18 February 2011 Last updated at 08:19 GMT

Middle East and North Africa unrest

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  1. 1530: Libya's army chief, Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabir, is reported to have been put under house arrest after siding with the protesters, according to a former Libyan official, reports the Libya al-Yawm website.
  2. 1525: Tim Niblock, an expert on Libya at Exeter University, says it is fairly clear that Col Gaddafi has lost control over the main part of the military in eastern Libya: "There are brigades under two of his sons who are still apparently active a bit, but those are probably marginal by now," he tells the BBC World Service's Newshour programme. "Two key figures are supporting the rebellion and have done, especially one of them, from a very early stage. They feel that the regime has corrupted itself."
  3. 1519: In Cairo, a senior US diplomat has called for "careful preparations" for Egypt's elections, the further release of detainees and lifting of emergency law.
  4. 1511: More ripple effect from the unrest in Libya: Milan's stock exchange has plunged more than 3% in afternoon trading, dragged down by Italian companies with Libyan capital or with major investments in the country.
  5. 1507: Egypt says it would like EU states to cancel its debts to them, but has not made a formal request, the EU's delegation in Cairo has said, citing the Egyptian finance minister, AFP reports.
  6. 1457: British construction worker Mike Bailey, who has just flown back to London from Tripoli, has told the BBC there was a "very palpable air" that trouble was coming and he was woken up during the night by gunfire. He has an apartment about half a mile from Green Square in the Libyan capital. When he got to work on Sunday, he was told it would be best to leave the country. "We heard very heavy gunfire, small arms and heavy calibre stuff about 0330 this morning. It lasted for round about an hour. We then left the apartment about 0530 local time, to go to the airport. Everywhere was dead quiet. The roads were quiet. We saw evidence of barricades and fires and pictures of the boss being ripped down, but no actual people on the street after that time in the morning."
  7. 1450: There's a possibility the Bahrain Grand Prix may be called off due to the protests, amid reports that all 12 Formula One teams have decided not to travel to the country for testing on 3 March. There is speculation the race could be relocated to the UK.
  8. 1447: Sad news from Bahrain, with the confirmation of the death of 32-year-old Abdul Redha Mohammed Hassan. He was shot in the head by security forces while trying to march to Manama's Pearl Square on Friday, and died in hospital on Monday, his family said. At least eight people have been killed and hundreds injured in the clashes since the unrest reached the Gulf state last week.
  9. 1444: In the Middle East, many media reports have criticised Libyan leader Col Gaddafi and his son, Saif al-Islam, for their reaction to the protests. Several regional newspapers predict the revolt could prove successful in the wake of those elsewhere in the Arab world. One paper describes Col Gaddafi's period in power as "shameful".
  10. 1437: A number of Libya's senior government officials and diplomats have now quit. Libya's envoy to the Arab League, Abdel Moneim al-Honi, announced earlier he was "joining the revolution" and its ambassador to India, Ali al-Essawi, told the BBC he was resigning in protest against his government's violent crackdown on demonstrators.
  11. 1428: Libyan Justice Minister Mustafa Mohamed Abud al-Jeleil has resigned over the "excessive use of violence" against protesters, the privately-owned Quryna newspaper reports.
  12. 1426: In neighbouring Egypt, the prosecutor general has ordered a freeze on assets belonging to former President Hosni Mubarak, his wife and his son, al-Arabiya TV station is reporting.
  13. 1422: Moscow has joined its voice to the international calls for an end to violence in Libya. In a statement, the Russian foreign ministry urges all sides to start a "national dialogue".
  14. 1418: The focus is very much on the capital, where it is widely assumed the future of Col Gaddafi's leadership will be decided, says BBC World Affairs correspondent Mike Wooldridge. Tripoli is now reported to be a city that is virtually shut down, while the second biggest city, Benghazi, is described by some as effectively under the control of the protesters.
  15. 1410: Otman, from Tripoli writes: "We, the Libyan people, are in the deep end. We either sink or swim; we either topple the regime or face being massacred. We have no choice... we have to keep moving forward, there is no going back." Have Your Say
  16. 1409: Witnesses in Sirte - Col Gaddafi's birthplace - deny a report by a human rights group that protesters have taken control of the northern city seen by many as a stronghold of the Libyan leader, AFP reports.
