Biggest concession yet to pro-democracy movement, which is gathering steam but has not reached tipping point Syria’s government has approved the lifting of a draconian decades-old emergency law in the most important concession yet made by the embattled president, Bashar al-Assad, after a month of unrest. Security forces again opened fire on demonstrators in Homs, Syria’s third largest city, in the early hours of Tuesday morning after more than 5,000 anti-government protesters took over the main square on Monday night, emulating demonstrators in Cairo and Bahrain by vowing to stay until their demands for change were met. The centre of Homs, which is north of Damascus, was described as a ghost town, with shops, markets and schools all closed in the city of around 700,000 people where 17 protesters were killed on Sunday night. In the absence of major protests in Damascus and Aleppo in the north, gaining a foothold in Homs would be significant for Syria’s pro-democracy movement, which is gathering steam but has yet to reach a tipping point. Activists have drawn inspiration from counterparts in Egypt, where Tahrir Square in Cairo became a focus for weeks of protest that brought down President Hosni Mubarak. Syria’s official Sana news agency said the government had also approved abolition of the state security court, which handled trials of political prisoners, and had passed a law allowing peaceful protests. The emergency law requires Assad’s signature to take effect, but that is expected to be a formality. “I think this will be done in the coming few days.” said Razan Zeitouneh, a lawyer in Damascus. The Foreign Office said the abrogation of the emergency law was “a step in the right direction” but it was “only one part of a wider package of necessary reforms. The Syrian authorities should do more to ensure the Syrian people experience real political progress without delay”. Lawyers and protesters told the Guardian that the moves were not enough. “If it had been made earlier, it might have made a difference,” said one activist in Damascus. “But now we have seen the regime for what it is.” Haitham Maleh, a former judge, said: “This [announcement] is all just talk. The protests won’t stop until all the demands are met or the regime is gone.” Syria’s ubiquitous security services are immune from prosecution under a law passed in 2008. Reports suggests the new law to regulate protests still gives the government considerable scope to decide when a protest is legal. Stringent anti-terrorism legislation is expected to enacted soon. Protesters have been increasingly angered by the government’s policy of disinformation. In an ominous sign, the government said on Monday that it was now facing an “armed insurrection” by Salafists – fundamentalist Sunnis who are equated by many with al-Qaida. “It is ridiculous and dangerous comment,” said Rime Allaf, a Syrian analyst at the Chatham House thinktank in London. “How many ‘armed insurrections’ have you seen sit in a square and wait to be gunned down?” Diplomats and analysts in Damascus said they feared the move to implicate “terrorists” would be used to justify a harsh crackdown. Syria’s government has often invoked the threat of Islamism to justify its hardline policy on internal dissent. The country has large minorities of Christians and Druze, and the fear of sectarian violence is often cited as an argument against too much political freedom. Conservative Sunni groups have represented the biggest challenge to the Ba’ath regime since it took power in 1963, when the emergency law came into force, prompting a hardline by the government throughout the 1970s and 1980s, culminating in the notorious Hama massacre of 1982 in which at least 10,000 died. Such a violent reaction may be less likely in the age of Twitter and YouTube, but the violence in Homs has heightened fears among protesters. A small protest was held at Damascus University’s faculty of medicine on Tuesday, just hours after the government had warned protesters not to take to the streets after security forces opened fire on demonstrators in Homs. Witnesses said the security forces had closed off the Clock Square in Homs and fired into the air and crowds. “People were running away from the square but the security forces chased them, beat and detained them,” said a man who identified himself as one man, Anwar al-Omar. “Many people are missing and we don’t know if they were killed, detained or are hiding somewhere.” He added that security forces opened fire again after protesters attending funerals on Tuesday threw shoes at security forces, although no fatalities were reported. Rights groups said at least one person was confirmed dead. Syrians have been increasingly drawing parallels with the 1980s, pointing to the heavy-handed tactics of the government including shootings and arrests, as well as the deaths of army officers, which the government claims were due to armed criminal groups. Katherine Marsh is a pseudonym for a journalist living in Damascus Syria Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East Protest Katherine Marsh Ian Black guardian.co.uk
