Protesters converge on G20 summit in France

Protesters converge on G20 summit in France

Assange loses appeal against extradition

Assange loses appeal against extradition

Libya's NTC elects new interim prime minister

Libya's NTC elects new interim prime minister h

Arab League hands Syria plan to end unrest

Arab League hands Syria plan to end unrest

Gas explosion in Chinese mine kills 29 - Asia-Pacific - Al Jazeera English

Gas explosion in Chinese mine kills 29 - Asia-Pacific - Al Jazeera English

Israeli airstrikes kill nine Palestinians

Israeli airstrikes launched fresh raids in the Gaza Strip, after earlier attacks killed nine Palestinians and retaliatory rocket fire killed one Israeli, officials have said. Palestinian groups in the Strip agreed early on Sunday to re-establish a ceasefire, sources close to the groups said. The truce with Israel, which Egypt is said to have helped broker, was due to come into effect at 04:00 GMT, said sources close to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. "The efforts and intensive contacts led by senior Egyptian intelligence service officials led to a national consensus to restore calm" with Israel, a leader of one of the Palestinian groups, who asked to remain anonymous, told the AFP news agency. Residents of Gaza have reported hearing explosions in the area early Sunday morning. Gaza fighters 'killed' Adham Abu Selmiya, a spokesman for Gaza's emergency services, said on Saturday that five members of the Al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad's armed wing, were killed and three wounded in a first Israeli attack on their camp. As fighting continued into the night, Israeli aircraft struck four more targets in Gaza, witnesses and Palestinian officials said, killing two Palestinians and wounding two others allegedly preparing to fire a missile near Rafah, in the south of the strip. An Israeli strike east of Gaza City and two in the area of Khan Yunis, in the south, caused no casualties, witnesses said. As rockets and mortar shells were fired into Israel, police said they were raising their national alert to its second-highest level. The Israeli military said the Rafah raid "targeted a terrorist squad in the southern Gaza strip responsible for the firing of military-use projectiles towards the Israeli home front". Retaliatory rocket fire The Al-Quds Brigades confirmed that five members, including a commander named as Ahmed al-Sheikh Khalil, were killed in the first strike on their training camp near Rafah. The strikes were the bloodiest since a tacit ceasefire was agreed between Palestinian fighters and Israel in late August. Within hours, at least 20 Palestinian rockets and mortar bombs hit different sites in southern Israel, wounding three civilians, police said. One rocket slammed into a community centre and another into a block of flats, setting parked cars and gas canisters alight. Rockets hit the city of Ashdod, the nearby town of Gan Yavneh and the city of Ashkelon, to the south, police said. 'Martyrs' blood' A statement from the Al-Quds Brigades claimed responsibility for the rocket fire and posted a video on its website which it said showed the launching of five of the the rockets. A spokesman for Hamas' Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said other armed groups were mulling their response. "The occupation is completely responsible for the crime in Rafah and all of the resistance factions cannot leave the shedding of our martyrs' blood unanswered," Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas, said. "We shall discuss the answer to this crime." The air raid and earlier rocket attack were the first violent incidents since October 18 when Hamas repatriated Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier it seized in 2006, in exchange for the release of more than 1,000 jailed Palestinians.

Source: Agencies

The Sakharov Prize 2011 is awarded to five representatives of the Arab people

The European Parliament Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought in 2011 has been granted to the Arab Spring, in particular to five representatives of the Arab people, in recognition and support of their drive for freedom and human rights. The decision to award the Prize to the Arab people is, according to Parliament's President, a symbol for all those working for dignity, democracy and fundamental rights in the Arab world and beyond.

The European Parliament has decided to grant the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought in 2011 to five representatives of the Arab people, in recognition and support of their drive for freedom and human rights. Jerzy Buzek, European Parliament's President, at Parliament's formal session on 14 December. This year, the other two shortlisted finalists were Belarusian civil activist and journalist Dzmitry Bandarenka and the Columbian San José de Apartadó Peace Community.

The five representatives of the Arab people awarded are: Mohamed Bouazizi is the young man who set fire to himself on 17 December 2010 in Sidi Bouzid (Tunisia). Asmaa Mahfouz is one of the founders of the Egyptian youth movement. Her call for freedom recorded on 18 January and posted on YouTube was seen by hundreds of thousands of people and inspired them to gather in Tahrir square. Ahmed al-Zubair Ahmed al-Sanusi, 77-year-old dissident and Libya's longest-serving "prisoner of conscience". He was accused of conspiracy in an attempted coup against Col Gaddafi in 1970 and spent 31 years in prison, four more than Nelson Mandela. Razan Zeitouneh is one of the leaders of the committees coordinating the revolt in Syria. Ali Farzat is a renowned Syrian political satirist, who has published more than 15,000 cartoons in Syrian, Arab and international newspapers.

The Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought, named in honour of the Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov, is awarded by the European Parliament every year to individuals or organizations that have made an important contribution to the fight for human rights or democracy. The prize is accompanied by an award of €50,000.

