Obama vows to keep pressure on crippled Al-Qaeda (AFP)

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed to keep pressure on the Al-Qaeda terror group following the death of Osama bin Laden in last month's daring US raid in Pakistan.

US military operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan have served to "severely cripple Al-Qaeda's capacities," Obama said at a White House press conference.

"Osama bin Laden got the most attention, but before that we decimated some of the upper ranks of Al-Qaeda," he said.

The terror group is "having a great deal of difficulty operating and financing themselves. We'll keep the pressure on," Obama said.

He stressed that it was in the US national interest "to make sure that you did not have a collapse of Afghanistan in which extremists elements could flood the zone once again, and over time Al-Qaeda may inbound a position to rebuild itself."

US military forces will be withdrawn from Afghanistan "in a responsible way that will allow Afghanistan to defend itself and will give us the operational capacity to continue to put pressure on Al-Qaeda until that network is entirely defeated," he said.

One week ago Obama announced plans to bring all 33,000 US surge troops home from Afghanistan by mid-2012.

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Israel denies fiscal flotilla pressure

In May 2010, the Mavi Marmara and five other aid ships were on their way to Gaza when Israeli soldiers boarded it.Organizers accuse Israel and the United States of economic pressure on GreeceAn Israeli foreign ministry official calls the claim "ludicrous"The Israeli government warns foreign journalists against being part of the flotilla

Jerusalem (CNN) -- The Israeli foreign ministry on Sunday rejected as "ludicrous" suggestions that Israel and the United States were using economic pressure to force fiscally strapped Greece into preventing boats from participating in an international flotilla to Gaza.

"Do these people have any proof whatsoever to such claims?" asked Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor. "Their entire activity is aimed at demonizing the state of Israel. What are they saying, that we have used all the Jewish bankers in the world to cancel Greece's bonds? What kind of fantasy world are they living in?"

Organizers of one boat planning to join the flotilla, the U.S.-registered Audacity of Hope, released a statement Sunday asking the Greek government to explain why the leased vessel was being prevented from leaving a Greek port.

Passengers and crew say they are being told the boat cannot depart because of concerns about its seaworthiness and the need for further inspection.

Trip participants rejected the explanation, claiming the boat was safe. They suggested economic pressure was being brought to bear on Greece.

"Israel has said openly that it is pressuring governments to try to stop the flotilla, and clearly Greece is a key government since several of the boats plan to leave from Greece" passenger Medea Benjamin said in a news release by the boat's organizers. "It is unconscionable that Israel would take advantage of the economic hardship the Greek people are experiencing to try to stop our boat or the flotilla."

In the news release, the boat organizers -- U.S. Boat to Gaza -- suggested without offering proof that political leverage was being used with the International Monetary Fund in a bid to compel Greece to block flotilla ships from departing.

Palmor acknowledged that Israel was using diplomatic channels to prevent what he called "an illegal flotilla" from arriving in Gaza.

"These are diplomatic contacts with friendly countries" Palmor said. "As for their claims, they are knowingly and proudly commit an illegal act and still have complaints? Their accusations are simply ludicrous."

Meanwhile, the director of Israel's government press office, Oren Helman, sent a letter Sunday to Israel-based foreign journalists warning that "participation in the flotilla is an intentional violation of Israeli law and is liable to lead to participants being denied entry into the State of Israel for 10 years, to the impoundment of their equipment, and to additional sanctions."

"I implore you to avoid taking part in this provocative and dangerous event, the purpose of which is to undermine Israel's right to defend itself and to knowingly violate Israeli law," Helman wrote.

The Foreign Press Association, which represents international journalists working in the region, responded that the government's letter threatening punishment for media coverage of the flotilla "sends a chilling message to the international media and raises serious questions about Israel's commitment to freedom of the press."

"Journalists covering a legitimate news event should be allowed to do their jobs without threats and intimidation," the Foreign Press Association said in a statement. "We urge the government to reverse its decision immediately."

The flotilla, expected to sail soon, intends to challenge Israel's maritime blockage of the Gaza Strip.

According to organizers, the flotilla is meant to commemorate the one-year anniversary of a similar flotilla that resulted in a clash in international waters with Israeli navy commandos that killed nine people -- including an American citizen.

