Re: Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East
https://twitter.com/#!/adammbaron
Quote:
(Secessionist leaning) sources involved in the fight in abyan confirm that ansar alshariah has been pushed out of jaar, zinjibar yemen
10:11 AM June 12
somewhat celebratory air in Aden. But many keen to give credit to (largely secessionist) 'popular committees' rather than yemen's military
10:24 AM June 12
Currently in jaar was just in zinjibar. Both under goverment control, odd calm.
4:51 AM
Met gov of aden, minister of defense on top of mount khanfar, an ansar bastion just days ago
4:56 AM
Re: Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East
God...damn it!
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middle...538532758.html
Quote:
Egypt court orders dissolving of parliament
In another setback for Egypt's fledgling political process, elected officials have been disqualified and the lower house of parliament dissolved.
The court ruled on Thursday that one third of the seats in the Islamist-dominated parliament were invalid, stirring fresh uncertainty in the politically divided country.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), the country's ruling military council, then announced that if any part of the parliament is illegal, then the entire body should be dissolved.
Egypt's constitutional court also ruled against a law that would have barred deposed president Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister Ahmed Shafiq from standing in this weekend's presidential poll runoff.
After conflicting reports in Egyptian media over whether a third, or the entire, parliament was to be dismissed, Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh obtained a copy of the court decision, which explicitly states that the entire parliament is dismissed because of "constitutional violations".
Shafiq welcomed the court rulings in a conference before his supporters, saying an "era of political score settling" was over.
"The message of this historic verdict is that the era of political score settling has ended," Shafik told cheering crowd in Cairo. "The constitutional court has confirmed my right to participate in the election and reinforced the legitimacy of this election."
Rawya Rageh said it was "really a victory speech ... addressing Egyptians almost as president and not as a candidate".
https://twitter.com/#!/iyad_elbaghdadi
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ElBaradei calls upon SCAF to delay the presidential elections.
11:26 AM
ElBaradei: Without a parliament or a constitution, we won't be electing a president, we'll be electing a tyrant.
11:27 AM
https://twitter.com/#!/SultanAlQassemi
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Al Arabiya: El Baradei: Electing a prez without a parliament or constitution will give him absolute power. I demand a presidential council
11:45 AM
Al Jazeera: Military source: The next president will swear an oath in front of SCAF not the parliament
11:52 AM
Re: Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middle...159451314.html
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Another al-Qaeda stronghold 'falls' in Yemen
Yemen's army has recaptured the last al-Qaeda stronghold in southern Abyan province, officials and residents said.
This is the third jihadist bastion in the south to fall in the space of a week, a military official said on Friday.
"The army has taken control of Shuqra," said the official, adding that "troops have taken positions in the centre" of the coastal city while fighters fled.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47826377
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Militants defecting to Somali side after losses
ELASHA BIYAHA, Somalia (AP) - Evil laughter pealed out of the mobile phone. Abshir Ali Mohamed, an al-Shabab defector now wearing a Somali military uniform, had asked his former commander to join him. The commander, an al-Shabab judge known for ordering amputations, said he would instead kill Mohamed.
Somali military and government leaders say Mohamed's defection is an example of a trend growing in their favor, with the East African country's most notorious militant group losing manpower and ground. The 24-year-old former insurgent left al-Shabab less than two weeks ago and now wears a bright blue patch with a white star - the Somali flag - on the shoulder of his government uniform.
"Al-Shabab is no longer. It's going to end soon," Mohamed said last week at freshly dug Ugandan-Somali military base on the outskirts of Mogadishu. The base was set up after African Union troops kicked militants out of the towns of Elasha Biyaha and Afgoye.
"Al-Shabab is changing sides because of heavy losses. Those who still fight with them are running away in small groups. They've lost weapons. They've lost personnel," he continued. More are looking to flee, he said.
Somali government spokesman Abdirahman Omar Osman said Thursday that some 500 al-Shabab fighters have defected to the government side.
