23 dead after al Qaeda attacks in southern Yemen

At least 12 government troops and 11 attackers were killed after al Qaeda fighters riding in more than 20 trucks raided government institutions in the southern province of Hadramout Friday night.

The Defense Ministry confirmed the fatalities to government troops, adding that 11 more were injured in the attacks, and four of them were in critical condition.

Eyewitnesses in Seyoon district told CNN that more than 100 al Qaeda fighters attacked nine different governmental institutions, including the national security and police headquarters, and two strategic military bases.

"The militants waited until nightfall and burned down all the government institutions they controlled," said Ali Ba Obaid, an eyewitnesses.

He said that government reinforcements arrived two hours after the militants had taken control of the institutions.

"Hundreds of government forces led by the air force and special forces forced the terror militants to evacuate" early Saturday morning, "but they left after destroying everything," he said.

"The latest al Qaeda defeat in Seyoon is strong proof that their ability to control areas in Yemen are very limited," the official told CNN on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to media.

He said that two of the terrorists killed in the clashes were Saudi.

The attacks came a little more than a month after Yemen launched a military offensive against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula amid an uptick in violence in the capital.

Bahrain activist Nabeel Rajab released from prison

Prominent Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab has been freed after serving two years in prison for his involvement in illegal protests.

Rajab, who heads the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), was convicted in 2012 of taking part in illegal gatherings and disturbing public order.
An appeals court later reduced his original three-year term by a year.
He was one of several leading activists arrested by the authorities after pro-democracy protests erupted in 2011.

Appeal Soon after his release on Saturday, Rajab told the Associated Press news agency that he was happy to be out after spending more than 600 days in prison.
He also appealed for the release of all political prisoners, the agency added.
Rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights First, have campaigned on behalf of Rajab throughout his prison sentence, calling on the authorities to release him.

In December 2013, a Bahraini court rejected a request by Rajab's lawyers for early release. They argued that he was eligible because he had already served three-quarters of a two-year sentence.
In addition to his role with the BCHR, Mr Rajab is deputy secretary general of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).
Before his imprisonment in July 2012, Mr Rajab was repeatedly detained in connection with the pro-democracy protests that erupted in the Gulf kingdom the previous year.

Amnesty said that he was punched in the face several times by riot police as he led a demonstration in February 2012, and in May 2012 was charged with "insulting a national institution" in comments about the interior ministry he posted on Twitter.

In June 2012, Rajab was sentenced to three months in jail over different tweets he wrote about the prime minister. The conviction was eventually overturned on appeal, but only after he had begun his two-year sentence for taking part in unauthorised protests.

At his trial, Mr Rajab told the court that he had been held in dire conditions and subjected to ill treatment, including being placed in solitary confinement with a dead animal and kept almost naked.
BCHR's founder, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, is serving a life sentence for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government. He was convicted on evidence that was widely accepted as having been secured under torture

Stewards investigate after Nico Rosberg claims Monaco pole

May 24, 2014

Nico Rosberg took pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday, but the raw Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying held up the final moments of the event, which was under investigation by the race stewards .Rosberg lost control of his car and took the road to escape at Mirabeau , when both men were on his last flying lap .Presentation for him on the first sector of a second ahead of Hamilton, who was two hundred behind , got the yellow flag waived and eventually had to slow up as his attempts were abandoned.Fastest Lap - Circuit de MonacoAlain Prost : Why I love MonacoMonaco, the path to the centerHow safe is a Monaco F1 race ?Read : View of Monaco winner WebberIt runs from the penultimate slow clock Rosberg is one minute 15.989 0.059 seconds with Hamilton from previous efforts , it has meant in the first place on the web.But it is clear , fuming and before he went on his teammates to take pole "targets" in the post- qualifying press conference , insisted that the rest of Hamilton.Rosberg , " just try to push it a little further and went over the edge ," he argued , but for the second straight year , was delighted to have the rod in Monte Carlo." - It could not be better , home to polar fantastic, I really, really happy. "Behind the back of the all - conquering Mercedes couples and four - time defending champion Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel's Australian Daniel Ricciardo , who had got the better of the third and fourth on the grid.Two - time former world champion Fernando Alonso in his Ferrari before teammate Kimi Räikkönen will occupy the third row .McLaren's Toro Rosso and Danish troops to Frenchman Jean - Eric Vergne Kevin Magnussen was quickest in the seventh and eighth.Another rookie , Russian Daniil Kvyat ninth in the second Toro Rosso and Force India Mexican Sergio Perez completed the top 10.Read : Grit and Glamour, Monaco magicHamilton, after winning the last four races , Rosberg leads the title race with three points, but the tight street circuit in Monte Carlo on the pole position for Sunday's race to virtually guarantee victory.Hamilton failed to finish Rosberg took the Australian season opener , but their own private battle for the world championship, with signs of tension between the two men , in the last four rounds of the Briton had to settle for second place.