U.S. Embassy Warns of Yemen Threats, Urges Citizens to Leave (4)

The United States has evacuated 75 embassy staff from the Yemeni capital, after both the US and United Kingdom told their citizens to leave due to the threat of "terrorist attacks." The US citizens were flown out of the country on military aircraft on Tuesday, according to the Pentagon, which declined to comment further, citing security concerns. The new US measures, announced in a statement on Tuesday, followed a heightened security warning from Washington on Friday that prompted the closure of several Western embassies in Yemen and several US missions across the Middle East and Africa. It also came after at least four suspected al-Qaeda members were killed in what local tribal leaders said was a US drone strike in central Yemen early on Tuesday. "The Department urges US citizens to defer travel to Yemen and those US citizens currently living in Yemen to depart immediately," the statement posted on its website said. The UK's foreign office, meanwhile, advised against all travel to Yemen, and "strongly urge[d] British nationals to leave now". It said that all British embassy staff had been temporarily withdrawn from the country. Italy also urged its citizens to leave, citing the "particularly high risk of kidnap," while the UN's refugee agency boosted security, though it did not withdraw its personnel. 'Intercepted communications' Tuesday's warning came after US media reports indicated that the increased threat levels were the result of what US intelligence officials said were intercepted communications between top al-Qaeda leaders. Al Jazeera interviews former US intelligence officer Bob Ayers on the increased threat levels The New York Times reported on Monday that the closure of the embassies was the result of intercepted electronic communications between Ayman al-Zawahri, who replaced Osama bin Laden as head of al-Qaeda, and Nasser al-Wuhayshi, the head of Yemen-based affiliate al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). US sources said that while some type of message between Zawahri and AQAP was intercepted recently, there were also other streams of intelligence that contributed to the security alert, which was prompted by a threat from AQAP. "The threat picture is based on a broad range of reporting, there is no smoking gun in this threat picture," a US official told the Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity. US officials said there was still no information about a specific target or location of a potential attack, but the threat to Western interests had not diminished. It was unclear whether the drone strike was directly related to the US warnings. Among those killed was an al-Qaeda operative listed by Yemeni authorities on Monday, according to tribal sources. Yemen's official Saba news agency confirmed "the death of four al-Qaeda militants in Wadi Abida in Marib". The tribal source named two of the dead as Saleh al-Tays al-Waeli and Saleh Ali Guti. Waeli figures on a government list of 25 al-Qaeda suspects wanted in connection with an alleged plot to launch a major attack before Ramadan ends and the Muslim Eid al-Fitr feast begins, either Thursday or Friday. Tuesday's drone strike is the fourth of its kind since July 28, bringing the number of people killed in such attacks in the last week to 17.

Thousands demand Tunisia government's ouster

Tens of thousands of Tunisians have crowded the streets of downtown Tunis to demand the government's ouster, in the largest opposition protests to hit the capital since the country's political crisis began two weeks ago. The protest on Tuesday marks the six-month anniversary of the assassination of leftist politician Chokri Belaid, one of two opposition figures to be shot dead in recent months. It comes hours after the embattled Constituent Assembly suspended its work indefinitely. Mustafa Ben Jaffar, the head of the assembly and secretary-general of the centre-left party Ettakatol, announced the suspension. "I assume my responsibility as president of the ANC [assembly] and suspend its work until the start of a dialogue, in the service of Tunisia," he said on state television. I assume my responsibility as president of the ANC [assembly] and suspend its work until the start of a dialogue, in the service of Tunisia. Mustafa Ben Jaffar, The head of the Constituent Assembly He was referring to a crisis sparked by another assassination of an opposition figure, which has already prompted many opposition members to boycott the assembly's sessions. The assembly was only weeks away from finishing a draft constitution and electoral law that would move the country closer to new elections. The country's secular opposition is trying to oust the Islamist Ennahda-led government and dissolve the transitional Assembly. Protests have been held daily since the killing of leftist politician and assembly member Mohamed Brahmi on July 25, nearly six months after another leftist figure was gunned down. More than 70 members of the assembly withdrew two weeks ago in protest at the two killings and organised a sit-in outside the assembly headquarters. The assembly met on Tuesday morning despite the absence of protesting lawmakers. Tunisians are facing the worst political crisis since the toppling of autocratic ruler Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, in a revolt that sparked uprisings across the Arab world.

Huge fire forces Nairobi airport shutdown

Huge forces Nairofirebi airport shutdown 'Massive' fire has gutted parts of airport in the Kenyan capital, forcing all flights to be suspended, officials say.

