Sultan Expects Big Inflow of Tourists to Kingdom’s Resorts
ARAB NEWS: JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s participation in international forums such as the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai would boost the flow of tourists to the Kingdom, said Prince Sultan bin Salman, chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA).

In a statement after visiting the Kingdom’s pavilion at the exhibition, he said Saudi Arabia is replete with tourist attractions including historical sites such as Madain Saleh and Diriya.

He emphasized the need to present Saudi Arabia as a major tourist destination in the region to Gulf citizens in order to encourage them to spend their vacations in the Kingdom’s tourist resorts.

“SCTA intends to organize a variety of attractive programs and activities to woo Saudis as well as GCC citizens to spend their holidays in the Kingdom,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted him as saying.

He said Saudi tourism would not be limited to Haj and Umrah as new investment projects would enhance tourist facilities and attractions in the Kingdom.

“Forums like the Arabian Travel Market will enable SCTA to make use of the experiences of Arab countries in promoting tourism,” the prince said. » | P.K. Abdul Ghafour | Arab News | Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Bahrain to Charge Doctors over Protester Deaths
REUTERS AFRICA: MANAMA - Bahrain said on Tuesday it would charge a number of medical workers with causing the death of two demonstrators, broadening a crackdown on the opposition in the wake of protests that shook the Gulf island kingdom.

Human rights groups say Sunni-led Bahrain has targeted doctors and medical staff who aided mostly-Shi'ite protesters during anti-government demonstrations it crushed in March. It brought in troops from Sunni-led Gulf Arab neighbours who feared potential interference from non-Arab Shi'ite power Iran.

Justice Minister Khaled bin Ali al-Khalifa told reporters 47 medical staff would face charges, including about two dozen doctors. Not all would be prosecuted for causing the protesters deaths, but he did not say how many would face such charges.

He said the two protesters died because staff inflicted additional wounds on them or gave unneeded treatments.
"The medical profession was strongly abused during this period," he said.

The U.S.-based rights group Physicians for Human Rights that sent a fact-finding mission into Bahrain last month rejected the government's account of events.

"The results of our findings were pointing to a wholly different conclusion," the group's Deputy Director Richard Sollom told Reuters. » | Frederik Richter | Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Une fashionista est née
GALA.fr: Après avoir enflammé le cœur de milliers de jeunes hommes, et attiré l’œil du dragueur invétéré Son Altesse Royale le Prince Consort Philip dans sa tenue de demoiselle d’honneur signée Alexander McQueen, Pippa Middleton ne s’est pas arrêtée là...

Philippa n’a rien à envier à sa sœur la Duchesse de Cambridge: elle possède une plastique tout aussi avantageuse, un sourire aussi éclatant, et une chevelure aussi jolie… Et l’attention qu’on lui porte est égale! C’est tout juste si elle ne lui a pas volé la vedette à son propre mariage, notamment grâce à ses fesses remarquables, sacrées «plus beau derrière de l’événement» par plus de 176 000 personnes sur Facebook! » | Marion Buiatti | Mardi 03 Mai 2011

Switzerland Identifies $1bn Worth of Dictators' Assets
THE GUARDIAN: Three-year freeze for Swiss bank assets of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, Egypt's Hosni Murbarak and Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali

The Swiss government says it has identified potential assets to be frozen worth 830m Swiss francs (nearly $1bn or £600m) belonging to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and the ousted presidents of Egypt and Tunisia.

Swiss president and foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, speaking in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, said the assets include 360m Swiss francs that may belong to Gaddafi or his entourage.

She said Switzerland had also linked 410m Swiss francs to the former Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, and 60m Swiss francs to Tunisia's deposed autocrat, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Switzerland has ordered banks and other financial institutions to freeze possible assets belonging to the three men and their key supporters to prevent the funds from being secretly withdrawn. The Swiss government has said Tunisia and Egypt have already started legal proceedings to claim the assets.

