Iran urged to be 'firm' with opposition chiefs

2 March 2011 - 14H49

Iranian opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi (left) and Mir Hossein Mousavi. Iran was urged to take "firm legal action" against the opposition leaders in a parliamentary report as prosecutors denied they have been jailed.

AFP - Iran was urged to take "firm legal action" against opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi in a parliamentary report Wednesday, as prosecutors denied they have been jailed.

The demand was made by a parliamentary panel following its probe into February 14 anti-government protests called by Mousavi and Karroubi, whose families say the are being held in a Tehran jail.

But Iran denies they have been detained.

The panel's report said Western powers, including the Islamic republic's arch-foe the United States, were behind the protests.

"The intervention of embassies and their elements in the 2009 sedition and the February 14 American-Israeli and British rebellion is totally unacceptable," said the report read out in parliament on Wednesday.

"The foreign ministry is obliged to decisively confront this illegal impudence which is contrary to international regulations.

"Those like Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who called and prepared the ground to make the nation insecure on February 14, deserve firm legal action," it added.

Family members of the two men have said on their websites that Mousavi, Karroubi and their wives had been transferred to Tehran's Heshmatiyeh jail from their residences in the Iranian capital.

Iran's prosecutor general, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie, on Wednesday again rejected the reports which he had denied a day earlier.

"As I told some news agencies (Tuesday) these people are at their homes. But some communication restrictions have been implemented against them," Mohsenei Ejeie was quoted by state news agency IRNA a saying.

The chief prosecutor in the capital Tehran, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, too denied the accusations on Wednesday.

"There is a limit to lies, and rumours of transferring Mr Mousavi and Karroubi to a prison are a sheer lie," Dolatabadi was quoted by Mehr news agency as saying.

"Using the term house arrest is not correct. Mr Mousavi and Karroubi, along with their wives, are in their homes."

Mousavi and Karroubi, who lost to hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2009 presidential election, strongly oppose his government and have since guided a string of protests against his rule.

On February 14, the two had sought to stage a rally in support of Arab uprisings, but their supporters quickly turned it into the first anti-government demonstration in a year.

The ensuing clashes between protesters and security forces left two people dead and several wounded.

Similar protests, but in scattered forms, were also carried out on February 20 and again on Tuesday, although these were largely quelled by a massive presence of security forces.

"Though some hostile websites encouraged people to come to streets, nothing special happened due to the police presence," Dolatabadi said referring to Tuesday's events.

He said police was executing its duty and had "dispersed these gatherings" Tuesday and also arrested some people while some more who participated would be pursued.

He did not specify how many arrests were made on Tuesday but said the families of the detainees were informed.

The latest demonstrations have infuriated regime-backers, with lawmakers demanding Mousavi and Karroubi be hanged.

The parliamentary report said there was a clear need for the two to be prosecuted.

"This committee based on proof and evidence sees the need for prosecution of Mr Mousavi and Karroubi and their dependants, and frankly announces that the majlis (parliament) can no longer accept any justification for not taking action" by the judiciary against them, the report said.

Right-wing Israelis march in Jaffa

2 March 2011 - 15H15

Israeli right-wing activists protest against the "Islamic takeover? of Jaffa , a mixed Jewish and Arab Israeli neighbourhood just south of Tel Aviv. Large police forces were deployed to prevent clashes with residents. AFP PHOTO / JACK GUEZ

AFP - Dozens of right-wing Israeli activists marched on Wednesday through part of Jaffa, a mixed Jewish and Arab Israeli neighbourhood of Tel Aviv, for a rally that residents condemned as provocative.

The march passed off largely without incident, though hundreds of police were deployed to protect the activists.

"About 40 right-wing activists marched through part of Jaffa. There were several hundreds police officers there carrying out security measures to ensure the march went as planned," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP.

"Police arrested 16 left-wing activists that arrived in the area and intended to cause disturbances," he added, saying at least one left-wing activist was detained after throwing stones at police.

The right-wing activists, waved Israeli flags and chanted "Jaffa is Jewish," as they marched in the ancient port city, which is now part of Israel's commercial capital Tel Aviv.

Yaakov, one of the marchers who declined to give his last name, said there were no incidents between the demonstrators and left-wing activists.

"We proved that we can brandish Israeli flags in the streets of Jaffa," he told AFP.

Ahmed Balaha, a lawyer and Jaffa resident, criticised the march, but said that angered residents had decided to refrain from protesting, and were instead holding a one-day strike.

"This is part of the campaign to make Jaffa Jewish and to evict the Arabs from the city," he told AFP.

"It's a provocation and an attempt to spoil the relations between Arabs and Jews, who live peacefully together here."

The march follows similar ones organised by right-wing Jewish activists in the northern Arab-Israeli city of Umm al-Fahm and the Palestinian east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan.

South Sudan rebel clashes kill 40 soldiers: army

2 March 2011 - 15H30

An armed resident of Duk Padiet in south Sudan's troubled Jonglei state stands next to children near the airstrip of the Dinka Hol village. Some 40 soldiers have been killed in heavy fighting in south Sudan between the southern army and forces of renegade general George Athor, officials said.

AFP - Some 40 soldiers have been killed in heavy fighting in south Sudan between the southern army and forces of renegade general George Athor, officials said on Wednesday.

"There were clashes for the past two days after Athor?s men attacked our forces," said Philip Aguer, of the south?s Sudan People?s Liberation Army (SPLA).

The clashes, which began on Monday in the region of Fangak in northern Jonglei state, are the latest in a series of bloody battles between the militia and army in past weeks.

"Athor is claiming that he has killed over 80 of our soldiers, but this report is not accurate," said Aguer. "The casualties for the SPLA are likely to be half of that, around 40 men killed."

Tunisia frees all political prisoners: lawyer

2 March 2011 - 15H49

More than five thousand Tunisian people hold banners and the national flag during a silent demonstration on March 1 in Tunis. Tunisia has freed all of its 800 political prisoners in terms of an amnesty granted after the fall president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in popular uprising, a lawyer told AFP.

AFP - Tunisia freed all of its remaining 800 political prisoners by Wednesday under an amnesty granted after the fall president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, a lawyer told AFP.

"The last political prisoners in Tunisia were freed on Wednesday," said Samir Ben Omar, a lawyer and activist with the International Association for the Support of Political Prisoners.

In total "about 800 political prisoners have been freed," he said.

They were released under an amnesty declared on January 20, nearly a week after the fall of authoritarian Ben Ali in an uprising that sparked similar protests across the Arab world.

It was one of the first acts by the interim government appointed when Ben Ali ended his 23 years in power by fleeing to Saudi Arabia.

The amnesty came into force on February 19 in a decree signed by acting president Foued Mebazaa.

It applied to "all those who were imprisoned or prosecuted for crimes as a result of their political or trade union activities," the official TAP news agency reported.

The justice authorities had said days before that about 3,000 prisoners had already been conditionally released.

Some of those freed spoke afterwards of torture and bad treatment they endured when jailed for long periods under the toppled regime.

Lawyer Radhia Nasraoui, who is head of Tunisia's Association to Combat Torture, has said thousands of political prisoners have been tortured, of whom some have died and others remain missing.

The new administration has also opened the way for the legalisation of political groups banned under Ben Ali and the return of exiles.

Islamist movement Ennahda (Awakening) announced Tuesday it had finally been granted legal status, 30 years after it was formed.

"We are entering in a new phase of national action ... to contribute to the building of a democratic regime," spokesman Ali El-Aryadh told AFP after Ennahda had received notification that it had been legalised.

Thousands of Islamist activists and sympathisers were arrested in the 1990s and many went into exile as Ben Ali's authoritarian government presented itself as a bulwark against extremism.

Despite introducing reforms and pledging elections by mid-July, the interim administration has been heavily criticised, facing weeks of protests including over its inclusion of key figures from Ben Ali's regime.

Interim prime minister Mohammed Ghannouchi, who held the same post under Ben Ali, quit on Sunday after clashes at weekend anti-government demonstrations left five people dead.

Two ministers followed him on Monday and three more on Tuesday.

Graph: Turmoil sends oil prices soaring

Comments by US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and a pledge by Saudi Arabia to increase oil output have failed to curb oil prices, which continued to climb Tuesday on fears of the political turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East.

Bernanke told US lawmakers that high oil prices would probably not lead to significant inflation. But he warned that prolonged regional turmoil, and sustained high prices, could eventually damage the US economy.

On Monday Saudi Arabia pledged to increase its oil production to compensate for the downturn in output by crisis-hit Libya, but the announcement did not immediately stabilize the markets.

Souces: db-markets.com; digitallook.com Price history is US dollars for Brent crude oil from Jan 6, 2010 to Feb. 28, 2011.

Dec. 17 - $91.67 - Tunisian man sets himself on fire in protest, sparking wave of discontent across the country.

Jan. 14 - $98.38 - Tunisian unrest hits boiling point, President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali flees the country.

Jan. 25 - $95.35 - Thousands of protesters in Egypt call for President Hosni Mubarak to step down.

Feb. 11 - $101.11 - Egyptian president resigns.

Feb. 17 - $104.01 - Bahrain riot police break up protests in the capital, Manama; Yemeni police open fire on protesters; Libyan demonstrators clash with police during “Day of Anger”.

Feb. 23 - $110.34 - Libya’s second city, Benghazi, falls to opposition forces.

Thousands take to Yemen's streets for new 'Day of Rage'

Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to Yemen’s streets on Tuesday, dedicating a new "Day of Rage" to the people killed in protests in recent months and calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's three-decade rule.

By Shona BHATTACHARYYA (video)
News Wires (text)

AFP - Huge crowds poured onto the streets of the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Tuesday in what the opposition hailed as the biggest protest yet against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's three-decade rule.

