Militas accused of wreaking havoc in Libya on revolt anniversary [BBC Arabic, UK]

Presenter, Male #1
The celebration of the revolt anniversary in Libya comes as Amnesty International's accusing some armed militias of being a threat to security and stability in many parts of the country. The militias contributed to the toppling of the Gaddafi regime.

Reporter, Male #2
This is Benghazi. This is where protests broke out a year ago against the rule of Libyan Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi. In the city's largest square, Freedom Square, residents of Benghazi are celebrating the victory of a revolution they ignited. The revolution turned into civil war, in which the revolutionaries triumphed and killed al-Gaddafi. Families of those who died in the revolution are an essential part of the celebrations.

Guest, Female #1 (Ghaliya Mohamed Buzqouq)
For me, this day reminds me of my son, God is great, and a reminder of the martyrs who are no longer with us. God is great; God is great.

Reporter, Male #2
Militias comprised of voluntary gunmen and defectors from Gaddafi's battalions were the backbone of the forces that overthrew his rule. But, after their victory, some of these militias have recently become an obstacle to stability and security in Libya, according to Amnesty International. The organization confirms that some of the remaining militias are committing atrocities in the country. According to Amnesty International, their most egregious abuses include unlawful detentions, extrajudicial executions, and torture. The organization adds that most of their victims are immigrants, and in particular Africans. It is worth mentioning that former revolutionaries say that Gaddafi hired hundreds of mercenaries, mainly Africans, to kill his people and fight those who rebelled against his rule. Amnesty International also says the Libyan government failed to put an end to these illegal practices and hold the perpetrators accountable.

Guest, Male #3 (Carsten Jugersen, Amnesty International)
We've seen horrific images of people who have been tortured and abused, people who have been tortured very recently when we saw them, in some cases only hours before. In fact, my colleague saw detainees being beaten in the courtyard of a prison. People have shown us obvious traces of torture, being whipped. People also told us they've been subjected to electric shocks, and people have been beaten by all sorts of objects.

Reporter, Male #2
Celebrations continue in Libya on the first anniversary of the revolution. Benghazi's guest of honor is Mohammed Omar al-Mukhtar, son of the historical leader of the Libyans' revolution against the Italian occupiers. However, a year after the revolt against Gaddafi, hundreds of Libyan families are still searching for loved ones who went missing during and after the revolution. And the country is still in dire need of a strong government that can control the situation. Assadullah al-Sawi, BBC.

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Iraq inquiry accuses VP al-Hashemi of running death squads [Press TV, Iran]

The Iraqi investigation panel has found Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi and his aides guilty of running a death squad in the country. The Supreme Judicial Council says that Hashemi and his employees were behind years of deadly attacks on security officials and civilians in Iraq. Hashemi has denied the charges and has refused to stand trial in Baghdad. He has sought refuge in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region. The independent panel was set up after the government issued an arrest warrant against him in December.

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Hezbollah leader blames Middle East violence on US and Israel [Press TV, Iran]

Presenter, Male #1
Hezbollah's Secretary General says the US, Israel, some Arab regimes, as well as al-Qaida have common goals in Syria, and that is to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.

Guest, Male #2 (Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah Secretary General)
Isn't it strange, really strange, for America and Europe and Israel and the so-called Arab moderate countries who take responsibility for all the catastrophes in Palestine and Iraq and Iran and the people of the region over the past decades. Isn't it strange, and al-Qaida as well, for all them to come together? All of them are coming together around one goal, they insist on accomplishing one goal, to overthrow the regime in Syria.

Presenter, Male #1
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah made the remarks in a televised address in Beirut. He said the US and Israel are behind any violence and crisis in Egypt, Iraq, and Syria. He also said the Syrian president has never bowed to US and Israeli demands, and has always supported their resistance. He added that Syrian officials know they need to make some reforms, and that they are taking steps towards major changes. Nasrallah also slammed some Arab countries for their hostile stance against Damascus. He added that these countries want negotiations with Israel, but not with Syria. Nasrallah also accused Lebanon's March 14 Alliance of instigating violence in Syria.

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Yemen's Houthis to engage in the political process [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Presenter, Male #1
The city of Sa'ada has been witnessing fierce battles with the Yemeni army for the past few years. And in the past several months, the city has also been seeing conflict with its tribes over control of Sa'ada, which has suffered severe damage. However, the Houthis are getting ready to participate in the political process and further integrate themselves into the Yemeni scene as the country heads towards presidential elections.

Reporter, Male #2
The entrance to the city of Harf Sufyan is where the Houthi movement's influence begins. From here to Sa'ada, gunmen are deployed in the absence of regime forces. The city's facades are damaged after six years of fighting between the Yemeni army and the Houthis. This fighter, whose nom de guerre is Abu Hamza, leads me to a grave built in the backyard of a house during the battles when residents feared burying their family members in cemeteries. His feelings towards the future alternate between hope and anger.

Guest, Male #3
The people want free and fair elections. The corrupt and the oppressors must be held accountable.

Reporter, Male #2
Hasan Sharaf al-Din, al-Haq minister in the national reconciliation government, has close links with the Houthis. Hasan believes the Houthis have started to consider participating in the political process.

Guest, Male # 4
I think they are thinking about forming a political party with no religious affiliation, a civil party with ideas advocated by all of Yemen's people, not just by the Houthis.

Reporter, Male #2
The leader of the Houthis, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, held a religious gathering in a neighboring town of Sa'ada. The gathering is large and the movement is displaying its power as it nears attaining additional political gains. Meanwhile, the movement's opponents view the Houthis with jealousy and doubt after a long series of bloody confrontations. This area has paid a very costly price during the six years of battles between the Houthis and the regime forces. The old city was built nearly 1,000 years ago and most of its distinctive features have vanished. Now that the war has ended, everyone hopes they can put the past behind them forever. Hashem Aghbara, al-Jazeera, Sa'ada.

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Bahraini forces clash with protestors in Sitra [Al-Alam, Iran]

Presenter, Male #1
Bahrain's February 14 Youth Coalition called for returning to Pearl Roundabout on Friday, with the slogan "We're all returning on the Friday of Liberation". Meanwhile, the Bahraini regime's forces continue to besiege the island of Sitra near the capital al-Manama with dozens of military vehicles. The forces raided houses, assaulted residents, and arrested dozens. The regime forces suppressed marches across Bahrain, held in protest of the harassment of Sitra's residents. Eyewitnesses said these forces took the detainees from the island of Sitra to al-Wusta police station, where they were brutally tortured by officer Turkiya al-Majid and his assistant Hamad Turki.

Reporter, Male #2
Protests continued in Bahrain as the regime's Saudi-backed military forces launched a violent repressive campaign against the protestors. They used poison gas and live bullets, wounding a number of protestors. The February 14 Youth Coalition called for organizing more demonstrations one day after protests commemorated the first anniversary of the uprising. Meanwhile, Bahrainis are facing difficulty in providing relief to those injured in the gunfire of regime forces, as the residents refuse to send the wounded to the hospital for fear of arrest. Most of the injured are being treated in homes or in private clinics. The Bahraini opposition confirmed the regime continues to practice this policy of repression, terror, and sectarian discrimination. It accused the regime of militarizing the country, of dividing it into security zones, and launching an arbitrary arrest campaign.

Guest, Male #3 (Fadel Abbas, National Democratic Alliance Secretary General)
We have overcome the violation of men, women, youths and even the arrest of children. Okay! Now, even the embryos carried by pregnant women are required to be aborted, because the embryos in the bellies of their mothers were disfigured by the use of poison gas.

Reporter, Male #2
Reliable Bahraini sources confirmed that Saudi Arabia continues to deploy military reinforcements to Bahrain to crack down on the peaceful protests. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on the Bahraini authorities to end the violence and respect the rule of law, according to his deputy spokesman.

Guest, Male #4 (Eduardo del Buey, Deputy Spokesperson for UN Secretary General)
The Secretary General is concerned about reports of clashes between security forces and demonstrators in Bahrain in recent days. He is calling on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, and for Bahraini officials to respect their international human rights obligations as stipulated by international human rights law.

Reporter, Male #2
However, the Bahraini regime continues to escalate its repression. Al-Alam TV sources reported that Bahraini security forces besieged the island of Sitra with a large number of military vehicles and launched an unprecedented arrest campaign against its citizens.

Presenter, Male #1
With the help of the Saudi occupation, Bahraini regime forces began setting up sand barriers around Pearl Roundabout to prevent protestors from reaching the square on Friday. Eyewitnesses said bulldozers from the Saudi occupation's army began setting up sand and cement barriers, as well as barbed wires around Pearl Roundabout, which is considered by Bahraini revolutionaries to be a symbol of their struggle against the Bahraini regime. Meanwhile, thousands of protestors are preparing to return tomorrow to the square.

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IAF conducts air raids on Gaza following Ashkelon rocket attacks [IBA, Israel]

The Israeli Air Force was in action overnight. The IAF conducted raids on two targets, a Hamas training center in northern Gaza and an Islamic Jihad training facility in central Gaza. This following rocket attacks on Israel in the coastal city of Ashkelon. Security officials said Gaza terrorists launched three rockets into Israel; there were no injuries or damage from the missiles. According to medical authorities in Gaza, several Palestinians were wounded in the air strikes.

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Failed Bangkok bombing targeted Israeli diplomats [IBA, Israel]

The Iranian terror cell that accidentally detonated explosives in Bangkok were planning to attack Israeli diplomats. That's the word from Thai security officials who cited the similarity of the bombs used in New Delhi, Tbilisi, and Bangkok. Thai authorities are holding two men, a third is now in custody in Malaysia, and a fourth suspect has been named. Mohamed Khazei was remanded in a Bangkok court and has reportedly confessed to his involvement. The second is Saeid Moradi, whose leg was blown off in the blast. The third Iranian, identified as Masoud Sedaghatzadeh, was detained in Malaysia, where he fled after the blast. Thailand is now demanding his extradition. A Bangkok court has also issued an arrest warrant for an Iranian woman named Laila Rohani, who rented the house where the bomb exploded.

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Mossad foils Ehud Barak assassination plot in Singapore [IBA, Israel]

A report in an Arabic newspaper today claims that the Mossad and security forces in Singapore foiled an assassination plot against Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The report in the Kuwaiti al-Jarida newspaper said that Iranian agents were attempting to target Barak, who will be heading to Singapore to attend an international aviation exhibition. Barak today is in Tokyo, where he's discussing the Iranian nuclear issue with Japanese Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka. Barak discounted Iranian claims of new nuclear achievements, which he called "exaggerated" and designed to scare off action against the Islamic republic. Barak accused the Iranians of trying to create the impression that they've passed the so-called "point of no return" in their drive to develop nuclear weapons, and that attempts to curb its development are too late. Barak also discounted Iran's announcement yesterday that it has developed a new centrifuge that's able to enrich uranium faster, and said that Iranians are priding themselves on achievements that do not exist. While not ruling out military action, Barak urged further sanctions against Iran.

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Mossad chief visited New Delhi days before Israeli embassy bombing [IBA, Israel]

The head of the Mossad visited India just days before a bombing attack on the wife of an Israeli diplomat near the embassy in New Delhi. According to a report in Haaretz quoting the Times of India, Mossad chief Tamir Pardo and other intelligence officials were in New Delhi to discuss the possibility of terror attacks against Israelis. The condition of the wounded Israeli, Tal Koren, is said to be improving. Israel's ambassador thanked India's foreign minister for the outpouring of support following the bombing.

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Syrian forces launch Daraa assault as army defections spread [Dubai TV, UAE]

Presenter, Female #1
The demonstrators' voices could not be heard in the squares of Dara'a, Homs, and Hama, amid the echoing sounds of shells and bullets. This is the daily scene in these cities, where the Syrian army continues to carry out military operations. Today, the neighborhoods of Dara'a, Homs and Hama were the main targets of the shelling. According to the Local Coordination Committees, ten people were killed and dozens were injured in the shelling that targeted the town of Kafr Nabouda in the countryside of Hama. Ahmad Qassem has the details in the following report.

Reporter, Male #1
Here, on the ground, there's no place for politics or diplomacy. It's a simple formula the Syrians are dearly paying for. They are demonstrating to achieve their objectives, but they are quickly countered by the regime's military machine to remind them that these streets do not belong to them. This is the general scene across the Syrian cities that are rising up against the regime, and each has its own circumstances. Homs' neighborhood of Baba Amr has been witnessing continuous shelling for the past twelve consecutive days. Baba Amr residents described the scene as a "shooting range," saying they have become familiar with all types of heavy ammunition.

Reporter, Male #1
This is Dara'a, where activists are trying hard to keep track of the number of armored vehicles advancing into their towns and cities. They are also trying hard to keep an accurate count of the number of dead, injured, detained, and missing. And this is not an easy task to do in Syria, especially amid the daily campaign of murders, raids, and arrests. This scene repeats itself in the cities of Homs, Idlib, Dara'a, and Hama; the latter has been witnessing ongoing military operations for two weeks.

Reporter, Male #1
It's unlikely that this voice will reach Damascus, as the sound of gunfire in the capital's countryside is echoing louder. In al-Zabadani and its countryside, the shelling stopped after the army entered the area and came to an agreement with the defectors. However, the agreement ended with the deployment and entrenchment of the army in the city. The residents described the situation as an "act of war" that has not ended. They confirmed the number of displaced is higher after the army entered the city than during the shelling. It's no longer possible to estimate the number of individual or group defections from the Syrian army, and it's no longer possible to know the size of the fireball rolling on Syrian streets. However, one thing is certain; fire can't be extinguished with fire, as observers say.

Presenter, Female #1
The bloody days in Syria will not pave the way for a new constitution, as unanimously agreed on by the Syrian opposition inside and outside the country. The opposition Syrian National Council has rejected the new draft constitution. Meanwhile, the National Coordination Committee rejected holding a referendum, and vowed to boycott the vote as long as the killing continues. The local coordination committees have also called on Syrians to boycott the referendum. The Syrian Revolution's General Commission said the current regime "lacks social and constitutional legitimacy." The Commission said the new draft constitution clearly makes a "mockery" of the Syrian people's demands for a modern constitution that guarantees equality and the separation of powers.

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Thousands of Syrians continue to flee to Jordan [New TV, Lebanon]

Presenter, Female #1
The influx of Syrian refugees into Jordan has prompted the UN Commission for Human Rights to set up refugee camps to shelter them. Our correspondent in Amman, Ma'an Abu Dalu, looks into their situation in the following report.

Reporter, Male #1
Syrian refugees are enduring difficult and tragic conditions in northern Jordan. Twenty thousand of them are spread across the Jordanian cities of al-Mafraq and al-Ramtha bordering Syria. Their nights are cold and long, and some of their days are spent without food and water. Families and children spend hours waiting in front of charity centers to get some bread, and humble rooms that provide life's basic necessities and shelter dozens.

Guest, Female #2
We came because of the shelling and because of the injustice we faced. Our houses were destroyed; our houses were destroyed; our rights were violated. They violated our rights; they violated them. Two, three girls from our neighborhood went out and never came back. Other girls went out and returned in horrible conditions.

Reporter, Male #1
The children have no schools. They are prisoners of the idea of a revolution since their families refuse to continue their education in solidarity with the children in some Syrian cities who are deprived of that right due to the crisis they are enduring. Thousands of Syrian refugees, especially natives of Dara'a and Homs, recount their stories of sneaking through the border and the terror they experienced with their children. They spoke about the fear of exposure, even while being outside of their country; they say they will only return to Syria when the regime falls.

Guest, Male #2
We demanded the most basic rights. We demanded the removal of the head of the political security agency and the governor. That's all we asked for, and the government immediately responded with gunfire and killings. It started immediately, as soon as people started demonstrating. They say armed gangs are killing people. They are the ones killing the people and we see them. They're laughing at us saying, "Really, it's armed gangs who are committing the killings."

Reporter, Male #1
Some of them believe that 5,000 Syrian refugees entered Jordan through the Jaber border crossing in the past two days, while state-run media reports different figures. The government grew tense every time we approached Syrian refugee camps, especially when we asked officials about the injured. We were unable to meet any of them. The New TV crew faced many difficulties as the refugees accused us of being allied with the Syrian regime, while the Jordanian Interior Ministry refused to grant us a permit to film. Thousands of refugees flock to Jordan every day through the Syrian-Jordanian border. This prompted the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to set up three large refugee camps. The largest is the Araba'a camp in al-Mafraq city, sheltering over 3,000 Syrian refugees. Ma'an Abu Dalu, New TV, al-Mafraq.