[Transcript]  Mosaic News - 06/26/12: World News From The Middle East [VIDEO]

Earlier this month, Egypt's Justice Ministry caused an uproar by giving the military the right to arrest civilians, but the administrative court in Cairo reversed that decision after reviewing an appeal by 17 rights groups, who said that the decision gave extraordinary power to the military.

Meanwhile, Egypt's defeated presidential candidate, Ahmed Shafiq, has left the country, following an investigation into corruption allegations against him. He flew to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, joining former Vice President Omar Suleiman.

In a speech before parliament, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey is changing the rules of engagement with Syria, and now brands Damascus a "threat." This comes after Syria downed a Turkish warplane on Friday that Turkey claimed was over international waters, while Syria claims it violated Syrian airspace. NATO condemned the incident and promised full support for Ankara.

Presenter, Female #1
Bahraini revolutionaries have called for staging rallies across the country on a Thursday titled "Victims of torture: steadfastness produces victory." Today, the revolutionaries held a surprise rally under the slogan "The lightning star," by blocking off vital roads across the provinces, including the February 14th Street leading to the financial, diplomatic, and commercial centers in the capital, al-Manama.

Presenter, Female #1
The protestors also burned tires on Tahrir Street that leads to the Saudi Bridge, which is the only land passage connecting Bahrain to Saudi Arabia. The protestors also blocked off the main street leading to King Hamad's al-Safriya Palace, amid clouds of smoke extending over the runways of the Bahrain international airport. The smoke also covered the road leading to Prime Minister Khalifa Bin Suleiman's palace.

Presenter, Female #1
Meanwhile, Saudi rights activists and bloggers launched a campaign demanding the release of a teacher who is standing trial before the State Security Court on charges of supporting the demonstrations in the kingdom. The activists called for the release of Khaled al-Johani, a teacher who was arrested by Saudi security authorities in March 2011. Al-Johani was arrested after arriving at the site of a planned anti-government demonstration that never took place due to heightened security measures. Amnesty International has called on Riyadh to release al-Johani, and described him as a prisoner of opinion.

Presenter, Female #1
An Omani court has started hearing the cases of activists accused of defamation and illegal assembly during protests that demanded political reforms and criticized the conduct of security agencies. The Omani Daily said court proceedings started on Monday against 15 people, four of whom are accused of defamation and inciting protests and strikes. The other 11 people were indicted on charges of illegal assembly.

Presenter, Female #1
Oman has detained nearly 30 people in the last few weeks over protests that erupted following strikes at oil facilities. In addition, several opposition activists were arrested when they visited an oil facility where workers went on strike in late May.

Presenter, Female #1
A Libyan court has postponed a hearing in the case of former Libyan foreign intelligence chief, Bouzid Omar Dorda, to July 10. The delay comes after the defendant's lawyer requested more time to review the case. Dorda is being accused of ordering security forces to open fire at civilians, forming an armed force to launch attacks on the territories of Jabal al-Gharbi, stirring strife, sparking a civil war, using force to prevent peaceful demonstrations, as well as abusing power.

Presenter, Female #1
The director-general of the British Security Service MI5, Jonathan Evans, has warned that al-Qaeda militants are using countries of the Arab Spring as bases to train Western youths with the aim of launching terrorist attacks on Britain. In a rare speech and his first public appearance since his appointment as head of the intelligence agency in 2007, Evans said that al-Qaeda is trying to return with full force to the Arab world by taking advantage of security and political unrest that followed the Arab revolutions.

Reporter, Male #1
The revolutions of the Arab Spring could create opportunities to help promote long-term democratic change. In the meantime, the revolutions may help provide a breeding ground for the al-Qaeda organization. This is the message convoyed by Jonathan Evans, the director-general of the British Security Service, MI5.

Reporter, Male #1
Evans confirmed that al-Qaeda militants are actively mobilizing in the countries of the Arab Spring to train radical Western youths. Al-Qaeda, which moved from Arab countries in the 1990s to Afghanistan then to Pakistan, is trying to gain new grounds in the Arab world.

Reporter, Male #1
The organization is taking advantage of the political and security unrest in the Arab Spring countries and the Horn of Africa. According to the intelligence agency, nearly 200 British residents left the country to receive trainings by al-Qaeda in countries such as Yemen and Somalia, where they carried out attacks. The agency added that some will return to Britain to carry out similar operations.

