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In an unprecedented move, the Arab League has voted to impose economic sanctions against Syria in an attempt to force the government to stop its suppression of opposition protests. The measures include a freeze on all commercial and financial dealings with Syria's government and banks. Jim Muir reports.

All these will add to the economic pressure and political isolation that Syria is already suffering. It's angrily accused the league of targeting the Syrian people as part of a Western-engineered conspiracy to prepare the way for outside intervention. It knows that hard times lie ahead, but Damascus is drawing comfort from the fact that two neighbours - Iraq to the east and Lebanon to the west - did not support the sanctions and are in a position to help ease the pressure.

Thousands of Egyptian protesters are again occupying Tahrir Square in Cairo on the eve of the first elections since the uprising that toppled President Mubarak. They are trying to maintain the momentum of their demands for the transfer of power to a civilian government. Yolande Knell reports.

Many political parties and groups have been calling for a delay to this vote. With a large protest against the ruling military continuing in Cairo's Tahrir Square, they argue the country should wait until the atmosphere is calmer and safer. But the head of the armed forces council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, is determined that the parliamentary elections should go ahead. He called on Egyptians from all walks of life to head to the polling stations so that the new People's Assembly would represent them.

A moderate Islamist party in Morocco has been confirmed as the winner of Friday's parliamentary elections. Final results show the Justice and Development Party won more than 100 of the 395 seats in the Assembly of Representatives. Under a new constitution, King Mohammed is obliged to choose a prime minister from the largest party. The constitutional reforms were introduced in July in response to protests inspired by the Arab Spring.

The Afghan President Hamid Karzai has announced the second group of areas to be handed over from Nato to Afghan control - part of a planned transition to put Afghanistan in control of its own security by the end of 2014. Among the provinces and cities to be handed over are several where the Taliban carry out regular attacks. From Kabul, Bilal Sarwary reports.

Under the plan, six provinces, seven cities and dozens of districts will be handed over to Afghan forces. The seven Afghan cities include the volatile city of Ghazni. Only last month, a mother and daughter were stoned and then shot by the Taliban just a few hundred metres from the local governor's office. Afghan security forces will also be taking control of three key districts in Helmand province. Marjah, Nawa and Nad Ali have all seen heavy fighting between insurgents and British and US forces.

World News from the BBC

An opposition leader in Yemen, Mohammed Basindwa, has been given the task of forming a new government as part of a power transfer deal signed last week by President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Mr Basindwa was a key figure in an alliance that led to months of protests against the president. He'll be interim prime minister until Yemen holds elections in February.

The head of the electoral commission in the Democratic Republic of Congo says 99% of polling stations are ready for Monday's elections and that voting will go ahead as planned. There had been speculation that the elections might be delayed because of political unrest. From Kinshasa, Will Ross reports.

Congolese rhythms in Kinshasa's packed Catholic cathedral, plenty of prayers for a peaceful election. In a run-up to this poll, there have been clashes between those backing the incumbent, Joseph Kabila, and supporters of the main opposition candidate Etienne Tshisekedi. He seems determined to rock the boat. He called for another rally on Sunday, which goes against the rules. We're told the polls will open on time despite fears that all is not ready. So as well as calling for peace, many here might well be praying that they find a ballot paper on Monday.

Police in northeastern Nigeria say suspected members of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram have set fire to churches, homes, police buildings and a bank. Four people are reported to have died in the attacks, which happened on Saturday night in Yobe state.

As delegates gather for the climate conference in the South African city of Durban, the UN's top climate official has urged governments to make further commitments to reduce emissions. The head of the UN climate secretariat, Christiana Figueres, said the conference needed to consider, in her words, nothing short of the most compelling industrial revolution that humanity had ever seen. Talks aimed at reaching a treaty on global carbon emissions collapsed at a summit in Copenhagen two years ago.