Libyan revolutionaries claim most of Sirte, withdraw from Bani Walid Airport [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Presenter, Female #1
Our al-Jazeera correspondent in the eastern Libyan town of Sirte reported that revolutionaries now control large parts of the city. Our correspondent added that the confrontations between the revolutionaries and Gaddafi's battalions were violent, and that both light and heavy weaponry were used. Osama Said Ahmed reports from inside Sirte.

Reporter, Male #1
This is the scene in Sirte: the heated and decisive battle is still ongoing between revolutionaries and the remnants of Gaddafi's battalions in central areas of the city, which has become a major platform for a ferocious war of a different kind. The clashes continue as the revolutionaries are conducting wide-scale combing operations through the streets of Sirte as Gaddafi's snipers stationed atop a number of buildings still pose a danger to them.

Guest, Male #2 (Adel al-Tarhuni, Commander of February Dawn Company)
All areas of Sirte were occupied by revolutionaries and national council forces. Now we're dealing with a small number of battalion remnants and snipers inside the city. But today, God willing, we will resolve this battle.

Reporter, Male #1
A group of Gaddafi's battalions massed here opening heavy fire, but were forced to leave after violent clashes with the revolutionaries, who incessantly launched attacks against them. This is a residential building in which a large number of Gaddafi's battalions and snipers were massing. It has fallen in the revolutionaries' hands. They have also taken control over most neighborhoods of Sirte. They say that only a few scattered pockets of Gaddafi's loyalists still remain and that the situation will be settled very soon. But no one knows when exactly that time will come. The revolutionaries here say the morale of the remnants of Gaddafi's battalions and mercenaries is low and their strength is weakened every day. However, they also assert that Mutassim Gaddafi is inside Sirte.

Guest, Male #3 (Abdul Fattah al-Mashiti, Commander of Martyr Salah ad-Din Battalion)
The prisoners we captured confirmed that Mutassim is indeed in Sirte city.

Guest, Male #4
We captured a prisoner who said that Mutassim shaved his head and was driving a Hyundai car.

Guest, Male #3
He travels around in different cars, not the same car. Every time he goes out in armored cars.

Reporter, Male #1
The revolutionaries are continuing to advance in order to resolve the battle, paving the way to a full control over Sirte. The city's land has absorbed a lot of blood from the revolutionaries who control most of Sirte except for certain areas that remain battlegrounds under heavy fire. Osama Said Ahmed, al-Jazeera, from central Sirte city.

Presenter, Female #1
On the other hand, our al-Jazeera correspondent in Libya reported that revolutionaries were forced to withdraw from Bani Walid Airport hours after they took control of it.

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Moroccans revive protests against social injustice and corruption [Al-Alam, Iran]

Presenter, Male #1
A series of protest rallies were staged across the Moroccan capital Rabat and other cities demanding an end to arbitrary political detention. The protestors also called for the trials of corrupt officials as well as more freedom and improved living conditions for the poor. Meanwhile, the February 20 Movement reiterated its decision to boycott the November 25 elections, which it described as an "a blatant attempt" aimed at derailing the people's demands for change.

Reporter, Female #2
Just like their Arab counterparts, Moroccans have taken to the street as a last resort. Thousands of Moroccans continued to stage protest rallies across the capital Rabat and other cities demanding freedom, democracy, and rights. The protestors reiterated their rejection to what they referred to as "tyranny and power monopoly."

Guest, Male #2
The February 20 Movement hereby calls on the Moroccan people to boycott the failed elections, which are nothing but a political game as the monarchy institution continues to cling to power.

Reporter, Female #1
The boycott of the November 25 elections has inspired Moroccans to take the streets, in response to a call by the February 20 Movement. The movement described the elections as "an attempt to derail the people's demands for change." They also accused the government of failing to provide guarantees of holding fair and transparent elections. The movement also accused certain political blocs of collaborating with the authority in a bid to elect a majority, whose primary loyalty is not to the people. They also rejected any political reforms that are short of recognizing the people's sovereignty. In addition, they stressed the importance of continuing to fight against tyranny. The demonstrators in Rabat raised slogans denouncing what they referred to as the "deaf ear" policies regarding the people's demands. The protestors are calling for the prosecution of corrupt officials, the expansion of freedom, the improvement of social services, as well as ending all forms of political detention. They also vowed to continue their protests until achieving social justice.

