Waiting for a Turkish response and a new Egyptian president

The Syrian downing of a Turkish fighter jet topped the headlines of Arab dailies over the weekend. On Sunday, Arab media report a possible Turkish retaliation.

“Fears of a Turkish response to the downed airplane and Ban calls for restraint,” reads the headline of London-based daily Al-Hayat. The article begins with reports of the new Syrian government appointed by Bashar Assad Saturday and headed by Prime Minister Riyad Hijab, a former agriculture minister. The daily reports that the new government contained no surprise nominations “despite reports to the contrary in the past few days.”

Al-Hayat columnist Abdallah Iskandar speculates Sunday that the anti-aircraft fire towards the Turkish plane may have been the result of a Syrian mistake, with comments on both sides indicating the wish to prevent further escalation.

‘The Syrian scene is escalating quickly, be it on land or in the air’

“But all of this does not deny the fact that tension between the two neighbors has risen another level, and [has] gradually advanced towards the point of no return,” he writes, noting that the downed aircraft belonged to NATO as well as to Turkey.

Abd Al-Bari Atwan, the editor-in-chief of Al-Quds Al-Arabi, in one of his usual dramatic editorials, writes that the Syrian-Turkish clash could mean “a regional war.”

“The Syrian scene is escalating quickly, be it on land or in the air,” Atwan writes, alluding to the defection of a Syrian fighter pilot to Jordan June 21. “It is certain that the Syrian leadership will not go far in its escalation without coordinating with its Soviet [sic] counterpart — asking it for a green light — less than a week before a decisive meeting of the Friends of Syria group in Paris later this month.”

Meanwhile, Qatar-based daily Al-Jazeera reports the death of 100 people in Syria, mostly in the northeastern town of Deir Al-Zour, where senior officers have defected from the army.  The military has reportedly used tanks, helicopters and artillery in its onslaught.

Saudi-owned daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat reports the defection of 40 Syrian soldiers with their weapons. It adds that Turkey “is not hurrying” to respond the airplane incident.

Egypt to announce presidential results Sunday

In the buildup for the announcement of the presidential election results Sunday, Arab media are reporting a volatile and tense atmosphere in Egypt.

“Egypt boils ahead of the announcement of the president today,” reads the headline of A-Sharq Al-Awsat Sunday. The article features a photo of thousands of Egyptian pro-Shafiq protesters near the monument of the unknown soldier carrying Egyptian flags and posters with Shafiq’s image.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjIpjqppkRw&feature=player_embedded

“Egypt: Talks between the military and the Brotherhood on the eve of the announcement of the presidential vote,” reads the headline of Al-Hayat. The article reports the former IAEA chief Muhammad El-Baradei has begun mediating between the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt’s military rulers in an attempt to prevent social unrest.

“Egypt’s new president today,” ceremoniously declares establishment Egyptian daily Al-Ahram in its headline. The daily says the results will be announced at 3 p.m Sunday by the Central Elections Committee following appeals by both candidates.

The headline of Egyptian independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm is somewhat more ominous. “Egypt awaits the president and prepares for ‘the worst,'” it reads. The daily quotes unnamed legal sources who say most of the appeals were rejected by the Elections Committee, and the winner is Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi.

Al-Masry Al-Youm quotes unnamed legal sources who say most of the appeals were rejected by the Elections Committee, and the winner is Muslim Brotherhood candidate Muhammed Morsi

But in a final attempt to discredit the Muslim Brotherhood, which Saudi Arabian-controlled media has been opposing for months, A-Sharq Al-Awsat editor-in-chief Tareq Homayed compares its leaders to deposed president Hosni Mubarak.

“These days, the Muslim Brotherhood seems like Mubarak in his final days. We see its leaders appearing nowhere but in Western media, mostly American. The most famous of these leaders is Khairat Shater, who gave his most recent interview yesterday to The Wall Street Journal and before that to The Washington Post,” writes Homayed.

Has the Arab Spring reached Sudan?

Qatar-based news channel Al-Jazeera reports that riots in the Sudanese capital Khartoum have reached their eighth day, with citizens protesting the rise in commodity prices.

According to the channel, the police received orders to end the protests immediately, and two opposition party headquarters have already been stormed. Opposition activists have also been arrested causing emotions to flare up, one activist said.