Tunisian Revolution and the Middle East--And Now, The Withdrawal From Afghanistan (M.E.T.)

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/18/us-yemen-assassination-idUSBRE85H0A520120618

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.

[visionary]

https://twitter.com/#!/kdiwaniya

Kuwait govt & opposition were negotiating over cabinet on eve of const court ruling that current parliament is illegal. http://news.kuwaittimes.net/2012/06/19/pm-invites-oppn-to-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/2012/06/19/pm-invites-oppn-to-join-cabinet/

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/2012/06/20126206758119634.html

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/africa/uganda-agencies-ban/index.html

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.

Edited June 20, 2012 by visionary

[visionary]

Oh boy....

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/20/us-kuwait-parliament-idUSBRE85J15R20120620

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.

[visionary]

https://twitter.com/#!/S_Elwardany

BREAKING: Khartoum [sUDAN] state government dissolved, as anti-austerity unrest enters fifth day: Governor

3:23 AM

https://twitter.com/#!/AleemMaqbool

confirmed: arrest warrant issued for leading pakistan prime minister candidate, makhdoom shahabuddin (after supreme court removed last pm)

3:58 AM

Edited June 21, 2012 by visionary

[visionary]

https://twitter.com/#!/kdiwaniya

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

[visionary]

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_15287/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=ZNTUWYy0

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.

Edited June 21, 2012 by visionary

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/22/us-paraguay-idUSBRE85L16M20120622

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.

[visionary]

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/6/24/worldupdates/2012-06-23T161247Z_2_BRE85M0A2_RTROPTT_0_UK-SUDAN-PROTEST&sec=Worldupdates

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)

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/24/us-philippines-impunity-idUSBRE85N01A20120624

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.

[visionary]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18571193

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.

[visionary]

http://tweepforum.ly/elections/

Elections 2012, Get Updated!

The Libyan National Transitional Council will hold the first democratic elections in Libya on the 7th of July. This election comes to apply a designated 200-member assembly to draft a new constitution and form a government.

***

Registration centers openned their doors to register voters in Libya from the 1st of May until the 21th of May in all regions of the country. Out of 3.5 million eligible voters, 2,712,977 people registered for the June elections – around 78%.

***

Libyans overseas will also be able to register and vote abroad. Below is the information regarding Out of Country Voting for the 2012 Elections.

***

In a press conference on Sunday June 10 the president of the electoral commission announced that elections have been postponed to July 7th. (Elections previously set for June 19th)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/26/us-bahrain-compensation-deaths-idUSBRE85P16820120626

Bahrain to pay $2.6 million compensation for revolt deaths

Bahrain will pay $2.6 million in restitution to 17 families over the deaths of 17 relatives last year during an uprising suppressed by the Gulf Arab state, a government statement said.

Separately, a high court toughened charges against three policemen, ruling they would be tried for murder - exposing them to a possible death sentence - rather than manslaughter for killing three protesters.

Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based, has been under pressure to implement recommendations for police, judicial, media and education reform made by an investigative commission of international legal experts.

But the country remains in turmoil as opposition groups led by the Shi'ite Muslim majority continue protests for democratic reforms and against what they say is discrimination.

Edited June 26, 2012 by visionary

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/28/us-sudan-protest-idUSBRE85R1PB20120628

Analysis: Sudan rulers dig in as foes look for Arab Spring

Outside the University of Khartoum, riot police in blue fatigues perch on pickup trucks, keeping watch as young women in bright headscarves and men in button-down shirts walk by carrying textbooks to class in Sudan's intense summer heat.

Less than a week earlier, the campus - just a few hundred meters (yards) from the national security headquarters - was a battleground. Police fired teargas and used batons to break up hundreds of protesters, who threw rocks back at them.

No one expects the shaky truce to last. After more than a week of anti-government demonstrations fueled by budget cuts and tax increases, Sudan's rulers are digging in. Riot police have been deployed, coverage of protests in local media restricted, and scores arrested, activists and opposition groups say.