Reporter, Male #1
According to the intelligence chief, the Olympic Games slated for next month in London may be an attractive target for British jihadists returning from the Middle East. And, despite the fact that al-Qaeda has not launched any attacks on Britain since 2005, the threat of coming under attack has become imminent. Mohamed al-Sayyed, BBC.

Presenter, Female #1
In Syria, activists said 90 people were killed today in the gunfire of al-Assad's brigades as what was described as the fiercest clashes erupted between the regime's army and the Free Army in the suburbs of Damascus, specifically near the headquarters of the Presidential Palace tasked with protecting Damascus and its countryside.

Reporter, Male #1
The heavy clashes were the most notable event of the past few hours in Syria, especially in the suburbs of Damascus, near the headquarters of the Presidential Palace tasked with protecting Damascus and its countryside. This is the first time regime forces use artillery shelling in areas close to the heart of the capital.

Reporter, Male #1
The calculated crimes of al-Assad's brigades were considered a new massacre in al-Hameh, in the countryside of Damascus, that left dozens of civilians dead. Fierce battles also raged in Tal al-Shehab in Daraa between the regime's army and the Free Army, as Taybt al-Emam and Maardas in Hama witnessed arrest campaigns after a series of defections from al-Assad's army.

Reporter, Male #1
As for the brutal shelling targeting dissenting Syrian towns, it continues with al-Assad's brigades pounding Kanaker, Harasta, Douma, Qatana, Darayya, and Hamriya, with heavy artillery fire. The forces targeted homes, leading to the killing of a number of people as the shabeha stormed the city of Irbil to carry out raids.

Reporter, Male #1
The Assad army also continued its brutal bombing of Homs, with indiscriminate shells falling on the neighborhoods of al-Hamidiya, Jouret al-Shayyah, Talbisa, al-Rastan, and al-Qusayr. In Idlib, the neighborhoods of Saraqeb, Maarat al-Numaan, and Jabal al-Zawiya were shelled by tanks, as well as helicopters that flew overhead to find the revolutionaries' hideouts. In the countryside of Aleppo, the Free Syrian Army announced it seized the city of Daret Azza following fierce clashes with the regime's army.

Reporter, Male #1
And as bloody developments continue on the ground, the opposition's supporters held mass demonstrations and funeral processions for the victims who died on Monday by the bullets of the Syrian security forces.

Presenter, Male #2
In a notable development, a Free Syrian Army battalion was formed in the name of martyr Maarouf Saad in East Ghouta in Damascus.

Guest, Male #3
We announce the formation of the militant martyr Maarouf Saad's battalion in East Ghouta in light of the crimes against humanity being perpetrated by the Assad regime's forces, that also rape women and kill children. So we are announcing that we will defend our dear homeland, and confront the dangers of this corrupt regime. We will retrieve our rights and will ourselves. We want dignity. So when you excel in the industry of death, we say we deserve life, and all glory to God. Long live a free Syria.

Presenter, Male #1
In Kuwait tonight, the opposition's supporters will gather at al-Iradah Square facing the headquarters of the National Assembly to protest the constitutional court's decision to dissolve parliament, and restore the previous parliament.

Presenter, Female #1
The Kuwaiti government, headed by Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah, had submitted its resignation to the emir of the country, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad, less than five months after it was formed. The majority in parliament had issued a statement denouncing the verdict, considering it legally void.

Reporter, Male #2
Suddenly, the Kuwaiti government submitted its resignation to the emir of the country, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. The speaker of parliament rushed to hold a press conference to clarify the reasons that led the government to quickly resign, especially after the constitutional court's latest verdict. That government was formed by Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak. The verdict caused legal and political debates in the country.

Guest Male #3 (Mohammad Abdallah Mubarak Sabah, Kuwaiti Government Spokesman)
The government is very keen not to have any repercussions on any side that could appeal in the future. Implementing the verdict requires lifting decrees; these decrees must be lifted by a government that is formed in the right manner.

Reporter, Male #2
The constitutional court's ruling that the current National Assembly is invalid, restoring the former assembly, seems to observers as in need of legal procedures before being implemented. But these procedures led Kuwait's legislative and executive authorities to face a major crisis. The current assembly's ministers of the majority rejected the ruling, viewing it as legally void, further complicating a crisis that some observers believe is more significant than the relationship between the two powers, and even more important than the judicial ruling.

