North Korea threatens military action over South Korea campaign

By Cho Mee-young SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea will fire across a land border with South Korea if Seoul continues its anti-North psychological campaign, the North's official media said on Sunday ahead of a joint military drill between the United States and South Korea. South Korea's military has been dropping leaflets into North Korea about democracy protests in Egypt as part of a psychological campaign and the South Korean military also sent food, medicines and radios for residents in a bid to encourage North Koreans to think about change. Cho Mee-young Seoul (reuters) - North Korea Will Fire Across A Land Border With South Korea If Seoul Continues Its Anti-north Psychological Campaign, The North's Official Media Said On Sunday Ahead Of A Joint Military Drill Between The United States And South Korea. South Korea's Military Has Been Dropping Leaflets Into North Korea About Democracy Protests In Egypt As Part Of A Psychological Campaign And The South Korean Military Also Sent Food, Medicines And Radios For Residents In A Bid To Encourage North Koreans To Think About Change. – 42 mins ago
"The on-going psychological warfare by the puppet military in the frontline area is a treacherous deed and a wanton challenge to the demand of the times and desire of all the fellow countrymen to bring about a new phase of peaceful reunification and national prosperity through all-round dialogue and negotiations," KCNA news agency said.

"We officially notify that our army will stage a direct fire at the Rimjin Pavilion and other sources of the anti-DPRK psychological warfare to destroy them on the principle of self-defense, if such actions last despite our repeated warning."

The Rimjin Pavilion is an area in South Korea near the heavily armed Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) which separates the two Koreas.

North Korea will also be on a heightened state of alert for possible provocation during the joint military drill between the United States and South Korea which starts on Monday, KCNA said.

It said North Korea will respond to the planned military drills with "all-out war" if there is any provocation.

Tensions rose on the divided peninsula when 46 sailors were killed in an attack last March on a South Korean naval vessel. North Korea, which has denied responsibility, shelled the southern island of Yeonpyeong last November, killing four people.

Their first attempt at talks broke down earlier in February dealing a setback to plans to resume international disarmament talks with the North.

North Korea has said it wants to return to the broader six-party negotiations, but Seoul and Washington have questioned its sincerity about denuclearizing -- pointing to its revelations in November about a uranium-enrichment program.

While the two sides are not talking, analysts have said that the risk of what both sides call a "provocation" increases, and acts of brinkmanship by the North could include military drills or attack, or the testing of a missile or nuclear device.

South Korea's news agency Yonhap quoted a local analyst as saying: "North Korea reacts very sensitively as it thinks power of psychological leaflets is bigger than that of nuclear bombing."

North Korea maintains tight control over communications, including the use of telephones and over movement of people, leaving many in the country unaware of world affairs.

South Korea's military has resumed its campaign of speaking directly to North Korean residents after the North bombarded the southern island of Yeonpyeong near a disputed sea border in November.

The South's Yonhap news agency said a week ago that North Korea was digging tunnels at a site where it has launched two nuclear tests, suggesting it is preparing a third.

Three killed in Tunisia clashes: government

TUNIS (Reuters) – Three people were killed in clashes between Tunisian security forces and youths rioting in central Tunis Saturday, an Interior Ministry official told Reuters.

The official, who declined to be named, said another 12 had been injured in the clashes, which he said occurred after a riot orchestrated by loyalists of ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. He said about 100 people had been arrested.

"Those who were arrested have admitted they were pushed by former Ben Ali officials," he said. "Others said they were paid to do it."

A Reuters witness had earlier seen Tunisian soldiers fire into the air and use tear gas in an effort to disperse dozens of youths, many carrying sticks, who were breaking shop windows near Tunis's Barcelona Station.

The North African state's crime rates have soared since a popular uprising toppled Ben Ali on January 14, and security officials often say his supporters are trying to destabilize the country.

The clash followed a large protest late Friday against the make-up of the post-Ben Ali interim government. During that, security forces fired in the air to disperse protesters who burned tyres and threw rocks.

Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi told Al Jazeera television police seized a car and its driver with $60,000 in cash which he said was being distributed to thugs.

"We have been facing a lot of difficulties lately, as if there is a ploy to destabilize the interim government ... Next week will be decisive in bringing about a road map" for a transition to democratic government, he said.

"The Tunisian people will decide on what will be done."

Critics of the interim government, which has promised to hold elections by mid-July, complain that it is too close to the old regime and has failed to provide adequate security.

Tunisia's revolution inspired a similar revolt in Egypt and sparked protests elsewhere around the Arab world, including in neighboring Libya.

Armed pro-Gadhafi gangs roll in Libyan capital

TRIPOLI, Libya – The embattled Libyan regime passed out guns to civilian supporters, set up checkpoints Saturday and sent armed patrols roving the terrorized capital to try to maintain control of Moammar Gadhafi's stronghold and quash dissent as rebels consolidate control elsewhere in the North African nation.

