London braces for huge protest rally

The UK trade unions are preparing for the biggest union event in decades in the form of nation-wide rallies and marches against the government's spending cuts.

The Trade Unions Congress (TUC), as the organization tasked with coordinating the unions' events, has kicked off work to distribute thousands of leaflets in which it has elaborated on the disputes surrounding the government's controversial austerity measures and called on people from all walks of life to attend the national protest in central London on March 26.

The TUC said it has also booked hundreds of coaches and chartered trains to transfer people from across the country to London for the march and rally.

The TUC has written in the leaflets that the UK's debt is lower than in most years of the last century, arguing that the country has no problem servicing its debt.

"The Government is therefore wrong to say that there is no alternative. The real job of closing the deficit will come from the increased tax raised by economic growth and getting people back to work. But this will require a longer timetable to close the deficit, as the deep rapid cuts imposed by the government will choke off economic recovery", says The Cuts Are Not The Cure leaflet.

“As the cuts begin to bite, the government has completely lost the argument that its cuts are fair. With the economy plunging back into negative growth, it is clear that the Government's economic gamble has failed”, said TUC general secretary Brendan Barber.

"More and more people are therefore looking at arguments for an alternative and for ways of showing their opposition to the coalition's deep, rapid cuts”, added Barber.

"It's clear that the TUC's march has captured the mood of the country and looks set to be the biggest event in our recent history", Barber said.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/163545.html

Israeli lawmaker backs Hosni Mubarak

Israeli lawmaker Binyamin Ben-Eliezer

A senior Israeli politician has strongly defended out-of-favor Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, describing a revolution in Israel's southern neighbor as a loss for Tel Aviv.

Praising Mubarak for standing by Israel during his three-decade long rule, labor lawmaker Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said on Thursday that Mubarak's possible collapse would be painful for Israel.

Ben-Eliezer, who has held several ministerial posts, including Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister, also criticized Washington's policy toward Egypt, saying by withdrawing its support from Mubarak's regime, the US has pushed the Middle East toward a catastrophe.

The Israeli lawmaker also predicted that if elections are held in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's Islamist opposition party, would win.

Tel Aviv is anxiously monitoring political developments in its powerful southern neighbor Egypt. Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that the implications of a regime change in Egypt, the country's only ally in the Arab world, would be enormous in Israel.

Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979 following days of secret negotiations at Camp David, US. Many Egyptians, however, believe that the treaty did not end Israeli occupation and therefore are opposed to it.

Tel Aviv fears that the ongoing popular uprising against the Egyptian president could jeopardize its 31-year-old peace treaty with Egypt.

"Peace with Israel under its present terms can only be enforced by a dictator like Mubarak. Democracy will give the people a voice and their voice clearly demands that the peace accord be broken," Ray Hanania, an Israeli journalist, wrote in the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.

Egypt is one of the main suppliers of Israel's natural gas.

Israel also shares a long border with Egypt and both have a frontier with the Gaza Strip. For years, with the help of Cairo, Israel has managed to impose a crippling blockade on the Palestinian territory. Tel Aviv fears that a regime change in Egypt would spell the end of the Gaza siege.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Friday that the recent developments in North Africa are the result of the “Islamic awakening, which followed the great [Islamic] Revolution of the Iranian nation.”

The Leader also described Mubarak as the “lackey of the Zionist regime [of Israel].”
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/163570.html

'Iranians' voice echoed in Muslim world'

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the Iranian nation's voice has resonated through Muslim countries, resulting in the Tunisia revolution and the Egypt uprising.

“Today, developments in North Africa, [including] Egypt, Tunisia and some other countries have a special meaning for the Iranian nation,” the Leader stated.

“This is what was always referred to as the Islamic awakening created by the victory of the great Revolution of the Iranian nation,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in the Friday Prayers sermons in Tehran.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the humiliation and contempt the Egyptians and Tunisians suffered under their statesmen prompted them to embark on an anti-government movement.

