Egypt ex-minister sentenced to 15 years over Israel gas deal [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Presenter, Female #1
In Egypt, the Cairo Criminal Court issued a verdict to imprison former Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmy, fugitive businessman Hussein Salem, and five other former high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Petroleum. While the civil lawyers welcomed the verdicts, the defense lawyers decided to appeal the decisions. As for the relatives of the defendants, they had another opinion.

Reporter, Male #1
Immediately after the announcement of the verdict to imprison seven officials for a total of 50 years, a storm of anger took over the relatives of the former high-ranking officials, who are accused of squandering public money by selling Egyptian gas to Israel at a low price. The biggest share of the verdict was for Sameh Fahmy, former Minister of Petroleum, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Fugitive businessman Hussein Salem received the same sentence.

Guest Male #2 (Chancellor Bashir Abdel Aal, Head of Cairo Criminal Court)
Fining all the defendants jointly, to the amount of 2 billion 300 million 319 thousand and 675 US dollars.

Reporter, Male #1
The defense lawyers vowed to appeal the verdicts.

Guest, Male #3 (Sayed Atiq, Defense Lawyer)
We have no comment on the verdicts, but we will follow the legal procedure to petition and appeal them.

Reporter, Male #1
However, civil lawyers considered these verdicts historic.

Guest, Male #4 (Othman al-Hifnawy, Civil Lawyer)
This is the first case in Egypt in which ministers of the petroleum industry have been sentenced. They sold the country's resources very cheaply. This can be considered a warning and a vow to anyone who intends to do such a thing in Egypt in the future, and it is a big success for the revolution.

Reporter, Male #1
The verdict's announcement was preceded by tight security measures, and came after 49 hearings over an entire year. With these verdicts, the case of exporting gas to Israel is closed, following seven years of popular disapproval and political turmoil. This turmoil came about after Egypt signed a treaty in 2005 to sell gas to Israel at prices well below international market prices. This brought losses to Egypt estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars. Samir Hassan, Al Jazeera, Cairo.

Presenter, Female #1
Egyptian President-Elect Mohamed Morsi denied what he described as allegations to turn Egypt into a Muslim Brotherhood state. And in a meeting with the heads of political parties and editorial directors, Morsi said that his actual goal is to have rapport between all political forces. He noted that he will announce the prime minister within the next few days, and that the presidency will later announce the location where he will take the oath of office. The president-elect also called for the elimination of the terms "confrontation" and "mistrust" from the political dictionary.

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Jordan king asks MPs to amend contested electoral law [BBC Arabic, UK]

Presenter, Male #1
Jordan's King Abdullah II sent the electoral law back to parliament to be reviewed and amended. This comes after the Islamic Action Front party issued a request to send the law back and form a national unity government.

Reporter, Male #2
The Jordanian king responded to the Islamic Action Front's request, and sent the electoral law back to parliament. The political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan requested that the king send the law back, saying the law will have negative effects on the economic and social situation of the country. The party also called for forming a "national rescue government."

Reporter, Male #2
Parliament recently passed a bill for this year's elections. According to the bill, each voter will be allowed two votes; one of them will go to local candidates, and the other to a relatively closed national list consisting of 17 representatives.

Reporter, Male #2
Since last year, Jordan has been seeing wide-scale protests and demonstrations for various causes, be they political, social, or economic. Politically, a constitutional monarchy was proposed, amid discussions among political parties who demand fundamental change in the infrastructure of the regime's institutions. The calls for reform, which include drafting an electoral law, focus on attaining more rights for Jordanians. A large number of Jordanians took to the streets demanding an end to corruption, and an end to the security institutions that the protestors say have exceeded their constitutional role.

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Palestinian President Abbas to meet with Israeli vice PM on Sunday [BBC Arabic, UK]

Presenter, Male #1
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet with Israeli Vice Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz this coming Sunday. This will be the first meeting of this level since peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis failed in 2010. Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat said in his statements on Radio Palestine that the Abbas-Mofaz meeting comes after the latter asked to convene it. However, a spokesman for the Israeli vice prime minister did not confirm or deny arranging the meeting.

