Riot Police

The mourners gathered early Wednesday morning. They knew the authorities would not let the former Iranian opposition leader be buried at midday, when his funeral would attract even more followers. Ezzatollah Sahabi, 81, had been among the leaders of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution and a member of its first government, but later fell out with those in power. He spent his last decades as a dissident, in and out of prison. Sahabi's daughter Haleh, 57, followed in his political footsteps.

Scores of mostly Coptic Christian protesters were injured when their weekend demonstration blocking a street near the heart of downtown Cairo was attacked by motorists and residents as riot police stood by, prompting new questions about the ability and willingness of Egypt's military-led government to maintain security. The attacks came hours after an explosion at the tomb of a Muslim saint in the northern Sinai town of Sheik Zweid and a week after sectarian clashes left 15 dead and 200 injured.

Bands of protesters in more than a dozen villages Friday defied Bahrain security forces and the government's ban on demonstrations to press for the ouster of the country's ruling family. At least one person died, dozens were injured and some were arrested as protesters, mainly in Shiite Muslim villages, held rallies against the ruling Sunni Muslim dynasty, according to an opposition political party, human rights groups and media reports. Some protesters reportedly encountered tear gas or were shot at by security forces using birdshot.

To track the growing political movements gaining strength from the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia across North Africa and the Middle East, one would be well advised to get a planner. There were Saturday's clashes between demonstrators and police in Algeria, now referred to as #feb12 on Twitter, much as Egypt's uprising shall forever be known as #jan25. New popular protests are scheduled Monday in Bahrain (#feb14) and Iran (#25Bahman). Libya comes next on #feb17, followed by Algeria again on #feb19, Morocco #feb20, Cameroon #feb23 and Kuwait #mar8.

Three more Middle Eastern governments came under assault from thousands of street demonstrators, a sign of widening reverberations from the pro-democracy movement that upended repressive governments in Egypt and Tunisia. Street clashes in Iran, Bahrain and Yemen were met by riot police Monday, as authorities in the conservative nations sought to squelch demands for greater political freedom, better jobs and an end to corruption. Though the demonstrations were small by comparison, the cries in the streets echoed the spirit of the recent revolts that toppled authoritarian rulers.

He glances over his shoulder. Not here, he says. In the shopping center across the street, there's a cafe downstairs. He picks out a table in the far corner, behind a pillar, to shield his face from security cameras, as jumpy as a fugitive. Except that Najib, 32, is a member of Tunisia's state security forces. During the protests that toppled President Zine el Abidine ben Ali, he was ordered to put on a helmet, hold up a shield and baton, and stand against his own people.

Thousands of Egyptian protesters inspired by the revolt in Tunisia clashed with police in the largest anti-government demonstrations in years, flying banners and decrying political repression, corruption and unemployment under the three-decade rule of President Hosni Mubarak. Mothers in hijabs and students clad in denim joined protests that flared in Cairo and spread to Alexandria and beyond, chanting "Freedom!" and "Down with Mubarak!" A police officer and two protesters were killed, authorities said.

Law enforcement snipers will watch from rooftops. Motorists will be checked at roadblocks across Athens. And at the courthouse, inside a maximum security prison on the eastern outskirts of the Greek capital, hundreds of plainclothes officers will patrol surrounding streets to shield against militant attacks. Riot police armed with percussion grenades and tear gas will also be on alert as part of the security measures planned for the trial scheduled to begin Monday of 13 suspected members of the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, a militant anti-authority movement known as SPF. "We are prepared for everything," said Athanassios Kokkalakis, spokesman for Greece's National Police.

Scattered violence by youths on the sidelines of a national strike against pension changes in France increased Tuesday, adding tension to the protest-related disruptions the country has experienced for nearly a week. Youths masked with scarves clashed with riot police in various areas, though no serious injuries were reported as of late Tuesday. Store windows were shattered, cars and garbage cans set on fire, and youths threw rocks at officers, notably in the center of Lyon, and in Nanterre, west of Paris.

A day after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin suggested that protesters who gather routinely in central Moscow should "have a club on the head," riot police on Tuesday broke up a crowd of about 2,000 opposition supporters and onlookers and arrested scores of people. The clash was part of a ritual that has seen demonstrators gather on the 31st day of the month in Triumfalnaya Square to press for the right of free assembly as enshrined in Article 31 of the Russian Constitution. "Permission from local authorities is needed" for a demonstration, Putin said in an interview published Monday by Kommersant, a popular daily newspaper.