The Jordanian authorities have held four policemen on suspicion of using excessive force against protesters and reporters. Friday saw baton-wielding police officers clash with dozens of pro-democracy demonstrators trying to set up a protest camp in the centre of the capital city of Amman. At least 15 people were injured in the confrontation including photographers and journalists. About 100 journalists held a protest action in Amman on Sunday to condemn the... Read more »

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has again pledged never to leave Libya, the "land of his ancestors". His speech was broadcast to loyalists in the city of Zawiya, which was taken back from rebels after heavy fighting in the early stages of the uprising. The statement came after the US decided to recognise the rebels as Libya's "legitimate governing authority". Overnight, blasts were heard elsewhere in Tripoli, as fighting continued in Libyan cities, including around... Read more »

According to aid workers Somalia is now facing a fully-fledged humanitarian catastrophe. "We are no longer talking about a humanitarian crisis or a humanitarian emergency," Middle-east-online.com.quotes Jens Oppermann, the country director of Action Against Hunger (Action Contre La Faim, ACF) as saying. "We are seeing this as a humanitarian catastrophe," he concluded. Thousands of Somalis have fled in recent few months to neighbouring Ethiopia and Kenya in ... Read more »

Israel has launched air strikes on Gaza strip, the third time in as many days, wounding four Palestinians including two children. Security officials and eyewitnesses said yesterday that the Israeli aircraft had three targets; two in the Gaza City and a third in Khan Younis, further south from the city. The hit came at the end of a day in which at least five projectiles were fired into southern Israel from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Aljazeera.net

Tunisian PM Beji Caid Essebsi yesterday painted a bleak picture of the national economy. According to him the key reason for that repeated strikes that have stopped the operation several firms. "The economic situation is very bad. Repeated sit-ins and strikes have stopped operations at several firms," middle-east-online.com quotes Essebsi as saying. He gave an example of a chemical complex in the southeastern town of Gabes where activity was disrupted for w... Read more »

Lebanon's opposition leader Saad Hariri yesterday defended a UN-backed court that has indicted Hezbollah members in the 2005 assassination of his father against "misleading accusations" by the Shiite group. "After the indictment was issued, I decided it was time for me to speak, to rectify... (Hezbollah leader) Hassan Nasrallah's misleading accusations that the tribunal is Israeli, that its indictment was formed even before the investigation," Middle-east-o... Read more »

Muamar Gaddafi’s troops launched a counterattack yesterday against rebel advance positions 50 kilometres southwest of the capital city ofTripoli. Loyalist army fired half a dozen Grad rockets into the hamlet of Gualish. The rebels replied with anti-tank fire as they tried to maintain their grip on Gualish, a key gateway on the road to Tripoli that they seized last week. Just hours before loyalists’ attack, NATO warplanes bombed positions in the area. Repres... Read more »

Egypt’s Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said yesterday he has ordered to fire all police officers accused of killing protesters during the people uprising against Hosni Mubarak’s regime. Mr. Sharaf was speaking amid thousands of people protested in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday demanding immediate start of political change, a day after mass nationwide rallies denounced the country’s military rulers. Among the key demands were an end to military trials of civi... Read more »

The Republic of South Sudan has become the world's newest independent nation by officially breaking away from Sudan. The country suffered two civil wars and five decades of conflict with the north. Today it becomes the 193rd country recognised by the UN. Atmosphere of joy and celebration swept through its capital Juba at midnight on Friday. Thousands of flocked to the streets singing, dancing, banging drums and honking horns in celebration. The main ceremon... Read more »

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh appeared on TV in his first public sighting since the June bombing of his compound in the capital city of Sana. He was wounded and that forced him to move to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment. In pre-recorded, seven-minute television address emaciated and scarred Saleh accused his opponents of having an “incorrect understanding of democracy”. He also said that he wished to share power and engage in dialogue with proteste... Read more »