Hezbollah warns Israel over gas fields

Mon Jul 18, 2011

Lebanon's resistance movement Hezbollah has warned Israel against violating Lebanese sovereignty by exploring disputed waters in the Mediterranean Sea for offshore gas fields.

"The Israeli enemy cannot drill a single meter in these waters to search for gas and oil if the zone is disputed,” said Mohammed Raad, head of the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc, AFP reported on Sunday.

Raad added that the Lebanese government, where Hezbollah holds the majority, will restore the sovereignty of their waters in their entirety.

The controversy over the eastern Mediterranean gas deposits has intensified since July 12 when Tel Aviv approved a map of Israel's proposed maritime borders with Lebanon.

Last week, Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour stated that the maritime frontier as proposed by Israel, which cuts through Lebanon's economic zone, threatened regional security.

Israel has long been trying to develop several large offshore natural gas fields in the hope that, by exploiting them, it could turn into an energy exporter.

Some of the natural gas fields are shared with Cyprus.

Meanwhile, Gebran Bassil, Lebanon's minister of energy and water, has also stressed that Beirut will not abandon its maritime rights, voicing serious concerns about Israeli "violations of (Lebanese) waters, territory and airspace, and … oil rights."

The Israeli military invaded southern Lebanon in July 2006 with the intention of eliminating the resistance movement. The invasion, also known as the 33-Day War, killed about 1,200 Lebanese, most of them civilians.

Hezbollah, however, inflicted heavy losses on the Israeli forces and Tel Aviv was compelled to withdraw without having achieved any of its objectives.

Israel violates Lebanese airspace on an almost daily basis, claiming the flights serve surveillance purposes.

Lebanon's government, the Hezbollah resistance movement, and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, have repeatedly condemned the overflights, saying they are in clear violation of the country's sovereignty and the UN Resolution 1701, which calls on Tel Aviv to respect Beirut's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/189568.html.

Bahrain slammed for arresting medics

Mon Jul 18, 2011

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized the Bahraini regime for arresting medical professionals and injured anti-government protesters, calling for an investigation into the violations.

In a report published on Monday, HRW urged Manama to immediately end its campaign of arrests of medical personnel and injured anti-regime protesters, saying the arrests have been part of an official policy of retribution against government critics and that Bahraini authorities have so far failed to provide any convincing reason for their actions.

The 54-page report, "Targets of Retribution: Attacks against Medics, Injured Protesters, and Health Facilities," also documents serious government abuses since the beginning of anti-government protests in Bahrain in mid-February 2011, which include attacks on healthcare providers, denial of medical access to injured protesters, the siege of hospitals and medical centers, and the detention, ill-treatment, torture, and prosecution of medics and anti-regime patients.

"The attacks on medics and wounded protesters have been part of an official policy of retribution against Bahrainis who supported pro-democracy protests," said Joe Stork, HRW's deputy Middle East director.

"Medical personnel who criticized the severe repression were singled out and jailed, among the more than 1,600 Bahrainis facing solitary confinement and ill-treatment in detention and unfair trials before a special military court," he added.

"The royal family in Bahrain is trying to punish all those people who were very visible and very vocal during protests, and that includes doctors and other medical staff.''

According to the report, Bahraini security forces attacked ambulances and prevented them from picking up injured anti-government protesters, some of them critically wounded. It also said that Bahraini forces prevented ambulances, patients, and medical staff from entering or leaving health facilities.

The report also documents one incident on March 27 in which security forces forcibly removed a 22-year-old injured anti-government protester from a clinic. The patient, who needed immediate surgery to remove more than 100 pellets that had penetrated his pelvic area and damaged internal organs, was taken by security forces.

HRW has been unable to obtain information about his subsequent well-being or whereabouts.

According to HRW, Bahraini authorities have arrested more than 70 medical professionals, including several dozen doctors, and suspended or terminated more than 150 medical workers from their jobs since March, when the country declared martial law as part of a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters.

The medical professionals appeared before a military court for trial in June, in which they were charged with crimes that included participation in efforts to overthrow Bahrain's monarchy, taking part in illegal rallies and refusing to help persons in need.

But activists and human rights groups say the medical personnel were arrested and are being prosecuted for treating anti-regime protesters.

Bahraini doctors have repeatedly said that they were under professional duty to treat all and rejected claims by the authorities that helping anti-regime protesters was akin to supporting their cause.