In May 2010, the Mavi Marmara -- owned by the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation, or IHH -- and five other ships were on their way to Gaza with humanitarian aid and about 700 activists from various countries when the Israeli soldiers boarded it.

An independent Israeli commission, led by retired judge Yaakov Turkel, later found that the Israeli commandos "acted professionally and in a measured manner in the face of unanticipated violence" when they seized the Gaza-bound aid ship.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters Friday that she didn't think the flotilla plan for this year "is useful or productive or helpful to the people of Gaza."

"We have certainly encouraged that American citizens not participate in the flotilla," she said, "and we are urging that all precautions be taken to avoid any kind of confrontation."

Clinton's comments followed an even harsher statement by State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland, in which she criticized what she called "irresponsible and provocative actions that risk the safety of their passengers."

CNN's Guy Azriel contributed to this report.

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Lawmakers step up pressure on Obama over Libya (AFP)

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US lawmakers from the right and left on Saturday stepped up criticism of President Barack Obama over his Libya intervention after a report that he had overruled top government lawyers.

The New York Times reported Friday that Obama had rejected the opinions of top lawyers at the Pentagon and Justice Department who said the United States was engaged in "hostilities" in Libya requiring congressional approval.

The White House has argued that because US forces are playing a supporting role in the NATO air campaign and because no ground troops are involved it does not need legislative backing under the 1973 War Powers Resolution.

Republican Bob Corker, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, took aim at Obama over the Times report, accusing him of ignoring the Justice Department's opinion because it didn't fit his "agenda."

"If dropping bombs and firing missiles on military installations are not hostilities, I don't know what is. The president's actions on Libya are nothing short of bizarre," he said in a statement.

"The president would likely have received overwhelming support for the operations in Libya, but his approach has needlessly burned through goodwill with Congress and violated the trust of the American people."

Corker is the co-author, with Democratic Senator Jim Webb, of a resolution seeking an explanation for the US Libya mission, prohibiting the introduction of US ground forces and calling on Obama to seek congressional authorization.

Far left Democratic congressman Dennis Kucinich -- a staunch opponent of the US intervention -- said it was "very disturbing" that Obama was proceeding without congressional authorization despite the lawyers' advice.

"An immediate remedy to this fiasco is needed. Congress must move swiftly to cut off funds for the operation," Kucinich said, adding that the situation had the "makings of a Constitutional crisis."

"If a foreign nation launched drone missile attacks against the United States, I think we would agree such incursion would constitute hostilities.... War is war, even if it is conducted by robots in the air," he said.

Kucinich and nine other members of Congress have filed a federal lawsuit challenging Obama over US action in Libya.

The United States and Western allies launched a UN-backed bombing campaign against Libyan ruler Moamer Kadhafi's regime in March aimed at preventing his troops from marching on the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

The Libyan strongman had vowed to go house by house to hunt down pro-democracy protesters who took to the streets in February to demand the end of his 41-year reign amid similar uprisings across the Arab world.

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Pressure grows for Weiner to resign

Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-New York, was first elected to Congress in 1998 and has won seven straight elections.NEW: A Democratic source says colleagues are pressuring Weiner to resignNEW: An explicit photo claimed to be of Weiner is posted onlineSources say Weiner's district will likely be eliminated in the redistricting process

Washington (CNN) -- Fellow Democrats mounted increasing pressure Wednesday for Rep. Anthony Weiner to resign, a day after party leaders turned their backs on the liberal congressman embroiled in a "sexting" scandal.

Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Reps. Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania, Michael Michaud of Maine, Mike Ross of Arkansas and Niki Tsongas of Massachusetts joined a growing chorus of Democratic voices that have called for Weiner, D-New York, to step down over sexually tinged online communications with several women that he then lied about.

A Democratic legislator familiar with discussions with and about Weiner told CNN that Weiner's colleagues are telling him he should resign "to preserve his own dignity."

Dems privately urge Weiner to resign

The congressman, who spoke on condition of not being identified by name in order to discuss private conversations, said the public call by Schwartz was part of a stepped-up effort to force Weiner out. According to the source, the effort includes private and public calls explicitly telling him it's time to leave Congress.

