Officers narrow down search of Savernake Forest in Wiltshire and say further searches will take place in daylight Police searching for Sian O’Callaghan have said they are “very close” to identifying her whereabouts. Officers have narrowed down a search of Savernake Forest in Wiltshire after a day spent trawling through dense woodland and more analysis of mobile phone records. Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher, who is leading the inquiry, said further searches, involving specialist sniffer dogs, would take place in daylight and that the public’s help was no longer needed. Fulcher said: “We have made good progress in narrowing the search using a number of technologies and techniques and I believe we are getting very close to identifying Sian’s whereabouts. “Searches will be limited by available daylight but we will be further assisted by specialist dog teams who arrive tomorrow and resume the search as soon as daylight permits. While I still want anyone with information to contact police I am not asking for any more public assistance with searches at this time.” A force spokeswoman refused to expand on the statement and declined to say whether the statement meant police believed O’Callaghan – or her body – was actually in the forest. O’Callaghan, 22, disappeared after leaving Suju nightclub at about 2.50am on Saturday to walk the half mile home to the flat she shared with her boyfriend, Kevin Reape. Analysis of O’Callaghan’s mobile phone records suggests that around 30 minutes after she left the club her phone was somewhere in the 4,500-acre Savernake Forest, near Marlborough, 12 miles from Swindon. Hundreds of members of the public helped the police search the forest on Tuesday and as many as 1,000 had been preparing to join the search for office administrator O’Callaghan again. Coach parties had been organised and some taxi drivers were offering free lifts out to the site. However police requested that people stay away after narrowing the search area down. Chief Superintendent Steve Hedley, area commander for Swindon, said earlier in the day that further analysis of mobile phone records had produced several “hot spots” that specialist search teams were examining. Colleagues of O’Callaghan told how she was in good spirits and looking forward to the weekend before she disappeared. Liz Watson, operations director at industrial storage company Dexion, said: “We are all very worried about her at the moment and hope that further developments of her whereabouts will come to light soon.” Crime Steven Morris guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Officers narrow down search of Savernake Forest in Wiltshire and say further searches will take place in daylight Police searching for Sian O’Callaghan have said they are “very close” to identifying her whereabouts. Officers have narrowed down a search of Savernake Forest in Wiltshire after a day spent trawling through dense woodland and more analysis of mobile phone records. Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher, who is leading the inquiry, said further searches, involving specialist sniffer dogs, would take place in daylight and that the public’s help was no longer needed. Fulcher said: “We have made good progress in narrowing the search using a number of technologies and techniques and I believe we are getting very close to identifying Sian’s whereabouts. “Searches will be limited by available daylight but we will be further assisted by specialist dog teams who arrive tomorrow and resume the search as soon as daylight permits. While I still want anyone with information to contact police I am not asking for any more public assistance with searches at this time.” A force spokeswoman refused to expand on the statement and declined to say whether the statement meant police believed O’Callaghan – or her body – was actually in the forest. O’Callaghan, 22, disappeared after leaving Suju nightclub at about 2.50am on Saturday to walk the half mile home to the flat she shared with her boyfriend, Kevin Reape. Analysis of O’Callaghan’s mobile phone records suggests that around 30 minutes after she left the club her phone was somewhere in the 4,500-acre Savernake Forest, near Marlborough, 12 miles from Swindon. Hundreds of members of the public helped the police search the forest on Tuesday and as many as 1,000 had been preparing to join the search for office administrator O’Callaghan again. Coach parties had been organised and some taxi drivers were offering free lifts out to the site. However police requested that people stay away after narrowing the search area down. Chief Superintendent Steve Hedley, area commander for Swindon, said earlier in the day that further analysis of mobile phone records had produced several “hot spots” that specialist search teams were examining. Colleagues of O’Callaghan told how she was in good spirits and looking forward to the weekend before she disappeared. Liz Watson, operations director at industrial storage company Dexion, said: “We are all very worried about her at the moment and hope that further developments of her whereabouts will come to light soon.” Crime Steven Morris guardian.co.uk
