Modern Sinbad

Sunday, 23 January 2011

Opposition in Ireland presses for snap elections

Brian Cowen: "I have taken, on my own counsel, the decision to step down"

Mr Cowen resigned under pressure from colleagues over his handling of an economic crisis and party disputes.

But he said he would remain as prime minister until a general election he had previously set for 11 March.

Opposition politicians describe the situation as "farcical", demanding an election in February.

They intend to try and vote him out of office by tabling emergency motions in the Irish parliament, the BBC's Mark Simpson in Dublin reports.

But Mr Cowen will not go without a fight, and is determined to stay in power until mid-March, our correspondent says.

Ratings plummet

The prime minister has said the focus of the election should be policy and not personality.

Analysis

Shane Harrison BBC NI Dublin correspondent

It has been an extraordinary week and next week promises to be just as interesting.

The main opposition has signalled its intention to put down a motion of no confidence on Tuesday in Brian Cowen as Taoiseach. The Labour party has already put down a similar motion of no confidence, but in the government.

The Greens would have no problem voting confidence in the government - after all they are members of the coalition - but confidence in the Taoiseach may be different.

In the Fianna Fail leadership contest, expected next week, Micheal Martin is favourite to succeed Mr Cowen. Already backbenchers have been rallying to his colours.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, who has been treated for pancreatic cancer, is also expected to be a leadership candidate but his star has waned because of the bail-out and because of his lukewarm endorsement of Mr Cowen last week.

The PM who lost his powers

In a week of political crises, Mr Cowen first survived a party leadership vote but was forced to call the election after a bungled cabinet reshuffle.

Mr Cowen faced immediate criticism for his plan to stay on as PM - the first time since 1994 a politician has been prime minister, or Taoiseach, while not leading the main party of government.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said it was "simply not tenable" for Mr Cowen to remain in the post.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said that he would back the no-confidence motion in Mr Cowen as PM on Tuesday unless there was a dissolution of parliament.

However, Fine Gael's Michael Noonan also said it would stave off the vote, and help pass a crucial finance bill, if Mr Cowen was prepared to dissolve parliament on Friday and bring the election forward.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said: "The government and Fianna Fail are in chaos. Their focus is not on the problems facing the country."

One of Mr Cowen's own Fianna Fail MPs, Charlie O'Connor, also opposed his move.

"I say this with the greatest of respect for Brian Cowen, but what he's just done is pointless and counterproductive."

Criticism of Mr Cowen has intensified this month following revelations he played golf with the former chairman of Anglo Irish Bank, Sean FitzPatrick, months before the bank was nationalised to prevent it from collapse. Mr Cowen has denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Cowen has seen his ratings plummet amid Ireland's economic crisis. The country was given a bail-out package by the European Union and International Monetary Fund last year.

'Deep affection'

After the tumultuous week, Mr Cowen said: "Taking everything into account, after discussing the matter with my family, I have taken, on my own counsel, the decision to step down."

He added: "I have been in touch with no senior party figures in relation to this decision."

Brian Cowen's Rise and Fall

Elected to the Dail in 1984 aged 24, Cowen was fast-tracked into cabinet in 1992, in time for the fat years of the "Celtic Tiger"
Took over as finance minister in 2004. Critics accused him of failing to rein in bank lending to property developers
Took over as PM in 2008, just before Ireland admitted it was in recession
In November 2010, forced to accept a 85bn euro ($113bn; £72bn) EU bail-out
On 22 January 2011, Cowen resigned as leader of Fianna Fail but clung on as PM

Mr Cowen said he had "deep affection" for the men and women who worked for Fianna Fail and wanted it to be in the best possible position to fight the election campaign.

"The focus should be on what policies the political parties are offering, rather than on the narrow focus of personality politics.

"I am concerned that renewed internal criticism of my leadership of Fianna Fail is deflecting attention from these important debates," Mr Cowen said.

The PM said: "My intention now is to concentrate fully on government business and on continuing to implement the recovery plan.

"The government will continue to govern the country."

He also vowed that the government would win the no-confidence vote on Tuesday. The coalition has a two-seat majority in parliament.

Fianna Fail has confirmed it will choose its new leader on Wednesday. Brian Lenihan, Micheal Martin and Mary Hanafin are among the leading contenders.

Mr Cowen pledged his "full support" for whoever was selected.

On Tuesday, Mr Cowen won a vote of confidence in his leadership of Fianna Fail. Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheal Martin, who had opposed Mr Cowen, resigned.

