Muslim Brotherhood leader to run for Egypt presidency

11/05/2011

A leader of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement will run for the post of Egyptian president as an independent candidate, the al-Masry al-Youm newspaper said on Wednesday.

"Abdul Munim Abu al-Futuh has decided to run in the presidential election in response to numerous appeals by his supporters," the newspaper said.

The Brotherhood, which on Tuesday started official procedures for the establishment of its Freedom and Justice political party, said it would not put forward an official candidate for the presidential elections and would not support any independent candidate associated with the movement.

The overthrow of long-time Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak in February led to fears that the Brotherhood would take control of the largely secular state, although the movement, banned under Mubarak, played a low-key role in the protests that overthrew him.

The army generals who took control from President Hosni Mubarak in February have set parliamentary elections in Egypt for September and announced that presidential elections could be held by the end of 2011.

The Freedom and Justice party plans to take part in parliamentary elections and hopes to win around half of the seats.

The movement was founded in 1928 by schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna. It was banned in 1954 but retained a large following.

MOSCOW, May 11 (RIA Novosti)

Source: RIA Novosti.
Link: http://en.rian.ru/world/20110511/163971313.html.

Kuwait, not Syria, to run for UN rights body — envoys

By LOUIS CHARBONNEAU
May 11, 2011

UNITED NATIONS: Under pressure from fellow UN member states, Syria dropped plans to run for a seat on the top UN human rights body and allowed Kuwait to replace it as a candidate, UN diplomats said on Tuesday.

Several UN diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Kuwait had confirmed to Western officials that it planned to declare its candidacy for a spot on the 47-nation Human Rights Council in the Asian category.

They said Syria planned to trade candidacies with Kuwait, which was slated to run for the rights council in 2013, and drop out of the 2011 race for one of the four spots available to Asian countries. Other Asian candidates running this year are India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

There was no immediate confirmation from Syrian officials. Syria’s UN Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari, asked by Reuters if Damascus had agreed to trade places with Kuwait and postpone its candidacy until 2013, said there was “so far nothing.”

One diplomat told Reuters that an “Asian group meeting will have to be called to confirm these changes.” Other envoys said the Asian voting group, which includes Asia and the Middle East, would meet to discuss the issue on Wednesday.

Another Western diplomat said Syria’s withdrawal from the 2011 race and Kuwait’s candidacy was “great news.”

The 192-nation UN General Assembly will hold its annual elections for one third of the seats on the Geneva-based Human Rights Council on May 20.

France: Not the time for Syria

The council is the main UN body charged with monitoring member states’ compliance with international human rights norms. Critics say it spends too much time bashing Israel while ignoring violations by countries such as Sri Lanka, Bahrain, China, Russia and others.

The original slate of Syria, India, Indonesia and the Philippines had been endorsed by Asia’s UN voting group and the Arab League.

But Syria’s violent crackdown against anti-government protesters prompted some Western, Arab and Asian UN member states to suggest that Damascus should not be on the rights body when it was facing accusations of gross violations, Western envoys said.

“It is not really the time for Syria to become a member of the council of human rights,” French UN Ambassador Gerard Araud told reporters on Monday.

The United States under former President George W. Bush had shunned the rights council, considering it a tool of anti-Israeli forces at the United Nations.

President Barack Obama reversed that policy two years ago, saying the United States could improve the rights council from within. The United States ran for and secured a seat.

Had Syria won a seat on the council, it would have followed other states accused of human rights abuses by rights watchdog groups including China, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Muammar Qaddafi’s Libya is a member of the rights council, but the General Assembly suspended its membership rights in response to its violent crackdown this year against anti-government demonstrators that sparked a civil war.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article393814.ece.

Yemen jets bomb anti-Saleh tribal areas — tribesmen

By REUTERS
May 11, 2011

SANAA: Yemeni air force planes on Tuesday bombed rural areas where tribesmen demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh live, the tribesmen said, a sign that violence gripping the fractious state may be escalating.