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MPs back president’s move to suspend constitution, ban street protests and give security agencies greater powers of arrest Yemen’s parliament has approved a sweeping set of emergency laws giving broader powers of arrest and censorship to the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, despite growing calls from opponents demanding he quit to make way for a military-backed democratic transition. The emergency law, last evoked during Yemen’s 1994 civil war, suspends the constitution, allows for greater media censorship, bans street protests and gives security agencies arbitrary powers to arrest and detain suspects without judicial process. The approval of the emergency laws came as talks between oil giant Saudi Arabia and Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a top Yemeni commander who abandoned the president on Monday, failed to yield a clear transition of power. Only 161 of the 301 members of parliament attended the vote, with those present approving the 30-day emergency law through a chaotic show of hands. Opposition MPs, along with dozens of members of Saleh’s General People’s Congress, boycotted the session, rejecting its “unconstitutional” measures. The imposition of emergency rule comes as a rift emerges between the regime and a cohort of military commanders, tribal chiefs, politicians and diplomats who have joined together to demand that Saleh, who has been running the country for 32 years, step down. Thousands of protesters camping in the streets adjoining Sana’a University dismissed the emergency law as irrelevant and continued chanting for Saleh’s immediate resignation. “The idea of banning protests when tens of thousands are already camped out on the streets is ridiculous,” said Adel Suwabi, a 23-year-old medical student who has been co-ordinating the protest movement on Facebook. “Our numbers grow every day regardless of what Saleh announces.” The protesters are debating whether to march on the presidential palace on Friday, which they have dubbed “departure Friday”. The palace is being guarded by tanks from the Republican guard, which moved into key positions across the capital on Monday after Ali Mohsen sent troops from his 1st armoured division to protect protesters. Muhammad Qahtan, spokesman for the Islamist-led opposition coalition Joint Meeting Parties, which also includes Socialist and Nasserite parties, said protesters were ready to lay down their lives on Friday. “We will march to the president’s palace with open chests and you [Saleh] can kill whoever you like to kill,” Qahtan told reporterslocal press on Wednesday. “We are not afraid of another massacre,” he said, referring to a bloody crackdown by security forces against unarmed protesters last Friday in which gunmen, whom the opposition alleges were soldiers from units commanded by Saleh’s son, opened fire into the crowd, killing dozens of people. Saleh said a special investigation would look into the killings and a number of arrests had been made. Saleh lashed out on Wednesday at the JMP, accusing them of threatening the country’s stability. “They [the JMP] do not realise their national responsibilities and the potentially devastating repercussions of their practices against the country,” said Saleh, addressing a group of loyal military officers from Yemen’s central security at a brigade camp in Sana’a. The day before he accused a group of defected generals of trying to mastermind a coup against him and said that in doing so they risked dragging the country into “a bloody civil war”. Yemen’s opposition also turned down a tentative offer on Tuesday by the embattled president to step down by the end of the year. Analysts say Saleh’s recent shows of defiance suggest he may be in it for the long haul. Saleh’s calling of the parliament vote shows “he’s still adhering to some gestures in the direction of democracy,” said Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen expert at Princeton University. “This suggests he intends to hang around and survive the crisis.” Since February, Saleh has repeated promises for a new constitution, called for the formation of a unity government and said he will not seek to extend his term when it expires in 2013. The opposition movement has dismissed those offers and insists he must step down. Late on Wednesday night the interior ministry shut down the al-Jazeera office in Sana’a and revoked the accreditation of its correspondents after putting out a statement warning foreign media to exercise maximum accuracy and professionalism while covering the situation in Yemen. “The ministry will regrettably withdraw the licence of any correspondent or foreign outlets found abusing his profession,” Saba, the government news agency, quoted a source from the information ministry as saying. Yemen Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Censorship Protest Human rights Tom Finn guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …MPs back president’s move to suspend constitution, ban street protests and give security agencies greater powers of arrest Yemen’s parliament has approved a sweeping set of emergency laws giving broader powers of arrest and censorship to the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, despite growing calls from opponents demanding he quit to make way for a military-backed democratic transition. The emergency law, last evoked during Yemen’s 1994 civil war, suspends the constitution, allows for greater media censorship, bans street protests and gives security agencies arbitrary powers to arrest and detain suspects without judicial process. The approval of the emergency laws came as talks between oil giant Saudi Arabia and Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a top Yemeni commander who abandoned the president on Monday, failed to yield a clear transition of power. Only 161 of the 301 members of parliament attended the vote, with those present approving