However on Thursday, Mr Cowen bungled a planned government reshuffle. His coalition partners, the Greens, were angered by the reshuffle and blocked it. Mr Cowen then called the general election.

Egypt to implement comprehensive plan to combat bird flu

Metwali Salem

Sun, 23/01/2011 - 11:05

Photographed by AFP

The Ministry of Agriculture announced the implementation of a comprehensive plan to combat 2011’s avian influenza in bird farms.

Approximately 12,000 veterinarians and their assistants will participate in the nationwide plan.

In statements to the press on Saturday, Minister of Agriculture Amin Abaza said that an emergency unit has been set up at the General Authority for Veterinary Services to contain the spread of the disease and ensure that farms are applying the minimum bio-safety standards.

Mohamed Mostafa al-Garhi, head of the General Authority for Veterinary Services, said that around 16,000 farms will be inspected, adding that farm owners are willing to abide by the standards.

Al-Garhi warned that any farms that do not respect safety standards will be closed.

According to the World Health Organization, Egypt is third of countries most affected by avian flu. Since the disease first appeared in Egypt in February 2006, 122 deaths have been reported.

In a country where around five million families breed domestic poultry for money and food, most of Egypt’s infections are people in direct contact with infected birds.

Translated from the Arabic Edition.

ElBaradei supports, but won’t participate, in 25 January protest

AFP

Sun, 23/01/2011 - 01:01

Photographed by Mohamed Abdel Ghany

Berlin--Opponents of Egypt's long-running regime should be able to follow the lead set by the toppling of Tunisia's veteran president, leading opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei said in comments released Saturday.

"If the Tunisians have done it, Egyptians should get there too," the former UN nuclear watchdog chief told Der Spiegel for an interview to be published Monday.

Protests in Tunisia against president Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali led to his ouster last week after 23 years in power.

There is much debate in the region as to how contagious the Tunisian "Jasmine Revolution" will prove to be.

While Egypt is suffering social problems and has seen a number of people set themselves on fire in an echo of the protest which sparked the Tunisia unrest, ElBaradei pointed to major differences between the two north African nations.

In Egypt the discontent arises from "fundamental needs" in a country where more than 40 percent of the population earns less than a dollar a day while Tunisia can boast "a substantial middle class", he said, evoking the possibility of "a revolt by the poor and the frustrated."

The 2005 Nobel Peace Prize winner confirmed that he supports a national action day, scheduled for next Tuesday by the Egyptian opposition, though he would not be taking part.

"I don't want to steal their thunder," he explained, adding that he hoped the protests "will not degenerate."

He urged President Hosni Mubarak not to seek another term in office when his mandate expires in September, to lift the state of emergency which has been in place for 29 years and to call "free elections."

Mubarak, 82, has not yet indicated whether he intends to stand for office again, but members of his camp say he will seek a new mandate.

ElBaradei said he is in principle ready to throw his own hat into the ring as long as the elections are "free and just."

Muslim Brotherhood to participate in 25 January protest

Staff

Sun, 23/01/2011 - 10:59

Photographed by other

The Muslim Brotherhood announced that it will participate in the 25 January protests planned by Egypt's opposition movements. The protests will coincide with Police Day.

Opposition groups called last week for collective action in front of the Ministry of Interior in downtown Cairo to protest violations committed by the police.

Mohamed al-Beltagui, a leader in the Brotherhood, said the group will participate along with members of the shadow parliament, which was set up by former MPs after November's parliamentary elections.

In statements to the press, al-Beltagui added that the objective is to demonstrate that the Brotherhood and shadow parliament interact with the society, and to emphasize the invalidity of the current parliament.

Members of various political movements in the Gharbiya Governorate organized a protest on Friday near the headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party to urge people to participate the protest.

Mohamed ElBaradei, former chief of the international Atomic Energy Agency and a potential contender in the 2011 presidential election, confirmed that he supports the protest though he will not be taking part.

4 suicides in Egypt on Saturday

Arabic Edition

Sun, 23/01/2011 - 11:17

Photographed by Tahseen Bakr

Four people committed suicide on Saturday. Three threw themselves from balconies, while the fourth hung himself at home. Citizens and security services were able to rescue two others attempting suicide.

Magdi Wadeei Mansour, 40, a hotel manager, threw himself from a fourth floor in Cairo. Investigations revealed he was suffering a psychological disorder and had attempted suicide two years ago by taking drugs.

