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Sudan To Execute US Envoy Killers

Four Sudanese men have been condemned to death by a Khartoum court for killing a US diplomat and his Sudanese driver.

Said Ahmed al-Badri, the judge, sentenced the four to be hanged for the murders on Wednesday.

A fifth man, who had provided the other defendants with weapons but did not take part in the murder, was sentenced to two years in prison.

John Granville, 33, a former official at the US Agency for International Development, and Abdel Rahman Abbas, his 40-year-old Sudanese driver, were shot dead in their car in the capital on January 1, 2008.

Granville was the first US government official killed in Khartoum in more than three decades.

One of the four condemned men is the son of a leader of Ansar al-Sunna, an Islamist group, which is linked to Wahhabism - a form of Sunni Islam practised mainly in Saudi Arabia.

A group calling itself Ansar al-Tawhid had claimed responsibility for the murders, SITE, an organisation which monitors Islamist websites, said.

It said the murder was in response to attempts to raise the banner of Christianity over Sudan, the largest country in Africa.

Ahead of the verdict, the US embassy in Khartoum had urged personnel and citizens to keep a low profile if the court found the defendants guilty.

"Should the court announce guilty verdicts in this case on June 24, the reaction among the men's supporters could include demonstrations at Embassy Khartoum facilities and/or other anti-American, anti-Western actions," the embassy said in a statement.

"US citizens are advised to avoid the Khartoum North courthouse, located in downtown Khartoum, maintain a low profile, and increase vigilance," it said.

A fifth man who provided the defendants with weapons was sentenced to two years in prison

Iran 'Will Not Yield' To Protesters

Iran's supreme leader has vowed the country's leadership will not give in to mass protests against the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's message came on Wednesday amid reports that supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the defeated main opposition candidate in the June 12 presidential election, were gathering in the capital, Tehran, for fresh protests.

State-run media reported Khamenei as saying: "I had insisted, and will insist, on implementing the law on the election issue.

"Neither the establishment nor the nation will yield to pressure at any cost."

But, Khamenei's warning fell on deaf ears of Mehdi Karoubi, one of the defeated candidates in the elections, who said that the new government was "illegitimate".

"I do not accept the result and therefore consider as illegitimate the new government. Because of the irregularities, the vote should be annulled," Karoubi's website quoted him as saying.

"Yasmin", a student protester told Al Jazeera that several hundred people had gathered near the parliament, but Mousavi was yet to show up.

Tight security

She said the protesters were hiding in metro stations and pretending to be just passing by to hoodwink police deployed across the city in very large numbers.

Al Jazeera's Alireza Ronaghi said from Tehran that given the stringent security measures, staging rallies was going to be very difficult.

The protest rally was originally scheduled for 4pm (11:30 GMT), according to reports on social-networking sites and websites linked to the opposition.

At least 19 people have been killed in clashes with police and pro-government militia amid angry protests that broke out after Mousavi declared that the election had been rigged.

Mehdi Karroubi, who came in fourth in the poll, according to official results, has called for Iranians to hold ceremonies on Thursday to mourn those killed in the protests.

Although streets protests have diminished since police and pro-government militias used tear gas, batons and water cannon against protesters on Saturday, calls for further protests among supporters of Ahmadinejad's opponents have continued.

Nazenin Ansari, the diplomatic editor of the Kahylan newspaper, told Al Jazeera that the fall in numbers gathering to protest was understandable given the "degree of repression on the streets".

"Without a doubt, although there are not millions gathering on the streets because of the indiscriminate fire and repression, this is going to transform," she said.

"In provinces, where people were before gathering in universities, in recent days we are seeing people gathering in main squares."

Sadeq Mahsouli, Iran's interior minister, has accused the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of helping those who have taken part in the protests.

"Many of the rioters were in contact with America, CIA and the MKO and are being fed by their financial resources," he was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency. The MKO (Mujahedeen-e-Khalq) is an exiled Iranian opposition group.

Mousavi, a former prime minister, and the two other candidates in the election have all filed complaints to the Guardian Council about alleged problems with the June 12 vote.

But on Wednesday, Mohsen Rezaie, the conservative candidate who finished third in the election, withdrew his objections.

"I see it as my responsibility to encourage myself and others to control the current situation," the official IRNA news agency reported Rezaie as saying in a letter to the Guardian Council.

"Therefore I announce that I'm withdrawing my submitted complaints," the former head of the Revolutionary Guard said.

