Amnesty International accuses Syria of crimes against humanity [BBC Arabic, UK]

Presenter, Female #1
Amnesty International said that Syrian government forces committed what it described as crimes against humanity against the anti-government protestors this past May in the town of Talkalakh, near the Lebanese border. Amnesty International's report accuses the Syrian security forces of committing crimes such as murder, torture, and arbitrary arrests. The organization says that it gathered testimonies from thousands of Syrians who fled to Lebanon.

Guest, Male #1
Amnesty International has just compiled a report on the very brutal repression that targeted civilians in Talkalakh in western Syria. We witnessed cases of arbitrary detainment, death in prison, and torture. We call on the UN Security Council to investigate this case before referring it to the International Criminal Court because there are clear indicators that wide-scale crimes against humanity were committed.

Reporter, Female #1
Talkalakh, near Homs, was one of the towns that witnessed protests against the ruling regime in Syria. The Syrian army entered the town on May 14th to execute military operations against whom it referred to as militants there. Most residents fled the town and crossed the border into Lebanon. Meanwhile, Amnesty International began collecting information from the refugees and making phone calls to those who remain in the region to learn the truth about what happened. The organization says that the outcome of its investigation and documents that it obtained prove that the Syrian army has committed crimes against humanity in Talkalakh. It requested the Security Council refer the case to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. This is not the first time that an international rights organization has displayed a list of charges of human rights violations against the Syrian government. Since protests broke out in Syria four months ago, images of events there ensued. These images cannot be verified due to the Syrian government's ban on journalists entering the country. However, the images continued to come out proving the same scenes. The Syrian government intensively used the army to repress protestors. Live bullets were used to disperse civilians. The bodies of youths were tossed by the roadside in a number of towns. The report asserts that eight out of nine youths were killed after being arrested and tortured, despite the fact they had already been hit by bullets and were bleeding. The testimonies of a number of released detainees indicate that they were tortured by being repeatedly shocked on their genitals with electric sticks, and that the Syrian intelligence forced them to fingerprint documents without telling them their contents. Talkalakh citizens deny the government's story stating that those detained, tortured and killed were militants, and instead say that they were peaceful just like the other protestors. The report reviewed the case of the child Hamza al-Khatib, whose family says that he was killed after the Syrian security forces arrested and tortured him. The government denies these allegations. Leaders of the protests hold the Syrian army responsible for killing over 1,400 people for their participation in the demonstrations. But the Syrian government says that more than 500 soldiers and policemen were killed by whom it refers to as militants. Nawal Asa'ad, BBC.

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Libyan revolutionaries attack key Tripoli gateway [Press TV, Iran]

In Libya, fighting between rebel forces and loyalists of embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi has reached the outskirts of the capital Tripoli. Revolutionary fighters have seized a strategic village only 50 kilometers south of Tripoli. The clashes lasted six hours before the revolutionaries took control of the strategic village of Gualish. NATO warplanes flew at very low altitudes during the battle. Last week the revolutionaries promised that they would push the frontline of the war forward. No word yet on the possible number of causalities in the hours long tense battle. Meanwhile, near the city of Misurata at least 14 revolutionaries have been killed in clashes with Gaddafi loyalists. Clashes have been ongoing in the city since Tuesday.

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Dozens of Yemeni soldiers join anti-regime protestors [Press TV, Iran]

Now to Yemen, where thousands of protestors have once again taken to the streets to call for the ouster of Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime. Thousands of people, including women and youths have filled the streets of the capital Sanaa. Dozens of soldiers have joined in the rally in the capital. Anti-regime protestors have also gathered in the southern city of Taiz. They demand the formation of a transitional council while denouncing the US and Saudi Arabia's interference in their country's internal affairs. Yemenis have been holding almost daily protests since the revolution began in mid-February.

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Afghan protestors slam Pakistan rocket attacks [Press TV, Iran]

Pakistan continues its cross-border attacks on Afghanistan, raising tension between the two neighbors. Villages in the eastern province of Kunar have been hit by rockets, forcing residents to flee the area. Pakistan's rocket attacks have sparked angry protests in Kunar. The Afghan government says the shelling in Kunar and other areas has killed several civilians and injured several more. Kabul threatens to cut ties with Islamabad if the shelling continues. Afghan lawmakers blame President Karzai for not doing enough to urge the Pakistani government to end the attacks.

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Solidarity activist determined to break the siege on Gaza [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Presenter, Female # 1
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered authorities to block foreign solidarity activists planning to protest the siege on the Gaza Strip from entering Ben-Gurion airport.

Presenter, Male # 1
Hundreds of international solidarity activists are expected to arrive to Israel on Friday after Greek authorities prevented Freedom Flotilla II from sailing to Gaza.

Reporter, Male # 2
Activists from the international flotilla to break the siege on Gaza welcomed a fellow activist with joyous cheers. He is the US captain who was just released. Captain John Klusmire spent four days in a police station and was accused by a Greek court of putting lives at risk and breaching the ban. Members of the Greek coastguard arrested the American captain of the ship "The Audacity of Hope" after he attempted to sail from the Greek Piraeus port toward Gaza's coast.

