Excerpts: Egyptian Glenn Beck Returns to Television, Pakistan's Supreme
Court ordered the arrest of P.M. Ashraf. Israel concerns re Syrian Chemical
Weapons to Hizbullah Wednesday, January 16, 2013

SUBJECT: Egyptian Glenn Beck, Returns to Television
Egypt Daily News 16 Jan.'13
Tawfik Okash, the Egyptian Glenn Beck, Returns to Television After a Long
Battle with the Court System in Egypt, His New Program Airs in the USA and
the Middle East
Magic TV Box, delivering Egyptian and Arabic channels to people living
abroad, has announced Tawfik Okasha, convicted of insulting Egyptian
President Mohamed Mursi, will return to TV on his own program Cairo Today,
airing daily at 10 PM CLT
Press Release: Magic TV Box – 20 hrs ago

OCEANSIDE, Calif., Jan. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Magic TV Box has announced
it will carry the program Cairo Today on Demand and Live. The show will
feature the return of Dr. Tawfik Okasha, who, on October 22, 2012, was
convicted of insulting Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi. Okasha was
sentenced to a four-month jail term and fined 100 Egyptian pounds ($16.39
USD). After the Egyptian government dropped all charges, Okasha announced
his return to television.
Cairo Today will air on Cairo Cinema satellite in the Middle East and on
Magic TV Box in the USA, Canada, and Australia. Convicted on October 22,
2012, Dr. Tawfik Okasha remained free during his appeal of the sentence. The
conviction was also protested by Amnesty International; the organization
called the sentence, "a further blow to freedom of expression." It also said
it would consider Okasha a prisoner of conscience if the imprisonment were
to be carried out based on the sentence.
The Egyptian government has since dropped all charges against Okasha, who
will soon be returning to his own program, Cairo Today.
"We are excited to see what he will bring to his new show," said Alaa Eissa,
CEO of Cairo Cinema.
Nader Isaac, Program Director of Magic TV Box, said, "We hope Tawfik Okasha
will stay on for a while, the viewers look forward to his commentary on the
air."

+++SOURCE:Saudi Gazette 16 Jan.’13:”Political crisis in Pakistan deepens”,
by Agencies

SUBJECT: Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the arrest of P.M.Ashraf

QUOTE:Apex court gives 24-hour time to arrest PM”

FULL TEXT:ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Prime
Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf Tuesday[15 Jan.] in connection with an alleged
corruption scandal, ratcheting up pressure on a government locked in a
showdown with a cleric who has a history of ties to the army.

The apex court gave authorities 24 hours to arrest Ashraf and 16 others in
connection with the alleged corruption scandal involving power plants while
he served as water and power minister.

Government officials said they were baffled by the arrest order, which came
hours after Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said elections should go ahead
as scheduled.

The combination of the arrest order and a mass street protest in the capital
Islamabad led by Muslim cleric Muhammad Tahirul Qadri raised fears among
politicians that the military was working with the judiciary to force out a
civilian leader. “There is no doubt that Qadri’s march and the Supreme Court’s
verdict were masterminded by the military establishment of Pakistan,” Fawad
Chaudhry, an aide to the prime minister, said.

“The military can intervene at this moment as the Supreme Court has opened a
way for it.”

Thousands of followers of Qadri camped near the federal parliament cheered
as television channels broadcast news of the Supreme Court’s order to arrest
Ashraf on charges of corruption, who took over in June after judges
disqualified his predecessor.

Pakistan’s powerful army has a long history of coups and intervening in
politics. These days it seems to have little appetite for a coup but many
believe it still tries to exert behind-the-scenes influence on politics. The
ruling coalition has weathered a series of crises with the judiciary and
military over the last few years and hopes its parliamentary majority will
help it survive until elections.

President Asif Ali Zardari hopes to lead the first civilian government that
will complete its full term and hold elections. Any move to oust the prime
minister would not automatically trigger the collapse of his coalition since
lawmakers can simply elect another prime minister.

Pakistan’s stock exchange fell by more than 500 points, or nearly three
percent, on news of the court order, due to fears over fresh political
turmoil, which comes against a backdrop of militant bombings and tension on
the border with India.

Qadri, who played a role in backing a military coup in 1999, threatened to
remain camped out until his demands for the resignation of the government
were met. – Agencies

+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 16 Jan.’13:”Israel Reiterates Fears over
Syrian Regime Transfer of Chemical Weapons to Hizbullah”

SUBJECT: Israel concerns re Syrian Chemical Weapons to Hizbullah

FULL TEXT:Israel reiterated concerns that the regime of Syrian President
Bashar Assad might transfer its chemical weapons to Hizbuulah, urging the
international community to prevent such an act.

“We are facing the frightening possibility that Hizbullah could soon get its
hands on Assad's vast stockpiles of chemical weapons,” Israel's envoy to the
U.N. Ron Prosor said during a Security Council meeting over
counter-terrorism on Tuesday[15 Jan.].

The Israeli ambassador called on the international community to swiftly act
and prevent the Assad's chemical arsenal from falling into the hands of
“terrorists.”

Israel's ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren warned in December that any
possible transfer from the Syrian regime of chemical weapons to Hizbullah
would be a "game-changer," and said that would be a "red line" for the
Jewish state.

Prosor also lashed out at Iran for “sponsoring international terrorism” and
providing Hizbullah with a huge arsenal of missiles.

The envoy said in December in a letter to the council, that Hizbullah is
violating Security Council's resolution 1701 by “amassing 50,000 deadly
missiles in Lebanon.”

The U.N. council “can't turn a blind eye to the states that sponsor, support
and arm terrorists,” Prosor added.

The international community have continuously expressed fear that the regime
of Assad might use chemical weapons against its people to end the revolt
that erupted in March 2011.

==========
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA