Young militants call for Egypt referendum 'no' vote

Egyptian youth coalition calls for 'new constitution' instead of mere constitutional reform.

Middle East Online

'Go and vote but say no' CAIRO - Young militants who spearheaded Egypt's pro-democracy revolution called Monday for a "no" vote in next weekend's referendum on constitutional reform. "We have decided on our position, we are saying 'go and vote but say no', said Shadi al-Ghazali Harb, a member of the youth coalition which helped to overthrow president Hosni Mubarak last month. "We want a new constitution and an extension of the transitional period with the formation of a presidential council," he said. The changes to be voted on in Saturday's referendum include limiting presidential terms, easing restrictions on presidential candidates and bolstering judicial supervision of elections. Egyptians will also vote on removing the president's right to order a military trial for civilians. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took power after Mubarak's resignation on February 11, has pledged to oversee a transition to a free democratic system. There are increasing calls for the referendum to be postponed or cancelled, including from presidential candidates Amr Mussa, head of the Arab League, and Mohamed ElBaradei, former chief of the UN nuclear watchdog, who say it is not enough merely to fiddle with the constitution. Only the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, which was suppressed under Mubarak, has called for a "yes" vote on Saturday.

Gulf troops enter Bahrain after opposition rejects talks

Shiite-led opposition calls Saudi army’s entry in Bahrain 'occupation' as protesters take over Manama's financial district.

Middle East Online

By Mohammad Fadhel - MANAMA

Peninsula Shield Force to help Bahrain quell violent protests Armoured troops rolled into Bahrain from neighbouring Saudi Arabia on Monday to help restore order in the strategic Gulf kingdom, where pro-democracy demonstrators have shut down the financial centre. Thousands of mainly Shiite protesters occupied Manama's business district, turning the regional banking hub into a ghost town as they pressed their calls for democratic change from the Sunni Muslim monarchy. The Saudi government said it had responded to a call for help from its neighbour as Saudi-led forces from the Gulf countries' joint Peninsula Shield Force crossed the causeway separating the two countries. "The council of ministers has confirmed that it has answered a request by Bahrain for support," the Saudi government said in a statement carried by the SPA state news agency. It said that under an agreement of the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), "any harm done to the security of a member state is considered a harm done to the security of all members." The exact make-up of the force was not known, but the United Arab Emirates also confirmed it was participating in the operation. The GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Television footage showed convoys of unmarked, desert-brown coloured armoured vehicles crossing the causeway from Saudi's Eastern Province into Bahrain, the home of the US Fifth Fleet. The Shiite-led opposition alliance said any foreign force would be treated as an invading army. "We consider the arrival of any soldier, or military vehicle, into Bahraini territory... an overt occupation of the kingdom of Bahrain and a conspiracy against the unarmed people of Bahrain," said an opposition statement. Helicopters buzzed overhead as protesters blocked access roads to the Financial Harbour business complex, a day after more than 200 people were injured there in clashes between riot police and demonstrators. Sunday was the worst day of violence in the tiny Gulf kingdom since seven people were killed at the start of anti-regime unrest a month ago. Shiite-majority Bahrain has transformed itself into a regional financial centre as it seeks to diversify its economy away from dependence on diminishing oil revenues. But to many of the country's disenfranchised Shiites the banking district is a symbol of corruption, wealth and privilege. Police appeared to have deserted the area, while shopping malls and office towers were closed. Protesters persisted with a sit-in at nearby Pearl Square, where activists were readying for a showdown with the security forces. Most workers seemed to be following a trade union call for a general strike to protest against violence by the security forces. The Saudi intervention comes two days after US Defence Secretary Robert Gates visited Manama and urged King Hamad to undertake rapid and significant democratic reform, not just "baby steps." Gates told reporters after the talks that Washington was concerned that the longer the instability dragged on the more likely Iran, a Shiite theocracy, was to try to meddle in Bahrain's affairs. On Monday, US National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor urged the Gulf states to "show restraint and respect the rights of the people of Bahrain, and to act in a way that supports dialogue instead of undermining it." In a major concession to the opposition demands, Crown Prince Salman on Sunday said he supported the creation of a parliament with full powers and pledged to tackle corruption and sectarian tensions. But he warned that "legitimate demands should not be carried out at the price of security and stability." The opposition has refused to negotiate until the government resigns, a condition the country's rulers have deemed unacceptable. Foreign Minister Khalid Al-Khalifa, in comments posted Monday on Twitter, accused the opposition of shifting their demands and likened the protesters to gangsters. "All goodwill gestures were not reciprocated by (protesters)... Look where we are now," he said, adding that demonstrations amounted to "wanton, gangster-style takeover of people's lives." The mainstream opposition says it is not trying to overthrow the royal family, but more radical Shiite elements have said they want a republic.

Morocco ‘February 20’ slams violent repression

Youth movement calls for further protests to go ahead as planned on March 20 in several cities to press for sweeping political changes.

Middle East Online

Dozens of people were hurt in the clashes RABAT - The February 20 movement, which is pushing for democratic reforms in Morocco, on Monday "strongly condemned" the crackdown on a demonstration in Casablanca in which dozens of people were hurt. The largely youthful movement also called for further demonstrations to go ahead as planned on March 20 in several cities to press for sweeping political changes. "The (king's) speech of March 9 was a first gain for the Moroccan people because he announced new constitutional reforms. But it was followed by a process of repression against our movement which we strongly condemn," the movement said in a statement. Dozens of people were injured, some of them seriously, in Casablanca on Sunday, when police tried to storm the headquarters of a left-wing political party and cracked down violently on a demonstration for change called by the February 20 movement. In a landmark speech last Wednesday, Mohammed VI announced major democratic reforms and "the enlargement of individual freedoms". It was his first address to the nation since demonstrations took place on February 20 to call for more democracy and less corruption. "This speech included ambiguous terms that lead us to doubt the will for change and incite us to maintain the date of March 20 for new demonstrations in Morocco," the communique said. "We demand a new constitution guaranteeing a genuine separation of powers and an independent justice system, as well as the removal of constitutional provisions that enshrine the sacred nature of centralised political power," the Movement of February 20 added. The demonstrations across Morocco on February 20 were largely organised by young people using Facebook to call for urgent political reforms and a curbing of the powers of the king. The Moroccan press has widely hailed the speech by Mohammed VI as "historic" in its implications, while wondering about the political future of some of the King's aides.

