We reject outside intervention

JEDDAH: Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia would not allow any foreign intervention in its internal affairs. He also reiterated the Kingdom’s opposition to demonstrations, saying it would cause division and unrest in the country.

“We’ll cut off the fingers of those who try to interfere in our internal matters and we reject dictates from any foreign party, be it small or big. We’ll also reject any move that would undermine the Kingdom’s sovereignty,” Prince Saud told reporters.

“As we do not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, we’ll not allow anybody to interfere in our internal affairs,” the foreign minister said when asked about reports of Iranian instigation for demonstrations inside the Kingdom.

“We hope Iran should be concerned more with demonstrations that are taking place here. In Saudi Arabia we don’t have any demonstrations like in Iran. We would not tolerate any intervention in the Kingdom’s affairs by any foreign party…If we find any foreign intervention we’ll stop it immediately,” he said.

Prince Saud indicated that the Saudi government was ready to bring about more reforms to meet the hopes and aspirations of its citizens. “Change will come through the citizens of this country and not in accordance with the dictates of foreign parties,” he insisted.

He highlighted the Kingdom’s long history. “Since the time of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) our people have been living in this country. They know their interests and requirements and how to reach their objectives. We want to protect their independence and interests.”

Yemen youth find their voice

Sana'a, Yemen (CNN) -- Young people in Yemen's capital Sana'a and elsewhere across the country have been taking to the streets to demand government reforms.

Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, and nearly two thirds of the population is under the age of 30, making it a prime target for youth activism.

Opponents of Yemen's long-time President Ali Abdullah Saleh have been demonstrating against him since the beginning of the year, part of the wave of popular protests that has been crashing over the Arab world.

Ala'a Jabran, a university student and online activist, involved in a demonstration in Sana'a, said: "We represent youth, we have different demands. Some people want their government to resign, some people don't, some people just want change.

"But we're all here to represent the youth in a civilized way, to demand in our way, and to encourage other people who are afraid to demonstrate."

Yemen has only 45% literacy and low levels of internet access, yet -- as elsewhere in the Middle East -- social media is becoming a key driver for change.

Car bombs in northern Iraq kill 7

BAGHDAD: Car bombs ripped through the oil-rich Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Wednesday, killing seven and wounding up to 80 people in the heart of a region of long-simmering ethnic tensions.

Three blasts struck outside the headquarters of the Kurdish intelligence forces known as the Asayish, on a highway and near a gas station in southern Kirkuk, located 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad.

AP Television News footage showed police cars with blaring sirens racing to the Asayish headquarters with black and gray plumes of smoke rising from the first two attacks around 10 a.m. Minutes later, the third blast just down the street from the Asayish headquarters exploded near a taxicab and knocked people to the ground. The sounds of gunshots could be heard immediately after the last bombing.

Police Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir said seven were killed and up to 80 wounded in the explosions. Dr. Khalid Ahmed of Kirkuk emergency hospital confirmed the casualty count.

Qadir said the bomb along the highway targeted a police patrol led by a top commander, Col. Ahmed Shamerani, but he was not hurt in the blast. But two policemen were among the dead, while five police and eight Asayish officials were wounded."

Car bombs in northern Iraq kill 7 - Arab News

Egyptian opposition defiant over VP’s warning

CAIRO: Egypt’s protesters were defiant Wednesday after a warning from Vice President Omar Suleiman that if protesters don’t enter negotiations, a “coup” could take place causing greater chaos, raising alarm of crackdown.

Organizers of the mass demonstrations, now in their 16th day, sought to widen their uprising.

Suleiman’s sharply worded warning deepened protesters’ suspicions of his US-backed efforts to put together negotiations with the opposition over reforms. The protesters insist they will only enter dialogue after President Hosni Mubarak steps down, fearing the regime will manipulate talks and conduct only superficial changes without bringing real democracy.

Suleiman, a military man who was intelligence chief before being elevated to vice president amid the crisis, has repeatedly said Egypt is not ready for democracy. “The culture of democracy is still far away,” Suleiman said in a meeting Tuesday night with newspaper editors.

The vice president also appeared to be pushing ahead with a reform process even without dialogue. He said a panel of top judges and legal experts would recommend amendments to the constitution by the end of the month, which would then be put to a referendum. But the panel is dominated by Mubarak loyalists, and previous referendums on amendments drawn up by the regime have been marred by vote rigging to push them through.

