Yemen's president compares protests to 'influenza'

From Mohammed Jamjoom and Christine Theodorou, CNN

February 21, 2011 -- Updated 1705 GMT (0105 HKT)

Protesters call for the ouster of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh during a demonstration in the capital Sanaa on Monday.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Human rights organization puts death toll at 12
• Houthi rebels join protests in northern Yemen
• The protests are "not part of our heritage," president says
• The opposition's demands are unacceptable, he says

Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh rejected demands Monday that he step aside, comparing the anti-government protests in his country to a virus sweeping through the region.

"This is a virus and is not part of our heritage or the culture of the Yemeni people," he told reporters. "It's a virus that came from Tunisia to Egypt. And to some regions, the scent of the fever is like influenza. As soon as you sit with someone who is infected, you'll be infected."

Meanwhile, anti-government protests appeared to be gaining ground Monday with news that Houthi rebels, who have been battling the government for years, were staging protests and may come to Sanaa, the capital, to join Yemenis in demonstrations.

Saleh added that those seeking change should accept the reforms he has proposed. He had earlier said he won't seek another term in 2013 after being in power for 32 years. He also said he would postpone parliamentary elections scheduled for April to allow more time for discussions about reform.

"The group of reforms was put forward in response to the request of the opposition," he said Monday. "But unfortunately, after we put this reform package on the table and received public support from most people in Yemen, the ceiling of their demands rose and their demands are unacceptable."

"For example," he added, "they are asking for the fall of the regime. Our people are replying to them in all of the governorates and telling them, 'Yes to political reforms, yes to legal reforms and constitutional reforms, but no to coups."

Thousands of Shiite Houthi rebels demonstrated Monday in northern Yemen, according to Hassan Zaid, general-secretary of the pro-Houthi Haq party. "These demonstrations will make the opposition stronger," he said.

He said the Houthis were in near-constant communication with the anti-government opposition. The opposition asked Houthi leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi to hold the protests, and he obliged, Zaid said.

Members of the opposition dialogue committee are traveling to the northern Saada province from Sanaa to discuss bringing the Houthis to the capital to join protests, Zaid said.

Asked if this would end a cease-fire that has been in place between the Houthis and the government for months, barring some flare-ups, Zaid said, "The current government is too weak to announce a war at this time. And if the government tries to have a war right now, I can guarantee you the Houthis will be in Sanaa in two weeks."

Also Monday, between 3,000 to 3,500 anti-government protesters demonstrated peacefully in Sanaa for the 11th consecutive day. Security forces, stationed nearby to ensure peace, prevented about 50 pro-government supporters who tried to disrupt the rally outside Sanaa University, a witness said.

The area in front of the university is being called "Charge Square," according to Human Rights Watch.

Meanwhile, several thousand anti-government protesters clashed with security forces in Aden. At least one person was killed when the forces opened fire Monday, witnesses said.

"They attacked him, and they didn't allow us to help him," said Masood Abdul Bari. "We saw three get shot."

Other witnesses put the number of wounded at four.

Thousands also protested in the Taiz and Ibb provinces, according to eyewitnesses. Hundreds more demonstrated in Lahj and Thale provinces.

In addition to the most recent death, six people have been killed since Wednesday in anti-government demonstrations in Aden, hospital and government officials said.

A human rights organization in the country, HOOD, put the number of deaths as high as 12. Human Rights Watch also said 12 people had died, including Monday's death in Aden.

Also Monday, a prominent Yemeni cleric called for an end to arbitrary arrests and demanded those who carried out attacks and killings of protesters be prosecuted.

"The crimes of intentionally killing protesters will not be forgotten with the passing of time and those behind them must be brought to justice today or tomorrow," said Sheikh Abdul Majid al-Zindani on behalf of the Yemen's Scholars' Committee.

He also called on the government to stop the rise of commodity prices.

The United States considers al-Zindani a terrorist, accused in 2004 of supplying weapons to al Qaeda. But in Yemen, he wields considerable influence.

On Sunday, hundreds of anti-government protesters chanted, "First Mubarak, now Ali," referring to recently ousted Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak and Saleh.

Saleh has blamed the unrest on foreign agendas and a plot against Yemen's stability, according to the state-run Saba news agency.

