W O R L D

Egypt’s Mubarak jailed for life
Cairo, June 2
Egypt's ousted President Hosni Mubarak was today sentenced to life in prison after a court here found him guilty of complicity in the killing of protesters during a popular uprising against his 30-year rule.

Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak is wheeled into an ambulance following his verdict hearing in Cairo. — AFP

From war hero to an inglorious prisoner

Calls to revive revolution
Cairo, June 2
Fire and fury marked the sentencing of Arab world's first toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak with people scuffling in the court premises as soon as the judgment was pronounced.

Families of Egyptian anti-regime protesters celebrate after hearing the verdict in Cairo on Saturday. — AFP

Special to the tribune
Celebrations galore over Queen Elizabeth II’s 60 yrs on throne
An estimated one million spectators are expected to line the banks of the the Thames on Sunday afternoon to watch a flotilla of 1,000 boats taking part in the diamond jubilee pageant celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s 60 years on the British throne.

Pak report shouldn’t be part of 26/11 trial: Lakhvi
Islamabad, June 2
Lawyers defending seven Pakistani suspects, including LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, in the Mumbai attacks case, today contended that the report of judicial commission that visited India should not be made part of their trial as it had "no legal value". — PTI

Egypt’s Mubarak jailed for life
Sentenced for his role in killing protesters during a popular uprising against his 30-yr rule

Cairo, June 2
Egypt's ousted President Hosni Mubarak was today sentenced to life in prison after a court here found him guilty of complicity in the killing of protesters during a popular uprising against his 30-year rule, capping months of legal proceedings against the first Arab leader to be tried in person.

The ailing former dictator, who was wheeled into the courtroom on a stretcher after being flown here from a military-run hospital, got life imprisonment, 25 years in jail, along with his former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, who was convicted for the same charge.

The verdict against Mubarak, the only dictator toppled in the Arab Spring to be tried in person, came ahead of the June 16-17 presidential runoff between his last Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq and Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi.

Six former police commanders — Maj Gen Ahmed Mohamed Ramzy Abdel Rashid; Maj Gen Adly Mostafa Fayed; Maj Gen Hassan Abdel Rahman; Maj Gen Ismael al-Shaer; Maj Gen Osama al-Marassy; and Maj General Omar al-Farmawy — were acquitted by the court, which also dropped separate corruption charges against Mubarak's two sons Alaa and Gamal.

Mubarak and his sons were acquitted of all financial crime charges because 10 years have passed since the alleged crimes were committed.

Clad in a beige track-suit, the former President, who was wearing dark sunglasses, showed no emotion when Chief Judge Ahmed Refaat read out the verdict, but his sons appeared close to tears.

The Prosecutor General ordered Mubarak to be transferred to Tora prison to spend his sentence, amid reports that the former President's lawyers will file an appeal against the verdict.

Eyewitnesses were quoted as saying that a tearful Mubarak resisted stepping out of the helicopter that flew him to the prison after the verdict was announced.

Over 800 protesters had been killed during the 18-day revolt following which Mubarak was ousted on February 11, 2011. — PTI

Calls to revive revolution

Cairo, June 2
Fire and fury marked the sentencing of Arab world's first toppled dictator Hosni Mubarak with people scuffling in the court premises as soon as the judgment was pronounced.

Families of those killed in uprisings throughout Egypt's governorates were outraged at the court's decision, which also acquitted all Adli's cronies.

In Suez governorate, many of the victim's families were disappointed with the court ruling, saying that it acquitted the aides of el-Adli, who killed their sons. "We will not give up the blood of martyrs," said Tamer Radwan, a brother of one of Suez victims.

Calls to revive the revolution were once again heard in Tahrir Square. "Revenge... Revenge... They shot dead our children," dozens of protesters in Tahrir Square chanted displeased with the ruling, while others closed side streets leading to the square. — PTI

Special to the tribune
Celebrations galore over Queen Elizabeth II’s 60 yrs on throne
Shyam Bhatia in London

A cardboard cut-out of Queen Elizabeth on an old London bus during Ladies Day at the Epsom Derby festival on Saturday.

Boats that will be part of the Jubilee river pageant are docked in Putney on the Thames in London on Saturday. — AFP

An estimated one million spectators are expected to line the banks of the the Thames on Sunday afternoon to watch a flotilla of 1,000 boats taking part in the diamond jubilee pageant celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s 60 years on the British throne.

Bollywood hits are expected to be played by one of the 10 music barges that make up the flotilla. So also is the theme tune from the James Bond films, which will be played as the boats sail past the MI6 secret service headquarters on Vauxhall Bridge.

The river procession, costing £10.5 million, is the high point of four days of pomp, pageantry and revelry and is in keeping with the UK’s famous naval traditions that have served the British royal family for several generations.

Everything has been planned down to the smallest detail. Even the weather is expected to conform to long established tradition with temperatures ranging from a shivering 10 degrees to slightly warmer 17 degrees. None of this is expected to deter the spectators or the organisers of several thousand parties planned for the weekend. One popular super market chain said it expects to sell some 200,000 bottles of champagne, nearly three million sponge cakes and two million small boxes of strawberries.

Most Indian families will be starting to think of their evening meal when the first boats of the royal flotilla pass under London’s Battersea Bridge at 2.25 pm UK local time. They will be headed by a 12-tonne floating belfry, a bell ship, that will be ringing out its bells as church bells along the river bank chime back in response as it passes by.

The lead boat behind the belfry is the gilded barge, Gloriana, commissioned for the occasion and rowed by nine pairs of oarsmen and women, including Olympic gold medallists Mathew Pinsent and Sir Steve Redgrave.

The Queen herself, accompanied by Prince Philip and her grandson, Prince William - second in line to the throne - with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, will be on the Spirit of Chartwell that has been decked out in a red and gold colour scheme to resemble royal boats of the 17th and 18th centuries. The last of the boats, the Symphony, will carry members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal College of Music Chamber Choir playing patriotic music.

On Monday night Buckingham Palace in London will be the site of a pop music concert featuring Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, Sir Cliff Richard Sir Tom Jones, Kylie Minogue, Stevie Wonder, Robbie Williams and others. A Diamond Jubilee song written by Gary Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber, entitled ‘Sing’, will be performed by Gareth Malone and the Military Wives Choir, supported by musicians from across the Commonwealth.

Soon after the concert begins a network of 4,200 beacons will be across the UK to link up with a chain across the Commonwealth.

On Tuesday, military personnel will line the streets of London as the Queen and other members of the royal family travel in open coaches through the capital and against the backdrop of a 60-gun salute. At mid-afternoon on Tuesday, the Queen and members of her family assemble on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch an RAD flypast.

As tributes poured in from all over the world this weekend, public opinion polls indicated that public support for the monarch is at an all time high with 80 per cent in favour of keeping the royals, compared with only 13 per cent who say they prefer a republic.

British PM David Cameron described the Queen as “brilliant, enduring and resilient”, Prince Charles called her his “wonderful mama” and the Archbishop of Canterbury said in his tribute that she is an “exceptional gift” to the nation. Senior politicians led by Prime Minister Cameron have backed a proposal to rename London’s famous Big Ben clocktower in honour of the Queen. If they have their way, Big Ben will soon be known as the Elizabeth Tower.