Libya, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Goodbye to Qaddafi, Hello to....?

2104 GMT: The United Nations has passed a security council resolution calling for Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh to stop killing civilians and to step down in accordance with international plans. According to the AFP:

The UN Security Council passed a resolution calling on Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh to sign a deal to end deadly attacks on protesters and under which he would quit.

The resolution, on Friday, unanimously agreed by the 15 members, "strongly condemns" government violence against demonstrators and backs a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) peace plan under which Saleh would end his 33 years in power.

2028 GMT: Before this week, we were not aware of a particularly vibrant opposition in al Harak, Syria, in Daraa province. Now, the place looks like a military base. This video shows tanks positioned by the side of a major road:

2016 GMT: This video was reportedly taken in Al Tal, Damascus, today. A large amount of security can be seen wandering the streets, and gunfire can be heard off screen:

1958 GMT: This is another video from Bab Amr, Homs. It shows what we believe to be facing the opposite direction from the one that we posted at 1820 GMT. In otherwords, from the videographer's position, the entire neighborhood is on fire:

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Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Qaddafi Captured --- Is He Dead?

See also Libya Snap Analysis: Three Down --- How Many To Go?
Libya Video: The Moment When Muammar Qaddafi Was Seized
Libya Video: The Man Who Found Qaddafi Tells His Story
Friday's Libya, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Goodbye to Qaddafi, Hello to....?

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2059 GMT: Anti-Assad slogans chanted in the Deir Bielbe district of Homs, Syria:

2055 GMT: The people of the Khalidiya section of Homs in Syria, chant, "Now it's your turn, Bashar al Assad!"

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Nailing Jelly to the Wall

1935 GMT: The New York Times is now covering the story that we reported earlier of Saudi blogger Feras Bugnah, who was arrested for his a documentary "We Are Being Cheated" that was critical of the Saudi regime and the economic reality in Saudi Arabia. Bugnah's colleagues have responded that the Saudi government is “trying to control the new Internet media” by making the arrest.

1921 GMT: Bahrain's Minister of Interior Lt. General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa appeared on Al Arabiya. He expressed his concern about the alleged Iranian plot to bomb the Saudi embassy, insinuated that there were links between this plot and violence in the streets of Bahrain, he accused militants of attacking protesters and security forces, and he distinguished between legal protests, which, Khalifa said, were permitted, and illegal protests that were disrupted. When asked about the use of live ammunition, this is how he answered:

"First of all, I personally have never received orders from any officer to fire [on demonstrators]. This has never happened even on the days of the crisis, if it can ever be called a crisis, nor in any other event. On the other hand, if the Ministry of Interior ever issued an order during the said period [of dealing with demonstrators] who were present at the GCC roundabout, then such an order was to affirm commitment to the provisions of the Public Security Law on matters pertaining to the use of arms."

1835 GMT: Claimed video from a funeral for yesterday's martyrs in al Harak, Houran region, Daraa province, Syria. The sign that is held up has today's date:

1818 GMT: According to Al Jazeera,the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has a reported that 17 civilians and 7 soldiers have been killed today in Syria:

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Questions in the Silence from Homs

1936 GMT: The Palestinian prisoners return to the West Bank:

One of the accusations floating around is that some of these prisoners are, in fact, murderers, and Israel is likely to pay a high price for this prisoner exchange. Osama Hamdan, a senior member of Hamas, responds to the accusations:

See EA Correspondent Ali Yenidunya's analysis, Israel Special: How Gilad Shalit Saved Prime Minister Netanyahu

1821 GMT: In Daraa, the crisis may be even wider spread than we initially thought. The LCCS posts this:

Daraa: Msaifra: Authorities cut off electricity to the town after a massive night protest and security forces raiding of it

So, with a massive military campaign under way in Daraa proper, and in Harak, and perhaps now one about to be underway in MSaifra, while the military is conducting unprecedented raids near Damascus, and the campaign against Homs continues, one wonders how stretched Assad's military is as the current moment. It appears that he is threatened enough by the strength of this opposition that he has tanks deployed from Lebanon to the border with Turkey.

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Syria, Yemen (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The "New Normal" of Daily Deaths

A fighter for Libya's National Transitional Council plays guitar while battle rages in Sirte (Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images)

See also Middle East Video: US Embassy Promotes Opposition's "Support Yemen" Campaign

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1930 GMT: Videos of protest and clashes across Syria today....

In Homs, where 21 people reportedly died, bystanders shelter from gunfire:

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Crackdown Expands

1811 GMT: The claim made in the title of the video: "Syrian actor Jalal Al Taweel leads protest during martyr Ibrahim Shayban's funeral." Ibrahim Shayban was a 10-year old boy who was reportedly killed yesterday in Midan, Damascus.

1745 GMT: Claimed footage of Bahraini police beating a protester in Nuwaidrat after arresting him on Friday:

1735 GMT: Footage of the clashes in the Yemeni capital Sana'a, in which at least 12 protesters were killed by regime forces:

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Libya, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Victors as Abusers?

Protesters in the Barzeh district of Damascus chant, "We don't bow down except to God"

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2034 GMT: The Local Coordinating Committees of Syria have released a statement describing the events that took place today in Syria:

The Governorate of Idlib has witnessed a fierce military campaign that involved the death of several dozen martyrs from the village of Binnish alone, along with dozens of forced disappearances and arrests. Most of the villages and towns in the Idlib Governorate reported gunfire and a complete shutdown of telephone, satellite, and Internet communicatons.

