See also Saturday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Protests Take Over<
1840 GMT: An EA correspondent reports on a security crackdown tonight in Bahrain:
All Sitra entrances and exists are blocked by checkpoints, not allowing anyone out or in unless they been searched. The whole village is filled with police forces, some in their jeeps while others on foot. They blocked the road near the police station too, not allowing anyone to pass there.
I believe there will be houses raids, as in Bani Jamra a couple days ago.
1830 GMT: Bahraini activist Zainab Alkhawaja brings urgent news:
URGENT: activist @SAIDYOUSIF and two foreign activists from Human Rights Watch have been arrested now in Duraz village #bahrain
— angry arabiya (@angryarabiya) April 15, 2012
The activist were there to observe a peaceful protest when riot police attacked, and arrested them with 8 of the protesters #bahrain #F1
— angry arabiya (@angryarabiya) April 15, 2012
1742 GMT: A mass funeral today in Douma, near Damascus:
1632 GMT: A Syrian military source has raised doubt over whether the regime will meet the demand of the "peace plan", put forth by United Nations envoy Kofi Annan, to pull forces back from cities and towns or even to maintain a cease-fire.
The official declared the authorities will prevent "armed terrorist groups from continuing their criminal aggressions against the army and law enforcement forces and citizens which hysterically escalated since announcing the halt of military operations last Thursday morning".
1630 GMT: A senior official in Egypt's judiciary, Assem Algouhary has criticised Britain over Cairo's attempted recovery of Egyptian assets seized in March 2011: "UK Treasury is neither helping nor co-operating enough with us to repatriate the frozen assets."
The Treasury's Asset Freezing Unit froze about £85m worth of assets held by 19 Egyptians, including former President Hosni Mubarak, his family members, and some of his former ministers. It denied the Egyptian official's claim.
1510 GMT: A message via Twitter from the lawyer of detained human rights activists Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, now on Day 67 of his hunger in a Bahraini military hospital:
Today, Al Khawaja's family was able to visit him at BDF hospital.#FreeAlkhawaja #Bahrain #USA #Denmark
— Mohamed Al Jishi (@Mohamed_AlJishi) April 15, 2012
1440 GMT: Bahrain's largest opposition society Al Wefaq has announced a week of daily protests for reform to parallel the Formula One Grand Prix race scheduled for 20-22 April.
The sit-ins and demonstrations, under the banner of "steadfastness and challenge", start today with a protest in Bilad al-Qadim, east of the capital.
The February 14 Coalition has already called for "Three Days of Rage" from 20 to 22 April.
1350 GMT: The Local Co-ordination Committees of Syria claim that ten people have died today, eight of them in Homs.
1243 GMT: A Bahraini policeman aims his shotgun at protesters and a photographer in Salmabad on Saturday:
1133 GMT: The Local Co-ordinating Committees of Syria claim six people have died today in violence --- five in Homs and martyr in Wadi Barada near Damascus.
A large demonstration in the Heish area of Idlib in northwesst Syria today:
Jabal al-Zawyeh in Idlib Province:
1113 GMT: Claimed footage of shelling and a fire this morning in the Khalidiya section of Homs in Syria:
0727 GMT: Residents report shelling of areas of Homs by the Syrian military today.
"Early this morning we saw a helicopter and a spotter plane fly overhead. Ten minutes later, there was heavy shelling," said Walid al-Fares, an activist living in Khalidiya. Another resident said that government loyalists were using heavy machine guns to shoot into the area.
Rami Abdelrahman, head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said there were overnight clashes in rural Aleppo Province after insurgents attacked a police station.
0719 GMT: In Bahrain, a woman in a march for detained human rights activist Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, now on Day 67 of his hunger strike, flashes a victory sign as she approaches the British embassy (Photo: Reuters):
0715 GMT: A human rights group says that detained Saudi activist Mohammad Al Bajadi, on hunger strike for almost a month, has also stopped drinking water.
Al Bajadi was detained in March 2011 for supporting families demonstrating outside the Ministry of Interior to demand the release of imprisoned relatives.
0705 GMT: A quick summary of Saturday's big news over Syria --- while the United Nations Security Council agreed on a first deployment of 30 observers to monitor the cease-fire that it demanded from all side, activists reported 27 people died across the country. Thirteen of the deaths were in Homs Province, while eight were in Aleppo Province, as security forces fired on a funeral in Syria's second-largest city.
0615 GMT: We begin with political drama in Egypt on Saturday night, as the Electoral Commission declared that 10 of the 23 candidates in May's Presidential election are ineligible. Those disqualified includeOmar Suleiman, former head of intelligence and Vice President in the ousted Mubarak regime; Muslim Brotherhood candidate Khairat al-Shater, over alleged corruption; and Hazem Abu Ismail of the Salafist Nour Party --- second behind the Brotherhood's party in Parliamentary strength --- because his mother took US citizenship.
The exclusions leave three major candidates: Amr Moussa, former Foreign Minister and Secretary-General of the Arab League; Abdel Moneim Abu’l-Futouh, who broke away from the Muslim Brotherhood; and Muhammad Morsy, a current Brotherhood member.
The Suleiman campaign has already announced an appeal against the decision.