SYRIA
Security forces open fire on thousands of protesters, killing at least six people as soldiers try to head off demonstrations, according to human rights activists. A leading activist says three people were killed in Homs, two in Damascus, and one in a village outside Daraa. Three rallies were held in Damascus — the largest number of protests staged at once in the Syrian capital during the two-month revolt against President Bashar Assad. An activist in Homs says security forces dressed in black and shadowy pro-regime gunmen known as "shabiha" did the shooting. He says the regime forces first fired in the air, then shot directly into the crowd.
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LIBYA
Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim says 11 Muslim clerics were killed in their sleep by a NATO airstrike on the eastern oil town of Brega, describing them as part of a large group of imams who had gathered to pray for peace in conflict-ridden Libya. He says 50 people were wounded, five critically. In response, NATO says it had attacked a command-and-control center used by Moammar Gadhafi's forces in Brega. NATO has been intensifying airstrikes against Gadhafi's installations, including one recent strike that hit his main compound in Tripoli.
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YEMEN
Security troops open fire at a protest march in the southern town of Ibb, killing three people and wounding scores, according to field doctor Mortada Seif. He says 10 of the wounded are in critical condition. Friday's shooting came as thousands marched in a funeral procession for a man who died in the town the previous day, when troops cracked down on an anti-government rally. Anti-government demonstrations are also held in several other cities and towns across Yemen, leading to dozens of injuries. Seven Yemeni soldiers were reported killed in two ambushes.
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EGYPT
Authorities order the detention of Suzanne Mubarak, wife of deposed President Hosni Mubarak, and a doctor says she passed out on hearing the news. The state-owned MENA news agency says the detention order was issued a day after the government said Hosni Mubarak and his wife were questioned over suspicions they illegally amassed vast wealth. MENA says prosecutors ordered Mrs. Mubarak, who is 70, detained for 15 days pending further investigation. She was interrogated at the hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh where her 83-year old husband has been held, and a security official said she will remain in the hospital for the time being.
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JORDAN
Thousands rally in support of Palestinians, with demonstrators in Jordan's capital, Amman, heeding a call by Facebook organizers to demand a sovereign Palestinian state, others near the Jordanian-Israeli border chanting "Death to Israel," and still more activists filling Tahrir Square in the Egyptian capital Cairo.