Officials in the Gaza Strip say a series of explosions at the home of a militant commander in the southern part of the Palestinian territory has killed one person Saturday.
Qatar says it favors sending Arab troops to Syria to stop a crackdown on anti-government protesters that has left thousands of people dead.
Former Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash has died after a long illness.
Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei has announced he is pulling out of the presidential race, saying democracy is yet to take hold in the country.
United Nations chief arrived in Lebanon on Friday for talks on a U.N.-backed tribunal probing the death of the country's former leader and the ongoing bloodshed in neighboring Syria.
Japan's government has backed away from comments by its finance minister about reducing oil imports from Iran in support of U.S. sanctions against the Islamic republic.
Arab leaders and top officials are in Tunisia to share in celebrations marking the North African country's one-year anniversary of the ousting of strong-arm President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Tunisia's revolution sparked popular protests across the Arab world that also toppled leaders in Egypt and Libya.
Complete details found below the break.
Gaza Strip
Officials in the Gaza Strip say a series of explosions at the home of a militant commander in the southern part of the Palestinian territory has killed one person Saturday.
Witnesses say a huge explosion, and then a series of secondary blasts, shook the neighborhood of the southern town of Rafah.
It is not immediately clear what caused the blasts and the identity of the victim is still unknown. A spokesman for the radical Popular Resistance Committee, Abu Mujahid, said the blasts originated inside the house of the group's leader, Zuhair al-Qaisi.
The French News Agency quoted Mujahid as saying al-Qaisi was not home at the time of the explosion.
Qatar (regarding Syria)
Qatar says it favors sending Arab troops to Syria to stop a crackdown on anti-government protesters that has left thousands of people dead.
In an interview to be broadcast Sunday, the emir of Qatar told the U.S. television network CBS that some Arab troops should go to Syria to “stop the killing.”
Excerpts of the interview were obtained by Western media outlets.
The emir is the first Arab leader to publicly support Arab military intervention in Syria, where protesters are demanding that President Bashar al-Assad step down.
The emir's comments come as Arab League observers are in Syria to learn whether the Assad government is meeting its pledge to end a 10-month crackdown on protesters. Mr. Assad has promised to withdraw security forces from cities, release political prisoners and allow anti-government protests.
Qatar's prime minister heads the Arab League committee on Syria.
The prime minister has said the Arab League observer mission has made mistakes in Syria, and that U.N. assistance is needed to improve the monitoring of Mr. Assad's government.
The United Nations estimates 5,000 people have been killed in the unrest in Syria. The government accuses armed terrorists of driving the revolt and killing 2,000 security personnel.
Turkey
Former Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash has died after a long illness.
Denktash's family announced Friday that he had died earlier in the day, two weeks before his 88th birthday.
Denktash, who had experienced deteriorating health for some time, was admitted to a hospital in northern Cyprus on January 8. He died of multiple organ failure.
Denktash was a staunch, lifelong advocate for a separate Turkish Cypriot state on the island that has been split since 1974, when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of a union with Greece.
Denktash founded the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983 and remained at its helm until 2005. The self-proclaimed independent state was recognized only by Ankara.
All talks on reunification have failed so far. The conflict has hampered Turkey's bid to join the European Union.
Egypt
Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei has announced he is pulling out of the presidential race, saying democracy is yet to take hold in the country.
ElBaradei said Saturday his conscience will not allow him to run for the presidency or any other official position unless it is within a democratic framework. He said he feels the previous regime of ousted President Hosni Mubarak is still running the country.
ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and former head of the U.N. nuclear agency, had been considered a frontrunner for the presidency.
That post has been vacant since Mubarak was deposed nearly a year ago.
The transitional military government that has since been running the country says a full house of parliament and new president will be elected by June.
Thousands of Egyptians have protested the military government in recent months, accusing it of trying to put off moves toward a civilian administration.
A number of demonstrators have been killed and scenes of Egyptian police beating and dragging women through the streets have enraged millions worldwide.
Earlier this week, Egypt held its third round of parliamentary elections, the country's first elections since a popular uprising toppled Mubarak. The elections are meant to select leaders to replace the military rulers.
Mubarak is on trial for corruption and the deaths of hundreds of anti-government protesters during the Egyptian uprising. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The former president faces the death penalty if convicted of murder.
Lebanon
United Nations chief arrived in Lebanon on Friday for talks on a U.N.-backed tribunal probing the death of the country's former leader and the ongoing bloodshed in neighboring Syria.
The U.N. secretary-general is also expected to discuss attacks against U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon and the weapons stockpile of militant group Hezbollah. Mr. Ban is scheduled to meet with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and leaders of parliament.
In a recent interview with Arabic daily an-Nahar, Mr. Ban repeated his calls for Hezbollah to disarm. Hezbollah is the only Lebanese faction that has refused to lay down their arms following the 1975-1990 civil war.
Ahead of Mr. Ban's arrival, a Hezbollah official made clear that the U.N. chief is not welcome in Beirut.
At the top of Mr. Ban's agenda will be discussion on the Hague-based tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Four members of Hezbollah have been accused in the bombing that killed Mr. Hariri and 22 others in the Lebanese capital.
Hezbollah, Lebanon's strongest political faction, has denied involvement in the slaying and has refused to hand over the four suspects to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Mr. Ban said he would soon decide whether to renew the tribunal's mandate that is due to expire at the end of February.
The U.N. chief made a repeated appeal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stop the violent crackdown on protesters during the an-Nahar interview. He also urged the international community to come together to adopt a united stand on the uprising in Syria.
Japan (regarding Iran)
Japan's government has backed away from comments by its finance minister about reducing oil imports from Iran in support of U.S. sanctions against the Islamic republic.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda expressed reluctance to make any quick decision on cutting oil imports from Iran.
Speaking to reporters Friday evening in Tokyo, Noda said comments the previous day by his finance minister, Jun Azumi, were a personal opinion, not government policy.
The prime minister said Japan has yet to make a decision about what to do and needs first to consult with the country's business community.
Azumi, standing alongside the visiting U.S. treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, the previous day, said Japan would start reducing Iranian crude oil imports as soon as possible.
But on Friday, Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba at a news conference in Tokyo with his French counterpart, Alain Juppe, called for the need “to respond carefully and wisely.” Gemba openly speculated the sanctions could cause oil prices to surge, making Iran more affluent.
The United States and Europe are leading an effort to block Iran's sales of crude oil, its main export, in an attempt to force Tehran to abandon its nuclear program.
Iran is the source of about 10 percent of crude oil acquired from abroad by both Japan and South Korea.
The two countries have few natural resources and are dependent on imports to meet the needs of their large and highly developed economies.
South Korea also says it has yet to make any decision about cutting crude oil imports from the Islamic republic. Officials say the matter will be discussed next week with an American team led by Robert Einhorn, the State Department's point man on the Iranian sanctions.
Under harsher restrictions enacted by Washington, foreign firms continuing to deal with Iran, including its central bank, would face a cutoff of business with the United States.
Tunisia
Arab leaders and top officials are in Tunisia to share in celebrations marking the North African country's one-year anniversary of the ousting of strong-arm President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Tunisia's revolution sparked popular protests across the Arab world that also toppled leaders in Egypt and Libya.
A year ago - on January 14, 2011 - Habib Bourguiba Boulevard in downtown Tunis was a sea of humanity. People young and old, professors and farmers, demonstrated for reforms and for long-time President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali to step down. Within hours, Ben Ali was gone, fleeing by airplane to Saudi Arabia where he and his wife now live in exile.
Tunisia's historic revolution inspired similar "Arab Spring" uprisings across the region. Many were bloody – like the one in Syria, which continues today.
Tunisia's revolt was largely peaceful. Still, there were weeks of clashes pitting youths against police - or shadowy remnants of the old regime - and unrest continues.
In October, Tunisia held its first truly democratic elections - a vote hailed by international election observers - that ushered in the current coalition government led by the moderate Islamist Ennahda party.
But Tunisia marks the first anniversary of its revolution with as much worry as pride. Tunis-based economist Mahmoud Ben Romdhane says that on some level things have not improved.
"The youth made this revolution in order to have their problems solved. They wanted dignity, they wanted jobs. [But compared] to the situation [a year ago], the economic and social situation has worsened," he said.
Today, Tunisia's unemployment rate is 19 percent nationally - soaring to 50 percent in some areas. Growth is dismal, foreign investment is down and the country's key tourism industry is still struggling.
Marking the anniversary, hundreds of Tunisians gathered in the capital Saturday demanding jobs.
Romdhane says the dominant Ennahda party is not providing realistic solutions to the crisis.
“Since they have taken power, they haven't presented any economic perspective, any budgetary perspective," he said. "They have only taken the documents presented by the previous government."
Ben Ali is gone, but not forgotten. He is reportedly planning legal action to recover millions of dollars of seized assets after he fled. The widespread corruption under his tenure - one of the reasons he was ousted - remains.
Rights advocates also worry about hardline Islamists, who remain a small but increasingly vocal group in this generally Western-oriented nation.
Ahlem Belhadj, president of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women says women's rights are also under threat.
Interviewed by France 24 TV, Belhadj said that after half a century of progress for Tunisian women, some are now calling for a return to polygamy among other rollbacks. But she says those calls remain limited - and that the Ennahda-dominated government does not have a free hand to change progressive laws.
Analyst Romdhane is also concerned about rising extremism.
"They are threatening our way of life. What they want to do is to change the Tunisian way of life," he said. "But the civil society is really a vibrant one and is opposing their threats."
Despite his worries, Romdhane will join this weekend's celebrations. While he believes it will take years for Tunisia to emerge from its difficulties, he says he is looking ahead with joy and with hope.
Sources include but not limited to VOA News.
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