• Yemen's president Saleh claims he backs power transfer
• Saudi women to get vote and representation in four years
• Syrian military defectors say armed rebellion underway
• Gaddafi stronghold of Sirte close to falling
Here's an afternoon round-up:
Yemen
Anti-government tribesman have overrun a Republican Guards base north of Sana'a, according to security officials. The Defense Ministry said in a statement that the base's commander, Brig. Ali al-Keleibi, was killed in the fighting, while the unnamed officials claimed that 30 guards were also captured during the assault early this morning. (See 10.37am.) The Republican Guards are the elite fighting unit headed by President Saleh's son, Ahmed. Journalists have reported a tense calm in the capital's Change Square, scene of much of last week's bloody clashes.
Libya
• Fighters for Libya's interim government have shelled the Gaddafi stronghold of Sirte. Reuters reported that anti-Gaddafi forces had made a sharp push forward on the eastern side of the city. An NTC fighter said he hoped they would enter the city within hours. "There's heavy resistance on the outskirts of Sirte and there are Gaddafi snipers but God willing we can enter Sirte by tonight," said Emad al-Amamy.
• The exodus from Gaddafi's hometown continues. Scores of civilians continued to drive out of the town. NTC fighters checked them, looking for wanted figures, Reuters said.
• Scottish prosecutors have contacted Libya's interim rulers for help in finding "documentary evidence and witnesses" whose testimony might be of use in charging suspects in connection with the Lockerbie bombing enquiry. (See 11.13am.) Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the man convicted of the attack, has terminal cancer and is believed to be critically ill in his home in Tripoli.
• Italian energy giant Eni said it had resumed oil production in Libya for the first time since the civil war. It said it had opened production in 15 wells at the Abu-Attifel fields, about 300km south of Benghazi, producing some 31,900 barrels per day. (See 1.11pm.) The announcement came as Libya's new rulers held a conference in London focusing on future development.
Syria
• Seven people have been killed today- four in Hama and two in Homs- according to the Local Coordination Committee. The government's news agency, meanwhile, claims a warrant officer was killed by an armed gang, after he was kidnapped. And a Syrian official told AP that gunmen had kidnapped 14 army officers in an ambush on Sunday that killed six soldiers and a security agent. (See 2.46pm.) None of the reports could be independently verified.
• Online activists Anonymous and RevoluSec claimed to have hacked into government websites to highlight the brutality of the crackdown against protesters. In a post on Tumblr Anonymous claimed to have redirected official city websites to a graphic showing the number of people killed in the uprising.
• General Riad Asaad, leader of the Free Syria Army of defectors, has told the BBC that more army defections are needed to overthrow the government. Riad, who declared "the beginning of armed rebellion" in the Washington Post yesterday, told Panorama: "We're counting on defections, there are larger numbers occurring every day. But we know that this regime cannot be taken out without the use of force." (See 9.16am.)
• Around 200 Iranian doctors have written a letter to Bashar al-Assad condemning his crackdown on protesters and saying his tactics were "regretful" given that al-Assad is a trained opthamologist. AP reported that the letter- the first open collective missive against the Damascus regime from its ally Iran- was published in Iranian reformist newspaper Shargh.
United Arab Emirates
Five pro-democracy activists on trial in the United Arab Emirates have returned to court for closed-door proceedings from which journalists and human rights observers were banned. The activists, including blogger Ahmed Mansour and a prominent academic, were detained in April after they signed an online petition demanding constitutional changes and free elections. A group of government supporters staged a rally in a park near the court, denouncing the activists as traitors and ungrateful citizens, AP reports. The UAE held elections on Saturday which authorities claimed marked a step towards democracy.
As more reports document the bloodshed in Syria today, there are fears that the uprising is turning violent, according to Simon Tisdall.
Recognising peaceful protest is failing but that the uprising has gone too far to simply peter out, US officials are reportedly anticipating the escalation of organised violence in Syria. "In co-ordination with Turkey, the United States has been exploring how to deal with the possibility of a civil war … a conflict that could quickly ignite other tensions in an already volatile region," Helene Cooper of the New York Times reported from Washington.
