New San Francisco sheriff faces domestic violence charges

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - New San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi faces domestic abuse charges less than a week after taking office, officials said.

Mirkarimi is charged with misdemeanor counts of domestic violence battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness, according to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office.

The charges stem from an alleged incident on New Year's Eve with his wife, Eliana Lopez, a former Venezuelan TV actress. She

told reporters last week that she was not pressing charges and objected to the cases against her husband. The couple have a 2-year-old son.

"Regardless of whether the victim supports a prosecution, it is the state's and my office's obligation to ensure the safety of the victim," District Attorney George Gascon said in a written statement.

Mirkarimi, 50, was sworn in on January 8 as the first new sheriff San Francisco has seen in three decades. He narrowly won an open race in November after incumbent Sheriff Michael Hennessey announced his retirement.

The investigation had already begun when he took office. Charges were filed on Friday.

In remarks to reporters outside City Hall on Friday, Mirkarimi said the charges were "very unfounded." Lopez called the case "unbelievable."

Mirkarimi is a Chicago native who has lived in San Francisco for 27 years, according to his campaign website. He was elected to the county's board of supervisors in 2004 and was a district attorney investigator in San Francisco for nine years.

(With reporting by Emmett Berg in San Francisco and Karen Brooks in Austin. Writing by Karen Brooks.)

(Reporting By Ian Simpson)

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British riots spread on third night of violence (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – Rioting and looting spread across London on Monday as hooded youths set buildings and cars ablaze, smashed shop windows and hurled bottles and stones at police in a third night of violence in Britain's worst unrest in decades.

Prime Minister David Cameron cut short his holiday to fly home to tackle the violence, which appeared to be led by youths alienated by years of underemployment which left them feeling marginalized even before the economic downturn.

"It's been building up for years. All it needed was a spark," said E. Nan, a young man in a baseball cap surrounded by other youths in Hackney in east London. "We ain't got no jobs, no money ... We heard that other people were getting things for free, so why not us?"

The violence erupted late on Saturday in London's northern Tottenham district when a peaceful protest over the police shooting of a suspect two days earlier turned violent.

By Monday, the violence had spread to parts of the south of the city, including Clapham Junction, one of London's busiest railway junctions, Woolwich in the capital's southeast and the Ealing area of west London.

Attackers also smashed shops and looted property in the city of Birmingham in central England, police said, in the first sign of the riots spreading beyond the capital.

In Hackney, a multi-ethnic area in east London close to the site of next year's Olympic Games, hooded youths set fire to rubbish bins and pushed them down a street toward police, while hurling bottles and bricks.

Many laughed as they ran back when police charged them.

In a street thick with smoke, looters smashed their way into a local shop, stealing whisky and beer. One man grabbed a packet of cereal, another ran off laughing with four bottles of whisky.

"I am from South Africa and it reminds me of the riots there, except the police here are not so rough," said one middle-aged local resident, who declined to give his name.

"But the kids don't have any respect for the police or for property. It's sad for the people who live round here."

In Peckham, a poor area of south London, flames leapt into the air from a torched building and rubble was strewn across the street.

A Reuters witness saw two people breaking into a shop and ripping a 50-inch plasma television off the wall. A youth in a balaclava carried the screen away and received a round of applause from the watching crowd.

Cameron's office said he would cut short his holiday in Italy to chair a crisis meeting, amid growing calls from the public for officials to take control of the situation.

Even before Monday night's violence, police had arrested 215 people, according to Home Secretary Theresa May.

"The violence we've seen, the looting we've seen, the thuggery we've seen, this is sheer criminality ... these people will be brought to justice, they will be made to face the consequences of their actions," she said.

"SENSELESS"

Despite a heavy presence on some streets, police appeared unable to contain the violence as rioters who had initially coordinated through mobile phones and Twitter became increasingly confident.

Monday's looting began long before nightfall when workers were returning home, many of them forced to walk as buses to areas hit by rioting were canceled.

In Hackney, youths in brown hoods posed for pictures in front of a burning car on a street corner. Others swarmed around a skip full of bricks and gathered them up.

"I don't know why they are doing this," said a middle-aged woman who lived nearby. "It's senseless ... they are just cacking on their own doorstep."

The BBC said the Hackney clashes broke out after police stopped and searched a man.

In Clapham, another Reuters witness saw dozens of youths walking in all directions with looted television sets and other electrical goods. He heard two of them discussing the number of Playstation 3s they had stolen, and shouting at another young man to return and get more.

Looters hid their stolen goods in bins and behind the low walls of the Victorian terraced houses typical of Clapham. A large pile of boxed Blackberry phones rested by one wall.

Government officials branded rioters as opportunistic criminals and said the violence would not affect preparations for next summer's Olympic Games.

But the television pictures of rioting and blazing buildings, combined with disarray in the transport network, were likely to dent the capital's image as Britain struggles to avoid an economic recession.

Youths appeared to have used a free message service on Blackberry mobile phones to coordinate attacks on shops and police.

Research In Motion, the Canadian manufacturer of Blackberry smartphones, said it would work with British authorities, but gave no details on what information, if any, it would give the police.

Some have described the disturbances as a cry for help from poor areas reeling from the government's harsh austerity cuts to tackle a big budget deficit, with youth services and other facilities cut back sharply.

"It's very sad to see ... But kids have got no work, no future and the cuts have made it worse. These kids are from another generation to us and they just don't care," said Anthony Burns, 39, an electrician from Hackney. "You watch. It's only just begun."

Officials said there was no excuse.

"It was needless, opportunistic theft and violence, nothing more, nothing less. It is completely unacceptable," said Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

(Additional reporting by Adrian Croft, Mohammed Abbas, Matt Falloon, Avril Ormsby and Jon Hemming; Writing by Myra MacDonald, editing by Tim Pearce)

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Yemen's Saleh to reappear as violence grips south (Reuters)

RIYADH/SANAA (Reuters) – Wounded Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, not seen in public since an attack on his palace in early June, is well enough to return soon to Yemen and will make a media appearance within the next couple of days.

Speculation about Saleh's health and the likelihood of his return to Yemen have been rife since he was hurt in a bomb blast on June 3 in a mosque in his presidential palace. He flew to Saudi Arabia for treatment, leaving behind a country on the verge of civil war.

The president has not been seen in public since the explosion, which killed several people and wounded the prime minister, two deputy prime ministers and the speakers of both parliamentary chambers. It is not clear what role if any Saleh, under pressure to step down, sees for himself in ruling Yemen.