The government added that neither country has yet provided the necessary evidence of possible criminal wrongdoing involving the money. » | Associated Press in Geneva | Tuesday, April 03, 2011

Schweizer Halbbruder von Osama Bin Laden
Yeslam Binladin. Seit 28 Jahren lebt der Halbbruder des Terroristen Osama bin Laden in Genf. Seit vergangenem Mai besitzt er einen Schweizerpass. Doch seit den Angriffen vom 11. September ist Yeslam Binladin immer wieder neuen Verdächtigungen ausgesetzt über mögliche Verbindungen zu Osama bin Laden. Zum ersten Mal gab er dem Fernsehen ein Interview -und distanziert sich von seinem Halbbruder
Das Schweizer Fernsehen Video hier abspielen

Dans la résidence de Ben Laden
La pièce, qui ressemble à une chambre, est maculée de sang. Ce serait ici qu’Oussama Ben Laden aurait été tué

Konservative siegen bei Neuwahlen

Islamisten protestieren nach Tod bin Ladens

Merkel gratuliert den USA

Al-Qaeda: The Next Generation
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: As America celebrates the death of its greatest foe, a younger cadre is ready to direct jihad against the West – including one whose real name no one knows.

["]History," wrote Abdullah Azzam, Osama bin Laden's mentor, "does not write its lines except with blood… Glory does not build its lofty edifice except with skulls; honour and respect cannot be established except on a foundation of cripples and corpses." Osama bin Laden has become one of those corpses. But even as America celebrates the death of the man who more than any other came to represent evil in our time, there is little reason for jubilation.

The stark truth is this: a decade after 9/11, the jihadist movement is more powerful than at any time in the past. Bin Laden himself, the scholar C. Christine Fair has noted, has emerged as a "kind of Che Guevara of the jihadist movement" – an inspirational icon who could fire the imagination of young recruits. Bin Laden's death – or, to the faithful, his martyrdom – might prove to be his last service for his macabre cause.

In 2001, on the eve of 9/11, al-Qaeda had a core of just less than 200 cadre – 120 of them in a crack fighting unit. Perhaps 1,000 men had graduated from its Afghan training camps, but they were riven by ideological dissension. Now, jihadist groups that associate themselves with al-Qaeda's project are asserting influence from eastern China and central Asia to the furthest reaches of North Africa. The war against terror has thus seen al-Qaeda flower, not die. Continue reading and comment » | Praveen Swami |
Monday, April 02, 2011

Osama bin Laden Dead: Code Name Geronimo
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: As President Barack Obama and his team sat on tenterhooks in the Situation Room, the CIA director Leon Panetta broke the silence with the memorable words: "We have a visual on Geronimo."

It was the first confirmation that Osama bin Laden, who had been given the 19th Century Apache leader's name as a code word, was definitely in the compound in Pakistan.

Shortly afterwards, a Navy Seal halfway across the world sent the message "Geronimo EKIA" – meaning enemy killed in action – which was relayed to a jubilant White House Situation Room.

US President Barack Obama watched events unfold sitting in the thousands of miles away from the al-Qaeda leader's compound in Abbottabad. » | Nick Allen, Los Angeles | Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Carla Bruni 'Pregnant with Twins'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Carla Bruni is pregnant with twins at the age of 43, according to the latest reports.

The former supermodel has been at the centre of frenzied media speculation this week that she is expecting her first child with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Now glossy showbiz magazine Voici claims that she is expecting twins in October.

The claims come after Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy – who is also said to have given up smoking – herself hinted she and her 56-year-old husband were expecting a baby.

When asked directly if she was pregnant in an interview on Monday, she replied teasingly that she would "remain tight-lipped about that to protect something".

Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy was asked by one of six readers of Le Parisien newspaper invited to the Elysee [sic] Palace to interview her: "Are you expecting a baby?"

She answered: "If you'll allow me, I'd rather not answer these questions about my family. » | Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Inside Story - The End of Osama bin Laden

German Muslims Welcome Bin Laden's Death

Al Jazeera Speaks to Ana Murison, Global Jihad Analyst

US Muslims Hope for New Start
Muslim American groups have welcomed the news of Bin Laden's killing.

After September 11, 2001, many Muslims claimed they were treated with suspicion and endured increased discrimination in the United States.

Al Jazeera's Monica Villamizar has more.

Bahrain Protests: 'Ex-Shia MPs Detained' Amid Crackdown
BBC: Bahrain has arrested two former members of parliament from the main Shia opposition party, al-Wefaq, members of the group say.

The arrest of Matar Matar and Jawad Fairuz is the latest step in Bahrain's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

The Sunni rulers declared martial law in March to crush the protests led by the country's Shia majority, who are demanding greater political rights.

Since then, hundreds of people have been detained. Four have died in jail.

