To notice what is happening Botoar trial Rachid Nini know that those who masterminded the night and plotted in the dark for the tomb of his voice spam and demands accountability of the corrupt names, caught in the evil of their actions and what they did topple them, Vdvaa Nene will no longer looking for provisional release or innocence of the charges detailed by the prosecution General of the Nene, the discourse on the piece obsolete and lapsed, the defense has asked to bring those who prosecutors said that Rashid lied to them in the articles adopted as an instrument of charge, as stated by the lawyer Sufyani (why now considered the prosecution that the rational lies except when he began to reveal the corruption of Elan and Nikri especially director detained Temara Abdul Latif Alhmoshe, and why did not require the prosecution Nene when breaks the performance of Abbas El Fassi and his family and many, and asked Defense Is detainee Temara Festival and balances have become holy more than God and the homeland and the King ???), from watching the trial in historical and the judge finds good Jaber himself in trouble from his command that the accounts are no longer benefit him in the case of the more protracted the more its brilliance, and worse, even the representative of the right-General, Mr. Rachid Mohamed Little Signs of confusion on his face as long as he wants to hide behind the laughter lock her back once he receives it receives from lessons and sermons in the law, honor, and the Secretariat of the senior lawyers present within the constellation defender Nene, the issue has become confusing to those who created it and became out of them such as passing sentenced him to life in a patent or a royal pardon, the names insists the defense for the presence of the certificate as long as prosecutors pursue rational criminal law and criminal law necessary to bring witnesses who saw the prosecution that they are affected by the writing Rashid, here stand the Court's position enabled her speeches calling for the fact that the Moroccan judiciary independent and Log in to view what its resolutions, here's the test succeeds the elimination or humiliated, here put defense issue a ruling in our country in its own bottle, despite the quirks expressed by the representative of the public right of using all its powers to adjust the case according to temperament, defend with all his energies show apoptosis unrivaled of the need to bring witnesses .. And are not any witnesses in the State such as Morocco, where corruption hits prevail in all walks of life, is not a common thing to bring those witnesses who were, until recently, the mere mention of their name is one of the taboos and also said a lawyer in the case, (I thank God mM Machdic I mention these names to appear between Oitbekm Mr. Judge), to Nikri Inspector General of the Forces assistance from Almthmben fabricating bombings May 16, 2003, Abdul Latif Alhmoshe the first man in a Aldezti and others .... despite the fact that prosecutors have created an argument against the need to attend because they oversee the sensitive files by virtue of their positions, but .. that is replaced by the expression Their presence as citizens, witnesses Aintqs the sensitivity of their positions, and how he wants the representative of the general right to fear the people in state institutions, according to what he said as fair, Venzahtha emerge from here, when he attends the witnesses the case who mentioned the defense then all will give the greeting of the judiciary, and we will say Morocco has achieved the same as a true democracy ... Is Nene key issue for the fall of the capital have blossomed and the time picked?? Will he be able Engoa the night of the arrest of Nene to get out of this issue safely?? Is Nene was arrested immediately after the bombing of a cafe in Marrakech Argana coincidental, or there was apprehension among those who issued the arrest warrant against Nene questioning in the attacks in his column?? How will the fiery end of this file at this particular time and the movement of February 20 moving with determination to escalate, and the store also heading the same direction?? Of the victorious People's Voice or sound corruption??? Everybody is waiting and days to wait until ...
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Obama: Bin Laden death sends message to world
President lays wreath at Ground Zero after saying al-Qaeda leader's killing demonstrates to world that US never forgets.
Barack Obama, the US president, has laid a wreath at Ground Zero in New York, where he met families of people killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US. The attacks are believed to have been ordered by Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, who was killed by US forces earlier this week. The president first paid a visit to Engine 54, a fire station from where 15 firefighters died attempting to save the nearly 3,000 people who were killed after planes were flown into the World Trade Center. Addressing the firefighters, Obama said: "What happened on Sunday because of the courage of our military and the outstanding work of our intelligence sent a message around the world but also sent a message here back home." The president said bin Laden's death sent out the message that "when we say we will never forget, we mean what we say". "This is a symbolic site of the extraordinary sacrifice that was made on that terrible day,' he said. Rudy Giuliani, the mayor of New York at the time of the attacks, joined Obama in the visit to the station. The president viewed a memorial plaque commemorating the firefighters who were lost and then lunched privately with a dozen firefighters. Bush rejection The White House has stressed that Obama's visit to Ground Zero, his first since becoming president, was not a victory tour following bin Laden's killing, but a form of homage to the victims of the attacks that triggered Washington's "war on terror" against al-Qaeda nearly a decade ago. "This is a moment of unity for Americans and a moment to recall the unity that existed in this country in the wake of the attacks on 9/11," Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, said. "The invitation was made in that spirit." "He wants to meet with them and share with them this important and significant moment, a bitter-sweet moment, I think, for many families of the victims," he said. The killing of bin Laden during a helicopter-borne commando raid deep inside Abbottabad is undoubtedly one of Obama's chief political triumphs since taking office in 2008, analysts said. Obama ratings surge Polls showed an immediate surge in his ratings and even the usually squabbling Washington political establishment has rallied around the president. The president's actions during the visit have been portrayed as part of the same attempt to retain an atmosphere of dignity in the wake of bin Laden's killing. Obama has personally ordered that photographs of the al-Qaeda leader's dead body remain secret - despite a clamour from many people for some visual proof of his demise. "And I think Americans and people around the world are glad that he's gone. But we don't need to spike the football." |
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Monday, May 2, 2011
Killing bin Laden .. Obama's move toward a second presidential term
Barack Obama made many of the defining moment as president of the United States .. But the killing of Osama bin Laden has become the most important event for him politically.
Obama announced that belongs to the Democratic Party late Sunday night that U.S. forces killed al Qaeda leader and found his body. The killing of bin Laden a major victory for Obama in the area of national security just as it starts to campaign for re-election in 2012.
The following is an overview of the benefits that accrue to Obama from behind the successful operation:
Divert attention
Attached to concern about the increase in gasoline prices and the handling of the economy, political damage Obama. The announcement would turn the influential killed bin Laden's interest in the American public to his success as commander in chief, which will create a strong mental image of him. The forecast decline in political risk has been reduced from the surge in oil prices.
Fulfillment of the Covenant:
During his election campaign in 2008, Obama pledged to bring U.S. troops from Iraq while strengthening the war effort in Afghanistan and U.S. efforts to hunt down bin Laden. With a body of bin Laden's possession of the Americans can say that the U.S. president's pledge to the fullest another which would give credibility as it seeks to stay in the White House for a new period.
Swank on the opposition:
Republicans have long enjoyed the reputation of U.S. policy in that they are stronger than Democrats on national security matters. But with the success of this process under the leadership Obama could clinch this bounty from his opponents and he attributes to himself and his party - which may be a tool to change the rules of the political game and kept up his sleeve. He had eluded the rhythm with bin Laden during the reign of Republican President George W. Bush's predecessor, Obama.
Mobilization of national sentiment:
As was the atheist attacks of September 2001, the defining moment of Bush's presidency, the killing bin Laden would be the case for an Obama presidency. Has inflamed nationalist sentiment among Americans in the aftermath of the attacks, which helped Bush win a second term.
May benefit Obama, who on Sunday called on Americans to unite as they did in 2001 of a new surge of patriotism. Although the images leaked oil and economic troubles remain, the death of bin Laden would have a greater impact, at least in the short term which will give his historic victory could be celebrated by Democrats and Republicans alike.
Read More...
Obama announced that belongs to the Democratic Party late Sunday night that U.S. forces killed al Qaeda leader and found his body. The killing of bin Laden a major victory for Obama in the area of national security just as it starts to campaign for re-election in 2012.
The following is an overview of the benefits that accrue to Obama from behind the successful operation:
Divert attention
Attached to concern about the increase in gasoline prices and the handling of the economy, political damage Obama. The announcement would turn the influential killed bin Laden's interest in the American public to his success as commander in chief, which will create a strong mental image of him. The forecast decline in political risk has been reduced from the surge in oil prices.
