Category Archives: World News

Posted on by

Middle East fears violence, political instability in Egypt

Fear of unrest in Middle East

There is an aftermath of Egyptian revolution and Mubarak’s exit leading to chaos in entire Middle East region. Uprising of Egypt and Tunisia have clearly demonstrated how people are dissatisfied with autocratic governments and common people have realized the need to voice their protest against sectarian violence.

The precautionary measures taken by governments of different nations in the Middle East to suppress any possible uprising after Egyptian crisis clearly show its impacts.

Yemen  too has witnessed an uprising as hundreds of demonstrators protested on Sunday. They marched to Presidential palace and took over the streets in Taizz City.

Yemen people are more enthusiastic following the fall of Hosni Mubarak’s government in Egypt and they too demanded ouster of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Many other nations in the Middle East are facing political crisis and governments are deploying riot police trying to suppress public movements. In Tunisia, President Zine el Abidine ben Ali was overthrown on Jan 14.

From Morocco to Iran, the entire Middle East region is going through a dogma of religious extremism and sectarian violence which common people want to get rid of. There is a continuous struggle between wealthy and have nots along with political violence and corruption.

Jordan and Egypt had been the two nations comparatively peaceful than any other nation in the region. They had signed peace treaties with Israel. But recently thousands of Jordanians entered Egyptian embassy to celebrate Mubarak’s exit. This indicates how the people are eager to embrace democracy in Jordan too.

Posted on by

Pakistan claims US shooter shot ‘not in self defense’

An American diplomat who was arrested by Pakistan authorities in Islamabad had not shot two citizens unintentionally or in self defense, revealed officials. The police official stated that after investigations, it was determined that the diplomat had clearly attempted to murder the two Pakistanis by shooting on them.

The conclusion may cause further rifts in bilateral diplomatic relations between the United States and Pakistan.

Raymond Davis, 36, a US citizen has been detained by a Pakistani court for charges of murder on Friday. Aslam Tareen, a police official from Lahore stated that the convict has been detained by the court for more than two weeks from Jan 27.

Davis said in his defense that he shot the two Pakistanis to defend himself when they took him on gunpoint to rob him. U.S. officials asked Pakistan to release Davis for he was a staff of the US Embassy and deserves diplomatic immunity. Pakistani officials however stated that the issue was now in the hands of the court.

Courtney Beale, a US Embassy spokesperson expressed his regrets over the incident and loss of lives but he defended Davis saying that even eyewitnesses reported that the act was committed in self defense. Despite the request from US officials, Pakistani authorities have not released Davis yet.

Posted on by

Saudi Arabia threatens US to support Hosni Mubarak

Egypt’s outgoing ruler Hosni Mubarak has some new corners of sympathy in Saudi Arabia against the humiliation by US President Barack Obama. Saudi has warned the United States not to enforce a hurried change of ruler in Egypt failing to which it might stand in support of President Mubarak. According to a report, Egyptian military has imprisoned thousands of Opposition members since the mass demonstration against Mubarak began a few weeks ago.

Despite many threatening from the government, the protestors have continued their demonstrations for more than 16 days so far.

According to the report, Obama had a telephonic conversation on 29 January with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who warned the US against insulting Mubarak. Abdullah further stated that he would give financial support to Egypt in case the United States steps back to withdraw its $1.5 billion aid.

Despite being the closet friend of the United States in the Gulf region, Saudi is not happy with the way Obama is treating with Mubarak and urged the former to allow a peaceful transition in Egypt. The Saudi King is very close to Hosni Mubarak and he is hurt with the way the Egyptian president is being forced to step down.

Saudi concerns for Mubarak makes it quite clear how the United States has spoiled its diplomatic relation with the nation since 1973 oil crisis.

Posted on by

WikiLeaks chief Assange likely to face prejudice in Sweden

The famous media person and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who had put the American administration on its toes by disclosing military’s confidential documents is likely to face bias as the prosecutor against him has a malicious opinion about men.

