North Korea Video Special: Kim Jong-Il Looks at Lots of Things in an Apartment

One of the breakthroughs last month in our international coverage was discovering how North Korean Dear Leader Kim Jong Il Looks at Things. We have brought you the detailed evidence of Kim Jong Il looking at food, looking at pigs, and looking at wood.

Today we take our investigation up a level: here is the 13-minute video of Kim Jong Il Looking at Lot of Things in an Apartment. Like running water. And a wardrobe. And a crying girl. And a singing man. And toilet paper.

And there's more: a special guest appearance by the Next North Korean Dear Leader, Kim Jong Un, who seems to Look at Nothing in Particular....

Tunisia Video: The Music That Got Rapper "El General" Arrested

On Thursday, amidst protests in Tunisia, rapper El General (Hamada Ben-Amor) was detained. His brother Hamdi Ben-Amor explained, ""Some 30 plainclothes policemen came to our house to arrest Hamada and took him away without ever telling us where to. When we asked why they were arresting him, they said 'he knows why'."

"Why" is making music critical of the Tunisian Government with lines such as "President, Your People Are Dying":

Wikileaks Israel-Palestine Document: How U.S. Distributors Bribed Israelis to Bring Goods Into Gaza

Israeli officials may have told Americans in 2008 that "they intend to keep the Gazan economy functioning at the lowest level possible consistent with avoiding a humanitarian crisis" (see our separate entry), but another U.S. embassy cable from 2006 indicates a possible way around the siege: bribing Israelis were bribed to accept US goods into Gaza.

The US Embassy in Israel reported, "As of late May 34 shipments of American goods, amounting to nearly USD 1.9 million dollars, have been waiting three to four months to cross into Gaza." However, these could be released by paying Israeli officials "special fees" which was 75 times higher than the normal processing charge.

For example, for $3000 you could get the "first place in line" or a spot "near the head of the Israeli line, which does move". Some American firms were paying up to $28,000 for a single truckload to get into Gaza.

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Tunisia Latest: World Starts to Notice as Protests and Detentions Continue

Protest on Friday at a High School

UPDATE 8 December, 1100 GMT: Activists claim blogger and university theatre professor Fatma Riahi was arrested today.

Riahi, who blogged as Arabicca, was also arrested in Novmeber 2009.

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Over the last 48 hours, as protests (see video) over economic conditions and political repression continue in Tunisia, international attention to detentions and censorship has emerged.

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Belarus Updates: Secretary of State Clinton Meets Activists

On Thursday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Belarussian and Belarussian-American human rights activists, including the President of "We Remember", Irina Krasovskaya, and Belarus Free Theater co-founder Natalya Kolyada.

According to Washington's official statement, Clinton condemned the conduct of the 19 December Presidential election and the crackdown on political leaders, activists, civil society representatives and journalists. She stressed her concern for detainees and for their family members. Clinton promised, "The United States will continue its support for and engagement with the people of Belarus."

Minsk Central District Court has refused to withdraw the "preventive detention orders" for Presidential candidates Vladimir Neklyaev and Andrei Sannikov.

The state security service KGB has visited the wife of the detained Dmitry Bandarenko, Sannikov's election agent, to ask her “to influence her husband” in cooperating with authorities. Olga Bandarenka said that, if she agreed, her husband would be released on his recognisance and would be sentenced “to a term which would be not as long as Sannikov’s".

University student Yulian Misiukevich was taken for interrogation by the KGB on Thursday after university examinations. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Egypt Updates: Dispute over Alexandria "Suspect"; Copts Celebrate New Year

2015 GMT: Video of tonight's gathering in downtown Cairo to mourn the victims of the Alexandria bombing. Some chanted slogans against the Government holding it responsible for the tragedy, others held a candle and mourned in silence.

1525 GMT: The family of Sayyad Bilal, who died on Wednesday in Alexandria after he was arrested the previous night, have accused Egyptian police of killing him.

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Iran Video: Lawyer Mehrangiz Kar "Why I Became An Activist"

Tavaana interviews lawyer and author Mehrangiz Kar in a three-part video about her activism, the issue of "leadership" in civic action, and the political environment in Iran:

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Egypt-Israel Analysis: Cairo Pushes Against "Threats to Hamas"

Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman reportedly asked his counterpart representing the European Union, Catherine Ashton, to send a force to stop arms smuggling, to the coast of Gaza, making an Israeli blockade unnecessary. However, Ashton commented, "This is just something that Foreign Minister Lieberman raised at dinner. This is not an issue that we're discussing."

Meanwhile the EU has responded to the Palestinian demand for the recognition of a state of Palestine by saying that they will do this "when appropriate".

On another front, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was hosted by Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday. Netanyahu asked Mubarak to put pressure on Ramallah to sit at the negotiating table while Mubarak warned Netanyahu not to use hard power in Gaza. Mubarak said Israel must reassess its policy and "initiate concrete steps to build trust with the Palestinian Authority in a way that would allow negotiations to resume", adding that Israel's threats against Hamas may be detrimental to the peace process and regional stability.

For Cairo, although the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation talks are still at an impasse, the region cannot sustain another war. Blamed for cooperating with Israel over the blockade of Gaza and criticised for building its own walls to prevent smuggling, the Egyptian Government is pursuing diplomacy to maintain its credibility.

Egypt's balancing act: no boost to Hamas but also a closed door to any prospect of a renewal, two years after the last Gaza War, of Israeli military operations.

Israel Snapshot: Foreign Minister Lieberman "Turkey Will Be the Second Iran"

Unfortunately,recent events in Turkey are reminiscent of Iran before the Islamic Revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei. Like Turkey, Iran was among Israel’s closest allies and the two nations held good relations between both governments and people....

During the last couple of months, the incitement against Israel has reached new heights. During Erdogan’s visit to Lebanon in late November, he said that Turkey will not “remain silent” while Israel will “kill women and children using modern aircraft, tanks... phosphorus munitions and cluster bombs.”

It is important to note that Erdogan’s visit followed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Lebanon a month prior. It was difficult for us to perceive any differences in the vitriol of the two. We had to make difficult decisions concerning how to react to this dangerous rhetoric, and it ultimately was decided the best course of action was to exercise restraint and refrain from a response.

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Egypt Feature: The Fallout from the Alexandria Bomb (Slackman)

“It is very clear that the government totally lost control --- of everything. The only control they have is on the security of the president, the group around him, and few other party figures. That’s it.”

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