the 30-day emergency law through a chaotic show of hands. Opposition MPs, along with dozens of members of Saleh’s General People’s Congress, boycotted the session, rejecting its “unconstitutional” measures. The imposition of emergency rule comes as a rift emerges between the regime and a cohort of military commanders, tribal chiefs, politicians and diplomats who have joined together to demand that Saleh, who has been running the country for 32 years, step down. Thousands of protesters camping in the streets adjoining Sana’a University dismissed the emergency law as irrelevant and continued chanting for Saleh’s immediate resignation. “The idea of banning protests when tens of thousands are already camped out on the streets is ridiculous,” said Adel Suwabi, a 23-year-old medical student who has been co-ordinating the protest movement on Facebook. “Our numbers grow every day regardless of what Saleh announces.” The protesters are debating whether to march on the presidential palace on Friday, which they have dubbed “departure Friday”. The palace is being guarded by tanks from the Republican guard, which moved into key positions across the capital on Monday after Ali Mohsen sent troops from his 1st armoured division to protect protesters. Muhammad Qahtan, spokesman for the Islamist-led opposition coalition Joint Meeting Parties, which also includes Socialist and Nasserite parties, said protesters were ready to lay down their lives on Friday. “We will march to the president’s palace with open chests and you [Saleh] can kill whoever you like to kill,” Qahtan told reporterslocal press on Wednesday. “We are not afraid of another massacre,” he said, referring to a bloody crackdown by security forces against unarmed protesters last Friday in which gunmen, whom the opposition alleges were soldiers from units commanded by Saleh’s son, opened fire into the crowd, killing dozens of people. Saleh said a special investigation would look into the killings and a number of arrests had been made. Saleh lashed out on Wednesday at the JMP, accusing them of threatening the country’s stability. “They [the JMP] do not realise their national responsibilities and the potentially devastating repercussions of their practices against the country,” said Saleh, addressing a group of loyal military officers from Yemen’s central security at a brigade camp in Sana’a. The day before he accused a group of defected generals of trying to mastermind a coup against him and said that in doing so they risked dragging the country into “a bloody civil war”. Yemen’s opposition also turned down a tentative offer on Tuesday by the embattled president to step down by the end of the year. Analysts say Saleh’s recent shows of defiance suggest he may be in it for the long haul. Saleh’s calling of the parliament vote shows “he’s still adhering to some gestures in the direction of democracy,” said Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen expert at Princeton University. “This suggests he intends to hang around and survive the crisis.” Since February, Saleh has repeated promises for a new constitution, called for the formation of a unity government and said he will not seek to extend his term when it expires in 2013. The opposition movement has dismissed those offers and insists he must step down. Late on Wednesday night the interior ministry shut down the al-Jazeera office in Sana’a and revoked the accreditation of its correspondents after putting out a statement warning foreign media to exercise maximum accuracy and professionalism while covering the situation in Yemen. “The ministry will regrettably withdraw the licence of any correspondent or foreign outlets found abusing his profession,” Saba, the government news agency, quoted a source from the information ministry as saying. Yemen Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Censorship Protest Human rights Tom Finn guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …MPs back president’s move to suspend constitution, ban street protests and give security agencies greater powers of arrest Yemen’s parliament has approved a sweeping set of emergency laws giving broader powers of arrest and censorship to the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, despite growing calls from opponents demanding he quit to make way for a military-backed democratic transition. The emergency law, last evoked during Yemen’s 1994 civil war, suspends the constitution, allows for greater media censorship, bans street protests and gives security agencies arbitrary powers to arrest and detain suspects without judicial process. The approval of the emergency laws came as talks between oil giant Saudi Arabia and Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a top Yemeni commander who abandoned the president on Monday, failed to yield a clear transition of power. Only 161 of the 301 members of parliament attended the vote, with those present approving the 30-day emergency law through a chaotic show of hands. Opposition MPs, along with dozens of members of Saleh’s General People’s Congress, boycotted the session, rejecting its “unconstitutional” measures. The imposition of emergency rule comes as a rift emerges between the regime and a cohort of military commanders, tribal chiefs, politicians and diplomats who have joined together to demand that Saleh, who has been running the country for 32 years, step down. Thousands of protesters camping in the streets adjoining Sana’a University dismissed the emergency law as irrelevant and continued chanting for Saleh’s immediate resignation. “The