The unrest in Bahrain started on 14 February, when protesters - emboldened by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt - took to the streets urging democratic reform. Some have called for the overthrow of the monarchy.

About 30 people, including four policemen, were killed during weeks of unrest, until the ruling al-Khalifa family called in troops from other Sunni-ruled Gulf neighbours, including Saudi Arabia, to put down the protests. » | Tuesday, April 03, 2011

Inside Story - Al-Qaeda Decapitated?

Prinzenhochzeit: „Ich hoffe, wir haben ihren Geschmack getroffen“
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Nach der Trauung gab es bei der Königin köstliche Häppchen, aber keinen Pimm's: Hochzeitsgast Philipp Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg, der Großneffe der Queen, erzählt, was die Fernsehkameras nicht filmten.

Philipp Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg, wie begann für Sie der große Tag?

Ganz entspannt. Wir haben uns ins Taxi gesetzt und sind ganz früh in der Westminster Abbey gewesen. Die Stadt war erstaunlich leer, zumindest die Straßen, auf denen wir gefahren sind.

Dann gab es aber bestimmt strenge Sicherheitsvorkehrungen?

Es gab schon Schleusen und einen Metalldetektor. Und es war auch ein bisschen wie am Flughafen. Wir wurden kontrolliert, nachdem wir unsere Zulassungskarte vorgezeigt hatten. Die Karten hatten unterschiedliche Farben, je nachdem, wo man saß. Unsere Karte war orange. Aber weil wir so früh da waren, ging das alles ganz schnell.

Saßen Sie mit der Königsfamilie zusammen hinter der Chorschranke und damit nahe am Altar?

Ja. Wir hatten ganz wunderbare Plätze. Meine Frau und ich saßen direkt hinter der königlichen Familie - vielleicht neun Meter vom Altar entfernt. William und sein Trauzeuge Harry waren ja auch schon früh in der Kirche und sind zweimal direkt an uns vorbeigelaufen in die Sakristei. » | F.A.S. | Die Fragen stellte Peter-Philipp Schmitt | Dienstag, 03. Mai 2011

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Philipp Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg: Der Hochzeitsgast von der Jagst – Philipp Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg ist zur Prinzenhochzeit geladen - als einer von wenigen Deutschen. Der Grund: Einer seiner Vorfahren war mit einer der Schwestern von Philip Mountbatten verheiratet, dem Großvater des Bräutigams. » | Von Peter-Philipp Schmitt, Langenburg | Donnerstag, 28. April 2011

WIKI: Philipp zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg »

WIKI: Hohenlohe (Adelsgeschlecht) »

WIKI: Philipp, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg »

WIKI – Français: Philipp zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg »

WIKI: Langenburg »

WIKI: Schloss Langenburg »

L’icône de la terreur
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: PORTRAIT | Oussama ben Laden personnifiait le terrorisme islamique depuis les attentats du 11/9/2001.

Je le veux mort ou vif!» En lâchant cette phrase en septembre 2001, quelques jours après les attentats contre les tours jumelles du World Trade Center à New York et contre le Pentagone à Washington, le président des Etats-Unis George W. Bush a hissé Oussama ben Laden au rang de nouvel ennemi suprême de l’Occident.

Le «financier de l’extrémisme islamique», qui figurait déjà depuis 1998 en tête de liste des «criminels les plus recherchés» du FBI mais restait peu connu du grand public, est alors devenu l’incarnation du terrorisme dans le monde entier. Sa traque a déclenché, quelques semaines plus tard, l’invasion militaire de l’Afghanistan, alors dirigé par les talibans, alliés du chef du réseau Al-Qaida. Et l’épouvantail Ben Laden a même été agité pour préparer l’opinion publique des Etats-Unis dans le but d’attaquer l’Irak en 2003 et faire tomber un Saddam Hussein accusé par Washington d’avoir des liens – pourtant très improbables – avec le milliardaire saoudien.

La jeunesse



Né à Riyad en 1957, Oussama – prénom arabe se référant au lion – serait le 17e enfant d’une fratrie de 52 frères et sœurs. Mais les Ben Laden ne sont pas n’importe quelle famille nombreuse. Bien que né au Yémen, le père, Muhammad, a créé un véritable empire de la construction en Arabie saoudite, en devenant un proche de la famille régnante. L’entreprise familiale a notamment été mandatée pour reconstruire la mosquée al-Aqsa de Jérusalem – incendiée par un chrétien en 1969 – et pour rénover celles de La Mecque et de Médine, soit les trois plus hauts lieux saints de l’islam.