Yemeni women burn veils in crackdown protest

Hundreds of Yemeni women have set fire to traditional female veils in protest against the government's brutal crackdown on the country's popular uprising, as overnight clashes in the capital and another city killed 25 people, officials said. Women spread a black cloth across a main street in the capital Sanaa on Wednesday and threw their full-body veils, known as makrama, onto a pile, sprayed it with oil and set it ablaze. As the flames rose, women activists handed out leaflets appealing for help and protection. "This is a plea from the free women of Yemen; here we burn our makrama in front of the world to witness the bloody massacres carried by the tyrant [President Ali Abdullah] Saleh,'' the leaflets read. Yemeni women have taken a key role in the uprising against Saleh's rule since March, inspired by revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Their role came into the limelight earlier in October, when Yemeni woman activist Tawakkul Karman was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, along with two Liberian women, for their struggle for women's rights. Deadly clashes The protest came as clashes have intensified between Saleh's forces and army deserters backing the protesters and the opposition in demands that the president, in power since 1978, step down. Citing medical and local officials, the Associtaed Press reported that up to 25 civilians, tribal fighters and government soldiers died overnight in Sanaa and the city of Taiz despite a cease-fire announcement by Saleh late on Tuesday. Scores of others were wounded. A medical official said seven tribal fighters were among those killed in Sanaa's Hassaba district. Another medical official said four residents and nine soldiers also died in the fighting there. Government forces also shelled houses in Taiz - a hotbed of anti-Saleh protests - killing five people, including four members of one family, a local official said. Saleh has clung to power in the face of more than eight months of massive near-daily protests against his rule. During a meeting with the US ambassador on Tuesday, Saleh offered to sign a US and Gulf Arab-backed power transfer deal that gives him immunity from prosecution if he steps down. The meeting with Gerald Feierstein, the ambassador, was Saleh's first since he returned last month from Saudi Arabia, where he was treated after an attack on his presidential compound in June left him badly wounded. Saleh has repeatedly backed out of the deal at the last minute and the opposition has dismissed his latest offer.

Source: Agencies

Fuel truck bombing in Afghanistan

At least 10 people have been killed and dozens of others injured after a fuel tanker targeted by a bomb burst into flames in northern Afghanistan, sources tell Al Jazeera.

The incident occurred on Wednesday in the Bagram district of Parwan province, 40km north of Kabul.

Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith, reporting from the Afghan capital, said the lorry was in a queue to get into Bagram air base, the largest military base in Afghanistan, at the time of the explosion.

Roshna Khalid, a provincial spokesperson, said that “a smaller explosion [on Tuesday night] caused by a magnet bomb made a hole" in the lorry. It was when people had gathered to collect the pooling fuel that the "bigger explosion took place" on Wednesday.

"I heard a small explosion and when I went outside, I saw a tanker was leaking fuel," Ajmal, a 35 year-old farmer told the Reuters news agency.

"A few minutes later people came with buckets and jugs to collect fuel when suddenly everywhere was on fire."

Abdul Baseer Salangi, Parwan's governor, urged people "not to risk their lives for fuel" after saying the injured and killed were all collecting the fuel at the time of the explosion.

'Terrorist attack'

Khalil Farhangi, the provincial hospital chief, said at least three people were killed on the scene. The interior ministry said up to 39 were injured.

Though no one has taken credit for the explosion, Salangi said "this was a terrorist attack."

Our correspondent said "this type of attack is a fairly recent tactic that those who align with the Taliban seem to be using" in an attempt to disrupt vital supply lines to foreign forces.

Khalid said that at least two similar explosions have been prevented by Afghan security forces in the past three months.

Hundreds of fuel tankers come and go from Bagram air base every day.

Al Jazeera's Smith reported quoting Afghan officials that rather than sending a suicide bomber, the Taliban and those aligned with them are "just sending people to stick a mine" on fuel tankers.

Lorry drivers say that "if this can happen so near to Bagram base, then nowhere is safe", he said.

A mine blast in the eastern province of Nangarhar wounded two Afghan policemen on Monday.

Source: Al Jazeera and Agencies

Doha meeting discusses Libya's future

NATO should stay involved in Libya until the end of this year to help prevent loyalists of Muammar Gaddafi from leaving the country, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the interim leader, has said.

NATO, whose air attacks backed National Transitional Council (NTC) forces that overthrew Gaddafi in August, is to decide on Friday whether to end its mission following his death and burial in the past week and a liberation declaration by the NTC.

"We look forward to NATO continuing its operations until the end of the year," Jalil said on at a conference in Doha on Wednesday.

Stating that stopping the flight of Gaddafi supporters to other countries was a priority, he said: "We seek technical and logistics help from neighbouring and friendly countries."

Qatar was one of the first countries to recognise the NTC as the legitimate authority in Libya and supplied the anti-Gaddafi forces with water, weapons and more than $400m in aid. Qatar also provided help in marketing and selling Libyan oil.