Guest Male #4 (Turki Azmy, Political Analyst)
The mindset must change; young blood is needed; strategic thought is required. The leadership style must take the country in the right direction, away from this ongoing decline. We are not talking about specific individuals, we are talking about an approach; we are talking about a path.

Reporter, Male #2
The government that resigned is the ninth since 2006, and the second formed by Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak after mass popular mobilization, a mobilization that led Kuwait's emir at the time to dissolve the two powers and call for new elections.

Reporter, Male #2
It seems the political crisis in Kuwait is the most difficult in its political history since it deepened the conflict between the executive and legislative powers, notably after the constitutional court's ruling. And the crisis worsened, the rift between the two powers also grew. Said al-Saidi, Al Jazeera, al-Kuwait.

Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded the second day of his two-day trip to Israel and the Palestinian Authority with visits to Jerusalem and Bethlehem. According to officials from the Russian delegation, Putin confided to Abbas Prime Minister Netanyahu's readiness to engage in direct talks, while Abbas blamed the impasse on Israel's resumption of settlement construction. Peace activists also slammed Putin for Russia's seemingly growing alliance with Syria's Bashar al-Assad.

Presenter, Female #1
Hamas celebrated Mohamed Morsi's victory as president of Egypt by holding marches in the Gaza Strip. Our correspondent Mohamed al-Madhoun reports.

Reporter, Male #1
Like all 27 Egyptian governorates, the Gaza Strip reacted to the results of the Egyptian presidential elections that made Mohamed Morsi president. Hundreds of residents took to the streets and squares to celebrate as soon as they heard the results. They raised pictures of the new president, shooting in the air and setting off fireworks. Celebrations were initially spontaneous, and Hamas later organized a mass march to congratulate Egypt that chose the candidate of Hamas' mother organization.

Guest, Male #2
Today marks the first step towards Jerusalem. Today Israel will be humiliated, and so will all the tyrants. We will defeat Israel, God willing.

Guest, Male #3
I ask Mohamed Morsi first to establish himself in Egypt, and to manage his internal affairs, then to lift the siege on Gaza and to look at Palestine, Jerusalem, and the entire Palestinian people with a humane view, and as a victorious person that can fulfill these demands.

Reporter, Male #1
In al-Shatea refugee camp, Ismail Haniya, the prime minister of Gaza's government, was following the announcement of the results with his family. As soon as they were released, residents headed to the camp to congratulate him. Haniya was among the first to call Egyptian President-elect Morsi, and chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, to share their happiness.

Guest, Male #5 (Ismail Haniya, Prime Minister of Hamas Government)
I send my congratulations and blessings to my brother, Dr. Mohamed Morsi, for winning the presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and to the Egyptian people, who put their trust in the man of this period, to a renaissance man, to a man of the revolution.

Reporter, Male #1
Political, religious, and organizational reasons led Gaza to publically celebrate Morsi's victory. For six years, Gaza has suffered from a siege that Morsi vowed to lift during his campaign. He is also the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate, the group from which Gaza's rulers in the Hamas movement originate. Others haven't concealed their fear that the identity of the new Egyptian president may cause an imbalance in the Palestinian political force, which would add to the division between Hamas and Fatah, and further fuel the internal split.

Guest, Male #5 (Talal Okal, Political Analyst)
Today after Morsi was elected, Hamas feels that it is facing new prospects. A great force has been added to its power, so the internal Palestinian front is more balanced. The reconciliation's effective factors indicate that the treaties and agreements are no longer valid or effective.

Reporter, Male #1
The great joy in some of the Strip's governorates turned upside down after a resident was killed by a stray bullet in the city of Rafah, and six others were injured. Everyone agrees that the relationship between Gaza and Egypt needs to return to normal, as any relationship between two neighboring entities. However, the dangers remain of pushing Gaza toward the south, and separating it from the rest of the Palestinian territory, which would exempt the occupation of many of its responsibilities. In any case, the belief here is that it is not possible to have anything worse than the toppled Mubarak regime. Mohamed al-Madhoun, New TV, Gaza, Palestine.

** Contact Mosaic News: mosaicnews{at}linktv{dot}org