"There is increased resentment by his colleagues that far from having a press conference where he was going to tell the truth and roll with the flames, the flames are just getting worse and he's dragging us through it," the source said. "We really thought by now, after the press conference, we would be able to talk about the Republicans' Social Security privatization bill and instead we keep talking about Anthony Weiner. And people are getting angrier and more resentful."

Explicit photo is latest twist in Weiner scandal

A new explicit photograph now published on the Internet, allegedly of Weiner's naked genitals, is the latest example of how the issue was not going away, the Democratic legislator said, adding it was unclear if Weiner would listen.

"I think he is truly conflicted and the people around him are truly conflicted," the source said. "Nobody knows what is going to work."

More public calls for Weiner's resignation are expected, the source added.

Also Wednesday, multiple New York Democratic sources told CNN it is highly likely Weiner's district will be eliminated as part of next year's redistricting process.

Weiner, who is married, admitted earlier this week that he engaged in sexually tinged communications with multiple women and lied about it.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Weiner and his wife, Huma Abedin, are expecting their first child. Philippe Reines, a colleague and friend of Abedin, responded "no comment" when asked about the pregnancy report.

Weiner's admission Monday launched calls from Republicans and then an increasing number of Democrats for him to step aside.

"It would be fine with me," Pryor said Wednesday. "I think at this point it would probably be a good thing if he would go ahead and resign."

What do you think about Weiner's confession?

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine said Tuesday that Weiner's attempted cover-up of the scandal makes him unfit for office.

"Lying is unforgivable," said Kaine, now a U.S. Senate candidate in Virginia. "Lying publicly about something like this is unforgivable and he should resign."

While other Democrats haven't explicitly called on Weiner to step down, they have done little to demonstrate any support for him.

"Representative Weiner has some problems," Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, told reporters Wednesday.

What was Weiner thinking?

"I wish there was some way I could defend him, but I can't," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said Tuesday. Asked what he would say if Weiner sought advice, Reid smiled and responded: "I'd tell him to call someone else."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, who called for an ethics investigation Monday, released a letter Tuesday detailing her formal request for the inquiry.

Pelosi's letter "certainly adds pressure for him to go," said a senior Democratic aide, who spoke on condition of not being identified.

Weiner, who has said he would welcome an ethics probe, publicly apologized Monday for sending flirtatious messages and images on Facebook and Twitter to six women over the past three years and then denying it for a week.

Democrats offer Weiner advice

Over the past three days, he has been reaching out to a number of colleagues and supporters, according to one source. Among other things, Weiner called former President Bill Clinton -- who officiated at his wedding ceremony -- to personally express regret for his actions.

Wednesday's publication online of the explicit photo that a conservative blogger claims shows Weiner's genitals was the latest twist in the scandal. Andrew Breitbart, whose biggovernment.com website broke the story of Weiner's sexting, said the photo came from a woman who told him Weiner sent it to her.

Weiner acknowledged Monday that such an X-rated photo of him could exist.

Some fellow House Democrats have announced they were donating campaign contributions from Weiner to charity.

An ethics investigation would examine if Weiner violated House rules or brought the chamber into disrepute.

Sources: Weiner could lose his home base in redistricting deal

The code of conduct for members of Congress calls for them to conduct themselves "at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House." However, ethics experts say legislators are rarely, if ever, disciplined for violating that rule alone.

Using government technology such as telephones and computers for his sexting could be another story.

Weiner said Monday he used his personal BlackBerry and home computer, but added: "I don't have the knowledge of every last communication, but I don't believe that I used any government resources."

Even if he did, that doesn't automatically subject him to House discipline, said Stan Brand, a former House general counsel who has represented legislators before the ethics panel.

Members of Congress sometimes use official resources for nongovernment activities, Brand noted, adding that "the House has never taken a position or disciplined someone for that use."

Back in Weiner's district -- which straddles Brooklyn and Queens -- voters were divided over what the congressman should do. Some constituents said he should "never resign," while others called for his immediate ouster.

Weiner was first elected to Congress in 1998 and has won seven straight elections.

Whether or not Weiner retains the support of most of his constituents, many analysts believe he has almost certainly lost his spot as a front-runner in New York's 2013 mayoral election.

In addition, multiple New York Democratic sources told CNN on Wednesday they believe it is highly likely Weiner will ultimately lose his congressional district as part of a redistricting deal. New York will lose two of its 29 U.S. House seats by 2012 due to recent U.S. Census results.