Au cours des années 70, le jeune Oussama étudie le génie civil à l’Université du roi Abdul Aziz de Jeddah. Elevé dans la tradition wahhabite – la branche la plus rigoriste de l’islam – il commence à fréquenter les courants islamistes les plus radicaux. L’année 1979 sera charnière: un accord de paix est signé sous l’égide des Etats-Unis entre l’Egypte et Israël, la révolution islamique chasse le shah d’Iran et les Soviétiques envahissent l’Afghanistan. » | Gustavo Kuhn | Mardi 03 Mai 2011

Is Gaddafi Plotting Chemical Assault Against Libyan Rebels? Troops Seen Wearing Gas Masks
MAIL ONLINE: Fears that Colonel Gaddafi is planning to use chemical weapons against rebels grew yesterday when forces loyal to the Libyan tyrant were seen wearing gas masks.

After giving rebels in the besieged city of Misrata until midnight tonight to surrender or face the ‘fires from Hell’, Gaddafi’s troops were yesterday seen wearing the masks for the first time since the uprising against his rule began seven weeks ago.

The chilling development prompted rebel fighters in Misrata, which is surrounded on three sides by Gaddafi’s forces, to radio for immediate supplies of their own protective masks to be shipped from Benghazi, their stronghold in the East.

With more than 1,000 dead in Misrata after fierce pounding by Gaddafi’s forces, the prospect of a chemical attack has sent a new wave of fear and panic through the city, with civilians also desperately trying to find gas masks.

A doctor, who asked not to be named, said sources inside Gaddafi’s regime had warned him to flee with his family by yesterday – before the dictator takes revenge against the people of Misrata when the deadline expires. » | Andrew Malone | Tuesday, May 03, 2011

The Death of Bin Laden: Robert Fisk: Was He Betrayed? Of Course. Pakistan Knew Bin Laden's Hiding Place All Along
THE INDEPENDENT: A middle-aged nonentity, a political failure outstripped by history – by the millions of Arabs demanding freedom and democracy in the Middle East – died in Pakistan yesterday. And then the world went mad.

Fresh from providing us with a copy of his birth certificate, the American President turned up in the middle of the night to provide us with a live-time death certificate for Osama bin Laden, killed in a town named after a major in the army of the old British Empire. A single shot to the head, we were told. But the body's secret flight to Afghanistan, an equally secret burial at sea? The weird and creepy disposal of the body – no shrines, please – was almost as creepy as the man and his vicious organisation.

The Americans were drunk with joy. David Cameron thought it "a massive step forward". India described it as a "victorious milestone". "A resounding triumph," Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu boasted. But after 3,000 American dead on 9/11, countless more in the Middle East, up to half a million Muslims dead in Iraq and Afghanistan and 10 years trying to find Bin Laden, pray let us have no more "resounding triumphs". Revenge attacks? Perhaps they will come, by the little groupuscules in the West, who have no direct contact with al-Qa'ida. Be sure, someone is already dreaming up a "Brigade of the Martyr Osama bin Laden". Maybe in Afghanistan, among the Taliban.

But the mass revolutions in the Arab world over the past four months mean that al-Qa'ida was already politically dead. Bin Laden told the world – indeed, he told me personally – that he wanted to destroy the pro-Western regimes in the Arab world, the dictatorships of the Mubaraks and the Ben Alis. He wanted to create a new Islamic Caliphate. But these past few months, millions of Arab Muslims rose up and were prepared for their own martyrdom – not for Islam but for freedom and liberty and democracy. Bin Laden didn't get rid of the tyrants. The people did. And they didn't want a caliph. » | Robert Fisk | Tuesday, May 03, 2011

The Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton
Complete coverage of the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton

Libya: 2,000 Gaddafi Supporters Attend Funeral of Son
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Some 2,000 of Col Muammar Gaddafi's supporters turned out for the funeral of the Libyan leader's youngest son, as the regime intensified its attack on the besieged city of Misurata.

In the capital, Tripoli, a crowd of more than 1,000 people attended the funeral of Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, the leader's second youngest son, who was killed in an allied air strike on Saturday night.

