Mubarak tried to escape the country to Saudi Arabia
According to “Al Wafd” daily, the traffic control tower at Sharm el-Sheikh airport got requests of two private flights from Tabuk airport heading to Sharm El-Sheikh and then Riyadh airport and a helicopter from Sharm El-Sheikh airport to Tabuk. A source at Sharm el-Sheikh Airport said the information was that the helicopter is expected to take Mubarak family members to Saudi Arabia. This was an attempt of the former president to escape after the declaration by the Attorney General to officially call him and his two sons to investigation. The control tower immediately notified the Civil Aviation Authority and shortly afterwards received an order not to approve any private jet flight heading to Sharm El-Sheikh or out of there until the issuance of further instructions.
Egypt detains Mubarak and sons
Top prosecutor says ex-leader and two sons will be held for 15 days pending a probe into abuse of authority and graft.
Mubarak suffers heart problems during interrogation, report says
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was being questioned by prosecutors when he had to be hospitalized for heart trouble, the official MENA news agency says. A state-run newspaper, however, describes the hospital visit as a ‘pretext’ to evade questioning. Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was hospitalized in a Red Sea resort after suffering heart problems during questioning by prosecutors about allegations of corruption and abuse of power stemming from his nearly 30-year rule, state news media reported.
And more news from the Arab uprisings:
Mubarak Court Appearance Reported
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s former President Hosni Mubarak received a summons to appear before a Cairo court for questioning and special security is being arranged, state-run al-Ahram newspaper quoted the interior minister as saying. The public prosecutor issued the summons Sunday as part of probes into the killing of protesters and the embezzlement of public funds, but the ousted president said allegations of wrongdoing leveled against him were lies.
Egyptian army clears Cairo’s Tahrir Square
Traffic begins to flow in central thoroughfare as protesters dispersed after five-day sit-in.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/04/20114121849525309.html
Inside Story – Prosecuting Mubarak
The Egyptian public prosecutor has issued an order to summon Hosni Mubarak, the former president of Egypt, and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, for questioning over allegations of corruption. Just hours earlier Mubarak had made his first public statement since his dramatic departure from office. He denied being involved in corruption and denied having financial assets in foreign countries. For his part the public prosecutor said Mubarak’s speech will not have any impact on the legal measures against him and his family. All this follows a crackdown on protestors in Tahrir Square on Friday and Saturday, in which two people were killed and 70 injured. So, would a trial appease those worried about a counter revolution in Egypt? Or might it further strain relations between the army and the people?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_-DmkYrdKo&feature=player_embedded
Mubarak and sons’ detention a victory for Egypt’s opposition
Mubarak is under questioning and he and his two sons are being transferred to a Cairo prison. Egypt’s military rulers appear to be responding to escalating public pressure to see the former president behind bars.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/XvfTujDKVog/Mubarak-and-sons-detention-a-victory-for-Egypt-s-opposition
Hosni Mubarak: from detention to where? | Brian Whitaker
From hospitalisation to immunity pleas, the dictators of Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen will do anything to escape justice. On Tuesday, the Egyptian ex-president Hosni Mubarak – who has been confined to a luxury villa in Sharm el-Sheikh since he was ousted – allegedly suffered a heart attack just as he was about to be questioned by prosecutors. Despite that, he is now to be detained for 15 days. Meanwhile his sons, including his former presidential heir, Gamal, have been held for questioning in Cairo by the wonderfully named Illicit Gains Authority.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/13/mubarak-saleh-ali-egypt-tunisia-yemen
Popular Egypt TV religious figure raises his sights
Amr Khaled is the Arab world’s paramount televangelist, a charismatic guide for millions of Muslims. Now, Egyptians are seeing him again after his return from exile and he hints at forming a party. His 2.6 million fans on Facebook make him one of the site’s 75 most popular people. His television show borrows from Donald Trump’s. When he appears before thousands of adoring fans, he wears Hugo Boss suits and applies a little black makeup to his scalp to hide the gaps in his thinning hair.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/1x3uGzd6EOU/la-fg-egypt-televangelist-20110413,0,2187828.story