As violence mounted, Gadhafi came under growing pressure from the international community to halt the crackdown on his people. Echoing moves by the United States, Britain and other nations, the U.N. Security Council on Saturday imposed sanctions, including an arms embargo and a travel ban, and said the International Criminal Court in the Hague should investigate.

Residents of its eastern Tajoura district spread concrete blocks, large rocks and even chopped-down palm trees as makeshift barricades to prevent the SUVs filled with young men wielding automatic weapons from entering their neighborhood — a hotspot of previous protests.

With tensions running high in Tripoli, scores of people in the neighborhood turned out at a funeral for a 44-year-old man killed in clashes with pro-regime forces. Anwar Algadi was killed Friday, with the cause of death listed as "a live bullet to the head," according to his brother, Mohammed.

Armed men in green armbands, along with uniformed security forces check those trying to enter the district, where graffiti that says "Gadhafi, you Jew," "Down to the dog," and "Tajoura is free" was scrawled on walls.

Outside the capital, rebels held a long swath of about half of Libya's 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometer) Mediterranean coastline where most of the population lives, and even captured a brigadier general and a soldier Saturday as the Libyan army tried to retake an air base east of Tripoli. The state-run news agency also said the opposition held an air defense commander and several other officers.

On Friday, pro-Gadhafi militiamen — including snipers — fired on protesters trying to mount the first significant anti-government marches in days in Tripoli.

Gadhafi, speaking from the ramparts of a historic Tripoli fort, told supporters to prepare to defend the nation as he faced the biggest challenge to his 42-year rule.

"At the suitable time, we will open the arms depot so all Libyans and tribes become armed, so that Libya becomes red with fire," Gadhafi said.

The international community toughened its response to the bloodshed, while Americans and other foreigners were evacuated from the chaos roiling the North African nation.

In New York, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to slap sanctions on the Gadhafi regime. The council imposed an arms embargo and called on U.N. member states to freeze the assets of Gadhafi and his children. The council also imposed a travel ban on the Gadhafi family and 10 close associates.

Council members also agreed 15-0 to refer the regime's deadly crackdown to a permanent war crimes tribunal for an investigation of possible crimes against humanity.

The action came after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said some estimates indicate more than 1,000 people have been killed in less than two weeks since the protests broke out in Libya.

President Barack Obama said Gadhafi has lost his legitimacy to rule and must step down immediately. Obama, who made the comments Saturday to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, signed an executive order a day earlier that froze assets held by Gadhafi and four of his children in the United States.

In Tripoli, most residents stayed in their homes Saturday, terrified of bands of armed men at checkpoints and patrolling the city.

A 40-year-old business owner said he had seen Gadhafi supporters enter one of the regime's Revolutionary Committee headquarters Saturday and leave with arms. He said the regime is offering a car and money to any supporters bringing three people with them to join the effort.

"Someone from the old revolutionary committees will go with them so they'll be four," the witness said when reached by telephone from Cairo. "They'll arm them to drive around the city and terrorize people."

Other residents reported seeing trucks full of civilians with automatic rifles patrolling their neighborhoods. Many were young, even teenagers, and wore green arm bands or cloths on their heads to show their affiliation to the regime, residents said. All spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Tripoli, home to about a third of Libya's population of 6 million, is the center of the eroding territory that Gadhafi still controls.

Even in the Gadhafi-held pocket of northwestern Libya around Tripoli, several cities have also fallen to the rebellion. Militiamen and pro-Gadhafi troops were repelled when they launched attacks trying to take back opposition-held territory in Zawiya and Misrata in fighting that killed at least 30 people.

Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam, told foreign journalists invited by the government to Tripoli that there were no casualties in Tripoli and that the capital was "calm."

"Everything is peaceful," he said. "Peace is coming back to our country."

He said the regime wants negotiations with the opposition and said there were "two minor problems" in Misrata and Zawiya. There, he said, "we are dealing with terrorist people," hut he hoped to reach a peaceful settlement with them.

Most shops in Tripoli were closed and long lines formed at bakeries as people ventured out for supplies.

In the Souq al-Jomaa neighborhood, piles of ashes stood in front of a burned-out police station. Graffiti on the walls read, "Down, down with Gadhafi." Elsewhere, shattered glass and rocks littered the streets.

A law school graduate walking to his house in the Fashloum area said he had seen many people killed by snipers in recent days.

"People are panicked, they are terrified. Few leave their houses. When it gets dark, you can't walk in the streets because anybody who walks is subject to be shot to death," he said.

He said Gadhafi's use of force against protesters had turned him against the regime.

"We Libyans cannot hear that there were other Libyans killed and remain silent," he said. "Now everything he says is a lie."

In Tripoli's Green Square, where state television has shown crowds of Gadhafi supporters in recent days, armed security men in blue uniforms were stationed around the plaza. Pro-Gadhafi billboards and posters were everywhere. A burned restaurant was the only sign of the unrest.

Supporters in about 50 cars covered with Gadhafi posters drove slowly around the square, waving green flags from the windows and honking horns. A camera crew filmed the procession.

Taxi driver Nasser Mohammed was among those who had a picture of Gadhafi and a green flag on his car.

"Have you heard the speech last night?" he asked. "It was great. Libyans don't want anyone but Gadhafi. He gave us loans."

Mohammed, 25, said each family will receive 500 Libyan dinars (about $400) after the start of the protests, plus the equivalent of about $100 credit for phone service. State TV said the distribution will take place starting Sunday.

Gadhafi loyalists manned a street barricade, turning away motorists trying to enter. After turning around, the drivers were then stopped at another checkpoint, manned by armed men in uniform, who searched cars and checked IDs of drivers and passengers.

In Misrata, a resident said the opposition was still in control of the city, which was calm Saturday, with many shops open and a local committee running civic affairs.

But the opposition only held parts of the sprawling Misrata Air Base after Friday's attack by Gadhafi supporters, he added.

The troops used tanks against the rebels at the base and succeeded in retaking part of it in battles with residents and army units who had joined the uprising against Gadhafi, said a doctor and a resident wounded in the battle on the edge of opposition-held Misrata, Libya's third-largest city, about 120 miles (200 kilometers) from the capital. The doctor said 25 people were killed in fighting at the base since Thursday.

The resident said pro-Gadhafi troops captured several members of the opposition Friday and now the two sides are talking about a possible swap since the opposition also captured a soldier and a brigadier general. Libyan state TV confirmed that army Brig. Gen. Abu Bakr Ali was captured, although it said he was "kidnapped by terrorist gangs." The state-run news agency JANA also said regime opponents held the commander of the air defense's 2nd Division and several other officers.

State-run TV reported that the website of the JANA news agency was hacked.

A Libyan Islamist activist, Mokhtar al-Mahmoudi, was arrested in Tajoura on Thursday, according to his daughter Fatma al-Mahmoudi, who lives in Morocco. She said a neighbor also was arrested.

Al-Mahmoudi was arrested in 1998 over his ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and spent eight years in prison, she said.

The opposition also held complete control of Sabratha, a town west of Tripoli famed for nearby ancient Roman ruins, with no police or any security forces associated with the Gadhafi regime, said Khalid Ahmed, a resident. He added that tribes were trying to organize a march on Tripoli, although a checkpoint outside the capital would stop anyone from entering.

"All of Libya is together," Ahmed said. "We are not far from toppling the regime."

Thousands of evacuees from Libya reached ports Saturday across the Mediterranean, with many more still trying to flee the North African nation by sea, air or land.

More than 2,800 Chinese workers landed in Heraklion on the Greek island of Crete aboard a Greek ship Saturday, while another 2,200 Chinese arrived in Valletta, the capital of Malta, on a ship from the eastern Libyan port of Benghazi.

Thousands of expatriates streamed out of Libya at the bustling Tunisian border, most of them Egyptians and Tunisians.

More than 20,000 have arrived since early this week, said Heinke Veit of the European Union Humanitarian Aid group. Food, water and medical help is available, as are facilities to contact their families.

North Korea completes second missile site

SEOUL (Reuters) – Satellite images show North Korea has likely completed a second long range missile launchpad, an expert said on Thursday, amid U.S. concerns that Pyongyang's ballistic missile program is fast becoming a direct threat.

The launchpad is more sophisticated than the country's first facility and strikingly similar to a Chinese site, suggesting Beijing's involvement, Tim Brown, an image analyst from military analysis group globalsecurity.org, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

And he said the reclusive North, which says its missile program is peaceful and intended to put a satellite in orbit, was working on development together with Iran and Pakistan.

The facility at Tongchang-ri is equipped with a 100-ft (30-m) launch tower and is sited near North Korea's northwest border with China, making it more difficult for U.S. intelligence to observe compared to its Musudan-ri launchpad in the east.

The Tongchang-ri site has been under construction for a decade.

Brown, who identified the latest development, said the images were taken about a month ago, and that there were no signs of an imminent test launch. He said it would take weeks, possibly months, to put a rocket on the launchpad.

A South Korean government official also said there were no signs the North was preparing a missile test.

The North is developing the so-called Taepodong-2 missile, with an estimated range of 6,700 km (4,160 miles), but testing so far suggests production of the complete weapon is a long way off.

The North's arsenal already includes intermediate-range missiles that can hit targets up to 3,000 km (1,860 miles) away, officials say, putting all of Japan and U.S. military bases in Guam at risk.

"Basically this thing is done, and the question is how long it will be before they launch. Then it is matter of what kind of vehicle are they going to launch -- a missile or something for their space program. The answer to that is we just don't know," said Brown. A launch, he said, was likely in months.

He said the site was nowhere near the standard of advanced countries. "But it's as close as a third world country can come to having a first world facility," he said.