It is still far from clear whether the protests, which have rarely mustered more than a few hundred people at a time, will gather the kind of momentum seen in last year's Arab Spring uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East, and so pose a real threat to Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and to President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

But the tough response to the demonstrations shows how high the stakes are for Sudan's rulers, already struggling to contain multiple armed rebellions and an economic crisis triggered by the loss of oil output and revenues through South Sudan's secession last year.

In a defiant speech on Sunday - two days after the most widely spread demonstrations yet - Bashir lashed out at the protesters, dismissing them as a handful of agitators whose aims most Sudanese rejected.

"I drove around the capital on Friday in an open car. There was nothing. The people greeted me by crying 'Allahu akbar'," Bashir said. Anyone looking for an Arab Spring in Sudan, he added, was going to be disappointed.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/06/201262884619549472.html

Sudan protesters aim to 'elbow out' Bashir

Street protests have entered their second week in Sudan, and activists have called for mass demonstrations on Friday, June 29. The demonstrations have been dubbed "licking your elbow" protests, referring to a Sudanese metaphor for achieving the impossible.

They have also called for a general strike day on June 30, the 23rd anniversary of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's National Congress Party coming to power.

Many Sudanese hope this will be the country's third revolution. The first one was in 1964, when 20-year-old student activist Ahmad al-Qurashi was shot dead by security forces, sparking a mass non-violent movement and toppling General Abood. And President Gaafar al-Nimeiry was removed from power following protests that led to a military coup in 1985.

The current protest movement began on June 16, when female university students in Khartoum demonstrated against government austerity measures that increased the cost of student housing.

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE85R08M20120628?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

Islamists declare full control of Mali's north

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Al Qaeda-linked Islamists declared on Thursday they had secured full control of Mali's desert north, a day after pushing their former Tuareg separatist allies out of the town of Gao in a gun battle that killed at least 20 people.

The appropriation by Islamists of a separatist uprising by Tuareg MNLA rebels regarded in the West as having some legitimate political grievances will heighten fears Mali will become a haven for jihadists.

The local Ansar Dine group and allies such as the al Qaeda splinter group MUJWA had already gained the upper hand in the northern town of Kidal and the ancient trading post of Timbuktu after government forces were routed in an April rebel advance.

"Our men control all three of the towns in northern Mali," Oumar Ould Hamaha, a Timbuktu-based Ansar Dine official said of the mostly desert territory which is larger than France.

"They (the MNLA) all ran away, we decided not to pursue them. ... All I can tell you is that they are not even in the outskirts the city," Hamaha said of the battle in Gao.

The separatist National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad - the northern territory it claims as an independent state - said its forces beat a tactical retreat in Gao on Wednesday and rejected suggestions they had lost the battle.

"Right now some MNLA units, stationed at the borders of Azawad, are coming back to completely rid the city of Gao of Islamist groups that are terrorising the population," MNLA spokesman Mossa Ag Attaher said in a written statement.

The U.N. Security Council has said it would be ready to support military intervention by Mali's neighbours to help the country take back the north, but first needs more details of their plans.

West African leaders were due to meet later on Thursday in Ivory Coast's capital Yamoussoukro for a summit in which the situation in northern Mali was on the agenda.

Edited June 29, 2012 by visionary

[visionary]

Libya and Saudi Arabia will face off in the Semi-finales of the Arab Cup of Nations.

Morocco awaits their opponent, either Iraq or Sudan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Arab_Nations_Cup

Libya - Saudi Arabia

Morroco - Iraq

July 3rd

Edited July 1, 2012 by visionary

[visionary]

http://blogs.aljazeera.com/blog/africa/business-boom-misrata

Business boom in Misrata

From the rooftop where I'm standing right now, the view across Misrata's docks is nothing short of stunning.

In the heat of the early afternoon, I can see the ships of a dozen different countries tied up along the waterfront. There's a bulk carrier from Istanbul, a Zanzibar-registered livestock transporter, and a huge vehicle transporter sailing under the flag of Gibraltar.

Out beyond the breakwater, along the near horizon, I count nearly 20 other huge vessels making their approach. Behind me, cranes and heavy lifters are shifting and sorting metal cargo containers ready for export.

Business is clearly booming.

It's a dramatic change to the desperate days of April and May 2011. Then, under heavy shelling and rocket attack, only humanitarian boats were brave enough to race into the port to deliver emergency supplies and evacuate casualties. Now, millions of dollars of trade is passing through this port every month.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/06/201263017735535285.html

Protests mar Chinese leader’s Hong Kong visit

Police have fired volleys of pepper spray against protesters denouncing Chinese President Hu Jintao as he visited Hong Kong to mark the 15th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule.

On Saturday, hundreds of protesters, demanding an investigation into the recent death of a well-known mainland dissident, rallied near the hotel where the Chinese leader was staying.

The incident underscored tensions surrounding the anniversary of the financial hub's handover from British control on Sunday.

Police unleashed riot-control measures to keep the demonstrators back with eye-stinging pepper spray and arrested two protesters.

As the standoff developed, other protesters chanted anti-Beijing slogans and unfurled a huge banner with the Chinese character "injustice" written on it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/new-hong-kong-leader-takes-office-amid-swirling-discontent-unease-over-chinas-influence/2012/06/30/gJQAe1mkEW_story.html?wprss=rss_social-world-headlines&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

New Hong Kong leader takes office amid swirling discontent, unease over China’s influence

HONG KONG — Chinese President Hu Jintao was interrupted by a pro-democracy heckler Sunday at the swearing in of Hong Kong’s new leader, an incident underscoring rising tensions between Beijing and the semiautonomous territory 15 years after it returned to Chinese rule.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets later in the day in an annual protest that is an occasion for ordinary people to air their grievances over a range of issues. There is rising public discontent over widening inequality and lack of full democracy in the southern Chinese financial center.

Self-made millionaire Leung Chun-ying became Hong Kong’s third chief executive on the 15th anniversary of China regaining control of the city after more than a century of British colonial control. There were sporadic scuffles between demonstrators and police outside the convention center where his inauguration took place.

Edited July 1, 2012 by visionary

[visionary]

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_268743/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=zSnARdBW

Kuwait: Ruler accepts resignation of government

Kuwait's ruler has accepted the resignation of the prime minister and his Cabinet, the OPEC nation's official news agency said Sunday, laying the groundwork for a new government to be formed.

The decision is the latest step aimed at breaking a political stalemate in that has pitted Kuwait's Western-backed ruling dynasty against conservative Islamists and other opposition lawmakers.

An order from the emir, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, called for the government to continue on a caretaker basis until another is chosen, the Kuwait News Agency reported.

[visionary]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/07/04/uk-sudan-protests-idUKBRE8630P120120704

Sudan opposition calls for strikes, protests

Sudan's main opposition parties on Wednesday called for strikes, sit-ins and demonstrations to topple the government of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, throwing their weight behind anti-austerity protests.

The main opposition groups on Wednesday signed a pact calling for "collective, peaceful political struggle in all its forms... to overthrow the regime" including "strikes, peaceful demonstrations, sit-ins and civil disobedience".

If Bashir - in power since a bloodless 1989 coup - and his ruling National Congress Party were deposed, a ceasefire would be declared on all fronts against the multiple armed insurgencies Sudan is facing, the document said.

The parties also agreed to cancel laws restricting freedoms, hold a national constitutional conference, prepare the country for free elections and carry out a variety of other reforms.

Edited July 5, 2012 by visionary

[visionary]

Some Libya news

https://twitter.com/#!/martinvogl

In Libya training journalists before first free elections (tomorrow!) Haven't had time to tweet - series of first impressions follow.

7:34 AM

In three Libyan towns I've moved around - Tripoli, Gharyan & Zawiyah few armed men about. Seems calm to my untrained eye.

7:41 AM

See black sub Saharan Africans sitting on side of main roads in the mornings. They're waiting to be picked up as day workers, manual labour.

7:52 AM

Really surprised Libya isn't more developed. Many roads & buildings in a shocking state. Gaddafi obviously had other uses for the oil cash.

7:54 AM

https://twitter.com/#!/martinvogl

Amazed by the enthusiasm still in Libya some months on from the revolution. Flags everywhere. Everyone I meet so happy Gaddafi is gone.

