Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Waiting

Video from today has now been moved to our separate entry, "Latest Libya (and Beyond) Video: Fighting the Mercenaries".

2230 GMT: Images from today's protest in Bahrain, in which thousands called for the release of detainees:

2015 GMT: A 25-year-old man has died in Bordj Bou Arreridj, 240 km (148 miles) east of the Algerian capital Algiers, after setting himself on fire outside the provincial building.

2005 GMT: Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi, in an interview with a Serbian TV Pink, has said that anti-regime protesters are "surrounded" and will "soon be dealt with," according to reports from Reuters. He added, "The people of Libya support me."

Qaddafi called on a UN commission to investigate the situation in Libya, but he said sanctions passed by the Security Council on Saturday were "null and void".

1950 GMT: Tunisia’s interim president, Fouad Mebazaa, has named a former government minister, Beji Caid-Essebsi, as Prime Minister.

Caid-Essebsi replaces Mohamed Ghannouchi, who resigned earlier today (see 1510 GMT) amidst protests calling for the replacement of the transitional Government.

Human Rights Watch has condemned violence by police against protesters on Friday and Saturday, which killed at least four people, and more use of force today.

HRW claims that security forces, some dressed in the dark uniforms of anti-riot brigades, worked with plainclothesmen who carried sticks and clubs, to chase rock-throwers into narrow streets and beat them. HRW asserts that police also fired numerous rounds of teargas toward the protesters, who lit bonfires in the street and erected crude barricades across the street.

A policeman who observed journalists and HRW filming from hotel balconies pointed a gun at them, and the police then entered the hotel to ensure that the filming stopped.

Armoured personnel moved along the main avenue, with guns pointed out, and helicopters circled at low altitude.

1940 GMT: Brian Whitaker posts a useful overview of the political context for protests and clashes in Sohar in Oman today (see 1125 GMT), in which two people were killed and at least 10 injured. Video of the demonstration:

1735 GMT: On Sunday, 119 leading Saudi academics and activists asked King Abdullah to enact sweeping reforms, including a constitutional monarchy.

"The current situation...is full of reasons for concern," said the statement. "We are seeing ...a receding of Saudi Arabia's prominent regional role for which our nation was known and the ...prevalence of corruption and nepotism, the exacerbation of factionalism and a widening in the gap between state and society."

The signatories said "the people's consent is the sole guarantee for the unity and stability" and asserted that oil wealth needs to be better distributed to the people, instead of being channeled to expensive projects with few immediate benefits.

On Sunday, King Abudllah that government sector workers employed under temporary contracts be offered permanent contracts that include pensions. Four days earlier, he ordered measures targeting low-income earners, including debt forgiveness, a 15% cost-of-living increase for public sector employees, and an increased housing fund and interest-free loans.

1725 GMT: French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie has resigned after weeks of criticism over alleged contacts with the former Ben Ali regime in Tunisia.

Alliot-Marie came under fire after she offered France's help to Tunisian riot police to quell the uprising that ousted President Ben Ali in January.

Critics claimed that Alliot-Marie had holidayed in the former French colony during the uprising, using the private jet of a businessman linked to Ben Ali's regime. Her parents also allegedly bought a stake in a company through that businessman.

1625 GMT: The opposition in eastern Libya have formed a national council to represent the uprising, but they said this was not an interim government.

The opposition also rejected talks with the Qaddafi regime.

Officials of the Arabian Gulf Oil Company, Libya's largest oil producer, said they expect to resume oil shipments later today when an oil tanker departs from a port in northeastern Libya. This would be the first oil exported from the opposition-held area; the last shipment was 19 February.

An oil tanker was expected to depart the port of Tobruk, carrying 700,000 barrels of oil, for China.

Earlier today (see 1110 GMT) employees of the oil company said they were joining the opposition while ensuring operations continued. Money earned from exports still technically goes into the accounts belonging to the National Oil Company, which is based in Tripoli and remains under the control of the Qaddafi regime.

1620 GMT: Amidst continuing demonstrations, Bahrain’s General Federation for Trade Unions has called for the Government to be dissolved, a day after Bahrain’s king swore in five new Cabinet ministers.

The unionists said that the new appointments do not reflect “the ambitions and popular voices” of Bahrainis, and they called for a transitional government that will meet the “demands of the people” and bring about “real political change”.

1535 GMT: Video has been posted of an interview with opposition leader Hassan Mushaimaa after his return to Bahrain from exile.

1510 GMT: In a televised interview, Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi has resigned. Ghannouchi, criticised by some as a leading member of the deposed President Ben Ali regime, declared, "I am not a man of repression, and I never will be."

On Friday, more than 100,000 Tunisians demonstrated for the replacement of the transitional Government.

Live Stream from Tunisia of the crowd hearing the news....

1430 GMT: The Guardian reports that 14 people were arrested and several people, including two women, were beaten by uniformed and plainclothes police in Syria on Tuesday after about 200 people staged a peaceful sit-in outside the Libyan Embassy.

