Police Probe 'Fatwa' by Muslim Extremists Against Home Secretary Theresa May
LONDON EVENING STANDARD: Police have launched an investigation after Muslim extremists issued a "fatwa" against Home Secretary Theresa May.

The Met acted after wanted-style posters were put up in Tooting.

The posters said the fatwa - sometimes taken to mean an Islamic death sentence - was "for the abduction, kidnapping and false imprisonment" of various Muslim clerics. An accompanying website has been set up as part of a campaign to highlight what organisers claim is unfair treatment of the Muslim community.

It says they have been left with "no alternative" because their concerns are being ignored. >>> Craig Woodhouse | Friday, January 28, 2011

Turkey's Alcohol Restrictions Against European Practice, Euro MP Says
HÜRRIYET DAILY NEWS: The new restrictions introduced by the AKP government regarding alcohol laws are inconsistent with Europe's free market principles, according to a EU MP. 'If they change, then it would be a clear step away from European values, says,' EU Labor party member Richard Howitt

New restrictions on Turkey’s alcohol laws strongly backed by the government drew adverse criticism from a member of the European Parliament who said they were inconsistent with Europe’s free market principles.

The new regulations introduced by the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, government, would prohibit alcohol from appearing in commercials and advertisements and bring strict new restrictions on alcohol licenses.

“It is a legal drug across the European Union, freely sold and consumed in European markets and therefore if restrictions are brought in Turkey they are inconsistent with our freedom in the EU,” Richard Howitt, Labor member of the European Parliament, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in an interview.

“The objective fact is a restriction on the market for alcohol is inconsistent with Europe’s free market principles and if it changes then it would be a clear step away from European values,” he said. >>> Fulya Özerkan, Ankara, Hürriyet Daily News | Friday, January 28, 2011

THE TIMES: Drink tax is a sobering affair for Turkey >>> Alexander Christie-Miller | Saturday, January 29, 2011 [£]

Egyptians React to Mubarak Speech
Times reporter Stephen Farrell describes the scene on the streets of Cairo as President Hosni Mubarak addresses the nation after days of protests and demonstrations.

Die Gewalt in Ägypten nimmt zu
ZEIT ONLINE: Die Parteizentrale brennt, Demonstranten wollten das Außenamt stürmen, Gewehrfeuer in Kairo: In Ägypten eskaliert die Gewalt. Staatschef Mubarak schickt mehr Militär.

Den vierten Tag in Folge haben sich Demonstranten und Sicherheitskräfte in Ägypten heftige Auseinandersetzungen geliefert. Zehntausende Menschen gingen nach dem Freitagsgebet in Kairo und in anderen Städten auf die Straße und verlangten den Rücktritt von Präsident Hosni Mubarak. Die Proteste der Opposition waren so massiv, dass die Regierung eine Ausgangssperre über die Hauptstadt Kairo, Suez und Alexandria verhängte. Sie gelte von 18.00 Uhr bis 07.00 Uhr, berichtete das Staatsfernsehen.

Doch viele Demonstranten hielten sich nicht an das Verbot. Im Gegenteil: Der Unmut der Regierungsfeinde nahm zu. Die Zentrale der Regierungspartei stand am Abend in Flammen. In den Straßen Kairos war Gewehrfeuer zu hören. Mubarak entsandte mehr Soldaten in die Stadtzentren. Die Armee wies er an, die Polizei zu unterstützen. Im Lauf des Abends dehnte er die Ausgangssperre auf ganz Ägypten aus. Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> ZEIT ONLINE, dpa, Reuters, AFP | Freitag, 28. Januar 2011

Video: Die ägyptische Regierung stemmt sich mit aller Macht gegen die zunehmenden Massenproteste in ihrem Land. >>>
ZEIT ONLINE: Hohngelächter für das Regime: Das Volk versucht den Umbruch – das Regime hält gegen. Die Wut der Menge entlädt sich im Brandschatzen und Plündern. >>> Von Martin Gehlen | Freitag, 28. Januar 2011

WELT ONLINE: Ägypter haben ihre Angst vor dem Regime verloren >>> Autor: Daniel-Dylan Böhmer | Freitag, 28. Januar 2011

En Égypte, l'insurrection 
atteint un nouveau stade
La journée de vendredi a été le théâtre d'affrontements sanglants dans les principales villes égyptiennes. Partout, les milliers de manifestants supplient le président Moubarak de quitter le pouvoir.

