Tahrir protesters ask military to quit

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CAIRO, Nov 25, (agencies): The imam leading tens of thousands of worshippers in prayer at Cairo's Tahrir Square Friday called on the ruling military to hand over power to a national salvation government. Sheikh Mazhar Shahin said protesters would remain in the square-the symbolic heart of rallies that toppled Hosni Mubarak-until their demands were met. Meanwhile: The transfer of power to a civilian government in Egypt must be "just and inclusive" and take place "as soon as possible," the White House said Friday. "Most importantly, we believe that the full transfer of power to a civilian government must take place in a just and inclusive manner that responds to the legitimate aspirations of the Egyptian people, as soon as possible," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a statement. The remarks came as a private Egyptian television channels reported that the ruling military council had tasked former prime minister Kamal al-Ganzuri with forming a new cabinet. Ganzuri headed the government from 1996 to 1999 under ousted president Hosni Mubarak. Egypt's ruling military council Tuesday accepted the resignation of caretaker premier Essam Sharaf's cabinet, amid spiralling unrest. Carney said the United States deeply regretted the loss of life during recent protests and urged the Egyptian authorities "to implement an independent investigation into the circumstances of those deaths." In Rabat: Moroccans voted Friday in the country's first legislative election since the constitution was reformed to give parliament more power, with an Islamist party expected to post strong gains. The election, the second in north Africa since the Arab Spring uprisings began, pits the moderately Islamist Justice and Development party against a coalition loyal to King Mohammed VI. Opinion polls are not allowed but observers said Justice and Development could emerge as the most popular party after similar success by a moderate Islamist party in Tunisia's first democratic election last month. Its main rival is the Coalition for Democracy, an eight-party pro-monarchy bloc that includes two of the current five governing parties-the Popular Movement and Finance Minister Salaheddine Mezouar's National Rally of Independents. The election risks being marred by tradionally low turnout, however, as well as a boycott call by the pro-reform February 20 movement. In Syria: The Arab League served Syria notice to endorse Friday a plan for the dispatch of observers to monitor unrest in the country or face crippling sanctions. Turkey said the 1100 GMT deadline was Syria's "last chance" to heed world calls for an end to its lethal crackdown on anti-regime protests which the UN says has claimed more than 3,500 lives since mid-March. Activists called for demonstrators to flood the streets nationwide after the main weekly Muslim prayers in support of dissident army officers. At least 51 people were killed in violence across Syrian on Thursday, including 23 regular army soldiers and 15 deserters, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Thirteen civilians also died, 12 of them in the flashpoint protest hub of Homs, the group said. The Arab ultimatum was issued on Thursday at the end of a crisis meeting of foreign ministers in Cairo, during which the 22-member bloc also for the first time called on the United Nations to help resolve the crisis. Long resistant to drawing the international community into the Syria crisis, the League agreed to ask UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon "to take all measures to support the efforts of the Arab League to resolve the critical situation in Syria." It also invited Syria to sign an agreement in Cairo on Friday at 1:00pm (1100 GMT) that would allow observers into the country to monitor the situation on the ground. Should Syria fail to sign, finance ministers will meet on Saturday to vote on sanctions against Damascus, including the suspension of flights, and the freezing of the government's financial assets, it said. In Beirut: Lebanon faced yet another major political crisis Friday after Prime Minister Najib Mikati threatened to resign should his Hezbollah-dominated cabinet refuse to fund a UN court probing the murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri. When asked whether he was ready to resign over the issue, Mikati said: "Quite simply, by resigning I will be protecting Lebanon should it fail to pay its share of funding. His comments came amid intense international pressure on his government to uphold its duties to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), which was set up in the aftermath of Hariri's 2005 assassination. The Netherlands-based court in June charged four operatives of the Shiite militant Hezbollah, the most powerful political and military force in Lebanon, in connection with the murder. No arrests have been made. In Sanaa: Fierce clashes broke out between rival security forces in the Yemeni capital Friday, two days after President Ali Abdullah Saleh inked a power transfer deal which sponsors had hoped would end the violence. Dissident troops from the First Armoured Brigade led by General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar exchanged mortar and machinegun fire in the early hours with forces of the central security services commanded by Saleh's nephew Yehya, residents said. The clashes erupted outside the residence of Vice President Abrabuh Mansur Hadi, who is to assume Saleh's powers under the Gulf-brokered transition deal which the veteran strongman signed on Wednesday. In Tunis: Former Libyan prime minister Baghdadi al-Mahmudi failed to turn up Friday at a court hearing in Tunisia to fight an extradition order after being the target of death threats, his lawyer said. "Mr Mahmudi has received written deaths, from Libyans, and asked for authorisation from the court not to leave Mornaguia", a prison near Tunis where he is being held.