UN warns of rising sectarian killings in Syria as gunmen attack pro-Assad TV channel [BBC Arabic, UK]

Presenter, Male #1
The Syrian Revolution General Commission said 17 people were killed in various regions of Syria, most of them in Idlib and the countryside of Damascus. Shelling continued in parts of Idlib, Homs, Deir az-Zour, Daraa, Hama, and the countryside of Damascus. Activists said the towns of Khan as-Subul, Sarja, and Abu Samis have been shelled since dawn, leading to casualties.

Reporter, Male #2
Emad Sara, director of the news channel Al-Ekhbariya, denounced the attack on the channel this morning. He said the opposition has no desire to convey the opinions of others.

Guest, Male #2 (Emad Sara, Director of News Channel Al-Ekhbariya)
Three of our journalists were martyred, and of course, their only crime was conveying words; words that you all know well, words of truth, words that express the other point of view. They conveyed the message of their freedoms in their own way. As such, they were targeted.

Presenter, Male #1
Human rights investigators in the United Nations released a report today that says the violence in Syria is spiraling out of control. According to the report, the Syrian government is using combat helicopters and artillery to shell residential neighborhoods. It points to the increasing number of sectarian attacks. The report adds that a number of Syrian regions have descended into civil war since the UN-backed ceasefire this past April. However, Karim Abu Zaid, one of the UN investigators who prepared the report, insisted that there is still ambiguity around the Houla Massacre.

Reporter, Male #3
The threat of a civil war between numerous opponents is looming over all of Syria. UN investigators submitted a report to the Human Rights Council, warning that vast parts of the country are on the brink of war.

Guest, Female #1 (Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights)
We are gravely concerned by the latest reports of an upsurge in violence, and the growing military operations by government forces and armed opposition groups. Innocent civilians are caught in the line of fire. The international observers are subject to serious dangers as well.

Reporter, Male #3
The UN Human Rights Council listened to the testimonies of the investigators, whose delegation visited Syria, documented the events there with images and videos, and conducted live interviews. The Houla Massacre, where an entire family was killed, and the world's horrified reaction to it, were important parts of the report.

Guest, Male #4 (Paulo Sergio Pinheiro)
The manner in which these killings took place resembles those previously and repeatedly documented to have been committed by the government. While the commission cannot rule out the possibility that the opposition fighters are responsible for the killings, it does not believe that is likely.

Reporter, Male #3
Representatives of Western countries and some Arab countries held the Syrian government responsible for the continuing violence. Qatar called for referring the issue to the Security Council, in order to issue a resolution under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. As for Washington, it adhered to condemning President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Guest, Female #2 (Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, US Representative to the UN)
The Assad regime is waging a brutal campaign against the Syrian people, characterized by aerial bombardment, mass killings, rape, and other atrocities.

Reporter, Male #3
The report criticized Syria's armed opposition, and accused it of committing violations, and using children in missions that expose them to the dangers of fighting. However, the basis of the report was completely rejected by the Syrian government and its allies. The Venezuelan representative believed that certain parties which he described as imperialist are seeking to sabotage the Kofi Annan plan, and push the situation toward a Libya-style military intervention. Meanwhile, the Syrian representative reiterated his president's statement that Syria is engaged in a real war.

Guest, Male #5 (Faisal Hamoui, Syrian Representative to the UN)
My country's delegation will not take part in this session, in protest of the bias and politicization of the situation.

Reporter, Male #3
While waiting for reaching a political settlement that all relevant parties in the Syrian issue can agree upon, the Human Rights Council's discussion remains impeded by international disagreement on how to approach the crisis. The Syrian dissidents and anti-regime protestors consider this disagreement a mere excuse for the international community's failure in dealing with the matter. Wael Hajjar, BBC.

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Eleven killed in bomb attacks on anti-Qaeda Sahwa group [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Presenter, Male #1
Iraqi security and medical sources reported that 11 people were killed and at least 13 were wounded in separate attacks on Baghdad this morning.

Presenter, Female #1
The sources said that two explosive devices were detonated in the al-Mada'in area south of Baghdad, while a third bomb exploded in al-Ghazaliya in the western part of the capital.

Reporter, Male #2
Jassim, in his mid-thirties, is selling his goods by the roadside in central Baghdad. Once a fighter in the al-Sahwa council, he became a fuel seller after the balance of justice was lost, and the protective umbrella for his safety and source of livelihood disappeared, as he said.

Guest, Male #3 (Jassim, Former al-Sahwa Member)
We ended up running a stand on the street, what do you expect us to do? The government is not helping us. I have had no salary since I quit al-Sahwa.