Algeria bomb trial postponed

Trial delay of 18 people charged with bomb attack on government buildings in April 2007 is due to Al-Qaeda leader’s absence.

Middle East Online

ALGIERS - The trial in Algeria of 18 people charged with a bloody bomb attack on the government buildings in April 2007 has been postponed until April 12, the official APS news agency reported. The delay was due to the absence of some of the accused, notably a chief of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Abdelmalek Droukdel, said the judge, Benkharchi Omar. The bomb attack on April 11, 2007, killed 20 people and wounded more than 222. It was carried out simultaneously with another attack against the headquarters of urban security in the Bab Ezzouar neighbourhood in the east of Algiers, not far from the airport. Several of the accused have already been sentenced in connection with other attacks, APS said. AQIM is active in several countries of northwest Africa, but first emerged in Algeria as a transformation of an Islamic extremist group that was fighting the regime.

protest-crushing Iran warns 'no force' against Bahrain's protests

Iranian FM urges Bahraini authorities to avoid using violence, force against population.

Middle East Online

What about anti-Iranian government protesters? TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Monday demanded that Bahraini leaders be wise and not use violence in their handling of anti-government protests, the state-run Fars news agency reported. Salehi said the Bahraini authorities should avoid using "violence and force against the population", adding that Iran expects "the Bahraini government to be wise in responding to the demands of protesters and respecting their rights." Protests flared up in Bahrain on February 14 and seven people died in a subsequent crackdown on demonstrations, according to an AFP tally based on relatives of victims and opposition officials. Opposition protesters are demanding far-reaching democratic reform in the mainly Shiite country which has been ruled by a Sunni Muslim dynasty for more than 200 years. Bahrain's opposition said Monday it considered any foreign military intervention to be an occupation, after a Saudi official said the kingdom's troops had entered the neighbouring Gulf state. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Saturday urged Bahrain to undertake rapid and significant reform, citing concerns in Washington that the longer the instability dragged on the more likely Iran, a Shiite theocracy, would profit. In 2009, the Iranian government brutally crushed its own pro-democracy protests, with many demonstrators killed and activists hanged.

Iran launches cyber attacks on 'enemy websites'

E-trained Iranian volunteer militias to counter attacks online, take down ‘enemy websites’.

Middle East Online

Cyber war heating up TEHRAN - Iran has unleashed a cyber army which draws on the ranks of Islamist volunteer militias to counter attacks online and take down "enemy websites," the official IRNA news agency said Monday. "Just as we are under attack from our enemies on the web, e-trained Iranian military experts, including Basiji teachers, students and clerics, are attacking enemy sites," said Ali Fazli, deputy chief of the volunteer Islamist Basij militia, quoted by IRNA. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians have joined the Basij militia, which is overseen by the Revolutionary Guard, according to the authorities. Fazli gave no details on the type of "attacks" launched against foreign websites or on the nature of these sites Ultra-conservative sites have reported in recent weeks cyber attacks lunched from Iran against Voice of America Farsi, Dutch government-funded Radio Zamaneh, which also broadcasts in Farsi, and microblogging site Twitter. Hackers regularly bring down Iran's official websites. The general secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, said earlier that "enemies of Iran" had funded the creation of "874 websites" to destabilise the Iranian government. The websites he referenced emerged alongside opposition-led demonstrations contesting the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009. In January, Iran announced the launch of a special police unit to combat "cyber crimes", especially those committed on social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter which are popular among the opposition and dissidents. The Iranian government also blocks the majority of foreign news websites, accusing Western media of taking part in a plot by the United States, Israel and Britain-led Europe, against the Islamic Republic. Iranian authorities stripped 11 correspondents of their press cards on February 15, a day after they had covered a major Tehran protest.

State Dept spokesman quits after Wikileaks remarks

Philip Crowley slams Pentagon's treatment of US solider arrested in Iraq for leaking secret documents.

Middle East Online

Mistreatment of Manning 'is ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid' WASHINGTON - State Department spokesman Philip Crowley resigned Sunday after slamming the Pentagon's treatment of a US solider suspected of leaking diplomatic cables and military documents to WikiLeaks as "counterproductive." "Given the impact of my remarks, for which I take full responsibility, I have submitted my resignation as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Spokesman for the Department of State," Crowley said in a statement released by the State Department. Crowley departed from his characteristic diplomatic language on Friday when asked at a forum on new media and diplomacy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) about the US "torturing" of Private First Class Bradley Manning. Manning, 23, was arrested in June while deployed to Iraq amid suspicions he had passed a trove of secret US government documents to WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing website, which were then published around the world. Crowley said the Defense Department's treatment of Manning, which includes solitary confinement and being forced to sleep naked, "is ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid," BBC reporter Philippa Thomas wrote on her blog. "Nonetheless Bradley Manning is in the right place," Crowley said, adding "there is sometimes a need for secrets" to advance US diplomatic interests. Later that day Obama insisted the Pentagon's treatment of Manning was appropriate. On March 2 the US military unveiled 22 additional charges against Manning including the serious offense of "aiding the enemy," which carries a potential death sentence. But the Army said he would face possible life in prison. In his statement Sunday, Crowley said his remarks "were intended to highlight the broader, even strategic impact of discreet actions undertaken by national security agencies every day and their impact on our global standing and leadership." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted Crowley's long service to the United States in accepting his resignation "with regret." "(Crowley) has served our nation with distinction for more than three decades, in uniform and as a civilian," she said. "His service to country is motivated by a deep devotion to public policy and public diplomacy, and I wish him the very best." A Massachusetts native, Crowley served under former president Bill Clinton on the staff of the National Security Council. Crowley logged 26 years in the Air Force, retiring in 1999 at the rank of colonel. He is a veteran of the first Gulf war. Michael Hammer, currently deputy spokesman at the State Department, will serve as acting spokesman. "Mike Hammer will do a great job as my successor at State," Crowley said Sunday in a message on the microblogging site Twitter. "He and I worked together 12 years ago on the NSC staff at the White House." In another Twitter message, Crowley said he and Hammer "worked together every day during the administration's first two years and I was pleased that Mike accepted my offer to return to State."

State Dept spokesman quits after Wikileaks remarks

Philip Crowley slams Pentagon's treatment of US solider arrested in Iraq for leaking secret documents.