Egyptian anger at Saudi Arabia
This is delicious. There is so much anger in Egypt against Saudi Arabia, not only for the long-standing Saudi support for Mubarak, but also for Saudi media support for Mubarak to the last minute. Furthermore, the release of the audio tape by Mubarak (Bin Laden style) to Saudi propaganda channel, Al-Arabiyyah TV (news station of King Fahd’s brother-in-law) only produced more anger. The star of Egypt’s opposition journalism, `Abdul-Halim Qandil stated bluntly that “he who had the illusion that Egyptians can launch a democratic revolution without colliding with America and Israel and Arab officialdom represented by Saudi Arabia, had rid himself of that illusion.” Al-Arabiyyah TV was so taken aback by the bitter attacks on Saudi Arabia and its media in Egypt, that it had to explain the decision to air the Bin Laden, I mean Mubarak, tape by invoking “professional” criteria. Yeah, professional. For Saudi propagandists to cite professionalism to explain their propaganda, is like the Ramallah clique citing resistance to explain its collaboration with Israel.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/04/egyptian-anger-at-saudi-arabia.html
Libya
Libya rebels repel offensives on Misurata
Widespread fighting continues, as NATO comes under pressure to step up its military campaign against Gaddafi’s forces.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/04/2011412184330248584.html
Twelve people killed in Misrata on Monday-resident
TUNIS, April 12 (Reuters) – A three-year-old girl and 11 other people were killed in fighting between government forces and rebels in the western Libyan town of Misrata on Monday, a resident said on Tuesday, citing medical workers. “Medical workers today collected the bodies of 12 people, mainly civilians but rebel fighters as well, who were killed yesterday,” the resident, Ghassan, told Reuters by phone. “The dead included a three-year-old girl who was shot dead by a sniper along with a 50-year-old man in the west of Misrata, medical workers told me today,” he said.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/twelve-people-killed-in-misrata-on-monday-resident
Misurata civilians under siege
Britain and France say NATO is not doing enough to protect civilians in Libya. At the same time, Libyan State TV is reporting air strikes on Monday killed government security forces as well as civilians in an area south of Tripoli. Fighting has continued a day after the African Union failed to broker a peace deal. An African Union delegation is now in the Algerian capital for talks with president Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The African leaders say they’re determined to find a solution that would end the fighting, and are asking for full cooperation from the pro-democracy fighters. Al Jazeera’s Hoda Abdel Hamid reports on the ongoing battle for Libya.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNxUIEWR8mY&feature=youtube_gdata
Front line reaches Ajdabiya
As fighting continues along Libya’s coast and inland, NATO comes under fire for not doing enough to help protect civilians. The fighters are reinforced by frantic diplomatic work behind the scenes, as protests continue in the streets of Benghazi. Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker has more on Tuesday’s events in Libya.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK6UprEG-Fk&feature=youtube_gdata
Misurata civilians under siege
Britain and France say NATO is not doing enough to protect civilians in Libya. At the same time, Libyan State TV is reporting air strikes on Monday killed government security forces as well as civilians in an area south of Tripoli. Fighting has continued a day after the African Union failed to broker a peace deal. An African Union delegation is now in the Algerian capital for talks with president Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The African leaders say they’re determined to find a solution that would end the fighting, and are asking for full cooperation from the pro-democracy fighters. Al Jazeera’s Hoda Abdel Hamid reports on the ongoing battle for Libya.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qNxUIEWR8mY
Libyan fighters defiant despite mounting toll
In Libya, there are growing concerns that the battle has reached a stalemate, and many are calling for NATO to do more. As the fighting continues, African Union (AU) leaders have met with both Muammar Gaddafi and rebel leaders. The AU says it is determined to end the fighting in Libya. And the European Union has sent out an appeal to Gaddafi supporters, asking them to join the democracy movement in the country. But with no signs of an immediate ceasefire, the human cost of the battle continues to rise. Al Jazeera’s Hoda Abdel Hamid spoke to some of the relatives of the young men who’ve been killed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kSs7uQ15wA&feature=youtube_gdata