  17. 1407: The intensifying strife is having serious repercussions in the business world, with the price of oil jumping in early Monday trading to its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
  18. 1359: We'll be bringing you the latest developments - including news from the ground, analysis from our correspondents and your reaction to events - as we get them. Do send us your thoughts by email, text or twitter. We'll publish what we can.
  19. 1355: The protests have spread around the world. In the UK, around 50 protesters are currently gathered a short distance from the BBC Radio Merseyside building in Liverpool, demanding Col Gaddafi step down. They are waving flags and chanting: "Libya must be free, tell the BBC," and "Enough is enough - 42 years". A small number of police officers are standing nearby.
  20. 1352: Further west in Morocco, meanwhile, the government says five burned bodies have been found in a bank following demonstrations on Sunday. Interior Minister Taeib Cherqaoui said the protests demanding that King Mohamed give up some of his powers were largely peaceful, but troublemakers had vandalised buildings in some towns, including Al Hoceima where the bodies were discovered.
  21. 1348: Elsewhere in the region, thousands of anti-government demonstrators have taken part in rallies across Yemen. Protesters calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign have taken to the streets in the capital, Sanaa, the southern city of Aden and the northern Saada region considered stronghold of the Shia Huthi rebels.
  22. 1344: Police have fled the city of Zawiyah, west of the capital, and it has has since sunk into chaos, witnesses who have fled to neighbouring Tunisia are quoted as telling AFP.
  23. 1339: The head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, has described the protesters' demands as legitimate and has called for an end to violence in Libya. In London, the British government has told the Libyan ambassador that it absolutely condemns the use of lethal force against protesters. Human Rights Watch says more than 230 people have been killed since the unrest began last week.
  24. 1338: Thanks for following the latest news from Libya and the Middle East with the BBC. If you're just joining us, here's a quick update: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is under growing pressure at home and abroad after his supporters reacted with violence overnight against anti-government protests in the capital, Tripoli. Unconfirmed reports suggest Col Gaddafi has left the city.
  25. 1334: The Tripoli resident adds: "If we stay inside the house our lives are in danger, the Africans, they come inside the house and they want to, like in the other places they rape the women, they are the ones with the weapons, they can just smash down the door and come inside and kiss us. We have to show our support for the country. How many more people do they have to hear about dying or see being shot for them to sit in the house. We can't just sit in the house. She called for the international community to, "come inside and see. Everyone's just watching, like the television, like a movie, no-one's doing something [sic]. How many more people have to die?"
  26. 1332: We're receiving moving testimonies from Tripoli. One woman told the BBC's World at One that her three brothers who joined a protest on Sunday had not yet returned home. "We don't know what to do," she said. "We can't go outside, I'm a girl and can't go outside. My brothers are trapped outside, trying to protest, trying to work for freedom, they have nothing, we don't know what to do."
  27. 1328: Italian energy giant ENI, the biggest foreign oil producer in Libya, has announced it is evacuating all non-essential staff from the country, AFP reports.
  28. 1325: Libya's Quryna newspaper is reporting that anti-government protests have broken out in the town of Ras Lanuf - the site of a major oil refinery.
  29. 1322: Wael Ghonim tweets:"Can't wait to see #Gaddafi follow #BinAli and #Mubarak path. He is the craziest dictator in the world. #Libya will thrive after him"
  30. 1320: Sayed Abdul Wakil in Tripoli writes, "I don't want fall of Gaddafi as he is a brave man and can control the territory. We understand that Americans trying to destroy the revolution through media but I assure you it won't happen." Have Your Say
  31. 1317: Several Libyan cities, including Benghazi and Sirte, have fallen to anti-government demonstrators following the defection of some army units, the International Federation for Human Rights has said, as quoted by AFP. The organisation put the death toll since the start of the uprising at between 300 and 400.
  32. 1310: Prof Aref Ali Nayed, one of Libya's most senior religious leaders and a member of one of the major tribes in Libya, the Warfla tribe, has told the BBC World Service he now expects the tribes will stand united against the government of Col Gaddafi in this crisis: "All the great tribes of Libya are united. The only thing that divided them was Gaddafi and his regime. A united Libya is a reality that is alive in our blood. That is why you see people in Tripoli taking to the streets without anything in their hands to be shot dead for the sake of their brothers and sisters in the east."
