Bashir says army to continue campaign in oil state (Reuters)

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said the army would continue its campaign in the flashpoint of South Korfodan, state news agency SUNA said on Friday, dashing hope of a ceasefire ahead of southern secession.

In his first comments since returning from a visit to China, Bashir seemed to contradict comments by a northern official this week that north and south had agreed "in principle" on a ceasefire in the northern oil state.

Fighting between the northern military and southern-aligned armed groups broke out in Southern Kordofan on June 5 and has escalated to include artillery and warplanes. More than 60,000 people are believed to have fled the fighting, the United Nations said.

Both U.S. President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon have urged a ceasefire in the state to defuse tensions before the south becomes independent on July 9.

"He directed the armed forces to continue their military operations in South Kordofan until a cleasening of the region is over," SUNA quoted Bashir as telling worshippers during Friday prayers.

The military campaign would only stop with the arrest of Abdelaziz el-Helu, the candidate of the southern ruling party Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the governorship vote there in May.

Helu had accused Khartoum of rigging the vote he had lost. Khartoum denied the charges, and the biggest international observer group called the outcome of the vote "credible."

Bashir called Helu an outlaw that needed to be brought to justice for committing crimes such as killing innocent people, SUNA said.

North and south had agreed during Bashir's absence in China on a demilitarized buffer zone at the joint 2,000 kilometer long border, raising hopes of a ceasefire in South Kordofan.

On Wednesday, a northern state minister said both sides had agreed "in principle" at talks in Ethiopia to hold a ceasefire in South Kordofan pending details that needed to be worked out.

Southern Kordofan is important to the north because it has the most productive oil fields that will remain under Khartoum's control after the split. The south could take as much as 75 percent of Sudan's 500,000 barrels per day of oil output.

Southern Kordofan also borders the disputed Abyei territory and Darfur, a western region that is the scene of another insurgency.

The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a U.S.-drafted resolution authorizing deployment of 4,200 Ethiopian troops to the Abyei region for a six-month period.

South Sudan voted for independence under a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war but both sides have yet to solve many issues such as sharing oil revenues or assets.

(Reporting by Khaled Abdelaziz and Ulf Laessing, Editing by Matthew Jones)

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Spain protests continue despite ban

Madrid (CNN) -- Spanish youths on Saturday protested across the country for a seventh day over the economic crisis, in defiance of a 48-hour ban ahead of local elections.

Thousands of people crammed into the center of Madrid, as well as many other cities, angry over soaring unemployment rates.

"We intend to continue, because this is not about Sunday's elections it's about social cutbacks," Carmen Sanchez, a spokeswoman for the protesters in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square, told Agence-France Presse.

As a ban ordered by Spain's election commission took effect at the chimes of midnight, the protesters chanted: "Now we are all illegal" and "the people united will never be defeated," according to the agency.

The supreme court's decision to overturn an appeal against the ban came two days ahead of local and regional elections that are scheduled across the Iberian nation. The ruling meant no such protests could legally occur on Saturday.

This follows a ruling from late Thursday, when Spain's electoral board said the demonstrations, organized largely via social media networks, would be banned on Saturday. That day is supposed to be a "day of reflection" for voters -- the idea being that there should be no campaigning immediately preceding Sunday's balloting -- the board said.

The government of the ruling Socialist Party appear to have decided -- so far --that the police should keep a safe distance, as they did last Wednesday when a demonstration was banned but went ahead anyway. Socialist politicians are widely expected to suffer deep losses to the conservatives, according to recent polls.

Economist Fernando Fernandez of the IE Business School predicted that police would try to peacefully seal off Puerta del Sol plaza to prevent more demonstrators from arriving, and let those in the plaza eventually leave.

We intend to continue, because this is not about Sunday's elections it's about social cutbacks.
--Protest spokeswoman Carmen Sanchez

"The government does not want to have any sort of violence taking place the day prior to the elections. This would have a very large political cost and electoral cost," Fernandez told CNN.

"People want to participate. This is a fiesta of democracy," Sofia de Roa, another spokeswoman for the protesters, told CNN.

Demonstrators are protesting Spain's 21% unemployment rate, the highest in the euro zone, and a record 4.9 million people who are out of work. The jobless rate for youth -- those between ages 15 and 24 -- is 42%.

Protesters say that many temporary labor contracts offer few or no job benefits. In addition, some are protesting against the political and financial establishment that they say is to blame.

The protests appear to have gained momentum in the closing days of the campaign. They have captured considerable news media coverage, and all major parties have acknowledged them.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said in an interview with SER radio on Friday that voters ultimately will decide whether and how much change will be made.

On Sunday, voters in Spain's 8,000 cities and towns will elect mayors, along with 13 out of 17 regional presidents and parliaments. The results are expected to be a bellwether for national elections, which must happen no later than March 2012.

De Roa, a journalist who works for a university communications office, said protester assemblies, their ad hoc decision-making bodies, have called for a demonstration on Saturday night despite the no-campaigning tradition on the eve of a Spanish election.