Before news broke of the Weiner scandal, most New York state government observers believed one Republican seat upstate would be lost along with one Democratic seat downstate. The fact that Weiner is now tarnished makes it extremely likely his seat will be the one that Democrats sacrifice, the sources said.

Two of the sources -- both Democratic strategists in New York -- said the impending redistricting is one reason New York Democrats aren't rushing to call on Weiner to resign. Many believe it is better for them if he stays because it makes it more likely that his district will be eliminated instead of theirs, the sources noted.

CNN's Alan Silverleib, Tom Cohen, Peter Hamby, Dana Bash, Deirdre Walsh, Mary Snow, Meghan Rafferty, Josh Levs and Kate Bolduan contributed to this story.

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NATO helicopters raise pressure on Gaddafi (Reuters)

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – British and French attack helicopters struck inside Libya for the first time overnight on Saturday, hitting targets in the oil port of Brega as NATO forces stepped up their air war against Muammar Gaddafi.

Aircraft of the NATO-led alliance also hit targets in Tripoli, where at least six powerful explosions were heard. A Reuters correspondent in the Libyan capital said aircraft could be heard overhead at the time of the blasts, before sunset.

It was not immediately clear which targets were hit.

"As long as Gaddafi continues to abuse his people, we will continue and intensify our efforts to stop him from doing so," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said at a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in eastern Libya.

Speaking in Benghazi shortly before Hague's arrival, the head of the rebel council Mustafa Abdel Jalil welcomed NATO's deployment of helicopters.

"We welcome any measures that would expedite the departure of Gaddafi and his regime," he told reporters in Benghazi, where Hague later arrived for talks with council members.

Hague visited the square next to Benghazi's court house where people greeted him by waving the victory sign and shouting: "Libya free!" and "Gaddafi go away!"

A NATO-led military alliance extended its mission to protect civilians in Libya for a further 90 days this week, and France said it was stepping up military pressure as well as working with those close to Gaddafi to try to persuade him to quit.

"This was the first operational mission flown by British Army Apaches at sea," British Defense Secretary Liam Fox said.

"The additional capabilities now being employed by NATO further reinforce the UK's enduring commitment and NATO's determination to ... ensure that the people of Libya are free to determine their own future."

Military analysts say attack helicopters will allow more precise strikes against pro-Gaddafi forces hiding in built-up areas than the high-flying jets used so far, while reducing the risk of civilian casualties.

But given the vulnerability of helicopters to ground fire, their deployment also increases the risk of Western forces suffering their first casualties of the campaign.

WESTERN MOUNTAINS TOWNS SHELLED

Critics of the war have warned of "mission creep" but NATO has said the use of helicopters would not presage the deployment of ground troops, which Western nations have ruled out.

Now in its fourth month, the Libyan conflict is deadlocked, with rebels unable to break out of their strongholds and advance toward Tripoli, where Gaddafi appears to be entrenched.

Rebels control the east of Libya around Benghazi and the Western Mountains stretching from the town of Zintan, 150 km (95 miles) south of Tripoli, toward the border with Tunisia.

In a speech at NATO's Libya command base in the Italian city of Naples, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden praised U.S. troops for taking part in military operations that he said had stopped a humanitarian disaster in the North African country.

He reiterated the official U.S. government stance that Gaddafi must step down.

Rebel fighters repelled an attack by Gaddafi's forces against one of their checkpoints on the eastern edges of the rebel-held city of Misrata on Saturday, a Reuters journalist there said. One rebel was killed and another was wounded in the clashes, medical workers said.

Gaddafi's forces also shelled Nalut and Zintan, rebel spokesmen said by phone from the rebel-held Western Mountains towns. At least 10 people were wounded in Nalut.

NATO's helicopter attacks struck military targets around the eastern town of Brega, location of an oil export terminal.

Rebel forces swept west through Brega early in the uprising before retreating from near Gaddafi's home town of Sirte in late March. Gaddafi's forces have since dug in around the oil town.

"The Apaches were tasked with precision strikes against a regime radar installation and a military checkpoint, both located around Brega," said Major-General Nick Pope, the Chief of the Defense Staff's Strategic Communications Officer.