Fulfillment of the Covenant:
During his election campaign in 2008, Obama pledged to bring U.S. troops from Iraq while strengthening the war effort in Afghanistan and U.S. efforts to hunt down bin Laden. With a body of bin Laden's possession of the Americans can say that the U.S. president's pledge to the fullest another which would give credibility as it seeks to stay in the White House for a new period.
Swank on the opposition:
Republicans have long enjoyed the reputation of U.S. policy in that they are stronger than Democrats on national security matters. But with the success of this process under the leadership Obama could clinch this bounty from his opponents and he attributes to himself and his party - which may be a tool to change the rules of the political game and kept up his sleeve. He had eluded the rhythm with bin Laden during the reign of Republican President George W. Bush's predecessor, Obama.
Mobilization of national sentiment:
As was the atheist attacks of September 2001, the defining moment of Bush's presidency, the killing bin Laden would be the case for an Obama presidency. Has inflamed nationalist sentiment among Americans in the aftermath of the attacks, which helped Bush win a second term.
May benefit Obama, who on Sunday called on Americans to unite as they did in 2001 of a new surge of patriotism. Although the images leaked oil and economic troubles remain, the death of bin Laden would have a greater impact, at least in the short term which will give his historic victory could be celebrated by Democrats and Republicans alike.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Nato strike 'kills Gaddafi's youngest son'
Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, the youngest son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and three of his grandchildren have been killed in a NATO air strike, a Libyan government spokesman said.
Gaddafi and his wife were in the Tripoli house of his 29-year-old son, Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, when it was hit by at least one missile fired by a NATO warplane late on Saturday, according to Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim.
"The house of Mr Saif al-Arab Gaddafi was attacked tonight with full power. The leader with his wife was there in the house with other friends and relatives.
"The leader himself is in good health, he wasn't harmed," the spokesman said, adding that Gaddafi's wife was also unharmed but other people in the house were injured.
"This was a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country. This is not permitted by international law. It is not permitted by any moral code or principle.
"What we have now is the law of the jungle," Ibrahim told a news conference.
"We think now it is clear to everyone that what is happening in Libya has nothing to do with the protection of civilians."
Ibrahim would not give the names of the three children, who he claimed were killed, except to say they were nieces and nephews of Saif al-Arab and that they were younger than 12. He said they are not releasing the names yet to protect the privacy of the family.
He said the compound that was hit was in the Garghour neighborhood.
"It seems there was intelligence that was leaked. They knew about something. They expected him for some reason. But the target was very clear, very, very clear. And the neighbourhood, yes of course, because the leader family has a place there, you could expect of course it would be guarded, but it is a normal neighbourhood. Normal Libyans live there," he said.
The 29-year-old Saif al-Arab Gaddafi is the most unknown of the Libyan leader's children, Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from Tunisia, said.
"He's one of the low-profile of his children and has been largely invisible since the conflict began", she said.
"He hasn't been visible in any significant form. He hasn't appeared on TV or made any speeches, he hasn't been on any crowd-rallying marches."
Ibrahim said al-Arab was a civilian and a student who had studied in Germany.
Report questioned
Ibrahim had earlier taken journalists to the remnants of a house in Tripoli, which Libyan officials said had been hit by at least three missiles. Given the level of destruction, it is unclear that anyone could have survived.
Benghazi rebels, who control a vast swathe of the east of the country, say they cannot trust Gaddafi.
Al Jazeera's Sue Turton, reporting from Benghazi, said there were "an awful lot" of suggestions in Libya that the news of the deaths could be fabricated.
"One of the main spokesmen for the Transitional National Council, Abdul Hafez Goga, is saying he thinks it could all be fabrication, that it may well be Gaddafi is trying to garner some sympathy," she said.
"Back in 1986, Gaddafi once claimed that Ronald Reagan, then US president, had launched a strike on his compound in Tripoli and killed his daughter. Many journalists since then dug around and found out that the actual child that had died had nothing to do with Gaddafi, that he sort of adopted her posthumously."
Three loud explosions were heard in Tripoli on Saturday evening as jets flew overhead. Volleys of anti-aircraft fire rang out following the first two strikes, which were followed by a third.
NATO statement
In a press release issued early on Sunday, NATO said it had staged air strikes in Tripoli's Bab al-Azizya neighbourhood but did not confirm Libyan claims that strongman Gaddafi's youngest son and three grandchildren were killed.
"NATO continued its precision strikes against Gaddafi regime military installations in Tripoli overnight, including striking a known command and control building in the Bab al-Azizya neighbourhood shortly after 1800 GMT Saturday evening," the statement said.
"All NATO's targets are military in nature and have been clearly linked to the... regime's systematic attacks on the Libyan population and populated areas. We do not target individuals," Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, commander of NATO's Operation Unified Protector, said.
Bouchard said he was aware of unconfirmed reports that some of Gaddafi's family members might have been killed in the strike, adding: "We regret all loss of life, especially the innocent civilians being harmed as a result of the ongoing conflict."
Rifle fire and car horns rang out in Benghazi as news of the attack spread.
Cars whizzed by the sea front beeping their horns and shouting "God is greatest" as the night sky was lit up by red tracer fire.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
Read More...
Gaddafi and his wife were in the Tripoli house of his 29-year-old son, Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, when it was hit by at least one missile fired by a NATO warplane late on Saturday, according to Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim.
"The house of Mr Saif al-Arab Gaddafi was attacked tonight with full power. The leader with his wife was there in the house with other friends and relatives.
"The leader himself is in good health, he wasn't harmed," the spokesman said, adding that Gaddafi's wife was also unharmed but other people in the house were injured.
"This was a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country. This is not permitted by international law. It is not permitted by any moral code or principle.
"What we have now is the law of the jungle," Ibrahim told a news conference.
"We think now it is clear to everyone that what is happening in Libya has nothing to do with the protection of civilians."
Ibrahim would not give the names of the three children, who he claimed were killed, except to say they were nieces and nephews of Saif al-Arab and that they were younger than 12. He said they are not releasing the names yet to protect the privacy of the family.
He said the compound that was hit was in the Garghour neighborhood.
"It seems there was intelligence that was leaked. They knew about something. They expected him for some reason. But the target was very clear, very, very clear. And the neighbourhood, yes of course, because the leader family has a place there, you could expect of course it would be guarded, but it is a normal neighbourhood. Normal Libyans live there," he said.
The 29-year-old Saif al-Arab Gaddafi is the most unknown of the Libyan leader's children, Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from Tunisia, said.
"He's one of the low-profile of his children and has been largely invisible since the conflict began", she said.
"He hasn't been visible in any significant form. He hasn't appeared on TV or made any speeches, he hasn't been on any crowd-rallying marches."
Ibrahim said al-Arab was a civilian and a student who had studied in Germany.
Report questioned
Ibrahim had earlier taken journalists to the remnants of a house in Tripoli, which Libyan officials said had been hit by at least three missiles. Given the level of destruction, it is unclear that anyone could have survived.
Benghazi rebels, who control a vast swathe of the east of the country, say they cannot trust Gaddafi.
Al Jazeera's Sue Turton, reporting from Benghazi, said there were "an awful lot" of suggestions in Libya that the news of the deaths could be fabricated.
"One of the main spokesmen for the Transitional National Council, Abdul Hafez Goga, is saying he thinks it could all be fabrication, that it may well be Gaddafi is trying to garner some sympathy," she said.
"Back in 1986, Gaddafi once claimed that Ronald Reagan, then US president, had launched a strike on his compound in Tripoli and killed his daughter. Many journalists since then dug around and found out that the actual child that had died had nothing to do with Gaddafi, that he sort of adopted her posthumously."
Three loud explosions were heard in Tripoli on Saturday evening as jets flew overhead. Volleys of anti-aircraft fire rang out following the first two strikes, which were followed by a third.
NATO statement
In a press release issued early on Sunday, NATO said it had staged air strikes in Tripoli's Bab al-Azizya neighbourhood but did not confirm Libyan claims that strongman Gaddafi's youngest son and three grandchildren were killed.
"NATO continued its precision strikes against Gaddafi regime military installations in Tripoli overnight, including striking a known command and control building in the Bab al-Azizya neighbourhood shortly after 1800 GMT Saturday evening," the statement said.
