Libyan rebels take Ajdabiya ,Libya Revolution 2011
Libyan rebels take Ajdabiya ,Libya Revolution 2011
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| The rebels are now advancing toward the key oil town of Brega to launch a new offensive [AFP] |
Libyan rebels have taken the strategic eastern town of Ajdabiya from government control, our correspondent there reported.
"There is no doubt about it, you can probably hear some of the celebrations behind me, Ajdabiya is in opposition hands," Al Jazeera's James Bays said from the city on Saturday.
"Gaddafi forces have been controlling the ring road that goes around Ajdabiya ... that has been the situation for six days, but they have now been cleared from that position."
"The opposition forces tell me there may be some pro-Gaddafi forces hiding, snipers possibly on buildings, they are telling us to take care," he said, but he added that Ajdabiya was "firmly back under the control of opposition fighters".
Rebel fighters were now reportedly on their way to the key oil port town of Brega, where Gaddafi forces have retreated, witnesses said.
"The road is open beyond Ajdabiya, and [the rebels] are heading, streaming along that road ... they are on the road and they are moving forward," Bays reported.
On Friday, western warplanes bombed Gaddafi's tanks and artillery outside the town to break the battlefield stalemate and help rebels retake the town.
Many fighters belonging to forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi were also taken hostage by rebels.
Misurata fighting
Forces loyal to Gaddafi shelled an area on the outskirts of the city of Misurata on Friday, killing six people including three children, a rebel said.
The port city has experienced some of the heaviest fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Gaddafi since the uprising began on February 16.
Officials and rebels said aid organisations were able to deliver some supplies to Misurata.
"There is a fairly regular supply going into Misurata," Simon Brooks, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross operations in eastern Libya, told Reuters.
"But we are deeply concerned about the reports we are receiving about fighting in the city."
Casualties have overwhelmed the local medical clinic and prompted international concern about the safety of civilians.
Residents say electricity, water and regular land and cell phone service to Misurata are not functioning. Reports from the city cannot be verified independently because Libyan authorities have prevented journalists from going there.
'Focused mission'
Meanwhile, Barack Obama, the US president has said the military mission in Libya is clear, focused and limited.
"Because we acted quickly, a humanitarian catastrophe has been avoided and the lives of countless civilians - innocent men, women and children - have been saved," he said in a radio address on Saturday.
The African Union on its part said it plans to facilitate talks to help end the conflict.
"The AU action is ... aiming at facilitating dialogue between the Libyan parties on reforms to be launched to
eliminate the root causes of the conflict," the union's commission chairman Jean Ping told a meeting on Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He said that the process should end with democratic elections in Libya.
It was the first statement by the AU, which had rejected any form of foreign intervention in the Libya crisis, since the UN Security Council imposed a no-fly zone last week and a Western coalition began air strikes on Libyan military targets.
Libya's delegation to the meeting, at which the rebels were not represented, called for an end to air strikes and said the government was committed to upholding a ceasefire it declared on Sunday.
The delegation said Tripoli is ready to implement an AU roadmap to resolve the Libyan crisis, while also demanding a halt to the Western-led coalition's military intervention.
The AU roadmap calls for an immediate end to all hostilities, "cooperation on the part of the relevant Libyan authorities to facilitate humanitarian aid," and "protection for all foreign nationals, including African migrant workers."
'Freelance foreign policy'
Anita McNaught, Al Jazeera's correspondent in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, said it was not the first time that a Libyan delegation "conducted a little freelance foreign policy on the sideline" and that there was no way of telling if the offer was sincere.
"In much the same way we had the foreign ministry go out on a limb a few days ago and say that they declared a ceasefire," she said.
"That was in complete contradiction of the facts on the ground and also the rhetoric coming from Colonel Gaddafi himself who wasn’t saying anything to do with a ceasefire.
"He was saying: We'll fight to the death; we'll chase you into your homes. We'll pursue this war to the end."
A rebel spokesman in Benghazi said they weren't consulted in this initiative. Some reports say they were not even invited to the meeting, while others say they were but refused to go. Some others are saying there are no opening for negotiations and that they simply want the bombing to stop and Gaddafi and his family to leave.
However, diplomatic efforts may be sidelined, if a Washington Post report with respect to US and NATO considering arming the Libyan opposition is confirmed.
The newspaper, citing unamed US and European officials, said that the Obama administration believes the UN resolution that authorised international intervention in Libya has the "flexibility" to allow such assistance.
According to it, Gene Cretz, the recently withdrawn US ambassador to Libya, said administration officials were having "the full gamut" of discussions on "potential assistance we might offer, both on the non-lethal and the lethal side".
Libya Revolution 2011,Libya rebels recapture key town
Libya Revolution 2011,Libya rebels recapture key town
Libyan rebels backed by extensive allied air raids have seized control of the frontline oil town of Ajdabiya from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces.
Insurgents have been celebrating amid the ruins of tanks and artillery pieces left behind after air strikes.Gaddafi loyalists seized the town last week as they advanced east to quell an uprising which began in mid-February.
A Libyan minister said the army had left the town after the "heavy involvement" of western forces.
Saturday's breakthrough came after a seventh night of bombardment by allies enforcing a UN-mandated no-fly zone.
British RAF Tornado aircraft have been firing Brimstone guided missiles at Gaddafi forces in recent days around Ajdabiya, a town of about 100,000 people.
The BBC's Ben Brown, in Ajdabiya, says those strikes seemed to be even heavier overnight.
Gaddafi 'promotes everyone' He counted about two dozen Libyan government tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery pieces which have been either abandoned or destroyed at the eastern gate of the town.
There is even more wrecked weaponry at the western gate and lots of bodies of Gaddafi fighters, our correspondent has been told.
People have been standing on abandoned Gaddafi tanks, firing guns into air, dancing in the streets and blaring car horns, he adds.Some of them chanted "Thank you, Obama", "Thank you, Cameron" - references to the US president and British prime minister.
The rebels say they are going through the town street by street trying to make sure there are no Gaddafi fighters or snipers left.
Reuters news agency, which earlier said the town's western gate was still in the hands of Gaddafi forces, later quoted a Libyan government official as admitting they had abandoned the town.
"They [Western forces] were heavily involved, so the Libyan armed forces decided to leave Ajdabiya this morning," Khaled Kaim, a deputy foreign minister, told reporters.
Large explosions were also heard in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Saturday morning.
Witnesses said a military radar site was set on fire in that city's suburb of Tajura, a previous target of the air raids.
In his weekly address, US President Barack Obama said that the "clear and focused" military mission in Libya was succeeding.
"Make no mistake, because we acted quickly, a humanitarian catastrophe has been avoided and the lives of countless civilians - innocent men, women and children - have been saved," he said.
Col Gaddafi is meanwhile said to have ordered a universal promotion for everyone in the army and police, and proposed arming civilian volunteers.
The BBC's Kevin Connolly in the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi says the administration's latest move smacks of desperation.
Pro-Gaddafi forces are still trying to recapture Misrata, the last major western Libyan town in rebel hands, and residents reported shelling continuing there late on Friday.
Yemen news, Yemen Revolution, Thousands in Yemen march against Saleh
Yemen news, Yemen Revolution, Thousands in Yemen march against Saleh
Addressing a large rally of his own supporters in a speech carried on state TV earlier on Friday, Saleh said he was ready to meet with protesters, but warned that those demanding his resignation had been influenced by the Houthis - an armed Shia Zaidi group demanding autonomy in the country's north - and "drug dealers".
Saleh was president of North Yemen until its 1990 unification with the south - and has ruled the country since.
But Al Jazeera's special correspondent, reporting from the capital's Change (Taghyir) Square - where 52 protesters were killed last Friday - said little new was offered in the speech; on one hand, warning and threatening those standing against him, and on the other, promising reforms and saying he would listen to the demands of the people.
Soldiers who have abandoned the president and were deployed to protect protesters in the square shot in the air to disperse groups of Saleh supporters who were attempting to reach the protest after the president's speech.
Our correspondent added that protesters said a sniper had shot and injured one of the soldiers guarding the square.
'Peace, stability and security'
Saleh said the gathered crowds before him came "under no orders from any political party or any leader, you came of your own free will, based on your patriotic responsibility, from all corners of the country, on this great day – the Friday of peace, stability and security".
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Criticising the media, the Houthis and other political parties, Saleh said protest organisers were "adventurous conspirators" who were "acting out of malice".
But he added to those taking part in demonstrations: "My fellow citizens, those holding the sit-ins, I am prepared to sit with you and to respond to each one of your demands. You should not be a vehicle for the malicious to ruin every great aspect of life ... the country is a trust and responsibility for you.
"We need to hand over the banner of rule to honest hands, capable hands - not malicious hands. We are prepared to give up power, but only to good people, after elections. We are against chaos and mayhem. The demonstrators in [Change] Square are targeted by the Houthis and drug traffickers."
Protesters undeterred
But, at the protesters' rally across the city, where tens of thousands of people gathered for Friday prayers in front of Sanaa university, the positive mood remained unchanged, said our correspondent.
"In some way, he is playing to some peoples' fears, that, after Saleh leaves, there will be some kind of military rule and that there are political aspirations behind the defections from the army - despite the fact that Ali Mohsen, the key general who defected earlier this week, has said very clearly that if he wanted to take power, he would have done so decades ago - and that he has no political aspirations," said Al Jazeera's reporter in Sanaa.
"What the people really want to see is for a five-man presidential council to take control in the interim period, until elections can be held - because they simply don't believe that if elections are held under the current regime that they will be free and fair."
Earlier in the day, the city had split, with water cannon reportedly mounted on the side of the dividing line that holds the presidential palace - itself surrounded by Saleh's republican guard. It threatened to be a flashpoint for violence if protesters attempted to march, as many expected they would, the 5km to the palace.
Defecting general
General Ali Mohsen has thrown his weight behind the protesters and sent troops to protect pro-democracy protesters in Sanaa. He said the options before Saleh were now few, and criticised what he described as Saleh's "stubbornness", but said the armed forces were committed to protecting protesters.
He also said military rule in Arab countries was outdated and that the people would decide who would govern them in the framework of a modern, civilian state.
Mohsen, commander of the northwest military zone and Saleh's kinsman from the al-Ahmar clan, is the most senior military officer to back the protests, and his move on Monday triggered a stream of defections in the military and government, adding momentum to the opposition movement.
Previous offer rejected
On Thursday night, opposition groups dismissed Saleh's offer to stand down after a presidential election at the end of the year, stepping up efforts to remove him from power.
Yassin Noman, head of Yemen's opposition coalition, dismissed Saleh's earlier offer as "empty words" and a spokesman said the umbrella coalition would not respond.
"No dialogue and no initiatives for this dead regime," opposition spokesman Mohammed al-Sabry said on Thursday.
Protesters are demanding a new constitution and the dissolution of parliament, local councils and the notorious state security agencies - as well as the immediate resignation of President Saleh.
Saleh offered amnesty to defecting troops, calling their decisions "foolish acts", taken in reaction to last Friday's deaths.
Syria News, Syria Revolution, Deaths as Syrian forces fire on protesters
Syria News, Syria Revolution, Deaths as Syrian forces fire on protesters
The bloody crackdown on protesters in Syria has left dozens dead as President Bashar al-Assad faces the greatest challenge to his 11-year rule.
Security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters in the city of Sanamin near Daraa on Friday, killing at least 20 people, according to one witness."There are more than 20 martyrs .... they [security forces] opened fire haphazardly," the witness told Al Jazeera on Friday.
Rula Amin, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Damascus, said Syrian forces apparently fired after protesters set fire to a statue of the late president, Hafez al-Assad.
also showed protesters in the cental square of Daraa dismantling a portrait of his son, Bashar al-Assad, the current president.
Reuters reported that heavy gunfire could be heard in the southern city of Daraa, the focal point for demonstrations against Bashar al-Assad's regime in recent days.
Three people were also reported killed in Mouadamieh district of Damascus after a crowd confronted a procession of cars driven by supporters of president Bashar al-Assad, residents said, according to Reuters.
Regime supporters take to streets
But regime supporters also took to the streets in sizeable numbers on Friday, waving flags and images of al-Assad. A large crowd gathered in the evening outside Al Jazeera's bureau in Damascus, demanding to be shown on the network.
"Thousands and thousands are now out in the streets of the capital, driving around the capital, showing their support for President Aasad. There is no doubt the president does have support in this country. Bashar al-Assad is a popular leader," said Al Jazeera's correspondent Zeina Khodr.
But Anas al-Abda, the chairman of the Movement for Justice and Development in Syria, told Al Jazeera that pro-government demonstrations were "most probably fabricated and organised by the regime".
Earlier, Reem Haddad, from the Syrian information ministry, told Al Jazeera that security forces had been given the order not to shoot at protesters "no matter what happens".
"But things took on a different hue because inside these peaceful demonstrations there was another group of people who were armed ... and were shooting at the security forces and were shooting at other citizens in Daraa. At the end of the day this became a matter of national security."
But an eyewitness told Al Jazeera that "there were no people carrying arms among demonstrators".
"What happened in the square ... was live ammunition, I was present myself and I saw the youth and other young demonstrators leading a peaceful demonstration.
"They were chanting slogans calling for freedom and transparency and an end [to] corruption."
'Day of dignity'
The latest clashes come after protesters demanding greater freedom called for a "day of dignity" on Friday following a week-long crackdown by pro-regime forces that has left dozens dead.
Protests spread across Syria, with rallies also held in the central city of Hama and in Tel, near Damascus. According to our correspondent, numbers at these rallies ranged from hundreds of people to thousands.
Daraa, the main city of southern Syria, has become a flashpoint for protests. Officials have been on the defensive after protesters in the southern city were shot dead by police.
The crackdown has already attracted the attention of the United Nations with human rights commissioner Navi Pillay calling for an investigation and an immediate halt to violence, a message echoed by Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General.
Human rights group Amnesty International said on Friday that at least 55 people had been killed since protests erupted.
The US on Friday called on the Syrian government to end the use of violence against protesters and the arrests of human rights activists.
"We strongly condemn the Syrian government's attempts to repress and intimidate demonstrators," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
Britain also expressed concern. "I call on the Syrian government to respect the people’s right to peaceful protest and to address their legitimate grievances. I call for restraint on all sides but in particular from the Syrian security forces. Violence is never the right answer to these situations." said Alistair Burt, a foreign office minister.
On Thursday, Syrian government announced that it would "study" ending emergency rule - in place since 1963 - and look into legalising political parties.
The current emergency law allows people to be arrested without warrants and imprisoned without trial.
US, UK and France attack Gaddafi forces in libya
US, UK and France attack Gaddafi forces in libya
The UK, US and France have attacked Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's forces in the first action to enforce a UN-mandated no-fly zone.
Col Gaddafi has vowed retaliation and said he would open arms depots to the people to defend Libya.
Cruise missiles hit air-defence sites in the capital, Tripoli, and Misrata.
Libyan state TV said 48 people had been killed and 150 wounded in the attacks. There was no independent confirmation of the deaths.
A French plane fired the first shots against Libyan government targets at 1645 GMT on Saturday, destroying a number of military vehicles, according to a military spokesman.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed that British planes are in action over Libya.
US President Barack Obama, speaking during a visit to Brazil, said the US was taking "limited military action" as part of a "broad coalition".
"We cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people there will be no mercy," he said.He repeated that no US ground troops would take part.
After the missile bombardment and the air strikes, Col Gaddafi made a brief speech calling on people to resist.
"Civilian and military targets in the air and sea will be liable to serious danger in the Mediterranean," he said.
"Arms depots are now open and the masses are being equipped with all sorts of weapons in defence of Libya's independence, unity and honour," the Libyan leader warned.
He called the attacks "a colonialist crusade of aggression. This can lead to open a new crusade war."
The BBC's Kevin Connolly, in the rebel-held eastern city of Tobruk, says it is now clear that Col Gaddafi's strategy is to portray the attacks as an act of colonialist aggression and rally enough of the Libyan people behind him to maintain his grip on power.