Middle East Online

Mistreatment of Manning 'is ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid' WASHINGTON - State Department spokesman Philip Crowley resigned Sunday after slamming the Pentagon's treatment of a US solider suspected of leaking diplomatic cables and military documents to WikiLeaks as "counterproductive." "Given the impact of my remarks, for which I take full responsibility, I have submitted my resignation as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Spokesman for the Department of State," Crowley said in a statement released by the State Department. Crowley departed from his characteristic diplomatic language on Friday when asked at a forum on new media and diplomacy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) about the US "torturing" of Private First Class Bradley Manning. Manning, 23, was arrested in June while deployed to Iraq amid suspicions he had passed a trove of secret US government documents to WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing website, which were then published around the world. Crowley said the Defense Department's treatment of Manning, which includes solitary confinement and being forced to sleep naked, "is ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid," BBC reporter Philippa Thomas wrote on her blog. "Nonetheless Bradley Manning is in the right place," Crowley said, adding "there is sometimes a need for secrets" to advance US diplomatic interests. Later that day Obama insisted the Pentagon's treatment of Manning was appropriate. On March 2 the US military unveiled 22 additional charges against Manning including the serious offense of "aiding the enemy," which carries a potential death sentence. But the Army said he would face possible life in prison. In his statement Sunday, Crowley said his remarks "were intended to highlight the broader, even strategic impact of discreet actions undertaken by national security agencies every day and their impact on our global standing and leadership." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted Crowley's long service to the United States in accepting his resignation "with regret." "(Crowley) has served our nation with distinction for more than three decades, in uniform and as a civilian," she said. "His service to country is motivated by a deep devotion to public policy and public diplomacy, and I wish him the very best." A Massachusetts native, Crowley served under former president Bill Clinton on the staff of the National Security Council. Crowley logged 26 years in the Air Force, retiring in 1999 at the rank of colonel. He is a veteran of the first Gulf war. Michael Hammer, currently deputy spokesman at the State Department, will serve as acting spokesman. "Mike Hammer will do a great job as my successor at State," Crowley said Sunday in a message on the microblogging site Twitter. "He and I worked together 12 years ago on the NSC staff at the White House." In another Twitter message, Crowley said he and Hammer "worked together every day during the administration's first two years and I was pleased that Mike accepted my offer to return to State."

Tunisia to build democracy with Ben Ali gone

Democracy activists who forced out Ben Ali still working hard to consolidate Tunisia's new-found freedom.

Middle East Online

By Jacques Lhuillery - TUNIS

People want proof that their revolution will not be confiscated Two months since Tunisia's president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali fled the country on January 14, the democracy activists who forced him out are working hard to consolidate their new-found freedom. Across the border in Libya fighting rages. At home, democracy is taking faltering steps, and those who toppled Ben Ali know the hardest part is yet to come. In 60 days Tunisia, which lit the fires of change in the Arab world, has already seen bloodshed, crises and upheavals. Two prime ministers have come and gone, and the present government is the third. On July 24, Tunisians will vote in the first free elections since independence in 1956 to choose an assembly charged with drawing up a new constitution and building democracy. It is a short time frame, analysts say. A swarm of parties, some with no programme, are knocking at the door, demanding to be legalised. And before a second republic can be created, Tunisia has to shed the legacy of Ben Ali and "renationalise" a country privatised by the president and his wife. Ben Ali did much the same when he overthrew his predecessor Habib Bourguiba on November 7, 1987, and set about obliterating all trace of him. Now it is his turn. Ben Ali's favourite number, seven, has vanished along with his favourite colour, the omnipresent mauve. "Tele 7" has become "national television" once again. Streets have been renamed, and the pictures of Ben Ali and his wife Leila -- on the front pages whatever the news -- have given way to cartoons. The "president's men" have also been arrested. Key members of the Leila Trabelsi clan that looted the nation are on the run or behind bars. But for those captured, the first verdicts have already been delivered. For two months now, those who overthrew Ben Ali have kept up the pressure on their new leaders for fear of being robbed of their victory, which was won at the cost of hundreds of lives. People want proof that their revolution will not be confiscated, one politician said. Ben Ali's party has been dissolved, as have the political police that for 23 years terrorised the people -- who now speak openly and without fear. After the storm, calm has returned. The strikes and demonstrations have stopped, and the country needs to go back to work. Bosses and unions work together to confront the problems of unemployment, the source of much of the anger that swept away Ben Ali. The question is, what to with the revolution? And with whom? Riots in Tunis at the end of February -- after Ben Ali's overthrow -- left six dead, raising fears that the old regime is not dead. "Do you think that it (Ben Ali's party) no longer exists after a wand has been waved?" warned Yadh ben Achour, who heads a committee to turn the democratic transition into a reality. "It is still there, everywhere," he said. After all, its two million members made up one-fifth of the population, he pointed out. For that reason few will predict what the new assembly will look like, and so the new political Tunisia, without a constitution or a parliament, remains provisional. "The transition is a hard and risky task, but we shall make a success of it," said the present Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi. He too, like President Foued Mebazaa, is "provisional": on a short-term contract until July 24.

Gathafi forces advance closer to rebel capital

Libyan rebels retreat from key town under heavy shelling as Gathafi loyalists sweep closer to Benghazi.