The planes bombed an area north of the capital Sanaa where tens of thousands of protesters have been rallying daily to demand an end to Saleh’s nearly 33-year rule. At least four tribesmen were wounded in the raid, a resident said.

Tribesmen told Reuters the Republican Guard, led by Saleh’s son, had been trying to pass through the tribal area en route to the southern coastal province of Hadramout where one of several army units that have defected is based.

The tribesmen have had violent clashes with Saleh’s troops in recent weeks, residents said. The jets stopped bombing after a few hours, tribesmen said, and the Republican Guard agreed with the tribesmen not to send troops to Hadramout.

Opposition sources had complained that troops were being sent to Hadramout to crush protests there.

Many demonstrators across Yemen, who include students, tribesmen and activists, have vowed to stay on the streets until Saleh, who has clung to power despite three months of protests, steps down. At least 154 people have been killed in the unrest.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article393810.ece.

Give unity deal a chance, Palestinian PM urges

By REUTERS
May 11, 2011

RAMALLAH, West Bank: Palestinian unity is crucial to peace with Israel and the pact between the secular Fatah and Islamist Hamas movements must be given a chance, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Friday.

“I am satisfied that we are on the verge of the process of putting the country back together,” he told France 24 television in an interview.

Starting the process of reconciling the two rival factions, which fought a brief civil war in 2007 over the Gaza Strip, is “absolutely essential,” even if it was not achieved immediately, Fayyad added.

The reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah, announced in Cairo at the end of April, came as a surprise after 18 months of Egyptian mediation, and was greeted with caution the West and by some skeptical Palestinians.

Hamas does not accept Israel’s right to exist, unlike Fatah which is trying to negotiate a “two-state” solution creating a state living in peace alongside Israel on West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, lands the Jewish state captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

Fayyad indicated he was also surprised by the deal but called it “a good starting point.”

“It’s great that we have it. The real test is implementation,” said the Western-backed former World Bank economist.

A consensus government of independents, to which Fatah and Hamas agreed, must be formed “in short weeks” to demonstrate the deal would have concrete consequences, he said.

The deal includes “a security component that is adequate from our point of view ... and consistent with what is necessary,” Fayyad said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of Fatah, to reject reconciliation. He said the pact would let Hamas block all hopes of a peace treaty with Israel.

Fayyad said Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal had made it clear he accepted the goal of a state of Palestine based on 1967 borders. Hamas’s charter calls for reclaiming all the land of the former British mandate, including Israel.

He that “like the Israeli coalition,” the Palestinian national movement is made up of different factions which do not share the same views uniformly.

“It’s important to find a way to govern ourselves effectively, taking into account that we do not all have the same political persuasions,” Fayyad told France 24.

The deal announced in Cairo “does not live up to the gold standard but, relative to the status quo, it is vastly superior,” he added.

The reconciliation pact “can take us to a much better place, vastly superior to where we are today,” he said.

“How is it going to be possible for us Palestinians to get a sovereign state of Palestine where we can live with dignity unless Gaza is an integral part of that mix? We can’t.”

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article393821.ece.

More than 80 killed in south Sudan violence

By JEREMY CLARKE | REUTERS
May 11, 2011

JUBA, Sudan: More than 80 rebels and civilians were killed when insurgents attacked a camp in south Sudan, the army said on Tuesday, in the latest violence to mar preparations for the region’s independence.

In a separate incident, unknown attackers shot and wounded four Zambian UN peacekeepers in the contested Abyei region on Tuesday, another north/south flashpoint, the United Nations said.

People from Sudan’s oil-producing south overwhelmingly voted to secede in a referendum in January, promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war with the north.

Celebrations over the independence vote have been marred by a wave of tribal violence and clashes between the south’s army and renegade militias.

Analysts warn that the underdeveloped south, due to split away in July, could become a failed state and destabilize the whole region if security deteriorates further.

Leaders from the south, where most follow Christian and traditional beliefs, have accused Khartoum of backing the rebels to disrupt the region and keep control of its oil.

The mostly Muslim north has dismissed this as have many of the militias who say they are rebelling against what they say is an autocratic government in the south.