She said the protests also are expected to continue nightly, even after the elections.

"We're not leaving until there's a change," she said, standing amid thousands of protesters in Madrid's emblematic central square. "Until a politician commits to implementing the proposals here."

Beatriz Elosegui, a government worker, said Thursday she had been to several protests since they started on Sunday. Her husband, an advertising executive, is out of work and her son is about to finish his training to become an electrician but has few job prospects, she said.

Two young men who appeared to be the only ones wearing suits and ties in the crowd said they showed up Thursday for the first time. Both said they work as accountants, and one, Andres Maldonado, complained of tight credit that is squeezing homeowners and small businesses. He said government efforts to inject liquidity into the financial system are not working.

Besides Madrid, there were also protests in Barcelona, Valencia and other cities in Spain. Up to a few hundred protesters have camped out in central squares each night, but the main protests are in the evening.

Some in the crowd said they would vote on Sunday, including de Roa. But she said she would change her vote from the Communist-led United Left to an even more leftist party, which she hadn't chosen yet. Elosegui said she would vote for the Humanist Party.

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Palin Supports Wisconsin's Governor as Protests Continue Over Labor Law

April 16: Supporters cheer as they listen to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speak at a tax day tea party rally in Madison, Wis. (AP)

MADISON, Wis. –  Sarah Palin defended Wisconsin's governor at a tea party tax day rally Saturday, telling hundreds of supporters that his union rights law is designed to save public jobs.

Braving snow showers and a frigid wind outside the state Capitol building, the former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate told tea partyers she's glad to stand with Gov. Scott Walker. Hundreds of labor supporters surrounded the rally, trying to drown Palin out with chants of "Hey-hey, ho-ho, Scott Walker has got to go!" and "Recall Walker!"

"Hey, folks! He's trying to save your jobs and your pensions!" Palin yelled into the microphone. "Your governor did the right thing and you won! Your beautiful state won! And people still have their jobs!"

Walker, a Republican, signed a bill into law last month that calls for almost all public workers to contribute more to their pensions and health care coverage, changes that amount to an average 8 percent pay cut. The plan also strips them of their right to collectively bargain on anything except wages.

Walker has said the law will help balance a $3.6 billion hole in the state budget and give local governments the flexibility they need to absorb deep cuts in state aid. Democrats, though, think Walker wants to weaken unions, one of their strongest constituencies.

Tens of thousands of people descended on the Capitol to protest nonstop for weeks against the plan and minority Democrats in the state Senate fled to Illinois to block a vote in that chamber, drawing national attention to the controversy.

Republicans eventually passed the plan without them and Walker signed the measure in early March. Democrats managed to win a temporary court order blocking the law from taking effect, but tensions are still running high over the measure.

Capitol Police estimated about 6,500 people converged on the building Saturday, but said it was impossible to tell how many were tea partyers and how many were labor supporters. The Capitol Police is a division of the Wisconsin Department of Administration, a Walker cabinet agency.

The tea partyers appeared clustered in front of the building, waving "Don't Tread on Me" flags and signs that read "Public workers

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Southwest to cancel about 100 flights as inspections continue

Hole forces a Boeing 737 to landSTORY HIGHLIGHTSA hole opened on top of a Boeing 737 during flightDuring inspections, investigators find indications of cracks in three other aircraftThe inspections are expected to be complete on TuesdayBoeing declines to comment on the possible cause of the incident (CNN) -- Southwest Airlines expects to cancel about 100 flights from its Monday schedule as investigators continue inspecting its fleet, the airline said.

The Texas-based airline grounded 79 planes for inspection after a hole opened on top of a Boeing 737 mid-flight Friday.

It canceled approximately 600 flights to accommodate the inspections: 300 on Saturday and 300 flights on Sunday.

So far, investigators have found indications of cracks in three other aircraft, the National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday.

Of the planes inspected, 19 had returned to service by Sunday afternoon, the airline said.

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Openly gay sailor can continue to serve

A copy of a "don't ask, don't tell" study shown at a Pentagon briefing in November in Arlington, Virginia. STORY HIGHLIGHTSPanel's vote believed to be first case in which military chose not to enforce DADT policy Three-person panel voted unanimously that Derek Morado not be discharged"This is the first hearing that's resulted in a retention" said Robin McGehee of Get Equal (CNN) -- Gay rights advocates claimed victory Saturday after an administrative panel in California this week recommended not to discharge an openly homosexual sailor.

Although "don't ask, don't tell" is not repealed, the panel's vote is believed to be the first case in which the military chose not to enforce the controversial policy, according to a gay rights organization.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Derek Morado, 26, was facing military discharge after a comrade reported that he saw photos posted of the gay serviceman on Myspace kissing another man.

"I'm relieved it's over and I'm glad I get to continue serving," Morado told CNN on Saturday. "I've had plenty of time for the news to digest, but I'm still so relieved. I just want to continue doing what I have been doing

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