'Necessary' The UK Ministry of Defence said a British submarine and a number of Tornado jets had fired missiles at Libyan military targets.
Mr Cameron said that launching military action against Libya was "necessary, legal and right".
Libyan state TV reported that what it called the "crusader enemy" had bombed civilian areas of Tripoli, as well as fuel storage tanks supplying the western city of Misrata.
Sources in Tripoli told BBC Arabic that the attacks on the city had so far targeted the eastern areas of Sawani, Airport Road, and Ghasheer. These are all areas believed to host military bases.
Shortly after 0200 Libyan time (0000 GMT) on Sunday morning, heavy bursts of anti-aircraft fire arced into the sky above Tripoli and several explosions were heard.
The strikes on Misrata targeted a military airbase, the Reuters news agency reported, quoting two residents who denied the state TV reports that fuel stores were hit.
The cruise missiles were fired from one British submarine and a number of American destroyers and subs, said a Pentagon official. The missiles hit more than 20 air-defence sites along the Mediterranean coast, said Navy Vice Adm William E Gortney.
The action came hours after Western and Arab leaders met in Paris to agree how to enforce the UN resolution, which allows "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from forces loyal to Col Gaddafi.
Our correspondent in Tobruk says that once the air-defence systems are taken out, combat aircraft can patrol and it will then become clear to what extent they will attack Col Gaddafi's ground forces. It is this that will determine the outcome of the campaign, he adds.
Benghazi battle Earlier on Saturday, pro-Gaddafi forces attacked Benghazi despite declaring a ceasefire a day earlier.
Reports from the city said that government tanks and artillery had bombarded the city and there was fighting around the university.
Rebels in the city said thousands of people were fleeing the attack, heading east, and the UN refugee agency said it was preparing to receive 200,000 refugees from Libya.
Journalists later said the bombardment ended in the late afternoon and that rebel forces remained in control of Benghazi.
The Libyan government blamed the rebels for breaking the ceasefire and said its forces had fought back in self-defence.
French planes are reported to have hit government tanks and armoured vehicles around Benghazi.
French planes also flew reconnaissance missions over "all Libyan territory", military sources in Paris said earlier.
In addition, Canada is sending warplanes to the region, while Italy has offered the use of its military bases. A naval blockade against Libya is also being put in place.
The international community was intervening to stop the "murderous madness" of Col Gaddafi, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.
"In Libya, the civilian population, which is demanding nothing more than the right to choose their own destiny, is in mortal danger," he warned. "It is our duty to respond to their anguished appeal."
Shortly after the airstrikes began, Libyan state TV said a French plane had been shot down near Tripoli. However, French military officials said all their planes had returned safely.
Col Gaddafi has ruled Libya for more than 40 years. An uprising against him began last month after the long-time leaders of neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt were toppled.
French plane fires on military vehicle in libya , libya news
French plane fires on military vehicle in libya , libya news
A French plane has fired the first shots in Libya as enforcement of the UN-mandated no-fly zone begins.
The UK prime minister later confirmed British planes were also in action, while US media reports said the US had fired its first Cruise missiles.The action came hours after Western and Arab leaders met in Paris to agree how to enforce the UN resolution.
It allows "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces.
'Stop the bombardment' The French plane fired the first shot in Libya at 1645 GMT and destroyed its target, according to a military spokesman.
French planes also flew reconnaissance missions over "all Libyan territory", French military sources said earlier.
Around 20 French aircraft were involved in Saturday's operation, the Reuters news agency reports.
French jets "destroyed a number of tanks and armoured vehicles", a defence ministry official told Reuters, adding that he could not immediately confirm the number.
Other air forces and navies are expected to join the French.The US would use its "unique capabilities" to reinforce the no-fly zone, said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, warning that further delays would put more civilians at risk. However, Mrs Clinton said again that the US would not deploy ground troops in Libya.
A naval blockade is also being put in place, said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. France is sending its Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Libyan coast, a military spokesman said.
In other developments:
- Italy has offered the use of seven of its military bases which already house US, Nato and Italian forces
- Canada says its fighter jets have now reached the region but will need two days to prepare for any missions
The international community was intervening to stop the "murderous madness" of Col Gaddafi, Mr Sarkozy said.
"In Libya, the civilian population, which is demanding nothing more than the right to choose their own destiny, is in mortal danger," he warned. "It is our duty to respond to their anguished appeal."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Libya's claims to have implemented a ceasefire were "troubling", the AFP news agency reported.
The lack of confidence was so great that he did not trust what the Libyan leadership was saying, Mr Ban added.
Russia regretted the decision by Western powers to take military action, a foreign ministry spokesman said. Russia abstained from the UN vote on the Libya resolution, but did not use its veto.
The rebels' leader had earlier appealed to the international community to stop the bombardment by pro-Gaddafi forces.
A jet also appears to have been shot down over Benghazi. A rebel spokesman was quoted as saying the downed jet was a rebel plane.
Reports from Benghazi suggest hundreds of cars packed with people were fleeing eastwards as fighting spread.
The United Nations refugee agency says it is preparing to receive 200,000 people fleeing the fighting, amid reports of hundreds of cars full of people heading for the Egyptian border, while others are attempting to flee on foot.
The first families had arrived at the Egyptian border, extremely frightened and traumatised, saying some of their homes have been completely flattened said UNHCR spokeswoman Elizabeth Tan.