Rebel militia fighters attacked a camp used by cattle herders in the south’s Warrap state on Sunday, southern army (SPLA) spokesman Philip Aguer told Reuters.

“We (the SPLA) forced this militia out of Unity state on the 6th and 7th (of May). They crossed into Warrap state and attacked a cattle camp and killed 34 civilians and wounded 45.”

“Later, civilians and police chased the militia into an ambush and killed 48 of them,” Aguer added.

Tribal or rebel violence has broken out in all but one of the south’s ten states this year, killing more than 1,000 people, according to the United Nations and army figures.

More clashes

Aguer said there were also more clashes with militia in the south’s Unity state on Monday. He gave no casualty figures but said the army had seized heavy artillery, communication equipment, anti-tank mines and machine guns.

A rebel militia loyal to former SPLA officer Peter Gadet said it had fought the army in the area for several days.

“We were fighting with the SPLA this morning. It wasn’t much but yesterday it was very heavy...It has been going on for days,” the group’s spokesman Bol Gatkouth told Reuters.

The United Nations estimates at least seven separate militia are at war with the southern government.

North and south have yet to agree on a range of issues such as how they will divide oil revenues or who owns Abyei, a fertile, oil-producing region that straddles the border.

Attackers shot the Zambian peacekeepers in Goli north of Abyei town on Tuesday afternoon, said Hua Jiang, spokeswoman for the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).

“One of them was seriously wounded, and all were evacuated to Abyei for treatment,” she said.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article393818.ece.

Tunisia finds 58 bodies on its beaches

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
May 11, 2011

PARIS: Tunisia’s government says that 58 bodies were discovered in April on the country’s Mediterranean beaches, likely migrants headed to Europe in small boats that sank.

The official TAP news agency quoted an Interior Ministry statement Tuesday as saying the bodies, mostly males, were found by the coast guard on beaches of central and southern Tunisia — the closest points to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

More than 20,000 Tunisian migrants have fled home amid unrest since Tunisia’s autocratic leader was ousted Jan. 14.

A separate Interior Ministry statement Tuesday said 826 criminals and delinquents have been arrested in a six-day sweep of the country by security forces, some accused of pillaging, setting fires or throwing stones at police.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article393816.ece.

Gaza due for reconstruction after the reconciliation

Shaima Mustafa
2011-05-10

By: Shaima Mustafa
Islamonline.net-Gaza

Thousands in Gaza are anxious about the reconciliation with hope of rebuilding their homes that have been lost during the last Israeli war over 2 years ago. The reconciliation agreement that was signed by Fatah and Hamas, ending the division and conflict that lasted over four years.

“The reconciliation took place…I want them to rebuild my home. What are they waiting for? I’m tired of waiting,” said Nizar Sultan, one of the many Palestinians whose homes are still in ruins.

A dream revitalized

Abu-Mohammed Al-Atatra expressed to “Islam Online”: “the dream of rebuilding our homes after the Israeli war is a dream that was long lost for over two years. We are used to homelessness; it’s a part of our daily lives.”

“But now, and after the reconciliation, that dream of rebuilding our homes is revitalized. We no longer want to think about how we’ll live and survive through the cold winters and scorching summers.”

His neighbor, Abu-Khaled Abd-Rabuh, whose three-story home had been destroyed, and two children had been killed said pessimistically, “I don’t want to get too hopeful, unless I see something actually taking place; not before the bulldozers start to remove the rubbles. Hopes and dreams are no longer beautiful. They’re just exhausting.” “I’m afraid that the reconciliation will just end up being on paper; simply talk. No more, no less,” he added.

University Student Ibrahim Ayaash stated: “the rebuilding will perhaps not occur within the upcoming few months, because there are many conflicts ahead of this reconciliation. For one, Israel will never acknowledge a government that includes members of Hamas. Also, the international community, headed by the U.S. will not accept a government that does not acknowledge Israel. Therefore, the affairs of thousands of displaced families will remain hanging.”

Previously, major countries held a meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, about a month after the end of the Israeli war, promising to donate $5 billion US to reconstruct Gaza. A promised that still remains unfulfilled.