Rezai had originally complained that he had won more votes than he had been credited with when the interior ministry declared the results.

"I think he wants to remain in the framework of the Islamic republic - the framework that conservative newspapers are trying to push Mousavi and Karroubi out of," Al Jazeera's Ronaghi said.

"Mohsen Rezaie intends to stay close to the core of the Islamic republic and show his allegiance to the supreme leader by obeying his call that the elections are over."

Despite Khamenei agreeing to extend the deadline for filing election complaints by five days, a spokesman for the Guardian Council said that there will not be a fresh vote.

"If a major breach occurs in an election, the Guardian Council may annul the votes that come out of a particular affected ballot box, polling station, district or city," Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei was quoted as saying by Press TV, an Iranian government-funded television station.

"Fortunately, in the recent presidential election, we found no witness of major fraud or breach in the election. Therefore, there is no possibility of an annulment taking place," he said.

Meanwhile, an aide to Mousavi said that the former prime minister's newspaper had been raided and 25 employees arrested.

Ali Reza Beheshti said that the raid took place on Monday evening as they were preparing to relaunch Kalemeh Sabz, or the Green Word.

The newspaper had been unavailable for more than a week.

Beheshti said: "Among those arrested on Monday were five or six administrative employees while the rest were journalists.

"The agents who came to the newspaper did not show a warrant.”

Israel Releases Senior Hamas MP

Israel has released the Hamas speaker of the Palestinian parliament, Abdul Aziz Dweik, who was jailed for nearly three years over his ties to the group.

Dweik's release followed an Israeli prosecutor's failure to persuade a military court to extend the prison term, which was due to end in August.

Israel detained Dweik, 60, and nearly 40 other Hamas politicians in the occupied West Bank in 2006 after Hamas fighters captured Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier, on the boundary of the Gaza Strip.

The arrests paralysed the Palestinian Legislative Council, dominated by Hamas since defeating the Western-backed Fatah faction in a parliamentary election earlier in 2006.

Since then, Hamas has accused Israel of trying to pressure the group into freeing the soldier.

Dweik, who Hamas have suggested could become a possible candidate for the presidency, was taken to a hospital in Israel several times to be treated for high blood pressure and diabetes during his imprisonment.

It remains unclear whether his health conditions contributed to the decision to release him. His lawyer, Fadi Kawasimi, said inmates' terms routinely are shortened by several months for good behaviour.

Hamas did not reveal whether Dweik would resume his duties as parliament speaker.

Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reported that Dweik declined to answer questions from reporters and said he would issue a statement from the Palestinian parliament in the West Bank city of Ramallah later in the day.

She also said that this is not a time of celebration for the Palestinians as dozens of Hamas parliamentary members still remain in Israeli jails.

"He will be very keen to remind people of the fact that although he is out, many of his fellow parliamentarians are still being held in Israeli jails, many of whom haven't been given a trial," she said

'US Drone' Hits Pakistan Funeral

Up to 80 people have been killed after missiles were fired from a US "drone" at the funeral of a suspected Taliban commander of the Pakistani Taliban in South Waziristan, Pakistan officials have said.

The attack by the unmanned aircraft was carried out in the village of Najmarai in the Makeen district on Tuesday, Pakistani intelligence officials and witnesses said.

"Three missiles were fired by drones as people were dispersing after offering funeral prayers for [Taliban commander] Niaz Wali," an intelligence official told the Reuters news agency.

"I saw three drones, they dropped bombs," Sohail Mehsud, a resident of Makeen, said.

The funeral was being held for the commander and six other fighters killed earlier in the day in a suspected US drone attack on what Pakistan officials said was a "Taliban training centre".

Tuesday's attacks came as the Pakistani army was preparing to launch an offensive against Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistan Taliban.

Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said: "There are reports that Mehsud himself was at the congregational prayer and escaped the attack.

"However, we are told that a number of people present at that particular moment were [also] killed.

"There were unconfirmed reports that the death toll is much higher because a number of the bodies are badly mutilated."

However, Qari Hussain, a close associate of Mehsud, denied reports that Mehsud had a close call and said many of the dead were civilians.

"Baitullah Mehsud was at a secret place at the time of the American missile attack, and the attack killed only five of our colleagues, and the remaining 45 slain men were villagers," he told The Associated Press news agency.

Pakistan officially objects to strikes on its territory by the pilotless US aircraft.

