Egyptian activists have gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday, as the country continues to mark the first anniversary of the uprising that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak.
A small group of protesters has camped out in the square since Wednesday, when massive crowds of Egyptians filled the streets.
Violence in Syria continued Friday, bringing to more than 50 the number of people killed there over the past two days, as a resolution to curb the bloodshed appeared to be stalled in the United Nations.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is urging Iran to resume talks with Western nations that suspect it is working on a nuclear weapons program. Tehran insists that its atomic program is for peaceful purposes. During a press briefing at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr.Ban said Iran has the responsibility to prove its case.
Iraqi officials say at least 31 people were killed Friday when a car bomb exploded near a funeral procession in a mainly Shi'ite neighborhood of the Iraqi capital. Hospital workers say at least 60 people were wounded in the suicide bombing in the neighborhood of Zafaraniyah. There were no immediate claims of responsibility.
Details after the break.
Egypt
Egyptian activists have gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday, as the country continues to mark the first anniversary of the uprising that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak.
A small group of protesters has camped out in the square since Wednesday, when massive crowds of Egyptians filled the streets - some celebrating the anniversary of the start of the protests, others calling for an end to military rule.
Friday's protest is dubbed by many as the "Second Friday of Anger," in reference to the climax of last year's 18-day revolt.
At least 27 pro-democracy groups are expected to take part in the protest. Many protesters, such as Mohamed Gerisha, are demanding the immediate end to military rule and the transfer of power to a civilian government.
"Our demand is to continue to the uprising, it is to move forward the transfer of power to civilians," he said. "We want to maintain the stability of the country."
The election of a newly-seated lower house of parliament has failed to satisfy many liberal politicians and activists, who say the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has resorted to the same brutal tactics used by former President Mubarak to quell dissent.
The military council, led by Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, has promised to hand over power to an elected president by the end of June.
The council has made several apparent concessions to reformists in recent days, pardoning about 2,000 prisoners and promising to partially lift the country's 30-year-long state of emergency. But, the ruling military said authorities will continue to apply the widely-disliked law in fighting acts of "thuggery."
The New York-based Human Rights Watch says the exception is an "invitation to continued abuse" and an "insult" to Egyptians. It says Egypt's military rulers frequently have described "peaceful" demonstrators as "thugs" and put them on trial in military courts for the offense.
Syria
Violence in Syria continued Friday, bringing to more than 50 the number of people killed there over the past two days, as a resolution to curb the bloodshed appeared to be stalled in the United Nations.
In the northwestern city of Idlib, six security forces were among the more than 20 people left dead as a result of Friday's violence. Syrian activist Rami Abdul-Raham says the security forces were killed by a car bomb at a security checkpoint. Government forces were also reported to have carried out a raid in the flashpoint city of Homs.
Syrian government forces continued also to attack the country's fourth largest city of Hama for a third day. Witnesses in the poor district of Hamadiya reported that artillery shells were being fired "randomly" at their neighborhood.
Other witnesses say government forces continued to shell the Damascus suburb of Douma, inflicting numerous casualties. Outer suburbs of the capital came under attack, as well.
Opposition websites also reported what they claim was a "massacre" in Syria's third largest city of Homs.
The Free Syrian Army claimed in a video to be holding five Iranian captives. The Free Syrian Army claims the men were working as government "snipers" and belong to Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
Iran's Mehr news agency, however, says they are engineers, kidnapped in Homs last October.
A large crowd of anti-government protesters took to the streets of Homs to bury several victims of recent fighting,
The Syrian government's attacks are taking place close to the 30th anniversary of a bloody siege that nearly destroyed the city of Hama in 1982, when government artillery killed between 12,000 and 20,000 people.
Khattar Abou Diab, who teaches political science at the University of Paris, says it will be difficult for Syria's government to repeat what happened in 1982.
Diab says the government of Bashar al-Assad faces a revolt spread out across the four corners of the country. Diab says he doesn't believe the regime can regain control, and says it is losing control in many places.
Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani are due to meet with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York to discuss implementing a league plan for a national unity government and new elections.
The Security Council was due to meet later Friday to begin discussions on Syria.
Russia said Friday it will not support a joint Arab-Western draft resolution in the U.N. to end the 10-month-old crisis because it "does not take into account" Moscow's positions on how to curb the violence. The stance is likely to stall progress on any U.N. action concerning Syria.
Iran
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is urging Iran to resume talks with Western nations that suspect it is working on a nuclear weapons program. Tehran insists that its atomic program is for peaceful purposes.
During a press briefing at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr.Ban said Iran has the responsibility to prove its case.
"I'm deeply concerned by the report of the most recent IAEA, International Atomic Energy Agency, report indicating that there is a possibility of a military dimension in Iranian Nuclear Development Program of which they say is peaceful. Onus is on the Iranian side," said Ban.
The U.N. chief says the only way to address the crisis peacefully is through dialogue.
He added that Tehran must abide by the Security Council resolutions mandating that it proves the country's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Iraq
Iraqi officials say at least 31 people were killed Friday when a car bomb exploded near a funeral procession in a mainly Shi'ite neighborhood of the Iraqi capital.
Hospital workers say at least 60 people were wounded in the suicide bombing in the neighborhood of Zafaraniyah.
The blast went off near where mourners had gathered for the funeral of a real estate agent who was killed by gunmen a day earlier.
Witnesses said the massive blast shattered windows and engulfed nearby buildings in flames for hours.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility. But authorities blame Sunni insurgents for escalating violence since the withdrawal of U.S. troops in December.
More than 200 people have been killed in attacks in the past month. Most of the victims have been Shi'ites and members of Iraq's security forces.
The violence comes amid a month-long political crisis in the Shi'ite-led unity government. The main Sunni-backed faction, Iraqiya, accuses Shi'ite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of monopolizing power in Shi'ite hands. Iraqiya has boycotted the Cabinet.
The political fighting and apparent sectarian violence has raised concerns that the country is sliding into civil war. The last U.S. soldiers left the country on December 18.
All content based on VOA News reports.
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