___
LIBYA
Fugitive leader Moammar Gadhafi accuses revolutionary forces of surrendering Libya to foreign influence and vows to press ahead with his resistance in a message issued just hours after a twin attack on a key oil facility by loyalist fighters. At least 15 attackers are killed. "We will not be ruled after we were the masters," says the brief statement. The message describes the opposition forces as "traitors" who are willing to turn over Libya's oil riches to foreign interests.
___
SYRIA
Syrian troops mount deadly new raids against dissent as President Bashar Assad’s embattled regime wins key support from longtime ally Russia, which says a U.N. resolution on Syria must not contain sanctions. The U.N. says the death toll has reached at least 2,600 from the government’s violent crackdown on protests over the past six months. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Moscow believes any U.N. resolution on Syria must be aimed at both the government and the opposition.
___
YEMEN
Yemen’s president delegates his vice president to negotiate with the opposition over a long-standing power transfer deal, apparently stalling again in the face of international pressure on him to step aside. The president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has been in Saudi Arabia since suffering severe wounds in a June 3 attack on his compound.He authorized Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to negotiate with the opposition and sign a power transfer accord — but Saleh retained the right to reject the deal.
___
EGYPT
Egypt’s benchmark stock index falls for a second consecutive day, as the country’s military rulers show growing impatience with protests that have gripped the country since the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak. In another reflection of Egypt’s challenges in boosting its economy after the mass uprising that began Jan. 25, the government also reports that tourism arrivals fell over 35 percent in the second quarter of the year.
___
JORDAN
Jordan’s King Abdullah II, one of Israel’s few remaining allies in the Muslim world, says the uprisings sweeping Arab nations have put the Jewish state in a difficult position. He also hotly rejects the notion that his country should take in Palestinians as a substitute for the creation of a state for them. Abdullah tells a closed meeting of Jordanian intellectuals and academics that Jordan and the Palestinians are now in a stronger position than Israel, whose current government fears growing isolation as a result of the Middle East’s transformative changes in the Arab Spring.
___
ALGERIA
Algeria will officially recognize Libya’s new rulers, once the former rebels form a new government representative of all Libyans, the country’s foreign minister says. Algeria was close to deposed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and has been a lone holdout among Arab countries in recognizing the National Transitional Council that overthrew the longtime Libyan ruler.
___
TUNISIA
Registration is complete for candidates in Tunisia’s landmark constitutional elections set for next month. A monthlong popular revolt in Tunisia launched uprisings across the region now known as the Arab Spring, which transformed the political landscape of the Middle East. Tunisians will go to the polls Oct. 23 to choose 218 members of an assembly that will write the country’s new constitution. Nearly 10,000 candidates have been approved to run.
