Bahrain's main Shiite opposition formation slammed the national dialogue's recommendations submitted to King Hamad on Thursday, saying they do not represent its demands or the will of the people.

The conclusions of the dialogue carried "none of our demands" and "the dialogue does not represent the will of the people," the Islamic National Accord Association (Al-Wefaq) said in a statement posted on its page on social networking website Facebook.

Tens of thousands of Egyptians rallied in Cairo's central Tahrir Square on Friday seeking to unify their demands despite rifts over key issues between liberal activists and Islamist groups.

Protesters carrying banners, flags and umbrellas to shield them from the punishing Cairo sun filled the square in one of the largest demonstrations since the popular uprising pushed President Hosni Mubarak from power in February.

A blast early Friday hit a pipeline carrying natural gas from Iran to Turkey, forcing a cut in supply, an Iranian oil official said.

"The export of gas to Turkey has been temporarily halted after an explosion struck the pipeline" in northwestern Iran, spokesman for National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Majid Boujarzadeh told the oil ministry's news agency SHANA.

A bomb blast struck an oil pipeline in western Syria on Friday in what Syrian state television described as a "terrorist" attack, saying that a group of "saboteurs" was behind the explosion.

The TV said the bombing targeted the pipeline in the western town of Talkalakh between the cities of Homs and Tartous, near the Tal Hosh dam. The explosion left a 33 feet (10 meter) deep crater, the TV said.

General Abdel Fatah Younes, commander of forces fighting to oust Moammar Gadhafi and once the Libyan strongman's right-hand man, has been killed, sparking fears of a violent backlash.

Younes was shot dead by an armed gang after he was summoned from the front by the rebel National Transitional Council "for questioning over military issues," NTC chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil said late Thursday.

A Tunisian court on Thursday sentenced former strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in absentia to 16 years in prison for corruption and property fraud.

His daughter Nisrine was sentenced to eight years in jail and his son-in-law Sakhr al-Materi to 16 years on the same charges, which relate to properties bought in an upscale neighborhood of the capital Tunis.

Syrian forces pressed their clampdown on the pro-democracy movement, killing two protesters and arresting two leading activists, rights groups said on Thursday, on the eve of more mass rallies.

In the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, where security forces were carrying out operations in nearly all neighborhoods, two civilians were shot dead on Thursday night, said Rami Abdul Rahman, head of the Syria Observatory for Human Rights.

Israel and the newly independent country of South Sudan have established diplomatic relations, the Israeli foreign ministry said on Thursday.

"The cooperation between the states will be based on the firm foundations that guide them in forming friendly ties, out of equality and mutual respect," Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in a statement.

Libyan rebels seized the town of al-Ghazaya near the Tunisian border Thursday as part of a pre-Ramadan offensive aimed at unseating strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

The heaviest fighting was on the eastern side of the town, some 12 kilometers from the border with Tunisia, in a two-pronged attack that also came from the west and began around 8:00 am (0600 GMT).

Libya's rebel National Transitional Council has nominated Mahmoud Nacua as its ambassador to London, a council official said Thursday after Britain recognized the group as the country's sole government.

"The NTC has appointed an ambassador to take over all current affairs. The ambassador is Mahmoud Nacua," Guma al-Gamaty, the UK coordinator for the NTC, told reporters in London.