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Senior Hamas member assassinated in Syria's Damascus; evidence of torture found [IBA, Israel]

Senior Hamas member Kanal Ranaja has been assassinated in Damascus. Hamas issued an official statement confirming the death, saying a number of people entered Ranaja's home in the Syrian capital and killed him. A Hamas source in Gaza said there were marks of torture on Ranaja's body, and indirectly accused Israel of being involved in the killing, while the Syrian opposition accused President Bashar al-Assad of being responsible.

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Israel's ultra-orthodox fight potential law to draft yeshiva students into army [IBA, Israel]

A potential coalition crisis is brewing over the proposed Plessner Committee law regulating the draft of ultra-orthodox youth into the Israeli army. Sources close to Prime Minister Netanyahu said that the ultra-orthodox parties, including Shas, will fiercely oppose the Plessner Committee proposals of drafting Yeshiva students.

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Palestinian prisoner on verge of death as he enters 78th day of hunger strike [Palestine TV, Ramallah]

Presenter, Male #1
The Palestinian Prisoners' Society and rights organizations warned of prisoner Akram al-Rakhawi's deteriorating health condition. Al-Rakhawi, who suffers from several diseases, has entered his 78th day of hunger strike.

Reporter, Male #2
For eight years, a mother and three children have been awaiting the day Akram al-Rakhawi, who entered his 78th day of hunger strike, would be released. At a military checkpoint between Gaza and Khan Younis, occupation forces arrested al-Rakhawi in 2004 and sentenced him to nine years in prison, leaving his children and wife waiting for the day of his return.

Guest, Female #1
A lawyer visited him and said, "This is not the Abu-Marwan that I know, we are pulling words out of him." His health condition is very poor, and he is very tired. He is in a coma, and when he gets an asthma attack, he suffocates and he feels like he's going to die.

Reporter, Male #2
This is the situation of al-Rakhawi, who is staying at the hospital in al-Ramla Prison, after he suffered from asthma and other diseases, and after he refused to submit to the prison's measures to chain him up while transporting him to the hospital.

Guest, Male #3
I am sending a message to all people with a conscience to interfere in my father's case and help release him, because we want to see him and be with him.

Reporter, Male #2
Al-Rakhawi's lawyers are exerting tremendous efforts to secure his release after serving two-thirds of his sentence. But all efforts failed, and Akram, a resident of Yebna refugee camp in Rafah, will complete his journey of hardship between prison and the hospital.

Guest, Male #4 (Qaddoura Fares, Director of the Prisoners' Society)
His case is complicated, as the occupation sentenced him to nine years in jail, and the prison term will end in June next year. Therefore, there is supposed to be an intervention on the political level as well, to settle his case.

Reporter, Male #2
Akram al-Rakhawi, 39 years old, shares his prisoner brothers' endurance of all forms of physical and psychological torture, which domestic and international human rights organizations have repeatedly condemned.

Guest, Male #5 (Holmi al-Aaraj, Director of the Center for Freedom)
The organizations, such as Adalah and Beit Salim, as well as other organizations, have filed hundreds of complaints against Israeli investigators. But the occupation provides immunity to the investigators, while legitimizing their practices of torture against the Palestinian detainees. Therefore, none of them were held accountable.

Reporter, Male #2
So Akram al-Rakhawi will remain in this situation, struggling for a dignified life, threatened by death at every moment. Ajwad Jaradat, Palestine TV.

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Annan calls for Syrian unity government [Dubai TV, UAE]

Presenter, Male #1
The UN envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, is exerting new efforts to solve the Syrian crisis, while violence still dominates the situation in the country. Annan proposed the formation of a transitional government that includes both supporters and opponents of al-Assad. The proposal was accepted by major powers, including Moscow, which asserted that the Russians and Syrians agree that a transitional phase is necessary. Hani Nasr reports.

Reporter, Male #2
Realizing that his six-point plan will not bring about the desired results, the UN envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, comes bearing a new package of plans that is perhaps better than the previous one, to end the Syrian conflict, which has entered its 16th month.

Reporter, Male #2
The international mediator's proposal entails forming a transitional government in Syria that includes both supporters of President Bashar al-Assad and members of the opposition. The transitional government will not include any official whose presence may harm the transitional process and undermine the government's credibility. The proposal seems to have received acceptance from major powers, including Russia, which will discuss the new Annan plan at the summit of the Action Group for Syria in Geneva. The group does not include Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Guest, Male #3 (Kofi Annan, UN Envoy to Syria)
The objectives of the Action Group for Syria are to identify steps and measures to secure full implementation of the six-point plan and the Security Council resolutions 2042 and 2043, including an immediate cessation of violence in all its forms. The Action Group for Syria should also agree on guidelines and principles for a Syrian-led political transition that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people.

