Unikkatil ft 2Pac & Snoop Dogg - WestCoast [ Remix ] Dofrooo Beatz
Unikkatil ft 2Pac & Snoop Dogg - WestCoast [ Remix ] Dofrooo Beatz
Putin visit to Cairo impending. El-Sisi moves to outlaw Brotherhood. US in blocking mod
President Vladimir Putin is set to visit to Cairo – possibly next Wednesday Aug. 7 – on the advice of Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan, debkafile reports exclusively. The prince landed in Moscow Wednesday, July 31 without warning. He told Putin that Saudi King Abdullah was in favor of the Russian president going to Cairo as soon as possible and did not rule out the visit occasioning the signing of a large Russian arms sale to Egypt, bankrolled by the oil kingdom.
Putin will find Egypt’s strongman, Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, in full cry with his next steps against the Muslim Brotherhood, after unseating its president in a coup on July 3.
El-Sisi is holding urgent discussions with the heads of the judiciary to have the movement outlawed. The unwritten pact between the generals and judicial system is the most potent political force in Egypt today, which the Brotherhood will find hard to beat.
The army’s first action will be to break up the round-the-clock protests which tens of thousands of supporters of the ousted president Mohamed Morsi have been staging in Cairo for the past month for his release and reinstatement.
Wednesday, July 31, their sit-in was ruled a threat to national security. For the next step, soldiers of the Republican Guard division, whose normal duties are guarding the president, have been issued with police uniforms for a more acceptable appearance when they clear protesters off the streets of the capital any day now.
The prospect of a Russian presidential visit has fired Gen. El-Sisi with redoubled energy and impetus for his crackdown on the Brotherhood.
For Putin, this will be his second trip to Cairo; his first took place in 2005 when Hosni Mubarak was president. He will play it to the hilt as a platform to show the world, and especially Arab Muslims, that he alone of the world’s five leading powers is openly committed to fighting radical Islam and ready to assist any Arab leader sharing this commitment.
He will also try and use his Cairo visit for much needed image repairs over his backing for Bashar Assad and Hizballah terrorist fighters in their savage war against a rebellion led by the Muslim Brotherhood and al Qaeda affiliates. Putin hopes to come away from Cairo as champion of the war on radical Islam in two important Arab countries and the most reliable ally of forces for moderation.
His next stop around mid-August is Tehran. This will be hard to explain away as a gesture of support of a moderate regime, but with some fast footwork, the Russian leader will use the double exposure to underscore Moscow’s solid presence at the power centers of the Middle East - in striking contrast to Washington.
The Obama administration is already seething over the Kremlin’s decision to grant the fugitive former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden temporary asylum in Russia for escaping trial in the States on a charge of espionage.
Even more painful knocks are in store for Barack Obama’s Middle East policy and prestige when Egypt’s military strongman proceeds to outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood movement in defiance of his wishes and Putin turns up in Cairo with more provocations.
Secretary of State John Kerry, aware of the shoals ahead for Washington, sent European Union foreign policy executive Catherine Ashton to Cairo earlier this week, followed by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerweller Friday, Aug 2, to try and hold El-Sisi’s hand.
When they got nowhere, Kerry assigned US Undersecretary of State for the Middle East William Burns with paying a second visit to Cairo since the coup. He has an appointment to meet interim Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy Saturday, Aug. 3, and is waiting for one with the defense minister.
Burns came away from his first trip to Cairo empty-handed.
Turkey's Basbug: powerful ex-army chief accused of terrorism
Staff Writers Ankara (AFP)
Turkey's former army chief, Ilker Basbug, the most senior officer in a crowded dock charged with plotting to topple the government, is a decorated career soldier with British and NATO training.
If convicted on Monday, he faces life in prison.
The 70-year-old former general led Turkey's military campaign against the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) for many years, only to find himself accused in his retirement of having led a terrorist group himself.
He is among 275 people on trial on dozens of charges related to efforts to unseat government.
Observers believe he is no hardliner, saying he advocated a moderate approach towards the PKK during his tenure at the head of the military and leans politically towards a centre-left opposition party.
