Hundreds of deaths, injuries reported as Iraqi forces raid Kirkuk protest camp

Iraq's defense ministry had no official death toll and said troops responded after coming under fire from gunmen in the makeshift camp in a public square in Hawija, near Kirkuk, 170 km (100 miles) north of the capital. (Reuters)

Hundreds of people were killed and injured when Iraqi security forces stormed a Sunni Muslim anti-government protest camp near Kirkuk on Tuesday, starting a gun battle between troops and protesters, an Al Arabiya correspondent reported.

An army helicopter was involved when forces stormed the camp.

Iraq's defense ministry had no official death toll and said troops responded after coming under fire from gunmen in the makeshift camp in a public square in Hawija, near Kirkuk, 170 km (100 miles) north of the capital.

Protest leaders said they were unarmed when security forces opened fire during the early morning raid.

Demonstrators and local officials gave conflicting accounts of the number of casualties but at least three military sources said six troops and 20 demonstrators were killed in the clashes, according to Reuters.

An Al Arabiya correspondent at the scene put the toll at much higher, saying hundreds had been killed and injured.

Thousands of Sunni Muslims have staged regular protests for months in several Iraqi provinces to demand an end to perceived marginalization of their sect by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government.

Many Sunnis say they have been sidelined since the U.S.-led 2003 invasion that ousted Sunni strongman Saddam Hussein and allowed the Shi'ite majority to gain power through elections.

23 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/04/23/At-least-26-killed-as-Iraqi-forces-raid-Sunni-protest-camp.html
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Saudi Arabia to study switching Islamic weekend

The Saudi Shura Council has agreed to study a recommendation to switch the kingdom's weekend to Friday and Saturday. (AFP)

The Saudi Shura Consultative Council agreed on Monday to study a recommendation to switch the Islamic weekend in the kingdom to Friday and Saturday, like other Gulf states, state news agency SPA reported.

The weekend in Saudi Arabia remains on Thursday and Friday, although other Gulf states have pushed it back by one day to reduce the difference with the rest of the world, which affects financial markets and businesses.

The council, the equivalent of a parliament but without any legislative powers, agreed to "study a change in the weekend in government entities from Thursday and Friday to Friday and Saturday," SPA cited the council's chief assistant, Fahhad bin Muatad al-Hamad, as saying.

The all-appointed council has 150 members, including 30 women named recently by King Abdullah, for the first time ever, in what has been seen as a major step towards acknowledging women's rights in the country.

But many Muslim clerics in the desert kingdom that applies a strict version of Sunni Islam are opposed to switching the weekend, apparently in fear of matching the Jewish days off.

The Saudi financial market, the largest Arab bourse in capitalization, works five days per week but only three days match those of the main global markets. The same applies to banks and financial firms.

Oman was the last Gulf state to announce this month replacing Thursday with Saturday in its weekend, starting in May.

23 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/23/Saudi-Arabia-to-study-switching-Islamic-weekend.html
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Spain arrests two al-Qaeda suspects says ministry

Spanish police on Tuesday arrested two "suspected terrorists" believed to be linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. (AFP)

Spanish police on Tuesday arrested two "suspected terrorists" believed to be linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Spain's interior ministry said.

One man of Algerian origin was arrested in the northern city of Zaragoza and one of Moroccan origin in the southeastern region of Murcia, a ministry statement said.

The news comes after Canadian security forces thwarted a plot to blow up a rail line between Canada and the United States, police and intelligence agencies stated on Monday. 

A U.S. law enforcement source told Reuters the alleged plot was not linked with last week's Boston Marathon bombings.

23 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2013/04/23/Spain-arrests-two-al-Qaeda-suspects-ministry.html
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