Bahrain's pro-democracy activists escalate mobilization against US-Saudi interference [Al-Alam, Iran]

Presenter, Male #1
Massive demonstrations broke out across various Bahraini cities under the slogan, "The country's freedom." The protestors rejected the Saudi occupation and the US-British bias towards the regime. The revolutionary youths held solidarity rallies under the theme, "Revolutionary women prisoners defeated oppression." In response, regime forces fired poison gas and pellet bullets at the peaceful demonstrators.

Reporter, Male #2
In solidarity with female prisoners held in the Bahraini regime's prisons and under the theme, "Women prisoners defeated oppression," the February 14 Revolutionary Youth Coalition held solidarity rallies across various Bahraini regions, most notably in Sitra Island. The rally included the recital of poems and revolutionary speeches stressing the importance of continuing the revolutionary mobilization until all popular demands are attained.

Guest, Male #3
We at the coalition pledge to continue the mobilization, and fulfill the promises we have made to the families of the prisoners. We will double our efforts to free our prisoners held in the custody of al-Khalifa.

Reporter, Male #2
Similar solidarity rallies were held across various Bahraini towns. The demonstrators held sit-ins in front of the prisoners' homes, and blocked major streets. They shut down the main street leading to the city of Issa, the only exit to Saudi Arabia.

Reporter, Male #2
Massive demonstrations broke out in other regions of Bahrain, demanding the release of all male and female prisoners. The protestors also called for continuing the demonstrations until the people's demands are attained.

Reporter, Male #2
The regime forces launched a violent crackdown across various areas in an attempt to punish the citizens for taking part in the demonstrations, and exercising their freedom of expression. The regime's forces fired poison gas, or "clouds of death," as referred to by the residents.

Reporter, Male #2
The regime forces also fired pellet bullets, injuring several people. The victims were treated in their homes instead of hospitals due to fear of retribution by security forces. Hospitals have been under the control of regime forces since the declaration of the state of emergency last year.

Reporter, Male #2
The forces continue to carry out a campaign of raids and sweeps as part of their collective punishment. They stormed 22 regions, including some that had not witnessed rallies.

Reporter, Male #2
Internationally, several members of the Arab community held a sit-in in front of the Saudi embassy in Berlin. The demonstrators condemned the occupation of Bahrain by the Saudi army, and chanted slogans denouncing the use of violence by the Saudi authority against its citizens, and the detention of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

--

Mauritania's president says country is immune to 'Arab Spring' despite weeks of protests [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Presenter, Male #1
Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz said that the revolutions that erupted in some Arab countries were caused by the lack of democracy.

Presenter, Female #1
During a forum marking the 3rd anniversary of his inauguration, Ould Abdel Aziz said that his country, that guarantees freedom of expression and which doesn't hold any political prisoners, is immune from this type of mobilization. He renewed his call to the opposition, which is demanding his departure, to resort to elections if it wants to figure out its actual political weight.

Reporter, Female #2
Domestic policy issues were the main focus of this meeting. Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz defended his three years of reign. He said that he has accomplished more than 70 percent of his political program. He also talked about holding parliamentary and municipal elections soon. In addition, he denied the presence of a political crisis in the country, and downplayed the call for his departure by the opposition, ruling out the possibility of a revolution in his country.

Guest, Male #2 (Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, Mauritanian President)
Some of the opposition is calling for concession. They are demanding the presidential chair, which I will not relinquish. As I said earlier, presidential elections are the only way to ascend to power.

Reporter, Female #2
At the foreign relations level, the Mauritanian president held the former government of Mali responsible for the security breaches witnessed in the country after a large portion of its territory fell under al-Qaeda's control. However, the president said that his country will not take part in any military intervention in northern Mali. He further said that the case of the former Libyan intelligence chief is now in the hands of the Mauritanian judiciary.

Guest, Male #2
His case was decided by virtue of a political resolution. The problem has something to do with Mauritanian justice. Other problems pertain to relations between the countries.

Reporter, Female #2
The opposition that is taking part in the dialogue with the authorities attended the forum and defended its position. It further said that the formation of an independent election committee was a direct result of the dialogue.

Reporter, Female #2
The denial of Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of the presence of any political crisis in the country comes as the Coordination of Democratic Opposition pledged to continue its peaceful struggle aimed at forcing the end of this regime. Members of the opposition have recently signed a charter of honor refusing to take part in any unilateral election in which transparency is not guaranteed. Zaina Wizabi, Al Jazeera, Atar, in northern Mauritania.