The Leader noted that Tunisia's former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was dependent on the US and even the CIA.

“In Tunisia, which is a Muslim nation with a long Islamic history with great Muslim scholars coming from Tunisia; people had to carry a special card to go to mosques under Ben Ali's rule, a card that the government did not give to everyone.”

The Leader further pointed to the Ben Ali regime's anti-Islam moves such as prohibiting collective and individual prayers in mosques and the hijab ban.

“As soon as this traitor (Ben Ali) fled, female students went to university wearing hijab,” Ayatollah Khamenei highlighted, saying the move indicates a deep Islamic motive among the Egyptians that Arab leaders have been trying to conceal.

The Leader described the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as the “lackey of the Zionist regime [of Israel].”

Ayatollah Khamenei said that the US and Israel have become helpless in the face of freedom-seeking Egyptians and noted that defeat awaits them in Tunisia and Egypt.

The Leader made a reference to Egyptians' fight for “dignity and honor” and noted that Mubarak's biggest crime was turning Egypt into tool in the hands of the US.

Ayatollah Khamenei recalled Egypt's glorious past before Mubarak rose to power and its remarkable role in leading the Arab world's efforts to defend the Palestinian nation against the Israeli enemy.

“Egypt in short periods in 1967 and 1973 was the first and largest country to engage in war over the issue of Palestine into was along with Syria. Other Muslim nations did not enter into these wars with Israel, but Egypt sent soldiers, army, people and aid to the battlefield but they were not succeed, however,” the Leader recalled.

“Egypt was a sanctuary for Palestinians and even many of the revolutionaries from other countries, but such a nation has been in the past 30 years in the hands of a person who does not support liberation but opposes seeking liberation, who is not anti-Israeli but a colleague, confidant, and lackey of the Zionists,” the Leader regretted.

Ayatollah Khamenei noted how the Israeli leaders relied on Mubarak in all their anti-Palestinian moves, including the blockade of the Gaza Strip.

“On the issue of Gaza, if Mubarak did not help Israel, they would have never succeeded in besieging the territory.”

The Leader recalled how Mubarak prevented not only Egyptian aid convoys but also humanitarian fleets from other countries from crossing into the Gaza Strip while it was burning in the fire of an Israeli war in 2009.

“Of course the US and more than them Israelis are in great distress and are desperately seeking a solution to the crisis in Egypt, solution they will never find. Thus they have turned to deceiving people and pretend to support for people.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said that the Egyptian army would join the masses and line up against the enemy.

Addressing protesters in Egypt, the Leader called for solidarity and stability as the nations' weapon against oppressive rulers, warning against enemy plots to undermine their unity.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the Islamic Revolution in Iran obstructed plots by Western countries aimed at establishing weak and vulnerable regimes in the Middle East.

The Leader said Iran's enemies have been launching a psychological war against the country over for the past 32 years, pointing to the 2009 post-election events in Iran as the enemies' latest scenario to damage the Islamic Revolution.

Ayatollah Khamenei said their plots, however, would have no effect on the Iranian nation.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/163526.html

Millions stage anti-Mubarak protests

Millions of people have protested in Cairo and other major cities across Egypt against the country's out-of-favor President Hosni Mubarak.

Protesters chant a variety of slogans against the Mubarak regime in Cairo's Liberation Square, as reports flow in about fierce clashes between plainclothes police and protesters.

Protesters plan to march toward the presidential palace after the Friday Prayers, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Several thousand troops have been deployed at key locations across the city.

The opposition has called Friday the 'Day of Departure,' saying the planned massive rally aims to force Mubarak into stepping down. Civil groups have also called for massive protests in Alexandria and Suez.

The developments come as the government continues its harsh crackdown on journalists and media to prevent news coverage of the rallies.

In a recent interview with ABC News, Mubarak said he is fed up with being president and would like to leave office but fears there will be chaos if he steps down.