Guest, Male #3
We will not end our protests until all of our demands are achieved. They must release all political prisoners and end all forms of corruption and tyranny.

Reporter, Female #1
These protests come despite the reforms announced by the Moroccan King Mohammed VI. The King has broken his promises amid the tremor rocking the Arab world, which has so far toppled three presidents and confined one to his deathbed, as several others still await their fate.

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Muslims and Christians alike decry church attacks in Egypt after dozens killed [Dubai TV, UAE]

Presenter, Female #1
The protest organized last night by thousands of Copts in central Cairo has turned into a bloodbath. The Copts took to the streets to protest the burning of one of their churches in the southern Egyptian city of Aswan. Thirty-six people, including several soldiers, were killed and more than 250 were wounded in confrontations that erupted between the protestors and the army. In response, the military declared a nighttime state of emergency in a bid to contain the situation and demanded the government hold an emergency session today. Meanwhile, Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf warned that this type of violence will shake the democratic stability of the country. Tawfiq Ahmad reports from Cairo.

Reporter, Male #1
It was not expected for a peaceful Coptic demonstration to quickly turn into a bloody act of violence, claiming the lives of dozens people, injuring many others, and burning several civilian and army vehicles. The violence was strongly condemned by Egyptian officials.

Guest, Male #2 (Essam Sharaf, Egyptian Prime Minister)
No one in Egypt condones the type of destruction we witnessed today. It's not easy to conclude that what happened in Egypt over the past few hours was fueled by a sectarian strife. However, it was definitely part of a conspiracy.

Reporter, Male #1
Violence erupted as thousands of Copts staged a protest rally near the Television Maspero building in Cairo. The rally was called for by the Copts to condemn the demolition of a building they say was a church located in a village in the southern city of Aswan. However, the residents and the head of the village council confirmed that the building was a reception hall that was illegally turned into a church. The Copts contended that their mobilization was due to what they referred to as a "disregard for security" of Christian issues and a failure to punish the perpetrators responsible for a series of attacks on their holy sites.

Guest, Male #3
My name is Ala'a Din Mohamed. I'm an Egyptian and I strongly condemn what happened. We don't have sectarian strife in Egypt. We are all the same.

Guest, Male #4
I'm a Christian citizen, and most of my friends are Muslims. I strongly condemn the violence.

Guest, Male #5
We must protect Egypt. It's not right that every time we take a step forward we take two steps backward.

Reporter, Male #1
While similar incidents have occasionally erupted in Egypt, many fear that the violence this time may spiral into a full-fledged sectarian strife and may spread to more regions. There have been many interpretations of the Maspero incidents. Some believe the incidents were instigated by groups trying to create tension between the army and the people, or among the sects, in a bid to derail the democratic transformation of the country, while others believe it is part of a plot to keep the military in power. Between the two lies the truth as the investigation continues.

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EU hails Syrian opposition council as death toll rises in Homs [BBC Arabic, UK]

Presenter, Male #1
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council of Russia, Mikhail Margelov, affirmed that Russia's use of the veto in the vote on the resolution against the Syrian regime does not mean that Moscow supports the government in Damascus. During his meeting with Syrian dissidents, Margelov called on the Syrian government and opposition to open a dialogue in order to find a solution to country's political crisis.

Guest, Male #2 (Mikhail Margelov, Head of Russian Foreign Affairs)
Russia's veto of the Syria resolution is by no means carte blanche for Syria's current ruling regime to do what it pleases, not a free ride for either the regime or the opposition. The Russian veto is the last call for the authorities and the opposition to sit down at the roundtable and start nationwide dialogue.

Presenter, Male #1
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said he hopes to make contact with the opposition in Syria because his country supports the movement towards more democracy and freedom in Syria. Juppe expressed optimism on behalf of his country that the opposition is becoming more organized.

