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Egyptians back at
Tahrir, this time against army
Air raids kill 9 militants in Yemen
UN seeks Syria nod for $180 million aid |
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Gilani warns probe agency after son named in drug scam
Zardari for expanding trade ties with India
Over 6,000 Maoists retire in Nepal
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Egyptians back at Tahrir, this time against army Cairo, April 20 Two leading Islamist candidates, one representing the Muslim Brotherhood who was seen as the frontrunner, were among those disqualified this week from a vote that starts on May 23-24, drawing a storm of criticism from supporters and the candidates. Khairat al-Shater, the Brotherhood's former candidate, said his ejection showed the generals who have ruled since Hosni Mubarak was ousted last year had no serious intention of quitting. The movement is now fielding a reserve candidate. "We are all here to protect the revolution and complete its demands," said Sayed Gad, 38, a pharmacist and Brotherhood member. He had joined a protest which attracted both Islamists and liberals to a packed Tahrir Square in central Cairo. A council of generals, who stepped in 14 months ago after mass demonstrations in Tahrir and elsewhere sapped Mubarak's power, has led Egypt through a turbulent transition punctuated by spasms of violence and frequent protests against their handling of the move to democracy. The army says it will stick to its timetable to hand power to a new president by July 1 and has promised to oversee a fair vote. But some remarks from military officials suggesting the army might also seek now to have a new Constitution in place before that handover - an impossibly tight deadline for many - has added to popular worries about the military's ambitions. Western diplomats expect the timetable for transferring powers to hold but say the army which supplied Egypt's presidents for six decades, including Mubarak, and which has built up sprawling business interests throughout that time, will remain an influential player behind the scenes for years. “Down with military rule" and "The people want the execution of the marshal," some protesters chanted, a reference to Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Mubarak's defence minister for two decades who now leads the ruling military council. —
Reuters
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Air raids kill 9 militants in Yemen Aden, April 20 More than 200 persons have been killed since government forces stepped up their attacks on Al-Qaida-linked militants who assaulted a military camp near the town of Lawdar, in Abyan province, last week. "Five armed elements were killed in one of the Yemeni air force attacks and four in another," the local official said. Both raids were on positions of Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law) near Lawdar, he said. The Defence Ministry said earlier on its website that the army had killed 18 militants on Thursday while pushing back Ansar al-Sharia fighters from several positions near Zinjibar, their stronghold and the capital of Abyan province. Yemen slipped into a state of chaos after the outbreak of protests more than a year ago that led to the removal of President Ali Abdullah Saleh under a deal brokered by Yemen's Gulf neighbours. Islamist insurgents have exploited the weakened central government control by seizing a number of towns in the south, close to key shipping lanes in the Red Sea. — Reuters
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UN seeks Syria nod for $180 million aid Geneva, April 20 Syria has recognised there are "serious humanitarian needs" and that action is needed, but logistical issues and visas for aid workers are still being discussed, said John Ging, director of operations of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). "Now it's a question of implementing those plans. This is where we are needing to mobilise more effective engagement with the Syrians to get that plan fully up and running," Ging said. It was important to get Syrian agreement on the plan, drawn up after an assessment mission carried out with Syrian officials last month, and to mobilise aid agencies for a "major humanitarian operation", Ging added. He spoke to reporters after aid agencies and donors met in Geneva to discuss a six-month, $180 million assistance plan to help an estimated 1 million people in Syria. An advance team of 30 UN monitors is due to deploy in Syria in the coming week to monitor a fragile ceasefire that has so far failed to stop the bloodshed, more than a year after the start of an uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The aid plan aims to provide food and medical assistance, as well as kitchen sets for displaced families who have lost their homes and cash payments for those sheltering them, Ging said. — Reuters
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Gilani warns probe agency after son named in drug scam Reacting angrily to inclusion of his son’s name as a suspect in drug scam, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has warned the probing officers to recognise their “limits” and refrain from conspiring against his family. “You have a borrowed existence in the Anti-Narcotic Force (ANF) and must remain within your limits,” Gilani said while referring to accuser and regional director of the ANF Brig Fahim. Fahim said he was threatened to keep hands off Mousa Gillani and refrain from implicating him in the scam involving allocation of 10 tons of Ephedrine quota to two firms against limit of 500 kg.
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Zardari for expanding trade ties with India
Expressing his desire to expand trade with India, President Asif Ali Zardari Friday hinted at opening up Head Sulemanki border as another outlet for bilateral trade.
“Pakistan is willing to have dialogue with India on all issues and we are open to trade with our neighbour,” Zardwri said while addressing a gathering in Okara, south east of Punjab. Sulemanki, a headwork on the Sutlej River, is about 60 km from Okara. The President said he is examining the possibility of connecting Multan with India. He said he would talk to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on this issue when he meets him in Chicago on the sidelines of a summit on Afghanistan next month.
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Over 6,000 Maoists retire in Nepal Kathmandu, April 20 According to Army Integration Special Committee (AISC) Secretariat Coordinator Balananda Sharma, only 3,129 combatants remain in the cantonments. The combatants, who opted for voluntary retirement, received their paycheck and left the cantonments. The secretariat team is returning to Kathmandu with the completion of the regrouping. The second round of regrouping has concluded at all the seven divisions in Nepal that began on April 14. —Xinhua/ANI
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Tens of thousands of Egyptians demanded today that their military rulers stick to a pledge to hand over power by mid-year.
