BEIRUT (Reuters) – A monitoring mission to Syria that marks an unprecedented Arab intervention in a fellow Arab state may have just days to prove to sceptics it can be a credible witness to whether or not President Bashar al-Assad has halted a crackdown on protests.

The monitors, who began touring Syria on Tuesday, are the cornerstone of an Arab peace plan that Damascus must heed if it wants to avoid creating a new context for broader international involvement, Arab diplomats and regional analysts say.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Thousands of Egyptians rallied in Cairo and other cities on Friday to demand the military give up power and vent their anger after 17 people were killed in protests where troops beat and clubbed women and men even as they lay on the ground.

One image in particular from the five days of clashes that ended this week has stoked their fury: that of soldiers dragging a woman lying on the street so that her bra and torso were exposed, while clubbing and stamping on her.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian protesters gathered in Cairo for a mass rally they called for on Friday against the military’s handling of protests that killed 17 people and have drawn international criticism of the ruling generals.

Protesters who fought soldiers and police in the capital for five days until calm was restored this week want the ruling military council to cede power more swiftly than planned.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian activists have called a mass rally in Cairo on Friday against the army’s handling of protests that killed 17 people and drew international criticism of the ruling generals.

Protesters who fought soldiers and police in the capital for five days until calm was restored this week want the ruling military council to cede power more swiftly than planned.

CAIRO (Reuters) – The Muslim Brotherhood, whose party is leading Egypt’s staggered parliamentary election, came out on Thursday against bringing forward a presidential vote to end military rule, saying changing the timetable would wreak chaos.

Protesters who fought soldiers and police in central Cairo for five days before calm was restored this week want the army to cede power more swiftly.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptians returned to the polls on Wednesday in a staggered parliamentary election after five days of violence in Cairo that has cast a pall over the transition to democracy and drawn a U.S. rebuke of Egypt’s security forces.

Tahrir Square and surrounding streets were quiet through the night for the first time in a week. A night earlier, police and soldiers had used tear gas and batons to chase protesters demanding an end to army rule out of the square.

CAIRO (Reuters) – The head of the Arab League said on Tuesday that monitors could be in Syria before the end of the month to assess whether Damascus is implementing an Arab plan to end a bloody crackdown on protests after weeks of stalling.

Galvanized by a soaring death toll after Syria turned troops and tanks on anti-government protests, Arab states have pushed Damascus to let in a team of about 150 observers to witness what is happening on the ground.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian police and soldiers using batons and teargas have fought opponents of army rule in Cairo for a fourth day, taking the death toll since Friday to 13, according to medical sources.

Hundreds more have been wounded and scores detained in attempts to disperse protests in and around Cairo’s Tahrir Square, hub of the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in February.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian security forces fought opponents of army rule in Cairo for a fourth day on Monday and the United States, worried by the violence, urged the generals to respect human rights.

Medical sources said the death toll had risen to 13 since Friday. Hundreds have been wounded and scores detained.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian security forces fought opponents of army rule in Cairo for a fourth day on Monday and the United States, worried by the violence, urged the generals to respect human rights.

Medical sources said the death toll had risen to 13 since Friday. Hundreds have been wounded and scores detained.