Traffic flowed through Cairo's Tahrir Square on Saturday after the end of a three-day sit-in to mark one year since the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, even as more protests were planned.

Tents were still pitched in the center of the square, where dozens of protesters gathered ahead of demonstrations to demand the ouster of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) now ruling the country.

Protesters marched to Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday to join thousands there demanding democratic change, a year after the uprising that toppled veteran president Hosni Mubarak.

After noon prayers, organized marches left Cairo mosques and headed for the square, the symbolic heart of the Egyptian uprising, on a day dubbed "the Friday of Pride and Dignity" by the dozens of pro-democracy groups organizing the rallies.

The opposition Syrian National Council plans to send a delegation to the United Nations to press the U.N. Security Council for intervention in unrest-swept Syria, an SNC spokesman told Agence France Presse on Sunday.

"The Council will send a delegation to the United Nations to submit a letter calling for the referral of the Syria file to the Security Council to protect civilians," Mohammed Sermini said in Cairo.

Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal met the Swiss Middle East envoy in Cairo late on Wednesday as part of efforts to normalize relations with European governments, sources in the Islamist movement told Agence France Presse.

A Hamas official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Meshaal and Jean-Daniel Ruch, whose country is not part of the European Union, discussed the possibility of relations between Europe and the Islamist group which rules Gaza.

With a rise in entrepreneurialism across the Middle East in full swing, 2012 is expected to see unprecedented growth in start-ups in the region, according to Arabnet Founder Omar Christidis.

Following hard on the heels of the ‘Arab Spring’, many young people across the region have decided to take the leap and start their own ventures. The Arabnet Digital Summit 2012, to take place between 27-21 March, is the premier regional conference for the emerging Arab web/mobile industry.

Iraq and Iran are aiding the Syrian regime financially in its crackdown on protests, a former official in President Bashar Assad's regime alleged Thursday in a report on al-Jazeera's website.

Mahmoud Suleiman Haj Hamad made the allegations at a press conference in Cairo after announcing his defection from the regime, according to the satellite network's Arabic-language website.

Egyptian prosecutors on Tuesday portrayed ousted president Hosni Mubarak as a "tyrannical leader", as they made their opening arguments in his murder trial.

The ailing 83-year-old former strongman, who was wheeled into court on a stretcher, is accused of involvement in the deaths of protesters during the uprising that overthrew him in February.

Syria finally gave its agreement Monday to an Arab observer mission to monitor a deal to end nine months of bloodshed, ending weeks of prevarication that had prompted the Arab League to adopt sanctions.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Maqdad and Arab League Assistant Secretary General Ahmed Ben Helli inked the document at League headquarters in Cairo, an Agence France Presse correspondent reported.

The rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas began meeting in Cairo on Sunday to discuss ways of implementing a stalled reconciliation deal, an official said.

Delegates from the two factions met "to prepare for the comprehensive dialogue" which is to take place on Tuesday in the Egyptian capital, Azzam al-Ahmed, head of the Fatah delegation told Agence France Presse.

The Arab League on Saturday threatened to take Syria to the U.N. over its deadly crackdown on dissent but an Iraqi mediator said he had "positive" talks in Syria aimed at defusing the nine-month crisis.

The Qatari prime minister warned that the Arab League would take Syria to the U.N. Security Council if it persisted in refusing to allow observers into the country to monitor the protection of civilians.