U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called for a "political" solution and immediate ceasefire to the conflict in Libya, at an international conference hosted by the Arab League in Cairo.

"We call for a political process so that the Libyan people can reach their aspirations," Ban, who co-chaired the meeting, told a news conference at the end of the gathering.

Snipers shot dead a soldier and wounded another in Syria's flashpoint city of Banias Thursday, state news agency SANA said, a day after a deal was struck for the army to restore order there.

The killing comes nearly a month after nationwide protests broke out calling for greater freedom, political reform and the lifting of a draconian emergency law, which have been harshly suppressed by security forces.

Yemenis are preparing for rival demonstrations following the weekly Friday prayers after anti-regime protesters rejected any solution that does not see President Ali Abdullah Saleh out of office.

Anti-Saleh protesters are calling for the "Friday of Determination" while his loyalists have dubbed it a "Friday of Dialogue."

Tunisian prosecutors want to try toppled president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali on 18 different charges, including murder and drug-trafficking, according to the country's justice minister.

"The accusations include murder, conspiracy against the security of the state as well as trafficking and the use of drugs," Lazhar Karoui Chebbi said in an interview with national television late Wednesday.

Libya's foreign minister expressed hopes for a "political solution" to end the two-month conflict in his country, his Cypriot counterpart said after the pair held talks on Thursday.

Abdelati Laabidi reiterated a "commitment to the initiative of the African Union and the wish for a political solution to be achieved," Cypriot Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou told reporters in Nicosia.

World powers offered cash to Libya's rebels and the means "to defend themselves" as they issued fresh demands for strongman Moammar Gadhafi to relinquish power, at a meeting in Doha on Wednesday.

In a final statement after the day-long gathering, the international contact group on Libya decided to set up a "temporary financial mechanism" to aid the rebels seeking to oust Gadhafi.

Hosni Mubarak, in hospital after a heart attack, and his two sons were placed under detention Wednesday in a probe into violence against protesters who brought about the ouster of the ex-Egyptian president.

A statement on the public prosecutor's Facebook page said chief prosecutor Abdel Magid Mahmoud authorized the detention for 15 days "as part of an inquiry into the use of force against protesters during the unrest in January and February."

Protests for greater freedoms spread Wednesday to Aleppo, Syria's second city, where hundreds of university students clashed with police and a smaller protest took place in the capital, rights activists told Agence France Presse by telephone.

Meanwhile, thousands of women blocked a stretch of a main coastal road in the north of the country demanding authorities release hundreds of people arrested during a crackdown on the flashpoint towns of Banias and in Baida, London-based rights activist Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP by phone.

The German foreign ministry said Wednesday that five Libyan diplomats were being expelled because of "pressure" being exerted on Libyans living in Germany.

"The foreign ministry today (Wednesday) summoned the Libyan ambassador in Germany. He was informed that five Libyan diplomats have been expelled and have seven days to leave Germany," a statement said.

Thousands of women staged a sit-in Wednesday on a main highway in northeastern Syria to demand the release of hundreds of people arrested in protest towns in the region, a rights activist said.

"More than 5,000 women are gathered on the main road linking the towns of Tartus and Banias to demand the release of hundreds of people arrested yesterday in Baida by security forces," Rami Abdel Rahman told Agence France Presse.