8:45 AM

People I meet aren't especially excited about tomorrow's vote in Libya. Most excited by concept - first free elections post Gaddafi.

8:49 AM

Life seems back to normal in Tripoli. The bullet holes in strategic buildings all around the city little reminders of last year.

9:04 AM

Visiting Zarwiyah, 1hr west of Tripoli, where there was intense fighting. Whole floors of buildings knocked out by heavy weapons.

9:30 AM

One reason I'm so surprised by poor infrastructure in Libya is Malians who visited told me how great Libya is. Everything relative it seems.

10:13 AM

https://twitter.com/#!/EmadDlala

So the constitution will be formed by an elected committee that made of 20, 20, 20. Will this concession shut the mouths of the separatists?

9:31 AM

Also other cities have offered to give up seats to Benghazi to offset discontent from some in the east over percieved unfairness in seating# allocation.

[visionary]

http://www.libyaherald.com/exclusive-jibrils-national-forces-alliance-looks-set-for-victory/

EXCLUSIVE: Jibril’s National Forces Alliance looks set for victory

Mahmoud Jibril’s National Forces Alliance (NFA) looks set for victory in Libya’s historic National Conference elections, the Libya Herald can reveal.

Early indications from both Tripoli and Benghazi suggest the NFA is comfortably ahead of any of its 130 rivals, including major contenders such as the Justice & Construction Party, the Nation Party and the National Front.

In spite of early disruptions in eastern Libya, voter turnout was also high. Late today HNEC head Nuri Al-Abbar said total voter turnout was 60 per cent, with 1.6 million of Libya’s 2.8 million electors having cast their vote.

said he believed voter turnout across the country had exceeded 60 per cent. Out of a total of 1554 polling centres across the country, 24 were unable to operate, including two in Kufra, six in Sidra and eight in Benghazi.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/07/201276183657668246.html

Libyans hold historic vote amid tensions

Tripoli, Libya - Polls have closed across much of Libya, where voting in the country’s first free national elections in more than four decades took place amid violence by federalist protesters who disrupted the vote in several districts.

Voting ended officially at 8pm (1800:GMT), but delays in starting has caused the polls to stay open later in some areas of the country.

In Benghazi, Libya's second city, they closed on Saturday night after staying open for an extra hour; in Ajdabiya and other places further from the capital, where voting did not start until the afternoon, voting will continue as late as 7am on Sunday. Voting in Brega has still not yet started.

Turnout was 60 per cent, the electoral commission said, citing preliminary figures. "We are continuing to receive reports, but the number of voters has reached 1.6 million," said Nuri al-Abbar, the head of the commission.

Acts of sabotage, mostly in the east of the country, prevented 101 polling stations from opening on Saturday, the electoral commission said, although 94 per cent of stations managed to open.

On Friday, a helicopter carrying election material from Libya's eastern city of Benghazi was shot at in mid-flight, fatally wounding a member of Libya's High National Election Committee (HNEC) logistics team onboard.

The 2.8 million registered voters are electing a 200-seat General National Conference (GNC) that will replace the unelected interim government that has ruled the country after the revolution against Libya’s ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Al Jazeera's David Poort, reporting from Tripoli, said that Nuri al-Abbar, the head of the electoral commission, brushed off most incidents that took place on Saturday and said that the elections overall have proven to be a success.

"Only seven polling stations could not open this morning because of protests in the east of the country. There were no violations reported in the west," said Abbar, speaking a press conference on Saturday evening.

"Some polling stations had some delay in receiving the voting material, but all these problems were solved in the course of this morning."

https://twitter.com/Libyan4life

JUST got back from Meydan Shuhada. Today was the best day of my life. I dont care if I get married, have kids, get an oscar.

6:46 PM

You just CANT understand the feeling on the ground in ‪Libya‬. Tears,laughing,hugging horns,whistles,flags waving. SENSORY overload.

6:47 PM

https://twitter.com/EmadDlala

All Libyans must unite 2 serve Libya, pro-federalism, anti-federalism, and even pro-Gaddafi supporters. We are all Libyans after all.