In Binnish, a massive number of mourners, including more than 10,000 people who were able to travel in from neighboring villages, came out to hold funerals for the martyrs.

Nighttime demonstrations began all over Saraqeb and Idlib proper, and continued in a number of Governorates. In the Damascus suburbs, protesters came out in Douma, Harasta, Saqba, Zamalka, Daraya, Irbeen, Kafrbatna, and Jdeidet Artouz. Protesters were chanting for the toppling of the regime and for the victory of Homs and the cities under siege.

Homs, Daraa, and other neighborhoods were also subjected to a major military campaign, according to activists and confirmed by the LCCS:

Homs, as usual, did not fail to hold nighttime demonstrations; protesters came out in most neighborhoods. Security forces responded by firing on protesters in Dablan, Insha’at, and Khaldieh. In Hawla, Ghouta, and Qasir, security forces injured two protesters. Even Rastan held nighttime demonstrations, and today Homs experienced new kidnappings: Mrs. Sawsan Al-Saghir, her daughter Qamar Al-Rajab, and Mrs. Al-Rajab’s 1-year old twins Bahaa and Diaa were kidnapped.The Shabbiha kidnapped them from their home in Bayada.

In Qamishli, Deir Ezzor, Bokamal, Daraa, Basr Al-Harir, Hirak, Hara, and Daeel, thousands protested. Security forces fired on protesters in the Jabileh neighborhood to disperse them.

People in Douma, the Qadam neighborhood in Damascus, Homs, and Rastan were all subjected to a campaign of random arrests.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Flashback on a Funeral and an Attack

1937 GMT: A leading syrian dissident, Walid al-Bunni, was released on bail today after being arrested in August, according to the AFP:

"The Damascus court of appeals on Wednesday freed opposition figure Walid al-Bunni in exchange for a bail of 1,150 Syrian pounds ($23). He will be tried later for inciting (anti-regime) demonstrations and sectarianism," said Michel Shammas.

1823 GMT: The newest phase of military action in Syria has been in high gear for the second day in a row:

The Local Co-ordination Committees, which report on protests in Syria says security force surrounded the Deir Baaloba neighbourhood in Homs today and opened fire with heavy weapons. The activist network also says hundreds of students have been demonstrating in the al-Ashrafeya neighbourhood of Lattakia against the arrest of a school principal, who was arrested by the security forces after he resigned in protest at the storming of the school and assault on the students within it. The LCC also says a number of people have been arrested in Aleppo.

1809 GMT: An Egyptian general has defended the actions of the military during Sunday's clashes with Coptic Christians:

"The armed forces would never and have never opened fire on the people," Gen Mahmoud Hegazy, a member of the ruling military council, said during a news conference on Wednesday.

Pointing at footage of an army vehicle from the scene of the clashes, he stressed that "there has not been a case of rolling over people with vehicles".

"They are trying to avoid running into protesters, not rolling over them."

The general also said the video proved that soldiers had come under attack by demonstrators armed with guns, knives and rocks.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Darkness in Homs

0915 GMT: A woman mourns over last night's deaths of at least 24 people in clashes around a Coptic Christian march in the Egyptian capital Cairo:

0905 GMT: In the United Arab Emirates, the families of five activists who are due back in court on charges of insulting senior officials have made a joint plea for their release.

The five activists --- Ahmed Mansoor, an engineer and blogger; Nasser bin Ghaith, an economist, university lecturer at Sorbonne Abu Dhabi and advocate for political reform; and online activists Fahad Salim Dalk, Ahmed Abdul-Khaleq, and Hassan Ali al-Khamis --- were arrested in April. Some of the defendant had signed a petition in March calling for political reforms, including direct elections and broadening the powers of the UAE legislature, the Federal National Council.

Mansoor faces additional charges of inciting others to break the law, calling for an election boycott, and calling for demonstrations. In March, e publicly supported a petition signed by more than 130 people advocating universal, direct elections for the FNC and legislative powers for the council.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: An Activist's Death Sparks Protests

Demonstration in Aleppo, Syria last night, expressing solidarity with the slain Meshaal Tammo

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Bahrain Special: Zainab Omran Tells Her Story of Abuse in Detention --- Part 2
Yemen Feature: Nobel Prize Winner Karman "Our Revolution is Uniting Yemen"
Bahrain Special: Zainab Omran Tells Her Story of Detention at City Center Mall
Saturday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Celebration in Yemen, A Killing in Qamishli

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2217 GMT: Mohammad Sudam, a Reuters correspondent in Yemen, was kidnapped on Saturday night in Sana’a by forces loyal to defected General Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, according to Ministry of Defence announced on Sunday.

Sudam, who is also a translator for President Saleh, was arrested at a checkpoint run by Al Ahmar’s troop as he travelled from Sana’a airport to his house.

The Yemen Journalist’s Syndicate condemned the arrest of Sudam and called for his immediate release.

2215 GMT: We are getting unconfirmed reports that the Syrian military is shelling Homs, the country's third-largest city, tonight. It is impossible to verify this at the moment, as almost all communication with the city is cut off.

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