of the anti-globalization event in Tunisia would have been "unthinkable", said Mohamed Jmour, a leader of Belaid's leftwing party. "Thanks to the sacrifice of our people, we have made it happen."

Some 30,000 individuals and 4,500 organizations are due to attend the five-day event, which casts itself as an alternative to the World Economic Forum in Davos and will address a range of subjects from the environment to democratic governance and women's rights.

"The revolutionary processes, rebellions, uprisings, civil wars and protests" will be at the heart of the discussions, say the organizers, as will the social and economic problems behind the Arab Spring and the crisis in Europe.

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday accused Algeria of preventing around 100 civil society activists, including members of the Algerian League for Human Rights, from travelling to Tunis to attend the forum.

At a women's rights gathering earlier, dubbed the "assembly of women fighting" against discrimination, feminists sharply criticized the policies of Tunisia's ruling Islamist party.

"Ennahda wants to establish sharia law and deprive women of their liberty. The same is happening in Egypt," where the Muslim Brotherhood also shot to power after a 2011 uprising, said Zeineb Chihi, a university participant.

Ahlem Belhadj, chair of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, criticized violence against women "that seeks to keep them out of political life."

Tunisian media organizations have often accused Ennahda of trying to limit women's rights, although the Islamist party has opposed enshrining Islamic sharia law in the country's new constitution.

But a failed attempt last year to introduce the concept of gender "complementarity" rather than equality into the text raised serious doubts about Ennahda's real intentions.

The role of women will be a key theme of the hundreds of workshops to take place in Tunis, which as well as touching upon politics and economics will address sensitive issues in the Muslim world like sexuality.

The WSF has its roots in 1999 street protests in the US city of Seattle but began two years later in Brazil's Porto Alegre.

Organizers of the alternative event hope to draw support from the shared goals of the anti-austerity protests in Europe, the Arab uprisings and Occupy movement in the United States, for social justice and a fairer distribution of resources.

The security forces have deployed heavily around Tunis, with the authorities seeking to ensure the safety of the event, after waves of social unrest and bloody attacks blamed on hardline Islamists that have rocked the country since the revolution.

Social Affairs Minister Khalil Zawiya, a secular ally of Ennahda, said hosting the forum demonstrates Tunisia's commitment to democracy.

"It proves that this country has wide-ranging freedoms," he said on national television.

Economically, Zawiya hoped the WSF would "mark the beginning of the tourist season," a strategic sector that has been hard hit in the past two years.
 

27 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/27/From-feminists-to-pacifists-demo-marks-Tunis-forum-debut-.html
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Syria activists slam regional interference, Brotherhood

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Leaders from Arab states are seen attending the opening of the Arab League summit in Doha March 26, 2013. (Reuters)

A group of prominent Syrian opposition members on Tuesday criticized the role of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Syrian National Coalition and accused regional governments of "hegemony" over the body.

In a letter addressed to the Arab League, which is meeting in Doha, the group warned that the opposition was experiencing a crisis as a result.

"The crisis in the Syrian opposition is worsening... (because of) what is happening inside the National Coalition and the actions of those who dominate it," the letter said.

It criticized "the conflicts between the leaders of the coalition, the dictatorial control exercised by one of its currents over its decisions and actions, and the flagrant hegemony of diverse Arab and regional players."

Though the letter made no explicit reference to the Brotherhood, it came amid discontent in the opposition over the election of the first rebel Prime Minister, Ghassan Hitto, widely understood to have been the Brotherhood choice.

And it follows accusations that countries backing the rebels, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have directly interfered in the decisions of the Coalition, which is the main opposition grouping.

The letter urges the "abandoning of the project of an interim government, which has caused broad national division and has been strongly opposed by the leadership and fighters of the Free Syrian Army."

The signatories, who include several liberal activists such as Michel Kilo, Abdel Razzak Eid, Walid al-Bunni and Basma Kodmani, called instead for the creation of an executive body or consensus government chosen by a broad spectrum of the opposition.

The letter also urged "restructuring the Coalition to balance it and keep it beyond the control of any one party or current."

It seeks to reserve 25 seats for secular, liberal members and calls for increased representation of women.

Hitto, elected earlier this month, has been tasked with naming a government, which would be approved by the organization.

He has pledged to name a technocratic cabinet, without regard for political affiliation.

But within the opposition there are serious disagreements over the wisdom of forming an interim government, and discomfort over the election of Hitto by ballot rather than on the basis of a consensus decision.

During last week's meeting to elect the prime minister, several members of the Coalition walked out, and others have since announced they are freezing their participation in the body.

And on Sunday, Coalition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib announced he was resigning from his post.

"I announce my resignation from the National Coalition, so that I can work with a freedom that cannot possibly be had in an official institution," he said.

He had reportedly wanted to quit for some time, in part over his objections to the naming of an interim premier, but the Coalition has yet to accept his resignation.

Despite the decision, Khatib agreed to represent Syria's opposition at the Arab League summit underway in Doha, the first time rebels have taken possession of Syria's seat in the body.


 

27 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/26/Syria-activists-slam-regional-interference-Brotherhood-.html
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U.N.’s Ban recommends African troops in Mali become peacekeepers

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Niger has sent troops to Mali as part of the MISMA West African forces. (Reuters)

An African force deployed in Mali should be converted into a U.N. peacekeeping operation and a separate combat force created to confront Islamist threats, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommended to the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.

A U.N.-backed African force, known as AFISMA, is due to take over from France when it begins to withdraw its 4,000 troops from the West African country in late April. In a report to the 15-member Security Council, seen by Reuters, Ban recommends AFISMA become a peacekeeping force once major combat ends.

