Greece became the sixth European country to upgrade the diplomatic status of the Palestinian Authority Tuesday, accepting formal ambassador credentials from the Palestinian envoy to Athens.

"I am very proud to be the first Palestinian ambassador to present my credentials to his excellency the president of the Greek republic," the envoy Samir Abu Ghazaleh said, after handing his letters of credence to Greek President Carolos Papoulias.

A major Gaza hospital named after Hosni Mubarak is to be rebaptized "Tahrir" after the Cairo square at the center of the uprising which felled the Egyptian leader.

"The Mubarak hospital for children in Khan Yunis is to be renamed Tahrir hospital in honor of the Egyptian revolution in Tahrir Square," Youssef al-Mudallah, director general of the Hamas-run health ministry, told Agence France Presse.

Furious Iranian lawmakers on Tuesday demanded the hanging of opposition leaders who called anti-government protests which left two people dead, saying they had been "misled" by Iran's arch-foes.

But in one of his most direct reactions to events in Iran, U.S. President Barack Obama offered encouragement to protesters, saying he hoped they would have the "courage" to keep expressing their "yearning for greater freedoms."

Tunisian authorities extended Tuesday a state of emergency imposed as president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled a month ago but ordered an end to a nationwide curfew, the official TAP news agency said.

The interior ministry also warned in a statement against attempts to sow discord between the police and army in the fragile North African country and condemned protests by "extremists," the news agency reported.

Pro-regime supporters armed with batons and stones waded Tuesday into a crowd of anti-government protesters trying to march on Yemen's presidential palace, sparking clashes dispersed by police.

At least three people were injured as the rivals pelted each other with stones, said an Agence France Presse correspondent, in the fourth straight day of protest in central Sanaa.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Tuesday said the international community still sought to achieve a peace deal and a Palestinian state by September, despite the region's political turmoil.

Despite the impasse in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the resignation of the Palestinian cabinet as well as Saab Erakat, their chief negotiator, Ashton said the goal was still achievable.

Egypt's military regime warned on Tuesday that a wave of strikes sweeping the country was "disastrous", as it gave a panel of civilian experts 10 days to revise the constitution.

Against a backdrop of persistent nationwide walk-outs and street protests, the junta promised to rapidly restore constitutional rule following the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak's regime.

Israel has put its embassies on high alert, fearing they could come under attack, after identifying suspicious activities around some of them, Israel's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

"Unusual occurrences have been identified recently around a few Israeli missions abroad. Our assessment, at this point, is that these sites are under threat, and this is being taken care of," it said in a statement.

Two protesters died in clashes with Bahraini police, sparking angry calls from young cyber-activists for regime change and a walkout of parliament by Bahrain's main Shiite opposition bloc on Tuesday.

The events prompted King Hamad to express sorrow for the deaths, announce a ministerial probe and pledge to press ahead with reforms, in an address to the tiny Gulf state facing Iran across the Gulf that is ruled by his Sunni family.

World oil prices rose on Tuesday, with Brent crude close to $104 on unrest in the Middle East and robust Chinese demand, analysts said.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in April gained 74 cents to $103.82 a barrel in early London trade.