Iran bans nationals from road travel to Syria

TEHRAN: Iran banned its citizens on Friday from travelling to Syria by road following the abduction of nearly 30 Iranians in the escalating uprising in its key Middle East ally, state media reported.

“Due to the terrorist acts against Iranian pilgrims who are taking road trips to the holy sites in Syria, from Friday and until further notice road trips to this destination are forbidden,” the head of Iran’s passport and immigration police, Mahmoud Sadeqi, told the official IRNA news agency.

Sadeqi appealed to nationals to travel to Syria, a major pilgrimage destination for Iran’s Shiite majority, only by plane.

Eleven Iranian pilgrims were kidnapped last Wednesday in the central Syrian city of Hama, IRNA reported. Another 11 were reported abducted on January 26.

A group of seven Iranian engineers were kidnapped near the central city of Homs in late December, bringing the total to 29, according to IRNA.

Last week, the rebel Free Syrian Army claimed to have captured five Iranian military officers in Homs, and urged Tehran to withdraw any other troops it may have in Syria. It was not clear whether the five referred to were among the seven abducted engineers or were a separate group.

Tehran has called on Damascus “to use all means… to release” the captive Iranians.

Hundreds of thousands of Iranian pilgrims travel to Syria each year to visit Sayyeda Zeinab, a revered Shiite shrine just south of Damascus.

Syria is also Iran’s principal ally in the Middle East. The United States and France accuse Iran of supplying Syria with arms to put down a rebellion that has seen more than 6,000 people killed since last March, according to human rights groups. AGENCIES

US to up armed presence in Middle East amid crises: report

WASHINGTON: The US military plans to send a large floating base for commando teams to the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran and intensifying fighting in Yemen, according to The Washington Post.

Citing unspecified procurement documents, the newspaper said the Navy is converting an aging warship it had planned to decommission into a makeshift staging base for the commandos in response to requests from the US Central Command.

Unofficially dubbed a “mothership,” the floating base could accommodate smaller high-speed boats and helicopters commonly used by Navy SEALs, the report said.

Special operations forces are a key part of President Barack Obama’s strategy to make the military leaner and more agile as the Pentagon confronts at least $487 billion in spending cuts over the next decade, the paper noted.

Mike Kafka, a spokesman for the Navy’s Fleet Forces Command, declined to elaborate on the floating base’s purpose or to say where, exactly, it will be deployed in the Middle East, The Post said.

Other Navy officials acknowledged that they were moving with unusual haste to complete the conversion and send the mothership to the region by early summer, the report said.

Navy documents indicate that it could be headed to the Persian Gulf, where Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, The Post noted. AGENCIES

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rejects calls for ouster

In an interview that was aired live on state TV on Sunday, Syrian President Bashar Assad repeated promises of reforms and warned of “repercussions” should the West choose to intervene militarily in the uprising threatening his family s four-decade rule.

He said that the Western countries are interfering in the internal matters of Syria that is an assault on Syria s sovereignty. He said the uprising could be “controlled.”

When asked about the U.S.-led calls for his removal, Assad scoffed at what he described as the hypocrisy of “these colonial states.” He said the United States shouldn t lecture about human rights given the “millions” of civilian casualties from the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and, now, Libya.

Assad said no amount of reform would ever be enough for the West because it seeks to create puppet rulers in the Middle East. He said the Syrian people, not the West, “appointed” him president, so he wasn t worried about the calls for his ouster.

“You can say this to a president who s made in America, or to someone waiting to receive instructions from abroad,” Assad said with a smirk.

He also dismissed the new U.S. sanctions against Syria s lucrative petroleum industry, saying that Syria has endured sanctions for years and that the country was “moving toward the east,” perhaps a nod to his staunchest backer, Iran. “The international scene isn t closed anymore,” Assad said.

Suicide blasts kill 11 tribesmen in southern Yemen

The officials say Sunday s attacks took place in Abyan province, where al-Qaida-linked militants have been taking advantage of Yemen s political turmoil to capture and control territory in the south.

The officials say in the first attack a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden car into a checkpoint manned by anti-al-Qaida tribesmen, killing eight and wounding 20.

They say a suicide bomber carried out the second attack, blowing himself up in the middle of a gathering of tribesmen. Three men were killed in the second attack.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Facebook democratic activist jailed

United States-educated Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, 29, was jailed for two years for organising pro-democracy protests in ex-Soviet Azerbaijan through social networking website, Facebook.

Bakhtiyar was arrested after he was listed among the creators of a Facebook page discussing a “people s revolution” in Azerbaijan. Hajiyev s arrest caused rights group Amnesty International to accuse the Azerbaijani authorities of using “harassment and intimidation” against government opponents. Another young activist was also jailed for two and half years this month on drugs charges after using Facebook to call for an uprising like those in the Arab world.

