* Foreign pro-Palestinian activists clash with IDF in West Bank Several dozen leftists, including a number of foreign activists who arrived in Israel in recent days as part of the "fly-in", clashed with Israel security forces during a demonstration.
* South Sudan's flag raised at independence ceremony Tens of thousands of South Sudanese have watched the raising of the new country's flag at an independence ceremony in the capital, Juba.
* Egypt: Cairo's Tahrir Square fills with protesters Tens of thousands of protesters have rallied in Cairo to press for speedier reforms from the Egyptian government.
* Iran: We've fired missiles to Indian Ocean for first time Iran said on Saturday it test-fired two long-range missiles into the Indian Ocean earlier this year.
* US defense chief says al-Qaida's defeat 'within reach' New US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday, saying he believed the strategic defeat of al-Qaida was within reach.
* Arab World: That familiar feeling Amid the recent upheavals in the Arab world, one country has largely escaped attention.
* Arabic becoming the language of Facebook Since it was launched in 2009, use of the Arabic Facebook interface has skyrocketed to reach some 10 million users today.
* Iran's killing spree stifles Arab spring As the Arab spring flourishes throughout the Middle East, Iran, one of the region's most prominent targets on Amnesty International's watch list seems to be an "island of calm".
* Syria: Over 450,000 protesters in Hama Hundreds of thousands of Syrians carrying olive branches and shouting for the downfall of President Bashar Assad's regime streamed Friday into the flashpoint city of Hama.
* Congress votes in favor of PA aid suspension A week after the Senate approved a similar proposal; the US House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly backed the idea of suspending aid to the Palestinian Authority.