Reporter, Male #2
However, do the new plan and the transition mean President Bashar al-Assad will be removed? Western diplomats believe that the picture Annan has painted suggests the possibility of removing Assad, as well as removing certain officials in the opposition, though they insist that there is nothing in the Annan proposal that will automatically remove President Assad. This speculation leads to another question: Does the approval of Moscow, Assad's most important ally, mean that Russia is ready for Assad to step down?

Guest, Male #4 (Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister)
It is clear that, in order to overcome the Syrian crisis, there must be a transitional phase. But the Syrian people themselves should determine the details and the approach for this phase, through a dialogue that includes the Syrian government. That is what we approved of.

Reporter, Male #2
Meanwhile, Washington's position is straightforward on the new Annan plan.

Guest, Female #1 (Hillary Clinton, US State Secretary)
We believe it embodies the principles needed for any political transition in Syria that could lead to a peaceful, democratic, and representative outcome, reflecting the will of the Syrian people.

Reporter, Male #2
The implementation of the new plan, or the new proposal, remains uncertain. It may receive the same fate as the previous one. However, an even more important question remains: Do Assad and the institutions around him approve of the plan?

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Turkey deploys troops, anti-aircraft guns on Syrian border [Press TV, Iran]

Turkey leaves troops on the border with Syria, after Syrian troops shot down a Turkish jet fighter over its territorial waters. Ankara began amassing troops along the Syrian border after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened Damascus with retaliation. Press TV takes a look at the unrest in Syria, and the role that Turkey and other regional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have played in it so far.

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Syria: Justice Ministry bomb blast injures three in Damascus [Press TV, Iran]

A strong explosion rocked the Syrian capital Damascus, with the Justice Ministry as its target. At least three people were injured and 20 cars were torched in the blast in the parking lot of the Palace of Justice; the area holds several courtrooms and buildings.

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Yemenis take to streets of Sanaa in a massive car rally [Al-Alam, Iran]

Presenter, Male #1
The streets of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, witnessed demonstrations that were the first of their kind, in the form of a procession of cars. Protestors chanted slogans demanding the ouster and trial of those loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, stressing the importance of continuing to mobilize the revolutionaries.

Reporter, Male #2
Near Taghyeer Square in Sanaa, protestors in hundreds of cars gathered to prepare for a demonstration that was the first of its kind. The car procession covered most of the streets in Sanaa in a demonstration for change. Revolutionary youths say that it symbolizes the beginning of a new revolutionary mobilization with the aim of protecting the revolution through various methods.

Guest Male #3
Today, we are using a new method. We are trying to find innovative ways to help express our views. This car procession is one way to do it.

Reporter, Male #2
It is a different form of protest, but the demands and slogans are the same. Protestors chanted slogans demanding the restructuring of the army and the ouster of the remaining Saleh loyalists, especially his son Ahmed, who still serves as the head of the Republican Guard, as well as arresting and trying all corrupt figures.

Guest, Male #4
Today's demonstration is a form of escalating the revolution, with the aim of expelling the remnants of the deposed Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime.

Guest, Male #5
We are very determined. We will not engage in any discussion until the army is restructured, and until we attain the demands of the youths who came out to protest.

Reporter, Male #2
The issues of restructuring the army and the dialogue conference still preoccupy the revolutionary youths and politicians. Meanwhile, an international delegation headed by UN Ambassador to Yemen Jamal Bin Omar, is due to arrive in Sanaa for a mission that's expected to last several weeks.

Reporter, Male #2
The delegation will monitor and follow up on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution No. 2014, pertaining to the power transfer deal, particularly to the restructuring of the army, and the political dialogue.

Reporter, Male #2
Every step toward a political compromise encounters many obstacles that impede the implementation process. It is an issue that some attributed to the shortcomings in the agreement's approach, which left out many important details, rendering its fate unknown. Ali al-Dahab, Al-Alam, Sanaa.