Saudi King returns with promises of social aid
A ceremony has been laid on in the Saudi capital to welcome home king Abdullah after three months abroad for medical treatment.
The monarch returned as protests over poverty, corruption and repression hit many Arab countries.
Upon his return, the King was quick to unveil a series of benefits for his people worth an estimated 30 billion euros.
The action plan includes funding to help create jobs for young people and affordable housing, two of the kingdom’s major social issues.
Hundreds of people have backed a Facebook campaign calling for a day of rage across Saudi Arabia next month to demand, among other things, an elected ruler and greater freedom.
But analysts do not expect unrest like in Egypt or Tunisia in this oil-rich country although they do say urgent social issues need to be addressed.
King’s Speech steals the show
The film The King’s Speech has won seven prizes at the BAFTA awards ceremony in London. Colin Firth, who plays the stammering King George VI in the film, took the award for Best?�Actor. The movie also took the prizes for Best Film, Best Supporting Actress (Helena Bonham Carter), and Best Supporting Actor ( Geoffrey Rush).?�This year’s BAFTA award for Best Actress went to Natalie Portman for her role in Black Swan, while Best Director went to David Fincher for the film about Facebook, The Social Network.
Death toll in Libyan protests rises
While Ghaddafi loyalists have held the streets of the Libyan capital Tripoli, it has been a different?�story in several other cities.?�Amnesty International now insists at least 46 people have been killed in the last?�three days?�of protests. Violence has broken out in Ajdabia, and in Al Bayda witnesses?�say troops are engaged in running battles with crowds who have been joined by defecting police for control of the town, which has seen some of the worst violence.?�In the country’s second city Benghazi Colonel Gaddafi’s son Said has been ordered to take control as tens of?�thousands marched calling for an end to his father’s 42 years in power. In several incidents security forces were reported firing live ammunition into crowds.?�The foreign media has limited access and reports are difficult to confirm but Gaddafi still enjoys considerable support in the countryside, has oil wealth to spread around, and a firmly-anchored security apparatus he can rely on.?�However, reports late on Friday said?�authorities may have lost control of Al Bayda, where crowds burying their dead had earlier shouted “martyrs, martyrs” at their funerals.
Libyan air force colonels fly fighters to Malta
Two Libyan air force colonels have defected to Malta after landing their Mirage fighter planes on the Mediterranean Island.
They claim they took off from Tripoli under orders to bomb protesters in Benghazi, but overflew their targets. The pair are currently being questioned by the Maltese authorities. One of the pilots has requested political asylum.
Police are also probing seven passengers who landed in Malta from Libya on board two helicopters. It is suggested that the French registered helicopters left Libya without the authorisation of the authorities.
Reports claim that only one of the passengers on board carried a French passport.
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Pro-Gaddafi forces ‘close in on Benghazi’
There have been some dramatic developments in Libya in fighting between rebels and troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.?�France’s AFP news agency says pro-Gaddafi forces have?�proposed a ceasefire until Sunday to give the opposition time to surrender.?�It comes amid fresh reports that the rebel held city of Ajdabiyah is surrounded, leaving open only the road north to the larger rebel stronghold of Benghazi.?�A senior hospital official in Adjabiyah says at least 30 people have been killed, with 80 others wounded in the fighting.?�Gaddafi soldiers are also now said to have recaptured the major oil terminal of Zueitina on the outskirts of the rebel capital.
Five dead in Iraqi ‘Day of Rage’
Thousands of Iraqis have staged a ‘Day of Rage’ inspired by similar movements elsewhere in the Arab world.
At least five were killed in towns and cities throughout the country from Kirkuk in the north to Basra in the south.
They marched to the governor’s building, their anger fuelled by shortages of jobs, food and clean water, and frequent power-cuts.
Thousands poured into Liberation Square in the capital too despite a virtually total security clampdown.
Some protesters still managed to vent their anger on the concrete blast-wall leading to Baghdad’s green-zone, where there are many government buildings and foreign embassies.
Demonstrator Malik Abdon said: “We are educated young people. There are a number of masters university students among us. The government have stolen our dreams. We are young men without dreams.”
Iraqi soldiers and police were deployed en masse in central Baghdad enforcing a vehicle curfew and searching protesters.
Eight years after the US-led invasion to topple Saddam there is fury at government corruption and that life is not easier.
Aftermath of ferocious fighting in Benghazi
Today, they are celebrating. But over the last few days, people in the Libyan coastal town of al Bayda have endured some of the most ferocious fighting of the current unrest.
Anti-Gaddafi militias clashed with pro-government forces, many of whom are said to have been mercenaries. The result was like a scene from Hell.
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Euronews correspondent Mohammed ElHamy is in Al Bayda and has seen the aftermath for himself. He says the town is in shock. Many people have been killed and injured.
One of the wounded said he had been shot twice by men in civilian clothes: “One bullet went through my shoulder, the other through my chest.”
The extent of the fighting is clearly evident in the number of wounded being treated and the extent of their injuries.
But instead of being cowed, many Libyans say they are instead appalled that Gaddafi is attacking his own people in such a violent way.
Norway’s only marine reserve hit by oil spill
Authorities in Norway on Friday struggled to contain an oil spill after an Icelandic cargo ship ran aground in the country’s only marine reserve.
Officials say the ship is leaking from both sides and some oil has already reached the shore.
The Godafoss hit rocks on Thursday night near the Ytre Hvaler marine park as it travelled from Fredrikstad to the Swedish town of Helsingborg.
The Norwegian Coastal Administration estimates the ship is carrying 800 tonnes of fuel.
Floating barriers have been set up to try and stop the spill from spreading and anti-pollution vessels from Sweden and Norway have been sent to begin the clean-up operation.
Nations scramble to get nationals out of chaotic Libya
Hundreds of foreign nationals are camped out at a frantic Tripoli Airport as governments from around the world scramble boats and planes to get their people out of Libya, as the chaos in country deepens.
Russia, France, Greece and the United Kingdom along with many other nations are laying on transport to repatriate nationals.
Turkey, with 25,000 citizens in Libya is mounting the biggest evacuation in its history with more than 2,000 already back home.
The shooting dead of a Turkish worker at a building site close to Tripoli has increased the urgency of the operation as fear begins to grip those stranded in the country.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said his country will do all it can to help other nationals escape Libya:
“There are several demands from different friendly countries for us to help their citizens. For us this is a humanitarian issue and we will do everything possible to consider these demands positively and help those who need such an evacuation.”
A French military aircraft arrived in Tripoli much to the relief of those lucky enough to get a seat:
“Phew, given the state of the airport, everything cancelled, the chances of getting a scheduled flight were pretty slim, yeah it’s a huge relief.”
As the situation continues to deteriorate and Libyan officials break ranks with the regime more and more aircraft are finding it difficult to get a landing or take-off slot.