"All NATO's targets are military in nature and have been clearly linked to the... regime's systematic attacks on the Libyan population and populated areas. We do not target individuals," Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, commander of NATO's Operation Unified Protector, said.
Bouchard said he was aware of unconfirmed reports that some of Gaddafi's family members might have been killed in the strike, adding: "We regret all loss of life, especially the innocent civilians being harmed as a result of the ongoing conflict."
Rifle fire and car horns rang out in Benghazi as news of the attack spread.
Cars whizzed by the sea front beeping their horns and shouting "God is greatest" as the night sky was lit up by red tracer fire.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
Scepticism surrounds 'Gaddafi son's death'
Benghazi celebrates report of Gaddafi son's death in air strike, but NATO offers no confirmation of Libyan announcement.
Libyans in the opposition stronghold of Benghazi have taken to the streets to celebrate the government's announcement of the death of Muammar Gaddafi's youngest son in an air strike, but growing scepticism remains over the veracity of the news.
Gaddafi and his wife were in the Tripoli house of his 29-year-old son, Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, when it was hit by at least one missile fired by a NATO warplane late on Saturday, Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said on Sunday.
Al-Arab's compound in Tripoli’s Garghour neighbourhood was attacked "with full power" in a "direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country," Ibrahim said, calling the strike a violation of international law.
"What we have now is the law of the jungle," he told a news conference. "We think now it is clear to everyone that what is happening in Libya has nothing to do with the protection of civilians."
Ibrahim had earlier taken journalists to the remnants of a house in Tripoli, which Libyan officials said had been hit by at least three missiles. Given the level of destruction, it is unclear that anyone could have survived.
No NATO confirmation
Three loud explosions were heard in Tripoli on Saturday evening as jets flew overhead. Volleys of anti-aircraft fire rang out following the first two strikes, which were followed by a third.
NATO continued strikes against military installations in the Libyan capital, including one on a known command and control building in Bab al-Aziziya neighbourhood, but could not confirm the deaths of some of Gaddafi family members, Carmen Romero, the deputy NATO spokeswoman in Brussels, told Al Jazeera by phone.
NATO targets do not include individuals as they are military in nature and clearly linked to regime's systematic attacks on Libyans, Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, commander of NATO's Operation Unified Protector, said earlier Sunday in a statement.
"This was a military target and we cannot confirm who was there," Romero emphasised, denying questions over the target site being a family home.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron echoed NATO's stance on the western coalition forces’ targeting policy, and refused to comment on an "unconfirmed report".
Report questioned
Rifle fire and car horns rang out in Benghazi as news of the attack spread. Cars whizzed by the sea front beeping their horns and shouting "God is greatest" as the night sky was lit up by red tracer fire.
But rebels there who control a vast swathe of the east of the country, say they cannot trust Gaddafi.
Al Jazeera's Sue Turton, reporting from Benghazi, said there were "an awful lot" of suggestions in Libya that the news of the deaths could be fabricated.
"One of the main spokesmen for the Transitional National Council, Abdul Hafez Goga, is saying he thinks it could all be fabrication, that it may well be Gaddafi is trying to garner some sympathy," she said.
"Back in 1986, Gaddafi once claimed that Ronald Reagan, then US president, had launched a strike on his compound in Tripoli and killed his daughter. Many journalists since then dug around and found out that the actual child that had died had nothing to do with Gaddafi, that he sort of adopted her posthumously."
Saif al-Arab Gaddafi is the most unknown of the Libyan leader's children, Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from Tunisia, said.
"He's one of the low-profile of his children and has been largely invisible since the conflict began", she said.
"He hasn't been visible in any significant form. He hasn't appeared on TV or made any speeches, he hasn't been on any crowd-rallying marches."
Read More...
Libyans in the opposition stronghold of Benghazi have taken to the streets to celebrate the government's announcement of the death of Muammar Gaddafi's youngest son in an air strike, but growing scepticism remains over the veracity of the news.
Gaddafi and his wife were in the Tripoli house of his 29-year-old son, Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, when it was hit by at least one missile fired by a NATO warplane late on Saturday, Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said on Sunday.
Al-Arab's compound in Tripoli’s Garghour neighbourhood was attacked "with full power" in a "direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country," Ibrahim said, calling the strike a violation of international law.
"What we have now is the law of the jungle," he told a news conference. "We think now it is clear to everyone that what is happening in Libya has nothing to do with the protection of civilians."
Ibrahim had earlier taken journalists to the remnants of a house in Tripoli, which Libyan officials said had been hit by at least three missiles. Given the level of destruction, it is unclear that anyone could have survived.
No NATO confirmation
Three loud explosions were heard in Tripoli on Saturday evening as jets flew overhead. Volleys of anti-aircraft fire rang out following the first two strikes, which were followed by a third.
NATO continued strikes against military installations in the Libyan capital, including one on a known command and control building in Bab al-Aziziya neighbourhood, but could not confirm the deaths of some of Gaddafi family members, Carmen Romero, the deputy NATO spokeswoman in Brussels, told Al Jazeera by phone.
NATO targets do not include individuals as they are military in nature and clearly linked to regime's systematic attacks on Libyans, Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, commander of NATO's Operation Unified Protector, said earlier Sunday in a statement.
"This was a military target and we cannot confirm who was there," Romero emphasised, denying questions over the target site being a family home.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron echoed NATO's stance on the western coalition forces’ targeting policy, and refused to comment on an "unconfirmed report".
Report questioned
Rifle fire and car horns rang out in Benghazi as news of the attack spread. Cars whizzed by the sea front beeping their horns and shouting "God is greatest" as the night sky was lit up by red tracer fire.
But rebels there who control a vast swathe of the east of the country, say they cannot trust Gaddafi.
Al Jazeera's Sue Turton, reporting from Benghazi, said there were "an awful lot" of suggestions in Libya that the news of the deaths could be fabricated.
"One of the main spokesmen for the Transitional National Council, Abdul Hafez Goga, is saying he thinks it could all be fabrication, that it may well be Gaddafi is trying to garner some sympathy," she said.
"Back in 1986, Gaddafi once claimed that Ronald Reagan, then US president, had launched a strike on his compound in Tripoli and killed his daughter. Many journalists since then dug around and found out that the actual child that had died had nothing to do with Gaddafi, that he sort of adopted her posthumously."
Saif al-Arab Gaddafi is the most unknown of the Libyan leader's children, Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from Tunisia, said.
"He's one of the low-profile of his children and has been largely invisible since the conflict began", she said.
"He hasn't been visible in any significant form. He hasn't appeared on TV or made any speeches, he hasn't been on any crowd-rallying marches."
Friday, April 29, 2011
Egypt to open Gaza border crossing
Egypt is to permanently open the Rafah border crossing to ease the Israeli blockade on Gaza, Nabil al-Arabi, the country's foreign minister, has said. Arabi said Egypt would take "important steps to help ease the blockade on Gaza in the few days to come".
Speaking to Al Jazeera on Friday, the minister said Egypt would no longer accept that the Rafah border, Gaza's only crossing that bypasses Israel, remain blocked, describing the decision to seal it off as "shameful".
The announcement came days after Hamas, which controls Gaza, and their secular West Bank rivals Fatah, which controls the Palestinian Authority (PA), agreed to end their rift and form an interim government to prepare for elections.
In talks before the deal, the two sides had discussed reopening the crossing after positioning PA representatives at the border, a condition in a US-brokered 2005 border crossing agreement between Israel and the PA.
Mahmud Zahar, a senior Hamas official, told the AFP news agency that it was understood that the crossing, which under the 2005 agreement was to be monitored by European Union delegates, would be opened after a unity deal.
Israeli concerns
A senior official in Jerusalem said Israel was "very concerned" about the implications of the Rafah crossing being open.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said Hamas had already built up a "dangerous military machine" in northern Sinai which could be further strengthened by opening Rafah.
"What power could they amass if Egypt was no longer acting to prevent that build-up?" the official said.
Earlier this week, unknown assailants in northern Sinai blew up a gas pipeline supplying Israel and Jordan, the second time it has been sabotaged in 10 weeks.
