BBC News with John Jason
Residents of the Turkey’s city of Istanbul say skirmishes between police and protesters are continuing in the city, they are no longer in Taksim Square. There’re also reports of clashes in the capital Ankara where one protester being ran over by a water cannon. The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for an immediate end to the protests. Earlier the police withdrew from Taksim Square which is now occupied by jubilant protesters as James Reynolds reports.
Tonight here in Taksim Square there is a sense of victory and jubilation among protesters. There are several dozen in front of me who are standing in a circle, in two circles dancing and cheering and taking photographs. Some more protesters have climbed a monument in front of me and they are waving political flags. Many, many people are smiling because they believe they won a significant battle because the police have been asked, have been forced to withdraw. But very clearly this is part of a longer running battle between these people and the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Activists across Europe have been holding demonstrations against the troika international powers. They’re blamed for growing economic hardships. In Portugal, thousands walk past the offices of the International Monetary Fund. The IMF, the European Union and the European Central Bank have imposed strict conditions on Portugal, Spain, Greece and Ireland. Protests were also staged in the Spanish capital Madrid and in Germany where police fired teargas at the crowd marching on the headquarters of the ECB.
An influential cleric has called on Sunni Muslims from around the Middle East to go to Syria to join battle against the government. Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi who was based in Qatar said those with military training should join the rebels. The United Nations and the Red Cross have issued near simultaneous appeals for immediate access to be granted to the Syrian city of Qusair. Jim Muir reports from Beirut.
With rebel held parts of Qusair effectually besieged by government forces and Hezbollah fighters. Conditions there are said to be dire, especially for civilians and the wounded trapped there. Some civilians trying to flee are reported to have been killed. Meanwhile one of the most influential pictures in the Sunni Arab World Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi has issued an incendiary call to all Sunnis with fighting experience to go to Syria to join up with the rebels against the regime and Hezbollah.
The authorities in Iraq say they have uncovered an al-Qaeda plot to use chemical weapons inside Iraq and to smuggle them to Europe and North America. A spokesman for the Defense Ministry Muhammad al-Askari said military intelligence had discovered three workshops for manufacturing the chemicals which included nerve gas. He said the authorities had also seized remote control toy planes which would have been used to disperse the gas. Mr. al-Askari told Iraqi television that five men had been arrested after three months of surveillance. He added that all of them had confessed.
World News from the BBC
Police in Britain have charged the second suspect with a murder of a British soldier in southeast London ten days ago. Michael Adebolajo is also accused of possession of a fire alarm and attempting to kill two police officers. Another man, Michael Adebowale who was also detained at the scene of the attack has already been charged with the soldier Lee Rigby’s murder.
Government in Niger have attacked the main prison in the capital Niamey. Officials say at least two guards have been killed. They say three inmates involved in the escape attempt have been captured alive. The assault comes just over a week after simultaneous suicide attacks to the military barracks and the French-administered uranium mine in Niger. Mary Harper reports.
Officials say the trouble started when a prisoner grabbed a gun from a guard and shot dead three guards and a civilian. The prisoner is said to be a Sudanese member of the Islamist group Mujao. Members of the group stationed outside the prison then opened fire. Some of them are reported to have entered the building. The prison has been surrounded by the security forces and the area sealed off. Mujao is one of the Islamist group that last year seized the northern half of Mali which borders Niger.
A military official in Yemen says two suspected U.S. drones have killed seven al-Qaeda militants in their stronghold in Abyan. The military source said missiles hit two cars carrying the militants. Two other people were injured.
Last month President Obama said he would only order drone attack if a threat was deemed to be imminent.
In two separate incidents, gunmen on a motorbike have killed a Yemeni air force colonel in the eastern province of Hadramawt and a colonel of police was killed by a car bomb in the eastern city of Seiyun.
Champions League winners Bayern Munich have beaten VfB Stuttgart 3-2 in the German Cup final crowning their season with a travel which is never been achieved in German football before. Earlier in the season Bayern Munich won the German League.