Sberbank, Russia's top lender, plans to buy Yandex.Dengi, an online payment service owned by Russian search engine Yandex, a source familiar with the matter said.
Sberbank declined to comment. Yandex, which was not available to comment, was expected to hold a news conference on Wednesday.
Sberbank, which accounts for a third of overall lending in Russia, has been expanding in the consumer credit market amid weak corporate loan portfolio growth.
In recent years, it has launched its own credit card business and tied up with French bank BNP Paribas in a joint venture focusing on point-of-sale lending, a popular form of in-store consumer finance in Russia.
Yandex, which raised $1.4 billion when it floated on the U.S. stock market in May 2011, came under scrutiny during election protests over the past year when it was reported that opposition leaders were raising funds via Yandex.Dengi.
Read More..
Tubular raises $2.5 million to serve burgeoning YouTube industry
Labels: Technology Tubular, a small San Francisco start-up that provides analytics for YouTube content creators, has raised $2.5 million in venture capital in the latest sign of how far the business ecosystem has evolved around the Google-owned video repository.
YouTube was once known as Wild West of online video, but over the past two years Google has focused on raising the quality of YouTube content through a series of direct investments and the cultivation of third-party "networks".
The result is a cluster of small studios, mostly based in Los Angeles, that acts like a digital Hollywood, pumping out slick YouTube hits.
With the ultimate goal of hosting enough high-quality content to lure big-spending advertisers to YouTube, Google doled out more than $100 million last year in grants to its networks and bedroom stars.
In May Google led a group of investors who poured $35 million into Machinima, a leading network, to stoke growth in the YouTube industry.
That market has now grown to the point that it can support its own start-ups, says Tubular's founder Rob Gabel.
COMPETITION
As more semi-professional and professional YouTube creators enter the sector, with increasing competition among them, there is a growing need for analytical services.
Tubular is one such service, allowing customers to monitor and measure when videos get the most views and comments, or the sources of referred traffic.
The software includes a dashboard that displays the real-time analytics, which are generated by tapping into a stream of data provided by YouTube.
"If YouTube is a multibillion-dollar market, then that's billions of dollars going out to content creators who can then invest that again," said Gabel, a former Machinima employee.
"On every platform, from Google to Facebook to Twitter, people have turned to third parties' helpful tools."
At a high level, the pie is large and continuing to grow rapidly. Former Citi analyst Mark Mahaney estimates that YouTube will bring Google a total of $3.6 billion in 2012.
Rich Heitzmann, a co-founder of FirstMark Capital, which led Tubular's latest funding round, said that Google is far from wringing out all of the potential revenue from YouTube.
"We think the ecosystem is at least the size of Facebook's, considering it has a billion users and if you consider the time spent on YouTube," Heitzmann said.
"The advertising opportunities are there, and yet the ecosystem hasn't evolved technologically."
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
Other investors in Tubular's first tranche of equity financing included High Line Venture Partners, SV Angel, Lerer Ventures and Bedrocket Media Ventures.
Still, Gabel is betting that he can create a long-term, sustainable business on YouTube's platform at a time when some Silicon Valley companies are wary of building on the backs of larger companies.
Twitter, for instance, courted controversy this year when it made a business decision to shut off its firehose of data for a number of popular third-party developers to drive more visitors to its own site.
Allen DeBevoise, the CEO of Machinima who is also a Tubular investor, said that YouTube has reason to foster its independent developers rather than squash them.
"It's a thriving and fast-moving ecosystem now," he said. "But a lot of players are needed to make it all work."
Though Gabel acknowledges that the YouTube industry's rapid expansion is no guarantee of success, he has high hopes.
"Everything is a bit of gamble," he said, "but I feel good gambling on YouTube and online video.
Read More..
YouTube was once known as Wild West of online video, but over the past two years Google has focused on raising the quality of YouTube content through a series of direct investments and the cultivation of third-party "networks".
The result is a cluster of small studios, mostly based in Los Angeles, that acts like a digital Hollywood, pumping out slick YouTube hits.
With the ultimate goal of hosting enough high-quality content to lure big-spending advertisers to YouTube, Google doled out more than $100 million last year in grants to its networks and bedroom stars.
In May Google led a group of investors who poured $35 million into Machinima, a leading network, to stoke growth in the YouTube industry.
That market has now grown to the point that it can support its own start-ups, says Tubular's founder Rob Gabel.
COMPETITION
As more semi-professional and professional YouTube creators enter the sector, with increasing competition among them, there is a growing need for analytical services.
Tubular is one such service, allowing customers to monitor and measure when videos get the most views and comments, or the sources of referred traffic.
The software includes a dashboard that displays the real-time analytics, which are generated by tapping into a stream of data provided by YouTube.
"If YouTube is a multibillion-dollar market, then that's billions of dollars going out to content creators who can then invest that again," said Gabel, a former Machinima employee.
"On every platform, from Google to Facebook to Twitter, people have turned to third parties' helpful tools."
At a high level, the pie is large and continuing to grow rapidly. Former Citi analyst Mark Mahaney estimates that YouTube will bring Google a total of $3.6 billion in 2012.
Rich Heitzmann, a co-founder of FirstMark Capital, which led Tubular's latest funding round, said that Google is far from wringing out all of the potential revenue from YouTube.
"We think the ecosystem is at least the size of Facebook's, considering it has a billion users and if you consider the time spent on YouTube," Heitzmann said.
"The advertising opportunities are there, and yet the ecosystem hasn't evolved technologically."
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
Other investors in Tubular's first tranche of equity financing included High Line Venture Partners, SV Angel, Lerer Ventures and Bedrocket Media Ventures.
Still, Gabel is betting that he can create a long-term, sustainable business on YouTube's platform at a time when some Silicon Valley companies are wary of building on the backs of larger companies.
Twitter, for instance, courted controversy this year when it made a business decision to shut off its firehose of data for a number of popular third-party developers to drive more visitors to its own site.
Allen DeBevoise, the CEO of Machinima who is also a Tubular investor, said that YouTube has reason to foster its independent developers rather than squash them.
"It's a thriving and fast-moving ecosystem now," he said. "But a lot of players are needed to make it all work."
Though Gabel acknowledges that the YouTube industry's rapid expansion is no guarantee of success, he has high hopes.
"Everything is a bit of gamble," he said, "but I feel good gambling on YouTube and online video.
Instagram tests new limits in user privacy
Labels: Technology Instagram, which spurred suspicions this week that it would sell user photos after revising its terms of service, has sparked renewed debate about how much control over personal data users must give up to live and participate in a world steeped in social media.
In forcefully establishing a new set of usage terms, Instagram, the massively popular photo-sharing service owned by Facebook Inc, has claimed some rights that have been practically unheard of among its prominent social media peers, legal experts and consumer advocates say.
Users who decline to accept Instagram's new privacy policy have one month to delete their accounts, or they will be bound by the new terms. Another clause appears to waive the rights of minors on the service. And in the wake of a class-action settlement involving Facebook and privacy issues, Instagram has added terms to shield itself from similar litigation.
All told, the revised terms reflect a new, draconian grip over user rights, experts say.
"This is all uncharted territory," said Jay Edelson, a partner at the Chicago law firm Edelson McGuire. "If Instagram is to encourage as many lawsuits as possible and as much backlash as possible then they succeeded."
Instagram's new policies, which go into effect January 16, lay the groundwork for the company to begin generating advertising revenue by giving marketers the right to display profile pictures and other personal information such as who users follow in advertisements.
The new terms, which allow an advertiser to pay Instagram "to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata)" without compensation, triggered an outburst of complaints on the Web on Tuesday from users upset that Instagram would make money from their uploaded content.
The uproar prompted a lengthy blog post from the company to "clarify" the changes, with CEO Kevin Systrom saying the company had no current plans to incorporate photos taken by users into ads.
Instagram declined comment beyond its blog post, which failed to appease critics including National Geographic, which suspended new posts to Instagram. "We are very concerned with the direction of the proposed new terms of service and if they remain as presented we may close our account," said National Geographic, an early Instagram adopter.
PUSHING BOUNDARIES
Consumer advocates said Facebook was using Instagram's aggressive new terms to push the boundaries of how social media sites can make money while its own hands were tied by recent agreements with regulators and class action plaintiffs.
Under the terms of a 2011 settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, Facebook is required to get user consent before personal information is shared beyond their privacy settings. A preliminary class action lawsuit settlement with Facebook allows users to opt-out of being included in the "sponsored stories" ads that use their personal information.
Under Instagram's new terms, users who want to opt-out must simply quit using the service.
"Instagram has given people a pretty stark choice: Take it or leave, and if you leave it you've got to leave the service," said Kurt Opsahl, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a Internet user right's group.
What's more, he said, if a user initially agrees to the new terms but then has a change of mind, their information could still be used for commercial purposes.
In a post on its official blog on Tuesday, Instagram did not address another controversial provision that states that if a child under the age of 18 uses the service, then it is implied that his or her parent has tacitly agreed to Instagram's terms.
"The notion is that minors can't be bound to a contract. And that also means they can't be bound to a provision that says they agree to waive the rights," said the EFF's Opsahl.
BLOCKING CLASS ACTION SUITS
While Facebook continues to be bogged in its own class action suit, Instagram took preventive steps to avoid a similar legal morass.
Its new terms of service require users with a legal complaint to enter arbitration, rather than take the company to court. It prohibits users from joining a class action lawsuit unless they mail a written "opt-out" statement to Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park within 30 days of joining Instagram.
That provision is not included in terms of service for other leading social media companies like Twitter, Google, YouTube or even Facebook itself, and it immunizes Instagram from many forms of legal liability, said Michael Rustad, a professor at Suffolk University Law School.
Rustad, who has studied the terms of services for 157 social media services, said just 10 contained provisions prohibiting class action lawsuits.
The clause effectively cripples users who want to legally challenge the company because lawyers will not likely represent an individual plaintiff, Rustad argued.
"No lawyers will take these cases," Rustad said. "In consumer arbitration cases, everything is stacked against the consumer. It's a pretense, it's a legal fiction, that there are remedies."
Instagram, which has 100 million users, allows consumers to tweak the photos they take on their smartphones and share the images with friends. Facebook acquired Instagram in September for $715 million.
Instagram's take-it-or-leave-it policy pushes the envelope for how social networking companies treat user privacy issues, said Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
"I think Facebook is probably using Instagram to see how far it can press this advertising model," said Rotenberg. "If they can keep a lot of users, then all those users have agreed to have their images as part of advertising.
Read More..
In forcefully establishing a new set of usage terms, Instagram, the massively popular photo-sharing service owned by Facebook Inc, has claimed some rights that have been practically unheard of among its prominent social media peers, legal experts and consumer advocates say.
Users who decline to accept Instagram's new privacy policy have one month to delete their accounts, or they will be bound by the new terms. Another clause appears to waive the rights of minors on the service. And in the wake of a class-action settlement involving Facebook and privacy issues, Instagram has added terms to shield itself from similar litigation.
All told, the revised terms reflect a new, draconian grip over user rights, experts say.
"This is all uncharted territory," said Jay Edelson, a partner at the Chicago law firm Edelson McGuire. "If Instagram is to encourage as many lawsuits as possible and as much backlash as possible then they succeeded."
Instagram's new policies, which go into effect January 16, lay the groundwork for the company to begin generating advertising revenue by giving marketers the right to display profile pictures and other personal information such as who users follow in advertisements.
The new terms, which allow an advertiser to pay Instagram "to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata)" without compensation, triggered an outburst of complaints on the Web on Tuesday from users upset that Instagram would make money from their uploaded content.
The uproar prompted a lengthy blog post from the company to "clarify" the changes, with CEO Kevin Systrom saying the company had no current plans to incorporate photos taken by users into ads.
Instagram declined comment beyond its blog post, which failed to appease critics including National Geographic, which suspended new posts to Instagram. "We are very concerned with the direction of the proposed new terms of service and if they remain as presented we may close our account," said National Geographic, an early Instagram adopter.
PUSHING BOUNDARIES
Consumer advocates said Facebook was using Instagram's aggressive new terms to push the boundaries of how social media sites can make money while its own hands were tied by recent agreements with regulators and class action plaintiffs.
Under the terms of a 2011 settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, Facebook is required to get user consent before personal information is shared beyond their privacy settings. A preliminary class action lawsuit settlement with Facebook allows users to opt-out of being included in the "sponsored stories" ads that use their personal information.