But to tackle Islamist extremists directly, Ban recommended a so-called parallel force be created. Diplomats have said France is likely to provide the troops for that force.

"Given the anticipated level and nature of the residual threat there would be a fundamental requirement for a parallel force to operate in Mali [and potentially in the sub-region] alongside the U.N. mission in order to conduct major combat and counter-terrorism operations," Ban wrote.

France began a military offensive in January to drive out Islamist fighters, who had hijacked a revolt by Mali's Tuareg rebels and seized two-thirds of the West African country. Paris said Mali's vast desert North was in danger of becoming a springboard for extremist attacks on the region and the West.

In a nine-week operation French, Chadian and Malian troops have driven Islamists into desert hideaways and mountains near the Algerian border. French President Francois Hollande recently said Mali's sovereignty had almost been restored.

However, Islamist extremists attacked northern Mali's largest town Gao over the weekend. It was the third major offensive there by the rebels since the town was retaken by a French-led military operation in late January.

AFISMA comprises of troops mainly from West Africa, including more than 2,000 Chadians. Other than Chad's contingent, most African elements remain in the south of Mali away from the fighting.

27 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/26/U-N-s-Ban-recommends-African-troops-in-Mali-become-peacekeepers.html
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Egyptian blogger accused of violence released

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Alaa Abdel Fattah (R), one of the activists who was summoned by the public prosecutor on whether he had a role in the recent violent anti-Islamists protests, arrives with his wife and child to the public prosecutor's office in Cairo, March 26, 2013. (Reuters)

Egyptian authorities released a prominent Egyptian blogger Tuesday after he refused to cooperate with prosecutors over allegations of instigating violence against the country's most powerful Islamist group in comments posted on social media.

The blogger, Alaa Abdel-Fattah, was freed following his demand that an investigative judge take over his case, according to one of his lawyers, Malek Adly. His attorneys are now awaiting a decision on the request, which amounts to a snub to the prosecutor's office by questioning its independence.

Abdel-Fattah handed himself in to authorities earlier Tuesday, a day after the country's prosecutor general ordered his arrest along with four other activists also accused of inciting violence. The arrest warrants stoked concerns among Egypt's opposition that Islamist President Mohammed Mursi was using the prosecutor's office to go after political opponents.

The allegations against the activists are rooted in clashes between supporters and opponents of Mursi outside the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood in east Cairo last week that left 200 people injured in the worst bout of political violence here in months.

Activists say the arrest warrants, which closely followed a televised address by Mursi in which he warned that he would soon take exceptional measures in the face of violence, could herald a wave of arrests of opposition leaders.

Abdel-Fattah and the other activists questioned the independence of the prosecutor general, saying he is beholden to Mursi. The president appointed the prosecutor late last year despite an uproar from the judiciary.

Dressed in a prison jumpsuit to show his readiness to face jail, Abdel-Fattah arrived at the Cairo office of Prosecutor General Talaat Abdullah on Tuesday surrounded by several dozen protesters chanting slogans denouncing Mursi and his group, the Muslim Brotherhood.

From inside the prosecutor's office, the blogger posted messages on Twitter saying that most of the accusations against him were based on comments sent to his account by others, rather than anything he posted himself. He also said on Twitter that he refused to respond to the authorities' questions "because of partiality of the prosecutor general."

However, the prosecutor's office offered a different account. The prosecutor's spokesman posted a message on the office's official Facebook page that said Abdel-Fattah cooperated with officials during the questioning. It said he denied the accusations against him, and that the Twitter or Facebook accounts were his.

Abdel-Fattah and his lawyer dismissed the prosecutor's version of events, and said they will file complaints against them for allegedly forging official documents.

"I said only that I stick to my right to be silent," Abdel-Fattah told The Associated Press. He said his lawyers refused to admit the evidence to the case because they were photocopies of social media websites. "They did no investigative efforts at all."

This is not the first time Abdel-Fattah has butted heads with Egypt's authorities since the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak more than two years ago. He was detained for two months in late 2011 by the then-ruling military over allegations he attacked soldiers carrying out a bloody crackdown on protesters. He was later released without charge.

The Friday clashes outside the Brotherhood's Cairo headquarters were the worst violence between the Brotherhood and its opponents in three months.

The protest was called in response to earlier violence outside the building, in which Brotherhood supporters beat up several activists and attacked reporters. Both sides brought hundreds of supporters to the new demonstration, which devolved into street fighting with knives, fists, stones, sticks, and birdshot. Both sides beat the others followers. Police fired tear gas but did not try to separate the two sides.

Brotherhood officials accuse the protesters of attacking its offices and say its members were defending the building. Protesters, in turn, blame Brotherhood members for sparking the violence, saying they tried to encircle the rally from the back.

At least six anti-Mursi protesters were detained during the violence, and the prosecutors ordered them to be held for 15 days pending investigation.

Brotherhood offices have frequently been ransacked and torched in Egypt's recent turmoil.

The prosecutor's office says it is examining statements and video clips posted on activists' Facebook and Twitter accounts, which allegedly include calls to burn the offices of the Brotherhood and kill Brotherhood members. A wider inquiry will examine the contents of social networking sites in the run-up to Friday's clashes.

Abdel-Fattah and the other activists ordered detained were key figures in the 2011 anti-Mubarak uprising who later led demonstrations against the military generals who took power after Mubarak. Since Mursi took office in June as the country's first democratically elected president, they have protested what they see as the new leader's dictatorial style of rule.

The opposition accuses Mursi of acting like his predecessor, of not living up to his promises to have an inclusive political process and of acting in the Brotherhood's interests rather than in Egypt's national interest.

The Brotherhood, meanwhile, accuses the opposition of having no grassroots support, and says the president should be challenged through the ballot box, not street protests.

