Syrian security forces shot dead four soldiers trying to desert on Monday, as troops deployed in several villages and China voiced concern over events in Syria. "Four soldiers in Maar Shamsa in (northwestern) Idlib were shot dead while trying to flee the Wadi Deif military camp," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, reporting gunfire, arrests and murders over the weekend and on Monday across the country. Meanwhile, China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi highlighted his country's concern about Syria in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly. In a marked call to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad's forces and opposition demonstrators, Yang said "we hope that parties in Syria will exercise restraint, avoid any form of violence or more bloodshed and conflict, and act quickly to ease tension." The international community should "handle the Syrian issue in a prudent way so as to prevent further turbulence in Syria and its repercussions on regional peace," Yang said. China has joined Russia in leading opposition to UN sanctions against the Assad government in Syria, where the United Nations says that more than 2,700 people have been killed since March. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged China to back strong UN action on Syria when she met Yang just before his speech, a senior US official said. And a global human rights group urged a UN probe into the killing of Syrian civilians and slammed the "timidity" in tackling the crisis amid evidence of crimes against humanity. "We are demanding an international investigation to document exactly what is happening and really identify the problems -- an independent investigation by the United Nations because this can't continue," Khadija Cherif, secretary general of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights, told AFP in Warsaw. "We must do this, or we'll continue to see this kind of timidity in the reaction to what is happening in Syria," Cherif said, at once warning there was "certainly no need for an armed intervention" similar to the NATO-led air strikes in Libya. On the ground in Syria, the Britain-based Observatory also reported soaring tensions in central Homs province, a hub of protests against the Assad regime. "Tension is high in Homs province. The army has deployed in the villages of the Qusseir region (south of Homs), where two unidentified bodies were found in the Assi river." "There are also mutilated bodies at the National Hospital" in Qusseir, where 12 people were killed and 15 were reported missing in military operations on Saturday, the Observatory said. North of Homs, "many security checkpoints have been set up on the roads leading to Rastan, where heavy machine-gun fire was heard this morning," the rights group added. The deputy dean of the faculty of architecture at Al-Baath University in Homs, Mohammed Ali Aqil, was killed on Monday by unknown assailants, the Observatory reported. In northwestern Idlib province near the Turkish border, the military and security forces stormed villages east of the city of Saraqeb, setting up roadblocks and arresting 17 people. The Observatory also said that in the rebel city of Hama, "a civilian died and three others were wounded by gunfire on Sunday night on the Mhardeh-Hilfaya road." The bodies of four civilians who went missing on September 16 at Hilfaya in Hama province were also returned to their families. In the southern city of Dael in Daraa province, where the first protests ignited in mid-March, intense gunfire was heard throughout the night after the city council building was set on fire, which residents blamed on pro-regime militias. Students staged demonstrations in several Daraa cities, the Observatory added. Meanwhile, the state-run SANA news agency reported the seizure of "arms and ammunition" in a house in the Daraa village of Nassib near the Jordanian border, and the discovery of a carload of "Israeli arms and explosives charges in Homs." SANA also reported the funeral of four soldiers and security officers, as well as that of a doctor who had been killed in Homs. Damascus does not accept the existence of popular opposition to the authorities, instead blaming "armed gangs" and "terrorists" for trying to sow chaos.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has submitted his bid to the UN for recognition of a Palestinian state. To rapturous applause in the General Assembly, he urged the Security Council to back a state with pre-1967 borders. He said the Palestinians had entered negotiations with Israel with sincere intentions, but blamed the building of Jewish settlements for their failure. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said he was reaching out to Palestinians and blamed them for refusing to negotiate. "I continue to hope that President Abbas will be my partner in peace," he said in his speech in New York. "Let's meet here today in the United Nations. Who's there to stop us?" Mr Netanyahu added that the core of the conflict was not settlements but the refusal of the Palestinians to recognise Israel as a Jewish state. Hours after receiving it, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon transmitted the Palestinian request to the Security Council. Israel and the US say a Palestinian state can only be achieved through talks with Israel - not through UN resolutions. 