Syria opposition urges ‘surgical strikes’ on Assad missiles

Head of Free Syrian Army Selim Idriss arrives at the Friends of Syria meeting on April 20, 2013 in Istanbul. (AFP)

Syria's opposition on Saturday called on international supporters to carry out "surgical strikes" on positions used by President Bashar al-Assad's regime to fire missiles on civilians.

Voicing frustration at the lack of a strong international response to Syria's crisis, the Syrian National Coalition urged Western and Arab countries gathered for a "Friends of Syria" meeting to take immediate action.

"It is the moral imperative of the international community, led by the Friends of Syria, to take specific, precise and immediate action to protect Syrian civilians from the use of ballistic missiles and chemical weapons," the Coalition said in a statement.

It called for "surgical strikes of launching locations by unmanned aerial vehicles".

The 11-nation core group of the Friends of Syria -- including the United States, European nations and Arab countries -- was holding talks and meeting with the opposition in Istanbul late Saturday.

Washington is expected to announce more support for the opposition after the talks, including for the first time provisions of non-offensive military equipment, but not the arms the rebels are demanding.

Yaser Tabbara, a spokesman for the opposition's interim Prime Minister Ghassan Hitto, said new pledges of aid were not enough.

"Assad is firing missiles against densely populated areas... without consequences. Throwing money at the problem won't solve it," he said.

The Coalition statement also called for the enforcement of a no-fly zone along Syria's northern and southern borders, an international fund to support the opposition and a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the use of "ballistic and chemical weapons against civilians".

A senior U.S. official said Thursday that U.S. intelligence agencies are investigating accounts from European allies that Syria has used chemical weapons in the conflict.

21 Apr, 2013

-
Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/21/Syria-opposition-urges-surgical-strikes-on-Assad-missiles-.html
--
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com

تابع القراءة

Watchdog: Shells from Syria violence crash in Lebanon

Cross-border shellfire from the Syrian war has regularly hit Lebanon, on occasion killing Lebanese. (AFP)

Fierce battles raged on Saturday in flashpoint areas of Syria's central province of Homs near the Lebanese border, a watchdog said, adding that six shells fell across the border in Lebanon.

One of the shells hit the town of Hermel in eastern Lebanon -- a stronghold of the Hezbollah -- the first time violence from Syria spilled over into the town, a Lebanese security source told AFP.

Earlier troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad's regime seized Radwaniyeh village near the rebel-held town of Qusayr in Homs province and hours later fresh fighting raged in nearby Tal al-Nabi Mando, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Tal is important because it is located on a hilltop, giving whoever controls it a strategic advantage.

The Britain-based Observatory said those fighting insurgents were regime troops, pro-regime militiamen and fighters loyal to powerful Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, which supports Assad's regime.

"The situation here is very bad. They are trying to take control of the countryside surrounding Qusayr, in order to then attack us in the city," Qusayr-based activist Hadi al-Abdallah told AFP via the Internet.

The Lebanese security source said the six shells were fired from Syria and hit the town of Hermel and its countryside. No one was hurt, the source said.

One shell fell in the Dawra neighborhood of Hermel while two hit the Sahlet al-May area on the outskirts and three others fell in and around the nearby town of Qasr, the security source said.

The shells triggered panic and residents rushed to take cover indoors as shops in Hermel closed.

"The situation is unbearable. The [Lebanese] army should respond to the sources of fire. People are frightened," said Ali Shamas, a 50-year-old school principal from the town.

Cross-border shellfire from the Syrian war has regularly hit Lebanon, on occasion killing Lebanese.

Lebanon is sharply divided over the Syria conflict, with Hezbollah and its allies backing the regime of Assad while the Sunni-led March 14 movement supporting the uprising.

Until 2005, Damascus dominated Lebanon politically and militarily for 30 years.

Elsewhere, battles raged near Damascus, where at least 69 people, many of them rebels, were killed in four days of fighting against government forces in Jdaidet al-Fadl, said the Observatory.

