Discontent brews in eastern Libya as elections near [Al-Alam, Iran]

Presenter, Male #1
Armed protestors stormed the headquarters of the High National Election Committee in eastern Libya's Benghazi to demand more autonomy. Nearly 300 protestors climbed the fence of the committee's headquarters and tampered with its contents, burning documents and ballots, and destroying voting material and computers. The protestors condemned the head of the National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, and described him as Cyrenaica's traitor.

Presenter, Male #1
A committee official said security was insufficient in front of the gates of the headquarters to stop the protestors, which led the guards to retreat. Throughout the eastern part of the country, calls were issued to boycott the elections scheduled for the seventh of this month, due to doubts that eastern Libya will be appropriately represented.

Reporter, Male #2
In less than one week, Libyans will hold their first elections since the downfall of the Gaddafi regime. Candidates are competing for the 200 seats in the constituent assembly that will assign a committee of experts to draft a constitution for the country. This is what makes these elections critical, and led to the quick establishment of tens of parties in the last several months, including a party led by the head of the military council in Tripoli, Abdelhakim Belhadj, who is part of the Islamist movement.

Guest Male #3 (Abdelhakim Belhadj, Head of Watan Party)
We view Islam as a natural extension and a normal expression of the people's affiliation. It will rule the Libyans and others, including those who ascend to power. It is not about claims but it will be about implementing policies and programs.

Reporter, Male #2
These elections present an opportunity to many ambitious youths to enter the arena of political competition at its highest level in Libya. Especially since the political parties' share of seats in the future constituent assembly does not exceed 80, leaving independent candidates with 120 seats. For this reason, voters face a difficult mission in choosing their representatives at the National General Conference, caused by the parties' lack of knowledge of the inherited political system from the former Libyan regime.

Guest, Male #4
All the candidates' pictures are up; most of the youths around me are trying to look for the better candidate, because it is not about my cousin, my relative or my friend anymore, or whether we know the candidate or not. We need to read their CV, and know how they will run things, and what their vision is.

Reporter, Male #2
Adding to the complexity of the Libyan scene is not only the electoral process, but the distribution of the constituent assembly seats. The capital Tripoli accounts for 100 of these seats, as opposed to 60 seats only in the eastern provinces. Some consider this an electoral law devoted to the marginalization and oppression that these areas have long been familiar with.

Reporter, Male #2
In addition, Cyrenaica Province's council announced it will boycott the elections and rejected the results in advance. And away from the political complexities, security challenges pose another obstacle to the upcoming Libyan elections in light of the death and injury of dozens, due to the renewed tribal clashes in the city of al-Kufra, in the southeastern part of the country, after nearly four months of calm following government intervention in that area.

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Syria issues new anti-terrorism laws while army pounds Homs [New TV, Lebanon]

Presenter, Female #1
The head of the UN observer mission in Syria has returned to Damascus, amid continuing shelling of Homs's neighborhoods and the countryside of Damascus. The Syrian president issued three laws on combating violence and terrorism.

Reporter, Female #2
Coinciding with the launch of the opposition's conference in Cairo, Syrian regime forces continued their shelling of several besieged areas in Homs and the countryside of Damascus, as reported by activists. In Homs, several people were killed in acts of violence targeting the neighborhoods of Jouret al-Shayyah, al-Khalidiya, and al-Madina al-Qadima. According to the Observatory, heavy shelling targeted the cities of Talbisa and Ezaz in Aleppo Province, al-Hamriya farms, and the town of Beit Sawa in the countryside of Damascus, with military helicopters hovering above the town of Madera in the countryside of Damascus and Erbin, where five people were injured.

Reporter, Female #2
Amid the continuing violence and the military escalation, the head of the UN observer mission in Syria, Robert Mood, returned to Damascus after attending an international conference in Geneva. The UN observers continued their mission in Syria by touring local hospitals.

