Tunisia blocks access to porn sites

Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
May 27, 2011

The court of first instance issued the ruling on Thursday after three lawyers filed a case to re-impose a block of porn sites.

Manama: A Tunisian court has ordered the blocking of all pornographic websites in the country within 48 hours.

The court of first instance issued the ruling on Thursday after three lawyers, Ahmed Hasana, Monem Turki and Imed Saadia, last week filed a legal case to re-impose a block of porn sites that was lifted following the uprising that toppled the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January 14.

In their pleadings, the three lawyers highlighted the "negative psychological, physiological, social and educational effects" of pornographic websites and said that pornography clashed with the values of the Arab-Islamic society.

The ban on access to the sites was lifted in January following calls for more individual freedoms and rights. In December, the British government said that it wanted to combat the early sexualization of children by blocking internet pornography unless parents request it, British media reported.

The move followed warnings about the hidden damage being done to children by sex sites. "Instead of using parental controls to stop access to pornography - so-called ‘opting out' - the tap will be turned off at source. Adults will then have to ‘opt in'," Sunday Times reported. However, according to internet service providers (ISPs), plans to block pornography "at source" are unlikely to prove effective.

"Technical challenges mean any large scale filtering system is doomed to failure," they said.

Source: Gulf News.
Link: http://gulfnews.com/news/region/tunisia/tunisia-blocks-access-to-porn-sites-1.813640.

Qatar suspends Yemen embassy oper.

Thu May 26, 2011

Qatar has temporarily suspended the operation of its embassy in Yemen and has withdrawn its diplomatic staff members from the country due to violence.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the decision was made because of the lack of response to the initiative and appeals to resolve the crisis in Yemen, Xinhua reported.

The diplomatic mission would return after the demands of the Yemeni people and their choices are met, the ministry said.

Qatar has taken the decisive step after Britain announced a similar move on Thursday to trim down its staff as the situation in Yemen is worsening since March 23.

The United States on Wednesday said it had ordered all non-essential embassy staff and family members to leave the Arab state.

More than 40 people were killed in clashes in the Libyan capital, Sana'a, on Thursday after President Ali Abdullah Saleh refused to sign a power transition deal brokered by the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council for the third time.

The deal calls on Saleh to step down within 30 days after signing the deal in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

Saleh said on Wednesday that he is prepared to escalate the campaign against anti-regime tribesmen, who are calling for his immediate ouster after almost 33 years of authoritarian rule.

“I will not leave power and I will not leave Yemen. I don't take orders from outside,” Saleh said.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/181916.html.

Bomb blast injures 8 in Turkey

Fri May 27, 2011

A bomb blast in the uptown Istanbul neighborhood in Turkey has wounded at least eight people, including a police officer.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack that happened on Thursday morning.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he suspects Kurdistan's Workers Party (PKK) to be responsible for the attack, Hurriyet daily reported.

The PKK is the main militant group whose insurgency began in the 1980s and has killed more than 40,000.

During an election campaign in the Central Anatolian province of Nigde, Erdogan told journalists that the explosion clearly points to the brutal face of terrorism.

He said once the investigation is completed, the details will be made public.

The blast was caused by a medium-strength bomb that was mounted on an electric bicycle near a bus stop in the Etiler neighborhood, the daily quoted Istanbul Police Chief Huseyin Capkin as saying.

Two people are seriously injured, including a 38-year-old woman who has reportedly lost her leg, he said.

The blast also damaged a public bus and a private vehicle passing by, as well as several buildings.

The bomb's target might have been the police, as the electric bicycle carrying the bomb was placed close to a nearby technical college for police.

Turkey is scheduled to hold general elections on June 12 with 50 million eligible voters voting for 15 political parties running for 550 seats in the parliament.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/181927.html.

Chaos spread in Yemen despite truce

Fri May 27, 2011

Despite a truce between Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the powerful Hashid tribe, fighter jets continue to strike tribesmen in the country's rural areas.

At least 18 loyalists of the Hashid tribe were killed in the aerial bombing of the al-Fardha Nehem region, 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of the capital Sana'a on Friday, a Press TV report said.

The air strikes came after tribesmen surrounded and captured two military camps belonging to the Republican Guards, led by the president's son, in order to stop troop deployment to Sana'a.

More than a dozen soldiers -- including a base commander -- were killed in the fighting, AP reported local tribal leader Sheik Ali Saif saying.

The tribesmen also seized two military helicopters and shot down a third, capturing all soldiers on board, Saif added.

Yemen's Interior Ministry, however, denied the base's capture in a statement.

The latest deaths bring to over 124 the number of tribesmen killed during the past five days.

This week's fighting has stoked local and international fears that the Arab world's poorest country could be thrown into civil war.

This is while, tens of thousands of Yemeni anti-government protesters once again massed in the capital's central square on Friday, seeking to confirm the peacefulness of their revolution.

Addressing the crowd, Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar, head of the Hashid tribe, renewed calls on President Saleh to step down and blamed the embattled president for the recent violence.