idea of banning protests when tens of thousands are already camped out on the streets is ridiculous,” said Adel Suwabi, a 23-year-old medical student who has been co-ordinating the protest movement on Facebook. “Our numbers grow every day regardless of what Saleh announces.” The protesters are debating whether to march on the presidential palace on Friday, which they have dubbed “departure Friday”. The palace is being guarded by tanks from the Republican guard, which moved into key positions across the capital on Monday after Ali Mohsen sent troops from his 1st armoured division to protect protesters. Muhammad Qahtan, spokesman for the Islamist-led opposition coalition Joint Meeting Parties, which also includes Socialist and Nasserite parties, said protesters were ready to lay down their lives on Friday. “We will march to the president’s palace with open chests and you [Saleh] can kill whoever you like to kill,” Qahtan told reporterslocal press on Wednesday. “We are not afraid of another massacre,” he said, referring to a bloody crackdown by security forces against unarmed protesters last Friday in which gunmen, whom the opposition alleges were soldiers from units commanded by Saleh’s son, opened fire into the crowd, killing dozens of people. Saleh said a special investigation would look into the killings and a number of arrests had been made. Saleh lashed out on Wednesday at the JMP, accusing them of threatening the country’s stability. “They [the JMP] do not realise their national responsibilities and the potentially devastating repercussions of their practices against the country,” said Saleh, addressing a group of loyal military officers from Yemen’s central security at a brigade camp in Sana’a. The day before he accused a group of defected generals of trying to mastermind a coup against him and said that in doing so they risked dragging the country into “a bloody civil war”. Yemen’s opposition also turned down a tentative offer on Tuesday by the embattled president to step down by the end of the year. Analysts say Saleh’s recent shows of defiance suggest he may be in it for the long haul. Saleh’s calling of the parliament vote shows “he’s still adhering to some gestures in the direction of democracy,” said Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen expert at Princeton University. “This suggests he intends to hang around and survive the crisis.” Since February, Saleh has repeated promises for a new constitution, called for the formation of a unity government and said he will not seek to extend his term when it expires in 2013. The opposition movement has dismissed those offers and insists he must step down. Late on Wednesday night the interior ministry shut down the al-Jazeera office in Sana’a and revoked the accreditation of its correspondents after putting out a statement warning foreign media to exercise maximum accuracy and professionalism while covering the situation in Yemen. “The ministry will regrettably withdraw the licence of any correspondent or foreign outlets found abusing his profession,” Saba, the government news agency, quoted a source from the information ministry as saying. Yemen Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Censorship Protest Human rights Tom Finn guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …MPs back president’s move to suspend constitution, ban street protests and give security agencies greater powers of arrest Yemen’s parliament has approved a sweeping set of emergency laws giving broader powers of arrest and censorship to the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, despite growing calls from opponents demanding he quit to make way for a military-backed democratic transition. The emergency law, last evoked during Yemen’s 1994 civil war, suspends the constitution, allows for greater media censorship, bans street protests and gives security agencies arbitrary powers to arrest and detain suspects without judicial process. The approval of the emergency laws came as talks between oil giant Saudi Arabia and Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a top Yemeni commander who abandoned the president on Monday, failed to yield a clear transition of power. Only 161 of the 301 members of parliament attended the vote, with those present approving the 30-day emergency law through a chaotic show of hands. Opposition MPs, along with dozens of members of Saleh’s General People’s Congress, boycotted the session, rejecting its “unconstitutional” measures. The imposition of emergency rule comes as a rift emerges between the regime and a cohort of military commanders, tribal chiefs, politicians and diplomats who have joined together to demand that Saleh, who has been running the country for 32 years, step down. Thousands of protesters camping in the streets adjoining Sana’a University dismissed the emergency law as irrelevant and continued chanting for Saleh’s immediate resignation. “The idea of banning protests when tens of thousands are already camped out on the streets is ridiculous,” said Adel Suwabi, a 23-year-old medical student who has been co-ordinating the protest movement on Facebook. “Our numbers grow every day regardless of what Saleh announces.” The protesters are debating whether to march on the presidential palace on Friday, which they have dubbed “departure Friday”. The palace is being guarded by tanks from the Republican guard, which moved into key positions across the capital on Monday after Ali Mohsen sent troops from his 1st armoured division to protect protesters. Muhammad Qahtan, spokesman for