Category Archives: Main

Yemen: “Tawakul Karman, a Yemeni activist, provides thorn in side for Saleh”

Posted on March 26, 2011 | Leave a comment

March 25, 2011

Tawakul Karman, a 32-year-old mother of three, may seem an unlikely leader of the fight to overthrow the president of Yemen. But the outspoken journalist and human rights activist has long been a thorn in Ali Abdullah Saleh’s side, agitating for press freedoms and staging weekly sit-ins to demand the release of political prisoners from jail – a place she has been several times herself. Now inspired by the uprising in Tunisia and the resignation of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, she finds herself at the head of a popular protest movement which is shaking the Yemeni regime to its core. “With two civil wars, an al-Qaida presence and 40% unemployment, what else is President Saleh waiting for? He should leave office now,” she says, claiming that Yemen, like Tunisia and Egypt, needs an end to a dictatorship in the guise of a presidency.

>>> continued on Yemen page <<<

Leave a comment

Posted in Main

“Libya and Europe’s divisions over foreign policy”

Posted on March 26, 2011 | 1 comment

March 26, 2011

Timothy Garton Ash is right to highlight how domestic political pressures have led to serious differences between EU leaders on Libya (Comment, 24 March), but it would be too simplistic to argue that this shows a complete failure of the EU’s new foreign policy mechanisms. The EU high representative, Cathy Ashton, has had the challenging task of juggling the views of France, Britain and Germany while also dealing with the Italians and Maltese, who are more concerned about the EU’s inability to deal with the refugees fleeing from the crisis.

>>> continued on Libya page <<<

1 Comment

Posted in Main

Egypt women protesters forced to take ‘virginity tests’

Posted on March 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

March 24, 2011

A leading rights group says the Egyptian army arrested, tortured and forced women to take “virginity tests” during protests earlier this month. Amnesty International is calling on the authorities in Cairo to investigate. It says at least 18 female protesters were arrested after army officers cleared Tahrir Square on 9 March. It says they were then beaten, given electric shocks and strip searched. The army denies the allegations. A 20-year-old woman, Salwa Hosseini, told Amnesty she was forced to take off all her clothes by a female prison guard in a room with open doors and a window.

>>> continued on egypt page <<<

Leave a comment

Posted in Main

“Worried Syrian regime offers promise of change”

Posted on March 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

March 24, 2011

Associated Press= DARAA, Syria (AP) — The Syrian government pledged Thursday to consider lifting some of the Mideast’s most repressive laws in an attempt to stop a week-long uprising in a southern city from spreading and threatening its nearly 50-year rule. The promises were immediately rejected by many activists who called for demonstrations around the country on Friday in response to a crackdown that protesters say killed dozens of anti-government marchers in the city of Daraa. “We will not forget the martyrs of Daraa,” a resident told The Associated Press by telephone. “If they think this will silence us they are wrong.” The coming days will be a crucial test of the surge of popular discontent that has unseated autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt and threatens to push several others from power.

>>> continued on Syrian page <<<

Leave a comment

Posted in Main

“Libya action: More UK missiles target defences”

Posted on March 24, 2011 | Leave a comment

March 24, 2011

UK forces have launched further missiles at Libyan air defences during a fifth night of coalition action to enforce a UN-backed no-fly zone. Guided Tomahawk land attack missiles were fired from a Trafalgar Class submarine, defence officials said. Eleven countries are taking part in the action to protect Libyan civilians. Foreign Secretary William Hague told MPs the case for it remained “utterly compelling”.

>>> continued on Libya Page <<<

Leave a comment

Posted in Main

Did Hackle Security Services rise from the ashes of Cosmo Security Services?