Another one, Mohamed Fathy al-Sayyed, also jumped from a ten-story building where he lived in Marg. Preliminary investigations indicated that he had undergone two years of treatment for psychological disturbance.

In Alexandria, Abdullah Haroun, 19, threw himself from the ninth floor of a hotel in Mansheyya, Alexandria. His family said during investigations that they came from the city of Salloum to Alexandria to get Abduallah treatment for a psychological disorder.

Another man, Islam Gamal Mohamed, an 18-year-old student, hung himself in his house in the area of Wardiyan, purportedly due to his mother's complaints that he returned home late.

In Masr al-Qadeema in Cairo, water police and fishermen rescued a Cairo University faculty member from suicide after he threw himself from from the Abbas bridge. Another man, 48, set himself on fire after a dispute with his sister in the Haram district.

The Interior Ministry mentioned that all the deceased had a history of psychological disorders.

Analysts say recent acts of self-immolation in Egypt seem to be driven by complaints similar to those that mobilized Tunisians and toppled President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali last week. However, there is no sign of momentum yet toward a broader uprising that could overwhelm Egypt's vast security apparatus.

Translated from the Arabic Edition.

Ben Ali clan "not welcome in Canada": official

Leaders of secular and Islamist opposition groups, repressed under Ben Ali's rule, are rushing to
re-enter the political battle (File)

TUNIS/ MONTREAL (Agencies)

Tunisian protesters demanded the departure of the embattled prime minister on Saturday, and an investigator promised to uncover the interior ministry's role in this month's shooting of scores of unarmed demonstrators.

Thousands rallied in Tunis and other cities Saturday, while hundreds of protesters backed by the UGTT union launched a march on the capital from the impoverished region where an uprising began last month, ending strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's 23-year rule.

Participants at the march called their protest a "caravan of liberation".

Not satisfied with his pledge to quit once free elections can be held, hundreds surged past a half-hearted police cordon at the office of Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi. One banner read: "No place for men of tyranny in a unity government."

Ghannouchi, who stayed on to head a would-be unity coalition after strongman Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled on Jan. 14, made an emotional late-night plea for patience on television on Friday. He portrayed himself as a fellow victim and pledged to end his political career as soon as he could organize elections.

But as he met cabinet colleagues on Saturday, thousands -- including many policemen -- took to the streets of Tunis and other towns to keep up the protest momentum and reject what many deride as Ghannouchi's token attempt to co-opt a handful of little-known dissidents into his government.

One demonstrator outside the premier's office said: "We want to tell Mr. Ghannouchi the definition of 'revolution' -- it means a radical change, not keeping on the same prime minister."

The General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT under its French acronym), which played a vital role in the movement against Ben Ali, has refused to recognize the new government because of its inclusion of figures from the old regime.

Investigating abuse

We saw in some cases shots had been directed to the head or to the chest... We will look into the reason those who held guns or knives struck those with empty hands who called for bread and freedom

Taoufik Bouderbala

The heads of three commissions established by Tunisia's interim government this week said they would overhaul the country's laws and examine the interior ministry's role in the shooting of protesters.

"We saw in some cases shots had been directed to the head or to the chest... We will look into the reason those who held guns or knives struck those with empty hands who called for bread and freedom," said Taoufik Bouderbala, head of the National Commission to Investigate Abuses.

"We will accuse no one. We will check the facts... but we will ask who gave permission to those who opened fire?"

Tunisia's interior minister has given a death toll of 78 since the start of the demonstrations, but the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights put the number at 117, including 70 killed by live fire.

It is unclear when elections for president and parliament might be held. But leaders of secular and Islamist opposition groups, harshly repressed under Ben Ali's rule, are rushing to re-enter the political fray.

Rached Ghannouchi, exiled leader of the banned Islamist Ennahda (Renaissance) movement said his movement supported the democratic trend and should not be feared: "We are a moderate Islamic movement, a democratic movement based on democratic ideals in ... Islamic culture," he said.

Moncef Marzouki, a secular dissident who returned from exile in Paris and hopes to run for president, urged the appointment of a new, independent prime minister. He said premier Ghannouchi's presence was hampering, not helping, efforts to restore stability.

But mindful of the dozens of deaths this month and of the thirst for retribution against Ben Ali's clan and the organs of his police state, Marzouki urged those in the streets to stay calm.

"The great thing is that this revolution has been peaceful," he said. "Please continue this way and don't get into revenge."

Even policemen, once the feared blunt instrument of Ben Ali's 24-year rule, were declaring changed loyalties. In Tunis thousands joined in a chant of "We are innocent of the blood of the martyrs!" at a rally to show their support for the revolt.