6:39 PM

New Libya has no future for tribalism. Proven today in LyElect

6:49 PM

More updates and pictures:

http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/libya-elections-7096

Edited July 7, 2012 by visionary

[visionary]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/09/world/africa/libya-election-latest-results.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&hp

Party Led by Pro-Western Official Claims Lead in Libya

A coalition led by a Western-educated political scientist appeared on Sunday to be beating Islamist parties in Libya’s first election of the post-Qaddafi era, standing apart from an overwhelming Islamist wave in other Arab Spring countries like Egypt and Tunisia.

Several estimates indicate that in the portion of the planned national assembly that will be decided by the contest among parties, Mr. Jibril’s coalition, the National Forces Alliance, had won as much as 80 percent of the vote in the western region around Tripoli and more than 60 percent around Benghazi in the east. Mr. Jibril’s Warfalla tribe, which accounts for roughly a million of Libya’s six million people, is most heavily represented in both those critical regions.

The alliance is widely described here as liberal, and part of its success is likely because of the lasting suspicion of Islamist groups that was instilled during Colonel Qaddafi’s rule. Still, the coalition shares with the Brotherhood the idea that Libya’s government and laws should be based on Islamic law and tradition, and how it handles human rights concerns will be closely watched internationally.

The party that appeared to be running second, the bloc established by the Muslim Brotherhood, appeared to received only about 20 percent or less in both the Tripoli and Benghazi regions, the parties and election monitors said, indicating a trend that is likely to carry over into the competition between individual candidates.

Another loosely Islamic party founded by Abdel Hakim Belhaj, a former leader of an armed insurgency here who became the head of Tripoli’s military council, also fell short. It was expected to be a major competitor but appeared to end up with even less support than the Brotherhood’s bloc.

Reports from Misurata on Sunday indicated that it was one of the few major cities to reject Mr. Jibril’s party. Instead, early results indicated that the city had favored a new party founded by Abdurrahman Sewehli, a prominent descendant of that slain hero. Islamists did not appear to dominate there either.

Of 200 seats in the planned national assembly, about 80 will be allocated to a competition between the party lists, mainly in the major cities. The other 120 seats will be decided by races between individual candidates. Given the cursory nature of the campaign, local prominence or tribal connections are expected to play a more decisive role than ideology or party affiliation in deciding those seats.

I always was dubious of media panic attacks about islamists or Muslim Brotherhood taking over Libya.

The main islamist politicians are viewed by most in Libya as buffoons and extremists.

Also there have been recent attacks and idiocy by some salafis in the east that has made people in Libya even more cautious about them.

On the other hand Libya is a moderately conservative islamic country.

Most Libyans support the idea that islam has a role to play in the law.

Alcohol has long been banned in Libya, and Polygamy is legal though rarely followed.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/08/libya-gaddafi-compound-parliament?CMP=twt_gu

Libyan plan to build parliament on ruins of Gaddafi's compound

It was once Libya's most forbidding place, the sprawling family compound where Muammar Gaddafi and senior regime figures lived behind impenetrable concrete walls. The Bab al-Aziziya complex in the centre of Tripoli was a city within a city, housing a network of underground tunnels, barracks and camouflaged villas.

Now Libya's transitional government has come up with a plan to build the country's new parliament building in the heart of Gaddafi's collapsed empire. Officials have suggested that the complex could house the country's new national congress. They are also planning a museum and a library.

"I'm going to propose this. It's very urgent," Othman ben Sassi, general secretary of the outgoing National Transitional Congress (NTC), told the Guardian on Saturday night, shortly before polls closed on Libya's first election for nearly 50 years. A 200-strong national congress, currently homeless, will replace the NTC next month. The congress will write a new constitution, and debate whether Libya's fledgling post-Gaddafi state should have a parliamentary or presidential system.

For the moment, Libya's elected representatives will meet in an opulent conference centre next to Tripoli's Rixos Hotel. Ben Sassi said he wanted the new parliament building to be ready by late 2013, when fresh national elections are due to take place.

