In Yemen, a top police commander has been killed in a car bombing, the latest in a series of attacks in south Yemen during the popular movement to oust longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Syrian security forces and snipers killed at least four people on Friday, as protesters launched anti-government protests across the country. Activists call for a 'no fly' zone.
Rescue workers in Turkey pulled a teenage boy out of the earthquake rubble Friday. A UNHCR spokesman said the first of four daily cargo planes, each carrying about 500 tents and 10,000 blankets, will land Friday evening in the eastern city of Erzurum.
Iraqi officials say the death toll from twin bombings in Baghdad has risen to at least 32, almost double the number of fatalities reported after the Thursday blasts.
Tunisia's newly elected Islamist party has begun talks with rival parties on forming a coalition government, a day after winning the most seats in the country's first free elections.
Details after the break.
Yemen
A Yemeni security official says a top police commander has been killed in a car bombing, the latest in a series of attacks in south Yemen during the popular movement to oust longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The official says at least two other people were wounded in the blast Friday in the coastal city of Aden.
On Thursday, an air strike killed three suspected militants and injured six other people in southern Yemeni village of Shaqra. The village is part of a region where Yemeni security forces have been waging ongoing battles against al-Qaida-linked militants.
President Saleh's government has been trying to oust the militants from their southern strongholds.
Syria
Activists say Syrian security forces and snipers killed at least four people on Friday, as protesters launched anti-government protests across the country.
Activists say forces have fired shots at demonstrators in areas that include the flashpoint cities of Homs and Hama.
Meanwhile, the French news agency says a funeral for an army deserter evolved into an opposition rally in the northwestern Idlib province.
Opposition activists have urged protesters to rally for a "no fly" zone on Friday.
The activists made the call on social media sites, saying the flight restrictions are needed to help protect civilians from government forces.
Turkey
Rescue workers in Turkey pulled a teenage boy out of the rubble Friday, more than 100 hours after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake Sunday decimated much of the country's southeast.
They found the boy hours after rescuing another young man in Ercis Thursday. But hopes of finding other survivors were fading as cold weather and snow hampered rescue efforts in Ercis, the town hardest hit by the quake, and other towns and villages in the region.
Authorities raced to provide shelter for thousands of victims left homeless by the quake. Officials said Friday the death toll has risen to at least 573 and the number of those injured to at least 2,500 people. They expect the death toll to continue to climb as more bodies are pulled from the rubble.
The United Nations refugee agency said Friday it is launching an emergency airlift to the quake-stricken region. A UNHCR spokesman said the first of four daily cargo planes, each carrying about 500 tents and 10,000 blankets, will land Friday evening in the eastern city of Erzurum. From there, trucks will bring the supplies to the provincial capital of Van for distribution to quake victims. The spokesman says the shelter needs are great.
The International Federation of the Red Cross says its Turkish chapter has distributed more than 7,500 tents and 22,000 blankets, as well as stoves, food and clean water.
Many displaced residents have complained the government is not acting fast enough to distribute aid. Despite waiting in long lines for hours, some have been unable to get tents or shelter. Many people have been forced to sleep outdoors with blankets near campfires.
Iraq
Iraqi officials say the death toll from twin bombings in Baghdad has risen to at least 32, almost double the number of fatalities reported after the Thursday blasts.
Officials announced the revised number of Friday, saying at least 71 people were wounded in the bombings in a mostly Shi'ite neighborhood.
Police say the explosions took place a few minutes apart. The second blast occurred as rescue workers arrived at the scene to treat victims of the first explosion.
Still no claims of responsibility.
Tunisia
Tunisia's newly elected Ennahda party has begun talks with rival parties on forming a coalition government, a day after winning the most seats in the country's first free elections.
Ennahda leader Rachid Ghannouchi said Friday his Islamist party would work to form a new government in "friendliness" and "brotherhood."
This comes as fresh protests erupted against the Ennahda party Friday. Media say security forces fired shots into the air and tear gas at demonstrators who tried to raid the Ennahda party's headquarters in the central city of Sidi Bouzid.
The protests began on Thursday after election officials invalidated seats won by the rival Popular List party, citing campaign violations.
In his remarks Friday, Ghannouchi called for calm.
A government spokesman told the French news agency (AFP) a curfew would be implemented in Sidi Bouzid from Friday night to Saturday morning (local time).
Sidi Bouzid is the birthplace of the popular uprising that ousted longtime President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and ignited the Arab Spring protests that have transformed the region.
Election officials announced the final results on Thursday, four days after Tunisians voted. The Ennahda party took 90 of 217 assembly seats, three times the number won by its nearest rival.
Ennahda secured more than 41 percent of the vote and will dominate the constituent assembly. The assembly has been tasked with writing a new constitution, appointing a president and forming a caretaker government.
The center-left Congress for the Republic (CPR), a secular party, placed second with 30 seats. The Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberties - or Ettakatol - came in third with 21 seats.
Those two liberal parties have launched negotiations with Ennahda, which had been banned for decades under the previous government.
Tunisia's landmark election was widely considered free and fair. Sunday's vote came a little more than nine months after Tunisians overthrew Ben Ali.
All content based on VOA News reports.
Stumble It!
