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Saboteurs attack Egypt gas pipeline to Israel
Britain needs to abandon multiculturalism: Cameron
NY doc denies marriage to Zardari
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US, Russia launch nuclear arms reduction pact
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov exchange documents at the 47th Munich Security Conference on Saturday. — AFP
Hillary sounds warning on Egypt transition
Rahman to perform at Oscars again
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Saboteurs attack Egypt gas pipeline to Israel
Cairo, February 5 As unprecedented protests raged at the famous Tahrir Square in central Cairo, the state TV reported “dangerous explosions continuing from one spot to another” in the main source of gas supplying pipeline in El Arish. The attackers used explosives to blow up the 240-km-long pipeline in the town of Lihfen in northern Sinai near the Gaza Strip and the army shut down the gas supplies to Israel and Jordan, Egyptian officials said. “It’s big terrorist operation,” the state TV quoted an official as saying, who blamed the attack on “foreign elements.” The attack on the pipeline came after Israel, which receives 40 per cent of its gas demand from Egypt, expressed concern that the supplies could be threatened if a new regime takes over in Cairo.
The attack happened as tens of thousands of people held demonstrations against Mubarak with no sign of an end to confrontation, which has pitted the 82-year-old leader against the anti-government protesters. With no let up in protests fury, President Mubarak, who appeared increasingly cornered, held a meeting of his new cabinet to revive the economy and project calm in the face of the increasing turmoil. The meeting was attended by Egypt’s new Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq as well as the central bank governor and the ministers of petroleum, social solidarity, trade and industry, and finance. The President appears to have dug in his heels with the PM announcing that Mubarak had no intention to quit or transfer power to his deputy Omar Suleiman as being suggested by the country’s major allies like the US. Massive protests were also witnessed in other major Egyptian cities, including Alexandria and Suez, demanding an end to Mubarak’s 30-year rule. With Mubarak clinging to power, US President Barack Obama today delivered a clear hint to him to step down by listening to his people and make the “right decision”. — PTI
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Britain needs to abandon multiculturalism: Cameron
In his first speech on radicalism and causes of terrorism, the Prime Minister said a “hands-off tolerance” of those who reject Western values had failed to prevent the rise of Islamic extremism in Britain. In the major speech at the International Conference on Security Policy in Munich, the Conservatives’ leader Cameron attacked the Labour’s experiment with multiculturalism and argued in favour of developing a “muscular liberalism”. Cameron also said the UK must ban preachers of hate from coming to the country while make Britain “a lot less” tolerant to Islamic extremists who whip up hatred against the West. He said Britain has “even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run counter to our values”, a policy that needs to be revised. “We need a lot less of the passive tolerance of recent years and much more active, muscular liberalism... We must ban preachers of hate from coming to our countries,” he said, spelling out ways of tackling all forms of extremism. Cameron also suggested that there should be greater scrutiny of Islamic groups that get public money but do little to tackle extremism. “Let’s properly judge these organisations: Do they believe in universal human rights - including for women and people of other faiths? Do they believe in democracy and the right of people to elect their own government? Do they encourage integration or separatism?” he said. “We must also proscribe organisations that incite terrorism - against people at home and abroad,” he said. Cameron said what is needed is the strengthening of national identity and allowing people to say “I am a Muslim, I am a Hindu, I am a Christian, but I am a Londoner... too”. — PTI
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NY doc denies marriage to Zardari
Islamabad, February 5 In an email sent to the media, Zamani added: "I have never met President Zardari and the only reason I have refrained from commenting on an Internet hoax involving me is because I deemed it against my dignity to respond to such a hoax".