”Israël craint d’être encore plus isolé”
L’Etat hébreu, don’t l’Egypte est le principal interlocuteur arabe, refoute les conséquences des émeutes pour la paix de la région, explique Georges Malbrunot

Protesters Demonstrate at Egyptian Embassy in Dublin
Reaction to unrest in Egypt has spread internationally, including the United States and Europe. In this amateur video, Egyptians demonstrate in front of their country's embassy in Dublin.

Egypt Protests: President Mubarak Sacks Cabinet But Refuses to Step Down
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt sent the army in to contain rampaging mobs across Egypt’s cities on Friday as he defiantly refused to stand down and emerge triumphant from the battle that raged on the Nile.

Mr Mubarak defended the use of security forces to control protesters in a televised address to the nation last night. He said he had ordered his government to resign and that a new cabinet would be announced today.

Refusing to concede to the demands of the protesters all day that he should leave, Mr Mubarak vowed to bring in democratic reform but stressed the need for stability, stating that while he was “on the side of freedom,” his job was to protect the nation from chaos.

“We will not backtrack on reforms. We will continue with new steps which will ensure the independence of the judiciary and its rulings, and more freedom for citizens,” he said.

Thousands of Egyptians gathered after Friday prayers and fought battles with lines of riot police at all the major junctions of the capital.

Riot squads gave way to armoured personnel carriers as the crowds ignored a curfew imposed at dusk.

On Friday night police and protesters, defying a nationwide curfew, battled for control of the central Tahrir square. The army eventually brought in tanks to secure the square and prevent protesters from advancing towards parliament nearby.

The headquarters in central Cairo of the governing party was set on fire and a crowd surrounded the central radio and television building. 870 were injured, several with bullet wounds. Read on and comment >>> Richard Spencer, Cairo | Friday, January 28, 2011

Dissolution du gouvernement égyptien
LE FIGARO: AFP – Le président égyptien Hosni Moubarak a annoncé la démission de son gouvernement, la formation dès samedi d'un nouveau cabinet et des réformes démocratiques dans une allocution télévisée au cours de la nuit de vendredi à samedi.



«J'ai demandé au gouvernement de démissionner et demain il y aura un nouveau gouvernement», a déclaré le président égyptien dans une allocution de onze minutes à la télévision nationale.



Le président égyptien, âgé de 82 ans, a aussi plaidé en faveur d'une série de réformes démocratiques. «Il y aura de nouvelles mesures pour une justice indépendante, la démocratie, pour accorder davantage de liberté aux citoyens, pour combattre le chômage, améliorer le niveau de vie, développer les services et soutenir les pauvres», a ajouté M. Moubarak. [Source: Le Figaro] AFP | Vendredi 28 Janvier 2011

Egypt Protests: America's Secret Backing for Rebel Leaders Behind Uprising
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The American government secretly backed leading figures behind the Egyptian uprising who have been planning “regime change” for the past three years, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

The American Embassy in Cairo helped a young dissident attend a US-sponsored summit for activists in New York, while working to keep his identity secret from Egyptian state police.

On his return to Cairo in December 2008, the activist told US diplomats that an alliance of opposition groups had drawn up a plan to overthrow President Hosni Mubarak and install a democratic government in 2011.