Students use cameras, YouTube to reveal Misrata siege
BERLIN, April 13 (Reuters) – Libyan students are using mobile phones, an amateur video camera and YouTube to offer a glimpse of the war in the besieged city of Misrata where journalists are prevented from reporting freely. Braving sniper fire, indiscriminate shelling and advancing tanks, five students go out daily onto the rubble-strewn streets of Libya’s third-biggest city to film the fighting between forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi and rebels seeking his overthrow.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/students-use-cameras-youtube-to-reveal-misrata-siege
Libya contact group meets in Qatar
Libyan rebels seeking international recognition are to tell world powers at a meeting in the Qatari capital Doha that Muammar Gaddafi’s removal from power is the only way out of their country”s deepening crisis. Wednesday”s conference of the “International Contact Group on Libya” is expected to focus on the future of Libya after an African Union attempt to broker a peace deal between rebel groups and Gaddafi collapsed. On the eve of the meeting, a spokesman for the rebel Transitional National Council (TNC) said it will accept nothing short of the removal of Gaddafi and his sons from the country. Al Jazeera’s Sonia Gallego has a preview.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTlr9bnga9c&feature=youtube_gdata
NATO has not asked US to resume Libya strikes-US
WASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters) – NATO has not asked the United States to intensify its military operations in Libya, the Pentagon said on Tuesday after France criticized the NATO campaign for failing to halt attacks on civilians. Colonel David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said the 28-member alliance had not requested a resumption of U.S. strike sorties in Libya, where Muammar Gaddafi’s government continues to bombard the rebel-held western city of Misrata.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/nato-has-not-asked-us-to-resume-libya-strikes-us
U.S: Libya Role To Remain Limited Despite Setbacks
WASHINGTON — Despite rebel setbacks and an increasingly public rift with NATO allies, the U.S. will stick to its plan to remain in the back seat of the Libya air campaign, the Obama administration insisted Tuesday after three weeks of air missions that have failed to turn the tide against Moammar Gadhafi. France’s defense minister declared that without full American participation, the West probably would not be able to stop attacks by Gadhafi loyalists on besieged rebel cities.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/12/us-libya-nato-airstrikes_n_848376.html
Libya rebels ask Western allies for arms-spokesman
BENGHAZI, Libya, April 12 (Reuters) – Libyan rebels have sent a request for weapons they need to countries that have recognized their national council as the sole representative of Libya, a spokesman said on Tuesday. “We have submitted a list of military and technical equipment we need,” Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, official spokesman for the council, told reporters in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. Asked which countries the rebels were asking for weapons, Ghoga said: “Obviously we’ve been asking the countries that have already recognized the national transitional council as the sole representative for Libya”. France, Qatar and Italy have recognised the rebels controlling the east of the country, whose military campaign against Muammar Gaddafi’s forces has reached stalemate despite air strikes against Gaddafi’s weaponry by NATO warplanes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McyF92_LCXo&feature=player_embedded
No case for arming Libyan rebels – Belgian minister
DOHA, April 13 (Reuters) – United Nations rules prevent the arming of rebels in Libya, Belgium’s foreign minister said at a meeting in Qatar on Wednesday to discuss Libya’s future. When asked whether arming rebels was a possibility, Belgian Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere told reporters: “There is no case for the logic of arming civilians, according to the 1973 United Nations resolution.” Meetings of the Libya Contact Group began in Qatar on Wednesday and include representatives of the Libya National Council rebel group.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/no-case-for-arming-libyan-rebels-belgian-minister
Ministers to hold talks on Libya
Ministers are to hold talks on the conflict in Libya, amid calls for Nato to step up the pressure on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-13058694
Qatar delivers oil products to Benghazi
Gulf state also confirms it has marketed one million barrels of Libyan crude oil on behalf of rebels.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/201141220712360309.html