  33. 1308: Our correspondent adds: "Hour by hour there are reports of more defections. Almost all major tribal leaders seem to have joined the opposition, as well as important religious leaders, and several senior Libyan ambassadors. The east of the country is already almost entirely out of the hands of the government."
  34. 1306: The situation in Libya is becoming increasingly confused and chaotic, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo. There are several reports Col Gaddafi has now left Tripoli, possibly to his hometown of Sirt or to his desert base of Sabha.
  35. 1300: One opposition activist has told the BBC the headquarters of the ruling party in Tripoli are under opposition control.
  36. 1250: George Joffe, an expert on North Africa at Cambridge University, says the east of Libya has been a constant source of resentment against the Gaddafi regime for many years: "Benghazi, for example, has been neglected by the Gaddafi regime because it didn't see it as loyal. And beyond that, there have been specific incidents. It was in Benghazi that, in the 1990s, 413 children were infected with HIV-Aids, mainly because of the very poor conditions in Libya's hospitals. The Gaddafi regime tried to buy off popular resentment at that by accusing Bulgarian nurses of being responsible for it," he told the BBC World Service's Newshour programme.
  37. 1247: Portugal's government says it has sent a military plane to Tripoli to begin evacuating EU citizens from Libya. In Brussels, Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado said a second plane was on standby to evacuate some 50 Portuguese nationals from the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.
  38. 1244: A police station in an eastern suburb of Tripoli is on fire, Reuters reports.
  39. 1242: In Yemen, tens of thousands of Shia Huthi rebels have staged a protest in the northern city of Saada, demanding that President Ali Abdullah Saleh's government step down, local tribal leaders have told AFP.
  40. 1237: State-controlled Libyan TV has been broadcasting patriotic songs and a "live" phone-in programme giving air time to Col Gadaffi's supporters. They have been glorifying him and venting their anger at the anti-regime supporters, who were referred to as "agents and mercenaries". All the callers pledged to defend Col Gadaffi and the "revolution".
  41. 1234: Libyan Youth Movement tweets: "BREAKING: Death toll in Abu Slim Prison believed to be more than other hospitals in Tripoli combined. #libya #gaddaficrimes #feb17", although Libyans Revolt suggests another possible location: "@ShababLibya Abu Sleem Hospital not prison - Abu Sleem Hosp is the main trauma centre in #Tripoli #Libya #Feb17"
  42. 1230: The BBC's deputy political editor, James Landale, who is travelling with Mr Cameron, says the PM's visit to Egypt is a bold move: With this visit, Mr Cameron "risks accusations that he's legitimising the temporary government. But according to his officials, there is a brief window of opportunity to push for reform here and he intends to take it".
  43. 1225: More from Sara in Tripoli: She says Col Gaddafi is cracking down on the demonstrators because "Tripoli is very important. If he loses Tripoli than the whole regime is done".
  44. 1223: Sara, a young woman in Tripoli, has told the BBC World Service her cousin and a friend were shot dead by security forces on Sunday, and she is very worried about her three brothers, who have told her by phone that they have also been shot at. She says it is not safe for her brothers to return home at the moment. "Since last night, I have been worried and pray that their phone cards don't run out. Because once they lose all their credit, we can have no communication."
  45. 1221: Over at the New York Times, Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas Kristof says the one element of ongoing protests across the Middle East that reports cannot fully capture is the bravery of the protesters. Their determination - in Bahrain, in Iran, in Libya, in Yemen - is such that change is a certainty, he says.
  46. 1216: The London School of Economics says it is reconsidering its links with the Libyan government "as a matter of urgency". Saif al-Islam Gaddafi received a PhD from the LSE in 2009 and also gave the university's Global Governance Research Unit a grant of £1.5m in the same year.
  47. 1210: A El Ferjani tweets: "youth of #tripoli : message is to head towards #libya ettisalat and pressure them to return internet coverage to the country. "
  48. 1207: More than 2,300 Tunisians living in Libya have left the country since Sunday because of the unrest there, Libya's official agency has reported, according to AFP.
  49. 1203: David Cameron will push for an end to Egypt's emergency laws during his official visit to Cairo, a UK official has confirmed. Lifting the emergency laws, which have been in place for more than three decades, has been one of the main demands of the protesters who launched the uprising earlier this month.
