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Six killed in protest crackdown in Syria
Six people are said to have been killed and dozens more wounded in Syria after security forces opened fire on protesters. Residents say the shooting happened at the Omari mosque in the southern city of Deraa, which has been the focal point of a string of small but unprecedented rallies calling for the end of the ruling Assad regime. The demonstrations have also reportedly spilled over into nearby towns. Eyewitnesses reported gatherings of hundreds of people. They said they were dispersed by the security forces. Local sources say ten people have been killed in clashes with the security forces during six days of demonstrations. The ruling Baath Party has banned opposition parties and enforced emergency laws since 1963. But there are now popular calls for political freedom and an end to corruption. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Japanese hope to restart cooling pumps
Japanese engineers are still battling to cool the tsunami-damaged nuclear reactors at the?�Fukushima plant.?�Overnight, they continued to spray sea water, and they have now succeeded in?�connecting?�a power cable to reactor No 2 although power yet has to be switched on. Before this can be done, nearly a mile of cable will have to be laid.?�The aim is to re-start cooling pumps at all the plant’s reactors?�this weekend. In the meantime, the authorities are monitoring the effects of the nuclear leak. Read our news file?�The Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukiya Edano said:?�“We have received reports that radiation levels above the levels acceptable by the food safety laws have been detected in milk samples from the Fukushima area and in spinach from the Ibaraki area.”?�Sales of edible produce?�from the Fukushima region have now been banned. In further developments, traces of radioactive iodine have also been found in Tokyo’s tapwater although authorities say that the levels remain within government safety guidelines.?� ?�The UN Atomic Watchdog has said that radiation levels in the air across Tokyo are not harmful, and in California the authorities have said that they have detected a miniscule rise in radiation levels as a result of the spill. Experts say dangerous?�radiation levels are unlikely to spread to other nations. ?� Copyright © 2011 euronews

An abandoned house near Chernobyl in Belarus
Makar Krosovsky, 73, visits his abandoned in the state radiation ecology reserve in the 30 km (18 miles) exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the village of Pogonnoe, in Belarus. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko Copyright © 2011 euronews

