Tamim murder suspects unlikely to be extradited

Cairo: Egypt is unlikely to extradite the suspects in the murder of Lebanese singer Suzan Tamim to the UAE, an Egyptian legal official said on Wednesday.”The arrest and investigations were conducted in Egypt,” said the official, who spoke to Gulf News on condition of anonymity.Egypt’s Prosecutor General Tuesday charged business tycoon Hesham Tala’at Mustafa with involvement in the slaying of Tamim in Dubai on July 28.Hesham and Mohsen Al Sukkary, an ex-police officer, will go on trial, the date of which will be set next week. Both defendants could face the death penality if convicted.”The crime committed abroad (in Dubai) is punishable under the Egyptian Penal Code. Accordingly, they will not be tried outside Egypt,” said the official. He would not say if the UAE had made an extradition request to Cairo.Hesham had “allegedly paid Al Sukkary $2 million to track down Tamim in London and then in Dubai,” according to Egyptian prosecutors.Rocked by Hesham’s indictment, the Talaat Mustafa Group (TMG), one of Egypt’s leading real estate developers, on Wednesday hurried to limit the resultant damage. The group’s new chairman, who replaced Hesham, has said that work on the projects undertaken by the company is going ahead as scheduled.”Work in the group is going on as normal according to relevant rules without any change,” Tareq Tala’at Mustafa told an Egyptian magazine in remarks published on Wednesday.

Zambian Leader’s Wife Says He Died Unappreciated

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa was buried Wednesday on what would have been his 60th birthday amid accolades from fellow African leaders, but his widow said he died a sad, unappreciated man.President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa praised Mwanawasa for helping in “the restoration and strengthening of regional political unity and cohesion.”Widely regarded as a man of integrity, the soft spoken Mwanawasa broke the long silence of African leaders earlier this year to criticize his autocratic neighbor, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, and the political crisis in that country, which he likened to a “sinking Titanic.”The remarks encouraged a few other African leaders to show their displeasure with Mugabe.Mugabe attended at the funeral, where he described Mwanawasa as “a frank and honest man.”Mwanawasa won praise for fighting corruption and modernizing Zambia’s economy but himself admitted that he had failed to lift the nation of 12 million people out of crushing poverty.”Typical of you, you died on duty,” his widow, Maureen, said, addressing the flag-covered coffin. “You died a sad man as no one seemed to appreciate your sacrifices. Had you been with us today, I am sure these accolades could have made you happy.”In addition to being the late leader’s birthday, Wednesday also would have been the couple’s 20th wedding anniversary.Mwanawasa died Aug. 19 in France where he had been treated since suffering a stroke in June.

Mubarak briefed on Abu al-Gheit’s discussions in Lebanon

A spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Ahmed Abu al-Gheit presented to President Hosni Mubarak a report on his visit to Lebanon last week, Egyptian media reported on Wednesday. The spokesman said Abu al-Gheit’s visit to Lebanon was “successful and achieved the aspired goals, as it affirmed Egypt’s interest in Lebanon, its present and future.”He referred to the meetings Abu al-Gheit held with Lebanese officials, including President Michel Sleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.”Abu al-Gheit underlined, in his discussions with Lebanese officials and politicians, the readiness of Egypt to offer assistance to support the Lebanese state, institutions and cadres, including the Lebanese Army,” the spokesman said, adding that the Egyptian offer was welcomed by all Lebanese parties.”The foreign minister expressed Egypt’s keenness on supporting Lebanon,” he said, adding that “Lebanese leaders called on Egypt to provide more assistance in order to support the Lebanese state carry out its responsibilities and enhance its role.”The spokesman added that his country’s interest in the Lebanese situation “is important due to established regional linkages.”"Abu al-Gheit stressed during all his meetings in Lebanon Egypt’s strong commitment to exerting efforts to solve inter-Lebanese differences and work on avoiding foreign interference in Lebanon’s domestic issues,” he added.According to the spokesperson, Abu al-Gheit also discussed the possibility of Egypt providing Lebanon with electricity and gas, “and this is additional evidence that Egypt is committed to assist a brotherly country in real need of Egyptian help in two vital fields, in which Egypt has a comparative advantage.”The spokesman said that Egypt currently provides the opportunity for Lebanese military cadres to train “in its distinguished military institutions and schools.”"This should help the Lebanese Army, which enjoys national consensus, to carry out its responsibilities in preserving peace and stability in Lebanon,” he said.”Egypt will continue to work with the Lebanese state as well as important Lebanese politicians to help Lebanon overcome any obstacles that would prevent the achievement of the aspired stability and development,” the Egyptian  spokesperson added.Separately, the secretary general of Iran’s National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, said on Wednesday that Lebanon has become “a role model for many countries worldwide.”"The main reason for Lebanon’s recent achievements in defense and political spheres is the national view of the Lebanese nation,” Jalili told former Lebanese Prime Minister Omar Karami, currently on a visit to Tehran.Jalili also called for unity among all Lebanese factions “in the face of the enemies’ efforts to undermine the country’s independence.”"Lebanon’s success is important to all Muslim states because it is on the front line of fighting against the Zionist regime,” he added.Karami, for his part, expressed appreciation for Iran’s support for Lebanon.”The Lebanese nation will stand up against Zionist threats with all its strength,” the former premier promised.”Iran certainly plays a key role in the regional developments and its efforts to reinforce unity among Lebanese factions have made a major contribution to Lebanon’s success,” he added.