  50. 1157: The UK Foreign Office has clarified that the withdrawal of dependents of embassy staff in Tripoli is not an evacuation of all staff, and it is also not an evacuation of dependents because they will be withdrawing by commercial means. It says it understands that the airport in Tripoli is still open to commercial flights leaving the country.
  51. 1156: The UK government has revoked eight export licences to Libya since the violence broke out, the prime minister's spokeswoman has said. She was unable to say what the export licences were for, but said they usually cover such things as arms. Mr Cameron has described the sitiuation in Libya as "completely appalling and unacceptable". He said: "The protesters want to see the country make progress. This is one of the most closed and autocratic regimes, the response they've shown is really quite appalling."
  52. 1149: Speaking to reporters on the plane, Mr Cameron said: "This is a moment of great opportunity for Egypt. It is a great opportunity for us to talk to those currently running Egypt to make sure this really is a genuine transition from military to civilian rule."
  53. 1145: More on David Cameron's visit to Egypt: He will speak to anti-Mubarak opposition figures, but not the Muslim Brotherhood; he will meet Mohamad Hussain Tantawi, the leader of the ruling army council, and PM Ahmed Shafiq.
  54. 1141: Credit rating agency Standard and Poor's has said it is downgrading Bahrain's credit rating by one notch, from A to A-, and could lower it further given the high level of political risk after week-long anti-government protests.
  55. 1138: BBC Europe Editor Gavin Hewitt blogs on how Europe is debating what it can do in the longer term in the Middle East, after struggling to find a consistent voice in the crisis.
  56. 1132: More on the five deaths in northern Morocco (1115 entry): The burned bodies of the five victims were found in the offices of a bank which was set ablaze during unrest after demonstrations on Sunday in al-Hoceima, Interior Minister Taib Cherkaoui has said.
  57. 1128: A number of European oil companies - Norway's Statoil, Austria's OMV and Royal Dutch Shell - have moved some staff following the violence in Libya, Reuters reports. Production at the Murzaq oil field run by Spain's Repsol has been unaffected so far, as has output from Eni's operations.
  58. 1125: Dependents of UK embassy staff in Libya are to fly home, the Foreign Office says.
  59. 1122: UK Prime Minister David Cameron has flown into Cairo on the first visit to Egypt by a world leader since the uprising which forced President Mubarak from power 10 days ago.
  60. 1120: Moaad Taufik writes: "My uncle just called me from the Zawyiat Aldahmani district, central Tripoli. He went out to protest, with everybody else in tandem protesting peacefully against the regime. There is live gun fire echoing around the capital - and at this rate Tripoli will be free tonight. However, pro-Gaddafi agencies are handing out FREE meat, fish and nuts to all of those who join the pro-Gaddafi protests." Have Your Say
  61. 1119: Mr Malloch-Brown, who is also a former UK foreign office minister, adds at this point it might be a better option to try "to offer Gaddafi a kind of way out" than attempting to moderate his behavour. "Sadly I fear that's going to be very hard to do, given his history and given his personality."
  62. 1117: The former head of the UN Development Programme, Mark Malloch-Brown, has said foreign criticism of the Gaddafi regime "may not be particularly effective". Mr Malloch-Brown told the BBC World Service: "I think we've got to be realistic that the Gaddafi group, as it comes under this pressure, isolated, angry, is going to lash out, and the influence of outsiders on that is going to be extremely limited."
  63. 1115: In Morocco, five people have died as a result of Sunday's unrest in the northern town of al-Houceima, AFP reports.
  64. 1112: Meera from London (not her real name), who is in contact with her family in Tripoli, says: "One building which has some TV studios has been burnt down last night in Tripoli. It's the one on Nasr (Victory) Street. The MAIN state television station (on Shat (Coastal) Street) is still standing and surrounded by armed forces. It is on a residential road that is totally barricaded with barbed wire, a road from which people cannot drive in or out. My family house is in that area. People living in houses in those barricaded areas are anxiously ready to defend their properties using kitchen knives." Have Your Say
  65. 1109: Mr Hague, who is also in Brussels, had more to say about the Libyan protests: "The credibility of the Libyan government in these matters has been undermined so far by the failure to protect their own people and to respond to the legitimate grievances of the people in Libya."
  66. 1106: A protester in Bahrain has died as a result of his injuries, AFP quotes an opposition protester as saying.