The demonstrators carried placards reading "Freedom for the people" and "Down with Qaddafi" and chanted slogans such as "Traitors are those that beat their people."

Witnesses said authorities warned the group to disperse, but they reconvened shortly afterwards in the suburb of Sha'alan. When they tried to march back to the embassy, they were blocked by a large group of police.

1415 GMT: Martin Chulov of The Guardian writes about his travel through "Free Libya" in the east of the country, "Libya Celebrates as Gaddafi's Remote Strongholds Rise against Him". In Ajdabiya, he is told by a resident: "[Qaddafi] has had his turn and it's been a long turn. We are the future now. We must take the capital."

1410 GMT: Protests continue in Tahrir Square in Cairo, demanding the removal of the transitional Government, a new Constitution, and an end to the Emergency Law:

1400 GMT: For those looking for details, the full text of the United Nations Security Council resolution on Libya --- which includes referral of the case to the International Criminal Court, an assets freeze, and an arms embargo --- has been posted.

1350 GMT: Unintentional humour in the interview of Saif Al Islam Qaddafi, the Libyan leader's son, by Christiane Amanpour of American ABC News.

As more cities fall to the opposition, Qaddafi declares a "big, big gap between reality and the media reports": "The whole south is calm. The west is calm. The middle is calm. Even part of the east."

But that's not the funniest line of this encounter. Instead, it's Amanpour's claim that she has an "exclusive", given that Qaddafi has same exactly the same thing to several media outlets and a press conference this week.

1345 GMT: In Bahrain, thousands of protesters have marched from Pearl Roundabout into the centre of the capital Manama to demand the release of detainees:

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1340 GMT: Human rights activists reports four professors were arrested in Aden in Yemen on Saturday evening.

1330 GMT: AFP follows up on the report (see 1305 GMT) of more trouble in Tunisia:

Security forces and anti-government protesters clashed in the Tunisian capital Sunday, with police firing tear gas and warning shots to disperse stone-throwing youths in a third day of violence.

Security forces acted to stop protesters, who were chanting anti-government slogans, from reaching the interior ministry.

Rampaging youths hurled rocks at buildings to break the windows and threw up barricades to impede the police who were not able to disperse them with tear gas and warning shots.

1305 GMT: Angelique Chrisafis of The Guardian reports, "Violence in the centre of Tunis again this afternoon, after 3 protestors killed in clashes with police yesterday."

1300 GMT: Back from a break to catch up with a series of reports about Libya....

Al Arabiya is reporting that regime battalions are moving out of the Qaddafi stronghold of Sirte towards opposition-held Misurata.

An embarrassment for the regime 55 km (35 miles) west of Tripoli, as Nic Robertson of CNN reports, "Standing in midst of anti-govt rally in Zawiyah, several thousand demonstrators shouting anti-Qaddafi slogans." The protesters include former security forces who have joined the opposition. The opposition flag is flying over the main square and Muammar Qaddafi's portrait is gone.

A doctor says he has seen 24 bodies since Thursday. Residents say anti-aircraft guns were used against people as regime units fired from the minaret of the mosque.

Evan Hill of Al Jazeera English reports on "Libya's Revolution Headquarters" in Benghazi, the country's 2nd-largest city:

[The courthouse's" exterior remains covered in graffiti but comparatively unscathed. This is the new headquarters and nerve centre for Libya's opposition. A week after the city fell to the protesters following bloody fighting with the local military garrison, it now features an organised civilian security team at the main entrance, a kitchen and an internet centre where Ahmed Sanalla and a small crew of tech-minded men lean over laptops.

1125 GMT: Two people have been killed and at least five injured in the protests in Sohar in Oman (see 1040 GMT). Tear gas and rubber bullets were used on about 1000 demonstrators who were throwing stones.

A police station and Government were reportedly set on fire.

On Saturday Oman's ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, changed six ministers in his cabinet in "the public's interest" and announced that social benefits for students would be boosted.

1110 GMT: Employees at Libya's Arabian Gulf Oil Co (Agoco) have joined the opposition while maintaining operations, according to Quryna newspaper.

Agoco, affiliated to the state-owned National Oil Company, was pumping about 450,000 barrels per day in April 2010 from some of the country's biggest oilfields including Sarir and Nafoora. Three of its employees have been killed during the uprising.

1105 GMT: The Independent of London reports that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair called Muammar Qaddafi twice on Friday and urged the Libyan leader to stop violence and step down.

1050 GMT: Opposition leader Hassan Mushaimaa, in his first press conference since he returned to Bahrain from exile on Friday, has declared, "We have to stay at Lulu [Pearl] Roundabout until our demands are met. He was sceptical of the regime's offer of talks: "I see the Crown Prince's demand for dialogue as an attempt for calming. And then nothing will change in Bahrain.”

1040 GMT: Witness report that Omani police have fired tear gas at stone-throwing protesters in the industrial city of Sohar.