Some of the doctors recently released say they were intimidated, abused and forced to sign confessions while in detention.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/189654.html.

Al-Wefaq quits Bahraini regime talks

Sun Jul 17, 2011

The largest party and opposition bloc in Bahrain has quit the so-called government-sponsored national dialogue currently underway in the country.

On Sunday, the Al Wefaq National Islamic Society said it was leaving the talks pending formal confirmation from its leadership, AFP reported.

The party's representative at the dialogue, Khalil al-Marzuk said, "We have tried but without success to make it a serious dialogue."

Manama launched the talks on July 2 with the alleged aim of introducing reforms in the Persian Gulf sheikdom's system of governance.

Al-Wefaq says since the negotiations started, the government has been trying to muffle the voice of the opposition.

In a popular revolution, tens of thousands of Bahraini protesters have been holding peaceful anti-regime rallies throughout the country since February, demanding an end to the rule of the family.

Al Khalifa has governed the oil-rich island for over 40 years with major backing from the United States, Britain and the neighboring Saudi Arabia.

Scores of people have been killed and many more arrested and tortured in prisons as part of the clampdown in the country -- a longtime US ally and home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/189522.html.

Jordanians protest govt. brutality

Sun Jul 17, 2011

Dozens of Jordanians protest the government's recent brutality against the journalists, who were trying to cover anti-regime rallies.

The protesters, who consisted of journalists and human rights activists, staged a sit-in in the capital, Amman, on Sunday, Xinhua reported.

They voiced outrage at the police brutality against scores of journalists during anti-government demonstrations on Friday.

At least ten people were injured during the crackdown with witnesses saying that some of the assaulted journalists had suffered bruises and fractures.

The Jordan Press Association, who joined the expression of objection, said it would file lawsuits against those involved in the assault.

Tareq Momani, the association's president said that the reporters were only "doing their job."

Emboldened by the revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa, Jordanians have been staging sporadic popular protests since January.

During the Friday rallies, they repeated their demand for the resignation of the prime minister, dissolution of the parliament and implementation of political and economic reforms.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/189530.html.

Syrian forces surround border town

ALBOKAMAL, Syria, July 18 (UPI) -- Syrian security forces were poised to begin a major military operation to quash dissent in an eastern town where dozens of soldiers defected, residents said.

At least 1,000 troops, some backed by tanks, surrounded Albokamal, near the Iraqi border Monday in an "explosive" situation, the pro-government private daily newspaper al-Watan reported.

The army was "preparing to intervene," the newspaper said, but Syrian authorities feared fierce resistance among insurgents who could "easily find logistical and political support."

Until now, the military largely stayed out of Albokamal and Deir el-Zour, a city of more than 500,000 on the Euphrates River, also near Iraq, out of fear its presence could ignite tribal anger against the government, The New York Times reported.

The tribes wield great influence and have relations with tribes in Iraq, the Times said.

"I expect the regime to send more troops to seize the city and punish those soldiers who defected," an Albokamal resident who arrived in Damascus Sunday told the U.S. newspaper. "It will be a big mistake to let the army enter our city."

The troops arrived a day after security forces and armed plainclothes men killed five protesters in Albokamal, including a 14-year-old boy.

The killings brought thousands of angry residents into the streets, overwhelming the security forces, the Times said, and video posted on YouTube indicated.

Residents of Hama told the BBC Monday that 50 protesters arrested recently have been freed and government offices have reopened.

The city has been under opposition control since the security forces withdrew in June. Activists have lifted their checkpoints and let businesses reopen in return for a halt to raids.

In Homs, sectarian violence was reported over the weekend.

The Observatory for Human Rights told the BBC a pro-regime militia attacked a Sunni Muslim neighborhood, killing 30 people, after the mutilated corpses of three Alawites, members of President Bashar Assad's sect, were found.

Human rights activists say at least 1,400 protesters were killed in the Assad regime's crackdown on dissent since March and more than 12,000 people were still detained, most without being charged.

The government disputes death toll and blames the unrest on Islamist extremists, accusing them of killing hundreds of soldiers and other security forces.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/07/18/Syrian-forces-surround-border-town/UPI-38741310974200/.

Shuttle's end opens new era, new legal issues in spaceflight

Lincoln NE (SPX)
Jul 18, 2011

The space shuttle's final mission marks the end of an era, but also opens an unprecedented age of private and commercial spaceflight. This new era will require international collaboration to keep watch over the practice, a UNL professor and internationally renowned space law expert said this week.