Yemen's situation is exacerbated by the U.S.-aided crackdown on al Qaeda, a Shiite uprising, a secessionist movement in its once-independent south and a looming shortage of water.

CNN's Abdel Halim Huzayen and journalist Hakim Almasmari contributed to this report.

Report: Egyptian dad names child 'Facebook'

By the CNN Wire Staff

February 21, 2011 -- Updated 1220 GMT (2020 HKT)

A fence is spray painted with the word Facebook in Tahrir Square during protests which saw the ouster of President Mubarak.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Father says it's his way of expressing joy over uprising that ousted Mubarak regime
• Facebook played a role in organizing protesters in Egypt's revolution

(CNN) -- A man in Egypt has named his newborn daughter "Facebook" in honor of the role the social media network played in bringing about a revolution, according to a new report.

Gamal Ibrahim, a 20-something, gave his daughter the name "to express his joy at the achievements made by the January 25 youth," according to a report in Al-Ahram, one of Egypt's most popular newspapers.

Many young people used Facebook and other social media networks to organize the protests, which began January 25 and ultimately led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak after 30 years in power.

Wael Ghonim, a Google executive who organized a Facebook page on his own time, became a central figure of the revolution.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz contributed to this report.

Libya unrest leads to rise in oil price

As violence has spread across Libya, European oil companies have begun to evacuate expatriate staff

The price of oil has risen in response to the turmoil in Libya.

Brent crude had jumped 2.6% by late afternoon to $105.2 a barrel, its highest level since before the 2008 financial crisis.

European energy companies are evacuating some staff from the country, which is a major oil and gas producer for the European market.

Meanwhile shares in Italian oil firm ENI - which is active in Libya - ended Monday trading 5.1% lower.

Italian connection

The Italian company said on Monday that its operations were unaffected by the violence.

Italy buys about one-third of Libya's oil and gas exports, making it the country's biggest customer by far.

ENI has been buying gas from Libya for decades, and is at the centre of a close political relationship between the two countries, according to one analyst.

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In 2008-09, the Libyan government had considered buying an up-to-10% stake in ENI, although the investment did not go ahead.

Some 13% of the company's revenues come from Libya, and 30% from North Africa as a whole, meaning the firm is highly exposed to instability in the region.

Although market concern about the firm is focusing on the short-term impact of the unrest, the analyst said there were also fears that a change in regime could lead to the Libyan assets of ENI and other foreign investors being expropriated.

'Monitoring situation'

The Italian firm said it was bringing home its employees' families and non-essential personnel, and was "further reinforcing the security measures for its people and plants".

ENI is not the only foreign oil company affected by events in Libya.

Shares in Austria's OMV - another European firm that has been active in Libya for many years - ended the day down 4.2%.

OMV, along with Royal Dutch Shell, BP, France's Total and Norway's Statoil, have all said they are repatriating some or all of their non-local staff.

Both BP and Shell are only involved in exploratory preparatory drilling in the country, and neither is currently producing oil there. BP said it had suspended its onshore operations.

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The European Union is preparing to evacuate its citizens from the country.

The UK Foreign Office has already advised that those without a pressing need to remain in the country, should leave by commercial means if it is safe to do so, as has the US.

Meanwhile Turkey has already begun flying its 3,000 or so citizens in the country home.

Market anxiety

Commodities markets are worried about more than just Libya, with the threat of unrest escalating in Iran - the second biggest oil producer in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).

There is nervousness that even Opec's biggest producer, Saudi Arabia, may yet succumb to instability, although the autocratic regime there has yet to witness any protests.

Oil supplies in Libya and elsewhere have yet to be significantly disrupted by any of the events in the Middle East.

However, the head of the Al-Suwayya tribe in eastern Libya is reported to have said they will attempt to stop oil exports to Europe if oppression of protesters by the Gaddafi regime continues.

Strikes by workers have already shut down the Nafoora oilfield, which is operated by a subsidiary of the Libyan state-owned oil company, and protests have also closed the Rus Lanuf oil refinery, according to local news sources.

"I think markets are more twitchy than they normally would be, mainly because there isn't a huge amount of over-capacity in the market and therefore any interruption to supply from a major producer could see prices spike considerably higher," said Nick McGregor, oil analyst at Redmayne Bentley.

