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| Syrians get foreign payments to protest, Assad claims - live updates | Syrians get foreign payments to protest, Assad claims - live updates |
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| 11.11am: Syria: The whistle blowing website WikiLeaks has begun publishing what it claims are more than two million emails from the Assad regime's inner circle from August 2006 to March 2012. | |
| The emails will be shared with over the next two months with seven media partners including Lebanon's Al Akhbar; Egypt's Al Masry Al Youm, and the Associated Press. | |
| WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said: "The material is embarrassing to Syria, but it is also embarrassing to Syria's opponents. It helps us not merely to criticise one group or another, but to understand their interests, actions and thoughts. It is only through understanding this conflict that we can hope to resolve it." | |
| 10.55am: Libya: Al-Jazeera's cameras have been allowed into the luxurious new $40m courthouse-and-jail complex near Tajura. Paul Brennan reports: | |
| The gleaming new court building, with its polished marble steps and elegant metalwork, sits next to a brand new prison building with facilities, which would rival many hotels. | |
| There is a modern sports hall. Medical facilities. The 156 cells are spacious. There are even four "family apartments", within the perimeter walls, where inmates will have conjugal visits from their families. | |
| The video above shows inspections of the premises by the US ambassador at large and prime minister Abdurrahim al-Keib. | |
| There are suggestions that the jail will eventually house senior figures from the Gaddafi regime. When journalist Chris Stephen visited the jail for the Observer in March, staff indicated that they were waiting for the arrival of Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam. | |
| 10.37am: Libya: The authorities in Libya cannot confirm al-Arabiya's claim that Gaddafi's former intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi has been extradited from Mauritania. | 10.37am: Libya: The authorities in Libya cannot confirm al-Arabiya's claim that Gaddafi's former intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi has been extradited from Mauritania. |
| Chris Stephen emails: | Chris Stephen emails: |
| The government press office told me they know nothing about it. The prime minister is in Mauritania trying to secure his transfer, but there was no indication last night that he had succeeded. | The government press office told me they know nothing about it. The prime minister is in Mauritania trying to secure his transfer, but there was no indication last night that he had succeeded. |
| 10.26am: Syria: Weapons made in Switzerland and sold to the United Arab Emirates appear to be ending up in the hands of opposition fighters in Syria. | 10.26am: Syria: Weapons made in Switzerland and sold to the United Arab Emirates appear to be ending up in the hands of opposition fighters in Syria. |
| The Swiss newspaper Sonntag Zeitung reported on Sunday that a journalist accompanying rebels in the town of Marea photographed grenades with markings that showed they were manufactured between 1992 and 2005 by the state-owned RUAG company in Bern. | The Swiss newspaper Sonntag Zeitung reported on Sunday that a journalist accompanying rebels in the town of Marea photographed grenades with markings that showed they were manufactured between 1992 and 2005 by the state-owned RUAG company in Bern. |
| Initial investigations by the Swiss government suggest the grenades were part of a consignment of 225,162 grenades shipped to the UAE in 2003. | Initial investigations by the Swiss government suggest the grenades were part of a consignment of 225,162 grenades shipped to the UAE in 2003. |
| There has been no comment from the UAE government but the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) says it is "freezing all pending applications for arms exports to the UAE and demanding the return of licences which have already been issued but not yet used". | There has been no comment from the UAE government but the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) says it is "freezing all pending applications for arms exports to the UAE and demanding the return of licences which have already been issued but not yet used". |
| 10.09am: Syria: The UN's suspended supervision mission in Syria is to be restructured to focus on fewer areas, General Robert Mood, the head of the mission has announced. | 10.09am: Syria: The UN's suspended supervision mission in Syria is to be restructured to focus on fewer areas, General Robert Mood, the head of the mission has announced. |
| Speaking at a press conference in Damascus Mood said that as there was no ceasefire to monitor his observers no longer needed to be spread across the country. | Speaking at a press conference in Damascus Mood said that as there was no ceasefire to monitor his observers no longer needed to be spread across the country. |
| We are consolidating the Mission to enable better support to the Syrian people in the coming days. We will reinforce our presence into Regional Team Sites to give us, once our operations resume, the flexibility to effectively work on facilitating political dialogue and stability projects. In the next week we will consolidate our 8 local team site locations into Regional ones. The Mission will relocate personnel and assets from Hama, Idlib and Tartus to boost our presence in other locations. This consolidation will not affect the Mission's current mandate or the total deployed personnel. | We are consolidating the Mission to enable better support to the Syrian people in the coming days. We will reinforce our presence into Regional Team Sites to give us, once our operations resume, the flexibility to effectively work on facilitating political dialogue and stability projects. In the next week we will consolidate our 8 local team site locations into Regional ones. The Mission will relocate personnel and assets from Hama, Idlib and Tartus to boost our presence in other locations. This consolidation will not affect the Mission's current mandate or the total deployed personnel. |