Georgetown Student Missing In South Africa

WASHINGTON – A Georgetown University student is missing and presumed dead in South Africa.Terrance Davis, 20, was spending the fall semester at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He was on vacation this week with another Georgetown student in Harkerville, a coastal town about 275 miles to the west.Rescue officials said Davis was walking along a rocky beach during a storm on Monday and a very large wave swept him out to sea. Rescue crews searched for hours, but did not find his body.Georgetown students and faculty held a service on Wednesday night to pray for Davis. Triston Dallas said it was a way for people to come together and pray for their friend.”It was definitely important for a lot of students to go to the memorial today,” he said. “I mean it’s hard for a lot of us; everybody still has hope, and we’re just praying for the best and wishing for the best.”Friends said Davis had an infectious smile and greeted everyone with a hug.”He’d brighten up your day,” Shana Talbot said. “Like honestly, I don’t know when I met Terrance, because it just felt like you’d known him forever.”She called him “so witty” and “so funny.”Authorities said they will continue searching for Davis, but they presume that he drowned.But his loved ones said they had not given up hope.”There is a possibility that Terrance is still OK, and we’re all just still in prayer that Terrance may be OK,” Charity Wollensack said.Wednesday night’s service was the third one in two days. Davis’ friends said they will continue to hold services for him until they know what happened to him.

Smith delighted with South Africa showing

CAPE TOWN : South Africa captain Graeme Smith is proud of his team’s achievements this season despite being outplayed by England in the one-day series.“In terms of the team, we’ve realised that we’ve lost some key players in our one-day setup,” Smith, who was forced out of the last three one-dayers through injury, told a news conference here on Wednesday.“Trying to replace a guy like Shaun Pollack, who lengthened our batting and finished off games, and with a lot of the young guys struggling with their form in the one-day setup… has created a bit of pressure on the team.”The Proteas won the Test series against England 2-1 but have since slumped to four consecutive defeats in the five-match one-day series.“I think the Test side is strong in itself, it’s had a huge amount of success this year,” Smith said.“This season as a whole has been incredibly successful for South African cricket and we’re obviously pretty proud of what we’ve achieved.”An elbow injury forced Smith to return home from England, but he hopes to be fit in time for South Africa’s tour of Australia which begins on Dec 17 with a test match in Perth.“It’s pretty tender at the moment but I’m seeing the surgeon next week,” he said.“I’ve got the opportunity to rest now and get it right and once I’ve seen the doctor I’ll have more clarity on that, but I hope to get some domestic cricket in before we go to Australia.”South Africa were playing their final match of the England tour on Wednesday, a floodlit One-day International in Cardiff, before returning home to host Kenya for two One-day Internationals.

Angola hopes for peaceful poll

Men, women, children, pensioners and even goats – everyone is getting involved in Angola’s election campaigning.Every street in the capital Luanda is decked out in flags and posters of slogans and leaders are pasted to every wall.Banners are stuck to cars and every few minutes, lines of minibus taxis go blaring down the street with teenagers leaning from windows, chanting party slogans.All over the capital, small gatherings of supporters gather for street barbecues and beer, while in parks and stadiums there are organised concerts with top Angolan acts.This is the country’s first poll in 16 years.

20 killed in South African bush fires

CAPE TOWN: The death toll from bush fires in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province has risen to 20, an official said on Wednesday.The fires affected 1,100 households, destroyed scores of livestock and left swathes of crop and grazing land smouldering.Lennox Mabaso, a spokesman for the local government ministry, said damages were expected to run into millions of rand (dollars).“So far the official figure that we have at the disaster centre is 20 confirmed deaths, but the figures remain preliminary,” Mabaso told Reuters.
Fanned by hot, dry, windy conditions, the fires were believed to have been started either by “human negligence or human error” said Mabaso.The fires occurred mostly to the north of the east coast city of Durban, with Inkandla town among the worst hit. The region remained on alert during its fire warning season. The fires also raged in the south eastern coastal area close to the port town Richards Bay.