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Vol. XLVI No. 49, 2009-03-29

ACCOUNTABILITY FOR WAR VIOLATIONS

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has demanded that the European Union should press for a comprehensive and impartial international inquiry into allegations of serious violations of international law committed by Israeli and Palestinian forces in Gaza and southern Israel. In a letter sent to EU foreign ministers attending the General Affairs and External Relations Council meeting in Brussels, Human Rights Watch said that “failure to push for accountability in Gaza would undermine the credibili...

PLAN TO MOVE BRITAIN'S EMBASSY IN TEL AVIV DROPPED

The British government has announced cancellation of the controversial plan to move its embassy in Tel Aviv to a property owned by a company linked with building illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. The controversial plan provoked protests from Palestinian human rights groups last year that the UK was contravening its declared policy of opposing illegal Israel settlements by leasing offices in Hakirya Tower. At least eight advocacy groups and prominent opponents of Israel&...

VETO RIGHT FOR WOMEN SOUGHT

An Iranian delegation attending the meeting of Women Status Commission in the United Nations called for presence of women representatives in the Security Council with veto right. Director of International Affairs of Centre for Women and Family Affairs in the Presidential Office and a member of Iranian delegation to the UN Commission Masoumeh Taheri told IRNA the world viewpoints on the women affairs should change with real and efficient mechanisms. “One of the manifestations of such a...

SAUDI ARABIA DISAGREES WITH ICC

Saudi Arabia expressed its dissatisfaction over the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue an arrest warrant for Sudan’s President Omar Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Kingdom said it would only complicate the Darfur problem rather than solving it. The Council of Ministers, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s support for Sudan, saying Riyadh would stand by Khartoum to confron...

SHOES FOR BUSH

Three Canadians were arrested and others threw shoes in protest against George W. Bush when he gave his first post-presidential speech in western Canada. The footwear was tossed at an effigy of the 43rd US president outside a Calgary conference centre where Bush was to speak to some 1,500 people at a luncheon. Some 200 protestors from across the country had gathered for the demonstration against Bush’s invasion of Iraq and rendition of terror suspects. They traded insults with guests ...

LANGUAGE PROTEST IN MALAYSIA

Hundreds of Malaysians had taken to the streets to protest against the use of English to teach Mathematics and Science in schools. The police fired water canons and tear gas to disperse the crowd as they marched to the National Palace in downtown Kuala Lumpur despite a police barricade, in an attempt to reach the National Palace. The protest was led by opposition Islamic party president Abdul Hadi Awang, flanked by national laureate. Their aim was to deliver a request to the king to change ...

SHARI'AH LAWS IN SOMALIA

The government of Somalia endorsed plans to introduce Shari’ah-adherent laws in the African Muslim country. “The cabinet members discussed deeply on the issue regarding the Islamic Shari’ah law and the members unanimously approved full implementation,” Information Minister Farhan Ali Mohamoud told reporters. All the 20 of the country’s 36 ministers present at the session headed by Prime Minster Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke backed the move. After the government...

HALAL HUB IN MALAYIA

Seeking to become the world’s hub for halal products, Malaysia is going high-tech to develop the key sector, signing agreements with information technology giants, banks and academia, while urging Muslim countries to increase their investments in the sector. Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told the opening of the annual World Halal Forum (WHF). Abdullah witnessed the signing of memorandums of understanding between the nascent Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC) and Mic...

DENGUE DANGER IN MAKKAH

There is a danger of the outbreak of dengue fever in Makkah after a number of suspected cases arrived at the city’s hospitals, causing concern among both Saudi and foreign residents. Four cases of dengue fever have been detected in Al-Omdah district near Al-Nour Mount. Several other cases of the fever were reported from other parts of the city. However, Makkah Mayor Osama Al-Bar said the fears of a dengue outbreak were not justified. “The situation is not so bad. We are doing al...