Yemen protesters reject President's exit plan - ABC Online

Posted 24 April 2011 18: 55: 00 defiant demonstrators have camped in Yemen's capital and second city of Taez (local time) Sunday, demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh step down immediately, even after his ruling party a 30-day exit plan adopted.

"There is a consensus to reject the initiative" proposed by the Gulf Cooperation Council, said Abdulmalik al-Yusufi a leading activists during the demonstration, sit-in in Sanaa's University square.

Mr Saleh of General People's Congress which said late on Saturday that it welcomed adopted the GCC proposal in its entirety, a decision immediately by Washington, on all pages, "quickly" implement a peaceful transfer of power.

The golf plan would see Mr Saleh to submit his resignation to the Parliament within 30 days after the formation of a Government of national unity and the transfer of power to his Deputy.

A presidential election would be held for two months.

The common forum parliamentary opposition coalition also took the proposal, but said it would not take part in a Government under Mr Saleh, pointed out that he makes should hand, before the Cabinet sworn in is formed.

But demonstrators, since end of January, in the streets were demanding the departure of Mr Saleh and his regime were not as open as the opposition.

Mr Yusufi said protesters at the University square, that change square synchronized have, camping protest after midnight on Saturday staged stressed their rejection of the plan.

"Down with the regime" and "Down with all parties," they sang.

"The golf initiative are the problem as if it were a political crisis between the two parties..." "We the streets in a revolution have taken, which calls for a comprehensive change, said Mr. Yusufi."

He calculated that Mr Saleh, who is in Office since 1978, was a "Liar and deceitful".

Ahmed al-Wafi, another leading activist in Taez, Yemen second largest current city and host mass protests, was also the recent statement by GPC as an attempt to "buy time".

"Only an immediate departure of Saleh accepted the youth." "It concerns not by negotiations," he said, insists, that the parliamentary opposition "follow the road stance".

"We remain on the places and we have plans to our protest peacefully escalate," he added.

He also stressed that although people in the Yemen are heavily armed, demonstrators have shown "Great patience by the thugs of the regime peacefully face".

More than 130 people have since end of January protests erupted in clashes with security forces and President loyalists have been killed.

- AFP

Tags: World politics, unrest conflict and war, Yemen

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Republicans raise online tools for 2012

"Hello, everybody," Mr Obama says in the 30-second YouTube video Monday posted on his Facebook page. "I would like to only a minute you invite meeting on the economy a town hall, the I keep Facebook's headquarters of this Wednesday, April 20 am take." "It will be live streamed, and I will answer questions from people across the country."

On Tuesday afternoon, more than 22,000 people had signed up.

It is all part of the Mr Obama re-election efforts to social media and other online tools use to galvanize supporters. But unlike in the last presidential campaign, Republicans are better prepared to compete in the 2012 competition online.

"The idea that the Internet of Liberals, owned by links in the course of the Obama, was false, has to win", said Patrick Ruffini, a Republican political strategist in online, now the exploratory campaign of Tim Pawlenty advice is, the former Governor of Minnesota, after he as a digital consultant to President George W. Bush's campaign 2004 and later at the Republican National Committee.

While the elections last year midterm, Republican caught with the Democrats with technology and social networks, and now many Republicans in the House and Senate are elected using this tool more than Democrats, according to some political and technology experts.

"This is the first choice in modern history, that both parties are understanding the potential of the technology that change the results of the election," said Andrew Rasiej, co-founder of TechPresident.com, a blog, which includes policy and technology and a digital consultant Democrats since Howard Dean presidential campaign in 2004. "Republicans and Democrats are ready to use online platforms and their potential no longer skeptical."

What Republicans after Senator John McCain bruising defeat in 2008 acknowledges is that Mr Obama digital strategy was deeply integrated into his real campaign. Mr Obama team to the its website, E-mails and text messages more than broadcast - his message campaign. It facilitates online the tools for people donate for the area of operation, in particular in caucus States, volunteers, and responsibility for other aspects of the campaign, such as groups of neighbours for a chat Assembly and create the Obama ' 08 iPhone app.

