Syria, Bahrain, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Once Again They Rallied

See also Syria Video Feature: Saturday Night's Protests --- Executing Assad, Burning Russian Flag, and Calling for Protection
Bahrain Propaganda 101: How a US PR Firm Puts "News" in American Newspapers
Syria Video Special: "We'll Continue until the Regime is Toppled"
Bahrain Feature: Repression Tears Apart a Country
Friday's Syria, Bahrain, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Watching the Protests

---

1930 GMT: Claimed footage of security forces shooting at protesters today in the Damascus suburb of Douma:

1925 GMT: We have posted a series of clips from tonight's protests in Syria in a separate video feature.

1855 GMT: Pro-regime Bahraini media are claiming that "thousands" gathered for "The Gathering of National Unity" in Riffa today.

The Sunni cleric Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Mahmoud thanked Turkey for support of the Bahraini regime and expressed support for the Yemeni and Syrian people, as well as "the Iraqi people who started to stand against its regime which was created by the USA and Iran and which has become full of corruption" and which "has created a sectarian war and genocide and prevents utilities like water and electricity".

He asserted, "There is no negligence in the rule of law The future of Bahrain depend on the extent of our insistence that no opinion is above the law.”

1850 GMT: A short film made by a group of students from the University Of Bahrain to protest their expulsion because of participation in peaceful demonstrations:

1730 GMT: Syrian State news agency is highlighting the funerals of seven members of the military and security forces, whom it claims were killed by "armed terrorist groups" in Damascus Province, Daraa, and Homs.

1715 GMT: About 200 Syrian opposition members from across the political and ideological spectrum have met inside Syria.

The gathering was outside the capital, Damascus/ A press conference is planned for Sunday.

1640 GMT: Claimed footage, from the Bab Houd district of Homs, of soldiers defecting after refusing to shoot at civilians:

1610 GMT: And here's a protest on Friday we missed....

Hundreds of Kuwaitis rallied for a constitutional monarchy and an elected government, amidst an unprecedented corruption scandal involving MPs.

Holding banners calling for fundamental reforms, including appointment of a Prime Minister from outside the Al-Sabah ruling family, the protesters chanted slogans for the dismissal of the current Prime minister, Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, a nephew of the Emir, and the dissolution of Parliament.

Last week public prosecutors launched an enquiry into bank accounts of at least nine of Kuwait's 50 MPs for alleged illegal deposits, estimated at around $350 million, in exchange for voting on key issues.

1315 GMT: The funeral of Hakam Al-Siba'i, a Red Crescent volunteer who was reportedly shot nine times when his ambulance was attacked by security forces in Homs:

Inside the mosque; mourners chant, "We don't bow down,except to God":

And thousands of people turn out in the Damascus suburb of Douma, for the funerals of Sobhi Zarara and Fares Al-Natour, killed by security forces:

1305 GMT: Moussa Ibrahim, the spokesman for former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, told Reuters by phone today that overnight NATO air strikes on Sirte, one of the last Qaddafi strongholds, overnight had hit a residential building and a hotel, killed 354 people.

Ibrahim claimed NATO attacked with more than 30 rockets directed at the city's main hotel and the Tamin building with more than 90 apartments: "The result is more than 354 dead and 89 still missing and almost 700 injured in one night." He declared that more than 2000 residents of Sirte had been killed by Nato since the start of September.

Ibrahim asserted that Qaddafi, stil in Libya, was "leading all aspects of this struggle. He is talking to the people, he is lecturing, he is discussing, he is looking after all matters of the resistance." He added, "We will be able to continue this fight and we have enough arms for months and months to come."

1255 GMT: Not much of a pause in the demonstrations in Homs in Syria (see 0430 GMT) --- claimed footage of a rally in the Bayada district:

1235 GMT: Claimed footage of a rally in Taiz in Yemen today, demanding political change:

0935 GMT: Video of Friday's march in Sitra in Bahrain:

0930 GMT: Reuters summarises Friday's fighting in Libya, with loyalists of former leader Muammar Gaddafi using rockets and mortars to repel assaults by the National Transitional Council's forces on Bani Walid and Qaddafi's hometown of Sirte.

Columns of fighters retreated from Bani Walid in pick-up trucks. They reported snipers on the roofs of buildings in the towns and said they needed to reorganise troops and stock up on ammunition.

0910 GMT: A video of Friday's "No Surrender Until Victory" demonstrations in the Yemeni capital Sana'a:

0510 GMT: Friday's protests were not just in Syria --- the funeral of Sayad Jawad, killed by tear gas inhalation in Sitra in Bahrain brought out thousands:

0500 GMT: A far different perspective on Syria....

Imad Moustapha, the Syrian Ambassador to the US, tells CNN's Hala Gorani that claims by the United Nations that more than 2500 people have died in uprising since March "are blatant lies. This is the problem we are facing today in Syria -- a massive campaign of disinformation and lies." He flatly denied the reports this week that prominent activist Ghiyam Mattar had died in detention, allegedly from torture --- Matter had been killed by "groups" wanting to topple the Assad regime.

Moustapha maintains that the demonstrations are those of "fanatics" at 2% of Syria's mosques, rather than the "welcome", reasoned opposition which has emerged in Syria and participates in "town hall meetings" of "national dialogue". Moustapha continued with claims of foreign manipulation: "I personally met with demonstrators who told me while we participated in the beginning of the demonstrations because our requests have been about political freedoms, about democracy, now we are not anymore because this is being used by the Western powers and Islamic fundamentalists for their own agendas."

0430 GMT: We open this morning, as James Miller closed last night, when he posted a special video entry of Friday's protests across Syria. The chants and dancing continued throughout the night in Homs, Syria's third-largest city. Khalidiya:

Qosour:

Bab Amr:

More footage is posted in the special entry.