Tunisia (and Beyond) Live Coverage: General Strike and Marches as Slain Opposition Leader is Buried

See also Syria Live Coverage: Watching the Attack in Damascus
Thursday's Tunisia (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Government is Dissolved After Murder of Opposition Leader

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1642 GMT: Saudi Arabia. Thousands marched in Qatif on Thursday night in memory of leading cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, shot and detained by security forces last year.

Al-Nimr was a leading figure in the protests in the mainly-Shia Eastern Province, protesting detentions and calling for political reforms.

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Tunisia Video Interview: Ennadha Party Leader Rachid Ghannouchi "Violence is Not the Answer" (Al Jazeera English)

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Al Jazeera English interviews Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of the Ennadha Party, the largest faction in the Assembly. He speaks about the recent protests and violence over a US film denigrating the Prophet Mohammad, the role of sharia law, and politics and free expression in Tunisia --- a take-away quote:

This event can give service only to anti-Islam....Whoever plans this crime with the intention or without intention, they destroy the dialogue between Islam and the West, they help Islamophobia in the world.

Violence is not the solution it is part of the problem,. We have many problems between Muslims and some Western countries, but violence is not the solution. It can increase the problems and difficulties and push things towards a war between nations and religions. It is not [part of] Islamic politics.

The Latest from Iran (23 December): The Ahmadinejad All-Is-Well Show

1540 GMT: Tehran's Israeli Friend. Bloomberg has published a report asserting that the Israeli communications company Allot Communications Ltd has shipped cyber-surveillance equipment to Tehran through a Denmark-based distributor.

Allot's Chief Executive Officer Ramy Hadar denied the report, "Allot's equipment was sold to a Denmark-based distributor, the same way it is sold to thousands of distributors and tens of thousands of clients worldwide. We have no way of knowing where our equipment ends up. We have no ties with Iran. You can get our equipment online --- like on eBay."

Israeli officials denied any knowledge of the shipments. The Defense Ministry said it is investigating the report.

1534 GMT: Economy Watch. Alef, the site linked to MP Ahmad Tavakoli, continues its attack on the Government's economic policies. It carries an analysis tying the fall of the Iranian currency to President Ahmadinejad's subsidy cuts.

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Middle East/North Africa Analysis: The Rise of a "Civic Islamism"? (Sadiki)

Rachid Ghannounchi, leader of Tunisia's EnnadhaCivic Islamism is linked with the novelty of the context, the Arab Spring, and the new dynamic of legalised Islamism as in Egypt and Tunisia. Civic Islamism displays features of impressive organisation for the contest of power, coupled with an aptitude to penetrate secular civil society through coalition-building with non-Islamists.

Only through inclusion, competition, participation and the tests of "power", will this force learn to moderate its politics, gradually learning to take its place amongst the progenitors of civic politics in the Arab spring states.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Running Down a Protest

Montage of protest and the response by security forces on Friday in Bahrain

See also Egypt Letter: Alaa Abd-El Fattah Blogs from Jail "These Are My Limits"
Egypt Feature: Activists Try to Bridge Digital Divide by Taking "Tweets to the Streets"
Syria Video Special: Another Friday of Protests
Friday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: And There Will Be Marches....

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2030 GMT: An anti-regime demonstration in the Midan district of the Syrian capital Damascus tonight:

1910 GMT: Burhan Ghalioun, the head of the opposition Syrian National Council, has addressed the Syrian people in a televised address tonight. A summary, provided on Twitter:

This crisis has unified efforts of all Syrians....Syria will no longer be like a farm owned by a single family....A new constitution will give rights to minorities, especially Kurds....Power will be in the hands of people, they decide who rule them.

Every drop of blood is one more step on the way to freedom....Those who use violence against their own people are traitors who will fall and lose.

The Syrian National Council is your way to make your voices heard around the world. We are honored by your support....We will not negotiate or compromise.

Regime attempts to buy time will not help them....We have asked the Arab League and UN to protect civilians in Syria....We salute the Free Syrian Army who defended their brothers and their peaceful protests....Syrians will not forget the sacrifices of those who defended the uprising.

We tell people who are undecided, this revolution is yours....Syrians will not forget those who supported their revolutions....The regime of tyranny has fallen, but they are still trying to cling to power.

New Syria is being built today....The future Syria will be coming soon, free, democratic, and without slavery....Long live free Syria.

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Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Qaddafi Captured --- Is He Dead?

See also Libya Snap Analysis: Three Down --- How Many To Go?
Libya Video: The Moment When Muammar Qaddafi Was Seized
Libya Video: The Man Who Found Qaddafi Tells His Story
Friday's Libya, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Goodbye to Qaddafi, Hello to....?

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2059 GMT: Anti-Assad slogans chanted in the Deir Bielbe district of Homs, Syria:

2055 GMT: The people of the Khalidiya section of Homs in Syria, chant, "Now it's your turn, Bashar al Assad!"

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Tunisia Feature: What is the Future for Women's Rights? (Ryan)

For 55 years, Tunisia celebrated Women's Day every August 13, representing the push for gender equality that has been one of the hallmarks of the North African nation's post-colonial era. 

Women were active players in the uprising that ended the rule of Zine Abidine Ben Ali, and many hope that event will translate into a more visible role in the country’s soon-to-be democratic political life.

Yet some are worried that the rights women have enjoyed for the past five decades might soon be swept away by the tide of social conservatism that has emerged in the wake of the uprising.

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