27 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/26/Egyptian-blogger-accused-of-violence-released.html
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New sectarian kidnap in Lebanon: security source

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Gunmen from a Shiite clan kidnapped a man from a Sunni town in Lebanon. (Reuters)

Gunmen from a Shiite clan kidnapped a man from a Sunni town in Lebanon on Tuesday in the latest incident of sectarian kidnaps related to the conflict in Syria, a security official said.

"Gunmen from the Jaafar clan kidnapped a man from the town of Arsal," in northern Lebanon, the official told AFP.

The wave of sectarian kidnappings began on Sunday when Hussein Kamel Jaafar, 37, was kidnapped by unidentified assailants, and reportedly taken into Syria.

In revenge, armed men from the clan have kidnapped 12 residents of Arsal, two of whom have been released.

On Tuesday, the army deployed in the Sharawni district of Lebanon's Baalbek, where many members of the Jaafar clan live, searching homes for captives.

Residents say there were attempts to negotiate a settlement between residents of Arsal and the Jaafar clan, but the bid fell through before Tuesday's kidnap.

The majority of Arsal's inhabitants support the revolt in neighboring Syria, while most of the population of Hermel and Baalbek, where the Jaafar clan is based, are Shiites who back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The conflict in Syria has exacerbated tensions in Lebanon. The Sunni-led March 14 political movement supports the rebels, while the powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah and its allies back Assad, an Alawite whose faith is an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

The latest incidents come seven months after dozens of foreigners, mostly Syrians, were abducted by another Shiite clan, Al-Muqdad.

Once dominated politically and militarily by Damascus, Lebanon is sharply divided over the war in Syria -- which the United Nations says has killed at least 70,000 people since March 2011 -- and has seen frequent violence linked to the conflict.


 

27 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/26/New-sectarian-kidnap-in-Lebanon-security-source-.html
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Tunisia says it seeks to stop recruitment to fight in Syria

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Tunisia's Islamist-led government is investigating networks it believes are sending young people to fight in Syria. (Reuters)

Tunisia's Islamist-led government is investigating networks it believes are sending young people to fight in Syria, the Justice Ministry said on Tuesday.

According to local media, thousands of young Tunisians recruited by local and regional networks are fighting government forces in Syria.

President Moncef Marzouki said last week that fighters returning from Syria could threaten Tunisia's efforts to restore security, likening them to Algerians who went to fight in Afghanistan and became radicalized.

The government hopes to hold elections by December to help to rescue a faltering democratic transition in the country that launched the Arab Spring.

The two-year-old conflict in Syria began with peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad and has turned into an increasingly sectarian armed insurrection.

The Tunisian ministry urged people with leads on who was recruiting people to fight in Syria to "get in touch with the competent authorities."

"The Court of First Instance in Tunis has opened an investigation about networks that help Tunisians to travel to Syria for the fight against the Syrian regime," the ministry said.

Tunisia's secular opposition parties have strongly criticized the government for failing to stop young men going to Syria to fight.

But Tunisia Prime Minister Ali Larayedh said last week that the authorities have no legal right to stop someone travelling to another country.

Some families have made public appeals for recruitment networks to be disbanded and for their children's return, saying they had not even known a would-be fighter had left the country until they got a phone call from Syria.
 

27 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/26/Tunisia-says-it-seeks-to-stop-recruitment-to-fight-in-Syria.html
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Mursi warns against foreign interference in Egypt’s internal affairs

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Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi warned the Arab League summit against foreign interference in Egypt's internal affairs. (Al Arabiya)

Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, in fiery statement to the Arab League summit on Tuesday warned, against foreign interference in Egypt's internal affairs, saying that would be considered as a red line.

It was not clear which foreign parties the Islamist president was referring to. However, he is currently facing an uprising on home ground with the country engulfed by protests and violence.

On Sunday the Egyptian president threatened to take unspecified steps to "protect this nation" after violent demonstrations against his rule, using vague but severe language that the opposition said heralded a crackdown.

"No one in our neighborhood wants this nation to stand on its feet. I will cut off any finger that meddles in Egypt," he said alluding to alleged foreign interference. "I can see two or three fingers that are meddling inside," Mursi said without elaborating.

An Egyptian court postponed on Tuesday a ruling on whether President Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood is illegal, agreeing to the Islamist group's request for more time to present evidence in a case that has put it on the defensive.

Brought by anti-Brotherhood lawyers, the court case points to the deep antipathy some harbor towards a group that was formally dissolved in 1954 and forced to operate underground until President Hosni Mubarak was ousted two years ago.

The court set April 23 as the date for the next hearing in the case brought by lawyers who argue the group is illegal because of its 1954 dissolution by Egypt's military rulers.

Though the Brotherhood dismisses that argument, it has sought to shield itself before the ruling. Last week it registered as a non-governmental organization (NGO), giving it a new legal status.

A report by a panel of judges published last week had up held the view that the Brotherhood has no legal status, pointing to the chances of a ruling against the Islamist group.

Accused by secular-minded opponents of trying to set up a new autocracy, Mursi and the Brotherhood have been the target of violent protests that have erupted periodically since late last year and have obstructed his efforts to revive the economy.

The opposition's complaints against Mursi, who was elected president in June 2012, include his decision to appoint a new prosecutor general late last year, when he triggered a storm of protest by issuing a controversial decree that temporarily expanded his powers.

The Islamists accuse their opponents of failing to respect the rules of the democratic game that brought them to power.

An administrative court ruled on Tuesday that it was not entitled to rule in a case brought by opponents of Mursi and seeking the removal of the prosecutor general, Talaat Ibrahim.