Under Instagram's new terms, users who want to opt-out must simply quit using the service.
"Instagram has given people a pretty stark choice: Take it or leave, and if you leave it you've got to leave the service," said Kurt Opsahl, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a Internet user right's group.
What's more, he said, if a user initially agrees to the new terms but then has a change of mind, their information could still be used for commercial purposes.
In a post on its official blog on Tuesday, Instagram did not address another controversial provision that states that if a child under the age of 18 uses the service, then it is implied that his or her parent has tacitly agreed to Instagram's terms.
"The notion is that minors can't be bound to a contract. And that also means they can't be bound to a provision that says they agree to waive the rights," said the EFF's Opsahl.
BLOCKING CLASS ACTION SUITS
While Facebook continues to be bogged in its own class action suit, Instagram took preventive steps to avoid a similar legal morass.
Its new terms of service require users with a legal complaint to enter arbitration, rather than take the company to court. It prohibits users from joining a class action lawsuit unless they mail a written "opt-out" statement to Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park within 30 days of joining Instagram.
That provision is not included in terms of service for other leading social media companies like Twitter, Google, YouTube or even Facebook itself, and it immunizes Instagram from many forms of legal liability, said Michael Rustad, a professor at Suffolk University Law School.
Rustad, who has studied the terms of services for 157 social media services, said just 10 contained provisions prohibiting class action lawsuits.
The clause effectively cripples users who want to legally challenge the company because lawyers will not likely represent an individual plaintiff, Rustad argued.
"No lawyers will take these cases," Rustad said. "In consumer arbitration cases, everything is stacked against the consumer. It's a pretense, it's a legal fiction, that there are remedies."
Instagram, which has 100 million users, allows consumers to tweak the photos they take on their smartphones and share the images with friends. Facebook acquired Instagram in September for $715 million.
Instagram's take-it-or-leave-it policy pushes the envelope for how social networking companies treat user privacy issues, said Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
"I think Facebook is probably using Instagram to see how far it can press this advertising model," said Rotenberg. "If they can keep a lot of users, then all those users have agreed to have their images as part of advertising.
FTC tightens rules protecting children's online privacy
Labels: Technology The government announced tighter rules on Wednesday to protect children's online privacy by restricting the collection of data, like the child's location, unless parents consent.
The actions by the Federal Trade Commission mark an update to rules that were based on the 1998 Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, developed when most computers were big beige boxes sitting under office desks instead of smartphones in backpacks, and online social media was unheard of.
"The Commission takes seriously its mandate to protect children's online privacy in this ever-changing technological landscape," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement.
Under the updated rule, IP addresses, which are unique to each computer, will be added to the list of personal information that cannot be collected from children without parental consent if the data will be used for behavioral advertising or tracking.
Location, photos, videos and audio files were also added to the definition.
Leibowitz said the commission struck "the right balance between protecting innovation that will provide rich and engaging content for children, and ensuring that parents are informed and involved in their children's online activities."
But Senator John Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat and chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Technology Committee, which oversees the FTC, said he had wanted legislation that went further.
"There are groups that will complain about it (COPPA being too weak), and so will I, but we can't do anything more about it right now," he said. "Children's privacy as far as I am concerned is an absolutely top line issue."
Privacy advocates and advertising companies had been watching closely to see if the agency would go through with a pledge made in August to add IP addresses to the restrictions.
Advertisers had argued against the move since several people in a family - adults and children - could use the same computer. Privacy advocates said it was needed to protect children.
Also under the updated rule, plug-ins and other third parties connected to children's websites and apps cannot allow third parties to collect information on children without parental consent.
Big companies would be able to deal with the changes but the tighter regulators could be onerous for smaller firms, said John Feldman of the law firm Reed Smith LLP.
"I represent companies who are trying to sell products and services," he said. "The bigger companies feel like they can deal with it. There are significant costs that will be associated with this."
Privacy advocate Kathryn Montgomery, who teaches at American University, said the update was needed, given the growth of social networks and mobile computing. She urged the FTC to be tough about enforcing the rules.
"The new rules should help ensure that companies targeting children throughout the rapidly expanding digital media landscape will be required to engage in fair marketing and data collection practices," she said.
The proposal also specifies that family websites, which are websites aimed at children and adults, would be allowed to screen users to determine their ages and only provide protection to children under age 13.
Currently, all visitors to the websites must be treated as if they are under age 13.
The FTC's rule implementing COPPA became effective in 2000.
The updated rule takes effect on July 1. It was approved by a vote of three to one with one commissioner abstaining.
Read More..
The actions by the Federal Trade Commission mark an update to rules that were based on the 1998 Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, developed when most computers were big beige boxes sitting under office desks instead of smartphones in backpacks, and online social media was unheard of.
"The Commission takes seriously its mandate to protect children's online privacy in this ever-changing technological landscape," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement.
Under the updated rule, IP addresses, which are unique to each computer, will be added to the list of personal information that cannot be collected from children without parental consent if the data will be used for behavioral advertising or tracking.
Location, photos, videos and audio files were also added to the definition.
Leibowitz said the commission struck "the right balance between protecting innovation that will provide rich and engaging content for children, and ensuring that parents are informed and involved in their children's online activities."
But Senator John Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat and chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Technology Committee, which oversees the FTC, said he had wanted legislation that went further.
"There are groups that will complain about it (COPPA being too weak), and so will I, but we can't do anything more about it right now," he said. "Children's privacy as far as I am concerned is an absolutely top line issue."
Privacy advocates and advertising companies had been watching closely to see if the agency would go through with a pledge made in August to add IP addresses to the restrictions.
Advertisers had argued against the move since several people in a family - adults and children - could use the same computer. Privacy advocates said it was needed to protect children.
Also under the updated rule, plug-ins and other third parties connected to children's websites and apps cannot allow third parties to collect information on children without parental consent.
Big companies would be able to deal with the changes but the tighter regulators could be onerous for smaller firms, said John Feldman of the law firm Reed Smith LLP.
"I represent companies who are trying to sell products and services," he said. "The bigger companies feel like they can deal with it. There are significant costs that will be associated with this."
Privacy advocate Kathryn Montgomery, who teaches at American University, said the update was needed, given the growth of social networks and mobile computing. She urged the FTC to be tough about enforcing the rules.
"The new rules should help ensure that companies targeting children throughout the rapidly expanding digital media landscape will be required to engage in fair marketing and data collection practices," she said.
The proposal also specifies that family websites, which are websites aimed at children and adults, would be allowed to screen users to determine their ages and only provide protection to children under age 13.
Currently, all visitors to the websites must be treated as if they are under age 13.
The FTC's rule implementing COPPA became effective in 2000.
The updated rule takes effect on July 1. It was approved by a vote of three to one with one commissioner abstaining.
Vatican takes first spot in Internet domain name draw
Labels: TechnologyThe Vatican has come out in first place in a long-awaited draw to expand the Internet address system with new domain names that go beyond the usual .com, .org or .net endings.
ICANN, the corporation that oversees the Internet address system, announced this week the domain name .catholic written in Chinese characters will be the first bid it considers in a drive to expand and reorganize sites on the World Wide Web.
The same extension in Arabic letters ranked 25th in the random draw and the Vatican's application for a version in Cyrillic for Russian and other Slavic languages came in 96th.
Ranking high means the applicant could get approval early next year to operate the new domain and approve addresses using it. In the Vatican's case, Rome could then ensure only genuine Roman Catholic institutions get to use that domain name.
"This is a way to give a coherence and authentication to our presence in the digital arena," said Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
"Anyone looking online will recognize the site belongs to an institution that belongs to the Catholic Church," he said, adding the new, so-called top level domain names (|TLDs) could also help speed online searches.
.BIBLE AND .ISLAM
For online retailers such as Amazon, whose application for .store in Japanese came in second, early approval could mean a competitive advantage and prompt a quick introduction of the new name.
But the Vatican did not enter the draw for commercial reasons and would not rush to launch its TLDs, Tighe said. In addition, the main TLD it seeks - .catholic in Latin letters - ended up in 1,366th place and may take months before it is approved.
Website owners are now restricted to a few dozen TLDs such as .com and country code domains such as .co.uk or .fr. Many of the 1,930 applications for new TLDs came from companies, including Internet giants such as Amazon and Google.
Several other faith-based groups applied for other TLDs such as .bible or .islam. The extension .mormon was the next-highest religious application drawn, coming in at 118th place.
ICANN (www.icann.org), the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, has stressed that assigning a certain TLD does not imply any endorsement of the religious group seeking it, just recognition it is the best suited to use the name.
Tighe said the ICANN draw handled applications for TLDs in non-Latin alphabets first, which explained why the Vatican's Chinese, Arabic and Cyrillic extensions came out far ahead of its main TLD in Latin letters.
INTERNET IMPRIMATUR
ICANN invited comments on applications earlier this year. The Vatican's application for exclusive use of .catholic drew criticism from members of several Protestant churches that also use the term, which comes from the Greek for "universal".
"This request is a move by a powerful group to squelch the voices and rights of other Christians," Dave Daubert, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Elgin, Illinois, wrote on the ICANN webpage for comments on the applications.
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, apparently saw no hope of a consensus on religious TLDs and opposed them all.
Some religions seem to have kept out of the fray entirely. There were no applications for .buddhist, .hindu or .jewish.
Read More..
ICANN, the corporation that oversees the Internet address system, announced this week the domain name .catholic written in Chinese characters will be the first bid it considers in a drive to expand and reorganize sites on the World Wide Web.
The same extension in Arabic letters ranked 25th in the random draw and the Vatican's application for a version in Cyrillic for Russian and other Slavic languages came in 96th.
Ranking high means the applicant could get approval early next year to operate the new domain and approve addresses using it. In the Vatican's case, Rome could then ensure only genuine Roman Catholic institutions get to use that domain name.
"This is a way to give a coherence and authentication to our presence in the digital arena," said Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
"Anyone looking online will recognize the site belongs to an institution that belongs to the Catholic Church," he said, adding the new, so-called top level domain names (|TLDs) could also help speed online searches.
.BIBLE AND .ISLAM
For online retailers such as Amazon, whose application for .store in Japanese came in second, early approval could mean a competitive advantage and prompt a quick introduction of the new name.
But the Vatican did not enter the draw for commercial reasons and would not rush to launch its TLDs, Tighe said. In addition, the main TLD it seeks - .catholic in Latin letters - ended up in 1,366th place and may take months before it is approved.
Website owners are now restricted to a few dozen TLDs such as .com and country code domains such as .co.uk or .fr. Many of the 1,930 applications for new TLDs came from companies, including Internet giants such as Amazon and Google.
Several other faith-based groups applied for other TLDs such as .bible or .islam. The extension .mormon was the next-highest religious application drawn, coming in at 118th place.
ICANN (www.icann.org), the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, has stressed that assigning a certain TLD does not imply any endorsement of the religious group seeking it, just recognition it is the best suited to use the name.
Tighe said the ICANN draw handled applications for TLDs in non-Latin alphabets first, which explained why the Vatican's Chinese, Arabic and Cyrillic extensions came out far ahead of its main TLD in Latin letters.
INTERNET IMPRIMATUR
ICANN invited comments on applications earlier this year. The Vatican's application for exclusive use of .catholic drew criticism from members of several Protestant churches that also use the term, which comes from the Greek for "universal".
"This request is a move by a powerful group to squelch the voices and rights of other Christians," Dave Daubert, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Elgin, Illinois, wrote on the ICANN webpage for comments on the applications.
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, apparently saw no hope of a consensus on religious TLDs and opposed them all.
Some religions seem to have kept out of the fray entirely. There were no applications for .buddhist, .hindu or .jewish.
Highlights from Egypt's draft constitution
Labels: WorldCAIRO (AP) — Egypt's draft constitution, which is being voted on in a referendum Saturday, is made up of an introduction, an 11-part preamble and 236 articles. Critics have raised concerns over issues including Islamic law and women's rights:
— Shariah (Islamic) law
Like a previous constitution, the draft states, "Principles of Islamic Shariah are the principal source of legislation." For the first time, the draft defines those principles, rooting them in "general evidence, foundational rules" and other rules from the long tradition of Islamic jurisprudence. Both critics and ultraconservative supporters of the charter say that opens the doors for stricter imposition of Islamic law.
— Role of clerics
The draft gives Islamic clerics unprecedented powers with an article stating, "Al-Azhar senior scholars are to be consulted in matters pertaining to Islamic law," referring to the most respected center of scholarship and rulings in Sunni Islam.
— Morals
An article commits "the state and society" to "entrenching and protecting the moral values" of "the authentic Egyptian family." Critics worry the broad phrasing will allow not only the government but also individuals to intervene in personal rights.
—Women's rights
The draft mentions women in the framework of the traditional Muslim family, adding, "The state shall ensure maternal and child health services free of charge and ensure reconciliation between the duties of a woman toward her family and her work." The preamble underlines equality "for all citizens, men and women, without discrimination or nepotism or preferential treatment, in both rights and duties." But opponents charge that the document does not protect women from discrimination.
— Civil rights
The draft guarantees freedom of expression, creativity, assembly and other rights. It also has a direct ban on torture and stricter provisions limiting detentions and searches by police. But it says the rights "must be practiced in a manner not conflicting with" principles of Shariah or the morals of the family. There is also a ban on insulting "religious messengers and prophets," opening the door to arrests of bloggers and other activists.
— News media
Independent publications closed for a day to protest the lack of an article banning arrest of journalists for what they write. The draft has this: "Freedom of the press, printing, publication and mass media shall be guaranteed. The media shall be free and independent..."
—Religious minorities
The draft guarantees the freedom of Christians and Jews to practice their rites, live by their religions' rule on marriage, inheritance and personal status and establish places of worship. But it hedges those rights on the condition they do not "violate public order" and that they will be "regulated by law." In the past, the building of churches has been limited by law because of claims it disturbs public order. The draft guarantees those rights for "the divine religions," meaning Christianity and Judaism, but not others, raising concerns of persecution of smaller sects.
— Military
The charter ensures an independent status for the powerful military. The president is the head of the national security council, but the defense minister is the commander in chief of the armed forces and "appointed from among its officers." Control of the military budget is not mentioned. It also allows civilians to be tried before military courts in some cases.
Read More..
— Shariah (Islamic) law
Like a previous constitution, the draft states, "Principles of Islamic Shariah are the principal source of legislation." For the first time, the draft defines those principles, rooting them in "general evidence, foundational rules" and other rules from the long tradition of Islamic jurisprudence. Both critics and ultraconservative supporters of the charter say that opens the doors for stricter imposition of Islamic law.
— Role of clerics
The draft gives Islamic clerics unprecedented powers with an article stating, "Al-Azhar senior scholars are to be consulted in matters pertaining to Islamic law," referring to the most respected center of scholarship and rulings in Sunni Islam.
— Morals
An article commits "the state and society" to "entrenching and protecting the moral values" of "the authentic Egyptian family." Critics worry the broad phrasing will allow not only the government but also individuals to intervene in personal rights.
—Women's rights
The draft mentions women in the framework of the traditional Muslim family, adding, "The state shall ensure maternal and child health services free of charge and ensure reconciliation between the duties of a woman toward her family and her work." The preamble underlines equality "for all citizens, men and women, without discrimination or nepotism or preferential treatment, in both rights and duties." But opponents charge that the document does not protect women from discrimination.
— Civil rights
The draft guarantees freedom of expression, creativity, assembly and other rights. It also has a direct ban on torture and stricter provisions limiting detentions and searches by police. But it says the rights "must be practiced in a manner not conflicting with" principles of Shariah or the morals of the family. There is also a ban on insulting "religious messengers and prophets," opening the door to arrests of bloggers and other activists.
— News media
Independent publications closed for a day to protest the lack of an article banning arrest of journalists for what they write. The draft has this: "Freedom of the press, printing, publication and mass media shall be guaranteed. The media shall be free and independent..."
—Religious minorities
The draft guarantees the freedom of Christians and Jews to practice their rites, live by their religions' rule on marriage, inheritance and personal status and establish places of worship. But it hedges those rights on the condition they do not "violate public order" and that they will be "regulated by law." In the past, the building of churches has been limited by law because of claims it disturbs public order. The draft guarantees those rights for "the divine religions," meaning Christianity and Judaism, but not others, raising concerns of persecution of smaller sects.
— Military
The charter ensures an independent status for the powerful military. The president is the head of the national security council, but the defense minister is the commander in chief of the armed forces and "appointed from among its officers." Control of the military budget is not mentioned. It also allows civilians to be tried before military courts in some cases.
Oman holds first municipal elections
Labels: WorldMUSCAT, Oman (AP) — Oman says more than 1,400 candidates are competing in the Gulf nation's first municipal elections, a concession following Arab Spring-linked unrest.
Oman has seen sporadic protests demanding more job opportunities and a greater public voice in the tightly run sultanate.
The official Omani News Agency says the candidates, including 46 women, are vying Saturday for 192 seats on local councils that have no direct powers but will serve in an advisory role.
Gulf Arab leaders have managed to ride out the region's upheavals, but have promised some limited reforms and offered financial incentives such as expanding state jobs.
Strategic Oman shares control of the Strait of Hormuz with Iran. The narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf is the route for one-fifth of the world's crude oil.
Read More..
Oman has seen sporadic protests demanding more job opportunities and a greater public voice in the tightly run sultanate.
The official Omani News Agency says the candidates, including 46 women, are vying Saturday for 192 seats on local councils that have no direct powers but will serve in an advisory role.
Gulf Arab leaders have managed to ride out the region's upheavals, but have promised some limited reforms and offered financial incentives such as expanding state jobs.
Strategic Oman shares control of the Strait of Hormuz with Iran. The narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf is the route for one-fifth of the world's crude oil.
Egyptians vote on disputed constitution
Labels: WorldCAIRO (AP) — Egyptians voted on Saturday in the second and final phase of a referendum on an Islamist-backed constitution that has polarized the nation, with little indication that the result of the vote will end the political crisis in which the country is mired.
For some supporters, a 'yes' vote was a chance to restore some normalcy after nearly two years of tumultuous transitional politics following Egypt's 2011 revolution, or to make society and laws more Islamic. Opponents saw their 'no' vote as a way to preserve the country's secular traditions and prevent President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood group from getting a lock on power.