Middle East Online

By Tahar Majdoub – BREGA, Libya

The rebels vowed to defend Ajdabiya Libyan rebels on Sunday retreated from another key town under heavy shelling from government forces as Moamer Gathafi loyalists swept closer towards the main opposition-held city of Benghazi. But following the fall of Brega, the commander of the vastly outgunned rebels, Gathafi's former interior minister, vowed to defend the next town in the path of Gathafi's forces, Ajdabiya. A lightning counter-offensive over the past week has pushed the rebels out of Mediterranean coastal towns, allowing the regime to wrest back the momentum against the month-long uprising against Gathafi's four-decade grip on power. Gathafi's forces are "marching to cleanse the country" of insurgents, Libyan army spokesman Colonel Milad Hussein told reporters in Tripoli. "Our raids are forcing the terrorists to flee. We have liberated Zawiyah, Uqayla, Ras Lanuf and Brega, and the army is advancing to liberate the rest of the regions." France said it would speed up its push for a no-fly zone to ground Gathafi's warplanes, something the rebels on the ground have been calling for. Dozens of rebels fled east out of Brega towards Ajdabiya, the last rebel-held town before Benghazi which the Libyan opposition has made its de facto capital just 100 miles (170 kilometres) away. Libyan state television declared Brega "purged of the armed gangs." It also reported that Gathafi had met the ambassadors of China, India and Russia to discuss the possibility of handing them control of the country's oil exports. China and Russia, both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, have expressed scepticism about the need for a no-fly zone in Libya. India, a temporary Security Council member, has come out against the idea. National Oil Corp had called its employees to return to work and called on foreign companies to send in their tankers, state television reported. Oil giant Total said on Friday that the unrest had slashed Libya's output by 1.4 million barrels a day to under 300,000. Libya's largest market is Europe. General Abdel Fatah Yunis, who resigned as Gathafi's interior minister soon after the rebellion began in mid-February, vowed to defend Ajdabiya. "Ajdabiya is a vital city," he told reporters in Benghazi. "It's on the route to the east, to Benghazi and to Tobruk and also to the south. Ajdabiya's defence is very important... We will defend it." From Ajdabiya there is a straight desert road to the oil port of Tobruk, which to date has given rebels full control over the east up to the Egyptian border. It is a vital transit route for supplies from abroad. The rebel withdrawal of a few kilometres was tactical given the semi-desert terrain, Yunis argued: for if Gathafi's army pursued them, they would be over-stretched. "We feel he (Gathafi) will have serious logistical problems and serious difficulties for supplying his troops, because they're getting extended all the time." But among the rebel forces only the defectors from Gathafi's army have military experience: they have few heavy weapons and are vulnerable to air attack. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had shipped seven truckloads of food and medicine to Benghazi, where the streets were largely deserted Sunday around the rebels' headquarters in the courthouse. "The euphoria is over. We are frightened of what's coming, frightened of getting blown up," said retired civil servant Mohammed Gepsi. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned that rebels were being denied medical help in government-held areas and called for access to treatment for the wounded. "In several conflict zones, such as Zawiyah and Misrata, large numbers of people are cut off from any external assistance, while critical medical needs and shortages of medicine and materials are reported," it said. Zawiyah, just west of the capital, fell to Gathafi's forces on Friday after bitter fighting. In Misrata, a city east of Tripoli which continues to hold out against attacks that last week killed at least 21 people, residents reported renewed firing on Sunday. The US-based Human Rights Watch said Libyan security forces had unleashed a wave of arbitrary arrests in Tripoli, "brutally suppressing all opposition." Senior al-Qaeda militant Abu Yahya al-Libi, himself a Libyan, warned of the heavy price of a rebel defeat in a videotape posted on jihadist websites on Sunday. Libyan insurgents "must carry on with their revolution, without hesitation or fear, in order to push Gathafi into the abyss," said Libi, considered one of Al-Qaeda's top ideologues. Gathafi has repeatedly charged that Al-Qaeda was behind the uprising. Rebel morale was boosted by an Arab League decision on Saturday to support a no-fly zone over Libya and to make contact with the insurgents' national council in Benghazi. The White House welcomed the Arab League decision, but stopped short of giving full support for the no-fly zone, which Britain and France have been backing. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due in Paris Monday to meet her G8 counterparts and hold talks with Mahmud Jibril, a top member of the national council, representing Libya's opposition movement. Clinton has said a plan for a no-fly zone would be presented to NATO on Tuesday.

40 injured as Yemen police opens fire on protestors

Yemeni police, regime loyalists open fire to disperse pro-democracy demonstrations.

Middle East Online

Eight people were killed in weekend clashes SANAA - Almost 40 protesters were injured when police opened fire Monday to disperse demonstrations in Yemen, a strategic US ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda, officials said. The violence came after eight people were killed in weekend clashes with security forces, sparking condemnation and calls for restraint from the United Nations and Western powers. Twenty people demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in power for 32 years, were injured when they tried to assault the government headquarters in Jawf, northeast of the capital Sanaa, an official said. Security forces and pro-regime loyalists guarding the building opened fire. Two loyalists were injured by stones hurled by the protesters. In Marib province, east of Sanaa, 17 protesters were injured in similar circumstances when security forces opened fire to prevent them storming the local government headquarters. Some 40 people have been killed in political violence since unrest erupted in the deeply tribal country at the end of January, as pro-democracy revolts shook the Arab world. In a speech to tens of thousands of people at Sanaa's stadium on Thursday, Saleh promised to protect protesters from violence and offered to hold a referendum on a new constitution which would devolve power to parliament. The United States, which sees Saleh as a pillar of stability in a fragile nation, welcomed the gesture, but Yemen's parliamentary opposition says the president has lost all credibility and must resign this year.

Japan quake: live report

This aerial shot shows a pleasure boat sitting on top of a building amid a sea of debris in Otsuchi town in Iwate prefecture on March 14, 2011.

Rescue workers are seen checking through the remains of a tsunami-wrecked house in Miyagi prefecture.

Japanese residents gather on higher ground after a new tsunami warning was issued along the coast in Sendai on March 14, 2011. The tsunami alert has since been lifted

Cars damaged in the tsunami which hit northeast Japan sit piled on top of one another in Tagajo, Miyagi prefecture days after a massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake monster wave hit the region.

Debris covers a large area in Natori, near Sendai in Miyage prefecture after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

A fire fighter takes a rest before a pile of debris at Rikuzentakada city in Iwate prefecture following a major quake and tsunami on Friday.

AFP - 0852 GMT: Japan's nuclear safety agency says there is "no possibility of a Chernobyl" style accident at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, Jiji Press quotes national strategy minister Koichiro Genba as saying.

0843 GMT: An explosion has rocked a building housing a nuclear reactor at a quake-damaged Japanese power plant, the second such blast in two days, and the cooling system failed at a third reactor.

The new troubles at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, located 250 kilometres (120 miles) north of Tokyo, have stalled Japan's efforts to secure the atomic power facility in the wake of Friday's massive quake and devastating tsunami.

Officials say the container surrounding the plant's number-three reactor has not been not breached in today's blast -- which left 11 people injured -- and there has been no major rise in radiation levels.

0837 GMT: A meeting of foreign ministers from Japan, South Korea and China will go ahead in the Japanese city of Kyoto despite the earthquake and tsunami that have devastated the country, the government in South Korea has said.

0835 GMT: A US aircraft carrier deployed off Japan has repositioned after detecting low-level radiation from the malfunctioning nuclear power plants. "The US Seventh Fleet has temporarily repositioned its ships and aircraft away from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi (No. 1) nuclear power plant after detecting low level contamination in the air and on its aircraft operating in the area," the Seventh Fleet said in a statement.

0825 GMT: Following an online outcry, Microsoft has apologised for using a Japan quake fund-raising Twitter service as an advertising ploy, The Drum reports. Microsoft had asked its @Bing Twitter followers to retweet a message about the quake, with every retweet meaning an extra $1 would be donated by Microsoft, up to $100,000. The company tweeted a clarification message: "We apologise the tweet was negatively perceived. Intent was to provide an easy way for people to help Japan. We have donated $100K."

0815 GMT: France's industry minister has said the risk of a meltdown at the Japanese nuclear plant is "worrying" and a nuclear disaster could not be ruled out.

0814 GMT: A tweet from Japan?s deputy cabinet secretary for public relations Noriyuki Shikata says: "After the blast of Unit 3, the cooling function of Unit 2 was stopped. Injection of sea water into Unit 2 is now being prepared. "

0809 GMT: Experts have told the BBC that a Chernobyl -style disaster is highly unlikely because Japan's reactors are built to a much higher standard and have more rigorous safety measures.

0806 GMT: Philippine authorities have been checking for spikes in radiation levels following the explosions at the Japanese nuclear plant, but that there had been no irregular increases.

0746 GMT: 17 US Navy personnel on board three helicopters assisting in the earthquake relief effort have been exposed to low levels of contamination, the New York Times reported officials as saying. The newspaper reported that The Ronald Reagan and other American warships have now sailed to areas where they will not be in the path of radiation carried in the wind.

0712 GMT: Kyodo reports that about 1,000 bodies have been found on the Ojika peninsula and another 1,000 found in the town of Minamisanriku. Rescuers have still not been able to reach many remote towns and villages.

0710 GMT: While Tokyo is up and running, residents are experiencing many aftershocks, not all trains are running and the government has asked people to only travel if they really have to, the BBC reports. Residents are facing fuel rationing, with long lines outside petrol stations, supermarkets are running out of stock and the population has been warned of power rationing, which will affect water supply to homes and offices.

0700 GMT: Technology giants Apple, Google, Facebook and Twitter are all offering digital ways to donate to Japan's recovery efforts. Apple has set up an option on its iTunes software to allow registered users to donate from $5 to $200 to the American Red Cross. The Red Cross has also launched a campaign on Facebook. Twitter is being updated by the second and directing people to resources on the ground and offering ways to donate to help survivors.

0658 GMT: A German businessman has told the BBC that due to a lack of confidence in what the Japanese government is telling the public, some foreign firms have started to move their expatriate staff south - or out of the country altogether.

0655 GMT: The primary containment vessel at the quake-damaged Fukushima nuclear plant was not damaged in today's explosion, the UN atomic watchdog IAEA has said.

0650 GMT: Russia has reported normal radiation levels in the country's Far East and said there was no reason to evacuate residents following a second explosion at a Japanese nuclear plant.

0641 GMT: The operator TEPCO has said the cooling system on reactor 2 at the Fukushima's plant has failed: Jiji

0624 GMT: Shares in nuclear plant operator TEPCO plunged 23.57 percent in Tokyo trade.

0555 GMT: The Bank of Japan has announced extra measures following the widespread disaster.

0527 GMT: Following the blast at Fukushima 1, Japanese officials have been reassuring the public that radiation levels are within legal limits, the BBC reported.

0524 GMT: A New York Times report has said that the US aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan passed through a radioactive cloud from Japan's stricken reactors on Sunday. The report said crew members received a month's worth of radiation in about an hour.

0510 GMT: The Fukushima reactor container was not breached in this morning's blast and there has been no major rise in radiation, according to government officials. The blast was caused by a build-up of hydrogen in the building around the No. 3 reactor, similar to Saturday's blast at the same plant.

0500 GMT: Toyota is to halt production at all domestic plants through to Wednesday - Kyodo.

0500 GMT: Food imported from Japan is being tested for radiation in Singapore. The bulk of Japanese imports arrive by sea, but high-end Japanese restaurants in Singapore routinely use air freight to fly in produce such as raw fish -- integral to sushi and sashimi -- to ensure its freshness and quality.

0457 GMT: In Iwate, one of the areas hit the hardest by the quake and tsunami, officials have made an appeal for body bags and coffins as the death toll rises.

0427 GMT: Eleven people were now reported, by Kyodo, to have been injured in the latest nuclear plant blast according to the operator TEPCO.

0421 GMT: A tsunami alert has been lifted in Japan according to Fukushima prefecture officials.

0400 GMT: Seven people initially listed as missing in an explosion at the earthquake-damaged Japanese Fukushima nuclear power plant have been located, Jiji Press reported. A total of nine people have been injured in the blast, the report said.

0352 GMT: A Malaysian newspaper has apologised after it triggered uproar with a cartoon depicting the popular Japanese icon Ultraman running away from an oncoming tsunami. The Malay-language Berita Harian drew heavy criticism, especially on social networking websites, after it published the cartoon on Sunday on its comment page.

0341 GMT: Tokyo stocks have fallen 6 percent in afternoon trading as investors reacted to the biggest earthquake in Japan's history.

0317 GMT: A large wave was spotted off Japan's coast Monday by a helicopter, but the meteorological agency said it had detected no sign of a new tsunami or a major quake that would have triggered it.

- Authorities had issued evacuation orders in some parts of the devastated coastline after the initial report and as seawater was seen retreating off Iwate and Aomori prefectures -- a phenomenon that occurs before tsunamis.

0311GMT: Japan nuclear plant operator says 7 missing, 3 injured after a blast at the facility.

0254 GMT: An explosion at the quake-damaged number 3 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 plant did not apparently breach the reactor, the chief government spokesman Yukio Edano said.

2040 GMT: Japan nuke plant operator TEPCO says reactor survived explosion, reports Jiji news agency.

0229 GMT: An explosion shook a quake-damaged Japanese nuclear power plant and plumes of smoke rose from the building, live television showed. Japan's nuclear safety agency said the blast, at the number 3 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, was believed to be caused by hydrogen.

0214 GMT: The water level off Japan's coast has dropped 5 metres as tsunami nears, says state broadcaster NHK.

0212 GMT: Japan's central bank pumped another 5 trillion yen ($61 billion) into the short-term money market Monday after earlier injecting a record 7 trillion to boost confidence after twin disasters.

