Rafah to resume pre-Mubarak operations

09/03/2011

CAIRO (Ma’an) -- Palestinian embassy officials in Cairo released numbers from the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt Monday evening, which showed a steady number of passengers traveling in and out of the border terminal.

The most recent number hovered at just under 300 travelers, with 224 recorded leaving Gaza, and 75 entering via the crossing.

Amid accusations that crossings restrictions were increasing, with more Gaza residents than ever being told they were on a "blacklist" and being denied entry into Egypt, officials said similar crossings numbers were expected for the coming weeks.

Rafah terminal will be open, the statement said, from Sunday to Thursday, and closed on holidays.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=366567.

Iran to probe UAE island construction

Wed Mar 9, 2011

A senior Iranian lawmaker has announced that the Parliament (Majlis) is set to investigate the UAE's plan for building man-made islands in the Persian Gulf.

"It is necessary to follow up on the case with reference to issues of maritime laws and conventions," said Chairman of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi.

Majlis has held several meetings over the case so far, IRNA quoted the Iranian parliamentarian as saying on Wednesday.

Last week, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the construction of such islands could have security as well as ecological consequences for the region.

He also called for cooperation between the Persian Gulf littoral states in order to prevent any security or ecological problem.

Brigadier General Yahya Rahim-Safavi, the senior military adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, has described the move illegal, saying any coastal country should inform other littoral states of any decision to construct artificial islands and get their approval before starting to do so.

He argued that the UAE seeks to pursue the expansion of its territorial waters illegally and to gain support of extra-regional powers for its claim by constructing such islands.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168962.html.

Yemenis hold million-strong protest

Tue Mar 8, 2011

About one million people have staged a protest in southern Yemen, as forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh have killed a boy and injured several others.

The 12-year-old Omar Atta died in hospital in Yemen's southern province of Ibb on Monday night after sustaining a gunshot injury, Reuters reported.

The incident occurred after Saleh loyalists stormed an anti-government protest camp, also wounding around 60 people in the attack.

Almost one million protesters marched through the streets of Ibb on Tuesday to condemn the attack.

"My son sacrificed himself, this is my family's gift to the revolution in Yemen," Omar's father said in a tearful speech to protesters in Ibb on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, heavy security forces and armored vehicles were deployed across the capital to guard the Sana'a University, which has been the epicenter of anti-government protests for the last two weeks.

Tanks were stationed in main streets leading to the presidential palace, while armored vehicles were deployed to guard foreign embassies, banks and governmental compounds.

On Tuesday, large numbers of security forces were also deployed in nearly all major cities rocked by protests, especially in the southern provinces, where anti-government sentiments have been on the rise.

On Monday, President Saleh called for a national-dialogue conference in an attempt to end the impasse with the opposition, which was rejected by the opposition's rotating President Yaseen Saeed Noman.

Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds more have been injured in the Yemeni government's violent crackdown on anti-regime protests.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168887.html.

Army troops join protesters in Yemen

Tue Mar 8, 2011

Scores of Yemeni army personnel have joined anti-regime protests in Sana'a as oppositionists threaten to step up protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

At least 150 military forces have joined protesters who have been calling in the past few weeks on Saleh's regime to resign. Saleh, however, has rejected the plan under which he should resign by 2011.

Saleh is facing heavy pressure as the demonstrations spread to the northern parts of the country.

Tens of thousands of protesters have hit the streets in several cities of the region, including Sa'ada which is also the stronghold of Houthi Shia fighters.

The Shia community has also joined calls for a regime change and expressed solidarity with anti-government protesters in Sana'a and other parts of Yemen.

On Monday, anti-regime protests spread to a prison in Sana'a, where 2,000 inmates occupied the detention center's courtyard and took dozens of guards as hostage. The prisoners also joined the calls demanding an end to Saleh's 33-year regime.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168876.html.

Bahrain opposition groups eye republic

Wed Mar 9, 2011

Three Bahraini opposition groups have formed a new bloc called “Coalition for a Republic” which they say aims at bringing down the monarchy regime in the country.

The Shia opposition groups, al-Haq, al-Wafa and the Freedom Movement announced the formation of their coalition by issuing a joint statement on Tuesday.

"We hereby declare a tripartite coalition between al-Wafa, al-Haq and Bahrain Freedom Movement that have chosen to fight for a complete downfall of the regime, and the establishment of a democratic republic in Bahrain," said the statement given to AFP on Tuesday by al-Haq leader Hassan Mashaima.

The move comes as thousands of people are still camped out in Manama's Pearl Square. They refuse to go until their demands for political reforms are met.

Mushaima added that the monarchy has failed to "bring down the revolution by force."

He said people should appoint their government themselves, and decide about the content of their own constitution.

The leader of al-Wafa, Abdul Wahab Hussein also accused the government of inflaming sectarian divisions.

"The coalition believe that the resistance should escalate peacefully, using diversified means across the entire length of Bahrain," it added.

Anti-government protests in the Shia-majority, Sunni-ruled country entered their 23rd day on Tuesday.

Demonstrators continue to keep vigil in hundreds of tents in the capital Manama's Pearl Square, which has become the focal point of the protests.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168942.html.

Intelligence report links PKK to Israel

Wed Mar 9, 2011

A new classified intelligence report has disclosed links between Israel and the Kurdish militant group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

According to the report presented at Turkey's National Security Council (MGK ) meeting on February 24, the PKK has been forging new ties with Israel, and Kurdish militants are receiving training from Mossad officials, Today's Zaman newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The MGK also stated that it has footage from an interview in which PKK leader Murat Karayilan says his group collaborated with Tel Aviv to facilitate the attack launched by Israeli forces on a Turkish aid ship bound for the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea on May 31, 2010, killing nine Turkish citizens on board the Turkish-flagged MV Mavi Marmara, and injuring about 50 others, who were part of a group of relief workers and activists on the six-ship convoy.

Israel also arrested and later released nearly 700 activists from 42 countries that were on board the ships of the Freedom Flotilla, which was attempting to break the siege of Gaza to deliver 10,000 tons of humanitarian relief aid to the people of the territory.

Meanwhile, a senior Turkish security official has said that Israel has intensified its contact with the PKK, especially after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Lebanon in November 2010.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community, including Turkey, Iran, the United States, and European Union member states.

Over 40,000 people have lost their lives since the PKK launched its armed campaign against Ankara in 1984.

PKK militants launch their attacks from Iraq's Qandil Mountains in the areas controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government. Tel Aviv and Israeli firms reportedly operate in the Qandil mountain range.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168954.html.