77 dead in Saudi flooding 77 people have died and tens more are thought to be missing in Saudi Arabia as a result of flooding in the western port city of Jeddah, and Mecca – the destination for over 2 million Hajj pilgrims. None of the casualties had been among the pilgrims, while 56 of the dead were reportedly foreign immigrants resident in the country. Flooding has caused disruption and destruction, particularly in shantytowns outside of Jeddah, according to Saudi state press, and many casualties were caused by collapsed homes. Venezuela offers Palestine support, plans to open embassy As Hugo Chavez bestowed Venezuela’s highest honor upon Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, he affirmed Venezuelan support for Palestine against Israel, which he described as a “genocidal stateâ€. During Abbas’ visit to Caracas, Chavez also announced that Venezuela would open an embassy in Palestine, and offered numerous scholarships for Palestinian students to study in Venezuela. Chavez, ever the controversial character, said “You are the liberators of Palestine. In one hand you brandish a sword, in the other an olive branch. You don't want to unsheathe, but you must always keep the sword handy”, while also referring to the United States as “the Israel of South America.†Nobel prizewinner’s medal seized by the Iranian government The Iranian government has allegedly confiscated the Nobel Prizewinners’ medal of human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi. In 2003 Ebadi became the first Muslim woman to be awarded the Nobel prize, who has also been an outspoken of the Iranian regime. According to Ebadi, her medal and certificate were removed from a Tehran bank’s safety deposit box and her account was frozen, by order of the Revolutionary Court. The incident drew a swift denial from the Iranian government, and has caused a minor diplomatic incident as Norway, where the Nobel committee is based, criticized Iran resulting in the Norwegian ambassador being summoned in Tehran. Ebadi has raised the possibility that a tax dispute may lie at the heart of the matter, after she refused to pay the $400,000 tax demanded by the government on her $1.3mil Nobel prize. Iraq inquiry ongoing – war was of questionable legitimacy In the ongoing inquiry into the UK’s role in the Iraq war, Sir Chilcot’s committee has been told by senior Foreign Office officials that Iraq was “not top of the list†of nations considered to be a WMD threat, and that the Iraq war was of “questionable legitimacyâ€. One official declared that Libya, North Korea and Iran were all considered to be more of a threat to the UK than Iraq in 2001, which will raise questions as to why Iraq was chosen for invasion. On being interviewed by the committee, the former UK Ambassador to the UN Sir Jeremy Greenstock said that the invasion of Iraq was of “questionable legitimacy†due to a lack of broad support from democratic institutions. Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha Muslims around the world have, today and yesterday, celebrated Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice. In order to commemorate the prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son at God’s command, Muslims often sacrifice a sheep or a cow by ritual slaughter. In Mecca, where the Hajj pilgrimage is taking place, pilgrims throw pebbles at a stone pillar symbolizing the devil. In Egypt, and elsewhere, the Eid festivities have been accompanied by complaints over the price of food, in particular meat. With prices at record levels, many families are having to go without chicken, beef and mutton – considered staples of the Egyptian diet. Some concern has been expressed in some media outlets that continued high prices could result in a repeat of riots of April 2008, when people took to the streets in order to express their dissatisfaction at the continued high price of bread. BM