Protest organizers have called for new “protest of millions” for Friday — their term for dramatically enlarged rallies — but this time they would be held in multiple parts of Cairo instead of only in central Tahrir Square, said Khaled Abdel-Hamid, one of the youth organizers. He also said protesters were calling for labor strikes, trying to draw powerful labor unions into support for their cause.

Abdel-Hamid dismissed Suleiman’s warnings. “We are striking and we will protest and we will not negotiate until Mubarak steps down. Whoever wants to threaten us, then let them do so,” he said.

A previous “protest of millions” last week drew at least a quarter-million people to Tahrir — their biggest yet, along with crowds of tens of thousands in other cities. A Tahrir rally on Tuesday rivalled that one in size, fueled by a renewed enthusiasm after the release of Wael Ghonim, a Google marketing manager who helped spark the unprecedented protest movement.

Egyptian opposition defiant over VP’s warning - Arab News

Egyptian Google exec is 'ready to die' for change

"Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Egyptian Google executive Wael Ghonim is 'ready to die' to bring change to Egypt, he said Wednesday.
In an exclusive interview with CNN, Ghonim also said it is 'no longer the time to negotiate' with the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
'There's a lot of blood now' that has been spilled, he said.
Ghonim played a key role in organizing the protests that have convulsed Egypt for more than two weeks. He was the administrator of a Facebook page that is widely credited with calling the first protest January 25."

He was released recently after being detained for a week and a half.Ghonim appealed to top officials in the Egyptian government, saying "If you are true Egyptians, if you are heroic Egyptians, it's time to step down."

Human Rights Watch said Tuesday the number of people killed in the Egyptian protests has reached 302 -- 232 in Cairo, 52 in Alexandria and 18 in Suez.

Ghonim has been treated as a hero since his release. A crowd of thousands cheered him when he spoke recently at Tahrir Square, where hundreds of thousands of protesters have demanded change for the last 16 days.

As he walked down the streets of his upscale neighborhood Wednesday, clutching a laptop, passersby recognized him and ran up to kiss him on the cheek and embrace him. A taxi driver stopped his car in traffic, got out and hugged the 30-year-old executive. Another driver handed a cell phone to Ghonim and asked him to say a few words to his daughter.

Yet Ghonim said he is uncomfortable about being the face of the popular uprising in Egypt.

Egyptian Google exec is 'ready to die' for change - CNN.com

Protest in Egypt Takes a Turn as Workers Go on Strike

"As reports filtered in of strikes and unrest spreading to other parts of the city and the country, the government seemed to dig in deeper. Mr. Mubarak’s handpicked successor, Vice President Omar Suleiman, warned Tuesday that the only alternative to constitutional talks was a “coup” and added: “We don’t want to deal with Egyptian society with police tools.”

But the pressure on Mr. Mubarak’s government was intensifying, a day after the largest crowd of protesters in two weeks flooded Cairo’s streets and the United States delivered its most specific demands yet, urging swift steps toward democracy. Some of the protesters drew new inspiration from the emotional interview on Egypt’s most popular talk show with Wael Ghonim, the online political organizer who was detained for two weeks.

At dawn on Wednesday, the 16th day of the uprising, hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators remained camped out at Parliament, where they had marched for the first time on Tuesday. There were reports of thousands demonstrating in several other cities around the country while protesters began to gather again in Tahrir Square, a few blocks from Parliament."

Protest in Egypt Takes a Turn as Workers Go on Strike - NYTimes

ANC welcomes news on Nelson Mandela: News24: South Africa: News garage.

"Cape Town - The African National Congress has congratulated the Surgeon-General and the defence force for their 'sterling work' while former president Nelson Mandela was being treated in hospital.

It was announced on Friday that Mandela had been discharged from the Milpark Hospital, in Johannesburg, and would receive home-based care for an acute respiratory infection.

'This announcement brings to the end weeks of speculations and insensitive reporting by some sections of the media on the health of Madiba,' party spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said in a statement on Friday.

'We commend the sterling work done by the SANDF medical team led by the Surgeon-General, Lieutenant-General Vejaynand Ramlakan, who was responsible for Madiba's health and the Milpark Hospital specialised doctors, management and staff.'