Col Gaddafi himself did not attend, but two of his other sons, Saif al-Islam, who has the highest profile and was seen as his father's intended successor, and Hannibal were both seen in the crowd.

Some mourners fired weapons into the air. Others chanted "revenge for the martyrs" and carried placards reading "We are all with Gaddafi's Libya", according to news organisations.

The body, covered in a green cloth and with a wreath was delivered to the Al-Hani Cemetery in a black ambulance.

Three of Saif al-Arab's children, identified by the authorities as being a child each of Hannibal, their oldest brother, Mohammed, and their sister Aisha, were also buried. » | Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Monday, May 02, 2011

Related »

Front Pages Report the Death of Osama bin Laden
DAILY TELEGRAPH PICTURE GALLERIES: US front pages » | Front pages from around the world »

Fr Lombardi's Response to Killing of Bin Laden
VATICAN RADIO: Vatican Press Office Director Fr Federico Lombardi’s response to journalists’ questions on the killing of Osama bin Laden:

Osama bin Laden - as we all know – was gravely responsible for promoting division and hatred between peoples, causing the death of countless innocent lives, and of exploiting religions to this end.

Faced with the death of a man, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibility of each and every one of us before God and before man, and hopes and commits himself so that no event be an opportunity for further growth of hatred, but for peace. [Source: Vatican Radio] | Monday, May 02, 2011

Robert Fisk on Bin Laden Death
Robert Fisk, British author and journalist for the Independent, speaks on al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's death during a US raid on his mansion in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Fisk has interviewed Bin Laden three times in person

Al Jazeera Live

Carrie Lemack Speaks to Al Jazeera
Carrie Lemack, the co-founder of the Global Survivors Network, lost her mother in the September 11, 2001, attacks, and speaks to Al Jazeera here about how the killing of Osama Bin Laden is not a cause for celebration for her

Bahraini Opposition Figure Speaks to Al Jazeera
Mattar Ibrahim Mattar is one of two members of Bahrain's opposition Al Wefaq party who have been arrested by authorities in the Gulf country.

Mattar is considered a moderate critic of the Sunni-led Bahraini government, and has worked closely with human rights organisations and journalists to uncover violations committed by the government since it launched a crackdown on anti-government protests.

Al Jazeera's correspondent in Manama, who cannot be named for security reasons, spoke to him.

EXCLUSIVE: Video Inside Bin Laden's Lair
ABC News obtains exclusive footage inside Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad compound

Osama Bin Laden: What Happened to His Body?
BBC: US officials say Osama Bin Laden's body was treated with respect and buried at sea, but some Muslims argue there was no good reason for not burying it on land.

Islamic tradition requires the dead to be buried as soon as possible, unless an autopsy is required.

The US military took this requirement very seriously, burying the body within hours.

"Traditional procedures for Islamic burial were followed," an official said.

Religious rites were carried out on the deck of a US aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson. The body, shrouded in a white sheet and placed in a weighted bag, was then placed on a flat board, tipped up, and eased into the Arabian Sea.

This occurred at 0600GMT, approximately 12 hours after the firefight during which Osama Bin Laden was shot in the head.

After this first shot, reports ABC News['] The Blotter, he was shot again, to make sure that he was dead.

‬The body was then flown to Afghanistan and Bin Laden's identity was confirmed. Officials say a DNA sample was taken that matched that of several other family members. Some sources say facial recognition technology was also used.

From Afghanistan, the body was, it appears, flown to the USS Carl Vinson.

"A military officer read prepared religious remarks, which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker," a US defence official said. » | Monday, May 02, 2011

Libya Crisis: Muammar Gaddafi's Son Buried in Tripoli
BBC: The funeral of the youngest son of Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has taken place in the capital, Tripoli.

Libya says Saif al-Arab, 29, and three of Col Gaddafi's grandchildren died on Saturday when Nato missiles hit his villa in the leader's compound.

His funeral was attended by several thousand people as Nato planes circled in the skies above.

Mourners chanted calls for revenge as the coffin, wrapped in a green Libyan flag, was lowered into the ground. Visible emotion » | Monday, May 02, 2011

Pakistan Defends Bin Laden Role
BBC: Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari has denied that the killing of Osama Bin Laden in his country is a sign of its failure to tackle terrorism.