the Islamist-led opposition coalition Joint Meeting Parties, which also includes Socialist and Nasserite parties, said protesters were ready to lay down their lives on Friday. “We will march to the president’s palace with open chests and you [Saleh] can kill whoever you like to kill,” Qahtan told reporterslocal press on Wednesday. “We are not afraid of another massacre,” he said, referring to a bloody crackdown by security forces against unarmed protesters last Friday in which gunmen, whom the opposition alleges were soldiers from units commanded by Saleh’s son, opened fire into the crowd, killing dozens of people. Saleh said a special investigation would look into the killings and a number of arrests had been made. Saleh lashed out on Wednesday at the JMP, accusing them of threatening the country’s stability. “They [the JMP] do not realise their national responsibilities and the potentially devastating repercussions of their practices against the country,” said Saleh, addressing a group of loyal military officers from Yemen’s central security at a brigade camp in Sana’a. The day before he accused a group of defected generals of trying to mastermind a coup against him and said that in doing so they risked dragging the country into “a bloody civil war”. Yemen’s opposition also turned down a tentative offer on Tuesday by the embattled president to step down by the end of the year. Analysts say Saleh’s recent shows of defiance suggest he may be in it for the long haul. Saleh’s calling of the parliament vote shows “he’s still adhering to some gestures in the direction of democracy,” said Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen expert at Princeton University. “This suggests he intends to hang around and survive the crisis.” Since February, Saleh has repeated promises for a new constitution, called for the formation of a unity government and said he will not seek to extend his term when it expires in 2013. The opposition movement has dismissed those offers and insists he must step down. Late on Wednesday night the interior ministry shut down the al-Jazeera office in Sana’a and revoked the accreditation of its correspondents after putting out a statement warning foreign media to exercise maximum accuracy and professionalism while covering the situation in Yemen. “The ministry will regrettably withdraw the licence of any correspondent or foreign outlets found abusing his profession,” Saba, the government news agency, quoted a source from the information ministry as saying. Yemen Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Censorship Protest Human rights Tom Finn guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …MPs back president’s move to suspend constitution, ban street protests and give security agencies greater powers of arrest Yemen’s parliament has approved a sweeping set of emergency laws giving broader powers of arrest and censorship to the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, despite growing calls from opponents demanding he quit to make way for a military-backed democratic transition. The emergency law, last evoked during Yemen’s 1994 civil war, suspends the constitution, allows for greater media censorship, bans street protests and gives security agencies arbitrary powers to arrest and detain suspects without judicial process. The approval of the emergency laws came as talks between oil giant Saudi Arabia and Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a top Yemeni commander who abandoned the president on Monday, failed to yield a clear transition of power. Only 161 of the 301 members of parliament attended the vote, with those present approving the 30-day emergency law through a chaotic show of hands. Opposition MPs, along with dozens of members of Saleh’s General People’s Congress, boycotted the session, rejecting its “unconstitutional” measures. The imposition of emergency rule comes as a rift emerges between the regime and a cohort of military commanders, tribal chiefs, politicians and diplomats who have joined together to demand that Saleh, who has been running the country for 32 years, step down. Thousands of protesters camping in the streets adjoining Sana’a University dismissed the emergency law as irrelevant and continued chanting for Saleh’s immediate resignation. “The idea of banning protests when tens of thousands are already camped out on the streets is ridiculous,” said Adel Suwabi, a 23-year-old medical student who has been co-ordinating the protest movement on Facebook. “Our numbers grow every day regardless of what Saleh announces.” The protesters are debating whether to march on the presidential palace on Friday, which they have dubbed “departure Friday”. The palace is being guarded by tanks from the Republican guard, which moved into key positions across the capital on Monday after Ali Mohsen sent troops from his 1st armoured division to protect protesters. Muhammad Qahtan, spokesman for the Islamist-led opposition coalition Joint Meeting Parties, which also includes Socialist and Nasserite parties, said protesters were ready to lay down their lives on Friday. “We will march to the president’s palace with open chests and you [Saleh] can kill whoever you like to kill,” Qahtan told reporterslocal press on Wednesday. “We are not afraid of another massacre,” he said, referring to a bloody crackdown by security forces against unarmed protesters last Friday in which gunmen, whom the opposition alleges were soldiers from units commanded by Saleh’s son, opened fire into the crowd, killing dozens of people. Saleh said a special