Five years after the uprising against Hosni Mubarak erupted, Egypt has returned to iron-fisted rule by a regime that brutally crushes opponents even as it battles a deadly, jihadist-led insurgency.

The blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood movement is the only group to have called for protests on Monday -- the anniversary of the 2011 revolt.

Time is running out to solve Europe's refugee crisis with the unity of the continent hanging in the balance, top officials at the elite World Economic Forum in Davos said Friday.

The waves of refugees still making their way to Europe has been a hot topic at the Swiss ski resort, with opinions ranging from calls for an aging Europe to seize an opportunity to stark warnings of impending disaster.

The father of an unemployed Tunisian protester whose death has sparked a new wave of unrest says his son was a victim of corruption and "broken promises" five years after the revolution.

Demonstrators are once again taking to the streets of impoverished central Tunisia, the birthplace of the "Arab Spring", triggering clashes with security forces in which hundreds have been injured.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has vowed to stay the course with her welcome to refugees but faces stormy waters, with some conservatives rebelling and key state elections on the horizon.

With about 3,000 new asylum-seekers still braving the winter cold to cross the border from Austria every day, Germany is headed for a repeat of last year when it took in a record 1.1 million migrants, straining resources and fraying nerves.

Saudi Arabia on Saturday marks one year since King Salman bin Abdulaziz acceded to the throne of the world's biggest oil exporter, beginning a tumultuous period of change.

Here are facts about Salman, his powerful son Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef:

When Saudi Arabia's king Abdullah died a year ago on Saturday, his subjects expected their country to keep a steady course under new King Salman.

They were in for a royal shock.

Syrian peace talks due next week are looking increasingly moot as a string of recent battlefield victories by government troops have bolstered President Bashar Assad's hand and plunged the rebels into disarray.

The government's advances add to the obstacles that have scuttled chances of halting — at least anytime soon — the five-year civil war that has killed a quarter of a million people, displaced half the country and enabled the radical Islamic State group to seize a third of Syria's territory.

Was this weekend's nuclear deal and Washington's surprise prisoner swap with Tehran the final high point of a one-off diplomatic initiative or the start of a real realignment?

Some 35 years after U.S.-Iran ties were broken amid the chaos of the Tehran hostage crisis, might the Great Satan and the Axis of Evil lynchpin be on the brink of real detente?

The implementation of the Iran nuclear deal marked a major step forward in Washington's cautious rapprochement with Iran, but will further strain ties with Saudi Arabia.

While President Barack Obama's government insists its goal was simply to halt the spread of atomic weapons, experts detect an effort to bring a new balance to its Middle East relationships.

The Islamic State group may be losing ground in its strongholds of Iraq and Syria but as the attack in Indonesia this month showed, the jihadists are rallying other groups under their banner, analysts say.

In most cases, these groups have no direct contact with the leadership of IS's self-proclaimed caliphate, but the group is happy to claim responsibility for the blood spilled in its name, the experts say.