A look at the latest developments in political unrest across the Middle East on Tuesday:
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LIBYA
Moammar Gadhafi's tanks and rockets drive back rebels from near his hometown of Sirte, a key government stronghold on the road to the capital Tripoli, as international leaders struggle at a London conference to figure out an endgame for his tottering regime.
After the rebels' push westward restored all the territory they lost over the past week, Gadhafi's troops manage to drive them out of Bin Jawwad, a hamlet east of Sirte.
There were no international airstrikes in Bin Jawwad during the hours-long battle.
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SYRIA
Cabinet resigns to help quell a wave of popular fury that erupted more than a week ago, threatening President Bashar Assad's 11-year rule.
Human Rights Watch says more than 60 people have died since March 18 as security forces cracked down on protesters.
Government-sanctioned rallies bring hundreds of thousands into the streets in the provinces of Aleppo and Hasakeh in the north, and the central cities of Hama and Homs.
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BAHRAIN
Parliament accepts resignations of 11 lawmakers from the Shiite opposition, a sign that the political and sectarian crisis in the tiny Gulf monarchy is deepening.
The resignations were submitted last month over the deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters in the Sunni-ruled island nation with a Shiite majority.
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EGYPT
Members of the ultranconservative Muslim Salafi sect clash with villagers south of Cairo over demands that a liquor store and coffee shops be closed. One villager is dead and eight injured in the clash that erupted late Monday.
Dozens of Salafis protest in Cairo, accusing the church of abducting a Coptic priest's wife who some believe converted to Islam and is being held against her will.
Ex-President Hosni Mubarak tolerated the Salafis to counterweight his top foe, the Muslim Brotherhood group, but the fundamentalist movement has been increasingly assertive.
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JORDAN
King Abdullah II condemns violence and expresses support for dialogue and reform in his first public comments on violence at a pro-democracy protest Friday, when one person was killed.