Italy says no longer has relations with ‘west Libya’
DOHA, April 13 (Reuters) – Italy’s foreign minister said his country no longer has any relations with the government in western Libya, parts of which remain firmly under the control of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Foreign ministers, along with rebels fighting against Gaddafi, were meeting in Qatar on Wednesday to discuss Libya’s future. “We have no relations with west Libya,” Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told reporters.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/italy-says-no-longer-has-relations-with-west-libya
LIBYA: Benghazi hospitals struggle to treat war-wounded
BENGHAZI, 13 April 2011 (IRIN) – Al Hawari hospital may be the most modern medical centre in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, but the large number of war wounded it has received in the last two months has stretched its limited resources.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libya-benghazi-hospitals-struggle-to-treat-war-wounded
In embattled Libyan town, Africans fear the mob
AJDABIYAH, Libya, April 13 (Reuters) – In the battle-scarred streets of rebel-held Ajdabiyah, the Libyan residents fear a return of forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. But Chadian guest workers Abdul Rahman Salah and Youssef Adam Muhammad are terrified they will be mistaken for African mercenaries in the pay of the Gaddafi government and fear a mob lynching.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/in-embattled-libyan-town-africans-fear-the-mob
Qaddafi’s credibility gap
The day after African Union leaders said Muammar Qaddafi agreed to a cease-fire, he resumed shelling two Libyan towns.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/k1YQFXXuwkY/Qaddafi-s-credibility-gap
Shifting reality
How Libya’s capital has changed amid conflict.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-13058327
Bahrain
Bahrain should investigate deaths in custody: HRW (Reuters)
Reuters – Bahrain should investigate the death in police custody of three Shi’ites, U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday, saying one of the bodies bore signs of physical abuse.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110413/wl_nm/us_bahrain_rights
Bahrain: Suspicious Deaths in Custody
(Manama) – Bahrain’s public prosecutor should investigate three deaths in custody reported since April 3, 2011, and hold accountable anyone found responsible for torture, ill-treatment, or denial of medical care, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch observed the body of one of the three men, Ali Isa Ibrahim Saqer, which bore signs of horrific abuse.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/13/bahrain-suspicious-deaths-custody
Gulf Arabs want Arab summit cancelled: Bahraini minister (Reuters)
Reuters – Gulf Arab states have asked the Arab League to cancel a summit scheduled to be held in Baghdad in May, the Bahraini foreign minister said on Tuesday, after Iraq criticized Bahrain’s crackdown on Shi’ite protesters.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110412/wl_nm/us_bahrain_arableague
Bahrain opposition figure ‘dies in custody’
Officials yet to confirm Kareem Fakhrawi’s reported death – the fourth such case in recent days in the Arab Gulf state.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/04/201141220154357546.html
Hospital Is Drawn Into Bahrain Strife
MANAMA, Bahrain — A handful of soldiers, their faces covered by black masks to hide their identities, guard the front gate of Salmaniya Medical Complex. Inside, clinics are virtually empty of patients, many of whom, doctors say, have been hauled away for detention after participating in protests.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/world/middleeast/13bahrain.html?_r=1&src=tptw
‘Another mosque destroyed in Bahrain’
Tuesday’s destruction comes after five mosques in Hamad Town and Mahooz village in the east and northeast of Bahrain were ruined on Sunday. Destruction of the religious sites has become a new scare tactic by Manama in its attempts to suppress the popular protests. Earlier on Tuesday, reports said that arrested Bahraini opposition leaders have been tortured in prison. Riot police in the Persian Gulf country also besieged the town of Karzakkan on Tuesday. Al-Malikiyah village is under the siege of Bahraini pro-regime thugs. People in Bahrain have been protesting since February 14, demanding an end to the two-century-long rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty. Demonstrators maintain that they will hold their ground until their demands for freedom, constitutional monarchy as well as a proportional voice in the government are met. Bahraini forces have cracked down on the anti-regime protests with the help of Saudi, the UAE and Kuwaiti troops. Scores of people have been killed and many others gone missing since the beginning of the revolution.
