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Posted on 03/30/2011 7:12:26 AM PDT by MestaMachine
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/04/18/world-bahrain-activists-charged-murder.html
url for above post. One letter missing in html can kill the whole thing! Dang.
In Little Iran, There's No Mistaking the Stakes
Excerpt
You really could be in Iran, traveling the roads of Lebanon's south. The billboards of the martyrs look newer, the young men honored by them having perished not in the 1980s, when Iran and Iraq fought to the death, but just five years ago, when Israel launched an assault on the stronghold of Hizballah, the Lebanese Shiite militia sponsored by Tehran. But those blue and yellow octagons posted on the roadsides? The ones with the pair of hands cupping it from the bottom? These are collection boxes of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee, a staple of Iranian byways. There's even a tattered poster or two welcoming President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, who paid a visit last October, just walking the property.
But the centerpiece is the traffic circle in Kfar Kila, the Lebanese town tucked right against the U.N. Blue Line, mere yards from Israel. The curbs are painted the colors of Hizballah but the monument is very much to Iran. That's Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on the plinth, his kohl-eyed glare captured well in the stenciled marble plate, as is the black turban. Above him stands the logo of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a stylized rendering of "Allah" in red. (I once saw a young mullah making his way through a crowd on Revolution Day in Tehran, taking a step, bending, taking a step, bending. He was plucking up leaflets that had been discarded on the asphalt, tearing the red logo out, sticking the torn circle of paper in his pocket, then bending to the next one. He explained he was fulfilling a religious instruction not to step on the name of God, but in what amounted to a 10-mile-square fairground strewn with the things it was a job for Sisyphus. His young son looked at him with wondering eyes.)
The fellow at the top, waving, would be Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the current Supreme Leader of Iran. He always waves with his left hand, the right having been blown off in 1981 by a bomb planted by the Mujahedin el-Khalk Organization, then a rival to power. Though Ahmedinejad is the figure the West loves to hate, Khamenei is the one President Obama wrote to, fruitlessly, after taking office; no one holds more power.
Also worth noting: The hill, just behind the fence. With the tower on top? That's the town of Metula, the northernmost town in Israel, and doubtless the reason for the Iranian showiness. A few yards away, the souvenirs on offer in a tourist gift shop run much more to the Lebanese: All manner of Hizballah flags and tee-shirts -- and a curious assortment of items featuring the bespectacled likeness of Hassan Nasrullah, the party's charismatic leader. For whatever reason, there's something of 007 in his chachka: a seemingly ordinary butane lighter becomes, with the flick of a switch, a pin spot throwing the color image of a smiling Nasrullah. On a fountain pen, a secret compartment produces a banner featuring Nasrullah on one side and on the other, a chubby man in combat fatigues. So this is Imad Mughniyah, the longtime terror chief of Hizballah, said to have carried out every operation from the Beirut barracks bombings to the attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. Until he died in a 2008 car bombing, believed to have been orchestrated by Israel's Mossad, no one knew what he looked like. Now he's on coffee mugs.
*****************************
While john mccain plays devil's advocate, literally, in Libya...hobnobbing with al qaeda and trying to seem relevant. This is disgusting.
Not ONE American Troop should step foot in that hellhole. Not ONE!
Egyptian Protesters Call for Removal of Coptic Christian Governor
Egyptian protesters -- some believed to be radical Islamists -- have surrounded the office of a newly appointed Coptic Christian governor Thursday in an attempt to force his resignation.
Protesters blocked off highways and railways leading to the province of Qena and chanted for the removal of Emad Mikhail, who was appointed by Egypt’s military rulers since President Hosni Mubarak left office.
Local media reported that radical Islamists were behind the demonstrations, sparking fears of sectarian tension. But witnesses said Coptic Christians and other Muslims were involved as well, Reuters reports.
Mikhail hasn’t arrived at the governor’s office yet since demonstrations began after the appointment. Protesters surrounded the office and vowed to prevent Mikhail from entering, refusing to negotiate with an envoy sent from Cairo to resolve the situation.
Mikhail previously worked in the government’s criminal investigations department, according to Reuters. While there, he reported to former interior minister Habib al-Adli, who is on trial for the security forces’ violent crackdown in the Mubarak uprising.
The government said it would allow the protests to continue, but would intervene if “acts of lawlessness” occurred.
Protesters in Qena are planning to hold a bigger rally on Friday to call for Mikhail’s ouster.
Tunisians wonder what happened to their revolution
By KACEM JLIDI - The Institute for War & Peace Reporting
April 22, 2011
KAIROUAN, Tunisia It was young people who led the revolution, through their use of social media tools many of their elders barely understand.
Today, the country is being led by dinosaurs.
How could this happen? Our new prime minister is 85 years old. It's true that Beji Caid Sebsi is a respected politician - he dared to defy former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
Still, there is a sense that little has actually changed since the revolution.
So far, many people are dissatisfied with the transitional government. Many wonder why those who served under Ben Ali have yet to face charges. And while it's generally agreed that Ben Ali, along with his family and cronies, looted the country of billions of dollars, as of yet there has been no serious effort to bring him to justice.
Yes, the secret police force has been disbanded. But why have no charges been brought against those who in the past tortured prisoners or opened fire on demonstrators during the recent uprising? Instead, the government recently arrested several people who had called for another revolution on their Facebook page. They were accused of promoting violence and chaos in the country before being released.
Is the transitional government really more concerned about what people are saying on Facebook than prosecuting former officials who brutalized the country? Taken together, all these small details add to a growing sense of discontent.
When combined with the country's shattered economy, it should come as no surprise that tens of thousands of Tunisians have chosen to flee their country, primarily for Italy and France.
It's in Europe's interests to help Tunisia gain its economic footing. The European Union is off to a good start by offering to finance some reconstruction projects. Others argue that the EU should consider either canceling or deferring Tunisia's debts.
And there is still that matter of the fortune amassed by former president Ben Ali that is believed to be tucked away in European banks.
So, while neighboring nations emulate our uprising, they'd also be wise to carefully watch what happens here after the revolution.
Excerpted:
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE:
BEIRUT – A prominent Syrian human rights group says at least 49 people have been killed during pro-democracy protests — making Friday the deadliest day of the uprising.
Syrian security forces fired live bullets and tear gas Friday on rallies across the country.
Protesters flooded into the streets after Muslim prayers in at least nine major areas across the country.
The demonstrations are a sign that President Bashar Assad's attempts to quell the monthlong protests with a deadly crackdown and promises of reform have all but failed.
Ammar Qurabi, head of Syria's National Organization for Human Rights, said the death toll had reached 49. He said at least 20 people were missing.
The earlier story is below.
BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian security forces fired live bullets and tear gas Friday on pro-democracy demonstrations across the country, killing at least 27 people — including a young boy — in one of the bloodiest days of the uprising against President Bashar Assad's authoritarian regime, witnesses said.
Protesters flooded into the streets after Muslim prayers in at least nine major areas across the country, a sign that Assad's attempts to quell the monthlong protests with a deadly crackdown and promises of reform have all but failed.
"Bullets started flying over our heads like heavy rain," said one witness in Izraa, a southern village in Daraa province, the same region where the uprising kicked off in mid-March.
The protest movement has been the gravest challenge against the autocratic regime led by Assad, who inherited power from his father 11 years ago in one of the most rigidly controlled countries in the Middle East.
The uprising in Syria takes its inspiration from the popular revolts sweeping the Arab world. But there are significant differences in Syria that make the protest movement there all the more unpredictable.
The country's military structure is one key difference — unlike the armies of Tunisia and Egypt, Syria's military and security apparatus will almost certainly stand by Assad, at least for the time being.
That means there could be darker days ahead as the uprising gains momentum, something that has implications far beyond Syria's borders. Damascus stands in the middle of the most combustible conflicts in region because of its web of allegiances, from Lebanon's Hezbollah and Shiite powerhouse Iran.
On Friday, tens of thousands of people were protesting in the Damascus suburb of Douma, the central cities of Hama and Homs, Latakia and Banias on the coast, the northern cities of Raqqa and Idlib, the northeastern Kurdish region, and the southern province of Daraa, where the uprising kicked off in mid-March.
As the protesters dispersed, the scope of the bloodshed began to emerge.
Outside the capital, witnesses said they saw at least five corpses at the Hamdan hospital. All suffered gunshot wounds.
In the southern province of Daraa, other witnesses said at least 10 people were killed when protesters marched in front of the mayor's office in Izraa. They said an 11-year-old boy was among the dead.
