Iran has decided to force Britain's Ambassador to leave and sever most economic relations with the UK.
Egypt has begun a months long election process as Islamists continue protests.
The Arab League has announced sanctions against Syria.
Morrocan's gave an Islamist party the most seats in its elections.
Iran's parliament has approved a bill to reduce diplomatic and economic ties with Britain in retaliation for fresh Western sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear program.
A majority of lawmakers voted Sunday to force out the British ambassador within two weeks, leaving Britain's embassy to be run by a charge d'affairs. Economic relations with London would also be reduced to a minimum.
The bill now goes to Iran's Guardians Council – a constitutional oversight body – for final approval.
Sunday's vote is seen as a reaction to British support for new U.S. efforts to pressure Tehran to halt its alleged nuclear weapons program.
Britain's government earlier this month announced coordinated sanctions with the United States and Canada against Iran. The moves came a week after a report by the U.N. atomic energy watchdog agency strongly suggesting Iran is researching nuclear weapons.
Tehran says its nuclear activities are for civilian purposes.
Arab League foreign ministers on Sunday approved unprecedented sanctions against Syria, after Damascus failed to accept its plan to send monitors in response to a deadly crackdown on the anti-government uprising.
Following the meeting in Cairo, Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani said that 19 of the 22 Arab League members voted to impose the sanctions. Iraq and Lebanon abstained. He said the vote will have its desired effect, even if the sanctions are never applied, as long as Syria agrees to stop targeting civilians.
The measures include a freeze on the assets on Syrian leaders in Arab states, a halt to dealings with Syria's central bank, a travel ban on top Syrian officials, and an end to Arab investments and trade with Damascus.
The Arab League head Nabil al-Arabi said that extra care will be taken to make sure that the new economic sanctions do not hurt the Syrian people or neighboring states.
The foreign ministers agreed to meet again on Saturday to review the effects of the sanctions and whether they need to be extended.
The sanctions approval is a blow for Syria, which has long prided itself as a bastion of Arab nationalism. Sunday's vote in Cairo also marks the first time in the league's 66-year history that it has imposed punitive economic and political sanctions on any of its members.
The Associated Press says Syria protested the Arab League's vote to impose sanctions, calling it a “betrayal,” while hundreds of Syrians gathered in a main square in the capital, Damascus, to condemn the move.
The measure adds to the pressure on the Syrian economy that U.S. and European Union sanctions have had on exports of Syrian oil and other products.
Arab officials proposed the sanctions after Syria refused to accept a Friday deadline they set to allow league observers into the country to monitor the government's response to the uprising. Syria instead asked the league for clarifications of the observers' mission.
Rights groups say Syrian forces killed at least 23 people across the country on Sunday.
There was no independent confirmation of the casualties because Syria bars most foreign journalists from operating in the country.
Syrian army defectors known as the Free Syrian Army have carried out increasingly deadly attacks on government forces in recent weeks, militarizing what had previously been a largely peaceful movement calling for an end to President Bashar al-Assad's 11-year autocratic rule.
The United Nations says more than 3,500 people have been killed since March in connection with the uprising.
Final results from Morocco's parliamentary elections show that an Islamist party has won the most seats in the country's legislature, giving it the right to lead a coalition for the first time.
Morocco's Interior Ministry said Sunday that the Justice and Development Party — the PJD — captured 107 seats in the 395-seat assembly in Friday's polls, while Prime Minister Abbas el Fassi's nationalist Istiqlal Party came in second.
The PJD is the latest Islamist party to win en election brought about by the Arab Spring, following Ennahda's victory in Tunisia last month. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is also expected to do well in parliamentary elections starting Monday.
The new government will have to work with King Mohammed who retains the most power. He must now name a prime minister as part of constitutional reforms that were announced in the wake of popular uprisings that have toppled north African governments, including Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
As part of the reforms, King Mohammed moved up elections that were originally set for late 2012.
Ruling party leaders say they are ready to enter talks with PJD on forming a coalition government.
Egypt is entering the next stage of its transition with parliamentary elections, the first since massive street protests forced former President Hosni Mubarak to resign in February.
The complex, staggered polls to elect parliament's lower house begin Monday and conclude in early January. Elections for the upper house end in March, after which the newly elected assembly will write a new constitution.
However, the outcome is likely to be viewed as suspect given the growing unrest and the suspension of many candidates' campaigns in solidarity with the protesters.
The head of the ruling military council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi said Sunday the country is at a crossroads and can choose either successful elections “leading Egypt towards safety” or face dangerous hurdles that the armed forces “will not allow.”
He also warned of “extremely grave” consequences if the country's current political turmoil does not end quickly.
Tantawi's warning came as thousands of demonstrators filled Cairo's Tahrir Square for another massive protest Sunday demanding that Egypt's military immediately cede power to a “national salvation government” that would run the country until a president is elected.
A number of the revolutionary youth groups leading the protests have proposed that opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei head an interim civilian administration with deputies from across the political spectrum. The proposed body would replace the ruling military council in supervising Egypt's transition to democracy.
ElBaradei said Saturday he would abandon his bid for Egypt's presidency if formally asked to lead such a government.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces held talks Saturday with ElBaradei and another presidential hopeful, former Arab League chief Amr Moussa. Both said only that they discussed ways to end the current crisis.
The meetings came as nearly 10,000 people packed central Cairo to continue protests against Egypt's interim military rulers and the appointment of caretaker Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri, a bureaucrat seen as serving the military council.
Security forces fired tear gas at stone-throwing demonstrators.
Democratic Alliance for Egypt: Formed in June 2011, it was the first significant political coalition to emerge after President Hosni Mubarak's February resignation. The coalition is led by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and includes at least five other political groups. The alliance started out as a broad-based coalition of liberal and Islamist parties but some of its original members left due to ideological differences.
Islamist Alliance (Alliance for Egypt): Led by the Salafist party al-Nour and includes at least two other groups. Its members were originally part of the Democratic Alliance but split because of a disagreement over the number of candidates they would be able to field in the elections. The Islamist Alliance formed in late September.
Egyptian Bloc: The liberal coalition has lost members since its formation in August and now includes only the Free Egyptians, Social Democratic and al-Tagammu parties. The bloc says it hopes to bring together political forces that are committed to a civil democratic state based on a principle of separation between religion and politics.
Completing the Revolution Alliance: Formed in October, the alliance includes youth, socialist, liberal and moderate Islamist parties. Most were formerly part of the Egyptian Bloc. Members include the Revolutionary Youth Coalition, the Egypt Freedom Party and the Socialist Popular Alliance Party.
VOA News.
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