Cairo/Sharam el-Sheikh, Aug 3
Egyptians were enthralled today by the unprecedented sight of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, a leader of the Arab world for three decades and now the Arab Spring’s biggest scalp, being wheeled into a courtroom cage for his trial.

Outside the courtroom they watched on a big screen as the frail octogenarian, who ruled Egypt for 30 years, lay on a hospital bed connected to a drip denying involvement in the killing of protesters who ousted him.

“I don’t believe this ... to see a president being tried ... I never imagined it. I am so happy, I feel tomorrow will be better and that the next president knows what could happen to him if he goes against his people,” Ahmed Amer, 30, an employee in a water service company, said outside the court complex. Egyptians crowded into cafes, kiosks, anywhere with a television to follow the trial.

In other Arab countries too, many still convulsed by their own upheavals, people watched the court drama with fascination. A Bahraini activist called Online Bahrain addressed other despots across the Arab world: “Dear Arab dictator, take a long hard look at Mubarak. He was just as powerful as you were. Your time is up if you don’t change.”

Mubarak, 83, was driven from office by his own people and his trial sends a stark message to other Arab autocrats facing popular uprisings.

Inside the cage with Mubarak were his two sons, Gamal, once viewed as a future president, and Alaa, who had business interests. They too denied the charges. Alongside them, were former Interior Minister Habib al-Adli and other officials.

“I used to oppose the revolution at first. I criticised the youth in Tahrir Square and those who protested. But seeing that their efforts have finally brought this pharaoh to court, I must say that I salute the revolution and the youth of Egypt,” said Ali Abdullah, a shop owner in Sharm el-Sheikh, the Red Sea resort where Mubarak was exiled and in hospital after he quit.

Egyptians blame Mubarak for economic policies they say filled the pockets of the rich while many of the nation’s 80 million people scrabbled in squalor to feed their families. They are also angry at his repression of any opposition. Mubarak talked to his sons inside the cage and occasionally lifted his head to watch the proceedings. Many Egyptians see his illness as a ruse to gain sympathy and had thought the army might use it to avoid bringing him to trial in person.

But the images of Egypt’s former president and a war veteran, who always presented himself as a father figure protecting the nation, gained him some sympathy. “I am sad, really sad. I never imagined to see my president lie on a bed like this. After all he is an old man, there should be mercy.. But I don’t care for his sons, they can do what they want with them,” said Khaled Hassan, 41, a plumber.

In the region, Mubarak also found sympathisers. “I don’t like the fact that he is being put on trial. ...True he made some mistakes but he also gave Egypt a lot, he is a symbol for the country,” said Sara Abbar, in the Saudi Arabian coastal city of Jeddah. — Reuters

Kashgar, August 3
The deserted streets and shuttered shops in the usually bustling Chinese areas of Kashgar city today stand as testament to the splintered ethnic lines in the western region of Xinjiang.

Days after Uyghur assailants stormed a restaurant, killed the owner and a waiter, then hacked four people to death on a nearby street over the weekend, Han Chinese residents, the country’s predominant ethnic group but a minority in Kashgar, remained on edge.

The attacks were the latest burst of violence to jolt Xinjiang, where many Uighurs, a mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking people from the region, resent the influx of Han Chinese.

“People here feel genuine terror, we definitely feel unsafe here,” said a 21-year-old man surnamed Huo from China’s southwestern Sichuan province.

“That scene was just too cruel. There were corpses, blood everywhere. No one dares to come out on the streets.” About 200 enraged Chinese residents protested two nights ago, angered that “innocent lives were taken”, Huo said.

A 43-year-old businessman surnamed Wang who has been living in Kashgar for more than a decade, said he might leave next year, adding that “there’s just been too many incidents”.

The roads are now occupied by troops at security checkpoints and paramilitary officers are carrying batons and rifles as they walk the streets. Stores have kept their doors shut for days.

“In the past, we used to get along, but now I distrust them,” said a Kashgar Chinese shopkeeper, who declined to be identified, referring to the Uighurs and Han Chinese.

“The violent attacks targeted one whole race-the Han Chinese. How am I supposed to trust them now?”

Chinese officials blamed the recent attack on Uyghur Islamic militants campaigning for an independent homeland, and said the ringleaders received training in making firearms and explosives in Pakistan before returning to China.

China’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday praised Pakistan as a firm partner against terror and religious extremism, playing down the risk that ties could be strained. — Reuters

London, August 3
TV mogul Oprah Winfrey is to be honoured with the 2011 Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Governors Awards in November.

The honour, an Oscar statuette, is bestowed on an individual in the movie industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to show business, reported Contactmusic.

The award is given to an individual for extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.

Winfrey, 57, is considered as the most influential woman in the world, according to some assessments.

James Earl Jones and make-up artist Dick Smith will also be handed Honorary Awards at the third annual Hollywood gala. — PTI