"Among the dead was Anwar Moussa, who was shot in the head. He was 11," said the witness.
A video posted on the protest movement's main Facebook page showed a man carrying a bloodied boy near a building as another child could be heard weeping and shouting "My brother!
" Ammar Qurabi, head of Syria's National Organization for Human Rights, said another nine were killed in Hajar Aswad near Damascus and three killed in the central city of Homs.
Friday's witness accounts could not be independently confirmed because Syria has expelled journalists and restricted access to trouble spots. Witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
The protest movement has crossed a significant threshold in recent days, with increasing numbers now seeking the downfall of the regime, not just reforms. The security crackdown has only emboldened protesters, who are enraged over the deaths of more than 200 people over five weeks.
Activists promised that Friday's protests will be the biggest rallies yet against the regime led by Assad, who inherited power from his father 11 years ago in one of the most authoritarian countries in the Middle East.
The president has been trying to defuse the protests by launching a bloody crackdown along with a series of concessions, most recently lifting emergency laws that gave authorities almost boundless powers of surveillance and arrest. He also has fulfilled a decades-old demand by granting citizenship to thousands among Syria's long-ostracized Kurdish minority, fired local officials, released detainees and formed a new government. But many protesters said the concessions have come too late — and that Assad does not deserve the credit.
Syrian forces fired shots at hundreds of protesters gathered overnight in Homs
in defiance of a warning by the authorities to halt what they called an insurrection.
Excerpted:
Pakistan's Muktaharan Mai won worldwide acclaim when she went public after she was gang raped in 2002. In Pakistan, rape conviction rates are extremely low.
Five out of six men convicted of gang-raping a Pakistani woman were acquitted by Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday, in a highly watched decision that critics say will set back the struggle for women’s rights.
The Supreme Court's verdict upholds a previous High Court judgment to acquit the alleged rapists of Mukhtaran Mai. It also commutes the death penalty of a sixth man convicted of raping her to life imprisonment. Ms. Mai became a national and international symbol of a then almost nonexistent women’s rights movement in Pakistan when she spoke out against her attackers following her ordeal in 2002. Today's verdict highlights the bumpy road ahead for that movement.
Mai was allegedly raped by several men on the orders of a self-styled community justice council, in the Punjab village of Meerwala. Local elders ordered Mai to be raped because her teenage brother stood accused of committing adultery with a rival clan's daughter. Villagers say the boy was merely seen walking with the girl.
Upon hearing the verdict, Mai, who has received numerous international awards for her work for the rights of women in Pakistan, told reporters she now fears reprisal.
“I’m disappointed. Why was I made to wait for five years if this decision was to be given?” Mai told Reuters, adding: “The accused can kill me and my family when they return home.”
Reaction among media commentators was harsh and swift, with much anger directed at Pakistan’s recently empowered judiciary. “In a country like Pakistan, where women don't even dare to report rape because of the taboo attached to it, our judiciary sets rapists free,” tweeted Mehmal Sarfraz, a Lahore-based journalist.
Thursday’s verdict not only has a “negative impact on civil society organizations that are trying to improve the condition of women,” but also highlights weak collection of evidence by the police that allows serious criminals as well as terrorists to walk free, says Mehdi Hasan, former chairman of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). “During the last four years in serious crimes like terrorism, 98 percent of accused have been acquitted,” he says, citing HRCP research.
The court’s detailed judgment cites lack of DNA testing as a reason for acquitting the men. “The entire case fell apart on lack of evidence. There was no corroboration of statements, various things were missing. The police in this country are not sensitized to deal with rape victims,” says Ayesha Tammy Haq, a talk-show host and lawyer, adding that police reform is crucial.
And more, from Libya. Misrata has lost the water supply:
Libya: water and other essential services under growing threat in Misrata
22-04-2011 News Release
Benghazi/Geneva (ICRC)
– Hundred of thousands of civilians in Misrata have been caught up in ongoing fighting for seven weeks now. The humanitarian situation could rapidly deteriorate further and the lack of basic services such as water, electricity, food and medical care could turn critical..
“Access to water has become increasingly difficult for civilians since the main pipe to the city was cut,” said Simon Brooks, ICRC head of mission in Benghazi. “People are now having to rely on local wells and on the desalination plant that was until recently used to produce water for industrial purposes.”
“The scarcity of fuel is affecting the energy supply for essential infrastructure and for domestic use,” said Mr Brooks. The health-care situation has deteriorated, with reported increases in the numbers of wounded and killed. The main hospital in Misrata is having difficulty coping with the influx of patients and is suffering from a shortage of medicines, mainly those used for chronic diseases.
The ICRC, which has access to Misrata from both Benghazi and Tripoli, is stepping up its operational response in order to provide assistance for those most affected by the fighting. In the past two days, an ICRC team has distributed three cubic metres of medical supplies to Al Hikma Hospital. In addition, 150 hygiene kits, 20 cubic metres of food and 8,000 litres of water have been handed over to the Libyan Red Crescent Society and distributed in cooperation with their volunteers.
ICRC delegates also visited a number of detainees held in connection with the recent fighting and collected “safe and well” messages from civilians to be delivered to their families in Libya and abroad.
This morning, for the second time, an ICRC-chartered boat arrived in Tobruk with around 600 civilians on board who had been evacuated from Misrata yesterday. Most of the evacuees are from Niger, Egypt and Libya. The ICRC stands ready to carry out more evacuation operations if necessary.
For further information, please contact:
Dibeh Fakhr, ICRC Benghazi, tel: +870 772 390 124
Philippe Marc Stoll, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 31 40 or +41 79 536 92 49
Lost the water supply, but gained a McCain:
McCain Calls For Stronger U.S. Role In Libya Conflict
John McCain (right) walks with Abdul Hafiz Ghoqa, spokesman of the Libyan National Transitional Council, during his tour of the rebel headquarters in Benghazi
Last updated (GMT/UTC): 22.04.2011 12:32
By RFE/RL
U.S. Senator John McCain (Republican-Arizona) has said the United States could be doing more to help Libyan rebels in their fight against longtime ruler Mummar Qaddafi, including restoring air support.
He arrived in the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi on April 22, calling the rebels fighting to overthrow Qaddafi his heroes. McCain, who said he would meet with the rebel National Transition Council in the afternoon, also said the rebels want to be recognized — a move only France, Italy, and Qatar have made so far.
“They need a lot of help. They need more air support,” McCain said. “The United States has unique capabilities, we should be restoring that. They want to be recognized.”
McCain, who is the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee as well as a Vietnam veteran and former prisoner of war, also visited a hospital in the city.
“I just came from the hospital where I saw a number of people who are badly wounded and dying. And, frankly, that puts a face on it that argues that maybe we should be doing everything we can to help these people, and maybe we’re not, and they’re dying,” McCain said.
Upon arrival in Benghazi earlier in the day, McCain was reportedly greeted at the courthouse in the city center by a crowd of about 50 people, who chanted, “Libya free, Qaddafi go away — thank you America, thank you [President Barack] Obama,” and, “The nasty Qaddafi has left and McCain came.”
Sleazy pic and the rest of the hot air is here:
http://www.rferl.org/content/us_senator_mccain_in_libya_for_talks_with_rebels/9501948.html
Something is wrong with mccain. The man needs to be adored. He needs to be seen as a hero because hardly anyone believes he actully is anymore. I have thought that he has mental problems since the first time he ran for president. He isn’t right. He has no business in libya. He cannot save those people. To the contrary, he has made it worse. He needs a strait jacket, not a senate seat.
He was a lousy pilot and a worse soldier. Now he fancies himself a great strategist and takes full cedit for what Petraeus did in Iraq. He loves the idea of war so long as HE doesn’t have to fight it, and he would advocate sending our young Troops in harm’s way to fulfil some damn fantasy he has. He is dangerous.
I apologize if I duped and didn’t add anything original.
I have been working on my latest $oros Expose’ while working 66 hours this week at my “I’ll-Do-This-While-I-Wait-For-FOX-To-Name-Me-Beck’s-Replacement” job. Needless, to say, I’m a very tired Extremist. Haven’t even cleaned my guns this week....
No, I’m not that conceited. A joke :)
CAIRO — When Syria's president visited Iran late last year, he received a heroes' medal and spoke about unbreakable bonds in a ceremony broadcast on national television.
Now, a nervous leadership in Iran has imposed a media blackout on Bashar Assad's struggle against a swelling Syrian uprising and Tehran faces the unsettling prospect of losing its most stalwart ally in the region.
The Islamic Republic managed to choke off its homegrown "Green Revolution" after the disputed June 2009 presidential election. But now it is being dragged into the uprisings sweeping across the Middle East and stirring unrest in Syria, and unfriendly neighbor Bahrain.
On the deadliest day of the Syrian rebellion Friday — when more than 100 people were killed by authorities — President Barack Obama accused Assad of seeking Iranian help to use "the same brutal tactics" unleashed against demonstrators almost two years ago.
For Iran, its ties with Syria represent far more than just a rare friend in a region dominated by Arab suspicions of Tehran's aims. Syria is Iran's great enabler: a conduit for aid to powerful anti-Israel proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Should Assad's regime fall, it could rob Iran of a loyal Arab partner in a region profoundly realigned by uprisings demanding more freedom and democracy.
"Iran and Syria represent the anti-US axis in the region. In that respect, Iran wants to ensure that Syria remains an ally," said Shadi Hamid, director of research at The Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. "The problem is that Iran's foreign policy has become quite inconsistent."
Iran may still have other options in the region. It has ties with Iraq's Shiite-led government, growing bonds with Turkey and is making overtures to post-revolutionary Egypt.
But the uprisings also have sharply boosted hostility toward Iran from the wealthy — and increasingly influential — Gulf Arab states that believe Tehran is encouraging Shiite protesters in Bahrain and elsewhere.
Iran's ambitions to expand its influence in the region could suffer a "critical backward step" if Assad's regime is toppled, said Theodore Karasik, a regional affairs expert at the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis.
"Egypt's revolution could be considered a strategic loss perhaps for the West," he said, "but a change in Syria would seriously rearrange the security order in the core of the Middle East and could leave Iran with an even bigger loss.
" Assessing Iran's strategy on Syria is difficult. The ruling clerics have banned domestic media from mentioning the revolt. There have been no open debates in Iran's parliament and leaders — including outspoken President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — have been extremely cautious in their remarks on Syria.
Iran has used its mouthpieces to the rest of the world as forums to address Syria's battles and promote Tehran's positions.
State-run English-language Press TV offers straightforward coverage with comment sections that include a mix of both pro-Assad messages and calls for his regime to go. Iran's Arabic-language Al-Alam television on Saturday quoted the foreign ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, as rejecting Obama's claim of Iranian aid to Assad in his time of crisis.
In a speech Saturday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the "Islamic awakening" around the region — a reference to Iran's frequent claims that the rebellions draw inspiration from Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. He did not mention Syria, but instead pointed to other uprisings in Libya, Yemen and Bahrain.
And, in doing so, Khamenei underscored Iran's policy dilemma.
Iran's leadership has harshly denounced the crackdown by Bahrain's Sunni monarchy against the island kingdom's majority Shiites, calling a Saudi-led Gulf force that went in to back the rulers a Sunni "occupation." Protests in Tehran have included students hurling firebombs at the Saudi embassy earlier this month.
In response, the Gulf's six-nation political bloc warned Iran to stop meddling in Arab affairs, and Bahrain's foreign minister said the Gulf troops will remain indefinitely to counter Tehran's "sustained campaign" in Bahrain, home of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.
Iran "cannot remain indifferent and passive onlookers in the face of oppressive engagement of arrogant powers with the people" of Bahrain, Khamenei told the crowds.
But no such calls have been made on behalf of Syria's protesters, who again faced deadly gunfire by security forces on Saturday that killed 11 more people.
Iran is not the only nation balancing interests against demands for change. The U.S. has backed calls to oust Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, but has been far more muted with the revolts in strategic allies Yemen and Bahrain. Iran also is desperate to keep its image from sustaining further blows among Arab neighbors.
"The Iranians are worrying a lot about Arab public opinion," said Hamid. "The mood in the region is shifting against Assad and Iran could be stuck on the wrong side of that. They are sort of trapped."
Iran is likely to open talks with opposition groups if it appears that Assad is doomed, said Meir Javedanfar, an analyst on Iranian affairs based in Israel. Iran has too much at stake in Syria to risk being cut out if Assad is ousted: huge Iranian investments in Syrian projects such as an auto assembly plant and a cement factory and possible loss of influence over Hezbollah and Hamas.
"When it comes to looking after its own interests, the Iranian regime is very pragmatic, especially since they know that Assad would do the same to them if the shoe was on the other foot," said Javedanfar. "When it comes to choosing between friendship and its own interests, to Iran's rulers the former is easily expendable."
