Ethiopian and Somali troops seize key al-Shabab stronghold [BBC Arabic, UK]

Presenter, Male #1
The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to increase the number of African Union troops in Somalia from 12,000 to around 17,700. Meanwhile, Somali government forces backed by Ethiopian military units took control of the city of Berdale, located 60 kilometers from Baidoa, the stronghold of al-Shabab, the militant Islamist Mujahideen Youth Movement. This comes after the forces launched an offensive to surround al-Shabab fighters from several directions and end their control of central and southern Somalia. British Prime Minister David Cameron said militant Islamists in Somalia remain his main concern in the country. Cameron's statement comes before a conference hosted by London begins tomorrow. The international summit will discuss Somali issues. Representatives from over 50 countries and international organizations are expected to attend the summit.

Reporter, Female #1
Two decades of conflict and chaos; Somalia has been without a central government for over twenty years. As for the interim government, it is present in the capital Mogadishu under the protection of a peacekeeping delegation from the African Union. This government's term ends in August, and is facing many challenges; most notably, to take control of the capital Mogadishu and the remaining Somali regions. The expiration of the interim government's term is a source of concern for Somalis, and also for the international community.

Guest, Male #2 (David Cameron, British Prime Minister)
It matters desperately for the Somali people themselves that we make progress, but it also matters for the rest of the world. And while the problems are very deep and the challenges are very great, I do see some signs of progress.

Reporter, Female #1
However, the challenges remain significant. Somalia is marred by violence, especially with the presence of the Somali al-Shabab Movement that recently announced it will join al-Qaeda. The Movement withdrew its fighters from the capital last August, but it still controls large areas in central and southern Somalia. Since 2006, al-Shabab al-Mujahideen Movement has been fighting to topple the fragile interim government in Somalia, a country torn by war and exhausted by famine. Though African Union forces announced they managed to push al-Shabab's forces out of Mogadishu, there are fears the Somali al-Shabab Movement could have an influence abroad. Britain specifically expressed concern over the issue.

Guest, Male #2
I think the security threat is real, it is substantial, it's based on the fact that al-Shabab is an organization that has now explicitly linked itself to al-Qaeda. It encourages violent jihad, not just in Somalia but also outside Somalia. There is a real danger that young British Somalis could have their minds poisoned by this organization. So there's a terrorist threat that is current today, and if we're not careful, it could get worse.

Reporter, Female #1
In addition, pirates on the Somali coasts cause a constant security concern. Somalia is also suffering from a food crisis after the most severe drought in 60 years hit the country. All these deeply rooted issues in Somalia pose a challenge to the international community, which is counting on a conference to be held in the British capital London, to discuss the problems in Somalia, a country described as the most failed state in the world. Youla Zahr ad-Din, BBC.

--

Shelling of Homs claims the lives of dozens of Syrians, two foreign correspondents [Dubai TV, UAE]

Presenter, Female # 1
Keeping track of the death toll caused by the violence and crackdown is now a daily mission for the regime's opponents, and political rights activists in Syria.

Presenter, Male # 1
The enormous loss of life is clear when taking into account the collective number. This was evident in the latest report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The report said the organization registered the names of 7,500 individuals killed since the protest movement started in March of last year. And as usual, civilians pay the heaviest price; 5,542 civilians were killed.

Presenter, Female # 1
The rest, 2,029 army and security forces were killed, including over 400 soldiers who defected from the Syrian army. And what is now a daily occurrence, the death count rose today as 60 people were killed in the neighborhood of Baba Amr in the city of Homs, according to the Local Coordination Committees.

Presenter, Male # 1
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the names of 24 civilians who were killed in the neighborhood by the gunfire of the Syrian army. Meanwhile, residents of the neighborhood appealed to urgently open humanitarian corridors to rescue the hundreds of injured. Outside of Homs, Syrian security forces carried out an arrest campaign in the university campus of Aleppo after a student protest was launched from the faculty of electrical engineering. A number of people were injured by the gunfire of the security forces. As for Idlib province, two citizens were killed after heavy machine guns were fired.

Presenter, Female # 1
She went from bearing witness to the atrocities of the events in the Baba Amr neighborhood and reporting them, to producing these events.

Presenter, Male # 1
This is how American journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik joined the rank of journalists killed in the line of duty in Syria.

Presenter, Female # 1
The killing of the two journalists was widely condemned from Paris to London. This is a reminder of the attempts to prevent journalists from conveying the message at any price. Mada Taha reports.

Reporter, Female # 2
An audio recording describes events and victims. It is undifferentiated from other recordings, except that the person who recorded the audio was killed only a few days after. Marie Colvin, an American war correspondent for Britain's Sunday Times, did not hesitate to carry out her journalistic duties. Today, she became the victim. Her fate was shared with Remi Ochlik, a French photographer who left behind photos recounting the stories he witnessed but didn't have the opportunity to tell. Colvin and Ochlik died in a building shelled by Syrian forces in Baba Amr. The news of their death quickly generated media and international reactions.

Guest, Male # 2 (David Cameron, British Prime Minister)
This is a desperately sad reminder of the risks that journalists take to inform the world of what is happening, and the dreadful events in Syria. And our thoughts should be with her family and with her friends.

Reporter, Female # 2
Damascus' response was unusually quick. Syrian Information Minister Adnan Mahmoud said the authorities had no idea the two victims were in Homs, or even in Syria. As for the opposition, it accused the Syrian authorities of targeting the journalists in a premeditated attack to prevent on-the-ground news from being reported.

--

Violence in Syria kills prominent citizen journalist and two foreign correspondents [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Presenter, Female # 1
The media were the most prominent victims of the continuous shelling of Homs in the past few hours. In addition to the killing of an American journalist and her French colleague, journalist Rami Ahmad al-Sayed, mainly tasked with filming and broadcasting the events of Homs and Baba Amr, also died.

Reporter, Male # 1
As any other father, he took photos of his only daughter Mariam. Rami, not even 30 years old, was snatched by the revolution, going from talking to his little daughter to addressing the world. He broadcast what Syrians were being subjected to; children his daughter's age, elders, men, and women. He was not content with merely photographing the events; the harder mission is to broadcast the images. His rooftop turned into a media center, transmitting the suffering of the victims to the world. The price of the truth was high. Every inch of his body held shrapnel wounds. But that price did not prevent his brother from continuing the mission.

Guest, Male # 2
From the very first days, he took a camera and started filming. He told me, "Get me a camera." He got the camera and started filming. May God have mercy on your soul. May God be with you, my brother. May you never be forgiven Bashar; may God never forgive any of you. We are all Rami.

Reporter, Male # 1
Rami was not the first witness to get killed, nor will he be the last. The documentation provided by the journalists of the Syrian revolution lives on after their death, doing justice to the victims and condemning the executioner. Rami entered the most dangerous areas until the last moment of his life. He bid his farewell in the last message he sent to the administrator of the Shaam News Network.

Guest, Male # 3
I recorded for nearly five hours. There's genocide going on in Baba Amr. I don't want anyone to tell us, "Our hearts are with you." I know that. We want campaigns to be held everywhere, inside and outside the country. People should go their embassies everywhere. In an hour, Baba Amr will no longer exist. I expect this to be my last message.

Reporter, Male # 1
Rami's Skype account was not interrupted. The torch was passed to someone else.

Guest, Male # 4
Homs will not surrender. Rami's death is not Homs' death, nor is it the death of the revolution. We were by Rami's side before his martyrdom; he mostly talked about the almighty God.

Reporter, Male # 1
Here, Rami documented the presence of tanks with the Arab observers. Who provided the more honest testimony? Arab observers, or Rami? Yasser Abu Hilallah, al-Jazeera, Amman.

--

Syria stands strong against Western-Israeli colonialism [Syria TV, Syria]

Presenter, Female #1
Nearly a century after the Sykes-Picot Agreement, Western-Israeli colonialism is powerless in front of the walls of Damascus, preventing colonial powers from reevaluating their divisive lines and producing a new foundation to tear apart the region.

Reporter, Female #2
The people's unity and awareness render the country immune to the plots targeting its unity and coexistence. Faced with the walls of Damascus, Western-Israeli colonialism is unable to complete plans aimed at dividing and tearing apart the region. The genocidal intentions, disguised as the peoples' freedom and democracy, were divulged by former head of Israel's National Security Council Uzi Dayan. He blatantly called for dividing Syria into multiple mini-states, granting Israel plenty of opportunities to achieve its interests in the region.

Reporter, Female #2
Dayan's statements, which come as part of a Western campaign to divide the region, reveal the reasons behind the targeting of Syria. This was confirmed by the American Armed Forces Journal that published detailed maps dividing Iraq, Syria and Saudi Arabia into mini-states in conflict with each other. This would allow Israel to gain control and superiority in the region. Syria is facing an attempt initiated by the West and Israel, with the complicity of some countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council, to weaken the Arab identity, and then to undermine a number of countries and redraw the political borders to meet the US's requirements to maintain its hegemony over the world. It seems this hegemony is nearing its end at the threshold of Damascus. Syrians are beating their pickaxes on the body of US conquest and restoring faith in civilization, just as they did to former invaders and occupiers.

Presenter, Female #1
Within the framework of the targeting of the country's national, scientific, economic and artistic talent, a group of armed terrorists assassinated entrepreneur Mahmoud Ramadan in front of his house in the Pharmacist Association area in Halab al-Jadida neighborhood of Aleppo. Our news reporter learned that a terrorist group returning to Idlib province in a car opened heavy fire on martyr Ramadan as he came out of his house, leading to his immediate martyrdom. Martyr Ramadan was born in 1969. He was married and had three sons and a daughter. He held a number of hotel management and tourism diplomas.

--

Five Afghans killed, dozens injured in clashes over 'Quran burning' [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Presenter, Male #1
Five people were killed and over 30 were injured in demonstrations organized by Afghan citizens in Kabul, Kunar, Logar and Jalalabad to condemn the burning of copies of the Holy Quran by US forces in Bagram Air Base.

Presenter, Female #1
In addition, Afghan parliament members protested inside parliament in the capital Kabul. US forces offered an apology that was rejected by Afghans.

Reporter, Male #2
The flame of the Afghan people's anger reached the capital Kabul. Children and youth took to the streets of the capital to condemn and protest the burning of copies of the Quran by American troops in the Bagram military base. Here, citizens are threatening to join the Taliban movement. They now believe the movement has become the only party that preserves their holy sites and recovers their rights.

Guest, Male #2
We are against the Taliban, but we swear that if this action is repeated, we will all join the Taliban's ranks. And then, these forces will not be able to stay one more minute in Afghanistan.

Reporter, Male #1
The Afghan parliament witnessed a protest by its members as well. Parliament members requested imams in mosques across Afghanistan to declare an armed jihad against US forces and foreigners without retreat or any excuses.

Guest, Male #3 (Abdul Sattar Havasi, Afghan Parliament Member)
I demand the imams of mosques to declare an armed jihad against America, the invading enemy, until it faces the same fate as the Soviets and leaves our country. Death to America!

Reporter, Male #1
It is expected for a delegation of Afghan figures selected by the Afghan president to head to the Bagram Air Base to investigate the incident. However, it is unexpected for popular Afghan anger to quickly dissipate. This is not the first time the Quran has been desecrated since US forces entered Afghanistan. Each time, Americans merely offer an apology but don't put an end to the crime. Bakir Younis, al-Jazeera, Kabul.

--

Yemeni activists renew demand for Saleh's prosecution [Press TV, Iran]

Presenter, Male #1
Calls continue for the trial of outgoing Yemeni ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh over a crackdown on protestors during the country's revolution. The International Federation for Human Rights, FIDH, has urged the US to probe the deadly crackdown. The rights group says the US has an obligation to investigate the "serious and credible allegations of torture" and other widespread violations brought against Saleh.

Presenter, Male #1
Meanwhile in the southern city of Taiz, people took to the streets demanding Saleh's trial over the killing of hundreds of people during the revolution. This, after a presidential election which has been widely criticized for having Saleh's vice president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, as the sole candidate. Saleh is now in New York to allegedly receive medical treatment. He gave up power in return for immunity from prosecution based on a Saudi-brokered deal in November.

--

Amnesty accuses Egypt of failure to rein in security forces [Press TV, Iran]

Amnesty International has accused Egyptian security forces of continuing brutal tactics used by the former regime of Hosni Mubarak. The UK-based rights group says the ruling junta has failed to rein in its security forces. It says riot police have used excessive force during recent protests in the capital Cairo and the city of Suez. The protests follow the death of more than 70 football fans in Port Said in early February.

--

Election fever grips political parties in Iran [Press TV, Iran]

With only nine days to parliamentary elections in Iran, different groups are holding press conferences to inform the people of their plans and policies. The newly established front called the "Voice of Nation" held its first press conference to elaborate on its plans and policies for the better performance of the ninth parliament. The front, which has already introduced only 15 members, comprises the critics of Ahmadinejad's government. The front believes in order to have a successful and powerful parliament, only candidates who are experts and have the power to supervise the government should be elected into the chamber, and this is possible only if the members of Parliament are not affiliated to the government or any other center of power or wealth. 3,444 candidates are finally qualified to run in the parliamentary elections due on March 2. According to official reports, 700 reformists will also compete for seats at the 290-seat chamber. Under the law, the election campaign will officially start at 8 AM local time on February 23, and will end at the same time on March 1.

--

Saudi-backed Bahraini forces attack mourning protestors in Sitra [Al-Alam, Iran]

Presenter, Male #1
Bahrain's political societies called on Bahrainis to gather in front of the UN headquarters in al-Manama this afternoon under the slogan "sovereignty of the people," to press ahead with the popular mobilization. Meanwhile, the regime suppressed a funeral procession on the island of Sitra. Bahrainis organized a demonstration in Canada demanding the downfall of the regime and an end to Saudi occupation. It's worth mentioning that Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa is the world's longest-serving prime minister, with more than 40 years in office.

Reporter, Male #1
Sitra Island is again defying the Saudi government-backed security siege and ban on protests. Residents took to the streets of Sitra in a massive demonstration to mourn martyr Mansour Salman Hassan, an elderly man who was killed by the regime's tear gas. The demonstrators defied security measures and chanted slogans demanding the downfall of the monarchy's regime. The chants that the regime forces and mercenaries couldn't bear to hear prompted security officers to fire tear gas and rubber bullets. The February 14th Youth Revolution Coalition that organized the march called on the Bahraini people to take part in angry demonstrations on the first anniversary of the martyrdom of Abed Reda Abu Hamid, who was killed by the gunfire of regime forces near Pearl Roundabout in the capital Manama. Meanwhile, the Bahraini opposition abroad held a massive demonstration in the Canadian city of Ottawa, denouncing the Saudi occupation of Bahrain. Hundreds of people from Arab and Muslim communities took part in the march, which was launched from in front of the parliament and headed to the Saudi embassy. The demonstrators chanted slogans demanding the downfall of al-Saud's regime in Saudi Arabia and al-Khalifa's regime in Bahrain.

Guest, Male #2
Demonstrators in Ottawa gathered in front of the Canadian parliament and headed to the Saudi embassy. We condemn the intervention of the Saudi and the Peninsula Shield forces in Bahrain. We also condemn the measures by the al-Khalifa-led government in Bahrain.

Guest, Male #3
We are determined to continue our jihad and defend this revolution until all of its rights and demands are attained.

Reporter, Male #1
The protesters called on countries around the world and human rights organizations to immediately intervene and stop the bloodbath in Bahrain. They also demanded the withdrawal of the Saudi occupation from the country.

--

Iran denies UN probe access to nuclear program sites [IBA, Israel]

Presenter, Female #1
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, insisted today that his country is not seeking to develop atomic weapons. Khamenei said that his scientists have been instructed to continue their important nuclear work. The chief UN probing Iran's rogue nuclear program ended his team's latest inspection tour after just two days. Herman Nackaerts said the hardline Islamic republic has refused to cooperate with the IAEA. The group returned to Vienna, saying Tehran had rejected the request to visit where it is believed that explosives testing was being conducted.

Guest, Male #1 (Herman Nackaerts, Head of IAEA Investigating Team)
We tried to reach agreement on a way forward to resolve all the outstanding issues. And in particular we discussed the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program. We also tried to get access to a site that is relevant for our investigations. So we approached this trip in a constructive spirit, unfortunately we could not get agreement on either of them. So we could not get access, we could not finalize a way forward.

--

US downplays tension with Israel over Iran [IBA, Israel]

Presenter, Male #1
White House spokesman Jim Carney said the Obama administration remains determined to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, but Carney stressed the need for Israel to allow more time for sanctions before launching a military strike.

Guest, Male #2 (Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary)
What we feel, as I've said, and others have said, importantly the President has said, that there is time and space for diplomacy to work for the effect of sanctions to result in a change in Iranian behavior and an agreement by Iran to live up to its obligations to engage in negotiations and resolve this matter peacefully. We do not, of course, as we've said many times, take any option off the table.

Presenter, Female #1
And over at the State Department, officials downplayed any tensions between the US and Israel over what is the best course of action towards Tehran.

Guest, Female #2 (Victoria Nuland, State Department Spokeswoman)
Israel and the United States both believe that Iran has got to live up to its international obligations, and we're focused on the pressure we can bring to bear to make sure that happens.

Guest, Female #3
Well considering that the head for the DNI, James Clapper, is on his way to Israel this week, and there are reports now that Defense Minister Ehud Barak may be in Washington several days ahead of his expected appearance in the APEC conference the week after next, it seems to suggest that there seems to be more talking and more persuading that needs to be done with the Netanyahu government.

Guest, Female #2
You know, we've always had a very intense set of engagements with Israel, so this is just part and parcel of the conversation that we're having in all channels and in all levels, not only about Iran, of course, but about bilateral issues, about Syria, about the neighborhood. So it makes sense that various members of the US government are meeting various members of the Israeli government in this season.