"You learn more to lose than win sometimes," Matt said lira, who on the digital team Mr. McCain's presidential campaign worked and who is now head of new media for representative Eric Cantor of Virginia House Republican majority leader.

Mr Lira said that House committed Republicans, meeting in January 2009 to get into the digital game and to aggressively during the elections last year midterm members and potential candidates on Twitter and Facebook login.

Mr said "You no top recruit for the House become, unless you want to use a robust on the Web," Lira.

Sarah Palin, which is a brand new Web site Tuesday with functions that enable supporters easy to donations, has her political action Committee has long been an established and robust presence on Twitter and Facebook, where they almost started 2.9 million fans. Other possible Republican presidential candidate in 2012, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann and Mike Huckabee, including use also Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Mitt Romney last week with a video, an update on his Facebook page, the nearly 845,000 members, a Twitter-post introduction the Hashtag # mitt2012, and a new Web site announced his exploratory Committee.

Mr. Pawlenty introduced an innovative twist: a social gaming layer borrowed from Farmville and foursquare, the awards, badge and refers to the supporters more participating in the campaign. As an example get supporters 10 points for connections with their Facebook account website of the campaign and the 5 points for their Twitter account Add. If you set one up on your Facebook page message or your own group, you will receive a badge.

Facebook, can in particular candidates to harvest valuable data. By permission of followers you log in with their Facebook account, campaigns can, depending on to a user's privacy settings, a supporter of the E-mail address, home and personal network access. "The days go on a website and registration and waiting to hear back from a volunteer co-ordinator about how you can get involved," said Mr Ruffini.

Neither the democratic or Republican digital strategists argue that social media, mobile and other digital tools alone is a campaign to win. While Facebook and other social media channels without a doubt powerful tools for the presidential election will be competitors in the year 2012, voters can expect even a flurry of traditional TV campaign advertising and direct.

"We consider the number of Facebook fans, Web visits, and it is not anywhere close to the range of television," said Mr Ruffini. "But things like the Facebook News feeds allow us, information in the average to deliver people of feeds."

Republican voters voted Democrats in their use of these tools, with 40% of Republican online users to social media to be politically active in a campaign, compared to 38 percent of democratic voters, according to a study by the Pew Research Center for Internet and society. Tea party supporters were especially likely social media combined with a group or candidates used.

"It is not necessarily that Democrats or liberal or young people become less active," said Aaron Smith, the author of the study. "It is more, that older adults, conservative voters and tea party activists come to join the party."

Republican presidential candidates still face a formidable online foe in Mr Obama. He announced his campaign for re-election of this month with an E-mail and SMS message blast, posts on Twitter, a short video on YouTube and a new app that combines supporters and their Facebook friends on his campaign Web site with a question, "are you in?"

"We are social media and the latest technology to the energy and commitment of the people on the ground, community by community, neighborhood by neighborhood, House to House, all around the country, fuel will use", said Katie Hogan, a spokeswoman for Mr Obama campaign for re-election.

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Laurent Gbagbo under arrest - ABC Online

TONY EASTLEY: Ivory Coast's former President Laurent Gbagbo is in custody in his rival camp.

His arrest followed a deadly day in the city of Abidjan.

Signals the start of the battle, positions military with helicopter gunships targeting Mr Gbagbo UN and French troops.

There were street battles between rival forces but as Africa correspondent Ginny Stein reports, it was the arrival of the French tanks that tipped the scales.

GINNY STEIN: just who is responsible for Laurent Gbagbo arrest is a sensitive issue.

The UN is trying to make it clear that it, neither was the French, but loyal to Alassane Ouattara, the man who expects will forces that the pieces of which pick up country and it crashed after five months of deadly conflict to unite.

The UN want to make sure that opponents no ammunition to discredit his future leadership of this fragile divided nation are given Mr Ouattara.

But what is known, that a key to this point have played French and the United Nations.

Mr Gbagbo has been in the television controlled by Mr Ouattara camp, tired, appear but shown in good health. The cameras rolled his shirt, sweat and dirt away wiping changed as he.

The Ivory Coast UN commissioned Youssoufou Bamba has sworn that Mr Gbabgo is study for crimes he committed.

