Interior Chief Under Mubarak Is Sentenced

Habib El Adly, former Egyptian interior minister under Hosni Mubarak's presidency, was sentenced on Thursday to 12 years in prison and fined 14 million Egyptian pounds (about $2.3 million) on charges of money laundering, the Ministry of Interior said.

His court date on charges of killing protesters is scheduled for May 21, according to Alla Mahmoud, the ministry spokesman.

This comes in the aftermath of the dramatic popular protests in February that led to Mubarak's resignation after more than 30 years in power.

Mubarak has been in poor health and living in the southern Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh since then.

On Wednesday, Egypt's justice minister said Mubarak could be executed if he is convicted of ordering the killing of protesters.

"One of the charges he is facing is complicity in the killing of martyrs and issuing the orders for premeditated the killing of those people," said Justice Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz al-Juindy. "This is a charge with a harsh punishment -- the death penalty."

In his first television interview since taking office, the new justice minister said last week that Egyptian courts would not shy away from sentencing Mubarak to death if he is found guilty.

"If the crime is proven, then the court will not hesitate to issue the death sentence," al-Juindy said.

"A judge may have mercy if there is a reason for that, but I don't think in this case there is any argument for clemency whatsoever," the minister added, calling it "a horrible crime, to kill 800 citizens who were asking for their rights and hoping to topple a corrupt regime that caused the ruin of Egypt."

Prosecutors last month shelved plans to move Mubarak to a military hospital in Cairo, saying Mubarak's doctors said the transfer could be life-threatening.

Adel Saeed, the prosecutor's spokesman, said April 26 that the Interior Ministry made the decision after Mubarak's medical team submitted a report that determined he would be at risk if he were moved.

But al-Juindy said Mubarak's health was "good," according to reports he had received.

Mubarak "suffers some heart irregularities known as atrial fibrillation, but his pulse and pressure are fine. His heart rate is 65 per minute, which is considered like an athlete," the official said.

"Of course he's facing questioning for the first time in his life, so this is affecting him psychologically," the minister added.

He will be required to appear in court when the time comes, al-Juindy said, adding,

"His appearance in court will be mandatory."

If Mubarak is too sick to appear, "in this case, the prosecutor visits him, and this is a procedure we follow with any sick suspect. The suspect must be given a chance to put forward his defense, so that the trial can be fair."

He is also being probed on allegations of corruption and misuse of state funds.

"There are reports that the former president's wealth is in the billions, and indeed it is billions," the justice minister asserted.

So far "we can't ascertain the exact amount, but the investigation is under way," he said.

Mubarak's trial will show that the rule of law is supreme in the country, al-Juindy said.

"The law is respected in Egypt and is applied on everyone without any exception," he said. "This is very important because Egypt now has become a country were the law is sovereign."

3 Suspects With Al Qaeda Ties Arrested In Morocco Cafe Bombing

Morocco's Interior Ministry said Thursday that three Moroccan suspects loyal to al Qaeda have been arrested in connection with last month's bombing at a popular Marrakech cafe, the official Maghreb Arabe Presse news agency reported.

One of the suspects was described in the Interior Ministry statement as the main figure in the April 28 bombing that killed 16 people and injured 21, according to the MAP report. The ministry statement described the bombing as a terrorist attack.

The bombing occurred around 11 a.m. at Cafe Argana in Marrakech's old city, which is designated by the United Nations' cultural arm as a World Heritage Site. Tourists flock to the old city this time of the year, and it is usually packed with stalls, storytellers and snake-charmers.

World leaders, including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, condemned the bombing.

"The individuals were absorbed by jihadist ideology, and had allegiance to al Qaeda and had already made several attempts to join some of the hotbeds of tension, especially Chechnya and Iraq, before deciding to carry out terror in the homeland," the ministry statement said, according to MAP.

The suspects learned on the Internet how to make the two remote-detonated explosive devices used in the bombing, the ministry statement said. The attackers chose Cafe Argana as the target because of its popularity, and dressed as tourists to access the area, the statement said.

A preliminary investigation found remnants of explosive materials and tools "that had been discarded after the terrorist act," according to the statement.

'Daily Show' Writer Helps Prez With Jokes

President Obama knows how to surround himself with people who can get the job done.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Comedy Central confirmed that "Daily Show with Jon Stewart" scribe Kevin Bleyer was one of the writers who helped the president with his jokes at this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner.

The commander-in-chief also received an assist last year from members of the "Daily Show" writing staff, though this year Bleyer was the only one from the hit show to participate in the joke writing.

POTUS had them rolling in the aisles this year with jokes about Donald Trump, the birther controversy and disappointment in his performance in the White House. Last year's dinner won rave reviews for the president, who was said to have upstaged professional comedian, Jay Leno.

Palestinian Factions Plan Formal Signing Of Reconciliation Deal

The two largest Palestinian factions -- the West Bank-based Fatah and the Islamist group Hamas, which rules Gaza -- are expected to hold a formal signing of a political reconciliation agreement Wednesday in Cairo.

As Palestinian political factions prepared to formally sign the reconciliation agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the Palestinian Authority to pull out of the deal, saying it would jeopardize the Middle East peace process.

During a meeting with Middle East envoy Tony Blair in Jerusalem Tuesday, Netanyahu called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to "immediately cancel the reconciliation deal with Hamas and choose the path of peace with Israel."

A top aide to Abbas said Wednesday that Hamas, which is formally committed to the destruction of Israel, will abide by some international demands but not others under the deal.

"Hamas will refrain from any violence and... Hamas will be interested in the peace process," Nabil Shaath said on Israel Radio.

But, he said, "I don't think that Hamas should be asked to recognize Israel. Would Israel recognize Hamas back?"