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Minister claims France and UK ‘violating’ UN mandate as Nato airstrikes hit pro-Gaddafi communication centres The Anglo-French decision to send a team of military advisers to Libyan opposition forces in Benghazi is a “clear violation” of the UN security council remit, Muammar Gaddafi’s deputy foreign minister, Khaled Kayim, has told the Guardian. “No one can legitimise such actions. They will get nothing in return apart from more casualties.” He accused Nato and the international coalition of overstepping the limits of the UN security council resolution authorising military action to protect civilians, saying they were “siding with the rebels. Everything they have been doing since the start is outside the mandate.” Libya’s response came as fighting continued in Misrata and efforts intensified to bring in humanitarian aid to the population and evacuate those trapped in the besieged city. The Libyan government denied there was any bombardment by its forces. Kayim said: “I think this is a big trap for Britain and France. They are dealing with the wrong groups. I can’t understand why Britain and France are so keen to get themselves into trouble and in this trap.” The two western countries would find themselves allied with al-Qaida forces, he said, which pro-Gaddafi forces claim are embedded with the rebels. The Anglo-French move followed Nato airstrikes which destroyed three telecommunications installations around the city of Sirte on Monday, according to the Libyan government. Nato’s goal was to cut off communications, Kayim said. “The aim is clear: to enable the rebels to advance and to cut communications between [government] troops.” A large area around Sirte was without communications although the city centre was still functioning, he said. Nato confirmed that communications infrastructure had been targeted and the headquarters of a Libyan army brigade. “Last night we conducted deliberate multiple strikes against command and control facilities of the Gaddafi regime, including communications infrastructure and a 32nd brigade headquarters located 10km south of Tripoli,” Brigadier General Mark van Uhm said at Nato headquarters in Brussels. The airstrikes on communications centres came “at the same time as the British government sends very sophisticated tele communications equipment to the rebels to enable them to organise themselves”, Kayim told a press conference in Tripoli. He added: “If Nato really cared about civilians, they have to stop the airstrikes and stop siding with the rebels. Their aim is to push the country into a civil war. That’s clear from day one.” He warned against any deployment of ground troops to protect humanitarian missions, as floated by the EU. “If there is any deployment of any armed personnel on Libyan ground, there will be fighting. The Libyan government will not take it as a humanitarian mission, it will be taken as a military mission,” he said. “The Libyan people will not stay silent. They will join the armed forces and fight.” He said the Libyan government was doing its utmost “to help people and supply them with food”, but he repeatedly declined to answer questions about whether Libya would agree to a pause in military action to allow humanitarian aid to reach the besieged city of Misrata. “There is no need for such things. There is no bombardment from the armed forces on Misrata, none at all. There are pockets of resistance, but other areas are peaceful. There is no fighting in Misrata.” His claim contradicted witness accounts from inside the city and a Nato statement that Gaddafi’s forces were shelling Misrata indiscriminately. Nato said its operations had inflicted “quite significant damage” to Libya’s heavy weaponry while warning that Gaddafi’s forces still had “considerable” resources left. “But there is a limit to what can be achieved with airpower to stop fighting in a city. We are taking every precaution to avoid causing civilian casualties by our own air operations,” said Van Uhm. Admiral Giampaolo di Paola, chairman of Nato’s military committee, speaking in Rome, said it was proving “very difficult” to strike against government forces in Misrata without inflicting civilian casualties. “It’s not a conventional war,” he added. Witnesses in Misrata report that government snipers were firing from tall buildings and mosques. The Libyan opposition claimed that 10,000 people had been killed since the start of the uprising, and more than 50,000 injured. It was unclear how casualty figures had been documented. Kayim claimed the international coalition was exaggerating the number of casualties in Misrata: “This is all shit.” Opposition forces in Misrata say the city may be lost within days without increased military action from Nato, and they have appealed for troops to protect the passage of humanitarian aid through the bombarded port. The city is surrounded by government forces on all land sides; the port is the only means of access to and from the area controlled by opposition forces. They say that around 1,000 people have been killed since the siege began in late February. More than 300 have been confirmed dead in the city’s hospitals. The UN’s World Food Programme said on Tuesday it had sent eight trucks loaded with wheat flour and high-energy biscuits into government-controlled western Libya to reach areas affected by fighting. Battles between opposition forces and government troops have continued near the Tunisian border. Libya Nato Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East France Muammar Gaddafi Europe Harriet Sherwood guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Minister claims France and UK ‘violating’ UN mandate as Nato airstrikes hit pro-Gaddafi communication centres The Anglo-French decision to send a team of military advisers to Libyan