Egypt: protests continue in runup to elections live
Egyptian activist killed in Cairo
Tens of thousands of people return to Tahrir Square
Syria misses new Arab League deadline
Moderate Islamist party claims win in Morocco elections
2.32pm Morocco: The interior ministry has confirmed that moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party is on track to form the next government.
With about two-thirds of results in, the JDP had taken 80 seats out of 282 so far announced. A total of 395 seats are being contested in the parliamentary elections.
2.20pm: The protesters who returned in their thousands to Tahrir Square this week are planting the seeds of a "true revolution" in Egypt, according to a Cairo journalism professor.
Writing for the Huffington Post, Firas Al-Atraqchi, Associate Professor of Practice in Journalism at the American University in Cairo, says:
More than 300 political parties, blocs and organizations have emerged from the ashes of the former regime.
But the people of Tahrir, in their various capacities, are achieving what the political parties have been unable or unwilling to do in the past 10 months pressure the authorities to understand that a military handover to a civilian administration is overdue and that key government ministries need to be reformed.
It is now that the seeds of a true revolution are being planted. (...) By taking to the streets they are creating a new convention between the military and the people, and redefining the concepts of citizenship in their country.
It is now that the seeds of a true revolution are being planted.
2.06pm Syria: The United Nations has rejected a proposal to establish "humanitarian corridors" in Syria to help civilians suffering due to the regime's bloody crackdown on the pro-democracy movement.
UN humanita! rian coo rdinator Valerie Amos said the French proposal was justified by humanitarian needs identified so far in Syria.
Amos said three million people had been affected by the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, and the country's Red Crescent had sought help to feed 1.5 million people.
"Before any further discussion of these options, it is essential to get a clearer sense of what exactly people need, and where," Amos said in a statement.
France proposed establishing humanitarian corridors earlier this week, in the first Western initiative for intervention on the ground in the crisis, Reuters reports.
They could link Syrian civilian centres to the Turkish or Lebanese frontiers, to the Mediterranean coast or to an airport, allowing humanitarian supplies or medicines to reach those in need of help.
French foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the plan fell short of a military intervention but acknowledged that humanitarian convoys might need armed protection.
Amos said thousands of Syrians had fled their country and many more sought refuge with family or friends away from their homes. Food and fuel prices had risen, and the economy was declining, she added.
More than 3,500 people have been killed in Assad's crackdown, according to the UN.
1.02pm Morocco: Election results for the first 78 seats in Morocco's parliament suggest a moderate Islamist party has taken around 36% of the seats.
The opposition Justice and Development Party has already claimed victory in the poll, although the final result has yet to be officially announced.
12.48pm Egypt: AP has an update on the protester killed during clashes between police and demonstrators in Cairo early this morning.
The man who was killed was run over by one of the vehicles, but there were conflicting accounts about the circumstances surrounding the death.
The Interior Ministry expressed regret for the death of the protester, identified as Ahmed Serour, and! said it was an accident.
Police didn't intend to storm the sit-in but were merely heading to the Interior Ministry headquarters, located behind the Cabinet building, when they came under attack by angry protesters throwing firebombs, it said in a statement.
The ministry claimed security forces were injured and the driver of one of the vehicles panicked and ran over the protester.
One of the protesters, Mohammed Zaghloul, 21, said he saw six security vehicles heading to their site.
"It became very tense, rock throwing started and the police cars were driving like crazy," he said. "Police threw one tear gas canister and all of a sudden we saw our people carrying the body of a man who was bleeding really badly."
This clip posted on YouTube showed protesters rushing to rescue a heavily bleeding man they said was killed when a police vehicle ran over him.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has also posted an apology on Facebook for the recent deaths of protesters.
It said: "Scaf presents its regrets and deep apologies for the deaths of martyrs from among Egypt's loyal sons during the recent events in Tahrir Square."
12.39pm Egypt: Video footage of the incident in which Egyptian protester Ahmed Soroor is reported to have been injured has been posted on YouTube.
Associated Press earlier reported that one of its cameramen saw three police troop carriers and an armoured vehicle being chased off by rock-throwing protesters. The security forces fired tear gas in return.