"We are troubled by the developments in Egypt, by the voices calling to annul the peace treaty, by the rapprochement between Egypt and Iran, and by the upgrading of relations between Egypt and Hamas," the Israeli source said.
"These developments potentially have strategic implications for Israel's national security."
Palestinian officials welcomed the Egyptian move, with Saeb Erakat, the PA's chief negotiator, saying it was one step towards loosening the siege on the Gaza Strip.
"We welcome this step by Egypt. We have been pressing them all the time to end the suffering of the people in Gaza, but the real siege is caused by Israel because there are many border crossing with Israel but only one with Egypt," he said.
"We ask Israel to open all the borders to end this crime against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip," he said.
Hatem Ewidah, the Hamas official in charge of border crossings in Gaza, also welcomed the move, but stressed it was "important to open the commercial crossing with Egypt" to reduce the impact of the blockade.
Shift in power
In a reminder of the border tensions, which is honeycombed with tunnels that supply Gaza with everything from cars and cattle to guns, police announced hours after Arabi's comments that smugglers had shot dead an Egyptian soldier on Thursday.
The border has remained largely shut since June 2006 when Israel imposed a tight blockade on Gaza after fighters snatched Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who is still being held.
The blockade was tightened a year later when Hamas seized control of the territory, ousting forces loyal to the Western-backed PA.
The UN has called the blockade illegal and repeatedly demanded it be lifted.
Morocco steps up security after cafe blast
Moroccan authorities have stepped up security following Thursday's bomb blast at a cafe in Marrakesh in which at least 16 people were killed, including 11 foreigners.
A senior police official said cordons have been erected at the entrances to Morocco's main cities and security forces deployed across the country, "to ensure the internal security of the country".
"Preliminary investigation ... suggests that this was a terrorist act caused by an explosive device," the official MAP news agency quoted Taieb Cherkaoui, the interior minister, as saying on Friday.
Khalid Naciri, a government spokesman, told the Associated Press news agency it was too soon to say who had carried out what he called a terrorist attack.
Interpol, the international police agency, condemned the attack and said it would ensure "the Moroccan authorities investigating this terrible attack have the full support of the global law enforcement community."
French intelligence and anti-terrorism experts will travel to Marrakesh on Friday to help in the probe, a source said.
Police sought to restore calm in the iconic Jamaa el-Fna square, a cultural heritage site frequented by tourists, while investigators worked to determine how it was carried out and who was responsible.
Police were at the site searching for clues on Friday morning, keeping back onlookers who showed up to see the dramatic sight. The explosion ripped off the facade of the Argana cafe, leaving awnings dangling.
Blast condemned
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, condemned the "cowardly attack" and pledged support for Morocco, which is considered a US ally in the region.
France condemned the blast as being "cruel and cowardly" and confirmed there were French casualties.
Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, learnt "with consternation of the terrorist attack," his office said in a statement.
"He condemns with the greatest firmness this odious, cruel and cowardly act that has caused many casualties, including French citizens," it said.
The United Nations, Britain, Germany, Spain and the Council of Europe human rights watchdog also condemned the attack.
William Hague, the British foreign secretary, described it as "utterly reprehensible, and said alleged links to terrorism were worrying.
Al-Qaeda's affiliate in North Africa stages regular attacks and kidnappings in neighbouring Algeria.
Morocco, however, has been mostly peaceful since it was hit by five simultaneous terrorist bombings in Casablanca in 2003 that killed 45 people and a dozen bombers believed linked to the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group.
Anti-government protests hit Syria
Thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators join the "solidarity for Deraa" rallies across the country.
Read More...
The Syrian government has mobilised army units across the capital and other cities as thousands of demonstrators, demanding the ouster President Bashar al-Assad's regime took to the streets of several cities, including the coastal town of Baniyas, witnesses have said.
Activists have called for protests following Friday prayers to commemorate the killings of over 100 protesters last Friday.
Al Jazeera correspondent Rula Amin, reporting from Damascus, said today's slogan is "solidarity for Deraa".
The call for mass demonstrations was made in a statement on the Facebook page of Syrian Revolution 2011, a motor of the protests in which demonstrators inspired by uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world are seeking greater freedoms.
"To the youths of the revolution, tomorrow we will be in all the places, in all the streets ... We will gather at the besieged towns, including with our brothers in Deraa," the statement said.
It said demonstrations would also be staged in other flashpoint towns such as Homs in the centre of the country and Baniyas in the northwest.
Meanwhile, eyewitness in Deraa, speaking to Al Jazeera on Friday from close to the Omari Mosque that has been a focus for the uprising, described a scene of death and devastation.
He confirmed earlier testimony from a separate source of a split in the military forces sent by Assad to lay siege to the city.
At least 80 people have been killed since the military assault began on Monday, said the eyewitness, who added that he had collected the names of the dead from different neighbourhoods and counted 25 bodies in his own area.
"Some areas smell really bad due to the bodies rotting in the street. No one can collect them for fear of being shot," he said, the sound of continuous gunfire audible over the phone. Those bodies which have been collected are being stored in refrigerated lorries, he said.
"Deraa is completely surrounded by tanks and armed troops. There are snipers on the roofs of government buildings and tall buildings. They are hiding behind water tanks and some are even hiding in the minarets of mosques."
The source said not all members of the Fifth Division had defected, but those who had were attempting to protect civilians against attacks on them by the Fourth Division, led by Assad’s brother, Maher al-Assad.
"Those who have defected are fighting on behalf of the people, helping them with information on the army's movements and trying to protect civilians from attacks," he said.
The eyewitness said he had witnessed the defection yesterday of some 20 soldiers of the Fifth Division who abandoned their unit and ran towards civilian houses. "I saw two soldiers gunned down and killed," he said.
The witness's comments came as Adnan Mahmud, the information minister, told the AFP news agency that the crackdown on protesters would continue, setting the scene for violent confrontations later Friday.
Our correspondent said: "There has been huge security presence: all entrances to capital are manned by security forces."
Muslim Brotherhood backs protests
Significantly, Friday's demonstrations have the backing of the outlawed Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, which was crushed by the regime in 1982.
It is the first time that the Brotherhood has called directly for protests in Syria since pro-democracy demonstrations against Assad, nearly erupted six weeks ago.
A declaration by the Brotherhood, sent to Reuters news agency by its leadership in exile on Thursday, said: "Do not let the regime besiege your compatriots. Chant with one voice for freedom and dignity. Do not allow the tyrant to enslave you. God is great."
So far, Brotherhood has been trying to keep a low profile, as government has been trying to tie them to protests, Amin said.
The looming showdown comes as the UN Human Rights Council prepared for a special session on Syria in Geneva, and the European Union was meeting in Brussels to consider a wide range of sanctions against the Arab state.
The protests have drawn a cross section of Syrian society, which has been under Baath Party rule for the last 48 years.
The younger Assad kept intact the autocratic political system he inherited in 2000 from his father, Hafez al-Assad.
On Monday, Syrian army backed by tanks and armoured vehicle stormed Deraa resulting in further casualties.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack on Deraa has killed at least 50 civilians, with essential supplies in the city running law.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Al-Qaeda may be involved in the explosion of Marrakech
Said Fahd al-Iraqi, editor of the "hill" all that "al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, may be behind the blast, Thursday, April 28, in a cafe" Argana "in Marrakech.The Iraqi, in a statement to Radio "Europe 1" for the French, to cut to a video broadcast at the beginning of the week, and attributed to al-Qaeda, he blamed the threats of regulation of Morocco.
And refused to link the blast, Iraqi demonstrations taking place in Morocco a few months ago, to demand political reforms in the country, pointing out that the peaceful demonstrations, demanding the application of democracy in Morocco, and that the protesters are not terrorists.
For his part, said the former mayor of Marrakech Omar Jazouli that the explosion took place at eleven am (GMT) and destroyed a large part of the cafe "Argana", which meant foreign tourists and Moroccans.
Jazouli said: "We thought at first that the incident was caused by a gas cylinder explosion, but later found to be a criminal act and a terrorist."
The same official accused "Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb" of being behind the attack.
Jazouli said: "Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has threatened several times, the Moroccan government in terrorist operations in several cities, notably Agadir, Fez, Marrakech and Tangier, in the event did not release the Salafi Islamists imprisoned in detention camps.
