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Sunday, June 17, 2012

Saudi Arabia: Crown Prince dies in Switzerland


The Saudi Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz al-Saud Minister of Interior and considered a conservative steel, has died at the age of 78 years in Switzerland, canton of Geneva, just eight months after being named heir to the throne after the death of his brother, Prince Sultan. The news, which immediately made the rounds in the Arab media, was given by the state television Ekhbaria who quoted a statement from the palace. A note with a few lines and where it is said that Nayef "and died out of the realm" and that will be buried tomorrow after prayers in Mecca. Prince Nayef has died at the residence of the deceased brother Sultan in Cologny, near Geneva, on the southern shore of Lake Geneva, AFP news agency said a medical source. He was in Switzerland in May for medical reasons. The President of the Confederation Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, "on behalf of the Swiss Federal Council", has presented his condolences to the Saudi authorities, expressing "great sadness". "The authorities of both countries are in close contact on the steps for return of the body of the deceased in his country," indicates a note from the Federal Department of Finance headed by Widmer-Schlumpf. Again the royal family was able to maintain the confidentiality of the health of his heir, unofficial voices argue, was ill with cancer. The suspects were born long ago and were strengthened after Nayef went abroad for the second time to heal. The Wahhabi kingdom, a regional power and oil, has declared three days of mourning after which it will be the announcement of his successor. But, unlike other monarchies, Saudi Arabia, the death of the designated crown prince will not take any power struggle. The line of succession in the kingdom does not move on from father to son, but is handed down from the 40 sons of Abdulaziz ibn Saud, who founded the kingdom in 1935. The choice of King Abdullah and the 'Board of Loyalty "most likely will fall on Prince Salman, Minister of Defense of 76. So far, five brothers became kings and about 20 are still alive. But only a few of these candidates are considered the real to lead the country: some, indeed, have already been excluded and others have given up on governing. In particular, the seven sons of Ibn Saud's favorite wife, Hassa bint Ahmed al-Sudairi, to form the most influential power group, the so-called 'seven Sudairi, among which there are King Fahd and Prince Sultan, both dead, Prince Ahmed, deputy interior minister, Prince Salman and precisely. According to many analysts, the key question will see what will happen when the choice on the next generation, namely that of the grandsons of Ibn Saud. Born in Taef in 1933, was appointed Minister of Interior Nayef in 1970 and again in 1975. The Crown Prince had a reputation as a conservative steel that opposed the reforms of King Abdullah, however, developing a formidable security structure that has crushed al-Qaida, but it has also blocked political activists. Nayef has done, according to many diplomats, a role in the decision of the kingdom to receive the deposed Tunisian President Ben Ali Abdel Aziz and to send troops in Bahrain to help in the suppression of protests led by Shiites. If the choice falls on Prince Salman, the analysts believe that the cautious reforms of King Abdullah will continue. Salman was appointed defense minister in November last year and has served as governor of Riyadh for 50 years. The Prince also maintains strong relationships both with the religious conservatives with pro-Western entrepreneurs.

20 years after award: Suu Kyi holds Nobel Prize speech

In 1991 opposition leader Suu Kyi to take the award is not personally opposed. She was under house arrest. More than 20 years after it was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize, the Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi held her acceptance speech in Oslo. In 1991, she could not personally accept the award because the military junta placed her under house arrest. The speech on Saturday was the culmination of the first trip to Europe for almost 25 years, Suu Kyi after she had spent 1989-2010 a total of 15 years under house arrest. "Absolute peace in our world is an unattainable goal," said the 66-year-old. Even in Burma there are still hostile confrontations. By the Government initiated, careful transition to democracy is to be treated with caution. Still political prisoners are sitting in prisons. "As the most famous inmates were released, it is feared that the remnant, the unknowns are forgotten." Suu Kyi noted that it was only a few days to "arson and murder" came into Burma. She called the incident but not specifically by name. In the north-west of the country escalated a decades-old conflict between Buddhists and Muslim minority. 30,000 people fleeing the violence, officially killed 50th However, it is feared that the death toll is much higher in reality. Suu Kyi said she hoped that truce agreement would lead to political solutions. Suu Kyi had managed to get in early at a historic election to the Parliament a mandate. The country has for half a century of military rule become a civilian president, but also comes from the military. Among his first reforms were initiated.

Pakistan: bomb in Khyber market, at least 26 dead


At least 26 confirmed dead and 65 wounded according to hospital officials and Pakistani police, the budget is not yet final nth bomb attack in Khyber, one of the remote semi-autonomous tribal areas that extend into the north-west Pakistan , near the border with Afghanistan, where a bomb 'exploded in a busy market town of Landi Kotal, near a bus stop. Besides those killed, are being hurt more 'than twenty people, some of whom are in serious condition. No claim, but investigators believe they were the target of the members and especially the chief of the tribe 'of pro-government Zakha Khel, long opposed to a 'warlord' room in a bloody feud. According to eyewitnesses, the blast wave and 'was so' powerful enough to cause serious damage to several adjacent buildings, many banks set on fire. Over the past five years, and the region 'was the scene of an endless series of attacks attributed to Islamist militants, who have caused the whole the deaths of over five thousand people.