Other Arab issues

While speaking at the Arab summit in Doha Mursi touched on issues the Palestinians and Syrians are currently facing. He called for establishing a Palestinian state and for the support of the Syrian people.

"Preventing Palestinians from the right of self-determination undermines the credibility of the international community," he told the Arab body.

Mursi urged Arab nations to look for ways to establish an international framework that will inevitably work towards founding a Palestinian state. He added that National reconciliation is the "corner stone for Palestinian unity".

The Egyptian president brought up the issue of the Syrian people and the lack of humanitarian aid.

"We have to consider ways to support the Syrian people".
 

27 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/26/Mursi-warns-against-foreign-interference-in-Egypt-s-internal-affairs.html
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Saudi Arabia warns of Syria crisis’ regional spillover

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Saudi Crown Prince Salman al Saud looks on during the opening of the Arab League summit in Doha March 26, 2013. (Reuters)

Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, in a statement to the Arab League read by Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, warned of serious repercussions of the Syrian crisis on the Middle East' regional security.

King Abdullah said the Syrian regime of embattled President Bashar al-Assad is bent to spoil any initiative to achieve a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

Syrian opposition representatives took the country's seat for the first time at an Arab League summit that opened in Qatar on Tuesday, a significant diplomatic boost for the forces fighting President Bashar Assad's regime.

In a ceremonious entrance accompanied by applause, a delegation led by Moaz al-Khatib, the former president of the main opposition alliance - the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition - took the seats assigned for Syria at the invitation of Qatar's emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.

Al-Khatib used the forum to call for a greater U.S. role in aiding the rebels and said he had appealed to Secretary of State John Kerry to consider using NATO Patriot anti-missile batteries in Turkey to help defend northern Syria against strikes by Assad's forces.

The decision for the opposition to take Syria's seat was made at the recommendation of Arab foreign ministers earlier this week in the Qatari capital, Doha. The Arab League in 2011 suspended the Syrian government's membership in the organization as punishment for the regime's crackdown on opponents.

The Qatari ruler, who chairs the summit, said the Syrian opposition deserves "this representation because of the popular legitimacy they have won at home and the broad support they won abroad and the historic role they have assumed in leading the revolution and preparing for building the new Syria."

The diplomatic triumph and Qatar's praise, however, could not conceal the disarray within the top ranks of the Syrian opposition.

Besides al-Khatib, the Syrian delegation included Ghassan Hitto, recently elected prime minister of a planned interim government to administer rebel-held areas in Syria, and two prominent opposition figures, George Sabra and Suheir Atassi.

Khatib however was the one who did the speaking, after the opposition flag was raised in place of the official Syrian bunting.

"We demand ... all forms of support from our friends and brothers including our full right for self-defense and the seat of Syria at the United Nations and at other international organizations," he told the summit.

He called for a "freezing of the funds of the regime which it had stolen from our people," estimated by the opposition at around two billion dollars.

He also stressed that the Syrian people alone would determine the future of their country.

"They ask who will rule Syria. The people of Syria will decide, not any other state in this world," Khatib said, possibly alluding to accusations by Damascus that the rebels are implementing Qatari and Saudi agendas.

27 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/26/Saudi-Arabia-warns-of-Syria-crisis-regional-spillover.html
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Doha summit gives Arab states 'right' to arm Syria rebels

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Arab League leaders and delegates pose for a picture at the opening of the Arab League summit in the Qatari capital Doha on March 26, 2013. (AFP)

The Arab summit in Doha on Tuesday gave member states the "right" to offer Syrians all means of self-defense including arms, in a resolution on Syria.

The Arab Summit affirms the "right" of every state to offer all forms of self-defence, including military, to support the resistance of the Syrian people and the Free Syrian Army," said the resolution.

Syria's opposition chief took the Syria seat in the Arab League on Tuesday and demanded in a fiery address that the Syrian opposition be granted Syria's seat at the United Nations.

Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, head of the Syrian National Coalition opposition grouping, also insisted that Syria's future should not be determined by foreign powers.

"We demand ... the seat of Syria at the United Nations and at other international organizations," Khatib said, addressing Arab leaders at the Doha summit.

Syrian people alone should determine who rules the country, said Khatib, who on Sunday resigned his post although his resignation has yet to be accepted by the Coalition.

"They ask who will rule Syria. The people of Syria will decide, not any other state in this world," Khatib said, possibly alluding to accusations by Damascus that the rebels are implementing Qatari and Saudi agendas.

Al-Khatib also called on the United States to use Patriot missiles to protect rebel-held areas from President Bashar al-Assad's airpower.

He said he had asked U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for U.S. forces to help defend rebel-controlled northern parts of Syria with Patriot surface-to-air missiles.

The opposition forces have few weapons to counter Assad's helicopter gunships and warplanes.

Al-khatib said the United States should play a bigger role in helping end the two-year-old conflict in Syria, blaming Assad's government for what he called its refusal to solve the crisis.


 

27 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/26/Arab-league-member-states-have-the-right-to-provide-military-assistance-to-Syrian-rebels.html
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Deadly Damascus suicide attack kills 3: SANA

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Syrian rescue teams and onlookers gather at the scene of a powerful car bomb explosion near the headquarters of Syria's ruling Baath party in the center of Damascus on Feb. 21, 2013. (AFP)

A suicide bombing in northern Damascus on Tuesday killed three people and wounded several others, state news agency SANA reported, hours after a girl was killed in a mortar attack in the city.

"A terrorist suicide bomber blew up a van in the east of Rukn al-Din neighborhood in Damascus," SANA said, citing an official as saying at least three people were killed.

There were no details on how many people had been injured.

A resident of the neighborhood, reached by telephone, told AFP he had heard an enormous explosion, which shattered the windows of shops and houses near the scene.