  67. 1105: Meanwhile in Egypt, a senior US government official, William J Burns, has arrived for talks with the army-led interim government and representatives of civil society, the US embassy says. It is the first visit to Cairo by a high-level US diplomat since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak.
  68. 1101: Mr Hague says the UK government has summoned the Libyan ambassador to London to protest against the violence in the country.
  69. 1100: UK Foreign Secretary William Hague says the government will assess the needs for evacuation from Libya as the situation progresses. The Foreign Office is currently advising against all but essential travel to Libya, with those without a pressing need to remain in the country encouraged to leave by commercial means.
  70. 1057: In Tripoli, the Libyan authorities seem to have regained control of the streets for now, says a BBC correspondent in the region.
  71. 1055: Oil is at the heart of the Libyan economy: The oil sector contributes about 95% of export earnings and 60% of public sector wages. In 2009, the country produced 1.65m barrels per day, some 2% of total world oil production and has 3.3% of proven world oil reserves.
  72. 1049: More on the scale of BP's operation in Libya: It is based in two areas - deep-water drilling surveys in the Mediterranean Sea which is unaffected, and drilling preparation in the Western desert where contracting staff have been pulled out, forcing the company to halt drilling.
  73. 1047: In Tunisia, Mouldi Kefi has been named as the country's new foreign minister, AFP quotes an official as saying.
  74. 1041: Ahmed Sawalem from the Libyan Youth Movement says the protests are not organised by specific groups or personalities, but have spread to Tripoli because people "took heart" after hearing about the crackdown by security forces on protesters in Benghazi. Security forces had order to aim for upper bodies when shooting demonstrators, he says. "Most of the reports from eyewitnesses and relatives in hospital confirm that this is what happened," he told the BBC World Service.
  75. 1035: The French government spokesman tells French radio the international community needs to work to prevent Libya descending into further chaos: "We are very worried and quite shocked. We strongly condemn everything that is happening - this unbelievable violence. It can fall into a civil war that is extraordinarily violent and long... It has already started... and we've got to do everything on a diplomatic level and co-ordinate the American and the European Union's positions to prevent a crisis."
  76. 1033: London's Brent oil price hits $105 a barrel over the violence in Libya, the highest since September 2008, AFP reports.
  77. 1031: A number of senior Libyan diplomats have resigned in protest at the response of Col Gaddafi's government to the unrest. The ambassador to India, Ali al-Issawi, told the BBC foreign mercenaries had been deployed against Libyan citizens. In Cairo, Libya's ambassador to the Arab League, Abdel Moneim al-Honi, told journalists he was joining the revolution. The Libyan ambassador in Beijing has also resigned.
  78. 1028: British oil company BP says it is "very likely" some of its employees in Libya will be evacuated in the "next couple of days", a spokesman has said. BP has about 140 employees in the country, of whom less than a third are expatriates.
  79. 1024: More from Malta's Tonio Borg, who says if people start to leave Libya because of the unrest, his country will struggle to cope: "We saw what happened in Tunisia where, because of the instability, you had 5,000 immigrants arriving in five days on Lampedusa, and just to give you an impression, one migrant who arrives in Malta is like 150 who arrive in Sicily or, proportionately, 200 who arrive in Germany."
  80. 1021: Omar Mohammed, from Tripoli writes: "Saif's comments are a disgrace and an insult to me and all Libyans; particularly those who are continually being massacred in cold-blooded genocide. Civil war is the last thing that will come as a result of Libyans attaining their freedom. Libyans want and wish to make progress and are being hampered by illegitimate leadership, such as that of Saif and his father. Their leadership is disconnected, unrepresentative, authoritarian and corrupt. It is not what Libyans want and not what Libyans will have." Have Your Say
  81. 1016: Malta's Foreign Minister, Tonio Borg, who is also in Brussels, says Malta, as a neighbour of Libya, is concerned with what is happening there: "I think that would create instability in the region and therefore I also think that the European Union should be in favour of the territorial integrity of Libya as well as whatever happens in the future," he said.
  82. 1013: Malcolm in London, whose partner works for Shell in Tripoli as an economist, says the toughest thing is that there is no media on the ground, so getting a picture of what the situation is like is difficult. "Obviously they've been prepared for the situation to worsen for the last few days and today they went into the office to be told that a Shell aircraft has been lined up to bring them back home. The office has been shut down. The sense I get is that things are relatively calm, but there are military vehicles in Tripoli today," he said.