He added that the former mayor of Marrakech, the situation has returned to the same in the Djemaa el Fna Square in the transfer of the wounded and injured to hospital, Ibn Tufail, located near the city, adding that police had cordoned off the scene of the accident and that to the city of Marrakech is a person who is following the operations.
Jazouli and Abizaid said: "Some tourists are still in the arena and others returned to the hotel. I have received many phone calls from foreigners residing in the Marrakech express their concerns, but I reassure them and told them that everything was under control."
He called the former mayor of Marrakech, the police to focus their activities to combat terrorism than to take control of protesters demanding more freedom and democracy.
Deadly blast devastates Marrakesh cafe
An explosion in a busy cafe in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh has killed at least 15 people and wounded several others, according to local officials.
Moroccan officials said on Thursday that they suspect the attack at Argana cafe in the city's main Jamaa el-Fna square was the work of a suicide bomber.
"According to the information I have, it could have been perpetrated by a suicide bomber," an official in the regional governor's office told the AFP news agency.
"We found nails in one of the bodies," added the official, who was in a hospital where some of the bodies were taken.
Moroccan television, quoting interior ministry officials, said 20 people were also injured and said foreigners were among the victims. The state-run 2M channel reported that the dead comprised six French nationals, five Moroccans and four foreigners whose nationality it did not give, .
Rescuers were dispatched to the scene and an investigation was opened to provide details on the blast.
An official from the ministry said the blast appeared to be a terror attack, though the ministry had said earlier in the day, in a statement carried by the official MAP news agency, that "early evidence collected at the site (of the explosion) indicates that it was a criminal act".
France condemned the blast as being "cruel and cowardly" and confirmed there were French casualties.
Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, learnt "with consternation of the terrorist attack," his office said in a statement.
"He condemns with the greatest firmness this odious, cruel and cowardly act that has caused many casualties, including French citizens," it said.
Alain Juppe, the French foreign minister, slammed "this barbaric terrorist attack that nothing can justify", calling in a statement for "all light to be shed on this revolting crime, for those responsible to be found, tried and punished".
Asked whether there was any current threat against French citizens in its former North African protectorate, Henri Guaino, Sarkozy's advisor, said France "had nothing in particular to fear in Morocco at the moment".
"Terrorism is something that we always fear... that reminds us to be extremely vigilant against this terrifying phenomenon," Guaino told RTL radio.
The Argana cafe is a popular spot with tourists and ranks 21 on the Lonely Planet’s online list of 'things to do in Marrakesh'.
"One of the few cafes where you'll compete with locals for elbow room and a spectacular view of the [Jamaa el-Fna] at sunset, when the restaurant stalls set up shop and the belly dancers begin to wriggle," the travel guide writes.
If confirmed as a terror attack, Thursday's blast in Morocco would be the fourth such attack since 2003 when suicide bombers set off at least five explosions in Casablanca, killing 45 people, including 13 bombers.
In 2007, a series of suicide attacks took place in Casablanca between March and April, including an attack on the US diplomatic offices on April 14.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Egypt prosecutors extend Mubarak detention
The probe into the role Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's deposed president, played in the deaths of protesters is prolonged.
Egypt's state prosecutor has renewed the detention of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak for another 15 days amid a probe into a deadly crackdown on protesters and corruption.
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"The state prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmud decided to renew the detention of ex-president Hosni Mubarak for 15 days for questioning... effective when his last detention period expires," the MENA news agency reported on Friday.
Mubarak, who was forced to resign in February after mass protests, was first remanded into preventive custody for 15 days on April 13 on suspicion of involvement in a deadly crackdown on protesters and corruption.
The former president is being detained in a hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh, the Red Sea resort town where he has lived since his ouster.
The report said that prosecutors went to the resort on Friday to further interrogate Mubarak.
Judicial sources said that they had questioned Mubarak about his possible role in the killings of protesters and also on details of a controversial deal to supply natural gas to Israel at a low price.
His former oil minister Sameh Fahmi was remanded into custody on Thursday for his alleged role in selling the gas at less than market prices.
Mubarak's health an issue
There have been conflicting reports on Mubarak's state of health and the reason he was hospitalised, but the state news agency on Thursday reported that the 82-year-old former strongman's condition was "unstable."
Friday's edition of the official Al-Ahram newspaper quoted medical sources as saying doctors were conducting tests to determine why his health is unstable.
The state prosecutor's office had earlier said that he ordered a medical team to head to the hospital to verify whether Mubarak was healthy enough to be transferred to a Cairo prison cell or hospital.
The team was also to evaluate medical services in the Tora prison hospital. When Mubarak was first remanded, the prosecutor asked the interior minister to prepare for his transfer to the prison hospital but was told it was not equipped to handle an intensive care case.
The ousted president's two sons, Alaa and Gamal, and several of his ministers and senior aides are being held in the south Cairo prison complex on various charges as part of a sweeping probe into corruption and abuse.
Mubarak's trial was a key demand of tens of thousands of protesters who staged weekly demonstrations in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square, eventually leading to a deadly clash with soldiers when they tried to clear an overnight demonstration.
An official commission set up to investigate deaths during the 18 days of protests that forced him out of power said in a summary of its report released this week that 846 civilians and 26 policemen were killed in the revolt.Deaths reported in Friday protests in Syria
Security forces said to have killed 20 protesters as anti-government demonstrations rock the country.
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At least 20 people have reportedly been killed in Syria, as mass protests are being held across the country.
Deaths were reported in the central city of Homs and the southern city of Azraa.
Security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters in Damascus calling for the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, according to reports received by Al Jazeera.
Thousands of people have taken to the streets for rallies on what activists have dubbed "Great Friday", in what they say could become the biggest protests against the government to date.
Al Jazeera's Rula Amin reported from Damascus, which until now has been relatively calm, that the level of tension in the city on Friday marked a new high.
"It wasn't a big protest, and it was dispersed very quickly, but the security presence was very heavy," she said.
"The level of violence has really escalated," she said, referring to use of force by security forces across the country.
A witness told Al Jazeera that demonstrators gathering at a mosque after prayers in Hasakah in the mainly Kurdish northeast were attacked by pro-government protesters.
Syrian activists co-ordinating mass protests against al-Assad's rule have demanded the abolition of Baath Party monopoly on power and the establishment of a democratic political system.
In the first joint statement since protests erupted five weeks ago, the Local Co-ordination Committees, representing provinces across Syria, said "freedom and dignity slogans cannot be achieved except through peaceful democratic change".
"All prisoners of conscience must be freed. The existing security apparatus has to be dismantled and replaced by one with specific jurisdiction and which operates according to law," said the joint statement.
On the eve of the protests, witnesses said security forces were setting up checkpoints in areas surrounding Damascus, checking people's ID cards.
The demonstrations are a test of whether Assad's decision to lift emergency law, imposed by his Baath Party when it took power in a coup 48 years ago, will defuse mass discontent with repression and corruption.
"We are determined on totally peaceful protests... we rejoice at the downfall of the state of emergency. It was not lifted, it was toppled... With the help of God, we will embark on freedom," a comment on a Facebook page run by activists said.
Yet Amin said that because one of the conditions for the newly-gained right to protest was to request a permit, today's protests fell outside of the changes.
"There was no time for anyone to ask for permission for today," she said.
Aided by his family and a pervasive security apparatus, Assad, 45, has absolute power in Syria.
More than 220 protesters have been killed since pro-democracy protests erupted on March 18 in the southern city of Daraa, rights campaigners say.
A decree Assad signed on Thursday that lifted emergency law is seen by the opposition as little more than symbolic, since other laws still give entrenched security forces wide powers.
Human Right Watch said Assad "has the opportunity to prove his intentions by allowing [Friday's] protests to proceed without violent repression.
"The reforms will only be meaningful if Syria's security services stop shooting, detaining, and torturing protesters," Joe Stork, the group's deputy Middle East director, said.
The authorities have blamed armed groups, infiltrators and Sunni Muslim armed groups for provoking violence at demonstrations by firing on civilians and security forces.