Clouds of smoke rose above the site of the blast, which was heard in neighborhoods several kilometers (a few miles) away.

Pro-regime Al-Ikhbariya television showed images of a huge crater in the ground and a building with shattered windows.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the bombing, saying it had struck near a military supply center and that preliminary information suggested military personnel were among the casualties.

Earlier on Tuesday, in the central Baramkeh district, "a young girl was killed and several other students were injured when mortars fired by terrorists hit a school compound," SANA said, without giving the victim's age.

"Shells also landed on two (other) schools... injuring four civilians, including a teacher, and damaging the buildings," SANA added.

The Britain-based Observatory confirmed the report, adding that an unknown number of people were injured.

Earlier, state television reported a mortar attack on the same district, near SANA'S headquarters, describing it as "a new attack on Syrian media by terrorists".

The attack left three civilians dead, it added, without specifying whether there were journalists among them.

Elsewhere in Syria, regime troops seized Baba Amr in the central city of Homs, the Observatory said, two weeks after fighting erupted in the flashpoint district.

Rebel fighters had re-entered Baba Amr after the army launched an all-out assault aimed at crushing the insurgency in besieged insurgent enclaves of central Homs.

In recent days, "the army used warplanes, rockets and tank shells to bombard" Baba Amr, the Observatory said, adding that residents who had fled their homes in the district returned to find them "uninhabitable."

In the sensitive Quneitra district, located on Syria's ceasefire line with Israel, rebels seized an air defense base, said the Observatory, which relies on a broad network of activists, doctors and lawyers for its reporting.

The UN says more than 70,000 people have been killed in Syria since anti-regime protests broke out in March 2011, transforming into an insurgency when the regime unleashed a brutal crackdown.

At least 45 people were killed throughout Syria on Tuesday, according to a preliminary toll from the Observatory that was issued before the number of fatalities from the Damascus car bomb was known.

On Monday, at least 122 people were killed, the group said.

27 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/26/Deadly-Damascus-suicide-attack-kills-3-SANA-.html
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Espionage ring in Saudi Arabia linked to Iran: interior ministry

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Saudi Arabia arrested last week 18 people accused of espionage activity. (AFP)

An alleged spy cell dismantled last week in Saudi Arabia had "direct links" to Iran's intelligence services, the kingdom's interior ministry said on Tuesday.

"Preliminary investigations and physical evidence that has been collected as well as the defendants' statements on this case have all revealed direct links between this cell and Iranian intelligence services," a ministry spokesman said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

"These elements had regularly received sums of money in return for information and documents on important installations during the spy operation in the interest of these services," it said.

On March 19, the interior ministry in Riyadh said authorities had arrested 16 Saudis, an Iranian and a Lebanese citizen in four regions including Eastern Province, where the Sunni-ruled kingdom's Shiite minority is concentrated.

But Iranian media reported on Sunday that the Shiite-dominated Islamic republic has denied any link to the suspected spy cell.

"Investigations are still ongoing with members of this cell and legal procedures will be taken against them," said the Saudi statement.

Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council have strained ties with Iran which they suspect of supporting Shiite opposition protests in GCC member Bahrain, which like its partners is Sunni-ruled.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the suspects were found in Mecca, Medina, Riyadh and Eastern Province – where the country's Shi'ite minority is concentrated.

The General Intelligence Presidency and the Saudi interior ministry caught the men in a joint operation, said the report, adding the ministry "received information on Saudis and expats spying for another country."

The men were collecting data on "vital installation," said the state news agency.

In an interview with Al Arabiya, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi said most of those arrested were from one sect, adding that they were spying for the Islamic Republic of Iran.

"Among those involved is a doctor and another is a Shi'ite cleric," he said. "Others were working at [the Saudi oil company] Aramco."

There are an estimated two million Shi'ites in the Sunni-dominated kingdom of about 27.5 million people.

Meanwhile, Iran's foreign ministry denied on Sunday the alleged accusation Saudi Arabia made of the country's involvement in the linked group of alleged spies.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, denied that an Iranian national was involved in the alleged spying and called the allegations a "repetitive scenario," according to Iran's English-language Press TV on Sunday.

"Raising such baseless issues at the media level is merely for domestic consumption," he said, according to Press TV.

26 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/26/Espionage-ring-in-Saudi-Arabia-linked-to-Iran-interior-ministry.html
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Gunman wounds foreign Red Cross worker in Yemen

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An aid worker for the International Committee of the Red Cross from Kazakhstan was shot and wounded in Yemen. (Courtesy of ICRC.org)

An aid worker for the International Committee of the Red Cross from Kazakhstan was shot and wounded by unidentified gunmen in the Yemeni capital on Tuesday, a security official said.

The victim was in an ICRC car when she was shot in a street in Sanaa, the official said.

He said she was in critical condition but an ICRC spokeswoman in Geneva said the aid worker was not seriously hurt.

Her nationality was initially given as Russian but Yemeni officials and the Russian Foreign Ministry said later she was a citizen of Kazakhstan.

ICRC spokeswoman Dibeh Fakhr confirmed the shooting incident but said it was not clear whether its staff member had been wounded by a bullet or by shattered car window glass.

"She is slightly injured and received medical attention. It is not life-threatening," Fakhr said.

Asked if the vehicle had been targeted, Fakhr said the independent aid agency was trying to clarify the circumstances of the incident.

Yemen is awash with arms and law and order is weak. The country is grappling with a powerful branch of al Qaeda, armed tribesmen and secessionist sentiment in the south.

Yemen's stability is a priority for the United States and its Gulf Arab allies because of its strategic position next to oil exporter Saudi Arabia and shipping lanes.
 