YOUSSOUFOU BAMBA: Gbagbo was arrested and now he is is set to a secure location for next how to.

GINNY STEIN: US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton says that the arrest of Mr Gbabgo sends a clear message to all tyrants.

HILLARY CLINTON: This move sends a strong signal to dictators and tyrants in the entire region and around the world. The voice of their own people and free and fair elections can ignore not, and there are consequences for those on the power to brackets.

GINNY stone: while everything is over for Mr Gbagbo, the people of Abidjan are still reluctant to go outside. Mercenaries continue to roam the city and result, which their relief at because Mr. Gbagbo could be arrested fatal.

Bile bile Ben lives near where the heaviest fighting took place.

BEN Galle Galle: the Gbagbo militia, they are armed, they are here in our. They are outside, they are outside, they are too much here in our area so that we not express our happiness.

GINNY STEIN: Mr Gbagbo was defeated, but this war is far from won.

All eyes focused on the city of Abidjan. Outdoor areas once loyal to Laurent Gbagbo where took place in mass murder, who knows what will happen?

This is Ginny reporting for to the stone.

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Turning point for the United Nations in the Ivory Coast? -ABC Online

ELIZABETH JACKSON: the United Nations decision to act this week against the military bases of the C?te d ' Ivoire strongman Laurent Gbagbo is a groundbreaking moment for the United Nations is called.

After weeks of excuses and how their troops not only hostage were but were targeted, the UN an urgent request to France, so that the heavy weapons held by Mr Gbabgo forces as the target. While the UN action to prevent a further escalation has described a humanitarian crisis as driven by the desire, the decision appears reflects a policy shift within the UN.

Here, our correspondent Africa Ginny is stone.

GINNY STEIN: stock finally would bring the hope that elections in a country come November peace from the civil war, but 10 years after its last bitter internal conflict is to end the cycle. Shots and birdsong were familiar all too recently sounds in Abidjan.

For four months, diplomatic efforts have been made to resolve the political impasse in C?te d'Ivoire, but to no avail. When forces Abidjan trying to delete Laurent Gbagbo stormed the cycle had changed gears once again.

But outgunned, which was in danger of being not so much but spiral out of control, with the three million residents of Abidjan hostage one looming bloodbath entrenched themselves.

The UN Deputy Secretary General for human rights, Ivan Simonvic, says that the use of heavy weapons by forces against the people of Abidjan was Mr Gbagbo a key factor for their mandate to expand the resolutions of UN.

IVAN SIMONVIC: In Abidjan we had a situation when the according to estimate the medics, have head between 100 and 200 civilians who died as a result of targeted orientation heavy artillery. Those who were killed by bullets so I'm not calculation however, which were affected by the heavy weapons.

At the same time, we had a series of attacks in the United Nations to other ground of the response of the United Nations in the Act is self-defense.

GINNY STEIN: the United Nations preventive measures seems to show a new consensus among the members of the UN Security Council about his legal and moral role in the protection of civilians.

Richard Moncrieff, a political analyst at South Africa's Institute for security studies, says that the UN last failures in Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur would have had a role in influencing the decision right to strike.

RICHARD MONCRIEFF: Some of these conflicts, where they do not intervene and things wrong bad, can be read as one of the factors here, that people do not want to see, this sort of thing being reviewed.

GINNY stone: for four months, the UN attempts to bring about a political solution while his forces on the ground tried to control an increasingly violent situation.

Mr Moncrieff says that the UN is partially frustrated was Laurent Gbagbo understanding the UN perceived weaknesses and the tactics he used to maintain the pressure.

RICHARD MONCRIEFF: they have not had much effect in C?te d'Ivoire so far and the reason for this is that the protagonists, and especially the camp of Laurent Gbagbo understand very well, in particular they tend to deal with the United Nations, unarmed civilians in the way set, this is something that the United Nations are very poorly equipped to deal with - unrest especially urban unrest, which the UN not well in C?te d'Ivoire have traded in the last 10 years.

So you know, there are reasons why they have no longer fully up to now, but I think at this point, you know, it is a reputational risk at stake for the United Nations, you know, if it can not all do, to a massacre if it already has troops directly on the ground in Abidjan, then I think people would start to stop questions, you know, what good is it?

