4 suicides in Egypt on Saturday

Arabic Edition

Sun, 23/01/2011 - 11:17

Photographed by Tahseen Bakr

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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

Protests target Tunisia PM; shooting probe pledged

Sunday, 23 January 2011

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

Haiti leader urges Duvalier trial

Rene Preval, the Haitian president,says the ex-dictator has the right to return to Haiti but he should face justice. Last Modified: 23 Jan 2011 01:15 GMT

Duvalier said he was prepared to face "persecution." [AFP] Rene Preval, the Haitian president, has said that ex-dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier had every right to return home from exile, but must now face an investigation of alleged abuses during his reign. Preval's first public comment on Duvalier since the former strongman's astonishing arrival in Haiti a week ago came at a news conference on Saturday during a surprise trip of his own to the neighbouring Dominican Republic. "Duvalier had the right to return to the country, but under the constitution, he also must face justice," Preval told reporters. "If Duvalier is not in prison now, it is because he has not yet been tried." Accompanied by prime minister Jean-Max Bellerive, Preval said they met with Leonel Fernandez, the Dominican president to discuss Haiti's political crisis and a cholera epidemic. Preval added that by law, Haitians cannot be barred from their homeland, and that applies to both Duvalier and former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who has been in exile in South Africa since his ouster in 2004 but recently spoke of wanting to come back. "They do not depend on my decision," Preval said. "It is the nation's constitution that prohibits (forced) exile." Preval declined to say whether he knew ahead of time about Duvalier's sudden appearance in the country on January 16, after 25 years in exile. Duvalier says he came to help his shattered nation rebuild from last year's massive earthquake, which killed an estimated 316,000 people. Duvalier said he was prepared to face "persecution." However the former leader, who ruled Haiti from 1971 to 1986 through terror and the regime he inherited from his father, has found himself under investigation for corruption, embezzlement, torture, arbitrary imprisonment, crimes against humanity and other alleged abuses during his reign.

Source: Agencies

Yemen protests urge leader's exit

Thousands of students, activists and opposition groups stage anti-president protest at Sanaa University. Last Modified: 23 Jan 2011 02:54 GMT

Thousands of Yemeni students, activists and opposition groups have held protests at Sanaa University, demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ouster in what appeared to be the first large-scale challenge to the strongman. Around 2,500 students, activists and opposition groups chanted slogans against the president, comparing him to Tunisia's ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, whose people were similarly enraged by economic woes and government corruption. "Oh, Ali, join your friend Ben Ali," protesters chanted. Police fired tear gas at the demonstrators, whose grievances include proposed constitutional changes that would allow the president to rule for a lifetime. Around 30 protesters were detained, a security official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press. Since the Tunisian turmoil, Saleh has ordered income taxes slashed in half and has instructed his government to control prices. He also ordered a heavy deployment of anti-riot police and soldiers to several key areas in the capital and its surroundings to prevent any riots. Peoples' grievances Nearly half of Yemen's population lives below the poverty line of $2 a day and doesn't have access to proper sanitation. Less than a tenth of the roads are paved. Tens of thousands have been displaced from their homes by conflict, flooding the cities. The government is riddled with corruption, has little control outside the capital, and its main source of income - oil - could run dry in a decade. Protests were also held in the southern port city of Aden, where calls for Saleh to step down were heard along with the more familiar slogans for southern secession. Police fired on demonstrators, injuring four, and detained 22 others in heavy clashes. Musid Ali, executive director of the Yemeni-American anti-terrorism center, told Al Jazeera that protests in Yemen were natural given long years of suffering from dictatorship. "It is natural for an uprising to come. This has come after 30 years of rule, people are hungry; there is no development for the people, people are fed up, people are saying Ali Saleh enough is enough. "The Yemeni regime is the terror in Yemen, they are using al Qaeda to get more money from the west," he said. While some students protested against Saleh, others affiliated with his General People's Congress demonstrated in his support, with banners calling for him to remain in office, and for parliamentary elections to be held in April. Saleh said in December that parliamentary polls would take place in April with or without opposition parties, some of which have said they are considering boycotting the election.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

'US drone strikes' claim lives

The attacks are the first since Friday's protest rally in Pakistan condemning civilian deaths in US drone strikes. Last Modified: 23 Jan 2011 04:40 GMT

