1. EGYPT AWAITS ELECTION RESULTS…The results from voting in Wednesday’s presidential election in Egypt are only expected to be declared on Friday or Saturday, according to The Media Line’s Cairo correspondent. The election committee has 72 hours from the time polls close to declare the result. However, the delay is not stopping all the pundits from predicting a win for incumbent President Hosni Mubarak. Some of his rival candidates are crying foul, alleging that Mubarak’s party paid members of the public to vote. Attention will soon turn to the policies for the next six years and the possibility that Mubarak’s age or health will force him to make way for his son Gamal.
2. EU TO PUSH IRAN ISSUE TO SECURITY COUNCIL…There are increasing signs that the European Union is about to ask the United Nations Security Council take up the issue of Iran’s nuclear program. Three European nations – Germany, France and the United Kingdom – have been attempting to persuade Tehran not to go full steam ahead with its uranium conversion and enrichment program. Since the victory of Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad in the Iranian presidential election, Tehran has taken a much bolder stance, insisting it will continue the program. Russia is indicating that it will block any Security Council attempt to sanction Iran. Moscow has close economic and military ties with Tehran.
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3. SIGNS OF INCREASING ANARCHY IN GAZA…The number of autonomous armed groups in the Gaza Strip is on the increase, according to reports from the area. The killing on Wednesday of General Mousa Arafat is part of what The Media Line analysts are calling “uncontrolled anarchy that is threatening the rule of the Palestinian Authority.” Palestinian leader Mahmoud ‘Abbas declared a state of emergency in Gaza on Wednesday.
4. ISRAEL’S MILITARY BOSS WARNS PALESTINIANS…Israel’s military Chief of Staff Dan Halutz has hinted that he will adopt a zero-tolerance attitude towards the Palestinians if any attacks are launched against Israeli targets. He issued a stern warning to the Palestinians 24 hours after two rockets were fired from Gaza on to targets in pre-1967 Israel. Halutz told Israeli lawmakers any attacks will be met with a severe response. He was speaking during a meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the country’s parliament, the Knesset.
5. BOOK: ARAFAT DIED FROM AIDS OR POISONING…Medical experts believe former Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat died after either contracting HIV/AIDS or having been poisoned. That is the main conclusion of a new book written by two leading Israeli journalists. They say they have been able to access the previously unpublished medical information collated by doctors in Paris, France, in the hospital where Arafat died a year ago. The book does not point the finger of blame. There have been suggestions on the Palestinian street that Israel was behind Arafat’s death, while some in Israel point to the many enemies Arafat had in Palestinian circles.