In this photo released by an official website of the Iranian supreme leader's office, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivers his speech in a public gathering in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, April 23, 2011. Iran's supreme leader says he will intervene in government affairs again after reinstating the country's powerful intelligence minister to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cabinet. The nationally broadcast address by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday is seen as another warning to Ahmadinejad that he cannot defy the wishes of the ruling theocracy.
TEHRAN, Iran Iran's supreme leader warned Saturday he will intervene in the government's affairs whenever necessary in a rebuke to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for challenging the clerical leader's all-encompassing authority.
Their most recent confrontation involved Ahmadinejad's dismissal last week of the country's powerful intelligence minister, whom Ayatollah Ali Khamenei then quickly reinstated in a slap to the president.
Ahmadinejad, who has said in the past that Khamenei was like a father to him, has enjoyed strong support from the supreme leader, especially in the tumultuous period after his disputed re-election in 2009. At times, though, he has defied the country's most powerful figure.
Some have accused the president and his allies of trying to amass more power and challenge Khamenei's ultimate authority in the run-up to parliamentary elections next year and presidential elections in 2013.
"I won't allow, as long as I'm alive, an iota of deviation of this massive movement of the nation," Khamenei said in a speech broadcast on state TV Saturday. "In principle, I have no intention to intervene in government affairs ... unless I feel an expediency is being ignored as it was the case recently," he said, referring to the dispute over the intelligence minister.
Khamenei, who was addressing hundreds of Iranian citizens in his residence in Tehran, said he was right and he would stand by his words.
"With the help of God, ... I firmly stand by our right stance," he said.
Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi was forced to resign last week after apparent disputes with Ahmadinejad. The president publicly accepted his resignation but Khamenei ordered him to remain in the Cabinet.
In a sign of mounting tensions, Ahmadinejad has reportedly refused to give in to the order and has not invited Moslehi to the latest Cabinet meeting.
The escalating dispute with the supreme leader will likely overshadow the remaining two years of Ahmadinejad's presidency. Ahmadinejad's gamble appears to be aimed at setting up a confidant to become the next president, analysts say. He needs to control the Intelligence Ministry in order to influence the next parliament as well as who becomes the next president, they say.
Khamenei is believed to be intent on helping shape a new political team, absent of Ahmadinejad loyalists, to lead the next government.
Without meaningful political parties in Iran, unpredictable political factions (groups) have emerged before elections. Khamenei, analysts say, feels threatened by a single political faction remaining in office for more than eight years.
The dispute has also pointed to a potential weakness in the heart of Ahmadinejad's government, as its base of support shrinks among parliament members and others.
A statement signed by 216 parliament members - more than two-thirds of the 290-seat chamber - warned Ahmadinejad Wednesday that he cannot disobey Khamenei, who has the last word in all state affairs.
Hard-liners consider Khamenei to stand above the law and be answerable only to God.
A conservative news website, alef.ir, said lawmakers might summon Ahmadinejad to parliament for questioning if he does not back down. If they do, Ahmadinejad would be the first president to be called to parliament to answer questions since the Islamic Revolution 32 years ago.
The dispute became public when hard-line media published the text of Khamenei's order to Moslehi to remain in his job. In a humiliation of the president, Khamenei didn't write to Ahmadinejad because the president ignored the supreme leader's written order two days earlier, according to conservatives websites.
Traditionally, the supreme leader must approve the appointments for the ministers of foreign affairs, intelligence, defense and interior.
He may have angered Ahmadinejad by firing a deputy who is an ally of one of the president's confidants, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei.
Mashaei has criticized Iran's intelligence services for what he said were failures to predict the political upheaval sweeping the Middle East.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen has agreed to step down under a 30-day transition plan aimed at ending violent unrest over his 32-year rule.
Officials in the capital Sanaa confirmed the government had accepted the plan drawn up by Gulf Arab states.
Mr Saleh will hand power to his vice-president one month after an agreement is signed with the opposition, in return for immunity from prosecution.
At least 120 people have died during two months of protests.
Opposition leader Yassin Noman was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying he welcomed news of the handover but would not take part in a proposed national unity government.
The opposition have been insisting they will not accept immunity from prosecution for Mr Saleh and his family.