Frans von der Dunk said that in the short term NASA will be dependent on other countries' vehicles for manned spaceflights to the International Space Station. But in the long run this may be beneficial both for the United States and other countries.

"The result is a thorough stimulation of international cooperation, and the United States has still so much unique technology to offer that its dependence (on other countries) does not need to turn into a position of weakness," von der Dunk said. "International cooperation is fundamental for any true further development of international law, regulation and practice in the space sector."

Von der Dunk said the phasing out of the shuttle program, which launched its 135th and final flight last week, has prompted private entrepreneurs to invest in commercial spaceflight.

Some companies - like California-based SpaceX, an American space transport company founded by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk - are close to launching their first flights. Like SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, all of these companies have critical U.S. involvement.

The legal implications for this new wave of commercial spaceflight are already becoming visible, von der Dunk said. The United States is leading the way in carefully developing a balanced regulatory regime for private commercial spaceflight on a national level, and also with considerable consultation with Europe.

"Soon, such questions will have to be addressed at a truly international level, where the same balanced approach between the interests of the operators in this infant industry to make things happen and the interests of the public at large regarding safety and security should somehow determine the details of such systems as well," he said.

Another international legal ramification involves security - specifically, laws concerning export controls on "dual-use technologies," which can be used for both civil and military purposes, von der Dunk said. A sensible approach to current U.S. policies on ITARs, or International Traffic in Arms Regulations, will be important in that realm.

ITARs, which are interpreted and enforced by the U.S. Department of State, safeguard national security and further foreign policy objectives through the control the export of defense-related articles and technologies.

"The gradual progress in making the current U.S. regime on ITARs increasingly more sensible, efficient and effective is a very important step both for allowing relevant U.S. technology to serve those developments - and therefore the U.S. industry - and for allowing a more globally coherent approach to the security issues involved," von der Dunk said.

Source: Space-Travel.
Link: http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Shuttle_end_opens_new_era_new_legal_issues_in_spaceflight_999.html.

US spacecraft enters giant asteroid's orbit

Washington (AFP)
July 17, 2011

The US spacecraft Dawn has entered the orbit of Vesta, one of the largest asteroids in the solar system, the US space agency announced early Sunday.

Dawn is expected to come within 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) of Vesta to study its surface while traveling 116 million miles (188 million kilometers) from Earth.

"It has taken nearly four years to get to this point," said Robert Mase, manager of the $466 million project at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

After a year of observations and measurements around Vesta, Dawn will depart for its second destination, the dwarf planet Ceres, in July 2012. It will be the first craft to orbit two solar system destinations beyond Earth, said NASA officials.

The foremost objective of Dawn's eight-year mission is to compare and contrast the two giant bodies, which NASA says will help scientists "unlock the secrets of our solar system's early history."

"Dawn's science instrument suite will measure surface composition, topography and texture. In addition, the Dawn spacecraft will measure the tug of gravity from Vesta and Ceres to learn more about their internal structures," NASA said in a press release.

The spacecraft, which was launched in 2007, has a gamma ray and neutron detector instrument, which will gather information on cosmic rays during the approach phase, as well as an infrared mapping spectrometer.

The mission, which can be followed on NASA's website at http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov, comes as a far more famous space craft, the shuttle Atlantis, orbits the Earth on the final mission of the 30-year shuttle program.

Source: Space Daily.
Link: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/US_spacecraft_enters_giant_asteroids_orbit_999.html.

When minor planets Ceres and Vesta rock the Earth into chaos

Washington DC (SPX)
Jul 18, 2011

Astronomy and Astrophysics is publishing a new study of the orbital evolution of minor planets Ceres and Vesta, a few days before the flyby of Vesta by the Dawn spacecraft. A team of astronomers found that close encounters among these bodies lead to strong chaotic behavior of their orbits, as well as of the Earth's eccentricity. This means, in particular, that the Earth's past orbit cannot be reconstructed beyond 60 million years.

Astronomy and Astrophysics is publishing numerical simulations of the long-term evolution of the orbits of minor planets Ceres and Vesta, which are the largest bodies in the asteroid belt, between Mars and Jupiter. Ceres is 6000 times less massive than the Earth and almost 80 times less massive than our Moon. Vesta is almost four times less massive than Ceres.