A former Obama administration official added: "The Sunni [majority] are increasingly arming, and the situation is polarising."
This disturbing assessment matches those in the region where attention is focusing on a group of defectors, the "Free Syrian Army", which is organising armed resistance.
Gaddafi watch update: An Algerian newspaper has claimed that relatives of Gaddafi have left Algeria and are now in Egypt. But the claim has been denied by Egyptian airport authorities, according to the Trend news agency.
Cairo sources said that no relatives of Gaddafi had arrived for the past few months, adding that visa requirements and security approval are required for every Libyan to enter Cairo, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported.
Eight members of Gaddafi's family, including his daughter Aisha, left Algeria last weekend ...Algerian Khabar newspaper has recently reported.
In case there's any doubt President Saleh's apparent commitment to transfer power has been translated into English.
A translation of his TV speech includes this wordy passage backing the Gulf Co-operation Council deal that involves him stepping down from power in return for immunity from prosecution.
We have repeatedly discussed peaceful transition of power through ballot boxes, and today we reiterate that we are committed to the GCC initiative, its implementation as is, and its signing, something that we had entrusted Vice President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi to do as per a presidential decision that is still effective. Hadi is authorized to carry out dialogue and sign the initiative and its implementation mechanism to save the nation from this great impasse and to move forward towards dialogue, understanding, and peaceful transfer of power through ballot boxes and early presidential elections as per the GCC initiative.
Significantly the speech also includes a number of grovelling reference to Saudi Arabia and the United States.
It also rehearses familiar Saleh arguments that the alternative to him is terrorism.
If you are terrorizing citizens while out of power, how do you expect Yemenis to entrust you with authority, security, the army, and power? You are terrorizing citizens while you have nothing in your hand except violence and terrorism.
Once again there are widely conflicting reports from about violence in Syria.
The Local Coordination Committee claims that seven people were killed today, including four in Hama and two in Homs. It says Yathrib Al Zahouri and Ashraf Al Zahouri were killed in Homs after their hideout was raided.
The government's news agency Sana claims that a warrant officer was killed by an armed gang, after he was kidnapped. In the past similar claims by the government have been disputed by activists who insists that soldiers are shot for disobeying orders.
A Syrian official told AP that gunmen had kidnapped 14 army officers in an ambush that killed six soldiers and a security agent. The official says the incident occurred Sunday outside the town of Qusair near the border with Lebanon.
None of the reports can be independently verified.
Erdogan revealed Turkey was considering sanctions against Syria at a press conference in New York on Sunday. He also confirmed a planned visit to Hatay refugee camp to highlight the plight of Syrians who fled across the border.
"The most crucial step will be opening up refugee camp to the media," Erdogan said. Until now the Turkish security forces have prevented journalists from talking to refugees in the camp, a move that was seen a courtesy to its old ally. That is all about to change. The Turkish news website Zaman quoted Erdogan saying: "People will be able to tell the truth to the world and Syria is afraid of it. The Hatay visit will be a turning point in our Syria policy."
As Monajed mentioned earlier (2.22pm) Erdogan also accused Assad of lying and outlined the arguments he had used to stop sectarian tensions spilling over in Syria. "I told Assad he could turn the fact that he is Nusayri while his wife is Sunni into an opportunity [to promote sectarian tolerance], but this had no result."
The Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyipp Erodagan is poised to announce sanctions against the Syrian regime after meeting members of the Syrian opposition at the United Nations in New York.
Ausama Monajed a member of the newly formed Syrian National Council, who met the Turkish leader on Sunday, said: "Erdogan will visit the Hatay refugee camp in southern Turkey and will announce from there a package of sanctions against the Syrian regime for the first time."
Erdogan is also expected to condemn Syrian attempts to infiltrate refugee camps on the Turkish border, Monajed said in telephone interview from New York.
"Turkey is very angry at Assad because of how the intelligence services in Syria are creating all these false smears and propaganda [campaigns] against Turkey to damage its image."
Monajed cited the example of claims about the arrest of Lieutenant Colonel Hussein al-Harmoush, after some activists blamed Turkey for handing him over to the regime.
