More deaths in Syria’s flashpoint city
There has been fresh bloodshed in Syria, with up to 15 people killed in Deraa, the southern city that has become the focus of calls for freedom.
An 11-year-old girl is said to be among the dead,
reportedly hit by a stray bullet fired at the funerals of two people killed by security forces earlier.
On the sixth day of demonstrations, the governor of the Deraa region has been dismissed as demands for democracy gather pace.
Overnight, police used tear gas and live ammunition in a raid on the mosque at the heart of the Deraa protests, according to witnesses. State television has shown cash, weapons and ammunition it said were found inside the mosque.
Witnesses have now reported that President Bashar al-Assad’s security forces have fired on hundreds of youths marching to Deraa, in solidarity with the city.
G20 seeks indicator deal in Paris
At the G20 meeting in Paris, finance ministers and central bank governors will focus on which indicators should be used to measure global economic imbalances.
As France holds the rotating presidency of the group of 20 major developed and emerging economies, President Nicolas Sarkozy gave the welcome speech. He said he had no wish to exert pressure, and then added:
“I wouldn’t like your debates to get bogged down interminably over these indicators. There is a great temptation to place national interests first, but that would be the death of the G20.”
The European Union’s economic affairs commissioner, Olli Rehn, said the right indicators to tackle global imbalances included the current account, the real effective exchange rate
and currency reserves as well as public and private debt.
It is a two-day meeting.
Gaddafi defiant as rebellion closes on Tripoli
Libyans in Benghazi have been celebrating Friday prayers in the city for the first time since breaking away from Muammar Gaddafi’s rule.
Like a growing number of Libyan cities it is being run by a collection on people’s committees.
They also buried some of those killed in the rebellion, carried through the streets under the monarchist flag of the pre-Gaddafi Libya.
The rebellion is closing in on the capital Tripoli, where reports are emerging of security forces firing on protesters in a western suburb. But Gaddafi vowed in a television address to “triumph over the enemy” and urged his supporters to protect Libya and its oil interests.
In Misrata, Libya’s third city, and Zawiyah a stone’s throw from Gaddafi’s stronghold witnesses say his forces have turned tail. Many government troops and senior officers have also switched sides.
The government tried to strengthen its faltering grip on power by ordering fat cash handouts to families and big subsidies on food.
But the fighting has been fierce. French estimates put the number of dead at more than 2,000 so far.
Refugees welcomed at Tunisian frontier.
It is estimated that some 30 000 foreigners have left Libya since the uprising started. Many of them have crossed over the frontier into Tunisia carrying what few belongings they could manage.
Residents from the town of Ben Gerdan have been organising food and shelter for the new arrivals. The towns committee estimates that it has fed over 12000 people in the past two days.
“All the residents of Ben Gerdan without exception have become active in bringing water, food and medicine to the storage facility”, said Omar Abdelkabeer. “They are also storing things in their houses and using all means available to them. We call on the United Nations and UNICEF and all the big organisations to help because this is a humanitarian crisis”.
Some families waved a Tunisian flag when they arrived and had nothing but praise for the welcome and assistance they received.
Rebel fighters regroup around Ajdabiya
A group of heavily-armed rebel fighters has gathered on the outskirts of Ajdabiya. They say they are ready to retake the city, which is currently held by the forces of Muammar Gaddafi.
International forces bombarded Libya for the third night in a row on Monday. But the rebels they are trying to help are struggling to organise themselves and capitalise on the disarray caused by air strikes.
Read: who is providing what to the military operation
In their latest offensive, forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi have targeted two towns. Locals say forty people have died as a result of shelling on Misrata.
In Benghazi last night, panicked rebel fighters took to the streets when they heard loud explosions. But it turned out to be coalition aircraft striking targets around the city.
Read: Libya: a timeline of international diplomacy
The head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, who supported the UN-mandated intervention, criticised its severity saying the air attacks had killed many civilians. Russia’s defence minister has also condemned civilian deaths but his US counterpart has said the coalition is going to great lengths to avoid killing non-combatants. Robert Gates said most Libyan targets are air defences that are not situated near populated areas.
Gates said many people in Russian appear to believe what he called Gaddafi’s “lies” about the number of civilian deaths in the coalition’s air strikes. Libyan authorities claim the bombardments have killed dozens of civilians.
Ben Ali’s corruption culture
Many Tunisians would like to see the former occupants of the presidential palace return to stand trial on corruption charges. The Ben Ali family robbed Tunisia of billions of euros through illegal transactions.
Anti-government protesters killed in Yemen
Deaths have been reported in skirmishes in Yemen as demonstrators marched for the eighth straight day on Friday demanding an end to President Ali Abullah Saleh’s 32-year rule.