He denied that his government was responsible for the violence in Cairo's Liberation Square.

Vice President Omar Suleiman on Thursday described the calls for Mubarak's resignation as calls for chaos.

Suleiman said the government has urged all parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, to engage in national dialog.

The Muslim Brotherhood rejected the government's offer in a statement released on Thursday.

Protesters have vowed to stand firm despite the deadly clashes that left several people dead and at least 1,500 others wounded in Cairo on Wednesday and the early hours of Thursday.

According to the United Nations, at least 300 people have so far been killed and thousands more have been injured during nationwide protests in Egypt.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Friday that the recent developments in North Africa are the result of the “Islamic awakening, which followed the great [Islamic] Revolution of the Iranian nation.”

The Leader also described Mubarak as the “lackey of the Zionist regime [of Israel].” 

Anti-Mubarak protests rise in Alexandria

An effigy of Egyptian President Mubarak hangs over opposition supporters during Friday Prayers in Liberation Square in Cairo on February 4, 2011.

Half-a-million Egyptians swarmed the streets of Alexandria, vowing to continue protests until out-of-favor President Hosni Mubarak resigns.

About 500,000 protesters in the Northern Egyptian city called on Mubarak to resign on Friday. Similar demonstrations are being held in Cairo, Suez, Aswan and Mansoura.

In Cairo, protesters said they would not leave Liberation Square until Mubarak's regime is ousted. They have called Friday the “Day of Departure,” saying the massive rally aims to force Mubarak into stepping down.

Latest reports say Arab League Chief Amr Mousa has entered Liberation Square to calm the tension.

Earlier in the day, Egypt's Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi visited anti-government demonstrators in Liberation Square and urged them to go home.

However, thousands are waiting in line behind army checkpoints near Liberation Square to join the rallies.

Protesters plan to march to the presidential palace following the rally in Liberation Square.

According to the United Nations, at least 300 people have so far been killed and thousands of others have been injured during nationwide protests in Egypt.

Protesters have vowed to stand firm despite the deadly clashes that left several people dead over the past days.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Friday that the recent developments in North Africa are the result of the "Islamic awakening, which followed the great [Islamic] Revolution of the Iranian nation."

The Leader also described Mubarak as the "lackey of the Zionist regime [of Israel]." 

'Victory within reach of Egypt protesters'

Anti-government protesters take part in Friday Prayers at Liberation Square in Cairo February 4, 2011.

The massive anti-government protests across Egypt are “gaining momentum” and will yield results in less than a week, says a professor at American University of Beirut.

Franklin Lamb told Press TV on Friday that the wave of protests indicates that embattled President Hosni Mubarak will inevitably have to give up power.

"I don't think it will take another week of protests. Today, important developments occurred at Liberation square in Cairo. Arab League Secretary Amr Moussa showed up and joined anti-Mubarak protests. Also, Al-Azhar Spokesman Muhammad Rifaa al-Tahtawi has resigned and joined the protests. He has vowed not to leave Liberation Square until Mubarak's regime is ousted," Lamb said.

His comments came as Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa joined anti-Mubarak protests in Cairo's Liberation Square.

Speaking on the possibility of running for president, the Arab League chief said, "I'm at the disposal of my country of course. But we will see the political developments."

Moussa was quoted by France's Europe 1 radio, as saying that he was "ready to serve as a citizen who has the right to be a candidate [for president]."

Meanwhile, several thousand troops have been deployed at key locations across Cairo.

The opposition has called Friday the 'Day of Departure,' saying the planned massive rally aims to force Mubarak into stepping down. Civil groups have also called for massive protests in Alexandria and Suez.

The developments come as the government continues its harsh crackdown on journalists and media to prevent news coverage of the rallies.

In a recent interview with ABC News, Mubarak said he is fed up with being president and would like to leave office but fears there will be chaos if he steps down.