'Come to peace' President Barack Obama told Mr Abbas on Thursday that the US would use its UN Security Council veto to block the move. Continue reading the main story Analysis Jeremy Bowen BBC Middle East editor, New York Some delegations here at the UN in New York gave Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas a standing ovation - they were clapping and even whistling in support. That is significant because if it comes to a vote in the Security Council - and if the Americans veto it - Palestinians have a Plan B. That Plan B is to go to the General Assembly - where there are no vetoes - and get enhanced status, not full membership but something better than they have now. The Palestinians say they want to negotiate but not in the way they have negotiated before - there has to be clear parameters and a timetable. The Palestinian point is that since 18 years of negotiation has not worked, let's try something new. "I call upon the distinguished members of the Security Council to vote in favour of our full membership," he told the General Assembly, in what was for him an unusually impassioned speech. He added that he hoped for swift backing. Many delegates gave him a standing ovation. "I also appeal to the states that have not yet recognised the State of Palestine to do so." "The time has come for my courageous and proud people, after decades of displacement and colonial occupation and ceaseless suffering, to live like other peoples of the earth, free in a sovereign and independent homeland," he said. He urged Israel to "come to peace". And he said the building of Jewish settlements was "the primary cause for the failure of the peace process". A spokesman for the Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, criticised the speech. Salah Bardawil said Mr Abbas had deviated from the aspirations of the Palestinian people by accepting the 1967 borders, which he said left 80% of Palestinian land inside Israel. 'Future and destiny' Meanwhile in the West Bank, crowds roared their approval as Mr Abbas demanded UN acceptance of a Palestinian state within pre-1967 borders. Continue reading the main story Middle East viewpoints Analyst Yezid Sayigh argues that US and Israeli policies have forced the Palestinians to resort to requesting full UN membership. Israeli commentator Yossi Klein Halevi argues that the Palestinians need to convince the Israelis that any state would not be a threat. "With our souls, with our blood, we will defend Palestine," they said. Mr Abbas had called for peaceful marches in support of his initiative, but some clashes were reported: One Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli troops during clashes in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, Palestinian sources say At the Qalandiya checkpoint, Israeli troops fired tear gas on stone-throwing Palestinian youths In the village of Nabi Saleh, protesters burned Israeli flags and pictures of President Obama The process began with Mr Abbas presenting a written request for a State of Palestine to be admitted as a full UN member state to the UN secretary general. The BBC's Kim Ghattas at the UN says that until the last minute Western diplomats tried and failed to stop the Palestinians making the request. Even now, efforts are under way to restart direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians in an attempt to defuse tensions, our correspondent says. The Security Council will examine it and vote on the request. In order to pass, it would need the backing of nine out of 15 council members, with no vetoes from the permanent members. A Security Council vote could take weeks to come about and the US may not even need to exercise its veto - Washington and Israel have been lobbying council members to either vote against the Palestinian plan or abstain. Continue reading the main story Palestinian UN membership bid Palestinians currently have permanent observer entity status at the UN They are represented by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Officials now want an upgrade so a state of Palestine has full member status at the UN They seek recognition on 1967 borders - in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Enhanced observer member status could be an interim option Q&A: Palestinians' UN statehood plans Why Obama has turned towards Israel French President Nicolas Sarkozy has urged a compromise, suggesting the General Assembly give the Palestinians enhanced status as a non-member state to allow a clear timeline for talks - a month to start negotiations, six months to deal with borders and security and a year to finalise a "definitive agreement". A vote on enhanced status - enjoyed by others such as the Vatican - would not require a Security Council recommendation but a simple majority in the General Assembly, where no veto is possible. Currently the Palestinians have observer status at the UN. The "Quartet" of US, European, Russian and UN mediators has been working on reaching a framework agreement to restart talks, based on Mr Obama's vision of borders fashioned from Israel's pre-1967 boundary, with agreed land swaps.
