Libya, Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Waiting for Sirte to Fall

See also Bahrain Propaganda 101: A Tale of Tom Squitieri, Ali Abbas Shamtoot MP, and the Latest PR in The Huffington Post
Egypt Feature: After Sunday's Deaths in Cairo --- "The Beginning of the End of Military Rule"

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1819 GMT: Reuters is reporting that the head of the National Transitional Council, Mustafa Jalil, has visited Sirte, as NTC fighters close in on the center of the city. The BBC is also reporting that all civilians fleeing the city are being searched for weapons, and if it is suspected that they are pro-Qaddafi fighters, then they will be tried accordingly.

1812 GMT: Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf has said that the violence between Christians and Muslims is not representative of his country, and he will be launching investigations into the circumstances. He also said that the Finance Minister, who resigned over the violence, will remain in place until a replacement can be found:

The situation in Egypt... there is no doubt that what is going on, based on feelings like this... it is something strange. It is impossible that this is the relationship between one Egyptian and another Egyptian, or a Muslim and a Christian; it is impossible. I will not go into any details, however investigations are currently underway and let us leave it there until we find out what it is. But I sense that this is not the nature of the Egyptian people neither is it the relationship between the Egyptian people with various institutions. Therefore, when the investigations are over, we'll be dealing with more direct issues but for now what I am saying is that one's personal feelings is that when you see what happened, could this have happened from one Egyptian to the other? it is impossible.

1759 GMT: Al Jazeera reports on the latest situation in Sirte, one of Qaddafi's last real strongholds in Libya, where Qaddafi loyalists are increasingly cornered by NAtional Transitional Council Fighters:

1604 GMT: Al Jazeera reports on the latest news concerning the resignation of Egypt's Finance Minister over the killing of Coptic Christians over the weekend:

1556 GMT: One of Syria's highest profile clerics has warned against foreign intervention in Syria:

Mufti Ahmad Hassoun, whose son was shot dead by gunmen in the northern province of Idlib a week ago, made the comments to a visiting Lebanese delegation late on Sunday.

"I say to the whole of Europe, I say to America: We will prepare our suicide bombers who are already with you if you bombard Syria or Lebanon," Hassoun said in remarks broadcast by Al Jazeera television.

Meanwhile, a different religious organization has warned Syrian President Bashar al Assad to halt the violence:

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) warned Syria on Tuesday about the consequences of its continued use of force against anti-regime protesters.

OIC secretary general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said in a statement that "the use of force will only lead to more violence and bloodshed, thus exacerbating the crisis and making it more complex."

1547 GMT: A massive demonstration is reported in the important Damascus suburb of Douma during the funeral for Ahmad Hadid, who was killed yesterday by Syrian military. The LCCS has posted the first video, the second one is clearly marked Douma, and we believe that the third video is also Douma, though it is only marked as "in memory of hero Ahmad":

1540 GMT: This report from the LCCS is 7 minutes old:

"Homs: renewal of heavy and random shooting, and targeting of anything that moves in the streets by military armors"

1522 GMT: The Guardian speaks with an Egyptian man who witnessed the "horrific" scene on Sunday, as the Egyptian military clashed with protesting Coptic Christians. Below is an excerpt of the transcript, but the full audio is below that:

"I joined the march as a Muslim who went in support of the Christians who were peacefully protesting against the recent destruction of a church in Aswan, which wasn't the first time in Egypt [that this had happened].

"It was a very friendly and peaceful march and I went there along with a lot of Muslims to be in support of the march and what I saw was [the] army lose control and dispersing the march with horrific brutality. I saw the army shoot at people and chase them and run over them [with] APCs [armoured personnel carriers] and their vehicles and turn a really beautifully peaceful march into a horrific massacre ...

"What I saw was, all of a sudden, people running away and I heard loud gunshots in the air with the army and police chasing them [protesters] in the alleyways and side streets. Then, when we came back to the scene, they were lying on the ground and blood had been spilled and people were trying to defend themselves by throwing rocks back [at the police and army] ...

"The [only] violence [by protesters] was just like ...normal ...just a couple ...of troublemakers. But no-one - as the army claimed - had machine guns or started shooting as they claimed and no-one shot at the police as the state TV claimed ...

"It was absolutely horrific. It was something I have never seen in my life in Egypt and, to be honest, I never thought I would see such things."

1511 GMT: The Guardian reports:

The activist group, the Local Coordination Committee of Syria, say six people were killed today, including four in Homs where it says gunfire has been heard for the last 36 hours

They also posted more video, reportedly taken in Bab Sbaa, Homs, where we reported earlier that violence was reported. The title of the video suggests that as these people left this mosque they came under fire from Syrian military:

1455 GMT: A Bahraini court has fined the top editor of an opposition newspaper and three others for "falsely describing abuses by Bahraini security forces." No appeal is planned.

1445 GMT: The Syrian government has turned down an invitation to join a permanent UN War crimes tribunal, the first of its kind. The tribunal would force Syria to release all political prisoners and open its doors to aids groups and medical workers. Many UN nations were demanding that Syria join the group:

The long list of demands, suggestions and supportive comments were contained in the report on Syria's human rights record, which was prepared over the past year as part of the 47-nation U.N. rights council's regular checkup on all its member nations. Because of the polarization of views toward Syria, the review led by diplomats from Djibouti, Mexico and Saudi Arabia is essentially a catalogue of recommendations rather than consensus-driven, authoritative document.

