Blogging Bukra - Today

Opposition forces close in on Libyan capital

Rebels reportedly seize Zawiya, a western city 30 miles from Tripoli. Moammar Kadafi gives a rambling speech blaming Al Qaeda for the uprising. Protesters plan a rally in Tripoli after Friday prayers.

Obama calls Kadafi's crackdown in Libya 'outrageous'

Officials say the administration had avoided direct criticism out of fear for the safety of Americans in Libya and not wanting to give the dictator a chance to cast himself as a patriot resisting the U.S.

Click here to find out more! In Bahrain, Sunni activist's plight seen as a cautionary tale

The activist was detained for speaking at a Shiite rally calling for government reform and has not been seen since. He had sought to promote unity among the nation’s majority Shiites and Sunnis.

In Jordan, King Abdullah II getting earful from tribal leaders

At the heart of the discontent is Jordan’s growing Palestinian population, which threatens to erode the tribes’ hold on money and power. The king also faces pressure to end corruption and his grip on political power.

MPs: Attacks on protesters a 'setback' to democracy

By Raed Omari

AMMAN - Lawmakers on Sunday condemned the attack on a peaceful rally in downtown Amman on Friday, stressing that all those invovled in the incident should be brought to justice.

During yesterday’s Lower House session, several MPs stressed that the assault harmed the positive democratic image of Jordan that has been reinforced over the previous weeks, calling on the government to provide parliamentarians with a detailed report on the incident.

Samih Momani (Ajloun, 1st District) said there should be a serious investigation to unveil the assailants who attacked peaceful protesters in downtown Amman, saying the committee tasked with investigating the incident “should keep the House informed on the results of the investigation”.

Momani also criticised the absence of sufficient security bodies to prevent the assault.

“How come the public security personnel did not intervene to prevent the attack although it is their responsibility?”

MP Saleh Wreikat (Amman, 5th District), called for accelerating the investigation into the attack, pointing out “the incident should not pass without knowing the real attackers and referring them to the court”.

“Those who attacked the peaceful protesters have destroyed what the government has achieved in democratic progress over the past three weeks,” said MP Mamdouh Abbadi………………..

Revealed: Ousted Mubarak's family living at secret address in London

Bahrain police 'fire' at protesters

At least one person has reportedly been killed and several others injured after riot police in Bahrain opened fire at protesters holding a funeral service for a man killed during protests in the kingdom a day earlier.

Fadhel Ali Almatrook was hit with bird-shotgun in the capital, Manama, on Tuesday morning, Maryam Alkhawaja, head of foreign relations at the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, told Al Jazeera.

“This morning the protesters were walking from the hospital to the cemetery and they got attacked by the riot police,” Alkhawaja said.

“Thousands of people are marching in the streets, demanding the removal of the regime - police fired tear gas and bird shot, using excessive force - that is why people got hurt.”

At least 25 people were reported to have been treated for injuries in hospital. Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Bahrain, who we cannot name for his own safety, said that police were taking a very heavy handed approach to the protesters.

“Police fired on the protesters this morning, but they showed very strong resistance,” our correspondent said.

“It seems like the funeral procession was allowed to continue, but police are playing a cat-and-mouse game with the protesters.”

Lebanon’s Hariri joins opposition ranks

BEIRUT (AFP) - Saad Hariri announced on Monday’s sixth anniversary of his father’s murder that he will lead Lebanon’s new opposition against a government his pro-West camp says will be under Hizbollah command.

“Today, we are in opposition because of… our commitment to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and our belief in the need to protect the Lebanese from weapons,” the outgoing premier said at a conference marking six years since the assassination of his father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri.

“We do not and will not accept the presence of weapons when they are pointed at the Lebanese… when they become a way to pressure members of parliament to breach the campaign vows they made when they stood for election.”

The UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon has been the focus of a long-running feud between Hariri and Shiite group Hizbollah, which last month forced the collapse of Hariri’s unity government.

The tribunal, which Hizbollah accuses of being under US-Israeli control, is reportedly readying to implicate members of the Iran-backed group in the Hariri murder.

Sunni Muslim billionaire Najib Mikati, who was appointed with Hizbollah’s backing, will succeed Hariri in heading the next government.

Lebanon’s Saudi- and Western-backed camp has accused Hizbollah, the only party that did not turn in its weapons after the 1975-1990 civil war, of using its arsenal to intimidate MPs into voting against Saad Hariri’s re-nomination after the Cabinet collapse.

The February 14, 2005 Beirut bombing that killed Rafik Hariri and 22 others sparked a wave of massive protests that led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops under international pressure, after 29 years of domination by Damascus.

Saad Hariri, who wept as he prayed over his father’s grave in central Beirut on Monday, called on his supporters to rally en masse once again on March 14 as they did six years ago, when an estimated one million people gathered in the capital to demand Syria’s military withdrawal.

“We began our march to freedom on March 14, 2005 and… we will resume it on March 14, 2011,” he told thousands of cheering supporters.

“On March 14 we will once again say no: no to the hijacking of the voters’ choice… no to armed internal domination.”

Hariri had sought a guarantee that Mikati would see the tribunal through before agreeing to join his government, while Hizbollah has demanded Lebanon end all cooperation with the court.

Tens of thousands march against Yemen's president

By AHMED AL-HAJ
Associated Press

SANAA, Yemen (AP) - Around 3,000 people are protesting in Yemen for a fifth consecutive day to demand political reforms and the ouster of the country’s U.S.-allied president.

A small contingent of police tried to disperse the demonstrators using tear gas and batons but the protesters have continued their march Tuesday from Sanaa University toward the city center.

The demonstrators _ mainly university students and rights activists _ are chanting slogans against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, including “down with the president’s thugs.”

A heavy police force and about 2,000 pro-government supporters are waiting for the protesters in the city center.

The demonstration is expected to get larger as hundreds of people, students and rights activists are joining it as it moves through the city.

(Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)