In a forthright editorial in the Washington Post, Mr Zardari said his country was "perhaps the world's greatest victim of terrorism".

Bin Laden was shot dead by US forces in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad - Pakistan was not involved in the raid.

US officials have suggested Pakistan must have known he was there.

Bin Laden was the founder and leader of al-Qaeda. He is believed to have ordered the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001, as well as a number of other deadly bombings.

He was America's most wanted man but had eluded them for decades.

But US officials say they are "99.9%" sure that the man they shot and killed in a raid on a secure compound in the small city of Abbottabad and then buried at sea was Bin Laden.

The compound in Abbottabad is just a few hundred metres from the Pakistan Military Academy - the country's equivalent of West Point or Sandhurst[.]

US officials have said it is "inconceivable" that Bin Laden did not have a support system in Pakistan. (+ video) » | Tuesday, May 03, 2011

World 'Safer' Without Bin Laden, Says Obama
BBC: US President Barack Obama has hailed the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden as a "good day for America," saying the world is now a safer and a better place.

Bin Laden was killed in a raid by US special forces on a compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad.

He is believed to have ordered the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001, as well as a number of other deadly bombings.

He topped the US "most wanted" list.

But his details on the list have now been updated with a simple banner indicating his current status: "Deceased".

DNA tests carried out after the operation indicated with "99.9%" certainty that the man shot dead was Osama Bin Laden, US officials said.

He was buried at sea after a Muslim funeral on board an aircraft carrier in the north Arabian Sea, Pentagon officials said.

The US has put its embassies around the world on alert, warning Americans of the possibility of al-Qaeda reprisal attacks for Bin Laden's killing.

CIA director Leon Panetta said al-Qaeda would "almost certainly" try to avenge the death of Bin Laden.

The US president's chief counter-terrorism advisor, John Brennan said that al-Qaeda, though weakened, remained a danger.

"It may be a mortally wounded tiger but it still has some life in it," he said. (+ video) » | Monday, May 02, 2011

Osama bin Laden Dead: Hamas Condemns Killing of bin Laden
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Hamas, the militant group which has just signed a deal to join the Palestinian government, on Monday condemned the killing of Osama bin Laden.

While many Middle East leaders welcomed America’s military action, the mixed reaction across the region cast a shadow over both the “Arab Spring” and the future of talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Many Arab leaders facing popular uprisings, including Col Gaddafi of Libya, have claimed the protests are backed by al-Qaeda. Those claims have largely been rejected by protest groups but many in the West are concerned at the possibility that greater freedom of expression will allow more room for Islamic militants to operate.

The Hamas prime minister of the Gaza strip, Ismail Haniya, said: “We condemn the assassination of a Muslim and Arab warrior and we pray to God that his soul rests in peace.

“We regard this as the continuation of the American oppression and shedding of blood of Muslims and Arabs.”

The Hamas reaction put it immediately at odds with Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, with which it is due to sign a unity deal today to join the Palestinian government.

The intransigent tone will confirm Israeli and American fears that the reconciliation between the two feuding Palestinian factions will make a peace deal impossible. » | Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Monday, May 02, 2011

Al-Qaida-Führer getötet: Bin Ladins Tod im pakistanischen Domizil
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Am Ende verbarg sich der meistgesuchte Mann der Welt nicht in den zerklüfteten Bergen Afghanistans, sondern in Abbottabad, einer beschaulichen Stadt nördlich Islamabads, die wegen ihres angenehmen Klimas pensionierte Offiziere anzieht. Bin Ladins Anwesen war von meterdicken Mauern umgeben.

Auffallend vage äußerte sich die pakistanische Regierung zu den Vorkommnissen in ihrem Land. „Die Operation“, hieß es am Montag in einer Mitteilung des Außenministeriums, „wurde von den amerikanischen Streitkräften ausgeführt im Einklang mit der erklärten Politik, nach der Osama Bin Ladin in einer direkten Aktion von amerikanischen Streitkräften eliminiert wird, wo immer er gefunden wird.“ Auch weiterführende Äußerungen aus Regierungskreisen ließen im Dunkeln, ob und wenn in welchem Maße pakistanische Sicherheitskräfte an der Operation gegen die Ikone Al Qaidas beteiligt gewesen sind. » | Von Jochen Buchsteiner | Montag, 02. Mai 2011

L'immersion du corps de Ben Laden provoque la controverse
LE POINT: Les autorités américaines assurent qu'elles ont respecté les rites islamiques. Des responsables musulmans s'indignent.