"Regime troops are trying to seize total control of the town of Jdaidet al-Fadl" southwest of Damascus, a statement said.

"Sixty-nine people were killed in violence raging there over the past four days," added the watchdog, citing activists on the ground, who said many were killed in shelling and also in summary executions by the army.

Violence also raged in Sunni areas of the nearby majority Christian town of Jdaidet Artuz, and in rebel stronghold Daraya, scene of fierce fighting for several months.

The opposition Syrian National Council accused the army of staging a "fierce attack" in areas south and west of Damascus.

Jdaidet al-Fadel and other flashpoints are "subjected to a siege and they are deprived of all basic needs for human life", said the SNC.

Since last year, the army has tried to root out rebels positioned southwest and east of Damascus, in a bid to secure the capital.

Saturday's violence comes a day after at least 157 people were killed across Syria, according to the Observatory.

21 Apr, 2013

-
Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/20/Watchdog-Shells-from-Syria-violence-crash-in-Lebanon.html
--
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com

تابع القراءة

Germany: Syria opposition must distance itself from ‘terrorists’

Germany's Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (C) speaks with the media before a meeting with the Friends of Syria group in Istanbul April 20, 2013. (Reuters)

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Saturday the Syrian opposition must distance itself from extremist forces and he said Germany was skeptical about supplying weapons to the rebels.

"We expect from the opposition that they clearly distance themselves in Syria from terrorist and extremist forces," Westerwelle told reporters in Istanbul at a meeting of Syrian opposition leaders and their international backers.

"We are skeptical as the German government when it comes to delivering weapons because we are concerned that weapons could fall into the wrong, namely extremist, hands, but it is a matter that must now be discussed in the European Union."

A U.S. official said on Friday Washington planned to provide about $100 million in new non-lethal aid to the Syrian opposition that could include for the first time battlefield support equipment such as body armor and night-vision goggles.

U.S. aid to Syrian rebels

Secretary of State John Kerry was expected to announce the new aid package, which would mark a recalibration of U.S. policy toward Syrian rebel groups at Saturday's meeting. Fresh U.S. humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees is also likely.

The new assistance would stop short of supplying weapons to rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. It is also far less than what is sought by Syrian opposition leaders, U.S. allies Britain and France and some U.S. lawmakers.

The 11-nation "core group" of the Friends of Syria, including the United States, European and Arab nations, has been dead locked over how to remove Assad, whose security forces killed and arrested thousands of protesters who took to the streets to demand democratic reforms in March 2011.

Syria's opposition has said it hopes the Istanbul meeting will give teeth to a tacit agreement that arming rebel groups is the best way to end Assad's rule.

Syrian rebel officer rules out negotiations with Assad

A Syrian rebel leader said on Saturday only force could end the country's two-year conflict and ruled out the possibility of any negotiation with Assad's administration other than over its exit.

"There is no solution with this regime through negotiation. This [conflict] will not be settled other than by force," Brigadier Selim Idris, head of a military command, told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Istanbul.

"Maybe in its final stages, when the regime feels it has lost everything, it might want to negotiate for its exit."

More than 70,000 have been killed in the revolt and subsequent civil war. But a military stalemate has set in and much of Syria is left in ruins because of a divided and ineffective opposition, a lack of action by foreign allies and Assad's ability to rely on support from Russia and Iran.

21 Apr, 2013

-
Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/20/Germany-Syria-opposition-must-distance-itself-from-terrorists-.html
--
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com

تابع القراءة

Rebels battle with tribesmen over oil in Syria’s east

Masrib tribesmen called for help from Assad's forces against al-Nusra fighters. (AFP)

Islamist rebels are clashing with tribesmen in eastern Syria as struggles over the region's oil facilities break out in the power vacuum left by civil war, activists said on Saturday.

