Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Vote in Cairo, Violence beyond Damascus

A cameraman on a motorbike shoots 10 minutes of dramatic footage from the battleground of Jouret al-Shayeh in Homs in Syria

See also Bahrain Audio Feature: Scott Lucas with Monocle 24 "A Guide to the Current Situation"
Friday's Syria Live Coverage: How Will Protests Respond Today to More Deaths?

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1655 GMT: Egypt. Mixed reports of turnout in the first of the two days of the Presidential run-off, amid stories of security forces closely monitoring foreign journalists --- Ahram Online has rolling coverage of developments.

A couple boycotting the vote handcuff themselves on Qasr El Nil Bridge in Cairo:

1325 GMT: Syria. The Local Coordination Committees of Syria claim that 36 people have been killed in regime attacks on the Damascus suburbs, especially Saqba and Douma, today.

Claimed footage has been posted of five of the slain men in Saqba.

The LCCS said 54 people have died across the country on Saturday.

1248 GMT: Syria. The head of the United Nations monitors, Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, has announced that observers have suspended operations because of escalating violence, posing significant risks to the observers and their ability to carry out the mandate of UN envoy Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan.

Mood said the observers will not be conducting patrols and will stay in their locations in the country "until further notice".

The suspension will be reviewed on a daily basis, according to the general.

1241 GMT: Iraq. The death toll from this morning's car bombs in Baghdad, near a gathering of thousands of Shia pilgrims, is at least 32 with at least 68 people wounded.

The first bomb, which killed 14 people and injured 32, was hidden in one of a group of taxis waiting along the procession route. A second bomb exploded later in Sanaa Square, slaying 18 people and wounding 36.

1135 GMT: Syria. Activists have said that a third day of regime shelling of the Damascus suburb of Douma has killed seven people, while 11 people have been slain by security forces elsewhere in Syria.

1106 GMT: Iraq. At least eight people have been killed in a car bomb attack in Baghdad.

The explosion was in the Kadhimiya district, where thousands of Shia pilgrims had gathered for a major religious festival.

On Wednesday, 16 bombs across the country, most targeting the pilgrims, killed at least 70 people.

1100 GMT: Saudi Arabia. State TV has announced that Crown Prince Nayef has died in Switzerland.

Nayef, who was also Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, left Saudi Arabia for medical tests last month. He was named Crown Prince in October 2011 --- see Al Jazeera English's profile --- after the death of Sultan bin Abdul Aziz.

Prince Salman, the Minister of Defence, is likley to become Crown Prince --- in April, Simon Henderson wrote about "The Man Who Would Be King" for Foreign Policy magazine.

1030 GMT: Jordan. More than 2000 Jordanians rallied across the country on Friday, protesting recent risees in commodity prices and demanding sweeping political change and constitutional reform.

"Instead of raising prices, hold the corrupt accountable. Reform the constitution and let the people see the light," read a banner among 1000 protesters in central Amman. They chanted, "We want to reform the regime. We do not want empty promises."

At least 1000 people marched in the southern cities of Irbid and in Karak and Tafeilh in the north.

1025 GMT: Bahrain. A woman and a child on a beach, in front of a rank of riot police watching the village of Karbabad:

Police and youth clash on the beach:

1015 GMT: Saudi Arabia. Activists have urged women to get behind the wheel for Sunday's first anniversary of the Women2Drive campaign: "The key to ending the ban imposed on women driving in Saudi Arabia starts with women themselves...."Women who hold [overseas] driving licences [should] drive on the anniversary day, June 17, and document their acts."

The activists also urged men to get in the passenger seat and support their wives, mothers, or sisters, while calling on women to flood the traffic department with applications for driving licences.

Nearly 600 people petitioned King Abdullah on Wednesday to "encourage women who have obtained driving licences from neighbouring countries to begin driving whenever necessary" and to "establish driving schools for women and (begin) issuing licences". They asserted, "We only want to enjoy the right to drive like all women over the world."

1007 GMT: Syria. Writing in the World Policy Journal, Jenna Krajeski sets out the extent and significance of the camps for Syrian refugees in Turkey.

An official of the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday that more than 30,000 refugees are now registered in Turkey. Most are in Red Crescent camps in the southeastern provinces of Hatay, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, and Kilis along the Syrian border.

1000 GMT: Syria. A funeral procession in the Damascus suburbs this morning:

And a demonstration in Tafas in Daraa Province:

0545 GMT: Syria. The defiance of protest continued on Friday. However, the gatherings appeared to be smaller in places than in previous weeks, as headlines were taken over by the regime's apparent offensive to regain some areas of the country. 

Having taken al-Haffeh in Lattakia Province, regime forces attacked towns in Aleppo Province, including Anadan. They pounded the Damacus suburb of Douma. The Battle for Homs continues --- sections of the city were shelled heavily on Friday, and there was dramatic footage of the devastation in the Jouret al-Shayeh district (see top of entry).

0530 GMT: Egypt. The two-day Presidential run-off begins today, with the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi facing Ahmed Shafiq, the last Vice President in the Mubarak regime.

However, the ballot has been overshadowed, if not put beyond legitimacy, by this week's Supreme Court decision allowing Shafiq's candidacy --- even though a Disqualifications Law was supposed to block Mubarak officials from standing --- and suspending Parliament over claimed irregularities in the process for last winter's elections.

Morsi decided to proceed today, despite assertions from a senior Brotherhood official of a "fully-fledged days" and warnings of Egypt entering "dangerous days". Large protests did not materialise on Friday in Cairo, let alone the capital.

That could change quickly, however, especially if Shafiq is declared the victor next week. And the cold political facts remain that there is no legislature and no Constitution spelling out the powers of the President. In the vacuum, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has announced that it is taking over lawmaking powers. And, just before the Court decision, the Ministry of Justice  issued a decree allowing the military to arrest civilians for a range of crimes.