Cairo: Latest developments in the unrest sweeping the Middle East and North Africa.
LIBYA
- Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi insisted his people loved him but was slammed as 'delusional' as Western nations prepared to ramp up pressure to prevent a full-blown catastrophe in his country.
- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said the situation in Libya was 'confused' and constantly changing.
- Austria freezes assets of Gaddafi and his close associates, after Monday's decision by the EU to slap an asset freeze and travel ban on the Libyan strongman and 25 members of his family and inner circle.
- The UN refugee agency said that the situation on Libya's border with Tunisia is reaching a crisis point after 70,000 to 75,000 people fled from the violence in Libya since February 20.
- China called for an end to the violence in Libya.
- UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday denounced Gaddafi and the leader of the Ivory Coast for waging 'war' on their people.
- A passenger ship evacuated 1,100 Indian nationals from the Libyan port city of Benghazi late Monday.
- The US military is moving naval and air forces into position around Libya, the Pentagon said on Monday, as Britain said it is working with its allies to draw up a plan for a military no-fly zone over Libya.
- Gaddafi forces attacked Misrata and killed two people on Monday, a witness said.
- The International Criminal Court prosecutor announced on Monday, a preliminary probe of possible crimes against humanity committed in Libya.
- Libya's opposition said on Monday it was resuming oil exports as the European Union's energy commissioner said Gaddafi's regime no longer controls most of the oil and gas fields.
- Gaddafi fired his intelligence chief, a Libyan newspaper reported.
OMAN
- Omani forces backed by tanks disperse protesters who have been massed at a key roundabout in the industrial city of Sohar, blocking access to the port and the coastal road to Muscat.
- On Monday, fresh clashes erupted between Omani police and protesters a day after police killed at least one as the turmoil rocking the Arab world reached the normally calm Gulf sultanate.
YEMEN
- Vast numbers of protesters poured into a square in Yemen's capital Sanaa for a massive anti-regime rally, as President Ali Abdullah Saleh blamed the US and Israel for a wave of Arab revolts.
- On Monday Saleh warned that Yemen would fracture if his regime falls and Germany issued a travel warning for the the Arabian Peninsula state.
BAHRAIN
- Crown Prince Salman said on Monday efforts were underway to launch talks with the opposition, which is demanding major political reforms amid a wave of anti-government protests.
EGYPT
- The public prosecutor slapped a ban on ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his family travelling abroad, and also imposed a freeze on their assets.
TUNISIA
- Tunisia's ministers of industry and international cooperation quit on Monday, a day after the prime minister resigned following deadly clashes at protests demanding the removal of figures from the toppled hardline regime.
KUWAIT
- A key opposition group demanded the ouster of the prime minister as youth activists called for a rally on March 8 to force the premier to quit.
ALGERIA
- An Algerian man has died after setting himself alight at the weekend in a protest in front of a government office, the El Watan daily newspaper reported on Monday.
IRAQ
- Iraq's prime minister, who has warned his cabinet to shape up within 100 days or face 'changes', apologised to a reporter after the journalist alleged assault at the hands of security forces during massive demonstrations in Baghdad last week.
JORDAN
- The premier pledged on Sunday to bring about 'true and gradual' reforms, a day after the opposition threatened more pressure on the government, accusing it of not taking the process seriously.
MOROCCO
- The authorities said they cut short a music festival in the Western Sahara town of Dakhla after Sunday disturbances 'exploited by separatists' left 15 people injured.
SAUDI ARABIA
- More than 100 Saudi academics, activists and businessmen have called for major reforms including the establishment of a 'constitutional monarchy' in the Gulf kingdom, in an Internet statement.