Guest, Male # 3
I feel I did nothing wrong.

Reporter, Male # 2
The American captain's lawyer said he was certain that all charges against his client will be dropped. And despite the fact that the news came as a relief to the activists of other ships, they said their joy remains incomplete.

Guest, Female # 2
John is now free but what is really important is Gaza.

Reporter, Male # 2
As Greek authorities released the captain of the ship, activists say three people were arrested as they tried to sail with another ship. However, those activists renewed their commitment to break the siege on Gaza, even if Israeli winds drag their ships toward unwanted waters.

Guest, Male # 4 (Thomas Sommer-Houdeville, Spokesman for the French ship)
Our will to break the siege remains and we will continue to invite the Greek government, and all governments, to allow us to sail to Gaza. We want to meet with its residents and stop the actions that violate the few remaining rights we still have in Europe.

Reporter, Male # 2
Activists say that Greece is under political and diplomatic pressure from Israel. It was pushed to prevent the 10-ship flotilla from sailing toward Gaza and threatened to take action against it. Since last week, Greek authorities have been imposing a blockade on these ships, which remain attached to Greek ports. The only exception is the French ship, al-Karama or Dignity, that eluded the authorities' chains after arriving from the island of Corsica and is now sailing toward Gaza.

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Human Rights Watch slams Bahrain's violent repression [Al-Alam, Iran]

Presenter, Male #1
Human Rights Watch confirmed that the Bahraini government has been carrying out a punitive and vindictive campaign of violent repression against its own citizens since March. The organization said that the campaign has killed dozens of citizens, some of whom were tortured to death.

Reporter, Male #1
The Bahraini regime's forces, backed by Saudi occupation troops, opened fire on citizens on almost a daily basis. This image is the newest evidence in Human Rights Watch's report regarding the human rights situation in Bahrain. In a report added to its series of documents on Bahrain, the organization confirmed that the Bahraini regime has been carrying out a punitive campaign of violent repression against its citizens since March. With specific figures, the organization says that the repressive campaign targets Shiites, who account for 80% of the population, and has killed dozens of protestors, some of whom were tortured to death. The organization demanded the Bahraini government stop the illegal arrests and solitary confinement, and release the detainees. This comes as detainees continue to be martyred under torture in Bahraini prisons. The latest martyr was Majid Mohammed Ahmed. Even the martyrs' funerals cannot escape the regime's repression. In these images, the sound of explosions is the only language that the regime uses with the citizens. This is a gathering to mourn the martyrs killed by the regime forces' gunfire after they were beaten up. And here is a Bahraini security officer tossing a grenade at a citizen. In Sahala village, Saudi-backed Bahraini forces attacked a peaceful rally. Two other villages, Abu Siba and Abu Quwa, also witnessed peaceful demonstrations in which the participants stressed their demands to conduct real reforms and reaffirmed their rejection of any form of dialogue with the regime. In Nuwaidrat village, the Saudi-backed regime forces used bullets and tear-gas to repress a peaceful march. The march was part of the "Week of Safeguarding the Revolution," during which the protestors described the dialogue as a farce, demanded to abolish the arbitrary provisions, and demanded that Saudi forces leave their country. The march was confronted by bullets, stun grenades and tear-gas, which caused severe cases of suffocation among participants, including a journalist who was struck by a stun grenade. It is not known whether this helicopter is Bahraini or Saudi. The helicopter aided the crackdown after the attempts at repression from the ground failed to stop the people's movements. This gunfire dialogue coincides with the dialogue sessions organized by the regime. The opposition's doubts began turning into reality as the first discussion about the law on licensing Bahraini unions comes to an end. The regime's interventions were reflected in crackdowns on the unions and the revocation of their licenses. These measures were taken under various pretexts such as the separation between politics and the representation of different sects in government and preventing the usage of religious platforms for political agendas.

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Fears of war renewed as independence for South Sudan approaches [Dubai TV, UAE]

Presenter, Female #1
Negotiations are ongoing in Adis Ababa over the fate of the city of Kordofan. Today, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, the SPLM, accused Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir of blocking the anticipated agreement to end violence in the southern parts of Kordofan. The region has been witnessing clashes between the Sudanese army and insurgents affiliated with the SPLM. According to the movement, the African Union's supreme council was informed that Bashir refuses to discuss political issues within the framework agreement because he does not consider the SPLM-North Sector to be a legal registered political party in North Sudan. In South Sudan, and specifically in the city of Juba, preparations are underway to celebrate the announcement of an independent South Sudan on July 9. However, as the date approaches, serious fears persist over the possibly of seeing Sudan falling once again into the kind of civil war that embroiled the country for decades; especially in light of unresolved issues between the two states such as power and wealth sharing, border demarcation, and the future of regions that overlap northern and southern territories. Sami el-Shinawi reports from Khartoum.