Assange is face charges of rape and sexual assault. A senior Swedish judge stated during Assange’s hearing in Sweden that his prosecutor, Marianne Ny was a malicious radical feminist and might want Assange to suffer even if he was not proven guilty.

It was a two day hearing at Belmarsh magistrates court when, Brita Sundberg-Weitman, the retired judge, biased view against men.

The former judge stated that the prosecutor’s attitude might be the sole reason behind putting charges over Julian Assange and the entire trial just in order to make him suffer during the hearings.

Sweden has asked for the WikiLeaks’ chief Assange’s extradition over allegations of rape and sexual assault committed by him in August. However, Assange and his advocate denied all these charges.

The chief magistrate Judge Howard Riddle is hearing the further part of the case against Julian Assange.

Robertson, who is acting on behalf of Assange, stated that Ny and Claes Borgström, the lawyer, who were representing the two women whom Assange is believed to have assaulted, were politically motivated. In fact Ny had also spoken openly about Assnage confirming the charges whereas the accused of sex offenders are kept anonymous in Sweden unless the charges are proven.

Posted on by

US, Russia to implement START Treaty

Hillary Rodham Clinton, US Secretary of State finalizes deal with Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister on Security Policy in Munich, Germany on Feb. 5.

The two nations will implement the new treaty– new Strategic arms reduction treaty (START)  to restrict the number of nuclear weapons they can possess.

Hillary Clinton and Sergei Lavrov traded authorization documents with each other in Germany during a ceremony to enact the treaty.

Clinton stated that the treaty would serve as a “clear-eyed cooperation” for everybody’s interest. The Russian diplomat called it a mean to enhance global stability.

US president Barack Obama signed START treaty in last April with Dmitry Medvedev, Russian President substituting the older arms control pact. The earlier deal was signed during cold war in 1991.

The new deal states that both the nations signing the treaty would limit their nuclear warheads to 1550—reducing 30 percent from the level set in 2002.

Ban Ki-Moon, U.N. chief welcomed the United States and Russia for the step and appreciated the two leaders for taking lead on the issue of reduction of nuclear weapons. The new nuclear weapons reduction deal or START treaty had been approved by the United States Senate earlier in December. Russian Parliament too passed the bill to go ahead with the treaty in the previous month.

Posted on by

Egyptians demand immediate exit of President Hosni Mubarak

Thousands of people in Egypt are demonstrating in Alexandria demanding ouster of President Hosni Mubarak..

At Alexandria’s Qaed Ibrahim mosque, tens of thousands of people had assembled on Friday to demonstrate against the president.

Excluding a single dispute with a security official, the demonstrations were non violent and there was nobody hurt during the mass protest.

There were thousands of people from opposition Muslim Brotherhood movement.

Other major groups participating in the protests were Kefaya (Enough), 6th April movements and fans ofMohamed ElBaradei, who is an Egyptian Nobel Peace prize winner and a popular protester.

More than 25,000 protesters gathered at Raml near Alexandria before marching to Sidi Gaber square in the main port city.

There have been many huge rallies organized continuously everywhere in Egypt against Hosni Mubarak in last 11 days demanding his exit in Cairo and other main cities.

President Mubarak has however tried to compromise with the demonstrators offering some concession however the protesters are rigid over asking him to step down and end his 30-year long rule in Egypt. They also plead Mubarak for not standing in the September elections.

International community, the United Nations and major superpowers of the world are continuously pressurizing Mubarak to step down; however he has not shown any willingness to follow the same so far.

Posted on by

Egyptian premier expresses regret over military action against protesters

Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq claimed accountability for military attacks on protesters in Cairo and asked for forgiveness.

He stated that President Hosni Mubarak has ordered him to probe into the recent chaos in the country. Mr Shafiq assured to punish those who allowed this violence to occur.

He further stated that the attack was a blunder and he would be cautious not to let it happen again in Egypt.

There were violent clashes between President Hosni Mubarak’s supporters and opponents during which the Egyptian military remained restricted to Tahir Square in Cairo by Thursday.

The premiers along with the Vice President Omar Suleiman have invited the opposition for a meeting in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. However many of opposition groups have denied attending the meeting reportedly.