An estimated 10,000 gathered in the capital of Sanaa calling on the head of state to step down.
There were clashes between protesters and Saleh supporters, leaving at least four demonstrators wounded.
The unrest is spreading across the country. Two people were killed and 27 were injured when a hand grenade was thrown at demonstrators in Taez.
In Aden, three people were killed by gunfire with dozens more wounded after three protesters were shot dead in the southern Yemeni city on Thursday.
Earlier this month, President Saleh promised he would stand down at the end of his current seven-year term in 2013.
Tension increases between Israel and Gaza
Palestinian rockets fired from Gaza have struck two Israeli towns, injuring one resident. The militant group Islamic Jihad said it carried out the attacks on Beersheeba and Ashdod, in revenge for what it called “Zionist massacres” against its people.
Colonel Eitan Yitzhak of the Israeli army said one person was hit by shrapnel and several were suffering from shock.
“We are in a period of escalation,” he said. “We consider this attack here as yet another attempt to disrupt everyday life in Israel,” he said.
Israeli helicopters responded to the rocket attacks by firing missiles at targets in Gaza. Warplanes are also reported to have launched air strikes.
The tense situation has been described by Israel’s vice premier Silvan Shalom as being similar to the run-up to Israel’s war in Gaza two years ago.
There were strong feelings as the funerals were held in Gaza for three members of Islamic Jihad killed by Israeli strikes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who said earlier he regretted Tuesday’s killing of Palestinian civilians – now took a tougher line. Israel, he said, was determined to strike at the terrorists and stop their attacks.
The past ten days have seen growing tension, ever since Israel responded to the stabbing to death of a Jewish family by vowing to build more settlements in the West Bank.
Palestinian analysts have linked the growing violence to moves to heal the rift between Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement and Hamas.
There are plenty who oppose the Palestinian President’s offer to meet the Islamist group in its feifdom of Gaza.
There were scuffles at a recent rally in Gaza calling for unity.
Israel and elements within Hamas have their own reasons for fearing Palestinian reconciliation – which some say could explain the recent escalation in violence.
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How Libya unrest impacts the global economy
The aftershocks from the unrest in Libya are also being felt across global financial markets.
Libya is the world’s 12th largest exporter of crude and the price per barrel has shot to a two-and-a-half year high amid investor fear that production could be disrupted.
It follows a speech by one of Colonel Gaddafi’s sons, Saif, who warned that all foreign oil companies might have to leave the country.
Rising oil prices can accelerate inflation and eat into companies’ profits, further unsettling an already rocky global economy.
The US lifted sanctions on Libya when Gaddafi compensated the families of victims of the Lockerbie bombing.
With free trade now a possibility, foreign energy companies lined up to do business with a man once considered as a pariah on the international stage.
The OPEC member is Africa’s fourth largest oil producer after Nigeria, Algeria and Angola. It produces up to 1.8 million barrels per day and holds estimated reserves of 42 billion barrels
Eighty percent of its crude exports are sold to European countries such as France, Germany and particularly Italy.
Libya has deep economic ties with Italy, its former colonial master. The two nations signed a friendship treaty in 2008 and Italy is now the biggest foreign investor in the North Africa country.
Libyan investors have used oil wealth to buy large stakes in a number of Italian companies including oil giant ENI, carmaker Fiat and even a 7.5 percent share of Juventus football club. Tripoli’s investments in Italy are worth some 3.6 billion euros.
While Libya has some of the highest living standards in Africa, some estimates indicate one third of its people live below the poverty line.
The question now is what happens if the violence escalates in Libya? It would come just as many Western economies are emerging from the global economic downturn.
Libya witness: ‘It’s time for revolt. We are free’
With foreign journalists banned form Libya, information on what is happening on the ground is hard to come by and difficult to verify but euronews was able to speak to Mohamed Nabous of Radio Free Libya to ask his perspective. He told us: “We’ve managed to get rid of all government representation here. It’s time for revolt. We are free. We have completely liberated ourselves from the Gaddafi government.“?�
Amid reports of mercenaries in Libya, particularly in Benghazi, who are terrorising and killing people inside the city, we asked if he could confirm this.?�“Yes it’s 100 percent true,” he said. “I have photos and videos to confirm it. We are now holding four foreign mercenaries but we can’t talk with them because we don’t speak their language.?�“Popular committees have been set up following the chaos of the last three days. These committees are in charge of ensuring security within the city. It’s the committee which rules here now. It has taken up office in the court building. I should add that the committee has decided to collect all the weapons in the hands of young people to avoid any kind of crime. We’ve done this despite the fact that the people here are united and the young are very well organised. They themselves took this initiative to collect the arms before the committee did.”?�
