March 16, 2011

Security forces with tanks have overrun a square in the centre of Bahrain’s capital Manama where anti-government protesters have been camped for weeks. At least three civilians were reportedly killed after police fired on mainly Shia protesters. Officials said three police also died. Troops have taken over a hospital treating the wounded. Officials have imposed a curfew and banned protests. The country’s Sunni rulers on Tuesday called in Saudi troops to keep order. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Gulf states were on the “wrong track” in sending in troops to Bahrain. “We find what’s happening in Bahrain alarming. We think that there is no security answer to the aspirations and demands of the demonstrators,” she said in an interview with CBS.

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Decision to abolish the state security apparatus in all the governorates of Egypt (Arabic)

For more pictures click on any of the images below.

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Hazem Ramzy

March 15, 2011

Heavy fighting has been continuing in Libya between government and rebel forces for the oil town of Brega. The town has changed hands several times over recent days. Reports now suggest the rebels are losing control. In the west, government forces appear to have retaken Zuwara and are shelling Misrata city.  After a meeting in France, the G8 group of nations urged action against Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, but made no mention of a no-fly zone. United Nations diplomats have meanwhile said they expect to circulate a draft resolution on Libya to UN Security Council members later on Tuesday. Government planes have also been bombing the outskirts of Ajdabiya, the last town before the rebel base in Benghazi. The sound of rocket fire has been getting louder in the town, while the frequency of ambulances and trucks bringing wounded to the main hospital has been increasing, AFP news agency reports. Libyan state TV says the government has gained control of the town, but this has not been independently verified, and reports suggest that fighting is continuing. In Brega, it seems rebel fighters have been hiding inside the oil installation in the daytime, in the belief that the government does not want to shell the facility, says the BBC’s Jon Leyne in Benghazi. Opposition sources are also saying there are divisions within the government ranks, with some troops apparently reluctant to fire on civilians, our correspondent adds.

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March 15, 2011

The king of Bahrain has declared a three-month state of emergency, state TV reports, following weeks of pro-democracy protests in the kingdom. It comes a day after troops from neighbouring Gulf states were sent to Bahrain to help deal with the unrest. Protesters have blocked all roads leading to the capital’s financial centre, the scene of clashes on Sunday that left more than 200 people wounded. At least two people have been killed in Tuesday’s clashes, reports say. One is reported to be a member of the Bahraini security forces killed in clashes with thousands of protesters in Maamee, state television and the information ministry said. Another Bahraini was also killed in clashes in nearby Sitra, reports said. “People are coming in with bullet wounds and injuries caused by rubber bullets. There are hundreds of people,” he said. “We received one major case – a man whose skull had been split open by something.”

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UPDATE – March 15, 2011

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Third blast at Japan nuclear plant

March 15, 2011

A quake-stricken nuclear plant in Japan has been hit by a third explosion in four days, amid fears of a meltdown. The blast occurred at reactor 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which engineers had been trying to stabilise after two other reactors exploded. The protective chamber around the radioactive core of reactor 2 has been damaged and radiation levels near the plant have risen, officials say. The crisis was sparked by a 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami on Friday. Thousands of people are believed to have died, and millions are spending a fourth night without water, food, electricity or gas. More than 500,000 people have been left homeless.

A fresh explosion rocked reactor 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi plant – 250km (155 miles) north-east of Tokyo – in the early hours of Tuesday. Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the level of radiation at the plant had “considerably risen” and there was a high risk of radioactive material leaking out. He added that the last remaining people within a 20km (12 mile) exclusion zone around the plant had to leave, and that those living between 20km and 30km from the site should remain indoors. Radiation levels around Fukushima for one hour’s exposure rose to eight times the legal limit for exposure in one year, said the plant’s operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco).

The radiation reading at 0831 local time (2331 GMT) climbed to 8,217 microsieverts an hour from 1,941 about 40 minutes earlier, Tepco said. The annual legal limit is 1,000 microsieverts. However, officials say that a level of one million microsieverts would be needed to cause widespread radiation sickness. Mr Kan also said a fire had broken out at the plant’s reactor 4, but urged people to remain calm. On Monday, a hydrogen blast at reactor 3 injured 11 people and destroyed the building surrounding it. That explosion was felt 40km (25 miles) away and sent a huge column of smoke into the air.

