SYRIA: Opposition group seeks international protection.
A Syrian opposition group called Tuesday for international protection from the government’s military crackdown on protesters, a day before an Arab delegation was scheduled to arrive in Syria in an effort to resolve seven months of unrest in the country.
The delegation of Arab ministers, headed by the prime minister of Qatar, is expected to meet today with President Bashar Assad and other top officials in Damascus.
But the opposition Syrian National Council said Tuesday that there would be no dialogue as long as the government cracked down on demonstrators.
The council also called for a general strike to coincide with the delegation’s visit, describing the strike as the first in a new phase of civil disobedience that would help bring down the government.
TUNISIA: Apparent winner Islamist party in talks to form government.
The moderate Islamist party that appears to have won Tunisia’s landmark elections was in talks with rivals Tuesday about forming an interim coalition government to lead the birthplace of the Arab Spring through its transition to democracy.
Partial results released supported the Ennahda party’s claims that it won at least 40 percent of the seats in a 217-member assembly tasked with running the country and writing its new constitution. But results so far indicate the Islamists failed to win an outright majority, meaning a coalition must be formed.
YEMEN: Regime announces cease-fire, but explosions continue.
The northern part of Yemen’s capital, Sana, has turned into a virtual war zone in recent days.
Even as the government announced a cease-fire Tuesday, explosions boomed across the city.
Fighting has intensified between the nation’s elites, a dynamic that began to unfold when anti-government demonstrations began months ago, inadvertently aggravating longstanding rivalries between heavily armed groups.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh reportedly met with the U.S. ambassador Tuesday to discuss stepping down.
Denver Post wire services
