Sudan Follow-Up: More Protests on Monday, Big March Called for Thursday

UPDATE 2045 GMT: About 200 students demonstrated outside al-Nilein university in Khartoum today before hundreds of police beat them back and surrounded the university buildings with 20 vehicles.

After Sunday's protests of hundreds throughout Sudan, with at least one student dying in clashes, some developments on Monday....

Journalists said security forces prevented the opposition Ajras al-Huriya and the independent al-Sahafa newspapers from being distributed after they wrote about the protests.

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Egypt Special: Fox TV's Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck Teach You How To Analyse the Crisis

Really, who needs Al Jazeera? Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck of the American outlet Fox TV give you all the historical knowledge you need --- from the opening sentence linking to World War I, "This is an Archduke Ferdinand moment" to the conversion of Egypt 2011 into Iran 1979 to blaming everyone on the "Progressive movement" to "We told England to sink [its own] ships" --- to interpret current events in Egypt.

In the end, it comes down to this: Which is worse --- the "jihadists" or the "Communist/Socialist movement"?

Egypt (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Will a Million March?

0522 GMT: We can now confirm that there will be a countrywide protest in Egypt on Friday. The day has been dubbed the "Friday of Departure" and it aims to force President Hosni Mubarak to once and for all quit and leave the country. 

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Latest Egypt Video: Friday's Battle of the Bridge, Sunday's Rally in Tahrir Square

Friday: The Battle of 6 October Bridge, Cairo

Sunday: Tahrir Square in Cairo "We Won't Leave. Mubarak Will Leave"

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Israel Snapshot: How West Jerusalem Can Benefit from Change in Cairo

On Sunday, speaking to his Cabinet, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underlined the importance of "stability and security" in the region:

We are anxiously monitoring what is happening in Egypt and [elsewhere] in our region. Last night, I spoke with US President Barack Obama and US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. I also held consultations with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and with Israeli intelligence officials.

Our efforts are designed to continue and maintain stability and security in our region. I remind you that the peace between Israel and Egypt has endured for over three decades and our goal is to ensure that these relations continue. Of course, at this time, we must show maximum responsibility, restraint and sagacity and, to this end, I have instructed my fellow ministers to refrain from commenting on this issue. Naturally, we are also holding consultations in the appropriate government forums.

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Tunisia Feature: An Interview with Rached Ghannouchi (Abedin)

Yesterday Rached Ghannouchi, the head of the al-Nahda Party, returned to Tunisia after more than 20 years in exile.

Al-Nahda, banned by the Ben Ali regime, is generally labelled an "Islamist" party, and there has been a lot of chatter about its intentions and policies. Ghannouchi has been giving a series of interviews to try and assuage any concerns and to set out the possibilities for the party.

Last Thursday, Mahan Abedin interviewed Ghannouchi for the site Religioscope....

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Egypt in Pictures: Sunday in Tahrir Square in Cairo

Egyptian protester climbs traffic lights to place the national flag (Ahmed Desouki)

Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei speaks to supporters (Peter Macdiarmid)

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Egypt (and Beyond) LiveBlog: So What is an "Orderly Transition"?

2250 GMT: Ivan Watson of CNN reports that the Egyptian Ministry of Information has told them all cell phone service will be shut down just ahead of tomorrow's expected 'Million Man March'. 

2242 GMT: Are you in Egypt? Do you have a phone? Do you want to tweet about the uprising, but don't have internet because it has been shut down? Then, Google has good news for you and us all. Googleblog just ran this post:

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Iran Feature: Zahra Bahrami, the Netherlands, and The Failure of Quiet Diplomacy (Ashtary)

The execution on Saturday of the Dutch-Iranian citizen, Zahra Bahrami, is clear evidence of the failure of quiet diplomacy by the Government of the Netherlands.

The protection of human rights and quiet diplomacy do not have have anything in common. Human rights organizations focusing on Iran have long been saying that the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran pressures individuals and governments to keep quiet. When governments use quiet diplomacy to try and negotiate with the IRI. they are falling into a trap.

This is not a call for an end to diplomacy. The point is that the time is long overdue to make some noise. Human Rights organizations and defenders have been saying this for years.

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The Latest from Iran (31 January): Hatching Freedom

1945 GMT: Execution Watch. Looks like the Iranian authorities are scrambling to justify their sudden execution of Dutch-Iranian national Zahra Bahrami (see separate feature)....

Press TV is claiming it has a video in which Bahrami explains how she concealed cocaine and opium in her house. In the video, Bahrami gives the camera crew a tour of her house, showing them how she concealed drugs in a compartment inside her bed, in cereal boxes and in an electric heater.

The style of the video sounds similar to Press TV's recent "documentary" in which Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, whose death sentence for adultery has also been condemned internationally, was released from prison to make a "confession" in her home.

The Tehran Prosecutor's Office now claims that, during a search of Bahrami's house, 450 grams of cocaine and 420 grams of opium were uncovered. Previously, Iranian officials said Bahrami was holding a kilogramme of cocaine.

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