Yemeni troops opened fire Thursday on thousands of people demonstrating in Taez for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, wounding at least 10 people, the protesters said.

The live bullets were fired into the crowd by members of the elite Republican Guard, which is headed by Saleh's son Ahmed, and local security forces in Taez, the country's second city, they said.

Israel's Shin Bet internal security service said on Thursday that it had arrest a hardline Islamist group in northern Israel that was suspected of plotting attacks on security personnel.

A Shin Bet statement said that five Arab men from the Galilee village of Daburiyya were suspected of planning to attack an Israeli police post, and a soldier and border policeman living in the village.

Iran's ambassador to Libya has returned to the war-torn country in hopes of "deepening bilateral cooperation," the official IRNA news agency reported Thursday citing a foreign ministry statement.

"Our country's ambassador, Ali Asghar Naseri ... has returned to Tripoli and resumed his activities under the new political climate," the foreign ministry statement said.

Israeli ambassador to Jordan, Danny Navon was returning to Israel on Thursday with his staff, fearing a large demonstration outside the embassy in Amman over the weekend, Israeli public radio reported.

The Jerusalem Post newspaper said that calls for a mass rally had been posted of social networking site Facebook under the banner "No Zionist embassy on Jordanian territory."

The head of Libya's National Transitional Council confirmed that French President Nicolas Sarkozy will be among leaders visiting Tripoli on Thursday.

Mustafa Abdul Jalil confirmed to Agence France Presse that Sarkozy would visit, and added that "we say to the leaders coming tomorrow that they will be safe."

The Ennahda party tipped to dominate Tunisia's first post-revolution polls next month on Wednesday unveiled a campaign program vowing to build a democracy based on Islamic values.

"Today's and tomorrow's Tunisia need to be based on the country's Arab-Muslim identity," Ennahda chairman Rached Ghannouchi told around 1,000 people gathered for the launch of his party's program.

Washington respects the right of Libyans to decide their own future, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday in Tripoli, as the African Union pushed for an inclusive government after Moammar Gadhafi's ouster.

"The United States respects Libya's sovereignty," said Jeffrey Feltman, the highest ranking U.S. official to visit the Libyan capital since its capture from Gadhafi’s forces on August 23.

A Kuwaiti political group and two youth groups said Wednesday they solidly back calls for a constitutional monarchy as the wealthy Gulf state battles with a corruption scandal involving MPs.

A call for fundamental political reforms, including the appointment of a premier from outside the ruling family, was made on Sunday by the September 16 Youths group which plans to stage a major rally on Friday to press for change.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns affirmed Washington's commitment to security in the Gulf during a visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, a statement said.

Burns "reaffirmed to Saudi leaders the United States' firm and enduring commitment to Gulf security, including our commitment to countering the threat of Iran's nuclear program and Iran's destabilizing activities in the region," said the U.S. statement received by Agence France Presse.

Russia warned on Wednesday that "terrorist organizations" may arise in Syria should President Bashar al-Assad's regime fall under pressure from ongoing street protests.

"If the Syrian government is unable to hold on to power, there is a high probability that radicals and representatives of terrorist organizations will become entrenched," Interfax quoted a top foreign ministry official as saying.