26 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/26/Gunman-wounds-foreign-Red-Cross-worker-in-Yemen.html
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Mystery of Egyptian activist’s death by police brutality

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Police abuse was a defining aspect of the Mubarak era. Mursi's government claims that such methods are a holdover from the past. (Reuters)

Mohamed al-Gendy, a popular Egyptian activist and multilingual tourism guide, was last seen alive at around 2:30 a.m. January 28, after saying good night to a journalist friend. When Gendy didn't attend a planned march the next day, his cellphone switched off, his friends became increasingly concerned, especially due to the fact that he had recently received texts threatening him unless he stopped his activism, according to Newsweek on Monday.

Close friend Ihab Ghobashy searched Cairo for his friend, looking in police stations and hospitals without success. The only evidence of Gendy's whereabouts was at the Red Mountain police camp - a training facility for the riot police, having previously been used to house detainees during the reign of Dictator Hosni Mubarak. It was not an official prison, but during the days of unrest surrounding Gendy's disappearance, masses of political prisoners were being admitted again.

Three days later, Ghobashy approached a group of teenage boys who had just been released from the Red Mountain camp with a photo of Gendy. The boys claimed to recognize the man and said Gendy was still inside the camp, though badly beaten. The next day, Gendy's friends staged a protest demanding his release.

Ghobashy received a call from a friend claiming Gendy had been found at Helal Hospital in central Cairo. His friend was found in a coma in the intensive care unit. He had a brain hemorrhage, fractured ribs, and a severely battered face. Within the week, Gendy was dead.

Ghobashy and his friends remained adamant that they had already searched for Gendy at Helal soon after he had disappeared. Yet according to the hospital, Gendy had been there all along—admitted in the early hours of January 28, as the victim of a hit-and-run. To prove the activist's admission to the hospital, they provided a patient entry log, obtained by Newsweek. On it, Gendy's national ID number is listed alongside the entry for a 16-year-old boy, also named Mohamed, but with a different family name.

Cover-up 


Certain hospital officials' were involved in covering up police abuse, opposition activists began to see the similarities between Gendy and Khaled Said, the man from Alexandria whom police beat to death in 2010, sparking the revolution.

Police abuse was a defining aspect of the Mubarak era. Mursi's government claims that such methods are a holdover from the past—and that it is the Interior Ministry who are resistant to change.
Nonetheless, Gendy's death has been hard to explain away amidst mounting public pressure.

Mursi's Justice Minister assured the public that Gendy was undoubtedly killed in a hit-and-run incident; however this lead activists to suspect a cover-up associated with Mursi's government. Days later, when the autopsy report was released, it remained with the verdict that Gendy was killed by a hit-and-run. Activists and much of the public saw it as part of the lie, comparable to the case in 2010 when authorities had likewise issued a contested medical report claiming that Said had choked to death on a bag of marijuana.

Following the continued uproar, Egypt's general prosecutor ordered another medical review, which a panel of three doctors completed earlier this month. "We rule out the possibility" of a hit-and-run, said the review, a copy of which was obtained by Newsweek. They affirmed that Gendy likely died "by being beaten violently," the report says. It is now up to investigators to determine whether activist Gendy's death was a result of police torture.

26 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/2013/03/26/Death-of-an-Egyptian-Facebook-Activist.html
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Egypt extradites two Qaddafi-era officials to Libya

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Egyptian authorities deported two Libyan officials who held positions during the time of deposed dictator Moammar Qaddafi. (Reuters)

Egyptian authorities extradited two Libyan officials from the regime of deposed dictator Moammar Qaddafi back to their home country on Tuesday, an airport official says. It is Egypt's first high-profile extradition in years.

The official says the two, 71-year-old former ambassador to Cairo Ali Maria and another ex-official, 44-year-old Mohammed Ibrahim Qaddafi, were handcuffed after resisting the transfer.

"They were yelling, 'No!' while they were taken from the vehicle to the plane," the official says.

The two were arrested a week ago along with top Qaddafi aide and Cousin Ahmed Qaddaf al-Dam who surrendered to police after hours-long siege laid at his house in Cairo. Al-Dam was also a high ranking intelligence official and for decades was the coordinator between Qaddafi and Egyptian leadership. He remains in detention in Egypt.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

Since Qaddafi was ousted and killed in 2011, Libya has demanded that Egypt handover dozens of officials from the former regime over various charges including corruption and suspected involvement in the country's civil war.

On Thursday, a Libyan intelligence delegation visited Cairo and handed Egypt another list of 88 names. An earlier list comprised 40 names.

Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak, who like Qaddafi was ousted in a 2011 Arab Spring uprising, had close ties to the Libyan dictator. Human rights groups said Cairo allowed Libyan intelligence to kidnap members of the anti-Qaddafi opposition, notably dissident Mansour Kikhia, who disappeared in 1993. His remains were found in a house in Tripoli in September.

However, Egypt has been traditionally reluctant to hand over exiled politicians or officials from ousted regimes. Egypt offered refuge to Libya's deposed king Idris after Qaddafi's 1969 bloodless coup and also hosted Iran's former shah after the 1979 Islamic revolution there.

26 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/26/Egypt-extradites-2-Qaddafi-era-officials-to-Libya.html
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Bomb kills two Iraq politicians in disputed town

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Two Iraqi officials have were killed and wounding a third in a bomb blast on Tuesday. (AFP)

A powerful bomb tore through an armored car near a disputed town north of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing two officials and badly wounding a third, weeks ahead of Iraq's first polls since 2010.

The blast, which also killed one of the officials' bodyguards and wounded another in the town of Tuz Khurmatu, brings to 11 the number of candidates in the provincial council elections who have been killed.

Mayor Shallah Abdul, council chief Abdulqader Naimi and Salaheddin provincial councilor Rashid Khorshid had been travelling together to inspect a road paving project north of the town when the bomb went off close to their armoured car.

