Death toll of Alex church attack rises to 24

Staff

Sat, 22/01/2011 - 14:54

Photographed by طارق الفرماوي

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A Copt wounded in the church bombing in Alexandria on New Year’s Eve died in London, an Egyptian church source said on Saturday. This brings the death toll to 24.

Samuel Gerges Mikhail, 32, died this morning in a hospital in London. He received fourth degree burns in the attack and traveled to the UK for treatment last week.

His body is scheduled to arrive in Alexandria on Monday, the source added.

The bombing took place outside the Church of St. Mark and St. Peter in Alexandria after worshippers exited the church towards the end of the New Year’s Eve mass.

Egypt to introduce law on church construction soon, says NDP

Staff

Sat, 22/01/2011 - 15:41

Photographed by Mohamed Ibrahim

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The Egyptian government will issue a law exclusively addressing church construction, as distinct from a law for building houses of worship currently being drafted, a National Democratic Party (NDP) leader said on Saturday.

State-run news agency MENA quoted Moustafa al-Fiqqi, the head of the Shura Council's Committee on Arab, Foreign and National Security Affairs, as saying that the law will be issued. The draft law on building houses of worship, on the other hand, may take some time to prepare.

Egypt’s Christians have long complained of heavy bureaucratic restrictions for building churches due to government policy.

The Unified Houses of Worship draft law was first proposed by the ruling NDP in 2005 in an effort to regulate the construction of mosques and churches in Egypt, but was never officially endorsed.

The current law, dating back to 1856, requires presidential approval for building a church. Although President Hosni Mubarak issued a decree authorizing governors to permit church building in 2005, many Copts claim it failed to change the status quo. They say there are widespread fears that building new churches could provoke Muslim residents, especially in Upper Egypt.

According to the Ministry of Religious Endowments, there are over 93,000 mosques in Egypt, while the number of churches is around 2,000--not enough, apparently, to serve Egypt's Copts, who constitute roughly seven percent of the national population.

Alexandria’s Khaled Saeed police brutality trial postponed

Staff

Sat, 22/01/2011 - 15:56

Photographed by Noha El-Hennawy

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The trial of the two Egyptian secret policemen accused of beating Khalid Saeed to death is postponed until 26 February, judicial sources said on Saturday.

Khalid Saeed's murder in Alexandria in June 2010 attracted widespread media attention and stirred the outrage of human rights groups both in Egypt and worldwide.

Two policemen allegedly beat the 28-year-old man to death.

Defense Lawyer Hafez Abu Seaida on Saturday’s session called for the death penalty for the suspects, a judicial source told Al-Masry Al-Youm.

The source added that Abu Seaida raised doubts about the validity of forensic reports stating that Saeed suffocated after swallowing a roll of marijuana.

The defense team accused police investigators of rushing Saeed’s body to the morgue, washing it and changing his shirt with another to remove signs of the crime. All evidence had therefore been erased before Alexandria prosecutors came to inspect the body.

Last year, Alexandria's District Attorney said the autopsy report ruled out the possibility that the deceased had been beaten or assaulted in any way, noting that no traces of violence had been found.

According to witnesses, Saeed was dragged out of an internet cafe before having his head hit repeatedly against a solid surface. Saeed’s family have reportedly claimed that he was killed after posting a video on the Internet that apparently showed police involved in drug deals.

Eventually, policemen Mahmoud Salah Mahmoud and Awad Ismail Suleiman were referred to criminal court on charges that included illegal arrest and the use of excessive force. Their trial began in July under close scrutiny from human rights advocacy groups.

Egypt to France: Alexandria church blast targeted national unity not Copts only

Staff

AFP

Sat, 22/01/2011 - 16:27

Photographed by رويترز

Archived

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Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said on Saturday that a deadly church attack in Alexandria on New Year's Eve targetted the whole country and not just its Coptic Christians.

The bombing outside the church that killed 24 people emerging from mass was "directed at Egypt and Egyptian unity and to weaken the national fabric," Abul Gheit said after talks with visiting French counterpart Michele Alliot-Marie.