Guest, Male #3 (Alain Juppe, French Foreign Minister)
We would like be in contact with the Syrian opposition because we support this movement towards freedom and democracy in the country. We are happy to see that the opposition is getting more organized.

Presenter, Male #1
Venezuelan Foreign minister Nicolas Maduro accused Western powers of being behind the chaos that Syria is witnessing. Following a meeting between a delegation of Latin American foreign ministers and Syrian officials in Damascus, Maduro stated that what he referred to as "foreign interference in Syrian affairs" aims to destroy Syria.

Guest, Male #4 (Nicolas Maduro, Venezuelan Foreign Minister)
There is no doubt that the United States and Western powers are involved in Syria's internal issues in order to inflict harm on Syria and destroy it. What remains in the hands of the Syrian people is their nationalist sentiment and capability to prevent that from happening.

Presenter, Male #1
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 31 people were killed in a number of Syrian cities. Among the deceased were 14 civilians and 17 army and security members who died during clashes with gunmen believed to be army defectors. The city of Homs in central Syria witnessed the largest number of deaths. The Observatory said eight soldiers were killed during synchronized attacks launched on military checkpoints in the villages of Jabal al-Zawiya, Saraqib and Nairab by gunmen believed to be defectors.

Presenter, Male #1
Syrian Grand Mufti Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassoun warned the West of aggression on his country, threatening to respond with "martyrdom" operations. This comes as international reactions vary on what is happening in Syria, while the Syrian government and opposition are both trying to gain more foreign support.

Reporter, Female #1
The events in Syria are not only internal. The Syrian authorities are exerting major efforts to show their point of view about those responsible for the acts of violence, who they describe as gunmen and terrorists opening fire on civilians and Syrian security forces. These official efforts come as European countries began to show readiness to support the Syrian opposition. The stance of France and other European countries became openly known. Syria considers their stance hostile. The Syrian foreign minister stated earlier that his country considers all of Europe to be non-existent on the map. Therefore, the Syrian leadership headed east to Malaysia, where the advisor to the Syrian president reproached Syria's old friend Turkey.

Guest, Female #2 (Buthaina Shaaban, Advisor to the Syrian President)
We were expecting Turkey to support Syria's progress towards pluralism and democracy, contrary to the statements that it issued supporting the armed groups which helped fuel the situation in the country.

Reporter, Female #1
And in between Malaysia and Europe, Russia is trying to take a neutral stance.

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Syrian woman reported dead makes TV appearance [Future TV, Lebanon]

Presenter, Male #1
What is the real story of the young Syrian woman Zainab al-Husni? Pictures said to be her mutilated and dismembered body circulated online. Over a month after Zainab's disappearance and her family received her body, she appeared alive on Syrian TV.

Reporter, Female #1
Zainab Omar al-Husni is an 18-year-old Syrian woman whose name and story repeatedly appeared on various international media networks. The Syrian revolution announced that security institutions tortured her to death, saying it had a picture of the killed girl's tortured and dismembered body. The girl, however, seems to still be alive as she appeared on Syrian TV on October 4. Her reappearance shocked the world and evoked sentiments of anger and condemnation all over the world. Husni's family last saw their daughter Zainab on July 27. The family asserted that she was abducted by security institutions to persuade her oldest brother Mohamed, an activist in the revolution, to turn himself in. They also said they had received her body. At the same time, Amnesty International said it obtained reports indicating that the mother was forced to sign a document saying an armed gang kidnapped Mohamed and Zainab and killed them, and then the family received a notarized death certificate from the military hospital.

Guest, Male #2 (Yousif al-Husni, Brother of Zainab al-Husni)
The body was delivered to her mother on Saturday, September 17 from the military hospital. The body was cut into four parts: the head, the two hands and the body. The body was completely mutilated with scars from electric shocks and torture on her hands.

Reporter, Female #1
On Syrian TV, Zainab said she abandoned her previous residence to stay with a relative without informing her family in order to escape abuse from her brothers five days before the month of Ramadan.

