EGYPT Egypt's military rulers say parliamentary elections will start on schedule next week despite unrest, and they reject protesters' calls for them to immediately step down. Resigning now would amount to a "betrayal" of the people's trust after the military took over from ousted president Hosni Mubarak by popular demand, the ruling generals say. There is little violence through the day as protesters enforce a truce in Cairo's Tahrir Square. ___ LIBYA Libya's transitional leaders swear on a Quran to uphold the ideals of the revolution that toppled Moammar Gadhafi as they take their oaths of office, another key step in the country's hoped-for march toward democracy. The lineup of relative unknowns, almost all of them older men, will confront daunting challenges, like establishing control over the fractured nation after the ousting of Gadhafi's 42-year regime, along with building up state institutions practically from scratch. ___ SYRIA An Arab League committee gives Syria 24 hours to agree to allow an observer mission into the country, or it could face sanctions that include stopping financial dealings and freezing assets. The bloodshed in the country continues, with activists reporting at least 15 people killed, including civilians and security forces. ___ YEMEN President Ali Abdullah Saleh's agreement to step down fails to halt anti-government demonstrations or prevent violence as regime supporters kill five protesters demanding that the ousted leader be put on trial for crimes ranging from corruption to bloodshed during the current uprising. ___ BAHRAIN Bahrain suggests it has classified evidence that Iran was linked to Shiite-led protests in the Gulf kingdom, despite an independent commission that said it found nothing to back the claims. The allegations of Iranian involvement in the kingdom's 10-month-old unrest have been central to Gulf policies during the region's largest Arab Spring uprising, including the decision to send a Saudi-led military force to reinforce Bahrain's embattled Sunni monarchy. ___ TUNISIA Violent demonstrations erupt in Tunisia's impoverished central region and are dispersed with tear gas, according to local officials and the state news agency. A peaceful demonstration in the town of Kasserine over the exclusion of local residents from a list of those killed in last year's uprising against the dictatorship turns violent, as protesters clash with police and military. ___ MOROCCO Moroccans are choosing a parliament in elections prompted by the Arab Spring's clamor for freedom, but there are few signs that elections are even taking place. Posters and raucous rallies for candidates are absent in the cities, and instead there are just stark official banners urging citizens to "do their national duty" and "participate in the change the country is undergoing." The real challenge for these polls will be if many people come out to vote in the face of a strident boycott campaign by democracy campaigners. ___ KUWAIT Kuwait media report that authorities have issued nearly 50 arrest warrants in connection with a protest mob that stormed parliament earlier this month. The Kuwait Times reports that defense lawyers expect even more arrests linked to the Nov. 16 storming by dozens of protesters, angered by allegations of high-level corruption against government officials. ___ SAUDI ARABIA Saudi Arabia's minority Shiite Muslims stage protests in an eastern city, and four are shot dead, the Interior Ministry says. The ministry statement does not say who fired the fatal shots in the city of Qatif, but a top official says security forces were fighting with demonstrators there.