"The Egyptian people, Christians and Muslims, had the feeling that national unity was the aim.

“The Egyptian constitution is extremely clear on freedom of belief, on the right to practice one's faith and on the duty of the state to protect its citizens," he said in an apparent response to Western statements highlighting the need for protection of the country's Christians.

Alliot-Marie said the perpetrators had targeted the "Egyptian state, with its characteristics of democracy and tolerance."

She said the Egyptian population had reacted "exactly like in France when there is an act against a mosque or a synagogue: there is unity."

“All our democracies, because they are tolerant and stress freedom of thought and the right of worship in their texts and in their government's statements, are challenged by the terrorists," she said.

Egypt has firmly rejected several Western calls for the protection of the country's Christian minority as "interference" in its domestic affairs.

Cairo recalled its envoy to the Vatican over remarks by Pope Benedict XVI on Coptic Christians.

Benedict said the attack was "yet another sign of the urgent need for the governments of the region to adopt... effective measures for the protection of religious minorities".

Egypt's Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the 80-million population, complain of systematic discrimination and have been the targets of several attacks

South Korean raid frees hostage crew from pirates

Updated: 2011-01-22 11:57

(Agencies)

South Korean naval special forces approach the Samho Jewelry vessel using a boat before carrying out an operation to rescue its crew members, in the Arabian Sea Jan 21, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

SEOUL - At dawn Friday, South Korean commandos steered their boat to a hijacked freighter in the Arabian Sea. Under covering fire from a destroyer and a Lynx helicopter, they scrambled up a ladder onto the ship, where Somali pirates were armed with assault rifles and anti-tank missiles.

Five hours after the risky rescue began, it was over.

All 21 hostages were freed from the gunfire-scarred freighter. Eight pirates were killed and five were captured in what President Lee Myung-bak called a "perfect operation."

It was a remarkable ending to the daring and rare raid, handing South Korea a stunning success in the battle against pirates who have long tormented shipping in the waters off the Horn of Africa.

The lone casualty among the crew was the captain, identified as Seok Bae-gyun, 58, who was shot in the stomach by a pirate, South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported. He was taken by a US helicopter to a nearby country for treatment, but the wound was not life-threatening, Lt. Gen. Lee Sung-ho of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters in Seoul.

"My heart stopped when the news of all the members being rescued was broadcast," the captain's son, Seok Hyun-wook, told the newspaper. "If I knew that they were planning a rescue, I would have been nervous all along."

The successful raid also was a triumph for South Korea's president and military. Both came under harsh criticism at home for being too slow and weak in the response to a North Korean attack in November on a South Korean island near disputed waters that killed two marines and two civilians.

Friday's operation came a week after the Somali attackers seized the Samho Jewelry, a 11,500-ton chemical carrier sailing from the United Arab Emirates to Sri Lanka.

"We will not tolerate any behavior that threatens the lives and safety of our people in the future," President Lee said in a brief televised statement.

The wife of one of the South Korean crew wept in gratitude as the hijacking ended. The unidentified woman told the Yonhap news agency that "family members couldn't sleep or eat well and prayed for a safe return. I am very relieved."

Choi Young-soo, the father of 25-year-old crewman Choi Jin-kyung, told the JoongAng Ilbo that his relatives "were in tears when we saw the news."

"When I heard the news of the hijack, I thought the sky was falling," the elder Choi was quoted as saying.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak speaks at the presidential Blue House in Seoul Jan 21, 2011 after South Korean naval special forces rescued crew members of the Samho Jewelry vessel in the Arabian Sea. [Photo/Agencies]

Of the 21 crew members, eight were from South Korea, two were from Indonesia and 11 were from Myanmar. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the Samho Jewelry was being accompanied by the destroyer to a safe area; it did not elaborate.

Other countries' special forces have launched several raids to rescue hijacked ships in recent months, but hours, not days, after capture, and then only after they were assured the crew was locked in a safe room, commonly referred to as a "citadel."

The raid on the Samho Jewelry was rare because it came a week after the ship was seized. It was not clear if the crew was in a citadel during the rescue, but the wounded captain clearly was not.