"Bloggers and journalists do not have the right to make up stories and disrupt the lives of people," she said. Notice served on Jang group A New York-based legal firm acting for the Bhutto-Zardari family has served a notice on the Jang group, the publishers of The News, for carrying reports about the purported wedding. The notice said a lawsuit seeking over $100 million in damages would be filed if the media group did not offer an apology. The News daily reported on its website that Zamani had said this was her "first ever denial on the matter while rumours and emails about her wedding have been in circulation for the last three weeks". The PPP has condemned the Internet rumour about Zardari's "secret" remarriage as a "vicious and unethical tirade". PPP secretary-general Jahangir Badar told the media that Zardari, while chairing a meeting of the party's top leadership yesterday, had made it clear that he was "married to the mission" of his slain wife, former premier Benazir Bhutto. A New York-based legal firm acting for the Bhutto-Zardari family has served a notice on the Jang group, the publishers of The News, for carrying reports about the purported wedding. The News reported that some US-based Pakistanis regarded Zamani's initial silence over the rumours of her wedding as "her own ploy to seek the attention" of Zardari. "Why and how a dignified and educated Pakistani woman can ignore, keep silent over all such emails and rumours about her wedding with the president of Pakistan. "She has been avoiding to make any categorical denial to journalists when she was approached for her version or denial," the report quoted unnamed US-based Pakistanis as saying. Since her active participation in the PPP's activities in the US, Zamani has been a highly vocal 'jiyali' (follower) of Zardari and the party, the report said. Zamani's efforts to meet Zardari during his last visit to the US failed. "Factually, during her activism, she has never met Asif Zardari," the report said. Her meetings with presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar and a few PPP ministers are recorded in photos posted on Zamani's Facebook page. The rumour about the purported wedding is not new as it had been circulated on Facebook and other websites and blogs for the past few weeks. When Zardari travelled to the UAE after visiting the US last month, a bogus email was circulated that Zamani had gone with him to Dubai where "arrangements for a quiet wedding" were made.
— PTI
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US, Russia launch nuclear arms reduction pact
Munich, February 5 The new START officially came into force when Clinton and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov exchanged ratification documents at a security conference in the German city of Munich. “Today we exchange the instruments of ratification for a treaty that lessens the nuclear danger facing the Russian and American people and the world,” Clinton said. The chief US diplomat hailed the pact as another example of “clear-eyed” cooperation between the two military powers, “part of a journey we have been taking for more than 60 years.” Lavrov told the Munich conference that the agreement would “enhance international stability.” The US administration has touted the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty as a key element in improving ties with Moscow as well as a major step in US President Barack Obama’s vision of a world free of atomic weapons. The pact slashes existing warhead ceilings by 30 per cent over the next 10 years and limits each side to 700 deployed long-range missiles and heavy bombers. The original 1991 pact expired at the end of 2009 amid stark differences over how the two sides planned to proceed.
— AFP
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Hillary sounds warning on Egypt transition
Munich, February 5 Speaking to an international security conference in Munich, Germany, Clinton also called for support toward open and accountable governments across the Middle East despite the short-term risks of chaos and instability. A transition in Egypt "will become immeasurably harder if there is not restraint by government and security forces, and we thankfully saw that yesterday with the very large but peaceful demonstration," she said. Clinton, who was addressing the Munich Security Conference ahead a Middle East Quartet meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli deadlock, also worried about other threats to stability.
— PTI
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Rahman to perform at Oscars again
London, February 5 The 45-year-old, who has been nominated in two categories - original score and original song - for his work in Danny Boyle's “127 Hours”, will team up with British pop singer Florence Welch to perform “If I Rise” from the movie. The performance is being staged for the best song nominees, and other competitors will be performing too, reports contactmusic.com. Rahman performed at the Oscars in 2009, when he was nominated for the same categories for “Slumdog Millionaire”. He mesmerised the international audience with his song “Jai ho”, and even took home two golden statuettes. This year Mandy Moore and Gwyneth Paltrow will be performing as well. Moore will team up with actor-director Zachary Levi and composer Alan Menken to perform for the best song nominee “I See the Light” from their animated film “Tangled”, while Paltrow will sing “Coming Home from Country Strong”, and Randy Newman will sing his “Toy Story 3” tune “We Belong Together”. The Academy Awards 2011 are scheduled for February 27. — IANS
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Britain’s experiment with multicul- turalism has “failed” to prevent the radicalisation of Muslims by hindering their integration into the British society, Prime Minister David Cameron said today.
Munich, February 5
