Desi Mag » Middle East

Palestine Today (Watch Now)

Tash — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 02:21:34 +0000

Palestine Today.

At least 19 peace activists killed as Israeli commandos attack the Freedom Flotilla en route to Gaza to break the siege, this and more, coming up, stay tuned.

At least 19 people were killed and around 50 were wounded when an Israeli commando force forcefully boarded the boats and randomly opened fire at the peace activists who were en route to the Gaza Strip. The activists were hoping to deliver much needed supplies to the besieged Gaza residents, including construction material, medical supplies, in addition to 100 pre-manufactured houses, in addition to 500 electric wheel chairs. The Israeli military claimed their forces were attacked first, an allegation strongly denied by the activists onboard. The attack started after the army forcefully boarded the Turkish-flagged boat and opened fire at the passengers before hundreds of commandos attacked all ships at once and assumed control over them, and trailed them to Ashdod port, however their fate remains unknown.

Among the wounded were Sheikh Raed Salah head of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, who suffered serious wounds, and head of the Lebanese delegation, Hani Suleiman, in addition to the Captain of the “Marmara” Turkish Ship, and a Turkish Legislator. Media sources reported that the Greek captain of the boat “8000”, was wounded and refused to receive medical aid in Israel and demanded to be transported to his country. In the after math of the attack, Israel beefed up its police in the Arab town of Um El-Fahem, the hometown of Sheikh Raed Salah. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s office canceled his visit to the United States, where he was supposed to meet with the U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington. In the meantime, the Turkish Prime Minister Rajab Tayyeb Erdogan, whose country has the highest losses among the victims, interrupted his visit to Latin America and headed back to his country. Erdogan is expected to come up with harsh statements against Israel once he is back, as his initial comment described the attack as state terrorism, and Turkey called the Israeli ambassador, and delivered a letter of condemnation to Israel, and canceled three military joint drills with Israel, and recalled their envoy in Tel Aviv.

Thousands of people in Turkey protested in front of the Israeli consulate in Istanbul and the Embassy in Ankara demanding there government to severe the diplomatic relations with Israel. On the other hand, the American and French reactions were very mild. While Washington expressed sorrow for the victims, the French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said he is sorry for this “disproportionate use of force.”

In Palestine, people took to the streets in several areas in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to protest the Israeli attack on the peace activists and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared a three-day mourning in the country. A number of European countries, including Greece, Spain, Sweden called the Israeli ambassador to express their condemnation to the Israeli raid. In other news, a Palestinian woman died of wounds suffered when a settler hit her with his car Sunday, Palestinian medical sources in Hebron reported.

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Boycott of lingerie shops in Saudi Arabia!

Tash — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 21:10:03 +0000

Campaigners in Saudi Arabia have urged women there to begin a two-week boycott of lingerie shops with male staff.

They say it is a contradiction that in such a conservative, Islamic country, women have to give their underwear sizes to men they do not know.

Reem Asaad, an economics professor from Jeddah, organised the boycott through her Facebook page, as public protests are illegal in Saudi Arabia.

Islamic scholars have given their backing to the campaign.

“I am calling for salesmen to be replaced with saleswomen”, Ms Asaad was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

“I just hope that many respond and boycott,” she said.

Ms Asaad has been calling on officials to allow saleswomen in shops open to both male and female clients since 2008.

Haiti capital earthquake death toll ‘tops 150,000′

Tash — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:27:25 +0000

Haiti’s devastating earthquake has risen above 150,000 in the Port-au-Prince area alone, a government minister has said.

Many more remain uncounted under rubble in the capital and elsewhere, including the towns of Jacmel and Leogane.

The search for survivors has officially ended and the focus has shifted to aid.

An estimated 1.5 million people have been left homeless.

Tash — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:49:02 +0000

LONDON, ENGLAND

US and UK shut Yemen embassies

Tash — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 22:31:42 +0000

The United States and Britain have closed their embassies in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, citing security concerns after threats from an al-Qaeda group.

The US embassy posted a message on its website on Sunday saying it was closed “in response to ongoing threats by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to attack American interests in Yemen”.

A British foreign office spokeswoman said later that it too had shut its embassy because of “security concerns”.

Neither mission said when the embassies might re-open.

John Brennan, the assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism to Barack Obama, the US president, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that “there are indications that al-Qaeda is planning an attack against a target in Sanaa”.

Hakim al-Masmari, the editor-in-chief of the Yemen Post newspaper, told Al Jazeera that the closure can only mean “that they believe al-Qaeda threat is very serious”.

“If you look at the recent video tapes from al-Qaeda, they clearly mention they have no enemy in Yemen except the US interests in Yemen. They warned the Yemeni soldiers against helping the Americans in any such way,” al-Masmari said.

“We really expect attacks on the US interests in the next month by al-Qaeda.”

New Iraqi election law approved

Tash — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:02:46 +0000

Iraq’s parliament has unanimously approved a new electoral law, paving the way for elections early next year.

Parliamentarians were called to vote in a special late-night session to try to end a political crisis, and they voted minutes before the midnight deadline.

The deputy speaker of parliament said an election should take place on 27 February, but it was unclear if this would be possible.

The new law is said to have been brokered by the UN and the US embassy.

Somalia’s minister and 19 killed

Tash — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:25:23 +0000

The suicide bombing, during a university graduation ceremony, deals a blow to Somalia’s shaky government. But the country’s president says his government is undeterred by the blast.

Officials say the attack hit a hotel in the city during a crowded graduation ceremony for medical students from a local university.

Witnesses said the attack appeared to have targeted government officials.

Islamists are fighting the UN-backed government, which only controls small pockets of territory in the country.

Ahmadinejad says UN sanctions on Iran will not work

Tash — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:00:14 +0000

Ahmadinejad

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said international sanctions against his country will not work.

In a TV interview, Mr Ahmadinejad also said that Russia had “made a mistake” in voting last week to condemn Tehran for building a second enrichment plant.

He added that Iran was not obliged to inform UN nuclear watchdog the IAEA of plans to build more nuclear sites.

On Monday Western nations warned Iran against its plans to build 10 more uranium enrichment sites.

Western powers say Tehran is trying to develop nuclear arms, while Iran says its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful civilian purposes.

Karzai sets a target?

Tash — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:12:16 +0000

Hamid Karzai has been sworn in as Afghan president for a second elected term, saying he wants Afghan forces in charge of the nation within five years.

In his inauguration speech, Mr Karzai announced a conference to tackle corruption and a national gathering to help bring peace to Afghanistan.

He also invited his defeated rivals to join him in working for peace.

Two US soldiers and 10 Afghan civilians were killed in separate blasts in the south as the ceremony took place.