Bahrain Feature: The US Support of Bullets and Blackhawks (Turse)

Just how American bullets make their way into Bahraini guns, into weapons used by troops suppressing pro-democracy protesters, opens a wider window into the shadowy relationships between the Pentagon and a number of autocratic states in the Arab world.  Look closely and outlines emerge of the ways in which the Pentagon and those oil-rich nations have pressured the White House to help subvert the popular democratic will sweeping across the greater Middle East.

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Bahrain in Video and Pictures: The Security Forces Move Quickly

Minutes before the attack at Pearl Roundabout --- Morning Prayers:

From Tuesday --- police beating a man:

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Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A New Phase of Conflict

2110 GMT: An update from Misurata, 210 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli....

Opposition fighters say they have repelled regime forces on the southern and western sides of the city, with a battle --- but "not a heavy one" --- continuing on the eastern side.

Libyan state television has appealed to the people of Misurata to support regime troops: "The armed forces are from you and for you. Avoid strife....This is a call for stability and security for everybody. Do not listen to provocation and avoid discord."

2000 GMT: Reuters summarises fierce fighting in Ajdabiya in east Libya, with "weary" government soldiers saying that they were meeting "renewed resistance" from the opposition.

"The fighting is fierce. His supply lines are stretched so he can't push on from Ajdabiya. We've got some surprises in store. We're going to fight on and we're going to win," said Mustafa Gheiriani, an opposition spokesman in Benghazi.

Reinforcements from Benghazi are said to be heading to Ajdabiya.

Witnesses describe a violent regime crackdown around the city.

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Bahrain First-Hand: "Security Forces Attacked the Medical Center"

Faraz Sanei, a researcher in Bahrain for Human Rights Watch, reports:

I have spoken to two people in the Shia village of Sitra, south of Manama, who confirmed that security forces, both civilian and police, attacked the medical center there following clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces that began in Sitra at around 11 a.m. Both were at the hospital during the attack at about 4.45 p.m. As we spoke on the phone during calls earlier today I heard shots being fired. I just spoke to both witnesses for a second time and they said that security forces did not enter the center but fired rubber bullets and tear gas inside the hospital. People who had gathered outside to find out what's happening to their loved ones were forced to go inside.

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Bahrain Feature: Saudi Arabia's Slap in the Face of the US

The Saudi intervention, however small, is therefore a major step backward for the region. It represents a major slap in the face to the United States, a defeat for the liberal Shiite and Sunni elements in Bahrain, and ultimately a catastrophe for the entire Khalifa family, both the liberal and conservative wings, who may have just surrendered their power to the giant next door.

Ultimately, this may also be a defeat for Saudi Arabia as well. The Saudis have long tried to avoid overt interventions in their neighbors' affairs. They intervened once during the 1994 upheavals in Bahrain and in the past two years have been active on the Yemeni border -- but under King Abdullah they have tried to arbitrate, rather than dominate, events on the Arabian Peninsula. Their decision to intervene directly in Bahrain's affairs suggests a weakness in the Saudi leadership and Riyadh's surrender to the more conservative elements in the country.

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Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Saudis Intervene in Bahrain

2200 GMT: Another appearance by Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi tonight. Addressing supporters in Tripoli, he chided his opponents: "You are saying Gaddafi is going to leave the country. Do you think Gaddafi would leave?....Those traitors who let Libya down during the Italian imperialism, they have left their children with the shame."

Qaddafi spoke as the opposition held an anti-regime rally in their base in Benghazi in the east.

2105 GMT: A gang armed with clubs and butcher knives attacked the printing press of Bahrain's only opposition newspaper, Al Wasat, early Tuesday morning.

Al Wasat, which means "The Centre" in Arabic, was set up in 2002 after Bahrain's King introduced reforms that allowed independent press licences. All of Bahrain's other newspapers are pro-government or affiliated with senior officials.

2100 GMT: Two clips claiming to be of protests in Syria today:

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The Latest from Iran (15 March): The Regime Supports the Right to Protest

2150 GMT: A Royal Retreat. Iranian MP Hamid Resai has announced that the visit of King Abdullah II of Jordan to Iran has been cancelled: “In view of the current critical situation, the Jordanian Abdullah’s trip to Tehran did not meet the approval of senior Islamic Republic officials.”

A number of MPs had protested the invitation of the Jordanian monarch to celebrate Iranian New Year, in a ceremony hosted by President Ahmadinejad at the ancient capital of the Persian Empire, Persepolis. They noted the rise of protests in Jordan calling for political and economic reforms.

2145 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Reformist Ahmad Hakimipour and journalist Nazanin Khosravani have been released from prison.

Khosravani, detained for 135 days, was freed on $60,000 bail.

2130 GMT: Fire Festival. Claimed footage of people celebrating and singing original Iranian National Anthem tonight:

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Bahrain Latest in Video & Pictures: Protests, Gunfire, and Clashes

A collection of images from a tense Sunday in Bahrain:

LATEST PICTURES: Today's prayer at Pearl Roundabout:

Protesters set up a barrier with a message:

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Libya, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Can a Proposal Avert A Crisis?

1915 GMT: A resident has told Reuters that regime forces are now in control of Zuara in the west of Libya.

1730 GMT: Media are reporting that regime tanks have entered the opposition-held town of Zuara, in the far west of Libya, and are moving toward the centre of the town.

1720 GMT: The Foreign Minister of the UAE says the country has sent 500 police to Bahrain.

1710 GMT: At least 30 people were injured when police opened fire on protesters in Marib Province in eastern Yemen.

Police also shot live ammunition at protesters in northeastern Jawf Province. In the capital, Sanaa, soldiers and armoured vehicles tried to cut off and surround an area near the university building where thousands of protesters have camped out for weeks.

Video of Sunday's clashes in Sanaa in Yemen that killed two and injured dozens:

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Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Battles and Clashes

2040 GMT: More oppositionsclaims from Libya (see 2025 GMT) --- their special forces have counterattacked in Brega, arresting 20-60 regime fighters, killing 25, and seizing weapons.

The regime had claimed earlier today that it had taken the oil port in north-central Libya.

2035 GMT: Egypt’s military police have prevented a rally organised by imams calling for the independence of the Islamic institution Al-Azhar and for an investigation into alleged corruption at the Ministry of Endowments.

An eyewitness said that the police prevented nearly 1000 imams and preachers from reaching the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Egypt's ruling body, and assaulted them with fists and electric batons. Clashes resulted between the two sides.

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