Naimi and Khorshid, both candidates in provincial elections due to be held on April 20, were killed, and Abdul was badly wounded and transported to a hospital in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah.

The attack is likely to raise tensions in the town which is at the centre of a years-long row that politicians have warned threatens civil war.

A total of 11 election candidates have already been killed, according to an AFP tally, and authorities have already postponed the polls in two large provinces, throwing into doubt the credibility of the vote, Iraq's first since March 2010 parliamentary elections.

Tuz Khurmatu, home to about 110,000 Arabs, Kurds and Shiite Turkmen, lies 175 kilometers north of Baghdad at the center of a tract of disputed territory claimed by both the mostly-Arab government in Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdish region.

The dispute is often cited by officials and diplomats as the biggest long-term threat to Iraq's stability.

The establishment in September of the federal Tigris Operations Command, which covers disputed northern territory, drew an angry response from Kurdish leaders and increased tensions with the federal government.

Then on November 16, a firefight broke out during an attempt by Iraqi forces to arrest a Kurdish man in the town.

One person was killed and others were wounded, further worsening relations between Baghdad and Kurdistan as both sides deployed reinforcements.

The crisis, which Iraq's parliament speaker warned could lead to civil war, has since eased, but the dispute over territory remains unresolved.

26 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/26/Bomb-kills-two-Iraq-politicians-in-disputed-town-.html
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Syrian Army recaptures Homs’ Baba Amr: NGO

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Syrian regime forces have recaptured total control of the district of Baba Amr after more than two weeks of heavy fighting. (AFP)

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad have seized Baba Amr in the central city of Homs, a watchdog said on Tuesday, two weeks after fighting erupted in the flashpoint district.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights issued the report a day after it said opposition activists had found the scorched corpses of 13 people, including five women and four children, in the village of Abel in the countryside near Homs.

"Syrian regime forces have recaptured total control of the district of Baba Amr, after more than two weeks, after rebel fighters had infiltrated the area and seized several neighborhoods," said the Britain-based group.

An activist from the district confirmed the report, saying: "The rebels have withdrawn from Baba Amr".

The rebel fighters had re-entered Baba Amr after the army launched an all-out assault aimed at crushing the insurgency in besieged insurgent enclaves of central Homs.

This time last year, regime forces overran Baba Amr after a relentless month-long siege that left the neighborhood in ruins and claimed hundreds of lives.

In recent days, "the army used warplanes, rockets and tank shells to bombard" Baba Amr, said the Observatory, adding residents who had fled their homes in the district returned to find them "uninhabitable".

On Monday night, the Observatory said at least 13 scorched bodies were found in the village of Abel, in the countryside near Homs.

The victims had been "slaughtered and burned", said the Observatory, adding that "activists blamed pro-regime militia for committing this massacre".

The Syrian Revolution General Commission, a network of activists on the ground, distributed on Tuesday amateur video showing a row of buildings reduced to piles of grey rubble in a neighborhood of Homs city.

"This is total destruction... residential buildings have been destroyed... shops have been destroyed... everything inside the buildings has been destroyed," an unidentified activist can be heard saying in the video.

"Homs is burning and no one cares."

Elsewhere in Syria, the army pounded the towns of Dael, Jassem and Inkhil in the southern province of Daraa on Tuesday, said the Observatory, as rebels kept up an advance in the region neighboring Jordan.

And a car bomb exploded late Monday on the strategic road linking Damascus to the international airport, the watchdog added, without saying if there were any casualties.

Rebels have tried for months to seize control of the road linking the Syrian capital to the airport, the Assad regime's main link to the outside world.

The U.N. says more than 70,000 people have been killed in Syria since anti-regime protests broke out in March 2011, transforming into an insurgency when the regime unleashed a brutal crackdown.

26 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/26/Syrian-Army-recaptures-Homs-Baba-Amr-NGO-.html
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Egyptian kidnappers release Norwegian, Israeli tourists

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An Israeli man and a Norwegian woman kidnapped by armed Bedouin tribesmen in Egypt's Sinai peninsula four days ago were set free on Tuesday. (AFP)

Kidnappers released a Norwegian woman and an Israeli man held in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula following negotiations mediated by Bedouin leaders between authorities and the group that seized the tourists four days ago, security sources said on Tuesday.

The tourists had been kidnapped on Friday while driving between the resort towns of Dahab and Taba on the Red Sea coast.

The sources said the kidnappers' aim was to put pressure on Egyptian authorities to release two of their relatives held for alleged drug dealing. The police had agreed to review the case.

Security in the Sinai desert region has deteriorated since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak two years ago.

Bedouin kidnappers have captured tourists in the past to push for the release of fellow tribesmen from jail. Earlier this month kidnappers briefly seized the country manager of U.S. oil major ExxonMobil and his wife.

Two American female tourists were kidnapped in Sinai in February last year but Egyptian authorities negotiated their release a few hours later. Two other U.S. tourists were seized in late May that year, and two more U.S. tourists in July. The captives were released within days in both cases.

26 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/26/Egyptian-kidnappers-release-Norwegian-Israeli-tourists.html
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Iraq’s Deputy PM accused of striking deal with Hezbollah

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Saleh al-Mutlaq is accused of sealing a deal with Hezbollah on his last trip to Lebanon. (Reuters)

Members of the Iraqi List accused the Deputy Prime Minister, Saleh al-Mutlaq, of sealing a deal with the Lebanese Shiite Party Hezbollah.

The agreement is reportedly based upon the stipulation that he returns to the cabinet and supports Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

He is accused of striking that deal during his last visit to Lebanon.