"I came early to make sure my 'no' is among the first of millions today," oil company manager Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz said as he waited in line outside a polling station in the Dokki district of Giza, Cairo's twin city on the west bank of the Nile. "I am here to say 'no' to Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood," he said.
Another Giza voter, accountant and mother of three Sahar Mohamed Zakaria, had a different take on Saturday's vote.
"I'm voting 'yes' for stability," she announced.
Saturday's vote is taking place in 17 of Egypt's 27 provinces with about 25 million eligible voters. The first phase on Dec. 15 produced a "yes" majority of about 56 percent with a turnout of some 32 percent, according to unofficial results. Unofficial votes for the second round are expected late Saturday or early Sunday.
The vote comes a day after clashes between Morsi's opponents and supporters in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. It was the latest outbreak of street violence in more than four weeks of turmoil, with the country divided first over the president's powers then over the draft constitution.
The clashes — in which opponents of Islamists set fire to cars and dozens of people were hurt — illustrated how the new constitution, regardless of whether it is adopted or not, is unlikely to ease the conflict over the country's future.
In Fayoum, the capital of an oasis province of the same name where Islamist groups have traditionally had strong support, a member of the local Christian community said she also supported the charter.
Hanaa Zaki said she was also voting "yes" for stability and an end to the country's deepening economic problems. Most Christians elsewhere in the country are seen to oppose the draft.
Speaking as she waited in line along with bearded Muslim men and Muslim women wearing headscarves, Zaki said: "I have a son who didn't get paid for the past six months. We have been in this crisis for so long and we are fed up."
In the village of Sanaro, also in Fayoum province some 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Cairo, farmer Azouz Ayesh sat with his neighbors as their cattle grazed in a nearby field. "I don't trust the Brotherhood anymore and I don't trust the opposition either. We are forgotten, the most miserable and the first to suffer. If I say 'yes' there will be stability and if I say 'no' there will still be no stability," he said.
"But I will vote against this constitution," he added.
In the neighboring village of Sheikh Fadl, a car fitted with loudspeakers toured the area with a man shouting, "Yes, yes to the constitution!" In the city of Fayoum, a man could be seen painting over posters urging people to vote "no."
In Giza's upscale Mohandiseen neighborhood, a group of 12 women speaking to each other in a mix of French, Arabic and English said they all intended to vote "no."
"My friends are Muslim and are voting 'no.' It's not about Christian versus Muslim, but it is Muslim Brotherhood versus everyone else," said one of the 12, Christian physician Shahira Sadeq. "Voting 'yes' does not mean stability."
Kamla el-Tantawi, 65, voted with her daughter and grand-daughter. "I voted 'no' against what I'm seeing," she said, gesturing to a woman standing close by wearing the full-face veil known as niqab and as a hallmark of ultraconservative Muslim women. "I lose sleep thinking about my grandchildren and their future. They never saw the beautiful Egypt we did."
"Morsi, God willing, will be better than those who came before him," said Zeinab Khalil, a mother of three who wears the niqab, said. "A 'yes' vote moves the country forward. We want things to calm down, more jobs and better education," she said, while waiting for her turn to vote in Giza's poor Imbaba district, a one-time stronghold of militant Islamists.
In part, Egypt's split has been over who will shape the country's path nearly two years after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak nearly two years ago.
An opposition made up of liberals, leftists, secular Egyptians and a swath of the public angered over Morsi's 5-month-old rule fear that Islamists are creating a new Mubarak-style autocracy. They accuse the Brotherhood of monopolizing the levers of power and point to the draft charter, which Islamists on the Constituent Assembly rammed through despite a boycott by liberal and secular members. They are calling on supporters to vote "no."
Morsi's allies say the opposition is trying to use the streets to overturn their victories at the ballot box over the past two years. They also accuse the opposition of carrying out a conspiracy by former members of Mubarak's regime to regain power.
If the constitution is adopted, Morsi will call for the election of parliament's law-making lower chamber to be held within two months while giving the mostly toothless upper chamber legislative powers until the lower house is seated.
The upper chamber, known as the Shura Council, was elected by less than 10 percent of the country's 50 million registered voters. It is dominated by Islamists.
Morsi was already gearing up for the next steps after the constitution's passage, making a last-minute appointment of 90 new members to the Shura Council, a third of its total membership. Current rules allow him to do so, but if he waited until the charter was passed he could only appoint 10.
Friday's appointments added to the handful of non-Islamists in the upper house, but preserved the Islamists' overwhelming hold.
A spokesman for the main opposition umbrella National Salvation Front dismissed the appointments, accusing Morsi of setting up a token opposition much like Mubarak did.
Read More..
For some supporters, a 'yes' vote was a chance to restore some normalcy after nearly two years of tumultuous transitional politics following Egypt's 2011 revolution, or to make society and laws more Islamic. Opponents saw their 'no' vote as a way to preserve the country's secular traditions and prevent President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood group from getting a lock on power.
"I came early to make sure my 'no' is among the first of millions today," oil company manager Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz said as he waited in line outside a polling station in the Dokki district of Giza, Cairo's twin city on the west bank of the Nile. "I am here to say 'no' to Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood," he said.
Another Giza voter, accountant and mother of three Sahar Mohamed Zakaria, had a different take on Saturday's vote.
"I'm voting 'yes' for stability," she announced.
Saturday's vote is taking place in 17 of Egypt's 27 provinces with about 25 million eligible voters. The first phase on Dec. 15 produced a "yes" majority of about 56 percent with a turnout of some 32 percent, according to unofficial results. Unofficial votes for the second round are expected late Saturday or early Sunday.
The vote comes a day after clashes between Morsi's opponents and supporters in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. It was the latest outbreak of street violence in more than four weeks of turmoil, with the country divided first over the president's powers then over the draft constitution.
The clashes — in which opponents of Islamists set fire to cars and dozens of people were hurt — illustrated how the new constitution, regardless of whether it is adopted or not, is unlikely to ease the conflict over the country's future.
In Fayoum, the capital of an oasis province of the same name where Islamist groups have traditionally had strong support, a member of the local Christian community said she also supported the charter.
Hanaa Zaki said she was also voting "yes" for stability and an end to the country's deepening economic problems. Most Christians elsewhere in the country are seen to oppose the draft.