opposition forces in Benghazi is a “clear violation” of the UN security council remit, Muammar Gaddafi’s deputy foreign minister, Khaled Kayim, has told the Guardian. “No one can legitimise such actions. They will get nothing in return apart from more casualties.” He accused Nato and the international coalition of overstepping the limits of the UN security council resolution authorising military action to protect civilians, saying they were “siding with the rebels. Everything they have been doing since the start is outside the mandate.” Libya’s response came as fighting continued in Misrata and efforts intensified to bring in humanitarian aid to the population and evacuate those trapped in the besieged city. The Libyan government denied there was any bombardment by its forces. Kayim said: “I think this is a big trap for Britain and France. They are dealing with the wrong groups. I can’t understand why Britain and France are so keen to get themselves into trouble and in this trap.” The two western countries would find themselves allied with al-Qaida forces, he said, which pro-Gaddafi forces claim are embedded with the rebels. The Anglo-French move followed Nato airstrikes which destroyed three telecommunications installations around the city of Sirte on Monday, according to the Libyan government. Nato’s goal was to cut off communications, Kayim said. “The aim is clear: to enable the rebels to advance and to cut communications between [government] troops.” A large area around Sirte was without communications although the city centre was still functioning, he said. Nato confirmed that communications infrastructure had been targeted and the headquarters of a Libyan army brigade. “Last night we conducted deliberate multiple strikes against command and control facilities of the Gaddafi regime, including communications infrastructure and a 32nd brigade headquarters located 10km south of Tripoli,” Brigadier General Mark van Uhm said at Nato headquarters in Brussels. The airstrikes on communications centres came “at the same time as the British government sends very sophisticated tele communications equipment to the rebels to enable them to organise themselves”, Kayim told a press conference in Tripoli. He added: “If Nato really cared about civilians, they have to stop the airstrikes and stop siding with the rebels. Their aim is to push the country into a civil war. That’s clear from day one.” He warned against any deployment of ground troops to protect humanitarian missions, as floated by the EU. “If there is any deployment of any armed personnel on Libyan ground, there will be fighting. The Libyan government will not take it as a humanitarian mission, it will be taken as a military mission,” he said. “The Libyan people will not stay silent. They will join the armed forces and fight.” He said the Libyan government was doing its utmost “to help people and supply them with food”, but he repeatedly declined to answer questions about whether Libya would agree to a pause in military action to allow humanitarian aid to reach the besieged city of Misrata. “There is no need for such things. There is no bombardment from the armed forces on Misrata, none at all. There are pockets of resistance, but other areas are peaceful. There is no fighting in Misrata.” His claim contradicted witness accounts from inside the city and a Nato statement that Gaddafi’s forces were shelling Misrata indiscriminately. Nato said its operations had inflicted “quite significant damage” to Libya’s heavy weaponry while warning that Gaddafi’s forces still had “considerable” resources left. “But there is a limit to what can be achieved with airpower to stop fighting in a city. We are taking every precaution to avoid causing civilian casualties by our own air operations,” said Van Uhm. Admiral Giampaolo di Paola, chairman of Nato’s military committee, speaking in Rome, said it was proving “very difficult” to strike against government forces in Misrata without inflicting civilian casualties. “It’s not a conventional war,” he added. Witnesses in Misrata report that government snipers were firing from tall buildings and mosques. The Libyan opposition claimed that 10,000 people had been killed since the start of the uprising, and more than 50,000 injured. It was unclear how casualty figures had been documented. Kayim claimed the international coalition was exaggerating the number of casualties in Misrata: “This is all shit.” Opposition forces in Misrata say the city may be lost within days without increased military action from Nato, and they have appealed for troops to protect the passage of humanitarian aid through the bombarded port. The city is surrounded by government forces on all land sides; the port is the only means of access to and from the area controlled by opposition forces. They say that around 1,000 people have been killed since the siege began in late February. More than 300 have been confirmed dead in the city’s hospitals. The UN’s World Food Programme said on Tuesday it had sent eight trucks loaded with wheat flour and high-energy biscuits into government-controlled western Libya to reach areas affected by fighting. Battles between opposition forces and government troops have continued near the Tunisian border. Libya Nato Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East France Muammar Gaddafi Europe Harriet Sherwood guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Donald Trump has an interesting concept of how the world’s oil markets work: In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC , Trump opined that the reason oil was so high was because “We don’t have anybody in Washington that calls OPEC and says, ‘Fellas, it’s time. It’s over. You’re not…