One dispute over a stolen oil truck in the town of Masrib in the province of Deir al-Zor, which borders Iraq, set off a battle between tribesmen and fighters from the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda linked rebel group, which left 37 killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The fighting, which started in late March and lasted 10 days, was part of a new pattern of conflict between tribal groups and the Nusra Front, said a report from the Observatory, a British-based group which opposes Syria's government and draws information from a network of activists in the country.

As the civil war between President Bashar al-Assad's forces and different rebel groups enters its third year, secondary conflicts are emerging over influence and resources such as oil. More than 70,000 people have been killed in Syria's conflict so far, according to the United Nations.

Rebels and local tribes in Deir al-Zor accuse each other of stealing oil from fields in Syria's most energy-rich region.

Masrib tribesmen called for help from Assad's forces against Nusra, according to the Observatory and a fighter with the Islamist group.

Nusra responded by blowing up 30 houses after the battle, in which 17 rebels were killed, at least four of them foreigners, the fighter said on Skype.

"They (the villagers) killed some of our men and mutilated their bodies, which immediately mobilized the (Nusra) Front ...we saw that they were getting help from the regime, which sent them weapons and ammunition," he said on Skype.

It was not possible to verify the reports, due to government restrictions on reporting in Syria.

The incentive for disputes over lucrative resources may be increased by plans by the European Union to lift an embargo on Syrian oil, which would make it easier to sell.

The EU said this week it wants to allow Syria's opposition to sell crude in an effort to tilt the balance of power towards the rebels, who are outgunned by Assad's fighter planes and long range missiles. 

The EU banned purchases of Syrian oil by European companies in 2011 in response to a crackdown on peaceful protests against Assad, in the first stage of what became civil war.

The latest U.S. government data indicate oil production in Syria was 153,000 barrels per day in October 2012, a nearly 60 percent decline from March 2011.

A YouTube video said to be from Deir al-Zor shows a tribal leader warning locals against entering conflicts over oil.

"The problem of all problems, the scourge of all scourges is oil. We are calling for a meeting of all villages and the countryside to discuss this issue, which could cause our annihilation and is a grave danger," he said.

21 Apr, 2013

-
Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/20/Rebels-battle-with-tribesmen-over-oil-in-Syria-s-east.html
--
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com

تابع القراءة

Egypt court postpones trial of 26 suspected Islamist militants

A Cairo court postponed the trial of 26 alleged Islamist militants accused of planning attacks against the Egyptian government. (Al Arabiya)

A Cairo court postponed the trial on Saturday of 26 alleged Islamist militants accused of planning attacks against the Egyptian state, after the defendants shouted at the judge overseeing the case.

They specifically objected to court officials putting one of them in a separate cage, and called Judge Shaaban el-Shamy a corrupt figure from deposed leader Hosni Mubarak's regime.

"There is no judgment except by God. Allah is great, Allah is great" and "You are from the corrupt era, you are from the former regime," they shouted at the judge.

Shamy ended the day's session, the first in the trial, by saying the defendants' lawyers had requested more time to prepare the case for the group, which includes two former army officers. The trial would resume on June 15, he said.

The state security prosecutor said in February that the accused men had formed an extremist organization that advocated sedition against Egypt's authorities and public sector workers.

The suspects, one of whom is Tunisian, were also charged with possession of weapons and explosives.

Only 17 of the suspects were present in court. Nine have never been arrested and are being tried in absentia.

The state news agency MENA said in February that Taha Abdel Salam, one of the two former officers, was accused of being a major recruiter for the group, and had been suspended from the army in 2002 for having links to militants.

MENA said that the defendants belonged to militant cells in Cairo suburbs, and lived in rented apartments under false names. In October, one suspect was killed when he opened fire on security forces raiding such cells in a Nasr City suburb.

Two years after the uprising that toppled Mubarak, Egypt's Islamist rulers are contending with a rise in militant activity, especially in the Sinai region that borders Israel and Gaza, while struggling to contain protests that often turn violent.