If Mr Saleh steps down as expected, he will join Tunisia's Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak as the latest Arab leader to lose power because of a popular revolt this year.
The opposition say they welcome the initiative but seem reluctant to serve in a government with the ruling party. Opposition members have also been sceptical about any deal which would see President Saleh transfer power but not leave office immediately.
The timing of the announcement by the president is surprising. Earlier in the day, he delivered a tough speech to members of the country's army in which he accused the opposition of dragging Yemen into a civil war.
But on Friday Yemen saw some of the largest demonstrations so far as hundreds of thousands took to the streets in rival protests in support of both the opposition and the president. And on Saturday, opposition activists called for a general strike in the country.
Tariq Shami, a spokesman for Yemen's ruling party, told Reuters the party had informed the Gulf Cooperation Council "of their acceptance of the Gulf initiative in full".
Under the plan proposed by Saudi Arabia and five other states:
Within a month of signing an agreement with the opposition, Mr Saleh quits and hands over to his vice-president
Mr Saleh appoints an opposition leader to run an interim government tasked with preparing for presidential elections two months later
Mr Saleh, his family and his aides are given immunity from prosecution
Washington has urged Mr Saleh to set about the transition immediately.
"The timing and form of this transition should be identified through dialogue," state department spokesman Mark Toner said.
Hundreds of thousands of people attended a rally in support of Mr Saleh in Sanaa on Friday but comparable numbers turned out for demonstrations against him in both the capital and the southern city of Taiz.
On Saturday, a general strike called by the opposition caused disruption in Taiz, the port city of Aden and other towns, although apparently it had little effect in the capital.
Mr Saleh had hoped to serve out his current presidential term Yemen is the Arab world's most impoverished nation and, even before the current protests, it was becoming increasingly chaotic, with both al-Qaeda and separatist challenges to the government's authority.
Mr Saleh suffered a major political reversal last month when a slew of ministers and ambassadors resigned in protest at the shooting of 45 people at a demonstration in Sanaa.
Chinese police have raided a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in western China, killing two people, rights campaigners have said.
The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) says an elderly man and woman were killed trying to prevent police arresting monks at the Kirti monastery.
Tension has been high since a monk set himself on fire last month in an apparent anti-government protest.
Foreigners have been prevented from travelling to the region.
'Beaten'
The US-based ICT said paramilitary police raided the monastery in Aba, in the Sichuan province, on Thursday night and detained more than 300 monks.
As the monks were being driven away, the police beat a group of people who had been standing vigil outside Kirti, resulting in the deaths of two Tibetans aged in their sixties, ICT said, citing exile groups in contact with people in the area.
"People had their arms and legs broken, one old woman had her leg broken in three places, and cloth was stuffed in their mouths to stifle their screams," an exiled Kirti monk was quoted as saying by the rights group.
Aba has been restive since Tibetan communities across western China rose up in protests three years ago.
Breslov Hassid injured in shooting tells Ynet: They were shooting to kill, It was crazy. Incident fatality Ben-Yosef Livnat will be buried today in Jerusalem
A group of Breslov Hassidim's regular twilight visit to Palestinian controlled Joseph's Tomb in Nablus came to a tragically violent end Sunday: According to one of the Breslovers, Palestinian police officers fired at the convoy as they were on their way in to the Tomb.
The fire continued as they drove out, killing Ben-Yosef Livnat, a 24 year-old father of four from Jerusalem and the nephew of Minister Limor Livnat, and injuring five others.
The Palestinians have a different versions to the Sunday events. A joint Palestinian-IDF investigation continues.
Minister Limor Livnat is en route to the settlement of Elon Moreh to meet the deceased's family. The funeral will take place in Jerusalem.
One of the Breslovers who was in the second car in the convoy and was lightly wounded told Ynet: "We arrived at the tomb like on many occasions in the past. Near the tomb we saw a spikes chain. One of the guys jumped out of the car and moved it aside.
"At this point a uniformed Palestinian police officer with a Kalashnikov in a jeep woke his colleagues up and they started firing into the air…I was in the front seat. We started driving fast in the direction of the tomb; we got out of the vehicles and kissed the tomb.
"When we got back to the vehicles the police shot at the vehicles, they were screaming 'Allahu Akbar'. It was crazy, they were shooting to kill. I screamed at the driver to drive out of there quickly. When we got to Har Bracha we attended to the wounded."
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