A man, referring to today's killing of teenager Hassan AlJazeeri, defies Bahrain security forces, "You killed a 17-year-old kid. Shoot me, I don't fear you"
1918 GMT:Bahrain. The Information Affairs' Authority --- deliberately or unwittingly --- has built on a pro-regime disinformation campaign --- to warn about "direct threats" by an opposition which it calls "terrorist gangs and saboteurs".
Opposition groups, including Al Wefaq, have called for Bahrainis to refrain from shopping, banking, and fuelling their cars. Pro-regime activists have used that to put out fake flyers, in the name of the opposition, threatening people if they do not join the boycott.
1918 GMT:Bahrain. The Information Affairs' Authority --- deliberately or unwittingly --- has built on a pro-regime disinformation campaign to warn about "direct threats" by an opposition which it calls "terrorist gangs and saboteurs".
Opposition groups, including Al Wefaq, have called for Bahrainis to refrain from shopping, banking, and fuelling their cars. Pro-regime activists have used that to put out fake flyers, in the name of the opposition, threatening people if they do not join the boycott.
Now the IAA has put out the statement:
Some internet webpages and social media accounts in Bahrain circulated news about direct threats being sent by terrorist gangs and saboteurs to various individuals, groups, families, workers, shops and companies intended to compel citizens and residents to stay at home and refrain from going to work or business as usual on Thursday February, 14, 2013 in a desperate bid to forcibly impose a de facto public strike in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
1739 GMT:Tunisia. The leader of the Ennadha Party, the dominant faction in the ruling coalition, has said he expects that agreement will be reached on a new Cabinet led by Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali.
Rachid Ghannouchi said, "I expect that agreement will be reached and I expect Jebali will remain the prime minister of a coalition government."
Following last week's assassination of opposition politician Chokri Belaid, Jebali proposed a Cabinet of apolitical technocrats but pthers in Ennahda objected.
Ghannouchi said a counter-proposal would be made, "There is a project for a political government that will be presented to the prime minister to form a team of politicians and technocrats."
The Ennadha leader continues, "We don't have much time before we announce this government. The time limit is this week."
Ghannouchi indicated that Ennahda was prepared to compromise over the control of portfolios such as defence, foreign affairs, justice, and interior.
Some groups in the ruling coalition, notably President Moncef Marzouki's Congress for the Republic, had threatened to withdraw their ministers if the Justice and Foreign Ministers were not replaced.
The French-Malian force took the town earlier this month, as insurgents --- who had moved in last April --- withdrew.
Gunfire broke out in the area of the central market and police station, hours after French and Malian forces reinforced a checkpoint that had been attacked for the second time in two days by a suicide bomber.
French helicopter gunships flew overhead.
"Islamists who have infiltrated the town are trying to attack our positions, but we're fighting back," a Malian army officer said. Another Malian soldier said one group of rebel infiltrators had come in on motorbikes.
2106 GMT:Bahrain. Opposition groups have "stressed the need to agree on the mechanism and the rules of the national dialogue" before the start of talks on Sunday.
"Agreeing on the mechanism before the dialogue starts would strengthen public trust in the dialogue," the groups, including leading society Al Wefaq, continued. This would "spare" Bahrain from the failure of the talks in the first round, a situation that would have unwanted "political and public implications."
The groups will write to the Justice Minister on Thursday to emphasise their position, renewing their request to meet him to agree over the mechanism of the dialogue.
The minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Ali al-Khalifa, announced on Monday that the dialogue would resume this weekend, after an earlier round failed to the bring the opposition on board.
1945 GMT:Mali. French President Francois Hollande has said his Government will help rebuild Mali, three weeks after France's military offensive that swept Islamists from urban areas in the north of the country.
Hollande declared French troops would stay in Mali "as long as necessary", handing over to African troops "once the sovereignty of Mali is restored".
"Terrorist groups have been weakened, but not disappeared," Hollande said.
Speaking alongside the French President, Mali's interim leader, Dioncounda Traore, thanked France for freeing the north to from "barbarity and obscurantism".
1550 GMT:Israel. Israeli representatives have boycotted a regular review by the United Nations Human Rights Council, the first time a country has ever taken such action.
A decision last year to investigate Jewish settlements in the West Bank prompted Israel to announce it would no longer co-operate with the Council.
Tuesday's meeting was suspended and a course of action will be decided.
1350 GMT:Egypt. Dozens of gunmen raided and looted the InterContinental Semiramis hotel on Cairo's Nile Corniche early this morning, as staff called in vain for help from security forces.
Anti-government demonstrators secured the besieged hotel and helped guests flee in taxis to the airport. Protesters later helped security forces in arresting 12 people.
The attack in the town of Radda was likely a retaliatory move by al Qaeda militants after Yemeni forces shelled insurgents in the southern province of al-Bayda earlier in the day, one of the officials said.
Earlier, 4 people were killed, including one soldier in an attack launched by the Yemeni army on alleged Al-Qaeda militants in the province of Baydaa’, center of the country, according to tribal and medical sources.
1950 GMT:Egypt. Addressing the nation on television after this weekend's violence that has killed at least 50 people, President Morsi has said judicial verdicts --- such as Friday's sentencing of 21 people to executions over last year's 74 deaths in a Port Said football stadium --- have to be respected, as they are not aimed against any group of people. He said "acts of violence, blocking roads are...not something Egyptians are are esed to....They are the ugly face of counter-revolution."
2105 GMT:Mali. French military officials say that French and Malian Government forces have taken control of Gao, one of three cities held by insurgents in the north since last spring.
Swooping in by land and by air and under the cover of darkness, French and Malian forces came under fire on Saturday morning and continued to face sporadic "acts of harassment" through the day, Colonel Thierry Burkhard said. He had no immediate estimate on casualties.
The Ministry of Defense later issued a statement that Government control was already being established, including the return of the mayor.
Thursday, February 14, 2013 at 6:24 | 