Iraq (and Beyond) Live Coverage: At Least 17 Killed in Mosque Bombings

See also Syria Live Coverage: Hesitating on Weapons to Insurgents?
Thursday's Saudi Arabia (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Prosecutor Demands "Death by Crucifixion" for Dissident Cleric

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2055 GMT: Bahrain. Police used tear gas and sound bombs to disperse hundreds of protesters who demonstrated in the capital Manama against the regime.

The marchers chanted, "The people want the fall of the regime" and "Down with [King] Hamad."

Several protesters were arrested, witnesses said.

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Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Activist Zainab AlKhawaja Writes from Prison

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Saudi Arabia Feature: Regime's Historic Decision "To Ban Everything"
Syria Live Coverage: Who Represents the Opposition?
Sunday's Israel, Palestine (and Beyond) Live Coverage: US Restarting Negotiations?

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1950 GMT: Libya. Oman has granted the late leader Muammar Gaddafi’s widow and her family asylum on humanitarian grounds, an official at the Foreign Ministry has said.

The move was co-ordinated with Libya and Algeria, where the Qaddafis had lived after the fall of the Libyan ruler, following a pledge by the family that they will not use Oman as a base for political or media activity.

The group --- Qaddafi’s widow Safiyyah Farkash, daughter Aisha and sons Mohammad and Hannibal, as well as their children --- has been living in Oman since October 2012, and their expenses are being covered entirely by the Omani Government.

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Israel, Palestine (and Beyond) Live Coverage: US Restarting Negotiations?

US Secretary of State John Kerry with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

See also Syria Live Coverage: Regime Rejects UN Human Rights Enquiry
Saturday's Lebanon (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Prime Minister Resigns --- What Next?

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1731 GMT: Mali. Clashes between the army and Islamists killed seven people Sunday, including a soldier and two civilians, after the insurgents infiltrated northern Mali's largest city, Gao.

The army carried out what it called a "clean-up" operation after Islamists opened fire on an army camp overnight.

The city was now "calm" again, an "African military source" said, adding that the army, "backed by French and African troops, had the situation under control".

1725 GMT: Egypt. President Morsi has prompted speculaton and concern, following outside the Muslim Brotherhood's Cairo headquarters on Friday, with remarks on his Facebook page: "If I am forced to do what is required to protect this nation, then I will do it. And I fear that I might be on the verge of doing it."

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Lebanon (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Prime Minister Resigns --- What Next?

See also Syria Live Coverage: Fighting in Aleppo and near Damascus
Friday's Israel, Palestine (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Obama Concludes Trip with Netanyahu Meeting

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Najib Mikati1825 GMT: Turkey and Palestine. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced that he may travel to Gaza and the West Bank in April.

The statement follows Friday's reconciliation between Ankara and West Jerusalem, with Israel’s apology for the killing of nine Turkish citizens on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in May 2010.

“I may eventually visit Gaza and the West Bank in April. This visit would take place in the context of a general effort to contribute to the resolution process [of the Palestinian issue],” Erdoğan told reporters.

1755 GMT: Bahrain. Security forces have fired tear gas to prevent protesters from reaching the house of Nabeel Rajab, the imprisoned head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.

Riot police clashed with hundreds of people marching for Rajab, sentenced to two years in prison on charges of backing “illegal” protests.

Authorities also set up roadblocks to keep cars from reaching the house.

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Bahrain Feature: UN-Linked Institute Sets Up in Kingdom...With Regime Funding (Elliott)

Bahrain's Foreign Minister, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalif, and International Peace Institute President Terje Rød-Larsen exchange copies of their agreement

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As Bahrain enters the third year of a crisis sparked by Arab Spring protests in 2011, the government continues to bar many human rights advocates and journalists from entering the country.

But one non-profit group is not only being welcomed into the tiny Gulf kingdom, it’s opening an office there. And it’s doing so with funding from Bahrain’s ruling monarchy.

