2,000 Yemeni inmates join uprising

Tue Mar 8, 2011

Nearly 2,000 Yemeni inmates have revolted at a prison in the capital, taken a dozen guards hostage and called on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.

The unrest broke out in the Sana'a prison late on Monday when prisoners set their mattresses ablaze and occupied the facility's courtyard, AP quoted a security official said on Tuesday.

He said the guards fired tear gas and gunshots into the air but were not able to force the prisoners to give in.

The official said that additional troops have stationed to tighten security outside the prison.

He also said a number of inmates were hurt in the unrest.

Yemen has witnessed weeks of protests against President Saleh, who has vowed not to leave office until the end of his term in 2013.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168864.html.

Sulaymanieh scene of cheers, protests

Tue Mar 8, 2011

Iraqi Kurds celebrate the anniversary of their liberation from Saddam Hussein's rule while protests against the regional government continue in Iraq's Kurdistan.

On Monday, the streets surrounding the headquarters of the ruling Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Sulaymanieh was the scene of flag-waving people marking the 20th anniversary of the Kurdish uprising against Iraq's executed dictator Saddam Hussein, a Press TV correspondent reported.

“This day is very important for the people of Sulaymanieh,” PUK spokesman, Azad Jondyani, said on the occasion of March 7.

“Since this day until now, the Ba'ath regime has been removed from this region and there is freedom. This is important for all Kurdish people,” he pointed out.

Many people in the northern Iraqi city cheered in anticipation of the arrival of Iraqi president and PUK leader, Jalal Talabani, who pointed out the significance of the day of uprising while addressing the crowd.

The PUK leader's speech came as anti-government protests continued on the 16th consecutive day, with demonstrators calling for stronger actions, greater government reform and an end to corruption.

Talabani, however, said the ruling parties are not afraid of protests and that it is everyone's right to express their demands to their government, noting that the PUK had submitted 17 points to parliament in line with the demonstrators' demands.

Meanwhile, hundreds of PUK supporters hung the ruling party's flags from their cars and marched through the streets of Sulaymanieh in support of the leaders who freed them from Saddam Hussein's cruel dictatorship.

Having a mixed air of celebration and continued protests, many are concerned that Sulaymanieh -- located 260 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad -- is becoming divided. Extra security forces have been put on standby in case of conflict.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168849.html.

30 protesters detained in Kurdish Iraq

Mon Mar 7, 2011

At least 30 anti-government protesters have been arrested after armed men attacked demonstrators camping out in a square in Sulaymanieh in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.

“Protesters were attacked by armed and masked gunmen at around 02:30 am (2330 GMT). Tents were burned, personal equipment destroyed or stolen and around 30 arrested,” a Press TV correspondent in Sulaymanieh reported early Monday.

The anti-government demonstrators were determined to continue their protest despite the fact that security forces had issued an alert that "they would not be responsible if anything happened to those who remained in the town square at night.”

Although the protesters were forced to leave Sara Square, neither the attacks nor the cold night air were able to deter hundreds of demonstrators from camping out in the city.

The anti-government demonstrators hope that their protests will finally convince the government to listen to their demands for better living conditions and ending food and electricity shortages.

The recent government crackdown on protests in the Iraqi Kurdistan region has angered the people of Sulaymanieh.

Over the past two weeks, seven people have been killed and more than 200 injured during clashes between police forces and protesters, while 220 more have been arrested.

The crackdown has also led many Kurds to reject the call from the region's President Massoud Barzani for early elections.

Following the announcement on Friday, thousands flocked to the town square to continue their daily protests, reflecting their lack of faith in Barzani's words.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168618.html.

Egypt group to unveil secret files

Mon Mar 7, 2011

Egyptian revolutionaries say they are set to disclose information incriminating senior officials over their involvement in the violent crackdown on anti-regime protests.

A number of “documents will soon be declassified, showing some senior Egyptian officials' connections with the country's Security Organization in the repression of people and protesters,” Ahmed al-Dowma, a member of Egypt's Youths Coalition of Revolution Rage, told Iran's Arabic-language news channel Al-Alam on Sunday.

He said that the group has already published some records of the country's security organization which was “the main arm in the suppression, slaughter and torture of Egyptians” under the regime of the deposed President Hosni Mubarak.

Dowma said that the revolutionary forces discovered instruments of torture and graves of those who lost their lives under the regime's brutal inquisition during a raid on the security organization offices.

Reports indicate that thousands of protesters stormed buildings belonging to Egypt's internal security forces over the weekend, seizing what protesters described as a treasure trove of documents related to the regime of the ousted ruler.