"In the same area, Royal Air Force ground attack aircraft destroyed another military installation, whilst a separate RAF mission successfully attacked two ammunition bunkers at the large Waddan depot in central Libya."

In a fresh diplomatic setback for Gaddafi on Friday, China said it had made its first confirmed contact with Libyan rebels this week, following a spate of defections by high-profile figures including senior oil official and former prime minister Shokri Ghanem.

The rebels and NATO have made Gaddafi's departure a condition of any ceasefire, but he emphatically told visiting South African President Jacob Zuma this week he would not leave Libya.

The United Nations has said government-held parts of Libya are running out of food and the capital Tripoli this week saw the first big protest in months against Gaddafi's 41-year rule.

Gaddafi says the rebels are armed criminals and al Qaeda militants, and has called the NATO intervention an act of colonial aggression designed to grab Libya's plentiful oil.

(Additional reporting by Zohra Bensemra in Misrata, Abdelaziz Boumzar in Bir Ayyad, Libya, Gavin Jones in Italy, John Irish in Paris, Christina Fincher in London, Sherine El Madany in Benghazi, David Brunnstrom in Brussels and Joseph Nasr in Rabat; writing by Lin Noueihed and Joseph Nasr; editing by Andrew Roche)

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IMF chief faces pressure to resign after sex charge

NEW: Ruling French party: A replacement for Strauss-Kahn should be named U.S. treasury secretary: "He's obviously not in a position to run the IMF"Poll: 57% of French respondents believe Strauss-Kahn is a victim of conspiracyStrauss-Kahn is accused of sexually assaulting a maid at a posh New York hotel

New York (CNN) -- As one of the most powerful men in global economics, Dominique Strauss-Kahn was supposed to give the keynote speech at the Brussels Economic Forum in Belgium on Wednesday.

Instead, the head of the International Monetary Fund sits in a New York jail cell with his career and political future in limbo.

"I do not see how he can perform his duties as director of the IMF. So by definition, this issue should be resolved in the coming days," Jean-Francois Cope, secretary-general of France's ruling UMP party, told reporters Wednesday.

Celebrity lawyer deemed 'perfect' for case

The comments came a day after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Strauss-Kahn was "obviously not in a position to run the IMF."

In addition to his IMF leadership, Strauss-Kahn was widely viewed as a front-runner to unseat French President Nicolas Sarkozy before authorities said he chased the maid naked down the hallway of his suite and sexually assaulted her.

But some French citizens say they think Strauss-Kahn is actually the victim of a conspiracy.

According to a poll released Wednesday by the Conseil Sondage Analyses (Council of Polling Analysis), 57% of French people think Strauss-Kahn was victimized.

Still, 54% said they think Strauss-Kahn's Socialist Party could win in the 2012 presidential race without him.

Strauss-Kahn, 62, was denied bail by a Manhattan Criminal Court judge and remanded Monday to an 11-by-13-foot cell at New York's Rikers Island jail complex. There, the man whom many refer to as DSK was placed on suicide watch -- a common procedure in high-profile cases, two sources with direct knowledge of the case told CNN.

Until his next court appearance Friday, Strauss-Kahn will be largely left alone -- denied contact with other inmates because of his high-profile status, said a New York Department of Correction spokesman who declined to be named.

The case has shaken the IMF, an organization of 187 countries working to improve world economies by providing loans and guidance.

Austria's finance minister said Tuesday that Strauss-Kahn should consider stepping down for the good of the institution.

Take a look inside Rikers Island

"Given the circumstances that his bail was not granted, he should think about whether he is damaging the institution," Maria Fekter told reporters in Brussels, Belgium, during a meeting of European finance ministers.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague told reporters he hopes the incident does not affect the "many important decisions ... before the IMF."

"At the moment it is important that it functions well," Hague said. "So we look to all concerned to make sure that it does."

On Tuesday, IMF spokesman William Murray said in a written statement that the IMF had had no contact with its leader since his arrest.

In Strauss-Kahn's absence, First Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky has been named acting managing director, "and the fund continues its normal work," Murray said.

Murray also said Strauss-Kahn's diplomatic immunity does not apply in the sexual assault case.

"The MD's (managing director's) immunities are limited and are not applicable to this case," he said.