As a foreign policy analyst mentioned on twitter earlier it seems that Al Qaeda and Shabab's time of control may be coming to an end in Yemen and Somalia.
Re: Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/16/world/...html?hpt=hp_t2
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Saudi Crown Prince Nayef dies
Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz, a hard-line conservative who is credited with pushing back al Qaeda, has died, Saudi state TV reported Saturday.
Nayef, who had been named crown prince in October by his brother the king, was heir to the Saudi throne. State TV broadcast Quran readings as an expression of mourning for the prince, who died in Geneva, Switzerland.
"It is a shock. We all knew his health was frail but his death is a shock," Saudi Foreign Ministry spokesman Osama Nogali told CNN. "We still don't know the reason behind his death."
The Saudi Press Agency published a statement from the Royal Court, saying it "condoles the Saudi people on the deceased prince pray to God to bless his soul and to reward him for his services to his religion and homeland."
http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...audi-king.html
Quote:
Meet Prince Salman, the Next Saudi King
He’s 76 years old, a hawk when it comes to Iran, a dove when it comes to peaceful reform—and, with the death of his brother, the kingdom’s new heir. Bruce Riedel on Prince Salman.
YEMEN
https://twitter.com/#!/narrabyee
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Celebrations started in Shuqrah, after army drove Al Qaeda out, and road reopened to Ahwar and Mukalla.
7:36 AM
President Hadi gave courage medal to the anti-Al Qaeda popular committees in Abyan. Predident Hadi also gave the courage medal to anti-Al Qaeda popular committees in Lahj and Baidha.
2:22 PM
Al Qaeda will withdraw from Azzan to save blood also as it did in Jaar, Zinjubar and Shuqrah, said tribal leaders mediating with Al Qaeda
1:14 PM
Al Qaeda is to withdraw from Aazan, the last, last stronghold in Shabwah, tonigh to mountains of Al Kur, tribal sources said late Saturday
1:55 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ye..._2012-3-11.svg
So they've been mostly pushed out of Abayan and Shabwah governorates now.
Of course they may still be hiding in the mountains afterwards.
This guy gives a different perspective though:
https://twitter.com/#!/almuslimi
Says that there is still a very anti-army, anti-north/unification mood in the southern provinces.
I hope the government takes note of the feeling against them in the far north and the southern provinces.
Perhaps some sort of federalization is necessary.
Re: Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/0...85G05W20120617
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Saudi king seeks successor as crown prince buried
Saudi Arabia's elderly king led funeral prayers on Sunday for his heir, Crown Prince Nayef, whose death forces him to find a new successor capable of tackling domestic unemployment, bitter rivalry with Iran and turmoil in close Arab neighbours.
Mecca's Great Mosque, Islam's holiest place, was lined with members of the al-Saud ruling family and leaders of Arab states as an imam led the sunset prayer next to the body of Nayef, who died on Saturday.
Among the mourners was the man most likely to be named as successor: Prince Salman, 76, who is seen as more likely to continue the 89-year-old King Abdullah's cautious economic and social reforms than the conservative Nayef.
I saw earlier King Abdullah and Tantawi of Egypt's SCAF sitting side by side at the funeral.
Re: Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...85H0A520120618
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Suicide bomber kills senior south Yemen army general
The commander of Yemen's southern military region was killed in a suicide attack in Aden early on Monday, medics and a security official said, after the army drove al Qaeda-linked militants from their strongholds in the area.
The bomber, who was wearing an explosives belt, targeted Major General Salem Ali Qatan as he was on his way to work, witnesses said.
Re: Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East
https://twitter.com/#!/kdiwaniya
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Kuwait govt & opposition were negotiating over cabinet on eve of const court ruling that current parliament is illegal. http://news.kuwaittimes.net/2012/06/...-join-cabinet/
11:26 AM
The timing of Kuwait constitutional court ruling annulling elected parliament is dangerous: brings Kuwait into Egypt's revolutionary orbit.