The secret document in full

He has already been arrested by Egyptian security in connection with the demonstrations and his identity is being protected by The Daily Telegraph. >>> Tim Ross, Matthew Moore and Steven Swinford | Friday, January 28, 2011

Watch Telegraph video: Hillary Clinton: violence will not make protests go away: Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, has urged the Egyptian government to respect the rights of their citizens amid a crackdown on swelling anti-government protests, and urged them to heed demands for political and economic reform. >>> | Friday, January 28, 2011

Stakelback’s Analysis of the Egyptian Protests

Three Men in Court Charged with Stirring Up Hatred of Homosexuals
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Three men have appeared in court accused of stirring up hatred of homosexuals in the first case of its kind in Britain.

hjaz Ali, 41, Umar Javed, 37, and Mehboob Hussain, 44, are accused of distributing threatening written material intending to stir up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation after they were said to have handed out leaflets calling for the death penalty for homosexuals.

Two of their alleged accomplices, Razwan Javed, 30, and Kabir Ahmed, 27, were charged with the same offence on Thursday. All five will appear in court next month for a committal hearing after a district judge ruled the case would have to be heard by the Crown Court. >>> Nick Britten | Friday, January 28, 2011

Davos 2011 - David Cameron

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Davos WEF 2011: Osborne calls time on banker bashing – George Osborne has given a clear signal the Government wants to halt the long period of “banker bashing” by admitting “we need to move on”. >>> Kamal Ahmed, in Davos | Friday, January 28, 2011

What the hell is this chancellor is talking about? Who the hell is he to tell us what we are supposed to think? If this chancellor wants people to stop banker-bashing, then he needs to take action to halt the despicable bonuses which these people are stealing from the system. This is the disgusting face of ‘unbridled’ capitalism. – © Mark

Dmitry Medvedev Spends £26m on Luxury Yacht
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, has spent £26m on a super-yacht with whirlpool baths, an artificial waterfall and a cinema.

The 177 foot-long Sirius has quarters for 12 crew and a range of 5,000 miles. >>> | Friday, January 28, 2011

It’s a crying shame that Britain isn’t an ex-communist state. Perhaps were Britain to be, we’d all have a chance to be get-rich-quick billionaires today! Nothing like being an ex-communist to catapult one into the stratosphere! Money seems to flow to the ex-communists of this world like rivers flow to the sea! Are you listening, Castro? – © Mark

Abu Adam - Dunya (دُنْيا) [Earthly Concerns and Possessions] oder Akhira (الآخرة) [Referring to the After-life]

EZP MuslimTube

Israel Fears Regime Change in Egypt
Riot police in Cairo (Jan. 26 photo): Israel is afraid of regime change in Egypt. Photograph: Spiegel Online International
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Israel is watching developments in Egypt with concern. The government is standing by autocratic Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, out of fear that the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood could take power and start supplying arms to Hamas.

Israel is usually a country where politicians have an opinion on any topic, and vociferously so. But in recent days, Israel's leadership has been unusually silent on a certain question. No one, it seems, is willing to make an official comment on the ongoing unrest in Egypt, where protesters have been holding anti-government rallies. It's not because Israel does not care about the riots ravaging its southern neighbor -- on the contrary, Israeli news channels, normally prone to parochialism, have been closely following recent events in the Arab world, from Tunisia to Lebanon.

Radio, television and newspapers constantly report the courage of the demonstrators in the streets of Cairo, not only relishing the historic spectacle, but openly expressing sympathy with Egypt's struggle for democracy.

But the Israeli government is keeping quiet. "We are closely monitoring the events, but we do not interfere in the internal affairs of a neighboring state," was the curt answer from the Israeli Foreign Ministry to requests for comments. >>> Gil Yaron in Jerusalem | Friday, January 28, 2011

Analysis: Why Egypt Matters
There have been demonstrations in Cairo and several other cities. Photograph: BBC
BBC: If Egyptian unrest turns into an Egyptian revolution, the implications for the Arab world - and for Western policy in the Middle East - will be immense.

Egypt matters, in a way that tiny Tunisia - key catalyst that it has been in the current wave of protest - does not.

It matters because its destiny affects, in a range of ways, not only Arab interests but Israeli, Iranian and Western interests, too.

Egypt, the most populous Arab state, can help determine the thrust of Arab policies - whether towards Israel or Iran or in the perennial quest for Arab consensus on issues that matter.

Above all, the Egyptian state has traditionally had a strength and solidity that made its collapse seem unthinkable.

