Syria: Assad offers concessions

Syria's repressive regime came under unexpectedly heavy pressure Thursday as thousands of demonstrators massed again in the southern city of Dara, demanding democratic reform and protesting the deaths of 15 or more people reportedly shot the day before. The government of President Bashar Assad, unaccustomed to concessions, announced a series of reforms, including a salary increase for public workers, greater freedom for the media and political parties and a reconsideration of the emergency rule that has been in force for 48 years. Assad also ordered prisoners taken during the crackdown this week to be freed. The concessions did not appear to satisfy the protesters, who were expected to gather in even larger numbers Friday, the Muslim day of prayer.

Protesters and supporters of Jordan's King Abdullah clashed in Amman, the capital, and about 35 people were hurt. Earlier, protesters in a central square said they were changing their name to "Youth of March 24," marking what they said was the start of an open-ended demonstration. Group spokesman Ziad al-Khawaldeh said the protesters would remain until Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit departed. Other demands include dissolving parliament, dismantling the intelligence department and giving greater power to the people.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry has criticized the Western air assault on Libyan government forces, suggesting that Libya had been duped in 2003 when it abandoned its nuclear program in exchange for promises of aid and improved relations with the West. Calling the West's bargain with Libya "an invasion tactic to disarm the country," a Foreign Ministry official said it amounted to a bait-and-switch approach. The official said the crisis in Libya "is teaching the international community a grave lesson," and that a strong military was the only guarantor of peace on the Korean Peninsula. Analysts saw the statement as an ominous reinforcement of the North's refusal to end its own nuclear program.