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the deal and is sending a top representative to the signing ceremony.

Robert Serry, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, will be in Cairo for the event.

Ban "strongly appeals to all Palestinian parties to commit to these principles" of unity spelled out in the agreement, his spokesman said in a statement Wednesday before the signing.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who helped broker the historic peace treaty between Israel and Egypt three decades ago, hailed the Fatah-Hamas deal as "a major step forward that could bring ultimately what I've wanted for the past 30 years, which is peace in Israel."

The Egyptian-brokered agreement, word of which was first announced last week, seeks to mend the political differences between the two largest Palestinian factions.

"The agreement between Abu Mazen (Abbas) and Hamas is a hard blow to the peace process," Netanyahu told Blair. "How can peace be achieved with a government (in which half of the ministers) call for the destruction of the State of Israel and praises the master killer Osama bin Laden?"

The agreement between Hamas, Fatah and other smaller Palestinian factions calls for the establishment of a new Palestinian caretaker government and for parliamentary and presidential elections to be held next year.

It is not clear who might lead a caretaker government, but there has been much speculation in the Palestinian and Israeli media that the current Palestinian Authority prime minister and political independent Salam Fayyad may not be asked to return. Fayyad is reviled by many in Hamas who consider him a lackey for the United States and Israel. He's also resented by many old-guard Fatah officials for the policy control he exerts.

Fayyad is a U.S.-educated former International Monetary Fund official.

His exclusion from a future government would likely contribute to pressure on American and European governments to curtail the hundreds of millions of dollars given to the Palestinian Authority every year. At a news conference Monday in Ramallah, Fayyad downplayed the importance of any future role he may have in the new government.

Officials from Fatah and Hamas said they will form a special committee to handle security, which has been one of the most contentious points of division between the two parties, who have been in open conflict since 2007 when Hamas seized power in the Gaza.

Both Israel and the United States consider Hamas a terrorist organization and have voiced strong opposition to the inclusion of the group in any unity government, demanding that it first renounce violence, recognize the state of Israel and abide by all previous agreements.

Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with leaders in London and Paris this week in an effort to convince the international community not to recognize any Palestinian government that might include Hamas.

A Texas Log Cabin For $4 Million

 The front entrance to Kirkland Kastle, as it is known.
 

Photo: Morgan Brennan/The Matteson Group, with Coldwell Banker Apex, Realtors

Kirkland Kastle isn’t just another east Texas log cabin. It’s a huge, hard wood “work of art,” asserts Evan Matteson of the Matteson Group of Coldwell Banker Apex, Realtors. The Canton, Texas area mansion is constructed of a staggering 6,000 oak and cedar logs custom-milled by hand over the course of five years. It’s currently on the market for $4 million.

“You ever walk into a cedar closet and get that aroma? The home has a little bit of that even though the logs are sealed,” says Matteson, who is the property’s listing agent.

The three story wooden abode is comprised of 4,800 square feet of living space and another 9,800 square feet of covered porches. The master bedroom loft touts two master baths. The decadent kitchen boasts Viking commercial grade appliances, granite countertops and cabinets made of that sweet-smelling cedar wood. And there’s a sportsbar-inspired entertainment area with wet bar bedecked in retro neon beer signs.

 The great room that greets guests in the home's entrance.
 

Photo: Morgan Brennan/The Matteson Group, with Coldwell Banker Apex, Realtors

Sitting on a private 12 acre lake, the 40 acre estate includes two bridges and a swimming pier with wooden diving board. The lake is so expansive, current owners Gerald and Kelly Kirkland have been known to take a jet ski or two out now and again. In true Texas shindig fashion, there’s a bandstand on the lake’s shore for live music concerts and the home itself is rigged with a state-of-the art sound system, ensuring everyone gets to hear the band. The grounds also tout a gazebo and a three bay barn.

 The cedar wood kitchen boasts commercial grade Viking appliances.
 

Photo: Morgan Brennan/The Matteson Group, with Coldwell Banker Apex, Realtors

Gerald Kirkland built his namesake “Kastle” himself, enlisting the seasonal help of four employees from the speaker box construction business that he owns as a day job. Where did Kirkland get all of these logs? He literally knocked on the doors of his neighbors within a 10 mile radius and asked if they had trees in need of disposal on their properties. He then chopped said trees down and hauled them back to 4377 Vz County Road 2602, where he handcut and treated them one at a time.

Then there’s the foundation. Kirkland spared no means in making sure this residential labor of love would be here to stay. The house has 50 belled piers. In other words 50 2×4 foot boxes were pushed down upwards of eight feet into bedrock and then filled with concrete. Between the concrete foundation and the 6,000 hard wood pieces, Kirkland Kastle will need no structural renovations for at least 200 years, explains Matteson. Thanks to the sheer size of the logs and the way they were treated, even a fire would struggle to catch ablaze let alone cause any real structural damage.

One of the two master baths. 

Photo: Morgan Brennan/The Matteson Group, with Coldwell Banker Apex, Realtors

The luxe log cabin sits just outside of the town of Canton, about 50 minutes east of Dallas and 50 minutes southwest of Tyler. Matteson says the outrageous $4 million home, which has been on the market about a month, is already drumming up interest. He thinks it will ultimately sell to one of two types of buyers: either a buyer who see it as a business investment for hosting events or acting as a bed and breakfast, or the high-end home buyer who wants a remote getaway property that’s completely unique.

“I’ve seen many log homes before, they’re a dime a dozen out here, but this is more like your style of wood lodge in Alaska or Colorado that’s been there 100 years and will be another 100,” says Matteson. “There’s a permanence to this house that you don’t normally see with newer construction these days.