A "massive" fire has broken out at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International airport, forcing one of East Africa's largest transport hubs to shut down, officials say. "There is a serious fire at JKIA [airport], but we are doing everything possible to avert a crisis," Mutea Iringo, a senior official at Kenya's interior and national coordination ministry, said on Wednesday. "Apart from emergency landings, all flights into and out of JKIA have been cancelled, [the] airport has been shut down," added the official. The fire at east Africa's busiest airport started at around 5:00am local time (02:00 GMT) in the immigration section of the departure lounge and spread to the international arrivals area, a Kenya Civil Aviation Authority official said on condition of anonymity. Kenya's National Disaster Operation Centre, in an update given at 05:00GMT, said that while the blaze had been brought under control in the international departures areas, fire was still burning at the arrivals terminal. All roads around the airport had been closed except to emergency traffic, it added. "This is a major crisis," said senior transport ministry official Michael Kamau. There were no initial reports of casualties, but Iringo said the fire was "massive", adding that the arrivals and immigration sections were "totally damaged". Firefighters were tackling the blaze, while flights were being diverted to other airports, the interior ministry said in a statement. Images on Kenyan media showed flames rising high in the sky and billowing clouds of black smoke out of the main arrivals and departures terminal, with dozens of police and fire trucks at the scene. The airport serves as a regional hub for east Africa, with many long-distance international flights landing there to connect to countries across the region. Wednesday's fire comes less than 48 hours after a fuel jet pump failure caused huge delays at the airport, forcing some flights to be rerouted to the airport in the coastal town of Mombasa, Entebbe International Airport in Uganda and Kigali International Airport in Rwanda.

Children killed in Pakistan explosion

Blast took place after a football match in port city of Karachi, killing eleven children and wounding 26 others.

At least eleven children have been killed and 26 others wounded in an explosion in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi, police and witnesses say. The blast took place in the impoverished Lyari neighbourhood of the city after a football match on Wednesday. The bomb was planted on a motorbike that was parked outside the stadium Tariq Dharejo, police official "The bomb was planted on a motorbike that was parked outside the stadium," senior police official Tariq Dharejo told the AFP news agency. Local politician Sania Naz from the Pakistan People's Party also confirmed the blast, putting the death toll at 11 and saying that those killed were aged from six to 15 years old. Dharejo said the bomb was a remote-controlled device. The blast targeted Javed Nagori, a member of the provincial assembly, at the stadium, but he survived, local officials said. Police officials said that between four and six kilograms of explosives were used in the bomb. The children had been playing while their parents shopped for the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid-ul-Fitr. In the run-up to Eid, many markets in Pakistan remain open all night as most people are fasting during the day. "There was smoke everywhere and people were covered in glass," said Sheree, a local resident who did not want to give her last name. She was near Nagori's convoy when the blast knocked her off her feet. She saw the bodies of three children, she said. "There was total chaos when the bomb went off. People were screaming and running for safety," said resident Zafar Baloch. Al Jazeera's Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Karachi, said: "Lyari is notorious for gang wars and this appears to be a localised crime in which criminal elements, who were against this politician, tried to target him." Football is popular in the area, with people of all ages playing the game. In other parts of the city, there were several explosions outside licensed liquor shops in four separate areas on Tuesday night. Karachi, a city of 18 million people, contributes 42 percent of Pakistan's GDP but is rife with murder and kidnappings and has been plagued for years by ethnic, sectarian and political violence. Lyari in particular has seen intense violence in the last several years, with rival gangs, backed by political parties, battling for turf and the police periodically launching crackdowns in the area.

McCain says Egypt near 'all-out bloodshed'

US senator's comments come amid reports Egyptian government is ready to declare foreign mediation failed to end crisis. Unrest in Egypt could turn into "all-out bloodshed" in the coming days if efforts to find a political solution fail, US Senator John McCain has warned during a visit to Cairo.

McCain and fellow Republican Senator Lindsey Graham met with Egypt's new rulers on Tuesday as reports said the country's military-installed government could soon announce that foreign efforts to mediate a peaceful end to the country's political crisis were collapsing. "Oh my God, I didn't know it was this bad. These folks are just days or weeks away from all-out bloodshed," McCain said during an interview in Cairo with US news network CBS. An Egyptian army takeover of the country on July 3 has led to violent confrontations between military forces and supporters of overthrown President Mohamed Morsi. During the CBS News interview, McCain, who unsuccessfully ran for US president in 2008, said: "There is only one way to bring about a peaceful Egypt and that is the process of negotiation and reconciliation between the major players".

But both he and Graham both acknowledged the difficulties ahead for Egypt. Asked by CBS News if they thought Egypt "might fail," McCain responded, "I think it might. I wouldn't be here if I didn't think that it might and I think the events in next few weeks will determine that". Graham added: "I'll go one step further. I think it's going to fail if something doesn't change. And to the American people, failure in Egypt matters to us." Neither senator defined what it would mean to have Egypt "fail". 'Political polarisation' Travelling in Egypt during a US Congress recess, McCain and Graham met with Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah El Sisi, interim Vice-President Mohamed ElBaradei and interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi. Egypt's military is understood to be readying for an operation to clear protest sites [AFP] Asked whether Sisi embraced the US message of reconciliation, McCain told CBS News: "I got the impression about General Sisi that he is a very strong man and that he is trying to do what he thinks is best for the Egyptian people". The state news agency MENA said little about the senators' meeting with Sisi, only that the two sides exchanged views on political developments and discussed efforts to end "the state of political polarisation".