The party also sent thanks to 'the entire South Africa community' and the international community for sending prayers and well wishes to Mandela for his speedy recovery.

- SAPA"

ANC welcomes news on Nelson Mandela: News24: South Africa

Egypt sends army into streets amid mass protests

"Cairo, Egypt -- The Egyptian army patrolled the streets of Cairo with armored personnel carriers Friday after thousands of angry anti-government demonstrators clashed with tear-gas firing police.
As the government cracked down on protesters across Egypt, opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, who returned home to Cairo to join the demonstrations, was placed under house arrest, a high-level security source told CNN.
ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and former head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency, was warned earlier not to leave a mosque near downtown Cairo where he was attending Friday prayers.
Authorities imposed a curfew from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. local time in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez, where the largest demonstrations took place Friday.
In Cairo, vans packed with riot police circled neighborhoods before the start of weekly prayers in the afternoon. Later in the day, Egyptian soldiers moved onto the streets for the first time since the unrest began Tuesday.
But protesters, fed up with economic woes and a lack of freedoms, defied security warnings to demand an end to President Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian 30-year-rule."

Egypt sends army into streets amid mass protests - CNN.com

Bin Laden message warns France to pull out of Afghanistan

"Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- A speaker claiming to be terrorism mastermind Osama bin Laden warned in an audiotape aired Friday that the release of two French journalists abducted by militants hinges on France's military role in Afghanistan.
'We repeat the same message to you,' said the speaker in an audiotape played on the Al-Jazeera satellite news network. 'The release of your prisoners from the hands of our brethren depends on the withdrawal of your soldiers from our countries.'
One U.S. counterterrorism official told CNN that the tape 'sends a chill up your spine,' as it refers to 'a couple of human beings whose lives are at stake.'"

Bin Laden message warns France to pull out of Afghanistan - CNN.com

Tucson

TUCSON — Representative Gabrielle Giffords was distressed when the glass front door of her district office here was shattered by a kick or a pellet gun last March, an act of vandalism that took place hours after she joined Democrats in passing President Obama’s health care bill. “Things have really gotten spun up,” she told a television interviewer the next day.

But tensions have long run high in the Eighth Congressional District of Arizona, a classic swing district that shares a 114-mile border with Mexico. Protesters chained themselves to the desks of Ms. Giffords’s Republican predecessor, Jim Kolbe, 12 years ago. And over the past year, Ms. Giffords struggled in a brutal re-election campaign during which her opponent appeared in a Web advertisement holding an assault weapon. The district has become a caldron of divisions over government spending,immigration, health care and Barack Obama.

Today, the Eighth District stands apart as one of the most emotionally and politically polarized in the nation.

The rampage on Saturday that left six dead and Ms. Giffords gravely wounded may prove to be an isolated act of violence by a mentally disturbed man. The suspect attended at least one of Ms. Giffords’s town meetings before the event Saturday.

Still, the shootings came after a disconcerting run of episodes in this district of mountains and desert, raising temperatures here in a way that some that some of Ms. Giffords’s friends argue fed an atmosphere that might encourage violence.

Several of them pointed back to the smashed door of her district headquarters at 1661 North Swan Street last March as a turning point; a time when a cloud of unease settled over Ms. Giffords and her staff.

liverpools stricker Fernando Torres goes to Barcelona

With the January transfer window opening in just a few days, Barcelona are reportedly set to try and sign Liverpool striker Fernando Torres and Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas
Barca's new shirt sponsorship deal with the Qatar Foundation has given them the funds to make some major moves in the transfer market and according to The Mirror, the Spaniards are ready to raid the Premier League for two of its best players.
Fabregas has long been a transfer target for the Catalan club, with the Arsenal midfielder seeming to be close to moving to Camp Nou last summer only to be talked into staying in north London.
But the Spain international is believed to be keen on still playing for the La Liga giants and should a bid be made, Arsenal may find it hard to hold on to the midfielder.
Liverpool striker Torres has not enjoyed the best of seasons so far and has also been linked with Barca's rivals Real Madrid.
The former Atletico Madrid forward was linked with a move away from Anfield last summer only to pledge his future to the Merseysiders, but after a disappointing first half to the season may opt to leave the club unless its new owners NESV decide to invest in new players to such an extent that Roy Hodgson's side become serious title challengers again.