He added, however, that any IMF-related documents Strauss-Kahn may have had with him or left in the hotel room would be governed by diplomatic immunity and should be returned to the Washington-based organization.

A former French finance minister, national legislator and economics professor in Paris, Strauss-Kahn became the IMF's 10th managing director in November 2007. He is also chairman of the IMF executive board.

The alleged victim is a 32-year-old single mother living in the New York borough of the Bronx who moved to the United States from the West African country of Guinea. She had been working at the hotel for at least two years, according to her attorney, Jeffrey Shapiro.

"Her world has been turned upside down," he said. "She is very scared about her future."

Shapiro said his client is cooperating with police and prosecutors, and would be willing to testify against Strauss-Kahn.

Strauss-Kahn's accuser picked the IMF chief out of a lineup Sunday at a New York police station, saying he was the man who had sexually assaulted her, according to a law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the investigation.

"She's recovering -- slowly," said Blake Diallo, the general manager of a Harlem restaurant she frequents, who described himself to reporters as her friend.

The alleged attack began Saturday around noon, when the housekeeper entered Strauss-Kahn's suite on the 28th floor of the New York's Sofitel hotel to clean.

New York Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said the economist emerged naked from a room, ran down a hallway after the woman, and attacked her.

He shut the door, preventing the woman from leaving, according to a criminal complaint released by prosecutors.

"He grabbed the victim's chest without consent, attempted to remove her pantyhose" and forcibly grabbed her between her legs, the complaint said. He also forced her to perform oral sex on him, Assistant District Attorney John McConnell said at Monday's arraignment.

The criminal complaint alleges that Strauss-Kahn forced the woman to engage "in oral sexual conduct and anal sexual conduct" and tried to force her to engage in sexual intercourse.

Scandals: When lust and politics collide

Afterward, the employee went to the front desk, and staffers alerted police, Browne said.

By the time officers arrived, Strauss-Kahn had left in the hotel limousine, according to the law enforcement source.

He called the hotel around the same time police got to the hotel to say he had left his phone behind and asked if it could be delivered to him at the airport. Investigators told the hotel staff member to agree to do so, and police went to the airport.

Two plain-clothed Port Authority police detectives led him off a plane bound for France, the source said.

Charges against Strauss-Kahn include two counts of first-degree criminal sexual act, one count of first-degree attempted rape, one count of first-degree sexual abuse, one count of second-degree unlawful imprisonment, one count of forcible touching and one count of third-degree sexual abuse.

The most serious charge, criminal sexual act in the first degree, carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

Defense attorney Benjamin Brafman called the case "very defensible."

But some observers said Tuesday that his political future appears bleak.

"If the accusations are true, Strauss-Kahn will not be able to run for president," said Jacques Attali, a political analyst and a former top aide to late Socialist President Francois Mitterrand.

In Washington, U.S. Sen. John Kerry told reporters the situation involving the IMF chief was "very troubling, if not damning."

"You've got to give it a few days to let that develop," he said. "But if the evidence is what it appears to be, I think it would be very difficult for him to manage."

CNN's Susan Candiotti, Ivan Watson, Adam Reiss, Richard Roth, Saskya Vandoorne, Caroline Paterson, David Ariosto, Raelyn Johnson and Jim Bittermann contributed to this report.

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Pressure on Morocco spikes over blast

Moroccan media report the identity of the bomber, citing French news reportsThousands march in Marrakech to protest the bombing and oppose calls for violenceThe death toll from the April 28 bombing in a popular tourist destination rises to 17A North African al Qaeda group denies responsibility

Casablanca, Morocco (CNN) -- Moroccan authorities continued Monday with their investigation into last month's bombing in Marrakech after a weekend protest rally in there heightened tension over the attack.

Further details -- including the identity of the bomber -- have been doled out to Moroccan media in what is perceived as an initiative by the government to calm the atmosphere following the demonstration, which was followed by a 24-hour sit-in by youths in front of Marrakech's courthouse.

Over the weekend, reports indicated that the death toll from the attack had risen from 16 to 17.

Thousands of Moroccans took to the streets of central Marrakech on Sunday to show their defiance toward the bombers and toward a call for mayhem by the North African cell of al Qaeda. The peaceful march was organized by the youth movement Fevrier 20. Protesters paraded their banners -- many of which of denounced the killings and supported political reform -- through Morocco's most liberal tourist hot spot.