--

UN observers withdraw from Syria's Aleppo amid food, medicine shortages [Dubai TV, UAE]

Presenter, Male #1
Aleppo's neighborhoods are desolate, with the exception of weapons. More battles are raging between the Free Army and regime forces, who say they are preparing for the decisive battle in the next few hours. Violent clashes occurred in al-Aziziyah neighborhood between regime forces and the armed opposition. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the neighborhoods of Shaar, al-Sakhour, and al-Qatarji witnessed heavy air and land shelling.

Presenter, Male #1
In a related development, Local Coordination Committees said regime forces shelled the area of Kfar Nabul in Idlib with warplanes, and that one person was killed. And in the area of Bosra al-Hareer in Daraa, violent clashes came alongside heavy mortar and artillery shelling of the city. And in the city of Hama, activists said that regime forces committed a massacre that claimed the lives of a number of people; nearly 265 people were killed yesterday, according to activists.

Presenter, Male #1
The city of Aleppo that is witnessing ongoing military operations is outside the framework of the UN monitoring mission. A UN peacekeeping spokeswoman announced the withdrawal of the 20 international observers from Aleppo and their return to the capital Damascus, noting that the procedure is temporary due to the deteriorating security conditions in the city. The city of Aleppo is one of four Syrian cities that host headquarters for the international observers who were deployed in April.

Presenter, Male #1
The chief of the observers' delegation in Syria, Commander Babacar Gaye, had called on the disputing parties engaged in the battle for Aleppo to protect civilians and respect international and humanitarian laws. However, this call and other international calls are not heard on the ground in Aleppo. The neighborhoods that are witnessing fierce clashes between the Free Army and the regime's army remain uninhabited. As for those who were forced to stay, they see images of death on a daily basis. Death is not only caused by the warplanes' shelling and gunfire, it is also caused by a lack of medicine and basic necessities, leading the residents to endure hunger, and a difficult journey to secure a loaf of bread. Hanan al-Haidari reports.

Reporter, Female #1
Only shells are dropping from the sky, with the devastation and destruction falling on the heads of the city's residents; shells that burn everything in their path, and pound the homes of civilians. Here, in northern Syria's biggest city, the stricken city of Aleppo, life and death run on parallel lines. Every day, the clashes are becoming even more fierce, and the stories of human suffering are told by those who are shelled, tortured, and displaced. The "mother of all battles" is devoid of everything, except for the Free Army's fighters, elements of the regime's army, and some of those who had no choice but to stay, persist, and resist.

Reporter, Female #1
And in a city that was paralyzed by continuous fighting for two weeks, another battle is being fought by the people: a battle against hunger, and against the regime's attempts to seize the bread in a city where bread is a basic component of the residents' diet. Here, some were assigned by the Free Army's leaders to manage all bakeries in the city, and to organize the wheat they receive and the baking schedule, a task the revolutionaries say is a battle between life and death.

Reporter, Female #1
And not too far from the city of Aleppo, this is Atarib, a ghost town that was torn apart by bullets, and where the name of Bab al-Hawa's highway became known as the road of death. The residents that stayed here say the regime's forces asserted to have captured anyone that came near their territory. And despite being deserted by most of its residents, the town that lacks water and electricity is still being subjected to shelling on a daily basis.

--

Iran summons Swiss envoy over kidnapping of pilgrims in Syria, as Jalili arrives in Damascus [Press TV, Iran]

Iran's foreign ministry summoned the Swiss charge d'affaires over the abduction of Iranian pilgrims in Syria. The ministry has warned the US about the safety of the 48 kidnapped Iranians, and urged Washington to arrange their release. According to the ministry, Washington is responsible for the lives of the pilgrims, given the influence it has over the opposition in Syria. The Swiss embassy in Tehran functions as the United States' interest section. Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has traveled to Turkey to discuss the hostage situation with officials there. The Free Syrian Army alleges that the hostages are from the Iranian military.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, is in Syria. Jalili has sat down for talks with President Bashar al-Assad in the capital, Damascus. Jalili said that enemies must not be allowed to take revenge on the Syrian people because of their defeats against the resistance, saying that the only way to resolve the conflict in Syria is through democracy.

--

Turkish FM's visit to Kirkuk upsets Iraq [Press TV, Iran]

Iraq is going to review relations with Turkey after the Turkish foreign minister visited the Iraqi city of Kirkuk without informing Baghdad. Iraq's government spokesman says that the Iraqi cabinet is going to form a committee to investigate Ahmet Davatoglu's visit to the oil-rich city. Kirkuk Province is a key point of contention between the Iraqi government and its autonomous Kurdish region. Baghdad says that Davatoglu's visit is a violation of the country's sovereignty.