Opec is thought to have an additional 4.7 million barrels-per-day available, compared with Libya's exports estimated at 1.5 million.

Libya is responsible for only 2% of all oil production worldwide, although its share of the European market is estimated at 10%.

Oil production is essential to the Libyan economy, with oil output accounting for 95% of export receipts and 25% of the country's economic output.

China's security tsar warns over 'jasmine revolution'

By Chris Hogg BBC News, Shanghai

Police dispersed a small crowd in Shanghai who appeared to be mostly curious onlookers

China's official in charge of the state security apparatus has warned of the need to find new ways to defuse unrest.

Zhou Yongkang urged senior officials to improve "social management" and "detect conflicts and problems early on", the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

He was speaking at a weekend seminar which took place as an internet campaign tried to provoke a "jasmine revolution" in China.

On Sunday, police dispersed a meeting of people who had answered the call.

In Shanghai, three men were detained. Leading human rights activists and lawyers were taken into police custody in the hours before the protests were due to begin.

But the call for mass participation in the demonstrations went largely unheeded.

'Mass incidents'

Mr Zhou - a member of the Chinese Communist Party's nine-man ruling politburo - is responsible for maintaining law and order in the country.

During the seminar, he also told officials that they needed to build a national database with basic information about Chinese people, Xinhua reported.

Mr Zhou's comments followed others made by senior officials in recent days that suggested the country's leadership was worried about challenges to its rule in the longer term as the country's uneven economic development continues.

Figures published last year suggested the Chinese government spent almost as much on maintaining internal security as on defence.

A leading government think-tank has said there have been 90,000 so-called "mass incidents" - examples of public unrest - in China every year since 2007.

Some in China have questioned whether there was ever a serious plan to get people out onto the streets last week.

Academics said it appeared the government was reacting to "rumours" by arresting activists.

The conditions did not yet exist here for such a mass movement to succeed, they said. The controls on the internet, and out on the streets were too strong.

Morocco protests: Five burned bodies found - minister

Several buildings were attacked on Sunday in the northern town of al-Hoceima

Five burned bodies have been found in a bank which was set on fire following anti-government protests in Morocco on Sunday, the interior minister has said.

Taib Cherkaoui said the bodies were discovered in the northern town of al-Hoceima.

He said the protests in al-Hoceima and other towns and cities were peaceful, but added that acts of vandalism and looting took place after the rallies.

The protesters demanded that King Mohammed VI give up some of his power.

So far there has been no independent confirmation of the deaths in al-Hoceima, and it is not clear how the five may have died.

Problems lurking

Journalist Sietske de Boer in al-Hoceima told the BBC that crowds of young men came from outside the town and began ransacking banks, shops and government buildings on Sunday.

Protests have spread across the region since popular movements in Tunisia and Egypt forced out leaders.

However, analysts say that - unlike other countries that have seen protests - Morocco has a successful economy, an elected parliament and a reformist monarchy, making it less vulnerable to a major uprising.

• Led by King Mohammed, seen as a reformist while retaining sweeping powers
• Population 32.3 million, land area 710,850 sq km, including Western Sahara
• Median age 26.5, literacy rate 56%
• Gross National Income per head: $2,770 (World Bank)

Former BBC Morocco correspondent Richard Hamilton says regular protests are allowed and the government has promised to double food subsidies.

But beneath the surface real problems are lurking, he adds.

Morocco has a huge young population, many of them poor or unemployed.

The gap between rich and poor has been described by one commentator as "obscene" and parliamentary elections are said by critics to be a fig leaf for an undemocratic system, our correspondent says.

King Mohammed is a member of the Alawite dynasty that has been ruling Morocco for some 350 years, claiming a direct line of descent from the Prophet Muhammad.

It is regarded as almost sacrilegious to question his role as king, our correspondent says.

Guinea bankrupted by junta - President Alpha Conde

President Alpha Conde said the economy of the West African nation was in tatters

Guinea's President Alpha Conde has told the BBC the military junta that held power before he was elected has left the country bankrupt.

Mr Conde said the army leaders had spent more money in two years than in the 50 years from independence in 1958.

"It was like they were printing money as if there was no tomorrow," he said.

In December, Mr Conde, a veteran opposition leader, was declared the winner of Guinea's first democratic election in 52 years.