| When the Mission was established in April, we needed to locate in cities to establish and build contacts with the local populations on the ground and to get to know the geography and social fabric of the country. This was also very useful in monitoring the ceasefire, when it was adhered to, and reporting on violations. | When the Mission was established in April, we needed to locate in cities to establish and build contacts with the local populations on the ground and to get to know the geography and social fabric of the country. This was also very useful in monitoring the ceasefire, when it was adhered to, and reporting on violations. |
| Now, we are in a situation in which we have the contacts and knowledge, but we have no ceasefire. So it is time to stop spreading ourselves out too thin and restructure in a way that will allow us, once we resume our activities, to conduct targeted tasks that require longer periods of stay in particular area as well as larger number of observers, specialized in a variety of civilian and military affairs. | Now, we are in a situation in which we have the contacts and knowledge, but we have no ceasefire. So it is time to stop spreading ourselves out too thin and restructure in a way that will allow us, once we resume our activities, to conduct targeted tasks that require longer periods of stay in particular area as well as larger number of observers, specialized in a variety of civilian and military affairs. |
| Yesterday Mood said the observer mission would only resume if the violence decreases. He also declined to end speculation about his own future as head of the mission, by stating that this was a matter for the security council. | Yesterday Mood said the observer mission would only resume if the violence decreases. He also declined to end speculation about his own future as head of the mission, by stating that this was a matter for the security council. |
| 9.07am: (all times BST) Welcome to Middle East Live. | 9.07am: (all times BST) Welcome to Middle East Live. |
| Here's a roundup of the main developments: | Here's a roundup of the main developments: |
| Syria | Syria |
| • President Bashar al-Assad has accused foreign governments of financing the uprising against him by paying people to protest. In the third part of his interview with the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet he said foreign intervention was more harmful than any of the regime's mistakes. | • President Bashar al-Assad has accused foreign governments of financing the uprising against him by paying people to protest. In the third part of his interview with the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet he said foreign intervention was more harmful than any of the regime's mistakes. |
| Turkish journalist Mahir Zeynalov provides this translation of an extract from the interview: | Turkish journalist Mahir Zeynalov provides this translation of an extract from the interview: |
| The role of foreign intervention is significant and more harmful than our mistakes. In Syria, three-staged plan has been implemented. The first one was peaceful protests, which were financed. Every protester received $10 initially, but now they are receiving $50. They wanted to take people into streets like it was in Egypt or Tunisia. But they couldn't do it. | The role of foreign intervention is significant and more harmful than our mistakes. In Syria, three-staged plan has been implemented. The first one was peaceful protests, which were financed. Every protester received $10 initially, but now they are receiving $50. They wanted to take people into streets like it was in Egypt or Tunisia. But they couldn't do it. |
| The second stage was to militarise some territories to establish liberated areas. Like the Benghazi model in Libya. But our army didn't allow that. They are now on a new stage. Assassinations, bombing of state institutions, massacres targeting civilians and kidnappings. | The second stage was to militarise some territories to establish liberated areas. Like the Benghazi model in Libya. But our army didn't allow that. They are now on a new stage. Assassinations, bombing of state institutions, massacres targeting civilians and kidnappings. |
| • The deputy leader of the Free Syrian Army, Colonel Malik al-Kurdi, says the rebels reject any transition government that involves in Assad and his inner circle. Speaking to the Turkish daily Zaman he said: | • The deputy leader of the Free Syrian Army, Colonel Malik al-Kurdi, says the rebels reject any transition government that involves in Assad and his inner circle. Speaking to the Turkish daily Zaman he said: |
| We said this from the very beginning. We want the Assad regime to fall. This regime committed slaughter and murders. Therefore we don't want either Assad or his regime to remain ... | We said this from the very beginning. We want the Assad regime to fall. This regime committed slaughter and murders. Therefore we don't want either Assad or his regime to remain ... |
| "We started off in order to defend our freedom and honor. This fire of revolution cannot be extinguished with slaughters, murders, killing our women or setting our houses on fire. The public used to ask for reform, but now the people want the regime to go because of the cruelty [by the government forces]. The people have decided to keep up the revolution. | "We started off in order to defend our freedom and honor. This fire of revolution cannot be extinguished with slaughters, murders, killing our women or setting our houses on fire. The public used to ask for reform, but now the people want the regime to go because of the cruelty [by the government forces]. The people have decided to keep up the revolution. |