Brown said the facility was very similar in design to a Chinese site being monitored. "Either they adopted those design characteristics on their own, or the Chinese were technically advising them and providing assistance."

He said Iran, Pakistan and North Korea were working together on missile and nuclear programs. "We think they all work on different aspects and share and benefit from comparative advantages of each program," said Brown.

The North Korean site is seen as key to Pyongyang's quest to build a missile capable of delivering a nuclear weapon across the Pacific.

Experts say they do not believe the North can miniaturize an atomic weapon to place on a missile, but it is trying to develop such a warhead. It needs more nuclear testing to build one.

North Korea detonated nuclear devices in 2006 and 2009, and conducted long-range missile tests three times -- in 1998, 2006 and 2009. The missiles fizzled out shortly after takeoff.

While the North still has not shown it has a working nuclear bomb, proliferation experts say it has enough fissile material for up to 10 nuclear weapons.

"POLITICAL WEAPON"

Washington says the North's long-range ballistic missile program is moving ahead quickly and Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last month that the American mainland could come under threat within five years.

"North Korea has been five years away for the last 15 years," said Brown. "They have been on the cusp of having a real missile program for quite some time."

Brown said that if North Korea can achieve its stated aim of putting a satellite in orbit, it could also launch a missile that hits the U.S. West coast.

"At the same time they claim it is their right to launch a peaceful satellite, they also hold out this threat 'don't mess with us,'" he said.

Brown added that if the North did launch in a military way, the facility would be quickly be bombed and its long-range program would no longer exist.

"This is a political weapon, not a military weapon," he said. "By having this program they are able to negotiate from a stronger point than if they didn't have it all. It is essentially a bargaining chip."

Gates has urged North Korea to impose a moratorium on nuclear and missile testing to help revive six-party aid-for-disarmament talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

The talks have been stalled for more than two years after the North declared the process dead in response to the U.N. Security Council's imposition of a new round of sanctions for its nuclear and missile tests in 2009.

(Reporting by Jeremy Laurence; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner and Ron Popeski)

Egypt military rulers face Iran warship passage

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt's new military rulers faced their first unwelcome diplomatic exposure on Wednesday as Israel reported that two Iranian warships were approaching the Suez Canal to pass through for the first time since 1979.

The two navy vessels planned to sail through the canal, one of the world's busiest waterways and a vital source of foreign currency for Egypt's economy, en route to Syria, Israel said, calling it a "provocation" by the Islamic Republic.

Such navy ships have the right to pass under international law, analysts said, but noted the scenario was not the kind of diplomatic challenge the new military rulers would relish.

Egypt was the first Arab country to make peace with Israel in its 1979 treaty and is a pivotal ally of the United States in the Middle East region. The United States and Israel are arch-adversaries of Iran, an ally of Syria.

"For warships to pass through the canal, approval from the ministry of defense and the ministry of foreign affairs is needed and this applies to all warships owned by any country," a Canal official told Reuters. No notice had been given so far.

Neil Partrick, an independent UK-based Middle East expert, said he presumed Iran decided on the ships' mission before Egypt was engulfed in the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak last week and that the operation was driven by long-time military and security cooperation between Tehran and Damascus.

"Egypt is in a sense the guarantor of free passage of goods and people through the Canal. So you could say this might be a provocative move at a time when Egypt is moving into a period of uncertainty. Nevertheless the Iranians would say they have a right to the canal and they have simply chosen to exercise it."

On the domestic front, Egypt's ruling military command was trying to get their country back to normal after the 18-day revolution that rewrote modern Egyptian history.

Some Egyptian workers ignored a call by the military to return to work on Wednesday, and a committee hammered out constitutional changes to pave the way for democracy after 30 years of Mubarak's iron rule.

The Higher Military Council had urged Egyptians to put aside the revolutionary ardor, expressed in protests and strikes about poor pay and working conditions, in the interest of national unity and restarting the damaged economy.

Banks are closed across Egypt due to protests and unrest, having a spillover effect across many sectors of the economy, while over 12,000 textile workers went on strike in the city of Mahalla el-Kubra and industrial action also hit Cairo airport.

Motivated by uprisings in Egypt and in Tunisia, hundreds of people, angry at the arrest of a rights campaigner, clashed with police and government supporters in the Libyan city of Benghazi. There have also been clashes in Iran, Bahrain and Yemen.

"The ripple effect of the Egyptian revolution is shaking Middle Eastern dictators to their foundation," said Fawaz Gerges, a London School of Economics Middle East expert.

FRENZY OF Rumor

There was a frenzy of rumor about the health of Mubarak, 82, who is holed up at his residence in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh after flying from his Cairo palace. In one of his final addresses, Mubarak said he wanted to die in Egypt.

One Saudi official in Riyadh said: "He is not dead but is not doing well at all and refuses to leave. Basically, he has given up and wants to die in Sharm." The official added that Saudi Arabia had offered to be his host.