The veteran leader, whose supporters staged a large counter-demonstration, dismissed the opposition rally as a copycat action mimicking protests in other Arab countries that he charged had been fanned by Israel and the United States.

He then sacked the governors of five provinces where anti-regime protests have been raging, mostly in the regions that made former South Yemen.

An official announcement said Saleh has removed the governors of Aden, Lahij and Abyan in the south, as well as Hadramut in the southeast and Hudayda in the west.

Saleh's opponents massed from early morning in streets leading to a square near Sanaa University, where students and pro-democracy demonstrators have been camped for more than a week.

"The people want Ali Abdullah Saleh to leave," the protesters chanted. "The people want to overthrow the regime."

Many of the protesters marched in white shrouds reading: "Either we live happily or we die as martyrs."

The opposition said half a million people turned out, although an AFP correspondent said that number was an overestimate.

"Since the sit-in began near Sanaa university, we have not witnessed such a turnout," one of the organisers, Hashem al-Sufy, said.

The ruling General's People Congress gave an even wilder exaggeration of the number of people at the counter-demonstration in Tahrir Square, putting it at 1.5 million. An AFP correspondent said the reality was a fraction of that.

Several opposition figures addressed the anti-government rally, including leading cleric Abdul Majeed al-Zendani, who is identified as a "global terrorist" by Washington.

Zendani said that the protest movement sweeping the Arab world was "a new, effective, fast, and non-destructive means of changing regimes."

Saleh hit back, in an address at Sanaa University. "The events from Tunisia to Oman are a storm orchestrated from Tel Aviv and and under Washington's supervision," he said.

"What is taking place on Yemen's streets is just a copycat attempt," he said. The protesters are "led from outside" and are in the pay of "Zionists," he charged.

Saleh lashed out at US President Barack Obama for his repeated calls for restraint by Arab regimes that had long been key allies and his support for the popular protests that ousted veteran leaders in Egypt and Tunisia.

"Every day we hear a statement by Obama... (saying) Egypt don't do this, Tunisia don't do that... What does Obama have to do with Oman, what does he have to do with Egypt? You are the US president," he said.

The Yemeni leader, in power since 1978, has repeatedly rejected calls for his resignation, insisting he will defend his regime "with every drop of blood."

His one concession has been to pledge not to seek re-election in 2013, something the opposition has dismissed as inadequate.

Thousands of protesters also turned out on Tuesday in the southern province of Lahij. In the town of Seiyun, in Hadramut province further east, security forces shot and injured two protesters, witnesses and medics told AFP.

In the main southern city of Aden, thousands took to the streets of Al-Mansura neighbourhood carrying black flags in mourning of protesters killed during violent clashes with the police, witnesses said.

Demonstrations were also reported in Maalla and Crater districts.

The UN human rights chief warned Yemeni authorities against violent repression of peaceful protests, saying that people have the right to express their grievances.

"People have the legitimate right to express their grievances and demands to their government," Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement issued in Geneva.

"We have seen over and over again in the past few weeks that violent responses, in breach of international law, do not make the protesters go away and only serve to exacerbate their frustration and anger," she added.

At least 19 people, most of them in Aden, have been killed during protests and clashes across Yemen since February 16, according to an AFP tally based on reports by medics and witnesses

Rights group Amnesty International has put the toll at 27.

Air pollution could reduce life by two years: EU

2 March 2011 - 17H28

A traffic jam on Elisabeth bridge on the Danube River in Budapest. Curbing air pollution in major European cities could save 19,000 lives per year, add almost two years to local life expectancy and save 31.5 billion euros (43.4 billion dollars) in health costs and work absenteeism, an EU-funded study said.

AFP - Curbing air pollution in major European cities could save 19,000 lives per year, add almost two years to local life expectancy and save 31.5 billion euros (43.4 billion dollars) in health costs and work absenteeism, an EU-funded study said on Wednesday.

The nearly three-year probe, called Aphekom, looked at 25 cities in 12 European Union (EU) countries, encompassing nearly 39 million inhabitants.

Only Stockholm was below the threshold of fine particulate pollution of 10 micrograms per cubic metre recommended by the UN's World Health Organisation (WHO), it found.

At the other end of the scale, Bucharest notched up 38.2 micrograms, Budapest 33.7 micrograms and Barcelona 27 micrograms per cubic metre.

Among other cities, pollution in Rome was 21.4 micrograms per cubic metre, while in Paris and London it was 16.4 and 13.1 micrograms per cubic metre respectively.

Fine particulates are tiny airborne grains that can be drawn deep into the lungs, with the potential to cause respiratory and cardiovascular disease.

The pollution comes from traffic exhausts, which means that it is particularly pronounced near major roads.

In a sub-set of 10 cities studied by Aphekom, scientists estimated that between 15 and 30 percent of cases of childhood asthma could attributed to living close to busy roads.