France's fines on women for wearing the full-face covering niqab veil, imposed for the first time by a court on Thursday, are a "travesty of justice," Amnesty International says. Police have issued several on-the-spot fines since the ban came into force in April but the hearing saw the first two court-issued fines, and the Muslim women vowed to appeal their case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights. "This is a travesty of justice and a day of shame for France. These women are being punished for wearing what they want," Amnesty International's deputy director for Europe and Central Asia John Dalhuisen said in a statement. Advertisement: Story continues below "Instead of protecting women's rights, this ban violates their freedom of expression and religion." The court in the northern cheese-making town of Meaux ordered Hind Ahmas, 32, to pay a 120 ($A163) fine, while Najate Nait Ali, 36, was fined 80 euros. It did not order them to take a citizenship course, as the prosecutor had wanted. The women were arrested when they brought a birthday cake for local mayor and lawmaker Jean-Francois Cope, who is head of President Nicolas Sarkozy's right-wing UMP party that pushed through Europe's first anti-burqa law. France is not the only country to try to ban the Muslim full-face veil - Belgium and some Italian cities have similar laws, while other countries are planning to follow suit - so a European ruling could have broad effect. French officials estimate that only around 2,000 women, from a total Muslim population estimated at between four and six million, wear the full-face veils traditionally worn in parts of the Arab world and South Asia. Many Muslims and rights activists say the right-wing president is targeting one of France's most vulnerable groups to signal to anti-immigration voters that he shares their fear that Islam is a threat to French culture.
The National Transitional Council are investigating an unconfirmed report that Muammar Gaddafi has fled from Sabha, NTC spokesman reports. NTC spokesman also states that Libyan government forces now control most of Sabha with small pockets of resistance from pro-Gaddafi snipers.
Fugitive Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi was spotted in the southern city of Sabha a few days ago, the regional daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on Tuesday, citing an eyewitness. The witness claimed that Gadhafi was living in the city, located around 750 kilometers south of the capital Tripoli. Anti-Gadhafi fighters firing a cannon near Sirte, the hometown of deposed leader Muammar Gadhafi, September 17, 2011. Photo by: Reuters Gadhafi's whereabouts have been unknown since rebels took over Tripoli in August. However, he continues to send statements and voice messages through the Syria-based al-Rai channel. The report comes after the anti-Gadhafi rebels said they took over parts of Sabha city as well as its airport. "The airport of Sabha has been liberated by our fighters," a military spokesman, Colonel Ahmed Bani, said in Tripoli on Monday. "Also two villages near Sabha have been liberated." For around a week the rebels have been fighting pro-Gadhafi fighters, who have put up stiff resistance in his birthplace of Sirte and the desert town of Bani Walid, south-east of Tripoli. Almost a month after they overran Tripoli, the rebels are at pains to take control of the two strongholds before their leaders can declare all of the North African country "liberated."
Sir Richard Dearlove, who was head of MI6 when British agents helped to send Muammar Gaddafi's opponents back to Libya, where they were tortured, said on Thursday that intelligence co-operation with countries with poor human rights records had always been cleared by ministers. "It has always been pretty clear that our governments in the UK have accepted that danger and difficulty and have given political clearance for that sort of co-operation," he told a meeting of the Henry Jackson Society, a foreign policy international thinktank. Whitehall officials have already insisted that intelligence cooperation with Gaddafi's Libya was authorised by ministers. However, Labour ministers at the time, including Tony Blair and Jack Straw, have distanced themselves from MI6's co-operation with Gaddafi's security services, as has Lady Eliza Manningham-Buller, then head of MI5. Dearlove said that MI6's co-operation with Gaddafi's regime against extremism was "uncomfortable" and "pragmatic". But he denied MI6 enjoyed a "cosy" relationship with the regime. He said that MI6 had had "phenomenal" success in disarming Libya, which had succeeded in acquiring the infrastructure needed to begin a nuclear weapons programme from the rogue Pakistani scientist, AQ Khan. "I resent the suggestion the relationship with Gaddafi was cosy," he said. "It was not a cosy relationship, it was a pragmatic one." Dearlove added: "It was a political decision, having very significantly disarmed Libya, for the government to co-operate with Libya on Islamist terrorism. The whole relationship was one of serious calculation about where the overall balance of our national interests stood." Papers found abandoned in the Tripoli offices of Moussa Koussa, Gaddafi's former foreign minister and intelligence chief, showed how MI6 was involved in sending suspected extremists back to Libya. They included Abdul Hakim Belhaj, a former prominent member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which had links with al-Qaida, and who is now military commander in the Libyan capital. Referring to the forthcoming Gibson inquiry into allegations that British security and intelligence