Life was far from normal five days after Mubarak was forced from power by a whirlwind uprising, with troops and tanks on the streets of Cairo, schools and banks closed and Egyptians still finding their new found freedom hard to believe.

A committee, set up to amend the constitution within 10 days as a prelude to parliamentary and presidential elections in six months, also met as the military dismantles the mechanisms used to maintain Mubarak's rule. The Higher Military Council has already dissolved parliament and suspended the constitution.

Members of the newly formed 19-person pro-democracy Council of Trustees of the Revolution appeared at a news conference in downtown Cairo to say its main goal was to unite ranks, protect the revolution and open a dialogue with the military.

WASHINGTON SUSPICIONS

The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which did not play a leading role in the revolution but has been Egypt's best organized opposition group for many years, has a member on the committee drawing up the constitutional amendments.

That member said the ruling military council had pledged to lift emergency laws before parliamentary and presidential elections are held. It was not immediately possible to confirm whether the council had given such a guarantee.

Some secular leaders fear that racing into presidential and parliamentary elections in a nation where Mubarak suppressed most opposition activity for 30 years may hand an edge to the well-organized Muslim Brotherhood, banned under Mubarak.

Washington regards the Brotherhood with suspicion.

"I would assess that they are not in favor of the treaty (with Israel)," Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the Senate Select Intelligence Committee. But the Brotherhood was "only one voice in the emerging political milieu," Clapper said.

Opposition leaders welcomed the military's commitment to a swift handover to civilian rule, but called for the release of political prisoners and the lifting of emergency laws.

Pro-democracy leaders plan a "Victory March" on Friday to celebrate the revolution, and perhaps remind the military of the power of the street.

With no clear leadership, the youth movement that was pivotal to the revolution due to its use of social networking sites to organize protests is seeking to overcome divisions and expects to announce a new political party on Thursday.

Uncertainty remains over how much influence the military, which receives $1.3 billion a year in U.S. aid, will try to exert in reshaping a corrupt and oppressive ruling system which it has propped up for six decades.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said military aid was of "incalculable value," helping Egypt's armed forces to become a capable, professional body.

"Changes to those relationships ... ought to be considered only with an abundance of caution and a thorough appreciation for the long view, rather than in the flush of public passion and the urgency to save a buck," he said.

Two dead as Bahrain police break up protest camp

MANAMA (Reuters) – Bahraini police broke up a protest camp in a central Manama square early on Thursday, killing at least two people, as they tried to end three days of demonstrations inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, witnesses and the opposition said.

"Police are coming, they are shooting teargas at us," one demonstrator told Reuters by telephone. Another said: "I am wounded, I am bleeding. They are killing us."

One protester said he had driven away two people who had been wounded by rubber bullets.

Thousands of overwhelmingly Shi'ite protesters took to the streets this week demanding more say in the Gulf Arab island kingdom where a family of Sunni Muslims rules over a population that mostly belongs to the Shi'ite sect.

Hundreds had camped out at Pearl Square, a road junction in the capital that they sought to turn into the base of a long-running protest like that at Cairo's Tahrir Square which led to the downfall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

But the square appeared nearly empty of protesters early on Thursday after police moved in and was littered with abandoned tents, blankets and rubbish. The smell of teargas wafted through the air and two ambulances were seen rushing from the scene.

A teenager shepherded a sobbing woman into a car, saying she had been separated from her 2-year-old daughter in the chaos. At a main hospital, about 200 people gathered to mourn and protest.

"I was there... The men were running away, but the women and kids could not run as easily, some are still inside (the square)," said Ibrahim Mattar, a parliamentarian from the main Shi'ite opposition Wefaq party, which has walked out of parliament.

"It is confirmed two have died," he said. "More are in critical condition."

Bahrain's Interior Ministry said on Twitter that security forces had "cleared Pearl roundabout" of demonstrators, and that a section of a main road was temporarily blocked.

On Wednesday the party demanded a new constitution that would move the country toward democracy.

"We're not looking for a religious state. We're looking for a civilian democracy ... in which people are the source of power, and to do that we need a new constitution," the group's general secretary Sheikh Ali Salman told a news conference.

BULWARK

The religious divide that separates Bahrain's ruling family from most of its subjects has led to sporadic unrest since the 1990s, and Bahrain's stability is being closely watched as protest movements blow through North Africa and the Middle East.

It is considered the state most vulnerable to popular unrest in a Gulf Arab region where, in an unwritten pact, rulers have traded a share of their oil wealth for political submission.

Regional power Saudi Arabia, and the United States -- which bases its Fifth Fleet in Bahrain -- both view the ruling Khalifa family as a bulwark against Shi'ite Iran.

King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa introduced a new constitution giving Bahrainis more political rights a decade ago, but the opposition says he has not gone far enough to introduce democracy. Most of the cabinet are still members of his family.