He denied that his government was responsible for the violence in Cairo's Liberation Square.

Vice President Omar Suleiman on Thursday described the calls for Mubarak's resignation as calls for chaos.

Suleiman said the government has urged all parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, to engage in national dialog.

The Muslim Brotherhood rejected the government's offer in a statement released on Thursday.

Protesters have vowed to stand firm despite the deadly clashes that left several people dead and at least 1,500 others wounded in Cairo on Wednesday and the early hours of Thursday.

According to the United Nations, at least 300 people have so far been killed and thousands more have been injured during nationwide protests in Egypt.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Friday that the recent developments in North Africa are the result of the “Islamic awakening, which followed the great [Islamic] Revolution of the Iranian nation.”

The Leader also described Mubarak as the “lackey of the Zionist regime [of Israel].” 

More heavy snowfall cripples Germany

Recent overnight snowfall in Germany has led to many transportation cancelations and inconveniences, leaving parts of the country covered in frost.

Germany's eastern Brandenburg state has reported that a Romanian lorry loaded with furniture skidded off a main highway and crashed into a guarding rail on Thursday. 

Brandenburg is one of Germany's 16 federal-states of Germany, located in the east of the country. 

The incident did not result in any casualties, only blocking the highway, causing heavy traffic for a few hours. 

The heavy overnight snowfall crippled transportation in Germany as hundreds of flights have been canceled at Germany's Frankfurt airport, while nearly all traveling by train has been canceled or delayed, AFP said. 

In the German capital of Berlin, city workers are on alert to clear out the snow near the city's main roads and tourist attractions such as the Brandenburg Gate. 

Many European countries such as Scotland and Switzerland have experienced their coldest temperatures in years. 

The cold wave is expected to continue across Europe, promising more snowfall and frost in Germany.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/155690.html

Clashes kill 11 in Somali capital

At least 11 people have died in fresh clashes between al-Shabab fighters and government-backed troops in Somalia's war-torn capital, Mogadishu, witnesses say.

Fierce gun battle and shelling rocked Mogadishu's northern districts of Hodan and Bondhere, where fighters from al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam attacked positions of pro-government forces backed by African Union peacekeepers, a Press TV correspondent said. 

Witnesses said incessant shelling destroyed residential areas, causing civilian casualties. 

“On Wednesday evening, I have seen the dead bodies of at least 11 civilians lying on the street of Boondhere,” an eyewitness told our correspondent. 

The village was turned into a battle field with the fighting raging on for more than seven hours, witnesses said. 

The seaside city has been the scene of heavy clashes between rival forces, which killed more than 30 people last week. 

Somalia has been marred by years of civil unrest since 1991 when warlords toppled former warlord Mohammad Siad Barre.

Pakistan closes strategic NW highway

Pakistan's government has closed Torkham strategic highway in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province for two days, provincial officials say.

Pakistani security officials said the reason for closing Torkham highway was maintaining security during Ashura mourning ceremonies marking the commemoration of the martyrdom of the third Shia Imam, Imam Hussein (PBUH), a Press TV correspondent reported on Thursday. 

Torkham strategic highway links Pakistan to neighboring Afghanistan. 

According to the officials, no fuel trucks destined for US-led NATO troops in war-torn Afghanistan are allowed to pass through Torkham highway. 

Pakistani officials have also banned the entry of Afghan refugees to Pakistani cities. 

Meanwhile, unknown militants set a NATO fuel truck on fire in southwestern Balochistan province. 

Armed militants stopped a NATO fuel truck and its driver as hostage at gunpoint. Later, they torched the truck in Kalat district, some 145 kilometers from the provincial capital, Quetta, on Wednesday. 

The fuel truck was carrying fuel for the US-led NATO troops stationed in war-ravaged Afghanistan. 