http://presstv.com/detail/174446.html
Barack Obama must speak out on Bahrain bloodshed | Amy Goodman
Bahrainis are suffering the same violent repression as Libyans – so why does Obama have nothing to say? Three days after Hosni Mubarak resigned as the long-standing dictator in Egypt, people in the small Gulf state of Bahrain took to the streets, marching to their version of Tahrir: Pearl Square, in the capital city of Manama. Bahrain has been ruled by the same family, the House of Khalifa, since the 1780s – more than 220 years. Bahrainis were not demanding an end to the monarchy, but for more representation in their government.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/apr/13/barack-obama-bahrain-bloodshed
Yaara Bou Melhem, “Bahrain’s Dark Secret”
Yaara Bou Melhem: On the edge of the capital, Manama, thousands gather for the funeral of a young man. Hani Jumah was 32 years old and the father of two children. . . . It’s a scene repeated over and over in Bahrain, where there are more and more killings, more and more funerals, as the nation is torn by protests and a brutal government crackdown. Tirana Hassan, Human Rights Watch: So this is the building that Hani Jumah’s body was found in. He was pursued by riot police as they were conducting a sweep through the neighborhood. . . . Essentially they found him lying unconscious where he had been bleeding out for about two hours. . . . You can see from the nature of the blood here that there was an enormous amount of blood loss, and when we came, we found fragments of his kneecap — we also found one of his teeth.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/melhem120411.html
King of Bahrain is a big fan of the “sophisticated” white man
“But they [Iraqis] want to kill each other more than they want to modernize. If U.S. forces in Iraq pulled back, the various factions will be too scared to fight each other, he said, whereas with the U.S. presence, they are free to fight. “The sophisticated U.S. soldier,” the King stated, “should not be patrolling the streets of Baghdad.” Also:
“We are honored to be your ally,” the King stated, “and we have a wonderful relationship.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/04/king-of-bahrain-is-big-fan-of.html
Yemen
Yemenis decry immunity for president
Tens of thousands hold protests against mediation by the GCC aimed at ending political crisis.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/2011412163147534399.html
Caught in the middle
Yemeni women on the hardships of daily life amid unrest.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-13053161
Syria
Syrian TV airs confessions of men for stirring unrest
BEIRUT, April 13 (Reuters) – Syrian TV aired on Wednesday what it described as the confessions of three men who said they were paid money and given weapons by an anti-Syrian Lebanese lawmaker to carry out attacks on security services in Syria.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/syrian-tv-airs-confessions-of-men-for-stirring-unrest
Syrian protesters ‘barred from medical care’
Rights group says ambulances prevented from reaching wounded protesters as authorities attempt to quell unrest.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/20114121402707851.html
Two Syrians
Here are two slightly differing takes on accusations that the protests in Syria have an overly Sunni and anti-minority character. First, from someone in Damascus: There are claims that the Ismailis weren’t part of these protests but actually al-Salamiya was one of the first towns in Syria to protest after Daraa, then other areas followed.
http://pulsemedia.org/2011/04/12/two-syrians/
Other Mideast
UAE: Foreign Institutions Should Condemn Crackdown
(New York) – International public institutions opening branches on Saadiyat Island should send a clear message to Emirate authorities that they strongly condemn the United Arab Emirate’s attack on rights advocates, Human Rights Watch said today.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/12/uae-foreign-institutions-should-condemn-crackdown