investigation would look into the killings and a number of arrests had been made. Saleh lashed out on Wednesday at the JMP, accusing them of threatening the country’s stability. “They [the JMP] do not realise their national responsibilities and the potentially devastating repercussions of their practices against the country,” said Saleh, addressing a group of loyal military officers from Yemen’s central security at a brigade camp in Sana’a. The day before he accused a group of defected generals of trying to mastermind a coup against him and said that in doing so they risked dragging the country into “a bloody civil war”. Yemen’s opposition also turned down a tentative offer on Tuesday by the embattled president to step down by the end of the year. Analysts say Saleh’s recent shows of defiance suggest he may be in it for the long haul. Saleh’s calling of the parliament vote shows “he’s still adhering to some gestures in the direction of democracy,” said Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen expert at Princeton University. “This suggests he intends to hang around and survive the crisis.” Since February, Saleh has repeated promises for a new constitution, called for the formation of a unity government and said he will not seek to extend his term when it expires in 2013. The opposition movement has dismissed those offers and insists he must step down. Late on Wednesday night the interior ministry shut down the al-Jazeera office in Sana’a and revoked the accreditation of its correspondents after putting out a statement warning foreign media to exercise maximum accuracy and professionalism while covering the situation in Yemen. “The ministry will regrettably withdraw the licence of any correspondent or foreign outlets found abusing his profession,” Saba, the government news agency, quoted a source from the information ministry as saying. Yemen Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Censorship Protest Human rights Tom Finn guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …MPs back president’s move to suspend constitution, ban street protests and give security agencies greater powers of arrest Yemen’s parliament has approved a sweeping set of emergency laws giving broader powers of arrest and censorship to the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, despite growing calls from opponents demanding he quit to make way for a military-backed democratic transition. The emergency law, last evoked during Yemen’s 1994 civil war, suspends the constitution, allows for greater media censorship, bans street protests and gives security agencies arbitrary powers to arrest and detain suspects without judicial process. The approval of the emergency laws came as talks between oil giant Saudi Arabia and Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a top Yemeni commander who abandoned the president on Monday, failed to yield a clear transition of power. Only 161 of the 301 members of parliament attended the vote, with those present approving the 30-day emergency law through a chaotic show of hands. Opposition MPs, along with dozens of members of Saleh’s General People’s Congress, boycotted the session, rejecting its “unconstitutional” measures. The imposition of emergency rule comes as a rift emerges between the regime and a cohort of military commanders, tribal chiefs, politicians and diplomats who have joined together to demand that Saleh, who has been running the country for 32 years, step down. Thousands of protesters camping in the streets adjoining Sana’a University dismissed the emergency law as irrelevant and continued chanting for Saleh’s immediate resignation. “The idea of banning protests when tens of thousands are already camped out on the streets is ridiculous,” said Adel Suwabi, a 23-year-old medical student who has been co-ordinating the protest movement on Facebook. “Our numbers grow every day regardless of what Saleh announces.” The protesters are debating whether to march on the presidential palace on Friday, which they have dubbed “departure Friday”. The palace is being guarded by tanks from the Republican guard, which moved into key positions across the capital on Monday after Ali Mohsen sent troops from his 1st armoured division to protect protesters. Muhammad Qahtan, spokesman for the Islamist-led opposition coalition Joint Meeting Parties, which also includes Socialist and Nasserite parties, said protesters were ready to lay down their lives on Friday. “We will march to the president’s palace with open chests and you [Saleh] can kill whoever you like to kill,” Qahtan told reporterslocal press on Wednesday. “We are not afraid of another massacre,” he said, referring to a bloody crackdown by security forces against unarmed protesters last Friday in which gunmen, whom the opposition alleges were soldiers from units commanded by Saleh’s son, opened fire into the crowd, killing dozens of people. Saleh said a special investigation would look into the killings and a number of arrests had been made. Saleh lashed out on Wednesday at the JMP, accusing them of threatening the country’s stability. “They [the JMP] do not realise their national responsibilities and the potentially devastating repercussions of their practices against the country,” said Saleh, addressing a group of loyal military officers from Yemen’s central security at a brigade camp in Sana’a. The day before he accused a group of defected generals of trying to mastermind a coup against him and said that in doing so they risked dragging the country into “a bloody civil war”. Yemen’s opposition