Security forces in Bagdad opened fire on protesters who crossed a bridge over the Tigris river into a high-security area. The protests show no sign of stopping.

The executions come amid tensions with Iran. Bahrain accuses the country of fomenting Shiite armed opposition groups that have carried out attacks on security forces.

Egyptian security forces block access to the cemetery where Egypt's former president Mohamed Morsi is buried, the day after he collapsed in court and died.

Security forces have used live rounds in an operation to disperse peaceful protesters in Khartoum. Demonstrators are demanding civilian rule, after a military council took over from ousted President Omar al-Bashir.

A rickshaw driver and his passenger were shot dead by Somali security forces, who killed another four people protesting against the shootings, witnesses and lawmakers said.

Oyub Titiyev, who had exposed abuses by security forces in Chechnya, will spend four years in a penal colony. His family said the ruling was an effort by authorities 'to silence and disgrace him.'

Stone-throwing protesters clashed with Sudanese security forces in the capital Khartoum and three other cities on Thursday (January 17) and a child and a doctor were reported killed in the latest spasm of unrest over price rises and cash shortages that flared a month ago.

The Venezuelan government is preparing to hold a controversial election on Sunday, and security forces are out on the streets of Caracas trying to keep the peace before the vote.

Venezuelan protesters clashed with security forces in Caracas on Friday, ahead of a vote for a legislative super-body proposed by President Nicolas Maduro.

Security forces rescue dozens of guests from a Mali resort under attack by gunmen, according to a security ministry spokesman.

In Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta, security forces are targeting illicit refineries, which the military says funds the operations of militants.

Security forces foil an armed robbery, kidnapping, oil theft.