Violence Breaks Out in Yemeni Capital

A man carries a wounded protester during clashes in Sana'a, Yemen, Nov. 24, 2011.

At least five protesters were killed and scores of others wounded Thursday in the Yemeni capital Sana'a after gunmen in civilian clothes opened fire on them. Violence broke out despite the signing Wednesday, by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, of a plan to hand over power and hold new elections in three months.




Witnesses say gunmen in tribal attire opened fire on the crowd of mostly young protesters Thursday after they began marching from their main encampment at what is now called “Change Square.”

Arab satellite channels said the shootings took place as the protesters began marching in the direction of the presidential palace. Journalist Tom Finn also tweeted that “thousands of angry men marched out of Change Square.....saying they're heading for the palace.”

Al Arabiya TV showed video of the bodies of five dead protesters, along with images of ambulances ferrying wounded protesters to hospitals.

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who signed a Gulf Cooperation Council plan Wednesday to transfer power to his vice president along with new presidential elections in three months, condemned the killings and ordered an investigation into what happened.

"The government wants people to feel that if Saleh leaves everything will turn chaotic," said
Hakim Almasmari, who is Editor-in-Chief of the Yemen Post newspaper.  He insists that supporters of President Saleh are behind the shootings.

"Most of the protesters today blamed the ruling family for the attacks and eyewitnesses said that they saw gunmen escape the scene of the attacks in government vehicles," he said.

Kamal Ganzouri Appointed Egypt's New PM

 Egyptian Army soldiers stand guard atop a concrete block barricade on the street between Tahrir Square and the interior ministry in Cairo, Egypt, Nov. 24, 2011

 

Egyptian media said Thursday the country's military rulers have appointed former Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri to form a new government after the previous civilian Cabinet of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf resigned.

State newspaper Al Ahram said on its website that Ganzouri agreed in principle to lead a national salvation government after meeting with the head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi.

The council also insisted that parliamentary elections will go ahead as planned Monday, despite escalating violence that has left at least 35 people dead.  After days of excusing the violent crackdown on demonstrators, the council reversed course Thursday and apologized for the deaths.
Meanwhile, thousands of Egyptian protesters and police observed a fragile truce Thursday, but the crowd remained in Cairo's Tahrir Square to press ahead with demands for the immediate resignation of the military leaders.
Watch a Related Report by Elizabeth Arrott

 Major General Mukhtar el-Mallah, of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, said the move would amount to a "betrayal" of trust.  " We [Military Council] will not leave the power according to some demands and empty slogans.  If l leave power now, I would be a traitor of the people and history and it would be written in the history that the Military Council abandoned and betrayed its people," he said.

Protest organizers said they would hold another mass demonstration on Friday
In another development, an Egyptian court has ordered the release of three American students arrested during a protest in Cairo earlier this week.

Egyptian media said the Americans, who were students at the American University in Cairo, were detained along with other protesters while throwing petrol bombs at police

4th ASEAN-UN Summit in Bali will discuss enhancing cooperation between the two parties

Nusa Dua, ASEAN Community-The 4^th ASEAN-United Nations (UN) Summit will be convened in Bali, Indonesia on 19 November 2011. The Summit will be co-chaired by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, H.E. Dr. H. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as Chair of ASEAN, and H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Summit will be attended by the Heads of State/Government of the ASEAN Member States and the Secretary General of ASEAN.

The Summit will be discussing on efforts to enhance partnership between ASEAN and the United Nations, including UN assistance to ASEAN in the implementation of the MDGs; collaboration through exchanges of best practices and capacity building initiatives aimed at enhancing the promotion and protection of human rights; exchange of experiences and best practices through a series of ASEAN-UN seminars, workshops and trainings on issues such as preventive diplomacy, conflict resolution, peace-keeping and peace-building; maritime security and anti piracy, preparation and implementation of the ASEAN-UN Strategic Plan of Action on Disaster Management 2011 – 2015.

Other topics to be discussed at the Summit will also include economic and financial issues and other international and regional issues of common concerns. The ASEAN-UN Summit is expected to adopt Joint Declaration on Comprehensive Partnership between ASEAN and the UN and issue a Co-Chair Statement on the 4^th ASEAN-UN Summit

6th East Asia Summit expected to adopt Bali Principle and Connectivity

Nusa Dua, ASEAN Community-The 6^th East Asia Summit (EAS) will be convened in Bali, Indonesia on 19 November 2011. The Summit will be chaired by H.E. Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of the Republic of Indonesia, as Chair of ASEAN and attended by Heads of State/Government of ASEAN Member States, Australia, China, India, Japan, ROK, and the USA. Besides, the Summit will also be attended by the Foreign Ministers of New Zealand and the Russian Federation to represent their respective leaders. The Secretary General of ASEAN will also be present at the Summit.

 The 6^th East Asia Summit (EAS) will consist of two sessions: plenary and retreat, and will discuss on various broad and strategic issues of common concern at the regional and international levels, with the view to promote and maintain peace and stability in the region. Furthermore, the Summit is expected to discuss on ways to enhance and strengthen the cooperation within five priority areas of the EAS namely finance, energy, education, communicable diseases, and disaster management.

At the Summit, the Leaders are expected to adopt two declarations as the outcome documents of 6^th East Asia Summit (EAS), namely (1) Declaration of the EAS on the Principles for Mutually Beneficial Relations, and (2) Declaration of the 6^th East Asia Summit on ASEAN Connectivity. The first Declaration contains basic norms and common principles taken from various previous basic documents including the UN Charter, TAC and other arrangements among EAS participating countries, which will serve as guidance for the conduct of EAS participating countries towards promoting and maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

The second Declaration includes connectivity as one of key area of cooperation of the East Asia Summit besides the existing five priorities. This Declaration will inter alia support and facilitate further cooperation between ASEAN and the other EAS participating countries in the Connectivity initiative, development of a regional public-private partnership (PPP) development agenda and promote greater engagement and cooperation in people-to-people connectivity.