0208 GMT: Estimated three-metre (10 foot) tsunami seen off Japan by helicopter says Jiji news agency.

0200 GMT: As Japan struggles with a severe energy shortage, South Korea has said it will redirect some of its liquefied natural gas imports to Japan to help its disaster-hit neighbour, a Seoul official said.

- Japanese electricity operators have predicted it will take more than a month for Tokyo to offset shortages caused by damage to its nuclear power plants.

0156 GMT: The government has advised people not to go to school or work today due to widespread power cuts and transport disruptions, including in the capital Tokyo.

0150 GMT: The rescue of three senior citizens who had been trapped in a tsunami-swept car for 20 hours was shown on Japan's television network NHK.

0148 GMT: The latest quake off coastal Ibaraki prefecture -- one of many aftershocks since Friday's massive 8.9 quake -- had a 5.8-magnitude, said the US Geological Survey, which said the quake struck at a depth of 18 kilometres.

0113 GMT: A strong offshore earthquake struck 150 kilometres (90 miles) northeast of Tokyo Monday morning, shaking tall buildings in Japan's capital, but authorities did not issue a tsunami alert.

0054 GMT: A nuclear power plant damaged by Japan's deadly earthquake and tsunami is still in an 'alarming' state, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Monday according to Kyodo News.

0021 GMT: Japan's central bank injected a record 7 trillion yen ($85.7 bln) into the short-term money market Monday, in an attempt to build confidence after a devastating earthquake and tsunami.

0000 GMT: The yen briefly touched a four-month high against the dollar in early Asian trade on Monday with currency markets responding to Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Bahrain protesters swamp business district

A Bahraini anti-government protester flashes victory signs at a military helicopter hovering over Manama. Pro-democracy protesters have poured into Bahrain's central business district as reports said Saudi forces were preparing to help the government restore order in the strategic Gulf kingdom.

Bahraini anti-government protesters stand close to makeshift roadblocks in Manama. Pro-democracy protesters have poured into Bahrain's central business district as reports said Saudi forces were preparing to help the government restore order in the strategic Gulf kingdom.

Map of Bahrain. Pro-democracy protesters have poured into Bahrain's central business district as reports said Saudi forces were preparing to help the government restore order in the strategic Gulf kingdom.

Bahraini anti-government protesters walk towards makeshift roadblocks in Manama, a day after Bahraini police clashed with demonstrators trying to occupy Manama's banking centre. Pro-democracy protesters have poured into Bahrain's central business district as reports said Saudi forces were preparing to help the government restore order in the strategic Gulf kingdom.

Tear gas is fired by Bahraini police among protestors gathered close to Pearl Square, the epicentre of anti-government protests in Manama. Pro-democracy protesters have poured into Bahrain's central business district as reports said Saudi forces were preparing to help the government restore order in the strategic Gulf kingdom.

AFP - Pro-democracy protesters poured into Bahrain's central business district Monday as reports said Saudi forces were preparing to help the government restore order in the strategic Gulf kingdom.

The Financial Harbour business complex was blocked off by protesters a day after more than 200 people were injured there in clashes between riot police and demonstrators, residents said.

It was the worst day of violence in the tiny Gulf kingdom since seven people were killed at the start of anti-regime unrest in mid-February.

Bahrain -- home of the US Fifth Fleet -- has become a regional financial hub as it seeks to diversify its economy away from dependence on diminishing oil revenues.

Thousands of demonstrators poured into the banking district -- a symbol of wealth and privilege -- and police appeared to have deserted the area, witnesses said. An unidentified military helicopter hovered in the sky.

Opposition parliamentarian Ali al-Aswad said a government official had informed MPs that Saudi security forces had been invited into the city to help quell the unrest.

Bahrain is joined to Saudi Arabia by a causeway across the Gulf.

"A government source told us during the night that the issue is serious and a decision (to invite foreign forces) has been taken," he told AFP.

He said the opposition would resist any such intervention as a foreign invasion.

"If Gulf forces enter Bahrain the people of Bahrain will deal with them as if they were occupation forces. We won't allow any foreign interference, either regional or Arab in Bahrain," he said.

Britain's Foreign Office cited reports that the Saudi National Guard will enter Bahrain as it urged Britons to avoid all travel to the mainly Shiite archipelago, where the Sunni monarchy is under mounting pressure to reform.

"The risk of further outbreaks of violence has increased," it said in the note issued late Sunday.

The website of Bahrain's Alyam newspaper, which is close to the Al-Khalifa royal family, said forces from the six-state Gulf Cooperation Council were expected to enter Bahrain to help boost security.

Witnesses said Shiite-led protesters continued to hold a sit-in at Pearl Square just outside the financial district, while others were blocking the main highway leading to the business district.

Most workers seemed to be following a trade union call for a general strike to protest violence by the security forces.

Crown Prince Salman late Sunday reiterated the government's offer of national dialogue on deep-rooted reforms but not at the expense of security and stability, state news agency BNA reported.

In a major concession to the opposition demands, the prince supported the creation of a parliament with full powers and pledged to tackle corruption and sectarian tensions.

But he warned that "legitimate demands should not be carried out at the price of security and stability."

The United States condemned the violence, amid claims -- dismissed as lies by the government -- that armed pro-regime thugs are intimidating students and opposition activists.

"We urge the government of Bahrain to pursue a peaceful and meaningful dialogue with the opposition rather than resorting to the use of force," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

King Hamad also reiterated an offer of dialogue with the main opposition groups, which have refused to negotiate until the government resigns and dissidents are released from jail.

The mainstream opposition says it is not trying to overthrow the royal family but more radical Shiite elements have said they want to end the dynasty that has ruled the country for more than 200 years.

Australia also strongly advised its citizens Monday not to travel to Bahrain, "due to the unpredictable security situation and threat of terrorist attack."

Polls open for twice-delayed election in Benin

After a last-minute rush to get all voters registered, Benin opened polling stations Sunday for its presidential election. President Boni Yayi, who came into office in 2006, is seeking a second term but is currently embroiled in a financial scandal.

By News Wires (text)

AFP - Benin holds presidential polls Sunday after chaotic preparations led to two earlier postponements, and some claim scores of people remain off the voter list despite a last-minute rush to register them.

President Boni Yayi, who came into office in 2006 pledging to crack down on corruption but now finds himself under fire over an alleged Ponzi scheme that left thousands without their savings, will be seeking a second term.