Protesters have called for him to fire his uncle, Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, who has been prime minister since the modern state was founded in 1971. Wefaq members say they want elections for prime minister.

Protesters' wrath had already been stirred up by the deaths of two of their number during this week's demonstrations, the second killed in clashes at the funeral of the first.

"The people demand the fall of the regime!" protesters chanted outside the hospital.

Protesters who on Wednesday had expressed confidence they were secure in the square, said they had no idea their encampment would be broken up. Opposition parliamentarian Sayed Hadi said dozens were wounded.

"There was no single warning. It was like attacking an enemy. People were sleeping peacefully," one demonstrator said, declining to be named.

King Hamad has expressed condolences to relatives of the two dead men killed on Monday and Tuesday and said a committee would investigate. His government says it has detained people suspected of blame for the deaths.

(Additional reporting by Cynthia Johnston in Manama; Writing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Matthew Jones)

Egypt-inspired protests gain pace across region

PARIS (Reuters) – Anti-government protests inspired by popular revolts that toppled rulers in Tunisia and Egypt are gaining pace around the Middle East and North Africa despite political and economic concessions by nervous governments.

Clashes were reported in tightly controlled oil producer Libya, sandwiched between Egypt and Tunisia, while new protests erupted in Bahrain, Yemen, Iran and Iraq on Wednesday.

The latest demonstrations against long-serving rulers came after U.S. President Barack Obama, commenting on the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, declared: "The world is changing...if you are governing these countries, you've got to get out ahead of change, you can't be behind the curve."

With young people able to watch pro-democracy uprisings in other countries on satellite television or the Internet, and to communicate with like-minded activists on social networks hard for the secret police to control, authoritarian governments across the region have grounds to fear contagion.

Protests spread across Yemen on Wednesday demanding an end to the president's three decades in power, and a 21-year-old demonstrator died in clashes with police in the south, witnesses and medical sources said.

In Sanaa, capital of the Arabian Peninsula state, hundreds of government loyalists wielding batons and daggers jumped out of cars to chase around 800 protesters marching in the streets.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a U.S. ally against al Qaeda who has been in power in fractious Yemen for 32 years, was quoted by the state news agency as saying the unrest was a foreign plot to foment chaos in Arab countries.

Saleh has pledged to step down when his term expires in 2013 and offered dialogue with the opposition, but radical protesters are demanding he go now.

In Bahrain, protesters poured into the center of the capital Manama on Wednesday for the third successive day to mourn a demonstrator killed in clashes with security forces on Tuesday.

The emirate has a history of protest over economic hardship, the lack of political freedom and sectarian discrimination by the Sunni Muslim rulers against the Shi'ite majority.

Some 2,000 protesters demanding a change of government were encamped at a major road junction in Manama, seeking to emulate rallies on Cairo's Tahrir Square that toppled Mubarak.

Though itself only a minor oil exporter, Bahrain's stability is important for neighboring Saudi Arabia, where oilfields are located in an area populated by an oppressed Shi'ite minority.

DISTURBANCES AT IRAN FUNERAL

In Iran, supporters and opponents of the hardline Islamic system clashed in Tehran during a funeral procession for a student shot at an anti-government rally two days ago, state broadcaster IRIB reported.

Both sides claimed Sanee Zhaleh was a martyr to their cause and blamed the other for his death.

Monday's rallies in Tehran and several other Iranian cities were the first staged by the Green pro-democracy movement since security forces crushed huge protests in the months after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed 2009 re-election.

Hundreds of opponents of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in power since 1969, clashed with police and government supporters in the eastern city of Benghazi in Wednesday's early hours, a witness and local media said.

Reports from the port city, 1,000 km (600 miles) east of the capital Tripoli, said protesters armed with stones and petrol bombs set fire to vehicles and fought with police in a rare outbreak of unrest in the oil-exporting country.

Gaddafi's opponents used the Facebook social network to call for protests across Libya on Thursday.

In Iraq, three people were killed and dozens wounded in the southern city of Kut as protesters demanding better basic services fought with police and set government buildings on fire, hospital and police sources said.

Some shouted, "Down, down (Prime Minister Nuri al-) Maliki's government, down, down with corruption," echoing rallies that have buffeted other parts of the Arab world, although Maliki unlike other Arab leaders was democratically elected.

Iraq is still struggling to get back on its feet almost eight years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. Infrastructure is dilapidated, electricity is in short supply and jobs are scarce.

POLITICAL, ECONOMIC CONCESSIONS

Rulers in several countries, drawing lessons from events in Tunisia and Egypt, have announced political changes and moved to cut prices of basic foodstuffs and raise spending on job creation in efforts to pre-empt spreading unrest.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika promised to lift a 19-year-old state of emergency soon and has acted to reduce the cost of staple foods in the North African oil and gas exporter.

Authorities deployed an estimated 30,000 police in Algiers on Saturday to prevent a banned pro-democracy march. Several hundred protesters defied the ban and dozens were detained.

A coalition of civil society and human rights groups and an opposition party vowed afterwards to demonstrate every Saturday until the military-backed government is removed.

Morocco, where the main banned Islamist opposition movement warned last week that "autocracy" would be swept away unless there were deep democratic reforms, announced on Tuesday it would almost double state subsidies to counter an increase in commodity prices and address social needs.

Syria, controlled by the Baath Party for the last 50 years, released a veteran Islamist activist on Tuesday after he went on hunger strike following his arrest 11 days ago for calling for Egyptian-style mass protests, human rights activists said.

Jordan's King Abdullah has sacked his prime minister and appointed a new government led by a former general who promised to widen public freedom in response to anti-government protests.

Countries with oil and gas wealth such as Saudi Arabia and Algeria appear better placed than poorer countries like Egypt and Tunisia to buy social peace.

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Yemen protests: 20,000 call for President Saleh to go

More than 20,000 anti-government protesters gathered in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, for a "day of rage" against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The demonstrators called for a change in government and rejected Mr Saleh's offer to step down in 2013 after more than 30 years in power.

Meanwhile, a similar number of his supporters rallied in a central square.

The gatherings are the largest in two weeks of protests inspired by the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

In an emergency parliament session on Wednesday, Mr Saleh, 64, laid out his plans to move aside, saying he would not seek to extend his presidency when his current term expires in 2013 and pledging not pass on power to his son.

Despite his call to protesters to cancel their planned rallies, both pro- and anti-government demonstrators gathered in different parts of Sanaa.

"The people want regime change," anti-government protesters shouted as they gathered outside Sanaa University. "No to corruption, no to dictatorship."

The so-called "day of rage" was organised by civil society groups and opposition leaders who complain of mounting poverty among a growing, young population and frustration with a lack of political freedoms.

Unemployment in Yemen runs at 40%, and there are rising food prices and acute levels of malnutrition.

The country has also been plagued by a range of security issues, including a separatist movement in the south and an uprising of Shia Houthi rebels in the north.

There are fears that Yemen is becoming a leading al-Qaeda haven, with the high numbers of unemployed youths seen as potential recruits for Islamist militant groups

Two protesters killed in clash with police in Tunisia

Two people were killed and at least 17 others injured in a clash between protesters and police on Staturday night in Kef, a city 220 km west of the Tunisian capital.

Protesters called for the dismissal of the city's police chief, Khaled Ghazouani, due to his relationship with ousted president Ben Ali's powerful RCD party and for abuse of power, state TV reported.

The clash flared up after Ghazouani slapped a woman in a demonstration.

Dozens of people gathered at the government building demanding Ghazouani's dismissal, witnesses said. Police opened fire at the protesters, killing two people.

The incident in Kev is among the most serious in the past few weeks following the suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi who set himself on fire last December, sparking nationwide protests which led to the ouster of Ben Ali and the collapse of his regime.

Ceasefire agreed but Thai-Cambodian border 'tense'

PHNOM PENH — Thailand and Cambodia negotiated an end to deadly fighting on their border on Saturday, both armies said, after at least four people were killed in clashes near a disputed temple.

"Thailand and Cambodia have agreed a ceasefire and both sides will not reinforce their troops," Thai army spokesman Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd told AFP after military commanders from both sides met for talks in a border town.

A Cambodian general also confirmed the end to hostilities, but added that the "situation right now is still tense".

One Thai soldier was killed in brief morning skirmishes near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, following two hours of heavy fighting on Friday that left a Cambodian soldier and a Thai civilian dead.

Military sources said a Cambodian civilian who made a living photographing tourists at the temple had also been killed in Friday's clash, although the Cambodian government declined to confirm this.

Reports from the border suggested four captured Thai soldiers were returned following the ceasefire talks. Both sides have reported injured troops.

Thousands of people fled the border area on Friday as villages were evacuated on both sides after fighting between the neighbours erupted for the first time in more than a year when simmering border tensions boiled over.

Both countries have accused the other of starting the latest violence and using heavy weapons such as mortars, rockets and artillery.

Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong has written to the United Nations to draw its attention to the "explosive situation at the border".

Blaming the fighting on "flagrant aggression" by Thai troops, he said "Cambodian troops had no option but to retaliate in self-defence", in a letter addressed to UN Security Council president Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti.

He did not explicitly call for UN intervention.

Thailand, which convened an urgent security meeting on Saturday afternoon, has said it was also considering filing a complaint to the UN.

The United States urged both sides to exercise "maximum restraint".

Thailand has accused Cambodia of shelling a village, while Cambodia said Thai armed forces had fired artillery shells about 20 kilometres (12 miles) inside Cambodian territory.

Cambodia said the fighting had caused "serious" damage to the ancient Preah Vihear temple, which was granted UN World Heritage status in July 2008 straining ties between the neighbours.