For the second day in a row, demonstrators are demanding political reforms. Demonstrations are also under way in the southern town of Salalah, where protesters have camped out since Friday near the office of a provincial governor.

1035 GMT: Al Arabiya reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has given his Cabinet 100 days to improve the delivery of services or face "changes" after nationwide protests on Friday.

More on the resignation of the Governor of Babil Province (see 0800 GMT)....

Salman Al Zaragani told a press conference, "I have decided to resign because of weak public services and technical problems that have prevented us from completing projects like the construction of roads and bridges. There is also a lack of harmony between myself and the provincial council."

Councillors have been calling for six months for Zargan's resignation. His resignation follows those this month of the heads of the southern provinces of Kut and Basra. All three men are members of Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki's State of Law coalition.

1020 GMT: John Rugman of Britain's Channel 4 News reports, "Soviet T72 tanks & machine guns defending Tripoli - Tunis road.[The] 32 Brigade controlled by Gaddafi son, Khamis."

Nearly 100,000 people have fled Libya in past week, according the United Nations' refugee agency.

1015 GMT: Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh has said that protests are part of a conspiracy to break up the country:

Our nation has been passing through difficult times for four years. We are trying in every way possible to deal with and overcome these difficulties democratically, through dialogue with all political leaders, but in vain.

At least 16 people have been killed in daily clashes amongst anti-regime protesters, pro-Saleh groupsa, and security forces since 16 February.

0925 GMT: Confirmation from observers that most cities west of Tripoli are now with opposition, flying the pre-1969 Libyan flag, but clashes continue. Muammar Qaddafi's hometown Sirte, just east of Tripoli, is now heavily defended by the regime and appears to be main line of defense.

0910 GMT: Al Arabiya reports that Libyan customs officers have abandoned main border post with Tunisia, but soldiers and police loyal to Muammar Qaddafi are still present.

0900 GMT: Iraq's Speaker of Parliament Ossama al-Nujaifi has strongly condemned Friday's violence against protesters by security forces. He has ordered the establishment of a committee to investigate incidents.

0810 GMT: A Libyan activist reports that "a highly-trained, well-armed battalion managed to get from Benghazi", in "Free Libya" in the east, to the western city of Misurata, now held by the opposition.

0800 GMT: A report comes in that the Governor of Babil Province, south of Baghdad, has submitted his resignation in the aftermath of Friday's protests across Iraq.

Meanwhile, Iraq's leading Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Sistani, has urged politicians to heed the calls for reform: "The Marjaiya [senior clerics], which has always stressed to officials to work on people's legitimate demands, is warning them not to insist on sticking to current policies in running the state."

Sistani pointed to the need to improve electricity services, provide jobs, and fight corruption.

0630 GMT: Human Rights Watch thinks the significance of Saturday's United Nations Security Council resolution, passed unanimously, lies in the referral of the Libyan case to the International Criminal Court. HRW believes this points to eventual prosecution of Muammar Qaddafi and his closest allies for war crimes.

The resolution also froze Libyan assets, imposed a travel ban on regime leaders, and ordered an arms embargo.

0610 GMT: A quieter --- if that adverb can be used --- day across North Africa and the Middle East.

In Libya, political battlelines were settling as the military reality came into view --- unless someone can put a bullet in Muammar Qaddafi's head or peel away the core of military units and mercenaries that will fight with him to the end, there will have to be a military confrontation in Tripoli, with its civilians paying a heavy price.

There were some reported skirmishes --- notably in Sabratha in the west --- and more military and diplomatic defections on Saturday, but most of the news was taken up by diversions. There was another ramble from Qaddafi's son Saif al Islam in an interview with Al Arabiya. There were statements from the international community, from the UN Secretary-General's denunciation of violence to President Obama's agreement with German Chancellor Merkel that Qaddafi has to go now (which, for the record, is further than he ever went with Egyptian President Mubarak). There was the story that even Qaddafi's "voluptuous" Ukrainian nurse had left him.

In Tunisia, generally left behind in the news since the fall of the Ben Ali regime six weeks ago, at least three people were killed in clashes were security forces, who used tear gas to disperse protesters who were throwing stones and burning tyres. The demonstrators continue to call for the resignation of the transitional Government because it has members linked to the Ben Ali era.

Tunisia's Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi promised a faster transition to democracy, with concrete measures by March and elections by mid-July.

In Bahrain, thousands of protesters move from Pearl Roundabout through the capital of Manama, calling for the removal of the Government and even the monarchy. For the first time, the march reaches the government and commerical district of the capital, ending in front of an office of the Prime Minister.

In what could be a signficant development, three major tribes in Yemen --- including the most influential, the Hashids --- announced they were siding with the opposition against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Oman saw its first significant marches across the country, with demonstrators calling for political and economic reform.

And Egypt's transitional regime took one step closer to a modified system when a committee looking at constitutional reform made eight recommendations, including a limit of two four-year terms on a President, an easing of the requirements to become a Presidential candidate, and changes to make it more difficult to impose a state of emergency.