Domestic turmoil and the smuggling of weapons from Libya after the fall of dictator Muammar Qaddafi have created a security gap. In August, 16 Egyptian border guards were killed in Islamist militant attacks in Sinai.

21 Apr, 2013

-
Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/20/Egypt-court-postpones-trial-of-26-suspected-Islamist-militants.html
--
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com

تابع القراءة

Aide: Egypt’s Mursi to announce cabinet reshuffle

Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi attends a news conference after talks in Sochi, April 19, 2013. (Reuters)

Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Mursi is set to announce a cabinet reshuffle, a presidential aide said on Saturday, but it is unlikely to meet opposition demands for a complete overhaul of the government.

Mursi wrote on his Twitter account that he would make "a ministerial change" and replace provincial governors, adding the posts would go to "those who are most qualified."

A senior presidential aide said Mursi may announce the changes by the end of the week, which in Egypt will be on Thursday.

"There will be six to eight ministers, and wide-ranging changes among [provincial] governors," he said.

"The ministries that will be affected include some important ones," he added. "I can't mention which ones because, as you know, this is a sensitive matter."

Mursi has repeatedly declared his confidence in Prime Minister Hisham Qandil, whose sacking is demanded by a coalition of opposition groups as a condition for dropping a boycott of parliamentary elections, possibly in the autumn.

Egyptian newspapers have reported that Mursi may replace Justice Minister Ahmed Mekki and other less prominent ministers.

The opposition remains steadfast in its demand for a national unity government, in a protracted deadlock with Mursi that has delayed a much needed $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.
Mursi insists it is up to the next parliament to form a new government.

Qandil's government, appointed after Mursi's election in June, has tried to cope with a hemorrhaging economy despite billions of dollars in aid from energy-rich Qatar and some other countries.

The government says unemployment, a main grievance among young protesters who helped overthrow president Hosni Mubarak in early 2011, has risen since the uprising, while foreign investments and tourism revenues have shrunk.

The Egyptian pound, meanwhile, has dropped by roughly 10 percent to the dollar since December as Qandil's government tries to negotiate the IMF loan it hopes will restore investor confidence in the often restive country.

The loan had been delayed after a wave of protests last winter following Mursi's assumption of extensive powers. Mursi was forced to cancel tax increases, part of the economic reforms demanded by the IMF, to ward off further unrest.

The presidency is expected to unroll cuts to fuel subsidies by next fall, reforms that could possibly stoke an increase in prices and further unrest.

Mursi's supporters have argued that frequent protests, which devolve in clashes with police, are a main obstacle to the country's economic recovery.

21 Apr, 2013

-
Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/20/Aide-Egypt-s-Mursi-to-announce-cabinet-reshuffle-.html
--
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com

تابع القراءة

U.S set to boost ‘non-lethal’ military aid to Syria rebels

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) meets Syrian opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib in Istanbul April 20, 2013. (Reuters)

The United States is set to boost its support for Syria's rebels at a meeting of the opposition's main foreign backers Saturday and could for the first time agree to supply non-lethal military gear.

But Washington is expected to stop short of agreeing to rebel demands for arms as the 11-nation core group of the "Friends of Syria" hold talks in Istanbul with key figures in the opposition battling President Bashar al-Assad.

After arriving in Istanbul, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met first with the head of the main opposition Syrian National Coalition, Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib.

Top diplomats from the 11 countries -- including the United States, European nations and Arab countries -- then began their meeting, to be followed by a working dinner with the opposition.

Ahead of the talks, a senior U.S. official said Kerry would discuss increasing assistance to "moderate opposition groups" including the Coalition and the rebel Supreme Military Council.

The official said the aid to rebel fighters could go "beyond military food rations and medical kits to include other types of non-lethal supplies," but said the details still needed to be worked out.

