Kuwait joins Bahrain military crackdown

Tue Mar 22, 2011

Kuwait has joined foreign military forces invading Bahrain by sending navy units to the Persian Gulf sheikhdom to help the government crack down on protesters.

A number of Kuwaiti vessels docked off the Bahraini coasts on Monday with some Kuwaiti ground forces onboard, Bahrain news agency reported.

The Kuwaiti ambassador in Manama said his country wants to help calm the situation in Bahrain.

However, Bahraini opposition groups have condemned the presence of foreign troops, calling it an "occupation."

Saudi Arabia has also deployed more than 1,000 troops to the country, while the UAE has dispatched around 500 police forces to assist in the violent repression of protesters.

More than 15 people have been killed and about 1,000 injured since the start of the anti-government protests demanding the ouster of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa from the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom in mid-February.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and other human rights organizations have strongly condemned the military intervention and called the action illegal.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171128.html.

Yemeni envoys urge Saleh to resign

Mon Mar 21, 2011

Five Yemeni ambassadors to European states have called on embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, the country's envoy to France says.

The ambassadors to Paris, Brussels, Geneva, Berlin and London as well as the Yemeni consul in Frankfurt "sent a message to President Saleh urging him to respond to the demands of the people and resign to avert bloodshed," Khaled al-Akwaa said.

He added that the Yemeni ambassador to Cuba was also one of the signatories, AFP reported.

The envoys join a host of senior Yemeni officials who have either resigned from their posts or voiced support for protesters demanding Saleh's ouster.

Several military commanders have joined the opposition while Yemen's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mohammad Ali al-Ahwal has voiced support for protesters.

Yemeni deputy parliament speaker and the governor of the southern province of Aden along with the country's ambassadors to Syria, Japan and the UN have also stepped down.

More than 50 people have been killed and scores of others wounded during armed attacks by Saleh loyalists since the beginning of the popular revolution in January.

Top Yemeni tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar also joined a number of influential Yemeni clerics who have called on Saleh to meet the demands of protesters and end his decades-long rule to avoid further violence and bloodshed.

Late on Sunday, President Saleh sacked his entire government amid continued pressure from the oppression-weary public. He, however, did not show any sign that he would meet the protesters' demand and step down.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171069.html.

Yemen envoy to KSA backs protesters

Mon Mar 21, 2011

Yemen's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mohammad Ali al-Ahwal has voiced support for protesters, demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Ahwal expressed his support for protesters on Monday, following the brutal crackdown on demonstrators which has left dozens of people dead so far. However, it was not immediately clear whether he was leaving his post or resigning.

Earlier in the day, Yemen's ambassador to Syria resigned from his post as well as from Saleh's ruling party to show solidarity with protesters.

The governor of Yemen's southern province of Aden, Ahmed Qaatabi, also resigned on Monday to protest the violent suppression of anti-government demonstrations, an official in his office said.

Yemeni deputy parliament speaker, Himyar al-Ahmar, along with the country's ambassador to Japan, Marwan al-Nu'aman, and the UN, Abdullah Alsaidi, have also stepped down.

The developments come as scores of Yemeni military and civilian leaders have been defecting to the opposition side.

Scores of people have been killed and wounded during armed attacks by Saleh loyalists since the beginning of the popular revolution in January.

Top Yemeni tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar also joined a number of influential Yemeni clerics who have called on Saleh to meet the demands of protesters and end his decades-long rule to avoid further violence and bloodshed.

“I announce in the name of all the members of my tribe that I am joining the revolution," Ahmar, the leader of the Hashid tribal confederation, the largest in Yemen, told Al-Jazeera television on Monday.

Late on Sunday, President Saleh sacked his entire government amid continued pressure from the oppression-weary public. He, however, did not show any sign that he would heed protesters' demand and step down.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171051.html.

Houthis make gains in northern Yemen

Mon Mar 21, 2011

Yemeni Houthi fighters are now in control of the northern province of Sa'ada following clashes with security forces which left at 20 people dead.

The fighters have also clashed with Yemeni government forces in the neighboring province of al-Jawf, local sources said.

"Fighting between Shia rebels, Yemeni troops and their tribal allies killed 20 people in the north" AFP quoted the sources as saying on Monday.

The Shia Houthi fighters, who have fought the Yemeni regime for their rights, have been frequently pounded by Yemeni fighter jets and helicopter gunships.

The fighting broke out on Monday after Yemeni troops tried to retake the control of a strategic military installation near the northern province of Al-Jawf, which the Houthi fighters had taken over.

The Yemeni government launched Operation Scorched Earth in 2007 to uproot the Houthis, whom Sana'a accuses of seeking to restore the Zaydi imamate rule, overthrown in a 1962 coup.