Morocco is currently in the midst of a radical reform process brought about by King Mohammed VI, who is concerned about the stability of this North African country.

On Saturday, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the North African wing of al Qaeda, issued a statement officially denying involvement in the April 28 bombing in Marrakech. But the group -- which is currently holding French hostages and demanding that French President Nicolas Sarkozy remove troops from Afghanistan -- has used the bombing in an attempt to rally extremist factions against the Moroccan monarch.

However, its call for the Moroccan regime to be "toppled" appears to have fallen on deaf ears, at least for most Moroccans. About 8,000 protested in a rally in Jamaa el-Fnaa Square, in front of the cafeteria where the bomb went off. Many drank orange juice in a symbolic protest against terrorism, since that's what the bomber ordered just before leaving the scene to detonate two bombs that he left there in a bag.

"We're here to denounce terrorism and the killings in Marrakech," explained one young Fevrier 20 supporter, who wished to be known only as Yassir. "But we don't want to say that this should stop the process of the struggle for reforms," he added.

Moroccan media Monday reported the identity of the bomber, attributing the information to reports in French newspapers, as no official confirmation has been offered by the Ministry of the Interior. They reported that the man is a Moroccan national and is being held by police, along with two alleged accomplices. He is said to be a young man from the coastal town of Safi who was working at the town's port.

The death toll increased to 17 when a Swiss victim passed away on Saturday, according to Swiss authorities. On Sunday, one British victim, a travel writer named Peter Moss, 59, was buried in a cemetery in North London in a service attended by the Moroccan ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Earlier speculation from the government suggested the bombing was the work of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, a regional wing of the infamous terrorist organization that has sent fighters to Iraq and been accused of several Algerian bombings. Last week, Morocco's interior minister stated that he believed the bomber to be "loyal" to the North African terror cell.

On Saturday, an official Mauritanian state news agency reported that al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb denied responsibility for the killings, but urged Moroccans "to liberate their oppressed, jailed brothers and to topple the criminal regime," in what is widely interpreted as a reference to the king and his government. "We deny involvement in the bombing and assure that we have nothing to do with it, neither up close nor from afar," said the statement, carried by the Nouakchott Information Agency in Mauritania.

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'Gang of Six' Senators Under Pressure to Strike Budget Deal After Credit Rating Warning

AP

Shown here are Sens. Tom Coburn, left, and Kent Conrad.

With partisan squabbling increasing ahead of a vote to raise the nation's borrowing limit, aides to a bipartisan "gang of six" lawmakers in the Senate are working through a holiday recess on a deal to slash the country's skyrocketing debt and deficit. 

Staffers for the group tell Fox News that their goal is to produce an agreement by May 2 to present to Congress when lawmakers return from their Easter break. 

And with Monday's blunt warning from the credit rating agency Standard & Poor's about U.S. debt, and the financial markets' subsequent drop, the pressure is growing more intense. 

"This is one more warning sign that the financial markets are paying close attention to see if we are serious about addressing our budget deficits and long-term debt," said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., a former governor and lead organizer of the so-called "gang of six," in a statement released by his office. 

S&P, which downgraded its outlook on the U.S. from "stable" to "negative" for the first time since World War II, based its pessimism on doubts that Congress could overcome partisan gridlock to tackle the problem. 

Fox News has learned that aides to the senators are working overtime to have a plan ready when lawmakers return to the Capitol, which will be less than two weeks from when the Obama administration estimates the government will have exhausted its $14.3 trillion debt limit. 

The plan is expected to mirror one put forward by the president's own deficit commission, of which all six lawmakers were a part. The commission plan would cut the debt by roughly $4 trillion over 10 years, touching every area of the budget, including entitlements, taxes, and defense spending. 

"They're working like mad. There's definitely a lot of pressure, but who knows if they'll get to a place that everyone can support. I think there's a growing feeling that they just have to," said one senior staffer close to the talks who requested anonymity, because of the sensitivity of the negotiations. 

With Republicans promising to hold up Obama's request for a debt limit increase without major spending reductions and the White House warning of a "global economic calamity" if the ceiling isn't raised, the pressure on the negotiators is intense. 