Security forces are usually reluctant to launch such raids because of the risk to the hostages.

Malaysia holds 7 Somali pirates after saving ship

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-01-22 17:25

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's navy was holding seven Somali pirates Saturday after thwarting an attempt to hijack a chemical tanker in the Gulf of Aden, authorities said.

The Royal Malaysian Navy said its commandos injured three pirates in a gunbattle and rescued the 23 crew members of the Malaysian-flagged MT Bunga Laurel early Friday, less than two hours after the assailants stormed the vessel with pistols and assault rifles.

The navy sent a ship and a helicopter, which were then 14 miles (22 kilometers) from the Bunga Laurel, after crew members locked themselves in a safe room and activated a distress call, it said in a statement late Friday.

Elite security forces managed to board the ship and overpower the pirates after an exchange of gunfire, the statement said. No one among the rescue team or Bunga Laurel's crew was injured.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said he was informed that seven pirates were captured. Authorities were considering whether they should be brought to Malaysia to face trial for the hijack attempt, Najib told a news conference.

"I am proud of our (navy), which acted with full efficiency and demonstrated courage," Najib said.

The naval ship was in the Gulf of Aden to escort vessels with Malaysian interests. The attack occurred only two hours after the ship had left the Bunga Laurel after accompanying it to what was considered relatively safe waters in the Gulf of Aden, about 300 miles (500 kilometers) east off the coast of Oman, the navy statement said.

The navy did not provide details of the crew members' nationalities. Representatives of the Malaysian International Shipping Corporation, which was operating the Bunga Laurel, could not immediately be reached.

Other countries' special forces have also launched raids to save ships boarded by Somali pirates within hours of the attacks in recent months, after being assured the crew was locked in safe rooms, commonly referred to as "citadels."

In another successful but riskier rescue Friday, South Korean special forces stormed a freighter in the Arabian Sea that had been hijacked a week earlier. They freed 21 crew members and killed eight Somali pirates.

Fossil mom helps shed light on ancient life

By Yan Jie (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-01-22 09:43

The fossil of a female pterosaur known as Mrs T. [Provided to China Daily]

BEIJING - She was gliding over a lake on her way to a patch of soft soil where she wanted to lay her egg when a sudden gust of suffocating toxic volcanic gas hit her, breaking her wing and plunging her into the water more than 160 million years ago.

Mud on the lake bottom quickly buried the flying reptile's body and, over time, it turned to rock.

Now, researchers are celebrating the fact that the fossilized remains of the pterosaur they nicknamed Mrs T and her un-laid egg are shedding new light on ancient mysteries.

They say the discovery of the fossil, which was unearthed in 2009 in Northeast China's Liaoning province, has helped solve mysteries surrounding the creatures - including how to tell the difference between males and females.

"The discovery of Mrs T has thoroughly resolved that longstanding question," said Lu Junchang, who led a team of paleontologists from China and Britain that worked on the find.

Lu, who is also a researcher with the Beijing-based Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, made the announcement on Friday at the same time as an article on the breakthrough appeared in Science magazine.

The research team reported that the reptile, specified as a Darwinopterus, a mid-Jurassic pterosaur, was a sexually mature female and a rare example among fossilized pterosaurs because it was found along with an egg.

Lu and his team said Mrs T and several other examples demonstrated that male pterosaurs had a relatively small pelvis and a large bone crest on top of the head, while females had a larger pelvis and no crest.

Paleontologists had long wondered whether the crest belonged to males or females and whether its primary purpose was for fighting or attracting a mate.

The egg found beside the hip of Mrs T measured about 3 centimeters in length and was thought to match the size of her body, added Lu. The wings of the pterosaur spanned more than 70 cm.

Lu said it was clear that Mrs T was female and that the egg was her egg and not one snatched from another nest for food because the reptile would not have been strong enough to have carried such a large egg because her legs were too thin.

The team reported that the shell of the egg was like parchment, a characteristic shared by all existing reptiles, including crocodiles and lizards.

The fossil is now in the possession of the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province.