Reporter, Female #2
In another development, SANA news agency said the Syrian president issued three laws to combat violence and terrorism, which were approved by parliament last week. The agency added that al-Assad issued a law stipulating the dismissal of any state employee convicted of committing any act of terrorism. Al-Assad issued a second law that stipulates that anyone convicted of kidnapping a person by force or deception for ransom could receive a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years with hard labor and a fine. In addition, the president issued a third counterterrorism law, of which the agency released no details.

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Ten thousand armed fighters enter Syria from Lebanon [Press TV, Iran]

Some 10,000 gunmen have crossed into Syria from Lebanon to fight the Syrian army. Reports say that the militants are armed with high-tech weaponry, such as anti-tank missiles. They are said to have been deployed in the village of Qasir, near the Lebanese border.

Meanwhile, clashes continue between Syrian troops and armed groups in the city of Homs. Syrian soldiers claim to have found a mass grave with nine bodies in the city's Karm al-Zeitoun district, blaming the deaths on foreign-backed terrorists. In another development, Syrian troops have taken control of the town of Duma on the outskirts of Damascus.

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NATO air strike kills five civilians in Afghanistan's eastern province of Logar [Press TV, Iran]

A US-led NATO air strike has killed at least five Afghans, including two children, in Logar Province. Press TV takes a look at the history of US-led NATO strikes in Afghanistan with its correspondent in Kabul.

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Turkey begins trials of Kurdish protestors [BBC Arabic, UK]

Presenter, Male #1
The trial of 193 Kurdish activists started in Istanbul today. They are accused of having links to what is known as the urban organizations, affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party. The first session began amid demonstrations by members and supporters of the Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, who tried to reach Silivri Jail to protest and support the accused, but were prevented by Turkish police. Our correspondent Abdul Nasser Singui reports from Istanbul.

Reporter, Male #2
A court in Silivri jail, west of Istanbul, began hearing the first session of the trial of 193 Kurdish defendants, including 132 currently under arrest, and a number of academics, rights activists, journalists, and unionists.

Reporter, Male #2
The attorney general is accusing them of belonging to urban organizations affiliated with the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party, of organizing demonstrations for supporters of the separatist Kurdish party, and of occasionally causing disorder in Turkish cities.

Guest, Male #3 (Ismail Kabal, Writer and Political Analyst)
These urban organizations, as mentioned in the summon, form the structure of a state that is equivalent to the Turkish state, as in the foundation of a Kurdish state that members of these organizations and the separatist party want to establish in the region. They are an extension of the party's armed members in the mountains.

Reporter, Male #2
The government says that nearly 1,100 members of the urban organizations are in jail, while leaders of the Peace and Democracy Party say over 7,000 Kurds are imprisoned for belonging to these organizations, and that the government is trying to silence the members of the party, lawfully preventing them from exercising their political rights. Some view the Peace and Democracy Party as the legitimate front of the banned Kurdish Workers' Party.

Guest, Female #1 (Gultan Kisanak, Head of Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party)
These arrests and prosecutions are a desperate attempt to scare us, and weaken us, and end our movement. In the face of these trials, and in the squares of democracy, and with our protests and marches, we will continue to seek democracy, tirelessly and relentlessly. We will not surrender to the pressure they are putting on us.

Reporter, Male #2
The trial of the Kurdish activists started one day after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan met with Kurdish parliamentarian Leyla Zana, known for her close association to the Kurdish Workers' Party. They discussed means to solve the Kurdish problem. Zana said she believes in Erdogan's ability to solve the Kurdish issue, prompting anger from her Peace and Democracy Party colleagues, who doubt the government intends to solve this issue. So the prosecution of Kurdish defendants started while some are warning of escalating the Kurdish issue in Turkey as the situation in the region is deteriorating, notably on the Syrian front, that could be taken advantage of by Kurdish gunmen to escalate their attacks on civilian and military targets in Turkey. From Istanbul, Abdul Nasser Singui, BBC.

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UN begins talks on arms trade treaty as Syria casts shadow [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Presenter, Female #1
At the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, negotiations started today on the first-ever binding treaty to regulate the global arms market.

