Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir will travel to Doha on Monday to hold talks with the Qatari emir, the official SUNA news agency reported.

"The president will hold talks with His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, emir of Qatar, dealing with the promotion of bilateral relations between the two countries and issues of common interest," SUNA said.

The European Union is set to hail the formation of a Syrian opposition bloc as "a positive step forward", according to a draft EU foreign ministers' statement seen by Agence France Presse on Monday.

In the draft statement, the ministers, referring to the Syrian National Council (SNC), say the EU "welcomes the efforts of the population to establish a united platform" and "notes the creation of the SNC as a positive step forward".

Israeli President Shimon Peres has sent a letter of condolence to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the death of his mother, the Anatolia news agency reported Monday.

"From my experience, I know very well the deep sense of grief, feeling like an orphan and the boundless sorrow of your loss," Peres was quoted as saying in the letter.

Forty women were wounded in Yemen's second largest city when regime supporters attacked an all-female street celebration of the Nobel Peace prize win of Tawakkul Karman, medical officials said Monday.

The women were attacked on Sunday evening in the city of Taez as they marched in support of Karman, the first Arab woman to win the prestigious award.

The Egyptian government was set for crisis talks on Monday after clashes left 24 people dead, raising fears of widespread sectarian unrest that threatens to widen the cracks in an already fragile transition from Hosni Mubarak's regime.

Prime Minister Essam Sharaf was to convene an emergency cabinet meeting on Monday afternoon, state television reported.

Flames lit up downtown Cairo, where massive clashes raged Sunday, drawing Christians angry over a recent church attack, Muslims and Egyptian security forces. At least 24 people were killed and more than 200 injured in the worst sectarian violence since the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in February.

The rioting lasted late into the night, bringing out a deployment of more than 1,000 security forces and armored vehicles to defend the state television building along the Nile, where the trouble began. The military clamped a curfew on the area until 7 a.m.

Prime Minister Essam Sharaf appealed to Egypt's Muslims and Christians not to give in to sectarian strife after almost 20 people died in clashes on Sunday between Coptic Christians and security forces.

"What is taking place are not clashes between Muslims and Christians but attempts to provoke chaos and dissent," he said on his Facebook page.

Syria threatened retaliation Sunday if other states recognize a newly formed opposition bloc as President Bashar al-Assad renewed a pledge of reforms and security forces shot dead at least 11 people.

Forces of Libya's new rulers said they took control on Sunday of the airport in Bani Walid, one of the last two bastions of fighters loyal to deposed despot Moammar Gadhafi.

"Our forces have taken control of the airport of Bani Walid," located in the desert town's southwest, Yunes Mussa, commander of the National Transitional Council forces in the region, told Agence France Presse.

Around 300 Tunisian Salafists on Sunday attacked the headquarters of a private TV station that aired a French-Iranian film and organized a debate on religious extremism, the channel said.

"Three hundred people attacked our offices and tried to set fire to them," Nessma chairman Nebil Karoui told AFP, explaining that death threats had been sent after Friday night's showing of "Persepolis", an animation film on Iran's Islamic revolution.