U.S. media reports have suggested Washington is preparing to provide protective battlefield equipment to the rebels such as body armor, armored vehicles and night-vision goggles, as well as communications gear.

But such supplies may hinge on the opposition showing it can be more inclusive, protect minorities and respect human rights.

Speaking to U.S. lawmakers this week, Kerry said Saturday's talks would be an effort to "get everybody on the same page with respect to what post-Assad" Syria will look like.

"We also want to make certain that the people we're working with are committed to pluralism, diversity, to a democratic process," Kerry said. "There have to be a series of guarantees."

A Western diplomatic source said the Friends of Syria would be looking for the opposition to "take a firm stand on extremism and chemical weapons" and commit to finding a political solution to Syria's crisis.

The opposition is pressing its foreign allies to supply arms to the rebels, but analysts said it was unlikely Saturday's meeting would mark a major breakthrough.

In a statement on Saturday, the opposition Coalition made clear it wanted support beyond humanitarian assistance.

"While humanitarian aid is a dire necessity, the Syrian opposition is also looking for support that will enable the immediate fall of the regime and an end to the suffering of the Syrian people," the statement said.

Many in the West have raised concerns about arming the rebels, fearing weapons could fall into the hands of radical Islamist groups like the al-Nusra Front, which this month pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda.

Britain and France have been pushing for a European Union arms embargo to be allowed to expire by the end of May, but Paris has appeared more wary about arms supplies since the al-Qaeda pledge.

Supporters of arms supplies have said the rise of Islamist groups like al-Nusra is only a stronger argument for providing weapons to more moderate voices in the Syrian opposition.

The Friends of Syria group has struggled to come up with a united strategy to end the violence in Syria, despite fighting that has seen more than 70,000 killed and hundreds of thousands forced from their homes.

Washington has been gradually shifting its policy on providing assistance to the opposition, with Kerry announcing at the last Friends of Syria meeting in February that the U.S. would start providing direct non-lethal aid to rebel fighters.

Overall, the United States has already provided $117 million in non-lethal aid to the opposition and $385 million in humanitarian assistance to help the estimated four million people displaced inside Syria and the 1.2 million refugees in neighboring countries.

21 Apr, 2013

-
Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2013/04/20/U-S-set-to-boost-non-lethal-military-aid-to-Syria-rebels-.html
--
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com

تابع القراءة

Families of flotilla victims reject Israeli-Turkish compensation talks

File picture shows an undated handout image taken from the Free Gaza Movement website on May 28, 2010 of the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara taking part in the "Freedom Flotilla" heading towards the Gaza Strip. (AFP)

 Families of the victims of an Israeli raid on an aid flotilla on Saturday spoke out against compensation talks between Turkey and Israel, saying the Jewish state must first fully lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The relatives of the nine activists killed on board the Gaza-bound ship in 2010 also said they would not drop lawsuits filed against former Israeli military commanders they hold responsible.

The announcement comes days before an Israeli delegation is due in Turkey to discuss compensation for the victims and further complicates efforts by the United States to normalize ties between Turkey and Israel, two U.S. allies President Barack Obama regards as anchors of stability in an increasingly turbulent Middle East.

Last month, Obama help broker a rapprochement between the two during a visit to Israel. Israel apologized for the raid and agreed to compensate the injured and relatives of the dead, while Turkey was expected to withdraw legal action against Israeli soldiers. Despite accepting the apology and agreeing to the normalization of ties, Turkish leaders have since warned that the restoration of full diplomatic ties with Israel would be dependent on it ending all commercial restrictions against the Palestinians.

In a statement read on board the Mavi Marmara - the ship that was stormed by Israeli commandos and now anchored in Istanbul- the families said they oppose Turkey opening discussions with Israel until all restrictions on Palestinians are removed.

"While no steps have been taken to lift the severe restrictions or to amend the rights of the Palestinians who are oppressed, these meetings for compensation are an insult to our martyrs," said Cigdem Topcuoglu, widow of Cetin Topcuoglu. Talks to work out compensation payment were scheduled to begin on Monday.