Mutalq's announcement that he will participate in today's cabinet session chaired by Maliki fueled the anger of the Iraqi List which said it will boycott the session.

One of the list's members said there is widespread popular anger towards Mutlaq and accused the latter of being an opportunist.

He also rejected Mutlaq's move to participate in the cabinet session at a time when major parties such as the Kurdistan Alliance and the Sadrist Movement voiced solidarity with the opposition and decided to freeze their membership in the government.

Opposition parties also voiced their suspicion regarding the legality of today's cabinet session after three blocs had announced they are boycotting it. Opposition parties added that there will not be a legal quorum even with Mutlaq's participation.

Meanwhile, Mutlaq said he is participating in today's cabinet session to discuss protesters' demands.
Protests against the government

Since late 2012, the mainly Iraqi Sunni protesters have called for reforms, including anti-terror laws that they say are used to persecute their community. The arrests of women following the detention of their male relatives under terrorism charges has also caused outrage.

The protests, inspired by the uprising in neighboring Syria, have resulted in the killing of nine demonstrators by the Iraqi army. The government is investigating the incident.

26 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/26/Iraqi-politician-accused-of-striking-deal-with-Hezbollah.html
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Taliban suicide attack coincides with Kerry's visit to Afghanistan

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US soldiers speak as they stand at the site of a suicide attack in Jalalabad. (AFP)

Eight Taliban suicide bombers attacked a police headquarters in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Tuesday, officials said, killing five officers and wounding four others.

The pre-dawn, three-hour attack in the country's largest city coincided with the visit of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

To initiate the attack, an insurgent in a bomb-laden car detonated his vehicle in front of the Jalalabad Police Quick Reaction Force headquarters. This was followed by another seven assailants wearing bomb vests who stormed the compound, police said. Three of those attackers triggered their explosive vests inside the compound while the other four were shot by police during a gunfight that lasted more than an hour.

Nangarhar provincial police chief Mohammad Sharif Amin said some of the attackers were wearing uniforms resembling those worn by the U.S.-led NATO coalition.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack.

After his visit in Jordan and the region, Kerry arrived to Kabul on an unannounced visit amid concerns that Afghani President Hamid Karzai may be jeopardizing progress in the war against extremism with anti-American rhetoric. After a private meeting, Kerry said he and Karzai were "on the same page" on security and reconciliation issues and brushed aside suggestions that relations were in peril.

Karzai infuriated U.S. officials earlier this month by accusing Washington of colluding with Taliban insurgents to keep Afghanistan weak even as the Obama administration pressed ahead with plans to hand off security responsibility to Afghan forces and end NATO's combat mission by the end of next year.

Insurgents have in recent months been carrying out complex attacks involving car bombs and gunmen in bomb vests against government and police buildings around the country.

The attacks are expected to intensify as the traditional spring fighting season gets underway. Heavy snow and bad weather conditions usually put a damper on fighting during the harsh Afghan winter.

On March 14, the Afghan intelligence service seized a massive truck bomb packed with eight tons of explosives on the eastern outskirts of Kabul. They also killed five suspected suicide bombers and arrested two others during a raid to seize the truck.

The truck was apparently meant to carry out an attack on a NATO facility in the capital. According to Afghan intelligence, the truck bomb bore the hallmarks of the Haqqani network, which is known for conducting spectacular attacks.

Affiliated with the Taliban, the network is run by the Haqqani family and is based across the border in Pakistan.

26 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/26/Suicide-attack-kills-5-police-in-east-Afghanistan-.html
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Muslim-Buddhist violence in Myanmar raises death toll to 40

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Residents walk past buildings burning in riot-hit Meiktila, central Myanmar. (AFP)

The death toll from recent communal violence in central Myanmar has risen to 40 after eight more bodies were pulled from the wreckage of a riot-hit town, state media reported on Tuesday.

The clashes were a stark reminder of the challenge that Muslim-Buddhist tensions pose to Myanmar's government as it tries to reform the country after decades of iron-fisted military rule ended two years ago.

In a televised statement late on Monday, Myanmar's government called for an end to "religious extremism" that it warned could derail the Buddhist-majority country's reform process.

The quasi-civilian government has faced strong international pressure over the unrest, which according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has displaced more than 12,000 people.

The clashes – apparently triggered by an argument in a gold shop – began on March 20 in Meiktila, 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Naypyidaw, with mosques burned, houses razed and charred bodies left lying in the streets.

The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said the eight new bodies were retrieved from the debris during the clean-up operation over the weekend.

Dozens of people have been detained in connection with the violence, which saw armed rioters – including Buddhist monks – roam the streets, threatening journalists who visited the town.

It was the worst sectarian strife since violence between Buddhists and Muslims in the western state of Rakhine last year left at least 180 people dead and more than 110,000 displaced.

The bloodshed has raised fears that long-standing religious tensions that were largely suppressed during junta rule could now spread to other parts of the country.

After a state of emergency was declared on Friday and the army was sent into the area, an uneasy calm has returned to Meiktila, where a nighttime curfew has been imposed.

Elsewhere, however, there were signs of fresh trouble over the weekend with violence on Saturday night leaving more than 40 houses and a mosque in ruins in Yamethin township near Naypyidaw, according to a ward official.

Unrest was also reported in several other villages in the area.

The mood has also grown nervous in parts of the main city of Yangon, according to local residents, where the regional government on Monday ordered restaurants or shops selling alcohol to close by 9:00 pm.

According to a report in the New Light newspaper, a group of unnamed persons "who are unwilling to see peace and stability in the country are trying to destabilize peace and tranquility of Yangon."

26 Mar, 2013


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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/26/Muslim-Buddhist-violence-in-Myanmar-raises-death-toll-to-40.html
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