  83. 1010: Khaled, from Benghazi/UK, writes: "Saif clearly desperate to play last card! It's too late for falling regime ruled by incredibly corrupt family and their cronies." Have Your Say
  84. 1007: More from the former Libyan government spokesman: He says Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, must start dialogue with the opposition and hold talks on constitution.
  85. 1003: A former Libyan government spokesman says the country's leadership is taking the wrong approach by threatening violence, Reuters reports.
  86. 0958: Prof Aref Ali Nayed, who has recently left Libya, calls on the international community to intervene. "It is very hard for civilians to approach barracks when they're being shot at by live ammunition. We need international help and this blood will be on everyone's hands. Everybody was upset at Yvonne Fletcher, as I am saddened and upset at what happened to her and her family. But you've got hundreds of Yvonne Fletchers now in Benghazi," he tells the BBC.
  87. 0957: Exiled Bahraini opposition figure Hassan Machaimaa has said he wants to return to the capital, Manama, AFP reports.
  88. 0955: Walid Shaari, from Beida, Libya, writes: "Demonstrations are all over Libya, my Tripoli friends tell me of a brutal attack by the security forces on them, much harsher than the one they have seen in Benghazi. In the morning, it is quite peaceful. In the afternoon, it starts with burying the dead from the previous day's encounters. The son of Gaddafi, who is he? He does not belong to us, nor present us Libyans. What are his qualifications? His family are the ones causing all these tribal fights before and now.." Have Your Say
  89. 0950: A protester tells the BBC people are fearful about coming out on the streets of Tripoli after what happened overnight. "We tried to shout for people to come out.. and people are scared... I don't blame them... People are scared to come out at the moment because they're not sure. ...Last night, we tried to... tried to grab the tv station and grab the radio station."
  90. 0945: Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, attending a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, says the situation in Libya is worrying: "We are stating our views very clearly. We are extremely concerned with events and condemn very clearly the repression that is ongoing. But then we are looking beyond what is happening today. It is a long-term challenge of development, of reform, of economic growth in that entire part of North Africa and the Middle East which will be very high up on the agenda for quite some time to come."
  91. 0939: @Tripolitanian tweets: "@rstripolina Yea its quieting down, still some people out, they're really tired, lots dead, promising to come bk out tmrw tho"
  92. 0935: Libyan television has continued to broadcast on Monday morning, despite protesters reportedly ransacking the building. Broadcasts were interrupted on Sunday evening.
  93. 0930: @Organica_ tweets: "Out of all the Arab revolutions, Libya's revolution #Feb17 has been the bloodiest with the LEAST coverage from both the West and East #Libya"
  94. 0918: Protesters in Tripoli have ransacked the headquarters of state television overnight and set the offices of the People's Comittees that are the mainstay of the regime ablaze, witnesses have told AFP by telephone.
  95. 0915: UK energy company BP is preparing to evacuate some of its staff from Libya due to the violence, a spokesman tells AFP.
  96. 0913: A central government building in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, is on fire, a Reuters reporter at the scene is saying.
  97. 0905: The European Union is envisaging the evacuation of its citizens from Libya, particularly from the eastern opposition stronghold of Benghazi, Spain's Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez is quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
  98. 0900: Welcome to the BBC's live coverage of the unrest in Libya and across the rest of the Middle East and North Africa. Stay with us for the latest updates - reports from our correspondents on the ground, expert analysis, and your reaction from around the world. You can contact us via email, text or twitter. We'll publish what we can.

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Key points

  1. The serious anti-government protests in Libya have spread to the centre of the capital, Tripoli, for the first time. For several hours, sustained gunfire could be heard, with chanting crowds calling for the toppling of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and his government.
  2. In a nationwide television broadcast, one of Col Gaddafi's sons admitted two eastern cities had been taken over by anti-government demonstrators. He also promised quick political reform.
  3. Yemen's President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has rejected demands to step down, saying only defeat at the ballot box would make him resign. He has described the marches as unacceptable acts of provocation.
  4. Tunisia has formally requested the extradition of ex-President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali from Saudi Arabia, where he fled last month.
  5. Live page reporters: Sarah Bell, Alexandra Fouché and Michael Hirst
  6. All times in GMT.

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