also turned down a tentative offer on Tuesday by the embattled president to step down by the end of the year. Analysts say Saleh’s recent shows of defiance suggest he may be in it for the long haul. Saleh’s calling of the parliament vote shows “he’s still adhering to some gestures in the direction of democracy,” said Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen expert at Princeton University. “This suggests he intends to hang around and survive the crisis.” Since February, Saleh has repeated promises for a new constitution, called for the formation of a unity government and said he will not seek to extend his term when it expires in 2013. The opposition movement has dismissed those offers and insists he must step down. Late on Wednesday night the interior ministry shut down the al-Jazeera office in Sana’a and revoked the accreditation of its correspondents after putting out a statement warning foreign media to exercise maximum accuracy and professionalism while covering the situation in Yemen. “The ministry will regrettably withdraw the licence of any correspondent or foreign outlets found abusing his profession,” Saba, the government news agency, quoted a source from the information ministry as saying. Yemen Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Censorship Protest Human rights Tom Finn guardian.co.uk
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MPs back president’s move to suspend constitution, ban street protests and give security agencies greater powers of arrest Yemen’s parliament has approved a sweeping set of emergency laws giving broader powers of arrest and censorship to the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, despite growing calls from opponents demanding he quit to make way for a military-backed democratic transition. The emergency law, last evoked during Yemen’s 1994 civil war, suspends the constitution, allows for greater media censorship, bans street protests and gives security agencies arbitrary powers to arrest and detain suspects without judicial process. The approval of the emergency laws came as talks between oil giant Saudi Arabia and Major General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a top Yemeni commander who abandoned the president on Monday, failed to yield a clear transition of power. Only 161 of the 301 members of parliament attended the vote, with those present approving the 30-day emergency law through a chaotic show of hands. Opposition MPs, along with dozens of members of Saleh’s General People’s Congress, boycotted the session, rejecting its “unconstitutional” measures. The imposition of emergency rule comes as a rift emerges between the regime and a cohort of military commanders, tribal chiefs, politicians and diplomats who have joined together to demand that Saleh, who has been running the country for 32 years, step down. Thousands of protesters camping in the streets adjoining Sana’a University dismissed the emergency law as irrelevant and continued chanting for Saleh’s immediate resignation. “The idea of banning protests when tens of thousands are already camped out on the streets is ridiculous,” said Adel Suwabi, a 23-year-old medical student who has been co-ordinating the protest movement on Facebook. “Our numbers grow every day regardless of what Saleh announces.” The protesters are debating whether to march on the presidential palace on Friday, which they have dubbed “departure Friday”. The palace is being guarded by tanks from the Republican guard, which moved into key positions across the capital on Monday after Ali Mohsen sent troops from his 1st armoured division to protect protesters. Muhammad Qahtan, spokesman for the Islamist-led opposition coalition Joint Meeting Parties, which also includes Socialist and Nasserite parties, said protesters were ready to lay down their lives on Friday. “We will march to the president’s palace with open chests and you [Saleh] can kill whoever you like to kill,” Qahtan told reporterslocal press on Wednesday. “We are not afraid of another massacre,” he said, referring to a bloody crackdown by security forces against unarmed protesters last Friday in which gunmen, whom the opposition alleges were soldiers from units commanded by Saleh’s son, opened fire into the crowd, killing dozens of people. Saleh said a special investigation would look into the killings and a number of arrests had been made. Saleh lashed out on Wednesday at the JMP, accusing them of threatening the country’s stability. “They [the JMP] do not realise their national responsibilities and the potentially devastating repercussions of their practices against the country,” said Saleh, addressing a group of loyal military officers from Yemen’s central security at a brigade camp in Sana’a. The day before he accused a group of defected generals of trying to mastermind a coup against him and said that in doing so they risked dragging the country into “a bloody civil war”. Yemen’s opposition also turned down a tentative offer on Tuesday by the embattled president to step down by the end of the year. Analysts say Saleh’s recent shows of defiance suggest he may be in it for the long haul. Saleh’s calling of the parliament vote shows “he’s still adhering to some gestures in the direction of democracy,” said Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen expert at Princeton University. “This suggests he intends to hang around and survive the crisis.” Since February, Saleh has repeated promises for a new constitution, called for the formation of a unity government and said he will not seek to