"He's no hawk," Sinan Ulgen, head of the Istanbul Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies, told AFP in a recent interview.
Born in Afyonkarahisar in western Turkey in 1943, Basbug graduated from the military academy in 1962 and infantry school a year later, according to a biography on the NATO website.
He graduated from the War College in 1973 and later worked at the intelligence department at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Basbug studied at the United Kingdom Army Staff College and NATO Defense College before he was promoted to Brigadier General in 1989, according to a NATO biography.
He became a full general in 2002, and was head of the army before taking overall command in August 2008 of Turkey's 515,000-strong military, a force second only to the United States in the NATO alliance.
He held this position until his retirement two years later.
Basbug was arrested in January 2012 and has been in custody ever since on charges of leading a terrorist group seeking to topple Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.
"The commander of such an army facing charges of forming and leading an armed organisation is really tragicomic," the former general said in his initial testimony last year.
"I always followed the law and the constitution throughout my tenure."
Observers say Basbug's 2008-2010 tenure as military chief coincided with a perceived cooling of the Kurdish conflict, which flared up again when he left office.
"He has made very constructive comments on the Kurdish question," Ulgen said.
In 2009, for example, Basbug had urged Ankara to make sure that its Kurdish citizens benefit from "equal opportunities" and to strive to change the perception among Kurds that "they are being victimised".
University professor Ahmet Insel, author of two books on the Turkish armed forces, said he does not count Basbug among the hardline generals who in 1997 helped bring down the government of the Islamist Necmettin Erbakan.
"He is a general who tries to keep the Turkish army in the barracks," Insel says.
He added that Basbug was known to lean towards the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), although the general has never voiced public support for the party created by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey and the embodiment of the secular values the army defends.
Observers say that while a moderate in most matters, Basbug's determination to defend the army against coup allegations had forced him to adopt some extreme positions.
As early as 2007, he spoke out in defence of the first officers to be implicated in an alleged coup plot.
When police found an arms cache buried outside Istanbul, Basbug denied the weapons belonged to the Turkish army, referring to more than 20 light anti-tank weapons found among the haul as "pipes".
"He gave the impression of someone ready to say anything to defend the army," says Insel.
Prosecutors say Basbug and other officers planned to create websites to publish destabilising anti-government propaganda, a charge he denies.
But talk of military conspiracies is not easily dismissed in Turkey. The army has carried out three coups -- in 1960, 1971 and 1980.
The power struggle has hurt the military: the waves of arrests, court rulings and constitutional revisions have curbed the force's influence.
Basbug is married and has two children.
Turkey's former army chief, Ilker Basbug, the most senior officer in a crowded dock charged with plotting to topple the government, is a decorated career soldier with British and NATO training.
If convicted on Monday, he faces life in prison.
The 70-year-old former general led Turkey's military campaign against the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) for many years, only to find himself accused in his retirement of having led a terrorist group himself.
He is among 275 people on trial on dozens of charges related to efforts to unseat government.
Observers believe he is no hardliner, saying he advocated a moderate approach towards the PKK during his tenure at the head of the military and leans politically towards a centre-left opposition party.
"He's no hawk," Sinan Ulgen, head of the Istanbul Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies, told AFP in a recent interview.
Born in Afyonkarahisar in western Turkey in 1943, Basbug graduated from the military academy in 1962 and infantry school a year later, according to a biography on the NATO website.
He graduated from the War College in 1973 and later worked at the intelligence department at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Basbug studied at the United Kingdom Army Staff College and NATO Defense College before he was promoted to Brigadier General in 1989, according to a NATO biography.
He became a full general in 2002, and was head of the army before taking overall command in August 2008 of Turkey's 515,000-strong military, a force second only to the United States in the NATO alliance.
He held this position until his retirement two years later.
Basbug was arrested in January 2012 and has been in custody ever since on charges of leading a terrorist group seeking to topple Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.
"The commander of such an army facing charges of forming and leading an armed organisation is really tragicomic," the former general said in his initial testimony last year.