Western and other Arab countries have mostly muted their criticism of the killings in Syria for fear of destabilising the country, which plays a strategic role in many of the conflicts in the Middle East.
Syria is technically at war with Israel but has kept its Golan Heights front quiet since a 1974 ceasefire.
Landslide hits Philippines mining town
At least three people killed and 40 missing after a landslide hits a remote gold mining village.
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At least three people have been killed and scores of others are missing after a landslide caused by heavy rains hit a mining area in the southern Philippines.
The disaster hit Kingking village near Pantukan town in Compostela valley province on the island of Mindanao just before dawn on Friday, burying people under mud, rocks and rubble, officials said.
Lieutenant-Colonel Camilo Ligayo, spokesman of a military unit aiding the site, said residents had told him at least 40 people were missing and feared buried in the tunnels and their homes.
"There are 40 still missing and that is a conservative estimate. The one who gave the estimate was one of the survivors from the tunnels. They know each other there," he told the AFP news agency.
"The landslide is massive and these people, the small scale miners, they work and live on the slopes. They have bunkers, houses, stores."
Rescue workers, including police, soldiers and miners, were able to save 11 people, but the remote location and unstable terrain was hampering efforts to bring in equipment, such as bulldozers.
Shanty towns have grown around Kingking following a gold rush in the area around two decades ago. Many of the mining operations are illegal and unregulated.
Two years ago, a similar landslide in another part of the village killed more than 20 people, including some children.
Residents had been ordered to relocate due to the instability of the land and higher risks of landslides.
The Philippines is said to sit on an estimated $1 trillion untapped mineral deposits, but has only targeted to attract $1bn in mining investment this year.
Obama approves drone strikes in Libya
US president Barack Obama has approved the use of armed drones in Libya, authorising US airstrikes against ground forces for the first time since America turned control of the military operation over to NATO.
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The first armed drone mission since Obama's go-ahead was flown on Thursday, but the aircraft, armed with Hellfire missiles, turned back due to poor weather conditions without firing any of its munitions.
Pradator drones have routinely been flying surveillance missions in Libya, Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, told reporters at a Pentagon briefing on Thursday.
He said the US will provide up to two 24-hour combat air patrols each day by the unmanned Predators.
Marine General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the drones can help counteract the pro-Muammar Gaddafi forces' tactic of traveling in civilian vehicles that make it difficult to distinguish them from rebel forces.
"What they will bring that is unique to the conflict is their ability to get down lower, therefore to be able to get better visibility on targets that have started to dig themselves into defensive positions," Cartwright said.
"They are uniquely suited for urban areas."
He added, "It's very difficult to pick friend from foe. So a vehicle like the Predator that can get down lower and can get IDs better, helps us."
'No mission creep'
Gates rejected the notion that the approval of drone strikes means that the US will get pulled slowly back into a more active combat role, despite Obama's vow merely to provide support for NATO.
US forces played a lead role in the early days of the conflict, launching an onslaught of cruise missiles and bombs against Gaddafi's surface-to-air missile sites and advancing Gaddafi's troops.
With American forces stretched by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the humanitarian operations in Japan, the Pentagon turned the mission over to NATO, saying it would do only limited airstrikes to take out air defences.
The US, said Obama, no longer would do airstrikes to protect the civilian population.
Gates said that bringing in the Predators will give NATO a critical capability that the US uniquely can contribute.
"I think this is a very limited additional role on our part, but it does provide some additional capabilities to NATO," said Gates.
"And if we can make a modest contribution with these armed Predators, we'll do it. ... I don't think any of us see that as mission creep."
He said Obama has been clear that there will be no US boots on the ground, and the main strike role would belong to the allies.
Gates, who publicly expressed skepticism about getting involved militarily in Libya before Obama endorsed the limited intervention, said "the real work" of overthrowing Gaddafi will have to be done by the Libyans themselves.
While he acknowledged the conflict "is likely to take a while," Gates also said the continuing sanctions, arms embargo and NATO-led offensive have weakened Gaddafi's military and eaten away at his supplies and cash.
Over the long term, Gates said, that will hurt Gaddafi's ability to strike back at opposition forces, if they should rise up again in other cities.
At the same time, however, Gates said the administration's decision to provide $25m in nonlethal military assistance to the rebels did not signal a deeper US commitment to anti-Gaddafi forces whose makeup, objectives and motives still are not fully understood in Washington.
The aid, he said, is not high-end military equipment but rather a hodge-podge of things like uniforms and canteens.
"I'm not worried about our canteen technology falling into the wrong hands," he joked.
Asked how long he believes it will take the NATO-led air campaign to succeed, Gates replied, "The honest answer to that is, nobody knows."
Meanwhile, casualties are on the rise as Libyan government forces and rebel fighters battle it out on the streets of besieged western city of Misurata, amid calls by the UN chief to "stop fighting".
Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, urged Libyan authorities on Thursday to "stop fighting and stop killing people" and said the world body's priority was to secure a ceasefire.
"At this time our priority is to bring about a verifiable and effective ceasefire, and then we can expand our humanitarian assistance, and we are going to engage in political dialogue," he said during an official visit to Moscow.
The Libyan rebels have been trying since mid-February to end Gaddafi's 41-year-old rule but have struggled against his more experienced and better equipped forces.
Border post captured
Earlier on Thursday, pro-democracy fighters took control of the Libyan side of a key border crossing with Tunisia, in a remote western region.
Witnesses said pro-Gaddafi forces abandoned their weapons and fled into Tunisia.
Sue Turton, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Benghazi, said there was fierce fighting before the rebels were able to seize control of the post.
"The post ... has some 6,000 Libyans trying to get into Tunisia trying to flee the fighting here. People are camped out there," she said.
"We're also hearing from the national council here that this isn't the first time that they've taken control of that outpost. They're just watching to see whether Gaddafi forces strike back and try to take the post back again."
Elsewhere in the country, Libyan state television said, NATO forces struck the Khallat al-Farjan area of the capital Tripoli, killing seven people and wounding 18 others.
The report could not immediately be independently verified.
But NATO denied that any air raid had killed civilians, saying the target was a command and control bunker in a military compound.
The developments came on a day forces loyal to Gaddafi rained mortar fire on Misurata, the only rebel stronghold in the country's west where fighting has trapped 300,000 residents.
Medics said they have seen children with shrapnel and bullet wounds, with snipers allegedly killing and causing terror among the residents.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Libyan rebels 'disappointed' by NATO
Rebel commander says coalition forces are not doing enough to protect civilians, as Gaddafi's forces take key oil town.
Abdul Fatah Younis, the head of the Libyan opposition's armed forces, has accused NATO of acting too "slowly", or not acting at all, to protect civilians in their fight against Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader.
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Younis' comments came as the rebels were forced out of the oil town of Brega in the country's east by a renewed offensive launched by Gaddafi's forces. The rebels were forced to retreat to Ajdabiya, ending a stalemate over the last five days over who controlled Brega.
Speaking at a press conference in the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, Younis, who was formerly the country's interior minister, said that NATO had "disappointed" the rebels, even though it is helping them.
"Unfortunately, and I am sorry to say this, NATO has disappointed us. My staff have been in contact with NATO officials to direct them to targets that should protect civilians, but until now, NATO has not given us what we need," he said.
In particular, Younis was scathing in his criticism of the NATO response to events in Misurata, where residents have been under siege from pro-Gaddafi forces for the last 40 days. Younis said that Gaddafi had contaminated the drinking water, and that residents of the city did not have access to basic supplies.
"Civilians are dying daily because of lack of food or milk, even children are dying. Even by bombing. If NATO waits for another week, it will be a crime that NATO will have to carry. What is NATO doing? It is shelling some defined areas only," he said.
"When a large force of tanks, and even artillery, is on its way to Benghazi, Ajdabiya or Brega, we always inform NATO straight away. Because we don't have such weapons. NATO's reaction is very slow. By the time the information reaches from one official to another until it reaches the field commander, it takes hours.
"Will these forces wait for hours to bomb? No, they will go into the city and burn it down. That is why I want NATO to stand with us and support us, otherwise I will ask the [opposition] National Council to address this issue at the UN Security Council."