Strong showing for French far-right
France’s far-right National Front party (FN) is celebrating a resurgence in support in the first round of local elections on Sunday. The FN managed to garner around 15 percent of the vote in the cantonal elections, France’s smallest electoral sub-division. The centre-right UMP of President Nicolas Sarkozy only won around 17 percent. The Socialist Party came out on top with 25 percent of votes cast. However, the elections were also marked by a record low turnout, with fewer than one in two voters going to cast their ballots. The FN will go into a head-to-head second round in almost 400 cantons and in most cases it will be challenging the Socialists. Many observers point to the FN’s new leader, Marine Le Pen (pictured), as the reason for its new-found success. She took over from her father Jean-Marie Le Pen earlier this year. He caused a massive political stir in 2002 when he made the second round of the presidential election at the expense of socialist candidate Lionel Jospin. Le Pen went on to lose to Jacques Chirac in the second round. His daughter Marine has been credited with making the party more acceptable to middle-class voters and particularly women. She has shed some of her father’s more controversial rhetoric and while she shares many of his ideas about immigration – namely that it should stop – she appears much more compassionate to the plight of migrants. Some recent polls suggest that Le Pen could push Sarkozy into third place in a presidential election and even enjoy more support in the first round than any other candidate. It is highly unlikely she could win the presidency as moderate voters would probably rally to block her in a second round, as they did with her father. But she points to the FN’s popularity as evidence that it is no longer considered a party of protest, but rather one able to govern. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Oman unrest enters third day
Protesters in Oman have clashed with security forces during a third consecutive day of unrest. The demonstrators want higher salaries and a greater say in the running of the country’s affairs. Oman has been ruled by a family dynasty since 1932. Read our news file Amateur footage shows violent clashes from Sunday. The government says one person died, although doctors told the Reuters news agency that at least six people lost their lives and twenty people were wounded. Protests have been taking place in Sohar, an industrial port town 200 kilometres northwest of the capital of Muscat. Police used tear gas to disperse the hundreds of demonstrators, who say they used live ammunition. The government denies that charge, saying officers fired rubber bullets. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Chinese police clampdown on anti-government protests
Despite their efforts to block information spreading about the Arab uprisings, anti-government protests have erupted in several cities. But an emphatic show of force by police in Shanghai quickly ended the protest. It was a similar story in downtown Beijing where lines of police checked passers-by and warned away demonstrators. A rash of detentions and censorship of online discussions have shown that the Communist Party is concerned about any challenge to its rule. Residents in Hong Kong, however, enjoy a little more freedom. Some inspired by the so-called Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia took to the streets. Police soon ended the demonstration. A call for protests a week ago brought out few people. But dozens of dissidents and human rights activists have reportedly been detained or warned to avoid any action which risks social stability. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Islamist car bomb targets Somali police camp
A suicide car bomb in Somalia has killed at least 17 people near a police training camp in the capital Mogadishu. It went off in the early morning on a busy road about 500 metres from the city’s port. Police said they shot at a car as it was speeding towards the camp’s gates before the explosion shook the area. A spokesman said four of the dead were suicide bombers, seven were police, half a dozen were civilians. African Union peacekeepers said the violence will not put an end to their mission in Somalia, where large parts of the country are controlled by Islamist militants. Rebels from Al Shabaab linked to al Qaeda said they carried out the attack, which was the latest in their three-year insurgency against the UN backed administration. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Syria protests spread south
Anti government protests have spread across Syria to the south of the country.?�Several hundred people took to the streets in the town of Jassem although security forces did not intervene.?�In Deraa, thousands of mourners marched at the funeral of one protester killed during demonstrations last week.?�Four civilians died?�after?�when troops sprayed a demonstration with gunfire last Friday.?�The protesters want greater political freedoms and an end to corruption.?�The unrest is the most serious challenge to President Bashar al-Assad’s rule since the 45-year-old succeeded his father 11 years ago.?�The ruling Baath Party has banned opposition parties and enforced emergency laws since 1963.?�?� Copyright © 2011 euronews

Paris summit on Libya underway
World leaders have arrived in Paris to discuss military intervention in Libya where Colonel Gaddafi is reportedly continuing to break the ceasefire his government announced on Friday. British Prime Minister David Cameron was one of the first to arrive and met French President Nicolas Sarkozy before going in. Earlier they had both had a pre-summit meeting with the American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The delegates are hoping to arrive at a consensus for coordinated military intervention in Libya. Copyright © 2011 euronews

Confusion over Renault spy case
Renault is still not admitting that it might have been tricked into firing three senior managers over alleged industrial espionage. The company’s lawyers said they are still looking into the existence of foreign bank accounts said to have been held by the three even though the police in Switzerland and Liechtenstein reportedly have said no such accounts exist. The managers denied any wrongdoing and are suing Renault. Renault sacked the three men and lodged a legal complaint in January over suspicions of industrial espionage targeting its high-profile electric vehicle programme, amid fears that information had been passed to a foreign power. The possible existence of foreign bank accounts was a key part of the case against the three. Jean Reinhart, the French carmaker’s lawyer, said in a radio interview that French intelligence services were still investigating in Switzerland and Liechtenstein to find out whether the accounts existed or not. “Nothing has come back to us for the moment, which means that this morning we are unable to say whether we have been manipulated or not,” he said. Renault’s Chief Operating Officer Patrick Pelata met with French Prime Minister Francois Fillon this week to discuss the case. There were diplomatic repercussions after a government source said investigators initially looked at a possible link with China. Renault and the government then both quickly played down the China talk. The scandal also strained relations between the carmaker and the government as Renault is 15 percent state-owned. It was criticised for not informing authorities of its suspicions in a timely manner and for carrying out its own investigation before telling them. Copyright © 2011 euronews