Security forces cordoned off the area and started search operation for arresting the attackers. 
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/155717.html

Police mull banning all UK protests

The British police chief says he is weighing up an option to ask the Home Secretary to enforce a ban on any future protest gatherings altogether across the UK.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson referred to the level of violence in recent student protests against the rise in tuition fees, saying that he does not rule out banning all future student protests across the country, the daily Independent reported. 

Tens of thousands of student protesters from universities, colleges and schools have been marching across England in protests against the huge hikes in tuition fees, together with the scrapping of Educational Maintenance Allowance and proposed cuts in college funding. 

Police have arrested more than 180 people in London after four protests against the government's plan to increase the fees. 

The motion was voted on and approved last Thursday in defiance of the most violent protest scenes in and around Parliament Square where the clashes between police and protesters left 12 officers and more than 40 protesters injured. 

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner said banning students from marching was a power he had not ruled out using. 

"It is one of the tactics we will look at and something we will keep under review, and if we think it is the right thing to do then we will do it," said Sir Paul Stephenson. 

The head of the National Union of Students (NUS) dismissed the police chief's idea as in clear contrast to civil freedoms. 
"Peaceful protest is an integral part of our heritage and it is the responsibility of the police to help facilitate that", said the NUS president, Aaron Porter. 

Speaking about the suggestion that water cannons could be used to control crowds in the future, Sir Paul said that the force had ruled that option out three years ago but that officers were taking advice from colleagues in Northern Ireland about its efficacy in London. 
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/155603.html

US airport attack plotter sentenced

John F. Kennedy International Airport, in New York

A Guyanese national has been sentenced to life in prison for allegedly masterminding an attempt to blow up the fuel system at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.

Former Guyanamese lawmaker Abdul Kadir, 58, was handed a life term on Wednesday for involvement in a 2007 plot to explode fuel tanks and the fuel pipeline under the airport, according to a statement from the US Eastern District Court of New York, CNN reported. 

US District Judge Dora Irizarry said Kadir has been captured in surveillance video recordings while discussing plans with Russell Defreitas -- a US citizen born in Guyana. 

She said the footage proved Abdul Kadir played a key role in the plot. 

Defreitas, also convicted and arrested for co-plotting the attack, still awaits his sentencing. 

During a four-week trial back in August, a federal jury had found Kadir guilty of conspiring to explode the fuel tanks and pipelines at the international New York airport. 

Prosecutors alleged that Kadir and Defreitas planned to cause a massive explosion by igniting the fuel tanks. 

Defreitas allegedly provided information on the facilities and layout matters while Kadir, an engineer, contributed in technical aspects. 

The two were arrested on charges of multiple counts of conspiracy back in 2007. Kadir has denied the charges.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/155694.html

Pakistan condemns Chabahar bombing

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik has expressed Islamabad's sorrow over the deaths of dozens of people in the Wednesday terrorist attack in southeastern Iran.

During a telephone conversation with Iran's Ambassador to Islamabad Mashallah Shakeri late on Wednesday, Malik offered his country's sympathy to the families of the victims from the deadly bombing in the Iranian city of Chabahar. 

More than 33 people died in the massive explosion that targeted a mourning procession marking the anniversary of the third Shia Imam Hussein's martyrdom in the port city in Sistan-Baluchestan province. 

The Pakistani official said his country's intelligence services are ready to cooperate with their Iranian counterpart to help track down the perpetrators behind the terrorist move. 

Bilateral intelligence and security cooperation would help the two nations fully prevent such incidents, Malik said. 

The remarks come amid reports showing the elements involved in the Chabahar attack had received terrorist training in Pakistan. 

The Iranian envoy, for his part, highlighted the significance of a joint campaign against terrorism in the region, adding that failure in taking serious measures to tackle the issue could destabilize the region. 

“It is natural that none of the governments and nations will be immune from the repercussions of such conditions,” Shakeri warned. 

Iranian lawmakers on Thursday called on Islamabad to do more to wipe out terrorism the country nurtures in its lawless regions.
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