Crowds of people broke into three Interior Ministry buildings on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, including the Cairo headquarters for Amn al-Dowla, the agency responsible for domestic security. Some of the buildings were set afire.

protesters clashed with army troops on Sunday as they tried to enter an Amn al-Dowla building in downtown Cairo. Troops fired shots into the air to disperse the protesters.

Egypt's military government did not respond to a request for comments.

According to human-rights activists, Amn al-Dowla was the main tool of repression used by Mubarak's regime during his decades-long grip on power. Under Egypt's emergency law, it routinely arrested citizens and tortured them. Since Mubarak's ouster, the security forces are still running but have kept out of the public eye.

Activists said they entered the buildings because security officials from the former regime had been engaged in destroying documents -- potentially eliminating evidence that could be used to prosecute former officials for crimes, including torture.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168626.html.

Moroccan protests demand reforms

Mon Mar 7, 2011

Hundreds of pro-democracy protesters have held a rally outside Morocco's parliament building, calling for political reforms in the northwest African kingdom.

Human rights activists and the capital city's youths participated in the peaceful protest that began in the center of Rabat on Sunday.

Demonstrations were also held in Morocco's biggest city Casablanca and the northern port of Tangiers, AFP reported.

In Casablanca, the protesters carried placards reading "Dignity" and "Social Justice." They denounced the concentration of money and power. Last weekend, nearly a thousand people rallied in Casablanca despite a heavy police presence.

The protesters have been demanding limited powers of the monarchy and the establishment of social justice. They have also called for the dismissal of the government and a clampdown on state corruption.

Thousands of Moroccans took to the streets on February 20 in the first major demonstration the country has witnessed since the uprisings across the region.

King Mohammed VI told union leaders last week that he favored reforms, without elaborating on the type of reforms and a time frame for their introduction.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168613.html.

Iraqi skydiver does jump over Kabul for peace

Tue, 08 Mar 2011

Kabul - Fareed Lafta was scared to go out in war-torn Afghanistan, but that did not stop him from free falling in the sky over Kabul Tuesday.

The 31-year-old Iraqi extreme sports athlete jumped from a helicopter at an altitude of 2,100 meters in what he claimed was the first-ever civilian skydiving jump over the capital since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

Lafta spiraled in the air before landing at Ghazi Stadium in front of an audience.

Afterward, he said he did the "peace jump" as a call for unity and harmony in Afghanistan.

In 2009, Lafta did a similar peace jump over Baghdad at the invitation of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

"Some jumps are for fun, some for training, others for records, but this one is for peace," said Lafta, who participated in the 2008 record-breaking jump of more than 9,100 meters above Mount Everest.

"That is why Baghdad and Kabul will remain special to me," he said. "The peace jump over war-stricken Kabul is a great opportunity to say that we should all strive for peace.

"This is symbolic. I want to give hope to Afghans and especially the younger generation to strive for something better."

Sport once again sent a message of unity, event co-organizer Skateistan said in a statement. The Afghan co-educational school trains displaced youths in skateboarding as well as providing academic classes.

Hailed as an Iraqi idol, Lafta said he believes sport can help bring peace. The first Iraqi to become a qualified cosmonaut, he has been a role model for the youth of the Middle East.

Lafta, who lives in Dubai, has several other achievements under his belt, including scuba diving instructor, motorcycle racer and Muay Thai fighter.

"I always tell myself I would not do crazy stuff to put myself on the line, but I always end up doing them," he said.

Lafta said his appetite for the extreme and adventure has taken him around the world and allowed him do what he wants to do.

An adventurer from an early age, Lafta also went through troubled times during the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. His brother was kidnapped by a criminal gang and held for ransom while Lafta was shot in the leg.

"I have seen the violence right in front of me, so I know the price of freedom and the need for democracy," Lafta said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/370745,does-jump-kabul-peace.html.

Germany welcomes nomination of UN special envoy to Libya

Mon, 07 Mar 2011

Berlin - German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Monday welcomed the UN's nomination of former Jordanian foreign minister Abdul Ilah Khatib as a special envoy for Libya.

Westerwelle praised Khatib as an "experienced politician from the region" who would give a "face and voice" to the international political and humanitarian efforts in Libya.

Germany previously campaigned for the UN to appoint somebody to lead consultations with the authorities in Tripoli and governments in the region.

At the same time, the minister called for states to place greater pressure on Libya, and said the issue should be raised again in the UN Security Council, of which Germany is a non-permanent member.

"Further targeted sanctions, such as an end to all payments to the Gaddafi regime, urgently belong onto the agenda of the EU and United Nations," Westerwelle said.

At the same time, the minister warned that any measure that went beyond sanctions - such as the enforcement of a no-fly zone over Libya - would have to be authorized by the UN Security Council and approved by partners in the region.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/370602,nomination-un%C2%A0special-envoy-libya.html.