Edited July 8, 2012 by visionary

[visionary]

http://www.juancole.com/2012/07/top-ten-surprises-on-libyas-election-day.html

Top Ten Surprises on Libya’s Election Day

Most Western reporting on Libya is colored by what is in my view a combination of extreme pessimism and sensationalism. It has been suggested that because most reporters don’t stay there for that long, many don’t have a sense of proportion. It is frustrating to have faction-fighting in distant Kufra in the far south color our image of the whole country. Tripoli, a major city of over 2.2 million (think Houston), is not like little distant Kufra, population 60,000 (think Broken Arrow, OK)!

In the run-up to the elections held on Saturday, a lot of the headlines read ‘Libya votes, on the brink’ or had ‘Chaos’ in the title. But actually, as the Libya Herald reports, the election went very, very well (which did not surprise me after my visit to three major cities there in May-June). The NYT post-election headline of ‘Libyans risk violence to vote’ is frankly ridiculous; in most of the country that simply was not true, though it was true in parts of Benghazi.

Even then, how many people died in violence in this election? I count two, but in any case it is a small number. In Tripoli, the election was described as a big family wedding, with lots of loud celebration and tears of joy. Here are the top ten surprises of the election for Libya watchers:

Edited July 8, 2012 by visionary

[visionary]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/how-1-man-derailed-2-decades-of-democracy-in-mali-and-helped-create-haven-for-terrorism/2012/07/07/gJQA0tMpTW_story.html

How 1 man derailed 2 decades of democracy in Mali and helped create haven for terrorism

SEGOU, Mali — On the morning three months ago when the fate of Mali was irrevocably changed, Mamadou Sanogo awoke in the house here where he and his wife had raised six children, including a 39-year-old son, now a captain in the nation’s army.

It was still dark outside. The elderly man got up and turned on the TV, setting the volume to low so as to not disturb his sleeping wife, according to relatives and friends. What he saw next made him shake her awake. “Come see what your imbecile son is doing,” he yelled.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/07/20127819561763436.html

Shia cleric arrested in Saudi after shootout

Security forces in eastern Saudi Arabia have cracked down on a large demonstration in the eastern city of Qatif, killing two people and injuring at least 20, after a Shia leader was shot and arrested, activists said.

Hundreds of protesters were reported to have taken to the streets on Sunday after Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric and anti-government activist, was chased, shot and arrested while driving earlier in the day, human rights activist Hussain al-Alk told Al Jazeera.

Alk, a Qatif resident and staffer at the Adala Center for Human Rights, said the arrest took place at around 4pm and that organisers called for mass demonstrations after the evening prayer.

The protests were the largest in the city since November and December, when at least six demonstrators were shot and killed, Alk said. He said that he believed the government was prompted by influential Sunnis to escalate its pressure on the Shia opposition.

"During all this period ... the speeches of Sheikh Nimr were very hot, and he's always attacking the government, but it seems that in the last month the government became too worried. The Sunnis have started saying, 'Why when the Sunnis are talking against the government you are arresting him immediately, while Shias, you are not doing anything to him,'" Alk said.

The official Saudi Press Agency said Nimr was arrested after he and his followers exchanged fire with security forces and crashed into a police vehicle. It said Nimr was shot in the thigh and faces charges of instigating unrest in the oil-rich Eastern Province.

Nimr has been wanted by authorities after making calls for more rights for Shias, a minority denomination in the strictly run Sunni monarchy. In 2009, he suggested forming a movement for succession unless the government released political prisoners, end discrimination against Shias and take steps against corruption.

Alk said Shias, who number at least 2 million according to the International Crisis Group, are prevented from obtaining high-ranking positions in the government and security forces.

Edited July 8, 2012 by visionary

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/09/us-libya-election-witness-idUSBRE8680D720120709

Life without Gaddafi: Finding my voice and my vote

Ali Shuaib is a Libyan news reporter who has worked for Reuters in Tripoli since 2007.

I was 15 years old the last time Libya held a parliamentary election - too young to vote, but old enough to remember that Arab nationalism was sweeping the region, inspiring calls for social reform and independence from the West.

As I excitedly followed the fiery election campaigns that dominated the airwaves and filled the myriad independent newspapers, little did I know that my first chance to vote would not come for another 47 years - until July 7, 2012.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/07/2012791115559794.html

DRC rebels seize more towns in North Kivu

Rebels from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have taken control of more towns in the country's eastern North Kivu province, forcing government troops to retreat.