In Brussels on Wednesday, a NATO official said the alliance had postponed until Friday a meeting of its ambassadors which had been set for Wednesday and was expected to formalise a decision to end its Libya mission.

"The Libya discussion has been moved to Friday to accommodate the ongoing consultations with the United Nations and the National Transitional Council," the NATO official said.

NATO states took a preliminary decision last Friday to wind up the mission in Libya on October 31 and the commander of the operation said on Tuesday that the alliance believed NTC forces would be capable of handing security threats.

But Ali Tarhouni, Libya's interim oil and finance minister, said on Tuesday he wanted NATO to maintain its mission for another month.

Source: Reuters

Tunisia poll results show Al-Nahda lead

Supporters of the al-Nahda party gathered outside the party's headquarters in the Tunisian capital to celebrate what they are calling a victory in the country's historic elections, as the first official results show the moderate Islamist party in the lead in many districts.

With 87 seats of the 217-seat constituent assembly announced on Tuesday, al-Nahda had won 37 seats. The Congress Party for the Republic (CPR) had 14, Aridha Chaabia 11, Ettakatol 10 and the Progressive Democratic Party five seats.

Al-Nahda supporters celebrated with fireworks, drums and singing after the Tunisian electoral body (ISIE by its French acronym) began to deliver the first provisional results for the electorates inside the country, following Sunday's vote.

The crowd chanted "The people are Muslim", "We will not surrender", and "No to atheism".

In a statement, al-Nahda claimed that it won "over 40 per cent" of seats.

In depth coverage of first Arab Spring vote

"We stress once again that we wish to cooperate with all parties without any exclusion. We are open to all political parties inside the assembly and outside it, as well as civil society bodies such as the great Tunisian trade union and other unions," the statement said.

"We are in talks in order to form alliances based on a shared economic, social and political programme."

The party's leader and founding member, Rachid Ghannouchi made a brief appearance, looking out at the crowd from the window. He did not speak to the crowd, telling Al Jazeera before he left at 11pm (local time) that he would not give a victory speech until the electoral commission had announced the full results.

"It's a victory," he said, before reaffirming his statements made ahead of the election that he would not be seeking to be appointed president in any future government.

Instead, Abdellatif Mekki, who headed the party's list in the El Kef electoral district, addressed the crowd.

"Al-Nahda is aware of its huge responsibility and we'll stay faithful to you," Mekki said. "We are responsible for all Tunisians, their liberties, their dignity and their interests."

Faouzi Kharroubi travelled to the capital from the town of Sousse to be present during what was a historic moment for the once-outlawed party.

"I'm here to join the celebration after our electoral success," said Kharroubi, who had been twice imprisoned for his affiliation with the movement, in 1987 and again in 1991.

"I can't find the words to explaining the feeling, after everything we experienced during the former dictatorship. [The regimes led by Habib Bourguiba and Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali] were very hard on us. We’ve waited a long time for this moment."

Coalition talks underway

Al-Nahda appears to have already begun that process of coalition formation, even before full results had been announced by the country's independent election commission.

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Tuesday, Fouad Baly, a leading member of the centre-left party Ettakatol, confirmed that talks were under way with al-Nahda.

"It is clear that the largest parties in the constituent assembly must speak amongst themselves to help take this country forward," Baly told Al Jazeera.

"Mustapha Ben Jaafar [Ettakatol's general secretary] is a man of consensus, and wants all the political forces in this country to unite to work together."

He did not give details of the negotiations that, he said, had begun after election day on Sunday.

Al-Nahda had claimed victory in the election at a news conference at its headquarters in Tunis, the Tunisian capital, on Monday.

The leaders of two leftist parties, the Congress Party for the Republic (CPR) and Ettakatol, said they were fighting for second place, while the leader of the centre-left Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) conceded defeat.

"Al-Nahda is certainly the majority, but there are two other democratic entities, Ettakatol and the CPR, who were weak at the start but now find themselves in the position to contribute to political life and usher a rational modernity in this Arab-Muslim country," Khalil Zaouia, Ettakatol's number two, said.

Late on Monday, the Reuters news agency, citing senior al-Nahda official Ali Larayd, reported that al-Nahda was considering forming a coalition with both Ettakatol and the CPR.

'Compromise'

 

Al-Nahda has not competed in an election since 1989, when former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali allowed individual candidates from the party to participate before allegedly tampering with the results.

The independent ISIE, was created early in the year after Ben Ali was forced from power by a popular uprising.

In the space of a few months, it has written new electoral rules and created electoral lists from scratch, but delivering conclusive results could prove to be its biggest challenge for the ISIE, with some demanding investigations into allegations of election irregularities.

The newly-elected assembly will rewrite the constitution and also choose a new interim government and set dates for parliamentary and presidential elections.

Boubaker Bethabet, the ISIE secretary-general, said 90 per cent of the estimated 4.1 million citizens who had voluntarily registered before the poll cast their votes. There are approximately 7.5 million Tunisians eligible to vote.

Source: : Al Jazeera and agencies