On December 17, 2010, Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest of his treatment at the hands of municipal officials. His act of desperation would become the catalyst for a full-scale revolution that would sweep across North Africa and into the Middle East in what would become known as the Arab Spring. This week has brought more violent clashes between protesters and police in Egypt, but the idea of such actions transpiring just a year ago would have been unfathomable. The year 2011 has seen democratic movements swell in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Syria.

Egypt's first democratic elections since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak entered their second day on Tuesday. Although the elections capped weeks of bloody clashes between the military and protesters, who felt that they were loosing their revolution to military rule, the atmosphere throughout voting centers was one of hope. Protesters have been unhappy with the pace of transition as the country moves from military to civilian rule. The Obama administration came out in support of the protesters before the election began.

An armed convoy believed to be carrying loyalists to Col. Moammar Gadhafi crossed the Libyan border into Niger late on Monday. It is unclear whether the fugitive Libyan leader or his family were in the convoy. The loyalists may be heading to Burkina Faso, which has offered asylum to Gadhafi. The BBC's Jon Leyne, who is in Benghazi, says it would have been impossible for such a large convoy to leave Libya without NATO turning a blind eye.

In Libya, the rebels' Transitional National Council has begun moving some of their operations from Benghazi to Tripoli. The head of the TNC announced that he plans to hold elections in eight months. While plans are under way for a post-Gadhafi Libya, the man himself remains elusive. The Council faces a tough road ahead as the country has never seen this kind of transformation before.

Islamist protesters packed Egypt's Tahrir Square this morning, calling for the implementation of Shariah law. Dominated largely by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most organized political contingent, the Islamists have remained quiet throughout most of the revolution since former-president Hosni Mubarak stepped down in February. Their goals differ greatly from those of the secular groups who have been leading demonstrations in Tahrir Square since early July.

The battle rages on in Libya. The BBC's Jon Leyne reports from Benghazi, where a Turkish hospital ship rescued over 200 wounded fighters from Misurata. Late last night the ship, which performed the rescue under escort from fighter docks, docked in the opposition stronghold of Benghazi. 

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi spoke in Tripoli this morning, saying he cannot step down because he's merely an adviser to the people of Libya and not the president. His forces have launched a counter-offensivem, moving east toward the heart of rebellion. The BBC's Jon Leyne reports from Benghazi.

Labor unrest grows in Egypt, lending momentum into the wave of anti-government protests. Bus drivers and public transport workers have joined thousands of state employees in a nation-wide strike; thousands of doctors and lawyers have also joined the walk-out. The BBC's Jon Leyne reports from Cairo.

This is the sixth edition of Wave of Change, a special podcast from The Takeaway, covering the mass protests in Egypt and the consequences for the wider Arab world, hosted by John Hockenberry with Celeste Headlee.

In this episode, we get the latest from the streets of Cairo, where protesters have been reenergized after the broadcast of an interview with Wael Ghonim, a young Google executive credited with stoking the pro-democracy movement on the internet, who was freed after being detained for 12 days; we ask Micah Sifry, co-founder of the Personal Democracy Forum, if Wael Ghonim is a revolutionary leader or merely a messenger of the people; and, in an except from today's Takeaway, Human Rights Watch's Daniel Williams gives his own harrowing account of being held for 36 hours in captivity in Cairo.

(Watch Wael Ghanim's interview with Egypt's DreamTV after the jump.)

Google executive Wael Ghonim's emotional inteview with Egyptian television has helped reignite Egypt's protests. Tahrir Square continues to be the epicenter of the protests in Egypt, with one of the biggest crowds yet converging on the square. For an update, we hear from the BBC's Jon Leyne.

Three people died in Tuesday's protests that swept through the streets of Cairo, Egypt. Protesters called for the end to the 30-year authoritarian rule of President Mubarak. "We're waiting for some kind of revolution or something like that. We have to move, we're not going to stand still," one protester told the BBC.

Protesters have taken to the streets of Cairo with demands on a range of issues from ending police brutality to raising the minimum wage. Activists organized protests over Facebook and Twitter. But while the city is galvanized by the recent events in nearby Tunisia, will this uprising enact change? The BBC's Jon Leyne reports from Cairo on the protests. 

As a second round of peace talks between Israel and Palestine began today in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she was hopeful both sides could make progress on a number of issues, including the contentious Jewish settlements being built in Palestinian territory. The BBC's Jon Leyne is in Sharm-el-Sheikh and joins us for an update.

Iran says one of three Americans hikers held for more than a year will be released. The country said Sarah Shourd could be out of jail as early as today when her $500,000 bail is paid. Jon Leyne, BBC's Tehran Correspondent joins us to discuss the politics behind the release of Sarah Shurd.

During a televised confession, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani said she was acquainted with man who murdered  her husband. She had been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery. The 43-year-old woman is currently on death row in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran. The BBC's Jon Leyne reports on the case. He says that she is no longer going to be stoned, and that her lawyer has fled the country. He explains that the justice system is trying to shift the focus from stoning for adultery to her alleged involvement in the murder of her husband.

Rebels and pro-government forces clashed this morning in Yemen, killing 19 people. This is the latest in a series of violent eruptions, which are putting increased strain on a truce between the government and rebels. The violence also indicates that al-Qaida may be growing in strength in Yemen, where in the south of the country there's a separate insurgency involving al-Qaida rebels. The BBC's Jon Leyne describes the violence and the challenges of stabilizing a country with scarce resources. "The bottom line is that the country is in a real mess," says Leyne.

The Iranian scientist who said he was kidnapped by the CIA appeared in a videotaped interview on Iranian state television. In the interview he says that the U.S. wanted him to say he was a spy in order to swap him for three American hikers that are being held in Iran. The Americans maintain that he was a volunteer defector. The BBC's Jon Leyne says that the chance of a prisoner swap would have been nearly impossible due to the strained relations between Iran and U.S.

An Iranian nuclear scientist who says he was kidnapped by the CIA has taken refuge in the Iranian interests section of the Pakistani embassy in Washington D.C. There are conflicting stories about the man, including YouTube videos from the scientist himself. One video claims that he was drugged and woke up on a plane headed to the U.S., while another shows him saying he was studying in the U.S.

BBC correspondent Jon Leyne reports on what this means for U.S./Iran relations.

President Ahmadinejad of Iran has dismissed the latest United Nations sanctions against his country. He said that the resolution by the UN Security Council should be "thrown into the dustbin like a used handkerchief." BBC Tehran correspondent, Jon Leyne, says this colorful response is a predictable one.

Iran has agreed to a new confidence-building deal over its nuclear program. The country signed an agreement with Turkey and Brazil, in which a large part of Iran's enriched uranium will be shipped to Turkey in return for fuel for a Tehran research reactor.