Rival groups march over king's reforms in Morocco (Reuters)

CASABLANCA, Morocco (Reuters) – Thousands of rival demonstrators marched through cities in Morocco on Sunday over constitutional reforms proposed by King Mohammed after unrest inspired by "Arab Spring" uprisings in the Arab world.

Critics of the reforms say they do not go far enough to reduce his powers. The march against the monarch's measures was the latest in a wave of protests in the North African state and comes days before a July 1 referendum on the reform plan.

"We reject the offers made (by the king). They keep the essence of authority in the hands of a non-elected person who will not be subject to any form of accountability," said Hamid, a jobless 38-year-old among 7,000 protesters who marched through a working class suburb of Casablanca, Morocco's largest city.

Aziz Yaakoubi, a member of the "February 20" pro-democracy street movement named after its founding date, said two of the protesters were injured after being pelted with stones by a group of rival demonstrators in favor of the king's reform.

A smaller rally of about 2,000 people opposed to the king's proposals marched through the capital Rabat, separated from rival marchers by dozens of baton-wielding riot police.

"The police encircled us, they didn't let us march to the parliament," said Najib Chawki, one of the coordinators of the movement, which is urging supporters to boycott the vote. "It shows that the powers in Morocco have no interest in changing."

The 47-year-old king unveiled the reforms this month after some of the largest street protests the Arab world's longest-serving dynasty has seen for decades. His fortunes are being watched by other monarchs, notably in the Gulf.

PREACHERS TOLD TO BACK REFORM

The new charter still allows him to name a prime minister -- but this time only from the party that wins most seats at parliamentary elections -- and to vet appointments of other ministers and suggest the termination of their mandates.

It explicitly grants the government executive powers, but it keeps the king at the helm of the army, religious authorities and the judiciary and still allows him to dissolve parliament, though not unilaterally as it is the case now.

The Moroccan street movement has not won the mass support that toppled leaders of Tunisia and Egypt and does not demand an end to the monarchy. It focuses instead on the king's perceived growing business influence and his grip on the political system.

National income per head in Morocco was $2,810 in 2009, according to the World Bank, higher than Egypt's $2,070.

But Morocco ranks 13 places below Egypt at 117th in the United Nations' Human Development Index, a measure of quality of life based on factors such as child welfare and life expectancy.

"Surely there is graft and a lot of oppression. But the new constitution will change everything," said 19-year-old Casablanca resident Karim Azhari.

"It will bring state education up to the same level as the private sector and it will reduce unemployment," he said. Asked why he thought that, he replied: "That's what they tell us."

Authorities on Friday ordered mosque preachers to urge worshippers to vote for the reform, saying it would be unIslamic to disobey the king, described in sermons as "God's appointee."

Mustapha Nazih, a cleric at a pro-reform march in Casablanca organized by Boutchichiya Zawiya, one of Morocco's biggest and wealthiest sufi schools, said he had come all the way from the town of Beni Mellal, 300 km (190 miles) from Casablanca.

"We didn't have to pay for the bus fare. The Islamic Affairs Ministry asked us to come to Casablanca and we did so happily."

(Writing and additional reporting by Mark John in Rabat; Editing by Matthew Jones)

Yahoo! News

Syria: Soldiers kill 'terrorist groups'

A YouTube video grab shows protesters holding a banner during a pro-democracy demonstration on June 10, 2011."A large number" of arrests are made, state media reports "A number of "armed" terrorists are killed or woundedThe conflicts in Syria has raged for three months

(CNN) -- Syrian soldiers working to retake a rebellious northern town killed, wounded and arrested members of "armed terrorist groups" operating in the region, state media reported Saturday.

This development unfolded as Syrian troops on Friday afternoon came to the entrances of the city, Jisr Al-Shugur, in an operation "to restore security and tranquility to the area which was being terrorized by armed terrorist groups," the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.

This military offensive took place amid anti-government protests raging across Syria for nearly three months, outpourings that have led to violent security crackdowns on demonstrators.

Syria's Bashar al-Assad regime has consistently blamed what it calls armed gangs for the bloodshed over the last three months. But activists and protesters say security forces have caused the violence.

The Syrian government announced it would punish Jisr Al-Shugur after it accused "armed groups" of killing at least 120 security forces there several days ago.

Syrian refugees who fled to Turkey disputed that claim, saying some of the soldiers rebelled after being ordered to fire on unarmed protesters and instead started fighting among themselves.

The military advance spread panic throughout the civilian population, and residents said they had evacuated women and children from Jisr Al-Shugur in recent days. More than 3,800 Syrians have fled to Turkey, the Anatolia news agency reported.

In the nearby town of Maaret al-Nouman on Friday, Syrian security forces and helicopters advancing toward Jisr Al-Shugur sprayed automatic weapons fire into a crowd of thousands of protesters demonstrating after Friday prayers.

As the army reached Jisr Al-Shugur, it "arrested a large number of the armed terrorist group members and killed and wounded a number of them, despite the fact that these groups resorted to setting up traps using dynamites stolen from Wadi Abyad dam area," SANA reported, citing Syrian TV.

The military confiscated machine guns, explosive devices, detonators and Turkish SIM cards from those arrested, state TV reported on Saturday.

"Cameramen and reporters" were ambushed at the entrance of Jisr Al-Shugur "after they came under heavy fire by the terrorist armed gangs." It said the journalists were doing well and there were no casualties.

"The army managed to foil the armed groups' attempts to besiege the grain silos in the area. The group had threatened to burn crops and any vehicle that attempts to transport groups to the silos," SANA reported.

Protests spread across Syria on Friday and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 25 people were killed in various locations, including 11 in Maaret al-Nouman.