GINNY STEIN: but what comes next is the biggest challenge of the country. Life goes to Laurent Gbagbo, the biggest challenge in a country that not only are shared but where hate speech has long prevailed between the various ethnic populations.

RICHARD MONCRIEFF: The problem of how the country can be ruled and brought under control is extremely difficult be. The population of C?te d'Ivoire was fed drip a discourse of hate for years and years now and it has really poisoned the relationship between different populations, and it will make it extremely difficult.

GINNY STEIN: more than ever before, subdivided unresolved massacres and legions of the fighters, who in may be convinced one the spoils of war that its a country, lay down their arms, but not Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara are their loyalty.

This is Ginny Stein report reporting for correspondent.

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Palestinian engineer kidnapped are displayed in the Ukraine, in Israel Court - ABC Online

MARK COLVIN: In a cold, dark night a man from a train of two men allegedly foreign agents, kidnapped, is to take him from his car and spirit him of the country.

No, there is no Graham Greene, an Eric Ambler or an Alan furst, it is a true story that happened in February in the Ukraine.

Links to Hamas and details of the disappearance of an Israeli soldier believed the abducted man is a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip almost five years ago.

And the abduction is allegedly the work of Israel spy agency, Mossad.

Struts you East correspondent Anne Barker reports with.

ANNE BARKER: The night of 18 February, Dirar Abu Sisi, the Technical Director of Gaza was in power station, travel a night train in the Ukraine. His wife Veronika is Ukrainian - and Abu Sisi was citizenship request.

But wake up sometime in the night train, two men came to his carriage and took him.
Within hours he was on a level set and where he since has been flown to Israel and detained at Shikma prison South of Tel Aviv.

His lawyer Smadar Natan Ben says that she suspected that were Israeli Mossad agents behind the kidnapping.

SMADAR BEN NATAN: Alleged Israeli appeared even in the Ukraine.

ANNE BARKER: What can you give me then about the nature of that kidnap say?

SMADAR BEN NATAN: Well I can tell you, it was a kidnapping with no formal extradition procedures. And I know where I presented with no arrest warrant. Only, a powerful extraordinary delivery from one country to another.

ANNE BARKER: is it your understanding, that the Ukrainian authorities were complicit in this abduction?

SMADAR BEN NATAN: It is very possible that they were accomplices. It is very hard to imagine how to so kidnapped a person and of the local authorities flown from one country to another without some assistance.

ANNE BARKER: ABC has many authorities in Israel and the Ukraine no luck as Abu Sisi's tries to contact Mrs Veronika. Comment is not simply Israeli authorities, although they do not deny that it was Israeli agents abducted him.

But she will not answer questions about the legality or illegality of the seizure of someone on foreign soil without a warrant or this them of the country, without applying for extradition.

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, told Israeli television Abu Sisi is a member of the Hamas Israel as terrorist organization understands and that his detention at least is legal.

"Abu Sisi of Hamas," he said. "He is in custody in Israel." He is legally in all rules place. "I can only say that he has provided useful information."

(Question from the interviewer)

Asked what the details and whether it refers to the case of the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit of the Prime Minister would no longer say.

But Abu Sisi in Court yesterday insisted he was innocent and said the accusations against him are all lies. He confirmed he is been interrogated about Gilad Shalit, but he and his lawyer said that he knows nothing.

SMADAR BEN NATAN: He is not a terrorist at all. And he is person or member not even a Hamas. He is a professional. He was not a political person in any way, not a military person, of course. They live in Gaza know a lot of things and will you know other things in a senior position in the electricity company. But I don't think he knew no more than that.

ANNE BARKER: Abu Sisi's family now has begun legal proceedings in the Ukraine to try to force Ukrainian authorities to his return from Israel request on the grounds he supplied nor sold was.

If that fails, they have pressure against Israel appealed to the European Court of human rights and the United Nations.

But even if one is to find Abu Sisi's, of them questionable whether Israel would comply with the results.

This is Anne Barker in Jerusalem, reporting for PM.

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