Supporters of Tunisia's An-Nahda party celebrate success in the country's first free election Photograph: Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters
The Nato mission in Libya should continue until the end of the year, to help prevent remaining Gaddafi loyalist from fleeing, interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil (left) has told a meeting Qatar, according to Reuters.
"We look forward to Nato continuing its operations until the end of the year," Jalil told reporters, adding that stopping the flight of Gaddafi supporters to other countries was a priority.
"We seek technical and logistics help from neighbouring and friendly countries," Jalil added.
In Brussels on Wednesday, a Nato official said the alliance had postponed until Friday a meeting of its ambassadors which had been set for Wednesday and was expected to formalise a decision to end its Libya mission.
"The Libya discussion has been moved to Friday to accommodate the ongoing consultations with the United Nations and the National Transitional Council," the official said.
The UAE broadcaster Alaan TV has shown footage of what it claims is part of the burial ceremony for Muammar Gaddafi, his son Mutassim and his defence minister Abu Bakr Younes. Warning the clip contains disturbing images.
The ceremony was attended by several people the clip shows. It is understood the burial itself took place later at a different location. The footage cannot be independently verified.
The Arab League should demand the Assad regime allow international monitors to observe the behaviour of the security services in Syria, Human Rights Watch has urged.
An Arab League delegation will visit Damascus today revive the idea of talks between the regime and opposition.
Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said:
If the Arab League's initiative is going to have any chance of success, it needs to guarantee that civilians will be protected. The only way to make sure civilians are protected is to have on-the-ground monitors whose presence would inhibit abuse by the security services.
Welcome to Middle East Live. Here's a round up of the latest developments in the region.
Libya
? Former Gaddafi loyalist Khaled Tantoush describes preparing the former Libyan leader for burial.
"I didn't feel anything when I was washing him," said Tantoush. "I was just doing my duty as a Muslim. He was a person and he should be properly buried."
"Liar," muttered one of his jailers, Haithem Danduna, at Tantoush. "He is a chameleon," he added, pointing at Tantoush. "He was green until a week ago," in reference to the colour of the regime.
"It was a good thing what they did last night, allowing us to bury him. It was a good start of a new beginning. After we finished washing him we moved to the tables and we wrapped them in white, then prayed for them. The whole process took about an hour. The guards helped us move the bodies."
? Gaddafi's most prominent son Saif al-Islam is said to be trying to flee to possible sanctuary in Niger. son and one-time heir apparent is believed to be heading towards Niger. Rhissa ag Boula, an adviser to Niger's president, said he was in touch with Tuareg who are helping guide Saif cross the desert from Libya to Algeria and finally to Niger.
? Saif called his father frequently on the telephone and increasingly feared being hit by a mortar bomb as he tried to escape from the town of Bani Walid last week, an officer who had been with him told Reuters. Al-Senussi Sharif al-Senussi, a lieutenant in Gaddafi's army who was part of Saif's security team, said: "He was nervous. He had a Thuraya (satellite phone) and he called his father many times. He repeated to us: don't tell anyone where I am. Don't let them spot me. He was afraid of mortars. He seemed confused."
? Gaddafi's spokesman Moussa Ibrahim, whose whereabouts are currently unknown, spent last Christmas drinking red wine and toasting the Tunisian revolution at the home of his PhD supervisor, Ros Coward recalls.
I cooked them a traditional roast dinner and we played with the baby. Moussa was very hands-on, changing nappies and rocking the baby to sleep. Perhaps more surprisingly, we toasted the Tunisian uprising over several glasses of good red wine, to which Moussa was always extremely partial.
Syria
? The Ministry of Health has accused Amnesty International of spreading "fabrications" following the publication of report which claimed that medical workers were involved in torture and abuse of protesters. Amnesty said many in Syria feared going to hospital where it said the security forces had been given free rein.
? The opposition Syrian National Council has called for a general strike to coincide with the visit by an Arab League delegation the New York Times reports. Ibrahim, an activist from Derra, told the paper: "The regime says the crisis is finished, while we say it will start tomorrow with a new chapter when all of Syria will begin the first day of a general strike. It will be embarrassing for the regime to receive the Arab delegation while the country is on a strike."
? The latest attempt to implement a ceasefire in Yemen has failed to stop the violence as the country's protracted standoff has evolved into a rang of proxy battles, writes Laura Kasinof for the New York Times.
? President Ali Abdullah Saleh has made yet another offer to step down, according to the US State Department. Saleh said he would sign a deal brokered by Gulf Co-operation Council involving him transferring power in return for immunity from prosecution, during a meeting with the US ambassador. "We look to see him implement it," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.
? En-Nahda, the moderate Islamist party that is emerging as the victor in Tunisia's first free elections is in talks with rival parties about forming an interim coalition government. Partial results released supported the Ennahda party's claims that it won at least 40% of the seats in a 217-member assembly tasked with running the country and writing its new constitution.
The key issue in the next few days is what jobs the Islamists take in a coalition government. There will likely be an Islamist prime minister, with a secular, centrist interim president. But the new government will inherit a depressed economy, struggling tourism sector, regional inequality between the coast and poor rural interior and crippling unemployment ? a root cause of the revolution. It is officially at 19% but thought to be much higher, and over 40% for female graduates.
? There were four great tests for the Tunisian election: non-violence, turnout, pluralism, and fairness, according to Foreign Policy magazine. On all four counts the elections were a success, it says.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/oct/26/libya-syria-middle-east-unrest-live
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