Bahrain Analysis: A Revolution Paused (Kerr/Jones)

An uncertain calm has settled over the small island kingdom of Bahrain. The wave of peaceful pro-democracy protests from February 14-17 culminated in bloodshed, including the brutal murder of seven activists, some of whom were asleep in tents, by the armed forces. On orders from above, the army withdrew from the roundabout on the outskirts of the capital of Manama where the protests have been centered, and since shortly after the seven deaths it has observed calls for restraint. Thousands of jubilant protesters seized the moment to reoccupy the roundabout, the now infamous Pearl Circle. In commemoration of the dead, the demonstrators have renamed it Martyrs’ Circle. 

The mood in the circle is buoyant, even carnivalesque. It is also dead serious, for the thousands of encamped demonstrators demand nothing short of fundamental change to the kingdom’s autocratic political order.

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Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Standoffs

2205 GMT: Al Jazeera English has posted video of wounded men being treated in Az Zawiyah, where fierce battles took place between regime forces and the opposition today.

2155 GMT: The first edition of the newspaper in "free" Benghazi has been published

2150 GMT: Text messages to Libyans declare that a local cleric has issued a fatwa against watching television channels "like Al Jazeera" that incite bloodshed.

2145 GMT: Libya's Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, who broke with the regime earlier this week, has appealed to key Brigadier Generals Mahdi Al Arabi and Mohamed Al Esawi to turn against Muammar Qaddafi.

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Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Into the Abyss?

2255 GMT: We are going to take an overnight break and resume early Thursday morning. Coverage continues on the Live Feed from Al Jazeera English.

2210 GMT: Barack Obama has just made his statement on Libya, "We strongly condemn violence in Libya...express our condolences...bloodshed outrageous...violence must stop." He continued, "These are human rights. They are not negotiable. It's important for the international community to speak with one voice."

Obama did make an advance beyond Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's silence (see 2023 GMT) on action: he said he had asked his administration for a full range of options to respond to this crisis --- with allies or other institutions.

Those last words are importantly, as they indicate that the US President is wary of moving unilaterally.

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Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Qaddafi Hangs On With Fighter Jets and Bluster

2055 GMT: Al Jazeera is reporting two killed and 10 injured in an attempt on protesters at Sanaa University in Yemen.

2050 GMT: Another quote from former Minister of Interior (and former close Qaddafi friend) Abdul Fattah Younis, "(The bombing of civilians) pained me deeply, it is the main reason I decided to join this revolution."

2035 GMT: Here's a twist on this afternoon's Qaddafi speech....

The Libyan leader said, in his 90-minute ramble, that Minister of Interior Abdul Fattah Younis had survived an assassination attempt but was missing.

Well, tonight Younis has said, "Qaddafi's men came to shoot me but the bullets missed me."

2030 GMT: The office of Algerian President Addelaziz Bouteflika said he approved a Government decision to lift the 1992 State of Emergency.

The brief statement said the change was "imminent" but gave no date.

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Iran Special: Protest --- From Tunisia to Egypt to the Green Movement (The Newest Deal)

As a special for today, amidst the possibility of opposition marches we post The Newest Deal's analysis of protest in North Africa, the Middle East, and Iran:

Despite what the movement's leaders, Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, are forced to say publicly, this is no longer a struggle merely aimed at "reforming" the existing system. Those days are over, and both Mousavi and Karoubi likely recognize this in private.

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Libya, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Contrasts Heightened

2340 GMT: That, quite frankly, was a bizarre experience. No word on what has happened to Muammar Qaddafi, but Saif al Islam Qaddafi did appear to concede that some of the country is in the hands of the opposition. At the same time, there was the combination of the surreal threat --- drug dealers, foreign media, outside powers, Arabs and Africans --- and defiance.

More tomorrow. Meanwhile, coverage continues on our Live Feed from Al Jazeera English.

2338 GMT: Qaddafi's son concludes, "Our morale is high. May God make Libya a safe country. May God be with you."

2337 GMT: "We will fight to the last," he continues "We will not leave Libya." The Qaddafis will not allow Al Jazeera or Al Arabiya or the BBC to triumph.

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Libya, Bahrain (and Beyond) Video: The Conflict Escalates

Latest footage from across the Middle East and North Africa. See also Friday's collection, Libya, Bahrain (and Beyond): Filming Protest and Violence.

Libya: Claimed Footage of Protest in Misurata, East of Tripoli

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Libya, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Contrasts

2205 GMT: In Libya, Professor Ali Tarhouni has said tonight that protesters in Nalut, 300 km (185 miles) northeast of Tripoli, burnt down the headquarters of the Revolutionary Committee. Tarhouni also said there have been small skirmishes in Tripoli.

2200 GMT: A photograph of this afternoon's protest in Taiz in Yemen:

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Libya, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Confrontations

2213 GMT: AFP, from local sources, estimates at least 41 people have lost their lives in Libya in violence since Tuesday.

Oea, a newspaper linked to Muammar Gaddafi's son Seif Al Islam, says demonstrators hung two state security officers in Al-Bayda.

2210 GMT: Britain Foreign Office has announced that some arms export authorisations for Bahrain and Libya are being revoked out of concern the weapons could be used to suppress internal unrest.

The Foreign Office said it was still reviewing export licenses for Yemen.

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Bahrain, Libya, and All the Way to Syria: Summarising Thursday's Day of Rage

Opposition in Libya had called a "Day of Rage" for Thursday, but even before they could take to the streets, that rage was being claimed by a regime in a different country.

The surprise attack by Bahrain's police upon the opposition camp at the Pearl Roundabout in the capital of Manama killed at least four people, but even that death toll does not begin to capture the violence of the day. As the monarchy moved the Army in force into Manama, its security services prevented treatment the hundreds of wounded, to the point of inflicting a savage beating on a prominent doctor. Journalists were blocked at Manama's airport, leaving those who were already in the country --- Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times was especially prominent in reporting via social media as well as reporting for his newspaper --- to try and get out an account that took in the scope of the brutality.

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