Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: How Serious is This? (Continued)

1900 GMT: C.J. Chivers of The New York Times, who has been reporting from Misurata in Libya, posts this photograph of the war-torn city:

And for comparsion, this was Misurata in August 2010:

1605 GMT: Al Wafd reports on the continuing sit-in of employees of the Suez Canal Company, protesting wages and working conditions.

1558 GMT: Thousands of Yemeni women have protested in Sanaa and Taiz, criticising President Ali Abdullah Saleh's remarks that it is against Islam for women to join men in the demonstrations aimed at his removal from power.

1555 GMT: Ahram Online has more on the decision of Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court dissolving the National Democratic Party of former President Hosni Mubarak.

1545 GMT: Extracts from the Assad speech....

When we are transparent with the citizens and tell them what their rights and duties are, then we can build trust. We should reach a united vision between the institutions and the people....-We should focus on the channels of communication with the citizens. Results will not be satisfactory if there [is no communication].

The blood that was shed in Syria hurt every Syrian, and we are sad for every person we lost and for every person that was wounded. We consider them all to be martyrs, whether they were civilians, police officers or army soldiers. The investigative committee will continue its work.

The naturalization law for the Kurds should enhance national unity. The cabinet should continue measures [on this issue] to finalize the [naturalization] law.

Concerning the state of emergency, I spoke before the parliament about lifting it. A committee was formed to suggest a proposal on how to remove the state of emergency under international standards. The study was [started] days ago and will be submitted to the government. The deadline for finalizing the study is next week. Removing the state of emergency will enhance stability.

Any reform should be based on stability and domestic security. This reform secures the nation and enables us to face challenges. I trust the Syrian people. In the last weeks, the international bet on the people failed. If we succeeded then this would be a historic reply to those who wrote that this region cannot make reforms.

The citizen wants justice, development, health and education, but unemployment is the major issue that we are facing amid the large number of out-of-work Syrian youth. The youth that faces blocked horizons will become desperate. This is not only an economic challenge, but a national one related to Syria’s stability. We should start projects to deal with unemployment quickly. Here we should not forget agriculture, which is the basis of the Syrian economy. The state has been taking care of this issue.

1535 GMT: Back from a break to find that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had given a nationally-televised speech.

Observers are remarking on the difference between this declaration and Assad's last speech earlier this month. On the last occasion, Assad made no significant concessions, but this time, "rhetorically, most conciliatory speech Assad could have given. Emergency law to be lifted, government accountable to fulfill needs of people".

Rula Amin on AJE agrees that "this is very different speech to last time". The key phrases are that the people's needs are legitimate and government will work towards addressing them. The President also raised the necessity of addressing the problem of corruption.

1410 GMT: Reuters reports that more than 1,000 women marched on Saturday in the coastal city of Baniyas in an all-female protest, chanting, "Not Sunni, not Alawite. Freedom is what we all want."

Earlier in the day, mourners in the city attended the funeral of Osama al-Sheikha, was was reportedly killed in front of a mosque on Sunday (see separate video).

1400 GMT: Activists claim that Bahrain authorities have detained a human rights lawyer and at least two doctors.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights and opposition party Wefaq claimed that security forces arrested lawyer Mohammed al-Tajer at 2 a.m. Al-Tajer represented Hassan Mushaimaa, leader of the Bahraini opposition group Haq, who returned from exile in London in February, after he was pardoned by the King, but was arrested last month.

1350 GMT: More evidence of Britain's support for the insurgents (see 0520 GMT) --- Al Jazeera's Sue Turton reports that some opposition fighters in Ajdabiya are wearing British-made body armour.

1345 GMT: The opposition says regime forces have killed at least three people in Misurata amidst today's firing of Grad rockets and mortars.

Red Cross representatives have entered the city and moved into areas controlled by the opposition.

Heavy gunfire is also reported in Brega in north-central Libya.

1340 GMT: An Egyptian court has ordered the dissolution of the political party of former President Hosni Mubarak.

The Higher Administrative Court in Cairo also ordered the liquidation of the assets of the National Democratic Party.

0930 GMT: In Libya, an opposition spokesman says regime forces continued their bombardment of Misurata with at least 100 Grad rockets this morning. No casualties were reported, but a dairy factory was damaged.

Al Jazeera English broadcasts footage of regime tanks entering Misurata:

Doctors says one person was killed and seven injured on Friday by gunfire on the road between Ajdabiya and Brega in the east.

0655 GMT: The Washington Post reports that NATO is running short of some munitions in its Libyan campaign.

The claim, apparently fed by NATO officials, appears to increase pressure on the US to return to the military front-line: "Several U.S. military officials said they anticipated being called back into the fight, although a senior administration official said he expected other countries to announce 'in the next few days' that they would contribute aircraft equipped with the laser-guided munitions."

0610 GMT: Human Rights Watch has joined The New York Times in reporting the regime use of cluster bombs in the assault on Misurata, Libya's third-largest city.

HRW says it observed at least three cluster munitions explode over the el-Shawahda neighborhood on Thursday nights. Researchers inspected the remnants of a cluster sub-munition and interviewed witnesses about two other apparent strikes.

0520 GMT: Three weeks ago, as protests in Syria began to build, we asked, "How Serious is This?"

The question is put once again today after events in Syria overtook Libya in the headines during Friday. Numbers of demonstrators were put in the "thousands", which is comparable to the turnout on previous Fridays --- what was significantwas the location, as a march tried to reach the centre of Damascus. Security forces prevented that from happening, but the appearance of a mass rally so close to the seat of President Assad's power was guaranteed to grab attention.

This morning, it is back to the "normal" of uncertainty. Despite the drama of Friday, with many in the media calling it Assad's biggest challenge yet, the regime seems secure in Damascus. That will probably mean a return to the contest between the ripples of protests in other towns from Daraa to Baniyas and the general declarations of "reform" from Assad.

In Libya, the regime assault on Misurata, now in its 8th week, dominated coverage, with the opposition demanding protection from NATO and the foreign media building up the presentation of the heavy weaponry of the Qaddafi forces --- for the first time, a reporter documented the use of cluster bombs.

In a different part of the country, there was a response to our Friday title, "Calling for Assistance". Al Jazeera English reported that a small British military team and units from other unnamed countries are advising insurgents in Benghazi on organisation of the military structure and communications.