The rebels, known as the M23 movement, had captured the town of Rutshuru on Sunday, forcing thousands of civilians from their homes. This development opened the way for a possible advance on Goma, the provincial capital about 70km to the south.

The rebels said that they did not face any opposition from the FARDC, the DRC's national army, as they captured the towns of Ntamugenga, Rubare and Bunagana, an important mineral town, siezed two days earlier.

Al Jazeera's Peter Greste, reporting from the town of Rumangabo, 50km north of Goma, said that the morale amongst the government troops was very low.

"We only found two government soldiers here. There is no running water and the conditions are absolutely appalling," Greste said on Monday.

"M23 have surrounded this place, but not occupied it. The main focus for now seems to be on Goma."

Colonel Sultani Makenga, the head of the M23 rebels, told reporters hours after they took Rutshuruon Sunday, that they planned to leave all the towns they've taken except Bunagana.

[visionary]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/07/201279174550855264.html?utm_content=automate&utm_campaign=Trial6&utm_source=NewSocialFlow&utm_term=plustweets&utm_medium=MasterAccount

DR Congo rebels retreat from strategic town

DR Congo rebels have retreated from the strategic town of Rutshuru in North Kivu province, a day after taking it from government forces without a fight, rebels and the United Nations say.

Congo's UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, said M23 fighters on Monday had pulled out of Rutshuru as well as the town of Kiwanja and the village of Rubare, also taken by the rebels on Sunday.

"[The rebels] abandoned their positions in town and moved to the surrounding mountains," Rutshuru resident Lucien Amoli said.

An M23 statement warned the army against returning to the towns, saying any attempt to do so would be "immediately and energetically repressed" by the fighters.

The rebels withdrew into the mountain gorilla haven of Virunga National Park, where an official said heavy bombing was preventing rangers from protecting the critically endangered primates.

The movement take its name from a March 2009 peace deal that ended a previous rebellion in North Kivu and led to the rebels' integration into the national army. They deserted the government ranks earlier this year, accusing the government of not respecting the agreement.

Rebel leader Sultani Makenga said they were retreating from Rutshuru as they waited to hear if the government was ready to negotiate their demands over the March 23, 2009 peace deal.

[visionary]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/10/us-palestinians-israel-elections-idUSBRE8690TB20120710

Hamas condemns announcement of Palestinian elections

The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday announced it planned to hold local elections in October in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, angering Gaza's Islamist Hamas rulers.

"The Palestinian cabinet approved during its meeting today ... conducting local elections on 20 October 2012 in all local councils in the homeland," The PA said in a statement.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri responded: "Hamas regards this unilateral step as undermining reconciliation and a decision of escalation that would further complicate the file of reconciliation and therefore, Hamas holds the Fatah movement responsible for the consequences that may result."

Hamas suspended voter registration in the Gaza Strip last week in a major setback to the reconciliation effort.

The PA's announcement and Hamas's rejection of it may lead to the polls only being held in the West Bank, further deepening the two territories' political divorce.

[visionary]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/11/world/middleeast/in-saudi-arabia-thousands-at-funeral-of-protester.html?_r=2

Angry Throngs at a Funeral in Saudi Arabia

Thousands of people attended a funeral in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for a man killed during protests in a restive region of the country’s Eastern Province, a show of popular anger that came amid fears of a renewed crackdown on dissent.

Videos posted on social networking sites on Tuesday night showed an avenue filled with rows of chanting mourners. Other videos showed youths throwing incendiary devices at what appeared to be a police car, and rocks at a government building.

Activists said the man, Muhammed el-Filfil, had been protesting the shooting and arrest on Sunday by government security forces of a prominent Shiite cleric in the Qatif region. Mr. Filfil was one of at least two people killed when security forces fired live ammunition at the protesters in the village of Awamiya, the activists said. A government official denied that any such clash had occurred.

The oil-rich Eastern Province, the stronghold of Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority, has long been a focal point of anger at the rigidly conservative Sunni monarchy, and for Shiite complaints about a policy of entrenched, official discrimination.