La dépouille d'Oussama Ben Laden, le chef d'al-Qaida tué dimanche lors d'une opération commando américaine, a été immergée pour éviter, notamment, de creuser une tombe qui serait devenue un lieu de pèlerinage, a-t-on appris, lundi, auprès de responsables américains. "L'immersion a déjà eu lieu", a déclaré un responsable américain sous le couvert de l'anonymat, confirmant une information de plusieurs médias américains. "Oui, je peux le confirmer", a dit un autre responsable gouvernemental interrogé lundi matin. Le lieu et les circonstances de cette "immersion" n'ont pas été précisés.

Selon deux autres responsables américains, le choix de l'immersion du corps avait été en partie arrêté pour éviter de laisser une tombe qui se serait transformée en lieu de pèlerinage pour les djihadistes. Un des responsables qui a voulu garder l'anonymat a dit qu'un tel endroit aurait pu devenir un haut lieu de recrutement. "Nous nous assurons que son corps est traité en accord avec la pratique et la tradition musulmanes. C'est quelque chose que nous prenons très au sérieux", avait auparavant affirmé un haut responsable américain lors d'une conférence téléphonique. "Contraire aux règles de l'islam" (Mosquée de Paris) » | Le Point.fr | Lundi 02 Mai 2011

World Leaders React to Osama's Death
May 2 - World leaders from England to Afghanistan react to news that Osama bin Laden is dead. Julie Noce reports

Mideast Reaction to Bin Laden Death
May 2 - Reaction in the Middle East is mixed after news spreads of Osama bin Laden's death.Jessica Gray reports

Bin Laden Death News Spreads
May 2 - Joy and anger as Mideast reacts to death of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.Jessica Gray reports

Relatives Fearful Over Bahrian Trials
In Bahrain, human-rights workers say at least 50 medical staff are still missing after a crackdown on hospital care for injured anti-government demonstrators.

There are fears that some of the detained staff could face stiff sentences for treating protesters. Among them is Dr al-Dallal, a prominent physician arrested on March 17 during a military raid at Salmaniyah Hospital in Manama.

His wife, Fareeda al-Dallal, was also arrested and beaten under custody last Tuesday. Al Jazeera spoke to her about her arrest and the fears she has about the safety of her husband.

Welcome to Eurabia
YNET NEWS: Op-ed: As Muslim population mushrooms, we may be seeing last days of Europe as we know it

We are living through the self-extinction of the European civilization that shaped the age we live in. In his new bestselling book “Civilization,” renowned Harvard historian Niall Ferguson writes: “If the Muslim population of the UK were to continue growing at an annual rate of 6.7% (as it did between 2004 and 2008,) its share of the total UK population would rise from just under 4% in 2008 to 8% in 2020, to 15% in 2030 and to 28% in 2040, finally passing 50%in 2050.”

Ferguson is not alone in using the term “Eurabia” to describe an Islamicized, senescent European continent. Historian Bat Ye'or spent her career studying the phenomenon and Professor Bernard Lewis told German daily Die Welt that “Europe will have Muslim majorities at the latest by the end of the 21st Century.”

The global number of Muslims is expected to jump by 35% in the next 20 years, growing twice as fast as the non-Muslim population, according not to these “Eurabia mongers,” but to the famous US Pew Forum, which published projections Muslim population growth between 2010 and 2030.

The most frightening figures are in Europe. Some of the biggest increases in Europe’s Muslim population in absolute numbers over the next 20 years are expected to occur in the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany. The Muslim populations in Italy and Sweden are projected to “more than double in size.” Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, warned about Italy’s “slow demographic suicide” and Italian Father Piero Gheddo, a doyen of Vatican’s missionaries, warned that "Europe will be dominated by Islam in the space of a few generations."

A low European fertility rate, massive immigration from Muslim countries and a confident Islamist minority are turning the cradle of Western civilization into its grave. As historian Walter Laqueur has warned, these are “the last days of Europe.” Losing precious gifts » | Giulio Meotti* | Monday, May 02, 2011

*Giulio Meotti, a journalist with Il Foglio, is the author of the book A New Shoah: The Untold Story of Israel's Victims of Terrorism

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