Opposition party activist Jabbar Savalan, 20, was arrested for alleged opium possession after he posted a message on the social networking website about a “day of rage” — a reference to mass protests in the Middle East.

We will protest in Karachi if drone attacks continue: Imran Khan

Addressing a gathering in the Keamari area in Karachi, Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf Chief Imran Khan said that so far 34,000 innocent people have been killed in the drone attacks. He said that now if the drone attacks continued, they would protest in Karachi.

Imran Khan said that the time for a political change has come and he would not rest until his party comes in power and repulse all American agents working in Pakistan.

Imran Khan said that after the PTI comes in power, they would collect taxes from landlords. He also said that the increase in petroleum prices would affect the middle and the poor class the most.

China paper blasts Middle East protest movements

BEIJING: A Chinese Communist Party-run newspaper on Saturday attacked anti-government protest movements in the Middle East and dismissed the possibility of something similar happening in China.

Such movements have brought nothing but chaos and misery to their countries’ citizens and are engineered by a small number of people using the Internet to organize illegal meetings, the Beijing Daily, published by the city’s party committee, said in a front-page editorial.

“The vast majority of the people are strongly dissatisfied (with the protests), so the performance by the minority becomes a self-delusional ruckus,” the newspaper said.

The editorial appeared amid anonymous calls posted on the Internet for Middle East-inspired protests in dozens of Chinese cities the past two Sunday afternoons.

While drawing few outright demonstrators, the appeals have deeply unnerved authorities constantly on guard for any sign of challenges to Communist rule. Police and security agents shooed away onlookers and assaulted and detained journalists who turned up at the designated protest sites in Beijing and Shanghai.

Foreign reporters have been repeatedly warned to stay away from the sites this weekend and threatened with unspecified consequences if they disobey.

China’s censors have carefully shaped local coverage of the protests in the Middle East to discourage Chinese citizens from drawing inspiration from them. State media emphasize the protests’ negative effects on the societies and economies of the countries involved and give prominent coverage to the woes of Chinese workers evacuated from Libya and elsewhere.

In its editorial, the Beijing Daily attempted to draw a sharp distinction between China and the Middle Eastern countries roiled by unrest, where disdain for long-serving autocratic rulers has frequently been fueled by high unemployment and economic woes.

Chinese people, it said, support their nation’s political stability, economic development, and favorable government policies. Those looking to create or discover news of Middle East-style protests in China will come up empty, it said.

“However, we must clearly recognize that there are always people inside and outside the country with ulterior motives who want to seize on the problems we have encountered over the course of development in order to incite unrest,” the newspaper said. AGENCIES

Shoaib Malik Appraised Afridi Captaincy

Pakistani all-rounder Shoaib Malik said that the combination of Pakistan team is very good and they are playing like fighters. He added that Shahid Afridi is playing and leading like a true captain. Malik backed Afridi strategy and said that plans are working for Pakistan at the moment.

JP Duminy Ready To Take His Middle Order Responsibility

South African middle order batsman JP Duminy said that he is looking forward to his responsibility in the middle order. He knows his responsibility to provide stability to the inning and he is quite ready to perform his job.

He batted at middle order position of South Africa and his batting ranges from 5 to 7 positions. He is also a good finisher of cricket game. He also performed well in the IPL last edition. His role as a middle order batsman is very important in the South African side. Once the opening order failed the responsibility falls on the middle order.

JP said that he is feeling well in the middle order for quite some time and he is not worrying about his form as he is feeling better while batting. South African middle order didn’t get any chance in the warm-up games but that looked clearly solid middle order.

He is confident that the middle order will proved good finisher for South African team as he want middle order to end the inning well. He said that Bangalore pitch is good for seamers and spinners so it will be difficult for batsman to play and adjust on the pitch. He showed his determination to play as rock solid and provide foundation for the team.

Egypt: President Mubarak refuses to step down

In a television address President Mubarak said that he would transfer power to prove that the demands of protesters will be met by dialogue. He said that his newly appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman would serve as a transitional leader. Egypt s President Hosni Mubarak looked likely to step aside on Thursday after the military high command took control of the nation in what some called a military coup after two weeks of unprecedented protests. Convinced about the honest intentions of young protesters, Mubarak was also said to be set to repeat that he would not run for another term as president in September elections. Anything less than quitting could provoke a powerful reaction from the street where the core of protesters want his immediate resignation and reject any political maneuvering that allows him to stay on in some capacity, perhaps as a figurehead. News that Mubarak may hand over power, or be unseated, in this key American ally in the Middle East had provoked loud and emotional cheers in Cairo s Tahrir Square, the focal point for pro-democracy demonstrations. But some in the crowd were quick to protest they did not want military rule.

Ahead of the address, hundreds of thousands flocked to the square and the surrounding streets with some organizers saying this had been the biggest turnout yet to celebrate their role in modern Egyptian history. Some danced and others played drums just out of joy and excitement. Mubarak would announce constitutional procedures before handing over powers.

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