Optimism

Dr. Mueen Rajab, economical expert and analyst affirmed to “Islam Online” that the Palestinian reconciliation awakened a long awaited dream for thousands of Palestinian families that were displaced by the Israeli war, especially now, with the opening of the Rafah crossing, all materials needed for reconstruction will be available.

“We are very optimistic that the wheel of reconstruction will start to turn very soon now that the reconciliation is signed. There will be no more conflicts and division.”

He pointed out that the Arab and international stance that stood in the way of the reconciliation is no more.

“These stances changed with the end of the division, especially Egypt, which completely changed its demeanor after the revolution, promising to open the Rafah crossing, allowing us to import cement and all required construction material without any restrictions or constraints…Qatar as well increased its efforts. If it wasn’t for the reconciliation none of this would have happened.”

Arab initiative

Ismail Haniyeh, Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority announced in Saturday, May 7th that many Arab countries, including Qatar, expressed their preparation to immediately undertake the rebuilding process in Gaza.

In a speech made by Haniyeh at the opening of a hospital in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, he mentioned that the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, ensured, during a phone conversation a few days ago, that Qatar is prepared to immediately begin the reconstruction project.

He considered that the reconstruction process is “currently being practically implemented,” pointing out that the priority of the future government is to rebuild what had been destroyed in Gaza.

Source: IslamOnline.
Link: http://www.islamonline.net/en/IOLArticle_C/1278407867846/1278406708816/IOLArticle_C.

France warns nationals not to go with Gaza flotilla

[10/May/2011]

PARIS, May 10 (Saba) -- The French government formally warned nationals on Tuesday not to take part in a humanitarian flotilla operation which plans to break through Israel's maritime blockade of the Palestinian territory next month, according to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

At least one French-based ship intends to join about 10 other vessels bringing humanitarian supplies to beleaguered Gaza.

In May 2010, Israeli commandos attacked a similar flotilla trying to reach Gaza and killed ten Turkish nationals on one of the vessels and wounded a number of other people.

That attack was widely criticized, not only for the brute force used against unarmed humanitarian workers, but also because it took place in international waters and was tantamount to piracy.

"Because of the safety risks linked with such an undertaking, we are formally warning French nationals not to embark on the vessels that aim to break the maritime blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip," the French Foreign Ministry said.

France feels that humanitarian aid should be channeled to Gaza by land through existing routes set up by the Israeli authorities, the Foreign Ministry said.
Nonetheless, Israel regularly blocks or delays aid to Gaza as a punitive action against the population there.

"Our position on the blockade is well known. We call on the Israeli authorities for a fundamental change in policy relative to Gaza," the French statement said.
Officials here said they wanted to see Israel continue to ease restrictive measures on the Palestinian Territory and authorize "all exports of commercial goods (including towards the West Bank and Israel) and the liberalization of travel conditions for people to and from the Gaza Strip".

France also continues to support the inquiry by the UN Secretary General into the circumstances of last May's attack on the flotilla in order to avoid a repeat occurrence of that event.

An Israeli inquiry into the incident whitewashed the military operation and commandos who took part were not even interviewed by the investigating commission.

Source: Saba Net.
Link: http://www.sabanews.net/en/news241094.htm.

President Gül opens international defense fair in İstanbul

10 May 2011, Tuesday

President Abdullah Gül officially opened the 10th International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF'11) at İstanbul's Tüyap Convention Center in Büyükçekmece on Tuesday.

During his remarks Gül emphasized the significance of hosting this fair in a city that connects two continents and has become an important center in its geographic region. “Especially in recent years, Turkey has placed greater importance on its national defense industry. Designing our own defense products and producing them using only domestic resources are big steps towards the development of this sector in Turkey,” Gül noted.

The fair, which will run May 10-13, will host many chiefs of general staff, defense ministers and military authorities from around the world. High-level military staff will have the opportunity to exchange views during their visit to IDEF'11, while foreign arms manufacturers and other defense contractors will also have the opportunity to establish important business contacts.