"He will appear within the next 48 hours despite our fear that the burns on his features and on different parts of his body will be an obstacle given that his appearance will not be as the media expects it," said Ahmed al-Sufi, the President's media secretary.

Yemen has been rocked by months of protests against Saleh's three decades of rule. Before that he was grappling with a rebellion in the north, separatist violence in the south and a resurgent wing of al Qaeda.

Sufi said Saleh was in good health and continued to direct Yemeni affairs from abroad. Saleh's deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has been at the helm while the president recovers.

A source close to the president said Saleh's condition was good enough to allow him to travel to Yemen soon.

"The bomb in the mosque was in close proximity to the president when it went off. He was really lucky to get out," the source, who was with Saleh during the attack, told Reuters.

Saleh is suffering from burns but they cover less than 40 percent of his body, the source said, addressing reports in recent weeks about the extent of his injuries.

Yemeni officials previously accused an opposition tribal coalition of shelling the palace, which it denied.

ANTI-SALEH MARCH

Last week, a Western diplomat told Reuters Saleh was unlikely to return home soon, as Saudi Arabia and the United States continue to push for a transfer of power under an existing Gulf Arab proposal for a transition in Yemen.

They fear a power vacuum and tribal warfare will be exploited by the local wing of al Qaeda to launch attacks in the Gulf region and beyond.

Tens of thousands marched in Sanaa on Sunday to demand Saleh leave power, condemning the United States and Saudi Arabia for what they saw as a failure to take a strong stand against him.

"The position of the United States and Saudi Arabia is against our revolution ... We want a transition council to be set up and for the remainders of the regime to leave," said demonstrator Imar Naji, referring to Saleh's sons who hold top military and security posts.

The proposal by Gulf Arab neighbors calls for Saleh to hand power over to his deputy, Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who is acting president, as a step toward forming a new government and preparing for an election.

Ahmed Saleh, the president's son who heads the elite Republican Guards, said he backed Hadi's "efforts ... and meetings with opposition leaders and representatives of the international community to resolve the crisis..."

But he also voiced support for "constitutional legitimacy," terms often used by Saleh backers to justify his refusal to leave power, according to a statement on a Defense Ministry website.

Upon his return, President Saleh aims to propose two solutions, a source close to Saleh said.

"The first is to shift all power to the parliament and become just a figurehead," said the source. "The second will be to let a coalition government be formed and then hold early presidential elections and leave quietly."

VIOLENCE IN SOUTH

Underscoring the chaos in the country, especially in the south, an air raid on Saturday killed six militants on the outskirts of a village at the entrance to the volatile Abyan province.

A local official in Abyan told Reuters three soldiers were killed on Sunday in clashes with jihadist militants who took control of the province's capital Zinjibar in May.

Earlier, authorities detained the head of a prison and his deputy for questioning over the escape of 63 al Qaeda-affiliated inmates in the southern port city of al-Mukalla this week.

The jailbreak stoked fears militants are exploiting the unrest to gain a foothold in the impoverished state, from which they could launch attacks in the region and beyond.

Saleh's opponents say he is deliberately letting militants tighten their grip in the country to prove that only he stands in the way of an Islamist takeover.

In a sign of international unease, The U.N. Security Council voiced "grave concern" with the deteriorating security situation in Yemen, putting aside disagreements that had prevented the 15-nation body from speaking unanimously on the unrest there. (Additional reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf in Aden and Mohammed Ghobari in Sanaa; writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Ralph Boulton)

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Northern Ireland violence raises questions about paramilitary group (The Christian Science Monitor)

Dublin, Ireland – Homes and a Roman Catholic church in Belfast, Northern Ireland, came under attack last night in the city's worst night of sustained violence in recent years. And as riots erupted in a divided Catholic and Protestant area, many are asking why the Ulster Volunteer Force (UFV), the pro-British paramilitary organization being held responsible for the violence, has refused to go away despite having supposedly destroyed its weapons.

In a sign of the progress in combating sectarian divides, politicians from across the political spectrum have condemned the attacks, saying paramilitaries have no role in today's Northern Ireland.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland appealed to "anyone with any influence" work with them to stop future outbreaks of sectarian violence. Still, questions are being raised about the possible power struggles in the group that could disrupt the peace in the broader community.

The Short Strand, a small Catholic and republican enclave on the edge of predominantly Protestant and pro-British east Belfast, has long suffered from so-called “interface violence,” going back to the effective beginning of the Northern Ireland conflict in 1969.

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Willie Ward, who works at St. Matthew's, the local Catholic church in the area, witnessed the attacks.

“It was purely a sectarian attack on the Catholic community, and people came out to defend their homes,” he says. “Two to three hundred loyalists were attempting to climbs the walls of the church and local homes and attacking them with petrol bombs, stones, bricks and paint bombs."

Mr. Ward says locals – including some Protestant neighbors – are shaken: “The people here are afraid, we've had to move pensioners out of their houses. [The paramilitary members] also attacked a bus going through the area, one that included Protestants."

Chris Lyttle, a local lawmaker with the Alliance Party, which says it has no position on Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom or a United Ireland, said that "the orchestrated violence in East Belfast is utterly destructive, unjustifiable, and unrepresentative of the new Northern Ireland. Those engaging in this rioting have nothing to offer the local community and we need political representatives from all backgrounds to take a firm and united stance against it.”

Sammy Douglas, a lawmaker with the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party, the largest group in the powersharing government, says he was "sad and dejected" after witnessing some of the "the worst [rioting] it's been since 1969."

Why is the paramilitary still around?Many are asking, however, why the paramilitary UVF is still in existence.

"For some weeks, there has been sporadic instances of antisocial stone-throwing across the interface in this area," said Belfast's Mayor Niall O Donnghaile, who is a member of the republican party Sinn Fein and a resident of the area. "Local community representatives and politicians have been trying to deal with it with some success. It is important that this good work continues.

"However, what happened last night was not antisocial behavior or a sectarian riot," he stated. "What happened was a well planned and orchestrated attack on the Catholic community in the Short Strand by the UVF."

He says that the UVF's activities in East Belfast have been a cause for concern for some time. "There has been a marked increase in UVF flag-flying, the painting of new paramilitary murals, and significant agitation around Loyal Order parades," Mr. O Donnghaile says.

The UVF, founded in 1966 – three years before the Northern Irish conflict started in earnest – was one of the two pro-British paramilitary organizations involved in the conflict. A total of 481 killings have been attributed to the group. A leading member, Bobby Moffet, was shot dead by members of his own organization in 2009. Earlier in 2009, the group declared it has decommissioned its weapons.

The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, led by retired Canadian General John de Chastelain, oversaw the decommissioning process. Despite this, fears have arisen that a new generation is attempting to seize power within the organization – and is willing to return to sectarian violence in order to achieve it.

Brian Walker, a professor of Irish studies at Queen’s University Belfast, cautions against seeing the violence as part of a campaign to reignite the conflict.

“It appears to have been a manifestation of loyalist disaffection. The loyalist side is less well disciplined than the republican side. It’s hard to see it as a campaign, though the numbers involved [last night] are worrying,” he said.

A community activist working in Protestant east Belfast, who did not wish to be identified, told the Monitor the attacks were a result of a power struggle within loyalist paramilitarism.

“You have to look at what’s happening within the UVF: the loss of leadership and loss of control," he says. "The east Belfast [brigade of the] UVF is flexing its muscles."

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UN chief Ban Ki-moon condemns Syria violence (AP)

BRASILIA, Brazil – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called on Syria's president to stop the bloodshed in his country and engage in dialogue before it's too late.

Since protests began in Syria in March against more than four decades of rule by President Bashar Assad's family, about 1,400 civilians have been killed, according to human rights activists there.

Speaking to journalists in Brazil, his last stop in a South America tour that included Colombia, Argentina and Uruguay, Ban called on Syria's president to "stop killing people" and told reporters that he'd urged Assad to "engage in inclusive dialogue and to take bold measures before it's too late."

While the U.N. Security Council authorized military action to protect civilians in Libya, Russia and China are opposed to a much milder resolution that would condemn Syria for its deadly crackdown on protesters and demand an immediate end to the violence.

The resolution's sponsors — Britain, France, Germany and Portugal — say they have the minimum nine "yes" votes to adopt the measure, but are seeking additional support from Brazil, South Africa and India. Diplomats say the extra support could persuade Russia and China to abstain rather than veto.

At U.N. headquarters in New York, France's U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud said what happens next "will be decided at the highest political level in the capitals."

"We still do think that the council has to react," Araud told reporters. "The situation is not improving. The situation is worsening, and we do think that the council should express itself, and we regret that it has not done so far."

In Brazil, Ban also promised that the U.N. would work to ensure the success of next year's U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development, known as Rio+20, to be held in Brazil next year. Failure to agree on a global framework for dealing with climate change and ensuring manageable growth will have drastic consequences, he said.

"We are now facing food security, energy security, water scarcity and health issues," he said. "All these issues are interlinked. We need to connect the dots, look at the issues in a more comprehensive way."

Brazil hosted the first international summit about the environment in 1992, setting the parameters for future debates on climate change. The conference scheduled for June 2012, two decades later, will seek to renew international commitment to manageable growth.

___

Associated Press writers Juliana Barbassa in Rio de Janeiro and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

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Violence kills scores in Libya

A man at a shop in Misrata, Libya, looks at photos of those killed in fighting.NEW: NATO says anti-Gadhafi sentiment is growing in LibyaThe deaths occurred in Dafniya and Zawiya, officials sayRebels claim a confiscated document details Gadhafi's plans for MisrataThe document was confiscated a month ago from Gadhafi forces, rebels say

Misrata, Libya (CNN) -- Seven people died Sunday in fighting in the town of Dafniya, Libya, near the besieged city of Misrata, according to a hospital spokesman.

The deaths include a woman who died when a Grad rocket landed in her home, said Khaled Abu Falgha of Misrata's Hekma hospital.

Elsewhere, 15 rebels and about 100 Gadhafi forces were killed Sunday in fighting in Zawiya, according to Ahmed al-Hawary, rebel spokesman in Zawiya.

Dafniya was quiet Sunday evening, said Ibrahim Beit-elmal, a spokesman for the Misrata military committee. On the southern front of Abdul Rauf, the rebels were able to capture 10 Gadhafi forces and a few vehicles after an ambush was set for them, he said.

Also Sunday, rebels in Misrata released a document they claim is a battle plan confiscated last month from forces loyal to longtime Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

CNN obtained the 15-page document -- titled, in part: "Battle plan to cleanse the city of Misrata from militant gangs" from rebels in the city Sunday. The words "top secret" is written at the top of every page. The name of Gadhafi's son, Khamis Moammar Gadhafi, appears on page 10 as commander of the theater.

CNN could not independently verify the authenticity of the document. The rebels said it was confiscated from a high-ranking official near Misrata between May 18 and May 20.

"This document was very useful but only for a short period of time because as soon as Gadhafi brigades found out that we confiscated them, they tried to change their plans," said Abdallah al-Kabeir, a rebel spokesman.

The documents says Misrata is to be "attacked from six different directions with 11,350 fighters, 4,000 of whom are organized troops, (the rest volunteers). The six directions cover the east and the south."

The "mission" is stated as: "To destroy mercenary elements and deceive youth in Misrata using nine brigades. ..."

Al-Kabeir called portions of the document "exaggerated."

"I think the number of troops and equipment mentioned in the document are definitely exaggerated because they wanted to lift their soldiers' low morale. Also, our intelligence on the ground indicated that Gadhafi forces have a lot less people than what this document says."

The Libyan government has not acknowledged the document.

Government spokesman Musa Ibrahim told reporters Sunday that reports rebels were gaining control of some areas were incorrect, although he said "pockets of violence" remain.

About 130 miles (209 kilometers) east of Tripoli, Misrata has been the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting in Libya's civil war.

Since the conflict began in early February, the death toll is believed to be more than 1,000 people in Misrata, including hundreds of civilians, Dr. Khaled Abu Falgha, a spokesman at Misrata's Hekma hospital, said earlier this month. In April, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Tim Hetherington and photojournalist Chris Hondros were killed in Misrata.

The town has been under siege for months from Gadhafi's forces, who have cut off all land acesss, leaving the sea as the only escape route. On May 11, rebels said they seized the Misrata airport. Heavy shelling has been reported in Misrata in recent days as Gadhafi's forces wage a campaign to seize the town back.

Ibrahim said Sunday that bombardment from the sea and air were the only things preventing Gadhafi forces from declaring victory in Misrata.

NATO said in a statement Sunday that precision-guided weapons were used to strike "a technical vehicle, a tank, a multiple rocket launcher and an armored vehicle" in Misrata.

The organization said anti-Gadhafi sentiment "is increasing in Libya as a growing number of Libyans demand the right to choose their own future." Citizens were openly challenging Gadhafi's legitimacy along the nation's northwest coast between Tripoli and the Tunisian border, it said. NATO said it was "monitoring the situation closely and is taking necessary action to protect civilians."

Earlier Sunday, east of Tripoli, an armored vehicle with anti-aircraft guns was struck "as it moved to threaten civilians," NATO said.

The United Arab Emirates on Sunday became the latest nation to recognize the Libyan Transitional National Council "as the sole representative of the LIbya people," the state-run WAM news agency said.

There have been numerous calls for Gadhafi to step down, but Ibrahim said Sunday, "No one has the right to ask any citizen, much less the honorable leader, to leave. Libyans should ask the leader to leave. A foreign diplomat asking is immoral."

CNN's Amir Ahmed, Raja Razek, Jenifer Fenton and Sara Sidner contributed to this report.

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Fleeing violence, Syrian refugees warn of potential massacre (The Christian Science Monitor)

Guvecci, Turkey – Syrian refugees continued to stream into Turkey Thursday, fleeing an expected revenge attack from the regime against their town of Jisr al-Shughur.

Even as Syrian forces began encircling the northwest town, Turkey said its border is open to those trying to escape the violence. By dusk Thursday, 2,400 Syrians had crossed into Turkey at this and another illegal crossing nearby.

"They are killing people, I saw that with my own eyes," says one refugee who gave his name as Abu Ali, a young man in sandals and a T-shirt from Jisr al-Shughur who crossed several times in recent weeks.

Of all the revolutions sweeping through the Middle East, none create a starker dilemma for Turkey than the one tearing apart its ally Syria. So while it is responding to the humanitarian needs of Syrian refugees, it is also going to great lengths to shield Syria from further international criticism.

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Turkish police and local authorities have been ordered to prevent the refugees from telling of their experiences in a city where fighting in the past week caused the death of 120 Syrian security and policemen, according to Syrian authorities.

A closed-circuit camera has been set up along one side of a long fence around the main refugee camp in the town of Yayladagi. Police whistle and wave off journalists who approach the fence; forbidden also are hospitals, where some 35 Syrians are recovering from bullet and shrapnel wounds.

The Turkish regional governor made a visit, passing along the rolling hills, wheat fields, and olive groves of the border line – and its unofficial crossing points – in a convoy of more than 10 vehicles. He eventually stopped at the refugee camp, some miles away, but then roared past waiting journalists – blue and red lights flashing – without making a comment.

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The situation could not be more different than the openness displayed by Turkey regarding Iranian refugees in 2009, and even wounded Libyan refugees brought to Turkey for urgent medical treatment, when some journalists were escorted into their presence in government limousines.

Why Syria is differentFor years, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has worked to strengthen ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose government is now being vilified across the globe for a vicious crackdown that rights activists say have claimed 1,300 lives.

The two leaders refer to each other as "brother," and speak regularly on the phone – most recently on Wednesday. But Syria's dictatorship bears little resemblance to Turkey's democratic system, which sees another test during a general election next Sunday.

Turkey has sought to present itself as a democratic role model across the region a€“ one that takes the side of people power and justice every time. But the contradictions of that policy await the Syrian refugees as they cross the border.

The Syrians who have fled have much to say, and appear eager to do so if not identified.

Abu Ali, who has avoided the refugee camp, says two of his relatives were wounded in protests in the town but disappeared after they went to the hospital. Grim stories are on his mind, creating a profound fear shared by many refugees.

"The military is moving in to kill the people; they are there to intimidate the people – otherwise we wouldn't run away. It has turned into a blood feud, so it is very deep," he says. "Until Assad goes, it will only get worse. They are pressing and torturing the people, because they fear Assad will lose his power."

And if that happens, Turkey is likely to lose some face.

Faint advice from TurkeyMr. Erdogan stated Wednesday that Turkey would "keep our doors open to all Syrians seeking refuge," while Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey had "serious concerns about the situation in Syria." Syria must act "more decisively" on political reforms long-promised by Assad, Mr. Davutoglu added.

But that was faint advice from a nation that has increasingly thrown around its diplomatic weight in recent years, a NATO ally that has become a regional player that has taken on Israel and become closer to Iran.

Turkey's promising diplomatic future appears at risk just 12 miles across the border, where Jisr al-Shughur braces for a new level of retaliation from the regime. Syrian government forces are encircling the town to exact "decisive" revenge for the death of 120 security and police forces during what Damascus called an "ambush" by armed gangs.

Eyewitnesses quoted by wire agencies spoke of a military column of 60 transporters with tanks and armored vehicles, and 10 trucks loaded with soldiers, departed from the city of Aleppo and headed toward Jisr al-Shughur.

Syrian officials have vowed to strike "decisively" against the town. The pro-Assad newspaper Al-Watan reported that the military was now ready to launch an offensive in the province that would last for days. An Associated Press description said the report claimed the military would be battling 2,000 armed gunmen.

Residents were fleeing the area "to give the Syrian army a chance to enter all areas and confront the gunmen."

UN criticizes Syria's actionsSuch threats are coming against a background of rising international pressure on Syria.

"We are receiving an increasing number of alarming reports pointing to the Syrian government's continuing efforts to ruthlessly crush civilian protests," said Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, today. "It is utterly deplorable for any government to attempt to bludgeon its population into submission, using tanks, artillery and snipers."

The problem for Turkey's government is clear in the fine words used to create this alliance in the past.

At a joint press conference in late 2009 in Damascus, for example, Erdogan said: "Syria is our gate to the Middle East, and it is our second home as Turkey is the second home for the Syrians and Syria's gate to Europe."

Assad claimed that the 51 bilateral agreements signed at the meeting would redraw the map of the Middle East, and the two nations had "become ... an example to be followed of brotherly ties between the two people's and countries."

Assad hailed the "strong and common will that we have possessed [to make] joint future."

Praising Erdogan, Assad was speaking for both leaders when he said "whoever respects himself and his homeland gains the support of his people ... and he who uses his cards above the table, not under that table ... gains the respect of the world."

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U.N. condemns violence in Sudan

Marchers protest against the government's military occupation of the Abyei region in southern Sudan.Northern and southern Sudan claim the region of AbyeiThe United Nations wants the north to withdraw its troopsSouthern Sudan plans to secede in July

United Nations (CNN) -- The U.N. Security Council on Friday condemned the violence in the disputed Sudanese region of Abyei and called on the government in the north to pull out its troops.

"The council demands that the government of Sudan withdraw immediately from the Abyei area," the statement said.

The council called on both parties to adhere to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended two decades of Sudanese civil war.

The north has occupied Abyei for about two weeks. Both sides claim the territory in anticipation of southern Sudan's planned secession from the north on July 9.

The council condemns all unilateral actions aimed at swaying the negotiations, the statement said.

On Tuesday, Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman, the Sudanese ambassador to the United Nations, said Sudanese forces for the government based in the north have been exercising restraint.

"We went to Abyei to put the house in order and to the stop any violation by the SPLA (Sudan People's Liberation Army) creating havoc by the armed forces in Abyei," he said. "We immediately declared that our presence there is temporary. We are not going to stay indefinitely in Abyei."

For his part, Ezekiel Gatkuoth, the representative of the Southern Sudanese Mission in United States, urged the Security Council to focus on the situation in his country.

"We are asking the world to intervene immediately so that our people, who were displaced from Abyei, are assisted," he said.

The Security Council statement was read by the ambassador of Gabon to the United Nations, Nelson Messone. That country holds the presidency of the Security Council this month.

CNN

Up to 80 killed in Syrian violence

(CNN) -- The number of people killed by indiscriminate gunfire from government forces in the western Syrian city of Hama on Friday may exceed 80, said the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, citing reliable medical sources.

Killings occurred when security personnel opened fire on demonstrators, who took to the streets after Friday prayers, witnesses said.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in Syria since anti-government demonstrations began in mid-March, according to the United Nations. President Bashar al-Assad's regime has undertaken a fierce crackdown against demonstrations that have demanded governmental reforms.

Demonstrations across the country on Friday were dedicated to children who have taken part in the persistent and angry uprising against the Syrian government.

At least 51 children have been killed by security forces since the anti-government protests started in mid-March, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria said. They include Hamza Ali al-Khateeb, the 13-year-old Daraa boy whose killing has captured the world's attention, and a 4-year-old shot in Rastan, a town in restive Homs province.

"Violence against children must stop and children's safety must be upheld at all times," Marta Santos Pais, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative on violence against children, said on Friday.

"Children need to be protected from unlawful arrest, torture and ill-treatment, and their lives should not be put at risk under any circumstance," she stressed.

CNN has not been granted entrance to Syria and cannot independently confirm the latest reporting from the country.

One witness in Hama, a dentist, told CNN he was taking part in the demonstrations when marchers were "surprised" by the military and the shabiha, armed pro-regime elements, opened fire in what he called an "intense" situation.

The witness provided the names of nine slain people, whose bodies were seized by government supporters.

Another witness there reported at least one demonstration in which tens of thousands of people took to the streets.

The witness said people were heading toward a square in the center of town and chanted, "Freedom, freedom! National unity! Christians and Muslims are one! Leave, leave" and, "The people want the fall of the regime."

That same witness later reported small demonstrations in some areas, with protesters burning tires amid intermittent gunfire.

Hama is the scene of a notorious crackdown a few decades ago.

The Baathist government of Hafez al-Assad, who once ruled Syria, crushed a 1982 revolt in Hama against the Sunnis, who are the majority religious group in Syria. Hafez Al-Assad is the late father of Syria's current president, Bashar al-Assad.

Estimates put the death toll then at between 10,000 and 30,000 people; the exact number was never known. The government has been dominated by the al-Assad family's Alawite community, a minority religious group that is an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said her office was "deeply concerned" with recent reports that Syria's internet services has been shut down.

"We condemn any effort to suppress the Syrian people's exercise of their rights to free expression, assembly, and association," she said in a statement released Saturday.

"We believe that even in the face of significant obstacles, the Syrian people will -- and should -- find a way to make their voices heard," she said.

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Opposition: 8 dead in Syrian violence

Syrian security forces have been accused of brutally suppressing anti-government protests in recent weeks.The dead include two children, according to an opposition groupThree towns in the Homs province were targetedSome of the wounded were reported kidnapped from a hospital

(CNN) -- Eight people, including two children, were killed Sunday when Syrian government forces, in tanks and armored personnel carriers, entered several towns in the Homs province in an attempt to quash protests, according to human rights activists.

The security forces shelled the town of Talbiseh, and one of the shells hit a school bus carrying children, according to protest organizers known as local coordination councils.

Cars were diverted on area highways, meaning the town's residents had to run through fields to a nearby town to escape the shelling, the councils said. The towns of Deir Ba'albeh and Teir Ma'alleh were also targeted, the group said.

Syrian troops fired on civilians, according to the organizers.

Some of the wounded, mostly young men in their 20s, were kidnapped as they arrived at the national hospital, the councils said. They were taken to an unknown destination.

On Saturday, the death toll from violence Friday rose to 13, according to human rights activists.

CNN has not been granted access into Syria and is unable to independently verify the accounts.

Since March, Syria has been torn by street protests against political repression and a fierce security crackdown against demonstrators. The government's harsh actions toward marchers and its thousands of mass arrests have drawn widespread criticism.

Roughly 830 people have been killed in the protests, according tot he Syrian Human Rights Information Link. That number does not include security personnel, which the Syrian government claims died in attacks from "armed groups."

State media reported last week that the Syrian government has offered to hear complaints from citizens for four hours every Monday. "Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar ... specified Monday or every week for meeting citizens and listening to their complaints related to the Interior Ministry from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ministry in Dummar," state news agency SANA reported on Saturday.

Citizens may also "continue" to file "written complaints via the complaint boxes distributed in front of police departments" and the ministry's website, SANA said.

The United States has imposed sanctions on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials. This month, U.S. President Barack Obama singled Syria out for criticism during a speech on the Middle East.

However, in contrast to the sweeping multi-national push against Libya and its embattled leader, Moammar Gadhafi, there has not been any similar movement yet regarding Syria.

Gerard Araud, France's ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters on Friday it is unlikely there will be any U.N. Security Council vote on Syria through at least the end of May -- when France's rotation as the council president ends.

Another diplomat on the Security Council said Thursday that members did not want to submit a resolution only to have it vetoed by Russia or China, both permanent council members.

"As France, I think we would like a vote as soon as possible," Araud said. "But personally, I don't feel we are there."

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Grief, anger in Syria after deadly violence

Syrian soldiers prepare to hand over an elderly Syrian woman who was caught trying to cross the border into northern Lebanon.NEW: A massive funeral procession in HomsNEW: A human rights group says at least 44 people died on Azadi Friday11 people, seven of whom were injured, crossed the border to Turkey

(CNN) -- At least one person was killed and dozens more were injured on Saturday when security forces in the restive Syrian city of Homs Saturday greeted anguished mourners with brute force, an activist told CNN.

The latest confrontation rattled a country on edge after at least 44 people died in Homs and other cities Friday when Syrian security personnel fired at demonstrators, according to the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria.

The violence erupted after as tens of thousands of people marched in a funeral procession and went to a graveyard to bury some of the Friday's victims, the activist said. The assault began after mourners were filing out of the cemetery, the activist said.

"We were chanting and praying for the martyrs and they just sprayed us with their bullets. I saw seven to eight people on the ground bleeding and moaning. I ran as fast as I could as bullets flew past us towards the fields and hid among the olive trees until another mourner saw me and helped me walk to the main road," the activist said.

"From there I ran to my apartment to see my wife and children. We live very close to the graveyard and I can still hear the sound of heavy gunfire coming from the area."

Security forces earlier used force against 300 demonstrators in Homs who were demanding the right of mourners to march through the city center. But security forces forcefully put down the turnout in about 30 minutes, and many of the demonstrators were arrested.

Later Saturday, tens of thousands of people gathered for the funeral procession on the outskirts of the city to bury eight victims of the Friday demonstrations, and it appeared the event would remain peaceful.

The miles-long funeral procession defiantly passed by army stations and several tanks, but the marchers were greeted kindly by soldiers to which the crowd responded by chanting, "The people and the army are one hand."

However, violence erupted as security forces stepped in, the activist said. Mourners quickly dispersed some into the graveyards and surrounding fields, and gunfire could be heard.

CNN has not been granted access into Syria and is unable to independently verify witness accounts.

The deaths occurred after demonstrations broke out after Friday prayers in Syrian cities, as they have for weeks.

Every week, the demonstrations have particular themes. May 20 was Azadi Friday in honor of the Syrian Kurdish protesters. Azadi means "freedom" in Kurdish.

A military source quoted by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said at least 17 civilians and security personnel were killed on Friday by the unidentified "armed groups" the government has been blaming for the discord.

For two months, Syria has been torn by street protests against political repression and a fierce security crackdown against demonstrators.

The government's fierce actions toward marchers and its thousands of mass arrests have drawn widespread criticism.

Around 830 people have been killed in protests, according to the Syrian Human Rights Information Link.

That number does not include security personnel, many of whom have been killed in attacks by "armed groups," according to the Syrian government.

The United States has imposed sanctions on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials. On Thursday, President Barack Obama singled out Syria for criticism during his speech on the Middle East.

The clashes have spurred people to flee to other countries, such as Turkey and Lebanon.

Seven injured Syrians and four others people crossed the border into Turkey and were brought to Antakya state hospital Friday night, according to a doctor and the Hatay province governor quoted by Turkey's state-run Anatolian Agency.

The doctor at the Antakya State Hospital said the patients were between the ages of 25 and 40 and the injuries stemmed from gunshots. One patient was in intensive care and some of them had injuries on their feet. Another patient who was shot on the eye, was transferred to the university hospital in Hatay.

About 250 Syrians fled to Turkey end of April, mostly from Latakia, on the western coast of Syria. They have been living in a tent camp set up by the Turkish Red Crescent for them in the border town of Yayladagi since then.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and al-Assad developed close ties between Turkey and Syria in recent years.

Turkey lifted visa restrictions on Syrian visitors last year. But escalating violence in Syria is increasing worries of the Turkish government which has been advocating a "zero problems" foreign policy with its neighbors.

The U.N. refugee agency on Friday said it is helping serve the thousands of Syrians who "escaped to the border areas of Wadi Khaled and Tall Bire in northern Lebanon. "

"Local leaders say some 1,400 people have crossed into these two regions over the past week from Tall Kalakh in Syria.

"This is in addition to those that have crossed since late April. Local authorities estimate that around 4,000 Syrians have crossed to Lebanon recently," the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said.

The agency said many have found refuge with host families or relatives and some have taken shelter in a school.

The Human Rights Watch on Friday said locally elected officials are estimating that 3,500 Syrians "are currently present" in the Wadi Khaled area.

But it criticized Lebanon's security forces for detaining Syrian refugees in some instances.

It said nine Syrian men and a child have been detained since Sunday. The relatives and friends of these people said they fled to Lebanon because they were afraid Syrian forces would arrest or shoot them.

"Lebanese authorities should instead provide them with at least temporary asylum, and above all refrain from deporting them back to Syria," Human Rights Watch said.

"Syria welcomed many Lebanese fleeing war back in 2006," said Nadim Houry, Beirut director at Human Rights Watch.

"Now it's time to return the favor. Lebanon should be offering immediate refuge to Syrians fleeing death or torture in their country."

CNN's Arwa Damon, Yesim Comert, Hamdi Alkhshali, Salma Abdelaziz and Joe Sterling contributed to this report

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Israel-Palestinian violence erupts on three borders (Reuters)

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli troops shot Palestinian protesters who surged toward its frontiers with Syria, Lebanon and Gaza on Sunday, killing at least 13 people on the day Palestinians mourn the establishment of Israel in 1948.

In the deadliest such confrontation in years of anniversary clashes usually confined to the West Bank and Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire in three separate border locations to prevent crowds of demonstrators from crossing frontier lines.

The new challenge to Israel came from the borders of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Gaza -- all home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled or were driven out in 1948.

Combined with a public relations disaster last year over the killing of pro-Palestinian activists in a Gaza aid flotilla and a determined Palestinian diplomatic drive to win U.N. recognition of statehood in September this year, the bloody border protests raised the stakes further for Israel.

Israel's leaders condemned the incidents as provocations inspired by Iran, to exploit Palestinian nationalist feeling fueled by the popular revolts of the "Arab Spring," and to draw attention from major internal unrest in Syria, Iran's ally.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped the confrontations would not escalate.

"We hope the calm and quiet will quickly return. But let nobody be misled: we are determined to defend our borders and sovereignty," Netanyahu said.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah movement holds sway in the Israeli occupied West Bank and is ready to negotiate peace with Israel, said in a televised address that those killed were martyrs to the Palestinian cause.

"Their precious blood will not be wasted. It was spilled for the sake of our nation's freedom," Abbas said.

HAMAS PRAISES CLASHES

But Islamist Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip and which last month sealed a surprise reconciliation pact with its bitter rival Fatah, issued a warning that Palestinians would accept nothing less than return to all lands lost in 1948.

Spokesman Taher Al-Nono praised the "crowds we have seen in Palestine, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon" as evidence of "imminent victory and return to the original homes as promised by God."

In an apparent contradiction of suggestions that Hamas might ditch its rejection of Israel's right to exist, he said there was no alternative to recovering all land lost in 1948.

Israeli security forces had been on alert for violence on Sunday, the day Palestinians mourn the "Nakba," or catastrophe, of Israel's founding in a 1948 war, when hundreds of thousands of their brethren fled or were forced to leave their homes.

A call had gone out on Facebook urging Palestinians to demonstrate on Israel's borders.

Lebanon's army said 10 Palestinians died as Israeli forces shot at rock-throwing protesters to prevent them from entering the Jewish State from Lebanese territory.

They said 112 people had been wounded in the shooting incident in the Lebanese border village of Maroun al-Ras.

"The protesters overcame the Lebanese army and marched toward the security fence and started throwing stones," Reuters cameraman Ezzat Baltaji said, from Maroun al-Ras village.

Syrian media reports said Israeli gunfire killed two people after dozens of Palestinians infiltrated the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria, along a front line that has been largely tranquil for decades.

Syria condemned Israel's "criminal activities."

"This appears to be a cynical and transparent act by the Syrian leadership to deliberately create a crisis on the border so as to distract attention from the very real problems that regime is facing at home," said a senior Israeli government official, who declined to be named.

"Syria is a police state. People don't randomly approach the border without the approval of the regime."

On Sunday, hundreds of protesters flooded the lush green valley that marks the border area, waving Palestinian flags. Israeli troops attempted to mend the breached fence, firing at what the army described as infiltrators.

"We are seeing here an Iranian provocation, on both the Syrian and the Lebanese frontiers, to try to exploit the Nakba day commemorations," said the army's chief spokesman, Brigadier-General Yoav Mordechai.

Syria is home to 470,000 Palestinian refugees and its leadership, now facing fierce internal unrest, had in previous years prevented protesters from reaching the frontier area.

To the southeast, on Jordan's desert border with Israel, Jordanian police fired teargas to disperse hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists gathered at a border village.

Israeli forces did not fire over the Jordanian border.

On Israel's tense border with Gaza, Israeli gunfire wounded 82 demonstrators nearing the fence, medics said. Israeli forces said they shot a man trying to plant a bomb near the border.

In Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial hub, a truck driven by an Arab Israeli slammed into vehicles and pedestrians, killing one man and injuring 17 people.

Police were trying to determine whether that incident was an accident or an attack. Witnesses said the driver, who was arrested, deliberately ran amok with his truck in traffic.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian youths and Israeli forces clashed for hours at the main checkpoint dividing the Ramallah from Jerusalem, a constant flashpoint.

Palestinians threw rocks and soldiers fired rubber bullets and teargas to drive them away from the Qalandia checkpoint.

In Egypt, police fired teargas to force back several hundred pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had broken through a barricade in front of the Israeli embassy in Cairo, witnesses said.

ALERT

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the border challenge was foreseen, but not easy for Israel to handle.

"For months we have been discussing the possibility of the organization of mass processions. I don't think there is a magic solution for all situations," he told Israeli television.

"The Palestinians' transition from terror carried out by suicide bombers to mass demonstrations, on purpose without weapons, is a transition that poses many challenges. And we will deal with them in the future," Barak said.

The day's bloodshed will complicate decisions to be made by President Barack Obama, who is due to deliver a major Middle East policy speech on Thursday.

U.S.-brokered peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel broke down last year and no new negotiations are in the offing, with the U.S. Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell announcing his resignation last week..

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Israel-Palestinian violence erupts on three borders (Reuters)

MAJDAL SHAMS, Golan Heights (Reuters) – Israeli troops shot at Palestinian protesters on its frontiers with Syria, Lebanon and Gaza on Sunday, killing nine who were marking what they term "the catastrophe" of Israel's founding in 1948.

Troops opened fire in three separate border locations to prevent crowds of demonstrators, some lobbying rocks, from crossing Israeli frontier lines, in the deadliest such confrontation in years.

Israel called it a cynical provocation inspired by Iran, to exploit Palestinian nationalist feeling fueled by the popular revolts of the "Arab Spring" across the Middle East, and to draw attention from major internal unrest inside Syria, its ally.

The Syrian foreign ministry condemned what it called Israel's "criminal activities," the state news agency SANA said.

Syrian media reports said Israeli gunfire killed two people after dozens of Palestinian refugees infiltrated the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria, along a disputed border that has been largely tranquil for decades.

Security sources on the nearby Lebanese frontier said six Palestinians died when Israeli forces shot at rock-throwing protesters to prevent them from entering the Jewish State.

The Lebanese army had also earlier fired in the air in an attempt to hold back the crowds.

On Israel's tense southern border with the Gaza Strip, Israeli gunfire wounded 82 demonstrators approaching the fence with the Hamas Islamist-run enclave, medical workers said. In a separate incident, Israeli forces said they shot a man who was trying to plant a bomb near the border. A body was later found.

In Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial hub, a truck driven by an Arab Israeli slammed into vehicles and pedestrians, killing one man and injuring 17 people.

Police were trying to determine whether the incident was an accident or an attack. Witnesses said the driver, who was arrested, deliberately ran amok with his truck in traffic.

ALERT

A spokesman for the Islamist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, Sami Abu Zuhri, called Sunday "a turning point in the Israeli-Arab conflict" that proved the Palestinian people and Arabs were committed to ending Israeli occupation.

Hezbollah condemned the "Israeli aggression on unarmed civilians in Maroun al-Ras and in the Golan, which constitutes a dangerous violation of human rights," said Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah who was participating at a pro-Palestinian protest in Maroun al-Ras.

"The resistance movement in Lebanon (Hezbollah) will continue to be an advocate for Palestinian national rights and calls on everyone to stand united in confronting Israeli occupation."

"What happened today in Maroun al-Ras and in the Golan is an embodiment of the will of the Palestinian people who are committed to the right of return."

Israeli security forces had been on alert for violence on Sunday, the day Palestinians mark the "Nakba," or catastrophe, of Israel's founding in a 1948 war, when hundreds of thousands of their brethren fled or were forced to leave their homes.

A call had gone out on Facebook urging Palestinians to demonstrate on Israel's borders.

To the south, Egyptian forces arrested six protesters and blocked hundreds of others from marching to its border with Israel, but no frontier police appeared to be on hand in Syria.

"This appears to be a cynical and transparent act by the Syrian leadership to deliberately create a crisis on the border so as to distract attention from the very real problems that regime is facing at home," said a senior Israeli government official, who declined to be named.

"Syria is a police state. People don't randomly approach the border without the approval of the regime."

The border zones are protected by the 1949 Armistice Agreement signed by Israel and its Arab neighbors. A spokesman for the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, set up on the Israeli-Syrian border after the 1967 Middle East war, said he had "no immediate information" about the rush on the border.

In the Druze village of Majdal Shams, on the Golan Heights captured by Israel from Syria in 1967, Mayor Dolan Abu Salah said between 40 and 50 Nakba demonstrators from Syria tore through the flimsy frontier fence.

Hundreds of protesters flooded the lush green valley that marks the border area, waving Palestinian flags. Israeli troops attempted to mend the breached fence, firing at what the army described as infiltrators.

"We are seeing here an Iranian provocation, on both the Syrian and the Lebanese frontiers, to try to exploit the Nakba day commemorations," said the army's chief spokesman, Brigadier-General Yoav Mordechai.

Syria is home to 470,000 Palestinian refugees and its leadership, now facing fierce internal unrest, had in previous years prevented protesters from reaching the frontier area.

WEST BANK CLASHES

In the Israeli occupied West Bank, Palestinian youths and Israeli forces clashed for hours at the main checkpoint dividing the Palestinian administrative capital of Ramallah from Jerusalem, a constant flashpoint.

Palestinians hurled rocks and set ablaze tires and soldiers fired tear gas, rubber bullets and tear gas to drive them away from the Qalandia checkpoint.

Several hundred protesters, some of whom were said they had come from Hebron in the southern West Bank and Jenin in the northern West Bank to join the protest.

Hamas spokesman Taher Al-Nono praised the "crowds we have seen in Palestine, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon" as evidence of "the imminent victory and return to the original homes as promised by God."

U.S.-brokered Peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel broke down last year and no new negotiations are in the offing, with the U.S. Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell announcing his resignation on Friday.

(Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, Jeffrey Heller, Dan Williams and Ori Lewis in Jerusalem, Ali Sawafta in Ramallah, Tom Perry in Ramallah, Yara Bayoumy in Beirut and Laila Bassam; Writing by Douglas Hamilton; editing by Crispian Balmer and Matthew Jones)

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Opposition leader's return to Uganda met with renewed violence (The Christian Science Monitor)

Kampala, Uganda – Ronald Ssenkumbi was among the crowd who thronged Uganda's airport to greet Kizza Besigye, the opposition leader who many Ugandans consider the country's true president after February's contested polls.

“The people along this road here represent the real Uganda. We have come here spontaneously to greet Besigye and to show we want change,” says Mr. Ssenkumbi.

Mr. Besigye flew in from Nairobi on Thursday after spending almost two weeks there receiving medical treatment. He was injured when Ugandan security services arrested him as he led opposition protests against spiraling living costs.

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On the road to the airport, where Besigye supporters gathered in jubilant celebration, Ugandan police and military fired on the crowd with tear gas, live ammunition, and struck many with batons. At lease one person was reportedly killed in the violence.

Coming after weeks of unrest and a wave of opposition protests over rising prices, analysts say the unrest could be a sign of things to come as divisions between the opposition and government appear to be deepening.

Besigye's arrival came the same day that Ugandaa€™s veteran president, Yoweri Museveni, was sworn in for a fourth term in office that could extending his rule in Uganda to more than 30 years.

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Decked out in the bright yellow of the president’s ruling National Resistance Movement, Mr. Museveni's supporters gathered in downtown Kampala to listen as he pledged to make Uganda a middle-income country in the next five years and explained how his resounding victory in February elections proved the country was now more united than ever.

“We won an overwhelming victory in all regions,” Museveni said. “Since creation, this is the first time that Ugandans have coalesced into such consensus.”

In theory, Museveni has a lot to be optimistic about. With Ugandan troops in Somalia, he has managed to maintain good relations with the West. What's more, in the next few years, Uganda should start pumping the first of an estimated 2.5 billion barrels of oil believed to be in reserves along the country’s border with Democratic Republic of Congo.

But Museveni's quarter-century rule of Uganda could become one of his biggest problems as the opposition movement appears to be growing.

“In the end you undermine your own legitimacy and destroy any achievements that you’ve made,” says Levi Ochieng, an independent analyst. “The end is always destructive."

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Nigeria Newspapers Reported Violence At The Day Of 2011 Elections

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Counting of votes is continuing after the end of Election in Nigeria. Ruling party of this country is losing the game in counting of vote. Today on Sunday, it was stated in Lagos that millions of people had come for polling of parliamentary seats. Though fewer cases of violence and delay in poll were reported but people still in a large number came out for voting of elections. Early indications of election votes’ counting have shown a decline for the ruling party of country. So the legislative grip of Nigeria’s ruling party is in danger after 2011 elections.
A deadly bomb blast happened at the day of polling in Africa’s most populous country. This bomb blast sent a bad impression to outer world about credibility of these elections. Nigeria has remained under rule of dictators for a very long period of time. The improvement period of Nigeria started only after democracy arrived in this country. Earlier in 1990s, the Murtala Mohammad International Airport of Lagos was considered as the most dangerous airport to land by the leading airliners of world. Since Nigeria was under the rule of martial, the policies of army were not based on gaining trust of public. Even the multinational oil companies charged Nigerian public with their conspiracies.

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Clinton 'Concerned' by Ivory Coast Violence, Calls on Election Loser to Step Down

Clinton 'Concerned' by Ivory Coast Violence, Calls on Election Loser to Step Down - FoxNews.com Skip to main content: Latino/SBC/Fox Business (Home/Slideshow/Interactive: Fox News/SBC/Latino/Fox Business) Skip to main content: Fox News/Fox Business (Article Page: Fox News/SBC/Latino/Fox Business)

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Senators decry anti-Muslim violence

By Saul Loeb, AFP/Getty Images

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois questions a witness at a hearing Tuesday on anti-Muslim discrimination.

EnlargeCloseBy Saul Loeb, AFP/Getty Images

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois questions a witness at a hearing Tuesday on anti-Muslim discrimination.

"Those who use this type of rhetoric, who burn Qurans and who engage in other forms of bigotry and discrimination may be few in number, but their bigoted conduct and remarks violate the spirit of our Bill of Rights," said Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights.

While subcommittee Democrats said special attention should be paid to hate crimes committed against Muslims in the USA, Republicans argued that Muslim Americans have not done enough to fight radicalism in their own communities.

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