"The talks have almost collapsed a few times," according to another source familiar with the negotiations who also asked to remain anonymous in order not to jeopardize the deal. The source said the group is "in a much better place now." 

"All the members are optimistic about getting a deal. It's been rough going at times, but they've stuck with it. It's too big a problem not to try to solve," said the staffer. 

Gang members include Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, number two in his party's leadership, Warner, and Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad of North Dakota. On the Republican side are Sens. Tom Coburn, dubbed "Dr. No" for his fiscal hawk status, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Mike Crapo of Idaho. 

While the other five are well-known figures in the Senate, Crapo has toiled outside the spotlight since he first came to Congress in 1998. In a chamber of headline-seekers, Crapo rarely attends news conferences and is not often seen in gaggles with reporters. But he is, perhaps, one of the most well-liked among his colleagues. 

No one in the gang of six is up for re-election, a factor that no doubt aids in their potential success, though the similarities between the Republicans and Democrats pretty much stops there.

But given the severity of the U.S debt picture, the group appears to have checked partisan hats at the door, imbued with a sense of urgency. And it faces many obstacles, not the least of which is a looming presidential election year, during which little substantive legislation is likely to be achieved. 

It certainly helps that the group, according to firsthand accounts, gets along well behind closed doors. Many meetings take place in Warner's fourth floor Russell Senate Office Building, mostly outside the path of reporters and cameras. The meetings typically switch off between members-only and staff. There usually is some kind of anteroom set up, according to a source, and the members and staff move back and forth conferring between the two. 

One essential ingredient to the group's recipe for success? "They always have a big spread of food," said a source. 

At one morning meeting, one budget expert baked homemade scones for the group. Sometimes, for the evening meetings, lawmakers meet over a glass of wine, according to the source. A little "gentle teasing" goes on between the members (Coburn and Durbin are especially known for this), but the members take the substance "quite seriously," said the source, adding, "There isn't really a single person pushing the talks along, it's a real group effort. You know, they frankly didn't know each other particularly well before this started, and they've grown pretty close over the last five months." 

The good humor will serve the group well when and if they can produce a package. At least 20 senators, Republican and Democrat, are waiting for the finished product, anxious to support some kind of deficit and debt reform package ahead of any debt ceiling increase. 

But there are many others who have cast a gloomy eye on the bipartisan work of the group. With Social Security reform on the table, according to Warner, the group is poised to run headlong into the powerful Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, who told reporters recently, "Social Security has not contributed one penny to the deficit. Leave Social Security alone." 

Then there's Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Reid's GOP counterpart, and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who have said, emphatically, that tax increases are off the table, a position long a part of GOP orthodoxy. But Chambliss, along with Coburn and Crapo, has said that times have changed and that, most definitely, tax hikes will be in the final product, likely in the form of eliminated tax deductions in favor of personal and corporate tax rate reductions. 

"I'm taking arrows from some on the far right," Chambliss told the Rotary Club of Atlanta in a recent appearance with Warner, adding, "Are some people going to pay more in taxes? You bet." 

That will, no doubt, mobilize the influential anti-tax advocacy group Americans for Tax Reform, run by Grover Norquist, who doggedly holds lawmakers to their no-tax-increase pledge. 

Already, Coburn has been at loggerheads with Norquist merely for voicing support for a compromise on revenue measures, and the senator's spokesman now labels Norquist the "chief cleric of sharia tax law." And the arrows have continued in GOP circles, with one conservative blogger, Erick Erickson of Redstate.com, recently asking in a recent post, "Is Saxby Chambliss Becoming a Democrat?" 

Still, even in the face of so much bipartisan opposition, gang members are increasingly signaling that a deal is near. 

"I think there's a good chance that we'll be able to come up with a bipartisan agreement that people can swallow," Coburn predicted on "Fox News Sunday." 

"Nobody is going to like what we come up with," Coburn added, "The left isn't going to like it, and the right isn't going to like it. And that's one thing that would be an indicator that is probably the best compromise we're going to be able to get. So, I think there's a good likelihood that we can get there. It's not a sure thing." 

And Warner warned, "If we fail to take this seriously, and if our deficit and debt discussions turn into just another game of political brinksmanship, this could result in the most predictable economic crisis in our history."

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