IO N IPT SC R SU B
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2011
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No: 15254
THULHIJA 2, 1432 AH
GUST student Al-Khelaifi wins Best Film Award
Freese forces game seven for Cardinals
150 Fils
4Syrian 5 43 forces kill 35 in crackdown Activists call for ‘no-fly’ zone
DAMASCUS: Syrian security forces killed at least 35 people yesterday as they pursued a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters after activists called for a no-fly zone to protect civilians and soldiers deserting the army, a rights group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said all the fatalities, except for one, were in Hama, in the north, and Homs in the centre, and that security forces encircled mosques to prevent protesters from demonstrating after the weekly Muslim prayers. Syrian forces fired live rounds to disperse protesters, killing at least 35, wounding more than 100 and arresting 500 across the country, the Britain-based Observatory said. “Twelve civilians were killed in various neighborhoods of Hama, 20 others in the city of Homs and one civilian was killed in Qusayr, in the region of Homs,” the Observatory said. Two civilians were also killed and 10 wounded by security forces in Tsil, in the southern province of Daraa, cradle of more than seven months of anti-regime dissent, the group said. Hama and Homs are at the front line of the anti-regime protests that have rocked Syria since mid-March, since when the UN estimates more than 3,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the bloody repression. The army has been carrying out operations in Qusayr for several weeks, amid fighting there between troops and suspected army deserters, activists say. The Observatory’s chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP in Nicosia that Homs has seen the “highest number of martyrs to date” since the protest movement unfolded. “Homs has given 40 percent of the martyrs of the Syrian revolution,” he said. The violence was the deadliest in nearly six months to occur on a Friday, the day worshippers emerging from weekly prayers at mosques defy the security forces and swarm the streets to rally against the regime. The previous high was on May 6, when 36 died. The worst was on April 22, when toll reached 72. Each Friday protesters rally around a theme. This time they demanded the imposition of a no-fly zone to protect civilians and to encourage soldiers to defect-like the UN-mandated no-fly zone over Libya that led to the demise of dictator Muammar Gaddafi. — AFP
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KUWAIT: Demonstrators including members of the parliament stage a protest outside the Syrian embassy in Kuwait at Mishref yesterday in solidarity with the Syrian people who resist the crackdown of the Bashar Al-Assad regime. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat
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Chaos as power outage hits KIA
Saudi sets 8-language phone services for Hajj
Earth-observing sat boosted into orbit
JEDDAH: The Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs set yesterday a phone service for pilgrims who want to ask about any information related to Umra, mini-pilgrimage or Hajj (pilgrimage). The phone line (800-248-8888) would be operated with eight languages for 24 hours, aimed at educating the pilgrim on what to do and what not to do during the rituals, said Sheikh Talal Al-Aqeel, Assistant Minister of Islamic Affairs, in a statement. He said the phone service would be capable of receiving 90 calls at once
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, California: After yearslong delay, an Earth-observing satellite blasted into space early yesterday on a dual mission to improve weather forecasts and monitor climate change. A Delta 2 rocket carrying the NASA satellite lifted off shortly before 3 a.m. from the central California coast. The satellite was boosted into an orbit 500 miles above Earth about an hour after launch. NASA invited a small group of Twitter followers to watch the pre-dawn launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
By Hassan A Bari KUWAIT: An unanticipated technical glitch paralyzed the Kuwait International Airport (KIA) for an hour yesterday evening. A sudden power outage that occurred at 7 pm resulted in panic-stricken passengers running helter-skelter. All computerized systems in both the Departure and Arrival terminals and the Duty Free shops came to a standstill. Commenting on the situation, a source stated that the situation remained unresolved for an hour after which power supplies were restored to the most vital facilities. The less important ones were fully reconnected much later.