Posted on March 24, 2011 | Leave a comment

Workers left in limbo after firm goes bust

March 9, 2011

WORRIED workers at a Paisley shopping mall face an uncertain future after their employers went bust. Around 20 security staff and cleaners who are based at The Paisley Centre were left stunned when contractors Cosmo Services were plunged into administration following a cash crisis. The workers only learned about the Newbury-based firm’s collapse when their monthly wages failed to appear in their bank accounts. Caring bosses at Prop Invest, which owns The Paisley Centre, stepped in to offer to re-hire the workers, as well as forking out cash to make sure they were paid for the work they had already done. Now grateful employees have thanked their new gaffers for paying their wageand offering them work – but admit they have no idea how long their jobs will last. One worker, who asked not to be named, told the Paisley Daily Express: “We’re stuck in limbo. We are all really grateful that the management at The Paisley Centre have stepped in to make sure we are kept on and that our wages were paid but we haven’t been told how long the positions will last or whether another third-party contractor will be brought in. “We haven’t even been told what our terms and conditions are.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Main

“Syrian police shoot nine people dead in attack on area sheltering protesters”

Posted on March 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

March 23, 2011

Syrian police launched an assault on a neighbourhood sheltering anti-government protesters, fatally shooting at least nine in an operation that lasted nearly 24 hours, witnesses said. At least six were said to have been killed in an early morning attack on the al-Omari mosque in the southern agricultural city of Deraa, where protesters have taken to the streets to calls for reform and political freedoms. An activist in contact with people in the city said police shot three other protesters in the city centre after dusk. Inspired by the wave of pro-democracy protests around the region, the uprising in Deraa and at least four villages nearby has become the biggest domestic challenge since the 1970s to the Syrian government, one of the most repressive in the Middle East. Security forces have responded with water cannon, teargas, rubber bullets and live ammunition. The total death toll now stands at 16.

Democracy activists used social-networking sites to call for massive demonstrations across the country on Friday, a day they dubbed Dignity Friday. An activist in Damascus in contact with people in Deraa said six had died in the raid on the mosque. A witness in the city said five people had been killed, including a woman who looked out of her window to see what was happening during the operation, which began after midnight and lasted for about three hours. Heavy shooting rattled the city until at least the early afternoon, when bursts of semi-automatic gunfire could be heard echoing in its old centre. State TV said an “armed gang” attacked an ambulance and security forces killed four attackers and wounded others and was chasing others who fled. It denied security forces had stormed the mosque, but also showed footage of guns, AK47s, hand grenades, ammunition and money it said had been seized from inside.

Mobile phone connections to the city were cut and checkpoints throughout Deraa were manned by soldiers in camouflage uniforms and plainclothes security agents with rifles. Anti-terrorism police wearing dark blue uniforms were also on the streets. The witness said hundreds of anti-terrorism police had surrounded the mosque. The unrest started with the arrest last week of a group of students who sprayed anti-government graffiti on walls in Deraa.

‘Many dead’ in Syrian crackdown

March 23, 2011

Human rights activists say at least 13 people have been killed in the Syrian town of Daraa, the focalpoint of a week of anti-government protests. Activists and residents said security forces opened fire on protesters outside the Omari mosque early Wednesday, after hundreds of people had gathered overnight to prevent police from storming it, and that shooting had continued sporadically over the course of the day. A rights activist also told AFP news agency that security forces had opened fire on mourners attending the funeral of those killed in Daraa. Al Jazeera’s Rula Amin, reporting from Damascus, said that fighting broke out when residents from other towns clashed with security forces as they tried to enter Daraa to help residents there. A youth activist in the Syrian capital, who remains anonymous, told Al Jazeera that his contacts in Daraa said that “dozens of people” had died in clashes. “Many there want to take down the government, and want more freedoms.” he said.

Our correspondent said there was a heavy security presence in Daraa, with the army, anti-terror police and riot police all deployed in the city. Journalists are not being allowed to visit the city, and several of those who attempted to do so last night had their equipment confiscated by authorities. Checkpoints have been set up by security forces at all entries to the city. Syria’s state-run television station reported that an “armed gang” attacked an ambulance at the Omari mosque, killing four people. The victims were a doctor, a paramedic, a policeman and the ambulance driver, according to SANA. The security forces who were near the area intervened, hitting some and arresting others,” the report said, without elaborating. Later in the day, state television showed what it said were pictures of a weapons stockpile inside the Omari mosque, including pistols, shotguns, grenades and ammunition.