He took over from the military junta that had seized power in December 2008 on the death of the previous president, Lansana Conte, who had ruled for 24 years.

The junta, initially headed by Capt Moussa Dadis Camara, promised to end corruption.

"Under the military council, more money was spent than from 1958 until the death of Lansana Conte," President Conde told the BBC's French Service while on a visit to Senegal.

The Guinean leader said that his country's economy was in tatters.

"There is no agricultural production. The customs officers have not been paid. We have inherited a country but not a state," he said.

Guineans are among the poorest people in West Africa, despite the fact that the former French colony is the world's leading exporter of the aluminium ore bauxite.

David Cameron hails 'opportunity' on Egypt visit

21 February 2011 Last updated at 17:35 GMT

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David Cameron: "As a friend of Egypt we want this transition to happen"

David Cameron has met Egypt's new leaders, as the first world leader to visit the country since President Hosni Mubarak was forced out of office.

The UK prime minister held talks with the head of the armed forces supreme council Mohamed Tantawi and caretaker Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq.

He said Egypt had a "great opportunity" to push for democracy.

Mr Cameron also described the violent suppression of protests in neighbouring Libya as "appalling".

Egypt's long-standing leader Mr Mubarak stood down 10 days ago amid widespread protests against his regime by pro-democracy activists.

Speaking on the flight to Cairo, Mr Cameron said: "This is a great opportunity for us to go and talk to those currently running Egypt to make sure this really is a genuine transition from military rule to civilian rule, and see what friendly countries like Britain and others in Europe can do to help."

Part of the prime minister's agenda will be a call for the lifting of emergency laws, which have been in place for more than 30 years.

Analysis

James Landale Deputy Political Editor, BBC News

---

It is frankly astonishing for David Cameron to be here. Egypt is still in flux. It is only 10 days since the country's president Hosni Mubarak stood down.

The interim government is still very much only that. Tahrir Square, where Mr Cameron did an unlikely walkabout, may have returned to its chaotic, noisy self, but the tanks are still there.

The risks for the prime minister are obvious. He could be accused of lecturing the new regime - the old colonial West come to tell the Egyptians how to do their democracy - or he could be accused of legitimising a temporary military government simply by being here - an administration that may soon find the status quo rather comfortable.

But Mr Cameron rejects these views. For him, this is a moment of opportunity for Britain to encourage Egypt's government to press ahead with its move from military to civilian rule.

Mr Cameron walked through Tahrir Square, the centre of the anti-Mubarak demonstrations, and met figures from the protest movement, although not representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood - the banned Islamic group which is thought to have widespread public support.

The prime minister had planned to make a trade-centred tour of the Middle East but altered his schedule to visit Egypt.

He told the BBC that Egypt's current military rulers had done some good things in terms of setting out the need for constitutional change, a referendum and parliamentary elections.

But he said they need to "do more, more quickly in terms of ending the state of emergency, allowing political parties to register and freeing political prisoners".

Mr Cameron said he had met "very brave" figures from the protest movement who "don't yet have confidence that this transition is real".

"As a friend of Egypt we want this transition to happen we want to help encourage the government to take those steps," he said.

BBC deputy political editor James Landale, who is travelling with Mr Cameron, said it was extraordinary for a British prime minister to engage in full-on diplomacy in a country that was still "in flux".

He said the prime minister believed that there was a window of opportunity for western leaders to give what his advisers are calling "candid" advice, but there was a danger he could be seen as lecturing or as legitimising a temporary regime.

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William Hague: "Gaddafi may have left country"

But Mr Cameron said it was "right to come here to say that we support the aspirations of people in Egypt for a more genuine, open democracy".

"It's not a question of either lecturing or legitimising, it's saying we want Egypt to have a strong and successful future," he said.

The Egypt visit comes while anti-government protests are raging in Libya and Bahrain.

Asked about the violent treatment of demonstrators against Muammar Gaddafi's regime in Libya in recent days, Mr Cameron said: "We can see what is happening in Libya which is completely appalling and unacceptable as the regime is using the most vicious forms of repression against people who want to see that country, which is one of the most closed and one of the most autocratic, make progress."

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has been in Brussels for talks on the violence in Libya.

Oil firm BP has said it is preparing to evacuate some of its staff and their families from the country over the next day or so. The company has 40 foreign employees in Libya.