The World Court ruled in 1962 that Preah Vihear itself belonged to Cambodia, although its main entrance lies in Thailand and the 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) area around the temple is claimed by both sides.

The Thai-Cambodia border has never been fully demarcated partly because it is littered with landmines left over from decades of war in Cambodia.

Thailand and Cambodia have been talking tough on the border issue, which some observers say serves nationalist goals at home on both sides.

Tensions between the two countries have flared in recent weeks in the wake of the arrest of seven Thai nationals for illegal entry into Cambodia in late December.

Egyptian gov't in talks with Muslim Brotherhood

The Egyptian government will hold talks with Muslim Brotherhood, after the influential opposition group finally agreed to have dialogues with Vice President Omar Suleiman in a bid to end the country's political turmoil, officials said on Saturday.

In what would be the first dialogue of its kind between the two sides, Suleiman will meet members of Muslim Brotherhood on Sunday at the Egyptian cabinet, officials from the brotherhood told reporters.

The topics will be centered on power transition and the future of the country, they said.

The group, which had been rejecting the government's offer for talks, changed its mind after the top executive committee of Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party, including President Hosni Mubarak's son Gamal Mubarak, resigned on Saturday, the 12th day of Egypt's unrest, which saw fewer protesters in Cairo's downtown Tahrir square.

The resignation of the ruling party leadership was Mubarak's latest move to appease protestors demanding his resignation as president. According to analysts, it erased any chances for Gamal Mubarak to succeed the presidency.

Before the Muslim Brotherhood, two other main Egyptian opposition parties, namely El Wafd and El Tagammu, consented to dialogues with the new cabinet on Saturday, in response to calls from Suleiman.

With the Muslim Brotherhood on board, almost all legal political parties have agreed to dialogue with the government.

Earlier, the group and top opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei said that they would not accept any dialogue before the immediate departure of Mubarak.

Mubarak announced on Tuesday that he did not intend to run for next term. But he insisted on staying in power until his term ends after presidential elections in September.

The military, which is crucial for deciding whether the embattled president will step down, has so far given no hint of its stance.

The 12th day of the nationwide anti-government demonstration seemed to be relatively quiet, with a few thousands of protestors still sitting in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo.

Rise of Islamist movements is a price Egypt will have to pay

One of the most interesting developments in Cairo's Tahrir Squre over the weekend was the request made yesterday by an Egyptian commander, who asked the crowds to disperse "to save Egypt." The general stood before the masses, in a scene free from violence or confrontation, imploring the people in the square to go home. But they refused his entreaties, responding with: "The people want Mubarak out."

Opponents of the regime, as well as the country as a whole, are entering a dangerous interim phase - one in which no dramatic developments or decisions will be made. Time is working against the opposition, and against Egypt itself. By deciding on Friday not to march on the presidential palace, and to stay instead in Tahrir Square, the opposition decided to forgo driving Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak out by force.

For its part, the army has allowed masses to assemble in the square and has not interfered there, on the reasonable assumption that the hundreds of thousands who gathered on Friday, which reduced to tens of thousands yesterday, will thin out to just thousands during the course of the week, until the protests there finally dissipate altogether.

But in the meantime, Egypt has been paralyzed. Every day that the country's institutions fail to function, the economy suffers huge losses.

The opposition is also in distress for a variety of reasons, of which exhaustion is only one. The demonstrations have already raged for 12 days, some more violent, some less. The most central problem for opponents of the Mubarak regime, however, is the absence of a unified central leadership that can set goals and strategies.

The former head of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, is not particularly charismatic and despite his efforts to portray himself as a future president, he has not managed to unite the opposition. Some see him as a foreign transplant, someone who jumped on the bandwagon and linked himself too quickly with the Muslim Brotherhood.

A clear divide is also apparent within the ranks of the opposition, between the small secular organizations represented in the parliament on the one hand, and the Muslim Brotherhood and 26 smaller organizations leading protests on the square on the other. While the organizations that participated in the elections have now agreed to negotiate reforms with newly appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman in advance of proposed September elections, the other camp has given no such consent. One of leaders of the demonstrations in the square, Mohammed Al-Hadiri, has said the protesters will remain in the square until Mubarak is driven out completely.

A group of young demonstrators has made an effort to close ranks by appointing a committee that will represent them - including ElBaradei, Arab League chief Amr Moussa and Nobel Prize-winnning chemist Ahmed Zewail - none of whom have concealed their desire to run for president at the appropriate time.

In addition, members of the so-called "moderate" opposition have also been exposed to the rhetoric of Muslim Brotherhood spokesmen, such as Rashad al-Bayoumi, who has argued that after Mubarak departs and a temporary government is installed, the peace treaty with Israel must be rescinded. Some secular opponents of the regime understand the price Egypt will pay "the day after" - in the form of the rising political power of the Islamic factions.