As such, the recommendations themselves paint starkly contrasting views of a nation in which the Assads, like many of the nation's elite, are part of the Alawite sect that comprises a small minority in a mostly Sunni country.

1429 GMT: The Local Coordinating Committees of Syria are reporting that there is more violence today in Homs:

"Homs: Shooting from heavy machineguns in Deir Balbaah and sporadic shooting in Qosor neighborhood to intimidate the residents"

According to their Facebook page, there is also military action in northern Syria:

"Idlib: Maaret Al-Nouman: random arrest campaign along with sporadic shooting and heavy deployment of security units and Shabiha"

Updates appear to be ok on their Facebook, but it is worth noting that their main website is currently down.

1424 GMT: Students protest today in Haas, Idlib Province, northern Syria. One student carries a sign that read "I'm afraid of Shabbiha," plain-clothed thugs loyal to Assad.

1354 GMT: Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, in his newest pledge to reform the government, has announced, through a spokesman, that he is planning a new constitution.

Mohammed Said Bkheitan, a senior official in the ruling Baath Party, said Assad will "decide within two days the creation of a committee to prepare a new constitution."

The committee will complete its work by year end, with the new document requiring a two-thirds approval of the Assad-dominated parliament and then being submitted to a referendum, Bkheitan was quoted by the pro-government Al-Watan newspaper as saying.

1345 GMT: This video reportedly shows a tank deployed in the Bab Sbaa (Lion's Gate) district in Homs, shooting randomly into the city today.

1334 GMT: James Miller reporting for duty.

The big news in Egypt may be the resignation of the Finance Minister, Hazem El-Beblawi. While the AP is saying that he resigned without stating a reason, some Egyptian news outlets are already saying that Beblawi resigned in response to the "Maspero events" where police have brutally responded to protests from Coptic Christians who are frustrated at the military's failure to protect them from violence.

0855 GMT: Nada Bakri offers a dramatic opening to her story in The New York Times:

The Syrian economy is buckling under the pressure of sanctions by the West and a continuing popular uprising, posing a growing challenge to President Bashar al-Assad’s government as the pain is felt deeply by nearly every layer of Syrian society.

With Syria’s currency weakening, its recession expanding, its tourism industry wrecked and international sanctions affecting most essential sectors, the International Monetary Fund now expects Syria’s economy to shrink this year, by at least 2 percent.

0855 GMT: Al Jazeera English reports on the battle in Libya to take the Qaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid, with the casualties among the fighters of the National Transitional Council:

0655 GMT: Kuwaiti authorities are warning that they will recruit outside workers amidst spreading labor unrest that could affect oil exports.

The Kuwait News Agency said Tuesday that a special crisis team would take “all necessary measures” to keep key industries running during the strikes, which began last month for wage increases and other benefits.

About 3,000 customs officers joined the action on Monday. The walkout has suspended all shipping traffic in and out of ports and oil terminals in Kuwait.

0650 GMT: The Stream, a featured programme on Al Jazeera English, discusses the detention in the UAE of five activists for insulting regime figures in their blogging and participation in protests and petitions.

0510 GMT: Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has called for a quick investigation into Sunday night's deadly clashes in Cairo that killed at least 26 and wounded more than 300.

Most of the casualties were Coptic Christians who were marching in front of the State TV building to protest the burning of a church and to call for their rights.

State TV reported that SCAF, in an emergency meeting on Monday, "tasked the government with quickly forming a fact finding committee to determine what happened and take legal measures against all those proven to have been involved, either directly or by incitement". The Council declared that it "continues to bear national responsibility to protect the people after the January 25 revolution...until it hands power to an elected civilian authority". It blamed the clashes on "efforts by some to destroy the pillars of the state and sow chaos" and said it would "take the necessary measures to restore the security situation".

The Coptic Church, responding to State TV coverage that asserted Christians were to blame for the violence, issued a statement stating that Copts had not fired any shots on Sunday night and were not the instigators of the fighting.

0445 GMT: For the first time in weeks, we begin with Libya.

Since the fall of Tripoli to the forces of the National Transitional Council in August, attention has turned to Sirte, the hometown of former leader Muammar Qaddafi and now one of his last two strongholds. The NTC troops have surrounded the city of 75,000 people but have been repelled by sniper fire and artillery in their attempts to take over the centre.

This weekend, the fighters edged closer, reportedly claiming the university, the hospital, and the Ouagadougou convention centre, which had been used a base by Qaddafi loyalists. However, the loyalists continue to counter-attack, and there are reports that civilians are fighting alongside them.

"Qaddafi's forces are cornered in two neighbourhoods near the sea, an area of about 2-km square, but there is still resistance," Abdul Salam Javallah, the commander of NTC units from eastern Libya, said. "We are dealing with them now with light weapons because there are still families inside."

NATO continues to be involved, carrying out 31 strike sorties on Sunday near Sirte and the other Qaddafi stronghold in Bani Walid.