Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: An Attack on a Major Military Complex?

2152 GMT: Another clip of the occupation of the Kuwaiti Parliament tonight:

2042 GMT: In Kuwait, after months of discontent at the lack of reform and the failure to seriously tackle corruption, 20 opposition members of parliament boycotted a parliamentary session earlier today. In the evening, thousands of protesters descended on the Parliament building. AFP reports:

Thousands of Kuwaitis stormed Parliament on Wednesday after police and elite forces beat up protesters marching on the Prime Minister's home to demand he resign, an opposition MP said.

"Now, we have entered the house of the people," said Mussallam al-Barrak, who led the protest along with several other lawmakers and youth activists also calling for the dissolution of Parliament over alleged corruption.

The demonstrators broke open parliament's gates and entered the main chamber, where they sang the national anthem and then left after a few minutes.

The police had used batons to prevent protesters from marching to the residence of Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, a senior member of the ruling family, after staging a rally outside parliament.

Video of the occupation of the Parliament building has been posted. In this clip, occupiers sing as they move into the building:

Protesters are reported to have now moved into Erada Square --- a man raises the Kuwaiti flag:

The background to tonight's development, from the Kuwait Times:

In one of the most "exciting" political dramas in Kuwait, the government and its supporters in the National Assembly succeeded in scrapping a grilling against the prime minister, but the opposition immediately filed a fresh quiz, setting the stage for a fierce confrontation.

Several opposition MPs meanwhile warned the government that popular anger was growing rapidly and could explode anytime if the government insisted on protecting the prime minister against grillings.

The drama began when Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi put for debate a government request to scrap a grilling filed against prime minister in March by MPs Ahmad Al-Saadoun and Abdulrahman Al-Anjari, claiming that it is unconstitutional following a constitutional court ruling last month.

The court said in a controversial ruling that the prime minister cannot be grilled for violations committed by his ministers and he can only be questioned for issues under his direct authority.

Click to read more ...

Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A New Phase in the Conflict

2115 GMT: Several of EA's sources are reporting that rolling electricity blackouts and oil shortages are getting worse across Syria, but some are saying that Aleppo, because of its high electricity and oil usage, may be hit the hardest. Now Josh Landis shares this story on Syrian Comment, where the full impact of sanctions is rapidly becoming clearer:

A friend writes that his parents cannot find cooking gas in Aleppo. The replacement bottles for the stove are unavailable in the market. Mazoot, or fuel-oil, which is used to heat homes, power taxis and farm equipment is also absent. Aleppo authorities also warn that extended electric cuts are coming due to lack of power. Syria is facing a cold winter. Older people are standing in lines to get small containers of mazoot filled. The Syrian pound has fallen to 54.25 to a dollar.

2112 GMT: Our favorite fight of the day now has subtitles (see update at 1943 GMT).

2105 GMT: This young Bahraini girl was reportedly arrested with her family at a recent march. She speaks to a large crowd (with English subtitles):

Click to read more ...

Bahrain Interview: Alaa Shehabi on Her Husband's Detention and the Fight for Rights

Ghazi Farhan and Alaa ShehabiSo there has been an utter lack of fairness in anything that has happened. The entire state apparatus has been turned into tools of repression and persecution. As far as the types of people who have been arrested: you could be sharing a prison cell with some of the best athletes, the best teachers in the country, even the best doctors were there at one point. The dragnet just swept across the entire spectrum of society. And you must have heard of the case of twenty doctors being convicted to fifteen years in prison. These sentences were handed out like parking tickets. In fact, a parking ticket takes longer to issue than some of these sentences, given they were held in these military tribunals.

Click to read more ...

Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Playing the Iran Card

2040 GMT: Defiance and celebration --- Protesters in Ma'arrat al Nouman chant "Screw Iran and Screw Russia!"

2032 GMT: This video (cell phone, poor quality) claims to show tanks storming Sarmeen Idlib (in the hotspot between Idlib city and Saraqeb) amongst gunfire:

2022 GMT: Evening protests in Kafersita, Hama:

Click to read more ...

Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: More Die as Embassies Are Stormed

Police clash with protesters after breaking up a march in Nabeeh Saleh in Bahrain on Friday night

---

1955 GMT: One protester was killed and 12 others injured on Sunday when Egyptian security forces clashed with protesters staging a sit-in for the sixth day against the expansion of the MAPCO-Agrium fertilizer plant in Damietta.

Confrontations began on Saturday night and continued into early Sunday morning, with security forces using tear gas bombs to disperse protesters.

Click to read more ...

Bahrain 1st-Hand: Friday's "Festival of Loyalty" Opposition Rally

---

The weekly opposition gatherings have resumed after stopping for one week due to the death of Ali Hassan Aldaihi, the elderly man who allegedly died after a police beating last week. Friday's gathering was hosted by five opposition parties --- Alwefaq, Waad, Alekha, Amal, and Altajamoa --- in the village of Ain-Athari and labelled as a festival of "loyalty to the martyrs, wounded, detained, and dismissed".

The festival, attended by 35,000 to 40,000 people, was distinctive from previous rallies for two reasons. The introductory speech was not given by a politician but by a journalist, Batool Alsayed, and another address cited the the human rights violations of the regime.

Click to read more ...

Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Spread of the Deaths

A rally in Homs in Syria last night

See also Oman Feature: A Not-Quite-So-Quiet Arab State
Thursday's Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: "Did This Rocket Fall from Outer Space?"

---

0150 GMT: The Bahraini Ministry of Interior is now trying to explain how its policemen were not responsible for the attack on the house and car of the head of the Al-Wefaq opposition party, Sheikh Ali Salman, blaming protesters while shifting attention from authorities:. Here's the lengthy statement in full from the Ministry of Interior's website: 

The General Director of Northern Governorate Police has announced that at around 10:55 PM on Thursday around 60 individuals went into illegal procession in Bilad Al Qadeem with the aim to block roads and hinder traffic flow. They were also involved in vandalism, rioting and hurling Molotov cocktails and stones at policemen. This led to the interference of police forces to disperse them and reopen the roads by shooting tear gas and sound shoots. 

In regard of what was circulated by some individuals through social media websites claiming that the house and car of the General Secretary of Al Wefaq National Islamic Society were damaged by policemen, the General Director explained that vandals were 50 meters away from the house and there was a distance of around 50 meters between vandals and policemen, hence they were around 100 meters away from the house. Policemen used teargas and sound shoots and both are hurled by hand, so it is difficult for them to reach to the house and the car that was next to it. The shell...that was found inside the car is a [shell] that is hurled by the hand as it is shown in the image. 

He added that the concerned team moved to the scene, while no complaint was reported by those affected by the incident and that explains that those who created the damages bear the responsibility of what they did.

Click to read more ...

Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: "Did This Rocket Fall from Outer Space?"

2131 GMT: An evening protest in Qaboun, Damascus, was reportedly broken up by Assad loyalists. At the last minute, what sounds like an explosion or gunshot can be heard:

2010 GMT: We've had reports of many defections today in several locations. Now, this video has been uploaded, showing men who claim to be Syrian army officers and soldiers defecting in Idlib Province:

Click to read more ...

Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Quiet? Not Really....

A march of young people in Taiz in Yemen today challenges the Saleh regime

See also Bahrain Video Feature: The Detention of the Athletes
Syria Video Special: Undercover With Those Challenging the Regime
Syria Audio Special: How Does This End?
Tuesday's Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Noticing Homs

---

2120 GMT: The presence of security forces in the Khalidiya section of Homs today:

Tadmur in Homs Province tonight:

Anadan in Aleppo Province:

Click to read more ...

Bahrain Video Feature: The Detention of the Athletes

The sports channel ESPN's documentary of athletes in Bahrain who have detained and allegedly abused during the political crisis :