Monajed said such claims were designed to create a wedge between the Syrian opposition movement and Turkey. He pointed out that Turkish officers are under investigation following the capture of Harmoush.
Syria was the hot topic behind the scenes at the Unite Nations, Monajed insisted. He claimed Barack Obama called Erdogan nine times to discuss the crisis.
During his meeting with the Syrian opposition, Erodgan made it clear he wanted to see the end of the Assad regime, Monajed said. "He assured [us] of the position of Turkey in calling on Assad to step down and supporting the opposition in Syria."
On calls for an armed insurrection by the Free Syria Army, Monajed said defected soldiers have been trying to prevent the massacre of protesters. "It is a complete war zone in some areas, and they [the Free Syria Army] have been trying to defend these area. Whether the Syrian revolution will take a different path is a completely different discussion. But the Syrian National Council's position, at the moment, is to maintain this revolution as peaceful and non-violent as possible."
Monajed accused the regime of trying to foment sectarian tensions and claimed that raids today on Rastan were designed to root out soldiers who had defected.
Italian energy giant Eni has resumed oil production in Libya for the first time since the civil war, it said today.
It said it has opened production in 15 wells at the Abu-Attifel fields, about 300km south of Benghazi, producing some 31,900 barrels per day.
The operations are being conducted by Mellitah Oil & Gas, a partnership between Eni and Libya's state-run National Oil Corp. Eni said other wells would be reactivated soon to reach the "required volumes to fill the pipeline" between the Abu-Attifel field and the Zuetina port.
Before the civil war, Eni was producing 273,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in Libya. The country sits atop Africa's largest proven reserves of conventional crude and raked in
$40bn (£25.8bn) last year from oil and gas exports. Experts say it could take about a year or more to get back to its pre-war production of 1.6m barrels a day.
Earlier this month, Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni visited Tripoli to lay the groundwork for relaunching gas exports to Italy via the Greenstream pipeline, which can carry roughly 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. It hasn't been operational since late February.
Scaroni has set 15 October as an optimistic deadline to restart the gas flow.
Here's a little lunchtime summary:
Yemen
Anti-government tribesman have overrun a Republican Guards base north of Sana'a, according to security officials. The Defense Ministry said in a statement that the base's commander, Brig. Ali al-Keleibi, was killed in the fighting, while the unnamed officials claimed that 30 guards were also captured during the assault early this morning. (See 10.37am.) The Republican Guards are the elite fighting unit headed by President Saleh's son, Ahmed. Journalists have reported a tense calm in the capital's Change Square, scene of much of last week's bloody clashes.
Libya
• Nato has kept up its bombardment of the Gaddafi stronghold of Sirte. The alliance said this morning it hit eight targets in the city yesterday, including an ammunition and vehicle storage facility, a multiple rocket launcher and other military sites. The NATO strikes came after a day in which the revolutionary forces made their biggest breakthrough yet in the battle to take control of Gaddafi's hometown.
• Scottish prosecutors have contacted Libya's interim rulers for help- specifically "documentary evidence and witnesses"- with the "ongoing" Lockerbie bombing enquiry. (See 11.13am.) Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the man convicted of the attack, has terminal cancer and is believed to be critically ill in his home in Tripoli.
• Libya's new rulers will take steps towards attracting investment for future development- and possibly repaying one of their main backers during the war- at a conference in London today. The "Libya - the Future" conference is being held at The QE11 Conference Centre, Westminster. The keynote speaker will be Guma el-Gamaty - the UK Representative for the National Transitional Council (NTC). (See 10.24am.)
Syria
• Online activists Anonymous and RevoluSec claimed to have hacked into government websites to highlight the brutality of the crackdown against protesters. In a post on Tumblr Anonymous claimed to have redirected official city websites to a graphic showing the number of people killed in the uprising. Al Jazeera reported that activists had "replaced the official sites with caricatures of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a message saying, "Don't let Bashar monitor you online", along with tips on how to avoid detection by Syria's online intelligence - known as the Syrian electronic army."
• General Riad Asaad, leader of the Free Syria Army of defectors, has told the BBC that more army defections are needed to overthrow the government. Riad, who declared "the beginning of armed rebellion" in the Washington Post yesterday, told Panorama: "We're counting on defections, there are larger numbers occurring every day. But we know that this regime cannot be taken out without the use of force." (See 9.16am.)