--

Egypt's Morsi skips funeral of slain soldiers [BBC Arabic, UK]

Presenter, Male #1
In Egypt, President Mohamed Morsi was absent from the popular and military funeral processions for the 16 soldiers killed in an attack on a border checkpoint in Sinai. The president's official spokesman, Yasser Ali, said the president did not attend in order to decrease the presence of security personnel, and because he wished for a popular funeral with the participation of the masses.

Reporter, Female #1
The military and popular funeral procession for the 16 soldiers killed in the Sinai attack did not last long. The commotion at al-Rashdan Mosque continued as funeral prayers were being performed for the souls of the dead in the city of Nasr.

Reporter, Female #1
The security procedures were strict around al-Manasa in Nasr City, and perhaps these were the same security reasons that prevented President Mohamed Morsi from attending the funeral service. The president's spokesman, Yasser Ali, assured during a press conference that the president was visiting the wounded at the Kobry al-Qobba Military Hospital at the time.

Reporter, Female #1
However, other political, religious and military figures, most notably Defense Minister Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, and former Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri attended the ceremony. Prime Minister Hesham Kandil only attended the funeral prayers because he was accosted by some of the mourners. During the funeral, some participants chanted against President Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Reporter, Female #1
Egypt had announced a 3-day national mourning for the 16 soldiers who were killed in an attack waged by an armed group on a checkpoint at the Rafah crossing during Maghrib prayers. A tense atmosphere now prevails in Egypt in the aftermath of this attack. Wafa Zian, BBC.

--

Palestinian factions condemn Sinai attack on Egyptian police barracks [Palestine TV, Ramallah]

Presenter, Male #1
In Gaza, Palestinian factions condemned the attack on Egypt, describing it as a criminal act that harms the Palestinian cause and the relationship with our Egyptian brothers.

Reporter, Male #2
The bloody attack that claimed the lives of 16 Egyptian soldiers and officers in the city of Rafah, in northern Sinai, was a shock to the Palestinian civil and political circles in the Gaza Strip. Leaders of national factions and the political elite condemned and denounced the incident with sharp statements, and considered it an unacceptable criminal act that undermines Egyptian national security.

Guest, Male #3 (Fayez Abou Eita, Fatah Spokesman in Gaza)
The Fatah movement denounces this hostile attack on the Egyptian army, and strictly condemns these types of acts. We call for holding accountable, punishing, and tracking down the assailants who committed this criminal and cowardly attack against the Egyptian soldiers, especially since this army is highly respected, and has a reputable history in defending the Arab nation, the Palestinian cause, and the Palestinian people.

Guest, Male #4 (Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas Spokesman in Gaza)
This is a dangerous criminal act that claimed the lives of a number of Egyptian soldiers who were protecting Egypt's security. We strongly denounce this dangerous and criminal act. We confirm that harming Egypt's security and killing any Egyptian soldiers, or shedding the blood of any Egyptian, is the equivalent to shedding Palestinian blood, and is also an attack on the Palestinian people's security.

Reporter, Male #2
Palestinian resistance factions expressed their clear rejection of the attack, which harms the Egyptian people's security and safety, considering occupied Palestine to be the real battle front with the Israeli occupation. The Palestinian factions said that Egypt will remain the Arab nation's shield and strategic hub.

Guest, Male #5 (Khader Habib, Leader in the Islamic Jihad Movement)
Our stance is the same as the entire Palestinian people's stance. No Palestinian disagrees that what happened in Sinai against the Egyptian soldiers is a crime with all the implications of that word. We, in the Islamic Jihad movement, and the entire Palestinian people, denounce this heinous crime that serves no one but the Zionist enemy.

Reporter, Male #2
An atmosphere of concern and apprehension prevails over the Gaza Strip amid fears of negative political and economic repercussions on the relationship with the Egyptian republic due to the bloody attack that claimed the lives of more than 18 soldiers and officers in the northern Sinai city of Rafah. Mohamed Judah, Palestine TV, Gaza.

--

Widows of Israeli athletes killed in Munich Olympics excoriate IOC president at memorial [IBA, Israel]

The two widows of Israeli athletes killed in the Munich Olympics bitterly attacked the president of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, during a memorial service for the Munich 11 in London. The widows remain furious over Rogge's refusal to allow a minute of silence at the Opening Ceremony.