It followed a blast at reactor 1 on Saturday. All explosions have been preceded by cooling system breakdowns. Engineers are trying to prevent meltdowns by flooding the chambers of the nuclear reactors with sea water to cool them down. After the third explosion, officials said there were fears that the containment vessel housing the reactor may have been damaged. Higher radiation levels were recorded on Tuesday south of Fukushima, Kyodo news agency reported. Nearly 185,000 people have been evacuated from a 20km (12 mile) exclusion zone around the plant.

Ontario Ombudsman statement on G20 arrests and detentions

December 7, 2010

TORONTO (December 9, 2010) – Ontario Ombudsman André Marin today issued a brief additional statement about his special report Caught in the Act.  The statement addresses issues and questions surrounding the use of police powers granted by the province’s enactment of Regulation 233/10 under the Public Works Protection Act.

“Efforts have been made to downplay the questionable use of Regulation 233/10 during the days surrounding the G20 summit in Toronto, on the basis that only two persons were arrested under its authority,” Mr. Marin says in the statement.  “It is important when considering this information to understand that while there may have been only two arrests using Regulation 233/10, many people were detained, searched, questioned, and redirected under its authority.  That regulation played a huge role in the violations of civil liberties that occurred.  Arrests were only a small part of it.”

Mr. Marin goes on to explain the legal definitions of  “arrest” and “detention.”  In Caught in the Act, the report on his investigation into the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services’ conduct in relation to the regulation, the Ombudsman found the little-known legal measure was likely unconstitutional and that it contributed to a massive breach of civil liberties in Toronto during the days surrounding the summit last June.

FULL INTERVIEW

March 14, 2011

Saudi forces are preparing to intervene in neighbouring Bahrain, after a day of clashes between police and protesters who mounted the most serious challenge to the island’s royal family since demonstrations began a month ago. The Crown Prince of Bahrain is expected to formally invite security forces from Saudi Arabia into his country today, as part of a request for support from other members of the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council. Thousands of demonstrators on Sunday cut off Bahrain’s financial centre and drove back police trying to eject them from the capital’s central square, while protesters also clashed with government supporters on the campus of the main university. Amid the revolt Bahrain also faces a potential sectarian conflict between the ruling minority of Sunnis Muslims and a majority of Shia Muslims, around 70% of the kingdom’s 525,000 residents. The crown prince, Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, said in a televised statement that Bahrain had “witnessed tragic events” during a month of unprecedented political unrest. Warning that “the right to security and safety is above all else”, he added: “Any legitimate claims must not be made at the expanse of security and stability.”

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March 14, 2011

Rebel forces in Libya say they have re-taken the eastern oil town of Brega, capturing a number of elite government troops and killing others. The statement has not been independently confirmed. It came hours after the rebels had themselves been driven from the town by air and ground attacks by forces loyal to Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi. Elsewhere, the rebel-held town of Ajdabiya is reported to have come under heavy aerial bombardment. On the diplomatic front, France is stepping up its efforts to persuade the United Nations Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over Libya. The rebel statement admitted that they have no answer to Col Gaddafi’s air power, and backed demands for a no-fly zone, says the BBC’s Jon Leyne in the opposition stronghold of Benghazi. Those demands can only get louder if and when Col Gaddafi’s forces come closer to the major population centre of Benghazi, our correspondent says.

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Q:Could you very briefly define the political uses of terrorism? Where does it fit in the doctrinal system?

A:The U.S. is officially committed to what is called “low–intensity warfare.” That’s the official doctrine. If you read the definition of low–intensity conflict in army manuals and compare it with official definitions of “terrorism” in army manuals, or the U.S. Code, you find they’re almost the same. Terrorism is the use of coercive means aimed at civilian populations in an effort to achieve political, religious, or other aims. That’s what the World Trade Center bombing was, a particularly horrifying terrorist crime. And that’s official doctrine. I mentioned a couple of examples. We could go on and on. It’s simply part of state action, not just the U.S. of course. Furthermore, all of these things should be well known. It’s shameful that they’re not. Anybody who wants to find out about them can begin by reading a collection of essays published ten years ago by a major publisher called Western State Terrorism, edited by Alex George (Routledge, 1991), which runs through lots and lots of cases. These are things people need to know if they want to understand anything about themselves. They are known by the victims, of course, but the perpetrators prefer to look elsewhere.