extend his term when it expires in 2013. The opposition movement has dismissed those offers and insists he must step down. Late on Wednesday night the interior ministry shut down the al-Jazeera office in Sana’a and revoked the accreditation of its correspondents after putting out a statement warning foreign media to exercise maximum accuracy and professionalism while covering the situation in Yemen. “The ministry will regrettably withdraw the licence of any correspondent or foreign outlets found abusing his profession,” Saba, the government news agency, quoted a source from the information ministry as saying. Yemen Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Censorship Protest Human rights Tom Finn guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …NJ Judge rules against Chris Christie: Budget cuts left N.J. schools unable to provide ‘thorough and efficient’ education"
March 23, 2011 No Comment(Check out the above video from a post I wrote last year to get an idea how explosive this situation is and how angry students are. It’s always the poor, the elderly and the students who get harmed the most by conservative ideology. Back in April there was a massive student walkout protest over his sweeping state aid cuts in education. NJ.com: Gov. Chris Christie says protesting students ‘belong in the classroom’ ) Tea Party favorite Gov. Chris Christie received a severe blow to his education budget cuts by a Superior court judge: Gov. Chris Christie’s deep cuts to state school aid last year left New Jersey’s schools unable to provide a “thorough and efficient” education to the state’s nearly 1.4 million school children, a Superior Court judge found today. Judge Peter Doyne, who was appointed as special master in the long-running Abbott vs. Burke school funding case, today issued an opinion that also found the reductions “fell more heavily upon our high risk districts and the children educated within those districts.” “Despite spending levels that meet or exceed virtually every state in the country, and that saw a significant increase in spending levels from 2000 to 2008, our ‘at risk’ children are now moving further from proficiency,” he said. — “The difficulty in addressing New Jersey’s fiscal crisis and its constitutionally mandated obligation to educate our children requires an exquisite balance not easily attained,” Doyne wrote. “Something need be done to equitably address these competing imperatives. That answer, though, is beyond the purview of this report. For the limited question posed to the Master, it is clear the State has failed to carry its burden. “ Ouch. Chris Christie has spent only enough time to drink a cup of coffee in New Jersey as its governor so far, but since he’s very good at bullying people, FOX News pundits just love him. He has yet to solve any problems there and when it comes to education, has refused to meet with protesters after he slashed education funding. Now he has to deal with this ruling. Think Progress: As the article notes, Judge Doyne was appointed as a “special master” in this case, and so his finding today will go back to the state Supreme Court, which can choose to act on it. This seems likely to happen. “A special master’s report like this carries great weight with the higher court,” said David Sciarra, the executive director of the Education Law Center. “The evidence was exhaustive, detailed thorough and its conclusions are sobering about the impact of the funding cuts on students across the state, particularly poor students, regardless of where they live.” Christie has not yet responded to the finding. If he is required by the state Supreme Court to find more funding to at-risk districts, perhaps the governor could reconsider some of his proposed tax cuts for corporations and millionaires. Here’s a few other Christie stories from C&L: Chris Christie’s bullying style is inuring Americans to ugly discourse — Presidential Hopeful NJ Gov. Chris Christie: Where Wall Street Leads, He Follows — NJ Gov. Chris Christie Kills Major Transit Infrastructure Project Collective Amnesia Strikes Swooning Media As Manly Gov. Christie Blames Public Unions For State Deficits Where to begin? Is it more egregious that Gov. Chris Christie is trying to pin NJ budget woes on public workers’ unions (and models his solutions on Grover Norquist ) — or that a “60 Minutes” producer allowed his misinformation to go unanswered? First of all, New Jersey’s pension problems came to a head in 1997, during the rein of one Christine Todd Whitman, who cooked up a high-risk scheme to finance tax cuts by refusing to make the state’s mandated pension payments from general revenue. Instead, she and state treasurer Brian Clymer floated a $2.75 billion bond issue that would fund the payments. In other words, she and Clymer were gambling that the market would generate enough money to cover their pension obligations, so they could borrow that money right away for tax cuts. (The state paid $23.9 million in bond fees, by the way. Plus interest.) This was a radical idea for the time , and not everyone was thrilled with the plan. The mayor of Edison N.J. filed a lawsuit to stop it . The State Supreme Court refused a stay, saying the point was moot — but agreed with the plaintiff that the bond authority was merely a legal shell created to get around the state’s debt ceiling without putting it to a public vote. And of course the inevitable happened: Whitman’s pension obligation bonds (and just about every other state’s ) became a ticking time bomb .
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