12:34 PM
http://news.kuwaittimes.net/2012/06/...-join-cabinet/
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PM invites oppn to join Cabinet
KUWAIT: Just a day after HH the Amir suspended the National Assembly for a month, Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah held talks with Assembly Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun and several MPs from the opposition, inviting the parliamentary majority bloc to join the Cabinet. Opposition MP Saifi Al-Saifi told reporters after the meeting that during the talks, Sheikh Jaber offered the opposition to join the Cabinet, which is being reshuffled after two of its members were forced to resign.
Information Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah said the talks did not mention a specific number of MPs who may join the government, adding that the outcome of the meeting was very positive. Sheikh Jaber said after the meeting that “everything is fine” without elaborating. Saifi said the opposition majority bloc will meet soon to study the premier’s proposal about participating in the Cabinet amid mixed demands from opposition MPs about the number of lawmakers that should be included in the Cabinet.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa...758119634.html
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Police clash with protesters in Sudan capital
More than 100 demonstrators rally for a third day to protest against austerity plans aimed at tackling economic crisis.
Sudanese police have clashed with scores of protesters in the capital Khartoum for a third day, a witnesses said, extending demonstrations against government austerity plans to cope with an economic crisis.
Sudan has faced a widening budget gap, a depreciating currency and high inflation since South Sudan split away a year ago, taking with it three quarters of the country's oil production - previously the main source of exports and state revenues.
On Tuesday, more than 100 demonstrators blocked a street in Khartoum and scuffled with police while chanting "no, no to inflation" and "the people want to overthrow the regime," the witness said.
As on the previous two days of demonstrations, police used batons and tear gas to disperse the crowd, a witness added, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/20/world/...ban/index.html
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Uganda bans 38 agencies it says are promoting gay rights
The Ugandan government said Wednesday it will ban at least 38 nongovernmental agencies it says are promoting gay rights and recruiting children into homosexuality.
"We have investigated them thoroughly and we have found their sponsors," said Ethics Minister Simon Lokodo. "We will ask them to step aside and stop pretending to work in human rights."
"Some NGOs, under the pretext of providing social services, are receiving funds to promote homosexuality," he said.
The organizations -- both international and local -- will lose their registrations and no longer be able to operate in Uganda. He did not name the groups on the list.
"The sooner they are phased out, the better," he said.
Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda, as it is in many African countries, and legislation is pending in parliament that could bring even harsher penalties for gays.
Re: Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East
Oh boy....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...85J15R20120620
Quote:
Kuwait court reinstates former parliament
Kuwait's highest court on Wednesday annulled the results of a February parliamentary election in which opposition lawmakers won a majority, and reinstated the previous assembly.
The ruling was the latest twist in an escalating row between a government appointed by the ruler and mainly Islamist lawmakers who had threatened to summon senior ministers to parliament for questioning.
Prominent opposition lawmaker Musallam al-Barrak announced that he and several other MPs were resigning from the restored parliament, calling the court's ruling "a coup against the constitution".
Opposition politicians won a majority in February's elections, held after the emir dissolved the previous assembly amid bickering with the government over corruption allegations that had held up economic reforms and economic development.
Analysts said Wednesday's ruling would not be welcomed by many voters who backed opposition politicians due to allegations of financial irregularities against some former lawmakers.
"The previous parliament is completely unpopular," said Abdullah al-Shayji, a political science professor at Kuwait University.
Re: Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East
https://twitter.com/#!/S_Elwardany
Quote:
BREAKING: Khartoum [SUDAN] state government dissolved, as anti-austerity unrest enters fifth day: Governor
3:23 AM
https://twitter.com/#!/AleemMaqbool
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confirmed: arrest warrant issued for leading pakistan prime minister candidate, makhdoom shahabuddin (after supreme court removed last pm)
3:58 AM
Re: Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East
https://twitter.com/#!/kdiwaniya
Quote:
Looks like Kuwaiti opposition is using political crisis to escalate demands for an elected government. If so would be "historic."