Presenter, Male #1
Representatives from all countries of the world are expected to participate in the negotiations that will last one month.

Presenter, Female #1
Organizations advocating for a limit on the spread of weapons say one person is killed every minute because of armed violence.

Presenter, Male #1
These organizations add that conflict in Syria and other areas around the world will cast its shadow over these talks.

Reporter, Male #2
The global arms trade has never been as booming and thriving as it is today. It is considered among the most important trades because of the immense profit it generates for its owners. Statistics indicate that the value of the arms trade exceeds 60 billion dollars a year. And according to studies by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the global arms trade has significantly grown over the past few years.

Reporter, Male #2
Developing and poor countries with a track record of human rights violations are the largest importers of arms in the world. International parties are aware of the importance of reaching an agreement to stop the flow of arms.

Reporter, Male #2
Their greatest concern is the illegal flow of weapons, especially traditional arms, to conflict zones. The danger is exacerbated through the weapons' use to ignite wars and commit atrocities in which civilians, in most cases, are the victims. The organizations advocating for a limit on the spread of arms say that one person is killed every minute as a result of armed violence around the world. First world countries are the primary exporters of arms, headed by the United States.

Reporter, Male #2
Statistics indicate the value of American arms exports is 29 billion dollars, followed by Russia, whose arms exports are valued at over 14 billion dollars. As for Germany, it exports arms valued at 5 billion dollars, followed by France, with over 4 billion dollars, then Britain, with nearly 3.5 billion, and Israel, whose arms exports are over 1.4 billion annually.

Reporter, Male #2
However, the real value of Chinese arms exports is unknown. And as these countries allocate great funds to the development sectors, the focus of ruling regimes in the countries importing weapons is to continue securing their rule, even at the expense of killing their citizens, as well as wholly or partially neglecting the issue of development.

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Former Israeli PM Yitzhak Shamir laid to rest in Jerusalem [IBA, Israel]

Former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir will be laid to rest at the National Cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Israel's seventh prime minister will be buried alongside his wife Shulamit in the section reserved for the nation's leaders. Shamir passed away on Saturday at the age of 96.

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UNESCO lists Church of the Nativity as endangered World Heritage site [Palestine TV, Ramallah]

Presenter, Female #1
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, voted with a majority to approve a bid to place the Church of Nativity, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, and the shrine of pilgrims in Bethlehem, on the UNESCO list of endangered World Heritage sites.

Presenter, Female #1
Thirteen member countries voted for the bid, six countries voted against it, and two countries abstained from voting. Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki thanked the amicable countries that voted for the Palestinian bid. In his speech at the meeting of UNESCO's World Heritage Center in Russia's St. Petersburg, al-Maliki said that Palestinian cultural and natural heritage are threatened with destruction by Israel's war machine, in addition to its systematic attacks to weaken Palestinian cultural and historical identity, and Palestinian existence on a Palestinian historical site.

Presenter, Female #1
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad welcomed the UNESCO World Heritage Center's decision, in its 36th session, to list the city of Bethlehem as a World Heritage site. In a press release, Fayyad said that this decision reaffirms the global importance of this holy Palestinian city and its place among the nations, heritage, and civilizations of the world. He said the decision gives hope and confidence to our people in achieving victory for their legitimate cause, and strengthens their determination to continue their efforts to be better prepared for establishing an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, within the 1967 borders.

Presenter, Female #1
For its part, the Fatah Movement expressed through its spokesman, Usama al-Qawasmi, that Palestine's victory in UNESCO was an imperative step towards validating our people's lawful rights in international forums. He said it was also an important step towards freedom and independence, and clear proof that the Palestinian Authority is an independent decision-maker, and does not succumb to pressure from parties opposing the Palestinian bid.

Presenter, Female #1
Immediately after the decision was announced, a popular celebration was organized in Bethlehem in the square of the Church of the Nativity. Participants said this decision represents the first step towards listing the remaining archaeological and historical sites in Palestine as World Heritage sites, in order to preserve them and protect them from Israeli aggression.