Speaking as she waited in line along with bearded Muslim men and Muslim women wearing headscarves, Zaki said: "I have a son who didn't get paid for the past six months. We have been in this crisis for so long and we are fed up."
In the village of Sanaro, also in Fayoum province some 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Cairo, farmer Azouz Ayesh sat with his neighbors as their cattle grazed in a nearby field. "I don't trust the Brotherhood anymore and I don't trust the opposition either. We are forgotten, the most miserable and the first to suffer. If I say 'yes' there will be stability and if I say 'no' there will still be no stability," he said.
"But I will vote against this constitution," he added.
In the neighboring village of Sheikh Fadl, a car fitted with loudspeakers toured the area with a man shouting, "Yes, yes to the constitution!" In the city of Fayoum, a man could be seen painting over posters urging people to vote "no."
In Giza's upscale Mohandiseen neighborhood, a group of 12 women speaking to each other in a mix of French, Arabic and English said they all intended to vote "no."
"My friends are Muslim and are voting 'no.' It's not about Christian versus Muslim, but it is Muslim Brotherhood versus everyone else," said one of the 12, Christian physician Shahira Sadeq. "Voting 'yes' does not mean stability."
Kamla el-Tantawi, 65, voted with her daughter and grand-daughter. "I voted 'no' against what I'm seeing," she said, gesturing to a woman standing close by wearing the full-face veil known as niqab and as a hallmark of ultraconservative Muslim women. "I lose sleep thinking about my grandchildren and their future. They never saw the beautiful Egypt we did."
"Morsi, God willing, will be better than those who came before him," said Zeinab Khalil, a mother of three who wears the niqab, said. "A 'yes' vote moves the country forward. We want things to calm down, more jobs and better education," she said, while waiting for her turn to vote in Giza's poor Imbaba district, a one-time stronghold of militant Islamists.
In part, Egypt's split has been over who will shape the country's path nearly two years after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak nearly two years ago.
An opposition made up of liberals, leftists, secular Egyptians and a swath of the public angered over Morsi's 5-month-old rule fear that Islamists are creating a new Mubarak-style autocracy. They accuse the Brotherhood of monopolizing the levers of power and point to the draft charter, which Islamists on the Constituent Assembly rammed through despite a boycott by liberal and secular members. They are calling on supporters to vote "no."
Morsi's allies say the opposition is trying to use the streets to overturn their victories at the ballot box over the past two years. They also accuse the opposition of carrying out a conspiracy by former members of Mubarak's regime to regain power.
If the constitution is adopted, Morsi will call for the election of parliament's law-making lower chamber to be held within two months while giving the mostly toothless upper chamber legislative powers until the lower house is seated.
The upper chamber, known as the Shura Council, was elected by less than 10 percent of the country's 50 million registered voters. It is dominated by Islamists.
Morsi was already gearing up for the next steps after the constitution's passage, making a last-minute appointment of 90 new members to the Shura Council, a third of its total membership. Current rules allow him to do so, but if he waited until the charter was passed he could only appoint 10.
Friday's appointments added to the handful of non-Islamists in the upper house, but preserved the Islamists' overwhelming hold.
A spokesman for the main opposition umbrella National Salvation Front dismissed the appointments, accusing Morsi of setting up a token opposition much like Mubarak did.
Correction: Bahrain-Security Summit story
Labels: WorldMANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — In a story Dec. 8 about a security summit in Bahrain, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Saudi Arabia's Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah said in a speech that Gulf states should quash any Arab Spring-inspired unrest. Prince Abdulaziz said, "Tampering with the stability and security of any Gulf Arab state is considered as tampering with the security and stability of all other Gulf Arab states" and his remarks did not mention any specific type of instability or threat.
A corrected version of the story is below:
US envoys say no 'pivot' away from Mideast
US envoys at Mideast security summit: No 'pivot' from Washington role in region
By REEM KHALIFA
Associated Press
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — American envoys challenged assertions Saturday that Washington seeks to diminish its role in Middle East affairs, insisting U.S. political ties and energy needs bind the country closely to a region full of "threat and promise."
The defensive tone by U.S. officials, in response to questions raised at an international security summit in Bahrain, reflects growing speculation about a possible U.S. policy realignment toward Asia at the expense of Mideast initiatives.
Gulf Arab states, in particular, have urged the Obama administration to take stronger action on Syria, where Saudi Arabia and Qatar seek to open channels to send heavy weapons to rebel forces fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad. The White House has favored a more cautious approach with the Syrian opposition, worried that hard-line Islamist rebel factions could be aided by stepped up arms flow.
"The idea that the U.S. can pivot away from the Middle East is the height of foolishness," Sen. John McCain said at the Bahrain gathering, which brings policymakers and political figures from around the world including Iran and the Syrian opposition.
The Arizona Republican, the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, also said he believes there is a "steady increase" in fighters inspired by al-Qaida joining the rebel side in Syria's civil war.
The comments follow a diplomatic flap after Bahrain's crown prince did not mention the U.S. at the opening of the conference Friday as he listed critical allies in the kingdom's 22-month battle against an Arab Spring-inspired uprising. Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which is the Pentagon's main counterweight in the region against Iran's military.
Many at the conference interpreted the crown prince's omission as a public slap against Washington for its criticism of Bahrain's crackdowns, including recent action such as banning opposition rallies and revoking citizenship for 31 activists.
More than 55 people have died in the unrest as the island nation's Shiite majority pushes for a greater political voice in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.
The head of the U.S. delegation, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, said Washington's foreign policy objectives clearly include the "dynamic" rise of Asian economic and political power and "domestic renewal" to compete in the changing world economy.
"For all the logical focus on pivots in other directions, however, the fact remains that the United States cannot afford to neglect what's at stake in the Middle East," he said.
He credited Bahrain's leadership for some reforms aimed at easing the tensions, including giving more powers to the elected parliament. But he noted "there is still a long road ahead" in following through with recommendations by an independent fact-finding committee last year that included calls for investigation into allegations of high-level abuses against protesters.
The main Bahrain Shiite opposition group, Al Wefaq, said Saturday that it was open to the crown prince's offer for dialogue, but it was unclear whether any breakthroughs were possible. Past overtures have failed to gain traction.