These two minor bodies, long thought to peacefully orbit in the asteroid belt, are found to affect their large neighbors and, in particular, the Earth in a way that had not been anticipated. This is showed in the new astronomical computations released by Jacques Laskar from Paris Observatory and his colleagues.

Although small, Ceres and Vesta gravitationally interact together and with the other planets of the Solar System. Because of these interactions, they are continuously pulled or pushed slightly out of their initial orbit. Calculations show that, after some time, these effects do not average out. Consequently, the bodies leave their initial orbits and, more importantly, their orbits are chaotic, meaning that we cannot predict their positions.

The two bodies also have a significant probability of impacting each other, estimated at 0.2% per billion year. Last but not least, Ceres and Vesta gravitationally interact with the Earth, whose orbit also becomes unpredictable after only 60 million years.

This means that the Earth's eccentricity, which affects the large climatic variations on its surface, cannot be traced back more than 60 million years ago. This is indeed bad news for Paleoclimate studies.

This unexpected discovery comes at a time when both objects are the targets of the NASA/Dawn mission. The Dawn probe will encounter Ceres in February 2015. At present, Dawn is approaching Vesta, and the flyby will occur on this coming Saturday, July 16, 2011.

Source: Space Daily.
Link: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/When_minor_planets_Ceres_and_Vesta_rock_the_Earth_into_chaos_999.html.

Jordan riot police held over Amman clashes

17 July 2011

The Jordanian authorities have detained four police officers on suspicion of using excessive force against pro-democracy protesters and journalists.

Friday saw baton-wielding police officers clash with dozens of demonstrators trying to set up a protest camp in the center of the capital Amman.

At least 15 people were injured in the confrontation.

Among them were several photographers and journalists.

This has led to claims that police targeted reporters to stop them covering the protest.

About 100 journalists held a protest in Amman on Sunday to condemn the police action.

Police spokesman Lt Col Mohamed al-Khatib said an investigation was under way to determine whether policemen had broken the law. He said more officers could be arrested.

The Jordan Press Association has said it plans to sue the country's police department.

Jordan, in common with Arab nations across the Middle East, has seen the recent emergence of a protest movement demanding political and economic reforms, and an end to corruption.

Source: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14180143.

Protesters denounce attack on journalists

By Hani Hazaimeh

AMMAN - Some 200 people gathered at the Jordan Press Association (JPA) headquarters on Monday to denounce an attack on journalists by riot police on Friday.

The protesters carried banners that read "The media want to try the assailants and those who gave the orders” and “Condemnation and apologies are not enough and will not stop us from seeking justice”.

The protest was preceded by a JPA council meeting during which the members discussed how to bring an end to assaults on journalists.

Last Friday, riot police allegedly attacked journalists covering the first open-ended sit-in in the Kingdom since that of March 24, which also ended in violence and witnessed attacks against reporters.

Friday’s protest attracted some 300 local and international journalists, who almost outnumbered the pro-reform protesters.

Despite a series of preventative measures taken by police and media organizations to protect journalists, including the issuance of orange vests and an instant hotline to lodge complaints, the first hour of what was to be a peaceful sit-in soon witnessed attacks on members of the press, according to journalists.

Media activists said 20 journalists were injured and around 15 sent to hospital.

“The JPA will pursue legal action to prosecute those responsible for the attack on our colleagues,” JPA President Tareq Momani told The Jordan Times yesterday, adding that the JPA council called on all journalists who were attacked by the police to file a complaint.

“We want an independent ad hoc investigation committee to identify those responsible for the attack to bring them to justice. We also want to be part of any investigation and we want a daily update of the procedures,” he said at the protest, which also saw the participation of Hamzah Mansour, secretary general of the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood.

He expressed the IAF’s support for and solidarity with the media, claiming that “Friday’s incident and the attack on members of the March 24 youth movement at the Interior Ministry Circle earlier this year were engineered by the same party”.

The Public Security Department has also launched an investigation and suspended four police officers for their role in the violence.

Momani described the arrest of four policemen as “a joke” and insisted that those who took part in the attack, whether physically or by issuing orders, must be held accountable and brought to justice.

Meanwhile, MP Jamil Nimri, also a columnist, condemned the attack and charged that whoever orchestrated it aimed to prevent the media from reporting the incident.

