BBC News with Marion Marshall
Foreign ministers from the friends of Syria group of countries have agreed to give urgent support to Syrian rebels. After a meeting in Qatar, the group issued a statement pledging to provide urgently or the necessary material and equipment to the opposition on the ground. The French foreign minister Laurent Fabius called on Iran and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah to stay out of the conflict highlighting the role Hezbollah played in the recapture of Qusair from rebels early this month.
“Of course Hezbollah is playing a terribly negative role notably in the attack on Qusair. And we are absolutely against the internationalization of conflict. So we request that Iran and Hezbollah stop intervening in this conflict.”
Turkish riot police have used water cannon to disperse thousands of protesters in Taksim Square in Istanbul. Crowds have turned out in force despite a heavy police presence to commemorate three protesters killed in previous protests. James Reynolds is there.
Several thousand protesters gathered in the evening in Taksim Square. They planned to commemorate those killed during this month’s unrest. But the police advanced and used water cannon to disperse the protesters. The crowds scattered into nearby hotels and cafes. Some chanted against the government, others threw flowers. This was the first large protest in the center of Istanbul for five days. It’s a sign that the protest movement against the government has not finished.
Brazilian police have used teargas against protesters outside a football stadium in the city of Belo Horizonte where Japan were playing Mexico in the Confederations Cup. Smaller demonstrations are also taking place elsewhere across Brazil, a day after President Dilma Rousseff promised to respond to concern about corruption and poor public services. The international football tournament has been one focus of more than a week of nationwide unrest.
The White House has said it’s in talks with the authorities in Hong Kong about extraditing Edward Snowden, the former intelligence analyst charged with leaking US secrets about government surveillance. The Hong Kong government has refused to comment on reports that the US has asked for his detention and return. Katy Watterson reports from Washington.
The pressure is now on for Hong Kong to cooperate with the US authorities. A senior Obama administration official sounded a warning if authorities didn’t act soon, it could complicate relations between Hong Kong and the U.S. and raise questions about Hong Kong’s commitment to the rule of law. Authorities there has said very little so far refusing to confirm whether or not they received a request or to comment on reports that he may already be in that custody. The process to get Mr. Snowden back onto American soil may have started but it could be a lengthy process to appeals and legal obstacles before the task is complete.
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Supporters of the ruling Frelimo Party in Mozambique have held marches in several parts of the country to protest against armed attacks blamed on the opposition. Two people were killed when gunmen shot at three vehicles in Sofala province on Friday. The main opposition party and former rebel group Renamo had earlier warned that it would paralyze roads and railway vital to Mozambique’s coal exports.
A suicide bomber in Iraq has blown himself up in a Shiite mosque in a village north of Bagdad killing at least 14 people. Officials said more than 20 other people were injured in the attack during evening prayers in the Sobibor district. There’s been no immediate claim of responsibility.
There is a race against time in northern India to rescue thousands of people trapped by flash floods before new rain falls. The security forces are evacuating people by helicopter and trying to repair roads and bridges. A special railway service is carrying survivors away from Uttarakhand, the worst affected state.
Police in the Netherlands have given a seven-year-old joyrider a telling-off after he took his sleeping grandmother’s car and drove his fiver-year-old brother around town. Anna Hooligan has the details.
The seven-year-old managed to keep the road for a kilometer and it seems no one noticed there was a small boy behind the wheel. The miniature joyrider’s adventure was brought to an abrupt halt when the car hit a post. It happened in Bloomingdale, a small town just west of Amsterdam. The boy tried to reassure the police he hadn’t been acting irresponsibly telling them he’d strapped his little brother into the child seat and he was wearing a seatbelt.
A Palestinian singer from Gaza has won this year’s Arab Idol reality TV contest. Twenty-three-year-old Mohammed Assaf was the first Palestinian to reach the final. The result has led to celebrations throughout the Palestinian territories with fireworks going off across Gaza city.