The violence was condemned by Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, who called for “a transparent investigation into the killings”. A spokesman for the US state department said Washington was alarmed by the situation and urged Syrian authorities to “exercise restraint and to refrain from violence”. “We are deeply concerned by the Syrian government’s use of violence, intimidation and arbitrary arrests to hinder the ability of its people to freely exercise their universal rights. We condemn these actions,” said Mark Toner. On Tuesday, Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged Syrian authorities to halt the excessive use of force. “The government should carry out an independent, transparent and effective investigation into the killings of the six protesters during the events of 18 and 20 March,” Rupert Colville, a spokesman for Pillay, said on Tuesday. “We are greatly concerned by the recent killings of protesters in Syria and reiterate the need to put an immediate halt to the excessive use of force against peaceful protesters, especially the use of live ammunition.” Colville said that the use of excessive force was a “clear violation of international law” and that perpetrators could be prosecuted.

Leave a comment

Posted in Main

Libya air force ‘unable to fight’

Posted on March 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

March 22, 2011

Col Muammar Gaddafi’s air force “no longer exists as a fighting force”, the commander of British aircraft operating over Libya has said. Air Vice Marshal Greg Bagwell said the allies could now operate “with near impunity” over the skies of Libya. He said they were now applying unrelenting pressure on the Libyan armed forces. He was speaking during a visit to RAF aircrew based at Gioia del Colle in southern Italy. “We are watching over the innocent people of Libya and ensuring that we protect them from attack,” he said. “We have the Libyan ground forces under constant observation and we attack them whenever they threaten civilians or attack population centres.” His comments come as Nato members debate who should lead the intervention, with the US keen to hand over to Nato. They were echoed by Rear Admiral Gerard Hueber, US chief of staff for the Libya mission, who said: “We are putting pressure on Gadaffi’s ground forces that are threatening cities.” Asked if that meant air strikes, he replied: “Yes.” Speaking to reporters by phone from the command ship USS Mount Whitney, in the Mediterranean, he insisted there had been no reports of civilian casualties caused by allied action.

>>> continued on libya page <<<

Leave a comment

Posted in Main

“Libya and the suspicious rush to war”

Posted on March 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

March 21, 2011

Allied forces carrying out air strikes in Libya say Colonel Muammar Gaddafi himself is not a target, despite an overnight attack against his compound. The chief of UK armed forces said attacks on Libya’s leader were “not allowed” under a UN resolution calling for the protection of Libyan civilians. And a French spokesman said that even if the Libyan leader’s exact location was known, he would not be fired on. Col Gaddafi has been fighting a rebellion that broke out last month. On Sunday UK Defence Secretary Liam Fox said targeting Col Gaddafi could “potentially be a possibility”. But on Monday Britain’s Chief of Defence Staff, Sir David Richards, said he was “absolutely not” a target. “It’s not allowed under the UN resolution,” he added. The document, approved by the Security Council last week, authorises “all necessary measures” to protect civilians from pro-Gaddafi forces – including a no-fly zone.

>>> continued on libya page <<<

Leave a comment

Posted in Main

“Yemen military commanders join opposition as tanks take to streets”

Posted on March 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

March 21, 2011

Three Yemen army commanders, including a top general, have defected to the opposition calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, as tanks were deployed in the streets of the capital. The most senior of the three officers is Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a long-time confidant of Saleh and commander of the army’s powerful 1st Armoured Division. Units of the division were deployed on Monday in a major square in Sana’a, where protesters have been camping out to call for Saleh to step down. All three officers belong to Saleh’s Hashid tribe, which called on the president to step down on Sunday, delivering a serious blow to his attempts to cling on to power.

>>> continued on Yemen page <<<

Leave a comment

Posted in Main