Younis said that rebel forces were providing NATO with the coordinates where pro-Gaddafi forces were present, but they were slow to act, allowing the forces to "enter a city, kill everybody, burn it down and then leave the city" before any action was taken.
He also complained that NATO was not allowing the opposition to use the MiG fighter aircraft and helicopters that it had repaired.
"NATO is moving very slowly, allowing Gaddafi forces to advance ... NATO has become our problem," he said.
Earlier in the day, Brigadier General Mark van Uhm, NATO's chief of allied operations, said that NATO's new "number one priority" was the western town of Misurata, which Younis said was being inadequately protected.
"Misurata is a number one priority because of the situation on the ground over there. We have confirmation that in Misurata tanks are being dispersed, being hidden, [and] humans being used as shields in order to prevent NATO sorties to identify targets," he said.
Van Uhm said that Gaddafi's troops have been adjusting their tactics to deal with the threat from coalition airstrikes, travelling in trucks and light vehicles to the front line and hiding their tanks and armoured vehicles from sight.
He said NATO had so far taken out 30 per cent of Gaddafi's military power, and had struck targets near Misurata on Monday.
Brega falls to Gaddafi forces
Earlier on Tuesday, Libyan rebel forces abandoned the oil town of Brega and headed east toward Ajdabiya in the face of a renewed offensive by troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.
Both sides exchanged heavy fire on Tuesday, but just a day after rebels had taken over a residential part of the city, they were forced to retreat.
Opposition forces said they came under rocket and artillery fire while they attempted to fight back with mortars and rockets of their own.
"When you see this, the situation is very bad. We cannot match their weapons,'' said Kamal Mughrabi, 64, a retired soldier who joined the opposition army. "If the [coalition] planes don't come back and hit them we'll have to keep pulling back."
Early in the day, a coalition airstrike targeted eight government vehicles that were advancing on opposition positions, rebel officer Abdel-Basset Abibi said.
Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, in Ajdabiya, reported that opposition forces had been pushed back 20-30km east of Brega towards Ajdabiya by the Gaddafi forces' mid-morning offensive.
"Since this morning we were trying to get as close as possible to Brega. We reached the junction on the road that would lead inside that town, but since mid-morning, opposition forces have been coming under a rolling artillery and mortar barrage," she reported.
Rebel oil export
Meanwhile, the rebels plan to load their first oil shipments on Tuesday.
The tanker Equator, which can carry a million barrels of crude, was due to arrive at the eastern port of Marsa el Hariga, near Tobruk, satellite ship tracking data showed even as a Suezmax tanker docked at the port of Tobruk.
A full load of oil on either tanker would be worth millions of dollars, helping the rebel leadership to pay salaries and bolster its image as a potential government capable of taking over.
The last oil shipment to leave Libya was on March 18.
It is unclear at the moment who is buying the oil, though the Suezmax tanker is flying under a Liberian flag, and the Equator is operated by a Greek company.
The frontline in the conflict has been bogged down around Brega for nearly a week, with Gaddafi's advantage in tanks and artillery cancelled out by NATO-led air strikes which effectively back the rebels.
After a series of rapid rebel advances followed by headlong retreats, the pro-democracy fighters had at least held their ground in this oil town for several days, putting their best trained forces into battle for the town and keeping disorganised volunteers away.
Abibi, the rebel officer, said the two sides battled inside the city until nightfall on Monday and then the rebels moved back to the outskirts. The night passed without much incident, until the coalition airstrike on Tuesday morning.
Tuesday's Gaddafi offensive, however, broke the pattern.
"Over the past few days it actually seemed as if the opposition forces were able to hold some sort of position around the town of Brega. Well, today the situation was completely different. The Gaddafi forces were much more aggresive than they had been in the past days, it seem that maybe they had received new supplies, but certainly they have been pounding much more intensely than over the past few days," our correspondent said.
Diplomatic developments
Mustafa Gheirani, a spokesman for the opposition's Transition National Council in Benghazi, said that while "setbacks" had been suffered, the opposition would fight on.
"There is no revolution without setbacks. But the people will win. Gaddafi cannot rule Libya with his machine - his militias and his mercenaries ... We are committed to fighting this tyrant, and either we will drive him out or he will rule a country with no people in it," he said.
Christopher Stevens, the former deputy chief of the US mission in Tripoli, has now arrived in Benghazi to hold talks with members of the opposition's TNC. The US has not formally recognised the TNC as Libya's legitimate government, as several other countries have, and Stevens is in the country to "get to know [its] members", a US official told Reuters.
On Tuesday, Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon's spokesman, said the US was still undecided on whether or not to help arm the rebels, but would be discussing providing "non-lethal" assistance in the coming days.
General Carter Hamm, the US general in charge of Africa Command, under whom US military operations in Libya fell, also testified before US lawmakers in Washington DC.
He reiterated that the US had handed over full command of the mission to NATO, and that US forces would only now act in a supporting role.
Gaddafi forces take Brega
Rebel forces retreat over 20km east towards Ajdabiya, as Gaddafi troops mount fresh offensive to take key oil town.
Libyan rebel forces have had to abandon the oil town of Brega and head east towards Ajdabiya in the face of a renewed offensive by troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader.
Both sides exchanged heavy fire on Tuesday, but just a day after rebels had taken over a residential part of the city, they were forced to retreat and head back east towards the city of Ajdabiya.
Opposition forces said they came under rocket and artillery fire, and while they attempted to fight back with mortars and rockets of their own, they were unable to retake Brega.
"When you see this, the situation is very bad. We cannot match their weapons,'' said Kamal Mughrabi, 64, a retired soldier who joined the opposition army. "If the [coalition] planes don't come back and hit them we'll have to keep pulling back."
Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, in Ajdabiya, reported that opposition forces had been pushed back 20-30km east of Brega towards Ajdabiya by the Gaddafi forces' mid-morning offensive.
"Since this morning we were trying to get as close as possible to Brega. We reached the junction on the road that would lead inside that town, but since mid-morning, opposition forces have been coming under a rolling artillery and mortar barrage that really pushed them about 20 to 30 km eastwards towards the town of Ajdabiya," she reported.
Early on Tuesday, a coalition airstrike targetted eight government vehicles that were advancing on opposition positions, rebel officer Abdel-Basset Abibi said.
Brigadier General Mark van Uhm, NATO's chief of allied operations, said on Tuesday that NATO new "number one priority" was the western town of Misurata, where residents say they have been besieged for weeks by pro-Gaddafi forces.
"Misurata is a number one priority because of the situation on the ground over there. We have confirmation that in Misurata tanks are being dispersed, being hidden, [and] humans being used as shields in order to prevent NATO sorties to identify targets," he said.
Van Uhm said that Gaddafi's troops have been adjusting their tactics to deal with the threat from coalition airstrikes, travelling in trucks and light vehicles to the front line and hiding their tanks and armoured vehicles from sight.
He said NATO had so far taken out 30 per cent of Gaddafi's military power.
Brega stalemate
The frontline in the conflict has been bogged down around Brega for nearly a week, with Gaddafi's advantage in tanks and artillery cancelled out by NATO-led air strikes which effectively back the rebels.
After a series of rapid rebel advances followed by headlong retreats, the pro-democracy fighters had at least held their ground in this oil town for several days, putting their best trained forces into battle for the town and keeping disorganised volunteers away.
Abibi, the rebel officer, said the two sides battled inside the city until nightfall on Monday and then the rebels moved back to the outskirts. The night passed without much incident, until the coalition airstrike on Tuesday morning.
On Monday, columns of opposition fighters drove up the main coastal highway, regaining ground they had given up the day before, but the effective use of artillery and landmines by Gaddafi's troops kept them at bay.
Tuesday's Gaddafi offensive, however, broke the pattern.
"We haven't seen such a push [by Gaddafi forces] for a few days, over the past few days it actually seemed as if the opposition forces were able to hold some sort of position around the town of Brega. Well, today the situation was completely different. The Gaddafi forces were much more aggresive than they had been in the past days, it seem that maybe they had received new supplies, but certainly they have been pounding much more intensely than over the past few days," Al Jazeera's Abdel-Hamid reported on Tuesday.
