Tunisia's Justice Minister Lazhar Karoui Chebbi announced Jan. 25 that the National Unity Government has issued an international arrest warrant for ousted president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and his family. The transitional government also announced that a new cabinet is to be named this week, as well as new governors and ambassadors. Protesters continue to mobilize in the capital to demand the resignation of former members of Ben Ali's regime.

Egyptian police and protesters clashed in Cairo's city center and in the port city of Suez on Jan. 26, the second day of anti-government rallies. The Interior Ministry had banned all protests, and security officials said at least 500 were arrested around the country. In the capital, where demonstrators declared a "day of anger" to demand the resignation of Hosni Mubarak, police used tear gas and protesters responded with hurled stones. One protester and one police officer are reported killed in Cairo street fighting. In Suez, three protesters were reported killed in a police baton charge the previous day. (Middle East Online, YNet, Jan. 26)

In his State of the Union address Jan. 25, Barack Obama said the US will support those struggling for freedom around the world, and made special note of the recent vote for independence in South Sudan:

Recent events have shown us that what sets us apart must not just be our power—it must also be the purpose behind it. In south Sudan—with our assistance—the people were finally able to vote for independence after years of war. (Applause.) Thousands lined up before dawn. People danced in the streets. One man who lost four of his brothers at war summed up the scene around him: "This was a battlefield for most of my life," he said. "Now we want to be free." (Applause.)

In his State of the Union address Jan. 25, Barack Obama said the US will support those struggling for freedom around the world, and made special note of the recent revolutionary upsurge in Tunisia:

We saw that same desire to be free in Tunisia, where the will of the people proved more powerful than the writ of a dictator. And tonight, let us be clear: the United States of America stands with the people of Tunisia and supports the democratic aspirations of all people.

The Irish ambassador to Israel, Breifne O’Reilly, was summoned to the foreign ministry in Jerusalem Jan. 25 to be dressed down by Israeli officials over Dublin's move to upgrade the status of the Palestinian delegation to Ireland to a mission. Israel's ambassador in Dublin, Boaz Modai, also said he will visit the Department of Foreign Affairs to protest the diplomatic upgrade announced the previous day as harmful to peace efforts. (Irish Times, Jan. 26)

President Mahmoud Abbas pledged Jan. 25 that he will personally face the Qatar-based satellite network AlJazeera to address its release of secret documents from a decade of Israel-Palestinian negotiations. Speaking a crowd of hundreds gathered at his headquarters in Ramallah, Abbas said, "I am ready personally to go on their own channel and face them." He dismissed the leaked papers as forgeries—less than a day after Palestinian negotiator Nabil Sha'ath told AlJazeera that the leaked documents matched those in his possession.

Supporters of ousted Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri clashed with army troops in the Sunni strongholds of Tripoli and Sidon Jan. 25, as his replacement Najib Miqati took office. The vanquished Hariri and the man being widely hailed as the kingmaker, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, both made live addresses appealing for calm. But Hariri threatened to boycott the new government. "Me and my allies, we will represent the opposition," he said. "What has happened is virtually a coup d'etat, a political coup d'etat." US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said a Hezbollah-run government would "have a clear impact" on ties with the Washington, which had strongly backed Hariri. (The Guardian, Jan. 25)

Tens of thousands of protesters clashed with police in Cairo Jan. 25, in the largest demonstration in Egypt in a generation. Thousands of demonstrators stood their ground in downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square, promising to camp out overnight in a vigil to demand that long-ruling President Hosni Mubarak step down. The occupiers of Tahrir Square have withstood baton charges, water cannons and tear gas. Protests have also broken out in Alexandria, and roads are being blocked by demonstrators in the Sinai Peninsula. Large rallies are reported across the Nile Delta and the Suez Canal region. The government has blocked Twitter communications in a bid to thwart the movement's coordination. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Egypt's government is stable despite the demonstrations, but—in what will surely be interpreted as an ominous signal by Mubarak—added that Egyptians have the right to protest. (Tripoli Post, The Guardian, LAT AP, Jan. 25)