• Around 200 Iranian doctors have written a letter to Bashar al-Assad condemning his crackdown on protesters and saying his tactics were "regretful" given that al-Assad is a trained opthamologist. AP reported that the letter- the first open collective missive against the Damascus regime from its ally Iran- was published in Iranian reformist newspaper Shargh.
Reuters journalist Barry Malone tweets an update on the ongoing battle by Libyan revolutionary forces to take control of of Sirte, Gaddafi's birthplace:
Our reporters there: Nato planes over Sirte. NTC hitting it with tanks on west side. Advance from east is within about 10kms now #Libya
President Saleh's surprise return to Yemen is a Saudi-backed attempt to end a violent power struggle in Sana'a according to the the Lebanese website al-Akhbar.
It has this detailed account of how what led to his return:
It appears that the Saudis believe Saleh's return is necessary for a ceasefire to take hold between pro- and anti-regime forces in Sanaa. Earlier in the week, GCC Secretary-General Abdul Latif al-Zayani failed to broker a truce between the various political players that would lead to implementation of the GCC peace deal. Opposition leaders refused to meet al-Zayani as long as regime forces continued killing protesters on the streets. But al-Zayani could not persuade Ahmad Saleh, the president's son and commander of the Republic Guard, to order his men to stop firing. Al-Zayani cut short a meeting at the UAE embassy when it became clear that the Saleh was intent on crushing the "outlaws and deserters," namely the troops commanded by the breakaway General Ali Muhsin al-Ahmar.
Before leaving Sana'a, Zayani pleaded with Vice President Hadi that a ceasefire was still achievable. Hadi duly ordered an immediate halt to fighting, but Ahmad Saleh's forces refused to comply. The Republican Guard responded by mounting an unsuccessful assassination attempt against one of Hadi's close associates, General Ali Abdallah Aleiwa, who recently joined General al-Ahmar's rebel camp. Under pressure from the president's son, and feeling powerless and humiliated, Hadi came close last week to leaving Aden and retreating from public view, effectively ceding control to Ahmad Saleh.
Ahmad Saleh's repeated attempts to block a ceasefire are likely designed to pave the way for his father's return, with the blessing of Saudi Arabia and the US. They might argue that the embattled president is the only one capable of halting the unprecedented bloodletting, thereby settling the conflict in his favour.
Libya' National Transitional Council is still facing a job keeping the forces responsible for the overthrow of Gaddafi together.
LibyanNewsMedia, who has championed the revolutionaries, tweets:
There are leaflets being spread in Tripoli asking for the resignation of Mahmoud Jibrill...while others are dying to liberate other cities.
Jibril, the interim prime minister, has faced criticism for the amount of time he spent abroad, both during the Gaddafi regime, in which he served as a minister, and while the revolt was taking place.
His perceived liberal views have also made him unpopular among Islamists. Many, feel that the NTC, which operated out of Benghazi during the war, has neglected those from other areas, such as Misrata, who helped to oust Gaddafi.
The BBC's Lyse Douset has become the latest western journalist to gain official permission to report from Syria.
In her first despatch she writes about the economic problems in Damascus and the difficulty of finding out what people genuinely think about the regime:
It's impossible to know what people really think in the midst of such tension. One man who insisted there were "no problems" quickly changed his tune once the government minder was out of earshot. "I can't tell you what I really think," he whispered furtively.
Scottish prosecutors have contacted Libya's interim rulers for help in tracking down information which could lead to suspects other than Abdelbaset al-Megrahi being charged over the Lockerbie bombing.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Crown Office was quoted by Reuters as saying:
We have asked the NTC (National Transitional Council) to make available to the Crown any documentary evidence and witnesses which could assist in the ongoing enquiries.
Lockerbie remains an open enquiry concerning the involvement of others with Mr Megrahi in the murder of 270 people.
According to AP she added that the bombing was an act of state sponsored terrorism and that Megrahi "did not act alone".