However, the BBC's Ben Brown, who is at the border, says so far there are a handful of families, in addition to the migrant workers who have been there since the crisis started.
Bahrain tears down protest symbol ,Bahrain Revolution
The concrete statue of six dhow sails holding up a pearl was demolished using drills and diggers on Friday.
Bahrain has arrested seven opposition leaders after weeks of protests that saw martial law being declared and troops from Saudi Arabia entering the tiny kingdom.
Weeks of protests – sometimes in violent clashes with security forces – by the Shia majority slid into sectarian violence and crippled the economy.
On Friday Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, Bahrain's foreign minister, said the demolition of the statue was an effort to erase "bad memories".
He reiterated Bahrain's commitment to talks with the opposition but said security was a priority, and that three or four Gulf states were sending troops and will remain in the city until order is restored.
Speaking to reporters in Manama, Sheikh Khaled said their role will be limited to guarding strategic assets such as oil facilities, and they will not be involved in quelling protests.
Limited role
"We look with all confidence to the return of normal life in Bahrain," he said. "We know dialogue is our path."
Denying there was any "systematic violence against the people" Sheikh Khaled said the royals had done their utmost to push for dialogue, allowing protests and offering assurances, but the opposition had rejected talks and started blocking main streets, while civilians began to clash daily.
"In volatile situations you do expect violence to happen but there is no systematic violence against the people," he added.
In all, three protesters have died in the security sweep. Three policemen were also killed, hit by cars driven by demonstrators.
Thousands of angry mourners buried an activist killed in a crackdown that has angered Iran and raised tension in the world's largest oil-exporting region.
Sheikh Issa Qassim, Bahrain's most influential Shia cleric, said during Friday sermon that Gulf troops would have been better off helping Palestinians in Gaza than entering Bahrain.
"The violence of the authorities has created a deep, wide and dangerous wound between the government and people," he said.
"The government wants to break our will so we give up our calls for substantial and meaningful reforms, but they will never break our will. They can use tanks and planes to smash our bodies but will never break our souls and our will for reforms."
Psychological victory
The statue that was demolished comprised six sails symbolising each of the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, holding up a pearl, symbol of the pearl fishing heritage that was the economic mainstay of the region before the discovery of oil.
"It is a kind of psychological victory for the protesters," said Hussein Oraibi, who works in telecommunications.
"It upset them so much that people were gathering there, they had to go out of their way to pull this down and change the traffic directions."
Al Jazeera's correspondent in Bahrain, speaking anonymously for safety reasons, said the monument "was the centre of the protests for a month; it was seen as being symbolic of anti-government sentiment.
"It seems rather strange that by removing it there is the thought that that symbolism will disappear ... [The destruction] is very symbolic of that final stage in the last couple of days of this huge great crackdown on the opposition."
More than 60 per cent of Bahrainis are Shia, and most are campaigning for a constitutional monarchy.
But calls by hardliners for the overthrow of the monarchy have alarmed Sunnis, who fear the unrest serves Iran, separated from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain by only a short stretch of Gulf waters.
Shia Muslim power Iran, which supports Shia groups in Iraq and Lebanon, complained to the United Nations and asked other neighbours to join it in urging Saudi Arabia to withdraw from Bahrain.
In a sign of rising tension, Bahrain condemned Iran for what it says is interference in the country's internal affairs.
Yemen declares 'state of emergency' ,Yemen Revolution
Saleh said on Friday that the decision to impose the state of emergency was made by the country's national security council, but there was no immediate indication of how long it would last.
"The national security council announces a state of emergency across Yemen, and a curfew is set upon
armed people in all Yemeni provinces. And the security forces with the army will take responsibility for
stability," he said.
He also expressed "sorrow for what happened today in university square".
The Reuters news agency reported Saleh as saying that it was clear that there were "armed elements" amongst anti-government protesters, and that the clashes earlier in the day were between citizens and protesters, not protesters and security forces.
At least 41 people were killed and scores wounded after the Yemeni security forces opened fire on protesters at University square, in the capital Sanaa.
Security forces opened fire in attempts to prevent protesters from marching out of the square where they were gathered, sources said. Medical sources said the death toll was likely to rise.
Pro-government "thugs" also opened fire on protesters from houses close to University square, witnesses told the AFP news agency.
Muttahar al-Masri, the country's interior minister, put the death toll at 25, and said that a curfew was being imposed as part of the state of emergency.
'Hundreds' injured
Friday's attack came as tens of thousands gathered across the country, continuing to demand that Saleh - the country's ruler of 32 years - step down.
Al Jazeera correspondents in Sanaa reported that many protesters were shot in the head and neck; most of the injured were shot with live ammunition.
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Medics at a nearby medical centre told Al Jazeera almost 200 people were injured; many were in critical condition. One medic called the attack a "massacre".
Anti-government demonstrations were also held in other cities including Taiz, Ibb, Hodeidah, Aden, and Amran following Muslim midday prayers on Friday.
"They want to terrorise us, They want to drag us into a cycle of violence to make the revolution meaningless," said Jamal Anaam, an anti-government protester.
"We were protesting peacefully and they shot at us. I won't leave this place until the president goes, even if I have to die," said another demonstrator, Ahmad, 25.
"It is a massacre," said Mohammad al-Sabri, an opposition spokesman. "This is part of a criminal plan to kill off the protesters, and the president and his relatives are responsible for the bloodshed in Yemen today."