The relatives vowed not to withdraw complaints filed against four Israeli military officials who are being tried in Turkey in absentia. Turkish prosecutors have demanded life in prison for the officers, although it is unlikely that any sentence could be carried out.

Eight Turks and one Turkish American were killed when Israeli commandos stormed the Mavi Marmara while stopping an international flotilla trying to breach Israel's blockade of Gaza, which is ruled by the Islamic group Hamas. The incident increase tensions between the former allies and the two withdrew ambassadors. Israel had previously refused to apologize, saying its soldiers had acted in self-defense after being attacked by activists.

Turkish leaders have presented the Israeli apology as a diplomatic triumph over Israel, and in an apparent bid to increase his leverage, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to visit the Hamas-controlled Gaza at the end of this month.

20 Apr, 2013

-
Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/20/Families-of-flotilla-victims-reject-Israeli-Turkish-compensation-talks.html
--
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com

تابع القراءة

Pakistan court extends Musharraf custody

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf (C) is escorted by soldiers and police commandos as he leaves an anti-terrorism court after a hearing in Islamabad on April 20, 2013. (AFP)

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court ordered former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to be remanded in custody for two weeks on Saturday, a day after his arrest ahead of key elections, officials said.

The arrest Friday relates to Musharraf's decision to sack judges when he imposed emergency rule in November 2007, a move that hastened his downfall.

"The court has sent General Musharraf on judicial remand for two weeks," Muhammad Amjad, spokesman for Musharraf's All Pakistan Muslim League party, told reporters.

"Our lawyers denied the allegations that General Musharraf sacked judges and kept them and their families under house arrest for six months. It is absolutely untrue," Amjad said.

"We had requested the court to send General Musharraf on judicial remand, so that we can go to higher courts for relief," he added.

Musharraf appeared before the anti-terrorism court amid tight security, as hundreds of lawyers opposing him scuffled with security personnel and shouted slogans against the former ruler.

He had spent the night at police headquarters in Islamabad, officials said, and was moved back there after his court appearance, but it was unclear whether he would be kept there or in a prison.

"It depends upon the district administration whether they send him to jail or keep him at any secure place," a senior police official told AFP.

Musharraf was moved into police custody after being arrested on Friday, an unprecedented move against a former army chief of staff ahead of key elections.

Live television footage showed Musharraf getting out of his white bullet-proof SUV and being surrounded by dozens of security guards as he was brought into the courthouse.

Lawyers have petitioned Pakistan's top court to try him for treason for imposing emergency law -- which would be punishable by death or life in prison -- but it would have to be the state that initiates any trial.

The Supreme Court on Saturday named a three-judge panel to resume hearing from Monday petitions seeking Musharraf's trial under the High Treason Act.

He also faces charges of conspiracy to murder opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in 2007 and over the death of a rebel leader during a 2006 military operation.

Musharraf's supporters say the arrest order was nothing more than a settling of scores for his dismissal of judges nearly six years ago.

On Thursday, Judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui added terrorism to the charges, accusing him of spreading "fear in the society, insecurity amongst the judicial officers, alarm in the lawyers' community and terror throughout Pakistan."

Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup, which was widely welcomed at the time in Pakistan, but he was forced out and threatened with impeachment in 2008.

The elected prime minister he ousted, Nawaz Sharif, is now the front-runner in the general election campaign.

20 Apr, 2013

-
Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/asia/2013/04/20/Pakistan-court-extends-Musharraf-custody.html
--
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com

تابع القراءة

Saudi king replaces deputy defense minister

Prince Fahd has been commander of Saudi naval forces since 2002. (Al Arabiya)

The Saudi deputy defense minister, Prince Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz who played a key role in the 1991 Gulf War over Kuwait, has been dismissed, state news agency SPA reported Saturday.