18 July 2011

Source: The Jordan Times.
Link: http://www.jordantimes.com/index.php?news=39563.

NASA's Dawn Begins Science Orbit of Vesta

July 17, 2011

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has entered into orbit around the asteroid Vesta, the first-ever probe to circle an object in the main asteroid belt.

The probe’s science orbit will last one year and then it will continue on to study the dwarf planet Ceres. The two objects are the largest bodies in the asteroid belt, which is located between Mars and Jupiter.

The space agency marked the event as an incredible exploration milestone.

"Dawn’s study of the asteroid Vesta marks a major scientific accomplishment and also points the way to the future destinations where people will travel in the coming years," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden in a press release.

"President Obama has directed NASA to send astronauts to an asteroid by 2025, and Dawn is gathering crucial data that will inform that mission."

Now that Dawn has entered Vesta’s orbit, the asteroid’s gravity can be measured to determine the exact time of capture, as both these figures could only be estimated previously.

The observations recorded during Dawn’s science orbit will help astronomers understand our solar system’s early history as both Vesta and Ceres are believed to have formed around 4.6 billion years ago, and information about what happened back then may have been captured in their ancient frozen surfaces.

"Navigation images from Dawn’s framing camera have given us intriguing hints of Vesta, but we’re looking forward to the heart of Vesta operations, when we begin officially collecting science data," said Christopher Russell at the University of California Los Angeles in a press release.

"We can’t wait for Dawn to peel back the layers of time and reveal the early history of our solar system."

Dawn left Earth in 2007 and will become the first spacecraft to have orbited two bodies in our solar system, after it reaches Ceres.

"We’ve packed our year at Vesta chock-full of science observations to help us unravel the mysteries of Vesta," said NASA’s Carol Raymond in the release.

Source: The Epoch Times.
Link: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/science/nasas-dawn-begins-science-orbit-of-vesta-59178.html.

Syrian Forces Surround Town

By Shannon Liao
July 17, 2011

Syrian police forces on Sunday surrounded a town on the eastern border with Iraq after tens of thousands of residents staged protests denouncing President Bashar al-Assad, Reuters reported.

Protesters in Albu Kamal were encouraged to come to the streets by recent defections of some security personnel, according to the report.

Around 1,000 loyal military and security personnel surrounded the town overnight with tanks and helicopters.

Media and Syrian human right groups put the number of killed over the past four months of unrest at between 1,400 and 1,900.

Security forces have been shooting protesters and are responsible for most of the killings, according to Hozan Ibrahim, a spokesperson for the rights group, Local Coordination Committees of Syria.

An activist told Reuters that tribal leaders are negotiating with the army to arrange a deal to return previously seized army vehicles and weapons and in return army troops will stay out of Albu Kamal and nearby villages.

On Saturday, military agents killed five protesters including a 14-year-old boy.

Source: The Epoch Times.
Link: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/world/syrian-forces-surround-town-59186.html.

Tunis protests take violent turn

2011-07-17

Tunisian security officers on Saturday (July 16th) forcibly prevented protestors from rallying for a second day in the Tunis Kasbah, TAP reported. Starting Friday, a massive police presence isolated Kasbah Square. Several journalists trying to cover the protests claimed that they were attacked by police.

The protestors' demands included the dismissal of the justice and interior ministers, an independent judiciary and the "re-constitution" of the High Commission for the Realization of Revolutionary Goals, Political Reforms and Democratic Transition.

The Tunisian Journalists' Union (SNJT) denounced the police violence at Kasbah square and said it would file a formal complaint against the interior minister. The SNJT is planning a two-hour-sit-in on Monday.

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2011/07/17/newsbrief-03.

Egyptian foreign minister resigns

Sat Jul 16, 2011

Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed El-Orabi has resigned and his resignation has been accepted by the head of government.

Prime Minister Essam Sharaf accepted Orabi's resignation late on Saturday, the state-run Nile TV network reported.

Orabi's resignation was announced a day before an expected wide-ranging cabinet reshuffle.

Orabi was appointed in late June to replace former Foreign Minister Nabil el-Arabi, who is now the secretary general of the Cairo-based Arab League.

Sharaf has been consulting with politicians on a cabinet reshuffle he promised last week after Egyptians resumed protests in central Cairo to press for faster reforms and a speedy trial for former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in a popular uprising in February.

