Citizens speak out. People continue to stand up for improved living conditions and greater
basic freedoms for themselves and fellow countrypersons as they gather in countries like Afghanistan,
Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Pakistan, Palestine, Syria, United Kingdom and Yemen.
UNITED KINGDOM - British police arrested Ms. Rebekah Brooks on Sunday, making her the 10th
and most senior person in Rupert Murdoch's News International media corporation to be
accused of involvement in phone hacking that has now been found to have affected the lives
of celebrities, royalty, and relatives of slain crime and tragedy victims.
PAKISTAN - In Punjab province's Gujranwala city, thousands of protesters staged in a
sit-in on Friday to speak out against US military presence in the country, especially its unmanned
drone air attacks that are not sanctioned by the United Nations. They demanded that
their government re-evaluate its relations with the US and focus on addressing the basic
needs of the Pakistani people.
EGYPT - In accordance with Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's efforts to address protesters'
demands for more rapid and significant political reform, the country's ministers of finance,
trade, antiquities and foreign affairs resigned, and he named a new cabinet as of Sunday, July
17.
PALESTINE - PressTV reports that seven people, including four children, were injured by Israeli
tank fire in Gaza on Sunday. The Israeli shelling is retaliation for rockets coming from Gaza,
which Palestine-based Ma'an news agency reports were fired by illegally armed groups in spite
of Gazan police efforts to stop them. Meanwhile, various Palestinian news agencies have reported
that 32 former German ambassadors and consuls general have signed and sent a letter to Chancellor
Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle calling for Germany to address the humanitarian
needs of Palestinians and bring an end to the current situation by recognizing Palestine
as an independent state.
BAHRAIN - US-based Monsters and Critics news agency reports that Bahraini police clashed
with protesters who attempted to march on Saturday, July 16 after attending the funeral
of disabled mother-of-two Zainab al-Juma, who reportedly died the day before of suffocation
after inhaling tear gas when it was fired by security forces in the area near her home.
AFGHANISTAN – A ceremony was held on Saturday in Bamyan province to transfer control of
security to Afghan police from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) multinational
peacekeeping force, becoming the first such NATO troop withdrawal from Afghanistan to
date. Meanwhile, 10 soldiers with the NATO-led forces have been killed just in the past few
days in various incidents across Afghanistan, including one who perished to a roadside bomb,
and several who succumbed to attacks, bringing the total number of international soldiers
killed so far in 2011 to 311.
In an effort to support Afghanistan's reconciliation and peace through dialogue, the UN Security
Council voted to lift sanctions from 14 Taliban members believed to have turned away from
arms toward diplomacy, including four who are part of the country's High Peace Council.
In an exclusive interview with China's CCTV, former Taliban foreign minister and High Peace
Council member Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, who has recently been meeting with governments
concerned about finding a resolution to the Afghan conflict, called upon the US and the
Taliban to engage in talks. He stated that the alienation experienced by Taliban members
must be replaced with reconciliation for peace to prevail in the country.
SYRIA - Activists reported that early on Sunday, 2,000 security forces in tanks entered the
town of Zabadani after cutting the town's telephone, Internet and electricity, where
they arrested more than 500 protesters who had been rallying since Friday in one of the
largest peaceful gatherings since the country's unrest began. Also on Sunday outside Damascus,
leading dissident Ali Abdullah was arrested and once again jailed after police raided
his home. Mr. Abdullah had just been released from prison on May 30 when President Bashir
al-Assad issued pardons in response to protesters' demands. Meanwhile, during a meeting in Turkey,
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Saturday that the Syrian government must allow
activist groups to participate in the country’s political reform process.
LIBYA - On Saturday, China-based Xinhua news agency reported that Libyan National Transitional
Council spokesperson Mohammad Bani rejected the idea that foreign troops would ever participate
on the ground, saying that the revolutionaries would not accept involvement from other countries
in this way.
As we join in sorrow for the lives lost and for those injured, we pray for the strife
in all nations to end and that citizens everywhere may co-exist in dignified safety, freedom
and peace