Report says two missiles target Russian passenger plane over Syria

Unidentified assailants fired two land-to-air missiles at a Russian passenger plane carrying over 150 people when it flew over Syria on Monday, the Interfax news agency reported, citing an informed source in Moscow.

"The Syrian side informed us that on Monday morning unidentified people had fired two land-to-air missiles which exploded in the immediate proximity of a civilian plane belonging to a Russian airline," the source was quoted as saying.

"The crew was able to move the aircraft to the side on time and save the lives of the passengers," the source said, adding that it was unclear whether the attackers knew that the plane was Russian.

The plane was returning from a resort in Egypt, a popular destination for Russian tourists.

The federal air transport agency Rosaviation issued a statement later Monday, saying the crew of a charter plane flying from the Egyptian resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh to the Russian city of Kazan had detected "signs of combat actions" when it was flying over Syria.

The crew of the A-320 plane, which belongs to Nord Wind Airlines, believed that those actions threatened the aircraft's safety, said the agency, adding that the plane landed in Kazan on time.

The Russian foreign ministry said in a separate statement that it was taking "urgent measures" to clarify the situation and was in contact with the Syrian authorities. It said the plane carried 159 passengers.

Neither the air transport agency nor the foreign ministry made any mention of the missiles.

Russia, one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's staunchest allies, is firmly opposed to foreign intervention in Syria.

30 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/30/Report-says-two-missiles-target-Russian-passenger-plane-over-Syria.html
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Egypt walks out of nuclear talks in Geneva

Egypt walks out of a round of global nuclear talks in protest Monday. (AFP)

Egypt walked out of a round of global nuclear talks in protest Monday, saying other nations are not acting quickly enough to establish the Middle East as a zone free of nuclear weapons.

A statement from Egypt's Foreign Ministry said the nation ended its participation in two weeks of Geneva talks out of frustration that the zone has yet to be created. The talks run through this week.

"We can't wait forever for the implementation of this decision," said the ministry's statement Monday night, explaining that Egypt's walkout was meant to send a message to the world that it can no longer accept what it considers to be a lack of seriousness on the issue.

But establishing the Middle East as a zone free of nuclear weapons has long been an elusive goal.

The Geneva talks, which have included no negotiations on such a zone, are meant to prepare for the next major review of the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 2015. Such reviews are held once every five years.

The NPT, which has been signed by 190 nations, is the world's single most important pact on nuclear arms, credited with preventing their spread to dozens of nations since it was adopted. Israel and Iran, along with North Korea, India and Pakistan, remain outside the treaty.

At the 1995 review, nations adopted the goal of a nuclear-free Middle East, in a concession by the U.S. and others to the Arabs, who wanted Israel to join the treaty and to give up its unacknowledged arsenal of nuclear weapons. In exchange, the Arabs backed the treaty's permanent extension.

But after 15 years of inaction on a nuclear-free zone, Egypt proposed that the 2010 conference endorse launching negotiations to establish one. With no talks started, Egypt said Monday that some other members of the treaty - and non-members - are "obstructing" the goal. Though it did not specify, the reference to non-members was seen as implying Israel.

Ahead of the Geneva talks to prevent the spread of nuclear arms, the U.N. Security Council's five major powers - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - had again called for progress in establishing a nuclear-free Middle East.

30 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/30/Egypt-walks-out-of-nuclear-talks-in-Geneva.html
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Egyptian Islamist cleared over 1995 bid to murder Mubarak

An Egyptian court acquitted Monday Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya party leader Mustafa Hamza. (Courtesy: Ahram)

An Egyptian court acquitted Monday a Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya party leader who had been sentenced to death in absentia after a foiled bid in 1995 to assassinate ex-President Hosni Mubarak, a judicial source said.

Mustafa Hamza was a military commander of the fundamentalist group – an organization outlawed under Mubarak – which had been implicated in deadly attacks in the 1990s alongside another jihadist group, notably the Luxor massacre which killed about 70 people, mainly tourists, in 1997.

An Egyptian court had sentenced him to death in absentia for his membership in the Gamaa, but on Monday the Giza criminal court acquitted him.

The Mubarak government had accused Hamza of masterminding a bid to assassinate the now ousted president during an official visit to Addis Ababa to attend an African summit.

Gunmen opened fire on Mubarak's motorcade, but the former strongman's bodyguards were quick to return fire and he escaped unscathed.

Hamza ended years on the run and returned to Egypt after the January 2011 popular uprising that toppled Mubarak and surrendered to the authorities in Cairo, where he also asked for a retrial.

The Gamaa, which renounced violence at the end of the 1990s, set up a political party – Building and Development – after Mubarak's ouster.

30 Apr, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/30/Egypt-Islamist-cleared-over-1995-bid-to-murder-Mubarak-.html
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