Clearly under pressure, Prime Minister Ghannouchi said on television late on Friday: "I lived like Tunisians and I feared like Tunisians." He added: "I pledge to stop all my political activity after my period leading the transitional government."

The response of the street protesters was scornful: "Since 1990, Ghannouchi has been finance minister, then prime minister," said student Firass Hermassi outside Ghannouchi's office. "He knows everything, he's an accomplice."

"Not welcome in Canada"

Mr. Ben Ali, deposed members of the former Tunisian regime and their immediate families are not welcome in Canada

Spokesman Douglas Kellam

Meanwhile relatives of ousted president Ben Ali arrived in Canada, a government official in Ottawa told AFP on Saturday.

The official confirmed, without offering details, a report in Le Journal de Quebec, which said one of Ben Ali's many brothers-in-law arrived in Montreal Friday morning aboard a private jet accompanied by his wife, their children and a governess.

Ben Ali's wife Leila Trabelsi has several brothers, and neither source specified which one had arrived in Canada. The family reportedly checked into a hotel in Montreal.

An official at Citizenship and Immigration Canada said Ottawa was not offering asylum to Ben Ali's family.

"Mr. Ben Ali, deposed members of the former Tunisian regime and their immediate families are not welcome in Canada," said spokesman Douglas Kellam, who declined to comment on any specific cases for privacy reasons.

"Anyone entering Canada must pass a number of tests. In the case of Tunisians, they must have a valid visa issued by the government of Canada."

The official added that visas "are only issued by our officers when they are satisfied that the individual will leave Canada once the visa expires. Given that members of the regime cannot return to Tunisia, that would be a challenge."

Protests in Montreal

The news of the arrivals drew protests from Tunisians in Montreal, many of who had demonstrated in Canada against the former regime.

"These people need to answer for their actions before Tunisians, in Tunisia," said Sonia Djelidi, a member of a group organizing protests.

Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia earlier this month.

The protests against were in part fueled by widespread allegations of corruption and reports that Ben Ali's family members, particularly his wife's relatives, had gorged themselves on state funds at a time of economic hardship.

The deposed president's daughter Nesrine Ben Ali and her husband, businessman Sakher El Materi, purchased a $2.5-million villa in the upscale Westmount neighborhood of Montreal two years ago.

The house is currently uninhabited and partially under construction.

On Thursday, Tunisian authorities arrested 33 members of Ben Ali's family who were under investigation for plundering the nation's resources.

The European Union has agreed in principle to freeze the assets of Ben Ali and his family, a source in Brussels told AFP earlier this week, though the final details were still to be worked out.

The Swiss government had earlier ordered a freeze on any funds held by Ben Ali in a move aimed at helping the country's new authorities to retrieve public assets illicitly taken from the country.

Armstrong ends international career

Seven-time Tour de France winner says goodbye to international cycling career during a final race in Australia.

Last Modified: 23 Jan 2011 05:42 GMT

Armstrong has been a fan favourite throughout his career, particularly after his recovery from cancer [GALLO/GETTY]

Competitive cyclist Lance Armstrong has ended his international career after completing the final stage of the Tour Down Under in the Australian city of Adelaide.

A seven-time Tour de France winner, Armstrong, now 39, had announced in 2009 that he would be ending his international cycling career in two years time, and has stuck to that pledge.

He has, however, come back from retirement before - in January 2009 he ended a three and a half year hiatus to come back to join the Radioshack racing team.

Armstrong, who won plaudits amongst fans after he recovered from testicular cancer to come back and win the Tour de France multiple times, did not produce fireworks on his retirement ride, finishing outside the top 50. He was almost six minutes behind 23-year-old Cameron Meyer, the Australian race winner.

Alleged drug use

He remains contracted to the Radioshack team, and is scheduled to take part in a number of multi-sport events in the United States.

His participation in mountain bike races or triathlons could be determined, however, by the outcome of a federal probe launched following allegations that he regularly use banned substances while racing with the US Postal team from 1999 to 2004.

Armstrong has said that he expects to be vindicated when the report from the probe is released. The probe was ordered after Sports Illustrated published a story that examined allegations that he had used banned performance enhancing substances.

In October, Armstrong had confirmed that the Tour Down Under would be his final competitive ride outside of the United States.

"It will be my third time to the event and I'm sure I will enjoy it as much as I have the first two times," he said.

Source:

Agencies