The fresh clashes came as thousands of protesters across the country have been calling for the ouster of embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh since mid-January. Dozens have been killed and hundreds more wounded during anti-government protests.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171018.html.

Fifty-mile-long algae bloom found in UK

Tue Mar 22, 2011

The Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) says a 50-mile-long algae bloom is floating between the Lizard in Cornwall and Salcombe in Devon, UK.

Scientists at the laboratory discovered the bloom off the southern coast of Cornwall and Devon and another off South East Ireland, using satellite images, the state-funded BBC reported.

The swarm of skeletonema is not harmful and has only come to the surface because of the warm weather, the laboratory announced.

"Skeletonema is a beautiful microscopic plant that, given the right conditions, reproduces rapidly to cover large areas of coastal seas,” said Earth observation scientist at PML, Dr. Peter Miller.

"Over the winter nutrients have built up in the sea and the windy weather we have experienced recently has stirred them up to the surface,” he added.

Plankton ecologist at PML Claire Widdicombe said the “timing of the bloom” was interesting.

"We would normally expect the spring bloom to be a few weeks later than this," she said.

The algae was discovered as part of the AquaMar project which uses satellite images to detect algae that might be a risk to humans and the fishing industry.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171136.html.

NASA tests Mars space suit

Tue Mar 22, 2011

A team of NASA scientists has tested a space outfit in an Antarctic base with conditions similar to those on Mars, for possible use on the Red Planet.

Designed by Argentine aerospace engineer Pablo de Leon, the NDX-1 space suit proved to be resistant to frigid temperatures and winds of more than 47 mph, Reuters reported.

The suit is created with NASA funds and is made of more than 350 materials, including tough honeycomb Kevlar and carbon fibers to reduce its weight without losing resistance.

Researchers in the Argentine air force base of Marambio tried out techniques for collecting soil samples on Mars, wearing the $100,000 prototype suit.

The base was chosen because it has easy access to permafrost, or soil that stays frozen most of the year.

"This was the first time we took the suit to such an extreme, isolated environment so that if something went wrong we couldn't just go to the store" and buy a repair kit, De Leon said after returning from the week-long expedition.

NASA scientists, who took part in the 'Mars in Marambio' mission, went on simulated spacewalks, operated drills and collected samples while wearing the outfit.

De Leon said the suit gave a claustrophobic feeling with its helmet and built-in headset for communicating with the outside world.

Head of the space suit laboratory at the University of North Dakota also said that Antarctica was the ideal place for sample collection because it is one of the least contaminated places on earth and can provide clues about the gear's impact.

"Mars is a mixture of many different environments: deserts, and temperatures and winds like in Antarctica," De Leon said. "So we try to take bits of different places and try to see if our systems can withstand the rigors of Mars if we go there."

US President Barack Obama said last year that astronauts will orbit Mars and return safely by the mid-2030s.

Although Obama has promised Mars landing, NASA's tightening budget makes a manned mission to the Red Planet seem more far-fetched.

The US National Research Council suggested this month that robotic missions to Mars and Jupiter's icy moon Europa top NASA's agenda for an upcoming decade of planetary exploration.

De Leon, however, hopes that the NDX-1 space suit or even a part of it will be worn by astronauts when they first step on Mars.

"Even if just one bolt of our space suit or one tiny bit of our design makes it to Mars, I'll be more than happy," he concluded.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171135.html.

Top Yemeni general joins protesters

Mon Mar 21, 2011

A top general has joined anti-government protesters in Yemen, as political crisis in the country has exacerbated following the recent brutal crackdown on the popular uprising.

In a televised message on Monday, Gen. Ali Mohsen expressed his support for anti-government protesters.

Mohsen, however, has not announced his resignation, AFP reported.

This comes after Yemeni ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh sacked his entire government on Sunday amid persisting protests by the oppression-weary public that has staged a revolution against his regime.

Saleh has vowed to form a new government soon and has instructed the current cabinet, which was headed by Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Mujawar, to act as a caretaker and run daily operations until a new government is formed.

In a move to put pressure on president Saleh to give up power, the governor of southern province of Aden also stepped down on Monday.

Amid a slew of defections to the opposition by Yemeni military and civilian leaders, Ahmed Qaatabi resigned "to protest what is happening in the county," said a Yemeni official on condition of anonymity.

Also on Sunday, crowds swarmed the square near the Sana'a University, commemorating 52 people that died on Friday in an attack by the military's snipers.

Protest rallies have been raging on since January, blaming the Saleh regime for trampling upon the rights of the people.

Since the beginning of the popular revolution, scores of people have been killed and hundreds more wounded during armed attacks by Saleh's loyalists.

Meanwhile, a number of influential Yemeni clerics on Sunday called on Saleh to appease the demands of protesters and end his decades-old rule to avoid further violence and bloodshed.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171022.html.