Wafd Party, Al-Ghad party and Muslim Brotherhood leaders stated that they would boycott the meeting and refused to sit with the premier. Clashes continue even on Thursday on both sides of the square, where demonstrators have gathered.

More than 836 people were injured in the clashes so far and five casualties were reported by a state-run television channel.

The demonstrators initially demanding peacefully for ouster of President Hosni Mubarak had suddenly taken into streets and broke the makeshift barricades in the square. Gradually supporters of Mubarak also joined in action that leads to complete chaos in the entire capital city.

Posted on by

Severe floods, mudslides cause 610 deaths in Brazil

Heavy downpour has submerged all hopes for people of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. More than 610 people have lost their lives so far and authorities are searching for missing people. There have been around 274 deaths in Nova Friburgo city whereas the figure is 263 in Teresopolis, 18 in Sumidouro and 55 in Petropolis.

The state government has declared official mourning week from Saturday in the memory of flood victims who lost their lives. Emergency assistance works are being carried in areas where people are stuck or buried under heap of mud and stones. There was no electricity in the entire region particularly in Teresopolis, Petropolis and Sumidouro and this hampered the risk operations on Friday.

Sergio Cabral, governor of Rio de Janeiro Governor declared a 7-day mourning for people who died in the floods. It is estimated that more than 6000 people became homeless while thousand of people were forced to evacuate their houses in order to save their lives.

The state has still not been able to resume electricity supply, telephone services and water in the affected area.

President Dilma Rousseff observed areas affected by floods and mudslides and assured to provide an aid of $59 million to rehabilitate the victims.

Posted on by

Somali pirates seize South Korean ship

Pirates of Somaliland waters have captured a South Korean freighter with 21 members of crew in the Arabian Sea, revealed the Seoul Government.

The ship carried 8 South Koreans, 2 Indonesians and 11 people from Myanmar. Weighting approximately 11,500-ton the ship was hijacked by sea robbers on Saturday. The chemical carrier named as Samho Jewelry started its journey from the United Arab Emirates to reach Sri Lanka.

South Korean foreign ministry stated that their officials were trying to negotiate with the pirates.

A Danish cargo ship, the MV Leopard, was also was attacked by the Somali hijackers recently in the Arabian Sea. They abandoned the ship later but all the passengers on board and crew members were missing. Among the missing people4 were from Philippines and two were Danish crew members.

Somali pirates had hijacked another South Korean ship also in November namely–the Samho Dream. It was a supertanker, and carried 24 crew members out of which — five were South Koreans and 19 from Philippines. However, all of them were set free after seven months.

Officials were trying to all people on board on Samho Ship but got no answer on Saturday.

Somalia has been notorious for its crime and pirates have dominated over the Somalia water and its territories. There is no functional government in the country since 1991.

Posted on by

Clinton says Islamic militancy biggest threat to Gulf region

DOHA: – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday urged the Middle East countries to abandon corrupt institutions and revamp sluggish political systems. She warned these countries about serious outcomes in case of failing to tighten control over the corrupt practices in the system. She also raised an apprehension toward losing the future to Islamic militancy in the region.

Hillary Clinton was on a 5-day visit to the region which has been facing political turmoil of different nature. During her address to regional leaders in Qatar, Clinton said that the countries of the Gulf region are not up to the tasks when it comes to make necessary demographic and political changes in the existing systems.

She, however, accepted that each country in the region has its diverse challenges. The audience included representatives from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and several other US allies.

Clinton said that her five-day visit to the region was a deliberate US effort toward a more stable and innovative Middle East countries in the coming future. She mentioned the green energy projects in the UAE and politically involved youths in Yemen as rays of hopes in the region. However, she stated that the developments were irregular and a lot of constructive steps needed to be taken to bring political stability in the region.

During the five-day trip, Clinton visited UAE, Oman, Qatar and Yemen. Yemen has been under global focus due to rise to resurgent regional wing of al-Qaeda. She also consulted with US allies on Iran’s nuclear program.