Questioned about the reported attacks, a US defence department official said: "There are no US military strike operations being conducted in Pakistan."

Pakistan's military mounted an operation earlier this month against Mehsud in South Waziristan, launching air raids and artillery barrages against suspected Taliban bases in the region.

The missile raids came on the same day that Qari Zainuddin, a key rival of Mehsud, was assassinated in the northwestern town of Dera, police said.

Zainuddin, a Taliban commander, had spoken out strongly against Mehsud and may have been about to mount a challenge against him.

Potential backlash

Al Jazeera's Hyder said Tuesday's attack was likely to cause considerable anger in the country.

"It may play into the hands of elements like Mehsud because the attack took place on a funeral - there are cultural sensitivities," he said.

"Such attacks are likely to complicate the situation for the Pakistani military because they have to be equally sensitive to public opinion in that area - something that is not going to be helped by the drones."

Mehsud, an al-Qaeda ally, was accused of plotting the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, a former Pakistani prime minister, in 2007.

The US government had offered a reward of $5m for information leading to his location or arrest.

There have reportedly been more than 20 US drone attacks against targets in Pakistan so far this year, although Tuesday's strikes are the deadliest to date.

Frequent attacks by pilotless US drone aircraft have been heavily criticised by Pakistani leaders for killing innocent civilians and infringing upon national sovereignty.

The US considers Pakistan's tribal region, of which South Waziristan is a part, a hideout from where al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters launch attacks on US forces in Afghanistan.

Thousands Flee Mogadishu Fighting

Thousands of people have fled the Somali capital Mogadishu amid escalating fighting between government forces and opposition fighters.

Fierce street clashes have already claimed hundreds of lives and the government has called on neighbouring African countries to send troops to help it battle al-Shabaab fighters.

In a bid to contain the dealy six-week-old violence, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the Somali president, declared a state of emergency on Monday.

"As of today, the country is under a state of emergency," Sharif said at a press conference in Mogadishu, adding that he had taken the decision "after witnessing the intensifying violence across the country."

Two legislators have also been killed in the last two days of fighting and last week al-Shabab claimed responsiblity for the death of the country's security minister and at least 30 other people in a suicide car bomb attack.

At the weekend Sheikh Aden Mohamed Madobe, the parliament speaker, urged neighbouring countries to send troops to his country to prop up the government.

"We want them to come here within 24 hours," he said at a parliament meeting in the capital.

Profile: Sharif Ahmed

Timeline: Somalia

Inside Story: What next for Somalia

Video: Foreign fighters 'invade' Somalia

Riz Khan: Somalia - From bad to worse

Restoring Somalia

A long road to stability

Al-Shabab: Somali fighters undeterred

Somalia at a crossroads

Somaliland: Africa's isolated state

"We are asking the world and neighbouring countries to intervene in Somalia's situation immediately."

The African Union voiced its concern and gave its blessing to the government's appeal for foreign backing.

Those fighting the government are being led by a [former] Pakistani army general, they are burning the flag and killing people," Madobe said.

As the request was made, residents in central areas of Somalia reported seeing Ethiopian troops.

Ethiopian troops last entered the Horn of Africa country in late 2006 to support the then-government and drive out Islamic Courts Union fighters led by Sharif Ahmed, the current president.

Ahmed later joined the government after signing a UN-brokered peace deal and is now battling former allies from the al-Shabab and Hizbul-Islam groups, which have vowed to topple his government.

'Clear warning'

On Sunday, al-Shabab warned against any foreign military intervention in the Somalian conflict.

"We are sending our clear warning to the neighbouring countries. Send your troops to our holy soil if you need to take them back inside coffins," Sheikh Ali Mohamed Rage, an al-Shabab spokesman, told a news conference in Mogadishu.

"We tell you that our dogs and cats will enjoy eating the dead bodies of your boys if you try to respond to the calls of these stooges, because we wish to die in the way of Allah more than you wish to live."

More than 4,300 Ugandan and Burundian soldiers are already deployed in Somalia as part of an African Union (AU) force and are charged with protecting strategic sites such as the presidency, the port and the airport.

But the troops are not allowed to fight alongside government forces and are authorised only to retaliate if they come under direct attack.

The fighting in Mogadishu has so far forced an estimated 400,000 people to flee their homes in the city, many of them now living rough along the Afgooye corridor, about 20km south of the capital.

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