His main challenger, Adrien Houngbedji, backed by many of the traditional political elites in the small West African nation, has pushed for a third postponement of the election, arguing that voter registration should continue.

This time however, the United Nations and African Union has not joined calls for a delay, as they did ahead of the second postponement.

The head of West African bloc ECOWAS said Saturday the country was "less tense" than the week before.

"I am very, very pleased with what I have seen so far," ECOWAS chief James Victor Gbeho said.

Not everyone shared his opinion, however.

The country of some 9.2 million people will use an electronic voter register for the first time, but the process of compiling it led to opposition claims that more than a million people had been left off.

Others said that number was exaggerated and the figure was much lower.

A mop-up voter registration was originally to be held last Wednesday and Thursday, but was extended through to Saturday when crowds mobbed sign-up centres and equipment broke down.

Registration centres remained open deep into the night to accommodate the crowds who showed up. Those who had still been unable to sign up protested when soldiers arrived on Saturday to remove the equipment.

"They must be able to vote like all Benin citizens, and that is not the case today," the head of a district of the economic capital Cotonou, Charles Houessin, said after the registration period closed Saturday.

"It's a serious problem."

But while some warned that the chaotic preparations were a recipe for riots and disorder for Sunday's vote, a spokesman for the electoral commission said the vast majority of voters were signed up and he foresaw no major problems.

"We are ready," said Honorat Adjovi. "We cannot register everyone, but I can tell you that the maximum has been done."

The electoral list was not the only problem in the run up to the vote.

When the African Union and UN joined calls for a second postponement more than a week ago, they pointed out that electoral cards were still being distributed and voting station agents had not been designated and trained.

Yayi ruled out a third postponement in his final pre-election rally on Friday.

He faces a strong challenge from Houngbedji, 69, who has run in every presidential election since the start of multiparty democracy in 1990.

The 58-year-old president, an economist who worked at the Central Bank of West African States, has had anything but a smooth ride during his first five-year term.

He has been hit by a series of corruption scandals, most prominently involving an alleged Ponzi scheme by a firm he was accused of assisting. Yayi denies any wrongdoing.

Besides that, Benin was the hardest-hit by devastating West African flooding last year, according to the United Nations.

In Benin alone, floods destroyed 55,000 homes, killed tens of thousands of livestock and affected some 680,000 people, the UN said. At least 46 people were reported dead.

But despite the problems with election organisation as well as persistent corruption, Benin politics is seen as having advanced significantly over the last two decades.

The 2006 election won by Yayi was generally viewed as free and fair by international observers.

Polls were to open at 7:00 am (0600 GMT) and close at 4:00 pm (1500 GMT). Final results were not expected until several days later.

A third major candidate, Abdoulaye Bio Tchane, could help force a runoff, which would be held two weeks later.

Dozens injured in Casablanca protest

Dozens of protesters were wounded on Sunday after police dispersed a pro-reform protest in Casablanca, Morocco's largest city. The violence comes on the heels of King Mohammed VI's promises of sweeping democratic reforms.

By News Wires (text)

AFP - Dozens of protesters were injured, some seriously, Sunday during a clash with security forces who tried to storm the headquarters of a left-wing party in Casablanca, witnesses and and reporters said.

The protesters had sought refuge in the offices of the Unified Socialist Party (PSU) after the security forces broke up a peaceful demonstration calling for political reforms.

A violent confrontation ensued during which a reporter said he witnessed police beating a pregnant woman and some young girls. "It was unusually violent," he said.

"We were meeting in the political office and were about to publish a communique praising the king's speech last Wednesday when the security forces tried to break in," Mohamed Bouaziz, a PSU leader, told AFP.

"The Casablanca governor gave the order," he said. "I consider this a serious political mistake and an action directed against His Majesty (King Mohammed VI), who promised to strengthen individual freedoms."

Earlier, security forces sealed off Mohammed V Square, the site of most demonstrations in the city, and forcefully kept protesters and pedestrians away, an AFP journalist and witnesses said.

The activists were from the Islamist Justice and Charity movement, which is banned but tolerated in Morocco and is one of the north African country's most important political parties.

King Mohammed VI on Wednesday announced sweeping democratic reforms including an elected prime minister and broader personal freedoms in his first speech to the nation since demonstrations on February 20 calling for democratisation and less corruption.

The Moroccan press on Friday described the promised reforms, announced amid popular uprisings rocking the Arab world, as "historic" while speculating over the future of some members of the king's entourage.

New Israeli housing for West Bank

The Israeli government said Sunday that it has approved construction of several hundred new houses in the West Bank. The announcement comes a day after a deadly knife attack against an Israeli settler family.

By News Wires (text)

AP - Israel has approved the construction of hundreds of settler homes, the prime minister’s office said Sunday, in a stern message to the Palestinians after three children and their parents were killed in their sleep in a West Bank settlement over the weekend.

Israeli officials suspect Palestinian militants carried out the deadly knife attack, which could cool any Israeli plans to propose a new peace initiative. Israel’s move to build more settler homes antagonized the Palestinians and further complicated badly troubled peace efforts.

The settlement construction, approved Saturday night by the Cabinet’s ministerial team on settlements, would take place in major West Bank settlement blocs that Israel expects to hold on to in any final peace deal, the prime minister’s office said in a text message to reporters. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under domestic pressure to respond harshly to the killings - is a member of that team.

A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release this information to the media, said between 300 and 500 apartments and homes were approved for construction.

Palestinian opposition to settlement construction on lands they want for a future state has brought negotiations to a virtual standstill over the past two years, with Palestinians refusing to negotiate directly with Israel as long as it persists.

“We condemn this act of accelerated settlement construction,” senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said. “We urge the international community to intervene and implement the two-state solution. This is the only way out of this vicious circle of violence and counter-violence.”

Settler leader Dani Dayan called the government’s move “a very small step in the right direction.”

Although ground has been broken on as many as 500 apartments and homes since an Israeli moratorium on new West Bank settlement construction expired in late September, the government is holding up approvals on hundreds of other homes, to the settlers’ chagrin.

The attack Friday night in Itamar, home to some of Israel’s most radical settlers, was the deadliest against Israelis in years, and security forces were on alert Sunday for possible settler retaliation against Palestinians. The general security level around the country was raised, with an emphasis on the West Bank and Jerusalem, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

On Saturday, Netanyahu called on all Israelis “to act with restraint and not to take the law into their own hands.”

The military said suspects had been taken into custody in connection with the killings but would give no details.

The Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a mostly defunct Palestinian militant group, took responsibility for the killings. But it was not clear if the group really was responsible because it frequently takes credit for attacks it didn’t commit in a bid to raise its profile.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killings and Palestinian security forces were also searching for the perpetrators, Palestinian officials said. But in Gaza, ruled by Islamic Hamas militants, officials applauded the attack and residents celebrated the killings.

Developments on the diplomatic front could depend in part on whether the violence spreads.

U.S.-backed peace talks between the two sides collapsed last year amid disputes over continued Israeli construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territory Palestinians envision as part of their future state.

Netanyahu had been expected to deliver a major policy speech soon, possibly proposing a Palestinian state within temporary borders as a way out of a longstanding negotiations impasse. Such a proposal is anathema to the Palestinians, who fear the temporary arrangement will become permanently entrenched.

With peacemaking at a standstill, the Palestinians are pushing for world recognition of an independent state - with or without a deal. Although that would not deliver them an actual state, it could isolate Israel.

The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv had no reaction to the settlement construction approval. But the Israeli government official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the U.S. was aware of the Israeli decision.

Eight dead in Diyala car bomb

At least eight soldiers have died after a car bomb exploded near an army headquarters in Iraq's volatile Diyala province according to security sources Monday. The blast is the latest in a string of attacks targeting security forces in the region.

By News Wires (text)

REUTERS - A car bomb attack on an Iraqi army unit in volatile Diyala province killed at least eight soldiers, security sources said on Monday, as the Iraqi government continues to battle a stubborn insurgency.

The blast took place near an army headquarters in Kanaan, 70 km (45 miles) northeast of Baghdad, killing eight soldiers and wounding 12, one source in Diyala's operations command said. Another source said 10 soldiers were killed and 13 wounded.

However, Muthana al-Timimi, head of the security committee of the Diyala provincial council, gave the casualty figures as five dead and 10 wounded and said the blast was caused by a large quantity of explosives placed near government buildings, including the army headquarters.

Rescue workers were searching for survivors in the rubble, a witness at the scene told Reuters. The explosion damaged the army headquarters and nearby buildings, he said.

"I can see a big hole in the ground and three damaged buildings," said the witness.

Samira al-Shibli, a spokeswoman for the Diyala provincial governor, said three soldiers were killed and six wounded.

"It was a parked car bomb attack on an Iraqi army intelligence unit ... The sound of the blast was heard in all of the city of Baquba," she said. Another car bomb was discovered at the scene but was defused, she said.

Iraqi security sources and officials sometimes give conflicting figures of casualties.

Diyala is a province where al Qaeda and other Sunni insurgents still battle Iraqi security forces. A volatile mix of minority Kurds, majority Shi'ites and Sunnis has made it difficult to bring peace to Diyala.

Suspected Sunni insurgents and Shi'ite militia have stepped up assaults in recent months on Iraqi policemen and soldiers, seeking to undermine faith in the security forces before a full U.S. military withdrawal by the end of this year.

Opposition leader wins Niger's presidential election

Opposition leader Mahamadou Issoufou won this weekend's presidential election with 58 percent of vote, the election commission said Monday.

By News Wires (text)

AFP - Veteran opposition leader Mahamadou Issoufou won elections intended to return Niger to civilian rule after a military coup, taking 57.95 percent of the vote, the election commission announced Monday.

Issoufou, 59, defeated former prime minister Seini Oumarou, 60, who took 42.05 percent of the votes cast in a run-off election on Saturday, electoral commission chief Gousmane Abdourahamane announced.

Voter turnout was 48.17 percent, down from 51.56 percent in the first round on January 31, he said.

Oumarou is a former ally of president Mamadou Tandja, who was toppled in a military coup in February 2010 after he attempted to extend his rule beyond the constitutional limits.

Shooting, tear gas reported at Yemeni protest

From Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN

March 14, 2011 -- Updated 1001 GMT (1801 HKT)

An injured protester is carried into a mosque yard after police fired live rounds and tear gas in Change Square, a witness said.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Anti-government protesters wanted to enter Change Square
• Security forces set up a road block
• Protesters forced their way in
• Security forces responded by shooting and lobbing tear gas, witnesses say

(CNN) -- For the second time in two days, security forces fired live ammunition and lobbed tear gas during protests in Change Square outside Sanaa University on Sunday, Ala'a Al-Khowlani, a witness at the scene, said.

Other witnesses told CNN that at least 10 people were injured.

The clashes began after pro-government demonstrators and security forces set up a road block preventing anti-government protesters from entering Change Square, witnesses said. While protesters were allowed to leave, they were not allowed to re-enter.

Anti-government protesters demanded they be allowed in, and tensions heightened when they forced themselves through the road block, witnesses said. After the protesters made their way in, the shooting started and tear gas was used, they reported.

According to Al-Khowlani, some believe that security forces and police dressed as civilians were shooting into the crowd from nearby rooftops.

In Aden City on Sunday, four protesters were injured by security forces gunfire, witnesses there said.

One day earlier, three people in Aden City died from gunshot wounds when security forces tried to disperse an anti-government rally, a medical official with the group Youth for Change said. A fourth person was killed in Dar Saad, in Aden Province, when a group of anti-government protesters stormed a government complex and set a police station on fire, the medical official said.

A Yemeni Interior Ministry official acknowledged that one person was killed by security forces, but said those who raided the complex were gang members and not protesters.

Regarding the killings in Aden City, a security official called the demonstrators "separatists" rather than protesters, and would not comment on the alleged shootings by security forces.

"The government is trying to keep people as safe as possible," the official said.

Across Yemen, high unemployment fuels much of the anger among a growing young population steeped in poverty. The protesters also cite government corruption and a lack of political freedom.

On Thursday, President Ali Abdullah Saleh -- who has promised not to run for president in the next round of elections -- pledged to bring a new constitution to a vote by the end of the year and transfer government power to an elected parliamentary system.

Human Rights Watch released a statement Saturday, calling on countries that support Saleh to make aid contingent on the government stopping its attacks on demonstrators.

"President Saleh has once again broken his promise to end attacks on peaceful protesters, and those who supply his government with weapons risk complicity in this bloodshed," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at the rights organization.