| • New images have emerged showing the devastation to areas of Syria that have seen the heaviest fighting between government and rebel forces. Parts of Homs have reduced to rubble, the photographs show. | • New images have emerged showing the devastation to areas of Syria that have seen the heaviest fighting between government and rebel forces. Parts of Homs have reduced to rubble, the photographs show. |
| • Syrian artillery pounded the ghost city of Douma, north of Damascus, where residents recovered mutilated corpses after a rampage by militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, Reuters reports, citing activists. They said at least 11 people, including a six-year-old girl and an elderly man, were killed by shelling in the towns of Misraba and Rihan near Douma, and three more were shot dead. | • Syrian artillery pounded the ghost city of Douma, north of Damascus, where residents recovered mutilated corpses after a rampage by militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, Reuters reports, citing activists. They said at least 11 people, including a six-year-old girl and an elderly man, were killed by shelling in the towns of Misraba and Rihan near Douma, and three more were shot dead. |
| Video from activists in Douma shows the physical damage to the deserted city. | Video from activists in Douma shows the physical damage to the deserted city. |
| • An undersea explorer helped find the wreck of the Titanic help find the bodies of two Turkish pilots whose jet was shot down by Syria, the New York Times reports. | • An undersea explorer helped find the wreck of the Titanic help find the bodies of two Turkish pilots whose jet was shot down by Syria, the New York Times reports. |
| Turkish news outlets said the efforts to locate the pilots, Gokhan Ertan and Hasan Huseyin Aksoy, were aided at Turkey's request by the Nautilus, an American deep-sea exploration vessel led by Robert Ballard, the oceanographer who discovered the wreckage of the Titanic in 1985. | Turkish news outlets said the efforts to locate the pilots, Gokhan Ertan and Hasan Huseyin Aksoy, were aided at Turkey's request by the Nautilus, an American deep-sea exploration vessel led by Robert Ballard, the oceanographer who discovered the wreckage of the Titanic in 1985. |
| Libya | Libya |
| • Muammar Gaddafi's former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi has been extradited to Libya from Mauritania, according to Al Arabiya citing sources in Libya. The international criminal court in June 2011 issued a warrant for Senussi, calling him an "indirect perpetrator of crimes against humanity, of murder and persecution based on political grounds" in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. | • Muammar Gaddafi's former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi has been extradited to Libya from Mauritania, according to Al Arabiya citing sources in Libya. The international criminal court in June 2011 issued a warrant for Senussi, calling him an "indirect perpetrator of crimes against humanity, of murder and persecution based on political grounds" in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. |
| • Libya's minority Amazigh community fear an Islamist takeover ahead of Saturday's elections, Luke Harding reports from the western town of Zuwara. Eissa al-Hammissi, an ethnic Amazigh documentary maker, told him: | • Libya's minority Amazigh community fear an Islamist takeover ahead of Saturday's elections, Luke Harding reports from the western town of Zuwara. Eissa al-Hammissi, an ethnic Amazigh documentary maker, told him: |
| We helped our brothers overthrow the dictator. But now feel we are being betrayed ... Look at the map. Look to our east and west. The Islamists have taken over in Tunisia and Egypt. They are going to take over Libya too. I don't think they are going to push the country in the right direction. | We helped our brothers overthrow the dictator. But now feel we are being betrayed ... Look at the map. Look to our east and west. The Islamists have taken over in Tunisia and Egypt. They are going to take over Libya too. I don't think they are going to push the country in the right direction. |
| Egypt | Egypt |
| • Senior judge Tahani al-Gebali claims she plans to sue the New York Times after it quoted her saying that she advised the military council to delay handing over power civilian authority until a constitution, the Egypt Independent reports. On Wednesday the New York Times reported: | • Senior judge Tahani al-Gebali claims she plans to sue the New York Times after it quoted her saying that she advised the military council to delay handing over power civilian authority until a constitution, the Egypt Independent reports. On Wednesday the New York Times reported: |
| From the moment the military seized control from President Hosni Mubarak, the generals "certainly" never intended to relinquish authority before supervising a new Constitution, Judge Gebali said. | From the moment the military seized control from President Hosni Mubarak, the generals "certainly" never intended to relinquish authority before supervising a new Constitution, Judge Gebali said. |
| Gebali said she didn't speak to the paper. | Gebali said she didn't speak to the paper. |
| Kuwait | Kuwait |
| • Kuwait's head of state reappointed the outgoing prime minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah in a move that may help ease political deadlock, Reuters reports. Sheikh Jaber must now select a 15-member cabinet, after which analysts expect Kuwait's ruler to dissolve parliament in order to allow fresh elections. | • Kuwait's head of state reappointed the outgoing prime minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah in a move that may help ease political deadlock, Reuters reports. Sheikh Jaber must now select a 15-member cabinet, after which analysts expect Kuwait's ruler to dissolve parliament in order to allow fresh elections. |