Recap of developments in Middle East, North Africa
CAIRO—Latest developments in the unrest sweeping the Middle East and North Africa.
LIBYA: A fresh air strike hit the rebel-held Libyan town of Brega amid fears of a new bid by troops loyal to strongman Moammar Gadhafi’s regime to recapture the key oil port.
– US President Barack Obama said Gadhafi has lost legitimacy and must leave office, warning that he was studying all options in dealing with the crisis.
– Gadhafi, his sons and key aides will be probed over allegations they have perpetrated crimes against humanity, the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said.
– Libyan rebels rejected a mediation proposal from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, which the Arab League said it was “studying.”
– A major European operation was under way to airlift out of Tunisia thousands of people who fled the bloodshed in Libya as Washington also offered planes to repatriate Egyptian refugees.
– The UN said a food aid ship for Libya turned back for security reasons.
– The Pentagon said Libya has used warplanes for bombing raids on rebel positions.
– Poland suspended diplomatic activity in Tripoli and was evacuating embassy staff from the Libyan capital.
– Gadhafi’s son, Seif al-Islam, said bombs dropped on the eastern port of Brega were intended to frighten, not kill.
– Malian officials said up to 800 ethnic Tuareg fighters from Niger, Mali, Algeria and Burkina Faso had joined forces with Gadhafi’s regime.
– Libya’s oil output is down by half since the uprising began, the country’s top oil official said.
– Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Libya is on the verge of civil war.
– US amphibious forces deployed to the Greek island of Crete.
– Three Dutch marines helping to evacuate civilians from Sirte were captured by Libyan soldiers at the weekend, and negotiations continued for their safe return.
– NATO has no intention of intervening in Libya but is planning for “all eventualities”, alliance chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.
– State-run Metallurgical Corp of China Ltd says it has halted multi-million-dollar projects in Libya, the latest of a number of Chinese firms to shut down in the strife-torn country.
– The European Union will earmark 30 million euros in aid to cope with the refugee crisis in revolt-hit Libya, EU commissioner for international cooperation Kristalina Georgieva said.
EGYPT: Egypt’s military rulers have accepted the surprise resignation of Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, seen by protesters as a symbol of ousted president Hosni Mubarak’s regime.
– The Cairo bourse said it will remain closed indefinitely.
– Egypt’s prosecutor general denied reports claiming toppled president Hosni Mubarak and his family were in Saudi Arabia, insisting they were still in an Egyptian Red Sea resort.
YEMEN: Yemen’s opposition and clerics have offered President Ali Abdullah Saleh a smooth exit from power this year, but protesters staged new demonstrations to demand his immediate ouster.
IRAQ: Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani raised the possibility of early elections in the autonomous region after a spate of protests there.
– The mayor of Baghdad resigned after protests in the Iraqi capital against poor public services and corruption.
SAUDI ARABIA: Cyber activists have created a group on Facebook calling for a “Day of Anger” on Friday in the eastern Shiite-majority Saudi region, following the arrest of a Shiite cleric who called for a constitutional monarchy in the kingdom.
BAHRAIN: Six opposition groups, including the largest Shiite parliamentary bloc, set conditions for dialogue which include electing a “constitutional assembly” to form a new constitution.
TUNISIA: Interim Tunisian President Foued Mebazaa announced that a constituent assembly charged with developing a new post-revolt constitution will be elected on July 24.
– The European Investment Bank, the financial arm of the European Union, announced it was extending more than 600 million euros in additional loans to unrest-hit Tunisia.
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: Banks in the Gaza Strip closed for a day of protest after gunmen allegedly protected by Hamas police twice robbed one bank of tens of thousands of dollars.