“We want to remain peaceful, but if Ali Abdullah Saleh wants war, we are ready to face him and those around him,'' the 55-year-old leader said.

Ahmar made the warning after declaring that he had reached a ceasefire with forces loyal to Saleh, following five days of intense street battle.

International pressure on President Saleh continues to mount up, urging him to sign the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC) brokered deal.

The isolated Yemeni president, who has been in power for almost 33 years, has repeatedly refused to sign the [P]GCC initiative that would see him resign in return for immunity from prosecution.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/182050.html.

Bahraini forces attack villages

Fri May 27, 2011

Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have attacked anti-government protesters in several villages across the Persian Gulf sheikdom.

Witnesses say regime troops used tear gas and concussion bombs to disperse protesters in Diraz, Bani Jamrah and some other villages on Friday.

The protesters called for an end to the Al Khalifa rule and the immediate release of detained anti-government protesters.

According to witnesses, Bahraini protesters in recent days have their faces covered to avoid recognition by regime forces.

Saudi-backed Bahraini troops have arrested hundreds of anti-government protesters during overnight operations after identifying them based on pictures taken from opposition rallies.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or arrests on Friday.

Since the beginning of anti-regime protests in Bahrain in mid-February, Manama has launched a harsh crackdown on anti-government protesters, rounding up senior opposition figures and activists in dawn raids and arresting doctors, nurses, lawyers and journalists who have voiced support for the protest movement.

While the whereabouts of many detainees are still unknown, Bahraini authorities have begun to try a number of detained activists in what the opposition calls kangaroo courts.

Protesters have been charged with several counts such as attempting to overthrow the monarchy, and they are being tried in a special security court set up under martial law.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have criticized the Bahraini government for its brutal crackdown on civilians.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which visits detainees in conflict situations, has been trying to see and contact Bahraini detained activists since mid-March. But so far Manama has refused to grant it permission.

Meanwhile, Bahrain's state news agency says that military prosecutors have asked the country's highest court to review death penalties issued against two anti-regime protesters.

Human Rights Watch as also called on the country to stop trying civilians in military courts.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/182019.html.

35 mosques, 8 Husseiniyahs attacked in Bahrain

Saturday, May 28, 2011

The head of Bahrain's Ja’afari Endowments, Ahmed Hussein, has said that Al Khalifa regime attacked 45 holy sites over the past few days.

In a letter to Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Hussein said that the troops had demolished 28 mosques, adding, seven mosques, eight Husseiniyahs (congregation halls for Shia ritual ceremonies) and two tombs were also attacked and damaged in the country, IRNA reported on Wednesday.

He expressed hope that the Bahraini regime would take necessary measures to reconstruct the destroyed mosques and compensate for the damage.

The regime has begun destroying mosques as well as houses of some dissidents since dispatch of Saudi Arabia's military forces to the country.

Anti-government protests against the rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty in Bahrain began in mid-February. Since then, the Manama regime has unleashed a massive brutal crackdown on the protesters.

Scores of people have been killed and many more arrested in the Saudi-backed crackdown on peaceful protests in the Persian Gulf state -- a longtime ally of Washington and home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.

Bahrain's peace ranking falls 51 places

Bahrain's world ranking in the 2011 Global Peace Index has plummeted 51 places to 123 out of 153 countries, a new study says.

The study, carried out by the Institute for Economics and Peace, said on Thursday Bahrain's score has deteriorated by the second-largest margin after Libya, which declined 83 places to 143rd position.

The fall was due to the growing unrest and Manama's Saudi-backed crackdown on peaceful anti-regime protests since mid-February.

Source: Tehran Times.
Link: http://old.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=241491.

Al-Qaida takes over several government buildings in south Yemen: official

SANAA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Yemen-based al-Qaida branch on Friday took over several government buildings, including two state- run banks, in the southern province of Abyan, a provincial government official told Xinhua.

"Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula defeated government forces on Friday following fierce clashes in Zinjibar, the provincial capital city of Abyan, and controlled almost the whole strategic city including the government facilities," the official said on condition of anonymity.

"They (AQAP) seized the headquarters of the General Security Camp, the building of Civil Status, and two state-owned banks of Al-Ahli and the Agricultural Cooperative Credit Bank," he said, adding that they also seized several privately-owned companies.

He also affirmed that fighters of AQAP are now controlling almost the whole city of Zinjibar and setting up their own checkpoints at all three entrances of the city.

A doctor at Al-Razi Hospital said they had received one body of al-Qaida militants, while 15 others, including three citizens, were sent to the hospital with serious injuries.

Meanwhile, an eyewitness told Xinhua that Yemeni fighter jets were striking Khanfar Mountain in Jaar city, which is a stronghold of AQAP and located nearby Zinjibar city.

AQAP has launched many sporadic attacks on Zinjibar in an attempt to take over it since the eruption of the four-month-long anti-government protests aiming at ousting Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power since 1978.

Abyan, some 480 km south of the capital Sanaa, is a key stronghold of resurgent AQAP which has carried out frequent attacks against the Yemeni security and military personnel since 2009.

Source: Xinhua.
Link: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/27/c_13897708.htm.