King Abdullah in a decree replaced him with Prince Fahd bin Abdullah bin Mohammed, SPA said, without giving further details.

Prince Khaled commanded Arab and Muslim armies in a U.S.-led coalition which evicted Iraqi occupation forces from Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War. He also owns the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat, published in London.

He was appointed deputy defense minister in November 2011, a month after the death of his father, Crown Prince Sultan, who had served as defense minister for five decades.

His successor, Prince Fahd, has been commander of Saudi naval forces since 2002, according to the local press.

20 Apr, 2013

-
Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/20/Saudi-king-replaces-deputy-defense-minister-.html
--
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com

تابع القراءة

Head of Egypt’s Al-Azhar meets with crown prince in Riyadh

Cairo's top Sunni cleric, Ahmed al-Tayeb, met with Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud in Riyadh on Saturday amid heightened tension between Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and the top religious authority, Al-Azhar.

According to the Saudi Foreign Ministry, the crown prince described Al-Azhar, considered to be the center of Islamic learning, as important in the Arab and Muslim worlds.

The spat between the Brotherhood and the center of Islamic learning began when the principle of Egypt's Al-Azhar University, Osama al-Abed, was dismissed early April amid protests against food poisoning that struck more than 500 students.

Some in the opposition accused the Brotherhood of having concocted the mass-poisoning scandal in an attempt to control the institution.

Following Abed's dismissal, there were calls by the Brotherhood to sack Al-Azhar's Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb.

In an April interview with Al Arabiya, Al-Azhar cleric Sheikh Ahmed Karima accused the Brotherhood of exploiting the food-poisoning incident.

"The escalation of the situation has nothing to do with the poisoning of students' stomachs, but the poisoning of students' brains," Karima said.

Also, Al-Azhar had concerns over the decision of the Brotherhood, to which Egyptian President Mohomed Mursi belongs, to issue Islamic bonds – known as sukuk – for the first time in the cash-strapped country.

Al-Azhar said its Senior Scholars Authority should be consulted on issues pertaining to Islamic law as set out in Egypt's new, Islamist-tinged constitution.

20 Apr, 2013

-
Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/20/Head-of-Egypt-s-Al-Azhar-meets-with-crown-prince-in-Riyadh.html
--
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com

تابع القراءة

Egypt prosecutor to appeal cancellation of Mubarak detention

An Egyptian court cancelled on Saturday a detention order against ousted President Hosni Mubarak pending a corruption trial but he will remain in custody on other charges. (AFP)

The Egyptian public prosecutor will appeal the recent decision of an Egyptian court to cancel a detention order against ousted President Hosni Mubarak pending a corruption trial, Al Arabiya correspondent reported on Saturdau.

However, Mubarak's lawyer said that the ousted president will remain in custody on other charges.

Mubarak, held in a south Cairo prison, has been charged in three cases, one for overseeing the killings of protesters during the early 2011 uprising against his regime, and two corruption cases.

The court on Saturday cancelled his detention on graft charges, a judicial source said, without giving more details. The charges related to his personal wealth that prosecutors say exceeds what he could have legitimately amassed.

Earlier this month, a court ordered his release on charges of responsibility for the deaths of protesters after the expiration of the maximum temporary detention of two years.

But his lawyer Farid al-Deeb said on Saturday Mubarak remained detained in yet another corruption case.

"There is still another case, and we will deal with it," he said.

Meanwhile, a spokesman from Egypt's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) – the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm – said that his party considers Mubarak's possible release a "red line."

"If judges cannot achieve justice and hold these criminals accountable, then they should leave their posts and not take part in releasing Mubarak and his aides," Murad Ali posted on his Facebook page.

"No one on Earth has the right to waive the rights of martyrs and the rights of the people whom Mubarak and his supporters [stole] from."

Mubarak, 84, who has been under arrest since April 2011 was transferred back from military hospital to prison earlier this week to await trial on May 11 over the protesters' deaths during the uprising.