Amnesty International said it believes that more than 1,100 people have been killed in the three-lcrackdown, including 82 children.

Every Friday for weeks, anti-government marches have been organized after Muslim prayers. Friday's expression of discontent was called "the Friday of kinship."'

CNN

Independent groups expected to rake in hundreds of millions

Outside groups' influence in 2012STORY HIGHLIGHTS Democratic third-party groups aim to raise up to $200 million in outside money for 2012
Democrats say they were trounced by GOP-aligned third-party groups in 2010 races
Groups grew after Supreme Court ruling allowing unlimited contributions by corporations
Conservative insists labor unions already help Democrats dominate outside spending RELATED TOPICSBarack ObamaPolitical PartiesU.S. Presidential ElectionKarl Rove Washington (CNN) -- As President Barack Obama kicks off the 2012 money race with a series of well-publicized re-election fundraisers in Chicago, Democratic operatives are quietly crisscrossing the nation to raise big money for new independent expenditure groups.

All told, these Democratic third-party groups aim to raise up to $200 million in outside money -- that's in addition to the $1 billion Obama's fundraisers set as their campaign goal. The number and size of the independent expenditure groups ballooned last year, thanks in part a Supreme Court ruling that allows unlimited contributions by corporations.

Obama heads home to kick off fundraising

There is some irony here: Obama has denounced these secretive third-party groups as tools of "powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans." But now Democrats say, after they were trounced in the 2010 midterm elections by GOP-aligned third-party groups --- including those founded by Karl Rove and the Koch brothers --- they have no choice but to join them.

Obama re-election campaign touts small-dollar contributions

Monica Dixon, the executive director of Majority PAC, one of these new groups, says, "We were just outgunned and outmanned last cycle. We didn't do a good job of supporting our candidates against this barrage of money that was spent against them. And so this cycle we are engaged. We are going to raise the money to defend our candidates against these attacks."

Analysis: Why Obama really announced today: M-o-n-e-y

Among the new Democratic groups are four SuperPACS, which are expected to be up and running by the end of this month. They are:

• House Majority PAC, which launched this week, is focused on helping Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives. It's run by three strategists previously involved in House campaigns and is planning ads that target vulnerable Republicans during the April congressional recess.

• Majority PAC was put together by some of the Democratic Party's most seasoned Senate campaign operatives. It will focus on ensuring that Democrats keep control of the Senate. They've begun raising money and choosing targets. Their goal, one operative says, is to start defining Republicans early in the cycle.

• A group dedicated to supporting Obama's re-election bid will open later this month. Helmed by former White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney, former top aide to ex-Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, it aims to compete with American Crossroads --- the Rove-founded group --- which plans to raise $120 million this cycle.

• And a fourth group, American Bridge 21st Century, will provide opposition research and communications for Democratic races for Congress and the presidency. Founded by conservative-turned-liberal activist David Brock and chaired by former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, it has a more far-reaching goal. In a statement to CNN, Rodell Mollineau, its president, says he hopes hopes to build the group "into an enduring political research and communications powerhouse."

Chris Harris, spokesman for American Bridge, tells CNN, "We are investing in a massive war room so we can define (GOP) candidates before they define themselves."

Organizers say the groups -- which are banned from coordinating with the campaigns -- are working with one another. Sources familiar with their plans tell CNN that American Bridge aims to raise $20 million to $30 million, the Burton-Sweeney presidential effort would try to raise $120 million, and in order to be competitive, Majority PAC would need to bring in $50 million to $100 million. There are no early projections for House Majority PAC's numbers.

Steven Law, president of the conservative outside group American Crossroads, insists that Democrats already dominate outside spending -- thanks to labor unions. "For years now the unions have perfected the art of doing outside campaign ads, outside voter turnout activity," Law said, adding, "We created American Crossroads to be a counterpoint to what the unions and other groups like Moveon.org have done very effectively for the last several elections."

He predicts liberal groups will outspend conservatives this cycle. But Democratic fundraisers laugh that off, saying Republicans can raise far more money from deep-pocketed donors.

Apparently, it's a race to lower expectations.

Many new Republican-aligned groups popped up last election, including the American Action Network, supported by top Republican fundraiser Fred Malek and former Sen. Norm Coleman on its board.

Other major players on the conservative side: the Chamber of Commerce, Americans for Prosperity and the Club for Growth, all of which made major investments in the midterm campaign ads against Democratic candidates.

American Crossroads and affiliate Crossroads GPS is the behemoth on the scene. Co-founded by Rove, it raised $71 million and in its first year last cycle and saturated the airwaves in some hotly contested campaigns. For the coming election, it says it hopes to raise $120 million. The group tells CNN within weeks it will air ads related to the federal budget fight.

"This is one election where literally everything is at stake: the White House, the Senate majority, the House majority and even the courts for potentially a generation so everybody's very engaged and interested. And they want to continue to play and hopefully affect the direction of the country in a positive way," American Crossroads' Law says.

One independent conservative group last weekend started airing a commercial in some key battleground states critical of the president. The spot, titled "Barack Obama's Legacy of Failure," was sponsored by the Campaign to Defeat Barack Obama.

Conservative group puts out anti-Obama TV ad

A number of these groups on both sides of the aisle are affiliated with highly secretive organizations known as 501(c)(4) groups ( a reference to their designation in the tax code), which don't have to report their donors to the Federal Election Commission.

Groups not directly affiliated with political parties accounted for $298.5 million in political spending during the 2010 midterms, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks the influence of money in politics.

This time around, expect even more.

"The numbers will dwarf the roughly $300 million in outside spending we witnessed in 2010. The only question that remains is, by how much?" said Dave Levinthal, a spokesman for the center.

CNN political research director Robert Yoon contributed to this report.

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