Guest, Female #2 (Zainab al-Husni)
I came here to the station to dismiss the news that has circulated about me. I'm alive and not dead as it was reported.

Reporter, Female #1
For her part, Zainab's mother said on al-Arabiya TV that she doesn't believe that her daughter is still alive.

Guest, Female #3 (Mother of Zainab al-Husni)
They cutoff her hands and head. They made us sign a document saying that she was killed by a terrorist gang. I don't believe it's my daughter. I don't know. She looks like my daughter but the voice is different. How could they give me a body saying it's my daughter's if it's not?

Guest, Male #3 (Nabil al-Halbi, Director of the Lebanese Organization for Democracy and Human Rights)
The humanitarian organizations are taking action in two ways: one is imploring the International Red Cross to sponsor Zainab al-Husni to leave Syria immediately because she is still in the hands of security authorities. The second is demanding the Syrian authorities reveal the identity of the body of the girl and conduct necessary examinations in order to properly identify the girl's body and hand it over to her family.

Reporter, Female #1
If the body wasn't Zainab al-Husni, then whose was it? And why was Zainab's family told she was killed? These questions are no longer important; what is important is that an unidentified Syrian girl was the victim of one of the regime's most horrific crimes. Security forces arrested her, tortured her, raped her, mutilated her body, cut off her limbs, and distorted her figure, then sent the body to the military hospital in Homs and handed it over to a family that was not even her own.

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Saudi Arabia deploys additional troops to Eastern Province [Press TV, Iran]

Saudi Arabia sent a large number of military vehicles, including tanks, to the oil-rich Eastern Province. Activists said dozens of military vehicles left an army base in the center of the country towards the east. Last week, Saudi officials dispatched over 40 military vehicles to the region in a bid to quell anti-regime protests. The protests rocked the eastern city of Qatif for several days. Demonstrators demanded more freedoms and the withdrawal of the kingdom's military from Bahrain.

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Bahrainis take to the streets to mourn boy's death [Press TV, Iran]

In Bahrain, thousands have taken to the streets to mourn the killing of a teenage boy by Saudi-backed regime forces. People from all walks of life came out to mourn the death of Ahmed Jaber al-Qattan in the town of Abu Saiba near the Bahraini capital Manama. Regime forces shot him dead on Thursday night. He is the latest victim of brutal attacks on anti-regime demonstrators. Dozens have been killed and hundreds injured since the uprising began in February.

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Opposition dismisses Saleh's resignation pledge as new propaganda [Press TV, Iran]

In Yemen, a coalition of anti-government groups have called for the prosecution of all those involved in the atrocities committed on peaceful protestors. The announcement came after millions of protestors took to the streets across Yemen demanding the UN to take a strong stance against embattled ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh. The united council has called for the prosecution of all those involved in the atrocities committed on the peaceful demonstrators throughout this uprising which is now entering its ninth month. The UN has also called on Saleh to sign the Persian Gulf initiative with no preconditions and no further delay.

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Tuba Zangariya mosque burning spark racial vandalism and community unrest [IBA, Israel]

In other news, a Petach Tikva extended the remand today of a second suspect in connection with an arson attack on a mosque in the village of Tuba Zangariya. This, as authorities continue efforts to lessen tension in Jaffa after graffiti is found in Arab cemeteries. The police presence remained high in Jaffa today. Anger was soaring as members of both the Arab and Jewish communities waited skeptically for Police Chief Yochanan Danino to carry out his promise and make quick arrests.

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Middle East Quartet increases efforts to resume Israeli Palestinian negotiations [IBA, Israel]

In an effort to restart direct negotiations, the Middle East Quartet will invite Israeli and Palestinian officials to a meeting in the coming days following talks between the Quartet envoys in Brussels. EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherin Ashton said the goal is to encourage our Israeli and Palestinian partners to resume substantive negotiations as soon as possible. An Israeli official responded positively to the invitation saying, "We were ready yesterday, are ready today, and will be ready tomorrow. We hope the Palestinians will be ready as well." The Palestinians have yet to endorse the EU formula that calls for a renewal of talks with the objective of reaching an agreement by the end of the year 2012.