agencies colluded in the torture and abuse of terror suspects, Dearlove said that he should not say more about co-operation with countries which did not share the UK's views about human rights. Dearlove said he was surprised by the relative failure of violent Islamism to make a more lasting political impact. North Africa and the Middle East showed al-Qaida had failed to achieve the long-term political impact many people had predicted at the time of the 9/11 attacks in 2001. He said the terrorist network appeared to be "on the back foot" and was struggling to mount operations in the developed world. "I think it faces an issue of credibility. It badly needs to demonstrate to its sympathisers and its core membership that it can pull off something really big," he said. He said he believed al-Qaida had made a "serious tactical error" in taking on the Americans in Iraq when they would have been better off trying to mount more 9/11-style attacks. "I think it was a vision of taking on the US military. Once the US military got its act together, it came out of that confrontation very badly," he said. He insisted the west had been right to respond in the way it did to the events of 9/11, even though it resulted in the radicalisation of many Muslims. "Confronting al-Qaida was a confrontation of beliefs and values. I think it was the right thing to do, despite the risks, to come out on the front foot to meet that threat militantly," he said.
Lawyers for a woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia say the case has not been properly handled by Spain's criminal justice system. The woman, known only as "Soraya", says she was assaulted on a yacht moored off the island of Ibiza in 2008. A spokeswoman for the prince denied the allegation and said he had not been to Ibiza for more than a decade. The case was shelved by an island court but has now been reopened. This followed a successful appeal by Soraya's lawyers. The judge is preparing a second official request to the Saudi authorities for assistance in formally questioning the prince. The nephew of Saudi King Abdullah, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is a multi-billionaire with major investments in both Citigroup and NewsCorp. 'Something in my drink' "In our opinion, the Court of Instruction No 3 in Ibiza and the police did not follow full procedure in cases of alleged sexual abuse," the lawyers from Madrid-based firm Turiel and Beloqui told the BBC. "There are things that should have been investigated that were not - like questioning staff on the yacht and the guests, an analysis of the victim's clothes and so on," the lawyers wrote, describing the fact these steps were not taken as "very unusual". The claim that the case was not being pursued with proper rigour was dismissed by the Ibiza court in 2010, saying that the identity of the accused in no way affected its decision to drop the case that year. The court ruling cites insufficient evidence to proceed. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote My daughter was in a terrible state, [...] scared to death, crying, awful” Mother of 'Soraya' Soraya, a Spanish-German model, was 20 at the time of the alleged attack on 13 August 2008 on board the 117-metre luxury yacht Turama. She told police she had begun to feel nauseous in the VIP zone of a local night club, where she believes something was slipped into her drink. She had been taken there by a man claiming to be a chauffeur for "an Arab prince" who was visiting the island. According to court documents seen by the BBC, Soraya sent the chauffeur an SMS text message at 05:12, saying: "I haven't drunk much but I think there was something in my drink." The model says she came round some hours later on board the Turama to find a man on top of her. She later identified the man as Prince Alwaleed bin Talal using images taken from YouTube. Forensic reports from a medical examination the following day revealed traces of a sedative and semen, but no physical injuries. A woman identifying herself as the mother of Soraya told the BBC her daughter had called on the morning of the alleged attack asking her to come and collect her from the island. "My daughter was in a terrible state, [...] scared to death, crying, awful," the woman said, responding to questions sent by email. "The Spanish justice system has treated this case very badly. In my view they did not want to get too involved because of who the accused was." A 2010 prosecutor's report says three men who were questioned by police during the investigation were unable to corroborate the model's version of events "in any way". The Saudi foreign ministry rejected an initial request from the Ibizan court to investigate, citing "an inability to identify the accused and a lack of solid evidence". This week, a spokeswoman for Prince Alwaleed's Kingdom Holding Company said the prince had never been informed of the 2008 court case, or that it was eventually shelved. In a statement, she also said the billionaire's travel records confirm he was with dozens of friends and family at the time of the alleged attack, nowhere near Ibiza. "There have been many examples of people impersonating Prince Alwaleed over the internet and elsewhere for their own purposes," Heba Fatani said in a statement. She called the allegations against him "salacious" and "completely and utterly false". The Audencia Provincial court in Mallorca - which has jurisdiction over Ibiza - has ordered the case to be reopened in order to ensure the prince can be questioned in accordance with Spanish law. Soraya's lawyers have urged him to provide a DNA sample to rule himself out of the inquiry.