Burns also said Middle Eastern oil remains crucial for the world economy despite projections of a sharp rise in U.S. crude output in coming years from techniques such as extracting oil from shale.
Burns, however, pointed out that other nations need to help chart the course in the region following the Arab Spring — suggesting no major unilateral push by Washington over Syria or other simmering disputes such as Iran's nuclear program.
"It is important for Americans, self-absorbed as we sometimes are, to understand that the Middle East is not all about us ... But if it's not about us, the future of the region certainly matters a great deal to us," he told the conference. "It's a region today that is full of both threat and promise."
Earlier, Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah, the Saudi deputy foreign minister, told the conference that "tampering with the stability and security of any Gulf Arab state is considered as tampering with the security and stability of all other Gulf Arab states."
He described the "security and destiny" of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council as "one and may not be divided." The GCC includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council plan to meet later this month in Bahrain with issues such as closer intelligence and security coordination on the agenda.
Read More..
A corrected version of the story is below:
US envoys say no 'pivot' away from Mideast
US envoys at Mideast security summit: No 'pivot' from Washington role in region
By REEM KHALIFA
Associated Press
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — American envoys challenged assertions Saturday that Washington seeks to diminish its role in Middle East affairs, insisting U.S. political ties and energy needs bind the country closely to a region full of "threat and promise."
The defensive tone by U.S. officials, in response to questions raised at an international security summit in Bahrain, reflects growing speculation about a possible U.S. policy realignment toward Asia at the expense of Mideast initiatives.
Gulf Arab states, in particular, have urged the Obama administration to take stronger action on Syria, where Saudi Arabia and Qatar seek to open channels to send heavy weapons to rebel forces fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad. The White House has favored a more cautious approach with the Syrian opposition, worried that hard-line Islamist rebel factions could be aided by stepped up arms flow.
"The idea that the U.S. can pivot away from the Middle East is the height of foolishness," Sen. John McCain said at the Bahrain gathering, which brings policymakers and political figures from around the world including Iran and the Syrian opposition.
The Arizona Republican, the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, also said he believes there is a "steady increase" in fighters inspired by al-Qaida joining the rebel side in Syria's civil war.
The comments follow a diplomatic flap after Bahrain's crown prince did not mention the U.S. at the opening of the conference Friday as he listed critical allies in the kingdom's 22-month battle against an Arab Spring-inspired uprising. Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which is the Pentagon's main counterweight in the region against Iran's military.
Many at the conference interpreted the crown prince's omission as a public slap against Washington for its criticism of Bahrain's crackdowns, including recent action such as banning opposition rallies and revoking citizenship for 31 activists.
More than 55 people have died in the unrest as the island nation's Shiite majority pushes for a greater political voice in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.
The head of the U.S. delegation, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, said Washington's foreign policy objectives clearly include the "dynamic" rise of Asian economic and political power and "domestic renewal" to compete in the changing world economy.
"For all the logical focus on pivots in other directions, however, the fact remains that the United States cannot afford to neglect what's at stake in the Middle East," he said.
He credited Bahrain's leadership for some reforms aimed at easing the tensions, including giving more powers to the elected parliament. But he noted "there is still a long road ahead" in following through with recommendations by an independent fact-finding committee last year that included calls for investigation into allegations of high-level abuses against protesters.
The main Bahrain Shiite opposition group, Al Wefaq, said Saturday that it was open to the crown prince's offer for dialogue, but it was unclear whether any breakthroughs were possible. Past overtures have failed to gain traction.
Burns also said Middle Eastern oil remains crucial for the world economy despite projections of a sharp rise in U.S. crude output in coming years from techniques such as extracting oil from shale.
Burns, however, pointed out that other nations need to help chart the course in the region following the Arab Spring — suggesting no major unilateral push by Washington over Syria or other simmering disputes such as Iran's nuclear program.
"It is important for Americans, self-absorbed as we sometimes are, to understand that the Middle East is not all about us ... But if it's not about us, the future of the region certainly matters a great deal to us," he told the conference. "It's a region today that is full of both threat and promise."
Earlier, Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah, the Saudi deputy foreign minister, told the conference that "tampering with the stability and security of any Gulf Arab state is considered as tampering with the security and stability of all other Gulf Arab states."
He described the "security and destiny" of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council as "one and may not be divided." The GCC includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council plan to meet later this month in Bahrain with issues such as closer intelligence and security coordination on the agenda.
Yemen court sentences 3 militants to up to 6 years
Labels: WorldSANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen's state security court has sentenced three al-Qaida militants to up to six years in prison for planning attacks on security forces, foreign diplomatic missions and state institutions.
The court on Saturday gave the three militants between two and six years each. They have the right to appeal.
The judge also accused the three of running a training camp for al-Qaida in the southern Abyan province in 2011. He didn't provide further details on the alleged targets.
The court released four others who had already spent about 18 months in detention. The militants earlier denied the charges.
Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has ordered trials for dozens of al-Qaida suspects held without charges for over a year.
Washington considers al-Qaida's Yemen branch as the militant group's most dangerous.
In the southern city of Ibb, security officials and medics said eight prisoners died and dozens injured in a fire that broke out in the city's central prison Saturday. The medics said the death toll could rise because more than 10 prisoners were in serious condition. The officials and medics spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
Authorities were still investigating the cause of the fire, the officials said.
The prison, which is one of the biggest in the country, witnessed riots last week by inmates protesting ill-treatment.
Read More..
The court on Saturday gave the three militants between two and six years each. They have the right to appeal.
The judge also accused the three of running a training camp for al-Qaida in the southern Abyan province in 2011. He didn't provide further details on the alleged targets.
The court released four others who had already spent about 18 months in detention. The militants earlier denied the charges.
Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has ordered trials for dozens of al-Qaida suspects held without charges for over a year.
Washington considers al-Qaida's Yemen branch as the militant group's most dangerous.
In the southern city of Ibb, security officials and medics said eight prisoners died and dozens injured in a fire that broke out in the city's central prison Saturday. The medics said the death toll could rise because more than 10 prisoners were in serious condition. The officials and medics spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
Authorities were still investigating the cause of the fire, the officials said.
The prison, which is one of the biggest in the country, witnessed riots last week by inmates protesting ill-treatment.
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