10:30 AM
BIG: Kuwait "majority" opposition issues statement calling for 1) constitutional amendments 2) elected govt 3) enter elections under 1 list.
10:35 AM
Ruling of Kuwait's constitutional court may have initiated course toward GCC's first elected parliamentary government.
10:37 AM
Re: Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East
http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_15287/cont...tguid=ZNTUWYy0
Quote:
Anti-regime protests sweep Sudan's capital
Riot police fired tear gas and civilians armed with machetes and swords attacked protesters during five days of demonstrations sweeping Khartoum demanding ouster of Sudan's autocratic ruler, a Sudanese opposition leader said Thursday.
Saata Ahmed al-Haj, head of the opposition Sudanese Commission for Defense of Freedoms and Rights, said that hundreds of protesters have been detained over the past five days. He said they were later released but were badly mistreated.
Al-Haj said security forces shaved off the protesters' hair, stripped them naked, flogged them and then left them outside in the scorching sun for hours.
"I am under house arrest along with several opposition members, and security forces are encircling the place," he told The Associated Press over the phone. "Our 'offense' is we are searching for freedom, and this is a crime in Sudan," he said.
"This is the outcome of political, economic and military suffocation felt by people here," al-Haj said.
Re: Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...85L16M20120622
Quote:
Paraguay's leftist president faces impeachment
Paraguay's Senate will decide whether to oust President Fernando Lugo in a lightning-quick impeachment trial on Friday that he says is tantamount to a coup.
Lugo, a silver-haired former Catholic bishop who quit the church to run for the presidency, is accused of mishandling armed clashes over a land eviction in which 17 police and peasant farmers were killed last week.
His rivals, who firmly control both congressional houses, were confident they would get the votes needed to remove the president. Lawmakers in the lower house agreed in a sudden, near-unanimous vote on Thursday to start the impeachment.
Re: Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp...c=Worldupdates
Quote:
Sudan police ordered to end protests "immediately": SMC
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's police have ordered their forces to put an end to anti-government protests immediately, state media reported on Saturday, in a sign of a growing crackdown on demonstrations that have spread throughout Khartoum over the last week.
"The police direct their forces to immediately end the demonstrations and incidents of unrest according to the law," the state-linked Sudanese Media Centre (SMC) said in a statement sent to mobile phones. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Alexander Dziadosz)
Re: Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...85N01A20120624
Quote:
Massacre tests judicial reform in the Philippines
Esmael Enog heard crackling gunfire and saw men armed with high-powered rifles carry out one of the most heinous crimes in Philippine history: the massacre of 57 people, including 31 journalists, on a November morning three years ago.
But nine months after testifying in court last July and pointing a finger at a politically powerful family, Enog vanished. His body was found in a sack near marshland last month, chain-sawed into pieces, according to his lawyer.
Two other witnesses have been murdered, casting doubt over whether anyone will be brought to justice for the nation's bloodiest election-related violence and the deadliest single attack on the press ever documented.
Re: Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18571193
Quote:
London 2012 Olympics: Saudis allow women to compete
Saudi Arabia is to allow its women athletes to compete in the Olympics for the first time.
A statement issued by the Saudi Embassy in London says the country's Olympic Committee will "oversee participation of women athletes who can qualify".
The decision will end recent speculation as to whether the entire Saudi team could have been disqualified on grounds of gender discrimination.
Women's sport is still fiercely opposed by many Saudi religious conservatives.
There is almost no public tradition of women participating in sport in the country.
Saudi officials say that with the Games now just a few weeks away, the only female competitor at Olympic standard is showjumper Dalma Rushdi Malhas.
But they added that there may be scope for others to compete and that if successful they would be dressed "to preserve their dignity".
In practice this is likely to mean modest, loose-fitting garments and "a sports hijab", a scarf covering the hair but not the face.