A medical official subsequently confirmed that one protester was killed in the incident, according to the news agency. Witnesses said the man was killed when a police vehicle ran over him.
However, some protesters and bloggers in Cairo dispute AP's version of events, with some suggesting Soroor may have been shot. There are images of a bloodied and possibly dying young man lying on the ground in other videos posted to YouTube.
12.27pm: The ! proteste r killed in Cairo early this morning has been named on Twitter as Ahmed Soroor.
A photo of his mother protesting outside the cabinet building has been posted on the social networking site.
12.10pm: Three US students arrested during a protest in Cairo have left Egypt following their release earlier this week.
Luke Gates, 21, and Derrik Sweeney, 19, and Gregory Porter, 19, were arrested on the roof of a university building near Cairo's Tahrir Square last Sunday. Officials accused them of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters.
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An Egyptian court ordered their release on Thursday. All were studying at the American University in Cairo.
Lawyer Theodore Simon, who represents Porter, a student at Drexel University in Philadelphia, said police escorted the three students to Cairo airport yesterday.
"I am pleased and thankful to report that Gregory Porter is in the air. He has departed Egyptian airspace and is on his way home," Simon said.
12.04pm Egypt: Reuters has interviewed some of the young Egyptian activists standing in the country's election on Monday.
Youth activist and parliamentary candidate Shahir George told the news agency:
Whether we win or lose in this election, we'll keep going. We will evaluate our mistakes, learn from them and prepare for the next battle. There are still many to fight. The street will always be there.
In a coffee-house in his Cairo constituency, where he is running on an Egypt Freedom Party ticket, George said the challenge was to forge a new model of politics.
We won't have a young parliament, but Egypt as a whole now has a more youthful face. The opportunities available for youth representation are very promising.
I want to be seen on the street not just as a rebel, but as a viable political alternative. Even if I don't win, it is important to participate to show that youth aren't just capable of topplin! g the re gime, but have a vision for Egypt.
Abdullah Helmy, a member of the newly formed Reform and Development Party, added:
The new Egypt will be more youthful because youth have thrust themselves upon the political scene. All political groups are now racing to strengthen themselves with those youth.
11.50am Egypt: Amnesty International has sent a fact-finding team to Egypt to investigate human rights violations committed against pro-democracy protesters in Cairo, Alexandria and elsewhere.
The human rights organisation said it plans to monitor any abuses carried out during the elections, currently scheduled to start on Monday.
11.30am Egypt: A Syrian human rights activist says the pregnant wife of a Syrian dissident has been kidnapped in Cairo.
Ammar Qurabi, head of the National Organisation for Human Rights in Syria, said in a statement that Mona al-Gharib, 25, was kidnapped on Friday at noon, AP reports. The group believes Syrian government agents were responsible.
An Egyptian police official said Gharib's husband Thaer al-Nashef has filed a complaint about the kidnapping, which he was alerted to via an anonymous text message.
Qurabi, who is based in Cairo, said Nashef had been receiving threats for some time.
11.27am Syria: Syrian analyst Rime Allaf, an associate fellow at the foreign affairs think tank Chatham House, has warned that Arab League sanctions could provoke an even more bloody crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad on pro-democracy protesters.
Her warning came after Syria missed a deadline set by the league for it to allow in international observers or face a vote on sanctions. The league is meeting today to decide on possible punishments, which could include halting flights and imposing a freeze on financial dealings and assets, according to dep! uty secr etary-general Ahmed Ben Heli.
Allaf, an associate fellow at the foreign affairs think tank Chatham House, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Assad's regime was digging its heels in in the face of international pressure.
She said sanctions "would be very hard on Syrian people first of all" but were the only option to try to weaken the regime.
Given that nothing else has worked so far and given that the Libyan-style intervention isn't really on the table for anybody, they are hoping that a mixture of sanctions both political and economic would push the regime even further into a corner and force it to stop the oppression and do something to change the situation.
But Allaf said the more the regime was pushed the more violent it became.
With the extensions of the deadlines we have seen they have been doing even more violence. I believe that it will continue to dig in and stick to its story that this is a foreign conspiracy and that the regime and the government must put an end to this to bring Syria back to stability.