In another confusing round of claims and counterclaims by the Libyan rebels, a spokesman for their most powerful militia commander said Wednesday that rebel forces had cornered Libya’s fugitive leader, Col. Muammar Qaddafi, a report dismissed by a spokesman for the transitional government’s military. The claim came as rebel officials as well as officials in neighboring Niger said Colonel Qaddafi had not fled into Niger, nor had two of his most powerful sons, contrary to speculation after news reports said 200 armed vehicles or more headed into the country recently. On Tuesday, officials within Niger and some independent witnesses said that there was no such convoy, while confirming that some smaller number of Libyan vehicles had entered in recent days, and the State Department said that at least a dozen senior members of the Qaddafi government had fled to Niger. On Wednesday, Mohamed Bazoum, Nigerien foreign minister, told French Radio: “There’s no question that some people arrived. But it wasn’t at all of the order of magnitude that people have said. Two hundred vehicles, that’s inconceivable. Ten cars, maximum.” The Associated Press quoted a spokesman for Niger’s president as saying that one was Colonel Qaddafi’s security chief, Mansour Dao. The Wednesday claim that the fugitive leader was cornered came from Anis Sharif, the spokesman for Abdel Hakim Belhaj, who is the chairman of the Tripoli Military Committee and the leader of one of the biggest rebel militias. Mr. Sharif said a variety of rebel units had converged on an area in the desert where they had confirmed the presence of the leader. “We are waiting for the right moment to move in and in the meantime we are tracking his movements,” Mr. Sharif said. “He doesn’t have a very strong protection with him, not as much protection as we had expected. He only moves at night to avoid NATO air strikes.” Mr. Sharif declined to say where the location was, other than in the Sahara desert, which occupies more than half of the southern part of the country. He said that the rebel forces had advanced to within 40 miles of his location and had surrounded the area. “He cannot escape,” he said, adding he expected rebels to move in soon. “It’s up to the leaders on the ground who will make their move when it’s time.” Abdulrahman Busin, the military press liaison, said that the reports of Colonel Qaddafi being surrounded were rumors, and that there were also unconfirmed reports that he was in yet another convoy moving toward the remote Niger border. Niger also borders Burkina Faso, another landlocked Saharan country, which had previously announced that it would grant asylum to Colonel Qaddafi. On Tuesday however, according to the Associated Press, Burkina Faso officials said he would be arrested if he arrived there.
Neither Gaddafi nor any of his sons were on the convoy that arrived in Niger from Libya. The statement was made by Niger Foreign Minister, Mohammed Bazoum, on the microphones of Al Arabiya.& 13; The news was leaked by sources of the National Transational Council, according to which the 200-250 vehicle convoy that crossed the Fezzan desert to reach the ciy of Agadez, escorted by local security forces, carried an enormous load of gold and cash as well as several members of Gaddafi's family. "None of this is true", Bazoum said, cutting short, "it isn't Gaddafi and nor do I think that the convoy was as large as reported". In his opinion, the convoy carried former officials of Gaddafi's regime, although of intermediate ranking: this therefore also appears to deny the presence on the convoy of Mansour Daw, the chief of the Colonel's security forces. & 13; Also France, the former colonial power of the sub-Saharan Country, denied rumors concerning Gaddafi: "We have no information enabling us to think that Colonel Gaddafi is on that convoy", reiterated a spokesperson of the Elysee