Reporter, Male #1
This is how Sudan's map was effectively changed. The north adopted it even before announcing the secession. It seems the map will serve as a reminder for future generations that the government of the National Congress Party delivered an incomplete country. However, political proceedings and fear of historical shame made the ruling party return to square one and speak to the northerners' religious sentiments.

Guest, Male # 2 (Kamal Abed, Sudanese Information Minister)
We will join our brothers in the South on Saturday to celebrate the establishment of their country. We look forward to seeing a new era in that part of the country. An era during which the Sudanese will finish building their country on the basis of the holy Koran and the pure Prophetic Sunnah.

Reporter, Male #1
It is true that the South's secession was not desired by the government in the North. It is also true that the National Congress Party continues to carry out a policy that could make it difficult to predict the future of their relationship. However, as soon as a national republic is established, Sudan will be at a crossroad, as the northern opposition claims.

Guest, Male # 3 (Kamal Omar, Opposition Popular Congress Party Spokesperson)
The National Congress' political speech is problematic, so are its political positions on the crisis. For this reason, I don't believe the Northern-Southern relationship will be stable unless some modifications take place in the North or the National Congress is removed from power.

Reporter, Male #1
Khartoum's government has addressed the North's position on the Popular Movement with a new agreement. And after the events in southern Kordofan, tension between the government and the people has increased. Observers are diminishing the risk the agreement poses. They believe impending danger lies in the two parties' rigid ideas, which could lead to another war.

Reporter, Male #1
Before the birth of a new country in southern Sudan, disputes have already emerged. This has led to additional confusion and difficulties in predicting the relationship between the North and the South. Sami el-Shinawi, Dubai TV, Khartoum.

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Police mobilized to stop pro-Palestinian activists at airport [IBA, Israel]

We open with efforts to counter the latest attempt of pro-Palestinian activists to reach Gaza by air and sea. Hundreds of activists have declared their intention to disrupt operations at Ben-Gurion airport at the end of the week. Ahead of this so-called aerial flotilla, the internal security minister and police commissioner briefed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the precautions that they are taking ahead of this so-called fly in and the disruptions that are attempting to take place. On a tour of Ben-Gourion airport this morning, the three agreed that keeping the airport functioning normally is the chief priority.

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The impact of regional unrest on Iraq [ANB, UK]

Presenter, Male #1
Tonight, we will discuss the extent to which regional events are impacting Iraq. Are Iraq citizens interested in those events and are they following them because they think they will affect them? And to what extent is the political elite, most notably the ruling elite, interested in them? Especially since regional changes will directly affect Iraq, at least through Iran, Syria and Turkey.

Guest, Male # 2 (Abdul Munem al-A'asam, Iraqi journalist and writer)
Iraq is located in a regional, let's say, archipelago. It is controlled by powerful and influential axes, such as the Saudi-Kuwaiti axis, the Syrian-Iranian axis and the Turkish one. Turkey is linked to the US, Israel and other countries. All of these axes surround Iraq and impact the country. Their extended influence is not only logistic or military, but also directly affects the people. There are segments of the Iraqi society that depend on these axes.

Presenter, Male #1
And that has become clear?

Guest, Male #2
It has become clear that there is a division.

Presenter, Male #2
This movement is linked to the Gulf, that one to Syria, and so on.

Guest, Male #2
Yes, and other countries involved in these axes are not just watching from a distance; they don't just stand by and watch Iraqi events. They also have their agendas, activities, influence, investments, money and weapons, and they have their political leaderships as well.

Presenter, Male #1
Is the ruling Iraqi elite preparing for the implications of what might happen in Syria? And in turn the impact it will have on Iran; is their any fear or concern? I think there are some who are worried about this issue in Lebanon. Do you think that some politicians are getting ready for what might happen next?

Guest, Male #2
If we were to take into consideration that the political elite is divided, and that there are sub-units and dividing lines within political parties, if we take this reality into consideration, the analysis becomes easy. We could say, then, that Iraq right now, officially at least, does not have a specific position on the events taking place at its borders, whether it is in Syria or other regional partners.

Presenter, Male #1
I'm not asking about the official position. I would like to know about the non-official positions.

Guest, Male # 2
The official position seems to be that of a very careful observer. However, in reality, many influential parties are worried about the outcome of the events in Syria and other neighboring countries. They are scared, especially since a sectarian factor has been added to the equation, such as in Bahrain. The issue of Hezbollah is well-known and its impact on Syria, the issue of the Alawites and other issues.

Presenter, Male # 1
Is this fear shared by everyone? Or do some groups consider that change to be beneficial?

Guest, Male # 2
No, to the contrary, some groups are excited and are reacting to what is going on. They feel as if these Arab events occurring on Iraq's border greatly reduce the pressure on Iraq; let's call it the psychological pressure on Iraq. Iraqis are no longer alone and "Iraq" is no longer the first news item.