Jamal al-Sharaabi, a photojournalist for the independent weekly al-Masdar was killed in the firing, becoming the first journalist confirmed to have been killed in Yemen since unrest began, the Committee to Protect Journalists said late on Friday.
Opposition rejects talks
The opposition says that there is no longer any possibility of talks with Saleh's government.
"We condemn these crimes," said Yassin Noman, rotating president of Yemen's umbrella opposition group. "There is no longer any possibility of mutual understanding with this regime and he has no choice but to surrender authority to the people."
Hissam Youssef, the chief of staff of the Arab League's secretary-general, told Al Jazeera that the body would be meeting to hold consultations on the latest violence in Yemen.
"What is happening in Yemen is extremely disturbing and it is a source of deep concern ... We have a clear position in relation to how to deal with people who are demonstrating peacefully, since this is their right. And we also feel that governments have to respond positively to the demands that are being placed by the people in different places.
"The situation in Yemen has been considered, but now the situation is escalating - we have asked for dialogue, we have asked for responding positively to the demands and concerns of the people, and we are continuing our consultations in this regard."
Standing firm
Ahead of the protests, hundreds of police patrolled the streets of Sanaa and elite forces set up fortifications around the presidential compound, ministries and the headquarters of Yemen's ruling party.
Government forces have previously used live fire, rubber bullets, and tear gas on anti-regime rallies, in the government's increasingly violent crackdown on protests.
Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula state neighbouring oil giant Saudi Arabia, has been hit by weeks of protests set in motion by uprisings in North Africa that toppled long-serving leaders in Tunisia and Egypt and spread to the Gulf states of Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Saleh has maintained a firm grip on power for over three decades and has scoffed at calls to step down, saying he will only do so when his current term of office expires in 2013.
Despite violence and threats, anti-government protesters refuse to cease demonstrating until Saleh's ouster.
Hashem Ahelbarra, Al Jazeera's Yemen correspondent, said that Saleh is now faced with a clear choice.
"He basically has two options. To say 'dialogue', but then the people will ask him we need guarantees and you have to implement them now; if he says 'No, I'm holding out', then there's going to be bloodshed."
Nabil Hasan al-Faqih, the country's tourism minister, resigned from both his post and membership of the ruling party late on Friday in protest against the killings.
"I did it today. I resigned from the government and the People's General Congress," he told Reuters, adding that his decision was a result of "the events the country is going through".
International condemnation
Ahelbarra also said that there is little faith in the Arab League amongst Yemenis.
"People in Yemen have no faith in the Arab League, they don't think that the Arab League can bring any solution to this crisis which is evolving now."
In a statement on Friday, Barack Obama, the US president, condemned the violence in Yemen, saying that President Saleh should honour a pledge to allow peaceful demonstrations. He said that those responsible for Friday's violence "must be held accountable".
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said on Friday that the US wishes to see a "political solution" to the crisis.
""The United States is alarmed by today's violence in Sanaa against anti-government protesters and is seeking to verify reports that this is the result of actions by security forces," she said in a statement.
"I am dismayed by the reports coming from Yemen. I have repeatedly and unreservedly condemned the use of violence against protesters in Sanaa and other cities, and the loss of life," she said in a statement.
"Human rights and fundamental freedoms must be fully respected. President Saleh must stand by his commitments to uphold the right to peaceful protest, as he announced on 10 March. I ask him to stop violence now," she said.
Libyan forces 'enter outskirts of Benghazi' , Libya Revolutions
Witnesses in Bengazi, in the east of the country, reported hearing large explosions in the area early on Saturday.
Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley, reporting from Benghazi, told of multiple explosions taking place and a fighter jet being shot down.
Fresh fighting was also reported in the rebel-held towns of Misurata, near the capital Tripoli, and Ajdabiya, which lies close to Benghazi.
The Libyan government denied the reports. "There are no attacks whatesover on Benghazi. As we said, we
are observing the ceasefire," spokesperson Mussa Ibrahim told the Reuters news agency.
Barack Obama, the US president, delivered an ultimatum on Friday to Muammar Gaddafi, threatening military action if the Libyan leader ignored non-negotiable UN demands for a ceasefire.
The warning came shortly after the UN Security Council authorised a no-fly zone over the north African country.
The US also accused the Libyan government of violating the truce.
Within hours of Obama's ultimatum, Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN, asked by CNN whether Gaddafi was in violation of these terms, said: "Yes, he is."
The Libyan government, for its part, accused rebel forces in Benghazi of violating the truce.
Khaled Kaim, the Libyan deputy foreign minister, said government forces were "not taking any action against [rebel forces] because we don't want to violate the ceasefire".
Libya's government announced on Friday an immediate ceasefire against pro-democracy protesters.
But residents in Misurata said they faced heavy bombardment through the night on Friday - a charge the Libyan government denied.
Military action 'imminent'
Following the no-fly-zone vote at the UN, a French diplomat said Western military intervention in Libya was imminent.
France is due to host a "decisive" summit on Saturday with the European Union, Arab League and African Union, as well as UN chief Ban Ki-moon, on taking UN-sanctioned military action in Libya.
Gerard Araud, the French ambassador to the UN, said he expected military intervention within hours of the summit.
"The US, the UK and France, we have also launched the ultimatum about the ceasefire ... we have set the conditions," he told BBC.
"So I guess that after the summit, I think that in the coming hours, I think we will go to launch the military intervention."
Obama made clear any military action would aim to change conditions across Libya - rather than just in the rebel-held east - by calling on Gaddafi''s forces to pull back from the western cities of Az Zawiyah and Misurata as well as from the east.
"All attacks against civilians must stop," Obama said on Saturday, a day after the UN Security Council passed a resolution authorising international military intervention.
Braced for battle
"Gaddafi must stop his troops from advancing on Benghazi, pull them back from Ajdabiya, Misurata and Az Zawiyah, and establish water, electricity and gas supplies to all areas. Humanitarian assistance must be allowed to reach the people of Libya," Obama said.
"Let me be clear, these terms are not negotiable... If Gaddafi does not comply ... the resolution will be enforced through military action."
The reports of government forces entering Benghazi's western outskirts on Saturday followed a night of rumours that Gaddafi's troops were within striking distance of the city.
Hundreds of men, some riding in pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns, had flooded out of the city in response to a call from Benghazi's rebel-run radio to swiftly man their posts.
Several loud explosions, some of them followed by anti-aircraft fire, were heard inside Benghazi and new checkpoints sprang up as word spread that Gaddafi's forces could be on their way.
Kaim, Gaddafi's deputy foreign minister, had denied there were any plans to attack the rebel bastion.
Heavy bombardment
At a news conference, Kaim acknowledged that checkpoints had been set up outside rebel-held cities, but stressed that "any sovereign country is free to take [security] measures".
In Misurata, residents said they had faced heavy bombardment on Friday.
Misurata, like Az Zawiyah, had been left stranded in the west while rebels who had advanced towards them from the east were beaten back by a counter-offensive by Gaddafi forces.
A doctor, who declined to give his name, said by telephone late on Friday evening, "now they are on the outskirts of the city [Misurata]. I can still hear bombing from time to time".
In Tripoli the government said there had been no bombing since it announced the ceasefire.
"We have had no bombardment of any kind since the ceasefire was declared," Kaim said, when asked about reports of continued government operations in Misurata and other parts of the country.
Huge blast at Japan nuclear power plant | japan earthquake 2011 | News for japan earthquake
Huge blast at Japan nuclear power plant | japan earthquake 2011 | News for japan earthquake
Huge blast at Japan nuclear power plant
A massive explosion has struck a Japanese nuclear power plant after Friday's devastating earthquake.
A huge pall of smoke was seen coming from the plant at Fukushima and several workers were injured.Japanese officials fear a meltdown at one of the plant's reactors after radioactive material was detected outside it.
A huge relief operation is under way after the 8.9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, which killed more than 600.
Hundreds more people are missing and it is feared about 1,300 may have died.
The offshore earthquake triggered a tsunami which wreaked havoc on Japan's north-east coast, sweeping far inland and devastating a number of towns and villages.
Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan declared a state of emergency at the Fukushima 1 and 2 power plants as engineers try to confirm whether a reactor at one of the stations has gone into meltdown.
It is an automatic procedure after nuclear reactors shut down in the event of an earthquake, allowing officials to take rapid action.
Television pictures showed a massive blast at one of the buildings of the Fukushima 1 plant, about 250km (160 miles) north-east of Tokyo.
Japan's NHK TV showed before and after pictures of the plant. They appeared to show that the outer structure of one of four buildings at the plant had collapsed after the explosion.
The Tokyo Electric Power Co, the plant's operator, said several workers had been injured.
Cooling systems inside several reactors at both the Fukushima plants stopped working after Friday's earthquake cut the power supply.
Japan's nuclear agency said on Saturday that radioactive caesium and iodine had been detected near the number one reactor of the Fukushima 1 plant.
The agency said this may indicate that containers of uranium fuel inside the reactor may have begun melting.
Air has been released from several of the reactors at both plants in an effort to relieve the huge amount of pressure building up inside.
Mr Kan said the amount of radiation released was "tiny".
Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate the area near the plants. BBC correspondent Nick Ravenscroft said police stopped him 60km from the Fukushima 1 plant.
Analysts say a meltdown would not necessarily lead to a major disaster because light-water reactors would not explode even if they overheated.
The 8.9-magnitude tremor struck in the afternoon local time on Friday off the coast of Honshu island at a depth of about 24km, 400km (250 miles) north-east of Tokyo.
It was nearly 8,000 times stronger than last month's quake in New Zealand that devastated the city of Christchurch, scientists said.
Some of the same search and rescue teams from around the world that helped in that disaster are now on their way to Japan.
Saif al-Islam |Saif al-Islam Gaddafi
Saif al-Islam |Saif al-Islam Gaddafi
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| Said al-Islam has played a large role in Libyan politics while never holding an official position within the state [AFP] |
Described last year by the New York Times as "the Western-friendly face of Libya and symbol of its hopes for reform and openness," Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, 38, is a fluent English speaker with a PhD from the London School of Economics.
The second of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's seven sons, Saif al-Islam was given the task of defending his father's government in a televised address early on Monday after the worst unrest of the elder Gaddafi's four-decade rule.
In his address, he accused exiles of fomenting violence and promised a dialogue leading toward reforms.
Widely seen as belonging to a camp that aims to open Libya's economy, Saif al-Islam helped lead talks with Western governments that in the past 10 years saw Libya renounce nuclear weapons and end decades of isolation as a foe of the West, paving the way for large-scale investment in its oil sector.
Accused of money laundering by The Daily Telegraph in two articles published in 1995 (one of which focused on the alleged operation flooding "the Iranian economy with fake Iranian currency", Saif al-Islam sued the UK newspaper for libel, prompting the Telegraph to issue an apology in 2002 for the "falsity of the allegations" levelled against him.
In 2008, the AP reported that Saif al-Islam announced that he was leaving politics, and that he'd given, "no explanation for his decision", only dismissing reports of a rift between himself and his father.
He made his announcement via a televised statement, in which also called for political reforms, he said, "I have decided not to intervene in state affairs," he said in the speech, broadcast on state television. "In the past, I used to intervene (in politics) due to the absence of institutions."
He said he would not succeed his father as the country's leader, adding that the reigns of power were "not a farm to inherit".
His turf war with conservatives has escalated in the past few months, with many Libya-watchers seeing signs of his influence being held in check. Twenty journalists working for al Ghad, a media group which had been linked to him, were briefly arrested. The head of the group stepped down and its flagship newspaper stopped printing.
Much of his influence was wielded through his position as the head of a charity. Late last year the charity said it was withdrawing from politics and his post of chairman was being made into an honorary role.
Muammar Gaddafi |Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi |GaddafiMuammar Gaddafi |Gaddafi |
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In power since 1969, Libya's Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is the longest-serving leader in both Africa and the Arab world.
He led a bloodless coup toppling King Idris at the age of 27, and has since maintained tight control of his oil-rich country by clamping down on dissidents. The ongoing bloody uprising poses the most serious domestic challenge to his rule.
Among his many eccentricities, Gaddafi is known to sleep in a Bedouin tent guarded by dozens of female bodyguards on trips abroad.
Gaddafi was born in 1942 in the coastal area of Sirte to nomadic parents. He went to Benghazi University to study geography, but dropped out to join the army.
After seizing power, he laid out a pan-Arab, anti-imperialist philosophy, blended with aspects of Islam. While he permitted private control over small companies, the government controlled the larger ones.
He was an admirer of the Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser and his Arab socialist and nationalist ideology.
He tried without success to merge Libya, Egypt and Syria into a federation. A similar attempt to join Libya and Tunisia ended in acrimony.
Crushing dissident
In 1977 he changed the country's name to the Great Socialist Popular Libyan Arab Jamahiriyah (State of the Masses) and allowed people to air their views at people's congresses.
However, critics dismissed his leadership as a military dictatorship, accusing him of repressing civil society and ruthlessly crushing dissident.
To this day, the media remains under strict government control.
The regime has imprisoned hundreds of people for violating the law and sentenced some to death, according to Human Rights Watch.
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| At the UN General Assembly in 2009, Gaddafi accused the body of being a terrorism group like al-Qaeda [EPA] |
"In the 1970s against students, when he publicly hung students who were marching, demonstrating, demanding rights in Benghazi and in Tripoli and many other squares, and his opposition members abroad in the 1980s, including here in London and other places in Europe and in in Arab Middle East.
"He executed, in probably the most brutal massacre that we saw, 1,200 prisoners in the Abu Salim prison who were unarmed, They were already in jail, he executed them in less than three hours."
Mohammed al-Abdalla, the deputy secretary-general of the National front for Salvation of Libya
Gaddafi played a prominent role in organising Arab opposition to the 1978 Camp David peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.
Later shunned by a number of Arab states on the basis of his extreme views on how to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict among others, Gaddafi's foreign policy shifted from an Arab focus to an African focus.
His vision of a United States of Africa resulted in the foundation of the African Union.
Lockerbie bombing
In the West, Gaddafi is strongly associated with "terrorism", accused of supporting armed groups including FARC in Colombia and the IRA in Northern Ireland.
Libya’s alleged involvement in the 1986 bombing of a Berlin nightclub in which two American soldiers were killed prompted US air attacks on Tripoli and Benghazi, killing 35 Libyans, including Gaddafi’s adopted daughter. Ronald Reagan, the then US president, called him a "mad dog".
The 1988 bombing of the Pan Am flight over Lockerbie in Scotland is possibly the most well known and controversial international incident in which Gaddafi has been involved.
For many years, Gaddafi denied involvement, resulting in UN sanctions and Libya’s status as a pariah state. Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence agent, was convicted for planting the bomb. Gaddafi's regime formally accepted responsibility for the attack in 2003 and paid compensation to the families of those who died.
Also in 2003, Gaddafi broke Libya's isolation from the West by relinquishing his entire inventory of weapons of mass destruction.
In September 2004, George Bush, the US president at the time, formally ended a US trade embargo as a result of Gaddafi's scrapping of the arms programme and taking responsibility for Lockerbie.
The normalisation of relations with Western powers has allowed the Libyan economy to grow and the oil industry in particular has benefited.
However, Gaddafi and Lockerbie came back into the spotlight in 2009, when al-Megrahi was released and returned to Libya. The hero’s welcome al-Megrahi received from Gaddafi on his return was condemned by the the US and the UK, among others.
In September 2009, Gaddafi visited the US for the first time for his his first appearance at the UN General Assembly.
His speech was supposed to be 15 minutes, but exceeded an hour and a half. He tore up a copy of the UN charter, accused the Security Council of being a terrorism body similar to al-Qaeda, and demanded $ 7.7 trillion in compensation to be paid to Africa from its past colonial rulers.
During a visit to Italy in August 2010, Gaddafi's invitation to hundreds of young women to convert to Islam overshadowed the two-day trip, which was intended to cement the growing ties between Tripoli and Rome.
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