Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Morsi Declares 30-Day State of Emergency

1435 GMT: Yemen. 8 soldiers have been killed and 10 wounded in a car bombing at a military checkpoint:

The attack in the town of Radda was likely a retaliatory move by al Qaeda militants after Yemeni forces shelled insurgents in the southern province of al-Bayda earlier in the day, one of the officials said.

Earlier, 4 people were killed, including one soldier in an attack launched by the Yemeni army on alleged Al-Qaeda militants in the province of Baydaa’, center of the country, according to tribal and medical sources.

1413 GMT: Mali. The Independent of London reports on the killing of 12 civilians and injuring of 15 in French airstrikes earlier this month on the town of Konna.

The attack happened soon after the French intervention on 11 January, as the forces tried to dislodge insurgents who had recently taken the town.

Three of those killed were under the age of 11.

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Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: At Least 30 Killed in Port Said Fighting

See also Mali Opinion: A Disaster 50 Years in the Making
Syria Live Coverage: Deaths from Shelling Near Aleppo
Saturday's Syria Live Coverage: Insurgents Storm The Prison in Idlib

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1950 GMT: Egypt. Addressing the nation on television after this weekend's violence that has killed at least 50 people, President Morsi has said judicial verdicts --- such as Friday's sentencing of 21 people to executions over last year's 74 deaths in a Port Said football stadium --- have to be respected, as they are not aimed against any group of people. He said "acts of violence, blocking roads are...not something Egyptians are are esed to....They are the ugly face of counter-revolution."

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Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: At Least 7 Killed in Clashes on Anniversary of Uprising

Scenes in Port Said today, from announcement of death sentences to violence that has killed at least 30 people

See also Syria Live Coverage: Insurgents Storm The Prison in Idlib
Saturday's Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The 2-Year Anniversary of the Uprising

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2105 GMT: Mali. French military officials say that French and Malian Government forces have taken control of Gao, one of three cities held by insurgents in the north since last spring.

Swooping in by land and by air and under the cover of darkness, French and Malian forces came under fire on Saturday morning and continued to face sporadic "acts of harassment" through the day, Colonel Thierry Burkhard said. He had no immediate estimate on casualties.

The Ministry of Defense later issued a statement that Government control was already being established, including the return of the mayor.

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Algeria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: At Least 81 Killed in Gas Plant Siege

See also Syria Live Coverage: The Battle for Idlib Begins?
Sunday's Algeria (and Beyond) Coverage: Gas Plant Siege Ends with 23 Hostages, 32 Attackers Killed

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1652 GMT: Yemen. A US drone strike has killed two suspected insurgents and wounded three others, two of them seriously, according to security officials.

The airstrike, which hit a car east of the capital Sanaa, was the third in the same area since Saturday and the 25th in Yemen since 24 December.

On Saturday, two drone strikes killed eight people in Marib Province.

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Bahrain Propaganda 101: Regime Looking for a Few Good Women on Twitter

Bahraini Ministry of Interior message, February 2012

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Young women will get training on how to use Twitter to help combat false information being circulated about Bahrain.

"We are holding a series of training sessions for young Bahraini women who have shown an interest in making their thoughts about the situation in Bahrain heard on social media," said society cultural committee head Ebtisam Al Jamea.

"The social committee is honouring these young women for their efforts to spread the good word about Bahrain, and provide them with the means necessary to make a difference."

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Algeria (and Beyond) Coverage: At Least 30 Hostages Killed in Rescue Attempt

See also Syria Live Coverage: Another Mass Killing, Another Dispute of Responsibility
Thursday's Mali (and Beyond) Live Coverage: France Prepares Ground Operations While Insurgents Seize 41 Foreigners in Algeria

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2124 GMT: Algeria. An Algerian hostage, who escaped during the army assault on the In Amenas gas plant, has spoken of casualties:

There were so many deaths. I was shocked. I can't say the exact number. Foreign hostages died, Algerian hostages died and there were deaths among the terrorists.

The hostage said one of the leaders of the assailants was killed. Some of the attackers are still in the central working area of the gas facility. People from the area warned, "It's very difficult for the army to stage an assault because everything could explode. It's dangerous."

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Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The US Arms Sales to the Regime

Women march in Karzakan in Bahrain on Monday

See also Iraq Analysis: Protests, Politics, & A Prisoner Release --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24
Bahrain Opinion: A Nobel Peace Prize for the AlKhawaja Family?
Syria Live Coverage: Scores Die in Mass Killings and Aleppo Blasts
Tuesday's Mali (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Insurgents Counter-Attack, Move Closer to Capital

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2003 GMT: Mali and Algeria. One of the attackers who seized 41 staff of energy companies, killing two others and injuring six, said they had come from northern Mali. He said, "We belong to the Khaled Abul Abbas brigade led by Mokhtar Belmokhtar," a veteran leader of smuggling and kidnap gangs in the Sahara.

The insurgents said their hostages included seven Americans and French, British, and Japanese citizens. A Norwegian and an Irish citizen are also thought to be among those held captive. The gas plant is jointly operated by BP, Statoil of Norway and Algeria's state-run energy company Sonatrach.

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Mali (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Insurgents Counter-Attack, Move Closer to Capital

See also Mali Feature: A Beginner's Guide --- The Timeline of the Conflict
Syria Live Coverage: Deadly Bombardment of Damascus Suburbs Continues
Monday's Mali (and Beyond) Live Coverage: French Warplanes Continue Attacks

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2055 GMT: Bahrain. An appeals court has upheld a 15-month prison sentence on former MP Jawad Fairooz, imposed in absentia, for participation in protests in 2011.

Fairooz was convicted of calling for protests without notifying authorities, but acquitted of inciting hatred against the regime and spreading false information.

In November, Fairooz and 30 other activists were stripped of their Bahraini citizenship over accusations of "jeopardising state security".

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Insurgents Advance While Brahimi Stalls

See also Egypt Feature: An Alternative Justice System in the Sinai
Syria 1st-Hand: The 11-Year-Old Fighting with the Insurgents
Friday's Syria Live Coverage: The End of the Brahimi Mission?
Friday's Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: An Activist Tries to Re-Enter the Kingdom

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1729 GMT: Palestine. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the Supreme Court to remove an injunction against his order to the military to overrun the new village of Bab al-Shams, on Palestinian territory near East Jerusalem.

Activists pitched tents to launch the new village on Friday. It is in the E1 area, where the Israeli Government is supporting the construction of new Jewish settlements.

Netanyahu ordered that the area be considered a "closed military zone", with all access cut off "to prevent gatherings".

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Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: An Activist Tries to Re-Enter the Kingdom

See also Syria Live Coverage: The End of the Brahimi Mission?
Thursday's Turkey (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Three Kurdish Officials Killed in Paris Attack

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1748 GMT:Tunisia. Hundreds of protesters demanding jobs and the reopening of a border crossing with Libya set fire to a police station and cars, as security forces used tear gas and fired shots into the air to disperse them.

Demonstrators in Ben Guerdane want the Ras Jedir crossing reopened so that trade with Libya, on which most of the population depend, can resume.

Tunisian and Libyan authorities opened the crossing briefly on Thursday but shut it when four days of protests in Ben Guerdane turned violent.

1818 GMT: Bahrain. Zainab AlKhawaja's reaction:

MY SISTER IS HOOOME!!!! #bahrain

— angry arabiya (@angryarabiya) January 11, 2013

Maryam and Zainab Alkhawaja:

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