Yemeni security officials claim anti-government militia men have overrun a base of the Republican Guards, who are blamed for much of the violence that killed 100 people in the last week.
The Defence Ministry said in a statement that the base's commander, Brigadier Ali al-Keleibi, was killed in the fighting, AP reports.
But officials said the tribesmen captured 30 guards when they seized control of the base at Dahrah, north of Sana'a earlier today.
Footage has also emerged claiming to show government troops firing live ammunition at unarmed protesters in Sana'a on Sunday.
At least 18 people were reported injured in the protests yesterday.
A couple of interesting-Gaddafi-related stories have emerged today.
The ousted Libyan dictator sent $2m to republican dissidents in Northern Ireland earlier this year in a bid to attack Britain for supporting the overthrow of his regime, an ITV documentary to be screened tonight will claim.
The Telegraph reports:
The cash was said to be on its way to a businessman, believed to be a supporter of one of the dissident republican terror groups responsible for attacks against police in Northern Ireland ...
A source at the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, told the programme's producers that in June - at a time when Gaddafi's forces were suffering regular Nato bombing raids, and half of his country was in the hands of rebels - a Libyan courier flew into London in June carrying a heavy suitcase, inside which were banknotes wrapped in plastic.
Meanwhile, Gaddafi's chief spokesman has claimed that the deposed Libyan leader and his family have not helped themselves to Libya's oil wealth and are "among the poorest citizens", Reuters reports:
Moussa Ibrahim said no one had been able to show that Gaddafi or his family had assets or accounts.
"That is more proof of the honesty and transparency of this family and that they are an ordinary Libyan family," said Ibrahim, who usually acts as Gaddafi's contact with the international media ...
The Gaddafi family are widely known to have led lavish lives.
Singer Nelly Furtado disclosed she was paid $1m to perform a 45-minute private concert for Gaddafi family members in Italy while Mariah Carey and Beyonce Knowles were booked to play at other family functions.
Switzerland said in May that it had found 360 million Swiss francs of potentially illegal assets linked to Gaddafi and his circle stashed in the Alpine country.
British newspapers reported that Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam owns a house in London worth $19 million with nine bedrooms, a swimming pool and a cinema.
"The leader of the revolution and his family are among the poorest citizens," Ibrahim said. "All the wealth of Libya is traceable to functioning companies and institutions".
Libya's new rulers will take steps towards attracting investment for future development in Libya - and possibly repaying one of their main backers during the war - at a conference in London today.
The "Libya - the Future" conference is being held at The QE11 Conference Centre, Westminster. The keynote speaker will be Guma el-Gamaty - the UK Representative for the National Transitional Council (NTC).
Online activists have hacked into government website in Syria to highlight the brutality of the crackdown against protesters, al-Jazeera reports.
In a post on Tumblr, the hacker group Anonymous, claimed to have redirected official city websites to a graphic showing the number of people killed in the uprising (left). But at the time of writing those sites and those of the ministries of culture and transport were unavailable.
Al-Jazeera reports:
Activists replaced the official sites with caricatures of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a message saying, "Don't let Bashar monitor you online", along with tips on how to avoid detection by Syria's online intelligence - known as the Syrian electronic army.
"First and foremost, this operation is about the people of Syria and our full support for them as they fight for freedom from oppression," a member of RevoluSec, who requested to remain unidentified, told Al Jazeera via a secure online discussion on Monday.
General Riad Asaad, leader of the Free Syria Army, appears to have launched a media campaign on plans to remove the Assad regime by force.
As well as that interview with the Washington Post, he told the BBC's Panorama programme that more army defections are needed to overthrow the government.
In what the BBC claims is his first television interview, Riad told Panorama: "We're counting on defections, there are larger numbers occurring every day. But we know that this regime cannot be taken out without the use of force."
Riad suggested to the Washington Post that the armed rebellion had already begun, but in his BBC interview he said it hadn't reached that stage yet. He said: "We are now preparing for this stage. You understand? If they don't agree to give up power peacefully we'll take them out by force."
The interview will be broadcast tonight.
Nato ordered a halt to street fighting in Sirte yesterday so that it planes could attack Gaddafi's forces.