Continue reading …Marilyn Davenport, the California Republican official who stirred up a controversy when she sent out an email depicting President Obama as a chimpanzee , formally apologized last night, the AP reports. “I humbly apologize and ask for your forgiveness of my unwise behavior. I say unwise because at the time I…
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Met officers under fresh inquiry by watchdog after father-to-be Michael Sweeney dies in hospital after Hackney pub arrest The independent police watchdog is investigating after a father-to-be died in police custody following an apparent altercation at a pub in east London. Friends of Michael Sweeney, 38, said he was in the Approach tavern, in Hackney, east London on Monday evening when police were called. One friend told the Guardian that he had heard reports that more than 10 police officers had attended the scene and Sweeney was led away. He was pronounced dead later that evening at the Royal London Hospital. A spokesman for the Metropolitan police said officers were called to the pub at 7.25pm following a report that there was a man on the premises in possession of a knife. “Officers attended and detained the man. He was taken to the Royal London hospital by police where the man subsequently died.” Scotland Yard said the matter was being investigated by the directorate of professional standards at the Met and by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Officers from the directorate of professional standards were at the pub most of the day. Sweeney, of Bow, east London, was about to become a father for the first time, according to friends. But he had already served two long prison sentences. The IPCC’s statement said: “At approximately 7.40pm on Monday 18 April 2011, police were called to the Approach tavern on Approach Road (E2) by a member of the public reporting that a man in the pub had a knife. “Officers went to the pub and detained the man. A decision was taken to call an ambulance to take him to hospital rather than to a police station. However, the police incident log – a contemporaneous record of actions taken during the handling of an incident – shows that no ambulance units were available. “A decision was made by the police to take the man to Royal London Hospital in a police van. The man was treated at hospital but was pronounced dead at 10.07pm. The Metropolitan police service (MPS) referred the incident to the IPCC and independent investigators were deployed overnight.” The IPCC investigators will be studying police records and radio traffic, examining relevant evidence and looking at CCTV from inside the pub, as well as any available and relevant CCTV from the local area and from the hospital, the spokesman said. “They will be working to identify and speak to independent witnesses, including people who were inside the pub when the incident happened and medical staff at the hospital.” IPCC commissioner Sarah Green said: “This investigation will examine the initial police response, the decision-making behind when and how to take him to hospital and the care he received while being transported, as well as any interaction between police officers and the man when at the hospital. “A number of witnesses have already been identified, but we are keen to hear from anybody else who was inside the pub, or indeed anyone who saw any part of the incident as it unfolded.” Sweeney’s death came as the IPCC continues its investigation into the death in police custody of the musician Smiley Culture, who died of a suspected stab wound after officers carried out a raid. The musician, whose real name is David Emmanuel, had been due to face trial for conspiracy to supply cocaine. His biggest hit was Police Officer, in 1984. The record reached number 12 in the UK charts. His other singles included Cockney Translation and Schooltime Chronicle. Police Independent Police Complaints Commission London Crime Sandra Laville guardian.co.uk
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Met officers under fresh inquiry by watchdog after father-to-be Michael Sweeney dies in hospital after Hackney pub arrest The independent police watchdog is investigating after a father-to-be died in police custody following an apparent altercation at a pub in east London. Friends of Michael Sweeney, 38, said he was in the Approach tavern, in Hackney, east London on Monday evening when police were called. One friend told the Guardian that he had heard reports that more than 10 police officers had attended the scene and Sweeney was led away. He was pronounced dead later that evening at the Royal London Hospital. A spokesman for the Metropolitan police said officers were called to the pub at 7.25pm following a report that there was a man on the premises in possession of a knife. “Officers attended and detained the man. He was taken to the Royal London hospital by police where the man subsequently died.” Scotland Yard said the matter was being investigated by the directorate of professional standards at the Met and by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Officers from the directorate of professional standards were at the pub most of the day. Sweeney, of Bow, east London, was about to become a