Reporter, Male #2
The pictures of dead al-Sahwa members were hung in the streets in their memory, while there is a perpetual fear that the remaining fighters will be targeted. The al-Sahwa militia in Iraq is caught in between a rock and hard place. Al-Qaeda and other parties still target its members. Their eyes are filled with fear, and their psychological and financial condition is sorrowful.

Reporter, Male #2
At the end of 2006, Iraq's tribal members were enlisted in what is known as al-Sahwa councils with the US and Iraqi forces to fight al-Qaeda, which has been largely weakened compared to the past. Many al-Sahwa members were killed, causing much controversy over the militia's approach and the motives of its establishment.

Reporter, Male #2
The Iraqi government attempted to integrate former al-Sahwa members into the state's institutions; however, the move was met with many reservations, even from the al-Sahwa leaders themselves. They described some of their jobs as "inappropriate."

Guest, Male #4 (Amir al-Azzawi, al-Sahwa Leader in al-Adhamiya)
I say to you, it is unreasonable that those who carried rifles, stayed up late at night to maintain security and stability, and fought crimes, are now turning into street-cleaners.

Reporter, Male #2
In turn, the Iraqi government believes that the education level of the al-Sahwa members determines their type of work, while placing the blame on parliament.

Guest, Male #5 (Amer al-Khizaii, Minister of State for National Reconciliation)
Our brothers in parliament withheld 69 billion dinars. We don't have much to allocate in a way that does not affect the disbursement of salaries. One third of the budget is being spent under suspicious conditions, and is sometimes politicized.

Reporter, Male #2
It is said that al-Sahwa fighters are still targeted by a number of parties, most notably al-Qaeda. Meanwhile, the al-Sahwa members continue to bury their dead. Nasser Shadid, Al Jazeera, Baghdad.

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Iraq's Prime Minister al-Maliki calls for early elections [Press TV, Iran]

Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki has called for early elections, accusing political rivals of purposefully rejecting dialogue and trying to cause a political crisis. Al-Maliki's challengers, who are members of the Iraqiya Bloc, have openly attempted to unseat him with a no-confidence vote earlier this year.

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Bahraini activist Rajab vows to continue protests against regime [Press TV, Iran]

Newly-released Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab says he is determined to continue his protest against the Bahraini government until the goals of the revolution are achieved. He was detained last June for the use of social media to incite anti-government protests.

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Sudanese opposition fails to sign post-Bashir political charter [Dubai TV, UAE]

Presenter, Male #1
The campaign waged by the Sudanese government against its anti-government protestors has pushed the US State Department to issue a statement condemning the Sudanese government's arrest and beating of protestors. It considered these procedures inconsistent.

Presenter, Male #1
However, international condemnation did not prevent Khartoum's government from waging a new arrest campaign targeting Sudanese opposition parties, especially since they started a new movement under the banner of "toppling the regime." But the meeting that was held last night to sign two proposed charters to manage the country during the transitional period following the regime's collapse, was postponed until next week after they failed to reach an agreement. From Khatoum, our reporter Sami al-Shinawi.

Reporter, Male #1
Sudan is bracing for a hot summer, as the Sudanese opposition heightens its tone against al-Khartoum and threatens to topple al-Bashir's regime. However, the two proposals for the country's transition following the downfall of the regime are yet to be finalized. Despite its claim of unity, the opposition failed to sign the democratic change document and the constitutional declaration. It postponed the meeting until next week, for further discussion of the provisions of the drafting process.

Guest, Male #3 (Dr. Hasan al-Turabi, Sudanese Opposition Leader)
The parties are meeting in order to prevent any chaos that may erupt after the departure of the hated regime. You know what could happen in the country. We want to maintain order, and came here to try to reach an agreement.

Reporter, Male #2
Some described the move as "preemptive," which may stir fears among the demonstrators that parties previously affiliated with the regime may rise to power. The ruling party immediately described the opposition's demands for democratic change as "wishful thinking." It is a matter that widened the gap between the two sides, prompting the ruling party to launch a widescale arrest campaign targeting opposition groups.

Guest Male #4
It is a slogan that we kept hearing for 24 years; we kept saying it will end in a week, a month, two months, but it kept on. We are still hearing this slogan, and the people don't think much of it.

Reporter, Male #2
During the past two months, the political opposition parties, through designated committees, held a series of meetings to draft a constitutional declaration, which stipulated a peaceful transition of power, and the formation of an interim government that will run the country in case the current regime collapses.

Reporter, Male #2
Meanwhile, observers are downplaying the importance of the opposition's next steps, due to the widening gap between the angry Sudanese street over the austerity measures that do not meet their demands, and the opposition, which is seeking regime change. Sami al-Shinawi, Dubai TV, al-Khartoum.