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Iraq (and Beyond) Coverage: At Least 10 Killed in Basra Bomb

1555 GMT: Egypt. The Pope of Egypt’s Coptic Church has received the Libyan Ambassador in Cairo to discuss the fate of three Egyptian Coptic-Christians and an Egyptian evangelical, detained in Libya on charges of "promoting Christianity".

Yesterday the Libyan Embassy temporarily suspended operations in Egypt amid concerns over the safety of its staff.

One Egyptian national was released earlier this mohth in the case.

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Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Mubarak's Police Behind Almost 900 Killings of Protesters in 2011 Uprising

See also Syria Live Coverage: The Saudi Support of the Insurgency
Wednesday's Tunisia (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Death of Vendor Who Set Himself on Fire

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1815 GMT: Bahrain. Dozens of people have reportedly been injured amid widespread protests on the second anniversary of a Saudi-led military intervention to help suppress the pro-reform movement.

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Opposition society Al Wefaq said that at least 35 protesters had been hurt, three of them critically.

The Ministry of Interior claimed "domestic terrorists" had blocked roads and burnt cars. It said two police officers were injured.

Witnesses reported heavy clashes as police used tear gas and stun grenades against youths who, according to the Ministry of Interior, carried "Molotov cocktails, iron rods, and a number of homemade bombs."

In March 2011, the other members of the Gulf Co-operation Council sent in troops to back up Bahrain's security forces, who overran the camps of protesters, including the main one at the iconic Pearl Roundabout.

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Tunisia (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Death of Vendor Who Set Himself on Fire

Tunisian President Ben Ali at bedside of Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire over his economic situation, in December 2010

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Iraq Feature: Amid Rising Protests, CIA Expands Co-operation with "Anti-Terrorism" Units
Syria Live Coverage: Turkish Special Forces Enter the Country
Tuesday's Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Division over Powers for "Citizen's Arrests"

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1410 GMT: Egypt. The Government has launched an appeal against a court ruling suspending Parliamentary elections due to start on 22 April.

President Morsi's office had said that would not challenge the verdict.

A judicial official said the High Administrative Court will rule on the appeal on Sunday.

Last week the lower court ruled that the law governing the elections was illegal and that its passage by the upper house of Parliament was procedurally improper.

1400 GMT: Israel and Palestine. The Israeli High Court of Justice is due to rule on the State's right to declare ownership of 1000 acres of undeveloped land located in West Bank settlement of Efrat.

Palestinians claim the land belongs to them.

The case is seen by some as a bellwether of the Israeli Government's plans to support Jewish settlements in the controversial E1 area near Jerusalem. Palestinians claim this would effectively cut off access from one part of the West Bank to another.

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Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Qatar Says No More Aid to Cairo

Qatari Minister of Finance Youssef Kamel1617 GMT: Bahrain. An interesting political development --- a royal decree has appointed Crown Prince Salman, often framed as a "moderate" within the regime, as 1st Deputy Prime Minister --- working with his uncle, the "hard-line" Prime Minister --- "to develop the performance of the executive".

1610 GMT: Egypt. Cairo is studying an offer from the International Monetary Fund of a bridging loan, a source at the Ministry of Finance ministry has said.

The funding, known as the IMF's Rapid Financing Instrument, is temporary and would not replace Egypt's negotiations with the IMF on a $4.8 billion loan, the source said.

The source added, "Egypt continues to work towards restructuring its economy through the economic reform programme."

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Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Authorities Release Body of Man Killed by Police...After 12 Days

The moment that Bahraini police hit Mahmood AlJazeeri in the head with a tear gas canister --- he later died from the injury

See also Kuwait Feature: Youth Take Up Battle Against Bureaucracy
Syria Live Coverage: Insurgents Capture City of al-Raqqa
Monday's UAE (and Beyond) Live Coverage: 94 Activists Go on Trial

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2105 GMT: Egypt. Clashes broke out in Cairo today during a funeral march for activist Mohamed El-Shifae, with police firing tear gas.

El-Shifae was killed on 29 January after participating in protests. His family spent a month searching for him before they found his body in a morgue; officials had previously denied that the activist was there.

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