"I always followed the law and the constitution throughout my tenure."
Observers say Basbug's 2008-2010 tenure as military chief coincided with a perceived cooling of the Kurdish conflict, which flared up again when he left office.
"He has made very constructive comments on the Kurdish question," Ulgen said.
In 2009, for example, Basbug had urged Ankara to make sure that its Kurdish citizens benefit from "equal opportunities" and to strive to change the perception among Kurds that "they are being victimised".
University professor Ahmet Insel, author of two books on the Turkish armed forces, said he does not count Basbug among the hardline generals who in 1997 helped bring down the government of the Islamist Necmettin Erbakan.
"He is a general who tries to keep the Turkish army in the barracks," Insel says.
He added that Basbug was known to lean towards the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), although the general has never voiced public support for the party created by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey and the embodiment of the secular values the army defends.
Observers say that while a moderate in most matters, Basbug's determination to defend the army against coup allegations had forced him to adopt some extreme positions.
As early as 2007, he spoke out in defence of the first officers to be implicated in an alleged coup plot.
When police found an arms cache buried outside Istanbul, Basbug denied the weapons belonged to the Turkish army, referring to more than 20 light anti-tank weapons found among the haul as "pipes".
"He gave the impression of someone ready to say anything to defend the army," says Insel.
Prosecutors say Basbug and other officers planned to create websites to publish destabilising anti-government propaganda, a charge he denies.
But talk of military conspiracies is not easily dismissed in Turkey. The army has carried out three coups -- in 1960, 1971 and 1980.
The power struggle has hurt the military: the waves of arrests, court rulings and constitutional revisions have curbed the force's influence.
Basbug is married and has two children.
Leanne Li Shoots Hollywood Film "Cyber" with Chris Hemsworth
Since Wong Cho Lam and Leanne Li's relationship became public, their careers have been on the rise. Earlier Wong Cho Lam purchased a HK$13 million Sceneway Garden home in Tai Po, becoming neighbors with Moses Chan. His girlfriend Leanne also reaches to another level in her career, she was offered a role in Hollywood film Cyber.
Earlier Leanne, Chris Hemsworth, Tang Wei and Wang Lee Hom appeared at the Kuala Lumpur International airport. Leanne, who has zero experience in Hollywood films, initially planned to accept an interview, but the staff stopped her. It was rumored she was ordered to keep her mouth shut and even though Chris Hemsworth happily gestured a "Yeah!" to the media, he did not answer any of the interview questions.
According to the Malaysian media, Cyber officially started shooting at the Marina island yesterday. There was an explosion scene and over 200 Extras were hired to participate in the scene.
Yesterday reporters contacted Leanne via WhatsApp, she said she is currently working in Malaysia, but declined to comment o whether she's filming Cyber.
When speaking of Wong Cho Lam's new home? Leanne denied they had plans for marriage. "Marriage is something to happen after two years. I will wait for him to propose first! The new home he purchased is for his family to live in. (Did he add your name?) No. (You don't have anything to say?) A little, the right to make the decision is with Cho Lam after all!" She expressed she is not sure whether she will be living with Cho Lam's family after marriage.
Christine Kuo Fear Rumors, Edwin Siu Plays Dumb
Yesterday Christine Kuo and Edwin Siu attended the Care & Love . Giant Panda 2013 event held at Citywalk mall in Tseun Wan. Christine disclosed her rumors with Oscar Leung have been heating up lately, and the two are collaborating in a new series soon. Asked if she will keep her distance? She said: "No deliberately. We have collaborated many times, but I will be cautious and try to avoid rumors." Edwin heard this and teased her. When reporters asked Edwin about his cohabiting rumor with Gigi Ho? He played dumb: "Who? When? Nope!" Then he quickly changed the subject, he mentioned he and Natalie Meng play a married couple in his new series and probably won't be able to avoid bed scenes. Asked if there will be someone supervising the set? He said: "Who? Natalie Meng's husband? (Your girlfriend!) No, no supervising of the set nor do I have to report anything."
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