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International Coalition for Human Rights calls for end to torture in Moroccan prisons [Al-Alam, Iran]

Presenter, Male #1
The Moroccan Coalition for Human Rights and the Committee against Torture demanded that authorities open their prisons to rights organizations, and investigate complaints presented by prisoners who were subject to torture. This comes after these two organizations presented reports that confirmed the continuation of torture in police stations, prisons, and secret detention facilities.

Reporter, Male #2
Although the new constitution forbids torture, and the Interior Minister assured parliament that the government would not allow the practice of torture or abuse at police stations, the reports presented by the Moroccan Coalition for Human Rights and the Committee against Torture at a meeting in Rabat, confirm that torture is still practiced at police stations, secret detention facilities, and prisons.

Guest Male #3 (Abdel Megeid Hussein, Member of the Moroccan Coalition for Human Rights)
We denounce and reject torture in any form. We demand an investigation into all allegations and claims of torture.

Reporter, Male #2
Contrary to previous reports, the committee was keen to present actual reports about prisoners who were subject to torture. Among them are civilians who participated in peaceful protests.

Guest, Female #1
Anyone demanding their rights is thrown in prison and is subject to human rights violations, and their voice is silenced.

Reporter, Male #2
In addition to the government, the Committee against Torture condemned the judiciary's refusal to look into all of the demands regarding torture cases, asserting that the judiciary still plays a negative role in whitewashing human rights violations.

Guest, Male #4 (Mohamed al-Zahari, Moroccan League to Defend Human Rights)
In the history of Morocco, there has never been any judicial ruling against any individual or security official who took part in the torture of citizens.

Reporter, Male #2
Despite the government's assurance that it respects human rights and criminalizes the penal code of torture, rights organizations demand that the Minister of Justice ratify the supplementary Optional Protocol to the International Convention against Torture, which stipulates the formation of a civilian committee to investigate torture cases apart from official bodies. They also demand opening the prison doors to the Committee against Torture, which has not been able to enter the prisons despite its establishment three years ago.

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Lebanese government fails to deal with security crisis [Future TV, Lebanon]

Presenter, Male #1
In the Lebanese capital yesterday, a number of roads were blocked and cars were attacked, turning Beirut's night into one that resembles those of futile wars. Charbel Aboud reports.

Reporter, Male #2
Its largest impact is psychological, but it also affects the country's history, security and economy. The Lebanese people in Beirut went to sleep with the black smoke of burning tires, which was followed by gunfire and an attack on New TV.

Reporter, Male #2
Today, the government is preparing for a "security month" it says will cover all Lebanese regions, including Beirut's southern suburb of Dahiyeh. The step is the result of security incidents that moved from region to region in Beirut, and included burning tires and garbage bins that rolled from one site to another, and gunfire that terrorized those safe in their homes. On the evening of the initiation of "security month," the people's views varied between those who welcomed the initiative and those who have already lost all hope.

Guest, Male #3
It's been a failure for 30 years.

Guest, Male #4
The state is nothing without security; that's the most important thing. All I ask from the state is to impose security; I don't want anything else.

Guest, Male #5
I wish the state would capture everyone that is destabilizing the security, and get them out of the street.

Guest, Male #6
It's complete rubbish; the situation is unbearable.

Guest, Female #1
The state is supposed to provide security and stability.

Guest, Female #2
I think the whole state should be changed, no?

Reporter, Male #2
This time the attack targeted New TV, then spread to different neighborhoods of the capital, as roads were blocked and residents terrorized. The hope is for the security forces to determine their tactics, and for the government to take action before these attacks become a way of life, with black smoke coloring the days of Lebanon.

Reporter, Male #2
Along with its failure to solve the economic crises, the government also failed to deal with the security issue. So the question today is who will protect the Lebanese living under a government that has failed to even secure the basic conditions for security and stability? Charbel Aboud, Future TV.

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Iran VP delivers stinging anti-Semitic speech at UN conference in Tehran [IBA, Israel]

Iranian Vice President Mohamad-Reza Rahimi delivered a speech at a United Nations international anti-drug conference in Tehran, Rahimi said that Zionists were responsible for the illegal drug trade across the globe, claiming that a central Jewish text, the Talmud, encourages Jews to believe they are the world's superior race. The speech shocked and angered diplomats who attended the conference.

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Israel's budget deficit to grow by 15 billion shekels [IBA, Israel]

Israel's state budget deficit will grow by 15 billion shekels, but taxes will not go up, according to a plan presented by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, who raised the 2013 budget deficit goal to three percent. The government will still have to cut 6.5 billion shekels from the budget, although Netanyahu has refused to rescind his promise of free preschool education from the age of three.