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Sunday, June 20, 2010

Israel announces new Gaza blockade procedures

Israel has announced new procedures to ease its blockade on the Gaza Strip, saying it would start allowing in all goods except for weapons and materials that can be used to make them. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that Israel would publish a list of banned goods, and all items not on the list would be allowed into the Palestinian territory. Israel has been under growing international pressure to ease its blockade since last month's commando raid on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza in which eight Turkish activists were killed. Mr Netanyahu will discuss 'additional steps' with US President Barack Obama during a visit to Washington on 6 July.

Legal challenge to ban on Muslim preacher Zakir Naik


An Indian Muslim preacher banned by the home secretary from entering the UK for his "unacceptable behaviour" is to challenge the ruling in the courts. Zakir Naik, a 44-year-old television preacher, had been due to give lectures in Sheffield on 25 June and Wembley Arena the following day. Theresa May said that visiting the UK was "a privilege, not a right". The Islamic Research Foundation, based in Mumbai, India, said he was seeking a judicial review in the High Court. The home secretary can stop people entering the UK if she believes there is a threat to national security, public order or the safety of citizens. That includes banning people if she believes their views glorify terrorism, promote violence or encourage other serious crime. However, somebody cannot be banned just for having opinions that other people would find offensive. The Islamic Research Foundation said in a statement: "It is deeply regrettable the British Government has bowed to pressure from sectarian and Islamophobic pressure groups by preventing the entry of Dr Zakir Naik, who has been visiting and delivering talks in the United Kingdom for the past 15 years. "Dr Zakir Naik is undoubtedly an opponent of terrorism and as such has often spoken out against all acts of violence and violent extremism. "He has emphatically and unequivocally condemned the killing of civilians and is one of the world's regular noted orators on this topic. "In the wake of the exclusion order and based on legal advice, Dr Zakir Naik intends to bring the matter before the High Court... and request a judicial review to have the exclusion order overturned."

Kyrgyz Officials Order Uzbeks to Remove Barriers

The Kyrgyz authorities demanded on Saturday that makeshift roadblocks that have turned this distressed city into a patchwork of no man’s lands be removed, setting up a confrontation with ethnic Uzbeks that could lead to more bloodshed. The mayor of this southern city issued an ultimatum that Uzbeks voluntarily dismantle the barricades they have sheltered behind by Sunday night or force would be used to eliminate the barriers, some made with the wreckage of trucks destroyed in the rioting, minibuses and large boulders. The Uzbeks have been holed up in their neighborhoods for days in the wake of the ethnic violence that killed thousands and caused a massive refugee crisis. The violence has severely destabilized Kyrgyzstan, a poor former Soviet republic that has a strategic location in Central Asia. The United States has a military base in the country that plays a significant role in supporting the NATO mission in Afghanistan.