10.50am Morocco: More on the news that a moderate Islamist party has claimed victory in Morocco's parliamentary election.
If the victory of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) is confirmed, it would be the second moderate Islamist party to lead a North African government since the start of the region's Arab Spring uprisings, following Tunisia.
But the party, which hopes to push Islamic finance but vows to steer clear of imposing a strict moral code on society, will have to join forces with others to form a government, AP reports.
Lahcen Daodi, deputy leader of the PJD told Reuters:
Based on reports filed by our representatives at polling stations throughout the country, we are the winners. We won Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier, Kenitra, Sale, Beni Mellal and Sidi Ifni to cite j! ust a fe w. Our party has won the highest number of seats.
Government officials have yet to confirm the party's claim. The official result is expected later On Saturday.
Around 13.6 million Moroccans out of a population of around 33 million were registered to vote. Turnout was around 45%, according to interior minister Taib Cherkaoui.
The election comes after King Mohammed ceded some powers to avoid the violent revolts in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Syria spreading to his country.
He has handed over more powers to the government, although he retains the final say on the economy, security and religion.
10.30am Egypt: Here's more on the Egyptian demonstrator killed early this morning outside the cabinet building in Cairo.
The man's death followed clashes between police troops and protesters, who had camped outside the building overnight to try to block the entrance of the newly appointed prime minister, Kamal al-Ganzouri.
An Associated Press cameraman saw three police troop carriers and an armoured vehicle being chased off by rock-throwing protesters. The security forces fired tear gas in return.
A medical official subsequently confirmed that one protester was killed. Witnesses said the man was killed when a police vehicle ran over him.
Egyptian blogger Sarrah Abdelrahman said on Twitter that she was with the man, named only as Ahmed, in a morgue.
She tweeted: "Ahmeds mother is holding on to his trousers and crying.
"I don't know what caused ahmeds death, canister or the truck ran him over.
"Gang of police went into morgue. Me and brother still outside.
"Family w! omen her e. I can't describe the scene.
"Just got out of the morgue. Couldn't take any pictures. Prosecution were yelling at us."
9.57am: Welcome to Middle East Live for rolling coverage of protests across the region. You can follow me on Twitter @David_Batty.
Here's a round up of the latest developments:
Egypt
An Egyptian demonstrator was killed early this morning outside the cabinet building in Cairo, where pro-democracy protesters camped overnight to block the entrance of the newly appointed prime minister, Kamal al-Ganzouri. Egyptians flocked to Tahrir Square yesterday for a huge demonstration against the military rulers. The number of people gathered in the square, the heart of pro-democracy protests, was estimated at more than 100,000. There have also been smaller protests in Alexandria, Damanhour, Mahalla Al-Kubra, Mansoura, Suez, Sohag and Tanta.
A much smaller pro-military demonstration also took place in Cairo yesterday. Around 15,000 people are estimated to have joined the rally at one point. Some foreign journalists were attacked at the rally.
The Muslim Brotherhood has expressed its support for the elections. In leaflets distributed outside mosques, the group said it was putting the national interest ahead of its own. The Brotherhood did not take part in Friday's demonstrations.
Syria
Syria has missed a deadline set by the Arab League for it to allow in international observers or face a vote on sanctions. The league meets today to decide on sanctions, said deputy secretary-general Ahmed Ben Heli. The punishments could include halting flights and imposing a freeze on financial dealings and assets.
Ten Syrian troops and several armed dissidents were killed in clashes late on Friday night in the town of Deir el-Zour, according to the British-based Syrian O! bservato ry for Human Rights.
Morocco
A moderate Islamist party has claimed victory in the Morocco's parliamentary elections. Government officials have yet to confirm the Justice and Development Party's assertion. Turnout was reportedly low amid calls by pro-democracy campaigners for a boycott.
Yemen
Mohammed Bassendoua has been nominated to form the new government in Yemen, according to al-Arabiya citing opposition sources. He will be the country's new prime minister.
There was heavy fighting in Sana'a on Friday between security forces and an army unit that joined the popular uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, according to Yemeni officials. The troops fired machine guns and mortars, some of which landed on civilian homes. A security official said one soldier from each side was killed before the fighting stopped around dawn.
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