Israel-Palestine: the game of life


The footballer Mahmoud Sarsak detained without trial in Israel since 2009, would be in critical condition after a hunger strike. While the Euro 2012 in full swing, another match, much more important, is played in Israel . Hope of an entire nation, footballer Mahmoud Sarsak would now between life and death, locked in an Israeli prison, the small Mahmoud has always dreamed of becoming a professional footballer. As a teenager he already plays for the national Gazan. Very soon he caught the eye of recruiters from Batala, a refugee camp whose team is one of the most brilliant of the Palestinian territories. Problem, it is almost impossible for Gazans to leave the enclave, blockaded by Israel since the capture of Gilad Shalit in June 2006, reinforced a year later after the takeover of the territory by Hamas .But, conscious of their future hold nugget, Batala leaders will make every effort to allow the player to cross the Israeli border, and so to win the West Bank. But the dream will come up against a wall. On July 22, 2009, transfer, yet materialized, stops dead at the Erez terminal. Considering it as an "enemy combatant", Israeli forces arrested him on the spot, before placing in administrative detention.This specific provision, inherited from the British Mandate ofPalestine , enabling the Jewish state to imprison without charge or trial a suspect for a period of six months, renewable indefinitely. "Nobody knows what crime was committed Mahmoud Sarsak, given that no charge has been filed, neither him nor his lawyer," said the Point.fr Deborah Hyman, a researcher for Amnesty International in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Furthermore Mahmoud Sarsak, two other Palestinian players, the goalkeeper Omar Abu Olympic Kings, 23, and Mohammad Nimr, 22, who plays for the refugee camp of Al-Amari in Ramallah, both arrested in February by the Israeli army. Since they are "detained without charge or trial."

"No evidence" (Human Rights Watch)

"The level of proof needed for administrative detention is even lower than for criminal cases," said Bill Van Esveld to Point.fr, rapporteur in Jerusalem by Human Rights Watch. "Belonging to an organization defined as terrorist by Israel in many cases sufficient to justify an arrest without proof that the law has been broken," recalls, in turn, Ran Cohen, a member of the organization Physicians for Human Rights-Israel. Witness, for example, the arrest Thursday morning a Palestinian 95 years in the southern West Bank. "Israel had granted Mahmoud Sarsak a right of way from Gaza to the West Bank," complained to the AFP Dhouqan Muzaffar, a club official Balata, ensuring you follow "all the procedures required" by the Israeli military administration. Since it is the nothingness ... until March 19. Fearful of falling into the dustbin of history, the player uses the latest weapon of Palestinian prisoners: the hunger strike. Sarsak Mahmoud joins some 1,600 Palestinian prisoners calling for the abolition of administrative detention and the solitary confinement, two practices considered illegal under international law.

Broken agreement (Amnesty)

Collective action caused a stir. After mediation by Egypt, Israel finally won the claims of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for a signed commitment to "refrain from any act of terrorism" and any new hunger strike. But in fact, the agreement would be far from being respected. Amnesty International says have increased since the agreement more than 30 cases where administrative detention orders were renewed. According to the organization, three new cases have even been recorded. Having received no written undertaking by the end of his administrative detention, Mahmoud Sarsak again stopped eating, limiting the absorption of glucose and vitamins. According to Amnesty International, he might die soon. For the first time since the beginning of his hunger strike, an independent physician (the Israeli NGO Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, Ed) has been allowed to visit him on June 6. The health professional has found that the prisoner had lost a third of his weight and he fainted frequently.

Calling Cantona

Asked by The Point.fr, the spokesman for the Israeli prison administration confirms that Mahmoud Sarsak is still under administrative detention. Sivan Weizman argues, however, that the prisoner was taken Sunday in a hospital outside the prison in Ramle and he resumed eating back to prison medical center, denies version Deborah Hyman AI. The footballer's lawyer has told AFP that the Israeli security service would consider Thursday the secret file of his client, pursuant to a decision of the Supreme Court. "If there is no further evidence that Mahmoud Sarsak is a danger to Israel, he should be released," said Mohammad Jabbarine AFP. "We do not know why he is detained. It has nothing to do with politics", has protested his brother, Imad, during a demonstration outside the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza. "We call on Arab and European clubs to save the life of a footballer," he added. The call appears to have been heard. Tuesday, Mahmoud Sarsak has received support weight in the person of Eric Cantona. "It is time to end Israel's impunity and to insist on the same basis of equality, justice and respect for international law that we demand of other states," said the letter, addressed to the Minister UK Sport and the UEFA president, Michel Platini , and also signed by the American intellectual Noam Chomsky and the British film director Ken Loach . The message has not remained a dead letter. The same day, the FIFA president, Joseph Blatter , who is not yet known for his courage, urged the Israeli Federation (IFA) to intervene on behalf of Palestinian players "Prisoners of allegedly illegal manner," referring to the fate Mahmoud Sarsak. Thursday is the president of the Palestinian Federation of Football Association (PFA), Jibril Rajoub, who has asked UEFA to punish Israel by removing the organization of the Euro Under-21 years in 2013. And of footballer Palestinian family to hope that the Jewish state will not play extra time.