Rebel oil export
Meanwhile, the rebels are also to receive a boost with the loading of their first oil shipments due to begin on Tuesday.
The tanker Equator, which can carry 1 million barrels of crude, was due to arrive at the eastern Libyan port of Marsa el Hariga, near Tobruk, satellite ship tracking data showed on Monday, while the Suezmax tanker docked at the eastern port of Tobruk on Tuesday.
A full load of oil on either tanker would be worth millions of dollars, helping the rebel leadership to pay salaries and bolster its image as a potential government capable of taking over.
The last oil shipment to leave Libya was on March 18.
Meanwhile, in the capital Tripoli, angered by fuel shortages and long queues for basic goods caused by sanctions and air strikes, some residents began openly predicting Gaddafi's imminent downfall.
The government offered concessions. Spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said Libya was ready for a "political solution" with world powers and offered a "constitution, election, anything. But the leader has to lead this forward".
Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Abdelati Obeidi ended a trip to Greece, Turkey and Malta to set out the government position.
Turkey is expecting an envoy to visit from the opposition in the coming days and is listening to both sides.
"Both sides have a rigid stance," a Turkish Foreign Ministry official said after Obeidi's visit. "One side, the opposition, is insisting that Gaddafi should go. The other side is saying Gaddafi should stay. So there is no breakthrough yet."
Fresh clashes in restive Yemeni city
A day after at least 15 people were killed, security forces have again fired on anti-government protesters in Taiz.
Security forces and armed men in civilian clothes have opened fire during protests in the city of Taiz in southern Yemen, a day after clashes there killed 15 people, witnesses said.
Hundreds of security troops attacked tens of thousands of protesters, witnesses told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday adding, plain-clothed policemen were wielding bats and daggers.
They said several people had been hurt, but there was no word yet from medical sources on casualties.
Protesters responded to the attack by hurling rocks at the security forces.
Our special correspondent, reporting from Yemen, quoted the opposition that the ruling party called on their supporters to rally in Taiz today. The supporters marched towards 'Liberty Square'.
"They tried to enter the square but anti-government protesters stopped them after which clashes ensued. The police then opened fire and lobbed tear gas shells towards the protesters inside the square.
"As events are unfolding, it is strengthening their (the protesters) resolve."
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) invited the Yemeni government and opposition representatives for talks in Riyadh in a bid to end the crisis, but a date has yet to be set.
"We welcome the GCC invitation and the government is ready to discuss any ideas from our Gulf brothers to solve the crisis," Abubakr al-Qirbi, Yemen's acting foreign minister, told the Reuters news agency.
Aides to Mohsen said the general also accepted the call for talks in Saudi Arabia.
But leaders from the political opposition groups have yet to respond, saying they would only give an answer when they receive details of the proposed talks in Riyadh
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Security forces and armed men in civilian clothes have opened fire during protests in the city of Taiz in southern Yemen, a day after clashes there killed 15 people, witnesses said.
Hundreds of security troops attacked tens of thousands of protesters, witnesses told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday adding, plain-clothed policemen were wielding bats and daggers.
They said several people had been hurt, but there was no word yet from medical sources on casualties.
Protesters responded to the attack by hurling rocks at the security forces.
Our special correspondent, reporting from Yemen, quoted the opposition that the ruling party called on their supporters to rally in Taiz today. The supporters marched towards 'Liberty Square'.
"They tried to enter the square but anti-government protesters stopped them after which clashes ensued. The police then opened fire and lobbed tear gas shells towards the protesters inside the square.
"As events are unfolding, it is strengthening their (the protesters) resolve."
Violence in Sanaa
In Sanaa, pro-regime supporters marched from the presidential area towards Change Square and the headquarters of General Ali Mohsen, a key military leader who recently threw his weight behind the tens of thousands of protesters calling for Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's president, to quit.
"They were on foot and in cars. As they approached the gate of the (Mohsen) HQ, people in one of the cars opened fire on the soldiers as well as the pro- and anti-government supporters who were gathered there," added our correspondent.
"Ali Mohsen's soldiers, loyal to the pro-democracy protesters, responded with fire. We are hearing that one person got killed, 26 others injured of which four are in a critical condition.
"It is a clear indication of escalation; the president is not backing down and the situation remains very volatile - he seems to be increasing the security presence, not decreasing it."
GCC offer
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) invited the Yemeni government and opposition representatives for talks in Riyadh in a bid to end the crisis, but a date has yet to be set.
"We welcome the GCC invitation and the government is ready to discuss any ideas from our Gulf brothers to solve the crisis," Abubakr al-Qirbi, Yemen's acting foreign minister, told the Reuters news agency.
Aides to Mohsen said the general also accepted the call for talks in Saudi Arabia.
But leaders from the political opposition groups have yet to respond, saying they would only give an answer when they receive details of the proposed talks in Riyadh
Japan seeks Russia's help over nuclear leak
Japan asks Russia for floating radiation treatment plant in latest effort to contain radioactive water at nuclear plant.
Japan has asked Russia to send a floating radiation treatment plant, which will solidify contaminated liquid waste from the country's crippled nuclear power plant, Russian media reported.
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Japan has asked Russia to send a floating radiation treatment plant, which will solidify contaminated liquid waste from the country's crippled nuclear power plant, Russian media reported.Engineers have been forced to release radioactive water into the sea as they battle to contain the disaster at the earthquake and tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
After seeking help from France and the United States, Japan has now asked Russia to send the floating radiation treatment plant Suzuran, which has been used to decommission Russian submarines in nearby Vladivostok, the Interfax news agency reported.
Suzuran, one of the world's largest liquid radioactive waste treatment plants, treats radioactive liquid with chemicals and stores it in a cement form.
It can process 35 cubic metres of liquid waste a day and 7,000 cubic metres a year.
Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), the operator of the nuclear plant, has started releasing 11,500 tonnes of low-level radioactive seawater that had been used to cool overheated fuel rods after it ran out of storage capacity for more highly contaminated water.
Engineers also plan to build two giant "silt curtains" made of polyester fabric in the sea to block the spread of more contamination from the plant.
They have resorted to desperate measures to contain the damage, such as using bath salts as a dye to try to locate the source of leaks at the complex, 240 km north of Tokyo.
The exact source of the radiation leaks remains unknown.
More than three weeks after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and massive tsunami hit northeast Japan and damaged the plant, engineers are no closer to regaining control of the facility or stopping radioactive leaks.
'Costliest disaster'
TEPCO said on Tuesday, it had started paying "condolence money" to local governments to aid people evacuated from around its stricken plant or affected by the radiation crisis.
The company is facing a huge compensation bill, but said it must first assess the extent of damage before paying compensation.
Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimate that claims could top $130bn if the crisis drags on for years, with TEPCO and the Japanese government splitting the cost.
The world's costliest natural disaster has caused power blackouts and cuts to supply chains, threatening Japan's economic growth and the yen, and the operations of global firms, from semiconductor makers to shipbuilders.
The quake and tsunami left nearly 28,000 people dead or missing, thousands homeless and Japan's northeast coast a wreck.
A TEPCO official was in tears as he told a news conference: "We are very sorry for this region and those involved."
Shares of TEPCO plunged to a record low of 376 yen on on the Nikkei on Tuesday, with no end in sight to the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.
At noon the utility, which has said it may need state support to help meet its obligations, was 11.53 per cent lower at 391 amid expectations of a soaring compensation bill.
Its shares have lost more than 80 per cent of their pre-crisis value.
Schoolyard radiation tests
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Fukushima prefectural government started radiation measurements at schoolyards in the prefecture in the wake of the nuclear emergency.
The emergency measurement through Thursday will be conducted at some 1,400 kindergartens as well as elementary and junior high schools, prefectural officials said.
The move came as many parents have asked the authorities since the April 1 start of the new academic year if they can allow their children to walk to school or to play in the schoolyards.
The officials have confirmed that there is no problem as long as children stay outside a 30km zone around the power plant, which also includes an outer zone from 20-30km from the plant where people are advised to stay indoors.
However, some parents still showed concerns, according to officials.
Small levels of radiation from the plant have been detected as far away as Europe and the United States and several countries have banned milk and produce from the vicinity.
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