He was being treated for a heart condition, fractured ribs, fluid in the lungs, depression and high blood pressure, according to his lawyers and official accounts.

20 Apr, 2013

-
Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/20/Egypt-court-cancels-Mubarak-detention-in-one-case.html
--
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com

تابع القراءة

Algeria jails French businessman, 4 nationals for running porn ring

The accused were tried on 11 separate charges, including indecent assault, producing and publishing pornography, inciting debauchery and possession of drugs. (Al Arabiya)

An Algerian court jailed a French businessman and four Algerians on Friday on charges including rape, running a pornography ring and inciting debauchery, in a case that had gripped the country.

The main suspect, Jean-Michel Baroche, 67, who was imprisoned last year along with four others, was handed a seven year sentence and a 200,000 dinar (20,000 euro) fine after he was found guilty of rape and forced abortions.

His business associate and driver, Reda Briki, got a six year sentence, while Saadni Abdenacer, the former vice president of Annaba municipality where the trial took place, was given four years.

Two others, a gynecologist and a communications officer in the same region, were both jailed for a year and another three Algerians, who had been released on bail, were acquitted.

Baroche set up a modeling agency, Glamour Arabian Talent, in the northeastern town of Annaba, after leaving Tunisia in the wake of the January 2011 uprising, where he claimed to have set up a luxury car rental agency and managed hotels.

The Algerian press reported that he took would-be models to a luxury villa where he held sex parties that were filmed and the videos sold on the Internet.

He was charged after a young woman accused him of rape.

The accused were tried on 11 separate charges, including indecent assault, producing and publishing pornography, inciting debauchery and possession of drugs.

The prosecution had sought 10 year jail sentences for Baroche, Reda and Abdenacer, and five years for the local government official for complicity.

20 Apr, 2013

-
Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/africa/2013/04/20/Algeria-jails-French-businessman-4-nationals-for-running-porn-ring.html
--
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com

تابع القراءة

U.N. chief says Hezbollah poses ‘serious challenge’ to Lebanese sovereignty

U.N. chief says Hezbollah poses 'serious challenge' to Lebanese sovereignty

A supporter of Lebanon's Hezbollah group holds pictures of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah (L), Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (R) and slain Hezbollah commander Imad Mughnieh (bottom-C) during a rally in southern Beirut to denounce a film mocking Islam on Sept. 17, 2012. (AFP)

The Shiite Hezbollah militia continues to operate outside of the control of the Lebanese government and poses "serious challenge to the State's ability to exercise full sovereignty and authority over its territory," U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said in his latest report on the situation in Lebanon.

The U.N. secretary general provides semi-annual reports to the Security Council on the implementation of the 2004 Security Council resolution 1559, which demanded the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon so that the country enjoys its sovereignty.

"Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias within the country continue to operate outside of the control of the government in serious violation of resolution 1559 (2004)," the U.N. chief said.

He added that while several groups in Lebanon possess weapons outside government control, Hezbollah's armed wing "is the most significant and most heavily armed Lebanese militia in the country."

"Over the reporting period, there has been yet again no tangible progress towards the disbanding and disarming of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias as called for in the Taif Agreement and resolution 1559 (2004)," Ki-Moon said.

The U.N. chief called on the Lebanese government and the Lebanese Armed Forces to intensify their "efforts to reach a full monopoly on the possession of weapons and the use of force throughout Lebanon."

The U.N. chief also pointed to "credible reports" suggesting that Hezbollah and other Lebanese forces' are involved in the Syrian crisis.

"This has added a dangerous element to the situation in Lebanon," he said, pointing in specific to an incident in Tal Kalakh, southern Syria, in which several young Lebanese men were killed in early December 2012.

20 Apr, 2013

-
Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/20/U-N-chief-says-Hezbollah-poses-serious-challenge-to-Lebanese-sovereignty.html
--
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com

تابع القراءة