father for the first time, according to friends. But he had already served two long prison sentences. The IPCC’s statement said: “At approximately 7.40pm on Monday 18 April 2011, police were called to the Approach tavern on Approach Road (E2) by a member of the public reporting that a man in the pub had a knife. “Officers went to the pub and detained the man. A decision was taken to call an ambulance to take him to hospital rather than to a police station. However, the police incident log – a contemporaneous record of actions taken during the handling of an incident – shows that no ambulance units were available. “A decision was made by the police to take the man to Royal London Hospital in a police van. The man was treated at hospital but was pronounced dead at 10.07pm. The Metropolitan police service (MPS) referred the incident to the IPCC and independent investigators were deployed overnight.” The IPCC investigators will be studying police records and radio traffic, examining relevant evidence and looking at CCTV from inside the pub, as well as any available and relevant CCTV from the local area and from the hospital, the spokesman said. “They will be working to identify and speak to independent witnesses, including people who were inside the pub when the incident happened and medical staff at the hospital.” IPCC commissioner Sarah Green said: “This investigation will examine the initial police response, the decision-making behind when and how to take him to hospital and the care he received while being transported, as well as any interaction between police officers and the man when at the hospital. “A number of witnesses have already been identified, but we are keen to hear from anybody else who was inside the pub, or indeed anyone who saw any part of the incident as it unfolded.” Sweeney’s death came as the IPCC continues its investigation into the death in police custody of the musician Smiley Culture, who died of a suspected stab wound after officers carried out a raid. The musician, whose real name is David Emmanuel, had been due to face trial for conspiracy to supply cocaine. His biggest hit was Police Officer, in 1984. The record reached number 12 in the UK charts. His other singles included Cockney Translation and Schooltime Chronicle. Police Independent Police Complaints Commission London Crime Sandra Laville guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …For just $780,000, you could become signore of your own Italian village—albeit one without any villagers. An abandoned medieval village in the heart of one of Italy’s biggest national parks has been put up for sale by the local council and an elderly man who owns some of…
Continue reading …The last western Libyan city still in rebel hands is likely to fall to Moammar Gadhafi’s forces within days unless NATO steps up its intervention, a rebel spokesman says. Misrata has been under seige for seven weeks and its people are like “rats in a cage,” the spokesman tells the…
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Songs by Kylie Minogue, Scouting for Girls, Foals and Tinie Tempah also in running for awards next month British indie outfit Everything Everything and rapper Plan B lead the nominations for the Ivor Novello awards, it has been announced. Manchester-based band Everything Everything, who have yet to have a top 40 single, are shortlisted for best album for Man Alive, and for best song musically and lyrically for MY KZ, UR BF. Plan B is also up for best album for The Defamation of Strickland Banks, while his track She Said will vie with All the Lovers by Kylie Minogue and This Ain’t A Love Song by Scouting for Girls for the most performed song. Everything Everything formed in 2007 and were longlisted for the BBC’s Sound of 2010 prize. The four-piece released Man Alive through Geffen in August last year, and the album peaked at 17 in the charts. Plan B, aka Ben Drew, first achieved fame as a hoodie-clad rapper with the debut album Who Needs Actions When You Got Words before reinventing himself as a besuited soul singer for Strickland Banks. In the best song category Everything Everything will be up against Spanish Sahara by Foals and Becoming a Jackal by Villagers. Foals, from Oxford, and Irish band Villagers were nominated for last year’s Mercury prize, which was won by the xx, whose track Islands is shortlisted for best contemporary song. Katy B and Tinie Tempah are the other artists gunning for best contemporary song, while Bombay Bicycle Club will do battle against Everything Everything and Plan B for best album. The awards were established in honour of the composer and songwriter Ivor Novello in 1955, and seek to recognise the best British artists in both fields. The composers of the music for the fifth series of Agatha Christie’s Marple on ITV, Channel 4′s Any Human Heart, and Going Postal, Sky’s adaptation of the novel from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, are competing for the best television soundtrack. The 56th Ivor Novello awards ceremony will take place on Thursday 19 May at Grosvenor House. Last years’ awards were dominated by Lily Allen, who won best song musically and lyrically, most performed song for The Fear, and the overall title of best songwriter. Ivor Novello awards Awards and prizes Everything Everything Plan B Kylie Minogue Scouting for Girls Foals Tinie Tempah Villagers Katy B Bombay Bicycle Club Adam Gabbatt guardian.co.uk
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