Even now, with so much that is uncertain, that state and its basic structures may survive - with or without Hosni Mubarak, the country's president for the last three decades.

Islamist wild card

If there is a power vacuum, who is likely to fill it?

Will the powerful military intervene to restore stability?

If they did, would the protesters accept such a scenario - or would they, like their Tunisian counterparts, keep up the pressure for radical change?

And - the wild card that troubles Western policy-makers most - could the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's Islamist opposition movement, somehow exploit the protests to come to power?

Right now, that scenario seems far-fetched. The Brotherhood is trying to jump on the bandwagon of a youthful and largely leaderless protest movement.

They are not in front. They are trying to catch up.

But the situation is volatile. New leaders - nationalist or Islamist, civilian or military - could emerge if the country is engulfed in chaos. Regional consequences >>> Roger Hardy, Middle East analyst, Woodrow Wilson Center | Friday, January 28, 2011

Fresh Protests Erupt in Egypt
Protests have erupted in cities across Egypt following Friday midday prayers, with angry demonstrators demanding an end to Hosni Mubarak's 30-year presidency. Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets across the country. Al Jazeera continues its coverage of what many say are unprecendented protests.

Map: Cairo's 'Day of Wrath'
Violent protests have spread across the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and other Egyptian cities as tens of thousands of demonstrators intensified their campaign to oust President Hosni Mubarak. Protesters have been pouring out from mosques after noon prayers on Friday and clashing with police who fired tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons to disperse the crowds. This video explains the geographic spread of Cairo protests.

Newly-formed Thai Airline Recruits 'Ladyboys' as Air Hostesses
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A newly-formed Thai airline has recruited transsexuals as air hostesses, in a pioneering move it believes will be copied by other carriers.

Thailand has the largest number of 'katoeys' – as they are called in Thai – in the world. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
[There is] sky-high demand from men wishing to become women [in Thailand]. – [Source: The Daily Telegraph]
PC Air, which has yet to take to the skies, selected three "Ladyboys" in its first round of hiring this week to promote equal opportunities for what is dubbed the "third sex" in Thailand.

Peter Chan, the new airline's boss, is enthusiastic about his groundbreaking move because of the opportunities it would afford transsexuals.

"I think these people can have many careers – not just in the entertainment business – and many of them have a dream to be an air hostess," he said. "I just made their dream come true. Our society has changed. It's evolution. I'm a pioneer and I'm sure there will be other organisations following my idea." >>> Ian MacKinnon, Bangkok | Friday, January 28, 2011

Ottawa Faces Uphill Battle to Expel Tunisian Billionaire in Montreal
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: The federal government is seeking the expulsion from Canada of the billionaire brother-in-law of ousted Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. But it could be years before Belhassen Trabelsi is forced to leave the country, if he can be made to leave at all.

Sources report that the Canadian government revoked Mr. Trabelsi’s status as a permanent resident, granted to legal immigrants after they arrive in Canada. Officials had been investigating whether he had forfeited that status by not living in Canada for at least two of the past five years.

Mr. Trabelsi returned to Canada after Mr. Ben Ali and his family fled Tunisia in the wake of mass demonstrations that toppled the former dictator’s regime. Mr. Trabelsi is believed to be staying in a Montreal-area hotel. Mr. Ben Ali is thought to be in Saudi Arabia.

It is no easy thing to revoke residency status once it has been obtained. “If he has the resources and the determination, he can easily stay here for ten years, maybe more,” said Leo Adler, a law professor at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School. He noted that some individuals have successfully fought deportation for more than 20 years. >>> John Ibbitson and Campbell Clark | Publish: Thursday, January 27, 2011; Updated: Friday, January 28, 2011

Watch Canadian Press video: Deposed Tunisian president not welcome, Harper warns: Prime Minister Harper has wrapped up his visit to Morocco, Canadian Press reporter Bruce Cheadle says Harper answered carefully when asked about uprisings in several North African countries. >>> | Published: Thursday, January 27, 2011; Updated: Friday, January 28, 2011