Yemeni troops sent Al-Qaeda fighters fleeing from the southern city of Loder and pressed towards militant-controlled Zinjibar. "We have cleansed Loder (of Al-Qaeda) and the fighters have been forced to flee," Middle-east-online.com quotes anonymous military official as saying.He said that Al-Qaeda gunmen retreated from three positions on the outskirts of Loder, in southern Abyan province, which they have been trying to overrun for several months.

The head of Syria's main opposition coaltion, the Syrian National Council, has said he will resign amid growing criticism and rifts within the group. Burhan Ghalioun, who was re-elected as SNC leader on Tuesday, said he would step down once a replacement is found. The SNC was formed last year to present a united front for the opposition, but has been torn by divisions. "I will not allow myself to be the candidate of division, I am not attached to a position... Read more »

Libyan Islamist commander Abdel Hakim Belhadj has resigned his military post in a bid to enter politics. Mr Belhadj, a key brigade leader in the 2011 toppling of Col Gaddafi, plans to run in elections next month He is a former member of an Islamist insurgent group which sought to overthrow Gaddafi in the 1990s. Mr Belhadj is currently taking legal action against the UK authorities, alleging they were complicit in his 2004 rendition to Libya, Bbc.co.uk repor... Read more »

Leaders of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) are meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss plans for a regional political, economic and security union. The exact nature of this union is unclear. Bahrain's minister of state for information, Samira Rajab, said it could follow European Union model. The idea to form the union belongs to the Saudi monarch, King Abdullah, who is chairing the meeting in Riyadh, Bbc.co.uk reported.

More than 1,000 Jordanians, mostly opposition Islamists, marched on Friday demanding elected governments and "radical" reforms, and criticising newly appointed Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh. Demonstrators gathered in central Amman after midday prayers, the protesters, including youths and trade unionists, carried banners reading "we want to reform the regime, radical change and elected governments." "Fayez (Tarawneh) go home, you are not up to reform. We wa... Read more »