Nato has just released details of the eight target it hit in the coastal city. No other places were hit.
In the vicinity of Sirte: 1 command and control node, 2 ammunition/vehicle storage facility, 1 radar facility, 1 multiple rocket launcher, 1 military support vehicle,1 artillery piece, 1 ammunition storage facility.
Welcome to Middle East Live. Events in the region continue to unfold at a breathtaking pace. In the last 24 hours Yemen's president Saleh's claimed he is committed to transferring power; Saudi women were told they get the vote in four years time; Libyan forces closed in on Sirte; and Syrian army defectors declared that an armed uprising has begun.
Here's a round up in more detail.
Yemen
• In his first speech since his return from Saudi Arabia, Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, claimed he was committed to transferring power in early elections. His opponent think he is stalling again as he signalled his intention several times before to to sign a US-backed deal to step aside in exchange for immunity from prosecution only to back out at the last minute.
• Saleh was confronted by further scenes of violence on Sunday as government troops under the command of his son Ahmed fired on unarmed protesters marching through the capital. One of those injured Abulqawy Noman, a professor of chemistry at Sana'a University, said: "We reached the roundabout and then a group of soldiers under the bridge just started shooting straight at us without warning – they were 10 metres away."
Syria
• A group of Syrian army defectors is attempting the first armed challenge to President Bashar al-Assad's rule, the Washington Post reports. "It is the beginning of armed rebellion," said General Riad Asaad, leader of the Free Syria Army told the paper from the Turkish border.
• Overnight tanks bombarded Rastan in the restive central province of Homs, the BBC reports. Witnesses claimed 60 tanks and armoured vehicles were massed the east of the town.
Saudi Arabia
Women in Saudi Arabia will be given the right to vote and to stand for election within four years, King Abdullah announced on Sunday, in a cultural shift that appears to mark a new era in the rigidly conservative Islamic kingdom. The right to vote in council elections will not take effect until 2015, and women will still be banned from casting ballots in elections this Thursday. But the king invited women to take part in the next shura council, a governing body that supervises legislation.
Libya
• Libyan government forces have advanced closer to the centre of the strategic town of Sirte, as it was announced that a telephone conversation between Gaddafi's sons had been intercepted. Colonel Ahmed Bani, the NTC military spokesman, revealed that the call took place between Mutasim Gaddafi, organising the fighting inside Sirte, and Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, in Bani Walid south of Tripoli.
• The provisional government in Tripoli will ask Algeria to explain how pro-Gaddafi forces crossed the border to attack its forces. Eight fighters were killed in the attack near Ghadames on Saturday. Algeria announced last week that it recognised the authority of the National Transitional Council in Tripoli, but suspicions linger about its attitude, not least because it has given shelter to Muammar Gaddafi's wife, daughter and other relatives.
• A mass grave has been found containing the remains of 1,270 inmates killed by the Gaddafi regime in a 1996 prison massacre. The site was found near Tripoli's Abu Salim prison, where the victims were reportedly killed on 26 June 1996 after a protest against conditions.
• The true cost of the UK's involvement in the Libya conflict could be as high as £1.75bn – almost seven times more than government estimates, according to a new study. Research by the respected defence analyst, Francis Tusa, suggests that the government has given a misleading picture of the costs of supporting the military operation, now in its seventh month, leading to demands for a proper spending breakdown.
Israel and the Palestinian territories
The Palestinian leadership is to press for a vote as soon as possible on its demand for full statehood at the United Nations security council as President Mahmoud Abbas returned to Ramallah to declare before cheering crowds that the "Palestinian Spring" had begun. The 15-member security council is due to begin considering the Palestinian request on Monday amid rising tensions in the West Bank following the shooting dead of a Palestinian villager by Israeli soldiers and the death of a Jewish settler and his son in a car crash that police said was probably caused by rock-throwing.
Iran
Joshua Fattal and Shane Bauer the two American hikers held for more than two years in an Iranian prison, claimed they were detained because of their nationality. In their first press conference since being freed under a $1m (£640,000) bail deal, Bauer said:
From the very start, the only reason we have been held hostage is because we are American. Iran has always tied our case to its political disputes with the US.