A total of 575 domestic and foreign companies from 44 countries -- including Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (TAI), Aselsan, Roketsan, FNSS Defense Systems, Otokar and more -- have gathered for the defense fair. Turkey's Tusaş Engine Industries (TIE) will present its unmanned aerial vehicle, while Aselsan will participate with its 60-ton Leopard 2A4 tank. An active remote controlled defense and surveillance system called Nöbetçi, which is aimed at replacing sentries at military bunkers and outposts, will also be exhibited.

The Turkish president also shared his views on rising tensions in the Middle East and North Africa, saying that maintaining peace, stability and security in the world should be a priority for all countries. “In order to achieve this [peace, stability and security] it is certain that appropriate policies, politics and other tools are necessary. We need to understand that the defense industry is indispensable for preventing wars around the world, not to get involved in wars,” Gül said. “A country which does not have sufficient preparations to dissuade threats will be an open target.”

After the fair opening, Gül, Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül and Chief of General Staff Gen. Işık Koşaner also opened the booth for Turkey's first national tank, the Altay, which is being presented to the public for the first time.

Source: Today's Zaman.
Link: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-243462-president-gul-opens-international-defense-fair-in-istanbul.html.

IDEF 2011: New Turkish rotary UAV unveiled

May 10, 2011

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) used the IDEF 2011 exhibition in Istanbul to unveil a new rotary UAV aimed at army and navy requirements.

The project, which was launched in 2010, initially saw the company take a manned Mosquito XE ultralight helicopter and convert it for autonomous use. This technology demonstrator was completed in December 2010 and the company then moved ahead with its own UAV design, self-funding the development of a new main rotor, tail rotor and transmission system.

A spokesman for TAI told Shephard the company had developed two new rotorheads for the aircraft, which has yet to be given an official name, and testing on these was expected to start soon. The design of the main rotor blades is currently being finalized and tests are expected to be carried out towards the end of the year while the autonomous flight control system is also currently under development.

The spokesman said the first flight of the RUAV was scheduled for 2012.

The aircraft is being developed with a variety of weapon systems and sensor suites in mind. While Roketsan is working with the company to integrate its products with the RUAV, TAI has not settled on a particular partner for the EO-IR payload.

The spokesman said that following interest from the Turkish Navy, the aircraft will be capable of autonomous take-off and landing from a ship.

As envisioned, the RUAV will have a maximum take-off weight of 340kg and is able to carry an 80kg payload for four hours. Its maximum cruise speed is 100kts while the operational ceiling is 10,000 feet.

However, the company believes the design is scalable and could be applied to larger or smaller airframes in the future.

Tony Skinner, Istanbul

Source: Shephard.
Link: http://www.shephard.co.uk/news/uvonline/idef-2011-new-turkish-rotary-uav-unveiled/9020/.

Moroccans adamant about reform

RABAT, Morocco, May 10 (UPI) -- Moroccans used a protest against alleged al-Qaida attacks to say they weren't relaxing demands for political reforms, one supporter said.

Morocco continued investigating an April attack on a cafe in Marrakesh after al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, the North African branch of the terrorist group, denied it was behind the bombing that killed 17 people.

Moroccans took to the streets to show resistance against the attacks following AQIM threats against the country.

Moroccan officials said the attacks bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida and a YouTube video surfaced a week before the attack depicting suspected al-Qaida members threatening the country.

Authorities in January said they arrested 27 people who were allegedly part of an al-Qaida cell plotting an attack in the country. AQIM, however, denied it was behind the attack and called on Moroccans to take to the streets to "topple the criminal regime" of King Mohammed VI, the BBC reports.

But one protester who spoke with CNN said demonstrators were defiant against the AQIM threats.

"We're here to denounce terrorism and the killings in Marrakesh," said one protester. "But we don't want to say that this should stop the process of the struggle for reforms."

The Moroccan king announced in March that the government was willing to protect political freedoms and undertake reforms to address protesters' demands.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/05/10/Moroccans-adamant-about-reform/UPI-38101305062037/.