The Pakistani public sees the drone attacks as a breach of national sovereignty [AFP] Pakistani intelligence officials say that a possible second US drone strike has killed two more suspected foreign fighters in northwestern Pakistan. Sunday's attack came several hours after a drone fired two missiles at a vehicle and a house in Doga Mada Khel village, located near North Waziristan's main town of Miranshah, killing at least five armed fighters. The town is a frequent target of the strikes, and the country's tribal region bordering Afghanistan, is increasingly seen as battleground in the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. "The US drone hit a car immediately after it parked outside a house," an intelligence official in Miranshah said of the first strike. According to officials, the second drone fired two missiles at the suspected fighters as they were riding on a motorcycle in the same village in the North Waziristan tribal area. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. As a policy, the United States does not confirm drone attacks, but its military and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy them in the region. A similar strike killed at least three people in North Waziristan on January 12. On January 1, a string of attacks killed at least 15 people and destroyed a Taliban compound, according to Pakistani officials. Fresh protests In the town on Mir Ali town, also in North Waziristan, some 1,800 tribesmen staged a demonstration on Sunday against the continuous drone strikes, witnesses said. All the markets remained closed with traffic suspended on the busy Bannu-Miranshah road, which runs through Mir Ali. "The government should take immediate steps to stop drone attacks otherwise we will launch a protest movement and will march towards Islamabad," Sherzali Khan, a local tribal elder, told the protesting tribesmen, who were shouting slogans against the US and CIA. They demanded an end to the operations, which they said were killing civilians including women and children in the tribal areas. A similar rally was held on Friday in Miranshah against the drone strikes. The strikes are deeply unpopular among the public, who also see military action on Pakistani soil as a breach of their sovereignty. According to a tally conducted by the AFP news agency, the covert campaign doubled missile attacks in the tribal area last year, where more than 100 drone strikes killed over 670 people in 2010 compared with 45 strikes that killed 420 in 2009. Pakistan tacitly co-operates with the bombing campaign, which US officials say has badly damaged al-Qaeda's leadership. But it has stalled launching a ground offensive in North Waziristan, saying its troops are overstretched. Washington says the strikes have killed a number of high-value targets, including Baitullah Mehsud, the former head of the Pakistani Taliban.

Source: Agencies

Blame traded over Albania casualty

Government and opposition hold each other responsible for deaths of protesters during anti-government demonstration. Last Modified: 23 Jan 2011 08:33 GMT

As political crisis deepens in Albania, the government and opposition have traded blame over who is responsible for the deaths of three protesters during an earlier anti-government demonstration. The prosecutor general's office said on Saturday that arrest warrants have been issued for six officers of the National Guard, a force of army troops under the command of the interior ministry tasked with guarding government institutions and senior officials. Tensions have been mounting for months between the government and the opposition, led by the Socialist Party. The opposition vowed to hold further protests after the three people were killed in Friday's violent demonstration against Sali Berisha, the country's prime minister. Berisha has called demonstrations of his own against what he terms as "the violence of the opposition." Two of the men were shot in the chest, while one died of a head wound in the demonstrations on Friday, where protesters threw sticks and stones at Berisha's office building, prompting police to retaliate with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons. Berisha said the men had been killed by "bandits" within the ranks of the protesters themselves, and he accused Edi Rama, the leader of the Socialist Party, of attempting a coup. He warned that those who organised the "anti-constitutional putsch ... will have to face the consequences of law". He said that the demonstrators included "gangs of criminals, bandits, traffickers and terrorists". Rama accused Berisha of being the "political orchestrator" of the deaths, and called for the arrest of Lulzim Basha, the interior minister. "We will continue our protests and demonstrations, without violence, peacefully, wisely, with the unstoppable power of the people's resistance," he said after the first funeral for a protester on Saturday. In addition to fuelling outrage over corruption allegations, the opposition has also alleged that Berisha's Democratic Party rigged Albania's 2009 elections. Calls for calm Alexander Arvizu, the US ambassador to Albania, called for calm, saying that violence was neither necessary nor "inevitable". "What Albania desperately needs at this moment is political leadership. We have repeatedly urged Albania's political leaders to search for compromise," he said. Arvizu, together with Ettore Sequi, the EU ambassador, and Fiona McIlwham, the British ambassador, met with Bamir Topi, the Albanian president, to stress that the "return of dialogue, respect of institutions, maturity and equilibrium is of a vital importance". Eugen Wollfarth, ambassador for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), called "all national leaders, both in government and in opposition" to act "constructively and show leadership in restoring public and political confidence so that the country again can focus on its national strategic goals". Friday's protest, which attracted more than 20,000 people, was prompted by the resignation of Ilir Meta, the country's deputy prime minister, after a video surfaced allegedly showing him asking a colleague to influence the awarding of a contract for building a power station. 'Very tense' situation Speaking to Al Jazeera from Tirana, Besar Likmeta, editor of the website BalkanInsight.com, said: "The political situation continues to be very tense here and the opposition and the government are accusing each other of murder. "The general prosecutor's office has initiated an investigation into the deaths and issued warrants for six high-ranking officers of the National Guard. But unfortunately the police aren't enforcing these warrants." Meanwhile, Amnesty International (AI), the UK-based human-rights group, has urged Albanian authorities to investigate the deaths that resulted from the Tirana protests. Andrea Huber, AI's deputy director for Europe and Central Asia, said: "The police have a right to maintain order and protect the public, but they must not use excessive force against those carrying out their legitimate right to protest." Friday's demonstrations marked the first time opposition protests had ended in violence since a political crisis erupted in Tirana after the disputed 2009 general elections. Elections in the country have often been marred by violence and allegations of fraud since the collapse of Albania's communist government in 1991. The current impasse is the longest political crisis the country has faced.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies