Egypt's high court dissolves parliament two days before presidential elections [New TV, Lebanon]

Presenter, Male #1
Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court dissolved parliament, and confirmed the presidential runoff elections will be held on time. Our correspondent Mona Ashmawy reports from Cairo.

Reporter, Female #1
Even the fate of the 100-member Constituent Committee that parliament approved is also under threat, since it was founded by a now-dissolved parliament. Although Egyptians have long waited for the formation of this committee tasked with drafting the constitution, everything is moving in the opposite direction; things are faltering, and the people can't differentiate between the starting and end points.

Guest, Male #2
The ruling that the disenfranchisement law is unconstitutional was expected, of course, since the judiciary is not independent. So obviously, it will issue a verdict in favor of the government, and the person supported by the regime, and that is Ahmed Shafiq.

Reporter, Female #1
What will happen in Egypt in the next few hours as it faces an uphill battle for democracy, and an ongoing revolution in the square? And with so many issues to protest, the revolution is uncertain what it must protest now. However, the struggle between Egypt's judges and the dissolved parliament seems ongoing, after parliament insulted and defamed the Egyptian judiciary and Judge Ahmed Rifaat, who presided over Mubarak's case. This led the chairman of the union of judges to respond in kind as the battle continues between the legislative and judicial powers.

Guest, Male #5 (Ahmed el-Zind, Chairman of the Union of Judges)
We did not elect a parliament to bring people together to insult and defame the judicial bodies, or cross their boundaries.

Reporter, Female #1
There are people waiting for revenge; the Brotherhood, the Salafis and even the revolutionaries said they will take to the street and hold sit-ins. The country will be devastated if Shafiq becomes president.

Guest Female #2 (Mona Makram Ebeid, Political Science Professor)
As you heard, Shafiq said in the press conference that the freedom to protest is granted, and that freedom of expression is granted. So let them go to Tahrir, it is their right. They have the right to disagree, but destruction is not their right.

Reporter, Female #1
There are strict procedures and harsh measures in a fierce presidential election that will determine Egypt's fate in the next four years. Calls to postpone these elections, or even keep the winner in power for just one year, were all in vain. The race is continuing despite all these conditions, a race that revolutionaries feel is determined in secret, while nothing has changed.

Reporter, Female #1
The next few days are critical for Egypt. Ahmed Shafiq's team is still in the presidential race. As for a third of the members of the people's assembly, they are no longer in parliament, both constitutionally and judicially. So by law, the work of parliament has been halted. As for the Egyptian people, they are still unsure whether to choose the Brotherhood or the military. Or, sit at home to watch and observe the elections as though they were happening in another country. This situation can be summed in the Egyptian saying, "No one is worse than my grandmother than my grandfather." Mona Ashmawy, New TV, Cairo.

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As rhetoric intensifies, Syrian conflict nears global proxy war [Al-Alam, Iran]

Presenter, Male #1
Fourteen people were injured in a car bombing in the area of Sayyida Zeinab, peace be upon her, a southern suburb of Damascus, the Syrian capital. International observers inspected the town of al-Haffa that witnessed clashes between the army and gunmen. Meanwhile, China rejected France's call to make the Annan plan obligatory by invoking the United Nations' Chapter 7 provision.

Reporter, Male #2
In light of the on-the-ground developments of the Syrian crisis, and as clashes continue between armed groups and government forces while a political solution is still lacking, the positions of European and world capitals have differed on the situation in Syria.

Guest, Male #3 (Liu Weimin, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman)
China does not approve using pressure and sanctions to resolve the crisis in Syria. We reiterate our support for the mediation efforts exerted by UN envoy Kofi Annan.

Reporter, Male #2
Through UN spokesman Martin Nesirky, the international organization expressed fear that a civil war in Syria will not only impact Syria, but also the countries of the region.

Guest, Male #4 (Martin Nesirky, UN Spokesman)
It's clear that it is not for us to determine or formally characterize the nature of the conflict in Syria. The secretary-general himself has spoken about the dangers of an escalation of this crisis, not just for the country itself, not just for Syria, but for the region.

Reporter, Male #2
In contrast to the UN position expressing concern over the eruption of a civil war in Syria, France's position explicitly urged an escalation of the situation in order to topple the regime. It also threatened to impose harsh sanctions on Syria.

Guest, Male #5 (Laurent Fabius, French Foreign Minister)
The opposition groups must understand that the only future lies in resistance. It is time to make a decision. They should jump off the ship. The situation in Syria is critical, and heading towards a civil war. We need to push the UN Security Council further, and place the Kofi Annan plan under Chapter 7. This means the plan will be mandatory under the threat of tougher sanctions.

Reporter, Male #2
The American position was consistent with the French and British calls to intensify sanctions on Syria. The US also expressed dissatisfaction with Moscow's rejection of a foreign intervention to solve the Syria crisis.

Guest, Female #1 (Hillary Clinton, US State Secretary)
Russia says it wants peace and stability restored. And it also claims to have vital interests in the region and relationships that it wants to continue to keep. They put all of that at risk if they do not move more constructively right now.

Reporter, Male #2
In the latest development on the ground in Syria, a bomb exploded near the shrine of Sayyida Zeinab, peace upon her. The Syrian army announced its control of al-Haffa area in the countryside of Latakia, after heavy clashes erupted with armed groups. Damascus called on the international observers to visit the region to inspect the situation there.

Reporter, Male #2
The Syrian government also declared the Haritan region in the countryside of Aleppo free of armed groups. Meanwhile, the neighborhoods of Bab al-Sibaa and al-Mreija in the city of Homs are calm after the Syrian military forces managed to cleanse them of armed groups, paving the way for reconstruction and rebuilding.

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A look at Gaza after five years of Hamas rule and Israeli siege [BBC Arabic, UK]

Presenter, Female #1
Today marks the 5th anniversary of Hamas' control of the Gaza Strip following an internal battle with its opponent Fatah that lasted many months and shaped the beginning of the Palestinian political division. Attempts to remedy this division continue today. It also paved the way for an economic blockade by Israel on Gaza's crossings, the price of which is being paid by Gaza's residents. Shohdi al-Kashif reports.

Reporter, Male #1
Around this time five years ago, Hamas settled its security and political differences with its opponent Fatah with the use of weapons. Since then, Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip with its own security services and sovereign institutions. To some, it seemed not only a political, but a geographic split from the Palestinian Authority, under the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas.

Reporter, Male #1
In this ceremony, a new class of police officers graduated from the police academy established by Hamas. According to its security doctrine, it holds a different mission from the one pursued by the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, which is based on the principle of security cooperation with Israel; a doctrine many fear would establish an unchangeable reality, even if reconciliation with Fatah occurs.

Guest, Male #2 (Fathi Hamad, Hamas Government Interior Minister)
No reconciliation with secularism; no reconciliation with any ideology except for Islam. This is the chance for you to come and learn in our academy how to protect our front line, and how to become God's soldiers, not soldiers for America, or the Zionists, or the hypocrites.

Reporter, Male #1
Gaza's streets seem calm after five years of Hamas' rule. There are no armed clashes with its opponents on its streets, and no military confrontations with Israel on its border. The security contributed, even if slightly, to the creation of investment opportunities while living under siege.

Guest Male #3 (Taher Nunu, Hamas Spokesman in Gaza)
Hamas founded a system in the Gaza Strip, and established the rule of law, and restored the Palestinian security services' authority. This of course required the formation of different security services with a different security doctrine, founded on belonging to this nation and the exclusion of security cooperation.

Guest Male #4 (Talal Okal, Palestinian Affairs Analyst and Writer)
Has the dignity of the Palestinian citizen been attained? Here, partial accomplishments and partial failures are not counted, as long as there is major failure, called "division," that operates in Israel's interest.

Reporter, Male #1
Hamas' attempts to end the legitimacy of smuggling goods and fuel, collecting taxes, and encouraging local investments in the fields of agriculture and construction, did not ease the pressure of the siege, which is eroding Gaza's body and its poor, according to international organizations.

Guest, Male #5 (Adnan Abu Hassan, UNRWA Spokesman)
Before the siege, we used to provide rations to around 150 thousand people. Today, we provide rations to 750 thousand Palestinian refugees. We used to look for people to give aid to; now, people stand in lines in front of ration centers. If these conditions continue, the situation will worsen for the people in Gaza and its neighbors.

Reporter, Male #1
Hamas in Gaza has a government, security services, authorities, syndicates, municipalities, and over 300 thousand employees. It faces difficult questions as it searches for their answers in light of a future political agreement with Fatah if reconciliation were to happen. Shohdi al-Kashif, BBC, the Gaza Strip.

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Aid and rights groups urge Israel to end Gaza blockade as it enters year six [Press TV, Iran]

As the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip enters year six, a group of 50 international aid and rights organizations are calling on Israel to end the blockade immediately. International organizations, including Amnesty International, Oxfam, and UN rights bodies, say the siege goes against international law.

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Iran arrests assassins of nuclear scientists [Press TV, Iran]

Iran says it has arrested the assassins of its nuclear scientists. In a statement, Iran's Intelligence Ministry said it captured the assassins of three of the four nuclear experts murdered in recent years, the most recent of which took place in January, in which nuclear scientist and university professor Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan was killed. Iran blames Israel and the US for the wave of assassinations in the country.

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Libyan court revokes law banning Gaddafi glorification [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Presenter, Female #1
Libya's Supreme Court ruled a law passed by the National Transitional Council was unconstitutional. The law criminalizes the glorification of Gaddafi and his ideas, and punishes with a prison sentence anyone who harms the February 17 Revolution.

Presenter, Male #1
The court's ruling ended the debate between the law's opponents and proponents. Some viewed the law as a restoration of the former regime's tools of governance, while others considered it a rupture with the Gaddafi era.

Reporter, Male #2
The National Transitional Council passed a law called "Criminalizing the glorification of the tyrant" by Libyan lawmakers. It caused wide controversy in the street and the judiciary, in addition to local and foreign human rights organizations. The law punished with a prison sentence anyone who disseminates propaganda in praise of Muammar al-Gaddafi, his regime, his ideas, his children, or depicts him as a hero. The law also criminalizes anyone who publishes anything that could harm the February 17 Revolution.

Reporter, Male #2
Many legal and human rights organizations challenged the law at the Supreme Court, viewing it as a replica of the Gaddafi regime's rules. These organizations also believe the law harms general and political freedoms in the country. The court's ruling that the law is unconstitutional was seen as a historical victory for its opponents.

Guest, Male #3 (Jumat Atiqah, Lawyer and Political Activist)
The law reproduces what was known as "insulting the leader of the revolution" in the past, which provides a form of protection and immunity against the transition, and against personal and public opinions. It was presented to the people in the wrong manner. But right now, the court rectified this mistake through the constitution. This is a good result for freedom of speech.

Reporter, Male #2
Opponents of the law believe it restrains freedom and restores the former regime's tools. On the other hand, its proponents view the law as necessary to cut ties with the past. Both opponents and supporters of the law say their goal is to protect the revolution.

Reporter, Male #2
Supporters of the law stressed it is important not to grant freedom of movement and expression to those they refer to as Gaddafi's thugs. They say the bloodshed and the Gaddafi regime's actions during last year's war, as well as the way he ruled the past decades, are documented, not mere points of view.

Guest, Female #2 (Dunya Hathiri, Political Activist)
We are here to object, and we hope that all Libyans will stand with us, so no one thinks they can glorify the tyrant; so they consider their decision long and hard before they do, and fear going to prison. Of course we reject this decision.

Reporter, Male #2
Gaddafi's ghost still haunts Libya, and casts a heavy shadow on the political scene in the post-revolution and nation-building phase. However, human rights advocates confirm the form and content for building their country in the coming phase should not use prisons as a tool to scare and terrorize the population.

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Israel steps up migrant crackdown; 500 South Sudanese to be deported [IBA, Israel]

Israel's crackdown on illegal migrants is stepping up; as many as 500 South Sudanese have already been detained, and will be deported back to their country of origin next week. But despite Israel's tightened policies, the influx continues, and human rights organizations are pressing Israel to grant migrants refugee status. President Benjamin Netanyahu said that once the border fence with Egypt is completed, the influx of migrants will be stopped in months.

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Women's 'Open Shuhada Street' march attacked by Israeli soldiers [Palestine TV, Ramallah]

Presenter, Female #1
Israeli occupation forces arrested nine citizens and foreign solidarity activists yesterday after cracking down on a women's march demanding the reopening of the closed Shuhada Street, or Martyrs' Street, in central Hebron. The occupation forces also assaulted the press to prevent them from covering the event.

Reporter, Male #1
Efforts continue to be exerted to restore the Arab and Muslim features of Shuhada Street in the center of Hebron. Yesterday, these women wearing the traditional Palestinian dress peacefully marched with the aim of reopening the street that has been closed for 12 years.

Guest, Female #2 (Citizen Um Omran Muhtasib)
We gathered and said we must open Shuhada Street. Everyone here longs to go to Shuhada Street, but the Israelis deprive us of this right. Those drunken cowards throw stones at our windows; they are injuring people. We're banned from entering the street. We long to go onto our street; this is Hebron's main road; they must open it. This is not up to them.

Reporter, Male #1
This scene was displeasing to the occupation's forces and its settlers, who assaulted citizens and foreign solidarity activists. They beat and arrested them, repeating their usual lies to strengthen their policy of racism.

Guest, Female #3 (Foreign Solidarity Activist)
There were a lot of soldiers; all of them were carrying weapons. They started beating us, and my friend was taken away. I don't know how to say this in Arabic, but he went over the fence and he hit me like this, and he slammed me against the car.

Reporter, Male #1
This march is part of the third international campaign's mobilization to reopen Shuhada Street. It is organized by the group Youths Against Settlements, with the aim of exposing the occupation's practices to the world.

Guest, Male #2 (Mufid Sharbani, Citizen)
This march was completely peaceful, led by women and women only, to expose the extent of the racism in this area and to reject the apartheid system used against Palestinians. It was also an attempt to cross Shuhada Street despite the depth of the occupation. But the occupation completely repressed this march. It repressed the rally, beat many foreign supporters, and arrested many of them as well.

Reporter, Male #1
In an attempt to conceal its crimes and racist policies, the occupation forces deliberately harassed the press by assaulting some of them and arresting others. Gula Jilani, Palestine TV, Hebron.