On Saturday, the Egyptian prime minister picked a leader of one of Egypt's oldest political parties and an economist to be his deputies as part of the cabinet reshuffle.

Sharaf's foreign policy adviser and spokesman, Mohamed Hegazy, said Egypt's prime minister has picked Hazem El Beblawi "to supervise the economic file and the economic group within the cabinet."

Sharaf also chose Ali al-Silmi of the Wafd Party as his deputy "for political development and democratic transformation," Hegazy added.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/189420.html.

Several states recognize Libya's NTC

Fri Jul 15, 2011

Representatives of countries involved in the NATO-led war in Libya have decided to recognize the Libyan opposition as the legitimate authority of the country.

More than 30 countries attending the so-called Libya Contact Group meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, have agreed to recognize the National Transitional Council (NTC).

"Gaddafi regime no longer has any legitimate authority in Libya," the group said in a statement.

The recognition will be officially announced when the final document is released later in the day.

The Contact Group meeting was aimed at putting more pressure on embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to step aside.

Officials from 40 countries -- including regional nations attended as well as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen -- attended the meeting.

The meeting comes in the wake of contacts between France and members of the Gaddafi regime, which have raised the possibility of a negotiated exit for Gaddafi.

Libya has been the scene of intense fighting between government troops and revolutionary forces since mid-February. The deadly conflict has left thousands of people dead and wounded.

Tripoli and some western provinces remain under Gaddafi's control while the revolutionaries hold Benghazi, most of the east and several western cities.

Revolutionary forces want an end to Gaddafi's decades-long rule.

NATO has recently intensified its attacks on Libya in an alleged attempt to increase pressure on Gaddafi.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/189248.html.

Tunisian police attack protesters

Fri Jul 15, 2011

Tunisian Police have attacked hundreds of angry anti-government protesters calling for an end to corruption and progress in political reforms.

More than 700 protesters gathered in Kasbah square in the center of the Tunisian capital on Friday. Riot police fired tear gas on protesters to break up the demonstration and pushed them out of the square.

Protesters were shouting slogans against government officials whom they accuse of corruption.

"People are angry. Nothing has changed and frustration is haunting everyone," Reuters quoted protesters as saying. "We want a new revolution."

They also say they want peace and security in Tunisia.

The protesters said they would be willing to fight for Tunisia if it falls into what they called the wrong hands.

Earlier in the year Tunisians took part in the revolution that resulted in the ouster of former ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia as the Tunisian Revolution was gaining momentum.

Ben Ali's 23 years of dictatorship, which was marred by repeated human rights violations and torture, ended in mid-January after weeks of street protests.

The demonstrators are opposed to the new government as it still includes figures from the ousted regime.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/189273.html.

Anti-regime Yemenis form shadow govt.

Sat Jul 16, 2011

Anti-regime protesters in Yemen say they have formed a shadow government to run the country, should the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh collapse.

Young anti-regime protesters, who have set up camps in a square in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a since February, made the announcement on Saturday.

The former civil society leaders and government officials are also included in the shadow government, which consists of a 17-member transitional presidential council, the protest leader Tawakul Karman announced.

The council "is charged with leading the country during a transition period not to exceed nine months and with forming a government of technocrats," Karman said.

Karman further added that the council will soon choose a leader and announce a 501-member shadow parliament that will seek to draft a new constitution.

The council will further seek to unify all opposition leaders.

"We decided to announce the formation of the presidential council in the wake of rumors that Saleh will return on Sunday or Monday," Hashem al-Ibara, an official in a youth opposition coalition said.

His comments came after deputy Information Minister Abdo al-Janadi said on Saturday that Saleh will return to Yemen as soon as he is in “good health”. Janadi added that Saleh is currently waiting for the approval of his doctors.

Saleh and five other high ranking Yemeni officials fled to Saudi Arabia for treatment following a rocket attack on the Yemeni presidential palace on June 3.

Saleh, who is reported to be suffering from some 40 percent burn damages to his body, has since then been receiving treatment in a Saudi hospital.

Yemeni Vice President Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi, who is the acting president in the absence of Saleh, has so far resisted intensive local and international pressure to heed the demands of protesters to set up an interim ruling council.

John Brennan, US President Barack Obama's top counter terrorism-adviser, has said that the White House has called on Saleh to accept a [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council that would end his rule within 30 days in exchange of immunity from prosecution.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/189348.html.